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In July 1995, Paul Tweiten accepts a managerial position with a start-up Russian-American joint venture for logging in a remote area of the Russian Far East. He soon learns its one thing to have the expertise to create a plan to upgrade the production and increase clients and contracts, but quite another to get the Russians to agree with him on anything. From the very beginning, it is a contest to see who will be in control. And who will remain sober enough to get the job done.
Fascinated by the primitive beauty of the area, learning to enjoy camp life, and growing to appreciate the majority of hardworking men (and women) on the project, Tweiten struggles to build friendships as well as establish a profitable plan. There are slow-downs, stark reminders of differences in knowledge between East and West, drunken brawls, jealousies, and continued threats of being fired by Russian officials. The furloughs home to Seattle seem like paradise. Still, he is drawn back to the people and the location—until the long daily hours of work and frustration begin to take a toll on his enthusiasm for upper management of the company employing him. What will he chose to do when his contract ends?
This author gives readers a unique view of his world during a challenging segment of his professional life. He paints a realistic image of the culture and lifestyle of this unfamiliar part of the world. These colorful early years of what will become fifteen years spent as a businessman in Russia, offers an insight only someone who has lived it can offer. Hopefully, he will continue to write about his intriguing adventures in Far East Russia for reader's enjoyment.