Yuri Matochkin


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Yuri Semyonovich Matochkin (‹See Tfd›Russian: Юрий Семёнович Маточкин; 18 October 1931 – 6 July 2006)[1][2] was a Soviet and Russian politician. He was the first post-Soviet governor of Kaliningrad Oblast, having been appointed to that position by Boris Yeltsin in September 1991.[3] Matochkin was elected to the Federation Council in 1993 and served on the International Affairs Committee.[3] He was a Professor of Economics.[4]

Yuri Matochkin

Юрий Маточкин

1st Governor of Kaliningrad Oblast
In office
25 September 1991 – 20 October 1996
Succeeded byLeonid Gorbenko
Personal details
Born

Yuri Semyonovich Matochkin


18 October 1931
Simskoye, Iglinsky District, Bashkir ASSR, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Died6 July 2006 (aged 74)
Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia
Political partyIndependent

Just prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, a Free Economic Zone was established in Kaliningrad and Matochkin represented it in the USSR.[3] He continued to support a free economic zone, as well as closer cooperation with the West, particularly the European Union,[3] and placing an emphasis on foreign investment in Kaliningrad.[5] He felt it was necessary to formulate a single state policy regarding Kaliningrad.[6] He regarded Germany as especially important.[7] Matochkin envisioned Kaliningrad as a free-trade region with significant administrative autonomy.[7] He also favoured upgrading the region from an Oblast to a republic of Russia.[8]

In 1994 he persuaded Russia to adopt a document emphasizing foreign cooperation, especially with the European Union.[9] Matochkin succeeded in restoring Kaliningrad's special economic zone advantages in January 1996, and also secured the region's first major foreign investment, an agreement with the automobile manufacturer Kia.[10]

Yuri Matochkin contested the 1996 elections for regional governor in 1996, and was defeated in the second round of voting by Leonid Gorbenko.[5][11] After the election, Gorbenko was subjected to hounding by supporters of Matochkin.[5]

  1. ^ "Yuri Matochkin". Council of Europe. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  2. ^ Умер первый калининградский губернатор Юрий Маточкин: воспоминания и редкие фото. Regnum (in Russian). 6 July 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d Krickus, Richard (2002). The Kaliningrad Question. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 51, 68. ISBN 0-7425-1704-7.
  4. ^ Antonenko, Oksana; Kathryn Pinnick (2005). Russia and the European Union: prospects for a new relationship. Routledge. p. 146. ISBN 0-415-35907-4.
  5. ^ a b c "Russia's policy towards Kaliningrad". British Helsinki Human Rights Group. 18 February 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  6. ^ Waller, Michael; Bruno Coppieters; Alekseĭ Vsevolodovich Malashenko (1998). Conflicting loyalties and the state in post-Soviet Russia and Eurasia. London: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 108. ISBN 0-7146-4882-5.
  7. ^ a b Knudsen, Olav (1999). Stability and security in the Baltic Sea region. Frank Cass. p. 134. ISBN 0-7146-4492-7.
  8. ^ "Globe". Globe. 6 (1–6). 1993. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  9. ^ Lieven, Anatol; Dmitriĭ Trenin (2003). Ambivalent neighbors: the EU, NATO and the price of membership. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 151. ISBN 0-87003-200-3.
  10. ^ Hanson, Philip; Michael Bradshaw (2000). Regional economic change in Russia. Edward Elgar. p. 247. ISBN 1-84064-107-X.
  11. ^ Huisman, Sander (March 2002). "A new European Union policy for Kalinigrad" (PDF). Institute for Security Studies. Retrieved 10 August 2010.