ROGOZIN, DMITRY OLEGOVICH

(1963– )

Politician. A vocal advocate for the rights ofethnic Russiansin thenear abroad, Dmitry Rogozin rose to prominence as a member of GeneralAleksandrLebed’s Congress of Russian Communitiespolitical partyin the early 1990s. He was elected to theState Dumain 1997, representingVoronezhon theRodinaparty ticket. As the leader of Rodina, he oversaw the party’s shift toward strident nationalism, racism, and anti-immigrationadvocacy. He left the party when it merged with two other parties to formFair Russia. Rogozin left the Duma in 2007 and formed the Great Russia Party, which closely reflected his own ultranationalism. Since 2008, he has served as Russia’s envoy to theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO). The bombastic Rogozin made international headlines regarding Georgia’s and Ukraine’s prospective admission to NATO, as well as recentespionagedisputes between Moscow and the organization.

See alsoEthnic violence.