15 Jun 2004 13:38

Igor Porshnev appointed Interfax deputy general director for CIS projects

The Interfax Information Services Group is announcing Igor Porshnev‘s appointment as Interfax News Agency‘s deputy general director of project development in the CIS and Baltic countries.

Three years prior to the appointment, Mr. Porshnev had been chief of the Russian presidential information department.
Interfax has informational services in all of the CIS and Baltic countries. Moreover, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan have their own national agencies, Interfax-Ukraine, Interfax-West, Interfax-Kazakhstan, and Interfax-Azerbaijan.
"Interfax is a leading news provider in the CIS today. Nevertheless, we do not intend to stop our development and are planning to actively develop new projects," said Interfax Group Chairman and CEO Mikhail Komissar. "I believe the knowledge and experience Igor Porshnev gained while working in public service and his brilliant journalistic skills will help us successfully attain these goals," Mr. Komissar said.

Igor Germanovich Porshnev was born in Moscow on October 13, 1960. He graduated from Moscow State University‘s Institute for Asian and African Studies in 1983. After graduation, Mr. Porshnev worked in an internship program for one year, after which he was posted to India to work as a translator and interpreter at a metallurgy plant in Bhalai under the auspices of the Heavy Industry Manufacturing Department of the Soviet State Foreign Economic Relations Committee.
After returning to Moscow in 1985, Mr. Porshnev became a copyeditor at Mir publishing house‘s editorial office for literature in the languages of the Indian Subcontinent. In 1985-1991, he worked as an editor, correspondent, senior editor, and then commentator at the Soviet Television and Radio State Committee‘s office for radio broadcasts to the Asian countries.
In 1991-2001, Mr. Porshnev worked as a diplomatic correspondent, special correspondent, and then director of the news desk at the Interfax News Agency.
From April 2001 to May 2004, he was chief of the Russian presidential information department.
In December 2001, Mr. Porshnev was given the title of State Councilor 1st Class. He was awarded the Order of Friendship and the Order For Servicesto Fatherland of the 2nd and 1st degrees.
Mr. Porshnev speaks fluent English, Hindi, and Marathi.
Since the early 1990s, Interfax Group has been the leading source of up-to-the-minute information on Russia and the CIS for the international community. As a source of reference on Russian events, the Interfax Group has been cited in the world media with unparalleled frequency.
Set up in 1989, Interfax Group brings together over 20 companies and a network of national, regional, and specialized news agencies operating throughout Russia and other CIS countries, as well as in China and Central and Eastern Europe, under the Interfax name.
The Group also includes companies and divisions that provide analytical services, develop software solutions, and cooperate with major international information organizations.