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Why Russians Don’t Smile: A Guide to Doing Business in Russia and the CIS Countries

4th Edition

Luc Jones

Why Russians Don’t Smile

4th Edition

Acknowledgements:

We would like to express our thanks to everybody who contributed comments, articles and general advice for our publication. Additionally we are extremely grateful to our sponsors for their support which helped to make this book possible.

Limitation of use:

Please note that commercial use, distribution, reprint or publication of all or any parts of the book is prohibited without prior written authorisation from the author. Reference to the author is obligatory when quoting any content from this publication.

Author: Luc Jones

Project manager: Evgeniya Gonzales

Designers: Ekaterina Gnidina, Nataliya Demkina

Published by: Intermark Relocation

7/1 Kropotkinsky Pereulok

119034, Moscow, Russia

+7 495 502 95 53

www.intermarkrelocation.ru

Moscow, 2020

Luc Jones Why Russians Don’t Smile 4th edition

Chapters

I. Scope of this book

II. Introduction to Russia and the CIS region

III. Expatriates in Russia

IV. Travelling to and around Russia and the CIS countries

V. Foreign assignments and hiring locally

VI. Behavioral differences faced by Expats

VII. Cultural differences

VIII. Language barriers and deciphering names

IX. Doing business part 1

X. Doing business part 2

XI. Entertainment in Russia

XII. Life in Russia - how Russians live

XIII. How Russians view foreigners

XIV. Charity, Corporate Social Responsibility

XV. Life outside of Moscow and St Petersburg

XVI. CIS focus - the ‘other’ Republics

XVII. Public Holidays in Russia

XVIII. Useful contacts

XIX. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

About the author

Luc Jones

Luc Jones was born in Huntingdon, UK in 1973 to a British father and a French-Canadian mother and grew up in West Devon. His first trip to Russia was while still at high school in Tavistock: a week in Moscow and Leningrad in February 1991, followed by a year studying in Moscow and Yaroslavl in 1993/4 during his degree – Russian and Soviet Studies at The University of Portsmouth, UK. After a brief spell teaching English in Moscow in 1995/6, Luc joined ITE Group Plc (one of the world’s largest exhibition and conference organizers), working on the Moscow Motor Show.

Luc’s life in recruitment began with Antal in Warsaw in 1998 where he worked for 2 years, covering Poland and the Baltic States. He then joined CRM giant Siebel Systems (now part of Oracle) based in Prague, responsible for the CEE region, Turkey and South Africa. Moving back in Moscow in early 2002 with Antal, Luc worked his way up to Partner and Commercial Director before he joined Fircroft at the start of 2019 as Regional Sales Director for the CIS countries.

An extensive traveler, Luc has visited 145 countries including all 15 former Soviet Republics and continues to discover new places of interest throughout the world. Luc lives in Moscow and plans to do so for the foreseeable future, yet travels extensively throughout the CIS. Luc speaks Russian fluently in addition to his native English and has a very good knowledge of (Quebecois) French, Polish and Spanish.

I. Scope of this book

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What does it cover, whom is it written for and why

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN WRITTEN AS A GUIDE FOR THREE MAIN GROUPS:

Expatriates who have recently relocated to Russia/CIS (or are considering doing so in the nearest future) or live in their home country but visit on a regular basis. These are usually senior management of multinational corporations who are typically spend 3-4 years on a particular assignment before moving on or back home, or perhaps having been assigned this part of the world as a part of their overall territory.

People who perhaps don’t visit Russia/CIS often (or ever at all) but cover the region as part of their remit – this group includes human resources and recruitment managers, finance directors and even some CEOs. Since many multinational organizations use their European office to spearhead development and growth in the CIS region, this book has been written from the perspective of a Western/Central European manager.

Russians and citizens of other CIS countries who are interested in how they and their countries are perceived by foreigners. This is especially the case for those working for a multinational company, or perhaps for a local organization which is expanding into new markets abroad. If they report to a foreigner (based locally or abroad) or work with them on a regular basis, they can be more aware of potential pitfalls that they wouldn’t normally consider.

This book makes no apologies for being very much from a UK/European perspective as this has traditionally been the main target audience. Even US or Asian multinationals are likely to make business decisions for the CIS region from an office in Europe, for geographical and cultural reasons. However, this is not to say that North Americans, Africans, Asians, those from the Middle East or in fact anyone even remotely connected to the CIS might not benefit from reading this book.

The focus is primarily on Moscow although several chapters are devoted to other parts of Russia, such as St Petersburg and the Far East, plus all the CIS countries. Additionally this book does not claim to comprehensively cover every aspect of doing business in Russia/CIS, be it cultural, economic, business or social. An entire encyclopedia could be (and in many cases has already been) written on every single topic. Rather this book is meant as a guide for those new to this part of the world who wish to have an easy to read guide that they can quickly refer to, rather than having to read through a ‘War and Peace’ length novel.

THERE IS A SAYING THAT FOREIGNERS CRY TWICE – FIRSTLY WHEN THEY ARRIVE IN RUSSIA, AND SECONDLY WHEN THEY LEAVE IT.

Probably the biggest and most common mistake which foreigners make is that they assume that since Russians look like we do, they automatically think like we do. They don’t. Read on to find out more…

GETTING IT WRONG

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The cost of failure can be high so you need to do your homework before setting out. Russia is not a country where you can just show up and make a fast buck – you need to be in it for the long term. Some have tried and failed, but many more have done extremely well in Russia. See also chapter 5 for whom to hire, how and why. One of the most frequent reactions to the first three editions of this book from Russians themselves has been that foreigners will read it, but ignore much (or all) of the advice given because they still think that they are smarter. Do yourself a favour and don’t fall into this category.

II. Background to Russia/CIS Geography, history, religion, nationalities and initial stereotypes

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GEOGRAPHY

You don’t need a University degree in Geography to know that Russia is not only the world’s largest country (even after the demise of the USSR), but covers one eighth of the earth’s land mass. It’s a vast territory although the majority of visitors and Russians alike see precious little of it. It spans nine time zones (until recently it was eleven, but was scaled back) yet cities thousands of miles apart look remarkably similar thanks to the Soviet uniformity of buildings. One of the key reasons for this concrete ubiquity is that until the 1917 October revolution, many of today’s towns and cities were little more than remote villages that were changed forever during Stalin’s industrialization policies of the 1930s. For ease of understanding, the country is generally broken down into three geographical zones:

Since European Russian is by far the most populous area, this region itself is divided up into five parts:

Moscow and the surrounding area (often referred to as the Golden Ring)

St Petersburg & North-Western Russia

The Volga Region

The South, which includes the Caucasus

The Urals, which form the border between Europe and Asia

Few people agree (apart from the geographical border between Europe and Asia) as to exactly where one area stops and the next one starts, so these are given more as a general guide.

European Russia

Siberia

The Far East

HISTORY

There are entire libraries devoted to Russia’s rich history, and one would do well to acquaint themselves with at least the basics of twentieth century Russian history for a broader understanding of where the country is today, and why.

From a business perspective, it is crucial to understand that Russia has come a long way in a very short space of time – it can be hard to imagine that little more than a generation ago, the whole essence of doing business as we know it was not only an alien concept, it was in fact highly illegal. There are complaints both from inside and outside of Russia that far too many people are still employed by the State – estimates vary but it’s rumored to be around 50% even if the official figure is considerably lower. Putting things into context however, until the fall of Communism, the figure (officially at least) was 100%.

Westerners are raised in a society where everyone is constantly trying to sell you something, advertising is everywhere, choice is the norm and the whole ethos of life is geared around making money. Russia and the former Soviet States are very much emerging markets without a history of commercial business. During Soviet times you typically bought what they had on sale regardless of whether or not you actually needed it as it probably wouldn’t be there tomorrow, and you could then quietly sell it on, or trade it off sometime down the line. The inefficiency of the planned economy led to chronic shortages of even the most basic consumer goods as efforts were ploughed into heavy industry and military production. As a result, a massive grey economy emerged as Soviet citizens showed their resourcefulness in obtaining supplies that weren’t available through normal channels (ie, shops). Previously your standard of living depended not only on your salary, but on your connections and clout (known in Russian as ‘blat’ or ’svyazi’) either personal, or via the workplace. Your physical location – Moscow was always considered the showpiece of the USSR (see the ‘Moscow vs the Rest of Russia’ piece below) meant better access to goods and services, and also your line of work; those in the military, even serving in remote locations were always well fed.

A joke from the Communist era sums up both the influence and the necessity of the Soviet grey economy rather aptly: A senior American and Soviet diplomat meet and are discussing salary levels and standards of living in their respective countries. The American proudly boasts that “in the United States of America, the average salary is $25,000 per year, and $15,000 is needed to survive, but we don’t care what he spends the remaining $10,000 on.” The Soviet diplomat replies, that “in the Soviet Union, the average salary is 2,000 RUB per year and the amount needed to survive is 5,000 RUB, but we don’t care where he finds the remaining 3,000 RUB!” The result today is that Russians maintain a high sense of loyalty to those that they deem close to them, such as their friends (especially those made during student days), former colleagues and family members – you will notice how Russians often refer to a cousin as a brother or sister. This is manifested in how Russians make hiring decisions in the workplace; ‘po rekomendatsii’, based on a trusted recommendation. This might strike Westerners as a classic case of cronyism, or even corrupt practices. Russians view it somewhat differently, as working with a reliable and trusted partner who can be called upon to be sure to get a job done. See chapters 9 and 10 for more information on doing business in Russia.

I ONCE ASKED A RUSSIAN ‘WHY IS THE AIM OF SOCIALISM TO MAKE EVERYBODY POOR?’ – HE DRYLY RESPONDED ‘THAT’S NOT THE AIM, BUT THAT’S CERTAINLY THE RESULT!’

RELIGION

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The majority of Russians will claim adherence to the Eastern Orthodox Church, even if few actually attend services. The communist period was officially atheist and religious buildings were at best left to decay or reused for other purposes, such as storage, or in extreme cases, destroyed. Fortunately, slowly but surely some are being restored to at least part of their former glory, evident by the increasing beauty of onion domes on the horizons of many Russian cities, towns and even villages. It is interesting to observe that many drivers in Russia have mini Orthodox icons on their dashboards, especially in Russian-made cars – possibly a testament to the atrocious standard of driving in Russia and the high death rate on the roads. Few are aware that Russia has more Muslims than the rest of Europe combined – anywhere between 10-20 million, depending on which statistics you believe. However, the Sovietization policies resulted in heavy integration with surrounding Slavs, so most are moderate (Chechnya and Dagestan being the notable exceptions), and there is also a significant Buddhist minority in Kalmykia (southern Russia), the Altai region close to Mongolia and Buryatia (in Eastern Siberia, by Lake Baikal). The blatantly anti-Jewish policies of the Soviet Union resulted in a significant number of Jews emigrating (mainly to Israel and the USA) but many remain, and often occupy senior positions in large, local businesses. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that whilst some take their faith seriously, Russia is a secular State and not an openly religious country. Whilst Russians are well aware of other faiths, it is rarely brought up as a topic of conversation. New Year’s Eve is celebrated with considerably more vigour than either Christmas or Easter.

NATIONALITY

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It is worth spending a moment or two on this as to Russians, one’s nationality and ethnicity means much more than it does to westerners. For starters, Russia is the ninth most populous nation on the planet, yet is far from being a homogenous country. You would be forgiven for assuming that this is a Slav-only place, and whilst Slavs certainly dominate, there are well over a hundred separate nationalities, ranging from Tatars who boast over five million, to the Evenki people in the far north-east of Russia whose numbers are in the tens of thousands. Despite Soviet attempts (in some areas considerably more ‘successfully’ than others) at wiping out individualism, effort was made to glorify the benefits of being a Soviet citizen, people will proudly tell you that they are ethnically Armenian/ Bashkir/Chuvash/Dagestani, albeit one that was born in Russia. Russians use two words to describe the people who live in Russia (not including Expatriates, tourists or migrant workers). This may strike Westerners as rather bizarre, and possibly even derogatory since someone of Indian parentage who was born and brought up in the UK would almost certainly consider him/herself as British, and anyone who has received their Green Card to the USA can quite proudly call themselves an American.

===RUSSKIY – REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ETHNICALLY RUSSIAN ROSSIYANIN – REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN RUSSIA (OFTEN FOR GENERATIONS) BUT ARE NOT NECESSARILY ETHNIC RUSSIAN===

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Not so in Russia, and you will even hear people say ‘I’m not Russian, I’m Jewish’. Consequently some Russians can find it hard to comprehend how a black guy could be British or an Arab could be French. Obviously this is less likely to be the case with Russians who have lived, or travelled extensively abroad, but if you are of non-Caucasian origin, it’s worth bearing this in mind when visiting Russia as unfortunately some prejudice does exist. Whilst this is almost exclusively aimed at migrants from some former Soviet Republics (particularly Central Asia and the Caucasus) some Russians – especially in more remote regions, are unused to seeing anyone who doesn’t look like them, so although you are unlikely to encounter any outright hostility, do expect to be stared at.

Few are aware that Russia has more immigrants than any other country in the world after the United States. However, the overwhelming majority of these come from the former Soviet Republics, and there is some resentment of their presence – especially in Moscow where many head for. The fact that unemployment in Russia’s capital is low, and they are employed to do menial jobs that Russian don’t seem to want to do at salaries that Russians wouldn’t even consider getting out of bed for appears lost on many ethnic Russians. Do be aware that the word ‘Caucasian’ to Russians (pronounced ‘Kavkaz’ in Russian) refers to dark-haired people from the south of Russia (notably Chechnya, Dagestan and Ossetia), plus also the former Soviet Republics of Armenian, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It DOES NOT mean ‘white’ in the European sense.

MOSCOW VS THE REST OF RUSSIA

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In Western culture, we usually begin introductions with asking someone’s name, and then where they are from. Non-Muscovites living in Moscow can be uncomfortable when faced with this question, and may either not reply, answer simply “I’m from Russia” or say that they are from Moscow, even if they arrived only recently. The exception is St Petersburgers, who view themselves as culturally more advanced, and are the only Russians who look down upon Muscovites, as brash. See chapter 15 for more information on life outside of Moscow and St Petersburg. Average living standards were higher in Moscow and Leningrad (as St Petersburg used to be called) than elsewhere in the USSR, and it is also where the best higher educational establishments were, so this is where Soviet citizens strove to move to. The USSR had a residency permit system, known as a ‘propiska’ which allowed you live and work in a certain part of the country, and the authorities dictated who lived where, and who was allowed to move where, and when. In practice it was a clever and useful tool for the state to control the population as it heavily restricted even basic freedoms, Russia has suffered from a severe housing shortage since Stalin’s industrialization policies that began in the late 1920s and which forced the masses from the countryside into urban areas. Nowadays the system still exists, although it is much less enforced than before, yet you may observe a slight superiority complex amongst Muscovites when in the company of out-of-towners, colloquially known as ‘limitchiki’. There is more than a grain of truth in the joke that when Russian girls from provincial towns arrive in the capital, their preference is for a husband who has a propiska. This is beginning to change, as wealthier Russians choose to move out from a polluted downtown Moscow to greener areas outside the city limits. Russia is a very centralized, top-down society and despite Vladimir Putin hailing from St Petersburg, Moscow is where the bulk of business decisions are made, and naturally where the wealth is concentrated.

FAQs FOR PEOPLE PLANNING TO VISIT RUSSIA FOR THE FIRST TIME: What’s Russia like?

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Whatever you’ve ever read in the international media or seen on TV, either ignore it or believe the opposite. Most people’s first comment upon arrival is “oh wow, it’s normal. I had no idea it would be like this”. Bottom line, come with an open mind and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Is it always cold?

It does get cold (if you’re concerned about global warming, come to Russia in the winter) but summers can be scorchingly hot, with spring and autumn seeming to last only a few weeks. However, buildings are well heated, often excessively so and it’s a drier cold than in Europe, so if you wrap up in appropriate clothing, you’ll be fine. Do you have to drink heavily to do business?

A lot of vodka does get drunk, although beer has in fact overtaken the clear stuff as Russians’ choice of tipple and wine and cocktails are increasing in popularity amongst the middle classes. Granted, there may not be many abstainers and Russians still refer to vodka as ‘water of life’ but there’s more sobriety than you may think. Lunchtime drinking in the corporate world is almost unheard of – see chapter 11 for more on entertainment after working hours.

Is Russia dangerous?

In a nutshell, no. Stories about the fabled Russian mafia might make great headlines for lazy journalists but the days of shootouts in broad daylight and kiosks being blown up are long gone, and were in fact highly exaggerated in the first place. Sure, Moscow has its fair share of petty crime like any other big city, but the majority of incidents against foreigners occurs due to drunken misunderstandings with the Police or taxi drivers (and/or with recently-met local women when under the influence).

Speaking some Russian or having a Russian friend/colleague generally prevents such issues as does local knowledge and not acting as though you’ve just arrived in town. Russians will tell you to avoid the outskirts of Moscow at night but there’s no reason for you to be there anyway, and the centre of Moscow or St Petersburg is probably safer than your hometown after dark.

====How will I get around if I can’t understand the funny writing?====

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Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, as do nearby Belarus, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and parts of the former Yugoslavia. It’s much less daunting than it first appears (some of the letters are the same, or similar to their Latin equivalents) and English language signage is on the increase, particularly in Moscow, St Petersburg and other places where foreigners may venture, such as airports. The World Cup in 2018 and the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 were just two examples of high profile events which improved matters considerably. You will even see Chinese characters in some places, in response to Russia’s drive to increase both business and tourism from the People’s Republic. See Chapter 8 for more information on learning the local language. Isn’t the country far too corrupt to be able to do business transparently?

Many of the world’s largest & best known multinational organizations are present in Russia, and run successful, profitable operations. Most have been here since the 1990s; they are audited and scrutinized both locally and internally, and simply wouldn’t tolerate an environment where they couldn’t run a clean business. Nobody is pretending that it’s plain sailing but it’s much less of an issue than the international media would have you believe. Chapter 10 goes into more detail on this subject.

====Surely international sanctions prevent our company from doing business with Russia?====

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Following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March 2014, economic sanctions were imposed against Russia by several nations, namely the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, the European Union, and (hardly surprisingly), Ukraine. Many of these sanctions are aimed directly at businesses connected to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and/or business connected with the Crimea itself, such as ports where cruise ships cannot dock. Mostly, the sanctions prohibit the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods and technology in certain sectors, although the number of companies whose businesses have actually been affected remains small. Sadly, some companies have chosen to ‘self sanction’, incorrectly assuming that they cannot do business in Russia and arguably it has been this assumption which has hurt the Russian economy more than the sanctions themselves. Obviously if you or your business are from one of the countries involved then it’s important to check what impact this might have (and your country’s Embassy will be able to advise here). Russia retaliated in August 2014 by banning certain foodstuffs from countries which had imposed sanctions and has managed to turn this into an opportunity to promote ‘import substitution’ which has enjoyed considerable successes. In some cases Russia lacks the equipment to produce locally, a gap in market which is being filled by foreign manufacturers.

Why does nobody ever smile?

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If you travel on the metro in the mornings, you’ll certainly see many glum faces and yes, it is rare for Russians to smile for no reason. Why? Some blame a combination of the poor weather, at least in the winter, a turbulent history, especially in the past century coupled with a general mistrust of outsiders (it didn’t pay to be inquisitive during communist times) and difficult living conditions for most, even today. In Western culture we smile to make people feel comfortable rather than us being genuinely happy to see them. If a Russian doesn’t smile at you, it doesn’t mean that they don’t like you (don’t take offense – it’s nothing personal), but if they do smile, then chances are that you’ve made a favourable impression on them. There is another explanation, that Russians view someone with a permanent smile as the village idiot, and smiling without a reason is viewed as being insincere.

III. Expatriates in Russia

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Who are they and how they differ from each other and also from their local staff

Like in any large city, the Expat community is very much a mixed bag but the majority of white collar workers fall into three distinct categories. CORPORATE EXPATS (CORP-PATS)

Typically Corp-pats have been posted to Russia/CIS with little or no previous experience of this part of the world, but their key selling point is their in-depth knowledge of their employer after years, if not decades with the firm, perhaps in multiple locations. They are seen as a safe pair of hands and are almost always employed in senior level positions. Trust is another influencing factor, especially in a finance role. The standard assignment is three years in length, sometimes more but the aim is often to eventually replace yourself with a local before moving on to pastures new within the firm, or it could mean returning home. Corppats almost always confine themselves to the ‘Expat bubble’, living in a compound or an area populated by other foreigners. This is especially the case if they have arrived with a family in tow, and hang out in expat circles, which in reality means downtown bars & restaurants where they are likely to bump into people similar to themselves. Few learn much, if any Russian as the corporate language at work will be English and they see little need to immerse themselves into the local culture as in all likelihood they’ll be moving on in a few years anyway.

RUSSIFIED EXPATS (RUSS-PATS)

Russ-pats may have studied Russian language and/or Russian literature, politics, history, economics at University and moved to Russia as they genuinely love the place. They are employed in a wide range of professions, and may now have family ties here, such as a spouse, children and perhaps have even purchased an apartment, or God forbid, a dacha! Some are in fact Corp-pats who have somehow stayed on and immersed themselves into the local community and have set up their own business, or work for somebody who has. More recently some Expats with specific skills have found themselves in demand by Russian companies who value their international background & input, especially if they come with previous CIS work experience and some knowledge of the Russian language.

RE-PATS

Re-pats emigrated from the CIS after the fall of the Soviet Union, but for a variety of reasons have decided to return to the motherland. Initially it was adults who were seeking their fortune abroad, although increasingly we are seeing their children who left when they were very young and so are bilingual, or close to. Some felt disillusioned with life ‘abroad’, others found the going tough and didn’t make it whilst many wanted to be closer to their relatives as they age. A few even realized that from a purely business perspective, they could make more money and have a faster and more successful career back in Russia/CIS, having picked up business acumen and strong language skills abroad. Russians themselves are rarely positive about Re-pats, viewing them as arrogant. Admittedly some do return with a ‘hey, I’m better than you as I’ve lived/ worked/studied abroad and I speak great English’ attitude (Russians can spot them a mile away as they frequently drop English idioms into their everyday Russian speech). When interviewing Re-pats for jobs in Russia, they should be taken on an individual basis, while naturally those who return with a shiny American passport and demand an expat package and a hardship allowance, can be quickly discarded.

It’s also worth you checking if Re-pats are eligible to work in Russia as some will have lost, or given up their Russian citizenship. Expats view Re-pats as Re-pats, whereas Russians simply view Re-pats as Russians who’ve spent some time living abroad. Moscow is a fairly transient place as far as the expat community is concerned, since Corp-pats almost always leave once their three year contract is up, either moving on to their next assignment in another farflung place, or simply returning home. Nevertheless, the Moscow expat circle is extremely welcoming and easy to break into. There are numerous social clubs, sporting activities, business associations and religious groups that welcome newcomers. They are by no means exclusively aimed at Expats, and can be a great way to get to meet English-speaking locals. See chapter 18 for a list of websites.

IV. Travelling to, around and visiting Russia and the CIS countries, plus moving to and settling in Russia

GETTING TO/FROM MOSCOW FROM ABROAD

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Being the largest city in Europe, Moscow is served by daily flights from almost every European capital city of any significance with some countries (such as Germany) also having direct flights from provincial cities. From Western Europe flights tend to take off in the morning/ lunchtime, arriving in Moscow late afternoon/early evening, or leaving late evening, landing in the middle of the night, or in the early hours of the following morning. Flying east you will effectively either lose most of the day on the plane, or a night’s sleep – you choose what’s best for you, although upon your return you’ll land at pretty much the same time as you took off. There are also direct, regular scheduled flights from many large Asian and Middle-Eastern cities plus a few in the USA although from Africa, Latin America and Oceania you will almost certainly require a change of planes. Bear in mind that if you do arrive in the early hours of the morning, your hotel may well charge you for an extra night, or for early check-in, and given the cost of high-end accommodation in Moscow, this can outweigh the benefits of taking the ‘red-eye’ flight.

Sheremetyevo (SVO) airport is in the north of Moscow and is Aeroflot’s hub for both domestic and international flights. It also handles Skyteam’s airline partners (KLM-Air France, Delta, Korean Air, Alitalia, Czech Airlines), as well as Finnair, and for flights to mainland China with Air China, China Eastern and China Southern. Terminals D and E have been built recently and are very much up to international standards, while F was rebuilt for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and retains a certain Soviet feel to it. Terminals A, B & C are located on the other side of the airport; there is now a free shuttle train service, which runs under the runway, only takes a few minutes and operates frequently. These mainly handle domestic and charter flights although some changes and construction are still in progress so it is definitely worth checking in advance. Domodedovo (DME) airport is in the south and is home for most of OneWorld’s airlines, such as S7 one of Russia’s largest domestic carriers, British Airways (although be careful, one of the three daily flights to Heathrow now leaves from Sheremetyevo), Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and JAL. It’s also Star Alliance’s Russian home, so Lufthansa, Austrian, TAP, Thai, Turkish, Singapore and Egyptair fly from here, plus Emirates and Etihad. Air Astana recently relocated their Moscow home to here, for flights to Almaty & Nur-Sultan, in Kazakhstan, and Ural Airlines for numerous domestic and international destinations. Vnukovo (VKO) in the south-west acts an overspill for Moscow’s main two airports, plus Turkish Airlines who have moved here (landing and takeoff fees are reportedly lower). Additionally Uzbekistan Airlines now fly directly to 13 cities in Uzbekistan. Otherwise it is mainly used by Utair, Russia’s third largest airline, Pobeda (Aeroflot’s Low Coster) and for holiday charter flights.

