ROMAN LYAGIN

Roman Lyagin has served as the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and as minister of social and labor policy of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).  In his role as CEC chairman, he helped organize a number of votes in the region that were denounced as illegal by the government of Ukraine in Kyiv, including a May 2014 “independence referendum” and a November 2014 election for leadership positions in the self-proclaimed DPR.  In addition, Lyagin actively interfered with the internationally-recognized national Ukrainian elections by confiscating ballots and preventing voting in the May 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary elections and the October 2014 election for Ukraine’s President.  He has been designated for having asserted governmental authority over a part or region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine, and for having engaged in actions that have undermined democratic processes in Ukraine.