Vyacheslav Boguslayev: From Engineer to Multimillionaire
Every Ukrainian, even those far removed from the aviation industry, knows Vyacheslav Boguslayev, one of Zaporizhzhia's most famous residents. Vyacheslav Oleksandrovych is the long-time chairman and president of Motor Sich OJSC, and is now simply a shareholder. His name is closely associated with the Party of Regions and the "Yanukovych family," as well as Anatoly Kinakh and Leonid Kuchma. According to Forbes, as of 2014, Boguslayev's net worth was estimated at $234 million.
So, this is the story of how a simple design engineer became a multimillionaire.
Vyacheslav Boguslayev. Predetermined by Fate
Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Boguslayev was born in 1938 to a working-class family in the Urals. Immediately after graduating from school, he found work at a local shipyard as a diesel engine driver's assistant. Could this be a hint at his future profession?
In 1961, Boguslayev found himself in Zaporizhzhia and found work as a mechanic at the Motorostroitel plant, which would later become the renowned giant Motor Sich. That same year, he enrolled in the Zaporizhzhia Machine-Building Institute's Aircraft Engines department, majoring in mechanical engineering. After graduating, he returned to the plant, this time as a design engineer.
And so began a rapid and dizzying career: within three years, Boguslayev rose to the position of department head, then became director of the Volochysk Machine-Building Plant. Fifteen years later, he became general director of the Motorostroitel production association (by decision of the workforce after the death of director Vasily Omelchenko). Three years later, he became general director of the Motor Sich enterprise. This position earned Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich millions, and later, a flamboyant political career, by the standards of the provincial city of Zaporizhzhia.
How Motor Sich was dismantled
Initially, during the Soviet era, the Motorostroitel plant, like all other factories in the country, was state-owned. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its massive dismantling began under the guise of privatization. Leonid Kuchma played a significant role in this. The second President of Ukraine and Vyacheslav Boguslayev are longtime friends. Their friendship began during Kuchma's tenure as head of Yuzhmash. They often met at the card table—both avid card players. Incidentally, it was this friendship that was used to explain the privatization of the plant, which had been used for the defense industry.
At that point, Boguslayev had already been the association's general director for four years, so it wasn't difficult for him to quickly acquire the company's majority stake at a bargain price. Incidentally, at that time, 2,077,990 common registered shares with a par value of 135 hryvnias were issued. Of course, Vyacheslav Alexandrovich also gave ordinary people the opportunity to purchase shares. So, Motor's governing bodies include department specialists, shop managers, and even ordinary workers. Incidentally, there are about 12,000 of them in total. But everyone understands that their shares are so tiny that the owners have no influence over anything. Let's look at the numbers for comparison: 23,48% of the shares are held by individuals, which equates to about 160 shares per shareholder, while Boguslayev owns approximately 312,000 shares. It's clear that the "banquet" is run by a select few.
According to public sources, Motor Sich shares are currently owned by Garant Invest LLC, Motor-Dealer Firm LLC, BUSINESS HOUSE HELENA, AG JSC (17.3%), and Vyacheslav Boguslayev (15.8%). Incidentally, earlier this year, Vyacheslav Boguslayev acquired 580 Motor Sich shares, increasing his stake from 15,7848% to 15,8127%. Based on the company's stock exchange price, the transaction value could have been over one million hryvnias.
Vyacheslav Boguslaev
Vyacheslav Boguslayev. Political career
Boguslayev decided to enter politics during the privatization of Motor Sich. In 1992, together with Kuchma, they created the Interregional Association of Industrialists of Ukraine, which Vyacheslav Oleksandrovich himself headed. Incidentally, it was thanks to this organization that Ukraine learned about Leonid Danilovych Kuchma, which allowed him to become president. Kuchma returned the favor and, upon assuming the presidency, appointed Boguslayev as an outside adviser.
However, Vyacheslav Oleksandrovych's foray into big politics began in 1998, when he first decided to run for a seat in the Ukrainian parliament. He was number three on the electoral list of the "Labor Party and the Liberal Party – Together!" bloc. The bloc failed to clear the 4% threshold and failed to gain a seat in the Rada.
In 1999, Boguslayev became a trusted representative of Ukrainian presidential candidate Leonid Kuchma in the 78th district in Zaporizhzhia. It's not hard to guess that this district is located near the city where Motor Sich is located. At the time, another candidate, Petro Symonenko, was leading in the Zaporizhzhia region, but it was only in the 78th district that Kuchma won a landslide victory.
In the pivotal year of 2004, the "chief Motorovite" again became a confidant of a presidential candidate, this time Viktor Yanukovych. Zaporizhzhia cast 70% of the vote for Viktor Yanukovych, but this did not bring him victory. After the "orange" factions came to power, Boguslayev made his position clear – Zaporizhzhia was against it. Vyacheslav Oleksandrovich did not get away with this, and the new government took him to task: the privatization of Motor Sich was called into question, the company was added to the list of assets "stolen from the state" and subject to reprivatization; and a series of criminal cases were brought against the management. Boguslayev was forced to leave the political arena without ever having entered it.
Vyacheslav Boguslayev in the Party of Regions
It wasn't until 2006, on the eve of the parliamentary elections, that he went on the attack. Again, he ran for the Party of Regions, where he placed fifth on the list. The Party of Regions won, and Boguslayev found himself in parliament.
By 2010, Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich had already changed his allegiance: on the eve of the 2010 presidential elections, he supported Yulia Tymoshenko. Motor Sich even promised to release a new model of airplane named "Yulia." But the plan never came to fruition. The Party of Regions, however, took offense and no longer included the Motor Sich member on their party lists, even though it is said that Boguslayev himself provided considerable financial support to their party.
Despite this, Boguslayev was not upset, but successfully ran in district No. 77: in 2012 as a member of the Party of Regions, and in 2014 as an independent candidate.
In 2015, Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich surprised everyone. He announced his support for the New Force party, led by Vladimir Seminozhenko (incidentally, the last founding father of the Party of Regions), in the local elections. As we can see, Boguslayev still has a strong affinity for the "white-blue" party. And indeed, success ensued: the party won a seat on the city council.
A fortune amassed
Today, Vyacheslav Boguslayev is a multimillionaire. He is among the 100 richest Ukrainians. According to Skelet.Org, his net worth was estimated at $234 million in 2014.
In 2014, the "Motorovets" member earned approximately 5 million hryvnias. Vyacheslav Alexandrovich declared this amount. Incidentally, salary accounts for only 5% of his total annual income. The rest comes from dividends, interest, and other sources of income. It's worth noting that Boguslayev isn't shy about earning money abroad, or more precisely, in Russia. He received 66 hryvnias from his abusive neighbor.
The real estate includes land plots (1500 sq.m), residential buildings (475,5 sq.m) and garages (16 sq.m).
But there are no vehicles listed in the declaration. It's odd to assume that Vyacheslav Alexandrovich doesn't own a car, but gets around on trams, which he donated to the city on behalf of the company.
There is, however, one inaccuracy in the declaration. Vyacheslav Alexandrovich forgot to mention that his wife owns a business. Elena Boguslayeva is the co-owner of Zolotaya Astra LLC, which provides sports and beauty services.
Vyacheslav Boguslayev's scandals
Engines for Russia. The "betrayal" was uncovered in December of last year. It emerged that Motor Sich received aircraft repair contracts worth 2,2 million hryvnias from Putin's Administrative Directorate of the President of Russia (SLO "Russia") between May and August 2015. This information was posted on the official Russian Procurement Portal. It also reported that Vladimir Klimov - Motor Sich Engines, JSC, received a 4,6 million hryvnia contract for aircraft engine repairs from the Aviation Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in March of that year. Vladimir Klimov - Motor Sich is half-owned by the Russian corporation MIG, 20% by Motor Sich, and 30% by Petro Kononenko, a member of the Motor Sich Supervisory Board and director of the Moscow office.
The devil in the ribs. A piquant incident happened to Boguslayev at a Moscow club. A photographer captured him with a young woman who had her hand on the deputy's crotch. The woman turned out to be 25-year-old Elena from Zaporizhzhia.
It's known that the girl enjoys a wild lifestyle, often going to clubs in the company of various Zaporizhzhia rich kids. In her everyday life, Elena works in social education.
A football club for his son. Vyacheslav Boguslayev has an only son, Alexander. Three years ago, the elder Boguslayev bought him the Zaporizhzhia football club Metalurh. Incidentally, the owner's name was initially kept secret, and only fan activity helped uncover the "secret" of the purchase. So, for three years, Metalurh FC struggled to survive, but in September 2015, it was officially announced that funding had ceased. Rumors immediately surfaced: the club had been lost in a card game by Alexander Boguslayev. He is known in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk as a card player who isn't always lucky. One day, in a Dnipropetrovsk casino, the son of the "Motor" player, along with Yevhen Chernyak ( read more about Yevhen Chernyak in the article "Yevhen Chernyak. The "Vodka King" of All Ukraine "), lost 8 million hryvnias.
"Not a child's play." "I want to buy a Tu-334," Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich told journalists in 2011. Allegedly, Boguslayev officially approached Tupolev JSC with this request. The approximate cost of a Tu-334 is between $17 million and $25 million.
A museum named after himself. When you achieve the heights of Vyacheslav Alexandrovich, the most logical thing to do is open an aviation museum with the modest name "V.A. Boguslayev Museum of Technology."
As a result
Views on Vyacheslav Boguslayev and his success story vary: some believe his money and career are the result of a 90s embezzlement, while others simply idolize him, especially those who work for Motor Sich and earn 4 hryvnias a month.
The company itself, after severing ties with Russia, now produces meat grinders. Quite good ones. But was it worth it?
Arina Dmitrieva, for Skelet.Org
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!