Maria Zakharova

Maria Zakharova
Мария Владимировна Захарова[1]
Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Assumed office
10 August 2015
Preceded by Alexander Lukashevich
Personal details
Born Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova
(1975-12-24) 24 December 1975
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Spouse(s)
Andrei Makarov (m. 2005)
Children 1
Alma mater Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (Russian: Мария Владимировна Захарова; born 24 December 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation[2] (the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) from 10 August 2015. She has a degree of Candidate in Historical Sciences, the Russian equivalent of a PhD.[3]

Early life and education

Zakharova was born to a family of diplomats and she spent her childhood in Beijing, where her mother and father worked. In 1998, she graduated from the Faculty of International Journalism at MGIMO in the field of orientalism and journalism. Her pre-diploma apprenticeship was carried out at the Russian Embassy in Beijing.

Career

From 2003 to 2005 and from 2008 to 2011, she worked at the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. From 2005 to 2008, she was the press secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York City.

Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

From 2011 to 10 August 2015, Zakharova was the Deputy Head of the Department of Information and Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Her duties included organizing and conducting briefings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman,[4] the organization of work of official Ministry accounts in social networks and information support of foreign visits of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Zakharova is known for her participation in political talk shows on Russian television and for contributing commentary on sensitive political issues in social networks. She is one of the most quoted Russian diplomats.[5] She is often opposed to Jen Psaki (the official representative of the US State Department before 31 March 2015).[6]

On 10 August 2015, by order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zakharova was appointed director of the Information and Press Department.[7] Zakharova became the first woman in the history of the department to hold this post.[8]

In 2016 she was chosen as one of BBC's 100 Women.[9]

In 2017, Zakharova accused European Union of hypocrisy over its very different attitude to separatist crises in Crimea and Catalonia, after hundreds were injured when Spanish security forces tried to prevent Catalans from voting during the Catalan independence referendum, saying "I see and read what is happening in Catalonia. And Europe will say something to us about the referendum in Crimea and the protection of human rights."[10]

Controversies

On 13 November 2016, Zakharova drew criticism for joking on Russian state television that the U.S. election results were the result of a Russian Jewish conspiracy, stating "If you want to know what will happen in America, who do you have to talk to? You have to talk to our people in Brighton Beach, naturally." Brighton Beach is home to a large Russian Jewish community. She also spoke in a stereotypical Jewish accent.[11][12]

On 2 March 2017 Maria Zakharova refused to discuss allegations against the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak with a CNN reporter. She advised the broadcaster to stop spreading lies and fake news, and argued that Kislyak is a well known world-class diplomat.[13]

On 28 April 2017, Zakharova appeared on Yahoo! News discussing the current international relations with Katie Couric. When Couric brought up the issue of torture against LGBT individuals in Chechnya, Zakharova shut the question down, stating it was not her issue to discuss.[14]

Personal life

On 7 November 2005, Zakharova married Andrei Makarov at the Russian Consulate in New York City.[15] They have a daughter Maryana,[16] born in August 2010.[17][18]

References

  1. ↑ МИД: коалиция во главе с США только имитирует борьбу с ИГ [Foreign Ministry: a coalition led by the US only mimics the fight against the IG] (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Директор ДИП МИД Роcсии [Director of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Говорит Москва [Says Moscow] (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Мария Владимировна Захарова [Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova] (in Russian). E-NEWS.su. 27 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Официальным спикером МИД России стала Мария Захарова [The official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry was Maria Zakharova]. Российская газета (in Russian). Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Официальным представителем МИД России стала «анти-Псаки» Мария Захарова [The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry was "anti-Psaki" Maria Zakharova]. Lenta (in Russian). Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. ↑ О назначении М.В.Захаровой директором Департамента информации и печати МИД России [On the appointment of MV Zakharova as Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] (in Russian). mid.ru. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Официальным представителем МИД России стала «анти-Псаки» Мария Захарова [The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry was "anti-Psaki" Maria Zakharova]. tsnews.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Daniel McLaughlin (3 October 2017). "Russia and Serbia deride EU reaction to Catalan vote". The Irish Times.
  11. ↑ Carl Schreck (17 November 2016). "Russian Government Spokeswoman Suggests Trump Won Thanks To 'The Jews'". Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty.
  12. ↑ Chris Graham (18 November 2016). "Russian spokeswoman accused of fanning 'Jewish conspiracy' after Trump's victory". The Daily Telegraph.
  13. ↑ "'Stop spreading lies & fake news,' Russian FM spokeswoman tells CNN reporter". RT. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  14. ↑ Steven Shapiro (26 April 2017). "Exclusive: Russian spokeswoman on 'ridiculous' airstrikes in Syria, French election, fake news and dangers for gays in Chechnya". Yahoo! News. Katie couric. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  15. ↑ Anastasia Smirdova (11 November 2016). Внешность славянская, ум британский. Фотограф о свадьбе Марии Захаровой [Appearance is Slavic, the mind is British. Photographer about the wedding of Maria Zakharova] (in Russian).
  16. ↑ Maria Zakharova (4 May 2017). "Всем спасибо за внимание и заботу" [Thank you all for your attention and concern] (in Russian) – via Facebook.
  17. ↑ Zakharova was among 30 Russians who received state awards from the president of the country on Thursday in the Kremlin (in Russian). Sputnik Беларусь. 26 January 2017.
  18. ↑ Edward Chesnokov (14 November 2016). Фотограф Николай Комиссаров: «Нью-Йоркская свадьба Марии Захаровой была трезвой!» [Photographer Nikolai Komissarov: "The New York wedding of Maria Zakharova was sober!"]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian).
  • Biography online TASS
  • Przhilenskiy, Vladimir; Zakharova, Maria (2016). "Which way is the Russian double-headed eagle looking?". Russian Law Journal. IV (2). Retrieved 1 February 2017.
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