Ilya Ponomarev

Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev (Russian: Илья Владимирович Пономарёв; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian left-wing politician, business manager and an author.

Ponomarev graduated from Moscow State University (Faculty of Physics)

Ponomarev started his career in 1989 in Institute of Nuclear Safety, USSR Academy of Sciences, as a system programmer and training group manager.

In 1991 he founded his own company RussProfi Ltd., specialized in IT and software development.

In 1995 it merged with Russian-American joint venture «International Network Connections», where Mr. Ponomarev became chief of operations. JV INC specialized in creation of nation-wide heterogeneous corporate networks, including biggest in Russia corporate network for Yukos oil company.

In 1996 Mr. Ponomarev joined Schlumberger Oilfield Services as CIS business development and marketing manager, responsible for search of new technologies in Russia which had global potential within oil and gas industry. Such technologies as ProMIS production management system was implemented in such companies as BP, PDVSA, Sonatrach as well as in Russian Yukos, LUKOIL and Surgutneftegas.

In 1998 under framework of Schlumberger-Yukos alliance Mr. Ponomarev became CIO of Yukos E&P. In 1999 founded Yukos subsidiary Siberian Internet Company, which later gave birth to a majority of Yukos social and education initiatives, including Federation of Internet Education and Open Russia Foundation. In 2000 Mr. Ponomarev became president of Yukos-owned ARRAVA venture capital fund, which fathered projects in interactive TV domain and analytical “mission control” systems.

Since 2001 Mr. Ponomarev worked in GR – firstly, in Yukos, overseeing Yakutiya; later, since 2002 – in Russian biggest IT company IBS as Vice-President, GR and Strategic business development.

In 2002 joined Communist Party of Russian Federation and became party’s CIO, creating most popular partisan Web site kprf.ru and votes counting system, parallel to official one – which helped to prove a major fraud in Russian legislative election, 2003, barring liberal parties from getting into State Duma. Since 2002 Mr. Ponomarev also became director of New Policy Research Center in Institute of Globalization Studies.

Since 2004 he is one of founders and most prominent leaders of Left Front coalition, uniting Russian alternative left groups and labor unions, communist and socialist youth. In 2006 was coordinator of G8 contrsummit in St.-Petersburg, which became most massive nation-wide protest action – and most massive police operation with hundreds of detained activists in different Russian regions.

In 2007 Mr. Ponomarev claimed that Communist Party leadership fell under control of Kremlin administration and joined Spravedlivaya Rossiya (Fair Russia, social democrats led by Russian Senate speaker Sergey Mironov) party ranks.

In 2007 he was elected into State Duma (representing Novosibirsk – capital of Siberia and major Russian fundamental research and science center). In State Duma became chairman of Hi-Tech Development Subcommittee, responsible for legislation in hi-tech parks, special economical zones, tax breaks, venture capital funding, etc. Since 2008 – programs director of Institute of Strategic Development (Advisory Board is chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev).

he is a member of Society of Petroleum Engineers/IT, Council for Foreign and Defense Policy (СВОП), Council for National Strategy (СНС). Fellow at «Open Russia» Foundation.

Mr. Ponomarev's biography can be found at duma.spravedlivo.ru and cprf.info/personal/ponomarev. His personal blog is ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com and twitter.com/iponomarev