Having swept through Russia, the dashing nineties warped the lives of many people, including those who, by the will of fate, were on a par with high-ranking officials of the state and made up its political and legal elite. The term “lawlessness” that appeared in those years fully characterized the atmosphere that prevailed in the highest echelons of power. One of the few who tried to confront lawlessness and paid for it was Skuratov Yuri Ilyich, who occupied from 1995-1999. post of the Prosecutor General of Russia.
The youngest professor in Russia
Yuri Ilyich was born on June 3, 1952 in the capital of Buryatia, the city of Ulan-Ude. After graduating from high school in 1968, he became a student at the Sverdlovsk Law Institute, who graduated with honors in five years. The young graduate continued his education in graduate school, the end of which was the defense of the dissertation.
Having given his homeland the two years of active military service that he served in the special battalion of the internal troops, Yuri Skuratov, the compromising evidence of which in the future will be an example of flagrant lawlessness, returned to his native university, where, having a spotless reputation, he devoted himself to teaching as an assistant professor and dean one of the faculties. Soon, having defended his dissertation, he became the youngest professor in the Soviet Union, a doctor of law.
Start of work in the capital
Such a talented lawyer could not remain in the shadows for a long time, and in 1989 he received an invitation to work in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the CPSU. There, a young professor performs the duties of a lecturer, consultant and deputy head of department. Two years later, Yuri Ilyich was one of the closest employees of V. Barannikov, who in those years was the head of the Ministry of Security.
In Moscow, his career is developing rapidly. When in 1993 a vacancy was opened at the General Prosecutor's Office for the post of director of the Research Institute of Law and Order, then among all the candidates, it was Yuri Ilyich Skuratov who preferred. He heads this institution for two years, after which the Federation Council approves the post of Attorney General of the Russian Federation.
At the head of the Russian prosecutor's office
Many who happened to work with Yuri Ilyich at that time recall him as a competent specialist. He managed, despite the lack of experience in practical prosecutorial work (as seen from the previous material, he had to deal mainly with theoretical issues), quickly navigate in an unusual environment and fully carry out everything that a specific situation required.
They especially note the merit of this person in improving the standard of living of prosecutors. Unlike today, when the workers of this important state apparatus have sufficient material support, in those years prosecutors and investigators, especially from among young employees, were on the verge of poverty and could at least somehow exist as a result of Skuratov's worries.
It should be noted that this situation is not something unique - it is typical for many states during economic and political crises. It is enough to recall Italy in the sixties and seventies. At a time when, in all developed European countries, employees of the highest investigative apparatus and prosecutors, in order to avoid their dependence on "benefactors", received quite adequate material maintenance and medical insurance for the whole family, in this country for a long period law enforcement officers were forced to work on one enthusiasm.
Prosecutor's law
Another important result of his activities of that period was the emergence of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office. Thanks to Yuri Ilyich, a legislative act was passed that excluded the possibility of arbitrariness on the part of the highest state authorities in relation to the prosecutor general and his deputies. If the head of any other agency could be removed or appointed on the basis of a personal order of the head of state, then only the Federation Council appointed and dismissed the highest officials of the prosecutor’s office.
Dashing nineties
The nineties had their own characteristic specifics. No wonder they went down in the history of the country with the epithet "dashing". Then many aspects of public life bore obvious signs of deviation from the rule of law, and one of those who showed principle then was the Prosecutor General of Russia Skuratov Yuri Ilyich.
Turning to the information that Russian media presented in large numbers in the mid-nineties, one can see that at that time there was a wide investigation of the facts of corruption, which were suspected by many leaders of the St. Petersburg mayor's office. And although the commission of inquiry, sent to the city on the Neva, consisted of representatives of three departments - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the General Prosecutor's Office, it is known that the initiator of its creation was Yuri Skuratov - a prosecutor not only of a high professional level, but also of deep integrity.
High-profile criminal cases and their conflicts
This quality of him was the reason for the conflict with people from the inner circle of the president. If until 1998 the confrontation did not go outside, then after the collapse of the well-known financial pyramid of T-bills (State Short-term Bonds), which caused the economic crisis, it manifested itself in all severity.
