"Our trump card." The new governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory has destroyed Tolokonsky’s legacy
Born in 1965 in Moscow. In 1990, he graduated from the Moscow Financial Institute with a degree in economics.
1983-1985 served in the Armed Forces. After graduating from university, he began working as an economist at the All-Union Association of State and Bank Loans, then at commercial enterprises.
1994-1996 worked as head of the credit department of the commercial innovative bank Alfa Bank. Then - at JSCB International Financial Company in the positions of advisor to the chairman of the board and deputy head of the client relations department.
1996-2001 worked at RAO Norilsk Nickel. He held the positions of head of the control and audit department, director for control and audit activities, deputy general director of RAO RAO and first deputy general director of Norilsk Combine JSC.
From February 2001 to October 2002, he worked as first deputy governor of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug and chairman of the State Property Management Committee of the district administration, which he held until October 2002.
Since October 2002 - First Deputy Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
From June 2003 to November 2003, he served as the head of Norilsk.
From November 2003 to June 2007, he worked as the first deputy governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Since June 2007, he has been an adviser to the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory on economic issues.
Since 2008 - General Director of Kolmar LLC.
On February 8, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted the candidacy of Lev Kuznetsov to the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory for consideration to vest him with the powers of head of the region.
On February 17, 2010, at the session of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, he was confirmed as Governor of the Territory. On the same day, Lev Kuznetsov officially took office.
Akbulatov Edkham Shukrievich, acting governor
Born in 1960 in Krasnoyarsk.
In 1982 he graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute with a degree in civil engineering; worked as an assistant at the Krasnoyarsk Engineering and Construction Institute (KISS).
1984-1987 — postgraduate student at the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute.
1987-1994 - senior lecturer, then associate professor at KazISS.
1994-1998 — headed the land department of the Krasnoyarsk administration.
1998-2002 - Head of the Main Department of Economics and Planning of the Krasnoyarsk Administration.
In 2001, he received a master's degree in management in the direction of "Management", and an academic degree of candidate of technical sciences.
On December 9, 2002, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory - Head of the Department of Economic Development and Planning of the Regional Administration.
From June 27, 2007 to July 2008 - Deputy Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Head of the Department of Industrial Policy, Economic Development and Planning.
2008 - 2009 - Deputy Chairman, then Chairman of the Government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
January 19 - February 17, 2010 By decision of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he served as acting governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
News with the participation of Edkham Akbulatov
Khloponin Alexander Gennadievich
Born on March 6, 1965 in Colombo (Ceylon) in the family of a translator for the State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations of the USSR.
In 1987 he graduated from the Moscow Financial Institute (now the State Financial Academy), Faculty of International Economic Relations.
1989-1992 — worked in the government loans department of Vnesheconombank of the USSR.
1992-1995 - Deputy Chairman, Chairman of the International Financial Company (IFC) bank, which was involved in financial and credit services to RAO Norilsk Nickel.
Since May 1996 - acting Chairman of the Board, since June 1996 - member of the Board of Directors, in 1996-2001. - Chairman of the Board, General Director of RAO Norilsk Nickel.
On January 28, 2001, he was elected governor of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug.
After the tragic death of Alexander Lebed, he nominated himself for the post of governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. During the first round of voting on September 8, 2002, he received 25.22% of the votes and entered the second round together with the speaker of the regional Legislative Assembly, Alexander Uss, for whom 27.63% voted. In the second round of elections he won with a vote difference of 48% versus 42%. The inauguration took place on October 17, 2002.
In May 2007, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory adopted an appeal to the country's President Vladimir Putin with a request to reappoint the current head of the region, Alexander Khloponin, to the post of governor of the region.
On January 19, 2010, by decision of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he was appointed to the post of Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District.
News with the participation of Alexander Khloponin
Lebed Alexander Ivanovich (1950-2002)
Born on April 20, 1950 in Novocherkassk in a working-class family.
In 1973 he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne School.
1981-1982 - commander of a parachute battalion of a limited contingent Soviet troops in Afghanistan.
In 1985 he graduated with honors from the Military Academy. M. Frunze.
Since March 1988 - commander of the Tula Airborne Division.
He took part in operations in “hot spots” on the territory of the USSR:
- late 1988 - early 1989 — Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Baku;
- April 1989 - clashes in Tbilisi;
- early 1990 - unrest in Baku and a number of other cities of Azerbaijan.
In 1990, Lebed received the rank of major general.
February 1991 appointed deputy commander airborne troops(Airborne) for combat training and universities.
In August 1991, during a failed coup attempt, he participated in organizing the security of the building of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in Moscow.
On June 23, 1992, he arrived in Tiraspol to eliminate the armed conflict in the region. Soon he was appointed commander of the 14th Guards Combined Arms Army in Transnistria.
June 1995 - transferred to the reserve with the rank of lieutenant general.
December 1995 - elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the Tula electoral district.
He took part in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation on June 16, 1996: he received 14.7% of the votes and dropped out of the election campaign.
On June 18, 1996, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for national security.
In July 1996, he was appointed Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education military positions and the highest special ranks of the Council on Personnel Policy under the President of the Russian Federation.
In the summer of 1996, he led the Russian delegation in negotiations on the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of federal troops from Chechnya.
In the fall of 1996, he was removed from the post of Secretary of the Security Council.
May 17, 1998 elected governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, receiving about 60% of the votes in the second round of voting.
On June 5, 1998 he took office.
On April 28, 2002, he tragically died as a result of a plane crash of an Mi-8 helicopter in the Ermakovsky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Zubov Valery Mikhailovich
Born on May 9, 1953 in the Tambov region in a family of geologists, he changed his place of study 14 times.
In 1977 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of National Economy. G.V. Plekhanov, defended his Ph.D. thesis there in 1982.
1982-1988 — worked at Krasnoyarsk State University as a senior lecturer and dean. I interned for six months at the University of Oklahoma (USA).
1991 - Head of the Main Economics Department of the Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. After leaving, Veprev recommended Zubov as his successor. For several months, Zubov served as acting head of the regional administration.
In April 1993, he was elected governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
In 1998, he lost the gubernatorial elections to Alexander Ivanovich Lebed. After the defeat, members of Zubov's team were accused of financial irregularities, but the investigation into their affairs ended in nothing. Zubov’s former deputy, Vladimir Kuzmin, was arrested; he fell seriously ill in the pre-trial detention center, was released on his own recognizance, and soon died. Kuzmina's widow received a document from the prosecutor's office closing the criminal case "for lack of corpus delicti." A criminal case was initiated in 1999 against Zubov himself (a few hours before his registration as a candidate for the State Duma). Then it was also closed due to the lack of evidence of a crime.
In addition, at the end of the 1990s. Zubov worked as deputy director of the Krasnoyarsk Universal Commodity and Stock Exchange for securities transactions. He was one of the founders of the Troika exchange in Krasnoyarsk.
1996-1998 — Member of the Federation Council, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Russian Federation.
Since 1999, professor at Krasnoyarsk State University.
Since 1999, deputy of the State Duma. Twice elected from the Krasnoyarsk single-mandate constituency. In 2007, he was on the electoral list of the A Just Russia party (No. 1 in the Krasnoyarsk group).
He was a member of the People's Party of Russia, the United Russia party, and the Republican Party of Russia. In 2007, he headed the electoral list of the A Just Russia party in the elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Doctor Economic Sciences, professor, author of 4 monographs.
Veprev Arkady Filimonovich (1927-2006)
Born on October 20, 1927 in the Kirov region.
In 1958 he graduated from the Moscow Agricultural Academy.
1944-1952 served in the army: cadet of the Chelyabinsk Military Aviation School of navigators and gunners-radio operators, air gunner-radio operator of aviation long range.
Since 1959 - director of the Nazarovsky state farm in the Nazarovsky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. This farm was one of the three best in the USSR. Here they received a harvest of up to 40 centners of grain per hectare, milk yield approached 4.5 thousand liters per cow. Based on the cost of production, the state farm was even included in the Guinness Book of Records. At the same time, wages were considered one of the highest in the Union. Even after corporatization, Veprev’s farm not only survived in the conditions of the “wild” market, but also worked profitably, collecting high yields and setting new records for milk production.
1990-1991 Veprev was the chairman of the USSR Supreme Soviet Committee on Agrarian Issues and Food.
On December 29, 1991, he was appointed head of the administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Veprev did not welcome privatization; he was under serious pressure from many structures and on January 21, 1993, he resigned. In retirement, for several years he remained an advisor and consultant to JSC Nazarovskoye.
Died July 23, 2006. He was buried in his native village.
What has been talked and written about so much last week, it has happened: Viktor Tolokonsky is no longer the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. “Prospekt Mira” tells how the events of this busy week developed and how the region will continue to live.
The fact that Governor Viktor Tolokonsky wrote a letter of resignation was written on the evening of Sunday, September 24, by the Novosibirsk portal Sib.fm, citing one source in the regional government. The next morning, Kommersant predicted the resignation of the heads of 10 Russian regions, including the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. “A series of resignations” will begin before the end of September, the newspaper’s sources clarified.
The regional government press service did not comment on this matter, saying that “it would be wrong to comment on rumors.” The most contradictory information was received throughout the day. Numerous sources said that there was no statement from Tolokonsky, others confirmed that the governor was in fact resigning.
The media began writing about Tolokonsky’s impending departure last week. He allegedly made the decision to leave after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place on Thursday, September 21. The press service of the PM government responded to this by saying that the governor did not fly to the capital on Thursday and the following days.
The meeting between Tolokonsky and Putin, apparently, really could not take place on September 21. On this day, late in the evening, Viktor Alexandrovich met in Krasnoyarsk with the Totem children's football club. A report on the visit was published that evening on the Krasnoyarsk government website.
According to PM sources close to the regional government, Viktor Tolokonsky’s unplanned trip to Moscow could take place on Tuesday, September 19. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that on the government website on Tuesday in the “Governor of the Territory” section there is no report on past events.
Another version was put forward by the Moscow source of TVK News, which stated that Tolokonsky “recently flew to Moscow, expecting to receive a reception from the president.” “However, according to unconfirmed information, the conversation did not happen. But, perhaps, there was a secret meeting with the first deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, Sergei Kiriyenko,” they said on TVK, noting that the channel’s Krasnoyarsk sources did not confirm this information.
Photo here and on the cover: kremlin.ru
The TASS agency wrote that on Monday Tolokonsky did not have public events planned, as well as the traditional weekly planning meeting with members of the regional government. According to PM’s interlocutor in the government, as a rule, Viktor Tolokonsky holds meetings in the “gray house”.
On the same day, according to the source, the governor was working at his residence in Sosny. Political scientist Alexander Chernyavsky also has the same information. “My sources claim that Tolokonsky held a meeting there [on Monday] morning. True, they could not tell me whether he set new tasks for his subordinates or said goodbye,” Chernyavsky said. Later, PM’s source stated that the Prime Minister of the region, Viktor Tomenko, canceled all events and went to Sosny to see the governor.
By lunchtime on Monday, an official reaction from the authorities finally followed: Deputy Governor Sergei Ponomarenko told Dela.ru that Viktor Tolokonsky did not write a resignation letter. By this time, anonymous telegram channels were already full of names of possible “successors” of Viktor Tolokonsky as governor. The Politjoystick channel named five contenders: the already mentioned Prime Minister Viktor Tomenko, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexei Teksler, head of the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations and former Minister of Finance of the region Mikhail Kotyukov, former general director of Rosseti Oleg Budargin and chairman of the board of directors of the defense industrial complex Oboronprom Sergei Falcon.
Around six in the evening on Monday Krasnoyarsk time it became known about the dismissal of the governor Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin, who appeared on the Kommersant list. Later in the evening, the Novosibirsk website “Continent of Siberia” published the news: Viktor Tolokonsky unofficially confirmed to “his entourage” that he would leave in the near future. As the publication wrote, the president will most likely sign the decree on the early termination of Tolokonsky’s powers on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Viktor Aleksandrovich will return to Novosibirsk. According to KS, Tolokonsky was given various job offers in Moscow, but he refused them.
