Who has mastered the Bashkir fuel and energy complex now is no secret to anyone. But who owned the factories and how after they were "privatized" from Bashkiria by the Rakhimov family - this is a big mystery, which is gradually being solved by authorized bodies. One of the links in the chain is the creation of certain "charitable societies" such as Ural-Invest LLC, with the help of which the ends were allegedly hidden in the water. What kind of societies they are, what kind of charity and in whose favor they were engaged - is no secret to anyone. One such object of charitable assistance - the simulator Rakhimov Jr. - is lying down in Estonia, hiding from trial in the case of Izmestyev .
The other is sitting like an owl in the Ufa White House, waiting until Vladimir Vladimirovich with Dmitry Anatolyevich they will kick him into the dustbin of history, picking up a convenient moment.
Now, on the eve of the Nuremberg trials, the details are interesting - who are these nameless heroes of the deals on the privatization of oil refineries, what kind of colossal billionaires-for-an-hour substituted their violent little heads under criminal cases in order to serve Ural Murtazovich in the plundering of national wealth. Not created by him and not by his father, but built by the whole country.
What kind of gasket offices are these: Elektro-Svyaz LLC, SpetsServiceRemont LLC, SintezMekhanik LLC, Novoil-Avtomatika LLC, with an authorized capital of a miserable 10,000 (ten thousand!) Rubles, owned huge enterprises that bring tens and hundreds of billions of profits?
And what kind of wonderful people are these, the generous directors of these ooo-shek, Mr. Yury Vladimirovich Kochetov, Yusup Mukhaisinovich Mirsaitov, Albert Zainullovich Rashitov, Fidus Gadelyanovich Nasibullin, who, without agreeing, but only out of a spiritual outburst, contributed to the so-called charitable foundations of the Urals Rakhimov huge contributions of 10 billion rubles?
son in chocolate
"Bashkir Capital" Rakhimov Jr.
“For him, first of all, I am the head of the republic and only then - the father” - this phrase is rumored to have been uttered by the President of Bashkiria Murtaza Rakhimov, when he deprived his own son Ural of the “donated” assets. But his father's feelings turned out to be stronger: as soon as the family drama was resolved, the redistribution of property in the republic ended in an instant.
Modern Russia does not yet know precedents when a regional (and in general any) leader would be eager to deprive his children of business assets, returning them to state ownership. The conflict between Murtaza Rakhimov and his son called into question the 2003 deals on the privatization of the main enterprises of the fuel and energy complex of the republic, which came under the control of Rakhimov Jr.'s Bashkir Capital LLC. The price of the issue is about 10% of all Russian oil refining, the entire electric power industry of the region and 98% of the retail market of oil products in Bashkiria. For several months, trials were going on in the arbitration courts of Bashkiria, as a result of which the empire of Ural Rakhimov was melting before our eyes. […]
But those who saw in the conflict not a redistribution of property, but only a public “flogging of the prodigal son” turned out to be right. “All this family showdown will end peacefully, and the Urals will remain with their own,” said Salavat, a taxi driver in Ufa, when the conflict between the two Rakhimovs was still in full swing. “The only son, whatever he may be, is still a son.”
Unthorny path
Rakhimov Jr. decided to connect his labor activity, like his father, with oil refining. True, if the path of Rakhimov Sr. was rather thorny - after all, he began his career as a plant operator at the Novoufimsky Oil Refinery and only after many years he headed this enterprise, then rumor connected the success of his son with the merits of his father. To begin with, he helped the Urals get a specialized education at the Ufa Petroleum University and the French Institute of Petroleum. And having taken the post of president of Bashkiria, Rakhimov Sr. allowed his son to become the main "helmsman" of the Bashkir fuel and energy complex. With the participation of the former chief accountant of the largest Bashkir Petrochemical Company (BNKhK) in the republic, Valery Speransky, whom many called the financial genius of Bashkiria (shot dead in 2001, the case has not been solved), Ural Rakhimov reorganized the business at four Ufa plants, concentrating financial and material flows on controlled him OOO. As a result, many reputable top managers of factories, who raised their business in the early 90s in the face of shortages in raw materials, lost their jobs. They were replaced by owners of another important quality - the ability to unquestioningly obey the new boss. Rakhimov Jr. himself, which is noteworthy, at that moment did not formally hold managerial positions at the enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, being listed only as a consultant. The "consultations" did not end there, and a few years later Ural Rakhimov began (in fact, if not formally) to manage assets worth several billion dollars. […]
About the benefits of education
There are legends about the influence of Ural Rakhimov in the republic led by his father. […] At the same time, they say that Rakhimov Jr. is a good manager and very intellectual. Friends of the Urals also note his temper, eccentricity and selfishness. “He inherited his temper from his father. At the same time, from childhood I got used to getting everything without fail, ”an acquaintance of Rakhimov Jr. said. “And the conflict between father and son is just a consequence of the upbringing and excessive love of the parent.” Rakhimov Sr., like any workaholic, spent little time with his son. Basically, the little Ural was raised by his mother, Louise Rakhimova. Therefore, in order to compensate for the lack of attention, Rakhimov Sr., as is often the case in such families, until recently, always indulged his son in his whims. Employees of Bashneft still cannot forget the moment when Ural Rakhimov took over as chairman of the board of directors of this company. Having entered a luxurious "Stalinist" building in the center of Ufa - the head office of an oil company is located there - and occupying an entire wing of one of the floors of a massive building, the newly-minted head forbade employees to use the front entrance (however, this was a fairly common manner among the "Soviet" party nomenclature before , there is nothing extraordinary in this). As a result, Bashneft managers were forced to enter their workplaces through an emergency entrance. For quite a long time, the Urals walked almost alone along the stairs, corridors and halls of the building - they, of course, were hastily repaired - until they moved out to their new residence - a low office building in the historical center of Ufa. […] However, these are still flowers. They say that it was the position of Ural Rakhimov that largely predetermined the participation of Murtaza Rakhimov in the last elections of the head of the republic: “The son insisted that his father once again put forward his candidacy, although Rakhimov Sr. thought for a very long time whether to go or not. Age (at that time he was 69 years old), psychological and physical fatigue made themselves felt, because he had ruled the republic for 13 years.” But the father went to the polls - and won, which became for his son a guarantee of control over the local fuel and energy complex. There is, however, another circumstance that Moscow political scientists for some reason do not take into account. According to associates of Rakhimov Sr., he went to the polls in 2003 also because "he does not know what he will do when he leaves the presidency." According to people close to the president: “Murtaza has one problem - he has no grandchildren because of his son's family disorder. The president is very worried about this, and this is the eternal topic of contradictions between him and his son. If he had grandchildren, he would probably devote the rest of his life to them. And if the Urals were the father, the conflict, most likely, would not have happened.
Turn around, son!
But instead of pleasing his father with the continuation of the family, Ural Rakhimov still played on his favorite string, striving to gain more and more power: he lobbied as best he could for the promotion of “his own” to the government of Bashkiria, the State Assembly and the city council of Ufa. And at some point - and this was confirmed by sources in the administration of Murtaza Rakhimov - the interests of the Urals began to run counter to the goals of the executive branch of Bashkiria. For example, in the fall of 2004, without any consultations with the leadership of Bashkiria (read: Murtaza Rakhimov), the Urals tried to negotiate with representatives of the Kremlin administration, which supported in the local elections ... Murtaza Rakhimov's opponent Sergei Veremeenko, on the creation of the Gazprompererabotka company based on Rosneft , oil assets "Gazprom", and three Ufa refineries. “The president’s son has never worked for anyone, and therefore such a tandem energy enterprises was doomed to failure from the very beginning, - considers the interlocutor close to the leadership of the fuel and energy complex of Bashkiria. “Although this step on the part of the Urals is dictated precisely by the desire to protect itself from the possible restitution of the enterprises of the Bashkir fuel and energy complex.” This version is also supported by the fact that, according to unofficial data, the transfer of fuel and energy complex assets under the control of Bashkir Capital in 2003 also took place in order to ensure the inviolability of these assets from a hostile takeover by Moscow FIGs in the event Rakhimov Sr. lost in the elections. the President of the Republic. The local elite assumed that if the banker Sergei Veremeenko (co-owner of Mezhprombank) or the former vice president were elected president of the Republic of Belarus, "LUKOIL" Senator Ralif Safin, control over the fuel and energy complex will eventually be in the hands of structures friendly to the winner of the elections. The climax of the family drama occurred later - it happened at the end of February at a session of the Bashkir parliament. Then a group of deputies from the fuel and energy complex, headed by deputy Ural Rakhimov, tried to remove Konstantin Tolkachev (a creature of Murtaza Rakhimov) from the post of chairman of the parliament and put Rakhimov Jr. in his place. And only because of the intervention of Murtaza himself, the "conspirators" did not succeed in their plan. To begin with, the president of Bashkiria delivered a revealing speech to the deputies from the fuel and energy complex. And soon he began an open campaign to return the blocks of shares controlled by Bashkir Capital to the ownership of the republican authorities. As the people said - "punished the presumptuous son." The authorities of the republic have filed more than a dozen lawsuits with the Arbitration Court of Bashkiria against the participants in the privatization of state-owned stakes, demanding that the share purchase agreements be declared invalid. Why did the son of Murtaza Rakhimov dare to make such a demarche in the local parliament? According to the Deputy Chairman of the State Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Salavat Kusimov, what Ural Rakhimov wanted to do is “absurd”: “I don’t know what he hoped for, even if he managed to dismiss Tolkachev, he doesn’t care to hold his candidacy for the post of speaker would hardly have succeeded due to the complexity of the appointment procedure.” Nevertheless, Rakhimov Jr. simply could not resist the temptation to become the speaker of the State Assembly or to lead his man there. According to the law, it is the local parliament that in 2008 will approve the new head of Bashkiria, and it should be noted that in the national republics the political weight of the local legislative body is much higher than the average for Russia. Ural Rakhimov also had other arguments for a daring act. One of them is disbelief in the power of one's own father. As many note, Murtaza Rakhimov no longer has the support of the Kremlin, with the help of which in 2003 he was able to defend the status of President of the Republic of Belarus. It is worth recalling that at that time only patronage Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Alexander Voloshin helped Murtaza Rakhimov win the second round of the Bashkir elections. But, according to an interlocutor from the administration of the President of Bashkiria, having dared to demarche, “the Urals miscalculated in two things: he obviously did not expect his father to turn his back on him, and even more so, he did not think that the scandal would come out, become public.” It is readily believed in: after all, Bashkiria is a region with oriental traditions, where many decisions are made behind the scenes. “The entourage of the president persuaded Rakhimov Sr. to abandon the “public flogging” of deputies at the upcoming session of the State Assembly. But Murtaza took into account the opinion of the head of the administration, Radiy Khabirov, and agreed with those people from the administration who advocated public exposure of the deputies from the fuel and energy complex,” the source says.
