Anatoliy Panfilov Member of the Supreme Council of the Civil Force party, Chairman of the Kedr movement Date of Birth: 01.02.1951 Country: Russia

1. Early Life and Education
2. Career in Industry
3. Entrepreneurial Endeavors
4. Environmental Activism and Political Involvement
5. Political Aspirations and Electoral Setbacks
6. Further Political Activities and Party Affiliations

Early Life and Education

Anatoly Alekseevich Panfilov was born on February 1, 1951, in the city of Sortavala, Karelia. He graduated from the Faculty of Radioelectronics for Aircraft at the Moscow Aviation Institute named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze in 1974. During his student years, he was actively involved in the MAI trade union and construction teams in Siberia.

Career in Industry

After graduating from the institute, Panfilov worked at the Moscow Television Plant as a master and head of the technical bureau of the workshop. As per an official biographical reference, he then spent 10 years at military-industrial enterprises before venturing into entrepreneurship in the Urals in 1990 (specifics not provided).

Entrepreneurial Endeavors

In 1990, Panfilov became chairman of the board of directors of the firm "Iglor." Various publications reported that from 1990 to 1993, he served as director of a small enterprise specializing in the development and production of bottled water.

Environmental Activism and Political Involvement

In April 1993, Panfilov became the head of the Constructive Ecological Movement of Russia "Kedr." Analysts noted that it was essentially a corporate structure of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision (SanEpiDemNadzor), created by its chairman, Yevgeny Belyaev. Prominent officials from the national and regional branches of SanEpiDemNadzor joined the ranks of "Kedr."

In 1994, the Ecological Party of Russia "Kedr" was formed on the basis of the movement. It was transformed into the Russian Ecological Party "Greens" during the general re-registration of Russian political parties in 2002. In an interview with "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" in 1993, Panfilov stated, "The goal of our movement is... to create a mechanism where it would be profitable for any enterprise or businessman to invest money in environmental protection."

The "Kedr" party participated in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in 1995. Analysts observed that its leadership tried to capitalize on the inclusion of well-known figures in the electoral list. In addition to Panfilov, the top three candidates included businessman Artem Tarasov and TV host Leonid Yakubovich. Nevertheless, "Kedr" garnered only 1.39 percent of the votes, and Panfilov failed to enter parliament.

In May 1996, after Belyaev was dismissed from his position as head of SanEpiDemNadzor for "improper performance of duties, violations of legislation, and misuse of federal budget funds," the "Kedr" party fully transitioned under Panfilov's control. He was also referred to as its primary sponsor.

In 1996, Panfilov was elected chairman of the Chamber for Ecology and Natural Resources in the Political Consultative Council under the President of the Russian Federation (holding the position until 2000).

Political Aspirations and Electoral Setbacks

In 1999, Panfilov led the electoral alliance "Ecological Party of Russia 'Kedr'" in the elections to the State Duma. However, "Kedr" ultimately did not participate in the election as two out of the three top candidates withdrew from the list. According to the newspaper "Versiya," "Kedr's" sponsor in that election campaign was aluminum magnate Lev Chernoy. Chernoy hired political consultants twice, first from the Novosibirsk branch of the firm "Image-Contact" and then from the "Russian Project" foundation. However, after realizing the futility of the project, he "abandoned 'Kedr' to its fate." Over the years, "Kedr" had several other "owners" (their names were not mentioned).

Although "Kedr" was renamed the Russian Ecological Party "Greens" in 2000, Panfilov continued to be referred to as the leader of "Kedr." Independent environmentalists labeled "Kedr" as a typical pseudo-environmental party that engaged in no real conservation work but exploited the trendy environmental topic, activating its activities only around election times.

In January 2000, an initiative group nominated Panfilov as a candidate for the post of President of the Russian Federation. His application listed him as the chairman of the All-Russian Political Public Organization (Political Party) "Ecological Party of Russia 'Kedr' (Greens)." However, Panfilov failed to submit the necessary number of signatures to the Central Electoral Commission within the stipulated time frame and did not participate in the elections, which were won by Vladimir Putin in the first round.

In 2003, Panfilov, at the invitation of the European Parliament, participated in the work of the European Commission in Brussels. In the same year, he ran for the State Duma from the "Greens" party as the Chairman of the Presidium of its Central Council. The party lost the election, receiving only 0.41 percent of the votes.

Further Political Activities and Party Affiliations

In February 2005, Panfilov became a member of the Public Ecological Council under the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.

In November 2006, at the "Greens" party congress held in Samara, Panfilov stressed that his organization's mission remained centered on improving the environmental situation in the country. He declared that the Greens would participate independently in the 2007 parliamentary elections, even though they shared some views with "A Just Russia." In 2007, the "Greens" party took part in the elections for local legislative assemblies. Panfilov personally traveled to Samara to support his organization. The election results surprised analysts as Panfilov's party passed the electoral threshold for the first time and entered the Legislative Assembly of the Samara Region.

In 2007, the "Kedr" movement joined the "Free Russia" party, later renamed "Civil Force." Panfilov became a member of its Supreme Council. At the party's seventh extraordinary congress, he formulated the immediate political objective: "To convince 70 percent of the population that 'Civil Force' is made up of reasonable people."

However, at a congress on September 16, 2007, the "Greens" party decided against merging with "Civil Force" for the upcoming parliamentary elections and planned to run independently for the State Duma. Panfilov led the federal list of candidates from his party and, in an address to the congress delegates, urged the "greens" to engage more actively with the government. In particular, he proposed that they "unite to address environmental issues" with "United Russia."

On October 28, 2007, when the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation completed the registration of federal lists of candidates from political parties, it was announced that the "Greens Party" would not be included on the electoral ballots. It was denied registration because the CEC deemed invalid more than 5 percent of the voters' signatures presented by the party in support of its lists of candidates.

On November 12, 2007, the central council of the "Greens" party made the decision to support the Democratic Party of Russia (DPR) led by Andrei Bogdanov. Two days later, on behalf of the "Greens" party, Panfilov signed a "Cooperation Agreement" between the DPR and the "Greens" party.

Panfilov was awarded the "850 Years of Moscow" medal. He is married with two children.