Viktor Chernomyrdin



Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (Russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин, IPA: [ˈvʲiktər sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ tɕɪrnɐˈmɨrdʲɪn]; 9 April 1938 – 3 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union (13 February 1985 – 17 July 1989), after which he became first chairman of Gazprom energy company and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Russia (1992–1998) based on consecutive years. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s and a participant in the transition from a planned to a market economy. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to Ukraine. After that, he was designated as a presidential adviser.

Obituary, The Economist, 6th November 2010 p. 107

 * It has never been like this and now it is exactly the same again.


 * Whatever organisation we try to create, it always ends up looking like the Communist Party.


 * We wanted the best, but it turned out like always.