To the cottage of Viktor Semenov, we fly up by helicopter. “See what kind of forest, tall pines of the forest without undergrowth? And a beach with clean sand. Yeltsin stayed here twice when he walked along the Volga on the ship Russia,” says Semenov, pointing to the bay. “After three years there will be a five-star SPA - hotel with 36 rooms, a yacht club and private residences ", - continues the hero of our story.

The helicopter crosses the Volga, and we land on the lawn in front of a large wooden house. However, even the house and the lawn attracts attention. Springy grass underfoot is the envy of any golf club. "This is what we grow, the company "Russian lawns". And the yellow “bald spots” in the grass are traces of the vital activity of dogs ", laughs Semenov. One of the hunting dogs, named Ulka, runs out from behind the house, it’s easy to say.

With Ulka, Semenov goes hunting here, in the nearby meadows. "This is a real Turgenev hunt, when you go to the field for the whole day and roam with a gun at the ready on the mowed fields," says the hunter. To make it clearer exactly how the snipe hunt goes, he waves his arms, shows how the dog makes a stand. “You tell her“ Chu ”, she goes ahead and raises the hollows. But you don’t know where he is, maybe two steps away, or maybe ten. This element of surprise adds thrill,” explains Semenov.

The theme of the hunt fascinated our hero. He tells how in China he laid the world's largest blue Chinese ram. "I love hunting in the mountains, because it is impossible to buy it. Somewhere in Africa you can be tied with a leg of a lion, and then the film will be shot about how you hunted down and almost strangled with your bare hands. to climb mountains, "says Semenov. For his trophy, the hunter received an award from the International Hunters Club Safari International Club.

And Semenov tells how in Ukraine he hunted bison with presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky. "It was winter, snowing to the waist, we went for the bison, and suddenly realized that the hunters lagged behind and we were left alone. And the bison ahead, wanders in the undergrowth. If we had wounded him and he would have fallen on us, we would not have run away. the situation was dangerous. But Sergei showed himself to be a miracle shooter. I can't imagine how he put him down with one shot, "the hero of our story recalls. And he immediately adds that he has been hunting less and less often lately - he has moved from hunting to photo-hunting. "I was recently in Cameroon, took some good pictures, I want to send them to National Geographic now," he says.

By the way, the house of Semenov coolly reminds a big hunting house somewhere in the hunting farm. It is built of pine timber, with minimal decor inside, simple leather chairs with factory-made scuffs, on the floor in the living room is the skin of a bear. “I don’t like luxury and polished marble,” says the owner of the house. “Look around. There is such wonderful nature here, pines, Volga. This cleanliness, wildness of this nature is worth a lot. and some luxury villa. "

The harmonious coexistence of man and his surrounding nature is the center, the pivot point of the personal philosophy of Viktor Semenov. He says that all his projects are doing so as not to cause harm to nature. “Here, for example, we grow vegetables at the White Dacha by a biological method. That is, we do not use toxic chemicals, pests are killed by their natural enemies — useful insects,” says Semenov. I ask how profitable it is. After all, vegetables and salads grown in greenhouses "White Dacha" using a biological method, have to compete on the shelves with vegetables and salads grown in the usual way.

“Indeed, organic products grown around the world are about 30% more expensive than organic products grown with pesticides and other chemicals. But in Russia we have a unique situation. in the West, we almost do not produce our own pesticides, we import them from abroad. It turns out that our ecological vegetables are almost the same as imported ones, ”rejoices over Russians Semenov.

Continuing the conversation about the now fashionable topic of healthy nutrition and organic products, the owner of Belaya Dacha talks about the relevant department in the Belaya Dacha Garden Center hypermarket, which the company opened this spring at the 14th kilometer of the Moscow Ring Road, not far from Auchan and MEGI . "We sell jams from flowers, organic juices, organic honey, even imported organic beer from England. Honestly, I didn’t even think that all this would be sold. But people come and buy," the store owner wonders. .

Semenov admits that he fell in love with bran pasta from his own store. "With bran is a funny story. Remember, before rich people ate only white bread, and bran bread was eaten by those who are more victorious? with a thick wallet and with brains they already understood that not everything in this life is measured by money, they began to think about their own health, about healthy eating, "reflects the hero of our rubric.

Semenov himself "took hold of the mind" about 15 years ago. "The rules are very simple. Firstly, control food intake, do not overeat. Secondly, you must eat porridge in the morning, thirdly, you can eat differently. But at the same time, once a week you can afford to eat what you want and how much For example, I eat oatmeal on the water. Today a friend of mine came to visit me, and I was just about to have breakfast. He asks: “What have you got for breakfast?” I answer: “Oatmeal with raisins.” he was not at all imagining the oligarch's breakfast, "laughs Semenov.

From talking about healthy eating and eating, we return to business. The Belaya Dacha company is now transferring greenhouses to Kislovodsk and to the distant suburbs. I ask Semenov if it is difficult for him to break greenhouses. After all, 27 years of our hero's life are connected with these greenhouses. “It’s hard. It’s really hard. After all, I really spent all my life at the White Dacha, went all the way from assistant brigadier to company’s owner. But now it’s unprofitable to grow vegetables so close to Moscow, we have to part with the past. And then we don’t we just break greenhouses, we will build a park, residential and office buildings in their place, for people and for the environment it will be only better, ”the owner of Belaya Dacha believes.

However, Semenov said that recently he has not been involved in business, he is engaged almost exclusively in politics and charitable projects. “I went to politics so as not to sour. If I had remained the director of the company, I would have been such a mossy stump, a respected person, but still a mossy stump,” he jokes. I ask if it was not scary to give the business into the hands of hired managers. “Not scary, but a little anxious,” he replies. “In the end, business would only benefit from it. If I had stayed, strong people would have left sooner or later. After all, strong people have self-realization as their main goal. And so and work for the company, develop the business. "