Following the demise of the Soviet Union, Pepper Hamilton opened several offices in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union to take advantage of their expected opening to the West. The “Russia practice” was managed out of Pepper’s Washington office, making use of its close connections to the Clinton White House. John spent most of his time in the “Russia Practice” in Kazakhstan representing the Ministry of Energy in various matters concerning efforts by Western corporate entities to privatize the Kazakh electricity grid and oil fields. He also learned of the special role of Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union as the locale of the facility for Russian space launches (Baikonur Cosmodrome) and the facility for nuclear bomb testing (Semipalatinsk Test Site).
Russia and States of the Former Soviet Union
