It was better in the beginning
"My wife and I wanted to move to Europe for a long time, they recommended Lithuania to us. We arrived, looked around, felt that we are comfortable here", said A. Smirnovas. This happened in 2012, when the law requiring foreigners from third countries to hire at least three employees was not yet valid in Lithuania.
It's even difficult for A. Smirnov to say why he chose Lithuania - he simply felt out of place in St. Petersburg, and Lithuania turned out to be cozier, dearer to his heart. Although he once thought that he might go to warmer countries, now he assures that he has settled in Lithuania - his daughter attended a Lithuanian kindergarten, now she goes to a Lithuanian school and teaches her parents to speak the state language correctly. Some other Russian businessmen have not yet packed their bags either. A. Smirnov explains why: "Russians are such people. When the government does something wrong, they know they have to suffer. He came here, if necessary, he will suffer here too."
A. Smirnovas founded a programming company in Lithuania - he works with the USA and Israel. The man was happy, because it is much easier to get money from abroad in Lithuania. However, in 2014, the authorities put a halter on him. The company did not go bankrupt after the authorities introduced new requirements, but A. Smirnov's pocket shrank noticeably. "When I came here, we lived near the Town Hall Square. After that, we moved to Naujininki, in the summer we moved to Belmont," said the man. I had to hire a cleaner for my house
"This is a very strange law, it is Soviet-style control. I'm a programmer, I don't need anything else. And the sudden intervention, how many people I have to hire, how much to pay them, bothers me", said A. Smirnovas. However, he did as the government told him - he hired people. "One of my acquaintances works as a full-time cleaner in my office. And my office is my home," the man told the comical situation.
On Tuesday, the Seimas will consider a law that intends to abandon the requirement for three employees. However, an attempt will be made to legitimize the provision that "the monthly salary paid to people working in a foreigner's company is at least 2 times the average monthly gross salary of the national economy workers last published by the Lithuanian Statistics Department."
"The criminal will always find a way to cheat the system. And now it's not him who is suffering, but us, the ordinary people who fell in love with Lithuania."
A. Smirnovas is not happy with such an order: "I am afraid that the salary of two averages will be even worse than the requirement to hire three people. (...) I will be able to hire maybe ten people, but for that I need to expand the business significantly." He says he understands that the laws are aimed at setting up shell companies, but “a criminal will always find a way to cheat the system. And now it is not him who is suffering, but us, ordinary people who fell in love with Lithuania. My friends who wanted to come to Lithuania refused to do so - the demands seemed too high for them."
His wife makes, as he says, unusual ornaments and paintings in Vilnius, and travels to markets with her works. "She is doing better here than in Russia. Maybe because its taste is more European", said A. Smirnov. He would like to expand the business, but so far the circumstances are not favorable for this. "You need to go to conferences, meetings, invest in advertising, make contacts. This requires free capital. And now I distribute half of my income (for taxes, necessary positions, - ed. post)", said the man, who once defended his doctoral thesis in physics in Brussels, but decided to earn his living as a programmer.
"Foreigners are active here - just give us freedom so that we can realize what we dream about," said A. Smirnov.
Jurgita Lapienytė 15min.lt 2016 June 28d. 13:21
https://www.15min.lt/verslas/naujiena/finansai/lietuva-uzsieniecius-sutinka-be-magaryciu-a-smirnova-isgrudo-is-rotuses-aikstes-i-naujininkus-662-647559?copied
Artiomas Smirnovas
Lithuania welcomes foreigners without hesitation: A. Smirnova was pushed out of the Town Hall Square to Naujininkai
Artiomas Smirnovas is a Russian who defended his doctoral thesis in physics and now lives in Lithuania with his family and owns an IT company. In other words, exactly the kind that Lithuania seems to be waiting for with open arms - a young specialist who regularly pays taxes and has already put down roots here. But the Lithuanian authorities have so far only put sticks in the wheels, instead of helping him to settle down.
"A young business is like a small seedling - you need to not stop it from growing. You don't need to peel him from the soil, he only needs the best," Artiomas Smirnovas, who has been living in Lithuania with his wife and daughter since 2012, told 15min.
However, the Lithuanian authorities seem to be tearing his business from the ground. A. Smirnov has not packed his bags yet, but some of his acquaintances have already done so. The businessman interviewed for 15 minutes, who once rented an apartment near the Town Hall Square, moved to Naujininkai, and now to Belmont.
