Leonid Igorevich Markelov (; born 1963) is a Russian politician and lawyer, who is the former Head of Mari El. He took office on January 14, 2001, and resigned from office on April 6, 2017. Markelov was later arrested under suspicion of accepting bribes.
Biography
Early life
Markelov was born to a Russian Orthodox family living in Moscow, as the only child. His father, Igor Markelov was the chief of the USSR Ministry of Agriculture, and his mother was an economist. His father died when Markelov was nine years old, leaving him solely dependent on his mother throughout most of his childhood. He is married to Irina Konstantinova Markelova, and together they have a son and a daughter.
On 6 April 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed him as the head of Mari El upon Markelov's request.
Criminal case
A week later after his resignation Markelov was arrested by the SKR on suspicion of taking a bribe in the amount of ₽235 million. In January 2019, the Prosecutor General's Office approved the indictment. According to this document, Markelov achieved the allocation of ₽5 billion of state support for the Akashevskaya poultry farm, and he received promissory notes for 234 million from its owner as a "gratitude". In late November 2019, the Nizhny Novgorod District Court confiscated Markelov's property for 2.2 billion rubles as acquired with undeclared income (including a shopping mall, 16 cars and gold bars).
On 24 February 2021, the court sentenced Markelov to 13 years in a strict regime colony and a fine of about ₽235 million. In addition, the court decided to deprive Markelov of all state awards and banned him from holding political positions for three years.
Controversies
Markelov is a controversial figure both in Russia and the Finno-Ugric community. He has been criticized by Western media for repressing the indigenous ethnicities of Mari El, and his disregard for human rights and his administration's inability to deal with the economic decay in Mari El.
Beatings of political dissidents
In early 2005, Markelov drew the ire of the international press when it was alleged that his authorities beat political dissidents and opponents of his governments with iron pipes. Numerous opposition members were beaten badly. No charges were brought to this incident, or for the other crimes of violence.
Vladimir Kozlov
During 2005, the Mari activist and chief editor Vladimir Kozlov was badly beaten by Markelov's enforcers after he published criticism of Leonid Markelov's politics.