Aleksei Mikhailovich Chaly (; born 13 June 1961) is a businessman and the former ''de facto'' mayor of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

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

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

. With Chaly as mayor, Sevastopol participated in the March 2014 referendum, which was followed by the formal annexation of Crimea by Russia. On 1 April 2014, he was appointed as the governor of Sevastopol by Russia. On 14 April, he was replaced by Sergey Menyaylo.

Biography

Chaly was born on 13 June 1961 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

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

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

when he was one year old. Chaly graduated from the Sevastopol National Technical University. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...

movement that ousted the Ukrainian government from power in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

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

Taras Kuzio Taras Kuzio is a Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( Kyiv, Ukraine). His area of study is Russian and Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. Education Taras Kuzio is of Ukrainian de ...

M.E. Sharpe M. E. Sharpe, Inc., an academic publisher, was founded by Myron Emanuel 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 jou ...

, 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 (, ; born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician of Armenian descent who served as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 2014 to 2021. He was the Chairman of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration from ...

. 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 Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

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 has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

and Crimean prime minister

Sergey Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (; ; ; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving as the head of the Republic of Crimea since 9 October 2014, a territory internationally recognised as part of Ukraine. Biography Sergey Aksyonov was ...

. In March 2014, the Security Service of Ukraine 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 Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News () is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business and financial information, and a photo reporting service. As of October 2022, it was the most v ...

. 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 Espreso TV () is an Internet television station in Ukraine that started to operate in November 2013. Espreso TV enabled the Euromaidan protests to be broadcast worldwide. Ownership The channel is owned by the media company Goldberry LLC.

(14 April 2014)

Sanctions

Chaly was sanctioned by the British government in 2014 as a result of the annexation of Crimea.

References

External links

Biography of Chaly
at the Sevastopol News
The Sevastopol city council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaly, Aleksei 1961 births Living people Businesspeople from Moscow Politicians from Moscow Russian activists 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 United Kingdom sanctions Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions