Salman ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud was born on December 31, 1935 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The boy was the twenty-fifth son of Ibn Saud. The mother was Hassa Al Sudairi. He received his primary education at the Princes' School in the city of Riyadh, which was established by Ibn Saud for his children. Studied religion and modern science. I learned the complete Qur'an at the age of ten. At the age of eighteen, his father, King Abdulaziz, in March 1953 appointed him as his representative and emir (mayor) of the city of Riyadh.

Since 1954, Salman ibn Abdul has been the acting mayor of the city of Riyadh. In 1955, he took the post of mayor of the city of Riyadh. In the period from 1963 to 2011, he was the governor of the province of Riyadh.

In accordance with the rules of succession of power in the Saudi kingdom, the throne is transferred in the ruling family from brother to brother in seniority. To regulate the process of transfer of power by inheritance in 2006, the Oath Council was created, which, in the event of the death of the king, enthrones the heir and appoints the next crown prince.

Since 2011, he has been in charge of the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia. Since 2012, he has been Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, retaining the position of Minister of Defense. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Salman ibn Abdul on receiving the title of Crown Prince, expressing the hope that “the activities of the Crown Prince will contribute to the comprehensive development of Russian-Saudi relations in the interests of the peoples of the two countries, peace and stability in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East as a whole. ".

In March 2014, King Abdullah said that Salman's health condition was of serious concern, and he might even refuse to lead the country. In June 2014, Salman met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in Saudi Arabia, who conveyed the best wishes from the Russian president to the heir. Salman, for his part, called good relations between the two countries.

Under Salman, the legal status of women in the country has changed. By his decree of September 26, 2017 The king allowed women to drive. Prior to that, since 1957, women were deprived of such a right, which led to protests.

King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud October 4, 2017 went on a state visit to Russia. The leaders considered joint steps to further build up bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud January 23, 2015 took over as King and Prime Minister after the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. He is the seventh king of Saudi Arabia. Salman has declared Prince Muqrin, who holds the position of Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, to be the heir to the throne.

The president Russian Federation Vladimir Putin October 14, 2019 arrived in Saudi Arabia on a state visit that will last several days. The Russian President is expected to discuss with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ways to strengthen strategic cooperation between Riyadh and Moscow in all areas of mutual interest.

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud awards

Order of King Abdulaziz
Order of King Faisal
Grand Cross of the National Order of Niger
Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (Spain)
Chain of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (Guinea)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile
Order of the Republic of Turkey 1st class
Order of Zayed
Order of al-Khalifa
Order of Mubarak the Great
Order of the Crown of Malaysia
Order of the Star of the Republic of Indonesia
Order of the Crown of Brunei
Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum
Order of Hussein ibn Ali 1st class
Order of the Lion (Senegal)
Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class

Family of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Father - Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdurrahman Al Saud.
Mother - Hasa bint Ahmad al-Sudairi.

First wife - Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi. She passed away at the age of 71, at the end of July 2011. She was the daughter of Salman's maternal uncle, Turki ibn Ahmad Al Sudayri, who was one of the former governors of Asir province. Children:
Prince Fahd (1955-2001).
Prince Sultan (b. 1956).
Prince Ahmed (1958-2002).
Prince Abdulaziz (b. 1960).
Prince Faisal (b. 1970).
Princess Hassa (b. 1974).

The second wife is Sarah bint Faisal Al Subai-ai.
Son - Prince Saud (born 1986).

The third wife is Fahda bint Falah ibn Sultan Al Khitalayn.
Children:
Prince Muhammad (b. 1985).
Prince Turki (b. 1987).
Prince Khalid (b. 1988).
Prince Naif.
Prince Bandar.
Prince Rakan.

Salman's eldest son from his first marriage, Fahd ibn Salman, died of heart failure at the age of 47 in July 2001. Another son, Ahmad bin Salman, died after a heart attack in July 2002 at age 43.

His second son, Sultan ibn Salman, became the first person of royal blood, the first Arab and the first Muslim to fly into space. Abdulaziz ibn Salman, another of his sons, has been Deputy Minister of Oil since 1995. Faisal ibn Salman - governor of the province of Al-Madina. One of his younger sons, Muhammad, was his personal adviser in the Ministry of Defense. Turki bin Salman became chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group in February 2013, replacing his older brother Faisal bin Salman.

On January 23, 2015, in Riyadh, the oldest acting monarch in the world at that time, the king of Saudi Arabia, who ruled since 2005, Abdullah ibn Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, died of a lung infection from a lung infection.

The approximate age of the king was 91 years old, he had three dozen wives and more than forty children.

United state

The very name of this largest state comes from the ruling dynasty in the country. The ancestors of the Saudis have been known since the 15th century, and from the middle of the 18th they began to fight for the creation of a single state. In this struggle, they relied on various currents of Islam, including Wahhabism. The Saudis, in order to achieve victory, entered into agreements with foreign states - including Great Britain and the United States, as was already the case in the 20th century.

Before Saudi Arabia acquired the current state and political structure, there were two unsuccessful attempts to form the kingdom of the Saudis: in 1744 under the leadership of Mohammad ibn Saud and in 1818, when Turki ibn Adallah ibn Muhammad ibn Saud became the ruler of the Arabian lands, and later - his Faisal's son. But by the end of the 19th century, the Saudis were expelled from Riyadh to Kuwait by representatives of another powerful family - the Rashidi.

Founder of the royal dynasty

At the beginning of the new - twentieth - century, among the Saudis, who wanted to create a single Arabian state under their rule, a young man appeared who was attracted to weapons and military sciences more than religious treatises or the subtleties of Eastern philosophy. His name was Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdu-Rahman ibn Faisal Al Saud, or simply Ibn Saud, the first king of Saudi Arabia.

