Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zharov (also spelled ''Alexander'' Zharov; russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Жа́ров) is a Russian politician. The head of
(Roskomnadzor) since 2012 to 2020.
Biography
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Zharov was born on 11 August 1964 in
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
,
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
,
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
Zharov studied medicine at the
Chelyabinsk Medical Academy and graduated in 1987. His specialization is
anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist. He worked at the Chelyabinsk
Regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
Clinical Hospital from 1987 to 1996.
He moved to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
in 1997 and worked for one year at the "Family Doctor: Practical Medical Advice" magazine. Later career:
* 1998 to 1999 — adviser to chairman of the board of the news agency
RIA Novosti;
* 1999 to 2004 — spokesman of the
Ministry of Health;
* 2004 to 2006 — spokesman of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
* 2006 to 2007 — deputy general director of the broadcasting company
VGTRK;
* 2007 to 2008 — head of the Department of Press Service, Information and Protocol
* 2008 to 2012 — deputy
Minister of Communications and Mass Media
* May 2012 — head of
Roskomnadzor
The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as ''Roskomnadzor'' (RKN) (russian: Роскомнадзор КН, is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, co ...
.
In April 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on him and 23 other Russian nationals.
Family
Zharov is married, his wife is a businesswoman, her name and business are not officially disclosed. They have 6 children.
Education
*
Chelyabinsk Medical Academy (1987) —
anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist;
* (2004) —
Candidate of Sciences
Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's ISCED level 8, "d ...
;
*
(2006) — law school.
Zharov has the of .
Public image
Zharov is periodically criticized as the head of Roskomnadzor and within the scope of activities of this organization, sometimes called a "watchdog" threatening the
media freedom in Russia
Media freedom in Russia concerns both the ability of directors of mass-media outlets to carry out independent policies and the ability of journalists to access sources of information and to work without outside pressure. Media of Russia inclu ...
, particularly the
Internet in Russia
Internet in Russia or Russian Internet (russian: российский Интернет which means ''Russia-related Internet'') and sometimes Runet (using first two letters from Russian plus net) is a part of the Internet which is related to ...
(
Runet
Runet (russian: Рунет), a portmanteau of ru (code for both the Russian language and Russia's top-level domain) and net/network, is the Russian-language community on the Internet and websites. The term Runet was coined in Israel in the sp ...
).
Zharov argues that neither himself nor his organization initiate new limitations but has to follow existing laws and court rulings. He says in a private interview:
Zharov became a
Candidate of Sciences
Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's ISCED level 8, "d ...
in 2004, his thesis was on "Medico-hygienic bases forming a healthy way of life in the Russian Federation" (russian: "Медико-гигиенические основы формирования здорового образа жизни в Российской Федерации"). Upon analysis made by
Dissernet
Dissernet (russian: Диссернет) is a volunteer community network working to clean Russian science of plagiarism. The core activity of the community is conducting examinations of doctoral and habilitation (higher doctorate) theses defended ...
, a substantial part (52 pages out of 145) has been taken unaltered or slightly altered from two state reports of the
Ministry of Health (1998, 2002). Such reports as official documents of state government agencies are in
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
in Russia yet they have been used without attribution.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zharov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
21st-century Russian politicians
1964 births
Living people
Politicians from Chelyabinsk
Russian individuals subject to the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions