Evgeny Primakov, host of the International Review program. Evgeny Primakov: biography, personal life, photo

He graduated from high school in Tbilisi.

I wanted to enter the Caspian Higher Naval School (Baku), but did not pass the medical examination.

1948-1953 - student of the Arabic department of the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies. Languages ​​were difficult for Primakov; for a long time he could not get rid of his strong Georgian accent.

1953-1956 - Postgraduate student at the Faculty of Economics of the Moscow state university and worked as a correspondent for the USSR State Radio and Television.
He left his scientific career due to financial difficulties after the birth of his son.

1956-1960 - executive editor, Chief Editor Main Directorate of Radio Broadcasting of the State Radio and Television of the USSR.
1960-1962 - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Main Editorial Board of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting.

1959-1991 - Member of the CPSU.

1962-1970 - columnist for the newspaper "Pravda", own correspondent of the newspaper "Pravda" in Egypt, deputy editor of the Asia and Africa department of the newspaper.
It is generally accepted that Primakov began to cooperate with intelligence in Egypt. But experts say that the Pravda correspondent network was not used by the KGB as an "operational cover" until the end of the 1980s. Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general who teaches in the US, claims that Primakov still worked for the KGB as an intelligence officer (Moskovskiye Novosti, August 17-23, 1999). According to Kalugin, Primakov began cooperating with the Soviet special services in his last year at the institute. The agent under the name "Maxim" "performed some of the most sensitive tasks for the KGB, meeting with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Kurdish rebels, among whom he found understanding with the leader of the Kurds, Barzani. He predicted a power struggle in Iraq and the victory of Saddam Hussein over General Qasem, with whom Primakov had a close acquaintance, which turned out to be very valuable for him. Then he became friends with Saddam himself and a person close to him, Lieutenant Tariq Aziz ... He developed friendly relations with the Libyan dictator Gaddafi, Syrian President Assad and a dozen other politicians of various calibers." Kalugin praises Primakov the intelligence officer very much: "And he was right. He always predicted events quite accurately - a kind of intuition based on knowledge, analysis and political instinct." Kalugin tells how Primakov foresaw the deterioration of relations with Egypt, that the introduction of troops into Afghanistan could have an undesirable reaction in the Muslim world. "His initiatives and innovations never went beyond the reasonable. He always remained a realist, prudent and cautious."

1970-1977 - Deputy Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
From 1974 to 1979 - Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Since 1979 - Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He was a member of a group of Kremlin speechwriters.
1977-1985 - Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences (IVAN) of the USSR.
1981-1985 - Chairman of the All-Union Association of Oriental Studies.
1985-1991 - Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
He demanded that the employees of the institutes be punctual, ordered them to come to work four days a week (they used to go two). Employees who helped Primakov in the development of analytical reports on the countries of the East for the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee very quickly received academic titles. Not everyone liked this style of leadership, and the Committee state security regularly received signals about the Zionist origin of the prominent Freemason Primakov.

1986-1989 - candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
1989-1990 - Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
From September 1989 to July 1990 - candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
Member of the commission for international politics Central Committee of the CPSU.
Member of the Presidential Council (March–December 1990) and member of the USSR Security Council (1991).
In 1989, he traveled to Tbilisi to normalize the situation after the troops dispersed a peaceful demonstration and participated in negotiations to end the strikes with the leaders of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan.
In 1990, he headed the party and government commission, which insisted on bringing troops into Baku and armed suppression of Armenian pogroms. Then, for another three or four years, the leaders of the PFA told journalists that Primakov was preparing provocations against them...
In December 1990, as a personal envoy of the President of the USSR, he negotiated with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, trying to prevent a war in the Persian Gulf. Came under American bombing.

Career rise coincided with a personal tragedy - within a year, Primakov lost his son and wife.

1988-1989 - Academician-Secretary of the Department of World Economy and International Relations of the USSR Academy of Sciences, member of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Since December 1991 - Academician Russian Academy Sciences.
He was a member of the board of the Soviet-Iraqi Friendship Society, deputy chairman of the Soviet Peace Committee, chairman of the Soviet National Committee for Asia-Pacific Cooperation, a member of the UN University Council. Member of the Club of Rome (since 1975).

1989-1992 - Member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the eleventh convocation.
From June 1989 to September 1991 - Chairman of the Council of the Union of the Armed Forces.
He unsuccessfully tried to mediate between the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Interregional Deputy Group.
He headed a commission to investigate cases of unjustified privileges for officials.

From September 1991 to November 1991 - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR - Head of the 1st Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR.
From November 1991 to December 1991 - Head of the Central Intelligence Service (former 1st Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR).
From December 1991 to January 1996 - Director of the Service foreign intelligence(SVR) RF.
In 1992, he achieved the adoption of the law "On Foreign Intelligence of the Russian Federation." The law removed intelligence from law enforcement structures, prohibited forced recruitment, and secured the use of diplomatic cover.
Under Primakov, intelligence stopped interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Due to budget cuts, operations were stopped in most of Africa and Southeast Asia, newspaper offices used for journalistic cover were closed, and cooperation between the Foreign Intelligence Service and the intelligence services of other countries was established.
Despite the curtailment of the activities of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Primakov generously distributed military ranks and rewards to his subordinates. Prior to Primakov's arrival, there was only one general in the SVR; by 1996, their number exceeded one hundred.
The main focus of the work of the SVR was to monitor economic and political processes that could harm Russia's interests. The SVR annually submitted reports to the President on these processes.
The first report, The New Post-Cold War Challenge: The Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (1993), dealt with the brain drain and lethal technologies from developed countries to third world countries.
The second report, "Prospects for NATO Expansion and Russia's Interests" (1993), drew attention to the fact that, expanding to the countries of Central and of Eastern Europe, NATO does not guarantee its transformation from a military alliance into a political one. The report recommended the regrouping and rearmament of Russian troops in the west of the country and caused outrage in the US and Europe.
The third report is "Russia-CIS: Does the West's Position Need to Be Corrected?" (1994) - denounced the activities external forces trying to disrupt the process of integration between the CIS countries, and proposed to the Commonwealth to create a common defense space.
Fourth report - "Non-Proliferation Treaty" nuclear weapons. Problems of Extension" (1995) - three years before the first nuclear tests in India and Pakistan, he warned that these countries should sign the NPT.

