Aleksei Mikhailovich Chaly (russian: Алексей Михайлович Чалый; born 13 June 1961) is a businessman and formerly ''de facto'' mayor of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. He declared himself mayor in February 2014, amidst the Crimean crisis, after the resignation of Volodymyr Yatsuba, the

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

-appointed mayor. With Chaly as mayor, Sevastopol participated in the March 2014 referendum in which

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

voted to separate itself politically from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

and accede to Russia. On 1 April 2014 he was appointed as Governor of Sevastopol City by Russia. On 14 April, he was replaced by

Sergey Menyaylo Sergey Ivanovich Menyaylo (Russian: Сергей Иванович Меняйло, os, Меняйло Сергей Иваны фырт; born 22 August 1960) is a Russian politician. He has been acting Head of the Republic of North Ossetia since ...

Biography

Chaly was born on 13 June 1961 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to students of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Parents: inventor and scientist Michail Chaly, mother Alevtina Chalaya, Candidate of Engineering, university professor. Grandson to Soviet vice-admiral Vasily Chaly, hero of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a Theater (warfare), theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Polish Armed Forces in the East, Poland and other Allies of World War II, Allies, which encom ...

, Commander-In-Chief of the Black Sea Squadron (1956–1961). The family moved to

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

when he was one year old. Chaly graduated from the

Sevastopol National Technical University Sevastopol State University (formerly Sevastopol National Technical University (SevNTU), Sevastopol Instrument Engineering Institute (SIEI)) is a university in Sevastopol, Crimea. History Sevastopol Instrument Engineering Institute was founded ...

. Since 1987 he has been the head of "Tavrida Electric", producing switchgear and anti-wreck technology. At the moment of political crisis in Ukraine in 2014 he had Russian citizenship. He was involved with restoration of the memorials of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, producing the documentary series "Sevastopol Tales". In 2011 he received the international award "For faith and fidelity" as a symbol of recognition of his contribution to the Motherland.

During the Crimean crisis

On 23 February 2014, a meeting of citizens opposed to the

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

movement that ousted the Ukrainian government from power in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

led to Chaly being proclaimed as "mayor" of Sevastopol. The Sevastopol City Council handed power to Chaly on 24 February, following the resignation of Volodymyr Yatsuba as the city administrator appointed by the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

(at the time the city had no elected mayor).Contemporary Ukraine: Dynamics of Post-Soviet Transformation
by Taras Kuzio,

M.E. Sharpe M. E. Sharpe, Inc., an academic publisher, was founded by Myron Sharpe in 1958 with the original purpose of publishing translations from Russian in the social sciences and humanities. These translations were published in a series of journals, the ...

, 1998, (page 44) On 26 February, Chaly declared that Sevastopol would not submit to orders of the acting leader of the Ukrainian home office,

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of ...

. Simultaneously, he invited officers of the officially disbanded Berkut riot police unit to the city. He said that they can become a basis for future defence groups in the city. Chaly visited the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

on 18 March 2014 to sign the Treaty on Accession of the Republic of Crimea to Russia together with Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...

and Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov.Ukraine crisis: Putin signs Russia-Crimea treaty
BBC, 18 March 2014 In March 2014, the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainia ...

has announced an investigation into Chaly for allegedly steering some ₴23.9 million from his charitable organisation to bankroll anti-Ukraine activity.Launched investigation concerning the "people's mayor" of Sevastopol – SBU

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

. 18 March 2014 On 1 April 2014 he was appointed as acting Governor of Sevastopol City by Russia and occupied this position till 14 April 2014, when he resigned and was replaced by Sergey Menyaylo.Putin ignored the "People's Mayor" Sevastopol and appoint to the post a Russian Admiral
Espreso TV (14 April 2014)

References

External links

Biography of Chaly
at the Sevastopol News
The Sevastopol city council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaly, Aleksei 1961 births Living people People from Sevastopol Russian activists Place of birth missing (living people) People of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 1st class Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions