2003 in Russia

Events from the year 2003 in Russia.

← 2002 2001 2000 2003 in Russia → 2004 2005 2006
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Russia Timeline of Russian history List of years in Russia

Incumbents

• President — Vladimir Putin
• Prime Minister — Mikhail Kasyanov

Events

March

• March 23 — A referendum in the break-away republic of Chechnya approves a new constitution.

April

• April 17 — Assassination of Sergei Yushenkov, co-chairman of the Liberal Russia party and critic of President Vladimir Putin.
• April 29 — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair holds a one-day summit with President Putin. Putin mocks Britain's and America's failure to locate weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

May

• May 12 — 2003 Znamenskoye suicide bombing: Three suicide bombers drive a truck bomb into the FSB directorate complex in Znamenskoye, Chechen Republic killing at least 59 people.

July

• July 2 — 36-year-old billionaire oil baron Roman Abramovich buys the English football club Chelsea for £140million.

October

• October 25 — Arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, chairman of the YUKOS oil company, on charges of fraud.
• October 27–30 — The stock market falls by 16.5% as the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky is seen as politically motivated leading to a loss in business confidence.

December

• December 4 — A Chechen suicide bomber killed 41 aboard a train near Yessentuki Station
• December 7 — President Putin's United Russia party wins the largest number of seats in the legislative election.
• December 31 — the end of the birth of the Russian Millennium generation

Births

• January 23 — Apollinariia Panfilova, pair skater
• March 7 — Polina Kostiukovich, Russian pair skater
• April 30 — Misha Smirnov, singer, producer-songwriter
• July 4 — Polina Bogusevich, singer

Deaths

January

Main article: Deaths in January 2003

• January 8 — Kir Nesis, marine biologist and malacologist (b. 1934)
• January 11 — Yuri Tishkov, professional footballer, sports agent and commentator (b. 1971)
• January 26 — Valeriy Brumel, high jumper (men's Olympic high jump medals: 1960 silver, 1964 gold) (b. 1942)
• January 29
  • Natalia Dudinskaya, prima ballerina (b. 1912)
  • Yevgeniya Sidorova, alpine skier (b. 1930)

February

Main article: Deaths in February 2003

• February 5 — Antonina Shuranova, stage, television and film actress (b. 1936)
• February 14 — Grigory Mkrtychan, ice hockey goalkeeper (b. 1925)
• February 19 — Igor Gorbachyov, actor, theater director and pedagogue (b. 1927)
• February 23 — Pavel Lebeshev, cinematographer (b. 1940)

March

Main article: Deaths in March 2003

• March 5 — Dzhabrail Yamadayev, Chechen rebel field commander (b. 1970)
• March 8 — Eduard Izotov, film actor (b. 1936)
• March 10 — Marina Ladynina, stage and film actress (b. 1908)
• March 15 — Yevgeny Belyayev, cross-country skier (b. 1954)
• March 24 — Yevgeny Klevtsov, cyclist (b. 1929)
• March 28 — Aleksey Kuznetsov, cross-country skier (b. 1929)
• March 29
  • Kerim Kerimov, engineer and general (b. 1917)
  • Vladimir Pikalov, general (b. 1924)
• March 30 — Valentin Pavlov, 11th Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1937)
• March 31 — Semyon Lipkin, writer, poet and literary translator (b. 1911)

April

Main article: Deaths in April 2003

• April 6 — Aleksandr Fatyushin, film and theater actor (b. 1951)
• April 17
  • Sergei Yushenkov, politician (b. 1950)
  • Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, ischiopagus tripus conjoined twins (b. 1950)
• April 18 — Emil Loteanu, film director (b. 1936)
• April 24 — Yuri Kholopov, musicologist and educator (b. 1932)
• April 25 — Viktor Bushuev, weightlifter (b. 1933)
• April 29 — Vasily Tolstikov, 8th First Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (b. 1917)

May

Main article: Deaths in May 2003

• May 9 — Aleksey Medvedev, heavyweight weightlifter (b. 1927)
• May 12 — Anatoly Dobryakov, 1st Governor of Pskov Oblast (b. 1939)
• May 14 — Gennadiy Nikonov, firearm engineer (b. 1950)
• May 21 — Yaroslav Golovanov, journalist, writer and science communicator (b. 1932)
• May 28 — Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut (b. 1933)
• May 30 — Zagir Ismagilov, Bashkir composer and pedagogue (b. 1917)

June

Main article: Deaths in June 2003

• June 1 — Yevgeny Matveyev, actor and film director (b. 1922)
• June 3 — Petre Mshvenieradze, water polo player (b. 1929)
• June 9 — German Sveshnikov, fencer (b. 1937)
• June 14 — Nikolai Figurovsky, film director, screenwriter, writer and professor at VGIK (b. 1923)
• June 21 — Sergei Vronsky, cinematographer (b. 1923)
• June 23 — Alexander Sidelnikov, ice hockey player (b. 1950)

July

Main article: Deaths in July 2003

• July 3 — Yuri Shchekochikhin, investigative journalist, writer and liberal lawmaker (b. 1950)
• July 5 — Roman Lyashenko, ice hockey player (b. 1979)
• July 8 — Dimitri Sukhorukov, army general (b. 1922)
• July 11 — Stepan Chervonenko, diplomat (b. 1915)
• July 16 — Dmitri Vasilyev, actor, monarchist, antisemite and ultranationalist (b. 1945)
• July 20 — Vladimir Krantz, painter (b. 1913)
• July 24 — Iya Arepina, actress (b. 1930)

August

Main article: Deaths in August 2003

• August 2 — Vladimir Golovanov, weightlifter (b. 1938)
• August 7 — Grigoriy Bondarevsky, professor, writer and historian (b. 1920)
• August 14
  • Viktor Ivanov, rower (b. 1930)
  • Lev Kerbel, sculptor (b. 1917)
• August 20 — Igor Farkhutdinov, 3rd Governor of Sakhalin Oblast (b. 1950)
• August 21 — Vasily Borisov, rifle shooter (b. 1922)
• August 28 — Yury Saulsky, composer and author (b. 1928)

September

Main article: Deaths in September 2003

• September 5 — Kir Bulychev, science fiction writer, critic and historian (b. 1934)
• September 9 — Aleksandr Moiseyev, basketball player (b. 1927)
• September 18 — Sergey Smirnov, track and field athlete (b. 1960)
• September 23 — Yuri Senkevich, physician and scientist (b. 1937)

October

Main article: Deaths in October 2003

• October 7 — Viktor Leonov, navy officer (b. 1916)
• October 10 — Igor Borisov, rower (b. 1924)
• October 26
  • Elem Klimov, filmmaker (b. 1933)
  • Leonid Filatov, actor, director, poet and pamphleteer (b. 1946)

November

Main article: Deaths in November 2003

• November 3
  • Rasul Gamzatov, Avar poet (b. 1923)
  • Yuri Falin, football player (b. 1937)
• November 11 — Andrei Bolibrukh, mathematician (b. 1950)
• November 22 — Yuri Khukhrov, realist painter, graphic artist and art teacher (b. 1932)

December

Main article: Deaths in December 2003

• December 21 — Oleg Troyanovsky, diplomat (b. 1919)
• December 23 — Valentin Gavrilov, high jumper (b. 1946)
• December 24 — Eugene Maltsev, painter (b. 1929)
• December 26 — Ivan Petrov, bass opera singer (b. 1920)
• December 30 — Vladimir Bogomolov, writer (b. 1924)
• December 31 — German Apukhtin, footballer (b. 1936)

See also

• List of Russian films of 2003