Today, in relation to the management of Transneft, there is a system of mutual responsibility known as “Manus manum lavat” (Latin - “Hand washes hand”), the report notes.
The editors have obtained part of a report compiled by a number of authoritative experts, addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and dedicated to the activities of the management of the Transneft company, where the experts examine in detail the “gray” schemes in which the state-owned company is now involved, as well as sensational details of the personal enrichment of the management state-owned companies.
The report consists of 15 volumes, each volume contains a description of schemes that make it possible to withdraw assets from a company and carry out fraudulent activities aimed at stealing funds from Russian oil companies. The editors had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the details of one of the investigations related to the receipt of corruption rents during the transshipment of oil through Transneft ports at inflated tariffs. This investigation is entitled: “Manus manum lavat” (Latin - Hand washes hand).
According to experts, Transneft President Tokarev, together with entrepreneur Ziyavudin Magomedov, as well as Transneft Vice President Alexey Sapsai, organized a scheme based on inflated tariffs for loading and pumping oil products through Transneft oil pipelines. The scheme is replete with companies - gaskets, as well as the names of the performers, through which the theft of funds from Russian oil workers is directly carried out, among them: Transneft-Terminal LLC (A.V. Zelenko), Transneft-Terminal JSC (M.M. Melnik) , Transneft-Service LLC and Transneft-Service JSC (S.G. Kireev). These companies are the only intermediaries for transshipment of petroleum products through Transneft ports, and it is with these companies that JSC Chernomorsktransneft and JSC Sea Port Service enter into contracts.
Experts believe that the main executor of this scheme is the vice-president of Transneft, Alexey Sapsai, who previously headed the ESPO Central Unitary Enterprise at Transneft, which was involved in the construction of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline. The project and activities of the ESPO Center were audited by the Accounts Chamber, which revealed that the cost of work on the ESPO project was unreasonably inflated, the tenders for the selection of contractors were carried out with violations, documentation was illegally destroyed, and some acts were falsified by the contractors. As a result, the volume of non-targeted expenses of the state monopoly during the construction of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline amounted to about $4 billion. It is not surprising that Alexey Sapsay became the curator of the topic of inflating tariffs for loading and pumping petroleum products, experts note.
Today, the above companies independently set tariffs that significantly exceed FAS rates. As a result, oil companies wishing to pump their oil through the monopolist’s ports overpay in favor of recipients registered offshore. Experts estimate the volume of illegal business at tens of billions of rubles. For example, in just one episode, the offshore companies of Tokarev, Magomedov and Sapsay earned 500 million rubles. We sent requests to the FAS press service and to the reception office of the head of the department, Igor Artemyev, with a request to comment on this situation, but both requests remained unanswered.
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs did not achieve much results either. Initially, the GUEBiPK Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia sent a number of requests to Transneft with the intention of checking information about the schemes in which the state-owned company was involved. However, according to an employee of the GUEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, who wished to remain anonymous, an informal order was received from the head of the anti-corruption agency Andrei Kurnosenko to stop the inspection. It is possible that Kurnosenko’s reluctance to bring the investigation to court was motivated by the fact that among Nikolai Tokarev’s personal patrons is the former Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation - now Vice President for Security of Transneft Vladimir Rushailo, whom the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev simply calls “dad” . As a result, the case today lies as a dead weight in the 8th department of Directorate “T” of the GUEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
An objective examination of the materials is also hampered by the powerful resources of security agencies controlled by Ziyavudin Magomedov, consisting of former employees of the Central Directorate for Organized Crime Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, who have the capabilities of illegal wiretapping, covert surveillance and force support. There is active pressure and interference in the process of objective consideration of materials, with the aim of not bringing the perpetrators to justice. As a result, many witnesses refuse to testify, fearing for their lives and health.
