GetWiki

{{Short description|Russian politician}}{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}{{Expand Ukrainian|topic=bio|date=February 2020}}{{Family name hatnote|Yuryevich|Surkov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

factoids

President of Russia>President of the Russian Federation| term_start = 20 September 2013| term_end = 18 February 2020| president1 = Vladimir PutinDeputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation>Deputy Prime Minister of Russia — Head of the Government Executive Office| term_start2 = 21 May 2012| term_end2 = 8 May 2013| primeminister2 = Dmitry Medvedev| predecessor2 = Vyacheslav VolodinSergei Eduardovich Prikhodko>Sergey PrikhodkoDeputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation>Deputy Prime Minister of Russia| term_start3 = 27 December 2011| term_end3 = 21 May 2012Vladimir Putin|Dmitry Medvedev}}| predecessor3 = | successor3 = | office4 = First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia| term_start4 = 15 May 2008| term_end4 = 27 December 2011| president4 = Dmitry Medvedev| office5 = Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia| term_start5 = 3 August 1999| term_end5 = 12 May 2008Boris Yeltsin|Vladimir Putin}}| birth_name = 196421}} or {{Age in years9|21}})Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic>Russian SFSR, Soviet Union{{efnLipetsk Oblast, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic>Russian SFSR, however other sources report he was born in 1962 in Shali, Chechen Republic, Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic>Checheno-Ingush ASSR, Russian SFSR.}}| party = United Russia{{marriage1987end=div}}Natalya Dubovitskaya|2004}}}}| children = 4| alma_mater = International University in Moscow| profession = | signature = Signature of Vladislav Surkov.png}}Vladislav Yuryevich Surkov (; born 21 September 1962 or 1964NEWS,weblinkweblink" title="archive.today/20120731162325weblink">weblink dead, 31 July 2012, Беспартийный идеолог Владислав Сурков, 16 May 2007, Gazeta.ru, 1 April 2009, ) is a Russian politician and businessman. He was First Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration from 1999 to 2011, during which time he was often viewed as the main ideologist of the Kremlin who proposed and implemented the concept of sovereign democracy in Russia. From December 2011 until May 2013, Surkov served as the Russian Federation's Deputy Prime Minister.WEB,weblink Vladislav Surkov has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister, President of Russia, 27 December 2011, 5 December 2019, 23 January 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210123235814weblink">weblink live, WEB, Russian President Accepts Resignation Of Deputy PM Surkov,weblink Radio Free Europe, 8 May 2013, 8 May 2013, 31 May 2020,weblink live, After his resignation, Surkov returned to the Presidential Executive Office and became a personal adviser of Vladimir Putin on relationships with Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Ukraine.WEB, Винокурова, Екатерина, Чем Владислав Сурков займется в Украине,weblink Forbes, Forbes.ua, 20 September 2013, 21 February 2015, 2 July 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150702163836weblink">weblink live, He was removed from this duty by presidential order in February 2020.WEB,weblink Putin officially fires top political aide Vladislav Surkov, 18 February 2020, meduza.io, 26 September 2021, 31 May 2020,weblink live, He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.ACT, Decree, 59, 17 January 2000, President of Russia, О присвоении квалификационного разряда федеральным государственным служащим Администрации Президента Российской Федерации, ru,weblink Surkov is perceived by many to be a key figure with much power and influence in the administration of Vladimir Putin.NEWS,weblink Vladislav Surkov: Who is Vladimir Putin's 'grey cardinal'?, Thomas, Matt, 29 October 2016, International Business Times UK, 21 November 2016, 25 May 2021,weblink live, According to The Moscow Times, this perception is not dependent on the official title Surkov might hold at any one time in the Putin government.NEWS,weblink Same Old Kremlin, Same Old Surkov, Ryzhkov, Vladimir, 7 October 2013, The Moscow Times, Surkov played the decisive role in raising Kadyrov to his current post. For his part, Kadyrov refers to Surkov as his "sworn brother" and even has a portrait of Surkov hanging in his office in Grozny." and "...a person's formal job title in Russia never matches the actual authority they wield., 20 November 2016, 19 October 2017,weblink live, BBC documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis credits Surkov's blend of theater and politics with keeping Putin, and Putin's chosen successors, in power since 2000.Journalists in Russia and abroad have speculated that Surkov writes under the pseudonym Nathan Dubovitsky, although the Kremlin denies it.NEWS,weblink Владислав Сурков стал писателем?, Glikin, Maksim, 13 August 2009, Vedomosti, Kholmogorova, Vera, Has Vladislav Surkov become a writer?, Published novel Close to Zero was probably written by Vladislav Surkov. (Издан роман «Околоноля», написанный скорее всего Владиславом Сурковым.), 20 November 2016, 11 August 2021,weblink live, WEB,weblink Peter Pomerantsev: Non-Linear War, LRB blog, 28 March 2014, 20 November 2016, 31 August 2018,weblink live, NEWS,weblink Did Kremlin political chief really write murky gangster novel?, 14 August 2009, The Independent, en-GB, 20 November 2016, 6 November 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161106174530weblink">weblink live,

Early years

According to Surkov's official biography and birth certificate, he was born 21 September 1964 in Solntsevo, Lipetsk Oblast, Russian SFSR.WEB, Сурков Владислав Юрьевич,weblink government.ru, ru, 12 March 2012, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120312213526weblink">weblink 12 March 2012, WEB, Surkov, Vladislav,weblink kremlin.ru, 12 October 2015, 9 March 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210309125201weblink">weblink live, NEWS,weblink Свидетельство о рождении Владислава Суркова, 26 June 2015, Moskovskij Komsomolets, ru, Birth certificate of Vladislav Surkov, 10 September 2020, As per other statements, he was born in 1962 in Shali, Checheno-Ingush ASSR.WEB, Маринин, Максим, Косарева, Ирина,weblink ЧЕЧЕНСКОЕ ДЕТСТВО СУРКОВА, scandaly.ru, ru, 13 July 2005, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080518033227weblink">weblink 18 May 2008, JOURNAL,weblink live, Intrigue and Gossip Overwhelm Moscow after Surkov's Downfall, Jamestown Foundation, Eurasia Daily Monitor, 10, 88, Felgenhauer, Pavel, 9 May 2013, 7 June 2021,weblink 7 June 2021, His birth name is sometimes reported to be Aslambek Dudayev.WEB,weblink Who is Vladislav Surkov?, Medium (website), Medium, Milam, Whitney, 14 July 2018, 25 July 2019, 16 February 2022,weblink live, WEB,weblink The Puppet Master - 2. Ascension, 26 March 2019, 25 March 2022, 25 March 2022,weblink live, His parents, the ethnic Russian Zinaida Antonovna Surkova (born 1935) and the ethnic Chechen Yuriy ("Andarbek") Danil'bekovich Dudayev (1942–2014), were school teachers in Duba-yurt, Checheno-Ingush ASSR.WEB,weblink The Kremlin Wars (Special Series), Part 4: Surkov Presses Home, Stratfor, 27 October 2009, subscription, 11 April 2020, 11 April 2021,weblink live, Following the separation of his parents, his mother moved to Lipetsk and he was baptized into Eastern Orthodox Christianity.NEWS, 5 Facts About Vladislav Surkov,weblink The Moscow Times, 13 May 2013, 3 January 2015, 14 March 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160314200227weblink">weblink live, In an interview published in June 2005 in the German magazine Der Spiegel, Surkov stated that his father was ethnic Chechen and that he spent the first five years of his life in Chechnya,'Der Westen muss uns nicht lieben' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518193300weblink |date=18 May 2008 }}. Uwe Von Klußmann. Walter Mayr. Der Spiegel. 20 June 2005. Quote: "Ich selbst habe die ersten fünf Jahre meines Lebens in Tschetschenien zugebracht." in Duba-yurt and Grozny.Pomerantsev, Peter. 'Putin's Rasputin' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531053057weblink |date=31 May 2020 }}. London Review of Books. 33 (20). 20 October 2011. pp. 3–6.'Владислав Сурков: "Запад не обязан нас любить",' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050831170152weblink |date=31 August 2005 }} in Inopressa Newsagency. 20 June 2005. Surkov has claimed to be a relative of Dzhokhar Dudayev, the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.NEWS,weblink Surkov Makes Kremlin Comeback, The Moscow Times, 22 September 2013, 10 April 2020, 6 March 2022,weblink live, From 1982 to 1983, Surkov attended MISiS, but did not graduate from it. From 1983 to 1985, Surkov served in a Soviet artillery regiment in Hungary, according to his official biography.WEB,weblink Surkov: dark prince of the Kremlin, Sakwa, Richard, 7 April 2011, openDemocracy, 20 November 2016, 14 December 2018,weblink live, However, former defence minister Sergei Ivanov stated in a 2006 TV interview that Surkov served in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) during the same time period.NEWS,weblink Сурков Владислав Юрьевич – досье, все новости, Перебежчик, Vladislav, Surkov Yurevich – dossier and news, According to one information source, he served in the artillery of the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary. According to another, he served in the special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). (По одной информации, службу он проходил в артиллерийской части Южной группы войск в Венгрии. По другой – в спецназе Главного разведывательного управления (ГРУ).), 14 April 2020, 8 May 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20210508182401weblink">weblink live, After his military training, Surkov was accepted{{when|date=March 2015}} to Moscow Institute of Culture for a five-year program in theater direction, but spent only three years there.WEB,weblink Vladislav Surkov Biography, 25 March 2011, The Moscow Times, 20 November 2016, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140902152411weblink">weblink 2 September 2014, Surkov graduated from Moscow International University with a master's degree in economics in the late 1990s.

Business career (1988–1998)

In the late 1980s, when the government lifted the ban against private businesses, Surkov started out in business. In 1987, he became head of the advertising department of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's businesses. From 1991 to April 1996, he held key managerial positions in advertising and PR departments of Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep. From March 1996 to February 1997, he was at Rosprom, and since February 1997 with Mikhail Fridman's Alfa-Bank.Макаркин, Алексей (13 March 2002). weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20020618150130weblink">"АЛЬФА-РЕНОВА": КОЛЛЕКТИВНЫЙ ПОРТРЕТ ЛОББИСТОВ. Политком.ru website. Archived 18 June 2002. Retrieved 1 June 2021. At Alfa-Bank, he worked closely with Oleg Markovich Govorun (; born 15 January 1969 Bratsk, USSR) who carried black cash directly to Putin.Компромат на Трампа: "золотой дождь" в номере Обамы и связи с ФСБ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116214318weblink |date=16 January 2022 }}. Отчет 2016/112: ПРЕЗИДЕНТСКИЕ ВЫБОРЫ: СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО МЕЖДУ КРЕМЛЕМ И "АЛЬФА-ГРУПП". The Insider website. Retrieved 22 June 2021.Голунов, Иван (14 September 2011). Высокопоставленные родственники. Полпреды: Чем занимаются жены и дети чиновников России {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813162850weblink |date=13 August 2023 }}. (:ru:Republic (издание)|Slon.ru) website. Archived (Говорун, Драчевский, Исхаков, Казанцев, Кириенко, Куйвашев, Латышев, Пуликовский, Сафонов, Толоконский, Яковлев) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628084739weblink |date=28 June 2021 }} from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2021.In September 2004, Surkov was elected president of the board of directors of the oil products transportation company Transnefteproduct, but was instructed by Russia's prime minister Mikhail Fradkov to give up the position in February 2006.NEWS,weblink Владислав Сурков покинет "Транснефтепродукт", 13 February 2006, Коммерсантъ (Kommersant), 25, 13, ru, Vladislav Surkov leaves "Transnefteprodukt", By an order signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, the Board of Directors of "Transnefteprodukt", Deputy of the Presidential Executive Office Vladislav Surkov, resigns. (По подписанному премьером Михаилом Фрадковым распоряжению, совет директоров ОАО "Транснефтепродукт" покинет возглавлявший его заместитель руководителя администрации президента РФ Владислав Сурков.), 20 November 2016, 18 February 2020,weblink live,