Starting with one of the provinces - Nejd - relying on the teachings of "pure" Islam, making the basis of his army the Bedouins, whom he taught to settle down, relying on English support at the right time, using the technical and scientific achievements of the new century - radio, cars, aviation, telephone communication - Abdul Aziz in 1932 became the head of the mighty Islamic state founded by him. Since then, representatives of the same family have been at the head of Saudi Arabia in turn: Ibn Saud and his six sons.

Islamic World Center

Among the magnificent epithets that are awarded to the autocratic ruler of the Saudi kingdom, there is one of the most significant names in the Muslim world - "Keeper of the two shrines." The King of Saudi Arabia owns the two main cities for devout Muslims - Mecca and Medina, which are the main shrines of Islam.

It is towards Mecca that Muslims turn their eyes during daily prayers. In the center of Mecca is the Main, Protected, Great Mosque - Al-Haram, in the courtyard of which is the Kaaba - the "sacred house" - a cubic building with a Black stone built into one of its corners, which was sent by Allah to the prophet Adam, and which the prophet touched Mohammed. These shrines are the main goal to which the pilgrim performing the Hajj aspires.

Medina is the city in which the second most important mosque for Muslims is located - Masjid an-Nabawi - the Mosque of the Prophet, under the green dome of which is the burial place of Mohammed.

The King of Saudi Arabia, among other things, is a person who is responsible for the safety of Muslim shrines, for the life and safety of huge masses of people - those who perform the Hajj.

Son of the eighth wife

The founder of Saudi Arabia - Abdul Aziz ibn Saud - was a true eastern ruler: numerous wives, of which there were several dozen, bore him 45 sons-heirs. The eighth wife of Ibn Saud was Fahda bint Aziz Ashura, whom he took as his wife after the Saudis killed her first husband - the worst enemy of Abdul Aziz - the ruler of one of the Arabian emirates named Saud Rashidi. It was she who was born King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who died in January 2015 and left a noticeable mark on the history of the monarchy.

When in 1982 Abdullah was to be declared crown prince by right of seniority, his half-brother Fahd, who ascended the throne, thought for a long time: all the Al Sauds who ascended the throne were born to one, beloved wife of Ibn Saud - Hussa from the Sudeiri family. Nevertheless, Abdallah, who belongs to a different family on his mother - Shamar - became king, and he became the de facto ruler long before the official coronation (2005): he became prime minister in 1995, when Fahd retired, becoming disabled after a stroke.

If I were a sultan...

Life at all levels looks unusual for a European. It is difficult to imagine the head of a European country who would be married 30 times, like King Abdullah.

Saudi Arabia is a country that lives on and in the house of a man cannot live more than 4 wives, this is how the family life of the king of the Saudis was organized. Abdulla is a father of many children, in total he had about four dozen children, of which 15 were sons.

Abdullah's childhood passed among the Bedouins, which influenced the monarch's hobbies - until recently he spent a lot of time in Morocco, where he was engaged in falconry, and his stable of racehorses was known throughout the world.

Welfare basis

Anyone who today sees the capital of the SA - Riyadh - or at least photos showing the inside of the plane of the king of Saudi Arabia, it will be difficult to imagine that at the time of its formation in 1932, Saudi Arabia belonged to the poorest countries in the world. In the late 1930s, colossal reserves of oil and gas were discovered on the Arabian Peninsula. The development and development of the fields were given to American oil companies, who at first took most of the profits for themselves. Gradually, control over oil production passed to the state, that is, petrodollars became the basis of the wealth of the Saudi kingdom.

The Saudis play a major role in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which controls about two-thirds of the world's oil reserves. The influence of the Saudi monarchs on the formation of prices for hydrocarbons determines their importance in world politics. It has changed throughout the 20th century, but has steadily increased.

King - reformer

It is impossible to imagine the possibility of drastic changes in foreign policy and the internal way of the country, where an autocratic monarch is in power, where you can pay with your head for criticizing government decisions, where there is no legislative body: laws are royal decrees. All the more curious is the glory of the king-reformer, which was awarded to King Abdullah. Saudi Arabia experienced some relaxations under him - both in the severity of Eastern etiquette and in the traditional Islamic harsh attitude towards women.

One of the first decrees of the 6th king of the Saudis canceled the ceremony of kissing the royal hand, replacing it with a more democratic handshake. The most important decision for Abdullah was the ban on members of the royal family from using state treasury funds for personal needs.

A real revolution was the establishment of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology near the city of Jeddah, where girls and boys are allowed to study together. The appointment of a woman to a public post was no less a sensation: Nora bint (bint is an analogy for a male bin - “son”) Abdullah bin Musaid Al-Faiz became deputy minister for girls' affairs. The admission of women to some sports has made the image of the Saudi king even more attractive to supporters of democratic reforms. The allocation of funds for study abroad significant funds has made the CA even more open to the world.

The daughter of King Abdullah - Princess Adilla - became the face of a conservative system of government. The Minister of Education's wife, a beautiful, self-confident woman, is perceived by many as a symbol of renewal, although there is no talk of a radical revision of the female role in Islam.

Traditions are unshakable

Still, the main thing for the ruling family in the kingdom is the holiness and immutability of traditions based on the observance of Sharia norms.

Women for "improper behavior" or frivolity in dress, amputation of a hand for theft, severe punishment for fortune-telling as "witchcraft", etc., is a common practice in the life of Saudi society.

