Walsh also worked in humanitarian activities in Belarus , Russia and the Republic of Georgia during and after the Cold War and brought dozens of young people to the United States for major medical operations . He brought the first major western investment to Georgia resulting in the development of the Marriott Tbilisi Hotel , Marriott Courtyard , office buildings and an ice cream factory in Tbilisi , the Georgian capital . He directed the first western relief efforts at the request of Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev after the 1988 Armenian earthquake , the first time American citizens and aircraft were allowed behind the Iron Curtain without visas since World War II . He negotiated with USSR Minister of Sports Marat Gramov and Deputy Minister Alexander Kozlovsky for the historic swim of the Bering Strait by cold-water swimmer Lynne Cox in 1987 and the Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb of Mt. Everest by Chinese , Soviet , and American climbers led by Jim Whittaker
1988 Armenian earthquake
1988 Armenian earthquake
Bob Walsh