Anatoly Chubais facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anatoly Chubais
Анатолий Чубайс
Chubais in 2017
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Relations with International Organisations to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals
In office 4 December 2020 – 22 March 2022
Chairman of the Executive Board of Rusnano
In office 22 September 2008 – 3 December 2020
First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
In office 7 March 1997 – 23 March 1998
Prime Minister	Viktor Chernomyrdin
In office 5 November 1994 – 16 January 1996
Prime Minister	Viktor Chernomyrdin
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
In office 1 June 1992 – 5 November 1994
Prime Minister	Yegor Gaidar (acting) Viktor Chernomyrdin
Kremlin Chief of Staff
In office 15 July 1996 – 7 March 1997
President	Boris Yeltsin
Preceded by	Nikolai Yegorov
Succeeded by	Valentin Yumashev
Minister of Finance
In office 17 March 1997 – 20 November 1997
Prime Minister	Viktor Chernomyrdin
Preceded by	Aleksandr Livshits
Succeeded by	Mikhail Zadornov
Member of the State Duma
In office 11 January 1994 – 15 January 1996
Personal details
Born	Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (1955-06-16) 16 June 1955 (age 70) Borisov, Minsk Oblast, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
Nationality	Russian, Israeli
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Communist Party of the Soviet Union Union of Right Forces
Spouses	Lyudmila Grigoryeva ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1989)​ Maria Vishnevskaya ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 2011)​ Dunya Smirnova ​ ​ (m. 2012)​
Relations	Igor Chubais (brother)
Children	2
Signature

Anatoly Borisovich Chubais (Russian: Анатолий Борисович Чубайс; born 16 June 1955) is a Russian-Israeli politician and economist. He played a very important role in Russia during the early 1990s. At that time, he helped Russia change from a state-controlled economy to a market economy with private ownership. This happened after the Soviet Union ended.

From 1998 to 2008, he led a big state-owned electricity company called RAO UES. Later, from 2008 to 2020, he was in charge of the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation (RUSNANO). This company focused on new technologies. In 2020, he became a special representative for the Russian president. His job was to work with international groups on Sustainable Development Goals.

In March 2022, he resigned from his role and left Russia. Media reports said he did this because he was against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was the highest-ranking Russian official to resign over the invasion. He later became an Israeli citizen.

Early Life and Education

Anatoly Chubais was born on 16 June 1955, in Borisov, which is now in Belarus. At that time, it was part of the Soviet Union. His father was a retired army colonel and a World War II veteran. He later taught Philosophy. His mother had an economics degree but stayed home to care for their children. Anatoly has an older brother, Igor Chubais, who is a philosopher.

In 1977, Chubais finished his studies at the Leningrad Institute of Engineering and Economics. This university is now in St. Petersburg. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union but left it in 1991.

What Did Anatoly Chubais Do?

Early Career and Ideas

After university, Chubais worked at the Leningrad Institute of Engineering and Economics. He started a group called Reforma. This group worked to bring political changes to Leningrad. They helped create ideas for local and national elections. In 1983, he earned his Ph.D. in Economics.

In the early 1980s, Chubais became a leader for economists in Leningrad who believed in a market economy. They thought that central planning could not predict what people would want to buy. He also organized a club called Perestroyka. This club discussed democratic ideas. Many people who later became important in Russian politics were part of this group.

These economists even grew and sold tulips to earn money. They used this money to help democratic candidates get elected. Chubais later said he did not personally grow or sell the flowers.

Leading Privatization in Russia

In 1990, Anatoly Chubais became a deputy to Anatoly Sobchak, who was the head of the Leningrad City Council. Chubais worked to create a Free Economic Zone in Leningrad. In 1991, he became an advisor to the mayor of St. Petersburg.

In November 1991, Chubais joined the government of President Boris Yeltsin. He was in charge of privatization in Russia. This meant selling government-owned businesses to private owners.

Chubais first wanted a fast privatization process to raise money. However, the Russian parliament did not agree. They decided on a different plan using "vouchers." People received these vouchers, which they could use to buy shares in companies. This program was very big and started in 1991.

This privatization program later faced a lot of criticism. While some people became very wealthy, many citizens found their savings lost value.

From 1994 to 1996, Chubais was a deputy prime minister for economic and financial policy. During this time, Russia's economy became more stable. Inflation, which is when prices go up, went down a lot.

Helping Yeltsin Win Re-election

After leaving his deputy prime minister role in 1996, Chubais helped manage Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign. At that time, Yeltsin's popularity was very low. Chubais helped Yeltsin gain support and win the election.

From 1996 to 1997, Chubais was the chief of the Russian Presidential Administration. This office became very powerful during his time there.

Chubais also took part in international meetings, like the Bilderberg Club. He also joined the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Leading the Electricity Company

In 1998, Chubais became the head of RAO UES of Russia. This was a large state-owned company that controlled electricity. He believed that breaking up this big company and selling parts of it to private investors would help modernize Russia's electricity system.

His reforms helped bring in more than $30 billion in private investments. This money was used to build new power plants and transmission lines. These changes also helped improve how payments were made in the electricity sector.

In 2005, he survived an attack. In 2007, a Russian newspaper called him the "Professional of the Year." They praised him for successfully changing a large monopoly into many independent companies. In 2008, RAO UES of Russia stopped existing as a single company.

Focus on Nanotechnology

From 2008 to 2020, Chubais was the General Manager of Rosnanotech, also known as RUSNANO. This company's main goal was to encourage new ideas and modern technologies in Russia. RUSNANO focused on finding economic options beyond fossil fuels.

RUSNANO invested in many projects, leading to the opening of new factories and research centers. Chubais compared RUSNANO to a garden where new business ideas are grown.

Resignation and Research

On 23 March 2022, Anatoly Chubais resigned from his official positions. He stated that he was against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He then left Russia.

In 2023, Chubais published an article in a Russian academic journal. He wrote about economic problems in Russia in the early 1990s. He presented himself as an independent researcher from the UK.

In 2024, he founded the Center for Russian Studies (CRS) at Tel Aviv University. The center aims to study Russia's possible future by looking at its recent past. Chubais said it's important to understand history to learn lessons for the future.

Personal Life

Anatoly Chubais is married to Dunya Smirnova, who is a screenwriter and TV presenter. He has two children from his first marriage: a son, Aleksey, and a daughter, Olga.

In August 2022, Chubais shared that he was in the hospital with a neurological condition called Guillain–Barré syndrome.

Political Involvement

In 1993, Anatoly Chubais helped create the "Russia's Choice" political group. He was elected as a deputy to the Russian State Duma, which is like a parliament. He later became a member of the "Democratic Choice of Russia" party.

In 1996, Chubais started the "Center for Protection of Private Property" Foundation. In 2000, he became a co-chairman of the "Union of Right Forces" party. He resigned from this post in 2004 but remained active in the party.

In 2010, Chubais became the chairman of the board of trustees for the Gaidar Foundation.

Awards and Recognition

• In 1997, the British magazine Euromoney named him the world's best Minister of Finance.
• In 2001, he received an honorary diploma for his contributions to Russia's economy.
• In 2008, he received a Presidential Commendation for helping write parts of the Russian Constitution.
• In 2010, he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland for his work in nanotechnology.
• He has received several other presidential commendations and an honorary Ph.D.

See Also

In Spanish: Anatoli Chubáis para niños