The luxurious life of Kremlin wives. They don't promise - they deliver
The track record of the hero of our material is impressive. Mikhail Men is the former governor of the Ivanovo region, former vice-mayor of the capital, deputy chairman of the Moscow regional government, deputy of the State Duma, and head of a number of cultural organizations. Currently holds the post of head of the Ministry of Construction.
Biography of Mikhail Men
Date and place of birth - November 12, 1960, the village of Semkhoz (today it is the territory of the city of Sergiev Posad). His parents were Orthodox ministers. Father Alexander Vladimirovich is an archpriest. Mom Natalya Fedorovna - Big sister Mikhail's name is Elena.
The father saw his son as a continuator of his business, and he, in turn, dreamed of an acting destiny. This desire only became stronger after the main film role he played (it was the film “Deniska’s Stories”). Mikhail Menu was ten years old at the time. The parents objected. Then we had to look for a solution that would suit both sides. They began studying at the Moscow Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry named after I. Gubkin.
But... she had to be abandoned. The reason is unsatisfactory exams and a strong personal conviction that he, as the son of a priest, should try his hand only in the field of culture and art. Mikhail Aleksandrovich has service in Dalvoenmorstroy, correspondence studies at the Moscow Institute of Culture. As a student, the young man decided to create his own group, “Most”. He also played the roles of vocalist and bass guitarist. The band actively toured, took part in festivals, and was very popular with fans of rock music.
Future plans
In 1987, after graduating from the institute and receiving a degree in directing, he left the musical group. At first he managed recreation parks, then he became the head of his own publishing cooperative. Later, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Men studied to be a lawyer. He defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Philosophical Sciences.
Civil servant career
In 1993, Mikhail Men asked for advice from Metropolitan Juvenaly (his father’s former ruling bishop) about the possibility of becoming a deputy of the Moscow Regional Duma. The blessing was received. 1995 - elected to the State Duma. He became a member of the Yabloko party and deputy chairman of the culture committee.
1999 One of the candidates running for the post of head of the Moscow region administration was Colonel General Boris Gromov. In order for the liberal part of the population and church circles to be more loyal to his candidacy, he offered to become his deputy to Mikhail Menu. The result of the past elections was the victory of these politicians.
My next position was that of vice mayor. In 2005, after joining the ranks of United Russia, he was appointed governor of the Ivanovo region. He was re-elected to this position. 2013 brought him long-term retirement. Among the reasons that prompted him to move to another place, in addition to professional ones, Mikhail Men also named personal motives: a family living in the capital and a recently born child. In the same year, the official became head of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities.
Personal life and family
The first time he was married to the poetess and rock singer Inna Georgievna Petrova. The current wife of the head of the Ministry of Construction, Mikhail, My name is Elena Olegovna Nalimova. She is fifteen years younger than her husband. By occupation, the woman is an entrepreneur. This is a couple with many children - they have three girls and three boys. For Mikhail, children are my main personal achievement and constant pride.
The official remains a fan of rock music to this day. Collects a collection of electric guitars. Has a negative attitude towards those people who do not know how to be responsible for their own words. He names Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Minaev, and George Orwell as his favorite writers.
At the end of 2015, his annual income amounted to thirty-five million rubles. The property included two plots of land (area - five thousand square meters), three apartments, a residential building, a summer house, two cars and an ATV.
At the end of the same year, the volume of Russian Federation housing amounted to eighty-four million square meters. Which exceeded the indicators of Soviet times. The head explained these results by the ongoing state program to subsidize mortgage rates.
Who is Mikhail Men? What is remarkable about his biography? Let's figure it out together.
Father
Mikhail Alexandrovich Men was born in 1960. His father, Alexander Vladimirovich Men, was an outstanding minister of religious worship, the author of books on theology, and a unique preacher. Served as rector of the local parish. People came from all over the area, including Moscow, to listen to his sermons. His life was tragically cut short at the hands of a still unknown killer at the end of 1990.
Before this, he had repeatedly received threats, but no one could have imagined that it would come to this. The investigation into the murder was taken under the control of senior officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the progress of the investigation was immediately reported to Yeltsin, who at that time was the chairman of the government of the RSFSR. Camber single state was ahead. Patriarch Alexy II had a high opinion of Alexander Mena. Among representatives of some church circles, the views of Father Alexander were considered “heretical.” In any case, the personality of the deceased was extraordinary.
First independent solutions
The father thought that his son would follow his path. However, Misha was not interested in this. He dreamed of cinema, wanted to become an actor. Miracles happen; at the age of ten he starred in the film “Deniska's Stories” in the title role. The father was furious; he did not want to have a son who was an actor. He promised to curse his son if he entered the specialized educational institution. The threat had an effect, Mikhail Men submitted documents to the Moscow Institute of Petrochemistry and entered. However, it soon became clear that the profile of this institute was not for him. I studied poorly, and after another failed session I was expelled due to poor academic performance.
After serving in the army, he entered the directing department of the Institute of Culture in Moscow by correspondence. Studying was easy, there was enough time to study music, which is what Mikhail Men did. The biography is typical for those years. After graduation, he worked according to his profile: first he headed the House of Culture, then he was the chief director of the Filevsky PKiO. At the same time, he organized a cooperative at the club of the Forestry Institute in Mytishchi.
That's where the truth is
The guy had good commercial skills even at that time. The death of his father became Misha’s “finest hour.” In his cooperative, he organized the publication of the collected works of Archpriest Alexander Men. The books were in demand, and I managed to earn good initial capital. The cooperative began to be called a publishing house. The grateful descendant created a foundation named after his father and became its director.
Then many printed publications appeared, incomes fell, and Mikhail Aleksandrovich Men abruptly changed his field of activity. The time has come to “go to the people.” Men is running for the regional Duma from the district. It’s still fresh in people’s memories, his father’s name is well-known, and therefore trust in Mikhail is great, he manages to pass this stage with a bang. According to the same scenario, he will be elected to the State Duma. There Men will join the Yabloko party.
Occupying the position of deputy chairman of the Culture Committee, he did not appear anywhere. Compared to the famous representatives of culture, his colleagues, he was a nobody. Fortunately, Mikhail Alexandrovich was noticed by the candidate for the post of governor of the Moscow region, General Boris Gromov.
Like a fish in water
He was a stranger, he needed the support of voters of the liberal stratum, which was then represented by Mikhail Men. In addition, extensive connections with church representatives (again in memory of his father!) will help ensure Gromov’s support. Everything turned out just fine - in 2000, Gromov was elected governor of the region, and Men became vice-governor and first deputy.
He is a good opportunist and has a keen sense of the current moment. He urgently leaves Yabloko (this is no longer necessary) and goes into the shadows, not showing himself in any way. During this time, he managed to privatize two plots of a relict grove near the Arkhangelskoye estate.
After working for a short time, Men asked Boris Gromov to relieve him of his position “due to fatigue,” and he did not hold him back. Imagine Gromov’s amazement when it turned out that Men “ran over” to the mayor of Moscow Luzhkov and was appointed his assistant. However, he did not stay in this post.
Unenviable legacy
In 2005, by Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Men was approved as governor of the Ivanovo region. All that was left to him from the previous head was “ruins”.
The region, which existed due to subsidies, was without funds. The basis of the industry was the textile sector, which worked exclusively on imported raw materials supplied from the “liberated” Central Asian republics. After the collapse of the country, they stopped supplying raw materials, and the entire industry was at a standstill. But textile workers provided the region with funds. The shadow economy is developed, and criminal groups operate. Mikhail Alexandrovich looked at everything carefully and came to the conclusion that he could not change anything. But to attach the right people and he will be able to control cash flows.
First of all, the new governor created for himself a team of the right people. Dissatisfied deputies had their mouths shut and gradually squeezed out, replacing them with loyal people.
Godfather
Budget money was directed in the right direction. For ordinary people life became even worse; funds intended for discounted travel and construction of social facilities were used for other purposes. The heating season failed twice, chronic delays in wages became the norm, and the gasification program was not implemented.