Political career (1999–2020)

{{Conservatism in Russia|Politicians}}

Deputy Chief of the Russian Presidential Administration 1999–2011

After a brief career as a director for public relations on the Russian television ORT channel from 1998 to 1999, Surkov was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the Russian Federation in 1999.WEB, Storey, Peter, Vladislav Surkov: The (Gray) Cardinal of the Kremlin,weblink Cicero (magazine), Cicero, 17 June 2015, 9 November 2015, 5 November 2015,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20151105134144weblink">weblink live, According to the Dossier Center, Surkov has been a strong supporter of the far right also known as the ultraright since at least 2000.NEWS,weblink Нацификация. Часть вторая: ультраправый интернационал, Nazification. Part two: far-right international, ru, Центра «Досье» (dossier.center), 25 March 2022, 24 November 2023, 25 March 2022,weblink During the beginning of his time in this role, Surkov's main appearances in public and in international media were as a public relations mouthpiece of the Kremlin. In August 2000, he confirmed that Gazprom would buy Vladimir Gusinsky's Media-Most, which at the time owned the only independent, nationwide Russian television channel, NTV.NEWS,weblink Kremlin closing in on media network, 4 August 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald, Newspapers.com, 23 November 2016, 23 November 2016,weblink live, In September 2002, he stated on behalf of the Kremlin that they had decided not to return the statue of KGB founder Felix Dzerzhinsky that had been torn down during the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.NEWS,weblink Return of statue opposed, Gutterman, Steve, 20 September 2002, Statesman Journal via Associated Press, 7A, Newspapers.com, 23 November 2016, 24 November 2016,weblink live, After the 2003 Russian Duma elections, when the president's United Russia party got the most seats at 37.6%, Surkov delivered the Kremlin's enthusiastic response, saying "We are living in a new Russia now."NEWS,weblink The Victor Extends an Olive Branch, Holley, David, 9 December 2003, Los Angeles Times, en-US, 0458-3035, 23 November 2016, 19 October 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20171019093815weblink">weblink live, In March 2004, he was additionally appointed as aide to the president.WEB,weblink Мемория. Владислав Сурков, 21 September 2015, polit.ru, ru, Vladislav Surkov fact sheet, 20 November 2016, 18 August 2021,weblink live, Since 2006, Surkov has advocated a political doctrine he has called sovereign democracy, to counter democracy promotion conducted by the US and European states.BOOK,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060927004047weblink">weblink dead, 27 September 2006, Seregin, A, et al., 22 September 2006, Russia Profile Experts Panel: The Debate on Sovereign Democracy, Johnson's Russia List, cdi.org, Judged by some Western media as controversial, this view has not generally been shared by Russian media and the Russian political elite.On Wednesday Political Elite Agreed to Speak Common Language {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310221341weblink |date=10 March 2007 }}. «Izvestia». 31 August 2006. Surkov sees this concept as a national version of the common political language that will be used when Russia talks to the outside world. As the most influential ideologist of "sovereign democracy", Surkov gave two programmatic speeches in 2006: "Sovereignty is a Political Synonym of Competitiveness" in FebruarySovereignty is a Political Synonym of Competitiveness {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208020210weblink |date=8 December 2006 }}. Vladislav Surkov, public appearance. 7 February 2006. and "Our Russian Model of Democracy is Titled Sovereign Democracy" in June 2006.Our Russian Model of Democracy is Titled «Sovereign Democracy» {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105125847weblink |date=5 November 2006 }}. Vladislav Surkov, briefing. 28 June 2006. edinros.ru.(File:Vladislav Surkov in 2010.jpeg|thumb|Vladislav Surkov in April 2010)On 8 February 2007, Moscow State University marked the 125th anniversary of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's birth with a high-level conference "Lessons of the New Deal for Modern Russia and the World" attended, among others, by Surkov and Gleb Pavlovsky. Surkov drew an explicit parallel between Roosevelt and Russian president Putin, praising the legacy of Roosevelt's New Deal, and between the US of the 1930s and present-day Russia. Pavlovsky called on Putin to follow Roosevelt in staying for a third presidential term.Владимир Владимирович Рузвельт/ Putin Asked to Follow FDR's Example {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083752weblink |date=4 March 2016 }}. Kommersant. 9 February 2007.Kremlin Official Compares Putin to Franklin D. Roosevelt {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310074507weblink |date=10 March 2007 }}. Moscow News. 9 February 2007.According to The Moscow Times, Surkov exerted his influence to have Ramzan Kadyrov appointed as acting Head of the Chechen Republic on 15 February 2007.WEB,weblink Сурков и Кадыров, 13 May 2013, www.forbes.ru, 13 May 2013, Forbes Russia, Surkov and Kadyrov, 20 November 2016, 20 March 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170320220035weblink">weblink live, Since this appointment, Kadyrov has gone on to serve two terms in office and has been accused of numerous humans rights abuses.See Ramzan Kadyrov §§ Accusations of human rights abusesIn October 2009, Surkov warned that opening and modernization of Russia's political system, a need repeatedly stressed by President Dmitry Medvedev, could result in more instability, which "could rip Russia apart".Sirke Mäkinen, "Surkovian narrative on the future of Russia: making Russia a world leader." Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics 27#2 (2011): 143–165.In September 2011, Mikhail Prokhorov quit the Right Cause party, which he had led for five months. He condemned the party as a puppet of the Kremlin and named Surkov the "main puppet master of the political process" (), according to a report in Russian-language magazine Korrespondent picked up by The New York Times.NEWS,weblink Прохоров назвал главного кукловода политического процесса в России, 15 September 2011, Korrespondent, ru, 20 November 2016, 21 January 2012,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120121134637weblink">weblink live, Kramer, Andrew E., and Ellen Barry, "Amid Political Rancor, Russian Party Leader Quits" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320215817weblink |date=20 March 2017 }}. The New York Times. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011. Prokhorov had hoped that Surkov would be fired from the Kremlin, but the Kremlin stood behind Surkov and said he would not disappear from the political stage.Volkskrant. 16 September 2011. At that time, Reuters described Surkov in a profile as the Kremlin's 'shadowy chief political strategist', one of the most powerful men in the Kremlin and considered a close ally of then-Prime Minister Putin.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Modernisation 2011–2013

