What does Alexander Rutskoy do in politics? Alexander Rutskoy

Gennady USSR, Russia
Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy - Vice President Russian Federation(during the period July 10, 1991 - December 25, 1993)
2nd head of administration Kursk region October 23, 1996 - 1997
1st Governor of the Kursk Region 1997 - November 18, 2000
Birth: September 16, 1947
Proskurov, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Party: 1) CPSU (1970-1991)
2) Communist Party of the RSFSR (1990-1991)
3) DPKR (1991) NPSR
Education: Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots
Air Force Academy named after Yu. A. Gagarin
Military Academy General Staff Armed Forces of the USSR named after K. E. Voroshilov
Academic degree: doctor economic sciences
Profession: military pilot
Military service Years of service: 1966-1993
Affiliation: Flag of the USSR USSR
Branch of service: Air Force
Rank: Major General of Aviation (1991)
Battles: Afghan War

Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy(September 16, 1947, Proskurov, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) - Russian state and political figure, Major General of Aviation, Hero Soviet Union, from 1991 to 1993 - the first and last vice-president of the Russian Federation, from 1996 to 2000 - governor of the Kursk region. Lives in the city of Odintsovo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of a cement plant in Voronezh region.

Origin and early years

Born in 1947 in the city of Proskurov, now Khmelnytsky in a family with military traditions. According to Rutskoi’s relatives, military traditions in their family existed for at least 130 years.

Spent his childhood in local garrisons military service father. In 1964 he graduated from eight-year school. From 1964 to 1966 he studied at evening school, while simultaneously working as an aircraft mechanic at a military airfield. I have been studying at the flying club in the pilot department since the 9th grade of school. After Rutsky’s family moved to Lvov (due to his father’s transfer to the reserve in 1966), he worked at an aircraft repair plant as a fitter.
In 1966, after Rutskoi was drafted into the USSR Armed Forces, his parents moved to Kursk.

Military service
In November 1966 he was drafted into the Soviet Army. Served in Kansk ( Krasnoyarsk region) at the school of air gunners-radio operators.
In 1967, with the rank of sergeant, he entered the Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots named after. K. A. Vershinin and graduated from it in 1971.
From 1971 to 1977 he served in the Borisoglebsk Higher Military aviation school named after V.P. Chkalov. He held the positions of instructor pilot, aviation flight commander, and deputy commander of an aviation squadron.
In 1980 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Gagarin.

After graduating from the VVA he was sent to the Group Soviet troops in Germany. He served in the Guards fighter-bomber regiment. According to his colleagues, there was strict discipline in his unit: he severely punished the slightest offense, and at party meetings he demanded that the most severe measures be applied to those who were guilty.

Afghanistan
From 1985 to 1988, he participated in combat operations as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan (OKSVA). He held the position of commander of a separate aviation assault regiment (40th Army). During the war he made 485 combat missions on the Su-25 attack aircraft.

On April 6, 1986, during Rutskoi’s 360th mission, his Su-25 aircraft was shot down from the ground near Javara by a missile from the FIM-43 Redeye man-portable anti-aircraft missile system. When he hit the ground, Rutskoi seriously damaged his spine and was wounded in the arm. According to doctors, Rutskoy survived miraculously. After treatment in the hospital, he was suspended from flying and was assigned to Lipetsk as deputy head of the Combat Training Center of the USSR Air Force.

After training, he returned to duty and in 1988 was again sent to Afghanistan - to the position of deputy commander Air Force 40th Army. On August 4, 1988, he was again shot down in the Khost area, this time by a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter. He evaded pursuit for five days, covering 28 km, after which he was captured by Afghan Mujahideen. According to Rutsky, he received offers from Pakistanis to go to Canada. On August 16, 1988, in exchange for a Pakistani citizen accused of espionage, he was handed over by the Pakistani authorities to Soviet diplomatic representatives in Islamabad. According to other sources, it was bought out. On December 8 of the same year, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. At the time of the award - deputy commander of the Air Force of the 40th Army of the Turkestan Military District (a limited contingent of Soviet troops in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan), colonel, awarded the Order of the Red Star and six medals.

In 1990 he graduated with honors from the Military Academy of the General Staff Armed Forces USSR, after which he was appointed to the position of head of the Combat Training Center in Lipetsk.

Political activity
1988-1991

In 1988 he joined Moscow society Russian culture "Fatherland". In May 1989, Rutskoy was elected deputy chairman of the board of this company.
Nomination to People's Deputies of the USSR

In May 1989, he put forward his candidacy for people's deputies of the USSR in the Kuntsevo territorial electoral district No. 13, where there were mainly supporters of the “democrats”. Rutsky’s nomination was supported by the district committee of the CPSU, the Fatherland and Memory movements. Trusted persons Rutskoi was a member of the Fatherland Council, Lieutenant Colonel Valery Burkov, and Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk. His rivals were mainly “democrats” - poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, playwright Mikhail Shatrov, editors of Ogonyok and Yunost - Vitaly Korotich and Andrey Dementyev, publicist Yuri Chernichenko, lawyer Savitsky. In the first round of elections, Rutskoy was ahead of all other candidates, but in the second round, held on May 14, he received 30.38% of the votes “for” and 66.78% “against”, losing to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Moskovskaya Pravda” and Yeltsin supporter Valentin Logunov .

According to his recollections, persecution was launched against him during his nomination, when rivals accused him of fascism and anti-Semitism. The nomination did not receive support from the General Staff Academy, where he was then studying.
Nomination to people's deputies of the RSFSR

In the spring of 1990, he was elected people's deputy of the RSFSR in the Kursk national-territorial electoral district No. 52. 8 candidates participated in the first round, where he received 12.8% of the votes. In the second round, he came out on top, ahead of his main rival, priest Nikodim Ermolatiy, gaining 51.3% of the votes (Ermolatiy - 44.1%).

At the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, he was elected a member of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, chairman of the Supreme Council Committee on Affairs of the Disabled, War and Labor Veterans, social protection of military personnel and members of their families, and a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Council.
Party activities

In the summer of 1990 he became a delegate to the Founding Congress Communist Party RSFSR. He was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the RSFSR. In July 1990, he was elected as a delegate to the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU.

At the III session of the Supreme Council, he supported Yeltsin in condemning the actions of the Soviet leadership during the events in Vilnius in January 1991:

Who can guarantee that tomorrow we won’t see tanks on the Moscow River embankment near the White House?

On March 11, 1991, together with Ruslan Khasbulatov, he signed a letter directed against a group of members of the Presidium of the Supreme Council (Goryachev, Syrovatko, Isakov, etc.), who formed the opposition to Yeltsin and addressed him a letter with a proposal to resign as chairman of the Supreme Council.

On March 31, 1991, during the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, he announced the creation of a deputy group (faction) “Communists for Democracy,” which some nicknamed “Wolves for Vegetarianism.”

In June 1991, he supported the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR.

On July 2-3, 1991, he held the founding conference of the Democratic Party of Communists of Russia (DPKR) as part of the CPSU and resigned as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the RSFSR.

On October 26-27, 1991, at the First Congress of the DPKR, the party was renamed People's Party"Free Russia" (FPSR). Rutskoy was elected chairman of the NPSR.

Vice President of Russia
Nomination

On May 18, 1991, he was nominated as a vice-presidential candidate paired with presidential candidate Yeltsin. We went before different versions about who will become a candidate for vice president: Burbulis, Popov, Sobchak, Starovoitova, Shakhrai. Many “democrats” considered this act of Yeltsin to be wrong. Rutskoi's candidacy was chosen by Yeltsin on the very last day of filing an application.

On June 12, 1991, he was elected Vice-President of the Russian Federation together with President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin. In connection with this, he resigned his parliamentary powers and duties as a member of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. In many ways, Rutskoi’s nomination contributed to Yeltsin’s victory in the elections, as it made it possible to pull a number of votes away from the communists.

