Yury Yakovlevich Chaika (; born 21 May 1951) is a Russian lawyer and statesman who currently serves as the Presidential Envoy to the

North Caucasian Federal District The North Caucasian Federal District ( rus, Северо-Кавказский федеральный округ, p=ˌsʲevʲɪrə kɐfˈkasːkʲɪj fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnɨj ˈokrʊk) is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal distri ...

since 2020. He previously served as

Prosecutor-General of Russia The Prosecutor General of Russia (also Attorney General of Russia, ) heads the system of official prosecution in courts and heads the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation. The Prosecutor General remains one of the most po ...

from 2006 to 2020 and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1999 to 2006. He has the federal state civilian service ranks of State Councillor of Justice of the Russian Federation and

1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation 70px, Shoulder's rank 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal state civilian service rank of Russia. The rank of the 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation was first introduced ...

, and also the prosecutor's rank of Active State Councillor of Justitia.

Career

In 1995, he became first deputy Russian prosecutor general. He was appointed by then Prosecutor-General Yury Skuratov, his former classmate from Sverdlovsk Law Institute. Following Skuratov's suspension, Chaika served as acting prosecutor general for a brief spell between April and August 1999. From August 1999 to June 2006, he served as

justice minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. On 23 June 2006, Chaika became Russian Prosecutor-General, effectively swapping jobs with his predecessor

Vladimir Ustinov Vladimir Vasilyevich Ustinov (; born 25 February 1953) is a Russian lawyer and statesman. Since 2008 he is the Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District. Until 2008, he was Russia's Minister of Justice. He was Vladimir Putin's firs ...

who took up the post of justice minister. A "Crown prosecutor" (likely a reference to Chaika) was mentioned in an email chain released on 11 July 2017 by the son of then Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, Don Jr, in regards to the Russian government and their alleged attempts to provide damaging information during the U.S. Presidential election of 2016. The email thread resulted in the Trump campaign–Russian meeting of June 2016. On 20 January 2020, he resigned in connection with the transition to another job. The resignation request is expected to be considered by the Federation Council on 22 January. On 22 January 2020 he was appointed Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to North Caucasus Federal District.

Notable cases

On 14 June 2006, the Prosecutor-General's Office reported that it had reopened the "Three Whales" corruption investigation, a case in which nineteen high-ranking FSB (Federal Security Service) officers were allegedly involved in furniture smuggling cases, as well as illegally importing consumer goods from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The mass media revealed that the officials dismissed around that time had worked in the Moscow and federal offices of the FSB, the Prosecutor-General's Office, the Moscow Regional Prosecutor's Office, the Federal Customs Service and the Presidential Executive Office. Deputy heads of the FSB Internal Security Department also figured in the report authored by

Viktor Cherkesov Viktor Vasilyevich Cherkesov (; 13 July 1950 – 8 November 2022) was a Russian security services official. Biography Cherkesov graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1973. In 1975–1991, he worked in Leningrad a ...

. The purge occurred while FSB head

Nikolai Patrushev Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and former intelligence officer who served as the secretary of the Security Council of Russia from 2008 to 2024. He previously served as the director o ...

was on vacation. On 27 December 2006, he accused

Leonid Nevzlin Leonid Borisovich Nevzlin (; ; born 21 September 1959) is a Russian-born Israeli businessman, investor, philanthropist, and Russian oligarch. Nevzlin occupied various high-ranking positions at Group Menatep and its subsidiary, the Yukos Oil ...

, a former vice president of

Yukos OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...

, exiled in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and wanted by the Russian authorities for a long time, of involvement in

Alexander Litvinenko Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko (30 August 1962 ( at WebCite) – 23 November 2006) was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organized crime, ...

poisoning Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when Toxicity, toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ...

, a charge dismissed by the latter as a nonsense. On 16 January 2007, Chaika announced that the Tambov Gang had recently forcefully taken over 13 large enterprises in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and was subject to an investigation. The leader of the gang, Vladimir Kumarin, was arrested on 24 August 2007. His associate and member of Putin's cooperative "Ozero" Vladimir Smirnov was dismissed from his position of

Tekhsnabexport Techsnabexport (), internationally known as TENEX, is an overseas trading company owned by Russian state-owned company Rosatom. Techsnabexport is an exporter of enriched uranium and a supplier of nuclear fuel cycle products. History In 1949, a ...

director. On 1 December 2015,

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

Anti-Corruption Foundation The Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF or FBK; ; ) is a non-profit organization established in 2011 by the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The FBK published investigations into alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian government official ...

(FBK) published a large investigation on Yuri Chaika, and his family. The Report comes with a 40-minute film '' Chaika''. An English version of the film was published two months later. On 3 February 2016, the group

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

released a satirical music video titled ''Chaika'', alluding to Navalny's findings. On March 15, 2017, the Ministry of Justice in Russia filed a claim with the

Supreme Court of the Russian Federation The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation () is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in Russian administrative law, civil law, criminal law and commercial law cases. It also supervises the work of lower court ...

seeking "to declare the religious organization, the Administrative Center of

Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co- ...

, extremist, ban its activity, and liquidate it." Yury Chaika will be heading the prosecution.

Sanctions

In response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, on 6 April 2022 the

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, United States Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade economic sanctions, ...

of the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

added Chaika to its list of persons sanctioned pursuant to . In July 2022 the European Union imposed sanctions on Chaika in relation to the

. He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Popular culture

In 2016 Russian punk music group ''

'' released the music video "Chaika", sardonically commenting on corruption in the Russian judiciary. The song itself does not directly refer to Chaika, but the music video features women wearing

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

masks or making hand gestures of a seagull in dance ( chaika (чайка) is the Russian word for seagull).

Awards

* Order of Honour — ''for great contribution to strengthening the rule of law and many years of conscientious work'' (2001) *

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

IV class — ''for services to the state in strengthening law and order'' (2006)'''' *

III class — ''for great services to the state in strengthening law and order'' (2011) * Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour — ''for services in strengthening the rule of law, protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens'' (2011) * Order of Honour (South Ossetia, 2011) * Order of Honour — ''for significant contribution to Armenian-Russian cooperation in the field of justice'' (Armenia, 2013) * Order of Friendship — ''for significant contribution to the deepening of cooperation between the law enforcement bodies of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation, strengthening and development of Armenian-Russian friendly ties'' (Armenia, 2016) * Order of Friendship (South Ossetia, 2017) * Medal “100th anniversary of the Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan (1918-2018)” (Azerbaijan, 2019) *

I class — ''for great contribution to ensuring the activities of the President of the Russian Federation and many years of conscientious work'' *

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

II class * Honoured Lawyer of Russia *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" () is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. It was established on 26 February 1997 by Presidential Decree � ...

* Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" *

Medal of Zhukov The Medal of Zhukov () is a state award of the Russian Federation initially awarded to veterans of the Great Patriotic War but now awarded to serving members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is named in honour of Marshal of the ...

Notes

References

External links

*
Chaika's profile and assets on Russian Asset Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaika, Yury 1951 births Living people 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation People from Nikolayevsk-on-Amur Justice ministers of Russia General Prosecutors of Russia 20th-century Russian lawyers 21st-century Russian lawyers Ural State Law University alumni Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Russian individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions Honoured Lawyers of the Russian Federation