View source for Viktor Chernomyrdin

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
|name         = Viktor Chernomyrdin<br />{{small|Виктор Черномырдин}}
|image        = ЧЕРНОМЫРДИН Виктор Степанович.jpg
|imagesize    = 260 px
|office       = [[Prime Minister of Russia]]
|president    = [[Boris Yeltsin]]
|term_start   = 23 August 1998
|term_end     = 11 September 1998<br><small>Acting</small>
|predecessor  = [[Sergei Kiriyenko]]
|successor    = [[Yevgeny Primakov]]
|president2   = [[Boris Yeltsin]]
|term_start2  = 14 December 1992 
|term_end2    = 23 March 1998
|predecessor2 = [[Yegor Gaidar]]
|successor2   = [[Sergei Kiriyenko]]
|office3      = [[Deputy Prime Minister|Deputy Prime Minister of Russia]]
|president3   = [[Boris Yeltsin]]
|primeminister3 = [[Boris Yeltsin]]<br>[[Yegor Gaidar]] (acting)
|term_start3    = 30 May 1992
|term_end3      = 14 December 1992
|office4        = [[Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Union]]
|term_start4    = 13 February 1985
|term_end4      = 17 July 1989
|premier4       = [[Nikolai Tikhonov]]<br>[[Nikolai Ryzhkov]]
|predecessor4   = [[Vasili Dinkov]]
|successor4     = Post abolished
|birth_name=Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin
|birth_date     = {{birth date|1938|4|9|df=y}}
|birth_place    = [[Saraktashsky District|Chernyi Otrog]], [[Orenburg Oblast]], [[Russian SFSR]]
|death_date     = {{death date and age|2010|11|3|1938|4|9|df=y}}
|death_place    = Moscow, Russia
|party          = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]<br>{{small|(1961–1991)}}<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]]<br>{{small|(1991–1995)}}<br>[[Our Home – Russia]]<br>{{small|(1995–2001)}}<br>[[United Russia]]<br>{{small|(2001–2010)}}
|spouse         = Valentina Chernomyrdina (died 2010)
|children       = Andrey <br> Vitali
|religion       = [[Russian Orthodox]]
|awards         = [[Order of Friendship]]
}}
{{Eastern Slavic name|Stepanovich|Chernomyrdin}}
'''Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin''' ({{lang-ru|Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин}}, {{IPA-ru|ˈvʲiktər sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ tɕɪrnɐˈmɨrdʲɪn|IPA}}; 9 April 1938{{spaced ndash}}3 November 2010) was a Russian politician. He was the first chairman of the [[Gazprom]] energy company and the longest-serving [[Prime Minister of Russia]] (1992–1998) based on consecutive years. He was a key figure in Russian politics in the 1990s, and a participant in the Russian transition from a [[Planned economy|planned]] to a [[Market economy|market]] economy. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to [[Ukraine]]. After that he was designated as a presidential adviser.<ref name="kremlin110609"/>

Chernomyrdin is known in Russia and [[List of countries where Russian is an official language|Russian-speaking countries]] for his unique language style, containing numerous [[malapropism]]s and [[Syntax|syntactic]] errors.<ref name="dosuga.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.dosuga.net/?type=marazm&seq=cherno&mk=on&num=|title=Collection of Chernomyrdin's quotes at a Russian humour website (in Russian)|publisher=Dosuga|date=25 August 1998|accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref> Many of his sayings became [[aphorism]]s and [[idiom]]s in the [[Russian language]], the most famous being his expression ''"We wanted the best, but it turned out like always."'' ({{lang-ru|Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда}}).<ref name="dushenko.ru">[http://www.dushenko.ru/news_archive/21/ A story of the main Chernomyrdin's proverb by Konstantin Dushenko, an aphorism collector (in Russian)]{{dead link|date=November 2010}}</ref>

Chernomyrdin died on 3 November 2010 after a long illness. He was buried beside his wife in [[Novodevichy Cemetery]] on 5 November, and his funeral was broadcast live on Russian [[Television in Russia|federal TV channels]].<ref name=rbc/>

==Early life and education==
Chernomyrdin was born in Chernyi Otrog, Orenburg Oblast, Russian SFSR. His father was a labourer and Viktor was one of five children. Chernomyrdin completed school education in 1957 and found employment as a mechanic in an [[oil refinery]] in [[Orsk]]. He worked there until 1962, except for two years of [[Conscription#Russia|compulsory military service]] from 1957 to 1960. His other occupations on the plant during this period included machinist, operator and chief of technical installations.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

