SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #682 (49), Friday, June 29, 2001
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TITLE: Tycoon
 Claims
 Half of
 Sibneft
AUTHOR: By Valeria Korchagina

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Boris Berezovsky announced Wednesday that he owns half of Sibneft, backing away from earlier contradictory statements that he either owns 7 percent of the No. 6 oil company or no stake at all.
 The announcement, which left some market watchers scratching their heads and others tight-lipped, also flies against repeated denials by Sibneft that Berezovsky has any interest in the oil company that he helped form.
 Berezovsky said his shares in Sibneft are being managed by a team overseen by Roman Abramovich, the oil and metals tycoon who was a close ally of Berezovsky's in the 1990s, according to the Kommersant newspaper, which broke the story Wednesday.
 Berezovsky said he does not keep close tabs on the stake, but Abramovich's team is handling it "absolutely correctly." He said there has been no talk about reducing the size of the stake.
 Berezovsky confirmed in a telephone interview Wednesday the accuracy of the report in Kommersant, a newspaper that he controls.
 "I don't consider it appropriate to disclose any more information on top of what I already told Kommersant," Berezovsky added. Sibneft strongly denied Berezovsky's declaration.
 "Boris Berezovsky does not directly or indirectly own any stake in Sibneft," a company spokesperson said.
 He refused further to discuss Berezovsky's relationship with the company.
 Although Berezovsky indeed played a key role in the creation of Sibneft, the claim Wednesday by the once powerful Kremlin insider could not be verified.
 Sibneft says that most of its shares are held in nominee ownership by a number of Western banks and depositary centers. About 12 percent is in free float on the stock market.
 Additionally, Abramovich has maintained in a number of interviews with the media that he controls 44 percent of Sibneft. It is unclear if all or any of that stake is owned by third parties, such as Berezovsky.
 Berezovsky has said he either has no interest in Sibneft or that he controls 7 percent via his Logovaz enterprise.
 However, if Berezovsky should own half of Sibneft he could well be one of the shareholders involved in the acquisitions of major stakes in Russian aluminum plants and 29 percent of Aeroflot over the past year. Those deals have only been linked to unidentified Sibneft shareholders.
 Some industry insiders, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday that they doubted that Abramovich controls 44 percent of Sibneft. They said Abramovich's stake was reduced to 30.5 percent last year during a buying spree in which Sibneft bought back 27 percent of its stock from its export arm Runicom. Runicom, whose ownership structure has never been clear, has been a Sibneft shareholder since at least 1996, when Abramovich was in charge of its Moscow offices.
 Sibneft management said Runicom's shares were bought back to be held in treasury stock in order to raise funds by issuing bonds or reselling the shares.
 Oil industry analysts said Wednesday that Berezovsky's abrupt announcement was unlikely to have any negative impact on Sibneft's image by outside investors or market players, noting that despite Sibneft's denials Berezovsky has continued to be linked to the oil company.
 "Sibneft's ownership has never been transparent, and it remains to be so," said Leonid Mirzoyan, an oil analyst with Deutsche Bank.
 "For the past year or so Russian companies have begun moving from being private to being public. Sibneft has not moved too far along that road, although their statements on [adopting high corporate governance standards] sound very good and proper," he said.
 Dmitry Avdeyev, oil analyst with United Financial Group, said he doubted that Berezovsky owns a large stake in Sibneft, citing the previous statements about having 7 percent.
 "One cannot write off the fact that he made this statement solely to boost his own prestige and improve his business and financial image," Avdeyev said.
 Berezovsky, who had cozy ties with the Kremlin in the 1990s, has periodically made sensational statements to the press in the 1 1/2 years since President Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned. For example, he announced last year that he is being politically persecuted by President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin and would hand over his 49 percent stake in ORT television to a group of trustees to ensure that the 51 percent state-owned channel remained more or less independent. He eventually sold the stake to companies connected to Abramovich.
 Political pundits have suggested that Berezovsky fears his financial and political star is dimming and is trying to keep his name in the spotlight. "People whose business affairs are truly going well tend to do the opposite - stay low and avoid the public eye," said Yury Korgunyuk, a political analyst with the Indem think tank. "It's hard to say whether there is any specific plan he is pursuing. Bluffing only to see whether anything comes out of it would also be very much his style."
 Whatever the current relation with Sibneft, Berezovsky did play a crucial role in the making of the oil company in 1995 and 1996. The company was put together in a series of loans-for-shares auctions, the program under which private investors lent the government money in return for the right to manage state-owned stakes in partly privatized companies. The scheme was widely criticized over the years because stakes often went to the very companies organizing the loan tenders for the government.
 A series of such auctions led to Sibneft's creation. The tender winners were a number of enterprises affiliated with Berezovsky. Speculation ran rampant at the time that Sibneft was formed to finance his media mouthpiece - ORT.
 Berezovsky's announcement Wednesday comes just weeks after the reported purchase of the blocking stake in Aeroflot by companies linked to Sibneft and Russian Aluminum. Insiders speculated at the time that the shares were bought from structures affiliated to Berezovsky. Following the transfer, the Prosecutor General's Office dropped Berezovsky's name from an investigation of suspected fraud at Aeroflot.
 Abramovich said earlier this year that close business deals with Berezovsky were a thing of the past, although the two still remain in contact.

TITLE: Historic Synagogue Reborn in Controversy
AUTHOR: By Sam Charap

PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: A lavish and solemn rededication ceremony Tuesday evening marked the completion of major repairs to the main prayer hall of the city's Great Choral Synagogue. The synagogue is the center of local Jewish life, the only active synagogue in St. Petersburg and the second largest in Europe. 
 Tuesday's invitation-only event was attended by numerous local luminaries, including Leningrad Oblast Governor Valery Serdyukov; Irina Yakovleva, wife of Governor Vladimir Yakovlev; Vla dimir Kogan, chair of Promstroi bank; and Taimuraz Bolloev, president of the Baltika brewing company. 
 International guests included the chief Rabbi of France, Rebbe Shitruk, and Lily Safra, the widow of the enigmatic banker Edmund Safra who was murdered in 1999. Lily Safra's donation - reported to be in the amount of $5 million - financed the restoration work.
 Although the ceremony would seem to be a cause for celebrating Russian-Jewish renewal, the synagogue's administration released only scant details about the event, which was closed to journalists. A synagogue spokesperson said that the secrecy was at Lily Safra's express request.
 Lily Safra, who spoke at the rededication, is the widow of banker Edmond Safra, who was murdered in his posh Monte Carlo estate on Dec. 3, 1999. Ted Maher, one of the nurses on Mr. Safra's 12-person medical staff, was arrested for the slaying.
 The founder of the Republic National Bank of New York, the mysterious Edmond Safra was the subject of countless rumors and speculation throughout his life. He was dogged by unsubstantiated accusations that he was involved in drug trafficking, the Iran-Contra scandal and the Russian mafia.
 It is known that Edmond Safra cooperated with the FBI's 1998-1999 probe of links between U.S. banks and Russian organized crime. He stated publicly that his life was in danger as a result of this cooperation. He maintained an elaborate security system at his home and employed a security staff composed mostly of former Israeli army commandos. 
 The rumors have continued since the Safra murder, and several media reports - most prominently a series of articles in the U.S. glossy Vanity Fair - have cast doubt on the case against Maher, who remains jailed in Monaco pending trial. 
 The Safra family's contribution to the Great Choral Synagogue has been memorialized with a large metal plaque above the main entrance that reads, "The Edmond J. Safra Synagogue." Just inside there is a large photo of Edmond Safra.
 The plaque, however, has caused some controversy.
 "This is a historical Petersburg synagogue, built by ... Jews of the 19th century, which reflects their taste, their influence, their Jewish feelings. [Edmond Safra] doesn't have anything to do with that. So, when there is a sign saying in English, 'Edmond Safra Synagogue,' it's unpleasant. Moreover, it's written in English - it's a strange look for the most Russian synagogue in the world," said a prominent member of the Jewish community who was present at the ceremony on Tuesday and who asked not to be identified.
 The state is also concerned about the plaque, since the synagogue is a protected historical monument. "We treat this as a temporary placement of the plaque, since the restoration work is still continuing based on the sponsor's money ... " said Yelena Lomakina, a representative of the State Cultural Monuments Committee for the Admiralty District where the synagogue is located. 
 "When the work is finished we'll decide this issue on a different level. Maybe then the plaque will be moved to the interior or to the vestibule. We'll decide that issue together with the Jewish community ... . Now, we are keeping quiet about it." 
 The synagogue, located at 2 Lermontovsky Prospect, is one of St. Petersburg's architectural treasures, built in the Moorish style between 1880 and 1893 by architects Ilya Shaposhnikov and Lev Bakhman. 
 The building suffered gravely from neglect during the Soviet period, and in 1998 synagogue administrators embarked on a major project to restore some of the synagogue's grandeur. The project got started by a grant from the Safras, who first visited the synagogue in 1998.
 "The government doesn't give us one kopek and, although there are rich people in Russia, a tradition of charity has yet to develop," said Dr. Grubarg Mordehai, the chair of the Jewish community of St. Petersburg, noting that the synagogue is dependent on donations from abroad. 
 The main hall, where services are held only on Saturdays and major holidays, is the pride of the congregation. The restoration included repainting, the installation of a new chandelier and a meticulous reconstruction of the original stained-glass windows. Compared to the rest of the synagogue, which is still in poor repair, the new hall is positively radiant. 
 Restoration work at the synagogue continues and is expected to be completed by 2003. Lily Safra, whose fortune is estimated in the billions of dollars, has pledged continued support for the project. She and her husband have contributed to many Jewish charitable causes over the years and have sponsored the construction of 23 synagogues around the world.

TITLE: Threat of Tobin Spy Charges Resurfaces
AUTHOR: By Vladimir Ishachenkov 

PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW - Russian security officials said Tuesday they may bring espionage charges against John Tobin, a U.S. Fulbright scholar jailed on a drug conviction in Russia - a claim his lawyers called a dubious legal bid to keep Tobin behind bars.
 An official at the Moscow headquarters of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main successor to the KGB, said in a telephone interview that the new accusations against Tobin could be based on the testimony of a Russian scholar who claimed the American tried to recruit him as a spy for the United States. The official for the security service's head office in Moscow refused to give his name.
 Pavel Bolshunov, an FSB spokesperson in the southern city of Voronezh, said the scientist, Dmitry Kuznetsov, named Tobin as an agent who interrogated him in a U.S. prison in January 1998.
 Kuznetsov, an expert on toxic agents who had been arrested on fraud charges the month before, said Tobin sought information on his scientific research and contacts among other Russian scholars.
 Bolshunov said authorities were examining the evidence from Kuznetsov's testimony and that no new action against Tobin has been taken so far. He said the case was complicated because Tobin's alleged attempt to recruit Kuz netsov took place in the United States.
 "Kuznetsov's evidence shows that we were right in suspecting Tobin to be a U.S. intelligence agent," Bolshunov said.
 Tobin was arrested in January on charges of obtaining, possessing and distributing marijuana. The case attracted broad attention when Russian security officials publicly accused him of being a spy-in-training and an alleged interrogation expert. The claims came amid a series of spy scandals between the United States and Russia.
 No espionage charges were filed, and Tobin has said in e-mail correspondence that he was framed because he refused to become a spy for Russia.
 Tobin's lawyer, Maxim Bayev, said of the new accusations, "I think they wanted to stir up tension to prevent the court from setting Tobin free."
 A court in Voronezh sentenced Tobin to 37 months in prison in April, but a higher court reduced the sentence to a year on appeal.
 Bayev filed a second appeal to the Voronezh Regional Court on June 18. The lawyer said Tobin could be freed as early as next month.
 Representative James Maloney, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Tuesday he plans to send a letter to President George W. Bush asking him to intervene in the case. Maloney warned that filing espionage charges against Tobin could harm U.S.-Russian relations.
 Kuznetsov, the scientist, told the FSB that Tobin promised him better conditions in the prison where he was being held, a positive outcome of his trial and a monetary reward if he cooperated, Bolshunov said. The Mos kov sky Komsomolets daily quoted Kuz net sov as saying he had been held in a state prison in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
 The Connecticut Department of Correction has a record of a Dmitri Kouz net sov serving a larceny sentence in Bridgeport between Dec. 10, 1997 and May 21, 1998. It has no record of a John Tobin ever visiting the Bridgeport facility, said department spokesperson Brian Garnet.
 Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Kuznetsov as saying that prison officials introduced Tobin to him as an FBI agent. He said Tobin asked him to give his written opinion on several works on toxicology, which Kuznetsov said he did and later was paid for.
 Kuznetsov said that several months later he was fined $2,500 and freed on the promise that he deliver 150 hours of free lectures in U.S. universities.
 Kuznetsov, speaking to Interfax, said he met with Tobin in a Voronezh jail to make "100 percent sure" that he was the U.S. official who interrogated him.
 "Although Tobin pretended that he saw me for the first time, I immediately recognized that he was the FBI agent who tried to force me to cooperate in prison," Kuznetsov said, according to Interfax. "He has a special, characteristic smile.''
 Tobin, a native of Ridgefield, Connecticut, was doing political research at a university in Voronezh, about 480 kilometers south of Moscow, when he was arrested outside a local nightclub on the drug charges. He has insisted he is innocent.

TITLE: Birth Rate Registers Small Rise
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Margarita Shitikova, 28, is a pretty blonde and a happy new mother. She may also represent Russia's best hope of overcoming its severe demographic crisis.
 Shitikova gave birth to her second daughter, Angelika, on June 23 - a decision that she and her husband made despite, or even because of, all the talk about financial crises and instability.
 "People who survive first one economic crisis and then another eventually get tired of being afraid for their future," she said from her bed in a room at St. Petersburg Maternity Home No. 1, as Angelika slept serenely in a crib next to her. "They realize they have only one life, which goes on despite all the crises."
 Over the last decade, Russia has seen its birth rate steadily decline and its death rate rise, so that by 1998 the death rate was nearly twice the birth rate. Locally, St. Petersburg's birth rate reached its nadir in 1999, registering just 6.2 babies per 1,000 population.
 Since then, however, the figures for birth rates and infant mortality have been improving slightly, perhaps indicating that more and more Russians are reaching the same conclusions as Shitikova. According to statistics provided by the St. Petersburg Health Committee, the city's birth rate - one of the lowest in Russia - rose from 6.2 per 1,000 population in 1999 to 6.7 last year.
 Nationally, the infant-mortality rate has declined over the last five years, according to Health Ministry statistics. In 2000, the national rate was 15.3 deaths per 1000 births, while St. Petersburg had the lowest infant-mortality rate in the country- 9.3 deaths per 1,000 births.
 "Such figures have improved around the country, which indicates a period of stabilization," Health Minister Yury Shevchenko said at a Health Ministry conference on infant mortality held near St. Petersburg on June 21.
 Although encouraged by this trend, Shevchenko admitted that people "propagate when they have confidence in their future. Poor people don't want to have kids because they don't want to produce more poverty."
 Valentina Matsko, head doctor of St. Petersburg Maternity Home No. 1, said much of the statistical improvement is down to modern equipment that increases the survival rate of premature babies. She also points to a newly installed respiratory apparatus that helps babies who cannot breathe. "Back in 1985 we didn't have such equipment and we were not able to save such children," she said. 
 Shevchenko agrees, telling last week's conference that diagnostic technologies and emergency equipment for infants had been upgraded in many regions of Russia. He pointed out that St. Petersburg has perhaps the best access to such equipment anywhere in Russia.
 Despite the improvements, infant mortality remains alarmingly high - far higher than in other advanced countries. In addition to strictly economic factors, health professionals attribute much of the blame to lifestyle choices such as drugs and alcohol.
 "People often tend to blame doctors for all problems, but I think that many things depend on people themselves and their attitude toward their future baby," Shevchenko said. "When some of them conceive while drunk or on drugs, we can't correct such mistakes."
 Mastko also commented that the general health of prospective mothers has deteriorated. "About 80 percent of our pregnancies and childbirths have complications such as anemia, threat of miscarriage or toxicosis," she said. "Just 20 years ago, only 15 to 18 percent of cases featured such complications."
 Matsko attributes many of these problems to the poor state of the environment in St. Petersburg, saying that it has bad effects on women's nervous and endocrinological systems. She also cited a general lack of physical activity and a tendency for women to wait longer before having their first child.
 Olga Skiba, a 27-year-old economist who gave birth to a daughter on June 21, said that she made a decision not to have a baby earlier in order to pursue her career. "I think I'll stay with the baby for a year and then hurry back to work," Skiba said, adding that she is not planning to have any more children.
 Matsko also thinks that the influence of religion is compelling many people to keep babies that they once may have aborted. 
 Tatyana Konyushaya, a 30-year-old music teacher who gave birth to her second child on June 24, agrees. "My husband is a welder and we don't have much income. But I am a very religious person and I couldn't just kill my baby," she said. She added, though, that she and her husband waited almost 10 years before having their first child because they had no permanent place to live.

TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Massive Mass
 

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) - About a million cheering and singing believers welcomed Pope John Paul II at an open-air religious celebration Wednesday, the last day of his Ukrainian visit aimed at bringing the Catholics and Orthodox closer together. 
 "You are a million," a priest told the crowd before the pope arrived. Later, organizers gave an even higher figure, saying up to 1.5 million believers came. 
 "The visit is a historic event for us," said Marta Baidyian, 16, of Stryi in the western Lviv region. "I'm here to see the holy father and this happens once in a lifetime." 
 Many in the enormous crowd booed and whistled in disapproval when Uk rainian President Leonid Kuchma also appeared on the podium. Kuch ma's main support is in the industrial central and eastern regions and he draws less respect in the largely nationalist west. 
 Western Ukraine also is the stronghold of Ukrainian Catholics, most of them so-called Greek Catholics who practice Orthodox ritual but bear allegiance to the pope. Greek Catholic believers faced persecution under both Russian imperial and Soviet rule, and the first papal trip to Ukraine pays tribute to their suffering.
 
 
Vigilent Tax Police
 

KALININGRAD (SPT) - Preliminary results of a special operation being conducted by the tax police and the Tax Ministry has resulted in the return of 189 million rubles ($6.5 million) to the local and federal budgets, Interfax reported on Thursday.
 The a spokesperson of the press service of the federal tax police office in Kaliningrad reported that the special operation had uncovered 176 tax violations, resulting in the filing of 77 criminal cases.
 
 
New Bolshoi Head
 

MOSCOW (SPT) - Switching from older stars to a younger generation, the Culture Ministry on Wednesday appointed 37-year-old Alexander Ve der nikov as chief conductor of the legendary but crumbling Bolshoi Theater.
 The appointment is the latest in a series of Bolshoi management shuffles. Last week, world-famous conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky quit the post of the theater's artistic director saying that his attempts to revamp the theater were sabotaged. 
 Vedernikov will take charge of the Bolshoi's orchestra as well as the artistic management of the opera. The ballet troupe will remain under the command of the former Bolshoi star Boris Akimov. 
 
 
Trofimoff Convicted
 

TAMPA, Florida (AP) - A retired Army Reserve colonel was convicted Tuesday of selling military secrets to the Soviet Union for 25 years, becoming one of the Cold War's most prolific spies. 
 George Trofimoff, 74, who faces life in prison for the single federal espionage conviction, stood erect and showed no emotion as the verdict was announced.
 Trofimoff is the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to be arrested on spy charges. He was working in a grocery store last year when he was arrested while trying to collect money that he thought was coming from the Russians. 
 Trofimoff insisted that he never was a spy, but pretended to be one because he needed money. However, a former KGB general took the stand to testify that Trofimoff was one of the Soviet Union's top spies during the 1970s.
 
 
Russian Saber Rattling
 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia test-fired a 26-year-old ballistic missile on Wednesday, hinting the weapon could gain new life as a "hydra-headed" countermeasure if the United States pressed on with President George W. Bush's defense plans.
 The Russian military said it had test-fired a huge Stiletto missile from Russia's space base at Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
 The test came a week after President Vladimir Putin threatened to stack multiple nuclear warheads on Russian missiles as a countermeasure to a proposed U.S. missle-defense shield.
 The Stiletto, referred to by NATO as the SS-19, was built between the mid-1970s and '80s, and can carry a payload of more than 4 tons. A Russian Strategic Rocket Forces official told Reuters it could be re-equipped to carry up to six warheads.
 Russia's most modern strategic missile, the Topol-M, is more mobile than the older generations of rockets, but only carries 1 ton of payload. It could also be refitted to take more than one warhead. Itar-Tass news agency said a military source had told it Russia's older, larger missiles would be "the only way of resolving strategic tasks in contemporary conditions."
 Under START II, Moscow and Washington agreed to scrap ''hydra-headed'' multiple-warhead rockets. But Putin said last week that START II would be automatically void if Washington pulls out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile pact to build a new defense shield.
 
 
Sanctions Plan Vetoed
 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Moscow rejected a U.S.-backed British plan to overhaul sanctions on Iraq on Tuesday, and proposed its own resolution that would speed up an end to sanctions. 
 Britain and the United States both dismissed the Russian initiative as unacceptable. 
 The rival drafts left the 15-member Security Council bitterly divided on how to break a 2 1/2-year stalemate on the future of sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. 
 It also highlighted the vastly differing approaches the major powers are taking on Iraq 11 years after the Gulf War. 
 Britain said that it wants to continue negotiations on its draft and hopes the council will reach agreement by a July 3 deadline. But Russia's outright rejection - indicating it would exercise its veto power if necessary - casts serious doubt on the possibility that the U.S.-British draft could be adopted in just a week.
 
 
Sheet Music Online
 

MOSCOW (AP) - Under former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's patronage, a Danish Internet company announced a deal Wednesday for the rights to sell Russia's biggest sheet music archive online. 
 Muzyka, Russia's leading music publisher, has the rights to more than 500,000 scores - including first editions by Tchaikovsky, works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Glinka and little-known avant-garde pieces from the 1920s and 1930s. 
 Denmark's Amazing Music World, a small company founded in 1999, said it would digitalize Muzyka's scores for sale on the Internet within the next few years. Gorbachev, through ties with Muzyka's director Igor Savintsev, has helped promote the project and presided over the signing ceremony at the Gorbachev Center. 



TITLE: Homeless Shelter Plan Panned
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova and Irina Titova

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: As St. Petersburg's 300th anniversary approaches, a local construction company has proposed a plan to accomodate 1,000 homeless for the duration of the festivities, and is asking the city administration for funds to do the job.
 The plan as set out by the firm Alyans comprises building a one-storey center of 6,000 square meters in Shungerovsky Park, located in the Krasnoselsky District, right on the city's south-western outskirts where dachas are more prevalent than apartment blocks. The project, a copy of which was obtained by The St. Petersburg Times, would cost $750,000 (or $125 per square meter), with the building providing shelter, food, shower facilities and medical care.
 At the end of the jubile, whch falls in 2003, the firm suggests using the building for some other social purpose such as a children's camp or rest home.
 There are as many as 8,000 homeless people living on or in St. Petersburg's streets, cellars and stairwells, according to Maxim Yegorov, a representative of the <i>Nochlezhka </i>(Night Shelter) Fund which helps the homeless. They can be divided into three major groups: former prisoners who lost their registration; those who were swindled or coerced out of their apartments; and others who for various reasons have left or fled their original homes.
 There are also many more - over 50,000, according to Nochlezhka - living in the city without being registered here, often people from other regions, who seek work but who cannot afford a permanent residence.
 The Alliance proposal is currently being examined by the law and order committee in the Legislative Assembly. But judging from comments made by committee member Tatyana Levina, it is unlikely to become a reality.
 &quot;Although we are still studying the project, I do not think that the Legislative Assembly will appove it,&quot; Levina said in a telephone interview on Thursday. She called the plan unrealistic and underdeveloped, adding, &quot;From the financial point of view it is definitely impracticable.&quot;
 Despite repeated attempts, representatives from Alliance could not be reached this week.
 Anatoly Ivanov, an official from the City Labor and Social Affairs Committee, said he had received little information about the project, but added that he, too, thought the idea ill-conceived.
 &quot;We already have shelters, and Governor Vladimir Yakovlev signed an order to open night shelters for the homeless in every district two months ago,&quot; he said. &quot;Using these resources would make better sense than taking these people out of the city - like the old-fashioned way when such things happened during the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.&quot;
 It is also reminiscent of a more recent uproar in 1998, when homeless activists accused Yakovlev of ordering the police to round up of homeless people from train stations, take them out of the city limits and abandon them in remote, forested areas. The governor denied giving such an order.
 &quot;Removing homeless people from the city center is a violation of their rights,&quot; said a Salvation Army representative in St. Petersburg, who did not wish to be identified. &quot;Nobody has the right to deprive them of their celebration [in 2003]. Why don't they get rid of the disabled and the elderly as well? They don't often make for a 'beautiful' picture, either.&quot;

TITLE: Arrests Lead U.S. Embassy To Issue Customs Caution
AUTHOR: By Elizabeth Wolfe 

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - The U.S. Embassy in Moscow cautioned American citizens last week to be mindful of the amount of money and of any valuables they take out of Russia.
 A warden message sent out last Friday urges all Americans to obtain proper documentation before leaving.
 &quot;By Russian law, all travelers must declare all items of value including foreign currency and traveler's checks on a customs form upon arrival,&quot; the message said. 
 An official at American Citizen Services in Moscow said Monday that the reminder was warranted by the detention or arrest of several American citizens at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in the past few months.
 Travelers must make sure a customs officer stamps the declaration, which then must be presented at the time of departure from Russia.
 Without declaring cash upon arrival or without special permission from a licensed Russian bank, nonresidents can take out no more than $1,500.
 In some cases, large amounts of cash were confiscated. In one case, a criminal case was opened and an American with undeclared cash spent a week in jail. In another case, an American spent several days in a Moscow women's prison for not obtaining documentation for old painted wooden objects she bought at a Moscow market. She was in the &quot;green line&quot; at the airport when she was detained.
 The official from American Citizen Services said the customs laws have been on the books for years, but that only recently customs officials have clamped down on travelers.
 Apparently, however, the recent crackdown seems to be isolated to the Moscow consular district. According to Paul Smith, the U.S. Consul General in St. Petersburg, there have only been two such cases here in the last three months.
 &quot;It is not an increase . . . We haven't gotten any calls aside from the normal spate of people off and on who for whatever reason didn't declare money coming in and have trouble getting out&quot; Smith said.
 Both incidents occurred at Pulkovo airport and involved cash, rather than cultural items. In both cases, the Americans were not detained and made their flights.
 &quot;I consider the situation fairly normal . . . Right now, if there were a change, with the numbers of people coming in, we would see it,&quot; Smith continued.
 Customs officials often consider icons, samovars, rugs, musical instruments, medals and what appear to be antiques to be of cultural value, the warden message said. By law, such things can be exported only with a certificate from the Culture Ministry saying they have no historical or cultural value.
 &quot;The problem is that a customs officer is not an expert, and it is within her or his right to detain the person and then bring the case up to the consideration of Culture Ministry officials,&quot; the Moscow embassy official said.
 Under the Criminal Code, those charged with taking out a large amount of undeclared valuables could face a prison sentence of three to seven years in jail.
 To obtain certificates from the Culture Ministry, Americans should bring their passport, the item in question and a receipt to the office at 17 Malaya Morskaya Ul. or call 311-03-02. 
 To be on the e-mail list for the embassy's warden messages, e-mail moscowwarden@state.gov
 
 <i>Sam Charap also contributed to this report. from St. Petersburg. </i>

TITLE: Government Backs Program To Purify Russian
AUTHOR: By Oksana Yablokova 

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - The government has approved an ambitious if still vague program to promote the Russian language and prevent a further slide in how the it is written and spoken, especially by today's politicians and journalists.
 In presenting the program to the cabinet last Thursday, Education Minister Vladimir Filippov called for Russian to be purged of slang and foreign words and for governmental officials, political figures and journalists to be required to pass a spelling test.
 The Cabinet allocated 80 million rubles ($2.75 million) through 2006 to cover the costs of seminars, conferences and contests for schoolchildren and college students, said Svetlana Demidova, one of the program's drafters from the Russian language department of the Education Ministry.
 Demidova, who refused to release the text of the program, said some of the money will go toward researching the status of Russian in the regions, where local languages are often prevalentRussian language programs elsewhere in the former Soviet Union also will be supported under the federal program, she said.
 &quot;People speak Russian but speak it badly. Mangled language, use of senseless words, overuse of foreign words and bad grammar have led to us losing the language of Turgenev and Chekhov,&quot; she said in an interview this week.
 Maria Bolshakova, the editor of the Gramota.ru web site, which is dedicated to the Russian language and financed by the Press Ministry, said the Education Ministry program is a natural move given the poor state of contemporary Russian.
 &quot;Russian dictionaries are not being updated properly, while school textbooks are full of mistakes, not to mention how our lawmakers and journalists speak,&quot; Bolshakov said in an interview.
 The State Duma is also taking up the cause. A bill put forward by Kaadyr Bicheldei, a deputy from the Unity faction, proposes making it illegal to &quot;break the norms of the Russian language at the official level&quot; and classifying cursing as petty hooliganism.
 Andrei Ryabov of the Moscow-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the attention given to the language fits in with President Vladimir Putin's efforts to strengthen the state and restore national pride.
 Putin, however, is still remembered for the crude language he used in 1999 in calling for wiping out the Chechen rebels in the outhouse.
 Putin's wife, Lyudmila, on Monday attended the opening of an international Russian language contest featuringparticipants from 41 countries, Interfax reported.

TITLE: 7 Convicted for Killing of Perm Troops
AUTHOR: By Nabi Abdullaev 

PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MAKHACHKALA, Dagestan - Dagestan's Supreme Court on Monday convicted seven men in an attack on a Perm OMON column in Chechnya last year that left 43 servicemen dead.
 Judge Butta Uvaisov said the court based its ruling primarily on testimony given by two of the defendants before the trial began in May. Both men withdrew their statements at the start of the trial, saying they had made them under threat of torture, but the judge said there was no evidence they had been abused by FSB investigators and let their statements stand.
 The longest prison sentence, 21 years, went to Magdi Magomedov, 35, even though the judge said the evidence indicated he did not personally take part in the attack on the OMON column March 29, 2000.
 Three other defendants - Ata Mirzayev, 31, Khairula Kuzaaliev, 27, and Gadzhi Batyrov, 22 - were sentenced to 19, 16 and 14 years, respectively.
 The four men were convicted on charges of participating in illegal armed formations and illegally carrying weapons. A fifth defendant, Imamshamil Atayev, 26, also was convicted but was found to be mentally ill and committed to a closed psychiatric hospital.
 The two men whose information formed the basis of the case - Eduard Valiakhmetov, 18, from Tatarstan and Shamil Kitov, 31, from Karachayevo-Cherkessia - were given short sentences and then amnestied.
 On March 29, 2000, the Perm OMON column of 48 men left Vedeno for Tsenteroi in two armored personnel carriers and two trucks. When one of the trucks broke down, a group of rebels commanded by Abu-Quteiba attacked, killing 32 servicemen and taking 11 hostage.
 The hostages were killed within the next two days, investigators said.
 Four surviving OMON officers who appeared at the trial said they recognized Mirzayev as the one who drove away one of the APCs and then set it ablaze. Mirzayev denied this charge.

TITLE: GM, AvtoVAZ Embark on $332M Venture
AUTHOR: By Lyuba Pronina

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Global powerhouse General Motors ended years of talk Wednesday and signed off on the largest investment project in Russian automotive history.
 GM's $332 million joint venture with top domestic automaker AvtoVAZ, which includes financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will produce 75,000 sport utility vehicles a year under GM's Chevrolet brand.
 Rick Wagoner, GM's president and CEO, publicly penned the deal with AvtoVAZ chairman Vladimir Kadannikov and EBRD first vice president Charles Frank after a private meeting early Wednesday with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who blessed the deal.
 &quot;This is a unique project even in our General Motors world,&quot; Wagoner said. &quot;By combining the resources of these two companies, I believe that one plus one equals more than two.&quot;
 Kadannikov called the creation of GM-AvtoVAZ, as the venture is called, &quot;A new page in the history of Russian car building.
 &quot;This the beginning of the integration of the Russian automobile industry into the world community,&quot; he said.
 GM-AvtoVAZ will produce and sell an upgraded version of the ubiquitous AvtoVAZ Niva-2123 off-road vehicle. The first $8,000 Chevy Niva is expected to roll off the AvtoVAZ assembly line in Tolyatti, 1,000 kilometers southeast of Moscow, in September 2002.
 &quot;This is the kind of project EBRD was created for, the type of project we want to do more of,&quot; Frank said.
 Analysts said getting the world's top automaker to invest in a 100 percent Russian product would help shake up the troubled domestic industry.
 &quot;It's good that it finally happened, and it will be positive for AvtoVAZ and the industry. It will be a successful project,&quot; said United Financial Group transportation analyst Yulia Zhdanova.
 GM and AvtoVAZ, who began negotiating in 1997, each have a 41.5 percent stake in the project, with the EBRD, Russia's largest private foreign investor, holding the remaining 17 percent, which it plans to divide evenly between its two partners after about 10 years.
 The EBRD will provide $100 million in loans and another $40 million in equity, and is not ruling out loans of up to $200 million to AvtoVAZ suppliers.
 AvtoVAZ will contribute intellectual property, production facilities, equipment and know-how, and GM will kick in $100 million, management techniques and a global distribution network.
 The partners expect production to reach capacity by 2004 and a full return on their investments by 2009 at the latest.
 Although pricier than the $3,000 average for a Russian-made sedan, the executives said they had no doubt there would be enough demand for Chevy Nivas to make the deal pay off.
 Up to 35,000 units will be sold domestically through AvtoVAZ dealerships, while GM's global network will export up to 40,000 units to Europe and Mexico and possibly other countries. European engines produced in cooperation with GM's German subsidiary Adam Opel will power the exported version.

TITLE: Road Plan To Bring Overhaul of Highways
AUTHOR: By Lyuba Pronina

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Thursday approved a 2.1 trillion ruble ($75 billion) public works program to overhaul Russia's highway network over the next 10 years.
 &quot;We want to start the 21st century with good roads,&quot; Kasyanov told the weekly cabinet meeting in remarks broadcast by RTR television.
 The plan is part of a larger one announced earlier this week by Transportation Minister Sergei Frank to revamp every sector of the transportation industry at a total cost of 4 trillion rubles.
 Frank said he expected federal and regional budgets to split the cost of the road portion of the plan, but didn't rule out attracting foreign investors and inviting foreign companies to build toll roads.
 &quot;We are ready to consider the possibility of foreign investors participating in building roads, especially in the European part of Russia where traffic is more intensive,&quot; Frank was quoted by Prime-Tass as saying.
 Frank defended the price tag by arguing that the multiplier effect of upgrading the road network would eventually add 8.4 trillion rubles to the economy.
 President Vladimir Putin has said that he wants a lot more cars on the road, and this plan would help accommodate that goal. Frank was quoted by Interfax as saying that &quot;there is no alternative to the 'auto-mobilization' of the population.&quot;
 Ten years ago just 7 percent of Russia's 150 million people owned cars and that number is expected to quadruple by 2010, Frank said.
 The 21st-Century Road Repair Program foresees the construction of 80,000 kilometers of roads. Russia has just 925,000 kilometers of roads, a little more than half of what experts say is needed.
 The plan calls for new transit roads to be built around major transport hubs like St. Petersburg, nearby Vyborg and Moscow to ease traffic congestion and increase the speed of transport.
 The government hopes to increase the overall transport capacity of the country's highways by up to three times - with the result being lower transportation costs and the development of tourism, trade and domestic industries.
 But while no one doubts that the overhaul is needed, there is much doubt about where the money will come from.
 &quot;It looks like the type of a grand scheme cooked up without a focus on fiscal reality,&quot; said Rennaissance Capital analyst Kim Iskyan. &quot;Constructing highways will not have investors tripping over each other,&quot; he added.
 &quot;Seven billion dollars a year is a significant sum,&quot; said Andrei Ivanov, transportation analyst with Troika Dialog. 
 &quot;The economy is shifting from big industry to small business and services. To accommodate this change there has to be a different transport infrastructure. Roads now service 10 percent of cargo turnover, and this share will grow, and it's positive that the government is addressing this need.&quot;
 Kasyanov gave the four ministries involved - transportation; finance; industry, science and technology; and economic development and trade - two weeks to finalize the plan. The Finance Ministry and the Transportation Ministry will determine the amount to be allocated in next year's budget. The financing for 2003 will be worked out this September.

TITLE: German Giant Insures Place In Russia
AUTHOR: By Elizabeth Wolfe

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Europe's top insurance company by market value, Allianz AG, is set to become the first Western insurer to grab a significant stake in a top Russian counterpart by buying 45 percent of Rosno, both companies said Wednesday.
 The price of the sale, by Moscow financial-industrial group AFK Sistema and other Rosno shareholders, was not disclosed. But industry observers hailed the entry of the German giant, saying wherever such a market leader dared to tread, others would follow.
 &quot;The deal means that all the competitors of Allianz worldwide will probably feel that they cannot continue to be absent from this market,&quot; said Mathieu Fabre-Magnan, a lawyer at Salans, a legal adviser on the deal.
 Fabre-Magnan said the deal also showed that Allianz's management is confident that restrictions on foreign ownership in Russian insurance companies would soon be lifted.
 Companies that came in after 1999 and have more than 49 percent foreign ownership are limited in the services they can offer. Industry observers expect these restrictions to be lifted, however, as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
 The Sistema-Allianz deal was some two years in the making and still requires regulatory approval. Although neither side would disclose the price, one source familiar with the negotiations put the figure in the $30 million range.
 Rosno had a gross premium income of $311 million in 2000 under Russian accounting standards, which differ markedly from Western practices.

TITLE: S&amp;P Hikes Rating as Bonds Woo Investors
AUTHOR: By Igor Semenenko

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The buzz on debt-trading floors is like music to investors' ears. A lot of gains in Russia are being made - and many more are to come.
 Adding fuel to the bull run, Standard & Poor's on Thursday raised its long-term foreign and local currency ratings for Russia to B from B-minus and short-term ratings to B from C. The international rating agency is keeping its outlook stable.
 Standard & Poor's cited better prospects for reforms as a reason for the upgrade. But the agency indicated that the ratings continue to be constrained by significant institutional, legal and administrative weaknesses as well as the country's hefty debt burden and unclear refinancing prospects on international markets.
 But the words of caution are likely to be shrugged off. Investors, eager to cash in on the Russian debt market, have been ignoring those caveats for the past couple of years.
 &quot;Russia's creditworthiness is much higher than implied by the prices,&quot; said Jerome Booth, head of research with Ashmore Investment Management, the British-based asset management company that focuses on the emerging markets.
 Russian debt has been rallying ever since the 1998 financial crisis. In 1999 and 2000 it was just an oil story, but now interest goes far beyond following the dynamics of benchmark Brent prices on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. 
 Tax and judicial reforms, a pledge to honor all debts and, among recent events, a reshuffle at Gazprom and the summit between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush have combined to give Russia a place of its own in emerging markets. 
 Local paper, which shot up 25 percent to 30 percent since year start, has not yet reached the dizzying heights of 1997-1998. But market watchers are telling investors to buckle into their seats and hold on tight.
 &quot;Generally, the story is quite solid,&quot; said Brett Diment, director of fixed income at Deutsche Asset Management. &quot;We are still pretty constructive&quot; despite recent gains and the likelihood of a correction.
 For example, the Russian government in October 1997 was promising creditors interest of less than 10.5 percent on paper maturing in 2005, which then had a maturity of eight years. Now, bonds with a six-year maturity have a return of 10.8 percent.
 By comparison, the United States Treasury is paying interest of 5.7 percent over the same period, while the British government is offering a return of 4.9 percent.
 The Russian debt story goes far beyond technical gains, traders said. It is more about securing a new place in emerging markets. 
 &quot;We are checking the levels against Brazil,&quot; said a trader at a major investment bank in London, who spoke on condition of anonymity. &quot;By year end, Russia's 2030 bond could be at par with Brazil.&quot;
 Brazilian debts maturing in 2030 yield 14.2 percent, while Russia's 30-year paper bears an interest of 14.6 percent.
 Twelve months ago, Russia was at the high end of the curve in emerging markets with only Ecuador considered riskier. But now the country is perceived as a safer haven than Argentina, Turkey and several other emerging economies.
 &quot;It's a diversification play,&quot; said the London-based trader. &quot;Big-index players have to reduce their exposure to Argentina, Brazil and Turkey and buy something else.&quot;
 &quot;There aren't many alternatives [to Russia],&quot; he added.
 There are two key indices to watch in the debt market, and traders see them both as putting Russian debt in a good light.
 J.P. Morgan's Emerging Markets Bond Index, or EMBI+, which tracks emerging debt instruments, rates Russia as by far the best performer this year with a return of 104 percent. Russian debt is ranked at 170.89, just a fraction below the all-time high of 193.13 hit March 23, 1998.
 EMBI+ is picking Ecuador as the second-best performer this year. 
 The index is up 28 percent to 216.23 since year start.
 But the Lehman Universal Index, which tracks the performance of global debt assets traded on secondary markets, is the main source of inspiration for emerging-market traders. 
 Briefly, the Lehman Universal Index is weighted as such - it allocates 84 percent to U.S. debt securities, 5 percent to high-yield bonds, 5 percent to euro-dollar debt, 4 percent to emerging-markets debt and 1 percent to 144A issues and collateralized mortgage-backed securities.
 What makes traders excited is that 4 percent for emerging markets. The reason: U.S. pension funds.
 &quot;The U.S. pension funds had 15 spectacular years, except for the last 18 months,&quot; said Booth. &quot;Now they are beginning to look at countercyclical, low-correlation assets, of which emerging market debts are good evidence.&quot;
 A switch to emerging-market debt could bring in $20 billion to $40 billion in new cash over the next year or two, according to a recent study by Lehman Brothers.
 &quot;If the weighting of an instrument is about 1 percent, you can ignore it, but if it is 4 percent, you have to invest,&quot; said Booth.
 A reallocation of assets from U.S. pension funds has just started, but in two to three years its effects will begin to weigh in on the emerging markets, said Booth. &quot;This is going to be a major driver.&quot;
 Among those who now plow money into Russian debts are emerging-markets funds, Russian banks - whose coffers are stacked with petrodollars - and some cross-over accounts, a name used to define investors who tend to buy investment-grade paper but purchase risky assets using leftover cash.
 Industry insiders are saying that the base and growth of the debt market is much more stable than that of the 1997 bull run, when hedge funds were moving hundreds of millions of dollars in and out of the market on a daily basis.
 &quot;There is very little leverage in the market,&quot; said a trader at another London-based investment bank. &quot;It has become much more mature.&quot;
 The United States Federal Reserve's decision earlier this week to cut interest rates by only 25 basis points down to 3.75 percent slightly weakened the emerging debt market, because many analysts were betting on a more aggressive rate cut.

TITLE: Gazprom Shareholders Set To Convene
AUTHOR: By Anna Raff

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Gazprom's long-awaited annual shareholders meeting on Friday will decide the gas monopoly's future course, which in the past has drifted toward the detriment of its own shareholders for the benefit of management.
 On the agenda is the election of the board of directors, whose composition will determine how fast and how easily things will change. Gazprom expects exports to decrease 5 percent to 10 percent this year, and analysts say that its financials lag behind those of industry peers.
 To add to the excitement, a current board member withdrew his name Thursday from the list of candidates for next year's board.
 In March, President Vladimir Putin declared that he was fed up with the monopoly's behavior and ordered Gazprom to take steps to increase its transparency. Gazprom, if managed properly, should be one of Russia's most valuable assets, analysts contend. Putin made it clear that Gazprom needs to be more accountable to its owners. He had his own interests in mind: With 38 percent, the government is the largest shareholder and receives a large portion of Gazprom's revenues in taxes.
 Other major shareholders include German Ruhrgas with 4.6 percent, holders of American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, with 3 percent to 4 percent and Gazprom &quot;management-related structures&quot; with 44 percent.
 When Putin replaced longtime Gazprom CEO Rem Vyakhirev with Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Miller, the markets rejoiced. Local shares, which cannot be bought legally by foreigners, have jumped more than 50 percent since. Gazprom American Depositary Receipts are up 37 percent.
 &quot;The Gazprom meeting will go a long way toward determining how justified is the optimism,&quot; said Roland Nash, equity strategist with Renaissance Capital, a brokerage firm. &quot;It'll be Miller's real test and show whether he has the capacity to sweep away Vyakhirev-era cobwebs.&quot;
 Vyakhirev's reign saw assets potentially worth billions of dollars transferred out of the company. These assets - natural gas fields and stakes in lucrative subsidiaries - landed in the hands of sons and daughters of former and current Gazprom managers.
 Currently the government has five of 11 representatives on the board of directors. Management has four. One seat is taken by Ruhrgas. Boris Fyodorov, representing minority shareholders, also has a seat.
 To push its reforms through, the government needs one more member to make a majority.
 The day before the actual shareholders meeting, the government may have attained it. Interfax reported that current board member and Stroitransgaz president Arngolt Bekker took his name off the list of candidates up for election. Stroitransgaz could not be reached for comment.
 It is unclear who will benefit from Bekker's withdrawal, said Dmitry Avdeyev, an analyst for the investment house United Financial Group, which was founded by Fyodorov. Bekker's withdrawal could help the government by removing a player from the other team. Or his absence could lead management's shares to vote for other, stronger candidates.
 &quot;It looks like the 'old' management is trying to optimize its position,&quot; Avdeyev said. &quot;They only have so many votes to go around, and want their best people in. Bekker obviously didn't make the cut.&quot;
 UFG predicts that the 'old' team that ran the company with Vyakhirev will receive two or three seats at the most. The government should reap six or seven.

TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Pulkovo Numbers Fly
 

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - State-owned Pulkovo Airlines reported that it carried 879,519 passengers in the first five months of this year, an 8.7 percent increase over last year, Interfax reported Wednesday.
 The volume of domestic passengers rose by 7.8 percent to 448,537, and international volume increased by 9.7 percent to 430,982 passengers. Cargo volume, however, fell by 8.6 percent compared to last year to 7,385.6 tons.
 
 
Debt Rating Climbs
 

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - London-based Standard & Poors has raised its long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings for St. Petersburg to B from B-minus the company announced on Thursday.
 The move coincided with a similar upgrade in Moscow and followed on the announcement that the agency had also upgraded its ratings for the Russian Federation. The agency said in a press release that the improved national rating "reflects a strengthening of the policy environment in recent months, as well as Russia's willingness and ability to service external debt through 2003."
 
 
Beef Ban Off
 

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia has lifted a ban on meat and livestock imported from France, Ireland and the Netherlands because of diminishing concerns about foot-and-mouth disease in those countries, the Veterinary Service said on Thursday.
 Russia introduced a ban on all meat, poultry, fish and dairy products from the European Union in March because of fears of importing foot-and-mouth and mad cow diseases. The move sent domestic meat prices soaring.
 The ban was later relaxed to include only meat and live animals. In May it was lifted on imports from Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Holland and Ireland.
 France and the rest of Ireland and the Netherlands have now also been exempted from the ban, according to a statement from Russia's chief veterinary inspector, Mikhail Kravchuk.
 Russia still restricts imports of beef on the bone from Europe out of fear of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The ailment is linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a brain-wasting disease in humans. Russia has not reported any cases of mad cow or foot-and-mouth disease, which appeared in several Western European countries after an outbreak in Britain.
 
 
Bill Hits Snag
 

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia ran into an unexpected delay on Wednesday in a race to avoid humiliating international sanctions when parliament postponed a debate on a bill to crack down on money laundering.
 Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that the crucial second reading of the bill in the State Duma had been put back to July 4. A working group would try to settle differences by then.
 Centrist and liberal members prompted the delay with complaints that the bill lacked details on how officials would monitor spending of large sums by individuals and businesses.
 The postponement increased the risk of Russia missing the Sept. 30 deadline set by an international crime-fighting body for it to improve its performance or face sanctions. The Duma goes into summer recess in mid-July.

TITLE: State Mulling $2.6 Bln E-Russia Program
AUTHOR: By Elizabeth Wolfe

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - The government and the country might be plunging headfirst into cyberspace if the cabinet approves a federal project called &quot;Electronic-Russia.&quot;
 The proposed 76 billion-ruble ($2.62 billion) price tag for the eight-year program covers everything from putting tax forms online to installing computers in schools and universities throughout the country and pushing for better commerce legislation.
 The cabinet originally planned to consider the project on Thursday, but the date was pushed back to July 5 so it could be considered along with another government project connected with education and the Internet, said Tseren Tserenov, project director.
 E-Russia, officially in the works since February, is also the government's attempt to keep pace with an IT industry that has an estimated annual growth rate of 20 percent to 25 percent - but which only accounts for 0.6 percent of gross domestic product.
 The project is the initiative of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, and received contributions from three other ministries - Education, Communications and Industry, Science and Technology - as well as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, the Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information, and even the Federal Security Service, or FSB.
 Businesses and experts contributed ideas as well, and some are expected to pick up part of the tab. Of the estimated 76.15 billion rubles the plan will cost, the federal budget is expected to come up with almost 39 billion rubles, with regional and city budgets contributing 22.5 billion rubles and &quot;non-budgetary sources&quot; 14.7 billion rubles, or about 20 percent.
 The program's government initiators say they are trying to harness the potential Russia could have in the global information and technology sector, while improving life for its citizens and simplifying its own paper-heavy bureaucratic operations.
 More framework than detailed plan (see www.economy.gov.ru/erus.html), E-Russia doesn't seek to be the sole leader of IT development.
 &quot;This program is to some extent an instrument to make society, the authorities and business understand that they should start to move in this direction - toward the information age,&quot; said Boris Kuznetsov of the Higher School of Economics and an adviser on the project.
 Putting E-Russia in perspective, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said last week that some 30 programs are on the government's priority list, including developing the Northern Caucasus and the Far East.
 &quot;[E-Russia] is exceptionally important from a political point of view. From the point of view of financing from the federal budget, it is not a top priority,&quot; Gref told the American Chamber of Commerce last week. &quot;Except maybe in the area of the computerization of rural schools and Internet access for schools and educational institutions,&quot; he added.
 For some leaders in the IT business, the government's initiatives are a positive sign that the Kremlin is at least paying attention to the country's much-touted potential, and that it wants to move toward developed countries' standards of e-commerce and IT development.
 If the &quot;E-Government&quot; part of the program is ever successful, it should improve efficiency on all government levels, and foster quicker communication among regions. &quot;It will mean leaders will spend less time making decisions and there will be less bureaucracy,&quot; said Olga Uskova, head of Cognitive Technologies.
 For budget-supported schools, institutes and universities, many of which are falling way behind in the information age for lack of money, new computers and Internet access is a must.
 &quot;Certainly not every institute and university has the possibility to connect to the Internet right now,&quot; Tserenov said.
 He said E-Russia would not overlap with a computer program already in place in many universities, which is financed by the Soros Fund. Tserenov said they would be seeking to cooperate with already existing programs such as the one established by international financier George Soros.
 &quot;Something should be done about regional inequalities, because now IT services are concentrated in big cities,&quot; said Kuznetsov.
 The government money will also go toward the many government departments that still lack a substantial number of up-to-date computers.
 The program won't reach all corners of the country and doesn't seek to install a computer in every apartment. Today, only 4 percent of homes have personal computers.
 &quot;In 2010, there will be about 30 million to 35 million PCs in the country. That's still not a lot, much less than what the U.S. has now. So the most prominent growth we expect in the business sector and in state government,&quot; Kuznetsov said.
 &quot;Mostly the program has to answer to the general trends [of IT] and those areas where the state and only the state can do something,&quot; Kuznetsov said.
 Answering concerns that the government is trying to exert undue control over the Internet, initiators say the opposite.
 &quot;The goal of the program is to restrict this. There are documents that shouldn't be made public. At the same time government should be open to everybody - it should have sites and Internet portals,&quot; Kuznetsov said.

TITLE: Sberbank Approves New Share Emission
AUTHOR: By Igor Semenenko

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Government-appointed managers of Sberbank, the country's largest bank, ignored the concerns of minority shareholders Wednesday and approved a share issue that will dilute their stakes.
 &quot;We will increase capital with an additional share issuance,&quot; newly re-elected board chairman Andrei Kazmin said after Sberbank's annual shareholders meeting. &quot;The timing will depend on market conditions.&quot;
 The meeting approved the issuance of 10 million new shares in addition to the 19 million already outstanding.
 Two minority-shareholder representatives - Boris Fyodorov from United Financial Group and Vadim Kleiner from Hermitage Capital Management - were elected to the board, which last year featured two UFG representatives.
 &quot;The results are in line with expectations,&quot; said Kim Iskyan, banking analyst with the Renaissance Capital brokerage. &quot;The voting down of the motions proposed by minority investors again underscores the attitude of the Central Bank and Sberbank toward minority shareholders.&quot;
 The Central Bank owns 64 percent of Sberbank. Portfolio investors demanded 75 percent shareholder approval for any new share emission and a preemptive rights clause that would allow existing shareholders to buy new shares in proportion to their current stakes.
 But they had to eat humble pie.
 &quot;The preemptive right to buy out newly issued shares hampers the arrival of new shareholders in Sberbank,&quot; said Central Bank Chairman and Sberbank board member Viktor Gerashchenko.
 In April, Sberbank placed a total of 5 million shares in the market, raising some $180 million and diluting the stakes of minority investors 36 percent.
 Should Sberbank now exercise its right to place an additional 10 million shares, it would have 29 million shares in circulation, almost double the number at the start of the year.
 But exactly who would own Sberbank when the dust settles remains an equation with many unknowns.
 Gerashchenko said Wednesday that Sberbank could end up in the hands of its employees, who might be able to buy the new shares at rock-bottom prices. Another possibility, he said, was the State Pension Fund.
 &quot;The Pension Fund could become a global, main shareholder,&quot; Gerashchenko said, adding that such an investment would be better than sending money abroad.
 Recently, the government has mapped out plans to allow the Pension Fund to participate in cross-border transactions, buying foreign assets.
 Alternatively, Sberbank's shares could be offered to its depositors, Gerashchenko said.
 &quot;Sooner or later the Central Bank will have to dispose of its stake in Sberbank,&quot; the central banker said. &quot;The best option would be to hand shares to the population, depositors, for a minimum price.&quot;
 Sberbank's finances in 2000 were slightly worse than in 1999.
 Its net profit, calculated under International Accounting Standards, dropped 43 percent to 11.16 billion rubles ($384 million), while assets grew 24 percent to 550.6 billion rubles.
 Its stock closed at $37 on Wednesday, down 6.3 percent on the day, but rebounded to $38, a 2.7 percent jump, on Thursday.

TITLE: Paris Club To Be Paid
PUBLISHER: Combined Reports
TEXT: MOSCOW - Russia plans to pay $1.5 billion in foreign debt falling due in the next three months out of extra revenues building up in the federal budget, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on said Wednesday.
 At the start of the year, the government threatened to default on its Soviet-era debts to the Paris Club due in 2001 and sought to postpone this year's payments. Creditors rejected the bid, saying the government was raking in budget surpluses for the first time in years. But payments have dragged out, with Russia paying $1.2 billion it owed to the group in April instead of February as scheduled.
 Kudrin said Russia will pay Paris Club bills of $347 million in July, $1.1 billion in August and $45.6 million in September using money from the budget surplus. He estimated that the budget surplus this year would likely total 280 billion rubles ($9.6 billion at the current exchange rate).
 
 <i>- AP, Reuters
 </i>

TITLE: Who's Afraid of Putin?
AUTHOR: By R. James Woolsey

TEXT: IN his recent marathon interview with American journalists, President Vladimir Putin tried to show both a velvet glove - nobody here but us free enterprise democrats, folks - and a barely concealed mailed fist: In essence, if you Americans deploy ballistic missile defenses, we will put multiple warheads on our new ICBMs. 
 Some European and American observers have already declared that Putin has now trumped every card in the American hand. What could be worse, they ask, than more Russian strategic warheads? Destabilizing! Arms race! Stop Bush from provoking this horror!
 Whoa. 
 The proper riposte to Putin's threat is the one given earlier this year by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when Russia's current defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, similarly told him that Russia would deploy more strategic warheads if the United States pursued defenses. Essentially, Rumsfeld shrugged. 
 Exactly right. If Putin wants to waste his rubles convincing the world that his nostalgia for the Cold War knows no bounds, it's his problem, not ours. The number of Russian strategic warheads was a central concern for us only in the historical context of the Cold War and the threat the Soviets then posed to Europe. Fixation on such numbers today is a demonstration of short-term memory loss, about everything that's happened since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Today we have two serious problems with Russia's nuclear forces, but neither has anything to do with the number of their strategic warheads. 
 First, Russian warning systems are thoroughly decrepit and riddled with gaps. Some of their radars are not even in Russia, due to the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the satellites in their warning network are starting to fail. In 1995 President Boris Yeltsin was falsely alerted because the wheezing Russian warning system mistakenly took the launch of a Norwegian scientific rocket (of which they had been notified) for a possible missile launch from a U.S. submarine. The Russians need help filling these gaps in their warning systems, and two years ago we agreed to do so - by forming a joint U.S.-Russian warning center in Moscow that would use data from both countries - but the Russians continue to delay its implementation. 
 Second, although Russian strategic warheads are well-guarded, large numbers of small tactical nuclear warheads and huge amounts of fissionable material usable for bombs are not, and these create a serious stockpile security problem. Nunn-Lugar funds from the United States have helped secure about two-thirds of this mess from theft and smuggling and could help secure the rest, but again Russian stalling (much of it from President Putin's old outfit, the domestic successor to the KGB) is holding up progress. 
 The numbers of Russian strategic warheads don't cause, or even exacerbate, either the warning or the stockpile problems. The warning gaps must be fixed whether the Russians have 1,000 strategic warheads or 5,000 - the accidental launch of even one would be an incredible disaster - and this risk is basically unaffected by warhead numbers. The stockpile security problem is also independent of strategic warhead numbers. It is fissionable material and small tactical warheads that are in danger of being stolen or sold, not the well-guarded strategic systems. 
 So why the excitement about Putin's strategic warhead brandishing? It's been said that the most common form of mistake is forgetting what it is you're trying to accomplish. This is what's happened to those who have started fluttering about Putin's threat. 
 During the Cold War there was indeed a reason we cared about the number of warheads on Soviet strategic ballistic missiles. More than 20 armored and mechanized Soviet divisions were poised only a few days' march from the Low Countries and the English Channel. We needed to be sure that, in a crisis, our allies would hold firm. and thus we could brook no doubts about our steadfastness. We wanted them, and the Soviets, to have no doubt that if necessary we would use our strategic forces to defend Europe. 
 The bulk of our deterrent was in our silo-based ICBMs, and they were crucial to us because of their unique accuracy and reliable communications, and because, unlike the bomber force, the Soviets had no defenses against them. We were deeply concerned that if the Soviets could credibly threaten to strike first and destroy our ICBMs with a small number of their own ICBMs carrying multiple warheads - while retaining the bulk of their strategic forces in reserve - our allies would doubt our resolve. 
 Our ballistic missile submarine force was steadily modernized over the years, but most of us were unwilling to rely on it alone. So in the arms control negotiations of the '70s and '80s, we bargained hard to limit Soviet warhead numbers, to protect our ICBMs from attack. 
 Today's world bears not the faintest resemblance to that of the Cold War. Brussels indeed stands naked to invaders, but it is to a golden horde of antitrust lobbyists. Some of our allies doubt our resolve, but their concern is our fetish for CO2-emitting SUVs. Missiles are still the heart of our nuclear deterrent, but the bulk of them are on Trident submarines; added numbers of strategic warheads, by anyone, do not make them vulnerable. 
 It is reported that President Bush may soon show he is not obsessed by strategic warhead numbers by unilaterally reducing ours. We should also keep trying to get the Russians to let us help them solve their real strategic problems: decrepit warning systems and unsecured stockpiles. And if part of the administration's defense plan against rogue states includes boost-phase intercept - being able to shoot down offensive missiles very early in their flight - the system would incidentally also defend Russia. 
 If, despite all this, Putin keeps threatening to add to Russia's strategic warhead numbers, we have two things to communicate to him. First, as an act of kindness we could point out that he'd get substantially more military utility out of battleships, the political currency of 1920s arms control. But if he ignores that friendly suggestion, then it's time for the shrug.
 
 <i>R. James Woolsey, an attorney and a former CIA director, was ambassador, delegate or adviser in five U.S.-Soviet arms-control negotiations. He contributed this comment to The Washington Post. </i>

TITLE: The Weirdos Made It All Worthwhile
TEXT: AND so my tenure as editor of The St. Petersburg Times comes to an end, and in the words of Spike Milligan, I'm not going to thank anybody because I did it all myself.
 The next edition of this august organ will be edited by Robert Coalson. I would like to provide a short biography of him, but he is acting all mysterious about his past. He has, however, asked me to fill this space with something, which leaves me in a dilemma. This is it, my parting shots, a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to say exactly what I think - and I'm stuck.
 Several ideas came to mind. I had thought of asking if any of our readers knows where to watch the Lions versus Australia rugby game on Saturday, but decided that this would be an abuse of position (you can reach me at thompson@sptimesrussia.com).
 More tempting was the thought of giving both barrels to all the people who have made my job difficult, which would easily fill the approximately 450 words I have left but would probably get a little tedious after a while. Besides, I reckon they know who they are. 
 Or I could have done the anal expert thing of telling the city's politicians, waiters, drivers and brewers where they're going wrong. At least, I could have done this two weeks ago before I went to London, where I discovered a city that is at least as deficient in those areas as St. Petersburg, and possibly more so.
 A third option could have been to pass on fatherly words of wisdom to Rob (&quot;Bring a good book to management meetings&quot; and &quot;If they ask you to do a daily Hockey Special, don't&quot;), but it is quite obvious that this is unnecessary. Out of all the triumphs and disasters over which I have presided, I have at least managed to leave a settled team behind, and I know that they will take the paper to new heights.
 Instead, I will devote the space I have left to a few special people who I have rarely, if ever, met but whom I feel I know quite well. There exists a certain type of person who writes letters to us frequently - there is some ridiculous statistic that says something like 80 percent of the letters to The New York Times are written by 3 percent of its readers- and this type is convinced that our newspaper has an Agenda.
 Without naming names, I would like to reassure all of you out there that I am neither a Zionist nor a Nazi, and certainly not both at the same time. I would like to reassure you that there are only two Yanks in this office, and they are surrounded by Ivans, Limeys and Canucks, which means that we can rarely agree on anything, let alone decide the day's subliminal, pro-Western propaganda. 
 Conversely, I would point out that I got the date of the composition of The Star-Spangled Banner wrong out of sheer pig-headed ignorance, and not because I enjoy mocking Americans - what do you think the rest of Europe is for? (And President Madison invaded Canada, not the other way around - nice try.)
 In sum, I would, in fact, like to thank somebody - the readers who wrote to us over the past two years. You made me feel like someone was out there, and three or four of you had me in stitches.
 <i>
 This is Barnaby Thompson's last day as editor of The St. Petersburg Times. We'll miss him. </i>

TITLE: City Cannot Just Hide the Homeless
TEXT: A lot of things are already going on in connection with the city's tricentennial celebrations in 2003. Slowly, perhaps, but surely, the government and private business are pulling together plans that have a good chance of putting St. Petersburg in the global spotlight in a worthy manner. 
 But we must be vigilant, nonetheless, watching out for malicious or wrong-headed proposals that may undermine the spirit of what the city wants and needs to do. The recent proposal by a company called Alyans to build an enormous shelter on the outskirts of town where the city can stuff away its homeless population where the world won't look is definitely such an idea.
 The governor's office and the Legislative Assembly have been correct and responsible in their assessments of the plan which, thankfully, seems unlikely to get any further than the proposal stage. Valuable budget resources, it seems, will not be squandered in this cynical effort to paper over a serious issue.
 The tricentennial is indeed a tremendous opportunity for our city and one that could hardly come at a better time. But this celebration is not just a few days of parades and speeches in May 2003. 
 It is, rather, an entire process of gearing up to that moment, a process of forging both domestic and international partnerships. It involves working to sort out a functional and beneficial relationship with Moscow. It involves shoring up our relations with the Leningrad Oblast. It involves reaching out to neighboring countries of Scandinavia, the Baltic region and beyond. We have seen the beginnings of this process over the last year and we have been encouraged.
 Allyans, perhaps, is to be thanked for drawing our attention to the issue of Petersburg's homeless, now estimated to number more than 8,000 people, with thousands more struggling with Russia's arcane registration laws. Although this Potyomkin-village proposal is ill conceived, it may serve as the stimulus for developing a realistic and humane plan. 
 Barring a miracle, we won't solve the homeless problem by 2003 - just as we won't solve myriad other social problems that plague us. But Governor Yakovlev's recent order to open shelters for the homeless in each of the city's districts is a sensible start. Actively encouraging the work of local and international charitable organizations would help, too, as would comprehensive assessments of related problems like alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence and mental illness. 
 What we really need is an approach worthy of a noble and caring city, rather than one that just makes us <i>look </i>like one.


