The mayor of Kiev, known for his impulsive behavior and political stunts, was effectively removed from power on Tuesday by Ukraine’s president, who has been seeking to tighten political control over the country. The mayor, Leonid M. Chernovetsky, left, had seemed to survive in office because Ukraine’s squabbling political factions did not know how to handle him and could not agree on a successor. But the president, Viktor F. Yanukovich, who was elected this year, ousted Mr. Chernovetsky as head of the city’s administration and appointed a senior municipal official, Oleksandr Popov, to succeed him. Through a quirk in the law, Mr. Chernovetsky will continue for now as nominal head of the city, but Mr. Popov will wield the authority, officials said.

www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/world/europe/17briefs-KIEV.html