About Alexander Khinshtei Alexander Khinshtein (Russian: Александр Хинштейн) (born October 26, 1974) is a Russian politician and journalist. He is a member of United Russia. He currently represents the 122nd elective district (the northern half of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast) in the State Duma. Khinshtein was born to a Jewish family in Moscow and attended Moscow State University, after which he became a writer for Moskovskiy Komsomolets. In a 2005 article, he accused Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov of illegally privatizating two government-owned houses.