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Hofstede’s cultural dimension for Russia we can identify its similarity to Belarus by using the following cultural identifiers [9]. First is power distance dimension, which tells us to what extent individuals feel unequal in the society. Second, uncertainty avoidance dimension, which is about the extent to which individuals are afraid of an ambiguous situation to happen due to the future being unknown and hardly predictable. Russia scores high on both these dimensions. According to Kirkman and Shapiro (1997) as seen in a report by Steven R. Van Hook of the Jones International University writes that Belarus as one of the examined Eastern European countries “rank[ed] high in both categories of uncertainty avoidance and power distance” (2000) [10]. Language Another huge country specific advantage that Belarus has is language. Belarus is has two official languages - Belarusian and Russian. It is during the national referendum in 1995 that Russian language was voted as the second official language. It makes business negotiation process faster and simpler due to no language barriers. Geographic Location One more CSA for Gazprom in Belarus is geographic location. Belarus share border with Russia. Thus, the transfer of gas is quite easy and fast. Gazprom export into Belarus is already established. However, it is going to become even more efficient. When Gazprom’s CEO, Alexey Miller, visited Minks in September 2013, he promised to Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, that “his company would boost its investment in the modernization of the gas transportation system”; The pipeline in Belarus’ is already worth $5billion as was estimated by Russian state-controlled company [11]. Legal Practice Belarus’ legal practices o f doing business are welcoming. By analyzing data presented by the World Bank Corp, Belarus is ranked 64th in 2013 on the “Ease of doing business” out of 289 economies. This is a good result. It considered many indicators of doing business easily. Just name a few large once for Gazprom. First, Protecting Investors - ranked 95th which is good compared to other countries of Eastern Europe meaning that Belarus cares about their investors. Second, Trading Across Borders is very favorable for Russia because it takes only 26 days for importing goods, duration o f documents preparation is only 8 days at a low cost of 160$, and the overall cost of import is very low because Gazprom has a special agreement with Belarus about cost of transportation [12]. Works Cited 1. About Gazprom.(2013).Gazprom [Official Website]. Retrieved from http://www.gazprom.com/about/ 2. Giant new Siberian gas field starts production to supply Europe.(2012). The Siberian Times, n.p. Retrieved from http://siberiantimes.com/business/profile/news/giant-new-siberian-gas-field-starts- production-to-supply-europe/ 3. Alexey Miller: Gazprom Enters the Asia-Pacific Market with gas engine fuel. (Nov 12, 2013). Gazprom International [Website]. Retrieved from http://gazprom-international.com/en/news- media/articles/alexey-miller-gazprom-enters-asia-pacific-market-gas-engine-fuel 4. Gazprom cozies up to Chinese partners. (2013). United Press International,Icp. Retrieved from http://www.upi.com/Business News/Energy-Resources/2013/10/22/Gazprom-cozies-up-to- Chinese-partners/UPI-94521382439980/ 5. Gazprom in Figures.(2011). Reaching New Horizons. Facktbook. Retrieved from http://www.gazprom.com/f/posts/51/402390/gazprom-reference-figures-2007-2011-eng.pdf 6. Strategy. (2013). Gazprom [Gazprom Website] Retrieved from http://www.gazprom.com/about/strategy/ 7. Company Profile. (2011). Gazprom Stroytek Salavat. Retrieved from http://www.gazpromss.com/about/ 8. ISO 9001:2008 Quality management systems -- Requirements.(2008). ISO SC2. Retrieved from http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue tc/catalogue detail.htm?csnumber=46486 9. Hofstede Center.(2013). Cultural Insights. Retrieved from http://www.geert-hofstede.com 228

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