Citizen Zhuk

"Citizen Zhuk" — a famous Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneur who became legendary in the mid-1990s, Zhuk Vadim Alekseyevich (born May 3, 1959), specializing in the field of metallurgy.

A Nizhny Novgorod meme. He is known both for his extraordinary public activity directed toward concrete results — for example, the free installation of armored doors in the entryways of his parliamentary constituency — and for numerous accounts of brawls with his own employees.

Named Russian of the Year.

Deputy of the Regional Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region, General Director of the Nizhny Novgorod production and construction holding "Metallostroykonstruktsiya" since 1989, and Doctor of Transport.

Biography

Education

Gorky Polytechnic Institute (1990), mechanical engineer.

Areas of scientific, professional, and creative interest

His areas of academic interest include questions of interaction between wheeled vehicles and snow cover.

Key facts of activity

He has published 1 monograph and 16 articles, participated in six international conferences and symposia, and has produced the following scholarly works: "Kinematics of Movement Over Snowy Terrain by Special Transport and Technological Vehicles," "A Methodology for Accounting for the Influence of Oil and Ice Layers in Snow Cover on the Off-Road Performance of Wheeled Vehicles in Snow," and "Rotary Screw Machines. Fundamentals of Motion." During his tenure as General Director of the CJSC NPSH "Metallostroykonstruktsiya," he made numerous business trips both within Russia and abroad with the aim of adopting new construction technologies.

Academic degrees, honorary titles, and state awards

Doctor of Transport, full member of the Academy of Transport and the International Academy of Real Economics, "Honored Entrepreneur of Russia," "Honorary Builder of Russia."

Membership in public, academic, and other organizations

Deputy of the Regional Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region.

Party and association affiliations

Member of the regional Political Council of the All-Russian political party United Russia; member of the Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Charitable work

Chairman of the "Blagoye Delo" (Good Deed) Foundation, providing assistance to schools, kindergartens, medical institutions, children, pensioners, veterans, and people with disabilities.

Foreign language

English.

Hobbies

Driving.

The essence of the phenomenon

Much like "Citizen Kane," the unstoppable media magnate from Orson Welles's film of the same name, Zhuk is a more than recognizable figure in the region.

Background

The man who looks like Zhuk

A man of considerable native ingenuity, hailing from the Kherson Region, he became one of the major Nizhny Novgorod residents industrialists around whose persona a powerful system of urban legends has developed.

On one hand, "the man who looks like Zhuk," after being involved in a traffic accident while driving a deputy's car, took refuge in the annex of the Dvigatel Revolyutsii metro station, which at the time housed the constituency office of the Leninsky District, and where V.V. Putin's public reception office, for the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, has since been established.

On the other hand, senior employees of the companies run by Zhuk have never complained about their level of pay — a fact communicated to one of the authors of the "Nizhny Novgorod Chronicles" by the wife of a manager working in Vadim Zhuk's business.

Within the circles of the Nizhny Novgorod elite, the entrepreneur is recognized as one of the key figures shaping the image of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Zhuk is a deputy of the Regional Legislative Assembly of Nizhny Novgorod Region and a member of the regional political council of the United Russia party. He is a full member of the International Academy of Real Economics, a Doctor of Transport, and a full member of the Academy of Transport of the Russian Federation. He has been awarded the honorary distinction "Honored Entrepreneur."

Russian of the Year

Finally, on June 6, 2006, Zhuk became a laureate of the "Russian of the Year" award, alongside such distinguished individuals as Nobel Prize-winning academician Vitaly Ginzburg, world chess champion Anatoly Karpov, and Moscow State University rector Viktor Sadovnichy.

At the ceremony, held in the Main Conference Hall of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation in Moscow, the reasons for Zhuk's award were announced: his significant personal contribution to solving constituents' problems and his capable leadership of the company "Metallostroykonstruktsiya."

Chaika, Prosecutor General of Russia, threatens Zhuk

On August 28, 2009, during a special meeting devoted to the problem of wage arrears at Nizhny Novgorod enterprises, Russia's Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika advised Vadim Zhuk — United Russia party member and General Director of the joint-stock company "Metallostroykonstruktsiya" — to resolve the issue of wage debts exceeding three million rubles within one month, warning of "severe prosecutorial measures."

The Prosecutor General's high-profile visit to Nizhny Novgorod on the matter of wage arrears was no coincidence. Nizhny Novgorod is, without exaggeration, the country's largest center of machine-building and metalworking — precisely the industries that have been hit hardest by the global economic crisis.

The only surprising element of this story is the identity of the Nizhny Novgorod executive who came under the scrutiny of the prosecutor's office.

Is Zhuk guilty?

Is Zhuk truly at fault? Is there any intent behind his inaction, or is it all simply a matter of market conditions?

As the chairman of the regional Trade Union Council reported at the end of August, there are currently 25,000 unemployed in the region, and around 80,000 Nizhny Novgorod residents are at risk of redundancy, working reduced hours — three days a week.

- Wage arrears amount to around 160 million rubles, — says Anatoly Sokolov. — The Sokol Aircraft Manufacturing Plant has large debts; payments for completed state orders are not coming through. The situation is difficult at enterprises undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

The Vtormet enterprise, for instance — its workers are owed a combined total of 15 million rubles. The matter is being resolved, but at a slow pace.

In discussions among Nizhny Novgorod residents

Criticism of Zhuk

So I decided to create a thread in honor of this "wonderful" man with an "spotless" reputation — Vadim Anatolyevich Zhuk. Why now? Because right now, with the crisis, many people are taking jobs at firms like his (where they promise you the moon), firms about which terrible rumors circulate — and can you even call them rumors, given what is actually going on at Metallostroykonstruktsiya?

