Dmitry Rogozin

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Dmitry Rogozin
Дмитрий Рогозин
Дмитрий Рогозин - Роскосмос.jpg
Rogozin in 2020
Director General of Roscosmos
Assumed office
24 May 2018
Preceded byIgor Komarov
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia for Defense and Space Industry
In office
23 December 2011 – 18 May 2018
Prime MinisterVladimir Putin
Dmitry Medvedev
Succeeded byYuriy Borisov
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs
In office
19 January 2000 – 29 December 2003
Preceded byVladimir Lukin
Succeeded byKonstantin Kosachyov
Member of the State Duma from Voronezh Oblast's Anna constituency
In office
1997–2003
Preceded byIvan Rybkin
Succeeded byAleksey Zhuravlyov
Personal details
Born
Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin

(1963-12-21) 21 December 1963 (age 58)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian
Political partyUnited Russia
Other political
affiliations
Congress of Russian Communities (1999)
Spouse(s)
Tatyana Gennadyevna Serebriakova
(m. 1983)
ChildrenAlexey Rogozin (in Russian) (b. 1983)
Alma materMoscow State University
Websitehttp://www.rogozin.ru/

Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin (Russian: Дми́трий Оле́гович Рого́зин; born 21 December 1963) is a Russian politician who is Director General of Roscosmos since 2018. Previously he was Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in charge of the defense industry from 2011 to 2018. Prior to that, he was Russia's ambassador to NATO from 2008 to 2011.[1]

He was also the leader of the Rodina political party, which was created in 2003, until it merged with other parties to form A Just Russia in 2006.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Rogozin was born in Moscow to the family of a Soviet military scientist. He was graduated from Moscow State University in 1986, with a degree in journalism, and in 1988, he then was graduated at the University of Marxism–Leninism under the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU with a degree in economics.[3]

He holds a doctorate in philosophy and another in technology.[4]

Political career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Rogozin fought in the Transnistria war against the Moldovan forces.[5] He is also a vocal supporter of Transnistria's independence from Moldova.[6][7]

Dmitry Rogozin (left) and the then-president of Transnistria Yevgeny Shevchuk (right) in Tiraspol, in 2013

In 1993, Rogozin joined the recently created party Congress of Russian Communities led by General Alexander Lebed and, after its founder died in a 2002 helicopter crash, Rogozin became joint leader with Sergey Glazyev of what became the Rodina party, which was described by Novaya Gazeta liberal journalist Anna Politkovskaya as 'created by the Kremlin's spin doctors specifically ... to draw moderately nationalist voters away from the more extreme National Bolsheviks'.[8] Rogozin was elected to the State Duma as a deputy from Voronezh Oblast in 1997, and he became a vocal activist for protection of rights of ethnic Russians in the former Soviet republics.[citation needed]

Rogozin was re-elected to the State Duma in 1999 and then appointed the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, drawing a lot of media attention and a share of criticism for some of his flamboyant public remarks. In 2002, he was appointed a Special Representative of the Russian President to deal with Kaliningrad problems that arose by the Baltic states joining the European Union. Rogozin received an official letter of gratitude from Russian President Vladimir Putin.[citation needed]

In 2003, Rogozin became one of the leaders of the Rodina (Motherland) "national-patriotic" coalition, which won 9.2% of the popular vote or 37 of the 450 seats in the Duma in 2003 parliamentary election, briefly propelling him to the post of the Duma's vice-speaker, from which he was dismissed a year and a half later as a result of some elaborate interfaction dealings. He remained an ordinary member of the Duma until the following election, in 2007.[citation needed]

After the breakthrough in 2003 elections, Rogozin became involved in power struggle with Rodina's other co-chairman Glazyev, who had socialist views. Glazyev nominated himself as the party's candidate in the 2004 presidential election, but Rogozin called on his party comrades to support incumbent Putin. Rogozin soon ousted Glazyev, to become the party's sole leader.

Rogozin, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian PM Mykola Azarov, 27 June 2012

Under Rogozin, Rodina shifted towards the right wing of Russian politics and became the second largest and one of the country's most successful parties. A number of controversies on Rogozin's policies culminated in it being banned in 2005 from standing for election to the Moscow City Duma for using what was considered as chauvinist slogan 'Let's Clean the Garbage!'.[9] Many analysts believe it was made illegally to prevent Rogozin becoming a candidate at the Russian presidential elections in 2008.

Rogozin's right views were not shared by all his party's members. In early 2006, at Rodina's congress, Rogozin resigned as party leader. Rogozin left Rodina after its merger with the Russian Party of Life and the Pensioners' Party into Fair Russia. In November 2006, he was the Chairman of the revived Congress of Russian Communities. In April 2007, he announced that he may support the formation of the Great Russia Party, in conjunction with the Movement Against Illegal Immigration. The party said that it may consider supporting the candidacy of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for the Presidency of Russia in 2008, a move that was unconstitutional because Lukashenko is not a Russian citizen. Because Russian authorities had not registered Great Russia, the party could not contest the legislative election in 2007.

Ambassador to NATO[edit]

In 2008, he was appointed a Russian ambassador to NATO. As Russia's NATO envoy, he was heavily opposed to Ukraine and Georgia becoming members of NATO. After the two countries were denied membership of the NATO Membership Action Plan, he claimed, "They will not invite these bankrupt scandalous regimes to join NATO... more so as important partnerships with Russia are at stake".[10] For such words, he was criticized by some Ukrainian and Georgian officials. A former Ukrainian envoy to NATO, Ihor Sahach, said, "In my opinion, he is merely used as one of cogs in the informational war waged against Ukraine. Sooner or later, I think, it should be stopped". The envoy also expressed a surprise with Rogozin's slang words: "It was for the first time that I heard such a higher official as envoy using this, I don't even know how to describe it, whether it was a slang or language of criminal circles…. I understand Russian, but, I'm sorry, I don't know what his words meant".[11] The Foreign Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Ohryzko stated that he did not regard the statement as serious.[11]

On 18 February 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Rogozin as the Special Representative on anti-missile defense; he negotiated with NATO countries on this issue.

Deputy Prime Minister[edit]

Rogozin with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi, India, 5 November 2014

On 23 December 2011, Rogozin was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of the defense and space industries. For the defense industry, he led the creation of the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects in the Defense Industry.

In 2014, Rogozin was involved in several diplomatic conflicts following the 2014 Crimean crisis. On 17 March 2014, the day after the Crimean status referendum, Rogozin became one of the first seven people who were put under executive sanctions by US President Barack Obama. The sanctions froze his assets in the US and banned him from entering the country.[12] He was also added to the Canadian and to the EU sanction list due to the Crimean crisis. In 2015, Rogozin stated that Russia's defence sector has "many other ways of traveling the world besides tourist visas" and "tanks don't need visas".[13] On 29 April 2014, he tweeted: "After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline".[14] On 31 May 2020, Elon Musk replied following the successful launch of Crew Dragon Demo-2, that "the trampoline is working".[15]

On 10 May 2014, Rogozin started a diplomatic conflict between Romania and Russia after Romania barred his plane from entering its airspace. In response, he made two threatening posts on his Twitter account, one of which stated that next time, he would fly on board a Tu-160 bomber.[16]

Rogozin wrote a foreword for a book published in 2014, Alaska Betrayed and Sold: The History of a Palace Conspiracy, by Ivan Mironov. In it, Rogozin supported Mironov's claim that the sale of Alaska was a betrayal of Russian power status. The book argues for "the historical and judicial right of Russia for the return of the lost colonies, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, over which the Russian flag flew 150 years ago". Rogozin stated that "Russia giving up its colonial possessions makes it necessary to look in a different way at our diplomacy in the era of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, trading away pieces of the Soviet Empire", labelling the historical narrative as "outright lies and falsifications" and arguing that "the liberal idols of the 19th century— the Russian reformers of Alexander II and his brother Grand Duke Konstantin" betrayed Russia's geopolitical interests and demonstrated "the impossibility of establishing diplomatic relations exclusively on concessions and compromises". Mironov had previously been accused of attempting to assassinate Anatoly Chubais, who had played a key role in Russia's privatization, in 2005. He spent two years in prison before the Duma pardoned him. Rogozin finished his foreword with a call for Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to be returned to Russia.[17]

In 2015, Rogozin was the head of Russia's Arctic Commission.[18]

