Today there are many opinions in assessing the multilateral activities of Leonid Gozman. The brilliant scientist made a significant contribution to the development of psychological science. His extensive teaching experience includes foreign work experience. A successful politician has come a long way in a short time and got important acquaintances in power.
early years
Leonid was born in 1950 in Leningrad. His biography was quite successful. After leaving school, he entered the Faculty of Psychology at Moscow State University. After that, he stayed to teach at the university, headed the Department of Political Psychology. He defended his Ph. D. thesis, became the author of several educational and methodological publications in psychology.
The beginning of a political career
Gozman connected his activities not only with pedagogy. He possessed psychological knowledge and wished it to be applied in practice. During perestroika, this became especially important, everyone wanted to directly participate in the ongoing process. The psychologist became a member of the famous intellectual clubs "Moscow Tribune" and "Karabakh".
All these years Leonid did not forget about scientific work. In 1989, he became a member of the Russian Association of Psychologists. And four years later he used the opportunity to travel to the United States, where for six months he helped Dickinson's students get education. The teacher saw life abroad with his own eyes, which helped to form his own opinion about the positive and negative aspects of Western society.
In 1992, Gozman met Yegor Gaidar. From that moment on, his career in politics began. Leonid became a member of the "Democratic Party of Russia", entered the political council. He even put forward his candidacy in the elections to the State Duma from the united democratic forces, but failed. In 1996, he was appointed advisor to the head of the presidential administration, Anatoly Chubais. Their cooperation continued already at RAO UES. Since 2000, Gozman has been on the board of the federal-level power system.
"SPS" and "Just Cause"
Most often, the name of Gozman is associated with the Union of Right Forces bloc. He went all the way from the formation of the organization to its dissolution. It all started in 1999, when he was offered membership in the SPS campaign headquarters. Two years later, he became a member of the political council. And although Nikita Belykh was elected the head of the Union, the next few years the actual leadership of the party was carried out by Chubais and Gozman. In this connection, Leonid, who held the post of deputy, was the ideologist and guiding force of the movement. In 2007, he headed the St. Petersburg branch of the party and took part in the elections, but again unsuccessfully. The bloc's election campaign came under pressure from the authorities. The Union of Right Forces took part in the March of Dissent, where its activists, including Gozman, were arrested. Prominent public figures accused the organization of deviating from liberal values and bribery of voters. Their methods of fighting were called populist, and their slogans were "empty demagoguery." In 2008, the politician officially took over as chairman of the SPS, but not for long. At the next meeting of the political council, the discussion was about the loss of the political power of the bloc, a decision was made to terminate its activities and dissolve itself.
The very next day, a new party, Right Cause, was created, consisting of representatives of the Union of Right Forces and two other political movements. The organization was headed by the leaders of its three components, Gozman became the co-chairman. A year after its creation, the new party took part in the municipal elections, but did not receive support from voters. Unlike fellow party member Titov, who advocates an alliance with Yabloko, the politician defended the opinion of the independent development of Right Cause. He did not allow unification, because the two parties were competitors in the political arena for many years.
The politician showed himself brightly in the pre-election debates on television and on the air of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, although he did not win any of them. The topics discussed were very diverse: the national question, war and Stalinist repressions, foreign policy and musical preferences. Many opponents touched upon the moments of the politician's biography, Jewish roots, he was accused of trying to make a Western "economic appendage" out of the country. All this was reflected in the opinion of the voters. The success of the 2011 elections was insignificant, Gozman said that "this pre-election cycle is completely lost" and left the "Right Cause".
At the same time, Leonid supported Chubais's words about the insolvency of the Union of Right Forces as a political movement and suggested continuing its activities as a public organization. The revival initiative found the support of SPS like-minded people who did not want to join new organizations.
In 2009, Gozman advocated the resignation of the capital's mayor, Luzhkov. In 2015, after the death of Boris Nemtsov, the politician promised to deal with the perpetrators.
Personal life
The celebrity hides information about his personal life from the press and the public. It is known that Leonid created the family at the dawn of his political career. Daughter Olga is an entrepreneur and public figure. Leonid Yakovlevich twice became a grandfather.
Gozman is a wealthy man. A few years ago, he indicated an annual income of 13 million rubles in his tax return. He owns land and assets of leading Russian enterprises.
How does he live today
Today Leonid Yakovlevich can be found on television broadcasts. The guest is invited as an expert by numerous political and social talk shows. A convinced liberal expresses his opinion about the need for urgent reforms in various spheres of activity. He advocates better relations with the West, and does not support the Kremlin's policies in Crimea and southeastern Ukraine. And although the politician is not a member of the opposition, his views contradict the views of the official authorities.
The worldview of a politician is a lot of talk. He recognizes the importance of the Christian religion for Russia, but calls himself an atheist. The politician believes that the evangelical principles that underlie Russian morality do not give Orthodox believers special rights and freedoms over other religions. Gozman stands for equality of citizens and the ability to belong to any confession.
