There are unprecedented changes in the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. 51-year-old appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, who has been in charge of the Russian group in Syria since March 2017. A graduate of the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School, and then the Combined Arms Academy and the Academy of the General Staff, a motorized rifleman by education and service experience, who had never before had anything to do with military aviation. One of the ideologists of the creation of the military police in our army, it was believed that he should have headed it from December 2011. But it didn't work out. Instead, the general had to go to the Eastern Military District - first the deputy commander, and then the commander of his troops. Later, as already mentioned, there was Syria.
And now it has turned around: apparently, Sergei Vladimirovich forever hung his usual green tunic in the closet, changed into a beautiful general's uniform the color of the sky and turned into the main Russian military aviator. It is unlikely that he will simply be at the head of all the air aces of our country, who are already muttering about this.
This decision of the Kremlin can only be compared with the sadly memorable many appointments Anatoly Serdyukov Russian Defense Minister. As former colleagues told me then, at the first meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Defense, Serdyukov read the abbreviation Air Force, familiar to servicemen (in the sense of the Air Force), in a speech prepared in advance for him as the BBC (in the sense of a British radio station). And this was only the beginning of many professional mistakes of this character on a professional path unknown to him before.
What pitfalls Colonel-General Surovikin will have to face in his new post - we will probably find out soon. But why, and why in general, did the Kremlin have to perform a personnel somersault so unheard of in the history of Russian military aviation?
Well, gratitude President Vladimir Putin for heroic deeds in the fight against international terrorism in the Middle East - this is understandable. Everyone who has had a chance to command our warring group in Syria over the years is invariably promoted. Such as, Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov, after returning home put at the head of the Southern Military District.
Exactly the same was in the years Chechen war. Putin has never forgotten any of the generals who ensured his political victory. So, for example, from 1997 to 2004, the head of our General Staff was Army General Anatoly Kvashnin. So in May 2000 he was appointed Presidential Plenipotentiary Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District, the former commander of the joint group of troops in Chechnya General Viktor Kazantsev who took Grozny.
There is no doubt that the current appointment of General Surovikin is from the same series of officially issued thanks from the president. But still, it would be possible to find something very significant for this honored military man, but still not connected with an absolutely unexplored field of activity, where, for this reason, you can easily break firewood for many billions. As happened with the same Serdyukov. But since Surovikin was nevertheless thrown into the VKS, it turns out that there were some other good reasons for such a decision?
Most likely yes. If we continue the analogies with Serdyukov, it is likely that the Kremlin needed the former motorized rifleman Surovikin at the head of military aviation to break the corporate ties that have developed in this main command and reform it. The first thing that comes to mind is a long overdue solution to the problem of army aviation (AA).
Let me remind you that until 2003, Russian army aviation (and these are helicopters for various purposes, primarily combat ones) was part of the Ground Forces. As it is now accepted almost all over the world. Because combat and transport helicopters are the most important means of conducting combined arms combat. And it should be in the hands of the commander who organizes this battle. That is, the commander of a motorized rifle or tank division, corps, combined arms or tank army.
But in 2003, everything was turned upside down once again. Moreover, it happened hastily and completely ill-conceived. Here's how he told reporters about that decision at one time former Army Aviation Commander Hero Soviet Union Colonel General Vitaly Pavlov: “Everything was decided spontaneously, at the collegium of the Ministry of Defense. I was not invited to this meeting. Previously, the question was raised (1995) about the transfer of army aviation to the country's Air Force, but then the approach was different. They created a commission of 40 people in advance, interviewed the entire army leadership, analyzed the situation and made a decision on the inappropriateness of such transformations. Here Ivanov(in those days - the Minister of Defense of Russia - "SP") asked Kormiltsev(at that time - the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces - "SP"), is he ready to transfer army aviation to the subordination of the Air Force Commander-in-Chief Mikhailova. He, without hesitation, replied: "Aviation should be in the same hands." Stupidity. The real stupidity ... After a while they will come to their senses, but this will again run into colossal costs, both human and financial. I am sure that for what they have done breadwinners, neither Kvashnin(then the Chief of the General Staff - "SP") will not answer.
And here is how he commented on the situation Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, in the past - a member of the collegium of the Ministry of Defense: “The decision to transfer it (army aviation -" SP ") to the Air Force was made under pressure from a very narrow-minded military leader - Anatoly Kvashnin. He broke a lot of wood. Army aviation is called that because it is designed to support the army on the battlefield. From the very beginning it was obvious that the decision to give helicopters to the Air Force was wrong. Firstly, the Air Force and Air Defense are united into one structure and solve common problems. specific tasks. Helicopter units are a burden for them. Secondly, the Ground Forces themselves lost very powerful fire support. This was especially evident in August 2008 during the war with Georgia. When our troops moved forward, there was not a single helicopter in the district that could be used for fire support, evacuation, reconnaissance, or the deployment of special groups. Even the department for interaction with aviation was disbanded. For these nonsense, you just need to plant.
Of course, no one, for the transfer of AA, first to the Air Force, and then to the Aerospace Forces, has not been imprisoned and will not be imprisoned. But the 08.08.08 war with Georgia really showed that a lot of firewood had been broken. And the generals began to slowly take back. At the same time, it was necessary (and still has to be!) to overcome the serious hardware resistance of the main command of the Aerospace Forces, which, as you can understand, is not at all eager to return helicopter pilots to the bosom of the Ground Forces. Apparently, because with them you will have to lose a considerable financial pie, high staff positions and other delights.
In 2008, the already mentioned Colonel General Pavlov told the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper: “Diplomacy has nothing to do with it. And it's not about me. Yes, I was and remain a staunch supporter of army aviation being part of the Ground Forces. But this is not some kind of whim, not the ambitions of a lover, I will not hide, a professional in his branch of the army. This is an objective necessity, determined by the realities of modern combat and confirmed by practice.
If you notice, after the events in South Ossetia even some of those who previously argued with foam at the mouth the expediency of transferring army aviation under the "wing" of the Air Force, publicly admit the inconsistency and even harmfulness of their idea. Where does this insight come from? Yes, this war itself, be it wrong, showed that the Air Force command, with all its desire, does not have the ability to constantly monitor the situation in the theater of operations and directly control aviation on the battlefield. The Air Force has other tasks. They (I mean, first of all, "long-range", bombers) hit bridges, warehouses, arsenals, railway junctions, and so on, that is, strike at predetermined targets. And the helicopter is the weapon of the battlefield. Its task is to search for and beat tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, enemy manpower. This means that the command and control structures for these weapons should be located in the Ground Forces."