On 28 July 2017, he boarded an S7 Airlines commercial flight to Chișinău, where he would meet Moldovan President Igor Dodon, but the Romanian government again denied permission for the plane to enter its airspace, citing the "presence of a sanctioned person on board".[citation needed] The Boeing 737-800 went on a holding pattern in Hungarian airspace for a while,[19] but after Hungary denied permission for landing and ordered the plane to leave, it was decided to divert to Minsk, Belarus, outside of the EU, reportedly with barely enough fuel to reach there.[20] The plane later flew to Chișinău with the remaining passengers, but without Rogozin.[21] The Deputy Prime-Minister later tweeted: "The Romanian authorities endangered the lives of passengers on an S7 flight, women and children. Fuel was [just] enough to [get to] Minsk. Wait for an answer, vermin!"[22] Asked about Rogozin's threat, Romanian National Defense Minister Adrian Țuțuianu said: "I don't think we need to make this a discussion, we would be in the wrong attempting to escalate by all sorts of statements the statements made by others. I believe it's wise to mind our business and see to our program."[23]

On 2 August 2017, he was declared persona non grata by the Government of Moldova.[24]

Head of Roscosmos[edit]

Rogozin with NASA, Roscosmos, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) employees in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, 3 December 2018

In May 2018, Putin selected Rogozin to be the head of Roscosmos, the Russian state space agency for two decades after the early 1990s and, in the past few years, transformed by Rogozin from a state agency into a state corporation.[25]

2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine[edit]

On 24 February 2022, Rogozin stated on Twitter that the international sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War could lead to the uncontrolled deorbiting of the International Space Station onto the territory of multiple countries. He questioned "who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe?" He additionally said that "There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect?", adding "The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?" This was accompanied by a map displaying the possible crash zone, with the US, most of Europe, and the entire southern hemisphere covered. CTV reported this as an apparent threat, while The Telegraph stated that experts believe it could take years for the ISS to deorbit even without the Russian module.[26][27][28]

On 26 February 2022, Rogozin posted a video threatening to leave US astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei in space and separate Russian modules of the space station altogether.[29][30] In March, Roscosmos produced a mocked-up video portraying this, with cosmonauts saying goodbye to Vande Hei and detaching the Russian segment from the ISS. The Telegraph reported that this video was provocative and sparked fears because Vande Hei was scheduled to return to Earth along with two Russian cosmonauts in a Russian Soyuz capsule on 30 March.[26]

On 2 March 2022, Rogozin posted on Twitter a video of workers removing the US, UK, and Japanese flags from a Soyuz rocket. He tweeted: "The launchers at Baikonur decided that without the flags of some countries, our rocket would look more beautiful". The Z symbol in support of the invasion was also seen being taped by technicians to launch equipment. The Indian flag was not shown to be removed.[26][31][32]

These statements led to a public dispute with US astronaut Scott Kelly.[29][30][33] In response to Kelly's criticism, Rogozin called him a "moron" and said "the death of the ISS will be on your conscience".[26][34]

NASA administrator Bill Nelson downplayed Rogozin's comments, saying "That’s just Dmitry Rogozin. He spouts off every now and then. But at the end of the day, he’s worked with us". He further commented "The other people that work in the Russian civilian space program, they’re professional", and explained "The professional relationship between astronauts and cosmonauts, it hasn’t missed a beat". NASA stated that the plan for returning Vande Hei to Earth had not changed.[35]

Personal life[edit]

Rogozin is an active user of Twitter and Facebook.[36]

According to anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, Rogozin earned a salary of 29.5 million rubles ($460,000) in 2018, which is vastly higher than what NASA's chief earns. Engineers at Roscosmos make about $10,000 a year.[37]

