Statesman.
The Fourth Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. As a former Head of the Intelligence Service Primakov was a man of the past, who managed to avoid financial disaster, also a foreign policy expert.
Background
Lived: 1929-2015.
Yevgeny Primakov was born in Kiev. His father was a victim of Stalin’s Purges. Primakov was an educated orientalist and communist party functionary since 1959. He worked as a foreign correspondent and intelligence officer at newspaper Pravda.
Career
Primakov became an expert in international relations. He was Mikhail Gorbachev’s envoy to Iraq during the Gulf War (1991).
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Primakov became Head of the Central Intelligence Service and, in 1996, a Foreign Minister.
Prime Minister (1998-99)
Primakov was presented by Yeltsin as his next candidate after Duma had rejected Chernomyrdin. Primakov’s term as Prime Minister lasted eight months. He managed to avoid financial disaster, but the President dismissed him after a conflict over dismissing communists from the Duma. He also initiated investigations on several corruption cases in Kremlin circles.
Death
Yevgeny Primakov died after prolonged illness in 2015.
Yevgeny Primakov
Statesman.
The Fourth Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. As a former Head of the Intelligence Service Primakov was a man of the past, who managed to avoid financial disaster, also a foreign policy expert.
Background
Lived: 1929-2015.
Yevgeny Primakov was born in Kiev. His father was a victim of Stalin’s Purges. Primakov was an educated orientalist and communist party functionary since 1959. He worked as a foreign correspondent and intelligence officer at newspaper Pravda.
Career
Primakov became an expert in international relations. He was Mikhail Gorbachev’s envoy to Iraq during the Gulf War (1991).
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Primakov became Head of the Central Intelligence Service and, in 1996, a Foreign Minister.
Prime Minister (1998-99)
Primakov was presented by Yeltsin as his next candidate after Duma had rejected Chernomyrdin. Primakov’s term as Prime Minister lasted eight months. He managed to avoid financial disaster, but the President dismissed him after a conflict over dismissing communists from the Duma. He also initiated investigations on several corruption cases in Kremlin circles.
Death
Yevgeny Primakov died after prolonged illness in 2015.
Constitutional Crisis