Luzhkov's birthday. Where is Luzhkov now, what is he doing? What is his wife doing? The beginning of Luzhkov's political career

Today Moscow is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. This is not only a city with a long history, but also a modern financial and business center. For several decades, he has changed so much that he makes former Soviet emigrants open their mouths in surprise. But where is Luzhkov now - the man who, in many respects, thanks to whom this miracle happened?

Who was the mayor of Moscow before Luzhkov?

The personality of Yuri Mikhailovich is so strongly associated with the life of the capital in the 1990s and 2000s that all other names pale in comparison with him. And so it happened with Gavriil Popov - the first person who sat in the mayor's chair of the Golden-domed (in 1991-1992). However, this does not mean that his merits are insignificant:

During the perestroika period, he was an active supporter of the transformation of the country into a democratic legal state;
He did a lot for the de-Sovietization of the capital: on his initiative, the monuments to the executioners of the communist regime, which stood in the very center of the city, were demolished;
It was largely thanks to his efforts that the 1991 putsch was averted. It is believed that he informed American intelligence (and that - the first persons of the country) about the impending coup;
He is an economist (he received his PhD in 1970) and a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences;
In addition to scientific work, he is known for his journalism, where he expresses very controversial views. For example, he speaks of the need to introduce an electoral qualification.

The rise to power of the "man in the cap"

Gavriil Popov had many positive qualities - from a brilliant education to high managerial abilities - but he did not have a bright and memorable charisma. Therefore, Luzhkov, who replaced him, became much more firmly entrenched in the people's memory:

Thanks to his aspirations, the construction of a financial center called Moscow City began. The complex of several skyscrapers has become one of the hallmarks of the city and Russia as a whole;
As an Orthodox Christian, he did much for the religious revival. Under him, the restoration of churches destroyed under the Soviets began (the most striking example is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior);
Belokamennaya turned into one of the richest and largest cities in Europe and the world. During Luzhkov's tenure, the gross regional product more than doubled;
However, the range of interests of the political heavyweight was limited not only to the MKAD. "Kolobok", as his supporters affectionately called him, did a lot to support the Russian-speaking diaspora in Sevastopol during the stay of Crimea as part of Ukraine.

What does Luzhkov's wife do?

As a rule, the wife of a politician is assigned the sad fate of the shadow of her husband, modestly accompanying him at social events. However, a figure of such magnitude as Yuri Mikhailovich chooses parties to suit himself.

Of all the three wives of Luzhkov, his current wife, Elena Baturina, is most famous:

Born in a family of low income, but from a very young age she began to make a career. While not yet an adult, she rose to the rank of an employee of the technological department at the plant where her parents worked;
Early successes prompted her to take up engineering. After graduation, she quickly rises through the ranks to the position of technical director;
On the eve of perestroika, she worked for a short time in the Executive Committee of the city of Moscow, where she met her future husband;
During the devastation of the 90s, she founded a family business together with her brother Victor. Initially, it specialized in chemical production, later - in housing construction;
During her husband's work as mayor, Baturina became one of the wealthiest women in Russia and the world. Its capital is estimated at several billion dollars.

Resignation from the post of mayor

« If you are destined to be born in an empire, it is better to live in a remote province by the sea”- probably these were the words that came to Luzhkov’s mind in 2010, when his entire political career went to waste in a matter of months:

The conflict between the new president Dmitry Medvedev and the Moscow mayor was not made public for a long time;
Rumors about the impending resignation of the political long-liver went after Medvedev refused to participate on August 18, 2010 in the celebration of the Day of the City of Moscow;
A month later, a wave of revelatory television programs in the spirit of Soviet newspapers of the 1930s swept through all the key television channels of the country. For the first time in many decades, it was suddenly discovered that the administration of the capital was extremely inefficient and corrupt;
However, the mayor refused to leave "of his own free will" and remained in office until the end. In protest against the compromising broadcasts, he turned ... to Medvedev himself, writing an angry letter;
This did not help him, on September 28, 2010, a well-known decree was issued with the wording "loss of confidence."

Reasons for disgrace to the mayor

The closeness of the Russian politicians and the absence of a free press leave a lot of room for guesswork about what is happening in the corridors of power. Therefore, the resignation of the Moscow mayor in 2010 is no less a mystery than the phenomenon of the Tunguska meteorite.

Among the most frequently cited reasons for the destruction of Luzhkov as a power figure are:

Possible connections of the former mayor with the criminal world, which ensured political longevity for himself and the prosperity of his wife's business;
A split in the ruling elite of United Russia. The capital's mayor was one of the co-founders of the party in power, but gradually misunderstanding with former associates began to grow like a snowball;
Problems with construction projects in Sochi for the 2014 Olympics. A significant part of the projects was handled by the Inteko family company, owned by Elena Baturina. Delays in the construction of stadiums and hotels could turn into a disgrace on an international scale;
Loss of popularity among voters. Unfortunately, in our country this item is at the very last place. Yuri Mikhailovich was at the helm of power for no less than 18 years, and during these years he managed to get pretty fed up with the people.

Where is Luzhkov now and what is he doing?

After his resignation, the path to politics was ordered for him:

His first position after his resignation was the post of dean at the International University;
He was not destined to stay in Russia for a long time. Persecution began on the part of the authorities - against him and his wife's company;
Therefore, without thinking twice, he decided to acquire a residence permit in the "province by the sea" - namely in Latvia;
The idea was not crowned with success, and the former mayor chose the hometown of the Russian corrupt elite - London as the place of residence;
But he decided not to sever ties with his homeland. So, in 2012, he bought a stake in one of the domestic chemical concerns. And the following year he founded an agro-industrial enterprise in Kaliningrad;
After Putin's return to presidential power, the attitude towards the disgraced mayor softened. So much so that in 2016 the latter received the medal "For Services to the Fatherland".

Why is democracy better than authoritarianism? It enables the losers in the competition for power to leave with dignity. Probably, one of the architects of modern Russian politics, Yuri Luzhkov, also came to this belated thought. Where he is now, no major newspaper writes. But there was a time when his name was the second or third in the whole country.

Causes of death of Y. Luzhkov 10.12.2019

Yuri Luzhkov dies at the age of 83 in one of the medical centers in Munich during a heart operation. Luzhkov's assistant Timur Shogenov subsequently confirmed that Yuri Mikhailovich had died. immediately after surgery .

Here is what Alexey Sazonov, the third secretary of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Munich, reports on this matter:

Yuri Luzhkov died at night in a Munich clinic. Information from the hospital about the specific circumstances of death is not yet available. Issues with the transportation of the body are being worked out, if necessary, the consulate is ready to provide all the necessary support.

In December 2016, Yuri Luzhkov was urgently hospitalized in Moscow after he suddenly fainted in the fundamental library of Moscow State University. Then the media wrote that the 80-year-old ex-mayor was in intensive care, and voiced versions that he had experienced clinical death, but later Luzhkov himself called this information rumors. He then said that doctors diagnosed him with a slight inflammation of the right lung, which arose due to a viral infection.

Businessman Viktor Baturin, brother of Luzhkov's wife Elena Baturina, told the Rise telegram channel that he last saw the former mayor of Moscow on Saturday, December 7. According to him, he felt good.

“I saw him on Saturday, he was smiling, he looked great,” he said.

According to him, everything was fine with Luzhkov yesterday too, he flew away from Russia with his wife. According to REN TV, Luzhkov died during heart surgery in Munich.

Video: how did the former mayor of Moscow live?

In this video, NTV correspondents will show how Yuri Luzhkov lived, what he did in his free time:

In Moscow.

In 1958 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry (now the Russian State University of Oil and Gas) named after I.M. Gubkin with a degree in mechanical engineering.

In 1958-1963 he worked as a junior researcher, group leader, deputy head of the laboratory for automation of technological processes at the Research Institute (NII) of Plastics.

In 1964-1971 he was the head of the department for automation of the State Committee for Chemistry.

In 1971-1974, he served as head of the department of automated control systems (ACS).

In 1974-1980, Yuri Luzhkov worked as director of the experimental design bureau for automation at the USSR Ministry of Chemical Industry.

In 1980, he was appointed General Director of the Neftekhimavtomatika Research and Production Association, and in 1986, Head of the Science and Technology Department of the USSR Ministry of Chemical Industry.

In 1987, he became the first deputy chairman of the Moscow City Executive Committee, chairman of the Moscow City Agro-Industrial Committee (Mosagroprom).

In June 1991, in conjunction with Popov, he was elected vice-mayor of Moscow.

In July 1991, he took the post of prime minister of the city government of Moscow formed on the basis of the Moscow City Executive Committee.

Yuri Luzhkov is a laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology (2000).

Awarded with the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor, "For Services to the Fatherland" 1st class (2006), "For Services to the Fatherland" 2nd class (1995), "For Military Merit" (2003), the Order of Honor (2000), medals.

He has departmental awards and awards of the Russian Orthodox Church.

He was also awarded the honorary titles "Honored Chemist of the Russian Federation", "Honored Builder of the Russian Federation".

Yuri Luzhkov is married with a third marriage. The first marriage was student and quickly broke up. His second wife Marina Bashilova died in 1989. In 1991, Yuri Luzhkov married businesswoman Elena Baturina.

Elena Baturina topped the Forbes ranking of "25 richest women in Russia". Forbes estimated Baturina's fortune at $1.1 billion.

Yuri Luzhkov has four children. Two sons from the marriage with Marina Bashilova - Mikhail (1959) and Alexander (1973), and two daughters from Elena Baturina - Elena (1992) and Olga (1994).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

ALL PHOTOS

President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree "On the early termination of the powers of the mayor of Moscow," Interfax reports. "To dismiss Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov from the post of mayor of Moscow in connection with the loss of confidence of the President of the Russian Federation," the decree says.
First channel

According to the press service of the Kremlin, the president appointed the head of the city's construction complex, Vladimir Resin, as acting mayor of Moscow. Resin, 74, is the oldest among Moscow's deputy mayors. During the absence of the mayor, it was Resin who, as a rule, was entrusted with the powers of his acting.

It should be noted that only the day before Luzhkov, returning from a week-long vacation, announced that he was not going to resign. The mayor noted that after the vacation he takes up the duties of the mayor "in a wonderful mood." The city administration informed journalists that Luzhkov was going to go on three scheduled foreign business trips in October - to Germany, Vietnam and Kazakhstan. Headings.ru write about articles on Luzhkov's resignation and the events that preceded this on Tuesday.

Recall that President Medvedev is currently on an official visit to China. Previously, it was assumed that the decision to resign would be made after Medvedev's return to Moscow. Presidential press secretary Natalya Timakova told reporters on Tuesday that Medvedev has no plans to meet with former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov after his return.

The press secretary of the head of state recalled that Luzhkov took a vacation for a week, which was agreed with the presidential administration. According to Timakova, Luzhkov had to "consider how he would proceed." As Timakova made it clear, Luzhkov was offered a softer version of the early termination of his powers. "Today, there are two options for the head of the region to leave office ahead of schedule - either at his own request, which is expressed in a letter of resignation, or when the president makes such a decision, but with a harsh wording - loss of confidence," Timakova recalled. "Draw your own conclusions," the president's press secretary added.

"Yuri Luzhkov is now a simple citizen," Timakova stressed. When asked by Life News whether the ex-mayor would be nominated for a state award, the press secretary replied that "we are not even talking about this." It should be noted that according to a similar scenario, in July 2010, the President dismissed another political "heavyweight" - the head of Bashkiria, Murtaza Rakhimov. Then Rakhimov announced his voluntary early retirement, and Medvedev awarded him the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st class.

Thus, Luzhkov's statements made the day before that he would not leave, and the comments of the presidential press service, mean that negotiations with the Kremlin on the terms of the mayor's resignation were underway and were terminated, since the parties did not reach a compromise. A source close to United Russia's leadership told Vedomosti that among the posts offered to Luzhkov in exchange for voluntary resignation were the chairman of the Federation Council and the head of the state corporation Olympstroy. As analysts suggest, it is possible that the parties did not agree when discussing the conditions or the term for the departure of the mayor.

Recall that Yuri Luzhkov served as mayor of Moscow for 18 years - from 1992 to 2010. Before him, Gavriil Popov was the chairman of the Moscow City Council of People's Deputies from April 1990 to June 1991. From June 1991 to June 1992, Popov held the officially established position of mayor. In January 1992, in agreement with Popov, Luzhkov reformed the structure of the Moscow government and formed a "government of economic reforms." On June 6, 1992, after Popov resigned, Luzhkov was appointed head of the executive branch - the mayor of Moscow, who retained the post of head of the city government.

Among the previous mayors of the capital, Luzhkov's record for staying in this post was broken by Vladimir Promyslov. He served as chairman of the executive committee of the Moscow City Council of People's Deputies for 22 years - from March 1963 to December 1985. Then, from January 1986 to April 1990, Moscow was headed by Valery Saikin.

Luzhkov found out about his resignation at the workplace

According to Interfax, on Tuesday Luzhkov arrived at work at the city hall at about 7:50. At the workplace, Luzhkov learned the news that by presidential decree he had been removed from his duties as mayor of the city. According to the agency, city hall officials who arrived at work on Tuesday morning are "in a slight shock and prostration." The decree of the President of Russia, published by news agencies, is circulating from hand to hand.

Earlier it was reported that according to the working schedule of the mayor of Moscow, a regular meeting of the Moscow government, scheduled for 10:00 am, should be held. Prior to this, the subordinates of the capital's mayor, his friends, and deputies of the Moscow City Duma intended to congratulate the mayor on his birthday, which Luzhkov celebrated in Austria on September 21.

As it became known, the meeting of the city government will be held as planned, its agenda will not change. On Tuesday, the city government plans to consider a draft law "On subsoil use in the city of Moscow" and a program to promote employment in the capital for 2011. The event will be hosted by Acting Moscow Mayor Vladimir Resin. As suggested by a source in the mayor's office, perhaps before the meeting of the government of the capital, Yuri Mikhailovich will want to say goodbye to those with whom he worked in the same team for 18 years.

Chronicle of the information war against Luzhkov

The information war against Luzhkov began in the media in early September. Then, on the air of the NTV channel, the film "The Case in the Cap" was shown, in which Sergei Dorenko, editor-in-chief of the Russian News Service radio station, was one of Luzhkov's main critics. Back in 1999, Dorenko published a series of denunciations of the leaders of the Fatherland-All Russia electoral bloc, among whom was Luzhkov.

The film "The Case in the Cap" told about the connection between the business of Luzhkov's wife Elena Baturina and the Moscow government, about Luzhkov's material interest in the construction of a highway through the Khimki forest, the authors did not bypass Luzhkov's passion for beekeeping. The film told how the mayor saved his bees during the smog this summer. Later it turned out that the clumsily made film was edited in just a day after the TV channel received an urgent order for it.

On September 11, NTV continued the attack, showing a story about Luzhkov in the Maximum program. The program was about the company of Elena Baturina and the reconstruction of the legendary sculpture "Worker and Collective Farm Girl".

On September 12, NTV aired two more programs criticizing Luzhkov and the mayor's office headed by him. In "State of emergency. Review for the week" came out the story "down the drain", which told how the capital's officials plunder the money allocated for stray dogs. In the "Final Program", politicians dissatisfied with Luzhkov told how Baturina, thanks to her husband, earned her multi-billion dollar fortune.

On the same day, the anti-Luzhkov story was broadcast by the round-the-clock news channel Rossiya 24, which is part of the state holding VGTRK. The report was about the demolition of architectural monuments in Moscow under the pretext of reconstruction. A critical story was also released as part of the Vremya program on Pervy.

Before Luzhkov went on vacation, the film "Dear Elena Nikolaevna" was presented to the audience on NTV. Oddly enough, but the creators have never unequivocally linked the huge personal fortune of the richest woman in Russia with the influence of Luzhkov.

Luzhkov himself called these television stories "mud" and announced his intention to sue their creators. The mayor assured that he would not leave his post, but the Kremlin immediately reminded him that this issue was within the competence of the President of Russia. A public opinion poll showed that Luzhkov's rating began to fall rapidly. As it turned out, 19.5% of the participants in the Levada Center poll trust Luzhkov to one degree or another, and almost 54% do not.

Only the capital's TVC channel stood up for the disgraced mayor of Moscow - the program "Postscript" showed a story dedicated to the achievements of the Moscow mayor.

The former Moscow mayor revives the estate of a German horse breeder

When the most prominent regional politician, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, was sacked five years ago with the derogatory phrase "due to loss of confidence", many were sure that he would never recover from the blow. But Mayakovsky also wrote about people like him: “nails should be made from these people.” Luzhkov didn't drink too much, he didn't go crazy and, pah-pah-pah, he feels great. And he also fulfilled his promise "not to sit on the stove as a pensioner." After wandering around the Kaliningrad fields, farms and elevators for two days, the MK correspondents were convinced that the former mayor received the nickname "strong business executive" for a reason.

Luzhkov's economy is not just in the provinces. Even by local standards, this is a real wilderness. From almost two hours by car. The dunes and the Baltic are even further away. Two steps away is the border with Poland, but in the current conditions this is also not a plus. After the imposition of sanctions, commercial and tourist flows plummeted (and in both directions) and the border towns again returned to the state of 1946, when the annexation to the northern part of East Prussia provoked their devastation and decline.

Having passed the regional center of Ozersk, the driver makes a sharp turn to the left and, having driven a few hundred meters more, brakes near a complex of stone buildings, whose dimensions testify to a rich and glorious past, and the sound of hammers and piles of building materials - about hopes for an equally worthy future. This is the Weedern estate, known since the 17th century. Until the end of World War II, it belonged to the descendants of the German horse breeder Eberhard von Zitzewitz. And now it belongs to the former mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov. Fate often presented him with surprises. And this is far from the most unexpected of them. “When I was appointed to lead the Khimavtomatika Design Bureau, it was a surprise! And when they threw it at Mosagroprom! And this is a normal story, ”the owner laughs.

Weedern has been specializing in horse breeding since the last century. Some stallions cost over a million.

Easily jumping out of the SUV (you simply can’t drive through the valleys and fields in another car), Luzhkov, who next year will celebrate another, very solid anniversary, ignoring calls to “rest from the road”, goes to inspect his possessions. Straight ahead are the stables. Weedern has historically specialized in breeding horses of the Trakehner and Hanoverian breeds. They are grown here today. The cost of some stallions reaches a million rubles, but now Luzhkov is more interested not in them, but in a small house of bizarre architecture, nestled not far from the arena. With the same passion with which he once erected skyscrapers and built bridges, the former mayor is trying to breathe new life into his old walls. The Veedern manager, Timur, complains about the lack of electricity and rotten boards, urging the chef to be reasonable, but he, carelessly waving his hand, rushes to the second floor, where a unique, according to him, room has been preserved - a smokehouse in which the former owners prepared simple delicacies.

The former mayor spends the whole of August in the fields: he says that it is more difficult to operate a combine harvester than an airplane.

“Apparently, the coachman’s family used to live in this house,” Luzhkov explains, turning on the “lantern” function on the iPhone. - After the restoration will be exactly the same, only better.

The ex-mayor himself does not live at all in the manor's estate (the three-story mansion in which the school was located in Soviet times is boarded up), but in the former German office, from where the estate was managed under the Tsitsevitz. The house is two-storied and rather modest (although Luzhkov, out of old habit, calls it a "residence"): a dining room and a master bedroom on the second floor, guest rooms on the first. Opening the door to one of them, we find an unknown young man on the bed with a newspaper in his hands. “Probably, he came to work,” Luzhkov was not at all surprised.

— Do strangers often spend the night in your house?

“Well, where else can he sleep?” The places are deaf, - the man who had been watched by armed guards carelessly shrugs his shoulders.

An oak grows in the courtyard of the house, which is at least 250 years old, on the oak, as it should be, a chain, and a cat on the chain ... sits,” recites Yuri Luzhkov, replacing Pushkin’s mermaid with the name of his beloved wife. Her portrait, galloping at full speed on a bay stallion, flaunts in the most prominent place in the dining room, along with numerous awards from Veedern. But lately, Elena Baturina has practically never come here, supporting her husband with calls, advice and, to be honest, finances. “Her soul does not lie,” the ex-mayor grows gloomy. To distract him from sad thoughts, I ask about the fate of the former owners of the stud farm. It is known that in 1946, Anna von Zitzewitz, who until the last hoped that Prussia would remain part of Germany, was nevertheless forced to leave here with the last echelon ...

“She came here about 10 years ago,” Luzhkov nods his head. - It was quite old. Cried a lot. But at the same time, I was glad that the farm was not left to the mercy of fate, like many local estates, and was even slowly reviving ...

Next to "Weedern" is a village of five houses. The buildings in it are still German, but the people live are typically Russian. And that means they're drinking. And they steal! “If all this is not guarded, tomorrow there will be no stone left unturned here,” says Timur, the manager, and points to the drains covered with concrete slabs. The ex-mayor's neighbors have already sold metal pancakes from them for scrap metal. And when Luzhkov restored the cowshed, the forged gates and even the hooks on which they hung went there too. “Moreover, people drove the tractor and pulled them out along with pieces of the walls,” says Timur. Neighbors are not hired to work on the farm, not only because of their thieving disposition, but also because of unrestrained drunkenness. Luzhkov, as you know, has not been drinking anything stronger than kefir for many years. And in "Weedern" he established a complete dry law. “Our technology is complex. Well, if you cripple yourself, you will do more trouble than on a warship,” he explains.

Luzhkovskaya buckwheat.

When Luzhkov was in charge of Moscow, his subordinates scolded him behind his back for being too active. Every day, except Sunday, the mayor came to work at 8 am or traveled around the city, avoiding problem areas. Moreover, these were not official events in the style of “came, saw, praised”. Trips sometimes ended with many hours of meetings with a complete "debriefing". Five years in retirement have changed the scale, but not the habits of the former mayor. All the inhabitants of the Weedern, from the manager to seasonal workers, are now forced to get used to the peculiarities of his leadership style. “I know they don’t really like it when I come,” Luzhkov whispers in my ear. - They have their own, measured rhythm. And I have an awl in one place playing.

It is not by chance that Luzhkov breeds sheep of the famous Romanov breed: “They helped Russia during the war years, and they will help now!”

Despite the late evening, he pulls us to the nearest field to show how rapeseed grows. Dry yellow stems with thin pods, similar to the fruit of an acacia, were almost equal to human height. Having poured black peas into the palm of his hand, Luzhkov rejoices like a child: oil should turn out good! Once on the other side of the barricades, the former Moscow mayor experienced in his own skin all the delights of business in Russian. We return to the estate already in complete darkness along the road built with the money of Weedern, and the owner complains about the intractability of local officials who refuse to sign the act of commissioning. “They are just mocking me! Either the width is not the same for them, then the drains are not like that ... ”Luzhkov gets angry, and once again I think about the vicissitudes of fate. He built hundreds of kilometers of roads in his life, received the nickname Lord of the Rings and ... stumbled on a piece of asphalt 300 meters long!

We meet early the next morning. Although Luzhkov got up even earlier. He wears a matching shirt with cows embroidered on the pocket and a traditional cap. More precisely, its summer version is made of coarse, dense linen. He had already managed to talk with agronomists and found out that due to rainy weather, each wheat ear lost from one to two rows of grain. However, the prospects for the harvest are still good.

The main construction site of the economy is the house of a German coachman. Restoration work is in full swing.

- It will definitely not be lower than last year! - the agronomists assure in unison, but Luzhkov is dissatisfied:

- So hello! We have done so much here in terms of technology, and they tell me that it will not get worse. It must be better than it was!

As a result, everyone agrees that five tons of grain per hectare will definitely work out, and only further, as God wills. Luzhkov has been working at the combine for many years now and says that he fell in love with this business terribly:

“Imagine: in front of you is a golden sea, swaying from the wind. You are sailing along it on this colossus and you understand that you have grown a good crop, that you are doing an important and useful business that has been abandoned in the country, that you have given work and provided a decent salary to people ... All this is very stimulating and inspiring!

But what about the measures of state support, which are now trumpeted on every corner? Haven't they reached the farmers?

“I don't see much change,” Luzhkov shrugs. - Support from the region - 1200 rubles. per hectare. For such money you can only change clothes! We ourselves spend 35,000 rubles per hectare on preparing fields for sowing.

- What about loans?

- I forbade them to take! In America, during the crisis, the rate was 0.25%, in Japan it was generally minus, the bank still pays you extra for taking a loan from it, and here, even after the reduction of the key rate, the interest rates are crazy. I don't want to support monetarism with my money!

In addition to rapeseed and wheat, Weedern grows oats, barley and buckwheat, which over time has every chance of becoming the hallmark of the economy. The former mayor had to give up his dreams of the laurels of Nikita Khrushchev a few years ago, when, having planted and grown his favorite corn, he could not realize a very successful harvest. It turned out that no one in the Kaliningrad region and its environs needed the Queen of the Fields ... But another expense item appeared - hay (it is eaten not only by horses, but also by the famous Romanov sheep, which are also raised by Weedern). “Having learned that Kosygin once organized and personally opened a large conference on grassland, I, with my last name, at first wondered what to discuss there: take it and mow it! But it turned out that this is a whole science - different animals require hay of different quality. And the land should not be waste: in order to grow good grass, you need to provide for a thousand little things. The Germans get 10 tons of hay per hectare, and we only get 3 tons,” the ex-mayor says enthusiastically, ignoring the roaring cell phone. “The governor is calling you!” warns the vigilant Timur.

Acting head of the Kaliningrad region, Nikolai Tsukanov, without knowing it, laid the foundation for a new specialization of Veedern. Having collected a decent harvest of buckwheat last year, Luzhkov, as usual, was going to sell it to Lithuania - there are no processing facilities of its own in the region. But the times were troubled: the people were just sweeping cereals off the shelves, prices were rising, a deficit was planned ... Tsukanov asked Luzhkov to hold back the "strategic reserve", and he, as a statesman, agreed. Buckwheat was lying dead on the elevator for several months, and the ex-mayor searched the cities and villages for equipment for its processing. The fact is that grains come from the fields in a dense box and are not suitable for human consumption. Before selling, they need to be passed through a grain mill and the grains must be carefully separated from the chaff.

A suitable unit in terms of price and technical characteristics was finally found by Ukrainian manufacturers, and although the country had already embarked on the path of import substitution at that time, Luzhkov, without thinking twice, shook hands... The very history of Veedern is the history of international cooperation. Let forced, but, as practice has shown, quite successful. German equipment of the first third of the last century still regularly serves its owners, regardless of titles and political conditions. Luzhkov proudly flicks the massive Siemens switches and shows how the Krupp conveyor delivers buckwheat from storage to the huller. The old elevator went to the ex-mayor by chance (the former owner refused to sell the land without it), but now he cannot get enough of it. In the new granary, the pipes had to be changed twice already, but here they have been standing since 1931 - and at least henna!

In addition to the Ukrainian grain mill and German pipes, Luzhkov's farm has an English grain dryer, as well as a number of devices designed by the ex-mayor himself. For example, a gearbox on a conveyor (the previous engine, according to him, was too complicated) or a container for unloading buckwheat. Part of the buckwheat husk is used to heat steam boilers used in production. Part is rented to pharmacies for pillows. The owner himself believes that there is nothing unusual in this approach. Well, what is it for a person with a Soviet technical education to improve the gearbox? A couple of rubbish! But local hard workers look with respect. “He is such a man! - shows the thumb of a young guy in overalls. “You can’t even say that the former bureaucrat!”

Luzhkov promises to feed the entire Kaliningrad region with his buckwheat in the near future. There is enough capacity for everyone - for soldiers in local units, and for kindergartens, and for pensioners. The first batches will be sold at fairs at a symbolic price of 39 rubles per kilogram. “Yes, this is not a business,” the ex-mayor agrees, being responsible for both buckwheat and the entire Weedern. - From the point of view of how the state treats the agricultural sector, there is not even a smell of business here. But this activity is important both in terms of food security and as a social component, so I do it.”

When, after a walk around the house, we sit down to drink tea with Luzhkov’s branded honey, I finally ask the question that has tormented me from the very beginning: how satisfied is the former mayor with such a life? What does it feel like to be behind the wheel of a harvester in a godforsaken corner of an enclave after communicating on an equal footing with the powers that be and managing a huge metropolis? Luzhkov is silent for a long time, frowning, obviously choosing his words.

“I am satisfied with my current life,” he finally says. - But the state, it seems to me, should be dissatisfied. This is not a syndrome of narcissism, and I'm not only talking about myself. One cannot recklessly ignore the experience of such people as Shaimiev, Boos, Rossel, Filipenko. Thanks to their work, the country at one time refrained from collapse, they were prominent figures both at the regional and government levels. And now, anyone who can name at least five governors should be given a bonus... In the US, the same Kissinger is respected, his connections, experience and knowledge are used in the interests of the country, and Bush...

"Your resentment speaks...

“My resignation is injustice and lawlessness. And revenge for my refusal to support Medvedev's nomination for a second presidential term.

- Is the criminal case in which you were a witness closed?

- I do not know. Maybe not closed. It's good to have it around just in case. Here's what I want to ask: five years have passed, someone was imprisoned from Moscow? Ryabinin (Luzhkov's deputy in 2007-2010 - "MK") was dragged through the courts for three years for pursuing the policy of the mayor of Moscow and for many, including government agencies, stepped on the corns. It was a purely political matter, a political order. As a result, Ryabinin was fully acquitted, the investigators apologized to him. But who is responsible for this?

- Are you angry?

“Bitterness is out of character for me. It's about disappointment. I absolutely do not feel like a pensioner, I am not going to lie on my stomach. Down - yes, this happens on the farm. But I do not aspire to a calm old age, since there is still enough foolishness.

- How old are you, Yuri Mikhailovich?

He thinks again, spins a cup in his hands with the inscription “To the most talented sheep breeder”, which was made by his youngest daughter Olga, and a sly smile replaces the cold mask on his face:

Probably more than thirty. Well, let's go, I'll show you how buckwheat blooms...