Mayor's antics not amusing Kiev anymore

KIEV, Ukraine - Residents of this city seem to be tiring of their eccentric mayor's act less than a year after they reelected him.

And it is quite an act.

Leonid Chernovetsky, a millionaire, sings at rallies, poses in skimpy swimwear to show off his good health, and goes by the nickname "Cosmos." He has also proposed selling his kisses in a lottery to raise city revenues.

But he has been unable to prevent major price increases for public transport, utilities, and medical care, and this week 2,000 protesters picketed his office to demand his resignation.

So far, the 57-year-old has proved resilient.

He survived an early parliament vote last year to unseat him. He is now fending off an investigation over land sales and even a parliamentary inquiry into whether he is mentally fit to hold office.

He says he plans to run for president in January.

Eager to demonstrate he is of sound body and mind, he invited journalists to watch him earlier this month jogging, doing chin-ups, and diving into a swimming pool in his tight swimsuit.

"They are judging me today," Chernovetsky said, after he emerged from the water and flexed his muscles in front of the cameras. "They want me to spend my whole life behind bars in a psychiatric ward. I want to demonstrate to the whole world that I am completely healthy, both physically and psychologically."

He says his nickname is derived from his policies, which are "cosmic" and "completely unusual for Ukraine."

"I am proud that they don't resemble anything that went on in Ukraine before," he said on a talk show last year.

Chernovetsky was elected mayor of Kiev, a city of 2.7 million, in 2006 in a surprise win over rival Vitali Klitschko, a popular world heavyweight boxing champion.

Chernovetsky's critics say he won through questionable tactics, such as donating food to Kiev's pensioners. He was reelected last May, largely because of his opponents' failure to unite behind another candidate.

Chernovetsky has acknowledged that he gave bribes worth $21 million when he was a businessman in the early 1990s. But he denies bribing his voters, calling himself "the humble mayor who loves babushkas."

To increase city revenues, he has proposed charging foreigners to live here, introducing entry fees for visits to city cemeteries - and running a lottery for his kisses. He has also started holding $100,000 dinners for entrepreneurs interested in discussing their concerns with city authorities.

His opponents accuse him of giving away or selling through non-transparent auctions about 300 plots of land worth several billion dollars in late 2007. Parliament is now investigating those transactions.

Competitive elections are a testament to the level of democracy in this former Soviet state of 46 million. But many in Kiev have had enough, saying Chernovetsky's policies were bad before but have become unbearable during an economic crisis.

Elderly women, students, and bus drivers from all political groups waved flags in front of Chernovetsky's office on Thursday, chanting, "Down with the mayor!" The bus drivers blocked the streets to protest layoffs.

"It's not that he doesn't respect us," said teacher Dmytro Antonenko, 50. "It's that he is mocking us. We like him as a singer, but as a singer only."