ODESA, Ukraine — Odesa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov faces credible corruption charges and is often seen as one of Ukraine’s most toxic mayors.
However, this does not appear to bother most local voters, who are expected to re-elect Trukhanov for another term in the Oct. 25 mayoral election, according to opinion polls.
Trukhanov did not respond to a request for comment.
Oleg Filimonov, the mayoral candidate from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, is hoping to get into a run-off with Trukhanov. But, if he fails to drastically change public opinion by Oct. 25, he is unlikely to win.
Zelensky initially criticized Trukhanov and planned to replace him with a representative of his party. But now Zelensky’s administration has opted for peaceful co-existence and is avoiding conflicts with the mayor, according to political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko.
In 2018 to 2019, Trukhanov’s position in Ukrainian politics grew weaker due to a number of corruption cases against him. But now those cases appear to have stalled.
“If law enforcement agencies had cracked down on Trukhanov, it would be harder for him (to win the election),” Fesenko told the Kyiv Post.
Opinion polls
According to a poll conducted by the Ukrainian Sociological Group on Sept. 3-9, Trukhanov leads the mayoral race with 45.4% support. Former Odesa Oblast Governor Mykola Skoryk from the pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life takes second place with 23.3% support.
Filimonov, former pro-Russian lawmaker Serhiy Kivalov and Petro Obukhov from ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party are projected to receive 9.1%, 7.4% and 5.2%, respectively. Dmytro Golubov, an ex-lawmaker from the Poroshenko Bloc, former Odesa Mayor Eduard Gurvits and Natalia Deliyeva from businesswoman Kira Rudyk’s Voice enjoy 4.9%, 2.9% and 2.7% support, respectively.
According to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on Aug. 27-Sept. 8, Trukhanov leads with 61%, while Vadym Rabinovych from the Opposition Platform – For Life will be the runner-up with 8%. The ratings of Filimonov, Gurvits and Golubov stand at 5.5%, 4.9% and 4.8%, respectively. The poll was conducted at a time when it was not yet clear whether Rabinovych or Skoryk would represent the Opposition Platform-For Life.
Oleg Filimonov, a candidate for mayor of Odesa, talks with people in the city’s Poselok Kotovskoho neighborhood on Oct. 7, 2020. Despite campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, Filimonov is likely to lose to incumbent Gennady Trukhanov, who faces several corruption accusations. (Olena Trofimchuk)
Trukhanov’s strongest competitors, including Skoryk and Filimonov, have a chance only if they consolidate the protest electorate and run a very effective campaign, analyst Fesenko said.
“The positions of incumbent mayors, including in Odesa, are very strong,” Fesenko said. “…And the camp of Trukhanov’s opponents is very fractured.”
In the city council election, Opposition Platform – For Life is in the lead with 35.4% support, while Zelensky’s Servant of the People appears to be runner-up with 18.3% and Trukhanov’s Trust the Deeds gets 12.4%, according to a poll conducted by the Ukrainian Sociological Group poll. Poroshenko’s European Solidarity, ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna and pro-Russian blogger Anatoly Shariy’s parties will receive 6.5%, 6.2% and 5.3%, respectively, the poll concludes.
Tolerance for corruption
Local anti-corruption activists accuse Trukhanov and his alleged business partners, Alexander Angert and Vladimir Galanternik, of having turned Odesa into their private fiefdom, awarding the most lucrative land and municipal contracts to their own companies. Angert and Galanternik could not be reached for comment.
In July 2019, Odesa’s Malinovsky District Court acquitted Trukhanov in the so-called Krayan case. Trukhanov is accused of organizing a city council vote to buy the old Krayan factory administrative building for Hr 185 million in September 2016, when it had been purchased at the beginning of the year by another firm for only Hr 4 million, suggesting the deal was a scheme to embezzle money from the city.
Local anti-corruption activists lambasted the court ruling as a political bargain aimed at whitewashing Trukhanov. Currently, the ruling is under appeal at the High Anti-Corruption Court.
Trukhanov has also been investigated in several other corruption cases but has not yet been charged in them.
Despite all the corruption scandals, Trukhanov remains by far the most popular mayoral candidate.
“Voters are conservative and reluctant to replace him with someone else,” Fesenko said. “(Voters think) the city is developing and the situation is stable.”
