Gaidar Yegor Timurovich (19 March 1956 – 16 December 2009)

In 1978, Yegor Timurovich Gaidar graduated with honors fr om the Faculty of Economics of Lomonosov Moscow State University. In November 1980, he completed his postgraduate studies at Moscow State University and defended his PhD thesis on the performance indicators in the business accounting system of enterprises. Later he defended his doctoral dissertation titled «Economic Reforms and Hierarchical Structures»

From 1980 to 1986, Ye.T. Gaidar worked at the All-Union Research Institute for Systems Studies of the State Committee for Science and Technology and the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In 1986–1987, Gaidar was leading researcher at the Institute of Economics and Scientific and Technological Progress Forecasting of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

From 1987 to 1990, he worked as editor in the economics department and was member of the editorial board of «The Communist»’ journal. In 1990, he became head of the economics department of «The Pravda» newspaper.

In 1990, the Institute for Economic Policy was set up under the Academy for the National Economy of the USSR, and Ye.T. Gaidar was appointed its first director.

The Institute changed its name several times: in 1992, it was renamed ‘the Institute for Economic Problems of Transitional Period (IEPTP); in 1999 – ‘the Institute for the Economy in Transition (IET). Ye.Т. Gaidar remained its permanent Director until his death in December 2009. Even during the years when he worked in the Government and the State Duma, he continued to lead the Institute he had created - on a voluntary basis. In 2010, at the initiative of the IET staff and in accordance with Executive Order of the President of the Russian Federation № 601 dated May 14, 2010, the Institute received a new name - the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy (Gaidar Institute).

From October 1991, Gaidar became Deputy Chairman of the Government of the RSFSR, his field of activities included economic policy issues. Besides, he was appointed Minister of Economics and Finance.

From June to December 1992, he occupied the post of Acting Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. Under his leadership, the «government of the reformers» developed and brought to life its privatization program. The reforms launched by Yegor Gaidar produced the eradication of commodity stock shortages, the launch of market mechanisms; a currency reform and privatization of the housing stock were carried out. However, mass dissatisfaction among the population coupled with the negative attitude of certain officials in government circles resulted in Gaidar’s resignation on December 15, 1992.

From December 1992 through September 1993, Gaidar was advisor on economic policy issues to the President of the Russian Federation.

In September 1993, Ye.T. Gaidar was made First Deputy Chairman of the Government of Russia. During the confrontation between the Supreme Council of Russia and President Boris Yeltsin in October 1993, he appealed to Muscovites to defend democratic values.

In January 1994, he had to resign from his post due to his disagreement with the political course of the then Prime Minister Chernomyrdin.

In 1994-1995, Ye.T. Gaidar was a deputy to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, wh ere he headed the «Choice of Russia» faction. From June 1994 to May 2001, Gaidar chaired the «Democratic Choice of Russia» political party. In 1999-2003, he was a deputy to the State Duma from the Union of Right Forces (SPS), served as a member of the State Duma budget and tax committee, and co-chaired the SPS political party.

During his work in the supreme legislative body of this country, Gaidar participated in the elaboration of the Budget and Tax Codes.

After the defeat of the Union of Right Forces in the 2003 State Duma elections, Gaidar decided to withdraw from the party leadership.

In September 2008, Chairman of the SPS Party N. Belykh resigned. Yegor Gaidar refused to participate in the overhaul of the party and cancelled his SPS party membership for good.

After quitting big politics, Ye.T. Gaidar devoted all his time to writing top notch articles and books on economics. In his monographs «Collapse of an Empire» , «Russia: A Long View», «Power and Property», and many other publications, the author set forth his views on the most pressing problems of modern times.

Ye.T. Gaidar was fluent in English, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian.

Over the years ye.t. Gaidar was:

• Professor, Head of the Department of Transition Economy at the Higher School of Economics;
• Professor, Head of the Department of Transition Economy at the Higher School of Economics;
• Professor, Head of the Department of Transition Economy at the Higher School of Economics;
• Member of the Council of the Baltic Sea States under the Prime Minister of Sweden;
• Honorary Professor of University of California (Berkeley, USA);
• Editorial Board Member of the «Herald of Europe» journal;
• Advisory Board Member of the «Acta Oeconomica» journal (Budapest);
• Editorial Board Member of the «Economic Policy» journal;
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the International Group on preventing crises «Crisis Group».

Yegor Gaidar is the author of more than a hundred publications on economics. His main works are Economic Reforms and Hierarchies (1990), State and Evolution (1994), Anomalies of Economic Growth (1997), A Long View. Russia in the World. Essays in Economic History (2005), Collapse of an Empire (2006), Civil Unrest and Institutions (2009).

An overview of the Ye.T. Gaidar's academic work is contained in the preface to the collection of his works in 15 volumes.