Hello from Russia!

[Kenny Shovel]

Alas, it isn't so here. Of course in my country home (quite modest, really, by our standards) I have everything I have in my city flat - including internet by GPRS, and even more, as a real forest is just eight meters away from our fence, but it is very far from that in our original villages. We have very big difference between the rich and the poor: rich have large palaces of 500 - 700 sq. meters for a family of two - five, and poor sometimes have to sleep with their valenki & teloghreyka on, as they have to save on coal and gas, and their ancient huts are not too well insulated...

Well, there are rich and poor areas in all countries, just in different ratios. What is important is whether you feel the country your daughter is growing up in is an improvement on the one from your childhood.
It is also worth reflecting that what now seems rich and comfortable has not always been so. I would say that for large parts of the British population ‘relative prosperity’ has only arrived in the last 20-40 years. I know that the first time my mother visited my fathers’ parents they apologised as they did not have much of a meal to offer her, but she was amazed to be given tinned salmon, as she had never even seen such a thing before.

=Yes, I cannot say better. Though I wouldn't say that descendants of the Slavetraders or these of Newton etc. should be considered responsible for their ancestors' deeds... But I am sure you wouldn't too.

Of course not, I was illustrating that good and bad parts of a countries history are not linked to a person.

By the way, that were my Grandfather and Grandmother who moved to Moscow from some God-forgotten village in the beginning of XX century - so my ancestors were also farm workers until about one hundred years ago...

Mine probably broke from this tradition about 50 years ago. My family’s history is not one of prosperity; my mothers’ generation, and more strongly my own, were the first to have a chance of a better life.

…Kiev, I think, is even worse in that respect than Moscow, as it is warmer and poorer - we have too many beautiful girls never going by underground already... They prefer Mercedeses, Porshes and even Bentleys...

I liked Kiev, a beautiful city with a nice atmosphere at night.
I have seen the curious combination you find on Russian roads: ‘Novi Russki Machina’ and cars you would not trust to outrun a dog!

 

[Sergo]

Well, there are rich and poor areas in all countries, just in different ratios. What is important is whether you feel the country your daughter is growing up in is an improvement on the one from your childhood.

= Yep, you are right. I am sure it is an improvement, as all in all today life princeples are more honest then those of our past. Of course, very beautiful words were said in abundance during the CPU rule, but the reality differed very much from that. Of course it had not been easy to comprehend then, and there are people who cannot understand that even now.
Alas, our "mighty ones", the so-called "law-enforcing" people, get too much power over businessmen and ordinary people as of late. The process is active, and one cannot be sure to which abiss it could deliver us, if it is speeded up & broaden. =

It is also worth reflecting that what now seems rich and comfortable has not always been so. I would say that for large parts of the British population ‘relative prosperity’ has only arrived in the last 20-40 years. I know that the first time my mother visited my fathers’ parents they apologised as they did not have much of a meal to offer her, but she was amazed to be given tinned salmon, as she had never even seen such a thing before.


= Thanks, it is very interesting to know this, as this private view on the history cannot be received by usual way - books etc. Our family was very poor, and the fact that my father died when I was 5 only worsened the situation. We lived in a house mostly occupied by the Ministry of Defence, so our neighbours were officers with a rank not less than a major. And we got to that house by exchanging our room in a communal flat on the Arbat street in the center of Moscow for a two-roomed flat in a new building on the brink of Moscow. So... I remember some General's son to invite me to their flat (while his parents weren't in, of course), in order to show me grandeour of their life... So he showed me different thinhgs, brought from abroad, and was glad to see me gaping at them...
I think I would like to tell more, if it is of interest to you. =

Of course not, I was illustrating that good and bad parts of a countries history are not linked to a person. Mine probably broke from this tradition about 50 years ago. My family’s history is not one of prosperity; my mothers’ generation, and more strongly my own, were the first to have a chance of a better life.

= Yes, and it was me who had a chance at better life in our family. I started as a civil engineer after graduating from an institute, and before that I tried about every job one could find - I loaded/unloaded trucks and trains, worked at construction sites and even was a minor actor in several films... Full story will take hours to tell, really...
And last year I earned much more then our President cares to declare as his annual income.=

I liked Kiev, a beautiful city with a nice atmosphere at night.
I have seen the curious combination you find on Russian roads: ‘Novi Russki Machina’ and cars you would not trust to outrun a dog!

=Yes, Kiev is a wonderful city. My wife is really half-Ukrainian, and her mother's family still live not far from Kiev. Last year we visited them, having crossed half of Ukraine in our car. So... It was not always as wonderful as Kiev. The country is quite poor, and not much seemed to be changed for the better.

But of course it is just great to be in Kiev... I would have liked to come there right now...=

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Yep, you are right. I am sure it is an improvement, as all in all today life principles are more honest than those of our past. Of course, very beautiful words were said in abundance during the CPU rule, but the reality differed very much from that. Of course it had not been easy to comprehend then, and there are people who cannot understand that even now.

Yes, the Russians who think “Things were better the way they were”. The father of the family I know in Odessa is still a communist although his wife owns her own company that he and his daughters work for. For him I think the modern day Ukraine is a confusing place that he is unhappy with but he is also a realist and more importantly a nice guy.

Alas, our "mighty ones", the so-called "law-enforcing" people, get too much power over businessmen and ordinary people as of late. The process is active, and one cannot be sure to which abyss it could deliver us, if it is speeded up & broaden.

In general I would say that the attitude of the British media is that Bush & Blair are to quick too turn a blind eye to some of the less democratic attitudes of Putin. It is sometimes used as an example of Western hypocrisy over their claims to spread democracy across the world.

Thanks, it is very interesting to know this, as this private view on the history cannot be received by usual way - books etc. Our family was very poor, and the fact that my father died when I was 5 only worsened the situation.

My father died when I was a baby, but he knew this was going to happen as he had serious flu as a child and was left with a weak heart. So he worked extra hours for many years to ensure that our house belonged to my mother and that she would not have to worry about this after he was gone. We still did not have much money during my childhood, but to be fair to my mother I had little understanding of this as she took this burden herself.

We lived in a house mostly occupied by the Ministry of Defence, so our neighbours were officers with a rank not less than a major. And we got to that house by exchanging our room in a communal flat on the Arbat street in the centre of Moscow for a two-roomed flat in a new building on the brink of Moscow. So... I remember some General's son to invite me to their flat (while his parents weren't in, of course), in order to show me grandeur of their life... So he showed me different things, brought from abroad, and was glad to see me gaping at them...
I think I would like to tell more, if it is of interest to you.

Sure, of course I am interested.

Yes, and it was me who had a chance at better life in our family. I started as a civil engineer after graduating from an institute, and before that I tried about every job one could find - I loaded/unloaded trucks and trains, worked at construction sites and even was a minor actor in several films... Full story will take hours to tell, really...
And last year I earned much more then our President cares to declare as his annual income.

I left school young, only 16, as I rebelled at the wrong time. For the next five years I moved from one poorly paid job to being unemployed to another bad job. Then I realised I was wasting my life, got some I.T. qualifications and moved away from my home town to find a good job working with computers. I’ve been working as a contractor for 4/5 years now, although I’ve just finished taking a year off to do some travelling, I’m just about to start finding my next contract.

Yes, Kiev is a wonderful city. My wife is really half-Ukrainian, and her mother's family still live not far from Kiev. Last year we visited them, having crossed half of Ukraine in our car. So... It was not always as wonderful as Kiev. The country is quite poor, and not much seemed to be changed for the better.

But of course it is just great to be in Kiev... I would have liked to come there right now...

I liked the music at night, people would take turns with a guitar to sing songs and many people gather round to listen and sing along. We did that one night there and it is a very happy memory.

 

[dele]

Forgive me if this question seems a little odd, but how on Earth do you pronounce Stalichnaya? It was the only brand of Russian vodka I could find at the LCBO, but no one around here knows how to pronounce it.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Dele, I'm sure next time Sergo logs in he'll be able to help you; however I have my own question, what is LCBO?

 

[Sergo]

Forgive me if this question seems a little odd, but how on Earth do you pronounce Stalichnaya? It was the only brand of Russian vodka I could find at the LCBO, but no one around here knows how to pronounce it.

Hi Dele:

It is quite a normal question, I very often myself would have asked somebody how to pronounce something in English. The problem is I've learned my English mostly by reading - so I am not too good at pronouncing. The people I speak to in English are Finns, Chinese, Germans etc. - so one never could get real language skills without practice with those who knows English all life.

So. The brand you mentioned is Stolichnaya. That means that it was made in Stolica - i.e. in the capital of Russia, in Moscow. I think that would be pronounced like this: Stohleechnayah. The most stressed is ee. But as we Moscovites tend to pronounce some of our "os" as "as", it should be "Stahleechnayah".

Please do not hesitate to ask me any more questions - I would be glad to be of help.

 

[Sergo]

Yes, the Russians who think “Things were better the way they were”. The father of the family I know in Odessa is still a communist although his wife owns her own company that he and his daughters work for. For him I think the modern day Ukraine is a confusing place that he is unhappy with but he is also a realist and more importantly a nice guy.

= My wife's mother & stepfather live in a small Ukrainian city about 250 km. to the south of Kiev. They also remember USSR with longing - they were much better off then. The stepfather worked as an electrician on trains. So he earned quite a lot by buying, for example, fruits in Ukraine, and selling them in the North of Russia for several times what he spent on the fruits. Now he is a pensioneer, and if we had not helped them - they would not have enough money to pay for gas and electricity, notwithstanding their growing fruits, vegetables, geese, chickens etc. for sale. =

In general I would say that the attitude of the British media is that Bush & Blair are to quick too turn a blind eye to some of the less democratic attitudes of Putin. It is sometimes used as an example of Western hypocrisy over their claims to spread democracy across the world.

= Really, I do not think Bush & Blair could change something by harrassing Putin. I think that he is not too healthy man, with lots of psychological problems. So nobody knows what he will do if the West starts to oppose him. And, by the way, our propaganda has always told us that the West opposes us for their own reasons - that they want to defeat Russia in order to get our resources etc. So quite a lot of our people (with help of our media) would have thought that the West has started its own foul play again. =

My father died when I was a baby, but he knew this was going to happen as he had serious flu as a child and was left with a weak heart. So he worked extra hours for many years to ensure that our house belonged to my mother and that she would not have to worry about this after he was gone. We still did not have much money during my childhood, but to be fair to my mother I had little understanding of this as she took this burden herself.

= I see. My father was from Kolomna - a city not far from Moscow. Somehow he and my mother did not go along too well, so they decided to live separately for some time. I remember him coming once to see me - but I was too little to remember much. And than we learned that my father was found dead near his home in Kolomna - they never even knew the reason of his death. USSR government paid me 18 roubles - several dollars then - per month until I was 18, as was usual for fatherless. =

Sure, of course I am interested.

= OK, I will tell what I can. =

I left school young, only 16, as I rebelled at the wrong time. For the next five years I moved from one poorly paid job to being unemployed to another bad job. Then I realised I was wasting my life, got some I.T. qualifications and moved away from my home town to find a good job working with computers. I’ve been working as a contractor for 4/5 years now, although I’ve just finished taking a year off to do some travelling, I’m just about to start finding my next contract.

= Great. Before I got into customs & transport business, for several years I have been changing and lending money. It was maybe like your business, in the sense that when I decided it is time to get some rest - we just started to Georgia, Crimea or Ukraine. On return I started my business again almost on the point that I left it. Alas, now it cannot be done so...=

I liked the music at night, people would take turns with a guitar to sing songs and many people gather round to listen and sing along. We did that one night there and it is a very happy memory.