Mikhail Men was the absolute “master” of the region. No one complained about him, but only the complainers suffered from it. The governor was unsinkable. Mikhail Men ruled the region for eight years and left, writing a letter of resignation from his gubernatorial duties. The President “released” him, giving him a new appointment. Now he is the Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Russia. Mikhail Men is back at work.
It is doubtful that Mikhail Alexandrovich will stay in this post for a long time. Although it is unlikely to remain unclaimed in Russia. Dad's voice can still be heard, but it's getting dimmer and dimmer.
Family
Mikhail Alexandrovich is a father of many children, this is not only responsible, but also pleasant. According to Mikhail Men, a family with 3-4 children should become the standard in the country, because this will change the demographic situation. Favorite holidays - Christmas, New Year, Easter, Victory Day. Loves listening and writing music. Collects electric guitars. Married for the second time.
The first wife, Inna Petrova, is a rock performer performing under the pseudonym Daria Menshikova. She had fame and success. Mikhail met her when he studied in absentia at the institute. Inna was an entrepreneur. Now he is involved in show business, but as an organizer and manager. Raises two children.
Second wife - Elena Nalimova. At one time she worked in the Moscow City Duma and the Federation Council, then went into business. While serving as vice-governor of the region, Mikhail Men met her. She made a wonderful wife and mother. E. Nalimova is a wealthy woman, her income allows her to compete with other wives of governors (they have their own rating there). Actively involved in charity work. She runs the Women's Initiative organization. Remained in my last name. She and her husband are raising four children.
10 richest wives of governors
Larisa Belobrova is an actress by profession. Her husband Sergei Darkin, before his election as governor, was known as successful businessman, now lives virtually on one salary (income - 3.49 million rubles) without a single piece of land and a dacha only for use. But the wife can boast of both land (a plot of 50 acres) and real estate (529 sq. m.), as well as 52.6% of the Primorye Bank and a stake in the Roliz group (this includes the fishing companies CJSC Intraros and "Nakhodka active marine fishing base"). By the way, in 2009 she took part in the selection of the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Kira Turchak Spouse: Andrey Turchak Region: Pskov region |
The 35-year-old blonde met her future husband in an unusual but politically correct place - the judo section. Then the young master of this sport was engaged in creating the future Leninets holding, fighting for the enterprises of the St. Petersburg defense industry, and did not even think about it. Now it is his wife who represents his interests in business: she heads the board of directors of the Leninets Management Company, is on the boards of directors of a number of holding companies, and directly manages as the general director of Labyrinth OJSC (the three-star Obuhoff Hotel). And recently she appeared in the glamor magazine Tatler.
Galina Karlina Spouse: Alexander Karlin Region: Altai region |
Alexander Karlin reported income for 2010 of 2.37 million rubles. And his wife earned almost six times more. There were some dark spots in her biography: in 2004, Galina Karlina received a notary license in Moscow, which, as it turned out later, was with violations. According to the MK newspaper, instead of the mandatory year, she only trained for six months. At the beginning of 2008, the court even removed Karlina from the position of a notary, but already in 2009 she was working in this profession in the Orekhovo-Borisovo region.
Olga Golubeva Spouse: Vasily Golubev Region: Rostov region Income in 2010: RUB 12.98 million |
The Rostov governor told the Vedomosti newspaper that his wife Olga is engaged in a business concentrated in Moscow and the region, not specifying exactly what kind. And now Golubeva does not actively manage her business, but is raising her grandchildren in Rostov-on-Don. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Olga Golubeva owns 0.0005% of the shares of Stroytransgaz (the controlling stake is held by Gennady Timchenko), left over from her time working in this organization in the 90s. In addition, she is the founder of two companies - OTsKV-3 (real estate agency) and RNS LLC ( wholesale universal range of products).
