Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko (russian: Виталий Леонтьевич Мутко; born Viktor Leontiyevich Mutko;
8 December 1958
) is a Russian politician who served as the
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
A Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation (russian: Заместитель председателя Правительства Российской Федерации) is a member of the Government of Russia. The post is co ...
from 2016–2020.
From 2008 to 2016, he served as the
Minister of Sport of Russia.
Biography
Mutko was born on 8 December 1958 in the
stanitsa
A stanitsa ( rus, станица, p=stɐˈnʲitsə; uk, станиця, stanytsya) is a village inside a Cossack host ( uk, військо, viys’ko; russian: казачье войско, kazach’ye voysko, sometimes translated as "Cossack Arm ...
of Kurinskaya of
Apsheronsky District
Apsheronsky District (russian: Апшеро́нский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the thirty-eight in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.Reference Information #20-2969/11-03 As a municipal division, it is incorporated as A ...
in
Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...
in the Soviet Union.
He started working as a technician on shipping vessels in 1977. In 1983, he was
selected to work for the executive committee of
Kirov district of
Leningrad
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 ...
. He attended the in Leningrad, graduating from the River Vocational College in 1987. Before graduating from College, Mutko changed his name from Victor to Vitaly.
[ In 1990, he was appointed as a member of the district council and the head of the district administration a year later. He also graduated from the Law Department of ]Saint Petersburg 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 ...
in 1999.
In 1992, he became the deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg as well as the chairman of the City Committee on Social Issues. He served in both the positions until 1996. Along with 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 ...
in 1994, who at the time headed the city mayor's committee for external relations, he helped organize the 1994 Goodwill Games which was the first major sporting event in Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
.
He also moved into sports administration and became the president of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in ...
in 1997. During his tenure, he oversaw the club's rise to sporting prominence as well as economic transformation. He founded the Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
in 2001 and became its President, a position which he held until 2003. He was appointed to the committee of Russian Paralympic Committee
The Russian Paralympic Committee (russian: Паралимпийский комитет России) is the National Paralympic Committee representing Russia.
History
The Russian Paralympic Committee was founded in 1996. On 7 August 2016, i ...
in 2002 and has also chaired committees and charities for helping people with mental disabilities.
On 29 October 2003, he became a member of the upper house
An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
of the Russian parliament
The Federal Assembly ( rus, Федера́льное Собра́ние, r=Federalnoye Sobraniye, p=fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə sɐˈbranʲɪjə) is the national legislature of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of the Russian F ...
, representing the Saint Petersburg government. He was elected as the President of Russian Football Union
The Russian Football Union (russian: Российский Футбольный Союз, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow, it org ...
in April 2005, a position in which he served until November 2009. Meanwhile, in 2006, he defended his doctoral thesis on "Correlation of Market and Public Regulators in the Development of Physical Culture and Sport" at the St. Petersburg State University and received a doctorate in economics. He was appointed as the Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy on 12 May 2008 by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
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 ...
. He was appointed as a member of FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
's Executive Committee in 2009. He was also the chairman of Russia's successful 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.
He was reappointed as Minister of Sport on 21 May 2012 by President Putin. On 2 September 2015, he was appointed as the President of Russian Football Union for a second time without any opposition. Although government officials aren't allowed to hold top positions in sports organizations, an exception was made for Mutko in July 2015. On 24 September 2016, he was elected as the President of the association for a term of four years after winning the elections with 266 votes against his opponent Valery Gazzaev
Valery Georgiyevich Gazzaev (russian: Вале́рий Гео́ргиевич Газза́ев; os, Гæззаты Георгийы фырт Валери, translit=Gæzzaty Georgijy fyrt Valeri; born 7 August 1954) is a Russian politician, foot ...
who received 142 votes.
On 19 October 2016, he was promoted to a Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. His deputy Pavel Kolobkov
Pavel Anatolyevich Kolobkov (russian: link=no, Павел Анатольевич Колобков, born 22 September 1969) is a retired Russian (and formerly Soviet) épée fencer. He won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals at five Oly ...
was appointed to replace him as the Minister of Sport. He was barred from standing in re-election as a member of FIFA Council
The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. ...
in March 2017 due to his ministerial role that was against the statutes of political neutrality and the prevention of any form of government interference.
He announced temporarily relinquishing his position on 25 December 2017 as President of Russian Football Union for a period of six months to appeal against his Olympic ban, which was later lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sports
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its c ...
in Lausanne, Switzerland. On 18 May 2018, he was re-appointed Deputy Prime Minister, while instead of sports issues, in the new cabinet, Mutko began to oversee the construction and development of regions. Mutko resigned as head of Russian Football Union on 19 December.
