Biography
Chubais was born on June 16, 1955 in the town of Borisov, Belarus. In 1977, Chubais graduated from the Leningrad Economic Engineering Institute, where he worked afterwards as an engineer, assistant, in 1982 he became an associate professor and in 1983 defended a dissertation. According to mass media data, in the mid 80’s Chubais was a leader of an informal circle of democratically oriented Leningrad economists, later he became the organizer of Leningrad club Perestroyka. In 1990, after Anatoly Sobchak was elected as the Chairman of Leningrad Soviet, Chubais became his deputy and major economic Advisor. In November 1991 Chubais became a minister in the State Cabinet handling the portfolio of the Chief of Rosimushchestvo (Committee on the State Properties). In June 1992 he became the chairman deputy of the Russian government and in the same year Rosimushchestvo worked out voucher privatization programme, according to which every citizen would receive a portion of state property in the form of the voucher and accomplished its technical preparation.
In 1993 Chubais took part in organization of pre-election “Russia’s Choice” party and by the end of the year he won a seat in the Russian Parliament as a candidate of this party. In November 1994 he became the first government statesman deputy, the head of Federal committee of securities and stock exchange. In 1995-1996 Chubais held a post of the head manager in the international financial organizations representing Russia. In the beginning of 1996, Chubais was released from the first government statesman deputy's duties. He established “Civil Society Fund”, on its basis analytical group of Boris Eltsin pre-election staff began its work. In a month he established and headed “Protection Center of Private Property”. In July 1996 Chubais got the post of the head of the Presidential Administration. In 1996 Chubais was awarded with the qualification rank “Full Government Adviser of the 1st rank”.
In March 1997, Chubais was taken out of his position as head of the Presidential Administration and appointed first Deputy Chairman of the Government and Minister of Finance. In the autumn 1997 he was dismissed of his position as Minister of Finance, but he still kept the post of vice-premier. In 1997 according to expert survey of the world’s leading financiers Chubais was acknowledged the best Minister of Finance of the year by the magazine Euromoney. In March 1998 together with other members of Victor Chernomyrdin government he resigned.
From May 1997 to May 1998, he sat on the Security Council of the Russian Federation. In April 1998 Chubais was elected as chairman of the board at state owned electrical power monopoly Unified Energy System (UES). In June-August 1998 Chubais became the Russia's liaison to international financial organizations in the position of vice-premier of the Russia’s government. In May 2000 Chubais entered electoral politics as elected co-chairman of the coordination council of the pro-Western Union of Right Forces (SPS) party. In a year at constituent party congress, he was elected co-chairman and the member of federal political council.
After the defeat of SPS in the parliamentary elections in 2007 at a party congress Chubais was again elected a member of the federal political council of SPS.
In July 2007, administrative managers of RAO UES received the right to redeem the shares of RAO in the frames of option. As a result, the portion of shares owned by Chubais, has increased more than seven times.
Energy holding completed its reorganization by mid-2008 and RAO UES ceased to exist as a legal entity. In September of the same year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the Chubais appointment as CEO of state-owned corporation “Rusnano”.
In September 2008 it became known that SPS in a few months would join the new right party, created by the Kremlin. Shortly thereafter, Chubais appealed the members of SPS to cooperate with the authorities in order to create a right-wing party that could defend the liberal values. In November 2008, on the basis of the released in the same month parties DPR (Democratic Party of Russia), “Civilian Power” and “SPS”, there was founded a new party, called "Right Cause". Chubais, upholding the decision to dissolve SPS, noticed that he intended to cooperate with "Right Cause" but didn’t plan to join the new party. Soon Chubais gave his consent to join the Supreme Council of "Right Cause" (mass media used this information since January 2009).
Anatoly Chubais was awarded Certificate of Honour of the President of Russia for active participation in the preparation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and for the great contribution to the development of democratic foundations of the Russian Federation. He has three commendations from the President of Russia (received in 1995, 1997 and 1998). He received the title "Man who made the greatest contribution to the development of the Russian stock market" from NAUFOR (1999), an honorary diploma of the International Union of Economists "International Recognition" “for his great contribution to the development of Russia for the application of the best international practices of the modern methods of management organization, economics, finance and manufacturing processes introduction "(2001), Medal for Merit for the Chechen Republic", medal "For the special contribution to the development of Kuzbass" of the 1st rank.
