Born on May 7, 1951 in the city of Leningrad. His father is an officer in the USSR Air Force, his mother worked in the Gosstrakh department.
In 1969 he entered the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute named after M.I. Kalinina. He graduated from it in 1974 with a degree in electrical engineering.
"News"
Ilya Klebanov: what secrets are hidden by the bottomless eyes of the plenipotentiary?
Russians first heard about Ilya Klebanov in July 1997, when his name was mentioned in a speech by then President Boris Yeltsin. They say that for the steep rise in his career as a government official, Klebanov should thank Anatoly Chubais, at that time the first deputy prime minister, whom Klebanov met during the privatization of a secret enterprise. As a result, Klebanov became the first vice-governor of the city on the Neva, and in 1999 he moved to Moscow, to the post of Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the military-industrial complex.
link: http://www.compromat.ru
Unsightly portrait of Klebanov
Recently, Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov has been among the leaders of the “revival of Russia”; since May 1999, he has been the chief curator of the defense complex and high technologies. He is now predicted to have a high place in Putin's hierarchy. But who is he?
link: http://www.compromat.ru
Master puppeteer Ilya Klebanov
And now there is talk in the Presidential Administration that in the near future Turchak may indeed “go for a promotion” - to deputy plenipotentiary representative of the President for the Northwestern Federal District, away from independent work. The irony is that the Pskov governor will submit to the man who may have contributed to his problems - Ilya Klebanov.
link: http://www.compromat.ru
Trades of Plenipotentiary Klebanov
In addition to the governors, employees of the Russian Presidential Administration presented their income declarations. One of them is Ilya Klebanov, plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District. Ilya Iosifovich was already the hero of a Novaya publication in the section about dolbins (officials with stable family business interests). What happened to the assets and administrative and financial position of the presidential envoy to the Northwestern Federal District two years later and what does his report look like?
link: http://www.compromat.ru
Ilya Klebanov laid down his weapons
On Saturday, Vladimir Putin appointed Ilya Klebanov, who most recently headed the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology, as his new plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern Federal District. Even though Mr. Klebanov’s days in the government were numbered, his appointment as plenipotentiary representative came as a surprise: it was believed that the minister would leave the government for the State Duma, where he is now running on the United Russia list, and completely different people were expected for the post of plenipotentiary representative. But the president decided not to write off his old acquaintance, whom he obviously considers a good manager from old memory.
link: http://www.compromat.ru
Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Northwestern Federal District Ilya Klebanov congratulated the residents of the Komi Republic on the 90th anniversary of its formation
“Like our entire country, I am happy to congratulate the residents of the Komi Republic on their anniversary. This is a wonderful region and, probably, everyone who has visited here will always remember its beauty and its strength. “This is a hardworking republic that enjoys well-deserved respect from all regions of Russia,” noted I. Klebanov at a ceremonial meeting dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Komi Republic and presented state awards.
link: http://www.komi-time.ru/
An interdepartmental meeting was held in the Northwestern Federal District on the state of legality in the field of implementation of legislation on combating the legalization (laundering) of criminal proceeds
The meeting was attended by the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Ilya Klebanov, heads of a number of law enforcement and regulatory agencies, prosecutors of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
link: http://genprok-szfo.ru
Ilya Klebanov was relieved of his post as plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern Federal District
PRESIDENT Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Ilya Klebanov from the post of plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern Federal District. The media previously predicted Klebanov's resignation, mainly due to scandals in different regions of the district. Nikolai Vinnichenko, who until recently worked in a similar position in the Ural Federal District (Ural Federal District), was appointed to his post.
link: http://www.ng.ru/
“Novo-Admiralty Shipyard” in St. Petersburg: projects of “Baltic Shipyard” + “Northern Shipyard”
Let us recall that the idea of building a super-shipyard in St. Petersburg was expressed in the late 1990s by the then chairman of the city’s Economics Committee, Ilya Klebanov. Then he worked as the Minister of Industry of the Russian Federation, Deputy Prime Minister, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North-West, and, according to media reports, continued to support this idea. Currently, Klebanov is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the state-owned company Sovcomflot.
link: http://www.regnum.ru
North-West coordinated to resolve investment issues
Ilya Klebanov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District welcomed the members of the Coordination Council:
– The global economic crisis could not but affect the state of the construction segment of the market, the full implementation of the priority national project “Affordable and comfortable housing for Russian citizens.”
link: http://sroportal.ru
Ilya Klebanov: The Council will become the center of a coordinated policy of self-regulation in the North-West
Speaking with a welcoming speech to the participants of the meeting, the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Ilya Klebanov noted that currently 35 self-regulatory organizations in construction are registered in the Northwestern Federal District, which includes more than 13.5 thousand construction companies. In his opinion, the creation of the Coordination Council for the development of self-regulation in the construction industry of the Northwestern Federal District is a significant and timely event for the development of the industry.
“I am confident that the Council will become the center for implementing a coordinated policy of self-regulation in the North-West, will help self-regulatory organizations of the district identify common points of contact, implement joint business projects, outline their position and resolve the most pressing issues facing builders,” said Ilya Klebanov. He emphasized that the creation of the Coordination Council for the development of self-regulation in the construction industry of the Northwestern Federal District is a significant and timely event for the development of the industry and wished all participants in the meeting of the Coordination Council successful and fruitful work.
link: http://sros.spb.ru
Ilya Klebanov visited the department of the regional command of internal troops
Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Ilya Klebanov took part in the ceremony of presenting a personal standard to the commander of the Northwestern Regional Command of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Lieutenant General Pavel Petrovich Dashkov. The military regalia was presented to the commander by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Internal Troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lieutenant General Nikolai Vladimirovich Lyubchenko.
link:
Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov
3rd Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District
November 1, 2003 - September 6, 2011
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev
Predecessor: Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko
Successor: Nikolai Alexandrovich Vinnichenko
2nd Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation
October 17, 2001 - November 1, 2003
Head of Government: Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov
President: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
Predecessor: Alexander Nikolaevich Dondukov
Successor: Andrey Aleksandrovich Fursenko (acting)
Birth: May 7, 1951
Leningrad, USSR
Education: Leningrad Polytechnic Institute named after M. I. Kalinin
Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov(born May 7, 1951, Leningrad) - Russian manager and statesman.
Born on May 7, 1951 in the city of Leningrad. Father Ilya Klebanov- USSR Air Force officer, mother worked in the Gosstrakh department. In 1969 he entered the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute named after M.I. Kalinina. Graduated Ilya Klebanov him in 1974 with a degree in electrical engineering.
Immediately after the institute, I was assigned to NPO Electron, where I worked as an electrophysics engineer for three years, until 1977. Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Association
Career of engineer Ilya Klebanov
In 1977 Ilya Klebanov began work at the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Association (LOMO) as a design engineer. While working at LOMO, he married Evgenia Yakovlevna, who worked there.
I made my first big money working part-time at a construction site during my vacation.
I was already a family man then. I went to build a construction base in the Leningrad region with my friends. And he earned absolutely fantastic money at that time - about 2,500 rubles. We simply built it from scratch. In particular, I worked on a caterpillar tractor. And everything has documentary evidence. We did a zero cycle, of course. Then, many years later, I drove past this base - in my opinion, it was never completed, although I could be wrong. With that money we bought something and went for a walk. Yes, I remember this money.
Then he moved up the ranks, becoming senior foreman of the optical shop, head of the design bureau, head of the technology bureau, and deputy chief technologist.
In 1989-1990, he held the position of chief engineer of the LOMO complex of medical equipment and consumer goods.
CEO
In August 1992 Ilya Klebanov became the General Director of LOMO, replacing Dmitry Vasilievich Sergeev in this post.
On October 1, 1992, to replace the Entrepreneurship Council under the President of the Russian Federation, which was abolished on September 30, the Council of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs under the Government of the Russian Federation was created by decree of Boris Yeltsin dated September 30, 1992. The personal list of council members was approved by Yegor Gaidar on November 3. The Council included 25 people, mainly representatives of the so-called “directors’ lobby,” including Ilya Klebanov. The Chairman of the Council was the General Director of the AvtoVAZ production association, Vladimir Kadannikov. (On November 16, 1992, the Council was renamed the Council on Industrial Policy under the Government of the Russian Federation, on November 25, 1993 it was again renamed into the Council on Industry and Entrepreneurship under the Council of Ministers - the Government of the Russian Federation, and also abolished on August 12, 1994).
In 1993, LOMO was privatized and renamed OJSC LOMO. Starring Ilya Klebanov JSC LOMO received significant investment funds during the privatization process, which made it possible to begin introducing new technologies into production. Thus, many traditional areas of LOMO: microscopy, endoscopy, observational and spectral instruments were modernized to meet the requirements of the world market, which made it possible to significantly increase the export of LOMO products.
Since 1994 Ilya Klebanov- Member of the Council for Industry and Entrepreneurship under the President of the Russian Federation; member of the Board of Directors of Promstroybank of Russia, member of the Board of Directors of the Russian-American Entrepreneurship Fund, member of the Board of Trustees of the Bolshoi Drama Theater Foundation. G. A. Tovstonogova.
In December 1997 Ilya Klebanov in connection with his appointment as the first vice-governor of St. Petersburg, he left his position as general director of OJSC LOMO.
Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg (1998-1999)
In January 1998 Ilya Klebanov appointed first deputy governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Yakovlev and headed the city committee of economics and industrial policy.
In the Government of the Russian Federation (1999-2003)
Stepashin government
On May 19, 1999, Sergei Stepashin became Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. He began to form a new government and, among others, included Ilya Klebanov. On May 31, 1999, Klebanov was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, in charge of issues of the military-industrial complex. Moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
Putin's government
In August 1999, there was a change in the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation - instead of Stepashin, the government was headed by Vladimir Putin. In Putin's government Ilya Klebanov kept his post. On September 6, he also became the first deputy chairman of the Presidential Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation with Foreign States.
In January 2000 Ilya Klebanov declared the unconditional support of the general director and general designer of the FSUE "VPK MAPO" Nikolai Nikitin, and the VPK MAPO was renamed the Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG". At the same time, Russian Avionics lost its license to develop military products.
On February 11, Russia and Belarus entered into an intergovernmental agreement on the creation, on the basis of the Russian financial and industrial group “Defensive Systems,” of an interstate financial and industrial group of the same name, which included three Belarusian enterprises. Ilya Klebanov was appointed Chairman of the FIG Board of Governors, and Sergei Batekhin, Head of Defense Systems OJSC, was appointed Secretary.
Kasyanov government
In May 2000, after Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia, Mikhail Kasyanov was appointed chairman of the government. In Kasyanov's government, Klebanov also retained his post. Oversaw issues of the defense industry and arms exports.
Working meeting of Vladimir Putin with deputy. Chairman of the Government Ilya Klebanov and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov on the issue of the operation to raise the Kursk nuclear submarine. September 13, 2001.
On August 14, 2000, Ilya Klebanov headed the government commission to investigate the causes of the death of the Kursk nuclear submarine, which was created by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the very beginning of the commission’s work, Klebanov expressed a version of the collision of the Kursk with an anti-ship mine from the Second World War, which may have also led to the detonation of the torpedo. After choosing the official version of a “torpedo explosion,” the assumption disappeared by itself. Experts familiar with the strength characteristics of nuclear submarines of this class initially rejected this version.
On September 5, 2000, it was reported that Ilya Klebanov might head the government commission to restore the Ostankino Tower after the fire.
In September, Ilya Klebanov intervened in the Bendukidze-Zharkov conflict over the Krasnoye Sormovo shipbuilding enterprise.
On October 17, 2001, in addition to the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, he became a minister, heading the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. In this position Ilya Klebanov replaced Alexander Dondukov.
February 18, 2002 Ilya Klebanov relieved of his post as Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, while retaining the post of Minister of Industry, Science and Technology.
In the spring of 2003, the minister Ilya Klebanov expressed the idea of creating an integrated shipbuilding holding. He proposed the creation of the state concern "Nevsky Shipyards" on the basis of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Admiralty Shipyards" and the Central Design Bureau of Marine Equipment "Rubin" with the subsequent merger of private enterprises at that time: part of the ICT group of companies "Baltic Plant" and belonging to the industrial holding company " New programs and concepts of Northern Shipyards.
Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation (2003-2011)
On November 1, 2003, having left the post of Minister of Industry, Science and Technology (he was replaced by Andrei Fursenko), Klebanov was appointed plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District. Returned to St. Petersburg. On November 12, 2003, he was included in the Security Council of the Russian Federation as a member of the Council.
His predecessor in this position, Valentina Matvienko, appointed governor of St. Petersburg, warmly supported this appointment of Ilya Klebanov:
“He, Klebanov, knows the district, the military-industrial complex, shipbuilding, and St. Petersburg very well. It will be very useful for the city in solving those problems associated with the federal center. He is a good politician, a balanced person, and has exceptionally good human qualities.”
First Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative Alexander Beglov (formerly acting governor of St. Petersburg) also approved the appointment of Ilya Klebanov: “I think he will cope with this position. And then, he’s ours, a St. Petersburg resident.”
On May 7, 2008, Vladimir Putin resigned as President of the Russian Federation and the powers of Ilya Klebanov as the plenipotentiary representative of the President ceased. However, already on May 14, the next President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, appointed Ilya Klebanov as his plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern Federal District. And on July 10, Dmitry Medvedev, as the President of Russia, and Ilya Klebanov, as his plenipotentiary representative, held their first meeting, discussing the demographic situation in the region.
On September 6, 2011, Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Klebanov from the post of presidential plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern Federal District. The reason for the resignation was officially given as a transfer to another job. On September 14, 2011, he was expelled from the membership of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
Shipping company OAO Sovcomflot
In October 2011, Klebanov became chairman of the board of directors of OAO Sovcomflot.
Family
Ilya Klebanov is married, his wife is Evgenia Yakovlevna Klebanova. They met at the LOMO association, where they worked together.
They have a daughter, Ekaterina (born 1977), and a son, Konstantin (born 1988).
The daughter graduated from the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance. Married to Andrei Praskurin. In 2000, their son was born. Since 2003, he has headed Viribus LLC (this company is one of the major shareholders of LOMO OJSC (16.129%), in 2004 it owned 4.9% of St. Petersburg Promstroybank, which was subsequently sold to VTB Bank). Since 2008, Viribus has owned 38.89% of FOR Group LLC, a large fishing company that has ten vessels with a total capacity of up to 800 tons of fish products per day. The fishery is conducted in the northern, northeastern and southern parts of the Atlantic. In 2008, Viribus LLC was at the center of a scandal: officials of the city property management committee of St. Petersburg tried to evict the tenants of several premises on Moskovsky Prospekt and lease them to Viribus LLC.
Ilya Klebanov is one of those unsinkable politicians who appeared in sufficient numbers on the waves of perestroika. He made a dizzying career, going from a simple engineer to Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. His life is an example of active progress towards a goal, but sometimes using dubious means.
Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov was born in Leningrad on May 7, 1951. The family was ordinary: my mother worked as a minor employee in an insurance company, my father served in the air force. The Klebanovs lived prosperously, although they did not have much wealth. Ilya’s childhood was completely typical for that time: kindergarten, school, friends in the yard. Nothing foreshadowed any outstanding life. After graduating from school, Ilya Klebanov entered the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. In 1974, he received a higher education diploma with a degree in electrical engineering. At the institute, Klebanov did not show much activity in social life and studies. According to his assignment after institute, he comes to the research and production association "Electron". Ilya worked there in his specialty for three years.
In 1977, Ilya Klebanov, whose biography was very typical for an engineer of Soviet times, came to work at the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Association. Lenin, briefly called LOMO. The company produced equipment for the military industry, film equipment and carried out scientific developments in the optical field. Ilya started working as a design engineer. The wages here were better than at Electron, but Klebanov did not have much wealth. Over the course of 15 years, he went through all stages of career growth: he was a workshop foreman, head of a design and technology bureau, and deputy engineer. Therefore, he knew the organization inside and out. In 1992, he became the general director of the association.
A year later, LOMO undergoes the corporatization procedure. The company received significant funds, which allowed it to update its equipment and reach a new level of production. As a result of this modernization, LOMO began to produce more competitive products and was able to significantly increase exports and increase profits. The country's largest investors took part in the privatization of the enterprise: Potanin and Prokhorov. These acquaintances would later be useful to Klebanov. As a result of all these processes, Ilya Iosifovich acquired quite a lot of money. If before this the most significant amount for him was the money earned while on vacation with his friends in construction, now he could receive a solid, guaranteed income.
In 1992, Ilya Klebanov became a member of the Council of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs under the Government of the Russian Federation, which was personally supervised by B.N. Yeltsin. It is from this place that the vertical takeoff of Ilya Iosifovich’s career begins. Since 1994, he has been a member of the Presidential Council on Entrepreneurship. At the same time, he became a member of the boards of directors of several companies, and was a member of the board of trustees of the theater. Tovstonogov. Having entered the “director’s lobby,” Klebanov gained great connections and the favorable attitude of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, who in 1997 even referred to him as “national wealth” in his annual message.
In 1997, Ilya Klebanov was appointed to the government of St. Petersburg: he became deputy prime minister. Informed sources claimed that this appointment, as well as the mention of Klebanov’s name in the President’s speech, was planned. He expected that Ilya Iosifovich would soon join his team, but for now he needed to gain experience. In Yakovlev's government, he served as first deputy and oversaw the city economy and industrial policy of St. Petersburg.
But a year later he has to move to Moscow. He received the post of Deputy Prime Minister Stepashin and began to deal with the problems of the military-industrial complex. In 1999, after the change of government, Klebanov retained his position under V.V. Putin. In 2000, when Putin became president, Mikhail Kasyanov became prime minister, Ilya Iosifovich again remained in his chair. In 2001, he received an additional post and became the Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. In 2002, Klebanov was removed from the post of Deputy Prime Minister, retaining the post of minister. In 2003, he had to vacate this place too.
In November 2003, Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov ceded his ministerial chair to his good friend A. Fursenko, and he himself received a new position. President Putin appoints him as his plenipotentiary representative in the Northwestern Federal District. So he returned to St. Petersburg. Experts said that this was an “honorable exile” for Klebanov for his conflicts with circles close to the government. At the same time, Ilya Iosifovich was a member. After D. Medvedev took the presidency, Klebanov retained his position. And only in 2011 he was relieved of these duties in connection with the transition to a new job.
In 2011, he became the head of the largest Russian shipping company Sovcomflot. This company was established by the Russian government, and it controls the majority of maritime gas transportation in Russia. Its tanker fleet numbers more than 200 units. Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov, for whom Sovcomflot became a platform for applying his efforts, actively began to establish connections with various foreign partners. Since it has a powerful administrative resource behind it, the company quite easily manages to obtain large contracts for the delivery of gas by sea from Russia to partner countries.
Many who are familiar with the name of the politician have a question: “Where is Ilya Iosifovich Klebanov now?” The average person is unlikely to be able to answer this. And business people will probably say that he is now a major entrepreneur. After leaving government positions, he began developing the family fishing business, which his daughter Ekaterina and her husband had previously acquired with his help. Today, several companies controlled by Klebanov have an annual turnover of 6 billion rubles.
Ilya Klebanov has more than once become the target of various attacks and investigations. He was accused that during his time at LOMO he was involved in the sale of technologies to competing companies, but this information was not officially confirmed. Journalists claimed that during his deputy prime minister he lobbied for the interests of the Jewish community, helping them take over companies in different regions of the country. In 2016, documents known as the Panama Papers revealed three offshore companies linked to Klebanov's name. There were no comments from Ilya Iosifovich.
During his governmental life, Ilya Klebanov received such awards as the President of the Russian Federation, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, the Order of Honor, and the Order of Merit for St. Petersburg. He is an actual first class state councilor of the Russian Federation.
Ilya Iosifovich has been happily married for a long time. His wife, Evgenia Yakovlevna Klebanova, worked with him at LOMO. After her husband went to power, she no longer officially worked. The couple had two children: daughter Ekaterina and son Konstantin. The daughter got married and gave birth to Klebanov’s grandson. She and her husband own the Viribus company, which is a major shareholder of LOMO and the founder of a large fishing business.
There are objects in nature that stubbornly do not sink. Under any conditions, even in an ice hole, they still float in the upper layers. It is about such objects in Russian politics and economics that I begin the series “Cohort of Non-Drowning”. I’ll say right away that the information is taken from open sources and personal impressions. Therefore, there is no point in suing me - sue the primary sources.
I’m starting the series with one of the system’s lackluster characters - Ilya Klebanov. He is not as bright as Chubais, not as funny as Medvedev, but his influence on the course of events in the Russian economy is noticeable. Just as noticeable is his influence on the Russian law enforcement system with its “anti-corruption” processes, “high-profile” cases that threaten to develop into the “Mkhitaryan list” and the “decriminalization” of regions.
Most Russians remembered Klebanov during the “rescue” of the nuclear submarine Kursk. The eyes of the Deputy Chairman of the Government, full of Jewish universal sadness, when he said that someone was knocking in the boat and that they were about to be rescued, made us believe that the submariners would be rescued. And when they stopped knocking, the boat was opened. The imperturbable Putin put an end to the matter: “She drowned.”
I remember Klebanov when his interests extended to the Far East and he actively began to take over the Sukhoi concern, at that time the largest exporter of Russian weapons on the foreign market. The governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Ishaev, spoke out against Klebanov’s interests. And the chair under the governor began to shake - he was reminded of everything, right down to the idea of creating a Far Eastern republic. But one of the most successful governors of that time resisted the pressure of accusations and retained his post. And he managed to save Sukhoi. What cannot be said about the governors of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Novgorod Region, etc. and so on. subjects of the Russian Federation - here Klebanov’s attacks and threats were effective and achieved results. In particular, ex-governor Barinov directly said in his interview that a drunken Klebanov threatened him in a restaurant: “If you don’t withdraw your candidacy from the elections, we will put you in prison.” Barinov did not withdraw, and the case was allowed to proceed. The governor was convicted and removed from office, but the oil industry in the district was headed by Klebanov’s man, after which Ilya Iosifovich’s interest and concern for the prosperity of the district disappeared.
The governor of the Novgorod region, Prusak, was smarter - after the meeting with Klebanov, he immediately resigned, and what the conversation was about was not discussed anywhere. But after his resignation, Klebanov announced a campaign to decriminalize the region. The most interesting thing is that cases were opened against successful businessmen whose assets and enterprises were of interest, but criminal groups, according to human rights activists, continued to flourish and no one touches them. But disobedient businessmen have been around for years, and criminal figures with information are found in... Apparently, the high-tech enterprise Spektr OJSC, which produces power equipment, and Novgorodkhleb OJSC, owned by Telman Mkhitaryan, cause profuse salivation among the fighters of the raider front who have worked up an appetite. The campaign for “decriminalization” and persecution of entrepreneurs in the Novgorod region continues even after Klebanov’s resignation - stubborn Novgorod residents do not want to hand over their assets.
So who is Ilya Klebanov, and why does his influence persist even after his seemingly official departure from the political arena?
A modest native of a Jewish family (Ilya Klebanov is recognized as a very influential and successful Jew on many Jewish information resources) he made an excellent career - from a simple engineer to the deputy chairman of the Government, the Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation, who oversaw the Russian military-industrial complex (a sharp career rise, as they say many, he owes to Chubais, to whom he handed over LOMO and a certain secret enterprise, and in response, a word was put in about him to Yeltsin). And at every stage of his career path, Klebanov noted, but somehow got out of strange things:
Based on the facts of the additions, criminal cases were initiated at the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Association (LOMO), headed by Klebanov. But someone's unknown hand stopped the investigation.
The murder of LOMO financial employees Kostryukov, Kuchin and Verkhoglaz, the beating of the head of the Microscopy Design Bureau Nemkina against the backdrop of the sale of microscopes in the USA with hyperprofits of several hundred percent for an intermediary company.
Sale of technologies for the production of Igla MANPADS (the technologies for the production of homing missile heads were taken by “unknowns” from LOMO on ordinary floppy disks and sold to the Poles) and documentation for the Yak-130 training aircraft to the Italians, who are now producing “their” M-346 and sell it to our competitors.
Kazakhstan waited and did not receive the S-300 air defense system. But this complex suddenly surfaced among the Arabs. Along with secret documentation. The most interesting thing is that the Arabs immediately lost interest in purchasing the S-300 - apparently, they got everything they needed without concluding a multimillion-dollar contract.
The loss of 23.4 million rubles received under the “Union TV” program.
Failure to sign a $1 billion contract for the sale of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to India.
Increase in customs duties on foreign cars.
Squeezing out the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant OJSC from the arms market in favor of the Israel Aircraft Industry, which is modernizing MI helicopters without the consent of the Mil residents. But Klebanov appears on pro-Israeli portals in the lists of honorary Jews who “free of charge” lobby the interests of Israel.
Despite such “blunders,” or rather thanks to them, Klebanov was preparing to take the place of Putin’s successor. But he made a mistake - after the proposal, without waiting for the appointment, he began calling his friends, including the chairman of the Russian Jewish Congress, reporting the good news. Putin allegedly did not like this and the choice fell on another representative of the diaspora - Medvedev.
And Klebanov was sent into honorable exile with an increase in status - plenipotentiary representative for the Northwestern Federal District, where Klebanov launched active work to replace governors with his proteges, accompanied by an active PR campaign in the media. According to rumors, he really wanted to return to the Kremlin on a white gelding when Putin came again and take Medvedev’s place. Why did he initiate a campaign to discredit Medvedev (which Medvedev himself greatly contributed to with his statements and actions). But Medvedev’s team managed to dismiss Klebanov.
But people of Klebanov’s level do not drown so easily - in October 2011, Klebanov became chairman of the board of directors of OJSC Sovcomflot. A “modest” company with 100% state capital, which has its own tanker fleet of almost 200 units and is, in fact, a monopolist on the Russian market for transporting energy carriers (oil and gas) by sea. And it ranks 6th in the world in terms of transportation volumes and 1st place in the world in terms of transportation in northern latitudes. Not a bad retirement? And a powerful financial resource!
So, Klebanov’s emergence in Putin’s close circle is quite expected - for someone who has tasted the drug of power, money alone is not enough...
Sergei Neveerov
An official working for a business is an ordinary and widespread phenomenon. An official who has ruined all state affairs entrusted to him is less common, but he can also be found if he really wants to. An official who lobbies the interests of business, who has failed to cope with a single task assigned to him, who has disgraced the whole world because of a tragedy that has claimed more than a hundred human lives, and at the same time still occupies one of the important government posts, is a unique phenomenon.
There have long been jokes about St. Petersburgers in power, but our hero is an atypical representative of this type of official. His success story on the political horizon is very different from many like him.
Russians first heard about Ilya Klebanov in July 1997, when his name was mentioned in a speech by then President Boris Yeltsin. They say that for the steep rise in his career as a government official, Klebanov should thank Anatoly Chubais, at that time the first deputy prime minister, whom Klebanov met during the privatization of a secret enterprise. As a result, Klebanov became the first vice-governor of the city on the Neva, and in 1999 he moved to Moscow, to the post of Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the military-industrial complex.
Without a specific ministry under him and, most importantly, without any clear ideas about how the Russian economy should be reformed, Klebanov found himself, as it were, a deputy prime minister on special assignments. Formally, he was put in charge of the fate of the military-industrial complex. And then Klebanov showed himself, as they say, in all his glory. Remembering how easily he was forgiven and forgotten for the scandals with the sale of secret drawings and other “innocent pranks”, which we will talk about a little later, Ilya Klebanov took up the arms trade, of course, exclusively in his own interests, with inhuman zeal. And I was right.
Perhaps the people who invited Klebanov to the government did not understand much about the intricacies of managing a market economy and believed that in order to organize the work of the Russian military-industrial complex, a person sitting in the White House was really needed. However, this delusion could not persist for long. He defended the interests of companies, he actively participated in the conclusion of all major arms sales deals, he pushed through the resolution of those issues that might have been beyond the capabilities of individual “strong” business executives who were well versed in logistics but poorly versed in politics. economic. But in whose interests was all this done?
Entire volumes have already been written about the successes of Ilya Klebanov in the field of the domestic military-industrial complex. The media have repeatedly reported on numerous transformations of defense enterprises, during which unique production facilities were eliminated. Even more often, the story of the collapse of military exports was described, which, as they say, not without the participation of Ilya Iosifovich, began to be managed by the former editor of the semi-porn newspaper Megapolis Express. Here we can add the failure of contracts for the supply of SU fighters to Indonesia and Ecuador.
But let's go back in time for a moment. Klebanov began his difficult career as a “businessman” at the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Association (LOMO), which produced military optics and anti-aircraft missile systems. Before his appointment as General Director of LOMO in 1997, Ilya Klebanov headed a separate branch engaged in the secondary production of civilian optical-mechanical equipment. Let us recall that the main area of LOMO activity was military equipment, and therefore all the “everyday life” was considered only an official cover for defense orders. And precisely during the period when Klebanov was in charge of the production of cameras and film cameras, the inspection authorities discovered that in the production of film and photographic equipment, the branch management overestimated the indicators and, accordingly, received more money than they actually earned. The competent authorities became interested in the case of registrations at the secret enterprise. At the same time, several more criminal cases surfaced. But literally within a few months, all criminal cases were closed, and Klebanov escaped with a slight fright. However, as always. The history of his career has proven this more than once.
Over the past decades, the pride of LOMO specialists has been the unique optical homing heads of man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS) called “Igla”. During the period of Klebanov's leadership of LOMO, miracles began to happen in the defense industry. Moreover, in the defense industry not of the domestic one, but for some reason of one Middle Eastern country. Quite unexpectedly, they suddenly began to establish production of this very Igla complex, and, what is most strange, there were no contracts for the right to produce Igla in third countries. That is, foreign gunsmiths mastered our MANPADS without a license. And only now the testimony of one of the leading LOMO engineers of those years, Viktor Pavlov, has become known, in which he reports that in 92-93, top secret know-how on Igla went to the West through the Polish company Neska, and under type of civilian product IK-1. And the documents on the complex were taken out from LOMO on regular floppy disks. Let us remind you once again that since 1992, the head of LOMO and, accordingly, signed all documents and contracts was none other than Ilya Klebanov.
Another story that happened in LOMO during the period of Ilya Klebanov’s command there is no less interesting and mysterious. Ilya Iosifovich organized the export of microscopes to the USA. For trade with the United States, a special joint venture “LOMO-America” was created, which sold microscopes at a price many times higher than the one at which they were sold to LOMO. The multi-million dollar difference disappeared in the offices of the LOMO leaders, who simultaneously commanded the Russian-American joint venture. When the head of the Microscopy Bureau Nemkova decided to understand the situation and asked several unpleasant questions to Klebanov, a few days later the curious employee was severely beaten by unknown assailants and spent two months in the hospital. During the same period, LOMO employees Kostryukov, Kuchin and Verkhoglaz, who were directly related to sales and finance, were killed.
The Kursk tragedy is still far away...
The highest favor allowed Ilya Klebanov in the same 1997 to become the first vice-governor of St. Petersburg. In this post, Klebanov was remembered for desperately defending the interests of some of the capital's oligarchs, in particular, the Interros financial and industrial group, which gained control over the largest St. Petersburg enterprises Elektrosila and LMZ. However, in the administration of the northern capital, the political and apparatus rating of the ex-CEO of LOMO was very low. But this did not bother our hero.
Since 1999, Klebanov has become Deputy Prime Minister and begins to work “big.” Ilya Klebanov came up with a completely original way of writing off Russian government debts to other countries.
Even before perestroika, the Yakovlev Design Bureau created for the Russian Air Force a unique training aircraft, the Yak-130, which aroused the envy of aircraft manufacturers in all European countries. But during the period of economic reforms, funding for the development of the Yak-130 ceased, and the Design Bureau agreed with the large Italian aircraft manufacturing company Aermacchi on small joint work to bring the Russian aircraft to completion. It was assumed that the Italians would make some on-board equipment and act as agents for the sale of this supermodel in the West. The plane was even renamed “Yak-AM-130”.
This is where Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov came into play. He stated that the project to jointly create the aircraft would be completed within the framework of the “debts for investments” scheme, that is, Russia would finance the work necessary to finalize the aircraft, and the Italians, in exchange for this, would pay off some of the still Soviet debts. It seems like a good idea. But everything looked beautiful only in Klebanov’s performances. In fact, behind this whole story lies a banal scam involving the transfer of the unique technology of the Russian Yak-130 aircraft to the ownership of the Italian company Aermacchi.
Ownership rights to the Yak-130 before intervention in the Ilya Klebanov case belonged to the OKB im. Yakovlev and Aermacchi in a 50/50 ratio. But the Italian company used this model as the base for creating its own M-346 aircraft, which no longer has anything to do with the Russians. To launch its release, Aermacchi lacked only Russian documentation. It was precisely this that Klebanov handed over to the Italians to pay off the debt.
Now the “Italian” M-346 is being shown to buyers of the showroom in Le Bourget, and the Russian Design Bureau named after. Yakovlev, who practically created this superplane, is not even mentioned in advertising brochures. Aermacchi is actively selling the M-346 (the same Yak-130) to Greece, India and other countries that previously planned to purchase Yaks from Russia.
This is how Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov “wrote off” 77 million dollars of Italy’s debt to Russia, but at the same time lost hundreds of millions that we could have received from the sale of the Yak-130, which is now being successfully sold by the Italian company Aermacchi.
Of course, everything ended well for Klebanov. Nobody even thought to ask why the Russian defense industry is being sold abroad? And where do the “pennies” earned for it go?
Inspired by yet another success, Klebanov went even further. It was on the initiative of Ilya Iosifovich that the mysterious “Russian Agency for Control Systems” (RASU) arose, whose license allowed the even more mysterious company “Defensive Systems” to sell to an unknown destination the latest modification of the S-300 air defense missile system. This complex was intended for the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, but then disappeared from Russian territory, and they still cannot find it. It is only known that the S-300 did not reach Kazakhstan, and it is also noteworthy that Arab countries were willing to pay tens of millions of dollars for the possession of this complex. It is also strange that as soon as the S-300 disappeared from the Russian horizon, the Arabs completely lost interest in it.
But most of all, the country and the whole world were shocked by the tragedy of the Kursk submarine. The Kursk story is the most striking example of the kind of work Klebanov did. As is known, the boat was raised by foreign specialists, and without any Dutch deputy prime minister in the baggage train. The process was monitored on the Russian side by military sailors. Scientific support - specialists from Rubin Design Bureau. But since the recovery of military property lost by the admirals is too important a matter to be entrusted to the admirals themselves, Klebanov was assigned to all this by the president. After all, he can’t graze the cows, he can’t set the budget - let him look after the process.
And Klebanov made excellent use of his chance. Understanding well that he needed to either gain a foothold in the government or look for another place of work, he managed to squeeze everything possible out of Kursk. Moreover, the task was not to raise, but to hide what was raised.
There were many versions about the reasons for the death of the Kursk, and there is no point in listing them. Moreover, the main and most correct one remains. But the Russians were not supposed to find out about it. And they didn’t find out, thanks to Ilya Klubanov.
Some time ago, the History Channel in Canada aired a series about submarines, 2 episodes of which were dedicated to the death of the Kursk. Let us remind you that the Russian viewer should never have seen this series. We came across a review from one of the viewers who saw this film.
“At first they showed what we already saw and knew. How and when this happened, and how our military commanders reacted to it. Regular shots. Women are hysterical and all that. They showed Ilya Klebanov, if you remember, he was then Deputy Prime Minister. They showed how Klebanov stood silently in front of the hysterical women, not knowing what to answer. We have already relaxed a little, well, they say, it will be now... they will walk through ours from the heart.
And then there’s a sudden turn. You probably remember that there was such a version in some newspapers that, they say, there was a foreign submarine nearby, and there was sort of a collision, and then the torpedoes on the Kursk detonated. In our country, this all remained an absurd fiction, and as a result, after a two-year investigation, the official version was announced in 2002, according to which a torpedo spontaneously exploded in the bow compartment, then all the ammunition exploded in a chain reaction, which led to the death of the submarine and crew.
Now about what we were shown here in this film.
They showed that there were two American submarines in the maneuver area. They were on a special mission, monitoring maneuvers. One submarine, the Memphis, was under the cover of another submarine, the Toledo, in the shadows. It seems like the only one on the screens of all radars and sonars. Then the Memphis emerged from under its leading boat to better investigate the launch of a ballistic missile from the Kursk without calculating the course and distance. The Americans found themselves on a collision course and collided head-on with ours. They walked with their whole body through the most vulnerable second compartment of the Kursk. But the worst thing happened then. On the second American boat, Toledo, observing the whole picture, the captain decided that the Russians had somehow attacked the Memphis and, without hesitation, fired a torpedo at the Kursk. The torpedo hit directly the weakened part at the junction of the second and third compartments and exploded inside. The film showed a computer-generated version of how it all happened, featuring all three boats. Our planes, following fresh tracks, detected oil stains on the water along the course of an alien submarine leaving the scene of the incident.
Some newspapers wrote that there was a foreign submarine, sort of like an English one, and we all read about it.
Now about what we didn’t know for sure. It turns out that ours were leading these two American submarines before all the events and knew for sure that they were Americans on observation. After the collision and attack on the Kursk, Defense Minister Sergeev took two anti-submarine squadrons into the air. They immediately reported to Putin to the south. And at the same moment the Americans contacted Putin. After contacting the Americans, Putin withdrew the planes and, in the end, Putin (or his team) decided not to provoke tension. Everything, it turns out, was on the edge of the abyss.
The director of the CIA urgently arrived in Moscow for consultations. All this time, Putin was constantly in touch with Bill Clinton.
As a result, no one was allowed near the boat, although the whole world offered qualified assistance. We all thought that we could save someone. A few days later, ours agreed to let the Danes in, but with strict orders not to swim to the bow of the boat. The Danes managed to open the hatch in the eighth compartment, found several post-mortem notes, and confirmed that no one had survived inside the boat. After this, the work of our divers began. They no longer cared about the boat itself, its reactor and the dead sailors. It turns out that pieces and debris of the American Memphis were urgently removed from the bottom near the Kursk.
Those Russian newspapers that managed to publish satellite images of a “suspicious foreign” submarine being repaired in a Norwegian port were immediately pinned down by the FSB. This submarine was indeed the American Memphis and it took 7 days to reach Norway instead of the usual 2. Another American boat, the Toledo, zigzagged and followed a non-standard course to the United States.
Some time later (about two weeks after the incident), all previous Russian debt to the United States was canceled, and America provided Russia with a new loan of $10 billion. Each family of the sailors who died on the Kursk received an incredible compensation of $25,000...”
Klebanov’s amazing ability to say completely opposite things about the same thing once again allowed him to stay away from popular anger. Many remember the terrible footage of Klebanov’s speech in front of the mothers of the dead submariners. Lowering his eyes, in which, according to the apt definition of one of our colleagues, all the sorrow of the world was drowned, Klebanov in a monotonous voice explained to the grief-stricken women why their children died. Not a single muscle moved on the Deputy Prime Minister's face. Because he knew perfectly well why and for what the submariners died. And who received good money for it. And the main thing is that no one will blame him for the tragedy that occurred.
In February 2002, Ilya Klebanov was demoted to Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation. Various reasons were given: excessive lobbying of the interests of certain business structures, increased customs duties on foreign cars, failure to sign a $1 billion contract for the sale of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to India, etc. Others said that the bureaucratic conflict with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was to blame.
In 2003, another scandal broke out in the defense industry. At this time, Klebanov no longer controlled the domestic military-industrial complex. But only to the uninitiated it seemed that he did not govern, but performed the functions of the presidential press secretary - a kind of entruster for special assignments. We knew from the press and television that Klebanov always found himself where planes crashed, submarines sank and power systems were turned off. In fact, he was in control. And how.
There is a Baltic plant in St. Petersburg. It was there that this strange and very confusing story took place in 2003, in which our hero played the first role. Alexey Bolshakov, a close friend of Klebanov, in those years was the chairman of the board of directors of the ICT group, which owned a controlling stake in the Baltic Plant. He is also considered the brains of a kind of “clan”, in which some analysts include Ilya Klebanov, the director of the Russian Agency for Control Systems (RASU) Vladimir Simonov and a number of smaller figures, including the president of ICT Alexander Nesis and the general director of the Baltic Plant Oleg Shulyakovsky.
It was started by Alexey Bolshakov in 1992, when he was the director of an office with the ambitious name of RAO High-Speed Railways (HSM). These “Horns and Hooves” were officially intended for the implementation of the Moscow-St. Petersburg expressway project, which was supposed to run parallel to the existing highway. From the very beginning, the project was subjected to derogatory criticism by deputies, governors, and environmentalists. However, thanks to a powerful PR campaign and lobbying from the first wave of St. Petersburg residents, he received the go-ahead, and for it received loans from Western banks under government guarantees. A year later, it became clear that only the foundation pit for a new station in St. Petersburg was implemented from the project, where, however, they managed to bury several tens of millions of dollars. The press raised a cry, claiming that in total over 100 million American rubles were stolen, the project was quietly closed, and Bolshakov, despite the criminal case being opened, instead of sunny Kolyma, went to gloomy Moscow as vice-premier and at one time was even first vice-premier, and chaired government meetings in the absence of Chernomyrdin. At first, he oversaw relations with the CIS countries, in particular strengthening ties with Belarus. Then, it seems, the “big three” Bolshakov - Simonov - Klebanov took shape. The latter had already been a member of the Council on Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship under the President of Russia for several years by that time, and therefore managed to acquire the necessary connections. In any case, several hundred thousand dollars for the “Union TV” project were easily transferred to the then businessman Simonov’s company “Electronic Technologies”, where they evaporated with the same ease. And again there was a criminal case, this time by the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, and again it ended in vain, but Simonov, with the arrival of Klebanov in the government, headed RASU - a strategic agency that oversees military-industrial complex enterprises in the field of electronics. Moreover, as they say, without even having access to secret documents. True, by that time clouds began to gather over Bolshakov himself. After a long “thought”, the Prosecutor General’s Office became interested in his affairs regarding the Navy and some other operations. The “main highway” promptly sank to the bottom, only to emerge a couple of years later as the chairman of the board of directors of the ICT group.
After purchasing a controlling stake in the Baltic Shipyard, the IST group decided to create a military ship monopoly in the form of a holding company, which would include, in addition to the Baltic Shipyard, OJSC Proletarsky Zavod, the Special Design Bureau for Boiler Making, the Iceberg Central Design Bureau and the Central Research Institute of Ship Engineering CJSC. In all of these structures, ICT also has substantial stakes. Experts believe that this is Klebanov’s idea: while supervising the military-industrial complex, he became famous for his regular attempts to merge and merge defense enterprises. The only obstacle to the creation of the holding, like an eyesore, remained the Northern Shipyard. The enterprise is more modern and promising than the Baltic Shipyard. True, ICT had a small stake in the shipyard, but it was not enough to control the enterprise. And then the systematic strangulation of the malicious competitor began. In 1997, the Baltics received a large order from the Indian Navy for as many as three frigates. The first large tranche was also allocated - over $40 million, which was used to buy out bills of exchange and then shares, thanks to which ICT acquired a controlling stake in the plant. And again, a criminal case was opened, which dragged on until the end of last year and, it seems, also ended in nothing. But when the first frigate Talvar was launched, the Indians gasped.
The ship's propeller was misaligned, the hull became ribbed from poor-quality welding, the deck vibrated, and missiles from air defense systems exploded as soon as they left the ship. The scandal was somehow hushed up; a second frigate was next in line. Along the way, the Chinese Navy ordered two more destroyers from Severnaya Verf. Ilya Klebanov, through an incomprehensible and illegal tender, managed to push aside his competitors and announce that the order would go to the “Baltics.” Then Mikhail Kasyanov intervened in the matter and passions flared up with renewed vigor. But that is another story. The main thing is that Klebanov was forgiven for everything again.
After the rapid accumulation of capital, the ex-Deputy Prime Minister was about to join ordinary deputies, but he received an unexpected offer from Vladimir Putin to head the embassy in the Northwestern Federal District. Observers regarded the transfer of Ilya Klebanov to presidential governor as an honorary exile, although the rank of the plenipotentiary was equal to the deputy prime minister and he formally regained his previous status. The work of the “eye of the sovereign” is honorable and pleasant, but not obligatory to anything. And it was very convenient. The plenipotentiary seems to enjoy congratulating residents of the district on holidays, cutting red ribbons, rushing around the city in a car with flashing lights, accompanied by a police motorcade, and meeting high-ranking people at Pulkovo. Ilya Klebanov holds countless meetings, conferences, and makes working visits to the regions entrusted to him.
In general, it’s not a job, but a complete resort. Away from management, closer to budget funds. In his current post, Klebanov also managed to distinguish himself.
Many people remember the story of the former governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Alexei Barinov. But not many people know that our hero played a decisive role in his unfortunate fate.
Oil is produced in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is clear that the best deposits should go only to the most faithful and trusted “friends” of the plenipotentiary, who will be able to appreciate Klebanov’s help and support. And Barinov decided to go against an inconspicuous and at first glance harmless official. Barinov did not know the whole story of Ilya Iosifovich’s stunning career. The one we know about. For which he received what he deserved.
Let us remind you that Alexey Barinov has been charged with committing crimes under Article 159, part 3, paragraph "b" (fraud committed by a person using his official position, as well as on a large scale) and 160, part 3, paragraph "b" (misappropriation or embezzlement committed by a person using his official position, as well as on a large scale) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, a very remarkable fact: the Presidential Envoy for the Northwestern Federal District Ilya Klebanov knew about the impending prosecution of Governor Alexei Barinov by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation several months before his arrest. Moreover, at one of the briefings, Klebanov said so directly: “You understand perfectly well that Alexey Barinov will not return to the district, all the main documents confirming Barinov’s guilt have been collected, and he will not return to his seat. And in the trial that will certainly take place, he will be found guilty. Everything that testifies to his guilt has been collected.” All this was said immediately after Barinov’s arrest!
Such awareness had a simple explanation. A few days after the arrest of the governor, Klebanov arrived in Naryan-Mar. At the entrance to the city, Klebanov’s motorcade was met by people with posters: “We demand to stop the lawlessness!”, “We don’t need another governor!”, “Barinov is our governor!”, “Ilya! You are not a prophet!”, read the slogans in their hands. young and very old people. The official purpose of the plenipotentiary's visit to the Arctic capital was to check the implementation of national projects. But local residents associated his arrival solely with the events that took place in the area.
The last time Ilya Klebanov came to Naryan-Mar was in the winter of 2005, two weeks before the election of the head of the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Then he unequivocally expressed his opinion regarding the desired head, highly characterizing a specific candidate for this position - the general director of the Russian-American oil company Polar Lights, Alexander Shmakov (he could not even make it to the second round in the elections).
At the same time, Plenipotentiary Representative Klebanov gave Alexei Barinov far from flattering characteristics - that is, he publicly worked as Shmakov’s PR man. Journalists then asked at a press conference: aren’t you ashamed, being in such a high government position, to engage in outright PR? Klebanov then avoided answering.
Because the “electorate” would not like the answer. The position of head of the district had to be filled by “his” person, a person from Rosneft, in order to sign permission to develop a promising field without any unnecessary questions. As you know, such a piece of paper must have 2 signatures: the Minister of Natural Resources and the head of the administration. Barinov did not want to enter into semi-criminal deals, and therefore was very disliked by Klebanov. In addition, Barinov was the last popularly elected governor. After his arrest, the districts were left with only appointed governors, that is, those pleasing to the authorities. And third, Barinov was against unification. Klebanov believes that it is necessary to reduce the number of subjects in the Northwestern Federal District by half: “In order to save on spending budget funds.” More than once the plenipotentiary spoke about the unification of the Arkhangelsk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, even stated that formally they are already a single entity, all that remains is to unite their “wallets.” Now, after Barinov’s resignation, one must assume that the unification process will be in full swing.
