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Vadim Krasnoselsky

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Vadim Krasnoselsky
Вадим Красносельский
Official portrait, 2016
3rd President of Transnistria
Assumed office
16 December 2016
Prime MinisterAleksandr Martynov
Aleksandr Rosenberg
Preceded byYevgeny Shevchuk
6th Speaker of the Supreme Council
In office
23 December 2015 – 14 December 2016
Preceded byMikhail Burla
Succeeded byAlexander Shcherba
Member of the Supreme Council from 7th district
In office
30 November 2015 – 14 December 2016
Preceded byValery Chervonooky
Succeeded byRuslan Gareev
7th Minister of the Interior
In office
10 January 2007 – 27 February 2012
PresidentIgor Smirnov
Yevgeny Shevchuk
Preceded byAleksandr Korolyov
Succeeded bySergey Monul
Personal details
Born
Vadim Nikolaevich Krasnoselsky

(1970-04-14) 14 April 1970 (age 54)
Dauriya, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
CitizenshipTransnistria
Russia
Ukraine[1]
Political partyIndependent[2]
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Spouse
Svetlana Krasnoselskaya
(m. 1991)
Children3
Alma materShevchenko Transnistria State University
Kozhedub University of the Air Force
Military service
Branch/service Transnistria Army
Years of service1988–2012
RankMajor General

Vadim Nikolayevich Krasnoselsky (Russian: Вади́м Никола́евич Красносе́льский; Romanian: Vadim Nicolaevici Crasnoselschii; born 14 April 1970) is a Transnistrian politician who is the 3rd and current President of Transnistria. Previously, he served as a member of the Supreme Council of Transnistria from the 7th district, as 6th Speaker of the Supreme Council (2015–2016) and the 7th Minister of the Interior.

Biography

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On April 14, 1970, Vadim Krasnoselsky was born to parents Nikolai Vasilyevich Krasnoselsky (1939–2016) and Antonina Grigorievna Krasnoselskaya (born 1945) in the village of Dauriya, in the Borzinsky district (now the Zabaykalsky District) of the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union. This area is located in the Russian Far East.[3]

Krasnoselsky came from a military family. In 1978 his father was transferred to a military base in Bender in the Moldavian SSR.[3] He attended High School No. 102 (now Gymnasium No. 1) in Bender, and is said to have sat at the same desk of his future wife Svetlana. As a child, Krasnoselsky is reported to have attended a music school, and took part in rowing and other sporting competitions, fulfilling the standards for the title of “Candidate for Master of Sports of the USSR”.

After leaving school in 1987 Krasnoselsky started studying in Odesa, but left during his first year to join a Military Aviation Engineer Higher School in Kharkiv, from which he graduated in 1993.[3] However, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to an independent Ukraine.[4] He subsequently joined the Transnistrian security forces, later becoming a high-ranking official in the Ministry of the Interior.[3]

From 1998 to 2000, Krasnoselsky was the Deputy Head of the anti-corruption department of the Bendery police force, and from 2000 to 2003, he was Deputy Head of the anti-corruption department in the central office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the PMR.

Vadim Krasnoselsky took his degree in law at the Transnistrian State University, graduating from the Faculty of Law in 2002.[5] He worked for the Bender police for several years, rising through the ranks before becoming the chief of police in that city.[6] From September 10, 2003, he was the head of the Bendery GOVD (later the Bendery Department of Internal Affairs).

In 2007, Krasnoselsky became Minister of the Interior, serving until 2012 when he started working in business, as an adviser to the Board of Directors of SZAO Interdnestrcom, where he worked for 3 years until 2015.[3] He was elected to the Supreme Council in the 2015 elections, and was appointed as the body's Speaker.[3]

Presidency

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Krasnoselsky during his inauguration in 2016.

Supported by the Sheriff conglomerate,[7] he defeated incumbent President Yevgeny Shevchuk in the 2016 presidential elections, receiving 62% of the vote.[8] He was inaugurated on 27 December at the Nadezhda Aronetskaya State Drama Theatre.[9] On 4 January 2017, he received newly elected Moldovan President Igor Dodon in Bender, who was the second Moldovan leader to visit the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR) in several years.[10] In January 2019, he attended the opening of the PMR representative offices in Moscow, replacing the Cooperation Center "Transnistria".[11] On 29 May, he announced the creation of an international lawsuit against Moldova in which the PMR asks for compensation for "the aggression against the people of Transnistria".[12] In August, he attended a ceremony at the base of the Operational Group of Russian Forces with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu dedicated the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Moldova in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive.[13][14][15][16] In late October, he met with President Dodon at his presidential residence in Holercani ahead of the Bavaria Conference, scheduled for 4–5 November.[17][18]

During his presidency, he revived the traditional New Year balls, in which he takes part with his spouse.[19] In September 2017, he ordered the creation of the Tiraspol Suvorov Military School, the youth cadet school of the Armed Forces of Transnistria.[20][21]

He has expressed his support for Transnistria being a part of Russia on numerous occasions.[22][23]

Greening and urban improvement

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Krasnoselsky pursued a policy of greening and beautification of cities, primarily through the creation of new parks, squares, and the reconstruction of existing ones.[24][25] During these improvements, he also undertook the renaming of parks and areas that were previously named during the communist era, restoring them to their original pre-revolutionary names or assigning new ones inspired by Russia's imperial past or figures from that era in 2021 and 2020.[26][27]

Military reform

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Since 2017, a series of transformations have been implemented in the Armed Forces of Transnistria. Firstly, military service has shifted to a "workday" regime. Soldiers report for duty in the morning and leave in the evening, thereby reducing instances of hazing and unauthorized departure from military units to isolated cases. Secondly, during their army service, students from higher education institutions switch to distance learning, ensuring the continuity of the educational process. Conscripts are granted leave during exam sessions. Thirdly, there has been a technical upgrade of military units, ranging from new uniforms to the repair of existing facilities and the construction of new barracks.[28][29]

Views and actions on the Transnistrian culture

[edit]

He considers the October Socialist Revolution of 1917 as a "catastrophe" and refers to the Bolsheviks as "traitors" and "usurpers."[30] He also was one of the main supporters for the establishment of the first museum in Transnistria dedicated to the victims of political repression,[31] and he has stated he views the policy of decossackization as "genocide based on class criteria."[32] He adheres to the opinion that in Transnistria, the Holodomor was organized by the communists in power at the time in the region,[33] and supported and instructed to explore the installation of a monument in Bender dedicated to the victims of Soviet repression.[34] He also spoke positively about one of the leaders of the White Movement, Mikhail Drozdovsky,[35] the Monarchist general who led the Iași–Don March.

Krasnoselsky has proposed raising statues of notable Imperial Russian leaders such as Emperor Alexander III, Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov and Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin.[36] He actively involves himself in changing the tourist image of Transnistria. He believes that Transnistria should be associated not as a "fragment of the USSR" and Soviet monuments but with positive images. For example, a monument of Vladimir Lenin was dismantled in the of Bender Fortress as part of this initiative.[37]

He has stated that he is a constitutional monarchist,[38] going as far as to say the following during a presidential campaign:

I am a monarchist by nature. From my youth I had strictly built monarchical views. I am a supporter of monarchism, limited constitutional monarchism, and take the experience of the Russian Empire as a basis.[39]

While still being the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vadim Krasnoselsky initiated the installation of banners featuring the image of the imperial family with the words: "Forgive us, sovereign, for our lost children."[40] He initiated the construction of a chapel in honor of the imperial family of Nicholas II[41] in Bender and a chapel on the site of the former Intercession Church in Tiraspol which was demolished in the Soviet era.[42] He also sharply criticized the religious policy of the USSR.[43]

On February 13, 2021, at the Cossack Circle, the president confirmed that even now he continues to commemorate important Imperial historical events and personalities in this way.[44] More generally, Krasnoselsky is implementing a policy of returning the pre-revolutionary flags and emblems to Transnistrian cities. He stated that he considers Soviet symbolism to be "Irrelevant".[45]

In 2017, at the initiative of Vadim Krasnoselsky, the annual celebration of the regimental holiday of the 55th Podolsky Infantry Regiment of the Russian Imperial Army was revived in Bender on August 29. Traditionally, the events begin at the military memorial complex near the Church of the Unfading Savior, with the laying of flowers at the reverential cross and the rendition of the anthem "God Save the Tsar!" Following this, the participants proceeded in a procession to the monument of Russian glory, where a military parade took place. Subsequent thematic events occurred within the territory of Bender Fortress and at the Alexander Nevsky Church.[46]

He has stated that he supports the idea of traditional marriage being between a man and a woman.[47]

Vadim Krasnoselsky laying the foundation for a chapel in honor of the Romanov Holy Royal Martyrs.

