"I like to look people in the eye." Grigory Shpakov has been heading a farm in the Rechitsa region for 55 years

Grigory Shpakov. Photo taken on May 1, Rechitsa. Grigory Kupriyanovich Shpakov is known in the southeastern region as nothing less than a legend of the industry. April 1 marked the 55th anniversary of his appointment as HEAD of the 50 Years of October collective farm in the Rechitsa District. This is an unprecedented example and the highest level of work in the industry. Young colleagues and managers turn to him for advice and consultation with respect and reverence, because his life and work experience are invaluable. Plus, his phenomenal dedication to his work, humanity and ability to make strong-willed decisions. The legendary manager shared the story of his career and philosophy of life with a BELTA correspondent.

The native of the Rechitsa District made his professional choice in life with his mind, heart and soul. For more than half a century, he has been in charge of endless seas of fields, livestock complexes and a team focused on results. But the roads of fate could have been connected with a completely different element - the sea.

In 1952, he was called up for service in the navy from his third year at the land management technical school. After an assessment of his HEALTH and moral qualities, he was assigned to serve as a submariner. He studied in the Georgian city of Poka, then was assigned to serve in the Crimean city of Feodosia. He served on a submarine. "In the post-war period, shipyards were built very quickly and submarines of a new design were released. And soon I was sent to Balaklava near Sevastopol to serve on a new boat," he recalls.

The romance and responsibility of the service could not overshadow the young submariner's dream of getting an education. "At that time, there was a wide network of evening schools for working youth. Once, when we were in port, the commander allowed me to attend evening school. On average, this happened once a week. But even being at sea, at depth, in my free time from the watch, I studied independently," shares Grigory Shpakov.

After Balaklava, there was Feodosia again, so he continued his studies there. The places of service changed constantly: again Balaklava, then Sevastopol. "I was registered in many evening schools," laughs the veteran of labor. "But we stayed in Sevastopol, and there I managed to pass the final exams and get a certificate of maturity. I graduated with no Cs, but with Bs and A's." it was a small personal victory.

In 1954, the USSR Council of Ministers adopted a resolution that conscripts with secondary education were allowed early demobilization to enroll in universities. "Of course, I was interested in this. The country was actively being built, restored, the planned Soviet economy was developing - specialists were needed. And the government understood this," the interlocutor says.

And with this intention, the conscript hurried to the commander, although he still had three months to serve. "Resign? Didn't you want anything else?" he asked in response. But I explained everything to him, told him about the decree. He promised to find out at headquarters. And literally the next day he said: "Go ahead and get your paperwork done quickly, and you'll be demobilized," Grigory Shpakov shares. In fact, he settled everything in two days, the senior sailors walked him to the bus with parting words and wishes for good luck.

He went to see a friend from whom he learned about this decree, and decided to enroll together. First, they sent documents from Balaklava to the agricultural academy in Gorki, Mogilev region. "Yes, I was offered to enroll in the Higher Naval School, but I was drawn to agriculture," he recalls.

1956, popular specialties, so the competition for admission to the academy - 13 people per place. "The plan was to enroll 100 people in the course. At that time, medal winners were accepted without exams, and 45 excellent students submitted documents. That is why there was such a big competition for the remaining places," explains Grigory Kupriyanovich. After passing the exams, he was called to the dean's office, where he was informed that he had been enrolled in the first year of the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanization.

The happy guy went to his homeland in the village of Novy Barsuk in the Rechitsa District to await an official invitation. However, weeks passed, and the coveted letter still did not arrive. "Classes start already in September, and on August 28 there is no call. Then I take my suitcase and go to the academy. I run into the faculty, study the lists of four groups: I am not in the first, not in the second, not in the third. At the very bottom of the fourth, I see my last name: Shpakov G.N. The patronymic is not mine. I go to the executive secretary and ask how many Shpakovs are in the stream. He says - one: Shpakov Grigory Kupriyanovich. There was a mistake in the list. As it turned out, there was a call, but sent to Balaklava," - recalls his first steps on the path to the profession of a manager.

