in two thousand and fourteen second after europe slapped sanctions on russia because of its onyx ation of crimea. personally advised putin to impose counter sanctions that put firm adore at the heart of international politics caught between two worlds right now things are a bit difficult between russia and germany i feel like the child of divorced parents you love your mom and dad but they're arguing and you don't know why you just want them to get along because you love them or you. it's mid february there's more snow than usual in the southwestern russian town of list ski in the province of border nets it's minus twenty degrees.

district administrator victoria chefs of is visiting stefan door a german born businessman who is one of russia's biggest dairy farmers. the view from the air shows how big the farm is. this helicopter belongs to one of duis friends a fellow businessman and a member of the russian parliament. everything you see here is ours we have one hundred thousand hectors and list including forty five thousand on this side of the don river all in one piece that's about four hundred fifty square kilometers one hundred. forty five thousand hectares worth of fields and buildings plenty of room for cultivating fodder

breeding seeds and housing livestock the average german farmer has an average of just sixty hector's being the german farmers federation sent me as an internal i could have gone to greenland or tanzania but i wanted something different. that was in one thousand nine hundred nine when the soviet union still existed at the time still thought that he would take over his parents' farm in germany but he was captivated by the opportunities offered by this vast country like that of farmers meatspace and there's much less of it in germany than here in russia and when i arrived here i saw the opportunities and things got more and more exciting i met the right people and things took off from there for the lord if someone had told me at the start that this would be a big business one day of those days i wouldn't have believed them that he watched spin just you know not. to call it a big business is an understatement echo neiva has more than seventy thousand

cattle throughout russia carbs and heifers a kept outside they seem content despite the bitter cold. district administrator victoria shoved off was there in two thousand and two when door was looking to take over to form a state collective farm the russians were skeptical at first and didn't want to make things too easy for him what. you asked is whether you could work in our district. we gave him businesses that were on the brink of collapse the crisis of the one nine hundred ninety s. really hit our agricultural sector hard and he got the operations done without a. thought. at the first public meeting in church at that quiet dawn

collective the first that stefan was to take on and he introduced himself to locals . in it can you with the german had once owned the collective and he did. yes and join. me to give those older folks said that german ran things properly. that. maybe this fellow will. give him a chance to work with the board. stephan doors original goal was to increase seed production the home of we also took on some of the cowards we wanted to get rid of them but the district administrators said if you do that you're going to cause mean jobs and if you kill jobs you're finished but i'm grateful that he made me keep them if you can stop. the cows plus's agricultural machinery business have become do is main source of income by

european standards the growth of his company is almost impossible to imagine. there is bonus charmaine location we have one hundred thousand hectors and eight hundred thousand dairy cows we also have facilities in kaluga you know was a big human or unbroken course turnover in two thousand and fifteen was one hundred forty five million euros the business employs almost four thousand people and they keep hiring dairy farmers in the west of fighting for survival but russia's demand for milk remains huge the state subsidizes dairy farmers and and the others can hardly keep up with the demand is it's here. noise down and this is the nearest facility that's fully up and running that's what they went into operation at the end of two thousand and fifteen we took on another one on january tenth it's fully stocked with cow that's the place runs twenty four seven including christmas and

new. moyer. each of the two thousand eight hundred cals is taken to the milking facility three times a day every cow provides about thirty liters of milk per day. is not about what i was treated as well from day one people didn't resent me because i'm german. and that's important because this country's been through a lot. of. german visitors are confronted everywhere by reminders of the war. local residents refer to the fighting around the village of. opened his first business as the second battle of stalingrad. it was part of the great patriotic war as the russians call it. the conflict has shaped russia's perception of itself to this very day.

and there's a monument in the forest near the solution. the s.s. shot twenty four civilians that in front of their children. really grisly far from death but i went there once with a village priest and an old woman who had seen the germans execute her parents. for that center chill down my spine. on may ninth the anniversary of the end of the war we were all amazed that stefan doe was there. he laid wreaths and asked us to forgive his grandfather's generation and his nation it was very moving. after that everyone accepted him.

door has helped to insulate and partly modernize the local school. is now a model russian village duis company supplies the school and kindergarten with free food. unemployment here is almost zero and more people are moving to the area. during donates about six hundred thousand euros every year to charitable causes his business built the kindergarden. the local residents a door is a hero. this is our wall newspaper called where home begins everyone adults and children too should be told about the people who always help us and support us no matter how unusual our requests might seem.

it is that even if. stefan door rules his russian empire from here he makes executive decisions and directs his staff in fluent russian. you will want to know as you have in this. limousines business going over. it was read i didn't study russian formally i just sat around with other internals sometimes we had a bottle of vodka crazy i had no that's how i learned the language but it was a very rural and informal dialect. when i go to moscow and talk to people because they'd be really confused but over time i've learned proper russian.

spends a lot of time on the road. it takes at least two hours to drive from the regional capital vote on ish. the road winds past fields and sheds this is a knievel country dewar's company is by far the largest milk producer in the region . the city of oral nash has a population of one million and is the industrial economic and cultural center of southwest russia. has an appointment with the deputy governor viktor logging off to discuss the subsidies for two thousand and seventeen. the two men no one trust each other. how much money can do or

expect this year this is almost like a state visit. and they could even. get in there with. the students and before the so. a lot of people asked why russia should subsidize agriculture we could import dutch cheese and canadian wheat and sell them up petroleum but those people have stopped complaining it's clear that russia needs to be self-sufficient when it comes to food production will be no it's almost mean subsidies. and that's good for farmers. and so on when he gets my ding. russia or invests about four hundred million euros in the milk production industry every year in two thousand and sixteen stephan door received subsidies worth fifteen million euros russia's tense

relationship with germany and the rest of europe does not affect relations between daughter and logged in of. the three he never its people like stefan and i and many others have a good normal relationship of course the sanctions are good for us they've helped us to strengthen our agricultural sector. with your name and i told some european representatives that i'd like to keep the sanctions for another ten years . but if they were grateful for them. because they're good for agriculture. with us that we will continue to strengthen and develop domestic production. and we are glad that she definitely is

a part of that. was you were soybeans. also sells agricultural machinery there was a huge demand for it when he first arrived in russia in the early years he sold east german equipment then american machines the business did quite well for many years and then the problem started. and there were three really difficult period the worst was in two thousand and nine we had all that a large number of agricultural machinery russian banks some funding and then the financial crisis struck in two thousand after funding dried up western banks couldn't help either. we were paying interest rates of thirty percent nobody was buying out of the bank already owned a house and my wife and i had to move in with our parents it was a three room house. you know. who it is glad that he didn't get rid of those

cows they now provide sixty five percent of his turnover. i am actually glad that i went through all that until then everything had gone well the sky was the limit board but when you hit bottom it gives you a new perspective and you take much with you when you start new projects. we're doing fine again but i'm sure we'll see tough times again i was. that night during wraps up his business in bora nash and drives off. he decides to stop at one of his dairy farms it's located along the way.

there are lots of statistics here on milk production doored runs an orderly business after all he's german. he wants to know when production will increase soon an employee says quote. this facility alone is home to two thousand eight hundred dairy cows do or owns a total of more than twenty seven thousand they produce seven hundred tons of milk per day by comparison the average german dairy farm has fifty six cows a me a fraction of doers herd. now door is headed for moscow and the annual agro from trade fair the russian capital is only six hundred kilometers away

a short hop compared to a trip to one of his facilities in novel seabiscuit three thousand six hundred kilometers from here. is always on the go he also commutes between russia and germany where his company headquarters are located he doesn't have much of a private life and he doesn't want to talk about it. i like working in my car i can make phone calls because there's a good signal almost everywhere and if i could be on the road for five hours. but it goes by like it was nothing. he arrives in moscow at two in the morning. moscow one of the world's largest cities it has a metro population of seventeen million. a

statue of lenin still towers over the trade fair site a rare reminder of the soviet era agro farm is the most important even of its kind in russia it's both a trade fair and a political platform. a deputy prime minister is here the dairy farmers want to know what's going to happen to their subsidies and they're concerned about the tense relations between russia and europe the people here know and trust stefan door he's one of the most powerful people in the russian dairy industry and a putin supporter. russia can certainly use the milk his company produces and the times he has to the west. need a summary of the world is like coming increasingly global so is our economy. we're

growing more into demonstrations where mr brady thank you premier and lots why it's important for us to have people like stefan there. i mean when i was there watching had our share he's great for russia and for our economy views and things and he's also a sort of diplomat i mean my up there at the park with nicky and he can break down political barriers on everybody on the diplomatic screw food first me my ability to scale it but here. president putin personally awarded door russian citizenship in two thousand and fourteen perhaps. out of gratitude as the president heard about the citizenship district three well i broke down and cried like a child before life here was like living with a woman you're not married too much everything's fine you're generally accepted but you're still a foreigner and people are aware of that about this is an evident on the.

after the e.u. impose sanctions on russia in two thousand and fourteen door advised putin to react with counter sanctions but door sais he has not switched sides. he's providing i'm convinced that my proposal was correct when i don't like this i'm for an eye mentality when silly sanctions have no place in the twenty first century they don't work they might against a small country and if the whole world joins in it's keep floating but it's ridiculous to impose sanctions on a huge country like russia given that he's a long long particularly since only half the world's countries are taking part in these little he's in the subsequent. russian farmers and food producers benefit from the fact that their country no longer imports western food products stefan door is one of the winners the milk market is booming and turnover is increasing in

late two thousand and sixteen dollars started processing his own milk he's exhibiting his new dairy products for the first time in moscow yogurt cream curds and whole milk under the brand name academy of dairy sciences the products are said to be high quality and pure not watered down with palm oil like other brands do is milk containers feature a picture of a happy cows. the german equivalent of russia's agro farm is the goon of all her or green week. a huge international agricultural trade fair that's held every year in berlin. companies and individuals set up foods many offer food samples. russia or is not officially represented here this year but stefan door is here as

a private citizen russia has not taken part in the last two affairs because of the tense political climate. and russia used to have a big exhibition in featuring the country's different regions. it was one of the most popular exhibitions a lot of our visitors now say they really missed it and i did to. them if. it's dairy farmers day at the green of. perhaps they resent stephon door support for president putin's counter sanctions these cost german dairy farmers an estimated two billion euros a year in lost turnover at a time when they are fighting for economic survival but there's no sign of animosity towards stefan door after all he's involved in the german russian i grow political dialogue on behalf of the german agriculture ministry he's seen as

someone who can open doors to the russian markets. the. question is i'm a bit very important to keep talking that's better to talk and then to do something reckless for jeff on der has always done a good job for us we need contacts with russia and i hope that he can continue his work in that area. we're back in russia. this is the village of bush africa. stephon door is open. another dairy facility here his twelfth he's also going to lay the cornerstone for his thirteenth both businesses will have room for two thousand eight hundred cows these two new facilities will make it even more difficult for german dairy farmers to export milk to russia. but the

local residents are happy to see a new business everyone seems to be here it seems like old times children have arrived from the local school. and even the company's milk mascot has turned up. political leaders from kaluga and the surrounding area here too to cheer stefan door and his russian milk empire maybe them milk is a hot commodity right now. i used to complain about bad prices. but not anymore.

stephan door is truly in his element but he'd be even happier if the political situation would return to normal. one of his prized possessions is this hockey stick. ice hockey maybe russia's most popular sport and door has learned to play it fairly well. the and his company team often take on the town officials from lisc it's a bit of russian style fun and camaraderie. but do are says hockey can also provide insight into russian business methods. in germany business. but in russia it's like hockey is fast and it's rough but it follows the rules except. unlike football there's no point in taking

a dive in hockey the best players power their way to the goal quickly and they don't make a lot of mistakes. we lost six one but we have a lot of fun. it's a great game we don't take it very seriously we agreed ahead of time that we weren't going to play too hard because we all have to go to work tomorrow.

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