In Kiev he is known as the “Chocolate King.” He’s “Ukraine’s Willy Wonka,” its grey cardinal, its dark horse, its prodigal son. Soon, Petro Poroshenko might also be Ukraine’s president.

According to a poll conducted last week in Kiev, Poroshenko leads the race for the Ukrainian presidency, which is scheduled to be decided in an election on May 25. Of those surveyed, 20 percent supported Poroshenko over the more recognizable figures of the Ukrainian opposition: boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko came in second with 12 percent and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko ranked third with only 9 percent.

Just last month, however, experts wouldn’t even consider the thought of a Poroshenko presidency. “He is publicly not a very attractive figure,” historian Valeriy Solovey told the Voice of Russia in February, citing Poroshenko’s rumored ties to Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Right Sector. According to the same article, “last year no more than 5 percent of Ukrainians were prepared to elect Poroshenko as their president.” His immense wealth and business connections have made him a suspect politician in the past, but things are different now. With the new Ukrainian government flailing, helpless to stymie a Russian invasion and wholly dependent on international aid, Poroshenko has emerged as a remarkably attractive political figure in Ukraine. His public approval rating has risen quickly even over the past several weeks, and he is being widely cited in the foreign press as the voice of the new government, which went so far as to dub him “the CEO of the revolution.”

Until recently Poroshenko, 48, had kept something of a low profile. He’s been a player in Ukrainian politics for 16 years and has been considered for almost as many government posts, but has only held a handful. He owns Ukraine’s largest candy company, Roshen (the name derives from Poroshenko), and the opposition television network Kanal 5, which helped fuel the Orange Revolution and broadcast live from the Maidan at the height of this winter’s protests. Roshen is part of an even bigger business empire, Ukprominvest Trade LLC, which includes “five confectionary plants and a business that sells foreign-made automobiles and motorcycles, and also manufactures domestic motor vehicles and ships,” according to Radio Free Europe. The chocolate company is one of Eastern Europe’s largest candy makers, specializing “in treats preferred by residents of the former Soviet Union,” as the New York Times put it. Poroshenko has made a killing off of nostalgia for Soviet kitsch, and Russia is his most profitable market. But don’t mistake him for an oligarch of the typical post-Soviet mold (his $1.3 billion net worth has often led reporters to lump him in with that bunch)—Poroshenko’s wealth is mostly self-made, an important if slight distinction in a country where oligarchic corruption is endemic.

Doing business with Russia has molded Poroshenko into the type of man who might be able to lead Ukraine out of this crisis. He has long stressed maintaining good relations with the Russian Federation so that Russia will keep buying Ukrainian goods, while still demanding Ukraine’s European integration. He’s a pragmatist, and his businesses are largely “crisis-resistant,” as the Kyiv Post put it. If elected, he’ll likely be able to steer Ukraine toward financial solvency.