Permanent member of the Security Council. In this capacity, he participated in the decision-making on the military operation against Chechnya in 1994.
Member of the Defense Council of the Russian Federation (since the creation of the council in 1996).

From January 1996 to September 1998 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
He has established himself as a champion of the integration of the CIS countries and an opponent of NATO's eastward expansion.
During the first year, Primakov traveled all over the world - Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, all of Yugoslavia, India, Syria, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Indonesia, Finland, Italy, the Vatican, France, Germany, Portugal - but never went to the USA.
Among the features of Primakov-style diplomacy: a tougher attitude towards the Baltic countries due to their constant violation of the rights of the Russian-speaking population and ignoring the reproaches of the United States and Israel about Russian supplies of dual-use technologies and missile technologies to Iran.

From September 1998 to May 1999 - Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
At the end of 1998 and the beginning of 1999, the talk did not cease that Primakov, if asked very kindly, would agree to run for the presidency of Russia. At the same time, the fact that Primakov was not going to the presidency was completely ignored.
“His premiership will be marked by the descendants of an unprecedented number of initiated corruption cases.<...>To begin with, Primakov decided to free Yeltsin from the traps of the "illegal economy" into which his family had fallen. Without the support or neutral position of the president, it is impossible to work in a system built personally for Yeltsin. The work was delicate, in several stages. But the old scout knew the business.<...> <Президент>and the system created by his own efforts grew together like Siamese twins. And the operation to separate them could have ended fatally with a probability of 90%. Yeltsin understood this and had no intention of thanking Primakov. The approaching cheap booth of impeachment doomed Primakov to the humiliating role of a bargaining chip" ("Novaya Gazeta", # 17, 1999).
Yeltsin signed the decree on the resignation of Primakov's cabinet a few days before the vote in the State Duma on the start of the impeachment procedure. The media noted that Primakov did nothing (he did not want to do anything) to prevent this vote from taking place at all.
In a televised address, Yeltsin acknowledged that Primakov's government "has fully fulfilled the tactical task assigned to it." The president explained his act by the absence of the government economic strategy and the fact that the situation in the economy is not improving.

Consultant to the administration of the Orenburg region on geopolitics (1999, governor of the region - Vladimir Elagin).

In the summer of 1999, politicians from various directions swarmed around Primakov, urging him to head their pre-election bloc in the elections to the State Duma of the third convocation. Were the media convinced that the politicians harassed Primakov in the hospital in Switzerland? and at the dacha in Yasenevo. Primakov claimed that no one came to see him, that he was busy writing a book.
On August 17, 1999, at a joint meeting of the political councils of the "Fatherland - All Russia" association and the Agrarian Party of Russia, he was elected chairman of the coordinating council of the "Fatherland - All Russia" bloc. It was decided that Primakov would head the bloc's electoral list.
Back in Switzerland, when asked if he was going to run for office President of Russia, Primakov replied: "I do not exclude anything for myself for the future."

In October 1999, he refused to meet with President Boris Yeltsin, explaining that he did not want to associate himself with the policy pursued by the president's entourage.

Family

Father is a soldier. He served in Kyiv, then in Tbilisi. Shot as an "enemy of the people".
Mother Anna Yakovlevna is a pediatrician.
Russian patriotic newspapers write that " real name"Primakov - Kirshinblat. In fact, Kirshinblat is the husband of Primakov's mother's sister, a famous surgeon.
Among the "close relatives" attributed to Primakov is General Vitaly Markovich Primakov, who was repressed in 1934 in the Tukhachevskii case (1897-1937). Evgeny Primakov most likely not related.

Married with a second marriage.

The first wife is Laura Kharadze. We met in Tbilisi. They got married in 1951. She died a year after the death of her son.
The nephew of Primakov's wife is the famous mathematician Alexei Gvishiani. Her brother, Academician Jermen Gvishiani, was married to the daughter of Alexei Kosygin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Son - Alexander. Worked at the Institute of USA and Canada. In the mid-80s, he died of a heart attack on a bench in the Alexander Garden during the May Day demonstration - the ambulance was unable to break through the cordon to Red Square. The death of his beloved wife and son severely undermined Primakov's health.
Daughter - Nana - a defectologist by profession.
Grandson - Eugene, born in 1984 The youngest granddaughter - Masha, born in 1997

The second wife is Irina Borisovna. We met at the clinic: she was Primakov's attending physician.

Titles and awards

Since 1974 - Corresponding Member, since 1979 - Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, since 1991 - Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Having headed the SVR, he refused the rank of general due to his status.

He was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of Friendship of Peoples "Badge of Honor", "For Services to the Fatherland" III degree, and medals.

Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR, the Nasser Prize, the Prize. Avicenna.

Friends and Enemies

Friendly relations puts above any political differences.

Unlike most people who eventually lose touch with their childhood friends, Primakov kept all his friends. Over the years, their ranks have only grown. They joke that he still has friends even from ... kindergarten. It is impossible to list all of Primakov's friends.
Friends of childhood and youth: famous cardiac surgeon Academician Vladimir Burakovsky, former employee of the Central Committee of the CPSU Leon Onikov, film director Lev Kulidzhanov.
The government of Georgia has been unsuccessfully trying for several years to obtain the extradition of Igor Georgadze from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry replies that it has no idea where he is. According to some reports, the former chief of the Georgian Security Service is also a childhood friend of Primakov.
Primakov called his friends in various interviews: artist Mikhail Shemyakin, intelligence officer Donald Donaldovich McLane, philosopher Merab Mamardashvili, screenwriter Anatoly Grebnev, executive secretary of the Intelligence Veterans Committee Konstantin Gevandov.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Ignatenko, in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper (May 15, 1996), said: “He played a wonderful role in the lives of many people. He keeps the memory of his friends who have already passed away. friends, and friends love him."

Nikolai Inozemtsev, deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper, invited Primakov to work for the Pravda newspaper. In 1970, the academician and director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Inozemtsev invited him to his deputy. “Inozemtsev thought well, but wrote poorly, so Primakov prepared materials for him,” another patron of Primakov recalled later - former secretary Central Committee of the CPSU Alexander Yakovlev. Yakovlev introduced Primakov to Mikhail Gorbachev. Primakov's academic career was also assisted by the president of the Academy of Sciences, Mstislav Keldysh.
Still, Primakov's career is the result of his personal abilities: the ability to win the favor of his subordinates and superiors.