In July 2010 then commanding Airborne troops Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov slashed angrily from his shoulder: "It would be the right decision to return army aviation to the Ground Forces, as is done all over the world."
In 2012, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Colonel General Vladimir Chirkin announced that by 2020, 14 army aviation brigades would be additionally formed in the Ground Forces. At the same time, he, however, did not explain how all this would be combined with the very fact of the continued subordination of army aviation to the Aerospace Forces.
A little later, a representative of the Aerospace Forces clarified that the compromise reached with the ground forces was as follows: the helicopter brigades had indeed gone to the Ground Forces, but the organization of their combat training remained with his department. Apparently, according to the principle: "Everything that flies is ours."
Accordingly, the Department of Combat Training of Army Aviation is retained in the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces. His chief, in essence, is the unofficial commander of army aviation. Today it Major General Oleg Chesnokov.
Judging by his public speaking, Chesnokov believes that the management scheme of AA, born in pain, is close to ideal today. And it is supported by the fact that in last years the combat power of his troops is steadily growing. The raid of crews is increasing, new equipment is rhythmically arriving. To a large extent, the efforts of helicopter pilots achieved victory in Syria. As if if this structure were wholly and completely part of the Main Command of the Ground Forces, everything would have turned out differently.
Why all of a sudden? New helicopters are coming into service because the country is able to provide a significant defense order. The average flight time of crews is growing due to the rhythmic financing of the combat training of the entire army, and helicopter pilots in particular. And also because of the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. And all this is not happening at all because the combat training of helicopter units and formations is organized precisely by the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces. In the Ground Forces, they would probably have coped with this too. Only for this it would be necessary to organize a full-fledged administrative structure of army aviation there. Including, of course, the organization of combat training. Something like the one that was before 2003, when the Russian army aviation included up to 40 helicopter regiments, 9-10 separate helicopter squadrons, the Combat Use Center in Torzhok and the Syzran Higher Military Aviation School. All this colossus from Moscow was led by the Army Aviation Administration, consisting of 111 officers. Each district has an AA command post of 50-70 officers.
It is simply impossible to imagine that today the functions of these long-abolished powerful structures are fully performed by the only department of combat training of helicopter pilots of eight officers headed by Major General Chesnokov, which has been preserved in the Aerospace Forces. In addition, the once single body of army aviation today looks divided between two serious departments - the SV and the VKS. The experience of the previous service suggests that this also does not add harmony to the overall military-bureaucratic process.
So, a lot of things need to change here urgently. The new Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, General Surovikin, and the cards in hand. Who, if not him - the former commander of the 42nd motorized rifle division and the commander of the district - to know the price of supporting infantry by helicopter pilots on the battlefield? And what does it mean to beg these helicopters from aviators literally for Christ's sake?
Therefore, if he is behind this reform and dressed as a president in a flight uniform, I personally would understand this. But it will be difficult for Surovikin. This is to be sure. It would be simple - long ago the entire army aviation would have returned to the Ground Forces. As they say - overripe.
Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces
Colonel General
Biography
Since 1983 - on the valid military service in the Armed Forces of the USSR.
In 1987 he graduated from the Omsk Higher Combined Arms command school named after M.V. Frunze with a gold medal.
Since 1987 - commander of a motorized rifle platoon, commander motorized rifle company, chief of staff - deputy commander of a motorized rifle battalion.
Graduated in 1995 military academy named after M.V. Frunze with honors. Then he served as commander of a motorized rifle battalion, chief of staff - deputy commander motorized rifle regiment.
Since 1998 - commander of the 149th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 201st Motorized Rifle Division.
Since 1999 - Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of the 201st Motorized Rifle Division.
Participant of the armed conflict on the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan, participant of the Second Chechen War, participant military operation in the Syrian Arab Republic.
In 2002 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with honors.
Since June 2002 - commander of the 34th motorized rifle division.
Since June 2004 - Commander of the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.
Since 2005 - Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, since April 2008 - Commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army.
From October 2008 to January 2010 - Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
From January to July 2010 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Volga-Urals Military District.
From July to December 2010 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Central Military District.
From December 2010 to April 2012 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Central Military District.
From April to October 2012 - head of the working group on the formation of the Military Police of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Since October 2012 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Eastern Military District.
From October 2013 to October 2017 - Commander of the Eastern Military District.
On December 8, 2017, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty in the Syrian Arab Republic.
He was awarded the Order of St. George IV degree, Courage, "For Military Merit" and a number of medals.
On November 22, 2017, by decree of the President of Russia, 51-year-old Colonel General Sergei Surovikin was appointed the new Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces (VKS). Previously, he led the grouping of Russian troops in Syria, though not for long: according to some sources, since March of this year, according to others, since June. Prior to that, he served as commander of the troops of the Eastern Military District for several years. The career of this military man developed rapidly and noisily.
The upcoming appointment of Surovikin as Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces became known back in September, when Colonel General Viktor Bondarev was announced to leave this post. His departure looks strange: the age limit for military service for a colonel-general is 65 years old, and Bondarev will turn only 58 years old on December 7, so he could have served for another seven years. And he spent only two years as commander-in-chief of the new branch of the Armed Forces created in 2015.
Even more questions are raised by the appointment of a combined-arms general at the head of a purely "air" branch of the Armed Forces, who has never had anything to do with military aviation, space forces or air defense and missile defense forces, which are also part of the Aerospace Forces. In military aviation, combined arms officers, tankers, and representatives of the Ground Forces in general are traditionally called "boots", it just so happened. It also happened that only an aviation general should command military aviation, but not a "general in boots" at all, because, without knowing the specifics of aviation, it is simply unrealistic to understand a huge number of things. And you can learn this specificity only by being a pilot (it doesn’t matter if it’s a fighter, attack aircraft or bomber) and having gone through all the required stages of service: flight commander, squadron commander, aviation regiment commander, aviation division commander ... Even military pilots have their own terminology, specific, tankers and combined arms officers simply do not own it.
Until the end of the 1930s, Soviet military aviation was headed by "non-core" specialists, but this was the dawn of its creation: that is, there were already pilots, but they had not yet grown into strategic-level commanders. But since 1939, only pilots commanded military aviation. True, there was a case when, in 1987, after Mathias Rust's plane landed near the Kremlin, General of the Army Ivan Tretiak, who had never had anything to do with aviation before, was appointed commander-in-chief of the air defense forces (which included air defense aviation - over 1200 fighters), a graduate machine-gun school and an infantryman to the bone. From many mouths I heard the story of how he came to inspect the airfield in Rostov region and, having climbed to the control tower, he examined from above the runway, the centralized filling station, taxiing and issued something like: "Oh, what a wonderful tankodrome it would be here!" or "Well, how many tanks can be placed here!"
First of all, General of the Army Tretiak changed the shoes of the aviation entrusted to him into boots, and when inspecting the air regiments, he did not check the condition of the aircraft, but went around the airfield around the perimeter and looked at whether the fence posts were even, what was the distance between the rows barbed wire and whether well hatches are painted correctly. That was his inspection. And between flights, the pilots of the air defense regiments planted trees, painted and rearranged curbs, cleared forest plantations near the airfield, and the commander-in-chief was not at all interested in organizing flights.
Government publications hastened to report that General Surovikin led the Russian group in Syria, having gained invaluable experience in the combined use of forces there. He also has the Military Academy of the General Staff behind him, from which he graduated with honors. But he was in Syria for three months. They also write about his rich combat experience, but what exactly: in organizing flight training for pilots of various types of aviation or in providing maintenance for aviation equipment? Probably, he can designate a combat mission by showing on the map exactly where the aircraft needs to strike. But can a combined-arms general plan the forces and means to accomplish the assigned task? Of course not - for this it is necessary to know at least the characteristics of aviation equipment and the means of destruction used at a professional level.
Does the land general have an idea about weather conditions, non-flying weather? From the cadet's bench, a military pilot is hammered in that only he decides whether he is ready to fly or not - this is generally one of the basic principles of flight training. Before any flight, the pilot is obliged to inspect the equipment entrusted to him and decide whether to fly or not (of course, this does not apply to the execution of the order), but the combined arms general does not understand such subtleties. The argument regarding General Surovikin's successful graduation from the General Staff Academy is completely weak: all commanders in chief and commanders of the Air Force were trained in this academy. And they also studied there strategic issues and the organization of interaction of all types and branches of the troops. However, for some reason, aviation generals are not appointed commanders-in-chief of the Ground Forces, they are not placed at the head of military districts or commanders of combined arms and tank formations.
In addition, it was during the command of Surovikin that the Russian group (as well as mercenaries from PMCs) in Syria suffered the most significant losses, up to a general and several colonels. It is also believed that during the fighting in Deir ez-Zor, Surovikin failed the task of crossing the Euphrates River, the purpose of which was to block the advance of the Kurds to the oil fields. Therefore, they say, the Kurds got the largest oil fields - 75 percent of all Syrian oil. Nevertheless, it was General Surovikin who turned out to be the only one of all the commanders of the Russian group, who was constantly shown by the central television channels. Assuring that it was during his command that the Syrian government forces achieved maximum success on the battlefields.
First blood
The official biography of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces is interesting because it contains too many gaps and mysteries. For example, it says that in 1987 he graduated from the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School with a gold medal, but where he served until 1991, not a word about this. Other sources report that he fought in Afghanistan, but about chronological framework of this service and in what particular part - this is silent. Although in 1989 he was already serving in the Moscow region, in the "court" 2nd guards Taman motorized rifle division, so if he was in Afghanistan, then no more than a year. Having received during this time the Order of the Red Star and the medal "For Courage": a lot for a freshly minted platoon lieutenant.
True, there is neither the Red Star nor the medal "For Courage" on the dress uniform, he also does not wear the straps of these awards, which is also strange. With slats and orders, the general is generally confused. According to the information of the RIA Novosti agency, published in 2011, Sergey Surovikin was awarded three Orders of Courage, the Order of Military Merit, medals of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, I and II degrees with the image of swords, the Order of the Red Star, medals "For Courage", "For Military Merit", etc. However, in the modern official photograph from the website of the Ministry of Defense, for some reason, he has only one of the three Orders of Courage, the Order of Military Merit, and for some reason only one of his military medals - " For military merit." In other pictures, he either has two bars of the Order of Courage, or all three, and all this refers to the same period of time. Orders, of course, tend to accumulate, but for them to decrease ... It is strange not to wear at least the bar of Soviet military awards. And in general, the procedure for wearing awards and award bars is strictly regulated: nothing superfluous, but without any reduction, wear everything that you received.
Just four years after graduating from college, in August 1991, Sergei Surovikin was already a captain and battalion commander. More precisely, the acting battalion commander, but in four years to grow from a lieutenant to a whole battalion commander in the "court" Taman division is not just fast, but excessively accelerated. About such impetuous in the army they usually say "he is being led", meaning "furry paw". But the "paw" turned out to be very useful when, during the GKChP, it was the battalion he commanded that had the dubious honor of shedding the blood of three civilians: Vladimir Usov, Dmitry Komar and Ilya Krichevsky. According to one of the active participants in the events, Sergei Bratchikov, it was the battalion commander who took out a pistol and shot the first person who came across in the forehead. True, no one could prove anything later: neither the bullet was found, nor the weapon from which they fired, and the battalion commander's service pistol turned out to be clean. Maybe everything was completely different, but then three army divisions were brought into Moscow, a division internal troops, KGB units, and only Surovikin's battalion spilled the blood of civilians. Captain Surovikin spent several months in Matrosskaya Tishina, but in December 1991 he was released and even promoted to major: they say that on the personal instructions of Yeltsin. And in 1992, the 25-year-old major was sent to study at the M.V. Frunze Military Academy: the breakthrough was simply unprecedented.
Pistols Surovikin
In 1995, a student of the Frunze Military Academy, Major Surovikin again fell into history, this time a purely criminal one. The military court of the Moscow garrison found him guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR then in force: Part 1 of Article 17 (“Commission of a crime by a group of persons by prior agreement or by an organized group”), Article 218 (“Illegal carrying, storage, acquisition, manufacture or sale of weapons , ammunition or explosives") and Section 218 § 1 ("Theft of firearms, ammunition or explosives"). The future general was accused of complicity in the acquisition and sale, as well as carrying firearms and ammunition without a permit.
These articles of the then Criminal Code provided for substantial terms of imprisonment: 218 - from three to eight years, 218-1 - up to seven years, and if there was a preliminary conspiracy by a group of persons, or the act was committed "by a person to whom firearms, ammunition or explosives issued for official use or entrusted under guard", then up to ten years in prison. But the sentence turned out to be soft and completely humane: one year of imprisonment on probation. True, apart from the personnel bodies of the Ministry of Defense, no one would have known about this story if it were not for the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky. On December 2, 2011, he sent an official letter to Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, in which he officially informed him of this incident. Which was especially important in connection with the fact that Surovikin (by that time already a lieutenant general) headed a working group on the creation of military police bodies "with the prospect of being appointed head of the Main Directorate of the Military Police of the Ministry of Defense."
The Chief Military Prosecutor informed the Minister of Defense that "not only for moral and ethical reasons, but also in accordance with Article 20 of the draft federal law "On the Military Police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation", a ban on serving in the military police of citizens with or who had a criminal record is justifiably provided for." This demarche of the Chief Military Prosecutor did not go unanswered. The then newly created Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, represented by its Military Investigation Department, for some reason in the Southern Military District, to which Surovikin had nothing to do then, rose to the defense of the general.
One of the leading officials of this subdivision of the Investigative Committee admitted that "while studying at the Frunze Military Academy, there were cases when some teachers illegally sold weapons, for which they were criminally punished." And so, "fulfilling the request of one of these teachers, Major Surovikin agreed to hand over a pistol to a colleague from another course, which was supposed to be used supposedly to participate in the competition. The major, not knowing about the true intentions, fulfilled the order." During the interrogation, Major Surovikin told about his confidence that he was not doing anything illegal, and therefore, "when the investigation figured out that the officer had been set up, the charge was dropped and the conviction was extinguished."
All legal acts regulating the handling of personal service weapons unambiguously interpret its removal outside the military unit outside the framework of the performance of official duties as a crime. In peacetime and in a peaceful place, service weapons should be kept in a service safe or armory, from where they are issued when a serviceman is assigned to a squad or during test shooting, after which he surrenders again. The personal (service) weapon of an officer (type of weapon and its number) is recorded in his identity card.
But this is a personal service weapon, and a student of the military academy does not and cannot have any personal service weapon. Unless he is assigned to a patrol or squad for the academy: then he will receive a pistol and two clips, signing in the book for issuing weapons and ammunition, and after the outfit he will hand over, making a signature in the corresponding column in the same way. The loss of a weapon, as well as its theft or complicity in such, even out of "ignorance", is one of the most "bad" crimes for a regular officer, a black mark. And definitely a cross on a military career.
Many years later, Surovikin himself will say that for him "this topic" was allegedly closed back in 1995: "The investigation sorted out the case, established my innocence, they apologized to me and extinguished my criminal record," and then "the court decision on conviction was canceled, due to the absence of corpus delicti in my actions, the subject of speculation is no more." But, as follows from the letter of the chief military prosecutor, everything was not exactly like this: the investigation, of course, sorted it out, but, having filed charges, referred the case to court. Which delivered, albeit a conditional, but guilty verdict under three articles of the current Criminal Code.
Surovikin began to seek the abolition of the sentence only many years later, when he was already a general and in connection with the upcoming high appointment. That is, until this became an obstacle to the next career take-off, he fully agreed with the verdict and was not going to protest anything? But it seems that not the entire sentence was canceled, but only under two of the three articles of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR: for some reason, under the 17th (“Complicity”) and part 1 of Article 281 (“Theft of firearms, ammunition or explosives"). There is not a word about the abolition of the verdict in the part of article "just" 218 ("Illegal carrying, storage, acquisition, manufacture or sale of weapons, ammunition or explosives").
iron hand
The major was sent - formally to the war, but not to Chechnya, where the fighting was in full swing, but to the 201st motorized rifle division stationed in Tajikistan. At 32, he is already a colonel and the entire division chief of staff. Tajikistan was also considered a "hot spot" at that time, but by that time formally, since the 201st division actually did not conduct combat operations there: they ended in the summer of 1993. An officer I know, who served in the same 201st motorized rifle division in 1995, says that "there was a resort there then." Suppose, not quite a resort, but certainly not a full-fledged theater of operations. One way or another, but in Tajikistan, Surovikin also moved quickly through the ranks, quickly running through the steps of the battalion commander, the chief of staff of the regiment, the regiment commander, and then becoming the chief of staff of the division: from the battalion commander to the division chief of staff - in just five years.
In 2002, Surovikin graduated from the Academy of the General Staff - also with honors. Then a new appointment - to the Volga-Urals Military District, commander of the 34th motorized rifle division. The divisional commander was considered exemplary, earning a reputation as a stern commander and an "iron hand", making the connection advanced. Only the methods by which this was achieved can hardly be considered innovative: it was with the appointment of Surovikin to this position that the division regularly began to appear in scandals and criminal reports related to massacres and even murders.
For example, in March 2004, the military court of the Yekaterinburg garrison sentenced two conscripts of this division to eight years in prison for the murder of a fellow soldier, Yaroslav Lazarev. As it turned out, the soldier was killed with the knowledge of the officers, in fact, on their orders. In the summer of 2003, this soldier, having arrived home on a visit, did not return to the unit. But after a while, Lazarev was "figured out", tracked down and caught. Two officers of the special team threw the fugitive into the trunk of a car and brought him to the 32nd military camp, where the 34th division was stationed with its headquarters. On the evening of December 5, 2003, Captain Denis Shakovets, commander of the company in which Private Lazarev served, lined up his soldiers and, having explained to them the pernicious nature of unauthorized absences, ordered Lazarev to be tied to the bars of the armory.
After that, on the orders of the officer, two soldiers bullied the "defector" all night: first they beat the unfortunate man with forged boots, fists and batons, which made his eye bleed out. Then the guy was already tortured with discharges electric current, tortured to death: on the morning of December 6, Lazarev died, crucified on a grate. But the real term, although short, received only two direct executor order. Captain Shakovets was given two years probation, and to General Surovikin, apparently, another gratitude - for bringing the division to the forefront, he also deserved the Order of Military Merit, it seems, at the same time.
Another story of the same period is completely connected with a massacre already in the office of the divisional commander himself. In March of the same 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Tsibizov turned to the prosecutor's office of the garrison with a statement that he had been beaten by the senior military commander - the division commander, Major General Surovikin. Lieutenant Colonel Tsibizov claimed that on March 15, 2004, together with two senior officers, the general beat him in his office because he voted "for the wrong candidate" at the by-elections to the State Duma on March 14 of the same year from the Verkh-Isetsky district. The general immediately hastened to accuse the lieutenant colonel of almost desertion: he allegedly did not appear in the service for a week and a half. The garrison prosecutor's office did not reveal anything: the witnesses "did not show up", and Tsibizov was forced to withdraw his statement. At the headquarters of the Volga-Urals Military District, the very fact of the general's massacre was categorically denied.
But the next case became absolutely egregious: on April 21 of the same 2004, in the same office of Surovikin in the closed 32nd military camp, his deputy for weapons, Colonel Andrey Shtakal, committed suicide. The 37-year-old colonel is survived by his wife and daughter. A criminal case was initiated on this fact, but it was soon closed. According to the military prosecutors, the situation was as follows: Lieutenant-General Alexander Stolyarov, deputy commander of the PUrVO troops, came to the division with a check, who remained dissatisfied with the results of the check. It was he who summoned Shtakal and Surovikin for a conversation in Surovikin's office.
Further, I quote, "remarks were made to the servicemen during the check. In response, Colonel Shtakal [committed suicide]. Thus, the investigation established that Surovikin was in no way guilty of this tragedy." In reality, no evidence was presented that Surovikin was also subjected to an official scolding and, in general, that this happened in the presence of the Zamkovy district. Then the official version suddenly underwent a change and there were no more witnesses left, and the question of incitement to suicide disappeared, as it were, by itself.
In a good commander, officers do not shoot themselves in the office from service weapons
Guards Colonel Andrei Shtakal is a paratrooper, his reputation is impeccable, his colleagues unanimously spoke of him as a good commander and a very decent person. He is a participant in hostilities, holder of the Order of Courage, on his tunic is the sign of the Military Academy (apparently, the name of Frunze), a sign for many parachute jumps. Andrey Shtakal was appointed deputy commander of the 34th motorized rifle division for weapons in June 2003. He did not think of any suicide: not that character, a real fighter. And the colonel did not have any service pistol with him! The investigation made public such a detail: the shot was fired not from Colonel Shtakal's service PM, but from some stranger, allegedly belonging to a certain officer Bochkin. And according to one version, this Bochkin gave his award pistol to Shtakal so that he would hand it over to the warehouse, and the deputy division commander allegedly for some reason did not do this. Experts in forensic medical examination have their own addition: the nature of the colonel's wound indicated that he allegedly did not want to commit suicide, but intended only to imitate it, but "did not calculate the angle of application of the weapon to the temple."
True, my interlocutor, who once served in one of the departments of the General Staff, says that even if it is suicide, "the officers of a good commander do not shoot themselves in the office with service weapons."
The case was quickly closed, and Surovikin himself was sent from the PUrVO to Chechnya, as commander of the 42nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division. But even there, the commander had an emergency: on February 21, 2005, under the collapsed wall of a poultry farm in the village of Prigorodnoye, Grozny District, nine reconnaissance soldiers of the 70th motorized rifle regiment of the 42nd division were killed, three more were seriously injured. According to the official version, the militants fired from a grenade launcher. General Surovikin immediately became a television star, swearing in front of television cameras that for each dead soldier he would destroy three militants. But what kind of scouts are these who let the enemy approach their location? Soon they put forward a version of self-collapse. But journalists from Novaya Gazeta found out at the same time that there was no battle and no shelling, and one of the tipsy servicemen accidentally fired a grenade launcher inside the premises. Or careless dealt with a mine.
But the proceedings stalled, and soon General Surovikin was transferred from Chechnya to Voronezh, to be promoted - chief of staff - first deputy of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army: in his incomplete 39 years. When Anatoly Serdyukov became Minister of Defense, Surovikin's career began to grow rapidly, and since April 2008 he has been commander of the 20th Army. He stayed in this position for seven months, and in November of the same year he quickly sat down in the chair of the head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GOU General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation). The GOU is the key department of the General Staff, it is it that is responsible for the strategic and operational planning of military operations and operational command and control of troops.
Traditionally, and Soviet time, and in recent history Russia - GOU was headed by military leaders with predominantly rich staff experience, while Surovikin most of military career was in a purely command position. In addition, he came to the second most important post in the General Staff, having no experience of serving as the chief of staff of the military district and commander of the district troops. That is, he did not pass all the prescribed (and even mandatory for the head of the GOU) steps of the army ladder, before that all his experience was limited to tactical (division) and operational levels (army). In his new position, Surovikin lasted only 14 months. From January to December 2010, our hero was the chief of staff - the first deputy of the command troops of the PUrVO: the service life is purely nominal, less than a year! But along the way, Surovikin graduated from the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense, having received a law degree.
General and his wife
Soon followed by a transfer to the already well-known Yekaterinburg - chief of staff - first deputy commander of the newly created Central Military District (TsVO). But even in this position, he stayed for a very short time, and in fact it was completely formal, since he had been on a long business trip since 2011: he was involved in the organization of the military police. He was transferred from Yekaterinburg quietly and behind the scenes, apparently at the urgent request of the district commander, Colonel General Vladimir Chirkin, who was tired of the numerous scandals in which Surovikin again managed to be noted. This time the scandals were connected with the business of his wife, Anna Borisovna Surovikina. That's what they said about the general in Yekaterinburg: this is the one who is the husband of a talented businesswoman.
Wives, as you know, are the greatest asset of the Russian bureaucratic elite: they are all exceptionally talented in business, and therefore just as exceptionally rich. Military officials are no exception here: while they vegetate on beggarly salaries, their spouses work furiously, increasing family wealth and fortune. So General Surovikin has an extremely talented, and therefore wealthy wife. According to 2016 data, when Surovikin commanded the troops of the Eastern Military District, his wife, with an income of 44.021 million rubles, took second place in the list of the richest spouses of employees of the Ministry of Defense. She had three apartments with a total area of 479 square meters. m, three land plots with a total area of about 4.1 thousand square meters. m, house 686 sq. m, parking place (12 sq. m) and non-residential premises (182 sq. m). Also, the general's wife was the owner of the Lexus RX 350.
