Gavriil Popov is currently rector of the International University in Moscow.
Popov graduated Moscow Lomonosov University in political economy. He joined the Soviet Communist Party in 1959 and served as a secretary of the Komsomol committee of his university. Popov remained at the faculty of economics as a graduate student, then docent, and since 1978 he became dean of the faculty. Yegor Gaidar, who would become Prime Minister of Russia, was one of his students.
During perestroika, Popov became heavily involved in politics. He quit the CPSU in 1990 becoming a staunch proponent of democratization. On April 20, 1990, he became the first democratically elected mayor of Moscow. He resigned in 1992.
Featured Work
MAY 19, 2011 • Transcript
Interview with Gavriil Popov, First Democratically Elected Mayor of Moscow
Gavriil Popov was mayor of Moscow in the turbulent days of the early 1990s, and his key appointees played crucial roles in bringing about the ...