Former Georgian Minister of Economy Kakha Bendukidze died in London as a political exile. The reason for his departure was a complication after the operation. During this period of his life, he was an opponent of the then-current political regime of this Caucasian state. He was called the “architect of economic reforms.” Kakha was the founder of the Georgian university, which now remains the most popular in the country.

Early years and education

Kakha was born in Tbilisi. His father Avtandil Domentievich taught at Tbilisi State University and was a famous mathematician. Rukhadze’s mother Juliet Akakievna was a cultural specialist and historian. Kakha graduated from Tbilisi high school. In 1977 - Faculty of Biology, Tbilisi State University. During his student years, the guy was the secretary of the faculty Komsomol bureau. He graduated from graduate school at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University in 1980. Then there was the defense of the dissertation. In the period from 1979 to 1989 he was a member of the CPSU. At different times, Bendukidze worked as a senior laboratory assistant and researcher, head of a laboratory either at the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology, or at the Institute of Biotechnology.

At the end of the 80s of the last century and until mid-2004, Kakha Avtandilovich was engaged in entrepreneurial activities in Russia. At the invitation of the then President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, he became the country's Minister of Economy. Until 2008, Bendukidze served as Georgian State Minister for Coordination of Economic Reforms. He was a liberal in the political and economic sphere, and was a professor at the Department of Institutional Economics at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Work in the Georgian government

His life credo was the motto “everything can be sold except conscience.” He carried out reforms of the civil service and the country's economy. In the period 2004-07, the World Bank recognized Georgia as the most reformed country in the world. In the ranking of countries where it is easier to do business, the country rose from 137th place to 11th. At the same time, it was ahead of such giants as France and Germany. While retired, Kakha continued to take an active part in the life of his native Georgia - he prepared to pass the Georgian Economic Freedom Act through parliament. When there was a reshuffle in the country's government in 2008, Bendukidze headed the government office. In 2009, he resigned and began investing in a charitable organization through the Knowledge Foundation, of which he was the founder. They transferred about 50 million US dollars, which went to support science and education of the younger generation. This Foundation also encouraged high quality scientific research.

The beginning of disgrace

But difficult times have come. In 2014, Bendukidze was summoned for questioning by the prosecutor's office as a witness. The case of “appropriation of state property” was considered here. He was suspected of appropriating through privatization the Agrarian University and the land that belonged to this educational institution for only 10% of their market value. So with the advent of the Georgian Dream government, persecution began. The university was first deprived of the opportunity to launch innovative technology education programs. And later they closed it completely.

Now it’s difficult to guess whether there was a possibility of Kakha Bendukidze’s arrest? His university was considered a threat, suspecting that it would train smart enemies who could be used against Ivanishvili in a critical situation. Therefore, Kakha did not wait for the worst-case scenario to develop - he went abroad without making loud, accusatory statements.

Family

Kakha Bendukidze has a daughter, Anastasia Goncharova, born in 1990. She bears her mother's last name. But his paternity had to be restored through court after Bendukidze’s death. And he had been married since 1999 to Natalya Zolotova, who had two sons of her own.

Kakha has a sister, Nunu, who is the owner of a Georgian construction company. She became more active with Kakha’s return to Georgia. Also, the company in Adjara purchased several tourist sites and hydroelectric power stations in the southern region of the country.

Last months of life and death

Those who saw and communicated with Kakha in the last months of his life are unanimous - he was not just angry, but very angry. He was furious that he had to abandon the main project of his life. But he saw no way out - the crazy billionaire who privatized Georgia made him an exile in his country.

Kakha Avtandilovich Bendukidze- entrepreneur, economist and politician, who became famous throughout the world thanks to his participation in reforms in Georgia. According to the World Bank's Doing Business report, under Bendukidze in 2004-2007, Georgia became the most reformed country in the world.

Citizenship: Georgia
Date and place of birth: April 20, 1956, Tbilisi (Georgia)
Education and academic degree: Master of Medicine from Tbilisi State University; Candidate of Biological Sciences (MSU)

Family and Children:

• Father: Avtandil Domentievich Bendukidze is a mathematician and teacher at Tbilisi State University.
• Mother: Juliet Akakievna Rukhadze is a historian and culturologist.
• Younger sister: Nunu Bendukidze is an entrepreneur who owns a construction company in Georgia.
• Wife: Natalya Zolotova is a journalist, employee of the Russian edition of Vogue magazine, formerly editor-in-chief of Domovoy magazine. Ph.D. in History of Arts.
• Daughter: Anastasia Goncharova - bears her mother's surname. Born on November 1, 1990, she graduated from King’s College of London in 2013.

Career:

• 1977 - graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Tbilisi State University;
• 1977-1980 - works as secretary of the Komsomol Bureau of the Faculty of Biology;
• 1980 - graduated from graduate school at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, receiving a Candidate of Biological Sciences degree;
• 1979-1989 - was a member of the CPSU;
• 1981-1985 - senior laboratory assistant, researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Pushchino (Moscow region);
• 1985-1990 - Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at the Institute of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Medical Industry;
• 1988 - began his entrepreneurial activity when, with a group of scientists, he created several cooperatives involved in the production of biochemicals for scientific research, and joint ventures specializing in the field of electronics.
• 1988 - created and headed a public organization with the right to commercial activity “Bioprocess”, which was engaged in the production of biotechnologies;
• 1990 - the public organization "Bioprocess" was transformed into JSC "Bioprocess";
• 1990 - participates in the creation of OJSC "People's Oil Investment and Industrial Euro-Asian Corporation - NIPEC";
• 1990-1992 - member of the board of directors of the NIPEC corporation;
• since 1992 - chief executive officer of the NIPEC corporation.
• 1992 - headed the board of directors of the Joint-Stock Commercial Industrial and Trade Bank (JSC Promtorgbank).
• 1993 - became one of the initiators of the creation of the Russian Business Round Table organization;
• 1994 - became a member of the Council for Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship under the Government of the Russian Federation, also became a member of the board of directors of the Almaz shipbuilding company;
• 1995 - became a member of the board of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Economic Policy and Support of Economic Structures
• since 1997 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Uralmash-Plants;
• since 1998 - General Director of the Uralmash-Izhora group of companies;
• 2001 - became a member of the Entrepreneurship Council under the Cabinet of Ministers of Mikhail Kasyanov. Member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, member of the board of the reform club “Interaction”, member of the club “Realists”;
• 2001-2004 - was vice-president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and headed the Committee on Tax and Budget Policy of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, first vice-president and chairman of the Board of General Directors of the Russian Union of Mechanical Engineers;
• 2004 - at the invitation of Mikheil Saakashvili, he became the Minister of Economy of Georgia;
• in December 2004 - left the post of Minister of Economy and became Minister for Coordination of Economic Reforms of Georgia;
• 2008 - headed the office of the Government of Georgia;
• 2009 - left public service and founded the Knowledge Foundation organization;
• 2014 - became a member of the Economic and Advisory Council under the Government of Ukraine at the invitation of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko;
• November 13, 2014 - died in London, where he arrived from Switzerland. Shortly before his death, he was treated at a cardiology clinic in Zurich, where he underwent heart surgery;
• November 22, 2014 - according to his wishes, he was buried in Tbilisi at the Kukia cemetery next to his mother.

Interests, hobbies:
main hobby is playing chess;
He was fond of freestyle wrestling and theater.

Quotes:

People about Bendukidze

Kakha left us, and as usually happens, even we, people who appreciated him during his lifetime, comprehended the real scale of this truly outstanding personality only after his death. But a full and in-depth assessment will probably still take time.

Kakha was unexpectedly appointed Minister of Economy of Georgia; most of the Georgian public received him with suspicion and antagonism. Unfortunately, many people still have this approach today. Accustomed to thinking in primitive stereotypes, our inhabitants could not imagine that in order to reach a high position as a successful multimillionaire, they could have other goals other than earning even more money. Unfortunately, this is often the case, and Georgian political reality, as a rule, confirms this, but in the case of Kakha, the matter was indeed different...

This finally became clear when Kakha Bendukidze, who had retired from politics, invested his own substantial funds in the cause of the future, in the development of higher education in Georgia, headed this business himself, and after only 2-3 years gave Georgian youth the opportunity to receive the best world-class university education. There is no need to be a great economist to understand that from a purely financial point of view, this investment by Kahe itself would not bring anything but expenses. However, many here did not believe in his selflessness, since here people often do not want to see a simple and understandable truth, and instead invent some intricate, conspiracy myths. Such a myth was invented almost immediately after Kakha’s arrival. The slogan of the myth was: “Bendukidze-Judas”, and the content is as follows: a famous oligarch came to Georgia to help the Saakashvili government sell Georgia to Russia and world freemasonry, and to profit from this.

Kakha himself treated this abuse and accusations with his characteristic charming humor. In general, humor is an inseparable companion to a strong and original intellect, and Kakha was generously rewarded with this talent. Along with other reasons, this is why he was always such a welcome guest on numerous television programs, and this property even more aroused the love of his friends, students, and many other people for him.

The phenomenon of Bendukidze lies in his biography. Kakha was a scientist by vocation, and in his youth he had a successful career in microbiology. We can safely say that if Soviet life had continued its slow course for another 10-15 years, Kakha would certainly have become a famous scientist. A radical mixture of the usual lifestyle and the emergence of new unexpected opportunities led him, like millions of Soviet citizens, into business. However, both in business and in his subsequent activities, Bendukidze remained an original-minded, creative scientist to the end. Meanwhile, any science, as Emmanuel Kant said, is a science only to the extent that it is mathematics. This deep thought best suits Kakha Bendukidze. As a true scientist, with his sharp mathematical intellect, Kakha in business, in government, and social activities always managed to bring the complex realities that arose before him to simple mathematical and logical models, remove all unnecessary things, expose their essence, and resolve insurmountable problems with bold, quick, and simple moves. problems for many. That is why his business activities in Russia are more reminiscent of the refined, simple chess games of Capablanca, who was at the zenith of his career, than the banal accumulation of money. Kakha was not one of the traditional Russian oligarchs. He also did not have the appropriate amount of capital. Despite this, he was an outstanding and very popular figure among the Russian business elite. This was explained by the fact that Bendukidze was busy not so much with accumulating money, but with creativity related to the new economic realities. He was socially very active, and generously enriched Russian political and economic life with new, original and deep ideas. It is well known, for example, that he is the author of the Russian law “On Currency Regulation,” which is successfully operating to this day. It is also no coincidence that before moving to Georgia, Kakha was vice-president of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Russia for many years. They say that if Putin had believed the advice in 2000 and appointed Kakha Bendukidze instead of German Gref as Minister of Economy, today Russia would have a healthy, efficient, and rapidly growing economy. Russia was unlucky. But Georgia was lucky.

In Georgia, Kakha Bendukidze soon became known as a rude, arrogant cynic. His opponents in the government and public discussions often received quite painful blows from him, and sometimes Kakha did not avoid using obscene language. Here we are dealing with a certain paradox, since to those whom he respected he was extremely correct, and often in non-discussion situations showed amazing shyness, modesty and warmth. Moreover, having been brought up in a family of sophisticated, learned intellectuals, he a priori could not be an obscene person. The solution to this paradox should again be sought in the particularities of his mind. Kakha, with his clear logic and penetrating mind of a scientist, saw reality and the right paths so quickly and clearly in comparison with others that, due to his temperament and great love for his homeland, he was terribly irritated by the mental dullness and unscrupulousness of others that harmed the country and inhibited him. Temperament and emotionality were in fact an inseparable part of Kakha’s being. His life is characterized by rare, outstanding activity. The physical dimensions and clumsiness of Kakha, which he treated with irony, and which caused a warm smile in his friends and fans, was compensated a hundredfold by the hyperactivity of his spiritual, intellectual life, and emotional charge. That is why his activities are so diverse and voluminous, and most importantly, he really did things with love.

Georgia has seen many thieves, corrupt officials, robbers and degenerates, including in high positions. It was due to their “merit” that many disasters occurred that befell our people. Many of them sometimes still preach from television screens in pompous phrases. Fortunately, the Lord does not leave us, and sends us outstanding people with a clear mind and a patriotic heart, who do not allow the country to perish, and, thanks to their talent and love for the country, guide it to a better future.

It was one of these people that was Kakha Bendukidze, who headed the Georgian economy just when it was almost completely in a swamp. At that moment, in order to gain air in order to jump to the surface, Georgia needed a person with precisely such radical and courageous thinking. Kakha's apparent libertarianism was the result of the scientist's already mentioned ability to reduce the complex to the simple. Taking the reins of coordinating the Georgian economy and Georgian reforms in his hands, he chose a course of maximalist steps towards reforms of the country. His ideas are well known, such as, for example, “everything should be sold except conscience” and reducing the role of the state to a minimum. In the end, this was justified, as evidenced by the country’s economic and other indicators, but any radicalism, as a rule, is accompanied by its characteristic mistakes. Kakha also made mistakes. I think he was too carried away by the idea of ​​the primacy of economic expediency, and forgot that an effective theoretical scheme can be politically unjustifiably dangerous. I do not fully share Bendukidze’s position that there are no strategic facilities in the country. Undoubtedly, Bendukidze’s idea to sell the main gas pipeline coming from Russia was a mistake. True, the funds received from the sale of this gas pipeline were needed like air by Georgia at that time, but today it is even clearer that from the point of view of the export of Iranian gas, it is of fundamental importance that this strategic object remain in the hands of the Georgian state, and it is very good that this wrong step was not then was made.

However, it should be said that Bendukidze’s mistakes and weaknesses are a continuation of his extremely positive activities and strengths, and here, of course, the positive immeasurably prevails over the negative. In praise of Kakha, it should be said that he, as a man of a lively, critical mind, did not stand still. I think he reworked a lot and rethought it in a new way in his mind, since in his later speeches and publications radicalism sufficiently decreased, and state thinking rose to a noticeably higher level.

Kakha stood out sharply in the government and in general in Georgian society. This was expressed in the fact that he was inimitably erudite and could competently discuss many different issues. At the same time, he had the ability to assimilate large amounts of information amazingly quickly. Eyewitnesses can confirm what an amazing spectacle Kakha Bendukidze’s participation in government meetings and other government meetings was. He came to meetings accompanied by his young, talented team, whose members closely followed the progress of the discussion. He studied in detail the huge folder with more than a hundred different questions distributed a day or two before the meeting. Until Kakha was a constant participant in the meetings for several years, not a single minister or other official had the opportunity to go over the issue superficially, to “plant” something, or to come unprepared. He, as a rule, sat at the government round table on a specially designed chair of a special size, and at first glance was completely immersed in his large mobile phone with computer functions, in which he carried out some operations (as it turned out later, he played with colored balls). Kakha’s aloofness during the meeting was deliberate. In the middle of a speech, he often asked the speaker such “failing” questions, or drew attention to such an unexpected detail, that the direction of the question took a radically different turn. Who can say how many mistakes were avoided then, and how many processes took a new, positive direction. Yes, this man really suited his position as reform coordinator in the best possible way. Almost all successful affairs and undertakings during the years of intensive reforms carried out in Georgia have had the contribution of Kakha Bendukidze.

Kakha’s life after leaving public office is no less interesting. It was at this time that many saw the real face of this outstanding personality. It seems that the insatiable oligarch carried out the program of “selling” Georgia, and the new millions, accumulated in the opinion of some, were to be used for subsequent enrichment. Instead, he established the “Knowledge Foundation”, and one after the other the Free and Agrarian Universities. Bendukidze spends his own enormous financial resources on investing in the future of the country without any prospect of financial profit. However, besides the money, if not more, then significant was the investment of Kakha’s intellect in this huge undertaking. Kakha calculated this matter so correctly and deeply that we all became eyewitnesses of a real miracle: in just 2-3 years, our country received two world-class universities, the best in Georgia. I don’t know what grateful posterity will do to perpetuate the name of Kakha Bendukidze, but Kakha himself has already done it, he erected the best monument to himself in the form of the Free and Agrarian Universities.

The last and, unfortunately, very short period of Bendukidze’s life and work is associated with Ukraine. A famous Georgian reformer was invited by an endangered friendly state to help reform Ukraine. Kakha Bendukidze became a member of the economic and advisory council of the Ukrainian government. Kakha’s assessments of the country’s situation and advice made at public events in Ukraine turned out to be very sharp and painful for society, but it was Kakha’s usual direct style and characteristic ability to expose reality that gave Ukrainians the opportunity to objectively see the situation of their country. Kakha very soon became a very popular figure in Ukraine. Bendukidze’s master classes in Ukraine, I think, will occupy a very important place in textbooks on economic and state management. The Ukrainian people had high hopes for Bendukidze. Options for his appointment to various important positions were considered. Unfortunately, these plans were not destined to come true. Despite this, officials and representatives of the public of this country unanimously note that in this short time Kakha still managed to do a lot, he laid the foundation for the correct course of reforming Ukraine, outlined the right paths and tasks, and as noted, the Ukrainian government is carrying out reforms precisely according to advice from Bendukidze.

Kakha’s life was interrupted abroad. In recent months, he had been telling friends that he would have to leave the country as he was being arrested. The persecution began back in 2013, when, in front of an astonished public, the Georgian Ministry of Education suspended the license of the country’s most successful and prestigious agricultural university, founded by Bendukidze. The minister and the government then made a fool of themselves, they had to retreat, but, unfortunately, they did not stop the persecution of the outstanding Georgian figure. It’s funny, but the world-famous Georgian prosecutor’s office began to look for corruption tentacles in Kakha’s case, in which he invested a large amount of his own money. Kakha was forced to flee Georgia...

The Georgian authorities considered that Kakha Bendukidze was dangerous for them. Thus, she declared her incompatibility with talent, progress, and development. The story of Bendukidze’s persecution is so shameful and sickening that there is no desire to talk much about it. I must say one thing: a regime that considers people like Bendukidze dangerous for itself is discredited and doomed. Kakha’s bright name will not suffer from this. Woe to those who record their name in history by persecuting the best sons of their own country.

In one of his television programs, Kakha called the following triad the driving force of the Georgian economy: “Labor, knowledge, and freedom.” There really is no better way to say it, and this formula actually expresses his personality with amazing accuracy. His whole life was just a manifestation of labor, knowledge, and freedom. A country that can produce such sons will definitely win.

Quotes from Bendukidze

“I don’t see anything wrong with politics. It's like another stage of development. He was engaged in science, engaged in business, and began to engage in government activities. Moreover, since I am not very strapped for money, and I don’t have a lot of expenses, I would be a good official. Again, there is no need to steal.”

“If we mean people who radically changed their lives, went through a kind of reincarnation, who did one thing and are now doing something else, then I am a new Russian. Just like a new Russian is a person who used to teach and is now involved in politics...” Kommersant, June 22, 1996

“I have a theory that there are two currencies in use in Russia at the same time - administrative and normal. There are issues that can only be resolved with money, and there are issues that can only be resolved with administrative resources. At the same time, administrative resources outside the country do not work..." Vedomosti, June 26, 2002

“You cannot turn a commercial organization into a center of political resistance. Its task is to make money, and [to resist] is a function of political structures. It’s wrong to be involved in business and politics at the same time.”

“The main direction in the movement of the Russian bureaucracy is towards business. Previously, someone gave a bribe to resolve the issue. And now the official resolves issues for his own business.” Vedomosti, February 5, 2004

“I spent more time in Russia than in Georgia. I was 20 years old when I came to Russia. And now I’m 48. I would like everything to be fine everywhere. But I especially feel this in relation to Russia and Georgia. I don’t think that I did everything in Russia; another thing is that at some point I realized that I personally was not interested in doing business all my life.” Vedomosti, June 2, 2004

“There are two languages ​​for communicating with the state - elections and taxes. We elect certain people to power, and the government determines what taxes we should pay. It turns out this kind of dialogue: we speak the language of elections, and they speak to us in the language of taxes. When dialogue is successful, society prospers.” “Itogi”, December 3, 2002

“I would deduce such a rule - if you want, call it Bendukidze’s rule: if in some industry vertical integration is beneficial, it means that in this industry market relations are very far from perfect. In other words, in this segment of the economy there is an excessive presence of the state, which prevents companies from operating.” "Profile", February 18, 2008

“Everything you see around you is the result of people’s activity. Not states, but people."

“If the NBU did not exist in its current form, then Ukraine would be at least twice as rich.”

“If they scold you, it means you live an interesting life; if they threaten you, it means you are dangerous for them; if you are still alive, it means they haven’t won.”

“There is one funny person in Russia. The president. Conducted an experiment. He introduced a “fine for corruption.” I don't understand what this is. “If you steal it, share it with a friend!”, so to speak.”

“I created a non-profit university, although I am a big supporter of for-profit. And I believe that education is a business that is greatly spoiled by government intervention. Why not free? Because education is not a gift. Lack of payment completely kills motivation.”

Notes:

• fluent in Georgian, Russian and English;
• loved horses and travel.

Knowledge Foundation:

in 2007, Kakha Avtandilovich organized the Knowledge Foundation, an organization whose main goal is to support education and science in Georgia. The Knowledge Foundation is the founder of the Tbilisi Free University and the Agrarian University of Georgia. The goal of the Foundation is to provide the young generation with world-class higher education and encourage high quality scientific research in the country. For this purpose, the Knowledge Fund invests in the future generation of Georgia, including in financing student education, as well as the educational and research infrastructure of the Free and Agrarian Universities.

Overall, the Knowledge Fund has invested more than 50 million US dollars in higher education. This is an unprecedented amount of private capital in education on a Georgian scale. Today d The director of the Foundation is Tamar Kovziridze.

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Logo of the Free University of Georgia Kakha Bendukidze in his office at the University Campus. Kakha Bendukidze Kakha at the lecture Hall of the Free University of Georgia

Logo of the Agrarian University Auditorium at the Kakha Agrarian University at the university Library of the Free University

Bibliography:

• Kakha Bendukidze, Mikheil Saakashvili (2014). “The Great Rebirth: Lessons from the Victory of Capitalism over Communism

Media library

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Kakha and V.V. Putin Book about Bendukidze Kakha with Putin

The results of privatization in Russia still cause fierce debate. Many argue that the very method of carrying it out was specifically chosen so that state property would fall for next to nothing into the hands of shadow business tycoons who began amassing their “gray” capital during the years of perestroika or even earlier. Others, while defending the revolutionary changes carried out, argue on the contrary that there was no other way in the conditions of post-communist Russia. It is in this way that the bourgeois class, which has been absent for 70 years, should be born.

It is generally accepted that her fathers were two young economists of the “new” wave, Yegor Gaidar and Anatoly Chubais. Now the overwhelming majority treats the late Gaidar as a crazy armchair theorist who tried to put into practice delusional ideas borrowed from Western libertarian economists. The ideologist of economic reforms had nothing to his name except a few articles. The living Chubais, who considers himself an effective manager, after privatization did not show himself in any special way in his practical activities, except for the state default of 1998 and the leadership of the natural monopoly of RAO UES, which fell into his hands in a fully formed form, as a legacy of Soviet times.

Russian nanotechnology, which he is now persistently working on, has become a reason for constant ridicule and the topic of writing a lot of jokes. However, among the ardent supporters of the privatization were people who, having perfectly understood its mechanism, took over industrial enterprises and were able, in difficult times, not only to maintain production, but also to adapt it to new economic conditions, for which they were recognized as effective reformers. Of course, they used hidden mechanisms inherent in the procedure for transferring state property into private hands, sometimes deliberately on the verge of a foul, and sometimes breaking the law. Much was forgiven to them at that time. End justifies the means.

One of the new Russian “Putilovs” is the purebred Georgian Kakha Bendukidze, a major Russian industrialist. He then successfully applied the experience he gained in Russia in the 90s in his homeland of Georgia. It was thanks to him that the Transcaucasian country received the title of “the most effectively reformed country in the world” in the mid-2000s. After the Ukrainian Euromaidan, Bendukidze was invited to Ukraine to repeat the economic miracle he had created once again, but his untimely death prevented him from successfully following the path he knew well.

Kakha Bendukidze was born in Tbilisi in 1956 into an intelligent family of scientists. My father studied mathematics, and my mother studied history. Their son chose biology for himself. He graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Tbilisi State University in 1977. The graduate began working as an ordinary employee at a research institute, working on the problems of molecular genetics. In science, Bendukidze experienced the first success in his life. Soon he became a candidate of biological sciences.

When cooperatives began to open en masse in the country, the young scientist took advantage of the opportunity provided to fully realize his personal potential and used it to more quickly introduce biotechnology achievements into production. The first cooperative he created was engaged in the supply of critically scarce biochemical materials. Along the way, Bendukidze mastered the very profitable market of consumer and industrial electronics, the income from which fueled his main knowledge-intensive activities. The result of the efforts of the enterprising Georgian was the formation of Bioprocess JSC, the very name of which indicates the continuation of the chosen profile of activity.

Kakha Bendukidze turned out to have a surprisingly broad outlook. He did not confine himself to the biological science he knew well. Bendukidze was one of the first in Russia to realize the enormous potential of entering the banking and oil markets. In 1992, he headed the board of directors of JSC Promtorgbank, and then initiated the creation of the People's Petroleum Investment and Industrial Eurasian Corporation (NIPEC). Its owners were JSC Bioprocess, JV Majess, in which Bendukidze also had a share, and the Moscow Oil Exchange, through which almost all trade in oil and petroleum products took place at that time.