He became a member of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]] in 1961. In 1962, he was admitted to Kuybyshev Industrial Institute (which was later renamed [[Samara Polytechnical Institute]]). In his entrance exams he performed very poorly. He failed the math sections of the test and had to take the exam again, getting a C. He got only one B, in Russian language, and Cs in the other tests. He was admitted only because of very poor competition. In 1966, he graduated from the institute. In 1972, he completed further studies at the Department of Economics of the Union-wide Polytechnic Institute by correspondence.{{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

==Early career==
[[File:Оренбургский газоперерабатывающий завод. В. С. Черномырдин и А. Н. Косыгин..jpg|thumb|left|Chernomyrdin with Soviet Deputy Premier [[Alexei Kosygin]] in 1975]]
Chernomyrdin began developing his career as a politician when he worked for the CPSU in [[Orsk]] between 1967 and 1973. In 1973, he was appointed the director of the natural gas refining plant in [[Orenburg]], a position which he held until 1978. Between 1978 and 1982, Chernomyrdin worked in the heavy industry arm of the CPSU [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]].

In 1982, he was appointed deputy Minister of the natural gas industries of the [[Soviet Union]]. Concurrently, beginning from 1983, he directed Glavtyumengazprom, an industry association for natural gas resource development in [[Tyumen Oblast]]. During 1985–1989 he was the minister of gas industries.

==Founder of Gazprom==
In August 1989, under the leadership of Chernomyrdin, the Ministry of Gas Industry was transformed into the ''State Gas Concern'', [[Gazprom]], which became the country's first [[state corporation|state-corporate enterprise]]. Chernomyrdin was elected its first chairman. The company was still controlled by the state, but now the control was exercised through shares of stock, 100% of which were owned by the state.<ref name="faq_jsc">{{cite web|url=http://eng.gazpromquestions.ru/?id=10 |title=Gazprom – Joint Stock Company |publisher=Gazprom |accessdate=18 October 2009 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122202622/http://eng.gazpromquestions.ru/?id=10 |archivedate=22 January 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name="marshall">{{cite book|last=Goldman|first=Marshall I.|title=Petrostate: Putin, Power and the New Russia|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|chapter=5|isbn=978-0-19-534073-0}}</ref>

When the Soviet Union dissolved in late 1991, assets of the former Soviet state in the gas sector were transferred to newly created national companies such as [[Ukrgazprom]] and [[Turkmengazprom]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Aarentsen|first=Maarten|title=National reforms in European gas|year=2003}}</ref> Gazprom kept assets located in the territory of Russia, and was able to secure a monopoly in the gas sector.<ref name="marshall"/>

Gazprom's political influence increased markedly after Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]] appointed the company's chairman Chernomyrdin as his [[Prime Minister of Russia|Prime Minister]] in 1992. [[Rem Viakhirev]] took Chernomyrdin's place as Chairman both of the Board of Directors and of the Managing Committee.<ref name="marshall"/> Gazprom was one of the backbones of the country's economy in 1990s, though the company underperformed during that decade. In the 2000s, however, Gazprom became the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest [[Economy of Russia|Russian company]].

==Prime Minister of Russia==
In May 1992, [[Boris Yeltsin]] appointed Chernomyrdin as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of fuel and energy.<ref name=NYT/> On 14 December 1992, Chernomyrdin was confirmed by the VII Congress of People's Deputies of Russia as Prime Minister. In April 1995, he formed a political bloc called [[Our Home – Russia]], which was aimed at becoming the central force in the parliament, but failed in this, gaining only 10% of votes.

In 1995, Chernomyrdin signed a decree calling for the development of a national strategy for tiger conservation<ref>{{Cite web|title = Russia’s Tough Tigers - National Zoo{{!}} FONZ|url = http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2008/1/Amur_tigers.cfm|website = nationalzoo.si.edu|access-date = 2016-02-03}}</ref>

On 18 June 1995, as a result of [[Shamil Basayev]]-led terrorists [[Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis|taking over 1500 people hostage]] in [[Budyonnovsk]], negotiations between Chernomyrdin and Basayev led to a compromise which became a turning point for the [[First Chechen War]]. In exchange for the hostages, the [[Russian government]] agreed to halt military actions in Chechnya and begin a series of negotiations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/01/world/facing-threat-in-parliament-yeltsin-removes-3-ministers.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|title=Facing Threat in Parliament, Yeltsin Removes 3 Ministers|first=Steven|last=Erlanger|date=1 July 1995|accessdate=27 May 2010}}</ref>

