From: Steve Grammont (islander@midmaine.com)
Date: Sat Feb 22 2003 - 09:38:50 PST
>What if you did a few practice runs with cheaper stuff, like truck remains
>etc. Just to get the feel of the country, so to speak.To map out the best
>routes. Develop connections...
First of all, how are you expecting to find the stuff? Just walk around
the countryside of Russia with a metal detector? :-) In order to even go
over there someone would have to know of something pretty much for sure.
Otherwise it would 99.99999999% chance of being a complete waste of time.
Now, even if you did find something... guess what? It is not yours to do
anything with. You would have to go to the host government, inform them
exactly what you found and EXACTLY where you found it (I doubt you would
have much choice there), and ask for permission to just dig it up. There
is also the issue of who owns the land, but that is a whole 'nother ball
of wax I am sure. Now, at this point the government can do one of two things:
1. Start an official process of permitting you to remove the item. This
will no doubt involve a lot of money, bribes, and near perfect
"negotiating" skills. From my indirect experience, Americans and
Europeans by default lack the skills. And fully expect to get most, if
not all the way through the process, before being informed that there is
some "problem" with the paperwork so far and that you will no longer be
able to proceed any further (likely without a refund of money spent thus far).
2. Tell you to frig off, then get on the phone to one of their buddies
in a nearby military unit. A unit which likely has not been paid in a
couple of years in any official or consistant capacity. Said unit
negotiates for a cut of the sale and goes over to remove it. You are
kindly asked to leave the country.
Or option number 3 would be the combo of the two, using the money they
bilk from you to get the ball rolling on #2.
Sorry folks, but it isn't like the former Soviet Union is just a big
empty cornfield with a kindly old farmer meeting you in his driveway to
strike a deal for things he knows exactly where they are. The current
President of my company used to go over to Russia all the time on behalf
of the multi-billion dollar company he worked with. He had to deal with
several factories owned by former Generals (privatization was not, how
shall I say, all that "fair"). After the last time he went he told me
that he would never, ever go over there again. No matter how much
anybody paid him. He was just never sure if he would come back or come
back without a deal that they had already paid something for.
Sorry to look like I am trying to burst bubbles, but yeah... I am :-)
I'm no expert or anything, but I know enough to say that unless you
already have very strong and personal ties to the powers that be in such
countries, forget about ever doing anything there.
Steve
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