Позитивные изменения. Том 2, №4 (2022). Positive changes. Volume 2, Issue 4 (2022)

When you look at the wheelchair, it seems like a simple thing, but it uses 16 different kinds of pipes. You go to a factory in the Urals, and they sell in batches of at least a thousand meters each. You have 3 million tied up in pipes alone each time. Another 5 million in motors, 6 million in joysticks, 3 million in fabric.

Now I need to make a new model of wheelchair, and I understand this would require some 30–40 million investment; and in the meantime, I have to compete with the Chinese wheelchair suppliers.

You are one of the most famous award-winning social entrepreneurs in Russia. What do you consider your greatest achievement? And what is the real measure of success for you?

My greatest achievement is the team and what we're getting right now. Here they are, really, my people, whom I showed around Europe, telling them: "Get your ideas from here and here.” And then together, standing up to our ankles in the mud, we laid the first capsule with the letter to the descendants in the concrete foundation of the factory.

And now you are walking with these people on the second floor of this beautiful office, looking down at the high-tech machines. And you feel great knowing that you made this happen together.

We're all getting a little fed up. We are getting this feeling again – too little, too boring, too slow. But when you see the emotions of other people who visit us, and there are whole double-decker buses arriving with guests, you realize that we, indeed, have done something right and good.

Is money important to you as a measure of success?

Money is important, you see. But it is not important to me per se, it is important as a tool that allows you to be independent and implement some really interesting, beautiful projects, that's all. It's the same thing with fame, with glory. I don't know, I'm very cool about it. First of all, it's a tool to save a little advertising budgets, because if you wanted to run a paid story about yourself on Channel One, that would be insanely expensive.

And here it's all free.

And secondly, I want to build better than what we saw in Germany, in Sweden. And we are getting there. I just want to inspire as many people as possible, ignite their hearts and souls, so that the same thing could happen elsewhere.

Two years ago in Kaliningrad Region we disbursed about 20 million rubles in grants. We did it through the Ark, a public organization for people with disabilities.