Alexander Bortnikov

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Vasilyevich and the family name is Bortnikov.
Alexander Bortnikov
Бортников 2020 (cropped).jpg
Director of the Federal Security Service
Assumed office
12 May 2008
PresidentDmitry Medvedev
Vladimir Putin
Preceded byNikolai Patrushev
Personal details
Born
Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov

(1951-11-15) 15 November 1951 (age 70)
Perm, Soviet Union
Political partyCPSU (1975–1991)
ChildrenDenis Bortnikov
EducationFSB Academy
Alma materPetersburg State Transport University
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Union
 Russia
Branch/serviceKGB; FSK; FSB
Years of service1975–present
RankRAF A F9GenArmy after2013h.png General of the Army
Battles/wars

Alexander Vasilyevich Bortnikov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Бо́ртников; born 15 November 1951) is a Russian intelligence officer who has served as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) since May 12, 2008. He is among the most powerful members of the Siloviki, and considered part of president Vladimir Putin's inner circle.[1][a]

Early life and intelligence career[edit]

Bortnikov was born in Perm, Russian SFSR, in 1951. He graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers in 1973, and joined the Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB) in 1975.[2] He spent the next 28 years working for the KGB, its interim successor the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK), and ultimately the FSB, based in Saint Petersburg (previously Leningrad) for the entire period. According to The Times of London, Bortnikov and Vladimir Putin first met while both stationed in Leningrad during the 1970s.[3] In June 2003, Bortnikov became Chief of the Saint Petersburg city and Leningrad Oblast FSB Directorate. On February 24, 2004 he was moved to Moscow and made chief of the Economic Security Service of the FSB, a deputy director within the agency.

On 12 May 2008, he was appointed Director of the FSB by president Dmitry Medvedev, some security analysts believed the two to be personally close.[4] His tenure as FSB director has seen the agency return to the "punishing sword" once ascribed to the Cheka.[5]

He is also a member of the board of directors of Sovkomflot, Russia's largest shipping company and hydrocarbon transporter.

International appearances[edit]

In February 2015, at the invitation of the United States, Bortnikov led a Russian delegation to a Washington, D.C. summit on countering violent extremism. He flew to the United States debuting a new one-of-a-kind FSB operated Tupolev Tu-214VPU airborne command post.[6]

On January 27-28, 2018, Bortnikov again visited the United States on a highly unusual trip together with the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin, and the head of military intelligence of the Russian Forces (GRU), Igor Korobov. The three met in Washington with CIA director Mike Pompeo, and according to press releases from the CIA, reportedly discussed the threat posed by Islamic State fighters returning from Syria to Russia and Central Asia following interventions in the Syrian Civil War by a U.S.-led coalition and separately by Russia.[7]

Allegations[edit]

Role in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko[edit]

Bortnikov (right) meets with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in March 2009, to discuss ending the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya.

In February 2007, Russian magazine The New Times wrote about the plan to murder defected FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko with reference to a source in the FSB, alleging "head of the FSB Economic Security Department general-lieutenant Alexander Bortnikov had allegedly been appointed overseer of the operation."[8]

Role in the murder of Andrey Kozlov[edit]

In May 2007, he was reported to have been implicated in a money-laundering case investigated by the Russian Interior Ministry in connection with the murder of the Central Bank Deputy Head Andrey Kozlov.[9][10]

Corruption allegations[edit]

On July 27, 2015, Novaya Gazeta released an investigative report which claimed Bortnikov, as well as a number of other senior FSB officials, were involved in a land settlement in Moscow's Odintsov district.[11] According to the newspaper, the group arranged the sale of 4.8 hectares (12 acres) of land on the site of a public kindergarten along the Rublevo-Ospensky highway. In exchange for illegally privatizing the public land, each allegedly received around $2.5 million.[11][12] According to the newspaper, the published investigations are one of the reasons the FSB has offered to shut down public access to Rosreestr's registry of property ownership. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of any investigation into wrongdoing.[12][13]

Justifications of Stalinist purges[edit]

In a December 2017 open letter published by Kommersant, more than 30 Russian academics criticized Bortnikov for attempting to legitimize the Stalinist Great Purge in an interview he gave to Rossiiskaya Gazeta on the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Cheka, in which Bortnikov said the archives showed “a significant part” of the criminal cases of that period “had an objective side to them.”[14] Nikita Petrov, a historian who studies the Soviet security services for Memorial, condemned Bortnikov's claims as legal nihilism in an interview with Novaya Gazeta.

Sanctions[edit]

On 22 February 2022, in response to Russia recognizing the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine during the prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden announced he was imposing sanctions on several Russian individuals and banks, including Bortnikov and his son, Denis, who also serves as deputy president of VTB Bank.[15]

Coup plot allegations[edit]

On March 20, 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) alleged that Bortnikov was a favourite to replace Vladimir Putin among a group of Russian elites plotting to assassinate Putin in a bid to stabilize the economy and reestablish ties with the West following sanctions imposed on Russia for the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.[16]

Personal life and family[edit]

Bortnikov's son Denis Bortnikov is deputy director of VTB Bank, the second largest financial institution in Russia.

Honors and awards[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Other siloviki close to Bortnikov include Igor Sechin, Nikolai Patrushev, and Viktor Ivanov.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Harding, Luke (21 December 2007). "Putin, the Kremlin power struggle and the $40bn fortune". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Biographies of the political leaders of the Medvedev Administration" (PDF). Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. 2010.
  3. ^ Ball, Tom (7 March 2022). "This war will be a total failure, FSB whistleblower says". The Times. London. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  4. ^ FSB Shuffle Seen Helping Medvedev Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Moscow Times 13 May 2008.
  5. ^ Kovacevic, Filip (21 February 2022). "Meet Putin's Top Enabler, FSB Boss Alexander Bortnikov". Spytalk. Retrieved 20 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Tadtaev, Georgy; Lindell, Dada (18 August 2020). "В Минск из Москвы прилетел лайнер ФСБ" [FSB liner arrived in Minsk from Moscow]. RosBusinessConsulting (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  7. ^ Goryashko, Sergey; Corerra, Gordon (1 February 2018). "Директор ЦРУ раскрыл тему тайной встречи с главами российских разведок" [Director of the CIA revealed the topic of a secret meeting with the heads of Russian intelligence]. BBC News Russian (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  8. ^ Кто и зачем убил Литвиненко. (Who and wherefore killed Litvinenko) Archived 29 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine The New Times №1 5 February 2007.
  9. ^ Австрийская полиция может возбудить дело против ключевых чиновников Кремля, утверждает New Times NEWSru.com 23 May 2007.
  10. ^ Officials are taking money away to the West Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine by Natalia Morar, The New Times № 15, 21 May 2007 English translation Archived 17 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b Kanev, Sergei (6 April 2016). "Лубянские на Рублевке - Расследования" [Lubyansky on Rublyovka: How the leadership of the FSB of Russia earned millions of dollars on deals with the land of the former departmental kindergarten]. Novaya Gazeta. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Кремль прокомментировал публикацию о земельных сделках руководителей ФСБ :: Политика :: РБК" [The Kremlin commented on the publication on land deals of the leaders of the FSB]. RosBusinessConsulting. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  13. ^ "СМИ узнали о сделке начальства ФСБ по продаже элитной земли в Подмосковье :: Политика :: РБК" [The media learned about the deal of the FSB authorities for the sale of elite land in the suburbs]. RosBusinessConsulting. 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  14. ^ Russian academics slam FSB security chief for comments on Stalin’s purges The Japan Times 24 December 2017.
  15. ^ Strohecker, Karin (22 February 2022). "Explainer-How Western sanctions will target Russia". Reuters. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  16. ^ Kika, Thomas (20 March 2022). "Russia's elite want Putin out, successor in mind: Ukraine intel chief". Newsweek. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

External links[edit]

Government offices
Preceded by Chief of the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast FSB Directorate
June 2003 – March 2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head of the Economic Security Service of FSB
24 February 2004 – 12 May 2008 		Succeeded by
?
Preceded by Director of the FSB
12 May 2008–present 		Incumbent
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