Ilya Ponomarev (Russian: Илья Владимирович Пономарёв; born 6 August 1975) is a Russian left-wing politician, entrepreneur and an author.Ponomarev graduated from Moscow State University (Faculty of Physics). Ponomarev started his career in 1989 in Institute of Nuclear Safety, USSR Academy of Sciences, as a system programmer and training group manager.

In 1991 he founded his own company RussProfi Ltd., specialized in IT and software development. In 1996 Mr. Ponomarev joined Schlumberger Oilfield Services as CIS business development and marketing manager, responsible for search of new technologies in Russia which had global potential within oil and gas industry. Such technologies as ProMIS production management system was implemented in such companies as BP, PDVSA, Sonatrach as well as in Russian Yukos, LUKOIL and Surgutneftegas.

In 1998 under framework of Schlumberger-Yukos alliance Mr. Ponomarev became CIO of Yukos E&P.

In 1999 founded Yukos subsidiary Siberian Internet Company, which later gave birth to a majority of Yukos social and education initiatives, including Federation of Internet Education and Open Russia Foundation.

In 2002 joined Communist Party of Russian Federation and became party’s CIO, creating most popular partisan Web site kprf.ru and votes counting system, parallel to official ones – which helped to prove a major fraud in Russian legislative election, 2003, barring liberal parties from getting into State Duma. Since 2002 Mr. Ponomarev also became director of New Policy Research Center in Institute of Globalization Studies.

Since 2004 he is one of founders and most prominent leaders of Left Front of Russia coalition, uniting Russian alternative left groups and labor unions, communist and socialist youth.

In 2006 was coordinator of G8 contrsummit in St. Petersburg, which became most massive nation-wide protest action – and most massive police operation with hundreds of detained activists in different Russian regions.Since 2004 Mr. Ponomarev is involved in several government projects and task force group aimed to support innovation and entrepreneurship. 

In 2007 Mr. Ponomarev claimed that Communist Party leadership fell under control of Kremlin administration and joined Spravedlivaya Rossiya (Fair Russia, social democrats led by Russian Senate speaker Sergey Mironov) party ranks. 

Since 2008 – programs director of Institute of Strategic Development (INSOR, Advisory Board is chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev).

In 2010 Ilya Ponomarev was appointed as chief of International Business Development, Technology Transfer and Commercialization at Skolkovo Foundation - ambitious project initiated by President Dmitry Medvedev to facilitate Russia's transitioning towards innovation economy. He is a member of Society of Petroleum Engineers/IT, Council for Foreign and Defense Policy (СВОП), Council for National Strategy (СНС). Fellow at «Open Russia» Foundation.

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