1934 – 1959 Vladimir Anatolyevich Yakovlev born November 25, 1944, in Olyokminsk, Yakutia, Soviet Union) is a Russian politician, currently retired. In 1996–2003, he was the Governor of Saint Petersburg. In 2003-2004, prior to the Beslan school hostage crisis, he was Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District. On September 13, 2004, – September 24, 2007, he was Russia’s Minister for Regional Development in Mikhail Fradkov’s Second Cabinet.