Son of the director of Gazprom. The best Russian manager Alexey Miller: biography, career, personal life. The main stages of the biography

Alexey Borisovich Miller— Chairman of the Board and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC Gazprom. Alexey Miller is also the chairman of the board of directors of NPF Gazfond, Gazprombank and the insurance company SOGAZ. Alexey Miller is one of the highest paid Russian managers. Candidate of Economic Sciences. Miller has a number of state awards, including the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2006) for his contribution to the development of the Russian gas complex and the Order of Alexander Nevsky (2014).

Alexey Miller is a member of the board of trustees of the International Global Energy Prize and the government commission on the production of the mineral resource base of the Russian Federation and fuel and energy complex issues.

Childhood and education of Alexey Miller

Alexey Miller comes from a family of Russified Germans.

Father - Boris Vasilievich Miller(1935−1986) - assembler.

Mother - Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Miller(1936−2009) - engineer.

Parents worked at the Radio Electronics Research Institute of the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry.

Alexey Miller graduated from school-gymnasium No. 330 in the Nevsky district of Leningrad. Young Miller studied successfully. After school, he immediately entered the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute. ON THE. Voznesensky. In 1984, having received his diploma, Alexey Miller began working as an engineer-economist at LenNIIproekt.

From the biography of Alexey Miller on Wikipedia, you can find out that in the 80s, the future head of Gazprom was part of the circle of Leningrad economists-reformers, whose informal leader was Anatoly Chubais. In particular, in 1987, Alexey Miller was a member of the Sintez club at the Leningrad Youth Palace along with such famous people, How Mikhail Dmitriev, Andrey Illarionov, Mikhail Manevich, Andrey Lankov, Andrey Prokofiev and others.

The beginning of the career of Alexey Miller

While working at LenNIIproekt, Alexey Miller continued his education by studying in graduate school. In 1989, Alexey Borisovich Miller defended candidate's thesis and at LenNIIproekt he took the position of junior researcher.

In addition, the biography of Alexey Miller notes his activities in the Committee on Economic Reform of the Executive Committee of the Leningrad City Council.

In 1991, a significant acquaintance took place for Alexei Borisovich’s future career. Alexey Miller’s biography on the “Find out everything” website reports that in 1991 he began working in the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg City Hall, where he was director Vladimir Putin. Miller’s biography on the Gazprom website states that Alexey Borisovich began his career in the mayor’s office as head of the market conditions department of the Foreign Economic Relations Department of the External Relations Committee of the St. Petersburg Mayor’s Office.

Alexey Borisovich Miller successfully served on the Committee for five years and managed to establish contacts with the largest Western banks. Miller's biography in Lentapedia notes that he was involved in the development of the first investment zones in the city, in particular Pulkovo and Parnas, brought the first foreign banks to the city, such as Dresden Bank and Lyon Credit, hotel business, was chairman of the board of directors of the Europe Hotel.

Alexey Miller then became head of the foreign economic relations department, working under the direct supervision of Vladimir Putin (who at that time served as head of the mayor's office's external relations committee).

The perestroika period gave Miller the opportunity to rise high in career ladder. Alexey Miller was invited to senior positions in the largest Russian companies.

In 1996, after Anatoly Sobchak’s defeat in the elections, a new place of work appeared in the biography of the future head of Gazprom - OJSC Sea port Saint Petersburg". Until 1999, Alexey Miller was the director of development and investment of this company.

Since 1999, Miller has held the position general director at JSC Baltic Pipeline System.

When Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia in 2000, Alexey Miller moved to Moscow. He was appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation. Alexey Borisovich worked in this position for only a year, since in 2001 Miller took over as chairman of the board of Gazprom.

In the photo: Moscow, May 30. Deputy Minister of Energy Alexey Miller became the new chairman of the board of Gazprom (Photo: Vladimir Rodionov and Sergey Velichkin)

Alexey Miller's career at Gazprom

Alexey Miller, with the help of Vladimir Putin, carried out reforms at Gazprom, as reported in his biography on Wikipedia, the result of this activity was that by the beginning of 2004, the Russian Federation owned 38.7% of Gazprom shares and had a majority on the Board of Directors.

By 2004, the formation of the updated Gazprom management apparatus came to an end. In 2006 labor contract Miller was extended for another five years.

On December 9, 2005, the State Duma adopted amendments to the law “On Gas Supply in the Russian Federation”, according to which the share of shares owned by state-owned companies cannot be lower than 50% plus one share, and restrictions are also established for foreign citizens and companies.

In the photo: Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko and head of Gazprom Alexey Miller during the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement for 2006 (Photo: Grigory Sysoev/ TASS)

Gazprom's Wikipedia page states that in 2007, the company was included for the first time in the annual list of the hundred most respected firms and companies in the world according to the weekly Barron's. In May 2008, Gazprom became the third largest company in the world by capitalization.

In May 2008, the company had a maximum price and Alexey Miller noted that in 7-8 years its capitalization should grow from $365.1 billion to one trillion. But in the fall of the same year it collapsed to 77.1 billion, says Wikipedia.

At the beginning of 2010, head Alexey Miller took third place in the ranking of the most effective top managers in the world according to Harvard Business Review.

The work of Alexey Borisovich Miller has been repeatedly recognized as successful at the state level. In February 2016, news reported that Miller's contract had been extended for another 5 years.

