Viktor M. Kress
Member of the Federal Council of the Federal Assembly, representative of the Tomsk Oblast Administration
Is a member of the Council of the Federation Committee on Science, Education, Culture, and Information Policy.
Viktor Kress was born on November 16, 1948 in the village Vlasovo-Dvorino of Palkinsky District, Kostroma Oblast, to a rural family with other six children. Soon after his birth the family moved to Kemerovo Oblast.
In 1966, Viktor Kress graduated from the secondary school in the village Yashkino, Kemerovo Oblast and entered the Novosibirsk Agricultural Institute, Agronomic Department, which he graduated from in 1971.
In 1975, at the age of 26, Viktor Kress headed the collective farm “Rodina” in Tomsky District of Tomsk Oblast and in 1979 he chaired the Oblast Association “Selkhozkhimiya”. Six years after he was appointed as the deputy head for production of the Agricultural Committee of Tomsk Oblast.
In late 1987, as a result of alternative elections Viktor Kress became the first secretary of Pervomaisky District Party Committee.
In 1988-1991, he was a student of the Russian Academy of Management (Academy of Social Sciences in the CPSU Central Committee) specializing in political sciences.
In 1990, he was elected deputy of the Oblast Council of People’s Deputies, and became the chairman the same year. On October 20, 1991 Viktor Kress was appointed Head of the Tomsk Oblast Administration by the Decree of the President Boris Yeltsin. After that Viktor Kress was elected three times the Governor of Tomsk Oblast in 1995, 1999 and 2003, with the corresponding percentage of votes in the first voting – 52.09%, 72.93% and 71.21%.
In March 2007, he was recommended for the position of the Oblast Governor by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The deputies of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma approved his nomination.
During his governorship Viktor Kress headed the Interregional Association “Siberian Agreement” at different times, was a member of the Government Presidium of the Russian Federation, was twice elected as a member of the Board of RAO UES of Russia, headed the interagency electric power industry reforming group.
In 1999, he successfully presented his PhD thesis “Mechanism of state management of innovative reforms in the economies of the federal entities”. PhD in economic sciences.
He wrote a number of books:
“Tomsk Oblast: Today and Tomorrow” (1997),
“Hard times of Russia. Look from the Outland” (1998),
“Tomsk Oblast on the Crossroads of Centuries” (1999),
“Tomsk Oblast: Early XXI Century” (2002),
“Direct Answers to Complex Questions” (2003).
In 2004, Viktor Kress joined the United Russia party.
In 2004, Viktor Kress was awarded the Badge “Merit for Tomsk Oblast” and conferred the status of the honorary citizen of Tomsk. He is awarded with the Medal
“Labor Merit” (1976), Order
“Badge of Honor” (1986),
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, fourth class (1998),
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, third class (2008),
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, second class (2002) and
Order of St. Sergius (2008), first class (2008).
On March 17, 2012 Viktor Kress resigned from the office of the Governor of Tomsk Oblast. On May 17, 2012 he was approved as a member of the Federal Council, representative of the Tomsk Oblast Administration.
Married. Has two children and four grandchildren.
