"Sobchak was writing the history of the first phase of modern Russia"

In 1991, Anatoly Sobchak, 25 years after his death on February 19, became the first democratically elected mayor of Leningrad, at the same time the residents voted to return the city to its historical name. The mayor had to solve many complex issues, and his actions influenced the formation of the political system of the whole of Russia: from Sobchak's team came a whole galaxy of prominent statesmen of our country. "Izvestia" talked to relatives and associates of Anatoly Alexandrovich, who told about his personal and business qualities. How the first mayor of St. Petersburg became one of the political symbols of modern Russia and how he stood out against the "gray mass" of colleagues - in the material "Izvestia".

"He stood out among others"

Anatoly Sobchak was born August 10, 1937 in the city of Chita. His father worked as a railway engineer, and his mother served as an accountant. Two years after the birth of his son, the family moved to Uzbekistan, where the future politician finished school and entered the law faculty of Tashkent University. In 1954, he transferred to the Leningrad State University.

After graduating from Leningrad State University, Anatoly Sobchak worked for three years in the Stavropol Regional Bar Association. Then he returned to Leningrad, where he defended his PhD thesis. He was attracted to legal science - in 1973 Sobchak became an associate professor, then a professor at the Law Faculty of the Leningrad State University, and in 1985 - head of the Department of Economic Law. As Anatoly Sobchak's widow, Senator Lyudmila Narusova, noted in a conversation with Izvestia, his dissertations were devoted to the elements of market economy, which was absolutely revolutionary at that time.

Law became a preparatory stage on the way to political activity. In 1985, perestroika began in the USSR, the country was changing rapidly. Political foundations were no longer immutable: there was a demand for new people. And Anatoly Sobchak burst onto the political scene, becoming a bright star. In 1989, he was elected People's Deputy of the USSR, and a year later became chairman of the Leningrad City Council of People's Deputies.

- He stood out because he was able to clearly formulate his thought, justify it, not just say it, but argue. He stood out for his emotionality, he even stood out for the fact that he was dressed differently than the whole dull gray mass of men in identical jackets. And he stood out for being right, which he believed in. You can always feel it, and it's what leads you," Lyudmila Narusova told Izvestia.

The most important political changes that took place at the end of the XX century are connected with the name of Anatoly Sobchak. On June 12, 1991, simultaneously with the presidential election in Leningrad, for the first time citizens elected a city mayor. Already in the first round with the result of 66.1% Anatoly Sobchak won. Residents of the Northern Capital chose not only the mayor, but also returned the city to its historical name - St. Petersburg. More than 54% of citizens were in favor of this, despite heated discussions. Opponents of renaming feared that the memory of the heroism of the citizens during the blockade during the Great Patriotic War would be lost. However, time has shown that the fears were in vain.

Anatoly Sobchak played no less important role during the attempted putsch of GKChP in August 1991. He was able to agree with the commander of the military district Viktor Samsonov that the military would not take active measures. The politician addressed the people directly from the window of his office in the Mariinsky Palace, urging them not to obey the illegal decisions of the GKChP.

- Before Anatoly Alexandrovich stood on the window sill, his assistant asked him to put on a bulletproof vest, it was dangerous after all. To which he replied: "You know, I want to go out to people so that they would not be afraid. If they see me wearing a bulletproof vest, they will realize that I myself am afraid. So I won't (put on a bulletproof vest. - Ed.)," Lyudmila Narusova recalled.

"Hewas a very mature politician for the Russian level"

As mayor of St. Petersburg, Anatoly Sobchak had to deal with many complex issues. The country was undergoing "shock therapy" - rapid reforms to transition to a market economy. In the winter of 1991/92 against the background of destruction of old economic ties there was a threat of food shortage in the Northern Capital. Anatoly Sobchak negotiated with suppliers, including foreign countries, thanks to which the city was provided with the necessary supplies, Viktor Zubkov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PJSC Gazprom and Special Representative of the Russian President for Cooperation with the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries, told Izvestia.

At the same time, St. Petersburg was rapidly strengthening its significance as the cultural capital of Russia, attracting tourists from all over the world. In 1994, the city hosted the Goodwill Games, in which more than 2 thousand athletes from all over the world took part. Promotion of St. Petersburg on the international arena became possible largely due to the qualities of Anatoly Sobchak, his ability to attract people to him, said "Izvestia" People's Artist of Russia Alexander Rosenbaum.

By 1996, relations between Anatoly Sobchak and Boris Yeltsin had soured, and Moscow decided to prevent the mayor from being re-elected for a second term. For this purpose an information attack was organized, Sobchak was accused of corruption. In the 1996 St. Petersburg mayoral election, Anatoly Sobchak's deputy, Vladimir Yakovlev, won, the gap between them in the second round amounted to 1.7% of the vote. Many of the politician's associates tried to distance themselves from him after this defeat, said Lyudmila Narusova.

In 1997, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation brought Anatoly Sobchak as a witness in the case of corruption in the St. Petersburg authorities. Despite a statement of illness, the politician tried to be brought in for questioning, after which he was hospitalized with a heart attack. After treatment in France, the ex-mayor returned to his homeland, where the criminal cases were terminated for lack of corpus delicti.

Anatoly Sobchak returned to Russian politics - in the 1999 State Duma elections he ran as an independent candidate in a single-mandate constituency, but came second with a 16.46% result. In 2000, Sobchak became Vladimir Putin 's proxy in his first presidential election. During a trip to the Kaliningrad region at the height of the election campaign, the politician had a heart attack. The first mayor of St. Petersburg died on the night of February 19-20, 2000.

Anatoly Sobchak became one of the symbols of Russian politics in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, many of his decisions and statements are consonant with the events of the present day. As early as 1992, in an interview with leading Russian media, he pointed out the problem of the symbiosis between Ukrainian nationalists and the former party nomenclature. No less important were his words that Sevastopol has always been the base of the Russian fleet.

- You know, this is a bright person, democratic in communication and very rational in a business environment. Of course, now, reviewing many of his speeches, I see that he was a very mature politician for the Russian level - he looked at many things rationally," Alexei Kudrin, former finance minister and ex-head of the Accounts Chamber, corporate development advisor at Yandex, told Izvestia.

Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, told Izvestia that it was very interesting to work with the first mayor of St. Petersburg. It is no coincidence that his team produced a whole pleiad of bright politicians and prominent statesmen of our country: Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, Alexei Kudrin, German Gref, Dmitry Kozak and Dmitry Mezentsev, Alla Manilova and Vitaly Mutko.

- It seems to me that the scale of Anatoly Alexandrovich's personality was not fully appreciated during his lifetime. At the same time, from the height of today's time we can firmly assert that Anatoly Sobchak wrote the history of the first stage of modern Russia, the stage of transition from the Soviet Union to a democratic, legal, truly sovereign state. Such a state as Anatoly Sobchak wanted it to be and as Russia is today," summarized Sergey Naryshkin.

Anatoly Sobchak was a very bright representative of St. Petersburg political culture, which he launched into orbit and which now dominates Russia, Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage Museum, told Izvestia. "I think he has such a quintessence of what is called the political culture of Russia," Piotrovsky said.