Biography of Stanislav

So, my name is Stanislav A. Ogryzkov. I was born in Dmitrievka of Sakmarsky district of Orenburg region (that is in the Urals) on November 14, 1979, in the family of Anatoly G. Ogryzkov (so my middle name is Anatoly as Russians use their fathers' names as their own middle names) and Nataly F. Ogryzkova. Before I turned six years old, I lived in Dmitrievka, and the brightest impression from there is the amount of snow we had every winter (I definitely missed it at the next place we lived) when being boys we could jump from roofs into snow drifts… When I was almost five years old my sister Irina had been born there too, so I had to be a babysitter for her (in fact that was useful to me as I became more independent). In a year my father was ordered to serve the Soviet Army (he was a military pilot) at then Kirghiz SSR, and all the family moved with him…

We came to the town of Kant (“sugar” in Kirghiz as sugarbeet is grown there) that is 18 km from then capital Frunze of then Kirgizia (nowadays the capital of Kyrgyzstan is called Bishkek). There in 1985 I turned six years old, found the first real friends. In 1987, I went to school (Kant Secondary School #3) where I met my first love. Studying was easy for me so I was an excellent schoolboy permanently displayed on a school board of honor. All my free time I spent reading, watching TV, hanging around with my friends and so on. Fortunately the climate was just created to have rest the whole year round – swimming in mountain rivers, skating in mountain snows (we almost had no snow in the valley) even in the summer! And a lot of various fruits! Mountains are a special matter. It seems to me, I got “hooked” on them right living there. No more words, you just have to live there to understand!

If the USSR had not collapsed we would have definitely stayed there. But it happened, and the former Kirghiz SSR became the republic of Kyrgyzstan, they brought in the national currency (som) and the only official language – Kirghiz that we were forced to learn at school. By that time my father left the army, and we were feeling we were not needed there anymore. It was the time to return to Russia…

In 1990, traveling across the ex-USSR by car, we liked Vladimir, an ancient Russian city. In 1993, we moved from Kyrgyzstan back to Russia and stayed in Vladimir. There I went to Grade 8 of State Secondary School #1 of Vladimir and continued my school success. Soon I found many new friends and became a real Vladimirite.

In 1997, I finished school with the Golden Medal (the highest grade of secondary education). The same year I entered Vladimir State University (VlSU), namely the faculty of computer science and applied mathematics. My specialty was officially called 230101 “Computers, computer complexes, systems and networks”, and commonly is known as “Computer science and computer technics”; my university group was called IVT-297. In 1999, I finished a two-year Business English course and got an honored certificate of referent in the sphere of business communications with the knowledge of English. Computers and English are too close to be separated…

Student life is also special matter to be described as a single story. It is the time when I meet new friends, new interests. It is the time when I started dating girls, not only dreaming of them. My university group was very concerted, and we used to go out together on a regular basis. Especially as I did not work too hard to study – studies were quite easy for me still but I was not aimed to be the best (being “good” was enough). The time was passing by very quickly…

In 1999, I began to work “professionally”, as a computer engineer at school and a programmer, tester and technician of accountancy software at a software company. In 2000, my private teaching of English added to my worktime.

In the same year of 2000 I suddenly started my car driving course, especially because there was a car in our family, and I could drive it… By the end of the course, when only more practicing left, I suddenly interrupted the course… to have some rest on the Black Sea that I missed ten years or so!.. The desire was so strong so that I literally darted away. However, on my return I conscientiously continued the course, and in September of 2000 I passed the appropriate exams and received my driver's license. Unfortunately, my family then sold our car, and since then the driver's license is almost unused… However, I consider it as a useful skill, just like swimming it stands in good stead.

In 2001, being a fourth-year student I became a Bachelor of Science major in computer science and received an honored diploma (that was a kind of surprise to me). The same year I entered the magistracy of the same direction (computer science, within the university group called IM-101). Accordingly, in 2003 I defended my Master thesis and became a Master of Science with (again) an honored diploma. Besides, during my last semester I was a personal scholar of the Mayor of Vladimir.

The same cold summer of 2003 I entered the postgraduate school of Vladimir State University specialized in 05.13.01 “System analysis, information control and processing (in industry)” with 4 years maximum for preparing and presenting my Doctor's thesis. At the same time I started to work full-time as an engineer and programmer at an engineering company “Systems & Technologies” located in Vladimir and specialized in automated energy and power control and measurement systems. In fact, I worked for this company since July of 2001 but that was a part-time job. However, for quite a long time I used to work on this position as a developer at the department of applied software (though we developed not only applied but also system software), and after the department was divided into three sectors, of development, testing and support, I became a tester.

In parallel, since December of 2003, I started to take an active part in preparing the company for ISO 9000:2000 certification (quality management systems standard), as I had experience in such things doing continuous scientific-and-research work for “Bor Glassworks”. I was assigned to be responsible for one of the certified process, namely for the main and only process of my department called “Production and control of software”, and also I was chosen to one of the essential internal auditors, wherefore in March of 2004 we (some of my colleagues and I) passed a short-term extra-mural courses for internal auditors of quality management system. Later, in April we successfully passed the certification.

Meanwhile, the time for my postgraduate exams came (they were expected in the end of May). Before this, I had to pass a few credits, and it took me quite a long time so that I became free only in the first decade of May. Unfortunately, as the result I missed my exams, and the next chance to pass them was only in October of 2004. However, with some remarks, I was validated after my first year of postgraduate studies and permitted to continue.

The time was going on, my studies went to the background while my work activated. In the end of July we successfully completed another project, and my official one-month vacation began. During this I made my rest and… decided to change my job, fortunately there was an interesting vacancy – so-called quality assurance person in a software company “Inreco LAN” located in Vladimir and specialized in offshore software development and outsourcing. The major motives for the job switch were activity correction towards quality management that is what I worked on quite long in my university, and, of course, financial aspect. It all happened at once: having two more weeks of my vacation, I retired and in two days settled down a new job.

In October of 2004 I initiated and successfully completed the procedure of my MSc diploma legalization. This means that from now the diploma in recognized in all the countries of the world that signed the appropriate Hague convention.

In the same month, as it was planned, the postgraduate exams came… The first was on philosophy (I am going to become a PhD ), and I passed it as “good”. Then it was English, passed as “excellent” without comments. A few weeks later I presented a report at the university chair on the progress of my thesis. And closer to the summer of 2005 I was successfully validated after my second year of postgraduate studies.

The same summer I started to realize my distant idea of getting a university job as an assistant at the chair of information systems and information management (ISIM) to force my Doctor thesis preparation and defense before the deadline (which is June of 2007). I had successfully passed all bureaucratic procedures, from the chairman via the dean to the rector, and had been approved and recommended to be hired on all levels. But the real process of my new job placement started only in August, when I first retired from the school and then started to set at the university. Besides, I kept the full-time position of quality assurance manager at “Inreco LAN”.

In the beginning of December of 2005 I finally completed the task not discussed above but active for more than two years. I am speaking about buying the thing that is essential for every young man who wants to start his really independent life – an apartment or a house. In Russia, the task of saving money enough at least for a 1-room apartment was very hard then, and unfortunately it is still. However, with the help of numerous parallel jobs and the maximum extermination of any laziness, as well as with the priceless help of relatives, friends and simply good people I did succeed with solving the task – and became a happy owner of a 1-room apartment, just in time before a regular rise in realty prices. In less than a year I successfully paid off all the debts I ran into…

In the end of 2005 – the beginning of 2006, during one of the meetings in Moscow with German partners from Global Association of Software Quality (GASQ), I passed an express test for foundation level of a software tester, and in February of 2006 I received the appropriate certificate. Through software testing is not my explicit professional activity, however, it has been accompanying me for a long time (since I worked in “Systems & Technologies”), and the certificated was a pleasant addition.

In the spring of 2006 I presented my Doctor's thesis at my university chair's meeting, and though I was remarked on a few serious moments of the future thesis, however, it gave me a chance to become successfully validated after my third year of postgraduate studies. To tell the truth, in June of 2006 I planned the pre-defense my thesis but, unfortunately, I missed the time and reserved it for the coming autumn.

In September of 2006 I continued working as an assistant at the university chair, mostly teaching students. Approximately since the same month my other (main, de facto) job's title was renamed to business process improvement manager.

At long last it happened! On 7 December 2006 I had the so-called pre-defense of my Doctor thesis! Of course, not everything ran smoothly – I was completing my PowerPoint presentation (yes, at long last we practice “paperless”, electronic defenses!) in the last moments, so I knew all its bottlenecks. Moreover, I was told a few constructive remarks upon the thesis itself. However, the main thing is, “the overall impression is positive” and “the thesis is recommended for the real defense”! The things left to do were: fixing all the noticed defects, preparing the final version of the thesis for printing, doing other bureaucratic things and – go ahead to the defense!

However, it all took more time than I expected… So only on 15 March 2007 I could take away from the university's press 5 bound books of my Doctor's thesis (passed through 8 serious editions) under the title “Research and Development of Integrated Management System (IMS) of Sheet Glass Production”, and in the same day I passed the last postgraduate exam, on so-called “specialized subject” (including all IT, system analysis, information control and processing – according to the name of my postgraduate specialty), with “excellent” mark. To the evening of the same day the university press issued 100 copies of my thesis abstract that were sent round on 16 March – more than one month before the assigned date of the final thesis defense, 19 April 2007…

But a few days before the thesis defense, which has been dallied off for quite a long time, there was a very important event of my life (which was a surprise for many of my fellows and even friends, as we were preparing it “underground”) – I married my lovely Yulia! On 14 April 2007, not a very sunny and not a very warm but a spring day, we had wedding in Vladimir. April of 2007 is full of events for me!..

On 19 April 2007, as it was planned, I had my Doctor's thesis defense. I presented the thesis to one of the thesis councils of our university (VlSU), in front of 14 Doctors (PhD) and professors, 5 of which were specialized in “System analysis, information control and processing (in industry)” (the name of my Doctorate specialty). I was strongly criticized for the thesis, and later it contrasted very much as compared to the results of the ballot: 13 people were “pro”, nobody was “contra” or abstaining, and 1 bulletin was considered void. After the defense I felt a reprieve but it was short – I started to execute all the necessary documents that form the thesis case with the volume exceeding the volume of the thesis itself! On May 16 I personally delivered the case to Moscow, to the Highest Certifying Commission that in 4 months must confirm or refuse my Doctorate…

However, a miracle happened, and in the evening of 26 July 2007 I found a postcard in my mailbox notifying on that the Highest Certifying Commission in Moscow decided to confer the Doctorate on me – thus, it confirmed the earlier decision of a local thesis council. This allowed me to retire from the university (VlSU) on 26 August 2007, and concentrate on my main work in “Inreco LAN”. The PhD diploma as a document I received later in the autumn, on 22 November 2007.

On 14 February 2008, a usual St. Valentine's Day, which my wife and I planned to celebrate in a cafe, our son was born! That was the best gift ever possible for that holiday! We named him Ratmir, it is a Slavonic name consisting of two Russian words, “rat” that means “army”, and “mir” that means “peace”, thus as a whole the name can be translated into English approximately as “defender of peace”. Moreover, later we noticed that the name accidentally contains the English noun “rat”, and 2008 is the Year of the Rat according to Chinese astrology!

The next natural step was planning of buying a (family) car. For quite a long time I had been considering it a useless luxury but my family life after our baby born put everything into place. As a PhD I decided to use a scientific approach to complete the task: identified our requirements and major criteria, composed a huge table of cars and passed the hard process of choice. The car chosen was an A-class car (“subcompact”), “a Japanese in French cloths” Peugeot 107 (a twin of Toyota Aygo, with everything Japanese inside). On 17 May 2008 the chosen car (5-door, black) was ordered in Moscow, and on 31 May it was driven home to Vladimir. It is time to get my dust-laden driver's license from the shelf…

Once my spouse and I bethought to enlarge our family's living space by joining two 1-room apartments, my own and her ones. However, we started to discuss its real capabilities later, in the autumn of 2008/09 – exactly when the world (and Russian) financial crisis (including real estate market) came. To tell the truth, we were not hurried, we were quite happy in our 1-room apartment, our small family (me, my spouse, our son, plus cat), if not to count the extremely increasing volume of the “childish stuff”. But the crisis led to cheaper real estate, so for the first time we could think of joining two 1-room apartments into one not 2-room apartment but 3-room apartment! Though the instability of the real estate market and the seriousness of the step kept us from haste…

The first steps we did in the spring of 2009: we started to “prepare morally” for the sale process of one of our two 1-room apartments (the one where we did not live, of course). The sale itself started in the middle of June, and the whole sale-and-buy (joining) process ended on 26 September with a 3-room apartment bought. Only two weeks later we could start the total renovation of the new apartment, and one more week later we could move our stuff… but not ourselves because the continued renovation with its instability and unsanitary environment did not allow us to live in the new apartment with our little son. For two more weeks we lived “in our trunks”, traveling between the homes of my parents and the parents of my wife (thank goodness we have such parents). The final move took place on 1 November 2009 when the major part of the renovation had finished. However, there are a lot more things to do… Anyway, now it is all merry bothers.

P.S. I am starting to note the my biography is slowly turning into the biography of my family… Though I am happy about it.