Profile of Ukraine’s Kharkiv Region governor Arsen Avakov

Source: BBC Monitoring research
18 Mar 05

Kharkiv governor Arsen Avakov has come to politics from big
business. His interests in Kharkiv Region range from mass media to
banking, but he is not closely linked to any “oligarchic”
group. Avakov actively participated in the 2004 presidential election
campaign on the side of Viktor Yushchenko. He is reportedly on
friendly terms with the family of Yushchenko’s older brother, Petro,
who was a Kharkiv-based businessman before his election to
parliament. Avakov also has been an ally of Kharkiv Mayor Volodymyr
Shumilkin and a political rival of former Kharkiv governor Yevhen
Kushnaryov.

Arsen Avakov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 2 January 1964, into an
ethnic Armenian family. After graduating from the Kharkiv Polytechnic
Institute in 1988 with the diploma of an engineer, Avakov briefly
worked at a local research institute specialized in water resources
protection.

Avakov’s business career began during Gorbachev’s perestroika. In 1990
he founded Investor – one of Ukraine’s first open joint-stock
companies. In 1992 he founded the Bazis bank in Kharkiv. Since then
Avakov has acquired stakes in numerous local companies. The Ukrainian
media link Avakov to the Kharkiv heating and power station No 3, a tea
packing factory (Ahmad Tea), the Metalist football club, a big local
bakery, the TV channels Tonis, 7 Kanal and ATN, as well as several
local newspapers and FM radio stations.

Avakov entered the world of politics in 2002, when he was elected to
the Kharkiv city executive council. During the 2004 presidential
election campaign Avakov was deputy chairman of Yushchenko’s Kharkiv
regional election headquarters and first deputy head of the local
National Salvation Committee. The 7 Kanal television rebroadcast the
Kiev-based pro-Yushchenko 5 Kanal TV in Kharkiv, despite pressure.

On 4 February 2005 Yushchenko appointed Avakov Kharkiv Region
governor. On the same day Avakov stepped down as supervisory board
chairman of Investor and Bazis, taking heed of Yushchenko’s promise to
separate state administration from private business. “I have joined
the government not to improve my business or lobby personal interests,
but to realize my ideals,” the Zerkalo Nedeli weekly quoted him as
saying.

Avakov’s first order in the new position was for the local police to
fight corruption and illegal business, according to the Versii web
site. Avakov also promised to create 50,000 new jobs by the end of
2005 and to revive the local machine-building industry.

Avakov is married, with one son. He likes to read science fiction, and
he sponsored the international science fiction festival Star Bridge.