Anatoly Sobchak
Encyclopedia
Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak was a Russia
n politician, a co-author of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the first democratically elected mayor
of Saint Petersburg
, and a mentor and teacher of both Vladimir Putin
and Dmitry Medvedev
.
, and his mother, Nadezhda Andreyevna Litvinova, was an accountant. Anatoly was one of four brothers. In 1939, the family moved to Uzbekistan
, where Anatoly lived until 1953 before entering Stavropol Law College. In 1954, he was transferred to Leningrad State University
. In 1958, he married Nonna Gandzyuk, a student of Hertzen
Teacher's College. They had a daughter, Maria Sobchak, who is currently a Petersburg lawyer and married on 2000 in Marmaris
with Turgut Ceran(1978).
After graduating from Leningrad State University he worked for three years as a lawyer in Stavropol
, then returned to Leningrad State University for graduate studies (1962–1965). After obtaining his Ph.D., he taught law at the Leningrad Police School and the Leningrad Institute for Cellulose and Paper Industries' Technology (1965–1973). From 1973 to 1990 he taught at Leningrad State University. In 1980 he married Lyudmila Narusova
, at that time a history student at the Leningrad Academy of Soviet Culture and later a prominent MP. They had a daughter Ksenia Sobchak, currently a TV presenter and the most notorious figure of Moscow's demimonde
society.
After obtaining his D.Sc. in 1982 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Common Law in Socialist Economics. He was very popular among law students, especially for his mildly anti-government comments. During his work at Leningrad State University he established close relations with its administrator of international affairs, Vladimir Putin
, which he maintained for the rest of his life.
, he was elected
as an independent candidate
into the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union
. He was one of only a few deputies who had legal background, so he contributed enormously to most of the laws created during 1989-1991. He became one of the founders and a co-chairman of the Inter-Regional Deputies Group along with Andrei Sakharov
and Boris Yeltsin
. He also was a chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Investigation of the Events of April 9, 1989 in Tbilisi. The commission condemned the military, which had caused so many deaths trying to disperse demonstrators. The commission's report made it more difficult to use military power against demonstrations of civil unrest in the Soviet Union and Russia.
He was a member of the President's Consultative Council during Mikhail Gorbachev
's time and contributed to legislation originating with the presidential administration.
After the disbanding of the Soviet Union in 1991 Sobchak was not a member of the central Parliament but was a member of Yeltsin's Presidential Council and the chairman of the Constitutional Assembly that prepared in 1993 the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The constitution is often informally called Sobchak's constitution, although its real authors have been somewhat less known.
on the city name. Sobchak won the elections, and the city voted to return to its historical name of Saint Petersburg. The name change was established in one of the last sessions of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union, held on September 12, 1991. The change required amendment of the Constitution of the Soviet Union and so required much effort by Sobchak to be passed.
Sobchak was Mayor of Saint Petersburg
in 1991-1996. During his tenure the city became a place of glamourous cultural and sporting events. Most of the everyday control of the city structure was handled by two Mayor's deputies - Vladimir Yakovlev
and Vladimir Putin
; critics alleged deterioration of city infrastructure, growing corruption, and crime during this time.
In the 1996 mayoral election Sobchak was opposed by his former first deputy Vladimir Yakovlev and lost by a margin of 1.2%. The major pitch of Yakovlev's campaign was that Sobchak's patronage of the arts (with city money) and involvement in federal politics prevented him from solving the real problems of the city.
On November 7, 1997, Sobchak flew to Paris
on a private plane without passport processing on the Russian side. The formal reason for his departure was medical treatment in a Paris
hospital for his heart condition, but Sobchak never checked in at the hospital. Between 1997 and 1999 he lived the typical life of a political immigrant in Paris.
In June 1999 his friend Vladimir Putin
became much politically stronger (in a few weeks he became the Prime Minister
of Russia), and he was able to make the prosecutors drop the charges against Sobchak. On June 12, 1999 Sobchak returned to Russia. After his return Sobchak became a very active supporter of Putin in his quest for the Russian presidency.
