Maxim Samartsev In his youth, the future boss of the Omsk club worked as a fireman. Anatoly Bardin was a bright figure in Russian hockey. In Soviet times and in the 90s, the future Avangard functionary worked as a judge. And in 1997, his life changed dramatically after the proposal of the Governor of the Omsk region Leonid Polezhaev, who was ready to entrust Anatoly Fedorovich with the post of president of Avangard. As a rule, such proposals are not refused, so Bardin willingly agreed. The arrival of the former referee to a responsible position had a positive effect on the Omsk club. It was Bardin who brought the first Canadians to Russia, and his talent as a negotiator in all its glory manifested itself in the transfers of world-class legionnaires, who simply did not exist in the Super League at that time. Troika Patera – Prokhazka – Vlasak is still loved by Omsk fans. And the move of Jaromir Jagr to Omsk was a personal victory for the president of Avangard and one of the most high-profile transfers in the history of Russian hockey. Anatoly Fedorovich also understood marketing and was one of the first leaders of the Superleague club, who ordered to develop an anthem for his team, a second official name and rebrand it. But Bardin attracted attention to Avangard not only by effective managerial and managerial activities, but also by defiant behavior . The president of the Hawks was notable for his tough attitude towards journalists and intolerance for any kind of criticism of his team. He also arranged verbal battles with the boss of Magnitogorsk, Gennady Velichkin, which resulted in a cigar lit by Bardin on the championship ice in 2004. And there’s nothing to say about Bardin’s attitude towards coaches: under him, not a single specialist had a credibility, so they changed like gloves.Vladimir Bezzubov, photo.khl.ruAt the same time, even before starting his career as a judge, Anatoly Bardin tried many professions. At the dawn of perestroika, he was involved in the sale of petroleum products and was the chairman of a cooperative that installed radio telephones in cars – at that time this service was in demand, since mobile phones did not yet exist in nature. After that, the future functionary of Avangard was at the head of a cooperative that produced upholstered furniture. In the USSR, it was in great short supply, so many people stood in line at specialized stores at night in the hope of getting at least a worn or broken piece of furniture. But in his youth, Bardin often worked at several jobs at once. For example, he once simultaneously worked as a firefighter, a grocery store loader, a lifeguard at a city beach, a hockey referee, and a janitor at several sites. And according to the confessions of the functionary himself, the most interesting and dangerous job of all of the above was associated with the activities of a firefighter. Our hero was a fireman at the Omsk oil refinery. In the USSR, all oil refineries suffered from old equipment, due to which fires occurred almost every shift. Therefore, Bardin’s work was very dangerous. “I remember they sent the G-64 installation to put out – it is like a small oil refinery. The valve was pulled out, which is more than a meter in diameter, and the product with a temperature of 800 degrees was beating upwards like a fountain of fire. We drove up and saw a terrible picture. There were three workers in the puddle. Instead of skin on the bones, they seemed to have pieces of cotton wool. Due to the monstrous temperature, the skin and internal organs melted, ”recalled the former Avangard boss.Vladimir Bezzubov, photo.khl.ruDuring one of the calls, Bardin personally witnessed the tragedy. The fire started at one of the large installations, and the temperature reached over a thousand degrees. According to Anatoly, at such temperatures there is no flame, and fog appears instead. Right before the eyes of our hero, such a fog covered three people – according to him, only the soles of the boots remained from the poor fellows, everything else literally evaporated due to unthinkable temperatures. And once Bardin showed real heroism and was even awarded the medal “For Courage in a Fire” . The order for his award was personally signed by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. “The situation then arose extreme. Tanks had to be cooled. Two fighters refused to climb there, the three of us went. In that place, an oil product broke through, which dripped from above. If it hit, not a damn thing would be left of us either. Lucky. Then our trinity was awarded. Those who refused were already over 50. And we are young, hot. But now I’m 54, and to be honest, I’m not sure that I would climb there again, ”Anatoly Fedorovich recalled an interview in 2009.