On 28 December 2011, Medvedev reassigned Surkov to the role of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Modernisation" in a move interpreted by many to be fallout from the controversial Russian parliamentary elections of 2011."Putin ejects Kremlin 'puppet master' after protests" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320215932weblink |date=20 March 2017 }}. Associated Press via The Guardian. 27 December 2011. At that time, Surkov described his past career as follows:The gray cardinal leaves the Kremlin {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712045327weblink |date=12 July 2012 }}. Russia Beyond the Headlines. 28 December 2011. "I was among those who helped Boris Yeltsin to secure a peaceful transfer of power; among those who helped President Putin stabilize the political system; among those who helped President Medvedev liberalize it. All the teams were great."(File:Владислав Сурков на V съезде НАШИх.JPG|thumb|Surkov giving a speech during the Fifth Congress of the Nashi Youth Movement)During this time, Surkov helped create some pro-government youth movements, including Nashi. He met with their leaders and participants several times and gave them lectures on the political situation.weblink ncsj.org {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124171111weblink|date=24 January 2007}}Maya Atwal and Edwin Bacon. "The youth movement Nashi: contentious politics, civil society, and party politics." East European Politics 28.3 (2012): 256–266. Nashi has been compared by Edward Lucas as the Putin government's version of the Soviet-era Komsomol.BOOK, The new cold war: Putin's Russia and the threat to the West, Lucas, Edward, St. Martin's Press, 2014, 9781137472618, 3rd, New York, 102–105, {{rp|page=102}}File:Sergey Ivanov, Vladislav Surkov and Arkady Dvorkovich 7 May 2013.jpeg|thumb|Surkov on his last day as deputy prime minister in a meeting with Sergey Ivanov (Chief of Presidential Staff) and his ministerial colleague Arkady DvorkovichArkady DvorkovichWhen Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, Surkov became marginalized as Putin "pursued a path of open repression over the cunning manipulation favoured by Surkov". As a Deputy Prime Minister, Surkov criticized the Investigative Committee of Russia, which led investigations into opposition leaders, rather than the general prosecutor's office. The Committee stated he offered to resign on 7 May 2013, whereas Surkov stated he offered to resign on 28 April 2013. Putin accepted it on 8 May 2013.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130622185409weblink">Сурков Владислав Юрьевич. government.ru. 22 June 2013.Miriam Elder: Vladimir Putin's former 'cardinal' forced out of government {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531053051weblink |date=31 May 2020 }}. The Guardian. 8 May 2013.

