Viktor Chernomyrdin

Viktor Chernomyrdin was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1989, after which he became the first chairman of Gazprom, an energy company that became a powerful lever of Russian foreign policy. He was also the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Russia from 1992 to 1998, during the transition from a planned to a market economy. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s and a participant in the constitutional crisis of 1993. He was also involved in the negotiations to end the First Chechen War and the resolution of the hostage crisis in Budyonnovsk. Chernomyrdin was known for his pragmatic and moderate approach to economic and social reforms, as well as his loyalty to President Boris Yeltsin. He was also known for his language style, which contained numerous malapropisms and syntactic errors. Many of his sayings became aphorisms and idioms in the Russian language, such as "We wanted the best, but it turned out like always." Chernomyrdin became a revolutionary while studying economics, and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1961. He worked as a mechanic, machinist, operator and chief engineer at various oil and gas plants until 1978, when he moved to Moscow to work for the Central Committee of the party. He was appointed as the deputy minister of the gas industry in 1982, and as the minister in 1985. He transformed the ministry into a state-owned corporation called Gazprom in 1989, and remained its chairman until 1992. He was also a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Chernomyrdin became a deputy prime minister and minister of fuel and energy in the reformist government of Yegor Gaidar in 1992. When the Congress of People's Deputies refused to confirm Gaidar as prime minister, Yeltsin replaced him with Chernomyrdin, who was more acceptable to the parliament. Chernomyrdin formed a centrist government that tried to balance between the advocates of rapid privatization and market reforms and the opponents of radical changes. He also improved relations with the regions, the military and the security forces. He supported Yeltsin during the constitutional crisis of 1993, when the president dissolved the parliament and faced an armed rebellion. He was reappointed as prime minister after the adoption of the new constitution and the election of the new parliament. Chernomyrdin continued to pursue economic and social reforms, but at a slower and more cautious pace. He oversaw the privatization of many state enterprises, the introduction of the new ruble, the stabilization of inflation and the growth of foreign investment. He also faced many challenges, such as the rise of organized crime, corruption, social inequality, ethnic conflicts and separatism. He played a prominent role in the negotiations to end the First Chechen War in 1996, and in the resolution of the hostage crisis in Budyonnovsk in 1995, when he personally met with the Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev. He also maintained good relations with the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the European Union and the United States. He was considered as a potential successor to Yeltsin, who suffered from poor health and low popularity. Chernomyrdin formed his own political party, Our Home Is Russia, in 1995, and led it to the parliamentary elections, where it came third with 10% of the vote. He also ran for president in 1996, but withdrew his candidacy in favor of Yeltsin, who won a second term. Chernomyrdin remained as prime minister until 1998, when he was dismissed by Yeltsin amid the economic crisis and the devaluation of the ruble. He was briefly appointed as the acting prime minister in August 1998, but was not confirmed by the parliament, which rejected him three times. He was replaced by Yevgeny Primakov in September 1998. After leaving the government, Chernomyrdin remained active in politics and business. He was appointed as the special representative of the president for the relations with the former Yugoslavia in 1999, and as the ambassador to Ukraine in 2001. He was also a member of the Security Council and the Council of the Federation of Russia. He was a supporter of Vladimir Putin, who succeeded Yeltsin as president in 2000. He was also the chairman of the board of directors of Gazprom until 2000, and then became its honorary chairman. He was also involved in various charitable and cultural activities. He died of heart failure in 2010, and was buried with state honors in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.