Among the many scandals that coloured Ukraine’s nationwide local elections last month, one in particular stood out. In Slovyansk, where the pro-Russian insurgency first erupted in April 2014, the mayoral candidate from the controversial Opposition Bloc political party plastered the city with campaign posters promising to ‘love Slovyansk like Nelya!’
The billboards sparked a frenzy in the Ukrainian media: ‘Nelya’ refers to Nelya Shtepa, Slovyansk’s former mayor who is currently standing trial in Kharkiv for allegedly aiding and abetting the insurgents after they seized the city last year. This slogan thus drew fire from those who see Shtepa as a collaborator and Opposition Bloc, which is made up of former Yanukovych allies, as little more than a fifth column.
But what non-locals didn’t realise, according to Vadim Lyakh, the man behind the campaign, was that Shtepa was genuinely well-liked in Slovyansk before the crisis. Shtepa’s tenure was marked by significant public spending—thanks largely to cash from Kyiv meant to boost former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s son into parliament on a local ticket— and residents saw her as an effective manager.
