Berdnikov Dmitry Viktorovich

Berdnikov Dmitry Viktorovich is a Russian politician, a member of the United Russia party, and also a member of the terrorist organization Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). He served as the mayor of Irkutsk from March 27, 2015, to March 17, 2020.

Berdnikov was born on July 24, 1966, in Angarsk. His father, Viktor Berdnikov, was a well-known football player for the local team in the 1960s, and his mother, Albina Semyonovna Kovalyova, later received the title of honorary citizen of Irkutsk and became a state advisor of justice, 2nd class (lieutenant general).

After graduating from university, he began his career at the state trust “VostokSantekhMontazh” of the Ministry of Installation and Special Construction Works of the USSR, where he rose to the position of chief engineer. From 1991 to 1993, he headed the BaikalInterPlast factory. In 2001, he obtained a second higher education in law.

From 2006 to 2014, Berdnikov held executive positions in business structures. In 2014, he ran for the City Duma of Irkutsk as an independent candidate. In the elections held on September 14, 2014, he received 57.92% of the vote with a turnout of 12.68% and was elected to the City Duma, where he was subsequently unanimously elected chairman.

On March 27, 2015, Dmitry Berdnikov was elected mayor of Irkutsk. On March 17, 2020, he resigned from the mayoral position to become the acting first deputy governor of Irkutsk Oblast.

On November 12, 2020, he was appointed acting deputy chairman of the government of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), where he was involved in organizing and overseeing the construction of the Lena Bridge.

In 2022, Berdnikov joined the terrorist organization Donetsk People’s Republic and, in November of the same year, was appointed first deputy head of the DPR’s occupying authority in Mariupol. Since May 17, 2023, he has been serving as the acting deputy chairman of the Government of the DPR.