Viktor Chernomyrdin

thumb|Viktor Chernomyrdin in 2006 Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (Russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин, IPA: [ˈvʲiktər sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ tɕɪrnɐˈmɨrdʲɪn]; 9 April 1938 – 3 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union (13 February 1985 – 17 July 1989), after which he became first chairman of Gazprom energy company and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Russia (1992–1998) based on consecutive years. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s and a participant in the transition from a planned to a market economy. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to Ukraine. After that, he was designated as a presidential adviser. Quotes Obituary, The Economist, 6th November 2010 p. 107 This has never happened before, and now it's happaning again. Whatever organisation we try to create, it always ends up looking like the Communist Party. We wanted the best, but it turned out like always. External links Category:Prime Ministers of Russia Category:Businesspeople from Russia Category:Ambassadors of Russia and the Soviet Union Category:1938 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Ministers of Russia and the Soviet Union Category:Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia