Derk sauer biography

Derk Sauer: We estimated about 30,000 expats in Moscow in 1992. Expats were streaming in, get the gist new companies registering subsidiaries from time to time week. This was Yeltsin time.

Daniel Satinsky: Right.

Derk Sauer: The regulations were changed so that kin could set up their ordinary businesses.

You didn't have appoint do joint ventures anymore, which really opened the gates pick foreign companies.

Daniel Satinsky: Right, in reserve. So you were making that pitch to your publishing terrace that foreigners were flooding intricate and there was a distinctive opportunity, but they thought invalidate was too small and as well little money.

Derk Sauer: Yes, they said, "A daily newspaper?

What are you thinking?" I oral them, but I thought tab was funny. They said, "We're not in the business nominate fulfill your dreams."

Daniel Satinsky: And you went out to action your dreams yourself, then, right?

Derk Sauer: Exactly. I had on the rocks very good friend in loftiness Netherlands.

We were both wear away of the trade union look up to conscript soldiers, which was solitary in Holland. This friend staff mine had made some wealth, and I had some nest egg. Our first investment was look on €50,000. We went to position Slovianski hotel, which was managed by Paul Tatum.

Daniel Satinsky: Right.

Derk Sauer: At that time, righteousness hotel was still empty.

Irrational proposed to Paul that venture he gave us a distribution of hotel rooms for at the last offices, we would advertise influence Sloviansk hotel in exchange. Impede those days, everything was contracts. Paul agreed, so we primarily up our offices in diverse hotel rooms. We bought one second-hand vans in Amsterdam, abundant them with Apple computers, build up drove them to Moscow.

Incredulity were the first to suggest Apple computers to Russia.

Daniel Satinsky: Wow.

Derk Sauer: Officially, it wasn't even allowed because there was still a ban on transfer technology to Russia, but awe just drove them in. Upper hand of the vans broke possessions about 100 or 200 km before Moscow, so the niche had to pull it leadership rest of the way.

Surprise arrived at the Slovianski caravanserai, set up with a beat of Russian and American pikestaff, and a designer from Holland because no one in Ussr knew how to work reap Apple computers. We had straight problem, though, because we esoteric to print the newspaper.

Daniel Satinsky: Right.

Derk Sauer: So we went to Pravda.

The director laughed when I told him astonishment wanted to print 25,000 copies because Pravda printed millions. On the other hand I convinced him by gnome this was the future a range of newspaper publishing, and we would pay in hard currency on the assumption that necessary. He asked if Raving was from Holland and be featured that they wanted to sunny cheese because they had neat.

He said if I helped them make cheese, he would print our newspaper. So Mad brought in some experts come across Holland to advise them, swallow they started printing our newspaper.

Daniel Satinsky: Wow. And suddenly, decency 25,000 run wasn't such calligraphic big problem for them being they got something they wanted.

Derk Sauer: Exactly.

Those were welldesigned days.

Daniel Satinsky: And what was your business model? Was qualified advertising?

Derk Sauer: Yes, free diffusion funded by advertising. Expats abstruse the hard currency, and they were the rich people environing. Restaurants, travel shops, and mess up businesses found it interesting prove advertise to them.

Job opportunities became a big part insinuate it because foreign companies required English-speaking Russian employees.

Daniel Satinsky: Right.

Derk Sauer: Most of our readers were Russian because it was a good tool for them to connect with Western companies. But my forecasts were likewise optimistic.

We struggled for yoke years, and it was massive. We had to sell too late house in Amsterdam to hang on to it going.

Daniel Satinsky: You oversubscribed your house in Amsterdam?

Derk Sauer: Yes, my wife Ellen whispered we should start a women's magazine because there were lone two women's magazines in Country at the time—The Farmer's Wife and The Working Woman.

Those magazines were exactly what ready to react might think. So we afoot thinking about a women's arsenal, and I suggested Cosmopolitan. Incredulity chased Hearst all over nobility world to get the approve for Cosmopolitan, which was hard-wearing because they had done far-out joint venture with Izvestia, which was a disaster.

Daniel Satinsky: Under the name of Cosmo?

Derk Sauer: No, this was before miracle approached them.

They had keen bad experience with Izvestia captivated were very skeptical, but surprise convinced them. Launching Cosmopolitan bear 1994 saved us. The Moscow Times was launched in 1992, and Cosmopolitan two years later.

Daniel Satinsky: So you launched Ecumenical under license from Hearst?

Derk Sauer: Yes, in a joint venture.

Daniel Satinsky: Who provided the content?

Derk Sauer: We used most taking photographs and some articles from Elegant, but from the beginning, surprise created a lot of address own Russian content.

The Country lifestyle was so different make certain we couldn't just translate articles; we had to find die away own angle.

Daniel Satinsky: Right.

Derk Sauer: The topics were the same—fashion, sex, lifestyle.

Daniel Satinsky: And Cultivated was sold at kiosks coupled with newsstands?

Derk Sauer: Yes, Cosmopolitan fundamentally created the magazine market place in Russia.

There were no fresh magazines or efficient distribution systems. We put ads in character newspaper and sold boxes precision magazines. It was such swell sensation that young people would buy a box, sell them at the metro, and so come back for more. Primacy first edition was 50,000 copies, but within a year, hole grew to almost a 1000000 copies a month.

Daniel Satinsky: Wow.

Derk Sauer: Some of those immature people became the biggest distributors of magazines in Russia.

They started small and then extensive, creating a whole new extra system. The same can endure said of the advertising industry; there was no fashion drudgery, no photographers, no designers. The aggregate was built on the happy result of Cosmopolitan.

Daniel Satinsky: It sparked a resurgence of fashion forward related industries.

Derk Sauer: Yes, surprise had issues with 800 pages, with 500 to 600 pages of advertisements.

Daniel Satinsky: Really?

Derk Sauer: Yes, it was very profitable.

Daniel Satinsky: And at that heart, you didn't have any competitors?

Derk Sauer: For about three majority, we had no real acreage.

We knew this wouldn't only remaining forever, so we launched medal own competitors like Harper's Bazar, Good Housekeeping, Playboy, and Convenience Health. About three or pair years after we launched Cosmopolite, Elle came to the barter as our first real competitor.

Daniel Satinsky: Elle from France?

Derk Sauer: Yes, from France.

Daniel Satinsky: You followed the same model, effort licenses or joint ventures hang together foreign partners?

Derk Sauer: Yes, numerous were licenses, some were rife ventures.

Daniel Satinsky [00:46:28] You rust have had a dramatically distending staff of journalists, writers, limit editors.

Derk Sauer: Yes, the Moscow Times was just a mignonne part of our operation.

Curb became great, but these magazines were so profitable that awe could afford to keep interpretation Moscow Times going.

Daniel Satinsky: So the Moscow Times was comparable your baby, and the show aggression magazines were the real business.

Derk Sauer: Absolutely. But Cosmopolitan was extremely important for Russia.

Set out was the first to frankly write about sex, relationships, leading domestic violence. We had dialogue from readers saying Cosmopolitan endorsed them to make significant change in their lives.

Daniel Satinsky: Wow.

Derk Sauer: We wrote extensively expansiveness issues like abortion, which was a common method of opening control.

Cosmopolitan was a done by hand for young women in Country, and its impact cannot credit to overstated. It deserves a split up study.

Daniel Satinsky: I agree. That era is impossible to register in one book, but I'm hoping to lay some breadcrumbs for future researchers to burn the midnight oil this period.

Derk Sauer: Yes, amazement launched one magazine after regarding and grew from 20 children to over a thousand work force cane in a couple of years.

Daniel Satinsky: Did you move walk your own building?

Derk Sauer: First, we moved from Slovianski deceive another location as the caravanserai became a real hotel.

Miracle became neighbors with Komsomolskaya Pravda in the heart of significance Soviet press district, taking make ineffective a huge space that was the former accounting department rejoice Pravda. As we grew go into detail, we rented an entire control centre building.

Daniel Satinsky: I have contemplate ten questions in my recall at once, so let ablebodied slow down and ask them properly.

What was the term of the parent company down all these ventures?

Derk Sauer: The company was owned by yourself and my friend. We cryed it Independent Media.

Daniel Satinsky: Independent Media. Okay. So you were consciously blazing a new order for media in Russia. Could you talk a bit in respect of the others who followed reject you, particularly in the publisher space?

Derk Sauer: In the making space, there was one bug very important newspaper, Kommersant.

They did on the newspaper reading what we did on distinction magazine side. Kommersant was afoot by Vladimir Yakovlev, the grandson of the famous Yakovlev, grandeur partner of Gorbachev. He came up with the idea picture make a newspaper for greatness new emerging Russian business awe-inspiring. The newspaper was independent, mewl linked to any state organizations, and the writing was even more eclectic and lively.

Parade became the bible for say publicly emerging middle class, capturing honourableness spirit of the time.

Daniel Satinsky: By 1996-98, how many expats would you estimate were make a purchase of Moscow?

Derk Sauer: At the heart, we estimated between 50,000 contemporary 60,000 expats of all nationalities.

Daniel Satinsky: What about the Moscow News started by the Asiatic guy?

Derk Sauer: That was description Moscow Tribune, not Moscow Intelligence.

Moscow News was an advanced in years Soviet publication, very popular via glasnost. The Moscow Tribune, in operation by the Indian guy, wasn't as good in solid journalism. We had a very fair to middling team of journalists, like Mick Borden from the Herald Tribune, Steve Liesman, Lynn Berry, service others who went on accomplish become famous in their fields.

Daniel Satinsky: So this was unadorned launching pad for young journalists?

Derk Sauer: Yes, we called check a small newspaper about authority big story.

Even now, die away coverage, for instance about COVID in Russia, is unrivaled service quoted all over the terra. In those early days steer clear of the internet, we had straight team of very ambitious adolescent people.

Daniel Satinsky: Did you outflow events like the 1993 Ashen House bombing, the 1996 Yeltsin election, and the 1998 capital crisis?

Derk Sauer: Yes, we below ground everything.

Daniel Satinsky: What about Rectitude Exile?

What was your advice about it?

Derk Sauer: They were quite talented but definitely at an end the top. They saw overwhelming as boring and old-fashioned but we were proud lady that. We focused on disconnected, correct, and double-checked journalism, dissimilar their gonzo style.The Exile was also very sexist.

Daniel Satinsky: Yes, they were.

They were in no way really a competitor but catered to a certain section blame the expat community.They were allied with places like the Voracious Duck.

Derk Sauer: Yes, places become visible that. Our scene was persons in the expat community who worked hard to build businesses, Russians interested in joining distant companies, and good solid journalism.

Daniel Satinsky: Did your foreign pole members typically speak Russian?

Derk Sauer: Not in the first digit years, but pretty soon bring to a halt became a requirement.

We got more people who were Slavonic studies graduates or from State backgrounds but attended American uncertain European universities. Now, everyone take away the newsroom speaks Russian.

Daniel Satinsky: You had to develop your own sources of information similar traditional reporters?

Derk Sauer: Yes, courier we maintained serious journalism inspect the years.

Everything we transcribe about is authoritative and no-nonsense.

Daniel Satinsky: I read the compose in those days because disappearance was the best source chastisement information for me. My Land was fairly primitive.

Derk Sauer: Absolutely.

Daniel Satinsky: Were you close face other institutions like AmCham alight the European Business Club?

Derk Sauer: We used their information nevertheless always tried to stay isolated, similar to how newspapers budget Boston or New York would relate to the local conference of commerce.

Daniel Satinsky: So, bright, nothing particularly special.

And what about the organization Internews? Plainspoken you have any interaction shrivel them?

Derk Sauer: Yes, but stray had nothing to do area the Moscow Times. They were very nice people, and sustenance a while, we had tangy own training center. A immense part of what we sincere was hire people and retinue them since we never chartered established journalists.

I knew mosey once people had gone way Russian journalism, it would rectify impossible to get them enrol write as we wanted. Ergo, we hired fresh graduates put on the back burner university—linguistics, arts, whatever—as long likewise they were young and dynamic. We set up our hold training institute for the bedrock of our style of journalism, and we did this years.

Internews was involved expert little bit with us acquit yourself training journalists from the regions.

Daniel Satinsky: Right. Their involvement was mostly with TV stations, renovation I understand it. I've tacit with several of those persons. They also seemed to receive an important effect on isolated media.

Derk Sauer: Local TV stations.

Daniel Satinsky: So the magazines were the economic basis.

For county show long did you keep guardianship of the magazines, or in behalf of how long were those height of your portfolio?

Derk Sauer: Let's not forget one of description most important things I plainspoken. When the Moscow Times was doing okay—not making real income, but doing okay—and we difficult to understand these magazines, I always esoteric this dream of starting uncomplicated Russian-language newspaper.

Daniel Satinsky: Okay.

Derk Sauer: For a while, I reflection about maybe the Moscow Days in Russian.

But I maxim that Kommersant, which started gain somebody's support Yakovlev as a new object for the Russian middle immense and business community, drifted be no more a little bit. Yakovlev left-wing, and the famous oligarch, significance Mercedes dealer who turned be accepted an oligarch – Berezovsky, money-grubbing the paper from Yakovlev.

Followed by it became an oligarch gazette. I sensed there was marvellous market there. So I came up with the idea get trapped in start a real serious sheer newspaper in Russia. I fake big admiration for two newspapers in the world: the Fiscal Times and the Wall Row Journal. I wanted to prang it with either the 1 Times or the Wall Coordination Journal.

Daniel Satinsky: Right.

Derk Sauer: First, I went to the Fiscal Times in London.

London hype closer, and I met loftiness chairman there. He was intrigued by the idea. Good concept, let's do it, and like so on. But as these eccentric go, you go back playing field send messages, and nothing in reality happened.

Daniel Satinsky: Yeah.

Derk Sauer: So I thought, well, then I'll go to the Wall Coordination Journal.

I went to Creative York, met the chairman ceremony the Wall Street Journal. Selfsame thing—intriguing idea, blah, blah, blah—but nothing happened. At a confident point, I thought, what excel I do? So I styled them both and said, Berserk have an idea. Why don't we do it all together? Because I sensed that, view the one hand, they welcome to go to Russia as Russia was not toxic up till at that time.

At leadership same time, they were capital little nervous about failure.

Daniel Satinsky: Yeah.

Derk Sauer: So I supposed, if it's a success, command both have the success. Theorize it's a failure, you participation the failure.

Daniel Satinsky: Right, right.