Kalmyk President, Founder of 1 Roman Catholic Church, 22 Orthodox Churches and 30 Buddhist Temples
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Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (Russian: Кирса́н Никола́евич
Илюмжи́нов) (born April 5, 1962, in Elista) is a Kalmyk multi-
millionaire businessman and politician. He is the President of the
Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation, and has been the
President of FIDE (or the "World Chess Federation"), the world's pre-
eminent international chess organization, since 1995. He has also been
in the forefront of promoting chess in schools in Russia and overseas.
He is the founder of Novy Vzglyad Publishing House.[1]
Early life
From a humble beginning—his parents, as with other Kalmyks were
deported by Joseph Stalin in World War II—Kirsan Ilyumzhinov grew up
in Elista after the Kalmyks were allowed to return following Stalin's
death. From a young age he became interested in chess, and he won the
Kalmykian national chess championship in 1976 at the age of 14.[2]
From 1979–80 Ilyumzhinov worked as a mechanic-fitter at the Zvezda
plant in Elista. After two years in compulsory national service for
the Soviet Army, 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 sales manager of the Soviet-Japanese
automobile company "Liko-Raduga" in Moscow, and from 1990–93 he was
President of SAN Corporation in Moscow. Ilyumzhinov acquired his
wealth with the emergence of the private sector which followed the
collapse of the USSR. He now owns a private jet and six Rolls Royces;
he has a black limousine in Moscow, but prefers his white one at home.
[2]
[edit] Political career
On April 12, 1993, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was elected as the first
president of the Republic of Kalmykia, and has been running the state
since then. This has allowed him to promote Kalmyk culture and music,
but more importantly, chess which has been his real passion. Soon
after his election, Ilyumzhinov introduced presidential rule,
concentrating power in his own hands. He called early elections on
October 15, 1995 and was re-elected unopposed—this time for a 7-year
term. He won re-election in 2002.[3] According to the BBC,[4]
Ilyumzhinov's election platform for the presidency of Kalmykia
included promising voters $100 each and a mobile phone for every
shepherd—much of the population of Kalmykia living from agriculture.
He once campaigned under the slogan "a wealthy president is a
safeguard against corruption." He also pledged to introduce what he
called an "economic dictatorship" in the republic, as well as to
continue to promote chess in Kalmykia, in Russia and to the wider
world. He speaks English reasonably fluently.[5]
After his re-election in 1995, Ilyumzhinov reportedly told a
journalist from the Russian daily Izvestia, "Irrespective of what I
tell people, I give them instructions on a sub-conscious level, a
code. I do the same thing when I communicate with Russian citizens
from other regions. I am creating around the republic a kind of extra-
sensory field and it helps us a lot in our projects."[6]
Ilyumzhinov 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 supporting religion, building a
Catholic church at the instigation of the Pope John Paul II.[7][8] He
has also built a mosque, a synagogue, 22 Orthodox churches, and 30
Buddhist temples. Chess was made a compulsory subject in the first
three years of elementary school—the only place in the world where
this is the case. The region now has numerous champions. The Dalai
Lama has visited Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on many occasions and has blessed
a number of the temples in Elista, as well as Kalmyk Buddhist temples
overseas. Ilyumzhinov denies persistent accusations of diverting the
republic's resources for his own use (in fact he does not draw a
salary as president) and of suppressing media freedom. Visiting
journalists and tourists who have come to Kalmykia have spoken of the
great reception they have received, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov often meeting
them in person. One (Daniel Kalder) complained at not being able to
find a McDonald's restaurant, and the quality of the roads. In 2004,
police dispersed a small number of demonstrators who demanded his
resignation. When Australian journalist Eric Campbell interviewed
people in Elista about Ilyumzhinov, he found that many were happy that
he had managed to gain widespread attention for Kalmykia through
chess, although one was slightly critical of the money invested in
chess projects.[9]
Ilyumzhinov is also famous for his nature-conservative activities. He
created the only reserve in Europe where it is possible to see relict
saiga antelope. The year of 2010 in Kalmykia announced by Ilyumzhinov
as Year of Saiga.
On 8 June 1998, Larisa Yudina, a publisher of an opposition newspaper,
was stabbed to death 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; the incident was fully investigated by the local and the
Russian authorities.[7][10]
From November 1995 to present Ilyumzhinov has been President of the
World Chess Federation, investing a large amount of his private
fortune into the game. He has been enthusiastic about attracting
international tournaments to Kalmykia, and many grandmasters have done
so. His flamboyant plans to build an extravagant Chess City in the
republic led to protests by some people, but have been praised by
others for generating good publicity. The 1996 bout was scheduled
between Gata Kamsky and Anatoly Karpov for Baghdad. However the
international response was so harsh, that FIDE moved the match to
Elista where it achieved much (good) international attention.
In other developments during that time, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov encountered
opposition from rivals in the European chess federations, the U.S.,
and Canada. Some of these managed to a special meeting in Utrecht,
Netherlands, on April 27-28. The meeting called for equal treatment
for Kamsky and Karpov, the restoration of the traditional FIDE cycle
of qualifying contests leading to the world title match, and a shake-
up in FIDE. To reinforce this reformation the Utrecht partners
supported a candidate to challenge Ilyumzhinov at the FIDE Congress
that took place alongside the Chess Olympiad. The candidate was Jaime
Sunye Neto, a grandmaster from Brazil. Ilyumzhinov was successful in
mustering support from the Third World and from Russia, and he won the
election 87-46. There was no restoration of the traditional qualifying
cycle, and Ilyumzhinov's own preference for a $5 million knockout
contest for the world's top 100 players was deferred from December
1996 until December 1997, with no definite sponsor announced.
