The role of the individual in the historical process is assessed by political scientists and sociologists ambiguously. It is believed that history is "made" by the masses of the people. However, the examples of Alexander the Great and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin do not fit into this concept. Gennady Nikolaevich Seleznev is our contemporary. His merits and failures will be objectively assessed after a certain period of time. Today they speak of him as a participant in the process of establishing democratic institutions on Russian soil.
The beginning of the biography
The daily life of a public person is constantly monitored by ordinary people, voters, competitors and spiteful critics. If a person wants to live in peace, then he should not engage in politics or social activities. The biography of Gennady Nikolaevich Seleznev indicates that he did not particularly strive for high positions.
The child was born into the family of a military man, in November 1947. Parents lived in the Urals, in the city of Serov. When the boy was three years old, his parents divorced. Mother, taking her son, returned to her homeland in the village of Chudskoy Bor near Leningrad.
Until the fourth grade, Gennady lived with his grandparents and studied at a rural school. Then he moved to Leningrad to live with his mother, who was given a room at work. After school, he entered a vocational school and graduated in 1965. He worked for a year as a turner at a factory, having received a proletarian hardening, and was called up to serve in the armed forces. The army "sets the brains" of many young people and Seleznev was no exception. Returning to civilian life, he enters a local university to pursue a journalism education. At the same time, he began to actively work in the Komsomol.
Chief Editor
Journalism and regular communication with people of different ages provide Gennady with a rare opportunity to find out how young people live, what ideals they strive for and what vices they succumb to. In 1974, Seleznev joined the Leningrad Smena magazine as a deputy editor. Talent and organizational skills help him to pursue a career without unnecessary fuss. The regional magazine, when Gennady Nikolayevich became editor-in-chief, gained all-Union fame.
In 1980, Gennady Seleznev was transferred to Moscow, and approved as the chief editor of the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda". According to the current regulations, the editor-in-chief is elected head of the ideological department of the Central Committee of the Komsomol. Hard and responsible work bears fruit. The circulation of the newspaper is growing. On the basis of the published materials, television broadcasts and topical films are made. During these years, Seleznev devoted more and more energy and time to political activity. He was elected a member of the CPSU Central Committee and transferred to the editorial office of the Pravda newspaper.
Speaker of the State Duma
In a series of events that followed the August 1991 coup and the dissolution of the USSR, Gennady Nikolayevich remains faithful to the ideas of progress and social justice. Former members of the CPSU, repainted as democrats and liberals, are trying in every possible way to remove him from the information space. Someone Shumeiko, who headed the Press Committee of the Russian Federation in 1993, removed him from his post as editor of Pravda. However, due to his reasonable position, Seleznev was elected a deputy of the State Duma and in 1996 was elected speaker of this legislative body.
Meanwhile, Gennady Seleznev's personal life did not change. The husband and wife have maintained mutual respect and love throughout the entire period of cohabitation. The support of his wife to a large extent allowed Seleznev to fully devote himself to his work.
In 1999, he was again elected speaker of the State Duma. Until now, this precedent remains the only one in the modern history of Russia. Unfortunately, the circumstances were such that Gennady Nikolaevich fell seriously ill. Modern medicine has proven powerless. He passed away in July 2015.
