Alexey Miller's house. The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, bought an entire floor and an attic in a house on Mytninskaya Embankment
"Alexey Miller", "Gazprom" - these are words that are constantly heard. But what else can we learn about him, besides the fact that this person is a successful businessman and one of the highest paid top managers in Russia? So, Alexey Miller, biography, nationality and Interesting Facts. About everything in order.
Childhood
Miller Alexei Borisovich, whose biography begins on the date - January 31, 1962 - was born in the city of Leningrad. His parents worked at a closed military enterprise, to be more precise - at the Research Institute of Radio Electronics of the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry. The boy was brought up in an incomplete family, because his father soon died. Alexei was a very capable child - he graduated from school with honors, but without a gold medal (the quota for medalists was exhausted).
Then - admission to the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute at the Department of National Economy Planning. Impeccable study, only fives in the test, hobbies - chess and football and absolute detachment from the "riotous" student life. However, perhaps it was his modesty that the young man attracted attention to himself.
Student years of Alexey Miller
So, even while studying at the institute, the KGB officers, who at that time supervised the educational institution, offered him to serve in the state security agencies. They were only interested in the name of the young man: Alexey Miller. Nationality - Russian, and the surname is German, which is associated with the ethnic roots of the father. During her check, a connection with repressed German relatives was discovered, and the road to the Chekists for the young man immediately turned out to be closed.
Life after college
After graduating from the university, Alexey Miller began working at the LenNIIproekt Institute, in 1989 he defended his Ph.D. thesis at the LFEI. At that period of his life, Alexei absorbed all the knowledge about economics that he could: he was a member of the club of economists and carefully listened to the reports of the then little-known speakers - Andrey Illarionov, Mikhail Dmitriev and others. It is worth saying that after a while these people became quite famous in their field of activity.
Carier start
In early 1991, through his connections with Chubais, Miller was appointed head of the market situation department in the FAC of the St. Petersburg mayor's office. Thanks to his perseverance and abilities, the guy's career quickly went up: within five years he rose to the position of head of the Department of Foreign Economic Relations. In this, he was also helped by connections, and this time - with the then chairman of the KVS, Vladimir Putin, to whom Alexei seemed very promising.
Miller Alexey could be considered an ideal subordinate: his modesty remained with him, he always knew where to remain silent, unquestioningly carried out the orders of the leadership, without showing his own initiative. In a word, once again I did not delve into the subtleties that were not needed. Over the next two years, Miller stamped his name into history. economic development Russia: opened enterprises, large branches of Western banks, attracted foreign investment in St. Petersburg.
Change of power
Before climbing to the top of Olympus, Alexei Borisovich had to lose everything. 1996: The mayor of St. Petersburg changes, and Miller does not get a place in the new city leadership. As a result, he becomes the Deputy General Director of JSC "Sea Port" of St. Petersburg. Prudently, Alexey Miller keeps in touch with Putin. Then - again a job change, this time he becomes the general director of the Baltic Pipeline System company.
Rapid takeoff
It is not difficult to guess that the arrival of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to the post of President of the Russian Federation contributed to the further development of Miller's career. Immediately after that, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Energy Russian Federation, he was engaged in the development of cooperation with foreign partners in the fuel and energy sector. The outcome of this development of events was considered predictable, many believed that Miller was waiting, and would soon take over as minister. But no, apparently, this position was less promising for Alexei Borisovich than the head of Gazprom.
This decision came as a surprise to everyone. In the company, so unremarkable and quiet by nature, Miller fired a lot of people left after the previous leader, and the results were obvious: the Gazprom treasury began to give money to the Kremlin. Of course, working under the leadership of Putin, Miller directed the company in the right direction for the president, returning, for example, almost all the shares of Gazprom.
"Fighting Legacy"
That is what the process of fighting nepotism was called when the head of Gazprom began to take away the company's assets from the relatives of the former head of the concern. It's funny, but after so many years, one relative was replaced by another. Today Gazprom's assets are owned by relatives of the current leaders. What can I say, the campaign was successful. Although there are also positive results from this: the cash flow passing through the companies of relatives has increased, the price of gas has increased, but Gazprom's revenue has also increased several times.
The appointment of "their"
Very quickly after Alexey Miller was appointed to this post, he began to attach his relatives not only to Gazprom. Slowly but surely, in a mysterious way, he began to have friends, acquaintances and relatives who were successfully running a business. This could mean only one thing - Alexei Borisovich activated his connections. For example, February 2014. A company subordinate to Gazprom, Gazprom Gas Distribution, decided to sell its assets to Rossiya Bank, which was 12.5%. They were taken over by two Moscow firms. But is it a coincidence that one of the companies is headed by Mironov, the half-brother of one of the Gazprom board members, Seleznev?
The price of this transaction is still unknown, but around 2014, the cost of 12% of the bank's shares could be about 3.5 billion rubles. It is not known where the owner of the Moscow firm could get such money from, but firms that are directly connected with Mironov provide services to Gazprom. Another coincidence? Yes, and Seleznev himself, apparently, did not just get into Gazprom. It is known that he knew Miller for about 15 years, they worked together both in the Sea Port and in the Baltic Pipeline System. And when Seleznev came to Gazprom, he was immediately appointed to the position of Miller's assistant. Naturally, Alexey Borisovich spoke of him as a valuable employee.
Miller's tough policy
Late 2004 - early 2005: Gazprom wanted to increase the price of gas at the same time as Turkmenistan, at which point Ukraine became interested in concluding a contract directly with the Central Asian state. Without the participation of a Russian company in this transaction. From that moment on, disagreements over gas began.
"Gas wars" began precisely with the arrival of Alexei Miller to the post of manager. In the period from 2006 to 2008, gas was cut off to Ukraine and Belarus due to price inconsistencies. Miller's great merit is also in the creation of the Nord Stream, which should pass through the Baltic Sea and provide European countries with Russian gas. In addition, the company is engaged in the globalization of business. In a word, Alexey Borisovich seriously took up the Russian economy, using Gazprom.
Criticism of Miller
Of course, a tough policy, as usual, causes a flurry of criticism, but the businessman does not pay attention to it. And he also does not plan to retire - hardly anyone would refuse from $ 25 million in annual income. He was given the nickname - "Putin's Man". Everyone understands that with the advent of the new government, Miller will once again lose his position.
Presidency of Dmitry Medvedev
March 2008, Dmitry Medvedev's victory in the presidential election. Viktor Zubkov is appointed head of Gazprom, and Alexey Miller becomes his deputy. After this news, rumors spread that Alexei Borisovich would also leave this position due to his state of health, but that was not the case: he was re-elected chairman of the board of the corporation for 5 years.
Awards
Alexey Miller has been awarded several times. He is the owner of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree and the medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree, the diploma of the President of the Russian Federation "For merits in the development of the gas complex and many years of conscientious work."
Contacts Alexey Miller
During my studies at the institute and labor activity Alexey Miller made many useful acquaintances, which, no doubt, were useful to him in his future career:
- Igor Yakovlevich Blekhtsin, who was a professor at LFEI (now St. Petersburg State University of Economics). It was with this person that Alexei Borisovich defended his diploma, and they have maintained good friendly relations to this day.
- Alexey Leonidovich Kudrin, under whose leadership Miller worked in the Economic Reform Committee of the Leningrad City Executive Committee.
- Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson, now one of Miller's opponents. Their conflict escalated when Mikhelson was not elected a member of the board of directors of Gazprom. Perhaps it was he who told that Miller owns the estate on the Istra reservoir, which was later popularly nicknamed "Millerhof".
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, whom Alexey Miller has known for more than 15 years. From the moment I worked under his leadership in the mayor's office of St. Petersburg. Surely the current president of the Russian Federation appreciates this man for his devoted service over the years and the unquestioning fulfillment of all orders.
- Boris Romanovich Rotenberg, who, together with Miller, organized a subsidiary of Gazprom for the supply of pipes. And again there is a connection: the son of Rotenberg in this moment works in Gazprom as a top manager.
- Ilya Ilyich Traber, beneficiary of the Sea Port. The man who invited Miller to work in this company after the mayor changed in St. Petersburg. It is known that they still keep in touch.
- Anatoly Borisovich Chubais, who has been Miller's acquaintance since his student years. It was he, with his connections, who helped Alexei Borisovich get a job at the St. Petersburg City Hall. To this day, Miller reveres Chubais and speaks of him as his mentor.
Alexey Miller, biography: wife and children
What is known about the personal life of our hero? The wife of Alexei Miller, whose biography is almost unknown, is a non-public person. Her name is Irina, she is a housewife, and, which is fundamentally different from other wives of officials, she does not lead a secular life at all. Alexey Miller is certainly pleased with this. Children are known to be the flowers of life. But the couple decided to have only one child. The son of Alexei Miller is brought up in a quiet family circle, his age is unknown.
From rare photographs of Miller with his son Mikhail, it can be determined that at the moment he is still a teenager. The businessman does not like to talk about his personal life in public, and Alexei himself can be called a calm family man, because his personal life has never been shrouded in gossip.
He does not like to attend various receptions and public events. Miller's current hobbies include playing the guitar, visiting ski resorts, passion for equestrian sports. Since his student years, he has been a fan of Zenit, and is also vice president of the Russian Football Union. In general, the range of hobbies is quite diverse.
Alexey Miller, whose photo you see above, likes to say that business is war and art at the same time. Miller's colleagues think that he owes his success to his diligence and diligence. Aleksey Borisovich's purposefulness can only be envied, because he always set clear goals for himself and always achieved them.
Nevertheless, reviews about this person are quite often negative. It is often said that "Miller's main advantage is the ability to serve", that he is an arrogant, insecure and unpleasant person in communication. He is called "zero manager", "trained figure", "Putin's man" and other unpleasant epithets. Despite all the statements in his direction, Miller has achieved great heights, which he can be proud of. He simply does not pay attention to envious people.
Judgments about this person can be absolutely subjective: someone does not respect him at all for his style of behavior and submission to Vladimir Vladimirovich, someone, on the contrary, appreciates him for a clear life position and ability to reach great heights. In fact, Miller achieved everything by his own efforts, although not without the assistance of influential people. Only one thing can be said unequivocally now - he is not the last person in the country who has a certain power.
The village of Berezhki and its inhabitants
Photos of the copy of the Peterhof palace complex being built near the Istra reservoir, taken by a simple Russian blogger from his own plane and published by him on the Web this summer, have become one of the most discussed topics of the season. Over the past time, this story has acquired not only rumors linking New Peterhof with the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, but also quite specific facts based on documents that were also made public via the Internet.
Recall that we are talking about a large-scale, on the territory of more than 30 hectares, construction in the village of Berezhki (not far from Pyatnitsa, where Alla Pugacheva's bathhouse, installed in the water protection zone, made so much noise at one time). Here, on the very shore of the Istra reservoir, a giant complex is being built, the architectural and landscape design of which resembles the famous Grand Palace and the canal with cascades of fountains in Peterhof.
Millerhof near the Istra reservoir:
Grand Palace in Peterhof:
True, unlike the royal residence, its imitation near Moscow is surrounded not by an openwork lattice, but by a three-meter concrete fence.
Aborigines who had the opportunity to visit on the other side of it, say that, in addition to pseudo-Peterhof objects, there is also a semblance of the Admiralty, and other famous monuments of the northern capital. In the neighboring area, the construction of a cottage town and a church are being built at a no less rapid pace. The picture taken from the plane shows that the geometrically adjusted shape of the first ("royal") section is violated by the green rectangle bypassed by its borders. Assumptions that this was a plot left for a vegetable garden, where Miller allegedly intended to grow rutabagas and turnips in case of a further drop in energy prices, did not materialize. Although the truth turned out to be even more fantastic. It turns out that there was a shrew who not only did not want to refuse the offer made to him to sell his allotment in a good way, but also managed to stay alive, retaining the ownership of the territory that "company No. 1" liked. The name of the hero of individual resistance is Grigory Shabaev, a farmer, 52 years old.
When the process of privatization of rural farms began in Berezhki, their workers were given (as shares) agricultural land, a total of 1.5 hectares. On November 5, 2003, the government of the Moscow region changed the purpose of the site to "settlement lands", opening the way for its development.
