Our 28th birthday – when… 3500 K-folks came out to play!

As any regular reader of this here blog will know, every year (besides years like 2020) on a Friday in the first half of July we celebrate the company’s birthday. This year, of course, was no exception. A full day – and night – of partying: big, varied, loud, fun… and this year – hurray! – lots of sun!

Yet again, the venue was our favorite Radisson Resort in Zavidovo – some 130km northwest of Moscow. And this year – as the title’s already let on – we had 3500 guests: a record!

Before the big day we were afraid there could be a repeat of last year’s wash-out as it had been wet and gloomy and stormy for weeks. But in the end – the sun came out to play and stayed out playing the whole day! Hurray! ->

And so it was 28 years ago (on June 26, 1997), that we registered a legal entity and created a company – the name of which for some reason coincides with my last name. It was a small step for a few men (and a woman:), eventually leading to a giant leap for the cybersecurity of mankind! And we’re still making great strides ahead to that end!

As per: there were all sorts of activities…

Life-size table soccer?! ->

Er… ->

Here’s a good one for cooling off (it got rather hot in the afternoon) ->

Oversized kick-scooters:

Real size… wheelbarrows?! ->

For the less active – just strolling, snacking, bantering and chilling was the main feature:

As per tradition: fun facts…

• Food eaten: 8.5 tons
• 16,500 liters of drinks (beer, wine and soft drinks) (and this year I’m sure I saw some Aperol spritzes being quaffed – but no overindulgence therein: respect!)
• 2 trucks full of set decorations (not including music-related stuff)
• 25m³ of foam for the water polo with inflatable horses
• 2500… painted daisies
• 60 kilos of lemons for cocktails
• 25 kilos of cranberries for the same
• 1 old Lada

The tradition of our summer corporate/b-day party began on our… first birthday! In 1998 we went to a Moscow bowling alley with the whole company – then around 15 people! Curiously, not one of liked that bash, so the next year we changed the format: we chartered a cruise boat and all ~25 of us (some with wives/husbands) took to a picturesque reservoir in northern Moscow. That really was the seminal birthday shindig: (relatively) large caliber, no holds barred, full-on, with panache. Which is what we’ve still got today but on a much larger a scale! Here are some recent bashes:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022 passed without celebrations for obvious reasons
• 2021
• 2020 – as mentioned, no partying this year
• 2019
• For more – go here

These days, given the company has over five thousand employees, we unfortunately can’t all fit into this or indeed any other venue in or near Moscow! Nevertheless, we’ve still got plans to somehow keep on increasing the number of guests…

Which reminds me: our foreign colleagues told me how impressed they were by the scale and atmosphere of the event. But of course they were: in our foreign offices there are usually just dozens or maybe a hundred-or-so employees – so it’s difficult for them to get a feel of just how big the company is.

Oh – and we always have a different theme every year. This year’s was a dacha theme: back to nature, imagery of growing and then pickling vegetables, barbecuing, and so on! But there was another theme – hidden in the slogan u-dache, which means “at the dacha”, but also means “luck” (udache) (as luck would have it!).

Up on stage our comperes throughout the whole day and evening were the tireless and almost ever-present AI, and (not for the first time) TV presenter Tatyana Gevorkyan.

// But let me digress here and say a few more words about udache – luck…

What’s the role of luck in creating and growing a large and leading multinational business in information security? Well, usually, when folks wish me luck in tricky situations, I respond with something like: “Luck is for fools. What we need are boldness, bravery, and decisive action”. But then I add: “But a bit of luck wouldn’t hurt, either” :-)

So, I won’t hide it: luck is a key component in any success story.

Did we get lucky at times while building and growing the company? Did we get dealt a good hand? Sometimes – absolutely; at other times – just the opposite.

However, our experience has shown us something really simple: luck favors the non-lazy (paraphrasing various proverbs combined). If we hadn’t hustled and worked both hard and smart – nothing would’ve happened. Digression over ) //

In the pursuit of the dacha aesthetic, the organizers really went all out. This year, the number of activities was just unreal. Among them were gems like: 1) milking an electric cow that dispenses beer (100 liters, no less) ->

2) Spa-bathing in the back of a dumper truck and fishing out beers cans with fishing nets from the bottom thereof! (alas – no pics)

3) Repairing an old Lada ->

And they actually fixed it!

// In case you’re wondering – cow milking, makeshift spas, and fixing old cars are typical staples of dacha life :-) //

Of course there were also traditional sports:

As well as all kinds of non-traditional stuff: beach bowling ->

Table-tennis with holey paddles:

There was even a fortune-teller:

And of course, water fun:

Meanwhile, our own musical bands and DJs rocked out on stage – I lose count of how many there are… Three? Four? Five? More?…

The beach area in front of the stage was gradually filling up as the headliners’ shows were approaching…

Next up, the undisputed highlight of all our parties – the staff variety show. Four teams went all out and put on a fiery hour-and-a-half show. It was just awesome.

Getting fairly packed…

The teams up on stage – the nerves kicking in…

The jury is assembled:

Let’s go!

As usual, almost everything was hilarious, topical, on point – and just great overall!

The jury scores the performances:

No, not everyone got straight top marks, but we didn’t give out a single 3.

The teams lined up for the awards…

Not the winners, but still well done! ->

And for the winners – a little pot of happiness :-)

What’s in the pot? Guess! :-)

Everything turned out so well! Just the way we like it…

In all, 105 employees took part in all this craziness (split across four teams), and they all spent six weeks rehearsing.

The headline act was the band The Hatters, and as the opener – guardians and promoters of the dacha aesthetic, the band Dyuna. Turns out, many of my colleagues at some point in their lives had dreamed of seeing them live.

Closing pics:

Ah, what a day – and night!

And for the real die-hards – there was a disco literally till dawn on the beautiful lakeshore (but for some reason I managed to miss out on it) ->

All in all, awesome! Awesome entertainers and awesome guests being entertained!…

And this year we definitely lucked out with the weather – though 2024 showed we can have fun even through hailstorms! Everything’s better in the sun!

Thanks to everyone, and see you next year!…

Thank you all! Absolutely everyone. All the guests, the entertainers, the cooks, security, and the emergency services and ambulance crews (who simply must be present at these events) – and anyone else I forgot. But a special thanks to our team that puts together these kinds of events ->

And instead of a postscript – let’s take a step back. I love strolling through a venue on the eve of an event, so let me show you how it all looked before it started. Everything was completely ready; the air was crackling with electricity – soon to burst into loud laughter and fun! ->

PPS: the Radisson has banyas. Who knew?! ->

PPPS: That really is it folks!