Mikhail Vitalyevich Margelov is a famous statesman. He bears a famous surname, although he did not continue the military tradition. He went his own way and reached solid heights. His activities are often criticized, he is accused of careerism and opportunism. However, his life path is undoubtedly interesting and worthy of attention.
Family
The surname Margelovs appeared as a result of an error in the spelling of the old Russian surname "Markelov" when issuing a party card to Mikhail's grandfather. Mikhail's great-grandfather faithfully served the Fatherland, for which he was twice awarded the honorary Order of St. George. Vasily Margelov - the famous general of the Soviet army, commander of the air force, "father of the Airborne Forces", Hero of the Soviet Union - was born into a family of Belarusian origin. Thus began the glorious history of the family.
Four of Vasily's five sons continued his work. Vitaly Vasilyevich - Russian intelligence officer, Colonel General, Deputy Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, later a State Duma deputy from the United Russia party - Mikhail's father. AlexanderVasilievich - officer of the Airborne Forces, Hero of the Soviet Union. Gennady Vasilyevich - Major General. Vasily Vasilyevich - major, deputy director of the Voice of Russia broadcasting company. Vasily Filippovich did not help any of his children to make a career, but strictly asked them. Margelov Mikhail Vitalievich, whose family consists of such valiant people, had to correspond to her. And he became a worthy bearer of an outstanding surname. In total, Vasily Filippovich has ten grandchildren, Mikhail is the eldest of them. Among the grandchildren there are both journalists and businessmen, and five followed in the footsteps of their ancestors and became military men.
Childhood
Mikhail Margelov is an example of a Moscow boy from a good family. As a child, Misha was distinguished by an active character and a desire for leadership, he read a lot. Grandfather tried to get him into sports, but nothing came of it. And the dream that the grandson would follow in his footsteps did not come true either. When Mikhail was a teenager, his parents often went on business trips abroad, and he spent a lot of time with his grandparents. For several years he lived with his parents in Tunisia and Morocco. Mikhail Margelov was interested in international relations since childhood and dreamed of becoming a diplomatic worker.
Education
At school, Mikhail studied well, especially leaned on foreign languages, intending to become a diplomat. But after school, he did not go to MGIMO, but to the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, to the Faculty of History and Philology. He graduated from the university in 1986 with a diploma in the speci alty "historian-orientalist andtranslator". He speaks Arabic, English, French, later learned Bulgarian.
Beginning of a professional path
While still in his last years at the institute, Margelov began working as an interpreter in the department of international relations of the Central Committee of the CPSU. After graduating from high school, he got a job at the School of the KGB of the USSR to teach Arabic. Detractors claim that he got a job in this department solely due to family ties, since he did not have any special prerequisites for such work. There are also suggestions that the teaching position was just a front, but in fact he joined the KGB with the rank of lieutenant. Three years later, Margelov goes to work in the Arabic edition of ITAR-TASS as an editor. Here he worked for only a year.
Finding your place
After the collapse of the USSR, Mikhail Margelov, whose biography has so far developed in purely Soviet traditions, decided to try himself in a new field. He worked for several years in international consulting firms, advising joint Russian-American companies. This experience allowed Margelov to find a new, promising area for the application of his skills and talents - advertising and PR. Also at this time he works as the editor of the magazine "Your Choice". This will also become his new professional area in the future.
In 1995, Mikhail Margelov joined the large advertising company Video International as director of new business, development and consulting. In 1996he manages the project of the pre-election advertising campaign and the Yabloko party to the State Duma. The following year, he was included in the pre-election group of presidential candidate Boris Yeltsin.
Promotion
A successful election campaign brought Yeltsin to the Kremlin and brought Margelov a new position. He was appointed first deputy head of the public relations department of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, his head was M. Lesin, with whom Mikhail worked at Video International. After some time, Margelov replaced Lesin in this position and held on to it for a whole year. Since 1998, Mikhail Vitalyevich has been transferred to the service of RIA Vesti in the department of political observers. After some time, he goes to the Customs Service for six months, where he works in a group of advisers to the chairman of the State Customs Committee and is engaged in the creation of a public relations service. There Margelov received the rank of colonel of the customs service, but soon returned to Vesti.
Election Era
By 1999, Mikhail Margelov won the fame of a good political consultant, and therefore he is offered to take part in several projects at once. First, he accompanies S. Kiriyenko and the New Force political movement in the Moscow mayoral elections. During the aggravation of the situation in the North Caucasus, on the orders of V. Putin, the Rosinformtsentr was established in 1999, in which Mikhail Margelov holds the position of director. Around the same time, he was invited by S. Shoigu to organize an advertising campaign and to workpress secretary of the "Bear" movement, which sought to enter the State Duma. Later, Margelov began to provide PR support for the activities of the Unity bloc. Organizes a trip for members of the Unity faction to the Republican Party Congress in the United States in 2000. During the presidential election campaign in 2000, Margelov is part of Putin's headquarters, where he is engaged in establishing relations with foreign partners. The success of this campaign, among other things, helped him show his potential to the president, and he will remember the young PR man.
Party Life
According to family tradition, Mikhail Margelov has always been on the side of the ruling party. Therefore, no one was surprised when he was the secretary of the Komsomol organization at the institute. Then he joined the ranks of the CPSU, where he remained until the abolition of the party. In the 2000s, he became a member of United Russia. He was a member of the political council of the party, from 2001 to 2004 he was a member of the central political council of United Russia.
Federation Council
In 2000, the Pskov region has a new representative in the supreme power - Mikhail Margelov. The Federation Council is formed on a party basis, and party comrades-in-arms nominated Mikhail to this ruling body. There he becomes the initiator of the creation of the "Putin" group "Federation". Deputy Mikhail Margelov was elected chairman of the international relations committee. In 2009, he was the first senator to take part in the work of the UN General Assembly, where he delivered a report on the responsibility to protect in international affairs. Herepeatedly led delegations of the Federation Council in various negotiations on international affairs. In 2014, he had to leave the Federation Council in connection with the scandalous discovery of foreign real estate in his possession, which he did not include in the declaration.
PACE
In 2003, as a member of the Federation Council, Margelov was elected vice-president of PACE from the Russian Federation. In 2008, he boldly puts forward his candidacy for the presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but loses to the Spanish candidate. While working in PACE, Mikhail Vitalyevich repeatedly participated in the settlement of conflicts in various "hot" spots of the world, was a member of the assembly team at the Palestinian negotiations. In 2005, he voluntarily resigned as a representative in PACE. This was due to a big scandal that broke out around Margelov: his assistant Alexei Kozlov was sentenced to criminal liability for fraud, in addition, his brother was involved in an offshore case. But in 2010 he became an honorary member of PACE.
Sudan
In 2008, Mikhail Margelov was appointed to the Russian Foreign Ministry - he became the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Sudan. It is on his shoulders to solve the problem of including Russia in the group of countries participating in the settlement of the situation in this country. In Sudan, political influence has been given to countries such as the US, UK, China and France. And Margelov is trying to ensure that the Russian Federation becomes the fifth country in this group. He is the main organizer of the international conference on Sudan in Moscow, duringwhich takes the most important decision on the recognition of the independence of South Sudan. Margelov is involved in negotiations with the Darfur rebels, in three years he makes 8 trips to Sudan. In 2010, he participates in a summit meeting during the meeting of the Security Council of the UN General Assembly, where he makes proposals for support for holding a referendum on independence in Sudan.
In 2011, in connection with the solution of some of the acute problems in the country, Margelov is released from his mission.
Africa Affairs
In 2011, Margelov is assigned a new serious position - the President's special envoy for cooperation with the peoples of Africa. For many post-perestroika years, Russia was not present on the African continent, and to return at least part of its former influence was the task of Mikhail Vitalyevich. With his participation, Russian projects are being implemented in Ethiopia, Namibia, Niger and other countries. He repeatedly traveled to Africa, including in order to establish contacts with representatives of the Somali territories fighting for independence. When the situation in Libya "exploded", he met with both sides to get an objective view of the state of affairs. Its role in resolving the issue of the safe passage of Russian ships through the Gulf of Aden is significant. In 2014, Margelov left this position due to his departure from the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.
Community activities
Despite the huge, diverse activities, Margelov manages to engage in various public assignments. Heis a member of the Russian Geographical Society, was the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Professional Hockey League of Russia. Also in 2003, he became president of a non-governmental organization - the Russian Society for Solidarity and Cooperation of the Peoples of Asia and Africa. As part of this position, Margelov repeatedly participated in negotiations with various opposition groups in countries engulfed in revolutions.
Transneft
In 2014, a new "oil worker" appears in the country - Mikhail Margelov. Transneft, to which he joined as vice president, is engaged in the transportation of oil and petroleum products across Russia and the CIS countries. Margelov, on the other hand, is called upon to engage in his usual business - public relations. Although there are versions that he was "planted" in a company with a long-range vision, and that, perhaps, Mikhail Vitalievich may soon step up. But so far, such movements have not been noticed, and observers say that Margelov simply took refuge in Transneft from various problems that haunted him.
Criticism and accusations
Margelov's ill-wishers explain his progressive upward movement with great family ties. They say that his throwing from company to company is due to the fact that he does not have any valuable skills. Although it is difficult not to notice the noticeable successes of Margelov in the negotiation processes at the international level. He is accused of secretly continuing the work of his "ancestors" and being an officer of the secret services. He was repeatedly accused of illegally owning real estate abroad andbiased against American intelligence agencies. All this, except for apartments in Miami, was not confirmed, so Mikhail Vitalievich continues to work quietly in Russia.
Awards and titles
During his life, Mikhail Vitalyevich Margelov received many awards, among them the Order of Honor and Friendship, certificates of honor and gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation, various medals. He bears the title of a real state adviser of the Russian Federation of the 1st degree. He is a reserve colonel, which made his grandfather unspeakably happy.
Private life
The personal life of politicians and statesmen is always of particular interest. Mikhail Margelov, his wife and children are no exception. He married over 25 years ago and has two children. Nothing is known about his wife's occupation. The media found out about Dmitry's son that he graduated from MGIMO, worked at Gazprom, and now heads the Board of Directors of Rus-Oil.
