Pop Culture News
A Day in the Life of Darth Vader
It's not all intimidation and planetary destruction for the galactic bad boy, he's got chores, too.
Darth Vader takes a shower in his apartment in Odessa, Ukraine on Dec. 4, 2015.
Darth Vader of "Star Wars" was bent on galactic domination, but his Ukrainian namesake enjoys more mundane pursuits: local politics, walking the family dog and a spot of embroidery. The Ukrainian citizen, who has changed his name to Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, ran for the post of local mayor in October, his political backers dressed as Stormtroopers. In his trademark black outfit, he is a regular sight around Odessa, a major port city on southern Ukraine's Black Sea coast.
The Sith Lord beat out more traditional candidates to place 15th out of 42 candidates in the mayoral race, while an online petition to appoint him prime minister later gained more than 25,000 signatures.
His popularity is probably less a result of any significant support for the Dark Side among average Ukrainians than a sign of public frustration with the political status quo amid economic crisis and a violent separatist conflict.