Anatoly Chubais enjoys boating, skiing, loves to drive fast. His musical tastes are- the Beatles, group “Mashina Vremeni” ("The Time Machine"), the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava (with the latter he was on friendly terms). One of his closest friends was Yegor Gaidar. Chubais also was a friend of the musician Mstislav Rostropovich.
Chubais is married for the second time. His wife Maria Vishnevskaya - economist, according to some sources - the niece of Galina Vishnevskaya, Rostropovich's wife. From the first marriage Chubais has got a son (born 1980) and a daughter (born in 1983). His son Alex - a graduate of the Higher School of Economics (HSE). His daughter Olga - a graduate of St. Petersburg Financial-Economic Institute.
Chubais has got a brother, but they do not support the relationships for more than 10 years. Igor Borisovich Chubais – the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Professor of the Social Philosophy department at The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, director of the Center for Russia’s Studies.
Source: www. Lenta. Ru
Dossier:
For the first time Anatoly Chubais was spoken about in the mass media in the late 80-s, when he established a circle of economists. The older brother of Anatoly, Igor Chubais, Vice-premier Alexei Kudrin, the president of the Bank house “Saint-Petersburg” Vladimir Kogan, the Minister of Antimonopoly Policy Ilya Yuzhanov, the former chairman of “MDM-Bank Saint Petersburg" Olga Kazan and killed in 1997, vice-governor of St. Petersburg Mikhail Manevich entered this circle. To finance the activities of the circle, Anatoly Chubais began growing tulips on the farm. Mostly due to these facilities, election campaigns of the St. Petersburg delegate Yuri Boldyrev, and the Governor of St. Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak were financed. Chubais later claimed that he never participated in growing and selling flowers.
Source: www.sps.ru
In the late 1980's the member of CEMI (Central Economic Mathematical Institute) AN USSR Vitaly Naishul proposed an economic reform and national privatization. At the seminar, which was attended by Anatoly Chubais, he deplored Naishul’s idea, believing that privatization may lead to massive injustice, but some time later he used Naishul’s idea and became the ancestor of the privatization in Russia.
Source: www. Polit.ru from 11.08.2005
In 1990, when Chubais became the deputy chairman of Leningrad Council of Anatoly Sobchak, newspapers wrote that Chubais was comfortable in that post - he was going to create Leningrad free economic zone, thus embodying the idea of Sobchak.
Source: www.rusnano.Com
In the early 90's, Anatoly Chubais became the president of the Leontiev research Centre. It was written that Chubais managed to create a Center due to the protection of the American economist, Nobel laureate in economics Vasily Leontiev. Financing of the "Leontiev Centre" came from two sources: the first one - an American nongovernmental organization USAID (American Institute of Democracy), the second one - monetary sublease of the Centre premises.
Source: www.compromat.ru from 29.05.2000
In 1992, Chubais was in the center of a scandal: American economists-advisers worked in the department of technical assistance and expertise created by Chubais. As for the claim of the former chairman of the State Property Committee Vladimir Polevanov, the Head of the department, Jonathan Hay was an employee of the CIA. In 2004, the legal procedure began over Jonathan Hay and Andrei Shleifer in the U.S. They were charged of fraud and financial abuse of embezzling the money of the American taxpayers. It was written that Chubais and his advisers were involved in the situation when a number of major defense enterprises of Military-industrial complex (MIC) has been bought by foreigners for nothing; Haye with Chubais’ help has bought 30% of shares of the Moscow Electrode Plant and acting in cooperation with him the Research Institute "Graphite", the country's only developer of graphite coatings for aircrafts such as "Stealth", after that Haye has blocked an order from military space forces on the production of high technologies.
Source: www.dp.ru from 15.07.2009
In 1993-1994, the conflict between Chubais and Moscow Governor Yuri Luzhkov turned. Luzhkov claimed that the policy of privatization by Anatoly Chubais is criminal, and Chubais said that privatization was held in Moscow with violations of the Russian law. Luzhkov has won – a "special order of privatization" was introduced in Moscow by the presidential decree, in which 20 percent of privatized companies shares were reserved by the State and City hall gains the control over the privatization process. In response to that, Chubais produced rumors that Luzhkov is aiming for the president post, thus complicating the relationship between Yuri Luzhkov and Boris Yeltsin.
