Page 14 - bne magazine March 2017 issue

14 I Companies & Markets bne March 2017
Russian list of 64 firms exempt from procurement rules raises eyebrows Fabrice Deprez in Moscow
Book Expedition would not strike the casual passer-
by as anything special, and certainly not an integral component of the Russian state. Located in Kitai Gorod, the oldest part of central Moscow, the shop sells books and souvenirs to tourists wandering in one of the few really charming parts of the Russian capital.
But it is special – it is owned by the Directorate for Presidential Affairs and stands next door to the offices of its owner. As a result Book Expedition has a Federal Protection Service (FSO) agent constantly watching its front door, the elite of Russia’s security services and equivalent of the US Secret Service tasked with protecting the president among other things.
No one stops you entering the store. Heavy drapes hang in the door and windows but the atmosphere inside is snug compared to the sub-zero temperatures on the street outside. Eager saleswomen proudly show off luxurious hunting knives decorated with the emblems of the Russia Federation, the “Kremlin” and “VDV” (a Russian paratrooper division)
State-owned companies exemption list
A government decree exempts 64 companies from new oversight measures.
branded eau de toilette, or the more run-of-the-mill calendars, watches and President Vladimir Putin biographies.
Thanks to its elite owner, Book Expedition was named in
a decree signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as one
of the country’s 64 state corporations – out of a total of 1120 “Federal State Unitary Enterprises” – that are “significant in order to ensure the rights and legal interests of Russian citizen as well as the defence and security of the State”.
The list was produced as a result of recent ambitious legisla- tion passed by the government in its efforts to bring more trans- parency into public procurement and stop the large-scale loot- ing by corrupt bureaucrats that has been going on for decades.
It becomes more understandable why the company was included in the list if you look up its branches. Its flagship store is on Varvarskaya Street, close to the sprawling govern- ment buildings clustered around Red Square. However, several other branches of the store are actually inside other govern-
Company
Name (Russian)
Hotel Federal Security Service
Гостиница Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации
Ivanovsky Research Institute of Film Materials and Artificial Leather technical purposes Federal Security Service
Ивановский научно-исследовательский институт пленочных материалов и искусственной кожи технического назначения Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации
Complex
Комплекс
Scientific-Research Institute "Quantum"
Научно-исследовательский институт "Квант"
Scientific and technical center "Basis" Federal Security Service
Научно-технический центр "Базис" Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации
Scientific-Technical Center Orion "Federal Security Service
Научно-технический центр Орион" Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации
Rostov-on-Don Research Institute of the Radio
Ростовский-на-Дону научно-исследовательский институт радиосвязи
North-Caucasian construction management Federal Security Service
Северо-Кавказское строительное управление Федеральной службы безопасности Российской Федерации
Smolensk Production Association "Analitpribor"
Смоленское производственное объединение "Аналитприбор"
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