Farewell to the forest king. Success story of Zakhar Smushkin - founder of the largest pulp and paper company Ilim Other projects of Zakhar Davidovich

Smushkin Zakhar Davidovich was born on January 23, 1962 in St. Petersburg. Smushkin spent his childhood in St. Petersburg, where he attended high school and studied at a university. In his youth, the future entrepreneur was an example for many of his peers, distinguished by his cultural manner of communication, responsibility and extraordinary determination. Zakhar Smushkin studied excellently, without causing problems to his parents.

The biography of Zakhar Smushkin is a clear example of how a man from an ordinary family, thanks to patience and intelligence, achieved extraordinary heights in his life. Smushkin's main achievements are impressive:

• Founded the Ilim Pulp company, holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors,
• He is a member of the Presidium of the Russian Community of Entrepreneurs,
• He is an honorary doctor of the St. Petersburg State Forestry University named after S. M. Kirov,
• He is an honorary professor at the St. Petersburg State Technological University of Plant Polymers,
• He was included in the ranking of the most successful businessmen (Smushkin was given an honorable 37th place). In terms of capital, it is ranked 52nd.

Education

There were many alternatives for choosing a future profession, but Zakhar Davidovich Smushkin chose the Institute of Pulp and Paper Industry.

As a result, Zakhar Smushkin went to submit documents. Studying at this university predetermined the choice of future work. Smushkin was a capable student, so in 1984, upon completion of his studies, he decided to continue his studies in graduate school, from which he graduated with the status of a candidate of technical sciences.

It was during his studies that Zakhar Smushkin gained his first experience in the paper industry, as he combined his postgraduate studies with activities at the NPO Gidrolizprom, where he was a researcher. In the early nineties, he began to move up the career ladder at the Soviet-Swedish company Technoferm-Engineering, which became the impetus for his further success.

Business

The biography of Zakhar Smushkin as an entrepreneur started in 1992, when, at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, he, in the company of his classmates Mikhail and Boris Zingarevich, created the company Ilim Pulp Enterprise, specializing in the export of paper goods abroad.

The strategy was successful and soon Smushkin Zakhar Davidovich earned his first capital by starting to invest in the development of his small enterprise at that time. Subsequently, he managed to turn it into a large timber industry holding, which gradually included thirty domestic companies involved in logging. During the first eight years, the entrepreneur was the head of the Kotlas pulp and paper mill, the Ust-Ilimsk timber industry concern and the Bratsk forestry complex. Due to his professional qualities and hard work, these enterprises began to develop rapidly. Over time, the tycoon became a member of the Bureau of the Board of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Industrialists of the Russian Federation, where he heads the Russian Forestry Commission.

However, Smushkin did not stop at creating the country’s largest timber corporation. Therefore, the talented entrepreneur at the same time decided to try himself in the retail sector, creating the Domovoy supermarket chain in St. Petersburg, which sells small household appliances and household goods.

In addition to the forestry industry, Zakhar Smushkin also specializes in construction. He runs the Start Development company, which is currently engaged in the construction of the satellite city “Yuzhny” in St. Petersburg. The buildings are located on 5.3 million square kilometers of area, four million of which will be allocated for residential buildings for 134 thousand people.

The key achievement of Zakhar Davidovich as a businessman was the stable development of the Ilim Pulp holding, which managed to maintain the scale of production despite the economic crisis. At the end of 2015, the corporation received revenue of two billion.

In 1996-1998, Zakhar Smushkin was a member of the VTB Supervisory Board. In 1997, he received a seat on the board of directors:

• Bratsk LPK;
• timber industry concern in Ust-Ilimsk.

In addition, he chaired the CPPM, and since 2001, the Ilim Group. In 2004, Zakhar Davidovich was elected to the leadership of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and in 2007 he became the head of the board of directors of Ilim Group.

Like any prominent figure, a businessman has competitors. For several years he has been worthy of competition with Oleg Deripaska, not inferior to him in ratings. However, competition did not prevent Smushkin from taking the right course of management and leading his enterprise onto the right path of development, which would have a beneficial effect on the Russian economy. At the moment, OJSC Ilim Group is not only the largest Russian association of forest industry enterprises, but also the most technically developed and environmentally oriented.

How the billionaire's fortune changed in 2016

Zakhar Smushkin was given an honorable 6th place in the “Rating of Billionaires of the Russian Federation 2016”. His fortune is estimated at 108 billion rubles.

The businessman owns assets (as of 2016):

• Ilim Group
• “Start development”
• Retail chain “Domovoy”

Future plans

Smushkin considers optimizing control over companies and improving their financial performance to be his key areas of activity. Zakhar Davidovich also plans to restructure the holding by bringing it to the stock market. All of these ideas include maintaining openness and transparency. Smushkin Zakhar Davidovich firmly believes that the future of his companies is in good hands, and their purpose within the country is global and significant. A company's early entry into the stock market will help achieve new goals and is a very profitable prospect. Today we have already managed to prepare a plan for further development, which will lead to new changes in the company.

It seems to Zakhar Smushkin that the holding is expecting a reorientation from the geographical principle to product lines. In addition, the entrepreneur continues to develop all important areas, planning to buy some European trading companies. A huge number of goods are sent to Asian countries, so it is possible that subsidiaries will be opened there too.

Charity

Zakhar Smushkin has successfully established cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund. In 2012, his company entered into an agreement with the fund, according to which the Ilim Pulp enterprise voluntarily refused to harvest wood from unique forests, the number of which is rapidly declining on the planet. The parties to the agreement initially agreed on the boundaries of the territory (the Verkhnevashkinsky forest area, located in the Arkhangelsk region, cannot be used for industrial purposes). Today the company leases these lands. However, until the end of the agreement, a ban on logging in these places was introduced.

Personal life

In addition to the development of the timber industry in the Russian Federation, Zakhar Davidovich is interested in intellectual games such as chess. In addition, he really likes tennis.
Zakhar Smushkin’s passion for painting is also known. He owns a collection of famous artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, among whom the entrepreneur especially singles out Mikhail Vrubel. In 2016, in the Forbes ranking, the businessman was in 114th place among the richest domestic entrepreneurs. Zakhar Davidovich's fortune is estimated at $750 million.

Family

About the personal life of a businessman Zahara Smushkina not much is known.

His wife and adult son are not public people. The media only report that the Smushkin family values ​​intellectual and sports leisure - chess, tennis, collecting art.

Biography and business

While still in school, Zakhar Smushkin decided to connect his future with forestry activities and entered the Leningrad Institute of Pulp and Paper Industry.

At the university, Smushkin showed himself to be a promising student, and in 1984 he received recommendations for graduate study. As a result of defending his candidate's dissertation, Smushkin was awarded the degree of Candidate of Sciences.

Zakhar Smushkin began his career in the scientific and production association "Gidrolizprom" as a research assistant, where, according to his own recollections, he gained the experience necessary for the effective development of the subordinate structures of the enterprise.

In 1990, the career step for Smushkin was the transition to the Tekhnoferm-Engineering company to the position of head of the technical department. The new employee soon achieved significant influence in matters of enterprise management and began to modernize production processes and search for new partners and investors.

The company became crowded within the joint venture, management decided to restructure and enlarge.

On April 30, 1992, Ilim Pulp Enterprise CJSC was created. The founders of the new company, along with Technoferm-Engineering, were the Ust-Ilimsk timber industry complex and the Swiss transnational concern Intertsez. Zakhar Smushkin became the general director of the newly formed joint-stock company.

At the beginning of its existence, Ilim was a small company exporting cellulose abroad, but rather quickly reoriented itself from trade directly to timber production.

Smushkin was involved in the development of the Ilim company for about ten years. During this time, the company became the owner of three dozen initially disoriented and bloodless plants.

The largest of them are the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill and the Ust-Ilimsk Timber Processing Plant, purchased in 1994 and 2000, respectively. The company has been persistently pursuing their acquisition for more than one year.

In addition, Smushkin’s company bought a dominant stake in the Bratsk Timber Industry Complex, which became one of the most efficient enterprises of the holding.

In a fairly short period of time, thanks to the management skills of Zakhar Smushkin, an industry that was in deep stagnation was literally pieced together. In many respects, the restoration of the economy of the North-West region of the Russian Federation and the timber industry as a whole is due to the effective functioning of Ilim.

In 2001, Zakhar Smushkin became the head of the board of directors of the Ilim holding. The businessman increased his authority in the market, maintaining not only the previous volumes of activity, but also ensuring profit growth.

In 2007, OJSC Ilim Group appeared on the international market. International Paper, a transcontinental giant in the field of logging and production of pulp and related products, decided to invest in the renewal of the holding.

Cooperation with a large American company imposed additional obligations on the holding in the field of compliance with the requirements of legislation not only of the Russian Federation, but also of the United States, which was reflected in the tightening of Ilim’s internal audit. At the same time, Smushkin retained the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors, continuing to this day to manage the strategic development of Ilim Group.

At the end of 2016, the Ilim Group is the most influential conglomerate in Russia and European countries, sixth in the list of global producers and harvesters of forest resources.

Ilim has the largest fleet of modern logging equipment in Russia, thanks to which over 10 million cubic meters are produced per year on an area of ​​30 thousand hectares. m of wood raw materials. He owns three-quarters of the pulp produced in our country, a fifth of the cardboard market and a tenth of the Russian paper market.

Based in St. Petersburg, Zakhar Smushkin’s group has representative offices in Moscow, Arkhangelsk and Irkutsk, as well as branches in cities and towns close to the places of procurement and production (Koryazhma, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk, etc.).

In light of the events that led to the formation of the Ilim Group in 2007, Zakhar Smushkin decided to invest his own funds in creating a network of retail enterprises. In 2006, several do-it-yourself format stores called “Start” opened in St. Petersburg, representing goods for repair and improvement.

Today the network has been reformatted and includes Domovoy home goods stores and several Start hypermarkets, offering everything for repairs and construction. All of them are located in the largest cities of Russia.

The year 2007 was marked by the appearance on the market of Start Development OJSC, which today is one of the leaders in the construction market of the North-Western District. Today, "Start Development" is developing an unprecedented project - the construction of the satellite city "Yuzhny" in the Pushkinsky district of the Leningrad region.

Today, Smushkin announces attracting investments in the amount of more than 209 billion rubles. For the purposes of implementing the project, more than 2,012 hectares were purchased on both sides along the M20 highway (Kyiv highway). In 2011, the project was given strategic status. For Russia, "Yuzhny" will become one of the largest projects for the integrated development of the territory. The total area of ​​residential real estate will be 4.9 million square meters. m., which is designed for at least 170 thousand people, commercial real estate with an area of ​​1.5 million sq. m. m. is designed to create more than 60 thousand jobs. Residents will be provided with recreational areas and all the necessary infrastructure - 60 kindergartens, 30 schools, 10 medical centers. "Yuzhny" will be represented by low-rise buildings with housing designed for average income. The total duration of the project, essentially building a city from scratch, is only 19 years.

In his public speeches, Zakhar Davidovich Smushkin has repeatedly noted that a polycentric path of economic development, that is, the presence of several economic centers, is very important for St. Petersburg. And the goal of implementing the Yuzhny satellite city project is precisely the formation of a new center of the city’s agglomeration.

Already at the first stage of the project, Zakhar Davidovich provided the area for the construction of one company, and not the pool, as previously assumed. Such measures will ensure not only careful control, but also the unity of the architecture of the buildings being erected.

