what is the head of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo known for – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

Today, President Vladimir Putin appointed Vladimir Saldo, the acting governor of the Kherson region, who previously headed the military-civilian administration of the region, as acting governor. Details of his biography – in the material “Kommersant”.

Saldo Vladimir Vasilyevich was born on June 12, 1956 in the village of Zhovtneve (Nikolaev region, Ukrainian SSR). In 1978 he graduated from the Krivoy Rog Mining Institute with a degree in industrial and civil construction. Candidate of Economic Sciences (dissertation topic – “Development of productive forces and regional economy”).

From 1978 to 2001, he worked at the Khersonbud trust (in the Russian version, Khersonpromstroy), including chief engineer and head of the assembly and construction department. According to media reports, in 1981-1986 he was on a business trip in Mongolia, where he worked as a military adviser. From 1998 to 2001 – Deputy of the Kherson City Council. In 2001, he joined the pro-Russian Party of Regions.

In 2001-2002 – Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional State Administration for construction, housing and communal services. From 2002 to 2012, he served as mayor of Kherson. He was elected three times by the inhabitants of the city in direct elections. He was recognized as the best mayor of Ukraine in the framework of the national program “Person of the Year – 2008”.

From 2012 to 2014 – People’s Deputy of Ukraine from the Party of Regions. In the Verkhovna Rada, he served as deputy chairman of the committee on construction, urban planning, housing and communal services and regional policy. After the Euromaidan, he could not be re-elected and joined the Our Land party.

In October 2015, he again ran for the election of the head of Kherson. In the first round, he showed the second result, gaining 16.8% of the vote. Before the second round, he withdrew his candidacy, declaring political pressure from rivals.

In February 2016, he passed to the Kherson City Council from the Our Land party. At the first session, activists poured red paint over Volodymyr Saldo and pelted him with pig ears for “anti-Ukrainian positions” during the Euromaidan.

According to media reports, since August 2016, Vladimir Saldo spent three months in a prison in the Dominican Republic on suspicion of kidnapping a man, Denis Pashchenko, an entrepreneur from Kherson. Mr. Pashchenko cited audio recordings as the reason for the kidnapping, which allegedly testified to Saldo’s cooperation with the Russian FSB. Vladimir Saldo stated that he was kidnapped and tortured for a ransom of $200,000 and part of his property. He called Denis Pashchenko the customer of the crime, the films were fake. According to Vladimir Saldo, after the abduction, he was forced to speak separate phrases and sentences into a voice recorder.

In 2020, Mr. Saldo again ran for mayor of Kherson from his own party, the Bloc of Vladimir Saldo. He scored 32.97% and lost the election. But his party made it to the Kherson City Council with 11.75% of the vote.

In March 2022, Vladimir Saldo was present in the Kherson Park of Glory during a rally dedicated to the proclamation of the Kherson People’s Republic (KhNR). Later, the politician published a post on social networks against the creation of KhNR and stressed that he considers Kherson to be a Ukrainian city. In the same month, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine opened a treason case against Volodymyr Saldo.

On April 26, 2022, he was appointed head of the pro-Russian military-civilian administration of the Kherson region. Olga Spivakina, an assistant to Mr. Saldo, stated on social networks that the politician was “taken and forced.” On June 11, he was one of the first in the city to receive a Russian passport. On August 5, it became known that Vladimir Saldo was hospitalized in serious condition. Later, he was transferred to the intensive care unit of the toxicological department of the Sklifosovsky Research Institute in Moscow.

Full Cavalier of the Order of Merit for Ukraine. He has the “Sign of Consent” III degree for merits in enhancing the role of mass media in asserting the ideals of peace and good neighborliness.

Married, has a daughter.