Robert Markaryan has been Primakov's assistant since the time of the Institute of Oriental Studies. In the SVR, Markaryan received the rank of major general. After Primakov's appointment as prime minister, he became the head of the secretariat of the chairman of the government of the Russian Federation.
Yury Zubakov has been Primakov's assistant since 1990. After Primakov's appointment as prime minister, he became the head of the apparatus of the government of the Russian Federation.
Primakov's bodyguard is Gennady Alekseevich Khabarov.
Primakov's press secretary in the Foreign Intelligence Service was Tatyana Samolis.

At the Institute of Oriental Studies, Primakov was the supervisor of Saddam Hussein's cousin and Heydar Aliyev's daughter.
Primakov met Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the mid-1960s when he acted as an intermediary in negotiations between the Iraqi Kurds and the Iraqi government. But Primakov's friendship with Hussein had no effect on the policy of the Iraqi leader. In 1991, Primakov failed to convince Hussein to withdraw troops from Kuwait. But this friendship irritates Western diplomats: the whole world went around the photo - a kiss between Yevgeny Primakov and Saddam Hussein.

The relationship between Russian Foreign Minister Primakov and US Secretary of State Warren Christopher was somewhat comical. The first time they met was in Helsinki, where Primakov deliberately violated protocol. It was planned that when Christopher got out of his car in a raincoat at the residence of the Russian minister, Primakov would approach him (also in a raincoat) and they would shake hands in front of the cameras. But Primakov did not go to Christopher's car, but remained standing in a suit on the porch, which put Christopher in the position of a guest ... Then Christopher paid a visit to Moscow, and Primakov never made a return visit to the United States ...
So when, in April 1996, Primakov became actively involved in the process of a peace settlement in the Middle East, pushing through the French settlement plan, Christopher, who was pushing through the American version, did not want to meet with him (citing the busy schedule of the visit). He also insisted that Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres demand that Primakov not interfere in the negotiations.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries reached an impasse, and the US had to change its Secretary of State. The phlegmatic and faceless Warren Christopher was replaced by a strong-willed, resolute and well-versed lady - Madeleine Albright - an active supporter of NATO's advance to the east and the forceful solution of interethnic conflicts. Despite such strong contradictions in their views, Primakov and Albright literally “sang together” (in July 1998, at a banquet on the occasion of the end of the conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, they sang a duet from West Side Story). Having made friends with Albright, Primakov "thawed out" and visited Washington.
Primakov is rightly called "Mikoyan of our days." This is the only case when a man who held such high positions under Mikhail Gorbachev retained them under Boris Yeltsin. Despite frequent changes of governments under Yeltsin, Primakov was always in demand, and his career only advanced.

After the appointment of Primakov as prime minister, people began to come to power former employees KGB and SVR: Head of the Government Staff Yuri Zubakov, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Oleg Chernov, head of the state company "Rosvooruzhenie" Grigory Rapota, Chairman of the State Fisheries Committee Nikolai Yermakov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration for Personnel Vladimir Makarov, etc.

The entrepreneurial politician Boris Berezovsky suffered the most from Primakov's fight against corruption in 1999. The media wondered which of the two would win. Berezovsky's chances were rapidly approaching zero. After Primakov's resignation from the post of prime minister, newspapers began to write that Berezovsky had also set it up.
On January 29, 1999, before flying to Davos, Berezovsky told reporters that his personal relationship with Primakov "has long roots, the origins of which lie back in the Academy of Sciences." "I am consistent in my policy, he is consistent in his, but our directions do not coincide.<...>I am convinced that Primakov really thinks about the country, I never said that he is opportunistic, but I said that the path that Primakov is following is erroneous" (from an interview with Berezovsky to the Ekho Moskvy radio station, April 28, 1999) .

Life style

The main talent is organizational: he equally skillfully manages any team - scientists, intelligence officers, diplomats, ministers.
Gallant in dealing with women.
He never speaks badly of anyone. Even about the people who deliberately offended him.
Has a unique memory for names and dates.
Hard worker. Calm, balanced, stubborn, secretive.

He loves Georgian cuisine and Georgian feasts with toastmasters and toasts. On days of family celebrations, he gathers a "narrow" circle of his closest friends - fifty people.
From alcohol he prefers vodka, but does not abuse it.
Writes poems. Shoots at the range. I used to go to the pool often.
Painfully perceives newspaper articles about himself.

Never been in excellent health. They say that after the death of his first wife and son, he lives on medicines and is saved by the closeness of two doctors - his wife and friend.
But no one saw the prime minister tired. He easily endures long meetings, long flights, change of time zones.
In April 1997, he underwent surgery for gallstone disease.
In the spring of 1999 - exacerbation of sciatica. He was treated at home, he refused to go to the hospital. From an interview with Primakov to the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper (May 5, 1999): “Is this attack of sciatica the first? – So acute – yes. But, apparently, the treatment does something. I am very touched that letters-telegrams with advice on how and with what to be treated came in a flood. But, of course, I can’t try all of them on myself. ”
In June 1999, Primakov underwent an operation in one of the Swiss clinics on the hip joint. “I wrote a letter, very warm, Madeleine Albright. And she writes to me in this letter that she thinks a lot about me after this back operation. And that she wants to meet and so on.<...>I answered in this way:<...>I was touched by her warm letter, I also want to meet her. But at the same time, she has to tell the CIA that she is being given the wrong information, absolutely. Because the operation was not on my back, but on my leg" (Primakov, NTV, Itogi program, September 5, 1999).

Evgeny Maksimovich is conservative in clothes - he prefers strict suits and blue "club" jackets. He likes chameleon glasses with tinted lenses, but lately he has been wearing ordinary ones.

As director of IMEMO, he lived on Leninsky Prospekt. This is how the vice-governor of the Lipetsk region Yuri Dyukarev described his housing in an interview with Profil magazine: “An old, pre-war building with windows overlooking a noisy, dusty street. scent."
After the death of his wife and son, he left this apartment and moved to Yasenevo - closer to the headquarters of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Here is how the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper describes his housing in the fall of 1998: “No sets, crystals and “custom” Italian lamps. A sofa covered with a rug, a modest carpet on the floor and a huge teddy bear, presented to Yevgeny Maksimovich by a dear little man. And there are many more books."
In October 1999, while submitting information about his income to the CEC, Primakov indicated a house and a plot of land (172.9 sq.m - 25 acres) and an apartment of 213 sq.m (judging by the area - the prime minister's). Primakov's income for 1998 amounted to 505,638 rubles (the prime minister's salary, scientific and creative activity, income from deposits in banks).

