Gennady Burbulis


Gennady Eduardovich Burbulis is a Russian politician. A close associate of Boris Yeltsin, he held several high positions in the first Russian government, including Secretary of State, and was one of the drafters and signers of the Belavezha Accords on behalf of Russia. He was one of the most influential Russian political figures in the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the main architects of Russian political and economic reform.

Early life and education

Burbulis was born in the Urals city of Pervouralsk on August 4, 1945, the grandson of a Lithuanian deportee. He graduated from the philosophy department of Ural State University and later was awarded a Candidate of Science degree. He taught in several institutions of higher education in and around Sverdlovsk.

Career

In 1987, during the perestroika period, Burbulis organized the Sverdlovsk Podium, an open forum for discussing local and later national social, political and economic problems. In 1989 he was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union. He was one of the initiators of the Inter-regional Deputies’ Group, the first legally organized opposition in the Soviet Union, which was later credited by some with being one of the prime catalysts for democratic reform.
In 1989, Burbulis became acquainted with Boris Yeltsin, who had been elected to the Congress of People’s Deputies with 90 percent of vote. Burbulis nominated him to the post of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, which he was elected to on May 29, 1990. Yeltsin appointed Burbulis his authorized representative and deputy chairman of his Higher Consultation and Coordination Council.
On June 12, 1990, the Congress of People’s Deputies of the RSFSR passed a law on the sovereignty of Russia within the framework of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin declared his candidacy for the newly established post of president and Burbulis organized his election campaign. On June 12, 1991, Yeltsin won the presidency with 57 percent of the popular vote. On July 19, 1991, Yeltsin appointed Burbulis Secretary of State, a position he held until May 8, 1992 when the post was renamed State Secretary to the President of the Russian Federation. From November 6, 1991 until April 14, 1992, Burbulis was also First Deputy to the Chairman of the Government. Effectively the second leader in the Russian government after Yeltsin, Burbulis was responsible for developing the strategy and overseeing the implementation of political and economic reforms. He also made significant contributions to the shaping of foreign policy and domestic security issues.
Burbulis was one of the drafters and signers of the Belavezha Accords that effectively ended the Soviet Union and founded the Commonwealth of Independent States.
By the end of 1992, Burbulis had become a lightning rod for criticism directed against the government’s reform policies. He served briefly as the head of a group of advisors to the president and then left the federal administration.

Later work

In 1993, Burbulis founded the Strategy Center for Humanitarian and Political Science. He was elected to the State Duma twice and served as a deputy from January 14, 1994 to January 18, 2000. He served as deputy to the governor of Novgorod Oblast from June 5, 2000 to November 14, 2001, after which he represented Novgorod in the Federal Assembly from November 14, 2001 to September 5, 2007. As Advisor to the Chairman of the Federation Council he was the initiator and first deputy to the Chairman of the Center for Legislation Monitoring and headed the group producing the annual Review of Legislation in the Russian Federation.
In August 2009, he founded the School of Politosophy and is president of the Youth Forum of Modernizers, “My Russia.” He is president of the Short Track Speed Skating of the Russian Federation.

Honours and awards