Aman Tuleyev completed the 20-year rule of the Kuzbass: a week after the fire in the shopping center "Winter Cherry", which killed 64 people, he resigned. President Putin thanked Tuleyev for his work

Kazakh father Amangeldy Tuleyev - not native Kemerovo (he moved to the Kemerovo region with his parents in 1951, seven years old) and never worked in the key industry for the Kuzbass coal industry: since 1964 he worked on the railroad, having risen by 1988 to the head of the Kemerovo Railway. But he gained all-Russian fame precisely as a fierce defender of the Kuzbass and a spokesman for the interests of miners.

People's Tribune

In the mid-1980s. Tuleyev worked for three years as a department of transport and communications of the Kemerovo Regional Committee of the CPSU and at the same time graduated from the Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee. And in large politics came in the spring of 1990, elected simultaneously as a People's Deputy of the RSFSR and a deputy of the Kemerovo regional council, and then became chairman of the regional council. The media then drew attention to the fact that Tuleyev in the elections was supported by the leadership of the CPSU, and the working committees of Kemerovo and Prokopyevsk were independent miners who sharply criticized the Soviet leadership. It is not surprising that when Tuleev took office in the Kemerovo region, when the opinion about the expediency of combining the posts of the chairmen of regional councils and regional executive committees prevailed in the party leadership of the country.

The USSR in 1989-1991. shaking miners 'protests, and Tuleyev became one of the most notable spokesmen for miners' interests. And he gained all-Russian popularity after the presidential elections of 1991, in which he took the fourth place with 6.8% of the vote (in the Kemerovo region he outscored all: 44.7%). This did not prevent President Boris Yeltsin after the August putsch to remove Tuleyev from his post for the support of the Emergency Committee.

On personal popularity of Tuleyev in the region it did not affect in any way. In December 1993, he became a member of the Federation Council (then they were elected), receiving 75.5% of the vote, and in March 1994 the bloc "People's Power" he created won the elections to the regional legislative assembly (63.3%) and Tuleyev became its chairman - and an irreconcilable critic both appointed by the President of the Governor Mikhail Kislyuk, and the federal government headed by Yeltsin.

In 1995, the CPRF union with the non-partisan Tuleyev was formally formalized: it entered the top three of the CPRF's federal list in the State Duma elections and helped it to get 22.3% of the vote in Russia, and 63% in the Kemerovo region.

Spare Candidate

In 1996, Tuleyev again ran for presidency - as a reserve candidate in the case of the removal of Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov from the election - and withdrew from the election in his favor four days before the first round. If Tuleyev was the only candidate from the Communist Party, he would be "terribly dangerous for Yeltsin - much more dangerous than Zyuganov," political strategist Gleb Pavlovsky said: "In 1996, Tuleyev did not lose the aura of the democratic leader of the miners, striker. He did not seem like a party dinosaur, he had the image of a working leader. " With the removal in favor of Zyuganov was an intrigue, Tuleyev was already playing a double game, the expert said: "He also expected Zyuganov's victory, but in this case there would be a weak federal center, which would have to negotiate with the regions anew. A federal treaty would have resurrected, or the Constitution might have been challenged. Therefore Tuleyev did not play completely on the side of Zyuganov and, apparently, gave some promises to the Kremlin. "

It was from those elections that a new turn in Tuleyev's career began. A month or so after the victory in the second round, Yeltsin appointed Tuleyev Minister for Cooperation with the CIS. The experts then said that the Kremlin was clearing the ground for Governor Kislyuk, who in 1997 was facing the first election. But by the spring of 1997, the situation in the Kuzbass region had become sharply aggravated, mass rallies had begun, and it became clear to the Kremlin that Kislyuk was not coping with the situation. Yeltsin himself suggested that Tuleyev head the region. In June, he was appointed head of the regional administration, and in October triumphantly elected: 94.5% of the vote.

In the second half of the 1990s. The problem of mines was considered about as tragic and insoluble as the problem of the Middle East, continues Pavlovsky: "There was a certainty that this would never be decided. They tried to close some mines, but Kuzbass was considered a hot spot, in fact, close to Chechnya. " After the strikes of the late 1980s, which "largely knocked down Gorbachev," the Kremlin was cautious. A Kemerovo in the 1990's. successfully used financial assistance, the expert recalls: "There was help from the World Bank, money was coming from the budget. All this was brewed, the borsch was very fragrant, so nobody wanted to change the cook either. Yeltsin returned Tuleyev not out of respect for him - he could not stand the Communists, - but because he was considered a recognized leader of the region and there was no arguing with this chance. "

Divorce from the Communist Party

In the spring and summer of 1998 a rail war broke out: the miners of Kuzbass and Vorkuta, who were dissatisfied with many months of salary delays, blocked several railways, including Transsib. Tuleyev introduced an emergency regime in the Kemerovo region, but did not use force against the miners. During negotiations with the representatives of the federal center, the governor actually agreed with the strikers, and, as the miners themselves believe, it was his firm position that greatly facilitated the urgent allocation of money from the budget for partial debt repayment. Tuleyev's relationship with the Kremlin during this period Pavlovsky describes as a "safe front": "Tuleyev was hanging out with Yeltsin, but he did not participate in any serious anti-Yeltsin project."

But the last Yeltsin project - the nomination of the Unity bloc led by Sergei Shoigu to the State Duma in 1999 - Tuleyev supported, although at the same elections he again joined the party list of the Communist Party. And in 2000, the Kemerovo governor for the third time came to the presidency - formally against Putin, but in fact "as Zyuganov's spoiler, because Zyuganov [in the Kremlin] was still a little bit afraid," Pavlovsky explains. Then Tuleyev finally "dropped into United Russia" and there were never any problems with the Kuzbass and his governor at the Kremlin, the expert sums up. At the same time, the nature of his popularity changed, Pavlovsky said: "Until a certain moment, Tuleyev was wildly popular, and from some point he no longer allowed anyone's popularity."

The conflict between the Kemerovo governor and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was evident already in 1998, the secretary of the Central Committee of the party, Sergei Obukhov, said: "Tuleyev said that we must do business, cooperate with the executive power, he went to Yeltsin - the Communists seemed too oppositional to him." Tuleyev was a very strong half-sheet: organized congresses of deputies, went out to terrorists, but then, apparently, pragmatism took over and he wanted to be at the throne, created in the region a quasi-Soviet system where everything was subject to its laws, says Obukhov.

"The fact that we invested in it in the 1990s, hoping that he will work in a team, on our interests, was not justified - he was always himself a constitution, himself a law, himself a ruler," complains the leader of the Moscow Communists Valery RASHKIN. "We made him a minister, hoping that he will promote our interests." But he walked on his head, destroying his rivals, no matter what party they were from. He took everything that can be taken, and went to the goal - he had his own vision of the processes. " Tuleyev was an excellent speaker and was able to lead the region firmly, the communist admits: "But he did not have, as we have, ideas about social inequality, disadvantage - he was led by the desire to put himself in first place in any organization where he came."

Region for business

Kuznetsk coal basin gives the country 57% of thermal coal (used in power plants) and 74% of coking coal (for metallurgy and coke chemistry), says department head "Geotechnology of mineral resources development" MISiSa Vladimir Melnik: Kuzbass reserves are the ninth part of the world.

Kuzbass is a unique place where private business lives and works, unlike other energy industries, where state companies rule, the top manager of a large coal miner tells Vedomosti. In the region there are major players - SUEK, Evraz, Kuzbassrazrezugol, Siberian Business Union, Mechel, they produce about 60% of Kuznetsk coal, 200 smaller companies provide the remainder. But all the people working in the Kuzbass had to negotiate with Tuleyev and his administration.

There were almost no major redistribution of property in the region. In 2000, because of the struggle for control over the Novokuznetsk aluminum smelter (now part of UC Rusal), the owner of the Mikom group, Mikhail Zhivilo, had to flee: he tried to sell 66% of shares, held separate negotiations with Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska. It was not possible to reach an agreement, and a criminal case was brought against Zhivilo about the attempted attempt on Tuleyev. Zhivilo fled to France.

All other changes in the ownership structure were related either to economic reasons, or to incidents in the mines. "In the spring of 2007 there were two accidents at the enterprises of" Yuzhkuzbassugol ", 148 people were killed. Owners of 50% of the company then were its managers - Georgy Lavrik, the son of Vladimir Lavrik, the director general of the enterprise, Alexander Govor and Yury Kushnerov, who was killed the year before. They sold their shares of Evraz Roman Abramovich and Alexander Abramov, "says the manager of a large company operating in the region. Another interlocutor recalls that Raspadskaya, one of whose mines in 2010, an accident and killed 96 people, went under the control of Evraz in 2013. After the accident, its CEO, Gennady Kozova, remained in place for two years and became a shareholder of Evraz.

"Of course, every transaction is a negotiation process. But after the accident, the head of the enterprise, where it occurred, has no right to vote, "- explains the manager of the coal company. Tuleyev played an important role in all such transactions, the Vedomosti interlocutors say. In other respects, the region is different in that all transactions were conducted under market conditions, the administration did not interfere in any way, states one of them.

Coal - the main thing

Kemerovo region is a raw material region, dependent on prices primarily for coal. In the GRP structure, the extraction of minerals is 29.7%, processing industries - 16.5%, trade - 9.6%, real estate operations - 7.6%, Promsvyazbank's leading analyst Mikhail Poddubsky reports. According to the GRP per capita, the province is inferior not only to Russia as a whole, but also to the Siberian Federal District (SFO), says Moody's analyst Vladlen Kuznetsov. The growth of the GRP of the Kemerovo region, as a rule, is inferior to the growth of the total GRP of the Russian regions: from 2000 to 2016 only in 2009 and in 2014. the economy of the Kemerovo region developed better than all-Russian indicators. For 2009-2016 years. GRP of the Kemerovo region decreased in real terms by 12%, while GRP of the Russian regions for the same time grew by 8.5%. GRP of the Kemerovo region began to shrink significantly from 2012, says Alexander Shurakov, leading analyst for the Kemerovo region of ACRA.

The fall in real incomes of the population in the Kemerovo region has been going on for several years already, investments are mainly made for production, but their ratio to fixed assets is lower than the average Russian, Kuznetsov states. (Although in 2005-2014 the ratio of investments to GRP was on average 28.2%, and in Russia - 23.8%.) The economy of the region depends heavily on the coal industry and world prices for raw materials, and therefore more volatile than in the average for Russia, he continues. More than half of the investment in fixed assets goes to the coal sector, mainly in the maintenance of production, Shurakov knows, so that even active investments do not lead to an acceleration in the growth of GRP.

The debt load of the Kemerovo region has been growing for a long time, but in 2017 the region became the leader among the Russian regions in terms of budget surplus - both in absolute terms (22.6 billion rubles) and in relative (20.1% of tax and non-tax revenues) . The surplus is due to a significant increase in income from income tax - 50.2 billion rubles. From 2014 to 2016, an average of 22.6 billion a year, calculated Shurakov. In 2016, the regional budget deficit amounted to 5.8 billion rubles. The junior director of Fitch Victoria Semerhanova explains that the surplus in 2017 is caused by the growth of prices for coal. The last three years, the dynamics of industrial production in the Kemerovo region is ahead of the indicators for the SFO and the whole of Russia as a whole, states Shurakov.

The basis of the growth driver is the extraction of minerals, Shurakov continues: in 2008-2016, annual shipments of goods of own production increased by 501 billion rubles, of which 314 billion (63%) fell on mineral resources. The fastest growing production of petroleum products - shipping increased 3.67 times (commissioned Yaysk oil refinery) - and in chemical production (3.2 times).

The change of power in the region, says Kuznetsov of Moody's, is unlikely to affect the economy, its diversification needs at least a few years, rapid changes should not be expected. Under Tuleyev's rule, there were no attempts to develop new production facilities in the Kemerovo region, as, for example, in the Lipetsk region, which created special economic zones to reduce dependence on the Novolipetsk metallurgical plant. The governor preserved everything as is, continues Semerhanova: strong dependence on coal and every time there was a drop in prices for it in the economy of the region, there was a failure. If the interim governor Tsivilev retains the command, it is hardly worth expecting changes, she believes.

The average salary in the Kemerovo region in 2017 was 32,765 rubles. per month, in Russia - 39,148 rubles, in the Siberian Federal District - 33,822 rubles; wage growth since 2014 in the region was 29.2%, in the SFD - 27.6%, in Russia - 29.9%. Unemployment in the Kemerovo region in 2017 reached 7.1%, in the Siberian Federal District - 7.3%, in Russia - 5.2%. In 2008, incomes below the subsistence level accounted for 9.7% of the population of the Kemerovo region (13.4% on average in Russia), and in 2016 - 16.4% (13.5% on average in Russia): 58th place among the Russian regions.

Business for the region

"The region in the 1990's. was very depressing, it's now easier, "- shares the top manager of another coal company. Tuleyev skilfully maneuvered between the interests of political elites, but always spoke for the workforce, always for miners, all the top managers of coal companies are confident with whom Vedomosti spoke.

Three interlocutors of "Vedomosti" say that a special holiday in the region was and remains the Miner's Day on the last Sunday in August. Every year they chose a new city of Kuzbass, all coal companies took off in proportion to their production, one of the coal miners shared: sometimes they raised up to 1 billion rubles. This money was repaired roads, parks, houses of culture, says another coal miner: "They restore the stucco, repair or build fountains, paint benches, invite artists." "Whether all the money went to repair, I can not vouch, but the towns were restored, the holidays were rolled from the heart," the third interlocutor in the industry admits.