After graduating from the academy, he was assigned to a farm in the Mstislavsky district of the Mogilev region. He settled in and proved himself well. A year later, a letter arrived from his mother, who was left alone on the farm. The lines are permeated with sadness: she writes that she fell ill, there is no one even to bring water. "I go to the DIRECTOR, write a statement, work for two weeks and leave," says Grigory Shpakov.

In his native region, he first worked as an engineer at the Frunze collective farm. "At that time, they took the training of managers very seriously. At the academy, candidates for such positions took six-month courses. I was one of the candidates. I finished my studies and was almost immediately sent to the 50 Years of October collective farm. On April 1, 1969, I was appointed chairman. And two years later, I was offered the position of deputy chairman - head of the department of agriculture and food in the Petrikovsky district executive committee. The decision was firm - I stayed in my place,where I have been working for 55 years,” the director emphasizes.

Grigory Kupriyanovich, both as a manager and as a person, is true to his principles. He emphasizes: "You must always and in everything be a person, a specialist in your business. It is important to love what you have decided to dedicate your life to, and in no case rise above others. You must always be with people, solve common problems. Our principle is this: in any situation, live and work so that the farm is viable and efficient, so that we produce high-quality products, sell them, so that people are paid a decent salary and conduct expanded production," he shares.

Such principles and guidelines helped to raise the collective farm. When he took over the farm, it produced only 2 tons of MILK, the grain yield was 8 centners per hectare. Cows were milked by hand three times a day. Each milkmaid had up to 20 cows, milking, cleaning manure, handing out feed - the load on women's hands is simply colossal.

At that time, only the very first steps were being taken in animal husbandry to introduce mechanization. It is clear that Grigory Shpakov also became a leader in these matters. "In the second year of work, the first secretary of the district committee Andrei Semenovich Lyakhov and the secretary of the regional committee Viktor Aleksandrovich Gvozdev came to the farm. We discussed these issues in the conversation," says the interlocutor. The first secretary of the district committee, one might say, vouched for the young leader, expressed confidence and hope that he was able to give a new breath of life to this farm, introducing innovations in mechanization.

"And I began to mechanize the old sheds in Levashi, build new sheds for 100 heads in other villages. And every year we introduced a new mechanized block with the simplest dairy installations. The economy of the collective farm strengthened. And in the early 1970s, we built a large livestock complex for 3 thousand heads for raising heifers," the leader notes. This direction became very successful and well-known on the scale of almost the entire union.

The results and transformation of the farm were visible to the naked eye. The leader was valued, respected, and followed. "Every three years, at a general meeting, the collective farmers elected me chairman. I never regretted turning down the offer to go to the "upper echelons". I like to look the working people in the eye, help them whenever possible, ask where necessary, but with the expectation that the farm would develop," emphasizes Grigory Shpakov.

On May 2, a new dairy complex will be opened at the farm. "If now we sell 38 tons of milk daily, then with the commissioning of the new farm by the beginning of 2025, we will sell at least 55 tons of milk per day," the experienced farmer shares his plans. The farm has 7.2 thousand heads of cattle - the highest density per 100 hectares of land in the region. The new complex will provide the best conditions for livestock and work for people.

By the way, Grigory Kupriyanovich has his own approaches to working with personnel. "I always tell my specialists: "We will be worth something if any employee, even the one who once stumbled, violated the technology, corrects himself and works for the result. Tell, show, teach if necessary, and most importantly, do not allow violations. Of course, we provide people with the necessary support," he says.

The average salary on the farm is Br1940 this year. "We all understand: you should not receive a salary, but earn it. So, the best workers - machine operators, livestock breeders, milkmaids - have a salary of Br3 thousand," Grigory Shpakov gives an example.

At the same time, the experienced manager does not hide the algorithms of success. He is confident that everything is transparent and accessible to everyone. "The most important thing in both crop production and livestock farming is to know the technology of cultivation and production well, to perform it impeccably. Naturally, technologies are changing, new means of mechanization are being introduced - all this is only additional opportunities for development," Grigory Shpakov sums up.

Grigory Shpakov's contribution to the development of the industry was marked by the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Badge of Honor. Honored worker of agriculture, honorary citizen of the Rechitsa district and the Gomel region, mentor of many heads of the agro-industrial complex - at 90-something, Grigory Kupriyanovich is in the ranks and generously shares his invaluable experience with young people.

BELTA.