The People of Our Town
27.10.2016
Personality
The honorable miner, the last General Director of Ekibastusugol Association, Deputy of Mazhilis of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan - all this is about a truly legendary personality - Amangos Titauovich Utegenov. On November 1 this year our famous and respected countryman will be 70. On the eve of this glorious date we met with Amangos Titauovich and recollected the most significant pages of his biography.
The fate of our hero is really unordinary and interesting. It is deeply intertwined with the history of Ekibastuz coal deposit development. The labor biography of Amangos Titauovich Utegenov is an example of what heights a man can reach if he is persistent and strong-minded in achieving his goal. But let us start from the very beginning.
Amangos Titauovich was born on November 1, 1946 in Kos-Istek settlement of Stepnoy Area of Aktyubinskaya Region in the shepherd's family. The settlement where he grew up was not small at that time. The number of inhabitants was five thousand, in some periods it was even a regional center. On the territory of the settlement there was a milk plant, tractor repair station, hospital, school and other infrastructure inherent to a settlement of such a status. Until he was seven years old Amangos together with his parents led a roving life, lived in remote pastures due to his parents' occupation. His first visit to school was not successful because he was only 6 years old and he did not know Russian at all, but it was a Russian school. In a year a boy was admitted to the first class. While being a school-boy, Amangos demonstrated his leadership skills beginning from the fifth grade, he was an active participant of the public school life, he was elected as a pioneer leader of junior forms, a secretary of the Komsomol organization. After the graduation from the 11-th grade (it was one of three school 11-grade classes of graduates of that time) Headmaster, who noticed pedagogical skills of Amangos, gave a piece of advice to the young guy to enter a pedagogical institute. In his turn, his father as a real agrarian, insisted on Amangos entering the Ural agricultural institute. When a moment to choose a life way came, Amangos made his own decision - his friend and him went to Alma-Ata to enter the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute, the Faculty of Metallurgy of Non-ferrous and Ferrous Metals.
- The pass mark was 11, and I did get only ten points. My friend was more lucky - he entered the Institute,- Amangos Titauovich said. - On that very autumn I was drawn to the army. I went to the far north – to Nenetsk national county, Naryan-Mar town, what was located on the Pechora river. My service in the army lasted for three years - from 1965 to 1968 - in the missile establishment.
The task of the radiolocation station, where Amangos Utegenov had his military service, was to track a pathway of satellite flights by given coordinates, to record it on a magnetic tape and keep graphic records of all parameters of an object. They asked strictly for admitted mistakes, a bad mark offered prospects of hard one-week exercises.
- Taking into account a special responsibility, which was laid on this types of troops, young soldiers were selected very thoroughly, - Amangos Titauovich shares the details, - only those, who had a complete secondary and secondary special education.
Amangos satisfied these criteria in full. By the demobilization in May of 1968 he had a rank of a sergeant.
He returned home, then he went to Aktyubinsk, got employed as a fitter at Aktyubrentgen plant. At the same time he was a student of the evening courses of the preparation training at the institute. When they started to accept documents to the institute he submitted his documents to Rudny Industrial Institute. The choice of a higher educational institution and a specialty was not accidental - at that time Sokolovo-Sarbaisky Combine was expanding, and Amangos saw a perspective for himself planning to combine work and study on the evening department of the institute. However, a suddenness happened. In the admissions office they gave a piece of advice to submit documents to the full-time study of the institute. It was not in vain: a number of collected points turned out to be sufficient to become a student of a full-time department of a mining faculty. One should say first a 23-year-old guy did not feel joy because of this circumstance as his plans were to make money and study at the same time. But the life and his parents' support, who insisted on his full-time study, made its corrections. So, in the life of Amangos a new stage started - a student time and at the same time a busy public activity. Taking into account his army experience Amangos was immediately elected as a chairman of the students' council and a headman of the group. After the graduation from the institute in 1974 a new-made mining engineer Utegenov was sent to Ekibastuz among other young specialists. To be frank, he came to the distribution place late because of his participation in the harvest time in his native settlement.
Having arrived with a 15-day delay to the destination point Ekibastuz, the young specialist revealed all the vacant places of mining foremen had already been occupied. As an alternative, he was offered a place of a road foreman on the track section #3 at Bogatyr coal mine but not for long. In December of 1974 he took a position of a mining foreman at Tsentralny coal mine.
- In March of 1975 Mine Director Vladimir Ustinovich Aksinyin, despite all my objections, appointed me to the position of Deputy Head of Drilling and Blasting Section, - Amangos Titauovich said. - I worked in this position for three years. I had to fulfill different work, including physical one, for example, to carry sacks. There were no days-off for me at that time, usually on Fridays there were some rearrangements for sure, and as a result I spent all Saturdays and Sundays at work. We had to obligatorily drill for excavators not to stand idle. In 1977, in connection with the transfer of Head of Mining Works Section at Tsentralny coal mine by the party line, I was proposed for this position. At that time I had a rehabilitation period after the sickness. Because of it I worked as a dispatcher. The proposal was made and it was not to be discussed as it was an order. In 1980 Stanislav Pavlovich Kurzhey, General Director of the Association, and Nikolay Mitrofanovich Belik, Technical Director, suggested me twice shifting to Stepnoy mine and taking a position of Chief Engineer of the mine. I agreed only after the third time. At the beginning of 1983 I was called to the town committee of the party, to the first secretary of the town committee Valery Batayevich Temirbayev. And after the difficult two-hour conversation I was appointed to the position of Head of the Industrial Department of the town committee of the party.
Having taken the new position Utegenov, who got used to the army order, almost immediately fired instructors, who did not cope with their duties. The search of appropriate candidates lasted for over a month. By the recommendation of a good acquaintance he invited Aleksandr Verbnyak, the graduate of the milk technical school, to the position of instructor to the industrial department on food complex enterprises (subsequently akim of Ekibastuz town). The second instructor, who supervised power sector enterprises, was Aleksandr Grigoriyev (subsequently station director).
- In 1984 the construction of Vostochny coal mine started, and General Director of the Association Stanislav Pavlovich Kurzhey suggested me taking a position of Chief Engineer of the new mine. My direct manager was Aksinyin, whom I knew very well. So, I agreed with joy and moved to the new place of work.
The first phase of Vostochny coal mine was commissioned in 1985, then the second one. All four phases of the mine were finally commissioned in 1988. Everybody worked very hard sparing no pains. The mine was of extreme importance for the country. There were mistakes of course but we were learning from them. When Aksinyin retired I was acting Mine Director for half a year and then I was approved for this position.
Remembering the rhythm of his life in those years, Amangos Titauovich says he did not have enough time even to change working uniform to a strict business suit to participate in the meeting chaired by General Director of the Association.
1993 - 1996 - the period of Utegenov's work in the position of General Director of Ekibastuzugol Association. It happened so that he made it to the history as the last general director of the once powerful production association.
- In those difficult and somewhat interesting times of forming market relations we had to learn working in new conditions, transact in a difficult situation in order to resolve the issue of paying salary to people. One should say the association really possessed big financial and human resources and was really town-forming. The number of people in the labor collective in those years was over 20 thousand people, in the composition of the association there were 37 enterprises, 56% of social projects of the town were on the balance sheet of the coal miners. They did not spare money for maintenance of the social projects, they even competed what enterprises maintained kindergartens better. However, the so called transition period changed everything. Those times were the most complicated - crisis of non-payments, etc. All that made us take non-standard decisions. Really we did not know how and what to pay people for their work. We were searching for any opportunities and legal schemes how to provide people with all necessary things. Nobody of us knew what would be in the nearest future for us. In October of 1996 Vostochny coal mine was transferred to private investors, Bogatyr coal mine - in November, then Maikuben coal mine. The last one was Severny coal mine. This is how the history of the once powerful association called Ekibastuzugol finished. In Bogatyr Access Komyr LLP, which became the owner of the largest coal mine - Bogatyr - Amangos Titauovich Utegenov was Head of the company at the beginning, then he was moved to the position of Deputy General Director for Production. In those years the special attention was paid to the introduction of the advanced foreign experience. In the management system of the coal mining enterprise Amangos Titauovich Utegenov worked through to 2004 until a new stage connected with his active state activity started in his biography. The wise manager and experienced production man Utegenov was elected to the supreme representative authority organ of the country - Mazhilis of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Having worked for two parliament conventions Amangos Titauovich came back to the native town of Ekibastuz, to the conventional and very familiar work in the coal branch. First as Advisor in Bogatyr Coal LLP, then as Director of Maikuben coal mine. The knowledge and experience of Amangos Titauovich turn out to be demanded nowadays. Beginning from March 2016 he has been working in the position of Adviser to General Director for Bogatyr Coal LLP.
The native of the simple large family Amangos Titauovich, as the eldest child, became a real support for his brothers and sisters. Once they all also worked in Ekibastuz. Later some of the brothers came back to their native place - Aktyubinsk. The sister moved to her children - to Almaty. Together with his second spouse Agima Zhapasovna (the first wife of Amangos Titauovich came to a tragic end as a result of a road traffic accident) Amangos Titauovich grew up and brought up four children. Each of them became a decent citizen of the country and found himself or herself in life. The eldest daughter is a pediatrician, the son is a graduate of Oxford University, he works as a plant director in Aktau city, the second daughter is an accountant by specialty, she works as an entrepreneur, their youngest son, who is also a graduate of Oxford University, has own business. The Utegenovs have seven grandchildren.
At the end of our conversation Amangos Titauovich recollected the people, who had become personal landmarks for him. Amangos Titauovich considers Vladimir Ustinovich Aksinyin to be his first and main tutor in the labor biography.
- He was a real professional, personality, he could get on the right side with people using his quiet and business matter of communication. I always took a pattern by him and tried to keep to same principles not depending on where I worked and on what position. He believed in me, and I believed him.
In general, I was happy to meet a lot of decent people in my life, such as Stanislav Pavlovich Kurzhey, Nikolay Mitrofanovich Belik and a lot of other authoritative managers of that time. All these people deeply believed in me, in my capacity to resolve various tasks, be responsible for decisions made and inspired me. Thanks to them I grew in my carrier step by step - from a road foreman to general director.
The acknowledgement of the public services of Amangos Titauovich Utegenov is his multiple awards and ranks: Honorable Citizen of Ekibastuz, Honorable Employee of the Coal Industry, Full Chevalier of Miner's Glory award, possessor of Labor Red Banner Order and a lot of other governmental and state awards, certificates of honor and letters of thankfulness.
On the eve of the outstanding date the management and the labor collective of Bogatyr Coal LLP, all Ekibastuz inhabitants sincerely congratulate the labor veteran, honorable miner Amangos Titauovich Utegenov on the 70-th jubilee and wish him strong health, undying optimism and inexhaustible energy.
Kanat ALDABAYEV
Photo from the personal archives of Utegenov A.T. and the Press-Service of Bogatyr Coal LLP.
