Vitaly Andreyevich Zhdanov

Head mechanic in the mechanical repair department

It may be hard to believe now, but I started working at Itkul when I was still in school. In summer, I spent the holidays in Sokolovo, since my grandmother lives there. Basically, I worked as a loader at the distillery in the summer before 11^th grade, back in 2000. When I finished school and army service, I officially joined Itkul.

I worked in the security service, in the material and technical supply department. After that I started working as head of the mechanical repair department ad realised that this was the job for me. Today, Itkul is my whole life – the distillery takes up must of my time, but I get a lot of enjoyment from my work.

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Vitaly is now in charge of around 30 people. These are true professionals who have worked at the distillery for over 10 years on average.

Executive director

I always knew that I would end up working at Itkul, and not only because my parents worked here. My school often took us on trips to the distillery and I realised that I really wanted to work here. Back then I already knew chemistry and German. Interestingly, I first worked here as a translator, helping to communicate with German specialists, and later started working as a chemical technician responsible for product quality.

My longest working day lasted 36 hours; I didn’t leave my workspace at all. At the time I was working as head of the spirit section and we were launching a new purification installation and automating it. Those were very interesting times and I felt needed and useful for the operation as a whole.

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Olga is the only woman in Itkul’s history to have worked as a chief engineer. She held this important position from 2007 to 2016, when she was hired as the distillery’s head manufacturing engineer. Her impressive professional achievements, her commitment, and her respect for her colleagues have elevated her even higher. In the summer of 2020, Olga became Itkul’s executive director.

Head of human resources

After graduating from university, I came and worked in the marketing department. The largest project that I was involved with was Itkul’s 150th anniversary. The considerable preparations culminated with an amazing party in a park in Sokolovo. We cleared everything up afterwards and continue to support it.

In 2019, I retrained as an HR employee. Whereas previously I had worked with analytics, the market, and design, I now had to work with people. People come to the HR department with all kinds of questions, about holiday, translations, payments, incentives, and disciplinary action. We’re all people and we’re all different, so I try to accept and understand everyone, to share their hopes and fears, and their sadness and joy.

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Talking to people, working with documentation, talking to people, working with information systems, learning new practices and regulations, and then talking with people again. Working in HR is fast paced, and you have to keep moving forward. Zarina loves it so much that she has decided to train as an HR manager.

Chief engineer

My mother worked at Itkul as a chemist and boiling assistant, and my father worked for 25 years in a crane. I studied at Biysk Technological Institute and joined Itkul as a summer intern. We were shown the production processes and the structure of the distillery. I started out as a boiling assistant and then worked as a fermentation process operator. After that, I was offered a job as head of the vodka department. That was a productive time; we launched a lot of new vodkas, introduced new technologies, and automated various processes.

The most interesting period was when I was transferred to the engineering team. By then, I knew all of Itkul’s equipment like the back of my hand and my main task was launching the Polaris production line, which is still used to produce Mamont vodka.

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In 2017, when Itkul began to experience financial difficulties, Konstantin’s team were able to independently implement complex ventilation technology. Without going over the budget and using their own experience and knowledge, the engineers wrote a programme which is still in use today.

Shift engineer and mechanic in the spirits department

Itkul has given me not only a job, but an education, too. I had only been working here a few months when I was offered a place at the Agricultural Technical College of Food Production. I trained as a fermentation mechanic there for three and a half years. I have worked 17 years as a shift engineer.

The spirits department is a living organism. Every one of my shifts begins with my colleague handing over what needs to be done, and every day the situation is different. We control the temperature and moisture levels of the malt grain and keep an eye on the technological processes. Every two hours, I walk around all the equipment, as it requires constant supervision.

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Evgeniy is an enthusiastic person and is serious about sport – he plays in the Biysk volleyball team, in the veterans’ league. After that come fishing and mushroom collecting. But Itkul always come first, as he believes it’s vital that the distillery run like clockwork.

Chief accounting officer

I come from a long line of Itkul employees. My godmother worked with the wort all her life and my mother worked in the malt house. My husband’s grandmother worked as a machine operator, and my mother-in-law joined when she was a young student. My father-in-law worked as a mechanic and my husband has been working at Itkul since 1997. We all think of the distillery as our family.

I joined the distillery as an accountant in 1994, when the vodka department was being launched. I took care of all the organisational work around it. For the last 14 years, I’ve been the chief accounting officer and I can always count on my team. Everyone here is a true professional with education and considerable experience. Every working day is interesting. You’d think that after 26 years, nothing would surprise you, but no! Something always comes along that means you have to learn something new and study the legislation.

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Valentina believes that Itkul employees have a great capacity for work, along with patriotism and commitment. These qualities have helped the team to survive challenging times and get back up after being knocked down.

Bottling and sealing machine operator and blending and filtration specialist

Four people work in our little department. We’re like a family – always ready to help each other out. Every year, we plat a rose bed, which has become something of a local attraction, and it’s so nice to look at the beautiful fruits of your labour.

There’s lots of creativity in my job! We are provided with the raw natural ingredients – herbs, grain, nuts, and berries – and from these we create rich, flavourful infusions, which are later blended into the drinks.

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Tatyana has worked at the distillery for 22 years and was one of the first employees on our production line. Tatyana comes from a long line of Itkul workers; her grandmother and grandfather, mother and father, and her brother have all worked here at one time or another, and she has now been joined by her daughter and son-in-law.

Mechanical technician in the maintenance department

I joined Itkul before I’d even turned 18. My father suggested it as a way to earn some extra money after school. I remember my first day. It was dark and I wanted to sleep. I was surrounded by adults and old men. It started out as “fetch this, give me that, go and get something, find this person”, and they taught me everything.

Itkul has always been a part of my life and I have fond memories of it from my childhood. My grandmother worked as a machine operator in the mill; my father was a welder; and mum worked first in the bottling department and then in the nursery. Now my younger brother and my wife work here. Maybe one day my kids will come and work here, too – if they want to.

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Alexander joined Itkul in 1989. Since then, apart from a two-year break, he has worked in the same subsection for more than 30 years. He is now a grade 5 mechanic – the highest level in the company.

Mechanic in the vodka department

I started my professional journey at Itkul as a picker – I used to put the finished products into boxes and crates. Then, I worked as a presser, and after that, an apprentice mechanic. My older colleagues taught me the trade. They showed me the way and that was the most important thing.

The happiest moment in my career was launching a new production line. Just imagine, they brought us the hardware, we put it all together and set it up. Then “launch!” and it starts producing high-quality products. It’s like a manmade miracle.

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Vasily believes that the most important characteristic in an Itkul employee is honesty – you have to keep your word. He has worked at the distillery for more than 25 years and considers Itkul his second home.

Head of the production and technological laboratory

My Itkul journey began in the vodka department. My first job was as a filling and sealing machine operator, but I really wanted to develop, so I made the decision to take a course at an advanced training college. While still working at the distillery, I gained my degree in fermentation and winemaking from Altai State University.

The managers were happy with this as I gained new knowledge and experience. In 2006, I started working in the production and technological laboratory, and in 2019 I took charge of it. At the distillery, I’ve grown as a person, gained confidence, and learned to appreciate my work. I would say that for me, Itkul is a home, a job, and a family all in one.

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Elena believes that the most important thing in an Itkul employee is commitment, ambition, and a love for one’s work. She has worked with us for more than 19 years and is highly respected by her colleagues.

Carpenter in the construction and maintenance department

I’ve lived in Sokolovo since 1979. My first job was in a brigade working on the railway, then I joined Itkul after perestroika. Half of the residents in our town work at the distillery, so we understand that the town will survive as long as the distillery does. For my family and I, our Itkul is our whole lives, our destinies, and our faith in tomorrow.

My colleagues and I go fishing in the Ob river and celebrate birthdays and other occasions together. It’s nice working with the people at Itkul; they’re punctual and proactive people who are used to structure.

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Vladimir is a responsible and energetic professional who has spent more than 20 years at Itkul. He has participated in the construction of all the departments where our complex production processes take place today.

Head of the electric-power division

After my training at a technical college, I spent a year working at the Sokolovsky cooperative, and was then hired by Itkul. I was honestly amazed at the scale of the work that needed to be done. The distillery had the resources, special clothing, and talented personnel. Initially I carried out maintenance work on the electrical equipment in the vodka department.

Every day at 8:00 we have our briefing. The head power engineer assigns the various tasks for the day, and I supervise the team’s work, make sure we have all the necessary materials, help out, and train the younger employees.

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As time went on, electrics became more than just a job for Vitaly – it became his hobby, and he now enjoys designing household utilities. He has built a spinning clothes dryer, a mobile barbecue with space for firewood, a log splitter, and more.

Responsible and creative, Vitaly loves to invent new things for the residents of Skolkovo.