I picked this particular quotation from the bottom of the post because I think in an otherwise well thought through take on the changing rules of bribery in Russia this one is wrong.....
"The irony in this matter is that Russian businessmen know exactly that they are still giving good old bribes. Western businesses operating in Russia act as a crowd in a fairy tale delighted by the emperor new clothes. American, European or Japanese businesses hire a Russian – ‘a guy who solves problems’ – and are very happy with his incredible effectiveness and luck."I forget the number of times I have seen western businessmen being led round Moscow by their "guy who solves problems" looking like a bunch of girl scouts at the annual outing of (a good analogy fails me). His main role is not to solve problems but to ensure that there are a constant flow of them so that he and the "problem" can share the fee. They are never proactive problem solvers but merely reporters of bad news. These guys have no skin in the game and believe that the only thing worth a dollar is a dollar.
When I took on the problem of solving the nationalization issues at Lomonosov Porcelain Factory it took about 3 months to get rid of all the hogs filling themselves at the trough. Once they had gone we could negotiate face-to-face with our problem and solve the issues.
If you want something done, do it yourself, or don't do it at all.
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