Modern Moscow is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful metropolises in the world. One of the factors that keeps the Russian capital at the top of the list is the care, with which the city treats its historical and cultural heritage. No less important in this regard is its careful urban planning — new buildings are always created in harmony with the surrounding architecture and fit perfectly into existing spaces. Leonid Monosov played an important role in shaping the modern look of the city; he transformed the metropolis both as a builder and as a manager who supervised restoration, repair, and construction projects in the capital. Let’s talk about how an ordinary boy from a small Belarusian town grew up to become the leader of a large and successful construction corporation.
Childhood
Surprisingly, the man, who devoted decades of his life to making Moscow more beautiful, more convenient, and overall better, is not a native Muscovite himself. Leonid Monosov is originally from Mazyr. This is a small town in the Gomel region with a population of 100 thousand people; it is mostly known as home to the largest Belarusian port of Pkhov, located on the Pripyat River. This is a modest, peaceful, and picturesque town. However, the Monosov family did not live here for long; in 1963, when young Leonid was only 5 years old, his mother tragically died. Anatoly Monosov believed that it would be easier for him to cope with the grief if he left Mazyr. Moreover, he cared about his son’s future and wanted to give him a decent education, while Mazyr did not offer any prospects in this regard. Be that as it may, in 1963, the Monosovs moved to Moscow.
When the time came, Leonid Monosov started first grade at School No. 315. It turned out to be a good pick; the father made the choice based on the convenient location and the son ended up in one of the best schools in Moscow (if not in Russia). Throughout the history of School No. 315, its students had no difficulty getting into universities of their choice; this was not at all surprising — a strong teaching staff, well-thought-out programs, and modern technical equipment allowed it to provide high-quality education. During astronomy classes, older students regularly visited the observatory, which was located on the roof of the building. Those who gravitated towards the exact sciences attended advanced math classes and regularly won city and state-level academic competitions. And all the graduates easily entered the most prestigious colleges in the country.
Leonid Monosov also had no difficulty starting on his future professional journey — he applied to a railway engineering university to get a degree in construction. Leonid’s studies went as smoothly as his enrollment — he managed to both get good grades and participate in numerous extracurricular activities. Thanks to his academic achievements and proactive attitude, Monosov could count on getting a good job by distribution. Having received his degree, yesterday’s student started at Glavmospromstroy, the largest construction corporation in the country.
Glavmospromstroy
Today, it is almost impossible to get into such big company as Glavmospromstroy without pulling any strings. But in the USSR, there was a practice known as “job distribution” where students would be assigned to certain jobs after graduation. And those who showed themselves to the best of their abilities (studied well, participated in extracurricular activities, and so on) could count on a better placement. So, it would be unfair to consider Monosov’s distribution to Glavmospromstroy a stroke of luck — as a student, Leonid did everything in his power to get a good placement. And in his future life, he made the best out of what he attained.
Glavmospromstroy entered the capital’s market in 1972. The corporation was formed from the country’s leading industrial construction enterprises and secured a fitting reputation from the very beginning — its specialists readily took on complex, urgent, and unconventional projects, always keeping up with their responsibilities. Over the years, the company completed thousands of projects of varying degrees of complexity; Glavmospromstroy specialists put up numerous residential buildings, a puppet theater, new buildings of Moscow State University, President Hotel, MGSU buildings, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs headquarters. The company also developed the city’s infrastructure, restored and reconstructed its architectural and historical heritage.
Note, however, that getting a good job by distribution did not guarantee you a meteoric career. By the time Leonid Monosov came to the HR department of Glavmospromstroy to sign his employment contract, the company already had over 70 thousand employees — from builders and foremen to designers, architects, conservators, and repairmen. Asserting yourself to get managers to notice, appreciate, and promote you in a company with countless experienced workers had never been an easy task. However, Monosov found a way; from the very beginning, he was proactive, had a strong sense of initiative, and readily took on big responsibilities. Starting as an ordinary foreman, Leonid quickly began to move up the career ladder; he was first promoted from foreman to supervisor and then assumed the role of site manager. When he proved that he had it in him to become a good leader, his career started to skyrocket; first, Monosov was appointed chief engineer, then he took over as head of the construction department, and later on, he became corporate trust manager. The position of deputy CEO was Leonid’s last appointment in this company; after that, he realized that there was no room for him to grow here and changed his workplace in 1999.
To this day, Leonid Monosov recalls his time at Glavmosprostroy with warm feelings; he says that it was here that he developed his team management skills, learned to navigate tight deadlines, and understood the importance of strict quality control at every stage.
One of Monosov’s last major projects as an executive at Glavmospromstroy was the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The building was restored almost from scratch (there were only old drawings to rely on), without any financial support from the government (using only private donations) in an unprecedented time frame of 6 years. Its construction began in 1994, and on Christmas night, at the turn of the millennium, the cathedral welcomed its first parishioners — about 10 thousand people came to see it that night and beheld the stunning sight of the exact copy of the old cathedral, restored according to the nineteenth-century design plans.
Here are the key takeaways from the construction process:
- the state did not sponsor the reconstruction — the work was financed exclusively through private donations;
- the cathedral was built from concrete blocks; the exterior was faced with bricks and the interior walls were decorated with marble;
- the grand staircases of the cathedral were lined with granite;
- the walls were painted by artists from 23 associations;
- the bells were ordered from the Likhachev Plant;
- there were also some deviations from the original drawings. For example, the builders created an underground car park with three hundred spaces and added an elevator between different levels (hidden in columns to avoid ruining the overall aesthetics of the cathedral with modern details).
Each phase of the construction underwent thorough quality checks to make sure everything complied with the technical specifications. The result pleased everyone — not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of the high construction speed. Later on, many construction companies, striving to become market leaders, tried to copy this style and attain the same speediness in their work.
Moskapstroy
Leonid Monosov came to Moskapstroy when he realized that he had hit the career ceiling at his previous place of work. Moskapstroy offered Monosov the position of CEO; clearly, he could not refuse such a handsome offer, especially considering that this organization was no less famous than Glavmospromstroy.
Moskapstroy entered the capital’s market in 1957. The company mainly operated as a technical representative. Back when Moskapstroy was just starting out, there was practically no competition in this area; the capital’s development was chaotic, which made Moscow look like a multi-colored painting by a bold avant-garde artist. Moskapstroy managed to turn this state of affairs around; it helped create a master plan for the development of the city, introduced the concept of comprehensive site preparation, and made sure that investments were distributed more rationally and efficiently. The company very quickly built a reputation as a reliable contractor and partner, and became the undisputed market leader in its area of expertise. At its height, Moskapstroy was responsible for 90% of construction projects in the city; these included not only residential complexes, but also high-quality infrastructure, industrial facilities, as well as historical restoration projects aimed to preserve architectural heritage.
The company was a fast-growing business even before Leonid Monosov took its helm, but with Monosov as CEO, Moskapstroy began developing at an even quicker pace. Competent management helped the company not only survive in a highly competitive market (at a certain point, the number of technical representatives in Moscow dramatically increased), but also overcome the negative consequences of the 2008 global crisis.
- With Leonid in charge, Moskapstroy gained a reputation as a company that would boldly take on the most complex and unusual projects, completing them on time and guaranteeing impeccable results. According to Monosov, in those days, Moskapstroy was often the only company to bid for certain contracts, only because other contractors preferred to look for something easier and did not want to risk taking on difficult or extremely urgent tasks. Monosov, on the other hand, never saw great responsibility as a problem; thanks to him, Moskapstroy was able to reach new heights.
- The company began to extensively use the latest construction technologies, simultaneously improving the quality of construction, reducing financial costs, and shortening project schedules. For example, when installing the Andreevsky and Krasnoluzhsky bridges, the company transported the structures to the site by using the unconventional method of rafting. This allowed it to reduce transportation costs while preserving the architectural integrity of the heritage.
- Leonid Monosov was never fond of taking out bank loans for business development; he preferred to engage investors or reinvest the company’s profits. This policy proved particularly efficient in 2008 when the global crisis hit the construction industry around the world. Moskapstroy managed to withstand the impact of the crisis — not only because it took out fewer loans, but also because Monosov always paid great attention to risk management and business diversification in his time as an executive. In difficult times, Moskapstroy switched to building affordable housing and renting out real estate.
Creating a Business
The year 2012 marked another milestone in Leonid Monosov’s biography, when the executive left Moskapstroy to focus on investment. For several years, Leonid studied the basics and nuances of investing activities, then he decided it was time to start his own business — and thus was created the Moskapstroy-TN company, where Monosov took on the role of vice president.
Leonid remained loyal to his roots and continued his journey in the construction industry, while expanding the scope of activities and focusing on investment-worthy projects and real estate management. Moskapstroy-TN specialists search for and invest in large-scale projects that promise to yield good profits in the future. They meticulously analyze a huge number of factors and put every project through a strict selection process; thanks to this risk minimization approach, there have been no serious oversights in the entire history of Moskapstroy-TN. The company’s portfolio includes the following residential complexes: Krylatsky on Rublevskoye Highway, Topolya in Lyublino, and Bolshaya Ordynka 8, located near the Resurrection Church.
Personal Life
Leonid Monosov has always devoted a lot of time to his work. However, this does not mean that he put his personal life on pause — the top manager prefers not to talk about his family, but it is known for certain that he has two adult children.
In 1981, Leonid Monosov became a father for the first time; his wife gave birth to his son, who was named Andrey. The son decided to follow in his father’s footsteps from an early age. Andrey Monosov attended the same school, applied to a construction university, and then got a job in a construction company as a junior employee, so that, like his father, he could climb the career ladder on his own, studying the business processes from the inside. Today, Andrey works in real estate development and is valued as an experienced specialist, executive, and leader. He has several awards from the Moscow government.
Leonid Monosov’s second child was born in 1990. This time, his wife gave him a daughter who was named Alina. Unlike her brother, Alina chose her own path in life — she studied at MGIMO, first completing a degree in business administration and then in public administration. For some time, Alina Monosova lived in England, where she studied at Regent’s University. She devotes a lot of time to studying psychology — Alina has a degree from Moscow State University, she studied the first level of Gestalt psychology, and is now focusing on health psychology. Monosova does not intend to have a career in this field, but she considers psychology a useful tool for her personal and professional life; it is always easier for a psychologically savvy person to get along with various people, including colleagues, bosses, subordinates, and friends. Moreover, Alina Monosova does not give up on the idea of launching her own business project. She had already created a coaching and mental health app called Odna Volna, but was forced to abandon it, as it required a lot of time and was interfering with her main job. Nowadays, Alina runs a Telegram channel where she shares insights on the topics of fashion and style.
