Yevgeny Sapiro, former Minister of Regional Policy of Russia, died

The former Minister of Regional and National Policy of Russia Yevgeny Sapiro died at the age of 91, the head of the Perm region Dmitry Makhonin reported in a telegram.

Sapiro was born in Mariupol, graduated from the Ural Polytechnic Institute, worked as a metallurgist, and then went into science. During perestroika, he became involved in politics, was elected to the first member of the Zaksobranie of the Perm region, later became its chairman, represented the region in the Federation Council.

He was a minister in May-September 1998 in the government of Sergei Kyriyenko. Against the background of the political and economic crisis in the regions, separatist tendencies grew, Kommersant newspaper wrote, at the same time the Kremlin planned to take away from the government the mechanisms of interaction with the regions. Against this background, the appointment of the former chairman of the Zaksobrania of the Perm region as a minister reduced the de facto status of the department, the newspaper wrote.

In September, after the default of the Russian economy, the Kyriyenko government resigned. The new Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov decided to divide the Ministry of Nationalities into two. Sapiro was engaged in the liquidation of the department. After that, he worked in expert funds.