Boris Titov

Boris Titov
Born	(1960-12-24) December 24, 1960 Moscow, Russia
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, politician
Known for	Presidential commissioner for entrepreneurs' rights since 2012; leader of the Party of Growth since 2016; 2018 Russian presidential candidate

Boris Yuryevich Titov (; born 24 December 1960) is a Russian entrepreneur and political figure who has held the position of presidential commissioner for entrepreneurs' rights since 2012. Since February 2016, he has been at the helm of the Party of Growth, previously known as Right Cause.

During the 2018 presidential race, Titov participated as a candidate and secured sixth place with 0.76% of the total votes.

Life and career

Titov completed his studies at the Department of Economics of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1983. By 1989, he was appointed Head of the Chemistry Department at the Soviet-Dutch company Urals. In 1991, together with partners, he established Solvalub, which procured solvents and lubricants from London to support collaborative projects with Urals and VO Soviet Oil Export (). He assumed the role of executive director for SVL Group companies, which transformed into an investment and trading conglomerate operating in sectors such as oil, agrochemicals, petrochemicals, and liquefied gases. The enterprise broadened its activities to include export refinancing, project funding, and investments in production and logistics. As the principal shareholder of Solvalub, Titov's net worth was estimated at $2 billion in 2008.

On 26 June 2012, following his appointment to civil service and election to the board of directors, Titov stepped down from his position as director at Abrau-Durso, a winery under his ownership.

Social activity

In 2000, Titov was elected vice-president and board member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

He took on the role of co-chair in 2003 and advanced to chairman of the all-Russian Business Russia organization in May 2004. In this capacity, he openly challenged Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin’s stringent fiscal policies, promoting initiatives aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing, stimulating demand, attracting investments, revising tax incentives, and adjusting the Central Bank’s refinancing rate.

As head of Business Russia, Titov became involved with numerous governmental and public institutions such as the Council for Implementation of Priority National Projects; the Demographic Policy and Human Rights Council under the President; the Council on Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship within the government; and the Commission focused on Industry, Technology, and Transport development. He also led the Russian delegation in the Russian-Chinese Business Council and served as chairman of the Gas Market Coordinator partnership. Additionally, he was part of the Presidium of the National Council on Corporate Governance.

Between 2005 and 2008, Titov was a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Political involvement

In October 2007, he secured a position on the Supreme Council of United Russia.

By 2008, Titov was at the helm of the Supreme Council of Civilian Power, playing a key role in establishing a new right-leaning political party. That November, Civilian Power united with the Democratic Party of Russia and Union of Right Forces to form the party known as Right Cause, where Titov served as one of three co-chairpersons alongside Leonid Gozman and Georgy Bovt. Shortly thereafter, United Russia revoked his membership on their Supreme Council.

On 22 June 2012, President Vladimir Putin designated Titov as the Commissioner responsible for safeguarding entrepreneurs' rights within Russia.

During Right Cause's VII Congress on 29 February 2016, Titov was elected chairman, marking a pivotal reorientation and rebranding effort for the party.

2018 presidential campaign

On 26 November 2017, Boris Titov declared his intention to run in the 2018 Russian presidential election. His party officially nominated him on 21 December, and he submitted his registration paperwork to the CEC the following day. The CEC approved his candidacy on 25 December, enabling him to commence signature collection in early January 2018.

Titov emphasized that his primary objective was to advance the Growth Strategy economic initiative, crafted by the Stolypin Club and presented to Vladimir Putin in May 2017. Throughout the campaign, Titov and his team planned extensive travel across the country to promote this economic policy agenda.

Personal life

In 2017, Titov’s son Pavel emerged as an advocate for cryptocurrencies, alongside influential figures such as First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and senior leaders at VEB.RF and Sberbank. Since January 2022, Pavel’s wife Ksenia Titova together with CEO Ruslan Romantsev have been managing Abrau Cosmetics, a branch of the Abrau-Durso holding located in Novorossiysk under Kubanbytkhim LLC. This development represents Abrau-Durso’s venture into high-end cosmetics manufacturing.