fate of the purchases is not discussed, most likely it is the development of a supply channel for a mysterious customer – perhaps for American or Chechen friends (well, not to go in the office on Zaitseva Street in uniform!). I followed a self-imposed rule: no more than two questions! The first is samples of various branches of the armed forces? Yes, except for the naval (which means that the naval landing is excluded). The second is the quantity? Two or four copies of different sizes. We do not specify the deadline, and so it is clear: ASAP (as soon as possible) is an international abbreviation.
The fact is that in those years, the market reached the Russian army, «which will solve everything.» The Ministry of Defense has created a department for the sale of military property – a step, in general, sound, a lot of things have accumulated in warehouses. You can buy decommissioned or unnecessary vehicles, but you can’t buy an AK-74 machine gun or a tank. Sergey smiles after my calls to the military – he has his own version of purchases, but this is a secret. I work out a list of eight dozen items on the nomenclature, approve the money, sign the contract by fax, issue a power of attorney for myself to sign the contract in Moscow, pay the bill. The next day I am already in the capital, we are completing the formalities, I receive an order for the removal of goods from the warehouse – so, I can go home. In the subway underpass on Nogin Square, I saw a table with books, out of habit I looked to see if there was anything useful? I was interested in the directory «List of foreign firms and joint ventures in Moscow» with addresses and phone numbers and bought it, of course. Subsequently, this book played a crucial role in my career.
The next day in the office, according to the instructions from above, I handed over the list of goods to the supply department for delivery and received a response from the head of the department :
– Go yourself.
Khazir Daudovich was in the office – I had to knock on his door. For the first time I heard how he knows how to talk tough with subordinates – you can’t envy his interlocutor… Three days later, the ordered military uniform was in the room next door. I brought forty chairs into this room, carefully hung out and put officer’s jackets, trousers with red, blue, green piping, caps, flasks, belts on each chair. It turned out well. Felix Andreevich visited the exhibition as a military consultant and said:
– Vladimir Ivanovich, you will go far!
The Vice President and the president appreciated the exposition. There is a great atmosphere and a new assignment in Khazir Daudovich’s office:
– Take some photos in the form.
– Who should I photograph?
– Anyone you choose in the office.
I really wanted to make a joke and offer those present, but I was smart enough to restrain myself.
– Allow me to act according to the formula «In the name of the president»?
– I allow it, – smiles Khazir Daudovich.
The next day, with a camera, I go into the drivers’ office, and there were about ten of them there, I choose a nice young guy and say strictly:
– Come with me.
The people were stunned, many still did not know me, but here they are in charge… The photos turned out wonderful, from the cycle «They protect the Motherland».
Yesterday in our office I unexpectedly met my friend, the one who told me about the Holding company on the stairs during a smoke break six months ago. He was leaving the reception room with the president. Without a doubt, Vsevolod Valentinovich organized the meeting. We greeted each other, looked closely into each other’s eyes and it seemed to me that he was both happy for me and sorry about something.
Chapter five. The new head of the department and the first success
Felix Andreevich is going on a business trip to Germany. Whether on business matters, or on his personal – we do not know. He made it clear that the management allowed it as a sign of past merits. Recently, he was in the hospital, apparently, he made a final decision for himself about his future fate. He showed me a picture of himself in Las Vegas. Las Vegas! Before leaving, he called Sergey and me and said:
– As you wish, but for the duration of the business trip I appoint the acting head of the senior – Vladimir Ivanovich.
Sergei clearly did not like it, he considered himself a favorite and so presented himself to others. I didn’t need it either, as it brought tension into our relationship. In addition, Oleg Borisovich was clearly on Sergei’s side: he gave me tasks for language skills, and then called Sergei to him for «information». Upon his return, Felix Andreevich quit, and we were left without a boss. But not for long.
Viktor Vasilyevich Voytalyuk is our new head of foreign trade. Without a doubt, this has strengthened the authority of our department. Graduate of the Higher Red Banner School of the KGB of the USSR named after Dzerzhinsky, Lieutenant Colonel. Among the positions held is Assistant to the Rector of Leningrad State University for International Relations. Who does not know, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin once held the same position.
Viktor Vasilyevich and I are about the same age, thanks to his personal qualities and experience, we immediately developed working and even friendly relations with Sergey and, I hope, with me as well. Viktor Vasilyevich has opened up new opportunities in the development of our business: for example, contacts at high levels in the space and nuclear fields are no joke. Suffice it to say that two heads of the Aerospace Consortium came to us for talks, including cosmonaut number two, Colonel-General German Stepanovich Titov. I had the good fortune to see the legendary hero in person and get his autograph on our letterhead. It was said that the meeting with the cosmonaut from the holding was attended by: the president, Voytalyuk and vice-president Amir – a dense brunette of typical Caucasian appearance. Despite the fact that Khazir Daudovich kicked his vice-president under the table, because he got the Hero of the Soviet Union so much with his questions after a glass of cognac that Herman Stepanovich – Doctor of Technical Sciences, associate professor – could not stand it and uttered a succinct scientific phrase:
– I’m going to have a drink and a snack here, and you, a Jew, go to …fuck you!
But the most important thing is that Viktor Vasilyevich brought us to a serious buyer from Moscow – let’s call him Andrey. I went to Moscow to establish contacts and negotiations. Andrey had direct access to the head of the Moscow Oil Exchange. A handsome, intelligent and educated young man with a degree from Leningrad University, he was optimistic about our cooperation. Potentially, he was ready to buy ten thousand tons of fuel oil, and Khazir Daudovich was ready to supply this fuel oil from the Grozny refinery. We signed a contract for the supply to the Svetogorsk Paper Mill and in August 1993 successfully fulfilled it. This was the first major contract in the history of our department, and its employees managed to survive this success with dignity. We were morally supported by the management and financially rewarded, although we had not been in trouble before – our salaries increased more than twenty times due to inflation, we were given coupons for free meals in the canteen «Rumb» and in addition to our «Lada» car we sometimes used the «Fords» of the management for official purposes. It was spectacular – to drive up, for example, to the Kirov district police department to resolve the issue, although I never got hung up on it. We gained self-confidence, and now no Holding service could oppress us. By the way, yesterday’s heroes from the investment department were fired for a failure in their work,
