In the article we will talk about the life path of Valery Serdyukov, the governor of the Leningrad region, who headed the region for 14 years. His era ended in 2012, but he is still considered one of the richest residents of St. Petersburg, being a member of the board of directors of PJSC Gazprom Neft.
The start of the journey
How did Valery Serdyukov's career start, whose photo can be seen in the article?
A native of the Gomel region (Republic of Belarus) was born in the year of victory over Nazi Germany - November 9th. His father, a teacher by profession, fought in a partisan detachment. He lost his leg and became disabled. Therefore, Valery began his career early. Before the army, he already had work experience at the Gomselmash enterprise.
Conscripted military service in the sapper troops, built roads in Tyumen. On the offer to stay in the Far North, he agreed. For three years he worked as a miner at one of the mines of the Vorkutaugol association, after which he switched to Komsomol and party work,headed the committee of the CPSU of the city of Vorkuta.
I studied at the same time, having chosen St. Petersburg Mining University. Mastered the speci alty of an economist. After graduating from graduate school, he defended his dissertation, is a candidate of science.
In 1990, Valery Serdyukov returned to production, taking the post of deputy general director of the Vorkutaugol enterprise.
Moving to St. Petersburg
Positively showing himself as a deputy, including the State Council of the Komi Republic, the production worker moved to St. Petersburg, where he was offered the post of vice-governor of the Leningrad region. This happened in 1996, and two years later Valery Serdyukov, whose biography this article is devoted to, has already taken the post of first vice-governor. His predecessor was Vladimir Gustov, who was invited to Moscow in 1998 as Deputy Prime Minister, and for a whole year Serdyukov actually served as governor.
On September 19, 1999, official elections were held, in which the hero of the article scored 30.3% of the vote, winning a landslide victory. In second place was Vladimir Gustov (22.68%), now the ex-governor of the Leningrad region. Serdyukov's candidacy was supported by the Kremlin and some businessmen, among whom was Alexander Sabadash, the owner of the distillery.
As governor
In 2003, both candidates again claimed the governor's seat, and Serdyukov managed to get the support of 56.5% of voters. And in 2007, the president of the country expressed confidence in him, supporting the decisionlegislature by decree. Thus, Valery Pavlovich lasted 14 years as governor.
Under him ended the recession that began in the 90s. Large business reached out to the region, which resulted in the conclusion of about 150 serious investment agreements. This contributed to the influx of billions of dollars into the region. Under Valery Serdyukov, dozens of enterprises were built, a new port (Ust-Luga).
With his authority, he did not allow the idea of unification of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region to be realized, which Valentina Matvienko lobbied especially actively.
At the same time, Serdyukov's governorship was accompanied by a number of scandals, after which the problem of his resignation was discussed.
Financial irregularities
For 14 years, the inhabitants of the region have the impression that their leader belongs to the category of unsinkable. During the identification of financial violations, his first deputies always became extreme. Not once has Valery Serdyukov been personally found guilty, and no administrative measures have been taken against him. The most famous scandals related to money matters are:
- 2005. Misuse of funds allocated to provide the population with subsidized medicines was revealed. It's about 10 million. Nikolai Pustotin was found guilty.
- 2010 year. A criminal case has been initiated, because money in the amount of 1.8 billion rubles disappeared from the accounts of the administration due to placement in a bankrupt bank. Alexander Yakovlev punished.
- 400 million disappearedrubles received by the region for the shares of Ruskombank. Responsibility is assigned to Rashid Ismagilov.
The last years of Valery Serdyukov's governorship were marked by the seizure of the shores of lakes and rivers, which could not but cause protests from the progressive public.
Scandal in Pikalevo
Former member of the CPSU, the governor was out of the United Russia party for a long time. He joined it only in 2005. Many associate this decision with the fact that Valery Serdyukov is a politician from God. He understood the situation well. In 2007, the governor was elected by the regional duma on the proposal of the president. By that time, being a member of United Russia was very important, although the regional leader did not widely advertise joining the party.
And in 2009 there was a big scandal in Pikalevo. At one time, the city-forming enterprise - the cement plant - was divided into three interdependent parts. The owners could not agree on the prices of supplies, which led to a h alt in production.
Citizens, left without funds, blocked the federal highway. It happened on June 2nd. One of the slogans of the protesters was the demand for the resignation of Valery Serdyukov. On June 4, Putin arrived in Pikalevo, he seated three businessmen, among whom were Filaret Galchev and Oleg Deripaska, at the negotiating table. They signed the necessary papers, after which the production resumed work.
Putin, who arrived in the rank of prime minister, laid the blame not only on entrepreneurs, but also on the regional authorities. It is known that the governor wrote a letter of resignation, but the Kremlin did not accept the resignation at that moment, although political scientists understood that what had happened was a serious blow to Serdyukov's reputation.
In December 2011, elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation were held. United Russia gathered only 33.7% of the vote in the Leningrad region, although the national average was 49%. This was the most important reason for the early departure of the governor from his post. He did not finish his term for several months, in May 2012 he transferred powers to Alexander Drozdenko.
Ex-governor's family
As of 2014, Serdyukov's fortune was estimated at 3 billion rubles. Before leaving the post of governor, Valery Pavlovich had never been engaged in business, where did such high incomes come from?
It is known that his wife's name is Olga Ivanovna. In the past, she is a chemical engineer, and now she is a pensioner. She and her grandson can be seen in the 2012 photo above.
The sons of Valery Serdyukov succeeded in the field of business. When the children moved to St. Petersburg, they were already adults, so there was no need to indicate their income in the declaration. They immediately created two firms - CJSC Intersolar and CJSC Vaden, which later became part of a large diversified holding.
The eldest son Vadim (photo below) is a tenant of forest land, he owns a subcontract for the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The younger Denis has serious assets in the forestry and agricultural industries.
Today
Valery Pavlovich turned 73 last November, but he is still full of strength and energy. The ex-governor is no longer involved in politics, although after his resignation, the possibility of his participation in the Federation Council was considered. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Gazprom Neft PJSC.
