Biography of Olga Golodets
Olga Yurievna Golodets – until January 15, 2020, she held the position of Deputy Prime Minister. Until May 2020, she was responsible for social issues, was responsible for implementing decisions in the field of healthcare, education, pensions, labor, health insurance, demography, science, culture, then was responsible for cultural and sports issues. Previously, she held the posts of vice-mayor of the Russian capital, deputy general director of Norilsk Nickel, deputy governor of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug, and head of Insurance.
Golodets Olga Yurievna
In the list of the most influential ladies of Russia, according to the Echo of Moscow station, in 2020 she took 3rd place, behind only the Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko and the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina.
Being the author of about three dozen scientific studies, the Deputy Prime Minister has earned high praise for her professional activities in the field of personnel management among colleagues, representatives of academic, business, public and political circles. She was a laureate of the Aristos Award, was among the best members of the domestic Association of Managers, and received other industry awards. She was one of the initiators of a large-scale campaign to fight the state against alcoholism and smoking.
Olga Golodets is one of the most influential female politicians in Russia
She is considered an excellent performer, always perfectly coping with assigned tasks, surprisingly energetic and purposeful. However, they note that she is supposedly an overly firm and strict leader who views her subordinates as a faceless category, a kind of instrument with which to achieve results with maximum efficiency. It is absolutely uncomfortable to work under her leadership.
Interesting Facts
Much more is known about the work activities of the current Deputy Prime Minister than about his personal life. The following points deserve mention:
- Olga Yuryevna’s father’s brother, Adamas Solomonovich, master of sports, was a famous football player in the 50-60s, then engaged in coaching, awarded the title of Honored Coach of the RSFSR,
- The official in charge of sports issues in the state is herself fond of sports and choreography,
- during the period when the fate of PPF Norilsk Nickel was being decided, the head of its council rewarded herself for her efforts with a lifelong pension, which amounted to 200 thousand rubles. monthly. Now many blame her for this step, regarding it as a robbery of ordinary employees,
- Golodets is known as the author of a critical letter about the “Dima Yakovlev Law,” in which she defended the right of Russian orphans to find a family in the United States,
- criticism was caused by the reorganization of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister; the impression was created that these institutions simply wanted to be liquidated,
- the creation of the portal “Education in Russian” is the merit of Olga Yuryevna,
- in 2014, the government official took 4th place in the hundred most influential women in Russia according to Ogonyok magazine.
A woman holds the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Childhood and family of Olga Golodets
Olga Golodets was born in Moscow on June 1, 1962 and became the first-born in the family of a teacher at the Institute of National Economy. G. Plekhanov Yuri Solomonovich and the head of the Cheryomushki restaurant near the Profsoyuznaya metro station Valentina Grigorievna. Her father's brother, Adamas, was also a public figure and was a famous football player and coach of the Dynamo football club at one time. 7 years later, in 1969, she had a younger sister, Tatyana, who later became vice-president of the Bank of Moscow.
Olga Golodets in childhood
At school, Olya studied well, was an excellent student, so she was able to independently enter the economics department of Moscow State University immediately after graduation. The girl’s performance at university was also high.
Business career
In 1984, Olga graduated from the university with honors and became a certified specialist in the field of population economics. Then, for about 10 years, she studied various areas of economic science and in 1990 completed her postgraduate studies at the USSR Labor Research Institute. Her dissertation was devoted to labor efficiency in production using the example of the KAMAZ plant. After successful defense, the woman received a PhD in economic sciences.
Olga Golodets studied economics
In 1997, she became the director of social programs of the Reformugol Foundation, which was called upon to resolve issues related to the employment of miners who lost their jobs after the closure of mines, reorientation, and the organization of new places of work for them. Having previously been an “office worker”, the woman actively traveled around mining towns, talked with ordinary workers and management, met with the head of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev, trying to meticulously delve into every detail.
In 1999, the fund was liquidated, and Olga Yuryevna was hired as the head of personnel management and social policy at Norilsk Nickel, headed at that time by Alexander Khloponin. After his appointment as head of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug in 2001, Golodets worked as his deputy for about a year.
