While many American companies have fled from doing business in Russia as media and politicians have built up the message of hate against the country, Koch Industries has continued to pursue commerce in Russia. The backlash against Koch Industries has been huge. The advocates for greater antagonism toward Russia have portrayed the private company’s decision to continue engaging in commerce for mutual benefit as an inexcusable divergence by a prominent company. Koch Industries, by taking the routine profit-seeking, wealth-building course of a company, is inhibiting the promotion of an anti-Russia zeitgeist. If Koch Industries can keep American-Russian commerce alive, even in a relatively small way, the propagandists worry that other companies may start to reopen their Russian commerce as well and that individuals may start to wonder what the harm is in dealing with Russians as friends instead of as enemies. So strong is the backlash against Koch Industries that the company is heralding at the top of the “news” page of its website a collection of company announcements titled “Koch Responds: The Crisis in Ukraine” as a public relations response. The earliest of the three announcements in the collection is a March 16 statement by Koch Industries President and …read more
Source:: Ron Paul Institute