Dads of this answer
Few doubted the outcome of the lawsuits: Ural Rakhimov gradually turned into a disgraced oligarch. In mid-May, the court declared null and void the contracts for the sale and purchase of shares in Bashneft and Bashkirenergo concluded by Bashkir Capital. And just a month ago, the head of the press service of the President of Bashkiria, Rostislav Murzagulov, answering a question about the fate of the disputed assets managed by Rakhimov Jr., stated: “The President of the Republic of Belarus stressed that within two months the courts of first instance would decide the benefit of the state. And their decisions will strengthen the position of the state within the framework of the law and in other judicial instances.” But the outcome of the Bashkir drama turned out to be much more unexpected than its beginning. In June, there were reports that the Ministry of Property of Bashkiria suddenly withdrew from the court a lawsuit to declare null and void contracts for the sale of blocks of shares previously owned by the government of Bashkiria in four Ufa plants and OAO Bashkirnefteprodukt to structures of OOO Bashkir Capital, controlled by Ural Rakhimov. The parties agreed to conclude a settlement agreement. According to the information, it is likely that the son of the president of Bashkiria will continue to control all his assets (including the "selected" Bashneft and Bashkirenergo). True, he will have to pay decently for this. According to unofficial data, the sum of all transactions carried out in 2003 will be increased from 13.5 billion rubles to 27 billion rubles. It is noteworthy that the amount of the additional payment coincides with the claims that were made in 2003 to Bashkir Capital by the Accounts Chamber - this is the amount, according to the auditors, that the treasury missed during the privatization process. The "payoff" will be transferred to the accounts of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus and state-owned "dummy" enterprises BTK and BNKhK.
“An official from the presidential administration of the Republic of Belarus said that such an unexpected turn of events occurred after the disgraced Ural Rakhimov, after a months-long break, himself initiated a meeting with his father. What happened between relatives who again found themselves face to face is not known for certain. But the experts' assumptions boil down to a simple thing: the son humanly apologized. It is also known that in exchange for the inviolability of property, Rakhimov Jr. refused once and for all, at least during the reign of his father, to interfere in political processes within the republic. However, as the interlocutor notes, unexpected paternal kindness was also spurred on by purely economic reasons. Rakhimov Sr. understood that the situation was getting out of his control. Thus, during the conflict, vassals of large oil companies constantly visited the Bashkir corridors of power (according to the available information, they represented the interests of LUKOIL and TNK-BP), hoping in " Time of Troubles» to become the new owners of the Bashkir fuel and energy complex. This categorically did not suit Murtaza Rakhimov, who always opposes the transformation of Bashkiria into a "pocket" region: with the advent of any Moscow FIG, the republic would lose its already shaken economic sovereignty. True, by promising not to interfere in politics, Ural Rakhimov lost, albeit speculative, the chance to become his father's successor as president of Bashkiria. The father himself never seriously considered his son in such a capacity - after all, Ural Rakhimov is a very controversial figure in political circles and is not very loved by the Bashkir people, who, unlike politicians, determined long before the conflict was resolved how it would end. The interests of children, whatever they may be, are always paramount for parents. And the current denouement is an example of this.
Rakhimov Murtaza Gubaidullovich
RAKHIMOV Murtaza Gubaidullovich- (b. February 7, 1934, village of Tavakanovo, Kugarchinsky district, Bashkiria), Russian statesman, president of Bashkiria (since 1993, re-elected in 1998, re-elected for a third term in 2003). In 1956 he graduated from the Ufa Oil Institute. In 1956 90 on ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Rakhimov, Murtaza Gubaidullovich- President of the Republic of Bashkortostan since December 1993 (re-elected in 1998), Chairman of the Presidential Council and Chairman of the Security Council of the Republic of Bashkortostan; was born on February 7, 1934 in the village of Tavakanovo, Kugarchinsky district ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia
RAKHIMOV Murtaza Gubaidullovich- (b. 1934) Russian statesman, since 1993 President of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Bashkiria). In 1956 90 at the Ufa oil refinery he went from plant operator to plant director. In 1990, 93 Chairman of the Supreme Council ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Murtaza Gubaidullovich Rakhimov- head. Mortaza Ғөbәyҙulla uly Rakhimov ... Wikipedia
Rakhimov, Murtaza- Murtaza Gubaidullovich Rakhimov head. Mortaza Ғөbәyҙulla uly Rakhimov ... Wikipedia
Murtaza Gubaidullovich Rakhimov- was born on February 7, 1934 in the village of Tavakanovo, Kugarchinsky district. After graduating from the Ufa Oil College in 1956, he worked as an operator at the Ufa Oil Refinery. From 1960 to 1976 he worked at Ufimsky ... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
Rakhimov, Murtaza- Former President of the Republic of Bashkortostan President of the Republic of Bashkortostan (elected in 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2006, resigned in July 2010). Chairman of the Council of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Chairman of the Presidential Council of the Republic ... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
Russian politician, President of the Republic of Bashkortostan from 1993 to 2010
Biography
M. G. Rakhimov was born in the village of Tavakanovo, Kugarchinsky District, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Bashkir. Father, Gubaidulla Zufarovich Rakhimov, after the war worked as the chairman of a number of farms and in 1956 was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
In 1956 he graduated from the Ufa Petroleum College and began working as an operator at the Ufa Oil Refinery.
In 1964, on the job, he graduated from the Ufa Oil Institute (evening form of education).
From 1960 to 1976, he worked at the Ufa Oil Refinery as a plant manager, deputy shop manager, deputy production manager, deputy chief engineer for start-up and adjustment of new production facilities.
From 1976 to 1978 he worked as chief chemist - deputy chief engineer, from 1978 to 1986 - chief engineer, and from 1986 to 1990 - director of the plant.
He was elected a People's Deputy of the USSR and a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a People's Deputy of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Ufa City Council of People's Deputies.
From 1990 to 1993 - Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Bashkortostan. During this period, the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the Republic of Bashkortostan was adopted (October 11, 1990 - its effect was subsequently cancelled), the Federal Treaty and the Appendix to the Federal Treaty from the Republic of Bashkortostan (March 31, 1992), the new Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan (24 December 1993).
In August 1991, he initially supported the State Emergency Committee, but after the suppression of the putsch, he announced his withdrawal from the CPSU and the support of Russian President Yeltsin.
On December 12, 1993, he was popularly elected the first president of the Republic of Bashkortostan, gaining 63% of the vote. During the first presidential term, the Treaty was signed Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan on the delimitation of jurisdiction and mutual delegation of powers between the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the state authorities of the Republic of Bashkortostan (August 3, 1994).
In 1993-2001, he was ex officio a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, and later a member of the State Council of the Russian Federation.
On December 21, 2003, in accordance with the Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation”, M. G. Rakhimov, having collected 78.01% of the votes in the second round, was elected President of the Republic of Bashkortostan for the third time. His opponent Sergei Veremeenko was supported by 15.84% of voters.
In mid-September 2006, he raised the issue of confidence before Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of schedule. On October 5, Vladimir Putin submitted his candidacy to the Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan for approval for a new term. On October 10, 2006, deputies of the State Assembly - Kurultai of the Republic of Bashkortostan vested Murtaza Rakhimov with presidential powers for a new five-year term.
On July 12, 2010, M. G. Rakhimov, at a meeting with the head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, Sergei Naryshkin, announced his intention to leave his post ahead of schedule.
On July 15, 2010, President of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev accepted the resignation of M. Rakhimov from the post of President of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Since October 22, 2010, he has been Chairman of the Board of the URAL Charitable Foundation, which controls 63 billion rubles from the sale of OAO ANK Bashneft, Ufa oil refineries and OAO Bashkirnefteprodukt in 2009.
Family
Wife - Louise Galimovna. Son - Ural Rakhimov.
Awards
state:
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class (July 15, 2010) - for a great contribution to the socio-economic development of the republic and many years of fruitful state activity
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree (April 18, 1999) - for his great personal contribution to the strengthening and development of Russian statehood, friendship and cooperation between peoples
- Certificate of Honor of the President of the Russian Federation (February 7, 2009) - for a great contribution to the socio-economic development of the republic and many years of conscientious work
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1986)
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (February 4, 1994) - for merits in implementing economic reforms and a great contribution to the development of cooperation between the peoples of Russia
- Order of the Badge of Honor (1980)
- award pistol PM (1999)
- nominal pistol PM (November 11, 2004) - from the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, "for assistance in solving the tasks assigned to the armed forces of Russia"
During the years that Murtaza Rakhimov was in power, a lot of political events took place in the country, a series of various reforms swept through, a whole galaxy of Russian politicians changed. For the first time, Mr. Rakhimov was elected the head of the region in December 1993, and since 1990 he led Bashkiria as chairman of the Supreme Council of the BASSR.
Rakhimov "survived" such political heavyweights as Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, and survived during the presidency of Vladimir Putin. I hoped in October 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my political activity. But it didn't work out.
Rakhimov was called a cunning politician, skillfully using Eastern intrigues when it comes to the struggle of interests. Indeed, behind the seeming ardor of the Bashkir president lies calculation and composure, behind external simplicity - a natural mind and deep versatile knowledge. In essence, he is a centrist who equally distanced himself from the lobby of political mastodons and oligarchs, and radicals screaming about a special path for the republic. He always managed to use the influence of the former and cool the hot heads of the latter. But the diplomatic talent for reconciling the interests of various clans, political elites and industrial groups faltered in June 2010, when the president was persuaded to take part in the world kurultai of the Bashkirs. At the national forum, they began to express views bordering on extremist. The presence of the first person at such an odious event in the Kremlin was regarded as an outright escapade. And they decided not to reckon with democratic principles that guarantee freedom of speech to every Russian, without letting down frank attacks.
But Murtaza Rakhimov also showed his skill as a negotiator here and left of his own accord, receiving from Dmitry Medvedev the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, first degree. Only 32 people were holders of the highest Russian award, such as Eduard Rossel, Boris Yeltsin, Yuri Luzhkov, Mintimer Shaimiev, Jacques Chirac, Yegor Stroev, Leonid Kuchma, Alexy II, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Evgeny Primakov. Murtaza Rakhimov became the 33rd in this list.
Dmitry Medvedev thanked Murtaza Rakhimov on behalf of the Russian state for many years of fruitful work as the head of the Republic of Belarus, noting that the Bashkir president did a lot for the development of the region, "especially in the 90s." The Bashkir leader at the meeting with the head of state was smiling and cheerful.
“I will support and help,” Mr. Rakhimov agreed to the request of the head of state “to the best of my ability to continue to serve my republic and Russia.”
Later, he told reporters that he "is retiring, but will help the new president on a voluntary basis."
“I'm not going anywhere,” he said. - Although there were many proposals. I want to be useful here, where I was born.
Murtaza Rakhimov clearly understood that his departure from the post of head of the republic was inevitable. Yes, and adviser to the President of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Lavrentiev recently stated that "Rakhimov will not stay for another term, because he does not want to."
- Do you remember how Putin said that as head of state he worked like a "slave in the galleys"? Mr. Lavrentiev explained. - The schedule of the Bashkir president is no better, without any holidays, without days off.
“It is not easy to work from seven in the morning until midnight,” Murtaza Rakhimov confirmed at the Kurultai session on Monday, where the new head of the republic was approved. - And how many kilometers I traveled through the villages and cities of the republic, and do not count! Some officials fly in helicopters, but I want to tell you that every person, whether he is a president or not, must walk the earth, and then the people will love you.
And yet, even while waiting for his resignation, Mr. Rakhimov took his departure painfully. On the day when his fate was decided, he did not appear at the extraordinary meeting of the Kurultai, although the deputies were waiting for him. On the morning of July 16, when Mr. Khamitov, who had already taken up his duties, met with representatives of the media and public figures, Mr. Rakhimov was in the White House and did not intend to go out to the people.
You can understand the President of Bashkiria. In front of the State Assembly building, on Thursday, the oppositionists, excited by the upcoming changes, pitched a tent with a poster "Good riddance". And the reluctance to go under the whistle and hooting of merciless opponents is quite understandable. While the deputies of the State Assembly were sitting, Murtaza Rakhimov handed out awards to mothers of many children. Realizing that this is the last time. But he smiled and made compliments to village mothers who were breathless with the joy of communicating with the first person. However, Rakhimov knows how to take a hit. He proved this more than once during his twenty years of political activity.
“It’s better to leave on time,” he explained at the Kurultai meeting, which approved Rustem Khamitov as president. Everyone probably understands how I feel. But I am not ashamed before the people of Bashkortostan.
By the way, journalists note that Murtaza Gubaidullovich is not only easy to communicate with, but also a real “showman” who knows how to defuse the atmosphere of any protracted official meeting or formalized event.
Once, when awarding mothers of many children, one of the lucky ones rushed to the president and drummed out a memorized text, they say, solely thanks to the personal care of Rakhimov and the mayor of the city where she came from, the woman gave birth to five offspring. The compilers of the bravura speech, using the usual bureaucratic turns, did not notice the playful ambiguity.
“Wait, wait,” laughed Murtaza Gubaidullovich. “I don’t know about your mayor, but I definitely didn’t participate in the process.
On another occasion, Mr. Rakhimov said to one of the medalists who declared her love for him:
- You do not love me, you love your husband better, and then everything will be fine in your family.
By the way, it was Rakhimov, when no one thought about it in Moscow, who revived the Mother's Glory medal and forced the government to annually allocate money to women who decided to have three or more children.
In addition to purely human, Murtaza Rakhimov also has remarkable political charm. Probably, only he knows what it took to convince Vladimir Putin to declare the 450th anniversary of the voluntary entry of Bashkiria into Russia a holiday of federal significance. Thanks to the preparations for this anniversary, a new ice arena was erected in Ufa, a hippodrome, a railway station and an airport were reconstructed, a Congress Hall was built, and old houses with a total area of 15,163 thousand square meters were demolished. In addition, many roads were repaired, eight interchanges were erected, and the Ufa-Airport highway became six lanes.
“Having closely communicated with Rakhimov Sr., I can confirm that in personal communication he is a practical champion in charm among Russian politicians,” says well-known political observer Mikhail Rostovsky. - For many years, the inhabitants of the Kremlin were "prisoners" of the personal magic of the President of Bashkiria.
When the director of the oil refinery abruptly began to gain political points, he annoyed many. And especially the nomenklatura elite, which is rapidly losing power. Bashkir party functionaries in the early 90s considered Rakhimov an upstart.
Still would! Indeed, in the midst of perestroika, the director of an oil refinery, and at that time the largest in Europe, dared to “have his own judgment”, publishing seditious thoughts in a party publication that “we managed to create a system with an even greater degree of alienation of a person from property than capitalism” . Rakhimov walked through the office workers, who do not know how to communicate with people, and through the luxurious apartments where party bosses sit.
- He did not like us, former regional party workers, - the ex-employee of the regional committee of the BASSR once sighed in an interview. - Although he was a member of the CPSU, and at one time was a member of the regional committee. Sometimes I wanted to give him a good punch. And then he turned out to be wider and more than just a production worker. The politician was...
However, the Kremlin officials, who are building a rigid vertical of power, have not been able to interrupt Rakhimov's desire to tell the truth. Last year, in a newspaper interview, Murtaza Rakhimov allowed himself to sharply criticize United Russia.
“People who have not commanded even three chickens are trying to steer the party. Can it be so? Mr. Rakhimov asked a question. In his opinion, the State Duma, the Federation Council and the whole country as a whole allowed a departure from democracy in their work: “...I am very worried that the country is gradually moving away from democratization processes. Let's take the State Duma. Is this parliament? It's embarrassing to watch! The population laughs when they vote in an empty hall, as if playing a piano.”
The reaction followed immediately. Andrey Isaev, a member of the Bureau of the Supreme Council of United Russia, said that Murtaza Rakhimov could be expelled from the party. But then it worked out - Boris Gryzlov disavowed the scandal, saying that party members "certainly have not only the right, but also the obligation to express their opinion" through the media. The second time, Rakhimov was not forgiven for his frankness.
Knowledgeable people they assure that the strong character of Rakhimov and his ability to control himself come from production.
“It's no joke to work for more than thirty years in the leading, but riskiest, not for the faint of heart industry: oil refining and petrochemistry,” they say. - Constantly in the literal and figurative sense, sitting, if not on a barrel of gunpowder, then with gasoline, and at the same time not to be exhausted - this is where the skill to go against difficulties comes from.
Surprisingly, Rakhimov himself never considered himself a politician, assuring that he was one of "strong business executives."
“I am not an idealist, I am a pure pragmatist,” he admitted. - I come from a peasant, and then a working environment. At the age of 10, during the Great Patriotic War, I was already working on a collective farm. Then at the plant, he went from worker to director and never had any relation to the party elite. I am a production worker to the core.
It's no secret that Rakhimov was a tough leader. For example, despite the fact that “democracy” was rampant on the territory of Russia, in Bashkiria, starting from 1993, the heads of cities and regions were not elected, but were appointed by decree of the head of the region.
They say it's illegal. I believe that this is legitimate,” Mr. Rakhimov assured. - At least I am sure that in the chair of the head there is a competent, and not a random person.
Interestingly, in 2004 President Vladimir Putin also came to this conclusion, de facto announcing a return to the appointment of heads of regions.
According to the head of the region, he did not dream of a political career at all.
“I never expected that I would leave production,” Rakhimov said about his coming to power. — A technocrat by nature, grew up through the ranks, and pinned all his hopes on the oil industry. But when perestroika was announced, he fervently believed in the coming changes. And she stalled, stuck in a verbal husk. Therefore, when the plant staff nominated me to the people's deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, not without hesitation, of course, but agreed. During the election campaign, having traveled around the districts, I discovered such layers of problems that there was no doubt left - we must take part in resolving them ourselves. Although I could not even imagine that my, in fact, standard, life path would lead to the presidency, not an easy one, by the way.
As much dirt as over the past 10 years has poured out on the Internet on Rakhimov, probably not a single Russian governor has received. Moreover, the electronic media, and after them the print media, “wet” the president of Bashkiria, sometimes simply out of habit or because writing and saying nasty things about the head of the republic had become a kind of fashionable journalistic trend, and it was considered bad taste not to comply with it. Who set this fashion is also clear. Over the 20 years of ruling the region, a sharp and not shy politician made a lot of enemies for himself, and it was strange if a leader of such a magnitude had no enemies. And given that the donor region was of interest to various industrial groups, it has become a habit for many to dump dirt in the direction of Rakhimov.
Murtaza Rakhimov himself always believed: no matter what they tell or write, he is not going to refute anything.
“They were paid money, so they write,” he explained the dislike of journalists for his person.
PR people were knocked off their feet, proving to the head of the republic that it was necessary to place a "reprisal strike" in the central media. When Rakhimov was told the amount that should be spent on an honest name, Murtaza Gubaidullovich objected with peasant thrift:
- Why? You can buy two tractors with this money.
No matter how cunning Murtaza Gubaidullovich is, denying himself political intuition, time proves the opposite.
In particular, Mr. Rakhimov has always said that one should not refuse the good, born under the Soviet regime. And then, when collective farms were dispersed in the country, veterans were poured with contempt, homelessness was bred and the defense industry was converted, I tried to think about people. Economic redistribution was going on all over Russia, and in Bashkiria they were looking for opportunities to give benefits to pensioners, allocated money to peasant farms and loans for housing to young families, helped defense enterprises, repaired pioneer camps, maintained a system of vocational education and created youth organizations. Then, a decade later, the Bashkir experience will be adopted by the new leaders of the country, developing federal programs to support the "social sector" and the defense industry, in fact, copying what has long been working in the republic.
By the way, Rakhimov still adheres to the credo expressed by the director of the oil refinery back in 1990.
“It makes no difference to a person what the socio-economic system is called, in what state he lives,” Murtaza Rakhimov wrote in Sovetskaya Bashkiria 20 years ago. - It is important what is the role of a person in production, how the public property is distributed among producers, whether they are provided with enough comfortable conditions in social terms.
The head of the republic expressed similar thoughts two decades later.
Possessing a peaceful and gentle character, the first Bashkir president was calm about the legends and conjectures growing around his name.
Only in 2005, when certain interested forces, using PR technologies, spread the rumor about the death of the first person, Rakhimov, with his inherent sense of humor, told his relatives:
- They say that I died, but I don’t even have any pain.
By the way, knowledgeable doctors noted that for his age, the Bashkir president feels great and he can be diagnosed as actually healthy. The only thing that torments the head of the region is a runny nose, which is most likely of an allergic nature.
According to Mr. Rakhimov, in public policy There are no "little things".
— We fundamentally support any innovation that can make life easier ordinary people he says. — You can't build a paradise in a single republic, but you can reduce social tension. Take, for example, pre-holiday agricultural fairs in major cities. They tried to ridicule us: they returned the “red carts”. But if earlier such things were arranged for show, now carts go to the squares of cities that are assigned to the districts, and without intermediaries, they sell products directly from the cars, receiving "live" money. And the townspeople benefit - these goods are 30 percent cheaper than in stores. I myself find time and walk the rows with pleasure, and I will not hide, I am pleased to hear gratitude from people.
Indeed, the head of the region always listened with pleasure to the kind words that the villagers said to him.
Why do they say people don't like me? he was genuinely surprised. “People only say nice things to me.
The president's business trips to the regions were almost weekly. The heads of the districts crawled out of their own skin in order to have time to lay asphalt or paint the bridge before the arrival of the first person. Rakhimov, of course, saw both fresh paint and the road smoking from wet bitumen.
- And what's wrong with the fact that by the time I arrive they will do what they have to do, or they forgot to do it or did not want to? he said about such officials. “People don’t care what motives the head of the district has repaired the road, the main thing is what he did.
It is curious that the prototype of the Russian Accounts Chamber also first appeared in Bashkiria. State control exists even now, bringing to light those who put their hand into the republican treasury.
“This structure was created on my initiative,” said Rakhimov. - But not at all because I like to "clamp" the leaders. But I must be sure that the budget money goes to the person to whom it is intended: doctors and teachers. And if you stole, then answer according to the law, despite past merits.
The law "On the fight against corruption" was born on Bashkir soil long before the federal law - back in 1996. They say that at first the vote on this bill was secret - and the parliamentarians rolled the document.
— How so? - Murtaza Rakhimov was indignant and ordered to make the voting open. The law was passed unanimously.
The Bashkir president was always worried about the collapse of the Soviet Union and considered it a "big historical mistake."
- The Union had to be reformed, but not destroyed, - this is how he saw post-Soviet history. - I, a “sovereignty”, who, according to many, only “dreams of escaping from Russia”, still have tears in my eyes when I hear the music of the anthem of the Soviet Union. After all, the friendship of peoples really existed. And you can go on holiday anywhere.
Murtaza Rakhimov's wife, Louise Galimovna, is now retired, she worked all her life at the research institute, and she met the future president at the oil institute, where they studied together. It is said that Louise conquered the groom with her long braids, and the future president of the bride - a sense of humor and high growth.
Mr. Rakhimov himself recalled that as soon as he drew attention to the beauty, he did not let anyone close to her. Luiza Rakhimova, together with her husband, went through all the stages of his career - from the operator at the Ufa oil refinery to the director of this production.
Housemates recall that Luiza Galimovna is a simple woman who, like everyone else, stood in lines for meat in the Soviet years.
And even now the wife of the ex-president of the republic dresses modestly - many tailors would be happy to receive an order from her, but, according to Louise Galimovna, she did not find a common language with them and prefers to wear ready-made clothes classical style. And she appeared in public with her husband only when the protocol required it.
Somehow, journalists asked Murtaza Rakhimov how his wife feels about his almost round-the-clock work, is she trying to keep him at home at least on weekends?
“She knows me too well and for a long time to take such steps,” he replied. “It's not easy being a member of the president's family, and I understand the burden that falls on her shoulders.
In 2009, the President of Bashkiria was the first of the republican officials to publish information about income. According to the latest income statement, the head of the region earned 2.99 million rubles - apparently, the average monthly income of the Bashkir president is 249 thousand. His wife, Louise Galimovna, is a pensioner and receives a monthly allowance from the state of 5,287 rubles. For the year of such payments, she ran 63,442 thousand rubles. Ms. Rakhimova did not receive any more income.
The Rakhimovs share ownership of an apartment of 136.7 square meters, privatized for two - 68 square meters each, and the head of the family, Murtaza Rakhimov, also has an underground garage with an area of 20.6 square meters. The president of the republic does not own a car and uses only official cars. The four Rakhimovs do not have suburban area and other movable and immovable property registered in the territory of Russia or in other countries.
After retirement, the ex-president will receive an old-age allowance of about 90,000 rubles. In addition, the Bashkir “Law on the President” reserves for the retired head of the republic “a state dacha; state apartment; medical care and spa treatment; special connection; transport service; security service." Also, the retired president "has the right to support the apparatus of assistants at the expense of the budget." In addition, the amendments to the law “On Public Positions of the Republic of Belarus” adopted last week provide medical care “in the same volume” to the family of the suddenly deceased ex-head of the republic.
It turns out that for 20 years of hard work as the first leader, Murtaza Rakhimov did not earn much.
- I am often accused of interfering in literally everything! the President was sometimes annoyed by the statements of reporters claiming that he had "usurped" power. — But I think that the owner is obliged to be interested in how things are going. I ask, for example, one so-called governor: how are things with cleaning, and he answered me - I'm on vacation. I call the second, third, they are also on vacation. How can you go on vacation in the summer?! I consider it immoral. Tell me, would a normal Russian peasant in the old days go on vacation in the summer? In Bashkiria, not a single head of administration can even give a hint to get ready for a vacation in the summer.
“Retinue” Rakhimova was sometimes ready to ask the president for mercy: whether he went to production or to a collective farm, the head of the region easily wound kilometers on foot, personally inspecting each valve or construction flaws. The officials, who had barely crossed the 40-year mark, brushed off sweat and clutched their sides, not ready for such forced marches. And the head of the region did not even lose his breath, while he watched with a cunning eye the lazy escorts who did not want to show interest.
The Bashkir president was calm about the talk that he was "squeezing" the leaders who did not follow his lead.
— Not only do I hold back, but without hesitation I get rid of the directors who confuse their pocket with the state one, — the head of the region was categorical. “There is no forgiveness for those who harm the republic, using the granted freedoms and independence for selfish purposes.
They say that Murtaza Rakhimov has a difficult relationship with his son Ural. But these disagreements have clearly become the price for a high chair. For example, in 2005, at a meeting of the State Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, a group of deputies - "oligarchs", allegedly headed by Ural Rakhimov, tried to overthrow Konstantin Tolkachev from the post of speaker of the republican parliament. It was rumored that the "conspirators" carried out "explanatory" work with fellow legislators, bribing and blackmailing them. At the same time, events developed so rapidly that no one dared to predict the final. President of Bashkiria Murtaza Rakhimov had to personally intervene in the situation. Right at a meeting of parliament, he took the floor and delivered an emotional speech, calling what was happening “mouse fuss” and accusing the people who started the “coup” of achieving selfish goals: “I want to warn those who are behind me, hiding behind my name and allegedly my instructions, trying to create a split between the branches of government - you started a dangerous game. The deputies heeded the words of Murtaza Rakhimov and refused to include the "question of overthrowing" on the agenda. A few days later, the president of the republic ordered that the Bashkir "oil industry" be taken away from the "conspirators" who controlled the fuel and energy complex, despite the fact that one of the "masons" was his son. Litigation lasted until August, but ended with the reconciliation of the parties, the Ministry of Property of Bashkiria withdrew the claims, ending the dispute itself, and the oligarchic group, publicly subjected to execution, became uncommonly more accommodating, returning to the state about 14 billion rubles, underpaid for shares, and forever buried ambitious plans .
Later, Rakhimov proved himself to be a loving father, and when his son was attacked in 2007, organized by those who wanted to own the oil industry, the head of the republic zealously defended his offspring:
“My son is an effective manager,” he said. - I have nothing to be ashamed of here, unlike, by the way, from many other leaders whose children for some reason became oligarchs. Our excellent performance in the oil industry is also his merit.
Today, Ural Rakhimov maintains the Salavat Yulaev hockey club.
Rakhimov was accused not only of his desire to be the master, but also of building a totalitarian state in a single republic. He himself did not react to these accusations in any way, but on occasion he could easily explain where such reproaches "grow legs".
- Here they say, they say, we have no opposition in parliament, - he argues. We really don't have opposition for the sake of opposition. Probably because the deputies strive to solve the real problems of the republic, its people, and not to defend some ideological dogma at any cost.
True, the opposition to the Bashkir president loudly declared itself on the “orange” wave a few years ago, taking pensioners to rallies for money. Non-poor businessmen signed up as leaders of the "opposition", believing that they were unnecessarily moved away from the state pie. But no matter how hard the "revolutionaries" tried to offend the president of the republic, walking along the avenue with the slogans "No to the Rakhimov regime", they could not sting the man who had confidently led the region for many years.
“I am for healthy, normal criticism of anyone, but resolutely against criticism not for the sake of a cause, but for the sake of satisfying personal political ambitions, to settle scores or other selfish interests,” Murtaza Rakhimov drew a line under the speeches of offended businessmen. — Political adventurers and more!
It is interesting that today these "political adventurers" are waiting for official portfolios for "helping to overthrow the Rakhimov regime." But, apparently, the new government is unlikely to endow these people with benefits.
“The Bashkir president often had to listen to direct accusations of inattention to his own people, and this is perhaps the most bitter paradox in the fate of the indigenous inhabitants of this land,” the late poet Gazim Shafikov told our correspondent. - Murtaza Gubaidullovich stoically swallows these reproaches, because he understands the so-called "national patriotism" in his own way.
“When I was a worker (and we had a brigade of 25 people: Bashkirs, Russians, Mordvins, there was just no one), we didn’t have a national question at all,” Rakhimov was surprised at the endlessly pop-up “national” topic. - What national issue can we talk about if every third marriage in the republic is interethnic? I always at receptions, at meetings, if there is at least one Russian who does not know Bashkir, I conduct a conversation in Russian.
The label of "separatist" was attached to the Bashkir president after the republic adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty in the early 90s, although already in 2001 the word "sovereignty" disappeared even from the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.
“We needed sovereignty in order to independently raise the economy of the republic,” he did not get tired of explaining. “Independence has allowed us, even in the most difficult situations, not to whine, not to stand with outstretched hands, begging for subsidies and investments from the center, but to earn money ourselves. Bashkortostan is connected with Russia by one umbilical cord, and we have never talked about any separate fate.
And the poet Gazim Shafikov was sure that the president's accusations of inattention to the "titular" nation were as ridiculous as the accusations of "Bashkirization". In fact, the head of the region is simply trying to make the life of all people better.
“It is no secret that under the Soviet system, the southeastern, southern and northeastern regions of Bashkiria, where representatives of the indigenous nation live, were more than others deprived of the attention of the authorities, deprived of economic and cultural support,” said Gazim Shafikov. - It's scary to think: by the time of the destruction of this very party system in other Bashkir regions, people continued to live in dugouts and adobe houses! And there was nothing to say about highways and asphalt roads, especially about gas pipelines. It was extremely difficult to get from Ufa to remote regions of the republic, such as Khaibullinsky, Burzyansky or Abzelilovsky. But all this has acquired a concrete reality during the time, which is rightly called "Rakhimov's".