11/3/10, 3:30 pm

Hey everybody, we've got some news for you. Viktor Chernomyrdin [Виктор Черномырдин], the first and longest serving Prime Minister of Russian, died yesterday.

In the early 1980s, he was appointed the Minister of the Gas Industry. Later that decade, he decided to push the ministry toward privatization: ownership would switch from the state to stockholders (even though the state ended up buying all the stock). That switch led to the end of the ministry, and in its place Chernomyrdin founded Gazprom, which is now the largest oil/natural gas provider in the world.

He was one of Yeltsin's key advisors throughout the 90s, and held time Prime Ministership twice, from December 1992 through March 1998, and again from August to September 1998. He also served as Acting President for one day in November of 1996 while Yelstin underwent heart surgery.

After his time as Prime Minister, Chernomyrdin served as the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine from 2001 to 2009. He also served as a special advisor to President Medvyedev up until his death.


The best part about Chernomydin was the way he spoke. He normally spoke in very grandiose terms and phrases, and many of these have become popular sayings in Russia, known as Черномырдиники (Chernomyrdinisms – kinda like how we have Bushisms). Some of the more famous are:
–Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда ("We wanted the best, but we got business as usual")
–Принципы, которые были принципиальны, были непринципиальны ("Principles that were fundamentals weren't fundamentals")
–На любом языке я умею говорить со всеми, но этим инструментом я стараюсь не пользоваться. ("I can speak to anyone in any language, but this is a tool I try not to use")
–Локомотив экономического роста - это как слон в известном месте ("The engine of economic growth is the elephant in the room")
–Что говорить о Черномырдине и обо мне? ("What can I say about Chernomyrdin and about myself?")
–[О планах правительства] Мы продолжаем то, что мы уже много наделали... (About the government's plan: "We're continuing to do what we've done well...")
–[О войне в Югославии] В Югославии катастрофа. Катастрофа - это всегда плохо! (About the war in Yugoslavia: "Yugoslavia was a catastrophe. And a catastrophe is never good!")
–Мы с вами так будем жить, что наши дети и внуки завидовать станут! ("We're going to live in a way that makes our children and grandchildren jealous!")