Her husband earned much less that year: 10.4 million rubles. But he also has two apartments with a total area of 623 square meters. m and a passenger car Dodge Nitro. Anna Borisovna Surovikina, together with her daughter and cousin Alexandra Misharina (Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region in 2009–2012), was the founder of the Argusles sawmill (the name Argus-SFK is also found). According to the then deputy of the Yekaterinburg Regional Duma, Leonid Volkov (now he leads the headquarters of Alexei Navalny), they sawed not only the forest, but also the regional budget. It is also known that Misharin is an old and close friend of Surovikin. As the resource "UralInformBuro" wrote back in April 2012, the talented wife of the general "not only runs a forestry business with the daughter of the governor Misharin, but, in conjunction with the security forces and officials of the regional government, seeks to enter any profitable areas of business."
After publications about his wife, as Leonid Volkov claimed, he was allegedly given the general’s threats: “This man has spoken several times in different groups of people over the past week that he will kill me because I offend his wife, slander her and so further. He did not convey any threats to me personally. He expressed his threats in a circle of people who obviously know me and communicate. This is such a way of saying hello." The scandal was noisy, but ended almost in sizzle: the general's wife sued Volkov, the court ordered him to remove something from the blog and pay moral compensation in the amount of 5 thousand rubles. When Misharin ceased to be the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, and General Surovikin was transferred from Yekaterinburg, then the affairs of the Argus-SFK company went from bad to worse: huge debts ran up for renting land and forests to the regional budget - several tens of millions of rubles, the forest Surovikin's spouses and Misharin's daughters were taken away through the court, and the "innovative enterprise" went bankrupt.
"Love to death"
In the summer of 2011, another full-fledged emergency occurred in the diocese of Surovikin: on the night of June 2-3, a fire broke out at the 102nd arsenal of the Central Military District, in Udmurtia. The warehouse stored 172.5 thousand tons of ammunition, of which 163.6 thousand tons - almost 95 percent - were destroyed by fire and explosions. Then 12 generals were brought to disciplinary responsibility, including Deputy Minister of Defense General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov and commander of the district troops Colonel General Vladimir Chirkin. The chief of staff of the district was not punished, since he was then on vacation. On the other hand, Major General Sergey Chuvakin, who temporarily performed his duties, was punished. They whispered again that the general had a very “good dry-cleaner”, which perfectly removes stains from his uniform.
Surovikin himself left in the fall of 2012, one might say, for another promotion: for about a year he served as chief of staff - first deputy commander of the troops of the Eastern Military District (VVO), then was appointed commander of the VVO. At one of the military forums, I found the following description of the officer who worked with him: “very smart, but he will love everyone around him to death. work time, and in Moscow the working day is in full swing, they pull, and from 6.00 - preparation for the morning meetings. A bunch of references, slides, etc. ... In short: woe from wit. "Another officer, who also served under Surovikin in the Air Defense Forces, complained that all official and even night time was spent only filling out notebooks and plans, preparing photo reports, drawing posters and the writing of numerous reports, during the checks, they did not check combat training at all, but only physical education, and even those very notebooks and plans.In December 2013, Surovikin received the rank of colonel general.
It is not the first day that the news has been spreading in the media that the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces has been appointed and General Surovikin S.V. will become it. He will take this post instead of General Viktor Bondarev. The Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces received a new distribution and will work in the Federation Council. The former commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces will work with the committee in the field of defense and security and is currently preparing to take on a new position. The new appointment of the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces and the reshuffle in the leadership were not unambiguously perceived by everyone.
How military personnel in the VKS reacted to the appointment
The military personnel of the Aerospace Forces reacted especially negatively to this appointment. Although the dismissal of Bondarev, the commander of the VKS, is also due to the fact that his leadership has distinguished itself by an increased number of air accidents. But unlike his predecessor, Sergei Surovikin never had anything to do with the air force, he commanded motorized rifle formations for most of his military career, and in recent years he led the work of the detachment in Syria. According to the pilots, entrusting the command of the Aerospace Forces to a person who had no experience at the helm of an aircraft is an extremely reckless decision.
Major General of the Air Force Alexander Tsialko also took this news without much enthusiasm. In his opinion, the commander-in-chief of the VKS should be a professional in his field. With such assignments, it often happens that the commander has to be taught basic knowledge first. It will be difficult for him to delve into the documents, the organization of work and simply understand the life of the pilots. The command of such troops is trained in specialized military educational institutions.
It is because of the incompetence management team there are cases of death of pilots in the line. The VKS commander must listen to his deputies in order to avoid mistakes in leadership. Tsialko believes that Surovikin will not always do this. Therefore, problems cannot be avoided.
It's no secret that pilots dislike infantry. This is not due to great pride, but due to the fact that you need to understand the flying business. Pilots have their own special language for orders. Thanks to this, the generals put all the necessary tasks to their subordinates. For this reason alone, the new GK VKS may have problems with interaction and management.
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What is known about the new boss
Commander-in-Chief of the VKS S.V. Surovikin went through a difficult military path. His biography has difficult moments. The new head of the VKS is 50 years old, he is a regular professional military man who graduated from the military combined arms command school located in Omsk. Sergei Vladimirovich began his service back in the days of Soviet army. Immediately after graduation, he was sent to serve in Afghanistan. He served during the war on the territory of Tajikistan, as well as in the North Caucasus. In 2002 he became a graduate of the military academy at the General Staff.
In the period 2002-2004, he headed the 34th motorized rifle division stationed in Yekaterinburg. Then he served in the 42nd division during the period of hostilities during the military conflict in the Republic of Chechnya. There he held mainly positions commanders and took part in the work of the headquarters. Since October 2013, he has led military formations as part of the Air Defense Forces. Since 2017, he has led the work of Russian troops in Syria. He has military awards, was awarded orders such as "for courage" and "for courage".
At the age of 90 in Tajikistan, he delivered at the risk of his life military equipment and personnel to ensure the elimination of serious consequences natural disaster to the affected regions of the country. Many of the general's colleagues speak of him as an experienced and professional military man.
But not everything is so smooth in the biography of the future commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. There was a moment in his life when he was taken into custody after the death of civilians. This happened in 1991, when he was still the captain of the Toman division. By order of the State Emergency Committee, he was to participate in restoring order in troubled Moscow. On August 21, at night, he was ordered to break through the barricades of civilians set up near the Garden Ring. He led the BMP column. As a result of the collision, three picketers were killed.
