Sergey Kiriyenko
| Sergey Kiriyenko Серге́й Кирие́нко | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of Russia | |
|
In office 23 March 1998 – 23 August 1998 | |
| President | Boris Yeltsin |
| Preceded by | Viktor Chernomyrdin |
| Succeeded by | Viktor Chernomyrdin (Acting) |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia | |
|
In office 23 March 1998 – 24 April 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself acting PM |
| Preceded by | Boris Nemtsov |
| Succeeded by | Yuri Maslyukov |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 July 1962 Sukhumi, Abkhazian ASSR, Georgian SSR |
| Political party |
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1980s–1991) Independent (1991–1998) Union of Right Forces (1998–2008) |
| Spouse(s) | Maria V. Kiriyenko |
| Children |
Vladimir Lyubov Nadezhda |
| Religion | Russian Orthodox |
Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko (Russian: Серге́й Владиле́нович Кирие́нко; born 26 July 1962) is a Russian statesman and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Russia from 23 March to 23 August 1998 under President Boris Yeltsin. Currently, he is the head of Rosatom, the state nuclear energy corporation.
Early life
Sergei Kiriyenko's grandfather, Yakov Israitel, made his name as a devoted communist and member of the Cheka,[1] and Vladimir Lenin awarded him with an inscribed pistol for his good service to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Sergei Kiriyenko was born in Sukhumi, the capital of the Abkhazian ASSR, and grew up in Sochi, in southern Russia. After graduation from high school, Kiriyenko enrolled in the shipbuilding faculty at the Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky) Water Transport Engineers Institute, where his divorced father taught.
Prime Minister
Kirienko was appointed Prime Minister after the dismissal of Viktor Chernomyrdin's Second Cabinet. The State Duma, dominated by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, twice refused to confirm his appointment but president Boris Yeltsin nominated him a third time and Kiriyenko was confirmed.
Along with Deputy Prime minister Boris Nemtsov and Anatoly Chubais, Kirienko became known as one of "young reformists". They tried to improve the Russia's economy using International Monetary Fund credits, and it elevated the national debt to the level of $22.6 billion.
Kirienko's cabinet defaulted the GKO-OFZ government bond coupons which led to devaluation of the Russian ruble and 1998 Russian financial crisis. Responsible for the crisis, the prime minister resigned on 23 August.
Libel lawsuit
In 2004 Novaya Gazeta printed seven articles by columnist Georgy Rozhnov, which accused Kiriyenko of embezzling US$4.8 billion of International Monetary Fund funds in 1998 when he was Prime Minister of Russia.[2] The newspaper based the accusations on a letter allegedly written to Colin Powell and signed by US Congressmen Philip Crane, Mike Pence, Charlie Norwood, Dan Burton and Henry Bonilla and posted on the website of the American Defense Council.[3] The newspaper went on to claim that Kiriyenko had used some of the embezzled funds to purchase real estate in the United States. The Moscow newspaper, The eXile, announced it had sent the letter as a prank, but later claimed that this had been a joke.[3][4] In response, Kiriyenko sued Novaya Gazeta and Rozhnov for libel,[4] and in passing judgement in favour of Kiriyenko the court ordered Novaya Gazeta to retract all publications relating to the accusations, and noted "Novaya gazeta’s content on the missing IMF funds include a great deal of unproven information" and also went on to say that the newspaper "is obliged to publish only officially proven information linking Mr Kiriyenko with embezzlement."[2]
Formation of SPS
Together with Nemtsov, Chubais, Irina Hakamada and Egor Gaydar, Kirienko formed the Soyuz Pravih Sil (SPS, Union of the Right forces), one of the largest Russia's liberal democrat parties. The party finished fourth on 1999 elections.
He participated in the elections for Moscow mayor chair and finished second after incumbent Yuri Luzhkov.
Rosatom
Kirienko was appointed to head Rosatom, the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, on November 30, 2005.[5] He is also chairman of the board of directors of the vertically integrated Atomenergoprom nuclear company.[6]
He said on 18 September 2006 while in Vienna, that the reactor in the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran 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 of uranium enrichment centers. A uranium enrichment center could be operational in Russia in 2007.[7] Responding to a reporter's question, Kiriyenko said that the Bushehr power plant would not affect nuclear 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.[8] After a delay of some three years, Kiriyenko said 21 August 2010's arrival of nuclear fuel at Iran's Bushehr 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.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ Victor Yasmann Russia: Sergei Kiriyenko -- Russia's 'Kinder Surprise' Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 15 February 2006.
- 1 2 "III. Lawsuits against Journalists". Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations. 11–17 October 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- 1 2 Ames, Mark (22 July 2004). "Double Punk'd! Meta-Prank Goes Mega-Bad". The eXile. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- 1 2 "Новая газета" опровергла обвинения в адрес Кириенко. Lenta.ru (in Russian). 20 December 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ↑ Does the abrupt sacking of Russian nuclear energy minister signal a turnaround in Moscow`s policy on Iran’s nuclear program? DEBKA
- ↑ "AtomEnergoProm established, board named". 10 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
- ↑ "Russia says Iranian plant will come on line in 2007". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 19 September 2006. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2006.
- ↑ "Kiriyenko: Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant fully accords int'l laws". Islamic Republic News Agency. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2006.
- ↑ "Iran's first nuclear plant begins fueling". CNN. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sergey Kiriyenko. |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Viktor Chernomyrdin |
Prime Minister of Russia 1998 |
Succeeded by Viktor Chernomyrdin Acting |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Position created |
Presidential Envoy to the Volga Federal District 18 May 2000 – 14 November 2005 |
Succeeded by Alexandr Konovalov |
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