Alexander Ivanov: I don’t know what it is to be bored

We continue the “Frankly speaking” section. Its heroes are employees of the Mosmetrostroy group of companies, who share their rules of life with readers and speak honestly about themselves. This time we talked with the general director of SMU-1 Metrostroy LLC, Alexander Ivanov. He remembered one of the most striking episodes of the construction of the metro in Tashkent and explained what a subordinate and a soldier had in common.

• No matter how much in my youth I tried to get away from transport construction, life still sent me there. And I never regretted it.
• I am inspired by work. I am grateful to fate that she involved me in this path.
• The main thing in Mosmetrostroy is the prospect: opportunities for learning and growth.
• The uniqueness of SMU-1 is in the quick response to incoming tasks. A powerful engineering service is the key to success.
• The key task of a manager is to create an opportunity for a subordinate to correctly comprehend and perform the assigned task. And not just force.
• Everyone must work independently, responsibly, without asking unnecessary questions. It’s been a long time since my subordinates call me about problems that they can solve themselves. This is the principle of a responsible attitude to work.
• With the beginning construction of the metro in Tashkent, many went to this construction site after graduating from universities. The competition was very high. To become a section chief, one had to prove oneself in action. I managed to go from a foreman to this position in just a year.
• Construction of the Tashkent metro was supervised by very high-ranking people. In particular, the second secretary of the city party committee Krasnoslav Dudin. He had the nickname "centre forward". Some were even taken out of planning meetings with his participation. But any issues were resolved immediately.
• Maxim Gorky station in Tashkent - my first in the mode of a section chief. It was done in eight months. For me it was a terrible blow: I had just started working, and they immediately threw me into start-up. I didn't know what to grab onto. But they delivered on time. There were all sorts of records back then.
• I especially remember the construction of the Alishera Navoi station. An incredible, heaviest object. Includes 48 ceramic-finished domes. At that time, I was the head of the site, and the current general director of UMM, Sergei Shkarin, was a mechanic. The most interesting thing is how the two of us erected the first dome weighing 28 tons. The crane jerked a couple of times, and the crane operator ran away. Shkarin climbed up himself. As a result, we were able to very successfully install the first sample in place. The rest went like clockwork.
• The most interesting station for me during my work in Moscow is “Maryina Roshcha”. How? Tight deadlines. It was planned to be made with two barrels. But one of them was closed - the site was taken away for the construction of a shopping center. And we had to organize the work in such a way as to get everything done in a year from one trunk.
• Completing service in the army, he was the only conscript who became the foreman of a training company. It was there that I began to hone my organizational skills. Soldiers are like subordinates at work. Just live nearby, and nothing can be hidden.
• If I leave to go on vacation somewhere, I want to come back in a week. It’s somehow impossible to live without Moscow anymore. I also like Sochi - this city has a soul.
• Free time I don’t have any. I don’t know what it’s like to be bored: I’ll always find something to do. I have two small children, and I try to pay attention to them.
• I dream that my children live in a normal country, they can calmly raise their children and know why they are doing this.