In Russia, there has been a tendency towards a decrease in real incomes of the population. In August 2014, for the first time in almost five years (since November 2009), real wages decreased in Russia (compared to the same period in 2013); the decline continued in September.

Photo by Maria Savelyeva for Forbes How Vladimir Potanin's ex-wife proves to the Russian court that he is a billionaire. A Sunday dinner with the whole family in Luzhki near Moscow in November 2013 ended unexpectedly for Natalia Potanina. When the children left for Moscow, Vladimir Potanin suggested that his wife divorce. “He said I should sign papers renouncing my rights to property and not object to donating money to charity,” she recalled in an interview with Forbes Woman.

2014 showed how easily the United States can lose its global leadership. The main economic news of the year went almost unnoticed: according to the IMF, China has overtaken the United States in terms of economic size. At the same time, we see how China is rapidly gaining not only economic, but also geopolitical weight, while the United States continues to squander its global leadership due to the greed of the elites and the endless war in the Middle East.

Photo by Maria Savelyeva for Forbes Why did the main co-owner of Pharmstandard, Viktor Kharitonin, buy the German Nürburgring race track? “We slept two to three hours a day, but we covered the entire distance, more than 1,800 km, in one breath,” businessman Viktor Kharitonin recalls his participation in the Italian vintage car race Mille Miglia, a favorite pastime of collectors and hedonists.

photo by Dmitry Ternovoy for Forbes Gennady Timchenko and other businessmen from the sanctions list are selling assets to a new generation. The talent of a businessman is manifested not only in the ability to find the necessary connections, conclude profitable contracts, create or buy a promising business, but also in the ability to guess the moment to sell it. Gennady Timchenko, No.

Photo Photo Soyuz “Let them return the wrapper with the original hand-drawn bear!” - VKontakte users were indignant after the Confectionery Factory named after. Krupskaya changed the design of the packaging of sweets and chocolate “Mishka in the North”. The archaic picture was replaced with a modern one - in the style of 3D graphics. However, for some consumers, the old design symbolized high quality and good taste of the product.

photo AP / East News Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been free for a year now. What did he manage to do during this time? The release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in December 2013 after ten years of imprisonment became one of the most high-profile events of the past year. But by the time the former oligarch left the colony, the final issue of Forbes had already been put to print. We couldn’t ignore his return, so the Forbes editors decided to give this nomination to Mikhail Khodorkovsky this year.

Mio Owner: GK Alkon Launch: July 2013 Revenue: 600 million rubles The desire to sell a milk-fruit mix arose among the managers of Alcon (production of vodka, low-alcohol, energy and other drinks) after visiting South Korea and China, where such cocktails are very popular. While the recipes were being created, a similar product appeared on the Russian market - “Milkis” from Lotte. Alcon has revised its brand strategy.

From dumplings to TV channels - the most successful new brands. Every packaged product and consumer project needs a brand. At the beginning of 2014, according to the calculations of the First Patent Company, there were over 312,000 registrations of trademarks and service marks in Russia. In 2013 alone, Rospatent registered 37,813 marks, including 18,095 in the name of Russian applicants.

photo by Max Novikov for Forbes How cities use the New Year to replenish their treasury. During the New Year and Christmas holidays, the centers of many cities are transformed, becoming venues for fairs, celebrations, and street performances. But these holidays are not necessarily associated with national traditions or the desire to please the townspeople.

photo ITAR-TASS Why did Andrei Bokarev become a co-owner of the Kalashnikov concern? In May 2014, a transaction was completed to sell 49% of the shares of the Kalashnikov concern to the co-owner of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, Kuzbassrazrezugol, Transmashholding and Aeroexpress, billionaire Andrey Bokarev, and the CEO of Aeroexpress, Alexey Krivoruchko. Andrey Bokarev was the first from the Forbes list (No.

photo Kommersant Most people lie from time to time. Officials and bankers - more often than others. Do all people lie? Do officials and financiers lie more often than ordinary people? Recently, science has made significant progress in understanding the nature of lies. Lying is a big economic problem. Just 10 years ago, American retail was losing about $16 billion a year to wardrobe fraud - when people “buy” clothes, wear them a little, and then return them for money back.

Which wine regions have a great future. An acquaintance asked which regions could explode the peace of the wine world in the next thirty years, and without hesitation I said: “Crimea.” In response, I was accused of being biased. Having started to prove something with passion, I realized that it was better to express my thoughts in writing. Crimea The Barossa Plan Europe ends in Crimea. And at this last frontier of European winemaking, something interesting is about to happen.

photo by Roman Shelomentsev for Forbes Why is Alexander Svetakov interested in bright projects? Multi-colored walls and windows, single desks, corridors with ramps - the new boarding school for children with mental disabilities in the village of Raisemenovskoye is not at all similar to similar institutions.

Photo by AKG / East News What can be predicted in the economy and how does politics influence forecasts. Many believe that the short-sighted policies of Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan provoked the global crisis. In his book "Map and Territory", which is published in Russian by Alpina Publisher, Greenspan tries to understand how we can predict the emergence of new global problems - from growing debt burdens to natural disasters.