One hell of a ride The life and career of Yevgeny Primakov in photos
Yevgeny Primakov died earlier today, on June 26, 2015. He was 85 years old. In that time, Primakov held a variety of government posts. In the Soviet Union, he was the chairman of the country's Supreme Council and the head of the USSR's central intelligence service. Later, after the collapse of one regime and the birth of a new one, Primakov served as foreign minister and prime minister. Meduza presents a photo series about the life of Yevgeny Primakov.
1930s. With his mother, Anna Kirshenblat.
Photo: Ogonek / Kommersant
1950. Yevgeny Primakov (center) with friends.
Photo: Ogonek / Kommersant
1979. Yevgeny Primakov as director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
Photo: Alexander Grashchenkov / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
June 3, 1989. Yevgeny Primakov is elected as chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Photo: Sergei Subbotin / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
June 3, 1989. Yevgeny Primakov and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Photo: Boris Babanov / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
September 1, 1991. Yevgeny Primakov as head of the USSR's central intelligence service.
Photo: Boris Prikhodko / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
1996. Yevgeny Primakov as foreign minister, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
Photo: Alexander Sentsov / TASS / Scanpix
1996. Foreign Minister Primakov and NATO Secretary General Javier Solana.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1997. Foreign Minister Primakov and US President Bill Clinton.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1997. Yevgeny Primakov addresses the UN General Assembly.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov with his wife, Irina, on a walk at their Moscow country home.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov with his family.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov and Patriarch Alexy II.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov, just before becoming Prime Minister, enters a meeting with Duma lawmakers. To his right is Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev.
Photo: Nikolai Malyshev / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov during a visit to a Russian peacekeeping base in Serbia.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov (right) and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
Photo: Sergei Subbotin / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
1998. Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov views the works of sculptor Zurab Tsereteli.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Photo: Viktor Tolochko / TASS / Scanpix
1998. Yevgeny Primakov during a visit to poultry farm in Mordovia.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1999. Yevgeny Primakov during a visit to a Siberian metallurgical plant.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
March 24, 1999. Yevgeny Primakov speaks at a Moscow airport before immediately reboarding his plane for the United States, which has suddenly announced its intention to bomb Yugoslavia.
Frame: NTV / AP / Scanpix
May 12, 1999. Boris Yeltsin dismisses Yevgeny Primakov from his post as Prime Minister.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / TASS / Scanpix
1999. Yevgeny Primakov as a Duma deputy and leader of the
Photo: Vladimir Fedorenko / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
2000. The leaders of two Duma factions: Yevgeny Primakov (Fatherland—All Russia) and Boris Nemtsov (Union of Right Forces).
Photo: Vladimir Fedorenko / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
2000. Yevgeny Primakov with two of Russia's most influential women, politician Valentina Matviyenko and pop star Alla Pugacheva.
Photo: Vladimir Rodionov and Sergei Velichkin / TASS / Scanpix
2003. Yevgeny Primakov, now president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Photo: Yuri Abramochkin / RIA Novosti / Scanpix
2008. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and Russian Chamber of Commerce President Yevgeny Primakov meet outside Moscow.
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / TASS / Scanpix
2009. Yevgeny Primakov at a memorial service for the anniversary of the death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, whose widow stands in front of Primakov. Former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov is to his left.
Photo: Vitaly Belousov / TASS / Scanpix
2014. Yevgeny Primakov at an award ceremony for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian action.
Photo: Alexey Nikolsky / RIA Novosti / Scanpix