In the process of preparing the legal registration of this decision, people began to visit the village in expensive cars, who began to buy shares at ridiculous prices - $ 166 per hundred square meters. Only Shabaev rested. Moreover, as he himself tells reporters, it was not so much the price offered, but his fundamental unwillingness to leave his land, in which he had already invested a lot of effort and money. “Land for peasants should be a field of activity, and not an object of speculation,” Shabaev quoted Izvestia as saying. “I have been farming all my life. Now I have five cows, many ducks, chickens, there are even ostriches. potatoes. When construction began, they offered to sell me again, already at $ 25,000 per hundred square meters. The money is serious, but I am a peasant. And a peasant without land is like a soldier without weapons. "
Publications that are not connected with Gazprom, the umbilical cord that feeds them financially, also quote stronger words from the farmer: “What do I need it for?” Shabaev told the Interlocutor. “To be a lackey? I will always give them."
Freak with the letter M
The material published in the Gazprom-controlled newspaper at the height of the scandal surrounding the publication of the Millerhof photographs is replete with passages much more flattering to its owner. In the presentation of Izvestia, the monstrous mix of fakes for various architectural monuments raises only the question among fellow citizens: "Who is building this miracle that can compete with Petrodvorets or Versailles?" In the description of the area, the motifs known from the PR of the gas scraper are guessed: here, they say, "even the air is conducive to peace and contemplation" (in addition, we recall, according to the fathers of the Okhta "corn", hovering during working hours should be at around 400 meters ). According to the newspaper, with the advent of new owners in the village of Berezhki, you will no longer see "a single log hut." The new complex is being built "quickly and carefully", using "the most expensive materials". With some special pride, it is emphasized that “almost a foundation pit was pulled out for each fence post”, “each span of the fence cost at least $ 1000”, and as soon as the construction of the fence was completed, “blue spruces were immediately planted behind it at $ 200 apiece "(all these data are given with reference to the surprisingly knowledgeable village resident Andrei, who appeared at the knock of a journalist at the "door of the nearest house"). The process of redemption of shares from the Berezhkovites seems almost like a miracle - something akin to heavy rainfall in the form of manna from heaven sent to these god-forsaken lands, where already "no one believed that this site would ever be of even the slightest value." And then such happiness came - to give the land near the Istra reservoir for $ 166 per hundred square meters. The correspondent was not too lazy to multiply and deduced the "fat" of each shareholder: "For the entire plot - $ 22.5 thousand. Very decent for a poor villager." And today, let's note, the price of such a cell, according to experts, is at least $5,000.
The journalistic investigation announced by Izvestia (one can imagine the thorns the brave correspondent had to wade through, given the special relationship between the newspaper and Gazprom's structures) led to the following. First: the customer, Stroygazconsulting LLC, was identified and named. This "secret" information was discovered by a colleague on the fence, having stumbled upon an information board. Second: "Gazprom" has nothing to do with this construction. "What the Izvestinsky people managed to find out when they got through to the information department of Gazprom itself.
“It's definitely Miller's Palace. He even came here three or four times,” says Sergey from Berezhkovka. The fact that Miller owns the palace was confirmed by a minority shareholder of Gazprom, Alexei Navalny, and a former State Duma deputy, leader of the Right Cause party near Moscow, Boris Nadezhdin, citing their sources.
In the village of Berezhki, the palace and park ensemble is visible from everywhere. The main house, as it appears in the project documentation, flaunts in the very center of a giant plot of 31 hectares. The blue pseudo-Baroque building is decorated with white vases around the perimeter of the roof. Most of the territory is surrounded by a high concrete fence. From the side of the water, the fence is mesh, and the rest of the buildings are clearly visible. An artificial canal leads from the palace to the pavilion (as long as there is no water in it), along both sides of it there is a French-style park with future fountains. There is also a garage and an unclear purpose of a turret with a weather vane.
The administration of the rural settlement of Sokolovskoye, to which Berezhki belong, claims that construction has been going on for about five years. The territory of 31.9 hectares (according to the federal real estate cadastre agency) was bought from local residents, who, as a result of privatization in the 90s, were given 1.5 hectares of land each. On November 5, 2003, the government of the Moscow Region changed the purpose of the site from “agricultural land” to “settlement land” (decree N 642/40), which allowed construction to begin on it. According to the head of administration, Marina Veremeenko, there were no complaints from local residents about the construction arrives. “Once upon a time, we went to the place with a check because of complaints about garbage, but since then everything is fine,” Veremeenko said. Residents of Berezhkov, indeed, say that they have nothing against the construction of the local Peterhof (the palace is very reminiscent of it), “the main thing is that the river is not spoiled.”
