Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (russian: Валентина Ивановна Матвиенко, p=vəlʲɪnˈtʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə mətvʲɪˈjɛnkə, ukr, Валентина Іванівна Матвієнко; née Tyutina (Тютина; , ukr, Тютіна); born 7 April 1949) is a Russian politician serving as the
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and
Chairwoman of the Federation Council since 2011. Previously she was
Governor of Saint Petersburg from 2003 to 2011.
Born in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
, Matviyenko began her political career in the 1980s in Leningrad (now
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
), and was the First Secretary of the
Krasnogvardeysky District Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
of the city from 1984 to 1986.
[Valentina Matvienko]
at petersburgcity.com In the 1990s, Matviyenko served as the Russian Ambassador to Malta (1991–1995), and to Greece (1997–1998).
[ From 1998 to 2003, Matviyenko was Deputy Prime Minister for Welfare, and briefly the Presidential Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District in 2003. By that time, Matviyenko was firmly allied with ]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 ...
, an alliance which secured her a victory in the gubernatorial elections in Saint Petersburg, Putin's native city.
Matviyenko became the first female leader of Saint Petersburg.[A journey from Saint Petersburg to Moscow](_blank)
RIAN Since the start of Matviyenko's service as governor, a significant share of taxation money was transferred from the federal budget to the local budget, and along with the booming economy and improving investment climate the standard of living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
significantly increased in the city, making income levels much closer to Moscow, and far above most other Russian federal subjects. The profile of Saint Petersburg in Russian politics has risen, marked by the transfer of the Constitutional Court of Russia
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princi ...
from Moscow in 2008. Matviyenko developed a large number of megaprojects
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project.
According to the ''Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management'', "Megaprojects are large-scale, complex ventures that typically cost $1 billion or more, take many years to develop a ...
in housing and infrastructure, such as the construction of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road, including the Big Obukhovsky Bridge (the only non-draw bridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
over the Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
in the city), completion of the Saint Petersburg Dam
The Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex ( rus, Ко́мплекс защи́тных сооруже́ний Санкт-Петербу́рга от наводне́ний, kómpleks zashchítnykh sooruzhéniy Sankt-Peterbúrga ot ...
aimed to put an end to the infamous Saint Petersburg floods, launching Line 5 of Saint Petersburg Metro, and starting land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
in the Neva Bay
The Neva Bay (Russian: Не́вская губа́, ''Névskaya Gubá''), also known as the Gulf of Kronstadt, is the easternmost part of the Gulf of Finland between Kotlin Island and the Neva River estuary where Saint Petersburg city centre is ...
for the new Marine Facade
The Sea (Marine) Facade is a project of additional expansion of St. Petersburg, on Vasilievsky Island at the Neva river's mouth.
In these new territories the Passenger Port of St. Petersburg will be created along with a considerable amount of resi ...
of the city (the largest European waterfront development project)[Marine facade]
Official website containing the Passenger Port of St. Petersburg. Several major auto-producing companies were drawn to Saint Petersburg or its vicinity, including Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
, Hyundai Motor
Hyundai Motor Company, often abbreviated to Hyundai Motors ( )
and commonly known as Hyundai (, ; ), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and founded in 1967. Currently, the company o ...
, Suzuki
is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
, Magna International
Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 ''Forbes'' Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North Ameri ...
, Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
, and MAN SE
MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin Ame ...
(all having plants in the Shushary industrial zone), thus turning the city into an important center of automotive industry in Russia
Automotive production is a significant industry in Russia, directly employing around 600,000 people or 1% of the country's total workforce. Russia produced 1,767,674 vehicles in 2018, ranking 13th among car-producing nations in 2018, and account ...
, specializing in foreign brands. Another development of Matviyenko's governorship was tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
; by 2010 the number of tourists in Saint Petersburg doubled and reached 5.2 million, which placed the city among the top five tourist centers in Europe.[Saint Petersburg expects 5 million tourists by the end of the year]
RIAN
Some actions and practices of Governor Matviyenko have drawn significant criticisms from the Saint Petersburg public, the media, and opposition groups. In particular, new construction in already heavily built-up areas and several building projects were deemed to conflict with the classical architecture of the city, where the entire centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. Some projects eventually were cancelled or modified, such as the controversial design of a 400-metre-tall Okhta Center
Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta-Tseńtr (Russian: О́хта-це́нтр), known before March 2007 as Gazprom City (Russian:Газпро́м-си́ти), was a construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was supp ...
skyscraper, planned to be built adjacent to the historical center of the city; however, after a public campaign and the personal involvement of 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 ...
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 ...
, it was relocated from Okhta
The Okhta () is a river in Vsevolozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast and the eastern part of the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest right tributary of the river Neva. It joins the Neva upstream of the Neva's mouth, within the c ...
to the Lakhta suburb. Another major point of criticism was Matviyenko's handling of the city's snow removal problems during the unusually cold and snowy winters of 2009–10 and 2010–11. On 22 August 2011, soon after completion of the Saint Petersburg Dam, Matviyenko resigned from office. As a member of the ruling United Russia
United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...
Party, on 21 September 2011, Matviyenko was elected as Chairwoman of the Federation Council,[Matviyenko takes Russian Upper House Speaker post]
RIAN the country's third-highest elected office.
Early life
Valentina Tyutina was born in Shepetivka
Shepetivka ( uk, Шепеті́вка; pl, Szepetówka) is a city located on the Huska River in Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Shepetivka is the administrative center of Shepetivka Raion (district). It hosts the administrati ...
in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Khmelnytskyi Oblast ( uk, Хмельни́цька о́бласть, translit=Khmelnytska oblast; also referred to as Khmelnychchyna — uk, Хмельни́ччина) is an oblast (province) of western Ukraine covering portions of the histo ...
of Western Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
, Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. In 1972, Matviyenko graduated from Leningrad Institute of Chemistry and Pharmaceutics, where she met her husband, Vladimir Vasilyevich Matviyenko. They had a son, Sergey, in 1973. Matviyenko held various leadership positions within the Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
organization until 1984.[
]
Early political career
Valentina Matviyenko graduated from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
's Academy in 1985 and became a party official in Leningrad's municipal government. In 1984–1986, she was the First Secretary of the Krasnogvardeysky District Committee of the Party.[
Matviyenko was elected as a people's deputy to the ]Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...
of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and headed the committee on women, family and children affairs.
Between 1991 and 1998, Matviyenko served in the diplomatic service and held several diplomatic positions including posts of Russian ambassador to Malta (1991–1995) and Greece (1997–1998).[
On 24 September 1998, Matviyenko was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Russia for Welfare, and occupied this position until 2003.][
In June 1999 she worked on the Board of Directors of the ORT TV channel.
Matvyenko was involved in a life-threatening car accident on 20 November 1999.
On 3 February 2000, she was nominated for the ]presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...
, but refused to contest. On 29 February 2000, she announced that she was considering running in the St. Petersburg governor elections to be held on 14 May, and on 10 March announced that she was indeed launching her campaign. However, on 4 April she claimed that 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 ...
had asked her to withdraw from the elections, and she did so on 5 April.
On 11 March 2003, she left the Deputy PM position and was appointed presidential envoy to the Northwestern Federal District by Vladimir Putin.
Governor of Saint Petersburg
Election
On 24 June 2003, after Saint Petersburg governor Vladimir Yakovlev resigned ahead of schedule, Matviyenko announced that she was ready to run for governor. Her nomination was supported by the United Russia
United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...
political party and President Vladimir Putin. Putin publicly supported her candidacy on 2 September in a meeting that was broadcast by two state-owned TV stations. Previously, at the end of June, the new management of local channel St. Petersburg Television shut down a range of analytical programmes on local politics, which was thought to be one of the factors in elections outcome.
In the first round of elections held on 21 September 2003, Matviyenko came first with 48.61% of the vote, followed by Anna Markova, a former member of Yakovlev's staff, with 15.89%. 10.97 percent of the electorate voted against all nine nominees. Turnout was low at just 29%. On 5 October 2003, Matviyenko won the second round with 63 percent (vs. 24% for Anna Markova) and was elected governor of Saint Petersburg, the head of the Saint Petersburg City Administration
Saint Petersburg City Administration (Администрация Санкт-Петербурга) is the superior executive body of Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Russian Federation. It is located in a historic building, Smolny and known a ...
. She became the first female head of government of Saint Petersburg.
Confirmation in office
In 2005, a new Russian federal law came into force whereby governors are proposed by the President of Russia
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 ...
and approved or disapproved by regional legislative assemblies rather than elected by direct popular vote. On 6 December 2006, one year before her term as elected governor would expire, Valentina Matviyenko asked Vladimir Putin to nominate her for approval according to the new legislation, and he agreed. She was approved by the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly on 22 December 2006.
