Born August 24, 1946. In 1970 he graduated from the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute and since May 18, 1970 he has been working at NPO Avtomatiki.
Since 1992, Leonid Nikolaevich worked as Deputy General Director for Economics and Management. For studying modern methods work in market conditions and optimal development of the production of civilian conversion products in 1996, he graduated from the Ural State Economic University.
Leonid Nikolaevich became general director in 1997 and brought the company to a stable level of operation. He was awarded the Tsiolkovsky Star established by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.
Publications with mentions on fedpress.ru
EKATERINBURG, January 29, RIA FederalPress. The members of the fourth convocation of the Public Chamber of Yekaterinburg have become known. The formation process took place in several stages...
EKATERINBURG, February 2, RIA FederalPress. Governor of the Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev held a series of meetings with deputy prime ministers,...
EKATERINBURG, February 17, RIA FederalPress. The head of the Middle Urals, Evgeny Kuyvashev, included leading industrialists and scientists on the council for the implementation of the Ural...
Sverdlovsk region
EKATERINBURG, July 7, RIA FederalPress. NPO Automation will exhibit its stand at the sixth International Industrial Exhibition "Innoprom-2015". The current exposition of the enterprise at...
EKATERINBURG, July 10, RIA FederalPress. NPO Automation presented at the sixth Innoprom exhibition a wind power plant that can provide electricity...
EKATERINBURG, October 19, RIA FederalPress. At the Vostochny cosmodrome, specialists from NPO Automation completed the installation of a control system for the technical complex. “Our equipment...
Sverdlovsk RegionAt 09:30 near the press service of the Yekaterinburg city administration (Lenin Avenue, 24a, room 313a) a briefing will be held by the deputy head of the city administration...
EKATERINBURG, May 5, RIA FederalPress. The developer of space rocket control systems did not wait for the results of the commission investigating the unsuccessful Soyuz launch on...
EKATERINBURG, May 5, RIA FederalPress. General Director of NPO Automation Leonid Shalimov, who was suspended from his post during the investigation, today announced his...
EKATERINBURG, May 5, RIA FederalPress. The special commission to investigate the reasons for the failure of the first launch of the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle from the Vostochny Cosmodrome completed...
What is more important for the country today: stability or drastic changes? This is the most discussed topic of the last month.
It has become the cornerstone in the election campaign of all candidates for the presidency of Russia. Some argue that we are being dragged along by a donkey and demand revolutionary changes, others are confident that the country is developing successfully and we just need to move forward, avoiding any social upheavals.
Today's interlocutor of RG - the head of one of the leading defense enterprises in the country, the Yekaterinburg NPO Avtomatika, Leonid Shalimov - cannot be called a supporter of a measured and calm life: he likes to "launch" spaceships and always personally observes the launch of rockets, in the creation of which specialists from his company participated. At the same time, Shalimov openly supported the workers of Uralvagonzavod, who called on concerned people to go to a rally to defend the existing stability in the country. “I don’t want to go back to what happened in the nineties,” Shalimov briefly explains his position.
Leonid Shalimov: I have the impression that the workers have already tasted what full revelry of democracy, even crime, is, and just like me, they do not want to return to those times. After all, they will be the first to feel the results of instability on their own skin.
I remember how in the mid-nineties, wages at factories, including those in the Urals, were not paid for months. And it was very difficult at our enterprise. Delegations from the workshops came to me and gave me an ultimatum: we won’t leave until we pay off all our debts. They sat down in the office, demonstrating that they would definitely not leave without money. I didn’t object, I just asked not to interfere with work. Some time passed, and the workers saw: the problems were real, tied to more than one director, issues with orders and their payment were very difficult to resolve. And they lifted the “siege” and slowly left the office. It was 1997. It took a lot of effort to bring the enterprise to stable operation.
And now, I think, there is definitely a threat of a return to chaos. Because people who say that it’s time to change course in the country are not ready to manage such a colossus as Russia, and do not even imagine what it is. It looks like a banal life situation: fans are sitting in the stadium, whistling, making noise and clearly know who to pass to, how to give the ball, where to shoot. But if you let a fan onto the field, he might not even hit the ball. Of those who today are vying for the position of head of state, I do not see people, other than the current prime minister, who would be capable of governing the country.
RG: Some value wages and stability, others demand greater freedoms and the development of civil society. Is it really impossible to combine these things without political upheavals?