The report notes that, most likely, such strong opposition is caused by the fact that these companies are not only involved in a scheme to inflate tariffs, but are also part of a large-scale system of the “shadow market” of oil, in which the volumes of transported oil are deliberately inflated contrary to the Ministry of Energy quotas. As is known, the Ministry of Energy distributes volumes among companies in areas proportional to submitted applications, and pumping schedules for near and far abroad are formed separately. As a result, companies sometimes receive export destinations that they cannot use. Accordingly, there is also a reverse process - when the Ministry of Energy gives companies fewer quotas for exporting oil abroad than they need. In both cases, it is impossible to do without Transneft gasket companies. It is also known that oil production complexes often produce and process much more oil and petroleum products than according to official reports. This unaccounted for oil is then pumped into Transneft pipes and shipped abroad. In this case, this oil is distilled illegally, and, of course, no one pays any taxes on it.
It was corruption in the distribution of quotas for oil supplies that became the reason for the scandal, because of which Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Fedorov resigned back in 2013. With his resignation, the scandal was hushed up. And now, a new chain has appeared, which led to the companies of the Transneft management, whose activities are described in the report.
Today, in relation to the management of Transneft, there is a system of mutual responsibility known as “Manus manum lavat” (Latin - “Hand washes hand”), the report notes. The lack of desire on the part of the FAS to check inflated tariffs and the slowdown of the case in the GUEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia indicate that the Transneft octopus has extended its influence to controllers, regulators and law enforcement officers. Experts note that “opacity and the lack of real responsibility of management for performance results have long become more than a problem,” according to Andrei Kolganov, head of the laboratory of market economics at the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University, “this is a matter of political will on the part of management to establish a normal system of management and control.”
Igor Kanaykin
Materials from the investigation conducted by “one of the services of the Russian Federation” in 2004-2006
According to the most conservative expert estimates, the shadow market accounts for at least 40% of Russian GDP. The strategically important and most profitable sectors of the Russian economy, primarily the oil industry, are most affected by corruption. Half of all GDP income is generated by foreign exchange earnings from oil and gas exports, while more than 90% of all oil produced in Russia is transported through trunk pipelines that run through 65 regions.
Currently, all pipeline transport is legally owned by the state and is formally managed by the state company Transneft OJSC in the interests of the state. Transneft OJSC is headed by a group of former top managers of the oil company Lukoil, headed by Semyon Vainshtok. His closest assistant and special confidant is Transneft Vice President Sergei Evlakhov, who controls the company’s department of transport, accounting and oil quality. Evlakhov, unlike logistics specialist Vainshtok, is a petroleum engineer by training. In 1983 he graduated from the Grozny Oil Institute and began his career at the Kogalymneftegaz Production Association under the leadership of the then General Director Vagit Alekperov. After the creation in 1993 by Alekperov, already in the rank of First Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas Industry of the USSR, of the oil company Lukoil on the basis of Kogalymneftegaz, Evlakhov ended up in LLC Lukoil-Western Siberia, the largest of the concern’s subsidiaries. The head of the company at that time was Semyon Vainshtok, Alekperov’s confidant. From this period, the tandem of Weinstock and Evlakhov began to form, where each harmoniously complemented each other. Weinstock needed his confidant, an experienced oil worker, while Evlakhov liked Weinstock’s connections with Alkperov, who promised the opportunity for further career advancement and the accompanying increase in material well-being. Then he could not even imagine what incredible opportunities would open up for him after Weinstock became the head of the state-owned Transneft company.
The scandal associated with illegal supplies of oil and petroleum products to Kyrgyzstan dates back to the late 90s. The oil exporter was the offshore company Levette Investments, Inc. (Bahamas, Nassau), which opened an account for transactions in one of the banks in Zurich. On the Kyrgyz side, the buyer was the largest state-owned company in the republic, Kyrgyzgazmunaizat. In fact, the owner of the oil was Lukoil-Western Siberia LLC, and Boris Berezovsky, the then co-owner of Sibneft and part-time deputy secretary of the Security Council, also acted on the Russian side in developing the capacious gasoline market of Kyrgyzstan. According to the scheme, Lukoil-Western Siberia LLC sent one part of the unaccounted oil for processing to the Omsk Refinery owned by Sibneft. At Sibneft, the head of the oil department, Sergei Kashin, and the head of the petroleum products department, Yuri Sukhanov, were responsible for this section. After processing, gasoline obtained from Lukoil oil is transported through various railway smuggling routes. transport was shipped to Kyrgyzstan to the address of Kyrgyzgazmunaizat.
