Alex GoldfarbHead of the Civil Liberties Foundation.
Country: Russia
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Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Emigration and Academic Career
- Soros Foundation and Association with Berezovsky
- Assistance to Russian Dissidents
- Investigation into Gongadze Murder
- Russian Representation and Litvinenko Poisoning
Early Life and Education
Alexander (Alex) Goldfarb was born in 1947 in Odessa, Ukraine. A biologist by profession, he graduated from the Faculty of Biology and Soil Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1969.
Emigration and Academic Career
In 1975, Goldfarb emigrated to Israel. He obtained his doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1980. From 1980 to 1982, he worked at the Max Planck Institute in West Germany. In 1982, he moved to the United States, becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen. From 1982 to 1991, he held the position of Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Columbia University. Later, he worked at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) from 1992 onwards.
Soros Foundation and Association with Berezovsky
In the late 1980s, Goldfarb regularly visited the Soviet Union. He became the head of the Moscow branch of the Soros Foundation. From 1995 onwards, he maintained close ties with Boris Berezovsky, an exiled Russian oligarch. In 2000, he headed the Civil Liberties Foundation (CLF), which was established by Berezovsky in the United States.
Assistance to Russian Dissidents
Goldfarb played a significant role in assisting Russian dissidents. In 2000, he helped former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko escape from Turkey to the United Kingdom, where he was granted political asylum. He also provided support to Akhmed Zakayev, an emissary of Chechen separatists in London. Additionally, he collaborated with Mikhail Trepashkin, a former FSB officer who provided information to Berezovsky's associates.
Investigation into Gongadze Murder
In 2005, Goldfarb and another CLF employee, Yuri Felshtinsky, were summoned by the Ukrainian Attorney General's Office to testify in the case involving the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze.
Russian Representation and Litvinenko Poisoning
In 2006, Goldfarb announced his decision not to re-register the Russian branch of CLF, as required by a new law aimed at limiting foreign funding for NGOs. In November 2006, Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned under mysterious circumstances. Goldfarb visited Litvinenko in the hospital and spoke regularly to the press, being referred to as a close friend and representative of the family. After Litvinenko's death on November 23, Goldfarb read his posthumous message to the press.