Markin, what's wrong with him? Markin changes profession

Investigative Committee press secretary Vladimir Markin, remembered by many for his controversial public statements, appears to be leaving this post, although there has been no official confirmation of this information as of Wednesday evening. However, the media have already “employed” Markin: he can take the position of deputy general director for public relations of the RusHydro company. This was reported by the Interfax agency with reference to a source in the fuel and energy complex. Another agency source says Markin turns 60 in November, which is the age limit for his current position.

There is another possible version of the resignation of the “voice” of the Investigative Committee. A week ago, two journalists immediately accused Vladimir Markin of plagiarism. In the general’s recently published book, “The Most Loud Crimes of the 21st Century in Russia,” Kommersant journalist and Novaya Gazeta correspondent Nadezhda Prusenkova found verbatim quotes from their articles - without any reference to sources of borrowing. Markin responded to Prusenkova’s remark with an insult, calling her a “journalist.” For this he subsequently apologized. Could this high-profile story be the reason for the resignation of Vladimir Markin? She spoke about this in an interview with Radio Liberty.

It turned out that he had problems with his diploma, and he wasn’t exactly a real lawyer.

– Of course, I don’t know for certain what led to this, and the resignation has not yet been officially announced, so this could be some kind of cunning PR move so that Markin would be asked to stay, and against this background the scandal would be forgotten. It seems to me that this was, perhaps, the last straw that overflowed the cup of patience. Because in general there have been quite a lot of questions for General Markin almost since 2011, when he became the official representative of the Investigative Committee. It turned out that he had problems with his diploma, and he was not even a real lawyer. But then there was no such resonance and scandal, and this story generally went unnoticed. I don’t even think that he was reprimanded or given any kind of reprimand. Therefore, it seems to me that the story with the book itself is more moral and ethical, but it could hardly affect his official position. However, given the context in which the investigative committee, it has long been said that the figure of Markin causes a lot of controversy. I think that this scandal has simply become another, which, however, will end with his resignation and transfer to another job.

– You spoke about the moral and ethical aspect of this story. The reason for the resignation of officials is often not real violations of the law, but rather moral and ethical stories. The reason for the resignation of former children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov was the question “How was the swim?”, and not his support for the scandalous law banning the adoption of children by foreigners...

A government official and a decent person probably would not have brought the situation to this

- Undoubtedly. Moral and ethical actions speak about what this person is like in principle. And yes, you are right, both Astakhov and Markin are, of course, in the top five in this row of cynics. This is an important point. But if you look at the activities of our state as a whole, at who is appointed and who is removed, unfortunately, this is not a determining factor. It seems to me that there is some kind of accumulative system in place, where you accumulate points for violations and then sit, as they say, for three months without a license. Here too: if you have accumulated a bag of complaints, resign. If you still have some unaccumulated amount, sit still until the next critical incident. Although, it seems to me, this should be the main criterion for civil servants, but so far this institution is not working for us at all.

– You said that you are considering whether to sue General Markin. Are we talking about plagiarism?

– Yes, he publicly apologized for the insult, and in general I initially did not want to translate this story into a personal plane. He spoke out and regretted it, although, of course, a government official and a decent person probably would not have brought the situation to this. But the story of plagiarism remained, and now the EKSMO publishing house came up with some kind of awkward explanation of what happened, taking all the blame upon itself, clearing the general, so to speak, and the general apologized. But we have already spoken with Ilya Barabanov, who is a “co-author” like me, and we are now consulting with lawyers. This is already a legal question: will we be able to attract Markin or will we sue only EKSMO. Because the situation is unpleasant, and it seems to me that it should not end with awkward apologies alone, whitewashing Markin,” says Nadezhda Prusenkova.

A journalist in a column for the Rus2Web publication believes that Vladimir Markin failed to cope with the role of the public “face” of the Investigative Committee: “A good press secretary always repeats the fate of his boss. Markin 2016 is not Markin 2007 at all. His biography includes an unsuccessful nomination to the State Duma , failed due to, most likely, a fake diploma of legal education, and a series of media adventures that can be exhaustively described by the formula “went wild.” There was nothing left of the media professional with a stern face - but Markin sang songs in a duet with Stas Piekha, played popular television quiz shows and himself hosted some shows on crime topics, wrote columns in Izvestia, and even on social networks

The resignation of the official representative of the RF IC is reported in the media. What is this - punishment or promotion? Is there a connection here with the “purge” in the Investigative Committee, or does Markin’s departure fit within the framework of the latest personnel changes?

Head of the Department of Interaction with Funds mass media Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Vladimir Markin Photo: Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

The official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Markin, is leaving his post, TASS reports, citing a source close to the investigative authorities. According to the agency’s interlocutor, Markin’s future work will not be connected in any way with his current one.

