Uzbekistan, Tashkent - AN website. Two years ago, the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs came up with a proposal to create special paths for cyclists. The khokimiyat approved this project and carried out certain work in this direction.
However, there is still no decent place for cycling in Tashkent. After all, it’s impossible to use a bike path if it periodically disappears and then appears, and you have to cross intersections several times and go around residential areas to get to it again. The correspondent of the Academy of Sciences site “tested” the new bike paths and literally experienced first-hand all the “delights” of the work of the capital’s administration.
At the invitation of the cycling community of Uzbekistan, the site’s correspondent rode from Uzbekiston Ovozi Street to Durmon Yuli, where a bicycle path had recently been allocated and saw and felt with my own eyes what cyclists have to deal with every day.
In particular, along the entire lane allocated for cyclists, which in some places simply disappears, one can see concrete slabs, trash cans, trees, and the absence of ramps. That is, all this blocks the path of a cyclist on paths that, in theory, are created specifically for trouble-free travel. Therefore, there is no need to talk about a barrier-free environment yet. This story is more about a disservice. The khokimiyat wanted to do the best so that it wouldn’t work out like always, but it didn’t work out.
Cyclists versus pedestrians: whose sidewalk?
Before the start, the cyclists spent quite a long time trying to figure out where the bike path began, until they discovered it in the middle (!) of the pedestrian road. If we think logically, then laying a strip along one street should go from beginning to end.
The khokimiyat carried out this work in pieces. It is not clear where the beginning is and where the end is; every 30-40 meters the path ends. One gets the impression that the khokimiyat employees worked without having a project for a unified network of bicycle paths in their hands, and therefore did not comply with standards with clear technical requirements for the construction of bicycle roads.
As soon as I got on my bike and rode about 10 meters away, a concrete trash bin appeared almost in the middle of the strip. A line of 12 cyclists had to go around it, entering the pedestrian path, which is a violation. But they had no other choice.
However, as soon as we entered the lane again, new obstacles appeared - a wide concrete slab, and then a huge tree. No, this does not mean that the khokimiyat had to cut down the last trees that miraculously survived in the city. In this case, there was a simple solution - to build a bike path around the tree, but they didn’t do it - either they didn’t think of it, or they didn’t want to.
“To begin with, I would like to thank that, finally, the authorities paid at least a little attention to this problem. However, they approached this issue illiterately. The main mistake is that bicycle paths were laid along the sidewalk. Not only that, almost every 10-15 meters, I come across trash cans, trees, and passers-by who don’t want to follow the rules, and sometimes even get into arguments or openly conflict, demanding that the cyclist change route. Many problems could have been avoided if cyclists had been allocated special lanes on the roadway ", says Iskandar Akhmedov, a member of the cycling community of Uzbekistan.
According to him, cyclists do not want to fight for the sidewalk; they are ready to give it up to pedestrians.
“Most of the Tashkent roads are designed in such a way that approximately two meters of the roadway from the curb is not used by motorists, except as a parking space. The khokimiyat could allocate a one-way bicycle path, one and a half meters long, on both sides of the highway, fence it with a curb and let cyclists through. Thus , not only will we be able to move comfortably around the city, but pedestrians will not experience inconvenience,” says Iskandar Akhmedov.
The average speed of a cyclist is 20-22 km. In places of descent, naturally, the speed increases noticeably. You can often see women with strollers or children running on bike paths. It is clear that no one will find out whether a cyclist complied with traffic rules or not if a child or even an adult gets under his wheels. All the cones will fly towards him in any case. Therefore, the paths must be connected to the highway.
“We can say that a certain amount of millions from the budget was spent, by and large, in vain. District khokimiyats did half-hearted work. Moreover, they even complicated the life of cyclists, because they cannot properly use these paths. Either the street should have been completely closed or not to do it at all. Moreover, in many areas there are no directional signs,” says Sergey Syachin, a member of the cycling community of Uzbekistan, indignantly.
