Igor Ashurbeyli, scientist, businessman, public figure, philanthropist.
Date of birth: 09.09.1963.
Place of birth: Baku (Azerbaijan).
On the paternal side, the ancestor of Igor Ashurbeyli was Ashur Khan Afshar, the Minister of War (Sardar) of Azerbaijan (mid-18th century). The Shah of Iran, who belonged to his cousin, Nadir Shah Afshar granted Ashur Khan extensive land in the outskirts of Baku. The descendants of the khan, who received the noble title from the tsar and took the name of the Ashurbekovs, went down in the history of the Russian Empire as successful oil industrialists and generous philanthropists. Revolution put an end to prosperity. The power of the Soviets took everything that they could from the family - land, houses, enterprises, business. Many emigrated, others decided to stay at their own risk. So that the noble lineage would not catch the eye, the heads of families got rid of the basis of “bek” in their surname (from the Turkic “bek” is translated as “ruler, prince, lord”). So the Ashurbekovs turned into Ashurbeyli. But it still did not save us from repression. In Stalin's dungeons, along with other representatives of the ancient clan, Igor Ashurbeyli's great-grandfather and grandfather perished.
From the mother’s side, the ancestors of Igor Ashurbeyli were Nizhny Novgorod peasants. Even before the revolution, his great-grandfather Grigory Rezanov began to pay a visit to Azerbaijan (he was a bricklayer by profession). And when he found a permanent job in Baku, he moved his family there. In 1919, Gregory joined the Bolshevik party. After returning from the Red Army, Rezanov began to pursue a party career while simultaneously engaging in consumer cooperation.
Parents of Igor Ashurbeyli grew up in neighboring houses and have known each other since childhood. Rauf and Elizabeth got married in 1962. And on September 9, 1963, the first and only child appeared in the family. “This baby has a great future, believe me!” - said the mother who was giving birth to a happy mother. Her words were prophetic.
After the birth of Igor, Elizabeth fully devoted herself to his upbringing. And only when the boy grew up, the woman decided to go back to work - at the Space Research Institute, where she held the position of metrology engineer. The boy's father, Rauf Davudovich, devoted himself to science. His professional destiny was connected with the Azerbaijan Institute of Petrochemical Processes.
One of the most significant people for Igor Ashurbeyli was a maternal grandmother - Evgenia Grigoryevna. She baptized the boy secretly from everyone in the Pyatigorsk Church of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Since childhood, Igor Ashurbeyli attracted games where you need to think strategically. At first, the soldiers were their favorite pastimes; later, he switched to chess. The boy did not cause any special trouble to his parents. He was obedient, quickly learned to read, and could sit behind an interesting book all day. But already at that time his desire for leadership was manifested. If he received a four, not a five, at school, then he cried. It is not surprising that Igor Ashurbeyli became a gold medalist.
In the summer of 1980, the young man was enrolled in the Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry. There was a huge competition for the faculty of automation of production processes that interested him, but Igor Ashurbeyli brilliantly coped with the examination tests. Training was given to Ashurbeyli easily. In his free time, he worked as a laboratory assistant in alma mater, and during the summer holidays he traveled with a construction team to cities and towns of the USSR.
In 1983, Igor Ashurbeyli married his fellow student Victoria. And in 1984, the son of Ruslan was born to a young couple. 1985 was marked by the successful defense of the diploma, but Ashurbeyli was not going to break with science. In 1987, a certified systems engineer entered the graduate school of his native university. Looking ahead, let's say that the defense of the candidate passed several years later, in 1992.
In the late 1980s, the country was on the rise. Perestroika opened up many hitherto unprecedented opportunities for Soviet citizens. One of them is the law on cooperation. In 1988, Igor Ashurbeyli established a cooperative, called the "Social". Following this, he initiated the creation of the Association of Scientific, Industrial and Technical Enterprises of Azerbaijan, standing at the head of the organization.
In 1991, Igor Ashurbeyli launched two more new projects - the commodity and raw materials exchange in Baku and the International Information and Telecommunications Exchange in Moscow. This time Igor Ashurbeyli characterizes as a “period of jerk." Then he moved to live in Russia.
Igor Ashurbeyli got into the defense industry by chance. His company rented an office in the territory owned by the Almaz NGO. The leadership of the defense giant noticed a young businessman who felt himself in the market conditions as a fish in the water and showed remarkable organizational skills. “Here is the best candidate for the role of anti-crisis manager!” - thought the heads of the enterprise and went to negotiations. Igor Ashurbeyli considered the proposal flattering, albeit unexpected, and, on reflection, agreed to this "adventure." I thought that I had come to Almaz for only six months. But six months stretched for 17 years.
With the help of Igor Ashurbeyli, it was possible not only to get the enterprise out of the debt hole, but also to start the process of its transformation. In 2000, Igor Ashurbeyli headed OJSC Almaz Central Design Bureau. Under his leadership, Almaz entered the arms market with new developments. The company has been actively working with state defense orders; modernization of old anti-aircraft missile systems and systems was underway; a new generation of weapons was created for air defense and missile defense. Almaz began to supply air defense systems for export. Competent economic policy led to an increase in enterprise profits, an increase in salaries and social benefits. The company flourished. One of Ashurbeyli's achievements is the joining of several leading arms developers for various types of troops to the enterprise.
Igor Ashurbeyli continued to implement other interesting projects for him. In 2003, he created and headed the wind farm on the problems of aerospace defense, in 2006 he established the Military-Industrial Company (VPK) CJSC, and took up publishing activities.
In 2011, Igor Ashurbeyli was removed from the post of General Director of Almaz. After his resignation, he had time to defend his doctoral dissertation, which he did the same year.
Today, Igor Ashurbeyli continues to lead an active public life, issues magazines, and helps rebuild churches. His company Socium has grown over a quarter of a century into a diversified holding.
The new grandiose project of Igor Ashurbeyli is connected with space, more precisely with the first space state Asgardia in the history of the planet, which Igor Raufovich founded in the fall of 2016.
Once Igor Ashurbeyli answered the question on what an impeccable reputation in business is based on him. Firstly, a person should not promise anything superfluous, and secondly, one must always fulfill what he promised. Ashurbeyli strictly follows these principles both in professional life and in personal.