Public protests
On 3 March 2007, scores of participants of the Dissenters' March
The Dissenters' March (russian: Марш несогласных) was a series of Russian opposition protests that took place on December 16, 2006 in Moscow, on March 3, 2007 in Saint Petersburg, on March 24 in Nizhny Novgorod, on April 14 for t ...
, organized by marginal opposition parties, demonstrated in the city's main avenue, Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt (street), Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is the main street (high street) in the federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg in Russian Federation, ...
, calling for governor Matviyenko's dismissal. She in turn accused them of stirring up trouble ahead of elections to the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly scheduled for 11 March, of criticising the city's perceived dynamic development and for allegedly receiving financial support from dubious sources. On 15 April 2007, the Dissenters' March took place in Saint Petersburg for the second time.
Assassination attempt
On 19 May 2007, the announced it had detained several members of an undisclosed youth religious group on 16 May who were alleged to be preparing an assassination attempt on Valentina Matviyenko's life using hand grenade
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...
s and plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives
or blastics.
Plastic explosives are especially suited for explos ...
. On 23 May, FSB Director Nikolay Patrushev
Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev (russian: Никола́й Плато́нович Па́трушев; born 11 July 1951) is a Russian politician, security officer and intelligence officer who has served as the secretary of the Security Council of ...
announced that the prevented attempt had been scheduled for June.
City development
Budget and incomes
Matviyenko electoral promises included the transfer of a significant share of taxation money from the federal budget to the local one, which was supported by President Putin, a native of Saint Petersburg. Along with the booming economy and improving investment climate this allowed to significantly improve the standard of living in the city, making income levels much closer to Moscow and high above most other Russian federal subjects.
Political profile
New governor pledged her support for the idea of transferring some part of the capital's functions from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. The role of Saint Petersburg in Russian politics has risen, marked by the transfer of the Constitutional Court of Russia
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princi ...
from Moscow in 2008. The city's main television broadcast, Petersburg – Channel 5
5TV is a television channel based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexey Brodskiy serves as the director general, with Ljubov Sovershaeva serving as the general producer.
History
Channel 5 succeeded the nationwide Leningrad TV channel dating back t ...
, in October 2006 was licensed to broadcast nationwide again.
The 32nd summit of G8 countries were held in Saint Petersburg from 15 to 17 July 2006. St. Petersburg International Economic Forum continued to grow in popularity and attendance in the late 2000s.
Infrastructure
Matviyenko developed a large number of megaprojects
A megaproject is an extremely large-scale investment project.
According to the ''Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management'', "Megaprojects are large-scale, complex ventures that typically cost $1 billion or more, take many years to develop a ...
in housing and infrastructure, such as building of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road including the Big Obukhovsky Bridge (the only non-draw bridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
over the Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
in the city), completion of the Saint Petersburg Dam
The Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex ( rus, Ко́мплекс защи́тных сооруже́ний Санкт-Петербу́рга от наводне́ний, kómpleks zashchítnykh sooruzhéniy Sankt-Peterbúrga ot ...
aimed to put an end to ill-famous Saint Petersburg floods, launching Line 5 of Saint Petersburg Metro and starting land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...
in the Neva Bay
The Neva Bay (Russian: Не́вская губа́, ''Névskaya Gubá''), also known as the Gulf of Kronstadt, is the easternmost part of the Gulf of Finland between Kotlin Island and the Neva River estuary where Saint Petersburg city centre is ...
for the new Marine Facade
The Sea (Marine) Facade is a project of additional expansion of St. Petersburg, on Vasilievsky Island at the Neva river's mouth.
In these new territories the Passenger Port of St. Petersburg will be created along with a considerable amount of resi ...
of the city (the largest European waterfront development project)[ containing the Passenger Port of St. Petersburg.
]
Industry
Several major auto-producing companies were drawn to Saint Petersburg or its vicinity, including Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
, Hyundai Motor
Hyundai Motor Company, often abbreviated to Hyundai Motors ( )
and commonly known as Hyundai (, ; ), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and founded in 1967. Currently, the company o ...
, Suzuki
is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
, Magna International
Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 ''Forbes'' Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North Ameri ...
, Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
and MAN SE
MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin Ame ...
(all having plants in Shushary industrial zone), thus turning the city into an important center of automotive industry in Russia
Automotive production is a significant industry in Russia, directly employing around 600,000 people or 1% of the country's total workforce. Russia produced 1,767,674 vehicles in 2018, ranking 13th among car-producing nations in 2018, and account ...
, specializing on foreign brands.
Tourism
The city administration launched a number of programs aimed to increase the number of tourist arrivals (such as advertisement campaigns abroad) and to improve the tourist infrastructure in the city, including the construction of new hotels. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of tourists in Saint Petersburg doubled and reached 5.2 million, which placed the city among the top 5 tourist centers in Europe.[
]
Culture
The June celebration of the graduation from school, the Scarlet Sails (a part of the White Nights Festival
The White Nights Festival is an annual summer festival in Saint Petersburg celebrating its near-midnight sun phenomena due to its location near the Arctic Circle; each year between around April 21 and August 21, the skies only reach twilight an ...
), rose to a new scale under Matviyenko and began to be broadcast nationwide on Petersburg – Channel 5
5TV is a television channel based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexey Brodskiy serves as the director general, with Ljubov Sovershaeva serving as the general producer.
History
Channel 5 succeeded the nationwide Leningrad TV channel dating back t ...
. The Saint Petersburg Carnival
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
s on the day of the city, 27 May, also became much grander.
Criticism
Controversial construction projects
The new construction in already heavily built-up areas was a point of continuous criticism during Matviyenko's governorship. Of especial note were a number of building projects deemed by many experts and conservative public to contradict the classical architecture of the city where the entire centre is UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
Matviyenko supported the construction project of the Gazprom City business center (also called Okhta Center
Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta-Tseńtr (Russian: О́хта-це́нтр), known before March 2007 as Gazprom City (Russian:Газпро́м-си́ти), was a construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was supp ...
) including a 400-meter skyscraper holding the headquarters of some of Gazprom
PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
's subsidiaries on the right bank of the Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
in the vicinity of the historic Smolny Cathedral
Smolny Convent or Smolny Convent of the Resurrection (''Voskresensky'', Russian: Воскресенский новодевичий Смольный монастырь), located on Ploschad Rastrelli (Rastrelli Square), on the left bank of the Ri ...
. The current regulations forbidding construction buildings of more than 42 meters (48 with expert approval) were specially changed by the city administration for the project.
By the end of her governor service, Matviyenko more eagerly engaged in dialogue with the groups of the so-called ''gradozaschitniki'' (''градозащитники'', "city-defenders"). A number of controversial projects eventually were cancelled or modified. Notably, after an extensive public protest campaign, which lasted several years, and after the personal involvement of 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 ...
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 ...
, the Okhta Center
Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta-Tseńtr (Russian: О́хта-це́нтр), known before March 2007 as Gazprom City (Russian:Газпро́м-си́ти), was a construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was supp ...
was relocated from Okhta
The Okhta () is a river in Vsevolozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast and the eastern part of the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest right tributary of the river Neva. It joins the Neva upstream of the Neva's mouth, within the c ...
to Lakhta suburb.
Other controversial projects include the Mariinsky Theatre Second Stage and the reconstruction of the New Holland Island
New Holland Island (russian: Но́вая Голла́ндия) is a historic triangular artificial island in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, dating from the 18th century. It is also known as Admiralty Island.
Construction
The island was ...
. Both projects required destruction of some of the earlier historic buildings, and the new stage of the Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...
was originally attempted to be built according to a highly original design by French architect Dominique Perrault
Dominique Perrault (born 9 April 1953 in Clermont-Ferrand) is a French architect and urban planner. He became world known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Silver medal for town planning in 1992 and the Mies va ...
, resembling a cocoon. The project, however, was deemed too costly and too much out-of-line with the surrounding classical architecture, and the design was changed.
Snow cleaning problems
Matviyenko's handling of the cleaning of the city from snow during the unusually cold and snowy winters of 2009–2010 and 2010–2011, in the last two years of her governorship, drew criticism, especially from the automobile owners and drivers in the city. The authorities were unprepared for vast amounts of snow on the city streets, especially in the historical centre, and there was a lack of snow cleaning equipment.
Accusations of corporate raiding
Businessman Vitaly Arkhangelsky
Vitaly Dmitrievich Arkhangelsky (born 23 May 1975 in Almaty, Kazakhstan) is a Russian entrepreneur with interests in shipping and insurance. The Russian authorities are seeking his extradition from France, where he and his family currently live, ...
accused Matviyenko of corporate raid
In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to t ...
ing and corruption. According to him, Matvieyenko is the real owner of the Bank Saint Petersburg that staged a corporate raid on the property of his company, OMG that included Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...