Books

Author of books on modern history East: "The countries of Arabia and colonialism", "Egypt: the time of President Nasser" (together with I. Belyaev), "The war that could not have happened."
In 1999, he wrote a book about his work in intelligence and the Foreign Ministry (not yet published). "I wrote everything myself. No one helped me in the sense of literary processing or regrouping of the material. Only my wife helped, who proofread what came from the typist" (Primakov, interview with Versiya, September 7-13, 1999).

questionable information

On January 30, 1999, Sergei Dorenko, in the Vremya (ORT) program, accused Primakov of supporting the Interstate Aviation Committee, which is headed by his wife Tatyana Anodina. Later it turned out that Anodina had nothing to do with Primakov.

The New Yorker magazine at the end of March 1999, citing British intelligence, published information that Primakov received a bribe of $800,000 from Iraqi Prime Minister Tariq Aziz for obstructing the access of the UN international inspectorate to military installations. Iraq. Even the Americans didn't believe it. Primakov also laughed for a long time, joking that such services cost more.

Novye Izvestia (October 9, 1999) published an article entitled "Primakov's List". It was about the fact that in February 1999, at the request of Primakov from the Prosecutor General's Office, he received a list of 163 names of prominent corrupt officials. “This is a typical provocation, and a multi-purpose one at that. Firstly, I didn’t send any requests anywhere, I tell you this quite unambiguously.<...>This time. Secondly, this list reminds me of something. When I looked at this list, I suddenly felt: somewhere I saw him, and almost he accurately conveys this one rating list published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta.<...>Only Berezovsky was put in the first place in order to give such, well, certainty or certainty, if you like.<...>These people who are supposedly sent in response to my request, they may be offended. Among them there are those who have nothing to be offended about, and there are those, the majority, who normal people and among many of my comrades and friends. I'm going to sue for the first time in my life about this, right? And I will get it, I will ask for a large amount, the newspaper is not poor, apparently, and let all this money go to kindergarten"(Primakov, "Hero of the Day", October 11, 1999).

http://pics.bp.ru/ovr/lider_a.shtml

According to official documents, Yevgeny Primakov was born on October 29, 1929 in Kyiv. This version is contradicted by his daughter's statement that his father was born in Moscow. One way or another, but childhood is the future statesman spent in Georgian Tbilisi. In 1953 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, and three years later - postgraduate studies at Moscow State University.

Journalist and scientist

Journalism is the first area with which the professional career of an orientalist was connected. So says the official biography of Yevgeny Primakov. Nationality Eastern peoples, the life of Asia and Africa - that's what interested the young specialist. He worked as a columnist and staff correspondent for Pravda. As a journalist, Primakov met with many Eastern political leaders: Yasser Arafat, Mustafa Barzani, Saddam Hussein, etc.

At the age of 40, the staff correspondent again delved into science. In 1977-1985. Primakov was the head of the Institute of Oriental Studies. At the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the scientist dealt with the problems of world politics, developed new theoretical methods. The biography of Yevgeny Primakov (whose nationality is Russian, his maternal relatives were Jews) was also connected with the economy, on which he defended his dissertation. For some time the scientist taught at the Metropolitan Diplomatic Academy. It is with this period of Primakov's life that biographers associate his first close ties with foreign intelligence and the KGB. There is no official confirmation of this, however.

Primakov wrote many monographs and memoirs. His scientific writings deal with international topics. As a scientist, the author studied the phenomenon of colonialism, the countries of Africa, Egypt of the Nasser era, the path to a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. Primakov also wrote monographs on energy. Memoirs of the former prime minister began to appear in the 2000s. The last such book, Encounters at the Crossroads, was published in 2015.

Personal life

For the first time, the future politician married in 1951. His wife was a student Laura Kharadze. They had two children. Son Alexander became a graduate student at the Institute of Oriental Studies, trained in the United States. He died in 1981 at the age of 27 due to a heart attack. This loss was hard for Yevgeny Primakov. The wife, whose photos are not replicated in the public space, died in 1987. Primakov's second wife was Irina Bokareva, who for a long time was his official personal doctor.

The beginning of a political career

The political biography of Yevgeny Primakov began in 1988, when he became close to Secretary General CPSU to Mikhail Gorbachev. It is believed that it was the then head of state who insisted that a native of the academic environment take part in the elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The 1988 campaign was unique. In fact, those elections were the first elections on an alternative basis in many decades. Yevgeny Primakov was among those elected to parliament at that time. The biography of the newly minted politician was connected with international relations. He took up them as a member of the Supreme Council.

It was an extremely noisy and lively parliament, which was new to Soviet society. Primakov was not afraid to work in the new format. He became a participant in the first debates of American congressmen and Russian deputies broadcast live in the form of a teleconference. In 1988, Mikhail Gorbachev made one of his most famous international visits to China. The trip was organized by Yevgeny Primakov. Biography, nationality, track record of the deputy - all this was already well known both to his colleagues around the world and to ordinary Soviet citizens. Primakov entered the galaxy of bright politicians, opened by Gorbachev's perestroika.

The General Secretary of the CPSU was extremely respectful of Yevgeny Maksimovich. The head of state consistently gave him new responsible positions. Primakov joined the Security Council of the USSR, and became chairman of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This gradual rise was interrupted in August 1991, when the August coup broke out. Among those officials who took away the blocked Gorbachev from Foros was then Yevgeny Primakov. The biography of the politician has passed an important milestone. Now he had to demonstrate his skills and talents in a completely new environment of democratic Russia.

Head of the SVR

The relationship between Yevgeny Primakov and Boris Yeltsin was complex and contradictory. The President of Russia respected the "patriarch of domestic politics", but in fact he never trusted him. First, due to the fact that Primakov was considered a "Gorbachev man", and in the late 1990s. - already because of the dangerous popularity of the official with the electorate.

After the collapse Soviet Union There is a personnel vacuum in Russia. The government lacked people with experience and knowledge. That is why Evgeny Primakov turned out to be so popular. The biography of the politician has been associated with international relations for many years. In this regard, in 1991 he was appointed to the position of the newly created foreign intelligence service.

The main thing that Primakov achieved in this post was that he managed to finally separate the SVR and the KGB, which was soon renamed the FSB. long overdue. Personnel Chekists and intelligence officers never particularly liked each other, and now, finally, a person was found who resolved these interdepartmental frictions. It turned out to be Evgeny Primakov. Biography, nationality, the merits of the politician - all this is now widely known thanks to his many years of efforts in various government positions. There were also scandals in the SVR under Primakov. The most noisy failure was the case of agent Aldrich Ames.

Foreign Secretary

In early 1996, Boris Yeltsin appointed Yevgeny Primakov Minister of Foreign Affairs. His predecessor followed a pro-American course. The biography of Yevgeny Primakov, his experience and previous rhetoric indicated in advance that he would lead domestic diplomacy differently. And so it happened. Primakov treated the United States with extreme restraint. During his first year as a minister, he visited 40 countries, but the States were defiantly not on this list.

It is believed that Yeltsin appointed Primakov, since anti-American rhetoric in the crisis-ridden country was extremely popular among the broad masses of the people. The change of course (at least symbolic) was all the more important because the president had a second election (which he eventually won) on the nose.

The first thing Primakov did as a minister was to recapture the famous building on Smolenskaya Square (previously it also housed the Ministry of Foreign Trade). The new head of the department rotated personnel, changed the places of work of diplomats and forced them to travel more around the world so that they would broaden their horizons.

Prime Minister

In 1998, a default was declared in Russia, followed by the resignation of the government. The State Duma twice refused to return Viktor Chernomyrdin to the post of prime minister. In the current crisis situation, Yevgeny Primakov became the head of government. Photos of the new prime minister did not leave the front pages of newspapers. Formally, it was the pinnacle of his career.

Primakov again had to perform the functions of a "crisis manager". His government was conservative and somewhat leftist. In the end, the prime minister and ministers managed to bring the country out of an acute crisis. Gradual economic growth began. Inflation has dropped. There were active negotiations on loans with the International monetary fund. The budget for 1999 was adopted immediately on first reading, which was unusual for a fragmented and mired in internal conflicts State Duma. When the communists initiated the impeachment of Yeltsin, the prime minister opposed the idea.

U-turn over the Atlantic

As head of government, Primakov continued the multi-vector foreign policy he pursued as foreign minister. On March 24, 1999, the brightest episode of that premiership took place. Many people know the biography of Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov just for this occasion - a U-turn over the Atlantic. The Prime Minister flew to the United States on an official visit, where important documents on cooperation between the two states were to be signed. While over the Atlantic Ocean, Primakov learned that NATO had decided to start bombing Yugoslavia. Then the board turned around and returned back to Moscow.

The biography of Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov is an example of a politician who tried to talk to everyone on an equal footing - be it Americans or authoritarian Eastern leaders. At the same time, the prime minister personally managed to become an authority for everyone with whom Russia dealt.

Resignation

In 1999, Yeltsin and Primakov finally parted ways. On May 12, Sergei Stepashin became prime minister. In the dismissed Primakov, Yeltsin saw a growing threat to his own power. The released politician did not remain idle. The next elections to the State Duma were approaching. A new bloc "Fatherland - All Russia" appeared in the parliament. Its main figures were the mayor of Moscow, the president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, and Yevgeny Primakov himself. Biography, family, photo of a politician - all this again became public.

The entire Primakov was in the center of media attention. Sergey Dorenko's program on ORT, where he openly criticized the former prime minister, became widely known throughout the country. Lobbying the financial interests of his wife, bribes from the Iraqi authorities - this is not all that Yevgeny Primakov was accused of. Photos of the family and news about his alleged hip surgery were known to all Russian television viewers.

Back in Parliament

Today, many people call the ORT information campaign a persecution against Primakov, who was rushing to the State Duma. In response to all the new reports on television, the politician publicly only joked and grinned. Many years later, from interviews with his relatives, it became clear that harassment was an extremely painful blow for a Soviet-style politician.

One way or another, both the “Fatherland - All Russia” bloc, and Yevgeny Primakov himself, a biography, personal life and other facts about which were chewed on in the media on a daily basis, got into the State Duma. The "new old" deputy worked in the parliament for only two years. At meetings, he always sat next to Vyacheslav Volodin, who under Vladimir Putin became deputy head of the presidential administration, and later chairman of that same State Duma. The politician called Primakov his main teacher. The attitude towards Yevgeny Maksimovich as a senior mentor is typical for many representatives of the modern Russian state elite.

President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry

In the "Putin era" Yevgeny Primakov, whose biography has already passed all stages of career growth on public service, was much less in demand at the top. First of all, the honorable age affected. Primakov began his political path as a middle-aged man, and at the turn of the century he was already over 70. In 2001-2011. He was President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Although Primakov has moved into the shadows, he never had a conflict with Vladimir Putin. The head of state himself treated the titan of domestic politics with demonstrative respect.

Primakov rarely gave advice to the authorities, his interviews appeared in the media even more rarely. The politician was generally distinguished by public impenetrability. Journalists often noted that it was almost impossible to extract something superfluous from him during an interview. In 2006, Primakov, speaking to top officials, announced the need to reorient the economy from the "raw material needle" to innovation. Such rhetoric later became the leitmotif of Dmitry Medvedev's presidency. Evgeny Maksimovich was also the chairman of the friendly "Mercury Club", where veterans of big national politics gathered. Vladimir Putin regularly got acquainted with analytical notes and reports of these meetings.

Last years

It is known that shortly before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the President of the Russian Federation sent Primakov to him as a diplomat (they had known each other since 1969). With delegations, Yevgeny Maksimovich visited Iraq at the end Soviet era. Then approached American operation"Desert Storm". Primakov brought Soviet specialists and their families (about five thousand people) out of Iraq, and also persuaded the country's authorities not to hide behind human shields from Western citizens.

In the highest circles, the former prime minister was informally known as "Primus", and on his last 85th birthday, he received a primus signed "Record 1" as a gift from the president. The last time Primakov appeared in public was in January 2015 at a meeting of the Mercury Club. The politician died a few months later (June 26). The cause of death was liver cancer, which Yevgeny Primakov had been suffering from for a long time. Biography, family, services to the country - all this was discussed again during the funeral and civil memorial service. The farewell ceremony for the politician was broadcast live on state television, which once again clearly demonstrated the important place of Yevgeny Maksimovich in modern Russian history.

Evgeny Primakov was born on April 29, 1976 in Moscow. The boy grew up in an intelligent family and is the grandson of Russian statesman Yevgeny Primakov. At the age of five, he lost his father, Alexander. In the future, for work in the press, he took a pseudonym in honor of his father: "Evgeny Sandro". Having received a certificate of secondary education with honors, in 1999 the young man graduated with honors from the Faculty of History and Philology of the Russian State University for the Humanities with a degree in History.

Having become a certified specialist, Evgeny worked for some time on the Ekho Moskvy radio, in the Kommersant-Dengi magazine, and published in the Obshchaya Gazeta. He came to TV in 2002. Initially, he worked on the TVS channel as a war correspondent for the news programs Novosti and Itogi. He was one of the journalists of the TV channel covering the Iraq war, was a correspondent in Israel.

In May 2003, he left TVS and went to work for the NTV channel, where he worked for the programs “Today”, “Country and World” and “Profession - Reporter”. In the initial period, he most often worked in Moscow, sometimes traveling as a special correspondent to the Middle East. From 2005 to 2007 he was the chief of the NTV Middle East bureau. In his reports, he covered the Second Lebanese War. He retired from the channel in June 2007.

From autumn 2007 to October 2011, he served as a correspondent for the Directorate of Information Programs on Channel One: Novosti, Vremya, Other News. In parallel, until 2011, he was the head of the Channel One bureau in Israel. Since March 2015, Evgeny Aleksandrovich has been the author and host of the International Review program on the Russia-24 TV channel. He worked in the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Turkey and Jordan.

While in the Middle East, with like-minded people, he organized the agency of the autonomous non-profit organization "Russian Humanitarian Mission", the purpose of which is to help people who are in trouble due to wars and disasters. Primakov is the director of this organization.

Evgeny Alexandrovich from 2015 to 2017 was the Deputy Head of the Complex of Communications and Work with Government Authorities in the open joint-stock company “Radiolocation. Technology. Information".

Since March 2017, for a year and a half, Yevgeny Primakov has been a member of the Public Chamber Russian Federation. In July 2017, he became an adviser to the chairman of the State Duma of the 7th convocation, Vyacheslav Volodin, on international issues and humanitarian projects.

At the XII Congress of the Union of Journalists of Russia, which was held in Moscow on November 25, 2017, Primakov Evgeny Aleksandrovich entered the secretariat of the Union of Journalists of Russia.

In 2018, he was a confidant of Russian presidential candidate Vladimir Putin.

At the by-elections to the State Duma of Russia of the VII convocation September 9, 2018 Yevgeny Alexandrovich Primakov received the mandate of a deputy in the Balashov single-mandate constituency No. 165.

Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov was born on October 29, 1929 in Kyiv - died on June 26, 2015 in Moscow. Soviet and Russian economist, Arabic orientalist, politician and statesman, doctor of economic sciences (1969), professor (1972), ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary (1996).

Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO RTI; President, Chairman of the Council "Mercury Club"; Head of the Center for Situational Analysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1979; corresponding member 1974). Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1980) and the State Prize of Russia (2014).

Member of the CPSU since 1959. Member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1989-1990; candidate member of the Central Committee in 1986-1989).

Member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Science and Education, member of the Scientific Expert Council under the Chairman of the Federation Council Federal Assembly Russian Federation, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Russian Council on international affairs. Chairman of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1989-1990), Head of the Central Intelligence Service of the USSR (1991), Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia (1991-1996), Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (1996-1998), Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (1998-1999 ), President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2001-2011). Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the III convocation (2000-2001).

short biography Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov:

There is no official information about the father, according to unofficial published data, he was repressed three months after the birth of his son.

Mother - Kirshenblat Anna Yakovlevna (1896-1972), worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Immediately after the birth of the child, she returned to Tbilisi, where her family lived.

Primakov spent his childhood and youth in the capital of Georgia, but he studied in Marneuli, then went to study in Moscow.

After the seventh grade of the school in 1944, he entered the naval preparatory school in Baku as a cadet, he practiced on the training ship Pravda.

Graduated from the men's high school in Tbilisi (1948). His favorite subjects were history, literature and mathematics.

He graduated from the Arabic department of the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies (1953) with a degree in Arab countries and then postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University (1956).

In 1956, Primakov became a senior fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the USSR Academy of Sciences (IMEMO).

At the invitation of the editor-in-chief of the Arabic editorial office of the Main Directorate of Radio Broadcasting to Foreign Countries, Sergei Kaverin, Primakov joined this editorial office. From 1956 to 1962, he worked at the USSR State Radio and Television as a correspondent, executive editor, deputy editor-in-chief, editor-in-chief of broadcasting to Arab countries.

In 1957 he made his first trip to the East - a Mediterranean cruise.

In 1959 he defended his thesis "Export of capital to some Arab countries - a means of ensuring monopoly high profits", candidate of economic sciences.

From September to December 1962 - senior researcher at IMEMO. In 1962, due to a conflict with curators from the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, he submitted a letter of resignation of his own free will.

Since 1962, he worked in the Pravda newspaper as a literary employee, columnist for the Asian and African countries department, since 1965 - Pravda's staff correspondent in the Middle East with a stay in Cairo (where he spent four years), deputy editor of the Asian and African countries department. While serving in the Middle East, he met with politicians: Zwayne, Nimeiri. In 1969, during a trip to Baghdad, he met Saddam Hussein, and later met one of his close associates, Tariq Aziz, who at that time was the editor-in-chief of the Al-Thawra newspaper. During this period, he made many trips to northern Iraq, often visiting the winter residence of Kurdish rebel leader Masoud Barzani.

In 1969 he defended his thesis on the topic "Social and economic development of Egypt", becoming a doctor of economic sciences.

In 1977-1985 he was director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, since 1979 he was also a professor at the Diplomatic Academy.

In 1985-1989 - director of IMEMO of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Academician-Secretary of the Department of Economics, since 1988 - Department of Problems of the World Economy and International Relations, member of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In February 1988 he was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1989-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR. In 1989-1990 - Chairman of the Council of the Union of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1990-1991 he was a member of the Presidential Council of the USSR. He was a member of the inner circle of M. S. Gorbachev.

Since March 1991 - Member of the Security Council of the USSR. On August 21, 1991, he flew to Gorbachev in Foros as part of a delegation led by Vice President of the RSFSR Alexander Rutskoi.

From September 30, 1991 - Head of the First Main Directorate of the KGB of the USSR - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB. Refused the rank of general.

In September 1993, he did not support the anti-constitutional decree of President Yeltsin on the dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council.

January 9, 1996 was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. The name of Primakov is associated with Russia's transition from Atlanticism to a course towards a multi-vector foreign policy. Diplomat Alexei Fedotov noted that, being in this post, Primakov "returned foreign policy dignity for Russia and its diplomatic service”. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, E. M. Primakov, pursued a deliberate foreign policy, under him Russia developed partnership relations with the countries of the West and East equally.

On September 10, 1998, President Boris Yeltsin proposed Yevgeny Primakov to the post of Prime Minister of Russia. On September 11, 1998, Primakov's candidacy was approved by the State Duma, 315 out of 450 deputies voted for him, including the opposition faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Before being appointed prime minister, he received an offer from Viktor Chernomyrdin to become his first deputy and agreed to this, but the State Duma did not support the appointment of Viktor Chernomyrdin as prime minister. Having refused for the first time, he subsequently accepted Yeltsin's offer to head the government after the latter refused the same offer to Yuri Maslyukov, declaring that he was ready to work as first deputy for Prime Minister Primakov.

Speaking on September 16, 1998 at an enlarged meeting of the Collegium of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Primakov stated that the arguments about some kind of "red revenge", "the end of the reforms" have not the slightest foundation.

On March 24, 1999, Primakov was on his way to Washington for an official visit. Over the Atlantic, he learned by phone from US Vice President Al Gore that a decision had been made to bomb Yugoslavia. Primakov decided to cancel the visit, ordered the plane to be deployed directly over the ocean and returned to Moscow.

May 12, 1999 Primakov was dismissed from the post of Prime Minister. Primakov's resignation was greeted sharply negatively by the population: 81% of those polled by the fund " Public opinion' declared that they did not approve of it. At the same time, the majority of respondents expressed the opinion that Primakov's government managed to achieve economic and political stabilization in Russia.

December 19, 1999 was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the third convocation. Chairman of the faction "Fatherland - All Russia" (OVR) (in 2000-2001).

Two terms, from December 2001 to February 21, 2011, he served as president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

One of the leading domestic orientalists, a prominent scientist in the field of world economy and international relations, in particular, in the field of comprehensive development of issues of Russian foreign policy, the study of theory and practice international conflicts and crises, studies of the world civilizational process, global problems, socio-economic and political problems of developing countries.

Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Education.

On February 21, 2011, he announced his resignation from the post of President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During a press conference dedicated to the forthcoming regular congress of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Primakov recalled that he had already held the position of head of the chamber for two terms. “This is quite enough, I will not be re-elected at this congress,” he said. On March 4, at the VI Congress of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he officially resigned as president. S. Katyrin, Primakov's deputy, was elected the new head of the CCI.

On November 23, 2012, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC RTI (solutions in the field of integrated communication and security systems).

After a long illness. with state honors.

Family of Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov:

Primakov's cousin is the prominent Soviet biologist Yakov Davidovich Kirshenblat.

In 1951, Primakov married a student at the Georgian Polytechnic Institute, Laura Vasilievna Kharadze (1930-1987), the adopted daughter of NKVD General M. M. Gvishiani.

Children - son Alexander (died in 1981 from a heart attack) and daughter Nana, from whom E. M. Primakov has two granddaughters. Grandson from his son - Evgeny Alexandrovich Primakov (creative pseudonym - Evgeny Sandro, Sandro - in honor of his father (Alexander)), correspondent for Channel One and Russia24, orientalist.

Widow - Irina Borisovna, therapist, former attending physician E. M. Primakova.

The main works of Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov:

"The countries of Arabia and colonialism" (1956);
"International Conflicts of the Sixties and Seventies" (1972, co-authored);
"Egypt: the time of President Nasser" (1974, 2nd ed. 1981; co-authored with I. P. Belyaev);
Middle East: Five Paths to Peace (1974);
"Energy crisis: the approach of Soviet scientists" (1974);
"Energy Crisis in the Capitalist World" (1975, editor);
"Anatomy of the Middle East Conflict" (1978);
"New phenomena in the energy sector of the capitalist world" (1979);
"The East after the collapse of the colonial system" (1982);
"East: the turn of the 80s" (1983);
"The Story of a Collusion: US Middle East Policy in the 1970s - early. 80s.” (1985);
"Essays on the history of Russian foreign intelligence" (in 6 vols, 1996);
"Years in big politics" (1999);
"Eight months plus ..." (2001);
The World After 9/11 (2002);
Confidential: The Middle East on Stage and Behind the Scenes (2006, 2nd ed. 2012);
"Minefield of politics" (2006);
“A world without Russia? What does political myopia lead to” (2009).

Books by Yevgeny Primakov have been translated into many foreign languages. In particular, they were republished abroad in Chinese, Italian, English, Bulgarian, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, German, Japanese, Greek, Serbian, Macedonian, Romanian, French and other languages.

Evgeny Maksimovich Primakov - famous politician, diplomat, former prime minister, head of the Foreign Ministry and intelligence service, speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.

He was an academician, statesman, who earned a reputation as an unshakable defender of the interests of the Russian Federation, a pragmatic and respected diplomat in the state and abroad, a large-scale personality with an inner core from a unique generation of the Soviet and post-Soviet era, which became a reflection of the country's history.

Primakov's most striking and well-known political decision was the cancellation of his 1999 visit to Washington, which took place right in the air during a flight over the Atlantic. Having received information about the intention of the North Atlantic military bloc to bomb Yugoslavia, he decided to return immediately.

The childhood of Evgeny Primakov

One of the most influential people state was born on October 29, 1929 in Kyiv, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR. His real name is Ion Finkelstein. His mother is a gynecologist. The politician did not know his father. In the thirties, he was repressed and disappeared in one of the Gulag camps. According to official data, the politician's mother is Jewish, and her father is Russian.

The politician grew up in Tbilisi, where his mother's relatives lived, and where she moved 2 years after his birth. After graduating from seven classes, he entered Baku in military school(BVMPU), created on the basis of the naval special school. In 1946, the young man was expelled from the cadets due to pulmonary tuberculosis.

