Will Russia be a Rising State a Great Failure?
process carries
hard lessons such as financial loss, political polarization, economic
instability, and social disruption.
Friendship
is extremely important in Russia. Russians are warm and open with
trusted friends. They rely on their network of friends in hard times
and will go to great lengths to help friends whenever possible.
Although intensely proud of "Mother Russia" and its
achievements, Russians are a basically pessimistic people and usually
do not express much hope for a better life in the future (except
among the youth). Even generally happy and optimistic Russians might
not show their true feelings in public but rather express frustration
with everyday life. A general feeling in Russia is that the "soul"
of Russia is different from that of other countries, that development
cannot take the same course as it has in Europe, for example.
Russians often believe they must find a different path that takes
into account their unique historical heritage and social structure.
In general, Russians desire to be remembered not for the negative
aspects of the Soviet period and its aftermath, but for Russian
contributions to world literature, art, science, technology, and
medicine.
Social
customs in Russia are very similar to the United States. When
meeting, Russians shake hands firmly and say Zdravstvuyte (Hello),
Dobry Deny (Good day), Dobroye utro (Good morning), Dobry vecher
(Good evening), or Privet (a casual "Hello"). Good friends
say "hello" with the more informal Zdravstvuy or Zdorovo.
Friends, but not strangers, might also ask Kak dela? (How are you?)
and wait for a response. Russians are introduced by their full name
(given, patronymic, surname). Surnames are not used without titles,
such as Gospodin (Mr.) and Gospozha (Mrs.). The military, police, and
some citizens continue to use the Soviet-era title tovarishch
("friend" or "comrade"). At work or in polite com
pany, Russians address each other by given name and patronymic (the
possessive of the father's first name). This is also the most
appropriate form of address for a superior or a respected elder.
Close friends use given names alone.
Hand
gestures carry much significance in Russian culture. Pointing with
the index finger is improper but commonly practiced. It is impolite
to talk (especially to an older person) with one's hands in the
pockets or arms folded across the chest. To count, a Russian bends
(closes) the fingers rather than opens them.
Russians
like to visit and have guests. Sitting around the kitchen table and
talking for hours is a favorite pastime. One usually removes shoes
when entering a home. Hosts generally offer refreshments, but guests
may decline them. Friends and family may visit anytime without notice
but usually arrange visits in advance. They make themselves at home
and generally can expect to be welcomed for any length of time.
Visits with new acquaintances are more formal.
Giving
gifts is a strong tradition in Russia, and almost every event
(birthdays, weddings, holidays, etc.) is accompanied by presents. For
casual visits, it is common (but not required) for guests to bring a
simple gift (flowers, food, or vodka) to their hosts. The object
given is less important than the friend ship expressed by the act.
Flowers are given in odd numbers; even numbers are for funerals. If
friends open a bottle of vodka (which means "little water"),
they customarily drink until it is empty.
Knowing
the general attitudes is extremely important in Russia. Tankred
Golenpolsky in his book Doing
Business in Russia
emphasized the need the right local partner in Russia by asking the
following questions:
Where
should you invest your money?
When
should you invest your money?
How
much money should you invest?
Answering these questions
correctly can assure success elsewhere, but not in Russia. In Russia,
everything begins with selection of the right partner to work for you
(Golenpolsky 27-28). Having the right partner with the wide network
of people is extremely helpful for starting your own business in
Russia. Therefore, it is extremely important to know and understand
Russian attitude and behavior patterns in order to deal with Russians
and successfully build the relations in Russian environment. Later,
the authors give the following recommendations on choosing the right
candidate who “must meet some basic requirements such as
fluency in English and an education background comparable to his or
her Western colleagues. He or she preferably should be married since
this indicates a degree of stability and seriousness, and the spouse
must be ready to fit into a new system of relationships
-relationships that did not exist in the former Soviet Union.
(Golenpolsky 29-30)
Although
food is plentiful in the cities, many products are expensive. Hence,
the average person eats imported fruits and vegetables infrequently.
People on fixed and limited incomes (mainly the elderly) eat more
bread and potatoes than any- thing else. Urban residents more often
have meat and dairy products. Rural people have gardens. Urban
dwellers usually grow vegetable gardens in the country or on plots
near the city. Traditional Russian foods include borsch (cabbage soup
with beets), pirozhki (a stuffed roll, eaten as "fast food"),
golubtsy (stuffed cabbage leaves baked with tomato sauce and eaten
with sour cream), and shi (soup with sour cabbage). Borsch is still
one of the most popular foods in the country. Its ingredients
(potatoes, cabbages, carrots, beets, and onions) almost complete the
list of vegetables used in everyday life. Pork, sausage, chicken, and
cheeses are popular, but they can be expensive. Russians drink coffee
and mineral water; juice and soda are available. Vodka is preferred
to wine.
Russians
have little leisure time because of the hours they devote to getting
food, working extra jobs, or taking care of their households. Urban
Russians spend nearly all their spare time at their dachas (country
cottages), if they have them, relaxing and growing fruits and
vegetables for the winter. In the summer, people Re to gather
mushrooms. Cities have relatively few nightclubs and entertainment
usually ends before midnight, even in Moscow.
The
country's favorite sport is soccer. Winter sports such as ice
skating, hockey, and cross-country skiing are also particularly
popular. Most families like to watch television in the evening.
Russia has a grand and abiding heritage in cultural arts. The people
highly appreciate theaters and movies, but these are available only
in big cities. Rural people can watch movies at community recreation
centers called dvorets kultury (palace of culture) or the smaller dom
kultury (house of culture)
New Year's Day is the
most popular holiday in Russia. Almost everyone decorates fir trees
and has parties to celebrate the new year. Grandfather Frost leaves
presents for children to find on New Year's Day. Easter and Christmas
observances, long interrupted by communism, regained their prominence
in 1990. Christmas is on 7 January, according to the Julian calendar
used by the Russian Orthodox Church. Women's Day is 8 March.
Solidarity Day (I May, also known as May Day) is a day for parades.
Victory Day (9 May) commemorates the end of World War II and is
deeply important to most Russians.
The
business week is 40 hours, with Saturdays and Sundays off. Offices
generally are open from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 p.m. They close at
lunchtime (1:00 P.m.). Prices in stores are not negotiable, but
prices are flexible on the streets, where an increasing number of
items is sold. Capitalism is booming in Russia and a new generation
of entrepreneurs is beginning to thrive. Numerous small businesses
and joint ventures with foreign firms are finding success, and
employees are buying state-run factories and working to make them
profitable.
Under communism, there were no incentives for bureaucrats to perform
well or even be nice to clients, so the usual answer to any question
was "No." This practice is still found in society, but "no"
is no longer final. One must simply bargain and be persistent to get
what one desires.
Russians
prefer having social interaction before discussing business. Trying
to do business on the phone without seeing the prospective business
partner is ineffective. One often spends a lot of time in meetings
before even a small deal can succeed. The business climate is
characterized by the high level of uncertainty in Russia. However,
any companies successfully adapted to the Russian environment. In the
Rising Russia the following industries are of particular interest for
foreign investors: gas and oil refinery and export of oil,
pharmaceutical, food and food-processing industry, aluminum
extraction and manufacturing. Leasing and franchising opportunities
exist in agricultural sector where the government established a
policy encouraging farmers to obtain the modern equipment. The number
of contracts were signed with car manufacturing plants such as
Vojskiy Avtomobiliniy zavod and Moskovskiy zavod. Russia welcomes the
foreign investors but has a number of difficulties in it such as
corruption and organized crime, difficult environment in business and
tax laws, unsuitability of local currency and unstable political
situation due to the war in Chechnya. However, the new Russian
government took active steps toward the Chechen populations
supporting the international terrorists and the terrorists who were
fighting the Russian troops.
The
First Chechen war cost a lot to the Russian government. The second
war was more successful than the first one but still Russians are in
the active process of guerrilla war with Chechen bandits. These
challenges can stop potential investors from using the opportunities
of 150 million people market.
Russia
is a federation of autonomous republics and regions. Vladimir Putin
succeeded Boris Yeltsin as a president. The president is strong and
has power to dissolve parliament, set foreign policy, and appoint the
Prime Minister. The Federal Assembly has two houses, a 176-seat
Federation Council and the 450-seat State Duma. The Constitutional
Court is Russia's highest. The voting age is 18. An array of
political parties is represented in the Duma. The actual party names
are less important than their alliances. Communists form the largest
block, but not a majority, and nationalists and liberals form other
substantial voting blocks. Recently, new Russian president
implemented the measures for strengthening his power and ability to
react and influence the national economy but many there are critics.
Russia's
natural resources give it great potential for economic growth and
development. Natural gas, coal, gold, oil, diamonds, copper, silver,
and lead are all abundant. Heavy industry dominates the economy,
although the agricultural sector is potentially strong. Russia's
economy is weak and unstable. Liberal reforms designed to attract
foreign investment and privatize the economy led to higher
unemployment, high inflation (above I 00 percent), and lower
production. Organized crime and corruption weigh heavily on the
economy's ability to perform. Real gross domestic product per capita
is $4,828. Poverty is increasing as fast as wealth. The currency is
the ruble (R). Nearly all transactions are made in cash.
Education
is free and mandatory for everyone between ages six and seventeen. In
1994, new curriculum guidelines were introduced to encourage choice
and innovation over previous approaches to teaching, but many public
schools are unable or unwilling to implement the reforms due to lack
of money and clear local leadership. However, a few are embracing new
ideas and even teaching basic market economics to young children.
Students attend primary, middle, and high school. They can specialize
in their last two years. Private schools offer a high-quality
education to the wealthy and influential. Education is highly valued,
and Russia's literacy rate is 99 percent. More than five hundred
universities, medical schools, and technical academies are found
throughout the country. Russians have a distinct advantage of a
high-standard education and they are actively using their
intelligence. Russian large intellectual potential and a system of
educating brains even with its drawbacks has produced a number of
talented people who can work at least at the same level as their
Western counterparts. Unfortunately, this educational potential is
not fully utilized by the current condition of the Russian economy.
The facts on Russian immigration to such developed countries as
Canada, Australia, New Zealand or United States confirms this fact.
(cic.gc.ca/english/newcomer/welcome/index.html).
The educational potential of the nation is probably the most
important factor that can bring the nation to the family of the
high-industrialized nations.
Russia
with its rich heritage of music, theatre performance, poetry is a
distinct expression of the Russian media history. Currently, together
with the old ways of communications such as cinema, theatre,
newspapers and TV new avenues of the human interaction are rapidly
developing. Internet brought by the introduction of Western
communicative abilities is changing the Russian youth. Russian
students are not isolated from rest of the World due to the Internet.
However, the introduction of this powerful source of information
exchange mainly affected the large cities where there are enough
resources. Countryside does not have a full access to the Internet
and can not enjoy the full advantage of Internet using. The scope of
media coverage in very wide in Russia. Russians commented on the
Olympic Games, War in Chechnya or situation in the Near East.
Russian
media is the most advanced among the CIS media in terms of the
connections with the foreign media sources. Russians have to create a
new media channels to deliver messages. They do not have such strict
censorship like Republics of the Central Asia or Caucasus. The
Russians reformed TASS and have a closed connection with CNN News,
Reuters. MTV, a Musical channel established a Russian speaking music
channel. Russian media played a great role in covering the news and
war operations in Chechnya and was one of the major reasons why
Russians