Dave Morse

The JV Team Dave Morse

A Ripping Good Tale of Ben & Jerry's Russian Joint Venture, is a first person narrative, two part volume relating the cultural comedy of a friendly business collaboration between two groups of American and Russian oddballs. Part I begins with the grassroots citizen diplomacy movement of the 1980s and follows Ben & Jerry's involvement with that movement, culminating with the 1992 opening in Russia of a joint ventured ice cream factory and two scoop shops. Part II follows hard won successes as the business grew steadily over the next several years until 1996, when a rather large criminal enterprise began attempting to take over this small example of socially responsible business and Russian-American cooperation. The joint venture, also called Iceverk, successfully resisted relentless attempts to take over the business for nearly a year and a half, until in early 1997 Ben & Jerry's made the difficult decision abandon this noble effort at "Ice Cream Diplomacy". The story is one of overall optimism and joy, even in the face of situations seemingly full of difficulty and foreboding.