Biography of Alexander Karelin
Alexander Alexandrovich Karelin is an outstanding Russian wrestler, three-time winner of the Olympic Games, State Duma deputy, Hero of Russia.
Karelin Alexander Alexandrovich
The legendary athlete had unique physical characteristics and an unbending character. He was awarded the Golden Belt prize in martial arts four times, won the tournament in memory of Alexander Poddubny 5 times, and was the winner of the Absolute World Champion Cup. During his life in sports, he suffered only 2 defeats, but had 887 victorious battles on the mat.
Childhood and youth of Alexander Karelin
The future super champion was born in Novosibirsk on September 19, 1967 and weighed five and a half kilograms. His father, Alexander Ivanovich, a dump truck driver, an amateur boxer, and his mother, Zinaida Ivanovna, an employee, were of large build. Since childhood, their son was tall and tall, beyond his years.
Alexander Karelin has been a sporty boy since childhood
He was captivated by sports at about the age of 13; even then he was head and shoulders taller than his father. Viktor Kuznetsov, who later became his permanent coach, saw Sasha and his friends on the street and suggested they go to the hall of the Burevestnik sports society. The professional apparently appreciated the teenager’s promise - his height was then 178 centimeters and his weight was 78 kilograms.
The parents were not too pleased with their son’s hobby, which was dangerous for injuries. It is known that when, at the age of 15, on March 8, during the regional championship, he broke his leg, his mother even burned his uniform and forbade him to attend training. But he continued his studies, although subsequently he broke both his ribs and his arms more than once.
Alexander Karelin's height is 193 cm
At the age of 17 he achieved the title of Master of Sports of the USSR, at 18 - world champion among youth, master of sports of international class.
In 1985, the young man graduated from a motor transport technical school in his hometown, served in the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and entered the Omsk Institute of Physical Education. The following year he was included in the national team.
Sports career of Alexander Karelin
In 1987, the wrestler became the first at the European Championship, and subsequently he won the title of European champion 11 more times, and suffered his first defeat, losing to Igor Rostotsky in the final of the USSR Championship. But he won the very next fight with this high-class wrestler, despite the fact that he was injured before the start of the fight.
Alexander Karelin won his first serious victory at the Olympics in 1988
In 1988, he participated in the Olympic Games for the first time and immediately became a winner. His weight then was 112 kilograms. Losing to the Bulgarian athlete Rangel Gerovski after the first period, he nevertheless snatched victory literally 15 seconds before the end of the fight, using a special “reverse belt” technique, which none of the fighters competing in the heavyweight division could repeat.
The 1992 Olympics, held in Barcelona, Spain, brought the Russian athlete another gold medal. In the final exciting fight, he defeated Thomas Johansson, a multiple Swedish champion, within 2 minutes.
Alexander Karelin is a three-time Olympic champion. The wrestler brought home the third highest Olympic award four years later from Atlanta, America, defeating local athlete Matt Ghaffari in a duel.
In the period 1989-1999. Alexander became first at the World Championships 9 times. At the beginning of 1999, he fought in a fight according to the rules of mixed martial arts for the only time in his entire sports life. With the help of his signature throw, he was able to defeat the Japanese wrestler Akira Maeda in this fight.
Alexander Karelin. Best moments At the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia in 2000, our outstanding wrestler took silver, losing for the second time in his career in a fight with the American Rulon Gardner. At the end of the Olympics, the “Russian terminator,” as he was called in the media, announced the end of his sports career.
Struggle
In 1986, the young hero-athlete was enrolled in the USSR national team. In this capacity, the athlete won the championship of the republic, Europe and the world. In 1987, at the USSR Championship, Karelin lost one point in the final to Igor Rastorotsky, and this defeat was the last in the fighter’s entire career, until its end.
After the USSR Championship in 1988, Karelin participated in the Olympic Games as a member of the national team and won another championship title. From that moment on, a series of constant victories for the athlete began.
Wrestler Alexander Karelin
In the final, Alexander had a chance to fight with the Bulgarian fighter Rangel Gerovski. Sasha lost the first round to the Bulgarian, but in the second he managed to snatch victory by using his signature “reverse belt” technique. By this time, the athlete’s weight was 112 kg, height – 191 cm. This technique brought Karelin victory at the World Championships in 1990, and then at the 1991 tournament.
In 1992, at the Olympic Games, Alexander Karelin defeated the Swedish twenty-time champion Thomas Johansson. A year later, in a fight with Matt Ghaffari, the athlete injured two ribs, but managed to survive in this and subsequent fights between Johansson and the Bulgarian Sergei Mureiko, confirming the world champion title.
After these victories and championships, new ones followed. From 1989 to 1999, Karelin became world champion 9 times. In 1999, a duel took place with Akira Maeda, and for the first time in his life, the Russian hero fought according to the rules of mixed martial arts. And again, the “reverse belt” decided the outcome of the fight in Alexander’s favor.
The triumphant series of victories of Alexander Karelin continued until 2000, when the Olympic Games took place in Sydney. The athlete worked his butt off; there were countless professional injuries and broken ribs in his career. Once, he managed to recover from surgery in a matter of weeks (Karelin’s pectoral muscle was torn off) with the help of his constant trainer, although doctors predicted that rehabilitation would take at least 9 months.
