Leonid Chernovetzky Mayor of Kyiv Date of Birth: 25.12.1951 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Leonid Chernovetsky

Leonid Mikhailovich Chernovetsky, the former mayor of Kyiv, was born on December 25, 1951, in Kharkiv. He served in the army and graduated from the Kharkiv Law Institute in 1977. From 1977 to 1981, he worked as an investigator and senior investigator at the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office. After defending his candidate dissertation, Chernovetsky pursued a career in academia. From 1984 to 1985, he worked as a lecturer and from 1985 to 1990, he held the position of Deputy Rector for Scientific Work at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He was also a docent at the Department of Criminology and a doctoral student at the same university.

In 1990, Chernovetsky organized and became the head of the commercial, advisory, and research center "Pravex," which later transformed into a conglomerate with the same name. From 1990 to 1992, he served as the general director of the commercial, advisory, and research center "Pravex," and from 1992 to 1996, he was the president of the conglomerate.

Chernovetsky also had a political career, serving as an external advisor to the President of Ukraine from April 1997 to January 2000, and as a member of the Higher Economic Council of the President from July 1997 to November 2001. He became the President of the "Kyiv Banking Union" association in 2001 and held various positions in the political parties "For a Beautiful Ukraine" and "Party of Regional Renaissance - Labor Solidarity of Ukraine."

Currently, Chernovetsky serves as a member of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) and is a member of the budget committee. He is known for his advocacy of financial and banking interests. While some of his proposed legislation aims to bring civilized market attributes to the banking sector in Ukraine, many others reflect his direct business interests as a banker.

Chernovetsky's personal life includes his wife Alina Chernovetska (maiden name Aivazova), who is a lawyer and the vice president of the "Pravex" conglomerate. They have two children, son Stepan and daughter Kristina, who work as managers at "Pravex Bank."

In November 2003, Chernovetsky was involved in a fatal accident where he ran over a 20-year-old resident of the Poltava region with his Mercedes. Earlier, in April 2003, another incident occurred involving a Mercedes belonging to the conglomerate, which hit an 11-year-old boy in a suburban area near Kyiv. Chernovetsky did not deny that the car belonged to his conglomerate, which owned thousands of vehicles. However, both cases were quickly swept under the rug, and during a journalistic investigation, it was revealed that all information regarding the incidents was blocked by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Rumors circulated that Chernovetsky's wife, Alina Aivazova, was in the car. It was suggested that the suppression of information was due to pressure from influential individuals who could seek revenge.

Interestingly, Alina Aivazova herself was also involved in another intriguing religious case. She was purportedly a staunch supporter of one of the non-traditional churches and had business and religious connections with Sandey Adeladji, a black preacher who led a powerful sectarian religious structure called the "Ambassador of God." This organization resembled a recruitment camp, as it operated similarly to the "White Brotherhood" with the principle of indoctrinating the congregation.