On Tuesday, however, Putin fired not Krasnoyarsk, but Nizhny Novgorod governor Valery Shantsev, another one from Kommersant’s list. But TVK learned that the “governor’s wing”, it turns out, has been undergoing renovations since last week. And numerous sources continued to share insights.
Finally, on Wednesday it became known that at 14:00 Viktor Tolokonsky had scheduled a meeting with the heads of regional departments and departments in the government. There he announced his resignation. Deputy Alexey Kleshko, who was at the farewell meeting, quoted words of the governor vice-speaker on his Instagram:
“I'm leaving. And I’m even leaving. I never quit anything I started. Now it is regrettable that not all projects have been completed. But I have always been for renewal."
According to political scientist and blogger Vasily Damov, the Krasnoyarsk governor had to leave because things “didn’t work out” with Krasnoyarsk. “There are more and more public conflicts in the region, and the federal authorities do not need this trail at all in March next year [when the Russian presidential elections will be held]. While there is time, why not change the head of the region to a person with big loan trust,” says Damov.
Political scientist Alexander Chernyavsky also mentions the upcoming presidential campaign in this context. “According to my data, Tolokonsky has rather low ratings among the population. Given the importance of the campaign, it was possible that a decision was made to replace Tolokonsky with a person with a potentially higher rating, he believes. “This will allow the president’s campaign to be more successful.”
According to Chernyavsky, there were no other obvious reasons for Tolokonsky’s resignation: “I don’t remember any obvious force majeure with his participation. If only the scandal with increasing the salaries of deputies, but it was still more of a local story. Thus, resignation is more of a political technology rather than a political decision.”
We are monitoring events. This text will be updated when the name of the acting governor is announced.
Viktor Tolokonsky was born on May 27, 1953 in the city of Novosibirsk. His father, a native of Barnaul, Alexander Yakovlevich Tolokonsky, went through the Great Patriotic War, for 23 years he held leadership positions in the regional consumer union and the city executive committee. Mother - Pisareva Nina Vladimirovna.
In 1970, Viktor Tolokonsky graduated from school No. 22 in his hometown. He also received higher economic education in Novosibirsk, at the Institute of National Economy, from which he graduated in 1974. Over the next year, he completed an internship in his specialty, and from 1975 to 1978 he studied at the graduate school of Novosibirsk state university. Just before defending his dissertation, Tolokonsky, for subjective reasons, suddenly abandoned the procedure, so he never received his candidate’s degree.
This was the first in his life serious blow, which, however, did not break the future politician, but only strengthened his character and “fertilized the soil” for such qualities as perseverance, determination and diligence. In 1978, Tolokonsky joined the CPSU and was a member of the party until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Until 1981, Viktor Aleksandrovich lectured on the discipline “political economy” within the walls of both “alma maters” - NINKh and NSU.
At the end of 1981, Tolokonsky worked as part of the planning commission under the Novosibirsk executive committee. First, as head of the department for industry and consumer goods, in 1983 he headed the planning department. Since April 1991, Victor served as deputy chairman of the Novosibirsk City Executive Committee. In 1991, Viktor Tolokonsky joined the political council of the regional branch in Novosibirsk - the “Movement of Democratic Reforms”.
In January 1992, actively moving up the career ladder, Viktor Aleksandrovich sat in the chair of the first deputy head of the Novosibirsk administration, Ivan Indinok, whose powers included issues of economic reform of the city. Since October 1993, when Indinok took over as head Novosibirsk region, Tolokonsky became acting Mayor of Novosibirsk. In December of the same year he was appointed mayor of the city. As mayor, Tolokonsky pursued a policy aimed at improving the economic situation in the city, the main consequence of which was the elimination of the city budget deficit.
In 1994, Viktor Aleksandrovich became a member of the board of directors of the Novosibirsk Municipal Bank, and also received a deputy mandate in the local city council. In 1995, Indinok lost to Vitaly Mukha in the elections for governor of the Novosibirsk region, in connection with which Tolokonsky submitted his resignation at will, however, the City Council rejected his request. In the summer of 1995, according to the order of President Boris Yeltsin, he was included in the federal body that oversaw local government issues.
In 1996, together with Governor Mukha, Tolokonsky took part in negotiations on the release of Novosibirsk police officers from the hands of Chechen militants Salman Raduev in the village of Pervomaiskoye. In March of the same year, after the first mayoral elections, Viktor Tolokonsky became the official head of the city of Novosibirsk with a majority of 80% of the votes. At the turn of 1999 and 2000, following the results of the second round of elections, Viktor Aleksandrovich Tolokonsky was elected head of the regional administration.
In 2000, on February 16, Tolokonsky took office as a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. Until 2001, he was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, and until 2003 inclusive, he was a member of the Presidium of the State Council. In 2003, at the suggestion of Mikhail Kasyanov, Viktor Alexandrovich became a member of the government commission working on a plan for administrative reform.
At the end of 2003, Tolokonsky was re-elected governor of the Novosibirsk region. In October 2005, he joined the United Russia party. In July 2007, on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin, the regional Council extended Tolokonsky's gubernatorial powers for a 5-year term.
In 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev made Viktor Alexandrovich his plenipotentiary representative in the Siberian Federal District, and accordingly, he had to leave the post of governor of the Novosibirsk region. Tolokonsky's successor was Vasily Yurchenko, later this place was taken by Vladimir Gorodetsky.
In 2014, on May 12, Viktor Tolokonsky was appointed to the position of acting. Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Four months later, he won an unconditional victory in local elections and rightfully sat in the chair of the head of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
In 2016, Viktor Tolokonsky still led the Novosibirsk region very successfully. According to the results of the April media rating of governors compiled by Medialogia, he was in 8th place out of 12 among the governors of the Siberian Federal District, and in 37th place out of 85 in the overall rating.
Viktor Alexandrovich is married and has two children. The wife, Natalya Petrovna Tolokonskaya, nee Petrova, has known her husband since school. She has an academic degree of Doctor of Medicine, and since 2008 she has headed the Territorial Center for Infectious Pathology of Novosibirsk and the region.
