BRICS Business Magazine English Edition No.3

Those who return home after an extensive residence abroad can be invaluable sources of insight into a foreign country. More often than not, they are able to provide an altogether more thorough and well-rounded account of a place than what is typically found on TV or in the pages of newspapers. After all, the sum total of relationships and interaction, understanding of a country’s inner workings, as well as experiences of success and failure all bring forth a deeper understanding of a nation, where it has been and where it may be going.


While a sojourn abroad may not be practical for everyone, it is our aim to foster a curiosity for the authentic and a willingness to look beyond the common clichés and stereotypes. Nothing can be as frustrating as encountering the same unfortunate misconceptions of a place you know well, trotted out time and again. As much as anything, such superficiality stunts opportunity for collaboration and growth. My experience has shown that both at home and abroad, the five BRICS nations are often perceived through the lens of an array of clichés. The time has come to shatter this deeply-entrenched, if rather useless tradition. In our newest issue, the task at hand is to present Russia not as the “riddle wrapped up in an enigma” it has been said to be, but as an approachable and understandable country whose future development can be–in fact must be–influenced.