Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich
| member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation - representative from the representative body of government of the Pskov region | ||
|---|---|---|
| July 6, 2007 - February 16, 2009 | ||
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR
Andrey Anatolyevich Turchak(b. December 20, 1975, Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR) - governor of the Pskov region (since February 27, 2009).
Biography
Father - Anatoly Turchak (born 1945), since 1985 - head of the association, then the holding company "Leninets", which specializes in the development of flight navigation, sighting and navigation systems and radars for heavy aircraft (in this structure and its subsidiaries with At the age of 20, Andrei himself worked in leadership positions). In addition, Anatoly Turchak is the president of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg, the president of the St. Petersburg Football Federation and a member of the executive committee of the Russian Football Union, chairman of the Board of Directors of Energomashbank. In the 1990s, Anatoly Turchak was Vladimir Putin’s deputy on the St. Petersburg regional council of the “Our Home - Russia” movement. Turchak Sr. was also mentioned in the press as Putin’s former partner in combat sports.
In 1998, Andrey Turchak graduated from the St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation.
In 2014, he graduated with honors from the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Entrepreneurial activity
From 1991 to 1995 - coach-teacher in judo at the municipal youth sports school of the Olympic reserve "Cosmonaut".
Since March 1996 (at the age of 20) - General Director of JSC "Trade and Industrial Company LenNort" (a subsidiary of HC Leninets).
Since 1997 - General Director of OJSC "Plant of Electrical Household Equipment" (the sole founder of the OJSC is the Committee for the Management of City Property of St. Petersburg).
In April 2000, he joined the board of directors of Energomashbank.
From 2000 to 2002 - Director of Restructuring, then Director of Corporate Policy at HC Leninets.
In 2002, he took the position of General Director of Sodrugestvo North-West LLC.
Since 2003 - vice president and member of the board of directors of the Leninets Holding Company, member of the board of directors of the Leninets management company. On May 31, 2005, he was again elected to the board of directors of HC Leninets.
Political activity
In August 2005, he joined the United Russia party and was appointed coordinator of the party’s youth policy. In November 2005, he joined the Coordination Council (CC) of the Young Guard of United Russia.
On August 30, 2006, the bureau of the Supreme Council of United Russia recommended Turchak for the post of member of the Federation Council from the parliament of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Since July 6, 2007 - member of the Federation Council - representative of the representative body of state power of the Pskov region.
On February 16, 2009, he was appointed acting governor of the Pskov region. Having taken this position at the age of 33, he became one of the youngest governors of Russia.
On February 27, 2009, with a result of 37 votes in favor out of 40, he was confirmed by the Pskov Regional Assembly as governor. At the time of his election, he was known mainly by his father Anatoly Turchak, who practiced judo with V.V. Putin.
Until 2012, he was a member of the General Council of the United Russia WFP.
On February 27, 2014, Andrei Turchak’s 5-year term as governor expired, but on the same day, President Vladimir Putin appointed him acting governor.
Activities as governor of the Pskov region
Economics and social sphere
Assessments of the activities of A. A. Turchak as governor are ambiguous.
The average monthly salary in the region increased from 12,631 rubles in 2009 to 17,922 rubles in January-December 2012. During 2011-2012, there was a decrease in overall mortality by 7% and an increase in the birth rate by 6%. Natural population decline decreased from 16.7 to 11.8 thousand people. These results were achieved through the implementation of the “Modernization of Healthcare in the Pskov Region” program, the total funding of which amounted to more than 3 billion rubles.
The governor himself, in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, says that the region is actively developing and he was even able to raise teachers’ salaries to 14 thousand rubles, while the average salary of officials was about 10 thousand rubles. Some media outlets indicated that this statement by Turchak sharply contradicts official data from Rosstat, according to which the average salary of education workers in May 2010 was 10,776.9 rubles, but the average salary of government employees was 18,420.7 rubles.
With the support of the Administration, several large investment projects are being implemented in the region, including the creation of the Moglino industrial park, projects for the construction of hotels and other tourist infrastructure facilities in Pskov as part of the creation of the Pskovsky tourist and recreational cluster, a number of large agricultural projects, including the construction of Velikoluksky pig-breeding complex The Pskov region was one of the first in Russia to enter into an agreement with OJSC Gazprom Mezhregiongaz to modernize the heat and power complex of the region: within 5 years, 94 boiler houses should be built and modernized in the region; This is one of the largest projects in the thermal power industry.
A number of large agricultural projects have been implemented, including the construction of the Velikoluksky pig-breeding complex for 480 thousand heads, with an investment volume of over 14 billion rubles.