It began with the fact that Yuri Skuratov, the prosecutor with the broadest powers, initiated an investigation into the activities of a number of officials who held senior government posts and were suspected of fraud with T-bills, for which they used their official position. There is no need to list all whose names were mentioned in the list of defendants in this large-scale criminal case. It is enough to say that it was “decorated” by many who stood at the helm of power in those years.
In October of the same year, Yuri Ilyich Skuratov ordered to institute criminal proceedings on materials related to the laundering of large sums of money by high-ranking officials through one of the Swiss banks. This was then widely covered by the media. It was alleged that there were facts of bribes received by Russian officials from two firms for providing them with lucrative orders for the restoration of the Moscow Kremlin. It was a very high-profile case, and the memory of him has survived to the present day.
Among the explicit and secret detractors
It is understandable that the forces against which the Attorney General directed his actions showed him the most active resistance, and they used all the opportunities at their disposal. As mentioned above, many of those who happened to work with Yuri Ilyich agree that, as a first-class theoretician of law, he did not have sufficient experience in practical work, he did not appear in court and had never led the prosecutor’s office before.
As a man by nature direct and principled, Skuratov was not sophisticated in the apparatus and propaganda wars. This inevitably affected his underestimation of the manageability of the media and the majority of Russian journalists. He was also let down by his lack of ability to understand people, especially in the mistakes made by him in the implementation of the personnel policy. All this entailed extremely unpleasant consequences, the victim of which was Yuri Ilyich.
Material incriminating the prosecutor
In early April of the following year, a criminal case was instituted against Skuratov himself, and he was removed from office for the duration of the investigation. This happened after a month before that a television film was shown on television, which claimed to be documentary. There were shots in which allegedly Yuri Skuratov was engaged in obscenity with two women in a bathhouse or in a private apartment.
In itself, this act, although it is deeply immoral, does not fall under any of the articles of the Criminal Code. However, the case against Yuri Ilyich was opened, and he was charged with that the sex services of these women were allegedly a bribe received by him from one of the detainees. The absurdity of such an accusation was striking, however, it was extremely difficult to prove the innocence and expose the slander to the prosecutor general.
The fake was so crudely executed that no one until the end believed that it was him. Even in the media, who do not dare to say that it’s Yuri Ilyich Skuratov with the girls in the frame, the phrase “a man similar to Skuratov” was used.
Forced resignation
Yuri Ilyich himself categorically denied the authenticity of the shooting, and the quality of the video was so low that it did not allow a definite conclusion. Even according to the persons involved in the official investigation of the case, it was recognized as “pre-genuine”. It should be noted that legal confirmation that it was Skuratov Yuri Ilyich with the girls captured on this film was not received.
Despite all the unproven cases, this essentially vile story was spread in the press and caused a wide public outcry. Its result was Skuratov’s resignation, which took place on the basis of a resolution of the Federation Council adopted on April 19, 2000.
Follow-up professional and social activities
After the forced resignation of Skuratov, Yuri Ilyich, whose biography says that his life has made a sharp turn from that moment, takes part in the presidential election in 2000. For all his merits, he does not succeed, gaining only a small percentage of the vote. This is not surprising - most of them at that time were still impressed by recent articles and television stories, the hero of which was Yuri Skuratov. Photos with “revealing” comments did not manage to be erased from memory.
The following year, as a representative of the People's Khural of Buryatia, he becomes a member of the Federation Council. But even in this place it is not possible to stay for a long time, and soon he loses his authority - the “girls” of Yuri Skuratov spoil his career in this case too. Another attempt to return to power structures was made in 2003, when Yuri Ilyich decided to run for the State Duma as a candidate from a single-member constituency. However, the attempt was unsuccessful. He was denied registration due to inaccuracies in the filing of documents.
The activities of the former head of the prosecutor's office today
At present, Yuri Ilyich, being a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, is actively working, heading a number of public and legal structures. In addition, he is the head of the department and professor at the Russian State Social University (RSSU), created in 1991 on the basis of a government decree on the conversion of former party schools.
Many talented teachers of Russia were involved in the teaching activities of this university. An important role in his work is played by the experienced lawyer Skuratov, Yuri Ilyich. The RSSU currently implements unique student education programs aimed at strengthening and expanding the legal base of our state.
