Biography:
Aman Tuleyev was born on May, 13, 1944 in Krasnovodsk in Turkmen SSR. In 1961 he entered Tikhoretsk railway vocational college, graduating with honours in 1964. After graduation he was sent to work in Siberia where he was in charge of Mundybash station of West-Siberian railway. In 1966-1969 he served in engineer general service troops. In 1969 he returned to Mundybash where he became chief of station. At the same time he studied at Novosibirsk Institute of Railway Transport Engineers and graduated from it in 1973.
In 1974 he was appointed head of the railway station Mezhdurechensk.
In 1978 he was deputy head of the Novokuznetsk branch of the railway.
In 1981 he was head of the Novokuznetsk branch of the railway.
In 1985 he transferred to party work and became head of the Department of Transport and Communications of the Kemerovo regional committee of the CPSU.
In 1988 he was appointed head of the Kemerovo Railway.
In 1990-1993 he was people's deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.
In 1994-1996 he was chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Kemerovo region and member of the Council of Federation.
On August, 22, 1996 he was appointed the Russian Federation Minister of cooperation with the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Since 1997 he has been governor of the Kemerovo region.
Awards
The Order of Merit for the Fatherland, III degree (2008)
The Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree (2003)
Medal of Honour (1999)
Honourary Certificate of the President of the Russian Federation (2008)
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, V degree (Ukraine, 2004)
Order of the Dostyk, II degree (Kazakhstan)
The Order of Friendship of Peoples (Belarus, (2002)
Order of the Polar Star (Mongolia)
Order of St. Sergius, II degree (Russian Orthodox Church)
Order of St. Daniel of Moscow, II degree (Russian Orthodox Church)
Order of Valour of Kuzbass (2001)
Commemorative medal Astana (Kazakhstan)
Medal 15 years anniversary of the Diocese of Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo Region)
Honourary railway man
Honourary Citizen of Kemerovo Oblast
Badge of Merit for the Tomsk Region (2004)
Honourary citizen of Novokuznetsk
Honourary Citizen of Mezhdurechensk
Honourary Citizen Tashtagol
Honourary Citizen of Kemerovo
Tuleyev is doctor of political sciences (thesis on "Political Leadership: regional specificity and mechanisms of implementation"); Academician of International Informatization Academy, Honoгrary Professor at the Academy of Applied Sciences. He is the founder of the Regional Charitable Foundation Pomoshch (Russian for “help”) and the public Charitable Foundation Semipalatinsk sled (sled is Russian for “footprint”). In 1991, 1996 and 2000 he ran for presidency of Russia.
He is author of numerous publications in the periodical press. He published several books: Long Echo of the Coup in 1992, Power in the Hands of a Man…and a Man in the Hands of the Authorities in 1993; The Crippled Lines of Life ... (public lectures on sociology) in 1993, Price of Illusions in 1995; Homeland, my Pain in 1995; Judge for yourselves in 1996 and Overcoming in 2009.
According to financial statements, in 2010 Tuleyev earned 2.85 million rubles, of which his salary was about 1.8 million rubles and his pension amounted to a little less than 185.000 rubles. In addition, Tuleyev received more than 550.000 rubles for the title of honourary citizen of the Kemerovo region, Promyshlennovsky area, and the cities of Mezhdurechensk, Tashtagol, Novokuznetsk, and Kemerovo. It was stressed that the governor handed these funds to the poor and orphaned students.
Tuleyev is married. The Tuleyevs had two sons. The elder son, Dmitry Amanovich, is a businessman. The younger son, Andrey Amanovich, died in a car accident in 1998. The couple has two grandchildren: Andrey Dmitievich Tuleyev and Stanislav Andreyevich Tuleyev.
Source: Wikipedia
Dossier:
In 1999-2001 there was a conflict between Tuleyev and financial-industrial group Metallurgic Investment Company (MIC), headed by Mikhail Zhivilo. In 1996 MIC won the tender for external management of the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Combine (KMC) and in May 1999 the company claimed that there was a need for KMC bankruptcy procedures. After that MIC intended to buy the. Tuleyev strongly opposed it. Using all his connections, by December 1999 he successfully pushed for MIC leaving KMC, and later for driving the company out of all the companies in the region.
On August, 10, 2000 in Moscow the FSB officers arrested Aleksander Tikhonov, four-time Olympic champion in biathlon, the president of the Russian Biathlon Union. He and his younger brother Victor, arrested on the same day, were accused of preparing attacks on Tuleyev. According to investigators, the customer of the failed assassination was Zhivilo, who thus wanted to take revenge on the governor for ousting of the company from the KMC and the Kuzbass.
