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Foreign citizen about Moscow-Petersburg conflict

The article from Neva News

At the start of the century, Sebastian FitzLyon's great-grandfather was the Governor of St.Petersburg and a member of the State Council. His portrait, painted by Repin, can be found in the Russian Museum. His grandfather, Lev Zinovieff, the page of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, served in the Horse Guards and was a member of the State Duma. And another one of his ancestors was the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he is buried in the Ko-mendantskoye Cemetery.
In July, 1918, his grandparents and their four children were forced out of Russia by the Revolution. Sebastian's native city is London. After qualifying as a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, he left for Australia, but he continued to dream of Petersburg.

Neva News - When did you first come to the /and of your ancestors, and when did you decide to stay here?

Sebastian FitzLyon - In 1990, I visited Russia for five days. Then in 1991, right at the time of the coup, I took part in the First Congress of Compatriots - in Moscow and in Petersburg. It was then that I decided to work here.

N.N. - What, In your view, is the level of development of foreign business in Russia?

S.F. - Regarding the real estate market, in Petersburg, in comparison with Russia as a whole, it's much more developed thanks to a local legislative base which stimulates this type of business.

As regards business in general, many of my colleagues believe that it is a lot easier to develop business in the Leningrad and Novgorod Regions. But many of today's conditions in the city of St.Petersbufg are no different from former Soviet times, which, as is well-known, did not stimulate foreign business.

And so all we foreign and Russian businessmen have had to work in a difficult legal framework, and the law is constantly being broken inadvert-ently in some little way. This in particular goes for taxation, currency control and imports.

But Petersburg's main problem is Moscow. That is. Federal legislation. Success for any enterprise or company in Petersburg can only be enjoyed thanks to its own efforts. Not thanks to the Government, rather in spite of it. Moscow does nothing for Petersburg. We don't need Moscow's money. We want something else - for us not to be hindered by Moscow. We want relations between Moscow and business in the provinces.

N.N - It is said that one can't do business in Russia without bribes.

S.F. - That's not true.

N.N. - So, have you managed without them?

S.F. - Not just me, but in fact many have. But corruption is a problem. It exists in every country and particularly flourishes in places where more permits, agreements, certificates and papers are required. Public servants in Russia do accordingly have some opportunities. In Petersburg, I think a big problem is that two or three different city officials can be responsible for a particular issue, and it's not entirely clear which of them is the more useful.

N.N. - What would you advise foreigners who are just now intending to open businesses in Petersburg?

S.F. - In the first place, they should be sure that they want to do so, because the path from first intentions to the actual beginning of profitable activity can be a very long one. No less than two years of investing money and effort are often required in order to start making a profit.

The second piece of advice is this: you have to fall in love with this city and with Petersburgers. You have to get involved in Petersburg's cultural life. To be a Petersburger, you don't necessarily have to be Russian. A person of any nationality, from any country, can become a Petersburger. For this you don't even necessarily have to be able to speak Russian very well. You simply have to love this city and have good Russian friends. And once they've accepted you as their own, you're a Petersburger. And thirdly: you have to be a very patient person, and remember that there is nearly always a civilized way out of difficulties with officials.

N.N. - You have become a professional here. But are there things that you still, after all these years, do not understand about Russia?

S.F. - Yes. For example, I don't understand why one only has to respect women and give them special attention just once a year - on March 8th - and not every day. If a man were always considerate of women, then he would have no need for a special day devoted to them.

There are other strange things. Here, if a person sneezes just once, everybody around him immediately thinks that he's seriously ill, that he mustn't work, and that he should go to bed to rest. I'm startled by this. But I really do "like" the way ba-bushkas advise strangers, and chide children - completely unknown to them whom they encounter on the street - for being inadequately dressed for the weather, and scold teenagers for their fashion and hairstyles...

N.N. - And what do you like most of all about Petersburg?

S.F. - Above all, the culture inherent to the city. And the people, who are interesting, intelligent, educated. Moscow, of course, is also an interesting city. But Muscovites are more brash. I really like the Petersburg irony, the intellectual discussions, and the disputes which go on all night long and can continue for months on end.

N.N. - What characteristics, in your opinion, distinguish Petersburgers most?

S.F. - I am always pleasantly astounded by the hospitality and generosity of Petersburgers, even the poorest. They are always ready to give their last kopeck to those who are poorer. People here are very kind. Nowhere else in the world have I met people like them.

N.N. - Do you have a favorite spot in Petersburg?

S.F. - It's probably Ulitsa Gaga-rina. There's a little spot there, where no matter where you look, there's nothing modem in sight. It's a very interesting place of the "living" past.

And I really like Vasilyevsky Island, too. Since my work is in real estate, I often go to communal flats. And it's incredibly interesting - just to walk around them and imagine how people lived here before the Revolution.

N.N. - To imagine is interesting, but perhaps not to live like that... Would you agree?

S.F. - That's why I'm always pleased when I manage to move people out of such flats, into better ones! Incidentally, my firm's office is also a former communal flat. And I even caught on video the last inhabitants moving out.



ingermanland@geocities.com

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