According to local activists and political analysts, Trukhanov has recently had a conflict with his long-time ally Galanternik. Galanternik’s television channels are currently criticizing Trukhanov, and the businessman, who is based in London, has been reluctant to appear in Odesa in recent months, they said.
However, Galanternik has failed to find an alternative to Trukhanov in the mayoral election, Fesenko said.
Mykhailo Kuzakon, an anti-corruption activist and also a mayoral candidate, told the Kyiv Post that Galanternik is trying to get his people elected to the city council on different party lists. Oleg Mykhailyk, another anti-corruption crusader and mayoral candidate, told the Kyiv Post that some Verkhovna Rada members from Zelensky’s party elected in Odesa are suspected of having ties to Galanternik.
Filimonov campaign
Filimonov is running on a campaign of criticizing Trukhanov’s alleged corruption.
He is a close acquaintance of Zelensky and has a similar background in show business. From 1991 to 2005, he was a comedian on the Gentleman Show on Russian television and the Vecherny Kvartal show on Ukraine’s Inter channel.
From the 1970s to 1980s, Filimonov taught English at Odesa National University.
“We know that the rating of Zelensky and Servant of the People is falling,” Filimonov told the Kyiv Post. “The rating of governing parties always falls, except for cases when they took extraordinary measures like in Georgia (under President Mikheil Saakashvili) and in Singapore (under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew).”
He added that “we need an enlightened tyrant” to clean up the corruption mess, but “Zelensky is enlightened but definitely not a tyrant.”
Meetings with voters
In a typical Odesa courtyard in the city’s Moldavanka neighborhood, locals clad in dressing gowns and other casual wear flocked to listen to Artur Amirov, a representative of Filimonov, on Oct. 6. Moldavanka is a famous Odesa neighborhood known for its historically high crime rate and urban legends.
The atmosphere was particularly fitting. Some residents of the densely populated neighborhood peeped out of their windows. A barking dog chased away some of the potential voters. One of the area’s many semi-feral cats crept up to witness the commotion.
In his speech before the residents, Amirov lashed out at Trukhanov for his alleged corruption. Some of the voters argued in response that the mayor was improving the city’s infrastructure, and others were skeptical of Zelensky’s performance.
The Kyiv Post also attended Filimonov’s meeting with voters in Poselok Kotovskogo (Kotovsky Town), Odesa’s largest working-class neighborhood with a population of 280,000 people. It has historically been a stronghold of Trukhanov.
Oleg Filimonov talks with people on Oct. 7, 2020 in Odesa. (Olena Trofimchuk)
But when Filimonov ventured into Trukhanov’s turf in Poselok Kotovskogo, he mostly met his own core electorate – voters who were dissatisfied with Trukhanov and wondered why he was not in jail despite all the corruption scandals.
As children played nearby, old ladies sat on benches and listened attentively to Filimonov.
He spoke with a characteristic Odesa accent and created the impression of someone who knew the city well. He is also widely recognized in Odesa due to his popular comedy shows.
Second Saakashvili?
Based on his anti-corruption rhetoric, Filimonov can be compared to Saakashvili, who was appointed Odesa Oblast governor in 2015 and tried to implement reforms in the region. Later, he accused Poroshenko of sabotage and quit in 2016.
Asked how he would take on corruption without control over corrupt prosecutors, judges and the police, Filimonov said he was afraid that the Saakashvili scenario could be repeated. But Filimonov added he hoped it would be different this time.
“I know why Saakashvili failed,” Filimonov told the Kyiv Post. “Poroshenko deceived him. I hope the president (Zelensky) will not deceive me because he promised full support for me. I have the opportunity to call him and say that something lawless is going on.”
While lambasting Trukhanov’s alleged corruption, Filimonov was reluctant to comment on corruption scandals around Zelensky and his party, including accusations against Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
Earlier, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine investigated reports of abuse of power and bribery after leaked videos implicated Yermak and his brother Denys in attempting to sell government jobs. The videos, which were leaked by lawmaker Geo Leros, showed Denys Yermak discussing the sale of the jobs.
The Yermak brothers have not denied the authenticity of the videos, but Denys Yermak claimed they were taken out of context and denied accusations of wrongdoing.
Filimonov said that Leros had been “showing off” and that he “doesn’t like it at all.” He added that law enforcement agencies should investigate Leros’ allegations but he could not comment on them.
