Emin Agarlov gets another burst of energy, picks up his cell phone on
business, apologizes for interrupting the conversation, and continues drawing
geometric figures on a sheet of paper. Is he still in contact with Donald
Trump? "No. You do not call a US president every day. "A look through and out of the office reminds you where you are actually
located. In the Crocus City, just outside the Moscow authoring MKAD, already in
the Krasnogorsk region, in a 90-hectare satellite city. 14 skyscrapers will
stand here once. At least that's what the generous planning looks like. It is
already a center of business and entertainment. Inside the shopping mall,
lovers of luxury items and ordinary consumers are separated by an escalator
ride. The Times Square of New York, the Rockefeller Center, skating in summer
were rebuilt. Then maybe a drink at the marina on the Moskva.Everything seems possible here and will be presented accordingly. Artificially
created, but suitable as proof of the superiority of capital and its associated
system.Anyway, it's another universe. Where the everyday image of Russia disappears,
one dives into a world of billionaire business and relationships with the
highest circles, which one must never know and sometimes do not want to get to
know. Because Emin Agarlov is a businessman, but actually a passionate musician
and one of Russia's biggest pop stars, won awards neatly lined up in the room.
From the BBC, twice for the best single, or once for the best album in England.
Behind it is the father. Aras Agarlov, Azerbaijan-born contractor and
billionaire, smiles from the front page of Forbes magazine. The World Cup
stadiums in Kaliningrad and Rostov-on-Don are his contribution to this World
Cup.Continue talking. How and when did the paths actually cross with Trump? A
meeting that was to play a medial role in the Russian involvement in Trump's
presidential election years later.
rich and beautifulIt happened six years ago in Las Vegas. Trump still invested in real estate and
long since in gossip media presence. For example, in the Miss Universe 2012
event. Emin Agarlov was a guest and was looking for a beauty for a music video.
So why not take the winner right away, the American Olivia Culpo? "She
wanted 5000 dollars for the shoot. Per day. "Agarlov hired her. "But
only for two days."One year later, Women's Election 2013 in Crocus City on the outskirts of
Moscow. The Agarlovs had acquired the license. And the guest of honor Donald
Trump at the same time. Again Emin used the acquaintance for his music. Trump
says as a video actor in the title "In Another Life" one of his
favorite sentences: "You're fired."Fired was the beginning of a confused story. One in which Emin Agarlov and his
father played a role when a Russian lawyer claimed that she had information
about Hillary Clinton, which was profitable information for her competitor
Trump in the US election campaign.
Critical
Emin Agarlov smiles. Charming, of course. End of the topic. Much more disturbs him the relationship of Western Europe to Russia. "Russia is always portrayed as an enemy. That speaks against a logical and good economic connection. "But what about Trump and Europe? Good relationships look different. "Trump was always a businessman, and he was always the way he is now. That's no surprise. "In the future Agarlov wants to invest in environmentally friendly traffic. Electric cars and the necessary infrastructure as a business idea. He is advised by Georg Redlhammer, a Upper Austrian. The "Mobilistic", aside MIAS, the biggest car show in Russia taking place in the Crocus City, is supposed to make a start this coming August. A vision of the future? "Maybe," says Agarlov, "but people will accept it as soon as they realize they are getting the money."Back to the metro station Mjakinino. Back to a familiar world. The doors close and lock the passengers into the past. The fall of communism has not affected many carriages of the Moscow subway. So you rumbles in infinitely perceived time intervals from station to station to the interior of the huge city. One and a half hours you need to the center. Time that used to be used to read books. Moscow was once famous for its high readership in the underground. Today, like everywhere else in the world, this is done by the smartphone.
Only in the Abat-Street, the first pedestrian street in Moscow, in which
people step on each other's feet, a loud screaming man keeps the memory alive.
What is he doing there for the best? "Pushkin," says one in four
listeners. Holds the index finger in front of the closed mouth. One has to
listen quietly in such rare moments.Moscow remains the city of contrasts, between the present and the past. To the
pain line shrill in its center. Dinner at White Rabbit on the 16th floor, Panna
Cotta, decadently served in a shell, which in turn almost disappears in a
spectacular tin bowl filled with ice cubes.
rightly GewiesenOne thinks of this oversized Lenin standing in front of the Luzhniki Stadium on
a pedestal looking towards the arriving. With a strict view. No wonder,
capitalism is raging at its feet and FIFA is selling its fan articles.It is enough.Back to the pretty quiet hotel. However, deprived of liveliness and reminiscent
of darker times, once one emerges from a metro station that sounds like, for
example, a sudden sneeze, but is called Nizhegorodskaya.
Original article KURIER 17-06.2018 (german): click Here
WorldCup - opportunity: an oligarch, a consultant, a fight for the environment
KURIERT article
If the world will be supplied with the pictures of the World Cup in the coming weeks, a satellite city on the outskirts of Moscow will play a major role. Crocus City is the name of a project of the entrepreneurial family Agalarov. It is hosting the FIFA International Braodcasting Center. What is still considered to be the center of entertainment is to be an ideas factory in the next few years and to help rethink Russian society. Modern, environmentally friendly mobility, characterized by sustainability is the main theme.And a native of Linz, the former ORF business journalist Georg Redlhammer mixes with it. As marketing director of large car companies in Austria and Switzerland, he was commissioned to work in Moscow in 2008. There, the 51-year-old get to know the Vice President of the Crocus Group, Emin Agalarov, also one of Russia's biggest pop stars and became his personal adviser. An insight into a Russian-Austrian connection, which is planned as a success story.
KURIER: The World Cup is approaching, and with it worldwide attention. A great opportunity that will benefit you?
Georg Redlhammer: In Crocus City, the International Broadcast Center of the World Cup will be located, which means that many journalists will come to the 90 ha satellite city in northwestern Moscow. There is the largest expo hall, the largest concert hall in Russia, restaurants, a yacht club, a luxury shopping mall another for ordinary consumers, built in the example of Time Square and the Rockefeller Center of New York.
KURIER: But you have a plan that is unique to Russia. What is your idea?
For years we have been the organizer of the big motor show in Moscow. In the wake of the crisis, the automakers have moved away from the concept of automobile shows. Outdated. In August 2018, I will organize a technology festival, Mobilistic'18, which shows how mobility and logistics are interconnected. We see a strong development towards e-mobility, autonomous driving. And there is the concept of smart cities.
KURIERWhat does that mean?
We also talk about different forms of energy, such as solar, wind energy, the water balance, the possibility of recycling, making freshwater from salt water. A smartcity uses the latest technologies. Cities that show how to live in them in the future, cities that focus on the environment and sustainability. For example, Dubai has a plan to autonomously manage half the traffic in a few years.
KURIER But how is that supposed to work in Moscow, an agglomeration of traffic bordering on insanity? According to the stereotype, it is almost impossible to combine business in Russia with any environmental technology.
First, it's not a cliché, it really is. Efficiency and sustainability are not topics for the Russians, let alone in Moscow. Because you are stuck in traffic for two to six hours, that's why electric mobility reaches its limits. On the other hand, fuel is very cheap in this oil and gas export country. When I came to Russia in 2008, it was all about selling SUVs, 6-cylinder, big machines, best in black, consumption no matter. This has not changed anything. But now is the time to share visions.
KURIER How do you want to change that?
I have found with Emin Agalarov, he is one of the country's most famous pop stars and vice president of the Crocus Group, a visionary who shares this dream with me. When we talk about the environment in Russia, there must always be a business behind it, then something has to pay off. Money talks. In 2019 and 2020, all major premium manufacturers with electric vehicles will come to Russia. You will have your first point of contact in the Crocus Group. At Mobilistic'18 we also have the opportunity to reach 600,000 to one million people.
KURIER Your strategy?
As part of a UN project, we are committed to investing in sustainability as one of five future cities. And we want to put another focus on training. A program that starts with ten-year-olds that not only combines the daily gymnastics lesson with a web-based training program that also addresses poverty in the world, including electromobility, the resources of air and water. The Crocus Group will initiate a pilot project. And then we hope to spread this program with state support throughout Russia. In China, it has just been possible to integrate this program into more than 1000 schools.
KURIER Again, one pokes in a Russian cliché: Why should an oligarch deal with such things, if he could make other, so aimed at quick profits business?
Aras Agalarov, Emin's father, is often referred to in the media as an oligarch. This is relative. I believe, according to Forbes, he ranks approximately at number 800 of the richest list. He came from Azerbaijan, started trading in souvenirs, later founded a computer fair, and established his standing as a contractor. He adopts time and budget arrangements, in an industry where corruption always plays a certain role. I think Putin also appreciates that. That's why he was commissioned to build two World Cup stadiums. Namely in Kaliningrad and Rostov-on-Don.
With a European first technology festival on Mobility and Logistics, Crocus Group gives a preview on how future mobility will look like and how logistics will change our life. MOBILISTIC´18 will run in parallel to MIAS (Moscow International Automobil Salon) from 29th August to 9th September 2018. Two men stand behind this futuristic concept: Emin...
