LovingKharkivshchyna is Working for the people! (Russian:«Любить Харьковщину — работать для людей!») (Ukrainian:«Любити Харкiвщину — працювати для людей!»)
Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv (Ukrainian:Блок Кернеса — Успішний Харків,romanized: Blok Kernesa — Uspishnyi Kharkiv) is apolitical party of Ukraine, registered on April 12, 2016.[1] The founder and first head of the political party wasHennadiy Kernes, who created it with the aim of participating in local elections in theKharkiv Oblast, both in theCity Council and in theOblast Council.[2]
On June 2, 2019, the founding congress of the new partyTrust in Deeds [uk] took place in Kharkiv, the two co-chairs of which were chosen as the city heads of Kharkiv andOdesa, Hennadiy Kernes andGennadiy Trukhanov.[4]
In the July2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Kernes and Trukhanov was placed in the top ten of the party list ofOpposition Bloc.[5] However, the nationwide list of this party won just 3.23% of the votes, failing to overcome the 5% election barrier and keeping Kernes from a seat in theVerkhovna Rada.[6]
At the end of 2019, the party was renamed into "Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv", after which many rumors began to circulate around the party about its participation in the2020 local elections, led byMayor of KharkivHennadiy Kernes, which he himself did not deny.[7]
Already in early 2020, Hennadiy Kernes announced that he was going to the elections to theKharkiv City Council with his own bloc, without the Trust in Deeds party, which he led together with Gennadiy Trukhanov and the Opposition Bloc, which did not participate in the local elections as a united front. in favor of small electoral blocs such as theVadim Boychenko Bloc,Vilkul Bloc — Ukrainian Perspective, Volodymyr Buryak — United, andGennadiy Trukhanov'sTrust Deeds party.
Kernes died on 17 December 2020.[9] Thesnap mayoral election in Kharkiv to determinate Kernes successor was set on 31 October 2021.[10] In this election Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv nominatedIhor Terekhov as its mayoral candidate.[11] Terekhov had been acting Kharkiv Mayor since 24 December 2020.[12] Terekhov officially wonthe election with 50.66% of the votes.[13] At an extraordinary session of theKharkiv City Council on 11 November 2021 Terekhov was sworn in as the new Mayor of Kharkiv.[14]
On December 1, 2022, deputies from the party "for technical reasons" (they could not find electricity and connect to theInternet) did not appear at the session of the Kharkiv Oblast Council, which was supposed to be held online and during which it was planned to consider the issue of renaming theKharkiv Academic Drama Theater [uk] named afterAlexander Pushkin, awarding the title ofhonorary citizen of the Kharkiv Oblast (among the candidates is also the deputy from Successful KharkivOleg Karatumanov [uk], a formerPeople's Deputy of Ukraine of theParty of Regions) and taking into account the balance of defensive fortifications in the Kharkiv Oblast. Deputies from theRestoration of Ukraine faction (formerlyOpposition Platform — For Life) also did not appear at the session.[20][21]
Posters of Ihor Terekhov and Successful Kharkiv in 2025. The text reads: "Proud to be a Kharkiv Resident!" They were installed throughout the city, for which they were criticized.[22][23]
In 2023, the eldest son of the late Hennadiy Kernes,Kyrylo Kernes, sharply criticized the political force Successful Kharkiv, accusing his former party members of usurping power in the city.[24] This happened a year after Kyrylo Kernes was officially expelled from the Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv faction in the Kharkiv Oblast Council.[25][26] At the same time, he announced his intention to run formayor of Kharkiv in thenext local elections to continue his father's policies.[27]
In April 2025, formerVice Mayor of KharkivAndriy Rudenko, who had been cooperating with theBatkivshchyna party since at least the winter of 2025,[28] left the party and the Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv faction.[29] Three months later, Rudenko was taken into custody in a case of embezzlement of money for the construction offortifications during theBattle of Kharkiv.[30][31][32]
In 2021, theyouth wing of the political party Kernes Bloc — Successful Kharkiv was created.[54] Today, the youth of this political force is actively involved in organizing scientific, cultural, sports, environmental and educational events, and also participates in the formation and development of the youth environment in Kharkiv.[55][56][57][58][59]
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