Dmitry Aleksandrovich Svishchev (russian: link=no, Дмитрий Александрович Свищёв; born May 22, 1969, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) is a Russian politician, a deputy of the

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. He rose to prominence as a businessman and

sports administrator Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

. Svishchev continues his involvement in national and international sports through his membership in the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affair, and as president of the Russian

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

Federation. On 24 March 2022, the United States Treasury sanctioned him in response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Biography

Business career

After discharge from the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

, Svishchev founded a

modeling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with bi ...

in 1994. This was followed by business interests in a hardware supplier and in Europodium, which specializes in mobile stage structures for entertainment events. He then became deputy general manager of Krylatskoye Sports Complex, a major complex with features including an archery field and a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

In 1999, he founded the first professional ski club in Russia. He remained president of the club until 2007.

Education

Svishchev graduated from the

Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (FinU or Financial University) (Russian: Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации) is a public univer ...

in 2004, specializing in finance and credit.

Sports administration career

Svishchev was first vice-president of the Russian Federation of

Skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

Snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

, which began holding major competitions in

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

with his direct participation and leadership. He contributed to the decision in 2007 by the

International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

to hold the Snowboard World Cup in two disciplines in Russia for the first time. This event included the first ever parallel slalom course on the world's biggest snow ramp. Since 2010, Svishchev has been president of the Russian Curling Federation. During his leadership of the Federation, Russia national curling teams have been near the top of world rankings, and Russians won medals for the first time at the World Cup. In Moscow and Sochi, specialized sites were built under the supervision of the Curling Federation, including the Olympic facility, the

Ice Cube Curling Center The Ice Cube Curling Center ( rus, Керлинговый Центр Ледяной куб) is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Sochi, Russia, that opened in 2012. It is a component of the Sochi Olympic Park. It hosted all the curling events ...

Olympics

As Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs, Svishchev proposed that Russian athletes be exempted from income tax for prizes and incentive payments earned from their competing at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

and

Deaflympics The Deaflympics also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which Deaf athlet ...

. He stated that it would raise the prestige of athletes, and also demonstrate national support for their efforts. Svishcev is known for his controversial statements, frequently accusing the United States and Japan of running an influence campaign within the IOC with a goal of discrediting Russian athletes and make Russia unable to win many medals and improve its international prestige. During the

2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2021 WJHC'') were the 45th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 25, 2020, and ended with the gold medal game on January 5, 2021. This marked the 16th time that ...

, Svishchev compared

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

's victory over

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

to the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeate ...

of 1709.

References

{{8th Russian State Duma Living people Liberal Democratic Party of Russia politicians Politicians from Moscow 21st-century Russian politicians 1969 births Russian sports executives and administrators Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation alumni Fifth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Sixth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Seventh convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Eighth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Russian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions