SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #1696 (7), Wednesday, February 22, 2012
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TITLE: Lavrov Rips 'One-Sided' Syria Talks
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that the Friends of Syria conference held over the weekend in Tunisia did not appear to make any progress toward starting dialogue in the Syrian conflict, Interfax reported.

Russia did not send a representative to the meeting, which it criticized for not inviting the Syrian regime to participate.

The conference, attended by a range of Western and Arab governments, was designed to formulate steps to help resolve the violent political crisis in Syria.

Lavrov said it was unclear what results the conference brought.

"The meeting that took place in Tunis was clearly one-sided. There were diverse voices that were heard there, and it's still unclear what status the document that was distributed has," Lavrov said Monday at a news conference with the foreign minister of Myanmar, Interfax reported.

On Saturday, an unnamed Kremlin source told RIA-Novosti that a proposal that came out of the conference for Syrian President Bashar Assad to be given political asylum in Russia was not likely to happen.

TITLE: Assassination Attempt on Putin Foiled
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Assassins planning to kill Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after the presidential election have been apprehended by special forces in Odessa, state-owned Channel One reported Monday.

Explosions during the manufacturing of bombs set to be used in the attempt tipped authorities off, and the suspects were arrested in Odessa after their apartment burst into flames following the accidental explosion Jan. 4.

Suspect Ruslan Madayev died in the explosion, while a second suspect, Ilya Pyanzin, was taken into custody. A third member of the group, Adam Osmayev, was later apprehended.

Pyanzin said he and Madayev arrived in Ukraine from the United Arab Emirates under explicit orders from representatives of Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov to prepare for "sabotage on economic facilities" in Moscow and the assassination attempt.

During an interrogation, Osmayev revealed the plot to use explosives to attack the government motorcade just after the March 4 election.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the group had been planning an attack on the prime minister.

Plans and reconnaissance materials for the attack were found on Osmayev's laptop, including multiple videos showing how bodyguards and officials were distributed among government motorcades when driving around the city.

Hoping to bargain for leniency, Osmayev showed investigators the locations of some explosives that had already been taken to Moscow and were hidden near Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

The investigation by special forces in Ukraine and Russia is ongoing.

A similar attempt to assassinate Putin was also reported during the last presidential election.


TITLE: FSB Members Ordered to Unload Foreign Property
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov has ordered that FSB employees must free themselves of any property they own outside Russia by Dec. 1.
The decree, published Friday on the website of state-run newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta, does not apply to property used for security operations.

Any property inherited by an FSB officer must be taken off their hands within a year, the decree said.

The document makes no note of whether foreign property can be owned by the spouses or children of FSB staff.


TITLE: Opposition Activists Fire Gas Pistols in Tussle
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: A member of the banned Other Russia political party fired a non-lethal shot at a former member of that party in a fracas at an organizational meeting in St. Petersburg, Interfax reported.
The fight between Other Russia member Andrei Pesotsky and former member Igor Chepkasovy was a continuation of a feud the pair had been having online.

During the encounter, which took place at a discussion of a planned For Fair Elections march, Pesotsky fired at his adversary from a gas pistol, a non-lethal weapon that can be used to fire flares or as a movie prop.

Upon hearing the shot, a third activist, nationalist Nikolai Bondarik, approached and fired a blank into the air from his own starter pistol.

No one was injured in the incident.

Meetings held in recent months by opposition leaders to organize public rallies have been marked by frequent strife, but this appeared to be the first time shots had been fired at such an event.

TITLE: Latest Poll Has Putin Gaining 66% of Votes
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gained the support of 66 percent of those polled by the independent Levada Center in the latest pre-election survey, Interfax reported Friday.
If the prime minister receives that level of support in the March 4 vote, he would achieve the presidency handily in the first round of voting, thereby thwarting the opposition goal of pushing the vote into a runoff.

Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov was second behind Putin with 15 percent in the Levada poll, conducted Feb. 17 to 20.

Following Zyuganov in third place was Liberal Democratic Party head Vladimir Zhirinovsky with 8 percent. Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov was fourth with 6 percent and A Just Russia candidate Sergei Mironov was last in the poll at 5 percent.


TITLE: Thousands Rally to Show Their Support for Putin
AUTHOR: By Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Thousands in St. Petersburg came to show their support for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in his bid to return to the presidency Saturday. The rally was held as part of a national campaign of pro-Putin rallies the same day. 
The rallies, or “meetings” — dubbed derisively as “Putings” — held in most major Russian cities, with the notable exclusion of Moscow, were seen as a move to counter large-scale anti-Putin rallies that have been held across Russia since violations and falsifications during the Dec. 4 State Duma elections were revealed.
Called “We Don’t Need Great Turmoil, We Need a Great Russia,” the St. Petersburg rally drew between 10,000 and 15,000, although an on-stage presenter announced the number to be 60,000. The police were quick to confirm the organizers’ number, despite having estimated the larger Dec. 4 anti-Putin march at just 5,000.
The pro-Putin rallies were officially unrelated to the authorities, Putin’s election campaign or his United Russia party, whose popularity hit a new low when the Dec. 4 vote rigging was made public.
Saturday’s Russia-wide rallies were officially organized by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, the formal heir to the Soviet trade unions, and criticized by the independent workers’ movement as a state-run imitation of real trade unions. The federation announced its support for Putin at its congress in late January.
In an apparent attempt to demonstrate its non-involvement and adhere to the same policy as with protest rallies, City Hall did not authorize the previously announced rally location on Palace Square, so organizers moved it to the area in front of Oktyabrsky Concert Hall on Ligovsky Prospekt. 
The speakers — who included choreographer Boris Eifman and St. Petersburg’s chief mufti Dzhafar Ponchayev — praised Putin’s “achievements” and “stability,” denounced the Orange Revolution — the protest campaign that led to the annulment of Ukraine’s rigged presidential election results in 2005 — and criticized protest rallies as being inspired by “our foes overseas,” i.e. the U.S.
Posters included “Yes to changes! No to revolution!” “We support Putin and a strong Russia,” “We won’t let Russia be broken into pieces,” “Yes to cooperation! No to interference!” and “I am not ashamed of Russia.”
In the rally’s resolution, read out by the museum director of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Nikolai Burov, organizers called for evolution, rather than revolution or social turmoil and condemned what they described as “attempts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the will of the citizens” and “calls for destabilization and illegal actions” and urged residents to go to polling stations on March 4.
There was considerable evidence, however, of the authorities’ involvement. Many participants arrived at the rally by bus, more than 40 of which were parked on both sides of the street along Ulitsa Zhukovskogo, near the rally site. 
Some buses had signs such as “Pushkin District” and “Kronshtadt” (small towns located 24 and 36 kilometers from St. Petersburg, respectively, that are now officially part of the city) displayed on their windshields. An offer for Kronshtadt residents to take a free bus to the rally’s site was published on City Hall’s web site.
Many demonstrators were from the public sector, apparently sent by their state budget-funded organizations. Dozens of Central Asian guest workers held signs reading “We support Putin” and “Putin, we’re together,” while a large group near the stage represented the St. Petersburg Azeri diaspora, holding banners reading “Azeris for Putin.”
Local media reported a number of cases in which city enterprises and state budget-funded organizations ordered their employees to take part. Speaking on condition of anonymity, some participants admitted they were promised an extra day off work and a financial bonus as compensation. Another reportedly said he came out of fear of losing a regular bonus.
Reports said that employers later either denied the claims or asked journalists to send official written enquiries.
Rosbalt news agency reported that a group of 10 patients from a mental institution in Petrodvorets had been brought to the rally by one of the clinic’s female attendants. According to the agency, one of them fainted and was taken away in an ambulance.
Interviews with a number of participants showed that posters and Russian tricolor armbands had been handed out to them by organizers upon arrival at the site. In a YouTube video, a man holding a poster reading “GRU [military intelligence] veterans support Putin” admitted he had nothing to do with the agency.
Reports said rent-a-crowd groups were also used.
Tea and pies were sold in tents for nominal prices, while buckwheat porridge was served for free.
A number of opponents were present in the crowd. One man held a sign protesting against lifetime presidents.
Artist Yelena Osipova said her large painting criticizing Putin was seized by the police.  “It showed Hitler hovering over the crowd, and read, ‘He promised a lot, too,’” she said. “The police said they took it away because swastikas are forbidden, but how can Hitler be painted without a swastika?”
The rally finished 50 minutes after its start, but many participants left the site early, heading toward their buses or the metro.

TITLE: FSB Investigates St. Petersburg’s Ex-Chief of Police
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The Federal Security Service (FSB) has been investigating the activities of St. Petersburg’s former police chief, Mikhail Sukhodolsky, who was recently dismissed from his position.
Sukhodolsky is suspected of violations and financial manipulation in the state security company Okhrana, where he previously held a management position, Fontanka.ru news web site reported, citing the daily paper Izvestiya.
The FSB — the successor to the Soviet KGB — received an order to investigate Sukhodolsky and his son Grigory at the end of last year, according to the report. Phone taps and bugs were reportedly deployed.
The FSB is interested in Sukhodolsky’s activities from 2002 onwards, when he headed the Main Internal Affairs Directorate.
Sukhodolsky was fired from his position as St. Petersburg police chief on Feb. 10. The dismissal followed the death of a teenager in local police custody in January, though there is speculation that infighting among police chiefs was behind the sacking. On the day of the firing, the local police headquarters were temporarily blocked off by riot police.
No official reason was given by President Dmitry Medvedev for Sukhodolsky’s dismissal.

TITLE: Lada Cars Lose First Ranking
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Russia’s most popular car brand Lada lost its traditional lead in sales in St. Petersburg last year. Nissan instead became the most bought car, Delovoi Peterburg daily reported, citing Avtostat agency.
The difference in sales between the two brands was not large: In 2011, 10,252 Nissans were registered in the city, while the number of Ladas was 9,584.
In Moscow, Lada lost its first-place position several years ago. In Russia as a whole, however, Lada still remains the most sold car, while Nissan is overall ranked sixth.
The second most popular make of car in Russia, Chevrolet, came in eighth in St. Petersburg sales. Hyundai, which placed third in Russia for 2011, came in sixth in the city.
According to a similar rating compiled by Auto Dealer SPb agency, Lada still held first place in St. Petersburg in 2011. The discrepancy in the statistics was a result of Avtostat counting the registration of new cars in the city, while Auto Dealer SPb calculated the sales in automobile salesrooms, where new cars are also purchased by people from other regions.
The Ford Focus remained the most popular car model in St. Petersburg. The Hyundai Solaris, the leading model in the country, took second place in St. Petersburg, followed by the Renault Logan, Volkswagen Polo Sedan and Skoda Octavia, DP reported.

TITLE: Zaitsev Celebrates 50 Years in Fashion
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova 
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The legendary designer and patriarch of Russian fashion Vyacheslav Zaitsev is celebrating half a century in the industry with an exhibition at Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art. 
The show, which opened to the public on Feb. 15 and will run through April 15, is titled “Fifty Years in Fashion.” The retrospective exhibition, organized with support from Avrora Fashion Week, offers a generous scope of the fashion guru’s art — from fashion collections to theater costumes to painting.
From video recordings showing non-stop reports from fashion shows dating back to different years, to black and white documentary photographs, paintings and costumes, all accompanied by detailed commentary notes written by Zaitsev, the 50 pieces on display correspond to his 50 years in fashion.
“Despite my age, I have an enormous appetite for what I do,” Zaitsev, who turns 74 in March, told reporters before the opening of the exhibition on Thursday. “Time is a fragile and ever-changing substance, and fashion needs to feel the pulse of time. It is a huge challenge having to respond to the demands of time — it keeps you in great shape.”
“There is a lot at your service when you create new collections — contemporary technology, new fabrics that are appearing as we speak,” the designer added. “Curious souls indulge in it. Searching through ideas and shaping up the right ones is huge fun and immensely rewarding.”
Zaitsev comes from the town of Ivanovo in central Russia, renowned for its weaving, textile and sewing traditions and nicknamed “the city of brides” — a reference to the vast numbers of women employed at the local factories. In such a context, Moscow’s Textile Institute, from which the designer graduated in 1962, was an obvious choice for the Ivanovo native. It did not take long for the aspiring designer to create his first collection; the commission came from farm workers in the small town of Babushkin in the Moscow region. The clients, however, soon became increasingly sophisticated, and included the country’s most celebrated artists, such as ballerina Galina Ulanova and film star Lyubov Orlova — and, of course, the wives of the Soviet leadership.
“I have to say that film stars — the ones you would expect to be picky and choosy and impatient — were almost never like that,” Zaitsev remembers. “On the contrary, they were genial and fun and very warm. The first ladies, the wives of the political heavyweights, however, often oozed so much arrogance that one would freeze sitting next to them.”
Zaitsev, who created the first fashion house in the Soviet Union, won international recognition for his striking, ultra-feminine designs with a revolutionary flair. Sharp-witted French journalists dubbed him the Red Dior, and Jacques Chirac granted the designer the title of  “honorary citizen of Paris,” the world’s fashion capital.
Zaitsev’s exuberant personality perfectly matches his designs. The designer speaks with genuine admiration and enthusiasm about nature, art, talented singers and actresses with whom he was fortunate enough to work.
Although the exhibition occupies an impressive 500 square meters at Erarta, the designer feels that there is still a lot that could potentially be incorporated into the display. For instance, Zaitsev was critical about the “headless mannequins” used to exhibit fashion items. “Headwear has always been crucial to the styles that I create, and in the future I would like this aspect to somehow be included in the display,” he explained.
At present, the maitre de fashion is working in collaboration with St. Petersburg artists on a collection of headwear inspired by the stories of Anton Chekhov. “Headwear really suits Russian women — they should not underestimate it,” he said.
Zaitsev never offers any of his creations as a whole package, and says he would be disappointed to see a deep-pocketed client simply copying a catwalk look, just as some people order a new apartment straight from the catalogue, complete with the same carpeting and kitchenware. 
“Half of the problem with this is that if you do this you are lazy,” the designer said. “Worst of all, it is most likely not going to work. I expect one spectator to like a scarf, and another one to notice the fabrics; I would even be impressed if someone appreciated the buttons, the clasp or the buckle that I chose — or at least bothered to pay attention.”
Zaitsev is always on the lookout for all things new, original and bright, and he enjoys giving center stage to homegrown talent and products. 
“Look at me — my waistcoat and trousers are made from Russian fabric, made at a factory in Bryansk,” the designer says, pointing proudly at his chest. “This factory, when I first discovered it, became something of a miracle: The fabric is excellent, much more durable and much more solid even than that in Italy — and way cheaper! It is worth creating a whole collection.”
“I am always happy to support a talent, or simply a good product or idea, especially in my home country,” Zaitsev said. “It is heartbreaking to see talent struggling to survive — or even to find an audience to present their work to. As someone who started from scratch and succeeded, I feel obliged — and honored — to help out.”

TITLE: Opposition Groups Urged to Cooperate
AUTHOR: By Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Director Alexander Sokurov, authors Boris Strugatsky and Yakov Gordin and composer Leonid Desyatnikov are among those who signed a public appeal to the St. Petersburg opposition Tuesday. It urges people to stop quarreling and unite in protest against the rigged Dec. 4 Duma elections and continuing violations during the presidential election campaign in favor of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 
Putin is preparing to become president for a third time, after 12 years of being in power.
The appeal, which described the stationary meeting after the Feb. 4 anti-Putin march as “scandalous” and off-putting, called for representatives of the two organizational committees to stop arguing and create a single united organizational committee to unite city residents, instead of a limited circle of political activists, in their struggle for people’s rights.
But this weekend is likely to see two separate rallies organized by two different groups. The For Honest Elections committee, which cooperated with the Civic Committee during the Feb. 4 march, has objected to further cooperation. The Feb. 4 march proved to be the largest protest since Putin took presidential office in 2000, drawing, according to organizers’ estimates, from 25,000 to 30,000 people.
Following the Feb. 4 march, the For Honest Elections committee released a statement saying it would not allow nationalists to attend the rallies it organizes, citing an incident in which nationalist Nikolai Bondarik (a speaker from the Civic Committee) shouted homophobic insults at Igor Kochetkov, chair of the LGBT rights organization Coming Out, as he spoke at the event. Kochetkov was invited to speak at the event by the For Honest Elections Committee. 
In its turn, the Civic Committee criticized the For Honest Elections committee for letting Kochetkov speak, as he was not included on the final list of speakers authorized by the committees, describing it as a “provocation.”
The Civic Committee objected to Kochetkov speaking, as the rally was not about gay rights, but electoral fraud, according to The Other Russia chair Andrei Dmitriyev, who said he wished to ban both activists from speaking at rallies in the future.
The Honest Elections committee includes the Yabloko Democratic Party and a number of smaller political, social and human rights groups, while The Civic Committee features the United Civil Front (OGF) democratic movement, The Other Russia, the Party of People’s Freedom (Parnas) and several nationalist organizations.
On Saturday, City Hall refused to authorize a march organized by the Legislative Assembly’s 22 opposition deputies and the For Honest Elections committee. The march was to start on Nevsky Prospekt and end in a stationary meeting on St. Isaac’s Square this Sunday as part of the national protest campaign a week ahead of the March 4 presidential elections.
The deputies of Yabloko, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) and A Just Russia have invited deputy city governor Nikolai Tikhonov, who supervises the Law, Order and Security Committee, to come to a session of the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday and answer their questions as to why the march has not been allowed.
Yabloko’s spokesman Alexander Shurshev confirmed Tuesday that Tikhonov would be asked about the ban during the session. Earlier, the three factions prepared a draft statement expressing their distrust of Tikhonov. 
The OGF’s executive director Olga Kurnosova said Tuesday that the Civic Committee, whose chair was elected last week, has always encouraged united civic protests. However, this week the Civic Committee will hold a march on Saturday, rather than on Sunday, when other protests will be held across Russia.
Kurnosova said it was done to demonstrate that St. Petersburg protests are not “just a local affair,” by inviting national opposition leaders from Moscow, most notably Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner whose popularity soared during the anti-fraud protests in December and February.
She confirmed Tuesday that the OGF national leader, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, would also participate in Saturday’s march, along with the Left Front’s coordinator Sergei Udaltsov.
City Hall didn’t authorize the proposed route along Nevsky Prospekt, but agreed Monday to an alternative route — that of the Feb. 4 march, which started near Oktyabrsky Concert Hall and finished on Konyushennaya Ploshchad. The march will start at 2 p.m. Saturday.

TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: <b>Foreign Investment Up</b>
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Foreign investment in St. Petersburg’s economy increased by 17 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, totaling $6.12 billion, the city’s Investment and Strategic Projects Committee press service reported.
The lead investors were British companies with a total investment of $1 billion. Chinese companies topped the list of direct foreign investment in St. Petersburg with $345 million.
<b>Booze Sale Ban</b>
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The sale of alcohol in St. Petersburg could be further restricted under new proposals by City Governor Georgy Poltavchenko, who has submitted a proposal to the Legislative Assembly that the sale of alcohol, with the exception of beer, be prohibited from 9 p.m. until 9 a.m.
The Legislative Assembly is expected to review the proposal at the end of March, Interfax reported.

TITLE: PM Putin Writes Military Manifesto
AUTHOR: By Alexander Bratersky
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — Equating corruption in the armed forces with high treason, attracting private investors to arms manufacturing and providing better benefits to retired soldiers are some of the concepts Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin expounded on in his latest article, dedicated to military reform.
The 6,500-word article is the sixth written by Putin and was published by the government-owned Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.
Putin has indicated that Russia will maintain an army at least partially consisting of draftees, but will increase the number of professional soldiers by 2020.
The prime minister also took an alarmist tone, urging readers not to repeat “the tragedy of 1941,” referring to the poor state of military readiness on the eve of the Nazi invasion.
He illustrated the cash-strapped status of the armed forces during the early part of his first presidency, saying he turned to two  major national oil companies — TNK and Surgutneftegaz — to attract funds to maintain a strategic nuclear submarine base.
The military budget has increased a lot over the past few years, providing troops with new weapons and increasing their mobility.
Organizational reforms eliminated Soviet-era structures and reduced management overhead by nearly two times, Putin said.
“The military reform was successful and a new army has been created. The task today is to equip the army with modern weaponry,” defense industry expert Igor Korotchenko said Monday.
Although Russia exported more than $12 billion worth of weaponry in 2011, the Defense Ministry has openly clashed with domestic producers over the quality of military equipment.
In addition to the problems caused by outdated weaponry, corruption has reached cosmic proportions and remains the biggest headache for the country’s military, chief military prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky said in early February, who calculated that the armed forces have lost 3 billion rubles ($100 million) in 2011 due to corruption.
Putin, who called military corruption “high treason,” also attacked “too much top secrecy” within the military as the main hindrance to competition, which “benefits selected businesspeople and bureaucrats.”
“Whenever it’s not against national interests concerning state secrets, we have to get away from the practice of closed tenders,” said Putin, adding that military purchasing should stay under public control and punishment should be increased for disobeying military orders.
In November of last year, the Defense Ministry came under harsh criticism from President Dmitry Medvedev, who promised to fire large numbers of officials if orders to supply the armed forces with new weaponry were not fulfilled.
The government plans to spend 20 trillion rubles ($667 billion) to buy new weaponry by 2020. Putin called the sum “a heavy burden,” adding that “we will not have such an amount anymore,” Itar-Tass reported.
His opponents have blamed Putin for turning the military-industrial complex into a bastion of loyalists. In the article, he said private business should be brought in to increase the efficiency of military production. “New private companies should become the source of technological breakthroughs that can change the industry radically,” he said.
While private business involvement in military production is still limited, the country is planning to increase it, defense expert Sergei Melkov told The St. Petersburg Times, adding that small innovative companies might be interested in producing parts for the military.
Melkov, head of a Moscow-based association of military and political experts, was critical of the idea of military conversion. “Conversion was not successful, and we should not dream about it having a bright future,” Melkov said.
Defense expert Korotchenko said the Russian government will follow the example of the United States by creating an agency to foster military inventions, which has been proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
In outlining his vision for the future Russian military, he said the 1-million-strong armed forces would include 145,000 draftees — calling a mixed system a “compromise between the task at hand and current capabilities of the country.”

TITLE: Opposition, Medvedev Share Forum
AUTHOR: By Jonathan Earle and Nikolaus von Twickel
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW — President Dmitry Medvedev won tentative praise from opposition leaders Monday after meeting with them and confirming a proposal to create a working group to discuss political reforms.
Most prominent leaders said there weren’t any breakthroughs at the meeting, which was devoted to the opposition’s reform proposals.
And analysts doubted whether the meeting was a signal that the Kremlin is serious about reforms sought by the newly resurgent opposition.
Medvedev invited opposition leaders to join a new working group headed by First Deputy Chief of Staff Vyacheslav Volodin that will discuss changes to his reform proposals.
The reforms include the reinstatement of direct elections for regional governors, a simplified process for registering political parties and a reduction in the number of signatures required for candidates to run for elected office.
“We will be able to influence changes to the bills [through the working group],” said Sergei Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front, Interfax reported. Udaltsov said the first meeting of the working group would take place Wednesday.
Next week, the State Duma will hold its first reading on the reforms, which are widely seen as a concession to opposition protesters.
Rallies that began as a response to allegations of fraud in the Dec. 4 Duma elections have grown into a call for broad-ranging democratic reform.
Udaltsov, Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov were the only organizers of the protests invited to the meeting.
“I rate the results of the meeting with caution, but positively. There weren’t any breakthroughs,” Udaltsov said, Interfax reported.
Ryzhkov told Radio Free Europe that Medvedev “honestly wants to carry out these reforms before he leaves office,” an impression shared by Sergei Baburin, who heads the Russian People’s Union.
Surprisingly, Medvedev also expressed support for limiting presidents to two terms. His political mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is running for what would be his third term in office and is expected to win the March 4 election by a wide margin.
Under the Constitution, candidates can serve no more than two consecutive terms, but an unlimited number of nonconsecutive terms.
The meeting also saw its share of confrontations.
“There was a very unpleasant moment when we brought up the importance of holding new Duma elections, and the president dug in his heels,” Nemtsov said.
At one point, Udaltsov placed a shoe on the table that he said belonged to opposition leader Ilya Ponomaryov and had been damaged in a scuffle that broke out Monday morning between opposition and pro-Kremlin youths while both were waiting in line to apply for a rally permit.
Medvedev joked that Ponomaryov should be compensated for the damage, and he promised to look into the scuffle, Udaltsov said, Gazeta.ru reported.
But political observers warned that the meeting was by no means intended to give opposition leaders a boost.
The observers pointed out that the Kremlin had invited participants individually by telephone with little regard for their organizations.
Denis Bilunov, a leading figure in the Solidarity opposition movement, said the way invitations were issued suggests that the Kremlin intended to sow division by splitting its enemies into those who are ready for compromise and those who are not.
They act according to the principle of “divide and rule,” he told The St. Petersburg Times before the meeting.
Bilunov suggested that apart from dividing the opposition, the meeting was intended to remind the public that Medvedev is still there.
Nikolai Petrov, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, agreed that this was probably Medvedev’s motivation, although he added that this was futile.
But the analyst warned that this was more show than substance.
“Medvedev is a political corpse, and anything he does now has very little meaning for the future,” he said.

TITLE: Latvia Rejects Russian as National Language
AUTHOR: By Gary Peach
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: RIGA, Latvia — Latvian voters rejected a proposal to give official status to Russian, the mother tongue of their former Soviet occupiers, though the referendum Saturday is expected to leave scars on an already divided society.
Russian is the first language for about one-third of the Baltic country’s 2.1 million people, and many of them would like to accord official status to the language to reverse what they claim has been 20 years of discrimination.
But for ethnic Latvians, the referendum was an attempt to encroach on Latvia’s independence, which was restored two decades ago after 50 years of occupation by the Soviet Union following World War II.
Many Latvians still consider Russian — the lingua franca of the Soviet Union — as the language of the former occupiers. They also harbor deep mistrust toward Russia and worry that Moscow attempts to wield influence in Latvia through the ethnic Russian minority.
“Latvia is the only place throughout the world where Latvian is spoken, so we have to protect it,” said Martins Dzerve, 37, in Riga, Latvia’s capital. “But Russian is everywhere.”
With over 93 percent of ballots counted, 75 percent of voters said they were against Russian as a national language, according to the Central Election Commission results.
However, in the eastern region of Latgale, on the Russian border, a majority of voters approved changing the constitution to make Russian a national language. The region is Latvia’s poorest with a high percentage of ethnic Russians and other minorities.
“Society is divided into two classes — one half has full rights, and the other half’s rights are violated,” said Aleksejs Yevdokimovs, 36. “The Latvian half always employs a presumption of guilt toward the Russian half, so that we have to prove things that shouldn’t need to be proven,” he said.
More than 70 percent of registered voters cast ballots — more than in previous elections and referendums. 
In Chicago, Mara Varpa, 57, said she voted against the proposal since Latvian is an integral part of the national identity and should therefore remain the sole official language.
“I don’t think there should have been a referendum to begin with because it’s already in the constitution, but since there was I had to vote,” Varpa said.
Though the Russians who spearheaded the referendum admitted they had no chance at winning the plebiscite, they at least hope the approximate 25 percent of support will force Latvia’s center-right government to begin a dialogue with national minorities.

TITLE: Start-Ups Appeal to 89 Percent of Managers
AUTHOR: By Olga Kalashnikova 
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Starting up a company with a new idea that may seem crazy is becoming more and more attractive in the modern world. Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube are all high-profile examples of projects that began with a unique idea and became amazingly successful and internationally renowned, now providing thousands of employees with a stable workplace and salary. In Russia and the CIS, 89 percent of middle-ranking and senior managers are prepared to accept a job offer from a start-up company, according to research carried out by Antal Russia recruitment agency.
On Saturday, St. Petersburg got its own start-up academy to help nurture fledgling entrepreneurs, with the opening of the SumIT school. The ten best teams chosen after the weekend were provided with fully equipped workplaces and expert help. All team members can participate in seminars and master classes. After three weeks, the teams will present their projects to investors and the best will be awarded $20,000.
Start-up ideas often emerge within an existing business using existing resources. The difficult but interesting tasks that face the pioneers of a new company are the main draw, attracting 72 percent of respondents to a start-up project, according to Antal data. The opportunity to build a company from its very beginnings and the additional freedom compared with a traditional business also interest candidates. 
“It’s always interesting to start a project from scratch,” said Inna, the director of a firm in the purchasing sphere who was one of the managers polled by Antal. “You feel like a pioneer. It’s very important at this stage to have creative freedom, as you’re involved with all your thoughts and heart in this project. In new projects you’re encouraged with the idea; you gather a team of like-minded people, motivate them and are guaranteed to be successful,” she said.
Start-ups have advantages for both experienced managers and those just beginning their career.
“For beginner specialists, a start-up can be a good platform for development, career building and professional progress,” said Natalya Shchegoleva, team leader for professional search and selection in FMCG, sales and marketing at Ancor recruitment company.
“For managers, start-ups are on the contrary a ground for putting into practice the experience they have and an opportunity to use it to solve new tasks and form a strategy and policy,” she said.
“Professionals who have reached the ‘glass ceiling’ in a large company are more inclined to move to a start-up business,” said Vera Filatova, senior manager at Antal. “This transition often allows them to make rapid career growth and develop not only professional but also managerial skills.” 
The dynamic development of start-up companies makes employees react faster, helps them gain valuable experience and often allows them to progress more quickly than their colleagues in similar positions at established companies.
The prospect of a higher salary and benefits, an interesting and innovative business idea and the chance to take on more responsibility also inspires employees to quit a stable job and take the plunge. 
“When it is a large international company entering the Russian market, it is certainly interesting for professional and career growth,” said Shchegoleva. “But when it is quite a new business, with an uncertain fate and unclear prospects, specialists must weigh up all the risks.”
“On the one hand, such a project could bring the chance to apply experience gained and make serious decisions, but on the other hand, the risks of the project’s failure could influence the readiness of employees to leave a stable company,” she said.
An uncertain future is what puts off 75 percent of respondents who said they would not accept a job at a start-up, according to Antal data. A smaller salary at first and no long-standing business structure were next on the list. In addition, respondents are wary of jobs at unknown companies or at brands that are not well known on the market. Other employees are put off working from home, which is often an early condition at start-up businesses. 
“Start-ups in Russia are too unstable and exist thanks to investors’ money,” said Yekaterina, a marketing specialist who took part in the Antal poll.
The risks involved depend primarily on the company, say Ancor experts. If it is an interesting and stable business, the risks are minimum. 
“There are lots of examples where employees accept starting positions, and five to seven years later occupy managerial posts,” said Shchegoleva. “If the company is new and belongs to a new business trend, risks are related mostly to the potential of the project, the terms of realization and stability,” she said.
One of the most important factors in building a successful start-up business is the personality of the leader or founder who must build a team, motivate people, divide the strategy into tasks and establish priorities.
“Managing a company built from scratch is not an easy task,” said Anastasia, a marketing director and another poll participant. “Multiple tasks that all require solving at the same time, stress, responsibilities and scarce resources are just a few of the challenges of a start-up company.”
“At the same time, if the manager believes in the vitality of their business model and is able to convince investors and staff of it, they will achieve success,” she said.
Start-ups attract support from investors. Last week, former co-owner of recruitment web site HeadHunter.ru Mikhail Frolkin announced he would create his own investment company to finance Internet start-up projects. This year, the investment company plans to spend up to 300 million rubles ($10 million) on the development of new projects, according to RBK Daily data.

TITLE: City Job Market Oversaturated
AUTHOR: By Olga Kalashnikova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Job vacancies in journalism are the most sought-after and competitive in St. Petersburg, with 132 jobseekers for each vacancy in this field, according to data collated by HeadHunter recruitment portal in November last year. 
Another sought-after position is that of IT director, followed by editor (32 candidates for one vacancy) and human resources director with 23 applicants per opening. Vacancies for sales directors and lawyers attract 22 applications per position. 
The professions of lawyer, economist, marketing specialist and PR manager remain the most popular among graduates, despite the oversaturated market. 
The St. Petersburg labor market has almost returned to pre-crisis figures concerning available positions, according to Ancor recruitment company specialists. Nevertheless, without any significant reductions in staff, both employees and candidates feel the strain on the market, which many believe to be due to a cautious approach to investments. Companies have not been freezing recruitment or canceling projects, but have been money-conscious concerning recruitment and investment in staff, say Ancor experts. The instability of the market has caused people to continue investigating job offers even when already employed so they are not left without other employment options if they unexpectedly lose their jobs.
In St. Petersburg, sales managers are the most in demand of all specialists, totaling 11 percent of vacancies according to HeadHunter research. Second place is occupied by engineering vacancies, followed by those for computer specialists and accountants.
“For a long time, sales managers, IT specialists, administrative staff and accountants topped the list of the most in demand specialists,” said Yulia Sakharova, director of HeadHunter St. Petersburg. “The increase in demand for engineers reflects development in technology and high-technology business. Demand for engineers continues to grow against more humanities-based professions.” 
The fact that specialists are in demand does not mean that there is no competition in securing a position. Constant demand does, however, mean that there is a vacancy for each candidate.
In 2011, only four sectors of the economy showed growth — the pharmaceutical sector, the industrial sector, IT and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), according to Ancor data.
The pharmaceutical business hardly suffered at all from the crisis, and demonstrated a high level of recruitment by the end of last year.
“This stability in recruitment activity is reflected in the compensation and salary packages offered to candidates,” said Timur Omelchenko, a manager in the pharmaceutical recruitment department at Antal Russia recruitment agency. “Although salary increases haven’t changed much, employers are now offering a bonus scheme in addition to a compensation package, which includes medical insurance, a corporate car and a mobile phone allowance.” 
Following the recovery of consumer demand for groceries, analysts have observed stabilization in recruitment in the FMCG sector.
“FMCG companies typically prefer candidates with work experience in large organizations with successful brands,” said Anton Narinyani, principal consultant for FMCG at Antal’s recruitment department. “They also tend to headhunt the best sales professionals from other companies within FMCG.
“New employees, however, rarely come from direct competitors as companies are careful not to reveal commercially confidential information,” he added.
The increase in demand for information security and general computerization has likewise increased the demand for qualified specialists. Companies operating in hi-tech fields are looking for computer specialists, developers and project managers.
The industrial sector currently lacks mid-level managers, mainly engineers.
“Companies often struggle to find such employees because of high expectations and requirements including work experience in specific fields combined with fluency in foreign languages,” said Yevgenia Lanichkina, manager at Antal’s industrial recruitment department.
“Russian companies are looking for engineers who know English, but not all of them are ready to offer salaries that compete with international companies.”
Computer specialists in a specific field top the list of professions most in demand across Russia as a whole, followed by turners. According to HeadHunter data, it is difficult to find suitable candidates for production directors, product managers, insurance salesmen, chefs, medical advisers and quantity surveyors.
“There is a lack of staff at industrial and construction companies, as well as non-qualified staff. Demand for these specialists will be met with the help of migrant labor from Asia, the Caucasus and Belarus,” said Sakharova. 
A decrease in salaries and vacancies in the St. Petersburg area has led to an increase in internal migration. The most attractive employment hubs for St. Petersburg residents are Moscow, the Southern Federal District and foreign countries such as Canada and the U.S., according to Ancor research. 
Among other market trends, Ancor specialists predict companies will soon focus on efficiency management.
“Human resources departments will concentrate on training those they believe to be the most talented employees with the goal of creating a candidate reserve,” predicted Olga Serebrennaya, director at Ancor St. Petersburg. “They will also try to motivate employees and stimulate labor efficiency. An increase in salaries, however, is not expected. In large companies salaries may increase by eight to 12 percent, which will not be much higher than the level of inflation.” 
Overall, it is candidates who currently control the St. Petersburg labor market. According to Ancor research, qualified specialists often have two or three job offers to choose from when looking for a new job. Employees now dictate their terms, and new jobs often bring a 10 to 30-percent salary increase.

TITLE: Top-End Hotels Continue to Dominate
AUTHOR: By Olga Kalashnikova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Intense competition on the city’s hotel real estate market promises to bring about improvement in quality levels this year. Experts from Knight Frank St. Petersburg, however, predict that profit indexes will not increase much.
As of the beginning of this year, there were 121 hotels operating in the city (this figure does not include mini-hotels, government-sponsored hotels and those located in the suburbs) containing a total of 18,200 rooms, according to Colliers International data. Seven of the hotels opened in 2011, increasing the number of rooms by 1,045, according to Maris, part of the CBRE Affiliate Network overview. Among the biggest hotels opened last year were the five-star W from new international operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and the four-star Crowne Plaza Ligovsky and Crowne Plaza Airport from InterContinental Hotels Group. 
During the same period, one three-star hotel closed. As a result of market re-positioning, the 256-room Karelia Hotel was turned into an apartment building.
“Developers are continuing to build hotels in the upper price range,” said Natalya Kireyeva, senior analyst in the consulting and evaluation department at Maris. “Toward the end of 2011, the share of four- and five-star hotel rooms already amounted to 58 percent. Meanwhile, as was previously the case, there was a shortage of three-star hotels located near the city center.” 
 “A comparatively small number of hotels are being built,” said Igor Kokorev, project manager of the strategic consulting department at Knight Frank St. Petersburg. 
“During the crisis, many projects were frozen. The time it takes for hotel projects to be realized is among the longest in all real estate sectors. This time is used not only to construct the building, but also to draw up a design of the premises, equip the rooms, restaurants and conference rooms, and find and train staff,” he said. 
“The payback period for hotels is longer than that of any other market sector, and competition is high. That’s why very few investors are interested in this sector,” he added. 
This year will bring hotel chains including Domina Hotels and Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Fairmont Raffles Hotels International to the city’s market. Lotte Hotels & Resorts and Hilton have also shown interest in the city, according to Maris experts.
In comparison with 2010-2011, there has been more than a 50-percent decrease in the number of hotel projects put into operation in 2012. Jones Lang LaSalle experts said that eight hotels are planned to open between 2012 and 2014. 
“The number of projects under construction is not high,” said Marina Smirnova, senior vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. “By the end of 2015, the market will have increased by 1,389 rooms, with 70 percent belonging to the mid-market and economy categories.” 
 The most anticipated event of this year on the city’s hotel market is the opening of Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace at 1 Voznesensky Prospekt.
“It will be the first deluxe-class hotel in St. Petersburg, where prices will be 25 to 30 percent higher than the average price of rooms in five-star hotels,” said Nikolai Kazansky, general director of Colliers International St. Petersburg.
There is a wide variety of international hotel operators on the St. Petersburg market that in most cases simply manage the hotel, while the owners themselves are the investors.
“Hotels under the management of a large international brand are a more understandable product for the investor, with fewer risks and, as a result, better liquidity,” said Kokorev.
According to the city’s Committee for Investments and Strategic Projects, about 5.5 million travelers visited St. Petersburg in 2011 — seven to eight percent more than in 2010. The increase in visitors is partly associated with the increase in popularity of cruise tourism. 
“The proportion of Russian and foreign visitors has not changed significantly during the last five years,” said Kireyeva. “Domestic demand, as before, is greater than that of foreign guests. About 52 to 55 percent of the inbound flow is from Russian visitors 45 to 48 percent is from foreigners,” 
The number of foreign tourists in St. Petersburg increased by 13 percent in 2011, totaling 2.6 million people, according to Colliers International data.
The St. Petersburg hotel market varies drastically from season to season. Maximum hotel occupancy is in June, during the White Nights, while minimum occupancy is seen during the winter season. This is because in St. Petersburg, unlike in Moscow, tourists rather than business travelers comprise the bulk of the market. 
According to data from December 2011, the average citywide level of hotel occupancy rose to between 63 and 65 percent last year, with the lowest average annual level present in five-star hotels (53 percent) and the highest in three-star hotels (62 percent), according to a Colliers International review.
Experts, however, believe that demand will soon return to the more expensive hotel sector.
Last year, demand on the hotel market returned to pre-crisis levels. As a result, hotels could have stricter price policies, Jones Lang LaSalle specialists believe. Hotels have started reducing accommodation discounts, which will lead to increases in average prices.
According to Maris’ overview, the average daily rate in 2011 was five percent higher than in 2010, totaling 2,500 rubles ($84) for a room in a three-star hotel, 4,600 rubles ($155) in a four-star hotel and 8,500 ($285) in five-star hotels. Colliers International experts however, put five-star hotel prices even higher — at between 10,000 and 18,000 rubles ($335-$605), depending on the season.

TITLE: IHG To Join Local Operators
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) signed a contract last week to open its first hotel in St. Petersburg in 2016 with constructions starting in 2013.
Aron Libinson, vice president of IHG for development in Russia and the CIS, said IHG was interested in the St. Petersburg market because “from a touristic point of view St. Petersburg may outdo Moscow and already attracts more tourists than Moscow.”
InterContinental St. Petersburg is to open as part of the new Europe Embankment Complex. Peterburg City, an affiliate company of VTB Development, has invested in the project.
Nadezhda Vinnik, deputy director of VTB Development, said InterContinental “would undoubtedly match the high level of the future complex.”
“We chose InterContinental because we trust the brand, its marketing policy and good reputation,” Vinnik said.
The hotel will have 173 rooms, including 13 suites and a presidential suite, restaurant, fitness center and spa.
The Europe Embankment will occupy 10 hectares and be near the Peter and Paul Fortress. In addition to the hotel, the complex will include elite residential buildings, offices, shops, restaurants and a Dance Palace headed by local choreographer Boris Eifman.
IHG said it intends to open about 100 other hotels in Russia and CIS countries by 2020. 
Last year IHG opened two other hotels in the city — Crowne Plaza St. Petersburg Airport and Crowne Plaza St. Petersburg Ligovsky. Altogether, the company has 13 hotels in Russia and five hotels in CIS countries.

TITLE: Philip Morris Names Threats to Cigarette Market
AUTHOR: By Yelena Minenko
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Philip Morris International Tobacco Company is more concerned about the influence on tobacco sales of Russia’s recent acceptance into the WTO than it is about the warning labels the company is required to put on its cigarette packs and about anti-tobacco campaigns.
Philip Morris Izhora, one of the company’s two full cigarette production plants in Russia, decreased production by 2 percent last year — to 70 billion cigarettes per year — while still managing to increase its share of the market by 0.8 percent to 26.2 percent. 
“The number of cigarettes produced by the plants won’t go up soon, it is decreasing all over the world,” said Alexei Kim, director of corporate issues for Philip Morris International affiliated companies in Russia and Belarus. 
“Russia has the second biggest tobacco market in the world and its market volume decreased by 2 percent last year, totaling 375 billion cigarettes.” 
Reasons for the decrease are the growing struggle between tobacco companies and global anti-smoking campaigns.  
Philip Morris International owns two of the strongest segments and most popular brands — Parliament and L&M. This explains why the decrease in tobacco production hasn’t influenced its share of the market. What might influence it in the future, are legal measures now being discussed in the State Duma. 
One of the legal measures under discussion is the obligatory placement of graphic images on cigarette packs. The project’s authors base their argument on the experience of other countries such as Thailand. 
“After six years of using photo testimonials to the harm of smoking on cigarette packs, the number of smokers in Thailand has decreased by 20 percent,” Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper quoted from the explanatory note to the bill Thursday.  
Excise tax on cigarettes is also to increase at the beginning of this July.
“Philip Morris Izhora is one of the biggest taxpayers already; in 2011 alone we paid 45 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) in taxes and customs payments to all different types of budget and non-budget funds in Russia,” said Kim. 
The Philip Morris Izhora plant produces cigarettes under more than 50 names of international brands such as Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia S. The plant’s cigarettes are distributed in Russia and former Soviet republics and also exported to other countries. The Izhora plant also exports other tobacco-related products such as filters. 
“The product we offer is very ambiguous and we try our best to inform our adult consumers about what risks they are taking [when they use it],” said Maria Kulakhmetova, corporate communication and public relations manager at Philip Morris Sales and Marketing in Moscow. 
“Our company was the first to put warning labels on cigarette packs. In 2003, we started putting leaflets about the dangers of smoking inside the packs. Also, everyone can read about the risks of smoking on our web site.”
“Concerning the graphic images and warning labels, they won’t influence demand,” said Kim.
“When the warning labels first came out, people were curious and asked questions, but then just started to ignore them. The risks we have identified are connected with Russia joining the WTO and its relationship with the countries in the Customs Union,” he added. “Nevertheless, we are confident in our own brands and their quality.”

TITLE: Rogozin’s Three-Ring Circus
AUTHOR: By Alexander Golts
TEXT: After Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, which political figure would you guess state-controlled television and Kremlin-friendly newspapers have been covering the most over the past month? Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin is the hands-down winner.
Imitating his boss, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Rogozin has been making a whirlwind tour of the regions — from Izhevsk to Tula, from Novosibirsk to Severodvinsk — to learn more about the condition of the defense industry that he has been appointed to oversee. And everywhere he goes, he explains that the world is a jungle full of predators that want to seize Russia’s natural resources.
“If we don’t modernize the country, Russia will fall prey to the world’s players. If we don’t do it by 2020, they will simply crush us.” This was taken almost verbatim from a speech Soviet leader Josef Stalin delivered in 1931.
Rogozin’s strategy for developing the country’s military-industrial complex is also Stalinesque. He speaks in grandiose terms of “great military leaps forward,” although his only strategy is to throw billions of dollars at military research and development and production, hoping and praying that there will be some revolutionary breakthroughs. This, of course, is impossible without reforming the military-industrial complex, improving its efficiency and reducing corruption. Doubling, quadrupling or sextupling military expenditures by itself will have little real effect.
In addition, Rogozin proposed creating a volunteer movement in support of the armed forces and military-industrial complex. This movement would be part of the All-Russia People’s Front. Its founding congress will be held on Saturday. This also reveals the real reason Rogozin was brought back to Moscow from Brussels and received a promotion: to explain to his fellow nationalists that all self-respecting nationalists vote for Putin and do not have anything do with the renegade “pseudo-nationalists” who have supported the opposition.
Rogozin even managed to dress down Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff. Makarov told reporters last week that the armed forces would not buy tanks and armed vehicles from domestic manufacturers over the next five years because of their inferior quality.
Rogozin’s wishful thinking seems to know no barriers. “The manufacturing capacity of the Russian defense industry will reach such a level by the end of this year that it will be able to produce one aircraft carrier and six submarines annually,” he said at a meeting in Severomorsk two weeks ago. Even the United States could not accomplish that trick. Rogozin then took great pains to explain that he had been misunderstood.
It seems that Vladimir Putin has added another clown to his circus troupe of nationalists and “patriots.” Now, Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky has a serious rival.
At the same time, however, some of Rogozin’s public statements suggest that he understands some of the challenges facing the defense industry. He seems to be aware that it is ineffective for the defense industry to be based on monopolistic corporations.
“It is wrong to undermine the basis of the development of a market economy,” Rogozin wrote in a Feb. 7 comment in Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper. “Major industrial corporations should compete with one another in developing the optimal design and technological specifications for a project.” This was an indirect jab at Putin’s current system that supports monopolies, stifles competition and keeps inefficient firms afloat.
Rogozin also made it clear that he is opposed to the idea of nationalizing defense industry companies. During a speech in Tula last week, he said, “We need to involve private businesses in defense firms.” That is the exact opposite of Putin’s idea to create state corporations. At least Rogozin understands that there can be no mass production of military hardware until basic manufacturing capacity is established.
Thus, in the piles of Rogozin’s pronouncements, it is possible to find a grain or two of common sense. It is significant that Putin put forward the same ideas in his Rossiiskaya Gazeta article on Monday devoted to the development of the armed forces.
I would like to believe that, under the guise of a patriotic clown, an image that is exploited for internal political purposes, Rogozin is actually trying to make deep reforms to the country’s military-industrial complex. But this may be wishful thinking on my part. It could very well be that we are watching a real circus and that Rogozin will never take off his bright-colored baggy pants, blue wig and round, sponge nose.

<i>Alexander Golts is deputy editor of the online newspaper Yezhednevny Zhurnal.</i>

TITLE: regional dimensions: The Devil in the Election Bill Details
AUTHOR: By Nikolai Petrov
TEXT: The Kremlin often implements policies that it never makes public, and this is the reason many of its actions seem pointless or absurd.
Take, for example, a bill on the State Duma elections unveiled last week that has already become the butt of many jokes among analysts. The bill includes provisions for holding early Duma elections — seemingly a concession to the opposition, which claimed the December Duma elections were heavily falsified — but in reality, this would actually be a serious obstacle to the development of a full-fledged multiparty system and the strengthening of representative government.
At its core, the bill marginalizes the opposition and creates the greatest possible advantage for the Kremlin and its ruling party. In particular, the bill takes advantage of the fact that opposition forces are concentrated in large cities and are weak in the regions.
The 400-page election bill submitted to the Duma is exceptionally unwieldy, and the new elements it introduces could better be implemented by making changes to existing legislation rather than by introducing a new law. The Kremlin has two goals: first, to create the impression that it is proposing an entirely new law on elections, and, second, to create a smoke screen by “restoring” 225 voting districts while obscuring the fact that the bill blatantly discriminates in favor of the ruling party and attempts to strengthen its hold on power.
Specifically, the new law would preserve the purely proportional system. Under existing law, party lists are made up of at least 70 regional groups with the territorial composition of those groups unregulated by the federal center. By contrast, the new bill offers to create 225 territorial units to serve as standard subdivisions of all party lists.
The main difference of these units from the system of districts used prior to 2005 is that Moscow would now have direct control over the new units. Rather than an electoral district or region sending its representatives to the capital, Moscow itself would assign party members to the various territories.
According to a more complex system of calculations, each deputy elected from a regional group will represent a specific territory, although all territories will not have representation. In addition, because there will be no federal part of the election list, the big name Moscow party leaders will have to head regional tickets.
For example, Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky will not be able to head the entire party list, but only one of its 225 units. That is a blow primarily to the Liberal Democratic Party, but also to every party whose most prominent candidates are concentrated in the big cities rather than spread more evenly throughout the territories.
The bill strengthens the monopoly on power held by the existing Duma parties and will likely be supported by the majority of incumbent deputies along with the regional political elite.
Since the bill will strengthen the ruling party at the expense of developing a multiparty system, it should not be adopted. The Russian political system should have full-fledged regional districts and not subdivisions of party lists. The right to form electoral blocs should be restored along with the right of independent politicians to put forward their own candidacy and to participate in elections.

<i>Nikolai Petrov is a scholar in residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center.</i>

TITLE: Subway stop
AUTHOR: By Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The Subways, an English indie rock trio from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, are coming to Russia for the first time on the back of their new album and a new single.
Guitarist and singer Billy Lunn spoke to The St. Petersburg Times about the financial crisis, ABBA and the future of rock and roll.

<i><b>You haven’t played in Russia before, have you?</b></i>
No, this will be our first ever visit to Russia, and I personally have been looking forward to not just playing in Russia, but also visiting Russia for the first time. I’ve always wanted to visit Russia and now we finally have the chance. On Twitter and Facebook we seemingly have lots of Russian fans, so we can’t wait to get over there finally and play a show for them. 
My wife has been to Russia once before and she absolutely adored it. She’s so jealous that we’re leaving to go on tour and soon we’ll be in Russia. 

<i><b>Tell us about the new single and album.</b></i>
The new album is “Money and Celebrity” that was released last year in September, and a new single that we’re about to release is called “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” which is about my wife. The song is basically about how she drives me crazy and drives me mad, but I still can’t help loving her – of course.

<i><b>How does “Money and Celebrity” compare to your earlier work?</b></i>
I think our first record, “Young for Eternity,” was very punky, very rough around the edges. We were very young when we recorded the album. I was 19, and Josh and Charlotte (The Subways’ drummer Josh Morgan and bassist Charlotte Cooper) were only 18, so we were still very immature on our instruments and with our song ideas. On our second record, we went out to record in America with Butch Vig; he produced Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and all those great bands. We came out with a very rock record.
I think “Money and Celebrity” is a compromise between those two records. It sort of meets them right in the middle. It’s got the heaviness of the second record, and the melodic sort of pop songs of the first album.

<i><b>How did it happen that you worked on it with producer Stephen Street?</b></i>
That came about when we were still writing the songs in our rehearsal room. I would record very roughly the songs we were coming out with, and after listening back to some of them, I said to Josh and Charlotte, “I think Stephen Street would be the perfect producer to make this record.” Because of the past acts that he’s worked with, like Blur and The Smiths and Kaiser Chiefs, the Cranberries… I thought this would be a great direction for us to go in. So once we had all the songs written down and demoed to a good quality, I gave the CD to our manager and said, “The first person you give this CD to is Stephen Street, because he would be perfect to make this record.” And luckily enough, about a week later, Stephen Street called my mobile phone and said, “Hello Billy! I love these songs, let’s go into a studio and make the album.” So I felt very lucky and very honored that he said yes to making our new record.

<i><b>What’s the difference between the two producers in their approach?</b></i>
Butch Vig is a great legendary American producer and his sound is very American rock, and very compressed; it sort of punches out of the speakers. And Stephen Street has a very English sort of production, where there’s a lot of air in the music, lots of room, and everything is simplified, and we love that. 
That’s probably the main difference. Stephen Street is a quintessentially British producer with that very British sound, and Butch Vig is a quintessentially American producer with that very American rock sound. 
But the similarity is that both guys are such nice people, which is the main thing for us. When we’re in the studio, we love to be at ease so that we can save up energy to record these songs as loud and as fast as possible. And both producers have a great sense of humor. Butch Vig was always bringing things in for us in the morning that we enjoyed during the day, jokes and that kind of thing. And Stephen Street has a great love of football, and Josh, Charlotte and me, we all love football, too, so we connected on that level. But what we look for most in a producer is someone who we’ll be comfortable with and who we can have a good time with.

