Akademik

(1950– )

    Politician. Born to a Jewish family from Samara, Mikhail Fradkov rose through the ranks of the Soviet Union’s foreign trade bureaucracy during the 1980s. He received a steady string of promotions under Boris Yeltsin, ultimately becoming minister of trade. Vladimir Putin tapped him to head the Federal Tax Police in 2001; he was later chosen as the Russian Federation’s representative to the European Union. On 1 March 2004, Putin nominated him to become the next prime minister in a surprise move given that he was not affiliated with any particular power base; he was approved by the State Duma four days later. Fradkov was replaced by Viktor Zubkov in 2007, and he took a position as head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. The unexpected appointment, combined with Fradkov’s earlier service in India, suggest he may have secretly held rank in the intelligence services.

    See also Espionage.