After this tragedy, he was forced to spend seven months in Matrosskaya Tishina, but, later, the charges were dropped, and the rank was raised to major, from light hand Boris Yeltsin.
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Another case occurred with Sergei Surovikin in 2004. His subordinate wrote a report to the prosecutor's office about his commander beating him because of the wrong vote in the elections, and a month later his subordinate shot himself. But in both cases, the fault of the division commander was not proven.
Creation of military police
Sergei Vladimirovich Surovikin stood at the origins of the creation of the structure of the military police, it was he who opened this structure. The authority of this unit includes the activities of the FSB and military counterintelligence. The military police not only carry out patrol tasks, but also carry out operational activities. The servicemen of these units are also required to monitor the maintenance of the Guardhouse.
Creating this structure S.V. Surovikin was supposed to become its head, but due to the fact that a long-standing conviction surfaced, for which he received 1 year probation, his candidacy was removed from consideration.
He received a criminal record as a result of a case where he was found guilty of trafficking in firearms. Later it turned out that he was set up, the conviction was canceled, but such an incident was not forgotten in the prosecutor's office. The chief military prosecutor of the Russian Federation opposed his candidacy and in 2011, in his letter to the Minister of Defense, he expressed his position. The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation, in order to avoid conflict, sent Surovikin to the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Military District.
Last appointment
Information that Surovikin will be appointed commander-in-chief of the VKS troops has been discussed among the military for a long time. It is believed that he received such an appointment after his excellent work carried out in the Syrian conflict. Despite the fact that he is a typical land commander, he managed to organize the work of aviation, air defense systems, space troops and motorized rifle formations.
Two other candidates were considered for this position:
- Lieutenant General Igor Mokushev;
- representative of the Space Forces Alexander Golovko.
S.V. Surovikin was not considered with particular seriousness among the possible candidates. Both candidates went through their military career and were associated with activities in the field of rocket and air forces, but this issue The choice was made for other reasons.
The pilots did not want to see the candidacy of Alexander Golovko. Since at the time of the creation of the Aerospace Forces, the rocket and space forces very actively began to master the budget allocated to the entire structure. For this reason, Golovko, as a representative of the rocket and space forces, was not the best option. Therefore, the choice not in his favor only pleased the representatives of the Air Force.
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General Sergei Surovikin was chosen due to the fact that he has a wealth of combined arms experience. In such a position, a representative of one type of troops will experience difficulties. The example of his predecessor, Viktor Bondarev, is illustrative. There is an opinion that the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev, is leaving precisely because of the plane crash that happened in 2016 in Sochi. This tragedy influenced the decision not in his favor.
Sergey Surovikin, Photo from 42msd.ru
A scandal erupted in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation: Lieutenant General Sergei Surovikin, who is considered the main contender for the post of head of the main department of the military police of the Ministry of Defense, was found to have a criminal record, which, in accordance with the law, should block his path to a new position. However, not only a criminal record lay a black stain on the lieutenant general's reputation. Surovikin was also seen in other scandals that were unpleasant for his reputation: one of his subordinates committed suicide after talking with him, another accused the lieutenant general of beating him, and Surovikin's wife is the founder of a dubious company.
Deputy Prosecutor General - Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky - wrote a letter addressed to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Anatoly Serdyukov, in which he draws attention to the criminal record of Lieutenant General Sergei Surovikin, who is considered the main contender for the post of head of the main department of the military police of the Ministry of Defense, Kommersant newspaper reports. .
"Officer Framed"
The letter addressed to the head of the Ministry of Defense was sent on December 2. It says that since November 2011, Lieutenant General Sergei Surovikin has been heading a working group on the creation of military police bodies "with the prospect of being appointed" to the post of head of the main military police department of the Ministry of Defense. Fridinsky reminds the minister that in September 1995, Surovikin, being a student of the Frunze Military Academy, was found guilty by the military court of the Moscow garrison of "assisting in the acquisition and sale, as well as carrying firearms and ammunition without a permit" (Article 17, part 1 article 218 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR). He was sentenced to one year of probation.
“Not only for moral and ethical reasons, but also in accordance with Art. 20 of the draft law “On the Military Police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” reasonably provides for a ban on serving in the military police of citizens who have or had a criminal record,” Fridinsky summarizes. “I ask you to take into account the above when considering the appointment of the head of the main department of the military police.”
The draft law "On the Military Police of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" is still being developed. But even the replacement of police positions by persons with a removed or canceled conviction is impossible according to Art. 29 of the law "On Police". “In order for a candidate with a cleared or canceled conviction to be able to get a position in the military police, the drafters of the law will have to make changes to the draft. It is unlikely that the requirements for military policemen can be softer than for ordinary ones,” says Dmitry Chernyakov, managing partner of the Muranov, Chernyakov and Partners Bar Association.
However, according to Sergei Sypachev, deputy head of the Military Investigation Department for the Southern Federal District, the incident with Surovikin's criminal record is just an innocent prank.
“While studying at the Frunze Military Academy, there were cases when some teachers illegally sold weapons, for which they were criminally punished. Fulfilling the request of one of these teachers, Major Surovikin agreed to hand over a pistol to a colleague from another course, which was supposed to be used ostensibly to participate in the competition. The major, not realizing his true intentions, fulfilled the order, ”he said in a conversation with the publication.
According to the interlocutor of Kommersant, during interrogation, Sergei Surovikin said that he was sure that he was not committing anything illegal. “When the investigation figured out that the officer had been set up, the charge was dropped and the conviction was extinguished,” Sypachev explained, adding that at the present time in such cases a person is treated not as an accused, but as a witness.
Suicide on the job
However, if you delve into the biography of Lieutenant General Surovikin, you can easily find that the incident with a criminal record is far from the only dubious episode in his past. So, in April of this year, after a conversation with a lieutenant general, in front of his colleagues, the deputy commander of the 34th motorized rifle division for weapons, Colonel Andrey Shtakal (32nd military camp), committed suicide.
Thirty-seven-year-old Colonel Andrei Shtakal began serving in the 32nd military camp (34th motorized rifle division), from June last year as deputy commander for armaments. His responsibilities included the preparation and preservation of military equipment under the control of the unit.
The incident happened on April 21st. According to the colonel's colleagues, the conversation between Shtakal and Surovikin took place in raised tones. And almost immediately after him, Andrei Shtakal, in front of the officers who had gathered at the headquarters, pulled out his service pistol and shot himself in the temple. The Colonel was hospitalized in critical condition. But the doctors failed to save him: yesterday at 6 am local time Andrey Shtakal died.
