Interview by Dmitry Tamoikin for Soviet Jewelry News. Ladies and gentlemen, today we had the pleasure to interview Mr. Richard Royal, Chairman of Westminster Russia Forum, a UK based nonprofit organization that seeks to bridge the gap between the West and the East. Richard is a political commentator, activist and consultant who regularly contributes to the debates on British domestic politics, international affairs, and is particularly prominent in the field of Russian relations. |
RR: I’m a person with a lifelong interest in politics, history, and Russia. I’ve been involved in politics since I was a teenager and have since gone on to work within politics as an adviser to a Member of Parliament, an election campaign manager, and a political consultant. I set up WRF initially as a hobby because I recognize there are lots of people who like me are interested in Russian history and politics but that there is no outlet or organization available to them.
DT: Being an Englishman yourself, what inspired you to pursue the “Russian connection” and build personal, political and business relations with Russia?
RR: It really comes initially from studying Russian history at school, as many people in the UK do. It is one of the most fascinating countries on this planet, and it is easy to become absorbed in its history and culture, and want to learn more and more. As a result I remember being particularly interested in the Russian Presidential Election in 1996 and issues like Chechnya. Russian history and politics was one of my specialisms at university, and I visited Russia for the first time in early 2000 as part of my studies, at a time when Yeltsin had just handed over to Putin. Things have changed a lot since then!
Because of my active involvement and career in politics, I’ve been aware of lots of groups that represent other interests and countries – America, Israel, Poland, China, India…even places like Venezuela and Taiwan. But there had never been any group regarding Russia, which seems mad given its importance on the world stage, so I decided to be the person to do it! Since then I’ve been amazed at how many fellow Russophiles have emerged from the woodwork, people who I’ve known for years but had never mentioned it or done anything about it. So the creation of this group gave them the opportunity to express an interest and involvement that they’d always wanted but been unable to.
DT: Westminster Russia Forum is a very interesting UK based organization. What does it do exactly? What are its goals and objectives and what was it able to achieve since its formation?
RR: Our goal is to provide a forum for discussion and debate amongst people who have an interest or involvement in Russian politics, history, business and culture. Underpinning it is a general belief that we’d like to see Russia in a better position domestically and internationally and a recognition that this requires changes on all sides.
I have also been concerned about the fact that often the media representation of Russia in this country is warped and denies people the full facts. We’re very focused on being a forum open to all opinions so that people can discuss issues, listen to other views, and come to judgments having been presented with all the information. To me, what matters is not the conclusion you reach, but how you reach it.
I think a lot can be improved by such discussion and by greater understanding, because the lack of this leads to poor decision making in politics and in business. There are lots of opportunities for businesses in the UK to benefit in a Russian market; and lots of opportunities for Russians to invest in Britain. But this requires an improvement in relations and changes to some internal issues on both sides. We want to assist this improvement.
DT: From the very start, we understood that for the Soviet Jewelry project to succeed in the West, we had to make it socially and politically acceptable to the Western world. We worked hard to avoid over-decorating ourselves with Soviet flags, hammers and sickles. We made sure everyone understood that we promoted Soviet Gold and Silver – not communism. We built a clean pro-western website and produced the end products and services that are up to the high quality standards westerners come to expect. That said, our business name is “Soviet Jewelry”. Everything we do in one way or another is tied to the USSR, Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet Union countries. Ironically, the Soviet theme is what attracts predominantly Western clientele to our business. It is truly amazing how the United States, United Kingdom, most of the European Union, Australia and Canada, are all infatuated with the Soviet Union, art, history and culture. Due to this, we have to constantly perform a sophisticated balancing act with the Soviet product and the Western market. This brings me to my question. What advice can you give to Russian and Eastern European businessmen and women (as well as immigrants from these countries that now reside abroad) that wish to start a business in the West or have their company / product look more presentable and appealing to the Western world?
RR: We live in a very sad world and age, that can’t recognize the difference between a single word in a title and a political viewpoint. It is insane to me that anybody would contemplate the suggestion that a company called ‘Soviet Jewelry’ would be promoting the Soviet system or Communism. If you were selling American baseball caps or basketball shirts, would anybody be suggesting that you are supporters of the current US regime and its foreign policy? The whole concept is entirely absurd and needs challenging and overturning, so I’d advise companies such as yourselves to stick to your convictions and brand yourselves in the way that provides you with most business.
On your related point, you’re absolutely right, there is an infatuation with the former Soviet Union and people…including myself…like to collect memorabilia and read a lot about it. I’m afraid you will never get away from it being a fascinating period of history, although clearly more fascinating for those of us who haven’t experienced the negative consequences directly. But I see no harm in businesses riding on this interest.
DT: Now, let’s reverse the situation. Russia, Ukraine and many other former Soviet republics are becoming very appealing to Western (and especially UK) businesses and governments. What do you think these people and organizations need to understand when they are preparing to enter the Russian / Eastern markets?
RR: That Russia is not the West, never has been, and probably never will be. It is as different as dealing with any other country in another continent and people should have their eyes open to this. Russia is far more reliant on ‘who you know’, which is of course not unique, but is far more extreme so individuals and businesses will find themselves hitting brick walls if they don’t have the correct contacts and knowledge. For that reason I’d suggest businesses side with and seek advice from existing agencies that have been there for years…there are plenty of UK-based companies that specialize in helping businesses to set up and succeed there, and in most cases it has taken them decades to become established.
The other very serious issue is the level of corruption in Russia, which is still very prominent at all levels of society. This is a major barrier to investment and damages Russia more than anybody else, so it should be in their interests to resolve it.
DT: A personal question. From all of your dealings and encounters with the Russians, would you say that you understand the Russian culture and mentality of the people? And if so, what positive traits have you learned from them and what areas do Russians, still need to work on?
RR: I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it! But there are a lot of very positive traits. I’d say Russians probably take longer to get to know as individuals, but once you know them they’d do anything for you. They’re also far more family orientated, which is something that has declined in the West, probably not for the better.
In terms of what needs working on…their timekeeping and organizational skills are pretty bad! They think nothing of turning up to a meeting an hour late, or organizing an important business trip at the last minute. They can also be quite blunt, but I think that’s more a language thing than a personality trait…the language tends to be more simplistic and straight-to-the-point in its form, so when it is translated it can sometimes seem more crude than it is meant to.
DT: Being a Chairman of Westminster Russia Forum, an organization that is trying to establish good relations between UK and Russia, what would you say are the most common misconceptions that the Westerners have about Russian and Eastern European people?
RR: That all Russians are obsessed with wealth, fame and glamour. Part of this is down to the extravagance of the various oligarchs who made their wealth in the crisis of the 1990s, and our media is obsessed with them. It is also true that many have run towards this concept of wealth since the collapse of Communism, probably for obvious reasons, but to think that this is representative of the 140 million people in the country is mad. Cities like Moscow and St Petersburg are very far removed from elsewhere in Russia, particularly in its Siberian region, where in many cases people live a hand to mouth existence and have never heard of Gucci. I can understand why it happens, but I think Russians in the West do their country a disservice by their obsession with being seen at the most expensive restaurants and clubs.
DT: Currently, with all the events that are happing in the Middle East, and primarily Syria, we see once again the type of Cold War politics and division between the two blocks, the East (with Russian and China), and the West (with United States and European Union). You and I have a unique perspective on this because we understand both sides better than most people. What should business leaders that have close relations with both sides understand and say to their respected governments and political leaders? Also what should they do themselves to improve relations between the two sides?
RR: That’s a tough one. I’m not really a fan of ‘business leaders’ getting too involved in politics because you can end up with those with money pulling the strings. But then of course they have some authority and weight with which to do so. I would advise that involvement is done in a respective manner behind closed doors though, I don’t think the concept of businessmen being quoted on the front page of newspapers publicly criticizing politicians helps anybody.
DT: Perhaps this is a little naïve but I personally always thought that Russia and the United Stated would make great allies if they managed to get past their petty differences. With the current world events, this is unfortunately an unlikely scenario. That said, Britain, the strongest US ally is developing a very good relationship with Russia; perhaps not on government, but surely on a business level. Do you think this is so? And do business leaders have more say in foreign relations than Russian and UK politicians?
RR: I think everyone has struggled to overcome ‘petty differences’. There is something to be said for the view that the West ‘won’ the Cold War, and therefore feel that they can dictate the terms of the subsequent peace to the losers. The USA and UK were far more accepting of Russia during the 90s when it was transforming into a more liberal market economy, but that was of course disastrous to many Russians. Since then, Russia has had stronger leadership determined not to be pushed around on the World stage. That of course isn’t in our interests, but you can’t argue it isn’t a popular position in Russia, and it’s their country!
I don’t think the UK is on good terms at all, particularly at a political level. We have had a lot of prominent issues which have brought this to the fore, issues like the death of Litvinenko and Magnitsky, the fleeing of several dubious Russians to London, and more recently the Edward Snowden case. I think major mistakes have been made on all sides here, and in the UK there is pressure upon politicians to look like they are being punitive towards Russia, which perhaps is not the same in reverse.
I’d say that rather than ‘business’ as such, it is the media (also a business of course!) which is the main influence on politicians here and it has very worrying results. There are several prominent journalists who gain status and sell books on the back of hyping up the ‘evil empire’ and unfortunately too often perfect stories are handed to them on a plate. Our media has gone into overdrive on the issues I mentioned above, but Russia certainly hasn’t helped itself on them.
DT: Richard, thank you for this wonderful interview. To leave our readers on a positive note, may you please say a few closing words about the potential benefits from British / Russian business relations that citizens of both countries, and the European Union at large, should know about. Also feel free to express you thoughts on anything else that that you feel might interest our readers.
RR: Russia is a wonderful country, with amazing history and culture, beautiful landscapes and buildings, and fantastic people. We should enjoy and embrace it. But we should always remember that it is not a carbon copy of the UK or USA – that’s what makes it interesting.