Mystery Zimin. From science to business. And back Bashny.Net

Dmitry Zimin — a traveler between worlds. In the 90s he was an entrepreneur and made millions. Associative array: "competition", "exchange", "assaults", "compromising", "rollback". In 2001 he created the Foundation "Dynasty", and the vocabulary has become quite different: "molecular biology", "science fiction books", "teacher", "astrophysics", "conference on the natural Sciences"... In the beginning of 2015, Minister of education and science Dmitry Livanov personally handed him the award "For loyalty to science". A few months later, in may, the justice Ministry has assigned a "Dynasty" status "foreign agent" that caused a massive outrage of scientists and teachers...

Public biography of Dmitry Zimin known in detail, but at least one, perhaps the main question remains: how good people could build a business in the era of primitive accumulation of capital with all its charms? Try to understand how Zimin went from a typical Soviet engineer to classical Western patron, and why it is still absolutely "our man".





Dynasty...it's like He connects the two Russia: Soviet and post-Soviet. In both achieved social success, and without unpleasant corrupt bureaucratic taste. Made a way not from the Komsomol functionaries in the raw oligarchs, and from a high level engineer and winner of the State prize to the Creator of one of the first technology-based businesses. With a multimillion-dollar fortune, Zimin did not hesitate to ride on the Moscow metro. "In today's Moscow, it's faster," he explains. The watch is electronic, Casio is again functional, clearer than expensive mechanical arrow...

If to take into account family history, which Zimin some time deepened, the two Russias will be added a third, pre-Soviet. Among his ancestors — merchants Simini, which until the 1917 revolution owned several textile factories with multi-million dollar. The relationship with "those" Iminami consisted, in particular, Alexander Guchkov, the leader of the moderate monarchist of the Octobrist party, one of the leaders of the February revolution.

One word — dynasty.

Ingenerally part of life Zimin worked in Radiotechnical Institute of the USSR, which now bears the name of academician Aleksandr mints, the many years of his head. The academician used to say: "Need to create something that now seems impossible." Worked in two ways. In Soviet times, happened radar "don-2N", designed to protect Moscow from potential missile attack. In his autobiography, "From 2 to 72" Zimin asked the question: "if we tried to set records in the area of missile defence of the metropolis in which to compete with us, no one was going and not going?" And in an interview for the book "Fans of the business" and is offered "for the purpose of partial compensation of the monstrous operating costs of this facility to organize on the basis of his tourist site and an interesting Museum."

In the post from the same installation to do something unique was born the modern Russian cellular communication. However, the outcome of the restructuring of this idea, even from colleagues caused strong emotions: "You Zimin, completely nuts! (In the original it was rough). There is nothing to eat, and you're talking about some cell phone talking!"

Subsequently, he successfully worked in "Vympelcom".

The difference between the work in the Soviet defense industry and the private sector Dmitry Zimin described as follows: "the Soviet defense industry was very painful environment. So as soon as there is an alternative... You could not imagine the feeling: suddenly it became possible to operate without military orders, without secrecy, without all this nonsense, which is so oppressed. The enthusiasm was absolutely incredible."

And the insoluble problem of the Soviet system engineering seen in the absence of competition. "Two vices lay on the surface — he wrote in his autobiography. — The fundamental inability of a single customer — all planning and all item — to formulate requirements to the engineering corps in the development of new technology and low organizational and technical level of domestic scientific research institutes, factories, and indeed all of the engineering corps deprived of a hard school of learning and survival in a daily competition on the free market."

Biznestekhnika open source business history Zimin 90s — this is not the series "Brigada" and rollicking political Thriller: either you night "shooter", nor participation in dubious auctions or honorary membership in any "seven bankers". No, some of the Soviet production novel, endless struggle good with the best.

These are the key words "cooperative" and "conversion", that unknown cellular communication, to which employees of the Radio engineering Institute approached, in recognition Zimin, solely as "another engineering challenge", here meeting with the U.S. investor, here is a celebration of the two thousandth subscriber, who became an actor Valentin Gaft, and here is the first in the history of the new Russian capitalism, the yield on the new York stock exchange. And so on and so forth.

