Arsen avakov biography sample
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After the victory of the revolutionaries, he headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs and legalized organizations that were previously considered extremist in Ukraine.
Criminal prosecution in Ukraine
In 2012, a criminal case was initiated against Avakov, where he was charged with abuse of power, which entailed grave consequences. He is a fan of FC Kharkiv and Italian Inter.
As its president, he expanded the financial-industrial group to include 40 enterprises, encompassing energy and food industries. At the time of his birth, the family lived in the Kirov district of Baku, but after 2 years he and his parents moved to Ukraine, where he still lives.
Education and career
Avakov graduated from the Kharkov Polytechnic University in 1988 with a degree in Systems Engineer.
His governorship highlighted the fragility of pro-reform control in eastern Ukraine's industrial heartland, where countering pro-Russian networks required navigating entrenched local power structures.[3][15]
Opposition Role During Yanukovych Era and Euromaidan
Avakov affiliated with the opposition Batkivshchyna party in 2010, becoming a prominent figure in its regional structures in Kharkiv and later securing election as a parliamentary deputy on the party's list in October 2012.[16][5] Facing escalating pressure from the Yanukovych administration, including charges of abuse of office initiated in January 2012, Avakov emigrated to Italy in 2011 amid conflicts with the ruling Party of Regions; he was briefly detained there in March 2012 on Ukraine's extradition request but released by Italian courts, which cited risks of political persecution and denied extradition in July 2012.[5][17][18] From exile until his return in December 2012, Avakov maintained coordination with opposition networks, focusing on sustaining Batkivshchyna's activities against the regime's consolidation of power.[15]With the onset of Euromaidan protests in November 2013, Avakov actively participated upon his return, contributing to logistical efforts such as infrastructure setup and provisioning for demonstrators in Kyiv, which supported sustained protest operations amid violent crackdowns by Berkut riot police.[5] He also initiated the formation of the Maidan Self-Defence Force, a volunteer paramilitary group tasked with shielding protesters from security forces, thereby enhancing the opposition's defensive capabilities during clashes that escalated through February 2014.[19] As a Kharkiv native and opposition leader with local ties, Avakov's strategic involvement extended to bolstering resistance in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian elements sought to replicate Kyiv's unrest; his pre-appointment efforts in coordinating regional opposition helped fortify Kharkiv against early separatist incursions, preserving control in a pivotal industrial hub that could have otherwise amplified Yanukovych's regional strongholds and jeopardized national cohesion.[20]On February 22, 2014, following Yanukovych's flight from Kyiv and the collapse of his regime, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada appointed Avakov as acting Minister of Internal Affairs, replacing Vitali Zakharchenko and entrusting him with immediate oversight of law enforcement amid anarchy risks; this transition from opposition coordinator to interim security chief underscored the causal importance of figures like Avakov in bridging protest momentum to institutional stabilization, particularly in averting widespread regional power vacuums that might have enabled pro-Russian fragmentation akin to events in Crimea and Donbas.[21][22][23]Tenure as Minister of Internal Affairs (2014–2021)
Appointment and Early Crisis Response
Arsen Avakov was appointed acting Minister of Internal Affairs by the Verkhovna Rada on February 22, 2014, immediately following the flight of President Viktor Yanukovych amid the Euromaidan Revolution.[24] He assumed the role amid a severely compromised law enforcement apparatus, inheriting a police force marred by its role in suppressing protests, widespread desertions, and eroded public trust after the deaths of over 100 demonstrators.[25] On February 25, Avakov signed a decree disbanding the Berkut special riot police unit, which had been implicated in the violent crackdown on Maidan protesters, including sniper fire that killed dozens on February 20; this move aimed to purge elements associated with the prior regime while transitioning remnants into new structures like the nascent National Guard.[26][27]In the ensuing months, Avakov initiated vetting processes to remove Yanukovych-era loyalists from police ranks, focusing on loyalty to the post-revolutionary government.The reform introduced specialized patrol units starting in major cities like Kyiv in June 2015, followed by nationwide rollout, incorporating neighborhood policing models to foster closer ties with local communities. The politician's son stayed in the so-called ATO zone for a month, after which he returned to the capital, where he was trained as an attack aircraft.
Modernity and prospects
Arsen Avakov became the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also significantly increased his influence on political processes in Ukraine after the victory of Euromaidan.
New works from the field of the fantastic genre are presented here. By 2018, the ten-millionth biometric passport was issued, marking a quantifiable leap in technological adoption for identity verification.[42][43][44][45]During elections, such as the 2019 presidential and parliamentary votes, the National Police deployed advanced coordination mechanisms and personnel to safeguard polling stations, emphasizing prevention of disruptions over technological innovations in vote counting.