Currently, the regional authorities have announced a competition with a starting amount of 9.4 million rubles to conduct a study on the topic “Development of proposals for draft documents necessary for the inclusion of the most promising regional investment projects in the field of tourism in the draft federal target program “Development of domestic and inbound tourism” in the Russian Federation (2011-2016)“”
In February 2013, Turchak suspended all procedures for the adoption of orphans from social institutions in the region (for both Russians and foreigners) due to the death of a baby from a local orphanage in the United States.
In 2015, as in the previous 2014, the Pskov region was recognized as the poorest region in the Russian Federation, according to RIA Rating.
Culture
In 2010, work was completed in Pskov to restore the tent of the Intercession Tower of the Pskov Kremlin. It remained without a roof for more than fifteen years - the wooden tent burned down in a fire in the mid-nineties. In 2010, 23 million rubles were allocated from the budget of the Pskov region for the design and construction of the tent.
United Russia did not declare his wife’s rights to a house worth €1.27 million either as a senator or as a governor
Original of this material© NEWSru.com, 03/05/2013, “Pechting” is also approaching the governors: Navalny began a campaign against Turchak with real estate in France, Photo: Russianlook
| Andrey Turchak
|
Navalny, who studied information about Turchak and his family published in open sources, came to the conclusion that he “behaved duplicitously” for at least the last four years, during which he served as a member of the Federation Council from the representative body of government of the Pskov region (since 2007), and then the post of governor (since 2009), in his LiveJournal.
All this time, the governor's declarations did not mention the villa, which was registered as the company VILLA DE FLIREY on November 18, 2008. Andrei Turchak's wife Kira Turchak, his brother Boris Turchak and father Anatoly Turchak are mentioned as its founders. Moreover, as Navalny emphasizes, out of 150 shares, 100 belong to Turchak’s wife. The company itself has a specific form - Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI), which is approved in the charter, a certified copy of which is attached by the blogger. This type of company is created solely for the purpose of owning and managing objects. And the property listed is a house worth 1.3 million euros, with an area of 250 square meters.
“It is obvious that Governor Turchak urgently ran to edit the declaration, only under the threat of imminent “pekhting,” writes Navalny, also recalling that on Tuesday the governor, in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, promised that no later than May 1, 2013, the property in France will be implemented or the spouse will cease to participate in the company. But only this, taking into account many years of lies, will not change anything, Navalny believes. [...]
[...] just recently Governor Turchak, having just read the news on Twitter another patriot - Pavel Astakhov on the topic “The Americans killed an adopted child,” he immediately pressed the “PATRIOTIZM MODE ON” button and banned the adoption of orphans in the Pskov region by foreigners.
As can be seen from the charter, the shares of shareholders are unequal: a total of 150 shares, 100 of which belong to the wife of Governor Turchak ( and therefore to Turchak himself, because we honor the laws of the Russian Federation, according to which property acquired during marriage is the joint property of the spouses).
The company has a specific form - Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI). This is a special type of company that is created for the sole purpose of owning and managing properties.
The charter directly specifies the property for the purchase of which the company is being created:
The company charter can be ordered on the website http://www.infogreffe.fr/infogreffe/ind ex.jsp (enter the name VILLA DE FLIREY in the "Company name or acronym" field and click "Search").
As you can see, we are talking about buying a house for 1 million 270 thousand euros at 25 avenue de Flirey, 06000 Nice. The company is registered at this address.
Now the amazing power of imagination and Google takes us to Nice:
Here is this house on Google Maps.
This is what he looks like. A wonderful place, not close to the embankment, where the crowd is, but higher up, on the hills. There is a very beautiful view from there (I’m not sure that Pskov is visible, though)
It’s the governor driving around the Pskov region in a big Mercedes, chasing people away. In Nice, his family turns into real Europeans and intelligently rides a Mini Cooper.
According to the cadastral plan, the area of the plot under the house is 250 square meters.
Such a plan can be obtained from the website http://www.cadastre.gouv.fr
He's from the satellite
[...] Zhora Alburov found Turkish real estate ten days ago and if we, fools, had not chattered about it out loud and laughed at the patriotic governor with the whole office, then those who listen to our office and stand guard over the interests of the United Russia government, reporting on our plans, I am sure that SUDDENLY AND URGENTLY on March 2, Governor Turchak would not have included the Villa de Flirey company in his declaration.
“Hidden, kept back and pretended to be a patriot”
Original of this material© Izvestia, 03/05/2013, Photo: ITAR-TASS
Turchak: “An official with foreign assets cannot defend Russia”
Anastasia Kashevarova |
| Andrey Turchak
|
- Andrey Anatolyevich, why did you urgently include real estate in the declaration on March 2?
This is still not real estate, but participation in a French non-profit organization. Another question is that she has owned real estate located in France since 2008. Information was included in the declaration for the first time due to the adoption in the first reading of a bill banning officials from owning real estate abroad. Within three months, civil servants will have to either get rid of it or stop exercising their powers, which is absolutely correct. In the declaration, I indicated the share in the company owned by my spouse. Besides her, my father and brother are participating there. I received the shares even before I took the governor’s chair. I follow the letter of the law.
- The letter of the law previously required accuracy in the declaration.
I tell you again that I do not own real estate. And even if it belonged to my wife, I would have indicated it in previous declarations.
- It turns out that the law could have been circumvented by transferring the real estate to the company?
As soon as, after the President’s message to the Federal Assembly, the topic of a ban on having assets and real estate abroad was discussed, we, as law-abiding citizens, took all measures, firstly, to declare, and secondly, to get rid of this property.
- It turns out, Andrey Anatolyevich, that if such a law had not been adopted, you would have kept the property?
In our particular case, these are not interrelated things. The property was put up for sale over a year ago, and I have confidence that it will be sold in the near future.
- You won’t be in a hurry to sell it for next to nothing, will you?
I repeat, it has been put up for sale over a year ago. We never actually lived there. This is not even a villa, but an apartment.
You live well if you have never been in one of your own apartments. There are photos of the house on the Internet, it is quite beautiful.
Yes, it looks nice, but it’s worth considering that this is a condominium, which, if my memory serves me correctly, has more than 15 apartments.
- The building is somewhat reminiscent of a townhouse.
This is just the outer contour. There is a courtyard, and in the courtyard there are several more buildings. In one of them there are six apartments in a block, one of which is ours.
Many citizens have property abroad, and no one says that they stole. Why are officials so afraid to show their property? Do you yourself support a ban on foreign real estate for civil servants?
I support, that's why I'm selling. I absolutely share the position of the president and deputies of the State Duma. An official cannot protect the interests of the state if he is burdened with assets outside its borders.
- But you were burdened, which means you performed your duties poorly?
I became governor in February 2009, and the company that appears in the declaration was registered in 2008, when there were no legal restrictions. I promise that this property will be sold by May 1st.
- So it turns out that you are urgently selling because of the new law?
This is your interpretation.
-You don't agree with her?
The question is not about the effectiveness of the official’s work, but about the potential dependence that he may have. The property was purchased with the help of a mortgage loan, and it is paid off through the dividends that my father, brother and wife receive from our family company, Lenins. It has nothing to do with either the Pskov region or France. My father is an industrialist, my brother is involved in asset management. The wife is involved in non-core assets - a hotel and several business centers in St. Petersburg.
- Do you already have potential buyers for the apartment?
Listen, well, I don’t do sales myself, to be honest. There are representatives. There are buyers.
- Can you, like football coach Gazzaev, shave off your mustache if your promise is not fulfilled?
Well, you remember how that story ended, he didn’t shave his mustache. Until May 1, as was said, Kira will not have this object. And there will be no share in the company.
- You can leave this apartment to your brother and father?
We decided to implement the object. This is open information and can be viewed at real estate agencies. […]
[navalny, 03/06/2013, “hiding, not telling is not in my rules”: Monsieur Turchak gave an interview about his villa in Nice. [...] This is simply the apotheosis of shamelessness. The title alone is worth it: Turchak: “An official with foreign assets cannot defend Russia.”
I just want to say: yes! Yes! we completely agree! Quit the civil service quickly and take people like you. But then, unfortunately, it turns out that these are some other “officials with foreign assets” who cannot protect the interests of Russia.
But Turchak can. Because:
1. The villa was purchased with a mortgage loan.
2. Turchak put it up for auction (bought, I remind you, in 2008)
3. This is not a villa at all, but an apartment. "It just looks cute."
4. “We never actually lived there.” (Almost never lived there)
And it all ends with something absolutely magnificent:
- Your reputation may suffer because of this story.
- My conscience is clear. Hiding and keeping back is not in my rules.
WHOA?! I read it several times and couldn’t believe it.
Well, they caught you. And you even confessed.
When I was a member of the Federation Council, I bought a villa in Nice. He hid and pretended to be a patriot. Became governor: didn’t tell anyone about the villa. He hid, kept back and pretended to be a patriot. For several years I filled out property declarations. He lied, hid, kept back and even formally broke the law. The day before the inevitable revelation, he ran and entered a share in the company into the declaration, hiding and not saying that this share was just a lining, behind which there was a villa worth 1.3 million euros.
And as a result of all this: my conscience is clear. Well done, a real United Russia member. – Insert K.ru]
Shopping is always an impulse. In stores I behave like this: I went in, bought something and went on about my business. I love the brands H&M, Manolo Blahnik, Valentino, Charlotte Olympia. I dress myself, no one advises me. A few years ago I met DayNight stylist Nikolai Bagno. He saw me differently, so he constantly offered unexpected solutions. I accepted some things and didn’t accept others, but he helped me look at myself from a different perspective. Sometimes I see beautiful clothes and realize that I don't know how to wear them. I can admire many things, but I will never wear them.
I'm raising children, I am engaged in management business and have a permanent practice as a child psychologist, so there is always not enough time to think about the image. My universal recipe: Balmain jeans, H&M checked cotton shirt, Stella McCartney jacket, Manolo Blahnik pumps. As a child, my mother taught me to separate things “for going out” and “for every day,” so on weekdays I wear fewer accessories. I believe that it is better to underdress than to overdress, so I try to strike a balance. Harmony within is the best ally. I don’t tolerate anything superfluous either in the house or in the wardrobe. Putting things in order is my relaxation after a hard day at work.
Over the past three years I fell endlessly in love with the Valentino brand, where every collection is a work of art. An evening look should be elegant and without pretentiousness. I will never buy an overly colorful, flashy dress or a dress with complex prints.
The wife of the governor of the Pskov region, Kira Turchak, is known primarily for her ability to combine a busy social life with the management of numerous joint-stock companies associated with the Leninets holding company - the fiefdom of another member of the governor’s family, Anatoly Turchak. For example, she is the actual owner and chairman of the board of directors of the Leninets Management Company, which was recalled in particular within the framework scandal with the “modernization” of MiG-31 fighter-interceptors, after which their fighting qualities deteriorated significantly. Analysts then explained the order, which was so unprofitable for the Ministry of Defense, by the lobbying abilities of Turchak Sr., a man close to Viktor Zubkov and Anatoly Serdyukov. Now Kira Evgenievna is again at the center of a scandal. As it turned out, in addition to the “Leninist” assets recorded on her, through Kira Turchak, the governor’s family owns substantial real estate in France.
As Kommersant reports, according to the published income statement of the governor of the Pskov region, his wife owns a stake in a French company, in whose name the governor’s family purchased real estate in France. In light of the bill being considered by the State Duma prohibiting officials and members of their families from owning foreign assets and accounts, Mr. Turchak said that he “guarantees that no later than May 1, 2013, the property in France will be sold or the spouse will terminate her participation in the company.”
According to Andrei Turchak’s declaration, in 2012 he earned 1.319 million rubles—an increase of 12.5 thousand rubles. less than in 2011. All these funds were received by him at his main place of work. Mr. Turchak declared two new apartments (180.5 and 156.6 sq. m.) - he owns them together with his wife. In addition, he still owns a plot of land with an area of 1201 sq. m. m and shares in apartments with an area of 66.8 and 80.7 square meters. m (1/2 and 1/3 share, respectively). Governor's wife income Kira Turchak in 2012 increased by more than 7 million rubles. and amounted to 15,911,713 rubles. Kira Turchak owns two land plots (1113 and 1137 sq. m), two residential buildings (227.4 and 43.3 sq. m), a guest house (29.5 sq. m), and 1/2 share (together with her husband) in an apartment of 66.8 square meters. m.
The governor's wife also indicated her shares in the authorized capital of five Russian companies, as well as one foreign one - the non-profit organization SCI Villa De Flirey (France; 66.67%). It should be noted that on February 22, the State Duma approved in the first reading a bill prohibiting officials and members of their families from having bank accounts, property abroad, and shares in foreign companies. Once the law comes into force, they are expected to be given three months to get rid of these assets, and real estate will be subject to mandatory declaration indicating the sources of acquisition.
Andrei Turchak reported that his wife “manages funds in several accounts of non-resident legal entities in foreign banks outside the Russian Federation” (accounts are not indicated in the declaration). According to him, “these accounts were opened starting in the fall of 2008 and were used to participate in the financing of a transaction for the acquisition of rights to real estate in France by the non-profit organization Societe Civile Immobiliere Villa De Flirey.” The founders of this organization, according to the Pskov governor, are his father, brother and wife. The property in France was purchased at the end of 2008 and was paid for using funds received as a loan from a Swiss bank, the governor explained. And the repayment of this loan, according to him, is carried out at the expense of income from the statutory activities of Leninets-Holding OJSC (according to the governor’s declaration, Kira Turchak owns shares in it) and their subsidiaries and dependent companies. “All the profits received by these organizations have nothing to do with the exercise of my powers as the head of the Pskov region,” Mr. Turchak emphasized.
Regarding the future fate of his family’s foreign assets, the governor said: “Regardless of the time of adoption of the law “On the prohibition of certain categories of persons from storing funds in foreign banks located outside the territory of the Russian Federation and from holding securities of foreign issuers,” I guarantee that no later "On May 1, 2013, my wife will close all accounts in foreign banks located outside of Russia. Also, during this period, the property in France will be sold or my wife will cease her participation in SCI Villa De Flirey." The head of the region also added that all the documentation on these transactions was provided by him to the prosecutor's office of the Pskov region.
It should be noted that on the eve of the consideration in the State Duma of a bill banning officials from having foreign assets, three members of the United Russia faction of the lower house immediately refused their mandates. Among them are the head of the Duma Ethics Commission Vladimir Pekhtin, whose bloggers discovered undeclared real estate in the United States, deputy Anatoly Lomakin, who appears on the Forbes list with a fortune of $1.2 billion, as well as Vasily Tolstopyatov, who was mentioned among "golden pretzels" on the list of Right Russia leader Dmitry Gudkov. And after the head of the Federation Council (FC) Valentina Matvienko did not rule out that a number of senators might leave the chamber after the introduction of a ban on foreign accounts, Voronezh senator Nikolai Olshansky, a member of the Russian Forbes list, left the Federation Council. However, he told Kommersant that he left solely for health reasons.
“Hidden, kept back and pretended to be a patriot”
Turchak: “An official with foreign assets cannot defend Russia”
The income declaration of the governor of the Pskov region Andrei Turchak was published on March 4. According to the document, Turchak’s wife owns a share in the French company, which purchased real estate in Nice. The head of the Pskov region explained to Izvestia where the property came from and what he was going to do with it.
— Andrey Anatolyevich, why did you urgently include real estate in the declaration on March 2?
— This is still not real estate, but participation in a French non-profit organization. Another question is that she has owned real estate located in France since 2008. Information was included in the declaration for the first time due to the adoption in the first reading of a bill banning officials from owning real estate abroad. Within three months, civil servants will have to either get rid of it or stop exercising their powers, which is absolutely correct. In the declaration, I indicated the share in the company owned by my spouse. Besides her, my father and brother are participating there. I received the shares even before I took the governor’s chair. I follow the letter of the law.
— The letter of the law previously required accuracy in the declaration.
— I tell you again that I do not own real estate. And even if it belonged to my wife, I would have indicated it in previous declarations.
— It turns out that the law could have been circumvented by transferring the real estate to the company?
“As soon as, after the President’s message to the Federal Assembly, there was talk of a ban on having assets and real estate abroad, we, as law-abiding citizens, took all measures, firstly, to declare, and secondly, to get rid of this property.
— It turns out, Andrey Anatolyevich, that if such a law had not been adopted, you would have kept the property?
— In our particular case, these are not interconnected things. The property was put up for sale over a year ago, and I have confidence that it will be sold in the near future.
“You won’t be in a hurry to sell it for next to nothing, will you?”
— I repeat, it was put up for sale more than a year ago. We never actually lived there. This is not even a villa, but an apartment.
- You live well if you have never been in one of your own apartments. There are photos of the house on the Internet, it is quite beautiful.
— Yes, it looks nice, but it’s worth considering that this is a condominium, which, if my memory serves me correctly, has more than 15 apartments.
— The building is somewhat reminiscent of a townhouse.
- This is only the outer contour. There is a courtyard, and in the courtyard there are several more buildings. In one of them there are six apartments in a block, one of which is ours.
— Many citizens have property abroad, and no one says that they stole. Why are officials so afraid to show their property? Do you yourself support a ban on foreign real estate for civil servants?
“I support it, that’s why I’m selling it.” I absolutely share the position of the president and deputies of the State Duma. An official cannot protect the interests of the state if he is burdened with assets outside its borders.
- But you were burdened, which means you performed your duties poorly?
— I became governor in February 2009, and the company that appears in the declaration was registered in 2008, when there were no legal restrictions. I promise that this property will be sold by May 1st.
— So it turns out that you are urgently selling because of the new law?
- This is your interpretation.
-You don't agree with her?
“The question is not about the effectiveness of the official’s work, but about the potential dependence that he may have. The property was purchased with the help of a mortgage loan, and it is paid off through the dividends that my father, brother and wife receive from our family company, Lenins. It has nothing to do with either the Pskov region or France. My father is an industrialist, my brother is involved in asset management. The wife is involved in non-core assets - a hotel and several business centers in St. Petersburg.
— Do you already have potential buyers for the apartment?
- Listen, well, I’m not involved in sales myself, to be honest. There are representatives. There are buyers.
- Can you, like football coach Gazzaev, shave off your mustache if your promise is not fulfilled?
- Well, you remember how that story ended, he didn’t shave his mustache. Until May 1, as was said, Kira will not have this object. And there will be no share in the company.
- You can leave this apartment to your brother and father?
— We decided to implement the object. This is open information and can be viewed at real estate agencies. […]
[navalny, 03/06/2013, “hiding, not telling is not in my rules”: Monsieur Turchak gave an interview about his villa in Nice. [...] This is simply the apotheosis of shamelessness. The title alone is worth it: Turchak: “An official with foreign assets cannot defend Russia.”
I just want to say: yes! Yes! we completely agree! Quit the civil service quickly and take people like you. But then, unfortunately, it turns out that these are some other “officials with foreign assets” who cannot protect the interests of Russia.
But Turchak can. Because:
1. The villa was purchased with a mortgage loan.
2. Turchak put it up for auction (bought, I remind you, in 2008)
3. This is not a villa at all, but an apartment. "It just looks cute."
4. “We never actually lived there.” (Almost never lived there)
And it all ends with something absolutely magnificent:
“Your reputation may suffer because of this story.”
- My conscience is clear. Hiding and keeping back is not in my rules.
WHOA?! I read it several times and couldn’t believe it.
Well, they caught you. And you even confessed.
When I was a member of the Federation Council, I bought a villa in Nice. He hid and pretended to be a patriot. Became governor: didn’t tell anyone about the villa. He hid, kept back and pretended to be a patriot. For several years I filled out property declarations. He lied, hid, kept back and even formally broke the law. The day before the inevitable revelation, he ran and entered a share in the company into the declaration, hiding and not saying that this share was just a lining, behind which there was a villa worth 1.3 million euros.
And as a result of all this: my conscience is clear. Well done, a real United Russia member. - Insert K.ru]
Anastasia Kashevarova
Judo, “Young Guard”, the broken head of a journalist - what is Andrei Turchak remembered for?
In mid-October, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the governor of the Pskov region, Andrei Turchak. All this happened during the period of “governor fall,” when in less than a month ten regions of Russia replaced their regional leaders. Turchak's dismissal was the eleventh. However, for the official, this dismissal is more of a promotion than an expression of mistrust on the part of Moscow: he was immediately appointed to the post of head of United Russia in the State Duma. Katerina Karaseva, Sofya Savina and Mikhail Shubin talk about the biography and scandals associated with the former governor of the Pskov region.
Connections for a good start
The success story of Andrei Turchak is inseparable from the career of his father Anatoly Turchak. According to the St. Petersburg historian Lev Lurie, the first acquaintance of the elder Turchak and the future president of Russia took place in the St. Petersburg judo club “Trubostroitel”, where they trained together with the Rotenberg brothers with the same coach - Anatoly Rakhlin.
Anatoly Turchak is seven years older than Vladimir Putin. Accordingly, they trained in different groups and probably fought in different weight categories. We cannot say that their friendship was born there. One thing is clear: belonging to a judo club that has produced so many high-ranking people cannot be ignored.
Anatoly Turchak, Vladimir Putin and Anatoly Sobchak
According to the official biography, Turchak Sr. started at the Leninets plant as a simple mechanic. After 25 years, he becomes the general director of the association, and since 1992 he has headed the OJSC Holding Company Leninets.
In the mid-1990s, Turchak Sr. worked closely with Putin in St. Petersburg. In particular, he was Putin's deputy when he headed the headquarters of the Our Home is Russia party during the 1995 State Duma elections. After Putin moved to Moscow in 1997, Anatoly Turchak headed the party branch in St. Petersburg.
Later, Turchak’s career also developed successfully: by 2016, according to Business Petersburg, he took 85th place in the ranking of St. Petersburg billionaires. Anatoly Turchak's main asset is still the Leninets holding company. It is engaged in the development and production of on-board aviation radio-electronic systems, navigation radio-electronic equipment and precision weapon guidance systems.
Anatoly Turchak instilled a passion for judo in his son Andrey, who at the age of 16 became a coach at the Olympic Reserve children's and youth sports school. When his son turned 20, Turchak Sr. decided that it was time to introduce him to the family business and appointed Andrey as a manager in the Leninets subsidiary. At 25, Turchak already became director of restructuring, and then director of corporate policy at Leninets Holding Company. At 28, Andrei Turchak is vice-president of the Leninets HC.
"Young guard"
A year after his appointment, in 2004, Turchak Jr. was awarded a prize as the best young businessman in St. Petersburg. He gives several interviews, and supposedly after that he is noticed and invited to join the United Russia apparatus.
“They said that the party is forming a youth movement and they need managers who have achieved something in life, taking into account their St. Petersburg roots, of course,” said Turchak.
The youth movement turned out to be the “Young Guard of United Russia” (MGER). In 2005 it was officially registered. Among others, Turchak and his partner in “Leninets” Alexander Gorbunov stood at the head of MGER. Two years later, Turchak was elected chairman of the coordination council of the youth organization.
“Young Guard”: We will tear everyone apart for Andrei Turchak. Photo – Pskov region. Government portal
Young Guard members often formed the main crowd at various city events in favor of the candidates desired by United Russia. It was believed that MGER was a personnel reserve for the “adult” United Russia. The organization became known as “an instrument for outreach to youth” and countering the opposition.
In the early spring of 2007, the social elevator brought Turchak to the next floor of the Tower of Babel of the Russian power system. At the age of 31, he was elected deputy of the Pskov regional assembly from the United Russia party. For the next two years, he combined this post with membership in the Federation Council. In February 2009, President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Turchak governor of the Pskov region. He was entrusted with one of the poorest and most oppositional regions of the country. At that time, Turchak was 33 years old.
LJ post and journalist Kashin
The displeasure of the young governor was caused by the journalist of the Kommersant newspaper Oleg Kashin at that time. The conflict arose not even because of a high-profile article or investigation, but because of comments on LiveJournal.
Kashin wrote a post dedicated to the resignation of the head of the Kaliningrad region Georgy Boos. An unknown person wrote in the comments that Boos “was decidedly not ready for compromise. the result is natural.”
On August 16, 2010, Kashin in response suggested comparing Boos with any governor: “Listen, well, you’re demonizing him completely, compare him with any governor, not even Ramzan or Tuleyev, with any fucking Turchak - is Boos uncompromising?”
Many people were surprised by Turchak’s reaction. The head of the region joined the comments and wrote extremely harshly: “You have 24 hours to apologize. You can do it here or in a separate post.”
To this Kashin replied: “I believe that your appointment was an insult to federalism, common sense and other things of the same order. I believe that being related to a friend of Putin is not a sufficient reason to lead the region. I am sure that in any free elections in any region you would not get even five percent. I have nothing personal against you. Do you think I should apologize? What will happen if I don’t apologize?”
Turchak did not answer him, and Kashin did not apologize. The governor of the Pskov region later deleted his comment.
A little less than three months later, on November 6, 2010, Oleg Kashin was attacked. A little after midnight, in the courtyard of his own house on Pyatnitskaya Street, a man approached him with a bouquet of flowers. Kashin turned to him, and at the same moment another man attacked him from behind. The attackers beat the journalist for several minutes with an iron rod. Kashin moaned in pain, his screams were heard by a neighbor on the first floor. It was he who scared off the two men who fled in a car. The criminals broke both of the journalist’s jaws and lower leg, and tore off the phalanx of his finger. Doctors also diagnosed Kashin with a concussion.
The investigation into the case is still ongoing. Initially, Kashin said that he considered the version of Turchak’s revenge possible, but unlikely. The journalist had no doubt that the attack occurred because of his work activity, and even suspected the leader of another pro-Kremlin movement “Nashi” Vasily Yakimenko of ordering it. He later apologized to him.
In 2015, Kashin announced that his case had been solved. The attack participants' names are Danila Veselov and Vyacheslav Borisov. The first was the head of security at the St. Petersburg mechanical plant, which is part of the Leninets holding, the second was a security guard at the same enterprise. Another mechanical plant security guard, Mikhail Kavtaskin, was driving the car. They gave testimony from which it followed that the attack was ordered by Turchak’s associate, the manager of the Leninets holding company, Alexander Gorbunov. For this he paid the three perpetrators of the crime 3.3 million rubles.
Oleg Kashin after the beating, photo: Mitya Aleshkovsky / TASS / Scanpix
According to investigators, the motive for the crime was indeed a conflict with Governor Turchak. However, the latter was not blamed for the attack. Kashin considered it obvious that the attack took place on the order of the governor. “This is understandable, this is a provocation,” Turchak said then. The governor invited a journalist to Pskov to talk “eye to eye” and show that the region has changed in five years. Kashin did not go.
The perpetrators of the Kashin case have not yet been punished. The trial is ongoing. Another “branch” has emerged in the case - Gorbunov’s kidnapping is being investigated. In 2014, according to investigators, this was done by his former subordinate Alexander Meshkov, who is now wanted.
The kidnapping was disguised as a special operation by security forces. Gorbunov was kidnapped and taken to the Leningrad region, where he was kept for several days. According to the case materials, the attackers tried to obtain compromising information from the prisoner using a video recording. In particular, according to preliminary data, the kidnappers wanted to get him to confess to organizing the assassination attempt on journalist Oleg Kashin; they asked about Gorbunov’s business and about his acquaintance, the governor of the Pskov region, Andrei Turchak. The alleged participants in the kidnapping are the same Danila Veselov and Mikhail Kavtaskin. Turchak does not appear in this case either.
Family
The ex-governor has four children: Anatoly (born 1997), Olga (born 1998), Philip (born 2009) and Sofia (probably born 2001–2003). Two organizations are registered under the son of the ex-governor, Anatoly Andreevich Turchak. He holds the position of General Director of the St. Petersburg martial arts club “Volna”. In addition, an individual entrepreneur with the same name is registered in the Northern capital. His specialization is trading through vending machines and 20 other types of activities.
Andrei Turchak has an older brother, Boris, who holds the post of General Director of OJSC Leninets Holding.” Most of the company's government contracts were concluded with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Trading House "Kremlevsky" by the Administrative Department of the President of the Russian Federation. Kremlevsky rents a building from her in St. Petersburg. In December 2016, such a contract cost 2.4 million rubles, and in February 2017 another 3.1 million rubles. Another company, Rits-info, controlled by Boris Turchak, enters into contracts with Kremlevsky for the supply of Internet and communications. Boris Turchak owns eight more companies in St. Petersburg.
The wife of the ex-governor, Kira Turchak, has shares in several companies: Labyrinth OJSC, Aeroinvest Plus LLC, AK-Invest LLC, Volna-TK LLC and InvestService LLC. She is also the founder of the Great Future charity foundation. Neither company has government contracts.
Andrey Turchak is only part of the family that calls the tune and beatings of journalists
Turchak’s father is still a shareholder of OJSC Leninets Holding. In addition, he owns 17% of Radioavionics OJSC. The company is successful in government contracting: from 2011 to 2017, it concluded government contracts totaling 437 million rubles. Among the largest customers are the Ministry of Defense, as well as JSC Russian Railways.
Another of his enterprises, the Central Research and Production Association Leninets, has concluded government contracts worth 350 million rubles over the history of its existence.
Anatoly Turchak also owns a share in OJSC Radiopribor Plant. Among its active customers is the Federal Security Service. The largest contract is from the subsidiary company Aviation Complex named after. S.V. Ilyushin." For 167.5 million rubles, 38 Doppler ground speed and drift angle meters were purchased from OJSC Radiopribor Plant.
Real estate scandals
In 2013, Alexei Navalny found an undeclared apartment in Nice for €1.3 million from Andrei Turchak. According to the investigation, Turchak’s relatives - brother Boris and father Anatoly Turchak, as well as his wife Kira - registered the company Villa De Flirey in Nice in November 2008 , who bought an apartment abroad. A month and a half later, information appeared that Turchak had sold the property.
In April 2016, Novaya Gazeta published part of the investigation of the so-called “Panama Archives”, which concerned the offshore companies of Russian officials and alleged friends of Putin. Among others, the then governor of the Pskov region, Andrei Turchak, appeared in the publication.
Journalists found out that the wife of the head of the region, Kira Turchak, was the sole shareholder of the offshore company Burtford Unicorp Inc., registered in the British Virgin Islands, from 2008 to May 2015. This is a violation of the law, since Russian officials and members of their families have been prohibited from owning foreign financial assets and instruments since May 2013.
Probably, the real number of apartments and houses that belong to Turchak is not known. Photo – kremlin.ru
As Turchak told Novaya Gazeta, the company was created to finance a mortgage transaction for the purchase of an apartment in 2008 in France. According to him, Burtford Unicorp Inc. never conducted economic and financial activities in Russia and was officially closed on March 7, 2014.
“All necessary formalities, as far as I know, were observed immediately after Law 79 came into force. Probably the registration itself takes some time. I didn’t ask myself this question,” Turchak said, answering a question about why his wife owned a company registered offshore, despite the fact that this has been prohibited by law since 2013.
