How Tatarstan leads in Volga Federal District in number of leaders

Let us remind you that the special project 'Leaders of Realnoe Vremya' has recently finished on the pages of our publication: 32 finalists of the previous seasons of Leaders of Russia Contest answered philosophical questions in it.

The republic will be represented by tax specialists, military, businessmen, and officials in the finals

The list of Tatarstan representatives who passed through the regional semifinal sieve includes Zakir Abdrashitov, the head of the tax practice at ANP Zenit, Karen Dodonov, the deputy military prosecutor of the Republic of Tatarstan, Timur Kaydanny, the department head at GDC Services, Sergey Mironov, the head of the administration of the Kirovsky and Moscovsky districts of Kazan, Irek Sadykov, the managing director at VTB Bank, Nina Shimina, the chairperson of the Youth Parliament of the Republic of Tatarstan and the director of Tatarstan Mothers Society NGO, and Nikita Khilimonchik, the head of the legal service at Alabuga SEZ. A total of 42 people represented the republic in the semifinals.

Six participants from Bashkiria, four from Chuvashia, three from Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, two from Orenburg Oblast, Samara Oblast and the Republic of Mordovia, and one finalist from Perm Krai, Saratov Oblast, Penza Oblast, and the Republic of Mari El made it to the final of the presidential contest.

The final of the competition will traditionally be held in Sochi at the end of March, and until March 1, all participants need to hold and present their social project 'Heart of the Leader'. The participants will not get points for it because they initially have unequal starting opportunities, but it will be the last “barrier” stage before the final.

“I want Minnikhanov to become my mentor”

Nina Shimina, the chairperson of the Tatarstan Youth Parliament, director of Tatarstan Mothers Community NGO, told Realnoe Vremya that she is taking part in the competition for the second time, and last time she failed at the last stage — at distance testing. So this time she's decided to take revenge.

“I always use all the opportunities provided by the state. I heard that my friend in the previous convocation was the winner, and she immediately received a large number of job offers. The contest for me is an opportunity to get smart mentors, whom I need in my life. I might never have met them in real life, so I decided to find them through the contest. For me, this person is Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov.

When in the first year I failed in the semi-final, I wrote to myself in my diary: “Prepare for Leaders of Russia 2019-2020. I left for a vacation — read history, took the tutorials, and books. This time I succeeded at the distance stage with high scores and prepared for the next stage in the Youth Parliament and in Personnel Reserve of Russia. I called the winners of the previous years to give me advice on how to build the assessment strategy correctly. Based on this, I formed 20 points for myself on how to behave in the face-to-face stages. The strategy worked out — and here is the result.

When in the first year I failed in the semi-final, I wrote to myself in my diary: “Prepare for Leaders of Russia 2019-2020"

What social project will you present?

I have been developing a programme to support young mothers for a long time. I believe that we need a multi-functional centre for mothers, where, first, it would be possible to engage in educational programmes (young parents often do not know how to properly communicate with children), second, there should be psychological programmes (we now have 52 divorces per 100 marriages, and all of them occur in the first three years after the birth of a child), third, there should work free legal advice online, and fourth, charity programmes should operate there. We are already engaged in all this, including within the framework of the Youth Parliament.

How do you like the atmosphere at the contest and have you already communicated with your colleagues?

I was afraid that it would be much more difficult for women, but I don't think so. I was comfortable working in a team with men, plus women can use feminine wiles. We exchanged contacts with everyone. It was nice to see that the people who manage thousands of subordinates and whom you see on the other side of the screen, are the same as you in an informal setting, and perhaps, you are no worse than them.

And we had such a thing that everyone could send one card to one person at the wish. I had the largest number of postcards. What is more, they were people from different teams.

The contest showed that I have miscalculations with strategic planning, but after seeing the competitors and their capabilities, I realized my weaknesses and I will study the literature on this topic in the remaining month.

“I don't have the goal to win the competition, I am working on my human capital”

Irek Sadykov, the managing director for small business at VTB Bank in Tatarstan, shared his impressions with Realnoe Vremya:

Leaders of Russia Contest has become a new challenge for me. I won't be original here: every time I want to test my skills, understand how strong I am, and evaluate your capabilities. This prompted me to take part in the competition. The event itself was held at a very high level. Many people say that initially it is already known who will win, so I can say that everything is actually very honest, open and transparent.

About 300 people from different industries took part in the final: businessmen, industrialists, financiers, and managers who hold high positions in major international and federal companies. There was an open discussion with them, a good discussion, constructive discussion of cases (and they were very interesting and cool). At my previous job, I studied at an MBA school and can understand what group work, assessment, and case studies are. The competition level corresponds to international business schools.

I participated in the competition, not hoping that I would even reach the semifinals. I wanted to update my knowledge: we needed to pass history, geography, economics, and then — management skills. I don't have the goal to win the contest. First of all, it is valuable for me because I work out my human capital: now I have about 50-60 new contacts of people from all over the Volga Federal District. The main thing that I get from this competition for myself is not that I will be in some personnel reserve or take some positions — I have a very interesting job that I love. I believe that you can make people's lives and our society better in every sector, no matter where you work.”