Vladimir Yakunin

Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin (Russian: Владимир Иванович Якунин; born June 30, 1948 in Melenki, Vladimir Oblast) is a Russian businessman, president of the Russian Railways company (JSC RZD).

Early life

Yakunin was born in Melenki in Gus-Khrustalny District of Vladimir Oblast.[1] Аccording until the age of 14 he was living in Pärnu, Estonia. His father was a pilot of the USSR Border Troops. His mother was an accountant. In 1964 his father demobilized and the family moved to Leningrad, which Vladimir Ivanovich refers to as his home town.

Career

In 1972, Yakunin graduated from the Leningrad Mechanical Institute where he studied aircraft construction. He graduated as master mechanic specializing in engineering and maintenance of long-range ballistic missiles.[2]

His career began in the State Institute for Applied Chemistry in Leningrad, where he worked from 1972 to 1975.[3]

In 1975, he joined the USSR Army.[4] After demobilizing in 1977 he worked as a senior engineer in the State Committee for International Trade of the Sovmin until 1982.[5]

In 1982-1985, he was one of the heads of the Foreign Relations Department in the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute.[6]

Between 1985 and 1991, Yakunin was part of the Soviet diplomatic mission to the United Nations, since 1988, as the Mission's First Secretary.[7]

Early in 1991, Yakunin left government service to become a businessman. He was chairman of the board in the International Business Cooperation Center.[8]

In December 1991, he became a member of the board of directors and minor shareholder of the Russia bank.

Since the early 1990s, Yakunin owns a dacha in Solovyovka, Priozersky district of the Leningrad region, which is located on the eastern shore of the Komsomol'skoye lake on the Karelian Isthmus near St. Petersburg. His neighbours there are Vladimir Putin, Andrei Fursenko, Sergey Fursenko, Yuriy Kovalchuk, Viktor Myachin, Vladimir Smirnov and Nikolay Shamalov. On November 10, 1996, together they instituted the co-operative society Ozero (the Lake) which united their properties.[9][10][11]

In 1997, he once again became a government official, working as head of the North-West Regional Inspection of Government Accountability Office.

From December 7, 2000 to February 2002, Yakunin was deputy of Russia's Transport Minister Sergey Frank, supervising merchant fleet development and seaport business functions..

On February 8, 2002, he was appointed First deputy of the new Railway Transport Minister Gennady Fadeev (Фадеев, Геннадий Матвеевич ) where he worked until October 22, 2003.

On October 24, 2003, Yakunin became Deputy Head of the Russian Railways headed by Gennady Fadeev, created out of the Ministry. On June 15, 2005, he was appointed Head of the Russian Railways (Government decree 786-r, June 14, 2005). He was later reappointed to the same office three times (Government decree 843-r, June 12, 2008, Government decree 987-r June 10, 2011, Government decree 1606-r, August 25, 2014).

On December 12, 2012 in Paris, the International Union of Railways General assembly appointed Yakunin chairman of the Union.[12] He was later unanimously reappointed to this offie on, December 3, 2014.

Yakunin is also President of the "World Public Forum - Dialogue of Civilizations", an International NGO, registered in Vienna, Austria, which he co-founded with C.Kapur of India and N.Papanikolao from Greece/USA. World Public Forum - Dialogue of Civilizations is an initiative to link people of different civilizations, traditions and religions. It organizes the annual Rhodes Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations.

Scientific activities

Social activities and charity

Honours and awards

In October 2007, for his contribution to the implementation of measures to reform the railway transport development strategy of the Russian railways, providing constructive social policy, effective communication with the public authorities of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as with foreign railway administrations and international organizations awarded "Honourable railwayman JSC" Russian Railways.

Sanctions

On March 20, 2014, the United States government sanctioned Yakunin in response to the Russian governments role in the ongoing unrest in Ukraine. The sanctions include a travel ban to the United States, freezing of all assets of Yakunin in the United States and a ban on business transactions between American citizens and corporations and Yakunin and businesses he owns.[20][21]

References

  1. ↑ Russia Monitor, personalities - Vladimir Yakunin
  2. ↑ Russian Railways. Executive management
  3. ↑ Politician from Russia, Vl. Yakunin
  4. ↑ Politician from Russia, Vl. Yakunin
  5. ↑ Russian Railways. Executive management
  6. ↑ Russian Railways. Executive management
  7. ↑ Anticompromat, Internet library
  8. ↑ Russian Railways. Executive management
  9. ↑ How the 1980s Explains Vladimir Putin. The Ozero group. By Fiona Hill & Clifford G. Gaddy, The Atlantic, February 14 2013
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Владимир Прибыловский, Юрий Фельштинский. Операция "Наследник". Главы из книги.Штрихи к политическому портрету В. В. Путина
  12. ↑ Vladimir Yakunin Elected as Chairman of UIC
  13. ↑ The SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION of the CIS
  14. ↑ The SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION of the CIS
  15. ↑ V.I. Yakunin Participates in a Stamp-Canceling Ceremony in Celebration of 1150 Years of Russian Statehood
  16. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Russkiy Mir Foundation.
  17. ↑ "Open lecture "Global geopolitical and geoeconomical transformations: a big war or a big breakthrough" by V.Yakunin". LinkedIn.
  18. ↑ "The World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" is an international, independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization. Management". WPFDC.org.
  19. ↑ "Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star for Services to the Republic of Austria was awarded to Vladimir Yakunin". World Public Forum. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  20. ↑ "Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members Of The Russian Leadership’s Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement In The Situation In Ukraine". US Department of the treasury.
  21. ↑ "Executive Order - Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine". The White House - Office of the Press Secretary.

External links