Early life & education
• Safarov Elchin was born 10 July 1960, Baku (then Azerbaijani SSR)
• Graduated, Faculty of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 1983
• Earned the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences
Customs service (1984–2004)
• Joined the USSR customs system in 1984
• Served in the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation, later the Federal Customs Service
• Co-author of the Russian Customs Codes of 1993 and 2003
• Oversaw introduction of:
– Goods Customs Declaration system
– Institutes of customs brokers and specialised carriers
– Regimes of temporary import, in-territory processing, customs warehouse and duty-free shops
• Helped secure up to 50 % of federal revenue via customs duties, VAT and excise on imports
• Sat on inter-agency panels for monetary policy, foreign trade and tariff regulation
• Retired in 2004 with the rank of Lieutenant-General of the customs service
Professional Activity within Gazprom Group Companies
- Following the completion of his public service career, he continued his professional activities within the Gazprom Group, including Gazprom Export LLC and Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC.
• He was engaged in the legal and foreign economic support of projects related to the development of the Arctic continental shelf.
• In his role as Deputy General Director of Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC, he oversaw interaction with federal and regional government authorities.
• He participated in the preparation of proposals aimed at improving the regulatory and legal framework governing offshore hydrocarbon production.
• He was involved in the drafting and coordination of amendments to federal legislation, including the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the Law “On the Continental Shelf of the Russian Federation”.
• His work was closely associated with the legal support of the Prirazlomnoye project, the only operating offshore hydrocarbon production project on the Russian Arctic shelf.