April 2006

28.04.2006
Charity which is Good for Business
Another RUR28 million have been invested in social projects of the Tomsk region

Recently, people have been talking more than enough about reviving the traditions of Russian charity. The critical mass of good intentions has probably reached that limit when specific actions are expected. One of the notable examples is the activity of Oil Company RussNeft OAO which ranks among the ten oil and gas majors of this country.
In point of fact, the structure itself of this vertically integrated company numbering 17 thousand employees and operating in 17 regions of Russia and CIS implies development of charitable activity. It’s not without reason that the company is involved in large-scale social and charitable work carried out basing on the agreements with administrations of constituent entities of the Federation.
Thus, on the initiative of Mikhail Gutseriev, President of the holding company, in the end of 2005 RussNeft rendered financial aid to some 30 children’s institutions in the Tomsk region to the amount of 28 million roubles. Be it major repairs of children’s home ‘Orlinoye Gnezdo’, or purchase of  transport facilities and furniture for visually impaired children’s boarding school in Tomsk, or sports equipment to the amount of more than 1 million roubles for Urtamansk special boarding school and medical equipment to the amount of more than 1 million roubles for the regional Home a Children-Orphans, or accomplishment of children’s rehabilitation center ‘Ogonyok’ to the amount of 700 thousand roubles and construction of a new building for Shegarsk boarding school for mentally defective children, all the above and other projects represent the real social partnership which is so much talked about nowadays.    
Of course, it may be difficult to recount all what has been done in schools and boarding schools of the Tomsk region for the money of RussNeft. However, typical are the remarks of local residents assessing the charitable activity of the company. “The help provided by RussNeft just turned out an unexpected and pleasing gift,” said Director of children’s home ‘Orlinoye Gnezdo’ Lyudmila Dudareva. “With poor budgetary provisions there is no way to implement all the plans for improving the material basis. It was such a good thing to do on the part of RussNeft.”  In fact, all the officials of the children’s institutions agree that the charitable activity of RussNeft demonstrates a new moral standard of the home business.
It’s natural that all this fits into the best traditions of Russian charity. However, there is another important feature in this process. It is the atmosphere of favourable socially psychological climate created in each of the regions where RussNeft operates. And it is to the obvious advantage of both local community and production activity of the company.

Source: "Nezavisimaya Gazeta"