A Siberian Deal

A Czech businessman. The wild nineties in Russia. A story based on true events.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the new Russian government privatises industry using vouchers issued to all citizens, giving them the chance to become shareholders in Russian companies. The vouchers distributed among the people can be exchanged for real shares at special auctions. For the rural population living in extreme poverty, the vouchers are just pieces of paper with no real value. However, Texan entrepreneur John Mills and his Czech partner Petr Kováč see huge potential in these seemingly worthless scraps of paper. They set out for the most remote and coldest corners of the country to acquire vouchers for the state oil company Gazneft, travelling from town to town with bags full of cash. However, their ambitious plan soon turns out to have a number of unexpected pitfalls. For example, the auctions where these vouchers are exchanged for actual shares are deliberately held in the most remote and inaccessible places to discourage foreigners from participating. What's more, the Russian mafia and the oligarchs at the head of Gazneft learn of Mills and Kováč's successful campaign – and at that moment, it becomes a matter of life and death.