Sergey Anatolyevich Petrov (Russian: Серге́й Анато́льевич Петро́в; born 1954, Orenburg) is a Deputy of the State Duma, member of Spravedlivaya Rossiya political party, member of the Budget and Taxes State Duma Committee.
Founder and beneficiary of the ROLF Group (the first diversified automotive business in the Russian market), President of the ROLF Group of Companies until 2004.
Biography
Petrov was born in Orenburg in 1954.
After graduating from school in 1971 he entered The Higher Military Aviation School in Orenburg.
In 1975 he achieved the rank of an officer and special qualification of a pilot-engineer. He worked as an instructor in the Military Aviation School in Orenburg.
In 1982 he was dismissed from the Soviet Army at the rank of Major and expelled from The Communist Party of the Soviet Union for anti-Soviet propaganda and participation in secret democratic organizations.[1]
In 1987 he graduated from Soviet Trade Institute with a Degree in Economics of Labor.
In 1989 became Director of car rental department at Rozek.
In August 1991 he founded his own company ROLF Group.
In 2004 he resigned as the President of the Company and handed control over to employed managers. He was still responsible for ROLF’s long-term development strategy.
On 2 December 2007 he was elected Deputy of the State Duma.[2]
Wealth
51st place in Russian Forbes list, 2009;[3] 50th place in “Vlast I Dengi” (“State and money”) list, 2010.[4]
Personal life
Married, has two children. Petrov is an alpine skier, a cyclist and a collector of Russian-Japanese War ship models.
Views on business in Russia
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“Unfortunately, business in Russia is defenceless and businessmen in Russia have a very limited range of ways to protect their business” |
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“Business is not just for the money. Money is like blood in the veins, it allows business to exist.” |
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“The most profitable business is a fair one. This principle is vital, and all others are complementary.” |
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[7]
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“If we want serious investors to stay [in Russia] for a long time, we need changes. If we send no signal that the country is on its way to democratization, the lion’s share of western investors won’t be interested to enter the Russian market.” |
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[8]
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“Businessmen need fair play: they should not be afraid that tomorrow someone will come and take everything away, saying “Look, you have drugs in your pocket”. Unfortunately, at the current moment, the state and business in Russia are on the different sides of the fence” |
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[9]
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“My views are liberal, but I understand that the best combination for Russia is business and social democracy. We must persuade people that only business can drag Russia from this mire, that business and economics are synonyms.” |
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[10]
Political views
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“I was sick of communism and it did not matter whether it was good or bad for me personally.” |
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[11]
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“It’s clear that, as long as we do not have competition between political parties, we could not have any effective campaigns against corruption.” |
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[12]
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“Russia needs basic democracy reforms to show to investors that it has started moving forward. We should make a clear decision to create a favorable investment climate and a friendly background for businesses. Only If we start it, will authoritative officials have no chance to survive”. |
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[13]
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“When not disturbed by strange rules, professional businessmen can contribute to the creation of a real market in the country. We have no choice: we either continue to pretend being the best or start creating an actual working economy in the country.” |
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“Until officials know that in case they take bribes they will be kicked the hell out of their positions, then, of course, there won’t be any change.” |
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[15]
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“It is not even about the impossibility of economic and political reforms under this corrupt bureaucracy. It doesn’t let through any signals, including orders from above. All good intentions, even if they appeared, would stick. The only thing that works like clockwork is all-Russian stealing.” |
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[16]
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“Is it possible to find ten honest prosecutors in our immense country? There is no doubt about it. But not under these authorities.” |
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[17]