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| Issue #40 | News and Tips for a Multilingual World | October 2011 | ||||||||
Archives 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 |
India Comes on Strong Positioned to pass Japan as third largest world economy
Despite all the problems, though, the renamed Everybody Loves Kostya eventually became the number one sitcom in Russia, and others have found many worthwhile opportunities in Russia. All signs point to increased opportunities in the future. Challenges Economic growth rates were negative for most of the 1990s. A decade of strong growth began in 1999, and the economy returned to its 1990 level in 2007. But the global recession that began in 2008 put an end to President Vladimir Putin’s goal of doubling GDP by 2009.
All of this puts Russia firmly in the ranks of the BRIC (Brazil/Russia/India/China) countries, the emerging economies widely considered to have the most promise. It is scheduled to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 World Cup and it stepped up to host the 2012 meeting of Association of National Olympics Committees (ANOC) after the British Olympic Association pulled out because of budget difficulties. The future looks full of promise. Opportunities Investment is also necessary to improve the dismal productivity of Russia’s workforce. A 2009 study concluded that Russia’s productivity was only 17% of that in the U.S. The fact that Russia’s population has been declining since 1991, makes this problem more pressing. According to a recent article in the UK newspaper Telegraph, “Modernisation has been promoted to the top of Russia’s political agenda after the 2008 economic crisis exposed the flaws of the economic model built since 2000." Most of the earlier growth was simply recovery, not a sign of long-term growth prospects. Lots of high-tech businesses have moved into the country, and transportation and infrastructure are also high priorities. Healthcare and medical devices for the country’s aging population are other likely growth areas. But if you want to do business in Russia, translation is still particularly important. Because of the country’s size, and the number of other countries in which Russian is widely spoken (including most of the former Soviet Union), the average Russian businessperson is unlikely to know another language well. Your prospects will be enhanced by translating important materials and having experienced interpreters on call. MTM LinguaSoft already has experience with Russian business translation. Be sure to contact us if you’re thinking of taking on the Russian challenge. |
Reason to Celebrate?  Pumpkin Patch Bombs? During World War II, physicist Enrico Fermi and the team working on the American atomic bomb built the first atomic pile to test a controlled nuclear reaction. The pile was located in a squash court underneath a disused football stadium at the University of Chicago. Due to a mistranslation, Soviet reports claimed that the piles had been constructed in a "pumpkin field." In the Bear's Corner Russia may be known as a bear in the West, but in Russia itself the idiomatic term for the "back of beyond" is medvezhii ugol, a "bear's corner." This might seem like a term to avoid, but the term is so well known, that it has been adopted by everything from a upscale hotel in Siberia to a TV serial to a folk-rock band. How Corrupt Are They?  |
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