SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #1638 (99), Tuesday, December 28, 2010
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TITLE: Tycoon Khodorkovsky Again Found Guilty
AUTHOR: By Lynn Berry and Nataliya Vasilyeva
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW — Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted Monday of stealing oil from his own company and laundering the proceeds, a verdict likely to keep the oil tycoon who once challenged the power of Vladimir Putin behind bars for several more years.
The unrelenting legal attack on Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, has come to define the country’s transformation under Putin. The outcome of the second trial exposes how little has changed under President Dmitry Medvedev despite his promises to strengthen the rule of law and make courts an independent branch of government.
Putin, now prime minister, remains the more powerful leader. Any lingering doubt that the verdict would be guilty was dispelled this month when he said Khodorkovsky was a proven criminal who should sit in prison.
Putin, seen as the driving force behind the trial, has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012 and appears unwilling to risk the possibility that a freed Khodorkovsky could help unite and lead his political foes.
During his seven years in prison, Khodorkovsky has been transformed into a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Russia. His hair, now gray, is cropped short and his complexion is pasty from lack of sun and exercise, but he appears strong and unbroken.
It was clear from the opening pages of his verdict that the judge had found Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev guilty. Reading the full verdict and announcing the sentence was expected to take several days.
Khodorkovsky, 47, is nearing the end of an eight-year sentence after being convicted of tax fraud in a case seen as punishment for challenging the Kremlin’s economic and political power, in part by funding opposition parties in parliament.
The conviction on charges of stealing around $27 billion worth of the oil that his Yukos company produced from 1998 to 2003 and laundering the proceeds could keep him behind bars until at least 2017.
Prosecutors accused Khodorkovsky and Lebedev of stealing the oil from Yukos’ own production units and then selling the oil abroad at higher prices. The defense called the charges ridiculous, arguing that prosecutors do not understand the oil business, including the payment of transit fees and export duties.
One of Khodorkovsky’s lawyers, Vadim Klyuvgant, said Monday that if this logic were extended to the state oil and gas company Gazprom, the same charges could be brought against Medvedev.
“The court ruled that the difference between the oil price at the production site and at the market represents theft,” Klyuvgant said. “Gazprom, where Medvedev served as board chairman, buys oil at the production site at a price 10 times lower than the market price in Rotterdam. Isn’t that selective justice? Do they have any shame?”
Numerous witnesses, including current and former government officials, testified during the 20-month trial that the charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were absurd.
Hundreds of Khodorkovsky supporters rallied outside the courthouse, holding up signs saying “Freedom” and “Russia without Putin.” Police detained some of them as they chanted “Freedom” and “Down with Putin!”
In the courtroom, Judge Viktor Danilkin read the verdict in a rapid-fire monotone, his low voice drowned out at times by loud chants from outside. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev sat impassively in a glass cage. Khodorkovsky exchanged glances with his elderly mother. His father, Boris, sat next to her, his head bowed.
By mid-afternoon, the judge had read through more than 80 of the verdict’s estimated 250-300 pages.
“This is a miserable country with arbitrary rule,” said Yekaterina Veselovskaya, 62, a regular at the trial who took part in Monday’s protest rally. She is thankful to Khodorkovsky for providing computers to the school where she used to work as a librarian.
When Putin came to power in 2000, Khodorkovsky was among a handful of oligarchs who controlled much of Russia’s economy and were used to dictating their terms to the Kremlin.
Putin set out to put them in their place, a task made easier because most Russians reviled the businessmen who had grown fabulously rich in the 1990s at a time when many of their countrymen were thrown into poverty.
Khodorkovsky’s arrest in October 2003 and the subsequent state takeover of his Yukos oil company allowed the government to reassert control over the energy sector and tamed the other wealthy businessmen, who have obediently followed Kremlin orders ever since.
The Kremlin also consolidated its hold over political life. Soon after Khodorkovsky’s arrest, parties that he had funded were shut out of parliament or sidelined. New controls were imposed on non-governmental organizations, like those once funded by Khodorkovsky, that have worked to help strengthen civil society in Russia.
On Friday, Khodorkovsky published an opinion piece in the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta containing a scathing criticism of Putin. “I wish Putin kindness and tolerance, I wish him to be loved, not feared. Maybe not by all, but loved sincerely and unselfishly, and not just by dogs,” he wrote in a reference to Putin’s fondness for animals.
Medvedev, who despite his title remains Putin’s junior partner, has promised to strengthen the rule of law as part of his mission to modernize Russia and attract more foreign investment. An acquittal in the Khodorkovsky trial would have been seen as evidence that Medvedev has the power to deliver on his promises.
While the guilty verdict is certain to be condemned by many political figures in the U.S. and Europe, it was expected and is unlikely to cause any lasting damage to relations.

TITLE: 31 Rally 
To Go On Despite City Hall Ban
AUTHOR: By Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The Strategy 31 rally in defense of the right of assembly due on December 31 will go on despite being banned by City Hall, while those activists who are under investigation will be replaced by their wives or girlfriends, The Other Russia party’s local chair Andrei Dmitriyev said Monday.
Dmitriyev, who has been charged with organizing activities of the banned National Bolshevik Party (NBP), said taking part in an unauthorized rally would mean ending up in prison.  Two local members of The Other Russia were charged with organizing activities of a banned organization and three were charged with taking part in such activities soon after the October 31 rally.
The activists argue that they acted legally as members of The Other Russia, the party formed by author and opposition politician Eduard Limonov earlier this year.
Last week, City Hall refused to authorize the next Strategy 31 rally, suggesting that it should be moved to Polyustrovsky Park, a location described by the organizers as “deserted, remote from the city center and metro stations and heaped up with snow.”
Organized by The Other Russia, the People’s Democratic Union (RNDS) and Rot Front, Strategy 31 is a nonpartisan civil rights protest in defense of Article 31 of the Constitution that guaranties the right of assembly.
The protests are held near Gostiny Dvor at 6 p.m. on the 31 day of months that have 31 days. Since launched in St. Petersburg in January, the Strategy 31 events have never been authorized by City Hall, which has offered various reasons why it could not be held at the location requested or on the date requested. The police have invariably dispersed the rallies, arresting dozens.
According to the organizers, City Hall refused to authorize the Dec. 31 rally due to “special security regulations” near metro stations and snow-removal work.
Earlier this month, both President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned of police crackdowns on unauthorized rallies after the Dec. 11 nationalist riots. 
The Kremlin chief ideologist Vladislav Surkov went as far as saying that Strategy 31 activists set the fashion for unsanctioned rallies.
“The liberal public is working hard to make unsanctioned rallies trendy, and nationalists and rednecks follow the trend,“ he said in an interview in newspaper Izvestia on Dec. 16.
“The 11 stems from the 31. What appears to be a trifle leads to not a trifle at all,” Surkov said.
Meanwhile, police officer Vadim Boiko, who was seen calling people “animals,” beating a man with a baton and dragging a woman by her hair during the July 31 rally in St. Petersburg, appeared for the first time in public on Saturday. 
Boiko, who is under investigation for exceeding his mandated powers with the use of police tactical gear, an offence punishable by up to 10 years in prison, went to an NTV Television studio alongside Dmitry Semyonov, his official victim.
Boiko said that he was only carrying out orders to detain the most active protesters, to which Semyonov said he was an onlooker, rather than a protester.
“I didn’t shout, didn’t rally, I didn’t intervene with the arrests, I just stood and watched,” Semyonov said.
“In fact, I made a remark to the uniformed officer, asking him not to swear. And I got hit on the head for this.” 
“Should I answer to him? I am speechless, I am shocked,” Boiko replied.
Semyonov cited the police regulations that forbid beating people with a baton on the head or genitals. “Sometimes you have to,” Boiko replied.
In a further development, Alexander Kormushkin, another activist who said he was beaten by Boiko on July 31, has been suing the investigators for failing to recognize him as a victim. His case is due to be heard at the Kuibyshevsky District Court on Tuesday.

TITLE: ‘Red Shovels’ Come to Rescue as City Faces Snow Siege
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Red Shovels, a spontaneously formed people’s movement, is on a mission to rescue the city from its snow siege. As the local authorities struggle to clear the city of snow and ice — without much success and amidst fierce criticism — a group of enthusiastic locals, armed with red plastic shovels, are determined to succeed.
Anatoly Koptev, the leader of Red Shovels, said the movement is happy to embrace any locals that come forward to support the cause. 
The first problem that the group has encountered is a shortage of its main weapons. When Koptev and fellow enthusiasts began looking for shovels they had to order them, as local shops had ran out of stocks some time ago.
According to official statistics, shovel sales in town jumped by 1,500 percent in November and December, compared to figures for last year.
“Many stores sell shovels and ice-breakers only on a pre-order basis,” Koptev told reporters this week.
Red Shovels works in the streets free of charge, while commercial organizations have been trying to sell their services to desperate locals, Koptev stressed.
Clearing a car of snow would cost up to 1,500 rubles ($50), while clearing roofs of snow and ice is paid by the square meter, at 10 rubles ($0.33) per square meter, Koptev said.
The Red Shovels are following in the footsteps of the “Blue Buckets,” another people’s initiative, whereby automobilists began attaching blue buckets to the roofs of their cars in a protest campaign targeting corrupt traffic police. In Russia, flashing blue lights on the top of cars is a symbol of impunity: installed on the roofs of the country’s VIPs’ cars, it often serves as a pass to avoid fines.
While almost 300 people per week sustain injuries owing to poorly cleaned streets and roofs, Governor Valentina Matviyenko has remained adamant that the seasonal disaster is not the fault of the poor performance of City Hall in clearing snow and ice. “I do not understand why city residents, strong and healthy people, do not come out and clean the area around their vehicles and houses,” Matviyenko told reporters last week. “Even during the Siege of Leningrad, people did that job.”
Matviyenko’s attitude has infuriated many locals, who point out that they pay hefty communal services bills and expect these services in return. Red Shovels, in turn, is calling for a more constructive attitude, which means” being realistic” and digging your way out of the snow with your own shovel, red or overwise.
Alexander Sergeyev, the vice governor of St. Petersburg who is responsible for the work of communal services, said the authorities are struggling to cope with what he described as a very tough situation.
“We are having a lot of problems; we find ourselves under a lot of pressure,” Sergeyev told reporters on Friday. In the official’s opinion, one of the key problems is the poor work of private contractors engaged by City Hall to clean up the city. “We will revise our contracts with many of them,” Sergeyev promised.
The official, however, stopped short of admitting that the entire system of cleaning the city of snow and icicles needs an overhaul.

TITLE: Poll Hails PM Putin, Kirkorov
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russians were steadfast in their tastes and political preferences this year, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and notorious pop star Filipp Kirkorov voted as politician and musician of the year in a survey released Thursday.
Putin single-handedly topped the politician of the year poll with 55 percent of the vote, the Kremlin-friendly VTsIOM pollster said on its web site. President Dmitry Medvedev was second with 37 percent, while the flamboyant leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, came in a distant third at 5 percent.
Putin, who heads the ruling United Russia party, improved his showing from last year, when he led with 50 percent of the vote. Medvedev was second in 2009 with 33 percent. Both leaders have left open the possibility that they will run for the country’s top job in 2012.
Respondents said this summer’s wildfires in Russia were the most important global event.

TITLE: Kvachkov Back in Prison For ‘Coup’ After Release
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Former intelligence colonel Vladimir Kvachkov, cleared Wednesday of involvement in a high-profile assassination attempt, is back in detention after being held on suspicion of preparing a violent overthrow of the government, Interfax reported.
Law enforcement officers also searched Kvachkov’s apartment before detaining him, his lawyer Alexei Pershin told the news agency.
Investigators did not comment on the case. Kvachkov told Gazeta.ru that he had barricaded himself in his apartment and attempted to prevent Federal Security Service officers from entering.
Kvachkov was earlier questioned by the FSB for calls to overthrow the government allegedly made by a member of the Minin and Pozharsky’s Public Militia group, which he heads, Interfax reported, citing Kommersant.
An outspoken ultranationalist, Kvachkov was charged with leading a shooting and bombing attack in 2005 on a convoy carrying Rusnano chief Anatoly Chubais, who at the time was head of national power monopoly Unified Energy System.
Chubais, an architect of the liberal reforms in the 1990s, is reviled by many for the chaos that accompanied the country’s rapid transition to a market economy.
A jury cleared Kvachkov, former paratroopers Robert Yashin and Alexander Naidenov, and nationalist writer Ivan Mironov in 2008. The Supreme Court overturned the decision in 2009 and a retrial ended with another acquittal in September, upheld by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
A new investigation has been opened into the attack on Chubais, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday.

TITLE: Hungarian Hotelier Brings New Approach to City
AUTHOR: By Olga Kalashnikova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: “The sky is the limit,” believes Peter Katusak-Huzsvar, and it’s something that has largely been proven by his career in the hospitality industry to date.
The general manager of the soon-to-open W St. Petersburg Hotel on Voznesensky Prospekt admits that his rise to senior positions in the industry can be traced right back into his childhood. The world of hotels quickly became an overriding temptation for Peter as a child.
“Luckily, I was fortunate enough to travel a great deal when I was a kid. I visited large hotels and everything seemed great to me — the rooms, the service, the food, the swimming pools. I think this was the way my career started,” said Peter Katusak-Huzsvar, speaking in mid-December.
After graduating from high school and during his studies at university, Peter Katusak-Huzsvar began working in the summer as an internship trainee, giving him a fast-paced and intensive introduction into the world he had adored from childhood. 
“I started in the traditional way for a hotelier. I was a concierge, a receptionist, a reception manager … I began working right at the bottom and I’ve worked in almost every position. I really think this is the best way to learn about all the departments in the hotel,” said Katusak-Huzsvar.
“Then I had to learn the theoretical aspects of this industry, and I got my degree and a masters on an international business management program.”
Having got his degree, Katusak-Huzsvar began to develop his career abroad. He went to work in Germany, yet returned to his native Hungary, filling senior positions at hotels in Budapest and eventually reaching the post of executive assistant manager, before going three years ago to Qatar to open the W Doha Hotel as the director of operations with responsibility for the pre-opening and opening of the hotel. It was a first encounter with the brand that has now brought Katusak-Huzsvar to St. Petersburg, where a new W hotel is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011.
Having already developed experience in using casting sessions in the recruitment process at the Qatar hotel, Katusak-Huzsvar launched it in St. Petersburg, and is continuing to use it extensively. The key factor in searching for the appropriate staff, according to Katusak-Huzsvar, is that “you can teach all the skills, but you can’t teach the attitude.” For that reason, avoiding the traditional practice of receiving applications and holding interviews, W St. Petersburg organized a special casting center to which potential employees were invited.
“They had to go up on stage and tell us about their hobbies, demonstrate their talents and answer unusual questions, such as what would you do if you won a million dollars, for example. We tested them on their attitude, to see who is cheerful, who is active, who isn’t afraid and who can bring new, fresh ideas to our brand,” said Katusak-Huzsvar.
“There was a question: What would you do if you burnt a guest’s shirt in the laundry. One woman answered ‘I’d never burn it.’ Ok, and what would you do, if the general manager came and burnt a guest’s shirt. She said she would punish the general manager. This is what we are looking for. People who can take responsibility, who have initiative and don’t just wait for orders, they do that little bit more.”
The focus on the attitude of employees is the key to the brand’s approach, believes Katusak-Huzsvar. He maintains that if somebody is unfriendly in their youth, there is almost no chance that he or she will change.
“I can teach you how to do this or that, but I cannot teach you how to smile. And what would you prefer, someone professional and smiley or someone who is more professional but there is no communication, no friendliness?”
“I think there is a perception that Russians are a little bit closed. Perhaps that was some years ago, but I’ve been impressed by the amount of friendly young people we have here.”
Good staff, however, is not the only element in the hospitality business. Although new brands are launching on the St. Petersburg market, there are certain factors impeding the development of the industry. One of them, according to Katusak-Huzsvar, is the complexity of the laws and regulations that hotels face. Another barrier is that the St. Petersburg market is somewhat weaker than the Moscow market.
“There is no occupancy during the winter, people are not ready to come out and visit the city. We’re trying to attract travelers in the colder season. In addition, St. Petersburg does not have as many hotel brands as Moscow. People prefer reliable companies, where they know what to expect from a hotel and from a certain service.”
The importance of service should not be underestimated, however, believes Katusak-Huzsvar, who is introducing a “Whatever/Whenever” system at the new W hotel. 
“According to this concept, the guest gets whatever he wants, whenever he wants, as long as it’s legal. The sky is the limit — if the client wants a personalized tour at the Hermitage or a helicopter trip, we can organize it.”
“When I first came to Russia, locals told me that Russians do not have a European attitude to service in their blood or in their culture. Honestly, I can see places where service is not on the highest level and is far from those standards we’re used to seeing around the world. But I really hope that we can create a new level of service standards in the city,” said Katusak-Huzsvar.
It is only through hard work that all this can be achieved, according to Katusk-Huzsvar. He also believes that this is another facet that has to be developed among young Russian specialists in the hotel industry. 
 “There are lots of young talents with limited experience who want to be general managers. But there are certain life cycles that they have to pass through first. I’m sure there are extraordinary people who are born for the top posts, but usually we have to work very hard to achieve that.”
“And hospitality is an amazing business that gives you experiences that you can never get in other areas, it allows you to meet people you can never meet in ordinary life; you can build a career, travel and… I’m sure that in this area the sky is the limit.”

TITLE: President, PM Argue About Soviet Model
AUTHOR: By Vladimir Isachenkov
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pointed at the Soviet model as an example of how various ethnic groups can have friendly ties, drawing a quick retort Monday from the president in a rare sign of friction between the two leaders.
Putin’s protege and successor as president, Dmitry Medvedev, countered him by saying that the Soviet experience wasn’t exactly a positive one and it can’t be repeated, adding that Russia may learn from the U.S. experience.
The public exchange will likely fuel speculation about tensions between the two leaders as the nation approaches the 2012 presidential election.
Putin and Medvedev have denied any rift between them and said they would decide who would run for president in 2012 so that they don’t compete against each other. Most observers expect that Putin, who remains Russia’s most powerful figure, will reclaim the presidency.
Speaking at a Kremlin meeting focused on ways to assuage ethnic tensions that spilled into the open during riots outside the Kremlin on Dec. 11, Putin said that Russia has failed to learn from the Soviet experience and called for cultivating Russian patriotism.
Speaking immediately after him, Medvedev said that the Soviet experience can’t be reproduced.
“Can we repeat what was done during the Soviet period? he said. “No, it’s impossible. The Soviet Union was a state based on ideology, and, let’s say it openly, quite a rigid one. Russia is different.”
“We need to work out new approaches,” Medvedev said.
During the Dec. 11 riots, soccer fans and racists chanting “Russia for Russians!” clashed with police and beat members of ethnic minority groups from the Caucasus region.
The violence in Moscow raised doubts about the government’s ability to control a rising tide of xenophobia, which threatens the country’s existence.
While ethnic Russians make up four-fifths of Russia’s population of 142 million, the country is also home to about 180 ethnic groups. The Caucasus region, with its mountainous terrain and isolated valleys, hosts at least 100 ethnicities including Chechens, who have waged two separatist wars against Moscow after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin suggested Monday that the authorities might restore harsh Soviet era-restrictions on movement into big cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg. Such a move would target dark-complexioned people from the Caucasus, who flee their impoverished regions for big cities.

TITLE: French Architects Win Contest to Design Zoo
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The city’s new zoo will be built to designs drawn up by French architects on six islands in St. Petersburg’s Yuntolovo district in the Primorsky district, with each island symbolizing a different part of world. 
The French architectural studio Beckman-N’Thepe Architects won the international contest for the construction of the new zoo in St. Petersburg on Friday. 
The Frenchmen proposed turning the territory designated for the zoo into an archipelago of six islands with the help of six canals. Each island will present the plant and animal kingdoms of all six continents.
The cost of the French plan is estimated at $395 million and is particularly attractive due to the phased implementation its construction, the press service of the St. Petersburg government said.
Beckman-N’Thepe competed with a joint design created by two Russian architectural companies – the Ukhov Architectural Studio and the Studio-17 Architectural Bureau. The French architects received 12 votes out of a total of 14 in the Expert Council.
The city’s chief architect Yuri Mityurev said that in choosing the winner the jury weighed up three main criteria — the possibility of opening the zoo during the first stage of the implementation of the plans, the technological underpinning of the project and its interest in terms of its conception, Fontanka reported.
“It is possible that not all the ideas [in the plan] will be implemented,” he said.
Governor Valentina Matviyenko said the city would finance the engineering infrastructure for the new zoo. It also plans to attract major private companies to construction of the pavilions and open-air cages.
“I hope business will answer the call and make a contribution to this much needed and important project,” Matviyenko said.
The idea of moving the Leningrad Zoo to the Yuntolovo district first arose in 1992, having been proposed by the zoo’s then director Ivan Korneyev. The new zoo will be located on a territory of about 300 hectares.

TITLE: Russia Agrees to Buy French Ships
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: PARIS — Russia agreed Friday to buy at least two French assault ships in a deal that would boost Moscow’s deployment abilities — shrugging off opposition from the United States and some of Russia’s neighbors.
It’s one of the largest, if not the largest, military deal between a NATO country and Moscow and a key part of Russia’s efforts to modernize its military. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is mindful of the economic and strategic payoffs in closer ties with Russia, despite diplomatic concerns about Russia’s intentions.
The Kremlin said in a statement Friday that it “has made its choice” to buy two Mistral-class ships, which cost $525 million to $655 million each. Sarkozy issued his own statement celebrating the deal.
France and Russia have been in talks about the sale for months, but negotiations had dragged on amid disputes about how many ships would be built and where, and how much of the sensitive technology France would share.
The Mistral, which could carry as many as 16 helicopters and dozens of armored vehicles, would allow Russia to land hundreds of troops quickly on foreign soil.
The prospect has alarmed human rights activists and Georgia, which fought a brief war against Russia in 2008, as well as the ex-Soviet Baltic nations in NATO worried about Russia’s sway over its neighbors.

TITLE: Mayor Scraps Plan For 4th Ring Road
AUTHOR: By Nikolaus von Twickel
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — The Mayor’s Office will redirect funds from road construction to public transportation and “carefully study” allegations of corruption by city officials, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, further chewing away at his predecessor’s legacy.
Speaking late Wednesday during a live call-in show — reminiscent of the traditional shows hosted by his former boss, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin — Sobyanin eschewed any radical announcements about ex-Mayor Yury Luzhkov.
But in what seemed like a nearly fatal blow to one of Luzhkov’s major initiatives, Sobyanin gave a clear thumbs down to the construction of a fourth ring road around the city. He argued that it would cost a whopping 1.5 trillion rubles ($49 billion) and that it was probably better to invest the funds in public transport.
“The effectiveness of such roads is clearly doubtful, which is why we will consider again whether it is worth spending such money while there’s a budget deficit,” he said in the show, broadcast on TV Center, the channel controlled by City Hall.
Construction of the road — a 74-kilometer ring between the Third Ring Road and the Moscow Ring Road — began in 2007. Sobyanin said the section under construction would be finished.
The mayor said that road would cost 7 billion rubles ($228 million) per kilometer, a figure close to the 7.4 billion rubles claimed by opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in a report last year.
While Nemtsov argued that corruption drove prices to exorbitant heights (roads in the United States cost about $6 million per kilometer), Sobyanin maintained that this was purely because of the need to knock down “colossal amounts” of buildings adjacent to the new road.
A plan forwarded by Sobyanin has earmarked 203 billion rubles ($6.63 billion) for transport next year, and he promised to push metro construction to 15 kilometers per year.
The mayor treaded carefully when asked about corruption accusations against metro chief Dmitry Gayev, saying that “firings will not solve problems.”
Last week, federal prosecutors accused Gayev of embezzling $3.6 million and urged Sobyanin to fire him. The mayor promised to make a decision before the end of the year, after receiving results of an Audit Chamber investigation.
Audit Chamber head Sergei Stepashin said Thursday that the investigation found “problems,” among other things with metro construction, and that results would be presented Dec. 28, Interfax reported.
Sobyanin also commented on riots targeting ethnic minorities earlier this month, promising that police would prevent any repetition of the chaos.
Football fans and nationalists staged a violent protest against migrants near the Kremlin on Dec. 11 after a fan was killed by a North Caucasus native. City police have since detained thousands of people to prevent further riots.
Sobyanin said those responsible were “bandits” who had “nothing to do with sports.”

TITLE: Director of Soviet ‘Rambo’ Dies at 75
AUTHOR: By Alexander Bratersky
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russian film director Mikhail Tumanishvili, who was behind one of the biggest Soviet-era blockbusters, died in Moscow on Thursday. He was 75.
News agencies did not report a cause of death, but the director was hospitalized with lung problems earlier this year, the Infox.ru news agency reported.
Tumanishvili, a Muscovite, began his career as a theater actor but switched to filmmaking with his debut in 1981.
His first big hit was the thriller “Solo Voyage” (1985), which features Soviet marines preventing a group of U.S. right-wing military officers from starting World War III by launching a rocket attack on the Soviet Union. The action-packed movie took the Soviet box office by storm and boasted an audience of some 40 million.
Two years later, The New York Times likened the film to Sylvester Stallone’s “Rambo” and noted that it reveled in the same sort of Cold War stereotypes. The U.S. military is depicted as cold-blooded killers, but in a touch of the blossoming perestroika policy, “Solo Voyage” also features American tourists helping the Soviets uncover the plot.
Tumanishvili’s other notable work includes the drama “Crash, a Cop’s Daughter” (1989) and the hit crime series “Turetsky’s March” (2000). He directed a total of 16 feature-length films and three television series.
“I was very surprised how this calm and wise person was making such thrilling action films. He was never afraid to say that he wanted to make films for young boys,” fellow director Andrei Kavun told The Moscow Times.
Tumanishvili is survived by his wife and daughter. A memorial ceremony will be held Saturday in the downtown Film House, Itar-Tass reported.

TITLE: In Brief
TEXT: <strong>Presley Double</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — Two former policemen went on trial in Omsk for attempting to torch the car of a district judge, the local web site Omskpress.ru reported, adding that one of the suspects dressed up as Elvis Presley during the attack.
The unidentified ex-officers were identified because the Presley double changed into the outfit in front of a street surveillance camera. The car sustained minor damage from a Molotov cocktail.

<strong>‘Red Tarzan’ Jailed</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — Mixed martial arts champion and ultranationalist Vyacheslav Datsik was sentenced to eight months in jail for illegal firearms possession by an Oslo court Thursday, the judicial news agency RAPSI reported.
Datsik, nicknamed “Red Tarzan,” escaped a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg in August and fled to Norway to request political asylum, turning himself in to local police with a shotgun, a pistol and four revolvers in his possession.
Datsik was arrested in Russia for robbery in 2007 and placed in a hospital after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. He claimed during the trial in Norway to be a Federal Security Service agent hired to kill Chechen insurgent emissary Akhmed Zakayev in London.

<strong>Young Guard ‘Extremist’</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — A number of articles on the web site of the pro-Kremlin Young Guard movement are inciting social and ethnic hatred, Moscow prosecutors said, a blogger reported Thursday.
LiveJournal blogger Xorax requested that prosecutors look into articles in the Marginal Show section of Molgvardia.ru “about six months ago.” He did not name the articles, but said the whole section was “chock full of flak directed at the Georgian people, sexual minorities and everyone considered displeasing” to the group.
In a reply dated Nov. 30, prosecutors said they did not open any cases over the publications, but requested that the movement remove the articles and the provider to block access to them. The pages remained online Thursday.

<strong>Yukos Shareholders</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — In a landmark case, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has fined the Russian government $3.5 million in damages, to be paid to Yukos shareholder RosinvestCo UK Ltd., Vedomosti reported Thursday.
The institute does not publish its rulings, but RosinvestCo representatives confirmed winning the compensation, though the court slashed the sum from the $75 million the company requested, saying it purchased the shares when Yukos already faced tax claims.

<strong>Officials Dabbed</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — Employees of 14 state bodies, including most law enforcement agencies and selected governmental watchdogs, will undergo mandatory fingerprinting, Interfax reported Thursday, citing an order released by the Interior Ministry.
The police, army, Emergency Situations Ministry, migration and prison services are among the agencies facing dactylography. Employees of several other agencieswill be fingerprinted when they retire.

TITLE: Companies Focus on Charity in Gifts
AUTHOR: By Howard Amos, Justin Lifflander and Nikolaus von Twickel
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — New Year’s is a traditional time of gift giving, but this year, at least 382 Russian companies will be making donations to charity instead of distributing the usual branded calendars, pens and vintage wines.
“It’s great that we are doing something useful for Russia instead of supporting the Chinese economy and its plastic rabbits,” said one chief executive, who preferred not to be identified.
The “charity instead of business gifts” worldwide initiative was launched by Britain-based Charities Aid Foundation in 2005. In Russia, the scheme has since raised more than 217 million rubles ($7 million) for worthy causes.
Among the big companies involved in the initiative are PricewaterhouseCoopers, Troika Dialog, Alfa Bank, Renova Group and Interfax Group.
“Instead of random gifts, clients and colleagues receive a card or souvenir made by charity,” said Yekaterina Shapochka, the program’s coordinator at PwC.
Some companies do not distribute New Year’s gifts at all. A spokesman for LUKoil’s Moscow office said that for them, “the concept of presents” does not exist.
“There are no bouquets and no bottles — we just don’t do it,” he said. But he admitted that the company does arrange festive theater trips for its staff.
Nevertheless, charity donations or frugality on the part of companies remain the exception rather than the rule.
Among the gift-givers this year is state oil giant Rosneft, which has two tiers of presents, one for senior managers and clients, and the other for junior clients, staff and members of the media.
A Rosneft spokesman declined to say what the top-shelf gifts would be, but those falling into the less distinguished bracket are in line for a range of company-branded material, he said. This includes the usual calendars, notepads and diaries as well as oil-drop-shaped glass paperweights containing Rosneft crude or glass baubles featuring tiny Santa Clauses leaning against oil rigs.
A spokesman for UralSib said the company distributes calendars every year but chose porcelain pieces, produced by a partner firm, as additional gifts in 2010.
Gift sets that Rostelecom gave partners this year included thick leather mittens and a winter sports game guide, an executive at the company said.
Some organizations look to imbue their Christmas gifts with elaborate meaning, though it might often be opaque for those on the receiving end.
“Our customers and partners are getting a bottle of organic wine made with grapes from a nature reserve and juniper pillows with healing properties,” said SkyLink general director Gulnara Khasyanova. “Each employee of SkyLink gets a pot with a rare type of honey collected during the flowering of maple trees, and black tea with thyme.”
This is a part of “the movement to promote safety in mobile telecommunications,” she said. “We decided this year to ‘go green’ with our New Year’s presents.”
Diplomats also hand out presents, though those on the German Embassy’s gift list this year may have been a little baffled by Teutonic Christmas cheer.
In addition to a self-explanatory bottle of champagne, the present included a large blue bucket with the phrase “Germany without traffic jams.”
The bucket is supposed to promote Germania-online.ru, a Russian-language information portal, spokesman Viktor Richter told The St. Petersburg Times.
But he did not elaborate on why the writing on the bucket was the wrong way up — so that you have to turn it upside-down to read it.
Protestors use upside-down blue buckets attached to cars — and themselves — as a parody of the detachable blue sirens known as “migalki.” The flashing lights give cars priority on the road and are used by Russian officials to flout traffic laws.
The bucket is actually a wine cooler, Richter said. “You are supposed to use it for the champagne.”
But he did admit that the present was “open to interpretation.” In past years, the embassy had sent out mainly German “Lebkuchens,” a traditional gingerbread, as gifts, Richter added.
Befriending the French Embassy might be a better bet. Spokesman Thomas Buffin said they usually send out “beautiful French books” or “small bottles of cognac, armagnac or calvados” as Christmas gifts.
Natalya Grishina, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy, was reluctant to speak about presents for Russian associates. “Isn’t that a private thing?” she said.

TITLE: Uralkali to Buy Silvinit In $7.8Bln Potash Deal
AUTHOR: By Howard Amos
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Uralkali, the country’s largest potash miner by market value, officially launched a $7.8 billion friendly takeover of domestic rival Silvinit last week.
Pavel Grachev, Uralkali’s chief executive, said in a statement that the merger is a “critical step toward the creation of a leader in the global potash sector.”
The combination of the two companies will create the world’s second-largest producer of potash — a raw material used in fertilizers — after Canada’s Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan.
Uralkali said that in line with Dec. 17 closing prices the market capitalization of the new company would be about $23.9 billion. Completion of the deal is expected in May, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Shareholders will receive 133.4 Uralkali ordinary shares for each ordinary share in Silvinit and 51.8 Uralkali ordinary shares for each preferred Silvinit share. This values Silvinit shares at a 45 percent discount to Uralkali, Bob Kommers, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, told The Moscow Times.
“[Silvinit shareholders] will be very unhappy about the proposed merger terms,” Kommers said. Other analysts told The St. Petersburg Times that approval is unlikely to be withheld.
Yevgeny Dorofeyev, an analyst at Petrocommerce Bank, agreed that Silvinit shareholders did not get the best deal, but said “both sides will win in the long term.”
Extraordinary shareholders meetings for both companies are scheduled for the first week of February. A 75 percent majority approval is necessary for the deal to go through, but it has already received binding approval from 53 percent of Uralkali and 67 percent of Silvinit shareholders.
The boards of directors of both companies are in favor of the merger.
Billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, along with his partners, acquired a controlling stake in Uralkali and Silvinit between June and August and have been seeking to merge the two ever since.
“The deal casts a negative light on the treatment of minority shareholders by Uralkali’s new controlling shareholders, and this will translate into a valuation discount versus international peers,” Kommers said.
Uralkali shares declined 1.2 percent to 212.48 rubles at the close of trading in Moscow on Monday, while Silvinit closed down 13.2 percent at 27,330 rubles.
The merger will be effected through an acquisition by Uralkali of more than 1.5 million Silvinit ordinary shares, at $894.5 a share or $1.4 billion total cash value, from intermediate owner Otkritie Financial Corporation.
The remaining 80 percent of the deal value will be realized through the issuing of 1.2 billion new shares by Uralkali. The company currently has 2.1 billion shares outstanding.
The deal will be partially financed by Uralkali’s sale of 50 billion rubles ($1.63 billion) worth of three-year exchange-traded bonds, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
Both companies have production facilities at the Verkhnekamskoye potash-magnesium field in the Urals, the world’s second-largest deposit. Russia has 32.5 percent of the earth’s proved potash resources.
The world’s potash producers have traditionally adhered to price-over-volume strategies to maintain profits. The eight largest producers have a global market share larger than OPEC has for oil, which is likely to result in a cautious approach from regulators.
An application to the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service for permission for the merger has not yet been made, Grachev said, but it will be filed this week and is expected to be approved.
But developing countries with shrinking amounts of arable land and rising populations, including India, China and Brazil, have little to gain from further consolidation in the potash industry.
Uralkali and Silvinit exported 84 percent of their combined sales in the first half of this year.

TITLE: Bank of Moscow Rebuts Statements by VTB
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — The Bank of Moscow last week described critical statements about the bank by VTB’s top executives as a ploy to seek a lower acquisition price.
VTB, the country’s second-largest lender, has said it wants to buy control of the Bank of Moscow in what would be the biggest banking deal in the past few years.
The VTB executives, including CFO Gerbert Moos, reportedly told a group of industry analysts that they were concerned the Moscow city government didn’t effectively own control of the Bank of Moscow and insisted the Bank of Moscow’s cash flow was too dependent on the city budget.
The Bank of Moscow said the statements — carried in a Vedomosti story Monday — were wrongful and represented an attempt to “reduce the value of the Bank of Moscow’s stock” ahead of a possible acquisition by VTB.
“Public comments that regard activity of another company, especially if they are based on inaccurate facts, run counter to the principles of business ethics and mislead customers,” the Bank of Moscow stated. “A potential buyer would act more constructively by holding discussions with all the concerned parties at a negotiating table.”
According to the lender’s web site, City Hall directly owns 46.5 percent of the stock. Insurance company Stolichnaya Strakhovaya Gruppa, which says its 25 percent belong to the city government, owns another 17.3 percent of the bank.
The city budget funds account for only 12 percent of the Bank of Moscow’s assets, the bank said.
The lender also responded to the doubts that its bad debt ratio was 4 percent to 5 percent, lower than the average of at least 7 percent for the sector. It said the bank was “extremely conservative” about risk management.

TITLE: Metro Builder Linked to Abramson Sold for $250 Million, Bid Contested
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — A company linked to businessman Valery Abramson won the bidding to buy a Moscow subway builder that could benefit from a planned increase in spending on subway construction, the Federal Property Management Agency said Thursday.
But engineering company E4 said immediately afterward that it could dispute the victory by Tsentrstroi that offered the highest bid of 7.6 billion rubles ($250 million), more than triple the starting bid of 2.2 billion rubles. E4 said the federal property agency unfairly prevented it from the bidding.
Calls to the agency’s press service went unanswered Thursday afternoon.
Moscow’s new Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said that City Hall planned to build more than 50 kilometers of metro lines by 2015 to extend the system that is now 300 kilometers long. Sobyanin said separately — and without clear reference to these plans — that spending on metro construction could reach 1.5 trillion rubles, or $48 billion.
Alexander Peisakhov, who did the bidding for Tsentrstroi, is a co-owner of another company that is reportedly controlled by Abramson’s Infrastruktura, Interfax said, citing a source at the Federal Property Management Agency. Tsentrstroi competed against three other companies in the bidding.
E4 complained that it wasn’t cleared by the federal property agency for the bidding despite compliance with “all the rules” for a potential bidder. It said it reserved the right to dispute the decision by the agency.
“Such practice of holding auctions is nontransparent, which on the one hand may prevent the state from gaining the most revenue from privatization and on the other hand does harm to the investment climate,” the company said in a statement.

TITLE: In Brief
TEXT: <strong>Sibur Stake Bought</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — Leonid Mikhelson, a billionaire shareholder and CEO of gas producer Novatek, bought 25 percent of Sibur Holding, the country’s largest petrochemical producer, and may buy the remaining shares, Bloomberg.
Mirakl, a company controlled by Mikhelson, has the right to increase its stake to 50 percent, buying another 25 percent from Gazprombank after gaining anti-monopoly approval, Sibur said Thursday in a statement.
Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko, a Novatek shareholder and co-founder of energy trader Gunvor International, agreed this week to take a two-year option to buy 9.4 percent of the gas producer from Gazprombank. The lender had acquired the Novatek stake from Gazprom a day earlier.
Sibur’s value is 225 billion rubles ($7.4 billion), excluding debt, Gazprombank said in a separate statement. The lender, in which Gazprom holds less than 50 percent, is selling nonfinancial assets to improve its business structure.
Mikhelson may buy up to 100 percent of Sibur, Gazprombank said.

<strong>$555 for Auto Sector</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — Russia will spend about 17 billion rubles ($555 million) next year to support the domestic auto industry, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday, Bloomberg reported.
“We will propose a federal program to stimulate the demand for cars,” Putin said at a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod. The sum will include 3.5 billion rubles for Russia’s cash-for-clunkers program, 2.8 billion rubles to subsidize lending and 1 billion rubles to help transport vehicles to and from the Far East.
Putin said the government already spent 44 billion rubles to “stimulate” the industry this year, with about 8 billion allocated to boost Oleg Deripaska’s GAZ Group. 

<strong>Eni, Gazprom Deal</strong> 
MILAN, Italy (SPT) — Italy’s Eni and Gazprom have extended a 2006 strategic agreement until 2012 aiming to boost industrial and commercial operations in Russia and other countries, Eni said Thursday, Reuters reported.
The companies also signed agreements for technical and scientific cooperation in the upstream and downstream sectors, Eni said in a statement.
Integrated working groups will be set up to study application of drilling, production, transportation, energy saving and liquefied natural gas technologies and processes, as well as personnel training, Eni said.

<strong>Evraz Buys Inprom</strong>
MOSCOW (SPT) — Evraz Group said Thursday it acquired Inprom to form the largest steel distributor in the former Soviet Union, Bloomberg reported.
Evraz will own 75 percent of the company formed with the merger of Inprom and its own trader EvrazMetall, Evraz said.

TITLE: Enka to Keep CityStore — For Now
AUTHOR: By Alexandra Kreknina
PUBLISHER: Vedomosti
TEXT: MOSCOW — Turkish developer Enka has reconsidered its plan to quit the retail business in Russia and is once again developing the CityStore chain so that it can get a better price for the business in the future.
This fall, Enka opened two new mini-markets, which is a new format for CityStore, said Birol Yuksel, marketing director for Enka TTs, which manages the company’s Russian retail holdings. The stores were opened on the first floors of Naberezhnaya Tower and Paveletskaya Plaza, both of which belong to Enka.
“Today the chain includes 16 stores, and we’re looking for opportunities to develop,” Yuksel told Vedomosti.
Not long ago, the developer was looking to get rid of its retail business. In September 2007, Enka spent $542.5 million to buy out 50 percent of Ramenka, the company that managed the Ramstore chain, from its 50-50 partner in the venture Migros.
At that time, the business had 42 stores and 10 malls. By December 2007, Enka had sold 14 Ramstore hypermarkets to Auchan for about $260 million, with the French retailer getting long-term rental rights to 13 stores and ownership of one. Enka TTs earned $120 million from rental revenue last year.
In 2008-09, Enka closed Ramstores in the regions as their rental agreements expired. In November 2009, the company hired Bank Societe Generale Vostok to sell its remaining 17 Ramstores in Moscow and the surrounding region. The company valued the assets at their pre-crisis annual revenue — about $170 million in 2007 — but was unable to find a buyer.
In early 2010, Enka rebranded Ramstore as CityStore and began reducing the network again. By April, it had closed three properties, leaving 14 stores. An Enka spokesperson said at the time that those would also eventually be closed.
But now the company’s plans have changed. “We closed our unprofitable locations. Now CityStore is a healthy, profitable business,” an Enka spokesperson said. Two or three more stores — mini-markets and full-fledged supermarkets — are planned to open early next year, he added.
CityStore’s owners are still interested in selling the chain, however. “If we get a good offer, the business could be sold. If we don’t, we’ll continue developing it,” said Yuksel, stressing that development remains Enka’s core business.
If Enka’s only goal were to sell the CityStores, it wouldn’t have to develop the business further, said Alexei Krivoshapko, a director at Prosperity Capital Management.
Anton Safronov, an analyst at InvestCafe, said investors in retail assets always want to see a developing business. He said Enka had some strategic properties, such as supermarkets on Komsomolskaya Ploshchad and by the Sokol metro station that could be of interest to major Moscow retailers.
Analysts said it would be difficult to put a price tag on CityStore because the company does not release financial or operating results.
Enka also manages the Kapitoly network of malls. It also owns 56 percent of the company Moskva-Krasnye Kholmy, which owns a complex of buildings with 2009 revenue of $78 million and an 80 percent stake in Mosenka, which had $26 million in revenue from 33,000 square meters of office space last year. Enka also owns the Metropolis mall and other assets.

TITLE: 2 New Players Enter $4.2Bln TV Market
AUTHOR: By Irina Filatova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — The $4.2 billion television advertising market is entering the new year with two more players to comply with antitrust rules, but industry powerhouse Video International will dominate the business at least for the near future.
Video International, which will have to cede part of the market so its share doesn’t go over 35 percent come Dec. 29, plans to consult the two new companies that will sell commercials for such channels as state-owned Rossia 1 and private CTC.
“In fact, the alignment of forces on the TV ads market hasn’t changed,” Pyotr Rybak, chief executive of another major sales house, Alkasar, said in an e-mailed statement.
A law passed last year set a threshold of 35 percent of the market for any single industry player, in a blow to Video International with its 71 percent share as of earlier this year. The threshold applies starting Dec. 29.
Video International now sells commercials for Channel One, channels such as Rossia 1 that are part of the state broadcasting holding company VGTRK, CTC Media, Prof Media and AF Media.
Starting Dec. 29, VGTRK and CTC Media will run their sales through their own units.
Video International’s closest competition, a Gazprom-Media sales house, and Alkasar jointly control the remaining 29 percent of the market by serving Gazprom-Media’s NTV, TNT, City Hall’s TV Center and the National Media Group.
Last year’s legislative changes were rushed through the State Duma after Gazprom-Media lost contracts with National Media Group’s Ren-TV and Channel Five to Video International.
Even as CTC Media will formally run its sales independently next year, it hired Video International to consult its unit, EvereST-S, on selling commercials for the media company’s three channels: CTC, Domashny and DTV, CTC Media said in a statement. Under the contract, Video International will also provide software, market research and analysis, the statement said last month.
“Video International remains our long-term strategic partner and their experience will enable us to make a smooth transition to the new sales structure,” CTC Media chief executive Anton Kudryashov said in the statement.
The companies also agreed that Video International would sell commercials for CTC Media clients outside Moscow.
Video International has been negotiating with potential advertisers as CTC Media’s agent under a contract that expires on Dec. 29, but will pass over the talks to EvereST-S afterward, said Video International spokesman Anton Charkin.
Video International has also held talks with advertisers for VGTRK, whose own sales house is called RTR-Media, Charkin said in e-mailed comments. The companies were preparing to sign a contract for Video International to consult RTR-Media on sales in the future, he said.
Video International, which was acquired by affiliates of St. Petersburg’s Bank Rossia earlier this year, will next year continue selling commercials for Channel One, whose market share stood at 22 percent last year, after winning a tender earlier this year. Rybak said Video International’s victory in the tender had been expected by the industry players because the ad seller’s “real competitors weren’t invited to participate.”
It will also keep its position with Prof Media — which runs cartoon network 2x2, TV3 and MTV Russia — and AF Media, whose portfolio includes music channel Muz-TV and the 7TV channel.
Gazprom-Media and Alkasar retained their contracts with NTV, TNT and TV Center. Alkasar will also sell commercials for Mir and Moskoviya television channels.
Federal Anti-Monopoly Service director Igor Artemyev has said he was satisfied with the new regulations.
“It’s not Video International that will be in charge of actual sales for everyone and could potentially set very high prices, but [the companies’] own sales houses will negotiate on actual sales and contracts,” he told reporters last month.
Gaining experience, the new sales houses could abandon their consultants in a couple of years, he said.
Video International is hoping that selling consulting and other services to the new sales houses — coupled with the growth of the television advertising market next year — will compensate for its losses from the decrease in the market share, Charkin said.

TITLE: The Return of Fascism
AUTHOR: By Boris Kagarlitsky
TEXT: There was nothing unexpected about the racially motivated rioting and attacks that took place in Moscow and other cities during December. But many people are still shocked by the image of Russian youth giving Nazi salutes against the backdrop of the Kremlin wall and by reports of an angry, blood-thirsty mob sweeping through metro cars and beating dark-skinned passengers.
The rioters had no political agenda or ideology other than their hatred for non-Russians. Even the most demagogic of the mobs did not chant a single slogan calling for social or political change.
The fact that both sides turned out in large numbers in several cities within a very short span of time creates the strong impression that their actions were coordinated in advance.
Regardless of whether there was a screenwriter behind the rioting, the scenario that is playing out suggests only one possible ending: the collapse and destruction of Russia.
The logic of Russian fascists has always stood in sharp contrast to the logic and traditions of the development of the nation. The problem is not that most ultranationalists are poorly acquainted with the history and culture of the people in whose name they claim to speak, which is true of fascist movements in all countries. The problem is that, historically, Russia developed as an imperial nation for which ethnic and cultural diversity is the natural and only form of existence. If fascist propaganda in ethnically homogenous societies could claim to be an ideology unifying the majority of the population, then Russian fascism never even attempted to present itself in that light.
From the moment it first appeared in the 1920s, Russian fascism has been an ideology of national division focused on opposition to and destruction of the existing Russian state.
It was natural for Russian fascists to fight with Nazi Germany against their own country. Hitler’s plan to eliminate the Russian state did not contradict the ideas of Russian fascists. That plan called for the existing Russian nation with its history and traditions to give way to a new ethnic community of pureblood Slavs and Aryans. This group had nothing in common with the larger Russian population — ethnically, culturally or even religiously, because Christianity supports a unity based on common faith, not shared bloodlines or tribal affiliations.
But where did all these fascists come from? How is it possible that they prefer Hitler to taking pride in their own country and its history?
Surprisingly, a significant number of those who turned out to beat Russia’s “blacks” are from well-to-do families, and they are graduates of respectable schools and universities. The cause of the unrest does not lie in the poverty or lack of privileges suffered by certain individuals or social groups, but in the larger social crisis gripping Russia. The mobs of modern-day Black Hundreds and the gangs of North Caucasus natives are the product of the general breakdown of the processes of social integration and education.
Many years ago, Erich Fromm in his book “Escape from Freedom” described how the unraveling of social ties in a society that lives according to the principle of every man for himself would create a psychological and cultural breeding ground for fascism. If the economic processes moving in that direction are not stopped, we will be headed not for a totalitarian nightmare.

Boris Kagarlitsky is the director of the Institute of Globalization Studies.

TITLE: Corruption, Low Growth Spoil 2010
AUTHOR: By Anders Aslund
TEXT: When Russian leaders review the country’s economic development in 2010, they can only be disappointed. There were no great economic disasters, but Russia has clearly underperformed its peers.
Until 2008, the favorite Russian measuring mark was other BRIC countries, but that is no longer so. In 2009, Russia did worse than all other Group of 20 countries with gross domestic product plunging 7.9 percent. This year, growth will be about 4 percent, less than half of India’s and China’s.
Two years ago, Russia’s GDP per capita at current exchange rates was four times as large as China’s, but now it is only twice as large. From Moscow’s horizon, China looks increasingly like a threat rather than a peer.
The stock market has passed a similar judgment. While other BRIC stock markets have exceeded their prior high marks, the Russian stock market is still 30 percent below its May 2008 peak. A current account surplus persists, but it has shrunk, and large capital outflow in the third quarter was quite a surprise.
Low Russian growth is all the more striking given the unexpected high oil price of $88 per barrel. But inefficient and corrupt state corporations are gobbling up ever more private enterprises, reducing the country’s overall economic efficiency.
Government finances have faltered accordingly. The Finance Ministry expects a budget deficit of 4.6 percent of GDP this year. By current Western standards, that is not bad, but deficits are forecast for the foreseeable future, and public expenditures have changed structure. This year, pensions rose sharply by 30 or 40 percent while infrastructure investment was cut, the opposite of investing in the future. Russia’s fiscal policy has swung from solidly conservative in 2000-08 to quite populist.
The sad truth is that Russia’s anti-crisis policy has greatly reduced the efficiency of the economy. In a recent speech, Lilia Ovcharova of the Independent Institute for Social Policy summarized the distributive effects of Russia’s crisis policy. Bureaucrats have defeated professionals and businessmen. Big business has won over small and medium-sized enterprises. With its inadequate incentives, Russia’s anti-crisis policy was a policy of stagnation.
Amazingly, Gazprom performed almost as poorly in 2010 as in 2009, which is quite an achievement. Gazprom’s poor performance is untenable. The company needs strong, highly qualified managers, not a bunch of predators.
The only two advances concerned Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s two favorite pipeline projects, Nord Stream and South Stream — both of which are unnecessary and overpriced. Even Gazprom’s long-term partner, Germany’s E.On, has given up on it and sold 3.5 percent of Gazprom’s shares. Nobody but VTB wanted to buy it. In addition,
ConocoPhillips gave up on LUKoil and sold its shares.
These kinds of dismal results often help spark interest in reversing the negative trends. This could breed hope. Moreover, the ruling elite, for their part, are not satisfied with the country’s underperformance.
As the customs union took place, and no benefit was apparent, World Trade Organization accession is becoming more important. WTO membership is likely to happen within the next year, and it will change Russia’s economic engagement with the outside world.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin can always be trusted as the honest broker and truth-teller. Today, he speaks openly of the dangers of runaway public expenditures and the growing pensions bill. He demands that no less than 60 percent of GDP — or $900 billion — be sold off from public corporations and allocated to the National Welfare Fund. That would mean most of the state corporations. Kudrin’s argument is impeccable, and during times of confusion and crisis, logic tends to win. If Kudrin’s advice is taken, this could profoundly change and improve the Russian economic system.
After so many police scandals and ultranationslist riots, serious police reform must finally take place. How can Russia tolerate crazed neo-Nazis standing, of all places, on the Zhukov monument shouting, “Sieg Heil!”? Law enforcement reform is being drafted, and recent events are bound to make it all the more radical and real.
The Central Bank has moved closer to inflation targeting with a floating exchange rate, but it does need to raise the interest rate to a significantly positive real rate. The current inflation of 8.5 percent is far too high for no good reason.
The Pepsi purchase of Wimm-Bill-Dann in early December was a strong achievement to close out the year. This should be the tune of the future — major international companies entering the Russian consumer market by buying local leaders and thus enhancing competition.
Looking forward, 2011 may bring great improvement for the Russian economy. As the saying goes, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” The Russian leaders can no longer afford to keep doing the same thing.

Anders Aslund is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and co-editor with Sergei Guriev and Andrew Kuchins of “Russia after the Global Economic Crisis.”

TITLE: Working Toward 
A Russia for All
AUTHOR: By Simon Saradzhyan and Monica Duffy Toft
TEXT: The recent ultranationalist rampage in downtown Moscow was made possible by ineffective law enforcement and ethnic policies that could prove devastating for the multiethnic Russian state.
Organizers tried to justify the Manezh Square rally as a protest against an improper investigation into the killing of Yegor Sviridov, an ethnic Russian and a football fan, shot dead in a street fight with natives from the North Caucasus. But protesters quickly shifted the focus of the protest, giving “Sieg Heil!” salutes and chanting the xenophobic slogans, “Russia for Russians,” “Moscow for Muscovites” and “Kill, kill!”
In his response to the rioting, President Dmitry Medvedev called for the prosecution of those behind what he defined as “pogroms.” Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov warned that such actions might eventually lead to the disintegration of Russia, while conspiracy theorists speculated whether the rampage had been orchestrated to prove that Russia again needs a strong hand — and, consequently, pave the way for the return of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin as president.
The show of force by ultranationalists across Russia should serve as a wake-up call for the authorities. While they took some steps over the past few years to dismantle violent ultranationalist groups, more needs to be done — and soon. State statistics report that the number of officially registered hate murders has increased nearly fourfold: from 152 in 2005 to 548 in 2009. Moreover, ultranationalists have become increasingly lethal, moving from knives and metal bars as their favorite weapons to guns, explosives and even mercury. Members of these groups have begun to target not only those they take to be “non-Slavs,” but also Russian officials whom they view as part of an “occupational regime.” 
Combating the violent ultranationalists is no easy task. Their networks are decentralized and increasingly rely on the Internet for dissemination of propaganda, recruitment and coordination of activities. They are also winning the battle for the hearts and minds of many ethnic Russians. Polls reveal that a formidable part of the population supports the idea of a “Russia for Russians.” In a nationwide poll by the Levada Center in 2009, 56 percent of those surveyed both supported this idea and said they believed it should be implemented. 
As a minimum, local and federal authorities need to ensure legitimate and timely investigations into violent crimes if for no other reason than to avoid public outrage and more violent protests. 
The government must design and implement a comprehensive and sensible ethnic policy that promotes tolerance among indigenous populations and encourages and helps both migrants and immigrants to integrate and adapt to their new urban environment.  
Given Russia’s multiethnic and multiconfessional composition, a tolerant nationalities policy is key to insuring that Russia does not disintegrate and collapse like the Soviet Union did.

Simon Saradzhyan is a research fellow and Monica Duffy Toft is an associate professor of public policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

TITLE: Off to a New START
AUTHOR: By Daryl G. Kimball
TEXT: Against tough political odds, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has squared the circle on a number of long-running domestic and international nuclear policy debates. Beginning in 2009, Obama recommitted the United States to the goal of a “world without nuclear weapons,” beginning with overdue reductions in U.S. and Russian stockpiles. Within a year, he successfully negotiated the New START treaty with President Dmitry Medvedev that will reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads and delivery vehicles and reestablish a robust onsite inspection system.
Despite stiff opposition from some hard-line Republican senators, Obama and his Republican and Democratic allies in the Senate convinced a large, bipartisan majority to vote in favor of U.S. ratification of New START by a margin of 71-26.
The strong vote for the treaty is remarkable at this time of hyper-partisanship in Washington. As Democratic Senator John Kerry, head of the Foreign Relations Committee, has noted of this Senate, “70 is the new 95.”
Kerry and Republican Senator Richard Lugar, along with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, pursued a smart, patient plan to consult with Republican senators and take Republican concerns about the treaty into account. They turned back treaty-killing amendments from obstinate treaty opponents that would have required renegotiation with Russia.
In the end, New START won the Senate’s support because it makes sense. The treaty will reduce the still enormous U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear deployments by nearly 30 percent. It will also further enhance U.S.-Russian cooperation on key issues, including containing Iran’s nuclear program, securing vulnerable nuclear material from terrorists and opening the way for further reductions in all types of Russian and U.S. nuclear arms — strategic and nonstrategic, deployed and nondeployed.
To implement New START, the State Duma must now ratify the treaty. As Russia’s leaders chart the course ahead, it is important to recognize that after years of simmering tensions under the administration of former President George W. Bush, Obama has sought to reset relations with Russia. The positive vote on New START is recognition that Russia is a vital partner, especially when it comes to Moscow’s role in helping to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions and strengthen the global nonproliferation effort.
While the Senate debate demonstrated that Republican and Democratic senators are committed to pursuing “effective” missile defenses against nations like Iran and North Korea, the Obama administration abandoned the controversial Bush-era plan to deploy unproven strategic missile interceptors in Central Europe mainly because its effectiveness was extremely limited and because Iran is still years away from fielding long-range missiles.
The new U.S. “phased, adaptive approach” for missile defense over the next decade is better equipped to address Iran’s short- and medium-range missile threats as they emerge, and it clearly does not threaten Russia’s strategic nuclear retaliatory potential. Obama’s missile defense plan is much smarter and could lead to cooperation rather than confrontation with Russia.
The next steps in U.S.-Russian arms control won’t be easy, but they must be pursued. New START is vital, but it will leave the United States and Russia with far more strategic warheads — both deployed and stored — and strategic missiles and bombers than what is needed to deter nuclear attack.
Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, it is in the best interests of both Russia and the United States to further reduce their huge strategic nuclear stockpiles, phase out their Cold War-style targeting plans, tackle the problem of accounting for and reducing tactical nuclear weapons and, as Obama has said, engage the other nuclear-armed states in a dialogue on nuclear disarmament.
Further reductions should ideally be secured through a follow-on treaty, or, in the interim, through unilateral reciprocal reductions. Whatever the formula, it is clear that there is still more to be done. In the post-Cold War 21st century, nuclear weapons are much more of a liability than an asset. For all practical purposes, they are useless in deterring or responding to nuclear terrorism, and their use against conventional threats is unnecessary and unjustifiable.
In the coming months, the U.S. and Russian governments should begin high-level discussion on how to accelerate the reductions mandated by New START and explore how they might reduce their arsenals to 1,000 or fewer deployed nuclear weapons of all types and restrict their role solely to deterring nuclear attack by others.
The message coming from the U.S. Senate is clear: Doing nothing or delaying action on pragmatic nuclear risk reduction steps is not a prudent option. It is now Russia’s turn.

Daryl G. Kimball is executive director of Arms Control Association, an independent, nongovernmental organization in Washington, and publisher of the monthly journal, Arms Control Today.

TITLE: Yuletide Revelry
AUTHOR: By Michele A. Berdy
TEXT: Ńî÷ĺëüíčę: the night before Christmas

Unless you have been buried under the usual horrendous pre-holiday work load or sleeping on the floor of a snowed-in European airport, you know that this week saw a rare coincidence of cosmic phenomena: ďîëíîëóíčĺ (full moon) combined with ëóííîĺ çŕňěĺíčĺ (lunar eclipse) at the moment of çčěíĺĺ ńîëíöĺńňî˙íčĺ (winter solstice). A millennium or two ago, Slavic tribes might have seen this as the end of the world. Today, many Russians saw it as a Very Bad Sign and strongly advised a day of quiet indoor activities, hot soup, and vodka. I complied. Who am I to argue with Russians about celestial omens?
One of my boozy indoor activities was reading up on how pagan winter solstice practices blended with Christmas celebrations into a mix of piety, revelry and ritualistic food. Since the ancient pagans didn’t leave written records, speculation varies, but most scholars agree that the pre-Christian inhabitants of Russia celebrated the start of the new solar year joyfully. But they regarded the period of ńîëíöĺńňî˙íčĺ (solstice or “sun stoppage”) as one of those creepy in-between times when all kinds of malevolent spirits and souls of the dead could slip into the here-and-now. To counter the bad vibes, they made foods of grain that celebrated the fertile earth, like ęóňü˙ (a sweetened grain dish), or various sun-shaped, pancakey things, like ńî÷íč (berry fritters), áëčíű (blinis) and îëŕäüč (thick pancakes).
When Christianity came to the Russian lands, the peasants saw the “rebirth” of the sun as a metaphor for the birth of Christ, and they called Christ Ńîëíöĺ Ďđŕâäű (the Sun of Truth). They kept their ritual foods and called Christmas Eve ńî÷ĺëüíčę, from that fruity fritter called ńî÷ĺíü. (In the north, Christmas Eve was called ęóňĺéíčę, from ęóňü˙.) The notion of “in-between” time became ńâ˙ňęč (yuletide), the “twelve days of Christmas” from December 25 until Epiphany on January 6 (before the calendar changes shifted the celebrations ahead 12 days). They lit bonfires both to announce the coming of Christ and to warm the souls of the departed, who had slipped into this world when the sun stopped.
They transformed the Latin word “calendae” (the first day of the month) into ęîë˙äŕ to describe the songs ritually sung. These songs were part Christmas carol and part folk ditty with a hefty dose of good wishes for the new (solar) year. Ęîë˙äîâůčęč ęîë˙äîâŕëč — that is, revelers went from house to house, singing songs of Christ’s coming and blessing the house. The householders thanked the singers and treated them, often with ęîçóëüęč (also called ęîđîâęč) — cookies made in the shape of animals (like a goat – ęîçŕ — or cow — ęîđîâŕ) and birds. In this version of trick or treat, if the householders were miserly, the revelers switched song gears and extended hearty bad wishes for the coming year.
The joy of the Christmas season combined with the enjoyment of the previous year’s harvest in this agricultural downtime made for feasts and merriment, especially for young people. Đ˙ćĺíűĺ (mummers) pranced around the villages at čăđčůŕ (something like “fun and games”). But the notion of “in-between” time from the pagan past meant that sometimes the costumes got a bit too devilish, and the fun and games got more than slightly erotic. But happily, everyone could sober up and wash away their sins with a dip in a freezing lake or river on Jan. 6.
From time to time, the Church (and presumably worried parents) cracked down on over-the-top ęîë˙äîâŕíčĺ (yuletide revelry). What they failed to prohibit died away under the onslaught of Soviet campaigns against religion and superstition. Now Russians like to celebrate the season with pop songs.
Except for me. I’m making ęîçóëüęč. Got to get ready for a happy new solar year.

Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, whose collection of columns, “The Russian Word’s Worth,” is published by Glas.

TITLE: In the Spotlight: Olympic Gymnast Kabayeva
AUTHOR: By Anna Malpas
TEXT: Last week, Alina Kabayeva, the Olympic rhythmic gymnast who is now a Duma deputy, poses on the cover of Russian Vogue in a gold dress, prompting speculation about Vogue’s sudden interest in rhythmic gymnastics and plenty of mean comments about the use of Photoshop to squeeze her voluptuous figure into a model-sized dress.
Kabayeva, 27, comes from Uzbekistan and won an Olympic gold at Athens in 2004. She became something of a sex symbol, with her cheery matryoshka-doll face and curvier figure than is usual in the sport. She joined United Russia and became a Duma deputy in 2007, joining fellow ex-gymnast Svetlana Khorkina. She also has a television show where she interviews sports figures.
She has been at the center of media speculation ever since 2008 when Moskovsky Korrespondent, an obscure newspaper owned by Alexander Lebedev, an opponent of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, wrote that she and Putin were about to get married. The newspaper closed down soon afterward but the story took on a new lease of life last year when Kabayeva was rumored to have given birth to a son. She was rarely seen for a time and has put on pounds since quitting gymnastics.
The Vogue cover and interview were leaked on the Internet. It goes without saying that Kabayeva makes no comment on those Putin rumors. She does mention that everyone thinks her younger sister’s son, Arseny, is hers, however.
She talks of her hatred for media speculation, saying that she has been smeared with “lies and dirt” since becoming famous.
Reading between the lines, you could say Kabayeva likes powerful men. She says: “Even a strong and successful woman has to understand that a man is the main thing, the backbone. Let’s not fool ourselves and say that we do everything for ourselves. Where would we be without men?”
Asked whom she respects in politics, she says, “the people who now run the country.”
In the shoot, she wears some showy jewelry that could come from a wealthy admirer. The journalist writes that a huge ring that she wears, an amethyst set in white gold with sapphires, is the model’s own. She also wears massive diamond earrings that she says were a gift — without elaborating.
There’s no obvious reason why Vogue chose Kabayeva, who has been in the State Duma for the last three years without making any particular impact.
Russian Vogue almost always chooses models for its cover, occasionally making exceptions for stylish actresses such as Renata Litvinova, or superstars such as pop diva Alla Pugachyova.
Fashionistas are up in arms about Kabayeva on the cover of the fashion bible, saying that the previous editor who quit this year, Alyona Doletskaya, would never have allowed such an outrage.
“Kabayeva on the cover of Vogue? How is that possible? It’s just a disgrace. It’s simply hellishly lame. Doletskaya, come back!” a commentator called Veronica wrote on gossip web site Spletnik.ru.
Bloggers also commented acidly that the cutline “Her top victory” hovers between her thighs.
“I’ve got no problem with Kabayeva but I’m annoyed by this case of serious toadying,” Poka wrote on Spletnik.ru.
There are plenty of stabbing comments about Kabayeva’s size.
Express Gazeta published recent photographs hinting at an extra chin and said that in the Vogue shoot, “all the flaws in her figure are very successfully hidden with the help of a large portion of Photoshop.”
It’s true that the cover image is almost unrecognizable. Kabayeva said in the interview that she struggles with her love of desserts and Uzbek home cooking. And a colleague who saw her recently called her “plump.”

TITLE: Wanted: Working 
The Gold Mine
AUTHOR: By Kevin O’Flynn
TEXT: The official in the airport took the passport and boarding card, checked it with a well-honed perfunctoriness and handed it back, clearing the passenger to move on to customs control. And then she handed over a business card.
Not hers, but Oleg Mikhailovich’s.
The card said, “Wish to buy or take part in sale of my stable business of gold mining by open way in Russia?” before adding, “You are waited by a good commission.”
My friend, whose portfolio of precious metals is full to capacity at the moment, passed on the card’s details.
Oleg, of the business card, with no surname, was a jolly gold mine owner and happy to get a call. He does, after all, want to sell quick.
He has a number of gold mines in various rivers in Buryatia, which go down a small way, one to two meters deep, he said, to extract gold.
He is selling them because of his health. “As the saying goes, you only have your health once.”
He has some kind of severe diabetes and needs to go around the world for treatment. The price is about $20 million, but he sounded as if he was willing to haggle. He’ll give me a commission if I bring in a buyer. You can bring them to Buryatia, he said, and translate for them: “You can make big money.”
The mines — although that may not be the correct term for what sounds like a few shallow holes — currently bring in 150 to 180 kilograms, enough for about 45 wedding gifts in Chechnya, but if you bring in foreign technology — ours is “old and weak” — then Oleg insisted you can get it up to 500 to 600 kilograms.
Would these mines by any chance be strategic properties that require some kind of government approval before being sold to a foreign entity, I enquired, saying the word “strategic” a few times in different pronunciations until he understood me.
That will be no problem, he insisted.
The airport official was handing out the card to other foreigners too, the recipient of the card said.
Oh yes, we have a deal, he said. With the airport or the official, he didn’t say. They are given out to those going to China, Japan, the United States. And London, as my friend found out.
It is a clever marketing strategy. Perhaps she has different business deals on offer on other days and other routes. A seat in the State Duma for sale on internal flights, lawyers specializing in the International Criminal Court for Central Asian flights.
Right now, I think there is a flock of investors heading to Buryatia. I am available to translate straight after the holidays. Payment in gold accepted.

TITLE: Christmas Weekend Violence Kills 38 in Nigeria
AUTHOR: By Njadvara Musa
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Dozens of armed men attacked the church, dragging the pastor out of his home and shooting him to death. Two young men from the choir rehearsing for a late-night carol service also were slain.
The group of about 30 attackers armed with guns and knives even killed two people passing by Victory Baptist Church. The assailants only left after setting the church and pastor’s house ablaze.
Danjuma Akawu, the church’s secretary, managed to escape after he and others climbed over the church’s fence.
“I cannot understand these attacks,” Akawu said. “Why Christians? Why Christians? The police have failed to protect us.”
At the opposite end of the city, Rev. Haskanda Jessu said that three men attacked the Church of Christ in Nigeria an hour later, killing a 60-year-old security guard.
At least 38 people died in Christmas Eve attacks across Nigeria, including the six killed at churches in the country’s north by suspected members of a radical Muslim sect. In central Nigeria, 32 died in a series of bomb blasts in the worst violence to hit the region in months.
Authorities have not identified suspects following the Christmas Eve explosions in Jos and it was not immediately clear if those attacks had a religious motive. Two of the bombs went off near a large market where people were doing last-minute Christmas shopping. A third hit a mainly Christian area of Jos, while the fourth was near a road that leads to the city’s main mosque.
On Sunday, there were reports of renewed violence in the area, though no official figures were released on the number of people who may have been wounded or killed.
Police have not said whether they believe the bombings were related to the church attacks. The two areas are about 320 miles (520 kilometers) apart.
The group blamed for the church attacks — the radical Muslim sect known as Boko Haram — used to be based in Bauchi, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the area where the bombs went off. The group is now headquartered in Maiduguri, where the church attacks took place.
The African Union Commission’s Chairman, Jean Ping, expressed shock and sadness at the explosions in Jos and church attacks in Maiduguri.
“He condemns in the strongest terms these cowardly terrorist attacks, which cannot be justified under any circumstances,” said a statement released by his office Sunday.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed his sympathy to the victims’ families and said the government will bring the perpetrators to justice.
“I assure Nigerians that government will go to the root of this,” he said of the explosions. “We must unearth what caused it and those behind it must be brought to book.”
The United Nations spokesman’s office said Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the violence in Nigeria “especially at a time when millions of Nigerians are celebrating religious holidays.”
Ban “supports efforts by the Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible to justice,” the spokesman’s office said, and “conveys his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Religious violence already has left more than 500 people dead this year in Jos and neighboring towns and villages, but the situation was believed to have calmed down before the weekend bombings. The explosions Friday were the first major attack in Jos since the state government lifted a curfew in May.
The curfew had first been imposed in November 2008 during postelection violence but it was extended in January following clashes between Christian and Muslim groups. More than 300 people — mostly Muslims — were killed in the January violence in Jos and surrounding villages.
Nigeria, a country of 150 million people, is almost evenly split between Muslims in the north and the predominantly Christian south. The blasts happened in central Nigeria, in the nation’s “middle belt,” where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands.

TITLE: Estonia’s Euro Joy Hampered By Debt
AUTHOR: By Jari Tanner
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: TALLINN, Estonia — Despite a hellish year for the euro, the tiny Baltic nation of Estonia will be joining the single currency club as the champagne corks pop at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Estonia will become the eurozone’s 17th member and instantly claim the mantle of the poorest as well as one of the smallest — representing just over one-tenth of a percent of the bloc’s $12.5 trillion economy.
But Estonia’s membership carries symbolic value, it is hoped, demonstrating that Europe’s grandest financial project remains an appetizing prospect despite the worst crisis in its 12-year history.
Estonia is even vowing to lend a hand, no matter how small, to other members in need. Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi said recently that the Baltic state would soon start negotiations with the European Union on granting a loan guarantee of up to euro130 million ($174 million) to bailed-out Ireland — a major commitment for a nation with a state budget of only euro6 billion ($8 billion).
In November, Ireland became the second eurozone country, after Greece, to require emergency support from its partners in the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to avoid effective bankruptcy.
The worry, particularly in the bond markets, is that other countries will get sucked into the mire — Portugal and Spain are widely considered to be the most endangered eurozone countries with both grappling with their hefty debt burdens.
To many outsiders, adopting the euro during the current turmoil may be akin to the age-old story about the conformist who decides to jump off the bridge because everyone else is doing so.
But a large part of Estonian society regards the common currency as the culmination of 20 years of western integration that began after the country achieved independence in 1991 and despite the traumas experienced in 2010, there are many who still trumpet the economic benefits that come from joining the euro club.
“Without any doubt, joining the eurozone is the most remarkable achievement of this government,” Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip told lawmakers earlier this month. “Membership will bring along more jobs, higher pensions and faster economic growth. It will bring us stability.”
For many Estonians, the pursuit of closer European integration acquired a greater urgency three years ago after key websites in the country came under a cyber-attack orchestrated in Russia.

TITLE: For Japan, 2010 Was a Year Best Forgotten
AUTHOR: By Malcolm Foster
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: TOKYO — Japan has been overtaken by China as the world’s No. 2 economy. Its flagship company, Toyota, recalled more than 10 million vehicles in an embarrassing safety crisis. Its fourth prime minister resigned in three years, and the government remains unable to jolt an economy entering its third decade of stagnation.
For once-confident Japan, 2010 may well mark a symbolic milestone in its slide from economic giant to what experts see as its likely destiny: a second-tier power with some standout companies but limited global influence.
As Japanese drink up at year-end parties known as “bonen-kai,” or “forget-the-year gatherings,” this is one many will be happy to forget.
Problem is, there’s little to look forward to. With a rapidly aging population, bulging national debt, political gridlock and a risk-averse culture slow to embrace change, Japan’s prospects aren’t promising. And a tense, high-seas spat with China has intensified fears of its neighbor as a military as well as economic threat.
A few optimists hope Japan can harness its strength in technology and its “Cool Japan” cultural appeal — from fashion and art to “anime” cartoons. The country needs to shed its reliance on manufacturing, they argue, and find new growth areas such as green energy, software engineering and health care for its elderly.
But talk to university students, and their outlook is bleak.
Many worry about finding steady jobs and whether they can support families — concerns that have contributed to Japan’s low fertility rate of 1.3 children per woman. Average household income has fallen 9 percent since 1993.
Makoto Miyazaki, a 22-year-old student at prestigious Keio University in Tokyo, senses forces outside his control — and Japan’s — are going to dictate his future.
“Internationally, Japan is between big countries like China and the U.S. And Korea is becoming a major competitor — that’s a big threat to Japan,” he said. “I feel like we have fewer choices.”
It’s a startling contrast with the 1980s, when Japan was flush with cash and some experts believed its economy was poised to dominate the world.
Millions have given up the goal of lifetime employment at a major corporation and become “freeters,” flitting among temporary jobs with few if any benefits. As companies cut costs, temporary workers have grown to a third of the work force, up from 16 percent in the mid-1980s.
Further, the population is projected to fall from 127 million to 90 million by 2055 — 40 percent of them over the age of 65. That’s going to place a heavy tax burden on workers.
Economic difficulty is a chief reason more than 30,000 Japanese have committed suicide every year for the past 12 years.
Hopes for change from the Democratic Party, which toppled the long-ruling conservatives last year, have fizzled. The Democrats lost control of the upper house of parliament in July elections, setting the stage for political gridlock.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has acknowledged Japan’s declining status.
His prescription: “Open up the country.” He advocates reducing trade barriers, loosening regulations and making the country a more attractive place to invest.
His Cabinet recently approved cutting the corporate tax rate by 5 percentage points to 35 percent and is weighing whether Japan should join a U.S.-led free trade zone, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that would slash tariffs on everything from electronics to food.
Business leaders say doing so is vital, but farmers fear a flood of cheaper imports would ruin them. Analysts say it could be a vehicle for economic revival but also lead to job losses and social dislocation, especially in rural areas.

TITLE: U.S. Missiles Hit Pakistan Borderlands
AUTHOR: By Ishtiaq Mahsud and Rasool Dawar
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Suspected U.S. missiles struck two vehicles in a Taliban stronghold on Pakistan’s side of the border with Afghanistan on Monday, killing 18 alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The attack in the North Waziristan tribal region came in the final days of a year that has witnessed an unprecedented number of such strikes from drone aircraft flying over Pakistani soil, part of a ramped-up U.S. campaign to take out al-Qaida and Taliban fighters seeking sanctuary outside Afghanistan.
At least 110 such missile strikes have been launched this year — more than doubling last year’s total. Nearly all have landed in North Waziristan, a region that hosts several militant groups battling U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, including the feared Haqqani network.
The six missiles fired Monday struck the vehicles in the Shera Tala village of North Waziristan. Shera Tala lies in Mir Ali district, where militants are heavily concentrated.