Putin’s PhD thesis written by rector: academic’s daughter
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
05.03.2018 15:11
Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s doctoral dissertation on economics was written by Vladimir Litvinenko, the rector of the Saint Petersburg Mining University, the academic’s daughter has told Radio Liberty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses supporters during a pre-election campaign rally at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow, Russia, 3 March. Photo: EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV
Olga Litvinenko said that after becoming rector in 1994, her father “organized an illegal business, i.e. writing diploma theses.”
Doctorates for sale: report
The asking price for dissertations that were sure to see buyers awarded doctorates began at EUR 30,000, Poland’s niezalezna.pl website reported.
Olga Litvinenko claimed many highly placed officials bought such diplomas, including former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.
Olga Litvinenko left Russia seven years ago after a conflict with her father. She currently lives in Poland, according to Radio Liberty.
Olga Litvinenko said her father personally wrote Putin’s dissertation. She added: “In the summer of 1997 a photocopier was brought to our dacha and my father took a vacation. Putin never visited our dacha, he never consulted my father about the dissertation... The whole work was written by my father alone.”
Putin at the time worked in the administration of President Boris Yeltsin.
Rich list
According to Olga Litvinenko, her father wrote Putin’s dissertation for free, after Putin helped him to be appointed rector. The two men also did business together, she said.
Vladimir Litvinenko was in 2017 listed in 122nd place in a ranking of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia, according to Forbes magazine.
Putin defended his PhD in economics in 1997, the niezalezna.pl website reported.
(pk)
Source: niezalezna.pl/PAP