Dmitry Kozak

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Nikolayevich and the family name is Kozak.
Dmitry Kozak
Дмитрий Козак
Official portrait, 2018
Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 January 2020
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
In office
14 October 2008 – 15 January 2020
Minister of Regional Development
In office
24 September 2007 – 14 October 2008
Preceded byVladimir Yakovlev
Succeeded byViktor Basargin
Personal details
Born (1958-11-07) 7 November 1958 (age 66)
Bandurove [uk], Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyUnited Russia

Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak (Russian: Дмитрий Николаевич Кóзак, IPA: [ˈdmʲitrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkozək], Ukrainian: Дмитро Миколайович Козак; born 7 November 1958) is a Russian politician who has served as the Deputy Kremlin Chief of Staff since 24 January 2020. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2008 to 2020. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.[1]

Known as the Cheshire Cat (Russian: Чеширский кот) because of his smile, Kozak is part of the Vlast' (Russian: Власть) or power group from St. Petersburg close to Putin.[2][3][4][5][6]

He served previously as the Regional Development Minister in the Russian cabinet headed by Viktor Zubkov from 2007 to 2008. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Southern Federal District (North Caucasus and Southern European Russia).[7]

Dmitry Kozak is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, having worked with him in the St Petersburg city administration during the 1990s and later becoming one of the key figures in Putin's presidential team. During the 2004 Russian presidential election, he worked as the head of Putin's election campaign team. Kozak was one of several members of Putin's circle touted in the media[which?] as a possible candidate to succeed Putin as president in 2008.[8]

Early life and career

Dmitry Kozak was born on 7 November 1958 in the village of Bandurove, in the Kirovohrad region of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (part of the USSR). He is of Ukrainian ethnicity.[9]

From 1976 to 1978, Kozak served in the special forces (Spetsnaz GRU) of the Soviet military's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).[3][10]

After Spetsnaz, he studied at the Vinnitsa Polytechnic Institute[a] before he moved to Leningrad.[3]

Kozak graduated from Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg State University) in 1985 with a degree in law. From 1985 to 1989, he worked in the Leningrad prosecutor's office as a Prosecutor and Senior Prosecutor. He moved into the business sector in 1989, working as head of the legal department at Monolit-Kirovstroy construction company and chief legal consultant for the Association of Trade Ports.[12]

Political career

Putin and Kozak meeting with the leaders of State Duma parties and groups, 23 May 2001

Kozak worked as a public prosecutor in Leningrad and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, holding various legal offices in the city's administration. In 1998 he became Deputy Governor of Saint Petersburg.[13]

In 1999, along with other St. Petersburg city officials, he joined the government of Vladimir Putin. He was Chief of Staff from 1999 to 2000. Dmitry Kozak became deputy head of the presidential administration and remained in this position under various titles until 2004.[14] In 2003, he briefly entered international politics and unsuccessfully attempted to solve the conflict between Transnistria and Moldova (see Kozak memorandum).[15][16][17]

In September 2004, Kozak was appointed Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District, replacing Vladimir Yakovlev.[18][19] On 24 September 2007, he was appointed to the new Russian cabinet headed by Viktor Zubkov as regional development minister, succeeding Vladimir Yakovlev again, and leaving his previous position. On 14 October 2008, he became deputy prime minister of Russia and served until 2020. On 15 January 2020, he resigned as part of the cabinet, after President Vladimir Putin delivered the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, in which he proposed several amendments to the constitution.[20]

According to Stanislav Belkovsky, Kozak is not well liked by Putin's entourage, but Vladimir Putin does like Kozak, apparently wanting to appoint Kozak as prime minister in 2004 and tapping Kozak as the successor to Putin as president in 2008, however, Dmitry Medvedev won the presidential race. Alexei Makarkin of the Center for Political Technologies said that Putin trusts Kozak as one of his men.[10]

Putin and Kozak at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, 9 February 2014

Dmitry Kozak was the main overseer for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.[21]

Following Russia's intervention into Crimea, Kozak was appointed to greatly strengthen Crimea's social, political, and economic ties to Russia.[10][22]

On the first day of Russian's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kozak rang Zelensky aid Andrii Yermak stating it was time for Ukrainians to surrender. Yermak swore and hung up.[23] According to sources close to the Kremlin, Kozak was against the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and against the invasion of Ukraine. Putin wanted to annex southeastern Ukraine, and for that reason he allegedly rejected a peace deal brokered by Kozak guaranteeing that Ukraine would not join NATO if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine.[24]

Sanctions

On 28 April 2014, following the Crimean status referendum, the U.S. Treasury put Kozak on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN), a list of individuals sanctioned as “members of the Russian leadership’s inner circle.”[25][26][27] The sanctions freeze any assets he holds in the US[26] and ban him from entering the United States.[28][29][30]

On 29 April 2014, Kozak was added to the European Union sanctions list due to his role in the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.[31][32] He is barred from entering the EU countries, and his assets in the EU are frozen.[33]

Sanctioned by the UK government in 2014 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War. [34]