When Boris Yeltsin was undergoing a heart operation on 6 November 1996, Chernomyrdin served as [[Acting President of the Russian Federation|Acting President]] for 23 hours.<ref name="HoffmanWashingtonPost">{{cite news|last=Hoffman|first=David|title=Yeltsin Heart Operation Called a Success|work=The Washington Post|publisher=The Washington Post|date=6 November 1996|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/russiagov/stories/success110696.htm|accessdate=10 April 2008}}</ref><ref>Decree of President of Russian Federation No. 1378 of 19 September 1996; [http://www.businesspravo.ru/Docum/DocumShow_DocumID_49072.html Temporary discharge of duty of President of Russian Federation] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717183246/http://www.businesspravo.ru/Docum/DocumShow_DocumID_49072.html |date=17 July 2011 }}</ref>

Chernomyrdin remained Prime Minister until his sudden dismissal on 23 March 1998. Following the [[1998 Russian financial crisis]] in August, Yeltsin re-appointed Chernomyrdin as Prime Minister, and attempted to groom him as his successor. However, the [[State Duma|Duma]] twice refused to confirm Chernomyrdin as the head of the government. Rather than to risk the third rejection and thus to force the [[Dissolution of parliament#Russia|dissolution of the State Duma]] and political crisis, Chernomyrdin withdrew his nomination and the President asked the more popular [[Yevgeny Primakov]] to [[Yevgeny Primakov's Cabinet|form a new cabinet]].

==Diplomatic career==
[[File:Vladimir Putin 19 June 2001-1.jpg|thumb|right|Chernomyrdin with [[Vladimir Putin]] in June 2001 after being appointed as [[Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine]].]]
[[File:Виктор Черномырдин.jpg|right|thumb|[[Dmitry Medvedev]] and Viktor Chernomyrdin in 2010]]
During the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]] in 1999 Chernomyrdin was a special representative of Russia in Yugoslavia. It was he who persuaded [[Slobodan Milošević]] to agree to an armistice and to place [[Kosovo]] under UN control.<ref name=lenta/>

In December 1999 Chernomyrdin was [[Russian legislative election, 1999|elected]] a member of the [[State Duma]]. In May 2001, [[Vladimir Putin]] appointed Chernomyrdin [[Ambassador of Russia to Ukraine]]. This action was interpreted by some Russian media agencies as a move to distance Chernomyrdin from the centre of [[Politics of Russia|Russian politics]]. In 2003, he dismissed talk of an apology for the [[Holodomor|Holodomor Famine]] made by the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4471256.stm|work=BBC|title=Ukraine demands 'genocide' marked|date=25 November 2005 |accessdate=27 May 2010}}</ref>

In February 2009 Chernomyrdin again strained the [[Russia–Ukraine relations|relations between Ukraine and Russia]] when he in an interview said "It is impossible to come to an agreement on anything with the [[Government of Ukraine|Ukrainian leadership]]. If different people come in, we'll see". The [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine)|Ukrainian foreign ministry]] said in a response it could declare Chernomyrdin "[[persona non grata]]" over the row.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-301448.html|title=Russia warns it will hit back if Ukraine expels envoy – reports|publisher=[[Ukrainian Independent Information Agency]]|date=18 January 2009|accessdate=21 February 2009}}</ref>

On 11 June 2009, [[Russian President]] [[Dmitry Medvedev]] relieved Chernomyrdin as [[Ambassadors of Russia|Russian Ambassador]] in [[Kiev]], and appointed him as "presidential adviser and special presidential representative on economic cooperation with CIS member countries".<ref name="kremlin110609">{{cite news|url=http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/sdocs/news.shtml?month=06&day=11&year=2009&Submit.x=3&Submit.y=6&prefix=&value_from=&value_to=&date=&stype=&dayRequired=no&day_enable=true#|title=Dmitry Medvedev appointed Viktor Chernomyrdin presidential adviser on economic cooperation with CIS member countries and relieved him of his previous duties|date=11 June 2009|publisher=[[Presidential Press and Information Office]]|accessdate=12 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.rian.ru/world/20090611/155230948.html|title=Chernomyrdin dismissed as Russian ambassador to Ukraine|date=11 June 2009|location=Moscow|publisher=[[RIA Novosti]]|accessdate=12 June 2009}}</ref> In a parting shot at the Ukrainian government, Chernomyrdin stated that Russia should not apologise to [[Ukraine]] over voicing its suspicions about Ukraine being unable to pay for its natural gas, and further stated that Russia wants Ukraine to pay for the gas it consumes, and hence Russia is right to be concerned about the solvency of the Ukrainian state.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/prnt.html?NewsID=14043153|title=No reason why Russia should apologize to Ukraine – Chernomyrdin|date=12 June 2009|location=[[Kiev]]|publisher=[[ITAR-TASS]]|accessdate=12 June 2009}}</ref>