On the fact of the suicide of the colonel, the military prosecutor's office of the PUrVO launched an investigation. Investigators considered several versions, including problems in personal life. But official troubles were considered the main reason for suicide. As noted in the military prosecutor's office, during the check, which was recently launched by the commission of the commander-in-chief in the 32nd military town (deployed in Yekaterinburg), claims have already been made against the officer. In particular, shortcomings were identified in the preparation of equipment for combat operations. Information about the final outcome of the investigation could not be found.
Among Andrei Shtakal's colleagues, the attitude towards the incident is ambiguous. According to them, he had previously had conflicts with the leadership of the unit and headquarters of the PUrVO. Although, at the same time, the colonel's colleagues indicate that he was a good commander and a decent person.
Another high-profile incident involving Lieutenant General Surovikin occurred a month earlier, in March of this year. Then the lieutenant colonel of one of military units In Yekaterinburg, Viktor Tsibizov complained to the prosecutor's office of the garrison that he had been beaten by his senior commander, division commander Major General Sergei Surovikin. According to the victim, the reason for the beatings in the general’s office was that Tsibizov voted “for the wrong candidate” at the by-elections to the State Duma on March 14.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Tsibizov, on March 14, higher-ranking officers took him to the office of the division commander, Major General Surovikin, from the polling station, where he was as an observer from the headquarters of State Duma candidate Yevgeny Zyablitsev. In the presence of the general, senior officers persistently “recommended” him for several hours not to appear at the polling station until the end of the voting, threatening severe sanctions, up to and including dismissal and failure to provide him, Tsibizov, with an apartment.
Lieutenant Colonel Tsibizov is sure that the reason for the pressure on him was precisely the political predilections of the command of the unit, which made a bet before the vote on another candidate for the State Duma - the general director of the non-ferrous metal processing plant Nikolai Timofeev. On the eve of the by-elections to the State Duma in the 162nd Verkh-Iset constituency, Timofeev promised the military to protect their interests, unlike Zyablitsev, who at all meetings with voters said that it was necessary to cut the budgetary funding of the military in favor of pensioners.
On the evening of March 16, when the preliminary results of the vote were already known and it became clear that Zyablitsev had won the election, Viktor Tsibizov was again taken under escort to the office of the division commander, General Surovikin. There, according to the lieutenant colonel, he was required to write a letter of resignation and beaten.
“In addition to the general’s office, there were his adjutant, his deputy for educational work, Colonel Chukrov, and a third officer, whose last name I don’t know,” Viktor Tsibizov told Izvestia. - They beat me, pushed me in the chest, in general, behaved like soldiers and sergeants in the barracks. Later, I went to the medical unit and documented minor bodily injuries.”
Surovikin himself denied all accusations against him. “I didn’t beat anyone personally, I didn’t even touch Tsibizov with a finger,” the general said. - But I submitted a report to the prosecutor's office even earlier - regarding the monthly absence of this comrade lieutenant colonel from the service. I hope that a criminal case will be initiated against him.”
The general claimed that Lieutenant Colonel Tsibizov, assistant head of the department for educational work of the division headquarters, did not apply to a higher commander with a request to release him from service while working at the election headquarters and did not receive official permission for this. And even a 10-day absence from service for an officer is a serious military crime, desertion. Not to mention the agitation in favor of this or that candidate, which is forbidden in the troops. In addition to the persons named by Tsibizov, there were no witnesses or eyewitnesses of the incident.
Soon Viktor Tsibizov withdrew the statement from the prosecutor's office.
Business interests of Surovikin's wife
It is impossible not to mention another high-profile case, to which Lieutenant General Sergei Surovikin is related. In February of this year, the blogger and public figure Leonid Volkov published a post in which he talked about the business of the daughter of the governor of the Sverdlovsk region Alexander Misharin Anastasia. The post was titled "Governor Misharin's family is engaged in sawing!". Further, the author of the entry explained that "there are no artistic hyperbole here." The fact is that Anastasia Misharina owns Argusles LLC, a company that specializes in sawing, planing and impregnating wood.
Among the other founders of this LLC are the cousin of the Sverdlovsk governor Andrey Misharin, the chief informant of Russian Railways JSC Latushkin Oleg Alexandrov (“it would seem, what does the forest have to do with it?”, writes the blogger) and Anna Surovikina - the wife of the hero of this material.
Further in the post, it was written what exactly the daughter of the governor and his comrades (the founders of the Argusles company) were sawing: “In 2005, the girls picked up a collapsed timber industry enterprise and hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest for nothing, and said: in 2007 we will start making plywood here! They didn't start in 2007. In 2008, they didn’t start either, but they received a road and houses in the village as a gift from the region. In 2009 they did not start, but received a discount of 75 million for electricity. They did not start in 2010 either, but they received 300 million for the power plant. And they built a temple."
The daughter of the governor, in turn, accused the blogger of slander and sued him.
Note that the well-known blogger Alexei Navalny also wrote about Anastasia Misharina earlier. “Anastasia is a young entrepreneur. At the age of 18, she co-founded the Argus company and contributed 125 million rubles to its authorized capital. This is an example for all of you. While you were chewing your sandwiches and pies in the school cafeteria, Anastasia saved up. So 125 million and scored. And typing - invested. Very successful, ”the anti-corruption official ironically.
Further, Navalny published a list of companies where young Anastasia also acts as an owner or manager, and this list is impressive: the daughter of the governor is the founder of 11 companies and holds leadership positions in another 18.
However, the story didn't end there. Ilya Melekhin, a correspondent for the Yekaterinburg TV channel 4, said in his LiveJournal that he filmed a story based on Leonid Volkov's post about the business successes of the governor's daughter. However, the material was banned from being shown, as they say,.
"Who did this? I was told that the story was filmed after a call from Moscow. The owners of the channel are located in the capital. However, I assume that the call actually came from the governor's residence,” writes Melekhin. “Why is this necessary? This is necessary so that the name of Alexander Misharin's daughter (I fully admit that she is as clean as a tear) is not mentioned in connection with this case, ”he concludes. According to the journalist, either the head of the Governor's Administration, Vyacheslav Lashmankin, or his deputy, Vadim Dubichev, could have removed the story.
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