Viktor Kress

Who is Viktor Kress?

Viktor Melkiorovich Kress is the governor of Tomsk Oblast, Russia. Both his parents were ethnic Germans.

Kress was born into a peasant family with five brothers and a sister. During his education he also worked on the farm at the village of Yashkino in Kemerovo Oblast.

Kress graduated from Novosibirsk Agricultural Institute in 1971 as an agricultural economist and worked as an agronomist in Siberia eventually becoming head of the Rodina Sovkhoz near Tomsk. From 1987-90, he was First Secretary of the CPSU committee of Pervomayskoye rayon, Tomsk Oblast. In 1990, Kress was elected and served as speaker of the Tomsk Oblast Soviet. He was appointed to the post of governor by President Boris Yeltsin following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and was re-elected in 1995, 1999 and 2003.

He has been a member of United Russia.

Kress has also authored five books

Difficult Times of Russia: A Look at the Provinces

Tomsk Oblast: Today and Tomorrow

Tomsk Oblast at the Crossroads of the Centuries

Tomsk Oblast: The Start of the 21st Century

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