Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Encyclopedia
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
that promotes the interests of business in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It has over 1,000 members, which include both private and state-owned companies, factories, and foreign and Russian plants.
Its current president is Alexander Shokhin, vice-premier of Russia from 1991 to 1994, and subsequently a Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
depute for eight years. Its current vice-president, Igor Yurgens, has been an adviser to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and the Trade Unions Council, and was chairman of the General Confederation of Trade Unions
General Confederation of Trade Unions
The General Confederation of Trade Unions or GCTU is an international trade union confederation. It was founded April 16, 1992 and incorporates members from the Commonwealth of Independent States....
in 1996. He is a graduate from Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. Yurgens is sometimes interviewed by Western media on issues concerning Russian industry.
At a meeting of the lobby in July 2009, telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s executives portrayed the most popular VoIP programs like Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
and ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
as encroaching foreign entities that the government must control.