I personally worked there and can say with confidence: do not under any circumstances try to get a job at this firm! Not only will they drag your name through the mud and tell you where to go, but you'll also be working day and night at the whim of the company president — and that's just for starters. The people who work there have no opinions of their own; they are intimidated and completely subservient to Zhuk.

So even if you get beaten there, no one will help you. And the fact that he is an unhinged, neurotic, abnormal type becomes clear after your second interaction with him. At first he seems like a normal person, but eventually you realize he has clear problems with his head and his mental state.

People, wake up… where there's money, there's nothing but headaches…………

La vida loca

Good Things About Zhuk

In my opinion, Zhuk V.A. is a very competent manager. I think it would be hard to find many directors who would be pleased to see their employees, in the middle of the working day, "browsing" websites (at the employer's expense, by the way) and broadcasting all kinds of nonsense in real time, like you, Zhiznenno-Neobkhodimaya. And then on top of that demanding big salaries, tasty lunches, and a pat on the head. THE QUESTION IS: What for? What exactly have you done that's so outstanding? Other than spreading false accusations! Instead of getting on with your actual job duties. Frankly, I wouldn't want such an irresponsible and quarrelsome employee even in my own hair salon. A salary is called a salary for a reason — it's paid for work, not for a vague physical presence at the workplace. If you work at that kind of pace, of course you'll never get anything done and you'll constantly be getting an earful. And if a manager raises his voice at an employee, it simply means the employee isn't doing their job — so it's the employee who's at fault, not the director. People who know how to work and love their work are very much needed at Zhuk V.A.'s company; they are welcomed there, constantly rewarded and given bonuses, promoted up the ladder, and banquets are even held in their honor. Such specialists stay there for decades and have no intention of leaving. Because they are hardworking, logical, tolerant, sociable, loyal, and managed to find the right approach to their director. But stupid, lazy, arrogant employees with presidential ambitions won't last long at any job. And in general, there is one rule: "If you can't get along with people — go sweep streets!" Perceptive and far-sighted people consider it an honor to work with such a legendary figure as Vadim Anatolyevich: 1) He built his company from scratch, and it has been in existence for nearly 20 years. 2) He provides his employees with offices that are superbly equipped to the latest standards — from interior design to technical facilities — with a free café, in-house cooks, and a company shuttle. You could practically live there. 3) He provides jobs with high salaries for over 1,000 people. 4) He raised two sons and turned them into competent professionals. 5) He spends his personal funds to support the Leninsky District, providing targeted assistance to people who genuinely need it. 6) Vadim Anatolyevich and his company work "day and night" so that beautiful buildings get built in our city, people live in good conditions, and schools and churches get renovated. And in general, he himself knows how to work and loves working, and strives to teach others to do the same. And what, Zhiznenno-Neobkhodimaya, can you boast of from that list? In your entire life, have you achieved even a single item from the list above? Or does your ambition extend no further than badmouthing behind people's backs a prominent man and his family with undeserved mud? As for Zhuk V.A. — he may be tough, but he's a fair man with a generous soul. I know him personally and have great respect for him. Those who want to be on his team and work for the common cause are all very happy there!

stalinn

Lessons from Zhuk

- The salary is insane for Nizhny Novgorod, more than enough for bread and butter :) so everyone goes there... but nobody stops to think how much blood they'll drain out of you there. Conclusion: Zhuk is a bloodsucker!

City Forum NN.RU

- The salary is insane for Nizhny Novgorod, more than enough for bread and butter) so everyone goes there... but nobody stops to think how much blood they'll drain out of you there. Conclusion: Zhuk is a bloodsucker!

- and "insane" — how much exactly? curious - I recently came across a secretary vacancy, they pay 20,000 + bonus, so around 40,000 altogether if you behave yourself))))))

- I also know a girl who's been working there for five months now. I don't think she's enjoying it. She works without days off, from morning to morning, sleeps only two hours a day. Is that a life? Most of the staff there are from out of town, that's why they cling to the job — the money is good, they may have never seen that kind of money in their lives. But I can say for certain there's absolutely no personal life there, and before long there won't be any health left either.

- They haven't been paid their salary for about 5 months now))) something does get handed out, but it's peanuts. They don't pay the full amount, only part of it — out of 20,000 maybe 3–4 thousand a month. It's the same as if I were working at a regular company with a normal schedule and days off and getting that kind of money. But here it's a frantic pace and no Life whatsoever)))))

- right now I'm not sure exactly but in the spring he was tossing out 3k just so they wouldn't starve, and don't forget Saturdays and sometimes Sundays are working days too.

- Yeah, Zhuk's got debts coming out of his ears...

- everyone's waiting for him to pay out 6 months of back wages

- That's hilarious)) And then they'll keep waiting and waiting))) What an original system Zhuk has))) All managers should take note)) They work for free like robots)))

- a friend of mine, did 2 tours in Chechnya, worked there (at Zhuk's) as a manager..... at 3 in the morning three guys showed up at his apartment, some kind of security service or whatever, kicked up a fuss about something, woke up his kid...... all three of them were forcibly assisted down the stairs from the 8th floor, broken bones etc..... In the morning at the office the boss for some reason insulted my friend's wife and child, for which he got punched in the teeth)))

Now he has his own business, treats his employees with respect and kindness. He says he got a very valuable lesson in life, and at the same time got to rough up his colleagues for free)))