August events
On August 19-21, 1991, he was one of the organizers of the defense of the building of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, and on the morning of August 19, he was one of the first to arrive at the White House. On August 20, in the Kremlin, he participated in negotiations with Lukyanov and gave him an ultimatum, where one of the points was a meeting with Gorbachev within the next 24 hours. On August 21, together with Ivan Silaev and Vadim Bakatin, he led a delegation that flew on a Tu-134 plane to M. S. Gorbachev in Foros, but was refused permission to board. After negotiations between Yeltsin and the commander of the Navy, Admiral Chernavin, he allowed the landing. Gorbachev soon returned to Moscow. By decree of the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev dated August 24, 1991, Rutskoi was awarded military rank Major General.

In September 1991, he supported the introduction state of emergency in Chechnya, where during this period Dudayev staged a military coup and seized power. After this, a campaign to discredit Rutsky began in the media. At the same time, the conflict between Rutskoi and Yeltsin begins. In December 1991 he spoke in defense former deputy commander of the Riga riot police, officer of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Sergei Parfenov, who was arrested on the territory of the RSFSR and taken to Latvia.

Conflict with the President

In early December, during his trip to Barnaul, Rutskoy, speaking to the local public, sharply criticized the program “ shock therapy“according to Gaidar, noting that the planned conversion is “the destruction of the achievements of advanced scientific and technical thought and the destruction of Russian industry” and that price liberalization cannot be carried out under monopolism, as this will lead to disaster, as well as the lack of practitioners in the Yeltsin government and the excess economists. At the same time, he called Gaidar’s office “boys in pink pants.” Subsequently this phrase became winged.

At the same time, from December 17 to 22, Rutskoi visited Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, where he negotiated the extradition of Soviet prisoners of war. After the meeting with Rutskoi, the Pakistani authorities handed over to Moscow a list of 54 prisoners of war held by the Mujahideen. 14 of them were still alive at that time. In general, Rutskoi’s attempt did not bring much success.
He also criticized the Belovezhskaya Agreement signed on December 8, comparing it with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty of 1918. At the same time, Rutskoy met with Gorbachev and convinced him to arrest Yeltsin, Shushkevich and Kravchuk.

On December 19, President Yeltsin signed a decree transferring the structures subordinate to the vice president to the government, which meant a continued deterioration in relations with the president.

Agriculture management
On February 26, 1992, Rutsky was entrusted with “management of the country’s agriculture.” Then many noted that by doing so they wanted to get rid of him, remembering the example of Yegor Ligachev.
According to Rutsky, the agricultural industry should be managed not by administrative structures and councils, but by finance: state-commercial banks with mixed and private capital. Then he began to work on the issue of creating a Land Bank. This question was not resolved. 17 departments were created directly under Rutsky with a number of employees that exceeded the number of the Ministry of Agriculture. Also, at his instigation, the Government created Federal Center land and agro-industrial reform. At the same time, he collected information about unfinished construction projects in the countryside and looked for Western investors for them. Relying on foreign investments, Rutskoi intended to improve the agriculture of the South, and only then spread the achievements throughout the country.

By October 1992, three agricultural reform programs had been prepared - the officially adopted government program, the Ministry of Agriculture program and the Rutsky Center program. As a result, the agrarian reform failed, and during the escalation of the conflict, on May 7, 1993, Yeltsin announced in a televised speech that he was depriving Rutskoi of other assignments (including in agriculture).

Fight against corruption
In October 1992, Rutskoi headed the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation to combat crime and corruption.
On February 19, 1993, Rutsky’s detailed 12-point program to combat crime and corruption, entitled “It’s dangerous to continue living like this,” was published.
On April 16, 1993, Rutskoi summed up the results of his work - in a few months he collected “11 suitcases” of incriminating evidence; the list of perpetrators included Yegor Gaidar, Gennady Burbulis, Mikhail Poltoranin, Vladimir Shumeiko, Alexander Shokhin, Anatoly Chubais and Andrei Kozyrev. 9 cases were submitted to the Prosecutor's Office.
On April 29, a special commission of the Supreme Council to investigate corruption of senior officials was approved. On the same day, Rutskoy was removed from the leadership of the Interdepartmental Commission, and he was also prohibited from meeting with security ministers.

Removal from office

After the constitutional crisis in March 1993 and the referendum on April 25, 1993, Boris Yeltsin relieved Alexander Rutsky of all powers.

On June 16, Rutskoi announced that he would hand over the suitcases of incriminating evidence to the Prosecutor's Office. One of the results of this was the deprivation of parliamentary immunity by the Supreme Council of Vladimir Shumeiko on July 23, who was later removed from the duties of first deputy prime minister “pending the completion of the investigation,” but the criminal case was eventually closed. In response, Yeltsin dismissed Security Minister Viktor Barannikov from his post, accusing him of helping Rutskoi collect suitcases of incriminating evidence.

On September 1, 1993, by presidential decree, Vice President Rutskoy was “temporarily removed from his duties.” On September 3, the Supreme Council decided to send a petition to the Constitutional Court with a request to verify the compliance with the Basic Law of the provisions of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 1, regarding the temporary removal from office of Vice President Alexander Rutsky. According to parliamentarians, by issuing this decree, Boris Yeltsin invaded the sphere of powers of the judiciary. state power. Until the case is resolved in the Constitutional Court, the decree is suspended.

October events
Main article: Dispersal of the Supreme Soviet of Russia

After President B. N. Yeltsin’s Decree No. 1400 of September 21, 1993 announced the termination from September 21 of “the exercise by the Congress of People’s Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation of their legislative, administrative and control functions,” the Constitutional Court, which met on the same time, declared Yeltsin’s actions unconstitutional, and Decree No. 1400 - the basis for the removal of the president from office in accordance with Art. 121-6 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This article of the constitution and article 6 of the law “On the President of the RSFSR” read:
“The powers of the President of the Russian Federation (RSFSR) cannot be used to change the national state structure of the Russian Federation (RSFSR), dissolve or suspend the activities of any legally elected government bodies, in otherwise they stop immediately. »

On the night of September 21-22, the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, based on the conclusion of the Constitutional Court, adopted a resolution on the termination of the powers of President Boris Yeltsin from the moment of the issuance of Decree No. 1400 and the temporary transfer of powers, according to the Constitution, to Vice President Alexander Rutsky. On September 22 at 00:25, Rutskoi assumed the duties of President of Russia and canceled the unconstitutional decree of the abdicated President Yeltsin. Rutskoy was recognized as acting. O. The President's executive and representative bodies of power in some regions, almost all regional Councils recognized Yeltsin's decree as unconstitutional, but he controlled almost nothing.

On the night of September 23-24, 1993, the X Extraordinary (Extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation approved the decisions of the Supreme Council to terminate the powers of President B. N. Yeltsin and transfer them to the Vice President, and declared Yeltsin's actions a coup d'etat.

One of Rutskoi's first decrees as acting... O. The president appointed ministers of law enforcement agencies. Vladislav Achalov became the Minister of Defense. O. Minister of Internal Affairs - Andrei Dunaev, Viktor Barannikov again became Minister of Security.

On October 3, Rutskoi from the balcony of the White House called on his supporters to storm the Moscow City Hall building and the Ostankino television center. According to Yeltsin’s recollections, Rutskoi called Air Force Commander Deinekin and urged him to alert the aircraft.
According to First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council Yuri Voronin, who was also in the besieged House of Soviets, Rutskoy himself did not believe in the help of the top generals:

“What,” he told Khasbulatov, “will Kobets, Volkogonov, Shaposhnikov be on the side of the Supreme Council when Yeltsin, after January 2, 1992, retroactively allowed them to privatize expensive dachas of the Ministry of Defense practically free of charge? Never mind!”

IN live radio station “Echo of Moscow” during the storming of the White House, Rutskoi shouted: “If the pilots can hear me, raise combat vehicles! This gang has settled in the Kremlin and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and controls from there.” After the troops stormed the House of Soviets and the complete defeat of his supporters, on October 4, 1993, at about 18:00, Rutskoy was arrested on charges of organizing mass riots on October 3-4, 1993, after which he was taken to the pre-trial detention center in Lefortovo. Yeltsin continued to de facto lead Russia. On July 3, 1996, he was again elected president and a month later, on August 9, he took office.