In the photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the Board of Gazprom PJSC Alexey Miller (from left to right), who received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree, at the ceremony of presenting state awards of the Russian Federation in the Kremlin (Photo: Mikhail Metzel/TASS)

In January 2018, Gazprom made a request to Russian government allow the company to sell its own gas on the St. Petersburg Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (SPbMTSE) without any restrictions. As reported in the news, Alexey Miller sent this letter to the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Relations between Gazprom and Naftogaz

A special place in the activities of Alexey Miller as the head of Gazprom was occupied by relations with the Ukrainian Naftogaz. The “gas wars” between Russia and Ukraine continued for years, and the situation became especially difficult after Euromaidan, when Kyiv stopped paying for gas. Then Vladimir Putin said that Gazprom would “supply gas only in the volumes that will be paid by the Ukrainian side a month in advance. What they pay is what they get.”

On June 2, 2014, Alexey Miller reported that the price of blue fuel for Ukraine could drop below $385.5 per thousand cubic meters as a result of a discount from Gazprom.

On June 16, due to regular non-payments by Naftogaz of Ukraine, Gazprom introduced a prepayment regime for gas supplies for Ukraine. In addition, Gazprom filed a claim with the Stockholm Arbitration Court against the Ukrainian government for total amount about 4.5 billion dollars. Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on the news that Russia will supply gas to Ukraine only after advance payment and repayment of all debts, wrote: “The freebie is over.”

In July, Alexey Miller reported that Ukraine’s total debt for fuel supplied by Gazprom reached $5.29 billion. A total of 11.5 billion cubic meters of gas remain unpaid, which is comparable to the volume of annual Russian gas supplies to Poland.

“Ukraine’s reluctance in principle to pay for Russian gas is becoming chronic and once again shows that the transfer to prepayment provided for by the terms of the contract was the only right decision,” Miller emphasized.

On October 31, 2014, gas negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine-EU format ended in Brussels. A tripartite agreement was signed, which fixed the plan for gas supplies during the winter period. The first part was signed by the chairman European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, Vice-President of the European Commission Gunter Oettinger, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak and head of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine Yuri Prodan, the second document was signed by the heads of Gazprom and Naftogaz.

“We, citizens of Europe, can say that gas supplies are secure this winter, we have achieved a breakthrough. Everyone benefited from this, especially EU citizens. The transit function of Ukraine will continue to be implemented. Countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary will receive sufficient volumes of gas,” said Günter Oettinger.

In the photo: Belgium. Brussels. October 31. Chairman of the Board of OJSC Gazprom Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Board of NJSC Naftogaz Andrey Kobelev (from left to right in the foreground) sign an agreement on the supply of Russian gas to Ukraine. In the background, from left to right: Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, European Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Šefčović (Photo: AR/TASS)

The European Commissioner for Energy also confirmed the points reached earlier, in particular, the $100 discount from the Russian Federation and Ukraine’s obligations to pay $3.1 billion of its debt. At the same time, until March 2015, as reported in the news, Ukraine could buy gas on an advance payment basis at a price of $385 per thousand cubic meters. meters of gas or lower, according to calculation formula. It was noted that the key issue of the negotiations on October 30 was financial guarantees from the European Commission for payment by Kiev for Russian gas supplies.

In April 2015, Gazprom and Naftogaz signed an agreement on gas supplies in the second quarter of 2015.

In 2015, Gazprom filed a lawsuit against Naftogaz, demanding to recover from the company a fee for the shortfall of contract gas volumes in 2012-2013, which it had to pay according to the take-or-pay rule (“take or pay” - annual payment minimum amount of fuel). Naftogaz, in turn, demanded a review of pricing, which it considered non-market. In 2012, Nezalezhnaya received a discount of one hundred dollars per thousand cubic meters of gas in exchange for basing Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. But in 2014, after Crimea became part of the Russian Federation, the discount was canceled and the price rose to $485 per thousand cubic meters. Naftogaz refused to pay this price and also went to arbitration.

In the fall of 2015, Russia again provided Ukraine with a discount on gas. As the Deputy Head of the European Commission (EC) for Energy Union Affairs said Maros Šefčović, the “winter package” of documents, in addition to the trilateral protocol, included an additional contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz.

On November 18, 2015, the European Commission gave the green light to three gas pipelines from South-Eastern to Central Europe, which Gazprom will be able to use to supply the Balkans with Turkish Stream gas. These projects allowed Gazprom to solve the problem of delivering gas to European consumers, while abandoning the transit of gas through Ukraine.

Thus, Russia was going to protect itself from a gas crisis similar to the crisis in 2009, when Ukraine stole gas. The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, made it clear that the Russian concern will not build “strings” in the EU to continue the Turkish Stream, and the Europeans themselves need to take care of this.

At the beginning of June 2016, Gazprom received an official letter from Naftogaz with a request to resume supplies of Russian fuel. Kyiv was offered a price of $177 per thousand cubic meters, but Naftogaz considered it too high. Gazprom then issued a preliminary invoice to Kyiv for gas.

On May 31, 2017, the Stockholm Arbitration Court issued an interim decision in the dispute between Gazprom and Naftogaz regarding the contract for gas supplies to Ukraine.

On February 28, 2018, the Stockholm Arbitration Court announced a decision on the transit claim of Naftogaz against Gazprom. It was ruled in favor of the Ukrainian company and obligated the Russian gas giant to pay Naftogaz $2.56 billion.

At the same time, Naftogaz demanded even more - $17 billion. Gazprom does not agree with the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration Court, accusing it of violating the rules Swedish law regulating the contract with Naftogaz. Gazprom promised to protect its rights “by all means” that do not contradict the law.

After this, the management of Gazprom announced that it had returned the advance payment for March to Naftogaz and would not resume gas supplies. As a result, the Ukrainian authorities temporarily limited gas consumption in the country, but within 24 hours the President Petro Poroshenko announced the start of fuel supplies from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. As it turned out, this option turned out to be four times more expensive than the Russian proposal.

Commercial Director Naftogaz Yuri Vitrenko stated that Gazprom had underpaid his company by about $20 billion since 2009 due to the fact that tariffs for fuel transit were underestimated.

Income of Alexey Miller

Alexey Miller is a regular participant in Forbes ratings, which list the incomes of the highest paid top managers in Russia. In 2013, with annual income of $25 million, Miller ranked third. In 2015, Alexey Borisovich for the first time became the highest paid top manager in Russia with an income of $27 million.

In the photo: Deputy Chairman of OAO Gazprom Vitaly Markelov, Chairman of the Board of OAO Gazprom Alexey Miller (from left to right) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Gazprom Viktor Zubkov (right) before the general annual meeting of shareholders of OAO Gazprom (Photo: Sergey Fadeichev/TASS)

At the end of 2016, Miller also headed Forbes rating most valuable leaders Russian companies with revenue of $17.7 million.

According to Forbes, Alexey Miller owns 0.000958% of Gazprom shares. Package price: $488,198 (as of October 20, 2016).

On April 6, it became known that the United States had imposed sanctions against Russian businessmen and officials. The US Treasury blacklisted 15 companies and 38 businessmen, including Oleg Deripaska, Sergei Fursenko, Alexey Miller, Konstantin Kosachev, Mikhail Fradkov, Kirill Shamalov and some others.

This restrictive list implies the freezing of assets, seizure of real estate and possible bank accounts of individuals and legal entities in the United States, as well as a ban on entry into the country.

Personal life and hobbies of Alexey Miller

In the biography of Alexey Miller on the Find Out Everything website, it is reported that the billionaire is married, his wife Irina is not a public person. The Millers have a son.

Alexey Miller can often be seen at the matches of FC Zenit, whose general sponsor is Gazprom PJSC; it is known that he is a football fan.

In the photo: Chairman of the Board of OJSC Gazprom Alexey Borisovich Miller, and Sergey Fursenko, President football club Zenit (Photo: Vyacheslav Evdokimov / TASS)

Alexey Miller visited the locker room of St. Petersburg “Zenith” after the match of the ninth round of the Russian championship, in which the “blue-white-blue” were unable to beat Perm “Amkar”, the news reported. The functionary was extremely dissatisfied with the result of the match and decided to personally talk with the players.

Alexey Miller is fond of horse riding. He owns the purebred stallions Vesely and Fragrant. In the second quarter of 2012, Miller took the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Russian Hippodromes.

Forbes wrote that Alexey Miller registered on Odnoklassniki after an acquaintance with whom he studied at the institute reproached that the head of Gazprom communicates little with classmates on the Internet.

In 2016, during the international gas forum in St. Petersburg, Alexey Borisovich said that as a teenager he was a fan of Deep Purple. According to him, he dreamed of attending a concert and now, whenever possible, he attends performances of the legendary rock band.

Miller and I are the same age - he is also from 1962. By the way, it's the year of the Tiger. Moreover, we grew up in the same area, at the Zanevskaya outpost in St. Petersburg. You could say on the neighboring streets. It turns out that I even went to arrange for my son to go to the school where he studied - No. 330 with in-depth study of mathematics. The director then spoke with pride about her graduates. I missed the name Miller...

This is a former factory outskirts on the left bank of the Neva south of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. There are factory pipes and fences all around. The streets are named after revolutionary figures: Elizarov, Babushkin, Krupskaya. There are still monuments to Soviet-era propaganda in the courtyards. By the way, another now famous St. Petersburg resident, Boris Gryzlov, also spent his adolescence here (he studied in 327th). Neighboring residents praise school No. 330. A good place, although not elite. But, besides Miller, the coach of our figure skaters, Tamara Moskvina, also studied here.

My parents were ordinary people. Miller also did not come from an aristocrat: his father was an assembly mechanic, his mother an engineer. Both worked at the same enterprise - NPO Leninets, which still develops on-board equipment for aircraft. Alyosha's father died early from cancer, but his mother is still alive. He was the only child in the family.

Alexey Borisovich's classmate Alla told me this episode... Lesha Miller never skipped classes. One day the class gathered for an excursion to Pushkin. The head teacher said: “Take thermoses with you. But just in case, take your notebooks: the excursion may be canceled and then you will study.” Everyone came to school with only thermoses. Only two excellent students - Miller and Kibitkin - brought notebooks, as was said. When they announced that the excursion would be cancelled, everyone fled out of town, but Kibitkin and Miller stayed behind. It seems that even in short pants he knew what he wanted...

I was a hooligan and would definitely have run away with everyone else, but I didn’t have a far-reaching goal then. And he had it. More than once Alexey Miller had to choose “between a thermos and a notebook,” and in the end, the “notebook” most often won. Because it was service. Probably even with a capital letter: Serving one’s career.

He didn't make it into history

Before leaving, a journalist I knew called me from St. Petersburg and knows everything about everyone.

Are you going to pick up Miller? I do not advise. You won't dig up anything. Look!

Why is this? - I got angry.

Because he's no good. The mouse is gray. And no one will tell you about him. Everyone is afraid. You yourself know whose creature it is.

About the “mouse” was right on point. Neither teachers nor classmates remembered Alexey Miller as anything special. “Alyosha was a diligent student” - this is the main refrain in stories about school years heads of Gazprom. The school has almost no photographs of him: they found only two general photographs of tenth-graders from the class of 1978/79. In one of them, Miller stands in the back row with a concentrated face. And so it is in everything. Stealth was perhaps its main feature.

He was not eager to participate in class activities. Even the position of secretary of the Komsomol committee, which he was offered, he voluntarily gave up to a classmate, and he himself remained in a supporting role. This trait - the desire to be in power and at the same time in the shadows - will be noted by many later.

“A modest and shy boy,” classmates recall, “he didn’t stick his head out anywhere. At school he had no enemies, but no close friends either. Why? Complex issue... Alyosha did not arouse hatred or antipathy in anyone. And generally speaking - strong feelings.

He has changed a lot since then. He was like a doll: blonde curls, thin himself. Soft and dreamy. He let me copy on the test if they asked.”
The Russian German, apparently, realized too early: he would not be able to break into the “people” except by becoming very smart and completely invisible. And also - never open your soul to anyone: often the closest friends overnight become the most cruel enemies.

And in his reference they wrote: “A capable young man, serious, deep, diligent... a real person, principled and noble...” I spoke with the teacher who, as they said, wrote the reference. She shrugged: “The handwriting is mine. I don’t remember what I wrote..."

With this paper and an impeccable certificate, in 1979, Miller entered the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute (locally known as finek) on his first attempt. There he ended up at the department of national economic planning. “The guy from the working settlement” became the favorite student of Professor Igor Blekhtsin, a famous St. Petersburg economist and master of sports international class in chess.

Finek became a convenient stepping stone for him to climb towards his dream. In 1984, the diploma, as usual, was “excellent”, not a single “good” mark. And again - he kept his head down. The student Miller was remembered at his alma mater as follows: “neat,” “calligraphic handwriting.” Of the human characteristics, there is only one: “he was a fan of Zenit”...

"Chubais' Nest Chick"

In the late 80s, Chubais noticed a capable graduate of Finek. The two Borisovichs, Anatoly and Alexei, were connected by the “Club of Young Economists” (later the “Filter” Club), based in the Leningrad Youth Palace.

The circle was founded by economist Boris Levin, and ideological inspirer became the future “privatizer of Russia.” The core consisted of graduates of FINEK, the Faculty of Economics of Leningrad State University and the Institute of Engineering and Economics (where Chubais then taught). That’s what they called them: “Chubais’ chicks.” Many now well-known figures flew out of the “nest”: Putin’s current adviser Andrei Illarionov, former deputy chairman of the State Property Committee Dmitry Vasiliev, St. Petersburg vice-governor Mikhail Manevich (shot in August 1997), Alexey Miller and others.

According to the recollections of the “young reformers,” Miller spoke little and listened more. When several members of the club began creating the first centers of NTTM (scientific and technical creativity of youth), he did not go into small business and was not on the list of the first entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg. The same thing happened again when the “chicks” (including Manevich) went to the elections of deputies of the Leningrad City Council.

Miller, as you might guess, remained on the sidelines with his “notebooks.”
While already in the Leningrad City Executive Committee, Chubais formed the Committee on Economic Reform (CER). The “chicks” flew there. Miller came to the department headed by Manevich. And the committee was headed by Alexey Kudrin. After Sobchak was elected mayor, the CER was liquidated. There were plenty of other places in Smolny where one could get a good job. But Miller got the best thing - in the Committee on External Relations (FRC). Since 1991, he has grown rapidly: head of department, deputy chairman of the committee, head of the foreign economic cooperation department. And most importantly, from the beginning of his work at KVS, Miller’s boss and patron became a person psychologically close to him - Vladimir Putin. If Chubais fed Miller and allowed him to fledge, then Putin put him on the wing. They worked side by side for five years.

Foreign Economic Intelligence Department

Their characters coincided in many ways: Putin, in a sense, was a “strengthened” version of Miller’s personality. As former KVS employees say, a strict business style reigned in the committee. Officials and their secretaries, nervous, appeared in the morning for 15-20 minutes ahead of schedule and stayed in their offices until late.

Relaxing on weekends was not encouraged. Putin set the tone. Emotions were not accepted: no one cared what was in your heart. The “owner” never got irritated; he conducted planning meetings in a quiet, metallic voice.

“German order” spilled out from Putin’s office through the corridors. Women in the FAC could not, for example, afford to show up for duty in a skirt that reached above their knees.
The KVS was the only structure of the mayor's office where documents were never lost. Business cards of representatives of foreign companies were always pinned to the folders with reports. One of the committee employees still says with genuine fear what a scandal would have erupted if even one business card had been lost on the way to the VVP desk.
There were, however, grounds for such strictness. The PIC was faced with the task of arranging commercial negotiations with business guests from abroad. If possible, without information leakage. The very phrase “foreign economic relations” evoked irony among the old-timers of Smolny. In the early 90s, Sobchak still had almost no such connections. On the sidelines they said: “the department of foreign economic intelligence, which knows everything about everyone...”