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Dangerous bike paths
It is worth noting that the bicycle paths along the street “Uzbekiston Ovozi” to “Durmon Yuli” are drawn on the left side of the sidewalk, which poses a danger both for cyclists themselves and passers-by. This was felt by the correspondent of the AN website, who, after about 7 km of driving, approaching Darkhan Street, a few seconds before the fall, noticed another concrete urn in front of her.
The correspondent did not have time to make the maneuver in time, as another cyclist was riding ahead, who unexpectedly was forced to slow down to let a pedestrian cross from the left side of the road. As a result of the collision between the cyclists, the correspondent bruised her right arm, severely scratched her face and arms, and suffered bruises on her legs and arms. In principle, she got off easy. Due to the illiterate work of the khokimiyat, one could easily suffer a serious injury.
Another example is the exit from the Hamid Alimjan metro station, where pedestrians automatically enter a path designated for cyclists.
“Citizens leaving the metro may not know about this lane, and risk being hit. In addition, young people constantly listen to music on headphones, and they may not hear the cyclist’s signal, and also get run over and seriously injured. Bicycle paths must be moved Install special signs on the highway or in such places, and highlight the paths in red or green, so that it is clear that there is an intersection and you need to be on alert,” said cyclist Dmitry Shpora.
By the way, in some places the bike path actually ends at a stop. One gets the feeling that the khokimiyat employees decided to make fun of cyclists and check whether they can pass through glass barriers or not.
The question of why it was impossible to move the bike path beyond the stop and calmly connect it with the next route remains open. In addition, in some areas the paths lead to stairs...apparently to kill the cyclist. It is also worth paying attention to the quality of the coating, which leaves much to be desired. At the moment, you can only move around on a mountain bike, and, for example, on road bikes you can get serious injuries.
Cycling culture in Uzbekistan is at zero
According to one of the activists of the cycling community in Uzbekistan, Alexey Doktorov, it is technically possible to build European infrastructure in our republic. There is no need to reinvent the wheel for this; everything was already invented for us a long time ago. The problem is that the population is not culturally ready for such changes.
“Today, the topography of Tashkent makes it possible to create a full-fledged infrastructure for cyclists according to European standards. To do this, two problems need to be solved - technical and cultural. For example, in Holland everything has been done for cyclists - markings, traffic lights, signs, paths, lighting, etc. The state has allocated a certain part of the highway, which is separated from the roadway by a lawn or a concrete slab. I felt pleasant and comfortable driving there,” he says.
To be fair, Alexey Doktorov noted that the Dutch infrastructure was not created today or yesterday, the history of the cycling country dates back to the 70s, so there is no need to compete with it, and there is no point. Nevertheless, we must strive for this, because a cycling country is the key to a healthy population, clean environment, absence of traffic jams, etc.
“Despite the fact that we have wide highways that allow us to create a similar infrastructure, we will not be able to implement such a project in the coming years, even if we have financial resources. The main problem is the lack of culture. We need to solve the problem of illegal parking on the side of the road, start attracting responsibility of taxi drivers who, when they see a voter, cut off road users. Only when people stop showing a boorish attitude towards others will the country begin to change for the better," said Alexey Doktorov.
Indeed, in Uzbekistan there is a complete lack of respect on the part of pedestrians and motorists - especially on the part of illegal taxi drivers and public transport drivers who rudely drive cyclists off the road. Sometimes they even ride on them to “clean” the road, although according to traffic regulations they have the right, in the absence of special paths, to drive along the roadway, pressing to the right. Considering that it is not yet safe to move around the city by bicycle, only rare extreme sports enthusiasts will do this.
“Many drivers do not perceive a cyclist as a full-fledged participant in the road traffic. They consider us “flat cakes,” that is, those who transport small loads or boys who ride for fun. But this is not so. Many of us get to work on this form of transport. We have a mild climate, so in winter and summer cyclists use this means of transportation,” said Dmitry Shpora.