His daughter, Elena Tolokonskaya, also received a medical education and works in a regional clinical hospital. Elena is married to physician Yuri Iosifovich Bravve. The son, Alexey Tolokonsky, in turn, graduated from the Novosibirsk Medical Institute with a diploma in “Management in Medicine.” In 2008, he took the position of deputy head of the health department of the Novosibirsk region. The governor's grandson, Alexander, received a higher education at the Faculty of Law of the Siberian Federal University.
Political life is a changeable thing. One moment you are in power, “on horseback,” and now, before you know it, you are leaving your home and what seems like your home office. In September of this year, many regions of the country lost their governors - some left on their own, others were “left” from above. The governor of Krasnoyarsk also resigned. Now the region is waiting for new elections, and on the eve of them we can remember where (or rather, with whom) it all began.
Who is the governor?
First, it’s worth deciding who the governor is. So, a governor is a person who leads a separate administrative unit - a region, a territory, and so on. Before the revolution, this was the head of the province (hence the name of the position) - this is how the region was previously called.
Today, the governor is elected by residents for a five-year term. Any person who is at least thirty years old can apply for this position. However, you cannot become a governor more than two times in a row, and in addition you need to remember that residents of the region have the right to recall their chosen one. In this case (if the seat is vacated ahead of schedule), an interim governor is appointed by the president of the country.
Krasnoyarsk region
In a region in the very center of Russia, and at the same time in the heart of Siberia, rich history. Previously, what is now the largest region in our country was called the Yenisei province. It existed until 1925, and then all the provinces were abolished, they were united into a single region, from which separate ones were later formed, in particular, Krasnoyarsk region. It began its official existence in December 1934. Ten years ago the region was reorganized - Taimyrsky was added to it and however common name region remained the same.
Over the entire long-term and even centuries-long history, if we consider the Yenisei province, there were a dime a dozen leaders in the region. Alexander Petrovich Stepanov is considered to be the very first governor of Krasnoyarsk - a man who really did a lot for this Siberian city.
Alexander Stepanov
Alexander Petrovich came from a noble family. He became the head of the then province at the age of 42 (this happened in 1823). He studied in Moscow, served in the army, was on the staff of Suvorov himself, participated in the War of 1812, after which he retired, but nevertheless accepted an appointment to the gubernatorial position of a distant region.
Thanks to the fact that Alexander Petrovich was an active and energetic person, with his arrival life in Krasnoyarsk changed dramatically. He immediately directed all his activity towards the creation of hospitals and charity homes in the city. Wealthy Krasnoyarsk residents donated funds, establishments opened one after another. Thanks to Stepanov, the first pharmacy appeared in the city on the Yenisei. By the way, its building has survived to this day; moreover, the pharmacy is located there to this day.
The expansion of the police force, the repair of roads and houses, the emergence of a city garden, a printing house, a library - Krasnoyarsk of that time owes all this and many others to Alexander Petrovich. Unfortunately, he remained in his post for only eight years, after which he left for another region. Subsequently, the townspeople more than once remembered the first governor of Krasnoyarsk with kind words and regretted that there was no second one. Life in Krasnoyarsk began to decline sharply after his departure.
After Stepanov, the post of head of the region was replaced by many of the most different people. Some of them were better, some were worse. But let us dwell in more detail on those governors of Krasnoyarsk who “ruled the show” already in Soviet times.
During all the years that the Krasnoyarsk Territory existed under the Soviets (which is 57 years), 12 people managed to serve as governor. The very first of them was Pavel Dmitrievich Akulinushkin: he worked for two years, from June 35th to July 37th. Little is known about him, only that he left his post not voluntarily, but because, like many in that terrible year, he became a victim of repression.
After Akulinushkin, the position was occupied by Sergei Sobolev, Pavel Kulakov, Ivan Golubev and others. It is worth dwelling in a little more detail on the ninth governor of the region - Vladimir Ivanovich Dolgikh.
Vladimir Dolgikh
Vladimir Ivanovich was born in the village of Ilanskoye. He became governor of the region in 1969 for three years. Before that, he served in the army, graduated from the Mining and Metallurgical Institute, and worked as an engineer, including as director of the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine.
While leading the Krasnoyarsk Territory, he achieved a lot for it. So, in particular, it was thanks to Vladimir Ivanovich that the region’s economy began to develop, coal industry, hydropower, metallurgy. It was under the Dolgikhs that such powerful facilities as a hydroelectric power station and two plants that operate to this day appeared - an aluminum and a metallurgical one. The region's energy and industry have grown so much that it is enough not only for its own needs, but also to help other regions. All this happened thanks to the competent leadership of Vladimir Ivanovich. By the way, the former head of the region is still alive today.
Pavel Fedirko
After Dolgikh, Pavel Stefanovich Fedirko took the helm. He remained in the post of governor for 15 years, until the year 87, and during this impressive period he managed to do quite a lot.
Pavel Stefanovich was born in Krasnodar region in 1932, by profession he is a railway worker. Before his appointment to the post of head of the Krasnoyarsk region, he worked as an engineer and director of a plant in Norilsk, and was also secretary of the Igarsk city committee.
Under Fedirko, Krasnoyarsk received a new airport (the old one was located within the city, there was always a risk of human casualties, since the takeoff was carried out over the city), a new bridge across the Yenisei - Oktyabrsky, new enterprises aimed at strengthening the economy of the region, as well as cultural institutions. For example, the Great Concert Hall, which still delights Krasnoyarsk residents. Pavel Stefanovich generally cared about the culture of the region: it was with his active support that the Siberian Dance Ensemble, known throughout the country, and the Krasnoyarsk Symphony Orchestra were created, and a choreographic school and the Institute of Arts were opened.
Governors of Krasnoyarsk after the collapse of the Union
While the country of the Soviets was still alive, two more people managed to serve as governors in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. And the first leader of the region in the post-Soviet era was Arkady Filimonovich Veprev. An economist by training, an agronomist, he served in this post for just over a year. His actions were repeatedly criticized, and there were proposals for his removal, as a result of which he eventually retired. After him (and to the present), there were six governors of Krasnoyarsk. It’s worth saying a little more about each of them.
Valery Zubov
Valery Mikhailovich was born in the Tambov region in 1953. He worked as a mechanic and a driller's assistant. At first he wanted to receive his education at the Faculty of Geology (his parents were geologists), but then he transferred to the Institute of National Economy in Moscow, defended his PhD thesis and went to work in Krasnoyarsk. In the city on the Yenisei, Zubov first worked as an ordinary teacher, later becoming the dean of the Faculty of Economics (and even a Doctor of Economics).
IN political life I've been diving since the early 90s. After Veprev's resignation in January 1993, he was recommended by him as his successor and in April of the same year he took the seat of governor of the region. He remained in office for five years. Those years were very difficult for the country's economy - there were not enough jobs, not enough money, but in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, unlike other territories, there were no delays in payments to pensioners.
Everyone who remembers Valery Mikhailovich’s work as governor notes his integrity, honesty and fairness, as well as the fact that more than a million people voted for him in the gubernatorial elections in the Krasnoyarsk Territory - a phenomenal figure. Due to disagreements with Moscow (according to some), Zubov was unable to remain for a second term as the leader of the region. Later he worked in Moscow, but died last year due to illness.
Alexander Lebed
The next four years in the Krasnoyarsk Territory passed under the auspices of the reign of Alexander Ivanovich Lebed. He was born in Novocherkassk in 1950, worked as a loader and grinder. Graduated from the Airborne School, military academy named after M.V. Frunze. He had the rank of lieutenant general and participated in real combat operations. Having retired to the reserves in the mid-nineties, he began to climb the political career ladder.
In 1998, he won the gubernatorial elections in Krasnoyarsk, beating the then head of the region Valery Zubov. The elections were scandalous, with many irregularities. Some believe that Lebed’s victory was dishonest, and everything was aimed solely at “destructing” Zubov. One way or another, since May 1998, Alexander Ivanovich took the governor’s chair.
The most important thing that happened during Lebed's reign was the opening of the Krasnoyarsk Cadet Corps, which now bears the name of its creator. Many criticized the activities of Alexander Ivanovich, something did not work out for him, but who knows how everything would have turned out if not for the tragic death - in April 2002, the governor, along with several administration employees and journalists, crashed in a plane crash.
Alexander Khloponin
From October of the same year, for eight years, the new governor of Krasnoyarsk was Alexander Gennadievich Khloponin, who had previously worked as a governor, only in Taimyr. He served in the army, graduated from the Faculty of International Economics, worked at Vnesheconombank, and was the General Director of MMC Norilsk Nickel. He stayed as the leader of the Taimyr district for just over a year, after which he left for Krasnoyarsk.
It was under Alexander Gennadievich that the unification of the Krasnoyarsk Territory with Taimyr and Evenkia took place. Under him, the development of the Lower Angara region began, and regional social programs aimed at improving life in the region. Reconstruction of the airport, agreements with various energy companies, development of the Vankor oil and gas field, discovery and much more - all this happened during the years when Alexander Gennadievich led the region.
By the way, it was Khloponin who initiated the holding of the so-called Governor’s Ball in Krasnoyarsk - an event for students who have distinguished themselves in their studies or any other field. Khloponin's work as governor of the Krasnoyarsk region was terminated due to his appointment to another, more honorable position.
Lev Kuznetsov
From February 2010 and over the next four years, Lev Vladimirovich Kuznetsov was the governor of the region - he was put in this place “from above”, the residents did not choose him. Like many others, he is an economist by profession. He worked in banks, then at Norilsk Nickel, like his predecessor. Starting to do political career, worked in Khloponin’s team - both in Taimyr and in Krasnoyarsk: when Alexander Gennadievich was governor, Lev Vladimirovich was his first deputy.
As the leader of the region, Kuznetsov paid close attention to improving the education and healthcare systems, and also sought to develop the infrastructure of Krasnoyarsk and other cities of the region. In May 2014, he left Krasnoyarsk because he was assigned to another region.
Victor Tolokonsky
Viktor Aleksandrovich Tolokonsky arrived in Krasnoyarsk from the neighboring region - the Novosibirsk region. The president of the country appointed him acting governor, and before that he held the high position of plenipotentiary representative of the country's leader in Siberia. He spent four months in Krasnoyarsk as “acting”, and in September he was elected by residents to the post of head of the region.
Viktor Alexandrovich was born in Novosibirsk in 1953. Economist, teacher of political economy, mayor of Novosibirsk, later governor of the region - these are Tolokonsky’s steps in the political field. He began his work in the Krasnoyarsk region by reducing the bureaucracy - he fired four people from among his assistants. Under Viktor Alexandrovich, a new, fourth bridge across the Yenisei was opened in Krasnoyarsk.
Governor Tolokonsky in the Krasnoyarsk Territory was met with great anticipation, but later many dissatisfied people appeared. Thus, a big scandal and indignation among residents was caused by the governor’s proposal to reduce bus routes to improve the traffic situation. Another scandal erupted this summer, when officials' salaries were doubled. Due to a gigantic wave of indignation, this decree was eventually canceled.
In September of this year, a wave of gubernatorial resignations swept across the country. In several regions, leaders have changed, usually older ones. Because of this, some have suggested that Moscow wants to “rejuvenate” the heads of territories. The resignation of the governor also affected Krasnoyarsk - Viktor Tolokonsky officially resigned.
Alexander Uss
Known to Krasnoyarsk residents a long time ago. A native of this region, lawyer, Doctor of Law, professor, he began his political career in the 90s. He repeatedly tried to take a dominant position in the region, but everything did not grow together. For the last 20 years he has been Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. And only after the departure of the former governor of Krasnoyarsk in September of this year, Uss received an offer to become the interim leader of the region.
Governor elections in the region will be held next fall. All this time, Alexander Viktorovich will act as head, who, of course, will run for the post of governor of Krasnoyarsk. Whether Uss will be at the helm, or someone else - we'll wait and see.
