SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #1684 (46), Wednesday, November 23, 2011
**************************************************************************
TITLE: City Launches New Sub
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Admiralteiskiye Verfi launched a non-nuclear B-237 submarine called Rostov-on-Don, a project for the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg on Monday.
Alexander Buzakov, acting general director of Admiralteiskiye Verfi, said on Sept. 5 that the Russian Defense Ministry had signed a contract with the United Shipbuilding Corporation agreeing to build five similar submarines with Admiralteiskiye Verfi, Interfax reported.
All five submarines will be built by the end of 2016. They all will be used for work with the Russian Black Sea Navy.
The diesel electric submarine belongs to the third generation of Varshavyanka class submarines, or “Kilo” according to NATO classification. Such submarines were developed to fight other submarines and ships, as well as to defend naval bases, for coastal and sea communication and intelligence and patrol activities.
The submarine is 73 meters long, 10 meters wide and can travel up to 350 meters underwater.
TITLE: NGOs Inspect Driving Schools
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: With more than 370 people having been killed on the roads of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast during the past six months, drivers’ qualifications are being scrutinized as a reason for the staggering numbers of casualties.
It is no secret that a driving license can be illegally purchased in Russia, and is something of a bargain at about 200 euros. “Russia is one big ‘pay as you go’ deal,” is a common joke among the country’s drivers when talking about buying their way out of trouble on the road after violating the rules.
At the same time, according to research conducted this month by a group of local NGOs, the standards of teaching at the city’s driving schools are alarmingly low. Worse, some of them do not even hold a teaching license and are therefore not qualified to be operating as driving instructors.
Local pressure groups have sent a petition to City Governor Georgy Poltavchenko asking him to organize a series of raids and checks at the city’s driving schools and bring some order into what appears to have become a semi-legal and profitable business that results in the deaths of hundreds of people every year.
“We have been swamped by complaints from local residents about driving schools: That the students don’t have enough lessons, the schools won’t give them a receipt, and change the conditions of the lessons as they please and without notice,” said Mikhail Romanov, head of the Northern Capital foundation, which took part in the independent monitoring of local driving schools.
Romanov was speaking at a roundtable devoted to road safety organized by RIA-Novosti news agency earlier this month. “What skills can people learn amid such chaos? What sort of responsibility do these schools have?”
According to Romanov, at least 50 St. Petersburg driving schools — all checked by his foundation in cooperation with the Transport Education of the Nation and Liberty of Choice non-governmental organizations — were found to have problems. That is nearly half of all the driving schools registered in the city.
“Some of them do not have any license at all, while others are offering services far beyond those they are licensed to,’ said Romanov.
To draw the attention of city officials to the death toll on the roads of Russia’s second biggest city, Alexander Kholodov, a representative of the Liberty of Choice pressure group, has organized a “Memorial Day for Future Victims of Road Accidents.”
“Of course, there is a day for victims of road accidents, but we wanted to put emphasis on the future, because unfortunately, people continue to die as we speak,” Kholodov said. “What we did was to take some people from City Hall on a tour around some of the city’s most accident-prone crossings.”
The tour revealed that the authorities do not take residents’ complaints seriously, campaigners say. While locals submit piles of letters asking City Hall to install traffic lights at accident-prone crossings, their requests often gather dust in government offices. Even when a decision is made, it is usually months if not years before construction is begun.
“For example, according to official documents, new traffic lights have been installed at a crossing on Prospekt Kultury and approved by a state commission; when we arrived there, we saw that construction was not even finished,” said Kholodov.
In order to raise the standards of the city’s driving schools, pressure groups suggest compiling a blacklist of companies that cheat their clients. It is essential, Romanov said, that dishonest driving schools know they will face closure if accusations against them are proved.
There are 113 driving schools in St. Petersburg, of which 99 are private. Some of the schools were issued with licenses from other regions. A standard course normally takes two-and-a-half months and includes at least 50 hours of driving lessons and 100 hours of theory. The average cost of a course is about 35,000 rubles ($1,130).
The state monitoring of driving schools is often carried out without inspectors actually visiting them. The schools generally send the required documents to the authorities, the papers are checked, and the process ends there.
Under-qualified driving instructors are far from the only cause of Russia’s high incidence of fatal road accidents, however. Another problem that contributes to the high number of deaths on the country’s roads is poorly equipped ambulances. Paramedics often either arrive too late or are unable to render casualties all the aid they require at the scene or on the way to the hospital. Human rights advocates complain that on average, it takes more than two or even three hours before victims of traffic accidents start receiving emergency treatment at a hospital, and these several hours of waiting often cost people their lives.
TITLE: New Program to Fight Respiratory Diseases
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: A new Belgian-Russian project aimed at training Russian doctors to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obtain reliable statistics on the spread of the illness in Russia was launched in St. Petersburg on Friday.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 64 million people around the world suffer from this disease. In Russia, however, reported statistics on the subject have varied wildly. While the country’s Health Ministry reported that 2.4 million people are affected by the illness, some independent surveys suggest the real figures are more than four times that.
Smoking is considered to be the leading factor in causing the illness. Russia, which boasts one of the world’s highest smoking rates, with more than 60 percent of Russian men and 21 percent of women being regular smokers, has millions of people at risk of developing the disease.
Respiratory diseases are one of Russia’s biggest problems. The mortality rate from these illnesses has increased by 105 percent since 2010.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an issue that has to be taken seriously, doctors warn: The illness is the fourth-highest cause of death across the world, according to the WHO.
During the course of the joint project, titled Respect, local family doctors in 10 city state-run clinics will test a total of 5,000 patients aged 35 and older. Younger people won’t be included in the test as the disease typically affects those over 35.
“Most Russians who get diagnosed with chronic obstructive lung disease come to doctors far too late, when they already require hospital treatment,” said Olga Kuznetsova, professor and head of the family medicine department at the Meshnikov Northwest State Medical University.
“The screening, which will be carried out through spirometry, will allow us not only to get a fair idea about the spread of the illness, but also to detect it in its early stages, when a much milder treatment would suffice.”
Having a chronic cough and often being out of breath are two signs to watch out for.
“Unfortunately, chronic coughing is not seen by many people in Russia as a strong enough warning signal,” Kuznetsova said. “People tend to avoid contacting a doctor until they begin to literally fall to pieces. We hope that family doctors involved in this project will be able to convince some of their patients to participate in this testing.”
The tests and treatment will be offered free of charge. The patients will be chosen randomly, through the medical insurance database. Private clinics will not take part in the project.
The partner schools in the project are the Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk and the Belgian universities UCL and KUL in Leven, as well as the AstraZeneca pharmaceutical holding.
According to Jan Degryse, a professor with UCL and KUL universities, a similar research project carried out in Belgium several years ago was instrumental in making progress with the illness.
Russian doctors admit that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is also often misdiagnosed here. Part of the problem is outdated medical equipment, but lack of relevant experience in doctors is also an issue.
“As part of our project we have developed a special online course for those unable to attend courses in person. The course will provide modern and adequate training for doctors who will be diagnosing the disease,” Kuznetsova said.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Fishermen vs the Law
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — About 300 men who fish for sport held a meeting in St. Petersburg on Sunday to protest the amendment of a law on fishing.
The first changes to the federal law on fishing and conserving biological resources were introduced on Dec. 28, 2010. The changes stated that a fishing permit was required for all fishermen — not just those who fish for a living. However, strong public disagreement with the law caused it to be sent back to be reviewed again.
Move Provokes Drama
ST. PETERBURG (SPT) — Principal ballet dancers Natalya Osipova and Ivan Vasilyev, who are moving from Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater to St. Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theater, said they were tired of all the attention their decision was getting.
The dancers said they were upset by the air of scandal surrounding their move and the negative comments they had been hearing from different sources, Interfax reported. Osipova and Vasilyev said their main job was to create art and entertain audiences — not provoke arguments and controversy.
On Nov. 27 the dancers are to perform the ballet “Don Quixote” at the Bolshoi Theater to close their contract with the theater.
On Dec. 1 they will premiere at the Mikhailovsky Theater in a gala concert.
From Dec. 7, Osipova and Vasilyev will begin to rehearse “Sleeping Beauty,” which will be choreographed by Nacho Duato.
TITLE: Annual Winter Charity Bazaar Set to Have Russian Flavor
AUTHOR: By Naomi Telushkin
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: “There’s a certain picture of Russia abroad,” says Taisia Ivanova, the manager of the Russian stall at this year’s upcoming annual Winter Bazaar. “It might be nice to make the picture bigger and show something else. Not simply matryoshkas, which are known all over the world.
The Winter Bazaar is a charity fund-raising event hosted by the St. Petersburg International Woman’s Club (IWC). Founded in 1986, the St. Petersburg IWC is primarily a social club for expatriate women. Many English-speaking Russian women, such as Ivanova, are members as well.
This year’s bazaar will have a grand raffle, a cultural entertainment program and a playroom for children. A global host of stalls, each devoted to a different country, will sell jewelry, arts and crafts, holiday gifts and international cuisine.
“Our bazaar is really international. But it’s being held in Russia and there was going to be no Russian stall this year,” says Ivanova, who is preparing Russian items such as traditional felt necklaces and felt Christmas tree angel decorations to sell.
“Felt is a very traditional material, like felt winter boots,” says Ivanova.
Other gifts include 100-percent organic handmade soaps in holiday colors and handmade souvenirs.
Ivanova said she would also love to include “carved wooden decorations and special embroidered towels,” at her stall, if time and money were no object.
When not participating in IWC events, Ivanova’s main work is still international — she is the founder and director of the English Communication Club in St. Petersburg, known as ENCC. ENCC organizes weekly themed classes for Russians to better develop English language skills. Classes range from general café meetings to special Sunday city-guide sessions and journalism writing classes.
The IWC and the Winter Bazaar are deeply important to her.
“Many charities used to be run by foreigners here,” says Ivanova. “But now it’s becoming a really common thing for young people. Many volunteer or start donating.” Ivanova says she had been touched by how many people have donated, both financially and with their time, to making items for her stall.
“I think it’s great that people from all over are giving. A friend from the Far East is donating.”
“Charity is easy,” says Ivanova. “Many people think it’s difficult. But fifty rubles, a hundred rubles, they’re not big sums, but if you do it and someone else does it…suddenly it’s not a little thing.”
The IWC holds both monthly social meetings and organizes charity fundraising events year-round. Events include a charity cruise, a quiz night and weekly Peter’s Teas coffee mornings. The IWC frequently raises money to donate medicine, beds, heaters and other necessary supplies for hospitals, children’s homes and institutions around St. Petersburg. The Winter Bazaar is the club’s biggest fundraising event.
The Winter Bazaar takes place from
12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27 at the Hotel Astoria, 39 Bolshaya Morskaya Ulitsa. M. Sennaya Ploshchad/Sadovaya.
TITLE: Amnesty Int. Slams Gay Law
AUTHOR: By Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly is encountering increased criticism from within Russia and abroad as it gets ready to pass United Russia’s anti-gay law in a second reading. Meanwhile, Russian officials are talking about expanding the anti-“gay propaganda” law proposed by Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev’s party to the entire nation.
Amnesty International, which condemned the draft law as “draconian,” warned that the measure will rule out nearly all public events carried out by or on behalf of LGBT people and organizations and their reaching out to the media and the Internet, severely curtailing the publication of anything relating to LGBT rights or providing assistance or advice.
“This bill is a thinly-veiled attempt to legalize discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in Russia’s second-biggest city,” Amnesty International Europe and Central Asia Director Nicola Duckworth said in a statement Friday.
“The notion that [LGBT] rights activists are somehow converting Russia’s youth through ‘propaganda’ would be laughable if the potential effects of this new law weren’t so dangerous and wide-reaching… Instead of seeking to restrict freedom of expression and assembly for [LGBT] people, the Russian authorities should be doing more to safeguard their rights and protect them from discrimination and violence.”
Earlier, the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights addressed the Legislative Assembly in an open letter, reminding it that Russia is party to both the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which make clear that the freedom to receive and impart information cannot be limited, except under the ambit of public order.
“We’re getting great behind-the-scenes support, with certain [European] deputies and ministers calling the Legislative Assembly’s deputies and [its United Russia chair Vadim] Tyulpanov and speaking to them,” said Igor Kochetkov, director of the LGBT rights organization Vykhod (Coming Out).
“Sometimes even we don’t know who exactly is calling, but we know that it’s happening.”
The All Out web site launched a petition against the bill Monday. It had been signed by 115,345 people around the world by Tuesday evening.
On Saturday, LGBT activists seized the podium of a forum for NGOs from Northern Europe and Russia, whose priority topics were equality, tolerance and gender equality. Local officials spoke about the tolerance program and human rights protection in the city.
Kochetkov, who managed to get hold of the microphone between the speeches, urged the forum to draft a resolution on the issue, and the forum’s international participants to inform their governments about gross violations of human rights in Russia.
Activists in the audience had posters, one which read “Tolerance is for society, not only for international forums!”
The draft law, which was introduced by the chair of the Legislative Assembly’s legislation committee and United Russia deputy Vitaly Milonov on Nov. 11, was passed by the Legislative Assembly almost unanimously in its first hearing on Nov. 16.
Thirty seven deputies voted for the law, one against and one abstained.
The second hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 23. The bill will become a law when it has passed three hearings and is signed by the governor.
In the past week, the bill was backed by a federal official and a number of Moscow deputies who suggested a similar draft law might be introduced in Moscow as well.
Valentina Matviyenko, Chair of the Federation Council and former St. Petersburg Governor, supported the bill when speaking in the Ryazan Oblast on Thursday, adding it might be expanded throughout the whole of Russia.
“If I were a member of the Legislative Assembly, I would support this bill, because no one has the right to involve a child in things like that,” Matviyenko was quoted as saying.
“And everything that destroys the mind and health of a child, a minor — all this should be strictly blocked. If this law has a positive effect, then we can consider expanding it to the national level.”
Natalya Yevdokimova and Ksenia Vakhrusheva of the Yabloko Democratic Party see the bill as a populist pre-election stunt by United Russia as polls show the party rapidly losing popularity. Homophobia, however, is widespread in Russian society.
Alexander Vinnikov of the St. Petersburg Human Rights Council sees the bill as more than just a pre-election stunt.
Drawing comparison to anti-gay legislation in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that adopted laws punishing homosexuals in the 1930s, Vinnikov explained the bill as an attempt at consolidating society on the foundation of hatred toward a minority.
“Every totalitarian regime started from persecuting gays. I urge the public to condemn this bill as a drift toward totalitarianism,” he said Tuesday.
As public protests in St. Petersburg continued, the activists encountered arrests and violence. Two activists were detained outside the Legislative Assembly on Nov. 16 and charged with holding an unauthorized rally.
On Sunday, after the largest rally against the bill held so far, which took place on Palace Square near the Winter Palace, several supporters were beaten by young men wearing black coats and hoods. The rally consisted of a dozen activists standing with posters, while about 150 supported them with applause.
A group of social workers were assaulted soon after the rally as they walked near the Moika River, close to Palace Square. Six to eight attackers charged them, punching and kicking them, activists said.
The attack left a young Russian woman with a bruised face, another with a cut lip, and one German man with a broken tooth, according to Vykhod’s press officer Gulya Sultanova.
TITLE: Festival of Tolerance Aims To Educate City’s Youths
AUTHOR: By Naomi Telushkin
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: “It’s quite an expensive mission, I pay for it every day,” said Maria Rolnikaite, a Holocaust survivor in her eighties, when discussing her life-long dedication to speaking publically about her experiences.
Rolnikaite is the author of “I Must Tell You,” a memoir chronicling her experiences in both ghettos and a concentration camp. The book has been published in more than eighteen languages, including German and Japanese.
She began writing the book as a personal diary when she was fourteen and living in the ghetto. Fearful that her writing would be discovered, her mother instructed her to get rid of it and learn the words by heart. The final result was “I Must Tell You.”
“After the war, most prisoners found work, trying to move on, but after the publication of the book, it is like being at the ghetto again,” says Rolnikaite. However, she says, “I feel so much responsibility…People must know…So that it will never be repeated.”
One of the events Rolnikaite has spoken at most frequently is the annual Festival of Tolerance in St. Petersburg. The Festival of Tolerance, which had its fifth three-day exhibit last week, is an event committed to remembering and memorializing the Holocaust. It honors those such as Rolnikaite, who have devoted their lives to informing others about their experiences.
The Festival of Tolerance is hosted by EVO, a Jewish center dedicated to a wide range of events in St. Petersburg. The center holds language and computer classes, runs a soup kitchen and offers activities for senior citizens.
The Festival of Tolerance has a mainly artistic concentration, with art exhibitions and an annual theater performance. Two of the three days are hosted at Yessod, a Jewish community center in St. Petersburg, and are open to all visitors. The event is geared, however, toward high school students.
High schools in St. Petersburg participate by bringing their mostly non-Jewish students to hear survivors such as Rolnikaite speak and learn from the annually themed exhibitions. Past themes have included Anne Frank and Righteous Among the World’s Nations, honoring Righteous Gentiles. This year’s theme was Holocaust and Memory.
“The whole idea of memory is to first remember the life before, which is gone, and also remember the victims themselves,” says Tanya Lvova, a director at EVO and one of the main organizers of the Festival of Tolerance.
Part of the exhibit included posters that centered on former Jewish communities from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Lithuania and Latvia. Each poster described the history of the Jewish community in a specific city or town, and its subsequent destruction during the war.
“It’s important because this isn’t just a Jewish topic, it’s wider. It’s one of the biggest examples of genocide and what intolerance and xenophobia can lead to,” says Lvova.
Though Rolnikaite was the speaker for the past four years, this year’s speaker was Aron Weiss, a Holocaust specialist from Jerusalem and Holocaust survivor himself.
Students were deeply affected by the exhibit on the theme of memory, said one young woman who requested not to be named.
“It is important to remember that it didn’t end with victory but rather discrimination and looking for easy answers to difficult questions.”
TITLE: Mixed Martial Arts Fans Boo PM Putin
AUTHOR: By Alexander Bratersky
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Pro-Kremlin officials scrambled Monday to explain away an embarrassing chorus of boos Prime Minister Vladimir Putin faced from a crowd of 20,000 mixed martial arts fans in what was likely the worst public reception of his political career.
Some Putin supporters insisted that the thunderous catcalls were actually meant as praise, while others offered the head-scratching explanation that the crowd simply wanted to go to the toilet.
But several analysts and opposition activists claimed that the reaction was a genuine sign of displeasure from a public tired with Putin and his flashy publicity stunts.
The surprising display of political theater came Sunday when Putin took to the stage of the Olimpiisky stadium in Moscow after Russian champion Fedor Emelianenko soundly defeated his American opponent Jeff Monson in a three-round fight.
Putin watched the fight from the first row, and then went to congratulate Emelianenko, a stocky bald man of 183 centimeters and 108 kilograms, who fought naked except for his trunks, but donned a huge cross around his neck after the match.
But as Putin was handed a microphone, his words were drowned out by a flurry of whistles and boos, captured on a video of the event that garnered 680,000 views on YouTube by late Monday.
Putin plowed ahead with his short speech to say, “We congratulate Fedor Emelianenko, a real Russian hero, from the bottom of our hearts,” but his voice appears to tremble a bit in the video.
Apparently caught off-guard, the state-owned Russia-2 television channel, known for its fierce loyalty to Putin, broadcasted the unedited recording of the incident, complete with catcalls, in its 4 p.m. news on Sunday.
But it edited the sound in later broadcasts, removing the booing. Putin’s official web site offered a photo of him with Emelianenko, to whom he referred as “Fedya,” but no video.
Putin, who ruled the country as president from 2000 to 2008, recently announced that he will run for a third presidential term in March. He has been actively boosting his popularity this year through publicity stunts, including diving for ancient amphoras in the Black Sea, riding a three-wheeled motorcycle with bikers and posing on skates in an ice hockey uniform.
But this was the first time that such a show went visibly wrong, which prompted famous whistleblower and Kremlin-basher Alexei Navalny to proclaim it “the end of an era.”
“Why does he think that if people like fights, they like crooks and thieves?” Navalny wrote on his blog, referring to a widely used derogatory term for Putin’s political party, United Russia.
Mikhail Moskalyov, director of the Olimpiisky stadium, tried to downplay the accident, telling Ekho Moskvy that the boos were for Emelianenko’s rival Monson, who spent the whole fight on the defensive and was pounded hard by his rival.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed that explanation, telling The Guardian that “the majority of the voices were about that American.” Pavel Danilin, a political consultant with United Russia, even insisted on his blog that the public actually cheered Putin even as it booed Monson.
But the 40-year-old American, who got up after several knockdowns and limped away with a bloodied face and a broken leg, was actually greeted by applause, Gazeta.ru reported.
Emelianenko, whose standing took a serious blow after he lost his three previous fights, also praised Monson’s fighting spirit in an interview with Gazeta.ru.
The most bizarre explanation was offered by Kristina Potupchik, a spokeswoman for the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi. She insisted that the public was angered by organizers, who did not let the public visit toilets during Putin’s speech.
“Gentlemen, you had to use the bathroom beforehand,” Potupchik quipped on her blog Monday. But most other prominent bloggers ridiculed her version of events.
A spokeswoman for Emelianenko — incidentally a United Russia rep in the Belgorod region legislature — declined to comment Monday.
But Konstantin Ustyantsev, a sport editor with Championat.com who attended the event, told The St. Petersburg Times there was no mistaking the catcalls for praise.
“Most spectators of the match were young, and their reaction to Putin shows that they are well informed about political life in the country and dislike it,” Ustyantsev said by telephone Monday.
Even many Kremlin supporters admitted the incident was not flattering for Putin. One of them, blogger Andrei Barashkin, reported the story on his LiveJournal blog, saying several “whistlers” later told him that they were angry at what they perceived as Putin’s attempt to boost his popularity and that of United Russia.
“Discontent with authorities is growing, and people are becoming ever more irritated that public events are interrupted by politicians they see every day on television,” said Alexei Makarkin, head of the Center for Political Technologies.
Putin’s popularity is still high, Makarkin conceded in a telephone interview Monday. But it is nowhere near the support figures from five years ago, he said.
Writer Roman Shishlov contributed to this report.
TITLE: Call-In To Be After Elections
AUTHOR: By Alexander Winning
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold his annual live televised call-in show before the end of the year, but only after the Dec. 4 State Duma elections are held, his spokesman said Monday.
“Communication with the Russian people will take place in December in the traditional format. The head of the government will answer citizens’ questions from the studio. Live transmission from a range of Russian regions is expected,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax.
This year’s call-in will be Putin’s 10th since December 2001, when he pioneered the format in the second year of his first presidential term. It has since become his preferred means of fielding questions and addressing the nation at the close of the calendar year.
Past call-ins have been memorable for scathing remarks against Putin’s enemies. In 2010, opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov and Mikhail Kasyanov were accused of “looting in the 1990s,” and former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky was criticized with the phrase “a thief should sit in jail.”
This will be only the second time that the annual call-in has coincided with Putin running as a candidate in national elections — the last time being in 2007, when the show preceded the Duma vote and Putin headed United Russia’s party list.
Analysts have speculated that the decision to delay the tandem’s public appearances is linked to fears that poor performances could strengthen United Russia’s ratings slide, which has gathered momentum in recent months.
TITLE: U.S. Visa Deal May Be Set for New Year
AUTHOR: By Nikolaus von Twickel
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — A long-awaited visa agreement between Russia and the United States will hopefully be ratified before the New Year’s holiday, although it will have to wait until after a State Duma is voted into office, U.S. Embassy officials said Monday.
“We hope for a fairly speedy ratification with mid-December as a goal,” a senior consular official said in a telephone interview.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with embassy policy, also confirmed that the agreement would have to be approved by both houses of parliament, the Duma and the Federation Council.
But the official said Foreign Ministry officials had told their U.S. colleagues that ratification should be completed by the end of the year and pointed out that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had promised in July that the agreement would be in force before “Catholic Christmas,” which is on Dec. 25.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Vavilov referred all questions regarding ratification to parliament.
Andrei Klimov, a deputy chairman of the Duma’s foreign relations committee, confirmed that lawmakers will not look into the agreement before the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections.
“There is too little time left,” he said, adding that once initiated, ratification would probably require two weeks.
The agreement stipulates that standard visas granted to both Russians and Americans will be now be valid for three years and allow multiple entries. The embassy official said those seeking both tourist and business visas will no longer have to provide written invitations from the host country’s citizens.
“Documentation requirements will be dramatically changed,” the official said, calling the agreement “historic.”
The agreement will go into effect 30 days after both parties exchange another set of notes following ratification, according to a White House Fact Sheet published on the State Department’s web site.
The ratification issue was not mentioned on earlier fact sheets, but the embassy official said it was clear from the onset that it would be required. But under U.S. law, the agreement will not require ratification by Congress because it is not classified as an international treaty.
The European Union and Russia are also discussing a facilitation agreement that would make it much easier for businessmen, journalists, NGO members, lawmakers and government officials to obtain short-term visas.
Talks have been ongoing since last summer, when officials said an agreement might be reached by the end of the year.
EU delegation spokesman Soren Liborius said in an e-mail Monday that it was impossible to say before a final negotiation round is set whether a deal would be reached at the December EU-Russia summit. Further negotiations could start early next month.
At the summit, expected to take place in Brussels on Dec. 15, both sides plan to start a program toward totally abolishing visas.
The so-called common steps consist of more than 40 conditions that must be met before visa negotiations can begin. Moscow’s EU ambassador Vladimir Chizhov said last week that those conditions could be completed “in one or 1 1/2 years.”
TITLE: Customs Union Aims At Forming Closer Bonds
AUTHOR: By Anatoly Medetsky
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russia and its customs union partners, Belarus and Kazakhstan, on Friday signed a declaration seeking to reinstate even more of the bonds — possibly even a common currency — that snapped with the Soviet collapse.
In a separate agreement, President Dmitry Medvedev and his counterparts from Kazakhstan and Belarus created an agency that will run the integration effort by regulating the economies and trade of the three states.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev rejected the idea that the decision for the former Soviet republics to come closer together looks like a return to their Communist past. If and when created, the new, capitalist union will have none of the ideology or full state control over the economy that its would-be members ended 20 years ago, he said.
In the Declaration of Eurasian Economic Integration, the three customs union members reconfirmed the transition to a Common Economic Space as of Jan. 1 — resulting in a free flow of capital, services and work force within its boundaries. It will conform to the rules and principles of the World Trade Organization, which Russia is almost certain to join next year.
Ultimately, the members pledge to upgrade the group to a Eurasian economic union that will have more unified rules for their economies, trade, currency and foreign migration policies — and possibly introduce a single currency.
The declaration stated that the signatories would seek to create the union by 2015.
“We won’t make a fuss or waste our efforts,” Medvedev said at the news conference. “But if opportunities arise, we will move faster.”
Nazarbayev proposed that the three countries should replace the dollar with their own currencies in their mutual trade, and eventually come to a common currency.
Russian Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko, who will likely play a leading role in the integration, said Friday that the presidents hadn’t yet put the single-currency issue on the table.
Khristenko is the top candidate to lead the executive board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the agency that — under the other agreement the presidents signed Friday — will oversee the operation of the Common Economic Space and any further amalgamation of the countries, all three presidents said.
Medvedev expressed his consideration for the legislative branches in the member countries, saying the commission agreement first needs to gain their endorsement.
Khristenko would have to leave his ministerial post to serve as chairman of the executive board. The chairman’s term lasts four years. A member country delegates three people to the board that will start work Jan. 1 and for now sit in Moscow.
The commission will have an upper tier, called the council, which will consist of deputy prime ministers of member countries and the chairman of the executive board. It is expected that First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov will represent Russia on the council.
The ultimate ruling body for the Common Economic Space will be the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
TITLE: Peace Corps to Leave Kazakhstan
AUTHOR: By Peter Leonard
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The U.S. Peace Corps will pull out of the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, a move that follows reports from volunteers about a spate of sexual assaults and Islamist-inspired terrorist attacks on the program’s workers.
Peace Corps has been in Kazakhstan since shortly after the former Soviet nation gained independence in 1991 and currently boasts around 120 volunteers working in the fields of education and health. It has sent around 1,000 volunteers to serve in the country since it started operations there in 1993.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Jon Larsen said the Peace Corps will be leaving but gave no specific details on why. The Peace Corps also declined to give an immediate explanation for the withdrawal.
Several volunteers, however, posted messages online linking the move to rapes and other attacks. One Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in the central Karaganda province was reportedly raped earlier this month.
Peace Corps volunteers who had been raped while serving overseas complained to U.S. lawmakers in May that the organization was not doing enough to train its workers about how to avoid or deal with violent attacks. They also said the Peace Corps reacted insensitively and unhelpfully after the crimes.
Kazakhstan has also seen a rash of terrorist attacks in recent months. Last weekend, a gunman went on a rampage in the southern city of Taraz, killing seven people, including five law enforcement officers. He blew himself up as officers moved in to arrest him.
Kazakhstan, a vast oil-rich and mainly Muslim nation of 17 million people along Russia’s southern border, had previously been all but untouched by Islamist violence since independence.
Peace Corps youth development volunteer Lisa Murray wrote on her blog that several colleagues had experienced difficulties in carrying out their work over recent months.
“Many were prohibited from working for months at a time and ultimately they were moved earlier in the fall to new sites,” she wrote.
Murray also said the youth development program was being discontinued because of concerns the volunteers were not qualified teachers. The scheduled arrival of a new group of volunteers earlier this year was postponed due to a disagreement with education authorities, she said.
The Peace Corps operations in Central Asia are devoted to teaching English and health education, but it is often viewed with suspicion by governments in former Soviet states.
TITLE: Russia Admits to Losing Mars Moon Probe
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russian officials on Tuesday acknowledged that the chances of fixing a space probe bound for a moon of Mars that got stuck in Earth’s orbit are close to zero, Russian news agencies reported.
The unmanned $170 million Phobos-Ground was launched two weeks ago and reached preliminary Earth orbit, but its engines never fired to send it off to the Red Planet. Russian engineers have been trying to retrieve data from the probe as it passes over their territory but haven’t established contact.
“We have to be realistic. Since we haven’t been able to get in touch with it for such a long time, chances to accomplish the mission are very slim,” Roscosmos deputy chief Vitaly Davydov said in remarks carried by the Interfax news agency.
Davydov said that Russian engineers can keep trying until the end of the month to fix the probe’s engines to steer it to its path to Phobos, one of Mars’ two moons.
Russian scientists could fix the problem if the probe failed because of a software flaw, but some experts think that the failure was rooted in hardware that’s difficult to fix.
The failure of the probe could see Russia change its priorities in space research. The Russian space agency will more likely focus on Moon research instead of studying Mars, Davydov said.
The failed spacecraft is 13.2 metric tons (14.6 tons), and most of that weight, about 11 metric tons (12 tons), is highly toxic fuel.
Davydov said Tuesday that Phobos-Ground could crash to Earth some time between late December and late February. The site of the crash cannot be established more than a day in advance, he said.
A satellite tracking website showed the Mars probe passing over North America on Tuesday morning Moscow time.
TITLE: Soyuz Capsule Carrying Three Lands Safely
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW — A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts back from the International Space Station touched down safely in the snow-covered steppes of Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning.
NASA astronaut Michael Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa of Japan’s JAXA space agency landed at the break of dawn some 90 kilometers north of the town of Arkalyk at 8:26 a.m. (0226 GMT) after spending 165 days in space.
The landing was close to its target point. NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said the recovery operation was swift despite the freezing weather and strong wind.
Video from the site showed the Soyuz capsule, blackened by the intense heat of re-entry, lying on its side as the astronauts were extracted.
The three men looked well and smiling, although Furukawa looked visibly exhausted. They were seated in chairs and wrapped in warm blankets to help them get adjusted to gravity after spending five and a half months in space.
Valery Lyndin, spokesman for the Russian Mission Control Center, said all three astronauts are in good health.
Volkov, Furukawa and Fossum were flown to the town of Kustunay for a traditional Kazakh welcome ceremony where they will part ways. Volkov will be flying to a cosmonauts’ training center outside Moscow, while Furukawa and Fossum will fly directly to Houston.
TITLE: Russia Demands Tougher Penalty For the Parents Of Adopted Boy
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russia will seek tougher punishment for an American couple convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of a 7-year-old boy they adopted from Chelyabinsk, authorities said Saturday.
Michael and Nanette Craver of York county, Pennsylvania, were sentenced in a U.S. court on Friday to the 19 months they have already spent in prison for the 2009 head-injury death of their adopted son Nathaniel, formerly Ivan Skorobogatov.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement that it will seek an international arrest warrant for the Cravers and prove that the murder was brutal and premeditated.
“That’s the opinion the prosecutors in the U.S. court stick to, and the Investigative Committee fully shares it,” according to the statement.
Prosecutors had argued that the boy died from repeated blows to the head, but offered no theory at the trial about which parent delivered them.
The Cravers insist that the boy suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and attachment disorders. They claimed that he ran headlong into a stove the night before they found him unconscious.
Defense lawyers said the couple had taken Nathaniel to numerous doctors and therapists because of the bizarre “self-abuse” that left him badly bruised. Prosecutors, though, said they often failed to follow through on the treatment and therapy.
TITLE: Court Rules on Monuments
AUTHOR: By Nadezhda Zaitseva
PUBLISHER: Vedomosti
TEXT: The St. Petersburg city court confirmed a statement from the city’s public prosecutor’s office annulling the Committee for the State Control, Use and Preservation of Monuments’ (KGIOP) 2004 edict to amend the list of culture and heritage sites, which removed 31 monuments from the list, the prosecutor’s office reported Friday.
The list of monuments was confirmed by the KGIOP in 2001. The prosecutor’s office found the committee exceeded its authority three years later when it excluded 31 sites from the list. The prosecutor’s office presented the proposal, which had never been put into effect, to the chairman of the KGIOP committee. It then took the proposal to the state court demanding the committee’s edict be declared invalid from the moment of its issue, to which the court agreed, reported the prosecutor’s office.
The KGIOP’s press service reported that it would appeal the ruling, but declined to give further comment. The edict recommended that the monuments be excluded from the list on the basis of expert evaluation of the sites in question. Vedomosti was unable to obtain comments from the prosecutor’s office.
Among the monuments illegally demolished and removed from the list is the building that stood at 116 Nevsky Prospekt, which has been replaced by the Stockmann Nevsky Center shopping mall. Also on the list are the Preobrazhensky Barracks at 1-3 Paradnaya Ulitsa and 14 Vilensky Pereulok, where LSR Group built the Paradny Kvartal office and residential complex. Vozrozhdenia Peterburga (St. Petersburg Renaissance) construction corporation, which is part of the LSR Group, reconstructed a building located at 10 Galernaya Ulitsa into an office complex.
Other buildings earlier recognized as monuments on the list have already been torn down, such as the Bremme factory on Vasilyevsky Island and the Krylov House located at 28 Bolshaya Podyacheskaya Ulitsa, said Alexander Kononov, vice chairman of the St. Petersburg All-Russian Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments (VOOPIK). He considers the court’s verdict to be good news and a lifeline for those buildings the city hasn’t yet torn down.
The Paradny Kvartal office and residential complex, whose historic architecture was recreated, is more than 70 percent occupied, Vozrozhdenia Peterburga reported. The company maintains that it acted within strict legal guidelines, and had all of the necessary documents.
Investors who have already completed projects at sites that were illegally excluded from the list have nothing to worry about, as when their projects were under construction, KGIOP’s order was in effect, said Yegor Noskov, managing partner of Duvernoix Legal. If the resolution becomes law, it will become a matter of responsibility for those who issued this order and put it into effect, said Kononov.
The federal law regarding monuments of cultural heritage was passed in 2002 and states that recognized monuments automatically keep such status until further reviewed by state experts of history and culture. These conditions however were put into effect starting in 2009, said Kononov. In other words, any expert who acted to remove a monument from the list had no legal right to so. This is what the prosecutors wanted to show, he added.
TITLE: Like Mother, Like Father: Dads Seek Legal Security
AUTHOR: By Yelena Gorelova
PUBLISHER: Vedomosti
TEXT: MOSCOW — Father of three Alexei Ostayev is trying to prove that he was fired from his job in circumstances that should be protected under the country’s labor laws.
Ostayev is the only breadwinner for his stay-at-home wife and their children. The children are young — 2, 7 and 12 — and one of them is disabled. Ostayev maintains that Logos-Media, a publishing company, acted wrongly in axing him during a round of layoffs.
He has brought a complaint to the Constitutional Court, which heard arguments in his case just this month, Russian media reported. The basis of his legal challenge: He believes that fathers, especially those with more than one child and with small children, should receive the same protection from being fired that mothers do.
In particular, Ostayev wants the section of the Labor Code that spells out the categories of employees who cannot be fired at the employer’s initiative to be made illegal.
His case is part of a bigger movement. Fathers of small children no longer want to put up with gender discrimination at work, and step-by-step they are winning the parental rights already won by mothers. They have claimed a victory: Two years ago, they won the right to take parental leave, and that has inspired them to fight further.
In 2009 Ostayev became the lead artist for publishing group 777, part of Logos-Media. Almost immediately after the family had its third child, he received notice that he was being fired as part of a company-wide staff reduction.
“They offered me a choice of five other jobs, from janitor to art director of the online department, and I agreed to two of them,” Ostayev recounted. Two days later, however, he was told that the company was eliminating those positions as well.
He then submitted a request for parental leave.
After his dismissal, Ostayev made a discovery about his company’s payroll. “I saw in job classifieds on the Internet that the company was searching for a new candidate for my job — the job hadn’t been eliminated,” he said. “I called work, and they gave me an offer to interrupt my leave, which I did. But on the same day, I was given my notice.”
That was when Ostayev attempted to contest his firing, bringing a lawsuit against Logos-Media in the Savyolovsky District Court, which took the side of his employer.
Current labor laws in Russia only protect single fathers from being fired. If the father is the sole breadwinner for a family with more than one child and with young children, his right to keep his job isn’t protected in any way, Ostayev said.
He brought up counter-examples from European law such as Finland, where the right of a parent in a multi-child family to keep his or her job belongs to the parent who draws the bigger salary.
Dmitry Litvinov, head of the legal department for Bauer Media in Russia, the company that founded Logos-Media, said the Savyolovsky District Court “upheld that Ostayev was let go in accordance with the law, without a violation of any standards.”
“When my wife gave birth [to our third child], they invited me to take leave for one week at my expense, since they didn’t give me the regular leave that I was entitled to,” Ostayev said.
Though fathers have the right to take parental leave under the law, actually receiving that leave from an employer is difficult because of the mentality among Russian bosses, said Igor Serebryany, coordinator for community action at the Father’s Committee. “When a man asks for paternity leave, he is looked at like he’s a Martian.”
Under the law, men and women’s rights are equal and there is no gender discrimination, but such situations suggest otherwise, Serebryany said.
Igor Fedotov, senior attorney at the National Legal Service, said Ostayev puts a difficult choice before the Constitutional Court with his complaint. “On one hand, it is obvious that there is a defect in the Labor Code’s support of gender discrimination against men who have more than one child,” he said. “On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine the consequences of possible legal revenge by the stronger sex in the event that this norm, prohibited by Article 19 of the Constitution, comes to be.”
For the Constitutional Court, however, the more important argument could be the danger of being guilty of gender prejudice — again.
“The European Court of Human Rights characterized as improper the position of the Constitutional Court in the case of Konstantin Markin, who brought a suit in the face of a refusal of military courts to allow him a three-year parental leave,” Fedotov said. “The ECHR determined this was discrimination on the basis of gender,” he said.
According to a hearing document issued by the ECHR, Markin was raising three children by himself post-divorce. His request for leave was turned down because three-year leave is given only to females in the military, the ECHR document said.
Alongside his case in the Constitutional Court, Ostayev is seeking protection from discrimination in the ECHR and has filed a complaint there. Ostayev has a realistic chance of success, Fedotov said: Even if the Constitutional Court hasn’t learned its lesson, there is the precedent of Markin’s case.
TITLE: Railway Still Looking for Middle Eastern Projects
AUTHOR: By Irina Filatova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russian Railways is seeking to enter into new projects in the Middle East, despite the losses it has faced in restive Libya, Vladimir Yakunin, chief executive of the state-run monopoly, said Saturday.
“We are seeking the possibility to penetrate into the international market of infrastructure construction. … Our first attempt in Libya seemed to be not very exciting … but we continue this policy,” he said.
Yakunin, who met with a group of foreign journalists on the sidelines of a two-day railway forum that opened in Moscow on Friday, said that among possible options is the United Arab Emirates, where the company is holding negotiations.
He said Russian Railways is interested in other Persian Gulf countries as well.
“They have a very substantial program to develop railway infrastructure. … And we would like to be part of that,” said Yakunin, who was speaking English.
Meanwhile, the company hopes to complete the 2.2 billion euro ($3 billion) project in Libya, which stalled due to the unrest there, Yakunin said Friday.
“You saw by yourself what was going on in this country. You see what’s going on there now. We undoubtedly aspire to complete what was started there, but what the political conditions for this work will be don’t depend on the Russian Federation’s government, to say nothing of Russian Railways,” he told the forum.
Russian Railways started construction of a 550-kilometer railway from Sirt to Bengazi last year, and Yakunin said earlier this month that the company’s losses in Libya amounted to 20 billion rubles ($647 million).
But Yakunin was more optimistic about the prospects of a broad-gauge railway line from Kosice, Slovakia, to Vienna through Bratislava — an ambitious 5 billion euro project being implemented by Russian Railways jointly with Austria, Slovakia and Ukraine.
The sides formed a joint venture in 2009, but Yakunin said earlier this year that Slovakia’s new government, which took office in 2010, didn’t show much interest in the project.
“We got the political support. … It seems that Slovakia politically is also in favor of this project,” he said Saturday. “This kind of cooperation is beneficial for all the members of this working group.”
The sides have finished preliminary planning and will start working on a business project soon, Yakunin said.
The project is slated to be put into commission in 2016, according to the Russian Railways web site.
Yakunin also called for boosting investment in upgrading railway infrastructure domestically, reiterating the suggestion that the government issue so-called “infrastructure” bonds to help finance the 400 billion ruble deficit in the company’s 1.4 trillion ruble 2008-15 investment program.
The bonds could be issued in the middle of next year, and State Pension Fund money could be used to buy them, he said, adding that foreign investment funds would also be welcome to participate.
Among the most likely projects to be financed through a bond issue is a high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which is due to be completed by 2018 and expected to reduce trip time to 2.5 hours, compared with about four hours by Sapsan and eight hours by ordinary train.
Russian Railways plans to announce tenders for the project by the end of this year, Yakunin said.
Siemens, which supplies Sapsan high-speed trains to Russia, is interested in participating in the tender to deliver trains for the project, said Dietrich Möller, the company’s president in Russia.
“I hope that in 2018 my long-time dream will come true: to get on a train at Leningradsky railway station in Moscow and to come to Moskovsky railway station in St. Petersburg in two hours,” Möller told forum participants.
Möller told The St. Petersburg Times on the sidelines of the forum that Siemens is in talks with Russian Railways to supply eight Sapsan trains.
The German company expects to complete the negotiations by the end of this year, he said without elaborating.
TITLE: Draft Law Might Add to Foreigners’ Taxes
AUTHOR: By Khristina Narizhnaya
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — On top of paying relocation fees and higher salaries, companies could face paying insurance fees for foreign workers starting next year.
A bill that has passed its first reading in the State Duma proposes to lower the insurance fee from 34 to 30 percent, but add a 10 percent fee for those who earn more than 512,000 rubles ($16,600) per year. Now it is up for a second reading, amended to require companies to pay insurance fees for long-term foreign workers, who are currently exempt from them.
Companies pay a 34 percent insurance fee for Russian employees. The fee goes to a medical services fund, social insurance — to create social infrastructure, such as kindergartens and schools — and the pension fund, which could face a deficit of up to 1.75 trillion rubles next year.
The insurance fees’ predecessor, the unified social tax, required companies to pay taxes on all employees, regardless of nationality. When the insurance fees system replaced the unified social tax at the start of this year, foreign workers were exempt.
The insurance fees system puts Russians at a disadvantage, since it is cheaper for companies to hire foreigners, Ildar Gabdrakhmanov, deputy chair of the Duma labor and social policy committee, told Vedomosti last week.
While companies do not currently pay insurance fees for foreign workers, hiring foreigners is never cheap, said Lyudmila Shiryayeva, Ernst & Young human capital executive director. Foreign specialists are usually top-level management with very high salaries. The company must also pay for visas and relocation fees.
The amendments are an unexpected development for companies since they were only made public last week, Shiryayeva said. If the bill becomes law, companies will have to scramble to adjust their 2012 budgets.
“The investment and business image of Russia will suffer,” Shiryayeva said.
Temporary foreign workers rarely see any returns from the funds, Shiryayeva said. Foreigners usually do not use the dilapidated government-funded medical facilities, since companies pay for their medical insurance. They also do not receive pensions.
Requiring fees for foreign workers is logical, said Yevgeny Nadorshin, National Bank Trust chief economist.
If foreigners stay here for an extended period of time, they end up using at least some aspect of the social infrastructure, such as kindergartens for their children.
Charging insurance fees for guest workers will make the Russian specialist equal with the foreigner.
“It will level out the playing field,” Nadorshin said. “Why do companies need to go out of their way to hire a foreigner when there are enough qualified workers here?”
The amendments will not affect unskilled labor, Nadorshin said. Hiring unskilled laborers from China and the former CIS and paying the fees is cheaper than hiring Russians.
Many unskilled laborers work illegally and are not likely to be affected by changes in the law.
TITLE: $60M Reserved for Tourism
AUTHOR: By Howard Amos
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Russia is to spend up to $60 million on a six-year advertising campaign to bolster its image as a tourist destination, the Federal Tourism Agency said Monday.
The spending is part of the government’s program for the development of tourism through 2018 that was approved in July and will see a total expenditure of $10.2 billion, of which $3 billion will come from the federal budget. Under the plans, tourism should consist of 6 percent to 7 percent of gross domestic product by 2018.
The $60 million earmarked for advertising will be spent on “subjects and programs about Russia on federal channels, promotion on social networks, exhibitions, the organization of presentations about Russia in foreign countries, promotional campaigns and the organization of press tours,” agency head Alexander Radkov said, RIA-Novosti reported.
“I am sure that this will be conducive to the attraction of foreigners and motivate Russians to go on holiday in Russia,” he said.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in July that 70 percent of Russia’s tourism potential is not being exploited.
The Federal Tourism Agency has already spent $5.1 million on the advertising campaign, which began this year, and is planning to pay out a further $4.2 million in 2012.
The development of tourism in Russia will be concentrated around a number of clusters — the Golden Ring in the Central Federal District, the Silver Ring in the Northwest Federal District, the Volga cities in the Volga Federal District, in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal District, the Krasnodar, Stavropol and Rostov regions and Kabardino-Balkaria.
While the campaign is directed at both domestic and foreign tourists, Radkov admitted Monday that the total number of foreign tourists visiting in 2011 was likely to be disappointing. He blamed the European economic problems affecting the chief suppliers of visitors to Russia: Germany, France, Britain and Italy.
“Things aren’t in order in Europe at the moment,” Radkov said. “The number of Europeans traveling as tourists has fallen.”
TITLE: United Russia’s Ratings Bubble
AUTHOR: By Victor Davidoff
TEXT: The Novgorod region has beautiful churches, but otherwise it’s nothing to write home about. It’s a very typical Russian region, and that’s why Novgorod is so important politically. Analysts discovered that the election results in Novgorod come very close to the results of the national vote. Novgorod is in this sense the Russian New Hampshire. If you know the voters’ preferences in Novgorod, you can predict the results of the national elections.
So the results of an opinion poll held in Novgorod in October by VTsIOM and published by Gazeta.ru are something of a sneak preview of the State Duma elections to be held on Dec. 4. The poll showed the following distribution of votes: 40 percent of the respondents are planning to vote for United Russia, 13 percent for the Communist Party, 9.4 percent for Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s Liberal Democratic Party and 7.8 percent for A Just Russia — enough to overcome the 7 percent electoral barrier and enter the Duma. The other parties’ vote counts were within the range of statistical error.
Very similar results were registered in Novgorod before the last elections. But there’s a puzzle here. How does United Russia intend to repeat the results of the last elections, when they got 63 percent of the votes?
Even if the 16 percent of undecided voters get off the couch on election day and 40 percent of them follow their peers and vote for United Russia, the party still will not have a parliamentary majority. With two weeks to go before the elections, the party needs a miracle to get the votes they need.
But there’s no need to worry about United Russia. They might not have a magic wand, but they do know the magic words “administrative resources.” Information about bureaucrats using state resources to sway voters is streaming in from dozens of places around the country.
In small towns like Syzran in the Samara region, where no Great Wall of China separates the bureaucrats from the population, the campaigning is patriarchal and old-fashioned. At farmers’ markets organized with taxpayers’ money, local mayors urge their constituents to vote for United Russia.
In larger cities, officials use more persuasive arguments. At a meeting with pensioners, the city manager of Izhevsk told voters directly that the municipality would finance districts in proportion to the number of votes cast for United Russia.
An interactive map on Kartanarusheniy.ru already shows more than 2,000 similar violations, and an average of 60 violations are reported every day. All parties are cited for electoral violations, but more than half are laid at the door of United Russia. From the list of violations, you get the impression that everyone who gets a state paycheck is a volunteer for the ruling party. Mail carriers deliver United Russia flyers during work hours. After work, the flyers are delivered by teachers. Public schools are often the sites of United Russia campaigning.
A schoolchild in Krasnoyarsk had his 15 minutes of Internet fame when he scrawled “the party of crooks and thieves” on a United Russia poster in his school. Of course, it is against the law to deface property, but it is also against the law to put up campaign materials in a public school.
The fight against other parties is even more active than the campaigning itself. In many cities, A Just Russia’s billboards are taken down at night. In other places, it does not come to that for the simple reason that the owners of the outdoor advertising space refuse to put up their billboards in the first place. In Vladivostok, the police confiscated a print run of brochures for an opposition candidate right off the press.
Some private businesses are active in the campaign as well. There were reports on Kartanarusheniy.ru that employees of companies owned by the deputy of the Samara regional Duma, Vladimir Simonov, were forced to cast their vote for United Russia — and to send a photo of the ballot by cell phone as proof.
Foreign and domestic admirers of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin always cite his high ratings and the majority of votes United Russia gets at the elections. While that is a fact, it is also a fact that in fair elections the ruling party would not have a chance of a getting a parliamentary majority. Besides, all bubbles, including ratings bubbles, eventually collapse. In March 1991, a large percentage of Soviet citizens voted to preserve a renewed Soviet Union. But the country collapsed in less than a year.
In those months before the breakup of the Soviet Union, the most popular political song was Viktor Tsoi’s “(We’re Waiting for) Change.” Once again, this song is back in the charts. The men in the Kremlin should be paying attention to those ratings, too.
Victor Davidoff is a Moscow-based writer and journalist whose blog is Chaadaev56.livejournal.com.
TITLE: the russian front: The Logic of Putin’s Third Term
AUTHOR: By Richard Lourie
TEXT: The smart money says that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will be president from 2012 to 2024. He will be 72 in 2024 and probably will not be up for “castling” with some amiable stooge until he is 78 and eligible to be president yet again.
During his first six-year term, from 2012 to 2018, Putin will go from age 60 to 66. At his peak, vigorous and experienced, he will be aware that this is the time for him to make his mark.
It is true, of course, that some leaders turn in remarkable performances at an even later age. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was in his mid-60s when World War II started, but he was invigorated by that challenge in a way that peacetime never could have done.
Ronald Reagan was 70 when first elected U.S. president in 1980, but he was new to the job. When Putin is 70, he will already be into his fourth term. That does not mean he will have lost his appetite for retaining power, but the chances of Putin striking out on any new, bold course in his fourth and probably last term are slight at best. His upcoming 2012-18 term will be the one that matters most.
When Putin first became president, he inherited a country weakened by 10 years of chaos and crises that were not in the least of his making. In this respect, Putin to some degree resembles U.S. President Barack Obama of early 2009. But the Russia that Putin inherited from Boris Yeltsin in 2000 and the Russia he passed on to President Dmitry Medvedev in 2008 were two very different places. It is the difference between poverty and prosperity, chaos and stability.
There is considerable disagreement over how important a role Putin actually played in that transformation. For example, the man Obama has nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, currently special assistant to Obama for national security, takes a dubious view of Putin’s role. Recall his 2008 Foreign Affairs comment, “The Myth of the Authoritarian Model: How Putin’s Crackdown Holds Russia Back.”
But what counts now is the difference between the Russia Putin received from Yeltsin and the one he is receiving back from Medvedev. Putin will begin his third presidential term from a position of strength, stability and prosperity. Russia has no outstanding important conflicts. Even the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 did not lead to Georgia’s blocking Russia’s entrance into the World Trade Organization. Russia has begun to attract considerable foreign investment again — for example, ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola and Disney.
Although a few attractive figures exist among the opposition, such as the gadfly blogger Alexei Navalny and the imprisoned former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, there is really no one on the political horizon who could pose the slightest real threat to Putin in a free and fair election in March. And the price of oil remains high.
Thus, all conditions are favorable for Putin to do something of real significance in his third term. He must choose between being a long-term leader of no enduring positive significance and a genuine statesmen who peered into the future, saw the dangers facing his country and steered a true and beneficial course. Russia needs major reforms in politics, the judiciary and media, and the economy must be diversified.
Putin has the power, authority and opportunity to carry out these reforms, but will he do it? Ask the smart money.
Richard Lourie is the author of “The Autobiography of Joseph Stalin” and “Sakharov: A Biography.”
TITLE: American theatricals
AUTHOR: By Larisa Doctorow
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The repertoires of St. Petersburg drama theaters inevitably include works by a number of American playwrights, including Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller and Edward Albee. But it is 50 years or more since their plays were written.
This week, the St. Petersburg Theater Academy will attempt to refresh the city’s theater repertoires with the help of modern American playwrights and dramaturges, as the city hosts a theater conference titled “Modern American Plays and Discoveries.”
The academy has also organized a conference in order to introduce new American plays and playwrights to the Russian public, at the initiative of Professor Irina Tsimbal.
As Tsimbal explains, there were sound reasons for the popularity of American plays in Russia from the 1920s through the 1960s. This was the classical age of American drama. Russian stage directors were drawn to the parables embedded in American plays, and to their multi-layered material. The almost brutal self-criticism that ran through many major works also caught their eye. American plays were translated, published and staged throughout the U.S.S.R.
Immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian theater world was too preoccupied by the unfolding social and political drama to focus on what was happening in the international theater world. Then, toward the end of the 1990s, American plays became less accessible to Russia due to new copyright laws.
The Theater Academy took note of this void, and decided to act. As soon as the idea of a conference dedicated to contemporary American drama caught on, American playwrights, critics and theater historians showed keen interest in participating.
“We don’t want the conference to become another scientific discourse,” said Tsimbal. “We hope it will be a practical tool to help acquaint us with modern American theater. That is why we are very glad that young American playwrights have shown such a great desire to participate. Naturally, they hope their plays can be staged in Russia. We hope so too,” she added.
There will be two working languages at the conference: English and Russian. Every report will have a written summary in the other language.
The organizers received several dozen American plays, and some have been chosen for reading by young St. Petersburg actors. In order to accommodate far more than those Americans able to attend the conference in person, a special video link will be provided by the American Consulate General — the conference’s co-organizer — on Nov. 25 to include others back in the U.S.
Among the seven plays selected for “concert” performance is Nilo Cruz’s “Ann in the Tropics.” The play is centered around Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina.” Somewhere in the tropics, women working at a tobacco factory listen to readings from Tolstoy’s novel while imagining themselves to be characters from the novel — Anna, Karenin and Vronsky. Here the playwright has combined Latin, Russian and American cultures.
Another young playwright, Ann Baker, is coming to St. Petersburg to take part in the discussions with her play, “The Aliens.” The author follows Jack Kerouac’s traditions of drugs, alcohol and sex. She writes about eternity and people who can’t seem to find their place and fit in among people, underlining the fact that the “American dream” is an illusion.
In addition to these performances, the audience will be able to attend talks by speakers such as Suzan Flakes from Los Angeles, who will be talking about the birth of American drama. She argues that it originated from European masters such as Russia’s own Anton Chekhov and Norway’s Henrik Ibsen.
Another program highlight looks set to be a talk by Professor Yury Stulov from Minsk on the staging of American plays in Belarus at the end of the 20th century.
On the second day of the conference, the St. Petersburg Theater Academy will perform “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Na Mokhovoi theater at 34 Mokhovaya Ulitsa, Hall 45 at 7.30 p.m. Entrance is free.
The conference is sponsored by the U.S. embassy in Moscow and the U.S. Consulate General in St. Petersburg.
The “Modern American Plays and Discoveries” conference runs from Nov. 25 through Nov. 27 and all events are free. The main events will be held at the On.Teatr theater, 18 Zhukovskogo Ulitsa. Tel. 929 66 92. M. Vladimirskaya, Mayakovskaya. http://onteatr.ru.
TITLE: A brief history of photography
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Aristocratic balls just before the Bolshevik Revolution, Silver Age art exhibitions, military parades in the Stalin era, peasants working hard in the fields and the first trains arriving at provincial stations can all be seen at the Marble Palace of the State Russian Museum as part of a photo biennale that explores the history of photography.
The new exhibit explores the history of photography as a technological process, and showcases a number of techniques used throughout the history of this art from the middle of the 19th century. Daguerreotypes, prints on silver paper, bromoil prints and early experiments with the use of color are all on show.
The Russian Museum has joined forces with the city’s History of Photography Museum as well as a number of archives and libraries in both St. Petersburg and Moscow to create a journey through the past 150 years, as documented by the country’s most talented photographers.
The exhibition showcases 400 incredible prints, including fascinating views of serene city landscapes from the pre-revolutionary era by Karl Bulla, and shots taken by Alexander Chekhov, the elder brother of the writer Anton Chekhov.
Such an exhibition would be unthinkable without featuring Bulla, who is often referred to as the father of photography reporting in Russia. Bulla documented the lives of Russian aristocrats, gentry and merchants, and his vast collection of prints covers the most intricate details of life in St. Petersburg at the start of the 20th century.
Bulla’s photographs of members of the Romanov family and members of other European royal families gained him international recognition. The legendary photographer was awarded state orders from a number of countries, including Italy, Romania and Persia.
His iconic portraits of Russia’s last tsar — Nicholas II — and his family comprise part of the new show.
Both of Bulla’s sons, Alexander and Viktor, followed in their father’s footsteps. Viktor became a star in his own right, carving out a reputation as a war reporter for his photo essays from the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905).
Viktor Bulla also documented the historic events of the year 1917, starting from the summer riots that preceded the revolution. After the Bolsheviks seized power, it was thanks to Viktor Bulla that the priceless photography archives of the Bulla dynasty, numbering more than 70,000 images, did not perish. Viktor Bulla donated them to the Russian state archives, and the current show at the Marble Palace was therefore made possible thanks to the personal effort that he made many decades ago.
The photo biennale embraces all imaginable genres of photography, from portraits and landscapes to chronicles. The oldest items on display are daguerreotypes dating back to the 1840s. Unlike today, when some technologies reach Russia later than, for example, Western Europe, the country woke up to the opportunities of photography almost immediately after it first emerged. Many of the items are on show to the general public for the first time.
The scope of the exhibition is by no means small, embracing photo shoots from rehearsals of some of the first stagings of Gogol’s classic play “The Government Inspector” provided by the archives of the St. Petersburg Theater Art Library. The exhibition also takes a close look at World War I, with its horrors and rare touching moments, such as shots of Russian noblewomen-turned-volunteers in field hospitals.
The Russian Ethnography Museum has added some zest to the show with a collection of photos from a 1867 exhibition of folk art in Moscow. Culture vultures will also be thrilled to see some of the last photographic images of Lev Tolstoy. The author of “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” is pictured at his country estate of Yasnaya Polyana in central Russia.
In addition to fascinating historical images, the exhibition also showcases various models of cameras and photographic equipment that were in use during the course of the past 150 years.
The 1st Photo Biennale of Archive Photography runs through Jan. 20, 2012 at the Marble Palace, 5 Millionnaya Ulitsa. Tel. 312 9054. M. Nevsky Prospekt.
TITLE: In celebration of Faberge
AUTHOR: By Yekaterina Kravtsova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Carl Faberge, described by the BBC as “the most famous jeweler of all time,” is to be paid tribute to by the State Hermitage Museum in 2014 when it plans to open a Carl Faberge Museum to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Hermitage.
According to the plans, the new museum will occupy three rooms in the East Wing of the General Staff Building. In the largest room, works of art from the House of Faberge and the work of Russian jewelry artists from the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Khlebnikovs, Ovchinnikov, Kekhli and many others will be on display.
Faberge, who created finely crafted jeweled Easter eggs and other exquisite gifts for generations of Russia’s imperial family right up until the 1917 Revolution, devoted a large part of his life to working in the Hermitage, where he was involved in restoration work, which helped him to develop as an artist and find his personal creative style.
“We are going to exhibit the best works from the House of Faberge and by Carl Faberge himself, which will allow us to show different aspects of his work,” said Marina Lopato, head of the metal and stone crafts section of the Hermitage at a press conference devoted to the Faberge project earlier this month.
The Hermitage’s collection of Faberge works does not include any of the master craftsman’s celebrated Easter eggs, but does include models of imperial regalia for which Faberge was awarded first prize at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900.
Pieces from the House of Faberge such as a dish made of rock crystals, a silver lamp and a necklace with precious gems have been restored and will soon become part of the Faberge Museum collection. They can currently be seen in the Hermitage’s Treasure Gallery.
The Hermitage also possesses a large collection of sketches from the House of Faberge created during a period of 25 years. These items will also go to the Faberge Museum. The collection includes drawings by Carl Faberge’s brother, Agathon Faberge. According to Lopato, it was Agathon who guided the creative mind of Carl Faberge.
“The collection of sketches is important due to its ability to show how the art of Russian jewelry developed during a quarter of a century,” said Lopato.
A large part of Faberge’s early work is spread all over the world and concentrated in private collections. Organizers hope the Hermitage collection will be supplemented by works held in other Russian and foreign museums as well as in some private collections.
The Faberge Museum will also be a space for housing temporary exhibitions by contemporary Russian and foreign artists.
“Only a few pieces of art have already been chosen, but a large part of the work still remains ahead of us; we’re trying to choose the best exhibits for the museum,” said Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the State Hermitage Museum.
According to Hermitage specialists, the Faberge Museum will highlight the current achievements of work by jewelry artists and the potential future development of this sphere of art.
TITLE: Best of British cinema
AUTHOR: By Yekaterina Kravtsova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: British cinema has always stood out in world cinematography for its way of depicting the problems of an entire generation — and sometimes of all of mankind — through an individual story.
This is probably the main common characteristic of the films chosen for screening at the New British Film Festival that kicks off in the city Wednesday, as the majority of the stories to be screened go deep into history to show the reality of modern society.
The festival aims to show the latest achievements of British cinema in all its facets. Despite the fact that the festival program in St. Petersburg is a shortened version of that shown earlier this month in Moscow, the diversity of the themes touched by British directors has not suffered.
Opening with the drama “Perfect Sense” starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, the festival continues with the family drama “Archipelago,” the teenage drama “Neds,” the nonfiction film “The Bengali Detective,” and comedy drama based on real events “Made in Dagenham,” before winding up with the comedy “Hysteria” about the Victorian origins of the vibrator.
“The festival is basically a showcase of contemporary British cinema, and this concept requires us to show various genres,” said Alexei Laifurov, a representative of CoolConnections, one of the festival’s organizers.
The festival’s opening movie “Perfect Sense” is the latest offering from the critically acclaimed director David Mackenzie, who has previously been awarded several prizes by the British Film and Television Academy and Berlin Film Festival. “Perfect Sense” also won an award at the Edinburg International Film Festival. The film tells the love story of two very different people at a time when love threatens to disappear completely across the world due to an unknown virus. While Mackenzie has chosen a severe metaphor for the derogatory attitude of people to their feelings — an attitude that in the film leads to a worst-case scenario outcome — the director leaves a flash of hope that a magic solution can be found to preserve the feeling of love in people.
“Neds,” showing later in the week, is a film about a talented and intelligent teenager named John in 1970s Glasgow. John fails to realize his potential due to the circumstances of time and place and life itself. The film shows just how easily a spark of talent can be extinguished, and raises the problem of violence and unjustified aggression among young people — a problem that remains painfully relevant in both the U.K. and Russia — but stylistically, the film represents complete immersion into the unstable atmosphere of the 1970s.
Another film that takes the audience back in time is both amusing and yet a truthful, sombering story of women’s struggle for equal rights. The story takes place in 1968, less than half a century ago, when the idea of equal pay for women was not taken seriously, either by the government or by heads of enterprises, who were invariably men. But the female employees of the Ford factory in Dagenham thought differently, and decided to change history.
In some sense, a history-changing moment also forms the basis of another film represented at the festival, “Hysteria,” starring Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jonathan Pryce. Tanya Wexler, director of the film — which has caused a stir around the world — tells the story of the vibrator as a Victorian invention designed to cure female hysteria. While the intimate subject matter of the film has left a lot of people shocked, Wexler herself once said that she had to make this film, even if it was to be her last film ever.
The New British Film Festival runs from Nov. 23 to 27 at the Formula movie theater in Galeria shopping mall, 30A Ligovsky Prospekt. For a full schedule, visit www.ukfilms.ru.
TITLE: A design for life
AUTHOR: By Max Seddon
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: There’s an old Soviet joke: A factory worker puts a down payment on a Zaporozhets, a ramshackle Ukrainian Fiat knockoff with an engine in the rear, a removable floor panel for ice fishing, and a tendency to go up in smoke at the first sign of breaking 80 kilometers an hour. The official from the planning office tells him that the car will be ready exactly five years from today’s date. “Is it going to be ready in the morning, or the afternoon?” the worker worries. “Why on earth do you want to know that?” replies the official, bemused. “Because the plumber’s coming in the morning!”
Soviet consumerism’s weird centrally planned world — sometimes ingenious, sometimes horrific, always idiosyncratic — is the subject of “Made in Russia,” an excellent new pocket guide to an era before “yevroremont” and IKEA. With wry, snarky commentary from Bela Shayevich and personal essays from emigre writers like Gary Shteyngart, the book catalogs 50 exemplars of a style its editor Michael Idov coins as “Soviet magpie modernism.” Roughly speaking, this entails the industrial design boom that followed the “kitchen debates” between Nixon and Khrushchev at a 1958 Moscow trade expo when, challenged on the relative merits of capitalist color television and Communist rocket launches, the Soviet premier threw down the gauntlet: “Let us compete. The system that will give the people more goods will be the better system, and victorious.”
While we all know how that turned out, “Made in Russia” does a considerable service in rejoining the grayscale view many have of the Soviet Union. Khrushchev’s obsession with matching and beating Western quality-of-life standards led to the creation of VNIITE, a “technical aesthetics research institute” devoted to the hitherto unknown concept of industrial design. Offered considerable leeway for the time — they were allowed to subscribe to foreign periodicals and compete in design competitions abroad — armies of designers set about copying whatever goods made it through the Iron Curtain. Most of the results are a far cry from the MIT Media Lab, to put it mildly. They include a collapsible drinking cup, devised to avoid hygienic issues from shared cups at communal soda fountains; a fire-hazard radiator with an exposed heating coil; a portable “boiling wand” used to replace tea kettles; and, of course, the Zaporozhets, a clunker as ridiculed in its day as it is now.
Perhaps the greatest problem Soviet designers encountered lay in marrying the dream of a utopian consumer paradise with the prosaic functions their creations were meant to have. Many products took their name and form from major Soviet space exploration programs and construction projects. Disparities between the two were frequently stark. The Aelita blowdryer, hot enough to singe hair, was named after an avant-garde film involving a socialist revolution on Mars; Belomorkanal cigarettes — capable of turning lungs into peat bogs — were inspired by the building of the White Sea Canal in 1931, one of the major engineering triumphs of the First Five-Year Plan.
This paradoxical disconnect between a brand and the product’s functionality stemmed from the absence of competition between Soviet manufacturers: There was no market-driven incentive for factory bosses to make better goods as long as their current product did not break.
It was no surprise, then, that the Soviet design revolution died quickly and quietly once goods from countries with better conveyor-belts began to flood into the country in the 1980s. And Russian design is still long overdue a renaissance, as anyone who has been to a government building or seen public interest posters in the metro knows.
That may be why several of the objects here are fondly remembered and genuinely missed. The last decade saw mobile kvas barrels return to Russia’s streets. Even IKEA has taken notice: The Swedish design giant now makes a beveled glass almost identical to the ubiquitous one designed by socialist realist Vera Mukhina — with “Made in Russia” emblazoned on the bottom.
Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design. Editor: Michael Idov.
224 pages.Rizzoli $25.
TITLE: A brief history of photography
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Aristocratic balls just before the Bolshevik Revolution, Silver Age art exhibitions, military parades in the Stalin era, peasants working hard in the fields and the first trains arriving at provincial stations can all be seen at the Marble Palace of the State Russian Museum as part of a photo biennale that explores the history of photography.
The new exhibit explores the history of photography as a technological process, and showcases a number of techniques used throughout the history of this art from the middle of the 19th century. Daguerreotypes, prints on silver paper, bromoil prints and early experiments with the use of color are all on show.
The Russian Museum has joined forces with the city’s History of Photography Museum as well as a number of archives and libraries in both St. Petersburg and Moscow to create a journey through the past 150 years, as documented by the country’s most talented photographers.
The exhibition showcases 400 incredible prints, including fascinating views of serene city landscapes from the pre-revolutionary era by Karl Bulla, and shots taken by Alexander Chekhov, the elder brother of the writer Anton Chekhov.
Such an exhibition would be unthinkable without featuring Bulla, who is often referred to as the father of photography reporting in Russia. Bulla documented the lives of Russian aristocrats, gentry and merchants, and his vast collection of prints covers the most intricate details of life in St. Petersburg at the start of the 20th century.
Bulla’s photographs of members of the Romanov family and members of other European royal families gained him international recognition. The legendary photographer was awarded state orders from a number of countries, including Italy, Romania and Persia.
His iconic portraits of Russia’s last tsar — Nicholas II — and his family comprise part of the new show.
Both of Bulla’s sons, Alexander and Viktor, followed in their father’s footsteps. Viktor became a star in his own right, carving out a reputation as a war reporter for his photo essays from the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905).
Viktor Bulla also documented the historic events of the year 1917, starting from the summer riots that preceded the revolution. After the Bolsheviks seized power, it was thanks to Viktor Bulla that the priceless photography archives of the Bulla dynasty, numbering more than 70,000 images, did not perish. Viktor Bulla donated them to the Russian state archives, and the current show at the Marble Palace was therefore made possible thanks to the personal effort that he made many decades ago.
The photo biennale embraces all imaginable genres of photography, from portraits and landscapes to chronicles. The oldest items on display are daguerreotypes dating back to the 1840s. Unlike today, when some technologies reach Russia later than, for example, Western Europe, the country woke up to the opportunities of photography almost immediately after it first emerged. Many of the items are on show to the general public for the first time.
The scope of the exhibition is by no means small, embracing photo shoots from rehearsals of some of the first stagings of Gogol’s classic play “The Government Inspector” provided by the archives of the St. Petersburg Theater Art Library. The exhibition also takes a close look at World War I, with its horrors and rare touching moments, such as shots of Russian noblewomen-turned-volunteers in field hospitals.
The Russian Ethnography Museum has added some zest to the show with a collection of photos from a 1867 exhibition of folk art in Moscow. Culture vultures will also be thrilled to see some of the last photographic images of Lev Tolstoy. The author of “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” is pictured at his country estate of Yasnaya Polyana in central Russia.
In addition to fascinating historical images, the exhibition also showcases various models of cameras and photographic equipment that were in use during the course of the past 150 years.
The 1st Photo Biennale of Archive Photography runs through Jan. 20, 2012 at the Marble Palace, 5 Millionnaya Ulitsa. Tel. 312 9054. M. Nevsky Prospekt.
TITLE: in the spotlight: Valeria turns political
AUTHOR: By Anna Malpas
TEXT: Last week, blonde pop singer Valeria became an unlikely dissident, as her husband and producer, Iosif Prigozhin, complained in an interview with Radio Liberty that United Russia had hijacked one of her concerts to electioneer from the stage.
Prigozhin said a fan came on stage with a bunch of flowers and then unexpectedly started singing the praises of the ruling party.
He said the public was not at all happy, since they “thought the artist had deceived them. They paid their money and found themselves at a campaigning event.”
The incident was first revealed by rocker Andrei Makarevich in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets about his own woes. The musician, who has been photographed hobnobbing with President Dmitry Medvedev, recently complained of a similar thing happening in Kemerovo. Party members came on stage on Nov. 3, said the concert was held with the support of United Russia and gave the musicians medals, with the public loudly booing and whistling at them. Makarevich colorfully complained in his blog of being “screwed over without warning.” The video on YouTube has been watched more than 400,000 times. A hapless United Russia member stumbles as he says first the concert is “in support” and then “supported by” the party. One man can be clearly heard shouting “Give us back our money for the tickets!” but there is also some applause.
The conduct of the party member was “absolutely incorrect and unethical,” Prigozhin said, sounding more angry than he has been since Valeria lost the Eurovision heats in 2009.
Pop and rock stars are hardly separate from the establishment in Russia. They have given major support to political parties, notably in Boris Yeltsin’s 1996 election campaign, and take to the stage on Red Square for public holidays and to the Kremlin Palace concert hall for official knees-ups such as the annual Policemen’s Day.
Prigozhin didn’t reveal the city, but said they were touring a region where people were “not at all for United Russia.”
Bizarrely, he added that in Omsk, the posters they paid for had all been taken down and replaced with United Russia ones showing President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Valeria has promoted herself in the West in a doomed attempt to become as popular there as here. She even got called the “Russian Madonna” by the Independent, although she has a squeaky-clean image.
Unusually for an absolutely apolitical figure, Prigozhin said he and his wife did not support United Russia. “We are not against the United Russia party, but we are not for it, either.”
“We have our political views, our preferences, but we don’t express them out loud. We will express them by the ballot box, silently,” he said.
Oddly enough, United Russia blamed the opposition. A party official, Ruslan Gattarov, told Radio Liberty that an “ordinary incident” had been blown up on the Internet in a deliberate “provocation.”
Comments on the radio’s web site were mixed, with some saying Prigozhin had the right to be apolitical and others saying he was being hypocritical since he had publicly praised Putin and many artists rely on Kremlin concerts.
In 2007, Kommersant included a quote from Prigozhin in its list of the most “toadying” comments about Putin. “For the first time, a person has appeared in our country whom we can not only be proud of but we can marvel at,” he said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid.
TITLE: THE DISH: YamiYami
AUTHOR: By Daniel Kozin
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Use your noodle
Stepping into YamiYami, the now six-month-old noodle bar on the bustling Moskovsky Prospekt just behind Sennaya Ploshchad, is not unlike stepping into a trendy eatery in the hip Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Apart from its onomatopoeic name, which conjures up the image of a satisfying food establishment, the restaurant’s image is revealed through an impressive, original window display: An ecosystem of animals, fish and plants, all painted in green on the glass, fits right into the European trend for eco-consciousness. Just in case this aspect is overlooked, the restaurant has graciously provided a green bench on the sidewalk outside for customers, with an accompanying green bike rack (unsurprisingly empty on a cold November night).
This external image is projected into the interior, with two clean and brightly lit rooms dominated by a pleasant green and white color combination. Quirky blurbs like “bio” “fresh” and “organic” posted behind the counter, with work station and bar attached, finalize any expectations for what the food will be like: “Fast good,” instead of fast food, boasts the menu, while the plentiful floral overtones, potted plants in modern white cubicles and comfy-looking white couches support this claim to quality and promise a unique dining experience.
YamiYami positions itself as a “chain of democratic restaurants for healthy eating, offering the best of Pan-Asian traditions adapted to European tastes,” to which the large, well-lit menu on the wall attests (no English menu available). The bulk of the offerings is centered on rice and handmade noodles, with a range of toppings including chicken, beef, shrimp, salmon and eel, as well as mushrooms and vegetables, which are stir-fried on woks behind the counter with one of three sauces (sweet and sour, ginger and Yami sauce).
For those not familiar with the “democratic restaurant” expression that is quickly gaining popularity in Russia, do not be discouraged if your political affiliation does not coincide! The democratic refers to the restaurant’s prices, with mains ranging from 108 rubles ($3.50) to 190 rubles ($6.25). Other offerings include noodle soups with the aforementioned ingredients, cooked in either coconut milk or cream, from 90 ($3) to 168 rubles ($5.50) as well as salads and sushi, both centered around the 100 ruble ($3.30) mark.
After being seated in a futuristic-looking hexagonal booth in the adjacent room, topped by a cheery back-lit ceiling of rolling clouds against a light-blue sky, it was not long before the “fast good” starters arrived. While the strawberry and mint smoothie (80 rubles, $2.70) really excited the taste buds, with the strong mint balancing the tartness of the candy-sweet strawberry, the eel sushi that we had ordered had been substituted with salmon rolls without warning from the waiter, requiring a cross-examination of the check and a long wait for correction.
The cream of tomato soup with bacon (100 rubles, $3.30) stood out most from the selection, being filling, hearty and just the right level of tangy, although the presence of bacon was at a minimal. In contrast, the shrimp, noodle and coconut milk soup (148 rubles, $5) was average at best, with the generous-sized shrimps unable to compensate for an overpoweringly salty and fishy taste.
Unfortunately, the mains also failed to fulfill the expectations that the image of the restaurant had done so well to convey, with none of the ingredients appearing to be particularly fresh or organic. The vegetables in the stir-fried rice (108 rubles, $3.50) tasted as if they came from a mixed-vegetable bag in the pre-frozen section of the supermarket, and the Yami sauce did little to stop the dish from quickly becoming bland and unappetizing. The homemade noodles with chicken for 138 rubles ($4.60) initially provided a welcome change with their spicy sweet and sour sauce, but halfway through the meal the overly generous amounts of sauce and oil and became overwhelming. The warm Belgian waffles in maple syrup (88 rubles, $3) were a comforting end to an average meal.
Despite the restaurant falling short of the pinnacle of perfection it posits itself as (cheap, fast, fresh, organic and Asian), the outrageously cheap bill that followed a large and filling meal makes YamiYami a more than reasonable option for anyone missing the cheap noodle bars that are so popular in metropolises around the world.
TITLE: Kaliningrad: The Real Window on Europe
AUTHOR: By Alec Luhn
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: KALININGRAD — Although St. Petersburg is traditionally known as Russia’s “window to Europe,” today’s Kaliningrad is more deserving of the moniker.
The city is the capital of Russia’s westernmost province of the same name, an exclave on the Baltic Sea that is separated from the rest of the country by Lithuania and Latvia. Locals take pride in the region’s German history — the region was historically part of Prussia — and its status as an “island,” separate from what they often call “greater Russia.” The area’s proximity to Western Europe means that residents are often more familiar with neighboring countries than with the rest of Russia.
“It’s easier for us to get to Poland, Lithuania and other EU countries than to travel to Moscow or St. Petersburg,” said Natalya Bocharova, a 22-year-old recent graduate. “It’s been popular for a long time now for families to go to Poland to shop for groceries and clothes.”
Not so long ago, Kaliningrad was the German city of Königsberg, which had been a center of power in Prussia since the Teutonic Knights founded a kingdom here in the 13th century. Today, younger residents often reference the old name by affectionately calling the city “Konig.”
At the end of World War II, the Potsdam Agreement split German East Prussia between Poland and the Soviet Union, giving the Soviets control of Königsberg. Those German and Lithuanian inhabitants who hadn’t already fled the Soviet advance were deported and replaced by a new population of Russian settlers. Renamed Kaliningrad in honor of Politburo member Mikhail Kalinin, the city became the headquarters of the Soviet Navy and was closed to foreigners until the last days of the U.S.S.R. More recently, the Russian government threatened to deploy tactical missiles in the Kaliningrad region to counter the planned U.S. missile defense shield, although President Dmitry Medvedev later said he had decided against it.
Kaliningrad’s geographic proximity to Western Europe is important not only from a cultural-historical standpoint, but also a business one. Several foreign companies have found it a convenient point of entry to the Russian market.
“The region is located among countries of the European Union, and for this reason it’s easier and more convenient for European investors to get to than to get to the main part of Russia,” said Oleg Skvortsov, managing director of the Foreign Investors Association in the Kaliningrad region.
Although unemployment in the Kaliningrad region is higher than in many other Russian regions, Skvortsov said the region’s location and its status as a special economic zone with tax incentives could spur growth. Kaliningrad is also expected to be one of the 2018 World Cup host cities, which would provide a boost for infrastructure development.
The region’s former top economics official Alexandra Smirnova cautioned, however, that the uncertainty over the economic zone’s future — the law governing it expires in 2016 — is hindering investment.
Historically, Kaliningrad is well known for goods including marzipan, sprats (small smoked fish preserved in oil) and cognac, notably the Old Königsberg brand. But the region’s trademark product is amber, as an estimated 90 percent of the world’s extractable amber is located here. Amber-hunting is a popular trade as well as pastime, while a mine in the town of Yantarny near the coast extracts the fossilized tree resin on a larger scale. For a few hundred rubles, visitors can stock up on amber souvenirs from stores or street vendors, including pieces containing fossilized mosquitoes a la “Jurassic Park.”
Kaliningrad hopes that tourism will eventually become a major money-maker. Although the temperate weather rules out Kaliningrad becoming a popular destination for its Baltic beaches, some envision it as a health tourism destination, the Russian equivalent to Baden-Baden. A planned gambling zone would add to the Baden-Baden analogy.
“The climate won’t attract tourists, but we have something that will in the therapeutic mud and mineral water,” said Vyacheslav Genne, a local architect and former head secretary of Kaliningrad’s coastal Svetlogorsk district.
The Kaliningrad region could increase the flow of tourists to 2 million per year (from an estimated 400,000 currently), but the inadequate quality of infrastructure would disappoint many visitors, Sergei Karnaukhov, then a top regional official, told The St. Petersburg Times in April.
Kaliningrad was named one of seven special economic zones for tourism in 2007, although Mayor Alexander Yaroshuk confirmed that this designation would be canceled. Vedomosti reported in August that the decision was linked to a lack of investor interest.
Local authorities are working to facilitate more outside investment, partly through a council chaired by the region’s governor that meets with potential investors, Skortsov said. The strategy of attracting investment has changed little with the arrival of Governor Nikolai Tsukanov, he added. Tsukanov was appointed in 2010 after thousands of protesters rallied for the ouster of Governor Georgy Boos and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose wife was born here.
What to see if you have two hours
Downtown Kaliningrad still features a smattering of structures dating to before the arrival of the Soviets in 1945. To begin your tour, pass through the King’s Gate, one of seven large gates left over from various defensive structures. The three reliefs at the top of the gate depict the three “city fathers”: Ottokar II of Bohemia, who founded the city in 1255, Frederick I, the first king of Prussia, and Albert, duke of Prussia.
Next, stroll along Kant Island, located in the Pregolya River, which runs through the city center. At the eastern end of the island stands the Königsberg Cathedral, which was built in the 14th century and is now the city’s most recognizable landmark. The cathedral also hosts organ concerts, often given by visiting musicians, so check the cathedral’s web site (sobor-kaliningrad.ru) to see what’s playing. Adjoining the cathedral, you’ll find the grave of Immanuel Kant, known as the father of modern philosophy, who was buried in the cathedral in 1804. Kant lived his entire life in Königsberg, then the capital of Prussia, and remains the city’s most famous son.
After you’ve paid your respects to the philosopher, cross the river and walk south to the ethnographic and artisan shopping center Rybnaya Derevnya, one of the most highly visible new developments in the city. If you still have time, you can hop on a river tram out to the port to see the city by water.
What to see if you have two days
On any longer trip, you would be remiss to skip the “pearl of Kaliningrad,” the Curonian Spit. Located less than an hour by car (two hours by bus) from the city, the spit stretches nearly 100 kilometers from the town of Zelenogradsk to the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda (the northern half of the spit belongs to Lithuania) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along the spit lie such sites as the “Dancing Forest” of strangely warped trees near the town of Rybachy, a mystery unsolved by scientists to this day, and the wildfowl paradise Swan Lake, separated from the Curonian Lagoon by a thin strip of land.
But the spit’s main attraction is its sand dunes. The tallest of these, located near the town of Morskoye not far from Swan Lake, is the Efa Dune, which a local described as “a mountain of sand.” A looking platform at the top of the Muller Dune reachable by wooden stairs offers an unparalleled view of the lagoon and the Baltic Sea.
South of the Curonian Spit, you can see how Kaliningrad’s famous amber is unearthed at the amber mine in the town of Yantarny, an hour’s drive from the capital. Visitors can also try their own hand at digging up some of the fossilized tree resin, but even if you strike it big, don’t quit your day job: Staff at the mine are rumored to bury pieces for tourists to dig up later. If you still feel the need to test your digging skills, come back to Yantarny in the summertime for the annual International Amber-Hunting Championship.
History buffs may want to see some of the forts in the city. Fort No. 5 houses a museum of weaponry and a memorial to soldiers who died when Soviet forces stormed the city during World War II. About 5,000 Soviet soldiers died taking this particularly adamantine fort. There are also 11 Teutonic castles scattered around the region, including Insterburg, a large ruined fortress located near the town of Chernyakhovsk about 100 kilometers east of the capital.
What to do with the kids
The World Ocean Museum (1 Naberezhnaya Pyotra Velikovo, +7 401-253-8915, 253-8804, world-ocean.ru) contains alluring options for any age group. Kids will enjoy marveling at the museum’s aquarium and climbing aboard both the Soviet research ship Vityaz and the military submarine B-413, which features a working periscope. Meanwhile, adults will be loathe to leave once the submarine’s guide, who speaks English and German, starts telling interesting facts and sea tales.
Nightlife
Places for going out after dark are sprinkled throughout the city. The discotheque Vagonka (12 Stanochnaya Ulitsa, +7 401-295-6677, vagonka.net) has been operating since Soviet times and enjoys a cult status among the locals. The venue, which prides itself as the westernmost club in Russia, hosts parties, DJ sets and concerts every weekend, sometimes featuring internationally known musicians.
Reporter Club (18 Ulitsa Ozerova, +7 401-257-1601, reporter-club.ru) sells itself on a retro press-club theme and artsy vibe, with events advertised in its own Reporter Revue newspaper. Every night features a themed entertainment program such as classic cinema, salsa dancing or a jazz jam. Finally, the Little Buddha Kaliningrad sushi bar and lounge (10 Ploshchad Pobedy,
+7 401-259-3395, littlebuddhakaliningrad.com) brings a far eastern vibe to Russia’s westernmost region.
If clubs aren’t your thing, the Kaliningrad Region Drama Theater (4 Prospekt Mira, +7 401-221-5446, dramteatr39.ru) hosts shows several times a week.
Where to eat
To get in the mood to explore Kaliningrad’s German history, try Zötler Restaurant (3 Leninsky Prospekt, +7 401-291-9181, zoetler.ru), which serves authentic Bavarian cuisine and liter mugs of its name-brand Zötler beer. Dinner for two (with beer) will likely cost between 1,500 and 2,000 rubles ($48-64). A number of other restaurants also brew their own beer, including Pivovar (137 Ulitsa Alexandra Nevskogo,
+7 401-258-5999, pivovar-kld.ru) and Khmel (10 Ploshchad Pobedy,
+7 401-259-3377).
For a quick and cheap bite, visit Zhelateriya Italyana (30 Ulitsa Teatralnaya, +7 401-278-6111) inside the Yevropa shopping center, which offers fairly authentic Italian fare, including the gelato ice cream and pizza prepared by Italian chefs. The average check comes to less than 500 rubles ($16).
Located inside Rybnaya Derevnya, the cafe-bar Verf (4 Oktyabrskaya Ulitsa, +7 401-259-2121) is great for a stop-off after sightseeing on Kant Island. If the views of the river don’t intrigue you, perhaps the films often showing on a projector will. The restaurant, however, attracts customers more with its laid-back atmosphere than with its food, since portions can be small.
Also inside the Rybnaya Derevnya is the upscale seafood restaurant Rybny Klub (4 Oktyabrskaya Ulitsa, +7 401-259-2059), a stomping ground for the rich and powerful. Dinner for two can easily run to 3,000 rubles ($96) or more.
Where to stay
The four-star Radisson Hotel Kaliningrad (10 Ploshchad Pobedy, + 7 401-259-3344, radisson.ru/hotel-kaliningrad) remains the only major international brand hotel in Kaliningrad. Attached to the Clover City Center mall on the city’s central square, about 40 minutes from Khrabrovo Airport and just a few hundred meters from the Severny railway station, the hotel has one of the best locations in the city. Rates range from 3,900 rubles ($130) for a standard room to 9,800 rubles ($320) for an executive suite and include breakfast.
Tucked away just south of the center is the Hotel Triumph Palace (3 Bolshevistsky Pereulok, +7 401-277-7733, triumph-palace.ru), a five-star establishment known for hosting celebrities and politicians. A double starts at 4,500 rubles per night.
If you’d rather trade the urban scene for the scenery of the Baltic coast, you’ll have to pick between a number of smaller lodging options ranging in quality from five-star hotel to unlisted guest house. Be aware, however, that room rates can double in the summertime. The resort town of Svetlogorsk has a good variety of hotels, including the five-star Grand Palace (2 Pereulok Beregovoi, +7 401-533-3232), where world leaders including Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder and Putin have stayed. Accommodation for two people starts at about 4,000 rubles per night in the off-season. Visit-kaliningrad.ru features comprehensive lists of lodging available in each city and town of the Kaliningrad region.
Conversation starters
One surefire method of striking up a conversation is bringing up Kaliningrad’s history, which is a source of local pride. Debates continue to this day over whether Kaliningrad should reinstate its Prussian name of Königsberg, and most residents will likely share their opinion. Another topic of debate is the location of the amber room that the Nazis stole from Tsarskoye Selo, as local legend has it that the room was hidden somewhere in Kaliningrad.
How to get there
Due to Kaliningrad’s unique geographic location, flying is definitely the easiest way to get to the city from elsewhere in Russia. Although a massive renovation of Khrabrovo Airport remains unfinished due to lack of investment, the airport continues to serve flights to and from cities around Eastern Europe. Planes take one hour forty minutes to fly the 820 kilometers from St. Petersburg, and tickets cost 3,650 rubles ($117) with Rossiya. A bus goes from the airport to the Kaliningrad bus depot in 50 minutes and leaves roughly every hour between 8 a.m. and 11:20 p.m.
A daily train also connects Kaliningrad with St. Petersburg’s Vitebsky Station, and tickets cost as little as 1,200 rubles ($40) one-way. Be advised, however, that the train runs through Belarus and Lithuania and takes about 27 hours.
Kaliningrad
Population: 431,500
Mayor: Alexander Yaroshuk
Main industries: Agriculture, fishing, construction, food processing, automobile manufacturing, amber mining
Founded in 1255, when crusaders built a fortress on the site of a Prussian settlement
Interesting fact: Kaliningrad (formerly known as Königsberg) has been a capital under four countries: the crusader State of the Teutonic Order, the Polish fiefdom of the Duchy of Prussia, the German province of East Prussia, and now the Kaliningrad region.
Helpful contacts: Oleg Skvortsov, managing director of the Foreign Investors Association in the Kaliningrad region (8 Ulitsa Oktyabrskaya; +7 401-230-7078; fiak.biz)
Sister cities: Minsk, Belarus; Hamburg, Germany; Forli, Italy; Kaunas, Lithuania; Groningen, Netherlands; Gdansk, Poland; Krasnoyarsk, Russia; Kalmar, Sweden; Norfolk, New Jersey, U.S.
Major Businesses
• Avtotor (4 Magnitogorskaya Ulitsa, +7 401-259-0002, avtotor.ru),
a company that assembles automobiles locally from parts produced abroad, then ships them to other parts of Russia. Avtotor assembles BMW, GM and KIA Motors models to be sold in Russia.
• Produkty Pitaniya (244A Ulitsa Dzerzhinskogo, +7 401-260-0555, ppitania.ru), a frozen food producer of such brands as Zolotoi Petushok and Domashnyaya Skazka with distribution across Russia.
• Sodruzhestvo (65 Ulitsa Gagarina in the city of Svetly,
+7 401-230-5500, sodrugestvo.ru), an agro-industrial company producing vegetable oil. The company crushes over a million tons of soybeans for its products each year.
Alexander Yaroshuk,
Mayor
Q: Which of Kaliningrad’s business sectors are the most attractive for investors?
A: Tourism, the service sector, logistics, food production, aquaculture and the processing of agricultural products, enterprises developing modern communications infrastructure as well as residential real estate and business real estate. Currently, process-manufacturing enterprises make up 78 percent of Kaliningrad’s industrial production. Our firms are moving from primary “screwdriver” assembly to a localization of production based on the most advanced technologies and equipment.
Q: Why is Kaliningrad a good place for business?
A: Not only because of the special economic zone, but also thanks to the close cooperation with our neighbors Lithuania and Poland, and now with the EU. Local business has managed to adopt a lot from the Western entrepreneurial culture over the course of two decades of contact with neighboring countries, as well as with other EU nations.
One indication that Kaliningrad entrepreneurs compare well with the rest of Russia is the successful growth of Kaliningrad retail chains that have become national chains, such as Vester and the Viktoria group of companies. Every third tin of canned fish and 70 percent of televisions produced in our country are from Kaliningrad.
Q: The Economic Development Ministry has proposed to cancel the tourist special economic zone in Kaliningrad. Why?
A: The tourist special economic zone is being canceled on the Curonian Spit. This is 40 kilometers from the city of Kaliningrad. I’m confident that our city has a big future in tourism and that it will soon become a unique jumping-off point, a base of operations, allowing tourists from other parts of Russia to become acquainted with our region and to visit neighboring European countries.
Q: What would you like to see Kaliningrad achieve in business and culture?
A: It’s essential to use our human resources to the maximum to become a convenient staging ground for cooperation between Russia and the countries of Europe in business, the innovation economy, education and culture. To achieve this goal, we need to conduct a drastic modernization of the existing transportation and utilities infrastructure and to raise our manufacturing and service sectors to a new level of quality.
Q: Do Kaliningrad residents consider themselves distinct from the rest of the Russian population?
A: I like the phrase about how the Kaliningrad region is an ordinary Russian region that wound up in extraordinary circumstances. I won’t remind your readers of the standard set of problems that arise from our detachment from the rest of the country, such as visas and excessive transportation delays. The proximity of borders means that Kaliningraders’ demands for quality of life and employment are higher than in other regional capitals in Russia.
TITLE: Like Mother, Like Father: Dads Seek Legal Security
AUTHOR: By Yelena Gorelova
PUBLISHER: Vedomosti
TEXT: MOSCOW — Father of three Alexei Ostayev is trying to prove that he was fired from his job in circumstances that should be protected under the country’s labor laws.
Ostayev is the only breadwinner for his stay-at-home wife and their children. The children are young — 2, 7 and 12 — and one of them is disabled. Ostayev maintains that Logos-Media, a publishing company, acted wrongly in axing him during a round of layoffs.
He has brought a complaint to the Constitutional Court, which heard arguments in his case just this month, Russian media reported. The basis of his legal challenge: He believes that fathers, especially those with more than one child and with small children, should receive the same protection from being fired that mothers do.
In particular, Ostayev wants the section of the Labor Code that spells out the categories of employees who cannot be fired at the employer’s initiative to be made illegal.
His case is part of a bigger movement. Fathers of small children no longer want to put up with gender discrimination at work, and step-by-step they are winning the parental rights already won by mothers. They have claimed a victory: Two years ago, they won the right to take parental leave, and that has inspired them to fight further.
In 2009 Ostayev became the lead artist for publishing group 777, part of Logos-Media. Almost immediately after the family had its third child, he received notice that he was being fired as part of a company-wide staff reduction.
“They offered me a choice of five other jobs, from janitor to art director of the online department, and I agreed to two of them,” Ostayev recounted. Two days later, however, he was told that the company was eliminating those positions as well.
He then submitted a request for parental leave.
After his dismissal, Ostayev made a discovery about his company’s payroll. “I saw in job classifieds on the Internet that the company was searching for a new candidate for my job — the job hadn’t been eliminated,” he said. “I called work, and they gave me an offer to interrupt my leave, which I did. But on the same day, I was given my notice.”
That was when Ostayev attempted to contest his firing, bringing a lawsuit against Logos-Media in the Savyolovsky District Court, which took the side of his employer.
Current labor laws in Russia only protect single fathers from being fired. If the father is the sole breadwinner for a family with more than one child and with young children, his right to keep his job isn’t protected in any way, Ostayev said.
He brought up counter-examples from European law such as Finland, where the right of a parent in a multi-child family to keep his or her job belongs to the parent who draws the bigger salary.
Dmitry Litvinov, head of the legal department for Bauer Media in Russia, the company that founded Logos-Media, said the Savyolovsky District Court “upheld that Ostayev was let go in accordance with the law, without a violation of any standards.”
“When my wife gave birth [to our third child], they invited me to take leave for one week at my expense, since they didn’t give me the regular leave that I was entitled to,” Ostayev said.
Though fathers have the right to take parental leave under the law, actually receiving that leave from an employer is difficult because of the mentality among Russian bosses, said Igor Serebryany, coordinator for community action at the Father’s Committee. “When a man asks for paternity leave, he is looked at like he’s a Martian.”
Under the law, men and women’s rights are equal and there is no gender discrimination, but such situations suggest otherwise, Serebryany said.
Igor Fedotov, senior attorney at the National Legal Service, said Ostayev puts a difficult choice before the Constitutional Court with his complaint. “On one hand, it is obvious that there is a defect in the Labor Code’s support of gender discrimination against men who have more than one child,” he said. “On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine the consequences of possible legal revenge by the stronger sex in the event that this norm, prohibited by Article 19 of the Constitution, comes to be.”
For the Constitutional Court, however, the more important argument could be the danger of being guilty of gender prejudice — again.
“The European Court of Human Rights characterized as improper the position of the Constitutional Court in the case of Konstantin Markin, who brought a suit in the face of a refusal of military courts to allow him a three-year parental leave,” Fedotov said. “The ECHR determined this was discrimination on the basis of gender,” he said.
According to a hearing document issued by the ECHR, Markin was raising three children by himself post-divorce. His request for leave was turned down because three-year leave is given only to females in the military, the ECHR document said.
Alongside his case in the Constitutional Court, Ostayev is seeking protection from discrimination in the ECHR and has filed a complaint there. Ostayev has a realistic chance of success, Fedotov said: Even if the Constitutional Court hasn’t learned its lesson, there is the precedent of Markin’s case.
TITLE: Vote, Spoil, Rally — the Opposition’s Duma Choices
AUTHOR: By Alexandra Odynova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — It’s a hard time for opposition voters in Russia.
With the State Duma elections just two weeks away, it would seem that voters unhappy with United Russia will soon have the chance to register their discontent.
But with victory by the ruling party considered a foregone conclusion and electoral rules manipulated to prevent independent groups from even getting on the ballot, expressing dissatisfaction at the polls is a tricky task.
Dissenters are increasingly forced to seek loopholes to make their voices heard and four strategies have been gaining steam: Voting for United Russia’s opponents, spoiling the ballot, taking the ballot home or boycotting the elections all together.
With the elections looming, The St. Petersburg Times takes stock of the alternatives.
Anyone but United Russia
There are six recognized political parties besides United Russia: The Communist Party, The Liberal Democratic Party, A Just Russia, Right Cause, Patriots of Russia and Yabloko. No write-ins are allowed.
Voting for any one of them seems the most logical choice, however, there is little chance that any will gain significant traction because of the fatigue voters feel for groups that have been around forever and accomplished little.
The two prominent exceptions, A Just Russia and Right Cause, have ties to the Kremlin and are struggling to prove their independence.
Moreover, only three parties — United Russia, the Liberal Democrats and the Communists — have much chance of crossing the 7 percent threshold for Duma entry, adding to voters’ fears of casting a wasted vote.
This is fed by the popular misconception that votes cast for the bottom-rung parties are distributed among those that made the cut. In fact, such votes are simply not counted in the distribution of the actual Duma seats.
Despite the criticisms, this approach appears to be the runaway favorite, to a large extent thanks to active promotion by famous whistleblower Alexei Navalny, whom some bloggers already call a presidential candidate for the 2016 race.
Whatever the shortcomings of the opposition parties, every seat they get in the Duma weakens United Russia’s grip on power, Navalny has repeatedly said in the months leading up to the December vote.
Navalny is a lawyer by day, but he made a name for himself exposing corrupt authorities and state-linked corporations. He has switched his focus to the ruling party this year, coming up with the popular slogan “the party of crooks and thieves” in February.
Casting a vote also has the added benefit of ensuring that an unused ballot cannot be employed in election rigging, supporters of the “Navalny Strategy” say.
But this approach has left the host of opposition-minded parties and movements that were barred from the elections on various pretexts angry as they feel it effectively ignores their struggle.
Cross Them All Out
To vote for any legal party means to “accept the vicious [electoral] system,” argues Boris Nemtsov, a co-leader of one unregistered group — the Party of People’s Freedom, or Parnas.
Parnas was denied registration with the Justice Ministry earlier this year in what its leaders say was a decision sanctioned by the Kremlin. Unregistered parties cannot run for the Duma.
In the past, supporters of such groups could vent their frustration by picking “none of the above” on the ballot, but that option was abolished in the mid-2000s, when its popularity began to skyrocket.
Nemtsov now proposes to revive it by force through spoiling ballots.
“It’s the only variant that leads to a cancellation of the elections,” Nemtsov told The St. Petersburg Times in a telephone interview last week.
“It’s not a boycott, it’s civic-mindedness,” he said.
The elections are declared invalid if more than 40 percent of the ballots cast are spoiled, although that is a highly unlikely prospect.
The group created by Nemtsov and fellow opposition-minded liberals to promote their strategy has the moniker Nakh-Nakh — a play on a strong Russian expletive for refusal. The Cyrillic “Kh” corresponds to the Latin “X” — a symbol they are urging voters to mark on their ballots.
Anyone taking this approach needs to be very careful. Experts say that if a mark touches any of the small boxes next to a party’s title, the vote may be counted in that party’s favor. In the past, this happened most often when the box belonged to United Russia.
Staying Home
The barriers that prevent so many groups from running render the whole elections unconstitutional, said Sergei Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front movement.
“We don’t recognize those elections! Boycott is the only option left!” the angry Udaltsov told The St. Petersburg Times by telephone. The Justice Ministry threw out six registration requests by his group, each time on questionable technicalities.
In October, Udaltsov requested the Central Elections Commission strike his name from the list of voters, he said.
But the commission refused, saying this cannot be done on request and that he needs a convincing reason, such as “death, incapacity, loss of citizenship, imprisonment or army service.”
Boycotting the elections cannot possibly make them void because the minimum turnout threshold was canceled in 2006.
Still, Left Front plans to take to the streets instead of to the polls on Dec. 4, hoping that mass rallies will provide vivid proof of public discontent, said the 34-year-old Udaltsov.
Nevertheless, they will pay a visit to election authorities first to collect their absentee ballots, Udaltsov said. Such ballots can be cast at any polling station, and opposition activists allege they are widely used to rig the vote.
The strategy dates back to the Soviet Union, when members of the liberal-minded intelligentsia chose not to participate in the one-party elections that uniformly ended with 99.9 percent of the votes cast for the Communist Party, as was officially reported.
But boycotters will face pro-Kremlin competition in the streets. The loyalist youth movement Nashi plans to bring up to 30,000 supporters to Moscow, who will camp out in tents in city squares, ensuring that the opposition cannot rally there. They also plan to take absentee ballots, but unlike Udaltsov’s supporters, they will use them.
Take It Home With You
Most absentee ballots will likely be used by United Russia’s supporters, State Duma Deputy Gennady Gudkov, a member of the oppositional A Just Russia, said Friday.
Employees at state-funded institutions around the country are being pressured into getting absentee ballots and voting at work under the supervision of their bosses, said Gudkov, echoing reports of United Russia abusing its “administrative resources” ahead of the elections.
Most allegations are never proved in the courts — which are mostly loyal to the Kremlin. More importantly, the significance of absentee ballots is not to be overstated: only 2.6 million of them are printed — enough for about 4 percent of the voters.
Those who vote locally, meanwhile, can just take their ballot home, denying support to all candidates, but ensuring it is not used in vote rigging.
A popular post circulating in the blogosphere claims that most unclaimed ballots are used to stuff ballot boxes in the last hour of voting, when very few voters show up. To thwart that, the public is urged to vote right before the polls close to help expose the fraud.
Headcount
Vote rigging is much less widespread than many believe, never accounting for more than 10 percent of the vote, a spin doctor running a United Russia campaign in one of the regions told The St. Petersburg Times.
In many regions, no outright ballot stuffing takes place at all because the ruling party needs a very strong grip on the local administration to make it work, said the political consultant, who only agreed to speak about trade secrets on condition of anonymity.
What really matters is the turnout, he said by telephone. A small turnout is beneficial for United Russia because those who stay at home are usually the party’s opponents who are too apathetic or disillusioned to come, he said.
“The higher the turnout, the fewer the opportunities for falsifications and the lower their effectiveness,” said Arkady Lyubarev, an expert with Golos, the country’s sole independent elections watchdog.
Left Front’s Udaltsov remained skeptical, arguing that the authorities will manage “to forge the results no matter what the turnout is.”
In a complex twist, turnout is defined based on the number of collected ballots, while the 450 Duma seats are distributed based on the actual valid ballots cast for the parties that cross the 7 percent threshold. That means that taking the ballot home would increase the turnout, but not affect how many seats the parties that make it — including United Russia — would get.
Those who spoil ballots or ignore the vote “redelegate their vote to others,” Lyubarev wrote in his instructions for voters released by the Golos watchdog group.
“For the ruling party, it is more beneficial if the voter spoils his ballot than votes for its opponents,” prominent elections expert Alexander Kynev wrote on Gazeta.ru.
The majority, meanwhile, do not care. Fifty-eight percent of respondents in a November poll by Levada said they did not expect the Duma vote to have any positive impact on their lives.
TITLE: As Crowds Swell in Cairo, Military Is in Crisis Talks
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: CAIRO — A swelling crowd of tens of thousands filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square Tuesday, answering the call for a million people to turn out and intensify pressure on Egypt’s military leaders to hand over power to a civilian government. The ruling military council held crisis talks with political parties across the spectrum to try to defuse growing cries for a “second revolution.”
The military head of state, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, was expected to address the nation as protests in Cairo and other major cities carried on for a fourth day. Security forces stayed out of Tahrir itself to lower the temperature. But there were clashes on side streets leading to the square — the epicenter of the uprising that ousted longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in February.
The new wave of protests and violence around the country that began on Saturday has left 29 dead and has thrown Egypt’s politics into chaos less than a week before landmark parliamentary elections were to begin.
Staggered parliamentary elections, the first since Mubarak’s ouster, are to begin on Monday and conclude in March.
“If the elections don’t happen, there could be a clash between the army and the people. That’s what we’re afraid of,” said protester Mustafa Abdel-Hamid. He said he wanted a clear timetable for the transfer of power.
“The army is making the same mistake as Mubarak. They hear the demands but respond when it’s too late,” said Abdel-Hamid, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who came to Tahrir even though his movement has not endorsed the protests over the past four days.
The Brotherhood and its Islamist allies are expected to dominate the next parliament, while the liberal groups behind Mubarak’s ouster appear poised to lag behind, lacking unity and a cohesive vision. The Brotherhood is staying out of the latest protests, arguing that it did not want the nation to be dragged into a “bloody confrontation.” But secular activists say the Muslim fundamentalist group is more keen on grabbing power than ensuring the future of the nation.
Tens of thousands of people were in Tahrir by nightfall and the crowd was growing steadily — the numbers typically peak at night after everyone gets off work. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, with jubilation over the large turnout mixed with the seething anger directed at the military.
The crowds carried an open wooden coffin with a body of a slain protester wrapped in white and held a funeral in the middle of the square.
A stuffed military uniform was hung from a central light pole with a cardboard sign on its neck saying “Execute the field marshal,” a reference to Tantawi, Mubarak’s defense minister of 20 years. People cheered when the effigy was hung and state television showed some hitting it with sticks.
Men in the square opened a corridor in the middle of the crowds and formed a human chain to keep it open, giving easy access to motorcycles and ambulances ferrying the wounded to several field hospitals in the square.
The latest round of unrest began Saturday when security forces violently evicted a few hundred protesters who camped out in Tahrir. The perceived use of excessive force angered activists, who began to flock to the square. A joint army and police attempt to clear the square on Sunday evening failed, leaving protesters more determined to dig in there.
The clashes played out amid charges that the military was trying to cling on to power after an elected parliament is seated and a new president elected. The military recently proposed that a “guardianship” role for itself be enshrined in the next constitution and that it would enjoy immunity from any civilian oversight.
Further confusing the political situation, the military-backed civilian government on Monday submitted a mass resignation in response to the turmoil.
In a sign it was struggling over how to respond to the fast-changing events, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces — the military body that rules the country — still had not responded to the resignation offer by Tuesday. The council’s generals met Tuesday with leaders of all the various political factions, apparently trying to find a replacement government.
TITLE: Pakistani Taliban Declare End to Attacks on Govt
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban have declared a cease-fire to encourage nascent peace talks with the government, a senior commander said, a move that appears to show the deadly group’s willingness to strike a deal.
It was unclear Tuesday whether all the militants claiming to be under the Taliban banner would obey the directive, which the commander said had been in effect for a month. The Pakistani Taliban are believed to be divided into many factions.
The Pakistani Taliban, allied with al-Qaida and based in the northwest close to the Afghan border, have been behind much of the violence tearing apart Pakistan over the last 4 years. At least 35,000 people have been killed in guerrilla attacks and army offensives.
The Taliban want to oust the U.S.-backed government and install a hardline Islamist regime. They also have international ambitions and trained the Pakistani-American who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square in 2010.
The United States, which has pounded the Taliban with missiles fired by drones, wants Pakistan to keep the pressure on insurgents and would likely be concerned about any effort to strike a deal. Many of America’s fiercest foes in Afghanistan — as well as al-Qaida operatives from around the world — live alongside the militants in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan.
The commander said the cease-fire was valid throughout the country.
“We are not attacking the Pakistan army and government installations because of the peace process,” he said Monday. The commander is close to Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of the Pakistani Taliban. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t the official spokesman of the insurgent network.
His statement adds credence to announcements by anonymous Taliban and intelligence officials that government intermediaries recently met with Taliban commanders to talk about a possible peace deal. The government has not officially commented, and the army denied Tuesday it was involved in any talks.
Much remains unclear about the nature of the reported talks and their potential. Both the army and the militants have previously engaged in misinformation. Some reports have said any deal would cover only one region in the northwest, South Waziristan, but could be extended.
Pakistan has cut deals with militant factions in the past, several of which quickly broke down after giving the insurgents time to regroup.
Army offensives against the Taliban are unpopular among many Pakistanis, many of whom view the militants as misguided Muslim brothers rather than terrorists. Right-wing and Islamist parties that support their aims have long called for a peace deal.
This view appeared to get traction in September when government leaders, opposition politicians and other national figures met in Islamabad and produced a vague resolution in support of peace moves with militants. Despite this, the government’s official line is that they will talk only with militants who lay down their arms.
TITLE: S. Korea-U.S. Trade Deal Leads to Tears and Scuffles
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s ruling party forced a long-stalled free trade deal with the United States through parliament Tuesday, enraging opposition lawmakers who blasted their political rivals with tear gas.
South Korean lawmakers voted 151 to 7 in favor of ratifying the trade agreement in a surprise legislative session called by the ruling Grand National Party, officials said.
Shouts and screams filled the National Assembly as ruling party lawmakers forced their way onto the parliamentary floor. Amid the scuffling, one opposition lawmaker doused rivals with tear gas.
Security guards hustled him out of the chamber as he shouted and tried to resist. Outside the National Assembly building, opponents of the deal scuffled with police mobilized to maintain order.
The pact is America’s biggest free-trade agreement since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. Two-way trade between the United States and South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, totaled about $90 billion last year, according to the South Korean government.
After the deal was approved less than an hour after the tussle began, dozens of opposition lawmakers and aides — who fought hard to prevent passage of an agreement they say favors U.S. over South Korean workers — sat slumped around the chamber podium. One legislator leaned her head against the shoulder of another as they both stared at the floor in silence.
Such chaotic scenes are not uncommon in South Korea’s parliament, where rival parties have a history of resorting to physical confrontation over highly charged issues. In 2008, opposition lawmakers used a sledgehammer to try and force their way into a committee room to stop the ruling party from introducing a debate on the U.S. trade deal.
President Lee Myung-bak’s ruling party commands a majority in South Korea’s single-chamber, 295-seat parliament but hadn’t forced the deal through earlier, apparently out of worry over a public backlash ahead of next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
The presidential Blue House welcomed the deal’s passage, pledging in a statement to use it as a chance to boost the economy and create jobs. The main opposition Democratic Party said it would boycott all other parliamentary sessions in protest and demanded that top ruling party leaders resign.
Lawmakers have been wrangling over ratification of the free trade deal since the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama approved the deal last month after years of debate.
In South Korea, a key sticking point was a provision opponents say would let investors take disputes falling under the agreement’s jurisdiction to a U.S.-influenced international arbitration panel. The opposition calls for its removal.
TITLE: Romania Votes To Kill Strays
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian lawmakers voted Tuesday to make it legal to euthanize the thousands of stray dogs that roam the country’s streets, angering animal rights activists who have lobbied for months to stop the measure.
Bucharest alone is home to an estimated 50,000 stray dogs, according to local media, and they are a part of city life, crossing the street, snoozing on sidewalks and even hopping on buses. But backers of the law say local governments must have the option to euthanize because the dogs are a public health hazard.
Though most are not aggressive, a Romanian woman died this year after she was mauled by a pack of dogs. In 2006, a Japanese tourist was killed by a stray.
Parliament voted by 168-111 to pass the law, which is expected to be signed by President Traian Basescu. The law will allow officials to round up homeless dogs from the street, hold them in shelters for 30 days and then have them killed.
Animal rights groups gathered in Parliament Tuesday, holding banners calling on lawmakers not to pass the legislation. They are calling for increased funding for sterilization.
Corruption fighters claim the measure is a cynical ploy to enrich local authorities because substantial funding will be allocated for the task.
“It is a brutal law which will not resolve the problem of street dogs, but will line the pockets” of mayors from the ruling Democratic Liberal Party, animal rights activist Marcela Pisla told The Associated Press.