Vitebsk is preparing to open a unique enterprise - the country's first fur plant, which will consist of five factories. Construction work is being completed, the new production will begin work as part of the Marko holding. We met with Nikolai Martynov, General Director of LLC Management Company holding “Belarusian Leather and Shoe Company “Marko”, a member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, and found out where the fleece and fur rivers will flow from and where, what this will give to the country and what the head of the largest shoe association dreams of today.

We meet with Nikolai Martynov in his office. A huge (three meters long) desk is littered with documents. On it is an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and a photograph of his grandchildren. The atmosphere is homely, cozy and modest. And only a large billboard in the corner, hung with balloons, reminds us that the owner of the office recently celebrated his anniversary. The poster entitled “7 Wonders of the World Created by Nikolai Martynov in a Decade” is a gift from loved ones. He talks about the main milestones in the life of the shoe magnate. Industrial and family events are closely intertwined here - the wedding of children, the birth of grandchildren, the construction of the Marco City pyramids and the logistics center, the opening of new enterprises... Our frank conversation turned out exactly the same, filled with memories of the affairs of family and workers.

About fur interest

In the “Choice of the Year” “Marco” was recognized more than once as the number 1 manufacturer.

- Nikolai Vasilyevich, is the icon on the table a habit or a symbol?

More like a conviction. I am a believer, and whenever possible, I always try to go to church on major holidays. And I consider Nicholas the Wonderworker my patron, guardian, angel, if you like. He is always with me. As for the photographs of my grandchildren, this is my pride, a reminder that life was not lived in vain (smiles - author).

It seems to me that with such a strong shoe empire that you have created, all the cogs of a well-oiled mechanism that has been running for decades are spinning as a single whole without the intervention of a manager. Can you relax at least a little?

Somehow I didn’t think about it. To be honest, idleness is not my thing. On a weekend, I can lie on the couch for a maximum of half an hour, doing nothing. As for work, there is no time to relax even for a minute. Especially now that we are completing the construction of a fur factory. Headquarters with contractors, trips abroad to study experience, selection of equipment. The daily routine, not to mention the week, is almost unpredictable.

Do general contractors fail?

It’s not the builders’ fault, but a lot of difficulties arise. Mostly - due to shortcomings made during design. They miscalculated there, missed something here... As a result, the work stalls. Time is running out. But the amount of work is enormous. More than $22 million has already been invested in the facility; the total amount will exceed $40 million. The funds are substantial, and it would be impossible for “Marko” alone to complete this project without government support. In general, our holding is an eloquent example of the successful functioning of the public-private partnership system.

Judge for yourself: practically nothing remains of the old Vitebsk Fur Factory - conventional frames of production and household buildings. We built two warehouses, wastewater treatment plants, boiler room, changed the entire infrastructure and communications. We are now selecting staff. The fur factory will employ about 500 people. We will send the main specialists to study in Turkey - there is an opportunity for internship at similar sheepskin production facilities. For fur we will invite Italian professionals to join us - they will train the staff on site. Unfortunately, neither here nor in other CIS countries today the personnel we need are trained. Therefore, we will select “subcontractors” - chemists and other specialists.

Issues of developing business initiatives are best studied in practice

When do you plan to launch? And what is unique about future production?

Currently, finishing work is underway at the plant, and we will soon begin installation of equipment. We plan to launch in January - February next year. So a large fur production is about to appear in the country. By the way, it has no analogues either in Russia or in Ukraine. After all, our plant will consist of four, even five factories - processing furs, sheepskin, sewing products from these raw materials. Plus - we have all the technical capabilities to work with the skins of small livestock: calves, goats and others. So far no one is working so comprehensively in this direction. We are not worried about raw materials: markets have been calculated, contracts have been concluded. As for furs, 80 percent of it will be Belarusian. Today we have many fur farms that raise mink. Every year they receive up to a million skins, and we will need three times less. But for sheepskin it will be more difficult - the fur of our and Russian sheep is suitable only for coarse products, linings for shoes. Fine-fleece sheep are needed for clothing production, but they do not want to live in our climate, although sheep farms have tried to adapt them. We will have to purchase imports. In general, the enterprise will process 300 thousand sheep skins, 250 thousand - furs, it will be able to produce 7 thousand jackets, fur coats and other things made of fur and 10 thousand - from sheepskin. This does not include small items and products made from calf and goat skins. By the way, the latter type of raw material will be perfect for the production of beautiful women's pumps. I think buyers will appreciate them.

Will there be any problems with selling such large volumes of goods? It is unlikely that the country's residents will suddenly become fur lovers.

It all depends on the weather and our fashion designers. If they can develop beautiful, fashionable and comfortable things for customers, there will be demand. But in addition to the Belarusian market, we are going to actively work in Russian regions, especially in those where the weather does not spoil the residents. And numerous partners will help us in the production of elite quality items - today business cannot work effectively in solitude; points of contact are required, including with foreign companies. For example, while on a business trip to India, where I studied their experience in the leather industry, I concluded 2 contracts worth 10 million dollars. Now we will be supplied with blanks and leather goods from India, and in the future - raw materials. Certain agreements were also reached with colleagues from Italy, Turkey, Spain, Holland and other countries.

The Entrepreneurship Development Council meets at San Marco.

About new lawsand shoes for Valuev

For the fourth convocation in a row, you are a member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly. How do you manage to combine legislative activity and such complex proceedings?

Pyramid "Marco City".

- Production helps to work in Parliament, and Parliament helps to engage in production. Like this? Just by deeply practicing, you immediately see where there is a gap in the legislation. It was the work in the conditions of the holding that helped identify bottlenecks and suggested the necessary solutions to improve the relevant law on holdings. It is worth noting that this season parliamentarians are working very fruitfully, because their composition is extremely professional. Medical luminaries, industrial giants, diplomats and lawyers are the practitioners who see problems and know how to eliminate them.

Nikolai Vasilyevich, what would you do if, say, Nikolai Valuev ordered shoes from you?

So far Nikolai has not addressed me with such a request. But if anything happens, we’ll take Valuev’s shoes too. Moreover, we produce sizes 47-48. If you need even more heroic shoes - no problem. Let's do it. In Marco stores you can choose shoes for any foot. Now, by the way, both sports and beach shoes - we have a new specialized enterprise for the production of these types of shoes. The seventh factory in the holding was named “Verdimar” and was located on the premises of the former “Belkelme” in the Brest region. We have already worn shoes for our athletes who competed in Rio. We are planning to launch a new line of shoes for representatives various types sports, we will also work for the military - the production of safety footwear is expanding.

Graduate of the military department.

The total number of employees in the holding will soon approach 6 thousand. Is it easy to control such a machine? Moreover, its “spare parts” are scattered across hundreds of addresses of factories, company stores, and production workshops.

With an Italian partner.

- What is simple in our life? And is such a predetermined, simple and calm life necessary? This is not for me. We have a good, close-knit team, the leadership principle is trust, but verify. We work according to the rules of complementarity. By the way, the future brand for the fur factory’s products was also developed jointly. First we turned to specialists, but we didn’t like their proposals: to find an idea, you need to know the specifics. As a result of common creativity, cool brands for different types fur products - Polar fox, Luxury fox, Bright fox. As for the staff, yes, it is constantly expanding, as we are also aggressively developing. We are expanding the geography of our corporate network. Previously, we did not have our own stores in Russia; we worked with partners. Now about a dozen of them are open in regional centers of the Russian Federation, and in total our network includes over 70 retail outlets. Development is an endless process.

About rest,grandchildren and hobbies

How often do you go on vacation and where?

In the last two years, I don’t think I’ve had a full vacation. I’ll start a fur factory and take a couple of weeks. My wife and I will go to Truskavets. Out of habit, I vacation in “Soviet” places. Maximum - in Turkey: so that, if necessary, you can break away and return home. My schedule is hectic, so I usually try to have a good rest on the weekends. IN warm time We've been living in the country for years. I enjoy going hunting, taking a steam bath, swimming in the Western Dvina (after the commissioning of the Vitebsk hydroelectric power station, it almost approached the fence - the view is amazing!), and gardening. This year I am experimenting with exotic trees - I tried to plant mountain pine, fir, and various thujas. Beds and greenhouses are the wife’s area of ​​responsibility. I only go there sometimes to taste the products.

Hunting is a great relaxation for the soul and body.

Are the oligarchs really gardening?

Firstly, I don’t consider myself an oligarch. And secondly, in my soul I remained and remain a deeply rural dweller, a man of the land. Therefore, in the summer, my family eats exclusively “pasture” food - vegetables and fruits grown with our own hands. As the head of the family, sometimes I will bring meat or poultry from the forest (joking - author). There will be fish soon. I decided to master fishing in my own pond - I put silver carp, tench, and crucian carp there. I tried to introduce colored carp, but he didn’t like it...

Nikolai Vasilyevich, do you hope that your children and grandchildren will continue the business?

All hope is for our grandchildren Nastya, Nikita, Nicholas and little Mia.

How else? The daughter and son have been in business for a long time. Now Raya, who lives in the USA, supervises a fur factory, together with her husband she looked for specialists, worked on the project, and studied the advantages of technology. Son Pavel has been managing the San Marco enterprise for more than ten years. It’s too early to expect seriousness from grandchildren, but recently five-year-old Nikita somehow doomedly declared: I, too, will probably have to sew shoes... Six-year-old Nicholas also seriously discusses the quality of the sneakers and shoes he wears. And ten-year-old Nastya, who does rhythmic gymnastics, sings and draws well, dreams of becoming a designer. This profession is important in our business. But in the end, of course, everything will depend primarily on their desires.

When your whole life is in one poster: seven wonders of Nikolai MARTYNOV

- At the industrial recreation center you have many rarities - old spinning wheels, irons, accordions, antique furniture and even a pre-war ZIS passenger car. Is this your hobby?

First mine, now my son's. I bought a ZIS several years ago from one of the townspeople, it was made in 1937. By the way, I arrived at the dacha myself. They wanted to restore it, but they looked and there was nothing “original” inside. So it stands now as a decoration. And his son continued to collect rare cars. He already has about a dozen of them - a real collection. And he is just as interested in hunting as I am. More for pleasure than for gain.

It turns out that you are passing on to your children and grandchildren not only a common cause, but also your own hobbies?

So it didn’t come from me. The love for making shoes comes from my father, with whom I felted felt boots together as a child. Housekeeping, passion for gardening - from grandfathers... I think such nepotism only brings benefits. After all, we all want our children to not only be our continuation, but also to go much further. I'm glad that this works out in my family. I also welcome family dynasties in production, because a holding company is also a family. Only big. And may everything work out for her, for this huge family, that is, for us.

Martynov, Nikolai Vasilievich(born 1957) - a major Belarusian entrepreneur, founder, owner of 90% of shares and CEO JLLC "Marko", Honored Worker of Industry of the Republic of Belarus (2011), since 2004, member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

Biography

Since 1978, assistant foreman at the Vitebsk hosiery and knitting factory “KIM”.

1990 expert in the commercial department of the Belarusian-German joint venture Belwest.

In 1991 he graduated from the Institute of Political Science and Social Management Communist Party Belarus, political scientist, teacher of socio-political disciplines.

In 1991, together with three partners, he founded the production and commercial company LM+MK, specializing in the production and wholesale of faux fur products.

1994 organized the production of men's shoes under the trademark “Marco”.

Married, has a son and daughter.

Son Pavel Martynov, director of San Marco. Martynov’s daughter Raisa Nikolaevna, deputy general director of Marko JLLC. Younger brother Viktor Martynov, manager at the company, former deputy of the Vitebsk City Council.

Awards

• “The best entrepreneur of the Republic of Belarus in the field of production” (1997).
• “Best entrepreneur of the Vitebsk region” (1997-1999).
• "Best Entrepreneur and Job Organizer" (2001).
• "Best Taxpayer Entrepreneur" (2001).
• Awarded a certificate of honor from the Council of Ministers (2001).
• "For Labor Merit"
• “60 years of Victory in the Second World War 1941-1945.”
• "90 years old Armed Forces The Republic of Belarus"
• “65 years of liberation of the Republic of Belarus from the Nazi invaders”
• “65 years of Victory in the Second World War 1941-1945.”

As Kommersant learned, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region has completed an investigation into the murder of businessman Nikolai Martynov, who was shot two years ago in Iksha near Moscow. The crime, according to investigators, was ordered by Mr. Martynov’s business partner, who hired Gennady Korotenko, a retired GRU colonel who is now a centurion in the Volga Cossack Army, to play the role of killer. Friends do not believe that the veteran, awarded with a dozen military awards, was involved in a contract killing. According to their version, he really did not part with the Makarov pistol, but used the weapon only to protect businessmen and garden plots.

56-year-old Nikolai Martynov is a co-founder of the Cyprus company Clinolia Holding Limited, which owns several enterprises in Russia for the production of raw materials and equipment for the oil and gas industry. chemical industry, — was killed on March 30, 2014 near his private house in Iksha, Moscow Region. That evening, the businessman returned home after attending a performance at the Vakhtangov Theater. Getting out of the car, he began to open the gate with the key and at that moment came under fire. The killer's bullets hit Mr. Martynov in the head and chest. The driver managed to take the seriously wounded man to the district hospital, but after several operations and intensive care, the businessman still died without regaining consciousness.

Having accepted a criminal case of murder, investigators of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Moscow Region first qualified the crime as the result of some sudden arose in the businessman. conflict situation- according to Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder). However, find the criminals for a long time it didn't work out.

The breakthrough in the investigation occurred, one might say, by accident, and operational activities carried out 400 km from the capital contributed to the detection of the crime. August 5, 2015 in Avtozavodsky district Nizhny Novgorod operatives of the regional FSB and police opened a private garage, which turned out to be literally filled to the brim with army weapons. Among the items seized were Kalashnikov assault rifles, assault rifles with optical sights, two machine guns, underbarrel grenade launchers, a collection of daggers, sabers and other edged weapons, countless amounts of ammunition different types and caliber and, finally, portable anti-aircraft missile system"Needle".

On the same day, the owner of the garage, local resident Gennady Korotenko, was detained, who had a Makarov pistol in his pocket at the time of the meeting with the operatives. The detainee himself explained that he grabbed the PM to protect garden plots, in which his organization is involved - “Cossack Freemen named after Ermak Timofeevich,” which is structurally part of the Volga Cossack Army. The found arsenal, according to the Cossack, did not belong to him, but to a certain “casual acquaintance” to whom he rented out his garage. The tenant was allegedly involved in the supply of goods to gun stores and could use the garage as a transshipment base for the goods.

However, the police who began the investigation did not believe Mr. Korotenko’s version - the centurion was arrested on charges of illegal weapons trafficking (Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). After some time - apparently, thanks to the examinations carried out - the investigation was able to establish that a businessman in the Moscow region was shot dead with a pistol seized in Nizhny.

In this regard, the Nizhny Novgorod episode was connected to a criminal case of murder and transferred to the investigation of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region. There, in addition to the charges already brought against the Cossack, a charge of murder was added. It is worth noting that after his interrogation the crime was qualified as ordered and committed as part of a group (clauses “g” and “h”, part 2 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Four months later, the probable mastermind of the murder was found and taken into custody - he turned out to be Mr. Martynov’s 35-year-old business partner, Anton Erokhin. According to the investigation, about a year before the assassination attempt, serious disagreements arose between the businessmen. The partners, who owned Clinolia Holding Limited in equal shares, could not divide the company and its assets. Among them were several enterprises in the Nizhny Novgorod region producing acetone, ethanol and other chemicals used for the needs of the oil and gas industry - Sintez OJSC, Sintez Acetone LLC, etc. At first, the co-founders agreed that Mr. Erokhin would buy from Mr. Martynov’s share in Clinolia for 2.6 billion rubles, but at some stage of the auction the price apparently seemed too high to the buyer. As a result, according to investigators, he decided to simply eliminate the seller, contracting the Cossack Korotenko, who provided him security services, for this action. The sotnik, as the investigation believes, agreed to organize and carry out the murder for 1 million rubles.

Let us note that neither the defendants themselves nor their lawyers, having familiarized themselves with the charges brought against them, agreed with the position of the investigation. For example, representatives of Anton Erokhin believe that he had no motive for killing his partner, since shortly before the crime, the businessmen, according to their version, entered into a “mutually beneficial deal.” With the death of Mr. Martynov, the financial situation of the proposed customer “has significantly worsened.” By the way, this is evidenced by the decision Arbitration Court Moscow, which declared Mr. Erokhin, who owed one of the banks as a guarantor for loans more than 383 million rubles, bankrupt.

Representatives of the Volga Cossacks also disagree with the accusations, considering centurion Korotenko a hero and example to follow. The retired colonel, according to them, took part in at least three wars - Afghan, Abkhaz and Chechen. He was awarded the Orders of Courage, the Red Banner and the Red Star, medals “For Courage” and “For Military Merit”, and also received the title of Hero of Abkhazia and for a special manifestation of courage and bravery - the Order of Leon from a little-recognized republic.

As the chairman of the board of Volnitsa, Sergei Akimov, explained to Kommersant, having detained his comrade in arms with a weapon, law enforcement officers simply decided to pin a murder on him, to which he had nothing to do. Now, according to the Cossack, the investigation is delaying time under various pretexts, since it does not have “a single piece of evidence” of the centurion’s involvement in the crimes. So, in his opinion, the fingerprints of captain Korotenko were not found on the seized weapons, and the suspicious tenant of the garage in the Avtozavodsky district, about whom he spoke, was never identified.

“Dad Korotenko is not a mummer, as there are many of them now, but a real ancestral Cossack,” said Mr. Akimov. “In the past, he was a military officer, a GRU colonel. He was seriously wounded, has a disability, but the investigation ignores his illness, since dad is still in medical training has been in Abkhazia for a long time, being a hero and honorary citizen of this country."

Cossack Akimov, according to him, cannot judge the origin of the Makarov pistol found on Gennady Korotenko, but he is sure that the centurion needed the weapon exclusively for peaceful purposes. To protect garden plots in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in which Volnitsa is constantly involved, and infrequent business trips to the capital, in Moscow the centurion worked as a security guard for businessmen.

The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation confirmed to Kommersant the end of the investigation into the high-profile case, saying that the defendants are now familiarizing themselves with the investigation materials.

Sergey Mashkin; Roman Kryazhev, Nizhny Novgorod

"Marko" is the leader of the shoe industry in Belarus. On the market - 25 years. The company produces 4 million pairs of shoes per year. The founder of the business, Nikolai Martynov, is among the top largest entrepreneurs in the country. Komsomolskaya Pravda learned about the secret of his success and personal attitudes.

« A COMPETENT ENTREPRENEUR WILL MAKE BENEFIT FROM THE CRISIS"

Nikolai Vasilyevich, I’ll immediately ask a question that many people have probably asked, but were embarrassed to ask. Does the director of Marco only wear Marco shoes?

Not always. For example, we were at an exhibition in Italy. They took samples there. Mostly men's. Our designers studied them and drew some ideas for themselves. Well, don’t throw them away later,” he laughs. - It turns out that in literally I am continuing to develop the ideas that our fashion designers have adopted.

- So, when you create your collections, you focus on the West?

Unfortunately, Belarusian enterprises and designers are not yet trendsetters in shoe fashion. To be in trend, you need to follow world fashion. Naturally, and color scheme, and in terms of the model range we focus on trendsetters. Fashion is accessible to everyone, not like 25-30 years ago. And today Belarusians want to wear the same shoes as in Paris, London...

You have a huge number of awards and prizes: “The best entrepreneur of Belarus in the field of production”, “The best entrepreneur-organizer of jobs”, “The best entrepreneur-taxpayer”... What, do you live at work?

Of course, sometimes I rest. But I admit: even when I go to bed, my thoughts are still about work.

- But at the same time, you look great, even though you’re not a boy anymore. Are you active in sports? Where do you start your morning?

Thank you, it was me by accident,” he jokes. - I wake up and recognize myself in the mirror. A glass of water, scrambled eggs, tea. Sports, unfortunately, are only in the plans. But the closest thing to me is the bicycle. In the summer I live in the country. The road there is good. I can cover 15 kilometers. True, now it is not always possible to find time for this. The load is large. On top of that, we are restoring a unique fur factory in Vitebsk and trying to create a new shoe company that will produce a million pairs of shoes a year... Sometimes I don’t belong to myself. But I realize: I definitely need to rest.

- How do you manage to get everywhere? Planning your day minute by minute?

If I had written down all my plans and strictly followed the schedule, I definitely would not have gone home. I sleep about four hours. If everyone worked at this pace, there would be too many competitors,” he laughs. - Analysts have long found out: successful business About 4% of people in the world can practice. I hope I'm one of them. True, in Lately I feel like I've become slower. I can’t keep up with everything anymore. And yet we are leaders.

« IT HAPPENED THAT I WAS BITTER IN THE MOUTH, BUT I NEVER LOWED MY HANDS UP.”

- Isn’t it scary to open something new during a crisis?

A crisis is a time for enterprising people and reasonable approaches. Remember catchphrase? “He who doesn’t take risks doesn’t drink champagne.” My task is to benefit from the crisis. A simple example. When they first started the fur-processing plant project, mink skins cost 50-75 dollars, and now they cost 15-17 dollars. So, I hope we can compete even with Chinese prices. What's bad? There are problems, of course. You need a resource to get started! I think our banks do not have the right approach to this process. Their safety margin is not nearly as strong as in the West, where banks are willing to finance promising projects. And ours is like this, it will be the only one in Belarus.

Nikolai Martynov: “I believe that, first of all, a successful businessman must be decent, honest and open.” Photo: Sergey Serebro.

- It is clear that the current crisis is not the first in your lifetime. Still, did this one make you worry?

Any crisis forces you to step up and build the right strategy. The main thing is to adapt to the current situation and find ways to move on. Act according to the pattern in each new crisis will not work. For example, during the crisis of the nineties and 2000s, there was nothing, no matter what you take, everything will go downhill. But now there is a lot and there is a lot of competition. It’s more important to be different from others in some way. Quality, price...

- So it’s harder to do business now than it was 15, 20, 30 years ago?

There have been and will always be difficulties. But I can say that there are definitely more smart, nimble and competent competitors now than before. The younger generation of entrepreneurs sees any problem and prospect differently. In addition, new technologies are in charge now, and sometimes it’s hard for me to compete with this, I’ll be honest. Each time must have its own “leader”. But personally, I feel in my element. But I feel that it’s harder to work now than, say, 15 years ago. There is a lot of bureaucracy, including in approaches to business registration. When we started, the starting opportunities were different and the main thing was to saturate the market with some new services. Today everything is different. And the services are different, and the approaches to business are different. Though tax law Ours is softer than in Europe, but the approaches to business on the part of many departments definitely need to be changed. The trouble is that the departments that are called upon to control do not always have truly competent specialists. And the position “I am the boss, you are a fool” often prevails. The position “If I am the boss and came to you with an inspection, then the results cannot be positive for you” is considered the norm. The authorities should contribute to the development of business, and not vice versa.

- In the current conditions, in your opinion, is it easier for small or large businesses?

Both small and large have their pros and cons. Small, for example, is mobile. You can always correct his activities. The big one has established authority. This means there is access to loans. Although regional executive committees have funds that can allocate money for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. But to get them, you need to be a truly competent entrepreneur. And this is already art.

- Did you hit a lot of big shots in business in your time? Were there times when you thought: “To hell with everything”?

There were a lot of bumps, but they were all mine,” he smiles. - I’ve been in business for 25 years, and I’m still learning from my mistakes. It’s like in childhood: we all fell, and now we remember with nostalgia all our sores. Of course, there was a bitter taste in my mouth, but I never went back. I always managed to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

- Are your children proud of you?

I have a wonderful family: an adult son and daughter, my beloved wife, with whom I have been side by side all my life. The children followed in my footsteps. The son runs San Marco, the daughter is also in this business. But they don’t boast about their status a la “we are the children of the big boss.” They behave very calmly in this regard. Although sometimes, I admit, I want to hear from them something like: “Father, what a great guy you are.”

"MY GRIP IS THE MERIT OF A HARD CHILDHOOD"

- Where does such a grip come from?

I think this is the merit of the parents. Plus difficult childhood. There was literally a shortage of everything: from food to material goods. I had to start working early, and I think, in some ways, even too much. But since childhood, I have strived to look, if not better, then at least no worse than others. And I also believe that all thoughts are material. I have dreamed since childhood. I remember how at the age of 11 I thought: “I’ll earn so much money, I’ll buy a house, a car...” And I always knew: when I have a family, my children will definitely not live like I did in my childhood. And so it happened.

When I got married, I felt a huge responsibility. I had to provide, take me on vacation, help... I always made a lot of effort for this. Nothing to regret.

For a business to take off, what is more important: brains, team, money, acumen, useful contacts? And who in general, in your opinion, is capable of achieving success?

I think all of the above is important. Who is succeeding? Only a forward-moving, honest, decent, literate person. If not, this is no longer a business, but a temporary phenomenon, foam that will quickly settle. Only decency and honesty towards partners and consumers! It is also important to be able to realistically assess your capabilities. Understand what you are taking on. Next is to create a team. The team must be selected immediately and professionally. But not always from the friends list. Sometimes it's better to drink beer with friends. It’s calmer and more pleasant. In 1991, I also started a business with three companion friends. They founded the production and commercial company “LM+MK”. They were named by the first letters of their names. The company specialized in the production and wholesale of faux fur products. They separated for various reasons. In 1994, he organized the production of men's shoes "Marco".

“Marko” has been on the market for 25 years. Photo: Sergey Serebro

- Why exactly shoes?

At that time, shoes sold like hot cakes. Back then, you could only get them with coupons. Besides, I have felted felt boots since childhood. My father was doing this, trying to earn extra money. And I had to help, I was his apprentice in the evenings. So I can safely call myself a hereditary shoemaker. It’s just that over time, felt boots grew into leather shoes.

It is clear that you should always be in trend. Follow fashion trends, technology... And you don’t even have a computer on your desktop. How so?

“I don’t know,” he laughs. - But I use a tablet. Children, if I need something, leave links. Once upon a time it was not possible to master all this, but now... I agree, we need to take it on. Now I’ll sort out my plans and get started. But in general I have a young team - everyone is advanced.

- Why do they say that “Marco” is shoes for grandmothers? And in general, “Belarusian purchases” are somehow not in trend.

Here we go with my partner in Munich. And I tell him: “Look, these are Russian girls coming.” He: “How do you know?” Well, where from? Ours, if they go, then “wear Louboutins and awesome pants.” For German women, the main thing is not flashiness, but comfort, and we have a certain mentality. It is explainable. For too long we have not had the opportunity to wear something that is not like everyone else, unconventional. Therefore, now simply comfortable, high-quality shoes are not suitable for many. But rest assured, “Marco” is not just for grandmothers. We are constantly rejuvenating our collection. We make excellent shoes for young people. They take it. We produce 4 million pairs of shoes per year. We give a lot of advertising, promotions, discounts. We hire good designers. We are setting up online sales. And you say “for grandmothers.” We went out to Russian market. In terms of sales in Belarus, 42-45% are made up of Marco shoes. The price category is below average. But there are also fashion lines

Nikolai Vasilyevich, give advice to people who live from paycheck to paycheck and dream of getting out of a difficult financial situation.

I myself am the son of poor and unfamous parents. Here's an example! We need to look for ourselves, work, work and work again. Don’t give up, don’t be afraid to take risks, be enterprising, know how to save. If you made a profit from your first deal, don’t rush to spend it. There may not be a second deal. If you have earned money, you need to increase it, sow it. If you sow one kilogram of grain, you will harvest a hundred! And if you have eaten your kilogram, then there will be nothing left to sow. And further! If you really want something in the evening, and in the morning you want to sleep more, nothing will happen. We have set a goal - we must go to the end. Admittedly, you just have to be born with some qualities; 100% of people cannot do business. And if once or twice it doesn’t work out, get another specialty. Being a successful banker can be just as rewarding as being an entrepreneur.

DOSSIER

Nikolay Vasilievich Martynov

Born in 1957 in the village of Gudovo, Vitebsk region. Since 1978 - assistant foreman of the Vitebsk hosiery and knitting factory "KIM".

Since 1990, he has been an expert in the commercial department of the Belarusian-German joint venture Belwest. In 1991 he graduated from the Institute of Political Science and Social Management of the Communist Party of Belarus, political scientist, teacher of socio-political disciplines. In the same year, with three partners, he organized the production and commercial company “LM+MK”. In 1994 - production of men's shoes under the trademark "Marco".

A major Belarusian entrepreneur, founder, owner of 90% of shares and general director of LLC Management Company of the Holding Belarusian Leather and Shoe Company Marko. “Honored Worker of Industry of the Republic of Belarus”, since 2004, member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

Married, has a son and daughter.

As Kommersant learned, a legal incident that threatens to turn into judicial scandal, occurred during the investigation into the murder of Nikolai Martynov, who worked in the oil and gas industry, committed in March 2014. The investigation identified retired GRU officer Gennady Korotenko, who was accused of carrying out the crime, largely thanks to the results of DNA examinations. Meanwhile, while the defendants in the case are waiting for the trial to begin, an ex-employee of the company of the deceased businessman, Lada Ryasnova, tried, using DNA samples obtained from the investigation, to achieve recognition of the businessman as the father of her daughter, born out of an official marriage. Despite the fact that experts confirmed paternity with an accuracy of more than 99.9%, the Zyuzinsky Court of Moscow was not convinced by their findings. I must put an end to this issue Supreme Court RF.

As Kommersant learned, the reason for an unexpected civil trial arose after the murder of 56-year-old businessman Nikolai Martynov three years ago. IN different years he worked in the largest Russian and international oil companies and then organized own business, becoming a co-founder of the Cyprus company Clinolina Holding Limited, which owns enterprises in Russia for the production of equipment for the oil, gas and chemical industries. Late in the evening of March 30, 2014, the businessman returned to his cottage in Iksha near Moscow. A killer was waiting near the businessman’s house and shot him several times. The bullets hit him in the chest and head, and the victim died in hospital six days later. The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region opened a murder case, but, as Kommersant said, it was possible to detain the alleged killer only in August 2015. Then FSB officers for the Nizhny Novgorod region discovered a garage literally filled with weapons and ammunition in the Avtozavodsky district of the regional center. The owner of the garage turned out to be Gennady Korotenko, a retired GRU colonel. He was detained, and during a personal search, a Makarov pistol was confiscated from him. About armory, according to him, he did not know, since he rented the garage to another person (no tenant, however, was found). Meanwhile, the pistol found on Gennady Korotenko, based on the results of examination and examination of the bullet casing, was recognized as the very weapon from which Nikolai Martynov was shot. The retired colonel was charged with murder, and soon the alleged mastermind of the crime was also detained - according to investigators, he is another co-owner of Clinolina Holding Limited, 35-year-old Anton Erokhin. According to the investigation, he tried to buy out Mr. Martynov’s share in the company, but the businessmen did not agree on the price, and Mr. Erokhin hired him for 1 million rubles. killer to eliminate a partner. The investigation has already been completed, and the defendants are now familiarizing themselves with the case materials.

Meanwhile, Lada Ryasnova, who worked as an employee of the control and audit service in Mr. Martynov’s company, filed a civil claim with the Zyuzinsky District Court of Moscow. She stated that she was in a relationship with a businessman civil marriage(the official wife of the oilman had already been living abroad for several years by that time) and gave birth to his daughter Yaroslava. Mrs. Ryasnova asked to establish Martynov’s paternity in relation to her daughter, which would give the right to give the child his last name and “realize the inheritance rights of the minor.” At the request of the court, investigators provided data on Mr. Martynov’s DNA profile, which was used during the investigation and filed as evidence in the case. It was the results of DNA examinations that became one of the key evidence of Mr. Korotenko’s involvement in the crime.

The court ordered an examination to be carried out at the Russian Center for Forensic Medical Examination of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. Experts have established the paternity of the murdered girl with a probability of more than 99.9%. They also compared her DNA with that of the businessman's 24-year-old son, establishing their paternal relationship with a probability of more than 99.7%.

For their part, the defendants in the case - relatives of Nikolai Martynov - rejected Ms. Ryasnova’s demands, and their lawyer Anastasia Tsvetkova, in the past, by the way, a judge of the same Zyuzinsky court, saw in her actions an attempt at fraud in order to receive part of the inheritance. They also stated that in last years During his life, the businessman was barren, and when the girl was conceived, he was generally abroad. As a result, the court was presented with data from Aeroflot, Raiffeisenbank, medical institutions and the World Class fitness club, indicating that during the period of development of relations with Mrs. Ryasnova, the businessman was still in Moscow and did not contact doctors with complaints of infertility. It is interesting that during the trial, a certain fellow countryman of the accused Korotenko came to court, declaring that he was the father of the girl. True, he could not explain where and when he communicated with Ms. Ryasnova and incorrectly described her appearance eight years ago. The court ordered a DNA examination, which showed zero probability of paternity from Nizhny Novgorod, while re-confirming the relationship between Yaroslava and Nikolai Martynov’s son.

As a result, Judge Elena Safyan rejected Ms. Ryasnova’s claims in full. At the same time, the decision did not even mention the results of a genetic examination conducted using the DNA profile of the murdered Martynov and which confirmed his paternity with almost one hundred percent probability, although it was this DNA profile that helped the investigation bring charges against the alleged killer of the businessman. In complaints against this decision, the applicant's representatives indicated that the results of the DNA examination were recognized as one of the main evidence by the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The point in this case, where the evidence of the investigation is called into question by the court, must be put by the Supreme Court. Lada Ryasnova herself is reluctant to comment on the current situation. “Of course, I will go to the end. Yaroslava knew Kolya as a father until she was four years old, but here he turns out to be not the father - and this despite all the evidence,” she told Kommersant, explaining that she was very tired of the long legal proceedings.