Svetlana Fedorova Spouse: Igor Fedorov Region: Nenets Autonomous Okrug |
According to SPARK, until recently, Svetlana Fedorova was one of the largest co-owners of Arkhangelsk Energy Enterprise LLC, which, with revenue of 257.1 million rubles. for 2010 it is the second largest grid company in the Arkhangelsk region (this region includes the Nenets Autonomous Okrug). So the former executive director of Arkhenergo, Igor Fedorov, “insured” himself twice against the crusade against energy workers recently announced by Vladimir Putin: he left the business and convinced his wife to sell her stake in the company.
Elena Nalimova Spouse: Mikhail Men Region: Ivanovo region Income in 2010: RUB 8.89 million |
Lawyer with honors diploma Russian Academy civil service under the President of the Russian Federation, managed to work in the apparatus of the Moscow City Duma, the State Duma and the Federation Council, then in commercial structures. But now he is only involved in charity work. In 2008, Elena Nalimova created the public organization "Women's Initiative" in the Ivanovo region, which provides assistance to children's departments of clinics, orphanages and participates in educational programs. Where does the money come from? What Mikhail Men earned before starting his bureaucratic career in the 90s is enough for both the “Women’s Initiative” and the “Fund named after. What about me ".
Gulsina Minnikhanova Spouse: Rustam Minnikhanov Region: Tatarstan Income in 2010: RUB 8.1 million |
Gulsina Minnikhanova owns an elite beauty salon in Kazan, Luciano Beauty Studio, named after the Italian hairdresser Luciano De Aloia (flies from Geneva to Kazan once a month). The cost of one cosmetic service in a salon starts from $200 and can reach several thousand dollars. Among the regular visitors are the wives of top managers of such pillars of the Tatar economy as Kazanorgsintez, Tatneft, TAIF. A funny situation: the current “first lady” of Tatarstan owns a beauty salon, which is visited by the wives of the leaders of TAIF, a holding company at least a quarter owned by the sons of the ex-president of the republic, Mintimer Shaimiev.
Inga Kuznetsova Spouse: Lev Kuznetsov Region: Krasnoyarsk region Income in 2010: RUB 8.08 million |
Housewife raising five children. On vacation he can go to France, where the family owns a house with an area of 360 square meters. m on a plot of 66 acres (Inga Kuznetsova personally owns half of this property). The personal fleet consists of a Porsche Cabriolet Boxter, a Mercedes-Benz CL600, and there is also a Sea-Doo Bombardier Speedster boat. According to the governor's press service Krasnoyarsk Territory, Inga Kuznetsova received her main income in 2009 from the securities she owned. After all, the husband is a former top manager of Norilsk Nickel.
Olga Tkacheva Spouse: Alexander Tkachev Region: Krasnodar region |
In the family of the Krasnodar governor, Olga Tkacheva is not the most advanced businesswoman. According to the declaration, she owned (except for cars and real estate) only 100% of the LLC (according to SPARK - “Chateau de Talus” with a capital of 23.3 million rubles and revenue of 1 million rubles for 2009) and 0.44% the authorized capital of a certain closed joint stock company. Or maybe it’s her niece Alexandra Tkacheva. The girl is not yet 25 years old, but she is already a successful businesswoman (10% shares in two pipe factories, 30% in a large regional developer, 22.5% in a local poultry complex).
Elena Morozova Spouse: Sergey Morozov Region: Ulyanovsk region |
In August 2010, the measured life of the Ulyanovsk region was slightly shaken up: Elena Morozova was appointed by decree of the governor general director one of the largest enterprises in the region, State Unitary Enterprise "Teplichnoe" (RUB 483 million in revenue). The main asset of the company is 25 hectares of land almost within the city of Ulyanovsk. Now the state unitary enterprise is in line for corporatization and, possibly, will be privatized. In the region, Elena Morozova already owns (according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities) the Dimitrovgrad-based Itarus Service (installation, maintenance, repair and restoration services aircraft and engines), as well as 34% of LLC “Old Simbirsk” (operation of restaurants and cafes).
p.s. There is no corruption in GORF! =)))
Mikhail Men was appointed Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services. This ministry looks like a temporary structure formed solely to calm public opinion and creating the appearance of solving problems in these areas. But be that as it may, Men, who managed to squeeze everything possible out of the memory of his father and felt when he should change his political color and allies, is unlikely to remain unclaimed in the future.Mikhail Alexandrovich Men, born November 12, 1960, native of the village. Semkhoz Zagorsky (now Sergiev Posad) district of the Moscow region. Graduated from the directing department of the Moscow state institute culture. Has an academic degree of Candidate of Philosophical Sciences.
