In October 1985, the Rosneft Council of Retired Employees - the War and Labor Veterans (hereinafter – the Council of Veterans) was institutionalized by engineers of the USSR Ministry of Oil Industry (USSR MOI) at their meeting upon initiative of the industry professionals, well-known oil workers G.G. Kremennoy, G.P. Girbasov, T.F. Rustambekov, as well as with an active support of the USSR oil industry minister, participant of the Great Patriotic War, hero of socialist labor V.A. Dinkov. The Council of Veterans is one of the oldest veteran organizations in Russia.
The Council of Veterans was established to address such important issues as protection of social and economic, labor, housing, property and personal rights, as well as the interests of veterans, ensuring conditions for a decent standing in the society, improvement of material well-being, and medical care. To address these issues, the Council of Veterans, in cooperation with Rosneft, implements programs of material assistance, medical and social protection of pensioners, participates in patriotic education of youth, and holds events for veterans on professional and public holidays. Even during the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection COVID-19, the Council of Veterans continued its activities in compliance with the exhaustive measures of prevention and containment of the coronavirus infection spread.
Currently, the Council of Veterans is a voluntary nonprofit association of retirees who have previously worked in head offices of the Soviet Ministry of Oil Industry and subsequently in Rosneft HQ. It has a status of a legal entity.
The supreme body of the Council of Veterans is the General Meeting of the members of the Veterans Council, which elects an executive body - the Council Bureau, every three years to manage current activities.
Citizens of the Russian Federation, who have been granted a state pension in accordance with the RF legislation, who have worked for Rosneft for at least 10 years and who have retired from Rosneft due to retirement and who share the goals of the Veterans Council, may become members of the Council of Veterans.
The most active members of the Council act as "proxies", through them the Council of Veterans interacts with all the members of the Council (more than 450 people) to achieve the goals and objectives of the Council of Veterans.
Starting from 1991, the Council of Veterans annually publishes an almanac titled The Veterans, which is a collection of articles - reminiscences of oil and gas industry veterans and other authors "from the history of development of the country's oil and gas industry". The almanac is published in cooperation with professional magazine "Petroleum Economy" which has recently celebrated its centennial anniversary. Thirty-five issues of the almanac have been published to date, both in electronic and printed versions.
Every year members of the Veterans Council take part in the events dedicated to the memory of oil workers who died in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Memorial Complex to the Hero Cities and Cities of Military Glory in Alexandrovsky Garden in Moscow. They also take part in the proper care of the burial ground for outstanding industry veterans.
Many members of the Council bear sonorous titles of Honored employees of the oil and gas industry, Honored economist, Honored environmental specialist, Emeritus builder, Honored geologist, title of honor - Labor Veteran, Honorable Worker of the Fuel and Energy Complex, Honorable Worker of Minenergo (Ministry for Fuel and Energy), Honorable Oil Worker. Taking into account energetic public activities, several members of the Veterans Council were put on the Rosneft Wall of Honor and awarded by Rosneft with Certificates of Honor and Letters of Gratitude, as advised by the Bureau of the Council.
