Death of top manager Yuri Kotler. Facts, opinions, versions

Former member of the General Council of the United Russia party, Yuri Kotler, voiced the motives for his suicide in a suicide note. On May 16, 2018, a man was found dead in his apartment. In the past, Yuri Kotler was the vice president of VTB, so the first thing the investigators suspected was that the official had been killed. As it turned out later, a member of the council of experts of United Russia took his own life with a pistol shot to the head. At the moment, the investigation is ongoing.

On May 13, Yuri Kotler celebrated his last birthday. According to preliminary data, the official was left alone with his difficulties. The man was declared bankrupt a few days before the suicide. The court ordered him to pay compensation in the amount of 48 million rubles. In the last days of his life, Yuri Kotler completely refused to get in touch with relatives and friends.

Yuri Kotler rented an apartment on Bolshaya Nikitinskaya Street in Moscow. The man's family lives abroad, so he lived alone. Recently, the entrepreneur turned 50 years old. Traces of a solemn feast and gifts were found in the apartment, which, most likely, were received by a man from friends on his birthday.

For three days, the man did not get in touch with his wife. The wife of the deceased lives in France, so she could not personally meet with Yuri. In the end, the woman asked the politician's personal driver to check if everything was fine with the official. The driver had the keys to the deceased's apartment, so he agreed to fulfill the request of the chief's wife.

Yuri Kotler locked the door from the inside and could not open it. The driver decided to call the police, who drove up and broke the door lock. The dead body of an official was found in the room. Initially, no one believed in Kotler's suicide: the man had grandiose plans, according to people from his inner circle. There were no traces of outside interference in the apartment.

Yuri Kotler's suicide note

In a suicide note, Yuri Kotler admits that he committed suicide solely for personal reasons. First of all, the entrepreneur confessed his love for his family, whom, according to him, he had greatly let down. In addition to his wife, Yuri Kotler has a 17-year-old son.

The deceased also thanked his former comrade for the friendship, whom he did not name in the note. Only the nickname of a friend of Yuri Kotler "Boar" is known.

“Boar, you are a true friend. Scary and funny, but real. But not me. And I love my family madly, I let them down very much, ”the note says at the very beginning.

In his dying message, the man talked about the lack of love from his mother. The deceased writes that he loves his mother, but he never heard affectionate words from her and did not feel maternal love.

At the end of the note, Yuri Kotler wished everyone to be strong and not lose heart. He added a funny emoji to his text.

What prompted Yuri Kotler to commit suicide

In the last five years, Yuri Kotler has been engaged in entrepreneurial activities. In the past, he was vice president of VTB Bank. In 2018, he joined the expert council at United Russia.

In March of this year, Kotler was elected to the board of directors of Russia's largest microfinance company, Home Money. In May, the company announced that it could no longer fulfill its obligations to customers due to financial difficulties.

Similar problems accompanied Yuri Kotler. In 2015, he worked at VTB, where he took out a mortgage loan and bought himself an apartment in Bryusov Lane. Two years later, he stopped paying the loan, after which VTB demanded that the man be declared bankrupt. The court decided to deprive the borrower of the right to dispose of the apartment.

Before his death, Kotler sued PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port for not paying him a salary after his dismissal. The man was fired from work for constant absenteeism. Some sources suggested that, most likely, Yuri Kotler could not cope with his problems and chose to take his own life.

This was reported in the Investigative Committee of Russia.

The top manager did not get in touch for three days, Ren-TV notes. His wife, who lives in France, after unsuccessful attempts to reach her husband, asked the driver Kotler to check if everything was in order with her husband. The driver was unable to get into the rented apartment, after which he called the police.

The report of the Investigative Committee, received by Gazeta.Ru, states that one of the main versions of Kotler's death is suicide. This, according to the investigation, is evidenced by the door closed from the inside, the absence of traces of strangers.

During the inspection, it was revealed that the order in the apartment was not violated, as well as the absence of signs of a struggle. At the moment, investigators establish the circumstances of the incident and interview neighbors.

“The course of the check was taken under personal control by the head of the Russian Federation for the city of Moscow, Alexander Drymanov,” the Investigative Committee noted.

Police found a suicide note next to the body.

A Russian political scientist and director on his Telegram channel called the death of a former top manager "strange". “Three weeks ago, we accidentally crossed paths at the airport. He gave the impression of a man full of plans. They said that his candidacy is being considered for the position of coordinator of the expert council under the Government,” he wrote.

From 2007 to 2008, Kotler oversaw work with major institutional and private clients at Troika Dialog. In 2008, he began to lead the United Russia project, which was called "Personnel reserve - the country's professional team."

Five years later, in May 2013, he was appointed Senior Vice President of VTB. He worked at the bank until 2015. Later, Kotler became deputy general director and director of the representative office (NCSP). A representative of the operator of the main oil pipelines, which is the largest shareholder of NCSP, told the media that Kotler was fired in January-February 2018.

In December 2017, VTB sent a request to the Moscow Arbitration Court to declare Kotler bankrupt. According to the court ruling, the man owed the bank 50.4 million rubles, and in 2015 he also took a mortgage on an apartment in Bryusov Lane for 80 million rubles.

The former top manager was approved as a member of the expert council of United Russia in February this year. In the release of the party, he is listed as “deputy general director - director of the representative office of PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port” (NCSP).

In March 2018, Kotler was elected a member of the board of directors of Russia's largest microfinance company Home Money. This is evidenced by the data of the Corporate Information Disclosure Center. It is known that back in April, the organization made a technical default of 840.2 million rubles, the reason is “lack of funds in the required amount.”

A little over a week ago, on May 8, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared Kotler bankrupt.

“I ceased to fulfill monetary obligations, the deadline for which has come, since there is a judicial act that has entered into force to recover Yu.Yu. from Kotler. funds, which has not yet been executed, which confirms the fact of the insolvency of the citizen, ”the court file says.

On the same day, the court began the procedure for confiscating Kotler's property to pay off VTB's debt.

There are two entries in the file cabinet of the Savelovsky Court of Moscow in the civil case between Kotler and NCSP. Judging by the documents, the last hearing in the case took place on May 14 - two days before the police discovered the body of a former top manager.

Text | Alexander POLYANSKY
Photo | Personnel reserve of "United Russia"

Yury Kotler, the head of the project "Personnel reserve - a professional team of the country" of the United Russia party, adviser to the chairman of the Supreme Council of United Russia, a member of the General Council of the party, told our magazine about the prospects for developing the national personnel potential.

Yuri, what role does your project play in the system of personnel reserve programs in our country, which has a presidential reserve, a reserve of the government, reserves of governors, mayors, etc.?

Civil service reserves in one form or another have always existed. Today they are developing and improving, including in the form of the programs you mentioned…

But our project is very special. It is not directly related to the utilitarian tasks of finding officials for various levels of government - it is much broader. Such programs, at least in post-reform Russia, did not exist and do not exist.

We are not looking for candidates for officials, but interesting, competent people with an active life position as such: new faces with development potential in various fields.

- People qualified managerially and with the right life and political attitudes?

Yes. Rather, we started by looking for managers. Then the project expanded in this respect as well.

Today, our laureates are not only managers, but also entrepreneurs, experts, and people inclined towards social activities. We are looking for those in various fields - in business, the social sphere, social movements, science ...

There are those who are considering the possibility of a public career. But some in principle do not see themselves in public service or do not see themselves in it now. However, they have an active civic position, a potential that can be used in various public projects - party or non-party.

Thus, our project assumes two main forms of demand: career growth - transition to state, municipal service, state corporations, structures of the United Russia party or public project work.

We also have technological differences from the state personnel reserves. State personnel reserves are usually a more or less long list compiled by experts. The presidential reserve, as you know, is a list compiled as a result of an expert poll: 170 experts participated in it.

Our reserve is a search engine and a live database in which all changes that occur with our reservists are recorded. You can get into this database on your own by simply filling out a questionnaire on our website.

But first of all, we are looking for promising people in the capitals and regions. We select the brightest, most interesting people whose activities have a positive resonance in a particular territory. The main criteria are success in one's business, an active life position, striving for something more than just making money or fulfilling a given range of duties once and for all, a desire to work in one's country, to participate in its development.

In addition to headhunters in the central office, we have 62 regional representatives who monitor and search for local stars.

- Are they trained professionals?

Yes. We systematically hold seminars for our representatives. In addition, headhunting search technologies are not Newton's binomial: when you find the first group of stars, it is clear in which places others are "hiding".

The search for unknown stars is another of our key features: in the presidential, government, and governors' reserves there are stars of the first magnitude - media people who are well known to the general public. And our laureates are people who have taken place, but are well-known in local territories or in certain industry groups. The general public, even in the regions where they operate, often knows little about them.

And I would like to emphasize one more important property of the project. The personnel reserve "ER" is a project initiated by the party, but the project, in fact, is supra-party, public. 50% of those who become laureates of our project are non-partisans, and there are quite a few members of other parties.

United Russia is the only public force that was able to launch this, in fact, a national personnel project. We alone in many Russian municipalities and even regions are able to create a personnel level for a huge number of people - party and non-party ...

- Personnel lift?

Yes, personnel and social lift. Of course, for the time being this is an elevator that does not travel all the way to the top and, perhaps, not from the very outback. But it will come with time: the main thing is that a working mechanism has been created.

Of course, it would be better if there were other structures besides United Russia nearby: more opportunities for successful initiative people to advance are always a plus. But in the provinces, we are often the same natural monopoly in the political sphere as Sberbank is in the banking one.

Relatively recently, I spoke with a minister who has a rather cool attitude towards our party as a whole. “But for what you are doing to promote regional personnel, you should say thank you!” he remarked.

Of course, the personnel reserve "ER" is a system that can be used for specific tasks. First, we function as a recruitment agency of the United Russia party. Most of the party vacancies are filled with our help: both in the apparatus and in political positions. And the party as a client, as far as I know, is quite satisfied with us.

Secondly, we are actively looking for personnel in the interests of, for example, the renewed governor's corps. Today, quite a few of our laureates are appointed to high positions in the subjects of the Federation.

The most striking examples are the Sverdlovsk region, where a whole galaxy of ministers and vice-premiers of the regional government recently came from the personnel reserve of United Russia; Bashkiria, where President Rustem Khamitov is actively cooperating with us, is not afraid to renew entire ministries at the expense of young people from the reserve. Our reservists are actively attracted in the Murmansk region, as well as in the Pskov region, although, objectively, this is a very difficult, depressed region, and there are simply few candidates.

After the change of power in the capital, the Moscow Government began to work very actively with us. It began with the fact that the project itself suffered personnel losses: my deputy Alexandra Alexandrova headed the personnel department of the mayor's office.

Last year and this year, we are working with a number of requests from the capital's mayor's office, including requests directly from vice-mayors. These are both requests for young, active marketers, business representatives, and requests for classic officials - they understand the processes in the management apparatus well.

In order to qualitatively implement new ideas, next to those who formulate these ideas, there must be the right bureaucrats who will ensure that no papers are lost and that the changes are well “assimilated” by the apparatus.

Nothing can be done by a cavalry charge: the system must be rebuilt gradually. Many of the new generation of governors complain: “I know that the name is inefficient, but so far I can’t do anything about it - I can’t replace it, because the system will collapse.”

Are you ready to give business people the opportunity to build a career in such a way that work in the public service will be just a stage in it?

Undoubtedly. Although I must note that the transitions between business and government and government and business are quite problematic.

- In our country?

Everywhere in the world.

This was the first to be noticed by the Americans, who, earlier than others, were engaged in the creation of such a system. But it turned out that it more or less works at the grassroots and middle levels of government and business, but does not work at the highest.

That is, the transition from high positions in business to high positions in the state and vice versa is more an exception than a rule. Such exceptions are known, they are well known. Both in the US and here: just remember Khloponin, Zelenin... But statistics show that such a transition is unlikely. The functionality of power and the functionality of business at the highest level diverge.

- That is, Prokhorov has no chance?

Well, there are exceptions to every rule...

How does the personnel selection system you created make it possible to counter the two main problems of the Russian state apparatus: lobbyism and tailism?

The system is not designed to deal with these vices. If one or another boss has the appropriate powers, and control over him is lost at a higher level, nothing will stop him from dragging a “tail” of loyal people and appointing lobbyists to positions.

But if there is an intention to solve these problems, our system is the best remedy. Because from the database there is an automatic selection of candidates according to certain criteria.

Thanks to our system, the civil service becomes more professional. And if the official is a professional, the country will be managed more efficiently and develop in the right direction.

- Can the Personnel Reserve of United Russia be called a youth project?

You know, I try to use the word “youth” to a minimum: very often the definition of “youth” is perceived as “second-rate”, something still not real, immature.

We are a youth project in the sense that we work with quite young people. The age limits for the project laureates have been set - 25-45 years. They are conditional: we have both 50-year-old laureates and those who are under 25 years old.

But in general, these boundaries are justified both from a theoretical and practical point of view. At 25, a person still does not have time to show himself. And if he has not shown himself by the age of 45, then, most likely, he will not show himself ...

For those under 25, we have created a separate project - United Russia Youth Personnel Reserve. It is clear that in this category there are few people who have already managed to implement certain projects: there are more of those who have potential, opportunities that need to be helped to develop.

Youth under 25 is a very important category for us. It must be formed in the right way. Moreover, this generation compares favorably with the previous ones: 20-year-olds are less blinkered, they have fewer stereotypes, and a broader outlook.

- But also less life and business experience ...

Of course, but experience is something that can be acquired: experience in Russian conditions is gained quite quickly.

Another of our subprojects is the International Personnel Reserve. This is a reserve of our compatriots abroad who are ready to work in Russia.

When the idea arose in the party to use the potential of those who had left, I was skeptical about this, I thought: well, which of the emigrants would be interested in a career in Russia? But as soon as we began to present our project, in particular at the London School of Economics, where I gave a lecture and talked with our compatriots, I radically revised my point of view.

We began to inform the most famous centers about our project, where there are many former ours. And through the project website, one after another, questionnaires from compatriots abroad began to arrive.

This was so surprising for many that I even had to give explanations to the FSB officers.

- Were you interested in whether your foreign candidates are spies?

Yes. I explained that they were not spies, but very important people for our country.

It turned out that there are many compatriots living in London, Paris, Rome, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and other cities who would be interested in coming to Russia and working with us. They do not really understand how to do it technically: there are often no ties with the country anymore. And our project is ready to help them.

Today we try to meet each other halfway: we inform as widely as possible about ourselves abroad, we give the opportunity to place questionnaires on our website, we form a network of authorized representatives - the same as inside the country.

Are the fate of Russia important to those who have left, or are they interested in the broad opportunities of the emerging market and good earnings?

They, of course, are not indifferent to the fate of the country - this is a very important motive for them. But they are also attracted by interesting work and earnings.

We are able to offer them what they are looking for.

- But civil service salaries are low ...

This is not always of fundamental importance for our laureates. In addition, there are commercial projects initiated by the state, where Russian "foreigners" are able to offer quite competitive material conditions. For example, Russian Railways Corporation, Gazprom, Rosneft or Skolkovo.

Other countries send their officials to study at the best universities in the world, and we have a lot of people trained there from those who left in the 90s ...

That's right - it's a sin not to use their potential!

But at the same time, it is very important to train those who are already in the public service at the world's leading universities. Many post-Soviet countries, such as Kazakhstan, Georgia, have created such training programs. It is important to launch it in Russia as well.

The education factor is fundamental to the manager's mentality. People with top diplomas are people with a completely different attitude. They simply have no motive to put up with the old system, with corrupt mutual responsibility.

There is always an alternative for them, because they are highly rated in the specialist market.

- And how many "foreigners" did you select?

There are several dozen people from their circle in the reserve. But so far only one of the laureates of our project has gone to work in Russia.

This is Mikhail Pryadilnikov, a fairly well-known economist, PhD at Harvard. His professional interests and personal motivation were such that for him there was only the possibility of working in the state apparatus.

