Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov

Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov was born September 15, 1941 in the settlement of Arbat, Kushvinsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, whither his family had been evacuated following the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. From August 1958 until August 1960 he was an apprentice metal worker, and thereafter a third-class metal worker, at the Monchegorskiy Repair Works in Murmansk Oblast, followed by a stint as a metal worker at the nearby Nittis-Kumuzh’ye Ore Mine, where his father worked.

From 1960 to 1965 he studied at Leningrad Agricultural Institute. On recommendation of his supervisor, he was sent for higher education. In 1965 he graduated from the economic faculty of the Leningrad Agricultural Institute. Candidate of economic sciences (thesis "improving tax mechanism mineral complex (for example, Leningrad region).

From 1965 to 1967 he performed mandatory military service.

In 1967-85 Zubkov worked in the farms of the Leningrad region (1967 - Manager of the State Farm "Red Slavyanka" Gatchina district of Leningrad region; in the year 1970 - Director of State Farm "Paradise" in 1982-85 - Director General of the Association of State farms "Pervomaiske" Priozersky district of the Leningrad region).

From 1985 to 1991 he worked in Soviet and party organs in the Leningrad region: Chairman of An Executive Committee (1985), first Secretary of the Communist Party of Priozersky Leningrad region and head of the Department of agriculture and food industry and agricultural Division of the regional party Committee (1986-89), first Deputy Chairman of the Lenoblispolkoma (1989-91).

From January 1992 to November 1993 he was Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) of the St. Petersburg Mayor's Office on Agriculture (the Chairman of the FAC was Vladimir Putin). According to rumors, he helped Putin, Viktor Cerkesovu and Mikalay Patruševu purchase country sites in Priozersk district of Leningrad region. They also purchased tracts of Vladimir Smirnov, Yuriy Kovalchuk, Vladimir Yakunin, Andrei and Sergei Fursenko brothers (vacation co-op "Lake").

November 3, 1993 he was appointed head of the State Tax Inspectorate (STI) in St. Petersburg-Deputy Head of the State tax service (head of DPS-Vladimir Gusev, August 1996-Vitaly Artyukhov; from 14 August to September 6, 1996 STS called "the federal tax service of Russia). In May 1995, he entered into the movement of the "Our Home-Russia" (the President of the St. Petersburg branch of the PDR was Putin).

He retainded the post of Deputy Head of the STS Chief of STI in St. Petersburg until November 30, 1998, when he was relieved from the post of Deputy Head of the STS with the phrase "in connection with his transfer to another job" (abolished the Office of the Deputy Head of the State Tax Inspection for Saint Petersburg, and SOT renamed the MNF-I Ministry of taxes and duties). He was appointed head of RENAMO in St. Petersburg.

On July 23, 1999 he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for taxes and tax collections in the North-Western region. A few days after his appointment as the Deputy Minister he was also appointed head of the joint management of the Ministry of Taxes and Collection RF in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region. He held these two positions until November 2001, and oversaw the work of 12 regional tax inspections.

On August 12, 1999 he was registered as a candidate for the post of head of administration of the Leningrad region. Zubkov made his primary motive of intent "to celebrate" the anniversary of Staraya Ladoga, which, according to Zubkov and Gryzlov, was the first capital of Russia and the burial place of Prophetic Oleg. In the elections of September 19, 1999 he ranked fourth out of 16, with 8.64% of the votes (Governor Valery Serdyukov was elected with 30.30% of the votes). In the year 2000 he was member of the initiative group of St. Petersburg (Sergey Mironov and Vladimir Litvinenko) for the election of President Vladimir Putin, a confidant of Putin's candidate.

In May 2000, he was elected Chairman of the political Council of the St. Petersburg branch of the movement of "unity" instead of Alexander Skvortsov. He headed the regional political Council until September 2000 year. November 5, 2001 he was appointed first Deputy Finance Minister of the Russian Federation-the head of the financial monitoring Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation (Minister Alexei Kudrin). The Committee, which had the aim to combat money laundering, also received the unofficial name "financial intelligence units". June 11, 2002 he entered the Central Coordinating Council supporters of the party "United Russia".

According to the information of the magazine "profile", in October 2003, Zubkov was one of the few invited to Putin's birthday, and even participated in extinguishing the candles on the cake.

March 16, 2004 he was appointed head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Ministry of Finance (Minister A.Kudrin). From July 2004 onwards, he was Deputy Head of the interdepartmental working group on the elaboration of the concept of a national anti-money laundering strategy. April 12, 2005 stated that the amount of laundered money in Russia range from tens of millions to 50-60 billion roubles.

