2 years in Russia - some experiences

[deccie]

Wife would also not be quite as scared of Kiwi wildlife! 

[Anotherkiwi]

Wife would also not be quite as scared of Kiwi wildlife! 

In that case, stay away from keas!  You really don't want to pick a fight with one when it's stealing your windscreen wipers. 

There are all sorts of videos and blogs with horror stories about what the most intelligent bird in the word does to amuse itself. 

[deccie]

Yup. I know about them.
Years ago I used to support a site in NZ and would get flown from Aus to go do some projects for them.

Still, not quite in the same league as Death Adders, Taipan's, Crocodiles, Funnel Web Spiders or Box Jellyfish..

[jone]

Philip Temple might say otherwise.

[Anotherkiwi]

Still, not quite in the same league as Death Adders, Taipan's, Crocodiles, Funnel Web Spiders or Box Jellyfish..

True!  Those are several good reasons NOT to live in Australia.

[JayH]

True!  Those are several good reasons NOT to live in Australia.

What a pair of sooks !! Have you guys not heard how dangerous an All Black Kiwi  is?

[Anotherkiwi]

What a pair of sooks !! Have you guys not heard how dangerous an All Black Kiwi  is?

Two different sports, JayH - and I surely don't need to remind an Aussie that New Zealand are the world champions at both rugby and league! 

[deccie]

So as I briefly posted on another thread my time on the forum is currently very limited due to a robbery that happened yesterday. Brass, replies to you will have to wait still.

Basically a manager sent from Moscow to "clear up" the local offices here of a very large western company stole about 25 million rubles and then did a runner.
We know that he entered the building at approximately 6am and probably paid off the security guards as well.

First my wife knew of the problem was when the police turned up at her work asking her to come down to the station "for enquiries". 

We were actually supposed to pick up some of the money that was stolen later the same day so it's a bit of a financial kick for us.

Though not as large an amount as this we have dealt with issues of theft before and have ended up catching the people involved.  I think we will catch this guy too unless he has done a runner overseas. The only flights out of the airport that day were headed to Moscow and I doubt he has gone back there. It would make sense to me to head to KZ  and then go elsewhere given the proximity to the border here.

We think he also stole our laptop that was intended as a gift so that may be a way to track him if he ever goes online with it  - or sells it on to someone else.

What I don't understand is why he waited so long. He could have done it much earlier during the holiday period and had a far greater head start. Perhaps he was waiting for the right security guards to come on duty.

Hopefully that mistake ends up getting him caught. Wife is now super busy dealing with a lot of paperwork and official crap which has resulted in me taking on some extra duties as well so not much forum time...

[deccie]

I forgot to mention that when the American manager that had been sent here to also clear up things found out what had a happened - he had a heart attack...

I don't think he likes Russians very much right now! Nor am I sure he will be back to work any time soon.

[Brasscasing]

So as I briefly posted on another thread my time on the forum is currently very limited due to a robbery that happened yesterday. Brass, replies to you will have to wait still.

Basically a manager sent from Moscow to "clear up" the local offices here of a very large western company stole about 25 million rubles and then did a runner.
We know that he entered the building at approximately 6am and probably paid off the security guards as well.

First my wife knew of the problem was when the police turned up at her work asking her to come down to the station "for enquiries". 

We were actually supposed to pick up some of the money that was stolen later the same day so it's a bit of a financial kick for us.

Though not as large an amount as this we have dealt with issues of theft before and have ended up catching the people involved.  I think we will catch this guy too unless he has done a runner overseas. The only flights out of the airport that day were headed to Moscow and I doubt he has gone back there. It would make sense to me to head to KZ  and then go elsewhere given the proximity to the border here.

We think he also stole our laptop that was intended as a gift so that may be a way to track him if he ever goes online with it  - or sells it on to someone else.

What I don't understand is why he waited so long. He could have done it much earlier during the holiday period and had a far greater head start. Perhaps he was waiting for the right security guards to come on duty.

Hopefully that mistake ends up getting him caught. Wife is now super busy dealing with a lot of paperwork and official crap which has resulted in me taking on some extra duties as well so not much forum time...

No worries. Keep us abreast of the manhunt.

I also don't need to remind you (but will anyways) that things (as ever in the SFU) may not be as they seem. If you're actively involved in this investigation  use caution and be vigilant for your (and yours) personal safety.

Brass

[Chicagoguy]

The shyster in Omsk who had a shady deal with me still acts like he is respectable businessman in town. I MIGHT have got some $ back if I had filed a law suit but no sense in throwing good money after bad. Maybe arbitration would have worked but I just gave up. One thing I did do was make sure what he did was known to other businessmen in town, the police and the mayor [ who agreed with me ].

There are many very nice and honest business people in Russia but I am not good enough, smart enough to play the games of the others.

[deccie]

The shyster in Omsk who had a shady deal with me still acts like he is respectable businessman in town. I MIGHT have got some $ back if I had filed a law suit but no sense in throwing good money after bad. Maybe arbitration would have worked but I just gave up. One thing I did do was make sure what he did was known to other businessmen in town, the police and the mayor [ who agreed with me ].

There are many very nice and honest business people in Russia but I am not good enough, smart enough to play the games of the others.

Well, for a start the current mayor is one of the biggest crooks in town. His company was contracted to build the Metro and after 20 something years all they have is one station. Yup - ONE station. Locals call it the Metro museum. He claims the entire budget is spent. I bet it wasn't spent on construction!

They also start road works construction here in late October. Specifically so the roads don't last.

Guess whose company renovated the barracks that collapsed earlier this year......

[deccie]

No worries. Keep us abreast of the manhunt.

I also don't need to remind you (but will anyways) that things (as ever in the SFU) may not be as they seem. If you're actively involved in this investigation  use caution and be vigilant for your (and yours) personal safety.

Brass

Indeed. This guy already tried to entrap us twice to get the blame but we stayed well away.
It will not be us doing the chasing. We leave that to the legal guys. We just get to hear what they are doing in great detail. My wife trained as a lawyer with a lot of these people. She just can't work for them any more since she is married to me. But she does not miss that kind of work as she got to meet the worst of people every working day.
Very soul destroying work.

[Chicagoguy]

The subway was a joke every time I was there. Nobody wanted it and nobody ever thought it would be built. My mayor friend was not a builder and lived well within his means. But there was more than one mayor for each area ?  IE - Central District, Omsk Region and others ?

The corruption never seems to end in Russia. Thank goodness we have never had this in Chicago   

[Larry1]

The corruption never seems to end in Russia. Thank goodness we have never had this in Chicago   

 

[deccie]

The subway was a joke every time I was there. Nobody wanted it and nobody ever thought it would be built.

I definitely agree with the second part of your statement but there are a lot of people who would use it if it covered a reasonable area if for no other reason than the roads are not cleaned that much during winter making delays frequent as well as the poor condition of buses and trams.

My mayor friend was not a builder and lived well within his means. But there was more than one mayor for each area ?  IE - Central District, Omsk Region and others ?

Different from the region and the city yes. For the region there is a governor and for the city a mayor. This one does not live within his means at all so it can't be the same person - or we have wildly different perceptions.

The corruption never seems to end in Russia. Thank goodness we have never had this in Chicago   

The people on the bottom do it to survive. Really, for many there is no choice. The people on the top do it because they are greedy and they can.

[deccie]

It's possible this guy has been caught trying to leave Russia using somebody else's passport at another city.
Should know more in 24-48 hours after they do some identity checks.

If it had been me I would have run across the border to KZ by car and then gone elsewhere by airport...

[deccie]

Yep, he was caught.
He attempted to use silicone to modify his finger prints.
Now he is giving the authorities the silent treatment but it remains to be seen how long that lasts.