- Aman Gumirovich, it's been a year and a half since the elections. What was it like, the governor's burden? What did you manage to do during this time? What surprises did you encounter?

- Have you ever heard the expression: "The situation is worse than the governor's"? It has existed in Russia since the end of the XVIII century. If then the governors had a hard time, then what can we say about our time, when the socio-economic crisis is deepening in the country. The burden of responsibility of modern governors is the heaviest, and those who take it on their shoulders must clearly understand whether they can do it. I knew what I was going to do, although my entry into the governorship was voluntary and compulsory. In 1996 - 1997, Kuzbass was bustling. The intensity of the strike struggle and political passions reached a climax. The Kremlin understood that there might be a social explosion of such force that it would backfire all over Russia. People demanded to change the head of the regional administration. And who will replace it? By all accounts, it turned out that Tuleyev could correct the situation. I was appointed to this position by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation. Later, the election of the governor was held. Political opponents were skeptical of my intentions. During the election campaign, through the mass media, they constantly emphasized that a Presidential decree is one thing and the will of the people is quite another. The people believed me. 95 percent voted for changes in Kuzbass.

We are now in an intermediate stage, and it is too early to talk about stabilization. Although there were encouraging moments in 1998. Industrial production began to come out of the "point of decline", but in the second half of the year, due to the deepening of the financial, budgetary and currency crisis, there was a sharp decline. This was not a surprise for me and my team. Our principle: the people have shown their trust and we must work tirelessly in all conditions. I'm a workaholic by nature, and I welcome that in others. I always worked seven days a week. The only difference between Sundays and Mondays is that I come to work without a tie, in jeans. It is a well-known truth: no one has ever come out of a crisis without working. I don't get tired of repeating it.

Cry about your fate? I chose my own share. And now - believe me, these are not high-sounding words - I don't belong to myself. Some people thought that my statements about the fight against corruption, coal intermediaries, and open financing were pre-election slogans, but now they are convinced that our team is consistently implementing its goals. After all, what happened. Fraudsters wound up such prices for coal that it reached the consumer literally in gold. And not to remote regions, but to neighbors - to the Altai Territory, Novosibirsk, and Omsk regions. We have waged a fierce struggle against this. The Prosecutor's office has opened dozens of criminal cases, and newspapers regularly inform the public about the progress of the investigation. And so that the bigwigs of the shadow business do not feel at ease, we took another step that left them "out of business", and allowed us to strengthen integrating relations within the interregional association "Siberian Agreement". We are establishing contractual relations with the regions where coal will go directly. For example, in February of this year, I signed such an agreement with the administration of the Novosibirsk Region - our good neighbors. We have provided them with a new section, which will continue to be called "Novosibirsk". Please get it, take it out. And this means new jobs, sustainable financing and a profitable exchange - the Novosibirsk region has a well-developed mechanical engineering industry.

The openness of the administration in all matters is another principle that we profess. Now in Kuzbass there are practically no misinterpretations such as: "Our money is twisted by the administration"; "They say the money was transferred, but it settled in the pockets of officials"; " The Federal authorities paid everything - the regions are to blame..."

We have long puzzled over how to make sure that the population is constantly aware of budget spending. Downtime found a way out. In the regional newspaper "Kuzbass "there was a new heading"Transparent budget". It contains daily messages like: "Yesterday it was transferred: for reimbursement of 10% excise taxes for exceeding the limits on the sale of alcoholic products of Kuzbass production to the local budget in the Promyshlennovsky district-44 thousand rubles; to the Terek cooperative for grain handed over-280 thousand rubles; for the salary of employees of the Department of Internal Affairs-1 million rubles; for payment to donors for donated blood in Anzhero-Sudzhensk-15 thousand rubles; for the salary of educational workers in the Mariinsky district-497 thousand rubles... " And so on for each district, for each industrial enterprise in all points. Primitivism? I don't think so. Are there many regional and city administrations that would make the budget "transparent"?

- Kemerovo region is called "Siberian El Dorado", "Kuznetsk Klondike". The region is really the richest. It's probably a shame to live among such natural wealth and feel, to put it mildly, deprived of people?

"Speak plainly-beggars... Yes, this is the main paradox of life, our biggest pain. We have the most powerful resources, but we live poorly. Since time immemorial, people have been rushing to the south of Western Siberia. It was here, on the slopes of Mountain Shoria, that they searched for the notorious Belovodye, rich in fertile lands, gold, the purest waters, and fur-bearing animals. And they found it, and lived happily ever after. This is still evidenced by the legends preserved in the villages of the Old Believers. And now we have explored gold deposits, ores, but the main wealth, of course, is coal. It seems to me that the bet made in our country on this is

energy raw materials like gas and oil are not entirely logical. First of all, there are not so many proven oil and gas reserves. And secondly, their extraction in the conditions of the North is extremely labor-intensive. In Kuzbass, there is enough coal for the country for centuries. Geologists have divided Kuzbass into 25 districts. Only one of them, Yerunakovsky, is equal in reserves to the entire Donbass. The development of Kuznetsk coals began two centuries ago. During this time, it was possible to produce about 5 billion tons. An impressive figure? But this is only the 145th part of the coal that lies in the bowels of the Kuznetsk land! Moreover, the quality of Kuzbass coal has no analogues in the world. Coking coals are especially valuable. Even if Russia had nothing but Kuzbass, it would rightfully be among the top ten richest countries in the world.

