You're reading: Sidelined for two years, ‘Lyonya Cosmos’ signs off

Kyiv's eccentric mayor resigned June 2 after more than two years of conspicuos absence as the capital's head.

Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky announced his resignation on June 1, two days before the end of his second term and two years after President Viktor Yanukovych sidelined him.

Chernovetsky has been city mayor since 2006, becoming one of the most controversial and extravagant politicians, nicknamed “Lyonya Cosmos” for his erratic governing style.

Popular at the beginning of his first term, Chernovetsky lost support of 91.3 percent of Kyivans by March 2010, according to a poll conducted by the Institute of Politics, amid criticism and accusations of mass corruption and fraud involving the sale of vast tracts of Kyiv land.

Meanwhile, the date of the next mayoral election in Ukraine’s capital remains uncertain.

Chernovestky’s resignation is expected to go in effect on July 12, the date of the next Kyiv city council meeting. If his resignation is accepted, the speaker of the city council, Halyna Hereha, will be acting mayor until the date for the next elections is set.

According to law, the date of the next election has to be set by parliament after the city council accepts the mayor’s resignation. Since the Verkhovna Rada will be on summer vacation from July 6 to Sept. 4, the date is likely to remain uncertain until at least autumn.

Olexandr Yefremov, head of the Party of Regions faction in parliament, said it is likely that mayor elections will be held in 2013, simultaneous with city council elections.

Chernovetsky has been conspicuously absent from his duties and the public eye since the autumn of 2010. Yanukovych appointed Olexandr Popov, a loyalist member of the ruling Party of Regions, as his first deputy.

Parliament then changed the law, separating the posts of Kyiv city mayor and head of the city administration. While Chernovetsky remained mayor with mostly ceremonial functions, Popov was appointed head of the city administration by Yanukovych and assumed power.

On March 31, 2011 Popov announced that the capital lost almost $9 billion through fraud and embezzlement during Chernovetsky’s time in office. However, no charges were pressed against the ousted mayor or his deputies, most of whom have also disappeared from the public eye.

Some analysts, like Vadym Karasyov, predict that Chernovetsky will run for parliament in the Oct. 28 elections. Chernovetsky, a multimillionaire former banker, did not comment and is believed to be living abroad.

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at
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