Rouslan Borysovych Bodelan ( uk, Руслан Борисович Боделан, russian: link=no, Руслан Борисович Боделан; born 4 April 1942 in Berezivka village, Podilsk Raion,

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administr ...

) is a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and Ukrainian politician.

Biography

Soviet times

Rouslan Bodelan started his career in 1959 as a sports coach/teacher in a secondary school. In 1961 he began his work at the "Odessilbud" construction company (within its Construction and Field Assembly Department #14) in Balta. Since 1964 Bodelan is active in politics, being member and functionary in

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

, Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other Soviet organizations. In 1965, he became a First Secretary (Head) of Kiliia Raion Komsomol Organization. His top position in CPSU was the First Secretary of

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern sho ...

Regional Committee, which he occupied in April 1990.

Career in independent Ukraine

On 3 April 1990 Bodelan was elected member of the

''Soviet'' (council). He was later elected a chairman of this council and was occupying this position up to April 1998. Simultaneously, Bodelan was a head of

State Administration (i.e. governor) in July 1995 – May 1998, member of the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(parliament) of Ukraine in 1994–1998, a member of Maritime Policy Commission under

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 ...

in 1995–1998, head of the Commonwealth of

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , ...

States' Executive Group in 1996–1997. In August 1998 Bodelan was elected a mayor of

city. He was re-elected as mayor in 2002, but election results were challenged in courts. In 2005 an Odesa court ruled the elections void and proclaimed

Eduard Gurvits Eduard Yosipovich Gurvits ( uk, Едуард Йосипович Гурвіц; russian: Эдуард Иосифович Гурвиц; yi, רד יאָסיפּאָוויטש גוּרוויץ, translit=Eduard Iosipovitsh Gurvitz; born 30 January 1 ...

a legal Mayor of Odesa. While mayor Bodelan allegedly took active part in a wide-range electoral fraud in favor of pro-government candidates during the 2004 presidential election. After the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

he fled to Russia. An investigation of his mayoral activities was opened soon after, Bodelan was charged with abuse of office.

Immigration and return

Bodelan is currently wanted under an

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

search warrant,Odesa prosecutor's office not confirming closure of criminal case against ex-mayor Bodelan

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

(20 April 2010) but Russian authorities refuse to extradite him. He was granted

Russian citizenship Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Russia. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation", which came into force on 1 July 2002. ...

in 2006 (which automatically revokes his Ukrainian citizenship) and a position of deputy director of the

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Sea Port. Bodelan refused to return to Ukraine voluntarily, claiming he is afraid of political prosecution by supporters of former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

. On 9 April 2010 the ex-mayor returned to Odesa.

Awards

Rouslan Bodelan was awarded with a number of Soviet and Ukrainian decorations and medals, including

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the ...

, "Decoration of Honour" Order, Order of Merits III grade, order of St. Volodymyr II grade.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodelan, Rouslan 1942 births Living people People from Odesa Oblast Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) politicians Politicians of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic First convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Mayors of Odesa Governors of Odesa Oblast Heads of government who were later imprisoned Ukrainian emigrants to Russia