it's a serious story join the conversation here on the job and you on twitter and on facebook . beat the germans new and surprising aspects of life and culture in germany. u.s. american kid news that takes a look at germany it is increasing at their traditions every day lives and language . and. would have. like a trick of d.w. dot com the germans. two events made deafened famous first president putin personally awarded him russian citizenship 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. it's mid february there's more snow than usual in the southwestern russian town of list ski in the province of voronezh it's minus twenty degrees. district administrator victoria shifts of is visiting stefan to. 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 doers friends a fellow businessman and a member of the russian parliament. everything you see here is ours we have one hundred thousand hectares and list gate including forty five thousand on this side of the dome 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 head tez think 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 unlike that of farmers meatspace and there's much less of it in germany and then here in russia when i arrived here of i saw the opportunities and things got more and more exciting i met the right people and things took off from there for the annoyed if someone had told me at the start that this would be a big business one day just as i wouldn't have believed in it he watched spain just need. to call it a big business is an understatement echo never has more than seventy thousand cattle throughout russia carbs and heifers and kept outside they seem content

despite the bitter cold. district administrator victoria chefs off was there in two thousand and two when doing was looking to take over the former state collective farm the russians were skeptical at first and didn't want to make things too easy for him what are you currently have you asked us whether you could work in our district. we gave in to 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. jason joins. me to give both the older folks said that german ran things properly. maybe this fellow will. give them a chance to work with you pretty at the board. original goal was to increase seed production the home of but we also took on some of the count was we wanted to get rid of them but the district administrators said if you do that you're gone how's 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's bona charmaine location we have one hundred thousand hectors and eight hundred thousand dairy cows we also have facilities in kaluga you know was a biscuit 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 i did it went into operation at the end of two thousand and fifteen we took on another one on january tenth it's fully stocked with cowards the place runs twenty four seven including christmas and new. 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. 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 s.s. shot twenty four civilians there in front of their children. really grisly. but i went there once with the village priest and an old woman. seen the germans execute her parents the officials that sent to 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. do it has helped to insulate and partly modernize the local school.

is now a model russian village dualists company supplies the school in kindergarten with free food. unemployment here is almost zero and more people are moving to the area. do it donates about six hundred thousand euros every year to charitable causes his business built the kindergarden. the local residents say 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. even if it.

rules his russian empire from here he makes executive decisions and directs his staff in fluent russian. you will want to know that she had this. limousines business. it was read i didn't study russian formally i just sat around with other internals and sometimes we had a bottle of vodka a crazy i had and 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 she adds this is a knievel country dewar's company is by far the largest milk producer in the region . the city of voto 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. i mean if you want me could you can. get in here with. the students and before the see. a lot of people asked why russia should subsidize agriculture we could import dutch cheese and canadian wheat and sell them our petroleum but those people have stopped complaining it's clear that russia needs to be self-sufficient when it comes to food production to be in no it's almost mean subsidies for. and that's good for farmers. as often see one video deciding to. russia or invest about four hundred million euros in the milk production industry every year in two thousand and sixteen steffen door received subsidies worth fifteen million euros russia's tense relationship with germany and the rest of europe does not affect relations between

dortmund logging off. in europe us the. now average people like stephan 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. i told some european representatives that i'd like to keep the sanctions for another ten years . but if they we're grateful for them because they are good for agriculture. when we will continue to strengthen and develop domestic production. and we are glad that stefan is a part of that. so what business. 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 bang some funding and then the financial crisis struck the funding dried up on the 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. do it is glad that he didn't get rid of those cows they now provide sixty five percent of his turnover.

really glad that i went through all that until then everything had gone well the sky was delimit board but when you hit bottom it gives you a new perspective and you take that with you when you start new projects. we're doing fine again one of but i'm sure we'll see tough times against what i was could see. that night the word wraps up his business in burra 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. 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 doors 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. 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 duerr 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 the construction industry. and lots why it's important for us to have people like stefan do. no i mean when i was there watching how the affair he's great for russia and for our economy isn't the same and he's also a sort of diplomat or at the park or needy and he can break down political barriers for me to pull my kids' school from first name i am pretty square were brought 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. 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 good flaking but it's ridiculous to impose sanctions on a huge country like russia dignities a long view particularly since only half of the world's countries are taking part of these little his mishaps what. 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 guna vodka 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 blue nevada fairs

because of the tense political climate. 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 i did to. them and. it's dairy farmers day at the green of vodka perhaps they resent stefan 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 agro 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

a mob it's very important to keep talking let's back to talk and i'm to do something reckless. 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 opening 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 moviedom milk is a hot commodity right now. i used to complain about bad prices. but not anymore. stephan duerr 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. i saw key maybe russia's most popular sports and door has learned to play it fairly well. he and his company team often take on the town officials from lisc it's a bit of russian style fun and camaraderie. but do a 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 exactly. 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. fix. we lost six one but we have a lot of fun. it's a great game we don't take it very seriously we're great 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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more challenging our future starting november nights on. this is deja vu news live from berlin calling a snap election appears to have paid off big for shinzo. exit polls are projecting a landslide victory for the japanese prime minister's ruling conservatives this follows a short campaign that focused on.