Such traditions include the ostentatious luxury that surrounds the royal throne of the Saudis. From a technical point of view, the personal plane of the King of Saudi Arabia is the most reliable aircraft of the late 20th century, but in terms of interior decoration it looks like a fairy-tale palace of the Sultan from the tales of the Thousand and One Nights.

And this applies to the numerous villas, yachts and cars owned by the royal family.

One of the richest monarchs

It is almost impossible to accurately calculate the personal wealth of a monarch, especially in a country as closed to foreigners as Saudi Arabia. Figures from 30 to 65 billion dollars are called. In any case, this is not a poor person, even if you take into account the number of members of the royal family. There is someone to spend petrodollars there - the wives of the king of Saudi Arabia make up an impressive harem, although formally the Koran forbids having more than four. We have to actively use the institution of divorce, which in the East is devoid of unnecessary formalism.

Family matters

Today's world is a continuous process of information exchange, carried out at various levels. At the end of 2013, an interview appeared in British newspapers, which was made by the daughter of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Princess Sahara. It claimed that she and her three sisters had been under house arrest for 13 years by their father.

Newspapers and news portals published stories about the manners of the royal harems. The mother of the Sahara, the ex-wife of the king of Saudi Arabia, was also involved in them. The photo of Al-Anud Daham Al-Bakhit Al-Faiz, who at the age of 15 became the wife of Abdullah, and ten years later was deprived of her daughters and expelled after a divorce, added drama.

This scandal forced to pay special attention to the problem of discrimination against women in the Muslim world. Articles about the terrible inequality between men and women in Saudi society flooded the print and electronic media. Photographs of the king of Saudi Arabia, a symbol of the medieval style of government based on unbridled luxury, were especially popular.

But it turned out not everything is so simple, the world is still multifaceted. Another wave came up. Activists of Islamic organizations, among whom there were many women, with no less passion accused journalists and politicians of trying to impose their morality on a society that they do not honor with self-sufficiency. The protest against the aggressive imposition of Western views on lifestyle seemed just as sincere and justified.

The king is dead, long live the king

Today on the throne in Riyadh Salman ibn Abdul-Aziz Al Saud is the seventh king of Saudi Arabia. The photographs of the new ruler do not differ much in the eyes of a European from those that were taken during the life of King Abdullah.

The history of the Saudi state continues.

The current king of Saudi Arabia Salman ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud sat on the throne in January 2015 after the death of his half-brother. A couple of days after that, he issued a decree that put on the ears not only the inhabitants of the country, but the whole world. It speaks of a monetary reward to civil servants, pensioners, students in the amount of a two-month payment for a total of 30 billion dollars.

Moreover, the same document states that approximately 500,000 civil prisoners will be forgiven monetary fines of more than 500 thousand Saudi riyals(which equals approximately 133 thousand dollars). Also, the new ruler decided to expel all foreign prisoners from the country with a subsequent ban on entry into the kingdom, thus deportation will replace the prison.

In the same decree, the newly-made king allocates 20 billion dollars for the construction of new facilities to provide the population with drinking water and electricity. This is far from everything. Salman ibn Abdul-Aziz al-Saud allocated to all literary clubs registered in the country, as well as the super league clubs of the football championship of Saudi Arabia 10 million rials each, teams of the first league - 5 million rials each, and to all other clubs - 2 million Saudi riyals. however, this is far from the last payments of the generous monarch to the population. The king also allocated a reward to all citizens receiving social benefits and people with disabilities.

The Kroam Togo, the ruler issued a decree that the Ministry of Social Development of Dolzheno to allocate all registered beneficial phones of 2 billion rialoms, the Association of Cooperative Creaters - 200 million in RialOVOV, and all adjusted vessels of the profyvoys - PO 10 million. You will be amazed, but the ruler of such a strict and canonical Muslim country communicates with the public on the Web.

So in his Twitter account, he posted a post with a request to Allah to help him in serving his country and people. Here are the words flaunted by the king on the page:

"No reward will ever do justice to the services of my people."

It is worth noting that the people instantly reacted to such activity of the new leader of the country: in two hours, the post of the king was retweeted more than 175 thousand times.

By the way, thanks to this tweet, Salman immediately got into the top of the users of this social network. In just six days, 760,000 Twitter users signed up for it. At the moment, the total number of subscribers of the king's account is 1 million 860 thousand. In general, King Salman ibn Abdul-Aziz al-Saud publicly declares that he will try to continue the policy of his late brother.

How do you feel about such an unprecedented generosity of the new ruler of Saudi Arabia?

Some information about the king

Salman ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud is the king of Saudi Arabia, the keeper of the two shrines and the head of the Al Saud dynasty. He became king and prime minister on January 23, 2015 after the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah.

Salman is the son of the first king of Saudi Arabia Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud and the sixth of the Sudairi Seven, he was the most trusted adviser to King Fahd and the closest brother of the Crown Prince Sultan. Prior to accession to the throne, he was Minister of Defense (2011-2015) and Governor of Riyadh Province (1963-2011).

Place of birth. Education. He was born on December 31, 1935 in Riyadh, becoming the 25th son of ibn Saud, his mother was Hassa Al Sudayri. Together with six brothers, Salman formed the so-called "Sudairi Seven". He was brought up in the palace of Murabba. He received his primary education at the Princes' School in Riyadh, which was established by Ibn Saud for his children. Salman studied religion and modern science.

When Prince Salman was 18 years old, his father, King Abdulaziz, in March 1953 appointed him as his representative and emir (mayor) of Riyadh. Later, in April 1955, King Saud appointed him mayor of Riyadh with the rank of minister. Salman retired from this post in December 1960.

In February 1963, Salman was appointed governor of the province of Riyadh. he stayed in this position for 48 years, from 1963 to 2011. As governor, he contributed to the transformation of Riyadh from a medium-sized city to a large metropolis. he was engaged in attracting tourists and investments to the country. he maintained geopolitical and economic relations with the West.

During Salman's governorship, his advisers were young highly skilled technocrats recruited from King Saud University. In January 2011, he instructed to take action against the poor in Riyadh, "who are trying to take advantage of the generosity of the people." All foreign beggars were deported, and local beggars went through a rehabilitation program at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

In November 2011, Prince Salman was appointed Minister of Defense. he replaced his deceased brother, Crown Prince Sultan, in this post, and Prince Sattam was appointed governor of Riyadh. Salman also joined the National Security Council. In April 2012, he visited the United States and Great Britain, where he met with US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Al Akhbar newspaper claimed that Salman's appointment was due to his ability to reconcile and diplomatic talents, his belonging to the middle generation (which allowed him to act as an intermediary between fathers and sons in the royal family) and his wide acquaintances in the Arab world and the Arab world and the world period of tenure as governor).

Shortly after the death of his brother, Crown Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Prince Salman was appointed Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in June 2012, as well as Deputy Prime Minister. Reuters saw his appointment as a signal that King Abdullah's cautious reforms are likely to continue. Saudi reformists have said that Prince Salman will take a more diplomatic approach to opposition members than other members of the royal family, but he cannot be considered a political reformer. They also stated that, like King Abdullah, Prince Salman will focus primarily on improving the economic situation, rather than political change.

As Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Salman became Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and King of Saudi Arabia on January 23, 2015, immediately after the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. At the same time, Salman's other half-brother, Muqrin ibn Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, became Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister. Salman's nephew, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Al Saud, was appointed Deputy Crown Prince and second in line to the Saudi throne.

In August 2010, Salman underwent spinal surgery in the USA. he survived a stroke, and despite physical therapy, his left hand works worse than the right one. After his appointment as crown prince, various analysts, including Simon Henderson, claimed that he was suffering from dementia. In addition, it is believed that he suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

Family. Salman ibn Abdul-Aziz was married three times. His first wife was Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi, who died at the age of 71 at the end of July 2011. she was the daughter of Salman's maternal uncle, Turki ibn Ahmad Al Sudayri, who was one of the former governors of Asir province. Salman's children from this marriage are Prince Fahd (b. 1955), Prince Sultan (b. 1956), Prince Ahmed (b. 1958), Prince Abdulaziz (b. 1960), Prince Faisal (b. 1970) and Princess Hassa (born 1974).

In his second marriage to Sarah bint Faisal Al Subai-ai, he had a son, Prince Saud.

In the third marriage with Fahda bint Falah ibn Sultan Al Khitalayn - Prince Mohammed, Prince Turki, Prince Khalid, Prince Naif, Prince Bandar and Prince Rakan. Salman's eldest son from his first marriage, Fahd ibn Salman, died of heart failure at age 47 in July 2001. Another son, Ahmad ibn Salman, died after a heart attack in July 2002 at age 43.

His second son, Sultan ibn Salman, became the first person of royal blood, the first Arab and the first Muslim who flew into space. Abdulaziz ibn Salman, another of his sons, has been Deputy Oil Minister since 1995. Faisal ibn Salman - governor of the province of Al-Madina. one of his younger sons, Mohammed, was his personal adviser in the Ministry of Defense. Turki bin Salman became chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group in February 2013, replacing his older brother Faisal bin Salman.

A. Naryshkin- Hello everybody. Program "48 minutes". Mikhail Gusman is not here today. As far as I know, he went, you know where, Alexey Solomin?

A. Solomin- Where?

A. Naryshkin- To Pyongyang. I hope I haven't given away some secret now. Let's rewind now. I don't know where Mikhail Gusman is. He is not here today, Alexey Solomin is next to me. And we will tell you about Salman ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia, who visited Russia last week. And only today Alexei and I looked at how it looked. You know all the stories about the economic component of the visit. About the political component, and even on the morning air, we talked a lot about it with experts. And we saw not the most pleasant part of the visit, which in many respects characterizes our Russian gouging.

A. Solomin- This is not ours, the ladder is not ours.

A. Naryshkin- They brought their ladder. We don't even have a ladder in Vnukovo.

A. Solomin- There is a ladder, there is no such ladder that ...

A. Naryshkin- The ladder is golden. Nikolai Kotov tells us.

A. Solomin- Golden, probably, too, I mean that the escalator, we have the usual ladders in Vnukovo.

A. Naryshkin- Like the subway.

A. Solomin“You just watched that video, sir.

A. Naryshkin - I- then he looked only at the king, there someone stood twisting

A. Solomin- No, automatic ladder.

A. Naryshkin- You're ripping me off. Automatic ladder. Well, it's enough. Stop it. Again, not the most important part of the visit, as the king of Saudi Arabia arrived and his gangway at Vnukovo airport stalled. In general, it is interesting to actually delve into his biography, a man who is at such a decent age. In fact, by Saudi standards, they have kings, the previous king ruled until 91, in my opinion. And in a few minutes we will even provide you with an archival recording, where a very famous person will tell you how the political system of Saudi Arabia works. Where are the princes and kings from? And when it all started. But what else do I want to do. I had an ad.

A. Solomin Remember, then we'll get together.

A. Naryshkin Let's go before we tell you about the Saudi king. Let's listen to this archival recording. George Mirsky respected, now deceased. Expert. And probably our most famous orientalist, an Arabist. He was talking as much as 10 years ago about the royal family, about who is the father of these current kings, whom we see, about whom we hear. And in a nutshell, in the presentation of Georgy Mirsky about who is an ally for Saudi Arabia, who is an adversary, who is a partner, and so on.

