View source for Yevgeny Primakov

{{Short description|Prime Minister of Russia From 1998 to 1999}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Yevgeny Primakov
| image               = YPrimakov.jpg
| office              = [[Prime Minister of Russia]]
| term_start          = 11 September 1998
| term_end            = 12 May 1999
| president           = [[Boris Yeltsin]]
| 1blankname          = [[First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia|First Deputy]]
| 1namedata           = {{ublist| [[Yuri Maslyukov]] | [[Vadim Gustov]] | [[Sergei Stepashin]] }}
| predecessor         = [[Viktor Chernomyrdin]] {{Small|(acting)}}
| successor           = [[Sergei Stepashin]]
| office2             = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start2         = 9 January 1996
| term_end2           = 11 September 1998
| president2          = [[Boris Yeltsin]]
| predecessor2        = [[Andrei Kozyrev]]
| successor2          = [[Igor Ivanov]]
| office3             = [[Director of SVR|Director]] of the [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|Foreign Intelligence Service]]
| term_start3         = 26 December 1991
| term_end3           = 9 January 1996
| president3          = [[Boris Yeltsin]]
| predecessor3        = ''Position established''
| successor3          = [[Vyacheslav Trubnikov]]
| office4             = Director of the USSR Central Intelligence Service
| term_start4         = 6 November 1991
| term_end4           = 26 December 1991
| predecessor4        = ''Position established''
| successor4          = ''Position abolished''
| office5             = Head of the [[First Chief Directorate|First Chief Directorate of the KGB]]
| term_start5         = 30 September 1991
| term_end5           = 6 November 1991
| predecessor5        = Vyacheslav Gurgenov
| successor5          = ''Position abolished''
| office6             = [[List of chairmen of the Soviet of the Union|Chairman]] of the [[Soviet of the Union]] of the [[Supreme Soviet of the USSR]]
| term_start6         = 3 June 1989
| term_end6           = 31 March 1990
| predecessor6        = Yury Khristoradnov
| successor6          = [[Ivan Laptev (politician)|Ivan Laptev]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1929|10|29|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Kiev]], Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Kyiv, [[Ukraine]])
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2015|6|26|1929|10|29|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Moscow]], Russia
| nationality         = Russian
| occupation          = Politician, journalist, diplomat, secret agent
| party               = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]<br>{{small|(1950s–1991)}}<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]]<br>{{small|(1991–1998, 2002–2015)}}<br>[[Fatherland – All Russia]]<br>{{small|(1998–2002)}}
| children            = {{Hlist|Alexander|Nana}}
| relatives           = [[Yevgeny Primakov Jr.]] (grandson)
| alma_mater          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies]]
* [[Moscow State University]]
}}
| religion            = 
| signature           = 
| awards              = [[File:Orden for Service I.png|60px|link=Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" |Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 1st class]] [[File:Orden for Service II.png|45px|link=Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"|Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 2nd class]] [[File:Orden for Service III.png|45px|link=Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"|Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 3rd class]]<br />[[File:Order of Alexander Nevsky 2010 ribbon.svg|40px|link=Order of Alexander Nevsky]] [[File:Orden of Honour.png|40px|link=Order of Honour (Russia)]] [[File:SU Order of the Red Banner of Labour ribbon.svg|40px|link=Order of the Red Banner of Labour]]<br />[[File:Order friendship of peoples rib.png|40px|link=Order of Friendship of Peoples]] [[File:SU Order of the Badge of Honour ribbon.svg|40px|link=Order of the Badge of Honour]] [[File:SU Medal In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ribbon.svg|40px|link=Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"]] [[File:Ribbon Medal 850 Mosow.png|40px|link=Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"]] [[File:SU Medal Veteran of Labour ribbon.svg|40px|link=Medal "Veteran of Labour"]] [[File:Ukraine-republic007(4-5).png|60px|link=Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise|alt=Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 4th class]] [[File:Order Dostik 1kl rib.png|60px|link=Order of Friendship (Kazakhstan)|Order Dostik 1st class]] [[File:Medal State Prize Soviet Union.png|20px|link=USSR State Prize]] [[File:Medal Lomonosov AN SU.gif|30px|link=Lomonosov Gold Medal]]
| footnotes           = {{Collapsible list
|titlestyle      = background-color:#FCF;text-align:center;
|title           = Central institution membership
|bullets         = on
|1989–1990: Candidate member, [[27th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|27th]] [[Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]]
|1989–1990: Full member, [[27th Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|27th]] [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]]
}}
----
{{Collapsible list
|titlestyle     = background-color:#FCF;text-align:center;
|title          = [[File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg|29px|link=Soviet Union]] Other offices held [[File:Flag of Russia.svg|25px|link=Russia]]
|bullets        = on
|1991–1996: Director, [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|Foreign Intelligence Service]]
|1991–1991: Director, Centre for Strategic Research
|1991–1991: Director, [[KGB]] [[First Chief Directorate]]
|1989–1990: [[List of Chairmen of the Soviet of the Union|Chairman]], [[Soviet of the Union]]
}}
| native_name         = {{nobold|Евгений Примаков}}
| native_name_lang    = ru
| caption             = Primakov in 2002
}}

