Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: Difference between revisions

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	'''Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov''' ({{lang-ru\|Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов}}) (born ], ]) is the President of the ] of the ], and the President of ] (a.k.a. the World Chess Federation), the preeminent international ] organization, since ]. He has striven to become an "]" ] like his ]an, ]n and ] role models (even though his republic is in the southern European portion of Russia). He has spent millions of dollars on ] and religion, building a ] ] at the instigation of the ] ]. He has also built a ], a ], 22 ] churches, and 30 Buddhist ]s.		'''Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov''' ({{lang-ru\|Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов}}) (born ], ]) is the President of the ] of the ], and the President of ] (a.k.a. the World Chess Federation), the preeminent international ] organization, since ].

			From 1979-80 Ilyumzhinov was a mechanic-fitter at the Zvezda plant in ]. After two years in military service, he returned to the plant as a mechanic for a year, and then studied at the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations from 1983-89. From 1989-90 he was Manager of the Soviet-Japanese company "Liko-Raduga" in Moscow, and from 1990-93 he was President of SAN Corporation in Moscow.
⚫	Ilyumzhinov features prominently in three recent books, ''Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld'' by Sarah Hurst (ISBN 1-888690-15-1), ''The Chess Artist'', by J. C. Hallman (ISBN 0-312-27293-6) and ''Absurdistan: a bumpy ride through some of the world’s scariest, weirdest places'', by Eric Campbell (ISBN 0732279801).

			==President of Kalmykia==

			From April 1993 to the present Ilyumzhinov has been President, Head since Oct.2005, of the Republic of Kalmykia.

		⚫	According to the ], Ilyumzhinov's election platform for the presidency of Kalmykia included a promise of a mobile phone for every shepherd and the affirmation of his belief that he had previously been ].

			He has striven to become an "]" ] like his ]an, ]n, and ] role models (even though his republic is in the southern European portion of Russia). He has spent millions of dollars on ] and religion, building a ] ] at the instigation of the ] ]. He has also built a ], a ], 22 ] churches, and 30 Buddhist ]s.

		⚫	On ], ], ], a publisher of an opposition newspaper, was murdered in Elista. Both people convicted in the murder were Kalmykian government aides, and one was an advisor to Ilyumzhinov. One other person was acquitted by offering evidence to help in the conviction. Ilyumzhinov denied any involvement with the murder.
		⚫

			==President of the World Chess Federation; Controversy==

			From November 1995 to present Ilyumzhinov has been President of the World Chess Federation.

	Grandmaster ] was denied the ability to play chess at the world championship because of his ]ish faith, and he appealed to Ilyumzhinov. The ] World Championship was held in ], and Gulko qualified to play. He accepted the invitation but President ]’s son, who was also the President of the Libyan Organizing Committee, announced: “We did not and will not invite the ] enemies to this championship.” Gulko, along with other Jewish players from ] and the United States, therefore could not participate in the tournament. Gulko sent a strong letter to Ilyumzhinov, saying “I implore you not to be the first president of FIDE to preside over the first world chess championship from which Jews are excluded. Our magnificent and noble game does not deserve such a disgrace.” The tournament went on as scheduled, without Gulko and the other Jewish players.		Grandmaster ] was denied the ability to play chess at the world championship because of his ]ish faith, and he appealed to Ilyumzhinov. The ] World Championship was held in ], and Gulko qualified to play. He accepted the invitation but President ]’s son, who was also the President of the Libyan Organizing Committee, announced: “We did not and will not invite the ] enemies to this championship.” Gulko, along with other Jewish players from ] and the United States, therefore could not participate in the tournament. Gulko sent a strong letter to Ilyumzhinov, saying “I implore you not to be the first president of FIDE to preside over the first world chess championship from which Jews are excluded. Our magnificent and noble game does not deserve such a disgrace.” The tournament went on as scheduled, without Gulko and the other Jewish players.
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	On June 2, 2006, Ilyumzhinov was reelected as FIDE President by a margin of 96-54 against his opponent ]. . In an October 2006 '']'' article ] harshly criticized Ilyumzhinov FIDE's leadership stating: "(Ilyumzhinov) has created a vertical column of power that would be familiar to any observer of Russia today. He runs the chess world in the same authoritarian way he runs his impoverished republic. After a decade of such mistreatment, the only place that could be found to host the (chess world champion unification) match was his own capital. Serious sponsors rarely want anything to do with Mr. Ilyumzhinov and his organization."<ref> </ref>		On June 2, 2006, Ilyumzhinov was reelected as FIDE President by a margin of 96-54 against his opponent ]. . In an October 2006 '']'' article ] harshly criticized Ilyumzhinov FIDE's leadership stating: "(Ilyumzhinov) has created a vertical column of power that would be familiar to any observer of Russia today. He runs the chess world in the same authoritarian way he runs his impoverished republic. After a decade of such mistreatment, the only place that could be found to host the (chess world champion unification) match was his own capital. Serious sponsors rarely want anything to do with Mr. Ilyumzhinov and his organization."<ref> </ref>

			==Mentions in literature==
⚫	Ilyumzhinov's election platform for the presidency of Kalmykia included a promise of a mobile phone for every shepherd and the affirmation of his belief that he had previously been ].