For every person who appeared on
on the horizon of the “client” they compiled a comprehensive dossier down to what the guest prefers - tea or coffee. Miller became a virtuoso in preparing such certificates. “They don’t work like that anymore!” - sigh in the current PIC. Miller was able to stay in such a “slippery” position only thanks to iron discipline, secrecy, devotion and super-work capacity (“worked 16 hours a day”). Hence the personal support of the boss who sympathized with him.

There are other assessments: “The secretaries did not see him point-blank. This was a person in second, if not third, roles.” There were even rumors that Miller was collaborating freelance with the “authorities” at that time... Unlike at school, during the period of Miller’s work at the KVS, Alexey Borisovich began to have ill-wishers.

And here’s another opinion expressed in a private conversation by a columnist for one of the city newspapers: “St. Petersburg journalists had no problems with him. When Putin was absent from the committee, we called Lesha, and he always answered questions (see: “he let me copy on the test.” - Author). But he knew how to keep at a distance... Unlike, say, Manevich, he is of the “Putin school.” Putin himself was already closed to communication. The local press made its way to Vladimir Vladimirovich only on major holidays. You could talk to him, but no useful information you won't get it. Even if the conversation did not take place over the phone, but over a glass of wine at a presentation.” Like in the St. Petersburg media
accepted Miller’s “ascent”? For many, this was a revelation, since he had never been a public politician.

The other two deputies of the GDP loved country exhibitions and buffets, which Sobchak adored so much, but Miller did not travel - he holed up at the FAC. He was an exemplary performer, like Kudrin.

Friend of the Manevich family

As people close to Miller say, during his work at KVS he maintained a friendship with Mikhail Manevich. They had a lot in common: they were the same age, graduates of the same university, and Mikhail’s future second wife, Marina, worked as Miller’s secretary-assistant.

Miller and Mikhail Manevich remained friends until the killer’s fatal shots, but after becoming the head of Gazprom, Miller stopped calling the Manevichs. Even when I came to St. Petersburg...

“It’s a pity,” Manevich’s father sighs. “For me, Alexey is also a memory of my son.” Marina adds: “We haven’t communicated for five years. Since the day of my husband’s death...”

Mikhail was perhaps the only person outside the narrow family circle, from which Miller did not hide his feelings. But what were these feelings?

They say that Mikhail and Alexey at one time were so “focused” on the economy that when they met at home they discussed exclusively work or argued on economic topics.
The households of both even tried to impose a taboo on these topics.

The murder of Manevich shocked Miller - also because the bullets of that “order,” to use a metaphor, flew a centimeter from the temple of each of “Chubais’ chicks.” Since August 1997, he has become doubly careful. As it turned out, it was not in vain.

What does Miller have to do with it?

Almost nothing to do with it. “Almost” means that Alexey Borisovich did his job: he brought together St. Petersburg and foreign companies, did not sign strategic documents and did not make sensitive decisions. His name has never come up in connection with a criminal case or loud scandal.

Nevertheless, many important and secret papers in the KVS passed through the hands of Alexei Borisovich. Due to his duty, he was aware of the not very pleasant secrets of the St. Petersburg administration. However, he managed not to show up anywhere.

Miller tiptoed to the pinnacle of power - behind Putin's back. They said about him: “Lesha is not capable of stealing. Unless not for yourself...”

And they didn’t particularly “attack” him.

Only once, “St. Petersburg Zhirinovsky”, ex-LDPR deputy Vyacheslav Marychev, burst into the reception room and threw a crumpled piece of paper with huge red letters “Deputy Request” on the table. "What is this?" - the secretary asked in bewilderment. “What is this?!” - Marychev exploded. - Don’t you see? And he slammed his fist on the table. At that moment Miller entered the room. “Don't yell at the girl! - he said quietly in Putin’s style. “There are no deaf people here!” "What's your last name?" - Marychev did not let up. The secretary said her last name, which did not sound Slavic at all. "And yours?" - “Miller.” "Synagogue!" - Marychev barked and, grabbing the “request”, ran out of the reception area.

From pro to cog

The hyper-cautious Alexey Borisovich not only ran from floor to floor with pieces of paper and solved his career problems. He also helped Peter get loans. According to some analysts, a number of large Western companies - Coca-Cola, Wrigley, Gillette and others - have taken root on the banks of the Neva, in no small part thanks to Miller. Together with Putin, he brought large Western banks such as Dresdener Bank and Lyon Credit to the city and generally played key role in attracting foreign investment. He handled all the questions competently. Skeptics, however, reduce Putin’s favorite to a cog in the machine of nomenklatura office work. “All things,” they say, “were personally driven by Sobchak and his advisers. Miller serious topics were not assigned due to lack of experience.” “Arrogant, touchy, complex. Unpleasant to communicate with. Having become a big boss, he could force the Western delegation to wait 30-40 minutes in his reception room. At the same time, the manager is zero... The key color in the description is gray. I walked along the wall.” But the truth is that Miller was at the forefront of creating the first investment zones in the Pulkovo Heights area. He also represented the interests of the city in joint ventures and oversaw the hotel business - served on the board of directors of the Europe Hotel.

He also had a hard time here. What was going on with St. Petersburg real estate then can be understood at least by the example of the legendary “apartment” scandal (the Renaissance company case). City Hall officials were then suspected of receiving luxury apartments in exchange for preferential loans and lucrative contracts. “The temptation was great...” The situation was no better with the transfer of buildings in the historical center of the city to foreign firms. Local operatives remember how this difficult process went. They say that premises on Nevsky were sold to the same Lyon Credit for almost a dollar per meter. Serious “showdowns” also took place around the five-star Sheraton Nevsky Palace hotel: “Tambovites” and “Kazans” fought for control over it.

