One of the founders of Wimm-Bill-Dann. vice-president and member of the bureau of the board of the RSPP. Didn't think to buy any sports club

Imagine that about your acquaintance, previously known only with positive side strange rumors spread. Like, some "sources" are sure that he is ... the leader of the mafia. At first, you can’t believe it, but, filled with doubt, you sort through the episodes associated with him in your memory - it turns out that he wears a ring, and loves spaghetti, and even somehow flew to Sicily with his daughters. He said that he was on vacation, but who knows there ... Thanks to the simplest manipulative technique, a respectable person in the eyes of the environment turns into a criminal.

All such techniques are described in detail in textbooks for political technologists, but, despite their general availability, they remain very effective. In order to form a negative image of at least an individual person, even an entire state or people, only huge funds are needed. And there will always be specialists who can blacken so that you can’t wash yourself off for a century.

Who pays for "interpretation"?

A 59-year-old businessman recently found himself in a similar situation. David Yakobashvili, also known as a major collector and philanthropist. A short publication appeared on the Internet resource with the telling name "The CrimeRussia" with a loud headline "Juicy investor Shakro Molodoy". Citing a “source familiar with the situation,” the anonymous author categorically claims that the founder of the Wimm-Bill-Dann food company financed the power block of the criminal authority Zakharia Kalashova- the recently arrested thief in law Shakro Molodoy. The CrimeRussia provides absolutely no evidence of this.

Considering the anonymity of the publication, which then spread at lightning speed through social networks, as well as the dubious reputation of the source itself, we can make an unambiguous conclusion - the news is custom-made. Who is behind the information war against David Yakobashvili, who has recently been more involved in philanthropy and the arrangement of a unique museum than in business projects?

“One of the methods of stuffing compromising evidence is quoting sources on foreign languages... After that, the marginal Russian media, referring to the Russian edition that had already translated, publish data without reservations, which may call into question the reliability of the information. Thus, rumors in the Russian media space turn into facts allegedly confirmed by foreign media. Moreover, the original publication can be taken not even from a foreign media, but from a foreign blog. But in the process of reprinting, the status of the source changes a lot,” explains the expert report prepared by the Center for Political Information “Black PR of the 90s is back? - Features of information wars at a new stage of development.

It is obvious that the CrimeRussia website has become such a platform for information stuffing. Why exactly him? It's very simple - a site writing about domestic criminals is registered ... in Hong Kong. Earlier, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow officially blocked access to The CrimeRussia, but the site owners, in fact violating Russian law, bypass the block by publishing a link to instructions on how to bypass the blocking of the site. It turns out that the resource, called upon to tell the truth about the criminal world, does not disdain breaking the law?

“Roskomnadzor has included the CrimeRussia website in the register of prohibited resources, which publishes crime news concerning criminal authorities, law enforcement officers and officials,” RBC reports. However, the media experts will not remember the high-profile revelations of The CrimeRussia that caused a federal resonance. But on the hearing of publications with dubious content, very similar to custom-made information stuffing.

President of Orion Heritage LLC, President of the Russian-American Business Cooperation Council David Yakobashvili (Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofiev / TASS)

On the website of Citadel Media Group, which includes The CrimeRussia, they do not hide the fact that one of the main services that the company provides for a fee is “the formation of mass consciousness by disseminating facts and interpreting events from a certain angle.” It turns out that The CrimeRussia is a site for manipulation and news presentation in a way that is beneficial to customers. This is what happened in the case of businessman Yakobashvili.

From patrons to criminals. One click

What is known about David Yakobashvili from authoritative and truly expert information resources? Founder of the Wimm-Bill-Dann company, whose juices and dairy products are loved by millions of Russian families, participant in large projects in agribusiness and processing, founder of the Bioenergy corporation dealing with alternative energy issues. According to Forbes, his fortune is estimated at 0.9 billion dollars, he is included in the top 100 "Richest businessmen in Russia-2016". Moreover, Yakobashvili has been helping Russian businesses enter the world market for many years, chairs the Russian-American Business Cooperation Council and is a member of the New York University International Board of Trustees.

There are examples when domestic businessmen, who were suspected of involvement in the criminal world, were not just broken business contracts, but closed their visas to Western countries. Because reputational costs are much more significant than even the most profitable projects and contracts. Against David Mikhailovich, such sanctions have never been taken, which directly indicates his non-involvement in the criminal world. The organizers of the stuffing are well aware of this, and therefore they hit the most vulnerable spot for any entrepreneur - his reputation.

Yakobashvili regularly gives extended comments and appeared in the materials of RBC, Forbes, Novaya Gazeta, but not a single publication has ever suspected him of having links with criminals. Even in the 90s, when the Wimm-Bill-Dann business was actively developing, and some entrepreneurs were openly proud of the gangster "roof", there were no such hints.

“David Yakobashvili is one of the famous collectors of antiques. His collection has no analogues. The current exposition contains one of the most interesting collections of the chairman of the board of directors of Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC - mechanical musical instruments. This fantastic collection of 3,000 items has a story of its own. Long-term Swedish friend of David Bill Lidval, who was sentenced to death by doctors, feared that the children would sell off their small collection of mechanical musical toys. He handed over this motley mechanized troupe to David. With the condition to continue his work, ”Novaya Gazeta writes about him.

And David Mikhailovich not only multiplied the unique collection, but built for it a separate collection museum on Solyanka Street in Moscow, the opening of which is expected in the near future.

It turns out that either the publications listed above are cunning, not telling, or officially blocked in our country, but slyly bypassing the bans, The CrimeRussia is manipulating information. Although, what to expect from this site, given the services provided by its owners for the "formation public opinion»?

PR on blood

Such media stuffing, of course, is not an invention of the Hong Kong Citadel Media Group. Only in the last few years, the victims of "black PR" in Russia have become such large companies like AvtoVAZ, VTB Group, Transneft, Togliattiazot. The receptions at the order attendants turned out to be exactly like in the publication of The CrimeRussia.

For example, in 2013, one of the online publications published an article under the heading “Davos mistook a banker for Ded Khasan?”, The author of which, referring not to facts, but only using the opinion of an anonymous “Western expert”, compares the VTB president with ... a crime boss Grandfather Hasan. What is the comparison based on, what do they have in common Andrey Kostin and Aslan Usoyan- the author does not ask such "trivial" questions, boldly hanging well-paid labels. In the story of the wave of publications against David Yakobashvili, the same "logic" operates - the main thing is to work out the order without going into the nuances of journalistic ethics and professionalism.

By the way, on the Internet you can find many publications that expose the materials of The CrimeRussia, some of which are openly anti-Russian.

“Even yesterday, this emphasis on the date of publication of the letter seemed suspicious to me. Intuition did not fail: it turned out that for the first time the text appeared on the Internet six months ago, on February 20, 2014, on the CrimeRussia website, known for its yellowness. This text of the "letter" is adorned with the image of a portal (you need to protect the copyright for your sensation, in case it will shoot someday, right?). The appeal itself is written in the best traditions of a fake: no date, no names of the signatories - one solemn soviet “with respect, metro builders”. All his numerous reprints in social networks also do not contain a hint of the original, only the CrimeRussia portal, which is used as a drain tank in another information slaughter" -

One of the founders of Wimm-Bill-Dann. Vice President and Member of the Bureau of the Board of the RSPP

“We could create such a garden. To the envy of many.
All you need is confidence in the future, confidence that your money will not be taken away, the end of all bureaucracy and chicanery. We need to give people the opportunity to earn.”

David Mikhailovich Yakobashvili is one of the founders of the largest Russian company Wimm-Bill-Dann company. Vice President and Member of the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), Member of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Russian Federation(CCI RF), President of the Russian-American Business Cooperation Council, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NP Rusbrand.

David Yakobashvili is the founder and member of boards of trustees educational, cultural and charitable societies and organizations: the Mstislav Rostropovich Personal Scholarship Fund, the Maria Charitable Society, the Family Education Boarding House orphanage, the Fund for Supporting Children in Difficult life situation, State Museum fine arts named after A.S. Pushkin, the State Hermitage Museum, the Faberge Museum, the All-Russian Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts, the Higher School of Economics, the RSPP Business School, the Russian Military Historical Society.

In 2015, David Mikhailovich received the National Award of the Association of Independent Directors "Director of the Year" 2015 in the nomination "Best independent director 2015”, became the winner of the “TOP-1000 Russian Managers” award of the Association of Managers of Russia in the nomination “Best Independent Director”.

Do you share the idea that the crisis in the economy as a whole will lead to some recovery of business by increasing business efficiency?

