Comment
Vodka with the
Russians
B
vodka-induced Yeltsin policies in the 1990s.
Their trailblazing fertilised the soil for the rise
of Putin, and whatever emotions the ex-KGB
agent elicits, he is an unrelenting politician
and an ambitious businessman. Russia, under
Putin, is well on its way to a free-market
economy, and although his shadow looms large
over most business deals, it is an easy-enough
country in which to do business. Russia is
ranked number 31 among 190 economies in
the ease of doing business, according to the
latest World Bank annual ratings.
South African equipment manufacturer
Bell has been operating in Russia for a
number of years and has an office in Moscow.
In fact, last year, Marc Schürmann, managing
director of Bell Equipment’s European
operations, said: “Russia will become a
region of focus for Bell in the coming years,
as the country is experiencing major market
developments that have the potential to
turn Russia into one of the leading global
articulated dump truck markets.”
Mining and the extraction of oil and gas is
the mainstay of the Russian economy. The vast
ice-lands of Siberia and the Ural Mountains
host huge deposits, especially coal, iron ore,
and gold. But Russia mines virtually any
RICS partner Russia offers South
African companies more than
the occasional shot of vodka. I’ve
just returned from an intriguing
trip through the ice-white, snowed-over
landscape of a country where exalted figures
like Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, and Putin
have left an indelible imprint on the Russian
psyche. The Lenin and Stalin footprints are
slowly disappearing in the second (or is it
the third?) thaw after the fall of communism.
Gorbachev’s footprints are still there, albeit
only as a faint reminder of the promise an
enlightened leader’s vision once offered.
The question is, will the menacing footprints
of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin eventually
obliterate the shattered communist dream?
The failures and shortcomings of the Lenin
and Stalin experiment permeates Russia. It
is a constant companion in the metros, on
the overnight trains, in the buses, and in the
pubs and restaurants. It seeps through the
knee-deep snow and finds expression in stern,
emotionless Russian eyes.
Nonetheless, despite the pain and suffering
of the past, the country is on a new growth
path. It started with Gorbachev in the
1980s and 1990s and continued through
Operators and equipment at Olimpiada in Russia are exposed to
extreme weather conditions throughout the year.
www.miningmirror.co.za
mineral under the sun. Of course, in terms
of operating conditions, it is also one of the
most challenging mining environments on
the planet. Equipment and workers have to
operate in extreme temperatures ranging from
minus 45 degrees Celsius in winter to 30 plus
in summer, but miners have never been known
for their lack of taking on a challenge.
One thing that the communist system
was good at, was developing skills, and today,
there is no lack of adequate skills at all levels.
Younger Russians speak, or at least understand,
English, and the language barrier can easily be
overcome. South Africans do not need visas
to enter Russia, the time difference is only one
hour, and the rand and the rouble is close to
being on a level playing field. After a month
in Russia, one wonders why South Africans,
especially in the mining industry, have been
lethargic to take advantage of their BRICS
status? It’s a whole new world, with endless
opportunities, and it really does mean you get
to drink vodka with the Russians.
Leon
Editor
Get in touch
@LeonLouw3
[email protected]
MARCH 2019 MINING MIRROR [3]