Thank You Gift for Russian CoWorkers

August 23, 2005 11:22 AM

OutsourcingFilter: Help me choose a thank you gift for some hard-working Russians.

I'm a Project Manager working with a software company that we purchased that is located in Russia. We are on the verge of completing a rather arduous and painful implementation that has taken months. The developers in Russian have been extraordinary in overcoming both time zone issues and language barriers. I'd like to send them something as a small token of appreciation. What is a good gift that can either be shared by three people or be identically appropriate to give one to each of the three? Criteria include:

1 shipped easily internationally
2 culturally appropriate
3 in the 50 to 100 dollar range for the total of three gifts plus shipping/packaging.

What I want to avoid is anything that has a whiff of 'spoiled rotten american sends something that is plentiful here but hard to get there' thus inadvertantly accomplishing nothing but making them resentful or making me look insensitive.

posted by spicynuts to Human Relations (18 answers total)

Three bottles of California red. Russians love to drink.
posted by dydecker at 11:34 AM on August 23, 2005

I'd like to put in my 2 cents for cash. Then they can figure out how best to use it...
posted by k8t at 11:37 AM on August 23, 2005

Vodka.
posted by delmoi at 11:48 AM on August 23, 2005

How about this?
posted by horsewithnoname at 11:48 AM on August 23, 2005

Oh wait, you didn't want to send something 'plentiful over there', which would sort of disqualify vodka.
posted by delmoi at 11:49 AM on August 23, 2005

Send 'em some whisky
posted by delmoi at 11:50 AM on August 23, 2005

Jack Daniels.

If the tables were turned I hope for some choice vodka.
posted by Pollomacho at 11:59 AM on August 23, 2005

At Trader Joe's here, the local Russian immigrant population regularly decimates the Belgian chocolate selection for gifts to send home. Some combination of wine and chocolate, perhaps?
posted by cali at 12:15 PM on August 23, 2005

Wodka. Some American vodka, or something like that. American versions of Russian products or something that shows an American twist to a traditional Russian product/custom? Might further the bonding, and seems good natured rather than condescending/naff.
posted by fire&wings at 2:47 PM on August 23, 2005

American vodka? Are you nuts? Would you want to get a present of Russian bourbon? Forget vodka, and I'm not sure booze is a good idea anyway -- talk about coals to Newcastle. They know what they like to drink, and they've got oceans of it. I notice there aren't any Russians answering; the one commenter who seems to actually know Russians has the most sensible suggestion: if Russians buy chocolates to send home, that might be an excellent gift.
posted by languagehat at 3:13 PM on August 23, 2005

I was going to say Vodka... hmmmm.... Tetris?
posted by Mroz at 3:24 PM on August 23, 2005

I should clarify. "Hey, wait until they taste Yankay Vawdka!" No. Sending some American brand vodka is a talking point, a bit of lighthearted solidarity, and a tip of the hat to the cultural differences between the countries. It's a fun gift - not meant to be a lesson in being American, or a practical way to top up their drinks cabinet.

I suggest this because I was once sent some "Scotsh Whiskey" by an amused friend in Belgium. Do I need to taste whiskeys from abroad? No. Was it a lighthearted, well thought out present from a friend who knows I don't take my cultural identity too seriously? Yeah. It really depends on the recipient. And I would probably want Russian Bourbon as much as I would want American Bourbon.
posted by fire&wings at 3:34 PM on August 23, 2005

They've got vodka, they've got Tetris. The chocolates and California reds are possible, but in my experience those are mostly house gifts (like a bouquet of flowers here might be). IANAR so I don't know whether or not they're appropriate for office gifts.

While I can't help you with what would be appropriate, I suggest NOT going by the previous responses, which are clearly shots in the dark.
posted by small_ruminant at 3:36 PM on August 23, 2005

Whenever I travel to non-Western countries for business, I take a few good quality penknives as gifts. Clients, policemen and airport officials all love 'em. Maybe a memory-stick version would be useful to your programmers? Or a cyber tool?

Something for their wives/partners would be a nice gesture, since they'll have been feeling the pressure too. Perfume, chocolates?
posted by blag at 5:11 PM on August 23, 2005

I sent a bottle of Booker's bourbon to Scotland, labeled as 'hair tonic' to get it through Customs. It was intended for a Scottish friend, but he's a serious whiskey connoisseur - owns a half-interest in a barrel of Ardbeg or some such.

Not only did he enjoy it, but he took it to a tasting at the Bruichladdich distillery. The guy who runs the Bruichladdich plant, I forget his title, took a tipple of it and really loved it, so much that he wrote the name down so he could order some shipped in from America.

So coals to Newcastle can be a fun game. But I think you have to know your audience.

All the Russians I know prize the sort of elegant things that are bought in boutiques, if that helps at all.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:27 PM on August 23, 2005

Whenever I travel to non-Western countries for business, I take a few good quality penknives as gifts. Clients, policemen and airport officials all love 'em.

Just FYI, you might want to reconsider doing that in China/Taiwan. Anything designed to cut things (scissors, knives) can mistakenly be taken to symbolize a cutting of ties - not a good idea for clients..

As for what to send to Russia: How about something symbolizing your/your company's home town? I live outside D.C., and clothing with the Presidential Seal is always a hit when I send stuff to Sweden. Chocolates and wine can work too, as long as it's classy stuff.

In addition to gifts, though, I would make sure that you send a nice letter/note to the local supervisor about their great work, copying each of the developers. Something like that could go a long way towards augmenting the gifts you send.
posted by gemmy at 8:37 PM on August 23, 2005

Whenever I travel to non-Western countries for business, I take a few good quality penknives as gifts. Clients, policemen and airport officials all love 'em.

Just FYI, you might want to reconsider doing that in China/Taiwan.Anything designed to cut things (scissors, knives) can mistakenly be taken to symbolize a cutting of ties - not a good idea for clients..

Gosh. Never knew that. Thanks for the tip...
posted by blag at 4:49 AM on August 24, 2005

I wrote a Russian friend (linking to this thread) and this is what she said:

I am sure Russians would appreciate exactly what he doesn't want to send: something that's pleantiful here but a novelty there. I say, send them peanut butter. And Yankee caps.

ikkyu2: Great story, but that's not "coals to Newcastle" -- bourbon and Scotch are very different animals.
posted by languagehat at 7:55 AM on August 24, 2005