Shalimov: It’s possible, but it’s not worth climbing the barricades to do it. What hurts most is that people who have not created any social product are calling for revolutionary changes. And they want to be politicians, as I define it, to show off. There is an old joke about this: animals are flying on an airplane, and after a while the crow says: “Something has become boring: we fly and fly. Let’s show off!” Everyone agrees and begins to destroy chairs, knock out windows, and destroy equipment. The plane, naturally, begins to fall, and then the crow says: “It’s time to fly away!” Everyone is scared: “We don’t know how.” “So why were you showing off then?” - asks the bird and leaves the plane.
I think that people who have also become bored with developing so smoothly have long ago bought real estate abroad and keep their money in foreign banks. If a mess breaks out in Russia, they will fly away like that crow, and we will have to pay for the show off.
You need to calmly, methodically build your life. But working every day is difficult. Harder than calling for rapid change.
RG: The work of your enterprise confirms that stability is not stagnation, but movement, growth in production volumes...
Shalimov: Volumes are, of course, important, but today you can make five nails, tomorrow - 15, the day after tomorrow - 30. Volumes will grow, but the plant will stagnate. Stable development is ensured by technical re-equipment and modernization. One can definitely say about our company that it is only moving forward both in terms of new innovative solutions and in labor diversification. Of course, we have a serious government order in the core rocket and space sector, but it is not the only one that now determines the stable work of the association. We produce the latest products for almost all branches of civil engineering. The electric locomotive alone reached volumes that were not previously available under government orders. And I can say for sure that all enterprises, which in the past decades not only acquired owners, are in favor of maintaining the stable development of the country: these owners have invested in technical re-equipment and in boosting the economy. Just look: almost all industrial giants that openly supported the course towards stability - UMMC, Evraz-Holding - pay great attention to the modernization of production.
RG: Are you a blogger?
Shalimov: Yes you! I don’t want to offend anyone, but I think that this activity is not for serious people. Yes, sometimes I jump into forums and wonder how the discussion of the political situation is going. But after two to five minutes I feel, firstly, disgusted, and secondly, sorry for my time: I can read curses on fences.
RG: Now many people from among the intelligentsia are not only afraid, but do not want to indicate their political leanings on the Internet. And even more so to say that they are in favor of the existing course.
Shalimov: The situation around director Nikolai Kolyada was enough for us. Whatever they wrote on the Internet about his joining Putin’s support headquarters, and then the theater building was disfigured with posters. Particularly active bloggers are confident that they are the absolute truth, that their beliefs are the final authority, everything else should not exist. And they can’t even think that there are people with a different opinion. This is their character.
RG: Is this a feature of the mentality?
Shalimov: Not only. There are such people abroad too. He took a gun, went to the island and shot everyone there. I was once on a tram in Lvov, and one guy yelled at the whole car: “Muscovites, bastards, they ate us!” I tug at his jacket and quietly say: “Listen, man, I’m very sorry that we ate you, but I’m ready to compensate: I have a lot of friends, I’m ready to send three or four wagons of lard to Lvov, tell me where?” He looked at me so stunned and started again: “Muscovites, bastards...” I told him again: man, where should I send it? He responded: “Leave me alone, let me yell!” That's all the logic.
RG: But such people are listened to, their courage is admired, and in the end they are followed...
Shalimov: Young people don’t know how to filter. Back in the Soviet Union, we were taught to read newspapers correctly, or rather, everything related to propaganda. But no one taught them, so they fall for catchy slogans. When I meet people within election campaign, I’m not agitating, I’m just convincing. I say: treat elections as a determination not of someone’s fate, but of your future life. This is your family, your well-being, your skin. If you want to save it, sit down and think about who you will vote for. Just check your feelings, check your plans. And then no one will be able to influence your choice.
About stagnation
Leonid Shalimov: Representatives of the systemic opposition claim that stagnation has set in. Stagnation, in my opinion, is marking time. And stability is moving forward at a constant speed and along a clear vector. I believe that we are not marking time at all now, and the economy and social life are definitely developing. Perhaps someone has the feeling that changes are happening too slowly and it is necessary to increase agility. We saw the results of this agility in the nineties, when in the morning in the store there was one price for sausage, and in the evening - another, ten times more, when salaries were received in millions, and after a few days this money depreciated. It wasn't easy monetary inflation, it was a rapid devaluation of work and faith in the future.