Rogozin owns a 8,600 sq. foot dacha north of Moscow worth about $3 million.[37]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Putin appoints 'nationalist' Rogozin as Russia's NATO envoy". RIA Novosti. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Rogozin, Dmitry Olegovich". Russia Profile. 4 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  3. ^ "Dmitry Rogozin - The Russian Government". Archived from the original on 13 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Биография Д. О. Рогозина на сайте Правительства России". Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  5. ^ "UNIMEDIA - Portalul de știri nr. 1 din Moldova".
  6. ^ "Misiunea lui Rogozin: Să pregătească terenul pentru recunoaşterea Transnistriei | DW | 23.03.2012". Deutsche Welle.
  7. ^ "Rusia: Daca Romania se uneste cu Moldova, punem si noi umarul la independenta Transnistriei".
  8. ^ Anna Politkovskaya (2007). "The Death of Russian Parliamentary Democracy". A Russian Diary. Random House. Archived from the original on 2 August 2009.
  9. ^ Dmitry Babich (15 November 2005). "The Upheaval in France – an Inspiration for Russian Xenophobes?". Archived from the original on 5 May 2007.
  10. ^ "NATO puts Russia ties ahead of Georgia, Ukraine – Russian envoy". UNIAN. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Ukraine's envoy to NATO proposes Russian counterpart to focus on his problems". UNIAN. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008.
  12. ^ Logiurato, Brett (17 March 2014). "Obama Just Announced Sanctions Against 7 Russian 'Cronies'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  13. ^ "'Tanks don't need visas,' Putin aide tells west". The Times of India. Agence France-Presse. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Trampoline to Space? Russian Official Tells NASA to Take a Flying Leap". NBC News. 29 April 2014.
  15. ^ "'Trampoline Is Working': Musk Taunts Russia". The Moscow Times. 31 May 2020.
  16. ^ Illie, Luiza (10 May 2014). "Romania queries Moscow after deputy PM sends bomber jet tweets". Reuters.
  17. ^ Harley Balzer (14 October 2014). "Is Alaska Next on Russia's List?". The Moscow Times.
  18. ^ Obama using Alaska to add urgency to his climate change warnings The Washington Post 31 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  19. ^ "S7 Airlines flight #S7157 from Moscow to Chisinau, Moldova is holding near Romanian border". Twitter (@flightradar24). 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  20. ^ "Romania blocks Russian deputy PM from entering EU airspace". Business Insider. Associated Press. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  21. ^ "#S7157 back in the air to Chisinau". Twitter (@flightradar24). 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Румынские власти подвергли опасности жизни пассажиров рейсового самолета S7, женщин и детей. Топлива хватило до Минска. Ждите ответа, гады". Twitter (@Rogozin) (in Russian). 28 July 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  23. ^ "DefMin Tutuianu on Rogozin's reaction: Absolutely inappropriate". Agerpres. Bucharest. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  24. ^ Dmitri Rogozin, persona non grata în Republica Moldova. rfi.ro, 2 August 2017 (in Romanian)
  25. ^ Putin taps Rogozin to head Roscosmos[permanent dead link], 24 May 2018, accessed 28 May 2018.
  26. ^ a b c d Knapton, Sarah (12 March 2022). "International Space Station could crash if sanctions continue, Russia warns". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Head of Russian space agency appears to threaten to drop ISS on India or China". CTVNews. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  28. ^ ""Европы? Еще есть вариант падения 500-тонной конструкции на Индию и Китай. Вы хотите им угрожать такой перспективой? Над Россией МКС не летает, поэтому все риски - ваши. А вы к ним готовы? Господа, вы когда санкции планируете, проверяйте тех, кто их генерирует, на предмет болезни"". Twitter (@Rogozin). 24 February 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Russian space agency chief threatens to leave U.S. astronaut on space station". CTVNews. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  30. ^ a b Brooksbank, Tommy; Schlosberg, Jon; Yamada, Haley; Benitez, Gio; Sunseri, Gina (10 March 2022). "Russia threatens to abandon American astronaut in space as sanctions threaten peace aboard ISS". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Watch: Russia removes flags of countries from rocket, retains India's tricolour". Hindustan Times. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  32. ^ ""Стартовики на Байконуре решили, что без флагов некоторых стран наша ракета будет краше выглядеть."". Twitter (@Rogozin). 2 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  33. ^ Avila, Joseph De (11 March 2022). "Ex-NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly Calls Out Russia Space Chief in Spat". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  34. ^ "The head of Russia's space agency and a former U.S. astronaut have been arguing on social media". CTVNews. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  35. ^ "NASA head: We have cooperation with our Russian colleagues". AP NEWS. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  36. ^ Рогозин поранился на съемках
  37. ^ a b Berger, Eric (3 December 2019). "A big salary, luxury cars, and a new dacha—Russia's space leader lives large". Ars Technica. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

External links[edit]

Government offices
Preceded by Director General of Roscosmos
2018 –
Succeeded by