Source: www.temadnya.ru from 22.12.2000
Источник: www.svdevelopment.com
Privatization in Russia was accompanied by the conflict and the various scandals surrounding Anatoly Chubais. In the beginning of 1995, Chubais accused the First Prime-Minister Oleg Soskovets in the inhibition of privatization. At his insistence, the sale of shares of the oil companies had been banned by the Parliament; many other objects of interest have not been privatized, though they were of great importance to national security. Then the chairman of the financial-industrial group “Interros”, Vladimir Potanin, proposed the loan to the government at the amount of 9 billion rubles on pledge of shares of elite stock companies, Chubais called this proposal to be the only possible way to begin the privatization. As a result, the shares of many state enterprises were transferred as a pledge to Potanin. On September 1, 1996 the term of pledge expired, the State failed to return the pledge and shares were sold at auction - the enterprises were dispersed among individual representatives of the business and political elite. Later, Chubais claimed the auctions the right decision, based on the fact that it helped to prevent the Communists from winning at the elections in 1996.
Source: www.svdevelopment.com
In 1992, Russia began voucher privatization, whose ideologist was Anatoly Chubais. Afterwards, it was named the biggest fraud. A small group of business elite benefited from the privatization, including Anatoly B. Chubais himself - he headed RAO UES since 1998, since the start of privatization the profitability of its shares has increased up to 5160 percent. In 2000, some of the mass media published information about one unique event: a resident of Energetic, Vladimir region (according to other sources - Moscovite) Vladimir Kuvshinov sued for two "Volga" cars from Chubais on the account of the voucher.
Source: "The Banner" from 23.06.2000, www. rbc.ru
In 1996 newspapers wrote that Anatoly Chubais is going to resign because of the low estimate of his work by the Russian government. Boris Yeltsin claimed Chubais activities on holding auctions for the sale of government property a crime, and said that this mustn’t be forgiven. Yuri Luzhkov, the Governor of Moscow, gave comments to mass media on Chubais resignation. He said that Chubais left behind a ruined economy. In spite of this, in March 1996, Chubais took part in the meeting between President Yeltsin and a group of bankers and politicians - Vladimir Gusinsky, Boris Berezovsky and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Potanin and others. It was decided at the meeting to establish the analytical group at the Yeltsin’s electoral headquarters during presidential elections in Russia, headed by Chubais. Journalists assumed that Yeltsin had deliberately removed Chubais from the post of deputy prime minister so that he could create a fund, which became agitation arena for the presidential headquarters.
Sources: "Neva time" from 17.01.1996, www.rian.ru from 19.01.1996
Despite the negative assessment of Chubais by President Boris Yeltsin, Chubais headed the electoral headquarters of Yeltsin in the presidential campaign of 1996, where he became embroiled in a scandal again. On the night of June 20th,1996 the members of Yeltsin's electoral headquarters Arkady Yevstafyev (Spokesperson of Chubais) and Sergei Lisovsky were detained while trying to leave a government building with a box of 538 thousand dollars, but after interrogation they were released. The initiators of their detention - the head of the presidential security service Aleksandr Korzhakov, the Federal Security Service director Mikhail Barsukov and the first vice-premier Oleg Soskovets - were dismissed. Criminal case over the theft was discontinued and the identity of the owner of the box was not established. Then Chubais spoke at a specially organized press conference, where he told that Evstafiev and Lisowski didn’t have the box with dollars - allegedly it was put secretly by Korzhakov’s people. Mass media assumed that the incident was used only to provoke the resignation of Chubais’ political opponents.
Source: Kommersant № 126 (1084) from 25.06.1996
Newspapers wrote that Anatoly Chubais helped Vladimir Putin to make a political career and take up the post of the Russian President. After Yeltsin's victory in elections in 1996, Chubais was appointed the head of the Russian presidential administration, and he facilitated the relocation of his longtime friend from Saint Petersburg, Vladimir Putin, who lost his job after Sobchak’s defeat in the elections in 1996, to the post of the head of the Main Control Department.
Source: Vedomosti № 99 (1626) from 02.06.2006
In 1997, Chubais was able to prevent the signing of the "Community Charter of Russia and Belarus" by the President of Russia. The document has been lobbied by a member of the Federation Council Sergei Shakhrai, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, Vice-Premier Valery Serov and the President Assistant on the International Affairs Dmitry Ryurikov. The document went against the interests of Russia and Yeltsin himself.
