Until now, Kiriłł Dmitile has already been described in all ways – as one of the most famous Russian investors, the personal envoy of President Vladimir Putin or “Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Shadow”. His April trip to Washington-the most famous visit of the Russian official since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022-is the last step towards the thaw in Russian-American relations under the rule of President Donald Trump.
In addition to attracting attention with his performances in CNN and Fox News during a visit to the USA, the head of the Russian State Fund also launched an account on the X, which is blocked in Russia, where he publishes posts in English. So who is Kiriłł Dmitriew – and why is it suddenly everywhere?
Unlike many Russian officials who rarely have Western education, Dmitriew, who was born in Kiev, studied at Stanford and Harvard. He began his career in the United States in Goldman Sachs and McKinsey, and then returned to Russia in 2000.
In 2011, he was appointed head of the Russian Fund for Direct Investment (RDIF), which, he said, resulted from his successful investments in Russia, not personal connections. “Only recently did I start to communicate strictly with government representatives,” said Dmitief in an interview of 2012.
The special envoy of Russia for international economic and investment cooperation this year, 49-year-old Dmitriew still manages RDiF-an organization where, according to the USA, “Putin and his internal circle of guys have long relied … to raise funds abroad, including in the United States.”
Under the leadership of Dmitriew, Rdif established investment partnerships with funds and corporations from China, Saudi Arabia, Japan, France and the United Arab Emirates. Dmitriew himself is known for cultivating relations with foreign political personalities, including Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, with whom he met dozens of times.
Although RDiF emphasizes that it is apolitical and “in line with world standards”, RDiF and Dmitriew have been sanctions in 2022 by the USA, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. RDIF is also covered by the sanctions of the EU and Ukraine.
Currently He plays a key role in Russian-American peacekeeping negotiations, he took part in a meeting with representatives of President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia in February and went to the USA – It was a journey that, according to CNN, meant that the US was temporarily abolished by sanctions to give him a visa.
“He could scream and stomp his feet”
While Dmitiew has become a key negotiator in peace conversations, those who worked with him describe a completely different personality. – Kiriłł is ambitious; He really loves and values himself. He always emphasizes his closeness with the president's family. You can't easily get closer to it, said The Moscow Times Source, which Dmitri knows for a long time.
– He always reacted quite emotionally if something went wrong or did not go according to his plan. He was able to scream and stomp his feet – said The Moscow Times Another person who worked with him in the past.
– The problem is that everyone who met and worked with him knows that he is an asshole, and if they say it in public, this may destroy all chances of re -conducting interests in Russia – said the journalist, who for decades dealt with Russia in The Moscow Times, provided that anonymity due to the risk of professional repression.
The Insider quoted another source that Dmitriew knows, stating that “he loves to make a show by calling high rank [rosyjskich] officials “during negotiations to put pressure on partners, so that they agree to transactions.
Third chair in Riyadh
According to Russian media sources, Dmitriew also “clashed” with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Investigative Information Service Agencja announced that the confrontation between the two camps intensified during the first US-Russia meeting in Saudi Arabia on February 18, because Putin authorized two separate negotiating teams without their coordination.
“[Minister spraw zagranicznych Siergiej] Lavrov was very surprised, seeing three chairs on the Russian side of the negotiating room, “he gave the anonymous source of agencies, adding that he could not independently verify some informant's claims.
When Lavrov was informed that the third place is intended for Dmitri, apparently upset the chair from the table and said: “If he wants to take part [w rozmowach]let Vladimir Vladimirowicz [Putin] He will give it to me. “
“Everyone goes to Putin individually, and he tells each person something different” – said the source of agency.” This is one of the reasons why no one is able to clearly articulate Russia's demands during talks. “
Dmitriew was also allegedly the reason by which Sputnik V – a Russian vaccine for Coronavirus, financed by RDIF – did not receive international certification, although it was the world's first registered by the national authorities, according to the former Russian diplomat Boris Bondarev.
“It seems that Dmitriew, if he has ever been familiar with Western norms, turned them into a Russian system from Putin's time,” said Bondalem, who gave up the Russian mission at the UN in Geneva after the invasion of Ukraine. “Putin's strategy is:” do what we say and Western people will finally bend. We must force them to do so. They should not set conditions for us; we will determine the conditions for them “”.
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Putin's right hand
Dmitriew also acted as an unofficial diplomatic envoy in the Persian Gulf, supporting bonds with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, according to the Aleksiej Nawalny (FBK) anti -corruption foundation.
Although officially these missions were of an investment nature, critics describe him as “Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Shadow”, to whom the Kremlin entrusts sensitive tasks, including attempts to organize a meeting with Trump's team after his first presidential victory and “secret plans” to build relations between Russia and the USA.
The Russian media suggest that the key factor behind this trust may be his close personal connections with Putin's internal circle. “Almost every problem can be solved through Kiriłł Aleksandrowicz [Dmitriewa]” – one of the Moscow businessmen told Insider.
The wife of Dmitriew, Natalia Popowa, is the deputy director of the Innopraktika Foundation, whose head of Katerina Tichonowa is widely considered the daughter of Putin And apparently she was a friend of Popowa from the university.
The Independent Investigative Portal Istories reports that Dmitriew provided the Tichon Gulfstream G650 aircraft for her travels to Munich and allegedly revealed confidential information on RDIF business transactions RDIF, former Putin's former son -in -law, Kiriłł Szamałow. Dmitriew called the investigation “one of thousands of false stories”.
FBK also accused Dmitri of gathering over 7.5 billion rubles (about PLN 342 million) in assets in several countries, including France and the United Arab Emirates. According to FBK, at a time when Dmitiew worked as the head of RDIF, the value of his property increased twenty times.
Conversations of Russia-use
After last week's visit to Washington, Dmitiew announced another Russian-American “contacts” this week. “Undoubtedly, the main goal is to restore Russian-American relations, which I have been working on for many years,” said Dmitriew in an interview with the Russian state channel Channel One.
“Russia withstood a strategic defeat that administration [prezydenta Joego] Biden tried to impose, “said Dmitriew.” The United States is trying to understand where there are points coinciding between the interests of the US and Russia. We see the beginning of a full respect, constructive dialogue, “he added.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