'''Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov'''{{family name footnote|Maksimovich|Primakov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{efn|{{langx|ru|link=no|Евге́ний Макси́мович Примако́в|translit=Yevgeniy Maksimovich Primakov}}}} (29 October 1929 – 26 June 2015, {{IPA|ru|jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj mɐˈksʲiməvʲɪtɕ prʲɪmɐˈkof}}) was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as [[Prime Minister of Russia]] from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] from 1996 to 1998, the [[Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service|Director of Foreign Intelligence]] from 1991 to 1996, and Speaker of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]] from 1990 to 1991. Primakov was an [[academician]] ([[Arabist]]) and a member of the Presidium of the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]].

==Personal life==
Primakov was born in [[Kyiv]] in the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], and grew up in [[Tbilisi]] in the [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian SSR]].

Primakov's father's surname was Nemchenko. He had been imprisoned in the [[Gulag]] during the [[Great Purge|Stalinist purges]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/obituary/2015/07/16/steel-and-shadows|title=Steel and shadows|newspaper=The Economist|date=16 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/1998/09/17/can-russias-yevgeny-primakov-shed-his-past|title=Can Russia's Yevgeny Primakov shed his past?|newspaper=The Economist|date=17 September 1998}}</ref><ref>''Russian Crossroads: Toward the New Millennium'' (2008) by Yevgeny Primakov, pp. 17</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://dzen.ru/media/id/5db80c6aa660d700ac95decf/kto-byl-po-nacionalnosti-evgenii-primakov-61b0c7be067b63454021bf25|title=What Was Yevgeny Primakov's Nationality?|date=16 December 2021|language=Russian}}</ref> Primakov's mother was Jewish, named Anna Yakovlevna Primakova. She worked as an [[obstetrician]] and was a cousin of the famous physiologist {{Ill|Yakov Kirshenblat|ru|Киршенблат, Яков Давидович}}.<ref name=mlechin>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnV2osl5hPAC&pg=PT341|title=История внешней разведки. Карьеры и судьбы|first=Леонид|last=Млечин|date=6 April 2019|publisher=Litres|isbn=978-5457076075|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author = Примаков Е. М. | title = Встречи на перекрестках | year = 2015 | publisher = T︠S︡entrpoligraf | isbn = 978-5-227-05739-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Richard C. S. Trahair|author2=Robert L. Miller|title=Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations|date=18 October 2013|publisher=Enigma Books|isbn=9781936274260|page=346}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert A. Saunders|author2=Vlad Strukov|title=Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation|date=13 May 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810874602|page=464|edition=illustrated}}</ref>

Primakov was educated at the [[Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies]], graduating in 1953, and carried out postgraduate work at [[Moscow State University]]. He graduated with a degree in Arabic.<ref name=bbcyp/>

His grandson is [[Yevgeny Primakov Jr.]] ({{langx|ru|Евгений Александрович Примаков}}), a journalist, TV host, politician and diplomat.

==Early career==
From 1956 to 1970, he worked as a journalist for [[Radio in the Soviet Union|Soviet radio]] and a Middle Eastern correspondent for ''[[Pravda]]'' newspaper. During this time, he was sent frequently on intelligence missions to the Middle East and the United States as a [[KGB]] co-optee under codename MAKSIM.<ref>[[Christopher Andrew (historian)|Christopher Andrew]] and [[Vasili Mitrokhin]], ''The [[Mitrokhin Archive]]: The KGB in Europe and the West'', Gardners Books (2000), {{ISBN|0-14-028487-7}}</ref><ref>Vadim J. Birstein. ''The Perversion of Knowledge: The True Story of Soviet Science'', Westview Press (2004) {{ISBN|0-8133-4280-5}}</ref> Primakov reportedly may have been coerced into joining the intelligence services.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Walton |first=Calder |date=2023-07-19 |title=The New Spy Wars |language=en-US |work=Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/russia-china-intelligence-new-spy-wars-undermine-america |access-date=2023-07-19 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref>

As a Senior Researcher at the [[Institute of World Economy and International Relations]], Primakov entered into scientific society in 1962. From 30 December 1970 to 1977, he served as deputy director of the [[Institute of World Economy and International Relations]], part  of the [[Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union]]. In this role he participated in the [[Dartmouth Conference]]s alongside, among others, [[Charles Yost]]. From 1977 to 1985 he was Director of the [[Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences|Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences]]. During this time he was also First Deputy Chairman of the [[Soviet Peace Committee]]. In 1985 he returned to the [[Institute of World Economy and International Relations]], serving as Director until 1989.<ref name="russiabook">''Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis'' (1997) by Zbigniew Brzezinski and Paige Sullivan, pp. 124</ref>

Primakov became involved in national politics in 1989, as the [[List of chairmen of the Soviet of the Union|Chairman of the Soviet of the Union]], one of two chambers of the Soviet parliament.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://whp057.narod.ru/sssr.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928130334/http://whp057.narod.ru/sssr.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-09-28|title=СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК|date=September 28, 2011}}</ref> From 1990 until 1991 he was a member of Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s [[Presidential Council of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="russiabook"/> He served as Gorbachev's special envoy to [[Iraq]] in the run-up to the [[Persian Gulf War]], in which capacity he held talks with President [[Saddam Hussein]] to try to convince him to withdraw Iraqi forces from Kuwait.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972485,00.html|title=Diplomacy: My Final Visit with Saddam Hussein|first=Yevgeni|last=Primakov|date=11 March 1991|access-date=26 June 2015|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Garthoff|first1=Raymond L.|title=The Great Transition: American-Soviet Relations and the End of the Cold War|url=https://archive.org/details/greattransitiona00gart|url-access=registration|date=1994|publisher=Brookings Institution|location=Washington, D.C.|isbn=0-8157-3060-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/greattransitiona00gart/page/435 435]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Henriksen|first=Thomas H.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009053242/type/book|title=America's Wars: Interventions, Regime Change, and Insurgencies after the Cold War|date=2022-01-31|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-009-05324-2|edition=1|doi=10.1017/9781009053242.003|s2cid=245293332 }}</ref>

== Foreign intelligence chief (1991–1996) ==
[[File:RIAN archive 38725 Director of the USSR Central Intelligence Service Yevgeny Primakov.jpg|thumb|In 1992, Director of Foreign Intelligence Service Yevgeny Primakov admitted that the [[KGB]] was behind the Soviet newspaper articles claiming that [[AIDS]] was created by the US government.<ref name=kello>{{cite book |last=Kello |first=Lucas |year=2017 |title=The Virtual Weapon and International Order |publisher=Yale University Press |page=215 |isbn=9780300226294}}</ref>]]

After the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|failed August 1991 putsch]], Primakov was appointed First Deputy Chairman of the [[KGB]] and Director of the KGB [[First Chief Directorate]] responsible for foreign intelligence.

After the formation of the [[Russia|Russian Federation]], Primakov shepherded the transition of the KGB First Chief Directorate to the control of the Russian Federation government, under the new name [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|Foreign Intelligence Service]] (SVR). Primakov preserved the old KGB foreign intelligence apparatus under the new SVR label, and led no personnel purges or structural reforms.<ref>{{cite web|last=Waller|first=J. Michael |url=http://jmichaelwaller.com/1995/01/15/who-is-making-russian-foreign-policy/|title=Who Is Making Russian Foreign Policy?|work=Perspective, [[Boston University]] Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy|date=15 January 1995 |volume= V, No. 3, January–February 1995}}</ref> He served as SVR director from 1991 until 1996.<ref name="russiabook"/>

== Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996–1998) ==
Primakov served as [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] from January 1996 until September 1998. As foreign minister, he gained respect at home and abroad, with a reputation as a tough but pragmatic supporter of Russia's interests<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Quinn|first=Paul |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989507,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214004605/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989507,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 February 2008|title=Russia's New Icon|magazine=Time|date=9 November 1998 |access-date=8 May 2013}}</ref> and as an opponent of [[NATO]]'s expansion into the former [[Eastern Bloc]], though on 27 May 1997, after five months of negotiation with NATO Secretary General [[Javier Solana]], Russia signed the [[Founding Act]],<ref>[http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/fndact-a.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050427033742/http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/fndact-a.htm|date=27 April 2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=NATO |title=Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation signed in Paris, France |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_25468.htm |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=NATO |language=en}}</ref> which is seen as marking the end of [[Cold War]] hostilities. He supported [[Slobodan Milošević]] during the [[Yugoslav Wars]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary: Yevgeny Primakov: Steel and shadows|url=https://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21657755-yevgeny-primakov-russian-spy-diplomat-and-politician-died-june-29th-aged-85-steel-and|access-date=17 July 2015|newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref>

He was also famously an advocate of [[multilateralism]] as an alternative to American global hegemony following the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse of the Soviet Union]] and the end of the Cold War. Primakov called for a Russian foreign policy based on low-cost mediation while expanding influence towards the Middle East and the former Soviet republics.<ref>''The Geopolitical Curse of the Caucasus'' (2013) by Nodar Gabashvili</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://wspa.com/ap/former-russian-pm-yevgeny-primakov-dies-at-85/|title=Former Russian PM Yevgeny Primakov dies at 85|first=Jim|last=Heintz|agency=WSPA 7|date=26 June 2015|access-date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627091203/http://wspa.com/ap/former-russian-pm-yevgeny-primakov-dies-at-85/|archive-date=27 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Called the "[[Primakov doctrine]]", beginning in 1999, he promoted Russia, India and China, '''RIC''', origin of [[BRICS]] as a "strategic triangle" to counterbalance the United States  <ref name="Лавров">{{cite news|url=http://www.mid.ru/bdomp/brp_4.nsf/fa711a859c4b939643256999005bcbbc/4f59931a8a9b1fd5c3257d7f0047676e!OpenDocument|title=Интервью Министра иностранных дел С. В. Лаврова телекомпании ВГТРК в связи с юбилеем Е. М. Примакова, Москва, 28 октября 2014 года|date=2014-11-28|publisher=Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации|access-date=2025-09-11|archive-date=2015-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630173356/http://www.mid.ru/bdomp/brp_4.nsf/fa711a859c4b939643256999005bcbbc/4f59931a8a9b1fd5c3257d7f0047676e!OpenDocument}}</ref> The move was interpreted by some observers as an agreement to fight together against '[[colour revolution]]s' in Central Asia.<ref>[http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=582650 The Third Among the Equals. Moscow, New Delhi and Beijing are creating counter-revolutionary union] ''[[Kommersant]]'' 3 June 2005</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icpsnet.org/adm/pdf/1291712546.pdf|title=Strategic Triangle among Russia, China and India: Challenges and Prospects|first=Amresh|last=Chandra|publisher=Journal of Peace Studies|year=2010|access-date=26 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627091747/http://www.icpsnet.org/adm/pdf/1291712546.pdf|archive-date=27 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Jolanta Darczewska, Piotr Żochowski: Active measures. Russia’s key export. OSW Point of View, No 64, June 2017.</ref>

== Prime Minister of Russia (1998–1999) ==
{{see also|Yevgeny Primakov's Cabinet}}
After Yeltsin's bid to reinstate [[Viktor Chernomyrdin]] as [[Prime Minister of Russia]] was blocked by the [[State Duma]] in September 1998, the President turned to Primakov as a compromise figure whom he rightly judged would be accepted by the parliament's majority. As prime minister, Primakov was given credit for forcing some very difficult reforms in Russia; most of them, such as the [[tax reform]], became major successes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Aslund|first1=Anders|author-link1=Anders Åslund|title=An Assessment of Putin's Economic Policy|url=http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/paper.cfm?ResearchID=974|agency=CESifo Forum|issue=2|year=2008}}</ref> Following the 1998 harvest, which was the worst in 45 years, coupled with a plummeting ruble, one of Primakov's first actions as prime minister, in October 1998, was to appeal to the United States and Canada for food aid, while also appealing to the [[European Union]] for economic relief.<ref>[[Michael R. Gordon]], [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/10/world/facing-severe-shortage-of-food-russia-seeks-foreign-relief-aid.html Facing Severe Shortage of Food, Russia Seeks Foreign Relief Aid].  ''[[New York Times]]'', 10 October 1998.  Retrieved 2016-08-09.</ref>

While Primakov's opposition to US [[unilateralism]] was popular among some Russians, it also led to a breach with the West during the 1999 [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]], and isolated Russia during subsequent developments in the former Yugoslavia.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Tsygankov | title=Russia's Foreign Policy: Change and Continuity in National Identity | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | date=2013 | first1=Andrey P. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=USA6xtTrbq4C&pg=PA111 | author-link=Andrei Tsygankov | pages=108–113 | isbn=9781442220003}}</ref>

On 24 March 1999, Primakov was heading to Washington, D.C. for an official visit. Flying over the Atlantic Ocean, he learned that [[NATO]] had started to bomb Yugoslavia. Primakov decided to cancel the visit, ordered the plane to turn around over the ocean and returned to Moscow in a manoeuvre popularly dubbed "Primakov's Loop".<ref name=svr>{{Cite web|url=http://svr.gov.ru/smi/2006/slovo20061117-n.htm|title=Кросс по минному полю.}}</ref><ref name=bbcyp/>

Yeltsin fired Primakov on 12 May 1999, ostensibly over the sluggish pace of the Russian economy. Many analysts believed the firing of Primakov reflected Yeltsin's fear of losing power to a more successful and popular person,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB926472695362778967|title=Yeltsin Fires Prime Minister Primakov; Crisis Clouds IMF Loans, Kosovo Pact|date=13 May 1999|access-date=26 June 2015|work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/05/13/yeltsin-dismisses-primakov-he-challenges-duma-on-eve-of-hearings-to-impeach-him-stalemate-paralysis-loom-popular-premiers-loss-threatenss-economy-kosovo-peace-process/|title=Yeltsin dismisses Primakov|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=13 May 2015|access-date=26 June 2015|first=Kathy|last=Lally|archive-date=27 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627052526/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1999-05-13/news/9905130197_1_yeltsin-primakov-duma|url-status=live}}</ref> although sources close to Yeltsin said at the time that the president viewed Primakov as being too close to the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation|Communist Party]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/russiagov/stories/firing13.htm|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=13 May 1999|access-date=26 June 2015|first=David|last=Hoffman|title=Citing Economy, Yeltsin Fires Premier}}</ref> Primakov himself would have had good chances as a candidate for the presidency. Primakov had refused to dismiss Communist ministers while the Communist Party was leading the process of preparing unsuccessful [[Impeachment in Russia|impeachment]] proceedings against the president.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Yevgeny_Maksimovich_Primakov.aspx|encyclopedia=The Columbia Encyclopedia|year=2014|title=Primakov, Yevgeny Maximovich|access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> Ultimately, Yeltsin resigned at the end of the year and was succeeded by his last prime minister, [[Vladimir Putin]],<ref name=wapo1>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/23/AR2007042300747.html|title=Yeltsin Resigns: 'I Did All I Could'|date=1 January 2000|access-date=26 June 2015|first=David|last=Hoffman|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> whom Primakov had tried to fire from his role as head of the [[Federal Security Service|FSB]] when he tapped the phone of the Duma President.<ref name=tmtin/> Primakov's dismissal was extremely unpopular with the Russian population: according to a poll, 81% of the population did not approve of the decision, and even among the liberal pro-Western party [[Yabloko]] supporters, 84% did not approve of the dismissal.<ref name="fom0509">{{Cite web|url=https://bd.fom.ru/report/cat/pow_gov/government_primakov/o904901|title=База данных ФОМ > СМЕНА КАБИНЕТА: ПРЕДВАРИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ ИТОГИ|website=bd.fom.ru}}</ref>

==Post-PM career==
After 1988, Primakov held several roles: Academic Secretary of the World Economy and International Relations Division, director of the [[Institute of World Economy and International Relations]] and  member of the Presidium of the [[Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union]].

Before Yeltsin's resignation, Primakov supported the [[Fatherland – All Russia]] electoral faction, which at that time was the major opponent of the pro-Putin [[Unity Party of Russia|Unity]], and launched his presidential bid.<ref>{{cite news|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-aug-18-mn-1284-story.html|title=Anti-Kremlin Bloc to Be Led by Primakov|first=Maura|last=Reynolds|date=18 August 1999|access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref> Initially considered the man to beat, Primakov was rapidly overtaken by the factions loyal to Prime Minister [[Vladimir Putin]] in the [[1999 Russian legislative election|December 1999 Duma elections]].<ref>''The 1999–2000 Elections in Russia: Their Impact and Legacy'' (2003) by Vicki L. Hesli and William M. Reisinger</ref> Primakov officially abandoned the presidential race in his TV address on 4 February 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flb.ru/index_open.php?person_id=121|script-title=ru:Примаков Евгений Максимович|publisher=Flb|language=ru|access-date=28 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606103928/http://www.flb.ru/index_open.php?person_id=121|archive-date=6 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> less than two months before the [[2000 Russian presidential election|26 March presidential elections]]. Soon he became an adviser to Putin and a political ally.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/primakov-finds-role-in-putins-kremlin/260775.html|work=The Moscow Times|title=Primakov Finds Role in Putin's Kremlin|date=14 July 2000|access-date=26 June 2015|first=Andrei|last=Zolotov Jr.}}</ref> On 14 December 2001, Primakov became President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a position he held until 2011.<ref>''Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Foreign Policy'' (2014) by Norman E. Saul, pp. 293</ref>
[[File:Vladimir Putin 13 September 2000-1.jpg|thumb|right|Leader of [[Fatherland – All Russia]] Duma faction Yevgeny Primakov meets President [[Vladimir Putin]], 2000 ]]In February and March 2003, he visited Iraq and held talks with Iraqi President [[Saddam Hussein]], as a special representative of President Putin. He passed on a message from Putin calling for Hussein to resign voluntarily.<ref name=vesti7>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vesti7.ru/news?id=9664|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219164217/http://www.vesti7.ru/news?id=9664|url-status=dead|title=Евгений Примаков: Саддаму не дали последнего слова.|archive-date=19 February 2007}}</ref> He tried to prevent the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq]], a move which received some support from several nations opposed to the war. Primakov suggested that Hussein must hand over all [[Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|Iraq's weapons of mass destruction]] to the [[United Nations]], among other things. However, Hussein told Primakov that he was confident that nothing would befall him personally<ref name="Bodansk">[[Yossef Bodansky]], ''The Secret History of the Iraq War''. Regan Books, 2005, {{ISBN|0-06-073680-1}}</ref>—a belief that was later [[execution of Saddam Hussein|proven incorrect]]. Primakov later claimed Hussein's execution in 2006 was rushed to prevent him from revealing information on [[Iraq–United States relations]] that could embarrass the U.S. government.<ref name=aas>{{cite news|url=http://www.aaj.tv/2007/01/saddam-execution-rushed-to-stop-him-having-last-word-primakov/|agency=Pakistan Ki Awaz|title=Saddam execution rushed to stop him 'having last word': Primakov|date=15 January 2007|access-date=26 June 2015|archive-date=27 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627024552/http://www.aaj.tv/2007/01/saddam-execution-rushed-to-stop-him-having-last-word-primakov/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a 2006 speech Primakov thundered that: "The collapse of the US policies pursued in Iraq delivered a fatal blow on the American doctrine of unilateralism."<ref name=mdrks/>

On 26 May 2008, Primakov was elected as a member of the Presidium of the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Евгений Примаков вошел в состав президиума РАН |url=https://lenta.ru/news/2008/06/02/presidium/ |website=lenta.ru}}</ref> In 2009, the [[University of Niš]], [[Serbia]] awarded Primakov an honorary doctorate.<ref>{{cite news |date=16 May 2009 |title=Primakov počasni doktor Univerziteta u Nišu |newspaper=Južne vesti, Internet novine |url=http://m.juznevesti.com/vesti/drustvo/Primakov-pochasni-doktor-Univerziteta-u-Nishu.sr.html |access-date=14 June 2012 |archive-date=30 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530062029/http://m.juznevesti.com/vesti/drustvo/Primakov-pochasni-doktor-Univerziteta-u-Nishu.sr.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In November 2004, Primakov testified in defense of the former [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] [[President of Yugoslavia|President]] [[Slobodan Milošević]], on trial for war crimes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/07/international/europe/07milosevic.html|work=The New York Times|title=A Warmer Tone in Court as Milosevic Pursues His Defense|date=7 December 2004|access-date=26 June 2015|first=Marlise|last=Simons}}</ref> He had earlier led a Russian delegation that met with Milošević during the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]] in March 1999.<ref name=primacnn>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/30/russia.kosovo.03/|publisher=CNN|title=Primakov: Milosevic ready in principle to talk peace|date=30 March 1999|access-date=26 June 2015}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Farewell to Yevgeny Primakov 26.jpg|thumb|Farewell to Yevgeny Primakov on 29 June 2015]]
Primakov died in [[Moscow]] on 26 June 2015, at the age of 85, after prolonged illness (liver cancer).<ref name="Umer">{{cite news|title=Умер Евгений Примаков|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2754887|work=[[Kommersant]]|date=26 July 2015}}</ref><ref name="bbcyp">{{cite news |title=Russia's former PM Yevgeny Primakov dies aged 85 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33290421 |publisher=BBC |date=26 June 2015}}</ref> He was buried with military honours at [[Novodevichy Cemetery]].<ref name=tassd>{{cite news | url =http://tass.ru/politika/2079798|script-title=ru:Примаков похоронен с воинскими почестями на Новодевичьем кладбище|publisher=[[Russian News Agency "TASS"]]|language=ru| date=29 June 2015| access-date =29 June 2015 |newspaper=Tacc }}</ref> He was lionized in Russia obituaries as "the Russian Kissinger", and President [[Vladimir Putin]] said Primakov had made a "colossal contribution to the formation of modern Russia... This is a sad, grievous loss for our society. … Yevgeny's authority was respected both in our country and abroad..."<ref name="tmtin">{{cite news |last1=Nechepurenko |first1=Ivan |title='Russian Kissinger' Yevgeny Primakov Dies at 85 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2015/06/28/russian-kissinger-yevgeny-primakov-dies-at-85-47734-a47734 |publisher=The Moscow Times |date=28 June 2015}}</ref> Indeed, "his death occurred at a time when his positions [were] very much the official line and the backbone for Putin's grand strategy."<ref name="Armani">{{cite news |last1=Ramani |first1=Samuel |title=Yevgeny Primakov- The Ideological Godfather of Putinism |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yevgeny-primakov-the-ideo_b_7799410 |agency=BuzzFeed, Inc |publisher=HuffPost News |date=15 July 2015}}</ref>

In honor of Primakov, [[Primakov Readings]] was established in October 2015 - an annual international summit aimed at promoting dialogue on current global trends in the world economy, international politics and security among high-ranking experts, diplomats and decision-makers from around the Globe, organized by the [[Institute of World Economy and International Relations]] and held in [[Moscow]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Think Tank Summit "Primakov Readings" |url=https://www.imemo.ru/en/Primakov_Readings |access-date=2018-04-25 |website=www.imemo.ru |language=ru-ru}}</ref>

One of his credos was: "Those who do good will be rewarded. Life gets even with those who do bad."<ref name="mdrks">{{cite news |last1=Simha |first1=Rakesh Krishnan |title=Primakov: The man who created multipolarity |url=https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2015/06/30/primakov-the-man-who-created-multipolarity/ |publisher=Modern Diplomacy |date=30 June 2015}}</ref>

