Russia-I Love My IT Pros

So our CEE Headquarter Sever Team headed to Russia this week. The team has a lot of changes the pervious IT Pro Lead moved to Dubai to run IT Pro for Microsot Middle East Africa. The teams BG Lead (manager) is moving to Slovakia to run the Microsoft Marketing Organization, so there was a lot of discussions on where the startegy would go in this fiscal year. My acting lead Anton is doing an amazing job and I am so pleased with teh plans and how well the team is working together and driving a great strategy without a manager. We are also launching a Women in Technology Microsoft Chapter and exeternal user group. The team took us to great dinners after very long days, and yes we did have some vodka. You will love the picture of Csaba with the after taste of Horseradish Vodka. I had to head to the Windows Client BG Leads offsite in Milan, Italy-so I missed the great site seeing tour across Moscow. You’ll see some great pictures-wish I was there. The poor team, some how I got a free upgrade to a suit and my team-plus my boss just got single rooms…

Let me give you some interesting facts around Moscow. Moscow is the capital of Russian Federation. The city area is about 30 km in diameter and the population reaches to almost 10 million people. To be able to find the right building on any street, it’s useful to know that in Moscow house numbering starts from the center. Also, the odd-number houses are located to the left, and the even-number houses – to the right. So, if you’re looking for Tverskaya st., #2, for example, it will be located very close to the Kremlin (which is the most central place in Moscow), on your right-hand side (if you turn your back to the Kremlin). The main historical core of Moscow is Kremlin (a fortress – on photo), which is located in the core of the city. Tverskaya street, which is the main avenue of the city, starts from the Kremlin and heads north to become Leningradskoye Shosse, which leads directly to St. Petersburg (750km).Moscow has a radial structure, and the Garden Ring road defines the center of the city. A smaller Boulevard Ring defines the city’s downtown. In august 21, 1991, there was a small revolution set in Moscow. The government was changed and there had been tanks for several days in the centrum of Moscow. At this time the Soviet Union was over, but it was a strange time for some period. Also a little earlier there were the first democratic mayor elections in Moscow. 1991 was the beginning of the Democracy, people were excited, waiting for changes, but it turned out to be hard process. Good times till my next trip in November.