Chapter 10
The Human Factor
Actually I consider my years as office chief in Moscow and Kiev as a very good training in human affairs. During that time I became acquainted with excellent people and, alas, on the opposite. To begin with the latter I can cite three examples.
I had not been longer than two months in Moscow, when my first bitter incident occurred. Then Kiev and Moscow lay in the same country and to transport goods between them has been cabotage for an international hauler. I had a load that was stored temporarily in Moscow and it had to be taken to Kiev. It had been part of the load of a truck of our own. There were ways not to hurt law. But, as I mentioned it to one of the three drivers staying in Moscow, he did not tell me anything, only in five minutes one of the department heads in Budapest called me in that topic.
The man was successful to avoid meeting me for one year, when he lost his way in Moscow and I went to him by my car. He lied me not to remember anything.
The second one made a detour of 500 miles with an urgent load for the sake of a Ukrainian whore.
The third one stole my money given him to arrange customs formalities in case of a problem.
The good people I begin with somebody, who cheated me, but I could not be angry with him, and till this day I appreciate him. In the spring of 1991 the transport of consumer electronics began on direct routes from Western-Europe to Moscow. There were thefts on the parking place and thus drivers parked more willingly in our street in front of the office building. The only trouble has been toilet. The nearest one they could find in the building of Kiev Railway Station about a thousand feet away, when we were closed. March 15 has been our national holiday and two drivers asked me to leave my key with them for making the toilet available. In the next month I found an item in our phone bill very high. The telegraph company informed us it was a call of 30 minutes to the U.S.
There were two drivers on frigo trucks, who saved my face once, when one of their colleagues could not load the food assigned to him. They remained reliable people over all my term.
That man to help me to take my things to the 18th floor in Kiev had been grounded in Moscow once for two weeks. His extreme cold blood with aggressive people and his intelligence had helped us with Joe to solve a lot of hard tasks.
The driver who took my things there – and put my successor to his place – was a man too anxious to do flawless work. But he did it almost always – or, may be, just for that reason.
The man, who was with us in Zagorsk, I met in the autumn of 1991. Then J. left her employer and she had to bring up her things to us. There were numerous well packed boxes to be carried to her home in Hungary. I was just sending a group home, as I had less load than trucks temporarily. I charged them with the delivery of the boxes. Some of them pushed the task on to others, some sent it by mail to her address as they chose another route. But one of them has done a good work and he remained a good friend of mine later, too. It was he, who in Kiev once, when I had to send a convoy of trucks to take load, took his colleagues to visit me. My wife has offered them dinner, but they brought raw material for it. It was in October 1993. When he learned, during the afternoon we were going to the holy monastery of the Ukrainians, he gathered all drivers and in his tractor he took all to the place. We met them there. He would visit me even after my return from Kiev in my new office.
A driver, whose wife has been a saleswoman on one of our departments, has been beaten and robbed before Easter 1991. I had given him the job to take a truckload of vodka and carry it to the west of Hungary. He was happy for the job, he was to spend the Easter with his family. It happened otherwise. He had to wait for a temporary passport issued by the consul in that territory, as he forgot to take his passport, when he was reporting the robbery to the police. When he came to Moscow any time later, he would be a welcome guest, as my son made friendship with him.
By the way, I think, my son helped me in getting a lot of friends among drivers.
There was also one man who led my son into the pleasure of modelling. I met him in Kiev, he was the only man, who could not find his way by my instructions on phone. He and another one spent Easter 1994 with us, their trucks in the parking down, they on the 18th floor up. That other one was a wonderful cook.
It is interesting, when it came to tell something right about me, these people were silent. Those on the other side have not kept their mouths shut, when something foul was needed.
I spent another month at home in September 1994. I came with my wife by train that time. From the behaviour of my new boss I felt that I was destined to finish my term. I was right. He decided it and it was final. It was a pity to take farewell from my partners, whom I acquired only one year before.
Preceding my leaving the place I organized a meeting between my partners in Kiev and their customers, my colleagues in charge. I wanted to offer a continuation to my activities after me. Alas, neither side has been too keen to carry on. And there was another factor against my will.
The organized underground crime has become so strong in Russia that the state had to form special authorities against them. One of their territories represents unloading of customs goods without clearance. It can be found all over the world, but nowhere is it done in a way so sophisticated as in Russia.
The deliverer of goods prepares the accompanying documents, and one set is given to the driver to show them to the authorities at every point, where necessary. On the border of Russia the truck is met by the consignee’s representative. Goods coming with international documents can enter the country, on the documents it is indicated, where to go for clearance. The consignee takes it to his store instead of the customs office and false stamps are placed on the documents’ return sheets. The truck can leave the country by these stamps, but, as clearance has not happened, the border customs office where the goods entered, will send an inquiry to the indicated customs office. The answer will be negative, as the goods have not been delivered to the office. Three months have elapsed, the consignee – if there was a real name and address at all – has been dissolved. Joint liability of the carrier with the consignee makes it possible for the authorities to claim everything on the carrier.
In 1995 in 55 cases, goods entering Russia with our TIR documents have not been cleared properly. At the end of that year the Russian State Customs Committee decided to exclude our company from the use of international customs documents in Russia. It meant the consignee would have to get a guarantee in every case for the transit of goods from border to domestic customs office. It slowed down our trucks terribly. We began to lose customers. Just those customers, that have been acquired during my term.
Correspondence between international organizations helped to lift that ban. But our company has not done anything to prevent similar crimes again. The next year our trucks have been confiscated for the duty not paid. We have got them back only by paying instead of consignees. And then the management of my company has made a decision, the worst possible in that situation. They ordered to close the Moscow office. I could see it from nearby, as after Kiev I came to work with Veronica, director for the Customs and Border Services. Instead of listening to the words of somebody, who spent so many years in that place, they decided first to make a joint venture with a nameless private firm. As it had no influence on the events, they decided for the exodus.
My story is coming to an end. When I returned with the equipment of the Kiev apartment and let it be cleared at the customs, I tried to get a proper place. I have been offered two, but one of them did not seem prosperous. The other was customs. Veronica accepted me with her normal kindness. She gave me a place equal to a consultant. My ordinary duty has been to survey incomes and costs of her unit. Besides I have been a Jolly Joker for my credentials. John from the personnel division has gone to pension, his new boss promised me the place of Veronica’s deputy in one year, when he would retire.
As nothing has gone on the right way, I tried to compete for the Moscow place anew after the man, who succeeded me. I have been informed that a woman has been selected by an outside head-hunter firm.
When I learned that she enjoys the support of the same deputy general manager, who helped to steal the place promised to me by a friend of his, and besides, the new general manager – a woman, who went to London at the same time I did it with Moscow, only she had had no authority because of Eurogate’s establishment – is looking for a way to eliminate me – last of the Mohicans from a bunch of experienced executives – from the company for my alleged guilt I did to our drivers, I decided, I would help her and would accept the severance pay due me by my 9 years. I also accepted the offer of an entrepreneur company dealing with Tenghiz assignments. I left on July 31, 1997.
This was the story of my life so far, all true, except a couple of false memories.
Budapest, January 1998