Leonid Ivanovich Abalkin was a Russian economist. He was born in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 and became director of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1986. A member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with special responsibility for economic affairs. He later worked as an advisor to Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

 and Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...

, and was the second-in-command of Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov

Nikolai Ryzhkov

Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991...

's government. Under Gorbachev he was one of the major advocates of rapid economic reform, with the consultancy of the Italian economist Giancarlo Pallavicini, and in 1998 became a member of the Economic Crisis Group. Most of his published writings concern the theoretical problems of political economy under socialism.

Abalkin was president of the International N. D. Kondratiev Foundation

International N. D. Kondratiev Foundation

The International N. D. Kondratiev Foundation is an economic research organization founded in 1992 at an international conference devoted to the centenary of the birth of Nikolai Kondratiev. The foundation is accredited by the Department of Social Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences...

.

Upon hearing of his death, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...

 stated:

Honours and awards

• Order of Merit for the Fatherland
  Order of Merit for the Fatherland
  The Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
  
  , 3rd class (18 November 2010) - for his significant contribution to the development of domestic science in economics and many years of fruitful activity; 4th class (May 5, 2000) - for services to science and training of highly qualified personnel
• Medal of Honour (November 14, 2005) - for great contribution to science and education
• Order of Friendship of Peoples
  Order of Friendship of Peoples
  The Order of Friendship of Peoples was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons , organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in strengthening of inter-ethnic and international friendship and cooperation, for...
  
  
• Order of the Badge of Honour
• Laureate of the Science Support Foundation in the category "Outstanding Scientists" (2004)

External links

• Abalkin's information at the Russian Academy of Sciences site