The Russian Job

Russian Lada brand cars were once a big name throughout the former Eastern Bloc. Swedish manager, Bo Inge Andersson, who is the first foreigner to ever lead the Russian giant AvtoVAZ, attempts to restore their former glory. Automobile manufacturer AvtoVAZ is one of the most important state-owned enterprises in Russia and one of the largest car factories in the world. However, over the last 20 years it has been continuously operating at a loss. Bo Inge Andersson, a Swede who, in the past, worked for Saab and GM and also managed the Russian company GAZ, has been assigned the task of streamlining the operations of this traditional company. However, the clash between the Western manager and the Russian mentality and nostalgia for socialist conditions has led to ever deeper disillusionment on both sides. The differences in reasoning are expressively documented in the situations filmed in the car manufacturing plant and interviews with Russian employees as well as with Bo Andersson and his Czech colleagues. (One World)