Personal advisor to Putin, 2013–2020

On 20 September 2013, Putin appointed Surkov as his Aide in the Presidential Executive Office, focused on Russian aggrandizement in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Ukraine. As a result he was immediately focused on the events in Ukraine during the November 2013 Euromaidan and February 2014 Revolution of Dignity.NEWS, Genté, Régis, Selon le Mage du Kremlin, Vladimir Poutine ne voulait pas des accords de Minsk 2,weblink Le Figaro, 17 February 2023, 18 February 2023, 18 February 2023,weblink live, It came out in March 2014 that during Putin's first two terms as president, Surkov was regarded as the Kremlin's "Éminence grise" due to crafting Russia's system of "sovereign democracy" and directing its propaganda principally through control of state run television.Anna Nemtsova, Eli Lake: Is This the Mastermind Behind Russia's Crimea Grab? {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504172701weblink |date=4 May 2017 }} The Daily Beast. 19 March 2014 On 17 March 2014, the day after the Crimean status referendum, Surkov became one of the first eleven persons who were placed under executive sanctions on the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN) by President Barack Obama, freezing his assets in the US and banning him from entering the United States.NEWS,weblink Obama Just Announced Sanctions Against 7 Russian 'Cronies', Business Insider, Brett, Logiurato, 17 March 2014, 17 March 2014, 17 March 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140317183215weblink">weblink live, WEB, Ukraine and Russia Sanctions,weblink United States State Department, 4 March 2016, 31 May 2020,weblink live, WEB, Fact Sheet: Ukraine-Related Sanctions,weblink The White House: Office of the Press Secretary, 17 March 2014, 4 March 2016, 22 October 2021,weblink live, WEB, Executive Order – Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine,weblink The White House: Office of the Press Secretary, 20 March 2014, 4 March 2016, 14 May 2017,weblink live, WEB, Treasury Sanctions Russian Officials, Members Of The Russian Leadership's Inner Circle, And An Entity For Involvement In The Situation In Ukraine,weblink United States Department of the Treasury, 5 March 2016, 31 May 2020,weblink live, WEB, Issuance of a new Ukraine-related Executive Order; Ukraine-related Designations,weblink United States Department of the Treasury, 17 March 2014, 4 March 2016, 31 May 2020,weblink live, WEB, Ukraine-related Designations,weblink United States Department of the Treasury, 20 March 2014, 4 March 2016, 31 May 2020,weblink live, WEB, Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN),weblink United States Department of the Treasury, 5 March 2016, 29 August 2020,weblink live, WEB, Shuklin, Peter, Putin's inner circle: who got in a new list of US sanctions,weblink liga.net, 21 March 2014, 20 February 2016, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150207152258weblink">weblink 7 February 2015, WEB, President of The United States, Ukraine EO13660,weblink Federal Register, 10 March 2014, 4 March 2016, 19 October 2017,weblink live, WEB, President of The United States, Ukraine EO13661,weblink Federal Register, 19 March 2014, 20 February 2016, 4 March 2016,weblink live, {{efn|The individuals on the March 2014 list of United States sanctions for individuals or entities involved in the Ukraine crisis are Sergey Aksyonov, Sergey Glazyev, Andrei Klishas, Vladimir Konstantinov, Valentina Matviyenko, Victor Medvedchuk, Yelena Mizulina, Dmitry Rogozin, Leonid Slutsky, Vladislav Surkov, and Victor Yanukovich.}} Surkov responded to this by saying: "The only things that interest me in the US are Tupac Shakur, Allen Ginsberg, and Jackson Pollock. I don't need a visa to access their work."Vladimir Putin's top aide Vladislav Surkov mocks US sanctions {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218195034weblink |date=18 February 2020 }}. The Independent. 18 March 2014.On 21 March 2014, the European Union (EU) placed Surkov on its sanction list barring him from entering the EU and freezing his assets in the EU.WEB,weblink Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2014 of 21 March 2014 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (EUR-Lex – 32014R0284 – EN), EUR-Lex, 21 March 2014, 6 March 2016, 31 January 2022,weblink live, WEB, Ukraine crisis: Russia and sanctions,weblink BBC, 19 December 2014, 4 March 2016, 9 February 2021,weblink live, In February 2015, Ukrainian authorities accused Surkov of organizing snipers to kill protesters and police during the Ukrainian Euromaidan in January 2014.Ukraine accuses Russia over Maidan 2014 killings {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010030328weblink |date=10 October 2021 }}. bbc.com. 20 February 2015.Nemtsov Report: Putin. War {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130191754weblink |date=30 January 2022 }}. Ukrayinska Pravda. 12 May 2015.Putin's aide Surkov pulled the strings as snipers shot at Maidan protesters – Ukraine's SBU {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221061823weblink |date=21 February 2015 }}. belsat.eu. 20 February 2015. According to SBU director Nalyvaichenko, they have identified some of the shooters and "as part of this case we have job titles, last names, copies of passports, dates of their entry and departure, their telephone providers and places of accommodation, [we know] how president Putin's adviser Surkov was coordinating their actions in Kyiv," This accusation was dismissed by the Russian government as "absurd".Kiev's allegations that Surkov was behind Maidan developments in 2014 absurd — ForMin {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531053054weblink |date=31 May 2020 }}. tass.ru. 20 February 2015.Despite being barred from entering the EU, Surkov visited Greece's Mount Athos as a part of Putin's delegation to the holy site in May 2016.MAGAZINE, Shuster, Simon, Exclusive: Putin Aide Vladislav Surkov Defied E.U. Sanctions to Make Pilgrimage to Greece,weblink Time, 2 September 2016,

Hacked emails

{{See also|Sergey Glazyev#Glazyev tapes}}File:Normandy format talks 2016-10-19.jpg|thumb|The "Normandy Format" talks in October 2016 where Surkov sits between Putin and Frank-Walter SteinmeierFrank-Walter SteinmeierIn October 2016, Ukrainian hacker group CyberHunta released over a gigabyte of emails and other documents alleged to belong to Surkov.NEWS, Windrem, Robert, Payback? Russia gets hacked, revealing top Putin aide's secrets,weblink NBC News, 27 October 2016, 28 October 2016, 28 October 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161028140636weblink">weblink live, The 2,337 emails belonged to the inbox of Surkov's office email account, prm_surkova@gov.ru.WEB, Digital Forensic Research Lab, Breaking Down the Surkov Leaks – DFRLab,weblink Medium, Atlantic Council, 25 October 2016, 28 October 2016, 28 October 2016,weblink live, The Kremlin suggested that the leaked documents were fake.NEWS, Walker, Shaun, Kremlin puppet master's leaked emails are price of return to political frontline,weblink The Guardian, 26 October 2016, 28 October 2016, 28 October 2016,weblink live, The emails illustrate Russian plans to politically destabilize Ukraine and the coordination of affairs with major opposition leaders in separatist east Ukraine.NEWS, Murdock, Jason, Surkov leaks: Thousands of hacked emails reportedly from high-ranking Kremlin official published,weblink International Business Times UK, 27 October 2016, 28 October 2016, 28 October 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20161028134002weblink">weblink live, The document release included a document sent by Denis Pushilin, former Chairman of the People's Council of the Donetsk People's Republic, listing casualties that occurred from 26 May to  6 June 2014. It also included a 22-page outline of "a plan to support nationalist and separatist politicians and to encourage early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, all with the aim of undermining the government in Kiev."NEWS, Standish, Reid, Hacked: Putin Aide's Emails Detail Alleged Plot to Destabilize Ukraine,weblink Foreign Policy, 25 October 2016, 12 March 2017, 11 March 2017,weblink live,

