Sobesednik, p. 16 (Moscow) - December 17, 2003

The RBC group has experienced more than 10 years of work on the market on business information and received recognition in the media and business environment. It seems to be the right moment to relax and rest on the oars but nothing of this kind happened. Work is humming in the office of RosBusinessConsulting. The turnstile at the entrance is turning non-stop while people in expensive suits and casual sweaters are running about. Then you would hear somebody say in the reception room, "Have we written an invitation to Gaidar?" And the phone would ring and ring and ring: "Could you wait a minute? An important thing has turned up!" asks RBC General Director and Chairman of the Executive Board Yury Rovensky, placing me before an accomplished fact after saying hello. As a result, I have several more minutes to look at numerous certificates granted to the agency and its head reflecting various merits, titles and awards.

With no financial support from political groups behind

- Yury, I am sure there are a lot of people among your competitors who envy you, given the number of your awards. There even has been a rumor recently that RBC is on the edge of bankruptcy. And such an attitude would not be surprising. We know that happiness in Russia is not when your cow calves but when your neighbor's cow dies.

- We operate on the principle that provides for forming market trends on our own, outpacing events. Do you know how we succeeded in it? Because we are a market company, we have no financial support from political groups or from the government or oligarchs. Therefore, we only operate on the money we earn.

What could we do under unfavorable economic conditions? There was only one way that is to go faster and to work more for becoming better in the long run. In 1995 we were the first agency to focus on specialized information. We were the first among Russian information agencies that got on the Internet, the first to conduct an initial public offering, the first to launch a business television channel thus building a reputation as a trustworthy company. This is probably a reason to envy us, as our audience is growing.

- By the way, speaking about audience. This morning I told my wife I would interview the head of RBC today and she asked in surprise, "What RBC?" So, who do you work for?

- I would be happy to meet your wife because there are fewer and fewer people in Russia who have heard nothing about RBC. More than 3 million people a month use RosBusinessConsulting as an information source.

- Our consumers are industrial enterprises, financial institutions, managers and businessmen. Our customers are people who ask themselves, "Well, I have $1,000. How can I save it?" and people who have $100,000 and ask, "How can I increase it?" In other words, these are people who are active in life and who constitute the most dynamic part of our society.

- Does it mean that people who are not interested in such "topical" issues as the price for a ton of aluminum and RAO UES shares should not bother applying to your agency? You are not meddling in policies and other fields?

- Ten years ago we did focus exclusively on quotes and exchange rates, quotas and other financial instruments. However, the time when business was demonstratively distancing itself from policies is dead and gone.

Between YUKOS and the prosecutor's office

- Since we touched this topic, how do you feel about the Khodorkovsky case? Is it political or economic?

- We do not estimate, we inform. With all its years of work, RBC has proved its unbiased approach. This is of principle importance to our customers who appreciate information and not sensations. We do not comment on events but provide the bare facts.

Let's take information we provided on the Khodorkovsky case. We clearly reported the position of YUKOS, claims against YUKOS and various expert estimates but we did not descend to the level of rumors and opinions. Rumors are the perquisite of other types of mass media sources. There is a large list of mass media reflecting the whole information palette, and it is up to readers to decide what segment of this palette to choose.

- Nevertheless, you did not award YUKOS at the Company of the Year ceremony. Was it because you were afraid of a reaction from state authorities?

- You see, RBC is not giving awards. In this case, RBC is only an organizer that gathers expert councils and conducts the award ceremony. But we cannot control who will be named the winner. In general, we try to stay away from any conflict and remain unbiased.

- Really? How can RBC remain unbiased when highlighting, for instance, the conflict around Anastasiya Volochkova, when you are an information sponsor of the Bolshoi Theater?

- A conflict is always an unpleasant thing, but there are always several parties and opinions in any conflict. Being an information sponsor of the Bolshoi Theater does not mean that we provide only compliments about its work. This sponsorship means that we have well-established relations and can contact each other very quickly to hear all opinions on an issue. We support the Bolshoi Theater as a historic center of the Russian culture and not as an economic entity that violates or does not violate labor law.

We choose the multi-channel way

- How are you going to break away from the Internet?

- RBC's attempt to diversify ways of information delivery is not an attempt to break away from the Internet since its interactive work dynamics are linked to the Internet, in the first place. Newspapers, radio or television could not provide the same effect.

The way we have chosen can be called "multi-channel delivery" envisaging information supplies through many channels. RBC is a factory producing information. Once a factory is set up, any producer will start thinking about numerous channels for delivery. We had one powerful channel and we will promote its further development, however, the number of consumers of our products has increased, which means it is time to think about something new. We decided to start expanding our business profile beginning with the most difficult task, the launch of a television channel that has only been on the air for a hundred days. The TV channel has no entertainment programs but this in no way means that we broadcast news items from the Internet. This channel is a sort of discussion ground where different opinions could be expressed. It would be too early to summarize results now but one thing is clear: the TV channel has come off a success, it is improving, it has found its viewers and, very importantly, it began bringing revenues from advertising.

- There are also other formats, such as radio and the press:

- This is a perspective for coming years. The launch of a TV channel is a large investment project, and we are going to break even only in two and a half years. It is difficult to forecast the further development of our company right now. I do not rule out that it could be expansion into other counties, expanding broadcasting in CIS countries. Another possibility is strengthening relations with foreign partners and delivering information abroad.

- Aren't you afraid to be dull with your objective coverage amid a wide and bright palette of opinions?

- Every company works in its own format. It is great if I have the time to read a 100-page journal presenting scientific surveys, conclusions and forecasts. However, if I only have four spare minutes to learn what is going on and to hear opinions on an event, then I would not be able to read even a newspaper. In this case, the format that we are working in will be appropriate.

Specialization has never done any harm to anyone, and it definitely can be only an advantage on this complex market. The cost of advertising on the RBC [web portal] is 15- to 17-fold higher than on any other resource on the Russian Internet. Why? We cover only three out of fifteen people that use the Internet in Russia but control more than half of all advertising flows on the Russian Internet. The answer is very simple: we work for a clearly defined audience.

- The advertising slogan of RBC is "Outpacing the events!" Could you tell us a secret: What are Russian businesses facing in the future?

- No, no, no. It means we are developing with outstripping growth rates but we do not outpace the events themselves. We highlight them but do not predict. Fortune telling is not our profession.

Oleg Roldugin