Chepurnoy, Andrey Gennadievich

Chairman of the All-Russian Organization of Disabled Persons of the War in Afghanistan since 1997. Born on September 3, 1962 in Ivdel, Sverdlovsk region. He graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School named after. I. S. Koneva in 1983; Moscow State Law Academy in 1995; postgraduate study at the Russian State Academy of Agrarian Sciences under the President of the Russian Federation in 2001. Specialty in education: lawyer. Candidate of Legal Sciences. He has the rank of major. In 1976-1990 - service in the Armed Forces of the USSR; 1991-1992 - methodologist of the Complex of extracurricular activities "Commonwealth", Orenburg; 1992-1993 - investigator of the district and interdistrict prosecutor's office, Orenburg; 1993-1994 - chief specialist of the department for legal support and systematization of legislation of the Committee on Legal Issues of the Orenburg City Administration; 1994-1996 - Chairman of the Orenburg public organization "Brotherhood" LLCIVA. Since 2001 - Associate Professor of the Department of VZFEI. Member of the Higher Qualified Board of Judges of the Russian Federation; Member of the Russian Organizing Committee "Victory"; Member of the Government Interdepartmental Commission for Coordination of Activities in the Field of Rehabilitation of Disabled People; Vice-President of VODV "Combat Brotherhood"; Member of the Board of RSVA; Member of the Central Control and Audit Commission of the political party "United Russia"; Member of the Board of the Russian Public Fund "Victory"; Deputy Chairman of the Public Council of Leaders of Associations of Disabled People - VOI, VOG, VOS, OOOIVA "Chernobyl Union"; Member of the Board of the National Civil Committee for Interaction with Legislative, Law Enforcement and Judicial Bodies; Member of the Presidium of the Independent Organization "Civil Society"; Awarded two Orders of the Red Star and six medals.


Large biographical encyclopedia. 2009 .

See what “Chepurnoy, Andrey Gennadievich” is in other dictionaries:

    In 1996 2001 an advisory body created for the purpose of informing the President of the Russian Federation on issues related to solving the problems of disability and people with disabilities in the Russian Federation, developing proposals for the formation and implementation of ... Wikipedia

    An advisory body under the President of the Russian Federation, facilitating the implementation of the powers of the head of state to ensure the coordinated functioning and interaction of federal government bodies, state bodies... ... Wikipedia

    The Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was created in December 2006 by the corresponding order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Ivanov in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Official tasks of the new public organization ... Wikipedia

    They are of particular interest due to their scale (the most densely populated region 10% of the population of Ukraine and the specifics of the local electorate Contents 1 Presidential elections in Ukraine (1991) ... Wikipedia

    All-Russian public organization of disabled people of the war in Afghanistan and military trauma “Disabled People of War” Leader: Andrey Gennadievich Chepurnoy ... Wikipedia

    List of laureates Contents 1 1967 2 1968 3 1969 4 1970 5 1971 6 ... Wikipedia

    Contents 1 1966 2 1967 3 1968 4 1970 5 1972 6 1974 ... Wikipedia

    Contents 1 Local elections 2010 1.1 ... Wikipedia

    After the local elections held on October 31, 2010, the power structure is as follows: Mayor of the city (chairman, head, city and chairman of the executive committee of the city council) Yuri Yurievich Hotlubey. Contents 1 Urban ... ... Wikipedia

    Appendix to the article Honored Agricultural Mechanic of the Russian Federation Contents 1 Republic ... Wikipedia

Books

  • Legal basis for social protection of disabled combatants. Grif UMC Professional textbook, Chepurnoy Andrey Gennadievich. The essence of the constitutional and legal regulation of the processes of formation and implementation of state policy on the social protection of disabled combatants in the conditions of social...

Chairman of the All-Russian Organization of Disabled Persons of the War in Afghanistan since 1997. Born on September 3, 1962 in Ivdel, Sverdlovsk region. Graduated from Alma Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School named after. I. S. Koneva in 1983; Moscow... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

This term has other meanings, see Children of the Sun. Children of the Sun Genre: Drama

CHEPURNOY CHEPOROV Chepurny, Chepurnoy is neat, neatly dressed, sometimes vain, prone to panache. In one of Leskov's stories we read... he is a nasty person, bad, disheveled, he needs money, he gets married for money. (F) In Dahl's dictionary... ...Russian surnames

CHEPURNOV CHEPURNOY CHEPOROV Chepurny, Chepurny neat, neatly dressed, sometimes vain, prone to panache. In one of Leskov's stories we read... he is a nasty person, bad, disheveled, he needs money, he gets married for money. (F) V... ... Russian surnames

They are of particular interest due to their scale (the most densely populated region 10% of the population of Ukraine and the specifics of the local electorate Contents 1 Presidential elections in Ukraine (1991) ... Wikipedia

Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theater ... Wikipedia

History of Kharkov ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Trinity. Troitskoye village, Ukrainian Trinity Country ... Wikipedia

All-Russian public organization of disabled people of the war in Afghanistan and military trauma “Disabled People of War” Leader: Andrey Gennadievich Chepurnoy ... Wikipedia

Books

  • Legal basis for social protection of disabled combatants. Grif UMC Professional textbook, Chepurnoy Andrey Gennadievich. The essence of the constitutional and legal regulation of the processes of formation and implementation of state policy on the social protection of disabled combatants in the conditions of social...
  • Legal basis for social protection of disabled combatants, A. G. Chepurnoy. The essence of the constitutional and legal regulation of the processes of formation and implementation of state policy on the social protection of disabled combatants in the conditions of social...

What lies behind Chepurny’s “revelations”?
Vladimir Putin once told reporters how, as a child, he chased a huge rat with a stick around his entrance, and when it saw that there was nowhere to run, it turned around and rushed at him. “I then understood once and for all what the phrase “drive into a corner” means,” the President noted. And recently he was able to see with his own eyes something similar among people.
April 20, 2017. Grand Kremlin Palace. The 39th meeting of the Russian Pobeda Organizing Committee is underway, with Vladimir Putin present. The topic of the meeting is the development of humanitarian cooperation with foreign countries in order to promote objective historical and current information about Russia, including its role in the victory over fascism. A certain Andrei Chepurnoy, Chairman of the Public Organization of Disabled Persons of the War in Afghanistan and Military Trauma (LLC "Disabled Persons of War") takes the floor. He is also a member of the High Qualification Board of Judges of the Russian Federation; Professor of the Department of Law VZFEP; member of the Russian Organizing Committee "Victory"; member of the Government Interdepartmental Commission for Coordination of Activities in the Field of Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons; Vice-President of VODV "Combat Brotherhood"; member of the board of RSVA; member of the central control and audit commission of the political party "United Russia"; Member of the Board of the Russian Public Fund "Victory"; Deputy Chairman of the public council of leaders of associations of disabled people VOI, VOG, VOS, OOOIVA, Chernobyl Union; Member of the Board of the National Civil Committee for Interaction with Legislative and Law Enforcement Bodies “Civil Society”.
As we can see, he is a difficult citizen, with a huge iconostasis of positions that dazzles the eyes. At the meeting, nothing foreshadowed either a sensation or a scandal. And suddenly Andrei Chepurnoy, from the very first words, attacked the “Afghan” senator Franz Klintsevich, who allegedly claimed that State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin would become the next president of Russia. Then he shouted: “The honor and dignity of the people who suffered in the performance of military duty!... We are ready to fight to the death... Russian... Russians do not give up!” It seemed to those present that Chepurnoy was about to burst into tears. But no, he gathered his will into a fist and assured: “We will not give up...” And asked the President for help, threatening to take the disabled people out into the street if there was no response to his words.
What excited Mr. Chepurny so much that he dared, in violation of the agenda of the meeting of the Pobeda organizing committee, to divert the attention of those present with an unannounced question? In search of an answer, let's remember what IVA LLC "Invalids of War" is, which Andrei Chepurnoy has headed for two decades? The idea of ​​uniting disabled people in order to provide them with assistance belonged to the legendary Colonel Valery Radchikov. Having lost both legs in the Afghan war, he did not break, after lying in the hospital and having simple Soviet prostheses installed, he went to Afghanistan, where he continued to serve. Returning home, the officer encountered difficulties with prosthetics. Seeing that he was not the only such unfortunate person, he decided to create a public organization that, according to his plan, could earn money and provide assistance to people with disabilities. He succeeded - he broke through quotas (customs preferences) and began to engage in the rehabilitation of disabled people. The foundation quickly got on its feet, big money appeared, and, as you know, where there is big money, there are showdowns: explosions, shootings. That's what happened here too. It started with the fact that they tried to remove Valery Radchikov from his post as head of the fund. When this could not be done, a second, alternative fund was created, headed by Mikhail Likhodei. Soon he was blown up in the entrance of his own house.
A year later, in the center of Moscow on Mira Avenue, an attempt was made on Valery Radchikov. He received seven bullets, survived, but the foundation's lawyer, Dmitry Mateshyn, died. A year later, on the anniversary of Likhodey’s death, a landmine was detonated at the Kotlyakovskoye cemetery, as a result of which the people who came to the cemetery died, including the new chairman of the foundation, Sergei Trakhirov. Radchikov will be blamed for the explosion. The court will acquit him. He will be released, but will soon die in a car accident. In 1997, Andrei Chepurnoy, who previously worked as a policeman, will become chairman.
Now let’s ask ourselves, who is Andrei Chepurnoy? From the biographical information that is in the public domain, it is known: born in 1962 in the Sverdlovsk region, graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms School, Doctor of Law (I wish I could check for anti-plagiarism, and at the same time, disability - evil tongues say that she is fake him). He served in Afghanistan and was discharged from the army in 1990 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He headed the Orenburg regional organization of disabled war veterans in Afghanistan “Brotherhood”. He has two Orders of the Red Star.
I propose to talk separately about the orders of Andrei Chepurny, as they highlight his moral character. When, in 2000, his colleagues saw that a second order suddenly appeared on the lapel of his jacket, everyone was surprised. Where? For what merit? Where is the ID? - questions rained down. To be fair, it should be noted that thirteen years later he will acquire a fake order book. Veterans conducted an investigation. Having sent a request to the main personnel department of the Ministry of Defense, they found out an interesting detail: the order that Chepurnoy wears with pride does not belong to him. Moreover, this order was issued back in 1945 to the veteran of the Great Patriotic War V. A. Dikiy. Colleagues suggested that Chepurny remove the order and not disgrace the honorable name of the internationalist warrior. He, however, did not heed their advice. Then the “Afghans” went to court against the fake order bearer, presenting certificates from the Ministry of Defense stating that this order did not belong to him. But the court (our most honest court in the world) recognized: Andrei Chepurnoy wears the order legally!? And this despite the fact that a decree stating that the order was awarded to Chepurnov does not exist in nature, but there is a document stating that the order belongs to a veteran of the Great Patriotic War! Can this really happen? - you ask.
And I asked the same question. They explained to me: Andrei Chepurnoy is not only a member of the qualification commission of judges, but is also friends with Oleg Mikhailovich Sviridenko himself. And who Sviridenko is, I hope, is not worth explaining. He is a well-known person in the judicial community, the deputy of Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev himself, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. He is the curator of arbitration courts. In addition, he is a frequent guest of the Rus rehabilitation center for the disabled, where, as everyone knows, Chepurnoy is in charge. It’s not for nothing that he likes to boast that the judges are in his fist. I will give an example well known in the “Afghan” community, so as not to be unfounded. During the court hearing in civil case 33-21696/2016 in the Moscow Regional Court on September 29, 2016, when the scales of justice could have swung against him, Andrei Chepurnoy could not stand it and shouted: “Keep in mind: our judges are on vacation!” It’s not difficult to guess that he sincerely believes that since they are vacationing for free, they should support him in everything. Otherwise, he can tell you something about them too.
