Kovalev Valentin is the state adviser to the justice of Russia, Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation, vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, academician of the International Slavic Academy.
Childhood and youth
Kovalev Valentin Alekseevich was born on January 10, 1944 in Dnepropetrovsk. His father's name was Alexei Kovalev, his mother was Polina Kovaleva. All their lives they were simple workers, and their son from youth was attracted by jurisprudence.
Valentin Kovalev graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow State University in 1973. In 1975, he graduated from graduate school there, a year later he defended his Ph.D., and in 1986, his doctoral dissertation. He also has Harvard University Graduate School of Public Administration.
He began working at a metallurgical plant at the age of fourteen. He served in the army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has the rank of colonel of internal service.
Teaching activities
From 1976 to 1986 he was engaged in scientific work and teaching at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union. From 1986 to 1991, he served as professor at the Higher School of Law. From 1991 to 1993 he was a professor at the Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. In 1992, he was appointed General Manager of the Legal Center for International and National Security. He was in this position until 1993. Member of the party until August 1991.
First steps in politics
On December 12, 1993, he was elected to the State Duma in the federal district according to the list of the Communist Party (fourteenth number). He was in the Communist Party faction. On February 17, 1994, Kovalev Valentin became one of the four deputies of the State Duma chairman.
In December 1994, he became the head of the State Duma headquarters on the situation that was associated with armed conflicts in Chechnya. He was also a member of the Supervisory Commission on the negotiation process with the Chechen Republic. At the end of the same month, he was appointed chairman of the human rights commission in this republic. His deputy was S. Kovalev (namesake), who was in Chechnya at that time.
The latter always insisted on the need for the presence of regular troops in the territory of this republic. He stated that the commission had no facts about the violation of the rights of Chechen citizens by the military personnel of the Russian Federation. Repeatedly drew public attention to a violation of the rights of the Russian population of Chechnya. Valentine, however, had slightly different views on the situation and insisted on the withdrawal of troops.
The Minister
On January 5, 1995, Kovalev was appointed Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation. Then the Prime Minister was V. Chernomyrdin. On January 10, 1995, he was expelled from the Communist Party faction, motivating this by joining the “anti-people government”. On the fourteenth of August of the following year, Kovalev Valentine was re-appointed Minister of Justice. On December 26, 1996, by decree of B. Yeltsin, he was approved as a member of the Interdepartmental Commission of the Russian Federation for Council of Europe Affairs.
In March 1997 he became a member of the Commission on the Problems of the Chechen Republic. On the twenty-third of July of the same year he was removed from the commission. This event did not affect his political career, and he retained the post of Minister of Justice in the reorganized government.
Scandal and resignation
On April 16, 1997, Valentin Kovalev, whose biography is inextricably linked with politics, became a member of the Commission on the interaction of state and executive authorities of the constituent entities of Russia during the legal reorganization.
In June of the same year, the Top Secret newspaper published an article by L. Kislinskaya entitled “And the Minister is Naked.” There were presented footage of a videotape recorded in the sauna, which was controlled by the Solntsevo criminal group. The frames reflected the meetings of Kovalev with girls of easy virtue. The journalist claimed that the video cassette was compromised by banker A. Angelevich during a search. The latter was an economic adviser to Kovalev.
After the article was published, Chernomyrdin recalled Valentin Alekseevich from a trip abroad. On June 21, 1997, Valentin Kovalev, whose photo is presented in this article, sent a request to the president to temporarily relieve him of his duties as minister. Boris Yeltsin on June 25 granted his request. Already on July 2, Kovalev was relieved of his post, and on July 20th ceased to be a member of the Security Council.
Career continuation
In 1999, Kovalev was appointed the chief specialist of the Guild of Lawyers of the Russian Federation. In February of the same year, he organized the Civil Solidarity Society. It included the party of Kovalev himself, the RPSD (A. Yakovlev) and about fifty other unions and organizations. According to Valentin, the goal of Civic Solidarity was the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Arrest
On February 3, 1999, former Minister of Justice Valentin Kovalev was arrested. They accused him of embezzlement of budget funds. It turned out that he became the country's first millionaire official, although he had never been involved in business. After some time, Kovalev’s ally, the president of Montazhspetsbank, A. Angelevich was also arrested. He was accused of financial transactions and money laundering together with Kovalev.
The investigation found that the former minister bought a large estate in the elite village of Sukhanovo (Moscow region). Its price is about six hundred thousand dollars. On the accounts of Kovalev two hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars were found in one bank and another hundred and sixty in another. The funds were not declared. In addition, in the spring of 1998 a search was conducted in Valentin’s apartment and a pistol with cartridges (unregistered) was seized. Later it turned out that the pistol is an award - presented by General Starovoitov (director of the FAPSI).
Court
On February 4, ninety-nine, Kovalev decided to go on a hunger strike, demanding a transfer from Butyrskaya Prison to Lefortovo. However, they transferred him to Sailor's Silence. In January of the following year, he was extended the period of detention in order to familiarize the accused with forty volumes of the criminal case.
The former minister said that he was subjected to frequent beatings, bullying of a physical and moral nature. On April 3, 2000, he was released on his own recognizance from the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.
In August of the same year, the prosecutor's office prepared a bill of indictment, and the Kovalev case was transferred to court. In October 2000, the politician sent materials to the Attorney General of the country, Ustinov, that related to the activities of some officials. And in February 2001, Kovalev filed a lawsuit to protect honor and dignity, which was satisfied. On February 27, the court rejected the motion to refer the Kovalev case for an additional investigation.
On September 13, 2001, hearings began in the Moscow City Court. The prosecutor demanded that the politician be sentenced to nine years. The court found facts of embezzlement of state funds in the amount of one billion twenty-nine million rubles. On October 3, 2001, the court sentenced Valentine to nine years probation with confiscation of the land and apartment. He was also deprived of the rank of adviser to justice and the opportunity to hold positions in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for three years.