On February 20, 2000, Sobchak died suddenly in the town of Svetlogorsk
of the Kaliningrad Oblast
during his trip to support Putin's election, shortly after his meeting with Putin on February 16. The official cause of death was a heart attack
, but the findings of two medical experts were contradictory according to journalist Andrei Karaulov. A criminal investigation of Sobchak's death was opened only on May 6, 2000, more than two months later. The Democratic Union
party led by Valeria Novodvorskaya
made an official statement that not only Sobchak, but also two of his aides had heart attacks simultaneously, which indicated poisoning. Two other men were present with Sobchak during his death, but their names were not publicly disclosed. This led to some doubt and speculation as to the actual reasons of his death.
He was interred in Tikhvin Cemetery
at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg, near the grave of Galina Starovoitova
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n politician, a co-author of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the first democratically elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, and a mentor and teacher of both Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
and Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
.
Soviet legal scholar
Anatoly Sobchak was born in Chita, Siberia, USSR, on August 10, 1937. His father, Alexander Antonovich, was a railroad engineerEngineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, and his mother, Nadezhda Andreyevna Litvinova, was an accountant. Anatoly was one of four brothers. In 1939, the family moved to Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, where Anatoly lived until 1953 before entering Stavropol Law College. In 1954, he was transferred to Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
. In 1958, he married Nonna Gandzyuk, a student of Hertzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
Teacher's College. They had a daughter, Maria Sobchak, who is currently a Petersburg lawyer and married on 2000 in Marmaris
Marmaris
Marmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
with Turgut Ceran(1978).
After graduating from Leningrad State University he worked for three years as a lawyer in Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
, then returned to Leningrad State University for graduate studies (1962–1965). After obtaining his Ph.D., he taught law at the Leningrad Police School and the Leningrad Institute for Cellulose and Paper Industries' Technology (1965–1973). From 1973 to 1990 he taught at Leningrad State University. In 1980 he married Lyudmila Narusova
Lyudmila Narusova
Lyudmila Borisovna Narusova is a Russian politician, a member of the Federation Council of Russia, representing Tyva Republic.-History scholar:...
, at that time a history student at the Leningrad Academy of Soviet Culture and later a prominent MP. They had a daughter Ksenia Sobchak, currently a TV presenter and the most notorious figure of Moscow's demimonde
Demimonde
Demi-monde refers to a group of people who live hedonistic lifestyles, usually in a flagrant and conspicuous manner. The term was commonly used in Europe from the late 18th to the early 20th century, and modern use often refers to that period...
society.
After obtaining his D.Sc. in 1982 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Common Law in Socialist Economics. He was very popular among law students, especially for his mildly anti-government comments. During his work at Leningrad State University he established close relations with its administrator of international affairs, Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, which he maintained for the rest of his life.
Legislator
In 1989 after the changing of Russian election laws during PerestroikaPerestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
, he was elected
Soviet Union legislative election, 1989
In 1989, elections were held for the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union. The main elections were held on 26 March and a second round on 9 April...
as an independent candidate
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
into the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He was one of only a few deputies who had legal background, so he contributed enormously to most of the laws created during 1989-1991. He became one of the founders and a co-chairman of the Inter-Regional Deputies Group along with Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
and Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
. He also was a chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Investigation of the Events of April 9, 1989 in Tbilisi. The commission condemned the military, which had caused so many deaths trying to disperse demonstrators. The commission's report made it more difficult to use military power against demonstrations of civil unrest in the Soviet Union and Russia.
He was a member of the President's Consultative Council during Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
's time and contributed to legislation originating with the presidential administration.
After the disbanding of the Soviet Union in 1991 Sobchak was not a member of the central Parliament but was a member of Yeltsin's Presidential Council and the chairman of the Constitutional Assembly that prepared in 1993 the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The constitution is often informally called Sobchak's constitution, although its real authors have been somewhat less known.
