Reiman Leonid Dodojonovic

Leonid Reiman: biography of the father of the Russian "figure"

Some 20 years ago, mobile communications in Russia were exotic. Nowadays, it is no longer possible to imagine life without a smartphone and fast Internet. The great merit in the development of mobile technologies and digital platforms in our country belongs to Leonid Reiman. At the age of 42, he became Minister of Communications and Information. He made a huge contribution to the development of communication technologies. After working as a minister for almost 10 years, he decided to devote himself entirely to business. Now Leonid Dodojonovich Reiman is the president of Alternativa Capital and is developing the production of Russian electronics and software.

The beginning of the path

Leonid Reiman was born on July 12, 1957 in Leningrad. Both of his parents are philologists. Father, Dodojon Tajievich Tajiev, for many years headed the department of the Tajik language at Tajik State University. Tajik by nationality, he played a significant role in the development of Tajik linguistics and is the author of more than 150 scientific papers. His name is well known in our country and far abroad. During the Great Patriotic War he served in the Soviet Army, where he was drafted after graduating from Leningrad State University. Mother, Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Reiman, Russian, headed the Department of Foreign Languages ​ ​ at the St. Petersburg Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She loved her native Leningrad fervently and lived in it all her life, even during the blockade without leaving the city besieged by the Nazis.

Leonid received his secondary education at the Leningrad school No. 211 - in one of the oldest educational institutions in the city, founded in the middle of the 19th century. The school has always been famous for its high-quality technical education. Despite the fact that the parents of the future minister devoted their whole lives to philology, their son was attracted to accurate sciences. The study went well: the boy brought home the "fours" and "fives" and long before leaving school decided that he would connect his life with technology. As time has shown, it was the right choice.

Student life

The future statesman graduated from the school in 1974. I did not think about the future educational institution for a long time: I decided to enter the Bonch-Bruevich Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute of Communications. There were no problems with entrance exams, and yesterday's student joined the ranks of the Leningrad student.

Reiman trained as a telecommunications engineer. Without theory in this matter, of course, nowhere, but the inquisitive student really wanted to prove himself in practice. Having received the specialty of cable-spiker of the 5th category, starting from the first year as part of the student team, he annually took part in the construction of communication lines in Yakutia and the Magadan region. For a novice specialist, this was the first test of strength: a harsh climate, huge distances with rare islands of civilization. But extreme conditions did not prevent him, the task was completed successfully. The young man Leonid Reiman received the coveted engineering diploma in 1979. After that, for several years he worked in his specialty at a long-distance telephone exchange in Leningrad, became the head of the workshop. In 1983, he left to repay his homeland. After demobilization, he continued to work in communications structures. Despite his busy career, Reiman Leonid did not quit studying science. Already being Minister of Communications, he defended his thesis on state regulation of telecommunications. And four years later he became a doctor of sciences. But about it a little later.

From Engineer to Minister

September 12, 1991 in St. Petersburg, which just a week ago returned the historical name, a significant event for our country took place. Leonid Dodojonovich Reiman organized the first mobile phone call in Russia. However, it was difficult to call this device a telephone in the usual understanding of a modern person: the communication session was carried out according to the four-kilogram "Nokia." Despite the low mobile standards that existed at that time, the mayor of the northern capital, Anatoly Sobchak, was able to talk with his American counterpart from Seattle, Norman Rice. In those years, Reiman Leonid Dodojonovich worked in senior positions of urban telephone networks. He held various positions of responsibility:

• Deputy Head of Development;
• chief engineer;
• Director, Investment and International Relations;
• First Deputy General Director of the St. Petersburg Telephone Network.

With the beginning of economic reforms, mobile phones began to actively enter the daily life of citizens. Every year more and more subscribers appeared, and the quality of communication also improved. In 1994, Leonid Reiman joined the board of directors of Telecominvest OJSC, which united the operators of the cellular communications of St. Petersburg and neighboring regions. These days, one of the company's structures has grown to the well-known telecom giant Megafon.

Leonid Reiman's career, meanwhile, was going uphill. A talented manager of a high-class specialist was noticed in Moscow and invited to work in the capital. Since 1999, his career has reached the federal level: in August 1999, the duties of the future minister included the development of telecommunications throughout the country - he headed the corresponding State Committee, according to the biography of Leonid Dodojonovich on the Wikipedia portal.

