Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov is a well-known figure not only in Russia, but also in the world. For a long time he worked in the diplomatic field, zealously defending the interests of the Motherland. The biography of Sergei Lavrov is interesting for many; he is known as an active political and statesman.
He won the sympathy of his compatriots and foreign colleagues with his attitude to life, without hiding the fact that human weaknesses are not alien to him. The head of the diplomatic department writes poetry, sings and plays the guitar.
Hobbies remained from my student days, when it was considered cool to travel to detachments, live in tents in remote corners of the country, where the benefits of civilization were not reached. Perhaps the roots of love for active tourism and rafting come from those times.
His passion for poetry and poetic gift made him famous as the author of the anthem for his native alma mater - MGIMO. Sergei Viktorovich visited about 140 countries and two hundred settlements and cities, many of them several times. Some of His statements regarding politics and diplomacy became popular.
Childhood and youth
Serezha was born in Moscow and spent his childhood in Noginsk, where his mother Kaleria Borisovna is from. The parents' work involved business trips, so Sergei's grandparents were involved in raising him. My grandfather worked on the railway as a station master, his wife as a nurse.
Parental professions became the reason for the child’s admission to a special school for in-depth study of a foreign language. Mother was an employee of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade. Father is Armenian, originally from Tbilisi, Victor Kalantaryan. According to the diplomat, the Armenian blood of his paternal ancestors flowing in his veins “does not bother him at all.”
According to official data, the head of the Foreign Ministry is Russian by nationality. Sergei Viktorovich talks about his upbringing as follows: since the family in which he grew up was intelligent, his parents did not use physical punishment, there were enough words that were perceived either as a “stick” or as a “carrot”.
Sergei Lavrov in his youth
The parents took the child to the capital, where he attended a similar school and at the same time attended English language courses. In addition to intensive foreign studies, Sergei was attracted to the exact sciences. When he left school, he planned to submit documents to two universities with opposite directions.
One assumed the presence of humanitarian knowledge, the other - MEPhI - mathematical knowledge. The school certificate was received with a silver medal, there were no problems with admission. The earlier deadlines for submitting documents to MGIMO determined the choice of educational institution. Applicant Sergei Lavrov was enrolled in the group of the Oriental Faculty in 1967. The graduation of young diplomats took place in 1972.
Schooling
According to the diplomat, he spent his childhood in the Noginsk district of the Moscow region, where he lived with his grandparents: his parents worked a lot. There he went to school No. 2 named after. V.G. Korolenko. As a child, the future minister loved to play hockey or football with his classmates.
Now the minister prefers rafting to all sports - sports rafting down mountain rivers on inflatable boats.
Photo: m.gazeta.ru
Soon the parents took the boy to Moscow, where they enrolled him in Moscow school No. 607, which specialized in in-depth study of languages, in particular English. The young man gravitated towards technical sciences: according to personal confessions, his favorite subject was physics.
“We were lucky with the teacher. A wonderful person who became a friend to his students. Even trips to pick potatoes turned into a holiday with him,” the minister recalled.
Photo: school No. 607, Moscow. Source: retromap.ru
Lavrov studied well: he graduated from school with a silver medal. Even now, 50 years after receiving the certificate, the politician is trying to help the educational institution.
It’s interesting to know what former Prosecutor General Skuratov is doing now.
Career
In 1972, after graduating from the institute, Sergei was sent in accordance with his specialization to the Republic of Sri Lanka as an intern. His service there continued until 1976 and ended in the position of attaché at the Embassy of the Soviet Union.
From 1976 to 1981 he served in the Department of International Economic Organizations of the Soviet Union, first as third, then as second secretary. From 1981 to 1988, he worked in New York at the Permanent Mission of the Soviet Union to the UN, starting as first secretary, continuing his career development, becoming an adviser, then a senior adviser.
In 1988 he returned to a familiar department, renamed the Office of International Economic Organizations. He worked there until 1992, starting as a deputy and ending as the head of a department.
Lavrov was a member of the Communist Party until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Then he headed the Department of International Organizations, and the following year he became the head of the Department of International Organizations and Global Issues of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 1992 to 1994, Lavrov combined work as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs with supervising the activities of the Department of International Organizations and International Economic Cooperation, the Office of Human Rights and International Cultural Cooperation, as well as the department responsible for interstate relations of the CIS countries.
The Lavrovs married during their student years
In 1993, Lavrov was appointed deputy chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on Russia's participation in international organizations of the UN system. Served as co-chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission for Coordinating the Russian Federation's Participation in Peacekeeping Missions.
Biography of Sergei Lavrov
The biography of Sergei Lavrov begins in 1950 in Moscow. As a child, he attended secondary school No. 2 in Noginsk, a small town in the Moscow region. And then his parents moved Sergei to Moscow, where he went to school No. 67 and studied in a class with in-depth study of the English language. He graduated with a silver medal. Despite the fact that Sergei’s favorite subject at school was physics, he was best at foreign languages, so the guy thought about the future like this: he would become either a translator or a journalist. At the same time, he never wanted to leave the country and go live abroad; he learned the language for himself, and in order to travel. In the future, it so happened that both of these took place in his life.
In 1972, Sergei Lavrov graduated from the University of International Relations and immediately got a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although he did not want to go to live in another country, Lavrov was immediately sent to Sri Lanka, where he worked for four years as an attaché at the Soviet Embassy.
Upon returning to the USSR, Sergei holds the position of secretary in the department of international relations. The structure there was very large, and at first Sergei worked as the third secretary, and then he was transferred to the position of the Second and promoted.
In 1981, Lavrov flies to New York and works abroad for seven years, first as first secretary in the same department, and then one promotion follows another. He returned to the Union of Lavrov only in 1988, and again occupied a high position in the ministry.
The next years are probably the most difficult in terms of politics for the huge country of the USSR, and there is some tension. At this time, Sergei Viktorovich himself is considering whether to remain in the CPSU party, to which he belonged for a long time. A new time is coming, the Union is falling apart, and now we must play by different rules. Sergei Lavrov leaves the Communist Party and heads the management of international organizations. A year later he was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Since 1994, for the next ten years, Sergei Viktorovich has represented the interests of Russia in the United Nations. During this time, he visited almost all of Europe, was present, as a representative of the Russian government, at all summits, and gave speeches in support of Russia on many issues.
In 2004, Sergei Lavrov became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation for the first time. Vladimir Vladimirovich nominated him to this post, and for three terms now Lavrov has headed the ministry, having been at the helm under President Medvedev and then again under Putin.
Being a true diplomat in the field of negotiations, Sergei Viktorovich has not only domestic awards, but also foreign ones. He was awarded the Orders of Friendship in Vietnam and Belarus, and Laos, and has Orders of Honor from Serbia and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. By the way, Lavrov’s own roots also go back to different countries. Sergei Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose biography, nationality and life are closely connected with Armenia, practically does not talk about this himself, and his page on the Foreign Ministry website says that the politician is Russian. However, it is reliably known about the politician’s father that he is an Armenian from Tbilisi, so it is not for nothing that Sergei has such respect among his eastern partners.
At the UN post
In 1994, Sergei Lavrov began working as the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN and the UN Security Council. Sergei Viktorovich considers the UN to be the best instrument created by humanity to regulate international relations. In his opinion, without her there would be much more destructive chaos in the world.
To those who want to criticize the UN, Lavrov likes to quote the phrase that the UN was created not to create heaven on Earth, but to ensure that humanity does not end up in hell.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is proud that the Soviet Union was at the origins of its creation, that even the building of the organization was built with the participation of a Soviet architect. In the decoration of the courtyard at the UN, statues by sculptors of our compatriots Vuchetich “Let’s Beat Swords into Plowshares” and Tsereteli “St. George Defeats the Dragon” were used. A copy of the first Soviet satellite hangs in the visitors' area.
As permanent representative, Lavrov became famous as the member of the organization who most often resorted to the right of veto. For this, the label “Mr. No” was stuck to him. Lavrov himself believes that the veto, which has become the subject of criticism, is intended to be a guarantor in ensuring the deterrence necessary for a democratic system. It should not be a means of unscrupulous political manipulation.
During his ten-year tenure as permanent representative, he earned a reputation as a person who does not lose his head in critical situations and knows how to defend his position. Thanks to experience, he developed patience, “necessary for any person,” but especially valuable in the profession of diplomat. He once stated that it was difficult to piss him off, but advised him not to test him.