Mayor of Saint Petersburg
In April 1990 Sobchak was elected a deputy of the Leningrad City Council, and in May he became the chairman of the Council. The Council decided to change the structure of the city governance so as to have a Mayor elected by direct elections. The first of such elections in June 1991 were combined with the referendumReferendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on the city name. Sobchak won the elections, and the city voted to return to its historical name of Saint Petersburg. The name change was established in one of the last sessions of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union, held on September 12, 1991. The change required amendment of the Constitution of the Soviet Union and so required much effort by Sobchak to be passed.
Sobchak was Mayor of Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1991-1996. During his tenure the city became a place of glamourous cultural and sporting events. Most of the everyday control of the city structure was handled by two Mayor's deputies - Vladimir Yakovlev
Vladimir Anatolyevich Yakovlev
Vladimir Anatolyevich Yakovlev is a Russian politician, currently retired.In 1996–2003, he was the Governor of Saint Petersburg. In 2003-2004, prior to the Beslan school hostage crisis, he was Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District...
and Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
; critics alleged deterioration of city infrastructure, growing corruption, and crime during this time.
In the 1996 mayoral election Sobchak was opposed by his former first deputy Vladimir Yakovlev and lost by a margin of 1.2%. The major pitch of Yakovlev's campaign was that Sobchak's patronage of the arts (with city money) and involvement in federal politics prevented him from solving the real problems of the city.
Emigration and Return
In 1997 a criminal investigation started against Sobchak. He was accused of irregularities in the privatization of his own apartment, his elder daughter's apartment, and his wife's art studio. By the standards of the 1990s in Russia the allegations were relatively minor (although the alleged losses for city finances were still in the tens of thousands of dollars). Thus, Sobchak's supporters saw the criminal process as a political repression.On November 7, 1997, Sobchak flew to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on a private plane without passport processing on the Russian side. The formal reason for his departure was medical treatment in a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
hospital for his heart condition, but Sobchak never checked in at the hospital. Between 1997 and 1999 he lived the typical life of a political immigrant in Paris.
In June 1999 his friend Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
became much politically stronger (in a few weeks he became the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of Russia), and he was able to make the prosecutors drop the charges against Sobchak. On June 12, 1999 Sobchak returned to Russia. After his return Sobchak became a very active supporter of Putin in his quest for the Russian presidency.
Death
Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast
Svetlogorsk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Rauschen, is a coastal resort town and the administrative center of Svetlogorsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea on the Sambian Peninsula. Population:...
of the Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
during his trip to support Putin's election, shortly after his meeting with Putin on February 16. The official cause of death was a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, but the findings of two medical experts were contradictory according to journalist Andrei Karaulov. A criminal investigation of Sobchak's death was opened only on May 6, 2000, more than two months later. The Democratic Union
Democratic Union (Russia)
Democratic Union is a Russian liberal party led by a controversial Russian female politician Valeria Novodvorskaya. The orientation has been radically liberal and pro-reform...
party led by Valeria Novodvorskaya
Valeria Novodvorskaya
Valeriya Ilyinichna Novodvorskaya is a liberal Russian politician, Soviet dissident, the founder and the chairwoman of the "Democratic Union" party, and a member of the editorial board of The New Times...
made an official statement that not only Sobchak, but also two of his aides had heart attacks simultaneously, which indicated poisoning. Two other men were present with Sobchak during his death, but their names were not publicly disclosed. This led to some doubt and speculation as to the actual reasons of his death.
He was interred in Tikhvin Cemetery
Tikhvin Cemetery
Tikhvin Cemetery is located at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.Established in 1823, some of the notables buried here are:* Mily Balakirev - , composer* Alexander Borodin - , composer...
at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg, near the grave of Galina Starovoitova
Galina Starovoitova
Galina Vasilyevna Starovoitova was a Russian politician and ethnographer known for her work to protect ethnic minorities and promote democratic reforms in Russia.- Early life and academic career :...
.
External links
- Official site of Anatoly Sobchak (Russian)
- http://www.nns.ru/persons/sobchak.html (Russian)
- Boris Vishnevsky Anatoly Sobchak: Triumph and Tragedy (Russian)