Nikolay Kropachev

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mikhailovich and the family name is Kropachev.

Nikolay Mikhailovich Kropachev (Russian: Николай Михайлович Кропачев; born February 8, 1959) is a Russian scholar of criminal law, who has served as the 44th Rector of Saint Petersburg State University since 2008. He is a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and holds the academic rank of Professor and a doctoral degree in law.^[1]

Nikolay Kropachev
Николай Кропачев
Kropachev in 2019
Born	Nikolay Mikhailovich Kropachev (1959-02-08) 8 February 1959 (age 66) Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Known for	44th Rector of Saint Petersburg State University (2008–) 1st President of the Charter Court of Saint Petersburg (2000–2005)
Spouse	Natalya Shatikhina (till 2022)
Awards	Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (2009, 2014, 2024) Order of Alexander Nevsky (2019) Order of the Rising Sun (2016) Order of Honour (2004) Medal "In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg" (2003)
Academic background
Alma mater	Saint Petersburg State University (Specialist, Candidate of Sciences, Doctor of Sciences)
Thesis	The Mechanism of Criminal Law Regulation (2000)
Academic work
Discipline	Criminal law, criminology
Institutions	Saint Petersburg State University Russian Academy of Sciences
Main interests	Jurisprudence, criminal law, administrative law, education law

Biography

Kropachev graduated from the law faculty of the Andrei Zhdanov Leningrad State University in 1981 and competed postgraduate studies in the same university in 1984. During his time in postgraduate school, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1985, he has successively worked at the Criminal Law Department as an assistant lecturer, senior lecturer, and associate professor (docent).^{[citation needed]}

In 1992, Kropachev headed the special faculty for the personnel development in legal sciences, from which notable Russian politicians Igor Artemyev and Sergey Mironov have graduated.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998, Kropachev initiated the first law-school clinic in Russia. The same year, he was elected dean of the Saint Petersburg State University Faculty of Law.^[2][3][4] In 2000 he obtained a Doctor of Sciences degree in law by defending a thesis titled "The Mechanism of Criminal Law Regulation" and in 2003 he became full professor at the Criminal Law Department.

From 2000 to 2005, he headed the newly established Charter Court of Saint Petersburg, a single instance court meant to hear cases relating to conformity with the Charter of Saint Petersburg of regional law adopted by the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg and decrees of the Governor of Saint Petersburg.^[5][6][7]

From 2001 to 2010, Kropachev headed the Criminal Law Department. In 2006–2008, he concurrently served as the university's First Vice-Rector.

On May 21, 2008, Professor Nikolay Kropachev succeeded Lyudmila Verbitskaya as the Rector of Saint Petersburg State University.

In 2016, he joined the United Russia political party.^[8]

In March 2022, Kropachev signed a letter of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[9] Since June 2022, he has been sanctioned by the Ukrainian presidential decree.^[10] The same year, the Anti-Corruption Foundation put Kropachev on its list of bribe-takers and warmongers.^[11] The Free Russia Forum also included Kropachev in its "Putin's List".^[12]

Since 2023, he has been a member of the Presidium of the Saint Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.^[13]

He was a campaign surrogate to Vladimir Putin during his 2024 presidential campaign.^[14][15]

Awards

Kropachev, awarded with Order of Alexander Nevsky, and Russian president Vladimir Putin, November 2019

• Russia: Order "For Merit to the Fatherland":
  • 2nd class (2024)^[16]
  • 3rd class (2014)
  • 4th class (2009)
• Republic of Karelia: Medal "For Merit to the Republic of Karelia"^[17]
• Russia: Order of Alexander Nevsky (2019)^[18]
• Republic of Korea: Honorary Citizen of Seoul (2019)^[19][20]
• Japan: Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class (2016)^[21]
• Russia: Order of Honour (2004)
• Russia: Medal "In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg" (2003)