Source: Utro.Ru, 19 May 2000
In August 2002 Novosibirsk regional court sentenced Viktor Tikhonov to four years in prison under Articles 33 and 277 of the Criminal Code (preparing to murder). In August 2004, after serving the term (including two years in remand prison), he was released.
Cases of Tikhonov senior and Zhivilo were isolated in a separate proceeding. A month after his arrest, Tikhonov was partially paralyzed and was under treatment for several years in Russia and abroad. His case was tried only in December 2006. On July, 23, 2007 Tikhonov was convicted of incitement to contract murder and sentenced to three years of incarceration. He was released under an amnesty. He did not plea guilty.
In 2000 Zhivilo emigrated to France. In February 2001 he was arrested by police at the request of the Russian Interpol, but then he was released. French court considered the arguments of Russian law enforcement agencies about Zhivilo’s guilt insufficient.
Tuleyev, commenting on the trials of the assassination attempt on him, said that Zhivilo, in his opinion, used the Tikhonov brothers. In addition, Kemerovo governor expressed regret over the fact that many distinguished athletes were linked to mafia.
Source: Gazeta.ru, 20 December 2006
In spring 2007 accidents occurred at two mines owned by Yuzhkuzbassugol in the Kemerovo region. On March 19 a methane explosion occurred at Ulyanovskaya mine. A total of 110 miners were killed. On May, 24, 2007 a methane explosion occurred in Yubileynaya mine. A total of 39 miners perished in this explosion.
Konstantin Pulikovsky, head of Rostekhnadzor, said that the accidents were cause by meddling with gas release preventing system in order to increase coal production.
On June 7 Tuleyev described Pulikovsky’s statement as a provocation. According to the governor, the head of Rostekhnadzor argued that the leadership of the Kemerovo region had been aware of the deliberate freezing of gas protection for Ulyanovskaya mine, but failed to take action. In response, Tuleyev said that in his opinion, the latest accidents at the Kuzbass mines should be blamed on Rostekhnadzor experts and personally on the head of the agency that had repeatedly ignored the requirements of the authorities to bring order to coal plants. The next day Tuleyev filed a lawsuit against the head of Rostekhnadzor for libel. No further information about the trials was published.
Source: RIA Novosti, 08 June 2007
In 2007 State Duma deputy Vladimir Ovsyannikov said that the explosions at coal mines in the Kuzbass region could be a deliberate act of sabotage, initiated by the administration of Kemerovo region in order to hide the facts of misappropriation of huge funds allocated to ensure the safety of coal mining. He noted that the accidents inquiry commission, organized under the auspices of Kemerovo regional administration, included people who were connected to the owners of the mine. According to unconfirmed reports, about 46% of Yubileynaya mine belonged to Tuleyev.
According to Ovsyannikov, the explosion at Yubileynaya mine could be a continuation of sabotage that previously took place at Ulyanovskaya mine. "I do not exclude that this was a deliberate intervention to bury any investigation of all 60 cases that were instituted after the explosion at the Ulyanovskaya. The explosion buried anyone who could give at least some evidence ", said the deputy.
Source: New Region, 07 June 2007
Accident at the Lenin mine in Mezhdurechensk that occurred in 2008 brought up new tensions between regional and federal authorities. In July 2008 Tuleyev sent a letter to the Prosecutor General and to the regional Prosecutor asking to consider the quality of work carried out by Rostekhnadzor at coal mines in Kuzbass.
In September 2008 Pulikovsky, head of Rostekhnadzor, was dismissed from office
Source: RIA Novosti, 05 September 2008
In 2009 the Kemerovo regional administration held a competitive bid for the manufacturing and supply of gold watches. By customer request, there should be at least 26 diamonds on the case and the dial should be decorated with Swarovski crystals. The initial contract price was more than 2.5 million rubles. All in all, the contract was for 30 watches, which should have arms of Kemerovo region, and a commemorative inscription "Gift of the governor of Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev”. In addition to the watches the gift set was also to include the case of precious wood.
Representatives of the opposition suggested indicating on the expensive gifts that they were made on the taxpayers' money during the crisis. Tuleyev’s press office failed to reply to whom the governor was going to give the watches.
Source: Club of regions, 15 September 2009
On the night of May 9, 2010 two explosions that killed 91 people blasted at Kuzbass Raspadskaya coal mine. On May 14 Mezhdurechensk miners displeased with working conditions gathered for a rally and even blocked the railway, resulting in a clash with riot police. Many of the protesters were detained. After the incident, Tuleyev said that the riots involved provocateurs who were members of local gangs. But he said it was Raspadskaya mine executives who were responsible for the accident at the mine and for the rally.
Source: Novaya Gazeta, 17 May 2010