Leonid Markelov

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Leonid Markelov
Леонид Маркелов
Markelov in 2010
3rd Head (formerly President) of Mari El
In office
14 January 2001 – 6 April 2017
Preceded byVyacheslav Kislitsyn
Succeeded byAlexander Yevstifeyev
Personal details
Born (1963-06-25) June 25, 1963 (age 60)
Moscow, RSFSR, USSR
NationalityRussian
Political partyLDPR (1995–200?),
United Russia (2007–2017)
SpouseIrina Konstantinova Markelova
ProfessionLawyer

Leonid Igorevich Markelov (Russian: Леони́д И́горевич Марке́лов) (born 1963) is a Russian politician and lawyer, who is the former head of the Mari El republic in Russia. He took office on January 14, 2001, and resigned from office on April 6, 2017.[1] Markelov was later arrested under suspicion of accepting bribes.[2]

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Markelov was born to a Russian Orthodox family living in Moscow, as the only child. His father, Igor Markelov was the chief of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, and his mother was an economist. His father died when Markelov was nine years old, leaving him solely dependent on his mother throughout most of his childhood.[3] He was educated at the Military University of the Ministry of Defence, where he graduated with a degree in law in 1986. He was a member of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1981 to 1991, while at the same time serving in the Soviet army. He was an attorney in 1992, and entered politics in 1999. Markelov is Russian by ethnicity.[4] He is married to Irina Konstantinova Markelova, and together they have a son and a daughter.[3]

Presidency[edit]

Markelov was elected in December 2000 in one of the most contentious elections that occurred in the period between 1991 and 2005 when leaders of Russian administrative divisions were directly elected. In the first round, Markelov came slightly ahead of incumbent Vyacheslav Kislitsyn with Markelov receiving 29% and Kislitsyn receiving 25% in a field of several other candidates. In the runoff two weeks later, Markelov was elected with 59% of the vote. In 1996, Markelov had been defeated by Kislitsyn, receiving 38% of the vote. Markelov was elected to a second 4-year term in 2004, receiving 56% of the vote.[3]

On 6 April 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed him as the head of Mari El upon Markelov's request.[5]

Criminal case[edit]

A week later after his resign Markelov was arrested by the SKR on suspicion of taking a bribe in the amount of ₽235 million.[6] In January 2019, the Prosecutor General's Office approved the indictment.[7] According to this document, Markelov achieved the allocation of ₽5 billion of state support for the Akashevskaya poultry farm, and he received promissory notes for 234 million from its owner as a "gratitude". In late November 2019, the Nizhny Novgorod District Court confiscated Markelov's property for 2.2 billion rubles as acquired with undeclared income (including a shopping mall, 16 cars and gold bars.[8]

On 24 February 2021, the court sentenced Markelov to 13 years in a strict regime colony and a fine of about ₽235 million. In addition, the court decided to deprive Markelov of all state awards and banned him from holding political positions for three years.[9]

Controversies[edit]

Markelov is a controversial figure both in Russia[citation needed] and the Finno-Ugric community. He has been criticized by Western media for repressing the indigenous ethnicities of Mari El,[10][11][12] and his disregard for human rights and his administration's inability to deal with the economic decay in Mari El.[citation needed]

Beatings of political dissidents[edit]

In early 2005, Markelov drew the ire of the international press when it was alleged that his authorities beat political dissidents and opponents of his governments with iron pipes. Numerous opposition members were beaten badly. No charges were brought to this incident, or for the other crimes of violence.[13]

Vladimir Kozlov[edit]

During 2005, the Mari activist and chief editor Vladimir Kozlov was badly beaten by Markelov's enforcers after he published criticism of Leonid Markelov's politics.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bronshtein, Boris (2017-04-06). "Глава Марий Эл отправлен в отставку — это как минимум". Novaya Gazeta. Archived from the original on 2017-04-08. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  2. ^ Yevstifeyev, Dmitriy; Petelin, German (2017-04-13). Экс-главу Марий Эл Маркелова этапируют в Москву под конвоем (in Russian). Gazeta.ru. Archived from the original on 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  3. ^ a b c Леонид Маркелов Archived 2012-09-06 at the Wayback Machine(in Russian)
  4. ^ Духовный лидер марийского народа Лайд Шемйэр поздравил народы Урало-Поволжья с 90-летием I съезда народов Поволжья — Chuvash.ru — Аналитический сайт о чувашском Archived 2008-03-02 at the Wayback Machine(in Russian)
  5. ^ Путин освободил от должности главу Марий Эл Маркелова Archived 2017-04-06 at the Wayback Machine(in Russian)
  6. ^ Former head of Mari El Markelov was convoyed to Moscow Archived 2021-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, Novye Izvestia (13 April 2017)
  7. ^ The indictment was approved in the case of the former head of Mari El Archived 2021-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, Versiya (21 January 2019)
  8. ^ Gold bars, registered shares and a tractor. The participants in the court on the property seizure of the ex-head of Mari El Leonid Markelov spoke about this process Archived 2021-09-02 at the Wayback Machine, 7×7 Journal (22 October 2019)
  9. ^ Former head of Mari El Leonid Markelov received 13 years in prison Archived 2021-09-02 at the Wayback Machine (24 February 2021)
  10. ^ Helsingin Sanomat – International Edition – Foreign Archived 2009-09-20 at the Wayback Machine. Hs.fi. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  11. ^ a b Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Russian Federation : Mari Archived 2011-11-19 at the Wayback Machine. UNHCR. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  12. ^ Lobjakas, Ahto. (2005-03-07) Russia: European Commission 'Concerned' Over Treatment Of Finno-Ugric Minorities – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2011 Archived 2010-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Rferl.org. Retrieved on 2011-02-16.
  13. ^ "Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition - Foreign". Archived from the original on 2007-02-07.
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