Sergei Mikhailovich Stepanov (russian: Серге́й Михайлович Степанов) (born 20 July 1955 in Glushkovo,

Kursk Oblast Kursk Oblast ( rus, Курская область, r=Kurskaya oblast, p=ˈkurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kursk. As of the 2010 Census, Kursk Oblast has a populati ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

) was the Minister of Justice of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

from 2009 until 2012. Stepanov graduated from the law school of

Kharkiv University The Kharkiv University or Karazin University ( uk, Каразінський університет), or officially V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University ( uk, Харківський національний університет імені ...

in 1979, after studying there since 1975. From 1973 until 1975, Stepanov served in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. In 1979, he was sent to the

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 194 ...

, where he worked at the prosecutor's office in Bender. In 1988, Stepanov started work as a deputy prosecutor in the city of

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

. When the

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , image_map = Transnistria-map.png , capital = Tiraspol , common_languages = , leader1 = Igor Smirnov (at independence) , title_leader = Chairman , year_leader1 = 1990� ...

was created in this city on 4 September 1990, Stepanov chose to work with the new government, and helped set up the justice system in the country, specifically in Bender in 1992. From August 1992, Stepanov was deputy prosecutor of Transnistria. In December 2005, President

Igor Smirnov Igor Smirnov may refer to: *Igor Smirnov (politician) (born 1941), president of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic * Igor Smirnov (scientist) (1951–2004), controversial Russian mind control researcher See also * Igor Mirnov Igo ...

appointed Stepanov First Deputy Minister of Justice, and on 22 April 2009, Stepanov replaced Anatoliy Guretskiy as Minister of Justice. He was replaced in turn after Smirnov's defeat in the 2011 election, with Mariya Borisovna Melnik. Stepanov is married and has two adult daughters.

External links

Official government biography

Ministry of Justice, official website
1955 births Living people People from Glushkovsky District Transnistrian politicians {{Moldova-politician-stub