Businessmen from the Forbes list join the board of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society to gain direct access to Vladimir Putin to solve their problems

The former apartment building of the Moscow Merchant Society on Novaya Square in Moscow was cordoned off by employees of the Federal Security Service immediately after the New Year holidays in 2013. One after another, members of the Forbes Golden Hundred - members of the board of trustees of this society - climbed onto the porch with the sign “Russian Geographical Society” (RGS). The President was traditionally late, and the billionaires waited quietly in the media center for about two hours. All this time, documentaries about animals living in Russia were shown on the screen.

The Russian Geographical Society is 168 years old, but major businessmen paid attention to it after Sergei Shoigu became president of the Russian Geographical Society in 2009, and Vladimir Putin headed the board of trustees. The society hosts congresses for geography teachers, produces films from the “Happy People” series and studies the beluga whale, and its board of trustees already includes a dozen of the country’s richest people. Some came having received a request from the category of those that are not customary to refuse. Others have problems that they hope to solve by gaining direct access to the main man of the country. How does this whole system work and what does geography have to do with it?

Arctic show

In the summer of 2007, a Russian expedition lowered a Russian flag and a capsule with a message to future generations to a depth of more than 4,000 m, to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. In addition to scientists, the expedition included the vice speaker of the State Duma, the famous polar explorer Artur Chilingarov, as well as United Russia billionaire Vladimir Gruzdev and businessman Mikhail Slipenchuk. Immediately after returning to Moscow, President Putin congratulated the expedition representatives at his Novo-Ogarevo residence. In February 2008, Chilingarov received from his hands the Hero of Russia medal, Gruzdev received the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree.

In the International Arctic Council, which unites eight Arctic countries, this attempt by Russia to “stake out a clearing” on the ocean floor caused violent indignation. The Canadian minister called the action “an ordinary show,” and a representative of the US State Department said that he did not care what the Russians left at the bottom - a rubber flag or a sheet. Background to the issue: in 2001, Russia submitted an application to the UN, insisting that about 1 million square meters. km of the Arctic shelf are a continuation of the Siberian continental platform, and therefore Russian. The UN found the evidence insufficient. Cost of issue: According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic contains a quarter of recoverable oil and gas reserves.

After the UN's refusal, Russia was offended by the international community. “The decision to dive was agreed upon with Putin, but no one expected that there would be such a resonance,” one of the participants in the Arctic 2007 mission told Forbes. No budget money was allocated for the expedition - they found sponsors. Another participant says that the event cost more than $2 million, the main costs were borne by three people: $1 million was provided by the Swedish Arctic explorer Frederik Paulsen, $700,000 by Vladimir Gruzdev and $300,000 by Mikhail Slipenchuk.

“Arctic 2007” was more of a symbolic gesture, but it began the “revival” of the Russian Geographical Society. According to one of the trustees, it was decided to find a body that would support this success on an ongoing basis, and then they remembered the existing geographical society. In the 1990s, the Russian Geographical Society was almost forgotten, deprived of funding, and lost its building in Moscow. Scientists say that they themselves tried to attract the attention of the supreme authorities. “In 2009, knowing about Putin’s interest in nature conservation, the Academic Council of the Russian Geographical Society approached him with a request to head the board of trustees of the society,” says Nikolai Kasimov, dean of the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov recalls that the president had been complained about the miserable existence of the Russian Geographical Society before, “but this did not lead to activation.”

Everything changed when the plan for the “revival” of society was developed and presented to Putin by Sergei Shoigu. “Such an organization simply could not die,” Shoigu said in a written response to Forbes’ request. The minister calls Przhevalsky, Miklouho-Maclay, Makarov and other “great geographers and travelers” his inspirations.

Money and tears

“The executive committee of the Russian Geographical Society called me at the reception and said: you, Filaret Ilyich, are one of those who have the opportunity, the right and, probably, the desire to participate in this idea. I knew a lot about the history of the Russian Geographical Society and immediately replied that I was ready,” recalls the owner of Eurocement, Filaret Galchev. The remaining participants in the Forbes rating were included in the board of trustees of the company according to the same scheme.

Shoigu called Mikhail Prokhorov and said that a “systemic geographical project” was planned, in particular clearing the Arctic of garbage. “He spoke, as always, emotionally and passionately. It was already known that Putin would head the board of trustees, and the company was going to be interesting, I agreed,” says Prokhorov. Co-owner of Gunvor Gennady Timchenko and the brother of the owner of Summa Magomed Magomedov (in the documents of the Russian Geographical Society is indicated as the chairman of the board of directors of Cardo Alliance LLC) also said that Shoigu called them.

They called everyone on behalf of Putin, explained that the matter was important, they needed to participate, and it was not accepted to refuse such requests, says a source close to one of the trustees. According to him, such calls are not uncommon: this is how businessmen joined the board of trustees of the Olympians Support Fund, which is headed by Dmitry Medvedev. The composition of the participants in these two councils coincides by more than half.

At the Russian Geographical Society, businessmen whose total wealth exceeds $120 billion chip in about $1 million annually. “Tears, not money,” Putin once remarked. The head of the executive directorate of the Russian Geographical Society, Gennady Oleynik, insists that this is “not an obligation” and that sponsorship contributions should not be confused with membership or party contributions: after all, the council contains not only businessmen, but also officials who do not have such opportunities. There are even foreigners on the board of trustees: the head of BP Robert Dudley, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Paulsen.

The presence of foreigners among the sponsors of a non-profit organization should not be embarrassing, because “they do a lot for Russia, popularizing its history and culture” and most of their donations are targeted, explains Shoigu. Oleinik adds that the Russian Geographical Society should not register as a foreign agent, since it does not conduct political activities.

In addition to “optional” contributions, members of the board of trustees provide other assistance, showing initiative and creativity. Timchenko, for example, will participate in the project “Sea Glory of Russia” (next in line is the study of the frigate “Oleg”, which sank in the Baltic Sea), and Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s companies are financing Fyodor Konyukhov’s Arctic expedition on dogs.

The wooden interior of the library of the Moscow office of the Russian Geographical Society, according to the inscription on the wall, was “carried out through the efforts of Magomed Magomedov.” Along the walls there are bookcases, each of which should eventually become personalized. One of them contains a selection of books donated by Alisher Usmanov: “Materials for the history of Russian horse breeding”, “Life of plants”, a two-volume set of “Fishes of Russia”. Nearby are rare history books donated by Transmashholding co-owner Andrey Bokarev.

Expenditure part

Technically, the revival of the Russian Geographical Society began with the rescue of its historical, St. Petersburg headquarters, which was in distress: in 2008, it turned 100 years old. On the occasion of the anniversary, a fragment of the ceiling collapsed in one of the rooms and the documents of polar explorer Georgy Sedov were damaged. The restoration was undertaken by Gazprom Neft. The renovation cost 250 million rubles; since 2010, this is so far the most expensive project in the RGS reporting.

All expenses of the company in 2012 amounted to about 460 million rubles. This is more than WWF spends in Russia (less than 400 million rubles per year), but almost three times less than what the Olympic Support Fund allows itself (1.3 billion rubles). The main expense item: the administrative apparatus, which in 2012 spent almost 130 million rubles. This is mainly the salary of the executive directorate in Moscow and St. Petersburg (71 people). The Russian Geographical Society spent almost the same amount on congresses, forums and seminars. Once or twice a year, the society pays for meetings of the board of trustees (in 2012, the Russian Geographical Society gathered trustees at the Valaam Monastery, and next year the delegation will go to Baikal). Events include the Arctic Forum and the All-Russian Congress of Geography Teachers.

Expenditures on grants themselves, judging by the reporting, amounted to 120 million rubles in 2012. Money is distributed based on applications received by the Russian Geographical Society; grants for science are issued by decision of the Academic Council, which is headed by Dean Nikolai Kasimov. In 2013, the Russian Geographical Society approved about 100 projects, including the caravan expedition “The Great Steppe - a crossroads of cultures and roads,” the search for the remains of the N-209 aircraft off the coast of Alaska, and the conservation of the Central Russian white partridge.

A separate story is media grants, which are handled by the Media Council headed by Dmitry Peskov. This is the majority of all grants from the Russian Geographical Society, expeditions are in second place, saving rare animals is in third.

Media breakthroughs

The Russian Geographical Society needs its own magazine, and in the future also a TV channel, Shoigu said immediately after being elected president of the Russian Geographical Society. They quickly decided on a printed publication: “Around the World” and the Russian Geographical Society are almost the same age; the magazine began publishing in St. Petersburg in 1860. Since 2002, the “Around the World” trademark has belonged to Sergei Vasiliev, general director of the advertising holding company “Video International” (now owned by the structures of Rossiya Bank, Yuri Kovalchuk and partners).

Vasiliev did not want to sell the magazine, but in 2012 he agreed to a partnership. Since then, it has been written on the cover that this is a magazine of the Russian Geographical Society and each issue publishes material dedicated to the life of society. The Russian Geographical Society pays for Around the World correspondents and photographers to participate in its expeditions. “Although the magazine does not receive real money from its partner, with the support of the Russian Geographical Society we managed to agree with Transaero that the airline would buy back part of the circulation for distribution on its flights,” says Svetlana Golovatyuk, general director of the publishing house “Around the World”. And one of the expeditions ended in a scandal: the then editor-in-chief of Around the World, Masha Gessen, refused to publish material about Putin’s flight with the Siberian Cranes on a hang glider and quit.

Films for the cable channel VGTRK “My Planet” are produced by the company “United Media Group”, which is not very well known on the market. This year it received 9 out of 22 media grants issued by the Russian Geographical Society: the company will have to make films on various topics, from the stories of the Decembrists and repressed scientists to a film for the 75th anniversary of the Geography Department of Moscow State University. Co-owner of EMG and its general producer Alexey Kurenkov told Forbes that he has been cooperating with VGTRK for about 15 years, and now his company is one of the major suppliers of documentaries for the holding’s cable channels. Kurenkov does not say how much EMG earns from RGS films, noting that sometimes there are not enough grants and additional funding for RGS projects is provided by VGTRK. According to SPARK, with revenue of 680 million rubles, EMG’s profit in 2011 amounted to 9.1 million rubles. Kurenkov does not comment on these figures.

Other recipients of media grants from the Russian Geographical Society include RIA Novosti, Channel One, Komsomolskaya Pravda, etc. More often, grants are given for filming films, but there are exceptions - in 2011, Aram Gabrelyanov’s News Media, for example, received a grant for the creation of the Russian Geographical Society social network.

President's Hobbies

The personal website of Russian President Vladimir Putin lists his interests—the list is laconic. Sports, cars, outdoor activities and “animal protection”, namely polar bears, beluga whales, Amur tigers, snow leopards and Far Eastern leopards. As one of the members of the board of the Russian Geographical Society noted, it is believed that Putin was interested in this by his eldest daughter, a graduate of the biology department of St. Petersburg State University. The president became involved in animal protection even before the “revival” of the Russian Geographical Society.

Historically, the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is responsible for rare animals. A. N. Severtsova. Back in 2007, his employees were invited to the Kremlin, where Putin approved a list of animals whose conservation would be given special attention. State trustees began to finance this direction: first the Konstantinovsky Foundation, then Transneft and the Rosatom division - Techsnabexport. Problems with reporting immediately arose: in the documents provided to the sponsors, there were only four points: business trips, acquisition of scientific equipment, communications and “miscellaneous”. “It was no good, and after a few months they corrected themselves and sent a report of 500 pages,” recalls Transneft press secretary Igor Demin.

In 2009, animal protection began to be financed from the general sponsorship pool of the Russian Geographical Society. Oleinik says that to the institute. Severtsov in 2011, new claims arose - an audit showed that part of the funds was spent for other purposes (that year 27 million rubles were allocated to support rare species). “Scientists say that we cannot do without some expenses, but, excuse me, we see cars, computers, but where are the animals?” - he says. Deputy director of the institute Vyacheslav Rozhnov explained that the Toyota Tundra was needed for work in Southern Siberia and was purchased on the secondary market. And computers are needed to receive information from satellite transmitters. Nevertheless, since last year, most of the funds for animal protection have been sent from the Russian Geographical Society directly to nature reserves. At the same time, funding for animal protection programs has been declining over the past two years.

Perhaps this happened due to the fact that the PR effect was not always positive, says Igor Chestin, head of WWF in Russia and member of the Media Council of the Russian Geographical Society. The Russian media and blogosphere actively discussed television stories about the Amur tigress, who allegedly died from large doses of sleeping pills, and the snow leopard, which was injured during transportation by helicopter. The same flight with the Siberian Cranes caused more mockery than sympathy. In fact, it is difficult to say whether Putin’s participation in their joint flight helped the cranes, but such participation can definitely help businessmen.

Seven minutes on your feet

The lanky figure of the head of British Petroleum, Robert Dudley, stood out in the crowd gathered in one of the halls of the Fundamental Library of Moscow State University, where the congress of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society was held in April 2011. And many that evening noticed that Dudley retired to talk with Putin.

The head of one of the world's largest oil companies was then desperately looking for a way out of the impasse into which he had been driven by his partners in TNK-BP - the AAR consortium led by Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group. AAR through the court blocked a large-scale deal between BP and Rosneft (the companies were going to exchange large blocks of shares and start working together on the shelf). The deal was personally supervised by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, but he also could not do anything with the Stockholm justice. Dudley was left to either “bite the dust” of court hearings or look for other ways to act.

The head of BP talked with Putin for at least half an hour, an eyewitness recalls. “Seven minutes! And on your feet!” - Peskov retorts. On the same day, Dudley became a trustee of the Russian Geographical Society. “He just showed interest and asked if it was possible,” Putin’s press secretary explains vaguely. Dudley himself said something similar to Forbes, noting that he “shares the goals of the society and its efforts to study and preserve the natural resources of the Russian Federation.” BP is now, as it wanted, exploring the riches of Russian subsoil together with Rosneft. This spring, the state-owned company bought out TNK-BP from its warring partners, and BP became Rosneft’s largest shareholder after the state.

“Businessmen, as a rule, do not use the Russian Geographical Society to solve their problems,” Peskov assures. According to him, it is already easy for members of the Forbes list to meet with the president. But not everyone has such opportunities, and it may be necessary to gain “access to the body.” Moreover, they go not only to Putin for solutions to issues.

Businessman Ruslan Baysarov wanted to develop the giant Elegest coal deposit, the license for which was held by former senator from Tuva Sergei Pugachev for many years. Baysarov was not one of the trustees of the Russian Geographical Society, but it was he who ultimately had to finance the largest expedition of the society - “Kyzyl - Kuragino”.

To start mining coal, Baysarov needs to build about 400 km of railway tracks that will connect Elegest with the Trans-Siberian Railway (project cost: $5 billion). The road will pass through Shoigu’s native Tuvan land - and Baysarov will pay for an expedition that will find out if there are any archaeological sites along the route. Archaeologists and hundreds of volunteers have been working on the excavation of the mounds for the third season. The work should be completed next year; the total cost of research and development will be about 600 million rubles, says Oleynik. Until last year, the expedition was co-financed by Magomed Magomedov, and the contract for the construction of the road was given to the Stroynovatsiya company, which belongs to his brother Ziyavudin. But in 2012, Ziyavudin lost his contract, and his brother, according to the Russian Geographical Society, is now not financing the expedition.

“In order to successfully implement any projects on the territory of Tuva, and especially such large ones, it is necessary to enlist the political support of Shoigu - the Russian Geographical Society is excellent for this,” a source close to Baysarov explains the businessman’s interest. In June 2013, the businessman signed an agreement with Shoigu on excavations in the “Valley of the Kings”, and is now preparing to join the list of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society. Baysarov declined to comment.

Russia in miniature

“How to embrace vast Russia?” - asks the announcer’s voice behind the scenes; Peterhof, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, and the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” flash on the screen. An advertising video with the presentation of the “Russia” theme park, which should be located in Domodedovo near Moscow, took less than four minutes. It was shown to Putin during the RGS congress on Valaam in 2012.

The voice-over listed: there will be a presidential botanical garden, a safari park, a complex of artificial reservoirs and an equestrian center, a winter sports center, a high-tech exhibition “The Historical Path of Russia” and mini-tracks modeled on Formula 1. The hallmark of the park will be a 4D attraction—a “virtual flight over the country.” The cost of the park in the video was estimated at 50 billion rubles (later officials named the figure 200 billion rubles).

The idea of building a park during a visiting meeting of the Russian Geographical Society on Valaam was presented by Shoigu, then the governor of the Moscow region. The park was supposed to represent “all the wealth of the country” in miniature. “Here you can climb Elbrus, cross the Yenisei, <...> ride a bicycle from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad,” Shoigu listed and, addressing the trustees of the Russian Geographical Society, recalled the glorious “traditions of philanthropy.” Putin liked the project, he just asked: where did the land come from? Shoigu explained that Forbes Golden Hundred member Vasily Anisimov is ready to provide it “free of charge.”

Anisimov confirms that he himself volunteered to donate up to 1,000 hectares for the park as soon as he learned that Shoigu was planning construction. “They couldn’t find a better place, next to Domodedovo Airport with a passenger flow of 30 million people!” - explains the businessman. Anisimov's company Coalco in Domodedovo has about 20,000 hectares of land on which he wanted to build a new city, "Big Domodedovo". During the crisis, the project stalled. It was later discussed that officials from Moscow would move to these lands as part of Medvedev's project to expand the capital; Coalco's gift just arrived at the time of discussion. But for now both projects are on hold. “There is no money [for the park] not only in the Russian Geographical Society, but even in the federal budget; its financial model is not obvious,” Peskov notes. Who knows how events would have developed if Shoigu had remained head of the Moscow region. And now he says that the Russian Geographical Society is only a “creative partner” in this project, and all organizational and financial issues “should be addressed primarily to the administration of the Moscow region.” And about. Governor of the Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov told Forbes that a competition to develop the concept and financial model of the park will be announced in August. The costs of the regional budget are limited to the maintenance of the directorate and the prize money for the winner of the competition in the amount of 10.5 million rubles. No other expenses for the project are provided for in the regional budget.

"It's like having lunch with Obama"

A source close to one of the trustees of the Russian Geographical Society says that activity around the society after Shoigu’s appointment first as governor of the Moscow region and then as Minister of Defense subsided somewhat: the president of the Russian Geographical Society has too many other things to do. “The workload in the ministry is very high, so it has become more difficult to find free time,” Shoigu admits, but promises not to give up what he started.

There are no fewer people wishing to become a sponsor of the society. “Many want to join, but not many can,” says Dmitry Peskov, “you must meet two criteria - reputational and material.” Candidates are personally endorsed by Putin on the recommendation of Shoigu. Now the documents for entry are being prepared by the co-owner of Novatek, Leonid Mikhelson.

However, not everyone joins, although all the “big guys” have gathered on the board of trustees, says one of the participants in the Forbes list, who did not want to become a sponsor of the Russian Geographical Society. “For them, this is an opportunity to be in a small circle and demonstrate loyalty. I’d rather use this money to organize my expeditions.”

It’s like having lunch with Obama in America, says one of the billionaires who regularly allocates money for the Geographical Society. “We more or less don’t care where we join, they’ll tell us to join the Orthodox-Palestinian society, we’ll join there too,” he jokes. The special value of the Russian Geographical Society as a kind of “club” headed by the President of Russia is that it is still open for membership - unlike the presidential hockey and judo clubs, all places in which have long been occupied, he concludes.

Presidential Club: why billionaires patronize the Russian Geographical Society