This project is unique in its kind. According to the plan, the infrastructure in Yuzhny will be integrated into the environment - for example, municipal transport will run on electricity (so-called electric cars), and lighting of street crossings will be provided by solar panels. Several applications will be created for residents, with which they can find the nearest stop, track public transport routes, make an appointment with a doctor or maintain a medical record.

“Yuzhny” is also intended to become a kind of silicon valley, since it will host the construction of the innovation center “Innograd of Science and Technology” on the basis of ITMO (St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics). Its main goal is the creation, localization and development of international research, production and educational clusters. Innograd's target specialization will be photonics, quantum technologies, robotics, and the creation of new technological materials.

The construction of an entire city also poses the task of solving the transport issue. Already at this stage, the Kiev highway has been reconstructed to six lanes, and an interchange has been built on the project territory. A light rail line will be installed in the closest satellite city. In addition, the proximity of Yuzhny to several transport highways (M11, M10, Ring Road) and the presence of a railway line and two stations on its territory will allow residents to get to the center of St. Petersburg in 30 minutes.

In general, the implementation of the project will be able to attract investment in many industries, including logistics, trade, production of building materials, and consumer services, thus increasing the investment attractiveness of St. Petersburg.

Another large project owned by the Start Development company is Doni-Verevo, an industrial park in the Gatchina district of St. Petersburg. The area of ​​185 hectares will house more than 30 logistics and manufacturing enterprises.

It is known that the timber merchant is engaged in charity work without showing off this activity. According to rumors, Zakhar Smushkin takes the problems of people with disabilities to heart. “The Ilim Group creates jobs for them, and in the Domovoy and Start networks, disabled people enjoy support, both technically and socially.

Zakhar Smushkin’s personal initiative was to prevent staff reductions even in the current difficult period, caused by tense relations with the EU countries and demonstrating a serious drop in export volumes.

Politics, social activities

In 1999, Zakhar Smushkin became a member of the State Expert Council for Economic Development and Investment under the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District.

Zakhar Smushkin is a member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, where he shares his experience in creating effective strategic plans for production development.

On December 16, Zakhar Davidovich made a report at a meeting of the Presidium of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg. He noted the importance of attracting highly qualified personnel to the northern capital, and also raised the issue of intensifying investment attraction for the implementation of the city’s socio-economic development strategy for the period until 2030.

The specifics of the timber industry are reflected in Smushkin’s activities in the presidium of the Confederation of Timber Industry of the North-Western District of Russia.

The biography of Zakhar Smushkin also includes active educational activities. He is an honorary professor at the State Technological University of Plant Polymers in St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg State Forestry University named after S.M. Kirov awarded Zakhar Smushkin an honorary doctorate.

Smushkin cooperates quite actively with educational institutions: he gives lectures and helps senior students during practical training - providing them with jobs in companies of the Ilim group.

One of Ilim's priorities is maintaining a positive balance in planting and cutting down forests. Zakhar Davidovich, as a member of the forestry complex development council, actively contributes to its activities, making recommendations for improving and developing the state of the forest wealth of the Russian Federation.

At the second International Spatial Development Forum, held on September 26-27 in St. Petersburg, Smushkin voiced his own concept of economic development of the northern capital - polycentrism. In his opinion, not one economic center is developing in the city, but at least two. They will be the business public complex "Lakhta-Center" in the Primorsky district and the satellite city "Yuzhny" in Pushkinskoye (north and south of the Leningrad region).

Income

In the list of the wealthiest St. Petersburg residents, Smushkin occupies sixth position; the publication “Business Petersburg” estimates his income at 108 billion rubles.

In Russia, Zakhar Davidovich Smushkin ranks 37th in the ranking of successful businessmen, 52nd place is assigned to him in terms of capital.

