Vasily Zakharov (; born 1934) is a Soviet and Russian economist who served as the minister of culture between 1986 and 1989 in the Soviet Union. He was a member of

central committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the

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 Engels. A ...

Biography

Zakharov was born in 1934. He is a graduate of

Leningrad State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

where he received a PhD in economics in 1957. He later became a full professor. He taught at the Tomsk Polytechnic Institute and

Leningrad Technological Institute Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University) (russian: Санкт-Петербургский Технологический Институт (Технический Университет)) was founded in 1828. It is o ...

. Zakharov's career at the Communist Party began in 1973 when he was named as the head of the propaganda and agitation department in Leningrad. He moved to Moscow in 1983 because of his appointment as first deputy chief of the propaganda department of the party's central committee. From January 1986 he worked as the second secretary of the Moscow City central committee under

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 ...

. In March 1986 Zakharov became one of the central committee members of the Communist Party. On 17 August 1986 he was named the minister of culture, replacing

Pyotr Demichev Pyotr Nilovich Demichev (russian: Пётр Ни́лович Де́мичев; 3 January 191810 August 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician. He was First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1986 to 1988 and Minister o ...

in the post. In June 1989 Zakharov was again proposed by Soviet Premier

Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov ( uk, Микола Іванович Рижков; russian: Николай Иванович Рыжков; born 28 September 1929) is a Soviet, and later Russian, politician. He served as the last Chairman of the Counci ...

as minister of culture. However, he and other five nominees were rejected by 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) ...

in July 1989.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakharov, Vasily 20th-century Russian economists 21st-century Russian economists 1934 births Living people Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Culture ministers of the Soviet Union Academic staff of the Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology Saint Petersburg State University alumni Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1980–1985 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1985–1990 Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet economists