The company will be headed by a friend and colleague of Vladimir Putin

After almost a month's delay, the candidacy of the new head of Transneft, the state monopoly for oil transportation in Russia, has been agreed upon. This chair will be occupied by a personal friend and colleague of President Vladimir Putin, general director of the state-owned Zarubezhneft OJSC Nikolai Tokarev. His candidacy, agreed upon by the relevant departments, was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration.

The Ministry of Economic Development has submitted a draft directive to the government for voting on the appointment of the president of Transneft, Interfax reported yesterday, citing a high-ranking official in the ministry. Kommersant sources familiar with the situation claim that Mr. Tokarev’s candidacy was agreed upon by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the Federal Property Management Agency on Saturday. The ministries themselves declined to comment yesterday. But a Kommersant source familiar with the government’s position is confident that Mr. Tokarev’s candidacy will be approved by Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.

The post of Transneft president was vacated on September 13 after the end of the contract of Semyon Vainshtok, who headed the company for eight years. At the proposal of President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Weinstock will lead the future Olympic state corporation. “It was assumed that Tokarev would replace him, but then after the resignation of the government the number of applicants increased,” a Kommersant source familiar with the situation recently said. Among the potential contenders were former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, former head of the Ministry of Economic Development German Gref, deputy chairman of Gazprom Valery Golubev and Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko.

Mr. Tokarev already worked for Transneft - he joined the company in 1999 as vice president for security and foreign economic relations. Already in 2000, Nikolai Tokarev was appointed general director of the state-owned company Zarubezhneft. But even before that, he mainly served the state. His official biography is stingy with facts. In 1973 he graduated from the Karaganda Polytechnic Institute with a degree in electrification and automation of mining operations. Then he worked “in the mining industry.” What follows is the unofficial part - service in the 1st Main Directorate (foreign intelligence) of the KGB of the USSR and the FSB. Like President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Tokarev was on a long-term business trip to East Germany. According to media reports, he served for some time in the same unit with Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Germany in 1985. Since 1993, Mr. Tokarev was the head of the external relations department of Russian-German Leasing Company JSC (a subsidiary of the state-owned Sberbank), after which he returned to government service. Here the official part begins again - in 1996, Nikolai Tokarev became deputy general director of the Unitary State Enterprise for the Management of Property Abroad under the Presidential Administration. At the same time, Vladimir Putin also worked as a manager. Many Kommersant sources say that Messrs. Putin and Tokarev have a personal friendship.

Now Nikolai Tokarev will head the company, which is responsible for transporting almost all the oil in Russia, as well as for its export. Soon Transneft should become even larger - it will merge with Transnefteproduct. One of the company's largest projects is the construction of an oil pipeline from Eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean - a geopolitical and technically complex project, and Transneft promised to complete it by the end of 2008. According to Troika Dialog analyst Valery Nesterov, Nikolai Tokarev will continue the policies of Semyon Vainshtok. “He is an experienced manager and will continue to embody the ideology of a statist,” says Mr. Nesterov. The oil companies have not yet commented on the new appointment, but remind that there have been no high-profile conflicts around Transneft for a long time and Semyon Vainshtok was able to build relationships with all companies, ensuring equal access to the pipeline system. In addition, upon joining Transneft, Mr. Weinstock immediately refused to approve export schedules, and these functions were transferred to the Ministry of Industry and Energy. Transneft has repeatedly offered to return them, further monopolizing its position in the industry.

Denis Kommersant-Rebrov, Olga Kommersant-Mordyushenko

Transneft did not leak to the side