You may ask, what does Franz Klintsevich and Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin have to do with this? Which side is the heat on? I answer. Once, when Franz Klintsevich was not a senator, but a deputy of the State Duma, I went to his building on Okhotny Ryad. However, it was not possible to talk - before I had time to say hello, a noise was heard in the corridor, the door opened, and several wheelchairs rolled into the office, accompanied by gloomy-looking men. “Are you in trouble together with Chepurny?!” - they began to be angrily indignant from the threshold. I left, leaving them alone with the deputy, and then I found out: disabled people came to him with a complaint about the head of the public organization of disabled people, Andrei Chepurny, who “over twenty years of autocratic rule has grown fat and turned into a grabber.”
They talked about how Chepurnoy was using “Rus” for his own selfish purposes. About the fact that flocks of officials rest there at the expense of disabled people, and not on a commercial basis. That Chepurny’s adviser, V. Krylov, pseudonym Byvaly, manages all financial flows and is considered the developer of schemes for withdrawing budget funds. The fact that auctions are not held, although when using budget funds, according to federal law, competitions must be held with the publication of information in the media and on the auction website. “Are you mastering money together with him?” - they asked Klintsevich the same question.
What could a deputy do if he was bombarded with difficult but specific questions? That's right, he talked to Andrei Chepurny. And when Franz Klintsevich asked him uncomfortable questions, he launched a psychic attack and began threatening to take disabled people out onto the street (I sincerely feel sorry for disabled people, who in Chepurny’s capable hands are just bargaining chips).
Of course, after that meeting with wheelchair users, a deputy request was submitted to the control bodies. Inspections revealed numerous violations, and criminal cases were initiated. Currently, the Main Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Moscow Region is investigating two criminal cases No. 112022 and No. 11701460225000010 regarding the theft of funds allocated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation for the activities of the All-Russian public organization of disabled people of war in Afghanistan and military trauma - “Disabled People of War” (including the Center for Rehabilitation Therapy for Internationalist Soldiers named after M.A. Likhodei).
Within the framework of criminal case No. 112022, the embezzlement of budget funds allocated to the specified public organization on an especially large scale is being investigated (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Funds in the amount of more than 2.3 million rubles were spent on the renovation of two apartments registered to Vera Alexandrova Trofimova (apartments 59 and 60, building 17, Nizhegorodskaya Street, in Moscow).
Within the framework of criminal case No. 11701460225000010, theft of budget funds allocated to the specified public organization on an especially large scale is being investigated (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Funds in the amount of more than 20 million rubles were withdrawn according to a simple scheme through StroyTorg LLC, LansTrade LLC, ASK-Resurs LLC, ProfMarket LLC and PromTorg LLC, which have signs of “one-day companies”.
In early April 2017, disabled “Afghans” held their conference, where they decided: enough of Chepurnova’s uncontrolled rule. A new chairman was elected. It was Ivan Litvinov, the head of one of the regional disabled organizations. But Chepurnoy found a cunning trick here too, tried to outwit everyone and transfer the dispute between public organizations into a dispute between economic entities. Apparently taking advantage of his connections with the same Sviridenko, he changed the jurisdiction, transferring a general dispute between public organizations to the jurisdiction of an arbitration dispute in order to delay time. And he himself, using the Kremlin platform, went all-in, perplexing the Pobeda organizing committee with his selfish question.
But how did he get there after being re-elected? After all, someone sent him there, ensured his presence? Everything is primitively simple. The wife of the head of the Information and Analytical Department of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Civil Service and Personnel, Yuri Alekseevich Tikhomirov, who is responsible for relations with veteran organizations, is listed in the fund for disabled people (I emphasize - she does not work) and is involved in the already mentioned criminal cases. (Oleg Plokhoy, who is responsible for anti-corruption checks in the bureaucratic ranks of the administration, I hope he will figure it out). How can you not please your loved one? So Tikhomirov helped the discredited “order bearer” get into the Kremlin. And his wife, Vera Aleksandrovna, before Trofimova’s marriage, is precisely the owner of those two apartments 59 and 60, house 17, on Nizhegorodskaya Street, in Moscow, which were renovated using budget funds allocated to the public organization commanded by Andrei Chepurnoy .
His cry - “disabled people are being rolled into asphalt” was heard not only within the walls of the Kremlin, but also spread far beyond their borders. But who shouts the loudest: stop the thief! As you know, those who have a cannon-like stigma. This proven technique sometimes works, but if there is a desire not to be led by emotions, but to soberly figure out: do disabled people need a leader, on whose chest shines an order stolen from a veteran or bought on the Arbat, then the truth will prevail. Something has already been done to improve the situation. The money now does not go directly to “Rus” (which is why Chepurnoy began to hysteria), but is distributed to veteran organizations - the Union of Russian Paratroopers, the Russian Union of Veterans of the War in Afghanistan, the Association of Heroes “Combat Brotherhood”. What's bad about it? The president, forced to justify himself, said: “... it was a decision that pursued one goal: so that the money that went directly to the center would pass through public veteran organizations and after that be distributed... an attempt was made to make this open and public. You are quite emotional here and not very meaningful.” And what should Andrei Chepurnoy be like when such a jackpot disappears from under his nose?
In a word, the healing process began: the disabled veteran received a permit, went, received medical treatment, returned, and reported to his organization. There will be wider coverage of veterans in need of rehabilitation, eliminating the practice of making the same trips year after year. The investigation into Chepurny’s activities has begun with difficulty, and there is hope that it will be conducted impartially, without regard to his judicial patrons. Finally, he was replaced in his post by a new, unblemished chairman. In the community of internationalist warriors there is an understanding: an immoral person who has appropriated someone else’s order (unfortunately, we have lowered the threshold of sensitivity and disgust towards the moral and ethical acts of unscrupulous businessmen) cannot stand at the head of a veterans’ organization.
The President was right when he once said: a rat driven into a corner becomes dangerous. Let us not neglect this, ensuring the safety and well-being of civil society, we will free “Rus” from money-grubbers and crooks.
Nikolay Matveev