In order to avoid customs duties and excise taxes, in the accompanying documents of Levette Investments, Inc. Instead of gasoline, other petroleum products were always used. This made it possible to guarantee a profit by saving on the import duty in force in Kyrgyzstan - $75 from each ton of gasoline and $15 from each ton of crude oil. Due to this, Kyrgyzgazmunaizat, according to contract No. 1/1 dated February 25, 1997 with Levette Investments, Inc., paid the latter a 16% commission over the cost of supplied oil and petroleum products for “searching” for suppliers of liquefied gas and hydrocarbon raw materials. Payments for deliveries were made through the bank account of Levette Investments, Inc. in Zurich and through two bank accounts of Kyrgyzgazmunaizat - in the Bank of New York (USA) and in Mercury Bank (Bishkek). Whether Sergei Evlakhov, who worked at Lukoil-Western Siberia, knew about this is a big question.
The rise in oil prices in the late 90s caused an active behind-the-scenes struggle among oligarchic groups for control over Transneft's main oil pipelines, which ended in December 1999 with the appointment of Semyon Weinshtok as head of the company, who immediately appointed his proxies from Lukoil to key positions: Sergei Evlakhov, Vladimir Kalinin, Evgeniy Astafiev and Sergei Grigoriev.
After Weinstock’s team joined Transneft, the work of the Government Commission on the use of main oil and gas pipeline systems and petroleum product pipelines, created specifically in 2000 by Russian Government Resolution No. 67, was discontinued to create a competitive environment, distribute oil export quotas and control exports. The abolition of the government commission was actually the beginning of the destruction of the system of state control over the use of export trunk oil pipelines and the financial flows associated with them.
The fundamental operating principle of the state company Transneft, which is written in the governing documents and declared by the management of Transneft as an alibi, is to provide all participants in the oil market with equal access to main oil pipelines in order to ensure competition and market development. At Transneft, where Evlakhov headed the key department of transport, accounting and oil quality, he transformed this principle into a pragmatic rule - “Must - but not obliged!”
The export capacity of Transneft's main oil pipelines has always been insufficient, especially during periods of surge in oil prices on the world market. In addition, Russia, within the framework of the common economic space policy, provides part of its pipeline capacity to the CIS countries for exporting oil to Western markets. It is believed that in recent years, after the construction of new oil pipelines, the situation has improved, as reported by Russian Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko on October 9, 2006 at a meeting of the Government Commission on the Fuel and Energy Complex. According to him, the problem has now been resolved, but: “... in certain, most cost-effective directions of oil transportation, the capacity shortage remains.” It’s not clear, on the one hand, Transneft seems to no longer have a capacity shortage, but on the other hand, it still exists!
Indirect evidence that the shadow market for access to the Transneft export pipeline may still exist was the scandal provoked in March 2006 due to the restriction of access of the state-owned OJSC NK Rosneft, which competes with Lukoil. The conflict ended with the removal of Sergei Yevlakhov and Deputy Head of Rosenergo Oleg Gordeev from their posts. Both were key figures responsible for the formation and implementation of the schedule for oil companies' access to main export pipelines. Former vice-president of Sibneft Andrei Komarov was immediately appointed to replace Evlakhov. However, he was not destined to gain a foothold in this position, desired by a corrupt official. He turned out to be a foreign body that violated the principle of collective responsibility, and therefore soon left the Transneft company, and Sergei Evlakhov was reinstated in his previous position on August 30, 2006,
A corrupt business scheme for trading in deficit export capacity in general terms looks like this. First of all, we need to artificially create this deficit. For example, it is possible to overestimate the planned capacity for the transit of oil from the CIS countries. This will limit access to the pipeline for Russian exporters and increase the shortage. In practice, oil exports from the CIS countries turn out to be less than declared, which will lead to the emergence of unaccounted capacity that can be sold profitably on the domestic shadow market. According to available data, in 2004, using the described mechanism, excess capacity in the amount of 6 million tons of oil was obtained, which were sold at an average annual price of $25/t, resulting in an annual income of about $150 million. In 2005, the same mechanism made it possible to realize 3 .5 million tons at an average annual price of $50/t, which made it possible to “pocket” $175 million due to rising world prices.
But this is not all “know-how”. The oil trunk pipeline system is a giant common reservoir into which oil companies continually pump oil from fields and then remove it for export or processing. It is possible to objectively control the volumes circulating in the Transneft pipeline system from the outside only conditionally, unless by completely emptying the entire pipeline system.
Access to main oil pipelines is regulated by the quarterly schedule of the Ministry of Industry and Energy of Russia, and its prompt execution is ensured by Transneft. The essence of creating a quota schedule is to distribute pipeline transport capacity among Russian oil exporters in proportion to the declared oil production volumes. Oil from various fields, after being pumped into a single oil pipeline system, is depersonalized and converted into a REBKO mixture (formerly URALS). After this, exporting companies can select this mixture from the final terminals to the export destinations they need according to the schedule and allocated volumes.
Until recently, there was a practice in which many medium and small companies pumped oil into the system, ostensibly for export, without yet having either a specific buyer or an escort contract. Then they had to find a buyer or wait for oil prices to rise on the world market in order to sell it and receive foreign currency for their scarce product. Using money and corrupt connections, it was possible, without filling the pipe with extracted oil, to profitably sell someone else’s oil from the system, and cover the resulting deficit only after some time. According to the official version, this practice has now been stopped by the management of Transneft.
Another mechanism for creating above-limit transport capacities is to allocate terminals that are inconvenient for use to oil exporters due to the need to transship oil from pipelines to railways. tanks or vice versa. According to an established bad practice, all exporters who have received volumes for sale through the Tikhoretskaya terminal (Krasnodar Territory) try to exchange them for bribes for transport capacity in more profitable directions, which brings additional income to interested parties. In 2004, 5 million tons were planned for this terminal, but in reality 1.7 million tons were exported. As a result, an above-limit volume of 3.3 million tons was sold on the “shadow” market. In 2005, the sales volume under this scheme already amounted to 4.0 million tons.
According to some participants in the oil market, a different scheme is used at the oil terminals in the ports of Tuapse and Novorossiysk. When planning exports through Tuapse, excess capacity is obtained through deliberate underestimation of planned indicators, and the resulting free capacity is sold “in the dark.” Thanks to this, an additional 0.22 million tons were exported in 2004, and 0.48 million tons in 2005 at “shadow” market prices of $20/ton and $35/ton, respectively, which made it possible to receive an income in the amount of about $4.4 million, and in 2005 - $16.8 million.
Another mechanism for generating additional income is implemented through the allocation of small-volume quotas for the berths of the oil terminal in the port of Novorossiysk. Small export quotas typical for small oil companies make it economically unfeasible to charter a tanker, which requires additional volumes of oil to be fully loaded. For example, for a small company with an export quota of 20 thousand tons of oil, chartering a tanker with a tonnage of 60 thousand tons (minimum tanker tonnage) is unprofitable. Small oil companies are not allowed to increase the export volume to load the entire tanker by purchasing additional oil “outside” due to the export schedule and the risk of high costs associated with advance payment for tanker freight. Failure to implement the allocated export quota within the schedule leads to its loss.
The offshore company SUNOIL also makes good money from this artificially created problem, which in 2004, at a price of $10 per ton, provided oil exports for companies with small quotas with its tankers. Due to such “cooperation” in 2004, SUNOIL provided small companies with exports of 1.79 million tons of oil, receiving an income of $17.9 million. In 2005, such tanker fleet “services” imposed on small exporters generated income of more than $25 million .
In 2004, according to the schedule, medium-sized oil companies were redirected to this berth. However, when faced with the “services” of SUNOIL, some of them were forced to seek protection from law enforcement agencies, as it turned out that the SUNOIL company was controlled by the Chechen crime boss Khozh-Akhmet Nukhaev. In particular, the Kalmneft company was forced to resort to the services of law enforcement agencies to protect its interests.
According to law enforcement agencies, Nukhaev also controls the Tuapse oil terminal, which has always been technologically focused on oil from the Grozny fields and is convenient for exporting oil illegally extracted in Chechnya. The problem of the theft of Grozny oil continues to remain acute due to the continued criminal power in the Tuapse and Novorossiysk ports and the established distribution channels for stolen oil, thanks to the strange decisions of officials from Transneft.
The use of another oil terminal in the Novorossiysk area is associated with the transshipment of oil through the Grushovaya oil depot, which is owned by the GLENKOR company, owned by American businessman Marc Rich, a recognized expert in the implementation of dubious financial schemes. Delivery of oil and fuel oil to the oil depot is carried out by rail. For transshipment of oil from wheels to a tank farm, GLENKOR charges a commission of $15 per ton, and for transshipment of fuel oil - $10 per ton. This allowed GLENKOR to receive an income of more than $100 million for transshipment of about 7 million tons of oil in 2004 and the 1st quarter of 2005, and more than $15 million for transshipment of about 15 tons of fuel oil.
When exporting oil through the territory of Ukraine or to its oil refineries (refineries), since 2004, payment for transit to Ukraine has been monopolized by Transneft. At the same time, a scheme was implemented using an intermediary offshore company, which charges an equal commission for the transit of 1 ton of oil from both Transneft and Ukrtransnafta. The tariff depends on the transit direction and ranges from $0.5-5.5 per ton of oil. However, in each of the existing four Ukrainian transit routes, only one offshore monopolist company acts as an intermediary. In the case of transit to Ukrainian refineries - this is the LANCASTER company, in the case of transit to the port of Yuzhny (Odessa) - SILTON, etc. The income received from intermediary offshore companies is divided between Russian and Ukrainian corrupt officials in the proportion of 50% to 50%. According to available information, revenues from the transport tariff in 2004 amounted to more than $40 million, and in 2005, due to a decrease in pumping volumes in the direction of Ukraine, about $28 million.
In addition to the previously mentioned schemes to obtain additional export volumes of oil, the so-called “mobile balances”, which are under the operational management of Transneft, are illegally used. This part of the oil pumped into main oil pipelines must legally remain in the Transneft system to ensure normal operation of the pipelines. The regulations prohibit sampling of these residues. However, with high world oil prices, in violation of existing rules, under an agreement with large exporters, these mobile remnants are sold. In this case, a commission for their use is charged in the amount of $2 per ton of oil. According to data for 2004 and 2005, income from the export of these “sweet” residues amounted to about $45 million.
The problem of unaccounted surplus of Transneft has always existed. Firstly, they are formed due to the difference between the delivered and received oil and are accounted for by Transneft as its own balances. Secondly, they are formed due to overestimation of technological oil loss standards. The losses themselves are due to the large length and operating characteristics of pipelines and must be taken into account by standards. In the case of applying inflated norms of natural oil loss, the possibility of creating unaccounted surpluses (or residues) in the pipeline system increases many times over. What volumes of unaccounted surpluses may actually be hidden in Transneft pipelines are known only to a narrow circle of trusted persons. The price of the issue is indicated by the following figures, which have become public. According to the quarterly balance of crude oil for the Russian Federation at the beginning of 2004, the natural loss of oil (technological losses) in the oil trunk pipeline system amounted to 0.5 million tons, which in annual terms is equivalent to 2.0 million tons of oil.
At the same time, from year to year, Transneft presents, based on the results of the inventory, a little more than a tenth of this volume. In 2001, Transneft, in agreement with the government commission on the use of main oil pipelines, exported 200 tons of oil identified after an inventory. In 2003, the surplus oil in the Transneft pipeline system, according to official inventory results alone, amounted to 150 thousand tons. In the same year, Transneft allocated 1 billion rubles for charitable purposes, proceeds from the sale of surplus oil.
The problem of the formation of excess oil in main oil pipelines in 2003-2004 was specifically considered at the government level. The head of MRET German Gref, proposing that income from the sale of these surpluses be attributed to federal budget revenues, apparently did not suspect what volumes of unaccounted surpluses are circulating on the shadow market and who actually receives the bulk of the income from their sale.
According to information from law enforcement agencies, the peculiarities of the work of Transneft officials served as the basis for close scrutiny. As a result, the investigative authorities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation had to open a criminal case against Sergei Evlakhov and several assistants. However, due to the intervention of high officials, the case materials were not implemented.
In addition to the main export direction, Evlakhov’s relatives created a whole network of commercial structures operating in oil and petroleum products on the domestic market. For example, the companies of the Condor group, which have a developed infrastructure in the Stavropol Territory for wholesale and retail trade in oil and petroleum products (through a network of their gas stations). One of the companies of the group, Oil Company Condor LLC, is registered in Moscow, which is headed by Evlakhov’s brother.
According to available information, the structures of the Condor group are connected by commercial ties and capital with the Austrian group Petronord. In particular, CJSC Oil Company Condor owned a stake in the authorized capital of Commercial Firm Petronord LLC, which, in turn, owned a share in PROMTES LLC, affiliated with the Condor group. One of the co-owners of the Petronord group is the famous entrepreneur Grigory Luchansky.
Some wealthy businessmen can probably envy the lifestyle of government official Sergei Yevlakhov. According to information, he jointly owns real estate in Cyprus and the elite Golden Keys apartments on Minsk Highway, purchased three years ago for $1 million. In general, it’s good to be a high-ranking government official in Russia.
Mikhail Vitalievich Margelov is a famous statesman. He bears an illustrious surname, although he did not continue the military tradition. He went his own way and reached respectable heights. His activities are often criticized; he is accused of careerism and opportunism. However, his life path is undoubtedly interesting and worthy of attention.
Family
The Margelov surname appeared as a result of an error in the spelling of the old Russian surname “Markelov” when Mikhail’s grandfather was issued a party card. Mikhail's great-grandfather faithfully served the Fatherland, for which he was twice awarded the honorary Order of St. George. - famous general of the Soviet Army, commander of the air force, “father of the Airborne Forces”, Hero of the Soviet Union - was born into a family of Belarusian origin. Thus began the glorious history of the family.
Of Vasily’s five sons, four continued his work. Vitaly Vasilyevich - Russian intelligence officer, colonel general, deputy director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, later a State Duma deputy from the United Russia party - Mikhail's father. Alexander Vasilyevich - Airborne Forces officer, Hero of the Soviet Union. Gennady Vasilievich - Major General. Vasily Vasilyevich - major, deputy director of the Voice of Russia broadcasting company. Vasily Filippovich did not help any of his children to make a career, but he strictly asked them to do so. Mikhail Vitalievich Margelov, whose family consists of such valiant people, had to match her. And he became a worthy bearer of an outstanding surname. In total, Vasily Filippovich has ten grandchildren, Mikhail is the eldest of them. Among the grandchildren there are journalists and businessmen, and five followed in the footsteps of their ancestors and became military men.
Childhood
Mikhail Margelov is an example of a Moscow boy from a good family. As a child, Misha was distinguished by his active character and desire for leadership; he read a lot. His grandfather tried to get him interested in sports, but it didn’t work out. And the dream that his grandson would follow in his footsteps also did not come true. When Mikhail was a teenager, his parents often went on business trips abroad, and he spent a lot of time with his grandparents. For several years he lived with his parents in Tunisia and Morocco. Since childhood, Mikhail Margelov was interested in international relations and dreamed of becoming a diplomatic worker.
Education
At school, Mikhail studied well, especially focusing on foreign languages, planning to become a diplomat. But after school I went not to MGIMO, but to the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, to the Faculty of History and Philology. He graduated from the university in 1986 with a diploma in "historian-orientalist and translator". He speaks Arabic, English, French, and later learned Bulgarian.
The beginning of a professional journey
Even in his final years at the institute, Margelov began working as a translator in the international relations department of the CPSU Central Committee. After graduating from university, he got a job at the USSR KGB School to teach Arabic. Detractors claim that he got a job in this department solely thanks to family connections, since he did not have any special prerequisites for such work. There are also suggestions that the teaching position was just a screen, and in fact he joined the KGB with the rank of lieutenant. Three years later, Margelov went to work in the Arabic editorial office of ITAR-TASS as an editor. He worked here for only a year.
Finding your place
After the collapse of the USSR, Mikhail Margelov, whose biography had so far developed in purely Soviet traditions, decided to try himself in a new field. He worked for several years in international consulting firms, advising joint Russian-American companies. This experience allowed Margelov to find a new, promising area for applying his skills and talents - advertising and PR. Also at this time he worked as editor of the magazine “Your Choice”. This will also become his new professional field in the future.
In 1995, Mikhail Margelov joined the large advertising company Video International as director of new business, development and consulting. In 1996, he managed the election advertising campaign project for the Yabloko party in the State Duma. Next year he was included in the election group of Russian Presidential candidate Boris Yeltsin.
Career advancement
A successful election campaign brought Yeltsin to the Kremlin and brought Margelov a new position. He was appointed first deputy head of the public relations department of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, his head was with whom Mikhail worked at Video International. After some time, Margelov replaced Lesin in this position and held it for a whole year. Since 1998, Mikhail Vitalievich has been serving at RIA Vesti in the department of political observers. After some time, he goes to the Customs Service for six months, where he works in a group of advisers to the chairman of the State Customs Committee and is involved in creating a public relations service. There Margelov received the rank of colonel of the customs service, but soon returned to Vesti.
Election era
By 1999, Mikhail Margelov had gained fame as a good political strategist, and therefore he was offered to take part in several projects at once. First, he accompanies the political movement “New Force” in the elections for mayor of Moscow. During the aggravation of the situation in the North Caucasus, on the orders of V. Putin, the Rosinformcenter was created in 1999, in which Mikhail Margelov holds the position of director. Around the same time, he was invited by S. Shoigu to organize an advertising campaign and to work as press secretary of the “Bear” movement, which sought to enter the State Duma. Later, Margelov began providing PR support for the activities of the Unity party bloc. Organizes a trip for members of the Unity faction to the Republican Party Convention in the United States in 2000. During the 2000 presidential election campaign, Margelov joined Putin's headquarters, where he was involved in establishing connections with foreign partners. The success of this campaign, among other things, helped him show the president his potential, and he will still remember the young PR man.
Party life
According to family tradition, Mikhail Margelov has always been on the side of the ruling party. Therefore, no one was surprised when he was the secretary of the Komsomol organization at the institute. Then he joined the ranks of the CPSU, where he remained until the abolition of the party. In the 2000s, he became a member of United Russia. He was a member of the political council of the party, from 2001 to 2004 he was a member of the central political council of United Russia.
In 2000, the Pskov region received a new representative in the supreme power - Mikhail Margelov. The Federation Council is formed along party lines, and party comrades nominated Mikhail to this ruling body. There he becomes the initiator of the creation of the “Putin” group “Federation”. Deputy Mikhail Margelov was elected chairman of the International Relations Committee. In 2009, he was the first senator to take part in the UN General Assembly, where he delivered a report on the responsibility to protect in international affairs. He repeatedly headed Federation Council delegations in various negotiations on international affairs. In 2014, he had to leave the Federation Council due to the scandalous discovery of foreign real estate in his possession, which he did not include in the declaration.
PACE
In 2003, as a member of the Federation Council, Margelov was elected vice-president of PACE from the Russian Federation. In 2008, he boldly ran for the post of President of the Parliamentary Assembly but lost to the Spanish candidate. While working in PACE, Mikhail Vitalievich repeatedly participated in resolving conflicts in various “hot” spots of the world, and was a member of the assembly team at the Palestinian negotiations. In 2005, he voluntarily resigned as a representative in PACE. This was due to the big scandal that erupted around Margelov: his assistant Alexey Kozlov was sentenced to criminal liability for fraud, in addition, his brother was involved in an offshore case. But in 2010 he became an honorary member of PACE.
Sudan
In 2008, Mikhail Margelov was appointed to the Russian Foreign Ministry - he became the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Sudan. The task of including Russia in the group of countries participating in resolving the situation in this country is entrusted to his shoulders. In Sudan, political influence was given to countries such as the US, UK, China and France. And Margelov is trying to ensure that the Russian Federation becomes the fifth country in this group. He is the main organizer of the international conference on Sudan in Moscow, during which the most important decision on recognizing independence is made. Margelov participates in negotiations with Darfur rebels; in three years he makes 8 trips to Sudan. In 2010, he participates in a summit meeting during a meeting of the UN General Assembly Security Council, where he makes proposals to support the holding of an independence referendum in Sudan.
In 2011, in connection with the solution of some of the most pressing problems in the country, Margelov was released from his mission.
African affairs
In 2011, Margelov was assigned a new serious position - special representative of the President for cooperation with the peoples of Africa. For many post-perestroika years, Russia was not present on the African continent, and it was Mikhail Vitalievich’s task to regain at least part of its former influence. With his participation, Russian projects are beginning to be implemented in Ethiopia, Namibia, Niger and other countries. He traveled to Africa several times, including to establish contacts with representatives of Somali territories fighting for independence. During the “explosion” of the situation in Libya, he met with both sides to get an objective picture of the situation. His role is significant in resolving the issue of the safe passage of Russian ships. In 2014, Margelov left this position due to his resignation from the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.
Social activity
Despite his enormous, varied activities, Margelov manages to engage in various public assignments. He is a member of the Russian Geographical Society and was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Professional Hockey League. Also in 2003, he became president of a non-governmental organization - the Russian Society for Solidarity and Cooperation of the Peoples of Asia and Africa. As part of this position, Margelov repeatedly participated in negotiations with various opposition groups in countries affected by revolutions.
Transneft
In 2014, a new “oil worker” appeared in the country - Mikhail Margelov. Transneft, which he joined as vice president, transports oil and petroleum products throughout Russia and the CIS countries. Margelov is called upon to do what is familiar to him - public relations. Although there are versions that he was “placed” in a company with a long-range view, and that, perhaps, Mikhail Vitalievich may soon step higher. But so far such movements have not been noticed, and observers say that Margelov simply took refuge in Transneft from the various problems that haunted him.
Criticism and accusations
Margelov's ill-wishers explain his upward movement through great family ties. They say that his darting from company to company is due to the fact that he does not have any valuable skills. Although it is difficult not to notice Margelov’s noticeable successes in the negotiation processes at the international level. He is accused of secretly continuing the work of his “ancestors” and being a secret service officer. He has been accused more than once of illegally owning real estate abroad and having a biased attitude towards American intelligence agencies. All this, except for the apartments in Miami, was not confirmed, so Mikhail Vitalievich continues to work quietly in Russia.
Awards and titles
During his life, Mikhail Vitalievich Margelov received many awards, including the Order of Honor and Friendship, and gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation, various medals. He holds the title of Actual State Councilor of the Russian Federation, 1st degree. He is a reserve colonel, which made my grandfather incredibly happy.
Personal life
The personal life of politicians and government officials is always of particular interest. Mikhail Margelov, his wife and children are no exception. He got married more than 25 years ago and has two children. Nothing is known about the wife's occupation. About Dmitry’s son, the media found out that he graduated from MGIMO, worked at Gazprom, and now heads the Board of Directors of the Rus-Oil company.