Hi, I've heard and read (e.g. BBC News) that Russia is totally under mob control and NOT SAFE. It is well-known among high profile nannies that Russia pays the highest nanny salaries BY FAR. It is whispered that this is because the employers are either mafia, or targeted by mafia (for extortion because of their wealth)--so, in either case, the nanny is getting "risk money". A nanny friend of mine interviewed for a job there and was told by the would-be employer that she'd be assigned FOUR bodyguards (her prospective boss had 22!). She now works in the Middle East (for royals) and feels completely safe, and says I should not even consider Russia. Any Western nannies out there in Russia who can answer? Any info. about the mob from others who have been to Russia (especially if you've lived there) and KNOW something?
THANKS!
Jules
Well common sense would tell you that if she is being assigned four bodyguards that there is some type of risk.
In general Russia is safe as far as I'm concerned. Unless your there for political reasons there is nothing to fear.
This topic is a joke...right?? BBC never claimed that Russia is controlled by the mafia, and no nanny had 4 bodyguards.
But this is the type of Bull that passes as news and information in the west after the White House has restarted the Cold War. My mother believes all the stories and warns me to come back to the US because she knows I will be kidnapped or thrown into the Gulag...but watches Fox News and has never been within a thousand miles of Russia.
Personally, I feel safer walking around blind alleys at 3 a.m. here in St Petersburg than in London, Paris or anywhere in the US.
Your friends are playing a joke on you, laugh or pick better friends.
no, not a joke. she's legit. she may have gotten the wrong impression, but i doubt she lied about the 4 bodyguards, and i agree with david (above) that there MUST be some risk involved if you're assigned 4 bodyguards.(duh) NOT to say this is the norm. and, i'm sorry dear, but, YES, i DID read BBC NEWS articles re. pervasive presence of mafia in russia, including an article about a canadian nightclub owner who "survived one kidnapping attempt", and estimates he has paid out £625,000+ to "grease the palm". maybe the club owner is playing a joke on the BBC? in any case, i am aware of the sensationalism that goes on in the media including (especially?) respected news agencies. that's why i'm asking for info. from people who actually live there and KNOW something as opposed to having just heard things. thanks for all your replies!
NOTE TO STAN:
why would you say this was a joke since you are so used to hearing this from people (who are quite serious)? you, yourself, said that your own mother believes the same, so you should be used to it. is your mother joking? anyway, while i appreciate you defying the mad myths that circulate, you certainly are not qualified to tell me what a nanny has and does not have, bodyguards included.qualified western nannies who work in russia are working for some of the richest people in the world. it is common for a nanny's employer to own banks and airlines. i, myself, was booked for an interview, through a London agency, with russian bank owners--that's more than one bank. (and by the way, the REAL BBC articles i read said that bank presidents are common mafia targets.) the typical nanny job pays £800min.PER WEEK NET and includes a private 3-bedroom home and personal car or transport by chauffeur. (by the way, that's 8 hrs a day, weekends off.) so, forgive me if it all sounds a little too-good-to-be-true!
hello, again! NO, i DON'T believe everything i read, i just want to show that i did, in fact, read this stuff (yes, on BBC).
The Russian authorities are fighting a losing battle to control the mafia.
Official estimates of the size and influence of the Russian mafia make frightening reading - the unofficial estimates are terrifying.
The government in Moscow estimates the Russian mafia controls 40% of private business and 60% of state-owned companies.
Unofficial sources say 80% of Russian banks are controlled either directly or indirectly by criminals.
Thousands of shootings
Russia sees around 10,000 fatal shootings a year, 600 of which are contract killings. In the last five years 95 bankers have been murdered.
Routine extortion
Extortion has become a way of life in Russia.
Canadian entrepreneur Doug Steele owns a Moscow nightclub called The Hungry Duck and reckons he has paid out £625,000 ($1m) in pay-offs to police, officials and the mafia.
Mr Steele, who has already survived one kidnapping attempt, says: "You have to grease the palm or you won't be in business.
Jules, it was often happened in 90s (Hungry Duck is exactly that case). Now it is ten times less spreaded. Mafia bosses (at least those who'd survived), left machine guns, wear smokings, became bankeers and employ Western nannies for £800 a week. That's the way the things are going ;-)
Best regards- Igor Fedyaev
I have no infomation of any kind about Western nannies in Russia, hence nothing to comment about that.
I would, however, like to add that I too have heard about the mafia problem in Russia, about Moscow underworld.
Another issue is the terrible problem Russia has with skinheads, no other country in the world has no where near as many Neo Nazi skinheads as Russia.
As of now, it was in the news the other day that there have been 36 racist murders in Russia already since the beginning of the year.
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