Fall from power

File:Normandy format (2019-10-09) 03.jpg|thumb|The "Normandy Format" talks in October 2019 where Surkov sits aside Sergei LavrovSergei LavrovOn 11 February 2019, Surkov published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta the article "The Long State of Putin", which describes the main points of the term "Putinism" proposed by him.WEB,weblink Владислав Сурков: Долгое государство Путина, www.ng.ru, en, 17 October 2019, 27 February 2022,weblink live, The article caused a stir in the media.WEB, 24 April 2019, Surkov and the three pillars of Putinism,weblink dead,weblink 31 May 2020, 17 October 2019, University of Helsinki, en, NEWS,weblink The confusion around Russian 'meddling' means they're already winning {{!, Gabriel Gatehouse|last=Gatehouse|first=Gabriel|date=25 March 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=17 October 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=31 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531053056weblink|url-status=live}}WEB,weblink Putin advisor says 'Russia is playing with the West's minds', 12 February 2019, The Independent, en, 17 October 2019, 26 June 2020,weblink live, On 18 February 2020, Surkov was removed from his role of advisor. On 26 February 2020, he gave an interview to Aktualnyie kommentarii where he stated that he actually resigned from the post on his own initiative and the reasons were correctly disclosed by Russian journalists Vladimir SolovyevWEB,weblink Дмитрий Козак собирается в новый подход на Украину, 25 January 2020, Kommersant, ru, 29 May 2021, 16 October 2021,weblink live, and Alexei Venediktov.WEB,weblink Surkov: I am interested to act against the reality, Actualcomment.ru, Chesnakov, Aleksei, 26 February 2020, ru, Сурков: мне интересно действовать против реальности, Принуждение силой к братским отношениям — единственный метод, исторически доказавший эффективность на украинском направлении. Не думаю, что будет изобретен какой-то другой., 27 February 2020, 24 February 2022,weblink live, Surkov added that he was primarily involved with Donbas and Ukraine, but since the "context" had changed he decided to leave. He claimed that "There is no Ukraine", adding that "coercion to fraternal relations by force is the only method that has historically proven its effectiveness in the Ukrainian direction. I do not think that some other will be invented".NEWS, "There is no Ukraine": Fact-Checking the Kremlin's Version of Ukrainian History,weblink 16 December 2020, LSE International History, 1 July 2020, 19 December 2020,weblink live, NEWS, In First Interview Since Departure, Russia's Former 'Gray Cardinal' Questions Existence Of Ukraine,weblink 16 December 2020, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, en, 31 December 2020,weblink live,

Return to private life (2020–present)

House arrest report, 2022

In April 2022, amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Surkov was reported to be under house arrest, on the grounds of embezzlement of funds intended for the Donbas separatist region of Ukraine.WEB,weblink Who is Vladislav Surkov?, Anglesey, Anders, 13 April 2022, Newsweek, 19 April 2022, 18 April 2022,weblink live,

Criticism and depictions

Before the 2010 U.S.-Russia "Civil Society to Civil Society" (C2C) summit, a U.S. House of Representatives representative for the state of Florida's 27th district, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), was the lead signatory of a written petition which called upon the Obama administration to suspend U.S. participation in the summit until Surkov was replaced as a delegate for the Russian side. In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Ros-Lehtinen explained that she objected to Surkov's attendance as she views him as "one of the main propagators of limiting freedom of speech in Russia, intimidating Russian journalists and representatives of opposition political parties".WEB,weblink Controversy Over Civil Society Representative Appointment, Human Rights Lawyer Detained, 8 February 2010, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, 20 November 2016, 8 May 2021,weblink live, However, the summit went ahead despite her objections.WEB,weblink December 2010 Report on US-Russia C2C Summit is released, www.ethicsrussia.org, Center for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, 20 November 2016, 26 September 2020,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20200926211804weblink">weblink live, A 2007 Open Source Center "Media Aid" document identifies the Russian ura.ru information website as reportedly having links to Surkov.WEB,weblink Source Descriptors of Key Russian Media, Open Source Center, 6 December 2007, 22 April 2017, 15, fas.org, ura.ru [...] reportedly has links to Kremlin aide Surkov, 17 January 2021,weblink live, Inside Russia, Surkov has drawn criticism from activists and opposition groups: In September 2010, Lyudmila Alexeyeva appealed to then-president Dmitry Medvedev to dismiss him.NEWS,weblink У правозащитников готово прошение об отставке, Тирмастэ, Мария-Луиза, 12 September 2010, Тирмастэ, Мария-Луиза, Газета "Коммерсантъ", 228, 3, ru, 15 March 2023, 14 September 2014,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140914155251weblink">weblink live, In November 2010, opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov (Solidarnost), Vladimir Milov (Democratic Choice), and Vladimir Ryzhkov (People's Freedom Party) jointly demanded his resignation over policies perceived to threaten freedom of the press and journalists in Russia.WEB,weblink Избиение Кашина: оппозиционеры Немцов, Рыжков и Милов потребовали отставки Суркова – ПОЛИТ.РУ, www.polit.ru, 15 March 2023, 29 November 2020,weblink live, In May 2013 after his dismissal as Deputy Prime Minister, Surkov was characterized by The Economist as the engineer of "a system of make-believe", "a land of imitation political parties, stage-managed media and fake social movements".NEWS,weblink An ideologue's exit, 11 May 2013, The Economist, 0013-0613, 7 December 2022, 16 August 2017,weblink live, In Western media outside Russia, a vocal and eloquent critic of Surkov and of the administration of Vladimir Putin in general has been Peter Pomerantsev. Over a short period in 2013–14, Pomerantsev wrote op-eds in The Atlantic,NEWS,weblink Russia and the Menace of Unreality, Pomerantsev, Peter, 9 September 2014, The Atlantic, en-US, 20 November 2016, 19 February 2022,weblink live, The New York Times,NEWS,weblink Russia's Ideology: There Is No Truth, Pomerantsev, Peter, 11 December 2014, The New York Times, 0362-4331, 20 November 2016, 4 February 2017,weblink live, and the London Review of BooksWEB,weblink Peter Pomerantsev: Goodbye Surkov, LRB blog, 8 May 2013, 20 November 2016, 6 March 2022,weblink live, accusing Surkov, "Putin's chief ideologue" with "unsurpassed influence over Russian politics", of turning Russia into a "managed democracy", and of reducing Russian politics to nothing but "postmodernist theatre". In an October 2013 talk before the Legatum Institute, Pomerantsev, along with Pavel Khodorkovsky, termed Russia a "postmodern dictatorship".{{Citation|title=Russia: A Postmodern Dictatorship? With Pavel Khodorkovsky & Peter Pomerantsev|date=14 October 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMIHmzgzVBU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/qMIHmzgzVBU |archive-date=21 December 2021 |url-status=live|publisher=Legatum Institute}}{{cbignore}}Some time before October 2014, Igor Ivanovich Strelkov, who played a key role in the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, referred to Surkov as a "notorious" person who "focuses only on destruction...as in South Ossetia and other regions where he focused on looting rather than aid".WEB,weblink Эксклюзивное интервью И. Стрелкова: "Сражаясь за Новороссию, мы сражаемся за Россию"., novorossiia.ru, Novorossiya, 20 November 2016, (,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170204141803weblink">weblink 4 February 2017,

Rumored pseudonym of Natan Dubovitsky

On 13 August 2009, Russian business newspaper Vedomosti reported that an anonymous source told them that a recently released novel, Close to Zero (), was written by Surkov under the pseudonym Natan Dubovitsky () in the magazine Russian Pioneer (). It was soon realized that the pseudonym is almost identical to the name of Surkov's second and current wife, Natalya Dubovitskaya ().In a subsequent edition of Close to Zero, Surkov would write a preface to it under his real name, but would continue to deny writing the main text. In the preface, Surkov writes two seemingly contradictory statements: "The author of this novel is an unoriginal Hamlet-obsessed hack"; and, "this is the best book I have ever read".The January 2011 debut performance of the theatrical version of the novel, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, was attended by Surkov.NEWS,weblink "Околоноля": чёрное на чёрном, Dementsova, Emilia, 24 January 2011, Komsomolskaya Pravda, ru, "Close to Zero": Black on black, And recently I attended a Kirill Serebrennikov play based on the novel "Close to Zero", the debut of which was attended by Surkov himself. (И вот недавно вышел спектакль Кирилла Серебреникова по роману «Околоноля», на премьере которого присутствовал и сам Сурков.), 20 November 2016, 26 September 2020,weblink live, The novel, which has the English language subtitle "gangsta fiction", has as its protagonist a man by the name of Yegor Samokhodov. Samokhodov's occupation is public relations, and he is tasked with managing the reputation of a regional governor. First, he hires a writer to ghostwrite a piece of poetry to be published under the name of the governor without disclosing the ghostwriting, so that the governor may win an award and seem clever to his constituents. He then bribes a newspaper reporter to "correct" stories that portray the governor negatively, such as allegations that a factory of a relative of his is releasing chemicals into the air that harm local children.The publishing houses and public relations firms in the novel are intensely violent, with each company having its own gang and (wikt:turf war|turf war)s being fought over the rights to publish or represent such acclaimed Russian authors as Alexander Pushkin and Vladimir Nabokov. Peter Pomerantsev described the book as "exactly the sort of book Surkov's youth groups burn on Red Square." The Economist wrote that the novel "expos[ed] the vices of the system [Surkov] himself had created"."The long life of Homo sovieticus" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320215820weblink |date=20 March 2017 }}. The Economist. 10 December 2011 (issue date). Retrieved 8 December 2011.Other works authored under the name Natan Dubovitsky, all published in Russian Pioneer, that are rumored to be the work of Surkov are:

• The Little Car and the Bicycle [gaga saga] () (2012)NEWS,weblink A Cloudless Sky – A Short Story By Natan Dubovitsky – Grandmother Africa, Nefekare, Jehuti, 2 February 2015, Grandmother Africa, en-US, 20 November 2016, 19 February 2022,weblink live,
• Uncle Vanya [cover version] (2014) ()WEB,weblink Дядя Ваня [cover version] часть 1 / Классный журнал / Русский пионер, 15 November 2018, 28 January 2020,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20200128172635weblink">weblink live,
• Without Sky (2014) ()
• Ultranormality (2017) (Russian: Ультранормальность)

Influence outside Russia

Some outside Russia, such as Ned Resnikoff of ThinkProgress,WEB,weblink Phantasmagoria, Resnikoff, Ned, 26 September 2016, Medium, 19 November 2016, 21 January 2022,weblink live, and Adam Curtis in the BBC documentary HyperNormalisation,WEB,weblink Adam Curtis, HyperNormalisation, BBC iPlayer, 19 November 2016, 17 February 2021,weblink live, have claimed that Surkov's unique blend of politics and theatre have begun to affect countries outside of Russia,WEB,weblink BBC Radio 4 - Seriously..., The Puppet Master – Episode 1. Snipers, BBC, en-GB, 5 April 2019, 7 November 2020,weblink live, most notably the United States with the selection of Donald Trump for the 2016 US Republican nomination and Trump's subsequent campaign and election victory.In an editorial for the London Review of Books quoted by Curtis, Peter Pomerantsev describes Putin's Russia thus:{{Blockquote|text=In contemporary Russia, unlike the old USSR or present-day North Korea, the stage is constantly changing: the country is a dictatorship in the morning, a democracy at lunch, an oligarchy by suppertime, while, backstage, oil companies are expropriated, journalists killed, billions siphoned away. Surkov is at the centre of the show, sponsoring nationalist skinheads one moment, backing human rights groups the next. It's a strategy of power based on keeping any opposition there may be constantly confused, a ceaseless shape-shifting that is unstoppable because it's indefinable.|sign=Peter Pomerantsev|source=in "Putin's Rasputin", London Review of Books issue of 20 October 2011}}Curtis claims that Trump used a similar strategy to become president of the United States, and hints that Trump's Surkovian origins caused Putin to express his admiration for Trump in Russian media.NEWS,weblink Adam Curtis continues search for the hidden forces behind a century of chaos, Adams, Tim, 9 October 2016, The Guardian, en-GB, 0261-3077, 20 November 2016, 14 October 2016,weblink live, AV MEDIA, HyperNormalisation, 2016, BBC iPlayer, Adam Curtis, In 2019, Surkov boasted that "Russia is playing with the West's minds", "They don't know how to deal with their own changed consciousness."NEWS,weblink Russia is 'playing with the West's minds' says Putin advisor, The Independent, Carroll, Oliver, 12 February 2019, 12 February 2019, 26 June 2020,weblink live, Surkov has had articles written about him and his influence on the war in Donbas by Japanese academics curious about his leaked emails and his "political technology".JOURNAL, Welcome to Surkov's Theater: Russian Political Technology in the Donbas war, Hosaka, Sanshiro, Nationalities Papers, 27 November 2019, 47, 5, 750–773, Cambridge University Press, 10.1017/nps.2019.70, 214289953, In June 2021, Henry Foy published an interview with Surkov in the Financial Times in which he said "Surkov is a founding father of Putinism, and one of its key enablers." In Foy's telling, Surkov "stage-manage[d] the 2014 annexation of Crimea and Russia's involvement in the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine." Foy credited Surkov with the observation that an overdose of freedom is lethal to a state, while the latter compares Putin with Octavian. Surkov described the Minsk agreements as an act that "legitimised the first division of Ukraine". He said he was "proud that I was part of the reconquest [of Ukraine]. This was the first open geopolitical counter-attack by Russia [against the west] and such a decisive one." Surkov exhibited profound and naked cynicism:NEWS, Foy, Henry, Vladislav Surkov: 'An overdose of freedom is lethal to a state',weblinkweblink 11 December 2022, subscription, live, THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD, 18 June 2021, 14 June 2022, {{cquote|Most people need their heads to be filled with thoughts. You are not going to feed people with some highly intellectual discourse. Most people eat simple foods. Not the kind of food we are having tonight. Generally most people consume very simple-meaning beliefs. This is normal. There is haute cuisine, and there is McDonald's. Everyone takes advantage of such people all over the world.}}Surkov is depicted as the main character Vadim Baranov in the 2022 French novel {{ill|Le Mage du Kremlin|fr}} (The Wizard of the Kremlin) by Giuliano da Empoli.MAGAZINE, de Gruyter, Caroline, 30 July 2022, The Wizard of the Kremlin,weblink live, Foreign Policy,weblink 30 July 2022, 13 March 2023, WEB, live,weblink Putin's charming puppet masters, Tonkin, Boyd, 24 February 2023, UnHerd,weblink 24 February 2023, 13 March 2023,

