Sochi 2014 Discusses Economic Aspects of Olympic Games with Swiss Business Community

The CEO of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, today delivered a presentation on 'Business opportunities for Swiss companies in relation to The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games' at a Russian Conference for Swiss Entrepreneurs here in Zurich.

Approximately 200 participants took part this forum, representing international companies from various sectors including sport, finance, building, energy and telecommunications. This is the third in a series of speeches that Dmitry Chernyshenko is delivering across Europe with a focus on the economic impact of major sports events.

The Sochi 2014 CEO covered questions relating to the expected economic outcome of the Olympic Games in the next seven years, as well as informing the participants on the various opportunities for national and international businesses (such as partnership agreements, Organizing Committee operations and construction of infrastructure and facilities).

The Olympic and ParalympicWinter Games in Sochi provides major business opportunities for the Swiss business community who possess a vast experience in areas related to the organization of the Olympic Games. On the eve of the Russian Conference in Zurich, Dmitry Chernyshenko said: “To be in partnership, for example through sponsorships, with the Olympic Games is an ideal marketing instrument for any company wanting to enter a new market, in order to strengthen the business and political connections and launch new products. I look forward to a long and fruitful cooperation with the Swiss business community on the exciting and challenging journey that lies ahead – our journey to produce the best ever Olympic Winter Games.”

Previously, Sochi 2014 CEO took part in the "Sport 2020. Changing face of the global sports industry" conference organized by The Economist in London on October 25th. On October 30th, Dmitry Chernyshenko moderated an Olympic Conference organized by the Russian business daily "Vedomosti" that took place in Moscow.

Online dating with Russian women

Nowadays it has become a fashion for foreign people to search for young beautiful Russian women and to bring them to their successful and happy countries. There are many various opinions concerning this tendency. Some people think that Russian and Ukraine brides are free housewives; they are sexual and beautiful and have genetic East fidelity to their husbands. Others still believe in love and find Russian and Ukraine brides romantic and gentle. So Americans and other foreign men, hearing or reading relationship advice and dating tips about ideal East wives and modern matchmaking, try to find perfect Russian women by means of the Internet.

Internet can be a good way to find someone with whom you are really compatible. By getting to know people well before you meet them, you have a chance to weed out those whose interests and lifestyles are not compatible with yours. You can control many aspects of your relationship and change anything that needs to be changed before it is too late. Here are some advantages of on-line dating:
• It’s very easy to place a personal ad online and it’s usually free. Millions of singles are looking for partners online. With so many people you can meet and many options to choose from, you’ll increase your chances of meeting people that share your interests or meeting that special someone.
• Unlike offline dating, you don’t have to wonder if the person you’re interested in meeting is available for dating. Everyone using the online dating service *is* available to date.
• With online dating, you can learn so much about people before meeting face-to-face. How do they present themselves in their profiles or personal ads? Do they seem funny, articulate, interesting, charming or obnoxious?
• Pictures are worth a thousand words. Do you think you can be attracted to that person or not? Of course, some people look better or worse when you meet them in person.
• There’s less pressure on dates when you’re using online dating services. When you’re on a date with the only interesting person you’ve met the last six months, there’s so much pressure for that date to go well in a standard dating situation. When dating online, you know that when your date doesn’t turn out well, you’ll have other opportunities to meet many other interesting people.
• There’s so much more pressure to be liked during a standard date; so, people end up not being themselves during the date. When you’re getting to know people online, you can relax and be yourself. So, you have a better chance of being liked and accepted just the way you are. Whether you’re a gorgeous, athletic god/goddess or a couch potato on pizza and burger daily diet, you will have a chance of meeting your match.
• With online dating, you’ll have a much better chance of building a relationship that lasts. You can form deeper and more intimate relationships when you can establish mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart and soul-to-soul connections with someone. With standard dating, there’s usually so much more focus on physical attraction instead of character traits, values and mind-heart-soul compatibilities.
• By exchanging emails or talking on the phone before meeting in person, you’ll have a much better chance of evaluating your connection with that person before you develop any physical attraction. Attraction and lust can often cloud one’s thinking. Most relationships primarily based on physical attraction often lead to pain and heartache for the people involved.
Unfortunately on-line dating has its own disadvantages:
• It’s easy to think that someone who writes you or talks to you daily for weeks or months may be a good catch. But, this person may be hiding behind those great emails or phone conversations and may be incapable of having a more concrete relationship.
• Almost all online dating services are for singles, but some married people may be lying and using the service. If something doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts.
• Maintaining a high level of members can be a challenge. Initially, the numbers will grow but over time, people drop off for one reason or another, usually because they have made a connection, which is a good thing for them but that is one less potential person for you.
• If you were to meet someone in another city, state, or country that interests you, and that relationship builds to something more than friendship, one of you would have to make a decision regarding relocation
• Internet dating is limiting in the sense that you’ll only be meeting folks who spend time on the Internet, which excludes a whole raft of people.
• Getting to know someone online, may give you a false sense of security. Just like off line dating, there are bad people online. So, always think of your safety when you’re meeting someone you don’t really know.

Tougher Visa Rules - What They Mean

01/11/2007

Demonstrating that it is resolute in introducing immigration laws similar to those in Western countries, the Russian government recently unveiled new, tougher business visa regulations. Foreigners - particularly those living and working in Russia on business visas - are worried about how this will affect them. Some seeking to renew their business visas in a third country were finding that what used to be a breezy, one-day procedure could turn into a 10-day wait. Meanwhile, new regulations seemed to target the entire practice of getting visas in third countries.
One of the more considerable changes came in a decree on visas passed by the new Prime Minister, Viktor Zubkov, on October 4. Now, foreigners traveling on business visas can remain in the country for no more than 90 days at a time, even if they have multiple-entry visas. And it's soon going to become much harder to obtain them in third countries.
Business visas are popular among expatriates who live in Russia over long periods of time, extending their visas regularly by travelling to neighboring countries. But the new decree toughens rules regulating this type of visas, an apparent attempt to force expatriates who live and work here to obtain work visas instead.
Point 9.1 in the decree reads:
"A foreign citizen who is present in a state that he is not a citizen of may only get a visa if he has a permit for a consecutive stay of at least 90 days in that country." What this means for some citizens of Western Europe is that a trip across the border from Russia is no longer enough to renew their business visa.
In a statement to The Moscow News, the FMS confirmed the new restriction but pointed to several exceptions - these could be based on "a decision by a diplomatic representative" in cases where a foreigner needed to attend various "international and domestic official, economic, socio-political, scientific, cultural, sports or religious events." Another exception was a close relative who was ill.
A clause lower down in the decree clarifies that an exception is made "based on the international principle of mutuality."
Alexei Filippenkov of the Visa Delight agency explained what this means. If a European country allows Russians to obtain visas from a third country, then citizens from that European country will have the same privilege when it comes down to getting a Russian visa.
"Our migration legislation is being brought in line with analogous international legislation," he told The Moscow News.
The same concerns another important change. Now, foreigners who obtain a multiple entry business visa that is active for a year will be able to stay for no more than 90 consecutive days, and no more than a total of 180 days out of a year.
"It's impossible to work in England or the United States if you have a business visa," Filippenkov said. Foreigners are hard pressed to obtain a work visa.
According to an FMS statement, "issuing visas of all categories and types is... in the competence of diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Russian Federation. We recommend that foreign citizens address the Foreign Ministry of Russia regarding practical questions."
It was unclear whether the minimum wait for a visa had indeed risen to 10 days. The Russian consulate in Riga, the Latvian capital where expatriates frequently go to renew business visas, when asked if this was the case, told a Moscow News reporter to read the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta, where the changes were published. But there was no mention about any new wait for visas. Asked how long it would take to issue a visa to a British citizen, an unnamed official said that the consulate was "not issuing visas to British citizens who had no permanent residence permit in Latvia." Asked the same question about U.S. citizens, the official said that the process will take from 10 to 14 days.
The FMS said that, as under the previous law, visas must be issued within 20 days after the appropriate documents had been filed.
There were reports that foreigners that usually got their visa renewed in one day now had to wait 10 days, but a Moscow News correspondent who is a British citizen obtained her business visa in one day in Kiev this week.
"Right now it's a little chaotic over there because they haven't come to a unified reading of the decree," Filippenkov said. "For now, people will still be able to go over there for visas, but that's going to end soon."
According to Filippenkov, considering that Russians have to wait weeks - sometimes months - to get their European visas, the 10-day wait isn't that long.

By Anna Arutunyan

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