<i><b>What about the album’s themes — is one of the songs really about the financial crisis?</b></i>
The songs are very personal. It’s a very personal take on the financial crisis that is going on all over the world. But specifically I wrote about how it was affecting me, my friends and family. Because of the economic crisis, the government was cutting back on public expenditure, and because of that a lot of people who worked in the public sector here in the U.K. were losing their jobs. A lot of my friends and family work in the public sector, for the police, the postal service, at hospitals, that kind of thing. 
The first song I wrote for this album is called “We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time,” and it was written after a few friends and I went out for some drinks in the evening. A few of my friends had lost their jobs, so we decided to sort of drown their sorrows as it were. About halfway through the evening, maybe midnight, my friends turned to me and said, “Sorry, Billy, we’re gonna have to go home, we have no money left, we’ve lost our jobs, we can’t afford to stay out.” I said “It’s OK, we’ll go home, I don’t mind.” And my friends, who felt guilty that we had to go home, grabbed me by the arm and said, “Don’t worry, Billy, we don’t need money to have a good time, do we?” And all of a sudden a light went on in my head and I ran home and wrote the lyrics to our first single off the album.

<i><b>So do you think that rock and pop music can still touch on serious subjects, and can be more than just pure entertainment?</b></i>
Yeah. We think that rock music has a great capacity to express whatever it really feels. There are some great pop or rock records that have been politically orientated, but there are also great records that have just been about having a great time. I think the beauty of rock and pop music is that it can express however it feels in this great genre; in a three-minute song it can express whatever it likes and can still appeal to people. I think it’s a great way to get a message across to people, a great way to express frustration or joy… Rock and pop music for me is one of the great art forms out there. 

<i><b>You’re known as a fan of both rock music and mainstream pop music. How did that happen?</b></i>
I grew up on rock music mainly. My dad was into AC/DC and Deep Purple and David Bowie, my mom was into T. Rex and lots of the Motown music from America like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and the Miracles, and my sisters, who are older than me, were into a lot of modern pop music like Madonna or Kylie Minogue, so we grew up with a big mixture of rock, pop and mainstream music. I think, because I was brought up in that environment, I will always see something good in all these sorts of music. I think mainstream music can be just as brilliant as rock music, and vice versa. I love the three-minute song — the three-minute pop song, the three-minute rock song — if I can see a perfect rock song, it doesn’t matter who’s written it, who performed it; if it’s a great song, I love it!

<i><b>What do you think about revivalism? A whole new generation of bands has started to find inspiration in music from the 1960s and 1970s.</b></i> 
Oh, it’s incredible. When teenagers are only into modern pop music, I think they’re missing out on a big, big selection of great music from the fifties or sixties or seventies, even the eighties. I think it’s very important that people look back on the history of not just rock music, but also pop music, because there are great bands out there like ABBA — who I grew up on as well — who in my opinion wrote some of the great pop songs of all time. 
You now see a lot of artists looking back and taking inspiration from that, and integrating it into new music. I really like that, because I think that art borrows and then invigorates and creates new inspiration for the next generation, and that’s great. 

<i><b>How did The Subways start? What inspired you to form a band?</b></i>
Well, for me, I heard Oasis’s song “Supersonic” off their first album, “Definitely Maybe,” and as soon as I heard it, I turned to my mom and said, “I have to learn to play the guitar.” It was the intro riff of that particular song, “Supersonic,” and the lyrics “I need to be myself / I can’t be no one else” — and all of a sudden a whole new world opened up to me, and I just wanted to express myself through rock music.
I was also into Nirvana as well, Kurt Cobain was a big inspiration for me, and I taught Josh, my brother, how to play the drums. He and I would rock out in our parents’ kitchen, during lunchtimes at school and after school. 
I started dating Charlotte when I was 15 and she was 13, and one day Josh and I were playing the guitar and drums, and Charlotte was sitting with me, and I turned to her and said, “Why don’t you play with us?” We had a spare bass guitar, and so Charlotte learned to play the bass, and that was really how The Subways formed. 
We started covering bands, really, Green Day, Nirvana, Oasis, and then eventually I started writing our own material and we began playing that. We entered a local rock contest at the local community center; we never won it, but it was great experience for us, because every day we would meet a new band and get the opportunity to get up on stage. Eventually we started recording our own demos in our parents’ kitchen, and then moved into London, and just started playing there. Then eventually we got picked up and we went on our first tour in 2004, and signed our first record deal in 2005.

<i><b>What’s happening on the British music scene right now, and how do you see the future of rock and roll?</b></i>
I think it’s very open at the moment. Rock and roll is just starting to recover again. In the U.K. especially, we’ve had a very pop-orientated music industry, and the rock bands have been sort of ignored, especially the new rock bands. 
We were very lucky, because in 2005, when we released our first album, there was an explosion of rock music across the U.K. We were part of that, and we’ve been lucky to stay around and still have an audience to play to. 
Since then it’s sort of petered out a bit in rock music, but right now it does feel like there’s more interest in British rock and roll, because it is really good stuff that’s coming out at the moment. 
But we’re also looking outside the U.K. A lot of the European and American bands that are coming into the U.K., bands like Royal Republic, who are from Sweden, are just incredible, and we’re taking them on tour with us very soon. Rock music is making a big comeback, and we’re so happy about that.

<i>The Subways will play at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 1 at Glavclub, 2 Kremenchugskaya Ulitsa. Tel. 905 7555. M. Pl. Vosstaniya / Pl. Alexandra Nevskogo.</i>

TITLE: Showcasing Homegrown Musicians
AUTHOR: By Yekaterina Kravtsova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: This winter’s Glavbeat festival, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Glavclub, features exclusively local bands, in contrast to previous years.
“The current festival introduces bands from St. Petersburg only,” said Vadim Melnikov, Glavclub’s press attach&#233; and promoter. The organizers insist that, although the festival’s agenda was always subject to change, the main idea — showcasing new talented Russian bands — has remained the same.
“We’d like every Glavbeat festival to differ from the previous one thematically and to attract fans of different music genres,” said Melnikov.
Samoye Bolshoe Prostoye Chislo (SBPCh) is the headline act for this weekend’s festival. The band recently released its third album, titled “Fleshka,” (USB stick) which reveals a new direction for the band. While previously, the SBPCh trio, composed of former journalist Kirill Ivanov, Alexander Zaitsev and Ilya Barmiya, recorded electronic music mixed with Ivanov’s poetic proclamations, the new album features guitar music with vocals by Ivanov and Zaitsev.
“Playing sophisticated electronic music all the time became detrimental to our health,” Ivanov joked. 
“We decided to revitalize the sound and write songs that we ourselves would like to sing often,” said Zaitsev. “We started writing guitar songs back in about 2008,” he added. 
At that time, the band made a record with several other musicians and released it under the name “SBPCh and Orchestra.” For now, SBPCh has returned to its previous lineup, plus one new member: Drummer Alexandra Zakharenko. The band promises to play some songs from the first two records as well as a lot of songs from the newest one at Glavbeat. 
Also due to perform at the festival is Chikiss, led by singer Galya Chikiss, who is responsible for  multiple collaborations with a range of very different musicians and consequently lots of records, which are diverse in sound but unified by an ethereal ambience.
“It’s already difficult to keep track of what has been recorded, because the list of musicians I’ve worked with is really long. And the geography of collaborations is widening all the time,” said Chikiss.
Chikiss’ new single “Kino” was released several days before the festival, and sounds heavier than her previous airy records. 
Chikiss’ former bandmate from the Sablya project — and a former member of the band Padla Bear Outfit — Arseny Morozov will introduce his new band Sonic Death at the festival.
Glavbeat also features two young bands: Lemonday, a female duo, and Pyos I Gruppa, a four- piece band.
This weekend’s Glavbeat festival is the fourth to be held in the last two years. Launched in 2010, previous festival acts have included electronic band Red Snapper and synthpop duo Hurts, both from the U.K., as well Russian bands including Tesla Boy and On-The-Go.

TITLE: By George, she’s got it!
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Just how far can purity of language and good manners get you in life? This question is sure to be laughed at in modern Russia, where university degrees have long become a matter of a bribe, and top-flight politicians score points with voters by speaking in street slang. A hooligan’s lexicon and pay-as-you-go life philosophy is what’s sexy now, it seems. Why then, one might wonder, had audiences devoured tickets for all five of the premiere shows of the Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner musical “My Fair Lady” at the Mariinsky Theater days before its opening night on Feb. 18?
The charming show, based on George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” and produced by the Canadian director Robert Carsen, soothes the public appetite for a romantic fairy tale: The main character, Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Oksana Krupnova), learns standard pronunciation from Professor Higgins (Musical Comedy Theater actor Alexander Bairon), leading to her bewitching aristocrats and finding the love of her life. 
After watching the staging, a theory emerges regarding the rapid ticket sales: Russian audiences wanted to witness the triumph of Eliza’s father, Mr. Doolittle (Andrei Spekhov). Unlike the sugary tale of his daughter, the success of her father, cynical to the bone, who visits Higgins to bargain and ultimately extort money in exchange for allowing Eliza to stay in the professor’s house — without regard for what the professor could potentially do to the young woman — is very close to home. Of course, I do not mean corrupt fathers. I mean corrupt morals. With this in mind, the company’s risky decision to perform the British classic in Russian makes perfect sense.
The first ever musical to be performed on the Mariinsky’s stage, “My Fair Lady” is a captivating acquisition, although at times it seems that the lengthy drama sections are not really suited to the theater’s stage. Controversially, instead of getting opera singers to act, Carsen has recruited actors from local drama theaters and allowed them to sing — not without success, though leaving the public wondering whether there was not enough talent in the company. The Mariinsky symphony orchestra, under the baton of Gavriel Heine, was apparently enjoying itself in the pit on Saturday, performing with ease, drive and courage.
The director chose to keep the original 1930s London setting. As Carsen pointed out in an interview before the premiere, the England that we see in the show disappeared after the end of World War II, when rigid class barriers were broken down and women’s rights became less of an acute problem. Nowadays, the Cockney accent is no longer an obstacle to entering the world of celebrities.
Carsen’s production, which was previously shown in France in the musical’s original language, does not look quintessentially English. With modern boorish Russian slang abounding the stage, and Russian actors presenting their idea of British stiffness, pedantry and arrogance, it does not have that vintage charm for which so many Russians adore the 1964 movie version starring Audrey Hepburn. Oksana Krupnova does not possess the charisma or fine charms of Hepburn that ensured the creation of an iconic and much admired Eliza for generations of Russians, but has wisely made a winning decision to emphasize the comic and somewhat boyish element of her heroine.
It is Spekhov’s Mr. Doolittle, however, who really steals the show. This is business, he shows us with his no nonsense stance. If this geezer were to run a master class on how to succeed in life, the immense waiting list would put to shame both the pedantic Professor Higgins and Eliza. In a sense, it creates the same impression as that of Alexander Sokurov’s film “Faust:” That the line of people gathering to ink a deal with Mephisto is becoming embarrassingly long. The difference is, however, that if the filmmaker shows the sad truth with bitterness and contempt, in Carsen’s show, the shameful truth sneaks in somewhat involuntarily. One just discovers it and goes along with it. One might think, wait a minute, isn’t this round, loud and rather jolly guy who doesn’t want to know the meaning of the word remorse and distances himself as far from his reflection as humanly possible — isn’t he a bit like those people we see on television every single day? Appearances may, of course, differ, but the message they transmit is unmistakable. 
Robert Carsen, admittedly, did not intend for his production, which originally premiered in Theatre du Chatelet in Paris last year, to trumpet the victory of cynicism. The show just happened to miraculously fit the context. And what serves as the element of farce in the musical — Professor Higgins declaring Eliza’s father the epitome of new English morals and connecting him with a mighty American sponsor — happens in Russia on an improbable scale.
Modern Russia has appropriated Mr. Doolittle from the Brits. These days, the character belongs here — and one can only wish he were not quite so lifelike.

TITLE: TALK OF THE TOWN
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Le Cristal restaurant, which occupies an enviable location on the Martynov embankment next to the yacht club on Krestovsky Island, has something to be proud of this week. The venue has had the good fortune to snap up Filippo Licata, one of Italy’s most successful chefs and a darling of the cr&#232;me de la cr&#232;me of European bohemians and politicians alike. Licata is a favorite with fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, pop singer Mylene Farmer, and soccer players Simone Loria and Lothar Matthaus, as well as with politicians such as Renato Scifani, the speaker of the Italian parliament.
The chef, who has worked in London’s Cipriani and Brussels’ Michelin-starred Bruneau, brings some of the finest Italian dishes to the banks of the Neva River. The cuisine will fuse Mediterranean and European culinary traditions, with Tuscan dishes comprising the core of the menu. Licata will work in tandem with Le Christal’s other chef, Rustam Tangirov, who will be in charge of the restaurant’s Asian menu.
As spring edges tantalizingly closer, the local artistic community is waking up and venturing out of hibernation. FREE’k Bazaar, a design and handmade market, is back for two days, this time at a new venue: The Blue Floor of the Zone of Action (Zona Deistviya) cooperative center at 74 Ligovsky Prospekt.
Russia’s answer to the legendary craft markets of London, FREE’k bazaar is the brainchild of Anna Antoshchenko-Oleneva, the founder of handmade design and crafts club Delaruk. It serves as an umbrella group for young designers, experimental artists and vintage collectors. True to its name, the market offers bargain prices for some of the most original, inspired and simply fun presents in town. FREE’k bazaar will also comprise free master classes in scrap art and handicrafts. 
Those who like to ingest a bit of culture over their dinner are sure to appreciate miX Talks, a new tradition of literary evenings at the W Hotel. Hosted by the hotel’s miX restaurant, the first evening in the series will be held on Feb. 25 and feature acclaimed Russian actor and director Veniamin Smekhov reading the poetry of Joseph Brodsky. In the near future, the project will include a talk on style from the internationally renowned fashion consultant Marie de Tilly (March 21) and Russian poet Igor Guberman reading his verse (March 31).
From March 1 to 8, W Hotel will celebrate the spirit of femininity in honor of International Women’s Day with a special ladies’ menu. Highlights include gelee of Kamchatka crab and tomato with coral emulsion; marinated fillet of sea bass with lemon and truffle; free-range chicken from the Leningrad Oblast with pot-au-feu vegetables and Albufera sauce; and crispy chocolate and passion fruit with Arabica ice-cream.

TITLE: the word’s worth: In the hot seat
AUTHOR: By Michele A. Berdy
TEXT: Ñàæàòü/ïîñàäèòü: to seat, plant, imprison, put

In English, I don’t have much occasion to use the verb “to seat.” In fact, I think the last time I used it was a year or so ago: “Even though we made a reservation, the maitre d’ didn’t seat us right away.”
On the other hand, in Russian I seat things all the time. That is, I use the verb pair ñàæàòü/ïîñàäèòü almost every day.
First of all, you use ñàæàòü/ïîñàäèòü when you are putting someone in a sitting position. Îí ïîñàäèë ìåíÿ íà äèâàí è ñòàë ðàññêàçûâàòü î òîì, ÷òî ñëó÷èëîñü. (He seated me on the couch and began to tell me what happened.) Or: ß ïîñàäèëà ðåáåíêà ê ñåáå íà êîëåíè è ñòàëà ÷èòàòü åìó êíèãó. (I put the child on my lap and began to read him a book.)
And since you sit on airplanes, trains, cars and other forms of transport, you are “seated” when you board them. Hence the word ïîñàäêà (boarding) and ïîñàäî÷íûé òàëîí (boarding pass) and the announcements you hear at the airport: Èä¸ò ïîñàäêà íà ðåéñ … (Boarding flight number … ).
That’s what passengers do. But planes also “sit” or are “seated” — that is, they land: Ñàìîë¸ò ñàäèëñÿ äàëåêî èç òåðìèíàëà (The plane put down far from the terminal). Ïèëîò ïîñàäèë ñàìîë¸ò íà Ãóäçîí (The pilot landed the plane on the Hudson). And so when ïîñàäêà is used to describe planes and not passengers, it means a landing: Áîèíã ñîâåðøèë àâàðèéíóþ ïîñàäêó (The Boeing made an emergency landing).
You also use this verb pair when placing something that “sits.” For example, since in Russian birds sit (ñèäÿò), you would say: Ïîñàäè ïîïóãàÿ îáðàòíî â êëåòêó (Put the parrot back in his cage). And since you “sit” on a diet in Russian (ñèäåòü íà äèåòå), during a checkup a doctor might say: ß ïîñàæó âàñ íà ñòðîãóþ äèåòó — íàäî ñêèíóòü íåñêîëüêî êèëîãðàììîâ (I’m putting you on a strict diet — you’ve got to lose several kilos).
But you already know that — it’s all the fault of your ñèäÿ÷èé îáðàç æèçíè (your sedentary lifestyle).
Come springtime, that will change: You’ll be at the dacha for the planting season. For some reason, you “seat” plants in Russian: Êàæäûé ãîä ÿ ñàæàþ î÷åíü ìíîãî öâåòîâ, íî â ýòîì ãîäó ÿ ïîñàæó ÿáëîíþ è ãðóøó (Every year I plant a lot of flowers, but this year I’m going to put in an apple tree and a pear tree).
If the seating arrangement in the garden is clear, in the kitchen it isn’t. It would seem that you “seat” pies, bread, turkeys and cakes in the oven. Åñëè õëåá ïå÷¸òñÿ â ðóññêîé ïå÷êå, òî îí ñàæàåòñÿ ïðÿìî â ÷èñòî âûìåòåííóþ ïå÷ü íà ïîä (If the bread is baked in a traditional Russian stove, it is placed right on the bottom of a cleanly brushed oven). But I’ve found recipes that use the term ïîñòàâèòü (to place upright) or even ïîëîæèòü (to lay). In any case, you shouldn’t be baking bread when you’re trying to lose weight.
If being on a diet is like being put in food jail, it should not come as a surprise that since you “sit” in jail (ñèäåòü â òþðüìå), you are “seated” there. Ìýðà ïîñàäèëè íà òðè ãîäà çà âçÿòêó (The mayor was imprisoned for three years for bribe-taking).
Jailing, landing, boarding, seating, planting, … tell me again about my ñèäÿ÷èé îáðàç æèçíè?

<i>Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of “The Russian Word’s Worth” (Glas), a collection of her columns.</i>

TITLE: Suicide pact
AUTHOR: By Tatyana Sochiva
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: In the wake of a high-profile spree of teen suicides across Russia, now might seem like the worst time to release a teen movie titled “The Suicides.” Despite its gloomy title, however, the debut work of filmmaker Yegor Baranov is a life-affirming comedy, with plenty of action scenes and black humor. 
The film tells the comic story of three friends who decide to die, but who along the way to fulfilling their last wishes gather a group of other potential suicides. The simple desire to bring a little happiness to each other transforms their wretched existence into an adventure, making them appreciate their life and friendship.   
The subject of the movie is hardly original. The theme of suicide has a long tradition in cinema and literature, ranging from Goethe’s “The Sorrows of Young Werther” to Paulo Coelho’s contemporary classic “Veronika Decides to Die.” But this theme has recently become tragically topical for Russia, which has the highest youth suicide rate in the world. Disturbed by this depressing statistic, the film’s creators say they made the movie as a “vaccination against suicide,” with the object of conveying a simple idea to young people: Life is better than death.
“This comedy could save many people who thought they wanted to die,” argues actor Alexei Vorobyov, who stars in the movie together with Oksana Akinshina and Yevgeny Stychkin. 
“We decided to speak our minds without being didactic and wagging fingers,” said Alexander Strizhenov, the film’s producer. “We just found the shortest path to reach young people.” 
However, the film’s ambitious goal seems distant from its achievement. 
Somehow, the “shortest path” has led the filmmakers to a very ordinary comedy that lacks any profound analysis of the problem, along with any genuinely funny jokes. “The Suicides” is an unconvincing tale of stereotypical dumb cops, good-looking heroes with guns and an implausible happy ending. 
The film’s director and producer claim that the movie is in sharp contrast to art house cinema. “Art house is about death; mainstream is about life. We could remain within the art house genre if the characters went ahead and blew their heads off,” Strizhenov concluded.
Baranov’s desire to make a quality commercial movie that differs from niche market films is understandable and justified. But unfortunately he has failed to escape the influence of the widespread opinion that teen film shouldn’t be too profound or sensitive.
Nevertheless, “The Suicides” stands out for its star actors and its rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack, consisting mostly of original compositions by young musicians. It is also worth noting that the actors were not paid for their roles in the film, but worked on it simply because they liked the screenplay and believed in the movie’s success. 
 
<i>“The Suicides” will be released across the country March 1. </i>

TITLE: Funky festival
AUTHOR: By Olga Khrustaleva
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: With spring just around the corner, the city is slowly emerging from its long hibernation. The vibrant strains of jazz could help to speed up this process, as the traditional Usadba Jazz festival has grown to present a new winter festival: Usadba Jazz Zima.
Usadba Jazz started as an attempt to take jazz music “out of basements and into the fresh air,” Maria Syomushkina, the festival’s founder and director, told The St. Petersburg Times. 
“When I was 25 I went to clubs a lot and was friends with musicians, but my friends and I felt like some big event where we could showcase all the great music we played and listened to was missing,” she said. “The idea was born when I was walking through the alleys of the Arkhangelskoye estate [outside Moscow]. That was the place. The format was clear too — improvisation, jazz, brass bands, ethnic motifs, swing and more jazz.” 
Syomushkina shared her ideas with a tobacco company, which agreed to sponsor the festival. 
This is how the first festival came to be held in 2004 at the Arkhangelskoye estate some 20 kilometers west of Moscow. It has come a long way since then. It began with three stages and about 10,000 visitors; in the summer of 2011 there were six stages in Moscow, and two each in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk. 
“These cities have the best progressive audiences, people with good taste. We have developed a certain trend in eight years,” said Syomushkina. “In 2012 we plan to attract more than 50,000 people altogether.” 
Although Usadba Jazz Zima is much smaller than its summer sister, it offers a welcome bit of cheer amid the bitter February weather. The organizers’ main goal was to showcase the spirit of jazz, with all its lightness and inner freedom. 
The headliners of Usadba Jazz Zima are the American saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis and trombonist Fred Wesley. Often referred to as the fathers of funk, they combine traditional jazz with contemporary trends to make their work fresh and popular. They started playing together in a band years ago and are now well known in jazz circles all over the world.
The younger generation is represented by Ukrainian jazz singer Jamala (Susana Jamaladinova). During her studies at Ukraine’s National Music Academy, Jamala, who has a four-octave vocal range, majored in opera, but opted for jazz in the end. She remains fiercely proud of her opera background, however. 
“What I particularly like about academic music is its focus on vocals,” Jamala told The St. Petersburg Times. “Everyone who sings opera really sings. In that genre, it is impossible to fake it.”
Jamala, who is currently working on her second album, believes success depends on talent more than on anything else. The “masculinity” of jazz, in her opinion, works to the advantage of female musicians. 
“When a talented female jazz instrumentalist or vocalist appears, she becomes worth her weight in gold,” said Jamala. Among notable examples, she cited Grammy award-winning contrabassist Esperanza Spalding, trumpeter Saskia Laroo, pianist Diana Krall and singer Nina Simone. “There are not many of them, but they are all in the public eye,” she said. “And there are very few good singers. I believe that a good female vocal stands out more than a male one. So a talented woman who sings jazz can’t go unnoticed, and will leave no one unmoved.”
Other participants at Usadba Jazz Zima are the Fun2Mass band from St. Petersburg, who are popular with audiences for their charisma and humor, and Muscovite Nikolai Moiseenko, who will perform together with the young singer Ksenia Kolambatskaya. 
With many new names appearing on the jazz scene, the formation of contemporary trends is clear. It is hard to say, however, what it will be like in a few years’ time. 
“Its concept is in a constant phase of transformation,” Jamala said. “And this is what makes it perfect.” 
From being light and even dance music in the beginning, jazz has become more complicated and intellectual and evolved into many different forms. 
“It appeared in New Orleans, but over time developed in many areas with a ‘national’ face,” Jamala told The St. Petersburg Times. “Today there is Latin American, Armenian, Georgian, Russian and Ukrainian jazz. It is always acquiring new shades; this is its charm.”

<i>Usadba Jazz Zima will take place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25 at Manezh Kadetskogo Korpusa concert hall, 13 Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya.www.usadba-jazz.ru/en.</i>

TITLE: in the spotlight: MTV plugged
AUTHOR: By Anna Malpas
TEXT: Last week, MTV Russia announced that it was pulling a political talk show hosted by It girl and media personality Ksenia Sobchak after just one episode. In an enigmatic statement, it said it was suspending the show to “define the format and the channel’s positioning.”
But Sobchak was characteristically outspoken about the abrupt termination of the show, called “GosDep,” or “State Department.” She broke the news on Twitter on Valentine’s Day, saying the channel gave no reason for the closure but that they were about to film an episode with protest leader Alexei Navalny.
The first episode last week invited leaders of the protest movement who are rarely seen on television — such as Sergei Udaltsov of the Left Front movement and Yevgenia Chirikova who orchestrates a protest against road construction in the Khimki woods. It also included pro-Kremlin youth groups and parliamentary deputies. Sobchak wore a T-shirt with portraits of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev and acted as moderator, reminding speakers that they were talking to a youth audience.
Sobchak also corresponded with new U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul about him coming on a later show.
Clearly, MTV Russia with its bland and glossy programming was an odd choice to air a show promising some real debate and rough edges. But the channel publicized the show before its sudden U-turn, suggesting that the decision came from above.
Sobchak wrote on her blog that channel chief Roman Sarkisov was heavily involved in creating the show.
“Sarkisov gave the green light and actively participated in preparing the show,” she said. She also said she insisted on having no black lists of people who could not appear — a common practice on television.
Sarkisov told RIA-Novosti, however, that the channel’s surveys found that young people were uninterested in politics and would prefer to watch the new series of “Holidays in Mexico,” a reality show starring young tanned people in bikinis. He said the channel would “reposition” itself and then return to the show, although presumably after the March 4 election.
Writing on Twitter, Sobchak suggested Sarkisov was speaking under duress. “I am sorry they are forcing Roman Sarkisov, a decent and principled person, to say this kind of thing. … I am sorry for all of us.”
It’s a strange transformation for Sobchak, who started out trading on her ditzy It girl image and famous name as the daughter of Putin’s late mentor, Anatoly Sobchak. She published style guides and appeared in her own reality show, as well as co-hosting TNT’s long-running reality saga “Dom-2.”
Gradually she moved into politics. She barged in on government youth tsar Vasily Yakemenko lunching in an expensive restaurant and filmed him on her cell phone to prove that he is no man of the people. She started discussing protests on Twitter and even spoke at one of the rallies, although she represents the mildest end of the protesters. Until her show’s closure, it seemed she had a free hand.
Sobchak said on her blog that MTV Russia got cold feet when it heard she was planning a show with Navalny about nationalism — an impressive feat given Navalny’s reluctance to give interviews and his touchiness about accusations that he is a nationalist. Funnily enough, the channel suggested she instead cover the less controversial topic of gay rights — in a neat illustration of the changing times.
Clearly upset, Sobchak wrote she felt she had been put in her place — hosting “Dom-2,” a gray purgatory of a show where contestants physically attacked each other on Valentine’s Day.
“Don’t dare reproach me any more for doing ‘Dom-2.’ I tried!” she wrote. “The conclusion is either be unemployed or do rubbish and toe the line.”

TITLE: THE DISH: Raponji
AUTHOR: By Daniel Kozin
TEXT: <b>The real deal</b>
Going out for sushi in St. Petersburg is all too often a guarantee for overpriced morsels of stale fish, loud music, tacky interiors, and a stomachache that lasts well into the next day. Subpar sushi chains dominate the scene, catering to Russia’s seemingly unwavering love for the Japanese delicacy. Meanwhile, quality and authenticity are restricted to a small number of restaurants that exclude all but the highest spenders. The newly opened restaurant Raponji, located on Bolshoi Prospekt on Vasilyevsky Island, is a perfect alternative that makes the venture entirely worthwhile.
While nondescript from the outside, the first indication of quality is apparent upon stepping through the glass doors into the restaurant’s quaint interior. High ceilings, low black divans and soft lighting dispel any preconceptions and impart an ambience of comfort and calm. 
The dining area is restricted to a single space designed in a minimalist style with subtle Japanese elements, a large mirror at one end and panoramic windows that open onto the tranquil square outside. Melodic lounge music fits perfectly with the interior, and while the room was surprisingly empty for a Saturday night, this only enhanced the mood of meditative relaxation. 
The menu is mostly devoted to a wide selection of sushi, including individual rolls, sets of eight, combination platters and sashimi, as well as an interesting “hand roll” option of cone-shaped sushi for those less adept with chopsticks. Soups, salads, desserts and a long list of main dishes such as noodles and sesame chicken are also offered. 
Our meal began with a ginger drink for 220 rubles ($7.10) recommended by the enthusiastic waitress, which was a great way to warm up from the wintry outdoors. The pot lasted for the entire meal, and was the perfect combination of spicy ginger, sweet honey and tangy lemon. 
Soups were significantly less palatable, with the kimchi soup for 150 rubles ($5) neither spicy nor containing any cabbage, as one would be inclined to assume. The kler soup for 280 rubles ($9.30) was equally disappointing, as the shrimp, eel and salmon did little to mask the graininess of the broth, leading to suspicions that it was made from powder.
The main course however vindicated any doubts about the restaurant’s specialty. The Philadelphia roll for 450 rubles ($15) exceeded all expectations, with the salmon undoubtedly fresh and tender, and the cream cheese authentic and in just the right proportion. The hot max roll for 580 rubles ($18.30) was a toasted concoction of salmon, crab and eel topped with batter and a sweet sauce. 
If the sushi at Raponji can safely be recommend to connoisseurs, one dish that simply should not be passed over is the Bali dessert at 320 rubles ($10.60). Eight triangle-shaped pieces of fresh apple, banana, strawberry, kiwi and mango with cream cheese surrounded by marzipan dough covered in powdered sugar provided eight bursts of fresh and delicate sweetness with undertones of almond and cream in a dessert that is simply perfect. 
When the craving for sushi hits, diners would do well to bypass mediocre sushi franchises and head to Raponji for a relaxing atmosphere, fresh sushi and a rare peace of mind — and stomach.

TITLE: A Spectator’s Guide to the March 4 Election
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: While the public outcry has resulted in an openness for opposition voices not seen in years and a genuine feeling that change is in the air, the names on the ballot for the March 4 presidential vote and the expected outcome will not likely come as a surprise.
As Vladimir Putin seeks to return to the presidency for the third time, he faces four officially sanctioned candidates. Three others tried to run but failed to get on the ballot. Talk has turned to several other public figures who have inspired hope but have not decided whether to join the fight themselves.
Here’s a brief look at who is running, who wanted to run and who everyone is talking about. Polling data reflects the most recent information available.

<b>Official Candidates</b>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> A Just Russia
<b>Background/platform:</b> A trained geologist and former head of the Federation Council, Mironov, 59, ran for president against Vladimir Putin in 2004. He said he was acting as a “stand-in” for the president to guarantee an actual election would take place. In the end, Mironov received less than 1 percent of the vote. He was purged from the council in 2011 by Putin’s United Russia party and has become more of an opposition figure since, saying publicly he wants to “win over” Putin.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> He may be the only moderate left alternative to independent candidate Mikhail Prokhorov and Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov. He has a reputation of running a tight ship and hasn’t been accused of corruption, but his avoidance of attacking Putin directly and his refusal to speak at opposition rallies — despite pressure from his own party — have weighed on him. Ultimately, Mironov lacks a certain personal charisma that has resulted in him having lower approval ratings than his own party.
<b>Business climate:</b> If elected, Mironov promises to raise taxes for the rich, abolish the Unified State Exam for schools, bar offshore companies from exploiting Russian mineral resources and create a 20 percent export tax on capital outflows.
<b>Chances:</b> “Mironov might only have a chance if he poses stronger opposition to Putin,” said independent analyst Stanislav Belkovsky.
VTsIOM (state-owned): 3 percent
Levada (independent): 4 percent
Gazeta.ru (online): 2.5 percent
 — <i>Alexander Bratersky</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Independent (formerly of Right Cause).
<b>Background/platform:</b> The 46-year-old billionaire businessman has styled himself as the “white knight” candidate for the country’s increasingly assertive middle class. He is the only official candidate to have appeared at recent opposition rallies and his platform mirrors the protesters’ demands for free elections and political liberalization. But many view him suspiciously as a possible Kremlin stalking horse candidate designed to distract protesters’ attention.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Prokhorov has pledged to tackle corruption and red tape, which could woo pro-business voters. But the metal magnate’s wealth — estimated at up to $18 billion — combined with his suspected links to the Kremlin, could make it difficult for him to gain voters’ trust. He is also a relative unknown compared to his opponents and has never held public office.
<b>Business climate:</b> Prokhorov states that his main goal is to boost efficiency and reduce waste in the economy by promoting competition. He pledges to battle monopolies, strengthen controls on illegal immigration and increase state investment in scientific research. He also proposes privatizing state corporations and working with private businesses to improve the country’s infrastructure. Analysts praise his pledge to fight corruption and bureaucracy, but they said it wasn’t clear how he would succeed.
<b>Chances:</b>
VTsIOM (state-owned):  5 percent
Levada (independent):  4 percent
Gazeta.ru (online):  19.3 percent
— <i>Jonathan Earle</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Candidate of United Russia, although he is not a party member.
<b>Background/platform:</b> Putin has everything a candidate can dream of. He has dominated national politics for the past 12 years. During his first two terms as president from 2000 to 2008, the country saw unrivaled economic growth and prosperity, and his popularity soared to over 75 percent. When he resigned four years ago due to a constitutional limit on a third consecutive term, he entrusted the Kremlin to a longtime confidant while he continued to wield influence by becoming the most powerful prime minister in post-Soviet history. And yet, Vladimir Putin faces the biggest challenge of his career. His announcement last September that he would run for a third term and allegations of widespread fraud at the State Duma elections alienated wide swaths of society, prompting unprecedented mass protests in Moscow and other cities, where tens of thousands chanted “Putin Go Away.”
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Putin started to fight against sliding approval ratings in May 2011 by founding the All-Russia People’s Front, which unites all his supporters under a brand different from the increasingly unpopular United Russia party, which Putin chairs but never joined. Critics argue that the plan failed miserably on Dec. 4, because despite massive vote-rigging United Russia won only 49 percent, 15 percentage points less than in 2007. Some polls suggest that Putin won’t get more than 50 percent in the March 4 vote, making a second round necessary. Most experts predict that the Kremlin won’t allow that to happen.
<b>Business climate:</b> Putin’s main argument is that he alone guarantees stability, and that all other candidates carry a risk of somehow ruining the country. This line of thought is often shared by foreign investors, although many of them had hoped for a second presidency for Dmitry Medvedev.
In February, Putin announced that he wants to make Russia “among one of the top 20 countries in the world” in terms of its business climate. But as more people in the country are ready to openly challenge his rule, nobody expects Putin’s third presidency to be an easy ride. 
<b>Chances:</b>
VTsIOM (state-owned): 53 percent
Levada (independent): 37 percent
Gazeta.ru (online): 6.8 percent
— <i>Nikolaus von Twickel</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
<b>Background/platform:</b> Zhirinovsky, 65, has run for president four times before in 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2008. Zhirinovsky is well-known for his wild tirades and strongly nationalist positions. If elected, he vows to turn Russia into a parliamentary republic, do away with ethnic territorial divisions and declare Russians the chief nationality of the country. He wants to build more roads, reform the political and economic system, reverse capital outflows and revitalize the army and sciences.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Zhirinovsky has 18 years of experience in the legislature, speaks five languages and is an expert on the Middle East and Asia. But he is tainted by his somewhat buffoonish image as public brawler who engages in offensive shouting matches with his opponents. His nationalist rhetoric has turned off many, and his party is often viewed as a patronage machine that is merely a Kremlin puppet.
<b>Business climate:</b> Zhirinovsky is a strong supporter of small businesses and advocates interest-free loans and lower taxes for startups. He calls for as much privatization of state-run businesses as possible and complete economic freedom for the regions and municipalities. His party platform also calls for abolishing income tax for those who earn less than 10,000 rubles ($330) per month, the introduction of a luxury tax, giving unemployed ethnic Russians priority for jobs over migrants and fixing the minimum salary at 100 rubles ($3) an hour starting in 2014.
<b>Chances:</b>
VTsIOM (state-owned): 8 percent
Levada (independent): 5 percent
Gazeta.ru (online): 1.6 percent
— <i>Natalya Krainova</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Communist Party
<b>Background/platform:</b> Trained as a mathematician and teacher, Zyuganov has been party chairman since 1995. Zyuganov, 67, claims that under his rule, Russia would have “the government of people’s trust” that will include members of various parties along with nonpartisans. According to his platform, Zyuganov plans to combat social inequality, demographic problems, the breakdown of the defense industry, moral degradation and the oil dependence of the economy. If elected, Zyuganov vows to hold early parliamentary elections on Dec.1, 2012, and reduce the presidential term to five years. City and district judges will be chosen through popular election. Russia will forge closer political and economic relations with CIS countries, forming a “union of brotherhood nations.”
Young people will receive more state support and free education, while the population will be entitled to free medicine. 
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> While the Communist Party platform still has a core of supporters, it has had trouble connecting with younger voters. Zyuganov has been accused of failing to modernize the Communist Party platform.
<b>Business climate:</b> Zyuganov wants to maintain nationalization in key industries  and sectors like banking, energy, plane construction and railway transportation. He stresses that private business would still continue to exist in a renewed communist state. “We support small business, it’s inevitable,” Zyuganov has said.
<b>Chances:</b>
VTsIOM (state-owned): 10 percent
Levada (independent): 8 percent
Gazeta.ru (online): 19.3 percent
— <i>Alexandra Odynova</i>

<b>Tried to Run, But Barred From Participating</b>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Nominated by the East-Siberian Railway’s labor union, which is part of Putin’s All-Russia People’s Front.
<b>Background/platform:</b> Mezentsev was appointed governor of Irkutsk by President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009 . Mezentsev indicated his loyalty to Putin by claiming that their competition will be “formal.” He was denied registration after the Central Elections Commission declared invalid a large number of signatures he submitted for inclusion on the ballot.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Mezentsev was widely seen as a “technical candidate” to give a level of legitimacy if opposition candidates had decided to boycott the election, since the law requires at least two candidates take part. 
<b>Business climate:</b> Given that most expected that Mezentsev had no plans to stay in office, no major changes in the business climate were to be expected, Alexei Makarkin, a political analyst with the Center for Political Technologies said.
<b>Chances:</b> Mezentsev’s popularity in the Irkutsk region is low, leaving him with no base of support. 
— <i>Irina Filatova</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Founder of The Will, an unregistered party based around a folk medicine center Peunova runs.
<b>Background/platform:</b> Peunova, 54, wrote several books and runs the Svetlana Peunova Academy of Development in Samara, which provides psychological services. She campaigned on a nationalization platform, vowing to abolish the requirement of State Duma representation for parties to nominate a presidential candidate. She was barred from running after only collecting 243,000 signatures of the required 2 million.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Perhaps Peunova’s biggest strength was the fact that she was little known to the electorate. Peunova’s organization has been viewed by some as a kind of cult. One of her group’s beliefs is that a reptilian race is headed to earth on a comet to conquer and enslave its people. 
<b>Business climate:</b> If elected, Peunova said she planned to cancel Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization and make foreign investors leave 30 to 50 percent of their profits in Russia.
<b>Chances:</b> None.
 — <i>Natalya Krainova</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> Yabloko
<b>Background/platform:</b> Head of Russia’s stalwart party of social-liberal positions, Yavlinsky, 59, is a Russian political veteran. He first took part in presidential elections in 1996, securing 7.4 percent of the vote against Boris Yeltsin.
“Yavlinsky is the most popular candidate among people with independent views,” said opposition political figure Vladimir Milov. The Central Elections Commission, however, did not allow Yavlinsky on the March ballot, claiming many of his signatures were forged. Yavlinsky said the decision was politically motivated. The Supreme Court dismissed Yavlinsky’s appeal on Feb. 8.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Yavlinsky is widely admired in intellectual circles and has not been tainted by corruption. He is known to stand by his principals and is well-regarded in the West. But he has generally kept a low profile in recent years and almost left the party to teach.
<b>Business climate:</b> Yavlinsky is an economist by training and authored the aborted 500 Days Program laying out a path from communism to a market economy. If he took office, Yavlinsky says he would revamp the Tax Code to force monopolies to pay taxes where they are registered and make individuals pay income tax where they live. He has also called for the abolishment of the military draft and for the publication of all spending by government officials.
<b>Chances:</b> Yavlinsky’s presidential ratings weren’t high before being blocked from the ballot and his support lies largely in Russia’s major cities. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, Yavlinsky was polling at about 5 percent, but according to state-owned VTsIOM and the independent Levada polling centers, he only had about 1 percent support among the total population.
— <i>Alexander Bratersky</i>

<b>Much Discussed, 
But Not Running</b>

<b>Who:</b> Russia’s most famous prisoner and once the country’s richest man.
<b>Background/platform:</b> The former head of Russia’s once biggest oil company, Khodorkovsky has been jailed since 2003 on embezzlement and fraud charges that are widely viewed as politically motivated. Many of his supporters and human rights activists consider him a political prisoner, as his imprisonment has been seen as an act of revenge by Vladimir Putin for the ex-Yukos chief’s political and business ambitions. In frequent articles written in jail, Khodorkovsky urges modernization of the judicial and prison system in Russia. Before going to jail, Khodorkovsky sponsored several educational programs and liberal opposition forces.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Although he doesn’t have a platform, observers say Khodorkovsky could one day emerge as the head of a growing opposition movement in Russia, at least “as a moral authority,” as Yevgeny Gontmakher of the Institute for Modern Development put it. But as Khodorkovsky was once the wealthiest man in the country, he carries much of the same baggage as the rest of the oligarchs.
<b>Business climate:</b> Khodorkovsky’s second verdict is weak rule of law and a politically manipulated judiciary — which has resulted in a spoiling of the business climate. If he were released early, observers suspect that it would have a positive impact.
<b>Chances:</b> None. Khodorkovsky is unable to run until he is freed in 2016.
— <i>Alexandra Odynova</i>

<b>Who:</b> Finance minister for 11 years.
<b>Background/platform:</b> Kudrin presided over a period of economic growth and stabilization until his ouster as head of the Finance Ministry in September 2011 amid a public fight with President Dmitry Medvedev. Kudrin argues Russia’s model of capitalism has all the fundamental conditions for further development, but that development hinges on the spread of political freedom. One of the key milestones Kudrin shepherded through in 2006 was the abolition of restrictions on the movement of capital in and out of the Russia. Kudrin believes that this and a stable government, is the best stimulus for business. Kudrin favors capitalizing on the windfall from Russia’s oil and gas revenues, rerouting most of it into a reserve fund. He argues that curtailing governmental social spending is a crucial step.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Kudrin is seen as a smart professional, being awarded Best Finance Minister of 2010 by Euromoney magazine. But as a person with close ties to Vladimir Putin — who repeatedly called Kudrin a friend, even after he left the Cabinet — Kudrin is likely to avoid taking a confrontational stance and seek revolutionary change. Business climate: Conditions for doing business would likely improve, with efforts to strengthen the rule of law and further tame inflation. Social spending under Kudrin would possibly shrink, reducing the prospects of increasing the tax burden.
<b>Chances:</b> Kudrin ranked third-least popular Cabinet minister in VTsIOM polls last year. In the most recent poll, held in September, 34 percent of respondents said they disapproved of him. In a poll by Levada Center in December, Kudrin shared eighth place with Mayor Sergei Sobyanin as the most trusted Russian political leader. He has made no move signaling an intention to run for president, but some suspect he may be tapped to be the next prime minister.
— <i>Anatoly Medetsky</i>

<b>Party affiliation:</b> The Other Russia
<b>Background/platform:</b> Nationalize! A celebrated fiction writer, Eduard Limonov, 69, has been a fixture of the radical left for almost 20 years, first as leader of the National Bolshevik Party — which was banned in 2007 — and currently as head of the unregistered The Other Russia party. Repeatedly arrested for staging small-scale protests, Limonov has struggled to expand his appeal beyond a small group of mostly young activists and has never held elected office. He was refused registration for the 2012 race because of problems with his application, the Central Elections Commission said. 
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> His main strength is his sheer tenacity and consistency, but he has never managed to gather widespread support.
<b>Business climate:</b> Limonov calls for the nationalization of oil, gas and minerals companies, arguing that the nation’s natural wealth should belong to “the people.” He also calls for the capital to be moved to southern Siberia, a project he says would employ millions, improve infrastructure and “stop China’s expansion.” Analysts say his policies would spell disaster for the economy.
<b>Chances:</b> A perennial outsider, Limonov will likely always remain outside the mainstream. An online poll on Gazeta.ru showed Limonov with just 1.4 percent of the vote as of Feb. 14.
— <i>Jonathan Earle</i>

<b>Who:</b> Russia’s soon-to-be ex-president and perhaps future prime minister.
<b>Background/platform:</b> Medvedev entered the Kremlin in 2008 and was viewed as Vladimir Putin’s puppet at the time. As the end of his term draws near, that image has returned. However, during his four years in office, he managed to convince some that he was the man who could finally transform Russia into a modern state with a diversified economy. Many of those people have now taken to the streets in protest against Putin’s decision to return to the presidency. Medvedev’s term was in many ways aspirational — he embodied the hope that Russia could finally overcome its entrenched deficiencies, but resulted in no substance.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Among his greatest assets is his enthusiasm for reform, outlined in numerous speeches and policy initiatives that range from the police force to punishments for economic crimes. While his supporters argue that Medvedev needed more time to implement his ideas, critics say he lacked the power. He has long labored under the shadow of his Vladimir Putin, with many believing that without Putin there is no Medvedev.
<b>Business climate:</b> Medvedev quickly developed a penchant for modernizing the economy and regularly called for reducing bureaucracy, fighting corruption and improving the business climate. His success was mixed — last year Russia remained well below the top 100 in the World Bank’s Business Climate Index (120) and Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (143).
<b>Chances:</b> Since it was announced that Medvedev would not attempt to return for another term, his approval rating has plummeted to just 15 percent, according to the independent Levada Center.
— <i>Nikolaus von Twickel</i>

<b>Who:</b> A leading opposition figure who made his name operating an anti-corruption blog.
<b>Background/platform:</b> Navalny was a former member of the Yabloko party until his expulsion in 2007 for his nationalist beliefs. He is a member of the organizing committee for Moscow’s recent street demonstrations and is focused on destroying the current regime. Navalny has given few details on specific policies that he might implement if he ever came to power. In the run-up to December’s Duma elections, he urged people to cast their vote for any party but United Russia. A fervent critic of corruption, Navalny has also supported the right to bear arms and tighter controls on immigration. He has resisted calls to create a political party.
<b>Strengths and weaknesses:</b> Navalny, a lawyer, made his name waging a one-man war against corruption on his popular blog and through his RosPil site that tracks government tenders. Though Navalny’s 15-day arrest after a Dec. 5 protest helped to transform him into more of an “offline leader,” his support is Internet-based. He has never held public office but describes himself as a “politician” and does not hide his political ambition. The League of Voters, an opposition group fighting electoral fraud, barred Navalny from joining because of his stated presidential hopes. Navalny is a staunch supporter of the annual nationalist Russian March and was its co-organizer in 2011, but his nationalist views have troubled many of his more liberal supporters.
<b>Business climate:</b> His economic policies are foggy, but he took a step to clear up some of the confusion with an appeal during a meeting with top bankers on Jan. 6. Ivan Tchakarov, an economist who attended the meeting, wrote Navalny had expressed support for many of the economic programs discussed. He even said he generally approved of the article on economics written by Putin that was published last month. Given his outspoken position on corruption, businessmen should be confident that if president Navalny would do his utmost to stamp out what has been seen as the chief blight on Russia’s investment climate.
<b>Chances:</b> There are no official statistics on Navalny’s popularity, as his support base lies in the Internet sphere. An online poll on Gazeta.ru had Navalny taking 10.5 percent of the vote as of Feb. 14.
— <i>Howard Amos</i>

TITLE: Broaden Your Mind — Without Spending a Penny
AUTHOR: By Yekaterina Kravtsova
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: While it may seem that the consumer era continues to dictate life by its materialistic rules, an opposing tendency can be observed in at least one sphere: Education. 
The diversity of open lectures and workshops available to the knowledge-thirsty public in St. Petersburg provide a unique opportunity to find out about artistic and scientific treasures of the past, participate in live discussions and meet new people. 
While the pursuit of knowledge has been dramatically facilitated by the development of the Internet and other modern technologies, no online courses or electronic gadgets can provide the same level of practical experience and inspiration as a real live educator. St. Petersburg is now home to dozens of places where new knowledge can be obtained, either purely academic or with an entertainment element.
“It is not fair to say that optional lectures are not academic,” said Yelena Ilyina, editor-in-chief at Theory and Practice, an online service specializing in educational issues. “It depends on what you want to obtain. This defines what format you choose — lectures, workshops, or meetings with someone who is popular and well-known in the area in which you are interested.” 
State museums, libraries and institutes are rapidly turning into cultural and scientific centers, while independent bookstores, modern art galleries and educational start-ups are planned from the very beginning as platforms from which to share knowledge and experience. 
<b>Word Order</b>
“Intellectual” literature is enjoying a boom in popularity as independent bookstores offering intellectual and non-fiction literature become some of the city’s most progressive places for diverse cultural events. 
The Poryadok Slov (Word Order) bookstore, which opened two years ago, has become an established cultural center, and now holds about 20 events a month, including regular lectures and advance film screenings.
“The idea of making all the events free and open to everyone was raised from the very beginning,” said Konstantin Shavlovsky, founder of Poryadok Slov and editor-in-chief at Seance magazine. “That’s why we gradually started to move toward the format of a cultural center, rather than simply a bookstore. 
“As I had already worked at S&#233;ance magazine for six years before Poryadok Slov was founded, it’s logical that we launched a film club here,” Shavlovsky said. “We invite all contemporary Russian directors to attend their own film screenings.” Among the directors who have already presented their creations at Poryadok Slov are Boris Khlebnikov, Nikolai Khomeriki, Alexei Popogrebsky, Bakur Bakuradze and many others. 
Lecture courses at Poryadok Slov include seminars on cinema including a “Visual Anthropology” program led by Ilya Utekhin — professor of anthropology at the European University in St. Petersburg — at which rare non-fiction films are watched and discussed.
“There is a big difference between watching a film alone and with a mediator who gives you a direction for thought,” said Shavlovsky.
Poryadok Slov’s “New Social Journalism” course, in which prominent journalists specializing in social issues talk about changes in society that causes changes in media, was rebranded after the large-scale Dec. 11 protest against electoral fraud to become “Protest and new media,” dedicated to the changing role of the media in conditions of social unrest.
“Changes in society have resulted in the emergence of people who have become mediators between different people and different strata of society; these people voice the most urgent problems and their voices are becoming more audible, so we decided to show who they are,” said Shavlovsky. 

<b>Edutainment</b>
For those who are not in the mood for serious theoretic discussions, there are plenty of informative events that include an element of entertainment.
Traveling is a topic that never fails to attract interest. Cheaptrip, a hip young travel agency based in a funky loft above Sadovaya Ulitsa, organizes lectures by people who have recently traveled to unusual parts of the planet and are ready to share their experiences.
Enthusiastic travelers freshly returned from places such as Ireland, Zanzibar, Tibet and Mexico share their impressions and emotions while telling stories about their adventures. 
“We tell audiences about people and nature for the most part, and also try to outline what problems people could encounter along the way in order to warn them,” said Olga Voldaikina, a project manager at Cheaptrip.
The subject of a lecture on Feb. 28 is Russia’s neighbor Georgia. The aim is “to explain what beauty is concealed behind the politics and TV image of this country.” To enhance the learning experience, organizers promise free chacha, a traditional Georgian spirit.
“The lectures are designed not only for people going somewhere right now; they’re great for inspiration and they’re a chance to find out about different unusual places,” said Voldaikina.
Another place where learning can be fun is the Adelante Spanish language center. “Usually people learn Spanish not for business purposes, but because they like it in films and music, they like Spanish-language culture,” said Olga Alexeyeva, culture department coordinator at Adelante.
In addition to commercial language courses, the center also hosts open events that are often conducted by Spanish-speaking art and literature representatives. Every month there is an event devoted to literature, cinema and art, as well as different festivals and lectures that help participants to study Spanish and find out something new about Spain and Latin American countries in an informal atmosphere. 
“The open events are very important, because many people know little about Latin American countries and have a lot of clich&#233;s in their mind about them,” said Alexeyeva.
The bookstore Vse Svobodny, which specializes in intellectual literature, also hosts informal events such as memorial evenings devoted to iconic figures from Salvador Dali to Kurt Cobain. 

<b>Seizing the Moment</b>
Media and technology are spheres of rapid change, in which daily trends replace those of the day before. To help the public keep up, T&V Workshops organizes events devoted to media and design, while Raum-7 focuses on new web technologies and media. 
T&V Workshops organizes original courses in media and design, but also conducts open lectures and workshops by famous journalists and designers. 
Raum-7 organizes lectures devoted to web technologies, social networking, Internet projects and media. The latest issues are discussed by prominent professionals directly involved in these spheres. Lecturers often come from Moscow or abroad.
In terms of fine art lectures, the city has the advantage of being home to dozens of art centers, museums and academies. From the State Hermitage Museum to independent art galleries, the city abounds with interesting and useful events for both those who are studying art and those who are simply interested in it. 
The Molbert Gallery organizes lectures on fine art that are conducted by experts from the Hermitage, the Repin Academy of Arts and the Shtieglitz School of Art and Design. In addition, workshops are conducted by artists every Saturday at which visitors can witness the creation of a painting.
In the near future, the gallery plans to host an exhibit by Czech artists, accompanied by a lecture and a roundtable with the Czech artists.
The European University also plays an active role in organizing lectures, of which, according to Ilyina, no more than 30 per cent are dedicated to art. The rest focus on sociology and political science. 
The Russian Geographical Society (RGS), which has organized open lectures from the Soviet era, holds lectures on geography, history, ethnography, archeology and more narrow sciences as speleology and aeronautics. 
“We conduct lectures in these subjects that are designed to open up the world,” said Andrei Strelnikov, research head of the RGS.
“There is a great choice of free lectures in the city,” said Ilyina. “It’s important to evaluate your experience and define interests to find those most suitable for you.”