Igor Vilenovich Eydman (born 25 September 1968, Gorky) is a Russian sociologist, essayist and political consultant. A native of Nizhny Novgorod, Nemtsov on his mother's side. He became known as a researcher of internet sociology, and later as one of the most consistent critics of Vladimir Putin's political system. He lives in Berlin.[2]
Nizhny Novgorod years and early career
Eydman studied at the History Faculty of Lobachevsky University. In the early 1990s he worked as a journalist for Nizhny Novgorod city media outlets: he was editor-in-chief of the weekly "Russky Klub" (Russian Club) and literary editor of the almanac "Dirizhabl" (Airship). In the same period he devised the concept of the Nizhny Novgorod State Housing Loan and took the post of deputy director of the Nizhny Novgorod Real Estate Fund, overseeing the implementation of the project.[1]
From 1995 to 1997 he headed the PR agency "Center for Social Innovations", engaged in political consulting, and advised State Duma deputies and leaders of federal parties. In 1997 he moved to Moscow.[1]
Academic and professional work
From 2002 to 2005 Eydman was chief creative officer of the political consulting center "Niccolo M", and in 2007 he worked as director of corporate communications at the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM). That same year his book "A Breakthrough into the Future: The Sociology of the Internet Revolution" (OGI publishing house) came out — a study in theoretical sociology and social history in the field of electronic democracy.[1]
Eydman's articles were published in Vedomosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vremya Novostei, Computerra, Svobodnaya Mysl and a number of other outlets. At the same time he worked on projects involving leadership-oriented social networks and served as director for research and network projects at the Institute for Innovative Development.[1]
Political commentary and emigration
In 2014 Eydman's book "Putin's New National Idea" was published. In 2016 the work Das System Putin: Wohin steuert das neue russische Reich? ("Putin's System: Where Is the New Russian Empire Heading?") was published in German, later reissued in Polish and Romanian as well.[2]
In 2023 the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included Eydman on the register of "foreign agents". On 15 October 2025 Rosfinmonitoring added him to the list of terrorists and extremists.[2]
In an interview with Idel.Realii (2025), Eydman noted that his nostalgic memories are tied to Nizhny Novgorod rather than to Moscow, where he lived for about fifteen years: "In Russia I had a sense of a kind of home region specifically in Nizhny Novgorod."[2]
Sources
- svoboda.org — The harder the pressure, the stronger the resistance: Igor Eydman — on Russification, the growth of national self-awareness and the future of Russia after Putin
- pa.inion.ru — Eydman Igor / Documents // PartArkhiv /// PartArkhiv (archived)
- audit-it.ru