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RussianCulture&Business

August2010

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Visiting

Economics ompan es

BusinessAttire

Behavior&

Etiquette

Question/Comments

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MapofRussia

Russiaishuge. Infact,asyouprobablyknow,intermsofsizeitisthelargestcountry

intheworldwith6.6millionsquaremiles. (Togiveyouanideaofcomparison,theUS

is3.7millionsquaremiles.) Itshareslandborderswith14countriesandmaritime

borderswithJapanandtheUnitedStates.Ittakesover8hourstoflyfromMoscowto

VladivostokonthePacificcoast.

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Despiteitssize,Russiaisonlyranked9th intermsofworldpopulation. Itisestimated

that142MMpeopleliveinRussiawhichisonly2%oftheworldspopulation.

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RussianGeography

,

excepttropical.Thecountryisabundantinnaturalresourcesincluding:majordepositsof

oil,coal,naturalgas,manystrategicminerals,diamondsandtimber.Russia's

geographicallocationpresentsasignificantobstacletodevelopment dryorcold

climate,terrain,distanceandremotelocationfrommajorsealanes. Thisiswhylarge

parts

of

the

country

have

almost

no

population

and

development.

I

was

shocked

to

learn

thatonly8%ofRussiaslandisarable.

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MoscowInternationalBusinessCenter

MoscowisRussiascapitalandlargestcity. ThisisapictureoftheMoscowInternational

BusinessCenter.T eprojectstarte in1992an issti in eve opment. T eMoscow

IBCisexpectedtobecomethefirstzoneinRussiatocombinebusinessactivity,living

spaceand

entertainment

in

one

single

development.

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St.PetersburgisRussiassecond

lar estcit . Man forei n

consulates,international

corporations,banks

and

other

businessesarelocatedinSaint

.

theHeritage,theworldslargestart

museum.Picturedontherightisa

historicchurch.

MostpartsofRussiaaresafeto

visit. Itisrecommendthatyou

someareas. Youdohavetobecarefulaboutwater. Bottledwater

isrecommended. Also,you

probablywanttotrytogointhe

summerwhenitisnottoocold.

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20RussianPhrasesRussian English

Zdrast-vuy-te Hello (formal)

Pri-vyet Hello (informal)

Das Vidanya Good Bye (formal)

a - a oo ye n orma

Da YesNiet No

Min-ya za-voot My name is

Cog dyla How are you?

(Ochen) Horosho (Very) Good

Ya gavaryu nemnoscho po-rooski I speak a little Russian

Veh gava-ritee angleeski? Do you speak English?

Shto What

Kak How

Pochemoo Why

Cogda When

Gd-ye Where

Pa-te-moo-schta BecauseSpaceeba Thank you

Pa-zhala-sta You're welcome, please

oua wayswan ouse e orma vers on youare a ngw ane er,someonew

authority,orwithsomeoneyoudontknow. ManyRussiansspeak Englishasitistaught

inalot

of

schools.

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Russianischallengingtolearnbecausetheyhaveadifferentalphabetandsome

differentsounds

that

English

speakers

are

not

used

to.

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RussianEconomy

In2009Russiawastheworld'slargestexporterofnaturalgas,thesecondlargest

exporterofoil,andthethirdlargestexporterofsteelandprimaryaluminum.Their

relianceoncommodityexportsmakesRussiavulnerabletoboomandbustcyclesthat

followthehighlyvolatileswingsinglobalcommodityprices.Longtermchallenges

include

a

shrinking

workforce,

a

high

level

of

corruption,

and

poor

infrastructure

in

need

oflargecapitalinvestment.

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RussianCompanies

Asyoucanimagine,basedonwhatwejustlearned

abouttheRussianeconomy,manyofRussiastop

.

Gazprom,ranked#1,istheworldslargestgascompany.

TheRussiangovernmentowns50.02%ofthecompany.

WimmBillDann,ranked#14isRussiasbiggestdairy,

babyfood

and

beverages

company,

serving

more

than

,

Russiancitiesand37processingplantsacrossRussiaand

theformerSovietUnion.

Kalina,ranked

#21

is

aleading

Russian

perfume,

cosmetics,andpersonalcareproductsmaker,with

operationsinGermanyandtheNetherlands.Itisthe

theRussianmarket.

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Welltailoredsuitsalongwithgooddressshoes.Abusinessmans

wardrobe

imageasaprofessional.

inyourpockets.Thisisrude.

Womenshoulddress

conservatively.

Skirtsshouldbewornratherthanpants.

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Behavior

&

Eti uetteAsaforeigner,youareexpectedtobeontimetoallbusiness

appointments.However,yourRussiancounterpartmaybelate,

.

fromalateRussian,anddonotdemonstrateanykindofattitude

ifyour

business

appointments

begin

one

or

two

hours

late. This

mayalsobeatestofyourpatience.Patienceisanextremely

importantvirtueamongRussians.

Russiansvaluehonesty.Don'tbotherbeing"nice."Instead,be

real.Beopenandhonest,anditwillbemuchappreciated.

Some'hardline'Russiansstillviewcompromiseasasignofweakness,andoftenrefusetobackdown.Tothese

individuals,compromisingisbadbusiness. Nonetheless,youshouldstillattempttonegotiateasitisacommon

businesspractice

Dontsmiletoomuch.Russianssmileonlyiftheyhaveareasontosmileaboutsomething. Theythinkwearesillyfor

.

ThereisaRussiantermmeaning"connections"or"influences.ItisextremelydifficulttodobusinessinRussia

withouthelpfromalocal.Tohelpwiththis,gifts,moneyorotheritemsareoftenagoodideawhendoingbusinessin

Russia.

Bealertandopentotakingadrinkorhavingatoast,asrefusingtodosoisaseriousbreachofetiquette.

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