Anna Popova

Roadmap to Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region

Key Persons

Director of the Department for Economic Cooperation with CIS Countries of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation

Anna Popova was born on January 1, 1975.
In 1998, she graduated from the Faculty of International Economic Relations of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 2002 - from the postgraduate program of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Popova is the Candidate of Economic Sciences.
Popova holds the rank of a 3rd class Active State Counselor of the Russian Federation.

Professional Career

In 1998-2002, she worked in various commercial organizations. For a while, she was an assistant to a State Duma deputy.
2003-2007 - worked in the Department for International Affairs, Foreign Economic Relations and Relations with Federal Authorities of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) under the President of Russia.
2010-2012 - worked in the Department of International Relations, Interregional Development and Cross-Border Cooperation of the Ministry of Regional Development.
2013-2014 - Deputy Director of the Department of State Industry Programs of the Ministry of Regional Development.

Career at the Ministry of Economic Development

2015-2017 - Deputy Director of the Department of Interregional Development and Border Cooperation in the Ministry of Economic Development.
2017-2020 - Deputy Director of the Department for the Development and Regulation of Foreign Economic Activities of the Ministry of Economic Development.
2020-2023 - Deputy Director of the Department for the Development of Integration Projects and CIS Countries, Department for Economic Cooperation with CIS Countries in the Ministry of Economic Development:
- On March 30, 2021, Popova also spoke at an event related to the development of trade potential between the regions of Russia and China. The meeting discussed issues of interregional cooperation between the two countries.
- On October 25-26, 2021, the XIX All-Russian Forum „Strategic Planning in Russian Regions and Cities: Reality of 2020 and the Agenda of the Decade“ was held in St. Petersburg. The event organizers were the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia and the Accounts Chamber. Popova also gave a speech at the event.
In February-December 2023, she was the Acting Director of the Department for Special Programs and Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development. From 2020 to January 2023, Vitaly Gudin was the Director of the department.
On December 2, 2023, she was appointed as the Director of the Department for Economic Cooperation with the CIS Countries of the Ministry of Economic Development.

Relations with Abkhazia

On October 27, 2017, the VIII Abkhaz-Russian Business Forum was held in Sokhumi. Popova was also one of the organizers of the forum. She stated that the round tables topic planned within the forum will be broader. According to Popova, the forum was to discuss issues of interregional and tourism cooperation, support for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and small and medium-sized businesses.
On June 16, 2023, within the frame of the St. Petersburg International Forum, the Russian Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, and the de facto Deputy Prime Minister, Kristina Ozgan, signed an agreement “on the restoration of the Sokhumi Ardzinba International Airport.“ Popova also attended the signing ceremony.

Relations with the Tskhinvali Region

On June 30, 2023, a Russian delegation inspected the state of the solid waste composting site in the Tskhinvali region. The facility was built in 2020. The de facto President, Alan Gagloyev, accompanied the Russian delegation which was comprised of the Head of the Directorate of Interregional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries of the Presidential Administration, Igor Maslov, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Dmitry Volvach, and Popova. On the same day, the Russian delegation visited facilities built with Russian funds.