Sergei Viktorovich shared a particularly difficult situation that arose while working at the UN in an interview for a documentary film dedicated to her 70th anniversary. The case concerned the US-Cuban conflict in the mid-90s. Then the airspace over the territory of Liberty Island was violated by emigrants scattering leaflets from airplanes.
The authorities' warning that intruders would be shot down had no effect, and one plane had to be shot down. An international scandal broke out. Margaret Albright called on the participants of the extraordinary meeting of the Security Council to condemn the Cuban authorities for the terrorist act.
Thanks to many hours of joint efforts, it was possible to soften the wording. The unfounded accusation was dropped despite Albright’s telephone conferences with Washington.
Biography
Lavrov (Kalantarov) Sergey Viktorovich
, born March 21, 1950, native of Moscow.
According to surveys conducted by VTsIOM, Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly been among the three most effective ministers of the Government of the Russian Federation. After 12 years in office, Gazeta.ru characterized Lavrov as an “impressive intellectual” who is on par with Shoigu
, one of the most popular ministers in the country.
Relatives.
Wife: Lavrova Maria Aleksandrovna, born on April 4, 1950, philologist by training. For a long time she worked in the library of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the UN in New York. Currently, she is a pensioner and is engaged in housekeeping.
Daughter: Vinokurova (maiden name Lavrova) Ekaterina Sergeevna, born 04/03/1983, co-director of the Russian branch of the Christie's auction house. Graduated from Columbia University and the Higher School of Economics in London. She lived outside the Russian Federation for a long time, including when her father was Minister of Foreign Affairs. For this, Lavrov was often criticized.
Hobbies.
He writes poetry and loves to sing with the guitar. Wrote the MGIMO anthem. Hobby: rafting. He was one of the organizers and first president of the Russian Rowing Slalom Federation. Sergei Viktorovich loves to play football, his favorite team is Spartak (Moscow).
Education
- He graduated from Moscow school No. 607 with in-depth study of the English language with a silver medal.
- In 1972 he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (eastern branch).
Speaks English, studied Sinhala, Dhivehi and French.
Labor activity
- From 1972 to 1976 - trainee, attaché of the USSR Embassy in the Republic of Sri Lanka, from 1976 to 1981 he held the positions of third and second secretary of the department of international economic organizations of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- From 1981 to 1988 - First Secretary, Advisor, Senior Advisor of the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the UN in New York.
- From 1988 to 1992 - deputy, first deputy head of the Department of International Economic Organizations, head of the same department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the CPSU until 1991.
- From 1991 to 1992 - Head of the Department of International Organizations of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- In 1992, he was appointed director of the Department of International Organizations and Global Problems of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
- On April 3, 1992, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Oversaw the activities of the Department of International Organizations and International Economic Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of Human Rights and International Cultural Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Department for CIS State Affairs of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He held this post until January 1994.
- Since March 1993 - Deputy Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on the participation of the Russian Federation in international organizations of the UN system.
- Since November 1993 - co-chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission for Coordinating the Participation of the Russian Federation in Peacekeeping Activities.
- From 1994 to 2004 - Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations and the UN Security Council.
- On March 9, 2004, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
- In May 2004, after the President of the Russian Federation, elected for the next term, took office, he was again appointed to this post. Similarly reappointed in May 2008 after President Dmitry Medvedev took office.
- On May 21, 2012, he once again received the portfolio of minister after President Vladimir Putin took office.
- On May 18, 2021, a new composition of the Russian government was approved, in which Lavrov retained his post.
Chairman of the Russian Commission for UNESCO (since April 2004).
Since January 11, 2010 - member of the Government Commission for Economic Development and Integration
Heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Since 2004, Sergei Lavrov has been the permanent Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. After March 9, 2004, he was reappointed to this post three times: in May of the same year, in 2008 and in 2012. In April 2004, he headed the Russian Commission for UNESCO.
In 2010 he joined the Government Commission for Economic Development and Integration. Regular polls by VTsIOM indicate that Lavrov is considered one of the most effective ministers of the Russian Government.
In the international arena, his authority is no worse; the Western press flattered the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, comparing him with Andrei Gromyko, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov is open for communication and ready to answer questions from media representatives.
The daughter has already given Sergei grandchildren
Starting a career in Russia
The work biography of Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov began in 1972 with an internship at the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. In total, he spent four years in this tropical country.
Having successfully completed the internship, he received the position of attaché. He later fondly recalled the beginning of his diplomatic work as the discovery of a new world and new friends.
After finishing his foreign business trip (since 1976), he began working in the Directorate of International Organizations in the central office of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He continued to work as an attaché, then became third and later second secretary. Lavrov was engaged in analytical work, participated in the work of many delegations, and was involved in organizing cooperation with international institutions, including the UN.
The embassy was also responsible for cooperation with the Maldives. Since both countries were on friendly terms at that time, the volume of economic cooperation was large. Accordingly, Lavrov also had a lot of work.
This period can be noted as the time of a successful start in the biography of Sergei Lavrov. This impressive young man confidently climbed up the career ladder. However, he was not involved in political intrigues and scandals.
In 1992, Lavrov became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. He was assigned to oversee the activities of the Department of International Organizations and Global Problems of the RSFSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the same time, he began to supervise the work of the Human Rights Department in the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Department for Affairs created on the basis of the CIS Union.
At 42, Lavrov is as close as possible to the highest echelons of Russian power. Sergei Viktorovich oversaw issues of international cultural relations, as well as cooperation with CIS countries and international organizations, international economic cooperation.
His responsibilities included ensuring normal relations with organizations within the UN system. During this period of formation of the CIS, Lavrov was heavily involved in coordinating cooperation with the former Soviet republics and agreeing on documents.
He represented the ministry in the commission responsible for regulating the country's peacekeeping operations, where he was involved in efforts to end armed conflicts in Ossetia, Karabakh and Transnistria.
Personal life
In his personal life, Sergei Lavrov is monogamous. He got married while in his third year at the institute. His wife was a teacher of Russian language and literature, a philologist by training. The couple were able to keep their family together for many years, despite the difficulties of the diplomatic path associated with moving, extracurricular work and increased responsibility.
Maria Alexandrovna, traveling abroad for her husband, tried to stay busy in any situation. For example, in New York she headed a library and created a women's club that helped the wives of Russian employees get out of a difficult psychological climate, finding themselves far from their homeland in an unfamiliar atmosphere.
The couple have a daughter, Ekaterina, who was born in the USA. There the girl received her education, first at school, then at the university. Ekaterina defended her master's degree in economics in the UK in London.
Now she is married, the activities of her husband and Ekaterina Sergeevna herself are not connected with diplomacy or politics. The marriage produced two children - a boy and a girl. Sergei Viktorovich is a grandfather twice.
With Petro Poroshenko
Daughter of Sergei Lavrov - Ekaterina
As mentioned above, the daughter of Sergei Lavrov, Ekaterina, was born in New York. Here she graduated from school and then from university, where she studied political science. The girl decided not to stop there and went to London to also receive an economic education.
In this city, Katya met her future husband, Alexander Vinokurov, the son of a famous pharmaceutical magnate. The young people were the same age; a romantic relationship began between them, which led to the wedding.
In 2008, Lavrov’s daughter and Alexander Vinokurov officially registered their union. In addition to close relatives, many high-ranking guests were present at the banquet. Among them was the famous singer and friend of the newlyweds - Valery Leontyev.
The minister's daughter is a successful business lady. She did not want to follow in her father’s footsteps and reached heights in an area that does not intersect with politics. Ekaterina Sergeevna is the director of the Russian branch of the auction house, co-owner of Marathon Group.
Despite the fact that she lived abroad for a long time, she still decided to return to the capital of Russia. Two children were born here: in 2010, a boy named Leonid, and two years later a girl.
Interesting Facts
- Two weeks before the start of classes at the institute, the group where Sergei was enrolled worked on the construction of a television tower in Ostankino. Future students were digging a pit.
- There is a curious story connected with Sergei Lavrov’s enrollment at MGIMO. A survey was conducted among students about what language they would like to continue studying at university. Sergey wished to leave English, add French and Arabic. Before September 1, having familiarized myself with the lists of groups, I found my name among those studying English and French. At the first lesson, during roll call, two people responded to the name Sergei Lavrov - he and his namesake Sergei Vladimirovich Lavrov. It turned out that he was enrolled in the desired group, and the future head of the Foreign Ministry was supposed to study Sinhala, a language spoken exclusively by the population of Sri Lanka, and French.