==Death==
[[image:Stamp of Russia 2013 No 1687 Viktor Chernomyrdin.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Postage stamps and postal history of Russia|Postage stamp]] issued by the [[Russian Post]] in 2013 depicting Chernomyrdin]]
Chernomyrdin died on the morning of 3 November 2010<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/world/europe/04chernomyrdin.html|title=Viktor Chernomyrdin, Ex-Russian Premier, Dies|author1=Barry, Ellen  |author2=Schwirtz, Michael |lastauthoramp=yes |date=3 November 2010|work=The New York Times |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref> after a long illness.<ref name=rbc/><ref name=lenta>[http://lenta.ru/articles/2010/11/03/chernomyrdin/ Chernomyrdin dies] lenta.ru {{ru icon}}</ref> The exact cause and the place of death were not announced.<ref name=lenta/> According to people close to Chernomyrdin, such as popular singer [[Lev Leshchenko]], the former Prime Minister was deeply affected by the death of his wife Valentina, seven and a half months earlier.<ref>[http://news.mail.ru/society/4715958/ Chernomurdin couldn't cope with the death of his wife] news.mail.ru {{ru icon}}</ref>

Chernomyrdin was buried beside his wife in [[Novodevichy Cemetery]] on 5 November 2010.<ref>[http://www.lenta.ru/news/2010/11/05/burial/ Chernomyrdin has been buried in Moscow] Lenta.ru {{ru icon}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101103/161194459.html|title=Former Russian PM Chernomyrdin to be buried in elite cemetery|date=3 November 2010|work=[[RIA Novosti]]|accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref> On 3 November [[Russian President]] [[Dmitry Medvedev]] signed an [[Decree of the President of Russia|order]] to show Chernomyrdin's [[funeral]] in a [[live television|live broadcast]] on Russian [[Television in Russia|federal TV]] channels<ref name=rbc>[http://top.rbc.ru/society/03/11/2010/493021.shtml Chernomyrdin's funeral will be live broadcast] rbc.ru {{ru icon}}</ref> (only the funerals of the former President [[Boris Yeltsin]] and [[Patriarch Alexy II]] were granted the same right in recent years). The head of the [[Presidential Administration of Russia]], [[Sergey Naryshkin]], supervised the funeral ceremony.<ref name=rbc/>
 
Condolences on the death of Chernomyrdin were voiced on 3 November 2010 by Russian President [[Dmitry Medvedev]], [[Russian Prime Minister]] [[Vladimir Putin]], [[Ukrainian President]] [[Viktor Yanukovich]] and other state figures in Russia.<ref name=lenta2>[http://lenta.ru/news/2010/11/03/condolences/ The date of Viktor Chernomyrdin's funeral announced] Lenta {{ru icon}}</ref>

== Sayings ==
{{Copy section to Wikiquote}}
In Russian-speaking countries, Chernomyrdin is famous for his numerous [[malapropism]]s and [[Syntax|syntactically]] incorrect speech.<ref name="dosuga.net"/> His idioms received the name ''Chernomyrdinki'', and are somewhat comparable to [[Bushism]]s in style and effect.

One of his expressions ''"We wanted to do it better, but it turned out as always"'' (''Хотели как лучше, а получилось как всегда'' in Russian) about the economic reforms in Russia became a very popular proverb.<ref name="dushenko.ru"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/search?hl=ru&q=%22%D1%85%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8+%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BA+%D0%BB%D1%83%D1%87%D1%88%D0%B5%22+%22%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%83%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%8C+%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BA+%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B4%D0%B0%22&btnG=%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA&lr= |title=Google search for the main Chernomyrdin's proverb quoted and re-used (in Russian)|publisher=Google|accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref> The phrase was uttered after a [[Monetary reform in Russia, 1993|highly unsuccessful monetary exchange]] performed by the [[Central Bank of the Russian Federation|Russian Central Bank]] in July 1993.<ref name=NYT/>

