About Anatoly Chubays

Anatoly Borisovich Chubays (Чубайс, рус., Chubais) is a well-known Russian politician and economist. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he became one of the key figures in the government of Yegor Gaidar and the administration of President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s. He played a leading role in the transformation of the Soviet economy and privatization in Russia. As a result of these reforms, a market economy was established in Russia, and private property was created, constituting a significant portion of Russia’s GDP.

In 1996, he led Boris Yeltsin’s election campaign, resulting in Yeltsin’s victory in the presidential elections. In 1998, Chubays took on the position of the CEO of the Russian Power Utility monopoly (RAO “UES of Russia”). Under his leadership, a reform of the Soviet energy sector was carried out, transforming it from a monopoly into a competitive market sector.

In 2008, he joined the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO) as the CEO. The corporation’s mission was to establish a nanotechnology industry in Russia and achieve a nanoproduct market volume of 900 billion rubles by 2015. The set task was accomplished.

From 2011 to 2013, he served as the first Russian member of JPMorgan Chase’s International Advisory Council.

Since 2024 he is an acting member of The Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations in United States.

In 2020, Anatoly Chubays was appointed as the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation on climate and sustainable development. At his proposal, Russia officially declared the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by no later than 2060 and approved the strategy to achieve it.

In March 2022, Anatoly Chubays resigned at his own request and left Russia. Currently, he continues his work as an independent researcher and engages in scientific activities in Israel and the United Kingdom.

In April 2024, Anatoly Chubays became the founder of The Center for Russian Studies (CRS) at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

Anatoly Chubays is a long-time participant and speaker of the Bilderberg Club. On May 30, 2024, he took part in the club’s 70th anniversary meeting in Madrid, Spain.

Bio

Anatoly Chubays was born on June 16, 1955, in Borisov, Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union. His parents were Raisa Efimovna (Sagal) and Boris Matveevich Chubays. Anatoly has an older brother, Igor Chubays (born in 1947), who is a philosopher.

In 1977, Anatoly graduated from the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Institute of Engineering and Economics.

During his time in Leningrad, Chubays became one of the founders of the "Perestroika" club, whose goal was to discuss and promote democratic ideas among the local intelligentsia. He defended his dissertation, became an assistant professor in and held various academic positions.

In the early 1980s, Chubays led an informal group of market-oriented economists in Leningrad, focusing on developing a program to reform the Soviet planned economy into a modern market-oriented one.

In 1990, following the victory of democratic forces over the Communist Party in Leningrad, he became the deputy chairman of the Leningrad City Executive Committee (the city's mayor's office). Under his leadership, a project for the creation of a free economic zone in Leningrad was developed and approved by the city council and the Russian government.

From November 1991, Chubays served as the Minister responsible for privatization in Yeltsin's government. From November 1994 to January 1996, he held the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Policy. In 1996, he led Boris Yeltsin's election campaign, and after the victory, he headed Yeltsin's administration. In 1997, he moved to the government, becoming the Finance Minister and the First Deputy Chairman of the Government. Under his leadership, financial stabilization was achieved, reducing inflation to 11% and ensuring economic growth in 1997.

In 1998, Chubays was elected CEO of RAO "UES of Russia". He implemented a reform of Russia's power industry, transforming the state monopoly into a competitive market sector. Strategic investors, including major European companies, via 18 IPO’s entered the Russian energy sector, bringing over $30 billion in private investments. This led to the construction of new power plants, resolving the issue of electricity shortages in Russia for decades while keeping tariffs for end consumers below the inflation rate.

In 2004, Anatoly Chubays was named the "54th most respected business leader in the world" according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Financial Times. In 2007, the Russian newspaper "Vedomosti" recognized Chubays as the "Professional of the Year" in its annual "Person of the Year" poll.

From 1992 to 2008, Chubays was among the founders and leaders of Russian liberal political parties such as "Choice of Russia", "Democratic Choice of Russia", and the "Union of Right Forces."

Since 2008, Anatoly Chubays has been the CEO of the company "RUSNANO", actively promoting innovation and modernization of the Russian economy. The transformation of RUSNANO resulted in the establishment of the largest private equity fund in Russia, attracting private investments and facilitating the construction of over 100 innovative projects based on technologies created and used in Russia for the first time.

In December 2020, Chubays assumed the position of the special representative of the President for climate and sustainable development, which he held until March 2022.

As of now, Anatoly Chubays is actively involved in scientific research as an independent researcher.

On April 16 2024, the new Center for Russian Studies (CRS) - Russian Future Initiative founded by Anatoly Chubays was a presented at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tel Aviv University. The mission of the Center is a comprehensive study of Russia's possible future based on the analysis of the events of its recent past, covering economic, political, social and cultural aspects of modern history of Russia.

Personal

Anatoly Chubays is married to the screenwriter and director Avdotya Smirnova. He maintains close relationships with his two children from his first marriage, son Alexey and daughter Olga.

In his leisure time, Anatoly enjoys reading historical books and scientific works by sociologists, historians, and philosophers, both ancient and contemporary. As a travel enthusiast, he prefers ethnographic tourism and off-road expeditions, visiting ancient civilizations and places where key events in human history occurred.

Anatoly Chubays is actively involved in charitable activities, supporting and sponsoring various international projects and charitable organizations. Some of the organizations he supports include:

the hospice aid foundation "Vera" (Faith);
the foundation for helping children with oncological, hematological, and other serious illnesses "Podari Zhizn" (Gift of Life);
the "Vykhod" (The Exit) foundation, and projects supporting children and adults with autism,

among others.