The controlling stake in NIPEC was held by Bioprocess. The bank and oil, together with biotechnology, turned out to be not the businessman’s ultimate goal, but only a step towards conquering Russian mechanical engineering. In 1994, Kakha Bendukidze was already a member of the board of directors of the large shipbuilding company Almaz. After her, he took the same positions at Uralmash-Zavody JSC and another shipbuilding company, Krasnoye Sormovo, in Nizhny Novgorod. It took less than one year to conquer Uralmash. In March 1993, Bendukidze had only 18% of the shares in his wallet, and by December it was already 58.5%. In 1996, it was the turn of the St. Petersburg Izhora Plants. Having added several industry research institutes and design bureaus to the assembled industrial core, Kakha Bendukidze became the head of the giant Russian mechanical engineering holding company United Machine-Building Plants. His official title was now General Manager.

Bendukidze’s strategy for acquiring property was very simple and stemmed from the opportunities provided by privatization “according to Gaidar and Chubais.” His “Bioprocess” has always actively participated in check auctions, and Bendukidze’s structures actively bought large packages of vouchers. In those years, there were buyers of vouchers everywhere in the markets, who purchased them from the population, sometimes for the price of a couple of bottles of vodka. Securities were condensed in investment companies and then bought out by “business sharks.”

At first, Bendukizhze concentrated on the Ural and Volga regions, where he honed his tactics at smaller enterprises. In this way, he entered into the share of the companies of the Sverdlovsk region "Khrompik" and "Uralchimplast", as well as "Compteks" in Perm. By his own admission, buying such a giant as Uralmash turned out to be much easier than buying a store in Moscow. He himself estimated the amount of the transaction for the acquisition of Uralmash at a thousandth of a percent of its actual value.

Bendukidze was fascinated by mechanical engineering. He understood that his future as a major entrepreneur was connected not with intermediary operations, but with the real sector of the economy, producing tangible and necessary products. Not resting on his laurels, Kakha Bendukidze carefully monitored trends in domestic mechanical engineering. By the end of the 90s, there was only one enterprise left in Russia that produced drilling equipment for the oil and gas industry. It turned out to be the Volgograd Drilling Equipment Plant. Bendukidze perfectly understood the importance of the position of the monopolist that this plant was. He tried to include it in his engineering empire, but time passed and the rules of the game changed somewhat. The proposal to the owners to directly sell the asset did not have the desired reaction. Then he began to look for workarounds.

He needed a controlling stake in the plant like air, but he had only 40% in his hands. To solve the problem in his favor, Bendukidze hired a consulting firm, MINFIN, specializing in property redistribution. He gave her all the shares. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance joined the board of directors of the Volgograd company and began to systematically rock the “boat” in an attempt to take possession of the coveted controlling stake. The owners resisted as best they could. A protracted series of arbitration courts began. It is not known how the massive attack would have ended, but Bendukidze unexpectedly lost interest in Russian mechanical engineering and Russia in general. He was called home to Georgia.

In 2004, Kakha Bendukidze resigned as general director of the United Machine-Building Plants holding and left for Tbilisi. President Mikheil Saakashvili offered him the post of Minister of Economy, and then he became State Minister for Coordination of Economic Reforms. During the second term of Saakashvili's presidency, Bendukidze headed the office of the Government of Georgia for one year. In 2009, he retired from public service, having won the laurels of the greatest Georgian practical economist.

After new Georgian political leaders come to power, he will still have to go for interrogations to the country's Prosecutor General's Office. His status in the investigation into the misappropriation of state property will be determined as a witness. An expert in privatization rules, Kakha Bendukidze managed to privatize the building of the Agrarian University of Georgia and a plot of land for 10% of the real cost.

Bendukidze's legacy

In 2014, he will be called to Ukraine to lift the Ukrainian economy out of a terrible crisis. Illness will interfere with the work that has begun. In Zurich he will undergo serious heart surgery. He will spend a rehabilitation period in London, where he will die quite unexpectedly. The latest scandal surrounding his name will be the procedure for determining paternity by DNA of a certain Anastasia Goncharova. The study will show that Kakha is the father of an illegitimate daughter. He officially consolidated his relationship with his legal wife Natalya Zolotova in Russia in 1999, but the couple had no children.

Kakha Bendukidze: a man in history

1956 April 20 born in Tbilisi. Father, Avtandil, is an associate professor at the Polytechnic Institute, later a professor of mathematics at Tbilisi University, mother, Juliet Rukhadze, is a historian and ethnographer.

1972 Entered the Faculty of Biology at Tbilisi State University (TSU).

1975 In his fourth year he became secretary of the Komsomol bureau of the faculty.

1977 After graduating from TSU, he entered graduate school at Moscow State University.

1979 Joined the CPSU.

1980 Completed postgraduate studies. I didn’t work for nine months, I lived in the dormitory of the Main building of Moscow State University under someone else’s name.

1981 June 22 was hired as a senior laboratory assistant at the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Pushchino.

1985 Bendukidze is denied permission to go on a business trip to Hungary. “Somehow everything turned upside down for me, and I simply began to hate the Soviet Union.”

1986 Headed a laboratory at the NPO Biotechnologies of the Ministry of Medical and Microbiological Industry and moved to Moscow.

1987 Started doing business. “Until 1987, before the formation of such a prototype of the Bioprocess, I lived very modestly... And in 1987, on biosynthesis, I earned seven to eight thousand rubles a month... Then, under the USSR, it was something like “ know-how“: we entered into contracts with scientific institutes, and its employees, drinking tea during the working day, in their free time, in the evening, worked for us. We paid them a salary equal to another salary. Everyone was happy” (Kommersant-Dengi. 1996. October 13). The “prototype” was the public association “Bioprocess”, which had the right to economic activity.

1988 The public association “Bioprocess” was transformed into a cooperative. Bendukidze's partners are Mikhail Mogutov and Mikhail Yuryev.

1989 On the night of April 9, internal troops and the army dispersed a rally near the Georgian government building in Tbilisi: 19 killed, several hundred wounded. Bendukidze left the CPSU.

1990 On October 28, the first semi-free parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. First place with 54% of the votes was taken by the independence-oriented Round Table – Free Georgia bloc. The communists received 30% of the votes. Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of Georgia.

Bioprocess became a joint stock company. Bendukidze is the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

1991 On December 22, a coup d'état began in Georgia, as a result of which Gamsakhurdia was forced to flee Tbilisi in January. On December 25, the Soviet Union was dissolved.

Bioprocess, together with the Moscow Oil Exchange, created the People's Petroleum Investment and Industrial Euro-Asian Corporation (NIPEC). Bendukidze joined the board of directors of NIPEC.

1992 An open subscription for NIPEC shares was carried out. The controlling stake remained in the hands of Bioprocess and the Soviet-Lebanese joint venture Majess under the leadership of Mikhail Mogutov.

Together with Konstantin Zatulin, Mark Masarsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Ivan Kivelidi, Vladimir Gusinsky, Vladimir Vinogradov and Yuri Milyukov, Bendukidze founded the group “Entrepreneurial Political Initiative - 92”.

1993 In May, Bioprocess acquired 18% of Uralmash at a check auction. Bendukidze became the chief manager of NIPEC.

He joined the Council for Industrial Policy under the Russian government and took part in the Constitutional Conference that developed the new Russian Constitution. He unsuccessfully ran for the State Duma from the business bloc “Preobrazhenie” - the bloc did not collect the number of signatures required for registration.

1994 Bioprocess-NIPEC Group continued to participate in voucher privatization. Bendukidze headed the board of directors of the Almaz shipbuilding company. Death of father, Avtandil Bendukidze.

1995 Bendukidze’s structures bought the Tomsk Petrochemical Plant (sold to the Siberian Chemical Plant in 1997). Bendukidze joined the presidium of the Russian Business Round Table.

1996 Bendukidze signed a statement by the Presidium of the Russian Business Roundtable in support of the election of Boris Yeltsin as President of Russia for a second term.

The Ural Machine-Building Plants (UMZ) company was created.

1997 Bendukidze headed the board of directors of UMP. UMP conducted a placement of shares among foreign investors.

Together with other leaders of the CBD, Bendukidze demanded that the government eliminate the system of authorized banks and carry out tax reform.

1998 Bendukidze - General Director of UMP. The company placed American Depository Receipts (ADR) on Western exchanges. UMP included Izhora Plants.

1999 Division of assets with Mikhail Mogutov. Bendukidze's assets in heavy engineering are being transferred.

2000 UMP was renamed “United Machine-Building Plants (Uralmash-Izhora Group)” (OMZ). On July 10, Uralmash General Director Oleg Belonenko was shot along with his driver in Yekaterinburg (the murder remained unsolved). The board of directors of the company appointed Bendukidze as the new general director.

In October, Bendukidze joined the bureau of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and headed its committee on tax and budget policy.

2001 “Our goal is to become an international company,” Bendukidze wrote in OMZ’s 2001 annual report. OMZ bought the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, NPO Burovaya Tekhnika and the Upet oil drilling equipment plant in Romania.

2002 OMZ acquired four design bureaus in the former USSR and the engineering company Friede & Goldman Ltd (Houston, USA).

In March, Bendukidze took part in the “cooperative of oligarchs” that financed the independent television channel TVS (7.5%), but subsequently distanced himself from its activities.

2003 In January, OMZ acquired a 20% stake in Atomstroyexport (specializing in the supply of equipment for foreign nuclear power plants) and a 51% stake in the engineering company Zarubezhenergoproekt. In December, Bendukidze and Vladimir Potanin agreed on the merger of OMZ and Power Machines, as a result of which the former was to receive 15%, and the latter - 35% of the shares of the merged company (the deal fell apart in the summer of next year). At the instigation of Bendukidze, Russia adopted a new law on currency regulation, which established a more liberal regime for cross-border capital movements.

2004 In May, Bendukidze took part in a meeting of Russian entrepreneurs with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and received an offer to head the Georgian Ministry of Economy. On June 1, Bendukidze became a minister, and in December he was promoted and received the position of state minister - coordinator of structural and economic reforms in all ministries and departments of Georgia.

2005 On February 3, Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania died. The new prime minister is Zurab Nogaideli. In March, a radical reform of the licensing system was launched, as a result of which the number of licenses was reduced by 85%.

On May 30, Sergei Lavrov and Salome Zurabishvili approved a schedule for the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Adjara and Akhalkalaki - the process was to be completed by the end of 2008.

In November, Bendukidze sold his stake in OMZ to Gazprombank.

2006 Explosions on two main gas pipelines left Georgia without heat in the midst of frost. The opposition demanded the resignation of Bendukidze, “a pawn in the hands of Moscow.” In September, a spy scandal erupted: after the detention of four GRU officers in Georgia, Russia introduced a transport blockade and trade embargo, blocked money transfers to Georgia, and started a hunt for Georgian immigrants. Bendukidze and his team are preparing a radical reform of the health care system, which will be carried out in 2007–2009.

2007 Political crisis in Georgia.

On November 1, the Nogaideli government resigned. On November 7, police using water cannons dispersed a demonstration near parliament and occupied the office of the Imedi television channel, which was owned by an opponent of the president, Badri Patarkatsishvili. On November 22, Lado Gurgenidze became the new prime minister of Georgia, and on November 25, Saakashvili resigned in order to take part in early presidential elections.

The Knowledge Fund created by Bendukidze acquired the Tbilisi European School of Management (ESM). In December, the Free University of Tbilisi was created on the basis of ESM and the Tbilisi Institute of Asia and Africa.

The five-day Russian-Georgian war in August ended with the Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On October 27, Gurgenidze resigned.

2011 Knowledge Fund bought the Agrarian University in Tbilisi from the state.

The Georgian parliament passed the Economic Freedom Act, which limits the limits of government deficits and makes it more difficult to impose new taxes. The first version of the document was prepared in the fall of 2009 by Bendukidze, his “right hand” Vato Lezhava and ex-Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze.

2012 The radical opposition bloc Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections; the main sponsor of the Dream, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, became prime minister. Bendukidze's mother, Juliet Rukhadze, died.

2013 The new Georgian authorities arrested one of the key members of Saakashvili’s team - former Minister of Internal Affairs and Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili. In January 2014, following two trials, he was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. In early spring, the Ministry of Education attempted to block the activities of the Agrarian University, taking away its accreditation (it was soon restored).

2014 After the victory of Maidan, Bendukidze began to regularly visit Ukraine, advising the ministers of the transitional government. In July he left Georgia, fearing arrest. On November 13 he died in a London hotel. The diagnosis is heart failure.

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"Biography"

Born in Tbilisi. Father - Avtandil Domentievich Bendukidze - mathematician, teacher at Tbilisi State University, mother - Juliet Akakievna Rukhadze - historian and cultural scientist. Graduated from secondary school No. 55 in Tbilisi.

"Companies"

"News"

How, when and in what country will Mikheil Saakashvili make his presence known now?

Andriy Okara: First of all, (Petr) Poroshenko. Initially, the idea of ​​inviting a foreigner to some important political positions was worked out for a specific person, namely Kakha Bendukidze. And there was talk about whether Kakha Bendukidze could be the Prime Minister of Ukraine or not, or could be a Deputy Prime Minister or someone else, i.e. a serious figure, because his experience of economic reforms in Georgia in Ukraine was rated very highly. But Saakashvili was invited. And it turned out that defeating the Odessa mafia is more difficult than reforming the whole of Georgia.

Kakha Bendukidze's daughter got married

Kakha Bendukidze died on November 13, 2014 in London. According to the examination, the cause of death of the 58-year-old entrepreneur was heart failure after surgery.

Impossible Kakha. Why Georgian reforms are not for us

Kakha Bendukidze did not have some secret that he whispered in the ears of the chosen ones. All his recommendations for creating an effective economy are described in detail, take it and act. But for this, the authorities need literally a couple of things, which are in terrible short supply in Ukraine.

Muskhelishvili: many of Saakashvili-Bendukidze’s reforms still have a painful impact on Georgia

— It is known that a relatively good period under Saakashvili’s rule occurred between 2004 and 2008. It was during those times that Kakha Bendukidze was alive. What do you think was his role in these reforms?

— I wouldn’t call this period good. But, yes, what I’m saying is Kakha Bendukidze, this is exactly the policy that, I think, was wrong. But, again, Ukrainians must decide for themselves. Because this is a political issue. Some people think this economic policy is correct, others think it’s wrong. In a normal democracy, this should be discussed and acted upon with reason. But I don’t consider Bendukidze and this period to be good. I think that many of the reforms that were carried out in that period still have such a painful impact on the Georgian economy, it is so difficult to overcome them, because this ideology, this whole approach - it is so rooted in the media, in society, in politics etc., that now we are struggling with the consequences with great difficulty. And I think this will take years.

Kakha Bendukidze: “Stop feeling sorry for individuals - feel sorry for Ukraine”

“FACTS” offers readers excerpts from a lecture by the famous Georgian reformer

In 2004, at the invitation of Mikheil Saakashvili, who was then the president of Georgia, Kakha Bendukidze joined the government. Until 2008, he worked as Minister of State for Coordination of Economic Reforms. The Georgian reformer tried to pass on his invaluable experience to the Ukrainians. There were rumors that Kakha Avtandilovich, who has been a member of the Economic and Advisory Council under the Government of Ukraine since May of this year, could become a member of the new Cabinet of Ministers. However, on November 13, shortly after undergoing heart surgery, Bendukidze died in London and was buried in Tbilisi.

Kakha Bendukidze: “If you don’t carry out reforms, Putin will carry them out”

“FACTS” continues to introduce readers to fragments of lectures by the famous Georgian reformer

Kakha Bendukidze, former Georgian Minister of State for Coordination of Economic Reforms, really wanted to help our country become successful. But, alas, his plans were not destined to come true. Kakha Bendukidze died suddenly on November 13...