Hurvits Eduard Yosypovych

Twice mayor of Odesa, five-time member of parliament

Eduard Hurvits is one of the most colorful and controversial figures in Odesa and generally southern Ukrainian politics of the last three decades. Mayor of Odesa in 1994–1998 and 2005–2010. Member of parliament in 1994 and 1998 as an independent candidate, in 2002 from "Our Ukraine", in 2012 from Klitschko's UDAR party, in 2014 from the BPP. He ran again for mayor of Odesa in 2015 and 2020 — unsuccessfully; in 2020 he headed his own block "Our Odesa." His party trajectory — from "Our Ukraine" through UDAR to BPP — illustrates not an ideological evolution but a search for the most convenient umbrella.

Chechen "refugees" and oil connections

The most sensational reputational scandal is associated with the mid-1990s. In the mid-90s, Hurvits became close to Chechen militants who planned to trade oil and petroleum products through the Odesa Refinery. Thanks to the mayor, more than 1,500 Chechen "refugees" appeared in Odesa — almost all men with strong physiques, who effectively took control of part of the city’s business. On February 2, 1997, Hurvits attended the inauguration of Aslan Maskhadov as an official guest — according to his own words, to ask the Chechen leadership to withdraw criminal groups from Odesa. Critics interpreted this visit in a diametrically opposite way.

Billion-dollar debts and accusations of city plundering

Authoritative Odesa publications and Hurvits’s opponents call him the main culprit for the emergence of multi-billion debts of Odesa, which, under his leadership, was allegedly plundered for years by officials and criminal groups. He is also accused of threats and physical assaults on competitors and corruption ties with the country's top leadership. Hurvits consistently denied all these accusations — and continued to run for office.