Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (Russian: Арка́дий Влади́мирович Дворко́вич; born 26 March 1972) is a Russian politician and economist, currently serving as the president of the International Chess Federation, FIDE. He was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 until 7 May 2018. He was previously an Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation from May 2008 to May 2012. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.
Dvorkovich was considered to be a close confidant of Dmitry Medvedev and an important figure in Russian politics. He rose to prominence during Medvedev's presidency but has suffered from the resurgence of Igor Sechin. From 2018 to 2022 he was the Chairman of Skolkovo Foundation. From 2015 to 2018 he was the chairman of the Board of the Directors in Russian Railways.
Dvorkovich's father, Vladimir Dvorkovich, was an international chess arbiter. Dvorkovich is an official of the Russian Chess Federation and was first elected president of FIDE in October 2018, succeeding Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. He was re-elected for a second term in the elections held on the sidelines of the 44th Chess Olympiad held in Mamallapuram, India, on 7 August 2022.
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Career
Since 1994 – consultant, senior expert, CEO, scientific director of the Economic Expert Group of the Ministry of Finance of Russia
Since 2000 – expert in the "Center for Strategic Research"
Since August 2000 – adviser to the Minister for Economic Development of the Russian Federation German Gref
Since 2001 – Deputy Minister for Economic Development of the Russian Federation
Since April 2004 – Head of Expert Group of President of the Russian Federation
Since 13 May 2008 – Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation
21 May 2012 to 7 May 2018 – Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
In 2018, he served as chairman of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Local Organizing Committee, collaborating closely with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who later praised him for his work. Subsequently, on 3 October 2018, he was elected FIDE President, receiving 103 votes, ahead of 78 votes for FIDE Vice President Georgios Makropoulos; noted English GM Nigel Short withdrew his candidacy minutes before voting commenced.
Dvorkovich's professional interests include economic regulation, financial management, and tax planning. According to BusinessWeek, Dvorkovich was included in the list of 50 potential world leaders.
Dvorkovich speaks English and German, as well as Russian.
In early March 2022, Dvorkovich became one of the few high-ranking officials with Kremlin ties to openly criticize the invasion of Ukraine, telling Mother Jones that "Wars are the worst things one might face in life…including this war," and that his thoughts were with Ukrainian civilians. Following these comments, Andrey Turchak, a senior official from Putin's United Russia party, accused Dvorkovich of "national betrayal" and acting as a "fifth column," calling for his "immediate dismissal in disgrace". Following this pressure, a statement was issued via the Skolkovo Foundation website, which nuanced his earlier position by expressing pride in the courage of Russian soldiers and condemning Western sanctions, shortly before he left the Foundation.
In August 2022, he was re-elected for a second term as FIDE president receiving 157 votes as against 16 by his rival Andrey Baryshpolets. In June 2026, he again put forward his candidacy for the FIDE presidential elections, which are scheduled for September. His competitors will be Russian-Kazakh businessman Timur Turlov, Russian-German businessman Wadim Rosenstein, German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner and Russian statesman and political figure, ex-president of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
In July 2026 Dvorkovich was included in the European Union list of sanctions. As a result, he "decided to voluntarily suspend the exercise of my powers and duties as FIDE President", with his functions being temporarily assumed by his Deputy President, Vishwanathan Anand.
Honours and awards
Order of Merit for the Fatherland 4th class
Order of Honour
Medal 2nd class of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan"
Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic