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Maria Zakharova

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Maria Zakharova
Мария Захарова
Maria Zakharova 1.jpg
Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Assumed office
10 August 2015
PresidentVladimir Putin
Preceded byAlexander Lukashevich
Personal details
Born
Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova

(1975-12-24) 24 December 1975 (age 47)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Spouse
Andrei Makarov
​
(m. 2005)​
Children1
Alma materMoscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University)
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Vladimirovna and the family name is Zakharova.

Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (Russian: Мария Владимировна Захарова; born 24 December 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation[1] (Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) since 2015.

She has a degree of Candidate in Historical Sciences, the Russian equivalent of a PhD.[2]

Early life and education

Zakharova was born to a family of diplomats on 24 december 1975. Her father, Vladimir Zakharov, moved the family to Beijing in 1981 when he was appointed to the Soviet embassy there.[3] The family left Beijing for Moscow in 1993, two years after the Soviet Union had collapsed. Her mother, Irina Zakharova, is an art historian who has worked at Moscow's Pushkin Museum.[3]

In 1998, Maria Zakharova graduated from the Faculty of International Journalism at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the field of orientalism and journalism. Her pre-diploma apprenticeship was carried out at the Russian Embassy in Beijing.

Discover more about Early life and education related topics

Beijing

Beijing

Beijing, alternatively romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China. With over 21 million residents, Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city and is China's second largest city after Shanghai. It is located in Northern China, and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jingjinji megalopolis and the national capital region of China.

Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country spanning most of northern Eurasia that existed from 30 December 1922 to 26 December 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It was the largest country in the world, covering over 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi) and spanning eleven time zones.

Pushkin Museum

Pushkin Museum

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatoslav Richter's December nights has been held in the Pushkin Museum since 1981.

Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) is an institute of higher education under the umbrella of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2022, the university was ranked #362 in the world in the QS World University Rankings.

Orientalism

Orientalism

In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist painting, depicting more specifically the Middle East, was one of the many specialisms of 19th-century academic art, and the literature of Western countries took a similar interest in Oriental themes.

Journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation, the methods of gathering information, and the organizing literary styles.

Career

Early career

From 2003 to 2005 and from 2008 to 2011, she worked at the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. From 2005 to 2008, she was the press secretary of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York City.

From 2011 to 10 August 2015, Zakharova was the Deputy Head of the Department of Information and Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Her duties included organizing and conducting briefings of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman,[4] the organization of work of official Ministry accounts in social networks and information support of foreign visits of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Zakharova is known for her participation in political talk shows on Russian television and for contributing commentary on sensitive political issues on social media. She is one of the most quoted Russian diplomats.[5] She often opposed Jen Psaki (the official representative of the US State Department before 31 March 2015).

Zakharova with Sergey Lavrov, John Kerry and Jen Psaki in Paris, January 2014
Zakharova with Sergey Lavrov, John Kerry and Jen Psaki in Paris, January 2014
Zakharova with Lavrov, Kerry and Victoria Nuland in January 2014, before the deterioration of relations between Russia and the West following the annexation of Crimea.
Zakharova with Lavrov, Kerry and Victoria Nuland in January 2014, before the deterioration of relations between Russia and the West following the annexation of Crimea.

As press secretary of ministry of foreign affairs

On 10 August 2015, by order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zakharova was appointed director of the Information and Press Department.[6] Zakharova became the first woman to hold this post.[7]

In 2016, she was chosen as one of BBC's 100 Women.[8]

In 2017, Zakharova accused the European Union of hypocrisy over its different behaviour towards the separatist crises in Crimea and Catalonia, after hundreds were injured by Spanish security forces preventing Catalans from voting during the Catalan independence referendum, saying "I see and read what is happening in Catalonia. And Europe will say something to us about the referendum in Crimea and the protection of human rights".[9] On 28 April 2017, Zakharova appeared on Yahoo! News discussing the current international relations with Katie Couric. When Couric brought up the reports of torture against LGBT individuals by the Chechen government, Zakharova said that Russia was conducting an investigation into the matter.[10]

Zakharova with Vladimir Putin in 2017, Order of Friendship ceremony
Zakharova with Vladimir Putin in 2017, Order of Friendship ceremony

In June 2019, Reuters reported that Zakharova "offered a tribute to those who died on the western front of World War II and said Moscow appreciated the Allied war effort", adding "It should of course not be exaggerated. And especially not at the same time as diminishing the Soviet Union’s titanic efforts, without which this victory simply would not have happened". Zakharova stated, "As historians note, the Normandy landing did not have a decisive impact on the outcome of World War II and the Great Patriotic War. It had already been pre-determined as a result of the Red Army’s victories, mainly at Stalingrad (in late 1942) and Kursk (in mid-1943). There was a wish to wait for the maximum weakening of Germany’s military power from its enormous losses in the east, while reducing losses in the west."[11]

In 2021, Zakharova criticised a NATO military exercise called Defender-Europe 21,[12][13] one of the largest NATO-led military exercises in Europe in decades, which began in March 2021. It included "nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas" in Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania and other countries.[14][15] She claimed that by conducting these exercises, NATO is gathering a "strike fist" near Russia's borders.[12] On 15 April 2021, she stated that in 2021 alone "NATO is planning seven military exercises in Ukraine. The active phase of the Defender Europe 2021 exercise, the most extensive exercise for many years, is to commence near Ukraine soon."[13]

On 16 February 2022, Zakharova ridiculed Western media predictions of an imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia when she had mockingly asked for the schedule of Russian invasion so that she could, ostensibly, "plan [her] vacation" accordingly.[16] On 28 February 2022, she wrote that "Russia did not start a war, it is ending it" and claimed that Russia was acting to end the "systematic extermination of the Donbas population" that had allegedly been ongoing since 2014.[17]

On 2 June 2022, Zakharova warned that Turkey's invasion of northern Syria "would be a direct violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity" and would "cause a further escalation of tensions in Syria."[18][19]

On 15 June 2022, she praised Russia's strategic partnership with China, adding that "Energy supplies are steadily increasing: China knows what it wants and doesn't shoot itself in the foot. While to the west of Moscow, they shoot themselves in the head."[20]

On 5 July 2022, Zakharova warned that Israel's incursions and strikes into southern Syria "is completely unacceptable. We strongly condemn such irresponsible actions that violate Syria's sovereignty and the basic norms of international law, and we demand their unconditional cessation."[21]

Discover more about Career related topics

Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations

Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations

The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations is the leader of Russia's diplomatic mission to the United Nations.

Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki

Jennifer Rene Psaki is an American television political analyst who currently works for MSNBC. Previously, she was a political advisor who served under both the Obama and Biden administrations. Immediately prior to working for MSNBC, she served the Biden administration as the 34th White House press secretary during 2021 and 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Obama administration as the White House deputy press secretary (2009); the White House deputy communications director (2009–2011); the spokesperson for the United States Department of State (2013–2015); and the White House communications director (2015–2017). Psaki was a political contributor for CNN from 2017 to 2020.

John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 under Barack Obama and as a United States senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013. He was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2004 election, losing to incumbent President George W. Bush.

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula, taking it from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.

100 Women (BBC)

100 Women (BBC)

100 Women is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's women season", lasting three weeks including broadcast, online reports, debates and journalism on the topic of women. Women around the world are encouraged to participate via Twitter and comment on the list, as well as on the interviews and debates that follow release of the list.

European Union

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi) and an estimated total population of nearly 447 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

Crimea

Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The largest city is Sevastopol. The region has a population of 2.4 million, and has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy.

2017 Catalan independence referendum

2017 Catalan independence referendum

An independence referendum was held on 1 October 2017 in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, passed by the Parliament of Catalonia as the Law on the Referendum on Self-determination of Catalonia and called by the Generalitat de Catalunya. The referendum, known in the Spanish media by the numeronym 1-O, was declared unconstitutional on 7 September 2017 and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain after a request from the Spanish government, who declared it a breach of the Spanish Constitution. Additionally, in early September the High Court of Justice of Catalonia had issued orders to the police to try to prevent the illegal referendum, including the detention of various persons responsible for its preparation. Due to alleged irregularities during the voting process as well as to the use of force by the National Police Corps and Civil Guard, international observers invited by the Generalitat declared that the referendum failed to meet the minimum international standards for elections.

Katie Couric

Katie Couric

Katherine Anne Couric is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, Wake Up Call. From 2013 to 2017, she was Yahoo's Global News Anchor. Couric has been a television host at all of the Big Three television networks in the United States, and in her early career she was an assignment editor for CNN. She worked for NBC News from 1989 to 2006, CBS News from 2006 to 2011, and ABC News from 2011 to 2014. In 2021, she appeared as a guest host for the game show Jeopardy!, the first woman to host the flagship American version of the show in its history.

Anti-gay purges in Chechnya

Anti-gay purges in Chechnya

Anti-gay purges in Chechnya in the Chechen Republic, a part of the Russian Federation, have included forced disappearances—secret abductions, imprisonment, torture—and extrajudicial killing by authorities targeting persons based on their perceived sexual orientation, primarily gay men. At least 2 of the 100 people, whom authorities detained on suspicion of being gay or bisexual, have reportedly died after being held in what human rights groups and eyewitnesses have called concentration camps.

Order of Friendship

Order of Friendship

The Order of Friendship is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people. The design of order was created by Alexander Zhuk. Its statute was later amended by presidential decree 19 of 6 January 1999, presidential decree 1999 of 7 September 2010, presidential decree 1631 of 16 December 2011, and presidential decree 308 of 16 March 2012. It can trace its lineage to the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples, also designed by Alexander Zhuk.

Sanctions

On 23 February, the day before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she was sanctioned by the European Union alongside other prominent Russian media figures, as "a central figure of the government propaganda," and for having "promoted the deployment of Russian forces in Ukraine." The sanctions include being placed on a No Fly list and the freezing of assets.[22] On 8 March, Australia also imposed sanctions on Zakharova.[23] On 18 March, Zakharova was included in Japan's expanded sanctions list.[24] US Treasury sanctioned Zakharova in June. [25]

Sanctioned by New Zealand in relation to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[26]

Controversies

On 13 November 2016, Zakharova was criticised for making anti-semitic jokes on Russian state television that the U.S. election results were the result of a Russian Jewish conspiracy, stating "If you want to know what will happen in America, who do you have to talk to? You have to talk to our people in Brighton Beach, naturally". Brighton Beach is home to a large Russian Jewish community. She also spoke in a stereotypical Jewish accent.[27][28]

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International Jewish conspiracy

International Jewish conspiracy

Belief in an international Jewish conspiracy or world Jewish conspiracy has been described as "the most widespread and durable conspiracy theory of the twentieth century" and "one of the most widespread and long-running conspiracy theories". Although it typically claims that a malevolent, usually global Jewish circle, referred to as International Jewry, conspires for world domination, the conspiracy theory's content is extremely variable, which helps explain its wide distribution and long duration. It was popularized in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century especially by the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Among the beliefs that posit an international Jewish conspiracy are Jewish Bolshevism, Cultural Marxism, Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory, White genocide conspiracy theory and Holocaust denial. The Nazi leadership's belief in an international Jewish conspiracy that it blamed for starting World War II and controlling the Allied powers was key to their decision to launch the Final Solution.

Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the west, Manhattan Beach at Corbin Place to the east, Sheepshead Bay at the Belt Parkway to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south along the beach and boardwalk.

History of the Jews in Russia

History of the Jews in Russia

The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest population of Jews in the world. Within these territories, the primarily Ashkenazi Jewish communities of many different areas flourished and developed many of modern Judaism's most distinctive theological and cultural traditions, while also facing periods of antisemitic discriminatory policies and persecution, including violent pogroms. Some have described a "renaissance" in the Jewish community inside Russia since the beginning of the 21st century; however, the Russian Jewish population has experienced precipitous decline since the dissolution of the USSR which continues to this day, although it is still among the largest in Europe.

Personal life

On 7 November 2005, Zakharova married Andrei Makarov at the Russian Consulate in New York City.[29] The couple have a daughter, Maryana,[30] born in August 2010.[31]

Source: "Maria Zakharova", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 20th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Zakharova.