At the end of March, it will be six months since the appointment of Alexander Uss as acting governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. And there will be another six months until the election date, when either the post of Uss will get rid of the prefix “acting”, or a new leader will head the region.
DELA.ru decided to remember who ruled the region in its recent history, and compare the actions and misdeeds of the main persons.
The first Krasnoyarsk governor of the post-Soviet era was Arkady Filimonovich Veprev (in 1991 this position was called “head of the regional administration”). A year later he resigned from his post.
His successor was the forty-year-old doctor of economics Valery Zubov, who previously headed the Main Economic Directorate of the region. The official election took place on April 12, 1993. Krasnoyarsk residents should celebrate this day on the calendar not only as Cosmonautics Day, but also as the beginning of the countdown new era- the time of post-Soviet gubernatorial power. Although the position of regional governor was officially approved Russian President only in 1996, this does not change the essence.
Since then, since April 1993, the region has had five governors. The intermediate periods when Nikolai Ashlapov (after the death of Lebed) and Edkham Akbulatov (after the resignation of Khloponin) temporarily played this role do not count.
What was remarkable about the reigns of Valery Zubov, Alexander Lebed, Alexander Khloponin, Lev Kuznetsov and Viktor Tolokonsky?
Let’s not focus on statistical figures - sometimes the numbers are deceiving. Just like the facts. For example: so many opened cadet corps- but at the same time they changed their “registration” from regional to capital or foreign, and then disappeared completely industrial enterprises, on which the economy of the region rested. Or: the region raised the banner of the Universiade 2019, but at the same time the economy stagnated, business fell, and the manageability of the region dropped to zero.
At the head of everything, of course, is the economy. But if today we try to describe in detail just the movement of property from owner to owner in the period from 1993 to the present, the work will come out in ten volumes.
Therefore, we decided to evaluate the activities of the heads of the region mainly from the point of view of what the region and its population received from this activity? Which actions of the government led to the preservation and increase of anything: property, useful traditions, the development of industry, and which caused damage?
Region under Zubov
The beginning of the 90s was destructive for the entire Russian economy. At one time, the late Vladimir Kuzmin, who held the position of first deputy for economics in Valery Zubov’s administration, told me how, in order to expand the sales market for Krasnoyarsk coal, they negotiated with bandits who controlled coal traffic to the west. As they say, it’s nothing personal, the economy is “held” by bandits - which means you have to negotiate with them.
Soon the bandit redistribution was replaced by a global redistribution of former state property, which was already controlled by people in civilian life, the newly minted oligarchs. This horseradish was slightly sweeter than the previous radish. It was under these conditions that the administration of Governor Zubov began and continued its work, right up to the most artificial, although not very skillful, change.
The most important thing was required from the head of the region and the key figures in his circle: the ability not to drown in the waves of a spontaneous, surrogate market, where there were still no laws, but lawlessness reigned, and, while making “adjustments for the wind,” still adhere to the state course. To a large extent, this was successful, despite the lack of experience (who had it by that time?) and the visible presence of other people’s interests in the plundering of regional property.
There was something to take away. The industrial map of the Krasnoyarsk Territory was drawn in a comprehensive manner. The Krasnoyarsk HPP was built almost simultaneously with the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Smelter (the first block of the station was launched in 1967, KrAZ was built in 1964), and most importantly, it was focused on the energy needs of KrAZ: 85% of the electricity generated by the HPP is consumed by aluminum workers. In 1969, the Krasnoyarsk Metallurgical Plant began operating, and in 1970, the Achinsk Alumina Refinery produced the first alumina.
All are links of one energy and metallurgical chain. Many other enterprises were connected to this chain through production relations. The Kansk-Achinsk fuel and energy complex - KATEK - was created using the same principle.
Vivid testimony integrated approach- all-Union program for the development of the productive forces of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The only region in the USSR (Moscow does not count, it is a special zone) for which such a document was adopted had every chance of maintaining its status as the flagship of the Russian economy.
Spontaneous privatization did not take any of this into account. Communications were broken. A serious attempt to restore them was the creation in 1995 of the financial and industrial group TaNaKo. The idea belonged to Vladimir Kuzmin. This was the first attempt at what would later be called "public-private partnerships."
The new financial and industrial group included 13 enterprises, including almost all key subjects of the regional economy: KrAZ, KraMZ, Krasnoyarskenergo, Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station, Achinsk Alumina Refinery, Achinsk Oil Refinery, Krasnoyarsk railway, Metalex Bank, Medistal Insurance Company.
However, by that time the lion's share of the region's economy was controlled by aluminum magnate Anatoly Bykov, and therefore the TaNaKo financial and industrial group soon came under his de facto “tutelage.”
Nevertheless, the logic of the actions of Zubov’s team was aimed at preserving the industrial infrastructure and preventing the withdrawal of enterprises from under regional subordination. It didn't always work out.
In 1992, by Decree of President Boris Yeltsin, RAO UES of Russia was created. Among other regional energy companies, Krasnoyarskenergo was included in it. Understanding perfectly well the consequences of losing control over energy on the part of the regional authorities, Irkutsk Governor Yuri Nozhikov appealed to the Constitutional Court. He was actively supported in this appeal Krasnoyarsk governor Valery Zubov.
The Constitutional Court found signs of violation in Yeltsin's resolution constitutional rights regions. Four energy systems, including Irkutskenergo, were returned to regional subordination. Krasnoyarsk, alas, was not on this list.
Integration into the “big energy” resulted in a loss of control over the industry and an increase in tariffs for the region, but it would be reckless to blame the then government for this: they did what they could. I remember the sayings about the technique against the crowbar and the whip that tried to break the butt.
But it was possible to return the Krasnoyarsk Non-Ferrous Metals Plant, which for some time had been part of the structure of Norilsk Nickel, to state ownership. By the way, Zubov did not agree on the terms of the loans-for-shares auction, which resulted in the transfer of the Norilsk plant into private hands. But even in this case, everything was decided in Moscow.
The merits of the first post-Soviet leaders of the region include stimulating business: at that time many new enterprises appeared, and many old ones were actively operating. This was especially noticeable in the processing of agricultural products: the Zubr meat processing plant, the Milko dairy plant, the Pikra brewery, which became one of the symbols of the region...
A significant event is that in 1995, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, against the backdrop of a nationwide economic recession, showed industrial growth. As Zubov said, for about a year he and Kuzmin did not advertise this fact in any way: “They were afraid to jinx it.”
And one more thing. Our region has become the last Russian territory that managed, like the last carriage of a departing train, to “jump” into the latest federal program - the development of the Lower Angara region. If this had not happened, perhaps construction on the Angara would still not have been revived.
The Zubov authorities were also friends with people of culture. In many ways, the key to this was the leadership of the specialized regional administration (at that time there was no ministerial rank yet) in the person of Gennady Ruksha - perhaps the last true professional of this level. The administration now has the position of Secretary of State - Chairman of the Committee on Public and Political Relations, to which Roman Solntsev was invited.
Using his authority among fellow writers, he managed to attract Eduard Rusakov and other writers to his work; many bright and useful projects- for example, a collection of children's creativity “Pegasus burst into the classroom.”
In 1993, the literary magazine “Day and Night” began to be published, which is still one of the best regional publications of its kind. The governor himself personally knew many cultural figures and was friends with artists.
Despite the development of the economy and general positive movement in other areas, Valery Zubov lost the 1998 elections.
As a rule, two main reasons are cited: lack of support from Norilsk and inability to find common language with farmers. If the first is true - complicated relations with the then management of Norilsk Nickel affected it - then one can argue with the second. Among the farmers there were many who supported Zubov: Veprev, Tolstikov, the head of Taiga Vasily Eremin and others.
The main reason for the defeat is not here. Marriages are known to be made in heaven. Zubov’s entire electoral “resource” was limited by his popularity within the region. There were no money bags at hand. And behind his rival, General Alexander Lebed, there was a whole pool of investors. Yes, some: Boris Berezovsky, Bidzina (then Boris) Ivanishvili (“Russian Credit”, he supported Lebed in the 1996 presidential elections). At the regional level, Anatoly Bykov played first fiddle, of course, for which he himself later paid.
Land under Lebed
You can name several distinctive features style of leadership of the region under Governor Lebed. The first is the absolute ignorance of the new officials (there are almost no old ones left) of the territory under their jurisdiction.
They tell it like an anecdote that is easy to believe: the head of one of the northern regions- either Motyginsky or Turukhansky - they ordered by telephone message to be at a meeting with the governor in two hours, and the head of the Berezovsky district, having been invited to the same meeting, was asked: in which hotel to book a room?
Secondly, the lack of interest in the region and the population, and most importantly, the reluctance to connect their future with this territory, allowed them to work on a rotational basis. The families of almost all gubernatorial deputies and heads of departments remained in the capital.
Third, most of the key figures in the leadership of the region under the general were on a business trip, the purpose of which was to actively participate in the redistribution of regional (and federal in the territory of the region) property.
A striking example is Svyatoslav Petrushko, who held the position of first deputy governor for economics. He didn’t really hide the fact that he was acting in the interests of the “Russian Credit” that sent him to the outback. One of the most striking episodes of his activity was the sale “at the price of a Moscow apartment” of a controlling stake in the Krasnoyarsk coal company to Sergei Generalov.
But if Krasnoyarsk coal, having changed owners many times and finally falling into the hands of Andrei Melnichenko, is still mined, and the regional treasury benefits from the activities of SUEK, then, for example, the unique Kraspharma plant with the active participation of Petrushko has remained a memory.
The list of enterprises that changed their “registration” from a regional one to a metropolitan or nonresident one, or even simply went bankrupt (“Sivinit”, “Sibelektro-stal...”) will be long. The result - to the sad outcome of Lebed's governorship, the region, in terms of economic indicators, fell below the 50th position in the all-Russian ranking.
Lebed entered the region as troops enter enemy territory. For him, the former leaders were not political rivals, but physical enemies who needed to be “cleaned out.” For most, such a “purge” resulted in loss of work, for some, imprisonment, and for some, death: former first deputy governor Vladimir Kuzmin died shortly after prison.
The business and political elite under Lebed virtually ceased to exist as a monolith. Some went into opposition (the “Our” bloc in the elections to the Legislative Assembly, the division along the lines of “ours - not ours” became more relevant than ever at that time), some hid, some secured their future by supporting the “Honor and Motherland” movement or simply joining into this, essentially, Lebed's party.
The governor-general (this nickname was given to him in absentia right away) did not particularly interfere in cultural processes, but fired Gennady Ruksha just in case. Lebed brought his colleague from Transnistria, literary critic Vladimir Polushin, as an adviser and person responsible for public relations. It was Polushin who became the catalyst for the split in the regional writers' organization, thanks to which the two unions - the Union of Russian Writers and the Union of Writers of Russia - still look at each other with distrust.
But there were also positive things. Under Lebed, the chief conductor of the symphony orchestra, Ivan Shpiller, returned to the region, having previously left Krasnoyarsk due to a scandal in the orchestra. Finally, the main and indisputable merit of General Lebed is the creation of a network of cadet corps and Mariinsky gymnasiums.
The region under Khloponin
If the rule of General Lebed made the region virtually ungovernable, then the arrival of Alexander Khloponin to the governor’s seat returned it to control very quickly. What was remarkable about his leadership?
Khloponin is characterized by project thinking. Under him, the region again, as during Zubov’s time, fit into the federal agenda.
The theme of the Lower Angara region, forgotten for a while, began to sound with renewed vigor. The Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum was born - by now its content has been greatly blurred, but the idea itself - to create in Krasnoyarsk not just a discussion platform for the exchange of opinions, but a space for developing strategic decisions important for the economy of the entire country - is already worth a lot. Here, the then president of the country, Dmitry Medvedev, publicly presented his program. Vladimir Putin attended the forum in two capacities.
