Yuri Ivanovich Chuyko

Quote

Yuri Ivanovich Chuyko (Юрий Иванович Чуйко) begins the TV series as the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Well-versed but corrupt, he's the main antagonist of Season 1, but despite acting as Vasily Petrovich's literary foil, he often plays the role of the anti-hero as well.

Background
Basic notes:
 * In Ukrainian politics since independence in 1991--may or may not have been PM for all 25 years
 * Grew up in Odessa--mother is still alive, father unknown
 * Was governor of [town where he opened the bridge]
 * [Story about the three casino owners]

Personality
Basic notes:
 * Great at lying
 * Ironic humor
 * Mostly looks out for himself

Trivia

 * "Yuri" is the Slavonic equivalent of "George," and "Ivanovich" is a patrynomic meaning "Ivan's son." Because "[Given name] [Patrynomic]" is generally used as the formal version instead of [given name] [family name], and because Ivan is equivalent to "John," Yuri Ivanovich's name is essentially "George Johnson."
 * Furthermore, his family name "Chuyko" may be a reference to the Ukrainian word "chuti" (чути) which means "to listen," and the first person present tense, "I listen," is "chuyu" (чу́ю).