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  1. #1
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    Klondyke's Avatar
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    UK expat in Russia

    I am John Kopiski, a Russian Farmer
    The Russian dairy farm with a British twist

    A self-confessed workaholic, Englishman John Kopiski has worked hard his whole life. First, as a steel trader, and now, as a Russian dairy farmer. A proud cheese-maker and owner of a riding school, not to mention a hotel, which is a recent addition after he decided to delve into agritourism. John lives in a converted “kolhoz” or cowshed with his wife and 5 children, and is a staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin, while supplying Muscovites with artisanal cheeses like “Red October” and “Tovarishch”, which means 'comrade'.

    After moving to Russia in 1992, John Kopiski, a former London coal and steel trader, found more than just a place to call home, he found his true calling. These days, John Yanovich, as he prefers to be called, runs a dairy farm with more than 4000 cows some 200 km east of Moscow in Vladimir region. Along with his wife, Nina and 5 children, he’s an exemplary patriot, proud of his new-found motherland and its history. How can a troika-riding, white-bearded Brit be even more Russian than many Russians?

    Watch trailer:
    I am John Kopiski, a Russian Farmer: The Russian dairy farm with a British twist. Trailer — RTD

    Watch video:
    I am John Kopiski, a Russian Farmer: The Russian dairy farm with a British twist — RTD

    I am John Kopiski, a Russian farmer — RT Documentary

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    has worked hard his whole life. First, as a steel trader
    Yes, those 'traders' . . . such hard work.

    But - good for him. He's found he place he wants to be. For some it is in their home country, for others Thailand, the PIs, MY, NZ etc...



    You see, Klondyke, none of your whataboutism thrown back at you (yet, as you'll clearly screw it up with your usual anti-west tirades)

  3. #3
    I Amn't In Jail PlanK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    But - good for him. He's found he place he wants to be.

    Very true, like that Ruskie spy who became an expat in the UK with his daughter.
    Wonder what happened to him?


  4. #4
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    US expat in Siberia-


    Bringing New York pizza to Siberia
    An American entrepreneur finds success selling slices 2,000 miles east of Moscow.
    December 2, 2005: 12:55 PM EST
    By Christopher S. Stewart, Fortune Small Business contributing writer
    Eric Shogren, Siberian pizza mogul.
    New York Pizza, Siberia's fastest-growing fast-food chain.
    NEW YORK (FORTUNE Small Business) - Eric Shogren storms the food counter at MyMy, a cafeteria in downtown Moscow, reaches over the loaded trays of two tiny Russian women in line and starts criticizing the food.
    "Can you believe this?" he barks, stabbing an accusatory finger at the desiccated chicken and lamb entr�es that sit baking under a heat lamp. "It's slop! Tasteless mediocrity!"
    For the past decade Shogren, a hyperkinetic 39-year-old Minnesotan, has been striving to educate the Slavic palate in one of the last places on earth you'd expect to find an American entrepreneur: Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia and Russia's third-largest city, nearly 2,000 miles east of Moscow.
    Shogren is the founder of New York Pizza, Siberia's fastest-growing fast-food chain. His little empire includes 14 New York Pizza joints, 13 other restaurants, a bakery that churns out three tons of bread and cake a day, an 1,100-seat cinema that was the first in town to play Hollywood hits, and a nightclub called the New York Times.
    And Novosibirsk is eating it up. Last year New York Pizza raked in $15 million, quite a jump from the $150,000 and change that Shogren started with in 1995. This year he has plans to launch at least ten more restaurants in Novosibirsk and other cities nearby, solidifying his niche as Siberia's most ambitious restaurateur.
    His biggest gamble yet is a 3,200-cow dairy operation, the largest modern farm in Russia, which is suffering a serious dairy shortage. Shogren broke ground on the project in October 2004 and hopes to start selling milk in spring 2006. If that bet pays off, he will be swimming (or sledding) in cash.
    'Give me the ball, and I make it happen'Shogren estimates that his various ventures could generate around $25 million in annual revenues by 2006. "I'm like Michael Jordan," he says expansively. "Give me the ball, and I make it happen."
    The Shogren express may yet be derailed, however. Homegrown imitators are popping up. Western restaurant chains are eyeing his market with interest. And Shogren's success could spark resentment in Novosibirsk, a gritty post-Soviet city where brash American entrepreneurs tend to stand out.
    "We have this joke in Novosibirsk," says Edward Shornik, a Russian friend of Shogren's who runs the local YMCA. "A fairy comes down the chimney of a poor family and gives them one wish, and they wish to have their neighbors' cows dead. Success creates jealousy."
    In Russia, businessmen like Shogren are often described as "little oligarchs." Shogren tools around town in a Ford Excursion with tinted windows and sometimes employs armed bodyguards. He lives in a gated mini-mansion that boasts 50-foot vaulted ceilings and an outdoor skating rink.
    Shogren moved to Russia in 1994, and within a year, had raised $150,000 from American investors to build the first pizza parlor ever seen in downtown Novosibirsk.
    Part Hard Rock Caf�, part McDonald's, New York Pizza featured airy booths, American pop music on the stereo, and framed photographs of Woody Allen, Muhammad Ali, and the Rolling Stones on the walls. The ruble equivalent of $3 bought two slices of pizza and a Coke, 24 hours a day. And unlike every other eatery in town, smoking and alcohol were banned.
    By 1997 the restaurant was pulling in more than $5,000 a day. An emboldened Shogren raised $1 million from investors to open four additional locations, which also took off.
    Then came the Russian economic crisis of 1998. When the ruble lost more than half its value, Shogren could no longer afford to import popular Western products such as Heinz ketchup and European cheeses.
    Struggling to adjust, Shogren cut back on staff and substituted local products for imports. But with the economy in free fall, many Russians stopped eating out. Shogren was forced to shutter two locations.
    Determined to achieve self-sufficiency, he opened a wood shop to build furniture for the restaurants and a bakery to supply them with bread and pastries. By 2001, Shogren sensed the beginnings of a revival. With what little money he had left, he opened six new restaurants and the New York Times jazz club.
    In 2002 he launched a family-style restaurant chain called Kuzina (Russian for "cousin"). He also gave the city an Asian restaurant (which he later shut down) and a diner that introduced Russian palates to greasy eggs and hash browns.
    Shogren's brother Mike, a Harvard MBA, came onboard as president of his company. In 2003 revenue hit $8 million, and then it nearly doubled again the next year, to $15 million.
    Now, cowsTen U.S. investors have already joined the $20 million dairy farm project, including Ambassador Collins and a prominent Wisconsin dairy farmer named John Vereze. "Eric's a miracle worker," says Hal Lieberman, another investor in the project. "I sure wouldn't live [in Novosibirsk]. But he does. And what he's pulling off is amazing."
    To improve production, Shogren is introducing open-air barns, better milking technology, and healthier Dutch cows. By late 2006 Shogren hopes to be running the largest modern dairy farm in Russia.
    "Russia is wide open right now," announces Shogren, standing at the door of the Georgian restaurant. "The country is ready to make a jump to the future."
    As Shogren heads out to the street into the below-freezing weather, the host asks whether he has forgotten his coat. "No coat," he shouts over his shoulder. The host watches Shogren with a What's-this-guy-thinking? look screwed on his face. Shogren has been getting that look ever since he moved to Russia.
    "People thought this whole thing was improbable at the beginning," he says, "and now look at us."

  5. #5
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    panama hat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    December 2, 2005: 12:55 PM EST
    Oh dear . . .


    U.S. businessman suspected of fraud to stand trial in Siberia in 2013








    Tags: Trial, Fraud, Novosibirsk, Russia
    15:13 10/10/2012NOVOSIBIRSK, October 10 - RAPSI. A repeat trial of U.S. businessman Eric Shogren, who has been charged with large-scale fraud, is expected to begin in Novosibirsk in 2013, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
    In 1996, Shogren started the New York Pizza restaurant chain in Novosibirsk. In April 2009, he was detained for allegedly committing 17 counts of fraud worth 15 million rubles ($482,300).
    Later, the court released him on a 1 million ruble ($32,150) bail bond.
    Shogren's trial began in October 2010. Last July, Judge Galina Pudovkina, who presided over the trial, was reappointed elsewhere as a regional court judge.
    "The case was transferred to district Judge Sergei Sokolov," a court spokesperson said.
    He said the trial will have to start over due to the judge's transfer. However, the case cannot be restarted until the results of the forensic audit appointed by the previous judge are submitted.
    According to the court, it has sent a query to the expert appointed to perform an examination. The expert replied that he cannot start the examination before November 1 due to his workload. The examination may take two to three months considering the scope of the case materials to be reviewed.
    The businessman used several bank-issued credit cards to borrow somewhere between several thousand and several million rubles, including a credit card issued by the Bank of Moscow. Shogren then allegedly defaulted on his credit card debt. The banks are the plaintiffs in the case.

    Shogren does not admit his guilt in full. His attorneys claim that he did not intend to commit a crime. His defense attorney blames the financial crisis for Shogren's financial difficulties. Over 15 criminal charges have been initiated against the businessman. Shogren's assistant Yevgenia Golovkina also appeared before the court under similar charges. She too denies any wrongdoing.
    Last edited by panama hat; 05-08-2020 at 08:03 AM.

  6. #6
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    Yeh, thriving.

    Eric Shogren - Wikipedia

  7. #7
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Delivery is slower than The Pizza Company.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Yeh, thriving.
    If he stays out of jail - good on him . . . brings the whole 'Siberian Gulag' (prison) home

  9. #9
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    In 2014, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Novosibirsk dismissed the criminal case against Eric Shogren and Evgenia Golovkova. The state prosecution asked to appoint Shogren and Golovkova five and a half years of probation, after which it immediately expressed a request for their release "due to the expiration of the statute of limitations". Businessmen do not admit their guilt.[23]

    Business after criminal prosecution[edit]

    Despite the fact that many NYP establishments were closed, Eric Shogren kept his business. In 2015, Kuzina and New York Pizza chains was opened in Moscow. In 2016, Eric Shogren bought Baker's Wife Confectionery in Minneapolis. In 2017, the building of the former Baker's Wife was occupied by Kuzina.[24][25][26] In 2019, Shogren bought Wuollet's Bakery.





    Actually there are many western businessmen doing very well indeed in Russia. But setting up a pizza chain in Siberia is pretty good.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Actually there are many western businessmen doing very well indeed in Russia. But setting up a pizza chain in Siberia is pretty good.
    Absolutely - I have two friends from school who divide their time between Köln and St Petersburg for business. One is an engineering consulant, the other is into sustainable palm oil and rubber plantation investments.

    It's a good life in Russia if you have dosh . . . and a shit one if you don't.

  11. #11
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    sustainable palm oil.
    One of the biggest enviro-scams going, that one.

    No such thing as sustainable palm oil – 'certified' can destroy even more wildlife, say scientists | The Independent

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by cyrille View Post
    One of the biggest enviro-scams going, that one.
    Nope . . . can't read the article, but it's hardly a scam. I've worked with several plantation companies who have sustainability at the forefront of their business, especially since the EU started making demands of them. It started with getting Cargill in Indo to join the RSPO and follow their guidelines at the very least. Took long enough

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by panama hat View Post
    It's a good life in Russia if you have dosh . . . and a shit one if you don't.
    What a discovery: As if anywhere else was it different?

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Plan B View Post
    Very true, like that Ruskie spy who became an expat in the UK with his daughter.
    Wonder what happened to him?


    Believed to have been moved to another part of the commonwealth, although perhaps that is a smokescreen.

  15. #15
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Is this Klondyke's secret dream? To be an expat in Russia?

    You can always defect Klondyke.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Is this Klondyke's secret dream? To be an expat in Russia?

    You can always defect Klondyke.
    Anything to the matter? After all, you do not read Klondyke, do you?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    Anything to the matter? After all, you do not read Klondyke, do you?
    That was 'to the matter' . . . as for 'reading Klondyke'?



    Quote Originally Posted by Klondyke View Post
    What a discovery: As if anywhere else was it different?
    Yes, it is. In many countries being poor doesn't mean bread lines or suffering.


    And in one fell swoop Klondyke starts to trash his own thread with his 'whataboutism'.

    Her's a whataboutism for you . . . what about you? What a freaking idiot you are

  18. #18
    Thailand Expat Backspin's Avatar
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    Cool story. But it's just another chosen one who's been drinking out of a fire hose of positive feedback is whole life. We never hear about the other 90% who worked just as hard and have nothing to show for it but bankruptcy.

  19. #19
    Thailand Expat OhOh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cyrille View Post
    Delivery is slower than The Pizza Company.
    Some have other criteria when choosing their meal.

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