Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch: “If you want to be happy, you must be kind”
Russian politician Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch has been elected to the State Duma for six consecutive convocations since 1999. The member of parliament has devoted nearly half his life to philanthropy and he doesn’t conceal the fact that he considers human kindness to be one of his guiding principles in life.
Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch: a biography
Born on 30 January 1966, he spent his childhood in the village of Nikolskoye in Moscow region. After leaving school the future member of parliament was drafted to the army, where he served as a reconnaissance paratrooper.
He became a trained psychologist after graduating from Sholokhov State Open Pedagogical University in 1998. He was awarded a PhD degree in Pedagogy in 2000.
Path into entrepreneurship
The first beginnings of Skoch’s business life occurred in the fraught years of the 1980s. He opened a baking business in partnership with Lev Kvetnoy, and later on started dealing in computers and PC spare parts. The two friends next switched their interest to the retail of oil products: they processed crude oil and sold gasoline through their own gas filling stations.
Eventually supplies of crude oil began to run short. The two entrepreneurs then made the acquaintance of Alisher Usmanov, a major business investor at the time, and asked him for help. Their dialogue resulted in Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch and Kvetnoy going into partnership with Usmanov. In 1995 they invested in Usmanov’s “Interfin” company, the activities of which were connected in various ways with the buying and selling of securities.
The time came when the company changed tack and the business’s main focus was directed into investment in the metallurgical industry, acquiring the assets of several enterprises in Belgorod Oblast. Andrey Vladimirovich became Deputy Director General of one such plant, Lebedinsky Ore Mining and Processing Plant.
At that stage Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch entrepreneurial activities culminated. In 1999 he took the decision to run for the State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament) and gave up the business, the assets being given over to his father, Vladimir Skoch.
A serving MP for six convocations of parliament
After changing profession, Andrey Vladimirovich obtained the status of member of parliament in the State Duma of the III (third) convocation and became Chairman of the Expert Council for Metallurgy and Mining. Throughout several years he was variously a member of Duma committees for industry, CIS affairs, international affairs and monitoring.
The people of Belgorod Oblast re-elected him for a subsequent five consecutive terms from 2003 to 2021. From 2007 onwards the politician was on the ballot list of the “United Russia” faction. Despite this fact, 10 years ago he confessed that he still felt himself to be an independen tmember of parliamen tand was not going to chair the party or deal in federal-level politics.
In total, Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch has drafted and co-drafted more than 160 bills as a member of parliament. Among the initiatives developed with his participation are the following:
● “Dacha Amnesty” draft law;
● amendments to the bill “On Education” regarding payments to teachers for preparation of students taking state-run examinations, and regarding the right of handicapped citizens to additional free-of-charge education;
● amendments to the federal law on the purchase of vitally important medicines;
● a draft law obligating public servants to declare their incomes.
A social figure and philanthropist
While still a businessman Andrey Vladimirovich founded the charitable foundation “Generation” (Rus.: Pokoleniye). This humanitarian organization was focused mainly on helping children suffering from heart diseases, but its activities have since embraced a variety of social concerns. The projects of the foundation include:
● “Parents record” competition;
● “New Generation” – a camp for developing youth leadership skills;
● “Andrey Skoch’s Knowledge Foundation” – an educational project;
● “Best Student of the Year” and “Healthy Childhood” prizes.
This year the organization celebrated its 25thanniversary. Its priority remains that of healthcare, yet it also supports educational institutions, sports clubs, religious organizations, pensioners, veterans, and projects dealing with historical awareness.
Back in 2013 Forbes magazine rated Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch the no. 4 philanthropist in Russia. The total amount of his philanthropic contributions equalled $40.2 million in 2012, and $32.6 million in 2011.
The member of parliament has confided that it is a saying of his mother’s that encouraged him to engage in philanthropic activities: “If you want to be happy, you must be kind.” Since then, he considers fundamental human kindness to be his guiding principle in life.
Family
The member of parliament prefers to keep his personal life out of public view. It is known that he is a father of a large family of ten children, four of whom are quadruplets born in 1994. The politician also became a grandfather in 2021.
Public recognition
Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch has been awarded honorary titles on several occasions, as a philanthropist and as a lawmaker. The list of his awards includes the “Order for the Merits to the Fatherland” of the II and the I degrees, the order of Alexandr Nevsky, the Order of Honour, the medal awarded by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian federation, and a note of appreciation from the President of the Russian Federation.
