According to the well-known idiom in wide circles of readers, a politician is not born, but becomes. This simple truth can with good reason be addressed to Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin, a man who is well known in modern Russia. His life path can serve as a role model for young men who are just designing their future.
From Cossacks to gas workers
The biography of Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin to a certain extent can be considered a classic. In the family where he was born, five children were born and raised. Vitya was the fourth child in seniority. Parents are hereditary Cossacks by origin, they raised their children according to traditions that have developed since ancient times. They did not shout at the children, did not weave nonsense, but handed them a shovel - they taught them to work. Housework and work in the garden was distributed fairly - more for the strong, less for the weak.
Victor did not think about a career. Just after school I studied at a vocational school and got a job as a worker at an oil refinery in Orsk. Age approached, and he was drafted into the army. He served, as befits a Cossack according to the unwritten Charter, in good faith. After demobilization, he returned to his native plant and continued his labor activity. The savvy and observant worker showed a sincere interest in technological processes and production organization. To improve his professional qualifications, Chernomyrdin entered the Kuibyshev Polytechnic Institute and received a higher technical education.
As was the custom in the Soviet Union, a promising specialist and leader was noticed. And not only noticed, but invited to work in the party organs. A large-scale leader who manages economic and social processes needs to know how the team as a whole and each person live. Returning to production, Viktor Chernomyrdin worked for more than five years as a director of a gas processing plant in Orenburg. During this period, the enterprise has taken the leading positions in the industry in all respects.
From minister to prime minister
From the post of director of the plant, Chernomyrdin was transferred to Moscow, where he took the chair of the deputy minister of the gas industry. The experience gained at the enterprise allowed him to optimize the production and logistics structure of the industry. This was followed by another increase and Viktor Stepanovich became a minister. By this time, “perestroika” was already raging in the country and narrowly professional training became insufficient. Economists oriented towards liberal approaches came to the management of the national economic complex.
Subsequent events demonstrated Chernomyrdin's ability to adequately respond to emerging problems and challenges. He managed to preserve the country's gas economy in a single complex and prevent it from being pulled apart by private owners. Books and films have been written about this period. Today Gazprom remains a national treasure of Russia. It is no coincidence that Viktor Stepanovich was also the Prime Minister of the country. In the mid-90s, a more experienced specialist in economic management was simply not observed in the immediate circle of the President of the Russian Federation.
The personal life of the Chernomyrdins' couple is simple and instructive. Husband Victor and wife Valentina have lived in perfect harmony for almost 50 years.
