I applied for a Promos scholarship for the beginning of 2021. However, due to the travel restrictions in place at the time, it was unthinkable that I would be able to stay. Fortunately, I was still able to apply for the scholarship at the end of the year and receive the funding for Russia.

A few important organizational matters had to be clarified before departure: Visa, apartment, flight, language course, health insurance etc. I am more than grateful that my partner company and Fiera helped me with the organization. Corona also didn’t make planning any easier. Spontaneity and flexibility were often required and until the last moment it was not certain whether the stay could take place as planned.

I landed in Ekaterinburg on a Saturday and was able to use the rest of the weekend to explore the city and the surrounding area. On my first day at work, I got to know my colleagues and the premises (offices, showrooms, warehouses). I experienced Fiera as one big family, where cohesion and teamwork define the corporate culture. Colleagues increasingly invited me to various activities, events and excursions during my stay. If I initially had no immediate plans for a weekend, plans were made together.

During my stay abroad, I was mainly involved in marketing tasks: Catalog, homepage, store design and designing a process for standardizing incoming complaints. I was able to gain new insights into the marketing of our Vauth-Sagel products and the partnership between our company and our customer Fiera.

The working days were characterized by community, cultural exchange, humour and tea, tea and more tea. In the cold winter months, when the temperature dropped as low as -21°, a lot of tea was drunk to keep warm.

The first half of the day I was at work, the second half I had a language course to improve and expand my Russian language skills. 12 hours a week of pure grammar. After just a few weeks, I could already feel my development. I became more open, more talkative and thought more often about conversations: How do you express this and that, is there another way to say this; how is this and that grammatically correct…? Cyrillic letters and writing in Russian as well as topics from the business world were also discussed. I can personally always recommend language courses in the respective mother country. Even if you may already know a language better – the exchange with native speakers is enormously beneficial!

The “Mebel” trade fair took place in Moscow from November 22 to 26. I flew in with some colleagues on November 20. While my colleagues were setting up the exhibition stand, I had time to explore the city. Sights such as Red Square, the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Mausoleum etc. were visited. The trade fair started on the 22nd, which in my opinion was pretty well attended despite corona. Working was a lot of fun. New acquaintances were made and after work we exchanged ideas with colleagues and laughed a lot. Definitely a complete success in many respects!

My apartment was right in the heart of the city, so everything worth seeing was within easy walking distance. For example, the shopping center, the number one winter hotspot, was only a five-minute walk away. What I found pretty cool about Ekaterinburg was a red line: a red line is drawn right through the city and runs along all the top sights. A walk along this line and you get an overview of what the city has to offer – without a big Google Maps search.

During the week, there was little activity due to the long working/course days. However, the quiet weekdays were enhanced by all the more active weekends: Vysotsky viewing platform with a view over the entire city; Europe-Asia border; museum visits to Glavnyy Prospekt and Vysotsky; shooting range; Ganina Yama; Yel’tsin Center and and and …

The first time in Russia was marked by many firsts: The first time at the (Russian) ballet; the first time horseback riding; the first time at a local circus performance and the first time at a Georgian restaurant (suuuper delicious and recommended).

The highlights of my stay abroad, apart from the trade fair in Moscow, were definitely the weekend trips to the city of Kazan and to a vacation resort in Sloboda. The small village was full of old Russian charm. My wooden accommodation was located directly in the forest. The landscape offered perfect opportunities for hiking and in the evening we warmed up in a typical Russian banya (sauna).

Three things I would not have expected:

1. Prices for gasoline and food. At 60 cents a liter (which is apparently already extremely expensive for Russians), petrol prices in Russia can hardly be compared with our prices in Germany. The food in canteens/restaurants is also cheaper for the most part. I paid an average of €2.30 for a balanced three-course lunch in the canteen.
2. Traffic jams until you spin out of control! 16 km became a 1.5 hour drive home. Then there was the crazy driving behavior of the Russians. Honking and tailgating were the order of the day. Personally, I wouldn’t trust myself to drive in Russia …
3. Change of shoes in the office building. I thought it was strange at first, but then I understood why: when the temperature is below 40° and the snow is meters high, you put on your warmest winter shoes, but they are too warm for the office. Hence the switch to sneakers or even slippers.

But what thrilled/amazed me all the more was the big and friendly hearts of the Russians and their interest in Europe/Germany, our lifestyle and our culture/politics/history etc. Questions about our way of life came up every day, and not just at work.

When I traveled to Russia at the beginning of October, I had the feeling that the Russians were taking the coronavirus situation lightly: Masks were only worn halfway or not at all. On November 1, we then went into a partial lockdown. Public buildings such as theaters, cinemas, restaurants and shopping centers could only be visited by those who had recovered or were vaccinated (2G regulation). Security guards were placed at entrances to monitor this. Fortunately, I was able to get in everywhere with my German vaccination card and was able to continue enjoying my stay in Russia without any problems.