In 2000, at the Russian Championship, Alexander competed with a high fever, and victory was difficult for him. Apparently, even with such a heroic physique and health (Alexander’s height today is 191 cm, and his weight is 130 kg), incredible loads with age have made themselves felt.
At the Sydney Olympics, Karelin suffered a second defeat - in a fight with Rulon Gardner. No one succeeded in putting down the “Russian terminator,” as Alexander Karelin was called in the foreign media, as evidenced not only by the fighter’s numerous titles and awards, but also by photo and video reports. For the first time, the athlete returned home not with a gold, but a silver medal and immediately announced his retirement.
Alexander Karelin in politics
Since 1995, the athlete has worked in law enforcement agencies in the tax police service. He also managed, in parallel with his performances, to graduate from the Higher School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in his hometown. In 1998, at the Academy of Physical Education of the Northern capital, he defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic of methods of conducting fights.
Alexander Karelin - State Duma deputy
In the fall of 1999, the titled wrestler became one of the leaders of the political movement “Unity” (unofficially, “Bear”). In December, he became a State Duma deputy, and was subsequently elected to the highest legislative body 3 more times.
Since 2001, the athlete graduated from the Faculty of Law of the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and was elected a member of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party. In 2002, he defended his doctoral dissertation, also devoting it to a topic close to him, sports.
Alexander Karelin’s business was revealed by an ex-deputy from Novosibirsk
Alexander Karelin is a good friend of Berdsk businessman Viktor Golubev, president of IC Kristall.
Novosibirsk entrepreneur Vladimir Gorokhov, a former deputy of the legislative assembly, spoke about trusted persons who help State Duma deputy Alexander Karelin and his family do business. His associates are mentioned together with Glavnovosibirskstroy, Mashkomplekt and Accept Bank.
Taiga.info became interested in the business of Karelin and his relatives. The deputy’s wife Olga is the owner of a boutique at Sovetskaya, 5, and her son Denis is a co-owner of Goodmansib LLC, the Goodman restaurant at the same address. The general director of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater, Vladimir Kekhman, admitted in an interview with Tatler that he regularly visits Goodman, but not at his own expense: “Sasha won’t let me pay. Not a penny. That's the kind of person he is. And I’m always afraid to order something too expensive.”
Alexander Karelina, as a deputy, is prohibited from engaging in business, but “in the past, the media have repeatedly written about his interests in various fields,” the online publication recalls. Entrepreneur Vladimir Gorokhov said that the politician is still engaged in business only through trusted people, two of whom - Yuri Sereda and Yuri Tokarev - are listed as founders of the Karelin Fund, and Natalya Bizina, according to Gorokhov, is the financial director of the entire Karelin holding , but she is not officially listed in the fund.
Gorokhov referred to the fact that he was an auditor (he headed, in particular,) the main partner of the Karelin fund - and also that he was a former shareholder of OJSC Mashkomplekt and CJSC Erofeev, which were subject to raider takeover by all of the listed persons in interests of Karelin. Gorokhov wrote letters about illegal actions against himself and with a demand to restore justice to the Investigative Committee and President Vladimir Putin. Taiga.info spoke in detail about this scandal.
We also note that Vladimir Gorokhov was Alexander Karelin’s assistant for several years, in 2005 he became a deputy of the regional parliament, and in 2010 he tried to be re-elected with his support.
Data from open sources indirectly indicate a connection between the people named by Gorokhov and the Karelin Foundation, NGS.Business found out. Sereda is the chairman of the board of directors of Acceptance Bank, and the main owner of the bank is the Cyprus offshore company New Ridge Limited; Previously, among the owners was the Siberian Business Center, which now, together with Denis Karelin, owns Goodman.
Siberian Business Center belongs to Natalya Rybkina and Natalya Bizina. A quarter of the main partner of the Karelin Foundation is also from the Siberian Business Center. Bizina, according to SPARK-Interfax, is the owner and co-owner of 10 more legal entities, as well as a former member of the board of directors of Mashkomplekt OJSC, like Yuri Sereda. Sereda is the chairman of the board of directors of Glavnovosibirskstroy. Tokarev is a member of the board of directors of Glavnovosibirskstroy and a co-owner of about 20 different Novosibirsk legal entities.
Karelin's representative Konstantin Kruglyansky said that the deputy's activities comply with the law, and Gorokhov's information does not correspond to reality. Karelin Foundation is a public organization, and the business of its founders does not contradict the charter.
According to the income statement, in 2014, the famous Siberian politician and athlete from United Russia earned about 6.4 million rubles. This is less than, for example, the representative of the Communist Party faction Alexander Abalakov, one of the founders of the F1 group of companies. The communist declared 6.6 million. Data for 2020 have not yet been published.
Personal life of Alexander Karelin
Karelin is married. He dedicated all his sporting achievements to his wife Olga, who gave him three children - two sons, Denis and Vanya, and daughter Vasilisa. Ivan followed in his father's footsteps and is interested in Greco-Roman wrestling. The daughter became a gymnast. Denis is the general director of the Goodman steakhouse.
Alexander Karelin with his wife Olga
The living legend of Russian sports and politician noted in an interview that for him an example of how to serve the country is Pyotr Stolypin. He keeps his quotation book in his Duma office.
Karelin considers Ivan Yarygin and Alexander Medved to be the best wrestlers in history.
The legendary wrestler loves hunting and cars. In 2011, he owned 7 cars and 3 motorcycles.
Alexander Karelin turns 50. Unique photos from the life of the main Russian wrestler
Alexander Karelin turns 50. Unique photos from the life of the main Russian wrestler
Alexander Karelin - in photographs by Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin.
Alexander Karelin spent 19 years on the wrestling mat: from 1981 to 2000.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Young Karelin wanted to become the same as the famous wrestler Ivan Yarygin, but in the end he himself became an example for all young wrestlers.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Karelin's signature move: reverse belt.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Until 2000, Karelin could not be defeated.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
In total, he has three Olympic golds and nine victories at the world championships.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Greco-Roman wrestling requires enormous health. Karelin often went on the mat with serious injuries - and continued to win.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
At the same time, he always remained a very simple and approachable person.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
At the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Karelin carried the Russian flag.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
On Karelin’s lapel is the star of the Hero of Russia.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Two years after being awarded the Hero star, Karelin himself will change his sports uniform to a jacket.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
In 1999, Karelin became a State Duma deputy.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
His experience as a politician is already 18 years. He spent almost as much time wrestling.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
According to Karelin himself, he has more than a dozen godchildren.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Karelin ended his career 17 years ago, but did not leave the sport.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Place of power: on the banks of the Katun.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Karelin and his Harley.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
In Beijing in 2008.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
The width of Karelin’s shoulders is such that no one could fit next to him on the plane.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
1998 In Altai.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Photo for the Wikipedia article “Russian man”.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
And here is a photo for the article “Siberian”: the only one who is not cold in this photo.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Karelin is one of the heroes of the film “Champions”. However, it could not be otherwise.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Fashionable haircut from Karelin for a young wrestler.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Alexander Alexandrovich became an Olympic champion in three national teams at once: the USSR, the United Team and Russia.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Throughout his career, Karelin conquered peaks and was on horseback.
Alexander Karelin / Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
The main superstar of Russian martial arts in the twentieth century.
Photo: © Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Photo:
Andrey Golovanov and Sergey Kivrin
Alexander Karelin today
The titled athlete took part in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
In October 2020, he participated in the international forum “Olympics-80: 35 years later”, held in his hometown, Novosibirsk. The athletes present at it, led by Karelin, adopted an appeal to the participants of the First World Olympians Forum, where the importance of the postulates of sport was especially emphasized, especially the slogan “Oh, sport, you are the world!”
Alexander Karelin at the Olympics in Sochi
The mentioned forum took place in Moscow with the participation of the head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, Russian President Vladimir Putin, other officials and forty Olympic athletes.
The illustrious veteran, whose name is firmly entrenched in the history of world sports, has many state awards, and was officially among the 25 best world sports stars of the twentieth century (together with such outstanding athletes as the American professional boxer Muhammad Ali, the Brazilian football player Pele, the Soviet gymnast, 9-time Olympic champion Larisa Latynina).
Alexander Karelin: I don’t know how to jump out of action
May 25, 2020 15:33 Sergey Dergachev Photo: Konstantin Kruglyansky
Alexander Karelin is going to the State Duma for the fifth time.
The current member of the Russian parliament won the primaries of United Russia in constituency No. 137 “with a clear advantage.”
Sibkrai.ru spoke with the United Russia member even before the preliminary voting and asked him not only about the elections and the party. – First, I would like to ask a slightly detached question. Alexander Alexandrovich or San Sanych? What do they call you most often?
- San Sanych. This has been going on for a long time. They started calling me by my patronymic not because I know how to tie a tie, because I am a champion, or because I am a deputy. This was in the last century. One of the judges read it in the passport and said: “So you are San Sanych.” And then such films were in circulation... What year were you born?
– 1984.
– I think you still know these films – “Sportloto-82”. Where Kokshenov and Pugovkin are. There was such a charismatic character - San Sanych, played by Mikhail Pugovkin. And then there was “Prokhindiada, or Running in Place,” Kalyagin’s character. So it stuck like a call sign... That is, the judge said to me, a 17-year-old guy: “so you are San Sanych.” Stuck. They call San Sanych more often.
– And in the State Duma?
- Certainly. But, of course, not when there is an official discussion, or when a sign needs to be put up. In communication - yes. “Alexander Alexandrovich” adds warmth to the long one.
Moreover, “San Sanych” has an advantage for me. I can’t pronounce “Alexander Alexandrovich” without errors, given that there is a letter “r” there. San Sanych sounds much simpler to me. It’s just San Sanych, and that’s all, that’s how it happened...
– Are you generally an easy person? Easy-going?
- I can’t be light, I’m meter-91. My way of speaking, I understand, is not very familiar. I treat myself quite hard too.
- How is it shown?
– On the one hand, I don’t like to be late, on the other hand, I can’t say that I’m punctual. I'm far from a punctual person.