Honours and awards

Notes

  1. ^ From 1976–1989, Ivan Vasilyevich Kuzmin, an expert in cybernetics, was the head of the Vinnitsa Polytechnic Institute (Russian: Винницкий политехнический институт; Ukrainian: Вінницький Національний Технічний Університет), which is now known as the Vinnitsa National Technical University (Russian: Винницкий Национальный Технический Университет) at Vinnytsia, Ukraine.[11]

References

  1. ^ О присвоении квалификационного разряда федеральным государственным служащим Администрации Президента Российской Федерации (Decree 2040) (in Russian). President of Russia. 23 December 2000.
  2. ^ Работнова, Виктория владимировна (10 November 2003). "В ПИТЕРЕ ЕГО СРАВНИВАЛИ С ЧЕШИРСКИМ КОТОМ: Казалось, улыбка Дмитрия Козака оставалась висеть в воздухе даже после того, как ее хозяин уже попрощался и убежал". Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Moscow. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Козак Дмитрий Николаевич" (in Russian). Перебежчик.ру. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  4. ^ Илья, Булавинов. "Колода РФ. "Питерские" (трефы)" (in Russian). Компромат.Ru. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  5. ^ Булавинов, Илья (12 January 2003). "Колода Российской Федерации". Kommersant (in Russian). Moscow. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  6. ^ ""Вертикаль власти" становится тверже: Путин и Козак будут выявлять неугодных губернаторов, составляя рейтинг" (in Russian). Moscow: NEWSru. 11 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Putin announces new Russian government line-up". Reuters. 24 September 2007. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  8. ^ Compare: "Russia's Medvedev: Expect surprises in Kremlin race". Reuters. 30 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2009. Putin's close ally Dmitry Kozak, recently promoted to the post of regional development minister, will not run, Russian media reported on Sunday.
  9. ^ "Biography of Dmitry Kozak". Kommersant (in Russian). Moscow. 25 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Sukhov, Oleg (28 March 2014). "From Olympics to Crimea, Putin Loyalist Kozak Entrusted with Kremlin Mega-Projects". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  11. ^ "История университета" [History Institute]. Винницкий Национальный Технический Университет website (vntu.edu.ua/ru/home) (in Russian). 22 November 2019.
  12. ^ Дмитрий Козак. Биография [Biography of Dmitry Kozak] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 24 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Ответственный за все". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 22 August 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  14. ^ Socor, Vladimir (5 February 2020). "Dmitry Kozak, Russia's New Conflict-Management Viceroy". jamestown.org.
  15. ^ "Кремль пускает по второму кругу "план Козака"". www.ng.ru. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Дмитрий Козак: он просил прощения и называл себя обманщиком". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 25 November 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  17. ^ ЗВЕРЕВ, Никита (9 September 2018). "Дмитрий Козак: в 2003-м Воронин уговаривал Путина поскорее приехать и подписать меморандум с Приднестровьем!". kp.md (in Russian). Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Владимира Яковлева вернули из ссылки". www.kommersant.ru (in Russian). 1 December 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  19. ^ Slider, Darrell (2008). "Putin's "Southern Strategy": Dmitriy Kozak and the Dilemmas of Recentralization". Post-Soviet Affairs. 24 (2): 177–197. doi:10.2747/1060-586X.24.2.177. ISSN 1060-586X. S2CID 153857939.
  20. ^ Carroll, Oliver (15 January 2020). "Russian PM resigns in shock move as Putin announces dramatic constitutional shake-up". The Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  21. ^ Kuzmin, Vladimir (24 May 2012). "Назначенцы-2012" [Appointees 2012]. Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). The Kremlin in Moscow. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  22. ^ Dawisha, Karen (2014). Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?. Simon & Schuster. pp. 87, 377. ISBN 978-1-4767-9519-5.
  23. ^ "Battle for Kyiv-Ukrainian Valour, Russian Blunders combine to save the capital". Washington Post. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  24. ^ "Putin Rejected Early Ukraine Peace Deal to Pursue 'Expanded' Annexation Goals – Reuters". The Moscow Times. 14 September 2022.
  25. ^ "Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN)". United States Department of the Treasury.
  26. ^ a b "Announcement Of Additional Treasury Sanctions On Russian Government Officials And Entities". US Treasury. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  27. ^ Rupar, Terri (28 April 2014). "U.S. announces new sanctions on Russians: Who's on the list". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  28. ^ President of The United States (10 March 2014). "Ukraine EO13660" (PDF). Federal Register. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  29. ^ President of The United States (19 March 2016). "Ukraine EO13661" (PDF). Federal Register. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  30. ^ "Ukraine and Russia Sanctions". United States State Department. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Factbox: EU targets politicians, military chiefs in sanctions on Russia". Reuters. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  32. ^ "Council Implementing Decision 2014/238/CFSP of 28 April 2014 implementing Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (EUR-Lex - 32014D0238 - EN)". EUR-Lex. 29 April 2014.
  33. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Russia and sanctions". BBC. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  34. ^ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  35. ^ Награждённые государственными наградами Российской Федерации. Kremlin.ru (in Russian). 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  36. ^ "IOC EB recommends no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials".
  37. ^ "The Paralympic Order". Paralympic Movement. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  38. ^ "IPC makes decisions regarding RPC and NPC Belarus".
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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Presidential Envoy to the Southern Federal District
13 September 2004 - 24 September 2007 		Succeeded by