The first president of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic will go down in history as the head of at least one country. Smirnov Igor Nikolaevich ruled an unrecognized state formed as a result of the civil war in Moldova for 20 years. Lost the election only on the fifth attempt in 2011, after he lost the support of the Russian presidential administration.
Early years
Smirnov Igor Nikolaevich was born on October 23, 1941 in the easternmost city of the country - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in a family of employees. Mom, Smirnova Z. G., was born in the city of Satka, Chelyabinsk region, worked in various newspapers, including the editor in the large circulation "Stroitel", then became the director of the Palace of Pioneers in the city of Zlatoust. Father, Smirnov N. S., worked as a school director, then as head of the department of public education in the city of Zlatoust. Was repressed in 1952.
Igor's childhood and youth passed in Zlatoust. He was only 11 years old when he lost his father, so he had to gostudy at a trade school. Upon graduation, he was sent to work at the Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant. After working a shift, he went to study at night school. Then Igor Smirnov left on a Komsomol ticket to work on the construction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.
Work activity
In the city of Novaya Kakhovka, he began working in 1959 at the Electric Machine Building Plant, having mastered many working speci alties - a welder, a grinder, a planer. In 1963 he was drafted into the Soviet army, served in the Moscow region, in Balashikha in the air defense forces. After serving in the army, he returned to his native plant. After some time, on the job, he entered the Zaporozhye Machine-Building Institute. He graduated in 1974 as a mechanical engineer.
After joining the Communist Party and receiving higher education in the biography of Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov, rapid growth through the ranks began. At this plant, he went from the head of the shop to the deputy general director. In 1987, he was transferred to Moldova and appointed director of the Tiraspol plant "Elektromash".
Beginning of political activity
In 1989, nationalists began to gain strength in Moldova, demanding to recognize the Moldovan language as the only state language. The struggle for the rights of the Russian-speaking population began to be coordinated by the United Council of Labor Collectives. Smirnov became one of the leaders of the Council as the director of one of the two largest factories in Tiraspol. In 1990, he was elected as a deputy to the Supreme Council of the MSSR, in the biography of Igor Nikolayevich Smirnov, a stage of active political activity began. In April 1990, he won the election to the post of chairman of the city council of people's deputies with a large margin.
The confrontation grew, Smirnov and some other deputies were attacked. According to the results of the referendum, the Pridnestrovian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed as part of the USSR, Smirnov Igor Nikolaevich became chairman of the Provisional Supreme Council. The Moldovan prosecutor's office issued a warrant for his arrest.
Growing standoff
At the end of August 1991, Smirnov was captured in Kyiv, where he went to negotiate, by the Moldovan police and taken to a Kishinev prison. Other public figures of Transnistria and Gagauzia were already sitting there, on charges of calling for civil disobedience. As a result of the "rail war", which was organized by women from Tiraspol, who completely blocked the Chisinau-Odessa railway. And the ultimatum presented by Pridnestrovie to the government of Moldova on the complete cessation of electricity supply, and this is about 98% of the power consumed. Smirnov Igor Nikolaevich and his associates were released.
Due to the aggravation of the situation, the central authorities began to gather police units from Chisinau and other parts of Moldova to the region. However, this only intensified the confrontation, self-defense units and people's squads began to organize in Pridnestrovie.
Armed conflict
Clashes between parts of the armed forces of Moldova and the police units of Transnistria, volunteers and Cossacks escalated into full-scale hostilities. In 1992, Smirnov Igor Nikolaevich commands armed formations as the elected president of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. Elections were held on December 1, 1992, Smirnov won 65.4% of the vote. According to some reports, he is directly involved in the hostilities. Meetings of parliamentarians and Smirnov with the leadership of Moldova to end the armed confrontation do not lead to a ceasefire.
After the attack of the Moldovan armed forces on the Russian troops, Russia was no longer able to maintain neutrality. Representatives of the president arrive in the region and conduct negotiations with the conflicting parties. A ceasefire was achieved, Smirnov flies to Moscow, where on July 21, 1992, he signs, together with the presidents of Moldova and Russia, a trilateral agreement, according to the principles of which the armed conflict will be settled.
After the war
In the first post-war years, the activities of Igor Nikolayevich Smirnov were aimed at restoring the economy and forming the institutions of power of the unrecognized republic. A series of negotiations with Moldova under the mediation mission of Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE to determine the status made it possible to sign several documents on the functioning of the region. However, relations remained tense.
In 1992-1994, the politician Smirnov IgorNikolaevich, there was a tough confrontation with Lieutenant General Alexander Lebed, commander of the 14th Russian army stationed in Transnistria. Who accused the PMR leadership of abuse of power and corruption. Lebed refused to transfer part of the weapons stored in army warehouses to the armed forces of Transnistria.
In 1996, the Russian politician Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov (he is a citizen of the Russian Federation) was elected president for a second term, with the support of 71.94% of voters. In May 1997, in Moscow, he signed a memorandum on the normalization of relations between the parties with the President of Moldova, Petr Luchinskiy. Russia and Ukraine acted as guarantors of the implementation of the agreements. In October of the same year, he refused to participate in the Chisinau CIS summit, stating that further negotiations are possible only if the independence of the PMR is recognized.
Two more terms
In 2000, Smirnov was re-elected president for the third time, and in 2006 for the fourth time. Experts note its close connection with Russian business; in 2003-2005, most industrial facilities were privatized in the unrecognized republic. The vast majority of them went to Russian entrepreneurs. The region's largest power generating station (Moldavskaya GRES) was bought by RAO UES of Russia.
In 2006, Igor Nikolayevich Smirnov initiated a referendum on the status of Transnistria, almost all residents of the region voted for independence and subsequent accession to Russia. The results were recognized only by South Ossetia andAbkhazia, with whom he also signed a cooperation agreement.
Latest news
Smirnov decides to participate for the fifth time in the presidential elections of the PMR, despite signals from Russia, high-ranking officials, which was directly called a "wrong step". In October 2011, he officially registered as a presidential candidate. Russian investigating authorities opened a criminal case against his son Oleg, on suspicion of embezzlement of 160 million rubles. Russia's financial assistance, according to investigators, was transferred to the accounts of JSCB Gazprombank, which was led by the younger Smirnov. In the December 2011 elections, he came third with 24.66% of the vote.
In 2012, Igor Nikolayevich, for the first time after the defeat in the elections, appeared in public space - he gave a public lecture. In 2014, he announced that he had retired and would no longer be involved in politics. The social and political activities of Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov were highly appreciated. Pridnestrovian awards for courage in the armed conflict and confessional awards for services to the Orthodox Church testify to his great and necessary work.
Personal Information
Work and family in the biography of Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov have always been closely interconnected. Wife Zhannetta Nikolaevna Smirnova (née Lotnik) is a modest, pretty woman who supports her husband in everything.
The eldest son Vladimir (1961) graduated after serving in the armyOdessa Polytechnic Institute, worked in New Kakhovka. In 1992 he moved to Tiraspol, saying that he was tired of worrying at a distance. He held various positions in law enforcement agencies of the unrecognized republic - he worked in the police, security agencies, headed the State Customs Committee.
Junior, Oleg (1967), worked as a driver at Elektromash, then in the Security Service. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Moscow Military Academy. Worked as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSCB Gazprombank in 2004-2008.
In his free time, Smirnov likes to sit at the computer and hunt. He likes to read, often re-reads Jack London, Sholokhov's memoirs, can re-watch White Sun of the Desert many times. Of the artists, Smirnov Igor Nikolayevich prefers Aivazovsky and Kuindzhi.