Controversies

[edit]

Due to his openly monarchist and anti-communist views and policies, Krasnoselsky regularly faces criticism from the Transnistrian Communist Party and left-wing activists, as well as in the newspapers "Pridnestrovie Pravda" and "Voice of the People". The Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union have also made critical statements directed at Vadim Krasnoselsky on multiple occasions.[48]

As Transnistria's Minister of the Interior in 2007, Krasnoselsky was involved in a controversial decision to remove headstones and other memorials to Romanian soldiers in a military cemetery and rededicate the cemetery solely to Soviet soldiers, although remains were not exhumed. The incident sparked controversy within Romania and Germany.[49] Krasnoselsky also made several controversial statements regarding the Romanian soldiers.

In March 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Moldova gave 1,810 vaccines which were donated by Romania to Transnistria. Krasnoselsky incorrectly stated they came from the World Health Organization (WHO).[50] He later corrected himself and thanked Romania.[51]

He was reelected in the 2021 Transnistrian presidential election. Only Russian observers from the State Duma were allowed to monitor the vote, posing questions about its legitimacy.[52]

Krasnoselsky is on a list of Transnistrian officials banned from entering the EU.[53]

In March 2023, Romanian senator Claudiu Târziu wrote a letter to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian citizenship for several Transnistrian figures, including Krasnoselsky.[54]

Family

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With Sergei Shoigu in August 2019

