Vyacheslav Nikonov

Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Nikonov (Russian: Вячеслав Алексеевич Никонов; born 5 June 1956) is a Russian political scientist. He is a grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov, prominent Bolshevik and Soviet foreign minister under Joseph Stalin, whom he was named after, and Polina Zhemchuzhina, a Soviet politician.[1][2]

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Alekseyevich and the family name is Nikonov.

Vyacheslav Nikonov
Вячеслав Никонов
Nikonov in 2014
Member of the State Duma
Assumed office
4 December 2011
In office
1993–1995
Personal details
Born (1956-06-05) 5 June 1956
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Political partyUnited Russia
SpouseNina Nikonova
EducationMoscow State University

Nikonov graduated from the History Department of Moscow State University in 1978 and has been studying the history of the Republican Party in the United States after World War II. He has been involved in Soviet and Russian politics since the 1970s, first as a local Komsomol leader, later in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and as a member of Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Vladimir Putin's staff. In 1993, Nikonov was elected to the State Duma. In 2005, he published an early biography of Molotov (in Russian). As a biographer of his own grandfather, Nikonov cannot be regarded as an objective source, and he personally recognized this fact in the interview. In the same interview, Nikonov stated to be proud that Molotov was a wise and coolly ruthless man, giving him the right to be listed together with Timur (by the words of Winston Churchill).[3] In 2005–2007, he was a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. Since 2007, Nikonov has been heading the Russkiy Mir Foundation established by Putin to promote Russian language and culture internationally.[4] Since 2011, Nikonov has been heading School of Public Administration at Moscow State University.[5] In 2011, was once again elected to the State Duma, and became the Chairman of the Education Committee in 2013.[6] In July 2012, Nikonov received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Edinburgh, which has since been rescinded.[7]

During the 2014 Winter Olympics, The Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones engaged Nikonov in a mock interview about Russia–United States relations.[8]

In April 2022, he declared the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to be a holy war and the Russian forces to be the embodiment of good.[9]

Sanctions

On 24 March 2022, the United States Treasury sanctioned him in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10]

Sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War. [11]

References
  1. Yale Richmond. Cultural Exchange & the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-271-02532-8. P. 173.
  2. Lynn Berry. Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact seen in new light. Associated Press, 22 August 2009.
  3. Answers on the questions of journalist from the «Родная газета» (English translation).
  4. "Management Board". www.russkiymir.ru. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  5. "Декан факультета государственного управления". www.spa.msu.ru. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  6. "Vyacheslav Nikonov: Education Is an Inertial System, and Sharp Changes Are Dangerous".
  7. "Honorary graduates". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  8. "Gorbachev Threatens 'Daily Show' Reporter". HuffPost. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  9. "God’s Propagandists", Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), 22 March 2023
  10. "U.S. Treasury Sanctions Russia's Defense-Industrial Base, the Russian Duma and Its Members, and Sberbank CEO". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2023.
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