Corporate culture

The corporate culture of Russian Railways rests on our rich history and traditions, the scale and global nature of our business, knowledge and experience continuity, and expertise and skills of the Company’s employees.

The Company has a Code of Business Ethics Approved by the Company’s Board of Directors (Minutes No. 3 dated 30 March 2015). in place, which sets forth unified corporate values, norms and rules of conduct for employees. Russian Railways’ Code of Business Ethics establishes the corporate standards and rules of conduct mandatory for the Board of Directors and all employees, and sets out the relations with shareholders, government authorities, legal entities and individuals.

The Business Ethics Committee assists in resolving conflicts, including violations of the norms and rules established by the Code, and develops recommendations and proposals on business ethics for Russian Railways’ employees.


Values and ethical principles

GRI 102–16

Every employee of Russian Railways is guided by the brand values and ethical principles.


Our values
People

We create an effective environment to develop and support our big team and nurture everyone’s self-fulfilment and recognition. We put a primary focus on people, collaboration and attention to the needs of customers, colleagues and partners.

Partnership

We strive for creative and successful partnerships based on mutual respect and trust coupled with a responsible attitude towards nature and resources. We value everyone’s contribution to a common goal

Openness to innovation

We are open to innovation and keep advancing our competencies to meet the challenges of an ever-evolving world. For us, innovation is key to shaping the quality of our work.

The ethical principles of Russian Railways underpin the Company’s corporate culture and ensure trust and mutual respect, fair competition, social responsibility, objectivity and honesty when making personnel-related decisions.


Our ethical principles are as follows:
Make people our top priority

People are the Company’s main asset. We see real people – employees, passengers, and clients – behind the statistics. Everything that we do is about people’s welfare and comfort.

Do our best

We work hard to perform our duties to the letter, deliver on all promises, achieve the targets, while having zero tolerance for any kind of corruption, and measuring up to the privilege of being part of Russian Railways.

Be proud to work at Russian Railways

Every Russian Railways employee feels honoured to be part of a company that has a unique history, rich traditions and ambitious plans for the future. We respect traditions and pay tribute to industry veterans. We strive to maintain and augment Russian Railways’ reputation as a rapidly growing national transportation company.

Promote teamwork

Being part of a team means being considerate and honest with colleagues, managers and subordinates, putting the Company’s interests before our own. Mutual trust and well-coordinated teamwork are our main strengths.

Rely on experience

We learn from our predecessors and use their experience in a creative way to excel in what we do and develop professional skills and competencies, and pass it on to young talent.

Be result-oriented

In following this principle, we always keep in mind that we work to deliver specific results such as higher profits for Russian Railways, completion of new projects, client satisfaction and people’s trust.

Make well-informed decisions

As our decisions can affect many people and organisations, we always carefully think them through, focusing on safety and risk mitigation, as well as economic feasibility and commercial interests of Russian Railways.

Promote commercial interests of Russian Railways

We develop the culture of continuous improvement, multiply and save our earnings to the extent that does not contradict law and ethics, or affect quality and safety.

Be a leader

As Russian Railways is a leading Russian company, we expect our employees to have leadership qualities to set the pace, embrace changes, and serve as role models for colleagues and people outside Russian Railways.

Aspire to change and evolve

We constantly strive for excellence, seeking ways to improve efficiency, introduce innovations, acquire new knowledge, and develop personal and professional skills. Innovations are key to Russian Railways’ growth and prosperity and personal development of our employees.


Ethics advice and ethical issue prevention mechanisms
GRI 102–16

The responsibility for ethics advice and ethical issue prevention mechanisms rests with the Group’s Business Ethics Officer.

All employees who have grounds to believe that someone's actions violate the Code of Business Ethics of Russian Railways, as well as the Russian laws, the Company’s Charter or regulations must inform their immediate superiors or the Business Ethics Officer.

The Company guarantees confidentiality of any report made and anti-retaliation protection. The Company does not consider anonymous reports regarding violations of Russian Railways’ Code of Business Ethics.

One can report violations of the Code of Business Ethics by calling Russian Railways’ Hotline for employees (an integrated information and counselling service) or by emailing etics@rzd.ru.

The rest were requests for information and questions not related to the Company’s business ethics, social responsibility and corporate culture; those were handled by operators in real time thanks to the vast knowledge base.

In 2021, the Hotline operators received and processed:
318 reports regarding business ethics issues (0.7% of all reports);
7,517 reports regarding the Company’s treatment of its employees (17% of all reports);
17 reports on anti-corruption (0.04% of all reports).
Comprehensive study of Russian Railways’ corporate culture

2021 saw a comprehensive study of Russian Railways’ corporate culture and relations with external partners, including 20 interviews with the top management (members of the Management Board, heads of regional railways), 15 focus groups with employees at regional and line levels, 10 focus groups with partners and customers, and an online survey of 8.7 thousand managers with respect to 62 thousand employees.

The survey helped identify the corporate culture’s strengths to be further maintained and nourished along with problems and gaps to be addressed in the coming years. One of the first steps here is to update the ethical principles of employee behaviour and the Company’s Code of Business Ethics. The latter will be reviewed in line with cutting-edge standards and best practices in corporate governance, sustainable development and corporate culture.