Dmitry Litvinovich: Tea parties with sweets. Tea factory owner and chocolate manufacturer creating a rival of Russian Manufacturers and Businessmen Union

Against the background of events in Afghanistan and Abkhazia, all other pieces of news look less important. On Wednesday, in Moscow, the constituent congress of the new public organization “Business Russia” took place. “So what? -one would say. Do we have such a small amount of public organizations? And why should businessmen not unify one more time?” That is right. However, this obviously ordinary event could have a very interesting continuation. Let us start from the very beginning. This public organization intends to represent the interests of the medium size enterprises of Russia, and it does not have any connection with the Russian Manufacturers and Businessmen Union, which represents the interests of huge capital. “Business Russia” is a kind of business club whose members are businessmen oriented on the internal market. The organizers of the movement are tea factory owner Igor Lisinenko and chocolate manufacturer Andrei Korkunov. It is very remarkable that the day before, both of them met with Vladimir Putin and seem to have received his high “blessing” for the creation of the organization. The purposes and tasks of the union is the support of medium enterprises in Russia. The organization seems not to intend to confront the Russian Manufacturers and Businessmen Union, according to the organizers’ statements. Though while establishing “Business Russia”, the organizers created a kind of alternative to the oligarchs’ organization. If earlier only raw materials magnates had access to the president, now medium size business has it as well. For a long time, the authorities were irritated with the outrageous activity of oligarchs while defending their corporate interests. However, until now, they have been putting up with it. The new organization hardly will be able to influence the policy and economy of the country, as the Russian Manufacturers and Businessmen Union does, though it could partly weaken the union’s influence.

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru