Aleksey Kudrin

Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin (Russian: Алексе́й Леони́дович Ку́дрин, IPA: [ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ ˈkudrʲɪn]; born 12 October 1960) is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber from 2018 to 2022 and as Minister of Finance from 2000 to 2011. Since December 9, 2022 Corporate Development Advisor at Yandex.After graduating with degrees in finance and economics, Kudrin worked in the administration of Saint Petersburg's liberal Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. In 1996, he started working in the Presidential Administration of Boris Yeltsin. He was appointed as Finance Minister on 28 May 2000 and held the post for 11 years, making him the longest-serving Finance Minister in post-Soviet Russia. In addition, he was Deputy Prime Minister from 2000 to 2004 and again beginning in 2007. As Finance Minister, Kudrin was widely credited with prudent fiscal management, commitment to tax and budget reform and championing the free market.

Under Kudrin, Russia's government paid most of the substantial foreign debt it had accumulated in the 1990s, leaving the country with one of the lowest foreign debts among major economies. Much of the revenue from exports was accumulated at the Stabilization Fund which helped Russia to come out of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis in a much better state than many experts expected. During his career, Kudrin has won several awards, including the "Finance Minister of the Year 2010" prize from Euromoney magazine. He was asked to resign from his position on 26 September 2011 by President Dmitry Medvedev.From 2011 to 2022, he was the dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences in St. Petersburg State University. As of 2016, he is co-chairman of the board of trustees of the Mariinsky Theatre, and the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation of the European University at St. Petersburg.He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.