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Viktor Chernomyrdin

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Viktor Chernomyrdin
Виктор Черномырдин
Prime Minister of Russia
In office
14 December 1992 – 23 March 1998
PresidentBoris Yeltsin
Preceded byYegor Gaidar
Succeeded bySergei Kiriyenko
In office
23 August 1998 – 11 September 1998
Preceded bySergei Kiriyenko
Succeeded byYevgeny Primakov
Personal details
Born (1938-04-09) 9 April 1938 (age 86)
Political partyOur Home is Russia

Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (Russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин) (born 9 April 1938) is a Russian politician. Chernomyrdin was Prime Minister of Russia from 1992 to 1998. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to Ukraine. After that, he was designated as a presidential adviser.[1]

Youth and education

Chernomyrdin's father was a labourer. Viktor was one of his five children. Chernomyrdin completed school education in 1957 and found employment as a mechanic in an oil refinery in Orsk. He worked there until 1962, except for two years of compulsory military service from 1957 to 1960. His other occupations on the plant during this period included machinist, operator and chief of technical installations[citation needed].

He became a member of the CPSU in 1961.

In 1962, he was admitted to Kuybyshev Industrial Institute (which was later renamed Samara Polytechnical Institute). In his entrance exams he performed very poorly. He failed maths and had to take the exam again, getting a C. He got only one B in Russian language, and Cs in the other tests. He was admitted only because of very low competition. In 1966 he graduated from this institute. In 1972 he completed further studies at the Department of Economics of the Union-wide Polytechnic Institute by correspondence[citation needed].

Career

During 1967-1973 he was involved in CPSU work in Orsk.

During 1973-1978 he worked as the director of the natural gas refinering plant in Orenburg.

During 1978-1982 he worked in the heavy industry arm of CC CPSU.

In 1982, he was appointed deputy Minister of the natural gas industries of the Soviet Union. Concurrently, beginning from 1983, he directed Glavtyumengazprom, an industry association for natural gas resource development in Tyumen Oblast. During 1985-1989 he was the Minister of gas industries.

In 1989, when the Ministry of Oil and Gas was converted into the government company Gazprom, Chernomyrdin was elected its chairman.

In May 1992, Boris Yeltsin appointed Chernomyrdin deputy prime minister in charge of fuel and energy.

On 14 December 1992, Chernomyrdin was confirmed by the VII Congress of People's Deputies of Russia as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.

In April 1995, he formed a political bloc called Our Home – Russia, which was aimed at becoming the central force in the parliament, but failed in this, gaining only 10% of votes.

On 18 June 1995, as a result of Shamil Basayev-led terrorists taking over 1500 people hostage in Budyonnovsk, negotiations between Chernomyrdin and Basayev led to a compromise which became a turning point for the First Chechen War. In exchange for the hostages, the Russian government agreed to halt military actions in Chechnya and begin a series of negotiations.[2]

Chernomyrdin with Vladimir Putin in June 2001 after being appointed as Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine.

He was Acting President of the Russian Federation for 23 hours on 6 November 1996, when Boris Yeltsin was undergoing a heart operation.[3][4]

Chernomyrdin remained prime minister until his dismissal in March 1998. Following the 1998 Russian financial crisis in August, Yeltsin re-appointed Chernomyrdin as prime minister, but the Duma refused to confirm this.

In December 1999 he was elected a member of the Duma.

In May 2001, Vladimir Putin appointed Chernomyrdin Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine. This action was interpreted by some Russian media agencies as a move to distance Chernomyrdin from the centre of Russian politics. In 2003, he dismissed talk of an apology for the Holodomor Famine.[5]

In February 2009 Chernomyrdin again strained the relations between Ukraine and Russia when he in an interview said "It is impossible to come to an agreement on anything with the Ukrainian leadership. If different people come in, we´ll see". The Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a response it could declare Chernomyrdin "persona non grata" over the row.[6]

On 11 June 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev relieved Chernomyrdin as Russian Ambassador in Kiev, and appointed him as "presidential adviser and special presidential representative on economic cooperation with CIS member countries".[1][7] In a parting shot at the Ukrainian government, Chernomyrdin stated that Russia should not apologise to Ukraine over voicing its suspicions about Ukraine being unable to pay for its natural gas, and further stated that Russia wants Ukraine to pay for the gas it consumes, and hence Russia is right to be concerned about the solvency of the Ukrainian state.[8]

Chernomyrdin's idioms

In Russian-speaking countries, Chernomyrdin is famous for his numerous malapropisms and syntactically incorrect speech.[9]

One of his expressions "We wanted the best, but it turned out as always" (Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда in Russian) about the economic reforms in Russia became a popular proverb[10][11]. The phrase was uttered after a highly unsuccessful monetary exchange performed by the Russian Central Bank in July 1993.

References

  1. ^ a b "Dmitry Medvedev appointed Viktor Chernomyrdin presidential adviser on economic cooperation with CIS member countries and relieved him of his previous duties". Presidential Press and Information Office. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/01/world/facing-threat-in-parliament-yeltsin-removes-3-ministers.html?pagewanted=all
  3. ^ Hoffman, David (1996-11-06). "Yeltsin Heart Operation Called a Success". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  4. ^ Decree of President of Russian Federation No. 1378 of 19 September 1996; Temporary discharge of duty of President of Russian Federation
  5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4471256.stm
  6. ^ "Russia warns it will hit back if Ukraine expels envoy - reports". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  7. ^ "Chernomyrdin dismissed as Russian ambassador to Ukraine". Moscow: RIA Novosti. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  8. ^ "No reason why Russia should apologize to Ukraine - Chernomyrdin". Kiev: ITAR-TASS. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  9. ^ Collection of Chernomyrdin's quotes at a Russian humouristic website (in Russian)
  10. ^ A story of the main Chernomyrdin's proverb by Konstantin Dushenko, an aphorism collector (in Russian)
  11. ^ Google search for the main Chernomyrdin's proverb quoted and re-used (in Russian)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Viktor Chernomyrdin.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Russia
1992 – 1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Russia
1998 		Succeeded by
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