		⚫	Ilyumzhinov features prominently in three recent books, ''Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld'' by Sarah Hurst (ISBN 1-888690-15-1), ''The Chess Artist'', by J. C. Hallman (ISBN 0-312-27293-6) and ''Absurdistan: a bumpy ride through some of the world’s scariest, weirdest places'', by Eric Campbell (ISBN 0732279801).
⚫	On 8 June, 1998, ], a publisher of an opposition newspaper, was murdered in Elista. Both people convicted in the murder were Kalmykian government aides, and one was an advisor to Ilyumzhinov. One other person was acquitted by offering evidence to help in the conviction. Ilyumzhinov denied any involvement with the murder.
⚫

	==References==		==References==
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Revision as of 06:05, 14 June 2007

Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (Template:Lang-ru) (born April 5, 1962) is the President of the Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation, and the President of FIDE (a.k.a. the World Chess Federation), the preeminent international chess organization, since 1995.

From 1979-80 Ilyumzhinov was a mechanic-fitter at the Zvezda plant in Elista. After two years in military service, he returned to the plant as a mechanic for a year, and then studied at the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations from 1983-89. From 1989-90 he was Manager of the Soviet-Japanese company "Liko-Raduga" in Moscow, and from 1990-93 he was President of SAN Corporation in Moscow.

President of Kalmykia

From April 1993 to the present Ilyumzhinov has been President, Head since Oct.2005, of the Republic of Kalmykia.

According to the BBC, Ilyumzhinov's election platform for the presidency of Kalmykia included a promise of a mobile phone for every shepherd and the affirmation of his belief that he had previously been abducted by aliens.

He has striven to become an "Asian values" authoritarian like his Singaporean, Korean, and Chinese role models (even though his republic is in the southern European portion of Russia). He has spent millions of dollars on chess and religion, building a Catholic church at the instigation of the Pope John Paul II. He has also built a mosque, a synagogue, 22 Orthodox churches, and 30 Buddhist temples.

On 8 June, 1998, Larisa Yudina, a publisher of an opposition newspaper, was murdered in Elista. Both people convicted in the murder were Kalmykian government aides, and one was an advisor to Ilyumzhinov. One other person was acquitted by offering evidence to help in the conviction. Ilyumzhinov denied any involvement with the murder.

President of the World Chess Federation; Controversy

From November 1995 to present Ilyumzhinov has been President of the World Chess Federation.

Grandmaster Boris Gulko was denied the ability to play chess at the world championship because of his Jewish faith, and he appealed to Ilyumzhinov. The 2004 World Championship was held in Libya, and Gulko qualified to play. He accepted the invitation but President Qadafi’s son, who was also the President of the Libyan Organizing Committee, announced: “We did not and will not invite the Zionist enemies to this championship.” Gulko, along with other Jewish players from Israel and the United States, therefore could not participate in the tournament. Gulko sent a strong letter to Ilyumzhinov, saying “I implore you not to be the first president of FIDE to preside over the first world chess championship from which Jews are excluded. Our magnificent and noble game does not deserve such a disgrace.” The tournament went on as scheduled, without Gulko and the other Jewish players.

On June 2, 2006, Ilyumzhinov was reelected as FIDE President by a margin of 96-54 against his opponent Bessel Kok. . In an October 2006 Wall Street Journal article Gary Kasparov harshly criticized Ilyumzhinov FIDE's leadership stating: "(Ilyumzhinov) has created a vertical column of power that would be familiar to any observer of Russia today. He runs the chess world in the same authoritarian way he runs his impoverished republic. After a decade of such mistreatment, the only place that could be found to host the (chess world champion unification) match was his own capital. Serious sponsors rarely want anything to do with Mr. Ilyumzhinov and his organization."

Mentions in literature

Ilyumzhinov features prominently in three recent books, Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld by Sarah Hurst (ISBN 1-888690-15-1), The Chess Artist, by J. C. Hallman (ISBN 0-312-27293-6) and Absurdistan: a bumpy ride through some of the world’s scariest, weirdest places, by Eric Campbell (ISBN 0732279801).

References

Chess Mess

External links

Template:Incumbent succession box

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