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Further Reading

Sergey Lavrov

Sergei Shoigu

Nikolai Patrushev

Russia–United States relations

Greece–Russia relations

Russia–Turkey relations

Israel–Russia relations

Albania–Russia relations

Turkey–Ukraine relations

NATO–Russia relations

Anatoly Antonov

International reactions to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation

Vasily Nebenzya

International recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic

Prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Government and intergovernmental reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine
References
  1. ^ Директор ДИП МИД Роcсии [Director of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  2. ^ Говорит Москва [Says Moscow] (in Russian). Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b Benyumov, Konstantin; Tamkin, Emily (22 October 2018). "Meet The Woman Who Is Proudly Russia's Troll-In-Chief". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  4. ^ Мария Владимировна Захарова [Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova] (in Russian). E-NEWS.su. 27 September 2015.
  5. ^ Официальным спикером МИД России стала Мария Захарова [The official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry was Maria Zakharova]. Российская газета (in Russian). 10 August 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. ^ О назначении М.В.Захаровой директором Департамента информации и печати МИД России [On the appointment of MV Zakharova as Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] (in Russian). mid.ru. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. ^ Официальным представителем МИД России стала «анти-Псаки» Мария Захарова [The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry was "anti-Psaki" Maria Zakharova]. tsnews.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  9. ^ Daniel McLaughlin (3 October 2017). "Russia and Serbia deride EU reaction to Catalan vote". The Irish Times.
  10. ^ Steven Shapiro (26 April 2017). "Exclusive: Russian spokeswoman on 'ridiculous' airstrikes in Syria, French election, fake news and dangers for gays in Chechnya". Yahoo! News. Katie couric. Retrieved 28 April 2017. Zakharova was less forthcoming when it came to discussing recent reports that the Chechnyan government is arresting and torturing gay men. She would only say that Russia is holding an investigation into the matter.
  11. ^ "Russia to West: D-Day wasn't decisive in ending World War Two". Reuters. 5 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Ukraine: purpose of upcoming Defender Europe 2021 exercise is to practice for war with Russia". UAWire. 4 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, April 15, 2021". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. 15 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Massive, Army-led NATO exercise Defender Europe kicks off". Army Times. 15 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Germany Says Russia Seeking To 'Provoke' With Troop Buildup At Ukraine's Border". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 14 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Russians ridicule western media on ‘day of no invasion’." The Guardian, 16 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war". Deutsche Welle. 3 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Russia urges Turkey not to launch offensive in northern Syria". Al Jazeera. 2 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Russia alarmed, US worried as Turkey announces new military operation in northern Syria". India Narrative. 3 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Russia says West, unlike China, 'shoot themselves in the head' over Ukraine". Reuters. 15 June 2022.
  21. ^ "Russia demands Israel unconditionally cease its 'unacceptable' Syria airstrikes". The Times of Israel. 5 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Russian media darlings hit by EU sanctions." EUobserver, 24 February 2022.
  23. ^ Dziedzic, Stephen (8 March 2022). "New sanctions on Russia as Australia seeks to counter Ukraine invasion misinformation". ABC News. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Japan slaps more sanctions on Russian officials and companies." The Japan Times, 18 March 2022
  25. ^ U.S. Treasury Severs More Networks Providing Support for Putin and Russia’s Elites
  26. ^ "Russia Sanctions Regulations 2022". Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  27. ^ Carl Schreck (17 November 2016). "Russian Government Spokeswoman Suggests Trump Won Thanks To 'The Jews'". Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty.
  28. ^ Chris Graham (18 November 2016). "Russian spokeswoman accused of fanning 'Jewish conspiracy' after Trump's victory". The Daily Telegraph.
  29. ^ Anastasia Smirdova (11 November 2016). Внешность славянская, ум британский. Фотограф о свадьбе Марии Захаровой [Appearance is Slavic, the mind is British. Photographer about the wedding of Maria Zakharova] (in Russian).
  30. ^ Maria Zakharova (4 May 2017). Всем спасибо за внимание и заботу [Thank you all for your attention and concern] (in Russian) – via Facebook.
  31. ^ Edward Chesnokov (14 November 2016). Фотограф Николай Комиссаров: «Нью-Йоркская свадьба Марии Захаровой была трезвой!» [Photographer Nikolai Komissarov: "The New York wedding of Maria Zakharova was sober!"]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian).
External links
Political offices
Preceded by
Alexander Lukashevich
 Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
2015-present 		Incumbent
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