Oleg Kovalev is a Russian statesman. He worked as the governor of the Ryazan region for 9 years and is an honored builder of the Russian Federation.
Childhood and youth
Oleg Ivanovich Kovalev was born on September 7, 1948 in the village of Vannovka, Krasnodar Territory. His family was complete. The parents of the future public figure met during the Great Patriotic War. Oleg Ivanovich's mother worked as a nurse, and his father was a scout. After the end of the war, they got married. Oleg was the only child in the family. He studied well at school and dreamed of a sports career. In his interviews, he admitted that he dreamed of getting out of the countryside and achieving high results in some kind of sport. Lacking sports talents, Kovalev decided to enter the department of automation and telemechanics after graduating from high school in 1966, but did not pass the exams.
Oleg Kovalev entered the Saratov Assembly College of the USSR Ministry of Assembly and Special Construction. But he did not manage to finish school as quickly as planned. A year later, Kovalev was drafted into the army. After completing his service, he nevertheless returned to the technical school and completed his studies.
Career
After receiving his diploma, Kovalev was invited to work at "Spetszhelezobetonstroy" under the USSR Ministry of Montazhspetsstroy. As an employee of this organization, Oleg Ivanovich traveled all over the country. He took part in the construction of federal facilities. "Spetszhelezobetonstroy" built Norilsk MMC, Volzhskaya CHPP. While working in Norilsk, Kovalev studied in parallel at the Norilsk Industrial Institute. But he did not manage to finish his studies there because of the move. He received his higher education in the specialty "Industrial and civil construction" in Rostov.
In Rostov, the future governor did not live very long and was sent on a business trip to Moscow, and then to Kashira near Moscow. In 1986 he became the head of Kashira-Agropromstroy. In 1991 he was elected head of the administration of the Kashirsky region. In this position, Oleg Ivanovich worked for 8 years.
Political career
In the early 90s of the last century, Kovalev was elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Initially, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Local Government Committee. Over the years of work, Oleg Ivanovich showed himself only from the best side. He took part in the development of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. After the code was successfully adopted, he was appointed chairman of the Committee on the Rules and Organization of the State Duma's work.
Oleg Ivanovich was a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2000 during his election campaign. In 2007, his candidacy was recommended for the post of governor of the Ryazan region.
In 2008, Kovalev was elected governor of the Ryazan region. His activities raised a lot of questions. Many disaffected people appeared among the residents, who considered the work of the new governor ineffective. People regularly attended rallies. This forced Oleg Ivanovich to resign and resign. By presidential decree, he was transferred to the post of acting governor. Kovalev wanted to wait for direct elections and in 2012 his candidacy was supported by a majority of votes.
As the governor of the Ryazan region, Oleg Ivanovich worked until 2017. He resigned as there were many unresolved problems in the region. Residents' dissatisfaction grew. Voters reproached the governor for not wanting to support vulnerable segments of the population. Many believed that the indigenous resident of the region should govern the region.
When Oleg Ivanovich was still at his post, accusations were made against him of illegal development of places with which the name of Sergei Yesenin is associated. This part of the Ryazan region has always been considered a cultural heritage site, since the great poet lived and worked there. Under Kovalev, an elite cottage community was built on the ground.
Since 2017, Kovalev has been a member of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Self-Government and Northern Affairs.
Oleg Ivanovich was awarded a number of awards:
- "For Services to the Fatherland" (2005, 2008);
- "Order of Honor" (2013);
- "Order of Friendship" (2002).
In 1997 he was recognized as the Honored Builder of the Russian Federation. He was awarded medals:
- "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" (1997);
- "For the Combat Commonwealth" (2006);
- medal of Nikolai Ozerov (2013).
In 2006, Kovalev wrote a dissertation and successfully defended it. But later he was criticized more than once that they found a lot of borrowings in the work. Well-known lawyers accused him of not writing a dissertation very well. Nothing new was presented in it, which is not surprising, since the former governor is still a professional builder and succeeded in managerial affairs, but not in legal practice.
Personal life
Oleg Ivanovich Kovalev is married. His wife is Olga Alekseevna Mishina. She is a politician and assistant to a State Duma deputy.
Kovalev has three children - daughters Daria and Natalya and son Andrei. In 2016, the former governor became a grandfather for the third time. Having laid down his responsible powers, he enjoys raising his grandchildren in his free time. Son Andrey is building his own business.
Oleg Ivanovich's hobbies are still tennis and basketball. Despite his age, the former governor is in excellent physical shape.
