Vladimir Yakunin

Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin (Russian: Владимир Иванович Якунин; born 30 June 1948) is a Russian public figure, businessman and former president of Russian Railways (June 2005 – August 2015). In 2012, he was elected chairman of the Union of Railways (UIC) a position he held until 2015. In March 2014, he was placed on the US State Department's list of Russian officials and businessmen sanctioned in the wake the annexation of Crimea.[1] After stepping down as head of Russian Railways, he has continued to be engaged in public work as a founder and president of World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations”. In October 2015, he started work on creating an international think tank focused on the search for solutions to help de-escalate tensions across the world. DOC Research Institute was launched in July 2016 in Berlin.

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Ivanovich and the family name is Yakunin.
Vladimir Yakunin
President of Russian Railways
In office
15 June 2005 – 20 August 2015
Preceded byGennady Fadeyev
Succeeded byOleg Belozyorov
Personal details
Born
Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin

(1948-06-30) 30 June 1948
Melenki, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia)
ProfessionDoctor of Political Sciences

Early life

Yakunin was born in Melenki in Gus-Khrustalny District, Vladimir Oblast.[2]

Career

In 1972, Yakunin graduated from the Leningrad Mechanical Institute where he studied aircraft construction, and specialized in engineering and the maintenance of long-range ballistic missiles.[3]

Yakunin's career began in the State Institute for Applied Chemistry in Leningrad, where he worked from 1972 to 1975. In 1975, he joined the Soviet Army.[4]

Between 1985 and 1991, Yakunin was part of the Soviet diplomatic mission to the United Nations, becoming the Mission's First Secretary in 1988.[5]

In the early 1990s, Yakunin owned a dacha in Solovyovka, Priozersky district of Leningrad region, on the eastern shore of the Komsomol'skoye lake on the Karelian Isthmus near St. Petersburg. His neighbours there included Vladimir Putin, Andrei Fursenko, Sergey Fursenko, Yuriy Kovalchuk, Viktor Myachin, Vladimir Smirnov and Nikolay Shamalov. On 10 November 1996, together they set up the co-operative society Ozero covering their properties.[6][7][8]

On 12 December 2012 in Paris, the International Union of Railways General Assembly appointed Yakunin Chairman of the Union. He was unanimously reappointed on 3 December 2014 and continued to serve as head until his retirement.[9]

Yakunin is also President of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations", an International NGO registered in Vienna, Austria, which he co-founded with C. Kapur of India and N. Papanikolao from Greece/USA. Before it was transformed into a DOC research Institute, World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" was an initiative to link people from different backgrounds, civilizations, traditions and religions. It organizes the annual Rhodes Forum on Dialogue of Civilizations.[10]

Social activities and charity
  • Chairman of the Committee of Trustees, Center of the National Glory of Russia and St. Andrew the First-Called' Foundation,[11] which funds Orthodox Church-related projects.
  • Chairman of Supervisory board, “Spread Your Wings” Children's Fund, which was established in 2007 to provide financial aid for orphans, children in state care, disabled children, and seriously ill children. His company sponsors the fund's projects, including social adaptation programs for children in state care and those with disabilities, as well as adoption support.[12]

Sanctions

On 20 March 2014, the United States government issued sanctions in response to what it saw as the Russian government's role in ongoing unrest in Ukraine. The Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) imposes a travel ban to the United States, the freezing of all Yakunin's U.S. assets, and a ban on business transactions between American citizens and corporations and Yakunin and any businesses he owns.[13][14][15][16][17][18] The Australian Government announced on 19 March 2014 that it would impose a sanctions regime in response to the Russian threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Yakunin was placed on Australia's DFAT consolidated list on 19 June 2014, described as a 'close personal and financial associate of Vladimir Putin'.

Retired from Russian Railways

In August 2015, media reports said Yakunin has retired as head of Russian Railways, but in October, further reports suggested he had been dismissed. Russian and British media have alleged that Yakunin's dismissal was a direct result of his son Andrey Yakunin's decision to apply for UK citizenship.[19]

See also
  • List of individuals sanctioned during the Ukrainian crisis

References
  1. "Subscribe to read". Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  2. "www.russiamonitor.net". Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  3. Russian Railways. Executive management
  4. Politician from Russia, Vl. Yakunin
  5. "Антикомпромат. ЯКУНИН". Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  6. How the 1980s Explains Vladimir Putin. The Ozero group. By Fiona Hill & Clifford G. Gaddy, The Atlantic, 14 February 2013.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Владимир Прибыловский, Юрий Фельштинский. Операция "Наследник". Главы из книги". Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  9. Vladimir Yakunin Elected as Chairman of UIC Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Vladimir Yakunin, Founding President of the WPF "Dialogue of Civilizations"". Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  11. "Board of Trustees". Russkiy Mir Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  12. "Open lecture "Global geopolitical and geoeconomical transformations: a big war or a big breakthrough" by V.Yakunin". LinkedIn.
  13. "Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members Of The Russian Leadership's Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement In The Situation In Ukraine". US Department of the treasury.
  14. "Executive Order - Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine". The White House - Office of the Press Secretary. 20 March 2014.
  15. "Ukraine-related Designations". Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  16. "Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN)". Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  17. Shuklin, Peter (21 March 2014). "Putin's inner circle: who got in a new list of US sanctions". liga.net. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  18. President of The United States (19 March 2016). "Ukraine EO13661" (PDF). Federal Register. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  19. "СМИ связали отставку Якунина с заявкой его сына на британское гражданство". РБК. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
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