A. Solomin- You said that Georgy Mirsky gave an interview about 10 years ago ...

A. Naryshkin- Absolutely not lost relevance.

A. Solomin- Here, in any case, in the matter of external enemies ...

A. Naryshkin- Nothing has changed.

A. Solomin- The only thing is that Al-Qaeda has now been conditionally replaced by terrorists in general, terrorism in general. Although after all, many people say that some Saudi funds are directly involved in financing a number of Islamist groups. But on the issue of Iran, this has become even more relevant now in recent times, when Iran is making very big strides in Syria. But let's start with a biography. Let's get closer to our hero. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Born in the 35th year.

A. Naryshkin- Interesting about the title itself. This is not just the king of Saudi Arabia, even in official publications and reports of some Arabic newspapers, in articles they write - the keeper of two shrines. It is clear that we are talking about mosques that are located in Saudi Arabia. And so the title itself was invented, proposed, put into use in 1986. And since then it has been preserved. Although I do not know what it fundamentally changes. What essentially gives. But apparently, even more for a big increase in the status of the monarch. I'm sorry I interrupted you.

A. Solomin- Yes, actually we are starting to talk about King Salman, his biography. Salman is one of the seven so-called Sudairi, the fact is that the same Sudairi is the children of one of her father's wives. One of my favorite wives even.

A. Naryshkin- Georgy Mirsky told us just about this.

A. Solomin- Members of the royal family all occupy, one way or another, some important posts. And very influential people. Although there are problems with some of them. For example, our listeners know perfectly well that there is the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Not so long ago, a couple of years ago, in my opinion, one of the princes was even executed. Because he killed a man in a massive clash. There was a trial, he was found guilty and executed.

A. Naryshkin- A simple ordinary person, not some kind of brother, not an official.

A. Solomin- Prince.

A. Naryshkin- No, who was executed?

A. Solomin- Prince.

A. Naryshkin- The prince was executed. Who did the prince kill? Just an ordinary citizen.

A. Solomin- Yes Yes. Just an ordinary citizen.

A. Naryshkin- I mean, it may not be clear to us in Russia, we have some other traditions here that could hush up this story when it comes to a representative of the royal family.

A. Solomin- It's very tough there. Disappoint your relatives, your father.

A. Naryshkin- A shame.

A. Solomin“These are terrible things. I guess this is a bad joke. By the way, Salman himself was, let me run across all the time, I want ...

A. Naryshkin- To delicious immediately.

A. Solomin- Go yes. He studied not only in a private school. This is a special school. Created for the princes of the dynasty. It was there that he trained. This is connected, this is religious, first of all, knowledge, and in general, and scientific disciplines were also taught to him. All biographical references speak of modern science. He studied religion and modern science. At the same time, at the age of 10, he already knew by heart ...

A. Naryshkin- Biographers, yes, they note. I do not know how important it is for a faithful Muslim in such early age to study sacred scripture. Nevertheless, yes, in several quite official sources it is emphasized that already at the age of 10 he knew the Koran by heart. And he showed interest in science and even then he had various academic and honorary degrees. And prestigious international awards. He is both a doctor at the local Islamic university and at Um Alqurah University in Mecca. There are various international titles and degrees. Honorary Doctor of Laws from Waseda University in Japan. And in Europe, he was also awarded a medal at the Academy of Technology and the Humanities.

A. Solomin- By the way, if you look at his photograph in his youth, they can be found on the Internet, he is dressed in an ordinary business suit in a jacket with a tie. He has a normal western hairstyle. That is, despite the fact that, of course, he was not yet the Crown Prince. But he would be a prince. He did not yet have floor-length robes, like those of Saudi dignitaries. All in fact. Such an ordinary Western-style young man. Cute. Perspective. With a good private education of his own. And still occupying interesting posts. Because already at the age of 18 he became the head of Riyadh.

A. Naryshkin- Provinces. Think he was a governor. And Riyadh is the largest province in the kingdom in terms of population. There is also the capital of the same name. And in general, as they say for the city, it was one of the most important stages in history. He led the region, the province directly from his palace. In Riyadh, where he was born and raised. The post held for over 50 years. You said he took the job at 18. 50 years - can you imagine. We in Russia are talking about the fact that we have no change of power. That our mayors may be too long, that Putin is 17 years old. And he is compared with Brezhnev. 50 years old person in the same position. But they still say that it has benefited the city. Because he brilliantly managed the transformation of Riyadh from an average town of about 200 thousand people into one of the fastest growing capitals in the world with a population of more than 5 million people. At the same time, the period was not easy, it was accompanied by complex challenges that arise in the development of any city. But at present, Riyadh is the richest city in the region and the most important regional trade and transport center.

A. Solomin- It is only important to keep in mind that the period we are talking about is still the beginning, more precisely, of a period of rather low oil prices. In general, when oil was found in Saudi Arabia, then it was not customary to cherish it. Let's just say so. Because it cost a penny by and large. And extraction, transportation took away some sums. Yes, people were extracting oil, making money with it, but of course, there was no $100 per barrel, which prices we saw in 2012. And you know this wonderful story that they were looking for water there. Water was an expensive commodity. And they put towers. They drilled the earth in Saudi Arabia in order to find water. And then bam - in the 35th or something, they found oil. And they started selling it. And then, dear friends, when oil began to rise in price after all, it began to bring really big, serious money. And Saudi Arabia had a very good position in the oil market. They took advantage of this and could easily bring down prices on the oil market if necessary. Just taking your oil from her. It used to be so normal, it was not regulated in any way. There was no mention of OPEC yet. That is, I mean, when he was the leader of Riyadh, then ...

