The most interesting success stories are always those that begin with “he was born into a simple family.” Reading such biographies motivates aspiring entrepreneurs and teaches them to overcome difficulties, strive for higher goals, and most importantly, work and work hard. The journey of Leonid Monosov, who devoted half a century to the construction industry, is a perfect example of such a life story. His career began back in those years when the concept of “construction business” did not yet exist in the country — in Soviet time, this market was controlled by specialized agencies. Young Leonid started out as a simple foreman at one of these agencies.
His career progressed one step at a time; first he was a foreman, then a supervisor and so on. In the 1990s, when the era of business arrived, this man found himself part of the top management team of a large construction corporation, which emerged from the former state agency. Then he took the helm at another large company, and in the 2010s he moved on to investing in real estate development projects.
So, what personal qualities does one need to build an equally impressive career? Let us look into the character traits that helped Leonid Monosov in building a successful career and trace back his long professional journey.
Childhood, School, and Career Plans
Leonid Monosov was born in the city of Mazyr, located in the Gomel region of the Belarusian SSR. The year was 1958. The boy’s father was a native of Moscow, and his mother was born in Mazyr. The family lived happily until the tragic death of the mother in 1963. The boy’s father was faced with the difficult decision of what to do next. In Mazyr, everything reminded him of his wife, so he had no desire to stay there.
He was also thinking about the future of his son and considering the limited education opportunities in a small provincial town. There was only a teachers college there. He knew that if his son studied well and decided to get a higher education, he would have to move to a big city eventually. So why not do it right away? Anatoly decided to return to the capital.
The boy went to first grade in Moscow; he was enrolled in School No. 315 in the Sokolniki area. This school, although not specialized, taught mathematics and the exact sciences at a very high level. Its students even had their own observatory, which stirred up envy in children from other schools — after all, there was hardly a Soviet kid who did not dream of space back in the day. What is interesting is that Leonid would one day send his own children to the same School No. 315.
The boy’s talent was in the exact sciences. He studied well and, towards the end of school, began to consider different options at one of the best technical universities in the country. But which program to apply to? The high school student consulted with his father, who suggested that he should consider the construction industry. The Soviet Union was a country of grand construction projects. Building residential property, factories, and dams was a promising and respectful career.
The young man himself liked to fantasize about the cities of the future, so why not become part of this fantasy? He applied to the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering to get a degree in industrial and civil engineering. This educational institution was considered the most important transport university of the USSR and provided a great engineering education.
Career Start: Harder than Expected
Since Leonid Monosov was one of the best students in the graduating class, he was able to get a good placement at one of the capital’s construction sites that belonged to Glavmospromstroy.
The job distribution system that existed in the USSR at the time provided all graduates with a place to start, but not everyone could get a placement in “finite” Moscow, a republican capital city, or any other big influential city. Many had to move to small single-industry towns on the other side of the country. To have a chance to choose instead of settling for unpromising options, one had to be a great student. Only the best were sent to construction sites in Moscow. One of them was Leonid Monosov.
Glavmospromstroy, where he started his career, was an important state organization. About twenty construction groups operated under its flag. Glavmospromstroy erected buildings and structures that found their places in history and shaped modern Moscow. For example, the employees of this organization built the VDNKh Space Pavilion.
They also built large industrial enterprises, such as Stankolit. Some projects were truly awe-inspiring; for example, the entire city of Zelenograd near Moscow was built by this corporation from scratch. And this was not just another settlement, but a next-generation urban community — a modern science city for young scientists and engineers.
Those were the kind of projects that were in store for Leonid Monosov. But there were still years and years of work ahead of him before he would supervise any megaprojects. The young man came to his first construction site as an ordinary foreman with a salary of 150 rubles.
Organizational Skills
Not all graduates of Soviet construction universities were excited about hands-on work at construction sites. Young foremen faced challenging management tasks:
- Firstly, they had to build rapport with workers, who usually treated yesterday’s students without much respect and sometimes looked down on the “know-it-alls” with academic degrees. This often turned into silent sabotage, bad performance, and project delays.
- Secondly, they had to control the supply of construction materials, tools, and equipment. Not everything went smoothly in this regard either. Heavy equipment was in scarce supply, deliveries were routinely delayed — and work often came to a halt.
- Thirdly, they had to make sure not to fall behind schedule and fulfil their socialist obligations, which were sometimes rather unreasonable. Basically, young foremen were responsible for everything at once! They had to motivate workers, fight with suppliers for bricks and fittings, and solve numerous issues.
Many young workers wanted to “run away” from such a life to much quieter paperwork; fortunately, there were enough suitable positions in the organization. Monosov, on the other hand, did not give up. He successfully overcame all difficulties and established himself as a serious and reliable person who could be entrusted with even more important matters.
Leonid Monosov managed to prove his organizational skills right away, and this did not go unnoticed. Soon he received a promotion and became a supervisor. The scope of his functions evolved and he started managing a large team. He had much greater responsibility in his new role.
Having passed the test with honor, he got another promotion and became a construction site manager. After this, further promotions followed; first, he was appointed chief engineer and then head of the construction department.
With each new level, there was more and more responsibility. The crowning achievement of Leonid Monosov’s career during the Soviet period was the position of managing director at one of the construction groups. Today, this could be compared to becoming the CEO of a subsidiary of a large conglomerate.
Career in the Free Market Era
In the early 1990s, when Russia entered the free market era, centralized state agencies started to transform into commercial enterprises. Glavmospromstroy went through a similar transformation. After turning its form of ownership into a joint-stock company, it also changed its name. That said, it became only slightly shorter while still being recognizable: Mospromstroy.
The impressive portfolio, developed during the Soviet period, allowed Mospromstroy to insert itself into the new market processes and begin working on new projects. Leonid Monosov assumed the role of deputy CEO.
Mospromstroy was still one of the main construction organizations in the country. The projects he took on in the 1990s were large-scale and ambitious. The most difficult task, according to the executive, was the restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was destroyed by the Bolsheviks in the 1930s.
The idea of restoring the heritage was floating around since the 1980s era of perestroika. Donations began to flow in back in the Soviet period. And finally, in 1994, this citizen initiative came to fruition. The construction was carried out by Mospromstroy with Leonid Monosov’s direct involvement.
As the executive now recalls, the challenging part was to combine modern requirements and technologies with pre-revolutionary designs. The architects used archival materials to recreate the Cathedral of Christ the Savior as accurately as possible, so that it was practically identical to the original. But at the same time, they realized that they must incorporate modern utilities and other important infrastructure elements into the project. It took a lot of effort, but the problem was solved.
New Career Heights
Monosov worked at Glavmospromstroy/Mospromstroy for two decades and built an excellent career. However, he felt like there was no room for him to move forward; as deputy CEO, Monosov saw the glass ceiling approaching. Nevertheless, his career growth continued — but in another company. Impressed with the executive’s work history, the owners of Mokapstroy JSC invited him to head their company.
The top manager once admitted in an interview that it was at this moment that he realized that he had made it in the industry.
The Moskapstroy company was also a big and influential market player. During the Soviet era, it was a state-owned enterprise, and by the end of the 90s, its history spanned more than half a century. In the new free market era, Soviet organizations gave way to commercial companies.
In 1999, Leonid Monosov took the helm at one of these companies. Here he was able to fully unlock his organizational and entrepreneurial potential, which almost immediately affected the company’s financial performance. From 1999 to 2007, he managed to triple it.
The scope of Moskapstroy’s activities in the 2000s was astonishing. The company operated on a grand scale, developing not just new neighborhoods, but entire residential areas on a turnkey basis. The housing market in Russia was booming. The limit system for migrant workers was abolished and people from all over the country poured into Moscow. They were even moving here from post-Soviet republics. Many bought and even more people rented apartments in the capital. The rekindled rental market demanded more residential property — as people began to buy real estate for investment purposes.
There were new trends emerging. Muscovites who lived with their relatives tried to move out. Owners of small “khrushchevkas” dreamed of going bigger. All these people needed living space!
Mokapstroy built new turnkey residential complexes, while developing vacant lots and creating urban infrastructure in new neighborhoods. In the 2000s, the company provided the hot Moscow market with 2,400,000 sq. meters of real estate. The capital was expanding and people were enjoying their housewarming parties. And Leonid Monosov deserves a lot of credit for that. He managed a huge enterprise, made sure that dozens of its subsidiaries worked smoothly, and supervised the handover of countless projects, which kept streaming in.
It was a difficult and stressful time. As the CEO of Moskapstroy, Monosov managed to capture the main market trend of the period and respond to customer needs with a fitting offer.
At the same time, the company was working on large infrastructure projects that were of great importance to the city. Often, these were complicated tasks that turned out to be too challenging for the competitors.
Nowadays, they talk about Monosov as a person who made a great contribution to the modern look of the Russian capital. He modestly replies that he “was only one of many” who worked to a common goal.
Market in Need of Investment
In the 2010s, Monosov switched his focus. After the global financial crisis, the housing market in Russia slowed down. The big problem, according to the entrepreneur, was the lack of government support and private investment. So, he decided to focus on solving this problem and started dealing with investment projects in real estate development himself.
Today, Leonid Monosov is vice president at Moskapstroy-TN JSC, a company that invests in promising projects in the Moscow market. It invests both in new residential complexes and in commercial real estate, such as shopping malls and business centers.
Family Life of the Top Manager
Leonid Monosov is the father of two adult children and a happy grandfather. However, he is not planning to retire just yet — he is still a businessman and philanthropist. He believes that big money and opportunities are given so that you can change other peoples’ lives for the better — by building livings spaces, improving urban infrastructure, and simply helping those in need.
About the Son: Andrey Monosov and His Career
The eldest child in the Monosov family was born in 1981. The boy was named Andrey. After graduating from school, he entered the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, but chose a major related to economics and management. In doing so, the young man made two of his dreams come true; on the one hand, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, and on the other, he wanted to build his own business.
Andrey began his career from an entry-level job in the construction industry. Gradually moving up the career ladder, he assumed an executive position in a large construction company.
He is married and has two kids. It is hard to say what life paths Leonid’s grandson and granddaughter will choose in the future, but their father and grandfather believe that they should be free to make their own choices.
About the Daughter: Alina Monosova and Her Career, Plans, and Hobbies
Monosov’s daughter is nine years younger than his son. She graduated from the Moscow Economic School and continued her education at MGIMO and Regent’s University London. Her professional interests include finance, management, and administration.
Alina is the epitome of a modern businesswoman. She has a ten-year career path behind her, which brought her to the position of vice president of a real estate development firm first and then chief investment officer at another company later. Like her brother and father, she also began her career from junior positions.
However, business is not the only area, in which Alina puts her talent to work. She is also interested in psychology and is currently doing a master’s degree in this field. She even launched a popular coaching project once, but after a while decided that the commercial dimension of psychology was not her cup of tea. Monosova has withdrawn from such projects and now continues to study the depths of the human psyche in the name of self-discovery. This helps Alina in her career, which is once again focused on business administration.