Port and Western Terminal of Saint Petersburg port using falsified documents with Arkhangelsy's forged signature. The lawyers of Bank Saint Petersburg insist on exclusion materials of Matviyenko's involvement from the criminal case in London court.
Chairwoman of the Federation Council
On 22 August 2011, soon after completion of the Saint Petersburg Dam along with the Saint Petersburg Ring Road, Matviyenko resigned from the office of the governor of Saint Petersburg. Georgy Poltavchenko
Georgy Sergeyevich Poltavchenko ( rus, Гео́ргий Серге́евич Полта́вченко, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ pɐlˈtaftɕɪnkə; born on 24 February 1953) is a Russian politician.
He became Governor of Sai ...
was appointed as acting governor in her place. She was backed by President Dmitry Medvedev as a candidate to head the Federal Assembly or Upper House of the Russian Federation. The previous speaker of the Federation Council, Sergey Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov (russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Миро́нов; born 14 February 1953) is a Russian politician. He was Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia, Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian ...
, was recalled in May after criticising Matviyenko's handling of Saint Petersburg. The leader of A Just Russia
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
party, Mironov was ousted by the majority United Russia
United Russia ( rus, Единая Россия, Yedinaya Rossiya, (j)ɪˈdʲinəjə rɐˈsʲijə) is a Conservatism in Russia, Russian conservative List of political parties in Russia, political party. As the largest party in Russia, it hold ...
[ and replaced by an acting speaker Alexander Torshin.
As a member of United Russia party, Matviyenko stood in a municipal election in August in order to have legal possibilities to attain the office in the Federation Council. She won the municipal election with more than 95% of the vote, despite having 18% approval rating in July, for which she was criticized by the opposition.
On 21 September 2011, she was elected the Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation by 140 votes with one abstention and none cast against.][
]
Sanctions
Due to her role in the Crimean status referendum, Matviyenko became one of the first people put under executive sanctions by United States President Barack Obama. The sanctions freeze her assets in the US and ban her from entering the United States. She was put on a sanction list by the United States and Canada on 17 March 2014, the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
on 21 March 2014, Switzerland on 2 April 2014, Liechtenstein on 17 April 2014, Australia on 19 June 2014, and Ukraine on 16 October 2016.[) , date = 17 October 2016 , access-date = 25 May 2018]
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 ...
, on 6 April 2022 the Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...
of the United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
added Matviyenko to its list of persons sanctioned pursuant to .
Family
Valentina Matviyenko has a son, Sergey ( ru, born 5 May 1973), with her husband, Vladimir Vasilyevich Matviyenko. In May 2003, Sergey Matviyenko was appointed vice-president of the Bank Saint Petersburg. Later he also became vice-president and first vice-president (2005) of Vneshtorgbank
VTB Bank (; formerly known as ''Vneshtorgbank'', , lit. 'International Trade Bank') is a Russian majority state-owned bank headquartered in various federal districts of Russia; its legal address is registered in St. Petersburg; as of 2022 ...
.Sergey Matviyenko biography
at vedomosti.ru Sergey married Zara Mgoyan, a Russian pop singer of Armenian and Kurdish origin (b. 1983) on 30 April 2004, but they divorced a year later.
Honours and awards
;Russia and the USSR
* Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
;
**2nd class (19 March 2009) – for services to the state and personal contribution to the socio-economic development of the city
**3rd class (7 April 1999) – for services to the state and many years of diligent work
**4th class (2003)
* Order of Honour (1996) – for services to the state, a large contribution to the foreign policy and ensuring Russia's national interests, courage and dedication shown by the line of duty
* Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
(1981)
* Order of the Badge of Honour
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
(1976)
*
;President of the Russian Federation
* Diploma of the President of the Russian Federation (27 January 2010) – for active participation in the preparation and conduct of meetings of the State Council
* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (14 August 1995) – for active participation in the preparation and conduct of the 50th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945
* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (2 September 2008) – for active participation in preparing and conducting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the meeting of heads of states – members of the Commonwealth of Independent States
;Departmental awards
* Medal "For cooperation with the FSB of Russia" (Federal Security Service
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...
, 2004)
* Medal "For military cooperation" (Ministry of Internal Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
, 2003)
* Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" (Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, 1999)
* Medal "Admiral Kuznetsov" (Russian Ministry of Defence, 2005)
* Medal "For Services to the national health care" (Ministry of Health and Social Development
The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство здравоохранения Российской Федерации, in short russian: Минздрав России, translit=Minzdrav Rossii) is a ministry of ...
, 2003)
* Medal "100 Years of St. Petersburg University, GPA MES of Russia" ( Ministry of Emergency Situations, 2006)
* Medal "For Strengthening customs community" (Federal Customs Service
The Federal Customs Service of Russia (russian: Федеральная таможенная служба Российской Федерации, ''Federalnaya tamozhennaya sluzhba Rossiskoy Federatsii''; abbreviated , ''FTS Rossii'') is a Russ ...
, 2008)
* Medal "For cooperation" (Russian Prosecutor's Office
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, 2010)
* Badge "For personal contribution to the protection and improvement of Civil Defence"(2004)
* "Excellent border troops" (Border Guard Service of Russia
The Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (PS FSB Rossii) (russian: Пограничная служба Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации ( ...
, 2003)
* Medal "For merits in the field of civil aviation" (Interstate Aviation Committee
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC; russian: Межгосударственный авиационный комитет, МАК) is an executive body of the Civil Aviation and Airspace Use Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( ...
, 2004)
* Medal "For merits in national security" (Security Council of Russia
The Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF or Sovbez; russian: Совет безопасности Российской Федерации (СБРФ), Sovet bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (SBRF)) is a constitutional consultative bo ...
, 2009)
;Awards of the Russian Federation
* Badge of Honour "For services to St. Petersburg" (31 August 2011)
;Foreign awards:
* Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...
(2001)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (Greece, 2007)
* Order "For the great love of independent Turkmenistan" (Turkmenistan, September 2009) – for his great contribution to strengthening the Turkmen-Russian relations
* Medal "For outstanding contributions to the National Year of China and Russia" (China, 2008)
* Order of Friendship of Peoples (Belarus)
The Order of Friendship of Peoples () is a state award of the Republic of Belarus. It is the highest award of the Republic of Belarus for foreign citizens.
Statute of the order
The Order of Friendship of Peoples is awarded to citizens:
* for a ...
(2009)
* Knights Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland
The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...
(1 December 2009)
;Religious awards
* Order of St. Sergius
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
;
**1st class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2010) – in consideration of assistance to the Russian Orthodox Church
**2nd class
* Order of St Princess Olga
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
, 1st class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2006) and 2nd class (2001)
* Order Martyr Tryphon, 2nd class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2001) – for his great personal contribution to the fight against drug addiction, alcoholism and other harmful phenomena
;Honorary degrees and titles
* Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts
Russian Academy of Arts (RAKh / rus. РАХ, Росси́йская акаде́мия худо́жеств) is the State scientific Institution of Russian Federation, eligible heir to the USSR Academy of Arts. RAKh is the public cultural Insti ...
;Prizes
* Prize of the Russian Federation in Science and Technology (2010)
;Other Awards
* Pushkin Medal
The Medal of Pushkin (russian: медаль Пушкина) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation awarded to its citizens and to foreigners for achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities and literature. It is named in h ...
( MAPRYAL, 2003) – "For outstanding services in the Russian language"
See also
*Saint Petersburg City Administration
Saint Petersburg City Administration (Администрация Санкт-Петербурга) is the superior executive body of Saint Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Russian Federation. It is located in a historic building, Smolny and known a ...
References
External links
*
President of the Council of the Federation
Short biography in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matviyenko, Valentina
1949 births
Living people
People from Shepetivka
Mayors of places in Russia
Governors of Saint Petersburg
Russian nationalists
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Russian women diplomats
Women mayors of places in Russia
Women heads of federal subjects of Russia
21st-century Russian women politicians
Russian people of Ukrainian descent
Full Cavaliers of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia)
Recipients of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
Grand Crosses of the Order of Honour (Greece)
Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland
Honorary Members of the Russian Academy of Arts
Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation alumni
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Russian Federation)
Ambassadors of Russia to Greece
Ambassadors of Russia to Malta
Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000)
Chairmen of the Federation Council (Russia)
People of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
21st-century Russian politicians
20th-century Russian politicians
Women ambassadors
Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia
Women legislative speakers
Russian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions