— Please tell us about your work. Let's start with the question of how and when you received the offer to head the election headquarters.
— Vladimir Vladimirovich comes to Sirius and has been working on it for a long time and consistently, because he considers it very important and systemic, including for the development of a network of such centers in each region. There were several working meetings, including after a big meeting with the children in July. But then Vladimir Vladimirovich did not decide to run for office. And after the meeting of voters, an offer was made to join the headquarters and become a co-chairman.
- And you accepted him right away?
- Yes, sure.
— How did you feel about it?
- Naturally, ambivalent. This is a great responsibility, a great trust, and great opportunities.
- Did you take a little time to think or...
— Did you answer right away?
- Right away, of course, yes.
— Is your headquarters fully staffed today?
— We have an understanding of all the functions that need to be supervised, performed, and supported. Under them, we have colleagues to whom an offer has been made and who will either accept it in the near future or have already accepted it. But, as soon as the election program is officially approved, another audit of the organizational structure will take place.
Let me remind you how everything developed. First there was a meeting of the initiative group. Most of those who were there and represented public associations and volunteer organizations got involved in the work, including the formation of this regional network, preparations for the opening of headquarters, and preparations for collecting signatures. Therefore, today we can already conclude how strong this network is, how well the people who got involved in the work showed themselves, and how wealthy, active and organized the volunteers turned out to be.
After all, the guys “Volunteers of Victory” really took on a huge job, and they do it quite effectively, although not everyone has experience in election campaigns.
Therefore, we can guarantee that the headquarters will be the smallest in history in terms of the number of employees.
And those who enter it will be overloaded: not by 100, but perhaps by 200 percent. But it seems to us that this is as effective as possible. The election campaign period is short, and the people who are now included in it have shown themselves to be as effective as possible.
The headquarters has been formed in all main functions, but we are waiting for the approval of the program in order to verify and finally see whether all our positions correspond to this program.
— When approximately will it be approved? Are the deadlines clear?
- I think in the near future. Of course, this all depends entirely on Vladimir Vladimirovich.
— But from the point of view of the location of the headquarters... Was there an idea to place it in St. Petersburg, with which the history of Vladimir Vladimirovich is connected?
— I haven’t heard such ideas. Although it is clear that St. Petersburg for Vladimir Vladimirovich (by the way, for me personally) is his hometown. And always and in everything, native walls and native people help. But no, I haven’t heard such proposals.
— In Vladimir Vladimirovich’s election headquarters, it turns out there are three co-chairmen. Could you explain which of them is responsible for what, how functions and powers are divided?
— On the one hand, we understand and accept responsibility for full compliance of all procedures with the law. This period is very important, for example, for me, because I have never done this. And I understand that the collection of signatures must be carried out as correctly as possible, as clearly as possible, and as transparently as possible. Collecting signatures is not an expression of support for a candidate, because it is obvious that with the current level of support for Vladimir Vladimirovich, there could be many more signatures. This is simply a necessary procedure to start a campaign.
On the other hand, this is a very important organizational stage: so that all procedures are put into operation, so that we move forward as a team. And after this stage, when we move on to campaigning, the competence of each co-chair will be in maximum demand.
When you take the industries we represent and our previous experiences, they go beyond just the industry. If we are talking about KamAZ and the experience of Sergei Anatolyevich (Kogogin. - RT), then, of course, this is experience in building industrial projects in the non-resource sector with a large number of innovative elements inside. This is what is called the real economy and the introduction of innovation along the entire chain. This is about investments, and about the social sphere, and about connections with other industries and other markets. Therefore, it seems to me that this area is obviously on Sergei Anatolyevich’s side.
- Sergey Anatolyevich Kogogin
- RIA Novosti
And if we take the sphere of Alexander Grigorievich (Rumyantsev. - RT) - modern healthcare, based on advanced technologies, is, of course, much broader than just one industry. And here each of us, each of our trusted representatives, will be able to prove ourselves as an expert, as a consolidator of other expert groups. Because the campaign stage is always an opportunity to collect maximum opinions, maximum best practices and look at the possible effect that comes from combining practices, people, resources, and strong regions and development zones. And it seems to me that this is our direct task and that of all our trusted representatives.
— Will Vladimir Vladimirovich participate in the debates?
— This is definitely the candidate’s personal attitude and his personal decision. We do not discuss this form of work with voters at headquarters. This is a question that Vladimir Vladimirovich will answer personally. From my point of view, debates are needed to reveal the position of an unknown candidate or to clarify one of the positions through a large number of leading or related questions.
In this case, the position is quite clear and open. Moreover, it is open not only in one format, but open for all years of current work. It’s difficult for me to say more, and I think that Vladimir Vladimirovich himself will answer this question.
— A little about the internal kitchen. How is the same election campaign coordinated? The headquarters offers some options and solutions for Putin, and he already gives the go-ahead? Or not? Or does the initiative come from him, and does he propose some elements that he would definitely like to see in his campaign, in his program?
— All initiatives and all accents come from Vladimir Vladimirovich. We may collect additional background material or offer a range of opinions, but nothing more.
Everything related to the election campaign and the main steps, the main accents, the main decisions are all decisions of Vladimir Vladimirovich.
— But, by the way, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had a whole army of advisers. You said that you will get by with a minimum number of participants. It turns out that a small team of people working on the program will not hinder its effectiveness in any way?
- It seems to me that this is a wrong parallel, it cannot be compared. If we take Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, we see people who came into politics with completely different experiences. For example, Trump came from a narrow sphere of public life called “business.” And, as we know, business in any country is always as far as possible from issues of social policy, development in the field of education, for example. And here you definitely need to consolidate a lot of expert opinions around yourself in order to highlight some priorities and be able to explain them.
For Vladimir Vladimirovich this would be a kind of duplication; in fact, this is now being solved by the current work of existing institutions. And precisely Vladimir Vladimirovich’s experience in launching many current processes, his personal participation (and we all know his thorough immersion in any issue) will lead to the fact that there will be no need to assign additional analysts to this part of the work.
— You are often compared to the heroine of the series “House of Cards.” You've probably already heard people say that you look a lot like her. Have you watched the series?
— I watched the series and heard such opinions. I am ambivalent about this judgment. Of course, I lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise a lot. And in this regard, comparison with one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood is a compliment.
But if we talk about Claire, the heroine of the series, then it seems to me that we are not alike. Because Claire is a very tough person who approaches any life issues very rationally. And the basis of her character is pragmatism. And if you apply this to me, then I see myself as the opposite of this image.
I cannot attribute to myself a pragmatic attitude towards life. And in general, it seems to me that in order to have the right to relate to the sphere of education and the sphere of development, one must retain the ability to dream a little. Without our dreams, both the atomic project and the space project would have been impossible. And in this regard, it seems to me that absolute pragmatism, like Claire’s, is harmful.
- Shmeleva commented on statements of similarity with actress Robin Wright and her character in the TV series “House of Cards”
— By the way, the series is dedicated to the internal political kitchen. And you have been working in politics for several years. Is this cuisine similar to Russian realities?
— I wouldn’t say that I work in politics, and I wouldn’t say that the series is so similar to the real political kitchen. I remember my choice of profession. I studied at school at the Polytechnic University in Leningrad, went to the cosmonautics club at the Palace of Pioneers for two years, and additionally studied physics and astronomy in order to enter a technical university and become an engineer. At that time, it was the norm when, with a full-fledged polytechnic education, an engineer was both a lyricist and a musician, and certainly a poet at heart. But at the same time he was an engineer, a man who could lead and organize large and complex projects. In this regard, the word “engineer” was, of course, synonymous with the words “manager” and “strategist” - a man of action, and a man of action who can not only lead all this, but also organize the entire cycle. And I knew for sure that I would be an engineer.
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But in 1989, many previously hidden humanities from study became open. And I entered the Faculty of Economics deliberately. I thought this was very important. It seemed to me that the importance of humanitarian technologies and economic solutions could greatly exceed the importance of technological solutions. And so I went to the Faculty of Economics of Leningrad State University, to the Department of Applied Sociology (which later turned into a separate faculty of sociology). And in this regard, applied political science, if you like, namely comparative sociology, statistics, demography, socio-economic development of regions, became the basis of my specialization. And in fact, my attitude towards political life was based precisely on this basis. Although most of my professional work was related to work in higher education and projects in the field of education - corporate, professional, additional. These two areas strengthened my basic sociological background.
Therefore, if we take the political kitchen, it seems to me that without this humanitarian and analytical component it cannot take place. Especially considering the territory of Russia. Especially taking into account the difference in regions and the difference in the specifics of these regions. In educational projects, it is also very important to learn to combine the specifics of the region with the tasks of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation as a whole and with tasks that a specific person can apply to himself. This is the main engine of the processes that need to be launched now to improve the quality of higher education, especially in the engineering and scientific fields.
— In general, the series shows politics as a very tough thing. Is it as tough in Russia as you think?
— It seems to me that, on the contrary, politics is now very focused towards the regions and towards the needs of people. And it seems to me that if we look at a fairly short historical period, namely one generation, if we take the 90s and today, we will see a complete change in priorities in social policy.
If we talk, for example, about the Sirius project, which I represent, it would have been impossible to imagine in the 90s. Moreover, it was impossible to even imagine that we would so quickly reach such systemic solutions in the field of working with gifted children, their integration into already existing “adult” development projects. It is very important that there are already many projects that we are beginning to orient our children towards.
— Recently, my colleagues and I wrote about yet another Russian hacker, whom the United States is now trying to get hold of. In this regard, here is a question. This is still a very discussed topic in the West - Russian hacker “interference” in their elections. Are you afraid that during the campaign, someone else's hackers will somehow interfere with your work? And in general, some kind of counter-propaganda from Western media that work in Russia and abroad. How difficult might this make your job?
- If we evaluate the threat in response to our alleged intervention as a “real mirror” threat, then there is definitely no such threat! (Laughs.) And if we talk about counter-propaganda, then the very word “propaganda” implies that there are people who want to join from different poles in this work. But this is a very internal campaign, and a lot of internal meanings will be involved. And in this regard, propaganda, as a very large form of work, is unlikely to be able to operate and somehow interfere with those meanings that are important for every resident of Russia.
- Shmeleva commented on the threat of a mirror response to “Russian interference” in the American elections
— How did you meet the president? When was this?
— This was in January 2015, after the traditional big press conference in December 2014. Then I heard that a center for gifted children would be created in Sochi. And it seemed to me that this was a unique opportunity. And the fact that Vladimir Vladimirovich decided that the Olympic facilities would be transferred for these purposes seemed to me an incredible event.
I remembered this and wanted to know more about the project. And it so happened that a few days later they called me and invited me to come to the presidential administration. Several of Vladimir Vladimirovich’s assistants talked to me about a possible job at Sirius.
At that time, Sirius did not yet exist; the Talent and Success Foundation was registered - a non-profit private educational organization with founders - individuals, all of whom were personally invited by Vladimir Vladimirovich. And Vladimir Vladimirovich was looking for a director for this project. Taking into account the experience that I had, I was asked to think about how this work could be structured. And a few days later I had a meeting with Vladimir Vladimirovich.
- Shmeleva spoke about her first meeting with Putin
- Where did you meet, right there?
- In Novo-Ogaryovo. And it seems to me that this meeting lasted no less than 40 (and maybe even more) minutes, at which Vladimir Vladimirovich 80 or even 90 percent described the “Sirius” (the name, by the way, he also came up with) that is working now . And it was such a detailed and thoughtful project by him that it shocked me. Only later, having met Vladimir Vladimirovich, I realized that this is really his peculiarity - to immerse himself deeply enough in each of the projects and then constantly increase knowledge about what is happening there. And this, of course, is a unique chance for me and for everyone involved in the development of Sirius. Because this really allows us to include all regions of Russia, it allows us to give children enormous motivation and the opportunity to further use their talent in the interests of Russia.
