Igor Levitin

Igor Yevgeniyevich Levitin (Russian: Игорь Евгеньевич Левитин) ( 21 February 1952, Tsebrykovo, Odessa Oblast) is a Russian political figure, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation since September 2013, and Class 1 Active State Advisor of the Russian Federation (2013). He previously served as the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation (from 9 March 2004 until 21 May 2012). He is the Chairman of Supervisory Board of the Table Tennis Federation of Russia. He is also a member of the President Advisory Council at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

In his early life, Igor Levitin practiced table tennis at Odessa sports school for 10 years.

In 1970, at the age of 18, he was called up for military service. In 1973, he graduated from Mikhail Frunze Leningrad Command College of Railroad Troops and Military Communications. He began his service as Assistant Military Commandant in Odessa military command region at Transnistrian Railway. Between 1976 and 1980 he served in Southern Group of Soviet Armed Forces in Budapest. In 1983, he graduated from Military Academy of Rearward and Transportation having been trained as a railway engineer. From 1983 to 1985 he served as Military Commandant of a railway district and Urgal station at Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM). He participated in the laying of the Golden Link. From 1985 to 1994 he served in the military communication bodies at Moscow railway as a railway district Military Commandant and later as a Deputy Head of Moscow Military Railway Communications Service. His rank is colonel in reserve.

In 1994, Igor Levitin changed his occupation to join Financial and Industrial Company of Railway Transport where in 1995 he was appointed Vice President. In 1996, he joined Severstaltrans (a subsidiary of Severstal Group), which was founded as one of the first private competitors to Russian Railways. In the company, Levitin was responsible, among all, for transport machine building and railway transportation. After two years of service, he became Deputy Chief Executive Officer. During the same period, he was a member of the Public Council at the Government Commission of Russian Federation on the reform of railway transport. He was actively participating in research of cargo routing.

On March 9, 2004, Levitin was appointed Minister of Transport and Communications in Mikhail Fradkov’s Cabinet. In May 2004, Ministry of Transport and Communications was split into two: Ministry of Transport (headed by Igor Levitin) and Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (headed by Leonid Reiman). In Viktor Zubkov’s government formed on September 14, 2007 Levitin remained in the same post. He continued his service as Minister of Transport in the next Cabinet (formed on May 12, 2008).

Upon assuming his office, Levitin reduced the central apparatus of the Ministry by over 20% following the decree on state personnel reduction issued by the state leadership. About two thousand officials were dismissed across regional and local bodies, while the Ministry apparatus faced a fourfold reduction.

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