By David M. Herszenhorn, NY Times, May 30, 2015
MOSCOW–President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine on Saturday appointed the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, as governor of the Odessa region, turning to a longtime nemesis of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for help governing an area coveted by pro-Russian separatists.
Mr. Poroshenko announced the appointment of Mr. Saakashvili during a visit to Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea, calling him a “great friend of Ukraine.” He has also granted Mr. Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship.
Mr. Saakashvili replaces Ihor Palytsia, who was appointed governor in May 2014 after more than 40 people, most of them pro-Russian separatists, died in a fire in Odessa during clashes with pro-Western street demonstrators. Mr. Palytsia is an ally of Igor V. Kolomoisky, a billionaire and former governor of Dnipropetrovsk.
Mr. Kolomoisky was dismissed from his own governor’s position after clashing with Mr. Poroshenko this year as the president began a “deoligarchization” campaign aimed at reducing the power and influence of Ukraine’s wealthiest businessmen.
The appointment of Mr. Saakashvili was immediately interpreted in Ukraine as a message to Mr. Kolomoisky as well as a jab at Mr. Putin. Mr. Saakashvili and Mr. Putin have an animosity that dates to before the brief war fought between Georgia and Russia in 2008.
Although Mr. Poroshenko portrayed the appointment as an effort to speed up the government overhaul in Odessa, it also highlighted the continuing challenges the Ukrainian government faces, even as it confronts a constant threat of renewed warfare on the Russian border.
It is increasingly clear that there is insufficient domestic capacity for implementing wide-scale changes, and the Ukrainian public’s general willingness to accept the appointment of foreigners to high-level positions underscores the deep lack of trust in any government after nearly a quarter-century of mismanagement and corruption.
Like the war-torn regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, Odessa is home to a large native Russian-speaking population that has strong historical ties to Russia. The Ukrainian government has said that it has thwarted numerous planned attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the region, and Odessa so far has avoided the open warfare that has decimated the east and displaced a million or more residents.
Mr. Saakashvili has served as an adviser to Mr. Poroshenko since his election just over a year ago. Most recently, Mr. Saakashvili had served as the head of Mr. Poroshenko’s International Advisory Council of Reforms, a post he was named to in February.
In Russia, his appointment as governor of Odessa was denounced as an example of political patronage by Mr. Poroshenko, and Mr. Saakashvili was described in the Russian news media as a fugitive on the run from criminal charges in Georgia.
Mr. Saakashvili and Mr. Poroshenko are longtime acquaintances, having attended graduate school together in the early 1990s at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.
MOSCOW–President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine on Saturday appointed the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, as governor of the Odessa region, turning to a longtime nemesis of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for help governing an area coveted by pro-Russian separatists.
Mr. Poroshenko announced the appointment of Mr. Saakashvili during a visit to Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea, calling him a “great friend of Ukraine.” He has also granted Mr. Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship.
Mr. Saakashvili replaces Ihor Palytsia, who was appointed governor in May 2014 after more than 40 people, most of them pro-Russian separatists, died in a fire in Odessa during clashes with pro-Western street demonstrators. Mr. Palytsia is an ally of Igor V. Kolomoisky, a billionaire and former governor of Dnipropetrovsk.
Mr. Kolomoisky was dismissed from his own governor’s position after clashing with Mr. Poroshenko this year as the president began a “deoligarchization” campaign aimed at reducing the power and influence of Ukraine’s wealthiest businessmen.
The appointment of Mr. Saakashvili was immediately interpreted in Ukraine as a message to Mr. Kolomoisky as well as a jab at Mr. Putin. Mr. Saakashvili and Mr. Putin have an animosity that dates to before the brief war fought between Georgia and Russia in 2008.
Although Mr. Poroshenko portrayed the appointment as an effort to speed up the government overhaul in Odessa, it also highlighted the continuing challenges the Ukrainian government faces, even as it confronts a constant threat of renewed warfare on the Russian border.
It is increasingly clear that there is insufficient domestic capacity for implementing wide-scale changes, and the Ukrainian public’s general willingness to accept the appointment of foreigners to high-level positions underscores the deep lack of trust in any government after nearly a quarter-century of mismanagement and corruption.
Like the war-torn regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, Odessa is home to a large native Russian-speaking population that has strong historical ties to Russia. The Ukrainian government has said that it has thwarted numerous planned attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the region, and Odessa so far has avoided the open warfare that has decimated the east and displaced a million or more residents.
Mr. Saakashvili has served as an adviser to Mr. Poroshenko since his election just over a year ago. Most recently, Mr. Saakashvili had served as the head of Mr. Poroshenko’s International Advisory Council of Reforms, a post he was named to in February.
In Russia, his appointment as governor of Odessa was denounced as an example of political patronage by Mr. Poroshenko, and Mr. Saakashvili was described in the Russian news media as a fugitive on the run from criminal charges in Georgia.
Mr. Saakashvili and Mr. Poroshenko are longtime acquaintances, having attended graduate school together in the early 1990s at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.
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