Vladimir Kozlov (politician)
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kozlov | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 10, 1960 Aktobe |
| Nationality | Kazakh |
| Occupation | Journalist and politician |
| Spouse(s) | Aliya Turusbekova |
Vladimir Ivanovich Kozlov is a Kazakh journalist and politician who has been a leader of the democratic opposition in Kazakhstan and a candidate for his country's presidency. In 2012, he was the defendant in what Deutsche Welle described as “the first political trial in Kazakhstan.” The US charged Kazakhstan with using its criminal-justice system “to silence a leading opposition voice.” Kozlov, who was found guilty and served a prison sentence, has been designated by Amnesty International as a “prisoner of conscience.” He was released in 2016.
Kozlov was born on August 10, 1960, in Aktobe.
From 1990 to 1996, Kozlov worked as an editor at the TV channel AKTiVi.
From 1996-1998, he worked in advertising and public relations. He then served as the communications specialist for the Mangyshlak Nuclear Power Plant.
He is a co-founder of Aktau-Lada, the first private television channel in Kazakhstan.
He entered politics in 2001, joining the opposition party Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan. In 2003, he was elected to the party's Political Council, and later he became a member of the Presidium of the Political Council.
During a visit to Ukraine in 2004, Kozlov was struck by the effects of the Orange Revolution, which had enhanced democratic values in that country. As a result of that experience, he decided to become more politically active.
After Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan was declared illegal, Kozlov co-founded the Alga! (Forward!) Party in 2005, and has been its leader since 2007. Under his leadership, the party expanded significantly, and is now the largest opposition party in Kazakhstan, although Kazakh authorities have refused to allow it to register as an official party. Alga! has joined with the Civil Society Movement Khalyk Maidany (People's Front) in criticizing the government of Nursultan Nazarbayev. During the years 2006 to 2012, he traveled extensively in Europe, visiting various European parliaments in an effort to formulate policies to develop Kazakh civil society. In 2009, he led a campaign in Europe to deny Kazakhstan the presidency of the OSCE, arguing that the Kazakh government's human rights abuses rendered it unworthy to hold that post.
In the spring of 2011, Kozlov was a democratic opposition candidate for president of Kazakhstan, but was excluded from the April 3 election, in which Nazarbayev received 95.5% of the vote. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights rejected the election's results.
...
Wikipedia