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Darth Vader in Ukrainian politics

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"Darth Alekseevich Vader", a candidate in 2014 Ukrainian presidential election

Since 2012, individuals adopting the name of the Star Wars character Darth Vader have applied for national and local government positions in Ukraine.[1] Candidates named Darth Vader (Ukrainian: Дарт Вейдер) tried running for offices in several local, presidential, and parliamentary elections. "Vader" also participated in political and social activism, notably in the Odesa region.

History

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On 14 February 2011, a man dressed as Darth Vader applied to the Odesa City Council for 10 acres of land for free. According to him, he learned that the council was allocating land on the coastal slopes for free, and came to get a plot for himself, claiming that "the city council members, the executive committee, and Mayor Kostusyev have turned to the Dark Side of the Force and will therefore help [him]."[2][3][4] It later turned out that the man was an Odesa public figure, Zhan Nikolayenko. He came up with this idea from a joking remark by one of the local politicians that corruption in the city council was so bad that even Darth Vader would have been issued a state act of land there.[1]

In July 2012, a man in a Darth Vader costume, wielding a chainsaw, "fought" against illegal parking lots near Odesa beaches.[5]

On 28 October 2012, during the parliamentary election, a man dressed as Darth Vader was denied a ballot at a polling station because he refused to remove his helmet, claiming he would die without it. Immediately after this incident, "Vader" began campaigning for his son, Luke Skywalker, even though there was no such person on the ballot. Nearby, a man in a Chewbacca costume was also campaigning for Skywalker.[6] According to media reports, Darth Vader was one of the most popular candidates listed on spoiled ballots in the 2012 election.[7][8] Following the election, a billboard depicting Darth Vader with his hand on his heart and an inscription "Thank you for your trust!" was installed in Kyiv.[7]

Since November 2012, Darth Vader was the first "deputy chairman" of the Internet Party of Ukraine. In December 2012, he distributed a "doomsday kit" to people at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, which included salt, soap, matches, toilet paper, condoms, light bulbs, as well as disks with the Ubuntu operating system and "evacuation tickets".[9][10]

On 26 February 2013, "Darth Vader", accompanied by people dressed as Stormtroopers, attempted to hand over documents confirming the legitimacy of the Internet Party of Ukraine to the Minister of Justice.[11]

In the 2014 presidential election, the Internet Party of Ukraine tried to nominate Darth Vader;[12][13] but his registration was refused because his real identity could not be verified.[14] Darth Vader was a candidate at the 25 May 2014 Kyiv mayoral election and the Odesa mayoral election of the same day for the party.[15][16] In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election the party let Darth Vader along other Star Wars characters such as Chewbacca, Padmé Amidala, and Yoda run for seats in the Ukrainian parliament.[17]

In 2015, a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Odesa was converted into one of Darth Vader due to a law on decommunization.[18] In the 2015 local elections, the Odesa City Election Commission registered a list of candidates for city council deputies from the political party "Darth Vader Bloc", in which 44 out of 48 people had the name and surname Darth Vader.[19]

Candidates

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Among the people registered as Darth Vader who have been nominated for political positions in Ukraine were the following:

Name (Romanization) Name in Cyrillic script Date of birth Election Result
(percent of votes)
Vader, Darth Andriyovych Вейдер, Дарт Андрійович 1 November 1992 2014 parliamentary[20] 2.6%
Vader, Darth Vasilyevich Вейдер, Дарт Васильович 4 August 1989 2014 parliamentary[20] 1.69%
Vader, Darth Viktorovich Вейдер, Дарт Вікторович 4 October 1987 2014 Kyiv local[21] 1.61%
2014 parliamentary[22] 0.36%
2019 parliamentary[23] 1.71%
Vader, Darth Vitaliyovich Вейдер, Дарт Віталійович 9 September 1988 2014 parliamentary[20] 1.42%
Vader, Darth Volodymyrovych Вейдер, Дарт Володимирович 22 April 1979 2014 parliamentary[20] 1.82%
Vader, Darth Volodymyrovych Вейдер, Дарт Володимирович 5 August 1981 2014 parliamentary[20] 2.3%
Vader, Darth Volodymyrovych Вейдер, Дарт Володимирович 21 January 1984 2014 parliamentary[20] 1.84%
Vader, Darth Volodymyrovych Вейдер, Дарт Володимирович 8 August 1990 2014 parliamentary[20] 1.47%
2015 Mykolaiv local[24] 1.11%
Vader, Darth Volodymyrovych Вейдер, Дарт Володимирович 19 June 1991 2014 parliamentary[20] 2.38%
2015 Kherson local[25] 0.96%
Vader, Darth Ivanovich Вейдер, Дарт Іванович 18 March 1980 2015 Odesa Regional Council[26] 2.16%
Vader, Darth Leonidovich Вейдер, Дарт Леонідович 16 June 1990 2015 Kyiv local[27] 0.62%
Vader, Darth Nikolaevich Вейдер, Дарт Миколайович 20 July 1982 2014 Odesa local[28] 3.92%
2015 Odesa local[29] 1.83%
2020 Odesa local[30] 0.47%
Vader, Darth Mikhailovich Вейдер, Дарт Михайлович 2 July 1980 2014 parliamentary[20] 2.17%
Vader, Darth Olegovich Вейдер, Дарт Олегович 18 February 1991 2014 parliamentary[20] 3.96%
2015 Kharkiv Regional Council[31] 0.98%
Vader, Darth Alexandrovna Вейдер, Дарт Олександрівна 3 August 1994 2015 Odesa Regional Council[32] 2.16%
Vader, Darth Alekseevich Вейдер, Дарт Олексійович 10 January 1956 2014 presidential[33] refused
Vader, Darth Pavlovich Вейдер, Дарт Павлович 29 October 1981 2014 parliamentary[20] 2.23%
Vader, Darth Stanislavovich Вейдер, Дарт Станіславович 29 October 1981 2014 parliamentary[20] 1.99%
Vader, Darth Yurievich Вейдер, Дарт Юрійович 22 September 1994 2015 Odesa Regional Council[26] 2.16%