In the long run, any crisis is a certain recovery.

On the one hand, this is a tragedy for many, but the process - the old leaves, the new comes - is inevitable. And this process is necessary. From a human point of view, of course, you don't wish bad on anyone. On the other hand, the practice of life shows that predators defeat herbivores.

Of course, in the end, we will find other ways to earn money and stop sitting on this resource needle. But when this will happen, and what sacrifices will have to be made - this is a question.

Do you think we have already reached the bottom of the crisis?

Haven't reached. Although the state should say that we have reached the bottom. Because if the leadership of the country falls into a panic, then the whole country will fall into a panic.

Don't be afraid, go ahead and do, do. Build, earn, find new ideas, learn.

What do you consider the main condition for success in business?

Persistence.

Do you have an example of an entrepreneur in history or today that you admire?

I would not single out one person, because one person cannot decide the fate of the whole world. There are a lot interesting people, a lot of today's examples. This is the creation of the Internet, social networks, and so on. If we return to the past, this is, for example, the Rothschilds. And in Russian business there are many famous people that can be imitated. This is Alexei Bakhrushin, and Nikolai Putilov, and Savva Morozov, and many, many others.

What is the most important thing in life for you?

Decency.

Do you think entrepreneurs are born or made?

Both.

What do you think modern entrepreneurs lack?

Perseverance and faith that he will succeed.

If you had the opportunity to independently make just one decision to support business at the level of the country's top leadership, what decision would it be?

I would create very liberal conditions for the development of any business.

I would liberalize all laws relating to entrepreneurship. Maybe he would have brought back the 90s, when there were no laws at all. On the one hand, preserving security, on the other hand, giving everyone the opportunity to express themselves without creating barriers.

It would be a very powerful push for us.

Today we need freedom of action, confidence in the future, the return of capital to Russia, the arrival of new capital. We could create such a garden. To the envy of many.

All you need is confidence in the future, confidence that your money will not be taken away, the end of all bureaucracy and chicanery. We need to give people the opportunity to earn.

Good day, friends. Today we continue to publish articles as part of our permanent column. Those who constantly read us are already well aware of what will be discussed, but for those who first opened an article from this series, we want to say that they were not mistaken and will definitely learn a lot of new things for themselves.
Previously, the richest man on the planet and his closest pursuer, and young billionaires and Sergey Brin became the heroes of our articles. We also told and cited the best thoughts, as well as many other famous personalities in the world of business and finance.

Today we will talk about a fairly well-known and influential Russian entrepreneur David Yakobashvili, who started his business path back in the early 80s of the last century. As Yakobashvili himself notes, his first business was raising piglets. Back in 1982, he received 200 piglets for growth, which he fattened on the farm of his friend and successfully handed over to state enterprise. Thus, David earned the first thousand rubles, which in those days was considered a good amount. Then the business began to develop in a slightly different area. From raising and trading pigs, Yakobashvili moves on to the auto business. Together with his partners, he delivers and sells cars from the United States. And in the early 90s, this business brought in excess profits, because then only a few people could afford foreign cars, and those who bought did not spare money.
In 1993, he founded the company "Wim Bil Dan", the sale of whose shares in the future brought him about 600 million dollars.
On the this moment owns 80% of the shares of Petrocas Energy Group, which owns a network of 135 gas stations in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and two oil terminals in Georgia - in Poti and Batumi.

David Yakobashvili: best quotes and sayings

Almost always it starts with intuition. Four years ago we entered the coal business and bought several mines in the Kemerovo region. When they bought it, it was a loss-making business: a ton of coal was sold for $11 at a cost of $26. Now the price of a ton has risen to $74. Can analysts calculate this?

The biggest trick is the truth. That's what my dad told me.

Any business is very important to me, I approach it with all my heart. After all, it is impossible that you have your own children or other people's children. All theirs. And we need to take care of it. And approach everything exactly and equally. There is a business that needs more attention, where less attention needs to be paid.

Moscow is a small city. I still maintain the contacts I made in the 1970s.

It was not necessary to conduct business in such a way [as Berezovsky and Abramovich] - there would be nothing to repent of. It's disgusting to listen to, I don't even want to follow this process - disgusting. It's not true or half true. But even this half-truth is enough to make people lose faith in Russia. It will come back to haunt us all, I'm sure.

You need to live in such a way that you can walk freely, go out into the street, go on your own without protection, so that you are not afraid that someone is always waiting for you from behind. To live in fear - in FIG you need! Most importantly, your decency is your defense.

When a person deceived me once, I can’t continue to work with him calmly: I will “eat” it until I part with him.

I think now we already have some kind of name, recognition, attitude as towards normal people - but we don’t need more. Because, you understand, with my last name ... All the time, all the years that I have been doing business, I need to prove to everyone that I am not a camel. Everything is clear: out of 320 thieves in law, 260 were Georgians. Now, by the way, there is not a single one in Georgia. Such a law is harsh: if a thief in law, he is imprisoned. And if a normal person needs an hour to work through the issue, then I need a day. Any official immediately dismisses: “Drive him away, why do we need this crime?” That's all the relationship with the authorities.

I feel ashamed - a young specialist comes and talks about things in which I do not understand anything. I feel like a "loon". How is coal mined open way? How does a milking machine work? Basic principles of marketing? All this I must know. Of course, it is impossible to study everything in depth, but I must master the elementary concepts.

I am ready to consider any proposals [on investments in new projects]. But you need to at least hear the case seemed interesting. And these are one out of ten, the majority are "children of Lieutenant Schmidt."

In the 1990s [bribes] were definitely taken less, they took them mostly according to rank. Again, if you gave, then economically you sat down in your framework. And now if you give it, it will be unprofitable to conduct business. I do not give myself, but I know that it is. Where are we going like this? If there are no feathers from a goose, what to take from it? Just cut out the liver for the last time.

You won't lift the country by checks alone. You can rake in the money now and run away, but you have to think that your children will live in this country. It is necessary to build a country, if you do not build, nothing will work.

I have a good attitude towards Prokhorov, but I would not go into this business [politics] if I were him. One must either be born an official, or not be born one. We have a different nature, we do not fit there.

Sometimes you are happy from half a penny. Billions - not in the same happiness. Happiness is in what you do, in what you achieve. And when you can say to others: "Here I did."

David Yakobashvili - about three-fifty piglets and a fictitious wife from the Finnish outback, about White Swan, Metelitsa and other brands promoted in the dashing 90s, about how he did not succumb to bandits, but lost to Berezovsky, and also about how two private planes suddenly turned out to be superfluous.

In business, as in a looking glass, even to stand in one place, you have to run as fast as you can. Well, if you really want to move forward, you need to run at least twice as fast. David Yakobashvili has been moving non-stop for more than thirty years. Once he was a laborer, and now he is on the list of the richest entrepreneurs in Russia. During this time, David Mikhailovich took part in almost 300 business projects!

Tempus fugit - written on the dial of the grandfather clock in Yakobashvili's waiting room. "Time is running out". David Mikhailovich's phone is constantly ringing. Or rather, telephones. There are several. During the interview, he took out three old "Motorolas" - clamshells in turn from his pockets - turned off the sound, put it aside. As he himself says, a continuous whirlwind ...

Many successful business people often say that they just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Probably flirting. And yet, David Mikhailovich, where and when did you end up? Or was it a completely different story?

Time - restructuring. Location - Moscow. But the story is different, of course.

There were many opportunities back then. Boom, incessant activity. But I didn't get bored even before I got to Russia. Life didn't let me relax. I had a good secondary education - I studied at the physical school. In the mid-70s, he entered the Tbilisi Polytechnic Institute without any problems, at the Faculty of Industrial and Civil Engineering. He studied well again, but he had to leave the institute and urgently look for a job. Father was imprisoned, we had to sell all the property, including ours family home. I had to help my family. The father was a business man. He was engaged in the production of knitwear - clothes, scarves - in Checheno-Ingushetia. Tsekhovik. For this, they were imprisoned. Such were the times ... He served eight years. There he died. In general, he spent 18 years in prisons - under a variety of articles. In 1938, he was imprisoned for sailing on a ship abroad ... Grandfather spent 17 years in prison. He was from a poor family, but managed to get rich on his own. After the revolution, everything was taken away from him, after which they periodically imprisoned him, then released him. This story was not only in our family. Entrepreneurial people sooner or later found themselves on the bunk. My childhood was nervous. It is known how gifts were worn to Eduard Shevardnadze when he was still working in the Pervomaisky district party committee. My father lost all his money and became seriously ill. But in the end, he ended up in jail anyway.