However, sustained metrics indicated challenges in maintaining these levels amid ongoing institutional pressures.[40][41]Avakov also advanced modernization in migration services, overseeing the State Migration Service's expansion of biometric passport and ID-card issuance, which accelerated after legislative changes in 2016. However, on February 9, the politician himself resigned, stating that he had not yet received a presidential decree, and did not want to remain in this post after Viktor Yanukovych took over as president, since he did not agree with the political course of the new head of state.
2010-2013
In the pre-revolutionary years, Arsen Avakov was on the party lists of Batkivshchyna, the party of Yulia Timoshenko.
He has faced allegations of corruption but has maintained a strong political presence.
Personal Life
Avakov is married to Inna Avakova, who served as Deputy Chairman of "Basis" Bank for 18 years. In October 2010, he ran for the position of Kharkiv mayor, but eventually lost to the incumbent mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, 0.53% of the vote.
After a while, he got a job at the Kharkov Institute of Water Protection as an engineer, where he worked until 1990.
Having engaged in entrepreneurship, the future head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs established Investor JSC and was its president until 2005. During the 2013-2014 Ukrainian political crisis, he helped organize the Euromaidan protest camp.
Minister of Internal Affairs
Following the February Revolution, Avakov was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in Arseniy Yatsenyuk's government.
He became the founder of the annual Star Bridge festival, which takes place in Kharkov. Avakov publicly committed to neutrality and fraud deterrence, with police operations credited by some observers for minimizing physical interferences, though comprehensive data on fraud reductions remains tied more to Central Election Commission measures than internal affairs-specific tech.[46][47]
Major Incidents and Legal Cases
One significant legal case during Arsen Avakov's tenure involved Vitaliy Markiv, a UkrainianNational Guard member under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, accused in the death of Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli on May 24, 2014, near Sloviansk amid clashes with Russian-backed separatists.As a member of the pro-Western Our Ukraine party, Avakov prioritized alignment with central authorities in Kyiv over accommodation of regional separatist-leaning factions, leading to tensions with influential figures such as Hennadiy Kernes, who shifted allegiance to the pro-Russian Party of Regions in 2006.[3]Avakov's administration emphasized economic development by leveraging his prior business experience with JSC Investor, a conglomerate involved in construction, energy, and finance, to foster growth in sectors including financial services, natural gas extraction, agriculture, and food production.[1] These efforts built on the company's regional assets, such as involvement in the CHPP-3 thermal power plant, though specific quantifiable outcomes like investment inflows or GDP contributions during this period remain undocumented in available records.
In 2005, by decree of Viktor Yushchenko, Avakov was appointed to this position, after which he said goodbye to JSC Investor and the commercial bank AKB Basis, created in 1992.
In February 2010, as a result of a "mini-coup", the regional council of Kharkov expressed distrust to the head of the region, arguing that Arsen Borisovich used administrative resources during the preparation of the second round of the presidential elections in Ukraine.
The politician was accused of illegal transfer of land to private ownership. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) investigated claims that the Ministry of Internal Affairs awarded a contract worth approximately 14.2 million hryvnias (about $520,000 at the time) to a company linked to Avakov's son, Alexander Avakov, and associates, with backpacks purchased at inflated prices—up to 50% above market rates—resulting in alleged state losses of around 7.6 million hryvnias.[78][79] The deal was expedited amid the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, where urgent needs for equipment justified non-competitive tenders under emergency procurement rules.[80]NABU detained Alexander Avakov and others in October 2017 on suspicion of embezzlement and abuse of power, but charges were contested as politically motivated by the suspects, who argued the procurements met wartime necessities and followed legal procedures.[81] The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reclassified the case from high-level corruption to ordinary fraud, removed key suspects including Alexander Avakov, and closed it in July 2018, a decision criticized by NABU as inconsistent and upheld by courts despite appeals from anti-corruption groups.[82][83] No convictions resulted, and Avakov maintained the process was transparent, attributing scrutiny to political opposition.[84]Broader procurement issues in the Ministry of Internal Affairs under Avakov involved allegations of irregularities in defense-related contracts, exacerbated by wartime pressures that allowed simplified bidding processes and led to documented overpayments in some cases, though comprehensive audits quantifying total losses remain limited.
Infrastructure initiatives were tied to these business networks, but Avakov's tenure was marked more by political consolidation against pro-Russian influences than by landmark public projects, reflecting the oblast's divided loyalties in a post-revolutionary context.[1][3]Avakov resigned on February 9, 2010, two days after Viktor Yanukovych's victory in the presidential election, amid the incoming administration's replacement of governors loyal to the outgoing Yushchenko government.[15] This move signaled an early prioritization of oppositional politics over administrative continuity, as Avakov subsequently aligned with Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna party, foreshadowing his shift toward national security roles.