A recent event causes me to write again about a subject which I first posted on in September, 2010: The Russians and Us. Having lived and worked in Moscow on and off for twenty-two years, last month’s end to our Cathedrals in the Kremlincompany’s five year joint venture development of a modern office building was a bitter-sweet event. This project was the most complicated but rewarding undertaking of my first forty years in real estate. Primarily because our Russian partners are...
I have a different take on Russia and Russians than you might hear otherwise, and this experience leads me to a small suggestion which I often share with our children. Russians tend to be independent and entrepreneurial; they believe in faith, family, education, friends and looking out for each other. They don’t trust the government, generally don’t invest in stocks, don’t borrow, or keep their money in banks. If they want to buy something, they save for it and then pay cash. Why? My good...
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