Merkushkin Nikolay Ivanovich, whose biography will be presented in the article, from 12.05.2012 is the governor of the Samara region. The region, which has strategic and geopolitical significance for the country, for the previous five years has lost the status of the supporting edge of the Russian state. The new leader managed not only to change the situation for the better, but also to receive the unofficial title of "People’s Governor" from the residents of the region. What path has this statesman and politician taken?
Childhood
The homeland of Nikolai Ivanovich is the small village of New Verkhissy (Republic of Mordovia). On 5.02.1951, a son was born in the large Merkushkin family, who became one of eight children. Mother worked all her life on the collective farm. Father during the war years worked at a military factory, and then headed the collective farm. As chairman, he built a school where his own children were educated. If the mother was illiterate, and the father managed to finish only 5 classes, then all the daughters and sons received higher education.
Nikolai Merkushkin completed school with a gold medal, and his two sisters with a silver medal. Parents raised their children in strictness and respect for work, so at the age of 17 the young man began working as a combine operator. A year later, my father died. This did not prevent his son from entering Mordovia University (Faculty of Electronic Engineering), which he graduated in 1973.
Science or politics?
The young man took responsibility for studying, spending all his free time at lectures and in the library. The profession of an electronic engineer was very popular and interesting, which was confirmed by the practice at the Orbita plant. After receiving a diploma with honors, there was a prospect for doing science, but life went in a different direction, as evidenced by the biography of Nikolai Merkushkin.
From school, the young man was a leader. Until the third year at the university, he was the head of the group, and then headed the Komsomol Searchlight. As a leader, he never acted on orders. Merkushkin managed to unite students and motivate them to complete tasks. Therefore, after graduation, he was elected secretary of the Komsomol committee of Moscow State University, which predetermined the fate of the future.
At the Komsomol party work
A special mentality, business acumen and the ability to work with people allowed the Komsomol leader to make a dizzying career. Mordovian construction teams became famous throughout the country, and after 4 years Nikolai Merkushkin was elected secretary of the Komsomol regional committee, which he headed in 1982. In 1986, the Communist Party sent an effective manager to the backward Tengushevsky district.
At first, he seemed to local officials and the population an overly meticulous person. In these years, Merkushkin began to take shape a special leadership style, devoid of formality. He directly for a long time and thoroughly communicated with people, figuring out their needs and needs. Making promises, I brought what I started to the end. For a short period of time 400 families received housing, a sports complex, a hospital, and new roads were built in the area.
Sophisticated 90s
In 1990, Merkushkin for the first time tries to realize his ambitions, running for president of the Supreme Council and presidents of the Republic of Mordovia. After losing the election, Nikolai Merkushkin was appointed to the post of head of the Property Fund, where he was able to prove himself in the difficult 90s. Around him, healthy political forces are forming, and he himself connects his future with the “Agrarian Party of Russia”, becoming a member of its council.
In 1993, he became co-chair of the economic union not only in Mordovia, but also in Moscow. After a year later, Merkushkin becomes a deputy of the State Assembly, and a few months later - his speaker, the Kremlin will be interested in the candidacy of a political leader. He will be considered as a possible leader of the republic, which will happen in the elections in September 1995.
At the head of the Republic of Mordovia
For seventeen years, Nikolai Merkushkin led Mordovia, achieving outstanding performance. They concerned not only the revival of the economy, which confirms the recognition of the agro-industrial complex of Mordovia as one of the leading in the country, but also the formation of political stability in the region, where much was done to maintain the authority of the federal government. On the eve of his coming to power, the impoverished Volga republic ignored the center, while the economy was falling apart and the pay delay was 5–6 months.
The head of the region managed to consolidate society through the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. Political stability allowed attracting federal and foreign investments to the republic. This contributed to the deployment of large-scale construction, the restoration of industry and the development of agriculture. Five times in the republic visited V.V. Putin, on whose eyes there have been changes for the better. The capital of Mordovia in 2011 was recognized as the most comfortable city, and the republic took 2nd place in the ranking of doing business in Russia. The real leader in the region was Nikolai Ivanovich Merkushkin.
Biography: awards and recognition
The fact that the leader of Mordovia was on the right track was confirmed by the 1998 elections, where he gathered more than 96% of the vote in his support. His contribution to the development of the region’s economy was marked by one of the country's main awards - the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2000). The day before, he ensured the highest voter turnout in the presidential election. In 2009, the same order of the III degree replenished the collection of awards.
Nikolai Merkushkin received his first awards even at the Komsomol work (1977–1986). Among them:
- Medal "For Labor Valor".
- Order of Friendship of Peoples.
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
In 1990, the medal “For the Transformation of the Non-Black Earth Region of the RSFSR” was added to them. The successes of the economy made him the "Person of the Year" in 2001, and in 2002 he entered the top seven best governors of Russia. Among his awards there are orders of the Russian Orthodox Church, because he did a lot for the development of the Orthodox culture of the region, preparing in 2012 for the outstanding holiday “Unity of Peoples”.
Appointment to the Samara region
In 2010, D. Medvedev reappointed Merkushkin as Head of the Republic of Mordovia. This was not in line with his position that governors should hold office no more than three terms. Despite the outstanding contribution to the development of the region, Nikolai Merkushkin at that time was at the helm of the republic for 15 years, which required consideration of new prospects. He was a member of the United Russia party leadership, of which he had been a member since 2000, and until 2001 represented the republic in the Federation Council. His career could develop in one of these areas, but in May 2012, he unexpectedly receives an appointment in the Samara region.
His predecessor, Vladimir Artyakov, did not become his own for the Volga region, coming to Samara from Moscow, as if to work. It was obvious that he would not be able to win the upcoming gubernatorial elections, so the authorities should have thought about a new leader, using the still existing right of appointment. It was unexpected, because never before in the history of the country had the horizontal movement of leaders occurred.
And the Samara region is also three times larger than Mordovia in terms of population and two times more in terms of occupied territory. In a region with a unique industrial potential and a difficult situation in Togliatti, depending on the work of AvtoVAZ, the United Russia party of power did not enjoy unconditional support.
New Post Achievements
Mordovia in the elections provided up to 85% of the vote for United Russia, which Nikolai Merkushkin personified in the eyes of the people. The governor set himself the task of achieving the recognition of Samara residents, by all his actions proving that he had come to a new position for a long time. In 2014, he even resigned to go through the election process. In two years, he managed to gain such authority that he collected more than 91% of the vote in his support. By this, he proved that he is the reference leader of the region for the president of the Russian Federation. What achievements have been recognized?
- Merkushkin managed to overcome the political confrontation of the leadership of the region and the urban district of Samara.
- Thanks to the stabilization of the political situation, he managed to attract investments to solve the economic problems of the region, including by ensuring the arrival of Big Football in Samara (World Cup 2018).
- The governor was able to bring power closer to the people, making traditional direct lines with the population on local television channels, meetings with citizens at the place of residence and in work collectives. Following the meetings, real measures are being taken, which increases the confidence of the population.
- The head of the region focused on solving social problems, which in 2014 led to an increase in the population of the region.
A family
Merkushkin Nikolai Ivanovich, while communicating with the population, openly answers the most uncomfortable questions. Residents of the region have access to information on the income of the governor and all members of his family. Today he is a real Samaritan. His wife Taisia Stepanovna, a pensioner, lives with him. Sons Alexander (born 1974) and Aleksey (born 1978) live in Saransk, where both have families and businesses. Alexey holds a leading position in the government of Mordovia.
