Career
He lives in Bender, Transnistria"s second largest city. He ran for president against incumbent president Igor Smirnov in the election held on December 10, 2006, and came in third place with 3.9% of the vote. After Transnistria"s declaration of independence, September 2, 1990, he founded the official news agency Olvia Press.
He was subsequently appointed Minister of Education, Science and Culture, a post he held until 1999 when he formed an opposition movement to Igor Smirnov and an opposition newspaper, founded in 2000, called Novaia Gazeta.