Rouslan Bodelan
Rouslan Borysovych Bodelan was a Ukrainian politician.
Life and career
Soviet times
Bodelan started his career in 1959 as a sports coach and teacher in a secondary school. In 1961, he began his work at the "Odessilbud" construction company in Balta.Beginning in 1964, Bodelan was active in politics, as a member and functionary in Komsomol, Communist Party of the Soviet Union and other Soviet organizations. In 1965, he became a First Secretary of Kiliia Raion Komsomol Organization. His top position in the CPSU was the First Secretary of Odesa Regional Committee, which he occupied in April 1990.
Career in independent Ukraine
On 3 April 1990, Bodelan was elected as a member of the Odesa Oblast Soviet. He was later elected as Chairman of this council and occupied this position up to April 1998. Simultaneously, Bodelan was head of Odesa Oblast State Administration in July 1995 – May 1998, member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 1994–1998, a member of Maritime Policy Commission under President of Ukraine in 1995–1998, and head of the Commonwealth of Danube States' Executive Group in 1996–1997.In August 1998, Bodelan was elected mayor of Odesa. He was re-elected as mayor in 2002, but the election results were challenged in the courts. In 2005, an Odesa court ruled the elections void and proclaimed Eduard Gurvits the legal Mayor of Odesa.
While mayor, Bodelan allegedly took active part in a wide-range electoral fraud in favor of pro-government candidates during the 2004 presidential election. After the Orange Revolution he fled to Russia. An investigation of his mayoral activities was opened soon after; Bodelan was charged with abuse of office.