Before the call

And then the government in St. Petersburg changed. Together with Sobchak, who lost the election, Putin also left the mayor’s office. Miller stayed only a month longer. The place of the chairman of the KVS was taken by a person from another team, the former head of the department of the regional committee of the CPSU Gennady Tkachev, and Putin left for Moscow.

It was a setback. Step aside. Losing momentum. Another would have fallen into depression, but Miller took the changes philosophically and began to wait. Perhaps, on the platform of the Moscow station, the former boss whispered to him a few encouraging phrases? In any case, Miller’s job was not so bad: he became deputy general director of the Sea Trade Port for three years. They say that at this time he did not forget to visit Putin in Moscow. He was often seen leaving Vladimir Vladimirovich’s office: first in the department of affairs, and then in the White House. One must think that he didn’t just go there like that. And Putin did not forget about his subordinate. Having become prime minister, he found Miller the position of general director of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS). This was already “something”.

Miller’s colleagues on the “pipe” still dared to characterize their leader. The picture appeared familiar: Miller tried to reproduce in a new place the order to which he was accustomed at the mayor’s office. Distinctive feature“Putin’s chick” was toughness with his subordinates. He could, for example, kick the gray-haired department head (with whom he had previously consulted) out of a conference call: “You weren’t invited. Come out!” He did not tolerate changes in his work schedule or in his office. In Putin's style, he forced the deputies to retrain reports. He was aspirated about any information that needed to be submitted “to the top.” He was careful even in small things. But he always paid employees fairly under their contracts, did not forget about salary indexation, and helped with housing.

Having become president, Putin called him to the Ministry of Energy as deputy minister. Miller “collected his notebooks” and flew to another “nest.”

Born on January 31, 1962 in Leningrad into a family of employees of the closed defense enterprise of the Leninets research and production association, where on-board equipment for aviation was developed. His father passed away early. The mother raised her son alone.

Education

Graduated from the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute (LFEI) with a degree in engineer-economist. In 1989 he defended his dissertation and received academic degree Candidate of Economic Sciences.

Labor activity

He began his career in 1984 in the master plan workshop of the design institute for housing and civil construction "LenNIIproekt".

In 1990, he was appointed junior researcher at the LFEI and head of a subdivision of the Committee on Economic Reform of the Lensovet Executive Committee. Moreover, the future Minister of Finance of Russia A. Kudrin was then the deputy chairman of this committee, and the future First Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais was the deputy head of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council.

From 1991 to 1996, he worked in the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg City Hall, where his immediate supervisor in 1991 was the future President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. In this committee, he changed several positions: head of the market conditions department of the foreign economic relations department, head of the foreign economic relations department and deputy chairman of the committee.

After Anatoly Sobchak lost the gubernatorial elections and left the city administration of St. Petersburg in 1996, Alexey Borisovich was offered the position of director for development and investment of OJSC Sea Port of St. Petersburg. Then he worked for a year as General Director of OJSC Baltic Pipeline System.

In 2000, when Putin became president, he moved to Moscow and became Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

Since 2001, he has held the post of Chairman of the Board of Gazprom, and is regularly re-elected to this position by the holding’s Board of Directors. On March 22, 2011, he was re-elected chairman of OAO Gazprom for a five-year term.

The last time the issue of electing the chairman of the board of Gazprom PJSC was considered was in February 2016, at which time he was unanimously elected to this post from May 31, 2016 for a period of five years.

Interesting information was published in June 2016 by the daily St. Petersburg online newspaper Fontanka.ru. According to her information, the head of the largest energy company approved the famous song by Semyon Slepakov ( resident Comedy Club) about the state corporation and even allowed the video to be shown on the country’s TV channels. At the same time, adding that the holding is interested in Slepakov’s work, and his song was even published in the corporate magazine.

Video:

Awards

Possesses big amount titles and awards - both Russian and other states, namely:

Medal“For services to the Fatherland” II degree (03/02/2002) - for great services in strengthening Russian statehood and many years of conscientious service.

Orders:

“For services to the Fatherland” IV degree (2006);
Dostyk II degree (Kazakhstan) - awarded on the basis of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 2, 2006 for his contribution to the strengthening and development of cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation;
Saint Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, 1st century. (ROC, 2009), as well as St. Sergius of Radonezh II degree (ROC);
Honor ( South Ossetia, August 24, 2009) - for services to strengthening friendship and cooperation between peoples, great personal contribution to the construction of the Dzuarikau - Tskhinvali gas pipeline;
Nizhny Novgorod region "For civil valor and honor" 1st Art. (2010);​
​​Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, February 12, 2010)​;
Labor I Art. (Vietnam, 2011)​;
​​President's Certificate of Honor Russian Federation(February 6, 2012) - for services to the development of the gas complex and many years of conscientious work;
Glory and Honor II Art. (ROC, 2013) - in consideration of works for the benefit of the Russian Orthodox Church and in connection with the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra;
​​Alexander Nevsky (2014)​;
Friendship (Armenia) (2015)​ and Saint Mesrop Mashtots (Republic of Armenia)​;
Honorary citizen of the city of Astrakhan (2008);
Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology (2010).

He also received the “Cross of the Hungarian Republic”, II degree (Hungary) - for his services in energy cooperation.

