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| 03.04.2006
Welcome from SRAS!
 Russia has accumulated 100 billion USD in total foreign investments and is accumulating more at a rate of 20 billion USD per year. While much of this money has been invested in Russian energy and resources, no sector of the Russian economy has been ignored. This month's newsletter concentrates on Russia's growing economy.
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies is currently accepting student contributions for its next issue.
Happy International Women's Day - belated! |
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News: Russia Makes International Waves
March saw more Russia-related news than any other month in the history of this newsletter. Russia's high level economic talks with China, its penchant for supporting internationally unpopular figures (this month: Lukashenko and Milosovic), and two controversial reports on Russia published in the US combined with a visit to the States by the Russian Foreign Minister would have made for an impressive amount of news even if Russia had not also had regional elections, if Chechnya had not changed its governor, if South Ossetia (a part of Georgia) had not made overtures to become a part of Russia, and even if national elections had not been held in Russia's near abroad in the Ukraine and Belarus. This is also not to mention the kick-off of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg and a parralel "NGO G8" in Moscow. Keeping up with all this has been quite beyond the capabilities of our newsletter. This month, we invite you to research any of these topics which interest you with Johnson's Russia List - a recognized authority on news from Russia. |
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Featured Industry: Russian Offshore Technologies
 Russian offshore technologies have grown from nothing to a billion-dollar-a-year-industry in less than two decades. This phenomenal growth can be attributed in part to the industry's ability to work together through a union known as RUSSOFT, which helps to build the market for Russian software at home and abroad. SRAS had intended to write an article detailing the company and the growing market, but we soon discovered that RUSSOFT had beat us to it. The following brief Overview of the Russian Software Market provides lots of information, with graphs and statistics, in a remarkably well-written document. For those interested in a full-blown market review, RUSSOFT also offers a formal industry White Paper.
For a more personal look at the company, we interviewed former intern Mike Smith about his experience working for Fort-Ross, the official marketing arm of RUSSOFT, as part of his SRAS study-abroad program. |
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Featured Programs in Business
Due to increasing interest in internships in Russia, SRAS now offers this updated page on internships. For those hoping to eventually work in Russia (or internationally), a Russian internship can stand out on a resume as being more challenging and adventurous than an internship served in Western Europe. Far from being just a valuable line on a resume, an internship abroad can also give priceless exposure to the local language and culture by placing the student in the center of it. This page will continue to be expanded with more information about specific internships over the next month.
The Business Summer School at MIRBIS and many of SRAS's other Summer Programs are still accepting applications!
Free Internship Placements! Film / Project Management NGO Project Management
Scholarships! SRAS Year of Study Abroad Scholarships Other Funding |
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Featured University: St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbSPU)
 SPbSPU runs an ambitious program of English-language courses for foreigners and intensive Russian programs for those students hoping to enter Russian university programs. The major fields covered by within these programs include business, economics, computer programing, math, science, medicine, and political science. Founded by Tsar Nicholas II, this prestigious university located in a quiet region on the outskirts of St. Petersburg has graduated a Nobel Laurette, a chess champion, and well-known engineers.
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Business: Snapshot of the Russian Economy
SRAS recently attended a conference sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia called "The Economy and Investment Climate in Russia." The annual event allows business people and government authorities from Russia and abroad to meet and discuss the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Russia. Based largely on the findings of this conference, SRAS has developed the following introduction to the Russian economy. |
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Culture: The "Greening" of Moscow
Increased trade has not only made Russia wealthier, it has opened it to the influences of foreign cultures. In this article, Eric Kraus, Chief Strategist for Sovlink, details some of those influences, from Russian emulation of western high-class eateries to experimentation with eastern traditions. Through all of this, however, Russian culture has remained ultimately Slavic, as the article's conclusion helps show. |
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The Library Presents: Business in Russia
The Library is meant to give students studying Russia or Russian broad perspectives on specific subjects. This month, we focus on business in Russia, covering mostly those issues of interest to businesses dealing in consumer goods and services. Links are provided to the most respected and widely used news sources, to government agencies such as the "Tax Inspection," to several organizations supporting international business cooperation with Russia, and even to a few Russian businesses - and their competitors. Let us know if you would like to contribute additional information. |
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Travel: Yasnaya Polyana
Yasnaya Polyana was the home of Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 – 1910). It is his ancesteral estate: where he was born, where he lived, wrote most of his major works, where he later died, and where he is now buried. The site is still popular amoung foreigners and Russians alike as a short trip out of Moscow to see history, breathe fresh air, and buy inexpensive handicrafts. This updated page will tell you more about how to get there and why you should go. |
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Image of the Month: Marketing/Маркетинг
 To paraphrase the now famous Pulp Fiction Question: "What do you call a Quarter Pounder in Russia?" The answer is obvious here: you don't call it anything because there are no Burger Kings in Russia. But the question still stands - if you can't call a Quarter Pounder a Quarter Pounder in France due to the metric system, what do you do with brand names and advertising in a country that doesn't use the same alphabet as the one that invented the product? This month's image deals with marketing and branding in Russia.
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Language: The Language of Business - Деловой язык
Maxims have long been popular in the West with businesses seeking to establish a "corporate culture" and with employees seeking new ways to poke fun at that culture. This element of office life has been slow in infiltrating Russia in part because marketing materials are often notoriously difficult to translate. What sounds "strong" in English can sound overly simplified in Russian, what sounds "professional" in Russian can sound like a convoluted mess in English. Below are a few maxims that can be more-or-less directly translated and have been used on office posters in Russia:
Есть больше, чем один путь к успеху
- There's more than one way to success |
Используйте силу своих идей
- Use the power of your ideas |
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100% самоотдача - гарантия 100% успеха
- 100% passion guarantees 100% success |
Открыто для новых идей
- Open for new ideas |
Начало успеха лежит внутри тебя
- The beginnings of success lie within you |
Постоянно поддерживайте диалог с клиентом
- Be in constant dialog with the client |
Двигайтесь вперед вместе с новыми стратегиями
- Move forward with new strategies |
Найдите новое в привычном
- Discover the new in the everyday |
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Прикладывайте максимуму усилий для достижения максимального успеха
- Work to your maximum capacity to achieve your maximum success | |
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