What does Darth Vader do when he's not out working for the Evil Empire? After a hard day spent trying to eradicate the Rebel Alliance and crush the fledgling Rebel Alliance, it seems the Sith Lord likes to relax by doing a spot of embroidery. Outside office hours, he puts old rivalries aside and meets up with Chewbacca and a couple of Stormtroopers for a spot of shopping or coffee in a local cafe.
Darth Vader does his embroidery (or, probably, pretends to do his wife's embroidery)Valentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Vader chats to Chewbacca and a Stormtrooper in a cafe in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Mykolaiovych Vader, Chewbacca and a Stormtrooper try to decide on juice or milk at a shop in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
In the evenings, he likes to watch himself on TV (we don't know what he thought of the prequels) before curling up to read a romantic bonkbuster in bed.
Lord Vader watches TV at home in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersThe Sith Lord reads what looks like a steamy bonkbuster in bedValentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
It appears the evil Lord is no fan of the dark side at home: he likes to do the ironing and get the vacuum cleaner out to spruce up his apartment, because this Darth Vader isn't the one who lives on the Death Star; this is Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, an aspiring Ukraininian politician who lives in a flat in Odessa.
Darth Mykolaiovych Vader poses for a picture with a vacuum cleaner as he cleans his apartmentValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Mykolaiovych Vader irons his cloak before leaving his apartment in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
While audiences around the world have had to wait 10 years for The Force Awakens, the latest film in the Star Wars franchise, residents of the Black Sea port city have become used to regular sightings of Lord Vader in his masked helmet and floor-length black cape. The Ukrainian citizen, who officially changed his name to Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, ran for the post of mayor of Odessa, representing the Internet Party.
He regularly campaigned in the city, backed up by a phalanx of supporters dressed as Stormtroopers. In the run-up to the elections, Mr Vader did all the things expected of a politician canvassing for votes, such as meeting locals at the market traders. The kissing babies thing didn't go too well.
Darth Maul and Emperor's Royal Guards show their support of Darth Vader's protest action in front of the Central Election Commission building in Kiev on 3 April 2014Sergey Supinsky/AFPKiev's mayoral candidate for the Internet Party arrives to speak to the media on Volodymyrska Hill in Kiev on 22 May 2014Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesDarth Vader takes part to a protest action in front of the Central Election Commission building in Kiev on 3 April 2014Sergey Supinsky/AFPActivists from the Internet Party of Ukraine hold a party congress in Kiev on 29 March 2014Alex Kuzmin/ReutersDarth Vader checks out the produce at a street market near the Ukrainian Central Elections Commission in Kiev on 3 April 2014Shamil Zhumatov/ReutersDarth Vader meets the locals, old and young, at a street market near the Ukrainian Central Elections Commission in Kiev on 3 April 2014Shamil Zhumatov/ReutersDarth Vader goes walkabout in Kiev and terrifies a child on 22 October 2014Valentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Vader and his Stormtroopers help to resurface a road in Odessa, on 23 March 2015Alexey Kravtsov/AFPNever afraid of getting his hands dirty, the Sith Lord mucks in to highlight Odessa's poor road qualityValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Vader visits a polling station during regional elections in Odessa on 25 October 2014Reuters
He didn't do badly in the October 2014 elections, coming 14th out of 42 candidates. An online petition to appoint him as prime minister later gained more than 25,000 signatures. His popularity is probably less a result of any significant support for the Dark Side than a sign of public frustration with the political status quo amid economic crisis and a violent separatist conflict. Some Odessa residents clearly prefer the evil Galactic Empire to their Communist past. In October this year a local artist refashioned a monument to Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin into a statue of Darth Vader.
A Darth Vader monument, formerly a statue of Soviet founder Lenin, is inaugurated in Odessa on 23 October 2015, just in time for the release of Star Wars: The Force AwakensVolodymyr Shuvayev/AFP
Asked about his plans for the future, Darth Mykolaiovych Vader said he was taking things slowly, but had not abandoned hope of gaining a top government job. "Considering the more than 25,000 signatures on the petition, (one plan is) to oust (Prime Minister Arseny) Yatseniuk and put me, Darth Vader, on the throne as prime minister," he told Reuters by email.
Until that glorious day arrives, Darth Mykolaiovych Vader will carry on living his day-to-day life: doing the chores, taking the dog for a walk and working out in a local with park (with a lightsaber, obviously).
The force awakens and waits for sunrise on the roof of his apartment block in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Mykolaiovych Vader poses for a picture while taking a shower in his full armour and maskValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Mykolaiovych Vader poses for a picture as he pretends to shave in a bathroom at his apartment in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Vader dries his mask and helmet with a hairdryer in the bathroom of his apartments in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Mykolaiovych Vader walks his golden retriever in a park in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Vader's dog investigates the dark side in a park in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersNo Imperial Star Destroyer for this Lord Vader – he takes the tram in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Vader tries to help a woman off a tram in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersDarth Mykolaiovych Vader cares for his horse at a stable outside OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersThe Dark Lord exercises with a lightsaber in a park in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/ReutersThe Dark Lord is illuminated by his lightsaber as he exercises at a park in OdessaValentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Oh, and in case you wondering: yes, he is married and has children (we bet they're mightily bored of him saying: "I am your father").