Hobbies

Since childhood he has been fond of football, his favorite club is St. Petersburg Zenit. In 2010, he was elected vice-president of the Russian Football Union.

In addition to football, he loves equestrian sports and horse racing. He owns two thoroughbred stallions - Vesely and Fragrant. Also likes to ride alpine skiing and cycling.

Family status

Married, he has a son. Free time prefers to spend time with family.

Miller Alexey Borisovich- Russian economist, regional head, statesman. Chairman of the Board and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC Gazprom. Candidate of Economic Sciences.

Biography

Miller Alexey Borisovich, born January 31, 1962, native of Leningrad.

Relatives. Wife: Miller Irina Anatolyevna, born November 24, 1963, housewife. Unlike the wives of other high-ranking officials, she does not lead social life and almost never appears in public, concentrating all his efforts on housekeeping. The wife is raising a son. Alexey also has a daughter from his first marriage.

Awards. Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree. Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree. Order of Alexander Nevsky. Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, II degree. Order of the Cross of the Hungarian Republic, II degree (Hungary). Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots (Republic of Armenia). Order of Dostyk, II degree (Kazakhstan). Order of Honor (South Ossetia). Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy). Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, II degree (ROC). Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, 1st degree (ROC). Order of Glory and Honor, II degree. Honorary citizen of the city of Astrakhan. Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology. Order of the Nizhny Novgorod Region “For Civil Valor and Honor”, ​​1st degree. Order of Labor, 1st class (Vietnam). Certificate of Honor from the President of the Russian Federation. Order of Merit Orthodox Church Kazakhstan". Order of Friendship (Armenia). Badge of honor “For caring for the beauty of the city.”

State. In 2012, he took 2nd place in the list of the most expensive managers in Russia according to Forbes with an income of $25 million. In 2013, he took 3rd place in the list of the most expensive managers in Russia with the same income of $25 million per year. In 2014 - 2nd place and $25 million. In 2015, he became the highest paid top manager in Russia with an income of $27 million. He is the owner of 0.000958% of Gazprom shares. At the end of 2016, he topped the Forbes ranking of the most valuable executives of Russian companies with an income of $17.7 million.

Hobbies. He is interested in horse riding. Owns riding stallions - Vesely (imported from the USA) and Fragrant. The stallions have repeatedly won prizes and are purebred. Alexey Miller can often be seen at the matches of FC Zenit, whose general sponsor is PJSC Gazprom.

Education

Graduated from the Leningrad Financial and Economic Institute named after. N. A. Voznesensky. Has an academic degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences.

Labor activity

• After graduation, he worked at the LenNIIproekt Institute and studied there in graduate school, holding the positions of engineer-economist and junior researcher, then moved to the Economic Reform Committee of the Leningrad City Executive Committee.

• From 1991 to 1996, he worked in the Committee for External Relations of the St. Petersburg City Hall, where he rose from head of department to deputy chairman of the Committee.

• In 1996, Miller became Director for Development and Investments of the Sea Port of St. Petersburg OJSC, and in 1999 he took the post of General Director of the Baltic Pipeline System OJSC.

• In 2000, he was invited to the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation to the position of Deputy Minister.

• In 2001, Miller A.B. was appointed Chairman of the Board of OJSC Gazprom. By virtue of his position, he is also Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Gazprom.

• He also holds the positions of vice-president of the Russian Football Union and chairman of the board of directors of OJSC Russian Hippodromes.

Connections/Partners

In principle, it was not difficult for Alexei Borisovich, who did not like to be the center of attention, to work well with Putin. Miller did his job diligently, did not come up with initiatives, agreed with the management in everything, being aware of very important matters, never chatted about them, in a word, “kept his head down.” He calmly brought together St. Petersburg and foreign companies, but did not sign any strategic documents and did not make sensitive decisions. His name has never surfaced in connection with a criminal case or a high-profile scandal. In a word, he was an ideal performer. At the same time, Miller tried to copy the behavior style of his boss Putin in everything. So, Alexey Borisovich, like Vladimir Vladimirovich, tried to avoid public events and noisy buffets, which Mayor Sobchak adored so much.

On the committee, Miller oversaw the economic zones Pulkovo (where the enterprises of the Coca-Cola and Gillette companies were located) and Parnas with the Baltika brewery. While working at KVS, Miller was also remembered for bringing large Western banks to the city, such as Dresdener Bank and Lyon Credit. On Putin’s instructions, he also dealt with issues of attracting foreign investment to St. Petersburg. All issues were resolved competently. Despite the fact that he initiated the transfer of a number of buildings in the historical center of the city to foreign companies, interest in his person law enforcement escaped, however, like Putin himself. Well, when Vladimir Vladimirovich became the head of Russia, it never occurred to anyone to stir up previous affairs.

But before ascending, Alexey Borisovich lost his chair. In 1996, Mayor Sobchak lost the election Vladimir Yakovlev, as a result of which Putin was forced to leave the mayor's office. There was no place for Miller in the new composition of the city leadership. If Putin went to Moscow, where he was offered the position of deputy manager of the affairs of the President of the Russian Federation, then Miller remained in St. Petersburg, becoming deputy general director of the Sea Port of St. Petersburg OJSC, of ​​which he was the beneficiary Ilya Traber close to criminal circles.

At the same time, he continued to maintain relations with Putin. When Vladimir Vladimirovich became the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation in 1999, Alexey Borisovich took over the post of General Director of OJSC Baltic Pipeline System.

