Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia

by Charles Hecker

When the hammer and sickle flag came down at the Kremlin at the end of 1991, a feverish new market opened for Russia. In 2022, as soon as Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine, that market started to collapse, as Western firms fled the skyscrapers of Moscow and beyond. 




No other country of this scale has transformed itself so dramatically, so quickly—not just once, but twice. Over three turbulent decades, a wild, proto-capitalist free-for-all came seductively close to becoming a predictable place to do business. And then it all unravelled. Russia’s post-Soviet years have seen phenomenal successes, crushing failures, and the creation and destruction of enormous fortunes. How did it all happen? 




Charles Hecker tells the gripping, three-act story of international business in Russia since the fall of the USSR. What have global companies learnt—or failed to learn—about Russia over the course of this adventure? And beyond Russia, what do we now understand about the way countries and companies interact in the face of relentless change? Zero Sum brings to life the complexity, the nuance and the vivid colour of one of the greatest experiments in the history of global commerce.

Genres: Nonfiction, Russian History

352 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Tom Wyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this - an informative and engaging guide to the last few decades of commerce (and politics) in Russia.

Charles Hecker’s account is comprehensive and highly readable; the book is much less dry than its title suggests, and he interprets his brief in such a way as to tick off many of the key political developments since 1991. As a former resident myself, I enjoyed that the Moscow he depicts is highly realistic; the anecdotes are funny and relatable; the brief asides made to unnamed bars or restaurants are instantly recognisable to those who spent much time in the city’s Garden Ring. Added to that: the text does a good job of setting modernity in its historical and geographical context, and throws in a number of intriguing facts along the way. I hadn’t realised that, until recently, the world was at its most globalised on the eve of the First World War; I also appreciated the vignette around how simply changing the nomenclature from ‘third world countries’ to ‘emerging markets’ empowered analysts to better pitch for their institutions to invest in Russia - and had a visible impact on FDI. In the end, I was persuaded of the book’s key conclusion: that the invasion of Ukraine is less a dramatic departure from a previous trend towards convergence, but is instead confirmation that the balance between risk (which has always been large) and reward (which has been in decline for some time now) has permanently shifted. In these circumstances, the departure of western companies since 2022 is almost certainly more than just a temporary disruption.

All this goes to say - the book is thorough and informed. Yet perhaps inevitably, someone with the necessary background and proclivity to write a book on business in Russia is subject to a number of biases and blind spots that hinder the analysis. Though there’s not much need for him to do so, Hecker is at pains to make his politics clear. It’s taken for granted that the Soviet Union was nothing more than “sclerotic”, and - as a result - much of the misery of the ‘90s (hyperinflation; ‘shock therapy’; criminality) is acknowledged but ultimately explained away as a sad inevitability. To be fair to Hecker - he’s (rightly) quietly critical of the corruption rife in the voucher privatisation scheme, the decision made to make Russia repay the Soviet Union’s debt, and the failure of the West to create a post-collapse investment scheme for Russia at the level of the Marshall Plan. Yet the text is implicitly premised on the twin notions that market capitalism and the US are both unalloyed forces for good, which prevents Hecker from moving beyond surface level criticisms of specific (and, in his mind, seemingly unconnected) instances. Hecker makes little of the fact that the Soviet collapse led to one of the most precipitous falls in peacetime living standards in history, or that Russia was used as a guinea pig for a particularly brutal and untested form of economic ‘shock therapy’. He notes that only the US could have stopped the loan-for-shares scheme that poisoned Boris Yeltsin’s integrity, and seems surprised that they didn’t. It stretches credulity to think that these aren’t extreme and contingent events which bred certain outcomes, but Hecker ultimately concludes that - with the benefit of hindsight - Russia probably couldn’t have been anything other than it is today.

But is that quite right? I’m not so sure. Hecker correctly argues that the adoption of market economics does not necessarily entail liberal democracy, but the uncomfortable truth he never confronts (but which is well written about elsewhere by, eg., Quinn Slobodian) is that truly free markets can be actually antithetical to truly free votes. Rather than being a good faith actor that made a few sad errors, it’s important to note that the US spent the ‘90s terrified that the Communists would beat Yeltsin at the ballot box (and put an end to the experiment being conducted by a gaggle of free market ideologues drunk on Cold War American ideals). The US didn’t just miss Yeltsin’s excesses; they underwrote them, even to the extent that Bill Clinton got the IMF to give Yeltsin a loan for his 1996 re-election campaign (when he seemed doomed to lose). That’s an important element in the explanation of why Russia - even at its best - has never been anything more than a ‘managed’ democracy. Likewise, and despite the absence of any continued raison d’etre, NATO limped on as a post-Cold War zombie; whilst Hecker gives brief reference to the extreme fringe of people who argue that NATO provoked Putin into invading Ukraine (it did not; he did that all by himself), he does not address the more nuanced argument that NATO’s continued existence allows Putin to go to the Russian people and argue that a leader like him will always be necessary to stand up to a West that despises them. None of this is focused on in the text. Some of Hecker’s (impressive array of) interviewees are cowboys who were interested in getting rich quick, but what I found remarkable is that many genuinely drank the Kook-Aid and believed they were on some kind of mission. Yet what’s strange is that a text featuring a series of Westerners unable to jettison their Cold War baggage seems surprised at the continued existence of Russians suffering from the same malaise.