On 15 January 2020, he resigned as part of the cabinet, after President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
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 ...
delivered the Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly, in which he proposed several amendments to the constitution. On 21 January, he was replaced by Marat Khusnullin.
On 29 January, Mutko was appointed as the chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of , a state-owned company involved in the mortgage and realty market.
World Cup bid
Mutko was the chairman for Russia's successful bid to host the World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
in 2018. He has, however, been criticised for his comments about the rival English bid, such as by suggesting that English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
is corrupt. By way of explanation, he said: "What I meant was that sometimes the English media say there is corruption in Russia
Corruption is perceived as a significant problem in Russia, impacting various aspects of life, including the economy, business, public administration, law enforcement, healthcare, and education. The phenomenon of corruption is strongly establish ...
, but I meant that if you dig deeply you find corruption in any country".
Corruption allegations
Mutko accompanied the Russian team to the Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in 2010. Afterwards, a report by the Russian parliament's Audit Chamber[''Vancouver Olympics spending scandal: How much does a Russian breakfast cost?'']
csmonitor.com criticised him for claiming for a total of 97 breakfasts during the team's twenty-day stay in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,[''Russia rests 2018 World Cup bid on belief that big and bold is best''](_blank)
Guardian costing a total of $4,500. Each night in his hotel was charged at $1,499. In total, Mutko is said to have spent twelve times his official limit.[ Mutko told ]Vedomosti
''Vedomosti'' ( rus, Ведомости, p=ˈvʲedəməsʲtʲɪ, ) is a Russian language, Russian-language business journalism, business daily newspaper published in Moscow.
History
''Vedomosti'' was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between ...
newspaper: "Why do those who want to accuse me of something not interest themselves in how much the French sports minister paid for accommodation?"[
]
Doping
On 9 November 2015, a report by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
accused Mutko of overseeing a wide-ranging, doping scheme within Russian track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
. Dick Pound
Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming (sport), swimming champion, lawyer, and Spokesperson, spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti ...
, the head of the commission, said, "It was impossible for him utkonot to be aware of it. And if he’s aware of it, he’s complicit in it." It was further alleged that Mutko's agency had undue influence over RUSADA
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA; russian: Российское антидопинговое агентство, РУСАДА), established in January 2008, is the Russian National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), affiliated with (but suspen ...
, the Russian anti-doping agency that should operate independently from influence of government or athletes.
On 5 December 2017, the International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) banned Mutko for life from future Olympic Games for his role in the doping conspiracy. The Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
however lifted it in July 2019, after he appealed to it for overturning the decision of IOC.
English Speech
In December 2010, when Mutko was at a meeting in Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
with the executive committee of FIFA about the 2018 World Cup's host country, he delivered a welcoming speech in English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
with a strong Russian accent. This speech became well known as "Лет ми спик фром май харт" (Let me speak from my heart) and gained massive popularity on the internet. After the speech, Mutko claimed that he had been memorising the speech for two weeks, including in front of his family, and that the English speech was cyrillised. Mutko's English was also the subject of nonstop jokes from 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 Russia ...
. In 2015, 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 ...
wished Mutko a happy birthday with broken English. 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 ...
also gave Mutko an English self-help book.
Public positions
*2009 – Member of the FIFA Council
The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. ...
*Vice-President of the Football Federation of St Petersburg
*Founder and President of the Public Charity Foundation for Support and Development of Football in St Petersburg “Golden Pelican”
*President of the Special Olympic Committee of St 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 ...
, conducting competitions for athletes with disabilities and developing rehabilitation programs for people with intellectual disabilities
*2005–2009 – President of the Football Union of Russia
The Russian Football Union (russian: Российский Футбольный Союз, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russia, Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow ...
*2001–2003 – President of the Russian Football Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...
*2015–2018 - President of the Football Union of Russia
The Russian Football Union (russian: Российский Футбольный Союз, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russia, Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow ...
* 2020–present - CEO of
Honours and awards
*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 ...
3rd (2014) and 4th class (2008)
* Order of Honour (1994)
*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 ...
(2002)
* (2003)
* (2005)
References
External links
Biography
Football Union of Russia
FoxSports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutko, Vitaly
Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000)
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
1958 births
People from Apsheronsky District
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Living people
Russian football chairmen and investors
Members of the UEFA Executive Committee
Government ministers of Russia
Doping in Russia
Deputy heads of government of the Russian Federation
21st-century Russian politicians
Presidents of the Russian Football Union