ODESA – Acting deputy head of Odesa Regional State Administration Maria Gaidar has resigned from her post and become an advisor to the region's chief, Mikheil Saakashvili.
As Gaidar’s assistant Viktoriya Sibir told Interfax-Ukraine, Gaidar did not write a letter of resignation. Her duties were suspended automatically after the new Law “On a state service” came into force on May 1.
Maria Gaidar is a Russian opposition activist and public figure, the daughter of former Russian acting Prime Minister and reformist Yegor Gaidar. She earlier served as an advisor to the head of Russia’s Kirov regional administration for several years. She also founded and headed the Social Inquiry Foundation, but stepped down from the post in mid-July 2015.
She became acting deputy head of Odesa Regional State Administration under Saakashvili in January 2016.
As Saakashvili’s advisor, Gaidar was responsible for social welfare, medicine and met with residents of the region.
In August she obtained Ukrainian citizenship and stated her intention give up Russian citizenship.
Russian media have reported that Gaidar didn’t begin the procedure for renouncing Russian citizenship.