On December 25, 1993, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted by popular vote, came into force, which abolished the post of vice president (the vote itself was held not on the basis of the RSFSR Law “On the RSFSR Referendum”, but on the basis of Yeltsin’s decree). He was imprisoned in the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center. On February 26, 1994, he was released from custody in connection with the “amnesty” resolution adopted by the State Duma (although his trial never took place). After his release, Rutskoi did not take any steps aimed at reinstating him in his acting position. .President or Vice President. In the report of the State Duma commission on additional study and analysis of the events of September 21 - October 5, 1993, with reference to former member Presidential Council Alexei Kazannik, it is alleged that Yeltsin wanted the death penalty for Rutskoi and other individuals who opposed the dispersal of the Congress and the Supreme Council.

After October events 1993
In February 1994 he joined the initiative group social movement“Concord in the name of Russia” (among those who signed the appeal to create the movement were Valery Zorkin, Gennady Zyuganov, Sergei Baburin, Stanislav Govorukhin, Sergei Glazyev, etc.)
From April 1995 to December 1996 - founder and chairman of the Social Patriotic Movement "Derzhava". In August 1995, at the second congress of the “Derzhava” movement, Rutskoi headed federal list movement in the elections to the State Duma, the second and third in it were Viktor Kobelev and Konstantin Dushenov. However, in the last elections on December 17, the movement received only 2.57% (1,781,233 in quantitative terms) of the votes and was unable to overcome the 5% barrier.

On December 25, 1995, the Central Election Commission registered an initiative group to nominate Rutskoi for the presidency. On April 10, 1996, Rutskoi announced that he had withdrawn his candidacy for registration with the Central Election Commission and called on his supporters to vote for Gennady Zyuganov in the presidential elections. Somewhat earlier, on March 18, he joined the coalition that nominated Zyuganov for the presidency.
He actively participated in Zyuganov's election campaign. At the beginning of April, he took part in Gennady Zyuganov’s election trip to the cities of Voronezh and Lipetsk region. On June 6, 1996, as part of his election campaign, he visited Arkhangelsk.

Since August 1996 - co-chairman of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia. In November 1996, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences. In 2000, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Economic Sciences. Author of the books: “Agrarian Reform in Russia”, “Lefortovo Protocols”, “The Collapse of a Power”, “Thoughts about Russia”, “Finding Faith”, “Unknown Rutskoi”, “About Us and About Ourselves”, “Bloody Autumn”.

Governor of the Kursk region (1996-2000)
Nomination and election
V.V. Putin with the Governor of the Kursk Region A.V. Rutsky (center right) during a visit memorial complex « Kursk Bulge» May 8, 2000

Rutskoy announced his intention to run for the post of governor of the Kursk region on April 9 in Voronezh during Zyuganov’s election campaign.

At the beginning of September 1996, the initiative group to nominate Rutsky for the post of governor of the Kursk region transferred more than 22 thousand signatures of region residents to the regional election commission. On September 9, the electoral commission refused to register Rutskoy on the grounds that, by law, a candidate for the post of governor must live in Kursk for at least a year. Rutskoi, as an honorary citizen of Kursk, who lived in the region for 18 years, filed an appeal. On September 25, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the decision of the Kursk election commission, after which it filed a cassation appeal. On October 16, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the decision of the Kursk Election Commission, and on October 17, the Election Commission of the Kursk Region registered Alexander Rutsky as a candidate for the post of head of the regional administration.
The candidate for governor from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Alexander Mikhailov, withdrew his candidacy in favor of Rutsky.
On October 20, 1996, he was elected head of the administration of the Kursk region with the support of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia.

From 1996 to 2000, head of the administration of the Kursk region, member of the Federation Council, member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy.
Activities as governor

Rutskoi's reign was marked by corruption scandals. In particular, on June 10, 1998, two deputy governors, Yuri Kononchuk and Vladimir Bunchuk, were arrested, and 7 days later they were charged with abuse of power. Also, from the moment of his election, the conflict between the governor and the regional prosecutor’s office continued.

Further activities

In October 2000, Rutskoy put forward his candidacy for the election of the head of the administration of the Kursk region. However, a few hours before the vote on October 22, he was suspended from participation in the elections by a decision of the Kursk Regional Court.
In March 2001, he announced his participation in the by-elections as a deputy. State Duma in Kineshma single-mandate constituency No. 79 ( Ivanovo region). He managed to pay a deposit of 100 thousand rubles, but even before official registration he refused to participate in the elections due to a sharp deterioration in his health.
In December 2001, the prosecutor's office of the Kursk region filed a lawsuit against Rutsky. The claim was related to the illegal privatization of a four-room apartment (made in July 2000). Subsequently, Rutskoy was prosecuted under Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (exceeding official powers) as an accused.

In 2003, he participated in the elections of deputies to the State Duma in one of the districts of the Kursk region. He was not allowed to participate in the elections because his registration as a candidate was canceled by the Supreme Court due to the provision of incorrect information about his place of work to the election commission.
Currently, Alexander Rutskoy works as chairman of the board of directors of a large cement plant, which is being built in the Voronezh region by workers from Slovakia.

Awards and titles

Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and a special insignia - medal " Golden Star"No. 11589 (1988)
Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Star
Order of the Red Banner (Afghanistan)
Order of Friendship of Peoples (Afghanistan)
Order of Star 1st class (Afghanistan)
Order of the Republic (PMR)
Order of Suvorov 1st degree (PMR)
Order For Personal Courage (PMR)
Order of Daniel of Moscow, 2nd degree (ROC)
Knight of the Imperial Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, 1st degree
Chest sign The fourth estate. For services to the press
Cross of Merit of the Ministry of Emergency Situations
Medals
Honorary Citizen of Kursk
Military pilot 1st class
Sniper pilot
His name is carved on the Wall of Glory to the “Heroes of Kursk”, installed on Red Square in Kursk.

Family
father - Vladimir Aleksandrovich Rutskoy (1922-1991), was a tank driver, fought at the front and went to Berlin, awarded six orders and 15 medals.
mother - Zinaida Iosifovna Sokolovskaya, having graduated trade college, worked in the service sector.
grandfather - Alexander Ivanovich Rutskoi, served in the railway troops.
grandmother - Marya Pavlovna Volokhova.
1st wife - Nelly Stepanovna Zolotukhina, Ph.D. Married in 1969 in Barnaul, divorced in 1974.
son - Dmitry b. 1971, heads Kurskpharmacy OJSC, married, daughter - Anastasia 2006.
father-in-law - Stepan Zolotukhin, teacher at the Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots named after. K. A. Vershinina.
2nd wife - Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Novikova, fashion designer, president of the Vali-moda company Valentina Yudashkina. Rutskoi met her in Borisoglebsk.
son - Alexander b. 1975, manager of OJSC Kurskneftekhim, studies at Financial institution, graduated Suvorov School., married, daughter - Elizaveta, b. September 1, 1999, son Svyatoslav, April 1, 2002, daughter Sophia June 2, 2008
3rd wife - Irina Anatolyevna Popova b. 1973
son - Rostislav, b. April 22, 1999
daughter - Ekaterina, b. May 5, 1993
father-in-law - Anatoly Vasilyevich Popov, b. June 29, 1950, in 1996-1998 - first deputy head of the administration of the Rylsky district of the Kursk region; since February 1998 - head of the department of culture of the Kursk city administration; from January 1999 -2000 - Vice-Governor of the Kursk Region, head of the public reception of the Governor of the Kursk Region.
younger brother Vladimir Vladimirovich Rutskoy, lieutenant colonel of the Air Force. Subsequently, he became the head of JSC Factor, which took over the management of the Konyshevsky meat processing plant.

POLITICAL PORTRAIT

The turbulent atmosphere of perestroika Russia brought forward many colorful figures who became prominent figures on its political scene.

One of the most amazing rises (even against the backdrop of Boris Yeltsin’s adventurous career) was made by Alexander Rutskoi. Gossips sometimes they called him “unsinkable,” although this epithet could equally well be applied to Boris Yeltsin himself. Alexander Rutsky could rather be called “fireproof”: having been shot down twice in the skies of Afghanistan, he not only returned to duty (and even with a promotion) after being written off from flying service due to injury, but also, most importantly, retained amazing political vitality , despite the fact that he was constantly involved in the cycle of political battles.