Source: "Itogi» № 3 from 19.11.1999
The idea of writing a book on privatization ended in scandal. His co-author Anatoly Chubais held the post of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. In 1997 several employees of the Government and the Administration of the President received an advance 90 thousand dollars each from the publishing company for the not-yet-written book "History of the Russian privatization". Among the owners of the money were the head of the State Property Committee, Vice-premier Alfred Koch, Anatoly Chubais himself, the CEO of the Federal Department for Insolvency (Bankruptcy) Peter Mostovoy, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Property Maxim Boyko, the first head deputy of the Presidential Administration Alexander Kazakov, and the officials - Arkady Yevstafyev and Dmitry Vasiliev. The criminal case for abuse of authority was begun against Koch and it was closed under an amnesty in 1999, other officials have resigned - Chubais lost his post as Minister of Finance. The history of the criminal case was of great interest - it was the result of the conflict of interests of the two major Russian businessmen - Vladimir Gusinsky and Vladimir Potanin in their dispute over the purchase of company "Svyazinvest" at the auction. Boris Berezovsky arranged a meeting between Gusinsky, Potanin and Chubais. It was agreed at this meeting that Gusinsky will get "Svyazinvest" and Potanin will take a passive part in the auction to give it a legitimate appearance. However, Potanin, despite the agreement, outbid the price for "Svyazinvest" and bought it. Gusinsky organized a campaign against Chubais, and the outcome of which was a case of bribery on a book on privatization. Berezovsky, a former partner of Chubais at the presidential elections, became his enemy. Chubais himself has confirmed his role in the sale of “Svyazinvest” but attributed it to his principle position on the auction issues – the one who gave more, won more.
Source: "Kommersant-Vlast" from 18.11.2002, www.echo.msk.ru from 16.12.2009
In 1998, Chubais managed to get a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to maintain the ruble exchange rate due to the personal audience with the US Deputy Minister of the Treasury Lawrence Summers. But soon the scandal broke out - the credit was spent for other purposes. Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov began a criminal case, where it was investigated that the funds were transferred to the accounts of the 18 Russian and foreign companies which bought the currency on the already distressed treasury bills. Chubais, the leaders of the Central Bank - Sergei Dubinin, Sergei Aleksashenko and Alexander Potemkin, the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov stood behind these companies. This criminal case never came to trial.
Source: Business Baltia № 158 (2783) from 17.08.2005
In May 2000, Chubais was elected co-chair of the coordinating council of the organizing committee of the political association "Union of Right Forces (SPS). Some media assumed that the presence of Chubais in the SPS commercials became one of the reasons for the Party failure, which failed to overcome the 5-percent barrier in the elections in 2003.
Source: www. BBC. News from 17.03.2005
Member of the Board of Directors of RAO UES of Russia, Boris Fyodorov claimed in 2000 that the restructuring of RAO is in the interests of company management and also in the interests of affiliated oligarchic and political structures. He also called Chubais “the worst manager in Russia, which tries to become a major oligarch at the expense of the state and shareholders".
Source: "Kommersant» № 235 (2120) from 15.12.2000
In 2002, the new confrontation between Anatoly Chubais and Moscow Governor Yuri Luzhkov emerged. Luzhkov announced the establishing of the State Unitary Enterprise "Mosgorenergo", which was to become a competitor for “Mosenergo”. Thus, Luzhkov has demonstrated resistance to Chubais' plans - through his representative in the Federation Council Boris Nikolsky, Luzhkov demanded to give a controlling stake in “Mosenergo” to the Moscow government in exchange for the adoption of some energy laws. Newspapers wrote that Chubais asked for support from Vladimir Putin and, allegedly, the president promised not to do the special conditions for Moscow. In the result of negotiations, Luzhkov and Chubais agreed that the city will be able to enter their assets in the funds allocated from “Mosenergo” networking companies and to get the appropriate package of their shares.
Source: Kommersant № 183 (2552) from 09.10.2002, Kommersant № 179 (2548) on 03.10.2002
In November 2002, at the Harvard Symposium on Investment in Russia a member of the Board of Directors of RAO UES, director of Prosperity Capital Management Alexander Branis claimed about the negative dynamics of prices of RAO UES share. Russian Presidential adviser Andrei Illarionov said at the event that since Chubais joined the company, the productivity and efficiency of RAO decreased. To support Chubais, Sergei Dubinin, RAO deputy president accused Illarionov of a lie.
Source: Vedomosti № 209 (772) from 18.11.2002
In April 2003 the Government of Khakassia in the person of President Alexander Lebed sued the management of RAO UES, requiring the privatization of the Sayan-Shushenskaya GES (hydropower station) illegal. With the privatization of the hydropower station, Khakassia got the right to buy electricity from the station at the lowest fare instead of its shares. Lebed decided to dispute the results of privatization in ten years time after the signing of the agreement. After filing of a claim Lebed offered Chubais to reach an amicable agreement, according to which the preferential price on electricity for Khakassia would remain the same, but Chubais refused. It was discussed that one of the largest consumers of electricity in Khakassia "Basic Element" controlled by Oleg Deripaska, stood behind the claim. RAO UES filed a complaint to the Supreme Arbitration Court about the decision of the East Siberian arbitration on the de-privatization of the Sayan-Shushenskaya GES, and in 2004 the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia approved the supervisory complaint of Chubais.
Source: Vedomosti № 192 (1232) from 20.10.2004
In 2003, Anatoly Chubais, speaking at a press conference of the leaders of the political party Union of Right Forces, has publicly accused the leaders of the party "Rodina" Sergei Glazyev and Dmitry Rogozin that their national-socialist ideas threaten Russia's security and represent the Nazi threat.
Source: Kommersant № 222 (2825) from 04.12.2003
In March 2005, Chubais was assassinated. On the way of the convoy of the head of RAO UES an explosive device went off, afterwards the cars were fired upon. Chubais himself was not injured. A retired colonel of the GRU, Vladimir Kvachkov and the paratroopers from the 45th Airborne Forces troupes Robert Yashin, Alexander Naidyonov and Ivan Mironov were accused of the attempt on Chubais. In the spring 2006 the case of the attempt on Chubais was transferred to the court. The jury in the case changed three times and on June 5, 2008, the jury brought in an acquittal. Kvachkov, Yashin and Naidenov were released from custody in the courtroom, Mironov’s case was separated and duration of detention extended. Chubais said that the decision of the jury was erroneous. In his view, the guilt of Kvachkov, Yashin and Naidenov was never in doubt. The press said that the attack was staged by Anatoly Chubais himself to accuse of it military men, leaders of national-patriotic movement, and a number of deputies of the Rodina party.
Source: New Region from 20.10.2005, www.lenta.ru
In May 2005 in Moscow there was a technological disaster in the substation "Chagin”, as a result hundreds of thousands of people and companies remained without electricity. President Vladimir Putin accused the management of RAO UES, including Chubais. A special commission investigating the incident concluded that the cause of the accident was the bad condition of the equipment. Members of the “Yabloko” party told the press that the following reasons caused the disaster: the use of RAO UES for political purposes, unrelated to energy supply, the incompetence of the leaders, including Anatoly Chubais, and negligence.
Source: www.newsru.com from 26.05.2005, www.polit.ru dated 26.05.2005
In 2005-2006, Chubais spoke out in defense of his subordinate - Valery Pasat, an Adviser of External Relations of RAO UES, who was accused of money laundering in connection with the sale of Moldovan MiG-29 (aircrfts) in the U.S. in 1998. After Kishinev court awarded a sentence, according to which Pasat was sentenced to 10 years of prison for abuse of authority, Chubais publicly promised big problems to Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin. One month after the sentence, the involvement of Pasat in organization of a coup in Moldova and the attempt on the deputy chairman of the Parliament of the Republic, Yuri Rosca, were discussed. The charges were not brought and Pasat’s sentence was initially reduced to 5 years, and in 2007 he was granted amnesty.
Source: www.newsru.com from 17.01.2006
In 2006 the popularity rating of Russian officials and businessmen was published - Anatoly Chubais was one of the least popular public figures - 77% of Russians did not trust him. Chubais was described as a person, who acted to the detriment of Russia; he was called a thief and a swindler.
Source: www. wikipedia. Org
In 2008, Garry Kasparov told the press a number of accusations against Anatoly Chubais. In particular, he accused the head of RAO UES in the fact that he buried the achievement of restructuring (perestroika) and directly participated in the collapse of the country.
Source: www.rian.ru from 14.12.2006, www. gazeta.ru on 18.07.08
In October 2009, the Commission of Rostekhnadzor (the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision) called Anatoly Chubais one of six guilty people in the accident at the Sayan-Shushenskaya GES. The Act of Technical investigation of the causes of the disaster said that Chubais, as head of RAO UES, approved the act of the Central Commission for acceptance of the Sayan-Shushenskoye hydroelectric complex into service, though he didn’t check the security status of the object. A number of other violations were also listed in the document, which were made with the connivance of Anatoly Chubais. Chubais himself did not deny his guilt in the accident. Commission of the State Duma investigating the circumstances of the accident in December 2009, reported that responsibility for the accident was removed from Chubais.
Source: www.gazeta.ru from 03.10.2009, www. echo.msk. Ru from 04.10.2009