The Story of Brian Yeung: A Decade of Adventures in Russia
By Alessio Poon
Life is short; make the most it. As far as millennial Brian Yeung is concerned, he wants to see the world. Unlike other university graduates who invest in real estate, Brian rather makes an investment in growing his personal experience.
Ten years ago, he set foot in Russia for the first time and accepted a job that paid only HK$2,200 per month. Things were not easy at the beginning — he was in an unfamiliar place, he didn’t speak the language, the food wasn’t agreeable to his taste and even servers in the restaurants ignored him. A decade later, he publishes a book on Russia, and with just a few phone calls, he can arrange interviews with VIPs. “Russia is a country where anything can happen. It all depends on whether you have the balls to ask for it,” Brian says.
The interview took place in an Eastern European restaurant on Hollywood Road. Brian and the reporter enjoyed Russian food while chatting about the new book. Brian jokingly says: “Probably the most delicious Russian dishes are on the table.” Well, there were a salad, pierogi, beef stroganoff and honey cake.
“Russia is a huge country. Georgian and Ukrainian cuisines are pretty delicious, but traditional Russian cuisine may not appeal to the Hong Kong people. Pierogi or dumplings are very common, and salad usually comes with plenty of dressing. When I am in Russia, I mainly go for European cuisines,” Brian notes. He also says that local restaurants serving ordinary food are like school cafeteria — the portion is generous but 100% self-serve. Every customer holds a tray and lines up to select their food.
There is a common mindset among many Hongkongers — when going abroad to start a new life, it involves not only survival but also how to enjoy a better lifestyle. But Brian thinks differently. He is fiercely independent and prefers to take a different path.
“I graduated in 2010, and when I first set foot on Russia the only thing in my mind was to leave Hong Kong and see the world. And before Russia, I spent some time at the National University of Singapore doing research in Asian studies,” he explains.
Brian graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor’s degree (first-class honours) in sociology. He also spent time in the Netherlands’ Utrecht University for a diploma course in English language and culture. After he entered the workforce, he felt lost. Eventually, he found a media job in Sochi.
Brian notes that his relationship with Russia started with an international sporting event. “To welcome the 2014 Winter Games, Russia wanted to invite young people from around the world to visit Sochi and understand the public sentiment there. The only conditions were the persons hadn’t been to Sochi before and didn’t speak Russian.”
Cheap Labour in Russia
Certainly, it wasn’t a glamorous experience. The monthly salary at that time was only HK$2,200 and the rural accommodation was basic. “I accepted the challenge because I really wanted to see the word and make a living outside of Hong Kong. Money wasn’t a key consideration, as I already planned to do this with my savings,” Brian recalls.
As such, he became a guinea pig of this programme and worked for three months in Sochi. In the beginning, he relied on his smartphone to do translation and communication with the locals. As one can imagine, things were not easy.
“Ten years ago, Sochi was really a rural area. Even though my boss said that accommodation would be provided for, but in reality, I had to live in a guest room in a holiday house owned by the mother of the boss’ relative. The trip between the holiday house and city centre required a 30-minute drive, and the whole area had only five restaurants. Four of them didn’t serve foreigners, and the remaining one that welcomed me, well the food was really bad!”
Brian continues: “Back then, my family didn’t oppose my plan of going to Russia. What they really worried was the instability in Chechnya as it’s not far from Sochi.”
Taking stage at Putin’s international forum
After returning to Hong Kong, Brian always thought about Russia. In 2012, he went back as a tourist, and in 2013 he quit his job and became an editor of Russia Beyond the Headlines, a monthly supplement of Rossiyskaya Gazeta published in South China Morning Post. In this role, Brian was responsible for writing and editing stories about Hong Kong and Russia.
“Due to work, I travelled to Russia for over 15 times between 2014 and 2016 and visited different cities. In between, I also became a Russian enterprise’s Asia adviser.”
Courage is the key to success. By stepping outside of his comfort zone, Brian made a name for himself in Russia, as he helped Russians to gain a better understanding of Asia through his works. “Russia is a place full of possibilities. As long as you can think of something, there is always a chance to make it happen.”
He explains: “The 2014 Crimean crisis led Russia’s foreign policy pivoted to the east. I would have never thought of myself suddenly becoming an ‘Asian affairs specialist’ — in 2017 and 2018, I took the stage at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the Eastern Economic Forum, in which Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin also attended. I was a moderator, and the event was broadcast live on TV.”
Brian’s by-lined articles on the internet and newspapers attracted the attention of a publisher. His new book, Stepping Inside a Foreign Land — Russia, will be launched at this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair. “I love writing, and the only requirement I had for the book was to rewrite all the articles from the beginning. In a sense, this concludes my journey in Russia.”
