Russia Business Report Asks if Russia Can Host a Future World Cup

BBC World News’ latest edition of the monthly business programme, Russia Business Report, comes from St Petersburg, Russia's second biggest city and a magnet for foreign investors. Presented by Fiona Foster, it features interviews with President Medvedev's  Chief  Economic  Advisor about the Russian World Cup bid, and with internet entrepreneur, Yuri Milner.

Features from the June episode include:

Renovating Russia – the trillion-dollar challenge

Russia’s Soviet-era infrastructure is in desperate need of repair. But an ambitious ten-year, one-trillion-dollar programme to revamp the country’s crumbling roads, bridges, ports and rail tracks came under the wheels of the financial crisis, with many projects delayed or shelved altogether. St Petersburg had one of the most ambitious plans to upgrade its infrastructure with help from foreign investors – what happened to them?   

South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018?
 
Russia's football stadiums are in desperate need of a makeover, especially as the country is hoping to host the world's biggest sporting event in 2018 or 2022. If Russia wins the bid, the government is planning to build at least 12 new stadiums across the country - and provide all the infrastructure needed to keep football fans happy. Russia Business Report presenter Fiona Foster caught up with Arkady Dvorkovich, President Medvedev's Chief Economic Advisor, and asked him why Russia was so keen to host the World Cup. 

Workers dis-united!
 
The Soviet Union prided itself on being a workers’ paradise but the reality was very different. To this day, workers'  influence is weak. However, some workers in the automobile industry are trying to change that.   At foreign-owned car factories in St Petersburg members of a new, western-style union have successfully gone on strike for higher pay. But the success comes at a price. 

Social media in Russia
 
Millions of Russians are hooked on social networking, and the number of users on sites such as “VKontakte” keeps growing. One man who has placed a big bet on social media is Yuri Milner. His company, Digital Sky Technology, is the biggest internet investor in Russia - and one with global ambitions. Last summer his company went on a spending spree in America's Silicon Valley, investing in Facebook, online chat service ICQ and a number of small start-ups. Russia Business Report’s Emma Simpson caught up with him to talk about why he thinks social media will be the next big money-spinner in the industry.

Reluctant partners
 
Russia  hopes that a customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus will eventually become a single market of 170 million people, boosting trade and investment between the three countries. But there is increasing concern among  its new partners that Russian businesses will benefit disproportionately from the deal.  Russia Business Report reports from Kazakhstan’s border with China.

Beautiful business
 
Stores in Moscow or St Petersburg are full of the latest fashions and expensive goods – but for many Russians window-shopping is all they can afford at the moment.  However, as Ekaterina Drobinina found out, Russian women draw a line when it comes to their beauty.