Ilya Mikhalchuk was born on January 2, 1957 in the city of Kuybyshev (now Samara). He started his political career back in 1977 in the Komsomol and quickly climbed up the career ladder. In 1998 Mr. Mikhalchuk becomes Mayor of Yakutsk after several years spent in the government of the Republic. He remained in the office during two consecutive terms. Before the second elections his party offered him to become the deputy in the State Duma, but he preffered his home city instead. In general he was known as an efficient manager and politician, he was e.g. highly praised for his actions during the flood on the Lena river in 2001. In 2002 Ilya Mikhalchuk got the title of the Best Manager of the Russian Federation in 2002. President Putin put him in the Council on the implementation of top national projects. However, not everything was so bright during his reign in Yakutsk. The city administration of Yakutsk got a national fame after a series of accusations, where the top executives (icluding two Vice Mayors) were involved. However, no charges were pressed against Mr. Mikhalchuk himself. Mr. Mikhalchuk was also famous for his confrontation with President of the Yakutia Repulic, which allegedly hindered positive development of the capital Yakutsk. In September 2007 under the pressure from the regional parliament, Mr. Mikhalchuk resigned. He is a good friend of Mr. Arthur Chilingarov, a representative from Arkhnagelsk Oblast in the State Duma. There were some allegations that this friendship also contributed to the nomination as governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast. We can also see certain resemblances between the regions, both Arkhangelsk Oblast and Yakutia are Northern territories rich in natural resources, among them diamonds. Story is based on various sources, among them kompromat.ru, lenta.ru, pravda.ru and other
