The plane was an hour delayed. It was dark and cold when we arrived. But what can you expect? Moscow is cold in the winter. The Russian winter stopped both Napoleon and Hitler before they got into the city, but they were pretty close.
A driver from our company took us to the hotel. The traffic wasn't to bad, it took just about an hour. We checked in at the Swisshotel, and went straight to our office, We had things to prepare for the next day. Russian law is strict. We're not allowed to take geophysical data out of the country. All the work need to be done inside Russia.
Getting through the door to our office on the 14th floor is easy. The main challenge is to get passed the desk at the main entrance at street level when arriving off regular office hours. The security guys on night watch can be quite grumpy. They look at our passports and our company ID card. Sometimes they let us in without questions, sometimes they say "Njet!", and nothing more. No arguments can make them change their minds. Fortunately this was one of the lucky nights.
We worked for 3-4 hours, then passed by a restaurant on the way back to the hotel, and got some Uzbek food (plov of lamb) and some dark beer (Kozel). Very good.
The next day we worked in our office before lunch. Then we went to the Russian service company we co-operate with. A driver from our company took us to the office location, in the outer part of the city, close to some forests and a big power plant (I presume).
I was a little bit nervous. This summer, the boss of our Russian subsidiary ordered me to go to Moscow to inspect the processing center of Russian service company:
"You need to go there to check", he said. "Check that the processing center really exists, check that they have real computers, check that the computers are taken out of the boxes, check that they have software on the computers and people who know how to use it."
"Is this really necessary?" I said.
"I've been in this country for many years", he replied.
And since then, the service company has moved to a new office location. What should we expect now? Were we too naiiv? Fortunately, it was all fine.
Today we continued our meeting, working till 6pm, to complete our objectives. Then we went to an Azerbajdjanian restaurant and got some great food and beer, and vodka of course. I'm not used to drinking vodka in large amounts, and I don't like it. So, I'm always very careful in the vodka relays. I'll tell more about that some time later.
By the way, the title of this post was inspired by the book Sebastopol Stories by Leo Tolstoy. It's a collection of stories from his time as an officer in the Russian army during the Crimean war. Very good book >:)
(No time for sightseeing in Moscow this time, just work all day, tired when returning to the hotel at night. I took the picture above from the window in my hotel room. Moscow by night.)
Check to be sure computers are out of box - that's funny.
ReplyDeleteNow, if the office wasn't real and the computers were out of the boxes, what will you do? Hmm, I'm imagining you with a magic wand making things happen in Moscow.
ReplyDeleteMy Darcy Vibrates…
The enigma that is Russia! Seems like the only real change is the political set-up. All else remains the same. Nice post
ReplyDeleteAlex: Yes, it's funny. But obviously it might be necessary to check tings very carefully before signing contracts in Russia.
ReplyDeleteEnid: That's an interesting combination to spin a story around. I'll bring my magic wand next time i go to Moscow.
Joe: Russia is very fascinating and interesting. Sometimes it feels like it's become a modern capitalist country, sometimes you get kind of Soviet flashbacks.
Kozel as in Velkopopovicky Kozel?
ReplyDeleteSilme: Yes. Czech beer isn't it? The dark one is very good >:)
ReplyDeleteIt was the first beer I ever liked. Pretty much impossible to get here, but I am going to Helsinki in a month, and then I will drink plenty. And introduce mother to it! And bring some back!
ReplyDeleteDid you CHECK to make sure they plugged the computers in?
ReplyDeleteI believe that would have made me nervous, too. What did your boss expect to happen to you if you found that it wasn't all fine? Wouldn't the Russians have been a little irritated?
Wow- sounds like a Russian spy novel. Oh, the paranoia! Sounds like very interesting work you do there... ;)
ReplyDeleteYou're living inside a thriller novel. :) Love the Moscow posts.
ReplyDeleteNessa: Basically, we checked that they had the equipment and competence needed to do work, and apparently they do. I felt a little bit embarrassed when I had to ask them to show us the receipt and contract for purchase of the computers. In principle they could have rented the office for two hours while we were there.
ReplyDeleteJayne: I think we have to be a little bit paranoid. Russia is full of smart and nice people, but also full of swindlers. Working in Russia is very interesting, indeed.
Liz: Thanks. Yes, sometimes it feels like living inside a thriller. It's very interesting, both the science and the culture. I fortunate to have a great job.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd love the travel. The meetings, not so much. :)
ReplyDeleteWait a minute! You had time for the vodka relays, but not sightseeing? Suspicious.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth: I enjoy both. The Russians are nice guys to work with, and workmeetings with simultaneous translation adds some interesting spice to it >:)
ReplyDeleteHelen: Yes, that's right, because the vodka relays are part of my work, kind of >:)