Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Surikov (; born 15 August 1940), is a Russian statesman, who served as the ambassador to Belarus from 2006 to 2018.Официальное опубликование правовых актов в электронном виде
/ref> He also served as the third governor of

Altai Krai Altai Krai (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders, clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan ( East Kazakhstan Region, Abai Region and Pavlodar Region), Novosibirsk and Kemerovo, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative ce ...

from 1996 to 2004.

Biography

He began his career in 1957 at the construction of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric power station. In 1966, he graduated from the Saratov Polytechnic Institute with a degree in civil engineering. In the same year he moved to Altai. He worked in the Zavyalovsky road construction department. In 1969, he was appointed head of the road construction department No. 3 of the city of

Aleysk Aleysk () is a town in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Aley River ( Ob's tributary), southwest of Barnaul. Population: 32,000 (1968). Administrative and municipal status Within the framework of administrative divisions, Aleysk serves a ...

, Altai Krai, and in 1976, he was the head of the Altaiavtodor association. In 1990, he was elected Director-General of the construction and industrial concern "Altaystroy". He is fluent in German.

Political career

In August 1991, he was the Chairman of the Altai Regional Council of People's Deputies. In 1994, he was elected a deputy, and then, and promoted to the chairman of the regional Legislative Assembly. In 1996, he was re-elected to this position.

Governor of Altai Krai

On 1 December 1996, Surikov was the third Governor (Head) of Altai Krai, and in March 2000, he was re-elected to this position. During his term as governor, many months of salary delays began, the region dropped to 78th place in the economic rating of regions, hundreds of factories stopped their work, and the regional administration did not have enough money. The region's economy turned out to be unsuitable to the new conditions. But at the same time, a new bridge was built across the

Ob River The Ob (; ) is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia, and with its tributary the Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . The Ob forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins in the Alta ...

, a regional clinical hospital was opened, and many schools and kindergartens in the region were commissioned. From 17 September 2001 to 13 March 2002, he was a member of the . After Surikov lost the election to

Mikhail Yevdokimov Mikhail Sergeyevich Yevdokimov (; 6 December 1957 – 7 August 2005) was a Russian comedian, actor and politician. Biography Yevdokimov was born in Stalinsk (now Novokuznetsk), western Siberia. After a long career as a comedian, actor and si ...

in 2004, he worked as an assistant to the plenipotentiary in the

Siberian Federal District Siberian Federal District ( rus, Сибирский федеральный округ, p=sʲɪˈbʲirskʲɪj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its population was 17,178,298 according to the 20 ...

, while supervising the Altai Krai.

Ambassador to Belarus

On 6 February 2006, Surikov was appointed the ambassador to Belarus. On 27 August 2007, Surikov said that in response to US plans to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, "Russia and Belarus may decide to create new joint military facilities, including nuclear ones." He later said that Russia had no plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, and his words were “misinterpreted”. The ambassador's statement nevertheless provoked an immediate harsh reaction in the West. On 7 February 2009, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus criticized Surikov's statements at a press conference on 6 February. Surikov is the only ambassador of Russia to Belarus to have held the post for more than five years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Surikov, Aleksandr 1940 births Living people United Russia politicians People from Murmansk Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Members of the Federation Council of Russia (1994–1996) Members of the Federation Council of Russia (1996–2000) Governors of Altai Krai Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation) Ambassadors of Russia to Belarus