To some extent, the decline of the coal industry was predetermined historically. Technologically, the Kuznetsk basin was developed "roughly" during the Great Patriotic War, when the enemy captured the Donbass. The slogan "Coal to the Motherland at any cost" was justified at that time. Unfortunately, the" war period " for Kuzbass stretched for decades. New mines and mines were put into operation, but the old ones, as a rule, were not closed or re-equipped. Coal production on them was subsidized from the budget. By the beginning of the 90's, the industry came to be very worn out.

- Because of the high "political temperature", journalists often refer to the Kemerovo region as the "Kuznetsk anomaly". They say, for example, that the social tension here is artificial: the neighboring regions live without much upheaval. And they say that the miners do not earn so badly, and the strikes are nothing more than profiteering on common difficulties...

- Let it all remain on the conscience of journalists. What does a high salary of miners mean? 2-2,5 thousand a month for risking your life every day. This is at today's prices - a mockery of the famous profession. In addition, the miners ' salary debts range from 3 to 7 months. But this is not the worst part. From 1994 to 1996, more than 20 mines were closed in Kuzbass, and people (about 40 thousand) were taken to the street. Where to work? We need jobs, but we don't have them. The state, under the dictates of the IMF, allocates money only for the closure of enterprises, but not for the construction of new ones. We have a social competition to see who can close the mines faster. It won't reconstruct it, mind you, but it will close it. As a result, there are whole cities where people have no place to work: Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Prokopyevsk, Kiselevsk... Where can I find a way out? After all, we have a city-forming industry - first we opened a mine or a metallurgical plant, and then cities grew up around us.

Without solving the problems of small mining towns, we cannot reduce the social tension in the region. Imagine a miner whose father, grandfather, and he worked in the mine, and now the mine has disappeared. What to do? This is a real tragedy: there are hands, feet, and a head, but there is no place to work. Therefore, I see my main task as turning the tide and looking for jobs. This requires a lot of money. Where to get it? There is only one way out. We need to win back the international coal market. After all, Russia was simply thrown out of it. We have the largest coal reserves on earth, and we sell less and less of it.

- Distortions in the conversion policy, economic instability, in fact, destroyed defense enterprises. In your opinion, did the defense industry have any other prospects? Which businesses of this profile will survive in your area?

- Even if all debts are repaid, this will not lead defense enterprises out of the impasse in which they found themselves as a result of ill-considered conversion, privatization, repeated reduction of the defense order, constant reorganizations. Many technologies have already been lost. These losses are incalculable. Every year, 5-6 thousand unique specialists leave the defense industry. These people are worth more than gold. In total, in recent years, the military-industrial complex has lost almost one hundred thousand people. The situation of defense enterprises, including in Kuzbass, is catastrophic. The last hope for saving the "defense industry" is restructuring. But it needs to be targeted: choose the most efficient, knowledge-intensive, competitive areas in the restructuring program and leave them on the basis of each type of weapons and military equipment for the main project. The government-approved program for restructuring and converting the defense industry is, in my opinion, attractive, but judging by practical cases, it seems that no one is going to implement it.

The total amount of debt owed to military-industrial complex enterprises in Russia in 1994-1997 amounted to 16.5 billion rubles. Since 1998, this debt has moved to 1999. And these debts will not be repaid.

The situation of enterprises of this profile in the Kemerovo region differs little from other regions. For example, the Yurginsky Machine Plant, which produced the most unique equipment for the military, exists only through the production of civilian products and coal mining equipment. But this is a factory town. If a factory dies, an almost 100,000-strong city will disappear. We need him to survive. How? By developing the production of civilian mining complexes? But this is not enough. We say: let's make the plant a base for the repair and maintenance of equipment of the united military district. Alas, these are only good intentions.

- You are an active representative of the "Siberian Agreement", you have repeatedly taken the initiative to provide assistance and material support for exercises at the SibVO training grounds, and you are well aware of the situation in the troops of the West Siberian and Trans-Baikal regions. What is the relationship between the leaders of Kuzbass and the commanders of units located in the Kemerovo region?

- We can't be naughty here, in Siberia, when it's minus forty outside, and coal is running low in military units. Our army is a people's army, our children serve in it, and not mercenaries who came from the outside. Yes, we help with fuel during exercises, as well as fuel and food. For example, we fully supply two border outposts with coal. This year, 17 thousand tons of coal, washing machines, and refrigerators were delivered there. Every month, we transfer 50 thousand rubles each to support the personnel of the Kuzbass nuclear submarine, and send delegations there so that they know that we do not forget our fellow countrymen. In this regard, our Department of Administrative and Military Bodies, headed by Vladimir Gavrilovich Popov, deserves kind words. Despite the fact that Kuzbass is a purely peaceful region, its employees constantly keep their finger on the pulse of military affairs and are sensitive to events related to the army. When I was informed that the brigade stationed in Jurga was experiencing difficulties with food and heat, they began to help them. Almost 70 thousand tons of coal were delivered free of charge, they decided to supply the soldiers with bread, and lend the military electricity. The administration allocated 508 thousand rubles to the Radio Electronics Cadet Corps for training manuals, uniforms and food.

In our region, the regional defense sports and technical organization, the legal successor of DOSAAF, which is headed by Colonel Vladimir Alexandrovich Tabashnikov, enjoys great respect. It annually trains thousands of specialists to serve in the army. Realizing that military-patriotic education largely depends on the effective work of the regional Federal District, which has 16 thousand people, this year we allocated 2 million 200 thousand rubles in a separate line in the regional budget for its development.

The regional military enlistment office works effectively. In its sphere of influence - the most "combat-ready" part of the population. I will give the following figures: more than 33 thousand participants of the Great Patriotic War live in the Kemerovo region, 60 thousand reserve officers, several thousand people serve in units and institutions. We have 3,500 participants in the war in Afghanistan, 2 thousand participants in the war in Chechnya, and every year 150 - 200 families of military personnel who have been discharged from the reserve arrive for permanent residence. Each of these categories requires a special approach and attention. Veterans - honor and respect, doubled since 1998 "Kuzbass" pension. Those who are younger are busy with housing and employment problems. Together with the regional military commissariat headed by Major General Nikolai Tigranovich Zakharov, we are trying to help them. By the way, the awareness of the" military population " of the region has also increased due to the fact that with the assistance of the regional military enlistment office, the military newspaper "I have Honor" and the radio program "Evening Watch"are published.

It may seem to some that I have drawn an idyllic picture of the relationship between the military and the administration. Yes, they are good, I repeat, we cannot help our children and we cannot build our work in such a way that the army and the military suffer in the friction between us and the federal government. They shouldn't feel that way. But we still have big complaints against the Ministry of Defense. You can't play on generosity. When we give coal, food, and money to the military, we take them away from their own fathers and mothers. We agree to both offsets and other transactions, because we are also having a hard time. We don't see any retaliatory steps yet.

- Aman Gumirovich, I know that when you visit military units, you go to the barracks, go to classes and immediately find contact with the soldiers. They love talking to you. Perhaps it helps that you yourself were conscripted?

"I think so. I, like all my peers, served for three years in the Soviet Army in the sapper troops near Chita. Yes, it was very difficult at first, but I understood that you need to overcome yourself in order to become a real man. And there is no pathos in this. In those years, the army was a real school of life, and we ourselves were very eager to join its ranks. Not serving was considered a flawed guy, for such and girls were reluctant to marry. The main thing that I have gained in the service is independence. After being released to the reserve, as they say, I was already not afraid of the devil himself. Such a quality obtained in the army, as purposefulness, taught us to overcome difficulties and achieve what was planned. And I will always remember the men's fraternity and camaraderie. Indeed, we stood up for each other like a mountain then. Now these traditions are largely lost, but

I'm sure they'll be revived. I left the army with the highest rank of a soldier - sergeant major. And I'm proud of it. Sometimes people are surprised: a person of this rank and not an officer? After all, you can reach a high rank in the reserve. I don't quite understand this. Military career is for military people. I seem to have a different destiny...

- In the region there is a reformation of troops. Many officers who have retired from the reserve will remain in your field. What steps does the administration take to retrain reserve officers, employ them, and provide them with housing?

- This is not an easy problem. Unfortunately, our work with housing certificates is somewhat stalled. Last year, only 20 families received apartments for them. But I believe that this year we will significantly improve the situation. In addition, the Kemerovo Region has adopted its own comprehensive regional social protection program for military personnel, citizens dismissed from military service, and their family members.

The socio-economic situation in the region, as I have already said, is difficult. Nevertheless, social protection issues are being addressed. In 1998, after the reduction of the headquarters, which was stationed in Kemerovo, and a number of other units, more than 1,200 military personnel began to need housing. Last year, 141 apartments were built for them, and we allocated 6 apartments on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: 3-in Yurga, 3 - in Kemerovo. By the way, there is a lot of free land in the region suitable for housing construction. The regional administration has also created a special program for its use. For those who are laid off in the reserve, the land is allocated for an indefinite lease. Please take it, build it.

It is clear that retired officers and warrant officers do not easily adapt to civilian life. The main task is to find jobs for them. And here, too, there is a program to create new jobs and new industries. In the city of Topki, for example, a pipeline plant has been built, and new enterprises are being created in Novokuznetsk and Kiselevsk. This will create hundreds of new jobs. Including for reserve officers. In general, we find opportunities to understand the situation of people in uniform and provide support. This will continue to be the case. We stand by that.

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