— A little more about the president. Your first meeting lasted 40 minutes, which is a very long time. You were probably worried, it was a lot of stress.
— I was very worried at first. It was hard to imagine where exactly to start this conversation. But after a few literal phrases and specifics that were offered, the excitement almost disappeared. There was great inspiration: from the task, because, of course, I really wanted to take part in this work.
— What is your most vivid impression from your first meeting with Vladimir Vladimirovich?
— The most striking thing is the tasks that were set. Because Sirius was actually immediately positioned as a platform that should summarize and develop the best pedagogical and professional experience that exists in Russia. And this is a very valuable task. Because Russia has always been known in the world, and will always be known for its mathematicians, physicists, musicians, artists, for ballet, hockey, and figure skating. And, of course, it is a challenge to unite all these programs together, to unite children and teachers.
But when we did this, we realized how effective this tool is for replicating best practices. By and large, this task was not completed even in the Soviet Union, when there was a fairly developed network of specialized boarding schools for gifted children. The task of methodically summarizing the best experience of leading teachers has always been translated into some kind of ideological plane.
The second thing that shocked me was the unique format itself. After all, the easiest thing would be to create a boarding school. That is, the strength of Sirius is in combining several programs from sports, science, and art together, in the fact that it is possible to reach each region through intensive short programs. Reach every child who is highly motivated and interested.
And third: I was shocked by how infrastructural this project is. And it was immediately installed as an infrastructure one. This means that children come here not only to study in their subject. They additionally see and try a lot. And very often people who are significant not only for children, but for each of us, come to Sirius. And these adults talk about the problems they solve. That is, here children get to know each other and choose tasks for themselves for further movement. In the future, to solve them, I am sure they will definitely unite into teams. Sirius graduates today are a big brotherhood.
— I was also interested in the human impression that Vladimir Vladimirovich made on you. You actually saw him live for the first time. It’s interesting to know what you remember about his character, his behavior.
“I remember, firstly, this composure, concentration on the task he was talking about, deep study of this task. This is the first.
Secondly, I remember the broad look. Because, on the one hand, when there is an idea of the detail of the tasks, it is always very important to show it somehow in the context of the entire development of Russia.
And third is a sense of humor and lightness, optimism. Because this is always a way out to some metaphors and big generalizations, made very aptly, very accurately and very vividly.
— Did he joke once during your meeting? Do you remember any funny moments?
- No, I can’t remember any really funny moments. But in general, this feeling of inspiration from communicating with a person who absolutely understands the perspective and specific steps, and this feeling of lightness from the specifics and inspiration from the scale - it, of course, remained after the first impression and was then strengthened by those meetings that took place.
- Do you have children?
- Yes, I have a son, he is already 20 years old.
— At that time I was 18, respectively.
- Yes. This was just the moment when my son entered his first year of university. And, probably, this was also due to the fact that I accepted this offer with such ease, because I could afford it. My stage of being a parent has changed a little. And in this regard, of course, it seemed to me that I have time that I can now spend on exactly that project.
— It’s just that both you and Vladimir Vladimirovich are parents. When you discussed a project related to children, did you discuss, perhaps, your experience as a parent, your children? How did this topic sound in conversation?
- No, of course, there was no specific experience of a particular parent. But Vladimir Vladimirovich was interested, among other things, in how old my child was and whether I could really afford to move from Moscow to Sochi. And how much will this affect his life? That is, it was a very specific conversation related to those points that, of course, are always important to pay attention to. And attention was paid to everything.
— Elena Vladimirovna, recently there was information that during the election campaign you, in particular, are using Telegram. Is this true and what will it look like?
“The truth is that we are using all available communication channels. Because after all, the task of the campaign is to convey the candidate’s position in a convenient form to the maximum number of voters. Because, in our opinion, in the campaign everyone should find the place they are targeting. Someone wants to be a volunteer, someone wants to be an observer, an agitator, someone wants to be an informed voter. So, the voter must have complete information about the candidate. And, of course, he must use accessible, familiar, and comfortable communication channels.
Will this channel exist? Rather, it will be a unification of already existing platforms in all social networks.
— You talked a lot about teaching today. Do you think a person of character like Vladimir Vladimirovich could be a teacher and educator? How would that suit him?
“It seems to me that, of course, it would work and is working out.” And I am sure that most of the colleagues who have worked with him for some time have definitely received a lot from him in terms of mentoring. It seems to me that many things are borrowed at the level of the life model. This composure of his, his attention to detail, his vision of some kind of internal logic in the development of complex events - it is, of course, a very attractive model, which, probably, young employees are beginning to copy, and this is beneficial. For example, I learned a lot during this time from Vladimir Vladimirovich.
— Elena Vladimirovna, please tell us about such an unusual moment in your biography. There was a time when you gave the president a tour of the foundation in a wheelchair. Tell me how it happened?
— I was injured while on vacation. And surgery was necessary. And I had to spend almost four months in a wheelchair and another half a month on crutches. And this, of course, was a unique experience in terms of realizing how important an accessible environment is. And having a high-tech stroller is probably already the norm. At least these are technologies that really improve people's quality of life.
But it is the infrastructure, the environment for using this stroller, that is what we all need to keep in mind at all times, especially when we develop new facilities. Wednesday in Sochi today is absolutely accessible! And in this regard, I just wanted to emphasize that we chose the building on Novy Arbat, 36, the so-called book, as a public reception building, precisely according to this criterion. That is, we looked at several possible addresses. And the only one of them that fully complies with the requirement for an accessible environment was located at Arbat, 36. Thus, the public reception area will be absolutely accessible to people, including those in wheelchairs.
The head of the cellist Roldugina Foundation reads the Forbes list.
The Talent and Success Foundation is run by Sergei Roldugin, an old friend of Vladimir Putin and godfather of one of the president’s daughters. The organization was founded by several figures in science, culture and sports: ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, mathematicians Stanislav Smirnov and Ivan Yashchenko, hockey player Vladimir Kamensky, artistic director of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Yuri Temirkanov. To finance its main project, the Sirius children's center, the Roldugin Foundation attracted almost the entire financial elite of the country. Even Igor Zyuzin, who cannot restructure Mechel’s numerous debts, financially supports the cellist.
Budget funding for Sirius alone in 2017-2019 will amount to more than 1 billion rubles, but this is only a tenth of what the oligarchs donate to it. The children's center, built on the basis of former Olympic facilities in Sochi, has become a factor in the political and financial life of the country, and the administrative resource of the head of Sirius, 45-year-old St. Petersburg resident Elena Shmeleva, arouses the envy of many influential officials. Shmeleva herself has become an exclusive channel through which billionaires can communicate directly with the president.
According to Vedomosti, Sirius accumulates not only money, but also real estate. The center began large-scale construction in the Olympic Park, before which the Krasnodar authorities donated 320 m of beach in the interfluve of the Mzymta and Psou rivers to it until May 1, 2020 in order to “carry out activities to organize beach recreation for citizens and develop the sanatorium and resort complex of the Krasnodar Territory.”
Waiting for the distinguished guest
This year, Vladimir Putin spent his birthday in Sochi. On October 7, he led the “Legends of Hockey” team onto the ice, playing a friendly match at the Shayba stadium against the national team of the Sirius center. The game was tough. “When Vladimir Vladimirovich is on the ice, the players try to be more careful,” says an eyewitness to the match. “But the president’s halo does not affect the children; on the contrary, they tried their best to beat him.” This is not the first match at the Sirius site with the participation of the president. In the lobby of the former 4-star Azimut hotel near the Olympic Park in Sochi, and now the Sirius educational center and children's campus, there are many photographs from hockey matches - not only Putin, but also ministers, oligarchs and stars pose with children. In addition, Shaiba, also owned by Sirius, now hosts various amateur competitions - for example, matches of the Night Hockey League and cups of state-owned companies. “We are constantly on our toes here, distinguished guests can arrive at any moment,” says a Sirius employee.
The sports facilities of the Sochi Games turned out to be just the thing for children. The Azimut lobby, where a room in 2013 cost 4.5 thousand rubles per night, is now filled with schoolchildren. Some rush to the dining room, others to classes, and others discuss the conditions of the upcoming quest with their counselors. The bar no longer sells alcohol, smoking is prohibited not only on the hotel premises, but also at all Sirius facilities; the strongest drink is coffee. And even then only adults can buy it - that is, employees of the Sirius center. There are 720 rooms where children of different ages live and study. They come here for free for 24-day shifts all year round. Teachers and coaches work with children every day in various areas: exact sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry), sports (hockey, figure skating, chess) and art (music, ballet, painting and literature). The counselors monitor the schedule.
In the basement of the hotel there is a children's library equipped with computers with Internet access. Books are freely available, you can take them and read them right there, sitting down on bright, soft, oddly shaped sofas. The library has a complete list of Russian and foreign classics from the school curriculum, plus expensive, colorful picture books for children. Some rooms now have classrooms, and the spa area has a medical center with pediatricians.
The hotel restaurant has a children's canteen with colorful furniture. For lunch, there are three first and three main courses to choose from, even more side dishes, vegetables, fruits, juices, and in the middle of the dining room there is a chocolate fountain. There is a crowd around him, children laughingly bathing bananas and grapes in white chocolate. The cook in the hall bakes cheesecakes, which are served with honey, condensed milk, sour cream, and jam. “Our ballerinas asked us to remove pancakes from the menu so as not to be tempted, but this caused a protest from the children from the mathematics shift, who demanded carbohydrates,” says one of the Sirius employees. “In the end, they teamed up with the hockey players and defended the pancakes.”
The former hotel has extensive green areas with a swimming pool, lake and former nightclub. The clubhouse, whose walls and ceiling shine with rhinestones covering them, is now an observatory: next to the bar that has not yet been dismantled are modern telescopes and other equipment for observing the stars. In the evenings, young astronomers study the stars, and during the day, fabulous performances take place there. That is, everywhere you can find a reminder that just a couple of years ago no one thought that these premises would go to schoolchildren. Why are they so lucky?
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Vekselberg's legacy
“White elephants will never come to Sochi,” with these words, on the day of the end of the London Olympics in 2012, Dmitry Chernyshenko, who then headed the organizing committee for the preparation of the Olympic Games in Sochi, began his speech to journalists. This phrase refers to facilities built for the Games, but abandoned after the Games. “White elephants” is one of the most painful topics for the International Olympic Committee: a fair number of Olympic stadiums around the world are falling into disrepair, finding themselves not in demand in everyday life. To reduce the enthusiasm of potential hosts of the Games and generally spoil the image of the Olympic movement, it is enough to recall the ruins in Athens or Salt Lake City, explains one of the functionaries of the Russian Olympic Committee.
The organizers of Sochi 2014 promised that nothing like this would happen in Russia: they immediately tried to figure out what to do with the Olympic venues after the Games. For example, the grandiose media center being built in the Olympic Park was supposed to become a trade and exhibition complex, three of the five ice arenas under construction were going to be made collapsible and then transported to other regions, and the hotels being built for the guests of the Games were then supposed to be filled with vacationers. But already a few months before the Games it became obvious that something had gone wrong. Investors turned out to be owners of toxic assets: they did not know how to pay off SVEB, which financed at least 70% of the cost of construction. Hotels in Sochi were built in abundance and after the Olympics ended, tourists could not fill them. Those wishing to immediately rent 155 thousand sq. m there was no media center for trade and exhibitions either. And, for example, the Shayba hockey arena, the construction of which cost the UMMC Holding of Andrey Bokarev and Iskander Makhmudov 3.3 billion rubles, cannot be transported, as planned, to Vladikavkaz. Half of its cost was the foundation and refrigeration unit, which could not be transported. The investors donated the stadium to the Ministry of Sports free of charge.
The Ministry of Sports calculated that the state would have to spend 2.4 billion rubles a year on the maintenance of Olympic sports facilities alone, and there were no forecasts about their payback - or indeed their demand in general. Soon after the end of Sochi 2014, the president had the idea to give the Olympic facilities to children, say two officials involved in the preparation and conduct of the Games.
One of the eyewitnesses recalls how the president, after the Olympics, walked around the 4-star Azimut hotel, launched for guests of the Games near the Olympic Park, praising the work of the investor, Renova Viktor Vekselberg. The businessman had to take on the object at the last moment. Telman Ismailov, co-owner of the Cherkizovsky market, began to build Azimut, but in the end he failed. The complex also included a 3-star hotel of 12 buildings, one of the largest in Eastern Europe - with more than 2000 rooms, but, unlike the “four”, it did not have access to the sea. “And somehow it turned out that the conversation turned to the fact that it would be nice to give this hotel to children,” recalls one of the trip participants. “As far as I know, Vekselberg wanted to give away a 3-star hotel that was part of the complex for the children in order to pay off the VEB loans taken for construction, but after a direct offer was made to him, he said: well, take this one. And the president reacted very warmly to this,” the eyewitness continues.
Officially, the first time Putin said that a center for gifted children would be created at the Olympic venues in Sochi was at a press conference after his address to the Federal Assembly in December 2014, recalls Shmeleva. The Talent and Success Foundation was registered on December 24, 2014. By that time, some of the Olympic infrastructure had already been settled by young athletes who came through the Ministry of Sports.
Sirius also first began accepting athletes. In the winter of 2015, the fund bought the hotel from Renova. “For as much as they built, they sold for as much,” says Renova representative Andrei Shtorkh, without naming the amount. “We are happy with the deal, we got our money back and paid off our VEB loans.” Vekselberg estimated investments in the construction of the entire hotel complex at 16 billion rubles, 90% of which was loaned by VEB. The reports of “Talent and Success” say that last year 6.38 billion rubles were spent on the purchase of fixed assets, and another 2.7 billion rubles were spent on renting land. Shmeleva explained that this money was used to purchase the hotel building, rent the site for the hotel and the beach at the hotel.
The government transferred the rest of the Olympic facilities - the Shayba, Ledinka, Snezhinka ice arenas and the building of the former media center - to the foundation free of charge, and it also leased about 10 hectares of land in the Olympic Park.
However, “Sirius” no longer fits in the “four”, so he rents two buildings in a 3-star hotel. The center's employees live in them. Today there are about 800 of them, most of them come from other regions. Many participated in the preparation of the 2014 Olympics. “They made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse; one might say, my homeland ordered it,” says one of the Sirius employees, who left his family and a position in the ministry in Moscow. “I switched to work at Sirius of my own free will from a large private company, even with a slightly lower salary, but I don’t regret it,” says another employee.
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Among the fund's benefactors are all major Olympic investors and contractors, says one of the donors: “This is a continuation of the Olympic story: first they built it, now they have to take care of it.”
At the end of July 2016, the building of the former Olympic media center received guests. Putin gathered benefactors of the Talent and Success Foundation there to thank them for helping children and encourage them to continue this good work. The President also expressed hope that the owners of enterprises, “without compromising production,” will find an opportunity in the future to organize internships for the most talented young people.
Judging by the videos, the meeting at tables arranged in a rectangle looked like an illustration for the Russian Forbes list. Shmeleva sat on the left hand of the president. And on the right hand is billionaire Roman Abramovich, nearby are the president of Lukoil Vagit Alekperov and the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov. A little further you could see the general director of Surgutneftegaz Vladimir Bogdanov, Viktor Vekselberg, the president of the Industrial Investors group Sergei Generalov, the president of Rusal Oleg Deripaska, the owner of Mechel Igor Zyuzin, businessman Suleiman Kerimov, co-owner of NLMK Vladimir Lisin, the main owner of " Eurokhim" Andrey Melnichenko, President of Interros Vladimir Potanin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works Viktor Rashnikov, owner of the Volga Group Gennady Timchenko, Chairman of the Board of Rusnano Anatoly Chubais, investor David Yakobashvili, Head of Rostec Sergei Chemezov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the group " Ilim" Zakhar Smushkin, the owner of the Sinara group Dmitry Pumpyansky, the main owner of Severstal Alexey Mordashov, the owner of Uralchem Dmitry Mazepin, the main owner of AFK Sistema Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the president of Sberbank German Gref, the founder of the Magnit network Sergey Galitsky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transmashholding Andrey Bokarev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ESN Group Grigory Berezkin, President of the Alliance Group Musa Bazhaev and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Bank Petr Aven.
It was difficult to miss the event. “Andrei Fursenko, my old acquaintance, called me and asked me to come,” recalls Yakobashvili. He himself arrived early and walked around the Sirius classrooms and science workshops located in the media center. I liked the excursion: the atmosphere in the building was friendly and calm, the FSO employees were almost invisible, as if the presence of the first person of the state was not expected. Most of the meeting participants reported that they had helped the foundation and planned to support it further, in a variety of ways. “Of course, I donated money, like everyone else,” Yevtushenkov said.
Some of those present hope to limit themselves to “expert and methodological assistance,” but the majority are ready to help with both money and expertise. So, Yakobashvili plans to organize classes for children and introduce restorers of antiques, as well as watchmakers, to the craft. Generalov plans to popularize shipbuilding and maritime professions among children through sponsored organizations. Vekselberg - organize internships for children and teachers from different regions on the basis of Sirius.
Presidents of Sberbank German Gref and Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov, Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, officials and major businessmen come to give lectures to the children. Thanks to the help of donors, the educational classes and workshops of the center are equipped with equipment that is the envy of leading institutions.
Partners approach the choice of equipment with imagination. For example, Sberbank presented Sirius with an unusual device - artificial intelligence, which during a conversation studies the personality traits of the interlocutor, adopts them and then provides the person with the opportunity to “talk to himself.” And Volga Group Timchenko donated its development - the unmanned Matryoshka bus, says Shmeleva: “Our children will program it. In general, we are very seriously developing the topic of environmental transport.”
The company does not disclose the amount of donations, but judging by the fund’s reporting for 2015, it amounted to 10 billion rubles. From it the fund received an income of 944 million rubles. This amount is practically enough to ensure the work of the Sirius center with talented children, but more is needed for the development and maintenance of infrastructure, Shmeleva said.
“Before, all big businessmen, despite the fact that they have both personal and corporate charitable foundations, were constantly promoted to finance some incomprehensible concerts, festivals and other events - where you can’t even track where the money went,” says one of experts in corporate philanthropy. “Now they are being asked to give money to a more understandable project that has a clear concept, and this is already a step forward.”
Administrative resource
Shmeleva's influence is amazing. Ministers and heads of major companies come to her meetings in Sochi at the first invitation; she can easily call anyone. To date, only one other organization with a similar resource is known - Innopraktika at Moscow State University, headed by Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Rumors about Shmeleva’s family connection with the president are nonsense, said Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
Shmeleva is an excellent professional, explains a person close to the presidential administration. She is really pushing this project very hard: Shmeleva is fanatically passionate about education issues, her entire career has been connected to this, so she is exactly in the right place, says one of the officials who communicated with Shmeleva.
“Elena Vladimirovna is an example of an amazing career elevator,” admits one of her former colleagues. She was born in St. Petersburg, in the family of a builder and economist, graduated from the Faculty of Sociology of St. Petersburg State University, was engaged in marketing research, sociological projects for United Russia, then headed the charitable project of the AFK Sistema Foundation of Vladimir Yevtushenkov “Elevator to the Future”, which helped talented schoolchildren from the regions will get acquainted with career opportunities in the corporation.
While working for Yevtushenkov, Shmeleva taught at the Higher School of Innovation Management (faculty) of Moscow State University, which grew out of the Sistema corporate university. In 2012, she began collaborating with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), created on the initiative of the president, which was also involved in supporting young talents. It was while working at ASI that Shmeleva came to the attention of Kremlin officials, says her former colleague. When the Kremlin administration turned to ASI for advice on who to entrust Sirius to, Shmeleva’s name was mentioned, another colleague knows. Shmeleva was the second candidate for the position; the first one, whom the president considered, refused with the words “I won’t cope,” says Fursenko.
“You will be surprised, but Vladimir Vladimirovich invited me to work at Sirius,” Shmeleva laughs. “Of course, I was very worried,” Shmeleva recalls about her meeting with Putin in Novo-Ogarevo. - The President said that, in his vision, the foundation should become a place where the most talented, motivated children from all regions of Russia are involved in science, professional sports and art, regardless of the income of their families. And then they are supported, accompanied, so that they stay and work in the interests of Russia’s development.”
Today Shmeleva lives in Sochi, but visits Moscow often. She has her own office in the presidential administration building on Old Square. “This is my workplace, it’s convenient for meetings,” she says.
Now Sirius is busy with large-scale plans for the development of the center. By the first quarter of 2018, next to the campus building, it is planned to build a secondary school, which will simultaneously become a center for advanced training for teachers, Shmeleva said. This project, according to preliminary estimates, could cost 2-2.5 billion rubles. In February, at the Sochi Investment Forum, Sirius will present a project for the reconstruction of a media center, designed for two to three years and providing for the construction of a concert hall with unique acoustics, a modern planetarium and a scientific park with an area of 64,000 sq. m, added Shmeleva. This project is still being developed, so it’s too early to talk about the final amount of investment, she notes, but investments in the creation of scientific and educational facilities are estimated at €1.5-3 thousand per 1 sq. m. m. “If we decide that we don’t need to raise the roof of the building, we can stay within these limits,” says Shmeleva. The planetarium and park will welcome residents and guests of Sochi.
The Sochi Investment Forum in the reconstructed exhibition part of the media center in September brought the fund 120 million rubles, and 14 events are already planned there for next year. But oligarchs who do not want to be arrested should take part in financing investment projects, the head of Sirius hopes. “When you have the support of the President of Russia, you can do whatever you want,” a senior federal official is convinced of the reality of Sirius’s plans.
Sirius indigestion
Now “Talent and Success” has accumulated such an amount of funds that even Sergei Roldugin is not able to master. According to the head of the Accounts Chamber, Tatyana Golikova, in 2016, 384 million rubles were allocated to support gifted children, but by October 1, only 15.5% of these funds had been used. Golikova noted that, despite such significant resources, the fate of young talents after graduation is not monitored in any way, which means the effectiveness of investments is questionable. President Putin also spoke on the same issue. “Either you still work for development properly, or you don’t need so much money, and then use it for other social purposes,” the head of state noted. True, the head of the presidential administration, Anton Vaino, no less promptly reported that the low rate of spending of funds was of a technical nature. But Sirius is able to function and generally receive government support. By extorting money from the oligarchs, he himself can finance anyone.
December brought another brilliant victory to Russia. All Russian schoolchildren who took part in the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO), which was held in Amsterdam, received gold medals, and one of the team members became the absolute champion. All six winners are graduates of the Sirius Educational Center in Sochi, where they work with gifted and talented children. What is talent? How to identify it? Why should the state support talented children today? What do we expect from them? Elena Shmeleva, director of the Talent and Success Foundation, which founded Sirius, answers RG's questions.
Elena Vladimirovna, two years ago the All-Russian Center for Work with Gifted Children opened in Sochi. Today Sirius already has more than 18 thousand graduates. What do you need to do to get into Sirius? Win an Olympiad, get straight A's, prepare a brilliant science project at school?
Elena Shmeleva: Children come to us who have already proven themselves very clearly in one of our areas (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, hockey, figure skating, chess, academic music, ballet, painting, literary creativity). Any Russian student can apply for training in these programs. The decision on enrollment is made by the center's expert council. Its members include world-famous scientists, artists, athletes, writers, teachers - prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater and Milan's La Scala theater Svetlana Zakharova, mathematician, Fields laureate Stanislav Smirnov, artist Sergei Andriyaka, rector of the Moscow Conservatory Alexander Sokolov, director of the State Literary Museum Dmitry Bak, director of one of the best schools in Russia Maxim Pratusevich, Olympic champion Alexey Urmanov, chess player Vladimir Kramnik and other very famous and successful people. The idea of the president who created the Sirius center is to strengthen Russia’s position in the field of science, art and sports, inviting the best teachers to Sochi, to the former Olympic venues, to work with young talents from all over Russia. This is a unique center not only for Russia, but throughout the world.
We do not have regional quotas for schoolchildren, but for each program, as a rule, children from 50-60 regions come.
We accept winners of Olympiads, international and all-Russian competitions, authors of successful technological projects and those who have scientific articles. Our task is to give the most motivated students the opportunity to study with us, regardless of their region of residence and family income - education, food, travel, everything is completely free for children.
18 thousand talented schoolchildren from all over Russia have already visited the Sirius educational center
Is it possible to come to Sirius several times?
Elena Shmeleva: Yes, the guys who have been to Sirius two or even three times are almost 20 percent. These are those who achieved the next significant victories after graduating from Sirius.
Very soon Sirius will have real scientific laboratories and, in the future, a technology park. Why do schoolchildren need it?
Elena Shmeleva: Sirius is not only an educational project, but also an infrastructure project: it gives children the opportunity to see new horizons. Meet your peers. And not just, but in a professional sense, on the basis of professional interests, in the future, I am sure, on the basis of joint projects. Get to know other teachers and schools, so that you can then find the right university and decide on the next steps in your development.
Very significant adults often talk to our students - heads of large companies and development institutions, engineers, scientists, writers, directors, trainers. They come to Sirius to talk with the guys about what interests them.
Vladimir Vladimirovich often comes to Sirius and always with children. These are always serious intonations, questions and a serious attitude towards their school successes. The president’s “unchildish” conversation with our students, which took place this summer, lasted three hours!
And this greatly expands their perception of the world, forms a comprehensive idea of what Russia will become in the future and what role each of them chooses for themselves, what task they will set for themselves.
Therefore, our scientific laboratories will become a “meeting point” for scientists and professionals to solve complex multidisciplinary problems that are most relevant today. Of course, with the participation of our graduates - students and young scientists.
Temporary research teams will come here to carry out their part of a large research task under the guidance of world-renowned scientists. Patents and invention applications will appear.
The technology park will develop high-tech startups in three priority areas for Sirius - genetics and life sciences, information technology, and cognitive research in education.
The Sirius Science Park will become a talent pool for Russian research teams and high-tech enterprises.
As a rule, guys from 50-60 regions come to each program
Recently, at a meeting between the Minister of Education and Science Olga Vasilyeva and the winners of the international natural science Olympiad, it was discussed that it is necessary to start working with the gifted as early as possible. What is your opinion?
Elena Shmeleva: All these six winners of the Olympiad, by the way, are graduates of the August Sirius program, when they were preparing for this Olympiad. One of the team members became the absolute champion! Once again, congratulations to the children and their teachers!
Of course, children need to be involved in creative and research work as early as possible. Our schoolchildren now participate in Olympiads from the 7th grade, but only reach the municipal stage. Regional and final stage winners are determined from 8th grade. It turns out that high school falls out of this competition. But in general, there are few scientific and technical competitions, few creative competitions, and this is an opportunity to show oneself, understand what exactly needs to be worked on, and find interesting partners and tasks. Already from the 5th grade, it is necessary to provide an opportunity for all children to try themselves in different directions, actively involve them in scientific, technological and interdisciplinary activities, develop programs for those who go beyond the scope of the school curriculum, maintain their interest, make it fashionable, create all the conditions for self-expression. And besides Sirius, new schools and new educational environments are appearing, where you can work individually and in groups, in mixed part-time and part-time programs, and ultimately develop much faster. This means choosing the right profession for yourself in the future and achieving more as an adult. These successful experiences need to be replicated and the qualifications of teachers must be improved.
But it’s important not only to identify talent, but to support it. How?
Elena Shmeleva: The Sirius Center was created to solve only this problem. Today, working with gifted students and supporting their teachers is the main state priority. This is the only way to accomplish the tasks laid down in the Country’s Scientific and Technological Development Strategy, which is equated to a national security strategy.
Developing math skills is a strategic resource, more important than oil and gas. If we don't do this, we will have no prospects for development.
In Russia, a system of strong specialized schools and boarding schools at universities has long been established, but we offer a different form of work. The peculiarity of Sirius is its intensive programs, which is connected both with the size of Russia and with the task of reaching every strong student and supporting him in what he can do better than others.
Thanks to the idea of using the Olympic legacy in this way, the community of talented teenagers - Sirius graduates - is rapidly growing in Russia. And the number of partners to support them is constantly expanding - these are leading universities, scientific institutes, large companies that are opening specialized programs for working with gifted youth.
Thanks to the intensive programs of Sirius and its partners, these guys have different ways to continue moving forward - we have external studies, early admission to the university, contracts and internships in large companies, our graduates become teachers at Sirius, open mathematical and natural sciences. scientific clubs in their schools. Many of our graduates become recipients of grants from the President of Russia - for this they need, in addition to winning competitions at school, to study well, conduct research work in universities, and focus on using their talent in Russia.
That is, the task of Sirius is to continue to develop a permanent system for identifying, developing and using their talents for the benefit of Russia.
Maybe in regular schools the schedule and approaches to teaching need to be reconsidered?
Elena Shmeleva: It is very difficult to prepare programs that lie at the intersection of disciplines. And there are not so many teachers, especially in non-capital regions, who prepare their students for high-level Olympiads and teach their subject in depth and interestingly.
But the regional Centers for the identification and development of gifted children, which are created according to the model of the Sirius programs, will be able to do this. This year, such programs have already opened in the Sverdlovsk, Leningrad, Voronezh, Murmansk, Oryol regions, Dagestan, Komi, Mordovia, Tatarstan, Khakassia, Tomsk, Ulyanovsk. Next year the Magadan, Belgorod, Vladimir, Novosibirsk and Tyumen regions, and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania will join. Centers will also open in other regions. Over the two years of work, we have managed to unite around Sirius all those who are effectively involved in identifying and developing talent.
Are there buildings or personnel there?
Elena Shmeleva: Everything is very different. The main thing is not to start by solving exclusively infrastructure issues; you can first use what you have. For example, the opportunities of regional universities. They just need to open the doors for schoolchildren. We provide all the necessary methodological assistance to our colleagues; our teachers and shift leaders travel to these regions. The most important thing is to rely on the strongest teaching teams, improve the qualifications of school teachers, and replicate the experience of the best of them. Since March 2018, Sirius has been launching a professional retraining program for 500 teachers who will work in regional centers according to our programs. Recruitment of teachers for this program begins in January.
Also for the competition?
Elena Shmeleva: Necessarily. We will take into account their experience of working with gifted children - the victories of students at Olympiads, and, of course, the design, creative, and research work of their students. Author's developments and articles of applicants will be important for admission.
The program itself consists of four modules. The first is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of giftedness, the problems of identifying and developing talents. As well as the demands of society and the labor market in accordance with the priorities of scientific and technological development of Russia. The second introduces the experience of leading specialized specialized schools in preparing students to participate in high-ranking competitions and olympiads, in organizing project and research work.
The third will present technologies for working with gifted students in remote environments and teach how to create modern educational programs using new technologies and new educational environments. And the fourth, most important, is focused on how to foster responsibility for one’s talent, the business that young talent chooses. How to help him increase his efficiency, teach him to work in a team.
In the final, each teacher will defend their program for working with gifted children, creating it specifically for their region. After all, each region has its own industrial enterprises and priority projects, and they will certainly be reflected in the work of the Centers for the Development of Gifted Children.
Since March 2018, we have been launching a retraining program for 500 teachers
Is it true that students can now also come to Sirius?
Elena Shmeleva: This year we opened scientific and technological conference schools for students - graduates of Sirius and recipients of grants from the President of the Russian Federation. Such schools are needed in order to orient them to areas of technological breakthrough. So that the strongest Russian students can prepare for future competitive selections of our partners - for internships during their studies and employment after completion. I am sure that these same guys will be among the first residents in scientific laboratories and the technology park.
We have another group of students, albeit only master's students, with whom we work very intensively. These are young teachers who come to us as shift supervisors. In fact, on our site they improve their skills. We see how much needs to be changed now in the teacher education system, which takes little into account the needs of the modern economy. Society faces new and very serious challenges, but they are little taken into account when training teachers and developing textbooks. There is an idea to involve our shift leaders in working with students at pedagogical universities based in regional centers. Sirius is ready to become a permanent partner of pedagogical universities.
Maybe pedagogical universities need to open more related faculties and specialties, and focus on project work?
Elena Shmeleva: May be. We conduct scientific and technological, multidisciplinary project sessions at Sirius with the participation of our partners - universities, companies, scientific institutes, and we see how useful and important this is for children. The directions are serious and promising, corresponding to the Great Challenges facing Russia and the world, for which there are no answers yet, but this is where breakthroughs are expected. Big data technologies, security, modern energy, unmanned transport and logistics systems, space technologies, new materials, Arctic exploration. Up to 150 hours are allotted to work on the project, and the results include development contracts with partner companies, internships and targeted training, scientific articles, and patents.
The Minister of Education and Science promised that the examination of school textbooks and, apparently, they themselves will change. Are special textbooks needed for gifted children?
Elena Shmeleva: The textbook should be interesting. We began to create additional materials for textbooks for grades 7-9, beyond the scope of the school curriculum. First - in mathematics and physics, computer science, with plans for chemistry and biology. They will show teachers how to captivate, interest, give more not only in “their” subject - in the classroom, in a circle, in the center of additional education, show where the most advanced research is being conducted in Russia today, technologies are being created.
But it's not just about textbooks. Strong schools and universities should strive to create around themselves an atmosphere of, what should we call it... educational clubs, developing environments for schoolchildren (in person and on social networks) to discuss the tasks included in the strategy of scientific and technological development of Russia.
We use our developments in “SiriusOnline” - a distance learning environment where children are selected for shifts in science, prepare for the program, and after full-time training can stay with their teacher for up to six months to study in absentia.
I wonder if you remember your best teachers?
Elena Shmeleva: I studied in Leningrad, at School No. 71 at the Polytechnic University. And I thought that I would definitely become an engineer, but Galina Vasilyevna Serdyuk, a teacher of Russian language and literature, gave me the most.
To achieve results, you need to study for at least 5-6 years with one teacher. I was lucky; Galina Vasilyevna taught us from high school and was our class teacher. As a result, I won victories at literature Olympiads. But it's not about victories. Any activities or conversations with her interfered with my personal attitude towards life, what you do and why. Such questions cannot be asked of a stranger. She has always been for us a concrete example of what goodness, science, art are, how you should relate to the work you are doing and to each other.
I remember well Zoya Fedorovna Marochkina, a physical education teacher, who taught me not to leave the distance, no matter what, and Vera Evgenievna Malysheva, thanks to whom I really loved mathematics, statistics and computational sociology at the university, which eventually became my specialization.
The Educational Center has three areas - science, sports and art. What do they have in common?
Elena Shmeleva: Each direction opens programs for other children. Here, mathematicians start skating, athletes make great strides in creating 3D models, and twice a week everyone can attend an open master class in painting. And everyone goes together to classical music concerts, ballet, figure skating performances and hockey matches. But there is also a program, a kind of integrator - Literary creativity. Everyone shows great interest in her. And this doesn't surprise me. After all, the word unites a scientist, an artist, and an athlete. We cannot develop science and technology without discussing their effects and consequences. And here interdisciplinary communication comes to the fore. And we invite journalists from Rossiyskaya Gazeta to conduct master classes for our students, as well as accept our graduates for internships.