Val Karren - The Deceit of Riches

“So your sales of electronics are one hundred percent imported?” I confirmed.

“Yes, nobody wants Russian made goods,” he stated with fervor.

“When you purchased the shops from the government, did you keep the staff?” I tried to keep my questions sounding as if they were pre-planned, unswayed by his revelations.

“Anybody who has worked in a government shop does not know how to sell or how to treat customers. There were a few, some younger girls who understood that you need to treat a customer correctly, but mostly it was older women working as shop clerks as the men were in the factories, so usually I replaced the staff with younger students who finished university and wanted to get involved with international businesses,” he answered like a good business owner should.

“And in the restaurant?” I asked innocently.

“In the restaurant? The cooks are all Russian women because people do want Russian made food. So, we kept the grandmothers cooking. It is good food! Do you know my restaurant on Bolshaya Pokrovka?” he asked with a flinch of pride.

“Yes, I ate there once in February. The food was good, but too expensive for a student to go again,” I conceded.

“Well yes, I must make a profit. The next time you want a special night out, you tell me, and I will make sure you get a good meal for a student’s budget. Agreed?” he was being sincerely generous.

“That’s very kind of you, thank you. Can you tell me about the grocery stores you are investing in? What is your business plan for these?” I continued to push through the details.

“These shops are to be made by Russians for Russians. Nothing imported. People want Russian food for their kitchens. I am busy now putting together the suppliers who can produce and package correctly so that these stores become convenient like shopping in Germany. We will hire mostly young women to work in the shop who understand customer service. I do not plan to make much money with these shops. I am doing this to help the local food producers in the Volga region and to provide the people with a modern shopping choice. I consider these stores to be my gift to the city and my people of the Volga,” he said like a Tsar gifting his people with their very lives.

“What is your opinion about the government’s initiatives to privatize these enterprises? Do you find it to be worthwhile? It sounds to me that you prefer to buy the property and not the enterprise. You replace staff, suppliers, etcetera. So, in fact, you aren’t buying the enterprise at all.” My question seemed accusatory and I braced myself for his reaction.

“It is true. I purchase the property and the license. After it is a private company and no longer a shop that belongs to one factory or another then I am free to run that business as I choose. So, yes you are correct that I am not like the workers who buy a shop for themselves. I don’t know how they think they can survive doing the same things, but then for themselves. These people don’t know other suppliers, other producers. They know how to unload trucks, stock shelves and take people’s money. They are not business managers. I have no faith in the workers’ buyouts in Russia. I think the government makes a big mistake to think that a group of workers will know how to make their business successful. They pay lots of money to the government and then the bank and I expect that they will lose everything. We need entrepreneurs to run the businesses, not workers,” he proclaimed.

“And the factories?” I didn’t even know what I was asking with that remark but it was out there.

“That’s different of course. There you have technical people who can make, fix, design new things so they aren’t helpless. What they lack is a commercial vision, a target market for their products, but I believe that the managers of most of the factories understand this. They have higher educations in economics, even if it was for a planned economy. But they are smart guys. If they can find some foreign investors and some foreign markets for the good Russian technology, after some time I believe they will do well.” he said with some confidence in his compatriots.

“What about the privatization of natural resources and strategic infrastructure projects,” I asked, poking the bear.

“Russia is being robbed!” he shouted.

“Excuse me?” I bumbled.

“Russia is being robbed by the communist apparatchiki and ministers in the Yeltsin government, and those men are making themselves rich and somehow they are doing this and getting away with it. They have not brought any new knowledge or efforts to improve the product. They are not improving Russia! They are just taking the money and putting it in Switzerland and Cyprus in their own accounts after they took the shares of their newly privatized ministries. It’s the biggest crime being committed in Russia and somebody needs to stop it!” he was instantly angry.

“I agree completely!” I replied, truly in agreement.

“My private enterprises are giving things back to Russia and Russians. I make jobs, I sell products that people want and need, we provide parts and service to keep trucks and taxis moving and people can earn their bread and salt. To just take the country’s resources and sell them abroad to make a few men in the government rich is insulting to our homeland. Those men should be shot!” he demanded.

“Are you involved in the local politics or are you only interested in business and trade?” I asked knowing the answer already.

“In Russia, business is politics. The economy is politics. The mayor consults with me on a regular basis about how to help private business thrive so they can get the votes and tax money of course. It’s all mixed up. You can’t keep it separate!” he waved his left hand in the air to signify confusion.

“Do you feel it should be kept separate like in the United States and Germany?” I asked with some superiority.

“Young man, don’t be naive. American businesses run your government too and your CIA. How many times has your country overthrown a government in central America to make sure you kept access to cheap labor and have export markets. Remember that Marx and Lenin were not wrong about everything! You forget that Russia is still very good friends with Cuba,” he said condescendingly.

“Good point,” I conceded.

“Russia needs a real God-fearing Russian in power. No more Ukrainians and Georgians and Siberians as President. It is time for the people of the Volga to lead Russia and care for the motherland. Russia was built on the Volga and by the Volga. The people of the Volga truly love the land and the history and suffered through the worst of our history. If we neglect the heart of our country, our country will die!” He was getting very worked up now.

“Do you have somebody in mind that could fill the role? Do you support a candidate?” I asked pushing him to talk about himself.

“Right now, there is nobody who loves Russia more than their own bank account. We need to start a new party of those who truly love Russia, a Volga Party that will stop the rape of this country by our own countrymen!” he declared.

“Sorry, I’ve gotten off track with my questions. Even though I agree with you one hundred percent, and I am glad to find somebody else who thinks like I do about it, can I ask you again about what kind of policies can help private businesses help Russia and Russians?” I interjected.

“The biggest problem are the government ministers, customs officers and tax collectors who make it difficult to do anything without them all getting their kickbacks. They are lazy and have no imagination about how to work, and they suck the people dry after they work hard. We need to throw all those gypsies out of the government and let the people just work. The Russian knows how to work if he is left alone!” he said pounding his fist into his own hand.