As president and a founder of Bulldozer Group, Moscow-raised Alexander Orlov travels the world overseeing a restaurant empire. His Dubai investment and brand management hospitality company has opened high-end venues in the Middle East, US, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Hong Kong and, in Dubai, successfully launched international brands including Novikov, Cipriani, Downtown Toko, Movida, VIP Room and Sass Café. The 46-year-old former film producer was recently in the DIFC to open Crab Market restaurant. Here he tells The National about his week.
SUNDAY
It depends where I am, but here I’m working Sundays. We’ve been focusing to open Crab Market and have a lot of meetings. I spend days in the venue, fixing issues, to coordinate everybody. If you want to have a successful restaurant you should be involved in all details, every lamp, starting from design and ending with the kitchen. Crab Market is a new concept I created. I have in mind already how it should look. Usually I am creating all my concepts. Cipriani already existed, but I have created a lot of restaurants in my life.
MONDAY
Usually weekdays, if not travelling, I wake up about 10am. I exercise, then go for business meetings. If here, I’m swimming in the sea. If not in a sea location I do yoga or jogging, around 30km per week. I workout every day; it gives me more energy. I do some boxing, gym. Typically every business day I have a lot of meetings, with partners, my team, with managers, chefs. Bulldozer means something very strong, something that goes straight, never stops. Our goal is to develop in the UAE and to grow in other markets like the US, Asia, London maybe. We developed a lot in Dubai. I have an apartment on Palm Jumeirah. It’s important to live in a quiet area. In Moscow I live outside the city, the countryside; it helps me recover. Our work is very stressful. After work I like to forget about any issues and focus on myself, my sport.
TUESDAY
The restaurant business is complicated. To control this business I travel a lot, every week. In each city I have a base, my apartment, my team, office. Hong Kong is too expensive so I live in a hotel, all my luggage in the Four Seasons, like an apartment. Same in New York, in a hotel, and London. I come to the airport 30 minutes before take off because I have a boarding pass and that’s it; I’m travelling without luggage, only a small bag. Time is very valuable. This is my lifestyle; I’m moving city to city, stay around five days to one week in one place. I fly commercial. Maybe in the future I will buy a private jet. I decide my schedule. I have teams everywhere and a lot of international calls, video meetings. I should be where a new restaurant is opening. They can’t open without me.
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WEDNESDAY
We’re expanding a lot. This year we open two or three more restaurants in Dubai; a Japanese restaurant in Dubai Mall. We’re negotiating to get the same concept in Nakheel Mall, Palm Jumeirah. In DIFC we have a good location to put a Chinese restaurant. It is one of the best areas. We do research and brainstorming, think a lot before we get a location. A lot of information is coming every day.
THURSDAY
Sometimes I have a very long day. When we create a new menu with chefs we can spend until 2am in the restaurant. For us it is time to create our own brands here. That’s why we created Crab Market, BASE nightclub also. It’s more interesting to develop your own brands. I can’t say I have a favourite. Each is important for me. We will open (a restaurant), then I leave for a few days, then come back… I keep control maybe for two or three months after opening. I am very active like that. If I’m not in Dubai I speak with my team every day, so I keep controlling. I am tough with my employees, with everybody. In this business you should be tough; it’s only one way.
FRIDAY
In the morning, usually, I communicate with everybody in different areas. At the end of the day I spend one/two hours communicating with the US, for example, countries in different time zones. Friday I’m working with other countries, video calls. A good restaurant for me is profitable, first of all. To be profitable there should be a lot of things like design, atmosphere, food, service and if they connect … concept and pricing is also important. I’m very open to suggestions. I like modern art, am a collector, I have a lot of paintings, some sculptures. I’m looking for something different in my collection. I like DIFC, there are a lot of galleries; it is very contemporary. There is Art Dubai, then Hong Kong Art Basel. I keep in mind these dates and make my schedule.
SATURDAY
I try to keep Saturday and Sunday as days off; I meet friends, spend time with my children; in Russia, some in Britain, studying. Sometimes I’m just chilling. I find it easy to switch off. I do sports. Everywhere I have shoes, sports wear. Sometimes I look at new competitor restaurants, new concepts, but usually I am in my restaurants dining, keeping an eye on service, food, everything; everywhere. Staff should see the owner controls them.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
HOW TO WATCH
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
