Maria Gaidar

Maria Gaidar and Ilya Yashin placing a banner under the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge, 2006

In 2005, Gaidar became founder and coordinator of the pro-democracy social youth movement "Democratic Alternative" ("Da!"). She was one of the leaders of The Other Russia organization and, following in her father's footsteps, the Union of Right Forces party. She has been a fierce critic of Putin's government and has been briefly detained for involvement in dissenters' marches and for hanging a 30ft banner from under a Moscow bridge using mountaineering gear that read "Return the elections to the people, bastards!"[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] During the 2008 Russian presidential election, Gaidar produced numerous video materials in which Vladimir Putin was depicted as the anti-Christ leading the world to a nuclear apocalypse.[15]

In February 2009, Gaidar became an advisor to the new governor of Kirov Oblast, Nikita Belykh, and on 23 July she was confirmed as a deputy governor in Kirov Oblast.[16] In June 2011, Gaidar announced that she would resign as adviser due to her admission to Harvard University.[17] In December 2012, she became an adviser to Moscow Deputy Major for Social Affairs Leonid Pechatnikov.[18] In November 2013, she resigned from the Government of Moscow.[19] On 16 July 2015, Gaidar founded the Social Assistance and Population Support Foundation, "Social Request", a non-profit organization.[20] In 2015, she threatened to renounce her Russian citizenship, planning to become an Israeli citizen under the Law of Return and to move to Israel.[21] However, she subsequently said that she wished to retain her Russian citizenship, and to keep three citizenships – Russian, Ukrainian and Israeli.

On 17 July 2015, Gaidar accepted an offer from Mikheil Saakashvili and became a vice-governor of Odesa Oblast in Ukraine.[22][23] Her practical work has been as a fixer combating fraud and ensuring that vital social functions run smoothly.[24] She received Ukrainian citizenship on 4 August 2015.[25][26][27] This she described in September 2015 as "It didn't feel good at all....But for me to be here, now, and to be here completely, it's important."[24] A few days after her appointment Gaidar stated she wants to retain her Russian citizenship, adding "In the future I hope that Russia will be a democratic country and it will be possible to go back and work there." Ukrainian law prohibits dual citizenship and only Ukrainian citizens can serve as appointed public officials. Gaidar has indicated she would be willing to serve on Saakashvili's team as an adviser or volunteer (functions open to foreigners).[28][29]

Various Russian public figures criticized Gaidar's decision: Russian politician, Vitaly Milonov, requested an investigation of Maria Gaidar for high treason, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, proposed forbidding Gaidar from returning to Russia,[30] while Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, Ella Pamfilova, announced that the Russian government would freeze grants to Gaidar's charity Sotsialny Zapros. Sotsialny Zapros itself stated that Gaidar had already stepped down as the organization's head the previous week and that the NGO had voluntarily and formally already refused all government grants.[28][31]

In the October 2015 Odesa regional election Gaidar was elected into the Odesa Oblast parliament for Petro Poroshenko Bloc.[32] Gaidar resigned as deputy governor after a new law barring a regional lawmaker being simultaneously a civil servant took effect on 1 May 2016.[33] Gaidar resigned her seat in Odesa Oblast's legislature on 10 June 2018, the assembly unannounced on June 12 that it had relieved Gaidar of her duties as a lawmaker at her request.[34]

On 5 April 2017 Gaidar was appointed an adviser of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.[35]