Mykhailo Dobkin
Mykhailo Markovych Dobkin (; ; born 26 January 1970) is a Ukrainian politician, former governor of Kharkiv Oblast, former mayor of Kharkiv, and a former deputy of the Ukrainian parliament. Early life. Dobkin was born to a Jewish father and Ukrainian mother in Kharkiv. He graduated from the National University of Internal Affairs (degree in law) and Kharkiv National Economic University (majoring in international economics). Business career. From 1993 till 2002 Dobkin was an entrepreneur and director of several businesses. In his 2015 tax declaration Dobkin stated that he owned 12 luxury cars. Political career. In the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary  election Dobkin was elected People's Deputy of Ukraine. First he was a member of the faction of For United Ukraine, later in the faction of Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united), and ended his time in the legislature in the faction of Party of Regions. Since late 2005 Dobkin is a member of the political council of Party of Regions. From March 2006 to March 2010 Dobkin was Mayor of Kharkiv. In March 2010 President Viktor Yanukovych appointed Dobkin Governor of Kharkiv Oblast. In 2014, he formed a "Ukrainian Front" organisation, in support of President Viktor Yanukovych, stating the  intention to "clean and purify our Ukrainian land of those who come here with plans for occupation." In February 2014, Dobkin called for Ukraine’s capital to be moved from Kyiv to Kharkiv, and for a federal structure of government to be established in Ukraine. He also claimed that by late February 2014 "all peaceful protesters of Euromaidan had left" and that with the remaining protesters "Negotiations with them will be to no avail. They need to disarm, and those who resist and kill people physically destroyed". After Yanukovich was forced out of power Dobkin was a major participant in  a meeting of local officials in Eastern Ukraine which questioned the legality of the new government's actions and declared local officials would take responsibility for their own regions until order was restored. Dobkin was later reported to have fled to Russia along with the mayor of Kharkiv Hennadiy Kernes, but he returned to attend a pro-Russian rally in the city. Late February 2014 he indicated that he intended to run for president in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential election due to his concerns regarding the behavior of the revolutionary government towards the Russophone population. Dobkin tendered his resignation as  governor on 26 February 2014 "following my decision to run for the office of the President of Ukraine". On 2 March 2014 a decree by acting President Oleksandr Turchynov formally dismissed Dobkin. On 10 March 2014 Dobkin was arrested on charges of leading a separatist movement. On 20 August 2014 "in the absence of corpus delicti" Dobkin's criminal case was closed. On 25 March Dobkin filed documents to the Central Election Commission to run for presidency. On 29 March a Party of Regions convention supported Dobkin's nomination as a presidential candidate. During the election campaign Dobkin advocated a  federalization of Ukraine's oblasts, Ukraine joining the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, "rapid restoration of friendly and partnership relations with Russia, as well as the creation of a common humanitarian space", "defending the joint Russian-Ukrainian history, culture and traditions", maintaining Ukraine's neutral status, tax relief in the agricultural sector over the next 15 years and the formation of an army purely on contract basis. In the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election he received 3.03% of the vote, ranking 6th among all candidates. In the October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Dobkin was again re-elected into parliament ; this time after placing third on the electoral list of Opposition Bloc. On 13 July 2017 the Ukrainian parliament stripped Dobkin of his parliamentary immunity. He is suspected of abuse of office and assistance to fraud in order to get ownership of 78 hectares of land in Kharkiv worth more than $8.5 million. Two days later a Kyiv court ruled Dobkin should be remanded in custody until 14 September 2017 and granted bail at 50 million hryvnia (at the time about US$1.9 million). On 19 July, members of the Opposition Bloc posted his $1.9 million bail. Dobkin  withdrew himself from the Opposition Bloc in October 2017 because he did not like how the party voted for judicial reform. He was the leader of his party, The Party of Christian Socialists which he had founded in February 2018. In June 2019, he joined Opposition Bloc — Party for Peace and Development, with his party. But in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election he did not win a seat because this party did not cross the 5% election barrier. Although in July 2020 Dobkin had announced his candidacy for the post of Mayor of Kyiv in the 2020 Kyiv local election  he stated in September 2020 he had submitted documents for the registration as a candidate for the position of Kharkiv mayor in the 2020 Kharkiv local election (also set for 25 October 2020). But on 4 October 2020 he withdrew his candidacy for the post of Kharkiv mayor in favor of incumbent Mayor Hennadiy Kernes. Kernes died on 17 December 2020. A snap mayoral election in Kharkiv was set on 31 October 2021 to determinate Kernes successor. In this election Dobkin (again) was a mayoral candidate. On 29 September 2021 Opposition Platform — For Life announced it supported Dobkin in the  mayoral election. The election commission declared Terekhov the winner of the election with 50.66% of the votes. Dobkin finished the race in second place with 28.4% of the vote. Dobkin condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on its second day (25 February 2022). On 17 March 2022 Dobkin posted a video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his Instagram page and signed it with the comment "[He is] ours". Personal life. Dobkin is married and has four children; a son and three daughters. Since they met in 1998 Dobkin was a close friend of Hennadiy Kernes, who was his successor  as Mayor of Kharkiv in 2010 until his death in 2020. A video (containing swearing) leaked in 2007 of Kernes instructing Dobkin is famous in Ukraine and created several catchphrases. Dobkin's younger brother Dmytro Dobkin was since the 2012 parliamentary election, People's Deputy of Ukraine for the Party of Regions, and since the 2014 parliamentary election for Opposition Bloc. In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Dmytro Dobkin was also not re-elected. Dobkin is widely known as "Dopa".