A. Naryshkin- Saudi Arabia was somehow very fattening, you in that sense.

A. Solomin- With the growth, including oil revenues, a lot has developed in their economy. But like any oil country, super profits began to appear. It's just that here they are concentrated in the hands of the royal family, and maybe for these reasons, maybe for other reasons, this money was used quite well for development.

A. Naryshkin- Yes, because they really write correctly that there was a middle town. And it turned out to be a metropolis. And modern highways and schools, hospitals, universities. Museums, sports grounds, stadiums. A huge number of attractions appeared. On the other hand, it's 50 years old. Moscow was also different 50 years ago. There was not much of what is now.

A. Solomin- I have a proposal, by the way, listeners write to us. Some make comments. And supplement our information. If you know some interesting fact about King Salman, only of course, we are not joking, but confirmed. We will check it, we will try. Then write to +7-985-970-45-45. Twitter account @vyzvon. We will be these Interesting Facts read out. Just completed some little interesting things that you know that you consider worthy of the air. Please, I myself am interested in how they will help us, what people will prompt.

A. Naryshkin- Another of the positions held by the current King Salman, in 2011 he was appointed Minister of Defense. These are ground, air and naval forces. And air defense forces. It is important to list here. If only because one of the purposes of the visit of the king, as it was stated, is some kind of agreement on the military. And King Salman doesn't just represent the highest authority in the country. He, and since he held the post of Minister of War, perfectly understands what can be discussed, what kind of weapons are needed. That is, he understands this issue. Under the leadership of Salman, the Ministry of Defense developed rapidly. In the field of training and modernization of weapons, he also successfully led the largest exercises in the history of the kingdom called "Abdullah's Sword". And he had various other positions. Direct list: honorary president of that, chairman of the highest commission for the development of Riyadh. These are probably not the most significant posts for our listeners.

A. Solomin“In general, by the way, many of the crown princes, not every one of them later became king. Because this is a process, the same King Abdullah lived a very long life. And in the end, the crown prince was, then changed, because the previous crown prince, who was supposed to inherit, simply did not live. Salman became. Many of these people who claimed the throne by right of their kinship, they passed through the post of Minister of War. For a country in this region, this is one of the most key positions. Because as a kingdom for 70 years, there were two Saudi kingdoms before. They constantly faced precisely military difficulties from the Ottoman Empire. For them, the traditional enemy is now Iran. They carry out some kind of permanent actions, maybe we will also talk about the campaigns that Salman led directly when he became the king of Saudi Arabia. And before that, Abdullah started some. In general, the power is actually very strong from a military point of view, and therefore it is no coincidence that it is looking for allies and provides itself with defensive and offensive means in large volume and quite powerful.

A. Naryshkin Let's break now for the news. In five minutes, we will continue the program about the Saudi king, who visited Moscow last week.

A. Naryshkin- 22.35. We continue. We are talking about the Saudi king. Mikhail Gusman is away. I won't tell you where. More precisely, I already said in the first part, but I will not repeat it. Because little is. King Salman is our hero today.

A. Solomin We have already said, in case anyone missed it, that Salman received a very good education in a private school. Which is organized for princes. Right there in Saudi Arabia. Many eastern countries send their princes, by the way, Syria, including ...

A. Naryshkin- Assad, he generally studied in the UK.

A. Solomin- Quite right. They ship overseas. Gain the right knowledge. And here they organized their university, their school. And they study all modern sciences and religious disciplines there. We said about this, he worked for about 50 years as the Emir of Riyadh. He told in an interview with Foreign Affairs magazine that in fact, how we understand the system of government in Saudi Arabia, that there is a certain royal family that actually controls everything. Completely fenced clan, to which mere mortals cannot reach.

A. Naryshkin“I really don’t give a damn about this whole servant. This is actually not true.

A. Solomin Well, at least they say it's not like that at all. He knows perfectly well about the state of affairs of mere mortals, he does not use, of course, this word - mere mortals, I am already exaggerating this. About ordinary subjects not from the special services, but actually from themselves. And he said that he held audiences for citizens twice a day.

A. Naryshkin- Once again, as governor of Riyadh.

A. Solomin- He invited a journalist from a Western publication to one of these meetings. This is what this journalist finally said about this: “The audience took place after the noon prayer in a huge, richly decorated room. Dozens of men in robes, many with sun-baked Bedouin faces, sat in armchairs along the walls and rose respectfully as Salman entered. Everyone in turn approached the throne, shook hands with the prince, conveyed their appeal to him, and within a few seconds added something in words. All these were private questions about whether to put an elderly mother in a hospital or release a criminal son from prison. The prince listened, then passed the petition to his assistant and instructed him in whispers. It was a touching scene of the transfer of the traditions of life in the desert in a modern way. What people think about the royal family is another matter.” Well, it was all said in connection with what. Naturally, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is such a rather strict, not liberal country, the country is very conservative, with strict rules. But, nevertheless, there is also internal opposition there, and claims against Salman were connected, among other things, that he is clamping down on the opposition. Naturally, like many authoritarian rulers, he simply says that these people are not oppositionists, but real anarchists. They threaten peace and security. And they breed problems. Actually, therefore, their interests should not be taken into account.

A. Naryshkin- Interestingly, in an interview that was actually given almost 20 years ago, there was an audience with several princes. The Foreign Affairs Reviewer quotes from that conversation. He says that Saudi Arabia used to have a collection of regions, now we are all, thanks to our efforts for almost a century, becoming a single family under the leadership of a king who loves us.

