Islyamov Lenur Edemovich - Crimean Tatar businessman and politician, a figure very ambiguous and even odious. He successfully developed his business from the late 80s on the territory of Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, and then entered politics, changing his views on anti-Russian ones over time.
A family
Islyamov Lenur Edemovich hails from the small Uzbek town of Bekabad. His date of birth is January 1, 1966. Parents are Crimean Tatars who were evicted from Crimea in 1944. The family of his father, like the rest of the Crimean Tatars in those days, suffered deportation: they were evicted from Demerdzhi to Simferopol, and then to Bekabad, where later Lenur Islyamov was born. The mother's family was transported to the Urals in the city of Sverdlovsk. Later they ended up in the Uzbek city of Andijan.
Lenur Islyamov was born into a family of doctors. In youth, they were actively involved in sports. Mother was a volleyball player and champion of the Soviet Union, father - a master of sports in swimming.
Training
Lenur Islyamov studied at the Tashkent Medical Institute at the Faculty of Dentistry. For some time after graduation, he worked in his specialty, but then he realized that this was absolutely not the thing that he would like to do in the future.
Building bussiness
The beginning of his career was connected with the construction business - at the end of the 80s in Uzbekistan he founded the Aleko company Lenur Islyamov. His biography has since been saturated with successful business projects. Perestroika was marked by the embodiment of business ideas, and our hero decided to take advantage of the opportunities presented in the field of entrepreneurship.
Moving to the capital
Later, he moved to Moscow and began to engage in dealer activities, working with AvtoVAZ. He has always been interested in the automotive industry, and he is actively starting to develop his business in this direction. He opens a dealership in the capital, then heads the Uzbek representative office of Avtoprom in Russia. But the expansion of his business does not end there - he masters the banking sector. Islyamov opens two banks in Russia.
Lenur Islyamov: wife and children
He is married and has three children. His wife Elvira, as well as his, has Crimean roots. Lenur Islyamov and his wife have many relatives in the Crimea, and they often go there. Two sons live in Moscow and receive education there, but the daughter is studying in England.
ATP Channel
Later, his entrepreneurial activity intersects with the media. It all started with the fact that Islyamov became the owner of the APR national channel. First, he was asked to become a shareholder of the channel and thereby provide material assistance to the Asia-Pacific region, which at that time needed financial support.
Over time, he received a controlling stake and already owned 98% of the shares. His media business includes, in addition to the Asia-Pacific Region, the children's channel “Lale”, the radio “Leader” and “Meydan” and news Internet portals - all this became part of his media holding “Atlant-SV”.
In April 2015, the Crimean Tatar TV channel stopped broadcasting in the Crimea due to the lack of a license, which now had to comply with Russian law. In June, the Asia-Pacific Region was able to resume broadcasting, but now from Kiev.
Empire Islyamova
In total, Lenur Islyamov owns more than 20 companies. Among them, for example, are a chain of stores selling Apple products, and the transport company SimCityTrans, which was once the largest passenger carrier in the Crimea. In addition, he owned Just Bank, whose license was later revoked, as well as Reso-Credit Bank.
He is the owner of the Qingrup distribution company, the exclusive importer of ZAZ Chance cars that are assembled in Ukraine. The company is a major distributor in Russia and Kazakhstan and sells mainly automobiles from China.
The creation of Just Bank was conceived more as a tool for the development of its automotive business. Islyamov also opened Just Bank branches in the Crimea.
His field of activity includes various kinds of business projects that have become very successful, but his main brainchild is the APR channel.
His company SimCityTrans in the beginning of December last year was fined for violating the rules for the transportation of citizens, as well as for the lack of a license to provide services.
In general, for all his entrepreneurial activity, Islyamov was controlled by more than 35 companies located in different regions of Russia. He later transferred some of the companies to his wife and his father Eden. His main business is now located in the Crimea.
Vice Premier
In the period from April to May 2014, he visited the post of Deputy Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea. Islyamov was recommended by the cross-Crimean Tatars. He was removed from this post on May 28 - Ruslan Balbek, who is the head of the public organization Generation of Crimea, was appointed instead. The reason for this was the inappropriate performance by Islyamov of his duties and political bias.
During the annexation of Crimea, Islyamov actively helped this process and contributed to the conclusion of a cooperation agreement between the government of Aksyonov, in which he worked, and the inter-division. As deputy prime minister, he supported the initiative to secession of the peninsula, but after his resignation, he changed his political views to the opposite.
During his political activities in the government, he actively assisted the Crimean Tatars in providing them with free apartments and building at state expense, using the federal target program for the development of Crimea. The flaming corruption scandal also contributed to the termination of his work as deputy prime minister.
Anti-Russian sentiments and blockade of Crimea
After Lenur Islyamov was removed from his post, he moves to live in Kiev and receives Ukrainian citizenship. Since that time, his political position has changed dramatically and is already expressing an anti-Russian orientation. After the “Crimean spring”, Islyamov became a citizen of Ukraine and positioned himself as the main representative of the Mejlis - the executive body of the Crimean Tatar people.
In early August, he participated in the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, held in the capital of Turkey. It was decided on the need for the blockade of the Crimea, which was soon put into effect.
On September 20, 2015, he, along with Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov, took the initiative to block the Crimea. He managed to declare himself as the only coordinator of this action, which includes food and energy block, preparation for marine isolation of the peninsula.
On top of that, it does not deny ties with one of the most influential terrorist organizations called “Gray Wolves” Lenur Islyamov.
The news of the last hour informs that as a result of the energy blockade organized by Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar nationalists, significant losses were suffered. The peninsula was de-energized after undermining the supports of power lines.
According to Lenur Islyamov, Crimea should return to the Crimean Tatar population: the sabotage that was carried out was also based on his personal interests, which were precisely the desire to make the Crimean Tatars the sole owners on the land of the peninsula.
Islyamov, therefore, does not want to achieve the return of Crimea to Ukraine, but to make it Crimean Tatar.
Case initiation
At the end of 2015, he was charged with sabotage against the Crimea, in which he took direct and active part. Upon the fact of the case, it was decided to seize the entrepreneur’s property, and a preventive measure was taken in absentia. A case was opened against the head of the blockade, and searches were carried out by FSB officers in his house, as well as in his relatives. Concerning Islyamov, a case may be instituted in connection with involvement in the illegal organization of armed groups.
