Leonid Slutsky

Leonid Eduardovich Slutsky ( SLOOT-ski; Russian: Леонид Эдуардович Слуцкий, also transliterated Slutskii or Slutskiy; born 4 January 1968) is a Russian politician, Member of the State Duma of Russia and the current leader of the right-wing populist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia party. In the 6th State Duma, he was the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots. In the 7th State Duma, Slutsky is the Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs.In 2018, Slutsky became the central figure of the first ever sexual scandal in the history of the Russian State Duma, widely covered in the Russian and international press and which led to a solidarity boycott of the media regarding the deputy.In 2022, after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Slutsky became a member of Russian delegation in the Russo-Ukrainian peace negotiations. Slutsky has been a First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on International Affairs, and became Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs in the 7th State Duma. He is dean of the international relations department at the Moscow State University of Economics, Information and Statistics. He has held senior banking positions and was an advisor to the mayor of Moscow. Slutsky also reported to a directorate of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. He holds an economics doctorate from the Moscow Economic-Statistical Institute.On 17 March 2014, the day after the Crimean status referendum, Slutsky became one of the first seven persons who were sanctioned by President Obama under Executive order 13661. The sanctions freeze his assets in the US and ban him from entering the United States. Due to the Crimean crisis, he was put also on the Canadian and the EU sanction lists.On 1 February 2017, Slutsky signaled a closer relationship between Russia and Syria, stating that the International Affairs Committee was planning a joint session of the State Duma and the People's Council of Syria.In 2017, Slutsky called the Catalan independence referendum a "litmus test" for the European Union, asking "Will Brussels agree with the right of nations to self-determination, as was convenient with Kosovo, or will it continue to insist on the principle of territorial integrity" as it did with Crimea.In October 2018, Slutsky expressed concern that United States plans to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty would result in a new Cold War and potentially an armed confrontation.