A. Solomin- Having ceased to be the Emir of Riyadh, having already taken other important government posts, he himself emphasized all the time that he still remained devoted to this city. He no longer has a political need to even do that. In principle, there was no need to somehow motivate politically. Because he is appointed there simply for this post. He led the city for 50 years. However, he emphasizes all the time that even if he is not physically present in this city, province, he is always near Riyadh, and further quote: “Honestly, when I am not in Riyadh, I keep thinking about city, about its operations and affairs, roads and gardens, playgrounds, schools, hospitals - in general, about everything. Every corner of the city lives in me, in my thoughts and heart! It's like I'm present on every street. Step by step, I monitor every project in the city, and I am filled with love for the city and its people. Every village or town in the Riyadh region is dear to me and my responsibility means that I always look after the capital and the region. They live in me, and I live in them. These are the words of Salman about his city, which he ruled for 50 years.

A. Naryshkin- About the city itself is still interesting. We'll go back a few steps. In the first part of the program, we said that we came to the post of Minister of Defense ...

A. Solomin- Sorry, I just wanted to note that this does not fit in with his current status at all, imagine, the king of Saudi Arabia is a figure for us, in our understanding of the philistine as for the Saudis, the figure is almost sacred.

A. Naryshkin- Tsar.

A. Solomin- Like the Japanese emperor once was. He is now, before his status was even more like this ...

A. Naryshkin- Not nominal.

A. Solomin You couldn't even look him in the eye, if you remember. Something from this series. And here he is talking about playgrounds, about schools, about some kind of roads. About hospitals. About things that ordinary ordinary officials do. However, he was an official, maybe not an ordinary one.

A. Naryshkin- Not at all ordinary. It's still the royal family. A little about his success in terms of leadership of the city and province. Riyadh, according to one of the ratings in 2014, entered the top ten cheapest cities in the world to live along with Bucharest, Damascus and Kathmandu. It would seem that oil money should have made this city expensive ...

A. Solomin- Against. The question is...

A. Naryshkin- I have a distorted idea of ​​the economy, yes.

A. Solomin- Well, look, I'm afraid to lie, I don't remember the exact number. But there is not a very large population. Relative to other states of course. 27 million people. There are 140 million people in Russia. Saudi Arabia has 27 million. It is one of the leaders in the extraction of energy resources. And let's do it, the country is rich and ordinary people somehow get a part of this wealth. Therefore, not all of them are poor either. There was even a program for...

A. Naryshkin- Support for socially unprotected segments of the population.

A. Solomin Yes, they acted very strangely.

A. Naryshkin- It is strange that in a country that is the largest exporter of oil, there are beggars at all.

A. Solomin“They evicted people without citizenship, beggars, from the country.

A. Naryshkin- Very humane.

A. Solomin- And they started doing their own. To solve this problem. The population is not the largest. Although it is also not monolithic. He himself says that they were collected from different tribes, parts. And to make it truly a single country. And this is one of the priorities of the work of the kingdom and kings. It is very important to note, and when we talk about Saudi Arabia, this is often evident. The fact is that the representatives of the royal power in Saudi Arabia are the most active reformers. Because they conduct various public opinion polls there, when they find out public opinion, the society is much more conservative than many of the elite. And they can't even do many things...

A. Naryshkin“People won’t understand.

A. Solomin Yes, because they won't be accepted. They will immediately throw stones at them. Only recently, if my memory serves me, last year, I can be wrong, correct me at + 7-985-970-45-45, women were allowed to drive cars there. Before that it was impossible. And this is also considered, women there are stricken in their rights, you know this very well, this is also considered one of the breakthrough points. And these initiatives, interestingly, are not conservatism coming from the top, but the top is changing this already established conservative model, gradually changing it, but in their own interests, but even sometimes in defiance of the population. The opinion of the Saudis themselves.

A. Naryshkin- They also say about the king of Saudi that he is actively involved in charity work, and has always shown great interest in cultural and humanitarian work. A large number of associations, organizations and committees function under its chairman. Just like in the kingdom. So also abroad. It sponsors and supports many cultural projects. Historically, by the way, the current king, you say that the authorities might want to reform something, but the population is conservative. In fact, they say about our hero that he is much more conservative than his predecessors. In many respects and questions of social reforms, he is a very person who speaks from traditional positions.

A. Solomin- When he became the crown prince, they said that this is clearly not the kind of person who will radically change something. On the one hand it is good, on the other hand it is bad. Because he is unlikely to change anything for the worse. But it's bad, because he is unlikely to change anything in better side. For him, initially there was such a public position, he continues the work, he maintains the status quo. Which was still under the king, which in the sense was formed under King Abdullah. The same format of relations, the same policy will continue. However, a lot has happened since then. I don't know, I'm always afraid to jump ahead of time.

A. Naryshkin- You are welcome.

A. Solomin- Journalists who talk about Salman note about conservatism that as soon as he became the king proper, the number of death penalty in the country increased dramatically. For six months, for the first six months of his reign, 90 convicts were executed.

A. Naryshkin- For how long?

A. Solomin- From the end of January to the middle of June 2015. Comparisons are even given here under Abdullah, about 87 were executed in a year. Well, consider the number of sentences carried out doubled. Then, under Salman, relations with Iran worsened. Because there was a famous story about the execution of Nimr al-Nimr. This Shiite leader is a resident of Iran.

A. Naryshkin- Preacher.

A. Solomin- Yes, a well-known preacher. And there was a diplomatic row, you remember the rupture of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Then the crisis in Yemen, you know very well that it was led by Saudi Arabia, this coalition that bombed Yemen, there is also an uprising of the Houthis against the government. As a result, it was supported by Saudi Arabia and the coalition, which, by the way, included Qatar. With whom they also ruined their relationship. These are recent events. Qatar was accused of sponsoring terrorism and also a terrible diplomatic crisis, in which Saudi Arabia clearly plays an important role. In general, Saudi Arabia is a significant player in the region. I return to the role of war ministers. Primarily. The army, which Saudi Arabia has one of the most powerful in the region.

A. Naryshkin- At the same time, we can probably say a few words about the results of the king's visit to Russia. Much attention was paid to the fact that our air defense systems will now be bought. And they made some assumptions that, finally, we have a good ally. Alexander Shumilin explained to us in the morning broadcast that it is actually important for Saudi Arabia to come and get some more understanding from Vladimir Putin on Syria. For Saudi Arabia, this story is primarily political. But these kind of missiles, air defense, weapons are all really nonsense. It's even a by-product. And in a broad sense, in the global sense of the same archival record, Georgy Mirsky also said that, of course, just a little bit, the main ally of Saudi Arabia will be the United States. That is, there should be no illusions on this score. There can be as many contracts as you want... By the way, they also pay attention to the position of Russia. How strange she is. As if we have no foreign policy principles. We will help Iran with weapons, if something happens, and Saudi Arabia, which, to put it mildly, is not friends with Iran. That is, we have the same standards for everyone. If you want weapons, we will give you. It doesn't matter if you are in conflict with each other. Then perhaps you will use these weapons against each other.

A. Solomin- We don't have much time left. But we definitely need to talk about Salman's children. Because these, apparently, will be the successors, they are already the successors of the royal dynasty. One of his sons became crown prince. Another son, Sultan ibn Salman, his second son, is the first Arab, the first Muslim, the first representative of the dynasty, who flew into space.

A. Naryshkin- Seriously? I did not know.

A. Solomin- And about the crown prince, of course, he is only 30 years old. He should have inherited. In general, his brother King Muqrin bin Abdel Aziz was to succeed. But now he is 69 years old, when King Salman retires, he will be, he is now 82, but the previous king, for example, died at the age of 90. That is, the crown prince, who was appointed in 2015, he should have become one. He was 69 then, and in what state he will be by the death of Salman, it is not clear. And the 31-year-old Muhammad ibn Salman was made crown prince.

A. Naryshkin- I still understand why this story with the crown princes is important, why we undeservedly spent little time on this story.

A. Solomin- By the way, also the Minister of Defense.

A. Naryshkin- Yes, because in fact in Saudi Arabia it is accepted that such a very top of power is not one person the king, but the king and one or two people who are in line for the throne. That is, such a supreme collegial body. That is, it is clear that King Salman of Saudi Arabia is now the most important figure. Nevertheless, when he appears, for example, this summer the crown prince has changed, he is immediately perceived as part of a large team. Not just as a person who, God knows how long, will sit and wait for his turn. And already as a person who will influence and is already beginning to influence some decisions. Even forecasts are being made that in 2030 they will get rid of it, this is quite ridiculous - they will save the country from oil dependence. For example, I have a poor idea of ​​myself, we didn’t talk about Saudi Arabia itself, the structure of the economy of Saudi Arabia. That is, as it were, besides oil, there is something there.

A. Solomin- When a country has a lot of money and begins to develop, they are also not fools and it’s great, they have good relations with the West. They naturally deal with these issues. So I opened up to you economic, about oil and gas, of course, and tourism, because there are the Guardians of Mecca and Medina. And there is a huge number of pilgrims. What they export: oil and oil products. Somehow more...

A. Naryshkin“But this makes the plans to diversify the economy more interesting.

A. Solomin- All the same, cities under construction, economies under construction require a lot, that is, they attract a lot of resources, productive forces. Industry and so on. This develops in any case a different kind of industry. Do not ignore this and some productive centers appear. The economy does not know what they will get from diversification. But they won’t be able to do without it, because oil prices…

A. Naryshkin- We'll meet you in this studio in 20 years. And we'll see. Let's do a show about the new king. In the end, I want to recommend you an interesting article by Gazeta.ru. It's called "Women Don't Run in Saudi Arabia". This reader of this online publication tells about how he moved from Russia, lives in Riyadh. About life, about how women are treated there, about the Muslim dress code. Recommend. There, including about this story, is it possible for women in this country to drive a car.

A. Naryshkin- Thank you. Alexey Solomin and Alexey Naryshkin. Program "48 minutes". Happily.

King Abdullah was the sixth monarch. He was also the son of the first king, Abdulaziz. Abdullah ascended the throne on August 1, 2005 after the death of his brother King Fahd.

Suffering from back pain, the Saudi ruler repeatedly resorted to the help of surgeons. In October 2011 and November 2012, he underwent major spinal surgery. Previously, the king underwent a three-month course of treatment abroad.

In 2010, in the USA, he underwent the first surgical intervention due to a herniated disc and a thrombus. Each time after the news of the next treatment of the monarch, rumors appeared in the press either about his death or about sharp deterioration health.

The new king of Saudi Arabia

The throne was taken by 76-year-old Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the country's state television reported.

"His Highness Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, all members of the family and the whole nation mourn the untimely deceased custodian of the two shrines (the official title, shrines are religious complexes in the cities of Mecca and Medina), King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz, who passed away today exactly at 1:00 a.m.," the statement said.

Prince Salman was appointed successor to the throne in June 2012. He is the 25th son of King Abdel-Azizia (the first monarch) by Princess Hassa al-Sudairi.

World reaction and condolences

US President Barack Obama offered condolences to the people and leadership of Saudi Arabia. As stated in a written statement by the American leader, during the life of the monarch, Saudi Arabia has become "a critical force in the world economy and a leader among Arab and Islamic states."