Valentina Pivnenko

Valentina Nikolayevna Pivnenko (; born 14 June 1947) is a Russian United Russia politician and states person. She has served in the Russian State Duma as a representative for the Karelia constituency since December 1999, firstly as an independent candidate before joining United Russia in 2000. Before that, Pivnenko was an elected member of the House of Representatives of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia as a representative of the Prionezhsky constituency between April 1994 and February 2000. She served two terms in the Russian Federation Council as a senator for the Republic of Karelia from 1996 to 2000. Pivnenko has received many accolades during her political career.

Biography On 14 June 1947, Pivnenko was born in Petrozavodsk, then part of the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (today the Republic of Karelia). She was the daughter of Second World War soldier Nikolai Mikhailovich Vasiliev, who died half a year before Pivnenko was born. This meant Pivnenko was raised solely by her mother. Following her graduation from secondary school, he was an employee of the Petrozavodusk State Timber Industry Technical Secondary School, In 1971, Pivnenko was employed as a technician and engineer at Petrozavodsk and Prionezhskiy chemical forestry enterprises. Pivnenko was appointed Chair of the State Duma Committee for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic on 12 October 2021.

Personal life Pivnenko has been married to the railway worker Rudolf Pivnenko for more than half a century and the couple have two children. She was decorated with the Order of Friendship by Putin in May 2001 for "her great contribution to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation between peoples and active legislative activity". Pivnenko was further honoured with the Order of Honour in 2006 "for active participation in legislative activities and many years of conscientious work."

That same year, she received the "in consideration of helping the Church of the Sign of the Mother of God at Sheremetev Court". Pivnenko received the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", Fourth Class in July 2012 "for a great contribution to the development of Russian parliamentarism and active participation in lawmaking." She has also been honoured with the Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy", the Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow", the Medal "For Labour Valour" and the Medal "Veteran of Labour". Pivnenko is also a laureate of the American Biographical Institute's International Woman of the Year Award and has received a gratitude from the Russian Government in 2019.