Mykola Yanovych Azarov (; ; né Pakhlo,

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukrainian politician who was the

Prime Minister of Ukraine The prime minister of Ukraine (, , ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the government of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the government of Ukrain ...

from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007. Azarov also served ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' as an acting prime minister in the

First Yanukovych Government The first Yanukovych Government was the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers between 21 November 2002 and 5 January 2005, led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych had been elected Prime Minister of Ukraine with 234 votes, only 8 more than n ...

when

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 ...

ran for president at first and then upon the resignation of his government. Following the victory of

in the 2010 presidential election, Azarov succeeded Yanukovych as leader of the

Party of Regions A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

and was appointed as prime minister in March 2010. In January 2014, after weeks of

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 ...

protests and the 2014 Hrushevskoho Street riots, Azarov offered his letter of resignation. After the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

, Azarov fled to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and according to Azarov himself, was allegedly offered "political refugee status on the personal instructions of Vladimir Putin". Since then he has been reportedly living in the vicinity of the Russian village of Petrovo-Dalneye, near

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 ...

. Since July 2014, Azarov has been on the international wanted list for alleged abuse of power. On 19 January 2015 Kyiv District Court of Pechersk Raion issued an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

as a preventive measure to allow for the extradition of Azarov from the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Azarov is currently the subject of international sanctions from the U.S., European Union, Norway, Canada, and Switzerland due to his role in the

. In 2015, he set up the Ukraine Salvation Committee, a

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

that was widely seen as a pro-Russian puppet.

Early life, education and career

Azarov was born in

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

on 17 December 1947 in the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

,
to a half- Russian and half- Estonian father, Jaan Pahlo, and a Russian mother, Yekaterina Pavlovna Kvasnikova, as Nikolay Pakhlo. When he married his wife, Lyudmila Azarova, he took her name. Azarov attended the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

where he earned his doctorate in geology and

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

in 1973. He worked at the Tulaugol coal enterprise until 1976. Azarov moved to

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

permanently in 1984 to become deputy director of the Ukrainian State Geological Institute, that he went on to head. In 1984–1995 he was a deputy director and director of Ukraine's State Research and Design Institute of Mining Geology and Geomechanics. In 1991 he was hired as a professor at Donetsk National Technical University.

Political career

Parliamentary career

In 1994 Azarov was elected member of the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

(the Ukrainian parliament) for the first time, representing the Petroskiy electoral district, located in the city of

. In 1995–1997 he served as head of the parliament's Committee on Budgets while also sitting on the Verkhovna Rada's presidium. In parliament, he belonged to an inter-regional group of MPs supporting then-

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine (, ) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties. ...

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma (, ; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine, serving from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. The only president of Ukraine to serve two terms, his presidency was marked by demo ...

. In 1995, while carrying on as an MP, Azarov was appointed an adviser to the currency council of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. In 1996 he became Chairman of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine.

Head of State Tax Administration

Azarov was a long-term (1996–2002) head of the State Tax Administration. During this period tax inspections were used to limit the freedom of the press in Ukraine. On tapes made during the Cassette Scandal Azarov is heard speaking on recordings, secretly recorded in Kuchma's office by Kuchma's bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko, about using his position as the head of the tax authority to pressure officials to ensure Kuchma's reelection in 1999. Critics also stated that the recordings implicated Azarov in other corrupt schemes, including allegedly covering up graft at the state natural gas company Naftogaz, aiding the demise of the Slaviansk Bank (which was connected to

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( Hrihyan born 27 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005, and again from 2007 until 2010; the first and only woman in Ukraine to hold that position. She has been ...

's natural gas company United Energy Systems of Ukraine) and illegal funding of Kuchma's 1999 election campaign. Azarov has vehemently refuted all these allegations. In 2002, he accused Slavyansk Bank president Borys Feldman of being behind the Cassette Scandal recordings.

First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister

In 2001 he became the head of the Party of Regions but resigned from the post in less than a year. In 2003 Azarov was elected chairman of the Party of Regions political council. In 2002, the European Choice parliamentary group nominated him for the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's post. Still, he declined, standing aside for

, who assumed both the leadership of the Party of Regions and the Prime Minister's job. Azarov was appointed First Vice Prime Minister and

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

in late November 2002, when the

first Yanukovych Government The first Yanukovych Government was the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers between 21 November 2002 and 5 January 2005, led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych had been elected Prime Minister of Ukraine with 234 votes, only 8 more than n ...

took office. During the first Yanukovych Government governing the set of economic reforms was implemented including fiscal, tax, pensionary, regulatory reforms. During Azarov's first term as Finance Minister, the annual GDP growth was 9.6% in 2003 and 12.1% in 2004 (cf. 2.7% in 2005) in Ukraine, with capital investments of 31.3% and 28.0% (cf. 1.9% in 2005). Azarov first served as acting prime minister from 7 December 2004 to 28 December 2004, after Yanukovych was put on vacation leave by President Kuchma in the midst of the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution () was a series of protests that led to political upheaval in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005. It gained momentum primarily due to the initiative of the general population, sparked by the aftermath of the ...

. After the runoff, Yanukovych attempted to resume his duties as prime minister, but effectively unable to do so, announced his resignation on 31 December 2004, and Azarov was named acting prime minister again. The Yanukovych Cabinet was officially dismissed on 5 January 2005. Azarov continued as acting prime minister until shortly after the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

, when

was appointed prime minister on 24 January 2005. Azarov remained a strong political ally of Yanukovych, and again became a member of parliament for the Party of Regions after the 2006 Parliamentary elections. When Yanukovych became prime minister again on 4 August 2006, Azarov was elected the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister in the second Yanukovych Government.

Prime minister

Following his election as

offered three candidates for

on 21 February 2010: Sergei Tigipko, Our Ukraine faction member Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Azarov. Azarov had headed Yanukovych's election campaign during the 2010 Presidential elections. The Verkhovna Rada appointed Azarov

on 11 March 2010. Of the 343 lawmakers registered in the session hall, 242 voted in favor of the appointment. The following month he was elected head of the

. In 28 October 2012 parliamentary election he was (re)-elected into parliament heading the party list of Party of Regions. Following Azarov's resignation as prime minister on 3 December 2012 (after several cabinet members including Azirov were elected to parliament in the previous election, something which obliged them to give up their ministerial mandates) his cabinet stayed on as

caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...

from 3 December 2012.
On 5 December President Yanukovych stated "Azarov has good chances of remaining prime minister, (but) a lot will depend on whom he brings to his team". On 9 December Yanukovych nominated him for a new term as prime minister. This nomination was approved by parliament on 13 December 2012. On 24 December 2012 the second Azarov Government was appointed by President Yanukovych.

Resignation as Prime Minister

Azarov resigned on 28 January 2014 amid heavy riots and the

protests. According to his cabinet, Azarov was quoted saying that "To create additional opportunities for socio-political compromise, for the sake of the peaceful settlement of the conflict, I have made a personal decision to ask the Ukrainian president to accept my resignation from the post of Ukrainian prime minister". Yevhen Murayev told Dmitry Gordon that he took the fleeing Azarov out of Ukraine from

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

to Belgorod during the events of Maidan. Azarov flew to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

to join family members in a private jet hours after quitting. As of 23 February 2014 Azarov is based in the

. On 29 March 2014, during a party congress, Azarov was expelled from the

Post-resignation

On 3 August 2015, Azarov announced the creation of the Ukraine Salvation Committee (Комитет спасения Украины) set up outside

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(in

), seeking to have "all citizens, political parties, labor union and social movements to unite and restore order in our home by joint efforts" and to change Ukraine's leadership. The committee's chairman and its choice for

is Volodymyr Oliynyk. Azarov claimed he could not name all members of the committee because some lived in Ukraine and it would be dangerous to disclose their names.Ex-PM Azarov, In Moscow, Proclaims 'Salvation Committee' For Ukraine

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(3 August 2015)

Interpol Red Notice

As of 12 January 2015, Azarov has had an Interpol Red Notice issued, along with ex-President

and former Minister of Finance Yuriy Kolobov, on charges of 'Misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion of property by malversation, if committed in respect of an especially gross amount, or by an organized group.' Since 3 July 2014, Azarov is in the international wanted list for abuse of power.Ukraine accuses Russia of breaking CIS agreements over Yanukovych extradition

Interfax-Ukraine Interfax-Ukraine () is a Ukrainian news agency. Founded in 1992, the company publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. The company owns a 50-seat press centre. The staff of the agency is 105 people (as of the end of February 2022) ...

(12 January 2015)

Family

Azarov's son, Oleksiy, was a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

candidate in Sloviansk for the

during the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election. He was elected into

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. In April 2014, Austrian authorities began an investigation of Oleksiy Azarov, among several other Ukrainians close to the former government, on money-laundering suspicions. Austrian banks reported suspicious capital flows earlier in 2014.

Cultural and political image

Azarov speaks Ukrainian poorly.
Still, he assured his constituents in early March 2010 that his government would be speaking Ukrainian. Nevertheless his attempts to speak Ukrainian in public have led to the humorous term " Azirivka" for his blunders. In April 2011, he stated: "I feel one hundred percent Ukrainian". In an 11 March 2010 article the UK daily ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' labeled him the most Russophile member of the new cabinet. In the same article, an anonymous Ukrainian official noted, "He's extremely boring and anti- populist". A November 2010 Razumkov Centre nationwide survey showed that only 13.2 percent of respondents fully support his government while 45 percent stated they did not. On 13 December 2012, during the parliamentary discussion of Azarov's candidacy for the

People's Deputy of Ukraine A people's deputy of Ukraine (, ) is a member of parliament and legislator elected by Direct election, popular vote to the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine. They are often referred to simply as "deputies". Prior to 1991, the Verkhovna R ...

Iryna Farion publicly asked for clarification on the reason for Azarov's inability to master the state language. On that the candidate to the prime minister of Ukraine replied that he agreed to improve his Ukrainian.

Views on society

Azarov had the Prime Ministerial office blessed by a priest from

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra or Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra (), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic lavra or large monastery of Eastern Christianity that gave its name to the Pecherskyi District where it is located in Kyiv. Sin ...

soon after he was elected prime minister in 2010. Azarov stated in March 2010 there were no female ministers in the Azarov Government because "Reforms do not fall into women's competence", while adding that he greatly respects women.
After criticism from female politicians at home and abroad, Azarov explained that he meant he would not wish any woman, especially if she has children, to work more than 15 hours a day as a Ukrainian minister does. In response Ukrainian women's rights groups filed different court cases against him. Azarov stated in May 2010 that corruption was one of the biggest problems of Ukraine, "We must combat not just instances of corruption, but totally corrupt systems". In a 22 January 2021

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

post on the occasion of the Day of Unity of Ukraine celebrating the 1919 symbolic unification of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

and the

West Ukrainian People's Republic The West Ukrainian People's Republic (; West Ukrainian People's Republic#Name, see other names) was a short-lived state that controlled most of Eastern Galicia from November 1918 to July 1919. It included major cities of Lviv, Ternopil, Kolom ...

, Azarov claimed that instead, the 1939 Soviet annexation of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia should be recognized as the day Ukraine gained "the real unity of Ukraine". According to Azarov "many Ukrainians, do not know these facts, because now the Soviet period of Ukraine is smeared with black paint, and Bandera is glorified and glorified."Unity Day: reflections of politicians, non-politicians and Azarov
Historisna Pravda (22 January 2021)

Notes

References

External links

* (broken)
Web page of Mykola Azarov
(broken) , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Azarov, Mykola 1947 births Acting prime ministers of Ukraine Chevaliers of the Order of Merit (Ukraine) Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Finance ministers of Ukraine First vice prime ministers of Ukraine Fugitives wanted by Ukraine Living people Moscow State University alumni Party of Labor (Ukraine) politicians Party of Regions politicians People from Kaluga Pro-government people of the Euromaidan Prime ministers of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Seventh convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada 20th-century Ukrainian economists Ukrainian people of Estonian descent Ukrainian people of Russian descent Laureates of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Ukrainian collaborators with Russia Corresponding members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Exiled Ukrainian politicians