Dmitry Gudkov

Dmitry Gennadyevich Gudkov (Дмитрий Геннадьевич Гудков; born 19 January 1980) is a Russian politician and opposition leader.

Dmitry Gudkov was born on 19 January 1980 in the city of Kolomna, Moscow region in the family of Maria Gudkova and Gennady Gudkov.

When his son was born, Gennady Gudkov worked in the Komsomol; in 1981–1992 he served in the KGB, retired in the rank of major, and in the same year he founded the private security company "Oskord", which became a major player at this market by the end of the 1990s.

In 1996, Dmitry Gudkov graduated from the Moscow school #625 with in-depth study of physics and mathematics and entered the journalism faculty of Moscow State University.

In his student years he worked in several publications: he was the editor-in-chief of "Security" - a trade magazine about protection, and also worked in the department of public relations of his father's company.

Gudkov made his first steps in politics in 1998–1999, becoming a member of the electoral headquarters of his father in the elections to the 3rd State Duma from Kolomna single-mandate district #106.

His father, Gennady Gudkov, was also a Duma deputy in 2001–2012.

Both father and son were members of the party A Just Russia.

After graduating from the journalism faculty in 2001, Gudkov went on to do his postgraduate studies, and received a second higher education at the Faculty of World Economy of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A significant part of his political career, Dmitry Gudkov followed his father.

In 2001 Gennady Gudkov won in the by-elections to the 3rd Duma and joined the deputy group "People's Deputy", and Dmitry Gudkov got a job in the staff of this group.

In 2003, he followed his father to the People's Party of the Russian Federation (NPRF): while Gennady Gudkov was deputy chairman of the party, Dmitry Gudkov substituted the head of the press department, and after the father was elected a chairman of the party in April 2004, Dmitry Gudkov was promoted to a position of a head.

He was involved in the coordination of the youth policy of the NPRF, participated in the creation of the Youth Public Chamber.

In December 2005, Dmitry Gudkov took part in the additional elections to the 4th Duma in Moscow's single-seat constituency #201, but lost with 1.5% of the votes.

After the merger of the NPRF with "A Just Russia" in early-mid April 2007, Gennady Gudkov entered the Political Bureau of the Presidium of the Central Council of the Party, and Dmitry headed its press department.

At the end of April 2007, the youth blocks of the NPRF, the Social Democratic Party of Russia (SDPR), the human rights organization "Civil Society", the movements "Ura", "League of Justice", "Energy of Life", "Young Life" and other youth organizations of "A Just Russia" were united within the all-Russian movement "Pobeda" ("Victory").

Dmitry Gudkov became the co-chairman of the organization, since he previously supervised the youth policy of the NPRF.

In April 2008, the congress of "Pobeda" elected Yury Lopusov, a former leader of the "Energy of Life", as the only chairman of the congress, which led to a conflict between Lopusov and Gudkov.

In October 2009, Dmitry Gudkov headed the "Young Socialists of Russia" - a new youth movement within the framework of "A Just Russia", which included "Pobeda" and youth departments of the Russian Party of Life, the SDPR, “Rodina” party, the Russian Party of Pensioners and several others.

At the Fourth Congress of "A Just Russia" in June 2009, Dmitry Gudkov was elected a member of the Central Council of the Party, and in 2010 he became an adviser to Sergey Mironov, the Chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the leader of the "A Just Russia".

He was elected as a member of the State Duma in 2011–2016.

In December 2011, Gudkov was elected to the 6th State Duma at the head of the list of "A Just Russia" from the Ryazan and Tambov regions, where the party gained 15% and 6% respectively (compared to 13% in the country).

During his mandate, Gudkov worked in the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, and individually and as part of a group of deputies, initiated 43 legislative drafts, including:

In the period of winter 2011 to spring 2012, Gudkov took an active part in protest actions and acted as one of the organizers of the rallies "For Fair Elections".

During the unauthorized "public festivities" on Kudrinskaya Square following Vladimir Putin's inauguration, Gudkov tried to present the rally as his meeting with voters to prevent the detention of protesters.

Along with Ilya Ponomarev, Dmitry and Gennady Gudkovs became leaders in the 2012 protests against Putin's re-election.

According to Gudkov, he was illegally detained on an opposition meeting on Nikitsky Boulevard on 8 May 2012, but the police claimed that the politician himself followed the detainee Ksenia Sobchak.

In the elections to the Russian Opposition Coordination Council in October 2012, Gudkov was ranked the tenth in the civil list.

In June 2012, Ponomarev, Gudkov and his father led a filibuster against a bill allowing large fines for anti-government protesters, alternating speaking against the bill for 11 hours.

Gennady Gudkov said of the bill that by removing outlets for protest, the legislation was putting Russia on "a sure path to a civil war".

The Economist described the filibuster as "the most striking act of parliamentary defiance in the Putin era".

Gudkov was expelled from the party on 13 March 2013 after it accused him of "calling on the American authorities to interfere in Russia’s internal affairs".

In May 2013, Gudkov criticized Maxim Katz, a municipal deputy of the Shchukino district who prematurely left the opposition council and called for his dissolution, for "showing weakness" and creating a motive to criticise the Coordination Council.

In September of the same year Gudkov himself refused to run for new membership in the Council.

After Gudkov's refusal and other members of the Coordination Council to participate in the further work of the association, the council basically ceased its activities.

In January 2013, after Gudkov's participation in "March against Scoundrels", when the participants carried portraits of deputies, including Sergey Mironov, the Bureau of the Presidium of the Central Council of "A Just Russia" party suggested that Gudkov leave either the Opposition Coordination Council (OCC) or "A Just Russia".

No legislative draft, which was suggested by Gudkov or together with him, was adopted, except for the "mass" (signed by a large number of deputies) bill "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Computation of Time" (a permanent shift to winter time), adopted in July 2014. Also, Gudkov was one of the eight deputies of the State Duma who in December 2012 voted against the federal bill "On Sanctions for Individuals Violating Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Russian Federation", better known as "Dima Yakovlev Law" because it prohibited adoption of Russian orphans by US citizens. Also, Gudkov was among 4 deputies who did not vote for the law "On Admitting to the Russian Federation the Republic of Crimea and Establishing within the Russian Federation the New Constituent Entities of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Federal Importance Sevastopol". Later, while on air at the TV channel “Dozhd”, Gudkov explained that he abstained from voting "for" because of the political and economic consequences of the decision and abstained from "against" because of the conflicting public opinion on the question of joining the Crimea to the Russian Federation and out of respect for the inhabitants of the Crimea.

The Gudkovs are noted for their opposition to President Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party.

While Gudkov ran as candidate of Yabloko party and worked with the non-systemic opposition, he lost in the 18 September 2016 election for the Russian Parliament.

In 2018, he and Ksenia Sobchak decided to align together, which lead to the creation of an opposition political party which is called the Party of Changes.