Creating a Window to Virtual Nations

In 1505, 22-year-old Italian artist Raffaello Santi, later known as Raphael, created a painting for a wealthy merchant named Niccolo Ansidei from Perugia. The Madonna's veil in the artwork featured a never-before seen deep blue color. This costly pigment, natural ultramarine, was supplied by the Florentine Jew Jacob Ezra, who developed a unique method to process precious lapis lazuli stones and mix them with rare oils.

Jacob helped Raphael become a renowned artist with the support of a 16th-century Jewish "virtual nation." Jewish banker Moshe Nir in Venice, Jewish trader Moshe Tara in Istanbul, and Jewish sailor Shimon Pallache in Fez made it possible for stones mined in Afghanistan to be transported and sold in Florence. This borderless community relied on informal connections and shared values, culture, and economic systems, fostering a medieval precursor to modern globalization.

500 years later, we still see Jews (including Israelis but also citizens of other countries) operating within the same virtual nation and helping humanity to attain new achievements. Today, a new virtual nation is emerging from Russian-speaking communities in London, Berlin, Dubai, and Tel Aviv. One example of these communities can be found at Elbert, Nazaretsky, Rakov & Co. in Herzliya Pituah. Here, our valued clients come in not only to discuss business, banks and taxes, but also to appreciate art and music while engaging in conversations about contemporary issues and events.

Six solid pillars Stanislav Belkovsky, one of the most prominent intellectuals in the Russian-speaking community, has been delving into the idea of "meta-Russia" for almost a year, and mainly talks about the concept of the virtual nation. He explains that a virtual nation needs solid foundations built around six pillars:

Common values and culture – Members of a virtual nation read the same literature in the same language, watch the same films, and follow the same online personalities. They take pleasure in a shared belief system and cultural traditions.

Governance and decision-making – Virtual nations maintain some systems of governance that range from informal agreements to more structured systems with codes of conduct and legal frameworks.

Economic and financial systems – There are likely to be emerging sub-structures within existing institutions linked to virtual nations, and new ones, mostly created in form of digital currencies or token economies.

Social interaction – Virtual nations facilitate social interaction among members through social media, online discussion forums, virtual gatherings and events.

Gig economy and remote work – Members of the virtual nation offer their skills and services to both internal and external clients, creating a thriving ecosystem of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and online businesses.

Investment and fundraising – Businesses in the virtual nation focus on investors within the community and raise capital through both traditional and digital financing methods. Outside investors may be attracted to the virtual nation due to its innovative technologies, unique business models, or potential for growth.

In addition to all of these, it is vital to acknowledge a fundamental reality: all forms of human cooperation, be it a business agreement, financial transaction, or a simple restaurant order, rely on trust between individuals. Trust serves as the cornerstone of a virtual nation.

One of the pioneers in the field of law

Shared values and culture provide the groundwork for trust; governance structures uphold trust; and trust is the hallmark of business and financial arrangements. Lawyers are essential gatekeepers of trust in a modern society, and therefore it follows that law practices are building key infrastructures for virtual nations, creating their constitutions, bylaws, and other essential documents, guaranteeing clarity, conciseness, and legal validity.

Legal firms will hold a vital position in shaping and documenting the relationships between members of virtual nations and external parties, whether these are international businesses or governmental institutions from other countries. In addition to this primary function, lawyers will also devote their attention to offering mediation and arbitration services to resolve conflicts that may arise among members within the virtual nation, as well as disputes that involve the virtual nation and external entities. This expanded role will ensure that the interests of the virtual nation and its members are adequately safeguarded in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Karmi Elbert was born in Kyiv, Andrey Nazaretsky in Leningrad and Maxim Rakov in Odessa. During their adolescence, all three of them were thrown into a completely different reality of life when their families immigrated to Israel after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Karmi, Andrey and Maxim were trailblazers as the first Russian-speaking Israelis to study law and enter the legal field. Beginning in 1995, they gained experience as prosecutors and legal advisors to distinguished Israeli institutions. In 2017, they joined forces to establish their own legal practice. The firm's accomplishments stem from assisting multinational corporations and well-known high net worth individuals, primarily those originating from the former USSR, Israel and around the world.

Today, Elbert, Nazaretsky, Rakov & Co. provides legal support to businesses and private property owners and advice on issues such as international trade and taxation, sanctions and compliance, banking regulation and real estate transactions and in many other areas essential for their clients. The firm’s founders strongly believe that the existence of virtual nations opens many valuable opportunities for the fair and consistent prosperity of the global economy, and the members of the vibrant business community that has formed around them make an important contribution to this prosperity.

Partnered with Elbert, Nazaretsky, Rakov & Co.