Correspondent Khristenko biography. The dark side of the hole. Work of Viktor Khristenko in the Government
ONLY IN PUTIN'S RUSSIA:
"It's strange, in civilized countries compromising evidence closes the way to power for politicians, in our country, on the contrary, it opens the door to any high offices, including the Kremlin."
"People say that a drinking mother is a grief for the family. And what can be said about the benefits for the country from the prime minister, who at any moment may be behind bars?"
VICTOR KHRISTENKO...
After the presidential elections, Viktor Khristenko is tipped to become prime minister. Since Putin's acquaintances in St. Petersburg are all special services and in cunning economic schemes - no boom-boom. A very convenient candidate, by the way, for the Kremlin. If he does something wrong - compromising evidence is on the table, he will be obedient - the Chelyabinsk criminal case on the Private Investment Protection Fund will still gather dust in some safe.
Viktor Khristenko is already a long-liver in the Russian cabinet of ministers. Until the spring of 1998, however, no one had heard of the modest vice-governor of the Chelyabinsk region. Why exactly he was invited by the youngest Russian Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko to the White House to oversee the entire huge financial bloc of the country is still a mystery. Maybe because together they grew up in the field of Komsomol commerce? Serezha Kiriyenko in the late 80s supervised the Nizhny Novgorod construction teams, and a graduate of the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute Vitya Khristenko organized the Komsomol system of NTTM in his native Chelyabinsk. Both from an early age learned the taste of easy cooperative money. They agreed, worked together, found a common language.
But Kiriyenko has long been gone from the White House, and Khristenko continues to serve as vice premier. The Komsomol businessman turned out to be not so simple? What is the secret of its unsinkability?
Do you remember how it all started?
Remember the famous "book" scandal? This is when Yeltsin dismissed a whole cohort of young reformers headed by Anatoly Chubais because they received fabulous fees for unwritten books. Painfully, these fees resembled bribes for "correctly" conducted privatization tenders and auctions.
Who do you think advised Anatoly Chubais and a group of high-ranking co-authors to earn more than one hundred thousand dollars each in the field of writing? According to our information, the idea of this elegant income was suggested to the "Chicago boys" by none other than an inconspicuous provincial official Viktor Khristenko.
By the way, before joining the White House, Khristenko managed to work at Ilyinka. He came to Chubais's field of vision at the suggestion of his mentor from the time of joint work in the administration of the Chelyabinsk region, and now the country's chief tax officer Alexander Pochinok. It is said that Pochinok's financial well-being, which he proudly reported on all his tax returns, was largely based on the energy of a businesslike assistant. Apparently, Chubais appreciated these qualities of Khristenko and took him to Moscow for the post of Deputy Minister of Finance. Apparently, at the same time, Viktor Khristenko shared his "know-how" with Anatoly Borisovich.
The fact is that long before the "book" scandal in Moscow, a similar incident occurred in the South Urals with the future Deputy Prime Minister Khristenko. Back in 1996, in Chelyabinsk, a thin - only 88 pages - brochure with the catchy title "In Search of Missing Deposits" was published in 10,000 copies.(see cover): a kind of guide for investors who lost their money in the course of the active construction of financial pyramids. Under the nondescript cover, no less nondescript content was hidden - a collection of government orders and resolutions. Victor Khristenko proudly appeared in the list of authors and compilers of this work. Two of his co-authors are also well-known people in Chelyabinsk - Andrey Dementyev (he headed the regional branch of the federal commission for the securities market, and then moved to Moscow and works in Khristenko's office), and Oleg Khudyakov (direct head of the Private Investment Protection Fund, who also followed Khristenko in Moscow).
Only now it soon became clear that the regional Fund for the Protection of Private Investments had spent as much as 50 million budget rubles (non-denominated) on the publication of this miserable brochure.
At the same time, it was printed in neighboring Yekaterinburg by the private publishing company "SV", although the Chelyabinsk "prose writers" had their own Press House at hand. Apparently, the authors really did not want Chelyabinsk to find out about the details of the publication of this work, especially about royalties.By the way, according to the Fund's charter, the cost estimate for the publication of the book had to be approved by the board of trustees, but the book publishing decision was not made even by its board.
As it became known to us, 36.5 million were transferred to the firm "SV" for publishing services (see doc. 1, doc. 2). Although, according to the estimates of experts who perplexedly turn this "fundamental" work in their hands, 20 million rubles could have gone on paper, printing and other printing work.Where did the rest of the state funds go?
The authors-compilers could give an answer to this question, but they modestly kept silent. It is only known that the Fund's employees - from the chairman of the board to the typist - received a total of 7 million rubles in bonuses "for the creation and publication of a book" (O. Khudyakov, for example, 5 million rubles). In addition, deceived investors were offered to purchase a brochure for 2,000 rubles apiece. She did not use rush demand, but dispersed. And the 20 million rubles proceeds from the sale of the strange allowance were never received by the Fund's cash desk, and the brochure itself was not credited as the property of the Fund.
It turns out that the Kremlin "writers" who fell into disgrace are just pitiful plagiarists. It was not they who invented the method of earning money by "literary labor", but a modest deputy head of the provincial administration. Perhaps it was for this "estimate" that he later received the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government.
The police were checking the activities of the Chelyabinsk Private Investment Protection Fund, one of the founders of which was the administration of the Chelyabinsk region represented by the same Viktor Khristenko. The operatives dealt with the "book" episode in detail. In addition, it turned out that the fund was fattening on budget money from the free: of the 670 million rubles allocated from the state treasury, the deceived Mavrodi and other pyramid builders got half as compensation as compensation. The rest of the money just disappeared. That nevertheless did not prevent Khristenko from safely moving to Moscow for a promotion, where to this day for some reason he continues to feel invulnerable before the law.
Ideal Prime Minister
Today, Viktor Khristenko oversees in the government such tidbits of the real Russian economy as the fuel and energy complex and customs. Recently, he has been known as an uncompromising fighter for replenishing the state budget with petrodollars (it is the government commission on protective measures in foreign trade, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko, that now determines the mechanism for calculating all export duties) and a thunderstorm for all Russian oil magnates.
But if Khristenko succeeds in resisting the oil lobbyists, then for some reason domestic sugar producers turned out to be dearer to his heart. The other day, sugar dealers achieved restrictions on the import of raw sugar, since the Khristenko commission decided in 2001 to introduce a tariff quota for the import of this product in the amount of 3.5 million tons per year (last year, for example, they imported about 6.5 million tons ). And the customs duty on raw sugar supplied within the quota will be 5% of its customs value, in excess of the quota - 30%, which is actually a prohibitive measure. Khristenko promised to sell quotas at auction.
The thought involuntarily creeps in, oil traders know nothing about the "bookish" compromising evidence on Khristenko, and therefore they are powerless to reduce their export duties, while domestic sugar refiners are aware of it, so they have friendly relations with the Deputy Prime Minister? And after the presidential elections, Viktor Khristenko is tipped to become prime minister. Since Putin's acquaintances in St. Petersburg are all special services and in cunning economic schemes - no boom-boom. A very convenient candidate, by the way, for the Kremlin. If he does something wrong - compromising evidence is on the table, he will be obedient - the Chelyabinsk criminal case on the Private Investment Protection Fund will still gather dust in some safe. It is strange that in civilized countries compromising evidence closes the way to power for politicians, in our country, on the contrary, it opens the door to any high offices, including the Kremlin ones. People say that a drinking mother is the grief of the family. And what can be said about the benefits for the country from the prime minister, who at any moment may be behind bars?
http://compromat.ru/page_9591.htm
Viktor Khristenko is a well-known statesman and currently heads the Russian Golf Association.
Childhood
Born on August 28, 1957 in the capital of the Southern Urals - the city of Chelyabinsk. Both the father and mother of the future politician are from families of the repressed. The maternal grandfather served time in the camps as a pest and came out a broken man with serious health problems. Lyudmila Nikitichna herself was saved from the fate of the daughter of an enemy of the people by the intervention of a relative who had connections in the NKVD. Viktor's father, Boris Nikolaevich, himself fell under the hand and spent more than ten years in places not so remote. He described the story of his life in a book based on which the TV series “It all started in Harbin” was filmed. After his release, he graduated from the Civil Engineering Institute, worked as a chief engineer.
Vitya was the youngest of three children in the family. For his mother, the marriage was the second, from the first there was a son and a daughter. The childhood of the future politician was the same as that of most Soviet girls and boys. Lessons, football in the yard, after graduation - Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute.
Labor activity
After graduating from high school, he received a diploma in engineering and economics. In his fifth year, he wanted to join the CPSU, but he was not accepted. Soon he returned to his native institute as a teacher and worked there for almost 10 years.
He began his political career in the nineties. In 1990 he was elected to the city council of the city of Chelyabinsk, in 1991 he became deputy head of the regional administration. In 1996, the politician headed the campaign headquarters and became Yeltsin's representative in his native region. According to Viktor Borisovich himself, he did not want the old order to return.
New appointments were not long in coming.
In 1997, he became Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation.
From April to September 1998 - Deputy Prime Minister of Russia S. V. Kiriyenko, in October of the same year - First Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation.
In 1999, he was one of the first two Deputy Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation Sergei Stepashin, and in 2000, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Kasyanov.
From February 24 to March 5, 2004, he temporarily acted as prime minister of the Russian Federation.
Since March 2004, he was the Minister of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation in the government of Mikhail Fradkov (then - M. Kasyanov).
From May 2008 to January 2012 - Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation in the second government of V.V. Putin.
In 2012-2016 - Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
Since February 2015 - President of the Russian Golf Association.
In general, Viktor Borisovich has been in politics for more than a decade and a half. For his work he was awarded many orders and medals.
Personal life
The first time he married quite early on a former classmate named Nadezhda. Three children were born in the marriage: in 1980, the first daughter, Yulia, was born, a year later, the son Vladimir, in 1990, the youngest daughter Angelina. According to some media reports, Victor's parents were not happy with their daughter-in-law. In the late nineties, the marriage began to crack at the seams, and soon the father of three children left the family. She became the new chosen one, in 2002 the couple got married.
Another high-profile divorce associated with the name Khristenko is the divorce of the middle son, businessman Vladimir, with the writer and journalist Eva Lanskaya.
Victor Khristenko (date of birth - August 28, 1957) is a well-known Russian statesman of recent decades. Previously, he held senior positions in the government, today he leads the central governing body of the EAEU.
Amazing family story
Where did Viktor Khristenko start his life? His biography began in Chelyabinsk, but the family in which he was born has its own unique and noteworthy story. His father, Boris Nikolayevich, was born in Harbin, the capital of the Chinese Eastern Railway, in the family of a railway worker. In 1935, along with tens of thousands of other Harbin employees of the CER, the family of Boris Khristenko (parents and two sons) returned to the USSR. And then the same nightmare began, which was possible only in the country of victorious socialism. All Khristenkos were arrested, the father of the family was immediately shot, his mother was tortured in the camps, and Boris's brother went mad in the NKVD prison. Boris himself survived a ten-year term in the camps and was released only after the war. Already a pensioner, Boris Khristenko, at the request of his son Viktor, described his life ups and downs in which, although it was not published, it still had some circulation among the people with whom Viktor Khristenko communicated. She also fell into the hands of the famous screenwriter who, on its basis, wrote the script for the series “It all started in Harbin”. It is worth watching, because everything that is shown in it is not just the pure truth, but an almost documentary retelling of the real life story of Boris Khristenko (they only changed his last name in the film).
Even more surprising is that the mother of Viktor Khristenko, Lyudmila Nikitichna, also comes from a family of repressed people: her father was shot, and she herself escaped arrest only because she was then only 14 years old. Such is the family story.
The beginning of the way
Could all these unusual circumstances have not affected the fate of such a well-known person in our country as Viktor Borisovich Khristenko? His biography, however, looks quite usual for a Soviet person born in the late 50s. First, a school, then the construction department of the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic University (by the way, his father, Boris Nikolaevich, was at that time an associate professor at this university).
Upon completion of his studies, Viktor was assigned to his native university, worked as an engineer at the department, studied in absentia at the graduate school of the Moscow Institute of Management, then became the head of the laboratory, taught and in the late 80s was already an assistant professor. So Victor Khristenko would have continued his path in the footsteps of his father, but changes broke out in the country.
The beginning of the state career
In 1990, a young scientist Khristenko Viktor Borisovich ran for election to the city council of Chelyabinsk and defeated his rivals. An educated and energetic specialist quickly moves up the career ladder, becomes a member of the presidium of the council, and heads the commission to develop the concept of Chelyabinsk development. However, the time of "soviets" was already drawing to a close, and Viktor Khristenko went to work in the executive branch - the city executive committee, where he dealt with the management of the city's property. After the collapse of the USSR, he was appointed deputy, then first deputy governor of the region. He does not waste time, he studies at the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation. Politically, he is an active supporter of Boris Yeltsin, heads the Our Home is Russia party in Chelyabinsk.
1996
Today, few people remember those events when the Russians decided who would become the president of the country - Yeltsin or Zyuganov. Khristenko Viktor Borisovich did everything in his power to ensure that the people of Chelyabinsk cast their votes for the re-election of the incumbent president for a second term. At the time, he was a confidant of Boris Yeltsin, actively spoke at rallies and meetings, campaigning for him. After the re-election of the president for the second line, Khristenko is appointed his plenipotentiary representative in the region.
Beginning of government career
In the summer of 1997, Khristenko moved to Moscow and held the position of Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation in the government. Crisis phenomena grew in the country, which in the spring of 1998 led to the resignation of Chernomyrdin and the formation of a new Cabinet under the leadership of the New Prime Minister, who, like Viktor Khristenko, only moved in 1997 to Moscow from the provinces (from Nizhny Novgorod), offered his peer the post of Deputy Prime Minister responsible for developing financial policy.
After the default in the Russian Federation and during the crisis that followed, Khristenko headed the government for a couple of months as acting. (so there is also a prime minister position in his biography!), until Yevgeny Primakov came there.
All prime ministers need a good specialist
The new prime minister did not expel the "valuable cadre" - he returned Khristenko to the post of deputy finance minister. Stepashin, who replaced Primakov eight months later, again offered him the post of First Deputy Prime Minister. Vladimir Putin, who soon sat down in the premier's chair, did not move him either. Kasyanov, who came after him, left Khristenko in the same position in which he had been until March 2004, when the government was left without a prime minister for half a month. And again, even if only for a couple of weeks, but Viktor Khristenko becomes acting. Prime Minister of the Russian Federation - the second time in his career.
Fradkov, who headed the government, moves Khristenko to the post of Minister of Energy and Industry, which the latter retains even under Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov until May 2008. Vladimir Putin, who again headed the government of the Russian Federation, leaves him in the same ministerial position.
Transition to work in supranational structures
At that time, international cooperation between the Russian Federation and Belarus and Kazakhstan was actively developing within the framework of the Customs Union, and the creation of the EAEU was being prepared. Prime Minister Putin considered that Viktor Khristenko could be entrusted with leading the executive body of the emerging community. In November 2011, he was elected chairman of the Board of the Economic Commission of the EAEU, which is a kind of analogue of the European Commission. So the post held by Viktor Khristenko is approximately the same as that held by Zh.K. Juncker. His term of office expires in December this year.
Family of Viktor Khristenko
While still a student, he met a girl, his classmate Nadezhda, with whom he tied his fate for two long decades. In this marriage, they had three children, a son and two daughters. But Viktor Khristenko, whose biography, family and life principles seemed unshakable, at the age of 45 takes a new turn in his life path. He divorces and enters into a new marriage in 2002 - with Tatyana Golikova, who was his colleague in the Ministry of Finance for many years. In the second government of Putin, she became the Minister of Health and Social Policy, and is now the head of
The couple, Viktor Khristenko, former minister of industry, and Tatyana Golikova, current chairman of the Accounts Chamber, have always been considered not poor in the government. At least, judging by their official declarations. For example, in 2016, Golikova and Khristenko earned 61 million rubles for two. This is more than 5 million rubles a month.
It is hard to imagine what the average Russian family with such an income could not afford. An apartment, a dacha, a car, another dacha for parents, another apartment for children? All this can be easily bought with the officially declared income of Golikova and Khristenko. Therefore, you will never imagine what kind of property we discovered in the former Minister of Industry, for which he, even with his wife, could hardly have accumulated even in a hundred years.
…Golf clubs. Just a few months ago, in December 2017, Viktor Khristenko became a co-owner of luxury golf clubs in the Moscow region and Peterhof. They occupy territories of hundreds of hectares of land, and their cost, according to our calculations, can exceed tens of billions of rubles.
Joint investigation by Novaya Gazeta and Dozhd TV channel.
The main thing in five minutes. Video: Gleb Limansky, Roman Anin / "New"
Viktor Khristenko, after leaving the government, chose golf, an unusual hobby for Russia. Originating as a game of commoners - shepherds in Scotland, who used their staffs instead of clubs, and rabbit holes instead of holes - this sport eventually became considered an elite sport.
Today, all over the world, golf is not just a game, but also an indicator of status. They are fond of politicians (for example, Donald Trump), big businessmen.
“I had a little more free time a few years ago,” Khristenko said in an interview with the RBC-Sport TV channel. – And in search of a sporting activity – adequate for age, time, including place of residence – I tried golf… And then for four years I answer myself the question: why golf? Because it is the most versatile sport. Most democratic. The most environmentally friendly. Golf is a chic story for children and old people, for men and women, for tall and short, for fat and thin. All this, although, of course, affects some results, but is not decisive in order to walk your 12-13 kilometers a day, breathe fresh air.
Khristenko admits that he "has gone a little crazy about golf." And therefore, since 2015, he has also been the head of the Golf Association and is trying to develop this sport in Russia.
Neighbors from the Ministry
Viktor Khristenko, explaining to RBC-Sport the reason for choosing golf, mentioned his place of residence. He gave this interview at the Pestovo golf club. And indeed, literally outside the gates of this club, near the village of Rumyantsevo, on the banks of the Canal. There are three large, beautiful houses in Moscow. Khristenko lives in the middle (only the cadastral value of the land on which the house stands is 57 million rubles: this is almost the annual income of a married couple). His neighbor on the right (when looking at the river) is Andrey Reus, a former deputy in the Ministry of Industry, and on the left is another former deputy minister, Andrey Dementyev.
Three former colleagues in the ministry have recently owned the Sport Projects company: Khristenko, as a former minister, has 34%, and his former deputies have 33% each. And just a few months ago, in December 2017, this company acquired from a company from the British Virgin Islands (Raveborg Capital) 100% in another Russian company, Skortex.
Club for their
Moscow. While playing golf. Photo: ITAR-TASS / Pavel GolovkinSatellite imagery shows that behind the houses of Khristenko, Reus and Dementiev, there are endless expanses of a golf course, with an artificial and skillful landscape of lakes, sand traps, winding paths and a flat, trimmed lawn. Judging by the map, the area of this field alone is almost 80 hectares. Its cadastral value is 2.2 billion rubles.
And all this belongs to the same company "Scortex" of former colleagues from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, headed by Viktor Khristenko.
This is the golf course of the Pestovo club. Although it would be more correct to call this territory the “Pestovo space”, because not only a golf course is located here, but also a yacht club, an equestrian center, and numerous residential cottages. The websites of real estate agencies say that the total area of this territory is 180 hectares.
This space is closed to outsiders. “This is a private indoor golf club. And that's probably good. I can say for sure that our club is almost a family club. You know everyone, and all people are comfortable for you. Here you rest in peace, and it is pleasant for you to look around ... We have created a kind of social cell in which everyone follows certain rules: everyone is polite, everyone knows that one must be pleasant to others and not go out of their way ...
I don't want a bunch of strangers wandering around in Pestovo. Because it's a club space. It is closed - for members only," Andrey Reus, a former deputy minister and then president of Pestov, told Golf Digest magazine.
The former director of Pestov, Oleg Kustikov, in an interview with Forbes in 2017, estimated the golf club at $120 million. This is almost 7 billion rubles.
But this is not the only club owned by Viktor Khristenko and his comrades.
Palace Golf
In the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region in 2013 there was a "golf resort" "Forest Hills" - a branch of "Pestov". “This is also our golf club. Here it is just “open”, so that there is a flow of people, so that everyone plays, joins ... ”- said Andrey Reus. The club was designed by Procyon. Its website says that Forest Hills is one of the largest golf projects in Russia with a total area of 450 hectares!
The land on which Forest Hills is located is divided between two companies, Medana and Terus. Both are 51% owned by Resortsinvest. One of its ultimate co-owners is Viktor Khristenko.
What is 450 hectares of land? This is more than the whole Moscow district of Zamoskvorechye, in which almost 60 thousand people live.
And if Pestovo was estimated at 7 billion rubles, then Forest Hills, whose territory is almost three times larger, can be assumed to be at least not cheaper.
But this is not the last golf asset of former Minister Viktor Khristenko.
Last year, the Peterhof golf club was opened. It is located right next to the large Peterhof Palace and the park ensemble. The company that was involved in the architectural design of this club defined its area as 130 hectares.
Peterhof Golf Club / Instagram Peterhof is owned by the St. Petersburg-based Mikhailovka Golf Club, which is owned by the Moscow-based Nika firm, which in turn is owned by Lifeinvest, whose director is Alexander Kotelenets, who worked as an assistant to Khristenko in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. And at the end of this long chain, reminiscent of a nesting doll, is again Viktor Khristenko, the former Minister of Industry. He owns 100% of Lifeinvest.
All these endless golf courses and the infrastructure associated with them, according to Novaya Gazeta, according to minimal estimates, could cost more than 10 billion rubles. There are no such incomes in the declarations of Khristenko and his wife. If our estimates are correct, then in order to acquire all these assets at market value, they would have to spend not a penny of their earnings (on food or anything else) and save for more than 300 years.
friendly deal
All the companies that own these assets—golf courses, land, yacht clubs, buildings—were previously run by the same person. His name is Oleg Kustikov. Today, together with Viktor Khristenko, he is a member of the executive committee of the Russian Golf Association, and in addition, he is a member of the board of directors of the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChTPZ).
Viktor Khristenko has a long-standing relationship with the ChelPipe Group. Firstly, the board of directors of the enterprise included the son of Khristenko, Vladimir, which then raised questions from many media outlets, because ChTPZ depended on the decisions of the Minister of Industry.
And secondly, the main owner of ChTPZ Andrey Komarov is a fellow countryman of Viktor Khristenko (both from Chelyabinsk) and an old acquaintance.
“Viktor Borisovich is my senior comrade, we are from the same city, we have been friends for many years, we have all kinds of ties - family, friendly, whatever,” Komarov said in an interview with Forbes.
Could these friendly and other "all sorts of connections" affect the price of transactions for the purchase of "golf assets"?
Ethical Issues
Viktor Khristenko with his wife Tatyana Golikova. Photo: RIA Novosti In addition to the main question (where does Khristenko get the funds for such assets?), there are several ethical ones in this story.
Viktor Khristenko's companies received shares in all "golf assets" almost on the same day in December 2017. The seller in all cases was a British Virgin Islands firm, Raveborg Capital. Another British Virgin Islands firm, Aviaflow Limited, is now Khristenko's partner in the Russian company Resortsinvest.
Her husband's business with companies from the Virgin Islands does not prevent Tatyana Golikova from sharply criticizing the offshore activities of others: “In a crisis, Western countries will use all means to strengthen their economic and political position. Here I note that the work on combating corruption is closely related to the work on deoffshorization of the economy,” said the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber in 2014 at the Eurasian Anti-Corruption Forum “Modern Standards and Technologies for Combating Corruption”.
Recently, Tatyana Golikova has become one of the main newsmakers on poverty in Russia.
For example, a few days ago, at the collegium of the Ministry of Finance, the chairman of the Accounts Chamber from the subsistence level, which does not take into account the real costs of Russians. “The targeted system of social protection should be based not on the subsistence minimum, but on the minimum consumer budget. This is a difficult transition, but it seems to us that this is the key to victory over poverty in our country,” Golikova said.
We hope that these measures will work and that many new golfers will appear in the country.
reaction
Answers of Viktor Khristenko to the request of "New"
Viktor Khristenko. Photo: Sergey Bobylev / TASS 1. Today you are the head of the Russian Golf Association. Could you tell us how long you have been fond of this sport, what attracts you to it and what, in your opinion, distinguishes it from other sports?
Golf is the most democratic, family and environmentally friendly sport. Golf can be practiced at any age, it can bring together people of different skill levels, ages and social status on the same field in the game.
2. For the average person, golf in Russia is an exotic sport. Could you tell us how long ago this sport came to our country, how it develops and what, in your opinion, it has prospects?
Of course, golf in Russia has potential. The Russian Olympic Committee actively supports the development of golf in our country. Our compatriot Maria Verchenova was included in the 60 participants in the Olympic tournament, set an Olympic score record in the round, and according to the results of the Olympic tournament, she took 16th place. I am sure that there will be new stars from Russia on the Olympic pedestals, the Russian Golf Association is actively working on this.
Among the initiatives, I would like to mention the project "Development of golf in the system of school education", aimed at the development of sports in the school environment. It currently covers 19 regions of Russia, from Leningrad Oblast to Primorsky Krai, and has an ambitious goal of reaching more than 1,000 schools across Russia by 2020.
3. According to the state register of legal entities, you are also a co-owner of a number of companies that own golf clubs in Pestov and Peterhof. Could you clarify how successful the golf development business is in Russia?
I don't know of any golf club in the country that is profitable. The named golf clubs are also still in the operating minus.
4. According to our calculations, only the book value of the assets of those companies, of which you have recently become a co-owner, exceeds 5 billion rubles. According to the income declarations of your spouse, Tatyana Golikova, the total income of your family for the last three years (2014-2016) amounted to 105.8 million rubles. In this regard, could you please explain with what funds you acquired shares in Sport Project (and its subsidiary Skortex), as well as Lifeinvest (and its subsidiaries and affiliates, Nika and "Resortsinvest")?
All the stakes I have acquired in Russian companies, the data of which, as well as my income with my wife, are publicly available information, were acquired at a nominal value, which is significantly less than my personal income in recent times. The net assets of these companies, taking into account debts, encumbrances and operating losses, are negative, so their value is incomparably lower than the figure mentioned in the question. I do not receive dividends from participating in golf projects.
5. According to the state register of legal entities, you acquired shares in companies that own golf clubs and land plots of hundreds of hectares almost at the same time (in December 2017) from a company from the British Virgin Islands, Raveborg Capital. Could you explain who was behind this offshore company, and also what was the amount of transactions for the acquisition of shares in the above companies - owners of golf clubs and land?
The historical composition of the owners of the mentioned golf clubs was formed before me. After my entry into the project, Raveborg Capital was liquidated and now the companies participating in the project have Russian jurisdiction.
6. Could you clarify whether the amount of the above transactions was affected by the fact that the previous owners of golf clubs, as well as land plots, were the structures of members of the boards of directors of the ChTPZ group, Andrey Komarov and Oleg Kustikov? Did the fact that your son Vladimir Khristenko have been on the board of directors of ChelPipe for a long time contributed to the reduction in the price of the above transactions?
At the time of my acquisition of shares in golf projects, there were no mentioned persons among their owners. The shares were purchased at face value, since they did not represent commercial value either in terms of the structure of the balance sheet or in terms of the commercial content of the projects.
7. The ChTPZ Group, like any other large industrial enterprise in Russia, certainly depended on the decisions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which you headed. Could you explain whether your past activities as a minister somehow influenced the price of the above transactions?
Biographies of famous people are always interesting to read. Today we will talk about a famous statesman who has come a long way, full of victories and obstacles. We learn about the biography and career of Viktor Khristenko.
Biographical information
The father of the hero of our article, Boris, spent the young years of his life in camps. From the age of 18 to 28 he served his sentence. The same fate befell his mother and brother Viktor Khristenko. Having freed himself, his father successfully graduated from a technical institute. After that, he worked as a secretary in the party bureau of the department. Prior to that, he tried himself as a chief engineer in many companies. Boris Khristenko held his last position at the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute, where he worked as an assistant professor.
Victor Khristenko's paternal grandfather was also an engineer. He was shot in 1937, while his grandmother died in the camp. Maternal grandfather worked as the head of a procurement office, but later he was repressed for "wrecking".
Victor's mother, Lyudmila, was already married to Boris before her marriage, from whom she had two children (Nadezhda and Yuri).
Training and career
Viktor Khristenko, whose biography we are considering, graduated from school in 1974. Five years later, he successfully received a diploma from the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute, where he studied in the specialty "Economics and Organization of Construction". After that, he worked as an engineer at the institute, later became a teacher, and then an assistant professor. It is known that he was not a member of the CPSU, although in 1979 he made an unsuccessful attempt to join the ranks of the party members. Viktor Khristenko himself later said that there was only one place, and two candidates. As a result, they took a person who had connections.
In power
Viktor Khristenko, whose photo we see in the article, was a deputy in the Chelyabinsk City Council in the period 1990-1991. Until 1996, he was the first deputy head of the administration of the Chelyabinsk region. In the spring of 1997, he was appointed representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Chelyabinsk region. In the summer, he already became the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation. From that moment on, the politician quickly and actively climbed the career ladder. In 1998, he served as Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko. In the fall of 1998, Viktor has already become the first deputy minister of finance of Russia.
In May 1996, Khristenko was appointed one of the first deputy prime ministers, Sergei Stepashin. Victor retained his post during the first government of Vladimir Putin.
Post 2000s
In the winter of 2000, the politician was Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Kasyanov. From February to March 2004, he temporarily acted as prime minister. At that moment, Mikhail Kasyanov left the post, and Mikhail Fradkov had not yet been appointed. However, Khristenko's candidacy was not submitted to the State Duma for approval.
In the spring of 2004, the man became the head of industry and energy in the government of Mikhail Fradkov. Later, he managed to stay in office under the government of Viktor Zubkov.
In 2007, a decree was issued stating that a new strategic path for the development of the electronics industry was being created, which would operate in Russia until 2025. It was said that nanoelectronics would be introduced and its compatibility with biological objects would be tested. The goal was to improve their joint activities, constant monitoring. The economic benefit was to reduce social spending.
From 2008 to 2012, Viktor Khristenko became Minister of Trade and Industry under the second government of Vladimir Putin. Since the winter of 2010, he became a member of the government commission for economic integration and development. Until 2016, he was Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission. He resigned due to the fact that the duration of his term of office, four years, was over. Since the winter of 2015, he has been the President of the Golf Association of the Russian Federation. Now Viktor Khristenko is the President of the EAEU Business Council.
Awards
What else can a politician surprise us with? The family of Viktor Khristenko can be proud of him, because he has a large number of awards. He has the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree, which he received in October 2007. The award was given for many years of activity and a huge personal contribution to the economic development of the state. In the summer of 2006, the man received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, which he was awarded for his personal efforts and the creation of friendly relations with other states in terms of future joint development in the field of technology and economics.
In the winter of 2012, the politician received the Order of Honor for effective public policy and conscientious service. In the same year, Viktor received the Pyotr Stolypin medal of the 1st degree. He has the gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation and the Certificate of Honor of the Government of the Russian Federation. He is a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. He received this award in 2009.
In the summer of 2001, he was awarded the Diploma of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which he received for the promotion, strengthening and development of international relations.
In 2002, he received the Order of Dostyk II degree in Kazakhstan. In May 2015 he was awarded by the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Union. The politician was awarded the medal "For Contribution to the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union".
In 2017, from the Russian Orthodox Church, Khristenko was awarded the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, I degree. In 2010, he already received an award from the Russian Orthodox Church - the Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, I degree.
Own
Viktor Khristenko does not advertise his personal life, but it is known that he and his family live in Moscow (Krylatskoye) in the elite area for wealthy citizens "Fantasy Island". This project was built on the beautiful natural territory of the Moskvoretsky Park. The peculiarity is that this village is under enhanced protection. The area of the politician's apartment is 218.6 m².
Viktor Khristenko: biography, personal life
It is known that in 2003 the man married Tatyana Golikova. However, the politician has children from a marriage that he entered into in his student years with a girl named Nadezhda. They had a daughter, Yulia, in 1980, a year later, a son, Vladimir, and in 1990, a daughter, Angelina.
Children
It is also known that in 2008 Yulia married (this is her second marriage) Vadim Shvetsov, who works as the general director of Sollers OJSC. This company owns Zavolzhsky Motor Plant, Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, Sollers-Elabuga, Sollers-Naberezhnye Chelny and Sollers-Far East. The company produces cars of various domestic and foreign brands. By the way, Yulia entered into her first marriage in 2004 with Evgeny Bogdanchikov, who is the son of a famous person - the president of Rosneft, S. Bogdanchikov.
Son Vladimir owns a significant stake in the restaurant chain, personally - the pharmaceutical business. Vladimir Khristenko is a famous person, but he received such popularity after a loud and scandalous divorce from Eva Lanskaya, a writer. Not without scandal and litigation. All these family conflicts were brightly covered in the media. In the spring of 2011, materials appeared in the press that related to the reason for the divorce. Eva claimed that she was tired of her husband leading a glamorous lifestyle and not paying attention to his family. The final decision was helped by the news that her husband had an illegitimate child, about whom the girl knew nothing.
We talked about the life and career of Viktor Khristenko. There is little biographical information about the life of the politician, because he does not want to put personal information on display. Perhaps this is the right decision, because the most secret should remain so.
The career path of the politician is especially impressive. In a short time, he managed to change many positions, tried himself in different areas. Versatility and erudition in every area gave the politician valuable experience, which he successfully applies in practice. The strong union created with Tatyana Golikova speaks of loyalty, family values and honesty. You can take an example from Victor not only as a good manager and a wise politician, but also as a person with a capital letter.