Job Discussion Forums

[MIKEBUCHAN]

silasbilas,

I only spent a couple of weeks in Zelenograd (near Moscow) and that school's owner refused to pay anything. He told me I had the wrong visa! How do you get the wrong visa??? And that is AFTER leaving me stranded at the airport in Moscow, all my bags were lost, and a bogus telephone number to call him. By this time I had friends in Togliatti and went there until my bags showed up! When I arrived by train again in Moscow -- no one was there again for three hours and then his wife came to get me. I was told that they searched high and low for a nice apartment -- I got a dirty, dead rat and dead coackroach, full of someone else's stuff sh*t hole. And that someone else was the Canadian woman that just left and did not tell them -- very smart lady as I did the same!

I can tell you that in Togliatti, I was fired after nine months because I would not have sex with the office manager - a married woman!

In ufa:
Language Link refused to pay for all the over contract hours -- 2 1/2 months of double contract hours and not a kopek!

Center for Foreign Languages decided that I should not be paid for a month and a half because I did not come to work -- the temperature for that time was -35 C and the law states that school childern do not go to school when it is that cold - they told me to go home and they would call me when they opened again.

American Bashkir Inter College is a total rip off! Russians get paid more to teach there and I got the worst of the worst high school sweat hogs while the Russians got the best students. Here I was not paid for anything and they refused to assist in getting a visa extention or renewing one and I missed getting out of the country by a few hours and was arrested (the only country in the world that does this -- most countries let you leave with an expired visa and tickets to go) and held for three days --- in a hotel at double rates - the police were involved and fined $4000 - yes that is US dollars.

Want to hear more? I do not work anymore as my pension started, so I live well and laugh at them now.

If you want to teach ONLY grammar and nothing else - Russia is a great place to teach -- their methodologies are from the 17th century

[silasbilas]

Mike, quite a set of experiences! Are you currently living in Moscow?

[MIKEBUCHAN]

I have never lived in Moscow and never plan to live there. It is too big, noisy, dirty and the people never seem friendly as in other less international cities in Russia.

[maruss]

This is a comparitive question.....
The argument people like myself and other old hands have against these schools is that they work on supply and demand,knowing that there is always somebody who will take a job just to experience living in Russia for a while.On this point they are probably right because let's face it, not many people are keen to go and live there on a long-term basis for many reasons,some of which are obvious!
But with that in mind,they use deceptive recruiting adverts to lure people there,especially their claim of 'middle-class salaries' which is a total lie!
As a result,staff turnover is very high because teachers soon realise that they can earn far more somewhere else and off they go....Consequently morale is low,both among the staff and students who are paying good money for their lessons and see different teachers coming and going.How long you stick it depends largely on you and how determined you are,although obviously if you have a sympathetic DOS it helps a lot!
Working split-hours is no joke in Moscow and once you see how the metro and buses are you will understand why,especially if you have a long journey to and from work from your accom.In winter this situation is a nightmare because you can effectively be stuck all day between classes in the morning and evening and will probably end up marking papers and preparing lessons,rather than trying to go home and rest and then come back again for your evening classes!Unless of course you are lucky enough to get a schedule with continuous hours during the day from late morning to evening which I managed to do by working freelance(not for any of the notorious schools by the way!)
Concerning accomodation,I am not a gipsy or a refugee so I don't go around sharing my living space with other unknown people and like my privacy.If I want to invite someone back to eat,drink or anything else and use my bathroom etc. that's my prerogative and not something I should be forced to accept as part of my working contract!O.K. flats in Moscow are expensive,especially nowadays but if my employer wants me as a foreigner to go and work and live there,they should be prepared to provide suitable accomodation-ex-pat firms do so why should I be any different??Unless of course I happen to have my own place and they give me a realistic allowance instead as compensation....
As you have probably read from other postings on this site,$1500 per month is the MINIMUM a person needs in Moscow nowadays to get by and anything less will mean hardship and survival in a place which is tough and stressful to live in at the best of times,as you will soon discover!
But of course if you are not aware of the true situation and get your info. from recruitment ads. by these kind of firms,you will find out the hard way.
A careful glance through the vacancies on sites like tefl.com will reveal that these same firms are always recruiting and that can mean only two things:either that their business is expanding at a formidable rate and they need extra staff continuously,or,as is the case, there is high turnover of staff!The question then is why?I hope some of the points I have made above will help you understand the reasons.

All the best and please feel free to correspond for further advice etc.

[MIKEBUCHAN]

Maruss,

You are correct about the adverts and the schools here! And foreign teachers bite, hook, line and sinker at those adverts. They get bragging rights back home --- I survived a Russian winter! In most cities outside of Moscow and Petersburg a salary of $550 USD is standard, but much lower is common, however, a slum garbage dump apartment usually goes with the job.

One thing that I have learned in the five - yes, 5 years - that I have lived in Russia is this: These hillbillies are going to learn that their rude, ill mannered and very bad behavior HAS consequences!

In the Moscow News, 27 April - 3 May 2007 on page 09 - the article listed as 'Minority Report' with a by line, Marina Pustilnik and titled "Difference in Perceptions has some stats from a British survey. I am quoting from the article. "...British business people find their Russian counterparts arrogant (62 percent), lawless (59 percent) and unreliable (47 percent)...."

I believe these stats are low!

Mike

[mdk]

Hmmm, the Russian lady I lived with for several years (and her neighbors) would probably give you comparable views of westerners visiting Russia.

I am reminded of the story of the seven blind men who encountered an elephant. One thought it was like a snake, another like a wall, etc.

Then there was another blind man who said it was smelly and squishy and full of flies

[MIKEBUCHAN]

MDK

Are you in Moscow or another tourist city in Russia? If you are, then I would whole heartedly agree with you - westerners are some of the worst offenders of civil manners!

I live two time zones east of Moscow, in the Ural Mountain area and there just are no tourists at all here. A few businessmen from Holland and a couple of other European countries, but no tourists come to this area. And most folks here have no idea what foreigners are like and sometimes treat you like a native - which can be abrasive at times.

I live in the capital of the republic and almost all of the people here are very kind - it is in the outback villages that far away from civilized Moscow society that are rather crude.

I cited the article in the Moscow Times as views from the UK - I am an American and did not connect that survey very well to my dislike of the school operators and their 'organized' cheating and withholding of salaries to western teachers.

I see that other posters are also notifying others about this somewhat common practice of short changing ELT'er of their salary.

[mdk]

Well, my experiences are in Tomsk and Moscow.

In Tomsk I worked with other professors at state universities. They were always very kind and courteous. Some of the other teachers did not find them to be so, but that spoke more to the manners of the other teachers, I think.

In Moscow I worked for a large school that recruits actively. I found some of them hard to work with. One might even use the term "two-faced" perhaps in referring to school administrators. Even in this case I found the Russian teachers to be very admirable and straight-forward people -- with the occasional exception.

I am an American also. Siberians are not like Americans in many respects. Muscovites are, unfortunately in my opinion, becoming more and more Americanized.

On the other hand, when I return to the states it is amazing how many Russians there are here. In point of fact, Russians have been getting out of Russia for at least the past couple of years. It's almost like the Scots around here.

[maruss]

When I was in London last month I was shocked at the number of obviously ultra- wealthy 'new-russians' who live in some of the most opulent areas of the city such as Knightsbridge and Kensington etc and shop in Harrods and Harvey Nichols like ordinary people use Tesco!If this reflects their confidence in Russias future then I think the rest of us should take note!Needless to say I have not seen a reverse flow of similar eager foreigners who are eager to invest and live in Moscow or other places in Russia!I also wonder how carefully the British government checks where the Russians incomes are earned?

[ytuque]

BBC had a fascinating piece on the gated community where Moscow's super rich live. The program which I watched on BBC this morning is much better than the news article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6577129.stm

[maruss]

I have actually been to a couple of these places after I was invited there by a couple of my private students who I was teaching English to in Moscow.One had a boyfriend who owned a mansion and the other family wanted me to teach their 4 year old kid so they could show him off to some overseas visitors they were expecting......
My frank impression is that many of these people are desperately insecure and unhappy, despite their ability to buy anything they want materially.They know that most of the outside world despises them, not just because of what they have, but because of how they got it and because of their apparent disdain for those in the vast majority who are much less fortunate than themselves.
Consequently they live in 'guilded cages' and cannot make friends with ordinary people or have sincere relationships based on respect and mutual understanding.But if you think this suggests I feel sorry for them then I'm afraid the answer is no-I save my pity for people like the infants and little kids I used to visit and play with in places like the orphanage at Fryazino north-east of Moscow,who live on charity and what ever care and kindness they get from the director and staff there who heroically try be parents to over 100 abandoned children!Unlike many other orphanages in Russia who will not admit outsiders,especially foreigners, without special authorisation this one gets help from Europe and America and does welcome people with kind intentions who want to volunteer in one way or another.You can visit the site mariaschildren for more info and call the director and her husband Ilya,both of them speak English and will be pleased to meet you.
There are many things wrong with Russia as we all know, but when it gets you down, rather than pointless griping about things we cannot change,doing something for these kids is excellent therapy, believe you me.The smiles on their faces come free and to see one on yours when you visit them is probably worth far more than we will ever understand..I last saw them in late March 2006 and still often think about them.Remember too that most of them do actually have living parents who abandoned them for one reason or another such as alchoholism, drug addiction,poverty or because they have conditions such as Downs in some cases,which is perhaps the saddest of all.

[MIKEBUCHAN]

maruss -

Amen to that last post!

Mike

[maruss]

Moscow is another world from the rest of Russia and its elite live in yet another world from the rest of Moscow!
If you are in Yekaterinburg,I agree that people there are quite different from those in Moscow.Sure there is crime and corruption everywhere throughout Russia and the Urals mafia is notorious but I would definitely agree with you that the local people are quieter,kinder and less aggressive than in the capital.There has been considerable foreign investment there too, especially from Germany and living standards are better than in many smaller towns in Russia.
As for orphanages etc. conditions in many are notoriously bad due to lack of funds and resources and I'm well aware that the one I used to visit in Fryazino was the exception rather than the rule.It's not just about the food and material comforts etc. they provide but the question of individual attention and affection for the children,which affects their subsequent psychological and moral development.The sad truth is that once they grow-up the law says they have to be released into the outside world where there is little financial or other support available and they are easy prey for the criminal elements of society who are always searching for new victims.In a place like Russia most of these children have no future unless they are lucky enough to meet the right kind of people and employment opportunities etc.The director of the home told me this quite frankly and knowing this makes her job not only more stressful as well but even harder to have to admit it to someone like myself.
Maybe this is why the false opulence and arrogance of Moscow and its elite offended me so much,knowing that the reality is that Russia is still a third-world country in many ways with vast disparities in incomes and run by a crooked and corrupt regime which is in many ways as bad as the Communist one!