In the period from 1977 to 1980 he studied at the Moscow State Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry named after. I. M. Gubkina. From 1980 to 1982 he served in the ranks of the USSR Armed Forces. After graduating from university, he worked in cultural institutions of the Moscow region, and at the same time performed as a bass guitarist in the rock group “Most”. He also headed the Alexander Men Foundation. In 1993, he was elected as a deputy of the Moscow regional group from the Sergiev Posad district.
In 1995, he was elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Sergiev Posad electoral district of the Moscow region. He was a member of the Yabloko faction. In 1999, he was elected vice-governor of the Moscow region (together with Governor B.V. Gromov). In 2002, at his own request, he left the post of vice-governor. Soon he was invited by Mayor Yu. M. Luzhkov to the Moscow government, where he took the post of vice-mayor in charge of issues of interregional cooperation and sports.
In 2005, I was nominated by the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin for the post of head of the administration of the Ivanovo region and approved by the legislative assembly of the region. In 2010, his gubernatorial powers were extended.
On October 16, 2013, Men M. A. was relieved of his post as governor of the Ivanovo region at his own request. On November 1 of the same year, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services.
Men has the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh II and III degree(award of the Russian Orthodox Church), the honorary title “Honored Worker of Culture of the Moscow Region,” as well as departmental awards.
Married, has six children.
Closest relatives:
Mother: Grigorenko Natalya Fedorovna, born November 29, 1933, head of the parish of the Moscow Church of the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian in Shubin.
Sister: Men Elena Aleksandrovna, born 09/08/1957, icon painter. Currently lives permanently in Bologna (Italy). Author of icons Orthodox Church in Modena (Italy).
Wife (ex): Men (maiden name Petrova) Inna Georgievna, born on August 24, 1962, former vocalist of a number of rock groups (including the country’s first female group “Primadonna”). Currently heads the recording studio InnaRecords. WITH ex-husband maintained friendly relations.
Wife: Elena Olegovna Nalimova, born November 9, 1975, entrepreneur, chairman of the board of the Ivanovo regional public organization"Women's Initiative". She was one of the ten richest wives of governors.
Contacts:
Bocharov Konstantin Vasilievich, born October 29, 1960, former deputy head of the administration of the city of Sergiev Posad, is now under investigation. An old acquaintance of Me and his former business partner. Men invited him to Ivanovo for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Ivanovo Region. Then he was engaged in business in the Ivanovo region and was deputy head of the administration of the city of Ivanovo. When Bocharov had problems with the law, Men did not help him.
Vladimir Sergeevich Grishin, born July 5, 1956, deputy of the Ivanovo Regional Duma, was its speaker from 2000 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2005. In fact, he was openly at odds with Men and led the anti-governor front in the regional Duma. On my initiative, a criminal case was initiated against him on a far-fetched pretext.
Boris Vsevolodovich Gromov, born November 7, 1943, deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the party “ United Russia", former governor of the Moscow region. He believes that Men betrayed him when he moved to Luzhkov. Currently they are not communicating with each other.
Zhukovskaya Yulia Oskarovna, born November 4, 1968, executive director of the Ivanovo regional public organization “Women’s Initiative”. In the period from 2006 to 2010, she was the governor's plenipotentiary representative in the Ivanovo Regional Duma. A close friend of my wife. Through it, various “gray” output schemes were implemented budget funds, ultimate beneficiary of which Governor Men was.
Luzhkov Yuri Mikhailovich, born September 21, 1936, former mayor of Moscow. Men, having joined his team from Gromov, demonstrated his loyalty to him in every possible way, showing signs of attention bordering on servility. When Luzhkov was fired due to “loss of trust,” Men broke off all contacts with him.
Smirnov Viktor Vladimirovich, born on September 09, 1968, Chairman of the Ivanovo Regional Duma. He was one of My most trusted persons. For a long time he held the position of chairman of the Ivanovo Regional Election Commission. Through him, work was carried out with “undesirable” deputies.
Yuvenaly (Poyarkov Vladimir Kirillovich), born on September 22, 1935, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna. Knew Archpriest Alexander Men well. He provided patronage to Mikhail Menu at the initial stage of his political career.
Food for thought:
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Men was born into the family of a priest, which in itself is unique for people of his year of birth. After all, at that time (1960) the peak of the fight against “religious obscurantism” occurred, and the then first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev promised that very soon “the last priest in the country” would be shown on TV. But be that as it may, they soon stopped showing Khrushchev himself on TV, but the “priests” remained in the USSR and even existed safely until the collapse of the Union. However, Mikhail Men’s father, Archpriest Alexander Men, did not live to see August 1991, as he was killed on September 9, 1990 near the Semkhoz platform of the Yaroslavl direction of the Moscow Railway, when he was hurrying to catch the morning train to Pushkino, where he served as rector of the Church of the Presentation of the Lord.
Father Alexander Men was an interesting person. Being a Jew by nationality, he became not just an Orthodox priest, but also a theologian. “Fronting” intellectuals from Moscow specially came to listen to his sermons. He was repeatedly threatened, and his murder remained unsolved, despite the fact that the case was taken under personal control by the then Minister of Internal Affairs of the RSFSR, Viktor Barannikov, and the results of the investigation were regularly reported to both the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, Boris Yeltsin, and the President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. . Alexander I was highly regarded by Patriarch Alexy II, while a number of representatives of church circles, including the famous theologian Deacon Andrei Kuraev, consider the views of Father Alexander “close to Catholicism” and even “heretical.” If you do not delve into the abyss of theological controversy surrounding My legacy, then only one thing can be said: Father Alexander was an extraordinary person and the end to the debate about his role in Orthodox theology will not be reached soon.
Alexander Men wanted his son Mikhail to follow in his footsteps. But Misha had no desire to become a priest. He wanted to be an actor. At the age of ten he even performed main role in the film "Deniska's Stories" based on the works of children's writer Viktor Dragunsky. But the parents didn’t want to hear about their son becoming a “actor”; it got to the point that Father Alexander even intended to curse Mikhail if he went to a theater university. This threat had an effect on Misha, and after the end high school in the village of Semkhoz, he submitted documents to the Moscow State Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry named after. I. M. Gubkina.
It soon became clear, however, that for creative nature This university is not suitable for Mikhail. He studied carelessly and, after once again “failing” the session, he was expelled from the institute. He served in the Far Eastern Military District, in a construction battalion in the city of Sovetskaya Gavan. After being transferred to the reserve in 1982, Mikhail entered the correspondence department of the directing department of the Moscow State Institute of Culture. It was much easier to study here than at the gas and oil field faculty of the Gubkin Institute, so I still had time to participate in the rock group “Most”.
In 1987, Mikhail Alexandrovich graduated from the institute. At the same time, he left the rock group “Most”, which, after a bright debut, gradually lost its popularity. Men worked as director of the House of Culture of the Mosoblstroy No. 20 trust in the city of Pushkino, chief director of the Filevsky Culture and Recreation Park and director of the Lublin Culture and Recreation Park. At the same time, he organized a cooperative at the club of the Moscow Forestry Institute in Mytishchi. After the death of his father, Mikhail “hurried up” in time, organizing through his cooperative the publication of the collected works of Archpriest Alexander Men. The name was, as they say, well known at that time, so the cooperative earned serious money and turned into a publishing house. At the same time, Mikhail Alexandrovich headed the Alexander Men Foundation, which he created.
However, in the early 1990s, Me's business was no longer as profitable as before due to the emergence of many private publishing houses. Mikhail Alexandrovich did not want to go broke, so he hastened to change his field of activity. In 1993, he decided to run for the Moscow Regional Duma from the Sergiev Posad district. Since his father was still very well remembered, Men won a convincing victory against them. Two years later, he was elected to the State Duma in the Sergiev Posad single-mandate constituency.
In parliament, Men joined the Yabloko party. Despite the fact that he was deputy chairman of the Culture Committee, he was not remembered for anything special, since he was in the shadow of such masters as Stanislav Govorukhin and Nikolai Gubenko. However, in 1999, Mikhail Alexandrovich was noticed by General Boris Gromov, who put forward his candidacy for the post of governor of the Moscow region. Boris Vsevolodovich, who competed in the elections with such a “heavyweight” as State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev, needed the support of the liberal spectrum of society, which at that time was represented by Mikhail Men. In addition, Mikhail Alexandrovich had connections in church circles, which means he could attract them to Gromov’s side. And so it happened. Gromov won in the second round, becoming governor of the Moscow region in 2000, and Men became vice-governor and first deputy chairman of the government of the Moscow region.
Mikhail Aleksandrovich immediately grasped the “political conjuncture of the moment,” therefore, before he had time to take office, he left Yabloko. At his post, he was in the shadow of Gromov and, again, did not show himself in any particular way, except that he privatized a plot of a relict grove near the former estate of the Yusupov princes “Arkhangelskoye”, on which he soon erected his own dacha. In 2002, Men resigned early. In a conversation with Governor Gromov, Mikhail Aleksandrovich noted that work in executive bodies the authorities “are not his,” so he would like to “rest a little,” Boris Vsevolodovich did not restrain his deputy, easily signed a decree releasing him from office “in connection with changes in regional legislation,” and a week later he was surprised to learn that Men was appointed vice-mayor of Moscow. As a result, Gromov was mortally offended by such treachery of Mikhail Alexandrovich, who “ran over” to Luzhkov. It even got to the point that they stopped noticing each other at official events.
But Men’s tenure as vice-mayor of Moscow did not last long. In 2005, he was appointed by decree of President Vladimir Putin as head of the administration of the Ivanovo region. Mikhail Alexandrovich received a heavy inheritance after the former governor Vladimir Tikhonov, who was fired under the threat of criminal prosecution. The region was a subsidized region with an empty treasury. Textile enterprises in the region, main suppliers Money, actually died because they did not receive raw materials from the Central Asian republics, which overnight became independent states. The shadow economy flourished in the region, in which various criminal groups took to the waters. Having looked more closely, the new governor, being far from a stupid man, realized that he was unlikely to be able to change anything, but no one would protest against putting the right people in the right place and taking control of the momentum.
First of all, Mikhail Alexandrovich put together a team around himself, inviting his old friends Oleg Vavilov and Konstantin Bocharov to the regional government. The deputy corps was gradually replaced by people loyal to the governor. At the same time, Men redirected budget flows in a direction beneficial to himself. Funds for the organization of preferential travel for citizens, the construction of social facilities, and the development of sports ultimately ended up in the accounts of companies, the final beneficiary of which was Mikhail Alexandrovich. The region's public sector employees suffered from chronic wage delays, heating seasons failed time after time, the gasification program in the Ivanovo region was never completed, but Governor Men managed to gain a foothold in the region, effectively becoming its “master.”
Representatives of various strata of society constantly complained about Mikhail Alexandrovich: from deputies of the regional Duma from the United Russia party to Ivan Khrenov, a cardiologist at the Ivanovo Regional Hospital, who told Putin during a live television broadcast about the outrages happening in the healthcare sector of the region. But Menu got away with everything. The deputies who complained about him lost their mandates, Dr. Khrenov was publicly defamed, and the governor still sat in his chair. Dmitry Medvedev, according to some information, tried to get rid of Me, but was unable to agree with Vladimir Putin on the candidacy of Mikhail Alexandrovich’s successor. Thus, Men remained in his position until November 2013, when President Putin appointed him Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services.
It seems that Mikhail Aleksandrovich Men will not remain in his post for long. This position looks too “execution”, and he managed to accumulate too many ill-wishers for himself during the time he ruled the Ivanovo region.
