Aleksandr Torshin

Biography

He graduated from the All-Union Legal Correspondence Institute with a degree in law in 1978. From 1990 to 1991 he was an employee of the department for relations with socio-political organizations of the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee.

From 1995 to 1998 he was the State Secretary of the Bank of Russia, was responsible for interaction with government bodies, public organizations and the media. During this time, he allegedly met with Alexander Romanov often.

In 1998, he assumed the authority of a representative of the government of the Russian Federation in the State Duma in the rank of deputy head of the government apparatus.

From 1999 to 2001, he worked as Deputy General Director – State Secretary of the State Corporation "Agency for Restructuring Credit Organizations".

In January 2001, Alexander Torshin becomes a member of the Federation Council from the government of the Russian Republic of Mari El.

In January 2002, he was appointed deputy chairman of the Federation Council.

In August 2004, he joined the ranks of the party "United Russia".

In September 2008, Torshin became the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council.

From May 18 to September 21, 2011, served as chairman of the Federation Council. He served in the Federation Council of Russia, the upper house of the Russian parliament, from 2001 to 2015, and as its acting Chairman for four months in 2011. During his time as a senator, he was on Russia's powerful National Anti-Terrorism Committee for more than a decade. Torshin, originating from the Mari El Republic, a republic in Russia, is a leading figure in the ruling United Russia party.

There have also been accusations made that he is a leading figure within the Russian mafia.

Republican Dana Rohrabacher called Torshin "sort of the conservatives' favorite Russian".

Torshin is closely associated with Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Kalashnikov (), who is president of the private military contractor (PMC) Moran Security Group (MSG), a colonel in the FSB reserve and an adviser to Russian Senator Torshin. In 2013, Vyacheslav Kalashnikov interviewed prospective candidates who formed the Slavonic Corps.}}

Career

Some time between 1995 and 1998, Torshin was State Secretary of the Central Bank of Russia. Torshin entered the Federation Council of Russia in 2001. He became the acting chairman for the succeeding Sergey Mironov on May 19, 2011, after Mironov was ousted by the majority United Russia in the Council. Torshin remained as acting chairman until the election of Valentina Matviyenko also from the United Russia Party. She assumed her responsibilities on September 21, 2011. He remained in the Federation Council until 2015. Torshin was appointed the deputy head of the Central Bank of Russia in 2015 and suddenly retired in 2018.

Allegations in Spain

In 2016, a Spanish investigation connected Torshin with Alexander Romanov, the leader of the Taganskaya Gang, who had been arrested in Spain and sentenced to four years in prison in May 2016 for illegal transactions. Torshin was allegedly involved in money laundering for the gang. According to Spanish police, he gave instructions to members of the Gang on laundering, through banks and real estate in Spain. They concluded that in the structure of the organized criminal group, Torshin "stood higher" than Romanov. As a result of wiretapping, which took place several months before the arrest of Romanov, Spanish intelligence agencies concluded that Romanov was following financial orders from Torshin, and that Torshin himself could be the manager of the assets of the gang.

Spanish police had planned to arrest Torshin in 2013 when he arrived in Mallorca for a friend's birthday party, but he did not arrive. Spanish police speculated he might have been tipped off by Russian authorities.

In 2018, wiretappings from the Spanish police were handed over to the FBI. When asked if this had any relationship with politics in the US, José Grinda, a Spanish prosecutor, replied "Mr. Trump's son should be concerned."

Involvement in U.S. politics

Between 2011 and 2018, Torshin and his assistant (sometimes described as his associate or representative) Maria Butina, established a cooperative relationship between the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the Russian-based "" which Butina founded in 2011. Torshin has been attending NRA annual meetings in the United States since at least 2011. Following the 2011 meeting, then NRA President David Keene expressed his support for Torshin's "endeavors" and extended an invitation to the 2012 meeting. Torshin attended every NRA annual meeting between 2012 and 2016, occasionally with Butina, and has met every NRA president since 2012. Torshin has tweeted that he and Butina are the only two Russians he knows of who are lifetime NRA members. Butina and Torshin attended the 2014 NRA annual meeting as special guests of former NRA president Keene.

Torshin has been a subject of an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. In January 2018, McClatchyDC reported that Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation is pursuing allegations that Torshin has links to Russian organized crime, and laundered money from the Russian government to the NRA to benefit Trump's campaign. Torshin is also the subject of a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether the Russian government attempted to illegally funnel money to the NRA in order to help Trump win the presidency. On May 16, 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report{{cite web|url=https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/b/3/b3e29bc4-8afd-4145-85d9-618dcad4a133/D069EF11DC3784A6D073B097E720572E.2018.05.15-transcript-release-findings-9-am.pdf|access-date=22 April 2023|website=senate.gov

The New York Times reported on July 17, 2018 that Torshin was scheduled to visit the White House in 2017, but the meeting was canceled after a national security aide noted Torshin was under investigation by Spanish authorities for money laundering.

Political Positions

Torshin was the author of a draft law granting the Constitutional Court of Russia the authority to block the enforcement of judgments issued by the European Court of Human Rights.

He has expressed support for introducing a system of private prisons in Russia, modeled on practices in the United States.

He has advocated for the legalization of civilian use of short-barreled firearms.

He has supported the transfer of orphans from the Far North and the Russian Far East to families in the Caucasus region.

Torshin has also called for stricter criminal penalties, including chemical castration for convicted pedophiles, classifying financial crimes on par with terrorism, and imposing life sentences for drug trafficking offenses.

Notes

References

References

1. (4 August 2018). "Beyond the N.R.A.: Maria Butina's Peculiar Bid for Russian Influence".
2. (November 30, 2018). "NRA-Linked Russia Central Banker Retires".
3. (25 January 1999). "О присвоении квалификационных разрядов федеральным государственным служащим Аппарата Правительства Российской Федерации".
4. "Xinhua: China, Russia eye stronger parliamentary cooperation". [[Xinhua]].
5. (16 July 2018). "Russian Accused of Infiltrating NRA on Mission From Kremlin".
6. (9 August 2016). "Mobster or Central Banker? Spanish Cops Allege This Russian Both". [[Bloomberg News]].
7. Кириленко, Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia). (20 July 2018). "Не просто Мария: как зампред ЦБ Торшин заслал помощницу в штаб Трампа и чем он занимался в Таганской ОПГ". [[The Insider (website).
8. Torshin denied the allegations.[[РИА Новости]]: [http://ria.ru/world/20160809/1473923551.html Центробанк прокомментировал статью Bloomberg о Торшине]. 13:47 09.08.2016
9. Mak, Tim. (23 February 2017). "The Kremlin and GOP Have a New Friend—and Boy, Does She Love Guns. Товарищ: Depending on who's asking, Maria Butina is either a Russian central bank staffer, a gun rights advocate, or a connection between D.C. Republicans and Russia.". [[Daily Beast]].
10. "Биография Торшина Александра Порфирьевича, Банк России". Банки.ру.
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13. (31 March 2016). "Из Молькино в Пальмиру: как тренируют российских наемников: На модернизацию полигона для воюющих в Сирии российских наемников ушло 50 млн рублей". [[Gazeta.ru]].
14. (16 October 2016). ""Славянский корпус" возвращается в Сирию: Набор добровольцев, желающих рискнуть головой за Башара Асада, открыт в России. "Фонтанка" узнала, как попасть на войну, сколько стоит жизнь солдата удачи и при чем здесь известный германский мистик-антисемит.". [[Fontanka.ru.
15. Яппарова, Лилия (Yapparova, Liliya). (12 July 2022). "Грубо говоря, мы начали войну Как отправка ЧВК Вагнера на фронт помогла Пригожину наладить отношения с Путиным — и что такое "собянинский полк". Расследование "Медузы" о наемниках на войне в Украине". [[Meduza]] (meduza.io).
16. (2016-08-08). "Mobster or Central Banker? Spanish Cops Allege This Russian Both".
17. (3 April 2017). "Spain reaccuses Central Bank Deputy Chairman Torshin of money laundering and criminal connections". Crime Russia website.
18. Sampathkumar, Mythili. (April 3, 2017). "Donald Trump 'almost met with Russian gangster linked to Putin'". The Independent.
19. Sheth, Sonam. "The FBI has obtained wiretaps of a Putin ally tied to the NRA who met with Trump Jr. during the campaign". [[Business Insider]].
20. Stedman, Scott. (20 February 2018). "In 2011 handwritten letter, NRA President offered help to Alexander Torshin for his "endeavors"".
21. Sheth, Sonam. (7 April 2018). "The 3 biggest names on the latest Russia sanctions list have all popped up in the investigation surrounding Trump".
22. (March 8, 2018). "The Very Strange Case of Two Russian Gun Lovers, the NRA, and Donald Trump". [[Mother Jones (magazine).
23. Pavlich, Katie. (May 6, 2014). "Part 1: Meet the Woman Working With the NRA and Fighting For Gun Rights in Russia". Townhall.com.
24. Mak, Tim. (9 April 2018). "The NRA May Have More Russian Contributors Than It First Said".
25. Mak, Tim. (February 23, 2017). "The Kremlin and GOP Have a New Friend – and Boy, Does She Love Guns". [[The Daily Beast]].
26. Pavlich, Katie. (May 6, 2014). "Part 1: Meet the Woman Working With the NRA and Fighting For Gun Rights in Russia".
27. Sheth, Sonam. (17 March 2018). "Congress wants to question an NRA lawyer who reportedly raised concerns about the group's Russia ties".
28. Sheth, Sonam. (5 April 2018). "Mueller's team is eyeing whether wealthy Russians illegally funneled money into Trump's campaign and inauguration".
29. Miller, Justin. (16 May 2018). "Kremlin Used NRA to Help Trump in 2016, Senate Report Says". The Daily Beast.
30. (2018-04-06). "Ukraine-/Russia-related Designations and Identification Update". [[United States Department of the Treasury]].
31. (April 6, 2018). "Alexander Torshin, Russian who courted NRA leaders, sanctioned by US Treasury". ABC News.
32. (2018-07-18). "Maria Butina Loved Guns, Trump and Russia. It Was a Cover, Prosecutors Say". New York Times.
33. (2011-06-20). "Страсбург предстанет перед высшим судом".
34. (2009-10-14). "Александр Торшин: России необходимо создать систему частных тюрем".
35. (2011-07-04). "Торшин предлагает разрешить боевое оружие и контролировать владельцев".
36. "Носить оружие, кастрировать педофилов Чем известен сенатор Александр Торшин, перешедший на работу в Центробанк".