The faces behind Russia's revival

By Paddy O'Connell Working Lunch

Watch: Paddy's reports

A man walks by with a briefcase.

It's cold, and he takes a short cut across a snowy field towards the bus stop.

We're in the Moscow suburbs for Working Lunch, and I'm about to learn how much I have to learn.

It wasn't a field. It was a frozen lake. Four other men were ice fishing. They'd cut a hole in the ice and sat there waiting for a bite.

All this within yards of the suburban Metro station.

Red Square

I thought about this as I stood later at an ice rink, with Muscovites of all ages speeding by.

The rink was there for Christmas in Red Square, facing the Lenin Mausoleum, from where the Soviet leaders I remember from the TV news in my youth would watch the military parades.

Nowadays there's a new kind of tension in the air in the diplomatic tussles between the UK and Russia.

An average January day in Moscow sees temperatures of -6 degrees centigrade

Working Lunch wanted to get behind the headlines to see how people get by in this economy.

Labour shortages

It takes longer to set up a business there than in the UK.

It helps to know people, and there's corruption in some key areas.

But it's growing much quicker than we are, and there are labour shortages too.

So this week we're showing reports of the small amount we discovered.

Beauty business

Vasily gave up his job as an electrician to retrain, and set up a beauty business with his wife.

This is brave in the UK, and harder still in Russia where there are more forms to fill in before you can start up a legitimate firm.

More than 10 million people now live in Moscow

Sergei who's driven a bus in Moscow for nearly thirty years told us young Russians don't want to do that type of job any more.

He'll soon need to rely on a state pension, and hopes the government can control price rises.

Double deckers

He turned up to meet us in a suit and tie, and the bus depot had laid on their cleanest bus.

They were fascinated to know about double deckers, and asked about the different cities in the UK.

It's common for a bus in Moscow to fly two small flags, and the boss gave us a pair.

I have a plan to take them to all the big bus stories we ever do on Working Lunch.

Bricks and books

Then there's Vadim, one of the richest men in Russia.

We hear a lot about Russian millionaires, but Vadim made his money in meat.

He went from pies to restaurants via bricks and books.

Russia's economy has been growing at more than 6% a year recently

Like many successful people (he's worth �40m) he tells you to follow what you know.

Tea and cakes

Finally, there's the other Sergey.

He worked all day at the crisp factory and then allowed us into his home.

He lives in a small apartment with his wife, his two children and his Grandma.

They showered us with tea and cakes, and wanted to swap stories of the lives of working people here at home in the UK.

British firms

We'll round off our week of films asking if there are opportunities for established British firms or investors in Russia.

If you are reading this in time, perhaps you'll let me know what you think.

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