Gossip

In 1996, Zakhar Smushkin joined the VTB Supervisory Board, on which he served until 1998. Participation in the work of the council brought dividends, in particular in the form of expanded opportunities to resolve the financial and economic issues of one’s own enterprise, which led to even greater progress for Ilim Pulp Enterprise.

Experts linked the success of the Ilim Group with the principles of reverse vertical integration of the enterprise’s development. The strategic decisions of Zakhar Smushkin still give Ilim business trump cards that have allowed it to remain among the leading players in the economic arena for more than 20 years.

As part of cooperation with WWF, the Ilim Group signed an agreement to suspend logging activities in a limited territory of the Arkhangelsk region, which is a unique, practically undisturbed biogeocenosis. Since this territory is not protected at the legislative level, the company entered into a lease agreement with a moratorium on logging on a charitable basis.

In 2016, the businessman exhibited at the Hermitage an extensive collection of decorative and applied art by Japanese masters of the Meiji era. He collected it on his own over the course of 7 years, and currently the collection contains more than 700 exhibits. In addition, in the future Smushkin plans to transfer it to a permanent exhibition in the museum of the satellite city of Yuzhny. The businessman plans to create a contemporary art gallery in the northern capital, the collection of which could also include private collections of entrepreneurs.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ilim Pulp Enterprise

Was born: in 1962 in Leningrad

Education: Leningrad State Technological Institute of Pulp and Paper Industry

Summary: In the distant past, he escaped punishment for the murder of a young girl - his brother was convicted for this. Subsequently, he and his partners were associated with the physical elimination of competitors, as well as with the use of cunning schemes to divert profits. Now he is busy with the profitable project of building a satellite city of St. Petersburg, which is actively supported and financed by the government.

Biography:

After completing his postgraduate studies, he worked as a researcher at the NPO Giprolesprom.

Since 1990 - head of the technical department of the Soviet-Swedish joint venture "Technoferm-Engineering".

In 1992-2001 - General Director of OJSC Ilim Group.

In 1996-1998 - member of the Supervisory Board of VTB Bank.

Since 1997 - member of the Board of Directors of OJSC Ust-Ilimsk Timber Industry Concern.

Since 1997 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill.

Since 1997 - member of the Board of Directors of OJSC Bratsk Forestry Plant.

Since January 2001 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Ilim Group.

Since April 11, 2001 - member of the Expert Council on Economic Development and Investment under the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District.

In 2004 - elected as a member of the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Since July 2007 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Ilim Group.

Source: tadviser.ru

Dossier:

Smushkin’s career began when in 1990 the Soviet-American enterprise Technoferm-Engineering decided to recruit employees and came to the NPO Gidrolizprom, where he then worked, for this purpose. He was made head of the technical department of a joint venture, which is how he got into the pulp and paper industry. After a while, together with his comrades, he created Ilim Pulp Enterprise CJSC.

Source: Kompromat.ru from 03/19/2002

Boris and Mikhail Zingarevich, who became Smushkin’s main business partners, first worked as mechanics at the Leningrad cardboard factory.

At first, their company was engaged in the export of paper products, but soon the partners realized that they could not earn much from small trade, and turned their attention to the forest. Then logging enterprises could be purchased almost for nothing, and in a few years their holding acquired the ownership of about 30 logging enterprises, including the largest pulp and paper mills in Europe, timber processing complexes, the Kommunar paper mill, a cardboard printing plant in St. Petersburg and a lot others.

During the time when the timber industry enterprises were transferred to Smushkin one after another, a number of contract killings were committed. So, in the spring of 1999, a bomb exploded near the house of the head of the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill, Vladimir Krupchak. Soon, the head of Solombala LDK OJSC, Evgeny Drachev, was kidnapped, and the general director of the timber industry department of the regional administration, Alexander Bulatov, was beaten.

