Radio Russia
Oct 7 2005

Ethnic communities take on Russian state agencies’ duties –
minister’s aide

In Moscow the Russian state agencies have been replaced by the ethnic
communities as the defender and protector of small business,
Konstantin Remchukov, a Russian businessman and aide to the economic
development and trade minister, as well as the de-facto owner of a
nationwide liberal paper, told Radio Russia’s “At First Hand”
programme on 7 October.

Discussing the Russian government’s economic policies with the
programme’s host, Natalya Bekhtina, Remchukov said that one of the
most urgent tasks for the government was to stimulate small business
and so far this task had been ignored and taken on only by ethnic
communities who provide loans and protection for members of their
ethnic groups.

“I talked to an Armenian businessman based in Moscow and he told me
that when Armenian refugees arrive in Moscow they visit some person
who takes on responsibility for the newcomers’ life and business [in
Moscow]. And this person is the most efficient protection for them.
The Armenian family is offered a private loan, a trade outlet, a
small shop or a shoe polisher’s booth. They are told how to deal with
the police and government inspectors. They are told to repay their
loan within two or three years. They are protected from criminals,”
Remchukov told his host.

“So we can see that the refugees in Moscow are very well organized
and their communities execute the state’s duties while the state does
not do so. The state does not offer people a start-up loan, does not
create favourable conditions for small business. And the ethnic
communities – the Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian and Chechen
diasporas – just do it themselves,” said Remchukov.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress