Posted on 04/03/2019 8:08:56 PM PDT by NorseViking
(Reuters) - German automaker Daimler officially opened a Mercedes-Benz factory near Moscow on Wednesday at a ceremony attended by President Vladimir Putin, marking a rare foreign investment into Russia's car industry.
The plant in the town of Esipovo 40 kilometers north west of Moscow is the first in years to be opened by a foreign carmaker in Russia where investment into the once burgeoning auto industry dried up amid western sanctions and a stagnant economy.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Putin said the plant would produce 25,000 cars a year and that investment in the project had totaled 19 billion roubles ($291 million).
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.mobile.reuters.com ...
I don’t know. I always looked at Russia (after Kruschev) as a huge open land with many resources like the old American West.
Good to see, at least the Germans aren’t buying the ‘Russian Collusion’ crap that the Democrats are so hung up on.
And now, the German ‘s are buying natural gas from the Russians.
I watch some Russian Youtubers. It is amazing how much of a market-based economy they have. During the old Soviet days their grocery stores were atrocious. Now they have the equivalent to large box stores like Petco just for their pets.
Say what ya want about Putin but their economy is banging.
The economy is not really banging anymore. Its structure is getting healthier but still shrinking.
As for retail it is still ok. If you remember a ‘Mig pilot’ book about a Ukrainian pilot who defected from the Soviet Far East garrison to the West in 1970s and how he was shocked to see a supermarket.
I think it would be a similar shock these days for an American upon getting into a Russian supermarket.
People can do a lot when they don't have a boot on their neck.
Thank God for JPII and Ronald Reagan.
Yes, generally Russia is more like US than say Europe or Asia.
Nothing gets done there without bribes. Their organized crime folks get some, govt folks get some. Its no panacea.
Personal experience?
Russian native i know.
I see. I first thought it is from the same source which says Trump is a Putin’s puppet.
For how long does this Russian native out of Russia?
Without my glasses, the headline looked like “Dahmer to Open Restaurant in Moscow”. Whew!! Missed it by that much.
Happens to me all the time:) You might be hungry.
This is a bit outdated. Most mafia bosses have been long dead.
As for the corruption it depends much on the place, scale, else. Officials get prosecuted. Practicing petty corruption (on the road, passing a unversity exam) has become dangerous though still exists. Purchasing something for the government at a double retail price receiving the difference as a bundle afterwards has too. The Putin’s friends do have a priority with the government contratcs, but there are not so many of them. But you can never win a lawsuit against a government agency. Sanitary or fire inspections have become less frequent, and probably, fullfilling the regulations is a good idea. Many government services have become available online, though the quality of the regulation is generally quite poor.
Was at a Russian luncheon this week. Talk was of the Mueller report and how much they hate Putin. Always hear that at their parties. Pro American.
Also most are getting family members out of that cesspool.
You are mostly right although poor public services are mostly a result of a small government.
As for inability to beat the government at court is is a rather widespread belief but it isn’t actually supported by facts.
The problem is most people do not seek quality legal advise which is actually available but not cheap. There are lawyers specializing in it and due to overall low level of government employees your chances to beat a thing like unlawful fine or another administrative act is actually higher than elsewhere.
I can't compare this to the U.S. situation, I'm not aware of it.
And not all the business problems in Russia are because of the government and/or Putin. The civil courts don't understand much in complicated equity-related cases. There are a lot of unenforced regulations, the regulations themselves are pretty dumb, lots of areas which require regulating while there are none, and so on.
In short, the legal environment is being established only.
Overall, government services are guided by the established standards in their rulings. That means most of their dicisions are actually in accordance with laws and regulations do involved parties like it or not. That is why not every disputed decision overturned. The very fact that you disagree with certain ruling doesn’t mean it was unlawful. For that reason you need a quality legal service to a aid problems in a making. All things considered it is absolutely not rare for businesses and individuals in Russia not only to beat rulings of government bodies in courts but also to beat unfavorable standards and regulations. It is not even rare to beat laws in the Constitutional Court.
They (and you) sound like a bunch of Hillary loving Democrats.
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