TITLE: Global eye
TEXT: Mixed Messages
 Has it come to this?
 Midas Tours in Britain is offering holiday travelers a real treat in one of its latest packages: fine wines, sumptuous dinners, chi-chi shopping opportunities, classical music and &quot;lively local entertainment,&quot; all wrapped around a few leisurely visits to the nearby historic sites. Yes, for just $1,500, you can enjoy a luxury outing on this &quot;lively&quot; historical theme: the Holocaust.
 Midas began placing ads for the tour in The Telegraph last week, The Times Literary Supplement reports: eight days of happy tramping through the death camps of Auschwitz, Birkenau, Treblinka and Majdanek. (Plus an extra added attraction: the salt mines at Wieliczka - 700 years of backbreaking slave labor and grinding misery!)
 On the first night, in Warsaw, holidaymakers will boogie on down to the former Jewish Ghetto, where 250,000 people were wiped out by the Nazis in the 1945 Uprising, followed by a visit to a &quot;traditional Polish restaurant,&quot; where they will be &quot;wined, dined and entertained.&quot;
 And the fun doesn't stop there. Check out the itinerary for Day 3: &quot;This morning we drive out to the Death Camps of Treblinka, where up to 17,000 victims were murdered daily. Returning to Warsaw for the afternoon, we stroll through the pleasant and peaceful Lazienki Park, maybe to the strains of Chopin.&quot; (Or to the ghostly cries of the tortured and slain, perhaps?)
 On Day 6, it's a doubleheader: Auschwitz/<br> Birkenau. After a stroll through the pleasant and peaceful remains of &quot;300 prison blocks and four massive gas chambers,&quot; it's back to the hotel where you will - what else? - &quot;spend the evening enjoying some lively local entertainment during dinner.&quot;
 Next up: Intourist proudly announces the opening of a &quot;major new theme park for the whole family&quot; - GulagLand! &quot;Join Ziggy the Zek and his Boney Cronies as they giggle their way through this dazzling tribute to Russia's wacky penal past! But be sure to bring a sweater - it gets pretty cold when you're wining and dining out on the tundra!&quot;
 
 White Out
 The boys are back in town. When there is a race-tainted election on the line, you can bank on the GOP's &quot;Preppy Rioters&quot; to be there, making sure God's will is done and a real American (i.e. white Christian Republican) is the winner.
 We all recall the critical moment during the ballot recount in Florida last year, when a loud mob burst into the Miami election commission offices, pounding on doors, bellowing threats and roughing up staffers, demanding that the count be shut down. The commissioners, fearful for their lives, duly closed up shop, leaving the Miami totals - including the heavy black vote that was running 9-1 in favor of Al Gore - trapped in eternal limbo.
 It soon transpired that this &quot;spontaneous&quot; demonstration was in fact the work of a pack of young aides to congressional Republicans, coordinated by GOP House Majority Whip Tom Delay of Texas and paid for by the George W. Bush campaign. (You'd think that such a naked display of illegal political violence unleashed at the direct order of high government officials would have caused a scandal that would still be reverberating through the national media and indeed the justice system, now wouldn't you? Wonder why it didn't? Must be one of the Lord's miracles.)
 Last week, the Whipping Boys got together in southern Virginia, where a special Congressional election pitted real American Randy Forbes against Louise Lucas, a black Democrat (and a female-type to boot), Roll Call magazine reports. Wearing buttons blazoned with the cryptic tag &quot;19&quot; - the floor of the Miami government building where they'd staged their historic hissy fit - the aides prowled the polling booths to make sure &quot;there was no funny business&quot; - such as dubious darkies getting up to mischief like, you know, <i>voting </i>and all that.
 Local Republicans had openly declared race war, warning that Lucas would &quot;bring out <i>her </i>people, not <i>our </i>people&quot; to the polls, so a slew of big-time GOP honchos were enlisted to whiten up the proceedings and supply messages of support, including Regent Dick Cheney, Occupant George W., even Barbara Bush. (That's the saintly white-haired mother, not the hard-drinking daughter. Like all royals, the Bushes confine themselves to a small number of dynastic names: George, George, Walker, Walker, Barbara, Barbara, etc.) And yea, the Lord did smile on their enterprise: Forbes eked out a narrow victory.
 The 19ers say they male-bonded in the white heat of the Miami melee. &quot;When you're in a pressure cooker like that, you become fast and furious friends,&quot; says Prep Rioter Doug Heye, not at all troubled by the homoeroticism of his remarks. In fact, following their successful affrays in Florida and Virginia, the deeply bonded boys say they are now ready to go &quot;anywhere else&quot; to impose the party's will.
 Just as soon as their designer brown shirts are ready.
 
 Dog Days
 There was happy news for a prominent GOP political family last week. It seems that Richard Nixon may soon be joined graveside by the carcass of his little dog, Checkers, The Associated Press reports.
 The pooch saved Nixon's career in 1952, when, as Republican candidate for vice president, he faced serious corruption allegations. Nixon used the newfangled device of television to reach the nation, tearfully maintaining his innocence and swearing he had only ever received one gift: &quot;a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate.&quot; While this story got big laughs in the corporate backrooms and Mafia dens from whence Nixon drew his boodle, it was enough to keep him on the GOP ticket. The rest, alas, is history.
 The Nixon family say they want to exhume Checkers, who died in 1964, and ship him across the country to his master's burial ground in California.
 Sounds like a job for those ever-faithful 19ers. Get your shovels, boys, and go to it!

TITLE: risk pays off with tsar demyan
AUTHOR: by Giulara Sadykh-zade

PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: A farce, a popular opera, a folk play or a parable - all of these descriptions are valid for the bright, joyful production of &quot;Tsar Demyan&quot; which premiered on the stage of the Maly Drama Theater on June 20 and 23 as part of the White Nights Festival. The folklore play about the apostate Tsar and his martyred son has its roots in the persecution of the first Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and was extremely popular in factories and villages alike, even gaining popularity among the military. Essentially, the play was a true piece of folk theater - and folklore, as we know, is always anonymous.
 It was decided to write the music for this play in the spirit of folk primitivism. Five authors wrote the work - Leonid Desyatnikov and Vyacheslav Gaivoronsky from St. Petersburg, Iraida Yusupova and Vladimir Nikolayev from Moscow, and the creative collective &quot;Kompozitor,&quot; which is a pseudonym for the well-known music critic Pyotr Pospelov.
 The music uses the naive textual material of the play directly and without any distancing and spoke to the listeners in the language of familiar musical quotations.
 The score of the opera, brought to life with style by conductor Alexander Titov, Yulia Khutoretskaya and soloists from the Mariinsky Academy of Young Singers, was full of shadows from the past - Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov in particular. There were also flashes of Russian romances, such as &quot;The Black Crow.&quot;
 The idea for this unusual project belongs to Pospelov. Having long regarded individual authorship as harmful, he finally decided to do something about it - and being a man of his word, last season he made his first move in the attack on authorship as an outdated form of self-expression with the massive project &quot;Passions after Matthew,&quot; in which 11 poets and 11 composers from Moscow and St. Petersburg took part. Tsar Demyan, Pospelov's second project, is much more organic, ironic and compact than the first.
 The opera was staged with two endings - one tragic, one happy - by Viktor Kramer, a well-regarded director who excelled with Berlioz' &quot;Les Troyans&quot; last season. Stage designer Alexander Brodsky put all the characters in the opera in wooden cages on wheels. Each character carries a box which corresponds to the personality of the character by color, design and style. The boxes moved playfully around the stage, hitting each other in battle scenes and lovingly sticking together in hilarious scenes of copulation between the pagan Tsarevna Vinera, Demyan's wife, and the wild hero Marets. In the moment of ecstasy the watering can attached to Marets' box tipped over into the flower bed attached to Vinera's box and the flower in it immediately burst into bloom, causing great excitement in the audience.
 The tender voice of Larisa Yudina (Tsarevich Artur) gave the right note of pity to the naive melodies. Vladimir Miller provided a rich bass in the role of Tsar Brambeus, while countertenor Oleg Bezinskikh reached some stunningly high notes as the Giant Knight. The variety of the timbre of the soloists gave the opera a particularly farcical character.
 The attention from Valery Gergiev, who decided to provide financial support for this risky project, and the business acumen of producer Eduard Boyakov gave the production a feeling of significance, which was well appreciated by everyone in the audience.

TITLE: new-look otello is a must-see
AUTHOR: by Galina Stolyarova

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Think of the world's top 10 most frequently staged operas, and Giuseppe Verdi's 'Otello' will most certainly cross your mind. Yet, perhaps paradoxically for opera directors, finding a voice to sing the leading role is just as high on the list of opera's biggest headaches.
 The Mariinsky Theater can well confirm this. The opera, undoubtedly one of the company's favorites, first saw this theater's stage on Nov. 26, 1887, shortly after it premiered in Milan on Feb. 5, 1887. Since then, Otello has had six different productions on this stage, with the most recent one premiered as part of the White Nights Festival last Sunday.
 Bringing Verdi's opera to the Mariinsky stage was local director Yury Alexandrov, responsible both for a camp take on Mozart's &quot;The Marriage of Figaro&quot; and a Golden Mask-winning rendition of Sergei Prokofiev's &quot;Semyon Kotko.&quot;
 Mariinsky's artistic director Valery Gergiev has been considering a new staging of Otello for several years, having in mind renowned tenor Vladimir Galuzin for the title role. A Novosibirsk Conservatory graduate who joined the Mariinsky in 1990, Galuzin sang in the 1996 production of the opera, but now spends most of his time out of Russia, performing at many of the best Western opera venues.
 And although Galuzin is scheduled to sing Otello when the Mariinsky performs the opera in Covent Garden on July 16 and 18, Alexandrov's production premiered with Alexei Steblyanko in the lead role. His performance was impressive, high above his average, though vocally he was not completely at ease, and at times his character was a little too ponderous.
 Fyodor Mozhayev, who only joined the Mariinsky in 1997, was remarkably convincing as Iago, getting into his role very deeply, but showed some vocal difficulties.
 Moscow singer Olga Guryakova's performance as Desdemona was a genuine triumph. The singer overcame all the challenges presented by the role with grace, fluidity and flair.
 Set designer Semyon Pastukh who has already work with Alexandrov in their production of Semyon Kotko, has achieved an impressive rapport with the director again, with the sets suiting Alexandrov's ideas remarkably well.
 Pastukh decorates the stage with giant and unwieldy armor,, a symbol of Othello's field victories, parts of which are brought on stage by Othello's soldiers. But as the action progresses alongside the separated armor, Othello's divided soul is visualized. Desdemona looks particularly fragile near the massive swords which resemble crosses. The scene of Desdemona's prayer, where Guryakova kneels before the only sword/cross remaining on stage, is particularly compelling.
 Pastukh turns the back wall of the stage into the deck of a ship, with all the acting taking place next to it. During the finale, people dressed in black cover the long stairs connecting the ship with the land with a pitch black counterpane. Minutes later, Othello kills himself on the stairs, and they lift his body on board - as if they had come for his soul.
 Musically, the production was an excellent, nuanced and full-toned performance - not always the case when the company puts on Verdi - with the orchestra powerfully illustrating Desdemona's tender subtlety, Iago's intense hatred, and Othello's anger.
 Alexandrov's Otello will be soon be introduced to British audiences as part of the Mariinsky's Verdi festival in the Royal Opera House in London this July, where the production will join Verdi's Requiem, Andrei Konchalovsky's version of Un Ballo in Maschera, Alexei Stepanyuk's Aida, David McVicar's Macbeth, Elijah Moshinsky's La Forza del Destino and Alexandrov's Don Carlos.
 In the future the Mariinsky promises Nikolai Putilin as Iago, Tatyana Pavlovskaya as Desdemona and Yev geny Akimov as Cassio, and Vladimir Galuzin performing the lead role on home soil.

TITLE: chernov's choice
TEXT: Though St. Petersburg's film-going public, in a strange and highly dubious move, applauded Leni Riefenstahl, who came for the first screening of her Nazi propaganda films in Russia last week, it was refreshing that an event honoring a different German who was the total opposite to Goebbels' favorite director, being Jewish and anti-fascist, drew even more people on Monday.
 Promoted by the Festival of Festivals in cooperation with the Goethe Institute, the premiere of a documentary about composer Kurt Weill was followed by a concert of his music. However, the planned rock and jazz component of the concert fell through.
 Though New York synagogue's cantor and German performers duly arrived, the guitarist of Volkovtrio came with a bandaged finger while drummer appeared after double bass player Vladimir Volkov had started his forcibly solo set.
 The headlining <strong>Tequilajazzz </strong>failed to appear at all - as Yevgeny Fyodorov later explained, the concert was initially due on Sunday, and &quot;some of the members&quot; assumed it was canceled and happily left for their dachas.
 Fyodorov said Tequilajazzz won't be appearing in the city until <i>July 21 </i>- according to one of their many traditions, for the past two years the band has played at Moloko on that day to mark the highly successful concert in 1999, when the live album &quot;Moloko&quot; was recorded. It is still available both in one- and two-CD versions, as well as on tape.
 <strong>Ya i Drug Moi Gruzovik, </strong>the band from Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine which caused a sensations among local music experts at the SKIF 5 festival in April, has returned for a brief club tour. The minimalist trio has been compared by some to early Talking Heads. More information including some MP3s can be found at www.gruzovik.dp.ua. Catch them live at <i>Fish Fabrique </i>on <i>Saturday.
 </i>The band will also appear among over 30 acts performing in the <strong>Okna Otkroi </strong>open-air festival, which will start <i>at noon Sunday </i>and last for around 11 hours. Six or seven bands are decent, which is a good percentage for a local festival of this scale. See Gigs for the complete list.
 For the eight annual festival &quot;White Nights' Swing&quot;, its promoter and Russian jazz guru David Goloshchokin has managed to get a worthy international performer for the festival - he is bringing a &quot;real American jazz star.&quot;
 New York-based saxophonist <strong>Craig Handy</strong> (born in 1962) has become famous for his style and for playing with some of the greatest modern jazz musicians, such as pianist Herby Hancock. He also played the role of saxophonist Coleman Hawkins in Robert Altman's &quot;Kansas City.&quot;
 &quot;What distinguishes Handy's work is that, unlike dozens of his contemporaries, he wastes no notes,&quot; wrote Thomas Conrad in &quot;CD Review.&quot; &quot;He reveals in every solo an elegantly intelligent structure. And Handy always finds lyricism in the eye of a hurricane.&quot;
 Handy and his band will perform at the festival opening night at the <i>Jazz Philharmonic Hall </i>on <i>Friday.</i>
 
 <i>- by Sergey Chernov </i>

TITLE: memoirs provide new look at akvarium
AUTHOR: by Sergey Chernov

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The memoirs of Akvarium's principal member, the late Andrei &quot;Dyusha&quot; Romanov, will be showcased at a concert featuring Boris Grebenshchikov and various Akvarium-related projects at SpartaK on Friday. It's also set to mark the anniversary of the flautist's death, as Romanov died on stage at the beginning of a concert at the venue on June 29, 2000.
 Besides including Romanov's memoirs, finished shortly before his death, the extensive volume also has articles by fellow musicians, friends and music writers, excerpts from interviews with Romanov, and 72 pages of black and white and color photos, most of them published for the first time.
 &quot;The History of Akvarium. The Book of the Flautist,&quot; edited by Romanov's widow Anna Chernigovskaya and published by Neva Publishing and OLMA Press, is the second book from a former Akvarium member, and inevitably invites comparison with last year's &quot;Akvarium as a Way of Maintaining a Tennis Court&quot; by the band's former cellist Seva Gakkel.
 Like Gakkel, Romanov belonged to the &quot;classic Akvarium&quot; lineup, which also included Grebenshchikov and bassist Mikhail Fainshtein-Vasilyev, but their assessments of the band often differ significantly.
 In the early 1980s, Akvarium was exciting and innovative, exploring new horizons for music that few people in Russia thought were possible. Influenced by the Russian literature of absurd, Akvarium managed to move on from the hippy pomposity of Russian rock at the time - and developed very quickly, incorporating punk, new wave and reggae, styles which were then largely unknown and neglected in Russia, into their work.
 Not allowed to release records, they consistently made studio albums on self-produced tapes, complete with excellent cover art, and when banned from public performances they developed the practice of giving concerts in private apartments.
 Probably the most interesting aspect of Romanov's book are glimpses from the most creative period of the band in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
 The chapter where Romanov describes his travels with a friend across the Petrograd Side, visiting all kinds of watering holes, stands out as being particularly well written, and is reminiscent of Venedikt Yerofeyev's classic &quot;Moscow - Petushki.&quot;
 Unlike Gakkel, who is very critical of Grebenshchikov, there is no conflict with the band's mainstay in Romanov's book. Romanov seems to be glad to have been in a band with Grebenshchikov and frequently cites his lyrics. The approach is mostly positive, although can sometimes appear somewhat naive, as exclamations abound in the text.
 Gakkel left the band as he felt its late-1980s activities were &quot;sell-outs,&quot; and sees as compromises the band's 1994 lip-sync television performance with Akvarium's work presented as &quot;musical parodies,&quot; changes in lyrics on the demand of television editors, participation in Sergei Solovyev's movies and so on. Romanov, on the other hand, perceives them as important &quot;breakthroughs.&quot;
 In the late 1970s and 1980s, Akvarium was seen as a sum of personalities, not as Grebenshchikov with backing musicians. Like Gakkel and Fainshtein, Romanov did not recognize Grebenshchikov's 1990s band as Akvarium, but his criticism seems to be aimed not at the rock guru, but at his current sidekicks.
 Gakkel finally quit the band in 1988 to reappear only at &quot;Akvarium's Last Concert&quot; in 1991 and the 25th anniversary concerts in 1995, while Romanov remained with the group until it was disbanded by Grebenshchikov, who went on to pursue solo activities, only to rename his BG Band Akvarium in 1992.
 &quot;It seems that Dyushka looks [in the book] as he did in life, which is talented enough in itself,&quot; said Grebenshchikov last week.
 &quot;I didn't read what he wrote at the end - probably there was some swearing there, but the beginning very precisely revoked what it was like in my memory.&quot;
 &quot;Sevka [Gakkel] remembers only [the negative aspects], but Dyushka seems to remember what it was really like - all the pleasure which we got out of the music is evident in his book, at least in the first chapters,&quot; said Grebenshchikov, adding that he cancelled one day in a London studio to return for the concert.
 &quot;Dyusha was not writing memoirs, he wrote the history of Akvarium in short stories which were commissioned [by publishers],&quot; said Chernigovskaya in an e-mail interview this week.
 &quot;Being an extremely tactful and peaceful person, and expecting it to be a lifetime edition, he got round many hard edges and wrote almost nothing about himself - that's why there is a section with his friends' recollections. I believe that if Dyusha was writing the history of his life in art, as Seva did, his text would have been much more hard-edged. Through the prism of his whole life he would look on the band's history differently.&quot;
 Like Gakkel's memoirs, Romanov's book adds interesting details and color to Akvarium's history, but also proves that you cannot understand the greatness of a rock band in its heyday from mere recollections, no matter how talented the person who wrote them was.
 
 <i>The &quot;Akvarium - the Workshop of Arts&quot; concert featuring Boris Grebenshchikov will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday at SpartaK. </i>

TITLE: everyone comes to kurazh
AUTHOR: by Curtis Budden

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Kurazh became my regular neighborhood diner about a month ago. I came upon it late at night when I was having a difficult time finding a place to eat. I dropped into one cafe filled with rather menacing-looking types clad in black leather, who didn't seem to be happy about sharing their space with a foreigner; my next stop included two police officers who came in and laid their automatic weapons on the table before going to the bar to order. Strike Two.
 I walked a little farther along Bolshoi Prospect until I spotted Kurazh. There was nothing immediately striking about the interior: walls covered in plain brown wallpaper, a large Lapin Kulta poster, two Wassily Kandinsky prints, and plastic plants draped over the lamps. But then I found a nice cushy booth in the corner. Just as I had made myself comfortable a smiling waitress appeared, menu in hand. From that point on the service was exemplary, and the food was tasty and inexpensive.
 I admit that I probably should have reviewed this little cafe the first time I ate there. Why didn't I? I guess I was selfish. The food, the prices, and the service were so surprisingly good that I was afraid I might spoil it by sharing my good fortune. After all, essentially what I had stumbled on was what would be a roadside diner or a family restaurant in the West; it's the type of place where your patronage is respected and your face is remembered.
 My most recent experience was a little surreal - in a pleasant way - andconvinced me that I should finally share Kurazh with the rest of St. Petersburg.
 Shortly after I arrived two more foreigners showed up. They tried to order in English, but from the waitress' replies, it was obvious the language barrier was going to win out in this case. I sat there enjoying the show for a few minutes, but before I knew it I had become one of the main participants, translating, and eventually even recommending some of the tastier dishes on the menu.
 After getting my new Finnish and Swiss friends settled away I decided to order myself. I started with the Olivier salad (48 rubles), which was served with freshly grated cheese on top. For the main course I decided to go with one of my favorites, the <i>nezhny </i>(tender) chicken filet with spicy mustard sauce (116 rubles for the chicken, 10 rubles for the sauce) with a side order of French fries (24 rubles) and a 1/2 liter of Coca-Cola (30 rubles).
 I was finishing my salad, which was not extraordinary, though it was made fresh and the portion was sufficient, when the Finn stood up and yelled &quot;No! It's impossible.&quot; Then the man sitting in the next booth also stood up, walked over, and warmly embraced him.
 I was intrigued, and given the cozy size of the cafe it was impossible not to eavesdrop. It turns out that this Finn and this Russian had met at some sort of seminar in the province of Ontario, Canada three years ago, but hadn't been in touch since. Now here they were, sitting next to each other at Kurazh in St. Petersburg of all places. I suddenly had the feeling that I was in a scene from Casablanca, and that at any moment the piano man would start playing and Ingrid Bergman would walk through the door. Well, that didn't happen. But watching two long-lost friends catch up was a decent substitute.
 After a short wait my chicken filet arrived. Besides the fries it also came with a mixture of vegetables and the mustard sauce on the side as requested. The nezhny label turned out to be accurate, as this filet was tender indeed. The mustard was spicy, but not overly so, and it went very well with the chicken, though it probably would have been tasty enough without it.
 Once I was through with the main course, I decided to have a cappuccino (37 rubles) and ice cream with chocolate sprinkles (33 rubles) for dessert. As my coffee and ice cream arrived the others were leaving, smiling at their luck in bumping into each other. I sat there by myself, sipping my coffee, listening to light 1980s rock music, and reflecting on what had just happened. If a Finn and a Russian who had met in Canada three years ago could bump into each other at this nondescript little cafe, then maybe it's not fair for me to keep it to myself after all.
 So if you're in the mood for a good meal at a good price with great service, then you really should take the time to make your way to the Petrograd Side and give Kurazh a shot. After all, you never know who you might run into.
 
 <i>Kurazh, 19-21 Bolshoi Prospect, Petrograd Side, 232-50-90. Dinner for one, 298 rubles ($10). Open around the clock. Metro: Sportivnaya. </i>

TITLE: body building for all budgets
AUTHOR: by Molly Graves

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Are you still making excuses?
 With the White Nights still in full swing, we can no longer claim we just &quot;don't have time&quot; to get in that trip to the gym or jog around the park before the sun goes down.
 In addition, the lights are always burning (along with the calories) well into the evening at St. Petersburg's numerous fitness clubs and gyms, which boast a wide range of prices, equipment and services, depending on how much of a do-it-yourself shaper you are, and how much you want to pamper yourself in the process.
 And while, true, most available fitness classes are conducted in Russian, anglophones will already be one step ahead with all the familiar English-language fitness terms floating around the <i>sport-zal.</i>
 Finally, if you're <i>still </i>not convinced after reading the suggestions below, go and see for yourself: Some of the cushier clubs offer a free trial workout to let prospective clients see what they're missing. Try Fitness Factory, Sun & Step, and Planet Fitness.
 
 <strong>THE BEST OF THE BEST</strong>
 There is, not surprisingly, quite a gap between St. Petersburg's hi-tech, euro-standard fitness clubs and the more bare-bones Soviet-era <i>zals. </i>However, the best of the best are very, very good, including a number of clubs that do everything but lift the weights for you.
 In addition, you'll find a less distinct division of labor between men and women in the larger, more Western gyms. While aerobics and &quot;shaping&quot; remain the activities most popular among local women, you'll find that in St. Petersburg's premier clubs, women not only hold their own in the male-dominated weight rooms, but often work as personal trainers.
 Often, however, and especially in the case of women, some of St. Petersburg's posher clubs are more about pampering than pumping - or at least a healthy combination of both. Typical of this new health-club-turned-day-spa trend is the small fitness center <strong>Maxim, </strong>located just off Nevsky Prospect at 2 Prospect Bakunina (118-68-95). Here, after taking advantage of tanning <i>(solyarii) </i>and salon facilities with an espresso or cappuccino by your side, you can jump right in line in one of Maxim's small aerobics and shaping classes and work off all that caffeine.
 But for more serious pumping - or spinning, or stepping - by far the leader of the euro-standard health clubs is <strong>Planet Fitness, </strong>which boasts three central locations that all function somewhat individually, with different price rates and hours. While also featuring day-spa-type amenities, Planet Fitness is definitely serious about its shaping, featuring perhaps Petersburg's best selection of equipment alongside impressively well-trained staff.
 The main Planet Fitness location is situated at 12 Naberezhnaya Robespierre (275-13-84). Here, a labyrinth of fitness rooms linked together by metallic hallways includes such amenities as weight rooms with brand new equipment (both free weights and machines), a solarium, sauna, cardio room and aerobics hall, and even a salon with health-care consultants, cafe, and day-care facilities. Unique programs at this location include cycling - also known as &quot;spinning&quot; - where an unusual workout takes place on hi-tech stationary bicycles in near-complete darkness! 
 The second of the large Planet Fitness gyms is located at 37 Kazanskaya Ulitsa (315-62-20), not far from St. Isaac's Square. Though somewhat smaller and simpler than the Robespierre gym, it offers most of the same facilities at a more central location. The two gyms function separately, with their own prices, schedules, and hours.
 Somewhat on the same plane as Planet Fitness is <strong>Fitness Factory </strong>(21 Razyezhaya Ulitsa, 346-80-33), which boasts a cardio room, aerobics hall, solarium, sauna, massage and cafe. The bonus here (unlike Planet Fitness) is that you get two club locations for no extra cost, as Fitness Factory works together with <strong>Sun & Step Studio </strong>(63 Ulitsa Zhukovskogo, 346-81-14), which offers aerobics, four solariums, a sauna, and cafe.
 Though slightly smaller venues, the equipment at Fitness Factory and Sun & Step is just as nice as that of Planet Fitness, and you may find the staff somewhat less intrusive. I myself noticed that the Fitness Factory staff tended to leave me alone unless I approached them with questions, while Planet Fitness' abundance of detailed explanations on the front end, perhaps great for the novice, may seem tedious for those who already know their way around the gym. 
 But low-budget body builders beware: These gyms may put your wallet through a workout as well. The nicer Planet Fitness Robespierre location boasts an average monthly membership of about $200, with a percentage discount for half-year memberships (about $120 per month) and annual memberships (about $70 to $90 per month). There are additional family discount rates as well as student rates. Rates at their Kazanskaya location are about 40 percent less expensive, with discounts for couples.
 Prices at Fitness Factory and Sun & Step are a bit better: with monthly rates for the whole gym ranging from $70 to $100, or aerobics-only for $55 to $75, with discounts for multiple months. Maxim classes range about $3 to $5 per session, with discounts for multiple-session memberships.
 
 <strong>BACK TO BASICS: SMALL HALLS </strong>
 There's also the option, of course, of stumbling upon a smaller local gym that will suit your fitness needs - and your budget - just fine. By far the big bonus of the basic clubs is, of course, the price. Most will charge a daily rate of about30 to 50 rubles for a one-time visit, while an <i>abonyement,</i><strong> </strong>or membership, can usually be bought for a month or more, or for a set number of visits, at a discount. 
 The downside may be simply older equipment, less selection, crowds - or other interesting elements. For example, at the <strong>St. Petersburg State University Sports Complex </strong>(9A Kronverksky Prospect, 238-16-32) you will most likely end up pumping your iron to golden-oldie Soviet-era tunes rather than the Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears, which, for some, may actually be a plus. The gym there, while showing its age, has all the basics, featuring a weight room and aerobic classes in the 40- to 50-ruble range. (Their pool will not be functioning until Sept. 1.)
 Another typical basic hall is the Mariinsky Sports Complex, 6 Ulitsa Soyuza Pechatnikov (114-84-87), where a one-time trip to the weight room costs 35 rubles and aerobics 45 rubles. For other similar club possibilities in your area, try the yellow pages listings for <i>sportivnye </i>and <i>atleticheskiye kluby </i>or <i>fitnes-tsentry.</i>
 
 <strong>WHAT TO BRING
 </strong>As in the West, separate sports attire for the gym <i>(kostyum) </i>is generally expected - and, in fashion-conscious St. Petersburg, you may find yourself investing in a whole new wardrobe, especially if you decide to frequent the up-scale gyms. Spandex is the fabric of choice for women, in a variety of colors and patterns, while men may go for more basic shorts or jogging suits. 
 A separate pair of shoes is also judged essential (and the staff may be very picky on this point). Additionally, and especially when visiting some of the more Soviet-style gyms, slippers <i>(tapochki), </i>are another must-have item. Best to get something waterproof, such as the rubber or plastic flip-flop kind, for wear in the shower or on the way to the pool or sauna.
 
 <strong>POOL WORKOUTS
 </strong>If you prefer your workouts wet, you'll also be able to find what you're looking for as St. Petersburg harbors surprisingly more water than just its famous canals. However, the general rule with pools seems to be that the prices are on par with the degree of upkeep - so if you prefer your water blue and sparkling (as opposed to slightly green or brown) you may have to pay extra for your chlorine. 
 One of the higher-end pools in the city can be found at <strong>Neptune Sports and Entertainment Center </strong>(93A Nab. Obvodnogo, 324-46-96) which includes a sparkling pool alongside an impressive array of other water works: jacuzzi, sauna and Turkish bath, hydro-massage, as well as a huge gym (not bound to be crowded), aerobics and cardio hall, and solarii. The pool alone will cost you 300 to 400 rubles (about $10 to $13) depending on the hours, though you may swim as long as you like. In addition, various classes - such as aerobics, step aerobics, and yoga - as well as the weight cardio room each run 140 rubles (about $5) for one-time use.
 If you are looking for something on a more limited budget, you may have some trouble this time of year, as unfortunately many local pools have the odd policy of shutting down during the summer months. One that remains open through July is the St. Petersburg State Academy for Physical Culture, at 38 Ulitsa Dekabristov (114-12-61), which features its own pool for 35 rubles a visit, and small weight-lifting hall for 25 rubles.
 However, be forewarned that most pools also require a <i>spravka </i>or health certificate, stating that you have no serious skin diseases that could contaminate their waters. Such certificates may be obtained for a minimal cost (about 20 rubles) at the dermatology center of any local clinic, and generally have to be renewed about every three months. You can also get a spravka at the health office of the St. Petersburg State Academy for Physical Culture (above).
 Finally, and especially if you visit one of the more basic local pools, don't be surprised if a rubber bathing cap <i>(shapochka) </i>is also a necessary item. I once heard a friend describe his first visit to a Soviet-style pool where many of the locals had made attempts to economize on the pool's shapochka policy - the result being a pool full of floating elderly ladies &quot;with bloody plastic shopping bags on their heads, the handles hanging down over their ears!&quot; To spare yourself this experience, be sure to check your pool's shapochka policy in advance.

TITLE: out in the biker-friendly wilds
AUTHOR: by Vladimir Kovalyev

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: It would be more than a slight stretch to call St. Petersburg a bicycle-friendly city. And the reason is simple: Russian drivers - perhaps the worst enemy of runners and bicyclists alike - behave very differently from their counterparts in Finland, Germany and other European countries, ignoring those traveling on two wheels or by other means, honking wildly, swearing, and even forcing them off the road.
 &quot;I don't know exactly how drivers treat bikers abroad, but I know for sure that here they treat bikers rather badly,&quot; said Artem Korolchuk, a St. Petersburg-based professional mountain biker. &quot;Not all of them are like that, though. I have come across polite and attentive drivers as well.&quot;
 Perhaps it takes one to know one. &quot;Being a driver myself, I always try to steer as clear of cyclists as much as possible,&quot; said Korolchuk's colleague Alexander Antsiferov. &quot;You never know what he or she is going to do next, especially when it is a kid or some drunk. If the cyclist wears a helmet or uniform, I am more confident in him, but I still drive cautiously.&quot;
 &quot;Most drivers, I'm sure, are just the same as me about cyclists - nobody wants to be responsible for an accident,&quot; he added.
 Nonetheless, while bike riding in St. Petersburg is possible, there is no guarantee that your nervous system will survive the experience intact. A particular note of caution needs to be sounded if a cycle through the White Nights takes your fancy, since nighttime is the best time to encounter dangerous driving.
 For all of these reasons, it is much better to cycle outside of town and in the Leningrad Oblast - especially in its northwestern part, called Karelsky Peresheyek, which is well suited to those who like nature, fresh air and wild roads. Getting started is simple: Buy a map of the Leningrad Oblast, and then point your finger at most any place on it, preferably a spot with a lake nearby.
 There is no lack of such places in Karelsky Peresheyek. One, for instance, is a route around Otradnoye Lake, located about 100 kilometers north of St. Petersburg. Do not be put off by the distance: It takes about 2 1/2 hours to reach this area by train from the Finland Station, and it will cost about 40 rubles for a ticket that enables you to bring a bicycle.
 Once you're there, the road you need starts on the left side of the platform. After you cross the village Otradnoye, turn right on the St. Petersburg-Priozersk motorway. You will experience about 15 minutes of cycling together with hundreds of badly behaved drivers, but then this will soon be compensated by reaching an empty and beautiful landscape - the road you should take from the motorway will be on your right. 
 For about 10 kilometers, you will enjoy a good-quality road that will take you to Solnechnoye village. Here you can buy some water and food in a local shop and rest on the shore of Otradnoye Lake. Some relaxation may be necessary, in fact, because the road ahead of you from here could be very difficult if your bike does not have shock absorbers. The asphalt ends after about 6 kilometers and the road turns into lots of sand and stones.
 On the map this kind of road is called <i>gruntovaya doroga </i>or &quot;dirt road.&quot; In the Vladimirovka settlement located on the shore of Lake Ladoga, you can check out the former Soviet Navy harbor with a variety of large and small vessels, most of which are eaten away with rust and have become a playground for local children.
 Your next destination is the Yablonevka and Gromovo villages and then, after about 10 kilometers, you will find another station where you can take a train back to the city. All in all, the route is about 55 kilometers and can be covered in about four hours. Just be sure there is a lift at your office building - it will be very hard to take the stairs the next day if you haven't had much recent cycling experience.
 On other routes of Karelsky Peresheyek, the conditions for bicycle travel will be fairly similar, whether you decide on the 40-kilometer route from Vaskelovo-Zaporozhskoye-Sosnovo, or the 65-kilometer route Kuznechnoye-Hiytola-Priozersk. However, be sure that your passport and Russian visa are with you if decide to take the latter route. There is a border checkpoint for some strange reason on the dirt track to Hiytola, a small Karelian village.
 Professional bicyclists, however, say Karelsky Peresheyek is not the only good option if you want to get out into the wilds. &quot;In general, I would recommend Karelsky Peresheyek,&quot; said Korolchuk.
 &quot;But one of the best routes, in my opinion, is the one along the Neva River from St. Petersburg up to Petrokrepost on Lake Ladoga. It's about 120 kilometers. Also, I can recommend the region around Glubokoye Lake, close to the railway station Kirillovskoye.&quot; 
 For his part, Antsiferov recommends Razliv, Levashovo, Pargolovo in the north. &quot;Also Yukki-Mistolovo-Toksovo is a remarkable route with lots of hills and views. As for the east, you can ride to Koltushi, passing Suoranda, where mountain-bike competitions are often held, and carry on beyond,&quot; he said.
 Antsiferov steers clear of the southeast, at least that part of it close to St. Petersburg, which is highly industrial and polluted. Unless, of course, you really are after a sight of one of Europe's biggest trash dumps. &quot;Pushkin and Pavlovsk are the exceptions, but first you have to get there,&quot; he said.
 But most of all, Antsiferov prefers the Karelsky Peresheyek views or Lake Ladoga roads for long journeys. &quot;For example, Borisova Griva-Voloyarvi Lake-Toksovo is a one-day route, which can be easily expanded to Matoksa-Gruzino-Zaporozhskoye,&quot; he said.
 &quot;Taking a train from Finland Station, you can begin your route in Sosnovo and cycle by the southern lakeside of Sukhodolskoye Lake. Then catch a ferry on the Burnaya River and, observing the Mannerheim line, cycle via Portovoe-Gromovo-Sukhodolye. The forest reserve there is very beautiful.&quot;
 Finally, if you do not like hills, of which there are plenty in Karelsky Peresheyek, there is a good route in the southern part of the Leningrad Oblast. One, for instance, from the Mga settlement to Tosno is 40 kilometers. To reach Mga, take the train from the Moscow Station (about one hour). The trail is mostly flat asphalt road. There is one very boring 20-kilometer section from Shapki to your final destination point of the town Tosno - but this section is straight with just one turn, and can be covered in about 20 minutes if you have a tail wind.
 
 <i>According to Antsiferov, bikers who have questions or are looking for partners to ride with can e-mail faqserver@aa4213.spb.edu and put 'LIST' and 'HELP' in the subject line or message body to get a list of topics related to cycling in St. Petersburg. Another good source of information is the Web site www.velopiter.spb.ru. </i>

TITLE: off the pavements, into the parks
AUTHOR: By Molly Graves

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Although local authorities often describe St. Petersburg as Russia's most European city, local runners would be hard pressed to agree. Jogging enthusiasts will generally tell you that they spend far more time dodging dog-doo than working on their stride.
 However, with the extra daylight provided by the White Nights, you may find yourself plagued by that desire to get out and fight for your place on the trails of St. Petersburg's numerous parks. Here are a few suggestions.
 
 <strong>IN THE CENTER
 </strong>Finding places to run in the center of St. Petersburg not only takes a little creativity, but also more than a little intestinal fortitude to battle the barrage of strange looks and comments that will likely be thrown your way. However, if you're not in for a long run, most joggers can find what they're looking for in some of the city's smaller central parks.
 In the central northeast, try a few loops around the lake and trails at the Tavrichesky Garden (Metro Chernyshevskaya) - a nice place for a 20- to 30-minute run, or <i>about 5 kilometers. </i>This small, peaceful park is located not far south of Naberezhnaya Robespierre, and can be combined with a quick run along the banks of the Neva River.
 In the center, there's always the Aleksandrovsky Gardens, where you can jog past Ploshchad Dekabristov -site of the famous Bronze Horseman monument - and then continue on to the tree-lined strip on Konnogvardeysky Boulevard and link up with the Admiralteisky Canal for a loop around Novaya Gollandiya, or similarly, cross Lieutenant Shmidt Bridge to Universitetskaya Naberezhnaya, and then back via Palace Bridge for a Neva-ending loop. <i>Good for 5- to 7-kilometer runs.</i>
 In addition, just south of Sadovaya metro station there's room for a small run (<i>2 to 3 kilometers)</i> around the lake at the peaceful Yusupovsky Garden. This can be added onto a Fontanka run for extra distance. And not far off, near Pushkinskaya metro station, the small park surrounding Pionirskaya Ploshchad on Zagorodny Prospect, next to the Bryantsev Theater of Young Spectators, is also good for a few tree-lined laps <i>(3 to 5 kilometers).</i>
 
 <strong>FURTHER OUT</strong>
 However, more serious runners will be familiar with the difficulties of finding suitably long stretches of trail or road to enjoy without fear of reckless drivers, too many broken beer bottles or packs of wild dogs (and the &quot;souvenirs&quot; left in their wake).
 If your runs feel like obstacle courses - dodging slippery ice-cream wrappers and leaping sleeping drunks in a single bound - perhaps it's time to head out of the city center to some of the more serious open-area parks, all of which are also good for short bicycle excursions.
 Just a few metro stops from the center is Primorsky Park Pobedy, on Krestovsky Ostrov. With its expansive and often surprisingly quiet grounds, the park is one of the city's finest, featuring both dirt and paved paths, a small lake complete with (almost white) swans, and a hillside stadium with a grandiose view. The park entrance, located directly behind the Krestovsky Ostrov metro station, is clearly marked with a gate. You can also rent roller blades, go go-carting, and watch the crazy drivers on the surrounding race tracks - from a safe distance. <i>Good for runs of 10 kilometers or longer.
 </i>If you're looking for wilder terrain for your trail run, just across the road from Metro Pionirskaya is Udelny Park, which locals describe as more of a wild wood than a park. Here, rather than manicured gardens punctuated with statues, you will find tall trees and winding dirt trails - perfect for a short off-road bike ride or nice <i>trail runs of 10 kilometers or longer.
 </i>To get there, exit Metro Pionirskaya, cross Prospect Ispytatelei and then Kolomyazhsky at the intersection, continuing down the latter. The park will be on your right, and you can look for trails leading in. (Or, more simply, ask a kiosk vendor - of which there is no shortage here - to point you in the right direction.) If you happen to get lost (and it is perfectly possible), just ask for directions back to the nearest metro - either Pionirskaya or Udelnaya (which is on the far northern side of the park).
 If you wear out the trails at Udelny Park and are looking for new terrain, another nearby possibility is the somewhat similar Park Sosnovka - perhaps a bit larger and also located not far from Metro Udelnaya.
 Finally, for runners headed to any of the more distant parks, you would be well advised to bring some money for a taxi - or an emergency <i>shaverma, </i>in case that low-blood-sugar attack sets in after your run. Getting back to the center will cost you about 70 to 100 rubles.

TITLE: making a hash of it
AUTHOR: By Molly Graves

TEXT: If you prefer two feet to two wheels, there's a local branch of the international network of Hash House Harriers (HHH). Often described as &quot;a drinking club with a running problem,&quot; the HHH originated as an expat enterpise in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the popular running groups - with their off-the-wall nicknames, crazy costumes and cornucopia of other odd traditions - have since spread all over the world.
 The local chapter was founded by Geoff &quot;Jelly Baby&quot; Stansfield in 1994, and St. Pete hashers have been hosting biweekly runs ever since. Summer runs begin at 2 p.m. on alternate Sundays, meeting at Ploshchad Iskusstv by the statue of Alexander Pushkin.
 According to Yelena, one of the organizers, the St. Petersburg group consists of about 10 faithfuls and various stragglers. Runs vary in length, but average about 5 kilometers, or 40 minutes, followed by the traditional &quot;down-down&quot; drinking festivities. Bring your running shoes and a sense of adventure.
 
 <i>You can contact the HHH at 110-07-29 or 320-79-29. </i>

TITLE: high on health at the banya
AUTHOR: by Sam Charap

PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The banya - or steam bath - carries such great cultural significance in Russia that one doesn't know exactly how to categorize it: Is it a social event, a hygienic routine, an excuse for drunkenness, or, as many Russian banya maniacs would have it, a necessary measure to ensure good health and longevity?
 While many homegrown Russian health prescriptions range from the absurd (mustard rubbed on the feet as a cold cure) to the antiquated (leaving the house with wet hair ensures the flu), almost anyone who experiences the banya will tell you that there is a certain deeply felt sense of healthiness - what the Russians refer to as a <i>kaif, </i>or high - after a couple hours of sadomasochistic beating in the baths.
 But some claim that a trip to the banya has benefits that far outlast the high. In fact, some Russians might tell you that regular trips to the banya can prevent cancer, cure pneumonia or ensure a better sex life.
 &quot;[As a result of the banya] the kidneys work better ... it is one of the most effective preventative methods to fight arthritis . . . a trip to the banya is recommended for chronic colds and bronchitis . . . even arteriosclerosis,&quot; write the authors of www.probanu. narod.ru, a site dedicated to the banya.
 Is this just another Russian old wives' tale?
 &quot;It's certainly nothing we learned in medical school,&quot; said Dr. Timothy Meade, a U.S.-educated doctor who works as Regional Medical Director for the American Medical Center in St. Petersburg.
 &quot;I'm not saying it's not true,&quot; he continued. &quot; I don't think that studies have been done where 10 Russians take a banya every day for 20 years and 10 Russian people don't, and they have a difference in their long term health. I don't think that anyone has ever looked at that.&quot;
 Dr. Meade did warn that the high temperatures encountered in the banya could actually represent a health threat for those with high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease.
 Regardless, the banya remains a distinct treat, and an unparalleled cultural experience.
 The banya routine, however, is crucial to the experience.
 Bring a towel, soap and shampoo, and slippers (although these can be rented at most banyas). Other good items to bring include water (to restore some of the hydration lost to sweat), a salty snack - chips or nuts suffice, but Russians seem to prefer <i>vobla, </i>dried fish - and, of course, some sort of alcohol so as not to feel out of place. (Be careful with the booze, though, it seems to affect the brain much faster in the extreme conditions of the banya). 
 On the way to the banya, or directly inside, there is usually a kiosk selling bunches of birch leaves tied together - referred to in Russian as <i>veniki. </i>Pick some up on your way in. Inside, you should see veniki being prepared for usage - they must be thoroughly softened in boiling water before the beating begins. 
 Next, stop by the <i>banshchik</i> - banya master. He or she can provide you with <i>tapochki </i>(slippers) and <i>prostynya </i>(a bed sheet), which you should use to cover yourself, or your rear when it gets too hot to sit.
 After undressing and wrapping yourself in your prostynya, you might want to try what is referred to by the Russians as the Finnish sauna. It can serve as a somewhat less intense introduction to the <i>parilka </i>- the steam room, the heart and soul of the banya experience. In the sauna, the heat is dry and more tolerable.
 The parelka, on the other hand, is a wet heat, and anything but mild. Temperatures here can be too high for even the most grizzled banya-goer to handle. Oh, and bring your veniki - here is where the beating begins.
 Veniki usage is an acquired skill. Perhaps the best advice for banya-neophytes is to watch and learn from the natives. Don't beat yourself too hard, though. This is supposed to be a fun experience.
 When you are about ready to faint from the heat, it's time to make a run for the <i>bassein </i>- the freezing cold swimming pool. You will definitely feel the kaif. As for more concrete medical results, well, perhaps part of the appeal of the banya is its mystery.
 St. Petersburg's banyas range from deluxe to disgusting - the following, however, are some of the more popular. Call ahead to determine their hours of operation, which can vary from week to week.
 
 <i><strong>Nevskiye Bani:</strong></i><i> 5-7 Ulitsa Marata (311-14-00). M: Mayakovskaya/Ploshchad Vosstaniya. This is probably the most centrally located banya in the city, one block from Nevsky Prospect.
 </i><i><strong>Krugliye Bani:</strong></i><i> 29A Ulitsa Karbishyeva (550-09-85) M: Ploshchad Muzhestva (take bus no. 80 from Lesnaya). The round outdoor swimming pool provides for nice evening stargazing.
 </i><i><strong>Yamskiye Bani:</strong></i><i> 9 Ulitsa Dostoyevskogo (312-58-36) M: Dosto yevskaya. Lux banya features individual rooms, sauna, tanning, fitness center.
 </i><i><strong>Kazachy Bani:</strong></i><i> 11 Bolshoi Kazachy Pereulok (315-07-34) M: Pushkinskaya, daily except Monday and Tuesday. Deluxe banya, featuring billiards, ping pong, and private dressing rooms with TV, must be reserved in advance.
 </i><i><strong>Banya 45:</strong></i><i> 12 Pereulok Makarenko (114-34-47) M: Sennaya/Sadovaya. Cold dipping pool recommended.
 </i><i><strong>Znamenka Banya:</strong></i><i> Near Petrodvorets (427-73-77). Located in a suburb of St. Petersburg, this banya comes with high recommendations. It is obligatory to call ahead to reserve a time. About 30 mintues on a marshrutka from M: Avtovo. </i>

TITLE: try out a spell at the spa
AUTHOR: by Galina Stolyarova

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The banya has long been a traditional Russian method of reducing stress and restoring energy. But with the increasing predominance of Western culture, the city of St. Petersburg has begun to see deluxe spa and health and beauty centers, which along with saunas and banyas have beauty shops, hair salons, aromatherapy cabinets and dozens more services on hand.
 Club M5 located at 5 Muchnoi Pereulok is a case in point. With its own banya and sauna, the club offers a hair salon, manicures, pedicures, makeup, tattooing, piercing, massage, peeling and thalassotherapy - more than enough to pamper yourself for an entire day.
 One hour in the sauna plus a banya costs 350 rubles ($11) (200 rubles ($6.50 for 30 minutes), with an hour of general massage for an additional 420 rubles ($14) . A 20-minute herbal bath is a bargain at 200 rubles.
 Club M5 has also developed original programs for improving general health, combining sports classes, massage and vitamin courses individually tailored by the center's doctors. A number of weight-loss and anti-cellulite programs can be found as well, and even a special course for those who want to be taller is available for $600. Running for three months, the program promises to increase one's height by 3 to 7 centimeters through a series of special massage courses (40 to 50 minutes each, four times a month). If there is no result, Club M5 claims it will pay the money back.
 Any appointment at Club M5, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., should be made in at least one day in advance by telephone (310-79-05).
 Perhaps more in the sporting vein, The Fitness Factory (21 Razyezhaya Ulitsa, tel. 346-80-33) and Sun & Step (63 Ulitsa Zhukovskogo, tel. 346-81-14) health clubs offer saunas as part of their fitness program, providing visitors with free towels and slippers.
 The first workout is free, and subsequent workouts cost 435 rubles ($15). For those uncertain of their schedule, a club card is available, allowing 10 visits over an unspecified period of time for 2,900 rubles ($100). Monthly programs are available from 2,900 rubles, a three-month program costs between 5,220 ($170) and 7,250 rubles ($240), a six-month program is from 9,425 ($325) to 13,920 rubles ($480), and a year membership is 15,950 ($550) to 23,200 rubles ($800). The clubs' instructors can also develop an individual diet course to accompany the gym and sauna visits. 
 Regular banyas, in the meantime, are fighting for their place on the market by offering extra services.
 For example, the closed joint-stock company Select, which manages <i>Pravoberezhniye Bani</i> (51 Ulitsa Novosyolov, tel. 447-20-87) offers a hair salon, massage, solarium, as well as food and drinks, around the clock.
 At the moment, however, it may be worth finding an alternative to banyas: All of the city's banyas will be temporarily closing for a few weeks at some stage this summer due to annual summertime hot-water-pipe repairs. Hot water is turned off for this period in the entire district, with no exceptions, and locals have to make do with banyas in other districts.
 Naturally, as the schedule for turning off the hot water is different in every district, it is worth making a phone call before visiting any banya.

TITLE: how to relieve corporate tension
AUTHOR: by Simon Ostrovsky

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Wap! Splat! That should take care of him. He won't be bossing me around at the office anytime soon.
 It turns out that it's not just U.S. postal workers that have such thoughts on occasion. A lot of us have a hard time choosing just one name in response to the question, &quot;Which of your co-workers would you like to take outside and shoot?&quot; And so the masters of amusement have come up with a solution to help us work out our frustrations without risking a prison term : paintball. 
 In fact, it is not only therapeutic; many companies are actually using it to improve teamwork and camaraderie.
 A surprising and growing number of St. Petersburg companies are arranging corporate retreats featuring paintball competitions. Most often, paintball involves arming two teams with pneumatic guns loaded with paint pellets and letting them loose in the woods to battle it out. The St. Petersburg Paintball Federation arranges such tournaments, says Alexei Ivanov, the federation's marketing director. The cost runs from 300 to 500 rubles per warrior, plus another 3,500 rubles for a case of 2,000 rounds of psychedelic ammunition. 
 Ivanov's federation also organizes seasonal indoor tournaments. Most recently, they held their summer event at the Spartak sports complex on June 29, with a number of teams representing local companies vying for the title of &quot;St. Petersburg Paintball Champion.&quot;
 &quot;We try to make these events as sporting and competitive as possible,&quot; Ivanov says. &quot;We even arrange parties out in the wilderness and we always declare rules and winners - and, of course, award prizes.&quot;
 The St. Petersburg Paintball Federation provides clients with complete service, from equipment and guidance to the post-battle party. Although the experience is intended to be fun, the federation insists the sport is an effective way of releasing stress and re-energizing fatigued office workers. They'll get dirty, of course, but they'll appreciate the chance to take the boss down.
 
 ********************** 
 If shooting the enemy isn't your bag, maybe some road rage can help vent your pent-up anger. In that case, the place to head locally is the Karting Center, located on the grounds of Kirovsky Zavod, which offers a full-scale go-cart track and all the trimmings.
 &quot;So far it is mostly foreign companies that are bringing their office staff to our go-cart track for tournaments,&quot; explains Alexander Kornyukhin, the Karting Center's marketing director. &quot;A lot of telecom companies like to bring their people here for internal competitions. We've organized sessions for Delta Telecom, Peterstar and North-West GSM.&quot;
 The Karting Center also hosts frequent citywide competitions between companies within specific industries. Recently, they hosted most of the local courier-services companies, including TNT, DHL, EMS and Garant Post.
 &quot;Tournaments among competing companies are especially popular. Who would pass up a chance to face the competition outside the market environment?&quot; Kornyukhin said.
 Go-cart tournaments are a scaled-down version of Formula 1 racing, including everything from qualification heats to champagne showers in the winner's circle. &quot;We try to make the experience as real as possible.&quot;
 Which explains why all drivers are required to wear helmets and safety belts on the track and &quot;bumper-car tactics must be left at the amusement park,&quot; according to Kornyukhin. Go-carts are capable of speeds around 50 kilometers per hour on the straight-aways. Each car at the Karting Center features a protective steel safety cage.
 Like paintball, carting is an excellent activity for stress reduction and team-building. &quot;When companies take their staff out to relax in such ways, I think it's a good indication that they are a successful organization,&quot; says Kornyukhin.
 Prices at the Karting Center run about 5,000 to 6,000 rubles per hour. Individuals can take a 10-minute test drive for 100 rubles.
 There are a number of less expensive, outdoor go-cart facilities in town, but none of them take the sport as seriously as the Karting Center does.
 
 <strong>GO-CARTING</strong>
 <i>Karting Center
 45A Pr.ospect Stachek
 Tel. 183-69-84
 www.karting-centre.ru
 
 Karting-Klub
 Kolpino, 13 Saperny Per.
 Tel. 461-28-83
 
 </i><strong>PAINTBALL</strong><i>
 North West Paintball <br> Federation
 45 Pr.ospect Stachek
 Tel. 183-62-13
 
 St. Petersburg Federation <br> of Sports Paintball
 195 Ligovsky Prospect
 Tel. 320-88-88
 www.russianpaintball.ru </i>

TITLE: cosmetic changes
AUTHOR: by Irina Titova

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: This is the time that tries our souls. Summer. Everyone wants to look younger, slimmer, more beautiful. This is when cosmetic surgery seems most attractive.
 And once you get used to the idea, you'll be surprised at the number of possibilities that local cosmetic-surgery clinics offer for achieving just the right effects. Whether you are worried about wrinkles, balding or the size and shape of your breasts and thighs, St. Petersburg's plastic surgeons are ready to offer their services at more than 30 local clinics. And the price tag is almost certain to be considerably lower than in the West.
 &quot;There are many reasons why people come to us,&quot; said Valery Pavlov, a cosmetic surgeon at the St. Petersburg State Beauty Institute on Gorokhovaya Ulitsa. He said that 95 percent of their clients are women.
 &quot;Some people come just for the sake of beauty - including top actresses and models. However, some are clients concerned with social factors: They want to look younger at work, for instance. Some are even afraid of losing their jobs. Some believe that some physical imperfection of their body or face is the cause of problems in their family life.&quot;
 The history of cosmetic surgery in St. Petersburg goes back to 1926, when Professor Alexander Limberg performed the first local wrinkle-removal operation. The first specialized cosmetology clinic in Leningrad was opened in 1961, but until the last decade, services were limited.
 Now a huge range of large and small clinics, some with international reputations, call St. Petersburg home. In addition to the State Beauty Institute, these include Medi, the Pirogov Clinic and OstMedConsult. Virtually all offer the full range of services, including modifications of the nose, ears, face, lips, breasts, legs, stomach and eyelids.
 Rejuvenation procedures are especially popular. These include such things as the forehead pull, removal of bags under the eyes, face-lifts to counter wrinkles, and chemical peels. The latter involves special chemicals to burn off the outer layer of skin. Similar results can also be achieved with laser abrasion.
 Another fashionable procedure involves implanting gold threads under the skin to support it and improve circulation to the soft tissues of the face or neck.
 Clinics claim such operations can leave one looking 10 to 15 years younger. Indeed, the before-and-after photos often show remarkable improvements.
 At Medi, cosmetic surgeon Igor Kuznetsov shows a picture of a woman who appeared to be about 60 years old about to undergo a rejuvenation procedure on her face and neck. The picture shows all the normal signs of aging, including baggy eyes and wrinkled skin. After a few hours in Kuznetsov's hands and a brief recovery period, she emerged looking like a woman of 45.
 After rejuvenation, the most popular local procedure is liposuction. This involves removing excess fat cells through strategically making 3- to 4-millimeter incisions.
 Also high on the cosmetic-surgery hit parade is breast enhancement, including lifting as well as increasing or reducing breast size. For increases, all local clinics use Western-made, state-of-the-art silicon gel implants. &quot;It is up to the doctor to determine which implant best fits each individual patient,&quot; says Kuznetsov. &quot;Of course, we listen carefully to the patients, but we are responsible for the safety and quality of the work we do.&quot;
 Among men, hair-loss procedures are very popular and can be extremely effective. The most common procedure involves transplanting the patient's own hair from the back of his head to the bald spot on top or in the front. &quot;This operation lasts as long as four hours, but the patient can just sit and watch television while we do it,&quot; Pavlov said.
 Some clinics have discovered a demand for procedures that remove or minimize certain racial characteristics. Some clients wish to have Oriental features made more European.
 Making the decision to undergo almost any cosmetic procedure is a serious, sometimes traumatic process. Medi offers the services of a professional &quot;image maker&quot; who can often achieve the desired results with nonsurgical methods.
 &quot;We admit that surgery is not always necessary,&quot; Kuznetsov says. &quot;Sometimes for $40 or $50, our image maker can turn clients into completely new people.&quot;
 For those who elect to proceed, however, almost all the doctors urge patience and consideration. &quot;In order to help people think it over, we send them to our clinic's psychologist,&quot; said Kuznetzov. &quot;Besides, we tell our patients not only about all the positive results we achieve, but also about any risks.&quot;
 According to Kuznetsov, as many as half of all potential clients change their minds after such consultations.
 Many clients these days ask about computer modeling, which is now quite fashionable in the West. This technique uses a computer program to predict how a person will look after a particular procedure. Kuznetsov, however, explains that Medi does not offer this service for the simple reason that it is a hoax. &quot;Unfortunately, such modeling is just a toy, because in life the new features of a face may look differently from what a computer shows,&quot; he said.
 The Pirogov Clinic, however, disagrees with this, and offers this service to its clients as a useful tool.
 Prices differ considerably among the clinics, although it is wise to consider the entire package rather than just to look for the best deal. The State Beauty Institute, for instance, will perform a breast enhancement for $517, while Medi charges about $1,000. These prices do not include the cost of the prostheses, which run about $900 at both clinics.
 Pirogov offers breast enhancement for $2,235, including the prostheses and all medical help.

TITLE: seventeen secrets of beautiful women
AUTHOR: by Vika Sarykina

PUBLISHER: cosmopolitan
TEXT: What would you ask a world-famous beauty if she agreed to tell you anything? What kind of cosmetics does she use? How does she manage to stay slim? Where did she get that incredible smile?
 All this, of course, is very interesting but absolutely useless for you. After all, beauty is not just smooth skin and a good figure. If it were, there would be a lot more beautiful women in the world. The main secrets of beauty are completely different.
 1) A beautiful woman is not afraid to be funny. Marilyn Monroe. Julia Roberts and many other examples are sufficient to prove this point. If a woman is confident that she is irresistable, then no stupid situation, no matter how she may look to others, will be frightening to her. In fact, she should sometimes provoke such situations and force those around her to laugh. In this way, the beauty dispels the myth that she is inaccessible, for she knows that beauty and inaccessibility are incompatible things. No matter what you may have been told.
 2)A beautiful woman does not give away the details. Her colleagues don't know how much time she spends in beauty salons, and even her girlfriends don't know that she sometimes borrows dresses from her mother. Casual acquaintances also don't know that she actually wears contact lenses. Beautiful nails? Just good genes, I guess. Fantastic smile? Yes, my dentist is amazed too!
 3) A beautiful woman knows how to accept a compliment. I'm looking good? Don't underestimate me. I look fabulous!
 4)A beautiful woman is not particularly interested in what others think about her appearance. A beautiful woman who dyes her hair does not then go around asking everyone, &quot;What do you think?&quot; She says, &quot;Look at how beautiful it turned out!&quot; Who's going to argue with her? But if someone does, see No. 5.
 5)A beautiful woman knows how to respond properly to comments about her appearance. &quot;A woman without a stomach is like an apartment without closets.&quot; Try arguing with that.
 6)A beautiful woman knows how to smile. She smiles in such a way that everyone thinks, &quot;She is smiling at me.&quot; She has a smile ready for anything that might happen, even the worst failure. And all her smiles are completely sincere. 
 How does she achieve this sincerity? Here are a few tips. Be sincere. Graduate from an acting school. Imagine yourself in some pleasant situation (you just got a raise). If a beautiful woman is not giving a full smile with her mouth, she is smiling with her eyes. She is never gloomy or depressed. Thoughtful, yes. Severe, sometimes. But never gloomy.
 7)A beautiful woman never regrets anything. What is the sense of crying if the dry cleaner spoils your favorite dress? It'll just cause wrinkles. A beautiful woman tries to extract benefits out of any unpleasantness. Spoiled dress? A good excuse to go shopping! 
 More important, a beautiful woman never regrets anything she has done herself. She easily parts with unnecessary objects and memories.
 8)A beautiful woman is never jealous. Jealous people are afraid of competition. A beautiful woman knows that she has no competition.
 9)A beautiful woman does nothing at the expense of others. She doesn't need any help attracting attention to herself.
 10)A beautiful woman always acts naturally. There is no need to pretend if you are perfect.
 11)A beautiful woman allows herself everything. She may spend her last rubles on a taxi. She may spend a month's paycheck on a pair of new shoes. She may on a whim decide to undergo some beauty treatment that costs as much as a week of restaurant dinners. This just means that she loves herself. And if you love yourself, others will love you too.
 12)A beautiful woman does not tell others about the sacrifices she sometimes must make. Did you have to work all night? No one wants to hear your complaints. Are your new heels killing your feet? A beautiful woman doesn't start telling everyone in the office about it. She doesn't try to win sympathy by telling people about the strict diet she is on.
 13)A beautiful woman doesn't fuss. If she breaks an 18th-century teacup while visiting friends, a beautiful woman very slowly and politely apologizes <strong>once. </strong>Not a hundred times. She then helps pick up the shards and, without regret, throws them away. It is hard to remember to get out of a car by putting both your feet on the pavement at the same time. It is difficult to get used to the idea that it is better to make several trips than to overload oneself like a mule. But a beautiful woman gets used to these things.
 14)A beautiful woman values every admirer. F. Scott Fitzgerald gave the simplest advice to beautiful women in his story &quot;Veronica's Hair.&quot; In order to be constantly surrounded by a crowd of admirers and to have the world acknowledge you as a genuine beauty, you must respond to every flirtation, no matter how unnecessary or even unwelcome it may be. Admirers who are necessary or welcome will notice this and think, &quot;Why is that person always surrounded by attention?&quot; There is no reason for him to know that the ones surrounding you are of absolutely no interest.
 15)A beautiful woman does not search for secret motives in everything. If someone comments on her figure, she doesn't start wondering whether her breasts are too large or her hips disproportionate. She just thinks: &quot;That's his opinion. Who cares?&quot; She knows that attention is almost always a sign that he likes her, and she is almost always right.
 16)A beautiful woman is careful about her fantasies. She does not try to imagine how beautiful or smart her children with such-and-such a man would be. She isn't waiting for a confession of love from a passing stranger who helps her with her suitcase. And he knows this.
 17)A beautiful woman will find a way to meet the people she wants to meet. She meets a stranger in the airport and realizes that he is about to walk out of her life forever. She gives him her phone number or asks him to a club. Or she mentions where she'll be on Wednesday evening. She understands that beautiful women must often take the initiative, since men are often befuddled when they are confronted with such opportunities. And that is no joke.

TITLE: plunge into a secret world
AUTHOR: by Charles Digges

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Scuba diving is one of those things people usually associate with the luxuriant blue waters of the Cayman Islands or Bermuda, waters that offer plenty of encounters with brightly colored fish and barmen who serve up perfect margaritas under the shade of a tropical palm tree.
 But those wishing to pursue scuba diving locally may be discouraged as they look down the Neva River and regard the dinosaur cranes of Admirateisky Verfi shipbuilding factory, and further, the pitching, cold waves of the Baltic Sea. 
 The sport, however, is slowly gaining popularity locally, and becoming something of an open secret among divers who like to swim in unusual places. 
 At the moment, St. Petersburg is limited to three diving shops that cater mostly to the city's 15 diving clubs - groups of die-hard, duck-footed explorers who like to spend most of their time full fathoms five. Of the full service diving shops in town, two of them - Vodny Mir and 2B3 - have their own diving boats, which they rent - with a captain, trainer and crew - to scuba certified groups and clubs for the astonishingly low price of about $50 to $70 a day, depending on the size of the group.
 These prices, however, assume the divers have their own diving equipment, as neither Vodny Mir nor 2B3 rent gear.
 The third shop, Barrakuda, does rent diving gear, as well as arranging excusions. But the firm doesn't maintain its own boat, preferring to rent them on an excursion-to-excursion basis. For sea excursions, according to shop owner Vadim Zverev, the price is negotiated with the diving group. Certified divers can rent equipment for $10 a day for lake diving. This is a distinct advantage, since Vodny Mir owner Dmitry Zabelov says that a full scuba outfit - from tanks to goggles to wetsuits and pressure gauges - can cost from $1,500 to $2,000.
 
 <strong>GETTING CERTIFIED</strong> 
 Before you put on your flippers and go overboard, you have to be certified, says Olga Turzhova, head administrator at 2B3. Certification lessons are something that any full-service diving shop will offer, she said. Both 2B3 and Vodny Mir offer training for international diving certificates for about $250. Unfortunately, neither of the shops offer instruction in English. 
 At 2B3, your $250 pays for 90 minutes of classroom work, during which you are taught the basic safety issues and tested on them in a written quiz. 
 After that, you put on your bathing trunks and head to the pool to get a feel for the equipment and are taught how to put on the gear, safety techniques, distress signals and rescue methods - all which you are tested on as well. 
 Passing those two phases, you are then scheduled for an open-water dive. For this, Turzhova says that students are taken to Lake Ladoga on 2B3's diving boat and tested on their abilities in real conditions. Beginners are also introduced to depth diving and are taken with a trainer to 20 meters, where the water pressure really starts to hit.
 Assuming a student passes, he is certified by the World Scuba Association to dive anywhere. 
 
 <strong>WHERE TO DIVE</strong>
 Water, water everywhere. The Leningrad Oblast and the Karelian Isthmus to its north are home to over 500 lakes, including Europe's largest lake, Lake Ladoga, located to St. Petersburg's west. The city is also perched on the edge of the Baltic Sea. Far north, above the Arctic Circle, there are the Barents and White Seas.
 According to local diving shops, the unanimous choice for serious diving excursions this year are the Barents and White Seas. Because of their location - closer to the ice caps of the North Pole than to Sochi - many would exclude them as a scuba destination. 
 But during an interview in his office, Zabelov held up photos taken of the Barents Sea floor, which is as teeming with flora and fauna as anything you would find off the coast of Mexico. That is because the warm currents of the Gulf Stream circle the tip of Scandinavia and heat the Barents to about 10 degrees Celsius during the summer and fall, he said. The visibility, he said, is also excellent.
 However, diving in many parts of the Barents - which is home to Russia's Northern Fleet and a number of sunken vessels, including the Kursk submarine - requires special government permission, which is often difficult to wrangle for foreigners. But Zebelov says he has guided many excursions including foreigners to the Far North. 
 Similar restrictions apply to areas of the Baltic Sea off the Russian coast, where many Russian navy vessels were sunk during World War II. But Zebelov said areas nearer to the Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea contain shipwrecks of their own, some dating back to tsarist times. But just try getting any treasure you find though customs.
 Zverev of Barrikuda said that the easiest way for a foreigner to bypass any bureacracy is simply to head to Lake Ladoga, whose clear waters make for a fascinating dive in their own right. One of the primary draws of the lake for divers is what lies at the bottom. During World War II, Lake Ladoga was a major escape route for Leningraders trapped during the siege. who would raft across with all their possessions or haul them by sled across the ice in the winter. 
 Because of this, the lake was a frequent target for Nazi bombardments. Divers plumbing its depths today will run across entire family histories - lichen covered photo albums, rusted silverware, military hardware, seaweed covered trunks that when pried open reveal waterlogged clothes someone once folded with care. 
 In fact, these buried treasures make diving in this region some of the most interesting diving in the world, said Turzhova. &quot;Scuba is a fledgling sport here, but is becoming more and more popular as people hear about the sights waters in Northwest Russia have to offer,&quot; she said - adding that over that over the past year, the number of registered clubs has grown from 10 to 15. 
 &quot;We will never be the Bahamas of the Arctic,&quot; said Zverev. &quot;But that just means it will remain our little secret - for the time being, anyway.&quot;
 
 <i>Vodny Mir, 237 Ligovsky Prospect. Tel: 166-26-16.
 2B3, 37 Italyanskaya Ulitsa, office 31-H. Tel: 311-31-16.
 Barrakuda, 13-b Vereiskaya Ulitsa. Tel: 327-64-90. </i>

TITLE: exercises for your eyes only
AUTHOR: by Marianna Orlinkova

PUBLISHER: cosmopolitan
TEXT: I lucked out in that I've always had good eyesight. Whenever I had an eye exam, I would quickly read off the smallest letters on the chart and be on my way. I always looked at people in glasses with a little bit of pity; it always seemed to me that glasses just create a lot of problems and - to be honest - they don't do much to help a girl's looks.
 But my problems started when I was at the university, in my second term. I suddenly noticed that my eyes would tire quickly and that by the end of the day I could barely make out the station signs in the metro. I was terrified.
 And my horror continued until a friend introduced me to his brother. In the course of conversation it came out that this brother had used some relatively simple exercises to improve his vision significantly. At first, I had a hard time believing this, but I had already reached the point where I was ready to try even black magic if only I could manage to avoid wearing glasses.
 Andryusha, my friend's brother, turned out to be a really nice guy who didn't show the slightest signs of near-sightedness. The story he told me was long and dramatic, but I won't go into details here. The point is that he really did improve his vision, which had been adversely affected in childhood by too much reading under his blanket with a weak flashlight. It took him four years of daily yoga-based exercise for 15 to 20 minutes a day to restore his sight.
 At that time, I knew nothing about yoga, but I was determined to give it a try. In the end, it took me half a year to solve my problem.
 Yoga masters developed exercises for the eyes many centuries ago. In order to be effective, they must be done faithfully, not missing even a single day. The people I spoke to all affirmed that missing a single day can undo the work of at least two weeks. I don't know whether this is true or not since their warnings were enough to frighten me into strict obedience: I had no desire to test whether they were telling the truth.
 You can do these exercises at any time of the day, although it is essential that they be done at least four hours after eating. All the exercises except the last one are best done while sitting in the lotus position. If that is difficult for you, you can instead sit in a comfortable pose with your back straight. Between the exercises, allow your eyes to rest, blinking often.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 1</strong>
 Inhale long and slowly through your nose while closing your eyes. Then exhale slowly (also through the nose) while gently massaging the eyelids with the base of your palms. The general motion should be from the temples toward the nose. During the pause after exhaling is completed, do not open your eyes. Hold this position as long as possible without taking another breath. Then, without removing your palms from your face, slowly open your eyes and calmly breathe in through your nose. As you exhale, turn your hands away from your face, using your little fingers as an axis of rotation. This exercise can be done at any time during the day, separately from the others. It is useful whenever your eyes are tired. It should be done just one time per session.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 2:</strong>
 Sit with your eyes open and look directly in front of you. Exhale slowly and calmly through your nose while directing your eyes as far to the left and down as possible. Hold this position as long as possible without taking another breath. Then breathe in slowly while slowly returning your gaze to a point directly in front of you. This exercise should be performed once.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 3:</strong>
 This exercise is just the same as No. 2, except one looks as far down and to the right as possible.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 4:</strong>
 This exercise is the same as the previous two, except your gaze should be fixed on the end of your nose. It should be done only once.
 EXERCISE 5:</strong>
 Also the same as the previous exercises, except the gaze should be directed upward and toward the center of your head.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 6:</strong>
 This exercise involves rotating the eyes. You begin with your eyes directed toward the lower left. Then you move your eyes slowly in a clockwise direction until you return to the lower-left position. This exercise should be done immediately after exhaling and for as long as you can without inhaling again.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 7:</strong>
 This is the same as exercise 6 but with rotation in the opposite direction.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 8:</strong>
 Repeat exercise 1.
 
 <strong>EXERCISE 9:</strong>
 This exercise should be done in the bathroom. Stand in front of the sink and turn on the cold water. Take a mouthful of water, even filling the cheeks. Lean forward, holding your eyes wide open. Use your hands to splash flowing water directly into your face without blinking. Do this until the water in your mouth reaches body temperature (about 10 to 20 times). This exercise is difficult and it will be several days before you will be able to do it without blinking. This exercise should be done once during the pause after exhaling. Then spit the water out of your mouth and massage your closed eyes. The cold water in your mouth stimulates blood flow around the nose and eyes, which improves the vision. The water in your eyes acts as a gentle massage, stimulating the eyeballs, increasing blood flow and exercising the muscles around the eyes.
 Next, look at yourself in the mirror. Don't be worried if your eyes are bright red: This means that you have done the exercises correctly. They will quickly return to normal.
 This regimen is designed not only for near-sighted people but for far-sighted people and those with astigmatism as well. Even if your eyes are completely healthy, these exercises can be beneficial and prophylactic.
 Even back in the days before computers and televisions - which have been slowly and inexorably spoiling people's vision - yogis recommended resting the eyes as much as possible, and not just during sleep. Yogis say that it is beneficial to look off into the distance and to look at grass, flowers, water, the sky and clouds. Looking at pictures of nature and landscapes can also be beneficial.
 However, no matter how faithfully you do the exercises above, they won't help you unless you practice what was called &quot;visual hygiene&quot; in Soviet days. Don't forget the advice that your parents spent so long pounding into your brain:
 1) Do not read or write with your face close to the text. You should maintain a distance of 40 to 50 centimeters.
 2)Illumination should be not less than 60 watts, but it should not be cast directly into the eyes.
 3)You should not read or write lying down, especially lying on your side. In this position, your eyes will be at unequal distances from the text, which is particularly bad.
 4)When working with a computer, your face should be no fewer than 60 centimeters from the screen.
 5)When watching television, you should not sit closer to the set than six times the diagonal measure of the screen. That is, if you have a 50-centimeter television, your chair should be about 3 meters away from it. The room should be softly illuminated with no bright light falling directly on the eyes.
 6)When working for long periods of time, allow the eyes to rest for 3-4 minutes once every 40 minutes. If you have vision problems, you should rest every 20 minutes. While resting, you should gaze into the distance, blink frequently and perform exercise 1 above.
 7)Alcohol and nicotine are bad for the eyes. Compounds in tobacco irritate the optic nerves and reduce vision clarity. This is equally true of passive smoke. Smoking also reduces the ability to distinguish between colors. First, you will have trouble with greens, then reds, yellows and blues.
 8(o))It is possible that your parents never told you this one. Do not get too carried away with sunglasses. They are necessary outside in bright sunlight, of course, but should not be worn indoors or places with limited light. Take them off in the evening and don't wear them in the office. You should use sunglasses to protect yourself from ultraviolet rays, but you should be careful not to develop a heightened sensitivity to light. Most opthamologists agree that constantly wearing dark glasses is harmful to the eyes.

TITLE: colors that put others in the shade
AUTHOR: by Molly Graves

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: &quot;Try the red ones - they're my favorite.&quot;
 &quot;No, they make me look fat.&quot;
 &quot;Well, then try the green ones.&quot;
 &quot;O.K.&quot;
 </i>
 While this may sound like an exchange between two adults in a candy store, it was actually overheard at one of the numerous street vendors purveying St. Petersburg's newest fashion trend: brightly colored sunglasses. 
 If you've been anywhere near the center of town in the past few months you can't have missed these spectacular specs - or the crowds the vendors gather. And while they also are taking off in stores and licensed optical shops, part of the fun seems to be in the pushing and posing that goes on at the street vendors in front the mirror, with everybody vying for a spot to see what the world looks like through rose- (or purple-, or blue-, or orange-) colored lenses.
 
 <strong>CHEAP SPECS</strong>
 They're everywhere. All along Sadovaya Ulitsa and Nevsky Prospect, the phenomenon is the same: Clumps of people stand huddled around a small mirror suspended from a jerry-rigged wire rack, on which sunglasses of every imaginable shape and shade hang like tropical fruits from an exotic tree. They take turns trying the glasses - ranging from Kool-aid pinks and purples to more standard blues and browns, all made from cheap plastic - passing around compacts and hand mirrors to ease the congestion.
 &quot;They've become really popular this season, especially with young people,&quot; said one street vendor on Sadovaya, who wished to remain anonymous.
 And with the prices on the street, you can afford to buy shades to match your every outfit - or your mood. &quot;Most of mine are 100 rubles, but the ones with real glass frames are more expensive,&quot; the Sadovaya vendor continued. Other street vendors quoted prices in a similar range, from 50 to 150 rubles, or about $2 to $5.
 When I asked which styles were selling best, I was steered towards the loudest of the lot - including a pair with hot pink frames and screaming orange lenses - with some even featuring embedded rhinestones in one corner. And I must admit they did give a new glow to an otherwise overcast day.
 But questions about ultraviolet rays seem to meet with blank stares. 
 &quot;Of course, I realize they're probably not the same as those ones in the stores ...&quot; the vendor said.
 
 <strong>STORES KNOW BEST?</strong>
 Andrei, who works as a salesperson at <strong>X-ACT </strong>at 61 Nab. Moiki (315-76-05), when asked if there was a difference between the street specs and those in their store, answered with a grin, &quot;Absolutely none,&quot; but quickly added, &quot;the price.&quot;
 Later, however, he agreed that the selection at X-ACT was much better than that of most street vendors, including sturdier frames and subtler colors I hadn't seen before. &quot;We actually had an even better selection before,&quot; he said, &quot;but we've sold lots of these - they're really trendy.&quot;
 When I asked Andrei which styles tend to be most popular, he said it was tough to say. &quot;This used to be,&quot; he said, pointing out what he called a &quot;disco&quot; model: extremely large, round, rose-tinted plastic shades with thick gold bands on the side - an Elton John flashback.
 Now, Andrei says, customers seem to go more for the flat, straight-across colored plastic frames - or similarly, smaller colored plastic models more reminiscent of various other retro trends: from the '70s-style Charlie's Angels look, to the round, square or rectangular John Lennon variety. 
 The price range at X-ACT is also not a far cry from the street prices - with most glasses running 200 to 300 rubles (about $7 to $10). 
 And Andrei agreed with the street vendor - that such topics such as ultraviolet protection were not the main focus of their customers. &quot;People who come here are more concerned with fashion,&quot; he said.
 <strong>FASHION VS. FUNCTION</strong>
 However, according to Natasha, who works at a branch of <strong>Nevskaya Optika </strong>on Kanal Griboyedova just off Nevsky, the question of where and which sunglasses to invest in can be an important one - perhaps more than customers realize. 
 &quot;Those sunglasses that you get on the street only protect against the visual spectrum.&quot; In order to protect against ultraviolet rays, which are not visible to the naked eye, you must go to opticians or higher-quality shops and stores, she said.
 Ultraviolet rays refer to the portion of light just past the visible spectrum, with sunlight being the main source. While some contact lenses may provide partial protection from dangerous ultraviolet rays, they do not cover your entire eye, making sunglasses a must. Wrap-around sunglasses tend to provide fuller protection.
 A representative from <strong>Katti Sark </strong>opticians (2 Nariodnaya Ulitsa, 446-74-00, http://www.vzglad.ru) agreed.
 &quot;We don't recommend buying those sunglasses on the street, but only in shops where you can check the quality certificate. There are lots of fakes out on the streets, and all those glasses may harm your vision. Nobody knows what kind of tint or coloring they use, so when the glasses get heated up by the sun, they could damage your eyes,&quot; said Yulia Peisakhova of Katti Sark.
 Also important, the degree of darkness of your glasses is not connected to the degree of UV protection they provide. You should look for sunglasses that absorb 100 percent of UVA and UVB light - or glasses labeled &quot;UV 400,&quot; which refers to 400 nanometers and includes the whole range of UVA and UVB, according to the Web site www.allaboutvision.com.
 Natasha added: &quot;If you wear only the cheap, dark lenses, you could actually do damage to your eyes, as your pupils contract in low light,&quot; which she said could be harmful for prolonged periods of time. &quot;Better to go without sunglasses at all than to wear this kind [dark lenses with no UV protection].&quot;
 But as for those candy-colored lenses that are currently so popular - the bright reds, hot pinks and glaring yellows - they seem to be safe, if you can stand wearing them. According to Natasha, color is a personal choice, and has no connection to UV protection. 
 &quot;If [the bright color] doesn't especially bother you, it's not bad for you,&quot; she said.
 Another representative at Katti Sark, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed - adding that in any case most of these kinds of glasses are made to be worn &quot;like accessories, and not for everyday wear.&quot; 
 Nevsky Optika prices for standard UV-certified glasses started at about 200 rubles, with many falling in the 500 to 600 ruble range. At Katti Sark, all sunglasses are UV certified, and include more stylish models with correspondingly higher prices - with many costing 2,000 rubles or more.

TITLE: art that'll leave you scarred forever
AUTHOR: by Simon Ostrovsky

PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: &quot;In Europe, tattooing is a business. In Russia, it is an art,&quot; says Kirill Tatay, a former army officer who is now a full-time tattoo artist.
 Like most of the great masters, Tatay works out of his own apartment, spurning the stifling environment of the run-of-the-mill tattoo parlor. And his studio is not the sort of place where hairy men stand in line waiting to strip down to the waist and have the word &quot;Mother&quot; scratched onto their biceps. 
 No, Tatay is an artistic, even spiritual guide for his clients - pushing them away from &quot;tattoo cliches&quot; - and working with them to find an artistic expression of their inner selves. He doesn't allow people to settle for banal symbolism.
 &quot;The client is not always right,&quot; Tatay says. &quot;Tattoos are often misleadingly associated with prison or army culture, which robs the practice of its artistic essence.&quot;
 &quot;People sell short the value [of tattooing] by choosing meaningless nonsense to put on their bodies. They should realize the importance of remembering that a tattoo must have form,&quot; adds B-Jo, a comrade of Tatay's whom Tatay describes as &quot;one of the three best&quot; tattoo artists in St. Petersburg.
 Because of this approach, Tatay doesn't tattoo everyone who comes across his threshold. He chooses his clientele based on their philosophical compatibility. A tattoo from Tatay is a commitment and a partnership.
 Tatay, for example, turns away anyone who comes to him requesting swastikas or other fascist symbolism. He does not do genital tattoos and he does not work with drug addicts.
 Tatay also maintains impeccable sanitary standards. Needles are used once and disposed of immediately. Tattooing equipment is sterilized and stored in anti-septic fluid. Tatay proudly shows off a temperature- and pressure-controlled device that prevents bacteria or germs from developing on any of his equipment.
 Stas Udaff is the proprietor of a more traditional tattoo parlor on Nevsky Prospect. He thinks that most people don't appreciate the level of safety and sanitary precautions that professional tattoo artists maintain. 
 Unlike Tatay, Udaff is proud to work out of a tattoo parlor instead of his home. He believes that one look around his well-kept, professional studio should be sufficient to put his clients at ease regarding sanitation. 
 The Udaff Body Art Studio specializes in tattooing, but also offers a startling array of body-piercing services. The shiny entrance hall has glass cases featuring the latest in body-piercing accessories ranging from 350 to 750 rubles. The piercing itself runs from 200 to 900 rubles, depending on the anatomical region involved. Definitely not for the squeamish, Udaff also offers scarification and branding services.
 Udaff's work starts at $50, but he once tattooed a man's entire back for the princely sum of $3,000. &quot;It is unwise to go skimp when it comes to tattoos,&quot; he advises. &quot;After all, a tattoo is for life.&quot;
 Tatay agrees, saying that even making the futile attempt to remove one will inevitably leave a conspicuous scar. Instead of removing an unwanted tattoo, Tatay suggests covering it with a new design.
 Generally, Tatay's services start at $30 and increase into the thousands of dollars. However, he is an artist to the core. If he is given an opportunity to express his own creativity on a &quot;canvas&quot; he finds intriguing, he may agree to work for as little as $10. For him, the experience of artistic expression is paramount. 
 An important thing for would-be clients to consider carefully is that tattoos <i>really are</i> forever. &quot;Do not be duped by deceptive salons that advertise atrocities called the 'temporary tattoo.' This does not exist,&quot; Udaff warns.
 Such parlors deceive their customers by claiming that they only inject the ink into the first epidermal layer and that, as a result, the tattoo fades naturally in about five years. &quot;Tattoos do fade, but never as completely as they claim,&quot; Udaff says. &quot;You'll never get back to the unmarred surface that you began with.&quot;
 Body art is not a whim, it is a lifestyle. Think carefully about what you want and why. Then, get ready for the initial pain and know you will wake up to this decision for the rest of your life.
 
 <i>UDAFF Body Art, 32-34 Nevsky Pr. Tel.: 315-20-28
 TriZeT Studio, 11 Ul. Dekabristov.
 Tel. 312-32-31
 Neographic Tattoo Studio, 22/24 Nevsky Pr. Tel. 311-32-38. www.tattoo.spb.ru </i>

TITLE: lighten the burdens of pregnancy
AUTHOR: by Yelena Lankina

PUBLISHER: cosmopolitan
TEXT: The time is long past when expecting a child meant doing absolutely nothing and expectant mothers were regularly prescribed bed rest or, as it was called, &quot;confinement.&quot; Back then, concerned doctors prescribed as much rest as possible and then criticized their patients for gaining too much weight. These days, life has demonstrated that sensible physical activity and a reasonable fitness regimen not only is not harmful for pregnant women, but actually helps ameliorate many of the particular &quot;charms&quot; of this condition.
 A pregnant woman is quite different from other people. Her heart must pump about 1 1/2 liters of &quot;extra&quot; blood, having a particularly difficult time cycling it through her legs. Her center of gravity has shifted significantly and continues to do so as the fetus develops. Specialists divide pregnancy into three periods, or trimesters, each of which is a little more than 13 weeks long.
 During the first trimester, many women only discover that they are pregnant when they stop getting their periods. They often don't experience any other symptoms in the early stage. Others, however, are wracked by weakness and nausea in the mornings. They are easily fatigued and experience intestinal and urinary-tract complications.
 For many mothers-to-be, the second trimester is the easiest. The belly gradually grows, but does not yet present any particular inconvenience. The fact that buttons need to be resewn periodically farther and farther apart doesn't seem so bad since the morning sickness is gone!
 Toward the end of the second trimester and the beginning of the third, problems begin to appear in the most unexpected places. Some women get hemorrhoids; others experience heartburn or shortness of breath. Some get all these symptoms and pain in the legs to boot! To these physiological symptoms, you can add psychological ones such as anxiety, irrational fears, complexes, etc.
 But there is no point in despairing about bulging veins, stretch marks or having a &quot;stomach like a kangaroo's.&quot; Regular exercise for particular muscles can help control such completely natural pre-birth processes and quickly return you to your old self after you give birth. Those who don't just sit around lose weight more quickly and don't end up with varicose veins.
 An important rule to remember is that pregnant women should avoid extremes. They are better off not exercising enough rather than going all out. They should also be aware of certain symptoms that may make exercise or sports inadvisable. These include any natal or gynecological complication (incorrect positioning of the fetus, increased risk of miscarriage, a history of premature births) and serious ailments of the internal organs (heart irregularities, chronic pneumonia, kidney problems). In any event, it is important to consider the particular individual situation of each woman.
 Gynecologists particularly warn against exercises that concentrate on the abdomen, but welcome those that work the arm and leg muscles. Sit-ups are essentially pointless. The muscles of the front wall of the abdomen during pregnancy are so extended it is unrealistic to try to force them back. Better to focus on the back muscles and hips. It is best to do exercises that can be done standing or sitting, even using light dumb-bells.
 
 <strong>FIRST TRIMESTER</strong>
 Trainers believe that most women can maintain their normal level of activity during the first months of pregnancy. If they regularly ran, did aerobics or did weight training before becoming pregnant, then there is initially no need to limit these activities. Women who didn't exercise regularly before becoming pregnant, but who have decided to take up exercise during this difficult time, are advised to adopt a very light training regimen even during the first three months of pregnancy. It is important that the exercise regimen does not become an additional source of stress for the expectant mother.
 <strong>SECOND TRIMESTER</strong>
 During this period, the level of training intensity should be gradually reduced. All exercises that are done lying down on the back are categorically forbidden from the middle of the second trimester. Likewise, deep knee-bends, jumping jacks and similar exercises should be eliminated. Sharp movements of this type could lead to a miscarriage.
 Women should avoid exercising too strenuously on cardio-trainers. Women who didn't exercise regularly before pregnancy are best advised to try aqua-aerobics or swimming. Training in water helps moderate sharp movements and eases the stress on the backbone.
 Aqua-aerobics can be done in shallow or deep water. Shallow-water aqua-aerobics are done standing on the bottom of a shallow pool, while deep-water aqua-aerobics are performed in special harnesses that suspend the woman with her feet off the bottom. There is no essential difference between these two types of aqua-aerobics. In either case, the act of keeping the body in a vertical position provides mild exercise to the stomach and back muscles.
 In the pool, any movements - either standing or reclining - require the woman to overcome the resistance of the water, which provides excellent training for all the muscles. At the same time, the action of the water massages and stimulates the skin. Women who practice aqua-aerobics during pregnancy usually do not develop stretch marks. Aqua-exercise also has an extremely beneficial effect on varicose veins, intensifying the blood flow and exchange of oxygen.
 Water is also pleasant for the developing fetus. Many women note that their babies calm down noticeably during aqua-exercise sessions. Aqua-exercise trains both mother and child. The fetus becomes accustomed to the cooler temperature and grows more hearty. &quot;Aqua-moms&quot; generally have an easier time during childbirth and recover more quickly. One can swim and do aqua-aerobics practically up until one gives birth.
 &quot;We are sometimes afraid,&quot; says Tatyana Polukhina, an aqua-aerobics instructor at Moscow's World Class club, &quot;that one of them will start giving birth during the workouts! After all, in the pool a woman might not notice when her water breaks, especially if she is really into her workout. One of our new mothers actually told me that she'd put up with her enormous stomach for another two months if it meant that she could keep on coming to aqua-aerobics.&quot;
 Ordinary swimming is also extremely beneficial. Women should not have any fears swimming in public pools if the water temperature is between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius. The act of exercising will prevent mothers from being affected by the cold, even if they are normally prone to catching colds. Chlorinated water prevents virtually all infections.
 However, pregnant women should avoid diving or overly energetic turns. Fans of the butterfly stroke must switch to a less energetic mode for the duration. Between laps, try walking around in the water or doing a bicycle kick while holding on to the side of the pool. Unlike bike training in the gym, such exercise in the pool is completely safe.
 Experts agree that the universal training for pregnant women is simple walking. Its advantages are obvious. Walking doesn't demand inordinate time or expense. It doesn't involve overcoming any psychological barriers or getting any special training. The person exercising can easily control the amount of exertion. If they become short of breath, they ease up; when they have rested, they push on a bit faster. When walking for exercise, it is good to change one's pace frequently.
 Obviously, it is best to walk where there is fresh air. A park is better than a highway. It is important to have good shoes that were designed for this purpose. During the third trimester, a special girdle and a support bra are essential. And don't forget your bottle of water (also obligatory!). Sensible women will also think ahead and try to make sure that there are sufficient restrooms along their walking route.
 Specialist opinion is somewhat divided concerning dancing and other alternative forms of exercise for pregnant women. Some are convinced that women should take every opportunity to dance while they still can. Others fear that dance movements are too sharp and could lead to traumas in the later months.
 Of course, no one is advocating slam-dancing or the like. However, something more subtle may be just the thing for you. Here you should feel comfortable trusting your own instincts. What is more, your baby will probably let you know if you are doing something that he or she finds unsettling. Many clubs are now offering dance-oriented programs for pregnant women.
 Unfortunately, fans of certain sports simply have to be patient. Tennis, bicycle-riding, skiing and roller-skating are out of the question. However, yoga is considered very beneficial. Specialists warn against &quot;authentic&quot; yoga, but state that most clubs offer yoga programs that are specially adapted and simplified.
 Nonetheless, pregnant women should be selective in their approach to yoga. They must avoid any poses that involve raising the feet higher than the head. After the end of the first trimester, all exercises that involve lying on the back must also be avoided. You shouldn't pay attention to stories of pregnant yoga masters who can do headstands when they are four or five months pregnant. Expectant mothers should focus on breathing exercises and poses that train the hips and chest and that improve blood circulation. It is strongly advised to practice yoga only under the guidance of a qualified specialist.

