From Belarus, with scads of cash

VILNIUS - Nuclear dismantlement expert Robert S. Pollitt came to Vilnius from Belarus in a hurry. He and his business colleagues were fleeing an Alexander Lukashenko decree in 1995 that threatened to freeze his company's bank account.

"We literally jumped in the jeep, went down to the bank, pulled the money out after work, put it in our bags, and came up here to Vilnius and opened up a bank account," he said.

A native of the U.S. state of Indiana, Pollitt learned a lesson: It is far wiser to do business in Belarus as a visitor than as a resident.

"It's the system Lukashenko has in place right now - they just club you at every step, with taxation problems and legal problems and changing decrees hourly, not daily," said Pollitt.

A civilian consultant, Pollitt's nuclear disarmament projects stem from the United States Defense Threat Nuclear Reduction Agency, which is carrying out implementation of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty One between the United States and Russia. The nuclear reduction is a two-sided initiative which also includes building new housing for laid-off missile people in the former Soviet Union.

Pollitt, a structural engineer by profession, has worked on both sides of the initiative. He has built 187 apartments in Grodno, Belarus and has seen missiles destroyed in Belarus, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan. His business, UAB Rainmaker, based in Vilnius and Indiana, mainly produces technical reports detailing the dismantling of nuclear missiles. Pollitt just nailed down a project to dismantle 200 missiles and 90 silos in Russia.

But he will keep Vilnius as home base. "I had a choice of setting up an office in Warsaw, in Moscow, or Minsk, I chose Vilnius. It's a great place to get in and out of. I can do everything that I have to do in the former Soviet Union from here."

As an American working in nuclear disarmament, Pollitt has lived at least nine lives and has a seen enough to make a thriller writer jealous. He has had numerous run-ins with Belarussian authorities, had bad brushes with Russian thugs and seen the insides of many a nuclear missile silo. Still, Pollitt is not missing a beat and is busy at work writing a book about it all.

Next decade holds promise

He has another business objective in this sphere: Helping companies with the nuts and bolts of doing business in Lithuania and the ex-Soviet Union. "Specifically we're more involved in construction for companies that want to build a building over here or expand their existing structures, hotels, office buildings, industrial facilities," he said.

"I think the more educated, worldly companies out of America are going to see this part of Europe as a safer, more reliable place to do business. I really see this place becoming a major warehouse type of economy, where goods and merchandise can be manufactured here, stored here, warehoused here and then shipped into Russia or the East. The cost of manufacturing is lower. Down the road, maybe 10 years, the opportunity here will be just fantastic."

But the key to succeeding in the Baltics, says Pollitt, is patience. "I tell Americans this - if you're coming over here to make quick money, go to Vegas. This is the long haul. You've got to be in here for a long duration.

"This is such a different way of doing business. Just setting up a company here is much different. It's much more rigorous - the requirements of the government, the restrictions, how many people you have to hire, what you have to pay them, things of that nature."

Also sure to confuse Westerners are Lithuania's new work-visa requirements.

"They want me to sign a document that says that for some reason if I want to get rid of me I have to agree that I will pay me, in case I can't pay me to get rid of me. They want me to pay me to get rid of me. It's stuff like that that drives Americans nuts."

Baltic business corridor

Initially Pollitt anticipated that the booming east-west route to Russia would occur to Lithuania's south, through Belarus or the Ukraine.

"If you look at both of these countries today, that's tough - I definitely don't see corridors going through Ukraine and Belarus right now, and I think that has given the opportunity to the Baltics to become that corridor."

Pollitt finds that the Baltic east-bound route, with its ports and superior roads could be "more of a natural corridor," he said. "And at least these governments are attempting to head in the right direction."

Some experts - Pollitt included - believe that the biggest incentive for NATO to want to extend an invitation to Lithuania is the continued presence of Western financial interests in the country.

"NATO's not going to be involved over here if there's not some kind of strength in the economy," said Pollitt. "By strength I mean some kind of stability heading in a businessman's direction. The point is, in order for Lithuania to continue to pull itself up from this horrendous communist past, it has to encourage business with the West.

But overall, he gives the government good marks. "I think the government is coming along in the right direction," Pollitt said. "I'm obviously, from my standpoint, selfish, because I want to help these companies come over here and make money, create jobs, create a tax base. The reason I stay here is I'm bullish on Lithuania. But again, I'm here for the long haul."