Leaving the institute, I got a job as a laborer at the metro construction - I worked at night, and during the day I worked part-time in a metallurgical laboratory. Over time, he learned to repair radio and audio equipment, began to take private orders. Then it was illegal: it was allowed to work only in the studio, and not handicraft. Earnings were pennies. I was into sound recording. In addition, he worked part-time at the Ministry of the Interior, during private security: installed alarms in houses. Nothing complicated, just stretched the wires, fixed the simplest technique.

In 1982, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were allowed to take piglets for cultivation, so that later, by returning them to the state, they would receive money for the difference in weight. I took part in this program. It was the first entrepreneurial experience. I took 200 piglets - for a year. I took them out of town to a friend. They built a small farm. I took food to them every day - I collected food leftovers in restaurants, from friends. I had to work constantly. Some of the pigs died - they sometimes got dubious food. Another survived, the third multiplied. Then he passed them by live weight - 3.5 rubles per kilogram. Earned.

- Did you want to repeat the pig-breeding experiment?

No. One time was enough. In addition, I decided to leave the country. I understood that nothing bright was waiting for me in Soviet Georgia ... I would have been engaged in underground repair of equipment, in the end I would have ended up in prison. Friends advised me to enter into a fictitious marriage. Found a Finnish laborer girl. Her name was Mario. She was three years younger than me. Deal. He promised to pay her for it. They played a good wedding - everything was real. We got warm with her, friendly relations. Then I waited a long time for her to issue an invitation and call me to Europe. Formed, called. I had to wander around Germany. Then I came to Maryo - in a small town in the north of Finland. She wanted to dissolve the marriage as soon as possible - after all, she had already received her money. I didn’t want to show my relatives so as not to tell them about how I had to earn money. I was even afraid to let her go outside. She rented a small student cell for me - two by two meters. And I sat there all week. He went out only at night, ate a sausage, a sandwich and came back ... I received a residence permit and immediately left.

Lived in Helsinki. Something washed, cleaned - so earned a living. Then he got a job as a driver - he drove Japanese filmmakers who filmed Finland. They fed me, they also paid me 200 Finnish marks. Not bad! There was happiness.

Then I went to Sweden. I took my sister there.

- What made you return to Russia?

Perestroika. As soon as the first echoes of change came, I immediately decided to return. It became clear that now in Russia you can do business. I consulted with friends, they confirmed everything, doubts disappeared. I moved to Moscow. 1988 Finally, freedom came, and we opened our own business. The first ideas were the simplest - to buy something, to sell something. The next step was to find your niche.

I met Finns who urgently needed parts for euro pallets. My friends and I found a factory where these parts were made - they were taken to Finland and sold. This is how he earned his first big money. 22.5 thousand marks! Was happy. Before, this was unthinkable. I bought myself a Mercedes for 14,000 marks.

Old connections helped. Bill Lindvall, the founder of Cherry, believed in me. I met him when I lived in Sweden. With his support, he organized the delivery of the first slot machines to Moscow. For me it was a ticket to a great life. It helped that I had a passport - I could safely cross the border.

Computers were supplied from Germany. Then the car boom began. My friends and I began to import used jumbo cars from America: large cars, SUVs or mini-buses. Bought them at auctions for 300-500 dollars in the US. The ship was taken to Finland. Then - to Olgino, St. Petersburg. In the same place, not far from Olgino, a small hotel was being built. We were there in the share and parked cars with them. Then everything was transported to Moscow. There they were very popular. They also did auto repair.

By that time, my acquaintances had already opened a health-improving salon "Ginseng" on Chistye Prudy. It was one of the first Soviet cooperatives - stood at number 14. I joined them. Entered into share. Then they organized "Trinity", and most of the projects were already implemented within the framework of this group.

Did the bandits bother you?

Worried. But somehow we managed. There were also problems with the transportation of cars. If the cars broke down on the road - and this happened, because they were not in the best condition - then we lost them forever. Left on the sidelines, they quickly disappeared.

All sorts of people came to us ... But then it was easier. It is clear who is who and how to talk to whom. The cops took their side. Blatnye - their own. Now thieves and bandits have mixed with law enforcement officers, and it is not always clear how and with whom to speak. Here, after all, either you force yourself to be respected, or they will use you. Like in prison.

How was your communication?