His wife, Svetlana Krasnoselskaya, is a philologist and Russian language teacher. He has one son, Ivan, and two daughters, Genevieve and Sofia.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Profile: Vadim Krasnoselski".
  2. ^ "Transnistria: Freedom in the World 2018 Country Report". Freedom House. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Vadim Krasnoselski won the presidential elections in Transnistria Archived 10 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine Crime Moldova
  4. ^ Vadim Krasnoselsky: Who are you, Mr President? (In Russian)
  5. ^ Vadim Krasnoselsky elected supreme council chairman Archived 28 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Novosti PMR, 23 December 2015
  6. ^ [1] Profile of Vadim Krasnoselsky (in Ukrainian)
  7. ^ The upcoming presidential election in Transnistria Archived 19 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Balcani Caucaso
  8. ^ Додон поздравил Красносельского с победой на выборах главы ПМР Archived 19 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine RIA Novosti, 12 December 2016
  9. ^ "Inauguration of the new Pridnestrovie's president Vadim Krasnoselsky to be held on December 27 | Новости Приднестровья". Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  10. ^ "President Igor Dodon and Transnistrian region leader Vadim Krasnoselsky had a working meeting in Bender today". prm.md. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Vadim Krasnoselsky took part in the opening ceremony of the Official Representation of the PMR in Moscow". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Breakaway Transnistria Threatens to Sue Moldova for 'War Crimes'". 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  13. ^ "În cadrul "vizitei private" în Moldova, Ministrul rus al Apărării Șoigu a inspectat trupele de ocupație rusești din Transnistria și a distribuit medalii militarilor ruși". Timpul – Ştiri din Moldova. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Russian Defense Chief Flies To Moldova For Liberation Celebrations On Saturday". UrduPoint. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Министр обороны Российской Федерации прибыл в Кишинев : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации". Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Россия предлагает начать утилизацию боеприпасов на территории Молдовы". president.md. 24 August 2019. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Igor Dodon a avut o întrevedere cu Vadim Krasnoselski". president.md. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Head Of Moldovas Transnistria Breakaway Republic To Meet With President Dodon Next Week". UrduPoint. Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Официальный сайт президента Приднестровской Молдавской Республики — Глава государства с супругой открыли новогодний бал — Новости". president.gospmr.org. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  20. ^ "В столице открыли Тираспольское Суворовское военное училище". Новости Приднестровья (in Russian). Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  21. ^ "Suvorov military school to be established in Pridnestrovie". Новости Приднестровья. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  22. ^ "МИР Глава Приднестровья заявил о приверженности курсу на присоединение к России". Izvestia (in Russian). 2 September 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Вадим Красносельский: "Россия — это наша судьба"". Federal News Agency (in Russian). 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  24. ^ "The official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic reports on the situation in the cities and regions of the republic being under the constant control of the Head of the State - News".
  25. ^ "ПРЕСС-КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА ПРИДНЕСТРОВСКОЙ МОЛДАВСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ ВАДИМА КРАСНОСЕЛЬСКОГО |" (in Russian). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  26. ^ "В Бендерах приняли бюджет на 2021 год » Государственная администрация г.Бендеры". bendery.gospmr.org. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  27. ^ Парк Кирова хотят переименовать в Покровский, 24 January 2020, retrieved 25 February 2024
  28. ^ Армия без дедовщины, 8 February 2020, retrieved 25 February 2024
  29. ^ "Реформа в армии | ПРИДНЕСТРОВЬЕ". Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic - Military personnel spoke today with the Commander-in-Chief about the army and more - News".
  31. ^ "The official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, states: "One can discuss the past, evaluating various historical events and facts, but the most important thing is to preserve history without politicizing it, and to show without embellishment or speculation what really happened." - News".
  32. ^ Президент провел совещание по открытию двух новых музеев, 18 February 2019, retrieved 25 February 2024
  33. ^ Глава государства встретился с представителями национальных общин ПМР, 23 August 2019, retrieved 25 February 2024
  34. ^ "Official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, reported on a meeting with civic activists from Bender - News".
  35. ^ Президент с супругой посетили праздничный концерт, посвященный 25-й годовщине образования ОГРВ в ПМР, 3 July 2020, retrieved 25 February 2024
  36. ^ "О науке и не только говорили сегодня в ПГУ". YouTube (in Russian). 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  37. ^ сегодня, Русские (9 September 2018). "Красносельский: Приднестровье — это не осколок СССР". Русские сегодня (in Russian). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  38. ^ Сергей Сидоренко (21 January 2019). ""Даю гарантию, от нас РФ не нападёт на Украину": интервью лидера непризнанного Приднестровья". Европейская правда. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  39. ^ Алексей Челканов (9 March 2016). "Осада Приднестровья". Совершенно секретно. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  40. ^ "TRANSNISTRIA The main newspaper of the country". Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  41. ^ "Official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic - With the participation of the President, a memorial plaque was laid on the site of the future chapel in honor of the imperial family executed exactly 99 years ago - News". 7 August 2019.
  42. ^ "The official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic reported on a prayer service held on the square named after the founder of Tiraspol, Alexander Suvorov - News". 9 August 2019.
  43. ^ "A commemorative event dedicated to tragic events of centuries past". Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  44. ^ "The President took part in a large reporting and election circle of the Black Sea Cossack Army".
  45. ^ "The official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic reported that the working week of the Head of the State began with a teleconference meeting - News".
  46. ^ "Official website of the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic - The President took part in the celebration of the Day of Formation of the 55th Podolsk Regiment - News".
  47. ^ Presidential website
  48. ^ "Заявление Центрального Совета СКП-КПСС "Преступление приднестровского режима не останется безнаказанным!"". kprf.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  49. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Cimitir al ostaşilor profanat separatişti | DW | 05.02.2007". DW.COM (in Romanian). Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  50. ^ Dobrea, Vlad (6 March 2021). "Liderul separatist din Transnistria dezinformează în legătură cu vaccinurile donate de România". Pro TV (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  51. ^ "Separatistul Krasnoselski recunoaște că primele vaccinuri ajunse în Transnistria sunt donate de România și mulțumește Bucureștiului". Deschide.MD (in Romanian). 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  52. ^ "Moldava's Breakaway Transnistria Re-Elects Leader in Dubious Poll". Balkan Insight. 13 December 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  53. ^ Список госслужащик ПМР которыми...
  54. ^ "Claudiu Târziu, scrisoare către Volodimir Zelenski. "Retrageți cetățenia ucraineană marionetelor Moscovei din Transnistria!"". 14 March 2023.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of the Interior
2007–2012
Succeeded by
Sergey Monul
Preceded by President of Transnistria
2016–present
Incumbent