Then, from the official’s chair, she returned to Norilsk Nickel, but already to the position of deputy to Mikhail Prokhorov, the new general director, supervising personnel issues. She was his “right hand” until they left the company in 2008.
Olga Golodets was the right hand of Mikhail Prokhorov
Later, Golodets became the executive head of the ONEXIM group and remained in charge of the Norilsk Nickel pension fund. Moreover, according to the accepted conditions in this non-governmental organization, she and its other managers had the right to lifelong pension contributions every month in the amount of 200,000 rubles. In addition, she headed the collective management of the insurance company, until 2010 she was a member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), as well as the head of the Association of Precious Metals and Nickel Producers.
To information
Olga Yuryevna Golodets is from a family of people quite famous in Moscow. So, her father, Yuri Solomonovich, took tests from more than one generation of students at the Plekhanov Institute of National Economy, and her mother, Valentina Grigorievna, was in charge of the Cheryomushki restaurant for a long time. Finally, her uncle Adamas Solomonovich Golodets was a striker and coach of the Dynamo Moscow football team.
Of course, from childhood Olga tried not to lose face in front of her parents. At school she was an excellent student, she entered the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University without difficulty, and Yuri Solomonovich did not even have to “back up” her, and at the university she also passed the exams mostly with excellent marks. It is not surprising that after graduating from university she was invited to graduate school at the Labor Research Institute of the USSR State Committee for Labor.
And here Olga Yuryevna tried to “conform.” She successfully defended her dissertation, then got a job as a senior researcher at the Institute of Employment Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. However, it was already the nineties, so Golodets no longer wanted to “vegetate” in a scientific institute, but “to make money,” fortunately, she had the opportunities and potential for this. Therefore, in 1997, with the help of connections from both her father and her husband, who at that time was the head of the securities department of the Imperial Bank, she became the director of social programs of the Reformugol Foundation.
This structure was created on the basis of an agreement concluded between the Government of the Russian Federation and the World Bank in order to mitigate the consequences of the restructuring of the coal mining industry, as a result of which many mines were closed. Reformugol was involved in retraining miners, business development and microcredit in mining single-industry towns. Olga Yuryevna, as a labor specialist, oversaw the creation of new jobs there. At the same time, Golodets showed herself to be a strong and purposeful person. She delved into all the smallest details of her new work and brought everything to the end. At the same time, she did not sit in the office, but traveled around the regions.
In 1999, Reformugol ceased its activities. But Olga Yuryevna did not remain without work for a long time, moving, at the invitation of Alexander Khloponin, whom she met during trips to Norilsk, to the position of head of the department of social policy and personnel.
Soon Olga Yuryevna managed to prove herself to the new boss so much that in 2001, when Khloponin
was elected governor of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug, he invited her to Dudinka as vice-governor for social issues.
However, Golodets did not stay in her post for long. Less than ten months have passed since Norilsk Nickel CEO Mikhail Prokhorov
“lured” Olga Yuryevna to himself, offering her the post of his deputy for personnel and social policy, which she did not refuse.
In this position, Golodets was repeatedly recognized as the “best HR director” in Russia. Prokhorov valued her, repeatedly calling her “his right hand.” And indeed, Olga Yuryevna led her block with an “iron hand.” She worked long hours, and she demanded the same from her subordinates, who literally cried from her leadership style. Moreover, both women and men cried. But Norilsk Nickel under Golodets had one of the best “social programs” among the largest Russian companies, fortunately Prokhorov did not spare money on it.
This continued until 2008, when Mikhail Prokhorov divided assets with Vladimir Potanin
and left Norilsk Nickel. Following Mikhail Dmitrievich, Olga Yuryevna also hurried to leave, since she did not want to work with Vladimir Olegovich. However, in parting, she managed to “put the blame” on Potanin.
Thus, back in 2006, the non-state pension fund Interros-Dostoinstva, renamed NPF Norilsk Nickel, was transferred under the control of Norilsk Nickel. Golodets became the chairman of the board of directors. When the division of assets happened between Prokhorov and Potanin, Olga Yuryevna retained her post at the NPF. At the same time, she changed the charter of the structure in such a way that Norilsk Nickel and its new management actually lost control over the fund.
The controversial situation around the NPF lasted for six months, and only after Norilsk Nickel's claim to arbitration in December 2008 did Prokhorov finally back down from it. But while the litigation lasted, the fund’s top managers were able, thanks to Golodets, to ensure a comfortable old age for themselves. For example, former members of the board of directors of the NPF received lifetime monthly pensions in the amount of 125 - 150 thousand rubles, and Olga Yuryevna herself accrued 200 thousand to herself. At the same time, she was not embarrassed that these funds were “generated” from the pensions of ordinary employees of Norilsk Nickel and residents of Norilsk.
After leaving the post of Deputy General Director of Norilsk Nickel, Golodets was Prokhorov’s deputy in the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, while simultaneously heading the board of directors of the insurance company. Despite the fact that she was new to the insurance business, under Olga Yuryevna the company achieved good results. These results impressed Prokhorov and he even planned to create an insurance “super company” headed by Golodets, but these plans were never implemented, since Olga Yuryevna was delegated to work at the Moscow mayor’s office.
In 2010, Yuri Luzhkov,
. Before Yuri Mikhailovich had time to remove all his belongings from his office on Tverskaya Square, various influence groups began to divide his legacy, since the new mayor Sergei Sobyanin did not have his own established team at that time. Mikhail Prokhorov also stepped up in time, managing to lobby for Golodets’ candidacy for the post of vice-mayor for health and education.
As soon as she took office, Olga Yuryevna took up the consolidation of Moscow schools, which the former mayor actively prevented. As a result, neither the teachers nor the parents of the students disliked Golodets. In addition, Olga Yuryevna was involved in a scandal surrounding the First Cadet Corps, in which she initiated anti-corruption checks, the purpose of which was to obtain evidence that the director took bribes for admission to this educational institution. But these checks did not lead to anything, and later it turned out that structures affiliated with Prokhorov had their eyes on the building of the cadet corps. Thus, another stain fell on Golodets’ reputation.
But, despite all the scandals surrounding her name, Olga Yuryevna not only remained afloat, but also, immediately after the 2011 State Duma elections, became vice-mayor for social issues. In this position, she replaced Luzhkov's protege Lyudmila Shvetsova
, who was strongly recommended not to renounce the deputy mandate she received on the Moscow list of United Russia.
And already in May 2011, Golodets became deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Dmitry Medvedev
.
In her new position, Olga Yuryevna was tasked with overseeing demographic and youth policy, education, culture, science, tourism, as well as interaction with public and religious organizations. In addition, under her leadership, the health care reform was to be completed, the stability of the pension system was ensured, and pension legislation was regulated. In a word, Golodets’s area of work was very serious, and besides, it was largely “ruined” by such “effective managers” as Tatyana Golikova
and
Andrey Fursenko
, whose departure caused genuine joy among healthcare and education workers, respectively.
However, after some time it became clear that under the new Deputy Prime Minister the situation had not changed dramatically. New Minister of Education Dmitry Livanov
turned out to be far no better than Fursenko, and Golikova’s successors (the Ministry of Health and Social Development was divided into two departments in 2012) in the person of
Veronika Skvortsova
and
Maxim Topilin
completely left things to chance in the ministries entrusted to them. As for Olga Yuryevna, she spent some time “getting used to it” so that, after taking a closer look, she could begin vigorous activity.
Thus, Golodets announced in the summer of 2013 that in 2014 about 300 million rubles would be allocated for additional protection of Unified State Exam (USE) tasks from “hacker attacks.” However, then it turned out that there were no “attacks” on the Unified State Examination, which, however, did not prevent Olga Yuryevna from conveying to Minister Livanov
these 300 million rubles. At the instigation of Golodets, Livanov was also allocated 9 billion rubles for promotion in the world rankings of 15 Russian universities. At the same time, the competition for grants, at the insistence of Olga Yuryevna, was held behind closed doors. This “tranche” even aroused interest among some deputies of the State Duma, who sent a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office with a request to investigate, which, however, had no consequences for either Livanov or Golodets.
But the apotheosis of Olga Yuryevna’s activities was her initiative to remove the property of the Russian Academy of Sciences from the jurisdiction of the Academy and transfer it under the management of the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations (FANO). According to Golodets, Russian science was “burdened with a huge burden of land areas” that must be managed “effectively.” Thus, she launched the process of reforming the Academy of Sciences, which caused so much fierce controversy. True, Olga Yuryevna retreated into the shadows in time, as a result of which the main blow fell on Dmitry Livanov.
The “supervision” from Golodets Medicine was also very specific. It mainly boiled down to the initiation of very suspicious competitions, such as for the development of software for dispatching sanitary transport or the creation of a new website for the Ministry of Health, which were won by “murky” companies, about which evil tongues said that the ultimate beneficiary in them was Olga Yuryevna. Golodets also became famous for her irreconcilable struggle with the head of Rospotrebnadzor Gennady Onishchenko
. So, in a narrow circle, Olga Yuryevna repeatedly said that together with Onishchenko they “wouldn’t get along” and one of them would have to leave. As time has shown, Gennady Grigorievich had to leave, while Golodets retained her post and still continues to occupy it.
Olga Yuryevna Golodets is assessed by people who know her as an excellent performer. She has always fulfilled and is fulfilling all the tasks assigned to her by a higher authority. At the same time, Olga Yuryevna never considers the cost when performing tasks and, moreover, is absolutely unsentimental. For her, people are just a function, faceless “personnel” who need to be “managed,” expendable material on which she makes a career. Therefore, she is valued by management and hated by those who are “lucky” to work under her leadership.
It should be noted that Golodets’ position was not shaken by materials about her participation in corruption schemes, nor by her opposition to the sensational law banning the adoption of Russian children by foreigners (the so-called Dima Yakovlev Law), nor by some weakening of the lobbying potential of Mikhail Prokhorov. It seems that Olga Yuryevna will remain in demand for a long time, at least for voicing unpopular decisions made in the social sphere.
Political activity
At the end of 2010, thanks to Prokhorov’s influence, his “right hand” became deputy mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin and was responsible for social affairs. The Chairman of the Moscow Duma, Vladimir Platonov, called her an energetic and productive professional with whom it was interesting to work. Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets about pensions in 2015 The official’s income in 2010 was about 57 million in rubles, which made her the leader among the wealthiest female civil servants in the Moscow executive apparatus. In addition, according to published data, she owned real estate abroad. But the next year she declared a five-fold decrease in income, namely, a little more than 11 million rubles.
Olga Golodets, Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin at school
In the spring of 2012, the successful civil servant took a higher position - she received the portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister. Her area of responsibility included a wide range of key social tasks. She led the implementation of measures to ensure the reliability of the pension system, the protection of orphans, the reorganization of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the introduction of high-tech medical equipment, labor relations issues, and so on. In 2013, she became the head of the advisory body “Russian Language Council”, and a year later she created the Internet resource “Education in Russian”. Olga Golodets about refusing the funded part of her pension In 2014, the deputy chairman earned 14.9 million rubles. She still uses one and is the owner of two apartments (114 and 155 square meters) in Russia, a house in Italy and part of a dacha (1/2) in Switzerland, the area of which in square meters is 250 and 220, respectively.
In the spring of 2020, Olga Golodets announced that the government does not intend to raise the retirement age of Russian citizens in the near future. The politician also oversaw the Unified State Exam for high school graduates.
In the new government formed in May 2020, Olga Golodets retained the position of Deputy Prime Minister. From this moment on, the official is responsible for cultural and sports issues.
2019 in Russia was recognized as the Year of Theater. Olga Golodets was assigned to oversee this issue. In January 2020, the chairman of the Union of Theater Workers, Alexander Kalyagin, thanked the official for the work done.
Business
The turning point in Golodets’ work biography was 1999, when she came to the mining and metallurgical department, where she worked on issues of social policy and personnel under the leadership of first Khloponin, then Prokhorov.
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Valery Glazkov, who headed the Norilsk Nickel trade union in those years, remembers her as the most effective HR manager with whom he ever worked. Under Golodets, progressive social programs for employees were introduced.
For many years Olga was Prokhorov's right hand
In 2008, Mikhail Prokhorov resigned from the board of the MMC, taking part of the assets. Almost his entire staff, including Olga Golodets, left for the general director. While working at Norilsk Nickel, she determined its pension policy and headed the non-state pension fund of this joint-stock company. Golodets remained the head of the fund even after the division of assets, and the PF turned out to be a controversial asset.
Thanks to her efforts, control over it was lost for six months by the new management of MMC and passed to the ONEXIM investment fund headed by Prokhorov.
In the same 2008, Mikhail Prokhorov received 100% control over IC Soglasie and Olga Golodets continued to work in this structure. Despite the lack of experience in insurance activities of the newly appointed head of the board of directors, the company demonstrated excellent performance under her leadership. At the same time, Olga Yuryevna headed the inter-industry association of employers in the production of non-ferrous precious metals, and in 2009 she joined the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Olga Golodets and Dmitry Azarov during a visit to the regions
In 2011, Golodets declared her income as a government official for the first time; her income in 2010 amounted to 57 million rubles; the declaration also reflected her ownership of real estate in Italy and Switzerland. After moving to the civil service, the amount of declared income decreased by 5 times.
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Personal life of Olga Golodets
While studying at Moscow State University, Olga met her future husband, Mrdulyash Pavel Brunovich. He is the head of the Center for Personnel Training under the Ministry of Economic Development, a graduate of Moscow State University, a mathematician, one of the best gaming engineers in the country, specialists in the field of mathematical modeling, and has held various leadership positions in Commercial Banks (Imperial, International Financial Club). In 2003, the couple divorced.
Olga Golodets was married to Mrdulyash Pavel Brunovich
The couple raised two twin daughters, Anna and Tatyana, who were born on January 2, 1986. Anna studies issues of Oriental and African studies. Like her parents, she graduated from Moscow State University. It is known that the girl was a participant in the protest “white ribbon movement” for fair elections and was a supporter of opposition views.
Tatyana is also a graduate of Moscow State University, but from the Faculty of Management. She is a lawyer, lives permanently in Geneva and shares Anya’s views on the existing regime. Tatyana is the founder of MFK-Capital LLC.
Olga Golodets has two daughters
Olga Golodets enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren and enjoys ballet and opera. Despite his busy schedule, the Deputy Prime Minister pays attention to sports - he prefers swimming, swimming in an ice hole, tennis, and attends choreographic classes.
Personal life
Golodets is one of the most influential women in Russia. At the same time, she tries in every possible way not to advertise her private life. From the little information that is in official sources, you can find out that the heroine of our article was married. Her chosen one's name is Pavel Brunovich Mrdulyash. He heads the Federal Resource Center for organizing management training. This structure is part of the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development of the Russian Federation. Mrdulyash is a fairly well-known specialist in his circles, considered one of the most authoritative experts on game theory in Russia.
Golodets does not talk about the peculiarities of her personal life; there are no photos of her with her husband anywhere. They divorced in 2003; we can only guess about the reasons for the dissolution of the marriage.
The heroine of our article has two twin daughters. Their names are Tatyana and Anna. It is known that they graduated from Moscow State University. Anna is an orientalist by profession, she works in Moscow. Tatyana received a law degree, interned for some time in Geneva, Switzerland, and then returned to Russia. She works as deputy general director of the Tretyakov Gallery and bears her father's surname.
In his free time from work, Golodets enjoys ballet and also writes scientific works on social and labor relations. At the moment, the civil servant has already published about thirty articles and monographs, which were highly appreciated by foreign and domestic experts.
Olga Golodets now
Olga Golodets was not included in the Government formed on January 21, 2020 by the new head Mikhail Mishustin, nor was former Minister of Sports Pavel Kolobkov. Both oversaw preparations for the Universiade 2023 sports event, but after their dismissal, responsibility for holding student games passed to other persons. Her successor in the Government was Dmitry Chernyshenko.
Olga Golodets did not join the new Government
