In Russia, American firms develop in fits and starts.

One of the last projects undertaken by the now defunct law firm of Shea & Gould was pitching client Moscow's development sites to its other clients, creating a consortium to do the work and hosting seminars to introduce Russian politicians.

Shea & Gould wasn't able to keep itself together, but the consortium did develop some Russian projects, recalls former partner James E. Frankel, now head of the construction group at Baer Marks & Upham.

Other Americans that have traveled to mine Russian turf have had mixed results.

Jeffrey Glick, the developer of the Horizon House, among other city sites, was going to develop residential and other properties in Russia with partners. That never happened.

"We were working on a major project, and they paid us to design and create studies for a 100-story building, but nothing happened," he recalled last week, as the Russian ruble became worthless and its government was seemingly paralyzed.

But Glick was still bullish on Russia. "This [crisis] doesn't affect their real estate market," he explained. Most Russian real estate is commercial office, while most tenants are foreign companies.

"Everything is done in foreign currencies," he said. "There are thousands of foreign companies, and this doesn't affect their trading in natural resources such as oil or lumber, or their construction."

The "foreign" companies inhabiting the 130,000 square-foot building developed by the Athena Group in Baku, Azerbaijan consist of international Fortune 100 companies such as Exxon, KPMG Peat Marwick, Arthur Anderson and Electrolux.

That's why company president Louis M. Dubin is not too worried about his current holdings in Russian real estate.

Athena is constructing a 1.6 million square-foot logistical warehouse distribution facility at the airport in the duty-free zone, but is also on the verge of developing another 800,000 square-feet of commercial office space in the best area of CBD Moscow.

"We were contemplating X of new product, and because of the liquidity of the banks and institution, much of [the other people's development] won't happen, and many will stop building. So there will be less supply than we predicted, and less demand," he said. "We're continuing for now, and monitoring the situation closely. This is a time of great chaos, and we're trying to be intelligent about how we react."

Dubin says the Russians are used to this kind of "crazy crises," and do quite well. "They are like a seven-year old kid," he said.

He is also unconcerned with the idea of the Communists coming back to power, because he says the people have had a taste of capitalism and they like it, delighting in everything from McDonalds to Planet Hollywood, from Mercedes to Coke.

Hines is one of the other large players in Russia that is constructing major office buildings.

At one time, real estate consultant Stephen Anfang was investigating the possibility of redeveloping Russian railroad stations into commercial and retail centers.

"The reason everyone walked away is that there was no level of comfort," he recalled. "Everyone walked away insecure because the Russians made representations as 'Don't worry.'"

Anfang believes the Russians "blew it" five years ago, when many developers and lenders were eager to make investments.

It was around that time when Michael Skalka, senior vice president and general counsel to Stewart Title Guaranty Company, were to Russia with the blessings of the Agency for International Development (USAID), with the assignment to create a title registry system.

Stewart Title wanted to set up an independently run land registration system, but the government wanted to run it.

"USAID was never able to reach a resolution with the local government," Skalka said. "We felt the corruption was too high." And they didn't want to insure titles they were uncomfortable insuring.

Stewart Title Company instead has helped set up the systems in Budapest, Hungary and Moldova, Slovakia.

The lack of Russian title insurance has not stopped Dubin and other Westerners from creating new office space in Russia, but Dubin agreed, "I'm not buying title insurance."

"There is pretty much a [set of] customs now, and a land registry law which technically registers land leaseholds," he said. "Almost everything is owned in a 98-year lease. Very few people have fee simple title, except for municipalities and non-profits, Our Western lawyers are comfortable and it's caveat emptor, so if you are sophisticated and have people that know the customs, there is a level of comfort."

American-based architects have also found success in Russia, and they too get paid in dollars, not rubles.

Architect Ted Liebman, a principal in the New York-based Liebman Melting Partnership, has been working in the former Soviet Union for more than eight years on a number of architectural projects, both in Russia and in the Republics of Azerbaijan and the Ukraine.

He says his most successful clients are the ones that have a long-range vision and combine it with personal commitments to the country and the people.

"Russia is a country of relationships," he explained. "They are a very bright, very well-educated, very thoughtful group of people, but they don't do business impersonally. They do it personally, and relationships are essential. The best contract there is a good relationship."

Liebman is scheduled to fly to Russia next week, and has trepidations about what he will find because of reported food shortages."

"On a day-to-day basis, it's a serious problem, but I have confidence in the long run," he said. "I believe most of my clients are there for the long-run, and most of my products are moving along. You have to prepare yourself for the market. But there is such a great need for so much because it's so under-served."

There will continue to be a building boom in Russia and rise former Republics, he predicted. There are 50 cities with populations of 1 million or more, most without even a modern hotel, and the huge educated population creates markets for Western products. There is also a need for Western-style hotels, offices and apartments to service the Westerners that travel to and/or work for international companies.

"One of the most successful hotels I've ever seen is the Hyatt in Baku," said Liebman, which he says is near the airport and has 110 percent occupancy because rooms are being rented to those who stay for the day and then take flights out, so most rooms are re-rented again for the night.

Liebman works on large office, residential and mixed-use projects with both Russian and Western developers, including the Athena group and the Noble Gibbons Group, which is planning an approximately 100,000 square-foot entertainment retail and four-cinema complex in Moscow.

"I enjoy the work there because of the kinds of projects I work on, which are very difficult to achieve here in the U.S.," he added.

Steven P. Papadatos, principal of S.P. Papadatos Associates, has a small office in Russia, and has already completed nine projects for various Russian banks. "We are getting paid in dollars, and rather quickly," he added.

Papadatos predicts those Americans that will have problems are the ones with large investments that do not have staying power.

"They are the ones that will get hun badly, and will have to sell things at maybe 25 cents on a dollar," he said.

But at the same time, Papadatos notes, such a cut-rate sale can become someone else's bargain.

"For a major developer, this is a golden opportunity," he said. 'Russia has amazing natural resources, and you can look in the crystal ball and see it become a major world economic generator."

It was only a week or so ago that an international real estate investment group placed an ad looking for a bilingual chief operating officer with five years of experience in Russia to organize and oversee a Russian real estate subsidiary that expects to invest $200 million, mostly in the Moscow area. At deadline, it was unclear if that position was still open, or the funds still available.