| Boris Nemtsov |
Article Index for Boris |
Website Links For Boris |
Information AboutBoris Nemtsov |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BORIS NEMTSOV | |
| russian politicians | |
| 1959 births | |
| living people | |
| moscow theater hostage crisis | |
| russian jews | |
| jewish politicians | |
|
BIOGRAPHY Boris Nemtsov was born on October 9 1959 in Sochi . From 1976 to 1981 he studied physics at ''Gorky State University'', in 1985 received a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics. Until 1990 Boris Nemtsov worked as a senior scientist at the Gorky Radio-Physics Research Institute (Горьковский научно-иссследовательский радиофизический институт, НИРФИ). In 1989 Boris Nemtsov became involved in the ecological movement, and in that same year attempted to register in the election to the USSR Congress Of People's Deputies (Parliament) as an independent candidate, but was prevented from running by the Communist-controlled local electoral commission. In March 1990, in the first multi-party elections in Russia since 1917, Boris Nemtsov was elected to the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of the Russian Republic for the city of Gorky (later renamed Nizhny Novgorod ). In Parliament he joined the "Reform Coalition" and "Centre-Left" political groups. Boris Nemtsov took an active part in the democratic resistance to an attempted coup in Moscow in August 1991, and following the coup's failure was appointed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin as his representative to the Nizhny Novgorod region. In November 1991 Boris Nemtsov was appointed Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region. He was re-elected in that position by popular vote in December 1995. His tenure was marked by the implementation of a wide-ranging free market reform programme which resulted in significant economic growth in the region. Mr Nemtsov's reforms won praise from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , who visited Nizhny Novgorod in 1993. In December 1993 Boris Nemtsov was elected to the Federation Council , the upper house of the Russian Parliament. During the election campaign he was backed by "Russia's Choice" and " Yabloko ", which were then the principal liberal parties in the country. In March 1997 Boris Nemtsov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, with special responsibility for reform of the energy sector. He was widely popular with the public and appeard to be the lead candidate to become President of Russia in 2000. In the summer of 1997, opinion polls gave Mr Nemtsov over 50% support as a potential preidential candidate. His political career, however, suffered a blow in August 1998 following the crash of the Russian stock-market and the ensuing economic crisis. Boris Nemtsov was the only member of the Cabinet to voluntarily tender his resignation, which was accepted by President Yeltsin on 28 August 1998. In August 1999 Boris Nemtsov became one of the co-founders of the Union Of Right Forces , a new liberal-democratic coalition which received nearly 6 million votes, or 8.6%, in the parliamentary elections in December 1999. Mr Nemtsov himself was elected to the State Duma , or lower house of Parliament, and consequently became its Deputy Speaker in February 2000. In May 2000, after the resignation of previous party leader Sergei Kiriyenko , Boris Nemtsov was elected leader of the Union Of Right Forces and its parliamentary group in the State Duma. His position as party leader was confirmed at the Union Of Right Forces congress in May 2001, where he was backed by over 70% of delegates. Between 2000 and 2003 Boris Nemtsov was in a difficult political position. While he himself vehemently opposed President Vladimir Putin 's policies of rolling back democracy and civic freedoms in Russia, he had to compromise with the powerful co-chairman of the Union Of Right Forces , Anatoly Chubais , who favoured a more conciliatory line towards the Kremlin. As a consequence, the Union Of Right Forces 's message appeared muddled and confused, thus alienating many liberal voters. In the parliamentary elections of December 2003 the Union Of Right Forces , whose list was headed by both Nemtsov and Chubais , received just 2.4 million votes, or 4% of the total, thus falling short of the 5% thershold necessary to enter Parliament and losing all of its seats in the State Duma . Official results of the election were put in doubt by exit polls and the alternative vote-count conducted by independent election observers, which showed the Union Of Right Forces at over 5% of the national vote and thus eligible for parliamentary seats. Despite this, in January 2004 Boris Nemtsov formally resigned from the party leadership, accepting his responsibility for the election defeat. In January 2004 Boris Nemtsov co-authored (with his longtime advisor and party colleague Vladimir V. Kara-Murza ) an article entitled "Appeal to the Putinist Majority", warning of the dangers of the impending Putin dictatorship, which appeared in "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" newspaper. In that same month Mr Nemtsov co-founded the "2008 Committee" , an umbrella group of the Russian opposition which also included Garry Kasparov , Vladimir Bukovsky and other prominent liberals. Boris Nemtsov actively supported the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in November-December 2004, and, following its victory, was appointed as economic advisor to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko . Boris Nemtsov has three children. He remains a member of the federal political council of the Union Of Right Forces and co-chairman of the "2008 Committee". EXTERNAL LINK
|
|
|