Darth Vader in Ukrainian politics
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Since 2012, individuals adopting the name of the Star Wars character Darth Vader (Ukrainian: Дарт Вейдер) have entered local, presidential, and parliamentary elections in Ukraine.[1] "Vader" also participated in political and social activism, notably in Odesa Oblast.
On 14 February 2011, a man dressed as Darth Vader applied to the Odesa City Council for a free 10 acre plot of land. He explained that he had heard the council was giving away coastal land and wanted a share for himself, adding 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] The man was later identified as local public figure Zhan Nikolaienko, who said he was inspired by a joking remark from a politician that corruption in the 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]
