Over 70% of Russian GDP is made up by the public sector including the contribution of the consolidated budget, state-owned companies, and companies close to the government. Most of the companies in Russia are somehow related to public procurement and the provision of services for government agencies and enterprises. Therefore, relations with authorities are a necessary and indispensable condition for business development in Russia. In the absence of real contact with government authorities, there are not so many chances to bring your company to a fundamentally new level.
Unlike local and state-owned enterprises, it is not enough for foreign companies in Russia to have “natural” ties with the government; they need to make “Government relations” a priority. Therefore, GR activities and GR technologies play an invaluable role in company’s development, as well as give advantages in competing in the Russian market.
What does GR gives?
- Project support. It is much easier for companies that are actively communicating with Russian authorities to receive priority support for their project implementation. This will help to receive benefits and to find distributors as soon as possible.
- Export. Communication with Russian officials helps to speed up the certification process and customs clearance.
- Public procurement. Government structures and companies provide their needs through the public procurement. Participation in such purchases requires not only special knowledge, but also lobbying resources in government bodies.
- Local support. Federal and regional authorities can always help with the selection of commercial partners in Russia, the search for sites for the production localization or investment projects.
- Promotion of initiatives. GR specialists work on legislative and regulatory initiatives - support beneficial proposals and resist the introduction of limiting factors.
- Confidence. Public and private enterprises, when building business relations with foreign companies, trust more those who have recommendations "from above".
- Preferences. In Russia, the tax regime for local and foreign companies is different. However, there are a large number of tax benefits, the receipt of which is simplified with proper communication with government authorities.
It is virtually impossible to develop professional relations with the Russian authorities from scratch on your own. It will take years just to study the subtleties of relationships and the "rules of the game."
Moreover, government relations in Russia often look like this: there is some former deputy or "high-ranking" official who promises to resolve any issue asap. All this is accompanied by a presentation of their infinite possibilities with the mention of the most authoritative names, positions, ministries, departments. But, as practice shows, the deception is hidden behind the loud words. To protect yourself from such scammers, it is better to entrust GR management in Russia to professionals.
The RAUIE's competences and experience in cooperation with public, government, industry and political organizations will help solve your business problems in Russia.
If you need expert advice, you can leave a request through the feedback form on the website ("ask a question" on the right side of the page) or by the contacts below:
Maxim Kuznetsov - vice-president of the RAUIE
WeChat: maximkuznetsov