Leonid Chernovetskyi
Encyclopedia
Leonid Mykhaylovych Chernovetskyi ' onMouseout='HidePop("93832")' href="/topics/Kharkiv">Kharkiv
, Ukrainian SSR
) is the incumbent Mayor of Kiev
, the capital of Ukraine
. Before his political career, he was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex Group and Pravex Bank
, one of the largest banks in Ukraine.
at an aviation factory, but soon returned to resume his education, graduating from the Kharkiv public school #4. From 1970 till 1972 Chernovetsky served his military obligations. In 1977 he graduated from the Kharkiv Law School (Харьковский юридический институт) with specialization in jurisprudence
. He worked as the senior detective in the prosecutor's office of Kiev Oblast
. In 1981, he returned to Kharkiv Law School attending aspirantura and obtained his doctorate
in 1984 with a dissertation about Methods of investigation of plunders conducted by officials. Until 1989 he was a teacher at Kiev University
.
Soon after perestroyka, he went into private business, becoming one of the earliest big businesspeople in Kiev. He founded the Pravex Group . Later the banking division of the Pravex Group rose into the Pravex Bank
- one of the largest banks in Ukraine, possessing a dense network of offices in Kiev and other regions. In 2001, Chernovestkyi and his bank founded the "Kiev Bank Union
" banking association. Pravex Bank was sold in 2008 to Banca Intesa São Paulo for 509 million euros. Chernovetskyi has acknowledged giving millions in bribes during his days as a businessman.
On August 18, 2008 President Victor Yushchenko granted him the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, though it was harshly opposed by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
who urged to "stop granting decorations to corruptionists".
Chernovestkyi is a member of the Embassy of God
, an evangelical church
founded by Nigerian immigrant Sunday Adelaja
. He is also a longtime philanthropist
of Kiev, caring for the city's old and poor.
In January 2009 Chernovitskyi bought FC Arsenal Kyiv
for 1 Hryvnia from Ukrainian businessman Vadim Rabinovich
.
In February 2009 he released a compact disc
with "popular songs of the 1980s
" sung by him.
Chernovetskyi was nicknamed "Cosmos" after he publicly announced that he intends to fly in outer space with his cat. However, that name got stuck with him later due to his non-ordinary administrative and political decisions and announcements that have been viewed as "bizarre". He has sung at rallies and offered to auction off his kisses. That behavior prompted some officials to call for a medical examination into whether he is mentally healthy to govern the city. In response, Chernovetsky posed on March 18, 2009 in tight swimming trunks in front of scores of reporters to try to show he was both physically and mentally fit.
Chernovestkyi was the subject of several personal and political attacks when he took office as mayor of Kiev. Some were critical about his lack of experience and his authoritarianism. Others considered him off-balance or speculated that he has drug or alcohol problems. However, none of these accusations have been proven to date.
In 2003, Chernovestkyi made headlines for his links to the deaths of two pedestrians who had died on separate occasions after being run over at high speed by cars linked to Chernovetsky on the road leading to his mansion in the elite Koncha Zaspa residential neighborhood. Chernovetsky, who is a collector of expensive souped-up automobiles, was behind the wheel in the second incident; his wife was a passenger in the first. Neither Chernovetsky nor his driver has been found guilty of any wrongdoing in connection with the incidents.
On February 16, 2010 the Kiev city administration denied reports that Chernovetskyi's daughter Khrystyna Chernovetska was robbed in France
on February 15, 2010 after foreign media had reported that Chernovetska had €
4.5 million worth of jewels stolen in Paris
.
In April 2011, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Chernovetskyi's son-in-law Viacheslav Suprunenko, a member of the Kiev city council's Chernovetskyi Bloc faction. According to Kyiv Post
, he was arrested in Italy in May 2011.
. He joined the party in 1996 and was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada
, representing one of Kiev's constituencies. He was reelected in 1998 and 2002. During his last term (2002–2006) he was a member of the Committee of National Budget and head of the Committee of a Control of Budget Spending. He also was a member of the Our Ukraine fraction in Parliament. In 1998-1999 Chernovestkyi was a co-chair, and in 1999-2000 the chair of the "For Beautiful Ukraine" party. From 1997 to 2001 he was a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the President of Ukraine
.
2004 presidential elections
Chernovestkyi was a self-nominated candidate in the 2004 presidential election
, believed to be one of the "technical candidates" whose true mission was to assist Viktor Yushchenko
's struggle for the presidency by placing additional representatives in electoral commissions.
2006 parliamentary and mayor elections
According to the Kiev city election commission, Chernovetskyi garnered 32 percent of the vote to win the election for mayor of Kiev. Vitali Klitschko
placed second with 24 percent and incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko
placed third with 21 percent. Opponents say Chernovetskyi won because of a dirty campaign marred by bribing impoverished elderly voters with food; Chernovetsky has denied this. Chernovetskyi was also elected to the Verkhovna Rada
in the list of the Our Ukraine
Bloc, but had to reject the parliamentary seat.
2008 snap Kiev local election and political unrest
Leonid Chernovetskyi won another term as Mayor of Kiev with 38% of the vote in the May 25, 2008 snap local election, called on by the Verkhovna Rada in March 2008.
2009 Klychko - Chernovetsky stand-off
On February 6, 2009, the Vitaliy Klychko Bloc
stated it will apply to the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers
, the National Security and Defense Council, and the Kiev prosecutor's office with a request to take into consideration the unlawfulness of Kiev Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi actions and to call early mayoral elections in the city. Earlier On December 12, 2008 Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko
also hinted that new early mayoral elections should be held again in Kiev. This was based on Tymoshenko's disapprove of the handling of Chernovetskyi of the local energy crises of December 2008 when the Kyivenerho power company began cutting the supply of hot water to about 5,000 homes in Kiev because of the Kiev municipal administration's failure to compensate the company for the difference between the tariffs charged by Kyivenerho and the actual cost of its services. Tymoshenko accuses Leonid Chernovetskyi of using money from the municipal budget to finance his election campaign (and so there were insufficient funds to pay Kyivenerho).
Chernovetskyi had become unpopular among the residents of Kiev. On March 13, 2009 a Verkhovna Rada temporary commission on the issues of investigating violations of legislation by the officials of the Kiev city state administration and the Kiev city council came to the conclusion that it was necessary to examine the mental and physical state of Chernovetskyi, however, the procedure could be performed against his will only under a court ruling.
Yanukovych presidency
Chernovetskyi announced in March 2009 he would participate in the Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
. But did not do so.
A March 2010 poll indicated that a large majority of Kiev residents (more than 89%) were unhappy with his work and would like the mayor to resign without delays (80%). On November 15, 2010 President
Viktor Yanukovych
dismissed Leonid Chernovetskyi from the post of Head of the Kiev's State Administration and appointed Oleksandr Popov to this post. Popov is seen as Chernovetsky's replacement since he was not elected but appointed by President Viktor Yanukovich. The appointment was made possible by the Ukraine's national parliament which had amended the law on “the capital of Ukraine – hero city
of Kiev” on September 7, 2010 making it possible for the President to appoint the chairman of the city administration at his discretion (before the amendments the elected Kiev mayor was automatically appointed head of the city administration). Another presidential decree relieved Chernovitsky of the office "head of the Kiev State Administration", while still preserving the post of Kiev mayor.
Popov stated early 2011 "we've definitely limited the activity of the city council
and the mayor to some extent". In November 2010 Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
compared Chernovetsky to the Queen of England
, saying he had a title but no official decision-making role. The Azarov Government
then opened several investigations into the allegedly illegal sale of city land and property by Chernovetsky's top officials and then sales of those lands to friends and there companies. By then Chernovetsky was not to be seen in Kiev and rumors appeared he was in "quasi-retirement" in Switzerland
, was seeking political asylum in Israel
or that he had secretly tendered his resignation. In a pressconference on January 28, 2011 Prime Minister
Azarov
asked Popov “to find by all means” Chernovetsky "to bring him back to the work". According to UNIAN Azarov "could not suppress a laugh" when asked about Chernovetsky. Popov has stated he last met with the mayor toward the end of 2010. Chernovetsky's spokeswoman Marta Hrymska told The Associated Press on 8 February 2011 in a phone text message that the mayor resumed duties after a vacation in Georgia
. Commentators suggested that by failing to fulfill his duties, Chernovetsky was trying to force President Yanukovich to stop the investigations into his close aides and that Yanukovych was reluctant to see Chernovetsky go just yet and share power with a new mayor, because his protege Popov, was unlikely to get elected. On February 24, 2011 Chernovetskyi did attend a meeting of the Kiev City Council
.
On 3 August 2011 it was reported that Chernovetskyi has secretly left Ukraine and moved to Israel. According to Agence France Press, he was discovered by a crew of Ukrainian television channel 1+1 in an apartment in Tel Aviv. In a brief statement, Chernovetskyi, who was surprised they had found him, called it "an unofficial holiday". It had been reported earlier, that he has held Israeli citizenship since 1994, having run for president and for Kiev mayor while holding dual Israeli and Ukrainian citizenships in violation of Ukrainian law, which does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
) is the incumbent Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev is the elected mayor of the municipality of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, who is also normally automatically appointed as Head of the City's State Administration and Chair of the City Council....
, the capital of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Before his political career, he was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex Group and Pravex Bank
Pravex Bank
Pravex Bank is a private commercial bank based in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Founded by Leonid Chernovetsky, it was licensed by the National Bank of Ukraine in 1992....
, one of the largest banks in Ukraine.
Biography
Chernovetskyi quit school when he was 14 and went to work as a fitterMachinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
at an aviation factory, but soon returned to resume his education, graduating from the Kharkiv public school #4. From 1970 till 1972 Chernovetsky served his military obligations. In 1977 he graduated from the Kharkiv Law School (Харьковский юридический институт) with specialization in jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
. He worked as the senior detective in the prosecutor's office of Kiev Oblast
Kiev Oblast
Kyiv Oblast, sometimes written as Kiev Oblast is an oblast in central Ukraine.The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Kyiv , also being the capital of Ukraine...
. In 1981, he returned to Kharkiv Law School attending aspirantura and obtained his doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in 1984 with a dissertation about Methods of investigation of plunders conducted by officials. Until 1989 he was a teacher at Kiev University
Kiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
.
Soon after perestroyka, he went into private business, becoming one of the earliest big businesspeople in Kiev. He founded the Pravex Group . Later the banking division of the Pravex Group rose into the Pravex Bank
Pravex Bank
Pravex Bank is a private commercial bank based in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Founded by Leonid Chernovetsky, it was licensed by the National Bank of Ukraine in 1992....
- one of the largest banks in Ukraine, possessing a dense network of offices in Kiev and other regions. In 2001, Chernovestkyi and his bank founded the "Kiev Bank Union
Kiev Bank Union
The Kiev Bank Union is a banking association created in 1994 by twenty commercial banks operating in the city of Kiev, Ukraine, for the purpose of cooperation between Kiev's financial institutions, and to manage collective interaction with authorities...
" banking association. Pravex Bank was sold in 2008 to Banca Intesa São Paulo for 509 million euros. Chernovetskyi has acknowledged giving millions in bribes during his days as a businessman.
On August 18, 2008 President Victor Yushchenko granted him the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, though it was harshly opposed by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
who urged to "stop granting decorations to corruptionists".
Chernovestkyi is a member of the Embassy of God
Embassy of God
Embassy of God is a Charismatic Protestant church and parachurch organization in Kiev, Ukraine. It was founded and is led by pastor Sunday Adelaja, who is an immigrant from Nigeria...
, an evangelical church
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
founded by Nigerian immigrant Sunday Adelaja
Sunday Adelaja
Sunday Adelaja is the founder and senior pastor of the Embassy of God, an evangelical-charismatic megachurch in Kiev, Ukraine. He immigrated to the USSR and Belarus as a scholarship student from Nigeria in 1986 to study journalism...
. He is also a longtime philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
of Kiev, caring for the city's old and poor.
In January 2009 Chernovitskyi bought FC Arsenal Kyiv
FC Arsenal Kyiv
FC Arsenal Kyiv is a professional football club from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.-History:In the 1950s, a different club under the same name Arsenal Kyiv won the 1958 Ukrainian SSR Championship. However in 1963 the club was renamed to "Temp Kyiv". In 1964 the club was replaced by FC Dynamo-2 Kyiv...
for 1 Hryvnia from Ukrainian businessman Vadim Rabinovich
Vadim Rabinovich
Vadim Zinov'evich Rabinovich Vadim Zinov'evich Rabinovich Vadim Zinov'evich Rabinovich (sometimes spelled Vadym Rabynovich is a Ukrainian businessman and president of the Ukrainian Jewish Congress....
.
In February 2009 he released a compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
with "popular songs of the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
" sung by him.
Chernovetskyi was nicknamed "Cosmos" after he publicly announced that he intends to fly in outer space with his cat. However, that name got stuck with him later due to his non-ordinary administrative and political decisions and announcements that have been viewed as "bizarre". He has sung at rallies and offered to auction off his kisses. That behavior prompted some officials to call for a medical examination into whether he is mentally healthy to govern the city. In response, Chernovetsky posed on March 18, 2009 in tight swimming trunks in front of scores of reporters to try to show he was both physically and mentally fit.
Chernovestkyi was the subject of several personal and political attacks when he took office as mayor of Kiev. Some were critical about his lack of experience and his authoritarianism. Others considered him off-balance or speculated that he has drug or alcohol problems. However, none of these accusations have been proven to date.
Controversies
Pravex Bank, one of the largest retail banks of Ukraine formerly controlled by Chernovestkyi and his family, was rumoured to submit its new employees to a polygraph test and to use coercive methods to recover impaired loans. However, the Bank came out to be one of the most profitable financial institutions in Ukraine despite strong competition from foreign-owned banks.In 2003, Chernovestkyi made headlines for his links to the deaths of two pedestrians who had died on separate occasions after being run over at high speed by cars linked to Chernovetsky on the road leading to his mansion in the elite Koncha Zaspa residential neighborhood. Chernovetsky, who is a collector of expensive souped-up automobiles, was behind the wheel in the second incident; his wife was a passenger in the first. Neither Chernovetsky nor his driver has been found guilty of any wrongdoing in connection with the incidents.
On February 16, 2010 the Kiev city administration denied reports that Chernovetskyi's daughter Khrystyna Chernovetska was robbed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on February 15, 2010 after foreign media had reported that Chernovetska had €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
4.5 million worth of jewels stolen in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
In April 2011, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Chernovetskyi's son-in-law Viacheslav Suprunenko, a member of the Kiev city council's Chernovetskyi Bloc faction. According to Kyiv Post
Kyiv Post
The Kyiv Post is Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper.-History:The Kyiv Post was founded in September 1995 by an American, Jed Sunden. The paper covers politics, business and entertainment. The staff is a team of Western and Ukrainian journalists. Historically, the editorial policy has...
, he was arrested in Italy in May 2011.
Political career
Chernovetskyi is the leader of the Christian Liberal Party of UkraineChristian Liberal Party of Ukraine
Christian Liberal party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine. The party says that it is guided by the values of Christianity and the principles of Western European democracy: parliamentarism, the market economy, free labour and powerful social programs...
. He joined the party in 1996 and was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
, representing one of Kiev's constituencies. He was reelected in 1998 and 2002. During his last term (2002–2006) he was a member of the Committee of National Budget and head of the Committee of a Control of Budget Spending. He also was a member of the Our Ukraine fraction in Parliament. In 1998-1999 Chernovestkyi was a co-chair, and in 1999-2000 the chair of the "For Beautiful Ukraine" party. From 1997 to 2001 he was a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
.
2004 presidential elections
Chernovestkyi was a self-nominated candidate in the 2004 presidential election
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 was held on October 31, November 21 and December 26, 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union...
, believed to be one of the "technical candidates" whose true mission was to assist Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
's struggle for the presidency by placing additional representatives in electoral commissions.
2006 parliamentary and mayor elections
According to the Kiev city election commission, Chernovetskyi garnered 32 percent of the vote to win the election for mayor of Kiev. Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
placed second with 24 percent and incumbent Oleksandr Omelchenko
Oleksandr Omelchenko
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Omelchenko became the mayor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in 1999. He lost his re-election bid in March 2006. Omelchenko is now member of the Verkhovna Rada elected on behalf of Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc but expelled from that fraction in September 2011....
placed third with 21 percent. Opponents say Chernovetskyi won because of a dirty campaign marred by bribing impoverished elderly voters with food; Chernovetsky has denied this. Chernovetskyi was also elected to the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
in the list of the Our Ukraine
Our Ukraine
The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc is an electoral alliance active in Ukraine, associated with former President Viktor Yushchenko. Since 2005, the bloc has been dominated by a core consisting of the People's Union "Our Ukraine" party and five smaller partner parties.The Our Ukraine Bloc is...
Bloc, but had to reject the parliamentary seat.
2008 snap Kiev local election and political unrest
Leonid Chernovetskyi won another term as Mayor of Kiev with 38% of the vote in the May 25, 2008 snap local election, called on by the Verkhovna Rada in March 2008.
2009 Klychko - Chernovetsky stand-off
On February 6, 2009, the Vitaliy Klychko Bloc
Vitaliy Klychko Bloc
UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko UDAR of Vitaliy Klychko (UDAR («УДАР»: stands for Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform ) is a political party in Ukraine headed by Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko....
stated it will apply to the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ukraine is the highest body of state executive power in Ukraine also referred to as the Government of Ukraine...
, the National Security and Defense Council, and the Kiev prosecutor's office with a request to take into consideration the unlawfulness of Kiev Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi actions and to call early mayoral elections in the city. Earlier On December 12, 2008 Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
also hinted that new early mayoral elections should be held again in Kiev. This was based on Tymoshenko's disapprove of the handling of Chernovetskyi of the local energy crises of December 2008 when the Kyivenerho power company began cutting the supply of hot water to about 5,000 homes in Kiev because of the Kiev municipal administration's failure to compensate the company for the difference between the tariffs charged by Kyivenerho and the actual cost of its services. Tymoshenko accuses Leonid Chernovetskyi of using money from the municipal budget to finance his election campaign (and so there were insufficient funds to pay Kyivenerho).
Chernovetskyi had become unpopular among the residents of Kiev. On March 13, 2009 a Verkhovna Rada temporary commission on the issues of investigating violations of legislation by the officials of the Kiev city state administration and the Kiev city council came to the conclusion that it was necessary to examine the mental and physical state of Chernovetskyi, however, the procedure could be performed against his will only under a court ruling.
Yanukovych presidency
Chernovetskyi announced in March 2009 he would participate in the Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
Ukrainian presidential election, 2010
The Ukrainian presidential election of 2010 is Ukraine's fifth presidential election since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The first round was held on January 17, 2010...
. But did not do so.
A March 2010 poll indicated that a large majority of Kiev residents (more than 89%) were unhappy with his work and would like the mayor to resign without delays (80%). On November 15, 2010 President
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Yanukovych
Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...
dismissed Leonid Chernovetskyi from the post of Head of the Kiev's State Administration and appointed Oleksandr Popov to this post. Popov is seen as Chernovetsky's replacement since he was not elected but appointed by President Viktor Yanukovich. The appointment was made possible by the Ukraine's national parliament which had amended the law on “the capital of Ukraine – hero city
Hero City
Hero City is a Soviet honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945. It was awarded to twelve cities of the Soviet Union. In addition the Brest Fortress was awarded an equivalent title of Hero-Fortress...
of Kiev” on September 7, 2010 making it possible for the President to appoint the chairman of the city administration at his discretion (before the amendments the elected Kiev mayor was automatically appointed head of the city administration). Another presidential decree relieved Chernovitsky of the office "head of the Kiev State Administration", while still preserving the post of Kiev mayor.
Popov stated early 2011 "we've definitely limited the activity of the city council
Kiev City Council
Kiev City Council or Kyivrada is the city council of Kiev municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kievans and the council is chaired by the Mayor of Kiev .The council meets in a 1950s City Council building...
and the mayor to some extent". In November 2010 Prime Minister Mykola Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
compared Chernovetsky to the Queen of England
Queen of England
Queen of England may refer to:* Any of the female monarchs of England* Any wife of a male monarch of England who functioned as his official consort during his reign; see List of English consorts...
, saying he had a title but no official decision-making role. The Azarov Government
Azarov Government
The first Azarov Government was appointed on March 11, 2010 as part of the "Stability and Reform" coalition between the Party of Regions, Lytvyn Bloc and the Communist Party of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament...
then opened several investigations into the allegedly illegal sale of city land and property by Chernovetsky's top officials and then sales of those lands to friends and there companies. By then Chernovetsky was not to be seen in Kiev and rumors appeared he was in "quasi-retirement" in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, was seeking political asylum in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
or that he had secretly tendered his resignation. In a pressconference on January 28, 2011 Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
Azarov
Mykola Azarov
Mykola Yanovych Azarov ; born Nikolai Yanovich Pakhlo on 17 December 1947, is a Ukrainian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine since 11 March 2010. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007, and he also served as acting...
asked Popov “to find by all means” Chernovetsky "to bring him back to the work". According to UNIAN Azarov "could not suppress a laugh" when asked about Chernovetsky. Popov has stated he last met with the mayor toward the end of 2010. Chernovetsky's spokeswoman Marta Hrymska told The Associated Press on 8 February 2011 in a phone text message that the mayor resumed duties after a vacation in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. Commentators suggested that by failing to fulfill his duties, Chernovetsky was trying to force President Yanukovich to stop the investigations into his close aides and that Yanukovych was reluctant to see Chernovetsky go just yet and share power with a new mayor, because his protege Popov, was unlikely to get elected. On February 24, 2011 Chernovetskyi did attend a meeting of the Kiev City Council
Kiev City Council
Kiev City Council or Kyivrada is the city council of Kiev municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The members of city council are directly elected by Kievans and the council is chaired by the Mayor of Kiev .The council meets in a 1950s City Council building...
.
On 3 August 2011 it was reported that Chernovetskyi has secretly left Ukraine and moved to Israel. According to Agence France Press, he was discovered by a crew of Ukrainian television channel 1+1 in an apartment in Tel Aviv. In a brief statement, Chernovetskyi, who was surprised they had found him, called it "an unofficial holiday". It had been reported earlier, that he has held Israeli citizenship since 1994, having run for president and for Kiev mayor while holding dual Israeli and Ukrainian citizenships in violation of Ukrainian law, which does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship.