SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #1037 (3), Friday, January 21, 2005
**************************************************************************
TITLE: Nuclear
Industry
'Wasteful'
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Western donors and Russian taxpayers are propping up an outdated and dangerous Russian nuclear power system that is being managed by dubious methods, Norwegian-based environmental organization Bellona says.
In the last 10 years, the G-8 group of leading industrial nations, the European Union and the United States have spent billions of dollars keeping the Russian nuclear industry safe and afloat, Bellona spokesman Igor Kudrik said Thursday in a telephone interview from Oslo.
The United States alone has transferred up to $10 billion to Russia in the decade and another $20 billion is scheduled to be noted by G-8 by 2010, Kudrik said.
"The problem is that while the Russian nuclear industry is undergoing bureaucratic changes, the infrastructure itself still works the way it did during the Cold War and is able to keep operating only because of cash coming from Russian and Western taxpayers," he said.
Bellona is about to release in Russian a report called "Russia's Nuclear Industry: the Need for Reform." The report argues that the infrastructure of the country's nuclear sector must be changed, because otherwise the money donated by the foreign counties will be wasted.
Representatives of the Federal Nuclear Power Agency said Thursday they were too busy to comment on the Bellona report.
"Most of the western financing coming to Russia to promote nuclear safety is being spent only on keeping this Soviet-style industry running," Kudrik said.
Russia is still developing many nuclear technologies that the West is on its way to abandoning, including the closed fuel cycle, which involves reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. This has been proven to be unprofitable, but is still used in Russia because it is considered one way for the nuclear power industry to survive, the authors of a new Bellona report states.
"The main reason that Russia ... and a mere handful of other countries ... rely on this environmentally dangerous and proliferation-friendly system is based on outmoded assumptions from the 1970s that natural uranium prices would skyrocket, and thus a plan involving plutonium-based fuel was needed to keep the industry in place," the conclusion of the report says, "The United Kingdom and France reprocess, but both countries, even with their well-developed infrastructures, have found reprocessing to be unprofitable. This is because later findings indicated that natural uranium stocks would last until late in the 21st century."
In another example of purported mismanagement, the environmentalists pointed out an incident involving a nuclear submarine that sank in 2003. Bellona says this is a telling example of international programs being carried out without proper environmental safety.
"These problems became very clear after August 2003, when the written-off nuclear submarine K-159 sank," Kudrik said. "It was being taken to be broken up when it sank in stormy weather."
When the vessel with 800 kilograms of spent uranium fuel on board ran into the storm off the Kola Peninsula, it sank in 240 meters of water with 9 of its 10-man crew going down with it. Although the submarine was not a part of an international decommissioning project, Bellona said that the sloppy approach to the disposal of the vessel could mean that western-financed projects could result in similar dangerous incidents. In June 2003 Norway allocated $13 million for transportation, removal of nuclear fuel and destruction of two decommissioned submarines of the same type.
"These submarines were towed to the dismantlement points the same way as K-159 was," the report says.
In November, the report was presented to the European Parliament and was received with great interest by the international audience, according to the authors.
"The presentation lasted about four hours; usually during things like that people hang around in a session hall, walking here and there," Kudrik said. "This time everybody stayed where they were."
Foreign countries financing nuclear safety measures should come up with a master plan for all of Russia, not only for specific areas such as the Kola peninsula, which is a huge graveyard for nuclear submarines, he said.
"There are lots of other places that should be taken into account - the regions of Southern Siberia and the Mayak reprocessing plant [in the Chelyabinsk region], for instance," Kudrik said.
Meanwhile, victims of a Soviet-era nuclear industry disaster - 10 men who took part in the cleanup of the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown - continued a hunger strike they started last week in the town of Sestroretsk, a suburb of St. Petersburg
On Thursday, one of the hunger strikers was taken to a hospital, Interfax reported.
"This morning one of our fellow's temperature shot up and, taking into account that this weekend he already felt bad, we called an ambulance," Sergei Kulish, head of the group, was quoted as saying. "He was diagnosed as having pneumonia. Another two [hunger strikers] got medical assistance, but did not have to leave.".
On Wednesday the hunger strikers spoke to Alexander Rzhanenkov, a representative of City Hall, who said the federal government has allocated 40 million rubles ($1.4 million) to cover city debts to Chernobyl disaster workers, Kulish said.
He said the group would not quit the hunger strike before the Supreme Court issues a final ruling on financial compensation.
TITLE: City Acts to Let Pensioners Get Back on Buses
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly on Wednesday ratified a law creating a discounted monthly travel pass, which city pensioners and war veterans will be able to buy for 230 rubles ($8.16).
The law allows federal and municipal pensioners, who until Jan. 1 were entitled to ride public transportation for free, the right to use the card. It will allow them unlimited travel on all forms of public transportation in the city.
Because producing and selling the cards will take time, the law also permits pensioners to use public transport until Feb. 15 for free.
The city legislature's action followed similar initiatives across the country and at the federal level and came in the wake of noisy street protests at the weekend.
Apparently soothed by the politicians' actions, city pensioners ceased their protests early in the week.
Shaken by the uproar over the cancellation of Soviet-era benefits, Cabinet ministers said that the government would subsidize transport costs for pensioners and war veterans.
Health and Social Development Minister Mikhail Zurabov said at a meeting of the State Pension Fund that the Cabinet had drawn up a plan to introduce subsidized transport passes for those who used to ride for free and the plan had been sent it to regional authorities for their approval.
The passes should not cost more than the extra cash payments due to be paid to beneficiaries as "compensation" for the loss of their free of discounted entitlements, he said.
The price of discount travel passes will have different cost in different regions.
In the Arkhangelsk region the cost will be 100 rubles, in Murmansk it is 120 rubles and in Karelia 150 rubles.
Meanwhile, Igor Mailov, deputy head of the city's transport committee, said the city's passes will go on sale on Tuesday. The first passes will be valid from Feb. 16 to March 15.
Pensioners will be able to buy the passes at metro stations, at Sberbank outlets and post offices.
The city's labor and welfare committee said survivors of the World War II Siege of Leningrad will receive compensation payment of 650 rubles.
It said the sum will make up for the loss of their previous entitlement to a 50-percent discount on telephone, radio, TV antenna and security services, plus will enable them to buy the discounted travel pass.
Meanwhile, Zurabov said that Moscow and St. Petersburg should consider alleviating the costs of pensioners from the Moscow region and the Leningrad Oblast, who often travel to the capitals to work.
On Wednesday, Moscow's mayor, Yury Luzhkov, and Alexei Panteleyev, acting governor of the Moscow region, signed such an agreement, under which pensioners from the Moscow region can use the Moscow metro for free, while Moscow pensioners can travel public transportation in the Moscow region for free.
However, no decisions of this kind have yet been reported in St. Petersburg.
The problem arises because paying compensation for the lost entitlements is the responsibility of regional administrations, and does not cover the loss of entitlements outside the region where residents live.
While offering all those carrots to the country's 40 million pensioners, ministers accused the Communists and the radical National Bolshevik Party of being behind the protests, and warned pensioners against being used as political pawns.
In St. Petersburg, eight members of left-wing parties who at the weekend and on Monday participated in the city pensioners' protests against the axing of the entitlements, were detained by police in the city and its suburb of Gatchina on Tuesday. Vladimir Soloveichik, head of Regional Communists' Party movement, was detained for several hours in St. Petersburg and told he would be fined for organizing the blocking of Suvorovsky Prospekt on Monday. Soloveichik denied he had been at Suvorovsky Prospekt.
Seven other people, all members of National Bolshevik Party, including Vladimir Leonov, a deputy in the Leningrad Oblast Legislative Assembly, were detained the same day for several hours in Gatchina, where they had taken part in a protest by pensioners.
Opposition parties called for a range of sanctions from dismissing the government to firing the ministers who drew up the controversial reform.
Opposition parties have moved in recent days to put their weight behind the protests, which appeared to be a largely spontaneous response as pensioners and other affected groups learned that cash payments would not make up for their lost entitlements.
The protests, which on Thursday continued in Samara, Novosibirsk, Biisk and some other Russian cities, have attracted tens of thousands of mainly elderly people in what is fast becoming the most serious domestic challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule.
Transportation officials in some regions have complained that the protests are costing them money by blocking traffic. Deputy Transportation Minister Sergei Aristov told NTV television that cash fares were needed to maintain the country's rapidly deteriorating transportation infrastructure.
Russian newspapers have speculated this week that the benefits crisis has left are a bigger dent in Putin's approval ratings than any other event or Kremlin initiative during his five years in office.
TITLE: Finnish Media Holding Buys Independent Media for $186M
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Finnish media giant Sanoma has agreed to pay 142 million euros ($186 million) for all of Dutch-owned Independent Media, the largest publisher of consumer magazines in Russia, both companies said Wednesday.
If approved by anti-monopoly authorities and completed in the second quarter, as the companies expect, the deal will be the largest in Russian publishing history
The magazine division of Helsinki-based SanomaWSOY Group, whose titles range from the Dutch version of Playboy to the Bulgarian version of Cosmopolitan, called the acquisition of Independent Media, which also publishes The St. Petersburg Times and Vedomosti newspapers, a perfect fit with the company's plans to expand in the former Soviet Union.
"The growth perspectives on this market are unlimited," said Koos Guis, CEO of Amsterdam-based Sanoma Magazines International, which will become the sole shareholder of Independent Media.
Fueled mainly by the growing popularity of glossy magazines such as Cosmopolitan, FHM and Men's Health, Independent Media's revenues have grown an average of 25 percent over the last three years, hitting $92 million in 2004.
Sanoma Group posted sales of $3.25 billion last year, about a third of which came from its magazine division.
Guis said Sanoma does not plan to involve itself in the management of the company, and that Independent Media founder and CEO Derk Sauer will stay on for at least three years.
"We never ever interfere with the editorial policies of our publications," Guis said. Guis was Sauer's boss at Dutch publisher VNU in 1989, when Sauer was sent to Moscow to launch an English-language weekly magazine called Moscow Magazine, which eventually failed. Sanoma later bought VNU.
"[Sanoma is] scrupulous about independence and transparency," Sauer said. "They only want to grow. The only purpose of this deal is that we all can strengthen our position on the market."
Sauer built Independent Media on the back of The Moscow Times, the first English-language daily in Moscow, which he launched in 1992. The company, privately held by Sauer and a handful of Dutch investors, now publishes more than 30 titles in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and controls about a third of the ad market for print media in Russia.
"With its 52 million households, Russia offers great growth opportunities," Sanoma Group president Hannu Syrjaenen said in a statement.
Independent Media plans to expand its magazine business throughout the former Soviet Union, although Guis said Belarus would be off limits due to the nature of its "political regime." Guis and Sauer also said the company plans to launch new newspaper titles, but declined to go into detail. Weekly, nonpolitical magazines are also on the drawing board, they said.
Independent Media's three existing newspapers, The St. Petersburg Times, The Moscow Times and business daily Vedomosti, which Independent Media owns jointly with the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, will remain key parts of the business, Guis said.
Guis said he had met representatives of both publications, "and they welcomed us."
Independent Media was thought to have been looking for a strategic partner since at least November, when it announced it had bought back a 35 percent stake in the company that it sold the previous year to Prof-Media, a subsidiary of billionaire Vladimir Potanin's Interros holding company.
Interros paid an estimated $35 million for the stake in March 2003 and sold it sometime last year for an estimated $45 million. Neither side explained the reason for the separation.
Independent Media has had at least two other outside shareholders in the past. VNU, the Dutch media group, owned 35 percent of the company between 1997 and 2001, when Sauer and his partners bought it back. And at one point in that period jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky's holding company, Group Menatep, owned about 10 percent.
In a departure from what is quickly becoming tradition in Russia, neither Independent Media nor Sanoma sought the blessing of the Kremlin - known to occasionally meddle in the editorial affairs of major newspapers - for the deal.
Media analysts polled Wednesday said that, if true, such an omission could come back to haunt the company.
"Since all deals involving foreigners have to be sanctioned, that means that either it had to be agreed with the Kremlin or there could be problems in the future," said Anna Kachkayeva, media analyst at Radio Liberty.
Nonetheless, media-watchers welcomed the arrival of the Nordic region's largest publisher.
"Scandinavian media have very strong traditions and superb journalistic standards," said Manana Aslamazyan, executive director of Internews, an international nonprofit organization supporting independent media.
"The acquisition is a solid confirmation of healthy trends in printed media," Kachkayeva said.
TITLE: Russia, France Mull Aircraft
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: ST. PETERSBURG - Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said he and his French colleague Michele Alliot-Marie had agreed Thursday to study the feasibility of jointly developing an unmanned combat aircraft.
Meeting in St. Petersburg, the two ministers also discussed cooperation in the development of munitions and heavy helicopters, as well as in outer space, the Interfax news agency reported.
'The joint design of military hardware will make our compatibility better,(a) Interfax quoted Alliot-Marie as saying.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier was due to arrive in Moscow later Thursday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. All four ministers were due to take part in a session of the Russian-French Security Cooperation Council.
Ivanov reiterated Russia's position that it has the right to make preventive, non-nuclear strikes on alleged international terrorists, whom Moscow says have declared war on Russia.
"In this situation, it would be naive and negligent not to think about how to prevent a terrorist threat in case it is aimed against Russia from the outside," Interfax quoted him as saying.
President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.
Putin and Chirac discussed international affairs, aid to victims of the Asia tsunami and plans for high-level meetings, Putin's press service said.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Finnish Sex Probe
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish police said Wednesday they wanted to question two Russian diplomats in connection with a prostitution ring that operated out of property owned by Moscow's trade representation in Helsinki.
Finland has made a formal request to its giant neighbor for official help in ensuring the diplomats be brought before investigators despite their diplomatic immunity, police added.
The head of Russia's trade representation, Valery Shchlyamin, denied late last year, when news of the ring surfaced in Finnish media, that staff were in any way involved. At that time that apartments used by prostitutes belonged to the representation.
No Show Yo-Yo
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Superstar Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma has postponed a concert appearance next Thursday at St. Petersburg's Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall.
The concert, which was to have been preceded by an appearance in Moscow on Wednesday, was part of a European tour with British pianist Kathryn Stott which has been put on hold because Ma is ill, said Philharmonic press secretary Yekaterina Grebentsova.
The Musical Olympus Foundation, which sponsored the concert, hopes to announce a new date for the concert soon, Grebentsova said.
Butov Off Ballot
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - The Supreme Court has ordered Nenets Governor Vladimir Butov struck from the ballot in the autonomous district's gubernatorial election on Sunday, after Butov's appeal be put back on failed, Interfax reported Tuesday.
A court in the oil-rich Nenets region north of Arkhangelsk had earlier said that a Nenets legislature law allowing the governor to seek a third term was invalid.
Estonia Border
TALLINN (SPT) - The Estonian government on Thursday confirmed the borders agreed with Russia in 1999, Interfax reported.
Estonian Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland said Estonia has been ready to sign the agreement for quite some time and could sign it in Moscow on May 10 after Victory Day celebrations.
Teacher Murdered
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - A teacher at the city's communications university was murdered Wednesday night, Interfax reported Thursday.
The agency said that the lecturer's body was found with head injuries on the staircase of his home at about 9 p.m.
TITLE: Finnish Church Celebrates 200 Years
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: St. Petersburg's Evangelical Lutheran St. Mary's Church - the only Lutheran church the city where services are held in Finnish - will celebrate its 200th birthday this weekend with a festival of cultural and religious events.
"It will be a very important event for the church, which has had very difficult periods in history, which was closed for many decades, but still survived and keeps leading people to God and giving them hope," said Juhani Porsti, head pastor of the church.
The church's parishioners are the hundreds of city residents with Finnish or Ingermanlands roots or Finns working in St. Petersburg.
Ingermanlanders is a term used for many different nationalities that speak Finnish or languages close to Finnish. Many such people live in St. Petersburg or the Leningrad Oblast.
When Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1703, many Finns took part in the building of the city. The tsar upheld the right of the Lutheran people to practice their own religion. An independent Finnish parish was founded in 1745. St. Mary's was completed in 1805.
After the Russian annexation of Finland in 1809, the parish was legally and administratively a Russian religious community. All the pastors came from Finland. At its peak at the beginning of the 1890s, the church had almost 17,000 members. The church seated 2,400.
The surrounding "church manor" was built in 1842-44. It became an important meeting place for many Finns living in St. Petersburg. Sunday schools where religion and Finnish were taught were conducted from the 1820s.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, St. Mary's became a center for the parishes in Ingermanland surrounding St. Petersburg. From the end of the 1920s Ingrian Finns and their congregations were subject to increasing pressure and oppressive measures.
The last pastor was finally forced to leave for Finland in April of 1937, and in the summer of 1938 the church was closed. Then the building was turned into a dormitory.
Soviet officials allowed Ingrians to re-establish congregations in the 1970s, and parishes were re-established in Peatroskoi and in Pushkin near Leningrad. New congregations were founded during the period of glasnost in the mid-1980s.
St. Mary's parish was re-established in 1995 and the parish was given permission to hold services on church premises.
During the services a conspicuous bust of Lenin was covered with a cloth.
The renovation of St. Mary's began in 1999 and was completed in 2002.
The church holds services every Sunday at 10:30am.
It has Finnish and Russian choirs, Sunday schools in both languages and organizes exhibitions.
Today the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in the Russian Federation comprises already more than 70 congregations, the majority of which are located near St. Petersburg and in Karelia, but the most far-flung ones are in Murmansk and in Irkutsk.
The festival events start Friday at 7 p.m. with a concert by a leading Finnish gospel-style composer Pekka Simojoki and his group Exit.
On Saturday at 11 a.m. an exhibition on the church's history will open. At 1 p.m. a ceremonial meeting will take place in presence of Finland's archbishop Jukka Paarma, St. Petersburg and the metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Vladimir, and the Bishop of Ingria, Arri Kugapi.
A soloist of the Finnish National Opera, Esa Ruuttunen, will sing on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The program will be completed on Sunday with a service led by Kugapi at 10:30 a.m.
The church is located at 8 Bolshaya Konyushennaya Ulitsa.
TITLE: New Rector Elected
For the Conservatory
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory elected a new rector Wednesday.
Moscow composer Alexander Chaikovsky was the sole candidate in the election, receiving 240 votes. Only 40 people voted against him.
The composer, whose ballets "The Battleship Potyomkin" and "The Government Inspector" have been staged at the Mariinsky Theater, was last year appointed acting rector to replace cellist Sergei Roldugin. Roldugin was elected to the post in 2003, but resigned last summer due to difficulties in combining his managerial duties and creative work.
A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Chaikovsky has taught there since 1977. Last year the rector of the conservatory, Alexander Sokolov, was appointed head of the Culture and Press Ministry.
The heads of the city's leading cultural institutions, including the Mariinsky Theater, the State Hermitage Museum and the Shostakovich Philharmonic Orchestra, are all nominated by the federal government before being elected.
Chaikovsky said his first task as rector of the St. Petersburg Conservatory is "to safely navigate the institution through the forthcoming higher education reform," which introduces bachelor's and master's degrees in all state institutes and universities. The reform starts in 2006, and is required as part of a raft of measures that will facilitate Russia joining the World Trade Organization.
"My task is for the conservatory not to lose the intellectual superiority of our creative school," he said Wednesday.
The Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory, received its current name back in 1944. It was opened as the first musical institution of higher education in Russia in 1862.
The list of renowned graduates of the school includes composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitry Shostakovich, the violinist Jascha Heifetz, mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina, and conductors Yury Temirkanov and Valery Gergiev. Since the Soviet era, a large number of foreign students have come to the school to absorb its rich and unique tradition.
Chaikovsky is planning to introduce new specialties to the curriculum, including cultural studies, teaching and music management. In recent years, the conservatory has been embroiled in mismanagement scandals.
In 2001-2002, then rector Vladislav Chernushenko was investigated for allegedly overseeing the misappropriation of over $3 million of tuition fees paid by foreign students between 1996 and 2000. Tatyana Krasavina, the chief accountant for a charity fund operated by the conservatory, was investigated for fraud.
A former colleague of Chernushenko, who declined to be named, said Chernushenko had wanted to invest the money and return the proceeds to the conservatory, adding that the federal funding was insufficient to keep the conservatory functioning.
The investigation was eventually closed, but that was not the end of notoriety at the conservatory. Roldugin, who was appointed acting rector to replace Chernushenko, and subsequently elected rector, is godfather to a daughter President Vladimir Putin.
TITLE: Ex-Cop Jailed
For Killing 4
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The St. Petersburg City Court on Tuesday sentenced a former policeman to life imprisonment on Tuesday for murdering four people in an amusement arcade in 2003.
Konstantin Olenchikov, 28, was convicted of multiple crimes, including the four murders; the attempted murder of a 14-year-old, who survived by pretending to be dead after being shot in the neck, and robbery, Fontanka.Ru reported.
Olenchikov's lawyers said they would appeal the sentence in the Supreme Court. Olenchikov, who was a city traffic officer, also guarded the amusement arcade from Aug. 2002 to Feb. 2003.
In the early morning of March 29, 2003, Olenchikov, dressed in his police uniform, returned to his former place of work early. As he entered he shot five people at close range with a silenced gun before emptying the cash register of 318,000 rubles ($11,290 at current rates).
The court also fined Olenchikov 300,000 rubles to be paid as compensation to the relatives of the dead victims and the survivor.
TITLE: Kursk Case Heads to Strasbourg
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: A lawyer for the families of crewmembers who died on the nuclear submarine Kursk that sank in the Barents Sea in August 2000 have filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, Interfax reported Thursday.
Boris Kuznetsov, who represents the families of about 50 relatives of the 118 dead sailors, said the appeal had been filed after Russian courts refused to launch a new probe into the tragedy.
Kuznetsov said new evidence has been mentioned in the appeal and should be investigated, but did not elaborate.
In June 2004 the Moscow District Military Court refused to to start a new investigation. Kuznetsov had urged that the conclusions of a General Prosecutor's Office report that some sailors survived only a few hours after the submarine was struck by explosions and also about SOS signals be revisited.
The criminal case into the sinking was closed in July 2003 after a commission ruled that the explosion on board the submarine was caused by a torpedo accident in the course of a practice launch.
TITLE: Estonians Look for Russian Investment
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Officials from eastern Estonia made a serious case for Russian businesses to invest in their region, offering ready access to EU markets and low percentage bank loans as an incentive.
Representatives of Ida-Virumaa district authorities, the closest part of Estonia to St. Petersburg, and the country's banking community outlined the investment aspects at a Development of Business Relations between North-East of Estonia and St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast conference organized by the St. Petersburg International Business Association on Tuesday.
Besides promising bureaucracy-free conditions, officials pointed to their area's relatively cheap labor despite Estonia being part of the EU.
"The cost of labor in Estonia is something in between Finland and Russia, but a company producing something on EU territory has the right to distribute in all EU member countries," said Stanislav Sorokin, general manager of Union Bank of Estonia.
When Sorokin said the Union Bank's annual interest on business loans ranged between 3 percent and 7 percent, the audience gasped with excitement, and murmurs circulated in the session hall to the tune of: "We couldn't dream of such conditions here." Banks in Russia charge about 15 percent interest on business loans. The lowest interests that could be found in St. Petersburg were at Raiffeisen Bank - about 11 percent.
Among investment opportunities in eastern Estonia, Tarmo Tammiste, mayor of Narva, a town close to the Russian border, named the textile industry and metal and wood processing as the most attractive.
"We have recently set up an investment passport for the city that has all the vacant space listed. All the necessary information is placed in the Internet (www.investinnarva.ee)," Tammiste said at the conference. "We are very interested in investors and have created conditions in which they wouldn't suffer any bureaucratic obstacles. Plus, most of the population of Virumaa is Russian-speaking."
Already a number of St. Petersburg partners are going to visit Estonia and several Baltic businesses will make the return journey, Sorokin said.
In recent years, trade between St. Petersburg and its Western neighbor has escalated rapidly. Commodity circulation reached $98 million in 2003 to make Estonia the city's main trading partner of all the Baltic States, although the figure still compares modestly with Finland-St. Petersburg trade that was worth an estimated $1.15 billion in 2003.
The visit of Ida-Virumaa district representatives took place a day prior to Wednesday's Russian-Estonian governmental consultations which showed signs of economic relations between the two countries warming up.
"There were practically no bilateral political meetings last year," Karin Jaani, the Estonian ambassador in Moscow, said Wednesday in an interview with RIA Novosti. "Today, the sides have everything needed for improving their relations; it is only a case of displaying political willingness."
Despite the growth of economic ties between Estonia and Russia, farther development has been seriously limited by infrastructure linking the two countries, Ida-Virumaa district officials said. In particular, the bridge over the border between Narva and Ivangorod on the Russian side has turned into a signifcant problem for freight transport.
According to Estonian offcials, the amount of cargo traveling in both directions increased by 40 percent in 2004. With the setting up of a free economic zone around the Silamae port area, the expected development will create over 2,000 new jobs and work places within the next two years.
"For St. Petersburg [the bridge] is the nearest way to the EU and at the moment it is a big obstacle for business development between the two regions," Ago Silde, governor of Ida-Virumaa district, said at the conference.
The governor urged lobbying for the building of a new bridge, saying that in five to seven years, when the Silamae port starts operating, transit volume would increase tenfold.
Russian business is interested in Estonia, but has no investment strategy for its Western neighbor right now, said Leonid Aronov, deputy head of the St. Petersburg Union for Industries and Business.
"We haven't had any exact offers from Estonia so far, so it's hard to envisage what could happen. A while ago there were some interesting projects in the Silamae area, but as yet nothing has come of it," Aronov said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"We don't monitor foreign markets. Finns, for instance, have been knocking on our door for quite a while. Now some of our business has started getting to the Finnish market.
"Those who are interested in attracting business to their territory will have to promote it," Aronov said.
TITLE: Heineken Plans to Brew Guinness in St. Petersburg
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Famous Irish stout Guinness will start being brewed in Russia at Heineken Brewery LLC's St. Petersburg factory at the start of this summer, the company announced Thursday.
Teaming up with drinks distributing corporation Diageo, from July 1 Heineken, the world's fourth largest brewer in terms of sales, will start producing its Guinness and Kilkenny brands in Russia for the first time. Guiness Foreign Extra Stout will be made available to consumers within five months.
"Heineken becomes the first one to start brewing real stout on the Russian beer market and the consumer will be glad to noticed decrease in retail price for the locally produced Guinness Foreign Extra Stout," said Roland Pirmez, CEO of Heineken Russia in a company statement.
Pirmez said he expected the price to be on the same level as for other brands in the international licensed beer segment.
Leading with Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Heineken will produce 0.5 liter canned and bottled beer at Heineken's St. Petersburg factory that already brews Heineken and Miller brands under license.
Meanwhile, distribution, sales and marketing of draught Guinness will continue to be imported from Guinness Ireland, meaning little change for Guinness on tap at city bars.
"A decision on brewing draught Guinness in Russia will depend on the consumer. Currently, there are too few outlets for the draught beer in Russia to make bringing the more complicated draught brewing technologies financially viable," Anna Meleshina, Heineken's press manager, said Thursday in a telephone interview.
Diageo, which takes over from Denview Ltd this summer as the distributing and marketing manager of Heineken's bottled Irish brands, sees high prospects for stout in the world's fastest growing beer market.
"The existing distribution network of Heineken Russia and its specialized beer marketing and sales expertise in Russia will accelerate growth of the Guinness brand in the fastest growing sector of the Russian beer market - the international licensed brand segment," said Alison Forrestal, general manager at Diageo, in a press statement.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: EuroConsult in Oblast
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - A consortium of European companies will perform consulting services for small and medium-sized businesses in the Leningrad and the Kaliningrad regions, Interfax reported Thursday.
Firms including Belgium's IBF International Consulting, Spain's ACE, and Greece TREK Consulting, will provide advice on economic development, social reforms and democratic processes, confirmed BDO Yunikon, a Russian audit company (part of BDO International) that is also involved in the project.
The initiative from European consultant firms comes as part of an 18 months joint program between the EU and Russia called TACIS. The project was set up to provide economic and political know-how to countries formerly part of the U.S.S.R (apart from the Baltic states.)
Heinz Buys Petrosoyuz?
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - City food producer Petrosoyuz may be in line for a buy-out by American conglomerate Heinz, Kommersant reported Wednesday.
Petrosoyuz, one of Russia's largest manufacturer of butter and ketchup products, has been gradually reducing its amount of advertising since the summer of 2004.
Gallup AdFact showed that the manufacturer's Picador brand appeared on central television just 19 times since July 2004, compared to 1,500 appearances in 2003.The tendency has led experts to believe the owners of Petrosoyuz are readying for a sale.
"Not to advertise on the consumer market is like stopping giving flowers to your wife or caring for her, although still cohabiting," said Alexander Sokolo-verov, head of advertising agency Rollton, to Kommersant. "The owners have lost interest in their business."
Among possible contenders for Petrosoyuz Kommersant lists Heinz, which the Russian company does not deny having contact with, although "negotiations will not yield any results for a few months yet," said Dmitry Filatov, general director of Petrosoyuz. Heinz did comment.
Petrosoyuz has seven factories in Russia.
Lenta Turns to Regions
ST. PETERSBURG (Vedomosti) - Retail chain Lenta plans to invest about $60 million to $65 million into the building of a distribution center and several shops in the Leningrad Oblast.
Lenta chairman, Oleg Zherebtsov met with the governor of the Oblast Valery Serdyukov earlier this week to discuss provision of a 10 hectare plot for a 30,000 square meter distribution center that will cost $20 million.
Zherebtsov added that the building of the center will support the planned four to five supermarkets Lenta plans to construct in the oblast.
Currently under consideration for the supermarkets are locations in Vyborg, Kirishi, Gatchina, Luga, Volkhov and Tikhvin.
Oil Port Closed
ST. PETERSBURG (Reuters) - The Russian White Sea port of Vitino has stopped loading oil because of border control problems and uncertain supply, port officials said Thursday, though shipments could restart soon.
"Since New Year there have been no loadings; hardly any in December. The last tanker left on Dec. 17," said Vladimir Chutchenko, port's general director.
Town Is Still Planning
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - The enforcement of the 2005-2025 general plan for the city's building development and infrastruction will be reviewed on July 1, Interfax reported city governor Valentina Matviyenko saying Tuesday.
The plan's release has been postponed several times already, leading many in the city to quip that when the document is finally ready and approved as law it will be time to start drafting the next general plan for 2015-2025.
The new plan will act as a base platform for all town planning and development legislature for the next decade, Alexander Vitorov, president of the committee for town building and architecture, said Tuesday at a government meeting.
TITLE: Sea Tourism Faces a Titanic Battle
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: St. Petersburg's sea tourism industry will disappear by 2006 unless a solution for operations under a toughened visa regime, rising tariffs and a lack of advancement on the new passenger terminal construction is found, cruise ships and ferry line operator representatives said Thursday.
Although there is a multi-billion dollar potential for the passenger transport market in the city, visa regulations, outdated facilities and an unclear tariffs policy have put a big question mark on the future of the industry, said Igor Glukhov, general director of Inflot World Wide shipping agency.
Glukhov's words on passenger transportation were echoed by heads of other seaport agencies who equally expressed confusion and uncertainty about the future of the Russian ports at a Thursday roundtable industry discussion.
The most unsettling development for passenger transport companies in the last few months has been a bill barring foreign cruise ship passengers from coming ashore without a Russian visa, which was introduced to the State Duma in December. In time for the second reading, Glukhov said that the Legislative Assembly deputies and Governor Valentina Matviyenko have filed appeals against the bill.
"At the very least we need group visas [available to Finnish tourists] extended to visitors from Estonia and Germany," Glukhov said.
Even group visas, however, do little to promote tourist interest. "They cost 25 euros, which is often comparable to the cost of the entire trip, and upon disembarking tourists are stuck within the industrial surroundings of a cargo port," Glukhov said. The existing terminals are incompatible with the size of ships cruising the Baltic, he added. A new passenger terminal, which would offer better location and infrastructure for cruise-line passengers, has been an on-going project set a 2007 deadline. Serious doubts over the feasibility of the plans have emerged.
The 2005 federal budget allocated $20 million for the adaptation of channels that would allow cruise ships entrance to the new sea port complex (by River Smolenka), but the rest of the construction is stalling, Gluknov said.
Ferry companies opened operation in the city in 2001. "By 2004 St. Petersburg occupied a prime spot among Northern European sea tour destinations, " Glukhov said.
In 2004, 250,000 cruise line and 150,000 ferry ship passengers came to the city, up from 205,000 visitors in 2003. However, compared to the 16 million annual passengers on the Helsinki-Stockholm and 5 million on the Helsinki-Tallinn routes, St. Petersburg volumes could not sustain year-round business for foreign operators.
At the end of last year, Estonian company Tallink left the city market, citing rising port fees as the reason. "We are awaiting Tallink representatives in February and hope there is still a possibility of their coming back in April," Glukhov said. For now Finnish shipping company Silja Line is left as the only foreign operator in the city.
"A strategy for attracting cruse liners and ferry companies to the city needs to be developed, especially a medium and long-term strategy, because we have none at the moment," said Andrei Karpov, head of the city's transport and transit policy committee.
Transferring the responsibility to oversee the new passenger terminal construction to the committee would also ensure the process moves along smoother, Karpov said. At the moment, two different committees head passenger transportations and seaport complex construction.
As for helping passenger transportation companies, the city can do little about the visa regulations, Kaprpov said.
"Unfortunately, we only have limited lobbying resources. And it is unlikely that visa regulations will be settled in the next two or three years. The state's policy is only reciprocal to that of other countries," Karpov said.
The 35 percent port fee hike, in effect since Jan. 1, is the only major issue the city administration can influence. Karpov defended the raise, saying it was the first since 1996.
"We are looking at the port fee collections, trying to distinguish whether it is actually a tax or a customs fee, and then seeing how it can be regulated," Karpov said.
TITLE: The Next Colored Revolution?
TEXT: Central Asia is confronting its first succession crisis of the post-communist era. By promising to leave office this October, at the end of his third term, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev unleashed a scramble for power that has divided the political establishment and raised the specter of a new colored revolution, a yellow one.
Like Boris Yeltsin at the end of the 1990s, Akayev is surrounded by a "family" that is desperate to retain its power and perquisites. In the Kyrgyz case, the Family is even larger and more visible than that of the former Russian president. It has not yet, however, found its Putin. The energies of Akayev and his entourage are currently focused on nominating the president's relatives and close associates to stand for seats in the parliamentary elections, which will take place Feb. 27. A strong showing for Akayev-backed forces in parliamentary balloting will boost their visibility for the Oct. 30 presidential election and allow them to control legislation affecting the presidential campaign.
It is tempting to conclude that the outcome of the parliamentary elections is predetermined. The Akayev bloc enjoys numerous advantages over the opposition: It dominates the media and has at its disposal administrative resources, the euphemism for state agencies that serve as campaign offices for the president. As if this were not enough, the leadership pushed through a reduction in the size of the parliament to only 75 members to make it easier for Akayev loyalists to form a majority. Moreover, members of the Family, most notably the President's daughter, Bermet, recently helped to organize a new party of power, Alga, Kyrgyzstan!, or Forward Kyrgyzstan!, which was created to do in the forthcoming Kyrgyz parliamentary elections what United Russia did in the December 2003 parliamentary contest in Russia. The performance of Alga, Kyrgyzstan! in last October's local elections revealed it to be a formidable force, outspending and outpolling the competition.
Yet the advantages of proximity to the ruler in a semi-authoritarian state such as Kyrgyzstan do not assure electoral victory. One reason for this is the growing unpopularity of Akayev, especially in the south, which has been denied its fair share of the political and economic pie in the post-communist era. Another reason is Akayev's status as a lame duck. After Akayev announced his intention last year not to seek another term, several of his staunchest political allies, including former Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev, former head of the Security Council Misir Ashirkulov and former Foreign Minister Muratbek Imanliyev, joined the opposition, apparently hoping to position themselves for the presidential election this fall. Several returning ambassadors have further swelled the ranks of this establishment opposition, such as Rosa Otunbayeva, Medetkan Sherimkulov, Mambetjunus Abylov and Usen Sydykov. Akayev's Family faces, therefore, a counter-elite that has broad experience, strong political bases in parts of the bureaucracy and in the regions and is, for the moment at least, united against the ruling clique.
Fearful of confronting such accomplished politicians in free and fair elections, the Akayev Family in recent weeks has practiced the black arts of authoritarian politics, which include disqualifying opposition candidates on technical grounds. In Bishkek's First Electoral District, which includes the country's flagship university, election officials in early January refused to register Otunbayeva as a candidate, claiming that she failed to satisfy in-country residency requirements. The other prominent candidate who has her eyes on this seat is none other than Bermet Akayeva.
Popular demonstrations against the rigging of the parliamentary elections have thus far been measured, in part because most opposition candidates have not encouraged mass protests by their supporters. Having wielded power themselves, the leaders of the establishment opposition are no doubt reluctant to unleash society against the state. They also understand that Akayev, whose fear of a colored revolution in Kyrgyzstan has become palpable in recent weeks, could use widespread protests as a pretext to suspend elections, introduce a state of emergency and renege on his promise not to seek another term or to extend his current one. Akayev has already presented legislation to parliament that would ban all nonsanctioned public meetings and keep protesters off the streets after 11 p.m.
But if lawsuits in the courts and negotiations with the government fail to restore the opposition leaders' rights to run for office, they will have little choice but to mobilize the population against the regime. At that point, a yellow revolution will become a possibility in Kyrgyzstan. Although Kyrgyzstan may lack some of the features present in the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions, such as a dominant opposition leader with ties to the West with a well-organized following, it does have an important regional divide and a politically active population, at least by Central Asian standards.
What makes the 2005 elections different from earlier flawed elections in Kyrgyzstan is not only the backdrop of the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions but the presence of so many former Akayev loyalists in the leadership of the opposition. It is as if the political establishment is now seeking to regain power rather than retain it. Assuming that this mass betrayal of Akayev is genuine, and not, as some insist, part of an elaborate presidential plot to plant allies in the opposition, pro-presidential forces must face the election without many of the country's most popular and experienced politicians on their side. In such a contest, the Akayev Family has no choice but to blatantly manipulate the election to assure victory. These tactics may guarantee victory, but they would also guarantee the illegitimacy of the election and risk launching a colored revolution in a deeply divided society with a vigorous and visible opposition.
Russia has every interest in forestalling this looming political crisis in Kyrgyzstan. Russians remain the third-largest ethnic group in the country and a growing presence in the Kyrgyz economy. Russian troops are now stationed in Kant, on the opposite side of Bishkek from the Western base at Manas. Russia is also a signatory to the Shanghai Six organization, which has its anti-terrorist headquarters in Bishkek.
Because Akayev has been such a close ally of Russia, such a passionate advocate for Russian language and culture in Central Asia and such a moderate force in ethnic politics in Kyrgyzstan, the Russian government has backed the Kyrgyz president uncritically for more than a decade. But it is now time to open negotiations with the establishment opposition and to signal to Akayev and his Family that the Russian government is unwilling to support a leadership transition in Kyrgyzstan that is based on electoral fraud.
To do otherwise will set the Russian Federation against the will of the people of Kyrgyzstan and risk alienating opposition leaders that have long had close ties with Moscow. If a yellow revolution occurs in Kyrgyzstan, it will not be the United States or Europe but Russia that bears responsibility.
Eugene Huskey is William R. Kenan, Jr. professor of political science and Russian studies at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. He contributed this comment to The St. Petersburg Times.
TITLE: Nothing Changes in Horrible Hospitals
TEXT: This week, I read in the local media about disturbing events at a maternity hospital. I was reminded of a similar horrible experience described by a journalist at The St. Petersburg Times back in 1998.
This reporter gave a chilling account of giving birth at a dirty clinic and of her encounters with its rude staff. She wrote about her experience in such a lively way that the article elicited a strong response from readers. Some were supportive, but others were furious at her for exposing the dire state of the Russian healthcare system.
I would have thought things would have improved in the years since, especially as the population has declined. But a recent court case makes me wonder how much has changed.
An article published this week on the Fontanka.ru website tells of a woman whose two-week-old child died in May 2001 in City Hospital No. 13. The court has ordered the hospital to pay 200,000 rubles, or $7,143, to the mother, Irina Vladi-mirova, as compensation for the loss of her child, thus confirming that the hospital staff were to blame for the child's death. "Nobody is insured against a child dying," a maternity nurse is quoted as saying. It would be outrageous if this child's death did not result in improved treatment for other mothers and newborns.
It is unbelievable how callously certain medical professionals can behave toward women at one of the most significant moments in their life, when they are giving birth to a child. When Vladimirova started experiencing her first contractions, the doctors not only ignored her pleas for help, but even swore at her, saying she would wake up the other patients.
"A nurse approached me, saying, 'Why are you screaming? You'll scare the baby. Everybody has abdominal pain from time to time. The doctor told you it's too early to give birth, so go away and lie down!' But I was going out of my mind from the pain," Vladimirova said.
"In the breaks between contractions, I crawled along the floor and tried to crawl down the corridor for help. Maternity nurses kept coming up to me and lifting me off the floor by my leg as if I were a dog and repeating, 'You were told it's too early to give birth! Lie down and don't crawl around. See, there is a trail of blood behind you! Who is going to clean it up?" Vladimirova recalled.
If this story had not been confirmed at a court hearing, I would have found it hard to believe. It sounds more like an account from a prison camp than the tale of an expectant mother.
In this instance, the behavior of the staff seems incomprehensible. It is particularly upsetting because Hospital No. 13 is reputed to be one of the best cardiology centers in St. Petersburg and specializes in helping women with heart conditions. If this is hospital is one of the best, what are the others like?
Many of my foreign friends go to Finland to give birth to be sure everything goes smoothly. But what about those who don't have the money?
Most pregnant women in St. Petersburg wind up in hospitals where they have no guarantee of decent care or of even humane treatment, if Vladimirova's story is part of a larger pattern.
Some might say this kind of story should not be published because such cases are rare and only serve to frighten people.
But I believe that keeping silent would be criminal. If indeed nothing has changed since Vladimirova's tragedy in 2001, officials need to take notice and assure women they will be safe. The only way to do this is to punish those responsible for terrible care, not just pay victims 200,000 rubles.
I shudder to think that Vladimirova might be one of many women to lose their babies because of the incompetence and negligence at local clinics.
TITLE: Bears among the lions
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: LONDON - Up to 95,000 Londoners and Russians visited Trafalgar Square in central London last week to celebrate Russian "Old New Year" at the biggest showcase of Russian culture that Britain has ever seen - an event that many hope will become an annual fixture of London's cultural calendar.
The imposing square, which seemed too small as Russia descended upon it, was lined with little stalls selling Russian food, drink and souvenirs, and filled with a rapt crowd of up to 15,000 at a time, enjoying 500 performers from all over Russia, including the Alexandrov Red Army Choir, who haven't performed in London for almost 40 years.
Only London's weather refused to get into the spirit of the city's first ever Russian Winter Festival on Jan. 15: at 10 deg. C, the only snow to be seen was artificial - painstakingly scattered by hand onto the four enormous bronze lions at the base of Nelson's Column.
London has a burgeoning Russian population - recent estimates suggest that there are 100,000 Russians in the capital - yet the British public has had comparatively little exposure to Russia's rich culture.
The festival, organized by the Russian British Cultural Association, aimed to fill that gap with an intense day-long event to highlight Russia's vast cultural and artistic diversity. Some of Russia's best folk ensembles and pop and rock stars like Glukoza and Umaturman entranced and entertained the packed square for eight hours.
"Festivals like these are very important because most people don't know much about Russia," said Sergei Erdenko, from the St. Petersburg-based gypsy group Loiko, who have performed in London many times. "When people hear we are from Russia they think that we wear fur hats all the time and that bears roam our streets, but when they experience Russian culture they see that it is one of the greatest countries in the world."
Although the festival was conceived as being primarily a cultural event, the festival and the gala dinner held on the eve of the festival also provided networking opportunities ahead of London's annual Russian Economic Forum, which this April expects to welcome 2,000 people from Russia, Britain and Europe.
"Russia is becoming more and more integrated with the rest of Europe and has more and more impact on British life, and vice versa," said Xavier D'Astugues, editor of the Russian Investment Review, the journal of the Russian Economic Forum. "Events like these help create an ever-increasing interdependence between the two cultures."
There was no more touching reminder of past Russian-British cooperation and interdependence than the presence of scores of British war veterans, who were guests of honour at the 125-strong Alexandrov Red Army Choir's opening performance just after noon.
The veterans served on Arctic convoys during World War II, bringing essential supplies and equipment to the beleaguered Red Army through the northern Russian ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.
"The Red Army concert was magnificent. I've come 200 miles from Wales to be here and I am delighted; I enjoyed every minute," said Phillip Clayton, 80, who served on the convoys from 1942-44. He plans to spend the 60th anniversary of Russia's victory over Germany in May with other British and Russian veterans in Murmansk.
Ted Begley, 83, a veteran from North London, has never been back to Russia since he worked in Arkhangelsk for a year during the war, but he won two free Aeroflot tickets to Russia at the festival.
"I think today is wonderful," Begley said. "It brings back good memories; any veteran has bad memories of course, but it brings back the good memories of listening to choirs in Russia."
The oldest soloist with the Alexandrov Red Army Choir, Vasily Stefutsa, also has fond memories of a country he visited long ago. This year he will celebrate his 40th year with the choir, and is one of the few choir members at the festival to have performed in the Royal Albert Hall the last time the choir was in London in 1967.
"It was a long time ago. I'm very happy that I've lived long enough to come back here, and I'm looking forward to meeting the English public again," he said as the choir practised before their performance at a gala dinner for 350 guests, including London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, on Jan. 14.
The renowned male choir was formed in 1928 by conductor Alexander Alexandrov, who also composed the Soviet and Russian national anthem. The choir has performed for Russian troops stationed in Russia and has toured the world, even giving concerts in the Vatican and North Korea.
The choir's concert was one of the festival's highlights, as thousands sung or hummed along to the strains of Russian songs such as "Kalinka" and "Victory Day" filling the square. English military songs and Italian opera classics were also performed.
After the performance, choir members in full uniform mingled with the delighted crowd on the square, where they posed for photographs, conceded some kisses, and signed records - some of which may even have been bought the first time the choir was here.
Another crowd favorite were the children from the Makhmud Yesambayev dance ensemble, with stunning dance routines and exquisite costumes that showed the best of Chechen culture and traditions. The children, aged from 6 to 15 years old, are based in Moscow and most are from Chechnya, although there are also Russians and Ukrainians in the troupe.
"The most valuable thing that people have is friendship and culture, and today I'm happy that Russia was able to demonstrate in such a beautiful way what a ethnically and culturally diverse country she is," said Dokku Maltsagov, the school's director and a former pupil of Yesambayev, who was one of the most famous dancers in the Soviet Union and known in Chechnya as the "King of Dance."
As the seething crowd celebrated "Old New Year" at 6 p.m. to a recording of the Kremlin bells, with flurries of more artificial snow and authentic merriment, Ana Steward, an advertising executive who had come to the festival with Russian friends, mused on the festival's success,
"I am really enjoying it because the range of cultures and styles is astounding. Imagine seeing the Red Army choir alongside Cossacks and Russian pop groups! I don't think I grasped how enormous the country is until now," said Steward, 26, from North London.
"It's great to see your culture represented and hear your language spoken, because of course you get homesick and lonely," said Nikolai Ivanov, 21, from Kiev in Ukraine, who has been studying English here for two years. "The folk acts were interesting, especially the Cossacks, but I'm really here for the Russian rock and pop acts!"
These took the stage after 6 p.m. and brought new crowds of young Russian-speakers to Trafalgar Square who were in their teens or early 20s. Anna and Oksana, both 15, from Moscow, were disappointed that headliners Diskoteka Avaria didn't get to perform because some acts ran on too long, but were delighted with heart-throb Dima Bilan's impromptu performance, after he took a break from his English studies in London to hop on stage.
"We hope this becomes an annual event, that would be cool," they said. Speaking fluent English, both girls went to the U.K. three years ago, and, while Anna plans to go to Tallinn, Estonia, after another three years, Oksana wants to stay in London.
The show glided to a close with a display by Olympic figure skating champions Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva at an outdoor ice-rink set up in the yard of Somerset House, the 18th century building that is home to a branch of the State Hermitage Museum. (The "Hermitage Rooms" are currently displaying early Soviet avant-garde porcelain from the Lomonosov Factories in St. Petersburg.)
Guests then took to the ice, accompanied by the soaring vocals of 18-year-old singer Pelageya, who has been dubbed "the Russian Edith Piaf."
The success of the festival, and the support of such organizations as the office of London's mayor, the Moscow City Government and Russian companies such as Gazprom, LUKoil and Aeroflot, means that the festival has a good chance of becoming an annual fixture.
"The turnout was phenomenal. The crowd were really having a good time and everybody remarked on what a great atmosphere there was. People stayed for hours - we had veterans leaving the square at 7 p.m., and families who had stayed all day," said Lieran Stubbings, project manager for cultural events at the Russian Economic Forum.
Thoughts have now turned to the capital's next major Russian event - the 8th annual Russian Economic Forum to be held on April 10-12 in London and the accompanying Russian Rhapsody concert in the Royal Albert Hall, both of which are organized by Eventica, the commercial arm of the Russian British Cultural Association.
This year's forum will focus on St. Petersburg.
Valentina Matviyenko, governor of St. Petersburg, has already been confirmed as a plenary speaker.
TITLE: CHERNOV'S CHOICE
TEXT: R.E.M. promises be the first international music event of note in the city this year. Tossed between Tallinn and Helsinki, the concert will be the band's first and only Russian show with its local promoters attempting to draw fans from other cities as well.
Formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980, the band remains largely unknown in Russia except for its 1991 song "Losing My Religion," once described by Michael Stipe as a "freak hit," which was in heavy rotation on local television in the early 1990s.
On a European tour that started in Lisbon on Jan. 7, R.E.M. is promoting its 13th studio album "Around The Sun." The album has gathered a lot of bad reviews - even if it does not sound much worse than anything else the band has done over the last 20 years.
Since drummer Bill Berry retired, R.E.M. now comprises Stipe on vocals, guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills. On tour they are backed by Scott McCaughey on guitar, Ken Stringfellow on keyboards and Bill Rieflin on drums.
The Lisbon show set list featured 18 songs, including "Everybody Hurts," "Imitation of Life" and "Losing My Religion."
The band will be supported by Latvian band Brainstorm.
R.E.M. will perform at the Ice Palace on Thursday.
La Minor returns to play a local concert after a hiatus caused by lineup changes. The city's finest urban-folk has exchanged double bass for tuba and added a balalaika to its lineup. The band last performed in October.
"It sounds more fun with a balalaika," said singer Slava Shalygin. "At times it sounds like a banjo and like a guitar, and it also sounds wonderful as a solo instrument."
La Minor's repertoire mainly consists of urban folk songs composed by mostly anonymous songwriters during the Soviet era, but the band does not avoid occasional oddities such as an Adriano Celentano cover.
At the concert, La Minor will perform some new material that the band rehearsed while it stayed away from public performances.
"We almost did a new program, about 10 songs" said Shalygin. "We also reworked older songs and will play them in new arrangements, with a new sound."
The new songs include "Prosti-Proshchai Odessa-Mama" (Forgive and Farewell, Odessa-Mama) "Devochka Nadya" (Nadya the Girl) and "Druzyam Napishu" (I Will Write to Friends), as well as "Lyot Dozhdyom Iyul" (July Pours With Rain) by the late poet and artist Alexei Khvostenko.
La Minor will perform at Platforma on Saturday.
The other local concerts to watch for are probably Kirpichi at Moloko and Pep-See at Red Club on Friday, Chirvontsy at Fish Fabrique and Dobranotch at GEZ-21 on Saturday and Caribace at Griboyedov on Tuesday.
- By Sergey Chernov
TITLE: Stick to the sushi
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: St. Petersburg's love affair with sushi, which began as a heated tryst a couple of years ago, can no longer be dismissed as a one-night stand. Among the rash of places that seemed to open daily in 2002 and 2003, most have endured and some have become fixtures of the city's dining scene, foxing the naysayers who said that Russians weren't really interested in Japanese cuisine but were simply in the throes of a crush for the latest foreign trend.
The best places have learned to adapt to Petersburgers' tastes without compromising the integrity of the cuisine. The downhome sushi-bar Kaminari on Voznesensky Prospekt, popular during the week with civil servants working in the Mariinsky Palace, the home of the city's Legislative Assembly is one such place.
For those people, like my dining companion, who don't like fish and can't operate chopsticks, Kaminari offers a quality chicken teriyaki dish as a palatable alternative to the sushi delicacies on its menu.
Kaminari carries off its mixture of Japanese ideas and Russian realities in style. Its walls are painted a deep orange with Utagawa Hiroshige prints hanging in both of its two halls (one of them - a "VIP" hall - has "extra comfortable" seats and a giant aquarium with three remarkable fish). With venetian blinds at the windows and soothing Russian easy listening playing in the background - luckily, not loudly - Kaminari is comfortable and unpretentious. Our waitress, looking a bit sleepy and slightly lost, was, however, friendly, and did not annoy us with hassle.
I started with a sushi set (250 rubles, $9), while my friend had an avocado salad (180 rubles, $6.40). Both were slightly pricey for what was served. The salad was nothing special at all, containing just slices of tomatoes, cucumbers and avocados in a "Japanese dressing," to which we had to add a bit more soy sauce to make it more flavorful. We would probably have been better off with sushi or sashimi starters - there's a large variety of them listed in the menu, with helpful pictures.
The main courses were better. The pork in teriyaki sauce (250 rubles, $9) came as well-done pork filet on a frying pan, mild but crispy, while the rice, served with it as a garnish, appeared to be rather plain and would certainly be Improved if something were added to it. In general, however, the menu is quite inventive, with dishes composed of fish, meat, shashlyks, Japanese hand-made fried dumplings, noodles, and buck-wheat noodles - all ranging in price fromn 180 rubles ($6.40) to 300 rubles ($10.70).
I tried the buckwheat noodles with beef and pepper. Steaming hot, once again served in a frying pan, the dish proved a bit plain and would have benefited from the addition of a couple more ingredients. Another problem was that the noodles stuck to the frying pan, and I could have missed the best bits.
Attempting to test Kaminari's non-sushi offerings was clearly unwise, as the restaurant enjoys a reputation for offering good-value and authentic sushi business lunch. However all was rescued when our deserts arrived - the tiramisu I had was simply the best I've ever tried in St. Petersburg. It came liquid, soft, with a truffle sponge on the bottom and a not-too-sweet sauce on top (and a bit of grated chocolate). It was amazingly delicious and tender, although rather expensive at 270 rubles ($9.64). Other items on the deserts menu include a traditional Japanese ice-cream (made from green tea), fried bananas and a number of cakes.
TITLE: Gogol eyed
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Nikolai Gogol's "Dead Souls" is one of the great Russian novels - which is to say, it is one of the great novels of the world. Yet when so sensitive a reader as the Irish short-story writer Frank O'Connor finished it for the first time in 1920, he came to the following conclusion: "I thought it a great bore." Eventually, O'Connor reversed his verdict, but not before learning Russian.
Not every reader is as tenacious as O'Connor. Consequently, most people rely on translations at least some of the time. Yet despite the best efforts of translators such as Englishwoman Constance Garnett, American Bernard Guerney and Scotsman David McDuff, Gogol has eluded capture in English to this day, with the hunt for his 1842 novel "Dead Souls" invariably resulting in the lifeless carcass of the text, rather than the living, panting animal itself. The laughter that rings out like a bell in Russian is inevitably reduced in translation to garbled mumbling. And Gogol's chameleon of a hero, the protean Chichikov, who evades definition for 10 chapters in the original, becomes a very ordinary, dull, middle-aged huckster, whose tangled scheme to artificially inflate the value of his estate by convincing provincial landowners to sell him the deeds to their dead serfs seems little more than an exercise in obfuscation.
Hope for a reliable translation of the novel arose with word that the renowned husband-and-wife team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky were to tackle Gogol's masterpiece. Like McDuff, who works out of Britain mainly for Penguin, Pevear and Volokhonsky, who are based in Paris and whose work usually appears in the United States through Random House, have been charging through the Russian classics anew.
As a rule, Pevear and Volokhonsky have fared better than McDuff. Their translations of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novels have won numerous awards, including the PEN translation prize, and their version of Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" hit first place on the New York Times bestseller list last June after talk show host Oprah Winfrey assigned it to her book club. Indeed, current theory holds that a translation is best rendered in tandem by a native speaker of the original language such as Volokhonsky, who handles the intricacies and nuances of the Russian, and a native speaker of the target language such as Pevear, who shapes the text in English.
Despite the awards and theories, however, discriminating critics have taken the pair to task, particularly in matters of style and overall artistry. Some of these shortcomings became apparent in their earlier Dostoevsky translations, where the author's original polyphonic narration, which can switch from rhapsodic to vulgar to lyrical in the space of several paragraphs, was leveled out to an even flow. If these concerns are already palpable in the Dostoevsky translations, they are magnified in renderings of writers for whom style is even more important. Simply put, Pevear and Volokhonsky's Dostoevsky is better than their Tolstoy.
"Dead Souls," then, represents a challenge for Pevear and Volokhonsky. A stylistic tour de force, Gogol's novel encompasses an astonishing range of voices and offers bravura passages in every register within that range. From its delicate, intimate lyricism to its robust, bawdy ribaldry, "Dead Souls" requires a light touch and a bold stroke all at once.
Not surprisingly, Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation is a mixed bag. Were we to accept the definition of translation at which Vladimir Nabokov arrived while Englishing Alexander Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" - that translation should essentially be a crib for the original - then this team of translators would deserve high praise, indeed. Of all the English translations, theirs is most faithful to the original.
But readers generally seek something more difficult to achieve: a faithful rendering of the work as an artistic whole. Judged by this criterion, the shortcomings of Pevear and Volokhonsky's version of "Dead Souls" become apparent on the first page, where the translators fail to catch the right tone of Gogol's playful introduction. What actually happens on this page is that Chichikov rolls into a provincial town for his first stab at buying up the rights to serf-owners' dead. But Gogol packs the paragraphs with so many non sequiturs - first a seemingly pointless conversation between two peasants about the wheel of Chichikov's britzka, then an extraneous description of a passerby - that the point becomes less what is happening than how it is being told.
In Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation, Gogol's effervescent and wayward opening emerges accurate, but stilted: "'See that?' said the one to the other, 'there's a wheel for you! What do you say, would that wheel make it as far as Moscow, if it so happened, or wouldn't it?' 'It would,' replied the other. 'But not as far as Kazan I don't suppose?' 'Not as far as Kazan,' replied the other."
The deliberate irrelevance of Gogol's digression is lost to pedantry, a problem that also afflicts the episode that follows:
"Then, as the britzka drove up to the inn, it met with a young man in white twill trousers, quite narrow and short, and a tailcoat with presumptions to fashion, under which could be seen a shirtfront fastened with a Tula-made pin shaped like a bronze pistol. The young man turned around, looked at the carriage, held his hand to his peaked cap, which was almost blown off by the wind, and went on his way."
At times, the absence of Gogol's trademark playfulness mars whole passages. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the interpolated "Tale of Captain Kopeikin," one of the glories of Russian literature. In it, Gogol takes off on a five-page lark that has nothing and everything to do with the novel's meaning. As Chichikov wreaks havoc across the countryside, the postmaster offers the story of the legendary invalid Kopeikin as an explanation of Chichikov's true identity, though inconsistencies in the story almost immediately make it clear that Chichikov cannot be Kopeikin. As a result, the episode is superfluous to the plot, yet central to Gogol's digressive technique. Here, the marvelous image of an undereducated character offering up his wisdom on something he barely understands deteriorates into a mechanical repetition of stock phrases, such as "my good sir," "if you can imagine," and "if you can picture it," which are meant to substitute for a colloquial voice.
The translation also suffers from lax syntax. Pevear and Volokhonsky seem to interpret Gogol's convoluted language as a license to unleash auxiliary verbs in English. The problem is that Gogol's prose is disciplined and, in its way, economical, neither of which qualities applies to Pevear and Volokhonsky's prose. This troublesome tendency toward excess verbiage particularly afflicts the novel's lyrical passages, robbing them of their poetry.
As a result, despite their faithfulness to the letter of Gogol's text, Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation fails to live up to expectations. Bernard Guerney's 1942 re-creation of "Dead Souls," which Nabokov praised, maintains its preeminence among English versions of the novel for the time being, though we still await a translation that brings "Dead Souls" to life.
Timothy C. Westphalen is associate professor of European Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and the author of "Lyric Incarnate: The Dramas of Aleksandr Blok." His most recent book is "Aleksandr Blok's Trilogy of Lyric Dramas."
TITLE: Wishful thinking
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Combining the retro aesthetic of recent TV miniseries such as "Moscow Saga" and "Children of the Arbat," both set in 1930s Moscow, and new Russian special effects adventures such as the blockbuster "Night Watch" (Nochnoi Dozor), "Call Me Genie" is a musical comedy film for young people that hits St. Petersburg screens on Thursday.
An updated version of the popular Soviet children's tale "Starik Khottabych," "Call Me Genie" is a large-scale film which impresses mostly by means of technical gimmicks, such as computer-generated animation and scenes filmed on location in Goa, India.
The film, directed by Ilya Khotinenko, tells the story of three students who release a genie from a soft drinks can. The genie grants the students' wish to relocate to the Indian coastal paradise, and organizes a liason between the hero and the girl he loves, who had herself already traveled to Goa. Although the genie makes the wishes of the three friends come true, they find themselves busy fighting the Russian mafia in India.
The genie, having served his duty, gains his freedom from the can and decides to stay around in order to find love for himself.
The film is inspired by "Starik Khottabych," Lazar Lagin's classic children's story published in 1938, in which a schoolboy finds a genie in an ancient bottle and asks him to fulfill his wishes. But the good Soviet pioneer boy refuses all tangible gifts (elephants, camels, palaces and treasures) for the sake of passing an exam in geography (and a couple of ice-creams). Despite its dull Soviet moral, "Starik Khottabych" is a very funny fairytale, which remains a true literary masterpiece.
The original story continues to be influential - in 2001 author Sergei Oblomov wrote a version of the fairytale called "A Copper Jug of the Starik Khottabych" and a chain of building and decorating materials stores named "Starik Khottabych" has recently opened across Russia.
The new film, however, takes the traditional story and treats it in a new way, mainly by means of technological innovations. Computer generated special effects, location filming and featured film stars, such as Pyotr Buslov (the director of the "Boomer") and Oleg Taktarov, the two time world sambo champion now carving a Hollywod career with starring roles in "15 Minutes," (2001) "Bad Boys II" (2003) and "National Treasure" (2004).
"Call Me Genie" was shot in the Indian state of Goa, where a large-scale dance party for 2,000 people forms the background to the action. The genie is computer generated.
"Such a place, actions and technologies have been used in the Russian cinema for the first time", the official press release of the film claims.
TITLE: Huiniya hold-up
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The club Platforma was packed on Monday. Some fans were even locked outside the launch party for the long-awaited “Huiniya,” the joint album by Leningrad and bizarre U.K. cabaret trio The Tiger Lillies.
What’s more, there was no concert planned, though indistinctly worded advertizing had led many to believe there would be. Instead, the crowd was only treated with a documentary about the recording sessions and the album itself.
Absurdly, the album that was recorded over three days at St. Petersburg’s Dobrolyot Studios in Sept. 2003 was still not in sight. Having been postponed for various reasons quite a few times since then, it even failed to appear on the last confirmed date of Jan. 15.
According to Pavel Golovin of the Moscow-based label/promoter BadTaStE, which represents the British band in Russia, no new release date has been set.
“[Leningrad’s record label] Shnur’OK and The Tiger Lillies are busy discussing contractural problems at the moment,” he said by phone this week. “It will be on sale immediately after they agree on the contract.”
All the same, Leningrad’s Sergei Shnurov seemed proud of the album at the so-called launch party on Monday.
“I listened to it again recently, and I like it even better than before,” he said.
“It is rough, but it’s good just because it’s rough. It’s spontaneous and it reflects the spirit of what was happening [in the studio], nothing has been tidied up.”
The 14-track CD contains 12 of Leningrad’s takes on The Tiger Lillies’ songs, with the song “Alkash” (Drunk) based on the British band’s “Swine” represented in two versions, and two Leningrad songs, “Vodka” and “Psikh” (Madman), performed by the trio.
Shnurov said “Suka” (Bitch) and “Sud” (Judgment Day), the latter being a reworking of The Tiger Lillies’s “Crack of Doom,” were his favorites on the album.
“There’s very little what left from the original; we’ve transfigured all the music and lyrics.”
Shnurov shares singer and songwriter Martyn Jacques’s interest in urban lowlife, so the drunks and sluts from The Tiger Lillies’s songs suit the album, but the religious subjects of “Judgment Day” and “Hell” are somewhat foreign to Leningrad.
“It was OK for me to sing it, but I did reject many songs,” said Shnurov, adding that he was given all The Tiger Lillies’ albums to choose from.
Shnurov, who does not speak English, wrote the Russian lyrics from translations by a Moscow friend credited as “Mamont” (Mammoth) in the album’s sleeve notes.
“He did word-for-word translations, and I was doing little poems out of them — but I ignored the songs’ meaning altogether,” said Shnurov, who wrote lyrics for the song “Rvota” (Vomit), based on The Tiger Lillies’s “Fishheads,” on his knee in 10 minutes in the corridor while the band was going through an instrumental part in the studio.
The song “Nashe Show” (Our Show) is taken from The Tiger Lillies’ “Cheapest Show,” but while Jacques sings about a bad circus troupe, Shnurov’s version is about a band that might well be Leningrad. Shnurov claimed the meaning was totally different.
“They sing about a circus, but not about themselves,” he said.
“Our context is absolutely different. They sing, ‘Look, what a horrible circus exists somewhere, in a mythical space,’ but in our version this circus is us. It’s about show business, in a way.”
Shnurov was among early Russian fans of The Tiger Lillies in the late 1990s and was profoundly influenced by the band when working on Leningrad’s second album “Mat (Bez Electrichestva).”
The no-frills, minimalist album released in December 1999 became a breakthrough for Leningrad, with Shnurov, who wrote all the band’s material and played bass, also taking up vocals, after the band’s first vocalist Igor Vdovin had quit.
One of the album’s highlights was “Diky Muzhchina” (“Wild Man”), adapted from Jacques’ song “Whore.”
In a way, “Huiniya” sounds a bit similar to “Mat,” a similarity that appeals to Shnurov, he said.
The idea of the collaboration came at The Tiger Lillies’ concert at Red Club in April 2003, when Shnurov paid his respect to the trio by making a surprise appearance to sing “Wild Man/Whore” with The Tiger Lillies playing.
BadTaStE’s Sergei Korsakov suggested it to Shnurov and he jumped to at the chance.
“It was simply interesting to me; I had no other thoughts at all,” said Shnurov. “I like to set myself impossible tasks.”
“Sergei is a really good singer; he is probably even a better singer than people realize,” said Jacques soon after the recording sessions with Leningrad. “I think he’s got seeds of greatness in him.”
“He’s got an emotion. I think Sergei’s voice is lived-in; he’s a person who’s seen things, suffered,” he said. “I think he’s got that kind of voice.”
TITLE: Organ transplant
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The 100-year old Walcker organ which has been reinstalled at the Shostakovich Philharmonic Hall. After more than a year's absence, the venerable 100-year-old concert organ made by the illustrious German company E.F. Walcker & Son, is back at its place in the Grand Hall of the Shostakovich Philharmonic.
The first concert given on the restored organ took place last Friday in the presence of President Vladimir Putin and Horst Koehler, president of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Philharmonic organ boasts 59 registers and over 3,000 pipes of drastically varying lengths, each with its own inimitable sound. Its reconstruction, carried out in Bonn by the musical instrument company Johannes Klais, cost 1.5 million euros and was funded jointly by the Russian and German governments.
The instrument has a remarkable history. It was originally purchased for a St. Petersburg obstetrics and maternity ward by the clinic's director, Professor Dmitry Ott, in the early years of the 20th century.
Ott believed the organ's sound had a curing effect on the human body.
"The organ is the most sophisticated and exquisite musical instrument, and the sound of it will not only entertain the patients, who sometimes have to spend a very long time in bed, but also serve as a cure and means of rehabilitation," the doctor said in a speech at the clinic in October 1902, citing numerous examples of organs installed in hospitals in the United States and orchestras performing in London clinics.
Daniel Zaretsky, a well-known organist who often performs at the Philharmonic, says that Ott's scheme had its skeptics at the time.
"It took a tremendous effort to convince the Finance Ministry to fund the construction of an organ," he said. "The expensive instrument was seen as a luxury and the ministry's officials tried to pressurize the clinic into having a piano instead."
The organ, made specifically for the clinic, eventually arrived in St. Petersburg from its illustrious German makers on September 1903.
Amazingly, the organ had microphones inside it which were connected to the wards, where bed-ridden patients could lisen to the music via telephones.
Public concerts were also organized each day.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution both public performances the and organ's use for medical purposes ceased.
In 1931, the instrument was moved to the Shostakovich Philharmonic, where it enjoyed its first concert in October of that year.
"The beautiful, warm and noble sound of this romantic instrument was recognized by an entire generation of listeners, but by the end of 1950s the organ was so overused and worn out that it was even suggested that the organ be dismantled it and its pipes melted down," Zaretsky said. "In the end the organ was restored in 1970s but unfortunately, its sound pattern was severely altered."
This unlucky restoraton also reduced the size of the organ.
Now the organ looks exactly as it did in its original form, and its German restorers assure that the instrument, if properly cared for, can be used for at least another century.
Many local music critics weren't able to attend the first concert given on the reconstructed organ because the hall was full of politicians, civil servants and other officials.
Music critic Gulyara Sadykh-zade, who runs the arts desk of the St. Petersburg office of Gazeta newspaper, said the restored organ has altered the accoustics of the hall.
The restored organ has changed the sound quality to which concert-goers were accostomed because it is now 1.5 times bigger than its most recent incarnation.
The current organ has also been moved significantly forward, and, as a result, the sound of the orchestra has changed, the critic said.
"Before the reconstruction, the sound first flew to the back of the stage and then into the auditorium, and the orchestra sounded solid, expansive and harmonious," Sadykh-zade said.
"But now the sound has gotten less focused, while becoming somewhat flatter and more dissipated. The orchestra will have to learn to adapt to these new conditions."
The German organist Leo Kremer will give a solo recital on the restored organ on Feb. 4, performing a program of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and Max Reger.
On Feb. 5 the Philharmonic presents the first performance in St. Petersburg of Saint-Saens's Third Symphony for organ and piano. Then on Feb. 12, Zaretsky performs works by Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt and Reger in a program called "Three Centuries of Organ Music. Organ Masterpieces."
There will also be an organ evening for children. At 4 p.m. on Jan. 29 Zaretsky will introduce young audiences to the organ in a show called "The Little Secrets of the Big Organ."
For more information, visit http://www.philharmonia.spb.ru and take a look at the listings.
TITLE: UN to Hold Holocaust Commemoration
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: UNITED NATIONS - The UN commemoration of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps 60 years ago is a reminder that the evil that killed six million Jews still threatens the world today and must never be repeated, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.
He said Monday's planned special session of the General Assembly should also be seen as an expression of the United Nations' commitment to ensuring that it can respond quickly to future genocide and other human rights violations.
Annan and General Assembly President Jean Ping were joined at a news conference by the ambassadors of the countries that sponsored the resolution calling for the special session - Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Russia, the United States and Luxembourg representing the European Union.
Annan stressed that the United Nations was founded in response to the Nazi Holocaust in World War II, and that the UN Charter and the world "untold sorrow" were written as the world was learning the full horror of the death camps.
The secretary-general has called on all countries to give the session their full support and so far 138 have responded positively, including Arab nations.
"It's an important date for all of us," said Algeria's UN Ambassador Abdallah Baali, "and as an Arab group we have no problem whatsoever with the commemoration of this event."
Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman - saying he represented not only Israel and the Jewish people but the six million Jews and many others who were slaughtered in the Holocaust - called the commemoration "a momentous historic event."
"Hopefully this universal initiative ... will do at least two things," he said. "It will make sure that people remember and never forget, and it will make sure that those horrible atrocities never, ever, happen again anywhere in the world."
Gillerman said Israel has often accused the General Assembly of being anti-Israeli and operating with an "immoral majority," but he said "we do feel there is a change."
Annan backed Gillerman's hope that the election of a new Palestinian leader will re-energize the Mideast peace process. "I think what is going to happen on Monday is a little step toward that direction," the secretary-general said.
In a letter to Annan on Dec. 9, U.S. Ambassador John Danforth requested a commemorative session on Jan. 24, three days before a similar event in the former Auschwitz death camp in Poland to mark its liberation by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945. More than 1 million prisoners perished in gas chambers or died of starvation at Auschwitz.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: French Teachers Strike
PARIS (Reuters) - French teachers went on strike on Thursday, the third day of public sector protests over pay, reforms and job cuts that have sent a sharp warning to President Jacques Chirac's conservative government.
Some schools were expected to close because of the one-day protest focusing on resistance to planned education reforms, and thousands of civil servants were expected to march through Paris to show their discontent with the government.
A strike by rail workers ended Thursday after severely disrupting rail traffic Wednesday. Surgeons and energy and postal workers have also staged warning strikes this week.
Paris Remembers Jews
PARIS (AP) - With name after name engraved on pale stone walls, a new monument in Paris' Jewish quarter pays tribute to the 76,000 Jews rounded up in France during the Holocaust and sent to Nazi death camps.
The "Wall of Names," shown to reporters Wednesday ahead of an inauguration by President Jacques Chirac next week, is part of a renovated Holocaust memorial that has been transformed from an archive center and expanded.
The memorial also is a reminder of a dark period of French history - France's wartime collaboration with the Nazis.
Kiev Inauguration
KIEV (Reuters) - Liberal Viktor Yushchenko, who won last month's presidential election re-run, will be sworn in as Ukraine's new president on Sunday, ending weeks of political turmoil in the ex-Soviet state.
A total of 309 deputies in the 450-seat chamber passed a decision to hold the inauguration on Jan. 23. It follows a Supreme Court ruling that upheld Yushchenko's win in the Dec. 26 vote, rejecting appeals from rival and former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Church Shifts Policy
MADRID, Spain (AP) - In a substantial shift from traditional policy, the Catholic Church in Spain has said it supports the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS .
"Condoms have a place in the global prevention of AIDS," Juan Antonio Martinez Campos, spokesman for the Spanish Bishops Conference, said after a meeting Tuesday with Health Minister Elena Salgado to discuss ways of fighting the disease.
The Catholic Church has repeatedly rebuffed campaigns for it to endorse the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS. The Vatican states that condoms, because they are a form of artificial birth control, cannot be used to help prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
March for Riot Victims
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Hundreds of Armenians, most of them refugees from neighboring Azerbaijan, marched in Yerevan on Wednesday in memory of the victims of riots in that country that killed at least two dozen ethnic Armenians 15 years ago.
After the January 1990 rioting in Baku, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sent troops in to crush an uprising by Azerbaijani nationalists, and more than 100 people were killed.
The outbreak of violence was one of several clashes linked to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan that is in ethnic Armenian hands after a 1988-1994 war that killed some 30,000 people and drove 1 million others from their homes.
TITLE: Youzhny 1st Russian Seed Out Down Under
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MELBOURNE, Australia - Lleyton Hewitt rallied to beat James Blake 4-6 7-6 (8) 6-0 6-3 to advance to the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
The tense center-court match, which turned after Blake cut his racket hand, was the highlight on a day when Venus Williams got a rigorous workout while ousting China's Peng Shuai, and No. 1-ranked Lindsay Davenport and French Open champion Anastasia Myskina both struggled before winning.
Seventh-seeded Tim Henman of Britain and ninth-seeded David Nalbandian also advanced, while No. 2 Andy Roddick was playing at night against Greg Rusedski in a matchup of two of the game's fastest servers.
Hewitt lost the first set against Blake, who broke vertebrae in his neck when he ran into a net post during practice last May, then contracted Zoster, an illness that affected his sight and hearing and temporarily paralyzed part of his face. After reaching the fourth round here last January, he missed the other three Grand Slams as his ranking slipped to 76th.
Blake was serving for the second set after breaking the Australian at 5-5. But Hewitt broke back to force a tiebreaker in which both players had set points.
Hewitt converted his third with a sharply angled volley that Blake made a desperate dive for, flicking the ball back while landing on his racket hand and opening a cut between his ring finger and pinkie that required several treatments.
With Hewitt pumped up and shouting encouragement to himself, Blake was never the same and also suffered from several close line calls that went against him.
"I see that as a learning experience," Blake said. "I've been off tour for a while. That's what I missed, being in a tiebreaker with one of the best players in the world. The crowd is into it. You get chances. You're a little nervous. That's what's fun. And I missed that."
The eighth-seeded Williams had to run constantly from sideline to sideline to oust Peng 6-3 6-1. She closed out the win with a stinging crosscourt forehand.
Williams lost her opening service game, but broke right back to start a five-game winning streak. That sent her on the way to eliminating the 19-year-old Peng, who upset French Open champion Anastasia Myskina at the Sydney International last week.
"Wasn't she a beautiful player?" Williams marveled afterward. "I had no idea who she was."
Peng, ranked 48th, broke Williams twice in the first set. But Williams feasted on Peng's serves, particularly the slow second ones. And while Peng's flat groundstrokes - two-handed from both sides - had sting, she had little margin for error.
It was one of the easier victories for the top women on a day when top-seeded Lindsay Davenport and French Open champion Anastasia Myskina both struggled.
Davenport earned a 2-6 6-2 6-2 victory over Michaela Pastikova, the world's 99th-ranked player who was entered in her first Grand Slam tournament after 13 failed qualifying attempts.
Myskina, seeded third, berated herself and looked dismayed after many of the 25 errors she committed while ousting No. 114 Tzipora Obziler of Israel 6-4 6-2.
A sprained ankle and wrist and a strained leg muscle slowed Venus Williams' comeback here last year from a six-month absence with an abdominal strain. Her ranking slipped at one point to 18th.
"Things happen that you can't control yourself," she said. "Sometimes you have to step back."
Davenport made 10 errors as she muddled through the first set in which she looked a bit lethargic. She picked up her play and had only one unforced error in the second set before firing five aces in the third - three in one game.
"I just wasn't ready to be at my very best at the beginning," said Davenport, still a little hoarse from a bout of bronchitis just before the tournament started.
Myskina had problems with her serve and trailed 3-1 in the first set, muttering to herself and gesturing at lines after losing points.
"My emotion doesn't really help me on court," she said.
She regained control and won four consecutive games to close out the first set, and then didn't face a break point in the second.
Myskina next plays 25th-seeded Lisa Raymond, a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Clara Koukalova, in the third round.
Last year, Raymond made the quarterfinals here, upsetting Venus Williams along the way.
American Abigail Spears, playing only her second major, beat No. 20 Tatiana Golovin of France 7-5 6-1.
In other women's matches, 14th-seeded Francesca Schiavone beat Tatiana Perebiynis 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, and 26th-seeded Daniela Hantuchova had a 6-4, 6-0 win over 28-year-old Barbara Schett, who retired from singles play after the match.
No. 13 Karolina Sprem and No. 27 Anna Smashnova also advanced, while Czechplayer Nicole Vaidisova beat No. 31 Jelena Kostanic of Croatia.
On the men's side, No. 14 Sebastien Grosjean, No. 15 Mikhail Youzhny, No. 17 Andrei Pavel and No. 18 Nicolas Massu were the four seeded players ousted from the men's draw Thursday, while No. 23 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 25 Juan Ignacio Chela and No. 32 Jurgen Melzer advanced.
Grosjean, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist, led fellow Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard 6-1, 4-1 before calling for a trainer to treat his injured left thigh.
Grosjean saved two match points in the fifth set, then dropped his serve and lost 1-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-3.
Olympic gold medalist Massu lasted 41 minutes before an injured left foot forced him to quit against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber while trailing 6-0 2-0.
Rafael Nadal, an 18-year-old left-hander who upset Roddick and helped Spain to a 3-2 win over the United States in last month's Davis Cup final, ousted Russia's Youzhny, coming back for a 6-1 4-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 win in 3 hours, 37 minutes.
American Bobby Reynolds upset Pavel 7-6 (6) 6-2 6-2, while Argentina's Guillermo Canas, seeded 12th, advanced 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-0 over Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
TITLE: NHL Talks
Continue
On Lockout
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: A twist in the NHL labor talks seems to have worked - at least for one day.
With commissioner Gary Bettman and union chief Bob Goodenow out of the picture Wednesday, a group of six men got down to talking. After several hours in a lounge at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, they decided that discussions should continue.
The bid to jump-start NHL labor negotiations has done just that, spawning a second round of talks in an effort to save the hockey season. Union president Trevor Linden and NHL board of directors chairman Harley Hotchkiss spoke Wednesday and the sides agreed to meet again Thursday, this time in Toronto.
"We engaged in good dialogue," Linden said.
The session lasted about five hours, including several breaks so each three-man negotiating group could huddle. It was just the third time the league and players' association have had face-to-face talks since the lockout was imposed Sept. 15.
More than half of the regular season - 662 of 1,230 games through Wednesday - has been wiped out so far, plus the All-Star game.
NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly joined Hotchkiss, who is a part-owner of the Calgary Flames, and outside counsel Bob Batterman in representing the NHL; Linden, NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin, and outside counsel John McCambridge were there for the players.
"The parties had a good, candid dialogue," Daly said.
The participants are likely to be the same for the second day of discussions, except for Hotchkiss who will be attending the funeral of J.R. (Bud) McCaig, another member of the Flames' ownership group who died last week. Saskin will take part in the meeting, despite the death of his mother Wednesday.
Bettman and Goodenow, who have shouldered much of the blame for the lockout lasting so long, are expected to sit out again Thursday. At this point, it doesn't appear that either side is prepared to break the ice and put forth a new proposal.
Linden reached out to the owners and invited Hotchkiss to talk. The Vancouver Canucks center hoped that by holding general discussions without the two leaders, some acrimony could be removed from the negotiating process.
"We credit Trevor Linden's initiative in requesting this session, which was informal, open and professional and which resulted in a constructive exchange of viewpoints," Hotchkiss said.
These were the first talks since Dec. 14. That was when the sides broke three months of silence by sitting down for the second time in six days, but any optimism was lost quickly.
The players presented a proposal that offered an immediate 24 percent rollback on all existing contracts, but owners rejected the plan, saying it didn't provide cost certainty.
The NHL presented a counterproposal, which was turned down as soon as the players' association saw that the offer included a salary cap.
TITLE: Kuznetsova Lobs Claims Off Court
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MELBOURNE, Australia - Svetlana Kuznetsova found a brief refuge Wednesday from the doping questions hounding her at the Australian Open.
For 40 minutes, the reigning U.S. Open champion from St. Petersburg pounded tennis balls past Marion Bartoli of France, hitting 31 winners and seven aces in a 6-2 6-0 second-round victory.
The fifth-seeded Russian then signed autographs for a few minutes, even inking the arm of a man who dangled it over the railing from the stands.
As she started walking off, it all started coming back - the anger and frustration over Belgian regional sports minister Claude Eerdekens' announcement that Kuznetsova tested positive for the stimulant ephedrine during an offseason charity event.
Ephedrine - a common ingredient in cold medicine -- is on the banned list during competition, but it's not off-limits during the offseason. Kuznetsova and tennis officials have criticized Eerdekens, who was unapologetic and said he did tennis a favor by striking a blow for transparency in the fight against doping.
"I'm not afraid ... because I didn't do nothing wrong," said Kuznetsova, who didn't rule out a lawsuit.
"I feel that he shouldn't do this because I think it's worse for him than for me. It's a bit dirty. Tomorrow, I wake up and I say something bad about somebody, I will feel terrible. Definitely he has to pay for it."
Kuznetsova, who passed 11 drug tests last year, said she had a fever when she arrived for the exhibition tournament last month but didn't want to drop out.
"I just felt sick. And I went to the doctor. That is usual for everybody," Kuznetsova said. "And he gave me medicine, and I was taking it."
She said she listed the medicine when she went for a drug test. The next she heard about the test, she said, was from the media, asking about Eerdekens' statement on the positive result. Kuznetsova said she still has yet to hear anything from Belgian officials, and that the WTA Tour, the ITF and the Russian Federation have not been contacted either.
Against Bartoli, Kuznetsova dictated play from the start, breaking serve in the first game with a clean backhand winner down the line. The Russian's only scare came as she nearly did the splits while trying to chase down Bartoli's forehand on her first match point. She followed with her seventh ace to finish the victory.
The sparse crowd gave her a nice ovation as she headed to the stands to sign autographs, then again as she waved and walked off the court.
"While I was on the court, I was not thinking about this,"Kuznetsova said. "Walking off the court, I felt like everything is starting to come back to me."
TITLE: SPORTS WATCH
TEXT: Big Brother Speaks
MELBOURNE (AP) - Russia's Dinara Safina put a scare into second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, but she didn't impress her older brother, former No. 1 Marat Safin.
Safina took the first set off Mauresmo in their second-round match, then faded quickly and won only one more game the rest of the way, losing 2-6, 6-1, 6-0.
After advancing to the men's third round a few hours later, Safin had some tough love for his 18-year-old sister.
"She has to make a lot of changes to be able to compete with all these kind of players like Amelie," said Safin, who has a reputation for speaking his mind. "To be able to do that, she needs to have character.
"Of course, she is a little bit young, and I know everything everybody is saying ... she has big future in front of her. ... She has to grow up."
Suns No Longer Shine
PHEONIX, Arizona (AP) - The Phoenix Suns have relinquished the best record in the NBA.
San Antonio took over the top spot in the league standings Wednesday night by edging the Los Angeles Clippers 80-79, while the Suns lost their fifth straight, 88-79 to the Memphis Grizzlies.
"Pretty ugly," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "The effort is there. But the layups and easy shots we started missing, I just think guys started pressing, and we're out of sync."
The Suns' loss dropped their record to 31-9, while San Antonio's victory gave it a mark of 32-9 - along with an NBA-best home record of 21-1.
The Spurs and Suns will play each other Friday night at Phoenix.
Euro 2012 Croatia Bid
ZAGREB, (Reuters) - The Croatian cabinet have given their approval for a joint bid with Hungary to host soccer's 2012 European Championship, state news agency Hina reported on Thursday.
Croatia and Hungary hope to host two four-team groups each for the 16-team event, which is the second largest international soccer tournament behind the World Cup.
Government approval is one of the more important elements required for a successful bid.
The neighbouring countries will face tough competition from Italy and European champions Greece, while Poland and Ukraine are also considering a joint bid.
The deadline for bids is Jan. 31 and European soccer's governing body UEFA will then draw up a short-list of three candidates in November before announcing the host country in December 2006.
Vaughan Optimistic
CENTURION, South Africa Reuters) - England captain Michael Vaughan knows the attitude of his team will be crucial in the final test against South Africa starting on Friday.
England lead the five-test series 2-1 and a draw at Centurion would be enough to give them their first series win in South Africa since the 1964/65 season.
"We have to go out and play positively and try to win the match. If we go in aiming for the draw then we've got the wrong mindset," Vaughan told reporters at the ground on Thursday.
"Being 2-1 up is very exciting and it will make sure we're energised going into the test. We have a real goal to aim for - we can make history."
Gibbs To Feyenoord
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - U.S. central defender Corey Gibbs has joined Feyenoord on a 4-1/2-year contract from Dallas Burn, the Rotterdam-based club said on Thursday.
The 25-year-old was on trial with the first division team during a winter-break training camp in Spain where he managed to convinced coach Ruud Gullit to sign him.
Feyenoord, who are fourth in the standings 11 points adrift of leaders AZ Alkmaar, agreed a transfer fee with Major League Soccer to make their sixth signing during the transfer window.
Athens In The Swim
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Athens is considering a late bid to stage this year's world swimming championships after Montreal was dropped.
The German swimming federation is also contemplating a bid by either Berlin or Munich but Australia and the United States have said they were not interested.
Swimming's world governing body FINA said it would announce a new host city next month after terminating its contract with Montreal because of financial problems.
Athens is looming as the favourite. The Greek capital has all the facilities after staging the Olympics last year.
Dolphins Get Lineham
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) - Scott Linehan agreed Wednesday to a three-year contract with the Miami Dolphins to be their offensive coordinator, leaving the Minnesota Vikings without one.
In three seasons in Minnesota, Linehan oversaw one of the league's best offenses. The Vikings ranked second in the NFL in 2002, first in 2003 and fourth in 2004 in total yardage.
Though Linehan wouldn't divulge specific terms of his deal, he's believed to be getting a significant raise. Minnesota has one of the lowest-paid coaching staffs in the league.
After interviewing with coach Nick Saban, Linehan decided the security offered by Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga was too attractive to pass up.