- Sergei Lavrov is known as a lover of strong words. Sometimes accidentally, sometimes deliberately, he uses profanity both in Russian and in foreign languages, which he speaks perfectly.
- He admitted that he sometimes fell asleep at Security Council meetings.
- His habit of smoking a lot was the cause of famous conflict situations. In the capital of Ireland, he flouted local laws, for which he received a fine of 3,000 euros. But he flatly refused to pay. He defended the right to satisfy his needs at the UN. He went against Kofi Annan, who tried to introduce a smoking ban at the United Nations headquarters. His phrase that “the headquarters is a common house, and the general secretary is only the manager” became popular.
Smoking in the UN building
Sergei Lavrov is known as a heavy smoker. There is a well-known story about how in 2003, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan tried to introduce a smoking ban in the UN building and once reprimanded Lavrov for smoking, but the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry did not listen to him.
Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister:
- This house belongs to all members of the UN, and you only temporarily manage it.
Later in an interview, Lavrov admitted that he had never paid fines for smoking in the UN building.
FAQ
The most frequently asked questions concern the professional activities of the head of the ministry. Basically, he is asked to comment on this or that situation happening in the world from the point of view of Russian interests.
Informal questions concern advice on what needs to be done to become a successful diplomat, how many languages to know, and which ones Sergei Viktorovich personally knows. The next question follows from the previous one after the diplomat answered that he speaks Sinhala.
Opponents are interested in who speaks it and in what country? The answer is amazing, Sinhala is a less widely spoken language, used by 70% of the Sri Lankan population. As for the question of what knowledge will be useful in the post of minister, Sergei Viktorovich has the following opinion: a talented person is talented in everything, no matter what he studies, he will cope in any field.
Marriage of Sergei Lavrov
Sergei Viktorovich married a student of the Faculty of Philology, Maria Alexandrovna, in his third year. Lavrov’s wife does not indulge the press with her attention, remaining, like a true diplomat’s wife, in the shadow of her husband. True, in one of the rare interviews she admitted that “she fell in love with the promising student at first sight.” And no wonder: a tall, powerfully built handsome man, playing the guitar and reading his own poetry, was the object of close attention of almost all the students. But the choice of an enviable groom fell on the modest teacher of Russian language and literature Maria.
From the very first days of her husband's diplomatic career, she was by his side. First a four-year business trip to Sri Lanka, then many years of work in New York. Being a diplomat's wife is a difficult and responsible job. Maria Alexandrovna gradually delved into the protocols of official receptions and receptions, studied the etiquette and traditions of the countries she visited. At the same time, according to her close circle, she was always distinguished by special tact and wisdom.
When Lavrov, a young international relations specialist, began traveling on business, Maria Alexandrovna had to leave her job to accompany her husband. But during her husband’s permanent mission to the UN in the United States, she remembered her philological education and headed the mission’s library. After several years of living in New York, seeing the difficult adaptation of the wives of her husband’s colleagues in a country foreign to them, Maria Alexandrovna created the “Women’s Club”. He had enormous popularity because his main task was to help women adapt to the conditions and rules of behavior of a state that was not always friendly to them. To this day, many wives of diplomats recall those times when it was Maria Alexandrovna’s care and advice that helped them cope with the stress associated with adaptation and understanding the American mentality.
Sergey Lavrov today
Representatives of the world and Russian political community have recently been concerned about the changes taking place in Russia in connection with the resignation of the cabinet of ministers headed by Dmitry Medvedev. Sergei Lavrov's reputation as the best foreign minister has become a cause for concern in foreign policy circles.
V. Putin supports the Minister of Foreign Affairs
How the international situation would have changed if Lavrov had not joined the new cabinet is a question that worried both partners and opponents. Fortunately, fears subsided as soon as the lists of members of the ministerial cabinet replacing the departed one were published. The name of Sergei Viktorovich was present in it.
The upheavals in the Russian Government caused a flurry of questions for Lavrov. They received a worthy answer that one must be able to work in any circumstances, there will be no breaks until the formation of a new cabinet.
