Daily magazine: Zimin

Dmitry Borisovich Zimin himself speaks of Ironia himself, almost with a slight mockery. Why did you create the largest business, and from scratch, without privatizing anything? "Just because I wanted to eat." How is there enough courage, being part of the Russian business elite, to say what do you think and act according to conscience? "And I, like an ostrich: the head is in the sand, and in something a saber." Although in fact everyone understands: I created it because it is brilliantly gifted and bold; In adulthood, when the Soviet professor began to dream of a pension, he dared to put everything on the con and won, rejecting all the previous experience. And now it acts with an eye on himself and on his ideas about the right and fair - for the same reason. Because it is brilliantly gifted and internally free.

But freedom by freedom, and a feeling of feeling. Surely, when he left the business, not wanting to grow into the state and lie down under his chores, he was hard for him; I am sure that, having got off the oligarchic pedestal, he experienced both the breakdown and the syndrome of devastation. And he could well become a misanthropus, because there is no life burner from Dmitry Borisovich Zimin. But, having overcome the temptation of the autocracy, having left the shining hall of management, he eventually returned to the usual and native experience of everyday democracy; Sometimes I meet him in the subway - so faster. No, in New York, the simplest thing is to meet the key figure with Wall Street in the subway; But we are not in New York, right? This is a lawsuit in a winter one: he came in time, left in time, should not, nobody, did not throw anyone, nothing to be afraid-you can do what you love. What loves Zimin? Science. In all its manifestations.

So the Dynasty Foundation arose. And so the principle was laid down that will someday in Russia, although now it seems to be an exception to the systemic rules. Experience in entering charity. Not because they were ordered. Not in order to present its social responsibility to society. Not for the sake of reputation in the West. And simply because I like it. In high. Pure joy. As Zimin is irony (not above himself, but over colleagues in the RSPP), "everything you will be there." Although so far few followed his example.

And what do we see? That not at the most suitable age, a person burdened with a sub -Soviet life decides to meet the money. Then, in not the most favorable times, this money earns. A new era comes when millions turn into billions with one touch of a magic wand of power; He spits on everything and leaves the business. And he finds happiness in helping his beloved scientific knowledge. Moreover, step by step removes from the decision center, creates the Council of the Fund, turns into one of the voters, nothing more. And he meets the 80th anniversary of young, energetic, involved in all discussions, cheerful, beloved completely disinterestedly hundreds and thousands of people who make up the glory of science.

Moral: do not be afraid to be yourself. Not corresponding to the spirit of time. And if it succeeds, then the spirit of the time is forced to correspond - to yourself.

But one human benignity here would be few. Here you need to have another property that distinguishes between large scientists, and large businessmen, and artists, and in general - all large -scale people. Flair. As Pushkin said, the Russian mind is not a prophet, but a guesser; So Zimin, endowed with the Russian mind in the highest extent, always guesses the direction of the path. Your personal. Economic. Scientific. Political. Before someone begins to design this path.

I remember the first conversation, behind pies and white wine, about the project of the Enlightener Award. Zimin called me to help me with the work that he had conceived - and enthusiastically convinced me that the tradition of scientific enlightenment did not die, it would be reborn that the country, crawling into obscurantism, is able to wake up and is who to lead it into rationality ... I politely nodded. Although he knew that nothing like this was happening. On shelves in bookstores, section "Scientific", all Soviet reprints and Western translations; The tradition just died safely, and we will have nothing to choose for a premium cycle. And if he agreed to participate, then for one simple reason. Try Zimina to refuse. He is so excellent! How can he say “no” to him?

More than six years have passed. In the first year of the prize, we, with great difficulty, the method of wide nonsense, collected several good books of the popular science genre written in the book market, written not once and somewhere, but here and now. The second became easier. In the third, I had to severely sift applications. Now I am ashamed to look into the eyes of the publishers, asking when their authors will fall on at least a long list. Zimin guessed the direction of the market; And at the same time, guessing, he pushed him slightly: go, they say, here, they will reward and support. And as once the mobile communications market was conceived among stationary telephones, where the queue for numbers stretched for many years, so the market of domestic popular science literature was predicted by him, and was preceded and magnetically provoked.

And six months before the first rally on pure ponds, when several hundred people went to the strategy-31 and nothing foreshadowed the turn of the situation, he suddenly began to convince acquaintances that we needed to make a political evidence for political journalism. What is political journalism? All reasonable vocations, all the brave are known in advance ... no. Rested. And he repeated stubbornly: it is necessary ... time ...

Now he, abusing the political and economic situation, at the same time firmly stands on his own. It cannot continue for so long. Although you look and see - but it seems to be. But there can be no other. It cannot be that Zimin's instinct deceived. There was never this. And that means here, contrary to momentary observations, the process, as they say, went.

Photo by ITAR-TASS/ Anton Tushin