Of course, Sergey Darkin is an ambiguous and controversial figure on the political Olympus of our country. And the point is not that this person was perceived by a part of society as a “criminal” governor. Another fact remains a mystery to many: how Sergey Darkin could have held such high positions in public service for such a long time. He can rightfully be considered the leader of the watchman. However, he did not come into politics right away, at first he built himself a brilliant career in business. So what is known about the former head of the Primorsky region? Let's consider this question in more detail.
Facts from the biography
Sergey Darkin, whose biography undoubtedly deserves special attention, is a native of the village of Bolshoy Kamen (Primorye). He was born on December 9, 1963 in the family of a military builder. After receiving a certificate of maturity, the future governor entered the Far Eastern Higher Marine Engineering College. Admiral Nevelsky.
He decided to combine his studies at the university with practice, having got a job as a docker. As a result, he received a red diploma. Graduate Sergei Darkin did not want to leave the native walls of the school, enrolling in graduate school, and subsequently heading one of the scientific laboratories. Of course, in the perestroika years, the salaries of scientific workers left much to be desired, and the young man had to earn extra money as a loader. Darkin did not quite like this state of things, and the lack of money increasingly pushed him to the idea that he needed to start doing business.
First steps in business
A successful marriage to the daughter of one of the largest party officials in Primorye helped Sergei Mikhailovich get a job at the respectable Dallizing company. In the late 80s, he already held a high position in this structure - assistant director.
Sergey Darkin begins to bear the thought of organizing his own business. Soon he establishes the company Roliz, which specializes in fishing and ship manufacturing. Naturally, the novice entrepreneur alone could not develop the enterprise, and he asked for help from the well-known "in criminal circles" authority Sergey Baulo, who agreed for "a certain fee" to protect Darkin's business.
After some time, business in the entrepreneurial field with Sergei Mikhailovich went uphill: not only fish harvesting and shipbuilding, but also real estate transactions, leasing operations, timber export, etc. began to bring tremendous income. All these areas brought huge profits, primarily because the fixed assets of enterprises were bought for almost nothing. Sergey Mikhailovich Darkin is the owner of the securities of many reputable business firms, including: Russian Leasing Society, Sea Wolf, financial advisory company Consult, Elena brokerage company. In addition, the oligarch is one of the founders of the large company Japan Vostok. But that is not all.
Darkin Sergey Mikhailovich, in addition to fishing, became seriously interested in banking, becoming at the helm of the well-known credit organization Primorye.
First steps in politics
Success in business inspired the owner of the leasing company Roliz, and he is trying his hand at politics. However, experts note that Darkin sat in the governor’s chair due to a combination of certain circumstances and accidents. Although one should not belittle the role of his influential patrons in this, without which he would not have won the election of the head of Primorye by a significant margin.
In April 2001, Darkin submits documents to the regional election commission, which includes him in the list of applicants for the position of head of the region. At the end of May of the same year, he ranks first in the first round, securing 24% of the vote. However, soon the first assistant to the Plenipotentiary Envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District, Genadiy Apanasenko, will appeal the decision of the election commission, which appoints a second round of voting. And here the businessman is lucky - 40% of the population of the region vote for him, and he finally becomes the winner.
Now Darkin is the governor of Primorsky Krai. Subsequently, he became the coordinator of the working group, the purpose of which is to draw up a plan for reforming the energy sector of the Far East. The crown of the political career of Darkin is the post of Deputy Head of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation, which he received in 2012. It should be noted that over the years of rule in Primorye he managed to implement several important targeted programs for the region. In particular, new roads and sewage treatment plants were built; the construction of a federal university was completed on Russky Island.
Crime Connections
Of course, when it became known that the new governor of Primorsky Krai is businessman Darkin, rumors spread that people with a criminal past helped him occupy a high post. Local pen sharks wrote in their articles that Sergey Mikhailovich is better known under the nickname Darych in gangster circles.
Federal TV channels also paid attention to the involvement of the newly minted head of Primorye to the “mafia” structures. In particular, the famous journalist Andrei Karaulov in his program showed how Darkin spends leisure time with representatives of the criminal world. However, Sergei Mikhailovich immediately accused Karaulov of libel and even won a lawsuit against him to defend his honor, dignity and business reputation.
Resignation
One way or another, but sensations and scandals, in the center of which the person of the Primorye governor turned out to be, arose at regular intervals, which, of course, significantly reduced his confidence rating by the head of state. He finally fell after a “uncomfortable question” was asked to Putin during a direct teleconference with the Russians. After that, everyone expected that Darkin would be dismissed from his high post with shame. But they did not forcibly do this, and soon Sergey Mikhailovich wrote a statement of his own free will.
This is how Governor Darkin ended his career in politics.
A family
The former head of Primorye also developed a personal life in a peculiar way. Sergei Mikhailovich married twice. His first wife, Irina Golovizina, was the daughter of a party functionary who served as the first secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU. In this union, a daughter Anna was born to a businessman.
The second wife of Darkin - the famous actress Larisa Belobrova, gave the entrepreneur a daughter, Yaroslav, and a few days after that, he registered as a candidate for governor.
