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Yevgeny PrimakovYevgeny Maksimovich Primakov (born October 29, 1929) is a former prime minister of Russia. He was the last chairman of an upper chamber of the Soviet parliament, the Russian Foreign Minister responsible for changing the foreign policy from unconditional support of the United States to pragmatical defence of Russia's own interests, and the Russian prime-minister during some of the most difficult years in its recent history. Primakov was born in Kiev, Ukraine and grew up in Tbilisi, Georgia. He was educated at Moscow State Institute of Oriental Studies, graduating in 1953 and did postgraduate work at Moscow State University. From 1956 to 1970, he worked as a journalist for Soviet radio and a Middle Eastern correspondent for Pravda newspaper. From 1970 to 1989, he was the deputy director and the director for two institutes for the Academy of Sciences of USSR: Institute of World Economy and International Relations and the Institute of Oriental Studies. Primakov became involved in politics in 1989, as the chairman of Soviet of the Union, one of two houses of the Soviet parliament. After the failed 1991 Soviet Coup attempt, Primakov was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of KGB, replacing the previous KGB leadership which was involved in the coup attempt. It is speculated that he might have previously worked for KGB, while being a journalist and an academic. After the formation of the Russian Federation, Primakov became the director of the external security service, serving in that position from 1991 until 1996. Primakov became a close associate of President Boris Yeltsin and during the late 1990s was one of the highest-ranking members of the government, serving as foreign minister from 1996 until 1998. As foreign minister, he gained respect at home and abroad as a tough but pragmatic supporter of Russia's interests, and an opponent of NATO's expansion into the former Eastern bloc. Primakov served as prime minister from 1998 until he was fired by Yeltsin in May 1999. As prime minister, he was given broad credit for stabilizing the political situation and halting some of the economic decline, although he failed to come up with a policy to rescue the economy. Following his sacking as prime minister, Primakov joined the Fatherland-All Russia electoral bloc to jump-start his presidential bid. However, his presidential ambitions were crushed when Fatherland-All Russia performed poorly at the 1999 parliamentary elections. In March 2003, he visited Iraq and talked with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hoping to help prevent the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a move which received some support from several nations opposed to the war. In November 2004, Primakov testified in defense of the former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, on trial for war crimes. Primakov, Yevgeny Primakov, Yevgeny Primakov, Yevgeny
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