It's impossible to understand RU-business with reason? Or how is it to run a business on the Internet with Russians?

"There is Russian spirit here, it smells like Russia," – today this phrase can be heard not only in Russian fairytales but also in a tangled multi-level structures of the modern Internet. From the time the Internet came to Russia, one of the leading world powers has staked a claim to its segment of the Internet which does not only impress by its scale but also makes you think about the special, new beginning of Internet. And speaking about the development of the global network today, we cannot fail to note that a part of the Russian spirit has contributed to a great number of Internet projects and the Internet itself. However, that contribution has created not only the positive images of Russians in the Internet but negative stereotypes as well, which were very quickly transferred from real life to the virtual one. So, what is it, that thin line of Russian soul of modern Internet?

"Vodka, frost, bears, matreshkas, hats with ear-flaps” all that was there before. "Carders, phishers, hackers, cheap scripts, shady schemes, exchangers, WebMoney," that is what is here now. Such evolution of the Russian stereotypes has taken place within 20 years in the eyes of any resident of the globe who lives to the west from Poland. It is not a secret for anyone that the Russians came to Internet for a good long while and have secured a number of business niches for themselves. They have created and filled a public opinion about the Russian IT-specialists with a unique romanticism and quite different and sometimes silly stereotypes.

Did somebody write you from gmail account? He is Russian.

Are there IP addresses of some exotic tropic countries in the logs – the Russians have visited this place.

The site works on the automated scripts and brings more profit than an oil derrick in Texas? – Surely Russians.

If you have been provided an ICQ number and especially if it consists of 5 or 6 digits you shouldn’t expect to find there anybody but the Russian. Perhaps, this is the romanticism of Russian IT-specialist. Any foreigner has already been accustomed that Russian IT-specialist is a professional, who can barely be 16 years old, but has under his subordination not less than Sergey Brin does, who, by the way, had created Google, also has Russian roots, and speaks Russian not so bad. But how should you run a business with Russian online? How can you understand their unique point of view and still have an above zero account? Let’s try to answer these questions.

First of all, one should understand the written truth, that lays as the foundation of Russian mentality.

So, first of all, you must understand that for the majority of Russian people the business is called business only when it bring the rate of return above 50% and sometimes even 100%. Discussing with the Russians interesting, but boring projects that will provide no more than 20% of the profits, be prepared that you will simply be denied. Why? Because the Russian do not like to wait, they prefer to work by large, even with investments, but with a large and quick returns.

Working with a Russian partner, remember that the representatives of that great Eastern European nations do not like the documentation, formalities and can simply not understand some of your suggestions on documentation of the partnership. They should not be blamed, as to convince of the majority of IT-Specialists from Russia, the paper only holds back the creative process and makes friendly relations of partners somewhat cold.

Doing business with the Russians on the Internet, remember that they love and appreciate beauty in all. So if we trace the movement of the entire cohort design thoughts of designers from Russia and the CIS, it can be noticed that the virtual creators tend to produce very beautiful sites. If you are a designer, do not attempt to propose to your Slavic partner something reminiscent of Craigslist, even if that costs millions.

In communicating with business partners from Russia, one should firmly remember the rule - never insist on a telephone conversation. Of course your partner will know English, and quite well, although with an accent, they will still be ready to discuss a lot of matters with you, but if you are doing business online, communication according to the view of most Russian IT-professionals should also be built on the basis of network protocols. Russian value time much to spend it on such formalities.

Building up a conversation, try to exclude courtesy as much as possible, and if you think that the standard and usual «Hey, how is it going?» will positively affect the other person, be aware that any Russian feels truly perplexed when he is asked this question. He does not only feel unpleasant from you being interested in his affairs, but most importantly, the purpose of such an issue is not clear to him, because the answer is usually always the same.

If you chose Internet as a platform for communication, remember that almost everyone in Russia uses ICQ. Offer on communicating through MSN, Yahoo, QQ, Skype and other messengers will cause your partner negative emotions associated with the anticipation of the time lost to install the messenger.

Working with the Russians, you should bear in mind another important point which needs to be amended seriously – these are holidays. Holidays in Russia are more than a few days off. Perhaps the most protracted of all the public holidays are New Year. Objective answer to the question why they are continuing from 31 December to 10 January does not exist, take it simply as a part of mentality of the mysterious Russian soul. In the period after the new year any activity fades, traffic reduces, demand for all types of goods and services online drops, it is almost impossible to find someone at that time. Feast of Russia is reflected in the world, and the scale of this is so great that in the days from 31 December to 10 January, even the owners of credit cards around the world celebrate the reduction of crime and incidents of missing funds from the accounts. So, if you plan to start the business year from early January, please record the first two weeks of January to the costs. In addition, there is also a festival in Russia that paralyzes the minds of the whole world - Old New Year, celebrated on 14 January and stretches holidays in January to almost three weeks. So, when you are desperate of waiting when the ICQ flower of your partner turns green, at this point, he will surely appear showing his happy status and being interested in how partners spent the New Year party, sometimes forgetting that his western counterparts give priority to Catholic Christmas.

However, experienced business people on the network can tell you with confidence that working with the Russians will become a pleasure if you simply know all the rules listed above and build relationships in a respectful manner. As representatives of the great ancient nations, the Russian, often require you to respect and appreciate their work. But this is when we are talking about top-level professionals. If we take the working crew, of course, be aware that the Russian segment of the Internet is a perfect place to find cheap staff.

In conclusion I would like to advice, do not try to remake the Russians, it is better to try to understand their subtle Russian soul. And if you do this, if you can at least somewhat understand this noble, but a unique kind of people, you are provided with success in business and warm friendship with the Russians.

Tell your opinion