Internet Resources on Business in Russia

Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union Russia still remains the biggest country in the world. Russia has a unique geographical location, obtains rich natural resources, and offers a great opportunities for international business. This is a collection of Internet resources devoted primarily to business opportunities in Russia created in recent time both in the U.S. and Russia.

General Economic Information About Russia

America-Russia Business Organizations

Business Opportunities In Russia

General Economic Information About Russia

The following site created by Karen Rondestvedt, Slavic Bibliographer, University of Pittsburgh Library System, is the most comprehensive site on Business, Economics, and Law Resources in Russia. It accumulates information on economic and financial situation in Russia, updated legal information, tips to opening of a company branch in Russia, etc.

For business people who wish to trade with Russia the publication Russian Trade Connections will be helpful. The Eastern Europe Trade Leads produced by the Economic Bulletin Board of the U.S. Department of Commerce is also valuable and currently updated.

A range of related sites are produced by U.S. Federal Structures, as well as research institutions. The U.S. Department of Commerce places on the Internet related information available on paper from the Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS) and Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center.

Brenden West, at the University of Washington's Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, has essembled a Web site of information about the New Russian Economy. His Russian Economy Resource Center has sub-pages on:

-Banks and Financial Markets. Contains information about Russian Commercial Banks, including addresses and names of the chairpersons. Under the Sources of Finance is information about organizations providing financial assistance to business ventures and economic reform projects in the CIS located.

-International Trade Assistance contains information about international trade contacts in the U.S. and the CIS, and the sources of financing outside Washington State.

-Telecommunications, Russian Media contains information about major Internet providers and more traditional telecommunication companies in the NIS.

Another Web site from Seattle, WA is The Seanet Russian Home Page published by Seattle's Object Software Development, Inc.. This site has links to visa applications at the Seattle Russian Consulate, Aeroflot Information, and other Russia-related WWW sites.

Legal Information

It should be very important to be closely familiar with current Russian laws regarding business startups or making investments in Russia. The legal situation in Russia changes very rapidly and can sometimes be tricky. The gopher menu Current Russian Law obtains information regarding patent and trademark law, as well as others. This gopher menu is collected and housed by Sergei Naoumov at UNC. Another selection of relevant documents can be found at the nic.funet.fi archive site. The documents on Russian economy, ruble zones, and money transfer to/from Russia are available at the nic.funet.fi archive site.

America-Russia Business Organizations

There are some Web sites on associations and companies dealing with business contacts between the U.S. and Russia. TheRussian-American Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit trade association whose mission is to develop and facilitate U.S. trade, investment, and commerce in the Russian marketplace.

The California-Russia Trade Association is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation registered in the State of California.

There is also a Home Page on Roger H. Madon, P.C., a New York firm specializing in International Law, Environmental Law, and Labor and Employment Law. The firm concentrates on Russian business, acting as advisor and liaison on behalf of both American and Russian companies.

Business Opportunities In Russia

Some Russian Web sites provide information about current situation in Russian economy, business, and investment opportunities. The most comprehensive site is the Info Market server, provided by the Institute for Commercial Engineering (ICE) in Moscow. This site contains the most current and constantly updated commercial information about Russia available on the Internet. Here you can find security market laws, financial and stocks news, quotes, market indices (in Russian), and much more, including a Home Page for the Russian Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange (RCRME).

One of the greatest opportunities for American businessmen to invest their money profitably is the construction of the building of the Business Center in Moscow. Information about other business opportunities in Russia is available from Window-To-Russia Home Page.

Arguably, the most comprehensive related regional site from Russia is St. Petersburg Business Way '94. This site contains a wide information about business in St. Petersburg, i.e. business environment, objects for investments, business offers, local companies' index by industry, steps and tips to setup a company, etc. Two hypertext business-law journals (in English) "Rules and Regulations in Russia" and "St. Petersburg Business Journal" were published in St. Petersburg in 1994. They contain articles on different problems of government controls, investments, taxation, intellectual property, commercial law, etc. Both hypertext journals are made available by the St. Petersburg Web. But the straight net of business information in Russia is still under construction. Several business libraries and information centers are functioning separately.

NPLST Library Business Office

The biggest business information center in Moscow region is the Business Information Office in Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology (NPLST). The Office is a specialized business library and consulting department which provides economic, commercial, and advertizing information. The Office also provides regular consultations and fulfils requests for trade marks and samples of products, patent search, lisence agreements, etc. Information is available in printed and electronic forms, CD-ROM databases are also maintained in the Business Information Office. Traditional library and bibliographic services are free of charge while consulting services, address-reference information, etc. are fee-based. The Business Information Office is opened to general public, as well as to business companies, financial groups, banks, etc.

Miscellaneous

Unless the NPLST doesn't have it's own WWW site yet, several electronic publications have been recently created by Library's leading specialists and published in UDT Occasional Papers. They are available on International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) IFLANET server. The following papers deal with current situation and perspectives in information and networking technologies in Russian libraries:

-The First Russian Computerized Library Network - A Description and Perspectives of the LIBNET Project. Dr. Jakov Shraiberg and Mr. Mikhail Goncharov. The Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology. Moscow, Russia. March 1995.

-The Current State and Prospects of Online Systems in Russian Libraries. Dr. Jakov Shraiberg. The Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology. Moscow, Russia. March 1995.

-Problems of Optical Character Recognition Technologies in Russian Libraries and Information Centers. M. Goncharov and D. Nikolaev. The Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology. Moscow, Russia. March 1995.

Author: Victor V. Zverevitch,
BSKGSJU%SJUMSIC.bitnet@mitvma.mit.edu

The Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology.
1994-95 Freedom Support Act Fellow.
Summer 1995 intern in M.I.T. Libraries.
Date: August 15, 1995 -->

Internet Resources on Business in Russia

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