Personal life

Surkov has married twice. His first marriage, to Yulia Petrovna Vishnevskaya (, née Lukoyanova, Лукоянова) in 1987, ended in divorce in 1996. In his second marriage, Surkov married Natalya Dubovitskaya (), his secretary when he was an executive at the Menatep bank, in a civil ceremony in 2004.Surkov bio {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316100222weblink |date=16 March 2020 }}. anticompromat.ru. Retrieved 14 April 2020.WEB,weblink Владислав Сурков биография, фото, его жена и семья, www.uznayvse.ru, ru, Vladislav Surkov, biography, photos, his wife and family, 14 April 2020, 26 November 2021,weblink live, Surkov has four children: Artem (; born 1987), the biological child of Yulia he adopted during his first marriage; and Roman (; born 2001), Maria (; born 2003), and Timur (; born 2010), biological children of himself and Natalya.Surkov has composed songs and written texts for the Russian rock-musician Vadim Samoylov, ex-member of the band Agata Kristi (). He speaks English and is fond of poets of the Beat Generation such as Allen Ginsberg.Faulconbridge, Guy "Kremlin "puppet master" faces errant oligarch" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113133045weblink |date=13 November 2021 }}. Reuters. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.

Honours and awards

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (13 November 2003) – for outstanding contribution to strengthening Russian statehood and many years of diligent work
• Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (18 January 2010, 12 June 2004 and 8 July 2003) – for active participation in the preparation of the President's address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
• Medal of PA Stolypin, 2nd class (21 September 2011)
• Diploma of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (2 April 2008) – for active support and substantial assistance in organizing and conducting the elections of the President of the Russian Federation
• State Councillor of the Russian Federation, 1st class{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

See also

• Mikhail Lesin

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

• JOURNAL, Bovt, Georgii, Vladislav Surkov: A Pragmatic Idealism, Russian Politics & Law, September 2008, 46, 5, 33–40, 10.2753/RUP1061-1940460504, 144055138,
• JOURNAL, Mäkinen, Sirke, Surkovian Narrative on the Future of Russia: Making Russia a World Leader, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, June 2011, 27, 2, 143–165, 10.1080/13523279.2011.564084, 154080566,
• JOURNAL, Sakwa, Richard, Russian Political Culture Through the Eyes of Vladislav Surkov: Guest Editor's Introduction, Russian Politics & Law, September 2008, 46, 5, 3–7, 10.2753/RUP1061-1940460500, 143511011,

External links

{{commons category|Vladislav Surkov}}

• Official record @ en.kremlin.ru
• WEB, Vladislav Surkov,weblink Who's Who, RussiaProfile.org,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140427010955weblink">weblink 27 April 2014,
• NEWS, Gatehouse, Gabriel, The Puppet Master: The story of the most powerful man you've never heard of,weblink 26 April 2022, BBC Radio 4, BBC, 24 May 2019, live,weblink 26 April 2022, Omnibus (broadcast), (Omnibus edition); Available now. Reporter Gabriel Gatehouse speaks fluent Russian and has access to a vast cache of leaked emails from Surkov’s Kremlin office. Using these, plus archive and sources gained over a decade of covering Russia and its wars, Gatehouse goes in search of the man pulling the strings.,
• NEWS, Surkov: In His Own Words,weblink 26 April 2022, The Wall Street Journal, 18 December 2006,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110208233338weblink">weblink 8 February 2011, The following are excerpts from public statements, speeches and articles by Vladislav Surkov. Translated by The Wall Street Journal.,
• WEB, Curtis, Adam, Adam Curtis, The Years of Stagnation and the Poodles of Power,weblink The Medium and the Message, BBC, 26 April 2022, en,
• NEWS, Pomerantsev, Peter, Peter Pomerantsev, Putin's Rasputin,weblink 26 April 2022, London Review of Books, 20, 20 October 2011, 33,
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150201203715weblink">Biography Surkov (Russian)
• Is Vladislav Surkov an Artist?

{{Russian intervention in Ukraine}}{{War in Donbas}}{{Authority control}}