Leonid Polezhaev was born on January 30, 1940 in Omsk in a family of railway workers.

After graduating from high school, he studied blacksmithing at a technical school and worked at a factory.

In 1965, after graduating from the hydrotechnical Faculty of the Omsk Agricultural Institute, he was sent to the water management lines of Kazakhstan. In ten years, he worked his way up from the foreman of the construction and installation department to the head of construction.

Since 1976-Head of construction of the Irtysh - Karaganda canal, since 1982-First Deputy Chairman of the Karaganda Regional Executive Committee.

In 1987, he returned to Omsk, where for two years he headed the regional Department of Land Reclamation and Water Management. In 1989 - Deputy, and two years later-Chairman of the Omsk Regional Executive Committee.

In 1991, he was appointed head of the Omsk Region Administration, and in 1995 and 1999, he was elected to that post.

From 1994 to 1996, he headed the inter-regional association "Siberian Agreement". 199.1-present-Chairman of the Coordination Council for Industrial Policy and Mass Conversion:

L. K. Polezhaev was awarded the Order of Honor, the Badge of Honor, the Red Banner of Labor, and many medals for his services to the Fatherland.

He is married and has two sons and grandchildren.

- Leonid Konstantinovich, the Omsk region, like the neighboring regions of Siberia, is full of defense enterprises. And they continue to work, give out products. Was the conversion performed differently in the region, or did other economic reasons work?

- The problems of reforming the military-industrial complex for the Omsk region are really very relevant. The enterprises of our military-industrial complex accounted for up to 80 percent of the region's gross output, they provided work for tens of thousands of Omsk residents, hundreds of thousands somehow depended on the state of affairs in the "defense industry". Huge residential areas and social and cultural facilities "hung" on her shoulders. The military-industrial complex, of course, was and remains a city-forming factor for the million-strong Omsk, so the authorities cannot remain indifferent to what is happening outside the gates of defense enterprises.

From the very beginning of the reforms, it was clear to us that agribusiness enterprises, like no other, find it difficult to adapt to market conditions. Directors of defense giants are used to state orders, when they don't have to think about product sales, loans, defense funds, and other essential attributes of entrepreneurship. They simply could not imagine that their products might not be needed in the same volumes, that the state would suddenly refuse them the necessary funding. By depriving enterprises of state orders, but at the same time forcing them to maintain mobilization capacities at their own expense, the state has taken away almost all the opportunities for the defense complex to resist only the production of specialized products. And they didn't know how to make anything else.

That is why we set about developing the Omsk regional military-industrial complex conversion program. By the summer of 1992, it was ready and approved by a government decree in August. The implementation of the program was very difficult. The directors referred (and rightly so) to the lack of defense funds to modernize production, excessive interest rates on bank loans, and other factors.

There was also a strong opinion among them that it was necessary to sit out, and then, you see, the old days would return. Still, we managed to rock the situation. The ideas of conversion began to take over the minds of managers more and more, and to find a response in the teams.

At the same time, we came to understand that the projects of individual enterprises should be as close as possible to their profile: it is not necessary for a tank factory to grab on to making pots, and an instrument-making plant does not have to produce good televisions. In 1995, a program for the second stage of conversion was developed, from which all "small things" were practically excluded, and enterprises focused on large projects with maximum use of existing capacities. At the same time, the administration was actively looking for partners who could transfer their technologies to the Omsk defense industry and create joint ventures. They did not forget about their main products - they looked for customers abroad for them, cooperated with Rosvooruzhenie, and sought freedom from the Government to enter into independent contracts by enterprises.

- What are the results of this work?

- All this together has borne fruit. The Polet Association has managed to establish contracts for the launch of foreign satellites, and today

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Its Kosmos-ZM launch vehicles launch several times a year, putting satellites from the United States, Germany, Italy, Sweden, China, England, and even Mexico into orbit. Russian, of course, too. In addition, Polet returned to its original profile - aviation. A new AN-74 passenger transport aircraft was manufactured here, and the serial modernization of the old anushkas in the AN-3 was mastered. Polet's subsidiaries produce a variety of consumer goods, from plastic windows to washing machines.

Motor Building Association named after him. Baranova produces TVD-20 engines for the same AN-3, has signed an agreement with JSC Moskvich and builds pickups from its components. This, by the way, is the first automobile production outside the Urals. Approximately the same path was taken by the Irtysh Company, which created an enterprise with the famous Swedish concern VOLVO. The Swedes supply Omsk with components for intercity buses. Moreover, it is planned that over time up to 70 - 80 percent of components will be produced by Omsk enterprises. The transport engineering plant managed to sell large batches of tanks to Greece and Cyprus and master the production of row tractors.

We consider the SibVPKneftegaz program to be extremely promising, which involves the development of production of import-replacement equipment for the oil and gas industry by defense enterprises. It is already in full swing, involving dozens of enterprises, whose orders are estimated at hundreds of millions of rubles. Moreover, orders that are unconditionally paid and often even advanced by oil companies. Today we are thinking about how to expand the scope of this program, including, for example, equipment for the coal industry.

These programs and projects have largely saved jobs, qualified personnel, unique technologies and equipment, and provided the budget with additional revenues. We foresaw that this would happen, and therefore went to a very serious conversion support. Enterprises that carried out investment projects were exempt from tax payments to the regional budget, and the region accepted more than one and a half million square meters of departmental housing and social and cultural facilities from them on its balance sheet almost without any compensation. At the expense of the budget, natural gas was supplied to the boiler rooms of many military-industrial complex enterprises, which gave them huge savings of their own funds.

Unfortunately, not all defense plants were able to fit into conversion programs. And for those who succeeded, things did not go well immediately. As a rule, the stereotypical thinking of the director's corps was hindered. Of course, the consequences of the destruction of the planned system also affected. It was very difficult to establish new relationships with suppliers and consumers. Even today, a number of large enterprises of the Omsk military-industrial complex are in a deplorable state, but we do not lose hope that they will also be able to find their niche in the new economic conditions.

Many of our ideas were adopted by the regions included in the "Siberian Agreement". But I can't say that everything possible has been done here. First of all, it was not possible to create close cooperation of Siberian military-industrial complex enterprises. They are disjointed and not very willing to work together. Although, by combining our efforts, eliminating duplication of production, we could certainly achieve much more. I have reason to believe that this will happen within the framework of the new state structure - the Siberian Federal District.

- It is known that the Omsk Region shows special care for war and labor veterans, military personnel. Please tell us more about this.

- The regional authorities have always been very attentive to war and labor veterans, and have interacted with them

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with their associations, they responded to requests for assistance. A few years ago, the regional administration established a security committee, which keeps in constant contact with both military units and veterans ' organizations, and oversees all work with the region's law enforcement agencies. In July, a new public organization of war and military service veterans was established in the region, bringing together a number of existing veterans ' organizations. Such consolidation undoubtedly strengthens the veteran movement and makes it even more effective.

The Omsk Region is one of the few regions of Russia where the Law on Veterans is fully implemented, and additional pensions have been introduced for various categories of veterans and pensioners. Since 1996, Heroes of the Soviet Union, Russia and Social Labor, full cavaliers of the Order of Glory, have received four minimum monthly salaries in addition to their pensions. We have introduced additional pensions for residents of besieged Leningrad and women who participated in the Great Patriotic War. Every year, up to 200 thousand veterans receive one-time financial assistance, and we try to solve the issues of providing veterans with telephone communications, medicines, and spa treatment.

We do not forget about active military personnel. The life of the Omsk garrison is constantly in the field of view of the regional administration. We are trying to respond quickly to their needs in providing food, utilities, fuel and lubricants, etc. Recently, for example, we brought natural gas to the location of the Military Engineering Institute and large military units. We promptly distribute housing certificates coming to the region. Last year, 200 military families received housing, 124 certificates have already been issued, and 90 more are to be awarded. This, of course, is not enough, because we have 2.5 thousand military personnel waiting in line for housing. Therefore, we are trying to get the center to increase the issuance of housing certificates, and help military personnel in cooperative housing construction. Since 1996, the HBC military has built more than 200 apartments, and at the end of September, the military handed over the keys to 34 apartments in the cooperative house.

- A lot of Omsk residents are fighting in Chechnya. They die, get seriously injured. The state has not yet determined the status of the participants in these hostilities, which means that we are facing a repeat of the "Afghan syndrome". It seems that the Omsk Region, where your decree on large-scale social assistance to participants of military operations in the North Caucasus has been in effect since July, was the first to understand this. What is this assistance?

- I am deeply convinced that Russia must not allow the "Afghan syndrome" to repeat and must take care of those who defended its integrity and prevented the rampant terrorism and banditry. I am proud that the Omsk region has become the first region in the country to have a real system of social protection for participants of military operations in the North Caucasus. Families of the victims, and there are already about a hundred of them in the region, and disabled people receive additional pensions from the regional budget, all those who return from Chechnya must undergo a course of social and psychological rehabilitation in a specially created center, have the opportunity to study their chosen professions, they are provided with jobs, quotas are allocated for admission to Omsk universities. Next year's budget includes funds for the construction of housing for those who passed the Chechen campaign and their families, as well as the reconstruction of a hospital.

Russia is now in its sixth year in a state of war. An undeclared war waged on its own territory and with its own citizens. (This is exactly what the court will call Basayev, Gelayev, and other Chechen bandits.) And that is why this war is terrible and incomprehensible to a part of society. But if the first period of it caused some questions among people, fluctuations in public opinion, then after the explosions of residential buildings, incessant hostage-taking, this opinion became almost unanimous: it's time to stop terrorism. No one, of course, objects to a political solution to the problem of Chechnya, but it is clear to everyone that it is practically unattainable until the army finally deals with the gangs, whose commanders will never allow their own people or their neighbors to live in peace.

The trouble is that the understanding of this came when a stable negative attitude towards the army as a whole matured in society. Zinc coffins from Afghanistan, then from Chechnya, numerous facts of "hazing" in military units led to the fact that,

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that mothers are ready to lie down on the rails in front of trains taking their sons to the service, young people sympathize with those who have not managed to "get out" of the draft. Can we imagine an officer of the Tsarist army or a commander of a Red Army company selling weapons to someone with whom he is fighting? Of course, this is all the fault of the army itself, but the authorities cannot but share responsibility for what is happening in the military environment.

Who is to blame for the fact that a"demob" soldier cannot find a job, that an officer does not have a roof over his head either during the years of service or after it, that for many people a man in camouflage has become a "second-class figure"? Until this attitude towards the military changes in society, we can't expect anything good from the army. And in order for these changes to occur, the actions of the authorities are also necessary. Those that would help foster respect for people in uniform, who are obliged to stand up for society at the right time, and for the memory of those who lost their lives.

- Leonid Konstantinovich, in the early 90's, the country almost banned military-patriotic education, which at one time had a very positive impact on the growth of authority and development of the army. Today, in some regions, in particular in your region, military-patriotic education is beginning to revive. How is this process going?

- Education of a sense of patriotism is necessary for any society. It does not have to be confined to military affairs and military traditions. A young person, even if he is a convinced pacifist, should know well the history and culture of his people, his country, study and evaluate correctly

both its achievements and mistakes made. But we should also not forget about the military - patriotic bias in the education of young people. For many young men, the army serves as a good school, the basis for choosing a vector on the path of life. But to do this, the army must enjoy authority in all strata of society, military personnel do not have the right to tarnish its honor, give rise to various kinds of accusations, often quite fair. And it also depends to a large extent on who joins the Armed Forces, which officers are trained in our educational institutions, and how we all treat people in uniform.

In my opinion, the Omsk Region has a better attitude towards the army today than in some other regions. This is evidenced at least by the fact that in recent years Omsk military enlistment offices have not experienced any special problems with the draft plan. We have an Airborne training center stationed here, and many of our guys are begging the military enlistment offices to send them to start their service from there. Demonstration performances of paratroopers and military personnel of other military units invariably attract a large number of young people and cause them the most positive reaction.

In general, Omsk is a traditionally military city. It began as a fortress on the eastern borders of Russia, was the center of the Siberian Cossack army, already in Soviet times large military formations were stationed here, two higher military schools were located. The oldest of them - the Frunze command school - was liquidated in 1998, which I considered and still consider a big mistake. But we managed to fix it to some extent. On the basis of this school, a cadet corps was created, which this year has already held the second set of students. More precisely, it was recreated. The Cossack Military School was founded in Omsk in 1813, and in 1826 it was transformed into the Siberian Cadet Corps. Generals Kornilov and Karbyshev, Kazakh educator Chokan Valikhanov and historian Georgy Katanaev emerged from its walls. For 185 years of its existence, under various names, this military institution has given the country 117 St. George Cavaliers, 74 Heroes of the Soviet Union. My heart bled when I read the order to eliminate him. No, I think we will not part with our history.

I spent a lot of time walking around Moscow offices, trying to convince them to correct the mistake by making a decision to revive the cadet corps. Moreover, the region took on half of the costs of its maintenance. In the first set, 220 guys were accepted, in the second - already 225, and there are many more applicants. The competition is like a prestigious university. A board of trustees has been established, and I am its head. We make sure that the children receive everything they need both financially and morally. I urge the military not to go too far in the direction of their disciplines. In my opinion, a graduate of the cadet corps should be a well-rounded person and not necessarily follow the military path afterwards.

The interview was conducted by Igor SPIRIDONOV

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