Since the start of 2007, a growing number of high profile anti-corruption investigations had been launched, as much to set an example to other bureaucrats as to catch wrong doers. Examples include Oleg Alekseev, deputy chief of the Federal Tax Service credit organizations department, and Alexei Mishin, a lawyer in the Central Bank's Moscow branch, who were both found to be abusing their position to demand tens of millions of bribes from banks to ``loose'' tax claims.

An interdepartmental working group on tackling corruption prepared a package of anti-corruption legislation to be considered by the Russian National Security Council. Putin, who saw a direct link between money laundering and financing of terrorism, supported and presumably will continue to strongly support Zubkov's efforts. There was reason to be skeptical, however, that any government crackdown on corruption will affect anyone other than those at the lowest levels of government.

According to the 1993 Russian Constitution a President can only serve two consecutive terms, though a president can serve more than two terms. In the fall of 2007 Putin made it clear that he would not attempt to amend the Constitution and seek a third consecutive term as as President of Russia. Along with Medvedev, Putin could have supported either First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov or Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov for the position.

On 12 September 2007, Prime Minister Fradkov resigned, kicking off the long-expected next phase of Russia's succession process. While Fradkov's departure had been expected since at least since last spring, it nevertheless created a stir and re-energized speculation about what the next step in the succession process would be. In the short hiatus between Fradkov's departure and Zubkov's appointment, many predicted that either Ivanov or Medvedev would be appointed. As has often been the case, however, Putin surprised all Kremlinologists by appointing someone whose name had not figured in the succession process, Deputy Finance Minister Viktor Zubkov.

On 12 September 2007, Vladimir Putin put forward Zubkov as candidate to replace outgoing Mikhail Fradkov as prime minister of Russia. Zubkov, who had previously stayed well out of the limelight, was suddenly catapulted into the rank of one of the favorites to become the next president of Russia. As one of the Putin's original lieutenants from the St. Petersburg External Relations Committee, Zubkov service was recognized with the appointment.

He remained Prime Minister until Putin’s appointment to that position. Prime Minister-designate Viktor Zubkov - himself a veteran head of the Kremlin committee tasked to combat money laundering - stated in September that fighting corruption would be the main theme of his administration.

The other first deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov, was responsible for foreign relations, foreign trade, technical regulation, Russia’s negotiations over accession to the World Trade Organization, small business development, state property management, and overall tariff policy, among other duties. When DPM Shuvalov’s responsibilities are put side by side with DPM Zubkov’s responsibilities, particularly the latter’s chairmanship of the Commission on Protective Measures in Foreign Trade and Customs Tariff Policy and Anti-Dumping Policy, it becomes clear that conflicts will certainly arise between the “economic bloc” led by DPM Shuvalov and the “agrarian bloc” led by DPM Zubkov. These conflicts will necessarily have to be arbitrated by the Prime Minister.

Given DPM Zubkov’s 18 years of experience in farm management, and knowing of his interest in production agriculture, it was widely presumed that he would take a protectionist policy stance. In any event, the very fact that the agricultural portfolio was headed by one of the cabinet’s three most senior officials highlighted the degree to which agriculture and agribusiness were no longer discounted as a “black hole.”

In his first address to the new cabinet on 12 May 2008, Prime Minister Putin charged Zubkov with implementation of the national projects for agriculture, development and "implementation of government fisheries policy and development of the forestry and agroindustrial complex. To him are transferred a series of commissions in [this] sphere of activity." The “series of commissions” includes the Commission on Protective Measures in Foreign Trade and Customs Tariff Policy and Anti-Dumping Policy.

Since September 4, 2007 Zubkov has been a permanent member of the Security Council of Russia; On 27 June 2007, Zubkov was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO “Gazprom. In December 2008, Zubkov was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO “Rosagroleasing".

Since January 11, 2010 he has been Deputy Chairman of the Joint Governmental Commission for Economic Development and Integration; head of the subcommittee on customs-tariff and nontariff regulation, protective measures in foreign trade

The annual General Shareholders Meeting of Gazprom held on June 26, 2015, was followed by a meeting of the Company's newly elected Board of Directors. The meeting resolved to elect Viktor Zubkov as Chairman of the Gazprom Board of Directors.

Zubkov was awarded “the Badge of Honor "(1975)," Red Banner of Labor "(1981),"Merit” IV degree (2000), and III (2006), as well as the medal" Veteran of Labour "(1986) and honorary Diploma of the RF Government (1998). Viktor Zubkov is married. His only daughter is married to former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

Zubkov is described as "charming and an excellent manager with integrity."