With the arrival of Putin to the highest government post in Russia, the most promising career prospects opened up for Miller. In July 2000, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, in charge of development issues international cooperation in the fuel and energy sectors. Knowledgeable people they said that Alexey Borisovich was “doing an internship” before taking the place of minister, but in May 2001 he became the head not of the Ministry of Energy, but of Gazprom, replacing him in this post Rema Vyakhireva.

It is noteworthy that this decision by Putin came as a complete surprise to Gazprom management. So, the company's management found out about this an hour before the start of the board of directors meeting, during which Miller was introduced as the head of the corporation. Despite the fact that Alexey Borisovich immediately after his appointment stated that he intended to ensure the “continuity” of Gazprom’s policy, it became clear to everyone that a purge of the concern from Vyakhirev’s personnel was coming.

As a result, he not only carried out this purge, but also managed to turn the gas giant's treasury into inexhaustible source money for the needs of the Kremlin. President Putin was pleased with the performance of Alexei Borisovich in this post. Miller successfully thwarted all plans to reform the gas monopoly, during which it was planned to withdraw the gas transportation system into a separate, state-controlled structure, as well as separate the production and processing systems from Gazprom.

home Alexey Borisovich's merit is that with his arrival at Gazprom, the state regained a controlling stake in the concern, while Gazprom itself managed to regain the assets lost under Rem Vyakhirev. But it should be noted that not all of the assets were returned; some of them ended up, not without Miller’s assistance, under the control Gennady Timchenko - friend and ally of V. Putin.

Alexey Borisovich also generously distributed contracts on which a new generation of “oligarchs” grew up, the most prominent representatives which are the Rotenberg brothers.

Under Miller, Gazprom became an active participant in the so-called. gas wars with other CIS countries. Thus, twice, in January 2006 and in January 2008, supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine were stopped, which were caused by the refusal of the Ukrainian side to pay the price specified by Gazprom. On the instructions of Alexey Borisovich, in January 2007 the gas was “cut off” to Belarus. At the same time, Miller never tired of repeating that the company he heads is reaching out to all the republics former USSR on “clear, transparent market operating principles”, the basis of which is “the global hydrocarbon price environment”. However, Alexey Borisovich was not at all embarrassed that gas relations between Russia and Ukraine for a long time featured an absolutely opaque intermediary structure, Rosukrenergo, whose owners were a Ukrainian billionaire Dmitry Firtash and Gazprom itself.

Miller was the author of an ambitious project for the construction of the North European Gas Pipeline, which was supposed to pass through the Baltic Sea, bypassing the countries that previously ensured the transit of Russian gas to Europe. It was planned to start construction back in 2005, but due to the delay in preparing the long-term business plan for the project, pipe laying began only in 2010, and the gas pipeline received a new name “Nord Stream”.

Under Miller, Gazprom set a course for business globalization. Under him, the corporation acquired assets in the electric power industry and oil sector, increased the share of Russian gas in European gas imports to 40%, and established contacts with the German E.On and BASF and the Italian ENI.

In addition to the aforementioned Nord Stream, work is underway on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline across the Black Sea, a number of strategic agreements on gas supplies to Asia-Pacific countries have been signed (which, however, remain only on paper for now), and the decision to abolish state regulation on domestic gas prices has been pushed through. But still, criticism of Alexey Borisovich is becoming louder.

However, Miller pays no attention to his critics. Despite his health problems (for example, due to kidney stones, he was even forced to give up his favorite beer), he is not going to resign yet, knowing full well that he has not yet lost Putin’s trust. And who would voluntarily leave a post in which he earns $25 million a year?

But still the attacks on Alexey Borisovich do not subside. Thus, Miller was criticized because of his intention to build a 396-meter-high skyscraper for Gazprom in St. Petersburg, on the right bank of the Neva, which would disfigure the architectural ensemble of the city. The residents of St. Petersburg managed to achieve the cancellation of construction, while Alexey Borisovich heard many unpleasant words about himself.

Another area on which Miller was criticized was his love of luxury. Thus, in 2009, photographs of his estate under construction on the shore of the Istra Reservoir, which received light hand the witty name is Millerhof. One land for a gigantic complex with an area of ​​30 hectares, reminiscent in architectural and landscape terms of the Great Palace in Peterhof with a cascade of fountains, cost about 16 million dollars. The experts remained modestly silent about the cost of construction. And although Miller categorically denied that he had anything to do with the estate under construction, no one really believed him. Why shouldn’t the owner of a stable with thoroughbred stallions and a man who easily allocates tens of millions of euros to buy players for Zenit have a truly royal estate?

People who know him speak of Alexey Borisovich in a less than favorable manner. He is pedantic by nature (apparently his German roots still have an effect), he is despotic in his attitude towards his subordinates, and intolerant of other people’s opinions. Being a workaholic himself, working fourteen hours a day, forces others to work in a similar mode. Very careful, likes to play it safe. In a word, as a leader he is very difficult. But under Miller, the salaries of Gazprom management, which, however, under Vyakhirev could not be called beggarly, soared to stratospheric heights.

In life, Alexey Borisovich Miller has always been guided and continues to be guided by two rules: never stick your neck out and the boss is always right. Thanks to this, he was able to make a dizzying career. President Putin, despite the increased criticism of Gazprom's structures, still trusts Miller completely. Thus, the position of the head of Gazprom is unlikely to be threatened in the near future.