Savchenko Oleg Vladimirovich

Bio:
Oleg Savchenko was born on  25 October  1966  in Leningrad.
In 1989 he graduated from Moscow Aviation Institute with a degree in automated systems and driving gears.
In 1991-1992 he played for a handball club in Spain.
In 1992-1995 he imported computers from Singapore.
In 1995 he founded  Bearing Moscow science and information agency  that supplied petrochemical complexes with bearings.
In 1996 he won a tender for development of a gold deposit  at  Maiskoye  mine,  Chukotka Autonomous District.
In 1998 he headed the Foundation for Economic Development of Chukotka that supplied Chukotka with food and petroleum products.
In 1999 he chaired the board of directors of Volga Bearing Plant. For year and a half Savchenko managed to consolidate a controlling stake in his hands.
In 2000 he founded Russian Bearing Company holding company.
In 2000 during gubernatorial elections Savchenko collected 28.47% of the vote and lost the elections to Nicholay Maksyuta who collected about 37%.
In 2003 Savchenko was elected to the State Duma of the fourth convocation as a candidate from Unity party and Fatherland  - United Russia electoral bloc.
  When a deputy he joined United Russia   faction  and became a member of the Committee on Industry, Construction and High Technology.
Savchenko is married and has a son.
In 2010  Savchenko earned 1.95 million rubles.
Sources: Lobbying.ru, personalities; duma.gov.ru, information on income and property of  State Duma deputies.

Dossier:
 Savchenko was directly related to missing of $ 35 million owned the Foundation for Economic Development of Chukotka  in  1999-2000. The money was intended for the needs of the autonomous region, but former director of the Foundation Oleg Savchenko and his deputy  Alexander Moskalenko spent it on Savchenko's gubernatorial campaign in the Volgograd region and on  investments to the companies related to  Savchenko and his wife. Missing of the money was discovered  three months before the election and former governor Alexander Nazarov  had to withdraw his candidacy. As a result, Roman Abramovich, who was  Savchenko's business partner, easily won the elections.  Abramovich swept the case under the carpet. Moreover, he appointed Savchenko to another position. Savchenko became head of Chukotka Fishery Department .

Source: Izvestiya, 8 February 2001 


  Savchenko also supported Kazakh businessman Rakhat Aliyev. Starting in 2000 Aliyev  got  all the biggest  and most profitable assets in Kazakhstan  with Savchenko's help. Aliyev repaid Savchenko for his service  with  Stepnogorsk Bearing Plant. Now Savchenko's European Bearing Corporation owns the plant, as well as other bearing  plants in different Russian cities like Moscow, Volzhskoye , Saratov, and Samara. In 2001  Savchenko set up his business in Chukotka  and received  Stepnogorsk Bearing Plant, while  Rakhat Aliyev, by pure coincidence, became a virtual head of the National Security Committee. In   autumn 2001  he  masterminded "attempted oligarchic coup " in Russia.

Source: solomin L J,  3 December 2007 


    Savchenko, who lost gubernatorial elections 2000  in the Volgograd region, was still dreaming of being a governor. However, just before the elections 2004,   later cancelled due to system changing therefore governors were appointed by the federal government,  the government nominated Vladimir Goryunin as a candidate from United Russia,  although Savchenko    was at that time the head of  Volgograd office of United Russia.

   In April 2004  he actually opposed the decision of Moscow officials, but  Political Council of  United Russia  removed him from his position.
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 30 April 2004 

 

  During the crisis 2008  Kharkiv Bearing Plant offered to Russian Railways  bearings at the price 15% lower than Savchenko's plants set.  In January 2009  beneficiary of   European Bearing Corporation  Oleg Savchenko, having used his State Duma connections, triggered a campaign against UPEC, Ukrainian bearing manufacturer that operated  Kharkiv Plant. He asked four  Duma Committees to settle problems of several Russian enterprises that produced ball bearings. He called on the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia and  Duma Security    Committee to check legality of his Ukrainian competitors' supply scheme. Savchenko stated that redistribution of supplies in favor of Ukrainian enterprises  could  provoke serious problems  in the Russian bearing industry. Besides, it would contradict    Prime Minister's request to expend funds of natural monopolies exclusively on products manufactured domestically. Russian Railways appealed to Vladimir Putin. The company insisted that Savchenko did not care about national policy, but rather about his own gains. The government put a brake on the case. Savchenko  did not give up, though. In April 2009 European Bearing Corporation  filed an application for registration of   ХАРП trademark (Cyrillic spelling) , which сould be easily  confused with HARP trademark owned by Kharkiv enterprise. Thus European Bearing Corporation  probably  tried to hinder spreading  Ukrainian  products in Russia. Kharkiv businessmen considered filing a lawsuit.

Source: Snr.com.ru, 24 April 2011

 

   In August 2011 Oleg Savchenko had a car accident. When turning left,  SUV Toyota Land Cruiser, a car  of the first vice-governor Alexander Merkulov,  crashed into Hyundai Sonata  driven by  Oleg Savchenko's chauffeur. As a result, Savchenko was hospitalized for concussion of the brain and contusion of the cervical spine. Savchenko called the crash "a pure accident".
Source: Vse dlya Vas,  5 August 2011