Returning to Georgia and graduating from school in 1948, he entered the capital's Institute of Oriental Studies. In 1953, he became a certified specialist in the Arab states and continued his education in the postgraduate course of the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University.

The beginning of the career of Yevgeny Primakov

Since 1956, he began working as a journalist for the All-Union Radio, holding posts from a correspondent to the editorial head of radio broadcasting on foreign countries State Committee for Cultural Relations.

At the age of 33, Primakov began working as an international columnist for the Pravda newspaper, and from 1965 as a Middle Eastern correspondent for this tabloid. While living in Egypt, he performed responsible tasks of the Central Committee of the party, met with the leadership of Iraq (Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziza), the Kurdish military Mustafa Barzani, the leader of Palestine Yasser Arafat, with the Syrian leader of the Arab Renaissance Party Yu. President Jafar Mohammed Nimeiri.

According to the British media, at that time Primakov was not so much engaged in journalism as he was carrying out an intelligence mission, being a KGB agent and working under the pseudonym "Maxim".

Scientific work of Evgeny Primakov

In 1969, the politician received his Ph.D. Scientific research"The Social and Economic Development of Egypt".

At the end of 1970, the head of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), Nikolai Inozemtsev, invited him to take the post of his deputy. As a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, he headed the Institute of Oriental Studies, combining this position since 1979 with teaching at the Diplomatic Academy as a professor, as well as with the post of deputy chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Peace.

Since 1985, he was the head of IMEMO for 4 years. Member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences led the study of methods for studying global political and economic issues, was engaged in the analysis of interstate conflicts and other problems in the field of international relations.

Since 1989, Primakov has become the head of the Council of the Union. In 1990-1991 he joined the Council of the country's leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

With his direct participation, the main players in the world political arena searched for ways to solve many acute problems and regulate key interactions in international politics. So, on the eve of the conflict in the Persian Gulf, he met with Saddam Hussein, with Israeli figures - Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, as well as with Hosni Mubarak (Egypt), Hafez Assad (Syria) and others.

After the coup in August 1991, he was appointed first deputy chairman of the KGB. With the formation of the Russian Federation, he was elected head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, serving from 1991 to 1996.

Being an adherent of “Realpolitik”: the course led by Bismarck in his time (in which political decisions are made primarily for practical reasons, without taking into account ideological or moral aspects), the head of the Foreign Ministry advocated a multi-vector foreign policy.

He was the initiator of the creation (as opposed to the United States) of the Russia-China-India strategic triangle, simultaneously with the development of relations with the West, an opponent of NATO expansion, a supporter of the end cold war. By all accounts, he returned authority and dignity to the country's diplomatic service.

During the period 1998-1999. Primakov was appointed prime minister. At the same time, he automatically became a contender for the presidency. During the 8 months of his premiership, the market economy in the Russian Federation quickly stabilized and recovered. The resignation of Yevgeny Maksimovich from office (due to the slowdown in reforms) was perceived negatively by more than 80 percent of citizens.

Since 1999, Yevgeny Maksimovich has been a State Duma deputy, led the Fatherland - All Russia party. In 2000, 2 months before the election of the leader of the country, in a televised address, he refused to participate in the presidential race and, after the election of Vladimir Putin, became his ally and adviser.

Evgeny Primakov about Vladimir Putin

Since 2001, Primakov has been head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for 10 years. Then he became chairman of the club of veterans, exchanging views and analysis of the political situation with the leadership of the state.

Personal life of Yevgeny Primakov

Yevgeny Primakov was married twice. He knew his first wife Laura Gvishiani (Kharadze) since childhood, they lived next door in Georgia. She was the adopted daughter of NKVD General Mikhail Maksimovich Gvishiani, and later became the sister of her son-in-law Alexei Kosygin. Together, young people went to enter Moscow. In 1951 they got married.

They had two children - first-born Alexander in 1954 and daughter Nana in 1962. The politician's share in 1981 was the hardest loss - the death of his son from a heart attack. At this time, he was on duty on Red Square during the May Day festivities. His heart was weak, and the ambulance could not arrive quickly.

In the summer of 1987, the wife of the politician also died of heart disease. She became ill in the elevator as they went down. They lived together for 37 years.

From his son, Primakov left his grandson Yevgeny Jr., who gave him 4 great-granddaughters. And daughter Nana gave birth to 2 girls Sasha and Maria.

The second wife of the politician was his attending physician Irina Borisovna, whom he married in 1994. She graduated from Stavropol medical institute, in residency she worked in the Fourth Main Directorate, where the leadership of the country was treated. Then she became the head of the special department of the Barvikha sanatorium, where in 1990 she met a politician. At that time, she was married to a doctor, and her daughter Anya was born in the marriage.

Yevgeny Primakov invited her to become his doctor. A year later, after the coup, Irina divorced her husband and became close to a politician. They soon got married.

The last years of the life and death of Yevgeny Primakov

Recently, the diplomat has been ranked among the so-called "seventh column" because of his statements about the need to restore relations with the West, curtail the Ukrainian campaign, implement domestic political reforms and pursue a rational foreign policy. (Recall that the “fifth column” includes the opposition public, the “sixth” - systemic liberals, the “seventh” - sane security officials who fear the aggravation of the conflict with the whole world and the negative consequences of this for the Russian Federation).

In 2011, he resigned as president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and after that he finally left "big politics".

Yevgeny Primakov died in Moscow

In 2014, the politician underwent an operation in Milan, then he underwent treatment at the Blokhin Russian Cancer Center. In early June 2015, he got there again.

Primakov passed away at the age of 86 after a serious illness (according to various sources - a brain tumor or liver cancer) on June 26, 2015. He was buried with military honors at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. At the civil memorial service in the Hall of Columns, the President of Russia himself spoke, and the funeral service was given by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill.

Vladimir Putin, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other political figures expressed deep condolences to his relatives on the death of Primakov.

Death of Yevgeny Primakov: Vladimir Putin's speech at the farewell ceremony

Earlier, noting the outstanding services of Yevgeny Maksimovich on the eve of his 85th birthday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called him a landmark figure in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and expressed his conviction that his progressive system of views (thanks to which, in particular, there was a turning point in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation) in the future will be studied as a special concept - "Primakov's doctrine".