Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 21, 1992 TAG: 9203210142
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
Government and business leaders hope to set up a colony of Virginia businesses in Moscow, tentatively called Fairfax Corner, that would provide new markets while also helping the Russians learn American business practices.
But Virginia's wealthiest and most populous county has no plans to export its huge glass office buildings to the former Soviet Union.
"It would be a series of buildings or a street that we would upgrade and that would just be modeled after a typical commercial street here," said Arthur Negrin, manager of export development for the Virginia Department of Economic Development.
"It's sort of like most-favored-nation status for Fairfax County and businesses," said Vladimir Nebyvaev, cultural counsel at the Russian Embassy in Washington. "We are very excited to see what will happen."
The project is part of a larger exchange that Fairfax and Moscow officials hope to establish. In the next two to three years, the suburban Northern Virginia county would serve as a model for a section of Moscow that closely resembles it in population and commercial development.
"The Muscovites came to us, through their embassy here, and said they want to learn how we do certain things," said Beverly Blois, a Russian history professor at Northern Virginia Community College and one of the project organizers.
"They are very interested in the interrelationship between local government, commercial and business activity and higher education, how those things connect in the U.S.," Blois said.
"The manufacturing jobs would stay here and Virginia businesses would get a new market," Negrin said. He said the proposed business colony would be open to all Virginia companies.
The Russians are looking to Fairfax for help in the mechanics of running a large municipal government free of the old central communist control.
"Like anywhere else, most things boil down to money. They want to know how we propose, implement and raise revenue-generating taxes," Blois said.
A delegation that included Blois, Negrin and Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulova visited Moscow last month to test support for the idea. During the weeklong visit, Bulova and the vice prefect of the Moscow district, Vladislav Butov, signed an accord outlining plans for the exchange.
"They knew we were a high-growth area and an affluent community. They are interested in seeing how we provide services in a democratic society and in finding opportunities to apply that," Bulova said.
Negrin said the Russians hope American companies will invest in going Russian manufacturing concerns, but they know those businesses often fail to meet U.S. standards and needs.
Possible tenants for Fairfax Corner are Virginia high-tech and service companies, textile and furniture makers and food producers, he said.
"All the companies I have talked to so far say this is a good idea that they think could have potential. I tell everyone I talk to to tell me if I'm crazy," Negrin said.
by CNB