I understand and share the position of those who now do not want to accelerate in this way... Their choice is determined not by fear of change, but by the desire to go to work, get decent money for it and have a normal rest. Representatives of the opposition, after the workers' rallies, unanimously said that the workers were taken, bribed and driven. Nothing like that. At my enterprise, I immediately said: whoever wants to, goes and expresses his position. But I won’t encourage this with bonuses or time off. And people went without any carrots or sticks.
Help "RG"
Leonid Nikolaevich Shalimov began labor activity at NPO Avtomatika in 1970 and worked his way up from engineer to general director. Candidate of Economic and Technical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Engineering Sciences named after Academician Prokhorov, Academician of the International Academy of Navigation and Traffic Control, Advisor Russian Academy rocket and artillery sciences.
Awarded the state orders "Badge of Honor", "Friendship", "For Services to the Fatherland" IV degree, the badge "For Services to the Fatherland" Sverdlovsk region". Honorary citizen of Yekaterinburg (2011).
The former head of NPO Avtomatiki, Leonid Shalimov, who resigned amid the scandal with the unsuccessful launch of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, will remain at the company, but in a different position. As Leonid Shalimov told the EAN news agency, he will not move from Yekaterinburg to Moscow, where the Ural media wooed him.
Leonid Shalimov, former general director of NPO Automation:
I love Yekaterinburg very much, I won’t go to Moscow for any money. I can’t leave NPO Automation. This is one of the few enterprises that can make an absolutely unique product. I will begin to implement projects that I did not have enough time for before.
At the same time, the scientist explained that he was not going to change his decision to resign from the post of general director.
Shalimov told the publication that the current Minister of Industry and Science, Andrei Misyura, is vying for the position of the new head of the defense enterprise.
Leonid Shalimov:
To date, there is no official confirmation of Misyura’s departure from the regional government, but rumors about his impending resignation are circulating in the press.
Andrey Misyura has worked at NPO Automation since 2003, where he rose to the position of first deputy general director for science and advisor to the manager. He received the ministerial portfolio in September 2014, replacing Vladislav Pinaev.
Let us remind you that the first launch of a rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome was supposed to take place on April 27, but it had to be postponed a day for technical reasons. On April 28 at 5:01 Moscow time, the launch took place as usual.
The day after the unsuccessful launch, President Vladimir Putin reprimanded Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, a severe reprimand to the head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov and the general director of the Yekaterinburg NPO Automation Leonid Shalimov. Afterwards, Shalimov was suspended from work. Without waiting for the end of the investigation, May 5, .
A special commission to investigate the reasons for the failure of the first launch at the Vostochny cosmodrome completed its inspection at NPO Avtomatiki in Yekaterinburg. According to Kommersant, members of the commission, having examined the products brought from the East, came to the conclusion that the launch failure was to blame. The day before, a closed meeting was held in Sochi between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and the head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov. They discussed issues of development of the space industry.
The head of NPO Automation Leonid Shalimov submitted his voluntary resignation after he was given a warning about incomplete performance. The structure was developing automation for the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle, the launch of which from the Vostochny Cosmodrome was postponed for a day.
Leonid Shalimov resigned due to the fact that the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket was delayed by a day due to its automatic cancellation. “The CEO submitted his resignation at will. First Deputy Director General for Science Mikhail Trapeznikov was appointed acting head of the Automation Research and Production Association. Today, a special commission continues to work at the enterprise,” explained the press service of NPO Automation.
It was at this enterprise that some of the parts for the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle were developed. It was supposed to launch on April 27 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, but due to a malfunction of the product, which was developed in the structure headed by Leonid Shalimov, the launch was postponed by a day.
For the cosmodrome, the launch of Soyuz-2.1a was the first launch. President Vladimir Putin arrived at the event and had to stay in Blagoveshchensk until the problems were fixed. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees the defense industry in the government, and the head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, were reprimanded for disrupting the launch. Leonid Shalimov's resignation was the first following a bad start.
“While still at the cosmodrome to him (Leonid Shalimov.- “Kommersant”) the president made a representation about incomplete official compliance, and everything else is decisions that are made within the industry, by industry leaders and supervisors, and they are not subject to approval by the head of state,” the presidential press secretary commented on the news of the resignation of the head of the NPO Automation Russia Dmitry Peskov.
Policy Department
Three reprimands found their heroes
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a real scolding to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos Igor Komarov, head of NPO Automation Leonid Shalimov, as well as Chairman of the State Commission Alexander Ivanov - not because of the failure that led to the cancellation of the Soyuz launch, but because for his reasons. The fact is that, as it turned out, the fuel valve did not work. In fact, it was fine - either the cable that led to this valve or the soldering of the cable was not checked. Thus, what happened turned out to be an example of perfect sloppiness.
Why did the rocket launch fail the first time?
According to the initially approved plans, the launch of the Soyuz with the Volga launch unit and three spacecraft(“Lomonosov”, “Aist-2D” and SamSat-218) was supposed to take place from the cosmodrome on April 27 at 5:01 Moscow time. According to a Kommersant source in the industry, after the “dry removal” procedure (the first installation of the rocket on the launch pad), on March 21–25, specialists conducted additional tests of the rocket’s systems and assemblies, but no shortcomings were identified.
How Vladimir Putin experienced the state of weightiness
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome after a meeting of the state commission on April 27 decided not to fly to Moscow and witness another launch of the Soyuz rocket. Kommersant special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov from Blagoveshchensk, the residence of the governor of the Amur region and from the cosmodrome, talks about how this long-suffering decision was made.
The first attempt is not torture
At the Vostochny Cosmodrome on April 27, at the very last moment, the launch of the most reliable Russian rocket, Soyuz, was first canceled, and then postponed and postponed. Kommersant special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov observed this desperate attempt and Vladimir Putin, who flew to Vostochny to see the launch with his own eyes.
In 2016, the state plans to spend more than 3 trillion rubles on national defense. In particular, they will increase costs for Scientific research. Are enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex ready for new technological solutions and competition in the global arms and civilian products market? What is the reason for the failures in the space industry and what successes can we be proud of in the past year, Leonid Shalimov said in an interview with TASS, CEO Yekaterinburg NPO Automation - one of the largest Russian enterprises in the development and production of control systems and radio-electronic equipment for the rocket and space industry.
Leonid Nikolaevich, the successes of Russian defense engineers are visible to everyone today. The whole world is watching the launches of Bulava and Caliber and discussing their merits. But we don’t see what’s abroad. How do Russian missile technologies compare to competitors? What is the real balance of power in the struggle between technologies?
Until recently, they liked to repeat that Russia was technologically behind the leading world powers. However, as regards our company specifically, I can confidently say that we do not see any competitors in the world. We are on parallel roads with foreign manufacturers - they are on their own, we are on our own. Who should we compete with? Only with yourself.
I can't tell you the details. Specific numbers and information are not disclosed for obvious reasons. I will say one thing: we not only fulfilled the 2015 government order, but also prepared for next year. The state order is not only a control system for third-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles "Sineva" and "Bulava" ( 12 Decembernuclear submarine "Verkhoturye" successfully launched a ballistic missile "Sineva" from the Barents Sea at the Kura test site in Kamchatka - approx. TASS), but also the control system for Soyuz-2 launch vehicles is a space industry.
As for the space industry, work here is going according to plan. By the end of the year, we will have to carry out three more Soyuz-2 launches from Plesetsk, Baikonur and the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. After all, on Soyuz-2.1a, the only new thing is the control system created by NPO Automation, on “2.1b” there is a new third-stage engine, and on the light rocket “2.1v” the side blocks have been removed. In addition, work continues on the Vostochny cosmodrome. We have already manufactured and delivered all the equipment there - both for the launch site and for the rocket.
There is a lot of talk now about import substitution. Explain the situation with foreign, in particular Ukrainian, components for defense industry enterprises.
As for our products specifically, there were only a couple of Ukrainian connectors, the production of which was quickly mastered in Russia. We are not “out of the woods” so as not to do basic things ourselves. Russia can do anything, they just haven’t done it before.
It is no secret that everything that now flies for both peaceful and military purposes was created 20-30 years ago. What promising ideas do you have? Is there any understanding of what will rise into the sky in 10-20 years?
I agree that Soyuz, Proton, Zenit are rockets made in Soviet times. "Angara" was also created on the basis of works from the 90s. Now there is an opportunity to use completely new technologies. For example, if previously a digital machine weighed 20 kg, today it weighs 5 kg, tomorrow – 400 grams, and the day after tomorrow – 10. Developers are focusing on the new element base, pushing science.
We have ideas on how to make the rocket more advanced: reduce the crew crew compared to Soyuz-2. (according to open data, today the launch of Soyuz-2 is carried out by about 700 people - TASS note), increase the carrying capacity of the launch vehicle for launching super-heavy satellites into space.
- So you are working on"Soyuz-3"?
The development does not have a name yet. Conventionally, to avoid confusion, we call the rocket Soyuz-5. If Roscosmos considers it necessary for a domestic middle-class rocket to be competitive on the world market, then I think this development will become a reality. In addition, we plan to improve launch support. Let me give you an example. Now, if, say, the column does not move away, then the start is cancelled. We plan to eliminate this element altogether. In short, there are many promising technical solutions.
- The successes and prospects are clear. But this year things didn't go so smoothly:crash of the Proton-M launch vehiclewith the Mexican satellite MexSat-1, loss of a military satellite"Canopus"...
It is disappointing that on December 5, the mission to launch the Kanopus-ST satellite into orbit was not completed. This was only the second launch of Soyuz-2.1v in history. The rocket completed the formation of the flight path with almost zero deviation. But the unexpected guy ruined our holiday. Again, there are no complaints about Soyuz-2.1v, the rocket worked perfectly.
- Still, in your opinion, is there a general explanation for failures in space?
The problem is systemic - fools. In other words, in educating engineers, which no one was doing in the 90s. Back then, working in a stall brought in more money in one night than an engineer’s monthly salary. Therefore, no one was eager to get into science. Today, salaries have increased, the market has become civilized, and the engineering profession has become in demand.
But there is no quick fix for failure. Space does not forgive mistakes. Despite the large percentage of production automation and numerous checks at space enterprises, there are operations that must be performed scrupulously, manually. The old workers have left, but the young ones still don’t know how to do this. They do not yet have the necessary experience. Of course, a scientist must think about making the development “foolproof” so that no one can break anything. In Soviet times, no one thought about such would-be specialists, but now it has become important. Unfortunately, the activity of the “fool” often manifests itself only during a flight into space. Hence those same “unexpected people”.
Are “fools” also to blame for the fact that the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome is taking so long? Or are these system errors?
- Vostochny is the first Russian multifunctional cosmodrome. Rush in this matter is contraindicated. Moreover, launching on some significant date. Now we can hear talk about making the first launch in April for Cosmonautics Day. I don't think this should be a priority. We all remember examples from the past when objects were commissioned for some holidays, and then closed and were refurbished for several years. Everything needs to be done efficiently so that the start goes off without a hitch. The cosmodrome must be ready for harsh operation, so that after the first launch it does not have to be quietly completed for six months or a year. From NPO Automation, I repeat, everything is ready - this is the rocket launch control panel, the equipment for preparing the rocket at the technical complex and the Soyuz-2.1a rocket itself. Power supply has appeared at the construction site, our employees say that it is possible to work. But there may be other reasons slowing down the process. It is necessary not to rush the horses, but to prepare comprehensively for the start.
Defense and space issues are actively developing thanks to serious investments secured by state interest and political will. In this situation, civilian products are again on the bench?
A paradoxical situation has arisen, one might say nonsense. Russian tanks and missiles are better than foreign ones, but the civilian tanks are in decline. If we can't compete in industry, I wonder how we compete in the military? The answer is simple - the Ministry of Defense gives technical specifications, on the basis of which developments are carried out. If such tasks existed for the “civilian”, we would be the best in electronics, and in the element base, and in industry.
When a defense development appears abroad, there is always a column “civilian application” in the documentation. For example, solar panels that provide electricity can be used in watches, microcalculators and for the needs of the army. But the difference is in cost. The same resistor costs 1 cent for the mass market, and $100 for the defense industry. Because the military does not have cheap equipment. It is necessary to conduct multi-level quality and serviceability checks. And in civilian life there’s nothing wrong if the TV doesn’t turn on.
- That is, the civilian industry at defense industry enterprises is stagnant?
Despite the fact that the Russian Federation has a large market, it is closed to domestic enterprises. Import substitution is still only on paper. It's hard to get through. A striking example is the domestic computer, which was created at the Izhevsk Radio Plant. A good device, but too expensive. There is only one reason - the price is too high due to the lack of a market. The Izhevsk Radio Plant included all costs in the first sales samples. If there was an order for at least 100 thousand computers, then the cost would be much less - about 30 thousand. I believe that orders should be ensured by administrative or legislative means. Then there will be no competitors for Russia in all areas of industry.
Interviewed Alina Imamova
