TV Program magazine was the first to learn about the changes in the star family. Anna Shulgina, daughter of singer Valeria, is preparing to move from her parents' house and begins filming in the remake of the film "Mustachioed Nanny"
TV Program magazine was the first to learn about the changes in the star family. Anna Shulgina, the daughter of singer Valeria, is preparing to move out of her parents' house and begins filming in the remake of the film "Mustachioed Nanny."
Anna shared with TV program her plans for adult life, and Valeria commented on her daughter’s decisions.
- Why did you decide to live on your own? Are you bored with the company of your parents?
Anna:— I feel comfortable with my parents, but it will happen soon cherished dream— By the end of summer I will move to my own apartment. She's perfect! The windows face two sides: from the living room there is a view of nature and greenery, and from the kitchen and bedroom there is a view of the metropolis. I chose it and fell in love with its huge, wall-length windows. I dream: I’ll put a pillow on the low windowsill and sit down with tea and a book to admire the sunset. But before that there are still a couple of months of work. We purchased housing in a new house, and the renovations had to be done from scratch. We bought an apartment with funds from the family budget. They looked for interior solutions on the Internet: I joined groups about renovation and design, looked for ideas there, and then discussed them with adults.
Valeria:“I’ve gone through more than one renovation, so I assessed Anya’s ideas from the point of view of practicality. So we abandoned a couple of ideas, the implementation of which would have been very expensive or impossible in this apartment.
A.:— Mom, for example, advised not to clutter the kitchen with furniture, because when you have a family, you will want more space. I took into account the advice of my elders, and we commissioned an interior designer to make the layout. After this, construction began. Our assistant helps with repairs, plus I periodically ask Joseph to supervise the builders. Among them there are resourceful people who can easily deceive a girl who is not experienced in repairs out of money. But I’m also trying to figure it out: ventilation, electrical, pipe routing... For me these are no longer empty words. Although closer, of course, is the choice of finishing materials and furniture. I’ve already come up with two features: a makeup table with a huge mirror in the balcony area and shelves with books covering the entire wall. The fact is that my grandmother in Aktarsk has a book collection - 200 volumes of world literature, which she collected bit by bit in the 80s. There is an idea to pass on these 200 volumes as a family heirloom from generation to generation.
I chose and fell in love with my apartment for its huge, wall-to-wall windows. "I'm in a new relationship"
- Anya, do you have a beloved man?
A.:- Eat.
— Is this the pianist Maxim Tarasov, about whom there were rumors of an affair last fall?
A.:- No! We haven't been together for a long time. I have a different relationship.
-Who is your chosen one?
A.:“For the first time in my life, I found myself next to a man with whom both interests and work completely coincided. It happens that he shares his impression of a film or some event, and I catch myself thinking that I wanted to say the same thing. I don’t mention his name, because I think: the narrower the circle knows about the relationship, the longer the couple manages to maintain the special warmth of feelings.
— Aren’t you afraid that predictability will become annoying? Besides general work— music that even at home can get boring?
A.:— Look at my parents: 12 years together. And they are not at all bored!
- It turns out that Anya simply copied the relationship between Valeria and Joseph?
IN.:— Relationships cannot be copied.
— Don’t be afraid that your daughter may have a “substitution of concepts.” Will she mistake interest in professional communication for interest in a man?
IN.:- No. Any relationship can be questioned. U creative people this is no more common than among doctors or teachers. When you live in this world, the people you work with become your friends. There is, of course, a negative point in a trade union: any conflict that arises at work is transferred home. But there are more benefits. There is a saying: “Choose something you enjoy and you will never work a day in your life.” This is the same case. Of course, we take our minds off work and have fun. Yesterday Iosya and I went to a concert at the Tchaikovsky Hall, we go to the theater, and we travel a lot.
Valeria says that her daughter is very a kind person who knows how to listen and help. — Does your daughter open up to her mother?
A.:“I’m not one of those children who pour out their souls to their mother.” I keep everything inside. Both problems and joys. Parents see and understand everything, but they are delicate people and prefer not to interfere or ask questions. Moreover, they know that there will be no answers. I have a fairly tough character. I can’t even stand hugs of any kind: I don’t like being touched. Therefore, when mom has impulses of tenderness, I can caress, but not for long. She's not offended.
IN.: — I don’t believe in horoscopes at all. But you look at her and you begin to believe. Anka is a typical Gemini. She can walk around the apartment in sadness and sadness, and after a couple of minutes run into the kitchen cheerful and joyful. What's happened? No one understands what is going on inside her. She is very kind, if someone comes asking for help, she will listen, help, and give advice.
A.:— By the way, my family trusts my sense of style. Yosya and mom come into my room for advice: what things go best with what.
IN.:— We trust each other's taste.
— What does your daughter call Valeria?
A.:- Mulya, Musya. But mostly mom. And she likes to call me Nyurasha, Nyusik. In Yosya’s phone I’m recorded as Nyurka (laughs).
IN.:- I can do everything myself! I’m doing a good job, tell me, am I an advanced user?
A.:“Okay, I’ll teach you some little tricks.” For example, use filters on Instagram.
— My daughter has grown up, goes on tour with her mother and even gives advice. What do you remember from your past childhood life?
IN.:“She recently recalled how we went for a couple of days to one of the farmsteads of the Valaam Monastery. There were four of us: me, Anya, Artemy and Arseny. I sang in the choir, the children confessed for the first time. What was surprising about this first of many trips was that an icon was streaming myrrh in the new monastery. Not ancient, not ancient, but recently written.
A.:“I was sitting doing my homework, and suddenly my tooth ached badly. Mother took me to the icon. We stand, pray, and before my eyes the icon began to become moist in one place. It was a miracle! Mother took this drop and anointed my gum, and soon the pain went away.
— Do you go to church together now?
IN.:— We live with children on different schedules. Touring, a lot of work. Therefore, I take communion, confess and pray for the health of children; I often go on tour, visiting churches in the regions.
Anya is a good cook and, when she has time, experiments in the kitchen and treats her mother to something tasty. “I think in about five years my first child will be born.”
— Psychologists say that girls who grew up in a large family dream of having at least three children. Anya, what do you say to this?
A.:- I really want children. But I can’t guess how many there will be: as God will send. Yes, I dream of a family and kids, but I will only plan for children when I understand that I can provide for them myself. After all, it may turn out that two adults who once loved each other will be forced to separate. There are more and more divorces every year! I don't want to be financially dependent on a man. Therefore, I need to have a stable income that will allow me to provide the child with the best. When this happens, then I will become a mother. I think in about five years my first child will be born. But if it happens that I get pregnant before I have time to save money, I will give birth. I am against abortion!
— With this approach to financial issues, how will you plan a common budget with your beloved man?
A.:— I think that in a couple, everyone should have their own bank account. I'm a feminist. I often “turn on the man.” Now my man is gradually teaching me to feel like a woman. Let’s say in a cafe my hand reaches out to my wallet to pay for myself, but now they don’t allow me to do this. I won’t lie, it’s unusual, but pleasant.
-Are you the same age?
A.:- No, he's a little older. This age difference is not noticeable. In general, we like to spend time with friends, go to friends’ dachas to barbecue, dance, play crocodile. In general, I am a homebody, a family person who is not interested in parties. I have always been drawn to elders. It was very interesting to communicate with Yosi’s friends and listen to their thoughts. And they perceived me as an adult and discussed as equals. I enjoy family gatherings and conversations around the table.
- So, are you ready for family life?
A.:— Yes, at 21 I feel like an adult and ready for family life.
— Do washing and cooking scare you?
A.:— When I studied in Shchuk, I worked part-time and lived in a rented apartment to feel independent from my parents. That’s why I learned everything: how to cook food and how to clean the apartment.
— You will soon begin filming a serial film. What kind of movie?
A.:— This will be a remake of the film “The Mustachioed Nanny.” I will play a bitch who works as the rector's secretary and tries to become his girlfriend. Andrei Leonov has been cast in the film. Main role performed by one of my favorite young actors - Sasha Golovin, it is his girlfriend that I play.
— What kind of wedding do you dream about?
A.:— I don’t consider a wedding to be an indicator of feelings or necessary ritual. And if I finally decide, I plan to make a holiday for my family and close friends. But no pathos or crowds of guests.
Valeria and Joseph Prigogine with Anya, Artemy and Arseny. The couple has been together for 12 years. Private bussiness
VALERIA born on April 17, 1968 in the city of Atkarsk Saratov region. Graduated from the Gnessin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute. People's Artist of Russia. Released 15 studio albums, 56 singles, 41 video clips.
Since 2004, she has been married to producer Joseph Prigozhin. She has three children: Anna (21 years old), Artemy (20 years old) and Arseny (16 years old).
Private bussiness
Anna SHULGINA born June 21, 1993 in Moscow. As a child, she studied at the Institute for Noble Maidens in Switzerland. Returning to Moscow, she graduated from school and then from the Shchukin Theater Institute. Acting in films. She could already be seen on screen in the third season of the TV series “Karpov”. She hosted the TV program “Our Way Out” on the Russia 1 TV channel. In 2014, she shot a video for the song “Give a Chance to a Dream.” She recorded a duet with her mother, singer Valeria, performing the song “You are mine.”
From the editor. Today, grandfather Sasha Shulgin, who completed all his earthly experiments the summer before last, would have turned 91 years old. On this occasion, we are publishing a translation of the (as it turned out) last interview with Shulgin, made for “Katabasia” µ0r. You can get acquainted with the original.
Over the past four decades, Dr. Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin has created more than two hundred psychedelic compounds related to his major discovery, MDMA (better known by its slang name, "ecstasy"). The Northern California scientist is the central figure in the documentary "Dirty Drawings," which was named for the drawings of chemical compounds on test tubes in Shulgin's laboratory. In this film, the gray-bearded Shulgin with a trembling voice looks exactly like a countercultural sorcerer-alchemist, but the film also shows him as a serious researcher expanding the boundaries of the mind - for Shulgin, psychoactive substances are, first of all, the gateway to true self-knowledge, and also a possible cure for depression.
A former chemist at the Dow Chemical Company, Shulgin, 85, left the corporate world in 1965 to pursue research in his field of interest from an old bungalow outside Berkeley. Shulgin did not disclose the exact location of his home laboratory, even when he no longer worked with MDMA and other “prohibited” substances. He met his wife Anne in 1979 and they immediately felt a kinship in their interest in visionary entheogen plants. Anne became a full partner and co-author of her husband. The film "Dirty Drawings" shows the Shulgins trying out a new substance with friends and colleagues - they call it an experiment. These scenes are interspersed with their travels: to the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, to Egypt, to a symposium in New York, and also to an interview with a friendly DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) agent and a chemist who develops psychedelic substances for medical use but has never tried them himself.
In 1991, the Shulgins published the book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, which tells about their relationship and their work - however, many saw in this book only a collection of recipes. Despite the fact that after the publication of this book, Shulgin was deprived of his license to work with substances from American List 1 and was fined 25 thousand dollars, in 1997 the sequel TiHKAL was released, and then Sasha, Ann and their assistant Tanya, the three of them completed the most complex work on a giant index of psychoactive substances - this work is also reflected in the film.
How do you feel about how the documentary represents you?
Ann Shulgina: It's really sad that it was taken off before I lost 35 pounds. I think they did everything perfectly, I really liked it. Of course, Sasha is already almost blind, so he didn’t really see what was happening on the screen.
Sasha Shulgin: Everything is probably great there.
Sasha, today is your birthday. How are you going to celebrate?
Sasha: I'll live to be 86.
Are you going to do any experiments?
Sasha: Oh no no
Ann: We have practically no time for this - various people constantly visit us.
The film reflects the fact that you have a very wide social circle. Who are all these people who are constantly at your house?
Sasha (laughs): You'll have to answer that, Anne.
Ann: A lot of people in the world are interested in the effects of psychoactive compounds. I don’t even know how many people came to Sasha, or both of us, with the words: “You changed my life!” Many were in a state of severe depression and they took MDMA.
Sasha: We did not change their lives - they themselves changed their lives.
Ann: And MDMA helped them access parts of themselves that they couldn't access before. This is a very important experience for many people. We have friends who don't use psychoactive compounds, but who are still interested in how the brain works, psychology and spiritual practices. This is a very broad group of very smart people. We have a party twice a year, people bring food and drinks and get to know each other. Very good party.
Sasha: We have two rules. First: Don't arrive before noon. Another rule is that you can stay as long as you want.
When you take MDMA, do you still find these "new parts of yourself"?
Ann: We don't accept it. It's now a controlled substance [defined as a Schedule 1 substance, which includes substances with no medical use and a high potential for abuse, according to the DEA], so we don't take it anymore.
Sasha: Categorization of substances is a problem of the state, not our problem. They want to ban something - well, okay. My business is the creation of new substances. New substances are not yet prohibited, because no one has synthesized them before.
Ann: We do not have any illegal substances in our laboratory or at home. We always remember that the DEA is always very interested in us, being very hostile towards us, so we have no intention of doing anything to have them invade us again.
Sasha: As soon as they ban something - three or four years after I invented it - I just burn all the samples in the fireplace.
What kind of substances are you creating?
Sasha: New psychedelic substances, new compounds that are completely unknown.
Do you feel anxious when you take these substances? You don’t know the dosages or their effect on you.
Sasha: Any new substance does not have such “preliminary” data. There is no way to know this in advance. So you usually take doses that are too small to be active. Ann, how much of the unknown substance will you take for the test?
Ann: The smallest dose, nanograms.
Sasha: A nanogram of a very strong compound can be quite active.
Ann: Then I'll ask you.
Can you describe what you are ultimately trying to create? The ideal psychedelic substance?
Sasha: Ideal? No. If I had knowledge of the perfect psychedelic substance - and I knew its structure, I would create it. That’s why I have a laboratory, to create something that didn’t exist before.
Ann: In addition, everyone’s body biochemistry is different. The effects that Sasha or I like in a substance may be absent or significantly different when someone else uses the same substance. There is no way to know which substance will be ideal - because it will only be ideal for you.
Sasha, in a 2005 New York Times article you were called "Dr. Ecstasy", in the film you say that you don't like it. Why?
Sasha: First of all, I don't know what "Dr. Ecstasy" means. Define “Ecstasy”, what does it even mean?
Ann: In the names of street drugs, such colorful words do not mean the formula or the substance itself, but a certain general effect.
Sasha: And therefore it doesn't mean anything.
Ann:"Ecstasy" is a street name. The substance is prohibited, so there is no quality control. There is no way to know if there is any MDMA in there. Our research team has received data that of what can be found at any rave, only a third of what is sold has any MDMA in it. Otherwise it was not contained - and this is one of the dangers of banning something. There are no guarantees, no protection. The authorities believe that there should be no protection, but their views differ from ours.
The film shows your trip to the Burning Man festival, the situation with psychoactives there is also far from pharmacological purism like yours - in fact, quite “street” psychoactives are used there.
Ann: About a third of people at the festival take psychoactive substances. The rest drink alcohol. There's not a lot of substance use there.
Sasha: I think that many people think that only obebos gather there. But visitors to such festivals often do not need any drugs at all and see the world quite picturesquely without it. Some people just take a little bit of this or that, get together and just hang out for a while.”
Ann: If you haven't been to Burning Man, you should go sometime! This is an extraordinary experience. I saw examples of art there that were better than many museum exhibits. This is simply amazing! We'd love to go again, but it's too expensive.
Sasha: We were there three times, that's enough.
When you take substances in a film, you call it experimentation, but do you use your new products to really get off?
Sasha: No, because you never know if you can “fly away” from this! This is a new connection, so it is always an experiment. In 99% of cases, you take a substance and there are no effects at all. You go about your day as usual, and two days later you take something else, and three days later something else. And you don’t go back to the same substance for a week, two, three.
Ann: We did this before. But we haven’t been doing this for five years. As you get older, the substances are more powerful than when you were younger. Due to this procedure, we had to reduce the dosage. At some point, Sasha was on medication that inhibits the effects of psychedelics - and therefore had to be very careful.
Have you not used anything for five years?
Sasha: Well, occasionally.
And when this happens, do you learn something new about yourself?
Sasha: Oh yeah. One of the most interesting people to meet is yourself.
Ann: Each individual contains a whole universe, and there is no end to them - both consciousness and unconsciousness. There are no limits to what is inside you. We are all very connected. There is no end to this.
How often do you experiment?
Ann: Now?
Sasha: Not as often as in the past.
Ann: Sasha has been working on the book for five years. It's just two weeks away from completion.
Sasha: And she has been in this condition for a year and a half now.
Ann: But this time we think everything will work out.
What is this book about?
Ann: It's called the Shulgin Index, it's a reference book.
Tanya: It is constructed like the Merck Index. There are approximately 127 major articles on phenethylamine compounds and mind-altering substances. Melting points, synthesis, human and animal studies are described there.
Sasha: What's important about it is that it can be useful to both authorities and psychedelic chemists. All the factual material collected is there - and each comment is documented with links to publications. The authorities really like this because they can go and find the originals. This is valuable for law enforcement agencies and for those interested in psychedelic substances.
Do you think you have discovered anything that is as important as MDMA?
Sasha: I like 2C-B, I discovered it. But I don’t really like going back to what is already known. I'm looking for something new.
Once you discover something, what happens to it?
Sasha: I let others do it if they want. Or do it commercially if they want. I don't need anything myself.
Tanya: If you ask, the 2C-B was produced commercially in Germany. It was called "Nexus". And in South Africa there was a tribe that used it in rituals and healing, and then it was put on “List 1” - and that was it.
In the film, you describe an experiment that you once conducted together. You took the substance and concentrated on the hands of the clock. The arrows became slower and slower until they almost stopped. Sasha, did you get scared and come out of this state?
Sasha: Put yourself in my shoes. If you look at the hands of a clock and they keep getting slower and slower, what do you think will happen? I'm glad I got out before we stopped).
Ann: I think we could go further. He was just scared.
Your relationship is one of the most interesting things in the film. This is a true romantic and professional partnership with roots in a rather rare shared interest.
Ann: Our very first conversation was about different things that change consciousness. I had experience with one, he was very into plants.
Sasha: Different approaches, common interest.
Ann: He is a scientist, and I...
Sasha: And you are an artist).
Ann: I'm interested in the sensory aspect of this experience.
The film shows you being interrogated by the authorities at home. Does this happen often?
Sasha: Well, not anymore. They came back one day, saying that there was something forbidden in your back room. They put me in their car. It was two o'clock in the afternoon - and by ten o'clock in the evening they had finished watching everything and apparently realized that they had made a mistake. So half of them went home, and the rest stayed to talk to us over a cup of coffee and a glass of wine.
They asked, “so what do you do with illegal substances?” And I answered: “I don’t have those. Those that were banned, I destroyed.”
What do they prohibit? Something that was active and interesting. They ban them - that's their problem, not mine. When they realized that they wouldn’t find anything, they stopped coming.
Sasha, do you still have anything to do with the DEA?
Sasha: No.
Tanya: Sasha has friends in the DEA with whom he can no longer communicate. Their lives and careers are on the line. They are obliged to report everything - and that’s why they don’t talk anymore.
Ann: Chemists love chemistry - and DEA chemists are no exception, they are interested in the chemistry of substances. But the way things are going now, they cannot communicate with Sasha. They are afraid of tarnishing their reputation.
In the film you discuss the concept of consciousness. Are you any closer to understanding what it is?
Sasha: Oh, No.
Ann: I think the answer is in the spiritual world. It's not very scientific.
Do you think about mortal nature or about the extension of consciousness beyond the boundaries of the material world?
Sasha: I think that when you die, you die.
Ann: And I, of course, think the opposite.
Are you arguing about this?
Sasha: No.
Ann: We respect each other's views. There are things that are not argued about because they are a waste of time.
Interview: Michael Martin
Translation: µ0r
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Arseny Shulgin (18) bears the title of one of the most eligible bachelors in the capital. This is not surprising - he is handsome, talented and independent beyond his years - at the age of 16 he flew away from his parents' nest and began to live separately. True, not alone, but with his girlfriend, model Anna Sheridan (22). "We've been together for over two years now." So his “bachelor” status is just a formality.
When Arseny was 4 years old, his parents divorced. Then, in 2002, the breakup of singer Valeria (49) with composer Alexander Shulgin (53) was not discussed only by the lazy. Arseny himself did not remember this difficult period, but he has not communicated with his father since then. Two years later, she married again - this time to producer Joseph Prigozhin (48), whom Shulgin Jr. now touchingly and homely calls “Yosei.” “It seems to me that the parenting process is already over, but if I need any advice, of course, I consult with him and with the whole family.”
T-shirt, Uniqlo; trousers, Guess
Arseny’s older brother, Artemy (23), while still a schoolboy, went to study at the Swiss Webster University to become a programmer and financier, and (24) decided to conquer Russian show business. Now she is a successful actress, singer and TV presenter. But Arseny prefers it catering business. When he was 17, he and his friends (who, as it turned out, had been “in business” for more than ten years) opened the hookah cafe Beaumonde Lounge on Lubyanka. “It all happened by chance; I didn’t discuss my affairs with my parents. An opportunity just turned up, so I decided to do it,” but insiders report that Valeria appreciated her son’s efforts after the first dinner at his cafe.
“And in general, I have such a character that I always do everything in my own way, so it was always difficult to teach me something. And as for my older sister, now it’s more likely that even I play the role of her mentor than vice versa,” Shulgin laughs.
“By the way, I recently opened my second establishment - the Nebo Lounge restaurant in Moscow City. The contingent is wealthy people, members of one of the best fitness clubs in Moscow, Nebo Wellness, says Arseny. “But the restaurant business is not all I do, and it’s far from the main direction. I’m much more interested in e-commerce and online trading.” True, he does not reveal details, but he sounds serious.
Turtleneck, Uniqlo; trousers, Guess; boots, Pal Zileri
Shulgin also has a hobby – you won’t believe it – music. Arseny plays the piano and even gives concerts: “This is the very hobby with which I want to connect my life, but I have no goal of making money from it.”
In the spring of 2016, information appeared in the media that Shulgin was expelled from music college, but he assures: “I was not excluded from anywhere. Now I'm finishing Central music school at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky and at the same time I study at the Russian Economic University. Plekhanov is a second-year student at the Faculty of Finance and Credit,” says Arseniy.
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The editor of the portal Svoykirovsky spent one day with the head of the Kirov administration - from morning work meetings to a late family dinner. What Ilya Shulgin thinks about the work of the previous team and the verdict of Belykh, why he respects Governor Vasiliev and why he has not yet left for his native Kazan, read in our material.
Ilya Shulgin was confirmed as head of the Kirov city administration on October 31, 2017. He began his duties only on November 27, when he “finished all his work” as deputy chairman of the regional government and minister of industry and energy. Our so-called media day took place on March 27, when Ilya Vyacheslavovich served as city manager for exactly four months. On the same day, Vladimir Putin flew to Kemerovo, where two days earlier a fire in the Zimnyaya Vishnya shopping center killed 60 people.
8:40
Together with the driver, we are waiting for Ilya Shulgin in a service Toyota near his house - a new building in the city center with a view of the Trifonov Monastery. A small courtyard, a janitor is diligently chiseling the ice crust on the sidewalk. The city manager's working day doesn't start early today. Usually, if there are no meetings in the morning, the head of administration arrives at work at nine. Driver Yuri Petrovich to the question “How do you like the boss?” he throws out briefly: “He’s adequate. This is the main thing."
Ilya Shulgin comes out of the house and sits down on backseat car, says hello. While we are driving to work, he says that he can’t get used to such a large amount of snow on the streets of Kirov: “There is much less of it in Kazan.”
I notice that his car does not have a “thieves” number, but a completely ordinary license plate, even without the government abbreviation “AKO”.
“I have bad license plates on my personal car,” the city manager says in response. - Once upon a time, back in Kazan, friends gave it to me. Now I don't know how to get rid of them. I think all traffic cops in Kirov already know them.
We arrive at the mayor's office, briskly We go up to the office on the second floor. Everything is simple here, even the chair, which Shulgin never sits down on during the entire working day. Everything else is also usual - a traditional bureaucratic “iconostasis” with portraits of the president and governor, flags, maps of Russia, Kirov region and the city of Kirov on the wall opposite the windows.
The city manager immediately turns on the large plasma TV, channel “Russia 24”. He calls the head of the city, Elena Kovaleva, to warn that at the meeting he will have a “tail” in the form of the press. Meanwhile, the news reports that mourning for the dead has begun in Kuzbass. “National flags are at half-mast, entertainment activities cancelled. Putin flew to Kemerovo and visited the site of the fire.” The footage begins from the meeting with Putin, Shulgin turns up the sound. The chief of staff looks into the office and reports that the head of administration is expected at a meeting with the head of the city.
9:07
The meeting is dedicated to the elimination of “dead souls” in the social sphere, that is, the reduction of budget rates that have been kept vacant for years, and the wage fund allocated for them is used by the heads of institutions to bonus themselves and employees.
Deputy Head of Administration Sergei Koshkarev talks about the results of an analysis of vacant rates in the education, culture and youth policy systems. On average in the area, 26.7% of bets are free. Koshkarev and Kovaleva discuss for a long time how exactly to close the excess funds at vacant rates - they decide to create working group from among the deputies and administration employees, before which the heads of budgetary institutions will have to justify their staffing tables and staffing levels. It is proposed to begin optimization on May 1, when the minimum wage will be increased.
Ilya Shulgin, meanwhile, studies the tables presented and corresponds with someone on the phone. He enters into conversation twice. Once when he notes that out of 60 employees of the “Road Management Directorate”, only eight people are directly involved in roads, and almost half of the staff are “gravediggers,” that is, employees of the municipal funeral service. The second time is when Elena Kovaleva remembers how, when she was the Minister of Finance of the region, grooms’ stations were discovered in regional hospitals and people worked at these rates, although there had been no stables in any of the institutions for many decades. Shulgin also tells an anecdotal story related to horses.
I then came to the Soda plant as deputy general director for procurement. I am studying the procurement structure - equipment, some basic target items. I look - horseshoes, oats, some clamps. I ask: do we have horse-drawn transport? No, they answer, the former general director simply had a passion for horses, they were given to him. That's why we have an end. I looked - there really is such a properly organized workshop: stalls, riding circles. The plant traditionally produced kumys; it was sold in the factory buffet. Therefore, I later purchased bottles, corks and all sorts of spare parts for the kumys bottling line...
Governor Igor Vasiliev calls Shulgin on his cell phone. The city manager goes out to talk in the corridor, returns five minutes later and reports that today at noon the government will hold an unscheduled meeting with representatives of the city’s shopping centers on issues fire safety.
The meeting is coming to an end. The head of the city and the head of the administration remain to discuss tomorrow's City Duma - Shulgin has a meeting in the government in the morning on licensing management companies, it is necessary to plan a meeting of the city parliament so that the city manager has time to answer all the questions that require his presence.
10:15
Meanwhile, it’s time for Shulgin to go to the government: at half past ten, Deputy Chairman Dmitry Kurdyumov has a meeting scheduled for the construction of six new kindergartens in Kirov.
The journey to the “gray house” takes 4.5 minutes. During this time, the head of the administration manages to briefly talk about the audit in subordinate institutions and structural divisions town hall he is currently holding.
Very interesting things are coming to light, which I have already voiced today. For example, “Road Management Directorate”. What should I do? On the roads. What does he do? Graves. Now we are merging DDH into one structure with the Directorate of Green Economy, and there will be five directions there. The first is the construction of roads; we are taking this function away from the construction department, which is not characteristic of it. The second is the maintenance and repair of roads, the third is ensuring road safety. These are traffic light groups, pedestrian crossings, installation of road signs. The fourth direction is planting and crowning trees, maintaining parks and lawns so that dirt does not spill onto the road, special fences must be made, and so on. The fifth direction is the maintenance of cemeteries.
10:25
We run into the government building, taking off our outerwear as we go. The heads of city departments - legal, education, municipal property - are already waiting in the hall for Shulgin. The crowd enters the elevator. On the second floor we are joined by the chief Kirov antimonopoly officer, Marina Nikonova, and the Minister of State Property, Artyom Surzhenko. Ignoring the journalist and photographer, they are discussing the demolition of the old TV tower in Yekaterinburg. The camera flash clicks, Surzhenko and Nikonova flinch and try to hide from the lens, but there is nowhere to go. Everyone laughs, Shulgin too.
The head of the administration goes to Kurdyumov’s office. So we spend the next 45 minutes in the government corridor. After the meeting, Shulgin and her deputy, Alexander Yashchenko, discuss the schedule for the rest of the day and tomorrow. The city manager recalls that he wanted to call the chief federal inspector Vladimir Klimov. He goes to the window to make a call. You can hear him promising into the phone to “discuss the issue with his people” and “to speed things up.”
He comes back to us and explains the essence of the issue:
Disabled people want to play tennis, but they don’t want to pay, not even for utilities. Five rubles from the nose. Moreover, the person who represents the disabled, with such a chain around his neck and a gold bracelet. All so prepared: “But in Soviet time..."What Soviet era? It's the 18th year.
11:50
The meeting with the governor will begin soon. About 30 representatives of Kirov shopping centers are sitting at the table in the meeting room. On big screen A video has been uploaded from the Kemerovo shopping center “Winter Cherry” with the famous footage where black smoke fills all available space in 10 seconds. There is no governor yet, there is deathly silence in the room for 15 minutes, no one communicates with each other. Finally Igor Vasiliev appears.
The meeting lasts less than half an hour. The governor speaks mostly, and Shulgin speaks a little. The first is about the need to train personnel in the rules of behavior during a fire, the second is about the mandatory use of smoke removal and fire extinguishing systems. Igor Vasiliev suggests thinking about moving children's entertainment areas from the top floors to the ground floor. He also promises that supervisory holidays for small businesses, which include the vast majority of city shopping centers, regarding fire safety will no longer apply. Everyone listens to the governor in silence, there are no objections. “Well, then let’s get to work, comrades!” - Vasiliev proclaims, and all those invited immediately leave the hall.
12:45
We return to the administration. On the way, Shulgin manages to say a few words about what happened at the meeting on kindergartens:
We discussed how to quickly conduct tenders in order to have time to build, put into operation and pay for all six kindergartens this year.
The snowfall outside is falling heavier. Ilya Vyacheslavovich squints at the snowflakes flying into his face and runs up the stairs to the entrance to the building. In the reception area he looks through his mail. An invitation has arrived to Nikas Safronov's exhibition. “This is the artist, right?” - just in case, he checks with the secretary and asks to make tea.
A personal reception of citizens is scheduled at one o'clock. The news continues on TV. On the screen - Putin meets with victims in a Kemerovo hospital.
Is your TV on all the time?
Yes, this is my long-term habit; the Russia 24 channel is always on in my office. Only news, only hardcore.
Tonight there will be a memorial service at the Eternal Flame. Will you go?
I still think I have IVs at this time. I'm on sick leave. Flu.
On the screen, Putin meets with an initiative group of citizens whose relatives were burned in the Winter Cherry. Shulgin turns up the volume. Indignant voices are heard: “narrow passages”, “few windows”, “people are trapped”. Relatives ask to explain why the cinemas were closed and turned into gas chambers. Putin replies that “the investigation group is working, 100 people. They will go through the entire chain.” Information appears that all-Russian mourning has been declared.
They bring tea with the city manager's favorite delicacy - gummies. He himself goes to the rest room and returns with a piece of cake for us and a sandwich of black bread with butter for himself.
My mother worked at the conservatory, teaching piano. I didn’t study music; instead of music I played tennis. But she always dragged me to all sorts of jazz sessions, plus many students came home for additional classes. If we take music that I can listen to endlessly, then it is Sting, Enya and Mark Knopfler - no matter whether they are part of the Dire Straits group or not. And from domestic... probably "Chizh". We know him personally. They once came to Sterlitamak, and the Soda plant, where I worked at that time, was the host. They stayed with us in the factory sanatorium, and after the concert we sat with them. They played, we had fun. Everything is decent.
Mom is a music teacher, and who was your father?
I grew up with my stepfather, he was an aircraft builder, worked at the Kazan Aviation Plant named after Gorbunov. Our windows in the house looked directly onto the runway of the factory airfield. When the planes took off and landed, the dishes in the kitchen clanked. So now I can sleep in any noise.
13:07
He finishes his tea quickly. We go to the next office, where the reception of citizens should begin. Today there are only visitors - activists from Chistye Prudy, but there are many questions: from the construction of a second school and a separate clinic building in the microdistrict to the opening of new bus routes and the organization of access to houses on Popova Street, which was dug up due to the construction of an overpass.
Shulgin goes point by point in detail, quite abruptly interrupting the activists when they begin to make accusations against the city administration. When one of the Chistoprudny residents complains that the mayor's office does not keep up with the pace of development of the microdistrict with the construction of schools, the city manager says that it is pointless for him to ask such questions - he cannot explain the actions or inactions of his predecessors.
Say thank you to the builders who are building 17-story buildings in the field there. One person creates a problem, and another has to solve it. The approach has now been revised. The practice of integrated development of territories will be introduced, and construction permits will not be issued without the mandatory construction of social and domestic infrastructure. We will definitely build one school and two kindergartens in Chistye Prudy in the near future. We will decide the issue of the next school when funding for 2020-2021 is clear. Because besides Chistye Prudy there is also Raduzhny and a lot of other areas where schools are also needed.
When asked about the construction of a separate clinic, Shulgin promises to make a request to the government, since “the powers are regional.” But the construction of a sidewalk on the site of the “people's path” across the field is discussed in detail with the head of the Department of Improvement and Transport Oleg Semakov, together they estimate how much paving stones and lamps will be needed, how much it will cost. Semakov promises that he will include the facility in the construction plan for 2020. Shulgin insists that this happen earlier.
Here I am, Oleg Dmitrievich, handing over my three offspring with a stroller ( Shulgin has three children preschool age- approx. ed.), and I’ll stand with the ice cream and see how you walk back and forth along this path.
That’s it, I understand the command, for 2019,” the head of UBiT responds.
In the same way, through the protests and objections of Oleg Semakov, Shulgin gives instructions to work on the issue of returning bus route No. 7 - from Chistye Prudy to Fileyka via Karl Marx Street. Residents are also asking for this, so that mothers with small children can get to the clinic on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street without transfers.
But the alternative route to the houses on Popova Street is more difficult. Three days before, activists together with the mayor’s office developed a temporary exit option - laying 30 meters of slabs across the yard of one of the houses. But when the equipment arrived in the yard, the residents of the house came out and did not allow the slabs to be laid.
Ilya Shulgin reads out an indignant post from social networks:
“At the same time, lawns, borders and unique ones planted by all residents were demolished! - trees. The fact that there are a huge number of children and playgrounds in the courtyards does not bother anyone. In addition, lawns are private property local HOAs, but Shulgin doesn’t care about this either.<...>The administration wants to deprive people of lawns and trees. The administration is breaking the law because it wants to organize a road that does not meet road safety requirements...”
The city manager asks Oleg Semakov and the activists to explain what is happening and how they agreed to leave Popov if people are against it. As a result, it turns out that no one carried out preliminary explanatory work with the residents of the ill-fated house and did not explain the need for the construction of a temporary road. Now this has been entrusted to the head of the territorial department. Shulgin asks activists to organize a gathering of citizens and also discuss this issue.
You can, of course, take a stance: this is our property, you have no right. Okay, put up a barrier. But everything is as it is. It is impossible to embrace the immensity. If people are afraid that this passage will be there forever, let us explain that it is not forever. Let's show this in the protocol that no later than July 1, the slabs will be removed and work will be carried out to reclaim the lawns, and let's plant trees, if necessary. It costs one penny, but people have a completely different impression.
14:08
The reception of citizens is over. The Chistoprudny residents leave, finally inviting Shulgin to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the microdistrict in August.
Two minutes for a shift change, and in the same office a working meeting begins with the management of Russian Utility Systems - the founder of the Kirov Utility Systems company. Since 2004, KKS has been leasing a significant portion of water supply and sanitation facilities from the city. At the end of 2019, the contract expires, and all city water supply and sewerage must be concessioned. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the terms of future cooperation.
RKS General Director Pavel Kurzaev reports on the company’s successes, telling in detail and in numbers how the accident rate on networks has decreased and how water quality has improved. Shulgin interrupts the report, noting that in the last four years, KKS has reduced the volume of relaying water supply networks, in general - by more than half. Kurzaev objects: relaying networks in itself is not an end in itself, the key indicator is the accident rate, and everything is in order with it in Kirov. The head of the administration does not agree, citing the fact that there are still many complaints from citizens about problems with water. The “butting” begins: Shulgin gives specific addresses and examples, Kurzaev asks to assess the situation with water supply in the city as a whole. As a result, they agree on the mutual exchange of data about all incidents on the networks.
Next they discuss the sewerage system. RKS report that they have reconstructed three large sewer pumping stations and complain that the drains have become thicker and greasy, causing sewer pipes to clog faster than before. Then the conversation turns to how to build a sewerage system bypassing the territory of the Biochemical Plant and why Novovyatsk’s wastewater has to be piped to the north of the city.
Finally, the conversation turns to the main thing - the concession. Ilya Shulgin says that the city is now consolidating all its water assets - MUP Vodokanal, MUP Novovyatsky Vodokanal and MUP Lyangasovo. Plus, in the next three years, a water pipeline from the Kumensky district will be completed, which, at a cost of about 6 billion rubles, will become a significant source of depreciation charges “without any concession.”
We must combine assets, remove them from various threats such as bankruptcy and everything else. To form a single normal economically justified tariff, and then we have the question of forming a single property complex to transfer it into concession, so that it is clear what kind of renovation it can be subjected to.<...>AND…. ( long pause) I don’t know if this issue will remain with the city or if it can somehow be tied into a concession... This is because there is practically no storm sewer in Kirov.
The proposal to add to the concession an obligation for the construction and maintenance of storm sewers does not arouse much enthusiasm among the top management of RKS. They note that there are no similar examples in Russia, and it is problematic to charge anyone for using the storm drain. Shulgin suggests still thinking about this idea.
Pavel Kurzaev, tired of beating around the bush, asks point blank whether the Kirov administration sees KKS as concession partners.
Of course,” the city manager nods in response. - You can put ten different applicants in prison, but it is clear that, all other things being equal, you have an advantage due to the fact that you already work here. Therefore, in order not to invent a bicycle out of the blue, we will build a dialogue, first of all, with you. But you need to understand: since times are now, quite tough, and we are not a very rich city, we will ask a lot. But justified.
The leaders of RKS propose to “unite managerially” before the legal merger of assets. Shulgin does not agree and proposes to create a “road map” and describe step-by-step the actions of the administration and KKS, so as not to “cause confusion in the working teams” of the merged enterprises.
The head of the administration looks at his watch: in 10 minutes he needs to be in the government for a meeting on the problems of defrauded shareholders. He apologizes and asks to discuss all the details with his deputy Alexander Yashchenko. At this time, he is explaining to Muscovites that “their friendly embrace is too strong and close for the city, and relations should be equal.”
We fly out of the office like a bullet and, without getting dressed, go down to the car. On the way to the “gray house” Shulgin explains the words finally spoken by his deputy:
It’s not for nothing that Alexander Evgenievich says that the embrace of “KKS” is very close. We need to slowly free ourselves from these embraces. Because people are still busy making money from us. They use city property and pay taxes elsewhere. And at the same time they allow themselves not to implement the investment program, they allow themselves to simply not have it, not to fulfill the protocol obligations adopted by the government at meetings with their participation. And their visit today is due to the fact that I was already so fed up with this, even when I was in the government, that I said there, to Moscow, to the central holding: “Guys, either we break off relations with you, or let’s sit down at the negotiating table.” . You are the tenants of my apartment, it was not I who asked you to live for a while. And you start making renovations in my apartment to suit your taste, you changed the locks for some reason, you don’t know who you’re bringing in. Let's be clear. They came to explain themselves when they realized that we could terminate the lease.
15:00
Government again. Again, run through the turnstiles to the elevator and to the fifth floor, where a meeting on the problems of defrauded shareholders is about to begin. “An incredibly difficult topic,” the city manager says as he walks along. We make it just in time for the start. The officials' reports begin. Two houses in Novy Sergeevo do not meet safety requirements and are subject to demolition. Eight problematic houses in other parts of the city will be completed by the end of 2020. An endless series of numbers interspersed with the words “interest holders”, “problems” and “completion”. After ten minutes of this monologue, the head becomes dull and stops perceiving anything.
Shulgin sits with a slightly tired and detached look, periodically glancing at his phone. He speaks only when the governor or head of the investigative department Ayrat Akhmetshin asks him about something: “Yes, we are looking for sites to provide support measures for developers...”, “No, the mayor’s office does not have the opportunity to monitor the construction of all houses up to three floors in height.. .”, “Okay, let’s include everyone from among the shareholders in the working group at the ministry”...
The meeting lasts an hour. After its completion, Shulgin exchanges a few words with the governor and journalists, then he is surrounded by shareholders. Some ask when they will be included in the register, others ask when they will look for a new developer for their unfinished house. The city manager answers patiently. But there are no specifics.
After 10 minutes he is released. We go into the elevator.
Do you do this every day - with so many meetings, no lunch?
Today is still a calm, not busy day.
Which one is considered loaded?
When someone comes to a personal reception of citizens, and you realize that you won’t make it in an hour. Then you move and undo everything that can be moved and undo, and four with extra hours you sit, listen, write some decisions, but you can’t help here and now. This is the hardest thing for me.
16:30
We arrive at the administration. Finally lunch. The head of administration invites us to the break room. Everything here is Spartan: a sofa, a wardrobe and a refrigerator. The windows are closed with thick blinds. On the windowsill are papers and an unpacked wall calendar with Putin. On the bottom shelf there is a plaque of the deputy chairman and minister of industry and energy of the Kirov region. There are a couple of thick bags with some documents on the floor.
Shulgin takes out from his bag several containers of food that his wife collected for him at home. He brings dishes, puts salad, buckwheat with sausages and roast chicken on plates, pours tea from a thermos. He thinks out loud that now it would be good for him to “go to the hospital for IV drips,” because he “still has to be” at the evening rally dedicated to the tragedy in Kemerovo. But the conversation goes away on its own foreign policy, and Ilya Vyacheslavovich no longer remembers about the IVs.
He doesn't really like being photographed with food.
I understand that these photographs may be interesting to someone, but I would like to avoid this. Avoiding not publicity, but this pseudo-democratic bullshit.
Don't believe in democracy?
You see, it is very important to perceive yourself adequately. We live in a hierarchical society. Historically, we are not a democratic country. And for some reason, Western democracies convince us that this is shameful. But democratic institutions presuppose a high level of involvement of society in the processes of government, including the adoption of some decisions, active life position. This was well developed in the USSR, but in modern Russia it works differently. How many people came to the presidential elections this time? Two thirds of voters. Although there was a lot of explanatory work, including on TV, including federal channels. People were told: “You choose your future.” And who didn't come? Young people, actively working people.
In my opinion, it is obvious why the youth did not come. Because they believe that these are elections without elections.
Well, they are wrong to think so, because, look. Elections without elections are Ukraine. This shining example, how the political field was cleared and how each new president was worse than the previous one. The uniqueness of Russia is that with each successive head of state the country progresses.
Well, listen, if we take Stalin as a starting point, then any leader of the country will look better.
Does the figure of Stalin intimidate anyone?
A lot of people do.
Well, I think that these people just need to learn materiel and history. Personally, I have deep respect for the figure of Stalin. This is the man who led the country through the Second world war. Which the West was really afraid of. And after what Lenin and Trotsky did, he expanded the contours of the Russian Empire.
If measured by imperial estimates, perhaps. But if with slightly different parameters...
The value of human life.
Let's talk about the value of human life. Do you believe that the value of human life is Soviet period was insignificant under Stalin?
Exactly. And since then, the value of human life has not increased much in our country, unfortunately.
What's wrong with the value of human life in Russia? Children died in a shopping center. Great stupidity, bestiality, and it cannot be explained in words. Exactly the same thing in Las Vegas. It’s a safe city, you go into any room - and God forbid there’s a fire, you’ll be doused with water, foam, or anything else. It’s safe on the street, where there is a defibrillator near every telephone and you can revive a person. But at the same time there is a miracle who drags a machine gun into his room and simply sprays bullets at those gathered at the concert. Do you have a complaint against this government that it has no understanding of human life? If this understanding had not existed, we would still be stewing in the bloody 90s, in the cauldron of the Chechen war. But a man appeared who stopped all this. And this is Putin.
Do you think that Putin’s behavior today in Kemerovo was correct? The way his day was going today. He laid flowers alone at the shopping center, did not go out to the protesters, but instead went to the government for a meeting.
I can evaluate it any way I want - right or wrong. A leader's behavior is something that is not discussed. I don’t know where he comes from when he says certain things or holds certain meetings. As soon as you find yourself in his place, you will immediately understand why this is so. There is an explanation for everything. It makes sense to discuss the behavior of a leader when he, drunk, begins to play along with a brass band.
Why are we always so extreme? Why drunk right away?
I'm just giving an example when a leader's behavior is worth discussing. Whether our governor should have declared mourning, I don’t know. I don't presume to judge. I could have issued some kind of order myself - to lower the flags in Kirov. But why? And so everyone grieves, and so there is no peace for anyone.
Well, look, flags at half-mast are a sign that the authorities are also mourning. This just demonstrates the state’s attitude towards people’s lives. Why wait for the go-ahead from above to make this gesture of grief.
Is the “gesture of grief” more valuable than the grief itself? Should it be demonstrated? Yes, we mourn, deeply. This is mourning. All-Russian. The head of state had to announce this, and he announced it. As for the value of human life, let’s take statistics from 1991, the year Russia gained statehood. What was the mortality rate in 1991 and what is it now? From the Soviet standard of living, we fell into a kind of abyss and it began: local conflicts, an increase in mortality from diseases uncharacteristic of the civilized world, an increase in mortality from cardiovascular diseases, child mortality was prohibitive. And I remember that when my daughter was born in 1995, there were no diapers or vaccinations. I had to get everything. It was a monstrous time. Nevertheless, we managed. Let's see how gradually the value of life and cost of living began to change.
Wait, what do you mean by the value of human life? How much does the state invest in the development of the human personality? In health and education?
In everything. To ensure security on the territory. Earlier human life was not worth anything because there was crime. That is, they could have simply stabbed and killed on the street, because you mobile phone or someone just thought you had diamonds in your ear.
And now we can burn in a shopping center or die from an icicle falling on our heads. What changed?
What has changed is that there will most likely not be a terrorist attack in your city today. The number of terrorist attacks and the number of people who died in them, if we take 1991 and now, it will be like this graph ( draws a smooth arc downward). I know what I'm talking about.
Are you satisfied with the current system of vertical power?
Well, first you need to integrate into this system. And understand where the limit of your capabilities is. Because while I have worked in the government - both as a minister, and as a deputy chairman, and now in the administration - I understand that there are great difficulties, but there are also huge opportunities that are simply not used either due to lack of desire, or due to simple incompetence . On the other hand, having worked in this system for almost two years, I understand that our leader and governors have huge problems with the large territory of our country. The problem is that all this needs to be managed according to people's expectations.
But at the same time, I have a very unpleasant impression that people for some reason have certain dependent expectations towards the authorities: “You owe us...” And no one is ready to do even some basic, small things. They can’t even dismantle their own burnt barn.
Many simply live below the poverty line on the principle of “just to survive.”
We come into the world to be healthy, happy, generous, big people. Our ancestors breathe in our backs and support us from behind. And that’s also why you can’t be petty, you can’t fuss over little things. Low salary? What problems? Go make some money. Who's stopping? Or did I have some other social lift?
Isn't the attitude of people towards power the result of the activities of power itself?
So I wasn't born here? Did I spend my childhood in some other country? Or how? Here I have internal conflict, I don't understand. And all my classmates are the ones who don’t understand. Maybe we had some kind of special school or special class? Nothing like this. In Tatarstan the devastation was even worse than here.
For now, yes. In the sense that roads like here, inside the city, still shouldn’t be like that. Such shabby facades should not exist in any city. Any owner who operates these buildings should see this. When I came here, I saw many things for the first time. Why is this even possible?
Why did you come here?
The governor invited.
Why did you agree?
It was a serious challenge, it's interesting.
How do you know Vasilyev? You don’t come from Rosreestr, like many of his team.
I never interacted with the structures of Rosreestr and was not familiar with Igor Vladimirovich. The offer came through our mutual friends.
Did you lose a lot of salary?
How strong?
Well... In comparison, my salary here is small. It so happened that I always officially received very good money. But this only means that it is necessary to build a system here that will increase efficiency and be able to pay people the level they deserve. At the same time, so that there is no indignation that they have such salaries in the administration. Why do you read angry comments in public pages - no questions asked, come to work. The shovels are in that corner, the sweatshirts are in the wardrobe, and go ahead, stand side by side. Make sure you don’t suffer because it’s difficult, difficult, or something doesn’t suit you. We don’t whine, we stand, we breathe, we work.
And yet, I did not understand your motivation - to come to a region that has never been attractive, at the invitation of a person you do not personally know, on a salary that is several times less than what you had.
Well, first of all, running a city is a unique experience. Just like working in government.
In Tatarstan, you worked at a venture fund as an industry expert - this was also a government service.
It was work in the cabinet system. There were some endless meetings, and I didn’t see anything changing from our work.
Do you need a clear result?
Well, of course. And there I sat and sorted through papers. A project arrives - I study it carefully and understand that I am being proposed to obtain oil from wood. Theoretically this is possible, but in practice no one needs it. But there was an opportunity to do research. I led a project on deep grain processing and wrote a whole book. But in the end the project was shelved, they said: great, everything is super, we’ve never read anything like it before, but this is a new industry in Russia and we don’t have the money for it. Well there is no way. Allow me, then I will go to the factory. And I left for the factory. And then I was invited to Bashkiria, to the Gazprom structure - to the Salavat Catalyst Plant. There was such a half-destroyed site, and we made quite a piece of candy out of it. Now this is a very good plant.
Is it really possible to make candy out of Kirov?
I'm sure so. We need to establish a system that will reproduce itself. So that in a city with a population of 500 thousand people there is not enough money for something - well, you just have to sit and do nothing at all. There is industry here, there are people who work. It is necessary to reduce the level of inefficient use of funds - theft, in other words, to correctly redistribute responsibility and powers, to put in each place a normal, experienced manager who would not think about how to steal and take it home, but about living on a budget for the calendar year and even make a profit. And in order to simply live on a budget, you need to properly repair the movable and immovable property entrusted to you and follow the job descriptions prescribed to you. And to do this, you just need to think about what technologies you need to use, and these are the most common technologies. If this public transport, then update the bus fleet, review the existing route network or develop a new one, and establish relationships with subcontractors. If it is garbage, then you need to have a landfill. The landfill in Kostino is ending, which means we need to build a new one, and at the same time think about where another landfill can be located in such a way as not to overload the only one. If the feds give money for road repairs, it should be spent on road repairs. Don’t steal it, but spend the rest on road repairs, and spend ALL THE MONEY on road repairs. Because stealing is stupid, mean and unproductive.
Do you think it's unproductive? Well, for whom?
You can't eat more than one lunch.
Well, for lunch you can eat cabbage, or you can eat meat.
Well good. You can, of course, buy three Porsche Cayennes and drive them one by one. The basic question is - why?
I asked you why you came to Kirov. You said that firstly, this is a unique experience in managing a city. Is there a second and a third?
Well, you can also get these “stars on your shoulder straps.”
For what?
So you want to move up to a higher level?
A man paints a place.
Then why do you need to grow vertically?
That's why I'm not particularly eager, if you noticed. Because moving from the post of deputy chairman to the post of head of the city administration is formally a demotion. This is leaving government office for municipal service.
There is a contradiction in this - you want stars for your shoulder straps and at the same time agree to a demotion.
Because it teamwork led by the governor. And I understood perfectly well that within the framework of the powers that I was again acquiring, I would probably be able to do more than if I were sitting in the chair of deputy chairman or minister of energy. The work there is just different. There you had to do one thing, but here you have to do something a little different. But it turned out to be more necessary to do this.
Having worked in the government, what is your attitude towards the Belykh verdict?
I treat Nikita Yuryevich’s fate with human sympathy. I would leave the rest without comment.
Are you sure that you will not suffer his fate?
No one can be sure of this, not even you. As they say, never say goodbye to money or prison. But I already have some experience on this matter. I’m not saying that it guarantees anything, it’s just that this experience clearly shows what can and cannot be done.
Today is exactly four months that you have been working in this position. How do you like it?
Exactly! Four months... The impression is that municipal service much more difficult than working in government. A larger range of questions, it eats up more time. There are many problems that, on the one hand, you have all the powers to solve, but on the other hand, you are severely limited in resources - mainly money. This is also objectively understandable, and it is difficult, but at the same time incredibly interesting.
The question is what was done before. And a very bad thing was done. The people at the helm of municipal enterprises consider them their own. But they are treated not as owners, but as mercenaries. That is, they use all these enterprises entrusted to them by the city in their own interests. Moreover, they use it tastelessly, for little things, ruining the system. But the system is normal, strong. But for now, of all the enterprises that are now in the city’s circle, you can more or less rely only on Kuprit and Gorelektroset.
19:20
Several employees were already waiting in the reception area and needed to resolve work issues.
Shulgin receives everyone in turn. When their flow dries up, I ask a long-prepared question.
Recently, there has been a practice in Kirov where citizens who want to protest in some way are sent to the outskirts of the city. Is this your position?
This is not my principled position, but yes, I agree with it. Because, guys, a rally is not a way to communicate with the authorities at all. If you believe this, then you live either in the 19th century or in the 20th.
You yourself came up with the so-called Hyde parks, where citizens can gather without any approval from the mayor’s office, and now you don’t allow them to hold rallies even there. You are breaking your own rules.
It’s stupid to think that you can reach me through a rally. I am deeply indifferent to all kinds of rally gatherings; for me, this situation is definitely paid for, because the activity of people does not imply uniting into large rally masses. Any rally is a product of some technology, which in itself makes you think. And if you want to convey some idea with this rally, then it is better to contact directly the authority that is responsible for it. Here are the mothers from school No. 24 - they receive a notification about either a rally or a picket. For what? I told you at a meeting with your parent committee that in order to constructively resolve some issues, we simply need to meet and agree. Why go out? Show off in front of the townspeople? You look funny. You are not solving your problems and are also trying to portray me in such a light as if I am trying to avoid dialogue with you, but this is not so. Come to my office, it’s warm here, I’ll pour you some tea. Let's talk and solve the issue. And a rally is not a way, it is a demonstration of something to someone for something.
19:40
Our conversation is interrupted by the staff. Time to sign the documents. We are asked to go to the reception area. IVs missed.
About fifteen minutes later, Shulgin leaves the office, we run downstairs, we go to a spontaneous action at the Eternal Flame, dedicated to the fire in Kemerovo. On the way, the head of administration runs into flower shop, buys a bouquet of medium-sized red roses, she’s run out of carnations. There are traffic jams everywhere. At Karl Marx, equipment is clearing snow, at Preobrazhenskaya accident, Kazanskaya and Moskovskaya are parked to capacity. Two blocks before the Eternal Flame, we leave the car and go on foot. Ilya Vyacheslavovich divides his bouquet into two halves and gives one to me.
Soon we find ourselves in a dense stream of people. Students, parents with small children, pensioners. There are many acquaintances in the crowd - officials, deputies, social activists. Shulgin silently shakes hands with everyone. Near the monument the crowd of people is the densest. Many keep wax candles, placed in ordinary plastic cups. An awkward movement - and the cups begin to burn and melt. While we squeeze through to the Eternal Flame, we manage to prevent a couple of potential fires in the crowd. There is already a mountain of flowers and soft toys on the pedestal. No one makes any speeches, everything happens in silence. We put flowers on the top of the mountain, stand in silence for a couple of minutes, and leave.
20:45
The photographer is no longer with us, and Ilya Vyacheslavovich suggests asking all the remaining questions at his home. On the way, he calls his wife Marina, warning that there will be guests.
Marina meets us with her youngest son, 8-month-old Kolya, in her arms. 5-year-old Vasya and 3-year-old Lena hover around her. They rejoice at the arrival of their father and look with interest at the unfamiliar aunt. Then everyone moves to the nursery, where the grandmother looks after them, the head of the family goes to change clothes. Marina and I stay in the kitchen-living room alone. While she is setting the table, I look around the spacious apartment, with a fresh modern renovation and new furniture. The Shulgins moved here a few months ago. Before this, we rented a two-bedroom apartment in the House of Printing area. Almost all the free space on the walls is occupied by icons. On shelves - family photos. Children's toys are scattered in front of the TV.
Marina is 28 years old. She has a ringing voice, an interesting - not Vyatka - dialect and incredible charm. As she puts dinner on plates, she eagerly says that when her husband worked in the government, it was worse, since he would bring home a bunch of papers and bury himself in them all weekend. Now he has a device, there is less paperwork. True, he still comes home late. Nine in the evening is considered early in the family. Usually at 10 - 11.
Shulgin comes out barefoot, wearing camouflage pants and a black T-shirt with the inscription “The sun is for us” on the chest and “And the wheat will grow on the bones” on the back. Marina tells how the day went: she danced with Lenochka, went with Vasya to a speech therapist. We walked around and cooked dinner. Everything is fine. He sends greetings from a priest he knows and his wife. He, too, like the head of the administration, got the flu. She tells how she filled out an income tax return with an accountant friend. last year, contributed her “maternity benefits”.
So, is there enough for a Porsche Cayenne? - the head of the family laughs.
A couple of million are missing,” the wife jokes in response.
Make sure that, God forbid, there are no mistakes. I have to report.
Shulgin pours wine into glasses. He says that he hasn’t drunk strong alcoholic drinks for a long time. Marina refuses wine and goes to put the children to bed.
Ilya Vyacheslavovich says that his son Vasya goes to preparatory courses at an Orthodox gymnasium. Friends advise sending the boy to the Vyatka Humanitarian Gymnasium, where the emphasis is on foreign languages. But the family has not yet decided. Shulgin recalls how he himself studied at a school with in-depth study of the French language.
This school was just next to my house. There was selection and exams. But I drew well, knew all the alphabet and could write in block letters. This was enough for me to be accepted. We had a very good class, good classroom teacher, we still communicate with everyone. We were taught the Parisian accent there, then whole classes of all sorts of French schoolchildren came to us for the holidays. Our school was such a channel for the dissemination of French culture in the Russian outback. Now, when I come to France, I can speak French at some everyday level. And after a couple of weeks, people in restaurants or souvenir shops start asking where I’m from. And they are very surprised when they find out that they are from Russia. Well, in the sense that in their understanding, Russians apparently cannot speak French normally.
21:15
First Lena, then Vasya come to say good night. Ilya Vyacheslavovich briefly asks the children how their day went, hugs them, kisses them on the tops of their heads.
Do you have the feeling that because of this work you are missing out on something important? In particular, growing up your children.
But they are growing up before my eyes. I see them almost every day, both morning and evening. It’s clear that I would like a different lifestyle, a different job, different everything. But if I worked at a factory, it would be the same. I wouldn't come early either. It’s worse when you don’t see or find value even in evening communication.
Why do you index finger not on your hand?
I lost it on a milling machine when I violated safety regulations, and I've taken it very seriously ever since. I was about 13 or 14 years old. I had to process a part, I didn’t secure it and held it with my hand. It’s good that he didn’t take his hand away. But he could. I still have a guardian angel. Although I was an atheist then. He told everyone that there was no God, like an exemplary schoolboy and pioneer.
When did you change this opinion?
When I began to understand that the worse you show yourself, the more painful it is for both you and your family. And I was very unpleasant person. I’m still not a gift, but at least I’m not disgusted with myself now. And then there were moments when I had questions for myself. But I was lucky with a friend; in the recent past he was the abbot of the Sviyazhsk Monastery. Thanks to him, I came to faith. True, I don’t go to church often. My wife goes for me. Well, that's just me, laughing. When we can, we go together.
Does your publicity bother you now?
Do they recognize you on the streets?
Judging by the glances I sometimes catch, I understand that some people recognize. What am I doing? Hello. In any unclear situation, you need to say hello. This is not new to me, because in the same Sterlitamak plant 10 thousand people worked. And you are the management, you have already been published in the corporate newspaper several times. And you walk down the street, and workers you don’t know greet you. So this feeling is not new to me. But now I understand that if you type “Ilya Shulgin” into Yandex, so many things will come out that you can’t sort them out. And it's hard to get used to. Almost impossible.
Do you personally read what they write about you, or does the press service make any calculations for you?
Well, they show me some things that are important from the point of view of the press service. For example, “Ilya Vyacheslavovich, this month you have risen by so many places in the media rating.” And you think, damn, is this good or bad? What confuses me, for example, is that in the media rating I am higher than our governor - in terms of citations and mentions. But aides say this is normal. It’s just that interest in my person is higher now, they say, work as you work. Well, okay, well, fuck off. It’s just that subordination is a thing that is still better to observe.
Do you somehow find an explanation for yourself why your rating is higher than that of the governor?
Well, I recently took office, people are interested. The Internet exploded because I said that buildings should not be painted rainbow colors and that the territory of Victory Park should not be built up. And it started: “Yes, you can’t.” “No, you can.” “He has such impudence to say what is possible and what is not, what tyranny.” Well, yes, I'm a tyrant. You can consider me that way. I don't care.
Where do you get such reverence for Vasiliev?
Because this is a person who can do a lot of things that I either cannot now or will never be able to do.
For example?
Well, few of my friends think so quickly and out of the box. And I really like it when people think quickly and outside the box. Moreover, for Igor Vladimirovich this is all obvious - this is like this and like this. And I understand that this is true, but I don’t understand why. And he is a man, on the one hand, of incredible charm, and on the other hand, very tough: “Ilya, what are you doing, don’t be stupid already.” And then you understand the full depth of your fall, and you sit like a schoolboy, and then you realize with a creak that really, this is how it is, this is how it is, and this is how it is. Everything is obvious when explained.
What will you do with Victory Park?
I will do what the regional leadership tells me. The topic is very complex; Kirovspetsmontazh bought the land two weeks after the gubernatorial elections. Without showing up, without talking. They say you can’t build a school there, there are communications there. But communications do not interfere with their construction of high-rise buildings. Yes, yes, the Earth is flat, on three whales, whales on an elephant, an elephant on a turtle, and I, fool, fell from the Moon. Tell me more about your communications, schools and everything else. Guys, why did you buy this? Do you have little land or have you not sufficiently enriched this city with your houses with 15-meter apartments? Do you need another building permit? And then I will have to build another kindergarten at budget expense? If you want a normal relationship, then the dialogue should be constructive, without guile.
What do you think about renaming Kirov to Vyatka?
Absolutely unacceptable. Firstly, it's like shopping center"Basco" - half "for", half "against". Change the awl for soap. Secondly, I understand that this is still a lot of money. It is necessary to “interrupt” the entire standard from Kirov to Vyatka. Signs, forms... This means that the issue needs to be frozen and left until some other time. And just rename it...
When you enter Sterlitamak, the first thing that greets you is a series of factories: “Caustic”, “Kauchuk”, “Soda”. "Caustic" is the largest in Eastern Europe production of caustic soda. The Kauchuk plant is one of the largest rubber production plants in Europe. Soda is one of the world's largest soda production facilities. To put it mildly, breathing in the city is not smooth,” admits Shulgin.
When we arrived in Kazan after Sterlitamak, got out of the car in the city center and couldn’t breathe, the air seemed so clean,” adds Marina. - Therefore, when my husband said that he was offered a job in Kirov, I asked: “How many kilometers from Kazan?” - 400. “Are there any harmful industries?” - “No, only the forest.” “Let's go! There are no more questions,” she laughs.
Photo: Sergey YuferovBut I wouldn’t say that I quickly got used to it here,” adds the head of administration. - There was a time when I was still working as a deputy chairman in the government. I’m sitting at work in the evening, the secretary brings me these folders of documents, and I’m somehow so tired... And Marina and the children are in Kazan, I haven’t moved them here yet. In general, I feel sad and don’t want to do anything. And then the news shows how a young deputy federal minister of economics is appointed acting. Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. I think to myself that the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is the northeastern part Arkhangelsk region, including Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land... And Kirov, from where it’s easy to get to any point along an asphalt road, some funny 400 kilometers to Kazan, 900 kilometers to Moscow. If you want, by car, if you want, by plane, if you want, by train. God, thank you!
Alexander Shulgin is a recognized visionary, composer and founder of the GKF company, specializing in venture investments in blockchain, eSport, Mixed Reality, co-founder of the Swiss 5 Continent Fund Consulting Group and the investment boutique Rasia Capital. He not only creates his own business, but also invests in companies that know how to feel the “wind” of innovation. A member of the expert council under the government of the Russian Federation shared with Futurist a forecast of the future: what will happen to the world in 25-30 years?
There will be 7 digital states left
The erasure of state borders awaits us , moving away from the concept of a “physical state”, with its government, borders on the map, customs and other attributes of the old world order. In the future, instead of 252 countries, there will be only 7 digital communities with common, historically established values and types of identities.
Countries will strive to unite into commonwealths similar to the British Commonwealth of Nations (The Commonwealth of Nations is an interstate association of sovereign states, which includes Great Britain, its former dominions, colonies and protectorates. In addition, members of the commonwealth are Mozambique, Rwanda, Cameroon and Namibia – approx. ed.).
It does not matter at what point in space the body will be located, what is more important is the connection with culture and self-determination of one’s citizenship. Let's imagine a Chinese who travels. Wherever he is, he remains a bearer of certain values, he is mentally connected to his culture and continues to use the usual media services.
Neither Facebook and WhatsApp, nor Yandex and Mail.Ru can replace Badoo, QQ International, WeChat, Alibaba, not because they are bad, but because they are from a different cultural branch.
In addition to the British Commonwealth of Nations, we will see such large digital associations as the Chinese (Sinophone), Indian (Hindu), states South-East Asia ACEAN (ASEAN), Hispanidad (Spanish-speaking world), the community of the Islamic world and the Slavic-Eurasian community. The question remains of whose satellites Japan and Korea will become, but I definitely don’t see a place for the EEC community here; it will break up and parts of the population will mentally join the other communities mentioned above. This will begin to be clearly felt by 2035
Work will be a privilege
In addition to metamorphoses with the physical sensations of state borders and statehood that are familiar to us, We expect decentralization of industry, transformation of lifestyle towards mobility, mobility and lack of attachment to a specific location.
Global softwareization is coming in all areas, automation and robotization of everything. Work will soon be a privilege.
Activities associated with qualities that cannot yet be achieved by machine learning will remain in demand: with emotion, with creativity.
No matter how perfect artificial intelligence is, it is unemotional and incapable of imagination. Service professions will be replaced by robots. Drones delivering pizza, unmanned transportation - all this is close to the present.
I like the slogan I came up with while thinking about future trends: work for robots, life for people. Robotization will become a driver of social change. By different estimates Machine labor will replace about 70-80% of human resources. This will be a strong impetus for reconsidering norms, ideas about success, good work and wealth. People will finally have the most valuable thing – time. Time for self-development, happiness and freedom to be yourself.
Gamification of everything
Why will projects based on augmented or virtual reality be so in demand and popular? Since robotization will free people from work, a logical question will arise: what to do with people? This is where the need for a new type of entertainment appears. A concert, a play, a football match – it’s an hour, maximum two, and then that’s it: curtain.
E-sports, virtual reality, new formats of reality shows - something you can play for days, nights, days, weeks... You put on glasses or a suit and immerse yourself in new world. Mixed reality (merging together real and virtual reality - editor's note) will soon become as close and familiar to us, as irreplaceable as electricity in our home.
The ancient truth of “bread and circuses” awaits us new way. If the people have bread, and they are involved in something, then they have no need and no time to go on strike, fight, or engage in destructive activities.
When a person is happy, he lives, plays and wins, achieves goals, makes friends, creates something, be it a selfie or a powerful project.
If you look closely, you will notice that utopias and fairy tales sooner or later become reality. Gamification comes from a fairy tale. It's normal to study or work while playing. It’s not normal when a person in childhood learned up to 90% of information through games, and then they tell him: “Now you’re an adult, don’t play anymore. You have to go to school and cram, and then work, work, work, work...” And when will you live?
The ultimate goal for anyone living is to be happy. This is what technology should work for. Don’t confuse this with materialism, I don’t mean that holding the seventh iPhone in your hands is enough to make you happy.
P.S. Don't trust "visionaries", or How to distinguish a visionary from... a "visionary"?
Firstly , The visionary’s forecasts are all original; you won’t find any primary sources.
Secondly , a competent expert always clearly and unambiguously describes what will happen and how. And most importantly, When will be! Date and time are very important in the forecast.
And third, by publishing a forecast under his own name, the visionary seems to “put his reputation” as a signature. “Predicting” anonymously or under a pseudonym is not serious.
I have a tradition: since 2005, I have published forecasts in open sources, and then at the beginning of each calendar year I check their feasibility.
In 90% of cases, my forecasts are realized both in terms of level accuracy and time schedule. The crisis and market decline in 2008, the financially difficult years of 2014 and 2017, the annexation of Crimea, the war with Ukraine - you can read about all this on livejournal.
Technology predictions coincide 99.999%, and I'm not joking or bragging! Use it and be happy.
