Yakunin Vladimir

Full name:
Yakunin Vladimir

Date of Birth

30 June 1948

Citizenship

Russia

Yakunin Vladimir Professional field/official position

President of World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations,” former President of Russian Railways (2005 – 2015),

Yakunin Vladimir biography

YAKUNIN Vladimir Ivanovich (b. 1948) graduated from Voenmekh (Leningrad Mechanical Institute) in 1972 majoring in aircraft manufacturing. Later, Yakunin took part in the designing and maintenance of long-range ballistic missiles.

In 2018, Yakunin confirmed in his book that he was an officer of the KGB, working in the scientific and technical department of its First Main Directorate, which was engaged in espionage and all kinds of sabotage outside the USSR. In his own words, his position in the KGB was “captain-engineer.” Like many KGB officers, Yakunin, who worked in this structure for a total of 22 years, soon found himself in the “diplomatic” work in the West. In 1985-91, he was the secretary of the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the UN in New York.
In February 1991, Yakunin returned to Russia. Upon returning, he became the head of the board of the company International Center for Business Cooperation (St. Petersburg). Around this time, he met with Vladimir Putin. On November 10 of the same year, he, together with Putin and his friends, co-founded the Lake (Ozero) Dacha cooperative to the north of St. Petersburg. In 1997, Vladimir Putin moved to Moscow and in March became the head of the Main Control Directorate (GKU) in the presidential administration, and Vladimir Yakunin was soon appointed head of the northwestern branch of the GKU.
After Putin came to power in 2000, Yakunin also moved to Moscow and took the post of Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation. In this ministry, he oversaw the merchant fleet and seaports. In February 2002, Yakunin received the position of Deputy Minister of Railways of Russia. This ministry was abolished on March 9, 2004. Part of the functions of this ministry was transferred to the newly created Russian Railways state corporation. Almost a month after the creation of Russian Railways, its board unanimously approved Yakunin’s candidacy for vice president of the new structures.
On June 14, 2005, by order of the Russian government, Vladimir Ivanovich headed this largest railway company in Eurasia. Besides, in 2008, Yakunin also headed the Armenian South Caucasus Railway (SCR), which was completely dependent on Russian Railways, and was meddled in corruption scandals (for example, the Armenian authorities accused the road of tax evasion, embezzlement and non-fulfillment of obligations to develop the infrastructure of the SCR).
Despite corruption scandals in Russian Railways itself, Yakunin was twice reassigned to the post of head of this railway giant. After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, he was included on the US sanctions list (and on Canada’s extended sanctions list in 2019). However, the EU did not include Yakunin on its lists. Yakunin (who was also the head of the International Union of Railways) got under American sanctions not for the activities of Russian Railways in Crimea, because formally so-called The Crimean Railway, managed by the occupation authorities of the peninsula, is not part of the Russian Railways, but because he was and is one of Putin’s closest associates and, as such, supported the annexation of Crimea. We know about his position from his own words (we quote his blog):
A group of French lawmakers from the French National Assembly and Senate went to Crimea, causing public outcry. The speaker thinks the visit shows a desire for accurate information, especially since the French distrust their media's coverage of Ukraine and Crimea.
Corruption scandals in Russian Railways involving Yakunin were uncovered in 2013 by Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund. These investigations revealed embezzlement of large sums of money used to build mansions in Moscow Region. This may have led to Yakunin's dismissal in 2015. The corruption also caused financial hardship for ordinary employees. Yakunin reported to Putin in 2013 about financial difficulties, attributing it to declining demand for rail transportation, but it was not the main reason for the company's economic troubles.
After being dismissed, Yakunin founded the “Dialogue of Civilizations” Forum in Berlin in 2016. The forum aims to promote the Kremlin's views on Russia’s foreign policy to German authorities. German authorities reacted favorably and granted him a residence permit.

Yakunin Vladimir crimes

Yakunin is accused of abusing his official position and engaging in corruption while leading Russian Railways. The accusations include illegal enrichment, driving the company into financial crisis, and neglecting the economic interests of the company's employees.
Yakunin is also accused of actively supporting Putin's domestic and aggressive foreign policy, both during his time as head of Russian Railways and as the head of an “independent think-tank” in Berlin.
Yakunin is described as one of Putin’s closest oligarchs, whose financial power and personal loyalty are fundamental to Putin's uncontrolled personal power to this day.