«Any one can be a leader»
Eugenie: In 1993 there were 5 thousand people working in our research institute. Today there are no more than 2 thousand left. Corr. Have they fired 3 thousand people? Eugenie: No, they haven’t fired anybody. Just stopped paying the salary, and people left by themselves. The state never says openly, «You are not needed any more». It just stops paying the salary. But one can’t blink the facts – the years of study, your knowledge, plans for the future – it all lost sense, failed, and nobody needed it anymore. I made that out about the year of 1992, but at that time I already had my own business, though not my own enterprise yet. Corr. How is that? Eugenie: We had contract projects. I gathered a team of four programmers, we made up what was then called a «temporary work group» and started the development of a large computerization system. As a matter of fact, this contract was made with our «P.O. box» institute. But as soon as it was not capable of doing this work, the «P.O. box» administration had to meet all our conditions: specially defined wage rate, individual salaries and things like that. The contract was officially signed up with some other company, and we got a certain percent of the payroll by agreement. We have done that job, but it was there and then I understood we were losing much of our profit working through dummy firms. What sense does it make to give away the money that was not at all easy to get? And we had to give away quite a lot, about 30 to 40 percent, just because we couldn’t find time to organize ourselves. To make a long story short, I set my sights on the registration of my own company in summer’93. Corr. Did anybody help you with that? Eugenie: Yes, of course. Some guys I knew lent me money to pay taxes and registration fees, as I was flat broke at that time. That’s what the help was about. I did the rest myself – made up the regulations, went through the registration procedure. Corr. You never doubted that the registration fees will pay themselves, did you? Eugenie: I never had any doubts about that. Don’t know why I was so sure. Though one must admit that «Cryptosoft» – this is my company’s name – was registered in September 1993, and we got our first contract only in May 1994. It means that I spent about nine months as a director and accountant, keeping «zero» accounts and being officially in the staff of the institute. Corr. How did you manage to get your first contract? Eugenie: Thanks to not wasting the money we got before «Cryptosoft» was registered, but spending it to buy three computers and all necessary documentation. By the end of 1994 we already had some projects on the way, and they interested our customer. Corr. Who was that first customer? Eugenie: I work in a very specific area – computer security. That’s why my customers are exclusively Ministry of Defense and FAPSI. In the beginning of 1995 «Cryptosoft» got a small order from the Ministry of Defense, then a larger one, then one more, still larger... Corr. How did you select people for your company? Eugenie: Why, I knew everybody in my «home» institute. There were 50, maybe 100 people in any Soviet «P.O. box» who kept the things going. If one took away these 50 people, the other ones – no matter how many of them, even dozens of thousands – would just have nothing to do. Unfortunately it’s understood by the few among these dozens of thousands. Corr. These 50 people, are they in any sense special, or do they just have a differing attitude to the work they are doing? Eugenie: They do treat their work in a different way. They are enthusiasts, they come to work and do the job they love, even if they don’t get paid for it. They think of it like of their calling, and it is most important. By the way, very few women in our institute are thus devoted to their work. The majority comes to work mainly to have a good gossip at tea-time. To be brief, I managed to gather all talented and energetic young people in «Cryptosoft». Many of those who wish to work with me simply haven’t got the education required. Most of the people I select for my company are graduates of the Department of Mechanics and Mathematics of MSU and KGB Higher School, as I need skilled system programmers. Corr. What is your main driving-force? Eugenie:Myself. It’s humiliating for me to be idle. Corr. Wait a minute! You don’t have to idle: you can come to work at eight, leave at five, and do the job you love. Just don’t get paid for it. Eugenie: The thing is, I am used to having money. Corr. You mean getting paid is just a habit, don’t you? Are you not working for «filthy lucre»? Eugenie: For that, too, but it’s not the essential. The main thing for me is feeling the wholeness of life that I find in my work, in the programs I write.
Corr. ...That you wanted to jump for joy and shout «What a genius I am!», because you have gone, so to say, beyond your own limits. Right? Eugenie:Yes, exactly. Corr. But can you today feel that wholeness of life without money? Eugenie: Not today, without any doubt. Corr. So who are you now: a math scientist or a businessman? Eugenie: None of these. Unfortunately, I am not a mathematician now, but I am glad to say I am not a businessman. Though I should not say that business is a «second quality» occupation. I have, of course, a special business which does not do with purchase and sale. My business is based on negotiations with the customer, and my aim is to make him feel desperate need for my programs and systems. And it’s far from easy. Corr. I am sure the most successful negotiations won’t make you walk on air, like mathematics. But can you still enjoy them? Eugenie: No. It is quite a tiresome business. It seldom happens that you are on the same wavelength with your customer. Usually one has to take in with the client, show things in a different light for a person to see what they are about and understand their value. One does not succeed at the first and even the second try, but such problems are unavoidable. Corr. Who can rely you on in your life? Eugenie: On myself, mainly. Of course, I can lean on my guys when planning new projects, I can count on them to do their best and succeed. My family is also helpful during hard times and failings that are not uncommon in our business. Corr. What kind of people do you prefer to mix with? Eugenie: For me it’s fun to be with self-made people, real personalities. There are few of them among us, the majority act according to stereotypes. They are not interesting to me. They always believe that somebody is indebted to them. For example, that the state must pay them the detained salary. Corr. You speak from the point of an employer. But if I am a wage worker I would naturally want my labor to be paid for. Isn’t it just normal? Eugenie: No, it isn’t. It’s normal to leave at once if you stop getting paid. The people who can stand five months’ delay in getting their salaries hold to their positions because they know for sure: nobody else needs them and they won’t get a kopeck for their work anywhere else. Corr. As a rule, the only alternative to five months’ delay is a change of profession. People who have spent many years and effort to get a profession cannot give it up easily. Eugenie: One should see that education as a starting point, something that forms general culture of thinking. You cannot expect your profession to feed you all your life. You must try new things. The more you try, the better chances you have to find what you need. Corr. Do you have any definite standards of success? Eugenie: No. You can’t seriously think of a new contract as real success, can you? Success is something you can never achieve. In this sense I am a maximalist. Corr. Well, can you then give a clear definition of failure? Eugenie: No, not of a failure either. I think I can say w h o is a failure. It is a person who doesn’t want anything more in his life. Corr. You were the only one among 5 thousand workers of your institute who managed to found your own successful enterprise. Are you a special person in any way? Eugenie: I don’t think so. I haven’t done anything unique that nobody else could do. Corr. But nobody else has done it. Eugenie: Many people are afraid that their own business will make their life much more difficult, that they’ll have to hand out a lot of bribes, «share» the income etc. It is a mistake. At the start of my business career I shared my considerations with a friend who has his own business already. I will always remember what he answered me: «Don’t give bribes, and no one will be able to take them». The second inhibition is based on doubts of the following kind: «Am I able to do it? What if I fail and fold up?» One shouldn’t get confused by the thoughts like that. You won’t succeed, so what? It won’t be any worse that now. The main thing here is your personal determination. Some people are fighters by nature, others need to make an effort, possibly with the help of a psychologist. I used to believe that there are people who can be leaders and others who can’t. My life experience tells me that it is not so.
Interview conducted by Julia Kachalova
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My companion, Eugenie Matveyev, belongs to the group of people who have achieved everything in their life with their own will and mind. His example debunks one of the deep-rooted myths in Russian mentality – that a successful business is impossible to start without initial capital and criminal connections. 