Zhukovsky (ZIA) located to the east of Moscow with the aim of being a magnet for low-coster and charter. It only handles a few airlines, the most notable being Belavia with several flights per day to Minsk and URAL Airlines. For the time being at least, the biggest downside to Zhukovsky (apart from the small number of airlines actually using this airport) is that there is no direct train link from Moscow’s city centre. It necessary to catch a train from Kazansky station to the town of Zhukovsky, and connect from there on a shuttle bus. Or just catch a cab and risk the traffic. Clearing both customs and immigration is a relatively painless process; regardless of which airport you arrived at. Lines are rarely long (unless you are unlucky and several planes have landed just before yours) but queues move quite quickly. Unless you are carrying upwards of $10,000 in cash or any obviously restricted items, there is no need to fill out a customs form. GETTING TO/FROM THE AIRPORT INTO MOSCOW If you are new to Moscow and/or don’t speak Russian or read Cyrillic, it would make sense for you to arrange for your hotel to have a driver meet you at the airport, standing with a sign (with either your, or the hotel’s name on it) in the arrivals terminal.

TAXI

Nowadays, the taxi situation is largely regulated at Moscow’s main airports and is a considerable improvement from the “taxi mafia” days of the 1990s, but can still be a little daunting for the uninitiated as the waiting drivers tout for fares and can be quite pushy. The best advice is to walk past the waiting drivers (ignore the official looking badges they wear) as these guys charge well above the standard rate, and misunderstandings do happen. Use one of the desks further back as prices are now official and listed in. Russian and English, and the staff should speak reasonable English, even if your driver doesn’t. Early mornings and evenings heading into Moscow should be relatively traffic-free, at least by Moscow standards, but fares are generally fixed in advance and shouldn’t depend on the journey time. Unless you are taking one of the red-eye planes returning from Moscow, your flight back to Western Europe is likely to leave in the evening. Given the heavy traffic leaving downtown Moscow towards the end of the working day, allow a good two hours, especially if you’re setting off on a Thursday or Friday. The jams are at their peak in the summer months when it seems as though the entire city decamps from Friday lunchtime onwards and heads out to their dachas for the weekend.

AEROEXPRESS An easy way to avoid spending hours stuck in the back of a cab is to take the Aeroexpress train from central Moscow to the airport or vice versa. Trains service Moscow’s three largest airports every half hour; trains begin at around 06:00 and continue until at least midnight. Journey time is around 45 minutes, and means that you’ll never miss another flight ever again.

Trains for Sheremetyevo leave from Belorussky station (this line has recently been extended with additional stops en route, including to Moskva City, Moscow’s financial district)

Trains for Domodedovo leave from Paveletsky station Trains for Vnukovo leave from Kievsky station All three of these stations are on the Moscow metro’s circle (brown) line and are signposted in English. The Aeroexpress trains are clearly marked and are usually red (do NOT jump on to a green train; these are the suburban commuter trains, called ‘elektrichka’ which will take you into the middle of nowhere) but doors may only open a few minutes before the train actually departs for the airport. If in doubt, don’t worry, just ask, although a crowd of people carrying suitcases is generally a telltale sign. A single ticket is RUB500 and they have a business class carriage for RUB1,500 which guarantees you a seat and they give out free bottles of water & Russian language newspapers. At peak times these trains can get pretty full, although there is usually more space in the back few carriages, and you might be fortunate enough to ride on one of the swanky, new double-decker trains. For those in a hurry to get to the airport, you can jump on the train and buy a ticket upon arrival at one of the ticket booths, which also have instructions in English – they accept Rubles and credit cards, although there can be quite a scrum getting through the barriers so if possible buy one before you board. If you don’t need a receipt and have a contactless debit or credit card, you can save time and receive a small discount by simply tapping your card on the entrance/exit gate at the airport, and they are also available online at a reduced price. For information on the exact times (and any updates), check out: www.aeroexpress.ru (in Russian & English). In case you are feeling a little apprehensive, ask a Russian colleague or friend to accompany you as far as the train for the first time. Trust me, coming from someone who has missed flights in the past due to heavy traffic, these aeroexpress trains are a godsend. If you are visiting your Moscow office and your travel schedule has been arranged by your Russian office manager, it’s worth bearing in mind that she may assume that as an important foreigner, there is no way that you could even consider lowering yourself to taking Russian public transport, as few senior Russians would. She might be shocked that you even suggested it. In fact, she will probably think that as a clueless newcomer to Moscow you will invariably get lost, mugged or abducted and it will be all her fault, so she will insist that you take a taxi. Perhaps she just wants to get rid of you, but this will result in you leaving at lunchtime for an excruciatingly slow trip to the airport, probably arriving many hours before your evening flight. Bottom line, if time is important to you, consider taking the aeroexpress to/ from the airport. Finally, if transiting between Moscow’s airports, allow yourself a MINIMUM of two hours travelling time to get from Sheremetyevo to either Domodedovo or Vnukovo regardless of which mode of transport you use. GETTING AROUND MOSCOW Amongst the largest, best (and surely the most beautiful) in the world is the Moscow metro. Sure, it can get crowded at times, ridiculously so during rush hour, but it’s fast and very efficient. Little wonder that millions of people use it every day to get to & from work, and around the city. Many of the older stations are works of art in themselves, and a single ticket costs less than a Dollar, regardless of how far you travel – there are no zones. Tickets can be purchased for individual or multiple rides, or monthly passes which work out slightly cheaper in the long run, and are on sale at every station, whenever the metro is running, which is from shortly before 6am until 1am. Every metro station is permanently manned both by the metro’s own staff and by the Police, so consider it a pretty safe way to travel even at night. 38 39 One recent development is that there are now signs and announcements in both Russian and English at all stations. However, one slightly confusing aspect is that some stations use different names for the same interchange, but some are the same. An added bonus is that WiFi is available on the metro, for free. Your mobile phone should also work, even if the reception is a little patchy in places. If you have multiple meetings and especially if some are out on the outskirts of the city where metro stations are fewer and farther between, consider hiring a car with a driver for the day, or even for the duration of your trip. It’s not as expensive as it may sound, and your driver will drop you off & wait for you. Experienced drivers are pretty adept at sorting out a whole host of problems, such as when you’ve arrived at a building and the security guard doesn’t want to let you in as he can’t find the propusk (entry pass) that may or may not have been ordered. Curiously Russians don’t seem to mind sitting in traffic jams, viewing an hour stuck in gridlock in their own vehicle as preferable to a twenty minute ride on the crowded metro. This largely stems from cars having been difficult to obtain during the communist period, involving a long wait and invariably some strings pulled along the way, all to secure a Lada! So if you are going to a meeting together with Russians, don’t be surprised if they turn their noses up at the thought of taking the metro, although there is a good chance that they will have pre-arranged the transport. An increasing number of taxi companies operate in Moscow and even in mid-sized Russian/CIS cities, cabs can typically be at your door within five or ten minutes. Peak times are a different matter due to heavy traffic so to be on the safe side it’s best to book in advance. Waiting times are comparatively cheap so if you’re going to a meeting, it can make sense to ask the driver to wait and take you back. Parking can be limited, so your driver may in fact need to find a space half a mile down the road (where it’s free to park) and you ring him once you’re done already to return. The occasional dispatcher may speak a little English but drivers are unlikely to know more than the odd word, although if they’ve carried non Russian-speaking passengers before, they should know the drill. There are now certain apps which can be downloaded (such as Uber, Yandex Taxi or Gett) which avoid the need for speaking Russian, although in practice the driver is still likely to call you to tell you that he has arrived, and exactly where he is waiting for you. This is a safe bet as the car and the driver’s details will be sent by SMS to your mobile phone. For the fullblown Russian experience, do as many locals still do and stick your hand (not your thumb) out on a busy street, then watch the cars stop for you. Yes, in theory any car doubles up as a private taxi – you tell the driver where you want to go, agree a fare and jump in. The authorities have tried to make this practice illegal but old habits die hard and it is still a popular way of getting around quickly, especially late at night when the metro is closed. It’s safer than you might think, but if you don’t like the look of the driver (and/or his car) then don’t be shy about waving him on and getting into the next car. At busier spots at night, cars will often line up behind one another; it’s also possible that the driver may not want to take you if it’s completely out of his way. Avoid any cars that wait outside top end hotels, bars, clubs and especially at train stations & airports – these jokers charge much more than the going rate and are notorious for rip-offs, especially from drunken foreigners and can get aggressive if you don’t cough up. Only ever catch the moving cars and ALWAYS make sure that you’ve agreed on the destination AND the fare in advance. Worst case, get someone to write it down for you in Cyrillic beforehand. It is worth bearing in mind however that many of these ‘gypsy cab’ drivers are migrant workers from the poorer Central Asian and Caucasus Republics who cruise the Moscow streets at night looking for customers. They drive beaten-up old Ladas (called a ‘Zhiguli’ in Russian) that are barely roadworthy – count yourself lucky if the seatbelt actually works, and their knowledge of Moscow’s roads may be limited, especially if heading to the outskirts. Therefore, as well as not speaking any English (even Russian for most of them is a second language) they may ask YOU if you know the way to your destination ‘dorogu pokazhite’?! Normally this mode of transport is only recommended once you know your way around town but it’ll certainly be an experience that you don’t encounter back home. However, given the popularity and ease of ordering a cab visa an app, flagging down a car is much less common than it was just a few years ago. Many of Moscow’s downtown streets now have a ‘paid’ parking scheme, with shiny parking meters having sprung up, although few foreigner are brave enough to drive their own car around town. Those who do are generally long term Expats as it’s not common practice to hire a car and drive it yourself. 40 41 TRAVELLING WITHIN RUSSIA Russians like to joke that a foreigner drove his car into the Soviet Union and fairly quickly ran into a pot hole in the road. When help eventually arrived in the form of the GAI (the state traffic police) he grumbled that back home there would be a red flag warning of any such holes. The response was a blunt ‘didn’t you see the big, red flag (of the Soviet Union) when you crossed the border?!?!’ Despite some recent improvements, roads outside of cities can be in poor condition, exacerbated by extreme cold in the winter followed by heat waves in the summer. In Moscow these have been upgraded considerably but this has happened in conjunction with a boom in car ownership, resulting in gridlock throughout the day and well into the evening, so much so that you’ll hardly notice any lull outside of rush hour. Work out where you’re going in advance and allow more time than you’d expect as even major highways often only have a single lane going each way. Don’t expect much in the way of service stations (apart from fuel and perhaps a few snacks) so stock up and strap yourself in as it could be a bumpy ride. Driving your own car in Russia is an art in itself, and will require you to have your driving license from your home country translated into Russian. You’ll also require nerves of steel, and some might even say a death wish! RUSSIANS TRADITIONALLY COMPLAIN THAT THE TWO BIGGEST PROBLEMS IN THEIR COUNTRY ARE IDIOTS AND ROADS (AND SOME SAY IDIOTS WHO BUILD ROADS)! Russia boasts an impressive network of domestic flights on numerous airlines. There used to be dozens, some, tiny; with one plane running a daily service from a provincial town to Moscow and back, although the industry has consolidated considerably in recent years. The big 4 local carriers – Aeroflot, S7, Ural and Utair dominate most of the popular routes. Given the country’s size, flying is often the only way to travel, but this results in fares being expensive by international standards. Low-costers are in their infancy with the Aeroflot subsidiary ‘Pobeda’, which means ’victory’ being the only success story. Regional airports in Russia range from little more than a concrete shed, which have seen no renovation work done since communist times and to brand, spanking new buildings, such as the new Pulkovo terminal in St Petersburg, with Kazan, Irkutsk, Samara and Yekaterinburg also deserving a mention. Most provincial airports are somewhere in between, although infrastructure projects have been earmarked as priority in many cities, at long last. Even the most rundown airport should have a separate area for business class passengers (often just marked ‘VIP’ although in Central Asia it’s called ‘CIP’ – Commercially Important Person, but essentially the same thing). In some airports, such as Kazan it is in a neighbouring building and you will be bussed out to the plane separately. These zones are mainly for senior, local officials but business class travelers and those holding certain frequent flier status may also make use of them. Unlike in many business lounges throughout the world, expect to pay for some, if not all food and drink (if in doubt; ask – or don’t be surprised if you are presented with a hefty bill shortly before boarding the plane). Priority Pass is accepted at an increasing number of business lounges and some accept walk-in customers for a fee. Most domestic airlines have a business class section, although on the whole this is poor value for money for shorter hops. The Russian airline industry deservedly gets a bad press, although the larger airlines run fleets of almost exclusively foreign planes and since these are typically leased, they are required to conform to international safety standards. Even though Russia has seen an increasing number of domestic flights in the past decade, don’t automatically assume that you can fly directly from one provincial city to another. Even in Siberia the only route may be via Moscow and even if there is a direct flight, it could only operate once or twice a week and be prone to delays, especially in more remote areas where the weather can play havoc with timetables. At the time of writing, for most airlines if you check in for your flight in Russia on-line (domestic or international), you will still need to print out the boarding card. You cannot just flash your mobile phone at the security guard/immigration officer as he/she needs to stamp it to allow you through. The country’s rail network is impressive, extensive and safe. Trains always run on time and are clean, if a little on the slow side. Long distance trains have bunks for sleeping (typically in a ‘kupe’ compartment of two or four; there is also a dormitory class called ‘platskart’ which is probably best avoided if you value even a modicum of privacy) although fares can rival what you’d pay to fly now that government subsidies are being removed. If you’re not in a hurry and want to see the countryside at the same time as meeting ordinary Russians, experiencing life on the rails, practicing your Russian over an evening beer in the restaurant car, then the train is an ideal way to travel. I speak from experience as someone who journeyed as a student from Vladivostok to Moscow on the trans-Siberian back in 1994, stopping off for a few days each in Khabarovsk, Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk and Yaroslavl. Rather confusingly, ALL trains in Russia run on 42 43 Moscow time regardless of where you are, and train stations are hardly user-friendly places, especially to the uninitiated, even with some signage now in English. Fortunately tickets can be purchased via travel agencies and now online although they are printed in Russian only, and often still list the old name (ie, Sverdlovsk and Gorky for Yekaterinburg and Nizhniy Novgorod respectively) whereas the timetable at the station may use the new name. Business travelers are likely to be most interested in the Sapsan, the high-speed train that now runs several times a day between Moscow and St Petersburg and is proving to be stiff competition to the airlines on this popular route, taking a mere four hours. It has economy and business class, WiFi for all and a restaurant carriage, but has become a victim of its own success as tickets can sell out well in advance, so book early. The Sapsan now also runs from Moscow to Nizhniy Novgorod, with plans in place to extend it as far as Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, and frequencies are increasing but it still pays to book well in advance. ID is required when purchasing plane and train tickets (the exceptions are the Aeroexpress and the suburban ‘elektrichka’) and keep the same form of ID with you – preferably your passport, when you travel.

REGISTRATION

Russia still retains an annoying hangover from the Soviet period, whereby all citizens are required to register with the local authorities if spending more than three business days in a particular location (90 days, if you have an HSQ visa). If you are staying in a hotel, this will be done for you automatically; your passport will be taken away for a few moments and photocopied (some local authorities will charge you a small fee for the privilege of being in their city, although it is usually added to the final bill) sometimes it comes in the form of a stamp and a few handwritten squiggles on the back of your migration card, or it could be a separate piece of paper. It’s worth hanging on to these, just in case some overzealous, bored official decides to be particularly jobsworth and lays down the law. Gone are the days when every individual city had to be listed on your Russian visa, yet there are still certain cities and regions in Russia that require an additional permit to enter (the far-eastern province of Chukotka – where Roman Abramovich used to be the governor, is a a good example, as is Norilsk). Fortunately most of these places are extremely remote and it’s unlikely that they will be your first port of call. Many are judged to be strategic locations but it is worth enquiring with your hosts if prior permission is required – they will know if it is. As is often the case in Russia, there is a good chance that no-one will actually check whether or not you’ve registered at any stage during your trip, or even visited a restricted area. However, you could land yourself in hot water if someone decides to take a closer look (the Police have been known to inspect documents at some provincial airports and prevent you from boarding the plane if you cannot prove that you have registered). This is of course little more than a money-making scheme for them; they’re not in any hurry, but you are. The moral here is that unless you are familiar with the territory AND speak Russian, it’s better to play it safe or it could ruin your travel plans. Oh, and if you want to exit Russia smoothly, don’t lose your migration card which will be given to you as you go through passport control upon arrival. WHAT IS THE CIS? The Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS was formed in 1991 to incorporate the 15 former Soviet Republics minus the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). In practice, the CIS is effectively a loose association of states as Turkmenistan is an unofficial associate member, Georgia withdrew in 2009 and unknown to many Ukraine was never officially a formal member as it chose not to ratify the CIS Charter since it disagreed with Russia being the only legal successor of the Soviet Union. Whilst the term ‘CIS’ is preferable to expressions such ‘ex-Soviet’ and ‘Former USSR’, don’t expect colleagues back home to be familiar with it, or even know which part of the world it refers to.

TRAVELLING TO NEIGHBOURING CIS COUNTRIES

If your business takes you to other former Soviet Republics, you’ll need plenty of room in your passport for additional stamps (you will be stamped both upon arrival and departure), and possibly a visa. Unless you actually need to come to Russia (thus avoiding the need for a Russian visa), you can now fly directly from Europe & the Middle East to almost all CIS countries. Turkish Airlines boast the most extensive coverage of the CIS region, flying to every CIS capital (except to Yerevan, in Armenia, for political reasons) plus other major cities, with Lufthansa also a good bet. The advantage of flying from Moscow or St Petersburg (if you are already here, or planning a trip there anyway) is that both the list of destinations and the frequency of flights is significantly greater. For example there are direct flights from Moscow to more than a dozen cities in Kazakhstan, whereas flying in from abroad typically requires a change of planes in either Almaty or Nur-Sultan. It is becoming increasingly possible to fly from one CIS country to another, although the smaller (and less significant) the country, the greater the chance of having to change planes, usually in Moscow or Istanbul. When booking flights, note that the airport IATA code will often refer to the old, Soviet name of the city – some notable examples:

St Petersburg

Atyrau

Samara

Yekaterinburg

Aktau

Bishkek

Khujand

There are no scheduled flights between any cities in Russia and Ukraine, due to ongoing political tensions between the two countries. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to change anytime soon; the standard routing is via Minsk, Warsaw or Chisinau. One option is to catch the overnight train between Moscow & Kiev if you don’t mind being woken up several times to allow the customs officials to search your bags and the immigration officers to stamp your passport.

At the time of writing, there are no direct flights between Russia and Georgia, although it is hoped that this is only a temporary measure, but you can fly via Yerevan or Baku without too much hassle. You can transit through five Russian airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo & Vnukovo in Moscow, Pulkovo in St Petersburg and Koltsovo in Yekaterinburg), but you must have an onward ticket and you cannot leave the airport. Don’t try to do anything clever by attempting to fly into one Moscow airport and out of another as you won’t be allowed to do so; in fact you’ll probably be denied boarding at your original destination.

VISAS TO RUSSIA:

• Visa information is subject to frequent change; please check before

travelling.

Basically, all Western visitors to Russia require a visa, and these must be obtained in advance. You cannot just rock up & buy one on the border, and on top of this you will require a letter of invitation (LOI). Even if you only need to change airports, you will need a transit visa and once again, this must be obtained in advance at a Russian Embassy or Consulate.

(Leningrad) (Guriyev) (Kuybyshev) (Sverdlovsk) (Shevchenko) (Frunze) (Leninabad) LED GUW KUF SVX SCO FRU LBD

Apply early. Sure, Russian visas can be procured by wellconnected agents in a day or two, but you’ll pay through the nose for the privilege. Visas come in several forms; chiefly tourist, business, transit & employment, and their length varies from a maximum of one month for a tourist visa, to a three year work visa for ‘highly qualified specialists’ (HQS).

If you are planning on making numerous trips to Russia, it would make sense to apply for a one-year multiple-entry business visa. Bear in mind that you are only allowed to spend a maximum of 180 days per year in Russia, and a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. The point here being that you are not supposed to work on such a visa as it is aimed at businesspeople based abroad, and authorities do check (if you don’t believe me, take a look at the scanning equipment at passport control at international airports). Russian Embassies differ from country to country as to how strictly they apply the rules. In theory you are supposed to apply in your home country but this isn’t always enforced. The days when Expats living & working in Russia could hop over the border to Helsinki or Tallinn on a visa run may not be completely over, but it’s something of a lottery as to whether you’ll be lucky or turned away. Agencies can advise here but remember that they make a living by selling LOIs & their various add-on services so they are not exactly in the business of helping you to cut corners. The amount of information required when applying has increased recently, largely as a reciprocal response to Russians being required to jump through hoops to obtain certain visas. The UK is a prime example of this; since the British government insists on ALL visa applicants to the UK listing which countries they’ve recently visited and visiting a visa centre to have their fingerprints taken, the Russians decided to make Brits do the same. Unless your idea of fun is negotiating with Soviet-style consular staff (who generally look for problems rather than trying to solve them), it is highly advisable to use the services of a reputable agency for procuring visas. Granted, they don’t come cheaply – once you’ve factored in the Embassy fee, the LOI charge plus the agency’s service commission, it can run into several hundreds of dollars. However, if you value your time AND your sanity, you will trust me on this one. Every country has agencies who specialize in visas to CIS countries – almost all of these can also arrange other services that you may require, such as flights and hotel booking, airport transfers, 46 47 domestic flights, the use of an experienced interpreter whilst in Russia/CIS plus the translation of your company’s promotional materials into Russian. Avoid coming to Russia on a tourist visa if business is your primary reason for being in the country. Granted tourist visas are easier to obtain (a hotel booking should suffice, rather than an LOI), not to mention cheaper, and if you are simply attending a trade fair or a conference then you should be OK so long as you don’t do this repeatedly. However, arriving in a suit carrying a briefcase containing your firm’s promotional materials and some product samples may raise some suspicions upon arrival, and you may have some explaining to do if you are stopped. Having said that, arriving into Russia and clearing both immigration & customs is generally a fairly painless and swift experience, a world away from what it was like back in the chaotic days of the 1990s. All non-Russian and Belarusian citizens will be handed a small migration form (which is usually printed out on the spot for you at most Russian international airports); whatever you do, don’t lose it. It will be requested when you arrive at your hotel, and you will be asked to surrender it when you leave the country, regardless of what visa you are travelling on. Russia is currently in the process of implementing an e-visa scheme for selected nationalities to visit a few, specific parts of the country, namely St Petersburg (plus the surrounding Leningrad region), plus several territories in the Far East of the country. This is an attempt to boost tourist numbers, and shouldn’t be seen as a loophole for business travelers. Despite the existence of the CIS, there is no equivalent of the Schengen visa (and as for a single currency like the Euro, dream on) so you will need separate visas for visiting other, neighbouring countries. Fortunately, the entry requirements for most of these have eased up considerably in recent years. The problem is that hard facts can be difficult to source as certain CIS Embassies are particularly unhelpful and some visa agencies will try to sell you either a visa, or an LOI (or both) when in fact you no longer need one. See the individual country section 16 for more information on individual entry requirements, although the information provided should be used as a guide only, as every CIS country’s requirements vary and things can change without notice – and often do. CIS citizens may travel to each other’s countries visa free, making life easier when travelling with a Russian colleague or partner, or having a local representative in place who can simply jump on a plane at short notice. There are a few minor exceptions to the standard visa rules, such as some countries issuing visas upon arrival to citizens whose country doesn’t have an Embassy in their country. Nevertheless, in most cases you still need the LOI which needs to be pre-arranged, and you also run the risk of the airline staff not allowing you to board without a visa in your passport. Then, upon landing the consular officials may not be familiar with such procedures so expect delays. Summed up, you will save yourself a considerable amount of blood, sweat and tears by obtaining all the necessary visas in advance in your home country before you leave for a trip to the CIS, as these Embassies are more user-friendly. Oh, and before you bitch and moan about the hurdles that you have to jump over to get visas to come to Russia, spare a thought for CIS citizens when they apply for a visa to visit western countries. It can take weeks, and you often have to apply in person after having filled in pages of forms online together with copious accompanying documents. St Petersburg, Russia’s second city: St Petersburg is famous enough for cultural and historical reasons and does a considerably better job of attracting tourists than business people. Yet with a population close to 5 million, there is more to Russia’s second largest city than pretty buildings and museums. St Petersburg and the surrounding area, known as the Leningrad region (after the city’s name from Communist times) is in fact a key financial and industrial centre. Production ranges from pharmaceuticals, FMCG, medical equipment and chemicals to heavy machinery, automotive and military equipment, assisted in no small part by its strategic location giving easy access to the sea. Many international companies, particularly from Scandinavia use St Petersburg as a stepping stone into Russia and the CIS whereas others who began with Moscow have opened branch offices in St Petersburg given the city’s size and growth potential. The St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is a prestigious business event taking place every year since 1997 and brings together heads of state, political leaders, senior figures in the Russian government, and of course business people. In recent years the forum has taken on increased significance as Vladimir Putin addresses the delegates and Kremlin watchers analyze his opening speech for hints as to which direction the country may be heading. Usually held in early or mid-June, SPIEF’s key purpose is to provide an opportunity for the public and private sectors to collectively work together as one, and overcome 48 49 obstacles, which divide Russia and other nations. Following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014 and subsequent economic sanctions imposed, SPIEF has turned into a hot potato for foreign businesspeople and politicians alike. Show up and you face being accused of endorsing Mr Putin’s ‘aggression’, yet stay away and risk missing out on big investment deals. Many have opted for a midway point of sending a less-senior person along in their place, citing ‘more important’ matters back home or elsewhere, although anyone with any interest in Russia at a senior level should at least be aware of the prestige of this event.

www.forumspb.com – in English & Russian

Brand new Pulkovo airport (LED) is Russia’s 3rd busiest airport and has flights to all major cities within Russia, the CIS, and abroad. There are also frequent trains to Moscow, either on the Sapsan during the day, or overnight on a sleeper. The St Petersburg metro is Russia’s 2nd largest and an easy way to avoid the city’s traffic jams although careful if you suffer from vertigo as you descend as the stations are extremely deep. INTERMARK RELOCATION TIPS If you decide to take a job offer and move to Russia, it is easier to have a good relocation package. The key factors for a successful relocation are fast and safe moving, housing selection, leasing (or subleasing) contract agreement, and of course, visa and work permit registration. Going through this process can be excruciating and challenging experience. Based on our 26-year expertise, we selected the basic tips to make your move to Russia / CIS smooth and easy. To make it simple, we break it down into three most significant steps of any relocation – moving, home search and lease agreement. MOVING The road is always easier if you are traveling with a good map. Knowing when to get things done, and in what order, will put your mind at ease and prevent you from being overwhelmed by the details of a big move. Plan your move in advance Contact the moving specialists up to one month before you hope to leave even if you do not know exactly when the big day will be. They will tell you what they offer and what you need to plan for. This will help you organize your time and concentrate on the essentials.

Don’t pack everything yourself You can think that it’s a good way to save your money. In fact, you almost certainly would pay through the nose, as professional companies use a range of appropriate packing materials and employ trained staff to pack your things safely and in right way. And if you have antiques and artifacts with you, you will need someone with a proper experience to take a special care of it while moving. Decide what you really want to bring The less you have the cheaper it is to move. Start as early as possible and divide items into “keep”, “trash”, “recycling” and “donate”. Be ruthless! If you have not used it in a year (or forgot you even had it), then you do not need it. Another issue is import duties. Import customs duty in Russia is €4/ kg before tax. So think yourself – is it really cheaper to ship particular things and belongings from home or buy new here? HOUSING The rental market in Russia is still very young. In Soviet Russia, there were no high quality apartments or houses for rent. Nowadays, the majority of Russian people in big cities live in flats in residential blocks of different types. If you plan your relocation to Russia and are in a process of home-search, it is better to ask your HR coordinator or your relocation consultant to help selecting possible options. This will save you the trouble of contacting numerous real estate agencies, most likely complicating and duplicating the process and thus consuming your time and energy! What are the options? Most of housing options include three main types of buildings. Prerevolutionary houses are built before 1917; facilities and architectural features can be anything between beautifully decorated, reconstructed ones and shabby small houses. Stalin-era buildings mostly built in the period 1917-1950 and tend to have high ceilings, thick walls and big windows. Finally, modern buildings constructed after 1991 and favored by many expats for their good condition, security measures, underground parking and other facilities. Apartment sizes and features Most apartments even in Moscow are not very large – typically between 50 and 150 sqm. The number of rooms is an important factor influencing the price – for instance, if we take two apartments of a similar size, location and quality – the one that has more rooms will be more expensive. Smaller 50 51 apartments (up to 100 sqm) for rent are usually furnished, whereas larger ones are mostly offered for rent unfurnished. There is no defined market standard for what a furnished apartment must have, as it rather depends on the particular landlord. Renting Price We would say that rent price depends on the following key factors: location, security and parking features, standard of communal areas, infrastructure and amenities. Please keep in mind that most apartments in Russia belong to and are offered by private individual landlords who very often decide for themselves what they want to get for rent.

LEGAL AGREEMENT

When signing the lease, the parties need to use all their experience to provide important matters and avoid uncertainties that could prevent the long-term cooperation. If you have questions regarding specifics of legal agreements, we recommend you to look for a professional lawyer team.

Subject of agreement

It is important to write down all details of the deal - the exact address and boundaries of the property in lease. Are you planning to rent a furnished apartment? Do not forget to include an accurate list of furniture and household items provided by your landlord under the contract in order to avoid mutual claims upon termination or expiration of your agreement in the future.

Contract duration

Most lease agreements (both company and private) are concluded for 1 year. Of course, the tenant usually has the preferred right for contract extension, but the price may be reviewed by the landlord at the extension time. Speaking of agreement’s termination, the tenant can use this option if he informs his landlord 3 months before the planned move out. The landlord can’t cease the agreement unless the tenant breaks his contract obligations.

Payment and utility bills

All clauses of the contract relating to the rent terms and its amount must be as detailed as possible. A vague description of security deposit, damage compensations order and the currency in which the tenant makes monthly rent payments threatens undesirable disputes between the parties. Therefore, we recommend working out a step-by-step procedure for assessing and reimbursing the potential damage, indicating clear deadlines and responsibility for their failure. An early discussion of utility bills order of payment will also help you avoid future problems with your landlord. It is important not only to distinguish who pays for electricity, gas, water and other utilities, but also to establish the procedure for their payment or reimbursement. Moving to Russia and CIS can be challenging, therefore organizing your relocation in advance step by step is the best way to avoid stress and any potential difficulties in the process. Following the tips listed above may help you to find your ideal place to live and find time to explore Russia in its beauty. To make the experience of relocation to a totally new destination even more exciting and safe we recommend to choose a professional relocation consultancy with full range of services and years of exceptional professional experience. 52 53 V. The selection process: Foreign assignments vs hiring locally (recruitment and HR tips, plus Russians in the workplace) and settling into life in Russia Regardless of whether your company’s operation is looking to recruit its first person to run your business in Russia or you have had an office since the early 1990s and are simply in expansion – or reduction mode, you will nonetheless need to decide on whom to hire. There are no hard or fast rules about whether an Expatriate or a local is a better bet for the top job. This depends very much on your current situation, future plans and who your target audience is, in terms of customers. SMEs usually begin by visiting a trade fair and appointing a local distributor to represent them and promote their products but as the volume of business grows they realize that they need someone on the ground. Even one or even two visits a month simply isn’t sufficient for following up on leads, especially when they are outside of Moscow. Invariably they appoint a local national who speaks the language, is familiar with the territory and has some industry contacts. Such operations tend to remain small, occasionally not progressing much beyond a single sales representative or two working from home, or based at the office of a local partner. An Expatriate posted to Russia is viewed as a trusted pair of hands who is familiar with the internal functions of the firm (often having worked there for many years in various locations) and can help to instill the corporate culture to newly hired local staff, particularly in a larger operation. The benefit is that this person is deemed as highly trustworthy and won’t have his or her own agenda. The downside is that this individual usually arrives with little or no prior knowledge of the country and has to face the standard ‘this won’t work in Russia – Russia’s different’ from his local team. Regardless of the size of your existing or planned operation, if you are considering relocating an Expatriate employee from within your firm to Russia to either set up a new office or a particular line of business, there are a number of issues that you will need to take into account before departure. If the particular employee is a stranger to the CIS region, many employers wisely recommend an initial visit, known as a ‘look-see’ trip. Even if this person has been travelling regularly to the region, there is a world of a difference between spending a few nights a month in a top-end hotel and being ferried around by the company driver to actually living in an apartment, buying food in a supermarket, riding on the metro and having to handle other day-to-day issues that may arise – anything from the landlord showing up unannounced to waking up in the winter to find your car blocked in by a snowdrift. It is also advisable to bring your spouse with you at least once, so he or she can get some idea of what they are letting themselves in for. 54 55 The last thing you need is for an expatriate assignment to be terminated after only a few months as the employee’s better half can’t settle. If you do decide to relocate someone from abroad to work in Russia/CIS, it is absolutely crucial that the person is not only suitable on paper, but is prepared for the harsh realities of life in a former communist country. Just because one of your existing employees studied Russian history at University or has Polish grandparents does NOT automatically make them a perfect fit for the role. Whilst Moscow might appear as heaven on earth for single, straight guys (see chapter 11 for all the fun you can have out-of-hours), relocating with your wife and children presents certain challenges. Granted there are some spouses who have accompanied their Corp-pat husbands across the globe and rate Moscow as one of their best experiences amongst their various assignments. But it’s not a city for the faint-hearted as it can be bitterly cold for up to six months of the year – and then there’s the language barrier. Larger companies often have somebody in the Human Resources department who assists with such moves, helping you to get settled in. One of the many reasons why Expatriates take up assignments in Russia is thanks to the low level of income tax. Russia has a flat 13%, regardless of how much you bring in, which if you are a high earner can mean a lot of extra cash in your pocket every month, especially if you’re used to giving away half of your income to the taxman back home. Then, if your accommodation is paid for by your employer, Russia can be an excellent place to save, particularly if you are paid in a currency other than Rubles, after the recent devaluation. If this person is married, then the family accompany him (and to Russia/CIS, more often than not, it is indeed a ‘he’) as his assignments take him from country to country, with the wife known as a trailing spouse – although some firms prefer the more politically correct term, a ‘supporting spouse’. WHAT IS A ‘TRAILING SPOUSE’? The majority of large, multinational corporations like to maintain a modicum of control by sending in expatriates in for a few, key roles (usually the General Manager and/or the Finance Director). Many trailing spouses are comfortable with this arrangement as it allows them the opportunity to experience living amongst several different cultures although it does mean moving on very few years, sometimes when you’ve just found your feet. Finding somewhere to live in Moscow isn’t as easy as one might think; a shortage of living space in general pushes up prices to eye-watering levels. Even with the recent economic downturn there is a shortage of decent properties to rent at the high end and prices haven’t fallen by anywhere near as much as one might expect. This means that the market continues to favour landlords who conveniently (for them) are able to some extent dictate not only prices, but also terms of lease. Some trailing spouses find themselves in a dilemma when the husband is on a one-off assignment and his better half – who may well have a career of her own back home, has to give everything up to join him. Employment opportunities for trailing spouses in Russia are limited, largely due to lack of relevant experience and language skills, although many such ladies have kept themselves busy through a combination of charity and volunteer work. There are numerous real estate companies who will help you navigate this labyrinth and can advise as to the best areas for families, or closest to one’s office. For this you will pay a finders’ fee of at least one month’s rent, sometimes more, but then your agent effectively disappears and leaves you to it. Some are also able to arrange mini tours of Moscow, showing you round the various areas of the city so you can see for yourself before committing to a particular place. An English-speaking person (possibly even a long-term Expat) will accompany you with a driver and offer advice specific to your needs, which might include checking out the school where you plan for your children to attend. The range and quality of schools in Moscow has increased enormously in recent years, even though the better ones come at a price. With the recent exodus of many Expats, even the international schools may have a significant proportion of local children from wealthier families although this can help with your child’s assimilation to Russia. HIRING (& FIRING) LOCAL STAFF Some tips and advice for when hiring in Russia: Be clear about whom you want to hire, when and why, and avoid changing the job description mid-search. Be ready to make a quick decision – if you think you’ve found the right candidate, make an offer. If not, don’t be surprised if a week later your star candidate has already started another job with a rival firm. Notice periods in Russia are typically two weeks, so ensure that everything is ready for your new person to start. If you need to send your new person on a training course abroad, a 56 57 visa will almost certainly be required and this may take several weeks, so prepare for this in advance. Just because someone calls themselves a ‘manager’ doesn’t mean that they actually manage any people – job titles can be both misleading and inflated compared to what you are used to in your home country. Similarly, someone who calls themselves a ‘Director’ may not be anywhere as senior as you might think. Job titles and one’s status in general are important to Russians, and many will start their careers earlier, typically while they are still studying so a University graduate often comes with several years’ experience. Russians expect to be promoted more quickly than in the West, so when during an interview a candidate asks what the career path is, what they really mean is how long will it take for me to get promoted. Unemployment in Moscow is still relatively low by Western standards, and there is a severe shortage of English-speaking, customer-facing, presentable, pro-active people on the market. Don’t assume that you can just fly in and cherry-pick the best people for your organization, especially if your operation is in its early stages as Russians are relatively risk-averse to such ‘start-ups’, regardless of how large your operations are in other markets. Hard facts regarding pay scales can be hard to come by due to frequent economic changes, so any global salary data that you may have is often out of date before it’s even printed. Be flexible and be prepared to go outside of your bands for a strong person. Contrary to rumours you may have heard, relatively few companies index Ruble salaries against Dollars or Euros. Candidates generally expect a MINIMUM of a 20% uplift when changing jobs, regardless of how well the economy is faring. During tougher times it can in fact be MORE difficult to coax the best employees away so be prepared for greater increases than you would back home. Just because someone isn’t working at the moment doesn’t mean that they were fired, made redundant or are just plain lazy. Few Russians have mortgages or rent, so taking a month or three off work to spend the summer at the dacha isn’t viewed particularly negatively by prospective employers in Russia. 20% Russians aged under 30 will have no memory of the Soviet era and will only have heard rose-tinted stories from elderly relatives who recall the ‘good, old days’. Don’t expect Generations X & Y to have much, if any knowledge of this era. Even if someone is really keen to work for you, they probably won’t show it. Russians believe that demonstrating too much motivation during an interview makes them come across as desperate, so expect candidates to be ‘matter-of-fact’ about their achievements. Telephone interviews are not common in Russia. This might be the biggest country in the world but people meet face-to-face. Obviously if a line manager is based abroad then there may be no option but whereas no-one ever fully does themselves justice over the phone, this is particularly the case with Russians. Skype interviews are a good compromise in such cases. However, wherever possible avoid the need to fly a candidate abroad for an interview as this will severely delay the interview process, and for the same reason try not to have too many people based remotely involved in the decision-making process. Candidates in Russia/CIS generally quote their salaries monthly in local currency (unless otherwise indicated) and may give you the ‘net’ amount, which means after income tax has been deducted. If in any doubts, double-check as it’ll save you a lot of hassle down the line during the offer process, and don’t expect everybody to be familiar with terms such as OTE (On-Target Earnings) since bonus schemes can be rather fluid, particularly in Russian organizations. The office environment differs from back home in a number of ways, chiefly that Russians view work as a place to go, rather something that they actually do. The office is traditionally a place where trusted friendships are made, and even romances formed. The idea that people can work from home is a relatively new concept; when hiring people one of their first questions may be ‘where is your office located’? This is changing slowly, but flats are small so it’s not a case of simply converting a spare room into a mini-office at home as almost nobody has the luxury of so much space (many families sleep in the living room; the sofa converts into a bed at night). Therefore, be flexible about renting an instant office, or asking your local partner/distributor to find your person a desk if you are still in set-up mode. It is usual for Russians to hire family members, relatives and close friends, which is viewed as helping out trusted relatives. X Y Z 58 59 Russians see this as common sense, keeping control. Perhaps strangely, Russians seem happy to openly discuss their current salary with colleagues (so they will know if they are being over, or underpaid), friends and family. Even if you put a confidentiality clause into their contract, you cannot legally enforce it, and the same goes for a non-compete clause. ‘Gardening leave’ doesn’t exist, unless there is a gentlemen’s agreement, althoungh this is not common. Firing Do take advice from your legal and/or HR people if you need to let any of your employees go, regardless of the reason (underperformance, redundancy, etc). The Russian labour code is heavily weighted in favour of the employee so a director firing someone on the spot in a fit of rage is likely to end up paying for this dearly (both figuratively and in the financial sense) if the case does go legal. Ensure that you have everything in writing, fully documented and signed by both parties as e-mails do not (yet) constitute a legal document in a court of law. One trump card on the employer’s side is that every employee in Russia still has a labour book (trudovaya knizhka) which is a physical book that is kept by the company. Since no employee wants evidence that they were fired in this little book, most dismissals are settled ‘by mutual consent’ when both parties agree on a fixed amount for the contract to be terminated.

VI. Behavioral differences faced by Expats in Russia/CIS 60 61 Do’s and don’ts Don’t schedule early morning appointments unless they are with other foreigners. Moscow might be a 24-hour city but Russians don’t do mornings. Many offices don’t begin work until at least 10:00am, preferring to burn the midnight oil, which works in your favor given the time difference with Europe or North America. Breakfast meetings are not common in Russia; if you suggest meeting at seven thirty or eight, chances are that a Russian will think you mean seven thirty or eight in the evening, not morning. On this subject, don’t automatically assume that Russians are familiar with acronyms such as GMT, BST, CET, let alone EST & PST. Moscow and St Petersburg are three hours ahead of GMT, but Russia has experimented with not putting the clocks backwards/ forwards so the difference is sometimes two or three hours ahead for half of the year. Do double check as this is particularly vulnerable to change, and the same goes for other CIS countries. Finally, if you have operations in Siberia or the Far East of Russia, they will be many more time zones ahead of Europe; do take this into account before sending out an invitation for a regional conference call. Additionally, do expect Russians to take what you say at face value. ‘Call me anytime’ might sound like you’re simply being polite, but this could result in you being rung up on a Sunday morning, or at 10pm on a weekday evening (which incidentally isn’t considered late in Russia). Do re-confirm any appointments that you previously set up weeks or even days ago, the day before, or (even better) on the day of the meeting itself. Given the somewhat ad hoc nature of Russian business and the fast paced environment, it’s considered quite normal for meetings to be set up, moved or cancelled at the last minute. This can be done via the company reception or the person’s secretary if you don’t feel comfortable disturbing the person themselves. Reconfirming a meeting is known as a ‘kontrol’ny zvonok’, or a confirmation call. It is also a useful way of ensuring that a propusk has been ordered for you to enter the building, and if it hasn’t, it can be done at this point & will save you time upon arrival as security guards can become flustered when people arrive ‘unannounced’, particularly non-Russians. DO remember to bring some photo ID with you, preferably your passport or driving license or else your meeting may end up taking place in the office reception area. Don’t send a Russian an e-mail asking if you can telephone them in several days’ time (unless of course if it is a lengthy conference call or a telephone interview); just call them. If they are busy, they will tell you and you can quickly agree a time that works for both of you. Interrupting people isn’t really an issue on the phone – worst case, they won’t answer or their mobile will be switched off. Then you can e-mail them. Russians are not voicemail fans; few landlines and even fewer mobiles have this function, and even fewer Russians still will actually check them; if you don’t/can’t get through, it’s fine to send an SMS. On this subject, if you are from North America and you want a Russian to call you back, it would be helpful to add the +1 dialing code to the beginning of your number. Do bring a large stack of business cards with you, several times more than you think you’ll need. Invariably you will be introduced to additional people than those you were expecting to meet, such as other colleagues, partners or customers – be liberal when handing them out. Remember that coming to Russia without business cards is rather like going to a bar back home with no money. You’ll probably get a drink eventually, somehow, but you’ll struggle to be taken seriously. Even better if you can get them printed in Russian on the reverse side. Do greet people upon arrival at an office or business centre, although if you say ‘hello’ to somebody more than once per day, they will think that you forgot that you saw them earlier that day! Don’t believe everything that you read in the international media about Russia – come and find out for yourself. Chat to some Expats who’ve been in town for a while (not just those working for a multinational, blue-chip organisation, but also to those running their own businesses). They will give you more realistic insights into what’s going on than you’ll see on CNN or the BBC and you’ll see that it’s not all bad news by any means. Do take advice from people who have ‘been there and done it’, rather than people who think they have. ‘Yeah, I know all about Russia, I met this Bulgarian guy once who told me about it’ is similar to thinking you can become an astronaut after watching a few episodes of Star Trek. Don’t for a moment think that you are a pioneer just because you are embarking on your first trip to Russia. Sure, it’ll be cool to discuss with your friends in your local pub but Russia has been open to all for three decades. Do come out with a healthy dose of patience and a sense of humour, then explain to your head office that they need to learn to be comfortable with ambiguity. ! 62 63 Why Russians Don’t Smile? Alla Anastos D.M.D. – Dental Director at US Dental Care, Implantologist There are many explanations to why Russians don’t smile much. Most of them are based on the commonly accepted fact that smile in Russian communication is not a signal of courtesy. Russian smile is a sign of personal liking, sincere attitude and feelings, and not politeness. As the Dental Director at US Dental Care (Moscow) – a family oriented clinic that has been providing professional dental services by American Board Certified & Russian dentists since 1994 – I would also add another reason. In the USA, for example, people tend to take care of their teeth in advance, regularly do cleaning and check up. In Russia the situation is different. There is no such established culture. Sometimes patients come with very complicated cases, literally with no teeth and leave the clinic with a perfect smile. Numerous patients are actually shy to smile. We offer all kinds of general and cosmetic dentistry for such patients. Here, at US Dental Care, we strongly believe that preventive care is the key to dental health and a good smile. VII. Cultural differences, Russian superstitions & timekeeping 64 65 Contrary to how it may first appear, Russians are generally much more emotional than Westerners, and sometimes make decisions that on the surface can appear irrational to those of us with a more pragmatic mindset. (Russians think that emotionless, logical decisionmaking & long-term planning is plain boring). Emotions are much more likely to affect a Russian when making a decision than foreigners, who tend to take a more pragmatic approach. Changing jobs is a good example: a case in point is a candidate who has received a job offer that he plans to accept. All he has to do is formally resign, work out his notice period of two weeks and then start in his new company. Then along comes the counter-offer, when his existing employer faced with a valued employee walking out of the door, realizing that it will take considerable time, effort & money to replace this individual assume that it is better and easier to simply tell the guy how much you value him and offer him more cash to stay put. Back home we would rightly assume ‘if you thought I was that great, why didn’t you pay me this extra amount before’!? However, Russians are more likely to take an emotional view of the situation, thinking ‘wow, they not only love me but they’re even prepared to pay me more money – of course I’ll stay where I am’. The fact that the key reasons for wanting to change jobs in the first place were probably not money-related (evidence shows that people usually begin a job search for almost any other reason, be it that they don’t like the job itself, the office is too far from their home, they don’t see any potential promotion on the horizon, or – and this is the most common reason, that they simply don’t get on with their boss) fades away. Statistics reflect the truth that around 70% of people worldwide who accept a counter-offer leave within six months anyway as money wasn’t the main driver. Add to this the fact that as you’ve already demonstrated your loyalty (or rather, lack of it), some firms will pay you more to stay on, then quietly seek a replacement, and as soon as they have one lined up, will then give you the grand order of the boot. Be warned – as an employer, counter-offering is counter-productive (pardon the pun), and as an employee, accepting a counter-offer may seem like a wise move in the short term but definitely not a long term solution. Taking things personally is a very Russian trait – known as ‘obida’ (offence) and affects the way people work, particularly in sales. Russians are extremely reluctant to do anything that could be construed as unsolicited, such as making cold calls due to their fear of rejection which they will take to heart, almost as a personal insult. Add to this the fact that under communism nobody sold anything, and nobody bought anything either (at least not in the B2B sense) so Russia lacks a general sales culture. Concepts such as cross-selling and up-selling are alien to all but the most savvy salespeople. Don’t just show up assuming that it’s second nature because making a profit under communism was a crime that only evil capitalists committed (in theory at least). Networking for business or career purposes as we know it is not well established, and many Russians feel uncomfortable approaching people whom they haven’t met before in a non-social environment. Don’t expect too much from your staff here, and any guidance you can provide ought to prove invaluable. SUPERSTITIONS Even fully grown men will adhere to Russian superstitions – foreigners will be forgiven for any faux pas but it’s always useful to be aware some of the better known ones: In the workplace, Russians may be reluctant to forecast sales projections as they are worried that even mentioning it to someone before it is completed might jinx it (‘sglazit’), so you may find yourself having to ask more questions than you expected to get to the bottom of a project or sales campaign that is still in the pipeline. Similarly women may not announce that they are pregnant until several months into their pregnancy. Russians believe that it’s bad luck to shake hands, or in fact pass anything through the threshold of a door. If you leave home (or any building) and realize that you have forgotten something, it’s considered bad luck to return to fetch it. However, this can be atoned by looking in the mirror on the way out. Empty bottles should be placed on the floor, not left on the table (in practice this tends to happen in the home as one would expect the waiter in a restaurant to clear the empties – although in places where the service is a little on the slow side, you may see Russian guests doing this automatically). Celebrating Birthdays – or in fact any holiday or anniversary in advance of the actual date is considered bad luck. If someone’s Birthday falls on the weekend, colleagues at work would. celebrate it on the Monday afterwards, unlikely on the Friday before. Fortieth Birthdays are rarely celebrated as this date is considered unlucky. 66 67 If you step on someone’s foot by accident, you should let them step on your foot in return to avoid any future arguments – although this rule doesn’t apply on public transport. When giving flowers – and this is a ritual in Russia, be sure that the bouquet contains an odd number; an even number is for funerals. Flower sellers will know this but you would be wise to count as they may not know what occasion you are buying flowers for! Whistling inside any building deprives you of money. Sitting at the corner of the table means that you won’t get married (although this only applies to women, apparently). TIMEKEEPING There is a Russian expression ‘Pyat minut ne opazdanie’ (Five minutes doesn’t constitute being late), and given the traffic jams that you face in Moscow, this is understandable. Schedules are rather more fluid in Russia than in the West so showing up ten or even twenty minutes late is unlikely to raise many eyebrows, although it is considered courteous to call in advance and let them know that you’re en route, but stuck in traffic. A word of warning; meetings with senior government officials are likely to begin on time so it would be seen as bad form to arrive late. Even if they do show up late themselves, they will expect you to have arrived on time! Given the unpredictable nature of the traffic on the roads in Moscow, you should allow much more time for getting to meetings, particularly in the winter when snow and ice slow things down. Arriving early isn’t an issue, and in any case it can take time to actually get into a building as documents need to be checked, and in more remote locations the security staff may be unfamiliar with having foreign guests visiting and therefore may have difficulty deciphering your name on your ID if it isn’t written in Russian. This process at some larger state organizations can take a surprisingly long time (the overmanned security department need to justify their existence somehow, and some firms believe that this is part of their grandiose image, in the same way that an Oligarch surrounds himself with several bodyguards), and even longer if a propusk hasn’t been ordered for you. There is still a degree of paranoia about non-Russians visiting large, state-run companies and ordering a propusk could in fact take several days. Consequently if a meeting has been scheduled at short notice, or you are bringing along an additional colleague, it may be more convenient – and in some cases necessary, to meet in a nearby café or restaurant. Alternatively, if you have a local office in a convenient location, you can always invite your counterparts to your premises, it would be more convenient – and in some cases necessary, to meet in a nearby café or restaurant. Alternatively, if you have a local office in a convenient location, you can always invite your counterparts to your premises. Addresses can be a little deceiving as well as confusing. Since many new buildings have sprung up in recent years, rather than re-number all the existing buildings, the authorities chose a different tactic: adding additional numbers and letters, and there may be little logic as to the actual order. Google maps, SatNavs & their equivalents have assisted to a large extent, but again, allow additional time if the address looks ‘funny’. Bureaucracy continues to be the one of the greatest obstacles to running an efficient business in Russia. Basic tasks such as purchasing insurance or registering your car which in the West can be done on-line or by telephone often require a personal visit and probably during the working day. Applying for a new passport will require the holder to submit their documents in person, and this may involve a trip to the town where they are formally registered. While such procedures are slowly becoming simplified, often there is often no getting around having to take time off for such matters, and your flexibility (& understanding) will be required. Russians have a tendency to leave things until the last minute so don’t expect a little to be done each day or week unless you specifically arrange a call/meeting to discuss progress. Better still, set the deadline for the project much earlier than necessary to be on the safe side. Dress to impress – smart business attire is very much the order of the day (ie, suit, white shirt AND tie for men, skirt or dress for women), and you would be wise to err on the side of conservative, especially when meeting with government officials. It’s best to leave the pink shirt and the loud ties back in your wardrobe at home although the younger generation are more open to less formal styles. Casual Friday is becoming more popular but is not particularly widespread even though more men are now opting for the open collar & no tie look. 68 69 VIII. Language Language barriers and deciphering names Moscow is NOT Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore, where the business language is English. In Russia and many CIS countries, the business language is Russian. The number of Englishspeakers is certainly on the increase, but don’t expect or assume that everyone speaks English, even in Moscow as outside of grade-A offices, most don’t know more than the basics. Russian is spoken as a first or second language by approximately 300 million people throughout the world, although around 95% of these reside within the borders of the former Soviet Union, and some people’s fluency in Russian in certain CIS countries is now open to question. Large numbers of students came to the Soviet period especially during the 1970s and 1980s from fellow communist countries, as the education system was considered not only prestigious but was more advanced than where they were from. Subsequently Asians (Vietnamese, North Koreans, Mongolians, Chinese, Cambodians and even some from Laos), Arabs (Yemenis, Syrians and Egyptians), Africans (Ethiopians were numerous although a surprising number came from places such as Benin, Mali or Guinea Bissau) and of course Cubans returned home with a degree and in many cases a Russian wife too, continuing the language tradition. The Eastern Bloc countries were generally resistant to the teaching of the Russian language as it was forced upon them, although thanks to being in the same linguistic group, some Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians and citizens of the former Yugoslavia, many people there – especially the older generation still retain some knowledge even if they claim to have ‘forgotten’ everything they learnt in school. Romania and Hungary are the exceptions – knowledge of Russian there will get you close to nowhere. You will also find many Russians speakers in countries where immigrants have congregated, such as the USA and Israel. Many (although by no means all) of these people are Soviet Jews who left during communist rule, or at the very end of the Soviet Union. Add to this the estimated several million non-Jews who have emigrated in the past generation, mostly to the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and Germany, the latter often being ‘Volga Germans’ who claim to retain some German roots. In fact, most first world cities will now have a diaspora of Russian speakers, ranging from some who have immigrated to others who are they for a shorter period, typically for work or study. So Russian is a more widely spoken language than it may first appear, spoken by many nationalities throughout the globe and therefore Russians are not surprised when they hear non-Russians 70 71 speaking Russian. Nevertheless they are not accustomed to Westerners being familiar with their language for the simple reason that so few actually are even able to hold a simple conversation, let alone master it. The majority of Expats in Russia are either on a business trip, a short-term project or a fixed term contract of 3-4 years whilst being confined to mixing with fellow nationals during their entire stay. They live a stone’s throw away from their downtown Moscow office where the staff speak at least some English, or in a compound filled with other foreigners. Even their driver knows enough to get them around, so it’s no surprise that they rarely pick up more than a few phrases since as soon as their time is up, they know that they’ll be posted elsewhere (or sent back home). Therefore it’s no surprise that few make more than a token effort, despite some starting out with the best of intentions upon arrival. To begin with, Russian is a tricky language with a fiendishly complex grammar – there are 108 different endings for regular nouns, and whilst the number of exceptions might not quite outweigh those that follow the rules, it sure feels like it to anyone trying to memorise them. Even a dedicated student taking daily lessons over a three year period (plus interaction with locals inside and outside of the office) is unlikely to get much past conversational/intermediate level. There are however a few bright spots. Unlike English, which is fairly basic to begin with, but gets harder the further you advance, Russian actually does become easier once you’ve hit a certain point – the difficulty is that disappointingly few ever reach that level. Russian is phonetic, meaning that letters are pronounced as you see them. Once you’ve mastered the Cyrillic alphabet, you can now read Russian. Pity foreigners trying to read British place names, such as Leicester, Slough, Worcester or Loughbrough! Additionally there are fewer regional variations to Russians, so what you hear in Kamchatka will be almost identical to what is spoken in Kaliningrad, Kalmykia or even Kazakhstan. There are minor regional dialects, such as Muscovites drawling their ‘o’ to sound more like ‘a’ so their city sounds more like ‘Maaaskvah’ but compared to how people from Scotland, Texas, Liverpool, South Africa, Jamaica and Birmingham speak English, difference in accents throughout the CIS are nominal. And it may also come as a surprise to hear that the Russian language is extremely standardized, given the country’s vast size and varied ethnic groups. What you’ll hear from all walks of life is almost identical, especially when you compare it to how differently an Australian miner and a London Newsreader would communicate. Please don’t take this as a sign that you shouldn’t bother to even try to learn Russian – quite the opposite! It will make your life a whole lot easier if you can actually read the street signs (many of which are in Cyrillic only) and can communicate with taxi drivers, staff in shops, ticket offices and some provincial hotels, where you will be lucky if even basic English is spoken. Russians will always be impressed if you’ve taken the time & effort to learn a few words and phrases of their language (even if you have to switch into English quite quickly) and will invariably be more helpful than if you just start off straight away in English. Although each CIS Republic has its own official language, Russian remains very much the language of business, politics and academia throughout the region, rather like English on the Indian subcontinent or French throughout much of West Africa. Although there has been some anti-Russian sentiment coupled with a growth in homegrown nationalism in a few countries, most non-Russian peoples of the CIS will only be too happy to speak to you in Russian (particularly if they know that you are not Russian). If you look Caucasian and speak Russian fluently then it may even be assumed that you ARE Russian. Russian, especially spoken Russian uses considerably fewer words than English, so saying ‘there is a cup of tea on the table’ in Russian would simply be ‘na stole – chai’, literally ‘on table – tea’. So when Russians speak English they may sound more abrupt than they mean to, and non Russian-speaking foreigners who hear Russians talking to each other could be forgiven for thinking that they are always arguing. However, written texts in Russian are often much wordier than they are in English. During conversations, be prepared to hear ‘sorry for interrupting’ and the person will continue speaking. Tune into a Russian live debate show on TV and you’ll get the idea! An example of a cultural and linguistic misunderstanding: a European company was looking to hire a General Manager for their Moscow office and decided to meet the first candidate faceto-face one morning in their hotel during a business trip to Moscow. ‘Vladimir’ was introduced to the Europeans and was asked if he would like to join them for breakfast. Vladimir simply answered ‘no’! What Vladimir 72 73 actually meant was ‘no to breakfast’ as he’d presumably eaten at home before the interview as he simply expecting an interview in the hotel lobby, perhaps over a cup of tea, not a full breakfast. Of course the correct answer would have been something along the lines of ‘well, I wasn’t expecting breakfast so I ate at home but I’d love to join you for a coffee!’ but this is rather long winded for Russians. Vladimir certainly didn’t mean to be rude, but the Europeans took this as a blunt rejection and not surprisingly Vladimir didn’t get the job. The moral here is that Russians don’t use wishy-washy expressions such as ‘not really’ when in fact they mean ‘no’, especially if their English isn’t great. Russians tend to read and write English much better than they speak it, largely due to the education system in Russia, coupled with a lack of general practice. Therefore, when speaking to Russians in English, avoid excessive use of slang of colloquialisms; best to park them on the back burner, if you catch my drift or else you could be barking up the wrong tree. Without wanting to sound condescending, stick to plain, easy to comprehend English, especially if you have a strong accent (Russians tell me that the Scottish are particularly difficult to understand). An example – in English, we say ‘yes, it is’, or ‘no, it isn’t’ whereas in Russian it is perfectly acceptable to say ‘yes, it isn’t’ or ‘no, it is’. And whereas Russians generally give shorter answers, this leads to situations where yes means no, or vice versa. Don’t be afraid to question anything that you are not sure about, especially if you don’t hear the answer that you are looking for. It’s best not to ask ‘do you mind doing’ as Russians will answer ‘yes’, meaning that ‘no, they don’t mind’! Bear in mind that if a Russian hasn’t understood you, it is highly unlikely that he or she will actually say so and ask you to repeat or explain - this is the Asian side of Russians; not wanting to lose face by admitting that they didn’t get it first time. Add to this the issue that Russians rarely volunteer information that they consider to be in the slightly bit superfluous, so expect to ask more questions that normal to get the required answer. The patronymic name is used in formal documents as well as when addressing older and/or more senior Russians (note that ‘Mr’ or ‘Mrs’ plus the person’s surname is not common in Russia). Younger people, and especially those who consider themselves to be more international generally omit the patronymic in everyday situations, such as on business cards. Surnames (called ‘familiya’ in Russian) end in ‘ov’, ‘skiy’ or ‘in’ for men, and ‘ova’, ‘skaya’ or ‘ina’ for women. Also common are surnames ending in ‘ich’, ‘ko’ and ‘iuk’ especially for people of Ukrainian or Belarusian descent, for either sex. Surnames of Armenian origin almost always end in ‘yan’ and Georgian in either ‘vili’ or ‘adze’, for either sex. In formal documents, such as passports Russians begin with their surname followed by the name and then their patronymic. On business cards and on CVs however, they often put their name followed by their surname – but not always. Do note that there is no perfect way to transliterate Cyrillic into Latin so you will come across several spellings of the same name, such as Sergei or Sergey, Ludmila or Lioudmila and Evgeny or Yevgeniy. You will also find that some Russians have ‘Westernised’ their names, especially if they have lived abroad as they assume it makes life easier for non-Russians. Examples include Helen for Elena, Julia for Yulia, Kate or Catherine for Ekaterina and Eugene for Evgeny. Both Alexander and Alexei just shorten to Alex. Some pronunciation tips: The letter ‘e’ in Russian is typically pronounced as ‘yeh’ (especially at the beginning of the word) so Elena would be pronounced as Yel-yena and Evgeny as Yev-geny. Also, unstressed ‘o’ is pronounced more like ‘ah’ (especially in & around Moscow) so Oleg would call himself Ah-lyeg. Here are some of the more common first names, together with the more colloquial form – which isn’t necessarily shorter. The best advice would be to stick to the full form unless introduced, or otherwise asked to use the more familiar form (much as you would do in English). RUSSIAN NAMES Have you ever wondered why Natalia and Natasha can be the same person, yet Alexander and Alexey are not? Is Valery really a man’s name? Which way around do Russians write their names and what on earth is a patronymic, anyway?! To make life a little easier, here is a guide to Russian names. Which way around do Russians write their names and what on earth is a patronymic, anyway?! To make life a little easier, here is a guide to Russian names. In Western countries we typically have a first name, a surname with perhaps one or more middle names. Russians have a first name, a patronymic and a surname. MY NAME IS 74 75 Fortunately for newcomers, there are around twenty first names (called ‘imya’ in Russian) for the bulk of the population – a list of the most common names, plus the shortened version is given below. A patronymic name (called ‘otchestvo’ in Russian) is basically the person’s father’s name with – ovich (or sometimes –evich) for males, and –ovna (or sometimes –evna) for females. So Andrei whose father is Vladimir would be Andrei Vladimirovich and Tatiana whose father is Alexander would be Tatiana Alexandrovna. MALE FEMALE Full Alexander Alexey Artyom Boris Dmitriy Evgeniy Fyodor Gennady Georgiy Ivan Konstantin Mikhail Maxim Pavel Roman Sergei Stanislav Timur Valentin Valery Victor Vladimir Vladislav Vyacheslav Yuriy Full Alexandra Anastasia Anna Daria Ekaterina Elena Elizaveta Evgeniya Galina Irina Ksenia Liliya Ludmila Lyubov Margarita Maria Nadezhda Natalia Olga Polina Sofiya Svetlana Tatiana Valentina Valeriya Victoria Yuliya

Lyera Vika Yulia Sasha Lyosha Tyoma Borya Dima Zhenya Fedya Gena Gosha Vanya Kostya Misha Max Pasha Roma Seryozha Stas Tima Valya Valera Vitya Volodya or Vova

(not Vlad)

Vlad Slava Yura Sasha Nastia Anya Dasha Katya Lena Liza Zhenya Galya Ira Ksyusha Lilya Lyuda or Mila Lyuba Rita Masha Nadya Natasha Olya Polya Sonya Sveta Tanya Valya Shortened Shortened 76 77 IX. Doing business part 1 First impressions, breaking the ice and general corporate etiquette in the office You don’t need to be a genius to work out that the Russian economy remains heavily dependent on natural resources, and in particular, oil & gas. Vladimir Putin’s ascent to power coincided with a rise in the price of what comes out of the ground, thanks to a combination of factors, ranging from increased demand (helped in no small part by massive production output in neighbouring China). These petrodollars have funded unprecedented economic growth since the start of the twentieth century following the Ruble default in August 1998, which battered the economy. The main blip was the crash of early 2009 although Russia’s economy rebounded much more quickly than western markets. However, the dual shock of the fall in the world price of oil, coupled with international sanctions in 2014, plus a general negative view of Russia caused the economy to fall into a recession from which is has yet to fully emerge. The profits used from the sale of Russia’s resources fueled this growth, and living standards have risen substantially over the past two decades. Skeptics naturally questioned how sustainable this economic model is in even the medium term, since not only are there huge opportunities for grand-scale theft from the state budget, there has been little incentive to produce much, let alone innovate or reform loss-making industries. Much easier just to buy stuff from abroad, and the response is now a loud ‘I told you so’, even if the State prefers to blame outside interference for economic difficulties. Critics claim that this is the whole point, that it is corruption which keeps the system intact. There is a Russian expression from communist times: ‘Ryba gneyot s golovy’ which loosely translates as ‘a fish rots from the head downwards’ meaning that the corruption begins at the top, which still applies today. Too few state enterprises have been sufficiently reformed to be able to compete with either cheaper goods from China, or better quality products from more established European, North American or Far Eastern countries. There are large numbers of oneindustry towns in Russia which are heavily over-staffed and the standard of their output is questionable at best. They are kept afloat by government subsidies as well as trade barriers that make some imported goods prohibitively expensive. Such practices ought to be coming to an end now that Russia has joined the WTO but progress is slow. Regardless of what you think of the people in the Kremlin, for those enterprising foreign business people, the lack of decent, 78 79 locally produced goods (and services) creates ample opportunities for their companies who want to export to Russia. Russians like brands and are prepared to pay a premium for what they perceive to be quality; the mark-ups in shops can be horrendous when compared to what you would pay for the same items in Western Europe or North America. Starbucks wasn’t nicknamed ‘Ten Bucks’ for nothing. In short, Russians like expensive, which they perceive to be associated with high quality, Russians like things for free (known as ‘khalyava’ in Russian), but they don’t like cheap. Bottom line is that whilst the average Russian consumer is certainly becoming more price-conscious, low-end is viewed as shoddy, particularly in Moscow. One interesting feature of the retail trade is the arrival of promotions and discounts, something which hadn’t existed until fairly recently. The past few years have seen living standards remain static, so Russian consumers have become savvier, and more cost-concious. As a rule however, Russians don’t see the logic of saving money for a rainy day . There is not much of a culture of putting money aside for the future, and with good reason; large numbers of people saw their entire life savings effectively rendered virtually worthless with the onset of hyperinflation at the end of the Soviet Union. Then again after the default of 1998, rampant inflation resulted in many financial institutions going bankrupt and once again wiping out just about everything that wasn’t held in hard currencies. Certainly some trust in the banking system has been regained but the culture of spending what you have as soon as you get it remains. Note how many lower-end employees withdraw their entire month’s salary from the nearest ATM machine as soon as they receive it. Under communism if you didn’t buy it today, it almost certainly wouldn’t be there tomorrow, and this trait among Russians remains to this day even if shortages are a thing of the past. Add to this the fact that Russians’ outgoings (only a minority of Russian rent, have a mortgage or even have bank loan repayments) are small as even utility payments are nominal, especially by Western standards. Therefore you have a country full of people with disposable incomes who cannot buy everything that they want made locally, so the door for manufacturers from abroad opens up. Summed up in a sentence, Russians do business face-to-face, with whom they like, and with whom they trust. It’s not about having the flashiest presentation, or even the best product – what Russians want you to demonstrate is that you are taking them, their company and their country seriously. You may be surprised to hear that cost efficiency might not be your prospective customer’s main interest. Regardless of how big, profitable, impressive and well-branded your company is back home, or in other markets, the Russians that you meet will primarily be interested in what you have achieved so far in Russia itself, what you are currently doing and what your future plans are. It goes without saying that nobody enters a market with the intention of leaving but companies have arrived in Russia with the best of intentions, only to shut up shop after the global HQ changed their business strategy and decided to focus on other markets. The ‘legacy’ that they left behind hinders others, new entrants as it is often, regrettably assumed that they are only here for the good times. Whilst naturally you will want to maximize the time you spend in the country, especially if you only visit once or twice a quarter, one word of caution – avoid trying to cram in as many meetings as possible in a short trip. Russians are not usually as pressed for time as Westerners claim to be, and if they have taken the trouble to meet you, allow them the courtesy of a decent meeting. Usually you will find that the serious talking gets done first, and once business is taken care of, then you can move in to some lighter conversation. The people that you meet will no doubt be interested to hear how you like Russia, your impressions, whether or not it is your first visit and how you find their country. Avoid being negative – Russians are all too aware of their country’s shortcomings and will happily bitch about it, but will be deeply offended if they hear it from you, and will take it as a personal insult. As a result, expectations can be lower, summed up by the expression ‘pyerviy blin vsegda komom’ (the first pancake always comes out lumpy) so if things don’t go according to plan immediately, it might not be the end of the world for you. The exceptions to the rule about moaning are the weather, and the traffic – which everybody complains about continuously. Sport in general and football (soccer) in particular is a good topic for conversation as Russian men enjoy watching the top European leagues, and you can never go wrong with holidays and families, as is the case throughout the world. 80 81 Men will always shake hands with each other, although women do less often, particularly with each other. Don’t worry about initial awkward silences, and don’t feel that you have to talk just for the sake of it. Business meetings tend to be quite formal affairs, particularly in the early stages when you are dealing with people who don’t know much about you. Chances are that they will warm to you if they like both you as a person and your proposal, but instant chemistry isn’t common. The Russian equivalent of ‘breaking the ice’ is ‘melting the ice’. Whereas Russians aren’t particularly bothered if you show up a little late for a meeting, it is considered rude to abruptly finish a meeting that is in full flow (or even during the non business related conversation at the end) as you are rushing out to the next meeting. Russians are likely to consider such behavior as bad mannered, assuming that you are only interested in making money out of them, and aren’t actually interested in them as a person or a company. Schedule meetings accordingly, allowing much more time than you would normally allocate, and not just for the traffic. If you are in a genuine hurry, it is advisable to make the people aware of this at the start of a meeting, saying that you only have an hour as you need to get to the airport and are concerned about missing your flight. If your company is well established in Russia and has a reasonable-sized operation in Moscow, there is a good chance that you will be exposed to corporate life in a Russian office. During communist times, people were effectively paid for showing up to work, and although incentive schemes existed in theory, employees were paid more or less an identical sum regardless of either quantity or quality of output. Add to this the fact that your standard of living was not linked so much to your ability to pay (ie, how much you earn – as it is in the West) but rather to your access to goods & services. Most of these were not available in shops, which were largely devoid of anything that people wanted to buy anyway. The result was a massive, informal economy based on a system of favours via connections which bypassed the formal sector. Insurance companies have struggled to make inroads into the Russian market, largely due to Russians being a fatalist bunch. Until car insurance became compulsory, many Russians thought that buying insurance was pointless. I have heard ‘if I make monthly payments and my car hasn’t crashed or been stolen, then I’ve wasted my money. And if I did lose my car, then it was meant to be’. Fate (‘sud’ba’) is something that even seemingly sensible people believe strongly in, such as if they have a minor car crash on the way to a job interview, then it obviously wasn’t meant to be the job for me. Russians are fiercely loyal to their family and their close friends, which to outsiders can be perceived as a little strange. Since relationships are based largely on trust, it is not unusual for a manager to jump ship to a competitor and take part, or all of his team with him when leaving. The company itself is almost a secondary consideration. The office environment can appear very relaxed to outsiders, sometimes too much so, with a poor work ethic since employees spend time chatting with colleagues over tea and staring into their phones while on social networking sites. The ‘sandwich at your desk’ style of lunch is unusual in Russia (partly because sandwiches aren’t hugely popular); people will either leave the office in small groups for a ‘business lunch’ – a set menu in a nearby restaurant or in the office canteen, if there is one. Some firms subsidize this or have their own canteen, especially in production facilities located far from any hives of activity. Some employees bring food with them from home, purchased nearby, or from one of an increasing number of delivery services, but they will nonetheless eat together. Lunchtime is a fairly fluid time, and lunch itself could be taken anywhere between noon and 4pm. Aggressively trying to change such behavior is likely to be counter-productive and result in demotivated employees, and eventually people resigning. It is considered fairly normal for Russians to quit their job without having a new employer lined up – few, particularly in Moscow have a fear of losing their job thanks to low unemployment; they know that someone will soon hire them, even if they underperformed in their last position. Rather, take time to get to know your employees; join them for lunch or a chat over tea as your Russian staff will value being valued, particularly by a senior employee from abroad. There appears to be little, if any stigma in colleagues dating, even when one or both parties are married, or one reports directly to the other. Russians take a liberal view on such as matters such a boss being romantically involved with a subordinate who is half his age, even if similar actions in your home country are at best frowned upon, and at worst can trigger lawsuits. In downtown Moscow and other large CIS cities, you cannot fail to notice the number of expensive cars on the streets, which are seen as the ultimate status symbol, especially for men. 82 83 A guy driving a top-of-the range high-end vehicle will be assumed to have ‘made it’ in life, even if he had to take out a serious bank loan to finance this purchase and continues to live in a one-room, rented apartment on the outskirts of town with his mother! The equivalent for women would be a mink fur coat, followed closely by boutique clothes, shoes, designer handbag, make-up and jewelry. You only need to take a brief look at the structure of the Russian government (and pretty much all of the CIS countries too, for that matter) to see that it’s a very top-down system. What the big guy at the top says, goes and if you know what’s good for you, you don’t question it and you certainly don’t argue. This is a similar situation throughout the country, be it local government, or Russian companies, both big and small. In the same way that Mr Putin often appoints many regional governors whose key criteria is unwavering loyalty to him, a company owner or Director will similarly appoint trusted subordinates in key positions; often long-time friends or even members of his own family. This is particularly the case in organizations that are fully or partially state-owned and managed. Delegation is not Russians’ strength, partly down to lack of trust towards outsiders, but there are of course plusses and minuses to this. The individual who heads up a particular organization is by and large responsible for everything, even at a micro-level. While this can delay the decision-making process, there is the advantage that if you are able to meet the person in charge, you will avoid going through layers of middle-level managers who don’t decide anything at all and will be frightened to take any initiative. RUSSIANS ARE VERY IMAGE CONSCIOUS FOR THINGS WHICH MATTER TO THEM – REMEMBER THE SPRITE ADVERT WHICH RAN THE SLOGAN ‘IMAGE IS NOTHING, THIRST IS EVERYTHING – OBEY YOUR THIRST’? NOT SURPRISINGLY IT FLOPPED IN RUSSIA, WHERE IMAGE IS EVERYTHING – EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIRST. Perhaps surprisingly, cold calling works rather well in Russia – secretaries are more likely to be administrative assistants than gatekeepers, and often when someone calls up in English, they assume it is somebody important and put the call through (it might also just be that they don’t speak English particularly well, and just want to get rid of you). Add to this the fact that it is less common for senior executives in Russia to be called up. It is certainly worth a try; you’ll be surprised as to how effective it can be, even though it might take some people that you contact a little while to work out what you want and why. Following up your call with an e-mail is also advisable given that Russians tend to read & write English better than they might speak it. 84 85 Welcome to Rosinka International Residences! We are a luxury gated community of rental family homes. Rosinka spreads over 134 acres of beautifully landscaped gated territory, with a private lake, indoor tennis courts, Olympic sized indoor swimming pool, large athletic complex, restaurants, walking trails, skate park, dog park and many other amenities. All houses have a two car garage. We are located just outside of Moscow, a few minutes from the nearest metro station. On site is the world renowned International School of Moscow, operated by Nord Anglia Education, offering contemporary British international education from Early Years through to secondary school. Our young residents can walk, bike or scooter to school safely without adult supervision. When the snow comes, Rosinka transforms into a winter wonderland and the children can enjoy a sleigh ride to school. Our strictly imposed 20 km/h speed limit allows for peace of mind for parents and children alike. As an enclosed and safe community, children can play and visit freely with their friends and schoolmates without worry and the hassle of travel. Rosinka is truly the unparalleled choice for families with school-aged children. Rosinka hosts over 350 families from more than 30 countries around the world. The spirit of community distinguishes Rosinka through the atmosphere of companionship. With cultural events, sports tournaments, fishing, exhibitions, children’s activities, and more than 20 resident clubs, Rosinka truly offers something for everyone. Our English speaking concierge is available 24/7 to make sure you always feel welcome and comfortable. We look forward to welcoming you and your family to your new home. +7 985 998 05 85 +7 916 900 05 13 rosinkarentals@gmail.com www.rosinka.ru 86 87 X. Doing business part 2 Next steps, negotiations, legalities and dealing with corruption Let’s start with what is foremost on your mind as you consider doing business in Russia. CORRUPTION Is corruption a major problem in Russia? The simple answer is both yes and no. Much depends on your particular line of business and your plans. Russia features high on international corruption indexes and in many respects deservedly so. However, corruption issues affect foreigners considerably less that the global media would have you believe. Much of the ‘corruption’ so to speak which affects Russians on a daily basis is petty – small bribes handed to low-level state employees who are badly paid and use their position of power as a Little Hitler to supplement their meager income, be it allowing someone to jump the line, receive better treatment in a hospital or ensure that repairs are done to their home properly, and more quickly. To what extent you can call this corruption is questionable; it doesn’t always take the form of a cash payment as it could be a box of chocolates or a bottle of Russian champagne given as a ‘thank you’. Everyone is fully aware of how little most people in government jobs earn and even with recent wage hikes, it’s not enough to live well on, so such gifts can make the difference between mere survival and some level of comfort. Putin’s opponents claim that this is all part of the masterplan, to keep everyone under control by expanding the number of public sector jobs, paying those workers a pittance, effectively forcing them to make ends meet by accepting bribes for essentially doing what they are supposed to do. In this way, they are frightened into toeing the line or face the sack for corruption. Inevitably some people are given their marching orders for this reason, although it’s often more to do with colleagues settling scores and/or advancing their own careers. It can even look good as Russia can say to the world ‘hey everybody, we’re fighting corruption; look at these people we’ve ousted’. Fortunately foreigners, even those living and working in Russia are largely sheltered from the hassles of dealing with petty officials who drag their feet in the hope that you will give them a little ‘present’ to speed things up. There is of course a lot of corruption at the top end of government, where appointments are made more on the basis of who you know rather than what you know. This so-called ‘jobs for the boys’ comes back to the issue of trust – any allegations of nepotism would 88 89 be countered by a Russian, saying ‘what, you want me to appoint someone that I don’t even know into this crucial role?! Why take the risk, when I have Mikhail here, whom I studied with at University and we worked together in our previous company. I trust him to get the job done’. Another reason why foreigners are less likely to be exposed to the worst aspect of corrupt practices in Russia is that these tend to involve embezzlement from the state budget when large projects come up for tender. Trust, (‘doveriye’) is a crucial factor when dealing with Russians. In the West we tend to automatically trust people when first meeting them, unless there is good cause not to do so, although even then we tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Seven decades of communism taught Soviet citizens to trust nobody apart from those closest to them, and to be naturally suspicious of outsiders. If your potential or existing Russian partners or customers suggest meeting up outside of the office, for example out for dinner, or even to visit a banya, you would be foolish not to take them up on the offer. For starters, it’s likely to be a great experience, but this is the Russian ‘getting to know – and trust you’ phase – see it as a Russian-style of due diligence, if you might. Fortunately, whether you are simply coming to Russia to sell your company’s products, or looking to set up production facilities, your main hassle is likely to be insurmountable piles of red tape, which in itself sometimes presents opportunities for corruption. In fact most Russians don’t really know how to approach foreigners in such a way, so bribing opportunities are likely to come in the form of a hint, such as ‘to receive this permission will take several months, but there is a quicker way, although it will cost a little more’. Of course you don’t need me or anyone else to insult your intelligence by telling you that the golden rule is never to engage in practices that could even be considered as anything other than ‘white’ as this will be just the beginning of a very slippery slope. You may win the initial battle but you will almost certainly end up losing the war. Few things in Russia are completely black or white – there are of course plenty of grey areas; an increasing number of multinational organizations have zero tolerance policies on accepting ‘gifts’ from suppliers; not so much a brown envelope stuffed full of cash but even a simple lunch or a calendar at Christmas. Russians rightly view this as petty, but for clarity’s sake you would do well to make it clear from the outset that due to corporate policy you cannot pay for, or accept anything – to save face on all sides, blaming your company’s headquarters is an easy way out, saying that they don’t understand Russia. Older Russians, and those less exposed to outsiders may struggle with the concept of a win-win scenario, assuming that if you are happy with the deal, then they have negotiated badly. Negotiating anywhere in the world is an art in itself, but takes on a particular significance in Russia as your counterparts want to see what you’re made of. Toughness is admired even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time; then there is the expression in Russian ‘proverka na vshivost’; seeing if you stand up to the test. Remember how even at the height of the cold war, the Soviets respected Margaret Thatcher since they viewed her as sticking to her guns. By comparison, Russians view most Western leaders nowadays as wimps, pandering to minority politics and not sticking up for their majority. THERE IS A FAIR DEGREE OF TRUTH IN THE QUOTE: ‘RUSSIA IS A LOUSY PLACE TO DO BUSINESS BUT A GREAT PLACE TO MAKE MONEY!’ Then there is the concept of ‘molchaniye – znak soglasiya’ (silence means approval) which can cause confusion as in the West we believe that if someone doesn’t reply to you then they either haven’t understood you, or more likely didn’t hear you. Again, do double-check but it often happens that if you ask someone to do something, they may simply start doing it without saying ‘yes’ or ‘OK’. Russians can make decisions in business that can strike westerners as illogical at best, and completely irrational at worst, generally based on impulsive emotion rather than any sense of pragmatism. A good example of this is the recent fall in demand for top-end apartments in downtown Moscow following the slide in the oil price, and the ruble crash/default which triggered an exodus of foreigners. Owners of flats that were previously being rented out for $10,000 suddenly found themselves with no takers as senior Expats left town and Russians downsized to cheaper options. A sensible approach (at least in our eyes) would be to find a taker who was ready to pay, say $8,000 a month, as eight grand might not be ten, but it’s certainly better than nothing. The Russian landlords’ view would be that this tenant is physically thieving two thousand bucks out of my pocket, so the majority are likely to remain empty until the market rebounds. This is 90 91 a fairly typical example of how Russians operate in business; even grown men in senior positions can change their mind on a whim, for no logical reason that any rational person can fathom. A FAMOUS QUOTE THAT RUSSIANS ADMIT SUMS UP THEIR COUNTRY IS ‘UMOM ROSSIYU NE PONYAT’ WHICH ROUGHLY TRANSLATES AS ‘THERE’S NO LOGICAL WAY TO UNDERSTAND RUSSIA’. Russia is plagued by a massive, overburdening bureaucracy, which some economists believe knocks several percentage points off the country’s GDP every year. Much of it is a hangover from the Soviet period where terms such as efficiency and profit didn’t exist, and there is rarely little if any logic as to why it is in place – other than possibly to provide employment. As a result, a massive service industry has formed to help ease you through the myriad of forms and officialdom that you will encounter, and this often seems to be done with official blessing. Visit any Moscow railway station (especially in the summer months) and you will see endless lines of people waiting to buy tickets, despite it now being possible to buy them online. Yet every station also has a Service Centre around the corner where for a ‘service charge’ of a few hundred Rubles per ticket you will be dealt with as efficiently as if you were visiting a travel agency, with no waiting. Of course it will be of no surprise to any Russian that this Service Centre is almost certainly owned, run or managed by the relative or friend of the railway station director. Whether you need your products imported, transported, or customs-cleared, your corporate literature translated into Russian, legal services, hiring local staff, payroll and accountancy outsourcing, finding an office, apartment or school for your kids or even just classes for you to learn a little Russian, there are plenty of firms to choose from who will help you. Most recognized international firms are well represented in Moscow, and quite possible also in regional cities plus some key CIS countries, but many others are not, or perhaps have a loose affiliate, franchise or partnership agreement with a local firm. Before engaging a supplier you would be wise to check out the nature of their CIS operation, how long they have been operating here, how big they are, who their client base consists of and whether or not you feel comfortable working with them. One word of warning; whilst many multinationals will have preferred-supplier agreements in places with service providers globally, I would strongly advise against engaging anyone who is not well established in Russia/CIS and genuinely knows what they’re doing. Unless you want to be used as a learning curve for one of your suppliers, you will make your life a whole lot smoother by working with someone who knows the local market, even if they are less well known in your home country. You can of course always try to do it yourself, although whilst you think you are saving yourself some money, there are some things that are best left to the experts – the end results are often disastrous. Don’t use Google Translate for translating your brochures or company website into Russian; the translations can be hilarious – just look at restaurant menus in provincial Russian cities and try to guess what ‘maritime language under marinade’ or ‘sausage in the fatherin-law’ is meant to refer to. Russians are keen readers and are more likely to read your corporate literature if it has been professionally translated into Russian. When looking to hire people in Russia/CIS, Linkedin might be a great tool for sourcing potential candidates, but it cannot establish a person’s motivation (or lack of it), manage the offer process, handle a potential counter-offer issue or provide information on current market trends. A reputable recruitment agency will be able to assist you in such cases. Apart from a few, small samples in your suitcase, you should import product via the correct channels using a recognized freight forwarder that has experience in dealing with customs authorities. Delays are a fact of life but these guys are your best bet for a smooth sailing. 92 93 Chet Bowling Partner Bellerage Alinga Six things a foreign CEO should know about managing a Russian company. Chet Bowling, who has lived and worked in Russia for almost 30 years and is a Partner at Bellerage Alinga - a TOP-5 financial outsourcing companies in Russia, shares the below with foreign CEO’s. 1. The Russian accounting system is governed by the state, including the chart of accounts, accounting principles, and statement forms. Unlike the accounting principles used in Europe (IFRS) and the US (US GAAP), Russian accounting is based not on the business transaction, but on the document confirming it (ie, the legal form is more important than the economic substance). 2. In Russia, it is impossible to dismiss an employee at the employer’s will (at-will termination) without citing grounds stipulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; 3. Failure to comply with currency control requirements may result in significant fines of up to 100% of the transaction amount; 4. Violation of migration laws by the company is punishable by fines of up to RUB 1,000,000 and suspension of business activities for up to 90 days; 5. Over 90% of Russian companies use 1C, a local accounting software that makes it easy to report to the tax authorities; 6. The liability level of the General Director of a Russian business is immeasurably higher than would be the case in a Western company. You may learn more specifics of Russian legislation and business environment in Bellerage Alinga’s guide Doing Business in Russia, which is available on our website: http://www.bellerage.com/video/GuideDoingBusinessInRussia.pdf 94 95 Brookes Moscow (International School) Lazorevyy Proezd, 7, Moscow, Russia, 129323 Telephone: +7 (499) 110- 70-01 E-mail: info@moscow.brookes.org admissions@moscow.brookes.org Website: moscow.brookes.org Brookes Saint Petersburg (International School) Tatarskiy Pereulok, 3-5, St Petersburg, 197198 Telephone: +7 (812) 320-89-25 E-mail: info@saintpetersburg.brookes.org admissions@saintpetersburg.brookes.org Website: saintpetersburg.brookes.org XI. Entertainment in Russia Food, drink and extra-curricular activities and costs Food, drink and extra-curricular activities and costs 96 97 The idea that you have to drink heavily order to do business in Russia is both a myth and an outdated stereotype. Yes, Russia does have a serious alcohol problem but there is a considerable difference between the corporate world in large cities, and the situation in provincial towns and villages. In fact, Russians’ love for driving cars coupled with the zero tolerance for alcohol when driving means that more often than not, several of your Russian colleagues, partners or clients may not drink at all, unless at home or they may choose to leave the car at home on that particular day if they are expecting to drink over dinner. It’s rare for white collar workers to drink even a glass or wine or beer over lunch; the best advice is to go with the flow (no apologies for the pun). Sure boozy dinners occur but in all honesty you’re more likely to drink heavily with your colleagues or with other Expats than with clients. As always, there are exceptions so if you are going out for dinner, you would be wise to establish if it just a quick bite before your counterpart drives back home to his family or whether the booze plans to flow until the early hours. The difficulty is that Russians can be very spontaneous, especially if they are enjoying themselves so if you think it could go this way, best not to arrange an important breakfast meeting the following morning, as just during customer meetings, it is poor form to just jump up & make your excuses. See chapter 12 for what an invitation to visit a Russian home for dinner holds in store for you. The standard of service in hotels, bars and restaurants varies wildly although expensive joints in the largest CIS cities should be on par with what you are used to back home. The days when the ashtrays were emptied once the floor was full are gone; in fact you’re more likely to see it emptied every puff, or your glass of beer snatched away when you’ve only drunk three quarters of it by over-active waiters and waitresses who have been ‘trained’ up to international levels – if anything, it’ll keep you on your toes. TIPPING If the service was good then it’s customary to leave around 10% in restaurants although few places have the facilities to tip using your credit card. Even at those that do, the tip is highly unlikely to actually reach the person who served you; best to tip in cash. There is no need to leave big, American-style (20%+) tips, and whilst barmen and cloakroom attendants will not expect to be tipped, leaving them a RUB100 note is a kind gesture as these people are not usually well remunerated. When paying for a meal in cash, if you hand it over to your waiter or waitress and say ‘thank you’, they will take to mean that you don’t require any change back. If you do, save your spasibo for when you actually hand them the tip. MONEY & COSTS Summed up, since it is largely a business destination, Moscow isn’t a particularly cheap place to visit, and the top-end places can be seriously pricey. The capital regularly makes the top ten of the world’s most expensive cities according to annual surveys, and although a tiny bit of local knowledge can bring down prices significantly, there’s no getting away from the fact that your expenses on a business trip may be higher than many other cities in Europe. The weakened Ruble will work in your favour, especially as more mid-range options appear, especially hotels and restaurants. Public transport is ludicrously cheap and taxis are also good value for money, so long as you’re being charged the official rate. Purchases in Russia can only be made in Russian Rubles (RUB) and nowadays in 99% of cases, prices are listed in RUB. There is no need to buy Rubles before setting off for Russia as rates back home tend to be close to rip-off levels; all international airports in Russia have plenty of ATMs, plus 24 hour Bureau de Changes, even if the rates in the airport have recently worsened and aren’t as favourable as you’ll get in town. Euros (EUR) & US Dollars (USD) command the best rates; you can change just about any foreign currencies in Russia, but the less common they are, the worse deal you’ll get. Credit cards are increasingly accepted even in mid-sized establishments throughout Moscow & St Petersburg, plus most larger cities although it is worth carrying a stack of Rubles in case the PoS terminal is on the blink when you happen to be visiting. This can occur even in higher end places, and even then, don’t be surprised if not everybody can change a RUB5,000 note. CHIVALRY ISN’T DEAD, BUT FEMINISM HASN’T ARRIVED (YET)! A Russian girl once said to me that there would never be any feminism in Russia as all women hate each other here. This was, no doubt said somewhat tongue-in-cheek but there is more than a grain of truth in this expression. The Soviet Union lost millions of people in the Second World War, mostly young men. Countless millions more died in the Gulag 98 99 during Stalin’s infamous purges which began in the 1930s and lasted until his death in 1953; again, the bulk of whom were male. This has left a considerable gender imbalance that remains to this day, although some would argue that it’s now more due to the low life expectancy of Russian men than what happened in the country more than two generations ago. Nevertheless, there is still considerable social pressure on girls to get married (especially outside of Moscow and other big cities) at a young age, as their grandmothers and even mothers remember growing up with a shortage of males. Girls moan about the lack of eligible men and as a result some will date married men without much of an afterthought – even wives who subsequently find out can be more forgiving. Bear in mind that women in the CIS are not anywhere near as desperate to leave their country as they might have been in the early 1990s, and those who really wanted to flee abroad have probably done so already. Sure, there are stereotypes about the grass being greener in the West but unhappy stories of women having returned home disappointed after failed marriages to foreigners are also common. Being an Expat in itself is therefore no longer the guaranteed ticket to getting laid every night of the week, even if some still try (they’re known as ‘Sexpats’), but this isn’t Bangkok. You need to be able to offer something more than just having a western passport, and remember that there are a lot of rich Russian guys who’ll blow much more cash on their women than you’ll ever have – or be prepared to spend. Compared to free-spending Russians, Expats have a reputation for being stingy. Yes, for (straight) single men, one of the big attractions of doing business, or working in Russia/CIS is the opposite sex who deservedly have a reputation for keeping themselves slim and attractive, and dress well, even if it’s just a normal day in the office. Women not only like, but expect men to open doors for them, offer their hand when they step off a bus or get out of a car, help with their coat (on and off) and give them flowers & presents on regular occasions, not just anniversaries. On dates, men pay for everything – just try even suggesting splitting the bill and you can kiss goodbye to the chance of a second date! Equality is definitely a subjective term in Russia with male and female roles clearly defined. Men are expected to carry heavy bags, do DIY around the house and repair the car, whilst women cook, clean and look after the children. This isn’t to say that women are expected to sit at home; far from it, with many in fact earning more than their husbands. Feminism in the western sense is close to being an alien concept. On more than one occasion I have heard Russian women say ‘Feminists are women who act like men – why would I want to act like a man when I am a women. I want to be treated as a women and I want a strong man to look after me’. You’ll be waiting a long time to see Russian females in dungarees with shaved heads, burning bras. 100 101 XII. Life in Russia How Russians live 102 103 Urban Russians live in apartments, mostly in high-rise blocks in what they refer to as ‘sleeping regions’ – similar to what we know as suburbia. A lack of living space was a typical feature of the Soviet period thanks to a rapid industrialization programme, bringing people in from the countryside to towns and cities with little concern for where or what conditions they would have to endure. Entire families were often crammed into tiny two roomed flats (note that Russians refer to how many rooms they have, not bedrooms as the living room almost always doubled up as a bedroom, with a fold-out sofa. Fortunately the bathroom and kitchen don’t count in this tally). People would spend years on a waiting list for a new home, and one of the few ways of jumping the queue was to get married, which partly explains why Russians traditionally got hitched at a young age – often while still at University, and why many families in cities only had one child. The overall demographic situation has made the country’s housing shortage a little more bearable as the country has reported lost around 700,000 people every year since the fall of communism, partly through emigration but largely to a higher death than birth rate. The average life expectancy of a Russian male is shockingly short; in the low 60s. Although more apartment blocks have been constructed in recent years, they remain prohibitively expensive and well out of reach of the average Russian’s pocket, especially with the mortgage market being in its relative infancy. Therefore, the usual solution is to wait until an elderly relative dies, or moving them out to the dacha during their retirement years. WHAT IS A DACHA? A dacha is a Russian country house. These range in size and grandeur from a glorified shed on an allotment with no running water or electricity, to a mansion with all mod cons on the edge of a private lake. Under communism they functioned mainly as a piece of land that allowed the owner to grow food, which was especially important due to the lack of fresh produce available in state stores. Nowadays, only the elderly tend to their vegetables plots, whereas the younger generation (who have never experienced shortages) simply view dachas as a weekend retreat from the city with friends for a BBQ and drinks. THE RUSSIAN PSYCHE: Russia largely lacks the entrepreneurial ‘get-up-and-go’ spirit, with most Russians quietly content with their lot, whilst simultaneously grumbling that their neighbour is better off than they are. It’s easy to blame 70 years of communism for killing off anything remotely proactive, but ‘pofigism’ (a word that roughly translates as ‘can’t be bothered’) is a trait that goes back centuries. Asked why they lack motivation, Russians answer that deep down they believe in some big, kind Tsar who rules over them and that even if things are bad, that they will improve. This mentality helps to explain why Vladimir Putin remains a widely popular figure throughout the country, especially outside of Moscow and a handful of other large cities, despite Western propaganda attempting to suggest otherwise. Russians will openly admit that freedom and human rights as Westerners know them are hardly their top priority, and that a country as large and diverse as Russia can only be ruled in an authoritarian manner. The people want a strong ruler to maintain control and who will look after them, knowing from experience that the alternative is worse. Russia’s flirtation with democracy during Boris Yeltsin’s rule in the 1990s is a recent reminder to Russians that too much freedom leads to utter chaos, as was also the case during the reign of Tsar Nikolay II at the start of last century, whose weakness eventually led to his & his family’s abdication, eventual assassination, and the Russian Revolution in 1917. Russians’ attitudes to abortion, infidelity, divorce and even prostitution can strike outsiders are remarkably liberal, especially given how conservative they are regarding ’alternative’ religion, such as Hare Krishna and ‘different’ lifestyles (ie, non-heterosexual). The western media in particular has been guilty of blowing the anti-gay situation out of all proportion. Russians quite correctly point out that it is NOT a crime in Russia to be gay, yet in Qatar (which is due to host the 2022 World Cup) it IS illegal, and in neighbouring Saudi Arabia gays can face the death penalty, so why pick on Russia? Your best bet is to err on the side of caution and avoid controversial topics unless you want to lose friends and make enemies fast. Remember that you are a guest in Russia and here to do business, not to try to change Russia to suit your agenda. By all means set a good example through your own behavior, but doing anything deemed as remotely provocative will not go down well with Russians, whose attitude to meddling outsiders is ‘if you don’t like it here, leave’. SOCIAL MEDIA Russians are keen internet users and big fans of social media, which has taken the country by storm in recent years. As well 104 105 as Facebook & Instagram, both of which are extremely popular, there are numerous Russian equivalents, the best known being Vkontakte or VK (www.vk.com) which is essentially a Russian language version of Facebook. Whereas back home you typically use Linkedin* for business purposes and Facebook for your family and friends, in Russia the situation is less clear cut. Visitors to Russia are often surprised to receive a Facebook friend request not only from work colleagues, but from people they have met (perhaps just once, and only briefly) in a business situation, be it as a supplier, customer partner or even merely a client prospect. Russians view this as normal; after all the line between work and play in Russia is a blurred one, and don’t forget that Russians typically do business with people whom they are on friendly terms with. This can create a dilemma for people who prefer to keep their business and private lives separate. Ultimately whom you choose to be ‘friends’ with is up to you and there is no need to feel bad about not ‘befriending’ people whom you are not comfortable with seeing what you get up to outside of office hours. Just be aware that Facebook is fast becoming the main means of communication amongst your colleagues and you could find yourself missing out on much of what’s going on around you should you choose to blank those you work with. One solution is to set up a second profile, to keep your work and private lives somewhat separate. Even if you are not a social media aficionado, you may want to at least create a basic facebook account as there are numerous groups worth joining, such as Expats In Moscow. Many nationalities have their own ‘closed’ groups but will happily allow you in should you demonstrate some connection to that particular country.

• At the time of writing Linkedin was still blocked by Roskomnadzor (the

federal body responsible for overseeing the media and IT) for failing to comply with the law about data protection. Whilst it is easy enough to access Linkedin in Russia if you have a VPN, Linkedin has fallen out of favour somewhat as a business networking tool, with many preferring Whatsapp and/or Facebook. Priyatnogo appetita! If you are ever invited to a Russian’s house for dinner, this is most certainly an opportunity you cannot refuse. Consider it an honour and you will experience overwhelming hospitality, especially given the huge choice of decent restaurants in larger cities, it’s less common to be invited into somebody’s home. Expect to be here for the entire evening, and preferably don’t schedule anything for early the following morning. Russians don’t invite people over for a quick cup of tea & biscuits; they go the full distance and pull out all the stops for guests. It’s polite to bring a gift, such as a bottle of wine and a box of biscuits or chocolates (preferably from your home country, but locally purchased is fine) plus a bunch of flowers for the lady of the house. Shops selling flowers are on almost every street corner and many are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; buy them on the way. Do remove your shoes upon entering the home – you will be offered a pair of slippers. You will arrive to a table groaning under the weight of all the food on it, usually platefuls of sliced meats, various salads, cheese, bread and cold vegetables, but before you get too carried away, this is only the starter, known in Russian as ‘zakuski’. Most likely vodka will be served (cold, and neat, of course) although women may be offered wine or Russian champagne, which is actually a sweet, sparkling wine, called ‘shampanskoye’. If on the vodka, take it easy! Have a swig of a soft drink (of which there will be a jug or bottle) after each shot, followed by a little food, but avoid the temptation of stuffing yourself. It is customary for each person to take a short toast when raising the glass, and everyone should hold the glass in the air until the speaker has finished, whereupon everyone knocks the vodka back in one gulp – sipping is for ligthtweights. When it’s your turn, it’s sufficient to thank the hosts for their invitation and hospitality, and how pleased you are that you had an opportunity to visit their home. Then say something positive about Russia and the friendship between your two nations; this always goes down well. The main course is likely to be a meat-based dish – there are very few vegetarians anywhere in the CIS, and since meat was often in short supply during Soviet times, the older generation will be somewhat perplexed at how or why you could refuse meat. Even if you’re completely full up, this isn’t the end as a large cake will later be brought out, followed by tea and chocolates (konfety) – it’s OK to pass on the chocs if you’re full to bursting point by this stage. Fortunately, this all takes place over several hours so the trick here is to pace yourself. You will certainly have an evening to remember, particularly as your 106 107 colleagues or clients will more than likely entertain you in a local restaurant. P.S. – ‘Priyatnogo appetita’ means «Bon appetit» and can be said not only at the beginning of any meal, but also whenever you see anyone eating. S lyokhkim parom! Getting naked, hot & sweaty with other men at first might not sound like your idea of fun but you can’t say that you’ve really ‘done’ Russia unless you’ve experienced a visit to a banya. On the surface it is basically a bath house but the whole process is taken seriously, yet at the same time it’s harmless fun even if it doesn’t always feel like it at the time. Think of it as a bit of male bonding, but it’s definitely something you won’t forget in a hurry. In Russia, the banya is very much a ritual although its origins stretch back centuries, to the days when bathing as we know it didn’t exist. Nowadays it’s much more of a pastime yet traditions are maintained so it’s useful to familiarise yourself with what you are about get yourself in to. Essentially you will enter a hot, steaming room, work up a sweat and then wash it off with cold water, but as you will see, there is much more to it than just an old-fashioned way of keeping yourself clean. For starters, a banya can range from a small, wooden shed in the country for just a few, close friends to a huge, ornate building which can accommodate dozens of people, such as the famous Sanduny (see contact details in Chapter 18). You will need a few items to make your experience complete, although these can be purchased or rented at the higher-end places. If going to a banya at somebody’s dacha, check if these will be provided although many shops sell the basics. Generally you pay an entry fee which allows you two hours, although you can add on additional hours if you’re not ready to leave. Many banya frequenters wear a felt hat which helps to protect your ears from the extreme heat. You strip off completely and head into a room where the temperature is close to 100C, so slipping on a pair of flip-flops is a wise move, as is a cloth sheet to wear around your waist if you’re a little shy. It does however double up into a mat to sit on once inside although some opt to stand; you don’t need a PhD in physics to quickly realize that hot air rises so the higher up you are, the hotter it gets. And the longer you stay in the sweatier you become, although hardcore banya aficionados can be seen beating each other with birch branches, called a ‘vyenik’ which improves the circulation, apparently. Water will periodically be poured onto the hot stones to create additional steam, and eucalyptus is occasionally added for a more authentic smell. Don’t be surprised if one of the more experienced participants starts to wave a towel around to spread the heat. Once you reach the stage when your body cannot stand any more heat, you exit the banya, and into a cold pool to wash off all the sweat. Depending on how sophisticated your banya is, this could be anything from a large swimming pool to a pond in the garden, and if you really want to show off in winter months, you can roll around in the snow although this is best done after a few vodka shots. On the subject of refreshments, you won’t be surprised to hear that there is often some alcohol involved after you’ve rinsed the sweat off yourself. Most public banyas will have a small café or shop selling beer, soft drinks and snacks although the swankier the venue, the better the fare (Sanduni boasts an extensive menu, featuring Russian, Georgian and Uzbek cuisine, plus an assortment of beverages from draught beer to vodka, cognac and champagne). Then it’s back in for another round of banya, a ritual which will be repeated several times until you’re ready to keel over. Unless you are lucky enough to have your own banya (or visit someone who does), or rich enough to rent out the entire premises, it’s likely to be a same-sex affair but it’s all completely innocent. Do bring along some soap, shampoo and a towel for showering at the end. Banyas are generally geared towards men but ladies can enjoy them too; some venues have a separate female section. If you only learn one banya-related phrase, it has to be ‘S lyokhkim parom’ which very roughly translates as ‘I hope the steam goes easy on you’. 108 109 XIII. How Russians view foreigners Those living and working in, or travelling to Russia Russians are genuinely interested in what foreigners (mainly Westerners) think of them and equally how they, themselves are perceived. They are acutely aware that Russia’s image abroad is on the whole rather negative and the widely held belief is that their country is unfairly targeted by a hostile western media with an anti-Russian agenda who fear a resurgent Russia. Of particularly annoyance is what they believe to be the double standards of the West selectively trying to force democracy on certain other countries, whilst ignoring the human rights abuses of dictatorial regimes who claim to be on their side. Modern Russia as a country is little more than a generation old and has come a long way in a very short space of time since the fall of communism. Russians are keen to learn but resent being dictated to, and find this attitude particularly condescending. The best advice is not to try to change Russia; the country will develop at its own pace and in its own way. One of the better legacies of the Soviet Union was the educational system which was free for all, and on the whole was pretty good. Literacy throughout the CIS region remains high, even in remote, impoverished areas and Russians who you meet in a business situation tend to be very well educated & highly knowledgeable in areas of culture, politics and geography. In fact the average Russian will probably know more about your country’s history and literature than you do. Many can be disappointed at how little foreigners know about Russia, and unless they are a Russophile, how little curiosity they have for Russia’s cultural heritage and customs. You will earn yourself considerable kudos before travelling to, or relocating to Russia by familiarizing yourself with some background in the country’s history and geography. I often hear from Russians that ‘oh, foreigners think that there are bears in the streets in Russia’ and are surprised when I reply that ‘no, in actual fact Russians think that foreigners think that there are bears in the streets in Russia’. For the record, I have seen bears in Russia on precisely two occasions; once at the Moscow zoo and the other time, in the wild with its cubs on the Kamchatka peninsula, two hours’ helicopter flight from the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. So yes, there are bears in Russia, but apart from in captivity they are a long way from human habitation. Remember, Russia’s a big country. 110 111 I ONCE ASKED A RUSSIAN ‘WHY IS THE AIM OF COMMUNISM TO MAKE EVERYBODY POOR’? HE REPLIED ‘THAT ISN’T THE AIM, THAT’S THE RESULT’! Once you break through the gruff exterior, Russians are extremely hospitable people who will go out of their way to help you – once you get to know them, that is and have gained their trust. Russia is a country of extremes, in more ways than pure distance. One simple example was when travelling the trans-Siberian railway, the world’s longest train journey from Vladivostok to Moscow, over 9,200 km. We attempted to buy tickets on the overnight train to Khabarovsk yet were being shouted at by the cashier who was questioning what the hell we were doing here and why we as foreigners weren’t being accompanied (admittedly this was the early 1990s and Vladivostok had only recently opened up – even to Russians. Under Communism as a strategic port it was deemed a closed city) – surely it would have been easier to simply sell us the tickets for the next train and get rid of us, oh, but no! She had to over-complicate the situation and create a huge fuss before we eventually purchased our freedom out of town. We couldn’t help wondering why she had been so rude – and we’d faced a similar story when we tried to check into a hotel several days before, when we were greeted with a ‘myest nyet’ (we’re full) by an obstinate, middle-aged woman at the reception. Yet when we tried again some twenty minutes later – it was the only hotel in town which accepted foreigners, a younger lady happily gave us a room, of which there turned out to be plenty. On the train where we shared a carriage with a family from Khabarovsk, who upon hearing that we had nowhere booked for the following night (online bookings didn’t exist back then) invited us to stay the night in their apartment, and their son gave us a tour of the city, followed by some beers and ‘vobla’ (dried fish snacks). Back home, everything is nicely boxed up – nobody will shout at you, yet nobody will go much out of their way to help you. The moral here is that you need to be prepared for either eventuality. Much has been written about the famous Russian soul, and few outsiders will ever fully comprehend it. The easiest way to sum it up is that when Russians do something, they do it ‘ot dushi’, meaning from the soul – ie, because they genuinely want to. Otherwise they simply wouldn’t do it, unless forced to do so, in which case they’d probably do it badly as their heart isn’t in it. Russians sometimes feel that all too often in the West, when people do something to help someone else, it is either because feel indebted to that person, hope that person will reciprocate at some stage in the future or (in the case of charity) it’s to make themselves feel better. But not done simply because you wanted to do it just to please that person. Russia vs America One country that Russians frequently compare and measure themselves against is the United States of America. In a similar way that older Brits may mourn the loss of the British Empire, there are Russians who also feel saddened by the demise of the USSR. This is not only at having ‘lost’ the other 14 republics but also at the fact that they believed that they were very much on par with the United States of America, even if the truth was rather different. I RECALL A CONVERSATION WHEN ONE RUSSIAN ASKED THE OTHER ‘WHY IS IT THAT AMERICA IS SO RICH WHEN AMERICANS ARE SO STUPID’? OVERHEARING THIS QUESTION, AN AMERICAN INTERJECTED ‘BECAUSE IN RUSSIA PEOPLE SIT AROUND THINKING ABOUT MAKING MONEY WHEREAS IN AMERICA WE JUST DO IT’. A good analogy for understanding the difference between Russians and Americans is by describing Americans as peaches (soft on the outside; easy to get to know but hard deep down) and Russians as coconuts (tough to penetrate but much softer once you’re on familiar terms). Russians seem to enjoy a love-hate relationship with America; on the one hand a substantial number of Russians and other CIS citizens have emigrated there since the fall of communism and as their friends & family visit, they have witnessed life on the other side. It’s usually a combination of envy (high living standards, a strong community spirit) mixed with relief that Russia is so much deeper since they perceive Americans to be superficial and insular, taking little interest in the greater world outside of their country. America’s image suffers from the increase in Russian nationalism, driven by the Kremlin playing the tough guy to a domestic image, wanting to demonstrate that all Russia’s woes are as a result of American foreign policy whose sole desire is to bring Russia to its knees. With a statecontrolled media, you would be surprised how many Russians, especially 112 113 the less-well educated genuinely swallow this propaganda, and refuse to comprehend that nowadays America might have other priorities. Some are even shocked to learn that America ISN’T purely focused on Russia, as surely it should be. XIV. Charity, Corporate Social Responsibility Your firm’s presence in Russia 114 115 Many visitors to Russia, and even Russians themselves cite envy (zavist) as one of the social problems facing the country today. The Soviet Union was nowhere near as equal as it liked to portray itself to the outside world – contrary to popular belief, not all Soviet citizens were paid the same, but inequality has soared since the beginning of capitalism in the early 1990s. The majority of the population struggled to adjust to life in a free-market society, with practically no safety net in the form of a welfare state that they had previously become accustomed to. Particularly hard to fathom was for state employees, factory workers or pensioners who had received no income in months and were left nearly penniless, seeing flash, ‘new Russians’ driving around in expensive, foreign cars and throwing money around as if there were no tomorrow. Although living standards have risen considerably across the board since Mr Putin’s rise to power, the gap between rich and poor in Russia – and sometimes even more so in certain CIS countries, is staggering. However, when Russians talk about white envy (belaya zavist) they in fact mean that whilst they are mildly jealous, they are in fact happy for you. If your firm is well established or planning to expand in Russia then there is a good chance that you will want to contribute to those less well-off in the country. Corporate Social Responsibility is still in its relative infancy in Russia, with charity still not well understood, and even less so in many CIS countries. Under communism, charities as such did not exist as it was the state’s role to look after its subjects so you are effectively dealing with a new entity here. The authorities’ overall perception of charity work is nowhere near as positive as it is back home. Whereas people in the West see it as giving something back, Russian officials view it as meddling by outsiders, possibly disguised as tax avoidance, a front for a religious cult or in worst cases, even espionage. Those in charge of the country still see their role as ensuring that everyone lives equally and fairly (even if this was never the case during Soviet rule and most definitely is not the case today) so any outside ‘help’ is therefore proof that the state is unable to provide for all. Which it clearly can’t, yet those at the top still prefer to cling to the ideology that the state knows best and outside assistance is neither welcome, nor required. Slowly but surely, attitudes are changing for the better and there are an increasing number of beneficial, gross-roots projects but it would be wise to seek advice before wading in with great intentions. Many Russians are themselves skeptical as to the benefits of charity, assuming (and sometimes, unfortunately not without good reason) that any money donated to a local hospital or orphanage is more likely to end up in the director’s pocket than reaching those it was intended to benefit. Although the entire Former Soviet Union has a lengthy list of social ills ranging from poverty causes by unemployment in some of the more remote southern republics to rampant alcoholism in areas further north, the biggest difference you can probably make is assistance with disadvantaged young people, in particular orphans. However, showing up at the local orphanage with armfuls of presents at Christmas might seem like a laudable thing to do, yet in practice, simply creates a dependency culture. Often the personal time you spend may be equally as important as any funds that you donate. A Russian friend who visited the UK back in the late 1990s commented to me that he couldn’t believe how many ‘invalids’ there were on the streets of London. It quickly dawned on him, however that back home there are just as many, but they are confined to a life indoors. Most buildings, both public and private are woefully under-equipped to handle wheelchairs, or anyone with any other disability, for that matter. There are a growing number of reputable organisations which are helping to improve the quality of life for those affected, and the perception of the population as a whole towards people with disabilities is beginning to change for the better. The various foreign business associations will be able to advise you as to how best to approach this delicate matter as almost all have made impressive inroads, even if it seems like a drop in the ocean. 116 117 XV. Life outside of Moscow and St Petersburg Just as London or New York are not representative of the United Kingdom or the United States respectively, Moscow, and to a certain extent St Petersburg are hardly accurate reflections of Russia as a whole. The bulk of the country’s wealth lies in the capital, and Moscow is where most decisions are made. Even if your company’s main focus is a remote part of the country, as is generally the case with the natural resources industry, it’s likely that you will have (or need to have) an operation in Moscow, even if it just a small, representative office. Unlike in many countries where each region and city has its own identity, in Russia you effectively have Moscow, followed by St Petersburg, and then there’s everything else. Next in line are the fourteen ‘million’ cities (in Russian they’re known as the Millioniki as their population is over 1,000,000). In descending order of population they are Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Samara, Ufa, Rostov-onDon, Krasnoyarsk, Voronezh, Perm, Volgograd and Krasnodar. Recent statistics show that around 80% of foreign visitors to Russia do not venture outside of either Moscow or St Petersburg so taking a trip outside of Russia’s top 2 is already a step off the beaten track. Just like in Russia as a whole, cities also largely follow a top-down system, where the local governor of the region has often been personally appointed by Mr Putin himself. In return for being highly loyal local to the Kremlin, this governor is pretty much given a free rein to run his territory as a personal fiefdom, with official blessing. The same goes for the mayor of a particular town or city, and the way in which the area is run depends largely on this one person and his entourage. In practice, most of the key businesses and industries will be controlled by a handful of Minigarchs who are likely to be close friends or even relatives of the head honcho. As usual, there are both advantages and disadvantages to this system. On the plus side, in regions where the governor is progressive and wants to attract foreign investment, there is less bureaucracy, minimal corruption and things can generally get done a lot more quickly – IF, and here’s the caveat, you can convince the governor (or at least someone influential within his team) that your project is worthwhile. The cities of Kaluga, Ulyanovsk, Tyumen and Kazan are four excellent examples of where the local governor has gone out of his way to make 118 119 outside investors feel welcome, and personally made himself available to ensure that things got done. This of course works fine for large-scale investment, and there are numerous examples of blue-chip multinational organizations which have built up production facilities at record speed and are enjoying nice returns on their investment. The disadvantage is that smaller fry can struggle to make themselves heard and with Russians’ dislike of delegating, even a workaholic governor with all the best intentions may take quite a while to get around to seeing you. On the flip side, for every modern governor there at least as many, if not more ‘Red Directors’ who view business, and in particular foreigners with suspicion. Unless he (and it’s always a ‘he’) can see a personal benefit to what it is you want to do, it’s likely to be a non-starter. These regions tend to rely on handouts from the federal budget for their very survival but are allowed to exist in this way as they generally support ailing industry that is viewed as potentially strategic, or of possible value to the state. The commercial section of your country’s Embassy will be able to advise as to where to venture – and how, plus the various Chambers of Commerce can provide useful information on local conditions. Both Embassies and Chambers of Commerce run trade missions (sometimes in conjunction with one another) to other cities in Russia, which can be an extremely useful way of meeting senior local officials, talking to well-established companies already on their ground (both local and international), plus of course mixing with other potential investors on the trip. Trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences in regional cities also offer excellent insights into conditions and specifics of the region – the key is to do your homework before committing, and it is absolutely essential that you have both local approval AND support. One interesting, relatively recent development is that regional governors are now beginning to come to Moscow and even abroad with their entourage in order to pitch for inward investment projects. This is a huge leap forward as previously they simply sat at home & waited for the opportunities to roll in. Whether this change in strategy has been ordered from above or is their own initiative is anyone’s guess, but nevertheless it is definitely pleasing for potential investors they at last feel wanted. Some regions appear to be taking this seriously, and have hired young, English-speaking advisors who have created literature on past successes coupled with advice for potential investors. There is most definitely life outside of the MKAD. Even cities with a few hundred thousand people now have decent enough hotels & restaurants, plus an airport with regular, scheduled flights to Moscow and/or the provincial capital. They may lack the glitz of Moscow but you won’t starve. THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST Known to Russians as ‘Dal’ny Vostok’, the Russian Far East (RFE) is a vast territory, spanning east to west from Lake Baikal all the way to the Pacific Ocean, and from north to south from the Arctic sea to Manchuria. Virtually empty of people, yet highly strategic, the region shares land borders with Mongolia, China and North Korea, plus maritime borders with both the USA and Japan. Resource rich yet at the same time remote, even from Moscow this region has seen its population fall from around 8 million in the last days of the USSR, to just over 6 million today, largely as a result of migration to the European part of Russia (plus also abroad), and to declining birth rates in general in Russia. This is slightly less than one person per square kilometer, making it one of the most sparsely populated regions on the planet. Natural Resources are the primary reason why many investors, both foreign and Russian are active here; the key sectors are in oil, mining and forestry. Other industries include shipping, fishing and light industry. Sakhalin is all about offshore oil, with the capital, Yuzhno Sakhalinsk hosting a plethora of energy and services companies all getting in on the action. Mining operations (anything from gold, to coal, to silver to diamonds) are typically centered in and around the regions of Chita, Yakutsk, Magadan, Khabarovsk, Chukotka and Kamchatka. Offices will be in the provincial capitals but the actual sites may be located hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from anywhere. In many cases, you’ll be lucky if there is even a dirt or ice road; more often than not you will need to charter a plane or helicopter. Transport and logistics are an issue. There are regular flights to most cities but they don’t come cheap and are prone to delays and cancellations thanks to the weather. Be realistic when planning schedules, allow at least a day either side of any trip, if only to help you to adjust to the extensive time difference, regardless of whether you are travelling from east or west. One foolproof way of getting around without delays is by train. The famous Trans-Siberian railway has been transferring passengers from Moscow to Vladivostok since 1916, and the journey can be 120 121 done non-stop in 7 days (as opposed to a 9 hour flight). There are also branch lines, such as the BAM (Baikalo-Amurskaya Railway) which follows a similar, but slightly more northernly route over the top of Lake Baikal. Recent extensions include reaching north up to Yakutsk (well, the town on the other side of the Lena river, if you don’t then mind taking a ferry to finish your journey) and there is currently talk of building a bridge to link the island of Sakhalin to the mainland. Interestingly, the RFE was only, finally connected to the rest of Russia by road in 2010, when Vladimir Putin famously drove a Lada along a stretch of the Amur Highway, between Chita and Khabarovsk. Although Russia drives on the right, almost three quarters of cars in the region are right hand drive, typically meaning that they (mainly second hand) are imports from nearby Japan. Vladimir Putin has recently put an emphasis on investment in the Far East in recent years and traditionally attends the Eastern Economic Forum, which has been taking place in Vladivostok in early September every year since 2015. The aim has been to revitalize business and attract foreign investment to the region. It’s a major event, and one worth attending if you’re interested in this part of the world: www.forumvostok.ru (in Russia and and English) XVI. CIS focus The ‘other’ Republics 122 123 ARMENIA Population – 3,000,000 Capital City – Yerevan (population – 1,000,000) Currency – Dram The world’s oldest Christian country (adopting the religion in AD301) as any Armenian will proudly inform you, Armenia has a glorious history but current conditions are slightly less rosy. To say that the end of the USSR spelt disaster for Armenia is a gross understatement; the economy literally evaporated overnight as subsidies from Moscow ground to an instant halt and the markets for uncompetitive goods that nobody needed, produced in the country, disappeared. Armenia was already reeling from a massive earthquake in Spitak, in the north of the country in 1988 which killed over 35,000 people (mostly crushed to death as substandard Soviet-built buildings collapsed on top of them), and to make matters worse was embroiled in the Nagorno-Karabakh war with neighbouring Azerbaijan over rival territory. A Russian brokered peace was administered in 1994 but the two countries still do not enjoy any diplomatic relations. The 1990s saw Armenia lurch from one crisis to another; shortages of food, water and electricity plagued the country, and in solidarity with its Azeri ‘brother’, Turkey closed its border with Armenia, effectively ensuring a near blockade, as the border with Azerbaijan is also firmly shut. The route north to mother Russia via Georgia has also restricted over the years due to a dive in their bilateral relations although there are signs of improvement here. Millions of Armenians have fled the country since independence in 1991, mainly for Russia but there are also large Armenian diasporas in France, the USA (primarily in Los Angeles and New York), Lebanon and throughout the CIS, although in practice this means mostly in Russia. The country has been kept alive by generous donations from wealthy Armenians abroad, as well as migrant workers in Russia sending back a chunk of their wage packet to their family. A reported 25% of Armenia’s GDP is made up of remittances. Local infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, tunnels and new buildings are impressive for a small, poor landlocked, country – the newly built international school in Dilijan is just one example of what is being achieved to modernize the country. Investment opportunities however remain nominal for outsiders, apart from a smattering of mining, construction, infrastructure and tourism projects, although most tourists are from the diaspora – which is a shame as Armenia boasts a rich history. The official population officially hovers around the 3 million mark although is rumoured to be lower as those of working age seek better opportunities, and above all work abroad. Slowly but surely improvements are being felt, and the downtown area of Yerevan has undergone a makeover in recent years with new hotels, boutique stores and cafes continuing to open up. The country now has a new airline, Aircompany Armenia, after Armavia went bust in 2013. The official language is Armenian which is a separate branch of the Indo-European tree and is partially related to Persian (Armenian shares a small border with Iran to the south, and with whom it maintains surprisingly good relations; in fact Armenian is one of few countries in the world which can claim to get on with the USA, Russia and Iran)! Armenians call their country ‘Hayastan’ and Armenian even has its own alphabet, although Russian is widely spoken, especially in the capital Yerevan. English is on the increase, particularly amongst young, urban Armenians. Visas are not required for citizens from the UK, European Union or the USA. Canadian, South African, Australian, New Zealand, Israeli and even Turkish passport holders can buy one on arrival without an LOI. AZERBAIJAN Population – 10,000,000 Capital City – Baku (population – 2,250,000) Currency – Azerbaijani Manat The rise of Azerbaijan, and its relative wealth can be summed up in one simple word; oil. The black gold has funded a construction boom in downtown Baku, the capital that is situated 28 meters below sea level. The city certainly oozes wealth as can be seen by the number of shops selling the latest fashionable clothes and accessories, flash cars and top-end recreation venues, from hotels to restaurants and nightclubs. Nevertheless, many ordinary Azeris feel that the oil boom has provided them with little obvious improvements to their everyday lives, benefitting 124 125 mainly the corrupt elite, and that Baku’s beauty is all for show. Azerbaijan likes to portray itself as a ‘Europe meets the Orient’ destination, although ’Moscow meets the Mediterranean’ would possibly be a more accurate description – in a positive sense, of course. President Aliyev keeps a tight grip on power, and is accused of human rights abuses by some western countries as no real opposition to his family’s rule is tolerated. Most however prefer not to meddle in the country’s internal affairs to keep the oil pumping, turning a blind eye although in fairness Aliyev is genuinely a popular figure who has transformed the country from a remote backwater to a mini-Dubai with international recognition. Despite being a majority Muslim country, Azerbaijan prides itself on being tolerant of other peoples and religions. Azeris prefer western-style clothing; any women you see in Baku wearing headscarves will almost certainly be tourists from the Arab Gulf countries. Most restaurants (apart from fast food joints) serve alcohol, and the few Azeris who don’t drink certainly won’t mind if you have one. Or even two. One area where Azerbaijan has made considerable improvements is in the ease of doing business – the country was recently ranked 57th in the Global Competitiveness Report, which is significantly higher than other CIS countries. The oil is predicted to continue flowing for years to come, so with the right leadership Azerbaijan can look forward to a bright future. Although the currency was devalued in 2015 after global oil prices crashed, this proved to be a temporary blip. A dark spot is the frozen conflict with Armenia, which shows no sign of being resolved anytime soon; the two sides are locked in an apparent stalemate. Azerbaijan has been using some of its oil revenues to purchase military equipment and has been making threatening noises, although it is highly unlikely to attack Armenia – Russia maintains three military bases there in an attempt to keep stability in this volatile region. Whilst being the mainstay of the economy, oil however isn’t the only revenue earner. There is now more of an emphasis on diversity away from the energy sector, such as construction, agriculture and food production; don’t be surprised to see the Made in Azerbaijan slogan proudly showing on many goods. Tourism is the latest big thing, centred around the increasing number of events which Baku is fond of hosting, many of a sporting nature (think football or Formula 1), plus international conferences. Oil however dominates, plus the related services built up around the international majors, and of course the state energy giant SOCAR. Azeri language is closely related to Turkish, enough so that both peoples can just about understand each other. Although you’ll rarely see anything written in Cyrillic, Russian is still widely taught – and spoken by most people in business and in services positions, with English gaining in popularity, thanks in no small part to the large Expatriate community based in Baku. The good news is that Azerbaijan has introduced a relatively simple e-visa process, saving you the hassle of making a trip to an Azeri Embassy. However, these are intended either for people visiting on a business trip, or as tourists. They are generally single entry, valid for one month; the point being that you cannot use these to work in the country. BELARUS Population – 9,500,000 Capital City – Minsk (population – 2,000,000) Currency – Belarusian Ruble If you come to Belarus expecting a European version of North Korea then you’re in for something of a disappointment. Belarus’s long-serving President, Alexander Lukashenko has been dubbed ‘Europe’s Last Remaining Dictator’ by the USA, a title which he seems to relish but Belarus’s capital, Minsk is no Pyongyang. Granted at first glance Belarus looks like a throwback to the days of the Soviet Union; much of the country’s economy remains under state control. It is still heavily reliant on Russia for the import of raw materials, and as an export market for Belarusian goods, both FMCG, textiles & heavy machinery. Visitors’ initial comments are how little advertising there is on the streets compared to back home but the country, and especially the capital are kept spotlessly clean. Downtown Minsk is a classic example of Soviet planning on a grand scale, since the city was rebuilt after having been completely destroyed during the Second World War. In fact it’s fair to say that parts of Minsk resemble one huge war memorial, but when you think what Belarus went through (the 126 127 country – albeit as part of the Soviet Union, lost around three million people, almost a third of its population) you can begin to understand why its people don’t want to forget their sacrifice. Visit the new Belarusian Patriotic War Museum in Minsk or the nearby Khatyn memorial for better understanding. Belarus is still a tricky place to do business, but the climate does seem to be improving as Mr Lukashenko tries to rely less on what are essentially Russian subsidies in the form of cheap gas, amongst other carrots. Some western firms who previously relied on a local partner to sell their products are now setting up shop themselves, and Minsk now boasts decent hotels, bars, shopping malls and restaurants; something that was unthinkable only a decade ago. The Chinese are muscling in too, although the biggest investor by far is Russia, and Russian nationals make up most of the (admittedly small number of) tourists; many come to visit the twenty or so casinos, which are banned in Russia, and also in neighbouring Ukraine. Unemployment is low by European standards although this can be attributed to Soviet-style policies of employment; more people hired than required in state institutions, and salaries are therefore hard to live on in these roles. Many younger, more opportunistic Belarusians have left the country in search of higher-paid work elsewhere – mainly to Russia but also further afield, such as to Germany and the USA. Mr Lukashenko preaches stability as his motto, and raison-d’etre for staying in power, although the economy remains relatively weak. Although Belarusian and Russian are the two official languages of Belarus, in reality everyone in big cities speaks Russian as their native tongue with Belarusian only really used in rural areas. Signs could be in either, but the preference is very much for Russian, apart from the occasional government building, although there are plenty of similarities between the two. Alexander Lukashenko has in the past been ridiculed for promoting Belarusian despite having a poor grasp of the language himself. Don’t expect much English spoken outside of top end hotels and perhaps a few restaurants, although slowly, more signs are appearing in English to accommodate non-Russian speaking visitors. The majority of nationalities can now enter Belarus visa free, but only by flying into, and out of Minsk International Airport (MSQ), you’ll be stamped in and you can stay for up to 30 days. Land borders still require a visa obtained in advance although there is talk of moving these to visa-free too, in due course. The exception is flying from Russia; you MUST either have a Belarusian visa, or fly via a third country (usually Riga, Warsaw, or Vilnus) or you will be denied boarding. GEORGIA Population – 3,700,000 Capital City – Tbilisi (population – 1,150,000) Currency – Lari Not to be confused with the American state, Georgia (’Sakartvelo’ in Georgian) is in fact a sovereign country in the south Caucasus, but it is precisely this geographical location plus a complex ethnic make-up which have proved to be the country’s Achilles heel since independence in 1991. Georgia suffered from economic collapse as well as civil unrest with two regions – Abkhazia & South Ossetia breaking away. Following the brief war with Russia in 2008 both have since declared their independence, although hardly anyone recognizes them. It was only with the Rose Revolution in 2003 that saw the overthrow of Eduard Shevardnadze did rampant corruption come to an abrupt end. So much so that Georgia has one of the world’s most favourable investment climates, and has attracted considerable inward investment, much of it from western countries, plus neighbouring Turkey. Growth in the first few years since Mikheil Saakashvili came to power was impressive, albeit from a low base, and poverty rates declined significantly, particularly in & around the capital Tbilisi. Some multinational companies use their office in Tbilisi as a base to cover the southern Caucasus since for political reasons if you are based in Azerbaijan you cannot realistically trade with Armenia, and vice versa; Georgia in such cases acts as a useful buffer between the two. It was the war with Russia in 2008 that damaged Georgia’s economy most of all; Russia had always been Georgia’s main trading partner and key market for Georgian produce, chiefly wine. Mr Putin took an instant dislike to Mr Saakashvili’s pro-western stance, and NATO ambitions, and when Saakashvili gambled on bringing back South Ossetia under Georgian control by force, Russia needed little encouragement in coming to the rescue. Just as relations with Russia appeared to be getting back on track, Georgia’s northern neighbour abruptly cancelled all flights between the two countries in the summer of 2019. These ups and downs over the past decade have forced Georgia to look elsewhere for new trading partners, mainly to Europe and to Asia. 128 129 Tbilisi, the capital has undergone a massive transformation in recent years, although if you step back a few streets from the very centre, much work remains to be completed. Roads have improved significantly as have the railways although the mountainous terrain keeps more rural towns isolated and little has changed there in decades; villagers effectively eke out a subsistence lifestyle. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in the country’s economy and development, despite logistical difficulties for Russian visitors. However, Georgia’s location is a hindrance – surprisingly few western airlines fly to Tbilisi, even today although Kutaisi, the third largest city is beginning to attract low-costers. The world is finally waking up to the secret that Georgia offers stunning scenery, historic, old churches, often high up in the mountains and beaches on the Black sea. It’s also a ridiculously good value for money destination, with Georgian food and wine – and the famed Borjomi mineral water being worth the visit alone. Don’t plan on losing much weight during your visit as you won’t be able to resist yet another delicious khachapuri. Talk to Georgians and they are indeed grateful that petty corruption that used to make life a misery has come to an end, yet unemployment remains high. Those who have a job complain that they don’t earn enough, and prices continue to rise. Squabbles among the main political parties dominate local news and demonstrations have been frequent in the centre of Tbilisi. Georgians remain mixed in their opinion about whether or not the country is headed in the right direction. Georgian is a language isolate, having no proven connection to any other language, and it has its own, unique alphabet. It is the native language of all Georgians, and since Saakashvili came to power, the teaching and subsequently the use of Russian has dwindled significantly in place of English (Saakashvili studied in the USA and speaks English fluently). Nevertheless, anyone aged over 40 should have a good command of Russian, and younger Georgians are keen to learn English, especially in Tbilisi where over a quarter of Georgians live. In an attempt to encourage both tourism and inward investment, visas are not required for passport holders of all but the world’s poorest countries. KAZAKHSTAN Population – 18,500,000 Capital City – Nur-Sultan, formerly Astana (population – 1,000,000) Currency – Tenge The second largest country in the CIS by geography and the ninth largest country in the world – please get any thoughts of Borat out of your head immediately before visiting (the movie was filmed in Romania in case you were wondering). Instead, come & be part of one of the better economic secrets that the Eurasian region has to offer. Much of the country is steppe, meaning flat, grassy land where little grows, and between cities, there’s an awful of a lot of nothing in between. Yet what Kazakhstan does have going for it is natural resources in abundance. Mining is concentrated mainly in the north and east, there are copious amounts of oil by the Caspian Sea to the west, plus manufacturing further south. Add to this a government who are probusiness and welcome foreign investment, plus who manage to get along well with their key neighbours, plus western powers, and you have a recipe for a country going places. The main difficulty for investors is geography; Kazakhstan is a long way from virtually anywhere. Even from Moscow, Dubai, Beijing, Delhi or Istanbul to Almaty, you’re looking at a flight of at least four hours. This of course means less competition for those who do make the journey and the pickings are generally good if you can get it right. Of course it’s not all good news; the regime has little tolerance for dissent of any kind, resulting in no creditable opposition and the authorities’ human rights record is at best questionable. The GDP may be on par with Malaysia but there is huge inequality with many feeling left out and struggling to find their place in the new Kazakhstan, and corruption through nepotism is still a major issue for investors. One bright stop in particular was the smooth (& not to mention rather unexpected) transition of power from Nursultan Nazarbayev who had ruled since Soviet times, to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Nazarbayev is rumoured to still pull many strings from behind the scenes and therefore isn’t quite out of the picture as such, but most importantly, for foreign investors it does appear to be more or less business as usual. Rumours continue about further devaluations of the Tenge although despite the volatility regarding the world price of commodities, Kazakhstan does 130 131 seem to have largely weathered the storm since the global financial crisis a decade ago. However, ‘new’ is the operative word in the capital, recently renamed Nur-Sultan (from Astana, which translates as ‘capital’ in Kazakh), which an Australian Expatriate described as ‘Canberra on steroids’. Nur-Sultan was little more than a provincial backwater town in the middle of the northern steppe when it was chosen to supersede Almaty in 1997 and is now a testament to Kazakhstan’s vision for the next generation – hopefully a bright future, albeit a cold one in the winter when temperatures plummet. Almaty remains the commercial capital as Kazakhstan’s largest city and the population have also witnessed their city boom in recent years; quite a feat when expansion is made all the more difficult by the surrounding Tian Shen mountains – stunning as they are, but hard to build on. Given the distances between cities and the poor quality of many provincial roads, getting around is best done in the air. The country’s leading airline is Air Astana and has hubs in both Almaty and Nur-Sultan, with frequent flights to most other cities of any significance in Kazakhstan, as well as throughout the CIS, particularly to Russia. Their safety record is impressive, particularly compared with other carriers in the region. Middle class Kazakhs have money in their pockets and love quality products – they’re ready to pay a premium as it’s a long (& pricey) flight to go shopping for a weekend so most stay put and spend locally. Kazakhstan boasts around 130 different nationalities, although everyone seems to get along fine. Around 70% of Kazakhstan is ethnic Kazakh, with Russians making up almost a quarter of the population, although mixed marriages are considerably more common in Kazakhstan than in the other four Central Asian countries. Ethnic Russians tend to live in the larger cities and their presence over the past two centuries has had a profound influence urban Kazakhs, who differ significantly from their rural counterparts. The Kazakhs you come across in a business situation will be very well educated, either locally, in Russia or even further afield), and will wear western-style clothes. Alcohol consumption is the norm rather than the exception, and even if someone isn’t drinking (hey, they may be driving; Kazakhs love their cars too), they won’t object to you having a glass or two. Hospitality is a big issue in Kazakhstan, since given the remoteness, the country doesn’t see as many visitors as it should. Therefore you are likely to be given a warm welcome, and consider staying on an extra day or two to visit Almaty (or Nur-Sultan), especially if you’ve only been to the Caspian. Both street and city names can cause confusion in Kazakhstan, as many have been changed to a more Kazakh-sounding version yet locals often refer to the old, Soviet name. Some, such as Ust-Kamenogorsk, Uralsk or Semipalatinsk (now Oskemen, Oral and Semey respectively) are guessable yet the capital Nur-Sultan is now the 6th name for the city in under 200 years (in the past it has been called Akmoly, Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently, until the change in 2019, Astana). Almaty was until recently better known as Alma-Ata yet when founded was in fact Verny. Officially Kazakh and Russian have dual official status, but in larger cities such as Almaty and Karaganda (in fact any with a sizable ethnic Russian population), Russian dominates. Curiously Almaty doesn’t have what could be described as a single, main street running through the centre, such as Moscow’s Tverskaya or Kiev’s Khreshchatik; it’s simply a criss-cross of roads (admittedly some larger than others), and confusingly the city slopes downwards to the north. Hint, the mountains behind you are in the south – on the other side is Kyrgyzstan and lake Issyk-Kul, if you fancy a hike of several days. There also a knack to getting around town; the majority of Almaty streets have changed names since independence, with Kazakh warrior heroes taking preference over Soviet Communists. This would not be a problem in itself (many other CIS cities have swapped some road and metro names) yet old habits die hard and the majority of the population, regardless of ethnicity still refer to the ‘old’ version even though street signs list only the new one. And just to make your life even more difficult, since roads can be many miles long you will need to tell your driver not only the (old) name, but also the name of the nearest intersection. Sounds daunting but you get used to it – just allow ample time as buildings are large and what looks like a stone’s throw away on a map could be a half hour drive, and traffic jams are common throughout the day. A metro has been built recently in Almaty but currently only has one line and whilst beautifully decorated is of limited use to 132 133 business travelers, but cabs are cheap and plentiful. Do keep some energy for Almaty’s nightlife which has to be the best in Central Asia, boasting an excellent & growing selection of bars, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs. There is a solid Expat crowd which is welcoming and easy to break into, and plenty of networking events if you’re new to town – the remoteness results in foreigners still being much more of a novelty than in Moscow. The only ones complaining are those who have been forced to relocate to the capital or to the Caspian! The Kazakh language is currently undergoing a transition from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet, and the process isn’t without its teething problems. Even using the Cyrillic alphabet, Kazakh had 9 letters for sounds which don’t exist in Russian, so series of accents have been added to supposedly ‘help’ make matters easier. Therefore don’t be surprised to see the country written as ‘Qazaqstan’, although only time will tell as to how smoothly (or not) this move will be. For decades, particularly during the Soviet period, the better educated the ethnic Kazakhs are, the less likely it is that may speak their own language in larger cities. In fact it was viewed as backwards to speak Kazakh, since Russian was the language of the USSR and this meant everything. Kazakhs even have an expression ‘Shala-Kazakh’ for Kazakhs who don’t know Kazakh, or speak it badly. Nevertheless, finally, and thanks to some government-backed initiatives, Kazakh is most certainly making a comeback even if many Kazakhs feel more comfortable using Russian (or even English) in business. Even some of the ethnic Russians living in Kazakhstan learn some Kazakh now, and at the same time English is becoming more popular, but is still not widely spoken outside of business circles. Citizens of most countries can now visit Kazakhstan for 30 days visa-free, for either business or tourist purposes. Becoming legally employed in Kazakhstan is a trickier issue as there is a law regarding local content (ie, for every foreigner employed, you need to ‘balance the books’ with nine locals on your payroll), so this is where outsourcing providers play a role. KYRGYZSTAN Population – 6,400,000 Capital City – Bishkek (population – 1,000,000) Currency – Som Kyrgyzstan may be a popular answer to pub quiz questions as one of the four countries in the world that has only one vowel (the others are Chad, Egypt and Cyprus to save you having to Google the answer) but rarely makes the international headlines. Except when there’s a coup, of which there have been two since independence in 1991. Whereas the other four Central Asian countries are ruled by autocratic leaders who’ve been there since Soviet times (or their predecessors were, and little else has changed), Kyrgyzstan kicked out the aged Askar Akaev in 2005, only to do to the same to Kurmanbek Bakiev in 2010. Bakiev had promised much, but only delivered a similar recipe of corruption and cronyism which was great for the tiny few in his clan who benefited, but kept the bulk of the population in poverty. After ethnic riots killed hundreds in Kyrgyzstan’s second city, Osh in the south (which has a large Uzbek minority) following the second coup in 2010, calm appears to prevail, although economically the country still struggles. Interestingly, Kyrgyzstan until recently was the only country in the world to house both a Russian, and an American military base (the latter used to act as a transit point for NATO supplies into Afghanistan) although under pressure from Russia, the Americans were recently, finally given the elbow. Kyrgyzstan may badly need the Yankee Dollar but it needs the Russian Ruble much more. Foreign investment is largely centered around the mining industry, as there are few other opportunities on offer. Kyrgyzstan is a mostly mountainous country. More than a million of its people work abroad (typically in Kazakhstan or Russia) as migrant workers. These remittances are crucial to keeping their country afloat, as well paid employment back home remains scare. Add to this a lack of strategic investment thanks to perceived political instability and government-level corruption, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture. The people of Kyrgyzstan continue to vote with their feet by leaving the country and heading abroad in search of better employment opportunities and few seem optimistic about better times lying ahead anytime soon. Tourism is one bright spot, and the removal of visas for all but the most tin-pot regimes has brought in more foreign visitors; prices are low and the mountain scenery is stunning, especially around lake Issyk-Kul, the world’s second highest. There’s little in the way of mustsee sights in the drab, Soviet-built capital, Bishkek, but it’s hard to visit Kyrgyzstan without spending at least a day in the capital, so make the most of it. Visit Osh bazaar close to the centre for some great souvenirs and you’d be surprised at what the nightlife throws up if you know where to look. 134 135 Curiously Bishkek was recently ranked as one of the cheapest capital cities in the world to live in, and is thus marketing itself as an inexpensive place to learn Russian. There are certainly worse places to spend a summer; the only major outlay will be your air fare. An increasing number of airlines fly into Bishkek despite its remoteness. In terms of language, Kyrgyzstan is the arguably the least localised of the Central Asian countries, despite most of the Russians having fled during the economic chaos in the 1990s. There have been some efforts to promote the Kyrgyz language although many signs are still in Russian only and in urban areas all Kyrgyz speak good, if not fluent Russian – in fact in Bishkek itself, Russian certainly dominates in business circles . Little English is spoken apart from those in the tourist industry although it is slowly on the rise. No visa required for most nationalities (ie, EU, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand & Turkey); South Africans and Israelis can buy a visa upon arrival without an LOI. MOLDOVA Population – 2,700,000 Capital City – Chisinau (population – 700,000) Currency – Leu (plural – Lei) Moldova sometimes feels more like a remote province of Romania than a country in its own right, but that’s probably because essentially, that’s what is it. Formally founded when the MolotovRibbentrop pact was signed in 1939, dividing up large swathes of Eastern Europe into Soviet & Nazi spheres of influence, Moldova currently wins the booby prize for being the poorest country in Europe. Moldova has little going for it as far as the casual investor is concerned; there are no natural resources of any significance and wedged in between North-Eastern Romania and Western Ukraine gives the country little strategic importance or influence. It does hope to join the European Union at some stage although in reality this seems to a long way off, although Moldovan passport-holders may now visit (but not work in) the EU, visa free, the first CIS country to be granted such a privilege. There is one exception; wine. Produced in the region for centuries, the industry took a battering during Mikhail Gorbachev’s antialcohol campaign in the late 1980s, but has seen a revival in recent years and some of the better wines actually taste quite good & are pretty cheap when sampled locally. The smattering of tourists who visit Moldova usually take in a wine tour, and the Milestii Mici complex is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest wine cellars in the world, containing almost two million bottles. The second largest, Cojusna is also worth a visit & is closer to Chisinau, although both recommend that you book tours in advance as Moldova still isn’t really geared up to individual tourists just rocking up unexpected. The capital city, Chisinau (pronounced ‘Kish-in-ow’ in Moldovan, but Russian speakers refer to it as ‘Kish-in-yov’) thinks that it has undergone somewhat of a facelift in recent years, but in reality little has changed. Soviet-era high rise blocks of apartments dominate the skyline and there are few places of interest to visit other than in & around the main street, Stefan Cel Mare. For those wanting to experience a little piece of Soviet nostalgia, take a two hour drive (or train) east to the breakaway province of Transdniestria (Pridnestrovia in Russian), on the border with Ukraine. Incorrectly assuming that at the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, Moldova would be re-incorporated into Romania proper, the ethnic Russians and Ukrainians who lived in the more builtup Transdniestria region took up arms and broke away from Moldova. A stalemate has ensued since 1992 but that hasn’t stopped Transdniestria from issuing its own currency, the Transdniestrian Ruble (worthless outside of the ‘country’ but makes great souvenirs). Their flag is the only one is the world to display the hammer and sickle, despite not actually being a communist state. Nowadays, no additional documents are required to visit for short stays and it’s worth a day trip to the capital, Tiraspol or the nearby town of Bendery. You’ll be surprised that such places still exist in Europe, a classic example of a frozen-conflict, and what’s more, it’s perfectly safe, if a little bizarre. Transdniestria functions pretty much as a country proper, even though no-one, not even Russia recognizes it; Transdniestrian citizens carry Russian passports. The Moldovan language is almost identical to Romanian, which are Romance languages with similarities to Catalan, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. This helps to explain why so many Moldovan migrants head to southern Europe in search of work (plus to Russia too, of course, and some, also to neighbouring Ukraine) as well paid jobs are in short supply in Moldova. Moldova’s population has almost halved since the break up of the USSR. 136 137 Moldovans are more likely to speak, or at least partially understand these languages in favour of English. Russian is spoken by pretty much everyone, and in cities many people will speak it as their first language. No visas are required for the majority of nationalities (ie, EU, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Turkey), although South Africans DO need to apply in advance, AND require an LOI. TAJIKISTAN Population – 9,300,000 Capital City – Dushanbe (population – 800,000) Currency – Somoni Always the poorest of the USSR’s 15 Republics, Tajikistan remains impoverished more than a generation after the fall of the Soviet Union. The country endured a civil war between 1992-1997 when with Russian backing the current leader, Emomali Rakhmon finally ousted the Islamic fundamentalists. Tajikistan’s geography severely hinders progress, as it borders Afghanistan to the south, China’s Xinjiang province to the east (over the Pamir mountains), Kyrgyzstan to the north (also over the Pamirs) and Uzbekistan to the west, with whom it rarely sees eye-toeye. This is partly a contest of egos but also a fight over who controls the region’s water supply – see the Uzbekistan chapter for more details on this touchy subject. President Rakhmon tolerates no dissent but his tight control over the country’s economy prevents growth, which is minimal. Potential projects in mining and hydro energy in the form of dams are fraught with wrangling, both legal and political and take forever to get off the ground; inward investment is minimal despite some recent efforts to market Tajikistan as a place to do business. Heroin smuggling from Afghanistan across the porous, mountainous border represents one of the few ways of making serious money, despite Russian attempts to prevent it, as that’s where much of the finished product ends up. Tajikistan is heavily depending on remittances from migrant workers who mainly toil on construction projects in Russia, bringing in almost 50% of the country’s GDP. Rakhmon is fully aware of his dependency on mother Russia yet from time to time irks the hand that feeds his country by behaving irrationally, such as threatening to ban the teaching of Russian in schools, or de-Russifying Tajik surnames (he was previously known as Rakhmonov, before dropping the ‘ov’ ending as it sounded ‘too Russian’). The NATO-led operation in Afghanistan had let to Tajikistan being used as a base for logistical support, and brought in much-needed funding. This has now all but dried up as the Allies withdrew, and without much-needed reforms the economy is unlikely to show many signs of growth. The Capital Dushanbe (which curiously means ‘Monday’ in Tajik) seems affluent enough, with plenty of decent shops, restaurants and even Hyatt & Hilton hotels, and everyone seems to have the latest mobile phone. Yet in rural areas people live close to a subsistence existence, relying on their animals, the crops they grow and money sent home by the men in their family working in Russia. Not that this stops the government embarking on seemly pointless, grandiose efforts to prove itself to the few who are paying any attention, such as building the world’s biggest library, tallest flagpole, largest tea house, and most recently an enormous theatre with the largest capacity in Central Asia. Dushanbe is adorned with Soviet-style posters of Rakhmon greeting happy workers, overseeing the country’s modernization and praising people surrounding completed projects, few of which bear any resemblance to reality. Nobody is expecting any serious improvements anytime soon; if anything the Tajik security services have strengthened their grip on sociality as a whole under the guise of preventing the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. There have been recent clampdowns on any media outlets, which report anything even vaguely critical of the government and social networking websites are frequently blocked. Tajik is the ‘odd man out’ of the Central Asian Republics as the language is closely related to Persian, rather than Turkish but has borrowed words from other languages, including Russian, which is still spoken in larger cities. Tajiks are well aware that knowledge of Russian allows them to work in Russia and other CIS countries. Tajikistan sees very few outsiders other than fellow CIS citizens or the occasional Chinese delegation (either as business people or tourists) so as a result English is virtually non-existent. E-visas are now available so long as you fly into Dushanbe airport (but not at other airports or at any land borders), with no LOI required. TURKMENISTAN Population – 5,250,000 Capital City – Ashgabat (population – 1,000,000) Currency – Turkmenistani Manat ! 138 139 Arguably the second most closed country in the world after North Korea, Turkmenistan thrives thanks to having the world’s fifth largest deposits of natural gas. It’s a bizarre destination that few people ever visit thanks to its self-isolation policies. EVERY Non-Turkmen citizen needs a visa, and these can be hard to obtain for anything other than standard tourist trips, and even these must be fully escorted by a local guide at almost all times. The capital Ashgabat (which charming translates into ‘city of love’) is plain bizarre – try to imagine Dubai under communist rule and you’ll come close. Stories about the previous president Saparmurat Niyazov’s eccentricities were well documented; he changed his own name to Turkmenbashi (father of all the Turkmen people), as well as some of the names of the months of the year to make them sound like his relatives. A few of the many banned pleasures were smoking OUTSIDE, dogs in the entire capital and then libraries were shut down everywhere except in the capital. Niyazov died in 2006 but the gold statues that he had built of himself in Ashgabat remain. He was replaced by his dentist, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov who hinted at reform but has kept to similar hard-line, closed policy, perhaps with fewer of the eccentricities of his predecessor. Doing business in Turkmenistan requires the patience of a saint and extreme persistence, preferably with high-level contacts thrown in for good measure as the entire country’s economy is under state control. The majority of business not surprisingly revolves around the gas industry, but also construction and some agriculture. Those firms who have made it in Turkmenistan enjoy something of a monopoly, so there is some reason to be optimistic, but be prepared for frustrations, and to be there for the long haul. The official language is Turkmen which is related to, but isn’t as close to Turkish as the name might suggest. Few Russians remain in Turkmenistan and its isolation means that Russian is not as widely spoken as in other CIS countries, even though the well educated will still speak it fluently. Good luck trying to get around in English, but then again you’ll almost certainly be escorted by an agency-approved, English-speaking guide anyway. Visas required by all (including for CIS citizens), and must be obtained in advance. An LOI is required, and foreigners will need to be accompanied throughout their stay in Turkmenistan. If you ! do make it there, pat yourself on the back as Turkmenistan is one of the world’s least visited countries, so you’re one of a select few. UKRAINE Population – 42,000,000 Capital City – Kiev (also spelt ‘Kyiv’) (population – 2,900,000) Currency – Hrivnia The name ‘Ukraine’ literally translates as ‘the edge’ which is rather fitting since Ukraine cannot quite decide whether she wants to be part of Europe (meaning in practice stronger ties to the European Union), or greater Russia to which there are closer ties historically, especially East of Kiev and along the Black Sea coast. There is an expression told to me by a local businessman in Ukraine, that ‘dyengi lyubyat tishinu’ (money prefers calmness), something which has been in short supply in Ukraine. One feels that if, since gaining independence in 1991, politicians spent less time fighting amongst themselves (sometimes physically) and more time sorting out the country’s woes, Ukraine would be in a stronger position. Ukrainians lament that where Poland went through a process of shock-therapy in the early 1990s, Ukraine got the shock without the therapy to back it up. Ukraine is the largest country wholly in Europe and has the second largest population of any CIS country, after Russia. It was the breadbasket of the USSR and hosted large numbers of factories geared to industrial and military production in the east of the country. It was very much the CIS’s gateway to Europe, so should have been in considerably stronger shape than it is, even before hostilities broke out in the eastern part of the country. Corruption is a serious issue, and much of the economy is controlled by a handful of well-connected Oligarchs who have little incentive to instigate change, despite ‘assistance’ from well-meaning foreign advisors. Ukraine found itself virtually bankrupt in the early 1990s, immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union when shortages were rife, and the country issues such as the Chernobyl disaster to cope with, something that it simply couldn’t afford. The ongoing, semi-frozen conflict with Russia has decimated the country’s heavy industry and the loss of Crimea to Russia has dealt a blow to the Ukraine’s tourism industry. Doing business in Ukraine at the best of times is no walk in the park, and many investors have left disappointed, some with horror stories of how their businesses were stolen – either by, or with the 140 141 help of corrupt officials. There is money to be made; just look at how many multinational corporations have offices in Kiev although this is a world away from village life where little has changed since the collapse of the USSR. The retail sector continues to expand, and gas exploration has suddenly become big news, with FMCG, Agricultural & Pharmaceutical companies also showing growth. Ukraine surprised many in the world in 2019 by electing reality TV actor and comedian, Vladimir (‘Volodymyr’ in Ukrainian) Zelensky to become President. The irony was that Zelensky had played the role of an ordinary man who rants about corruption, and then goes on to become President, in a popular TV series. His landslide victory was confirmation that Ukrainian voters were fed-up with old-style politics and were ready to give a chance to someone who had a clean background. Most felt they had little to lose. Zelensky certainly has a job on his hands but early signs have been encouraging; the economy appears to slowly, be turning around and general business confidence is on the increase. Huge challenges remain, however, such as how to stem the flow of young, educated Ukrainians from leaving the country (estimated at around 100,000 per month), plus managing relations with Russia. Language is a thorny issue in Ukraine and certainly divides opinion – Kiev vs Kyiv isn’t a fixture in the Ukrainian footballing calendar, it is in fact the transliteration of the Ukraine’s capital into Latin letters from Russian vs Ukrainian. Not surprisingly Ukrainians prefer the latter version, although for continuity’s sake many people stick with the old form, to avoid confusion. Similarly you will see differences between the Russian spelling of some cities in Ukraine, such as (Lvov vs Lviv, Kharkov vs Kharkiv and Odessa vs Odesa). In theory at least Ukrainian is the country’s only official language, but visit large cities such as Kiev or Odessa, and you’ll see a very different picture, where Russian is by far the most common language on everyone’s lips. Russian always dominated in eastern cities and in the Crimea, and this is even more the case now. English is becoming more widely spoken in parts of Ukraine that attract more tourists, namely Kiev, Odessa and Lvov thanks to visa-free travel for westerners in 2005 that remains to this day. The European low-coster airlines were quick to seize the moment when Ukrainians were granted visa-free access to the Schengen zone, with flights now available to numerous Ukrainian cities from almost every European destination you can think of (and even some you’ve never heard of). No visas are required for many nationalities, and for those who do, electronic visas are easily available online. Be aware that The Crimea is now de facto under Russian control so Russian visa requirements apply. Whilst hostilities are on-going, travel to the Eastern part of Ukraine (particularly the Donetsk & Lugansk regions) is not recommended, and in any case business has almost ground to a halt there. UZBEKISTAN Population – 34,000,000 Capital City – Tashkent (population – 2,500,000) Currency – Sum Uzbekistan is a country undergoing huge transition quite literally, as we speak. Shunned by most international businesses since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Central Asia’s most populous nation has put itself back on investors’ maps as the multinationals pour into, and set up shop in the capital, Tashkent to take advantage of what the country now has to offer. The years following independence were not easy ones. Uzbeks understood the need for keeping control of a volatile area, as Uzbekistan is the only Central Asian country to share a border with all of the other four ‘Stans. The key was to prevent a civil war in the 1990s, as was witnessed in Tajikistan (and which many believe could easily have occurred in Uzbekistan). Nonetheless, Uzbeks lamented the tight grip over the country, in every way, from politics to the economy, using the threat of Islamic fundamentalism as an excuse to clamp down on just about anything. Uzbekistan’s long term leader Islam Karimov died in September 2016 after having ruled the country with an iron fist since Soviet times. During his tenure, the country had an appalling record for human rights, events of which have been well documented, including a daylight massacre of hundreds of civilians in Andijan in 2005. Karimov seemed to care little what the world thought, and western-imposed sanctions had no obvious effect on his domestic or foreign policy. His trump card had always been his country’s strategic location, sharing a border with Afghanistan, which ironically was from where the Soviet Union first attacked, then finally retreated from their decade-long war that began in late 1979. As NATO forces began to leave Afghanistan and take their tons of military equipment with them, Uzbekistan was an obvious exit route; many times safer than through the mountainous, tribal areas of Pakistan. Successive western 142 143 governments seemed happy to effectively turn a blind-eye to Karimov’s abuses at home in return for safe passage out of Afghanistan, a picture, which obviously suited Karimov nicely. Uzbekistan is a country rich in natural resources, particularly gold, copper & coal, plus considerable gas reserves. There is massive agricultural potential, especially in the harvesting of cotton, traditionally one of Uzbekistan’s hard currency earners. It is however precisely cotton that has caused so much agony in the region since production was stepped up by Soviet planners in the 1960s. Cotton is an extremely thirsty crop and rivers that normally flow into the Aral Sea were diverted to grow cotton on an industrial scale, resulting in the Aral Sea shrinking to only a fraction of its previous size. It’s said to be one of the biggest man-made, environmental disasters of all time, and yet water still dominates the political landscape in the southern part of Central Asia. Uzbekistan is both angry and frightened at the prospect of its two eastern neighbours Kyrgyzstan and in particular Tajikistan damming up mountain rivers as they could then more easily dictate terms, although some believe that has been more about a clash of personalities and egos among big men used to getting their own way. Everything changed once the current leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in December 2016. He set about removing Karimov’s cronies from power and began replacing them with (in his words) “new, young people who love their country”. Mirziyoyev has pursued an active foreign policy, and made it clear that he is keen to attract foreign inward investment. He has travelled the country extensively and stated that he intends for Tashkent to be a magnet for business. The result is that the capital is now awash with representatives of international businesses, and there are copious service providers who will help you and your company find your feet. Significant amounts of Red tape have been removed, the local currency, the Sum is now convertible, credit cards are more widely accepted and perhaps most importantly, you can repatriate any profits that your company makes. Critics will say that it’s simply been the transfer of power from one large family to another and that the speed of reform is slow, but changes continue, and largely for the better. Get there before your competitors do! Uzbekistan must also be visited for tourist purposes. The country will leave you in awe; there are thousands of years of history to be witnessed and prices are very low. The Uzbek people, despite all the hardships (most work for peanuts locally, and many others have left to seek their fortune elsewhere, mainly in Russia) are extremely hospitable and welcoming to foreigners. Given the beauty of the ancient, Silk Road buildings in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva to name just three places, it’s a shame that nowhere near as many people make the trip as should. The traditional Chaikhana (tea house) has been replicated throughout the CIS region which is testimony to the food’s popularity – you won’t be disappointed. Uzbek, the official language is related to Turkish, but more closely to Kazakh and Kyrgyz. Despite most of Uzbekistan’s sizable Russian minority having left the country in the past three decades, many remain and therefore Russian is still widely taught and therefore spoken, particularly in Tashkent. The ethnic Tajiks who live in Uzbekistan speak Tajik too, but don’t expect much English to be spoken although the language is gaining in popularity. In accordance with Uzbekistan’s open door policy, the majority of visitors, both business and tourist can now enter the country visa-free for at least 30 days, and those who do require a visa can get one online with a minimum of fuss. Along with visas, the country has also done away with customs declaration forms (unless of course you are bringing in restricted goods, and/or large quantities of cash). Immigration and customs formalities are now speedy processes, a world away from the long queues and bag searches of just a few years ago. 144 145 THE EURASIAN CUSTOMS UNION (TAMOZHENY SOYUZ) Much noise has been made about The Eurasian Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, which came into existence in January 2010 and was launched as a first step towards forming a broader European Union-type economic alliance of former Soviet states. Armenia & Kyrgyzstan subsequently joined up in 2015, and Tajikistan’s possible membership is still under discussion. There is also speculation that some non-CIS countries might eventually sign up (such as Mongolia, Turkey & Vietnam) , but as things stand, these remain as just rumours. Some Western critics see this as a way for Vladimir Putin to try to reestablish a Russian-dominated, USSR-style union among the Post-Soviet states, although in reality for foreign investors this Union is likely to be of interest if you produce goods in one of these countries (or ship into one), and subsequently export them to member states. Note that when flying between countries in the Customs Union, technically you cannot purchase anything from the airport Duty Free shops, even though not every store in the region feels the need to apply this rule. SPECIFICS OF RELOCATION TO THE CIS COUNTRIES Moving to CIS countries can be quite an interesting and versatile experience as their territories feature cosmopolitan cities with modern services and infrastructures among pristine rural areas. Although you can usually expect a welcoming and easy-going attitude towards expats in most of these countries, relocating and launching your business here can be a challenge for unprepared businesspersons. This is due to the common historical and institutional background during the Soviet period. However, as we can observe now, their economic and political development strategies have become increasingly divergent after gaining independence in 1991. While some CIS states have a developed housing market with various options, there are countries with a limited choice for expats. Putting aside Russia as its core member, let us take a closer look at the others below. The key players are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia (the latter two are formally not CIS members but usually featured as significant parts of the region). The housing market in these countries is still in the process of transformation; however, we cannot help but notice the rapid changes towards services quality and business environment progress in recent years. Common practices include landlord-oriented deals so be prepared to pay rental and insurance payments in cash, and small choice of high-class and big apartments in most of the cases. Rental prices usually include only cold rent, consequently, taxes and utilities come on top. On a positive side, market analytics shows a smooth shift to a tenant-focused supply in the last few years due to the expat influx, countries’ willingness to collaborate with the Western world, and favourable investment climate. Still, CIS is a colorful patchwork of regions with different cultures, customs and traditions. So let’s speak about some local differences in each of these countries.We start with Azerbaijan, the Land of Fire, as locals call it. The place where East meets West, this country mixes fairytale-like architecture of Arabian Nights and modern skyscrapers. Private property owners in Azerbaijan own the majority of the apartments on the market. Most local and international businesses are located in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. What is quite a rare situation in CIS countries is that you can find almost any type of housing here – from villas with large gardens and occasional swimming pools to duplex penthouses offering spectacular views of the city. Oriental exotic motifs in furnishing and interior design is a common thing, though it can be quite confusing (if not over the top) for many expats from the western part of the world. The same picture can be found in Kazakhstan where due to the country’s rapid development and economic growth the housing market is experiencing a massive increase in both real estate prices and rent over the past few years. Of course, like with the majority of CIS countries, most businesses are concentrated in the big cities - especially in Nur-Sultan (previously known as Astana, built from scratch among vast steppes and featuring a wide range of modern houses with facilities), Almaty (previously the principal city of Kazakhstan) and oil centers like Aktau and Atyrau. Local real estate agents often lack professional experience and may be unreliable in negotiating process. Most property owners show their apartments themselves, which can take a toll on the logistics of your search. Therefore, we recommend planning it in advance. Rental prices can vary depending on location and accommodation type. One of the most landlord-oriented countries is still Belarus. Still engulfed by its Soviet legacy, Belarus is emerging as a budding and modern expat destination. Despite its broad range of housing 146 147 options – from grandiose Soviet-era apartments to modern apartments and residential complexes – it is necessary to mention the difficulties you can face during the negotiations with the landlords. For example, it is usually complicated to discuss the proprietor’s responsibility for ongoing maintenance in your apartment and possibility to include utilities in your rent. As everywhere in CIS, cash payments are preferred. There are less popular directions for relocation in CIS states, however. Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan are traditionally considered to have less developed housing markets. Supply of high-quality apartments is very low and limited. Local currency in almost everywhere is volatile, so landlords prefer to sign rental agreements in USD/EUR with payments in cash. To avoid the risks of overpaying your property owner we recommend fixing rent in local currency. It would be very difficult to find a proper real estate agency here, as most deals are made by personal contact and sometimes only via verbal agreement. Among other CIS countries Uzbekistan has its own unique flavor. It combines medieval buildings as if from the pages of an old oriental tale, elegant European architecture from the period of the Turkestan governor-generalship, standard concrete “boxes” of the Soviet era and, finally, in the big cities, you can find even modern skyscrapers of glass and concrete. Landlords will almost always request USD payments in cash. Even though local housing market is still very young, recent political and economic changes promise a speedy development and significant influx of investments in the next few years. As already mentioned above, the personality and experience of the landlord is an important factor to consider. Intermark Relocation keeps a record on many proprietors and our consultants are able to advise you in many cases whether a particular landlord is easy to work with or not. Once you have chosen the property, we will start negotiations on your behalf. Our consultant will do the legal check on landlord’s ownership documents and provide you with a comprehensive report. Our professional team will help you and your family with all the necessary information and paperwork to make the process of moving and adaptation as smooth as possible. Relocation made easy with Intermark! Marina Semenova Managing Director & Shareholder Tel: +7 495 502 95 53 | +7 963 644 7770 m.semenova@intermarkrelocation.ru www.intermarkrelocation.ru 7/1 Kropotkinsky Pereulok Moscow, Russia, 119034 +7 495 502 95 53 www.intermarkrelocation.ru relo@intermarkrelocation With over 20 years of experience we here to help you to make Russia & CIS your home! • Temporary Housing • Orientation & Home-nding • Legal due diligence • Settling in & 24/7 Help-desk • Departure Support • Spousal support & Coaching RELOCATION • Work Permit • Visa support (all types) • Residence Permits • Migration registration & notications • Legalization & duplicates’ procurement • Immigration due diligence IMMIGRATION • International moving • Domestic moving • Transportations of antiques • Oce moving • Vehicle moving • Stock and storage MOVING PAS SP OR T 5 148 149 XVII. Public Holidays in Russia Russian public holidays fall on specific calendar days but there is an art to knowing exactly which day or days off you will get. Typically, if the holiday falls on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, you simply get that day off. If it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, you usually find that the following Monday won’t be a working day. If it’s a Tuesday or a Thursday, you might be given the Monday before – or Friday afterwards too, allowing for a longer weekend but you may be forced to work a Saturday the following week to compensate; but not always. A list of public holidays is available at the start of each calendar year but even these are subject to occasional change so it’s worth making absolutely certain in advance before booking flights out to Russia as some people may use the opportunity of a quieter spot to take the whole week off. KEY PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN RUSSIA 1st January – New Year’s Day In fact the first working day of the New Year is often not until the 10th January since Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on 7th January. Due to the exorbitant cost of flights/ holidays over new year’s, some people take an additional week or even two off, so don’t count on much happening until the third week of January. 23rd February – Defender of the Fatherland Day Formerly known as Soviet Army Day; now women prepare food and drinks for the men in their lives (both in the office, and at home), in anticipation of 8th March, and is therefore commonly referred to as ‘Mens’ Day’. 8th March – International Women’s Day For Russia’s females, this is one of the biggest days of the year, with office parties, champagne, chocolates & presents galore. It’s worth being in Russia to witness this one; but come prepared (ie, bearing gifts), and watch the price of flowers shoot up in the days before. 1st May – Labour Day Don’t expect much business to take place during the first ten days of May as many Russians use this period as an opportunity to take an extended holiday. 9th May – Victory Day Commemorating the end of the Second World War – you will witness massive street parades involving WW2 memorabilia 150 151 (think tanks trundling down the main roads of Moscow and noisy aircraft flying overhead); remember that the Soviet Union lost a reported 27 million people between 1941 – 1945 so you can understand why this one is such a big deal. 12th June – Russia Day Until recently was known as Independence Day, but nobody was quite sure exactly from whom, hence the name change – but it’s a day off nonetheless. 4th November – Unity Day Previously October Revolution Day was celebrated on 7th November but now an obscure victory over the Poles in the 17th century is celebrated instead. Useful contacts Chambers of commerce, local websites, social events and corporate sponsors 152 153 CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE If your firm isn’t already a member of these organizations, then check these out and sign up. All have their own niche and can be extremely useful in terms of local knowledge, relevant contacts, networking and for lobbying on companies’ behalf. Annual subscriptions vary depending on company size – be prepared that some will try to charge you the maximum rate, based on your corporation’s global revenue, even if your Moscow office is only a two-man show. However, depending on the circumstances, some may let you sign up as an individual member at nominal cost but you will need to ask. Here are some of the largest and best known chambers, although even some of the smaller nationalities will have either a formal or informal network with events of varying frequency. American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) One of the largest chambers (not only in terms of members but also events) who have a history of effective lobbying on behalf of the foreign business community as a whole, and running sector specialized meetings with senior people ranging from multinationals to high-level government figures. Open to all; you don’t need to be an American or an American company or even have an office in the States to join up. There are separate Am Chams located in the capital cities of all major CIS countries. www.amcham.ru Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) A well-established and extremely well-connected chamber that is professionally run, with offices in London & Moscow. Events range from evening drinks/networking sessions (sometimes held at the British Ambassador’s Residence or in the Embassy) to specialized conferences with top-level industry speakers in all three locations. The RBCC also cooperates closely with the British Embassy and the DIT (formerly known as the UKTI), and also facilitates trade missions to key cities in Russia. www.rbcc.com British Business Club The BBC has been completely revamped, and now no longer requires an annual membership fee; you simply pay to attend each particular event, where there is an entrance fee, although this often does include some refreshments. Open to all, register via the website to receive regular updates about what’s coming up in the calendar. www.britishclub.ru Canadian Eurasian-Russian Business Association (CERBA) A forum for all Canadians in throughout the CIS, or anyone even vaguely connected with Canada. This may include those with a Canadian partner, working for a Canadian company or someone who has previously lived in Canada, as well as a platform for Canadians in Canada who have business interests in the CIS region, or are looking to do so. CERBA runs regular events, ranging from social to business (the annual mining conference is just one of many) as well as some political lobbying, in Canada as well as in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This is one chamber that definitely punches above its weight in terms of size and activity, with additional charity fundraisers and missions to far-flung parts of the CIS with a strong focus on where Canadian companies are particularly active (oil, gas and other natural resources such as mining and forestry, agriculture and transport) and publishes a regular newsletter. Offices in Moscow, Almaty, Tashkent plus five Canadian cities (Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver) www.cerbanet.org Association of European Business (AEB) The AEB represents EU-related business in Russia under the motto of “Quality Information, Effective Lobbying, Valuable Networking” and runs a large number of events, some general, others more sector specific (IT/ Telecoms, Transport, HR, Oil and Gas to name but a few). Also hosts visiting trade delegations and evening networking events on at least a monthly basis, and produces a sector-specific quarterly magazine featuring business issues. www.aebrus.com The Russian-German Chamber of Commerce (AHK) Representing both the interests of German business in Russia, and Russian business in Germany since 1995, AHK consists of around 860 members, mainly SMEs. Germany is one of the largest and most prominent investors in Russia, and AHK stresses its mission as Impulse, Service and Lobbying, which in practice supports entry to the market to establish and maintain contacts with business partners, plus providing market information and practical advice. Various regular topical events are held for the German-speaking business community and lobbying the interests of German industry at the political and administrative level is another key feature. www.russland.ahk.de (in German & Russian) 154 155 CCI France Russie The French-Russian Chamber of Commerce, encompassing the Frenchspeaking world who organize conferences and events in numerous industry sectors & disciplines, as well as quarterly publications plus a surprisingly high number of social and cultural gatherings. You don’t have to be French or even speak French to join, but basic knowledge of français will certainly help. www.ccifr.ru BRBC – Belgian-Russian Business Club A semi-formal organization for Belgian nationals working in Moscow and for employees of Belgian companies operating in Russia. Holds events several times a year, typically a corporate presentation followed by networking over food and drinks held after work, often in the Belgian Embassy. For more information and to get yourself on the list, send an e-mail: belgianrussianbusinessclub@gmail.com EUROBAK European Business Association of Kazakhstan (EUROBAK) is a noncommercial organisation representing the European business community in Kazakhstan, with a particular focus on Almaty. It was formed upon the joint initiative of EU companies, working and investing in Kazakhstan, and the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan. It plays a key role in promoting and nurturing mutual understanding between Kazakhstan and the countries of the European Union in both business and social spheres and runs regular events, both business and social in Almaty. www.eurobak.kz Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce (FRCC) was founded in 1946. It is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote companies’ business and competitiveness as well as economic relations between Russia and Finland. www.svkk.fi PUBLICATIONS, WEBSITES AND TV The Moscow Times Sadly no longer available in printed form (at least in English – there is a Chinese language edition), The Moscow Times is nonetheless an excellent source of news featuring business, politics, travel, and culture mostly in Moscow but also throughout Russia. Aimed primarily at foreigners living and working in Russia, although educated, Englishspeaking Russians are also regular readers. www.themoscowtimes.com Russia Today (RT) A Russian, state-funded TV channel featuring news bulletins, documentaries, talk shows plus cultural programmes and even some sports in Russia, but aimed at the overseas market. Mainly in English but also have Russian, Spanish & Arabic programmes. www.rt.com Russia Beyond Previously referred to as ‘Russia Beyond the Headlines’, Russia Beyond is a multi-lingual brand of TV-Novosti, an autonomous non-profit organization, funded by the Russian government. It publishes a wide range of expert opinion on current affairs, travel and cultural events in Russia, as well as Russian’s actions on the international arena. www.rbth.com The websites www.expat.ru & www.redtape.ru both provide excellent local knowledge on everything from obtaining visas to the latest restaurant, with chat forums to swap information with others. Russia in Your Pocket Available in print, PDF and on-line, In Your Pocket guides feature mainly Moscow and St Petersburg plus jaunts out to other cities. Frequently updated and brutally honest, IYP guides cover hotels, bars, restaurants plus other specifics to quickly find your feet in a new city, whether travelling as a tourist, businessman or as an Expat relocating to Russia. There are also separate guides to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. www.inyourpocket.com Internations Runs networking events throughout the world; ideal if you’re new in town or simply visiting and wish to hook up with other expatriates or internationallyminded locals. Active in most key cities in the CIS where Expats might live & work. www.internations.org Fryday A networking club for professionals organising social and business networking events across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. www.fryday.net Sanduny Banya (full name – Sandunovskskiye Bani) The website is now in English and Russian with plenty of pictures of what 156 157 you can expect inside; well worth a visit if you’re a banya virgin (foreigners are a rarity in this Russian ritual). www.sanduny.ru CONTACT DETAILS OF CORPORATE SPONSORS: Bellerage Alinga Moscow: Shchipok St., 11 bld.1, Moscow, Russia +7 495 755 55 68 Saint Petersburg: ‘Regus Nevsky Plaza’ business center, Nevski prospekt, 55A, St Petersburg, Russia

+7 812 313 91 43

www.bellerage.com Brookes School Moscow Lazorevyy Proyezd, 7, Moscow, Russia +7 499 110 70 01 www.moscow.brookes.org Conner & Co LLC ‘Mirland’ business center, 2nd Khutorskaya St., 38A, bld. 23, Moscow, Russia info@connerco.ru www.connerco.ru Fircroft Russia 4th Floor, Office 5, Tverskaya St., 16, bld.3, Moscow, Russia +7 499 649 28 29 www.fircroft.ru Intermark Relocation Kropotkinsky pereulok, 7/1, Moscow, Russia +7 495 502 95 53 relo@intermarkrelocation.ru www.intermarkrelocation.ru ROSINKA International Residencies IRC “Rosinka”, village Angelovo, Krasnogorsk Region, Moscow, Russia +7 985 998 05 85, +7 916 900 05 13 www.rosinka.ru US Dental Care Business Center ‘Olympic Hall’, Olimpiyskiy prospect, 16, bld.5, Moscow, Russia +7 495 933 86 86 www.usdentalcare.com XIX. Glossary of Terms and Acronyms 158 159 Banya – a Russian bath house (see the section at the end of chapter 12 for tips on visiting a banya) The Caucasus – the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea combining the three independent ex-Soviet Countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan & Georgia, plus several regions which are part of the Russian Federation (namely Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Ossetia & Kabardino-Balkaria), although some say it reaches as far as Sochi. Occasionally referred to as Transcaucasia. CEE – Central and Eastern Europe (usually refers to all of the former ‘Eastern Bloc’ countries including the former Soviet Republics, although sometimes includes Germany, Austria and even Switzerland). Central Asia – sometimes referred to as ‘The Stans’, namely the 5 ex-Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Occasionally abbreviated to CAR (Central Asian Region). Eastern Bloc - a group of Communist states in Central and Eastern Europe, plus East and South-East Asia under the hegemony of the USSR, between 1947-1991. However, Westerners generally use this term to refer to the USSR and its satellite states in Eastern Europe, namely East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. Elektrichka – a suburban train. Very cheap, but a slow way to travel. EMEA – Europe, Middle East and Africa FSU – Former Soviet Union Letter of Invitation (LOI) from an official organization or a travel agency, often one approved by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs or sometimes it is simply a confirmation number, in order for a visa to be issued. Marshrutka – a minibus, which runs along a fixed route, often complementing the bus service. Faster, as it stops only on demand (& therefore the fare is slightly higher). Some also run to nearby towns. MKAD – the Moscow (or Minsk) ring road, similar to the M25 around London. In St Petersburg, it’s just KAD. NGO – Non-Governmental (and usually not-for-profit) Organisation Podyezd – Entrance to a building (usually residential) Propiska – a residency permit, allowing the bearer to live in a particular city (typically refers to Moscow) Propusk – a pass or entry permit (generally valid only once, unless you actually work there) allowing you to enter a particular building or compound SME – Small and Medium Enterprise (occasionally referred to as SMB – Small and Medium Businesses) Spravka – a piece of paper that is usually signed and stamped which is required to obtain a particular document

USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Visa support – this usually comes in the form of an LOI (letter of invitation). 160

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