The head of the Republic of Bashkiria, Rustem Khamitov, is a rather interesting personality. This is evidenced at least by the fact that the federal media speak and write about him almost as much as the regional ones. Why does he attract everyone's attention? Let's try to figure it out together.
Childhood
Rustem Zakievich Khamitov was born in the village of Drachenino, Kemerovo Region, on August 18, 1954.
Rustem Khamitov's father - Zaki Salimovich Khamitov - was a professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Honored Engineer of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Mother, Raisa Siniyatulovna, worked as a mathematics teacher. She was always next to her husband, so at the very beginning of her family life she followed him to the Kemerovo region, where he worked in a mine, and then raised virgin soil. The couple lived in the small village of Drachenino for 5 years, and two children were born there (Rustem has a younger brother, Rashid). After the Khamitov family returned back to Bashkiria.
The biography of Rustem Khamitov as a whole is no different from the biography of the average resident of Russia.
He graduated from a regular secondary school in Ufa. He studied well, there was only one four in the certificate -in English.
The boy was fond of sports: he played at the stadium, attended the gymnastics section, in which he had the first adult category.
The dream to follow in his father's footsteps and become an engineer led him to the country's largest engineering university.
In 1971 he went to Moscow. Despite his mother's persuasion, his father did not go with him, deciding that his son was already old enough and independent. The young man from the first time entered the Moscow State Technical University. N. E. Bauman. But studying was no longer as easy as at school. Basically, the young man received threes and fours. In 1977, he graduated from the university with a degree in aircraft engines.
From assistant foreman to head of science department
Immediately after graduation, Rustem Khamitov decided to return to his homeland. He got a job first as an assistant foreman, and then as a foreman at the Ufa Motor-Building Production Association.
In 1978 he went to work at the Ufa Aviation Institute and "rose" to the rank of senior researcher.
From 1986 to 1988 he was in charge of the laboratory for the ground use of aircraft engines, and from 1998 to 1990 - the research and production department of VNIIST.
Road to politics
Khamitov's political career began with his election as a People's Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Bashkir ASSR in 1990. Three years later, he was appointed director of the Institute of Applied Ecology and Nature Management of Bashkortostan, was engaged in the implementation of environmental programsregional scale, and also developed the concept of environmental and industrial security of the republic.
Further career developed rapidly:
- From 1994 to 1996, Khamitov headed the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Bashkortostan, after which he was appointed Minister of Emergency Situations and a member of the Security Council of Bashkortostan.
- In 2000, Rustem Zakievich was appointed Chief Federal Inspector for the Republic of Bashkortostan, and since 2002 - Acting Deputy Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Volga District.
- In 2004 - became the head of Rosvodresursy, and since 2009 - Deputy Chairman of the Board of RusHydro.
- In 2010, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Khamitov as interim President of the Republic, and subsequently signed a decree recognizing him as President. Rustem Khamitov twice combined this position with the post of Prime Minister.
- In September 2014 he was re-elected for a second term.
Nationality and religion
By nationality, Rustem Khamitov is a Bashkir. He considers the Bashkir language to be his native language, but he also speaks Russian perfectly. Fluent in English as well.
Rustem Zakirovich professes Islam. During his first trip to Saudi Arabia as President of Bashkiria in 2011, Khamitov performed Umrah, the small Hajj to Mecca.
Private life
Hamitov's family is small: wife, two children and grandchildren. With his wife, Gulshat Gafurovna, he was familiar from the verychildhood. And they got married almost immediately after Rustem Zakirovich returned from Baumanka. The couple have been together for over 35 years. Gulshat Gafurovna is a doctor of functional diagnostics by profession. Now she devotes all her time to the Markhamat Charitable Foundation, of which she is the president.
The son and daughter of Rustem Khamitov live in Moscow. Kamil Rustemovich, an engineer by education, now works at RusHydro, and his daughter Nuria runs a tourism business.
In 2011 Khamitov became a grandfather for the first time. He now has three grandchildren.
Photos of Rustem Khamitov and his family rarely become public.
All Khamitov's relatives are ordinary people. Among them are teachers, doctors, workers. For example, Khamitov's brother Rashid works as a driver in Ufa, he dreamed of this profession since childhood and is not going to change anything.
As Rustem Zakirovich himself states, his family does not aspire to we alth. He also talks about the modest requests of his and his wife.
Let's see if his earnings show this.
Income
According to data for 2016, the income for 12 months of the head of Bashkiria amounted to 7.17 million rubles (half a million less than in 2015).
The wife's income for the same period is 123 thousand rubles (for 2015 - only 15,000).
Rustem Khamitov owns a personal plot of 3.7 acres and a residential building of 25.7 square meters. m., and the wife has an apartment of 120, 5 sq. m.
The couple also has a service apartment with an area of 79.9 square meters. mand cottage - 444 sq. m.
There is much to say thank you for
The positive aspects of coming to the management of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov are as follows:
- GDP nearly doubled between 2010 and 2014, outperforming the Russian average;
- the inflow of investments into the region has noticeably increased;
- the international rating of the republic changed from stable to positive;
- The National Procurement Transparency Ranking moved Bashkortostan from 34th to 2nd place in terms of Guaranteed Transparency.
Rustem Zakirovich has repeatedly noted that he loves his native republic, its people and nature very much. He claims to have visited all corners of Bashkiria and has many friends among ordinary people.
Accusations
In the regional and federal media there are often reports of illegal actions of the head of Bashkiria. Here are some of them:
- In 2013, Sergei Mironov, the leader of A Just Russia, accused him of falsifying the results of the parliamentary elections. As a result, they almost accepted the resignation of Rustem Khamitov. This would be the first time the head of the republic has been removed from office.
- A number of public figures of Bashkiria, led by Azamat Galin, accused Khamitov of causing damage to the regional budget in the amount of 68 billion rubles as a result of the approval of the deal to merge the assets of Soda and Caustic.
- All the same people accused Rustem Zakirovich of causing harm to the environment anddestruction of forests due to a construction permit granted by OOO Kronospan-Bashkortostan.
- Some experts believe that with the coming to power of Rustem Khamitov, the level of corruption has sharply increased in the region. It is not possible to quantify this level, but it is possible to fix the growth of public debt. During the first term of Khamitov, it grew by more than 60%.
- Also, Rustem Zakirovich was accused of illegal allocation of funds for the celebration of the anniversary of the Supreme Court of the Republic, equating this with bribing the judiciary.
Resignation
Due to numerous accusations against the head of Bashkiria, the most discussed topic in the region was the question of whether Rustem Zakirovich Khamitov would resign in 2017.
Practically everyone who starts a conversation about the possible resignation of the head of Bashkiria comes to the conclusion that this will not happen, even despite the "personnel purge" in the republic.
Federal experts, assessing the stability of the work of the heads of regions, attributed Khamitov to the "yellow" list of governors.
In total, they identified three such groups:
- green, here are those who have nothing to fear;
- red, consisting of governors who will be dismissed with a high degree of probability;
- yellow, which includes the heads of regions, whose chances of remaining in their place are estimated as 50/50.
The following facts play into the hands of Khamitov:
- Good connection with the federal center.
- Availabilityplans for the future of the region (in 2019, Bashkortostan turns 100 years old. Many projects are timed to coincide with this event, including the construction of several large facilities).
- Attractiveness of the republic for business (big businessmen are in no hurry to "turn off their business" and move to the capital or St. Petersburg, as in neighboring regions).
- Own style of behavior and strict adherence to it.
- The ability to manage (experts do not call him a clear leader, but they do not note any shortcomings in the management style).
The following arguments work in favor of resignation:
- Khamitov has conflicts with some federal politicians and big businessmen.
- Dissatisfaction with the work of the head of the region is expressed by both ordinary residents and the elite of Bashkortostan.
- A little more than a year is left until the next elections (they will be held in 2019), which also increases the chances of resignation, according to experts.
Like any politician, Rustem Khamitov has many supporters and opponents. It will be possible to objectively evaluate the work of a politician only after some time. For now, one can only hope that Bashkiria will prosper and develop regardless of who comes to power.