He that travels far knows much. When he was young, Brian’s impression of Russia was gained from hearsays. “It was rumoured on the internet that there was a big hole in Mirny in which planes who fly above the hole would get sucked into it. Through an invitation from a diamond company, I had the opportunity to visit that hole. Well, it was really cold inside — minus 40 degrees centigrade! But one thing for sure is it won’t suck up the planes; it’s an urban legend!”
When in Russia, expect the unexpected
Brian spent three years to learn Russian, and he admits it’s very difficult to master this foreign-tongue. “Quite like their national character, there are always exceptions to the grammatical rules.”
Russians’ causal attitude also opened Brian’s eyes: “Whether it’s a business meeting or social appointment, you never know whether they will show up until the last moment. Even when everything is ready, there is always a chance that things get cancelled at the very last minute. Sometimes, they won’t even let you know — they just disappear.”
If Hongkongers want to do business there, then they need to be prepared for this. “I once spent time studying in the Netherlands, and the Dutch people are very punctual — they will give you a hard lesson if you are late for more than five minutes. On the contrary, you can’t make an appointment like this with the Russians. It’s pretty standard for them to be late for half an hour. Eventually, I came up with a way to deal with the situation — I arranged two meetings at the same time because one of them would likely cancel on me.”
Russians like to drink — whether it’s making friends or doing business, it’s common to indulge in drinking. “There is a Russian proverb that says only aristocrats drink champagne in the morning. Well, I drank champagne in the morning when I was in Russia, plus I had vodka and red wine when seeing friends. I was literally drinking from morning till evening, and that’s the making of me as a wine monster.”
Brian opines that prior to the FIFA World Cup in 2018, Russians were very cold to strangers; they wouldn’t bother with you on the street. “They were suspicious of strangers. Even if you asked for street directions in Russian, they wouldn’t necessarily answer you. However, you could easily make friends with them after a drink or two!”
In 2014, an international consultancy based in Russia made Brian a very good job offer, but in the end, he decided to turn it down. “There was an inner voice in my head saying things didn’t add up. Two months later, Europe and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia. I was lucky that I didn’t sign the employment agreement.”
As far as Brian is concerned, Russia was a stepping stone in his life that changed his career trajectory. “Having through a magical journey, the next destination might not have anything to do with Russia.”
Brian says he is spontaneous, straightforward and rebellious. He makes his decision based on intuition. “This is a bit like the Russians.” At the same time, he is highly adaptable and flexible — virtues usually associated with Hongkongers. “My character might be a bit odd in the eyes of Hongkongers, but it’s pretty common overseas. Even though I am in the business of public relations, I am straight to the point and I hate nonsense.”
In October 2019, he started his own consultancy business, and his clients are from all over the world. He says proudly: “Well before I started my own business, I worked with a billionaire from mainland China. I had the balls to tell the truth, and this is something he appreciated.”
Brian doesn’t like labels. He doesn’t want to be seen as a Russia expert or someone who was born to be a winner. He believes he is simply following his heart all along. “When I was in secondary school, I always asked teachers to seat me at the corner as I wanted to do my own things. In Form 6 I was the president of the student union, and there was a time during a quiz, the teacher wrote some questions that were irrelevant to the syllabus. I didn’t want to waste time to recite passages from the book, so I decided to open my book and copy. But then, some classmates made a report to the teacher after the quiz saying I was cheating… From an early age, I was a troubled kid in the eyes of teachers.”
Looking back, there were all these ups and downs. While Brian graduated with first-class honours, he experienced the first low point in his life. “My grades were pretty good and I was also good at self-expression. When other classmates got scholarships, I wasn’t offered a place in the universities I applied for. I felt very lost at that time.”
And life is indeed full of challenges. When Brian started his own company, things were looking really good — he managed to get a project from a big client in relations to the Dubai Expo 2020. The project would give his business a head start but then came the pandemic. “This is the second low point, but then the world is now at a low point too.”
Amid the stormy waters, Brian is still able to navigate calmly and strategically. “Like everyone else, we need to find creative ways to deal with the new reality. The old ways might no longer work; we need to swallow our pride and move forward but that doesn’t mean we have to forget where we want to go.”
About Brian Yeung
Born: 1987
Academic background: First Class Honours in Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Diploma in English Language and Culture, Utrecht University.
Marital Status: Single
Title: Founder, Brianstorm Content Solutions
Interests: Culture, wine-tasting, international relations
Motto: Strive to be a lifelong learner
This article was translated from the original news appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on July 8. URL: https://cutt.ly/BrianOnHKEJ1
