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Yevgeny Roizman

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Yevgeny Roizman
Евгений Ройзман
Roizman in 2018
Mayor of Yekaterinburg
Head of Yekaterinburg City Duma
In office
24 September 2013 – 25 May 2018
GovernorYevgeny Kuyvashev
Preceded byYevgeny Porunov
Succeeded byAlexander Vysokinsky
Member of the State Duma
In office
29 December 2003 – 24 December 2007
Personal details
Born
Yevgeny Vadimovich Roizman

(1962-09-14) 14 September 1962 (age 62)
Sverdlovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Yekaterinburg)
Political partyA Just Russia (2005–2006)
Right Cause (June–September 2011)
Civic Platform (2012–2015)
SpouseYuliya Kruteyeva
Children5[1]
EducationUral State University
OccupationPolitician, historian, poet, author, art collector, entrepreneur, YouTuber
AwardsOrder of Saint Righteous Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy (3rd class)

Yevgeny Vadimovich Roizman (Russian: Евге́ний Вади́мович Ро́йзман; born 14 September 1962) is a Russian opposition politician who served as the mayor of Yekaterinburg from 2013 to 2018.[2] He campaigned against corrupt police, illegal drug sellers and for drug rehabilitation centers.

Early life

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He was born in Sverdlovsk to a Jewish father and a Russian mother.[3] His father was a power engineer at Uralmash, while his mother was a nursery teacher. Roizman claims to have left home at age 14, to have traveled across the country and later to have started work at Uralmash as a welder. He graduated from Ural State University as a historian/archivist. He was sentenced to a two-year prison term in 1981 on charges of theft and fraud.[4][5]

Philanthropy

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Roizman is the founder of Museum of Nevyansk Icon at Sverdlovsk region.[6] This is the first private museum to collect icon-paintings. It is located in the city of Yekaterinburg. This museum has over 600 exhibits, including icons, gospel covers, crosses, books and wooden sculptures. The earliest icon is The Egyptian Mother of God (1734), the latest is Christ Pantocrator (1919). Roizman worked in finding, searching and restoration of the icons.

In 1999, Roizman cofounded the City Without Drugs program. He operates a drug rehab center in Yekaterinburg.[7] He was accused by city officials of kidnapping drug-addicts.[2]

Political career

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Roizman was a State Duma deputy between 2003 and 2007, and attempted to run for parliament from the A Just Russia party in 2007, but was taken off the election list after a conflict with party leaders.[citation needed] Until 2015, he was a political ally of Mikhail Prokhorov[8] and was supported by the Civic Platform party.[citation needed]

Mayor of Yekaterinburg

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Roizman at an anti-corruption rally in Yekaterinburg on June 12, 2017

He was elected Mayor of Yekaterinburg on September 9, 2013, with over 30 percent of the vote, beating United Russia candidate Yakov Silin who got under 29 percent.[citation needed]

In 2018, Roizman resigned after Russian authorities decided to scrap mayoral elections in the city.[9]

Gubernatorial campaign

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In May 2017, Roizman announced that he would stand in gubernatorial elections in September as the candidate from the liberal opposition party Yabloko. He challenged acting Sverdlovsk Governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev, a United Russia politician with whom Roizman has a longstanding personal rivalry.[10][4]

Political positions

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Roizman with Andrei Pivovarov and Ilya Yashin at the "Municipal Russia" forum in Moscow, 2021

Roizman was outspoken against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called it the "betrayal of Russians".[11] In regards to the threat of being arrested at any moment, he told Agence France-Presse in July 2022: "I have no illusions. But I also have no fear".[12][3]

Arrest and criminal charges

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In 2022, two protocols were drawn up against Roizman for "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces due to his social media posts and a video, in which he pleaded not guilty on 29 March; the court would consider a third protocol on 7 April.[13]

On 24 August 2022, Roizman was detained by police who said he was being charged with "discrediting" the military.[14][15] Other properties linked to Roizman were also raided by police, according to media reports, which also stated that he was detained because of his YouTube videos; Roizman was previously fined three times under the same law.[16] On 29 August, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe called on Russia to drop all charges against Yevgeny Roizman.[17]

On 20 September, Roizman accused representatives of law enforcement agencies of collaborating with criminal structures that receive information about his whereabouts and wiretapping.[18] On 21 September, Roizman refused to testify in the case of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.[19]

On 26 April 2023, Roizman went on trial. He formally plead not guilty to the charge; the charge carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Four daughters, one son
  2. ^ a b "Controversial Opposition Wild Card Yevgeny Roizman Takes Over In Yekaterinburg". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  3. ^ a b "Facing jail threat, Russian dissident former mayor plans to keep fighting Kremlin". timesofisrael.com. 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b "roizman-stirs-up-yekaterinburg-elections". www.themoscowtimes.com. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  5. ^ Kalimullin, Robert (2013-12-17). "Früher im Knast, heute im Rathhaus". Jüdische Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  6. ^ "Музей Невьянская икона, Екатеринбург – Афиша-Выставки" [Museum of the Nevyansk Icon, Yekaterinburg - Poster-Exhibitions]. Афиша. Archived from the original on 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  7. ^ "Yevgeny Roizman: A macho mayor at war with drug addicts". BBC News. 28 October 2013.
  8. ^ March 25, 2013 Forbes
  9. ^ "Russian Court Cuts Jail Term Of Former Russian Lawmaker, Navalny Supporter To One Day". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Евгений Ройзман пойдет на губернаторские выборы от "Яблока"" [Yevgeny Roizman will run for governor from Yabloko]. Meduza. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved Aug 24, 2022.
  11. ^ Pashaeva, Yana (24 February 2022). ""Shame for the Insane Tyrant": How Liberal Russians Are Reacting to Putin's War With Ukraine". Slate. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Russian opposition ex-mayor on trial over Ukraine criticism". AFP. 26 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Ройзман в суде не признал вину в дискредитации военных" [Roizman pleaded not guilty to discrediting the military]. Interfax. 29 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Бывший мэр Екатеринбурга Евгений Ройзман задержан по уголовному делу о дискредитации российской армии" [Former mayor of Yekaterinburg Evgeny Roizman detained in a criminal case on discrediting the Russian army]. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 24 August 2022. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  15. ^ "A prominent Russian critic of the war is detained after speaking out". The New York Times. 24 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Russian Opposition Figure Roizman Detained for Criticizing Ukraine Invasion". The Moscow Times. 24 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  17. ^ (in Russian) The Helsinki Commission called on Russia to stop the prosecution of Yevgeny Roizman Archived 2022-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, golosameriki.com (29 August 2022)
  18. ^ (in Russian) Roizman said that the security forces informed the criminal structures of his geolocation and wiretapping of conversations Archived 2022-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, ura.news (20 September 2022)
  19. ^ (in Russian) Roizman refused to testify in the case of discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Archived 2022-10-21 at the Wayback Machine, ridus.ru (21 September 2022)
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Media related to Yevgeny Roizman at Wikimedia Commons