Local resident Aleksey says that several years ago he worked at a construction site and was paid very well there. “At first there were 600 workers here, and now there are about 300,” he says. Next to the palace, behind the same fence, the cottage settlement “Istra Estate” is being built. The customer of the project, as the sign says, is Stroygazconsulting, and the general contractor is CJSC Delor. Both the palace and the cottages are guarded by the same private security company "Stone". One of their guards, escorting the Gazeta.Ru correspondent from the construction site, says that he is guarding an object of national importance, but what is it and to whom does it belong, to speak refuses. No more than six cottages and a church are being built in the village. In Delora, where the correspondent called, they do not deny the fact of construction, but refuse to comment further. Locals are sure that "Miller's friends" will live in the cottages around. Across the road, too, behind a massive fence, there are several more technical buildings and wagons for workers.
Stroygazconsulting is a large company (it employs almost 30 thousand people), specializing in infrastructure projects for Gazprom, in particular, it is engaged in the construction of gas pipelines (Nord Stream and others). The company's president is Ziyad Manasir, who is on the latest list of the most wealthy businessmen of the Russian version of Forbes magazine occupies the 75th position with a fortune of $ 500 million. The magazine calls Manasir a man from Putin's entourage. The co-owner of Stroygazconsulting is Olga Grigorieva, the daughter of the ex-deputy director of the FSB and friend of Putin Alexander Grigoriev (the former head of the State Reserve, who died suddenly in December last year). palace”, but for our own purposes. “We are building an 18th century palace for ourselves. It is not a copy of Peterhof, rather it was taken from all known palaces. We have money, and we decided to spend it in this way. Most likely, we will hold receptions here, receive delegations, ”said Viktoria Mironova, head of the public relations department, to Gazeta.Ru. According to her, the palace has nothing to do with Miller personally or with Gazprom as a whole. . Why a rather highly specialized contractor would need a gigantic reception house remains a mystery.
The author of the project for the improvement and landscaping of the Istra Estate park is the Bruns-Park company. In the list of its clients, Gazprom is in the first place. The company confirmed that in 2006-2007 they developed a project for the park, and it was accepted, but they refused to name the customer. It is interesting that Mironova does not know anything about the construction of the cottage village. According to her, Stroygazconsulting is building only a palace on the banks of the Istra reservoir. At the same time, the department of Stroygazconsulting, which is responsible specifically for this project, confirmed the fact of construction, stating that “the cottages are not for sale, since they already have owners.” which is Stroygazconsulting. The settlement was divided into three sections, the total area of which was more than 37 hectares (5.8 hectares of which are occupied by communications), of which the building occupies about 9 thousand square meters. m. In total, 26 buildings were to be located on the territory of the cottage settlement, of which 6 were residential buildings. According to the agreed project, only 25 people were supposed to live in the village.
However, on October 23, 2008, the town planning commission again considered and agreed on a slightly modified project of the Istra Estate. The area remained the same, but the number of residential buildings increased and amounted to 11. There are just five houses on the territory of the palace and park ensemble itself. Unlike cottages still under construction, the palace and other buildings of the ensemble have already been completed. Vladimir Zaitsev, deputy head of the administration of the Solnechnogorsk district, who gave permission for the advanced construction of these five houses in the village, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru, could not remember either the palace or the park, although the Stroygazconsulting project itself recalls. “Nothing has been heard from them lately,” said Zaitsev. The approximate cost of the Istra Estate, as Gazeta.Ru calculated with the help of real estate specialists, is $50 million, even taking into account the declining market.
The General Director of the Analytical Group of G.M. The cost of development, which the expert compared with a good country hotel, was estimated at $3,000 per square meter, i.e., only $27 million. The cost is seriously increased by complex hydraulic structures that will form a cascade of fountains, as well as the creation of a landscape park. An additional rise in price can be caused by exclusive finishing works “a la Peterhof”. According to Stroygazconsulting's Mironova, "the palace costs no more than a standard panel house." Gazprom's minority shareholder Navalny is confident that Gazprom can even hide a skyscraper under another legal entity. “Maybe it was built for him, but in fact it was issued to another person or company. Legally, you can’t dig in any way,” Navalny said.