References

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  1. ^ a b Анфимов, Павел (2012-11-02). "Одесский Дарт Вейдер: "Меня пытались подкупить, запугать, а теперь используют двойников"". kp.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  2. ^ "Дарт Вейдер пришел в Одесскую мэрию за бесплатной землей (Фоторепортаж, видео)". dumskaya.net. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  3. ^ "В Одеську мерію прийшов Дарт Вейдер". ua.korrespondent.net (in Russian). 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  4. ^ "В одесской мэрии побывал Дарт Вейдер". lenta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  5. ^ "Дарт Вейдер наносит ответный удар бензопилой — шлагбаумы на Ланжероне снесены". dumskaya.net. 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  6. ^ Будаков, Игорь (2012-10-28). "В Одессе Дарту Вейдеру, который хотел проголосовать, не выдали бюллетень". kp.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  7. ^ a b "У Києві на одному з білбордів Дарт Вейдер подякував виборцям за підтримку". ua.korrespondent.net (in Russian). 2012-11-13. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  8. ^ "Дарт Вейдер впевнено переміг на виборах 2012 серед зіпсованих бюлетенів". tsn.ua (in Ukrainian). 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  9. ^ "Завтра Дарт Вейдер врятує Україну від кінця світу". ua.korrespondent.net (in Russian). 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  10. ^ "Дарт Вейдер готував киян до "кінця світу"". tvi.ua. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  11. ^ Баранець, Станіслав (2013-02-26). "Міністерство юстиції України атакував Дарт Вейдер. Новини на УНН". unn.com.ua. Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  12. ^ Man named Darth Vader files documents to be registered as presidential candidate in Ukraine Archived 2014-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Interfax-Ukraine (29 March 2014)
  13. ^ "Darth Vader will Präsident der Ukraine werden" (in German). Stern.de.
  14. ^ Ukraine’s Darth Vader presidency bid rejected Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Euronews (4 April 2014)
  15. ^ (in Ukrainian) Odesa registered as a candidate for mayor of Odesa Darth Vader Archived 2014-10-17 at the Wayback Machine, RBC Ukraine (1 May 2014)
  16. ^ (in Ukrainian) Darth Vader goes to the mayor of Kyiv Archived 2014-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, Korrespondent.net (1 May 2014)
  17. ^ Darth Vader Is Running for Prime Minister of Ukraine, Vowing to Take On Putin Archived 2014-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, Newsweek (10/24/14)
  18. ^ Worland, Justin (October 25, 2015). "Ukrainian Lenin Statue Turned into Darth Vader". Time. New York City: Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  19. ^ "Одесская партия выдвинула в депутаты... 44 Дартов Вейдеров и одного Магистра Йоду". trassae95.com. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Центральна виборча комісія України". cvk.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  21. ^ "На выборах мэра Киева лидирует Кличко с 57,15%, - 1062 участка (обновлено) - Александр Омельченко - Виталий Кличко - КГГА - Киев - Леся Оробец - Николай Катеринчук - УДАР - Украина". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  22. ^ "Центральна виборча комісія України". web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  23. ^ "Відомості про кандидата в народні депутати України — Позачергові вибори народних депутатів України 21 липня 2019 року". cvk.gov.ua. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  24. ^ "Результати виборів міського голови — Миколаївська область — Миколаївська міська рада — Місцеві вибори 25.10.2015". cvk.gov.ua. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  25. ^ "Результати виборів міського голови — Херсонська область — Херсонська міська рада — Місцеві вибори 25.10.2015". cvk.gov.ua.
  26. ^ a b "Кандидати до Одеської обласної ради". cvk.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  27. ^ "Кандидати на посаду міського голови — Місцеві вибори 2015 року". cvk.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  28. ^ "Итоги выборов в Одессе: Труханов – мэр, а Дарт Вейдер в первой пятерке". od.vgorode.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  29. ^ "Результати виборів міського голови — Одеська область — Одеська міська рада — Місцеві вибори 25.10.2015". cvk.gov.ua.
  30. ^ "Результати виборів міського голови — Одеська область — Одеська міська громада — Місцеві вибори 25.10.2020". cvk.gov.ua. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  31. ^ "Центральна виборча комісія України - WWW відображення ІАС "Місцеві вибори 2015"". cvk.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  32. ^ "Кандидати до Одеської обласної ради". cvk.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  33. ^ "Кандидат на пост Президента України". cvk.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
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