Boris Gryzlov

Summary

Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov (Russian: Борис Вячеславович Грызлов, Russian pronunciation: [bɐˈrʲiz ɡrɨˈzɫof];[1] born 15 December 1950) is a Russian politician currently serving as the Russian Ambassador to Belarus. Previously, he served as the chairman of the State Duma from 2003 to 2011 and as interior minister from 2001 to 2003. He was also the leader of the ruling United Russia party.

Boris Gryzlov
Борис Грызлов
Gryzlov in 2011
Russian Ambassador to Belarus
Assumed office
14 January 2022
PresidentVladimir Putin
Preceded byYevgeny Lukyanov
Chairman of the Supreme Council
of United Russia
Assumed office
27 November 2004
Chairman of the State Duma
In office
29 December 2003 – 21 December 2011
Preceded byGennady Seleznyov
Succeeded bySergey Naryshkin
Chairman of United Russia
In office
27 November 2004 – 7 May 2008
Preceded bySergey Shoygu
Succeeded byVladimir Putin
Minister of Internal Affairs
In office
28 March 2001 – 24 December 2003
Prime MinisterMikhail Kasyanov
Preceded byVladimir Rushaylo
Succeeded byRashid Nurgaliyev
Parliamentary leader of United Russia in the State Duma
In office
7 December 2003 – 24 September 2011
Preceded byVladimir Pekhtin
Succeeded byAndrey Vorobyov
Personal details
Born
Boris Vyacheslavovich Gryzlov

(1950-12-15) 15 December 1950 (age 73)
Vladivostok, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political partyUnited Russia
SpouseAda Viktorovna Gryzlova
ChildrenDmitry (1979)
Evgeniya (1980)
Signature

Early career edit

Gryzlov was born in Vladivostok but was raised in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). He graduated from the Leningrad Electrical Institute of Communications in 1973 and worked as a radio engineer. From 1977 to 1996, he worked his way up from being an engineer to division director in the Elektronpribor plant.[2] He was not a public figure before 1999. In October 1999, he became head of the St Petersburg regional branch of Sergey Shoygu's Unity party, and in December 1999, he was elected to the State Duma running on the Unity party ticket. In January 2000, he was elected chairman of the Unity faction in the Duma.

Interior Minister edit

In March 2001, he was appointed to the post of chief of Russian police and became Interior Minister. In this position, Gryzlov proclaimed that the fight against terrorism and corruption were his priorities.

Gryzlov supported the Kremlin's policies in Chechnya[when?] and won the reputation of being a trusted and loyal supporter of the president.

In August 2001, Boris Gryzlov claimed that up to 100 industrial enterprises in Saint Petersburg, including the Petersburg Fuel Company, a leading gasoline retailing operator in the city, as well as the four main sea ports of Northwestern Russia, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, were controlled by the Tambov Gang.[3] In May 2002, he sent a commission to St. Petersburg to investigate corruption allegations in the city's gasoline market. The investigation was initiated after the Faeton Gasoline Company, the second leading fuel retailing company in the city, had complained to both Gryzlov and the Prosecutor General's Office in April that the Saint Petersburg City Administration had given preferential treatment to the Petersburg Fuel Company.[4]

Parliament speaker edit

Within a year, he returned to party politics, and in November 2002, became the head of the United Russia, a centrist pro-Putin group what emerged from Unity and several other pro-government movements that joined it. In December 2003, Boris Gryzlov was elected as speaker of the Duma.

In November 2009, Gryzlov defined United Russia's ideology as "Russian conservatism" – characterizing such conservatism as "an ideology of stability and development, constant creative renovation of society without stagnation and revolutions."[5] Gryzlov resigned from the office of Parliament speaker on 14 December 2011, amongst accusations of polling fraud orchestrated by the United Russia party in the 2011 Russian Duma elections.[6]

Sanctions edit

Sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.[7]

Diplomat edit

From December 2015, Gryzlov has been representative of Russia in the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine.[8]

On 14 January 2022, president Vladimir Putin appointed Gryzlov as Russian ambassador to the Republic of Belarus.[9] On February 3, Belarusian president Lukashenko received credentials of the new ambassador of Russia.[10]

Memorable quotes edit

Following the 2007 Parliamentary elections, Gryzlov responded to criticism of electoral violations saying: They in no way put in doubt the final result. The fact that these violations have been registered shows that we have a transparent ballot.[11]

Following the 2009 regional parliamentary elections, Gryzlov stated in response to criticism of electoral violations: Corruption and legal nihilism, inherent to Russian mentality, should not be shifted onto "United Russia" party.[12] Representatives of the nationalist Movement Against Illegal Immigration responded by telling the press that they were offended by such comments. The nationalists attempted to file charges against Gryzlov for belittling the Russian people under the same article used to prosecute nationalists for incitement to inter-ethnic violence,[13] but these allegations were rejected by the prosecutor general.

He has also voiced significant support for the controversial Russian inventor Viktor Petrik, even co-signing together with Petrik a number of patent applications. After the Russian Academy of Sciences commission claimed that Petrik was a fraud, Gryzlov denounced the panel as obscurantism.[14]

References edit

  1. ^ In isolatio, Борис is pronounced [bɐˈrʲis].
  2. ^ "Биография (Biography in Russian)". Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Newsweek details Putin's alleged organized crime ties..." Vol. 7, no. 155. The Jamestown Foundation. 27 August 2001. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  4. ^ Business - IN BRIEF, St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on 2008-10-26
  5. ^ Hai Yang & Lu Jingli (24 November 2009). "Congress of United Russia party a weathervane of Russian politics". Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine Xinhua. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  6. ^ Schwirtz, Michael (14 December 2011). "Boris V. Gryzlov, a Putin Ally, Resigns as Parliament Speaker". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Путин назначил Грызлова представителем России в контактной группе по Украине" [Putin appoints Gryzlov as Russian representative in contact group on Ukraine]. Interfax (in Russian). 26 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Putin appoints Boris Gryzlov as Russian Ambassador to Belarus". TASS. 14 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Лукашенко принял верительные грамоты нового посла России в Белоруссии Грызлова" [Lukashenko received credentials of new Russian Ambassador to Belarus Gryzlov]. Kommersant (in Russian). 3 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Russia's Parliamentary Election Was "Not Fair" – OSCE". Trend.Az. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  12. ^ Cited source in Russian. Archived 2009-11-24 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "АПН Северо-Запад / ДПНИ требует привлечь Бориса Грызлова по статье 282 УК РФ". www.apn-spb.ru. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  14. ^ White, Gregory L., "Russian Inventor Has Friends In Kremlin, but Skeptics Outside It", The Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2010.

External links edit

  • Official web site
Political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the State Duma
2003–2011
Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Internal Affairs
2001–2003
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Office created
Chairman of the Supreme Council of United Russia
2004–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Chairman of the United Russia
2005-2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Parliamentary Leader of United Russia in the State Duma
2003-2011
Succeeded by