Marina Smirnova Russian and Transnistrian political figure Date of Birth: 26.07.1966 Country: Moldova

Biography of Marina Smirnova

Marina Smirnova is a Russian and Transnistrian political figure. She is the President of the Foundation for the Development of State Law and Humanitarian Projects and the President of the Charity Foundation "Planet of Children". She is also the Chairman of the Regional Department of the "Fair Russia" party in the Vologda region and a member of the Central Council of "Fair Russia".

Marina Smirnova was born into a farming family. In 1976, she returned with her family to her father's homeland in the Moldovan village of Slobodzeia. She studied economics at the Moldovan Cooperative Technical College from 1983 to 1986 and graduated with honors. She then pursued further education in trade economics at the Lviv Trade and Economic Institute from 1986 to 1992.

From 1986 to 2002, Smirnova worked in various organizations, mostly in the banking sector, holding positions ranging from economist to marketing department head. In 2002-2003, she served as the director of the LLC "Credit Organization" Interregional Financial Company". From 2003 to 2008, she worked at Gazprombank in Tiraspol, Transnistria, starting as the Deputy Chairman of the Board and eventually becoming the Chairman. Interestingly, her husband chaired the bank's board of directors during her tenure.

Smirnova's political career began when she became the Deputy Chairman of the Patriotic Party of Transnistria from 2006 to 2010, while her husband served as the party's Chairman. However, she lost her position after the party merged with the Transnistrian Republican Party. In June 2007, she participated in the elections for the Supreme Council of Transnistria but came in second with 16% of the votes. Her attempt to challenge the election results was unsuccessful.

In August 2007, Smirnova signed a cooperation agreement with "Fair Russia" on behalf of the Patriotic Party. She also ran for the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the 2007 elections as a member of "Fair Russia". During the campaign, it was revealed that she held dual citizenship (Russian and Moldovan). Although Russian law allows dual citizenship, it prohibits individuals with foreign citizenship from taking part in election preparations. Despite this, Smirnova was not disqualified from the elections.

In June 2009, she was elected as the Chairwoman of the Council of the Vologda Regional Department of "Fair Russia". She was personally invited to this position by the party's leader, Sergei Mironov. Her leadership style has been criticized by opponents as totalitarian, and it is claimed that she spends only 2-3 days per month in Vologda. In September 2011, Smirnova was absent from a regional party conference where election lists for the State Duma and the regional legislative assembly were approved.

In November 2011, during the pre-election campaign for the Russian State Duma, it was revealed again that Smirnova held multiple citizenships. The information about her multiple citizenships was provided to the Central Election Commission by the Investigative Committee and the Federal Migration Service, rather than by the candidate herself, as required by law. It was also discovered that she used different surnames in different passports: Artemenko in the Moldovan passport and Smirnova in the Ukrainian and Russian passports. On November 21, the registration of Marina Smirnova was canceled by the Supreme Court. The judge noted that the information about her multiple citizenship was a newly revealed circumstance. She has five days to appeal the court's verdict. The Vologda Regional Election Commission also prepared to cancel her registration for the regional legislative assembly. "Fair Russia" considers the decision to cancel her registration politically motivated, and Smirnova herself, through her representatives, claimed that she and her family have become victims of political intrigue and repression. On December 1, the Vologda Regional Election Commission canceled Smirnova's registration for the regional legislative assembly.

The "Planet of Children" Charity Foundation was established in Transnistria on March 12, 2007, with the initiative of Gazprombank, which Smirnova also headed, and with the support of the President of Transnistria, Igor Smirnov. According to Marina Smirnova, the foundation was conceived during the referendum on Transnistria's independence. The foundation has branches in all cities of Transnistria.

On May 4, 2007, the foundation received state registration in Russia. The "Fair Russia" and "United Russia" parties assisted in the establishment of the foundation, and several projects are personally supervised by Sergei Mironov. The foundation started its work in Russia in the Belgorod region.

Since 2008, Marina Smirnova has been the President of "Planet of Children" in Russia. On April 27, 2009, a branch of the foundation was opened in Vologda with the participation of Nikolai Levichev. On August 20, 2011, Smirnova received a summons demanding her appearance in the Moscow City Prosecutor's Office to give testimony in a case related to a "crime committed against the Russian Federation". The summons was issued after her entry into the Russian Federation. This is linked to an investigation into the misuse of funds from the account of LLC "Tiraspoltransgaz-Pridnestrovie," which Smirnova headed from 2004 to 2008. According to media reports, the money paid by the population for gas was transferred to Gazprombank and not remitted to Gazprom, but used for internal needs of the region and to finance the Patriotic Party of Transnistria. It has been known for ten years that the funds for gas have not been transferred to Russia, and the debt has exceeded 2.6 billion dollars.

In 2007, the speaker of the Transnistrian Parliament, Evgeny Shevchuk, stated during a special press conference that the money collected from the population in 2006 for gas (27 million dollars) was not paid to Russia and remained in Gazprombank. He also mentioned that the situation did not change in 2007, with 18 million dollars for the first quarter not being remitted to Gazprom.

In 2005, Transnistria did not pay Russia 96.9 million dollars for gas, and the level of payment for current supplies in Transnistria in 2005 was 65.3% of the cost of the gas supplied and 25% in the first quarter of 2006.

Furthermore, it is reported that the money that Russia transferred for increasing pensions in Transnistria was also transferred by the Transnistrian Republican Bank to Gazprombank with an interest rate of 0.1% and then lent to borrowers at 15% per annum, with the difference being diverted to Cyprus, the Comoros Islands, and Mongolia.

Marina Smirnova has been awarded various state and public prizes in Transnistria and Russia. These include the Order "For Merit" of the 2nd degree, the "Man of the Year" award in the "Public Figure" category in Transnistria in 2007, and several awards from the Russian Heraldic Chamber. However, it has been reported that the awards given by the Russian Heraldic Chamber can be officially purchased, with the "Professional of Russia" medal costing 5,000 rubles.

Overall, Marina Smirnova's biography is marked by her involvement in politics and charity work, as well as her role in the banking sector. Her career has been surrounded by controversies related to her multiple citizenships and allegations of misuse of funds.