Among his other sayings were:<ref name="dosuga.net"/>

*We have completed all the items: from A to B.
*Better than vodka there is nothing worse.
*The direction we have is one – the correct one.
*A government is not that body which you can do with a tongue as you wish.
*Better to be the head of a fly than the buttocks of an elephant.
*27 millions were left with no arms, no leg, and without nothing else.
*The soul hurts for grandchildren and the country.
*You got to think what to understand.
*Always we in Russia have something erect that we don't need instead of what is needed.
*The principles that were principled were non-principled.
*There is still time to save the face. Later we will be forced to save some other parts of a body.
*Wine we need for health, and the health we need to drink vodka.
*My life has passed in the atmosphere of oil and gas.
*I can talk to anyone in any language, but that is the skill I try not to use.
*Accuse of what? Of corruption? Whom? Me? Who? USA? What, did they, there, just wake up?
*I don't draw and can't draw, but if I do draw something, it'll be more than you can handle.
*We need to do what our people need, not what we are doing now.
*The country we have – enough for her by skipping to do jumping.
*Here is what can happen when somebody's starting to reason.
*It has never been like this and now it is exactly the same again.
*I am not going to speak much, otherwise I'll again say something.
*The victims of the catastrophe should be personally liquidated.
*You think it is simply too far for me... It is far from simple for me!
*I feel today something of some kind in the air: there - who to whom, who to what...

==Honours and awards==
;State awards of the Russian Federation and USSR
* [[Order of Merit for the Fatherland]]
**1st class (24 March 2009) - for outstanding contribution to strengthening the international prestige of the Russian Federation and many years of fruitful activity
**2nd class (23 March 1998) - for outstanding contribution to the development of the Russian state
**3rd class (9 April 2008) - for outstanding contribution to the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations
**4th class (9 April 2010) - for long-term fruitful state activity
* [[Order of Friendship]] (8 April 2003) - for outstanding contribution to the strengthening and development of friendship and cooperation between Russia and Ukraine
* [[Order of the October Revolution]] (1986)
* [[Order of the Red Banner of Labour]] (1979)
* [[Order of the Badge of Honour]] (1974) - for achievements in the construction and development of the design capacity of the first stage of Orenburg gas complex
* [[Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy"]] (7 June 1996)
* [[Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"]] (6 September 1997)
* [[Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan"]] (23 August 2005)
* [[Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin"]] (1970)
* [[Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"]] (1985)

;President and the Government of the Russian Federation
* Diploma of the President of the Russian Federation (12 December 2008) - for active participation in the drafting of the Constitution and a great contribution to the democratic foundations of the Russian Federation
* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (9 November 1993)
* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (14 August 1995) - for active participation in the preparation and conduct of the 50th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945
* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (12 July 1996) - for active participation in organizing and conducting the election campaign of President of Russian Federation in 1996
* Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (30 July 1999) - for his great personal contribution to a political settlement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO, consistent defense of Russia's position in the Balkans
* Diploma of the Russian Federation Government (9 April 2003) - for his great personal contribution to the development of Russian-Ukrainian trade and economic cooperation
* Diploma of the Russian Federation Government (9 April 2008) - for long-term fruitful state activity

;Foreign awards
* Medal "100th Anniversary of Birth of Georgi Dimitrov" (People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1982)
* Mkhitar Gosh (Armenia, 4 December 1998) - for outstanding contribution to the elimination of the consequences of the Spitak earthquake, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction work. Medal awarded 18 April 2002
* [[Order of Parasat]] (Kazakhstan, 1 September 1999) - for his contribution to the development of oil and gas industry in Kazakhstan
* [[Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise]], 5th class (Ukraine, 8 April 2003) - for outstanding contribution to the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine, weighty personal contribution in strengthening the friendly ties between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples
* [[Order of Merit (Ukraine)|Order of Merit]], 3rd class (Ukraine, 17 June 2009) - for his contribution to the development of Ukrainian-Russian relations, the long-term diplomatic activity

;Awards of states of the Russian Federation
* Order "For Merit" (Republic of Ingushetia, June 19, 2001) - for outstanding contribution to the establishment and development of the economy of Ingushetia
* Order the "Key of Friendship" (Kemerovo Region, 7 March 2008)

;Faith awards
* [[Order of St. Sergius]], 2nd class (Russian Orthodox Church, 29 March 2007) - for their efforts in strengthening the unity of Orthodox peoples
* [[Order "Christmas"]], 2nd class (UOC)
* Jubilee medal "1020 years of the Baptism of Kievan Rus' (PCM, 25 November 2008)

;Departmental awards
* Honorary Worker of the Ministry for Oil and Gas Construction (1 April 1988)
* Veteran Labour gas industry (8 April 1998)
* Honorary Worker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2 April 2003) - for active participation in the implementation of Russian foreign policy

;Other recognitions
* The [[Viktor Chernomyrdin (icebreaker)|new Russian icebreaker]] will be named after Chernomyrdin

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Chernomyr.html Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin] from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2007, and related articles
*[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1D7143BF936A25751C1A964958260 Man in the News; Kremlin's Technocrat: Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin] By [[Steven Erlanger]] [[The New York Times]] 15 December 1992.

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{{Prime Ministers of Russia}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chernomyrdin, Viktor}}
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