Doing Business with the Russian-Speaking World
The prospect of doing business with Russian and Eurasian firms can seem intimidating to Westerners. Nevertheless, the countries of the former Soviet Union make for an indispensable part of the global economy. We spoke with Marlen Kruzhkov, a partner at the new high-end boutique law firm Kruzhkov Russo, about his considerable experience working with clients from the Russian-speaking world. An accomplished attorney practicing commercial litigation, corporate transactions, and client guidance, Kruzhkov is an expert on the unique challenges and opportunities that these countries offer.
NYP: How have the political developments of the last few years affected business with the Russian-speaking world?
MK: When it comes to Russia itself, there’s been a definite cooling off. A lot of international investment in Russia is based on foreign currencies, so when the ruble depreciated a lot of debt became more formidable. When you couple this with the general slowing of the economy, a lot of wealth was lost. That said, business with other countries in the former Soviet Union, such as Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan, has been going strong. America is the number one offshore zone in the world. People want to do business here.
NYP: What do you think are the best ways to improve the working relationship between the US and Russia?
MK: During the Cold War, when the relationships between the two countries were much worse than they are now, people were always able to distinguish between the government and the people. Regardless of how we feel about the Kremlin, we should appreciate that Russians are people just like ourselves, who value and desire the same essential things. As an immigrant myself, I feel that the Russian-American community has a role to play in this. Much as the Italian-American community had to work to transcend Godfather typecasting, Russian-Americans need to present an alternative to the villainous Hollywood stereotype. Philanthropy can be a good route for this. I served as chairman of the UJA’s Russian Leadership Division and later founded the Russian Speaking Business Attorneys Network (RUSBAN) because I wanted to give back to the society that had done so much for me, and I think that many other Russian-Americans feel the same way. There are so many hardworking, decent people in this community.