Way to Russia Talk Lounge

bernhard_riemann · Frequent Guest Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 40

Russia has been attempting to join the World Trade Organization. I would like to know: What industries are the future of Russia? What will Russia be known for? What careers do Russians wish/decide to have? What products/services will be known from Russia? Also, what is the current state of Russia industries, careers, etc?

blaked · Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2005 8:55 pm Post subject:

Russians are renowned for their intelligence and laziness. An old Russian expression is "we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us." Russians are also very well-educated. Russians work like bureaucrats because the soviet system was sort of like the civil service - people had lifetime employment and lots of benefits, their positions were commensurate with their education, and they were never held accountable for their actions. People that don't make it to a University are pressed into the army. If a Russian enjoys his or her job, he or she will do it well. However, it is expectable for Russians to think first and foremost about lining their own pockets.

Nobody ever gets wealthy by being an employee of a Russian company in Russia - you're better off starting a small business. This is why Jews and Caucasians become so wealthy, making a lot of cash as merchants; they leave the civil service style jobs to the Russians. Among the wealthiest Russian businessmen are Jewish re-patriates that returned to Russia to start businesses in the 90's after having fled communism earlier. Typically, Russian companies will be overstaffed because labor is cheap - they employ the buckshot approach: throw enough staff at a problem and it will go away. Good customer service is rare here. When you buy something at a kiosk, the vendor will not acknowledge your existence until you say something. Sometimes this can be liberating if you have witnessed the opposite extreme - Turkey or Egypt. Whereas an Egyptian merchant will act like a 10th grade stalker until you buy something, Russians get a flat (and low) day-wage and couldn't give a rat's ass.

If Russia has a specialty, it is R&D. What Russians lack in the ability to make cheap precision goods (watches, consumer electronics, textiles, etc.) they make up for in their ability to do quality research. I work at an R&D outpost of an international electronics company, and the quality of the research is comparable to that which is produced in the US. Russia is also great for raw materials.

mister_wizzz · VIP Joined: 27 May 2004 Posts: 570