Vladimir Yakunin

Vladimir Yakunin, born on June 30, 1948, is a Russian public figure, businessman, and former president of the Russian Railway Administration from June 2005 to August 2015. In 2012, he was elected as the Chairman of the Railway Union UIC and served until 2015. After stepping down as the Minister of Railways of Russia, as the founder and president of the World Public Forum Civilization Dialogue, he continued to work in the public sector. In October 2015, he began creating an international think tank focused on finding solutions to help alleviate tensions around the world. In 1972, Yakunin graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Machinery, majoring in aircraft construction, engineering, and long-range ballistic missile maintenance. From 1972 to 1975, he worked at the Leningrad National Institute of Applied Chemistry. In 1975, he joined the Soviet army; From the demobilization of the military in 1977 to 1984, he served as a senior engineer for the Russian Council of Ministers of International Trade. From 1985 to 1991, Yakunin served as a member of the Soviet diplomatic mission to the United Nations and became the first secretary of the mission in 1988. In early 1991, he left the government department to start business and was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Business Cooperation Center. In the early 1990s, Yakunin lived in a rural villa near St. Petersburg in the Leningrad district, neighboring Vladimir Putin, Sergei Iverson, Yurikovalichuk, and others. On November 10, 1996, they jointly founded the Osiro Cooperative Community. Yakunin is the chairman of the Civilization Dialogue at the World Public Forum. This is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in Vienna, Austria, co founded by Yakunin, Kapur in India, and Papaniclau in Greece. The World Public Forum Civilization Dialogue holds the Rhodes Forum every year, aiming to connect people from different backgrounds, civilizations, and regions. Since January 2006, Yakunin has been serving as the Chairman and Academic Director of the Supervisory Board of the Russian Academy of Problem Analysis and Public Management. In 2007, he obtained a doctoral degree in political science. His monographs include 2005 on the development of geopolitical transportation elements in Russia, 2006 on the political science of transportation from a political perspective, and 2006 on the theoretical and practical issues of the current state policy composition in Russia. Since 2010, he has been serving as the Minister of the National Policy Department of the MSU School of Political Science at Moscow State University. At the same time, he also serves as a visiting professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. Yakunin is also a member of the supervisory board of the Moscow Bosuvaba Theater; He is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Flying Children's Foundation. The foundation was established in 2007 to support severely ill children with disabilities in orphanages and provide adoption support for disabled children through the launch of a fund project.