Earlier it became known that a Moscow bookstore suddenly canceled the presentation of Vladimir Markin’s book “The Most Loud Crimes in Russia of the 21st Century” scheduled for September 14, in which the author was supposed to take part. The cancellation was preceded by a scandal: journalists from Kommersant and Novaya Gazeta accused Markin of plagiarism when writing it. An official representative of the Investigative Committee responded on Twitter, calling Nadezhda Prusenkova from Novaya Gazeta “a useless journalist.” Markin then made a public apology to her for these words. The Eksmo publishing house ultimately bore responsibility for incorrect quoting.

Markin himself has not yet given any comments regarding his possible resignation. There has been no official announcement at this time either. However, according to a TASS source, “Markin is changing his field of activity because he received another offer where he can solve no less large-scale and responsible tasks.” An Interfax source in the fuel and energy complex claims that Markin may take the position of deputy general director of RusHydro.

On November 23, Vladimir Markin will turn 60 years old, which means that the deadline for holding his current position will come. “Apparently, his mandate will not be renewed,” another agency source said. If the resignation takes place, what will it be - resignation-punishment or promotion? Business FM asked political scientist Konstantin Simonov this question.

Konstantin Simonov: The question is very interesting, because, despite this position that he holds - an official representative, in fact a speaker, a press secretary, Markin has become a household name and symbolic figure. It was he, by the way, thanks to his humanitarian activities - I mean not only writing books, which he Lately worked, we remember all his programs and articles, the songs he sang - in this regard, he himself constructed a figure that symbolizes a power corporation, and even laid claim to such a role together with Mr. Bastrykin, who has also recently been interested in articles philosophical content on the topic of the meaning of a power corporation, the Russian constitution, and so on. In this regard, Markin and Bastrykin not only claimed to fulfill their functional duties, but also tried to turn themselves into a kind of symbol of a power corporation. Why am I saying this? Because, it seems to me, the fate of Markin will determine the public’s perception of those latest trends in Putin’s personnel policy, which we are still comprehending and have not fully understood.

What could you be punished for, plagiarism? It seems like they are not punished so harshly for this, maybe there were some other complaints?

Konstantin Simonov: If we are still talking about the resignation of Mr. Markin, I personally think that the main problem lies in the situation with Mr. Bastrykin himself, Mr. Markin’s immediate superior. We remember very well those unexpected ones, this applies to the people closest to Bastrykin. Mr. Markin is also associated with his immediate supervisor. Therefore, if the resignation takes place, I would consider it as a whole in connection with the situation with the “cleansing” of the Investigative Committee.

And if you raise it, then for what?

Konstantin Simonov: This increase can well be considered as a signal to society that yes, these are the times, this is our personnel policy now, keep in mind that we are betting on the next coming of representatives of law enforcement agencies to power. That's how I would view it.

Major General of Justice Vladimir Markin became head of the department for interaction with the media of the Investigative Committee Russian Federation in 2007. Before him, such a position did not exist at all. Markin's first education is as a journalist; he graduated from the journalism department of Moscow State University in 1985. In 2009, he graduated in absentia from the Faculty of Law of the Institute of Economics and Culture with a degree in Jurisprudence. In 2011, the Prosecutor General's Office revealed facts of numerous violations in this institute. Rosobrnadzor deprived educational institution license for six months and revoked Markin's diploma. Later, the department renewed the licenses of the Institute of Economics and Culture, and Markin’s diploma in legal education was recognized as valid.

– Head of the Department of Interaction with the Media.

Photo: http://izvestia.ru/news/548376

Biography of Vladimir Markin

Born in 1956 in Chelyabinsk.

In 1985 he graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of the Moscow state university, after which he returned to his hometown and became a correspondent for the newspaper "Evening Chelyabinsk".

From 2006 to 2009, Markin studied on an individual basis at the Moscow Institute of Economics and Culture (IEiK), graduating with a degree in jurisprudence.

In 1986, Markin moved to Moscow and worked at the All-Union Radio, hosting the radio programs "Time, Events, People" and "".

In 1991, Markin began working at the USSR Central Television, and later at the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (). He was the author and host of the talk show "Career", whose guests included the mayor of St. Petersburg Anatoly Sobchak, director Eldar Ryazanov, famous actors and entrepreneurs.

In 1997, he left television and served as director of public relations for the international Reform Foundation, which dealt with issues of economic and social reform and privatization in Russia.

Then he was appointed to the post of First Deputy Minister for Press and Information Affairs of the Moscow Region.

In 2001, Markin returned to television, was a producer of news broadcasts on the NTV channel and an executive producer of the Rossiya television channel.

In 2004, Markin became director of public relations for the Intelligent Technologies Foundation.

In September 2007, the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation (SKP RF) was created, which was headed by. In the same month, Bastrykin appointed Markin to the post of head of the department for interaction with the media of the UPC of the Russian Federation.

He was recognized as newsmaker of the year according to the results of the Moscow journalist competition “MOSCOW MEDIA 2011”. For outstanding achievements in the field of social and political activities, he was awarded the title of laureate of the people's prize “Bright Past 2011”, established by the government Chelyabinsk region and the fund.