Biography

In 1990, Kushnaryov was the Head of Kharkiv City Council of people’s deputies and its Executive Committee. In 1996-1998, he was the Head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine, the Head of the Committee on State Awards of Ukraine, the Deputy Head of the State Committee on Administrative Reforms in Ukraine, the Head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Head of the National Council on Youth Policy (1997-1999). Since 2002 he was the Head of Kharkiv State Administration, in 2004-2005 — the Head of Kharkiv Regional Council.

In 1997, Kushnaryov defended his PhD thesis “Local Authorities and Issues of Socioeconomic Development of the City” and received a PhD degree in Economics. He initiated establishment and development of the local authorities in Ukraine, was an advocate of European regionalism, and an opponent of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.

Kushnaryov is the author of several monographs, books (“A Hundred Steps Around Kharkiv Land”, “Red Horse. Notes of a Counterrevolutioary”) where he expressed his own view on the Orange Revolution. His last book “Elections and Pitchfork” was published after the author’s death.

Titles

Academician of Academy of Municipal Administration, founder of Kharkiv Foundation to Support of Young Talents (1994), President of Association of Ukrainian Cities (1994-1997), Honorary Citizen of Kharkiv (2006), Kharkiv oblast (2007, postmortem) and Krasnokutsk district (2010, postmortem).

Awards

Order of French Legion of Honor (1997), Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Class III, IV and V (1998, 2002, 2004), Nestor the Chronicler Prize, Class I, Orthodox Church Order of St. Vladimir, Class I.