Ignatyev Mikhail Vasilyevich (January 8, 1962, village of Malye Torkhany, Cheboksarsky District, Chuvash ASSR — June 18, 2020, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian statesman, Head of the Chuvash Republic from 2010 to 2020, and a Candidate of Agricultural Sciences. His Nizhny Novgorod connection stems from his studies at the Volgo-Vyatskaya Gosudarstvennoy Sluzhby Academy in Nizhny Novgorod.[1]
Biography and Career
Ethnically Chuvash. In 1981 he graduated from the Cheboksary Power Engineering Technical School, in 1990 from the Chuvash Agricultural Institute (specialty: agronomy), and in 1997 from the Cheboksary branch of the Moscow University of Consumer Cooperatives (specialty: law).[2] From 1981 to 1983 he served in the Soviet Army.[1]
He began his working career in 1981 as an electrician at the Khimprom production association in Novocheboksarsk. From 1983 he worked at the Progress kolkhoz (collective farm) in Cheboksarsky District, as foreman of a field-crop brigade and then as head of the Yanysh production unit. In February 1987 he was elected chairman of the kolkhoz board, and in November 1992 he became head of the closed joint-stock company Progress.[1] From 1990 to 1994 he was a deputy of the Cheboksarsky District Council of People's Deputies.[1]
From 1996 he was Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Chuvashia. In 1999 he was elected head of local self-government of Cheboksarsky District. From January 2002 to May 2004 he was First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Chuvash Republic and Minister of Agriculture; he then served as Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers in the same post.[2][1]
On August 29, 2010, following his nomination by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he was confirmed as head of the republic by the State Council of Chuvashia. On September 13, 2015, he was reelected with 65.54% of the vote in the first round.[2]
Nizhny Novgorod Connection
In 1999 Ignatyev completed a professional retraining program at the Volgo-Vyatskaya Gosudarstvennoy Sluzhby Academy (Nizhny Novgorod) in the field of "State and Municipal Administration."[1]
Resignation and Death
In January 2020, Ignatyev found himself at the center of two public scandals: on January 19, he called for "wiping out" journalists and bloggers who criticize the authorities (he apologized the next day), and on January 23, at an equipment handover ceremony in Cheboksary, he made an Emergencies Ministry employee jump up to reach the keys to official vehicles. On January 29, 2020, Vladimir Putin dismissed him from office "due to loss of confidence."[2] In May 2020, Ignatyev filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court challenging the decree on the early termination of his powers; the court accepted only some of his claims, rejecting his demands for additional social guarantees.[2] That same month he was hospitalized in Saint Petersburg with bilateral pneumonia and died on June 18, 2020.[2]
Academic Work and Awards
Candidate of Agricultural Sciences; his dissertation topic was "The Influence of Fertilizers on the Agrochemical Indicators of Soil Fertility in the Chuvash Republic." He was awarded the Order of Honor and the Emergencies Ministry's badge "For Merit." He was a member of the regional political council of the Chuvash branch of the United Russia party.[2]
Links
- Wikidata (Q4197538 — entry in the free knowledge base)
Sources
- tadviser.ru — Ignatyev Mikhail Vasilyevich
- Kommersant (Volga Region) — What Mikhail Ignatyev Is Known For