42 Facts About Vladimir Voronin

Vladimir Voronin was the third President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of Communists of Moldova since 1994.

Vladimir Voronin was Europe's first democratically elected communist party head of state after the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc.

Vladimir Voronin was born as Vladimir Bujenita in the village of Corjova, located that time in the newly-established Moldavian SSR.

Vladimir Voronin was raised by his step-father, Nikolai Vladimir Voronin, an ethnic Russian and a communist activist.

Vladimir Voronin graduated from the Cooperation Tekhnikum of Chisinau, the All-Union Institute for Food Industry, the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Voronin's CV states he is an economist, engineer, political science graduate, and jurist by education.

Vladimir Voronin began working in 1961 as the head of a bakery in the town of Criuleni.

From 1966 until 1971, Vladimir Voronin held the offices of vice-director of the bread factory in Criuleni and head of the bread factory in Dubasari.

Between 1985 and 1989, Vladimir Voronin served as first secretary of the Bender City Committee of the Communist Party.

Vladimir Voronin was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Moldavian SSR of 10th and 11th legislatures.

In 1993, Vladimir Voronin became the co-president of the Organizational Committee for the creation of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova.

Vladimir Voronin was a candidate for the post of President of the now-independent Republic of Moldova at the 1996 elections.

Vladimir Voronin then served as member of its Permanent Bureau and as president of the PCRM's parliamentary faction, which held 40 of 101 seats.

Vladimir Voronin was nominated as Prime Minister of Moldova by President Petru Lucinschi in late 1999, but the nomination was unsuccessful because Vladimir Voronin did not have enough support in parliament.

Vladimir Voronin was sworn in at a ceremony in Chisinau on 7 April 2001.

The Constitutional Court ruled that the President could lead a political party, and Vladimir Voronin was re-elected as the PCRM's leader.

Vladimir Voronin maintained his commitment to the reduction of Moldova's chronic poverty by allocating more resources to social safety net items such as health, education, and increasing pensions and salaries.

In 2003, Vladimir Voronin's government backtracked over signing a Russian-proposed federalization settlement with the breakaway region of Transnistria.

In 2004, Vladimir Voronin branded the leadership of Transnistria "a transnational criminal group", and ordered an economic blockade of Transnistria after its authorities closed several Romanian-speaking schools.

However, President Vladimir Voronin received the necessary support from the Christian Democratic People's Party, the Democratic and Social Liberal factions, after he promised to deliver on needed reforms and Euro-Atlantic integration for the country.

Vladimir Voronin was elected Speaker of the Parliament and retained the Presidency of Moldova with an interim status.

Vladimir Voronin announced on 2 September 2009 that he intended to resign, saying that his position as acting President had become "ambiguous and doubtful".

Mihai Ghimpu succeeded Vladimir Voronin as acting president until a proper President could be elected.

Vladimir Voronin spoke about the closure in the last two years of 12 TV channels, dozens of information portals and periodicals, which - strictly within the law and constitutional rights - periodically criticized the authorities.

Vladimir Voronin is against immigration and he rejects the building of mosques in Moldova, as well as LGBT rights.

Active Russian support helped Vladimir Voronin to get convertible into votes the sympathy of the Russian-speaking population of Moldova, labor migrants in Russia and their families, residents of the Gagauz autonomy and Transnistrians, not to mention the most active part of the Moldovan electorate - pensioners.

In 2009, Vladimir Voronin paid a private visit to the dacha of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The purpose of Vladimir Voronin's visit was probably to persuade the Russian government to persuade some Moldovan party leaders to support the Communist faction in order to prevent oppositionists who support Moldova's European integration from taking power.

In 2013, on the occasion of his party's 20th anniversary, Communist leader Vladimir Voronin lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union and advocated for Moldova's integration into the Russia-dominated Customs Union.

Vladimir Voronin criticized the then Moldovan leaders, accusing them of being corrupt, refusing to reintegrate Transnistria, and subordinating themselves to international financial institutions that allegedly do not act in the interests of the Moldovan people.

Vladimir Voronin led the Communist Party of Moldova for more than twenty years.

The family of Vladimir Voronin enjoys a strong reputation as the richest family in Moldova.

Vladimir Voronin is considered one of the richest people in Moldova.

Vladimir Voronin's income is estimated at about 700 million USD, there are data on his real estate in California, Greece and Baden-Baden, on a private sanatorium in Karlovy Vary, a collection of new cars, ownership of valuable plots of land in Moldova.

Vladimir Voronin's collection is estimated at more than 10 million lei in Moldova alone.

In 2019, Vladimir Voronin's family was again in the epicenter of scandal.

On February 18,2012, Vladimir Voronin publicly insulted a Moldovan political activist of Sudanese origin, John Onoje, pointing to his skin color.

In 2021, the leader of the Party of Communists, Vladimir Voronin, was reported to the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Equality.

Vladimir Voronin is married to Taisia Mihailovna Voronina and has two children, a son Oleg and a daughter Valentina.

Vladimir Voronin has the military rank of Major General from the former USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Vladimir Voronin's daughter is a physician, but unlike Oleg not a public figure.

On 19 February 2010, Vladimir Voronin told journalists that the questioning of his son is an attempt of revenge against his family by the current authorities.