Khloponin managed to convince the federal authorities that the first federal university should be created in Krasnoyarsk - and SFU came into being. It is also impossible to do without an amendment: the university did not become what it should have become, many mergers took place formally, forcefully, and most importantly, with a loss of quality. But the decline in the quality of education is rather a nationwide trend.
The redistribution of property under Khloponin continued, many enterprises came under the control of structures affiliated with Norilsk Nickel or with businesses controlled by the governor and his entourage.
The story of the actual seizure of the gold mining company Polyus, owned by Khazret Sovmen, is indicative. Mikhail Prokhorov, then a business partner of Vladimir Potanin and a friend of Alexander Khloponin, had his eye on the company. At the beginning of 2002, Prokhorov, through a former government official, a close friend of Sovmen, made an offer: to sell all 100% of the company's shares to him, Mikhail Prokhorov. Sovmen refused.
After Khloponin was elected governor, the proposal came from the same lips, but in new form. “Persuasion” played its role. Khazret Sovmen sold the company at a price significantly below the market price. In exchange, he was promised half of the shares of the future gold mining holding, but was never given anything.
But there were also local reasons - Norilsk began to pay more taxes to the treasury (a direct consequence of Khloponin’s governorship). Social problems were resolved and the construction industry revived.
Another important achievement (although not everyone is inclined to consider it an achievement) is that Khloponin acted as a “gatherer of lands.” The idea of a single region had been expressed before, but then, as the head of Taimyr, Alexander Gennadievich opposed the unification. Now the situation has changed, and he has become not just a supporter, but an initiator and apologist for the re-creation of a single region.
The attitude towards the governor on the part of the political elite has changed - she has come to life again. The opposition existed, but now it has become constructive, dissatisfaction with the actions of officials of the previous government became the basis for the formation and strengthening of the second branch of government as a significant and positive factor, and not just as a factor in restraining the greed of the oligarchs.
Khloponin demonstrated flexibility and mobility, or, as this property is also called, political variability, in many areas, including culture. At the beginning of his reign, he regaled the political elite with an invitation to a group called “Brilliant,” but at the end of his governorship he no longer allowed such stupidity.
Region under Kuznetsov
Lev Kuznetsov is remembered as the least expressive governor of the region. According to some information, before his shift in 2010, Alexander Khloponin put in a good word for his former first deputy The goal is to maintain edge control. No new projects were started under Kuznetsov; the region moved by inertia.
The governor did not particularly hide his lack of cordial affection for the region, despite the fact that his family was in Krasnoyarsk and the children studied at a local school. He behaved not so much as a governor, but as a businessman, and pursued his business interests. The history of the ILAN company and Transmost LLC, created within its structure, is indicative - specifically for the construction of bridges along federal program development of the Lower Angara region.
Without going into details, the story of the bankruptcy of Transmost and the departure of ILAN from the market is the story of how an empty wallet is thrown away as unnecessary. It was precisely the role of a purse for the top officials of the regional government that both structures played.
Before landing in the governor's chair, a controlling stake in Transmost LLC belonged to Kuznetsov. Having become the head of the region, he handed it over to Yuri Martsenko, who died in 2014 near Courchevel. But it was clear: Lev Kuznetsov retained control over the road-building and bridge-building company even without a controlling stake. With his appointment as Minister of Affairs North Caucasus both companies soon ceased to exist.
An equally striking episode of that time was the publicized fact of the diversion of a significant part of the budget money allocated for the repair of electrical networks and housing and communal services. We were talking about billions that ended up in the pockets of a narrow circle of people close to the regional leadership.
As for the economy, Lev Vladimirovich’s four-year governorship was not marked by anything else.
One positive thing to note is the Universiade 2019 banner. It was raised when he was the head of the region. Two Asia-Pacific festivals (ATF festival) were also held in 2012 and 2014. But this event is traditional, planned, calendar. It would be strange if it didn't happen.
Region under Tolokonsky
Viktor Tolokonsky, the former presidential envoy to the Siberian Federal District, who was appointed governor after Kuznetsov, did not change the trend established under Kuznetsov. He demonstrated even more openly his reluctance to commit future fate with the fate of the region and its population.
Outwardly, he built relationships both with the legislative branch and with officials who retained their positions from previous times. But in reality, he did not represent anyone’s interests other than his own. However, as one political scientist said, if governors in Russia were removed for bad work or self-interest, two thirds of the country would be left without leaders.
Tolokonsky's style of government was exclusively cabinet-based - this is strange for the former mayor of Novosibirsk, regional governor and representative of the president. At the same time, he often left his office, often traveled around the region - more often than most previous heads - and invariably returned from a business trip with a legislative initiative.
For the most part, such initiatives boiled down to the need to adopt standard universal acts characteristic of any territory of the region. In other words, there was no need to look into every barn in order to globally change the conditions for keeping livestock in order to increase milk yield. In fact, such trips for the governor were more like excursions.
The main disadvantage is the continuation of the policy of financial borrowing and increasing the region's public debt.
Of the undoubted advantages regarding the development of the region’s economy, some note the adoption of the region’s development strategy until 2030. The document was indeed adopted under Tolokonsky. But it was developed earlier, even under Lev Kuznetsov, was actively discussed on the Internet, and received abundant criticism - despite this, Tolokonsky insisted on its adoption. According to some experts, the main advantage of the strategy is in the “fundamental basis”: now any decision of any branch of government must be correlated with the region’s development strategy.
The main “achievement” of Viktor Alexandrovich in culture, which is still being reaped, is the Minister of Culture Elena Mironenko. The governor was captivated by the creative style of behavior of her subordinate, which today determines the development of the culture of the region.
On the other hand, in this area there is a significant plus - an achievement without quotation marks: on the initiative of the director of the Philharmonic, Yulia Kulakova, Tolokonsky invited Vladimir Lande to the position of chief conductor of the Krasnoyarsk Academic Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra sounded new, the musicians came to life after many years of incompetent musical leadership.
After his “voluntary” resignation, returning to Novosibirsk, Viktor Aleksandrovich publicly stated that Novosibirsk, thank God, is not Krasnoyarsk. What is true is true.
Gennady VASILIEV
DELA.ru