“There are problems with traffic police officers. They do not punish anyone - neither pedestrians nor cyclists who break the rules. Although recently the first cyclist was fined 64 thousand soums for crossing a double line. I would like to hope that this issue has moved forward. "If all road users did not feel impunity, then many problems would not exist. Traffic police officers are largely to blame for this, turning a blind eye to violations," says Sergei Syachin.
By the way, there are cities in Uzbekistan where bicycle integration is much higher than in the capital. For example, in the Fergana Valley. However, in the regions it is not considered mass culture.
To summarize the above
Simply marking bike lanes is not enough. If the khokimiyat does not have specialists who understand this area, then local experienced cyclists who know the internal situation very well can be hired as consultants, or they can turn to foreign specialists and receive advice remotely.
Of course, all this is possible if the khokimiyat really has the desire to create a full-fledged infrastructure for lovers of a healthy lifestyle. So far, it seems that everything has been done solely for show - there are external signs, but no one cares about the internal content.
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Viktor Chernomyrdin’s apt statements became aphorisms during his lifetime. Perhaps someday our descendants will believe that Viktor Stepanovich was not a politician, but a humorist.
But as for whether he will live or not, we will all live. We'll live. In what configuration? Must be in good configuration. And there is no need to make some kind of tragedy out of this. (About the 2000 elections).
And whoever tries to interfere - we know about them by sight! True, you can’t call it a face!
And we are still debating whether to test them for mental health or not. Check everyone! (About State Duma deputies).
Where were you before? When it was necessary to think, and not cut from the shoulder seven times... But now they realized it and ran. And everyone was behind. In the deepest sense. And Chernomyrdin warned.
Mamai walked around the country without me.
We also had real budgets, but we still failed them miserably.
In our life, it is not very easy to determine where you will find and where you will lose. At some stage you will lose, but tomorrow you will gain, and as it should.
You have to be born into charisma.
Even if you put you on your butt, or in another position, it still won’t do any good!
If we get into a fight, we will ruin the next and future years. Who needs it? Who's in it? Whose hands are itching? If you're itchy, scratch somewhere else.
What we always have in Russia is not what we need.
In general, this is strange, well, just strange. I can’t do this again, I don’t know and I don’t want it. This does not mean that no one is allowed. Well, probably, maybe someone needs to be brought in, someone else needs to be taken out.
Actually, there has been little success. But the main thing: there is a government!
Here is Mikhail Mikhailovich - the new Minister of Finance. I ask you to love me and even love me very much. Mikhail Mikhailovich is ready for love. (About Zadornov).
Here we are drilling all this, I apologize for this word, invented by Marx, this dreamer.
It’s unlikely that the position defines or gives me any weight. Well, where does a person who has already gone through everything need even more? Everyone knows a lot about this life. I know a lot. Maybe even too much.
Everyone says they are dissatisfied with the results of privatization, and I am dissatisfied, and I don’t say so.
Did you have everything? Did we have everything? Stand up, you who had everything. Whoa, whoa, there... there you have it.
Give it to everyone - the giver will break!
All the questions that were raised, we will collect them all in one place.
It's all so straight forward and perpendicular that I find it unpleasant.
You think that I am far from easy. It's not easy for me!
Look, we have everything, but we can’t live. Well, we can’t live! No way. Everything tempts us to experiment. We all need something there, to get it there, somewhere, sometime, to arrange for someone. Why not yourself?! Why not your generation?! Why this, as they say, the same communism was born, wandered around Europe, a ghost, or rather. I wandered and wandered, but they didn’t get caught anywhere! And with us - please! And now - for many years under the experiment.
You talked there, but we had hiccups here, but I’m okay with that too.
I said, I say and I will say: Chernomyrdin will not, this will not happen, no matter how much some may hope. Because when such tasks arise, when we find ourselves in such deep places, now is not the time. There are many of me, I know, because Chernomyrdin turned out to be a pain in the ass, as they say. But I want to tell everyone, not to mention Boris Nikolaevich, that they should not think that it is so easy. After all, people see who is rooting for fate, and who is simply practicing under the brand name. I know who here thinks that they have finally broken through. Chernomyrdin always knows when someone is thinking, because he went through all this from being a mechanic until now. And I do this voluntarily, since there is no other way, since there are such speculations that they want to make me a stumbling block. We need to carefully look at who needs this in order to create an atmosphere around Chernomyrdin. Everyone should know: what has been done over the years of reforms cannot be reversed!
And here I am, in my prime minister’s saddle, with only the wind in my ears.
Yes, you and I will still live in such a way that our children and grandchildren will envy us.
The deputies all spoke out for me to go - to be elected, more precisely.
If I were to name everything that I have, you would be crying here!
If you do it, do it big!
If I am a Jew, why should I be ashamed! I'm really not a Jew.
Natural monopolies are the backbone of the Russian economy, and we will cherish this backbone like the apple of our eye.
This is not the place for you!
And I know again how it is possible. And often, and as needed.
And no matter who provokes us today, no matter who gives us some kind of Iran, Iraq and much more, there will be none. There won't even be any attempts. On the contrary, all work will be done in order to destroy what has been accumulated over many years.
And don’t: Chernomyrdin this, Chernomyrdin that. Chernomyrdin never and nowhere, but always and everywhere... And to everyone. And when it was necessary, five years without a shift, by the way, and not like those.
There will be no changes to take your breath away. Otherwise, in order to do something to someone, you will need to take or take away from someone else.
As someone said, appetite comes in times of trouble.
Whatever public organization we create, it turns out to be the CPSU.
Clinton was bullied all year for his Monica. We have one of these. We will applaud them again. But the Constitution is another matter. It is written: you can’t go to Monica - don’t go! And go - answer. If you don’t know how... And we will live! I mean the Constitution!
When the deputy minister suddenly, out of the blue, makes a statement that two hundred thousand teachers and doctors should be laid off. Or did something happen to his head?.. This is what can happen if someone starts to think. I don’t want to say another word.
When it’s difficult, we will always give... what we need. (About a “helping hand” for Ukraine).
Whoever gets elected in the next elections, we will work with. And who is after our hearts, who is below our hearts - that’s another conversation.
We squirm like blacks. (On the government's work plans in September 1998).
Who says the government is sitting on a bag of money? We are men and we know where we stand.
The locomotive of economic growth is like an elephant in a famous place...
Favorite recreation is hunting. There is always the opportunity to walk around, take a walk, hide, wait.
There is no better vodka!
All my life they have been trying to push me away, they keep trying to push me away, but there are no such people yet.
It’s somehow awkward for me to say how I’ve become newer. You'll see more, wait, let it warm up.
I won’t say much, otherwise I’ll say something again.
People have a lot of money in their stockings or socks. I don't know where - it depends on the quantity.
My life was spent in an atmosphere of oil and gas. (About his career from an oil refinery mechanic to the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine, when he had to negotiate the gas problem).
We will conduct foreign policy with foreign hands.
We have completed all points: from A to B.
We are still trying to milk those who are already lying.
We hope that we will not have any blockages at the border.
We are not entering anywhere, we are not allowed to enter, as soon as we start to enter, we will definitely step on something.
We remember when oil was harmful. They just said there was no oil. Then they pressed on the eggs so that they too disappeared.
We want to move forward, but something keeps stopping us.
I can speak any language with everyone, but I try not to use this tool.
We'll stand on one foot and lie down on another.
We must do what our people need, and not what we are doing here.
You have to think about what to understand.
We do not need to step on the same rake that we already had.
They scared the woman with her shoes. With a decent heel. I don't care. (About his work as Russian Ambassador to Ukraine).
The people have lived - and will live!
Our president - I think he hasn’t seen money in his eyes for five or ten years. He doesn't even know how much money we have.
Our immediate task today is to determine where we are today together with you.
There is no need to put people in a hopeless situation. He's been there for a long time already.
There is no need to belittle your role and your importance. This does not mean that you need to swell here and, as they say, wave, wave something.
Some principles that used to be principled were in fact unprincipled.
You cannot and should not even think that a time will come when it will be easier.
But if we talk about today's meeting, I would, of course, give a satisfactory assessment. I don’t know any other estimates at all.
But we will count, and then everyone will know. And we come first. And if someone is too smart, let him think for himself, and then we will check. And we'll report anywhere.
But we will carry out pension reform. There's plenty of room to roam around there.
But I don’t want everything here like this, in a rush: today I hugged one, tomorrow with another, then again - and off we go. Yes, it’s not far from the panel...
Well, who can replace me? I'll kill you right away... Sorry.
Accused of what? In corruption? Whom? Me? Who? USA? Why did they suddenly wake up there?
Never seen anything like this in my life, and here it is again!
Deputy Prime Minister posts in a time like ours are like a pillar on which it is written: “If you climb in, he will kill you!”
The government is not a body where, as many people think, it is only possible with the tongue.
The government is accused of monetarism. I admit, we are sinners, we are doing it. But bad.
The government must be supported, but we hand-in-hand, hand-in-hand, hand-in-hand. We also strive not only on the hands, but somewhere else. As Chekhov said.
It’s happened worse to me, but not to the same extent! (About miners' strikes under Kiriyenko).
Forecasting is an extremely difficult thing, especially when it comes to the future.
We learned to pronounce words. Now I would like to learn how to count money.
Let it be natural selection, but accelerated and carefully directed. (On the dismissals of government members).
A working president and a working government - this is how a song can turn out.
We laid the rails in six years, now it’s up to the locomotive. And so that the helmsman is... with his head. So that the carriages would not be moved by him, but he would drag them.
Reforms in Russia are not a car. If you wanted, you stopped, if you wanted, you sat down again and drove off! It doesn't happen like that!
Did the ruble collapse under my watch? What are you guys? When did you manage to do all this? They did something, which means someone did something here, and now I’ve also brought down the ruble! (About the 1998 crisis).
Tax surrealism must end.
Today, the global financial system understands what is happening in Russia, and does not really want there to be... well, I don’t want to use this word, which I usually use.
Today nothing, tomorrow nothing, and then we realized - and yesterday, it turns out, nothing.
Today I was there, tomorrow I will be in another place...
Now historians are trying to present that in one thousand five hundred something was there. There was nothing! All this is a machination!
Sex is also a form of movement.
No sooner said than done. If you don’t understand, ask again. If you didn’t understand the first time, ask again. But do it. If you can’t, report why you’re not doing it, for what reason. Nothing else is required from you.
Do you hear what they expect from us? S-300. We know what it is. God forbid. Today S-300. And tomorrow give me something else. And the day after tomorrow is the third. This is what it is. (About the Balkan conflict).
The country doesn't know what the government is eating.
I have no questions about the Russian language.
I have about two sons.
Our problem is not in uniting, but in who is in charge.
We still have people who live very poorly. We see it, drive it, hear it, read it.
Do you have time to notice beautiful women?
I have time. But just notice. Nothing more. Which I bitterly regret.
Teachers and doctors want to eat almost every day!
We wanted the best, but it turned out as always. (At a press conference on August 6, 1993 regarding the currency reform of July-August 1993).
What can we say about Chernomyrdin and me?
Whatever we do, we end up with the CPSU or a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
That I will climb in the dark. I haven’t moved away from light yet.
These elections turned out to be a difficult test for us. This should never happen again.
This is not an organ that is ready for love.
Not a single Chernomyrdin discussed this issue with himself, and I did not have such rights.
I am generally far from thinking.
I don’t know Mr. Bush Jr. personally, but I know his father, Mr. Bush Sr., and I know his wife, and I also know Mr. Bush.
I am ready and will unite. And with everyone. You can’t, excuse the expression, splay it all the time.
I am ready to invite everyone into the cabinet - white, red, and motley. If only they had ideas. But they just stick out their tongues and something else.
I don’t think about aphorisms; they just fly out of my head.
I also carry a heavy load. And my voice also died. And I didn’t even drink yesterday. And he didn’t do anything else. I would love to do this.
A quarter of a century ago, this accidental aphorism by Viktor Chernomyrdin became the slogan of monetary reform, which in itself has already become a legend. It started on July 26, 1993 and lasted until the end of August, but the then Prime Minister of Russia gave it a correct assessment a couple of weeks after its start - on August 6. And this assessment became not just another “Black Myrdism”, but in fact a symbol of the entire financial policy of the decade.
The idea was more than correct. By that time, the former sister republics of the Soviet Union had already taken full advantage of Boris Yeltsin’s generous offer and “took as much sovereignty as they could,” declaring that they no longer understood the Russian language and introducing their own currency. But they did not abandon the use of Soviet rubles. Of course, not within the country, but in external payments.
The ruble mass from Ukraine, the Baltic states, and Central Asia flowed into Russia, increasing the rate and scale of inflation. Moreover, the state banks of the “non-brothers,” although they could not issue new banknotes, still had the right to issue non-cash ruble loans, which, as you understand, were not secured by anything. This was hardly a sign of naivety on their part.
Since January 1992, when government regulation ceased, prices have risen 10 times faster than wages, inflation has increased from 9 to 38% every 30 days, the standard of living of the population has long fallen below the plinth and is rapidly sliding somewhere else. A crisis of non-payments broke out in industry, enterprises stopped one after another.
Meanwhile, the unsecured money supply grew: in 1992, the amount of cash in circulation jumped by 850%, and by the time the reform began - by another 782%. The activity of the Central Bank added fuel to the fire, turning on the printing press at full speed in an attempt to get out of the current situation. As a result, the real value of the ruble was not much higher than the value of the paper on which the banknotes were “published.”
The fact that certain steps would be taken was clear to everyone, including Russian citizens. The majority, however, had nothing to lose: a series of previous economic reforms had gutted both wallets and money boxes, as well as bank accounts. Those who managed to save some savings hastily purchased currency and gold: there were long lines in jewelry stores throughout the beginning of summer. The media, and especially television channels, strenuously refuted the panic rumors, but this no longer reassured fellow citizens.
On July 24, 1993, the wait was over: the reform began. According to the instructions of the then head of the Central Bank, Viktor Gerashchenko, from zero on July 26, the circulation of banknotes issued in 1961–1992 stopped throughout the country. Soviet-style banknotes had to be exchanged for new ones. This was supposed to cut off the accumulated ruble mass and allocate the ruble as an independent currency of sovereign Russia.
But in reality, the blow was dealt not to the central banks of the post-Soviet republics, but to the citizens. According to the original plan, the exchange of old rubles for new ones was carried out only upon presentation of a passport with Russian registration (a stamp was placed in the passport to stop attempts to repeat the exchange), only within the limits of 35 thousand rubles - that’s about $35 - per person, and only within 24 hours - 26 July. True, later, when panic began in the country, the amount was increased to 100 thousand rubles, and the period until the end of August, but this did not really help the matter.
There were enough people across the country whose cash savings simply burned out.
Well, what about the central banks of the neighboring republics? Figuratively speaking, they shrugged their shoulders and continued to work, issuing non-cash loans in rubles. Just as the domestic printing press continued to work. The money supply was reduced by less than 5%. And inflation continued to rise.
This is exactly what the unforgettable Viktor Stepanovich had in mind.
Select the fragment with the error text and press Ctrl+Enter
Last week marked the 20th anniversary of one of the most famous phrases spoken by Viktor Chernomyrdin. On August 6, 1993, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation at a press conference, touching on the topic of the 1993 monetary reform, described it briefly but aptly: “We wanted the best, but it turned out as always.”
There are phrases that in themselves are a story, and not a commentary on it. This is exactly what happened with Chernomyrdin’s famous aphorism. And the PMC himself, as Viktor Stepanovich was called with the light hand of journalists, managed to carry out a mini-revolution. No one had succeeded in doing this before him, and no one after him either. He was able to translate the boring and routine, partly hypocritical and always incomprehensible language of official communications and reports into living, bright and to-the-point aphorisms.
And he also made the image of a statesman in the eyes of the “broad masses” completely different than before. Our own, understandable, but not caricatured or belittled. Strong, sharp-tongued, dangerous for opponents. Our people are poorly trained in foreign dialects, but they feel their own perfectly well. We laughed, which is very important, not AT Chernomyrdin. They laughed at HIS jokes, paying tribute to how accurate and appropriate they sounded. The difference is huge.
We write jokes about all powerful people. The mentality is like this, there’s no escape. With PMC this was unnecessary: his own quotes were enough. They say about some people that they were “born in a shirt.” And about Viktor Stepanovich, the authors of the documentary about him were right: he was “born with charisma.” He is one of those who “never existed, and here we go again!” Unique and at the same time recognizable, flesh and blood “their own”. This is actually rare for a high-ranking government official. Moreover, around him there was always an overwhelming darkness of colleagues in the civil service, who, more than anything else, were afraid of “standing out from the landscape”, showing unconventional thinking, going against the grain and generally showing that they were not cogs in the machine of the state, but individuals with their own opinions and position. But politics is not the auto industry; a state vehicle cannot be a “bucket of bolts.” So it wasn’t at the suggestion of the PMC. That’s why, perhaps, she has now traveled much further than the very wheel that the classic writer wrote about. Although, of course, we wanted a lot for the best, but it turned out... well, you know.
Viktor Chernomyrdin: I won’t say anything, otherwise I’ll say something again. Photo: ITAR-TASS
Some aphorisms of Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin
We wanted the best, but it turned out as always.
The government is not a body where, as they say, you can only use your tongue.
Previously, half the country worked, and half did not work, but now... it’s the other way around.
We must do what our people need, and not what we are doing here.
You think that I am far from easy. It's not easy for me!
I have no questions about the Russian language.
All the questions that were raised, we will collect them all in one place.
We'll stand on one foot and lie down on another.
I don’t think that the governor should work in such a way as to cause harm.
It never happened, and here it is again.
As soon as we start joining, we will definitely step on something.
In our life it is not very easy to determine where you will find and where you will lose. At some stage you will lose, but tomorrow you will gain, and as it should.
And I know again how it is possible. And often, and as needed.
Who says the government is sitting on a bag of money? We are men and we know where we stand.
Rolf Schwery, Founder and CEO of Schwery Consulting
Global event marketing in the most professional version. Rolf Schwery, founder and executive director of Schwery Consulting, about the mysterious Russian soul, the European approach to organizing events and international standards of the event industry.
Rolf, you are one of the few representatives of the live communications industry who has experience in several countries. Can you identify the fundamental differences, the difference in approach to organizing events in each of them?
In Russia, big events are always closely connected with politics, which is clearly reflected in the organization of events. In the West, this trend is not so widespread. In European countries, when organizing an event, one of the determining roles is played by the opinion of the local population. Decisions important to society are not made “vertically”. Also in Europe, special attention is paid to environmental issues. In Russia, unfortunately, this area is not so important for organizers. And also, in my opinion, Russian colleagues lack transparency in reporting on economic, environmental and social impacts.
Do you think it is necessary for each country to maintain its own identity?
Undoubtedly. However, there are common international standards from ISO and the Global Reporting Initiative - GRI. Garbage is garbage. Everywhere. Russia, in my opinion, tries to follow them, but it often fails; in the end, they still do it their own way. As they say, we wanted the best, and it turned out as always.
Are you in favor of unifying the world event, creating common standards, sharing experiences, and joint development?
Yes. The West also has a lot to learn from its Russian colleagues. For example, Russia is more advanced when it comes to respecting women's rights. For reference, in Switzerland women received the right to vote only in 1971.
Are there any bodies in Europe, and in Switzerland in particular, that control and regulate the work of participants in the special events industry? Tell us about their functionality?
Switzerland is a conglomerate of different cantons. And each of them has its own rules for regulating events depending on their format and scale. Sponsors have some of the strongest influences on the requirements for organizing an event. If you put it in logical order: the first basic level is the state, the minimum requirements; the second level is the city and local residents who make their accents; the third is the sponsors and the fourth is the organizers of the event themselves.
How do you assess the level of global professional education of industry specialists? Perhaps the market needs some specialized schools, a unified scale for assessing competencies?
Needed. Both Russia and Switzerland currently have enough experts on environmental issues and experts in organizing events, but there are not enough specialists in socially and environmentally responsible organization of events. There are also various advanced training courses, but there is no quality academic education. What are our actions? For example, the creation of the first course on sustainable development and event management at the University of Bern. After we taught the first course, students provided quality feedback and expressed great satisfaction with the curriculum. For the first time, they saw that sustainable development was something concrete.
What is the European approach to choosing partners? Do personal connections play a role?
On the one hand, working with an already proven partner is calm, you are confident in a high-quality result. It's a matter of trust. But on the other hand, if, in addition to work, you also begin to have friendly relationships over time, some problems related to business become more and more difficult to solve. You can work successfully with friends only when you are not directly subordinate to each other. And the fresh ideas that a new partner can bring to a project are sometimes very useful.
CSR in Russia and abroad: the needs of companies, methods of implementation, effectiveness.
CSR came to Russia about ten years later than to the West. It seems to me that the companies that were the first to introduce this term, for the most part, did so either at the request of stakeholders or for self-PR. Then investors began to pay sufficient attention to this issue. Accordingly, companies that were interested in investment were forced to start working in this direction. Now many managers realize that CSR is an extremely important aspect of business that can influence strategy, mission, and brand development.
In your opinion, every project should have a challenge, a mission, a global goal? In other words, what are events created for?
The goal of the project is the starting point of any quality event. If an initiative does not have a global mission, then it is driving blindly without navigation.
Mechanics of implementing sustainable events. The points.
The idea of the project, identification of stakeholders, elaboration of the needs of all stakeholders, focus on key topics, creation of a system that satisfies all requests, competent communication at all stages. By the way, security always ranks first on the list of needs. Then you need to find the truly significant components of the event, and then determine indicators, initiatives, targets, etc. The last stage is reporting. This usually happens after the event. But some large-scale projects require reporting more often: during the preparation of the project, at the implementation stage and after it, based on the results and results of the event. Such reports are completed in accordance with international standards: clear indicators, form, structure, etc.
State your personal standards of excellence with an eye toward the special events industry. By what criteria do you evaluate the event?
If we talk about any serious events, then one of the most important success factors is the presence of a strategy for sustainable development, including respect for the environment. And, as I said above, the satisfaction of all stakeholders, a transparent reporting system, and evaluation of results.
And if you look not from the point of view of a professional, but from the point of view of a participant in the event, what quality standards do you think are in place?
The participant wants to get a buzz, positive emotions. But, if after the event he reads in the newspaper that because of his emotions, local residents or the environment suffered, perhaps next time he will refuse to participate in such a project. It depends on the person's social competence.
It seems to me that this approach is more characteristic of the European mentality.
I can't agree. I think that in Russia people are quite socially adapted. Perhaps we are not yet so environmentally conscious, but this issue also has positive prospects. Natural resources are not endless, and Russian people are beginning to clearly understand this. I definitely believe that events should be comfortable and enjoyable for everyone and contribute to sustainable development. I hope that soon all event organizers, both in the West and in the East, will begin to adhere to this policy.
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