==Awards==
{{more citations needed|section|date=June 2019}}
* [[Order of Merit for the Fatherland|Order of Merit for the Fatherland 1st Class]] (2009)
* [[Order of Merit for the Fatherland|Order of Merit for the Fatherland 2nd Class]] (1998)
* [[Order of Merit for the Fatherland|Order of Merit for the Fatherland 3rd Class]] (1995)
* [[Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"]] (1997)
* [[Order of Honor (Russian Federation)|Order of Honor]] (2004)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmedia.ru/newsitem.asp?ID=730022|title=В.Путин наградил Е.Примакова орденом Почета|website=www.allmedia.ru}}</ref>
* [[Order of Lenin]] (1986)
* [[Order of the Badge of Honor]] (1985)
* [[Order of Friendship of Peoples]] (1979)
* [[Order of the Red Banner of Labour]] (1975)
* [[Medal "Veteran of Labour"]] (1974)
* Order of Friendship ([[Tajikistan]], 1999)
* Order of Yaroslav I the Wise 5th Class ([[Ukraine]], 2004)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.derrick.ru/index.php?f=n&id=5314&page=482|title=Леонид Кучма наградил орденом президента ТПП РФ Евгения Примакова.}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Order of Danaker ([[Kyrgyzstan]]) (2005)<ref>[http://www.adviser.kg/online/show.fwx?Regnom=48055 О награждении орденом "Данакер" Примакова Е.М.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108183649/http://www.adviser.kg/online/show.fwx?Regnom=48055 |date=8 January 2009 }} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>
* Order of Friendship of Peoples ([[Belarus]], 2005)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://naviny.by/rubrics/politic/2005/05/08/ic_news_112_243355/print/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128043014/http://naviny.by/rubrics/politic/2005/05/08/ic_news_112_243355/print/|url-status=dead|title=Евгений Примаков получил из рук Лукашенко орден Дружбы народов.|archive-date=28 January 2011}}</ref>
* Order of Dostyk 1st Class ([[Kazakhstan]], 2007)
* Order of the Republic 1st Class ([[Transnistria]], 2009)
* Medal of Independence ([[Kazakhstan]], 2012)
* Order of Jerusalem 1st Class ([[Palestinian National Authority]], 2014)
* [[Demidov Prize]] (2012)
* Recipient of the [[USSR State Prize]] (1980)
* Recipient of the Nasser Prize (1974){{sfn|Primakov|2004|p=188}}
* Recipient of the [[Avicenna Prize]] (1983)
* Recipient of the George F. Kennan Prize (1990)
* Recipient of the Hugo Grotius Prize ''for the huge contribution to the development of international law and for the creation of a multipolar world doctrine'' (2000).

== Publications ==
* 1979: ''[https://archive.org/details/anatomymiddleeastconflictprimakov Anatomy of the Middle East Conflict]''
* 2003: ''A World Challenged: Fighting Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century''
* 2004: ''Russian Crossroads: Toward the New Millennium''
* 2009: ''Russia and the Arabs: Behind the Scenes in the Middle East from the Cold War to the Present''
* 2014: ''Встречи на перекрестках'' (Meetings at the crossroads)

==See also==
* [[Yevgeny Primakov's Cabinet]]
* [[Yevgeny Primakov Jr.]]
* [[Operation INFEKTION]]
* [[Primakov Readings]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}
* {{cite book|first=Yevgeny|last=Primakov|year=2004|title=Russian Crossroads: Towards the New Millennium|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|isbn=0-300-09792-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/russiancrossroad00prim_0}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.project-syndicate.org/contributors/contributor_comm.php4?id=128 Yevgeny Primakov's Project Syndicate op/eds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041125020838/http://www.project-syndicate.org/contributors/contributor_comm.php4?id=128 |date=25 November 2004 }}
*[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20170721023039/https://in.rbth.com/politics/2014/10/29/sergey_lavrov_predicts_historians_may_coin_new_term_the_primakov_doc_39399 Sergey Lavrov predicts historians may coin new term: Primakov Doctrine]

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{{Foreign ministers of Russia and the Soviet Union}}
{{27th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union}}

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