The cost of doing business in Russia...

[StreetScooby 5]

As Medvedev(sp?) pointed out to Obama, Russians don't haggle much... From strategypage.com,

Russian Warship Sinks Chinese Freighter

http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/Russian-Warship-Sinks-Chinese-Freighter-3-3-2009.asp


A Chinese rice freighter brought in a load of what was deemed as "low quality" rice by a Russian buyer. The Russian buyer said lower the price, which the Chinese seller refused to do. The owner of the tanker, a Hong Kong shipper, told the freighter to leave. The Russian coast guard sank it!

We are all engines of karma

[Krip 2]

Quote

As Medvedev(sp?) pointed out to Obama, Russians don't haggle much... From strategypage.com,

Russian Warship Sinks Chinese Freighter

http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/Russian-Warship-Sinks-Chinese-Freighter-3-3-2009.asp


A Chinese rice freighter brought in a load of what was deemed as "low quality" rice by a Russian buyer. The Russian buyer said lower the price, which the Chinese seller refused to do. The owner of the tanker, a Hong Kong shipper, told the freighter to leave. The Russian coast guard sank it!

I wonder what the russians would do if a commercial passenger acft flew over their airspace without their permission.

One Jump Wonder

[StreetScooby 5]

I have a friend of mine who is Russian. I asked him one day how to say please in Russian. It's like a 5 syllable word! I laughed and asked him if Russian's said please very much. He laughed and said no.

We are all engines of karma

[DanG 1]

It's only three syllables.

"Thank you" on the other hand, is long as hell.

- Dan G

[nerdgirl 0]

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It's only three syllables.

"Thank you" on the other hand, is long as hell.

Isn't "thank you" 3 syllables too? "Spa-si-ba."

As in "nyet, piva spasiba" ... even tho' in that construction we would use "please", I was taught to use 'spasiba' ... when trying to communicate 'no, I really don't want vodka at 10AM, but I will take a beer (still at 10AM).'

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[nerdgirl 0]

In incredibly broad strokes, to which I could cite exceptions, much of the rest-of-the-world™ does business differently than the US, e.g., bribes as standard practice. Competitive bidding and selection processes are opaque. Family arrangements or relations trump the concept of merit or best proposal.

The US DoD learned a lot about doing business in post-Communist Russia through construction of the Shchuch'ye chemical weapons demilitarization facility (>$1B). GAO report on DOD Needs More Reliable Data to Better Estimate the Cost and Schedule of the Shchuch’ye Facility. In a few cases, folks (Russian contractors) who made low-offers/bids would disappear.

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[DanG 1]

You're right. I was thinking "Hello"

Maybe this is why it took me three years to struggle through two years of Russian.

- Dan G

[nerdgirl 0]

Iirc, there are multiple forms of please, but it's not used frequently, which is a Russian cultural characteristic. One of my Russian friends quips to me that if ones observes someone smiling in the Russian subway they're either drunk, insane, or an American. (We smile a lot ... I think that's a good thing.
It's all about knowing key phrases in foreign languages, imo: Where is the American (or Canadian) embassy? Do you speak English? Where is the bathroom? No more vodka (when in Russia). Take your pants off and get on the table. That last one's probably not a 'key phrase' but one of my favorites in Arabic; very roughly transcribed: "Et la fetala, na hei su wah heck." Skydiver-appropriate tho'

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[StreetScooby 5]

My, you are literate

We are all engines of karma

[mik 2]

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You're right. I was thinking "Hello"

Maybe this is why it took me three years to struggle through two years of Russian.

Hello in Russian is 3 syllables (formal - stras... witch.. ya - or similar)... or 2 syllables (priv-eat -informal)...

But I have only lived in Russia for a few months and not studied Russian for 2 years so maybe I am missing something

***********************************************
I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

[DanG 1]

Again, you're right. I just remembered that I could never figure out how to pronounce it without visible wincing from my instructor.

I suck at languages.

- Dan G

[Nelyubin 0]

Read less tabloids. Especially in the morning.

The vessel was loaded smuggled cargo of rice.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Read less tabloids. Especially in the morning.

The vessel was loaded smuggled cargo of rice.

who the hell smuggles rice? Maybe into Japan, but your explanation sounds pretty lame - I'll stick to the tabloids for now.

It's already clear how Russia deals in business - just look at how it treats it own oil men.

[georgerussia 0]

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The vessel was loaded smuggled cargo of rice.

And, I guess, not only rice, but something else as well. The captain should have known the associated risks for himself (losing his seaman certificate at least) as well as real danger to his team while trying to leave the country illegally. The whole story as described makes no sense to me.

* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. *

[Nelyubin 0]

The thief must sit in jail ...

You have a different opinion?

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Chinese bulk carrier "New Star", registered under the flag of Sierra Leone, sunk in the Sea of Japan, with flight from the Russian border guards, had a bad reputation in international shipping, the vessel has been engaged in smuggling and other illegal activities.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20090219/120228908.html