Investment Opportunities in Russia and the Cis

The collapse of communist power in the Soviet Union and subsequent measures to establish a private sector have created opportunities for both foreign and domestic private capital in Russia and the non-Russian republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Investment Opportunities in Russia and the CIS contains papers published by the Post-Soviet Business Forum at the Royal Institute of International Affairs that have been revised for this volume. It provides a sober, long-term assessment of investment priorities in the former Soviet Union and of the problems and prospects for success that potential investors will encounter. Many investors have been attracted by the region's enormous wealth of natural resources. David Dyker provides an overall assessment of the prospects for investment in Russia and the CIS. Jonathan Stern evaluates the prospects for investment in the Russian oil and gas sector over the next decade. David Humphreys analyzes the specific problems of investment in the mining and metals industries in the CIS and the prospects for integrating these industries with the world economy. Julian Cooper addresses the lessons emerging from the conversion of the former Soviet defense industry to civilian production. William Butler assesses the issues involved in creating the legal structure necessary to facilitate private investment, paying particular attention to questions of ownership, investment, and company law. Sergei Manezhev focuses on the specific problems of investment in the Russian Far East, a region that is rich in natural resources and that has free economic zones.