Vitaly Ignatenko

Vitaly Ignatenko
Виталий Игнатенко
Russian Federation Senator
from Krasnodar Krai
In office
7 November 2012 – 22 September 2015
Preceded byAkhmed Bilalov
Succeeded byAleksey Kondratenko
10th General Director of ITAR-TASS
In office
28 August 1991 – 17 September 2012
Preceded byLev Spiridonov
Succeeded bySergey Mikhailov
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
In office
31 May 1995 – 17 March 1997
PresidentBoris Yeltsin
Prime MinisterViktor Chernomyrdin
Personal details
Born(1941-04-19)19 April 1941
Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Soviet Union
Alma materMoscow State University
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionJournalist

Vitaly Nikitich Ignatenko (Russian: Виталий Никитич Игнатенко; born 19 April 1941) is a Russian journalist and politician who had been the head of ITAR-TASS news agency from 1993 until 2012 and had served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin from 1995 to 1997 as deputy prime minister. He has also been a member of different journalism organizations and foundations promoting the Russian language and Russian-speaking press.

Biography

Graduating from Moscow State University with a degree in journalism, he worked for the Komsomolskaya Pravda and Novoye Vremya newspapers in the 1980s.[1][2] From 1990 to 1991 he served as the press secretary of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.[3]

On June 2, 1995, Ignatenko was appointed Deputy Chairman of Government of the Russian Federation for media affairs. He worked in coordination with fellow deputy chairman Sergei Shakhrai.[4] In 1997, during the Tajikistani Civil War, he was in contact with a local warlord to organize the release of foreign hostages.[5][6]

In September 2012 Ignatenko was replaced as head of ITAR-TASS news agency.[7]

He is also a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador[1] and President of the World Association of Russian Press.[8]

Sources

References

  1. ^ a b Vitaly Igantenko. UNESCO. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  2. ^ Vitaly Ignatenko. Russian World Foundation. Retrieved 10 May 2018
  3. ^ Palazchenko (2010), p. 377
  4. ^ Newsline – June 2, 1995. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  5. ^ Tajikistan: Exchange Of Hostages Reported Underway. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 10 February 1997. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  6. ^ BEGIN SWAPPING HOSTAGES FOR REBELS[dead link‍]. Deseret News. Published 14 February 1997. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  7. ^ Ignatenko dismissed as a director general of ITAR-TASS. News.az. Published 18 September 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  8. ^ Lukashenko meets with Ignatenko and Gusman, gives interview to TASS. Official website of Belarusian government. Published 12 July 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2018.

Books

  • Pavel, Palazchenko (2010). My Years with Gorbachev and Shevardnadze: The Memoir of a Soviet Interpreter. Penn State Press. ISBN 978-0271040929.