Charitable activities of Andrey Skoch

Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch, a former entrepreneur, has served as a deputy of the State Duma since 1999 and is also the founder of the Pokolenie (Generation) Foundation charity.

BIOGRAPHY OF ANDREI SKOCH

А.V. Skoch was born in 1966 in the Moscow region. His father, Vladimir Nikitovich, was a worker, and devoted almost half a century to aircraft construction and engineering.

After school, he served in the army before receiving a higher education– but this all changed in the 1990s when Skoch decided to follow an entrepreneurial route in accordance with changing times, selling computer details, opening a bakery, and eventually branching out into bigger business opportunities, including the oil market.

“INTERFIN”

Having earned a considerable fortune, Andrei Skoch began to make numerous investments, and in 1995, he invested in the company “Interfin”.

“Interfin” was at the time managed by Alisher Usmanov, a man who a few years later will be included in the Forbes list of richest men in Russia. The company was engaged in investments in securities, and bought shares on the stock exchange.

WORK IN THE STATE DUMA

Andrei Skoch had often engaged in business in the Belgorod region, and when the investor started to have political ambitions, he decided to run for the State Duma in the region he already knew so well.

In 1999, Andrei Skoch was elected a deputy to the State Duma and gave up his business career, transferring his share in “Interfin” to his father, Vladimir Skoch. Vladimir Nikitovich’s life had been connected with industry, he was a good judge of character, and expertly utilized the managerial structures his son had set up. He did not take the reins of the business into his own hands, instead believing it wiser to rely on experienced leaders who formed the backbone of the company’s management. Skoch Sr. retained the position of advisor to the General Director.

Meanwhile, his son Andrei Vladimorovich Skoch enthusiastically took up lawmaking, and in the 20 years that have passed since his first election, he has co-authored more than 150 legislative initiatives, also heading the Expert Council on Metallurgy and Mining Industry, and serving as a member of the Committee on CIS affairs.

THE POKOLENIE (GENERATION) FOUNDATION

Andrei Skoch also founded the “Healthy Generation” (“Zdorovoe Pokolenie”) foundation, a fund designed to help sick children in Russia, in the middle of the 90s. It was originally created to help children with heart disease.

However, it soon became clear that there were many useful and interesting initiatives sorely lacking funds across the country. The Foundation was renamed the Pokolenie (Generation) Foundation and began to provide a wide variety of support to various sectors of Russian society. Among the areas of its activity are:

• culture, education and sports;
•   the restoration of monuments in Russia and abroad;
•   the allocation of funds for the construction of medical facilities and purchase of equipment;
• the financing of scientific research;
• targeted assistance to those in need.

Vladimir Nikitovich has fully supported his son’s initiative and is a member of the Trustees’ board of the foundation, also donating a considerable amount of money from his private funds. In 2017 alone, he transferred 154 million rubles to various initiatives.

WHAT DOES ANDREI SKOCH’ FOUNDATION HELP FINANCE?

Among the well-known projects funded by the Pokolenie (Generation) Foundation was the “Debut” literary award. From 2000-2016, this award was given to the young authors for excellence in Major and Minor prose, Essays, poetry, fiction and dramatic works.

Skoch has spent a considerable sum on the reconstruction of military graves and commemorative structures such as the Russian Necropolis in Belgrade, the Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers in Port Arthur, and the Katyn Memorial Complex.
In addition, the Foundation has financed:

• a building at the boarding school for gifted children;
• a program to research and treat autism;
•   a multi-volume dictionary “Russian writers. 1800-1917”;
• a Sports Palace;
•   the restoration of several ancient temples.

MEDICINE , CHILDREN AND VETERANS

Skoch has also financed several important medical facilities: an ophthalmological center in Stary Oskol, a neuro-orthopedic center in Belgorod, 29 paramedic and obstetric stations, and many more. The costs for each of these structures ranges from 100 to 450 million rubles. Hundreds of millions rubles have also been spent on equipment – from mobile fluorography to artificial kidney devices.

One of the Pokolenie (Generation) Foundation’s most important expenditures is rewards and support for large families, and this is not accidental: Skoch has ten children himself. In addition to the “Parental Record” Award, he has financed children’s holidays on the Black Sea coast, has paid for their English language training, has provided families with means of transportation, and in doing so, has taken into account the needs of disabled children.

Vehicles have been supplied to both veterans and people with disabilities. For villages and small towns that lack their own budget, even school buses and ambulances have been gifted by the fund, with around 500 million rubles being spent on the fleet in total.

For his charitable initiatives and success in lawmaking, the philanthropist had received numerous government awards, including a note of recognition from the Russian President.