abstract
| - Gennady Vladimirovich Lustunayenkov (born December 14, 1940) is the current President of Siberia, having served in that capacity since 1995, winning every election since his first victory that same year. Lustunayenkov is, as of 2011, the longest-serving non-royal head of state in Siberian history. Often accused of being a reactionary autocrat, Lustunayenkov has overseen an economic boom in Siberia due to valuable national gas resources. As well as being President, he is one of the country's richest men, an owner of various natural gas interests, owner of one television station, two newspapers, three hockey teams, and two iron ore mines. Lustunayenkov has been both praised and criticized for the vast privatization of Siberian resources since the late 1990's, his close relationship with China and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the Asian Sphere of Prosperity, and his alleged human rights abuses. While having been in office during the liberalization of the Siberian economy and an uptick in the standard of living for most of his citizens, there have been alleged instances of voter intimidation, suppression of dissent, cronyism, and violence against political enemies.
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