Oleg Mitvol
{{Infobox person
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| image = Oleg Mitvol by Anton Nossik.jpg
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| birth_date = 3 October 1966
| birth_place = Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
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| party = Russian Ecological Party "The Greens"
Green Alliance (Russia)
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Oleg Lvovich Mitvol ({{langx|ru|Олег Львович Митволь}}) (born October 3, 1966) is a Russian environmentalist, businessman and government official, known for his activity in the chair of environmental protection department.
Career
= Media tycoon (1997–2003) =
From 1997 to 2003, Mitvol was the chairman of the JSC newspaper Novye Izvestia.
As media tycoon Boris Berezovsky, owner of the newspaper, had fled from Russia to London, Mitvol obtained a 76% share in the newspaper from him, but Berezovsky effectively continued to support the newspaper financially. However, on February 20, 2003, Oleg Mitvol, citing a decision of a meeting of the board, kept secret from the journalists despite their 24% share, accused Director General of Novye Izvestiya Igor Golembiovsky of misappropriation of funds and fired him. The publication was suspended.{{cn|date=February 2020}}
Berezovsky claimed that Mitvol's move was politically motivated,{{Cite web|work=www.gazeta.ru|url=http://www.gazeta.ru/2003/02/20/novyeizvesti.shtml|script-title=ru:"Новые известия" больше не выйдут|language=Russian}}{{Cite web|work=www.mn.ru |url=http://www.mn.ru/issue.php?2003-7-22 |title=КТО ЗАКРЫВАЕТ "НОВЫЕ ИЗВЕСТИЯ" |language=Russian |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061027035052/http://www.mn.ru/issue.php?2003-7-22 |archivedate=October 27, 2006 }} as the newspaper was opposed to President Vladimir Putin and on that very day had published an article by Vladimir Pribylovsky about the allegedly emerging cult of Putin's personality.{{Cite web|work=www.anticompromat.org|url=http://www.anticompromat.org/putin/putnoslavie.html|title=?|language=Russian}}
= Environmental regulator (2004–2009) =
In April 2004 he was made Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources. He soon became attracting media attention with environmental crimes investigations.
One of the famous campaigns by Mitvol was "Dacha war", against elite cottage settlements that were illegally built in the gallery forest area on Istra River shores. The "Piatnitsa" cottage settlement was ordered to be deconstructed. It was followed by protests of cottage owners.{{cn|date=June 2020}}
Another of his activities was about Pacific Sakhalin island environment and its possible damage by oil-gathering companies. In September 2006, he threatened to revoke environmental authorisation for Royal Dutch Shell's Sakhalin II oil and gas production project. Mitvol was known by some in the UK press as "the Kremlin's attack dog" as a result.{{cite news |last1=Parfitt |first1=Tom |title=Kremlin attack dog vows to take on Shell in the battle Sakhalin |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |date=4 October 2006}}
On 14 December 2006, Sergei Sai, Head of the Service, tried - and failed - to fire Mitvol from this position.{{Cite web|url=http://www.rian.ru/economy/20061214/56912368.html|script-title=ru:Глава Росприроднадзора инициировал увольнение Митволя|date=14 December 2006|work=www.rian.ru|language=Russian}} The next day, Mitvol brought in London lawyer Mark Stephens to take proceedings to preserve the Russian Far East.{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/dec/15/oilandpetrol.news|title=Greenpeace lawyer prepares case against Shell-Russians hire British legal firm for Sakhalin case|publisher=Guardian|date=2006-12-15 |accessdate=2011-01-30}}
On 18 January 2008 tendered his resignation of his position of deputy head of Rosprirodnadzor. This was rejected by minister of natural resources Yury Trutnev. After what can be termed several attempts by his superiors at his constructive dismissal, in April 2009 Mitvol resigned again.{{cite web |title=Oleg Mitvol, Prefect of Northern administrative district of Moscow |url=https://sites.google.com/site/rusmafiaeng117/persons/oleg-mitvol-prefect-of-northern-administrative-district-of-moscow |accessdate=30 July 2020}}
Accusation of plagiarism
According to examination performed by Dissernet, both doctoral (2002)[http://www.dissernet.org/expertise/mitvolol2002.htm Published results of the expertise of Oleg Mitvol’s doctoral thesis on Dissernet server] and higher doctoral (2004)[http://www.dissernet.org/expertise/mitvolol2004.htm Published results of the expertise of Oleg Mitvol’s higher doctoral thesis on Dissernet server] theses of Mitvol contain gross plagiarism from several doctoral and higher doctoral theses.[http://www.echo.msk.ru/blog/serguei_parkhomenko/1255558-echo/ Театр одного Митволя] // Echo of Moscow
Criminal case
In 2018, Mitvol acquired shares of the Krasnoyarsk Engineering and Construction Survey Trust and headed the board of directors. The company was engaged in the design of the Krasnoyarsk Metro, the construction of which has been ongoing since 1984 with varying success. In 2022, Mitvol was arrested on suspicion of embezzling 975 million rubles. The businessman made a deal with the investigation and in October 2023 was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbc.ru/society/14/09/2023/6502db389a7947cb210a35d8|title=Митволю дали 4,5 года по делу о строительстве метро в Красноярске|language=ru|date=2023-09-14|website=RBK}}
References and notes
{{Reflist|2}}
See also
External links
{{Commons category|Oleg Mitvol}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060828223020/http://control.mnr.gov.ru/part/?pid=607 Official biography](in Russian).
- {{Cite web|url=http://www.rian.ru/spravka/20061214/56939728.html|work=www.rian.ru|publisher=RIA Novosti|script-title=ru:Олег Митволь. Биографическая справка|trans-title=Oleg Mitvol, biography|language=Russian}}
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Category:Russian environmentalists
Category:Politicians from Moscow