For quite a long time we could not offer him a worthy position, although many organizations showed great interest in Pryadilnikov.

We presented it to the Presidential Administration: everything is great, but... Unfortunately, we still have very conservative approaches to the work of "foreigners", even with Russian passports.

Mikhail worked for some time at the Center for Strategic Research with Mikhail Dmitriev. And after the change of power in Moscow, he moved to the apparatus of the vice-mayor for economic development Andrei Sharonov - he is now the head of the Expert-analytical group under the vice-mayor.

Can we say that the personnel management system being created with your active participation marks a new stage in personnel processes? The first stage, the beginning of the 90s, was the time of random people, the second - the middle of the 90s - the time of non-random, but lobbyists. And now the third stage is coming - the time of non-random, highly professional, state-minded people and not stealing?

Of course, this stage has already arrived. Russia is “concentrating”, power is being systematized, becoming more understandable, corresponding to its duties to citizens, the interests of the country, and works in a strategic perspective.

Our project is an important component of this systematization of power. And it will develop and expand so that it will be possible to use the potential of active, enterprising Russians to the maximum for the benefit of their country.

Yuri Yurievich Kotler- Head of the project "Personnel reserve - Professional team of the country", Advisor to the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the All-Russian political party "United Russia", member of the General Council of the party.

Born in 1968. In 1990 he graduated with honors from the international department of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. In 1989-1990 he studied at the University. Karl Marx in Leipzig with a degree in International Relations. In 1992-1994, he completed an internship and courses in public relations and perception management at Burson-Marsteller Corporate University (USA). In 2003, he attended a course for leaders "Leadership and Talent Management" at the INSEAD Leadership Department in Fontainebleau (France).

In 1990-1993 he was engaged in journalistic activities.

In 1993-1994, he was Deputy Director for Corporate Governance at Bozell SMG and Director for Corporate Governance and Shareholder Rights at Burson-Marsteller.

In 1994-1995, he was press secretary of the Federal Office for Insolvency and Bankruptcy under the State Property Committee of the Russian Federation. From 1995 to 1997 - Press Secretary of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market. In 1997-1998, he was PR Director and Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CJSC Interros-Consent, NPF Interros-Dignity and CJSC Interrosleasing, subsequently merged into Interros-Fincom holding.

In 1998-1999, he was engaged in providing information and PR support for the Scenarios for Russia project in the 2015 Club. In 1999-2000, he was the head of the press service and advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the Center for Strategic Research German Gref.

From 2000 to 2003, he was an associate partner and senior consultant at Ward Howell. In 2003-2006, he was the head of the public relations department of the MFI Menatep. In 2006-2007, he was a member of the Board of Directors of CJSC Miel Real Estate.

In 2007-2008, he was Vice President of the management company Troika Dialog.

And businessman Yuri Kotler is one of the most discussed topics of the last week. Some believe that he committed suicide due to bankruptcy and career failures. Others are building conspiracy theories that perhaps there was no suicide, offering to recall Kotler's last place of work - in one of the structures of the Magomedov brothers. Still others talk about psychological problems from childhood. And what if the text of the suicide note was misunderstood by everyone?

On May 16, in the center of Moscow, in the apartment of the house at Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 43, Yuri Kotler, a former member of the Supreme Council of United Russia and former vice president of VTB Bank, was found dead. The alarm was raised by his wife Natalia, who lives in London (previously lived in France). She could not get through to her husband for three days, so she asked Kotler's personal driver to check all possible addresses. He turned to the police for help. The door to a rented apartment, where the body of the once influential and businessman was found, had to be opened by a grinder.

The house where Yuri Kotler rented an apartment

Kotler's car

As it turned out, Kotler had been dead for two days. On May 13, he celebrated his 50th birthday. The consequences of a stormy feast did not clean up. To disassemble packages with expensive gifts, too - they remained standing in the corridor. And the next day after the anniversary, on May 14, as the investigation believes, he sat on the bed, squeezed the Winchester Super X3 sporting gun between his legs and put a bullet in his head. A suicide note with a funny smiley at the end was found next to the body. There were no signs of violence on the body of the deceased, the door was locked from the inside. No traces of an autopsy were found either on the balcony or on the windows. No signs of a struggle were found either. Therefore, the police came to the logical conclusion that Kotler had committed suicide.

Work of a criminalist on the balcony of Yury Kotler's rented apartment

Despite the obviousness of the situation, the Investigative Committee appointed a pre-investigation check. She was taken under personal control by the head of the Main Investigative Committee of the TFR in Moscow, Alexander Drymanov. Without waiting for it to end, the media put forward several versions that could make Kotler pull the trigger.

Our reference:

Yuri Kotler was born on May 13, 1968 in Moscow. In 1990 he graduated from the international department of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. At the same time, he studied at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig with a degree in International Relations. Since 1990, he worked as an economic observer at RIA Novosti, was a correspondent for The New York Times, and directed the Russian version of the Financial and Business News weekly. In 1993, he became Deputy Director for Corporate Governance at Bozell SMG and Director for Corporate Governance and Shareholder Rights at the PR company Burson-Marsteller. In 1994, he took the position of press secretary of the Federal Office for Insolvency and Bankruptcy under the State Property Committee of the Russian Federation. Since 1995 - Press Secretary of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market. In 1997, he was appointed Director of Public Relations and Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CJSC Interros-Consent, NPF Interros-Dignity and CJSC Interrosleasing, merged into the Interros-Fincom holding. Since 1999, he headed the press service of the Center for Strategic Research and was an adviser to the chairman of the Center during the first election campaign. Since 2000, he has been a senior consultant at Ward Howell. In 2003, he headed the PR department of the MENATEP group, after which he was a member of the board of directors of MIEL real estate for two years. He was also engaged in recruitment at the recruitment agency Ward Howell International. In 2007–2008, he oversaw work with major institutional and private clients at Troika Dialog. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Senior Vice President and Advisor to the Head of VTB Bank. After that, he worked as Deputy General Director - Head of the Moscow Representative Office of PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port. He also headed the Institute of Contemporary Leadership of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation. Since 2000, he was a member of the United Russia party, where until 2013 he led the party project "Personnel reserve - the professional team of the country." Until 2018, he was a member of the Supreme Council of the party and an adviser to the chairman of United Russia. In February 2018, he joined the Bureau of the Supreme Expert Council of United Russia - he became one of 30 experts agreed by the Presidium of the General Council of the party to carry out its rebranding.

End of career and financial ruin

More often than others, there is an opinion that financial problems forced Kotler to take his own life. Indeed, for the past six months, the affairs of the once successful businessman have gone downhill. In January, he was fired from the post of deputy director of PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Port (NCSP) for systematic absenteeism, where he headed the Moscow representative office.

According to Igor Demin, adviser to the head of Transneft, the decision to dismiss Kotler was made by the company's new general director, Sergei Kireev, who took this position at the end of December last year. At the time of dismissal, Kotler had accumulated more than a month of recorded absenteeism. The former deputy director of NCSP did not receive the "Golden Parachute" provided for upon dismissal.

Yuri Kotler

Kotler considered that he was fired illegally, and at the end of April he went to court. “The claims are the recovery of unpaid wages and monetary compensation for late payment of wages,” said Maria Mikhailova, spokeswoman for the Savelovsky Court of Moscow. However, Doctor of Economic Sciences Nikita Krichevsky said that Kotler's requirements were completely different: “He sued NCSP not about unpaid wages (here the prospects are 100 percent), but about the “exit parachute”, salaries with which he hoped to close the mortgage. And he knew that nothing was going to happen to him.” According to the plaintiff's calculations, the company owed him 5 million rubles - salary since the end of January and compensation for illegal dismissal.

On May 14, the day of Kotler's death, the judge held the first hearing on the lawsuit. But the plaintiff himself was not present at it, he sent his representative. And the first hearing in the case was to take place at the end of June.

At the end of March, Kotler tried to improve his financial situation by joining the Board of Directors of a large microfinance organization LLC MFC Home Money. But this attempt was also unsuccessful: in April, the organization made a technical default of 840.2 million rubles due to "lack of funds in the required amount."

And on May 5, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared Kotler insolvent. The lawsuit was filed by VTB Bank, where Kotler previously served as vice president. As it turned out, two years ago, when things were going well for him, Kotler took out a mortgage from a bank. He was going to buy an apartment in Moscow at: per. Bryusov, 2/14, building 4, apt. 32. Housing in an elite area cost 80 million rubles. Kotler was no longer able to pay off his debt. He owes VTB 48.7 million rubles and 1.6 million penalties and fines. As the court found, the total value of all Kotler's property turned out to be less than the amount of creditors' claims, so he was declared insolvent. Kotler did not go to the court session, at which he was limited in his right to dispose of any property belonging to him. The personal bankruptcy hearing was scheduled for November 1, 2018. Perhaps, in order to avoid it, Kotler filed a lawsuit against NCSP. But, apparently, he himself understood that there was no prospect of winning the case.

Only connections in high circles could save Kotler from a complete financial collapse. His party career has always developed successfully. But at the beginning of the year he was expelled from the Supreme Council of United Russia. And the recent reshuffle in the cabinet of ministers hit the Open Government hard, in which Kotler took an active part. Therefore, the director of the Center for Political Science Research at the Financial University, political scientist Pavel Salin explained the reason for his suicide in this way: “Most likely, this is the story of a psychological breakdown of a man - a careerist in a good sense, who at once in several areas of his activity suffered a complete fiasco, both from a career point of view, and with the material, and the age of 50 years - summing up - all this had a negative impact. This was a man who always wanted to go up. Job loss, bankruptcy broke him.”

Yuri Kotler

On the other hand, in February 2018, Kotler was included in the Bureau of the Supreme Expert Council of United Russia. Political scientist Nikita Isaev shared this detail: “Recently, my friend met him at the airport. Kotler said that he was going to re-enter the corridors of power, where he was going to reconfigure the country's government. He said that he had the opportunity to return. Many recall that lately Kotler was full of enthusiasm and expected a new upsurge in his political career, made plans to become the coordinator of the expert council under the government of the country. Therefore, the version that financial and party collapse was the cause of suicide does not look 100% convincing.

Criminal trail

A number of media suggested that Kotler's suicide was on the conscience of the Magomedov brothers. From 2016, until his dismissal in January of this year, the experienced top manager was Deputy General Director of PJSC Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, and headed the Moscow office of the company. NCSP is one of the main transport hubs in Russia and the third busiest port in Europe. A 50.1% stake in the port is owned by the Cypriot company Novoport Holding Ltd, equally owned by the Summa group of companies of the brothers Ziyavudin and Magomed Magomedov and the Transneft company, headed by Nikolai Tokarev. Another 20% of the port's shares are held by the Federal Property Management Agency, and the rest - by minority shareholders and on the open market.

Brothers Magomedov

On March 31, co-owners, the Magomedov brothers, as well as the head of a company that is part of the Summa group, Artur Maksidov, were detained. They are charged with creating a criminal community, several episodes of fraud and embezzlement. They are also suspected of seven episodes of embezzlement totaling 2.5 billion rubles - enterprises controlled by Summa inflated estimates and inflated prices for goods and services. OPS members face up to 20 years in prison.

Just before the arrest of the Magomedovs, Transneft was going to buy out its stake in Novoport Holding Ltd from the Summa group in order to bring its stake in the port to a blocking stake. However, after the arrest of the Magomedovs, the deal was suspended.

According to Kotler's acquaintances, as part of the Magomedovs' case, he was summoned for questioning as a witness. It is possible that the former head of the Moscow representative office was involved in negotiations on a deal around NCSP. “The last few weeks, Yuri has been very upset about something and a little scared. Although Yuri resigned at the end of 2017 from the NCSP office in the capital, the investigation had questions for him in the framework of the Magomedovs' case, one of the businessman's acquaintances said. According to him, meetings with the security forces were very "strained" before the cheerful lover of parties and social gatherings.

However, representatives of the Magomedov brothers' defense claim that Kotler's name is not found in the materials with which they were acquainted. This means that the version that a businessman and politician with connections in the highest circles committed suicide so as not to be in the same dock with the Magomedov brothers is also in doubt. Could they "order" the imitation of suicide and get rid of an unnecessary witness? It is unlikely that one will ever get an answer to this question.

By the way, for some reason no one remembered that Kotler worked at VTB before NCSP. And he is not the first top manager of this bank found shot in the head. A few years ago, Alexander Furin, chief specialist of Vneshtorgbank, shot himself in the head. And top manager Oleg Zhukovsky was found tied at the bottom of the pool, and his death was also recognized as a suicide.

Family matters

In a suicide note found on the table, Kotler wrote: “Boar, you are a real friend, strange and funny, but real. But not me. And I love my family madly, and I let them down so badly. And I love my mother, if she had said at least once in her life that she loved me, everything would be different. Get strong!"

All journalists decided that Kotler was referring to a certain friend whom he called "Boar". And for his death, he blames his mother, who allegedly did not give him enough love in childhood. Psychologists have come to the conclusion that this indicates a narcissistic personality type of a suicide. And hundreds of comments appeared on the network, the authors of which are surprised at how infantile the 50-year-old United Russia and successful businessman turned out to be. Like, to live to such an age and not solve problems with his own mother ... Strange. Yes, and it is difficult to imagine a Jewish family in which the mother does not love her child so much that she never even told him about her love.

Indeed, strange. But everything falls into place, if we assume that in the last note Kotler refers not to a certain friend, but to his adopted son Ivan. And he calls his own wife Natalya Kretova, who is not his mother, “mother”. After all, as in every family, in a conversation with children, fathers call their wives “mother”.

To understand why this version seems logical, it is worth delving a little into the history of Kotler's marriage.

Who was the successful businessman and politician married to? Natalya Kretova is a former supermodel. In 1990, at the St. Petersburg Schlager festival, she met Sergei Katin, one of the founders of the Dune group, the author of the hit Land of Limonia. The popular showman was 12 years older than Natalia, besides, he was already married, raised his daughter - the future "tattoo" Lena Katina. However, all this did not stop the stormy romance, and in 1992 Kretova and Katin got married and went to live in Paris. Asya Katina, mother of Sergei Katin and grandmother of Lena Katina, told reporters about this.

Yuri Kotler and his wife Natalya Kretova

In 1994, the couple had a son, Ivan, but the appearance of a boy could not save the marriage. In 1996, it broke up, Katin returned to Russia. “He explained to me that he feels like a “second-class person” abroad,” Asya Katina explained.

Natalia Kretova stayed in Paris with her little son. She got married for the second time in December 2003, when Vanya was already 9 years old. 35-year-old Yuri Kotler at that time was a very promising option: he was a member of the board of directors of the MIEL real estate company, led the party project "Personnel reserve - a professional team of the country." Kotler became Vanya's new dad, and, apparently, managed to make friends with his adopted son, who at the time of his suicide was already 24 years old.

Natalia Kretova

The couple had a joint child only 12 years after the wedding, in August 2015. Kotler at that time reached the pinnacle of success: he became a member of the board of directors of VTB and the Supreme Council of United Russia. Happy mother Natalya Kretova shared photos of newborn Vladimir on social networks. However, she did not return to Russia, and this time, she remained to raise children in London. Which, however, did not destroy the family: in December last year, Natalya posted a photo with Kotler and the comment: “15 years with the best person in the world.” The couple in the picture looks happy.

However, six months later, Kotler, who, according to his friends, never abused alcohol, suddenly started drinking heavily. Perhaps, just before committing suicide, he received some unpleasant news related to the family. Just a few days before his suicide, on May 10, he was seen at the expert council of United Russia: “He was cheerful and cheerful, whispering and giggling with his neighbors. He did not give the impression of a person with serious problems.

It is unlikely that family problems forced Kotler to pull the trigger of his rifle. However, they may well have been the last straw that motivated him to make such a decision. Before his death, he complained to his adopted son that if his mother ever confessed her love to him, then "everything would be different."