Tuleyev built the administrative vertical of the region so that not one mayor of the town turned to business directly (asking for money to repair roads, parks, etc.), all requests went through Kemerovo and only the requests from Kemerovo business were answered, the top manager says. the mining company. The only demonopolized and decentralized industry in Russia began to live by understandable laws and worked harmoniously with the regional administration, sharing the impression of another. Going against the administration, no one ventured, Tuleyev suited everyone, demanded large social expenses, but on the side of someone one never did, Vedomosti interlocutors agree.

"In crisis situations, he has always been a very skillful lobbyist. They listened to him, "says another coal miner. Tuleyev could solve issues with Russian Railways, with ministries, with coal overstocking, with the opening of ports, with the priority of coal supply in front of ore or mineral fertilizers. Tuleyev, like any master, has a "tool cabinet": everyone knew that his arsenal of influence was great, and tried to solve the problem before he opened this "cabinet", the collocutor in a coal company describes the situation in a figurative way.

Self-promotion for all

In former years Tuleyev could jump out of the office at night with a revolver and run to persuade the maniac to release the hostages. The hostages were released, this was actively covered by the media. The governor has always loved the correct PR policy, two people familiar with Tuleyev say. "If he goes to an enterprise, for example, to open a new dairy shop, then the CEO with whom he meets must always have a minimum of 200,000 rubles. in cash. Tuleev is walking about the enterprise, he is approached by, say, a milkmaid, asks for the treatment of his son - Tuleyev gives her 15 000-30 000 rubles. On the one hand - PR, on the other - the milkmaid is good, the son is good, the director of the enterprise is good: the milkmaid work better begins, "- says the manager of a large Kemerovo company.

Almost everything that Tuleyev was doing, he used for personal PR, the manager from the coal company admits: he often went to the place, spoke with people, kept his hand on the pulse, felt all the trends in the region sharply and clearly. After the accident at the Severnaya mine in Vorkuta (killing 36 people), Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo region, and Tuleyev proposed suspending work in dangerous mines: "These are dangerous, old, worn-out mines where manual labor is used, like monkeys, climb and extract this coal. " Some coal miners, extracting mainly in the open way, asked to close all the mines in general. Tuleyev found the middle and adhered to it. The mines did not close down, but security measures were strengthened, and the owners were forced to invest more in security.

Declaring his resignation after a fatal fire, Tuleyev said: "I consider [resignation] to be the right, conscious and the only right decision. Because it's impossible to work as a governor with such a heavy burden, morally impossible. Dear compatriots, we together with you have passed a big, very big way of life. From Kuzbass striker, sitting on the rails, knocking helmets, hunger strikes - to Kuzbass creating and supporting our state. And all this you did. And I am immensely grateful to you. As for the icon, I can say that I have always been guided by the interests of Russia and our region. "

Reflections on the future

The question of whether to remain Tuleyev governor, arose closer to 2015, when his next term was expiring, Pavlovsky recalls: "They tried to hint him about leaving, there were polite persuasions - it's not time to rest, but he opposed. And unlike other cases for such a trifle with him did not argue. " Tuleyev again went to the polls and again won with almost 100% result. For this purpose there was a whole range of reasons: insufficient power of power, Tuleyev's personal role as relics, business interests, the expert lists: "Tuleev nevertheless allowed himself to go beyond others - when strongly hinting that he should leave, the governor may disagree, but when begin to strongly persuade at a high level, then the governor understands that he is at risk. "

Tuleyev was left out of respect, it had to be removed long ago, such discussions were, says the former federal official: "He was very sick. And the question rather was: can he work or not. He always said he could. " The Tulaian clan in the Kuzbass is not there, there was a struggle for the place of successor between his deputies, the mayor of Kemerovo, the Novokuznetsk ones, the interlocutor knows: "There were intra-elite conflicts. The same activity of the siloviki about a year ago - the manifestation of these conflicts and the struggle for the legacy. "

Tuleyev's disease and operations did not affect the quality of the administration, several top managers of large coal companies assure. "All the issues were resolved, and solved. True, he has recently departed somewhat from making decisions on minor operational tasks, but he has always followed and resolved on all key issues, "one of the interlocutors of Vedomosti notes.

How much will the situation change under Tuleyev's successor - appointed less than a month ago by the vice-governor Sergei Tsivilev (he is the former general director of Coal Company Coalmor), representatives of business have different opinions. Tsivilev coal miner, was born in Kemerovo - the ideal candidate, suits everyone, says the source in one of the coal companies. Tsivilin is suitable only on formal grounds, another coalman objects: "He worked for Kolmare, which belongs to Gennady Timchenko." In Kemerovo, a new player may appear, he explains, - there is a risk of breaking the balance between the companies operating in the region.