The business grew by leaps and bounds. The first call in the future network of "Beeline" committed on 12 July 1992 and fall 1993 (under the name) there were 400 subscribers. In six years their number exceeded 5 thousand, in a year or 22 thousand. In 1994, annual revenues were $ 30 million and a profit of 9.5 million dollars. The next year was even more successful: the net profit reached 27.6 million dollars, and income of 101 million dollars.

"Some novice analysts said that our subscribers in those days were "the three BS": bankers, gangsters and anyone else on the b... Forgot — with the inherent irony Zimin writes in his autobiography. They said that the record traffic of our subscribers due to the fact that about 25% of their speech falls on profanity".

These ironic memories and a few of pogovorki allow you to look at the reverse side of the business "with a human face". And the Zimin to see in a different perspective. Very carefully related to the selection of words, sometimes it unexpectedly goes on a sacred matter:

"And anyway, if ever you will create a temple, "Beeline", I will tell you from whose Parsuna is possible to form the iconostasis. They will not be so little. Well, the sins of... who doesn't... the Devil is strong... So for some of the heroes of our history, it would be necessary to have two portraits: one for screen, another for the Board of honor in the underworld."

The website "Компромат.Ru" less suited as an authoritative source of information, but retains the echoes of the past, at least the media showdown. There we find information about a certain Sergei Dmitrievich Zimin, the leader of the koptevskiy a criminal gang named Zema and the alleged son of the founder of "VimpelCom". The article about their "dark deeds" appeared in 1999, when the company Zimin fought to obtain a license to Russia's first dual-band network GSM 1800/900. Needless to say that the son of the head of the only name is Boris?

The nineties is the era of rapid corporate wars. Was the battle for radio frequency, for customers. Now about their business rivals Zimin comments from peacefully-blissfully: "normal Relations for a long time, and with my hand and all romantic-nostalgic".

With about the same intonation described the impact of administrative and business conflict, the results of which Zimin actually left the "VimpelCom". The yard was zero, the new "St. Petersburg" actively push through the capital market of the operator "MegaFon". MTS and "Beeline" said that to take the ranges — it means to violate the principles of market competition, but to influence the situation could not. Then Zimin, he thought it best to go out of business.

What he writes about this? "The initial hostility to the originator of this scandal eventually displace the feeling of gratitude and appreciation. This story it made my decision to resign and retreat from business easy and joyful. My family knows that when I raise a glass to the joyful events of his life and thanks many people contributed, I don't forget to include this official".

The ease with which he retired from big business, Zimin explains what turned out to be, as it is now said, "startups", although he prefers the word "partisan".

"Business it is not some kind of homogeneous activities, he has a lot of stages, he said in an interview to "Russian reporter". — To me the greatest satisfaction was delivering the first, a guerrilla, when the entire company at one table, instant decisions, incredible rhythm work, a powerful drive. And another thing of regular business: the company hundreds of millions of dollars, measured work routine. The guerrilla period I liked more than regular with all of its scales, money and fame."

Thus ended the story of the entrepreneur and began the history of the philanthropist.

Mecenate in the same interview to "Russian reporter" Zimin says that in his place "will be every" in the sense that any big Russian businessman (and generally any millionaire in the world) at the end of the life path will put their money in charity.

"I'm just the oldest of them, so one of the first retired and focused on philanthropy. The same, of course, do they."

In another interview he explained, why, of all possible directions chose the support of science and education.

"There is a cause that is social and public in nature. If you ask, which is now no longer have enough of our most successful and most happy country, many — not the only one I would say that education."

But there is perhaps another point. The impression that he was almost the first Russian businessman who wished to become a model example of how and what should be done to the business during and after.

In this sense, the support of science is of special significance. Because a great simplification to think that history is written by the winners. History is written by those who know how to write. It's clear who they will be grateful for your support.

But there is a catch. Dmitry Zimin, Jr., a contemporary of the brothers Strugatsky. Those cherished plan, but never wrote the last novel of a perfect World Noon, in which the main character had to tell you how this fantastic utopia. And in the end he will hear, or epitaph, or the sentence is:"Peace cannot be built the way you told me. Such a world can only be invented. I'm afraid my friend, you live in a world that someone came up with — to you and without you — and you are not aware of it..."published

 

P. S. And remember, just changing your mind — together we change the world! ©

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Source: kot.sh/statya/262/zagadka-zimina