By concepts. There is no reception against scrap. Strength is strength. What can they do? Basically, there was no blood. More often than not, everything was limited to talking in raised tones. They understood that a serious rebuff awaited them here, and left. There was never a shootout, but at these negotiations we sat ready for everything. At any moment someone could start shooting. Everything was on edge. I somehow didn’t really fear for myself, and there were no relatives in Moscow. So there was no fear. The hands didn't tremble. But it was hard. That's life. This is a chance. Someone lost their nerve - and the end. You can lose everything in one moment.

- And you were ready to shoot the man?

I was ready to defend myself. No one shot at me, but they shot at friends with whom I had a common business. We fought. It was so. They did not take anything from others, but they defended their own. This is how my good friend Slava Vanner died. He died in his own separate business. I did not share a share in some bar with the guys from Kurgan. I helped him out of friendship. Risked, of course. They could kill not only him, but also everyone who stands nearby, those who finance him. We tried not to conflict with anyone. Do not take a business that belongs to someone. Everyone started from scratch, kept within the law. It happened that thieves came to us, they wanted to take something away. They said that some director promised them back in Soviet times to transfer this land, this house ... Weak arguments. Everything was in order with our documents - we were not afraid of the court, but according to the concepts we could explain that it was better not to interfere with us.

By 1992 we were into juices. The first concentrate was brought from Germany. They continued to install slot machines. The first of them were delivered to St. Petersburg, then they mastered other cities of Russia, even went to Kazakhstan, Georgia, Estonia. The Soviet Union is over. Explosion! There was, of course, a mess, but at the same time, for the first time, it became possible to move forward. There were no administrative barriers. Anyone could make good money. You just had to work tirelessly. Day and night. Get to know everyone, communicate, work. Don't deceive people. This is the main thing.

We have a good active team. Each worked in his own direction. St. Petersburg and Moscow guys. We were lucky, we did not have traitors. We were not afraid because we relied on each other. They worked for pleasure. We sat in our office on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, discussed plans, projects - non-stop. They took on a variety of jobs. Fortunately, they did not deal with Chechen advice notes... We focused on the applied sphere. Received the first dealership from General Motors. Then they bought wood - placed orders for the manufacture of all kinds of parts, took them abroad, and sold them.

In 1993, my partners and I had enough funds to build our own casino - this is how Metelitsa appeared on Novy Arbat. Unfortunately, here we had a small share. Highly profitable business. Continuing to juice. We rented a production line from the Lianozovsky Dairy Plant. Meanwhile, step by step, they bought out the plant in Ramenskoye. Milk then occupied a small part of production - it was still undeveloped. It was most profitable to produce juices - marginality reached 150 percent! Subsequently, we also bought out the Lianozovo plant from the Menatep bank, from the Moscow government and other shareholders.

We have our own bank - Expobank. We bought the Eastern European Insurance Agency. They tried themselves in the business of special sensors (antennas) that helped to find a stolen car. They opened a Super Rifle store selling jeans. On Tverskaya - the store "Gifts". Traded women's underwear, Swedish kitchens, office furniture. They opened their own medical production - pills shone.

We were spinning. Spinning non-stop. They took on any part-time job from which they expected profit. Then the Metropol Hotel was renovated, after which it turned out that the furniture they had put was bad. We undertook to replace it. They completely changed the decoration in the hotel, even changed the curtains. At the same time, a store was opened, in which they sold both furniture and curtains - for private apartments. They built the first beer restaurant - "Angara", a health complex on Chistye Prudy - with a restaurant "White Swan", - then sold it to Deripaska's structures. I indicate only the main projects, and there were many - hundreds! The business was versatile - every time I had to learn everything. If you don't truly understand how this system works, you won't reap the benefits of it. You will be too easily deceived. My job is continuous learning.

- Is it possible to take into account all the nuances if you work on many different projects at once? Mistakes are inevitable.

Of course. There were mistakes and failures. Someone lied to us, someone robbed us. Often, theft began in stores, which meant the end of trade - profits immediately fell. I am still being deceived. Some Gavrik appears, paints his wonderful project, takes money for it and then disappears. It happened, and more than once. They threw. I'm a very trusting person. People take advantage of this.

With unsuccessful projects, we tried to quickly part. We didn't do very well in banking... Trinity Neon, which made neon signs, didn't live up to expectations, but we managed to sell it well. The same "Trinity Motors" had to be given for one dollar. What is the reason? To be honest, I don't know. At first, this direction was profitable, we were actively selling cars, but then something went wrong. The market has changed. Perhaps we made mistakes in management. One way or another, we were not upset - we had enough other directions.

