Oleh Babayev

File:Бабаєв на Дні міста біля реконструйованого фонтану (2011.09.25).jpg

Oleh Babayev

Oleh Meydanovych Babayev (Ukrainian: Олег Мейданович Бабаєв; October 21, 1965, Kursk, Russian SFSR — July 26, 2014, Kremenchuk, Ukraine) was an Ukrainian politician and an owner of two professional football clubs in the Poltava Oblast. In 2010, he was elected Mayor of Kremenchuk.

Life and career

Babayev was born in 1965 in Kursk, Russian SFSR. He was of Azerbaijani descent. After completing high school in Kursk in 1982, he studied at the Higher Military-Political College in Minsk and graduated in 1986. He eventually moved to Ukraine, while his parents remained residents of Kursk. In 2000, he graduated from Kiev University.

From 1986-1990 Babayev served in the Soviet Army being stationed in the Soviet Union's far east and later in Czechoslovakia. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe Babayev's unit withdrew from Czechoslovakia and he was stationed in Kyiv. In 1990 he obtained a Ukrainian citizenship. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Babayev served as a reserve officer in the Ukrainian army until 1996, eventually reaching the rank of colonel. He became Chairman of JSC Kremenchukm'yaso in 1998 and President of a football club, FC Vorskla Poltava, in 2005. He was also honorary president of FC Kremin Kremenchuk (lower leagues).

File:Memorial to Oleg Babayev in Kremenchug Ukraine.jpg

Memorial to Oleh Babayev located in Kremenchuk

Babayev was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament in the 2007 parliamentary election. He was a member of the All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" but left the party in late 2010 after he was elected Mayor of Kremenchuk (with 42,34% of the votes), stating that "The mayor should be apolitical". As mayor Oleh Babayev was perhaps best known for the recreational projects he promoted within the city. Being an avid sportsman Babayev invested heavily to rebuild the aging Soviet era parks and sports stadiums within the city. Some of the most notable parks to be restored under Babayev's tenure as mayor of Kremenchuk were the October Square and the 18 hectare Pridneprovsky Park in the city's center.

Babayev was shot dead on July 26, 2014. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, he was killed in his car in front of his house when an unidentified person fired three shots from a gun with a silencer from another car. 50,000 people attended his funeral, which included mayor of Kiev Vitaly Klitchko. On 19 January 2015 a memorial to Oleh Babayev was unveiled in Kremenchug. The building of the memorial was financed by the slain mayor's friends. The parents of Oleh Babayev opened the memorial. The memorial is located in one of the city parks which the mayor was instrumental in restoring.