= Yep, I like it too. But this singing gets less and less usual year by year. It was very popular ten or fifteen years ago, and rare holiday have been spent without singing... Alas, now it is not so. Some say that it is because people now tend to separate from each other... I think that life gets very much different from what it had been once. And people have other interests now...

 

[dele]

Thank you! That's a big help!

Kenny: The LCBO is a popular store where I'm from that sells alcohol. It stands for Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

 

[Kenny Shovel]

My wife's mother & stepfather live in a small Ukrainian city about 250 km. to the south of Kiev. They also remember USSR with longing - they were much better off then.

Well, obviously the leap taken from communism to capitalism has been a painful one for your country and this process of change is ongoing. It is understandable that many people who spent such a long time under the previous system, one where they felt the state was a safety-net, should ask ‘when will the pain end?’ My communist friend in Odessa said to me once ‘What good is having the freedom to go to other countries if you can never afford to go?’ He is right I think, so far you only seem to have freedom for the rich.

Now he is a pensioner, and if we had not helped them - they would not have enough money to pay for gas and electricity, notwithstanding their growing fruits, vegetables, geese, chickens etc. for sale.

I think one of my friends in Odessa told me that the Ukrainian pension is $10 a month or something like this? Not much reward for the generation that defeated fascism.

Really, I do not think Bush & Blair could change something by harrassing Putin. I think that he is not too healthy man, with lots of psychological problems. So nobody knows what he will do if the West starts to oppose him. And, by the way, our propaganda has always told us that the West opposes us for their own reasons - that they want to defeat Russia in order to get our resources etc. So quite a lot of our people (with help of our media) would have thought that the West has started its own foul play again.

I don’t know too much about the working of Putins mind, I need to get a good book about him and do some research. He always has that strange look on his face, like a child trying not to break-wind in church; but that’s about as in-depth an analysis of him as I can manage!
I understand these things that are said about the West; I would certainly say that people coming from the west are doing so out of a love of money rather than a love of Mother Russia. But as for your resources, I thought they were already in the hands of a handful of Russian businessmen?

My father was from Kolomna - a city not far from Moscow. Somehow he and my mother did not go along too well, so they decided to live separately for some time. I remember him coming once to see me - but I was too little to remember much. And than we learned that my father was found dead near his home in Kolomna - they never even knew the reason of his death. USSR government paid me 18 roubles - several dollars then - per month until I was 18, as was usual for fatherless.

In England we have a widow’s pension for the woman, it’s not a massive amount and if the woman works the money she earns is taken back from this pension, at least this used to be the case. My mother worked, in the early years it was in effect for nothing, she’s stubborn and independent like that. These are also parts of my personality, but she can not complain as she knows I get them from her!

Great. Before I got into customs & transport business, for several years I have been changing and lending money. It was maybe like your business, in the sense that when I decided it is time to get some rest - we just started to Georgia, Crimea or Ukraine. On return I started my business again almost on the point that I left it. Alas, now it cannot be done so...

I’ve been lucky enough to take a few months of to go travelling before, but I think now I need to get back to work and start saving again.

Yep, I like it too. But this singing gets less and less usual year by year. It was very popular ten or fifteen years ago, and rare holiday have been spent without singing... Alas, now it is not so. Some say that it is because people now tend to separate from each other... I think that life gets very much different from what it had been once. And people have other interests now...

It was in a main street in Kiev that I saw this. Someone had a guitar and an amp, and people took turn to play, with everyone else drinking beer and singing. It was interesting that everyone seemed to know all the words, it created a nice atmosphere.

 

[Sergo]

Well, obviously the leap taken from communism to capitalism has been a painful one for your country and this process of change is ongoing. It is understandable that many people who spent such a long time under the previous system, one where they felt the state was a safety-net, should ask ‘when will the pain end?’ My communist friend in Odessa said to me once ‘What good is having the freedom to go to other countries if you can never afford to go?’ He is right I think, so far you only seem to have freedom for the rich.

= You know, maybe I was very lucky, but my success at business shows that the only thing needed for it is honesty and ability to work hard. Those who say that to be wealthy in Russia today is impossible without stealing, or help from rich relatives or lovers - just never tryed hard enough to succeed, I think. Somebody may have bad luck, but I know several people here who had been almost absolutely demolished by the circumstances, and got rich again. So... In case of elderly people - alas, if their relatives would not help them - some of them may not be able to afford foreign travels, but as to the young... I tend to think that mostly their poverty they choose themselves.
By the way, my stepfather worked as a leading specialist in a private firm until his death several month before (he was 76 then), and his pay was around $1000 per month. He started that work three or four years ago, and he were not too young then...=


I think one of my friends in Odessa told me that the Ukrainian pension is $10 a month or something like this? Not much reward for the generation that defeated fascism.

= My wife's stepfather get around $45 per month now, and her mother - around $40. A year ago they got about half of that. They have a son of 20, who is learning to be an engineer, and soon their income will rise some. So it is not outright poverty one can found in small villages, but of course it is not enough for a comfortable life. =


I don’t know too much about the working of Putins mind, I need to get a good book about him and do some research. He always has that strange look on his face, like a child trying not to break-wind in church; but that’s about as in-depth an analysis of him as I can manage!

= Books could be wrong about so important an issue. It is enough for me to see how Putin for all these years - how he seats, how and what he speaks, what he does. From the beginning I was sure that he is not an independent figure, but now I am in doubt about that. There is not enough information one could analyse... =


I understand these things that are said about the West; I would certainly say that people coming from the west are doing so out of a love of money rather than a love of Mother Russia. But as for your resources, I thought they were already in the hands of a handful of Russian businessmen?

= Ha. If you remember Hodorkovsky and Yukos - you will understand our main concern: our government can easily get everything it wishes now, so nobody is fully safe here. I have some ideas about that, maybe I will speak about them sometimes.
And some our people just would not trouble themselves with thinking. "West is opposing us? Why, they want to get our lands and resourses and enslave us" - that's all they think. =

In England we have a widow’s pension for the woman, it’s not a massive amount and if the woman works the money she earns is taken back from this pension, at least this used to be the case. My mother worked, in the early years it was in effect for nothing, she’s stubborn and independent like that. These are also parts of my personality, but she can not complain as she knows I get them from her!

= Yes, I am very stubborn myself. So is my wife. I think that is a good quality. =


It was in a main street in Kiev that I saw this. Someone had a guitar and an amp, and people took turn to play, with everyone else drinking beer and singing. It was interesting that everyone seemed to know all the words, it created a nice atmosphere.

= And we were singing on every possible occasion when I was young. Many of the songs I remember till now, but there is little chance to sing any more...

 

[Kenny Shovel]

You know, maybe I was very lucky, but my success at business shows that the only thing needed for it is honesty and ability to work hard. Those who say that to be wealthy in Russia today is impossible without stealing, or help from rich relatives or lovers - just never tryed hard enough to succeed, I think……but as to the young... I tend to think that mostly their poverty they choose themselves....

Perhaps, I suspect that you can do well if you have a ‘business brain’ and have the right motivation but not everyone does; most people are happy to work for someone else and not have this extra responsibility.

My wife's stepfather get around $45 per month now, and her mother - around $40. A year ago they got about half of that.

The figure of $10 was from about six years ago I think.

Books could be wrong about so important an issue. It is enough for me to see how Putin for all these years - how he seats, how and what he speaks, what he does. From the beginning I was sure that he is not an independent figure, but now I am in doubt about that. There is not enough information one could analyse...

If I was going to learn about Putin I would get two or three books on the subject to give balance. I would have to do this as I do not have the opportunity to study him up close and come to my own conclusion as you do.

Ha. If you remember Hodorkovsky and Yukos - you will understand our main concern: our government can easily get everything it wishes now, so nobody is fully safe here. I have some ideas about that, maybe I will speak about them sometimes.

Yukos is the story most well known over here. There is some understanding of oligarchs in Britain as after Abramovich bought Chelsea football club in London there were stories about were he had got so much money so young. In general what has happened seems from the outside to be an example of two wrongs not making a right. The sale of oil companies etc to Oligarchs has a very bad smell surrounding it, but now Putin seems to use this as an excuse to get extra powers and suppress people who oppose him. There is at least one, if not more, businessmen who are living in London as political refugees at the moment, I’ll look up the name on google…..Boris Berezovskii.

And some our people just would not trouble themselves with thinking. "West is opposing us? Why, they want to get our lands and resourses and enslave us" - that's all they think.

If there are people from the west trying to enslave you, I think you will have to wait until they have finished doing it to us first!

Yes, I am very stubborn myself. So is my wife. I think that is a good quality.

All my family are like this!

 

[RainbowGurl]

I don't think I have met someone on the book forum who is from Russia...have I? Though I don't think I would know because I don't pay close attention to the location of where people are from on here. Anyway, welcome

 

[Crystal]

Welcome, Sergo.

BTW, this was ever the longest introduction I have read.

 

[Sergo]

Hi Kenny, Hi girls!
Sorry, I am tooo busy today - will try to find half an hour in some near future.
I am currently in a big quarrel with Russian customs over a truck with PC goods that they like to call contraband. The checking of the goods has just being started, so I think the truth will come out soon. But alas I will be very busy for the next two - three days...

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Hi Kenny, Hi girls!
Sorry, I am tooo busy today - will try to find half an hour in some near future.
I am currently in a big quarrel with Russian customs over a truck with PC goods that they like to call contraband. The checking of the goods has just being started, so I think the truth will come out soon. But alas I will be very busy for the next two - three days...

Sergo: No worries, I can remember how much trouble I had just getting a chess board through Russian customs!

RainbowGurl & watercrystal: Welcome to the part of the board I like to think of as 'Sergograd'.

 

[Sergo]

Hi Kenny

I get somewhat less busy. It took really two days to defeat that particular head customs officers, but during my absence from my office many things have accumulated that needed my immediate attention...

Even after all these years it feels sometimes quite unreal to find oneself in such a situation: my truck was stopped in front of the customs warehouse in Moscow where it was addressed to be customs cleared, and by force of fifteen men with machineguns the militiamen who escorted the truck were overwhelmed and the truck was delivered to another warehouse outside of Moscow. The Deputy head of one of the three major customs branches in Russia had personally spoken with me and the truck owner to assure us that he perfectly knows that the truck is full of contraband, and if we do not immediately confirm that - that would be very bad indeed for us when the truck is opened and checked and illegal goods were found. After two days of pressure the truck owner was already willing to confirm anything, as his other trucks were being stopped by the customs on Russian borders, and detained until further notice.
And only after I made the customs to open the truck, check thoroughly the goods - it became obvious that the goods are 100% legal, exactly as per attached documents. After that the Deputy head gave up, and his subordinate told me they allow me to clear the goods where and when I prefer. So at this moment the goods are being delivered to my warehouse in Moscow. Of course customs duties were paid, as well as additional $1200 for loading/unloading of the goods for checking and waiting days of the truck. God knows how many stories like this one (and much worse) I could remember...

Perhaps, I suspect that you can do well if you have a ‘business brain’ and have the right motivation but not everyone does; most people are happy to work for someone else and not have this extra responsibility.

= Maybe. But in any case I am sure that at least 90% of success depends on the person. If one wants and knows how to do something - it is difficult to prevent him from doing that... =

Yukos is the story most well known over here. There is some understanding of oligarchs in Britain as after Abramovich bought Chelsea football club in London there were stories about were he had got so much money so young. In general what has happened seems from the outside to be an example of two wrongs not making a right. The sale of oil companies etc to Oligarchs has a very bad smell surrounding it, but now Putin seems to use this as an excuse to get extra powers and suppress people who oppose him. There is at least one, if not more, businessmen who are living in London as political refugees at the moment, I’ll look up the name on google…..Boris Berezovskii.

= Yep, this Berezovsky fellow is a very good example of what all of our Oligarchs are. It is said here that high placed Govt people secretly discussed possible ways of doing really great money with some of prominent businessmen. Than those businessmen used advices and paid for them. Of course, not everything the businessmen have done had been exactly legal to the last digit. So the Goverment people can always make the Oligarchs to behave, or be disciplined. Berezovsky was very close to Boris Eltsin once, and helped Putin in the beginning of his reign. But then, it seems, he failed to fulfill some claim of Putin. =

If there are people from the west trying to enslave you, I think you will have to wait until they have finished doing it to us first!

= I see. But it is a very popular opinion here just the same. Very many people here believe that the westerners long to come and enslave them. It is of no use to try to deny that - the more you deny, the more they think it's true. =

 

[Sergo]

I don't think I have met someone on the book forum who is from Russia...have I? Though I don't think I would know because I don't pay close attention to the location of where people are from on here. Anyway, welcome

Thanks again. I do not think location is all that important myself, but I think I prefer to be known as a Russian here, as I would have been thought of as very illiterate person otherwise...

 

[Sergo]

Welcome, Sergo.

BTW, this was ever the longest introduction I have read.

Thanks, Watercrystal. Have you REALLY read ALL THESE PAGES?!!
I am really impressed and will try in future to say something more... wise...

 

[Kenny Shovel]

Even after all these years it feels sometimes quite unreal to find oneself in such a situation: my truck was stopped in front of the customs warehouse in Moscow where it was addressed to be customs cleared, and by force of fifteen men with machineguns the militiamen who escorted the truck were overwhelmed and the truck was delivered to another warehouse outside of Moscow. The Deputy head of one of the three major customs branches in Russia had personally spoken with me and the truck owner to assure us that he perfectly knows that the truck is full of contraband, and if we do not immediately confirm that - that would be very bad indeed for us when the truck is opened and checked and illegal goods were found. After two days of pressure the truck owner was already willing to confirm anything, as his other trucks were being stopped by the customs on Russian borders, and detained until further notice.
And only after I made the customs to open the truck, check thoroughly the goods - it became obvious that the goods are 100% legal, exactly as per attached documents. After that the Deputy head gave up, and his subordinate told me they allow me to clear the goods where and when I prefer. So at this moment the goods are being delivered to my warehouse in Moscow. Of course customs duties were paid, as well as additional $1200 for loading/unloading of the goods for checking and waiting days of the truck. God knows how many stories like this one (and much worse) I could remember...

I’m not totally surprised by this. At one point myself and a friend in Ukraine wanted to set up a tourist business taking people camping in the Crimea, but the more we looked at it the more we found obstacles being put in our path! I think the Russian authorities are still not yet living in the capitalist world!
Btw, I’m gald you managed to sort out your problem.

Maybe. But in any case I am sure that at least 90% of success depends on the person. If one wants and knows how to do something - it is difficult to prevent him from doing that...

Perhaps, I think we may have to disagree on this one.

Yep, this Berezovsky fellow is a very good example of what all of our Oligarchs are. It is said here that high placed Govt people secretly discussed possible ways of doing really great money with some of prominent businessmen. Than those businessmen used advices and paid for them. Of course, not everything the businessmen have done had been exactly legal to the last digit. So the Goverment people can always make the Oligarchs to behave, or be disciplined. Berezovsky was very close to Boris Eltsin once, and helped Putin in the beginning of his reign. But then, it seems, he failed to fulfill some claim of Putin.

And now I think that Berezovsky and Putin are quite bitter enemies, but because of the image of Oligarchs in Russia I think this is good for Putins popularity. I know about close links between Oligarchs and Yeltsin (and Yeltsin’s daughter also I seem to remember); I can remember Yeltsin coming on TV once when I was in Odessa and my friend saying, in his very broken English, “David (my real name), YELTSIN BANDIT!”.
Abramovich seems to keep out of politics more, even though he is actual a member of the Duma isn’t he? He seems happy to watch his team Chelsea play and to keep buying houses in Britain; he has three or four very expensive homes here now.

Very many people here believe that the westerners long to come and enslave them. It is of no use to try to deny that - the more you deny, the more they think it's true.

Western businessmen will come to make as much money as they can, you can call that a kind of enslavement if you want. But of course the average person in the West does not think in these terms, they’re to busy trying to get on with their own lives.

 

[Sergo]

I’m not totally surprised by this. At one point myself and a friend in Ukraine wanted to set up a tourist business taking people camping in the Crimea, but the more we looked at it the more we found obstacles being put in our path! I think the Russian authorities are still not yet living in the capitalist world!

= You know, most of our Russian customs people are much better businessmen than the average lot, really. The problem is their "business" is a very special one. (I plan to try to write a book about our customs and its role in Russian life someday, it is impossible to explain without lengthy descriptions). They use their power to get some black money in bribes for black governmental purposes, and, of course, for their own needs.
And as to camping in Crimea... I liked that myself very much - I went on foot quite a lot in Crimea, and lived in a tent (or just under a PE film in case of raining) near Alushta, Suhdak, Novy Svet... I do not think the customs would have been the only problem needed to be solved there. There are some grave problems there - several people get killed on the Sea shore every year, some other crimes (wow, they spell alike) are quite common there... Why, I was myself robbed there once, and had to sell some of my things to buy a ticket to Moscow. And when you offer people a tourist service - such problems could be a serious obstacles...
And as to customs problems - for a person who specialises in solving such, it is not too difficult, as customs really want that all problems were solved to their profit, but they cannot get into negotiations with everybody naturally, out of fear to be compromised. So these customs problems with your Crimea project could surely be solved - but the right person is needed to be found for that. =

Btw, I’m gald you managed to sort out your problem.

= Thanks, I decided to get some rest for a week or so. Now I listen to the birds and work in my garden... If not for a huge income - nobody would be able to get me out of here... =

Perhaps, I think we may have to disagree on this one.

= Yep, sure. Most of people here say the same, so I am quite accustomed to disagreement. =


And now I think that Berezovsky and Putin are quite bitter enemies, but because of the image of Oligarchs in Russia I think this is good for Putins popularity. I know about close links between Oligarchs and Yeltsin (and Yeltsin’s daughter also I seem to remember); I can remember Yeltsin coming on TV once when I was in Odessa and my friend saying, in his very broken English, “David (my real name), YELTSIN BANDIT!”.

= People keep calling our chiefs of state names sometimes not because chiefs are bad, but because people do not like results of those chiefs' decisions... For example, very many Russions do not like Gorbachev for exactly the same reason that the West prises him - that he "demolished the USSR". And both are mistaken, as Gorbachev has never done that thing, and never really intended to do so. What he wanted - was to adjust Communist ideology and practice to new circumstances of life. He wanted to make Communism stronger, but as it was impossible to change it - it just crushed down, against intentions of Gorbachev.
Yeltsin is despiced by our people for his decision to allow Baltic states, Byelorussia, Ukraina etc. to get independant. But it is obvious that it was not possible not to allow that - it would mean a bloodshed obviously, with the far worse results... =


Abramovich seems to keep out of politics more, even though he is actual a member of the Duma isn’t he? He seems happy to watch his team Chelsea play and to keep buying houses in Britain; he has three or four very expensive homes here now.

= It is a custom for our prominebt businessmen to seek some near-government functions - just in case... Abramovich is a Deputate from Chukotka, a region to the far North of Russia. It was said that to get elected he spent a lot of money, mostly on foodstuffs and alcoholic beverages... But some on schools and foodstuffs shops too...=

Western businessmen will come to make as much money as they can, you can call that a kind of enslavement if you want. But of course the average person in the West does not think in these terms, they’re to busy trying to get on with their own lives.

= Yep, I see. Though I cannot see myself that somebody making money is bad, if Russia gets its percent, people get paid and ecology is not spoilt. It is better to work for a westerner, than not to work at all. =