Natalya Aleksandrovna Timakova (russian: Наталья Александровна Тимакова; born 12 April 1975) is a Russian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. From 2008 to 2018, she was the

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...

of Russian politician

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

Early life and education

Timakova was Born at Alma Ata in the

Kazakh SSR ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

(now

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekis ...

) on 12 April 1975. Timakova graduated from the

Faculty of Philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

in 1998.

Journalistic career

Timakova began working as a journalist in 1995 whilst studying at Moscow State, where she was a political journalist for ''

Moskovsky Komsomolets ''Moskovskij Komsomolets'' (russian: Московский комсомолец, lit=Moscow Komsomolets) is a Moscow-based daily newspaper with a circulation approaching one million, covering general news. Founded in 1919, it is famed for its to ...

''. In 1996, Timakova was part of the Presidential pool of journalists and she covered the

election campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or refere ...

of first Russian President

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 ...

for the 1996 presidential election. In 1997, Timakova was a reporter and then senior political correspondent at ''

Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...

'', and worked for the

publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

until 1999. In 1999, Timakova was the political correspondent for

Interfax Interfax (russian: Интерфакс) is a Russian news agency. The agency is owned by Interfax News Agency joint-stock company and is headquartered in Moscow. History As the first non-governmental channel of political and economic informatio ...

Government service

In 1999, Timakova was appointed as Deputy Head of the Government Information Department of the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russi ...

, until she was appointed in 2000 as the Deputy Head of the

Presidential Press and Information Office The Presidential Executive Office of Russia or the Presidential Administration of Russia ( rus, Администрация Президента Российской Федерации, Administratsiya Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the ex ...

, and from 2001 as First Deputy Head of the same office. On 4 November 2002, she 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 ...

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 ...

as First Deputy Press secretary for the President and Head of the

. On 13 May 2008, Timakova was appointed by new President

to the post of

Press Secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Duti ...

to the Russian President. Timakova was a core member of Medvedev's presidential administration, and she was deemed by the Agency for Political and Economic Communications in 2011 to be the 44th most powerful figure, and to be the third most powerful female, in Russian politics, after

Tatyana Golikova Tatiana Alexeyevna Golikova (Russian: Татьяна Алексеевна Голикова; born 9 February 1966) is a Russian politician and economist who serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia for Social Policy, Labour, Health and Pen ...

and

Elvira Nabiullina Elvira Sakhipzadovna Nabiullina (russian: Эльвира Сахипзадовна Набиуллина; tt, Эльвира Сәхипзадә кызы Нәбиуллина, Elvira Säkhipzadä Kyzy Näbiullina; ba, Эльвира Сәхипз ...

. On 22 May 2012, she was appointed as the Spokesman of the Prime Minister. After leaving government service, she was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the

VEB.RF VEB.RF, or VEB (russian: ВЭБ.РФ (ex-Vnesheconombank)), is a Russian state development corporation. It was founded in 2007 as a development institute. VEB.RF is an investment company and development institute in Russia. It has financed more t ...

state development corporation. In November 2021, Timakova was on the Expert Council of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.

Personal life

She is married to businessman Alexander Budberg, who is the chairman of the executive committee of the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internati ...

's board of trustees.

Awards

On 29 January 2009, South Ossetian President

Eduard Kokoity Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoyty ( os, Кокойты Джабейы фырт Эдуард, Kokojty Ĝabejy fyrt Edward; born 31 October 1964) is an Ossetian politician who served as President of the partially recognized state of South Ossetia. His ...

signed an

ukaz In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader (patriarch) that had the force of law. "Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concepts ...

conferring on Timakova the

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...

for "assistance in objective reporting of the events around South Ossetia in 2008".

Bibliography

In 2000, Timakova co-wrote ''First Person: Conversations With Vladimir Putin'' with Andrey Kolesnikov and Nataliya Gevorkyan.

References

External links

Timakova interview
with RT discussing her position as Presidential Press Attaché , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Timakova, Natalya 1975 births Russian journalists Moscow State University alumni People from Almaty Writers from Moscow Medvedev Administration personnel Spokespersons Russian newspaper people Recipients of the Order of Friendship (South Ossetia) Living people Russian women writers Kremlin Press Secretaries 20th-century Russian women writers 20th-century Russian writers 1st class Active State Councillors of the Russian Federation