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Russian opposition activist Maria Gaidar to run in Ukraine’s regional election

In July 2014 Gaidar was appointed Odessa Region Governor Mikhail Saakashvili's deputy and in August granted Ukrainian citizenship

UKRAINE, September 23. /TASS/. Russian opposition activist Maria Gaidar, who was in July appointed as deputy to Odessa’s Governor Mikheil Saakashvili, intends to run in local elections from Petro Poroshenko Bloc Party, regional parliamentarian Petro Obukhov said on Wednesday.

Maria Gaidar is the daughter of Yegor Gaidar, an ideologist of liberal economic reforms in Russia in the 1990s. He was Russia’s acting prime minister from April to December 1992. He also held prominent state government posts under President Boris Yeltsin.

Maria Gaidar represents the so-called "non-systemic opposition" in Russia. She is the former vice-governor of Russia’s Kirov region and the head of the Social Inquiry foundation. In 2014, she intended to run in elections to the Moscow State Duma but was not registered as a candidate. Gaidar is an active participant in a number of liberal pro-Western movements in Russia. In 2011, she studied at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In July Odessa Region Governor Mikhail Saakashvili, former president of Georgia, appointed Maria Gaidar his deputy.

On August 4, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko granted Ukrainian citizenship to Maria Gaidar.