Head of the Moscow branch of “War Disabled” “Capital”. Former Chairman of OOOIVA-“Invalids of War”

"Biography"

Education

Graduated from the Kazan Suvorov School, Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School named after I.S. Koneva.

Andrey Chepurnoy moved from the federal budget to the Moscow one

The former chairman of “Invalids of War” Andrei Chepurnoy, who led the organization for more than 20 years after the explosion at the Kotlyakovskoye cemetery in Moscow and is now under investigation for particularly large-scale fraud, is not going to just resign. According to information from the organization, after the head of the Moscow branch of “Invalids of War” “Capital” Alexei Ermokhin, who was a confidant of President Vladimir Putin, supported Messrs. Ozerov and Alekseev, Andrei Chepurny was quickly chosen in his place. Thus, the main investigative department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Moscow Region, which expects this week in the Tverskoy District Court to remove Mr. Chepurny from the post of chairman of the “Invalids of War”, will no longer be able to do this, and the accused himself will lead another organization that receives financial support not only from the federal budget, but also from the Moscow government.



May 18 marks the 20th anniversary of the All-Russian public organization of disabled people of the war in Afghanistan and military trauma - “Disabled People of War”. Its leader, a former special forces soldier, holder of two orders of the Red Army, told our correspondent about the affairs and concerns of this country's largest association of citizens who received disabilities as a result of wounds, mutilations, concussions or diseases during combat operations in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other “hot spots”. Stars, member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Persons with Disabilities, Doctor of Law, Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Andrey CHEPURNOY.