– Our country’s leader likes to be late...
– In this case, probably, he doesn’t “like to be late”, but special circumstances – too much is concentrated on one person. Now I’m not only talking about the president of the state, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. And he’s late not because he loves this business, I’m convinced of that. He has both skills and training - not only sports, but also special, considering what knowledge he received in educational institutions, considering that he is an officer... There, without discipline, without strict adherence, you will not advance anywhere and you will not receive any knowledge. Therefore, this is a given of the regime, the load, and in no way the state management regime.
“We can do a lot not only on military lists”
– Since we are talking in the Karelin-Fond office, I would like to ask one question specifically about him. He is already 20 years old. Why was it originally created and what is it doing now?
– What was it originally for... It was not created on my initiative. Two amazing people came, your colleagues - Fyodor Sergeevich Yakushev, now deceased, unfortunately, and Alexander Nikolaevich Bezryadin. They arrived, so contrasting - from hair color to height. I am still an active athlete. Dynamo, training. They started talking about how something was wrong with us, that it was broken, that nothing was being built yet, confusion, even shock, that the Soviet Union was no more... First they suggested reviving the publication of the Novosibirsk sports newspaper, it was called “Stopkadr”, as far as I remember. That's what they needed me for. Let's, they say, create a foundation, they say, we need to promote a healthy lifestyle, “especially since you are, in fact, the ruler, the manufacturer of public opinion.”
I didn’t think it was so difficult back then. But he said, if I’m attracting attention to myself, let’s create a solid platform for promoting values. And they did. We revived the publication of the newspaper, and my participation was only that I was at the opening and took out a roll of newsprint.
When the newspaper faded away, the Foundation remained in a “laboratory” state. This is how he is now. We are looking for answers to questions about how to manage, how to create, when everything falls into place, how to make sure that those who can help the state help, so that it is accepted. So that it is not something secretive, something shameful.
We participated not only in organizing sporting events, not only athletes and not only wrestling - I must say this right away. This also includes helping the disabled and disadvantaged. We were engaged in attracting funding, then we began to write different methods - how to hold competitions, how to work with journalists, how to create interesting reasons for public attention, events that promote perseverance, hard work, responsibility, love for the Motherland, with sports judges.
Take, for example, the Karelin Prize tournament. He died down for 20 years, fulfilled the tasks that were assigned to him. And after the appearance of Roman Andreevich (Vlasov - editor's note), who is a triumphant Olympic Games in London, the tournament is successfully completed, looking for a new self-state, but with the name “The Power of Tradition.” “The power of tradition”, because giving two tournaments to two Olympic winners is wrong.
The Foundation was then and remains a laboratory.
– Do you set a goal to make sports spectacular?
– This is one of the tasks. Secondly, the task of the foundation is to promote ideas that are not presented in the “official state part”. For example, there is an “Olympic relay” in our history. We didn’t come up with it ourselves, we took on dispatcher functions: negotiate with the school, bring our venerable champions, winners. When you have a partner, of course, this is much easier to do. I'm not talking so much about money now.
There was a wonderful joint project with the West Siberian Railway. We visited all the boarding schools that are in the Western Siberian Railway system. Can you imagine what it is like – Taiga, Omsk, Novokuznetsk, Barabinsk. We visited everyone. They helped with hockey uniforms at the expense of partners, and in some places they helped renovate a gym. Well, of course, it’s a sports story. But the task was one thing - to convince the children that playing sports is interesting, to be strong, healthy, the right values. It's the same for schools here.
In one of the schools, when the relay race was held, two sixth-graders were sitting. Viktor Markin is standing on stage (two-time Olympic winner in athletics - editor's note). One is the other: I know this guy, he and his dog walk in the neighboring yard every morning. Do you understand what the pedagogical effect is? He seems to be a simple guy from the neighboring yard, a modest person. And, at the same time, he has achieved everything, the guys come to see him today, and he turns out to be an interesting conversationalist.
– Does the foundation take part in politics?
– Here you need to be as objective as possible. He is not involved in carrying out (political) tasks or anything. Why do you think everything that is posted here: thanks, photographs, diplomas, does not hang in my public reception area? Because it's inappropriate there.
Our colleagues, participants in the election process, once came and began to say that 20 years ago I so wanted to get into the State Duma that I started holding tournaments for children. Because 30 years ago I was already so thoughtful that I began to engage in wrestling for this purpose, to which, by the way, I dedicated my life and continue to devote it.
There is a laboratory here at the foundation, coaching meetings take place here, and parliamentary activities take place there. It is clear that I am both here and there, and sometimes I cannot separate one from the other.
– I would like to talk about sports in the context of the future Olympic Games. What are the forecasts for the performance of the national team?
– Forecasts are difficult. And not because there are doping scandals, not because there is such close attention to us. I don’t like to forecast at all, I don’t like to predict. I hope that all the guys can prepare. I am confident that we can fight for a place in the top three in the team competition.
– Considering the difficult political situation, is it possible to hope that there will be no politics in Rio, and that the Olympic movement will be able to keep sport “pure”?
“I hope that, among other things, our efforts, our state’s, will allow the international community to isolate themselves from confrontation during the Games. If you remember the ancient idea, wars stopped during this time.
It was not our fault that the Ossetian-Georgian conflict occurred in 2008; it began right on the opening day of the Olympics. I understand that this is not just a coincidence... And now, when we finally perked up and proved to the world that we can do a lot not only on military lists, but also build Olympics, hold Winter Games in the subtropics in the summer, and even win them... I understand that everything is not so simple there in Ukraine, and that this is connected with this, that we have finally survived the state of confusion. We realized that we are strong, that we are capable of concentration, that we can do a lot.
– Will there be provocations at the Olympics?
- Necessarily. The strong are always provoked, in case you haven't noticed.
– Always in the Olympic year, on the eve of the Games, a “national team” appears - not only athletes and coaches, but also a support group. You will certainly participate in supporting our Olympians, but during this same period the election campaign will be in full swing. How will you combine?
– Considering that I take my parliamentary duties very seriously, if I get on the list and are nominated by United Russia, I will work here. And in absentia I will support the team, with my biofield, as a TV viewer - I will sit, click through channels in rare moments and watch how our guys will perform there.
Support under the billboard
– You have been working in the State Duma since 1999, for four convocations already. Before the start of the election campaign, many wondered which constituency Karelin would go to, where it would be more convenient for him, where it would be more convenient for the party. Nobody assumed that you would not participate in the next elections. Was it that obvious? Was there no other option for you?
– I must admit that this work is not mine. Now I won’t go too far into history as to how I ended up in all this, but there is one “but” - I can do it.
And then, in 1999, and now I am convinced that by creating, building “United Russia,” we are making the state stronger. And now, despite the fact that I serve in the State Duma, am a member of the Committee on International Affairs, and actively take part in the “closed part”... I was convinced then and now that “United Russia” is today the only instrument that makes the control system harmonious. And we are responsible not only for the “sweet”, but also for the “bitter”, for everything that happens in the country.
Based precisely on our experience, on our ability to unite, a little later the All-Russian Popular Front was created, just like that - the ONF in our image and likeness. Remember, in 1999, to put it mildly, “Unity” and “Fatherland - All Russia”, the regions, acted quite contrastingly, and then they found the strength in themselves - first to unite into a union, to make internal progress coordinated, to remove some of the populism.
The State Duma has become more boring since our arrival, this can also be admitted. With our arrival, the State Duma became different. Not so actively “discriminating”, fighting, dousing yourself and the like. Because something cementing, monolithic, a formation in the center of the hall appeared - the centrists. I'm very happy with this.
Both then and now I built the organization, understanding and seeing all the changes that were taking place. There was also a desire to surprise everyone with statistical indicators - how many party members there were (although I always believed that quality was more important). We went through the story of the revision, one of your colleagues stuck to us the story of the party purge. Now we have a lot of innovations happening.
For example, preliminary voting. It especially frightens those who value it in terms of money. I have never belonged to this category, I evaluate it as a personal test - how convincing you can be in front of your interlocutor.
When someone says that “I have my own program,” I say: wait, if you are coming from United Russia, then we already have a program. We have a doctrine, a program, and who we support is obviously clear. Therefore, the question is: how convincing will you be in communication, why exactly do you support this program, and why exactly are you the support under the billboard.
– It is expected that during the primaries five topics will be discussed, which will then form a program document by September 18 (the conversation took place before the start of the debate - editor's note). Will there be a place for regional issues in pre-election discussions?
– It’s like in the Olympic village, in the “Russian house”. You see on the screens the bright moments of the athlete’s performance, and his coach - how many times he died in training so that he could jump on the podium, so that the country would then stand up when the anthem plays. This is where life is, and not in all this scum. The same goes for the federal agenda.
Are kindergartens relevant for us? Judging by the reports, no longer. But wait. Yes, we have completed it, we have no queues, but the current situation will still arise - our demographic indicators are positive, don’t forget. This is what I like most about being a deputy. Life still goes on...
Improving municipal management - we are still changing, tax legislation, economics. All questions have a very clear, I would say, regional, Novosibirsk connection, very clear, any. Just take the international situation.
– Is this topic relevant for regional politics?
– What about planes, and employment? There used to be times when liberalism wandered here - they assembled four aircraft a year, now - 20 (referring to the work of the Novosibirsk Aviation Plant named after Chkalov, which produces the Su-34 - editor's note). Completely different calico. And here everything is - budgetary opportunities, employment, and a vocational school that trains these guys who can do it all, from whom Kulibins will then appear. All this concerns us directly, everything.
– In the United Russia primaries, as in the elections themselves, there are favorites, but there are also technical candidates, sparring partners. Past primaries, for example, before the gubernatorial elections, did not seem to be such an effective tool for internal party selection...
– I understand, someone is a leader, someone is an outsider...
– No, not a “leader and outsider”, but a clear favorite and someone who is only a formal competitor to him.
– Someone always comes in with great ambitions and a desire to win. Someone comes and overrides these preferences, it happens.
When we edit, when we review, when we update the relationship with voters, we are being tested. Secondly, we confirm whether we are moving correctly or incorrectly. No one is immune from mistakes. If you pose the question to me in a more contrasting way – whether preliminary voting is necessary or not, I will say that it is necessary. Will it be formal? It won't be 100%. First of all, because there is too much tension now, both international and domestic. I always ask one simple question: why don’t other organizations do this?
- Well, last year the communists carried out a spook.
– Only in spite, unfortunately. We ourselves take on “laboratory research”, try it on ourselves - let’s try it this way, this way... And we go to unnecessary lengths when we are asked uncomfortable questions. We support a strong state, so we must be strong ourselves and take on greater self-restraint.
Both now and then they didn’t think about just getting elected. We think, after all, about stability as a value. And a lot needs to be changed, and it’s not without reason that we don’t even have a split, but a “discord” – a bunch of platforms within the party. We are in search, and we are looking for solutions for all participants in the electoral process.
If you ask me, I don't think there should be 85 parties. Four, five - maximum. But when they began to reproach us that we, it turns out, had tightened the screws on everyone else... Well, find me so many socio-political, social doctrines that there are 80 of them. The only difference is in minor details.
– What restrictions, in your opinion, should there be for registering a party? By what principle should political forces be formed?
– In fact, there are three doctrines in the world. Based on the tasks and goals of the state, from the Constitution... If you ask me, what is the difference, besides personalities, between “A Just Russia” and “United Russia”. I deliberately take registered parties, I try to pose questions to the organization that has entered the Duma - where to recruit participants, who will be active. The doctrines are almost similar, almost identical. Because we are starting from the possibilities, but there are also details that we can argue about.
– “A Just Russia” is in many ways closer to the left flank...
- Absolutely right. There should be no contrasts. The left flank is the Communist Party, the heirs of the CPSU. There is one difference: the CPSU in the USSR was responsible for everything that happened in the country, but for them it’s a different story, they prefer to criticize us all, that’s the whole difference.
You can register, you just need to apply. Only after this fill it with meaning, offer tools that are understandable to the population. It’s not just nice to report that we are leaning against the road here - the budget does it all.
Today we have our capabilities, we do not take the defense complex, which can be treated either way, road construction, sports infrastructure, modernization of medicine - why did this become possible? Because the boring non-meeting parliamentary majority, represented in all subjects of the Federation, made the distribution of budget items in this way, and this was able to be carried out by the executive branch - both the government and subordinate ministries.
Election Errors
– Let's continue about the elections.
What will this election campaign be like? – I think it’s very contrasting and tough.
– Rigidity in confrontation between political forces?
-No. Unintelligibility in arguments. Manner of conduct.
– How will this be expressed?
– War of incriminating evidence. What is your education?
– Journalist, philologist.
“And I’m just a physical education teacher, but you know what I’m talking about.”
– You are also a Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences...
– We are talking about “source codes”.
There will be a dirty war of incriminating evidence. The information space is stitched together using tracing paper, I apologize. Who are we all industries learning from? The British have Anglo-Saxon law. We are trying to try it on ourselves unconditionally, and this is exactly what will happen – a war of incriminating evidence, some kind of distortion of history.
– We’ll come back to this later. The conditions for holding elections are interesting, and they are interesting to us, observers. But, probably, not entirely convenient for the participants in the process.
- Unusual. We used to have two urban districts and two rural ones. There was even a specialization of candidates. Features - yes, they can be called difficulties, but, I think, nothing critical. We must be equally convincing in urban areas and in rural areas. Here and there. And the level, opportunities, sports sections, leisure, cinemas, equipment for rural clubs... I’m deliberately not talking about schools and hospitals, a lot has been said about this, they need to be proportionate. Ideally, everything that happens inside the Garden Ring should also be broadcast to the rest of the territory. A difficult task, no doubt. But I believe that this is the only correct guideline that we should set for ourselves.
– Which was preferable for you – a single-mandate constituency or a list?
– Single-member elections are more interesting. These are live meetings, this is a completely different schedule, different density. A lot of people know me, I can distort it now, but there were approximately 150 meetings during the campaign. But we still need to get to them. It's hard, but more interesting.
When you come, tell us about yourself, what you have done, and even better, how you imagine doing it. That everyone is responsible for everything. Whether on a list or in a single-mandate constituency, I never try to save money on meetings. I am convinced that this is the only opportunity to achieve any understanding at all, or at least show my position.
– Let's talk about competitors?
- Let's not. I'm ready to talk about myself. Competitors are such a category, they prepare themselves...
– I would like to remember the elections of the mayor of Novosibirsk in the spring of 2014. You headed the election headquarters at the very last moment, but Vladimir Znatkov failed to win.
– A candidate from United Russia, yes.
– The mistakes that were made in that election campaign, have they been corrected? Were they recognized at all?
- No. They are recognized, but not fully corrected. We are now in this state, I mean “United Russia”...
– Do you judge this by how the elections to the City Council and Legislative Assembly went last fall? These are completely different campaigns.
– No, the campaigns are exactly the same. The only difference is that in the mayoral elections there is one person, but there are many people. In all other respects the campaigns are the same. Formalization, predeterminedness – that’s what you’re trying to say, isn’t it? Why I said that a single-member district is more interesting is personal meetings. I understand the power of the printed word, visual images, but definitely personal meetings. Only shortcomings in the organization of our headquarters did not allow us to perform with dignity.
In that campaign they nominated a candidate, there was no other. Now we are working on this, thinking about the structure of the headquarters, its personal content, and discussing it. No, I'm not avoiding the answer. I want to say that everything should be determined based on the results of the preliminary vote.
I clearly understand for myself: preliminary voting is a mandatory part of the program. We are testing the program in order to avoid such flaws. So that you can then go to the polls on September 18 and clearly understand how convincing you are in your intentions. But I also have my own reasons.
– “United Russia,” as I understand it, felt the “administrative resource” during the elections to the Legislative Assembly and the City Council. To what extent does the fact that various kinds of obstacles arise when it is not possible to resolve many organizational issues on the spot, with one call, change the strategy of the election campaign?
– Who do you mean now, Mayor Anatoly Loktya?
– For example, the Novosibirsk City Hall.
– This situation can be perceived in different ways. There was a time when I created “Unity” here, and I had followers who did not follow me, but walked with me, who supported me. I remember a story when they weren’t very welcoming. As a veteran of United Russia, I can tell you that there was a time when the president was not at the head of our party, we got to this point, we deserved it.
This is understandable when they try to demonize Anatoly Evgenievich and his staff of managers. I’m generally surprised: when should he get involved in politics? Urban services, rain, snow, sewerage. And it went, and it went...
– Is your relationship with him generally good?
– With Anatoly Evgenievich? We have a competitive relationship with him. He and I competed in the districts - he is a representative of one organization, I am a representative of a doctrine, I represent another part of the worldview. But have you ever heard that I allowed myself to talk dirty, and it’s the same with him. Because we worked for a long time in the federal parliament, on the same floor.
“Have you seen Kekhman at least once? Won't eat much"
– Don’t think that I’m taking you somewhere, but could Alexander Karelin imagine himself in the executive branch?
– No, another discipline, busyness.
- Is this the only thing that bothers you?
- Not only. In the executive branch everything is stricter and more organized. Not only to come and congratulate, all the formalities are yours, the paperwork. This is normal, bureaucracy, this is what it is - order, consistency and so on. But, if you haven’t noticed, I have a cool character. If I can still cope here, even though it’s not my job—deputy work...
“But the duties of governor have been handled by people of different personalities, including someone like yours.”
– Are you considering me for governor now? If you had asked questions more directly, I would have answered you.
– I can ask a question directly: do you see yourself as the governor of the Novosibirsk region?
- I do not see.
My attitude towards the mayor, even of a city of one and a half million people, is that he is a sewer man, a chief janitor, a painter, he must maintain the facades, this is his job. And in Berdsk, and in Novosibirsk, and in Kuibyshev, wherever. If we talk about the governor, this is balance.
All our stories come from only one thing - tossing, torment. No, I'm not preparing myself for this. I’m not saying this now to reassure Vladimir Filippovich, the current governor, that I am not his competitor. Or to somehow relax you. I really don't prepare. The work I'm busy with is enough for me.
- Only as a deputy? Some time ago, fellow journalists wrote about the business that belongs to your family: “Alexander Karelin’s wife Olga is the owner of a boutique at Sovetskaya, 5, and son Denis is a co-owner of Goodmansib LLC, the Goodman restaurant at the same address...” Then statements were made by entrepreneur Vladimir Gorokhov, who claimed that you yourself are engaged in business, despite your deputy status, you only do it through trusted people. The publications of NGS.Business and Taiga.info named the names of Yuri Sereda and Yuri Tokarev, the founders of the Karelin Fund, Natalya Bizina, and JSC Erofeev, who were allegedly subjected to a raider takeover in your interests. Why weren’t these statements refuted by you personally?
– Should I give up my family or my friends? Have you seen my work? When should I do business?
The fact that I know many people... Yura Sereda, who is written about here, is the chairman of the board of trustees of a public organization, and before that we fought together, we came out of the same hall. Should I push this out into the public eye? What is the point? For example, I don’t see the point in this. Trying to make excuses? For what? That thanks to the group of companies he heads, coaches receive salaries from us? Because my wife has a store and she is an entrepreneur - should I go out and declare this? I declare everything every year. And Denis, who is already 30 years old, is a co-owner with another friend of mine, runs restaurants together, with his friends and classmates...
– In one of the interviews with Vladimir Kekhman (director of the Opera House), it was mentioned about you: “Sasha doesn’t let you pay.” This is not confirmation that you somehow influence your son’s business?
– My former colleague introduced me to Vladimir Abramovich Kekhman. If you don’t know, he now serves as the Minister of Culture (Vladimir Medinsky – editor’s note). He called me and said: I now have a problem with the Novosibirsk theater, dirty experiments are being performed there on the stage of the federal theater, and asked for support in appointing a new director. I was at the first meeting. I asked both him and Boris Mikhailovich (former director of the NGATOiB Boris Mezdrich - editor's note) not to make everything personal, so that they approach this from the position that this is not their theater.
I came to this meeting on purpose, although I was not supposed to do this. Judge for yourself: where am I, and where is the theater, where is the culture, but nevertheless... Then, as a hospitable person, he took Kekhman to his son in a restaurant. It is clear that he treated him there. I told Denis: give him a discount and let him eat. Have you ever seen Kekhman? I mean, he won't eat much. And he made a story out of this that my son had some kind of superfood there for him.
In general, I think that sending your children to the civil service academy, and then appointing them as deputy mayors or public sector employees, is not very fair. That's why I tell them: go earn money, try, take risks. Earn your pension, and my pension, and your mother’s. If they don’t engage in entrepreneurship, then where should they go?
That's why they are busy. And my wife, who really loves manufactured goods. By the way, she is a style guide for me. She herself is beautiful and makes everything around her more beautiful. He runs the store with varying degrees of success, but that’s not what we’re discussing with you.
You once said in a whisper “entrepreneur Vladimir Gorokhov.” Why does he write so actively about me?
– That was the next question.
- Well, let's do it. And here I confirm that my wife has a store, she sells light industrial products. And I’ll say right away that the son, director and co-owner of a restaurant where the food is delicious, by the way... In addition to this, Deniska has other activities. The youngest is studying now and is also trying to move like him. Let them fuss, it’s a normal story.
– As far as I understand, Gorokhov was quite close to you?
“We know him incredibly well, since 2000.” When I started getting elected, I was introduced to him by one of the leaders of the executive committee, who went with me to create Unity, the deputy head of my election headquarters in 1999, Alexander Zamiralov. Vladimir Nikolaevich appears, eventually becomes a member of United Russia, heads the party support fund, and becomes a deputy of the Legislative Assembly. And he had some kind of constant activity. I understand he is a former tax inspector. When things got hard for him, he introduced him to his friends. He says: I’m an auditor, can I do an audit for someone? Please go ahead and negotiate on a fee basis, this is your relationship. He comes to an agreement with the same Sereda, has been his auditor for five years, receives money for it, and has access to internal documentation. And then he turns this whole story upside down and says that we have some kind of conspiracy there in my interests...
He started not getting along, he blamed one, then the other, and now he’s gotten to me. This is an old story, with a lot of excitement... It’s clear why now.
– Then it would be more logical a little closer to September...
- Well in advance, so that it gets circulation. He has his own reasons. But the fact that he deceived all his partners, the fact that he broke up with them... Maybe he should start with himself? Being an auditor, a partner, knowing the management structure, he reveals all this in his own way. In my understanding, he passes off his imagination as his memory.
– I think this topic is over.
- In vain. We were hoping for more.
Please understand that I am not refuting anything. But to take something out of context and present it like this... When you tell me, reading out loud about your wife, son, my friends, you say “here is the entrepreneur Gorokhov”... When he was with us, he didn’t say that you can get into the Legislative Assembly of the region only for money, he was part of the list, a comrade-in-arms, they went together. And now only the interlocutors have a “crooked face.” Take it, tear it out and show it, because now it sticks well, like a magnet to a refrigerator.
I don't live in a vacuum. Stolypin once said a wonderful phrase: “Only mediocrities and nonentities have no enemies.”
I have already proven that I can do it as an athlete. And as a deputy. At the same time, I clearly understand: start detailing or, like my colleagues, I wrote a request here, here. Do you know why I never speak at plenary sessions? Because my place is in the “fields”.
– How do you feel about attempts to evaluate the work of deputies? Many people criticize you for not taking legislative initiatives. What criteria do you define for yourself that will help you understand whether you are a good deputy or not?
- I'm a bad deputy. If you are talking about my self-esteem, I am a bad deputy. Because I do not belong to the category of literalists. In expressing my attitude, I am not guided by the situation. Some people believe that parliamentary activity is political. But we write instructions for use - for the application of budget standards, the criminal code, and the housing code.
Why should I be the initiator of legislation? I ultimately vote. If this concerns the Housing Code or the urban planning standard, which states, for example, that not a single new microdistrict can be built without a kindergarten, school and store; the kindergarten should have a swimming pool, the school should have recreational facilities. Sign up and say: is it me? Jump out of order, “who’s at the creamery? - I!"? I can not do that. And this is my shortcoming.
Performances cannot be the basis for performance evaluation. I led the party program for the construction of student sports centers and swimming pools, then a 2.5 billion program for the construction of sports stadiums. We, the party, the faction, did all this. From year to year this “two-bedroom” was, it is, a lot of objects have been built. The swimming pool at the Novosibirsk University of Economics and Management was also built according to the party program. But I do not consider and do not see the right to come and say: these two meters of asphalt are me, no matter how they try to drag me into this, I am not interested.
For deputies of any level, the “square-nest” method of assessing performance is not suitable. Deputies of the State Duma create the prerequisites for organizing our life in a wide variety of manifestations. Laws, read – instructions for application, have been adopted enough; In order to assess what effects they bring, these laws must be implemented and updated in a timely manner, since the situation in the economy, social sphere, and politics can change very dynamically.
The criteria for the quality of work of deputies are feasible obligations that are laid down in the budget and are determined by the codes: Urban Planning, Administrative and others, people’s awareness of the value of stability and progressive development of the state.
