1. Viktor Chernomyrdin was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union, after which he became first chairman of Gazprom energy company and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Russia based on consecutive years.
24 Facts About Viktor Chernomyrdin
1. 2.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s and a participant in the transition from a planned to a market economy.
3.
Viktor Chernomyrdin died on 3 November 2010 after a long illness.
4.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was born in Chernyi Otrog, Orenburg Oblast, Russian SFSR.
5.
Viktor Chernomyrdin's father was a labourer and Viktor was one of five children.
6.
Viktor Chernomyrdin completed school education in 1957 and found employment as a mechanic in an oil refinery in Orsk.
7.
Viktor Chernomyrdin worked there until 1962, except for his military service.
8.
Viktor Chernomyrdin failed the maths sections of the test and had to take the exam again, getting a C Viktor Chernomyrdin got only one B, in Russian language, and Cs in the other tests.
9.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was admitted only because of very poor competition.
10.
In 1961, Viktor Chernomyrdin became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
11.
Viktor Chernomyrdin unsuccessfully ran in the 1990 Russian Supreme Soviet election.
12.
Viktor Chernomyrdin's appointment came at the behest of the Civic Union political union.
13.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was not regarded to have established much of a political identity for himself up to that point, making his nomination a surprise.
14.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was confirmed the same day by the Congress of People's Deputies.
15.
In 1995, Viktor Chernomyrdin signed a decree calling for the development of a national strategy for tiger conservation.
16.
When Boris Yeltsin was undergoing a heart operation on 6 November 1996, Viktor Chernomyrdin served as Acting President for 23 hours.
17.
Viktor Chernomyrdin remained Prime Minister until his sudden dismissal on 23 March 1998.
18.
Rather than risking a third rejection and thus forcing the dissolution of the State Duma and political crisis, Viktor Chernomyrdin withdrew his nomination and the president asked the more popular Yevgeny Primakov to form a new cabinet.
19.
Viktor Chernomyrdin disclosed his intent to run for president of Russia in 2000.
20.
In December 1999 Viktor Chernomyrdin was elected a member of the State Duma.
21.
Viktor Chernomyrdin died on the morning of 3 November 2010 after a long illness.
22.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was buried beside his wife in Novodevichy Cemetery on 5 November 2010.
23.
In Russian-speaking countries, Viktor Chernomyrdin is known for his numerous malapropisms and syntactically incorrect speech, somewhat similar to Irish bulls.
24.
Viktor Chernomyrdin's idioms received the name Chernomyrdinki, and are somewhat comparable to Bushisms in style and effect.