Leonid Petrovich Gorbenko (Russian: Леонид Петрович Горбенко; 20 June 1939 – 7 August 2010) was a Russian politician. He was elected the 2nd Governor of

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

in 1996, serving in that office until 2000. Kalinigrad's first governor,

Yuri Matochkin Yuri Semyonovich Matochkin, also spelled Yury Matochkin, (Russian: Юрий Семёнович Маточкин; 18 October 1931 – 6 July 2006) was a Russian Politics of Russia, politician. He was the first post-Soviet Union, Soviet governor o ...

, was appointed by

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

. Matochkin pursued largely pro-Western policies and tried to boost ties to Kalinigrad's neighboring countries in the Baltic. Leonid Gorbenko defeated Matochkin in the 1996 gubernatorial election. In 1998, Gorbenko declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

in Kalinigrad following the

1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its debt. The crisis had s ...

. The state of emergency was illegal under Russian law, but allowed Gorbenko to consolidate his hold on power. Gorbenko, unlike his predecessor, pursued an isolationist policy toward Kalinigrad's neighbors and the rest of Russia. His administration had a reputation for corruption and mismanagement, with connections to many of Kalinigrad's businesses. City and local officials in Kaliningrad Oblast were largely dissatisfied with Gorbenko's isolationalist policies. Many municipalities created their own development plans to attract Russian and foreign investors and business.

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

became Russia's second president in May 2000. Putin, who was dissatisfied with Leonid Gorbenko's policies, openly supported Gorbenko's opponent in the 2000 Kalinigrad gubernatorial election,

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Vladimir Yegorov Vladimir Grigoryevich Yegorov (russian: Владимир Григорьевич Егоров; 26 November 1938 – 8 June 2022) was the governor of Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia from 2001 to 2005. He was Admiral commanding the Baltic Fleet before ...

, the former

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of Russia's

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

,. In November 2000, Yegorov defeated Gorbenko in the election. Leonid Gorbenko died on 7 August 2010, at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorbenko, Leonid 1939 births 2010 deaths Governors of Kaliningrad Oblast