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  • New Magazine Helps Russian-American Business Ties

    Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers, OK
    Feb 23 2005

    New Magazine Helps Russian-American Business Ties
    By TATYANA NYBORG
    Contributing Writer

    The second issue of the new magazine, Russian-American Business, was
    recently published in Norman. It is a unique magazine with a goal to
    improve the business relationship between the United States and the
    Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an independent union of the
    former Soviet republics. The magazine is distributed in the United
    States, Russia, the Ukraine, Byelorussia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
    The owners of the magazine, Olga and Valery Tarasova, have also
    published the Russian-language newspaper, The Russian American, for
    several years.

    American businesses have a great opportunity to sell their products
    to the CIS. Many advanced or simply good quality American products
    are still not well known there, but could be sold successfully. For
    example, `cowboy' style leather jackets, boots and jeans, some brands
    of cosmetics, fashionable jewelry, updated equipment for
    manufacturing and even cake mixes are examples. The list can include
    hundreds of such products.

    `More mid-level and small businesses in the United States have begun
    to develop interests of working with Russia,' Olga says. `About 80
    percent of the participants of a recent oil and gas trade show in
    Oklahoma City told us that they were interested in partnerships with
    CIS companies. The most important change affecting commercial
    relationships between Russia and the United States is, of course, the
    development of truly free markets in the former Soviet countries.'

    Another great opportunity for American business owners is to buy
    unique and original goods from CIS countries such as interior decor,
    furniture, jewelry and souvenirs. Production and shipping of everyday
    use items such as gloves, bed sets, towels, etc. can also be cheaper
    than the same products from China or India because of the low cost of
    labor in the CIS. Olga says, `The Russian American Newspaper was
    frequently contacted by companies from Russia, who asked for help in
    finding business partners in the United States. The companies that
    contacted us were among the leaders in their respective fields in
    Russia, the best Russian watch factory and a renowned jewelry
    producer, to name a few. We realized that there existed a market
    niche and began to publish the Russian-American Business magazine.'

    Olga continues, `Now, there is a great interest for developing
    business with the United States in the CIS countries. We know that
    from our talks with the leaders of Russia's State Congress and the
    Federation Council, with regional governors, whom we interview for
    the magazine. We know that also - and perhaps most importantly - from our
    discussions with business owners and entrepreneurs who come to the
    United States in search of commercial opportunities.'

    Through the Russian-American Business magazine, different companies
    found business partners. Olga adds, `not long ago, we received a
    letter from the head of a large science research institute in
    Armenia, Dr. Evrik Afrikian: After a publication in the
    Russian-American Business, we received several offers from American
    companies to start joint ventures. The Russian-American Business
    helped find a distributor for the Russian clock factory, Chaika. The
    same can be said about the unique Russian jewelry producer Severnaya
    Chern.'

    When asked what advantages Russia has over China and India, Olga
    says, `According to the views of the experts, the trends of today's
    world economy are such that there are four
    very-interesting-for-investment markets; India, China, Brazil, and
    Russia. Russia is by no means at the end of the interest scale, I
    must add. Last week I met with the owner of a large company in
    Oklahoma City who told me that, of late, there has developed an
    increased interest in investing into Russian energy companies. `My
    clients, who have an extra $250,000 to $2 million, are at ease in
    investing the money in Russian companies,' he told me. The
    reason - very high annual profits. One must also not forget Russia's
    cultural richness. People that start to do business with Russia
    frequently fall in love with that country.'

    The United States is the leading foreign investor in Russia's
    economy. Official data from 2003 give the total investment figure as
    2.4 billon dollars. United States companies also invested
    considerable amounts in the economies of Uzbekistan, Ukraine,
    Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Byelorussia.

    Some of the businessmen in the United States are troubled by the
    political situation in Russia. They think that the sale of the Yukos
    energy company, in addition to some other factors, show the lack of
    stability in Russia. The response by Nikolay Sofinskiy, Consul
    General of the Russian Federation in Houston, is `I can tell that the
    economic and political climate in Russia today is unquestionably
    better than it was 15 years ago. There are problems, but problems
    exist everywhere. Sure, there is some risk, maybe a greater risk than
    in other places, but there are also unique opportunities that do not
    exist anywhere else in the world. `He, who does not run a few risks,
    does not win.'

    For more information call Olga Tarasova at 405-579-3411 or
    405-701-3801.
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