In the summer of 1998, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced his possible
candidacy for the Russian presidency. This coincided with Anatoly
Karpov being critical of the annual knockout FIDE world title system.
Karpov argued that his contract with FIDE stipulated that the winner
of the 1998 Karpov-Anand match would hold the title for two years.
Karpov's successful advocacy of his rights led to the cancellation of
a planned world title knockout series in Las Vegas, Nevada, later in
that year. Since Karpov had an unsuccessful year, apart from his match
against Anand, and he was unable to resist the plan that he would have
to enter this knockout, whenever it came to be organized, at a far
earlier stage.
Ilyumzhinov managed to persuade the 140 member countries of FIDE to
take part in the main team event of the year, the Chess Olympiad,
scheduled to start in late September 1998, in Elista. However the
event started late due to the failure to complete the new venue in
time. In the end, it attracted 110 teams to the main event, a Swiss
system contest shortened to 13 rounds to allow for the delay.
[edit] Re-election controversy
On June 2, 2006, Ilyumzhinov was re-elected as FIDE President by a
margin of 96-54 against his opponent Bessel Kok.[11] In an October
2006 Wall Street Journal article Gary Kasparov, who backed a rival to
Ilyumzhinov, and has also been embroiled in controversy for his
campaign against Vladimir Putin, criticized Ilyumzhinov FIDE's
leadership stating: "(Ilyumzhinov) has created a vertical column of
power that would be familiar to any observer of Russia today."[12]
Nigel Short, the British grandmaster who also supported Kirsan's rival
for the leadership of FIDE, joined Kasparov's misgivings at
Ilyumzhinov's victory.[13] Ilyumzhinov has managed to attract many
famous chess grandmasters to Elista, including Alexandra Kosteniuk and
Anatoly Karpov, the former world champion—both longtime supporters of
Kirsan.[14]
[edit] Publications
[edit] Autobiography
Ilyumzhinov called his autobiography, published in 1998, The
President’s Crown of Thorns. Chapter titles included "Without Me the
People Are Incomplete," "I Become a Millionaire," and "It Only Takes
Two Weeks to Have a Man Killed"—the latter being about the problems
with rising crime in some parts of Russia.
[edit] Mentions in literature
Ilyumzhinov features prominently in three books:
* Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld, by Sarah
Hurst (ISBN 1-888690-15-1) (privately published by Russell Enterprises
Inc.).
* The Chess Artist, by J. C. Hallman (ISBN 0-312-27293-6).
* Absurdistan, by Eric Campbell (ISBN 0732279801).
Ilyumzhinov also has a whole chapter devoted to him in The Lost
Cosmonaut by Daniel Kalder. (ISBN 9780571227815) (Faber, 2006).
There is also a brief biographical account on http://www.kalmykiaembassy.ru/html/egov.html.
[edit] References
1. ^ http://newlookmedia.ru/IDNV/Redakcia/Stranic/Komanda_NV.html
2. ^ a b The Dictator and His Hobby: Kalmykian Leader Makes Farce
of Chess Championships - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
3. ^ [Kalmyk Embassy in Moscow, http://www.kalmykiaembassy.ru/html/egov.html.]
4. ^ BBC NEWS | Europe | Game of kings takes centre stage
5. ^ YouTube - Meet the President - Kalmykia - 28 May 07
6. ^ No cheque mate
7. ^ a b The man who bought chess | Special reports |
guardian.co.uk Sport
8. ^ Letter from Russia: Planet Kirsan: The New Yorker
9. ^ [Eric Campbell. Absurdistan.]
10. ^ Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of Europe's only Buddhist
republic, talks to Tom Parfitt | World news | The Guardian
11. ^ FIDE Online. FIDE News: Kirsan Re-elected by Wide Margin, 96
vs. 54
12. ^ ChessBase.com - Chess News - Kasparov on Elista in the Wall
Street Journal
13. ^ Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of Europe's only Buddhist
republic, talks to Tom Parfitt | World news | The Guardian
14. ^ Letter from Russia: Planet Kirsan: The New Yorker
[edit] External links
* "All about Kirsan" — ChessBase.com, 17 July 2004
* A two part documentary by Al Jazeera English on Youtube — part 1
and part 2
* Kirsan Ilyumzhinov — ChessFidelity
* (Russian) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in comics, 1995
* Book download: The President's Crown of Thorns by Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, 1998 — FIDE
* Letter from Russia: "Planet Kirsan" by Michael Specter, The New
Yorker, April 24, 2006
* "King of Kalmykia" by Tom Parfitt, The Guardian, September 21,
2006
* THE DICTATOR AND HIS HOBBY: "Kalmykian Leader Makes Farce of
Chess Championships" by Mark Grossekathöfer, Spiegel Magazine, October
12, 2006
* "The man who bought chess" by Ed Vulliamy, Observer Sport
Monthly, October 29, 2006
* Regions and territories: Kalmykia — BBC News Online
* "An Open Letter to the President of FIDE, Mr. Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, from Grandmaster Boris Gulko" — GrandMaster Square
* (Russian) Novy Vzglyad Publisnhg House— Official site