use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place = , burial_coordinates = , monuments = , nationality = , other_names = , siglum = , citizenship = , education = , alma_mater = , occupation =

Politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

, years_active = , era = , employer = , organization = , agent = , known_for = , notable_works = , style = , height = , television = , title = , term = , predecessor = , successor = , party = , otherparty = , movement = , opponents = , boards = , criminal_charges = , criminal_penalty = , criminal_status = , spouse = , partner = , children = , parents = , mother = , father = , relatives = , family = , callsign = , awards = , website = , module = , module2 = , module3 = , module4 = , module5 = , module6 = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = , footnotes = Boris Spiegel (born 18 February 1953 in

Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine Khmelnytskyi (, ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of Khmelnytskyi is the second-large ...

) () is a Russian politician and businessman. ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' describes him as an oligarch who is "closely tied to the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

." From 2003 to 2013, he represented

Penza Oblast Penza Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Penza. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, its population was ...

in the Russian Federation Council; in December 2011, he was appointed the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation, Legal and Judicial Affairs and Civil Society Development. In 2010, he founded World Without Nazism, an organisation with close ties to the Russian government, formed to affirm the Russian version of history, particularly in relation to the Soviet

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

and the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

. This followed the establishment of the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests the previous year. The organization is described in the Annual Review of the Estonian Security Police as a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

organization aimed at promoting "a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era approach to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

." It cooperates closely with the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee. He is also chairman of the organization World Congress of Russian Jewry (WCRJ), an organisation that according to ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

'' "works on behalf of the Kremlin" despite its nominal independence. During the

2008 South Ossetia War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

, acting as president of WCRJ, he accused

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

of committing

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

, which attracted criticism from Israeli voices. ''

'' writes that Spiegel "is firmly in the pro-Putin camp. His subservience was clearly on show ��during the fighting in the Caucasus when he joined the Kremlin's propaganda campaign calling for the establishment of a tribunal that would investigate Georgia's 'war crimes' and 'genocide.'"Anshel Pfeffer (3 October 2008)
Selling out to Premier Putin
''

'' Spiegel has accused the countries that were formerly part of the

Communist Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

(except Russia and Belarus) of "rapid nazification". He also criticizes the "Western European democracies" for their alleged role in starting World War II. He proposes a common history textbook for all of Europe based on "serious scientific study, as well as the decisions of international judicial and political authorities on which basis the postwar world order had been built." He founded the pharmaceutical company in 1990 and the music production company "Music. Perfection. Beauty" in 1999. He has been deputy chairman of the political party Revival of Russia since 2002. In January 2011, Spiegel was the subject of media attention when he was robbed of $280,000 in

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-i ...

in his hotel room. He is the former

father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity (law), affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person i ...

of popular Russian tenor singer Nikolay Baskov. He is one of the few Russian politicians who openly proclaim himself as an adherent of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. On Spiegel's initiative, monuments depicting Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

soldiers have been erected in the Israeli city of

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

. In March 2013, Spiegel resigned from the Russian Federation Council. During

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

Spiegel's companies were one of the major Russian suppliers of antiviral medications ( Avifavir, Areplivir), diagnostic systems Biozek and

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

solutions. In 2020 his companies sold 45 billion

Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...

(approximately $600 million) worth of Covid medications. Spiegel and his wife Evgenia Spiegel were detained by the Russian police in March 2021 in connection with allegedly giving bribes to

governor

Ivan Belozertsev Ivan Aleksandrovich Belozertsev (; born 15 September 1958) is a Russian politician who served as governor of the Penza Oblast from 21 September 2015 until 23 March 2021 (and Acting Governor from 25 May 2015 until 20 September 2015). He was elected ...

. In his March 2021 interview with Marina Litvinovich Spiegel alleged that his criminal case was fabricated in order to change the ownership of his successful pharmaceutical business, complained about the tortuous detention conditions and compared himself with

Sergei Magnitsky Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (, ; ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian government officials while representing client Hermitage Capital Management. His ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiegel, Boris Jewish Russian politicians 21st-century Russian businesspeople Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000) 1953 births Living people Russian oligarchs Politicians from Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine Businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry