Key Persons

Leonid Slutsky

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma

Leonid Slutsky is the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma. He has been in politics for many years and Georgia holds a special role in his political agenda. Given his position, he often makes statements about the issues concerning Georgia, including about Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region. He often meets with the representatives of the occupied Georgian regions and is an active supporter of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region.

General Biographical Information 

  • Leonid Slutsky was born on January 4, 1968, in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR.
  • He graduated from Moscow Machinery Institute.
  • In 1996, he graduated from Moscow Economics and Statistics Institute with the specialty of organizational management.
  • In 1998, he defended a candidate and in 2001, a doctoral dissertation and was granted the degree of a Doctor of Economic Sciences.
  • Slutsky is a member of the Liberal-Democratic Party and has been a member of the State Duma from this party since 1999.
  • In 2002, he was elected as a Chairman of an international public foundation – the Russian Peace Foundation.
  • He used to visit Chechnya often and has made contributions to restoring the social and economic fields of the Republic, for which he has received the Akmad Kadyrov Order.
  • Slutsky has participated in the return of the properties belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church in Estonia. He has received numerous awards from the Russian Orthodox Church for his active cooperation with them.
  • On March 17, 2014, on the second day of the Crimean referendum, he ended up in the first seven-people list against whom the United States imposed sanctions.
  • Thanks to Slutsky, observers loyal to Russia are attending the elections in Russia and in regions that are problematic to Russia. For example, in July 2014, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the first European delegation of French MPs was brought to Crimea by Slutsky.
  • In 2018, Slutsky was accused of sexual harassment of several female journalists, yet the Ethics Committee of the State Duma could not find violations in his behavior.
  • In recent years, Aleksandr Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation has accused Slutsky of illegally enriching himself. According to the Foundation’s study, the Slutsky family owns several expensive cars, the value of which equals several years of their family’s income.
  • Due to his participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and frequent foreign visits, he has connections with many foreign officials. According to his statement, he considers himself to be a close friend of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. In 2016, when Slutsky became the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he had his very first visit in Baku. He is also a close acquaintance of the Prince of Monaco, Albert.

Professional Career

  • In the beginning of the 1990s, he worked as a Head of Sector of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of RSFSR.
  • In 1992-1993, he was Advisor to the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov. According to popular opinion, Slutsky’s career was supported by Luzhkov’s Deputy, Vladimir Resin, who then became an MP of the State Duma.
  • In January-August 1994, he held the position of the Head of Secretariat of the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
  • From August 1994 to 1999, he moved from politics to business for some time. In that period, he was a member of the ProInvestBank Council and Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of UnicomBank.

Political Career

  • Slutsky’s political career started from 1999. From that year, he was the MP of the Third (1999-2003), Fourth (2003-2007), Fifth (2007-2011), Sixth (2011-2016), Seventh (2016-2021), Eight (2021-2026) convocation of the State Duma.
  • From 2000 to 2016, he was Deputy Head of the Russian Federation Federal Assembly’s Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
  • In the Sixth State Duma (2011-2016), Slutsky was the Chairman of the Committee for CIS and Relations with Compatriots.
  • In the State Duma of 7th convocation Slutsky occupied the position of the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee. In the previous three State Dumas, this position was held by the representatives of the ruling party – United Russia. On September 23, 2016, before the first session of the Seventh State Duma, in his meeting with the President of Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, the leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, asked the President to help him in appointing his fellow party member as the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee. Putin, in his own right, praised Slutsky’s diplomatic nature; however, did not give his position on the possible appointment. Ultimately, Slutsky became the Chairman of the Committee on October 5, 2016.
  • In 2021 Slutsky elected in the State Duma of 8th convocation. He became the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Relations with Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region

  • Back before the Russia-Georgia War, in March 2008, after the recognition of the independence of Kosovo by some Western states and when the de facto Parliament of Abkhazia addressed both chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly with the request of recognizing  the independence of Abkhazia, Slutsky, who was the Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma, stated that Russia does not question Georgia’s territorial integrity.
  • Soon after the Russia-Georgia War, on August 29, 2008, according to Slutsky’s assessment, “Russian recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region is a serious factor in international relations, which will become strong leverage. The West cannot disregard Moscow’s decision”.
  • In November 2011, regarding the decision made by the local Supreme Court on the repeat elections during the illegitimate Presidential elections in Tskhinvali Region, Slutsky stated that “if the new elections have been appointed – they need to be held and the violations recognized by the Supreme Court must not be repeated.” According to his opinion it is important “to restrain emotions and not start throwing punches”. The repeat illegitimate elections held in 2012 was assessed by Slutsky to have been fair and democratic.
  • On July 11, 2014, Slutsky visited Abkhazia and met with the de facto Acting President of Abkhazia, Valeri Bganba. One of the topics discussed at the meeting was the snap illegitimate Presidential elections planned on August 24, 2014. A week before the elections, Slutsky stated that Russia does not support any specific candidate and will simply be sending observers to Abkhazia. Before that, Slutsky assessed the May 28 actions of the opposition to the de facto President of Abkhazia, Aleksandr Ankvab, as a coup attempt. Slutsky said that the opposition took advantage of Ankvab’s liberal views and the fact that he ran. According to him, it was necessary for Ankvab’s whereabouts to be determined immediately and consultations to begin for instituting legitimate government. Ankvab resigned in several days.
  • On January 23, 2015, the State Duma ratified the Russia-Abkhazia Agreement on Alliance and Strategic Partnership. The Agreement was signed on November 24, 2014. Slutsky said that the ratification of the Agreement was a “historic moment” in Russian-Abkhazian relations.
  • In October 2015, on the initiative of the de facto President of Tskhinvali Region, Leonid Tibilov, about holding a referendum on incorporating Tskhinvali Region into Russia, Slutsky stated that “when deciding about the issue of entry, Russia will have to take geostrategic realities into account and we will have to discuss if the necessity for this is ripe”.
  • In July 2016, Slutsky visited Tbilisi as a member of the Russian delegation to the session of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
  • On May 29, 2018, Slutsky commented on the Syrian recognition of the independence of occupied Georgian regions:  “I can only welcome the Syrian recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Both Caucasian republics have been living as sovereign states for almost ten years and it is unlikely that they will ever become parts of Georgia again. Their independence from Tbilisi is a done deal. Syrian leadership had enough political foresight and wisdom to recognize them”.