With the NBA lockout continuing indefinitely, at least Chicago Bulls’ owner Jerry Reinsdorf has the White Sox to keep him busy.

New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov? He had a second job too: running for prime minister of Russia.

That is until last month. The nominal head of a pro-business party there, Prokhorov abruptly resigned his position, claiming the current regime — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his cronies — had orchestrated a “hostile takeover” of his party. Putin, notorious for crushing any threats, perceived or real, to his absolute hold on power over the last decade, announced a few days later he would return to Russia’s top post (as if he left) next year.

These storylines form the backdrop to the annual U.S.-Russia Business Council meeting taking place this week in Chicago. Executives from some of the most successful businesses in the U.S. — including Alcoa, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Ernst & Young, Visa, Boeing, Chevron, Pfizer and Microsoft — are meeting their Russian counterparts in finance, energy and technology to work on strengthening economic ties.

As someone who longs for the sustained economic prosperity of my homeland of Russia, I wish them success. But it is also my hope, as someone who is dedicated to promoting the ideals of free enterprise there, that these business leaders use this opportunity to speak frankly about the challenges Russia and the Russian people continue to face — from creating a true democracy to ensuring competition to promoting foreign investment.

Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, my country remains a dangerous place. Men and women can be detained at any time and for no reason. Police relish in dragging peaceful protesters through the streets by their feet. Whistle-blowers get sent to prison and beaten to death.

While people across the globe have taken their governments to task, demanding more accountability from their leaders, in some cases toppling dictatorships and creating the institutions needed for thriving democracies, power in Russia remains in the hands of a select few siloviki, or strongmen, whose arbitrary rule is harming Russian citizens and the nation’s standing in the world.

The country’s economy is lagging behind that of other developing nations, as businesses, afraid of retribution, are taking their capital elsewhere. Dozens of Russian companies that have tried to go public in the last few years have failed as investors have indicated they are weary of providing them startup capital. Poll after poll shows that around half of Russia’s young people and businessmen want to leave the country.

Business leaders must ask themselves: Is it worth getting that call in the middle of the night from your security staff saying your second or third general counsel in Moscow has quit amid threats and intimidation? Is it worth the tremendous financial costs and increased manpower to meet the arbitrary regulatory requirements imposed by the bureaucracy? Is it worth winding up in prison like the former head of the country’s most profitable energy company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, or dead like the respected corporate counsel Sergei Magnitsky?

Despite these challenges, the lure of Russia remains undeniable. With its highly educated workforce, aging infrastructure and massive unmet consumer demand, investment opportunities abound.

Yet investing in Russia requires more than just writing a check. It also requires that corporations increase their odds of financial success by pressing the current regime to impose changes that will preserve and bolster their returns. That means advocating for the independence of Russia’s judicial system and for the protection of intellectual property and contracts.

American businesses must urge the Kremlin to end rampant bureaucratic corruption and stop the practice of using its tax authorities and prosecutors to threaten Western investors and service providers.

At the same time we need strong actions that would punish Russian human rights violators, like the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act currently before the U.S. Senate, which would prevent Russian rights abusers from parking their money in the U.S. or gaining visas to visit this country. Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk should be commended for being co-sponsors of this important bill.

Finally, business leaders must use opportunities for dialogue, like this week’s meeting, to have an honest conversation about the policies that would be truly beneficial to Russia, that would ensure its citizens the dignity and rule of law they deserve.

These are all basic steps that would make engaging in commerce in Russia more tenable, bring prosperity to both nations and improve the bottom lines of businesses on both sides of the globe.

Pavel Ivlev is the founder and chairman of the Committee for Russian Economic Freedom.

Source: The Chicago Times.