Gref Yana Vladimirovna for many years is the second official wife of a very famous person in Russia. The media often pay attention to her and mention her in various articles on secular topics. And there is a logical explanation for such attention, because her husband, German Oskarovich Gref, is today the chairman of the board and president of Sberbank of Russia. On the one hand, this married couple may seem exemplary, and Yana herself can serve as an example of what should be the wife of a government official.
Before taking a leading position in Sberbank, her husband, German Oskarovich Gref, made a pretty good political career. For some time he even served as Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
Russian media often like to consider this family as an example and a certain litmus indicator. The head of Sberbank is a kind of guarantor of stability in the state, and Gref’s wife, Ian (Golovin in girlhood), is called upon to support this image.
The prevailing stereotype of the ideal woman
It would seem that Yana Vladimirovna is doing an excellent job with her task. Her family is an exemplary one, she gave birth to several children who grow up and receive education not abroad, but in their native Russia.
The woman was not seen in high-profile scandals, she behaves with dignity at official receptions and according to etiquette, she always looks well-groomed, elegant and in full accordance with the event. You can find many articles in which Yana is called an exemplary wife and ideal mother.
Discrepancies that are imperceptible at first glance
But if you try to study in detail the life of this girl before marriage with German Oskarovich, you may get the impression that the wife of the head of Sberbank, Jan, is actually not so simple. None of the open sources her complete biography is not provided. Information about her first wife (with Gref, Yana is already the second official marriage) also does not appear anywhere. The wedding of this girl with her current husband ended in a big scandal and long and unpleasant proceedings in the State Duma, since the registration, apparently, was not entirely legitimate, was carried out in the throne room of the Peterhof State Reserve itself. Now Gref Yana is the ideologist and mistress of one of the newfangled private schools. She states that the project of opening the school was initially almost charity, and she and her husband act as original patrons. At the same time, absolutely simple children study at this school, whose parents can pay a monthly fee in excess of 50, 000 rubles for studying in it.
Very short curriculum vitae
It is known that this woman was born in August 1975. But with the place of her birth, there is some confusion. Most available sources indicate that Yana Golovina (Glumova, Gref) was born in Gelendzhik. Her parents worked in one of the local boarding houses.
But at the same time, there is information in various Internet sources that, according to some documents, Jana Gref, whose biography is considered in this article, was born in Estonia. What causes such differences and why the information about the place of birth does not coincide remains a mystery to ordinary people.
Short first marriage
No wonder this woman is often referred to as Yana Glumova-Gref, since Glumova is her last name by her first husband. Oddly enough, nothing is known about Ioanny’s first spouse either. You can find only mean information that this marriage did not last long, only a few years. After marrying Glumov, the woman had the eldest son, who is now a student.
Received education
Gref’s wife is known to have graduated from high school. Then she received a higher economic education. She worked in her specialty for several years. Many years later, she did not respond very flatteringly to this experience. In a recent interview, Yana remembered that she went to work like torture, solely in order to earn money. Now Gref Yana recalls that it was too exhausting both morally and physically. And the boring specialty was replaced by a passion for design.
Unprofitable hobby for interior design
After a not very successful experience in the economic sphere, Jan Gref (wife of Gref - President of Sberbank) became interested in interior design. This direction fascinated the girl madly and liked her sincerely. She enthusiastically learned to build houses and equip their interior.
But there was one problem: Yana, of course, was able to build and equip her house and housing with her closest friends, but there were few strangers who wanted to pay an impressive amount for a special exclusive interior. Since there was no particular flow of orders, Yana’s enthusiasm disappeared over time.
Loud wedding
Her life changes in May 2004, when she becomes the wife of Herman Gref.
The triumph was such that any simple girl could only dream of. The wedding and the wedding feast itself were held in St. Petersburg. The painting took place in Petrodvorets, namely in his throne room. After registration, as expected by the best traditions, there was a magnificent and noisy firework. Then the festive motorcade with the young people in a chicly decorated wedding carriage rode through Peterhof Park and stopped at the pier of the Gulf of Finland.
The newlyweds and their senior guests moved to the ship, which turned out to be a boat that rolled Putin himself along the Neva during the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. On this presidential boat, Gref Yana, her husband and their guests arrived in St. Petersburg. The celebration took place at K-2, one of the presidential residences, where guests rested until the morning. It would seem that any woman can only dream of such a gorgeous celebration, but for the Gref spouses, Herman’s desire to present his beloved with a real fairy tale ended in scandal and a lot of unnecessary proceedings.
Wedding scandal
Despite the fact that the wedding was almost a secret, it was not possible to hide the magnificent celebration from ordinary people and residents of St. Petersburg. A huge number of invited guests with their motorcades almost all day created traffic jams on the St. Petersburg embankments. At the time of the celebration, German Oskarovich served as Minister of Economic Development. Many people wondered how much this enchanting ministerial wedding was organized for.
Since Peterhof is an operating museum-reserve of national importance, ordinary citizens immediately had one more question: "On what basis were the Gref allowed to hold their wedding there and why did cultural monuments and architectural sights suddenly begin to be rented out?" Many people were outraged that an ordinary person, with all his desire to have a wedding in Peterhof, could never do this, and German Gref could.
State Duma Proceedings
Similar discussions gradually reached the State Duma. One of the deputies of the Communist Party - Svetlana Savitskaya - initiated the creation of plenary instructions, which required the Duma committee to conduct proceedings regarding the permission of the minister to celebrate his wedding in Peterhof. But almost all the deputies of the pro-presidential factions very predictably came to the defense of Gref, and the resolution necessary for the official start of the proceedings was never adopted.
Government Officials Explained
Against the backdrop of the scandal, some officials still had to give explanations. Most of the questions were addressed to Vadim Znamenov, Director General of Peterhof. In his defense, he said that no one had forbidden to hold ceremonies in the palace, and he, as a director, had the right to personally decide which celebration to be there and which not to. Regarding the wedding story, Gref Znamenov said that he had long been personally acquainted with the current head of Sberbank and simply wanted to do him a little service.
The issue of cash payment for Peterhof's rent was tactfully omitted by Znamenov.
