The art of creation

Tamara Chagaeva

The head of Nurenergo was lucky that Raisa was nearby during such a period. A person of irrepressible energy, proactive and balanced, who knows how to get along with people. She created and united a team that is now so active.

WHEN the hosts of the “Golden Pegasus” ceremony called a familiar name, I began to look around the hall, involuntarily looking for that young Raisa Uma-
row, which for some reason was always remembered next to the baby, humbly mincing after his mother, without being capricious, without whining, as happens with children when their freedom is limited. As usual, she and I stopped and talked, sometimes for a long time, but the child did not show impatience or displeasure. This is what I remember.
Meanwhile, the sedate lady - that new Raisa, to whom I still had to get used - entered the stage. The incident took place in the celebration palace of the city of Nalchik. The hall was filled to capacity; people came from all over the Southern region. The Chechen Republic was represented by the head of the social development department of Nurener-go OJSC, Raisa Umarova, and today she was presented with an award.
As usual, many flattering words were said. But it’s unlikely that any of the speakers fully knew at what cost what Raisa’s team is proud of today was achieved.
Many years ago, in a private conversation, member of the Lithuanian Seimas Romuald Hofertene told me: “A woman should go into politics or a big position when the family no longer needs her to the extent that she was needed with small children.” Involuntarily “trying on” these words to Raisa, I thought that the entire complex mechanism of the huge Nurenergo team literally rests on her. Let us remember Grozny at the end of 1999 and the beginning of 2000 - what an unpredictable time it was! The city has been turned inside out, destruction is everywhere. The services that were supposed to breathe life into the capital of the republic have nowhere to be located. Therefore, the headquarters for restoring the energy sector in Chechnya was located in Mozdok for some time, and later, in July 2000, it moved to the village of Chervlennaya.
The head of Nurenergo was lucky that Raisa was nearby during such a period. A person of irrepressible energy, proactive and balanced, who knows how to get along with people. She created and united a team that is now so active.
You need to forget about yourself - she understood this immediately. There's a lot to do. First of all, it was necessary to put in order the territory of Western Electric Networks in Grozny, where it was planned to locate the management staff of Nurenergo OJSC. Where the impressive administrative building of the enterprise now stands, five years ago there were several trailers. There was a colossal amount of work ahead. Then there will be a canteen, a first-aid post, a communications center, a hairdresser, a dentist’s office, a massage parlour, and a cosmetologist will start working... You can’t count everything that has been done through the efforts of the head of the department of social development and economic activities of the enterprise - that’s what Raisin’s position is now called.
Nurenergo is an extremely complex mechanism, the structures of which are located in all regions of the republic - on the plain, in the foothills and in the highlands. And each one requires attention.
Recently, the head of Nurenergo OJSC Nurdin Usamov proposed to restore the monument to the Heroes of the Civil War A. Sheripov, N. Gikalo and G. Akhriev, destroyed as a result of hostilities. The team supported it—the power engineers even decided to make their contribution by donating one day’s earnings.
There were two or three days left before the grand opening of the monument; the sculptor completed the work, but the torn asphalt, the broken pedestal with shrapnel and bullets, and craters from explosions darkened the picture. “It turns out that we have done half the work: restoring the monument alone is not enough - we need to improve the territory,” Raisa said. For several days, a group of Nurenergo employees, led by her, worked at this site, returning it to its former appearance. But something was still missing. And then Raisa remembered that flowers used to grow around the monument. The touch, it would seem, was not very significant, but she, true to her habit of bringing any task to the end, without hesitation, went to the neighboring republic to buy flowers.
The next morning, the flowers she had thoughtfully chosen the night before were planted around the monument, and with the first rays of the sun their buds opened.
In post-war Grozny, apart from purely everyday inconveniences, life was unsafe. This is one of those cases that Raisa would prefer to forget about. Late at night - an unexpected knock on the door. As they say, “unknown persons in camouflage uniforms” burst into the apartment. She didn't even have time to get scared when the shooting started. There were about twenty of them. She doesn’t know who shot and why. Raisa looked in confusion at the shattered hand (that numerous fragments were embedded in her back, she realized later), at the shadows flickering in the rooms, and heard the screams of unknown why irritated people who were looking for something in her apartment. The uninvited guests disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared. And she, bleeding, slid to the floor.
The crippled hand was operated on three times. Surprised that the Almighty saved the wounded woman from the worst, the doctors removed the fragments. Now in their place there are barely noticeable scars.
Raisa is a deeply religious person, she follows the rules of Islam, has made the Hajj to Mecca twice and considers this the main achievement of her life.
She also has wonderful children - three sons and a daughter. Two grandchildren are growing up. At the end of May, she celebrated a milestone anniversary - she turned fifty. And looking at her, I want to say - only fifty.
Raisa Umarova was awarded a gold medal and a diploma conferring the title of Laureate of the competition “Business Woman of Russia of the 21st Century”, a silver medal of Peter the Great “For Labor Valor”, a medal “For Honor and Valor” of the World Art Committee and the Assembly of Public Recognition, an honorary Badge "For Labor Distinctions". Another confirmation that her merits are recognized was the very “Golden Pegasus” - the highest award of the Public Academy of Creativity, awarded to her in the category “Active Life Position” recently in Nalchik.