«Wars we‘re not ready for»

Dr. Andrey Illarionov is a Russian and US economist and former economic policy advisor to President Vladimir Putin. Born on September 16, 1961, in Sestroretsk, Russia, he earned his Ph.D. in economics from Leningrad State University. He was personally involved in bringing Russia closer to the economic institutions of the US, Europe and the G7 countries, as well as being Russia’s guide on the way to forming the G8. In the expert community, he is considered a sherpa of Russia on the way to join the G7 group. He is a member of many influential societies and clubs, in particular the Mont Pelerin Society. Illarionov gained prominence in the 1990s as a free-market reform advocate and became Putin‘s chief economic advisor from 2000 to 2005. He played a key role in shaping early economic reforms in post-Soviet Russia but resigned in protest over increasing authoritarianism. Since then, he has been a vocal critic of the Kremlin. Andrey Illarionov has held academic and research positions in the U.S., including a Senior fellow role at the Cato Institute and Senior analyst for Russian and European Affairs at Center for Security Policy (Washington DC).