Job Discussion Forums

[GotoRussia]

From my understanding the majority of the ultra rich Russians got their wealth illegitimately. I saw a documentary on the oligarchs and when the USSR collapsed it was those who had the inner clout who got their hands on state assets. Even Yeltsin was beholden to them.

A couple big names Boris Berezovsky, Roman Abramovich, were front and centre. Sadly Boris fled in exile to London after Putin came to power and met a tragic demise.

Russia doesn't really produce anything of value except oil. They import all their luxury goods. Cars, clothes, electronics... are all foreign names. There isn't cachet to local goods, save for vodka and caviar.

Perhaps that's why they act so flippantly regarding their wealth. That family I worked for said the dad has 2 types of passports, one a special version for government officials, so they can bypass all security.

It still is a fascinating country, I may spend more time there in the future.

[GotoRussia]

I did forget to mention, one prominent Russian who started a pretty big company was Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google.

He immigrated to the USA very young though so it may have been more his upbringing in the west that contributed to his success.

[expatella_girl]

@GotoRussia

Any fabulously wealthy person in any country likely came by their wealth 'illegitimately'. Nobody is buying yachts and Monaco apartments from the dividends of weekly Friday paychecks.

yeah?

P.S. Boris Berezovsky was found hanged in the bathroom of his London apartment two years ago. Suicide they said......

[Sashadroogie]

What's that old joke about asking any tycoon how they made their FIRST million? : )

[GotoRussia]

[quote="expatella_girl"]@GotoRussia

Any fabulously wealthy person in any country likely came by their wealth 'illegitimately'. Nobody is buying yachts and Monaco apartments from the dividends of weekly Friday paychecks.

yeah?

P.S. Boris Berezovsky was found hanged in the bathroom of his London apartment two years ago. Suicide they said......[/quote]


In North America all the top billionaires got rich by starting their own company. Think Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Walmart, Oracle. Go to Forbes richest and it will be evident. If you are found to be a fraud like Bernie Madoff you will be prosecuted and sent to jail.

Russia on the other hand, I'm not sure how many can claim they built real wealth rather than steal it!

[maruss]

Nice to know that someone shares my opinion about the Russians too!Before I went to work there a girl I knew here in Cyprus who I was friendly with and who was half-Georgian and half Bela-Russian, tried to warn me about the things you referred to,although using other examples to make her point: she said that people there will 'use and abuse' you if you are kind and they see that you are soft-hearted etc. and this included the girls, who she reckoned rarely fall in love with foreigners in the same way they do with native men,even though they often treat them like dirt!Despite my pleas for an explanation she just said that I could never understand the mentality of Russians and should always have this in mind whenever I got involved with them for any reason?

[Sashadroogie]

Tsk tsk!

Sorry, Maruss. But your experience does not really match mine at all. I have made some really great friends and contacts here. People who almost literally saved my life. As in an emergency trip to hospital, sorting out proper medical care, checking in with doctors, lending cash to pay the sizable bill. Just one example.

As for women, again, I am sorry that you had such bad luck here, but I feel your view is skewed far too much to the negative. Sure, there are gold-digger types around, but there are also millions of really sweet, genuine girls, who also happen to be stunning to look at. Most of them are sincerely hoping to be wives and raise families. Nothing untoward there, surely? Many of us have found our wives to be more than satisfactory!

And as for this Russian 'mentality' nonsense, disregard anybody's opinion if it is based on such a silly notion.

As for American super-rich, most can trace their wealth back to the wild days of the nineteenth century. Things weren't as lawful then as they might seem now...

[maruss]

I'm not denying what you wrote either Sasha-actually I'm still in regular contact with two very nice woman who I met while I was over there and enjoyed relationships with-one is originally Ukrainian but lives in Moscow though-but I would point out two things:neither of them speak more than two words of English and secondly, one is in her late 40's and the other in her mid 50's which considering I'm 61 makes them far more reliable and suitable for me than young girls in their 20's who would be far more likely to show an interest in me for the wrong reasons,even though I'm told I look in my early 50's?
The majority of people who go there to teach are most likely to be in their 20's and 30's so logically they would be looking for girls of their own age or a bit younger?
From my experience,women in Russia who are over 30 tend to be more grounded and know what they want-and what they can expect from someone,depending on his circumstances and income etc. and are less likely to play games like the younger ones?
I have seen many older foreign guys there make fools of the themselves when they think they have won over girls who are sometimes half their own age!They usually end up emotionally and financially damaged,yet back home they know that women of that age would probably not even say hello to them?Russia is a mercenary place,as another person posted yesterday and people are often fighting to get by....my advice to them is usually to look elsewhere in Asian countries if they want a much younger partner where women do not consider it unusual to have much older men with them- by no means all of them are 'Bangkok bars girls' either!
Hope this has clarified things?

[Sashadroogie]

Sure, I get where you are coming from, and agree with you in the main. And thanks for the clarification. It is just too many people are prone to sweeping statements about how awful the Russians are, and especially how devious the women are in matters of the heart. My own friends back home on the ranch trot out all sorts of nonsense. I know this is not the same as what you were saying, but it did seem to be veering in that direction.

As for older men who should know better, and young girls who tease, well, come on - how much sympathy should be given to old fools. Russia isn't that much different to our home countries, surely?

[LAR1SSA]

[Mikalina]

Patronising.

[GotoRussia]

[quote="Mikalina"]Patronising.[/quote]

Who, Larissa? Just an honest assessment of what is reality in Moscow.
Schools will run rampant and abuse teachers if they can. I've seen it first hand.

Gotta protect your own interests and yourself.

[GotoRussia]

why is the "quote" feature not working for me...strange.