Do good without fanfares and advertising

TAIF has a special attitude to supporting the educational system

Investments in the education system have a special place among numerous areas of social investments of TAIF Group.

New places in kindergartens and schools in Belekech (The Little One) and Kilechek (The Future) programmes designed to modernise and develop pre-school and educational institutions. According to the Tatarstan Ministry of Construction, the Belekech programme was 136% completed: over 2,000 places were created whereas 1,470 had been planned. Almost all kids above the age of 3 got the opportunity of going to kindergartens. TAIF directly participated in a deluxe kindergarten construction programme.

The Institute of Chemistry of Kazan Federal University is one of the leading petrochemical research centres. Its building was built by TAIF-ST in 2015 for Kazanorgsintez’s order and with TAIF’s support. An eight-storey building has 37 big laboratories doing research on organic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, petrochemistry and fine chemical technologies and catalysis.

The Tatar Female School No. 12 is one of the first Tatarstan schools with separate education. First, it was located in the building a former kindergarten. In 2007, it was decided to build a new building for 240 students on 89, Dekabristov Street. TAIF agreed to fund the construction, while TAIF-ST company became the contractor general. The total area of the educational institution is nearly 8,000 square metres.

The professional education system is always in the spotlight for TAIF Group. School students often go on excursions to the enterprise. They are familiarised with professions. Such visits are decisive for the youth when choosing their future workplace. The Lemayev Petrochemistry and Oil Refining College in Nizhnekamsk and the Lushnikov Kazan Petrochemical College have been a talent pool for Group’s enterprises for decades always finding their support as well as specialised university. Here it is not only support for major repairs but also the purchase and delivery of equipment needed for fully-fledged educational processes, creation of training programmes for specialists demanded by factories.

TAIF’s industrial enterprises actively implement a dual educational programme when would-be specialists not only do internships in enterprises but also join the staff, deeply dive into the profession while studying and receive the full salary. Clearly, performance and plan execution at the initial stage. The most important thing is that university and college students gain experience faster in a real working environment and join Group’s enterprises as real specialists after receiving their diplomas.

No less attention is paid to various skill upgrade programmes for current specialists. TAIF Group companies focus on education and providing opportunities to make sure their own workers’ potential is fulfilled as much as possible. Victories in many vocational skills competitions are evidence of the correctness of the chosen strategy. While TAIF Group companies have long been reliable partners of vocational competition organisers.

Everything matters in science. TAIF helped to print a monograph Fractal Elements: Pioneer Hardware Implementations by Kazan Aviation Institute’s Professor Rashid Nigmatullin’s jubilee. The book is just 300 copes. But this work concentrating the scientific thought in the last more than 50 years is a printed monument to the founder of the Kazan and (world) scientific school of fractional operators and a substantial application precisely in Russian science for leadership in this sphere on a global scale. The book was sent out to the world’s leading libraries and is available online.

Research import substitution is done together with specialised universities of the republic and Russia. Thanks to investments in science, a considerable part of components and catalysts is already produced or soon will be made in Russian factories.

Also, TAIF Group companies regularly participate in the republican charity campaign Help Get Ready for School.

TAIF Group companies’ investments to support science and develop the education system throughout its activity in general has approached a billion rubles.

Also, TAIF Group actively supports the publishing industry. Hundreds, if not thousands, of different books have been printed. Unique limited editions of books about the history of Tatarstan, cultural, architectural and intangible values of the Tatars, great compatriots and their accomplishments, milestones and bright victories don’t collect dust on the shelve but are sent to those who appreciate good books. Some of these books are presented to winners of the traditional Gabdulla Tukay International Recitation Competition.

Hundreds of books are presented to compatriots living outside Tatarstan and who really need literature about their homeland and in their mother tongue on behalf of TAIF. Several parcels of this kind have already been received in Sakhalin. And they are called priceless.

“To be honest, we didn’t have any literature in Tatar in the libraries just a couple of years ago. We had only magazines people themselves used to bring. Then the older generation people gradually started to bring what had had for many years. At the centre we always focus on the work with the youth, but how to teach a language, tell them about culture, the homeland if there aren’t any books? There was nothing about Tatarstan in Tatar language. Those of us who travelled to Tatarstan used to bring as many books as we could for many years. Here we have 15 districts. If we divide them books among all the district, you can consider there is nothing left. There is a deficit of literature everywhere — both here and the Kuril Islands. So once we contacted TAIF. And they immediate sent a lot of books,” Chairwoman of Mother Tongue Educational and Cultural Centre regional public organisation in Sakhalin Zakiya Valitova told Realnoe Vremya in an interview.

Another parcel with new books was recently received in Sakhalin. Zakiya Valitova confessed that now many other national public organisations envy people from Tatarstan in a kind way.

No skimping on health!

Nearly 50 billion rubles, or around $1.5 billion at the average annual rate, have been allocated throughout TAIF Group’s activity to support the health care system and provide additional health insurance and pension, construction and maintenance of health resorts, health centres, children summer camps, good food for staff, organisation of leisure time and public festivities and much more for the workers of Group’s enterprises.

TAIF provides as much support as possible to assist health care institutions: money is allocated to build, do major and minor repairs in hospitals and polyclinics, buy new equipment, special transport vehicles and protective gear, provide preventive measures and treatment for Group company workers.

TAIF Group pays special attention to its companies’ workers’ health, conditions and quality of life. Besides providing possibilities for effective diagnostics and preventive measures to keep them healthy, TAIF Group companies have a voluntary health insurance programme for their employees.

During the pandemic, there was detected a deficit of individual protective gear in the republic and across the country in general. TAIF Group purchased a highly productive line to make disposable protective masks, while Polymatiz, which was part of TAIF Group, increased the production of non-woven materials used to make the masks and hazmat suits for health workers ten times. It became possible to set up the production of individual protective equipment within a short period of time. Hundreds of thousands of masks were given by TAIF Group companies to health care institutions, sports and educational centres, transport workers and other for free.

Some children camps and health resorts belonging to TAIF companies were re-equipped during the pandemic to accommodate health care workers who were working in an emergency mode fraught with risks of infections and therefore they had to be voluntarily isolated from their families and friends. Niznekamskneftekhim developed a formula and launch the production of antiseptic solutions. The production of treated oxygen that is vital for artificial ventilation in UCI was ramped up where capacities allowed doing this. Gas giving life was sent to health care institutions across the country.

Thanks to NKNK’s quick response and teamwork, thousands of people didn’t fall sick after receiving individual protective equipment.

Trying to do more, with its shareholders’ approval, TAIF has been investing in an area that is crucial for the country for many years now — medical research. Group created DNA R&D Centre that initiated the creation of the Scientific and Clinical Centre for Precision and Regenerative Medicine at Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.

The centre was equipped with the latest equipment has always aimed to develop and use technologies for early cancer diagnostics and pick medicines for their effective treatment as well as the diagnostics and treatment of rare diseases. A job on cancer diagnostics, neural rehabilitation and child lymphology is done together with Rusfond Russian charity fund.

Albert Rizvanov — professor of the Department of Genetics of the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of Kazan Federal University, doctor of biological sciences, professor, a doctor of philosophy, correspondent member of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, honourable professor of fundamental medicine of Nottingham University (Great Britain) — chaired the centre. The amount of money spent by TAIF Group on these purposes totalled about 0.5% of the Tatarstan annual budget in 2020 alone. With the beginning of the pandemic, with TAIF Group’s support, DNA R&D Centre and the Scientific and Clinical Centre for Precision and Regenerative Medicine at Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University were the only in Tatarstan and one of the few in the Volga Region to join the development of express test systems to determine the presence of novel coronavirus antibodies in human blood.

However, TAIF Group companies supported the health care system both before the pandemic and continued doing this after the threat started to decrease. So in 2019, considerable money (over 220 million rubles) was allocated for major repairs, modernisation and equipment of Polyclinic No. 1 in Nizhnekamsk. Group invested 120 million rubles to renovate two units of the Nizhnekamsk Central Municipal Hospital. Another 113 million rubles were invested to create a fully equipped Burns Unit in the same hospital.

Prevention is the best medicine, TAIF Group enterprises believe. This is why occupational and process safety is paid great attention as well as the prevention of job-related diseases as well as the regularity of factory workers’ medical check-ups. Finally, a healthy diet is one of the pillars of keeping the organism healthy. One can only envy public catering systems in TAIF Group companies. However, representatives of other organisations sometimes take advantage of the possibility of eating delicious food during their lunch break. For instance, it is contractors of TAIF-NK JSC or specialists of petrochemical factories. And they all agree that food is not only delicious but “it tastes like home.”

Where to go on holidays? Workers of TAIF Group companies and their family members usually don’t have such a question: they can improve their health and have a rest in health resorts. Children can go to camps during summer and winter holidays.

Over 52 billion for sport

The amount is over $1.5 billion at the average annual rate from 1996 to 2022. The sum is impressive as well as the scale of TAIF Group’s friendship with sport. It is hundreds of mass sporting events in every company a year. Everybody can find a sport to their taste: running, skiing, skating, shooting, tennis, football, ice hockey, cycling… Most TAIF workers actively participate in the GTO physical culture training programme…. And it is not only about amateurs.

Infrastructure is needed to make sure everybody can do sport. Investing in sport, TAIF invests in a happy, healthy, bright, eventful present and future of its workers and their children. The creation and support for comfortable areas, stadiums, sports venues, swimming pools, ice palaces, health resorts and children camps as well as their occupancy are one of the most significant components of the company’s social responsibility.

Together with mass sport and the popularisation of a healthy lifestyle, TAIF Group has been actively supporting professional sport too for many years now.

TAIF Group companies were sponsors of Rubin and Neftekhimik football clubs for a long time. Moreover, in December 2019 TAIF became an official partner of the Russian Football Union. A dedicated memorandum and an agreement were signed in Moscow. In 2020, this cooperation became specific: Tatarstan welcomed the RFU’s special programme Football Class and children of Group company workers who won a competition had a chance of attending a training of team Russia and received a personal autograph signing session and a photo shoot.

TAIF Group also significantly supported Neftekhimik and Dynamo hockey clubs, Sintez Water Polo Club (with TAIF’s assistance it was transformed into an aquatic sports club in 2018) for many years. The home venue of Sintez — Orgsintez swimming pool — was renovated with TAIF Group’s money in 2019.

And this is far from being the only sports venue that appeared or was transformed with Group’s money and effort. So before the 2013 World Summer University Games, TAIF built a field hockey centre. In 2005, it did an ice palace in Nizhnekamsk that later was upgraded to increase the seating capacity. Its adjacent territory was improved at the same time too. By the way, the venue is Neftekhimik HC’s home area. In 2020, the home pitch of Neftekhimik Football Club got new stands. The large-scale renovation cost TAIF Group 400 million rubles.

Strela rugby club returned to the sports arena thanks to TAIF’s support.

“Fortunately, now we have the club president’s support (Editor’s note: Tatarstan Prime Minister Alexey Pesoshin is a former rugby player), the main sponsor — TAIF Group of Companies in the person of Board Chairman Rustem Sulteyev, which allows looking for the best players with top competition experience for necessary positions. Sadly, the local rugby school was once lost here but now we are starting the work in a new way so that the company can be equipped with its students in the future,” Sports Director of the club Alfred Khisamov shared with Realnoe Vremya soon after the club’s re-opening.

The team recently returned with one of the most significant sports trophies — the Russian Cup.

TAIF Sports Club, TAIFMOTORSPORT racing teams aspire for victories in TAIF Group colours. By the way, Dmitry Bragin won the final leg of the jubilee 10^th season of G-DRIVE leg of the Touring Russian Circuit Racing Series that took place at Grozny Fortress in the capital of Chechen Republic — Grozny — on 7 October 2023 and became a 6^th-time Russian champion.

TAIF Group has been supporting one of the strongest parabasketball teams of Russia Snow Leopard Wings and Tulpar 3x3 women’s basketball team on Senior Adviser to the TAIF Director General Radik Shaimiyev since 2018.

Some athletes and entire teams, wrestlers, taekwondo and other martial art fans, professional bandy, volleyball and basketball players also feel the firm shoulder of TAIF. The scope of sport support provided by Group is really impressive.

Over $9.5 billion

Given the fluctuations of the American currencies from 1995 to 2022 inclusively, this is the amount of TAIF Group’s contribution to social projects and charity.

Besides those areas enumerated above, around 312 million rubles were allocated to provide public order and public safety. New special machinery is used in firefighting brigades and subdivisions of the republic with TAIF Group companies’ assistance.

Over a quarter of a billion has been allocated to help public funds such as Russian Army, Air Force and Navy Volunteer Society, Factor of the Future of the Republic of Tatarstan charity fund for youth initiatives, Tatarstan Safety Veterans charity fund, Ak Bars Creation charity fund, Fund for Media Development, Childhood Joy charity fund and some others. Over 4.5 billion rubles are spent to support agriculturists and agriculture of the republic, which means support stable food security for affordable prices.

During the earthquake in Turkey in early 2023, TAIF Group companies didn’t stand on the sidelines — they delivered humanitarian aid to the Consulate General in Kazan to send it to the most affected regions.

A careful attitude to history, including its sad and heroic pages such as the years of the Great Patriotic War that claimed lives of millions of people is also one of the priorities of TAIF Group. Search parties have been in former battlefields for many years now, nearly 80 years later they continue looking for missed soldiers and return their names from oblivion. TAIF Group supports such parties.

Veterans of the Great Patriotic War and home front workers aren’t forgotten by TAIF Group companies either. Moreover, not only on memorable days but also in general. They are visited by volunteers of enterprises, provide necessary support, ask if they need and wish something to solve arising problems later.

A 1941 desk calendar was reprinted on TAIF JSC Director General Ruslan Shigabutdinov’s initiative in 2020. The still history of the huge country that wasn’t aware a war would broke out a day later had a limited number of copes. Accurate replicas of the edition were given to the republic’s libraries and museums for free.

The line “other social investments” that is stingy with emotions is thousands of important, significant and noble deeds that gave joy to some, for some the solution seemed to be impossible to resolve… The total investments in these “other” investments from 1996 to 2022 topped 20 billion rubles or over $600 million.

TAIF’s management has been participating in charity campaigns for many years now. So Arina Baryshnikova’s big dreams became a reality on New Year’s eve in 2021. A girl with cerebral palsy had been dreaming about a warm jumpsuit. While Alina Khaliullova from Naberezhnye Chelny had about a sewing machine. And it was a miracle!

A miracle happened to Alsu Khabriyeva too — she has the 1^st category disability. The girl and her mother moved to a refurbished flat in Laishevo from a dilapidated private house in the countryside. Thanks to TAIF now they live close to a rehabilitation centre where treatment courses are vital for Alsu.

The TAIF management sticks to the opinion that any achievements should do good for all Tatarstan residents.

“We try to really improve people’s quality of live, make our contribution to the republic’s social policy. This is why we cannot work ineffectively and non-stop move ahead making our company’s slogan ‘Power for the Good!” a reality,” Board Chairman of TAIF JSC Albert Shigabutdinov highlighted in one of his conversations with Realnoe Vremya’s journalist.

The diversity and scope of TAIF Group’s social investments grow year after year. TAIF Group has already invested a total over $9.5 billion in good deeds. Most of these investments are charity, without fanfares and attempts to advertising good deeds. Why? A careful person will find the answer to this question in the holy Muslim book, the Quran: “Do good and forget it.” Persian philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet Omar Hayam wrote a long time ago: “If you wait for gratitude for kindness, then you don’t gift kindness, you sell it.” Another popular saying puts it this way: “Good things are done silently, the rest is theatre.”