In March 2000, the general director of Orimi Concern CJSC, Dmitry Varvarin, thus eliminated the only real competitor, Ilim Pulpa. Varvarin owned part of the shares of Ilim, and he forced his partners to finance the election campaign of Yuri Boldyrev, which they really did not want. All these reasons together could lead to a desire to eliminate a competitor known for his harsh business practices.

Following Varvarin, another founder of Orimi, Sergei Krizhan, was killed. This time, the leaders of Ilim were even under suspicion from the investigation. But then these people were removed from the investigation for unclear reasons, and this story was forgotten.

The crimes didn't end there. An attack followed on Vladimir Malkov, director of a lumber export company, who set fire to the Polina Hotel, owned by Krupchak. An attempt was made on the external manager of LDK-4 Dmitry Belyaev.

In September 2001, Vyacheslav Kalyamin, a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, seemingly accidentally died in a car accident. Having driven into the oncoming lane, he was hit by a truck. As it turned out, the truck was on the balance sheet of one of the structures associated with the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill. It is known that Kalyamin has been in conflict with Ilim Pulp since 1998. He applied to the Accounts Chamber with a request to check the conditions for the privatization of the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill, and the violations he alleged were then confirmed. It is also noteworthy that one of the people who investigated the death of Kalyamin left law enforcement agencies for the security service of the Kotlas pulp and paper mill.

Source: Kompromat.ru from 02/26/2003

In 1998, Smushkin's brother Fedor was convicted in New York federal court for the murder of minor Angela Crisp and sentenced to 260 years in prison. Smushkin himself was also initially involved in the case as a suspect. According to investigators, in 1996 he came to his brother in the United States. They drank together and then ordered pizza, which was delivered to them by a girl named Angela Crisp. She was beaten, raped, and then strangled. Soon after this, Fyodor Smushkin was arrested. At first he blamed everything on his brother, but then he abruptly changed his mind - the investigation was convinced that Zakhar Smushkin was allegedly sleeping in another room during the murder. After Fedor so suddenly changed his testimony, all charges against Zakhar were dropped, and the wife and child of his brother Fedor moved to expensive apartments in New York. Later, journalists learned that Fedor suffered from impotence, which means he could not rape Angela Crisp.

Source: "Arkhangelsk News" from 10/20/1998

Smushkin came up with a cunning scheme for Ilim Pulp to get rid of the debt-bearing part of the business and receive only profit. The company owned the Bratskcomplexholding enterprise, and all unprofitable production was concentrated on it, and all profitable production was transferred to OJSC Pulp and Cardboard Mill. When the transfer operations were completed, it was sold to companies associated with Ilim Pulp at a low price. The property of the Ilim Pulp company itself was mortgaged several times in different banks.

Other machinations of Smushkin concerned the modernization of the Kotlas pulp and paper mill. Formally, investments in the enterprise were to be made by Ilim Pulp, but in reality, funds from the plant itself were used.

All these actions significantly damaged the image of the Ilim Pulp company, so Smushkin was forced to hire a special person to organize a campaign in the press. It was Svyatoslav Bychkov, whose imagination, however, was only enough to pay the editors so that they would not publish negative things about the company for some time.

Source: Kompromat.ru from 06/18/2002

Bychkov prepared deliberately deceptive press releases in which Ilim Pulp was presented as a completely Russian company, despite the fact that it actually belonged to the Swiss Intertsez. They also talked about non-existent investments - in fact, all profits were sent to Swiss accounts. Smushkin was generally distinguished by greed - he paid his workers 2-3 times less than at other enterprises in the industry, citing low prices for cellulose on the world market.

Source: Kompromat.ru from 07/31/2002

In 2001, Ilim Pulp came into the sphere of interests of Oleg Deripaska, who became interested in the timber industry. His company Siberian Aluminum, which was part of Basic Element, set out to absorb Smushkin’s enterprises. The attack began from the Bratsk Timber Industry Complex (BLPC).

At that time, Ilim Pulp's legal director was Dmitry Medvedev, the future prime minister and president of Russia. Since 1998, he also became a member of the board of directors of BLPK. Medvedev noticed that Smushkin and Zingarevich were withdrawing assets from BLPK and redirecting them to the Central Control Commission to sell shares, and their relations became strained because of this. They even tried to accuse him of organizing the withdrawal of assets himself. But this could not be done, and in 1999 Medvedev completely broke off relations with business partners.

Deripaska persuaded the shareholders of BLPK to go to court to find out whether the shares of TsKK were really put up for sale. The court ensured that Ilim Pulp returned its assets, but Deripaska still did not get BLPK.

Source: Kompromat.ru from 02/13/2002

But in 2002, two minority shareholders of the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill and the Bratsk Forestry Plant went to court to recover damages as a result of the violation of their rights as shareholders, and won the claim. As a result, KPPK and LPC were arrested and then acquired in favor of Basic Element. Ilim Pulp tried to resist the takeover through complaints against court decisions, and challenged the seizure of shares in two enterprises.

Source: "Mergers and Acquisitions" from 5-6.2003

In 2003, as a result of searches in the Ilim Pulp office, documents were found confirming the transfer of profits abroad and the concealment of income. In addition, investigators found lists of names of people who worked in law enforcement agencies and helped the company, with the amounts of their fees.

Source: Kompromat.ru: from 08/20/2003

It was established that the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill came under the control of Ilim Pulp illegally. The results of the investment competition were declared invalid, but the new owner did not want to leave the company.

Zakhar Smushkin is one of the richest businessmen in Russia, heading the country's largest timber company. Smushkin is a shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of the Ilim group, whose enterprises today produce the majority of all Russian pulp and cardboard.

Smushkin Zakhar Davidovich was born on January 23, 1962 in the cultural capital of Russia into an intelligent family. The businessman spent his childhood in Leningrad, where Zakhar graduated from high school and received a higher education. In his youth, the future businessman studied diligently and did not cause trouble to his parents.

Having received a certificate of secondary education, Smushkin entered the Leningrad Institute of Pulp and Paper Industry, where his studies determined the future field of activity of the businessman. Smushkin was a capable student, so in 1984, after graduating from university, he decided to continue his studies in graduate school, from which he graduated as a candidate of technical sciences.

During that period, Zakhar Davidovich also gained his first professional experience in the paper industry, as he combined his graduate studies with work at the NPO Gidrolizprom, where he held the position of research assistant. Already in the early 90s, Smushkin received a leadership position in the Soviet-Swedish enterprise Technoferm-Engineering, which marked the beginning of a brilliant career as a businessman.

Business

The biography of Zakhar Smushkin as a businessman dates back to 1992, when, at the time of the collapse of the USSR, Smushkin, together with fellow students Boris and Mikhail Zingarevich, decided to create the Ilim Pulp Enterprise company, which exported paper products abroad.

Having earned his first capital, Zakhar Davidovich began to invest money in the development of his own small enterprise at that time, turning the company into the largest timber industry holding, which includes 30 Russian logging companies. In the first 8 years, the businessman managed to head the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill, the Bratsk Timber Processing Plant and the Ust-Ilimsk Timber Industry Concern, which, thanks to his hard work and professionalism, became the largest enterprises in the Russian pulp and paper industry.

By creating the largest vertically integrated timber corporation in Russia, Zakhar Smushkin developed his business in the field of trade. He founded the Domovoy supermarket chain in St. Petersburg, selling household goods and small household appliances. In addition, the “timber magnate” became a member of the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, where he headed the commission on the timber industry complex and forestry of Russia.

Smushkin’s main achievement in his business is considered to be the stability and development of the Ilim holding, which, in the conditions of the economic crisis, was able to maintain the scale of production. At the end of 2015, the corporation's revenue was almost $2 billion, taking into account a 9.7% decline in revenue.

