Sergey Kiriyenko | |
|---|---|
Сергей Кириенко | |
_(cropped).jpg) Kiriyenko in 2020 | |
| First DeputyKremlin Chief of Staff | |
| Assumed office 5 October 2016 | |
| President | Vladimir Putin |
| Preceded by | Vyacheslav Volodin |
| Presidential Envoy to theVolga Federal District | |
| In office 18 May 2000 – 14 November 2005 | |
| President | Vladimir Putin |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Aleksandr Konovalov |
| Prime Minister of Russia | |
| In office 23 March 1998 – 23 August 1998 Acting: 23 March – 24 April 1998 | |
| President | Boris Yeltsin |
| Deputy | Boris Nemtsov Himself |
| Preceded by | Viktor Chernomyrdin |
| Succeeded by | Viktor Chernomyrdin(Acting) Yevgeny Primakov |
| First Deputy Prime Minister | |
| In office 23 March 1998 – 24 April 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself(Acting) |
| Preceded by | Boris Nemtsov |
| Succeeded by | Yuri Maslyukov |
| Minister of Fuel and Energy | |
| In office 20 November 1997 – 23 March 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Viktor Chernomyrdin |
| Preceded by | Boris Nemtsov |
| Succeeded by | Viktor Ott(Acting) Sergey Generalov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sergey Vladilenovich Izraitel (1962-07-26)26 July 1962 (age 63) Sukhumi,Abkhaz ASSR, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union(1980–1991) Union of Right Forces(1998–2008) Independent(1991–1998 and since 2008) |
| Spouse | Maria V. Kiriyenko |
| Children | 3, includingVladimir |
Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko[a] (néIzraitel;Russian:Серге́й Владиле́нович Кирие́нко; born 26 July 1962) is a Russian politician who has served as First Deputy Chief of Staff of thePresidential Administration of Russia since 5 October 2016. He previously served as the 30thPrime Minister of Russia from 23 March to 23 August 1998 under PresidentBoris Yeltsin, and was head of theRosatom nuclear energy company between 2005 and 2016. Kiriyenko was the youngest Prime Minister of Russia, taking the position at age 35. Ideologically a technocrat, he has played a leading role in the governance ofRussian-occupied territories of Ukraine since theRussian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Kiriyenko's father, Vladilen Israitel, made his name as a doctor of philosophy.[1] Sergei Kiriyenko, son of aJewish father,[2] was born inSukhumi, the capital of theAbkhaz ASSR, and grew up inSochi, in southern Russia. He adopted theUkrainian surname of his mother.[2] After graduation from high school, Kiriyenko enrolled in the shipbuilding faculty at theNizhny Novgorod (Gorky) Water Transport Engineers Institute, where his divorced father taught.[citation needed]
Kiriyenko was appointed actingPrime Minister after the dismissal ofViktor Chernomyrdin's Second Cabinet by PresidentBoris Yeltsin on 23 March 1998.[3] On 20 April, Kiriyenko met U.S. Deputy Secretary of StateStrobe Talbot and assured him that his government will continue theeconomic reform program.[4] The State Duma, dominated by theCommunist Party of the Russian Federation, twice refused to confirm his appointment, but Yeltsin nominated him a third time and threatened to dissolve the parliament. Kiriyenko was confirmed on 24 April.[5][6] His cabinet included many key ministers from the previous one, includingBoris Nemtsov as aDeputy Prime Minister.[7]
Russians would popularly call the nomination of Kiriyenko "Kinder Surprise", a reference to both the unexpectedness of such an appointment and his youth at the time of his appointment. His appointment was assisted by Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, who later became a leading critic of and activist againstVladimir Putin's government.[8] Along with Nemtsov andAnatoly Chubais, Kiriyenko was known during the late 1990s as part of a group of "young reformers", who sought wide-reaching overhauls to the economic system. This was in contrast with his immediate predecessor, the more moderateViktor Chernomyrdin.[5] Kiriyenko's premiership was noted in hindsight for the appointment of Vladimir Putin asDirector of the Federal Security Service, eventually leading to his accession to the presidency in 2000.[9]
In June 1998, Kiriyenko submitted an austerity plan to theIMF while seeking a $10 billion loan to stabilize Russian financial markets.[10] Kiriyenko asked the State Duma on 1 July 1998 to quickly approve the plan. He said that it was the only way to prevent a crisis and that he would resign if it does not work.[11] But the austerity plan was not approved due to Communist opposition, which contributed to theAugust 1998 Russian financial crisis. The IMF and the United States refused to provide more financial assistance,[12] and Kiriyenko's cabinetdefaulted theGKO-OFZ government bond coupons, which led to devaluation of the Russian ruble and the financial crisis.[13] Kiriyenko took responsibility for the crisis and resigned on 23 August.[14] Yeltsin replaced him with Chernomyrdin as acting Prime Minister.[15] The fall of the Kiriyenko government left a political vacuum that was not filled until September, whenYevgeny Primakov assumed the premiership and took economic policy in a different direction.[16]
In 2004,Novaya Gazeta printed seven articles by columnist Georgy Rozhnov, which accused Kiriyenko of embezzlingUS$4.8 billion of IMF funds in 1998 when he was Prime Minister of Russia.[17] The newspaper based the accusations on a letter allegedly written toColin Powell and signed byUS CongressmenPhilip Crane,Mike Pence,Charlie Norwood,Dan Burton andHenry Bonilla and posted on the website of the American Defense Council.[18] The newspaper went on to claim that Kiriyenko had used some of the embezzled funds to purchase real estate in theUnited States. The Moscow newspaper,The eXile, announced it had sent the letter as a prank, but later claimed that this had been a joke.[18][19] In response, Kiriyenko sued Novaya Gazeta and Rozhnov forlibel,[19] and in passing judgement in favour of Kiriyenko the court ordered Novaya Gazeta to retract all publications relating to the accusations. The court noted "Novaya gazeta's content on the missing IMF funds include a great deal of unproven information" and also went on to order the newspaper "to publish only officially proven information linking Mr Kiriyenko with embezzlement."[17][clarification needed]
Together withBoris Nemtsov andIrina Hakamada and along with others, Kiriyenko formed theUnion of Right Forces. Kiriyenko led the party in the1999 legislative election. The party finished fourth in the election, receiving 29 seats. Kiriyenko headed the parliamentary group of the party.[13]
Since 2000 Kiriyenko has held the federal state civilian service rank of1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.[20]
Kiriyenko was appointed to headRosatom, the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, on 30 November 2005 byMikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet during the second term of PresidentVladimir Putin.[21] He was also appointed by the same administration to chair the board of directors of the vertically integratedAtomenergoprom nuclear company in July 2007.[22]
Kiriyenko said on 18 September 2006 while inVienna, that the reactor in theBushehr nuclear plant inIran should be operational by September 2007 and the plant itself will be active in November 2007. He advocated President Vladimir Putin's idea of creating an international system ofuranium enrichment centers. A uranium enrichment center could be operational in Russia in 2007.[23] Responding to a reporter's question, Kiriyenko said that the Bushehr power plant would not affectnuclear non-proliferation and that there was nothing preventing Iran-Russia energy cooperation. The Government of Russia planned to deliver nuclear fuel to the plant in March 2007.[24] After a delay of some three years, Kiriyenko said 21 August 2010's arrival of nuclear fuel at Iran'sBushehr I marks "an event of crucial importance" that proves that "Russia always fulfills its international obligations." Spent nuclear fuel from the plant will be sent back to Russia.[25]
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Kiriyenko was replaced as General Director of Rosatom on 5 October 2016 byAlexey Likhachev, formerDeputy Minister for Economic Development.[26]
It came to light in July 2018 that for his work in Rosatom Kiriyenko was awarded by a confidential decree aHero of Russia honorary title.[27]
In October 2016 Kiriyenko was appointed First Deputy Chief of Staff in Putin's administration.[28] The position has significant status within the Russian government, withThe Moscow Times referring to Kiriyenko as "Putin's right-hand man" and a "gray cardinal" following the appointment.[29]
Kiriyenko spoke publicly about the need to work with Russian youth and their fondness for debauched hip-hop, most notably in response to the crackdown in late 2018.[30][31]
Vadim Prokhorov, one of his former colleagues, described him as "a very flexible man [ideologically], who will never go against the wind."[9]
Following the beginning of theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Kiriyenko's portfolio as First Deputy Chief of Staff was expanded to cover administration ofRussian-occupied territories of Ukraine. By June 2022 it was reported byMeduza[32] andBloomberg News[33] that Kiriyenko had been entrusted with managing the occupied territories, a role that earned him the popular nickname "Viceroy of the Donbas". Kiriyenko has continued to influence Russian domestic policy since the invasion, including allegedly preventing the cancellation of the2022 Russian gubernatorial elections.[32]
On 5 May 2022 it was reported that Kiriyenko visited the Russian-occupied city ofMariupol, taking part in the unveiling of a statue of an old woman holding the Soviet flag.[34] Kiriyenko said that "Babushka Anya is a symbol of the motherland for the entire"Russian world.[35]
On 6 June Kiriyenko visited occupiedKherson,[36] and it was reported by the Ukrainian mayor of Kherson,Ihor Kolykhaiev, that the occupiers had conducted a meeting of more than 70 Russian sympathisers aimed at conducting a referendum on the region integrating the occupied areas into Russia. Kolykhaiev's sources told him that the dates discussed were two: in September or at the end of 2022.[37] A Russian election happens on 11 September and the Kherson vote would be scheduled to coincide that day.[36] An elected official in Russia namedIgor Kastyukevich had discussed this plan on 7 June, following the visit of Kiriyenko. By June, Russian occupational forces in Kherson had begun adjusting local curriculum to match Russia's, and Russian SIM cards were on the market. Kolykhaiev also witnessed Russian forces distributing Russian passports to Kherson residents. A café frequented by Russian soldiers was bombed on 7 June and at least four people were injured.[37]
In late 2022, Russian opposition politician Nikita Yuferev accused Kiriyenko of violating Russia's2022 war censorship laws.[38]
In September 2024, the United States Justice Department asserted that Kiriyenko had created some 30 internet domains to spreadRussian disinformation, including onElon Musk'sX which was formerly known as Twitter. In October 2024, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Musk had been in contact with Kiriyenko andVladimir Putin whichDmitry Peskov affirmed.[39][40]
While Kiriyenko was in office, he was sanctioned by both theUnited Kingdom andEuropean Union (amongst the list of six individuals and one organization) on 15 October 2020 over theAlexei Navalny poisoning. Navalny, an opponent of Putin's, was poisoned on 20 August 2020, while travelling on a flight inside Russia.[41]
On 21 February 2022, after Putin officially recognized theLuhansk People's Republic andDonetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, other countries began to sanction Russian individuals and companies. On 22 February 2022, US PresidentJoe Biden imposed sanctions on Kiriyenko, along with his sonVladimir for their connections to the Russian government.[42]
Kiriyenko's son Vladimir was appointed CEO ofVKontakte in December 2021, the influential Russian social network after the controversial takeover of VKontakte by companies affiliated with state-owned gas giantGazprom, in what critics said was a sign of the Kremlin tightening its grip over the social media network. Critics have accused the company of sharing user's data with Russia's security services.[citation needed]
Media related toSergey Kiriyenko at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Russia 1998 | Succeeded by Viktor Chernomyrdin Acting |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Position created | Presidential Envoy to theVolga Federal District 18 May 2000 – 14 November 2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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