- Didn't the Georgian surname complicate the work in those years?

Complicated ... Every time I had to prove that I was not a swindler, not a swindler, especially to officials. There are always problems with the Georgian surname. Too many Georgian thieves in law. But when talking, everything became clear.

Some publications call your business a family one, taking into account the fact that back in the 90s you became related to Gavril Yushvaev: you married his niece.

Empty talk. There was nothing family in our business. It never mattered. Yushvaev has many nephews, so there is no need to look for something special in this. In addition, now Gavril Abramovich has his own separate business. We did not think to involve relatives in our business. We have always cooperated according to ability.

- Did you want to go into politics?

No never. What for? It's completely uninteresting to me. I know it was fashionable back then. But I didn't even have that thought.

- Have you tried to go into the commodity business?

Tried. We had a stake in Krasnodarneftegaz. In addition, there was a share in Orenburggeology. We bought Gazprom shares. This made it possible to earn some money, but this, of course, remained secondary projects. Although plans are still alive to mine rhenium - a very rare, one of the heaviest and most refractory metals - on the Kuril island of Iturup.

- Is it possible to modern Russia just as quickly to create a business from scratch?

It used to be easier. There was no casuistry. Everything was clearer. Even at customs, they didn’t particularly find fault when, in fact, we suddenly had fewer cars than stated. Well, we didn't eat them! Broke, left. Nobody cared. There was no such pressure from the authorities, as in our days.

Today there are many administrative barriers. More risks. If the bandits do not come, then the power will come. Difficult. In the 90s, despite the fact that we sometimes sat in tension, everything was fairer. Then the entrepreneur had a chance to win. The methods now used by bandits in law are far from honor and decency. Nevertheless, now, as before, much can be done. There would be a desire. Of course, there is probably no easy money left, but a smart head will be able to earn.

You have to follow the rules of the game. All the time to look - to invent something new. Our country is huge. Someone says that now all the niches are occupied, that there is nowhere to break through. All this is not true. Chatter. In fact, we haven't really started anything yet. There are many undeveloped areas in Russia. Stick it in and it will grow. Two conditions for success: knowledge and desire. Need to poke. Constantly learn, improve, explore new areas, read the press. If you get up at eight in the morning, return home at six in the evening, and then lie on the stove, watch TV, then you cannot build a business. You have to do your job around the clock. There should be no separation between work and leisure. It's all one life.

How much has your life changed since you became a successful businessman?

Changed, of course, but not fundamentally. Yes, I do not deny myself anything, but I have never had any special whims. I drive the same cars. Few changes in life. I don't have a yacht. There used to be two planes - I fly a lot, more than 500 hours a year, and the time in my work is expensive - but now there is none. I think it's better to just rent them, it's more convenient. I'm not looking for any extras. It's just not interesting to me.

- Have you thought about buying some sports club?

No. However, now I am finishing the construction of my private museum of self-playing musical instruments. I will make a small contribution to the education of future generations ... Bill Lindvall, who helped me with the supply of slot machines in the early 1990s, remained my friend. It was he who owned the first collection of instruments. He collected them for many years. Really interested in this area. I must say - an unusual direction. In Stockholm, he had his own exposition, located in a small room. About 400 items. Lindvall was a rich man, but this did not prevent him from going out into the city center on a sunny day and playing something for passers-by on his hurdy-gurdy. Sometimes he performed at weddings, birthdays. At the next celebration of the Cherry company, he offered me to buy this collection. He was aged and did not want to leave her children - he was afraid that they would sell everything. I agreed. I liked this idea, it must have been influenced by childhood memories. I well remembered how barrel-organs and gramophones played in the streets in Georgia. Plus, I've always been interested in technology.

I bought the collection. After that, Bill introduced me to people who were also interested in musical instruments in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Holland. Together we visited various auctions - I bought new instruments, replenished the collection. Lindvall wanted me to set up a museum. This is what I did. For eight years he sought the right to open it on Solyanka. Achieved. The building is already ready. I rebuilt it from scratch - before there was a glass barbecue. Now we need to finish finishing. The area is 11 thousand square meters. There I will place all the collected items. We still need to figure out how all this will be sorted, how it will be presented. I want as many people as possible to come. But you also need to think about safety. After all, it will be a private museum, not a state one, the attitude of people can be appropriate ...

In addition, I became interested in Russian applied arts. Now I collect these items. I started making good money, I can afford it. In total, I have more than 10 thousand exhibits in my collection. Music boxes, automatons, clocks, paintings, sculptures, snuff boxes, crockery and more. There is no particular favorite exhibit. I love everything I have collected. Each item has its own story. Something belonged to the royal families. Something - governors, princes. There are items from the collections of Catherine the Great, Grand Duchess Olga, wife of the Greek King George, Nobel. There are works by Faberge. But I'm not looking for something purposefully - I just select from what is in the auction lists. Sometimes they bring me interesting little things - they know that I collect them.

- Have you yourself tried to walk along the streets of Moscow, playing the hurdy-gurdy?

No, of course, I didn’t go out into the streets, but I know how to play the barrel organ; nothing special.

- Is it possible to say that now you pay less attention to business than in previous years?

Not! You can't stop. I do not work in order to suddenly leave everything for rest one day. I enjoy the process itself. This is my life. If I stop, then - everything ... And life will end. Sometimes you make mistakes, you miss, sometimes you do successful steps. It has its own passion. I do not revel in success, I move on. Misses sad, but not for long. Everything passes. Both good and bad. There is no end goal in all of this. The only thing that matters is the process.

- Hundreds of business projects, many partners, competitors... You are a member of the Bureau of the Board of the RSPP, a member of the board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, a member of the Board of Directors of AFK Sistema, President of the Russian-American Council of Business Cooperation, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bioenergy Corporation and other, other … No fatigue?

- Not. After all, I do not keep everything that was. I forget what has passed. It was and it was. Gone, gone, lost. I go further. Therefore, freshness is preserved for everything that is happening now, in the present moment. I'm interested. I work, I collect antiques, I ride a motorcycle... I wouldn't look for anything else, even if I lost everything now. I have a good stock of knowledge, experience - I can start from scratch at any time. Many of my former colleagues have retired. We now have different interests. Our original team, of course, disbanded, but the process does not stop. There are young people around me. I share my experience, I help - the benefit is both financial and administrative opportunities. There are still many projects. Now I have at least 20 businesses in different countries. An interesting direction is being developed for the processing of peat, which can be used as an alternative energy source. I am engaged in the banking business ... I am sure that I will be in business until my strength runs out. Until old age. If I suddenly stop, then both atherosclerosis and anemia will certainly begin. Why do I need it?

- And the family?

I have very few relatives. It just so happened. Many died, others left. It was necessary to flee from Georgia, Gamsakhurdia came to power - a terrible time began. Nationalism, banditry. People were stolen and raped. Many of my relatives and friends were killed… It was a hard time… My uncle lives in the USA. He is 88 years old, he is a member of the Great Patriotic War. Son Michael is now studying in New York, at the Liberal Arts College. Wife is in France. I visit her whenever possible on the weekend. I like being on the road. In addition, in Europe I have my own real estate business ...

I don't feel lonely. We are talking. Now there are many electronic devices for this. In these twenty years, I have become accustomed to this. My whole life is in the office. I come home literally for a few hours - to sleep. I get up and go back to work. Work is the main thing in my life.

Dossier

David Mikhailovich Yakobashvili

Born March 2, 1957 in Tbilisi (Georgia).
In 1992, he became a co-founder of the Metelitsa casino, one of the founders of the Wimm-Bill-Dann food company (from 2001 to 2010 - Chairman of the Board of Directors).
Since 2000 - Member of the Board of the RSPP, since June 2004 - Member of the Bureau of the Board.
In April 2001 he joined public association entrepreneurs "Business Russia".
Since April 2001 - Member of the Board of Directors of OAO Rosneft-Krasnodarneftegaz.
Since April 2001, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of OAO Ufamolagroprom.
Since May 2001 - Member of the Bureau of the Presidium of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC).
In 2010, he became chairman of the board of the Russian Union of Dairy Industry Enterprises.
Now he is a member of the Bureau of the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bioenergy Corporation.
Participates in the work of the community of manufacturers of branded trademarks"RusBrand", Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Russian-American Council of Business Cooperation.
It is a shareholder of Petrocas Energy Group, AFK Sistema, Bashneft.
The owner of a unique collection of ancient musical instruments.