All the same - a good read.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the book briefly covers Czarist Russia and Soviet Union, the main emphasis is placed on the evolution gap of business activities in Russia starting from the early 90s until the full scale Russo-Ukrainian war in 2022, how it started with a bang and ended with a bang. I found the descriptions to be eventful and interesting - doing business in Russia always came with a tremendous risk, whether it was the hectic and lawlessness Yeltsin era or a more state controlled Putin era. Although the 30 year gap offered numerous opportunities to collect enormous wealth for lots of companies, the book delivered the message for the corporate world in many ways, such as impossibility to look past the state politics and blindly hope for its liberal alignment along with open trade. This is something which has never happened in Russia, so why bother asking - how did it all come down to this?

[Ben Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect balance of diligent research and natural storytelling

[Jeff Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles has written a unique and totally compelling book on Russia and how it did business and does business now. I was lucky enough to meet with Charles when he was writing Zero Sum but this is a book far greater than I envisaged.

The central thesis is that Russia (a country that emerged from the politics of 'Communist' Stalinism in the 1950s - which is something never to be forgotten when analysing Russia) has allowed itself to engage with business and the concept of capitalism but never at the expense of politics. The rigid grip that quasi communism and the rule of the KGB engendered in the country finds every opportunity to re-awaken when threats appear and when the West (and its businesses) think they have found a place in which to thrive.

The central fallacy of Russia and capitalism is laid bare by Charles in a well-written and very easy-to-read book that is thorough and absorbing throughout. The fallacies of Russia and its sweep between oligarchs and political mayhem is shown throughout. This is evidenced by those companies from the West that tried to make a killing in Russia (some succeeded) and the weird manner in which success was enabled - such as corruption, bribery, use of banknotes, political favours and every manner of chicanery in a state that tore away from Stalinism to a drunken spree with Yeltsin and then back to the top down grip of Putinism.

In this state, no-one wins but Putin but Zero Sum (a title that speaks for itself) won me over entirely.

[Darya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and Insightful: A Must-Read for International Business Enthusiasts

Zero Sum by Charles Hecker is a masterfully written exploration of one of the most dramatic economic transformations in modern history. From the chaotic birth of Russia's free market in the 1990s to its abrupt unraveling in 2022, Hecker weaves a compelling narrative that blends vivid storytelling with sharp economic analysis.

The book excels in illustrating the dizzying rise and fall of industries, fortunes, and ambitions in post-Soviet Russia. Hecker’s attention to detail brings to life the chaotic energy of a nation reinventing itself, filled with both breathtaking opportunities and devastating pitfalls. The stories of banking moguls, entrepreneurs, and multinational corporations navigating uncharted waters are as fascinating as they are instructive.

What sets Zero Sum apart is its ability to connect Russia's economic journey to broader lessons about global commerce and geopolitics. The book deftly examines how companies adapted—or failed to adapt—to relentless change, providing invaluable insights for anyone navigating international markets today.

Whether you're a student of international economics, a business professional, or simply a curious reader, Zero Sum offers a captivating and thought-provoking look at a pivotal moment in global history. It’s not just a recounting of events but a thoughtful exploration of what we can learn from them.

[Scott Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audiobook) Solid overview of the history of how Russia and foreign investment/business interacted with each other. The history does go back to the 18th century, but the main emphasis on this work is in the final years of the USSR/start of the modern Russian state. It is part history, part business pages, part cultural education. Doing business in Russia, at least before 2022, could be fraught for international investors, but it also demonstrated a land of opportunity, at least for those who could figure out some of the levers of power. While much writing on Russia right now focuses on the geopolitical/military aspect. Yet, this work does fill in some critical gaps, focusing on the economic and international trade aspect of Russia and why that matters to the overall analysis of Russia. The 2022 war did change the game, as Russia found itself more isolated from the outside world, more that it traditionally allowed itself to be in the past. Future works will have to look at how the China/Russia investment ties evolve, especially in the wake of the past few years.

Overall, a good survey-type history. It isn’t super in-depth, but not all works need that to be the case. Worth the time to read, regardless of format for those wanting a greater understanding of how business/foreign investment worked in Russia and the impacts of recent actions.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chockablock full of insights on the frenetic efforts of companies to invest in Russia and what it was like doing business there at the time, as well as the wreckage after Putin invaded the Crimea and then Ukraine, leading to a newfangled variety of state seizures and an autocratic capitalism. Lots about him sound like Trump. The author points out that capitalism does not necessarily go hand in hand with capitalism, and that that’s just a figment of postwar thinking.

[James Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even without economic expertise of my own, Hecker (who has plenty) paints a clear picture of the high stakes entry, reentry and dramatic exits of companies into Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. A thoroughly interesting and timely read of a country that remains an enigma to so many.

[Robert Muller · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. I loved the information and the writing style, kind of like talking serious stuff in a bar after three or four vodka toasts. It gave me a much better idea of how business worked over the last thirty-odd years in Russia. It can be a little disorganized and repetitive, but it's always fun.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid look at the rise and fall of international business in Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He does a good job explaining the financial shenanigans without too much jargon which made it easy to follow. He captures the big picture of the failures well.

[Chuang · Rating 2 out of 5]

no personal experiences revealed. basically a collection of clippings of internet reporting.

[RUDOLF NAGEL · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the many books written about expats in Russia from the collapse of the Soviet Union to todays war in Ukraine. A description of the opportunism that motivated most expats at the time.
Very much concentrated on Moscow. My own experience as Construction Project director in Southern Russia was more positive

[Steadman Watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Any one who was alive during the run up to the 2007 financial crises knows about the BRICS. This gives some interesting details, but really nothing new.