ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the obstacles facing business people in acquiring accurate information about the environment in which they will conduct business. It discusses the selected business threats (extortion, kidnapping and counterfeiting) and personal security threats (assault, car theft and burglary). Surveys of the foreign business community in Moscow show that, due in large part to lack of accurate information on the nature of the threats facing business people, several basic assumptions have developed. One of the classic methods for local gangs to accumulate financial means to expand their criminal activity is extortion. The best known extortionists of the era was Misha Yaponchik, who was called the blood poet, Robin Hood of the Twenties. The chapter explores the potential dangers enumerated may be greatly reduced through relationships with several institutions and organizations in Russia. These include embassies, chambers of commerce, private security firms and the Russian police.
