BOSS (Moscow) - January 30, 2009

The awards ceremony for the Russian national business trophy - the RBC-organized Company of the Year - was held in Gostiny Dvor on December 2. The jubilee (10th) ceremony honored 44 winners.

The distribution of awards to the best Russian companies has long become one of the major high society events drawing a line for the past year. The heads of leading Russian businesses, prominent officials, well-known public and political figures, representatives of the academic community and cultural figures all gathered to congratulate the winners, converse in an informal setting, and discuss their plans for the future. The ceremony's guests included chairman of the board of directors of Troika Dialog Asset Management Pavel Teplukhin, chairman of the board of directors of Wimm-Bill-Dann David Yakobashvili, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Vladimir Zhirinovsky, General Director of All-Russian Exhibition Centre State Joint-Stock Company Magomed Musayev, member of the Federation Council Andrei Khazin, General Director of Aeroflot - Russian Airlines Valery Okulov, Russia-Belarus Union Secretary of State Pavel Borodin, Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Tajikistan Ramazan Abdulatipov, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin, President of the Moscow Chamber of Lawyers Genri Reznik, General Director of Transaero Olga Pleshakova, General Director of Gazprom-Media Nikolai Senkevich, President of the OPORA Russia Nongovernmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Sergei Borisov, President of the Finance Academy under the Government of Russia Alla Gryaznova, special envoy of the Russian government to the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia Mikhail Barshchevsky, Chairperson of the Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Council under the President of Russia Ella Pamfilova, Chairman of the Moscow Advertising, Information and Decoration Committee Vladimir Makarov, President of Helen Yarmak Fashion House Yelena Yarmak, President of Maritime Bank Vladimir Tarachev, State Duma member Vladimir Medinsky, four-time Olympic champion Alexei Nemov, singer Lada Dance, and many others.

The evening in Gostiny Dvor kicked off with an informal welcome party, which plunged the arriving guests into a celebration atmosphere with the carefree tunes of Muzz-Band and songs by the star-to-be Ksenia Orlova. The interior design of the hall, featuring great quality marks inscribed in the logos of some of Russia's leading companies, took many by surprise. "The award is now celebrating its first jubilee," said RBC's General Director Yury Rovensky. "Over the past 10 years, Russian business has mustered considerable potential. Companies now have a lot to be proud of. The crisis may come and go, but it's the people who are always here. And today more than ever, we believe that it is important to support those who can work and deliver strong results even in the most difficult environment."

Traditionally, the first to be announced were the winners in the Manufacturing category, followed by the Services category, and the official part closed with awards in special and regional categories. The jury's decision gave rise to conjectures by the ceremony's guests and participants regarding which winners were destined to survive the next year. President of Maritime Bank Vladimir Tarachev reiterated that technical defaults were in store for a quarter of all Russian companies, irrespective of their business focus. However, he anticipates no problems next year with the number of contenders for the No. 1 business award. "Those who survive the coming year will deserve a triple award," he said jokingly. "Incidentally, they will find themselves in a very good position with few of their competitors left."

General Director of the Moscow International Business Association Alexander Borisov stated that our economy actually needed the crisis, comparing it to garden shears used to prune off dead and diseased branches. "The problem with our economy is that it is not a hundred percent market economy," he observed. "We have quite a few monopolies and quasi-monopolies, both on the scale of economic sectors and in particular regions. I am sure that the crisis is set to rehabilitate the situation."

General Director of the Center for Political Technologies Igor Bunin, in turn, presumed that at least a third of the winners would face considerable difficulties over the next one or two years. "The hardest hit will be companies engaged in advertising and consulting, followed by the manufacturing industry, both of which are set to experience difficulties at least until the end of next year - until the U.S. economy picks up and commodity prices take a turn upward. The least bruised will be the pharmaceuticals sector, public catering and producers of alcoholic beverages, as their products enjoy unremitting demand."

Vladimir Zhirinovsky sounded the most optimistic of all. "We are not having a crisis!" he assured. "The West is facing the crisis because of overproduction. They are facing an overproduction crisis. Our market is not saturated yet. Life still goes on here. Everything is all right! All we need is to pay the salaries and remedy the clotted bank system so that all payments will pass."

The official part of the evening ended on a positive note. The hosts Oksana Derevyanko and Anton Khrekov were relieved by Stas Namin's band Tsvety (Flowers) performing their main hit, which has stood the test of more than one decade. The guests welcomed the performers, singing "We wish you happiness," and flocking to the tables to congratulate the Company of the Year 2008 winners once again.