Quick Facts
Biography
Georgy Stepanovich Khizha (Russian: Гео́ргий Степа́нович Хижа́; born 2 May 1938, Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR) was a Russian politician and business manager who was one of the Deputy Chairmen of the Government of the Russian Federation during the early years of President Boris Yeltsin's administration. He was regarded as being the representative of the military industrial complex in Yeltsin's government, but was dismissed from office in less than a year.
Early work
A factory manager, by 1990 Khizha was in charge of the "Svetlana" weapons engineering company, based in Saint Petersburg. From 1991 until 1992, he served as that city's deputy mayor under Anatoly Sobchak, and proved to be a competent administrator.
Career in government
In May 1992, Khizha was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation for the industrial sector, on recommendation to President Boris Yeltsin from Sobchak and Yegor Gaidar. Khizha was also apparently considered as an alternative for the post of acting Prime Minister of Russia, along with fellow vice premier Vladimir Shumeiko, as opposed to Yeltsin's nominee, Gaidar. He was regarded as being a conservative, and his appointment was viewed as a slowdown in economic reforms. During fighting between militants in North Ossetia, President Yeltsin appointed him as the acting governor of the region. During this time, Martin Shakkum, later one of the candidates during the 1996 Russian presidential election, worked with Khizha as his adviser. Due to the negative economic effects of Khizha's proposals, he came into conflict with Anatoly Chubais, in charge of the country's economic policies. He was dismissed from his post in May 1993, lasting a little less than a year.