vasily nikolayevich likhachyov (; 5 january 1952 – 8 april 2019) was a russian politician. he served as the permanent representative for russia to the european council, and as deputy minister of justice. he was also vice-president of the federal subject of tatarstan. from 2011 until his death, he was a state duma deputy for the communist party of the russian federation. likhachyov was born in gorky (now known as nizhny novgorod).