Victor Melhiorovich Kress was born in November, 16 1948 in the village Vlasovo-Dvorino of Palkinsky region of Kostroma oblast in a peasant family which, besides him, had six more children. Soon after his birth the family has moved to Kuzbass.
In 1966 Victor Kress graduated from the school of the settlement Jashkino of the Kemerovo oblast and entered Novosibirsk Agricultural Institute on agronomical faculty and he graduated from it in 1971.
In 1975 at the age of 26 Victor Kress became a director of the state farm "Rodina" of Tomsk region of Tomsk oblast, and in 1979 – a chairman of regional association "Selkhozkhimiya". Six years later he has been appointed a deputy chief of agroindustrial committee of Tomsk oblast on production.
In the end 1987 as a result of alternative elections Victor Kress became the first secretary of Pervomaisky district committee of the Soviet Party.
From 1988 till 1991 has been studying in the Russian Academy of Management (Academy of Social Sciences at the Central Committee of the CPSU) on a speciality "Political Science".
In 1990 was elected to be the deputy regional Advice of People's Deputies, the same year became its chairman. On October, 20 1991 by the decree of the President Boris Yeltsin has been appointed to a post of the head of administration of Tomsk oblast. Then Victor Kress was three times elected on the post of the governor of Tomsk oblast in 1995, 1999 and 2003, having received in the first round accordingly 52,09 %, 72,93 % and 71,21 % of voices of the voters.
In March, 2007 he was recommended by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for a post of the governor of oblast and was confirmed by deputies of the State Duma of Tomsk oblast.
During the management of region Victor Kress at various times headed the inter-regional association "Siberian agreement", has been a part of presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation, was twice selected as a member of board of directors of Russian Open Society "UES of Russia", supervised over an interdepartmental group on reforming the electric power industry.
In 1999 he defended the candidate's thesis on a theme "State regulation mechanism of innovative transformations of federal subjects economy". Cand.Econ.Sci.
The author of books "Tomsk oblast: today and tomorrow" (1997), "Hard time of Russia. A sight from the province" (1998), "Tomsk oblast at the cross of centuries" (1999), "Tomsk oblast: the beginning of XXI century" (2002), "Direct answers to difficult questions" (2003).
In 2004 Victor Kress entered the party "United Russia"(Yedinaya Rossiya).
Also in 2004 Victor Kress was awarded with a decoration "For merits before Tomsk oblast", became a honourable citizen of the city of Tomsk. Besides he was awarded with the medal "For labour valour" (1976), "Sign on Honour" (1986), an award "For merits before Fatherland" IV degree (1998), an award "For merits before Fatherland" III degree (2008), an award of Russian Orthodox Church - sacred prince Daniel Moskovsky I degree (2002) and an award Saint Sergyi Radonezhsky I degree (2008).
He is married. He has got two children, four grandsons. His wife, Lyudmila Vasilevna, is a pensioner. His daughter, Yelena - candidate of medical sciences, head physician of Tomsk Scientific Research Institute of Cardiology; his son, Vyacheslav - candidate of jurisprudence, deputy chairman of VII appeal Arbitration Court.