In the early 90s, the first elements of the commercialization of the activities of the then socialist state enterprises appeared. Due to the sharp reduction and disruption of the financing of the state order, the debt of the federal budget to the Regional Television and Radio Broadcasting Center was growing. To survive, it was necessary to find additional, non-budgetary commercial sources of income associated with the formation of commercial private television and radio companies. Predicting the growth of income from commercial TV and radio broadcasting, in order to achieve at least some stabilization of our position and to preserve specialists and the survival of the team, I decided to create a parallel operating “people's enterprise” - LLC “Volgorastr” on the basis of the ORTPTS state-owned enterprise. Thus, it was planned to develop state television and radio broadcasting in the SE ORTPTS (in accordance with its direct purpose) (in the countryside, we still continued the rather intensive construction of repeaters and the widespread development of two-program state TV broadcasting), and within the framework of Volgorastra to concentrate commercial broadcasting and other commercial activities. The need to create a new form of a commercial enterprise on the basis of the SE ORTPTs was determined by the constant and more and more protracted delays in the wages of our employees. Through Volgorastr LLC, I planned to conclude agreements with non-state companies for the maintenance and provision of services for TV and RV broadcasting on the newly introduced commercial TV and RV transmitters. It was also planned to conclude agreements between Volgorastr LLC and the State Enterprise ORTPTS for the lease of an area for a transmitter and space for antennas on poles. For example: the actually planned income of Volgorastr LLC for the provision of TV broadcasting of one 5-kilowatt TV transmitter of the Akhtuba Broadcasting Company would amount to 400 thousand rubles per month, while the total costs for electricity, rent of premises and operating costs - 150-200 thousand. rubles. Thus, LLC "Volgoraster" would have received a net profit from one powerful transmitter of about 200 thousand rubles a month (for comparison: the director's salary was 1.5 thousand).
Developed legal and economic principles, regulations and charter of the established commercial enterprise Volgorastr LLC (the name comes from the radio term "raster" - a half-frame scan of the image on the TV screen), which, if desired, could be entered by all employees of the ORTPTS, from the director to the cleaner, with the same for all an entrance fee equal to 10% of the salary of an ordinary technician ORTPTS.
The team and my colleagues in the AUP fully supported me, everyone wrote an application for joining Volgorastr LLC. In fact, he coordinated the creation of "Volgoraster" with the regional authorities and the regional committee for state property management. However, with a proviso - to obtain permission from the Federal State Property Agency from A. B. Chubais. I managed to agree on a meeting in the Kremlin with our "brilliant Moscow reformers" and to convince Mostovoy (deputy Chubais A. B.) of the expediency and urgent need to introduce "advanced market reforms" in the TV and radio industry of the Ministry of Communications of Russia, and, in particular, to give permission to create LLC "Volgorastr" on the basis of the Volgograd State Enterprise ORTPTS. I received such permission at the highest level. In Volgograd, he presented the obtained permits for the establishment of Volgorastr LLC to the regional administration and the regional committee for state property management. But the first deputy head of the regional administration, K., with whom I had good business relations, nevertheless, suddenly rested categorically under the pretext that I was creating a precedent in the Volgograd region and "laying a huge mine" under the enterprises of the public sector, not only of ours, but and other industries that the results can be unpredictable and disastrous. He suddenly categorically refused to allow the creation of such an enterprise and declared with an ultimatum: if I do not obey, then I will be relieved of my post.
For reference. In 2003, the share of purely commercial income in the total income of the ORTPTs (which was provided by 240 transmitters of various capacities) was 38.3%, which corresponded to 23 million rubles per year - this is the amount of annual commercial income that the planned LLC Volgorastr would have. At a certain stage, the Volgograd Regional Broadcasting Center achieved the highest level of commercial income among the Russian Regional Broadcasting Center!
At the end of 1994, through my Moscow friends, I contacted the Chinese who were interested in economic and, most importantly, technical cooperation with Russian enterprises, in particular, in the field of paging communications. Cellular communication in Russia had not yet appeared.
By this time, I was the first of all my colleagues to receive a precious license for the provision of paging services for the ORTPC. During the negotiations, an agreement was reached on all financial and technical issues of establishing a joint LLC with the Chinese, representing a very large Shanghai state-owned enterprise. However, two weeks later I was summoned by the Deputy Minister of Communications of the Russian Federation V. S. Marder. and, at first "kindly", and then, bumping into my "misunderstanding" of his interests, in a very harsh form he demanded to transfer the paging license I had received at the Volgograd ORTPTs to NPO Krosna for one year. NPO Space Communication - "Krosna" at that moment reached its climax, having successfully aided the Russian army in communications in the bloody Chechen war for Russian soldiers, where Russian troops and Dudayev's formations used identical regular army communications, and all the plans and orders of the Russian commanders were known to the Dudayevites … Krosna has to some extent solved this problem by providing the command of the Russian army with satellite communications. Of course, it was absurd for me to fight for my license with the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation and NPO Krosna. Deputy Minister Marder V. S. He told me: "Give Krosna the ransom money, assign the license, let them into your TV tower, help to mount and launch a paging station for them, and in a year we will restore this document for you." I told the deputy everything I think about him and left without a license, and I never took bribes in any form. A year later, when the ORTPTS installed the transmitting equipment and antenna-feeder system for Krosna on the TV tower of Mamayev Kurgan, they returned my license. And at the end of 1995, together with the Chinese, we created the first Russian-Chinese joint venture for paging communications in the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation, Orpheus LLC (initials from the Russian ORTPTs and the Chinese Feylo), the general director of which was AN Lyubakov. The Volgograd State Enterprise ORTPTs and the Shanghai State Enterprise “Feilo” became the co-founders of SRK LLC “Orpheus” on parity terms: 50/50%. (For reference: Feylo's annual income reached 4.5 billion US dollars, and the ORTPTS - 40 million rubles.)
The Chinese made their contribution in dollars for the purchase of imported equipment, computer equipment and pagers, and the Russian side - with a license, the provision of technical and office space, a place on the TV tower, specialists and operators of the station being created.
Despite the fact that "Krosna" received "at our expense" for a whole year the monopoly right of paging communication in Volgograd and gathered all potential subscribers of the city, nevertheless, our "Orpheus" developed successfully. Of course, due to the professionalism of the ORTPTS specialists, the use of our radio relay lines when creating a transport network to create paging stations in addition to the regional center in the large cities of Kamyshin and Mikhailovka. The issues of improving the efficiency of work were discussed with the Chinese, taking into account their rich long-term experience in this type of communication services and the supply of cheap Chinese-made pagers. However, the astronomical Russian duties on China (naturally wound up in the interests of Western European suppliers) reduced all our price benefits to zero. The issue of organizing the production of Chinese pagers in our country was worked out with the regional authorities and with the directors of the Volgograd radio and computer plants. The Chinese were very interested and responsible in everything related to the activities of Orpheus. Their representatives from the top management have annually, since 1995, come to the meetings of the founders, which were very thorough, with an in-depth analysis of all aspects of Orpheus's activities and accounting reports. Work plans, volumes and terms of financing were developed and approved, the implementation of which was strictly controlled.
According to the charter, meetings of founders should be held alternately in Russia and China. It was difficult to further substantiate why the Russian representatives did not travel to the Celestial Empire. After four years of successful work of Orpheus and in connection with the insistent invitation of the Chinese who came to the meetings of the founders every year, I decided to go to a meeting in Shanghai in April 1998. Before the trip, I convinced Deputy Minister of Communications of the Russian Federation Yelizarov M. A. on the feasibility of creating a joint-stock company as a part of all ORTPTS of Russia and leading Chinese state-owned enterprises to provide paging services, other new communication services, and organize joint TV and radio broadcasting. I flew to Shanghai with great powers from the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation to create such a Russian-Chinese joint stock company. Our partner, the state enterprise "Feylo", in addition to the millionth army of paging subscribers, had a large network of factories (not only in China, but also in Western Europe and the USA) for the production of modern communication and radio equipment, the latest payment cards with chips and etc. It should be emphasized that Feylo's revenues amounted to more than 4.5 billion US dollars, and for the Russian Regional Broadcasting Center it was a very promising investor and a worthy partner.
In Shanghai, as a representative of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation and a positively proven partner of "Feilo", I was received at a high level and with great honor, participated in meetings with the leaders of the Ministry of Communications and members of the Shanghai government. At a meeting with the CEOs of 27 leading paging companies in Shanghai and China, I made a detailed report, and after a long discussion and answers to questions, it was unanimously decided to create a joint global Russian-Chinese JSC, which I proposed, about which the corresponding protocols and solutions. My visit was very full of business meetings and conferences, apparently, I was, at that time, for the Chinese the first promising and already proven representative of the Russian Ministry of Communications, a breakthrough was planned in relations. At the invitation of my co-founders, I visited many huge (up to several thousand operators) paging stations and modern factories, met with various high-profile representatives of the radio industry, communications and government. I was carrying very important documents to Moscow, signed by the leadership of Shanghai communications workers and manufacturers of radio and communications equipment and equipment, and by me, as a representative of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation. I presented these super important documents to the Minister of Communications. There was no doubt that such a global Russian-Chinese joint-stock company would be created. But … at the end of April, a week after returning from Shanghai, by the next decree of the President of the Russian Federation, all our GP ORTPTS and GP RC were deprived of the status of state enterprises and turned into disenfranchised branches of the state television and radio company VGTRK. Our new leaders are M. E. Shvydkoi. and Lesin M. Yu. did not show any interest in the proposal to support the creation of a Russian-Chinese OJSC, their sphere of interest was related to the TV advertising business and they were not interested in the prospects for the development of ORTPTS and RC. Repeated attempts to instill in Shvydkoy and Lesin the expediency, profitability and benefits for the VGTRK through the ORTPTs of the inflow of huge Chinese investments into the created global Russian-Chinese JSC did not give a positive result. So, unfortunately, my initiative and very promising developments with high Chinese representatives were thrown into the basket.
Unfortunately, this is a typical life situation when it is possible to implement at least 25% of the developed developments and the already promoted and successfully confirmed projects that were tested at the first stages.
In the meantime, everything was going well at Orpheus LLC. The company developed, income grew. But by the middle of 1998, the first cellular operator appeared, CJSC "Smarts", then within a year more "Beeline", "Megafon" and "MTS". (For reference: the first mobile phones cost 2,530 thousand rubles, at that time it was possible to buy a Zhiguli in good condition for that kind of money. Now, 13 years later, the cost of used Zhiguli has doubled, to 50-60 thousand., and the cost of a simple mobile phone became less than one thousand rubles, i.e. decreased 30 times.)
With the rapid development of cellular communications, our "Orpheus", like all paging operators in Russia, due to the massive outflow of subscribers to cellular operators, began to curtail its activities and stopped providing services in 2004, having existed in the communications market for 8 years.
In China, the massive and catastrophic closure of paging stations began 1.5-2 years earlier than in Russia. (When in 1996 our "Orpheus" began to provide paging services in Volgograd, there were already more than 2 million subscribers of such communication in Shanghai at that time). Alas, Russia lay in ruins against the background of the most powerful Chinese development and striving forward.
Even then, in 1998, having visited Shanghai and other regions of China at a distance of up to 500 km from the city for eight days, I was amazed at the colossal pace of China's development in all industries and spheres, the reasonable and effective integration of all participants in the common construction business. a new state, completely unknown in Russia, unknown because in no case could it be shown to the Russian people. China, in many ways very stately and wisely, has far outstripped Russia, which in fact was plundered and plundered by greedy "reformers" without conscience and honor. In fact, the industrial, economic and intellectual potential of the USSR-Russia was brought down by the "democrats" to the most disastrous level of 1941-1942, the worst times of military losses and devastation. And even then, back in 1998, China was in many ways stepping on the heels of the leading and richest Western countries and, most importantly, maintaining socialist principles.
During my eight days in China, I have experienced an overwhelming impression of the grandeur, grandeur, and purposefulness of the massive construction and development that is everywhere. And at the same time he acutely experienced a very strong feeling of bitter resentment for his torn apart, plundered country.
The "democrats" (Western henchmen) turned the powerful, world-recognized, great power of the USSR into a wild general speculative bazaar, into which they drove all those who lost their jobs - academicians, scientists, specialists, highly qualified engineers and technicians (who were lucky, they got into the shuttles). And worthy, honored and respected patriots were infinitely humiliated and robbed by the "great privatizers".
The contrast between our eerie reality and developing China was stunning (at least in Shanghai). Shanghai in 1998 is the most modern city, in no way inferior to the best cities in the United States and Western Europe, and in some ways even surpassed them.
There are more than 200 skyscraper buildings in the city. These buildings have more than 50 floors, and they are up to 350 meters high, they have original architecture and rotating floors. Multi-tiered reinforced concrete highways pass over the city, and all vehicles move at high speeds over the city. Traffic noise is blocked by double-sided plastic fringes on highways. At one of the intersections, I videotaped the intersection of reinforced concrete roads five levels above the surface of the streets.
The streets are filled with pedestrians and hundreds of thousands of cyclists in continuous streams. Here, no one bothers anyone, no clashes or rude shouts, incredible tolerance, friendliness and discipline, which even the Germans will envy. Large-scale construction of a huge number of multi-storey buildings is underway throughout the country - all scaffolding (even for skyscrapers) is made from bamboo trunks of different thicknesses, which means that the rural population is busy growing, harvesting and supplying bamboo trunks. The roads are loaded with trucks of various purposes and carrying capacity, carrying concrete and metal structures, bricks, building materials, goods and agricultural products. Everywhere and in everything there is undoubted evidence of wise government and powerful development in the country of all industries and directions. I will give a vivid and large-scale example of a reasonable government approach: the Chinese, on favorable terms of taxation and customs duties, attracted huge investments from the leading Western corporations in all industries, transport, communications and science. In accordance with long-term contracts concluded, Western companies have built hundreds of the most modern and high-tech enterprises in China. Under the terms of the agreements, China paid off with Western investors with the products produced by these enterprises, and ten years later, such modern enterprises (constantly modernized so that their products remain highly competitive), under the terms of agreements concluded with the investors, became the property of China. Thus, China received the most modern industry, transport, communications and, in general, everything advanced with already trained Chinese specialists. What could be wiser, more patriotic and more effective?
And our clever democrats-privatizers in 2-3 years plundered and destroyed a huge power, stopped all enterprises, factories, research institutes, and the whole people, deprived of work and livelihood, turned into market speculators, thieves and swindlers. In China, anyone who is caught in corruption, speculation, bribery is severely punished and executed, while in Russia it is this contingent of criminals who represent the "respected" elite, power, law and business. They openly continue to plunder budget funds, state funds and "grab" what they have not yet grabbed. The country has never slipped into such shit in its entire history. The dollar rules everything, power, law, justice, office are bought. The concepts of honor, conscience and decency in Russian statehood have been completely trampled underfoot.
