An Ounce of Discretion Is Worth a Pound of Learning
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STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS IN MOSCOW An ounce of discretion is worth a pound of learning A PROPOS It happened a little over twenty years ago. At the time, For four years, the city has been successfully imple- I was working for the international department at a menting the state program “Safe City,” which will last newspaper in Moscow. I was asked to interview some through 2018. According to official data, the number of big chief from the Moscow police force, who had just homicides and homicide attempts has decreased by come back from a work trip during which he visited 21 percent since the program was introduced, the and talked with colleagues in Toronto. I remember how number of robberies and vehicle hijacking incidents excited he was to tell me about how professional and dropped by 32 percent and the number of apartment efficient the Canadian police force was. But more than burglaries has decreased by 30 percent. Right now, anything else, I was struck by a sudden confession the for example, there are over 140,000 video surveillance chief made: “When I was in Toronto, I felt safer walking cameras operating in Moscow, including in residential outside than I do on the streets of Moscow.” buildings, courtyards, schools, public areas, roads and retail outlets. These video surveillance cameras are used The nineties were here - a period of time during which to record and investigate 70 percent of violations and violent crime in Russia skyrocketed. When I passed on crimes committed in the Russian capital. the interview to the editor, I thought for sure that they would take this part of the interview out. But they left However, safety is a relative concept. It includes not it in. We had just started glasnost and perestorika. We only personal safety and digital security, but also health were discovering the world, and were opening ourselves security and infrastructure. The Moscow authorities un- up to new ideas as well. derstand this completely. For example, for the first time in several years, according to research carried out by A lot has changed since then and, unfortunately, not all the Dutch company TomTom, Moscow moved from first of these changes were for the best. The world has cer- to fourth place (after Istanbul, Mexico City and Rio de tainly not become any safer. Is there any place left on Janeiro) in terms of traffic congestion. This, of course, is Earth where a person can feel completely safe today? not an enormous accomplishment, but it does indicate a Be that as it may, the Moscow government is doing positive trend. The authorities are working to resolve the everything in its power to ensure that Muscovites and city’s transportation problem, constantly building new the foreigners who come here for work or travel do not roads, highways, tunnels, bridges and pedestrian areas. fear for their safety. It is no surprise that during one of And this is the case with everything. Moscow is truly the government meetings, Mayor of Moscow Sergey becoming a better place to live every year - cleaner, Sobyanin said that it is not only important to make more convenient and safer for residents and business. improvements to public spaces and create comfortable areas, but also to ensure that these areas are safe. Sergo Kukhianidze Editor in Chief [email protected] CAPITAL IDEAS Founder: Department for External Economic and International Relations of the Government of Moscow Address: Tverskaya, 13, Moscow, 125032. Ph: +7 (495) 633-68-66, Fax: +7 (495) 633-68-65 Moscow Official E-mail: [email protected] www.dvms.mos.ru Moscow Urban Forum 2016: Editorial staff: creating comfortable cities Editor-in-chief – Sergo Kukhianidze Production crew of the edition: Elena Egorova (deputy editor-in-chief), The VI Moscow Urban Forum took place right by the Kremlin Tatyana Akimova, Gennady Charodeev, Vladimir Dolmatov, Marina Ershova, walls, at the Moscow Manege. The main subject of the forum was “Fast-Growing Megacities. Technologies of Dynamic Evgeny Khokhlov, Sergei Levin, Pavel Lukyanov, Marina Ogorodnikova, Development.” Anastassia Paloni, Vladimir Smelov, Anna Tomkins 6 – 8 CAPITAL IDEAS STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS IN MOSCOW Publisher: Moscow Center for International Cooperation 9 CEO: Sergei Anikanov Address: 105005, 68/8, build.1, Baumanskaya str., Moscow, Russia City’s graph Phone: +7 (499) 267-46-56 State program of the city E-mail: [email protected] General Partner: National Review Ltd of Moscow “Safe city”, CEO – Sergei Oposhnyanskiy Phone.: +7 (495) 784-69-71 2012-2018 E-mail: [email protected] 10-12 Consulting – Gennady Charodeev, Evgeny Khokhlov Design – Robert Saifulin Moscow official Photo editor – Victoriya Oposhnyanskaya Page layout – Alexander Saifulin Support from the Moscow Assistant – Nadezhda Ratanova Government boosts Distribution – "Trans-Media" Ltd Acknowledgements to: investment PHOTO – www.mos.ru, www.dvms.mos.ru, ITAR TASS Agency, RIA-Novosti, Moscow rose to 10th place in Russian investment Getty Images Russia, companies and organizations, represented in the issue. rating, securing its place among a group of regions If you wish to get new issues of Capital Ideas, please, apply to: [email protected] that can offer comfortable conditions for business The magazine is registered with at the Federal Authority of Legislative Control in Mass Media and Cultural Heritage Protection. Media registration certificate ФС77-53716, issued April 26, 2013. All reproduction permitted only with the Editor’s permission and reference to ‘Capital Ideas’. Distributed free of charge Published with support from the Department for External Economic and International Relations of the Government of Moscow Circulation : 7000 Moscow official A friendship that has lasted decades Our interview A number of joint Moscow-Belarusian News documents were signed during Moscow David Waroquire: Days in Minsk. Mayor of Moscow Sergey Life, Luxembourg Sobyanin and Chairman of the Minsk Our network is becoming City Executive Committee Andrei Shorets style: education plus signed a plan that outlines measures for bigger everyday the Republic of Belarus and the City of innovation “To understand the country you need, as I say, Moscow on the development of trade and At the end of June, Luxembourg hosted a to push the door”, said David Waroquire, one of economic, research, technical and social conference called “Moscow - the city of the partners at Mangrove Capital Partners, in an cooperation for 2016-2018. business and innovations.” exclusive interview with Capital Ideas. 14 – 15 22 – 23 24 – 25 16 – 19 Moscow Official Moscow paves way to Paris For a period of almost two weeks, Days of Moscow took place for the first time in Paris, Strasbourg and Nice. Business, cultural and athletic events, which were organized by Muscovites, were widely covered by the local media and attracted the attention of tens of thousands of regular French citizens, politicians and business representatives. 20 – 21 News Plenty of opportunity for cooperation Singapore targets innovation Talks in Vienna City Hall July-September 2016 CAPITAL IDEAS 3 Nothing Ventured Moscow Global Philippe Cohen: Face to Face Janos Balla: The market will start Alexei Mayorov: Moscow has become developing again soon The capital is younger and more “In my opinion, the number of companies that think Russia has become a dangerous becoming safer welcoming place and it’s best to leave the market is very Head of the Moscow Department of Ambassador Extraordinary and small. It is obvious that every market has its Regional Security and Anti-Corruption Plenipotentiary of Hungary to Russia ups and downs,” said Philippe Cohen, CEO Activities answered our questions in an answered questions in an exclusive of АristonThermoRus, in a conversation with exclusive interview interview with Capital Ideas. Capital Ideas. 26-30 38 – 43 52-56 31 44 – 46 58 – 60 City’s Graph Nothing Ventured Nothing Ventured “Safe City” program Belgian sweets from Zafer Ustuner: 32-35 Dubna We have ambitious What’s new What is the secret behind our love for sweet plans for the future things? Belgian chocolatier Thierry Pete, 36 – 37 who opened an ALEXANDRA Le Chocolat The Turkish company BEKO has been operating in Russia since the late 90s. Moscow in words chocolate plant in Dubna, certainly knows how to answer his question. ZaferUstuner, the CEO of the Russian company, talked to Capital Ideas about 48-51 how BEKO’s operations in Russia are currently going. We agreed ahead of Nothing Ventured time to not discuss the sensitive topic of the crisis in Russian-Turkish relations: Hiroshi Furuta: business is not at fault here and business Deeper into Russian people can’t fix anything without help market with high tech from politicians. “A crisis is a temporary phenomenon: as the economy starts to recover, business will adapt to new market conditions, launch new mechanisms for growth and will continue to develop,” said the General Director of Mitsubishi Electric (Russia) LLC in an interview with Capital Ideas 4 CAPITAL IDEAS July-September 2016 Our interview Life&Culture Nothing Ventured Vladimir Urin: LA SCALA: Geutebrück’s watchful Getting to know another country through art Welcome to Moscow! eye, in Russia In a big city like Moscow, everybody can find The equipment manufactured by Geutebrück, destroys bias something entertaining to do over the next few a German company with headquarters in T“At its core, Russian art is based on months. It all depends on what your interests Windhagen, can’t be purchased at shopping humanistic values that stress relationships are. Some will be interested in checking out Ivan centers and isn’t advertised by the media. between people,” said the General Director of Aivazovsky’s work, while others will opt to visit a Nonetheless, Geutebrück products are in the Bolshoi Theatre in an exclusive interview performance put on by the world-famous La Scala demand.