“I learned to break through a fence not with my head, but with my fist, and expand the resulting space,” Rutskoi said about himself at one of the critical moments in his life. The words of his party comrade Vasily Lipitsky also sound quite convincing: “Many people are now writing about Rutsky in the past tense. It’s too early. Let me make a bold comparison with Nelson Mandela. The situation in the country, which does not promise an easy life, the shortage of new leaders does not provide grounds for put an end to his political biography..."

Introduction

Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy was born on September 16, 1947 in Kursk (the surname Rutskoy is found only in the Kursk region). He grew up in a family of professional military men: according to the vice president’s relatives, the main profession of the men of this family has been military service for at least about 130 years. His grandfather served in the railway troops, his father was a tank driver, he went through the entire war from the first to last day and fought his way to Berlin. Decorated with six orders and twenty-five medals, he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel after 30 years in the Armed Forces, he died in early 1991 at the age of 67. The Rutsky family, apparently, was committed to the communist idea: his father was a member of the CPSU for 47 years, his grandfather for 52 years.

Alexander Rutsky has two brothers: the older brother Vladimir also became a pilot, and the younger brother Mikhail graduated from the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1991 and became the senior commissioner of the criminal investigation department in Kursk.

Alexander Vladimirovich Ruchkoy graduated from the Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, the Air Force Academy named after. Yu.A. Gagarin, and, finally, in 1990 - with honors - the Academy of the General Staff, becoming a fighter pilot.

While still a schoolboy, from the 9th grade, Alexander studied at the flying club. He worked as a mechanic at an aircraft factory. In conscript service, where he was called up in 1965, he was a gunner-radio operator with the rank of sergeant. Already in flight school demonstrated leadership skills. He drew well: once in the school wall newspaper he drew himself in general's shoulder straps Oh. After graduating from military school, he served as an instructor pilot at the Borisoglebsk Aviation School. V.P. Chkalova.

After graduating from the Air Force Academy, Rutskoy was sent to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Many of his qualities were revealed here. “I’m tough,” he said about himself, “and my voice is loud.” People who served with him in the GDR, and then in Lipetsk, recall that he punished very harshly for the slightest offense, and at party meetings, when the misdeeds of communists were sorted out, he usually demanded the most drastic measures.

In 1985, Rutskoi was entrusted with a very honorable and promising mission in terms of career: to form a regiment that was supposed to fly new aircraft, moreover, a youth regiment, the pilots of which were young people who had just graduated from college, average age who was only 22 years old. “In a year, I prepared the boys to the 11th grade level,” Rutskoi later recalled with pride. It is also known that for some reason the students nicknamed their boss “Lobachevsky”.

In total, Alexander Vladimirovich changed 9 places of service.

Afghanistan

In 1985, Rutskoi ends up in Afghanistan. During " Afghan war"He flew 428 combat missions.

Rutskoy himself spoke about his Afghan adventures as follows: “In 1985, we were sent to Afghanistan. This was the only regiment that did not lose a single pilot. We were the only ones who began to fight at night in the Afghan mountains. All the pilots of the unit were awarded state awards , and 80% of them twice. But the regiment was disbanded. He was headed by another regiment, completely unprepared. In 3 months, 7 pilots were lost."

The commander himself burned out twice, landed without engines, and the enemy left 39 holes in his Su-25.

At the beginning of April 1986, he made his 360th flight to the Khost area on the mission of “assisting the Afghan infantry division” and was shot down near Jawar. Spine fracture, arm wounds. The doctors performed a miracle, saving the life of the pilot.

For his military exploits, Rutskoi was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In Afghanistan, there were legends about the colonel’s courage and valor. The documents have passed all authorities. The award was even publicly announced at some important meeting. But the title was never given. It happened.

On June 13, 1986, Rutsky was first noticed by the press - an article about him appeared in Red Star. After the hospital, he was removed from flight work and appointed deputy head of the Combat Training Center in Lipetsk. Due to health reasons, Alexander Vladimirovich could easily retire to a fairly substantial pension by Soviet standards, but he is seeking to return to Afghanistan. And in 1988 he became deputy commander of the 40th Army Air Force. His immediate superior, by the way, was Boris Gromov, who 3 years later became Rutskoi’s rival in the presidential elections of Russia as Nikolai Ryzhkov’s vice-presidential candidate.

“In 1988,” says Rutskoy, “the enemy began to receive surface-to-surface missiles (Stinger) to fire at garrisons. I created a squadron of attack aircraft, recruiting best pilots. Intelligence reported that I was being hunted. And so, on August 4, again in the Khost area, I was shot down by Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighters and blown into Pakistani territory by the wind. I shot back for 5 days, evaded pursuit, and covered 28 km. He was wounded again. Then shell shock, captivity (Peshevar, Islamabad. Offer to go to Canada). In captivity for 1.5 months, then exchanged. I weighed 48 kg then."

On August 16, Pakistani authorities at the premises of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry handed over the pilot to Soviet diplomatic representatives in Islamabad. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Before this, he had already been awarded the Order of the Red Star and six medals.

The last adventure of the restless colonel caused a great echo. Only very narrow circle knows or at least assumes what the military commander could have been doing “in the Khost area”, in job responsibilities which is not intended to directly participate in assault or fighter operations. By official version, the purpose of the flight was “to strike an ammunition depot, detect caravans with weapons that were coming from the territory of Pakistan in violation of the Geneva Agreements.” It was blown abroad by the east wind.

Returning from Afghanistan, Rutskoi did not receive general's shoulder straps or the corresponding assignment (they say that the Air Force command opposed it).

From 1988 to June 1990, Alexander Vladimirovich studied at the Academy of the General Staff and then again received an appointment to Lipetsk, this time as the head of the center. Rutskoi's ill-wishers claimed that this was a colonel's position. But Rutskoi did not agree with them, he declared that it was a general’s.

Invasion of politics

The combat officer had little understanding of politics. His first steps in the political field prove this. The election campaign during the elections to people's deputies of the USSR in May 1989 ended in failure. Rutskoy is running his candidacy in Kuntsevo, in a highly politicized area densely populated by supporters of reforms, among his rivals are the “foremen of perestroika” poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, playwright Mikhail Shatrov (whose play “Further, further, further” was widely read at that time) , editors of Ogonyok and Yunost - Viktor Korotich and Andrey Dementyev, publicist Yuri Chernichenko, popular lawyer Savitsky. I won Chief Editor newspapers of Moscow communists since the time of Yeltsin - the first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU - "Moskovskaya Pravda" Logunov. (Ironically, in 1993 he was the editor of the organ of the rebellious Supreme Council, Rossiyskaya Gazeta.)

The campaign against Rutskoi was launched brutally. In the halls they shouted in his face: “Be careful! After Afghanistan, his hands are covered in blood up to his elbows!” For his frequent use of the word “Russian,” he was accused of having connections with the “Memory” society. For a long time, inscriptions remained on the walls of the houses: “Rutskoy is a fascist, black colonel,” “hustler-dog patriot,” “anti-Semite.” In 1989, let us remember, such labels probably failed a candidate.

It is believed that the colonel was supported by the district committee of the CPSU and official circles of the Church. Rutsky's confidant was Valery Burkov, a member of the Council of the national-patriotic society "Fatherland" (who later became Yeltsin's adviser on military issues), who spoke at meetings with voters with sharp criticism of A. Sakharov.

The leadership of the Academy of the General Staff, where Alexander Vladimirovich was then studying, also expressed dissatisfaction with Rutsky’s nomination. However, according to him, he “sincerely wanted to show that in the army there are people who are capable of thinking about the fate of the country not in terms of orders, but people who can offer A New Look, new approaches to reforming the country, not burdened by the past."

His moods in those years convey him own words: “I was sick and exhausted from experiences and ashamed of my Motherland.” At the same time, he was proud that he would not get involved in this “dunghill” (i.e., politics).

But social activities he didn't leave. In the spring of 1989, Rutskoy became deputy chairman of the Moscow voluntary society of Russian culture "Fatherland" (the chairman was a historian, professor of the Moscow State pedagogical institute them. Lenin - Apollo Kuzmin). “We started working,” said Alexander Vladimirovich, “but I see that we are turning in the other direction from culture. They count how many Russians there were among the leaders of the revolution, how many foreigners, who shot whom. I had a fight once, twice, and left (in the fall of 1990_- N.K.) From patriotism to nationalism there is one step."

Born on September 16, 1947 in the town of Proskurov, Kamenets-Podolsk region, Ukrainian SSR (now Khmelnitsky, Ukraine) in the family of a Soviet army officer.

In 1971 he graduated from the Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilot Engineers named after. K. A. Vershinin, in 1980 - Air Force Academy named after. Yu. A. Gagarin, in 1990 - Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR named after. K. E. Voroshilov, majoring in personnel management and organization.

In 1996 at the Moscow State social university(MGSU) defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences on the topic “Agrarian reform and the organizational and economic mechanism of management in the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation in the conditions of transition to the market.”
Doctor of Economic Sciences. In 2000 Russian Academy civil service under the President of the Russian Federation defended his dissertation on the topic “Strategic development planning agro-industrial complex. Problems of theory and practice".

In 1964-1966. worked as an aviation mechanic, aircraft assembler at the Lvov Aviation Plant, and studied at the flying club in the pilots' department.
In 1966-1967 passed conscript service in the Armed Forces of the USSR as an air gunner-radio operator.
In 1970-1991 - Member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
In 1971-1977 served at the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School named after. V.P. Chkalov as an instructor pilot, aviation flight commander, and deputy commander of an aviation squadron.
In 1980-1984. In the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany on the territory of the GDR, he served in the Guards fighter-bomber regiment. He held the positions of deputy squadron commander, then chief of staff of the regiment.
From 1985 to 1986, as well as in 1988, he took part in combat operations in Afghanistan. In 1985-1986 - commander of the 378th separate aviation attack regiment, completed 356 combat missions on the Su-25 attack aircraft. In April 1986, he was shot down by the Afghan Mujahideen, ejected, and received damage upon landing. severe injuries(arm fracture, spinal injury). After treatment in the hospital he was suspended from flying.
In 1986-1988 was deputy head of the Center combat use and retraining of front-line aviation flight personnel of the USSR Air Force (Lipetsk).
In April 1988, he was appointed deputy commander of the air forces of the 40th Army in Afghanistan. Returned to flying, in April - August 1988 he made 97 combat missions. On August 4, 1988, during a night bombing, he was shot down by a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter. He was captured and on August 16, 1988 was handed over by the Pakistani authorities to Soviet representatives in exchange for a Pakistani citizen accused of espionage against the USSR.
In 1988-1990 - member of the Moscow society of Russian culture "Fatherland" (created with the support of party bodies and the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army). In May 1989, he was elected deputy chairman of the company's board.
On March 26, 1989, he ran for People's Deputies of the USSR in the Kuntsevo territorial electoral district No. 13 of Moscow. He lost the election to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Moskovskaya Pravda, Valentin Logunov.
In 1990, after graduating from the General Staff Academy, he was appointed head of the Center for Combat Use and Retraining of Frontline Aviation Flight Personnel of the USSR Air Force in Lipetsk.
In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the RSFSR. On March 4, 1990, he was elected in the Kursk national-territorial district No. 52. At the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, he was elected a member of the Supreme Council (SC) of the republic and a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Council - chairman of the Supreme Council Committee on Affairs of the Disabled, War and Labor Veterans, Social Protection of Military Personnel and Members of Their Families. On March 31, 1990, he created the deputy group “Communists for Democracy”. On June 12, 1990, he voted for the Declaration of Sovereignty of the RSFSR. In March 1991, he signed a letter from 11 members of the Presidium of Parliament directed against a group of colleagues who proposed to remove Boris Yeltsin from the post of Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. On July 10, 1991, Alexander Rutskoy, in connection with taking office as vice-president of the republic, resigned his parliamentary powers ahead of schedule.
In July 1990, he was a delegate to the last, XXVIII Congress of the CPSU.
From 1990 to 1991 he was a member Central Committee Communist Party of the RSFSR (established in 1990). On August 6, 1991, he was expelled from the party’s Central Committee “for actions aimed at splitting it.”
Since the summer of 1991, he headed the Democratic Party of Communists of Russia, which in the fall of the same year was renamed the People's Party "Free Russia" (since 1994 - the Russian Social Democratic People's Party; formally existed until 1998).
On June 12, 1991, he was elected vice-president of the RSFSR. He ran together with Boris Yeltsin, who became head of state. Took office on July 10, 1991.
During the August events of 1991, he actively supported Boris Yeltsin and organized events to protect the building of the Supreme Council and the government of the RSFSR. On August 21, he flew to Crimea to organize the return of USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev from Foros to Moscow.
By position in 1992-1993. was a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. As vice-president of the country, he negotiated with the leadership of a number of foreign states (Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan) on the release of Soviet soldiers captured during the Soviet-Afghan war, as well as on the sale Russian weapons to Malaysia. From February 1992 to April 1993 he headed the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on agrarian reform, from October 1992 to April 1993 - the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on combating crime and corruption.
In 1992, he sharply condemned the socio-economic policy of the Yeltsin-Gaidar government for “an incredible rise in prices, total impoverishment of the population, a progressive decline in production, and the collapse of the military-industrial complex.” On January 30, 1992, he announced his readiness to head the government.
In December 1992, he supported the decision of the VII Congress of People's Deputies of Russia not to extend the additional powers of the president to carry out economic reforms.
On March 20, 1993, he refused to endorse the draft presidential decree “On a special management regime to overcome the crisis of power” as unconstitutional. At an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on March 21, 1993, he openly condemned the actions of the President of the Russian Federation.
On April 16, 1993, Alexander Rutskoy spoke in the Supreme Council with accusations of corruption against some members of the government and the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation (Egor Gaidar, Gennady Burbulis, Mikhail Poltoranin, etc.). At the same time, he stated that he had collected “11 suitcases” of incriminating documents. On May 7, Boris Yeltsin said that he “lost confidence in Rutskoi and freed him from all instructions given by the president.”
Since August 20, 1993, Rutskoi did not have access to his office. On September 1, 1993, by decree of Yeltsin, he was temporarily removed from the duties of vice president.
On September 21, 1993, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized Boris Yeltsin’s decree “On phased constitutional reform in the Russian Federation,” which provided for the dissolution of the Congress of People’s Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, as contrary to the fundamental law. According to the constitution, Yeltsin’s powers were terminated by the Supreme Council, and the execution of his duties was entrusted to the Vice President of the Russian Federation, Alexander Rutsky. On September 22, he took office as head of state by decision of the Supreme Court.
On October 3, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree releasing Rutskoi from the post of vice president and dismissal from military service.
On October 4, 1993, troops loyal to Yeltsin, after tank shelling, stormed the parliament building and arrested Alexander Rutsky, Chairman of the Russian Armed Forces Ruslan Khasbulatov and other opposition leaders.
Since October 4, 1993, Rutskoi was in the Moscow Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. On February 26, 1994, he was released from custody in connection with the amnesty resolution adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on February 23, 1994.
In 1994-1996 - founder and chairman of the Social Patriotic Movement "Derzhava". In August 1996, the movement joined the People's Patriotic Union of Russia (NPSR), and Rutskoi became one of its co-chairs.
On December 17, 1995, he ran for the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the 2nd convocation at the head of the federal list of the SPD "Derzhava". It did not enter the Duma, since the movement’s list received 2.57% of the vote and did not overcome the 5% barrier.
On December 25, 1995, the Central Election Commission registered an initiative group to nominate Alexander Rutsky as a candidate for President of the Russian Federation. On April 10, 1996, Rutskoi announced that he had withdrawn his candidacy from the elections and called on his supporters to vote for the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov.
Since 1996 - head of administration, from 1997 to 2000 - governor of the Kursk region. Initially, the regional election commission refused to register Rutskoi, but on October 16, 1996, this decision was overturned by the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. On October 19, 1996, State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Alexander Mikhailov (now the governor of the Kursk region) withdrew his candidacy in favor of Rutsky. On October 20, 1996, Alexander Rutskoy was elected head of the regional administration, gaining 78.9% of the votes. 17.9% voted for the current head of the region Vasily Shuteev.
From November 13, 1996 to November 24, 2000 - member of the Federation Council (SF) of the Russian Federation, was a member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy.
In October 1999, he joined the coordination council of the "Bear" electoral bloc, and in February 2000, he became a member of the political council of the "Unity" movement (since 2003 - the "United Russia" party).
In 2000-2003 – Advisor to the rector and vice-rector of MGSU on a voluntary basis.
In October 2000, he ran for the post of governor of the Kursk region, but 12 hours before the vote, the regional court canceled Rutsky’s registration as a candidate. The basis was false information about real estate owned by Rutskoy.
Since the beginning of the 2000s. lives in the Moscow region.
In 2003, he stood as a candidate in the elections of deputies to the State Duma of the fourth convocation in the Kursk single-mandate constituency No. 97. However, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation canceled Rutsky’s registration due to the provision of incorrect information about his place of work.
In April 2007 he was convicted under Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Insulting a representative of the authorities”) and was sentenced to a fine of 20 thousand rubles. In an appeal to residents of the Kursk region, published in the party newspaper " People's will“Vremya,” he called the regional governor, Alexander Mikhailov, a “scoundrel” and a “drunkard.” In 2008, the conviction was expunged.
Since 2013 – member of the board of trustees of the All-Russian public organization"Committee for Supporting Reforms of the President of Russia" (the council is headed by former head Administration of the President of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov).
In 2014, Alexander Rutskoy again tried to nominate his candidacy in the elections for governor of the Kursk region, but was not registered because he did not pass the municipal filter.
According to media reports, in 2014 he headed the board of directors construction company, specializing in the construction industrial enterprises (cement factory in the Voronezh region, etc.).
In 2015, he was elected chairman of the United Agrarian-Industrial Party of Russia.
In September 2016, he ran for the State Duma of the 7th convocation on the list of the Patriots of Russia party (he was number three in the central part of the list) and in the Seim single-mandate constituency No. 110. According to the results of the vote on September 18, he did not enter the Duma. The party's list did not overcome the required 5 percent threshold (0.59%). In the single-mandate district, Rutskoi won 17.53% of the votes, losing to United Russia member, Chairman of the Kursk Regional Duma, Viktor Karamyshev (52.03%).

Was a member of the Public Council at Investigative Committee RF.

Major General of Aviation (1991).

Hero of the Soviet Union (1988). Awarded with orders Lenin, Red Banner, Red Star. He also has the Order of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan: Red Banner, "Friendship of Peoples", "Star" 1st degree, "For Bravery".

Married for the third time, he has three sons and a stepdaughter. First wife - Nelly Churikova, son from her first marriage - Dmitry (born 1971), entrepreneur, CEO The management company "Pharmacy Traditions", as well as a network of pharmacies in the Kursk and Oryol regions. Second wife – Lyudmila Novikova, fashion designer, son – Alexander.
Currently, the wife of Alexander Rutsky is Irina Popova (born 1973), the family has two children - Ekaterina (born 1993) and Rostislav (born 1999).
Alexander Rutsky’s younger brother Vladimir, a pilot, reserve lieutenant colonel, was engaged in entrepreneurial activity. Elder brother Mikhail - until 1998, served as head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Kursk Region.

Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy (September 16, 1947 (19470916), Proskurov) - Russian statesman and political figure, Major General of Aviation, Hero of the Soviet Union, from 1991 to 1993 - the first and last vice-president of the Russian Federation, from 1996 to 2000 - Governor of the Kursk region.

Born in 1947 in the city of Proskurov, Ukrainian SSR (now Khmelnitsky, Ukraine) in a family with military traditions: Rutskoy’s grandfather Alexander Ivanovich Rutskoy served in the railway troops, Rutskoy’s father Vladimir Alexandrovich (1926-1991) was a tank driver, fought at the front and went to Berlin , awarded six orders.

According to Rutskoi’s relatives, military traditions in their family existed for at least 130 years. His mother, Zinaida Iosifovna, graduated from a trade college and worked in the service sector.

Rutsky’s father was a member of the CPSU for 47 years, his grandfather for 52 years. According to his uncle Viktor Aleksandrovich Rutsky, shortly before his death, Alexander Rutsky’s father cursed his son before his death for betraying the CPSU.

He spent his childhood in garrisons at the place of his father's military service.

In 1964 he graduated from eight-year school. From 1964 to 1966 he studied at evening school, while simultaneously working as an aircraft mechanic at a military airfield.

I have been studying at the flying club in the pilot department since the 9th grade of school. After Rutsky’s family moved to Lvov (due to his father’s transfer to the reserve), he worked as an aircraft assembler at a factory.

In 1966, after Rutskoi was drafted into the army, his parents moved to Kursk.

In November 1966 he was drafted into the army. He served in Kansk (Krasnoyarsk Territory) at the school of air gunners and radio operators.

In 1967, with the rank of sergeant, he entered the Barnaul Higher Military Aviation School of Pilot Engineers named after. K. A. Vershinin and graduated from it in 1971.

From 1971 to 1977 he served at the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School named after V.P. Chkalov. He held the positions of instructor pilot, aviation flight commander, and deputy commander of an aviation squadron.

In 1980 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Gagarin.

After graduating from the VVA, he was sent to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. He served in the Guards fighter-bomber regiment. According to his colleagues, there was strict discipline in his unit: he severely punished the slightest offense, and at party meetings he demanded the harshest measures from those who misbehaved.

From 1985 to 1988, he participated in combat operations as part of a contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. He held the position of commander of a separate aviation assault regiment (40th Army). He flew combat missions on a Su-25 attack aircraft. During the war he flew 428 combat missions.

On April 6, 1986, during Rutskoi’s 360th flight, his Su-25 aircraft was shot down from the ground near Dzhawar. When he hit the ground, Rutskoi seriously damaged his spine and was wounded in the arm.

According to doctors, Rutskoy survived miraculously. After treatment in the hospital, he was suspended from flying and was appointed in Lipetsk to the post of deputy head of the Combat Training Center of the USSR Air Force.

After training, he returned to duty and in 1988 was again sent to Afghanistan - to the post of deputy commander of the Air Force of the 40th Army. On August 4, 1988, he was again shot down in the Khost area, this time by a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter.

He fired back for 5 days, evaded pursuit, covering 28 km, after which he was captured by the Afghan Mujahideen. According to Rutsky himself, he received offers from Pakistanis to go to Canada.

On August 16, 1988, he was handed over by the Pakistani authorities to Soviet diplomatic representatives in Islamabad. On December 8, 1988, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1990, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, after which he was appointed to the post of head of the Combat Training Center in Lipetsk. Defended his dissertation for competition scientific degree candidate of military sciences in military psychology.

In 1988 he joined the Moscow society of Russian culture “Fatherland”. In May 1989, Rutskoy was elected deputy chairman of the board of this company.

In May 1989, he put forward his candidacy for people's deputies of the USSR in the Kuntsevo territorial electoral district No. 13, where there were mainly supporters of the “democrats”.

Rutsky’s nomination was supported by the district committee of the CPSU, the Fatherland and Memory movements. Rutsky's confidants were member of the Fatherland Council, Lieutenant Colonel Valery Burkov and Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk.

His rivals were mainly “democrats” - poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, playwright Mikhail Shatrov, editors of Ogonyok and Yunost - Vitaly Korotich and Andrey Dementyev, publicist Yuri Chernichenko, lawyer Savitsky.

In the first round of elections, Rutskoi was ahead of all other candidates, but in the second round, held on May 14, he received 30.38% of the votes “for” and 66.78% “against”, losing to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Moskovskaya Pravda” and Yeltsin supporter Valentin Logunov .

In the summer of 1990 he became a delegate to the Founding Congress of the Communist Party of the RSFSR. He was elected a member of the party's Central Committee. In July 1990, he was elected as a delegate to the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU.

At the III session of the Supreme Council, he supported Yeltsin in condemning the actions of the Soviet leadership during the events in Vilnius in January 1991.

In June 1991, he supported the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR.

On October 26-27, 1991, at the First Congress of the DPKR, the party was renamed the People's Party "Free Russia" (NPSR). Rutskoy was elected chairman of the NPSR.

On May 18, 1991, he was nominated as a vice-presidential candidate paired with presidential candidate Yeltsin. Before this, there were different versions about who would become the vice-presidential candidate: Burbulis, Popov, Sobchak, Starovoitova, Shakhrai. Many “democrats” considered this act of Yeltsin to be wrong. Rutskoi's candidacy was chosen by Yeltsin on the very last day of filing an application.

On August 19-21, 1991, he was one of the organizers of the defense of the building of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, and on the morning of August 19, he was one of the first to arrive at the White House. On August 20, in the Kremlin, he participated in negotiations with Lukyanov and gave him an ultimatum, where one of the points was a meeting with Gorbachev within the next 24 hours.

On August 21, together with Ivan Silaev and Vadim Bakatin, he led a delegation that flew on a Tu-134 plane to M. S. Gorbachev in Foros, but was refused permission to board. After negotiations between Yeltsin and the commander of the Navy, Admiral Chernavin, he allowed the landing. Soon Gorbachev returned to Moscow. By decree of the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev dated August 24, 1991, Rutskoi was awarded the military rank of major general.

In September 1991, he supported the introduction of a state of emergency in Chechnya, where during this period Dudayev staged a military coup and seized power. After this, a campaign to discredit Rutsky began in the media. At the same time, the conflict between Rutskoi and Yeltsin begins.

In early December, during his trip to Barnaul, Rutskoy, speaking to the local public, sharply criticized the Gaidar “shock therapy” program, noting that the planned conversion is “the destruction of the achievements of advanced scientific and technical thought and the destruction of Russian industry” and that price liberalization is impossible carried out under monopolism, as this will lead to disaster, as well as the lack of practical specialists and an excess of academic economists in the Yeltsin government.

At the same time, he called Gaidar’s office “boys in pink pants.” Subsequently, this phrase became a catchphrase.

He also criticized the Belovezhskaya agreements signed on December 8, comparing them with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty of 1918.

On February 26, 1992, Rutsky was entrusted with “management of the country’s agriculture.” Then many noted that by doing so they wanted to get rid of him, remembering the example of Yegor Ligachev.

According to Rutsky, the agricultural industry should be managed not by administrative structures and councils, but by finance: state-commercial banks with mixed and private capital. Then he began to work on the issue of creating a Land Bank. This issue has not been resolved.

17 departments were created directly under Rutsky with a number of employees that exceeded the number of the Ministry of Agriculture. Also, at his instigation, the Government created the Federal Center for Land and Agro-Industrial Reform.

At the same time, he collected information about unfinished construction projects in the countryside and looked for Western investors for them. Relying on foreign investments, Rutskoi intended to improve the agriculture of the South, and only then spread the achievements throughout the country.

By October 1992, three agricultural reform programs had been prepared - the officially adopted government program, the Ministry of Agriculture program and the Rutsky Center program.

As a result, the agrarian reform failed, and during the escalation of the conflict on May 7, 1993, Yeltsin announced in a televised speech that he was depriving Rutskoi of other assignments (including in agriculture).

In October 1992, Rutskoi headed the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation to combat crime and corruption.

On April 16, 1993, Rutskoi summed up the results of his work - in a few months he collected “11 suitcases” of incriminating evidence; the list of perpetrators included Yegor Gaidar, Gennady Burbulis, Mikhail Poltoranin, Vladimir Shumeiko, Alexander Shokhin, Anatoly Chubais and Andrei Kozyrev. 9 cases were submitted to the Prosecutor's Office.

On April 29, a special commission of the Supreme Council to investigate corruption of senior officials was approved. On the same day, Rutskoy was removed from the leadership of the Interdepartmental Commission, and he was also prohibited from meeting with security ministers.

After the constitutional crisis in March 1993 and the referendum on April 25, 1993, Boris Yeltsin relieved Alexander Rutsky of all assignments.

In response, Yeltsin dismissed Security Minister Viktor Barannikov from his post, accusing him of helping Rutskoi collect suitcases of incriminating evidence.

On September 3, 1993, by presidential decree, Vice President Rutskoy was “temporarily removed from his duties.”

On the night of September 21-22, the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution, then confirmed by the Congress, to terminate the presidential powers of Boris Yeltsin and temporarily transfer powers, in accordance with the Constitution and the decision of the Constitutional Court, to the acting president, Vice President Alexander Rutsky.

Rutskoi took the oath of President of the Russian Federation and stated: “I, in accordance with the Constitution, accept the exercise of the powers of the President of Russia and cancel his illegal Decree.”

He also announced that he was ordering all government authorities to implement only his decrees, and warned that those who violate the orders of “i.e. O. President" will bear appropriate criminal liability in established by law ok.

Rutskoy was recognized as acting. O. The President's executive and representative bodies of power in some regions, almost all regional Councils recognized Yeltsin's decree as unconstitutional, but he did not completely control the situation in the country.

One of Rutskoi's first decrees as president was the appointment of ministers of law enforcement agencies. Vladislav Achalov became Minister of Defense, Andrei Dunaev became Minister of Internal Affairs, and Viktor Barannikov became Minister of Security.

At the same time, Iona Andronov, chairman of the International Committee of the Supreme Council, provided information about the Mossad operation to eliminate Rutskoi. The MB and SVR also testified to the presence of Mossad employees among the Beitar fighters.

According to the memoirs of A. A. Venediktov, on October 2, live on the Ekho Moskvy radio station, Rutskoi shouted: “Comrades, raise your planes, fly to bomb the Kremlin!”

On October 3, Rutskoi, from the balcony of the White House, called on his supporters to storm the Moscow City Hall building and seize the Ostankino television center.

According to Yeltsin’s recollections, Rutskoi called Air Force commander Deinekin and urged him to alert the aircraft. In essence, the events around Ostankino gave Yeltsin a free hand to take forceful action against the Supreme Council.

According to First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council Yuri Voronin, who was also in the besieged House of Soviets, Rutskoy himself did not believe in the help of the top generals.

After the troops stormed the building of the Supreme Council and the complete defeat of his supporters, Rutskoi was arrested on charges of organizing mass riots on October 3-4, 1993, and the post of vice president was eliminated by Decree of President Yeltsin.

He was imprisoned in the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center. On February 26, 1994, he was released from custody in connection with the “amnesty” resolution adopted by the State Duma on February 23, 1994 (although his trial never took place).

In February 1994, he joined the initiative group of the public movement “Consent in the Name of Russia” (among those who signed the appeal to create the movement were Valery Zorkin, Gennady Zyuganov, Sergei Baburin, Stanislav Govorukhin, Sergei Glazyev, etc.)

From April 1995 to December 1996 - founder and chairman of the Social Patriotic Movement "Derzhava". In August 1995, Rutskoi, at the second congress of the “Derzhava” movement, headed the movement’s federal list in the elections to the State Duma, with Viktor Kobelev and Konstantin Dushonov listed as second and third.

However, in the last elections on December 17, the movement received only 2.57% (1,781,233 in quantitative terms) of the votes and was unable to overcome the 5% barrier.

He actively participated in Zyuganov's election campaign. At the beginning of April, he took part in Gennady Zyuganov’s election trip to the cities of the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions. On June 6, 1996, as part of his election campaign, he visited Arkhangelsk.

Since August 1996 - co-chairman of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia. In November 1996, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences. Author of the books: “Agrarian Reform in Russia”, “Lefortovo Protocols”, “The Collapse of a Power”, “Thoughts about Russia”, “Finding Faith”, “Unknown Rutskoi”, “About Us and About Ourselves”, “Bloody Autumn”.

Rutskoy announced his intention to run for the post of governor of the Kursk region on April 9 in Voronezh during Zyuganov’s election campaign.

Rutskoi, as an honorary citizen of Kursk, who lived in the region for 18 years, filed an appeal. On September 25, the Supreme Court of Russia upheld the decision of the Kursk election commission, after which it filed a cassation appeal.

On October 16, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the decision of the Kursk Election Commission, and on October 17, the Election Commission of the Kursk Region registered Alexander Rutsky as a candidate for the post of head of the regional administration.

The candidate for governor from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Alexander Mikhailov, withdrew his candidacy in favor of Rutsky.

On October 20, 1996, he was elected head of the administration of the Kursk region with the support of the People's Patriotic Union of Russia.

From 1996 to 2000, head of the administration of the Kursk region, member of the Federation Council, member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy.

Rutskoi's rule in the region was marked by negative consequences.

Under him, the standard of living in the region constantly fell and was much lower than in neighboring Oryol, Lipetsk and Belgorod regions. The construction of residential buildings in the region decreased by an average of one third. The birth rate in the region during his time became the lowest in the region, and the mortality rate was the highest.

In agriculture, productivity has become lower than in neighboring regions.

While serving as governor, Rutskoy appointed his relatives to important positions. In particular, he appointed his father new wife Anatoly Popov for the post of deputy head of the Rylsky district administration.

Rutsky's brother Mikhail was appointed to the post of police chief public safety(MOB) Regional ATC. Later, due to a scandal that erupted in connection with exceeding his official powers, he was forced to leave his post.

Another brother of Rutskoi, Vladimir, headed the state joint-stock company "Factor" created by Rutskoi, which had nothing but constituent documents, but to which the Konyshevsky meat processing plant was transferred to management.

Rutsky's son, Dmitry, headed OJSC Kurskpharmacy, which became a monopolist in the region. As a result, in 1997, prices for OJSC medicines for many drugs became 200-250 percent higher, and in 1998, preferential distribution of drugs in OJSC pharmacies was stopped.

Corruption scandals related to the arrests of deputy governors and the appointment of convicted persons to various posts were also noted. An example could be the appointment to the post of head of the Oktbyarsky district of the former deputy head of the Solntsevsky district, for whom a crime was found.

In March 2001, he announced his participation in the by-elections of a State Duma deputy in the Kineshma single-mandate constituency No. 79 (Ivanovo region). He managed to pay a deposit of 100 thousand rubles, but even before official registration he refused to participate in the elections due to a sharp deterioration in his health.

— Awards and titles
* Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Order of Lenin and a sign of special distinction - the Gold Star medal (1988)
* Order of the Red Banner
* Order of the Red Star
* Order of the Red Banner (Afghanistan)
* Medals of the USSR and Afghanistan
* Honorary Citizen of Kursk
* Military pilot 1st class

Married for the second time. Has three sons and a daughter (Ekaterina is a MGIMO student). Brother, Mikhail Vladimirovich Rutskoy, until 1998 he held the position of deputy head of the Kursk Region Internal Affairs Directorate - head of the public security police (MSB).

In the military and political history of our state, the figure of the Vice-President of the RSFSR, Alexander Vladimirovich Rutsky, can be considered as an example of a courageous military man, and, at the same time, an unsuccessful politician.

Hereditary military man Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy was born on September 16, 1947 in the city of Khmelnitsky. In 1966, A. Rutskoy attended the school of air gunners and radio operators. In 1971, Sergeant Rutskoy graduated from the Barnaul Flight School. In 1977 - deputy commander of an aviation squadron at the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Flight School named after. V. Chkalova.

In 1980, he graduated from the Air Force Academy. Gagarin Alexander Rutskoy was seconded to serve in Germany as a squadron commander of a guards fighter-bomber regiment.

Rutskoi joined the party in 1971, and according to the recollections of his colleagues, he always demanded strict “party” discipline from his subordinates. Behind the back of combat pilot Alexander Rutsky is participation in military operations in Afghanistan (1985-1988). In 1986, his plane was shot down, and Rutskoi received serious injuries; according to doctors, he miraculously survived.

In 1988, Rutskoy returned to serve in Afghanistan as a deputy. Commander of the Air Force of the 40th Army. He was again shot down by the enemy and captured by the Mujahideen. Through the actions of Soviet diplomats, Rutskoi was returned to the USSR and awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The media spoke about his tenacity, heroism and courage. In 1990, Rutskoy graduated Military Academy General Staff.

Rutsky's political activity began in 1989, when he nominated himself as a candidate for people's deputies in the Kuntsevo constituency. But he did not get a majority of votes.

In 1990, Rutskoy ran in the elections of people's deputies of the RSFSR and became a people's deputy of the Kursk electoral region No. 52, joined the Supreme Council and the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.

Since 1991, Rutskoy has been an active supporter of Yeltsin; in June he signed a declaration on the state sovereignty of the RSFSR; in July, for these actions and contradictions with the main course of the CPSU (participation in the organization of the Democratic Party of Communists of Russia) he was expelled from the CPSU.

Since June 1991, A.V. Rutskoy has been Vice-President of the RSFSR, elected together with President of the RSFSR Yeltsin.

Their ideological and political tandem seemed unbreakable; the people who followed them in August 1991 to defend the ideas of democracy actually defended the newly elected presidents.

Vice President Rutskaya of the RSFSR becomes a real hero. He personally carried out the release of the captive USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev in Foros. The crowd rejoiced, seemingly further political career Rutsky was not in any danger. Heroes are not judged. After the August putsch in Moscow, Rutskoy becomes a major general, by order of USSR President M. Gorbachev.

But very soon a conflict of power begins between the still very recent comrades Yeltsin and Rutsky.

Rutskoi criticizes new course government, exposes Gaidar's policy as weak, calls the conversion criminal, jeopardizing all scientific and technological achievements in the country, acts as an ardent opponent of the creation of the CIS, and appeals to Gorbachev with a demand to prevent the signing of the Belovezh Treaty in December 1991, asks to arrest Yeltsin.

Yeltsin immediately reacts to Rutskoi’s attack by signing a decree on the transfer of all structures from the subordination of the vice president to the government, and sends Rutskoi to lead “agriculture.” At the beginning of 1992, Rutskoy began preparing reforms in the country's agriculture.

In February 1993, Vice President Rutskoy published open appeal: “It’s dangerous to live like this any longer.” Rutskoi collected 11 suitcases (literally) with documents exposing corruption in the highest circles of the country's government - the list includes all those close to President Yeltsin.

Yeltsin’s opponents are becoming more persistent and aggressive, and in the spring of 1993, Rutskoi was removed from “agricultural activities,” and by September 1993, by decree of Yeltsin, Rutskoi was removed from the vice presidency.

In a country with a dilapidated economy, an open political conflict is brewing.

Rutskoi's supporters in the Supreme Council recognize President Yeltsin's actions as unconstitutional. Yeltsin, by his decree, liquidates the Congress People's Deputies, And The Supreme Council RSFSR, depriving them of all legislative and administrative functions.

The above-mentioned abolished structures in response “deprive” Yeltsin of the post of president and appoint an acting President of the RSFSR Rutskoy, declaring Yeltsin's actions a coup d'etat.

Neither the main political nor military forces outside the White House support Rutskoi and his supporters. Follow mass riots in Moscow, hundreds of people are dying with the use of military equipment. General Rutskoi’s calls to storm the City Hall and the Ostankino television center lead to new victims.

On October 4, 1993, tank guns struck White House. After the troops stormed the House of Soviets, Rutskoy was taken under arrest under article (79 of the Criminal Code) on organizing mass riots.

By new Constitution RF (December 1993) the position of vice president was abolished. And in February 1994, Major General Rutskoy was released under an amnesty; his trial was not carried out.

Yeltsin wanted to convict General Rutsky under a more serious article. Up to capital punishment. But Supreme Court did not find sufficient legal grounds for the application of such sanctions.

After the political fiasco, Major General Rutskoy took up scientific activity and received a Doctor of Economics degree. In the mid-90s, Alexander Rutskoy supported the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Zyuganov. Then he was the governor of the Kursk region, vice-rector of MGSU, and was engaged in construction activities.

Currently, Major General Rutskoy is a member of the Public Council under the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and in board of trustees All-Russian public organization “Committee for Support of Reforms of the President of Russia.”

Alexander Vladimirovich Rutskoy - Respected man, owner huge variety high state awards for military courage, valor and glory, including the Order of the Red Star, the Red Banner, and For Bravery. Major General Alexander Rutskoy is an example of a person with unbending willpower, capable of withstanding the heavy blows of fate.

Victoria Maltseva