Ministerial portfolio

1999 became the defining year for the further development of our country. The government was headed by Vladimir Putin, and Reiman Leonid received the post of Minister for Communications and Information. The department was abolished in 2004, and a few months later the manager headed the newly created ministry - from now on it was called the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications of the Russian Federation.

"Zero" became the time of the rapid development of mobile technologies in Russia. New models with advanced functionality and useful software entered the market almost every month, the quality of communication improved. In the first years of the millennium, the number of cellular subscribers increased more than 2 times annually. In 2000 alone, the number of cellular subscribers in our country increased by 130% - an eloquent indicator of Reiman's first year in a specialized ministerial post. In addition to working directly in the government, the statesman was part of a number of structures. Among them:

• International Space Communications Organization;
• Commission on Military-Industrial Issues;
• Russian-Israeli and Russian-Norwegian Economic, Trade, Industrial and Scientific Cooperation Commissions;
• Government Broadcasting Commission.

Reiman Leonid Dodojonovich (InfoCom-2007)

One of the main merits of the minister is the development and adoption of the federal law "On Communications," which has become the basis of the regulatory framework for the development of the industry in Russia and until now remains the current key regulatory document of the industry. It was based on Leonid Reiman's own economic model of the infocommunication market in Russia, developed by him as part of his Ph.D. and doctoral dissertations, which he defended in 2000 and 2004. The adoption of the federal law gave a powerful impetus to the development of communications in our country and created a powerful reserve for the stable growth of the telecommunications market.

VII International exhibition-forum "Infocommunications of Russia - XXI century" (InfoCom-2007) with the participation of Leonid Reiman

It was under Reiman that the idea of ​ ​ accelerated development of the digital economy began to actively advance at the state level. New technologies began to rapidly penetrate the state apparatus at all levels and become an integral part of it. The statesman understood that the "figure" is the future, and very close, so it is necessary to focus on IT and communications now, so that in a few years it will not be in the position of catching up. Leonid Reiman can rightfully be called the father of the Russian "figure." In the public service, he began to introduce infocommunication technologies in all spheres of life:

• health care,
• education,
• construction of housing,
• agro-industrial complex.

Reiman Leonid at an expanded meeting of the board of the Ministry of Information Communications of Russia

So, as a result of the work done by Leonid Reiman, by 2008 all schools in the country were connected to the Internet. Digital television, public services, remote work technologies, digital ecosystems with various services, cinema, music, games - everything that has become so familiar in our daily life has appeared thanks to the efforts of a statesman.

Leonid Reiman at the German Russian IT Summit as part of the CeBIT-2007

One simple example. By the time he joined the department in Russia, there were only a few tens of thousands of cellular subscribers. According to the results of 2019, this figure exceeded the figure of 260 million. Now the domestic communication market is one of the largest and most developed in the world, and the quality of communication and the Internet meets the best world standards.

Visit of L.D. Reiman to Penza region (November 2007)

Reiman worked in the government until 2008, after which he was appointed adviser to the president. This was his last position in the civil service. Two years later, he left the position of his own free will and decided to focus on business. There were new large and interesting projects ahead.

After Reiman left the civil service, there was news that he could head the state holding Svyazinvest. The information was not confirmed.

Innovative business

Now the former minister has completely focused on entrepreneurship. He is president of Alternativa Capital, which invests in and develops major electronics and software projects. The company's interests are focused on the development and production of innovative Russian products and strengthening the country's position in the global IT and high-tech market.

One of the key projects of the businessman was the scientific and technical center of information technologies "Rosa" - the center for the development and creation of Russian system software. One of the company's priorities is the manufacture of a product that meets the requirements of Russian legislation in the field of information protection. Nowadays, when cyber attacks become a serious challenge for the state, the company's products are especially in demand. The Center produces software for:

• home PCs;
• commercial structures;
• public sector.

The company's products are modern domestic operating systems with a user-friendly interface, as well as systems for deploying cloud and infrastructure IT services. The company's flagship product, ROSA Fresh, is a free version of the ROSA operating system developed by the company. This domestic OS, which is available to everyone, can be downloaded and installed on your PC for free by anyone. Most recently, in 2020, a new star, the Rutek company, shone in the sky of the domestic IT market. It specializes in the development and production of localized Russian telecommunications equipment and computer equipment. The company issues:

• laptops;
• Digital PBXs
• video surveillance systems;
• Storage systems
• routers;
• digital radio stations;
• IP cameras.

After leaving state the service, one of the priority projects for Leonid Dodojonovich was the microelectronics plant Angstrom-T"." After the 2008 crisis, construction of the plant was halted. The entrepreneur invested personal funds there with the hope of reviving a promising project. Production was launched in 2016, but sanctions prevented. The plant could not fulfill its credit obligations and was under control ВЭБ.РФ. Despite the declared readiness of the state to allocate almost 21 billion for the development of the project, in rubles 2019 ВЭБ.РФ initiated bankruptcy proceedings.

2020:1 billion rubles of investments in the production of civilian electronics

Leonid Reiman invests about 1 billion rubles in the creation of civilian electronics production. The Rutek company announced this to TAdviser on November 10, 2020. JSC Rutek became the managing company of the civil complex. Read more here.

Awards

Leonid Dodojonovich Reiman was never afraid of difficult, responsible and painstaking work. In the government, the statesman used all the accumulated experience and managed after the transitional 90s, when the development of high-tech was a task of far from paramount importance, to create a base for turning Russia into one of the world's technological leaders.

For his achievements, the former minister has received many awards. In 2005, he became a holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland IV degree, and two years later he was awarded the Order of the III degree. Leonid Reiman was also awarded the honorary title "Honored Worker of Communications of the Russian Federation."

He twice became a laureate of the international prize "Person of the Year" - in 2005 and 2012, in the list of his awards - the government prize in the field of science and technology, the highest legal prize "Themis."

Personal life and hobbies

Reiman Leonid Dodojonovich is married. He is raising five of his children and one foster child. The entrepreneur has a lot of hobbies. Business takes most of the time, but he tries to find a free minute for his hobbies. The former communications minister loves classical music, playing tennis.

Reiman has a passion for aviation as well. For a long time he was engaged in helicopter sports, at one time he was a member of the Helicopter Sports Federation, for some time he headed its board of trustees, and then became president. The entrepreneur also noted in the literary field. From under Reiman's pen came several scientific works on the digital economy, information and communication markets and their regulation.

Kind heart

In the fourth year, while working in the Magadan region as part of a student squad, the future top manager in his spare time helped to repair and improve local schools and kindergartens.

While working in St. Petersburg telephone networks, he became one of the founders of the Foundation for the History of Radio Engineering and Communications. The structure was engaged in the support of the Central Museum of Communications of the northern capital. Nowadays, the businessman actively supports the "Who, if not me?" Foundation, Created by his wife. The funds of the philanthropist go to help children who find themselves in a difficult life situation.

The entrepreneur also remembers about his native school. Including at the expense of Reiman in 2020, a major overhaul of the educational institution was carried out. Children celebrated the new school year in spacious and bright classrooms with modern equipment.

Legal proceedings and media articles

A number of media outlets mentioned Leonid Reiman's name in the context of a dispute between Alpha Group and the IPOC Foundation (Bermuda). The scandal erupted after Alfa bought more than 25% of Megafon's shares, but IPOC said the fund was the first to agree to acquire shares with LV Finance, which previously owned the stake.

Then one of the numerous commercial courts to which IPOC applied did not satisfy the claims of the fund, indicating Reiman as its beneficiary. But that claim found no evidence. IPOC owner Jeffrey Galmond did not confirm this information either. The proceedings ended in 2007: the fund agreed with Alfa Group on a mutual refusal of claims.

Four years later, references to Leonid Reiman appeared in the media in connection with the claims of the Frankfurt am Main prosecutor's office against Jeffrey Galmond and a number of ex-Commerzbank managers. During the investigation, no claims were made against Reiman, he did not receive requests from the German prosecutor's office. The investigation began in 2005 and ended seven years later. Finding no evidence of the guilt of the defendants, the prosecutor's office completed the investigation. The same - the termination of the proceedings due to the lack of any confirmation - ended the story that arose in the media about the alleged transfer of dividends through the Finnish company Sekom to the Cypriot Albany Investment.

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