A few words about our interlocutor. Andrey Gennadievich Chepurnoy was born on September 3, 1962 in the city of Ivdel, Sverdlovsk region. When Soviet troops entered Afghanistan in the winter of 1979, he was just beginning to learn the basics of military affairs at the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School.
“Then it seemed to all of us that the war would be short-lived,” Chepurnoy recalls. - Yes, and what was happening “beyond the river” was not considered a war, judging by the meager information that leaked to the press. Newspapers wrote more about how our valiant army was planting trees, building schools, hospitals, restoring destroyed bridges and mosques. Only later, when the “black tulip” swirls over Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and other Soviet cities and towns and it will be impossible to hide the graves of heroes, the tears of widows and mothers, will it become clear: Afghanistan is for a long time...
However, the first place of service of Lieutenant Chepurny himself, who graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Educational Institution with honors in 1983, was the reconnaissance company of one of the tank regiments of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. And things were going well for him there. However, Andrei Gennadievich did not stay too long in “Europe”. Soon he was seconded to the special forces brigade stationed in Chirchik. So what is next...
Having completed an “advanced training course,” he was already in Afghanistan in March 1985, where, as part of the 154th separate detachment of the 15th special forces brigade (the same one that, on December 27, 1979, in cooperation with the KGB special forces and an airborne company, stormed Amin's palace in Kabul) took a direct part in the hostilities. With this detachment, being the commander of a special forces company, the head of intelligence, Chepurnoy went through his entire Afghan journey, which ended in February 1987.
After leaving the army in 1990, he graduated from the Moscow State Law Academy and worked in the Orenburg city administration as an investigator in the prosecutor's office. In 1994, he initiated the establishment of the Orenburg regional organization of disabled war veterans in Afghanistan “Brotherhood” and became its chairman. In April 1997, he headed OOOIVA.
Our conversation began with a brief excursion into the history of this organization.
- Andrey Gennadievich, on February 15 of this year, our country celebrated for the first time the Day of Remembrance of Russians who performed their official duties outside the Fatherland. Let's not talk now about what it looked like in practice. It is important that the Motherland eventually remembered and officially recognized the feat of its sons, whom it sent at different times to fight abroad...
- Of course, I am glad that our country is finally beginning to emerge from the state of unconsciousness in relation to internationalist soldiers. After all, according to available data, after 1945, about one and a half million of our compatriots took part in hostilities outside the USSR. More than 25 thousand of them died. Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Egypt, Yemen, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Mozambique, Syria, Ethiopia... You can’t list all the addresses.
- Moreover, some were simply “forgotten.”
- Those who survived in Afghanistan also learned the price of this “forgetfulness”. Although it seemed: for us, who went through a war that, in terms of duration, the number of troops participating in it, and losses, was the largest of the “foreign” wars that the Soviet Union waged in the post-war period, this would not threaten us. However, having returned to our homeland, where “new thinking” and “perestroika” reigned, we suddenly saw that no one except our family and friends needed us in this chaos. Remember the notorious: “I didn’t send you to Afghanistan”?
A particularly bitter fate awaited the disabled. In fact, abandoned by the state to the mercy of fate, we were forced to fight for survival. And we fought, helping each other, creating our own organizations.
- That is, we can say that the organization of “Afghans” with disabilities, like the Afghan movement as a whole, which played an important role in the fate of tens of thousands of veterans of local wars and armed conflicts, arose spontaneously as a reaction to the indifferent attitude towards them on the part of the authorities?
- You can say so. It was then that some went into politics, some into the executive branch, some into business. And then we united instinctively, so as not to disappear alone, to defend our right to a normal life. Moreover, we had to fight not only with the indifference of officials. As you know, the predecessor of our organization was the Russian Foundation for Disabled Persons of the War in Afghanistan, from the day of its formation - May 18, 1991 - we have been counting its history.
- The story, frankly speaking, is difficult and sometimes tragic.
- Everything happened: the lawlessness of bureaucrats who latched on to the benefits for the disabled, defined by the presidential decree of November 30, 1991, and the contract killings of our leaders. Suffice it to recall the fate of Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Aleksandrovich Likhodey, whom we unanimously elected on August 28, 1993, as chairman of the Russian Foundation for Disabled Persons of the War in Afghanistan, and on November 14, 1994, he was buried with military honors at the Kotlyakovskoye Cemetery. This crystal-honest man with an open soul literally rebelled against the swindler who was trying to build his business on the blood of disabled people. But the forces turned out to be too unequal...
“Many of his associates are also buried there, at the notorious Kotlyakovsky cemetery.
- Yes, and now it’s no secret to anyone that both the murder of Mikhail Likhodei and the explosion at his grave on November 10, 1996, which took the lives of 14 more people, including the new head of our organization Sergei Trakhirov, are connected with the attempts of various structures, including criminal ones, to profit from benefits for disabled people.
We had to withstand more than one massive attack from officials who tried to take away from us the Center for Restorative Therapy in Ruza, near Moscow. Let me remind you that this medical institution, unique in terms of medical equipment, staff qualifications and quality of service, created on the basis of the elite sanatorium "Rus" opened in 1986, was transferred in 1992 by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation to the Russian Foundation for Invalids of the War in Afghanistan, which was then transformed into the All-Russian public organization. That is, the health resort belonged to us by law. However, some people clearly didn't like it.
- And yet you survived! And the fact that from now on all internationalist soldiers will be honored on February 15, the day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, can probably be considered as one of the evidence of special recognition of the merits of your organization?