In addition to the timber industry, Smushkin is involved in construction. The businessman heads the Start Development company, which is currently building the Yuzhny satellite city in St. Petersburg. The city will be located on the border of the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg and the Gatchina district of the Leningrad region. The master plan for the South was developed by foreign companies Urban Design Associates (USA) and Gillespies (UK).

Future buildings will be located on 5.3 million square meters of land, 4 million of which will be used for residential buildings for 134 thousand people. In addition to housing itself, the city plan also includes infrastructure buildings. In 2013, a development plan was announced, voiced by Yuri Bakei, director of the Research Institute of General Planning of St. Petersburg. The plan includes 27 schools, 10 sports and entertainment centers, 12 medical centers, 58 kindergartens.

In 2015, fresh news appeared about the progress of the construction of the city of Yuzhny. Smushkin’s company “Start Development” signed a memorandum with the American corporation IBM, which produces and supplies hardware and software, on the implementation of the urban concept “Smart City” during the construction of Yuzhny. This concept consists of integrating the Internet of Things and a number of other communication and information technologies into the city management system.

The agreement was concluded at an annual major business event called the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The difference between this satellite city will be that such innovative and innovative solutions are introduced into the functioning of the city immediately at the planning stage, which makes it possible not to rework the infrastructure for new technologies, and also makes the city project the most attractive for investors.

While managing to clearly manage his business, Zakhar Davidovich did not abandon his scientific activities. The businessman is an Honorary Professor at the State Technological University of Plant Polymers in St. Petersburg and an Honorary Doctor of Science at the St. Petersburg Forestry University named after. In addition, Zakhar Smushkin received a seat as a member of the Supervisory Board of the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics.

Personal life

The personal life of Zakhar Smushkin, like most of Russia's largest businessmen, is not publicly displayed. It is known that the businessman achieved success in his family life - Smushkin has a wife and the businessman is raising a son.

In addition to the development of the timber industry in Russia, Zakhar Davidovich is interested in chess and tennis. He is also interested in painting - he owns a luxurious collection of famous artists from the late 19th - early 20th centuries, among whom the businessman highlights.

Zakhar Smushkin now

At the end of 2016, an art exhibition opened in the arena of the Small Hermitage, the exhibits of which were works from the private collection of Zakhar Smushkin. The exhibition was called “Perfection in the details. The Art of Japan during the Meiji Era (1868 – 1912)” and included works of decorative and applied art. These are 700 items from the specified era. The materials used varied and included metals with various processing techniques, ceramics, as well as decoration with enamels and varnishes.

The reason for the exhibition was the completion of the collection. The billionaire considers his own Japanese collection complete, and any completed item should be shown to the public, the businessman believes. For Zakhar Smushkin himself, collecting art is a spiritual necessity. According to the billionaire, if Smushkin ceases to be interested in culture and immerses himself only in material business, then he becomes an overly pragmatic and cynical person. Also, for a businessman, art is a way of understanding the world.

At the same time, for the first time, the businessman himself, in his own words, finally saw the exhibits of the art collection in full regalia and displayed in all their splendor. Zakhar Smushkin had not even really seen some of the objects before, since the collection items were stored in a specialized warehouse.

In addition, it is known that the businessman also has a collection of Russian art from the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries and contemporary art. The businessman also admitted to reporters that in the future he plans to advance even further in the cultural sphere and even open a full-fledged private museum. Smushkin has no doubt that the museum will appear in the businessman’s famous project - the city of Yuzhny, but in parallel with this, the billionaire is negotiating with the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko about the creation of a new large museum of contemporary art inside St. Petersburg.

Condition assessment

In the same 2016, Zakhar Smushkin took sixth place in the ranking of billionaires of “Business Petersburg”. The magazine "City" also included the billionaire in the ranking of the most influential businessmen of St. Petersburg, with Zakhar Smushkin annually making it into the top ten, and in 2013 and 2014 he even topped this list.