- Our organization today has its branches in 63 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and works in the interests of more than 500 thousand disabled people of war, military trauma, disabled combatants, veterans of military service and victims of terrorist attacks. Naturally, we are represented in federal, regional and local legislative and executive authorities, in public chambers, councils, commissions, committees dealing with the problems of war and military service disabled people.
The recognition of our organization is evidenced by the gratitude of the President of Russia, and by the fact that for a number of years now I have been a member of the Russian Pobeda Organizing Committee. And when the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Persons with Disabilities was created in 2008, I was entrusted with heading one of its commissions. This is the Commission on the activities of regional and municipal authorities and their interaction with public organizations. As a kind of advisory and expert body of the Council, it has already developed a number of well-founded proposals and recommendations aimed at deepening the interaction of government agencies and public associations in the field of social protection of people with disabilities. Our proposals are related both to the improvement of existing and the preparation of new regulations, and to the implementation of fundamental laws and legal norms in the field of social support and comprehensive rehabilitation of disabled combatants. Some of them have already been adopted, some are being approved by the relevant authorities. Thus, the fact that at the state level a decision was made annually on February 15 to celebrate the Day of Remembrance of Russians who performed their official duties outside the Fatherland is truly our merit.
I would also like to emphasize that our commission, like other divisions of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Persons with Disabilities, works in close cooperation with legislative and executive authorities of all levels, scientific organizations, and public associations. This allows us to develop a consolidated position when preparing proposals aimed at solving problems that are urgent for us, which in turn contributes to their speedy passage in bureaucratic offices.
By the way, our serious assistant in this matter is the newspaper “Brother”, the editorial team of which is headed by a participant in the fighting in Afghanistan, former Krasnozvezda soldier, retired colonel Alexander Mitrofanovich Khorunzhiy. Last year we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the publication of its first issue. The newspaper's total circulation is already approaching two million copies. The main topic of the publication is social protection and comprehensive rehabilitation of disabled people, veterans of Afghanistan and other local wars and conflicts, and families of fallen military personnel. How it is covered can be judged at least by the fact that “Brother” was awarded the highest award of the Russian Union of Afghanistan Veterans - the Order of Merit, was awarded a diploma from the Union of Journalists of Russia, and the insignia “Golden Press Fund 2011”. Traffic to our organization's website on the Internet is also growing.
- Andrey Gennadievich, how is the Center for Restorative Therapy, which now bears the name of Mikhail Likhodei, doing today?
- The center, now headed by Stanislav Nikolaevich Brizetsky, is alive and developing. More than 30 types of medical activities are licensed there. We have our own prosthetic and orthopedic workshop, which produces prosthetics for the upper and lower extremities using the latest technologies, and also develops and manufactures technical means of rehabilitation that make life easier for people with disabilities. It is also significant that based on the results of economic activity during the reporting period, our center received the status of “Leader of the Economy 2010”, and Stanislav Nikolaevich Brizetsky was awarded the Order “Star of the Russian Economy”, III degree. In general, the multifaceted activities of this unique health resort have become widely known not only in Russia, but also abroad. Recently, more than five thousand disabled people and combat veterans undergo comprehensive rehabilitation in combination with psychological assistance there every year. In addition, there is a retraining center for disabled people, where more than a thousand people have already been trained. And on the birthdays of our organization - this has already become a good tradition - the Center for Rehabilitation Therapy hosts scientific and practical conferences on the problems of people with disabilities under the auspices of the Russian Organizing Committee "Victory". They are attended by scientists, medical and social workers of specialized institutions, rehabilitation centers, representatives of federal and regional government bodies, and leaders of public organizations.
- The maintenance of such a complex with all its attributes and maintenance personnel, of course, costs a lot of money. Even if your organization has its own business structures, it obviously cannot be done without government support?
- Yes, many of our regional organizations are involved in housing construction, production of consumer goods, and provision of services to the population. Thanks to this, financial assistance is provided annually to disabled people and their families. Actually, we did not initially rely only on government support in the form of benefits; we learned and continue to learn how to earn money ourselves. However, the money we earn is not enough to solve the many social and medical problems of people with disabilities. After all, during the fighting in Afghanistan alone, about 50 thousand people became disabled; in total, according to accounting data, more than 120 thousand disabled people from military conflicts now live in Russia. And their numbers, unfortunately, are growing due to post-traumatic health disorders. And rehabilitation work with such disabled people is much more complicated than just medical care and social security. So, you are right, we cannot do without support from the state. And I must say that, in general, we feel it. In any case, 70.4 million rubles out of 950 million allocated by the state to support organizations of disabled people this year are intended for the All-Russian public organization of disabled people from the war in Afghanistan and military trauma - “Disabled People of War”. This is more than last year.
- So the attitude towards people with disabilities is still changing for the better?
- There is progress, and it is encouraging.
- Andrey Gennadievich, what problems concerning the situation of combat disabled people, in your opinion, need to be given attention in the first place?
- First of all, we need a state policy in the field of social protection of disabled combatants that would be aimed at achieving international standards of equal rights and opportunities for their participation in society. A special government structure is also needed to implement this policy. In short, everything must be done to ensure that a disabled person as a result of combat operations and war trauma is constantly in the zone of special attention of the state and society.