TITLE: UN Adopts Declaration for War on AIDS
AUTHOR: By Dafna Linzer

PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: UNITED NATIONS - In the first global approach to battling a disease, the United Nations adopted an AIDS blueprint Wednesday setting tough targets for reducing infection rates and protecting the rights of people with the virus.
 Under pressure from Islamic countries, Western countries were forced to back away from specifically naming the most vulnerable populations, including homosexuals and prostitutes. But experts said Wednesday that the heart of the document was in the details of the plan, not the language.
 &quot;It's not a perfect text but it is a good text, action-oriented and practical,&quot; said Australian Ambassador Penny Wensley, who co-chaired negotiations on the draft.
 With the rap of a gavel and a round of applause, the 16-page Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was adopted by consensus by the 189-nation General Assembly. It calls for accelerating efforts to find a cure fir the disease that has taken more than 22 million lives.
 &quot;After today, we shall have a document setting out a clear battle plan for the war against HIV/AIDS, with clear goals and a clear timeline,&quot; UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday. &quot;It is a blueprint from which the whole of humanity can work in building a global response to a truly global challenge.&quot;
 The three-day conference brought together over 3,000 health experts, scientists, lawmakers, aid workers and people living with the virus.
 First detected in homosexual men in the United States 20 years ago, the AIDS virus has exploded across the developing world, with more than 36 million people now infected. More than two-thirds of those afflicted are in Africa - most of them women.
 A last-minute compromise on the declaration came after Western countries reluctantly agreed to drop language that specifically named groups vulnerable to the disease - including homosexuals and prostitutes - because it was offensive to some Muslim countries.
 Instead the new language refers to those who are at risk due to &quot;sexual practice&quot; and &quot;livelihood,&quot; and prisoners as those made vulnerable through &quot;institutional location.&quot;
 Egyptian diplomat Amr Rashdy, who led the push to change the language, said his country could live with the final document. &quot;The outcome is fair and we accept it,&quot; he said.
 But others argued that the original language would have better served those most in need of protection.
 &quot;For many, there is a reluctance to recognize groups affected by HIV/AIDS including men having sex with men; much of that reluctance is based on religion and on culture,&quot; said Mary Robinson, the UN high commissioner for human rights.
 &quot;A failure to recognize it means the numbers of those infected can only grow.&quot;
 Annan, who has made fighting AIDS a personal priority, acknowledged that tackling the issue had exposed &quot;painful differences&quot; among countries.
 &quot;Everyone has learned something here at this conference. In some countries maybe it will take a bit longer to recognize the reality and the need to respect the rights of every individual,&quot; Annan said.
 Dr. Paul Delay, chief of the HIV/AIDS division at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said that despite the changes, &quot;the targets have not been diluted.&quot;
 Though not legally binding, the document calls on governments to create AIDS policies and programs to reduce infection rates quickly and protect those most at risk.
 It makes specific references to cooperation needed between public and private sectors. It also recognizes the need for greater access to affordable drugs.
 Drug companies have lowered prices, but African leaders at the summit said prices are still too high for most in the developing world.
 Other targets set forth in the document include:
 . The development of national strategies and financing plans to combat HIV/AIDS by 2003.
 . The number of infants infected with HIV should be reduced by 20 percent by 2005 and by 50 percent by 2010 by providing treatment to expectant HIV-positive mothers.
 . By 2003, countries should develop national programs to increase the availability of drugs to treat HIV infections by addressing issues such as pricing, and by 2005 they should make progress in implementing comprehensive health care programs.
 Annan, who was nominated on Wednesday by the Security Council for a second term as UN secretary general, says that $7 billion to $10 billion is needed annually to halt AIDS and reverse its effects.
 The AIDS document &quot;supports the establishment on an urgent basis of a global HIV/AIDS and health fund to finance an urgent and expanded response to the epidemic,&quot; he said.
 Both wealthy and impoverished countries announced contributions for AIDS totaling about $700 million.
 The United States has already pledged $200 million, and leaders of a key U.S. congressional committee agreed on Tuesday to push for more than $1.3 billion for a global campaign against HIV/AIDS. It is expected to receive full committee approval on Wednesday.

TITLE: U.S. Court Vacates Microsoft Penalty
PUBLISHER: Combined Reports
TEXT: A U.S. federal appeals court unanimously vacated a ruling splitting Microsoft Corp. into two companies today, and ordered that a new judge decide the case.
 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the conclusion that Microsoft violated antitrust laws but ordered that a new judge decide what penalty the company should face. 
 By a 7-0 vote, the appeals court concluded U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson made inappropriate comments to the news media and outside court that gave the appearance he was biased against Microsoft. 
 The judge's actions &quot;would give a reasonable, informed observer cause to question his impartiality in ordering the company split in two,&quot; the court said. 
 &quot;We vacate the judgment on remedies, because the trial judge engaged in impermissible ex parte contacts by holding secret interviews with members of the media and made numerous offensive comments about Microsoft officials in public statements outside of the courtroom, giving rise to an appearance of partiality,&quot; the court said. 
 The appeals court affects only Jackson's decision on the breakup - not his conclusion that the company violated antitrust laws. 
 Though winning a major victory, Microsoft officials in Redmond, Wash., were mum on the decision.
 Shares of Microsoft were down 89 cents to $70.25 before word of the ruling began leaking out. The shares surged $3.82 to $74.96 before they were halted in late morning trading on the Nasdaq.
 The decision, which faces a likely Supreme Court challenge, may embolden several new initiatives that Microsoft has under way to merge its popular software products. 
 Microsoft had banked the future of the company on extending the dominance of its Windows operating system to the Internet with new software that integrates with the core operating system. 
 Justice Department lawyers and 19 states brought the antitrust case, charging that Microsoft used anti-competitive practices in bundling its Internet Explorer browser with Windows. As a result, Netscape's competing browser was pushed out of the marketplace, they said. Also, they said Microsoft bullied computer makers into ceding control of the computer's desktop. 
 Microsoft argued that consumers appreciate having the browser and operating system in one package, and simply acted in its own interests in a competitive market. They say that the last several years of personal computer innovation is a testament to their practices. 
 Both Microsoft and government lawyers were grilled by appeals judges during the first day of the February appeals hearings, as the techno-savvy judges asked pointed questions about whether the software company used anti-competitive practices to quash the &quot;nascent seedlings of competition.&quot; 
 But on the second and final day, the mood turned sharply in Microsoft's favor as the judges were outraged at Jackson's statements to reporters before and after his order. In interviews with newspapers, magazines and book authors, Jackson was quoted as comparing chairman Bill Gates to Napoleon and the company to a drug-dealing gang.
 
 <i>- AP, NYT </i>

TITLE: Milosevic Handed to The Hague
AUTHOR: By Katrina Kratovac

PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: BELGRADE, Yugoslavia - Slobodan Milosevic was handed over to an official of the UN War Crimes Tribunal on Thursday, in the start of his extradition for trial before the Netherlands-based court for alleged Kosovo atrocities.
 &quot;The former Yugoslav president was handed over to The Hague tribunal,&quot; said government spokesperson Nemanja Kolesar.
 Milosevic would be the first former head of government to be brought before the war-crimes tribunal. The former Yugoslav president was indicted for alleged atrocities committed in Kosovo during the crackdown he ordered two years ago on the province's ethnic Albanian population. The crackdown ended after NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
 Reporters at Belgrade's Central Prison saw a motorcade leaving the building for an undisclosed location but could not verify if Milosevic was in one of the cars.
 Confirmation of Milosevic's handover came just hours after the former president appeared to have won more time in his fight to avoid trial by the tribunal when judges suspended a federal government decree allowing his extradition.
 In a first reaction, Milosevic lawyer Toma Fila said, &quot;I cannot believe that this has happened.''
 The decision to have the former Yugoslav president extradited came from the government of Serbia, which together with Montenegro makes up the Yugoslav federation. Senior Serbian officials had served notice they would surrender Milosevic to the tribunal even if the federal Constitutional Court suspended the decree.
 Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, in a terse statement explaining the move, said his government had decided to take over the jurisdiction of federal authorities on the extradition law.
 Yugoslavia's pro-democracy government had intensified its efforts to set up a legal framework for Milosevic's extradition in an effort to meet international demands ahead of a key conference Friday in Brussels, Belgium, meant to drum up financial aid for the country.
 Washington on Wednesday announced it would send representatives to the donors' conference, after weeks of waiting to see how serious Yugoslavia's efforts were. Yugoslavia is in need of billions of dollars worth of foreign aid after 13 years of rule by Milosevic, which ended in October after riots forced him to concede losing elections.
 Acting earlier Thursday on an appeal by his lawyers, Yugoslavia's Constitutional Court froze Milosevic's extradition process to The Hague court, ruling it needed more time to consider a government decree enabling the handover.
 The court - made up of judges appointed under Milosevic - was to decide whether a recent government measure enabling extradition violates a constitutional ban on surrender of Yugoslav citizens to foreign courts.
 As the court's decision was announced, pro-democracy officials in the government of Serbia, Yugoslavia's larger republic, which has jurisdiction over Milosevic, met to consider steps to counter the court action.
 Branimir Gugl, another Milosevic attorney, said that Milosevic's extradition now would amount to &quot;outright kidnapping, an act of legal terrorism.''
 Milosevic's defense team was also fighting his extradition on another level, the Serbian Supreme Court, where it filed Thursday for the dismissal of that court's presiding judge, after failing to win exclusion of three lower court officials involved in Milosevic's case.
 Milosevic, 59, has been in prison since April 1 while allegations of abuse of power and corruption are investigated
 In a related development, Serbian police said Thursday that at least 36 bodies of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo - among them corpses of nine children and an 8-month-old human fetus - had been exhumed from a mass grave location in a Belgrade suburb.
 The site has been linked to Milosevic, whom Serb authorities have accused of ordering the cover-up of Kosovo war crimes.

TITLE: WORLD WATCH
TEXT: Balkan Peace Envoy
 

SKOPJE, Macedonia (Reuters) - Macedonia fought ethnic Albanian rebels Thursday as Europe's new Balkan peace envoy prepared to take up an appointment already mired in controversy.
 The EU envoy, former French defense minister Francois Leotard, faces a daunting task in Skopje in trying to kickstart stalled peace talks and avoid the looming prospect of NATO getting dragged into another Balkan conflict.
 Leotard avoided being declared persona non grata the day before starting his mission when he said the Macedonian government should talk to the rebels.
 He later clarified his comments to make clear the EU position - negotiations with the one-third minority's political leaders but not the guerrillas - remained unchanged.
 Meanwhile Macedonian army spokesman Blagoja Markovski said guerrillas targeted troops outside two villages they hold in the northeastern Kumanovo area overnight.
 A commander of the National Liberation Army who goes by the name of Hoxha appeared unconcerned about the skirmishes, which have inflicted little losses on his rebel force since February, but he warned government troops not to attempt a ground assault.
 
 
5 More Years
 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - With no opposition, Secretary-General Kofi Annan was approved for another five-year term by the UN Security Council, clearing the way for his re-election by the 189-member General Assembly on Friday.
 "I am deeply honored by the vote that has just taken place in the Security Council," he told a news conference called to promote his global campaign against AIDS "And I am grateful for the trust and support they have given me."
 The action by the council on Wednesday came six months before his term expires on Dec. 31 and was praised by diplomats, UN staff and human rights groups. His re-election was a foregone conclusion after he announced he would run again in March and almost immediately received wide support.
 Annan, a 63-year old career UN official from Ghana, is the seventh secretary general of the body, and the second from Africa, following Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt. His re-election will give Africa 15 years in occupying the post.
 
 
U.S. Condemned
 

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The United States violated the rights of Germany and two of its citizens when it denied the condemned brothers access to their consulate before executing them in 1999 for murder, the World Court ruled Wednesday.
 The UN court also found that its order to the U.S. government to postpone the execution - which was ignored by the state of Arizona - was not merely a request but a legal obligation.
 Karl and Walter LaGrand were executed in Arizona for stabbing to death a 63-year-old bank manager in the town of Marana during a botched robbery in 1982.
 The German consulate learned of the case 10 years later in 1992, when the brothers already had gone through a series of appeals in U.S. courts.
 Karl LaGrand, 35, received a lethal injection on Feb. 24, 1999.
 Gilbert Guillaume, president of the court - formally known as the International Court of Justice - said the U.S. efforts to stay Walter LaGrand's execution were "certainly less than should have been done."
 The court's verdict is binding and not subject to appeal, but the World Court has no independent means to enforce compliance. 
 
 
Children Laid to Rest
 

HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) - A weeping father led a funeral service on Wednesday for his five children, who were buried in small white caskets adorned with silver angels a week after their mother drowned them and called the police to admit it.
 Russell Yates broke down repeatedly as he spoke of his dead sons and daughter and placed their favorite blankets in their open caskets at a packed Houston church.
 The flower-draped coffins holding the bodies of Noah, 7, John, 5, Paul, 3, Luke, 2 and Mary, 6 months, were placed in a semi-circle at the front of the Clear Lake Church of Christ. Photographs of the children were projected on to a large screen behind them.
 Their mother, Andrea Yates, locked away in the Harris County Jail on a charge of capital murder, did not attend the service, but was mentioned several times, without rancor, by her husband as he recounted stories about the children.
 Police say the 36-year-old woman suffering from postpartum depression called them to her home on June 20 and told them she had drowned the children in the bathtub.
 Andrea Yates could face the death penalty if convicted of the murders, but her lawyer, George Parnham, has said she will likely plead not guilty by reason of insanity. He said she was in a "deeply psychotic state" and being treated by jail psychiatrists.
 
 
 
Monster Burps
 

EDINBURGH, Scotland (Reuters) - An Italian geologist sent ripples around the shores of Loch Ness on Wednesday after suggesting the Scottish lake's fabled monster was nothing more than hot volcanic air.
 Luigi Piccardi, a seismologist from Florence, said the legend of Nessie, which dates back nearly 1,500 years, could be the result of a geological fault running beneath the lake's dark waters.
 The "Great Glen Fault," which runs the length of Britain's largest lake in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, is one of the country's few active volcanic areas.
 It is bound to have produced sinister rumblings and hot bubbles of gas over the centuries, Piccardi said, causing earthy Highland lairds to dream up stories of monsters in their midst.
 "Veneration of places like Loch Ness may have been a result of people seeing natural phenomena there," Piccardi said. "These may have been gas and flame emissions, underground roaring, shaking and the rupture of the ground."
 
 
ETA Bombing
 
 MADRID (Reuters) - A package bomb exploded in central Madrid on Thursday, injuring at least 14 people, including a retired Spanish general, in an attack blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA, officials said.
 General Justo Oreja, 63, was the apparent target of the bomb. It was planted on a sidewalk near his home and was detonated by remote control as he walked past, authorities said.
 Oreja, who is retired from active military service but continues to work in a Defense Ministry post, was seriously wounded with severe burns.
 It was the first ETA-linked attack in the Spanish capital since the group's political allies suffered a stinging defeat in Basque regional elections in mid-May.
 ETA has been linked to around 800 killings in its 33-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France.

TITLE: Agassi Rolls to Straight-Sets Win
AUTHOR: By Howard Ulman

PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: WIMBLEDON, England - Andre Agassi did easily what Pete Sampras barely managed to do - beat an unheralded English player at Wimbledon.
 Agassi rolled over Jamie Delgado 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday, advancing to the third round of the tournament he won in 1992 before Sampras began his run of seven championships in eight years.
 Sampras' amazing success nearly ended with a shocking failure as darkness closed in Wednesday night. But he held on to beat Barry Cowan, the world's 265th-ranked player, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3.
 Delgado, ranked 182nd, couldn't match Agassi's rallying skills or deft touch when the tournament's second-seeded player went to the net. Delgado saved four match points in the eighth game of the last set, but won just one point in the final game and lost on a forehand that went wide.
 &quot;I didn't need to see Pete struggle out there to have respect for somebody in the second round of Wimbledon,&quot; Agassi said. &quot;I have an incredible ability to stress myself out against anybody.&quot;
 Other second-round winners Thursday were last year's runner-up, Patrick Rafter; 1999 winner Lindsay Davenport; French Open runner-up Kim Clijsters; and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
 Agassi played a complete game. Early in the match, he ran from the baseline between points to retrieve his towel that had blown away and tucked it in his bag near the umpire's chair.
 And one overhead smash nearly hurt more than Delgado. It bounced into a corner section where nine members of the Chelsea Pensioners, a group of war veterans wearing bright red uniforms with brass buttons, were sitting.
 Agassi waved and the crowd chuckled.
 &quot;I take big swings at the ball and I don't allow a lot of margin for error,&quot; he said. &quot;If I start finding my range out there, my confidence comes quickly.&quot;
 The third-seeded Rafter, who beat Agassi in last year's semifinals, advanced with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Slava Dosedel of the Czech Republic.
 Rafter wowed the crowd with the shot that broke Dosedel's serve in the fourth game of the last set - a backhand volley that sent Rafter rolling across lawn as the ball landed in the open court.
 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, seeded seventh, beat Arvind Parmar of Britain 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. That left just sixth-seeded Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski as the only British players in the tournament. The last British man to win was Fred Perry in 1936; the last woman was Virginia Wade in 1977.
 The third-seeded Lindsay Davenport, in her second tournament since missing three months with a knee injury, beat Alicia Molik of Australia 6-4, 6-2. Davenport trailed 3-2, then won eight of the next nine games.
 The first rain of the tournament hit just past noon and caused a one-hour suspension of play. Agassi's match, scheduled to start shortly after 1 p.m., was delayed by 15 minutes.
 He was in control throughout, unlike Sampras. But Sampras didn't become master of Wimbledon by crumbling under pressure.
 Instead, the crowd saw the top-seeded player in the top tennis tournament reach back with his experience and powerful serve and barely hang on. And they gazed at Cowan fighting to the end of the 2-hour, 52-minute thriller.
 &quot;As soon as I walked off court, I was disappointed,&quot; Cowan said, &quot;but the more I reflect and think about the match, I've got to be pleased.&quot;

TITLE: SPORTS WATCH
TEXT: Squash Cover-Up
 

LONDON (Reuters) - Women's squash officials have decided not to introduce rules banning thongs on court, despite advising 23-year-old Vicky Botwright not to wear one at this year's British Open.
 Earlier this month, Botwright had been planning to wear the thong and a skimpy sports bra for her second-round match, only to be asked not to by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA). She complied with the request.
 Now WISPA has decided against adding another clause to the rule book and are counting on women's common sense.
 WISPA director Andrew Shelley said in a statement on Tuesday, "The WISPA Board is happy with the current clause in the clothing rule, which states that 'all clothing shall conform to the accepted standards of decency and cultural/religious traditions of the country in which the competition is taking place.'
 "What we would term abbreviated clothing is O.K., and we have faith in the common sense of the members."
 Botwright had sparked headlines when the British hope posed in the outfit for photographers prior to her match, which she subsequently lost.
 Defending his decision at the time, Shelley was quoted as saying, "We are concerned that the referees will find it difficult to concentrate on the play.'"
 
 
Blazers Nab Cheeks
 

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers hired Maurice Cheeks as coach Wednesday night, hoping his easygoing manner and emphasis on defense will motivate Rasheed Wallace and the rest of the underachieving team.
 "My strength as a coach will be dealing with the players," Cheeks said at a news conference following the NBA draft. "I'm aggressive. My style of play will be aggressive, particularly on the defensive end. I like to let the team play a little bit, because I think when you have veteran players, they know how to play."
 Cheeks, an assistant with the 76ers the past seven years, signed a four-year contract. Terms were not disclosed, but his salary is believed to be $2 million to $3 million per year.
 Cheeks, 44, has no head coaching experience, but he has something that might be more valuable: the respect of Wallace, who was a boy growing up in Philly when Cheeks was the starting point guard for the Sixers.
 
 
Going Out on Top
 

DENVER, Colorado (AP) - Ray Bourque retired, and his jersey is going with him.
 The Hall of Fame-bound defenseman announced his retirement Tuesday, 17 days after hoisting the Stanley Cup with tears streaming down his face.
 Bourque, finally capturing the cup in his 22nd NHL season, learned his No. 77 jersey will be retired and will hang from the rafters of Pepsi Center, even though his stint with the Colorado Avalanche was limited to 15 months.
 "Ray's contributions to our hockey club were tremendous and will never be forgotten," Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix said.
 Bourque's jersey is the first to be retired in the six-year history of the Avalanche and the fifth in the history of the franchise, which originated as the Quebec Nordiques.
 Bourque, who lamented during the playoffs that in all of his magnificent seasons he had "never won my last game," corrected that oversight by capturing the cup and going out a winner.
 "It took a long time, but the timing was perfect," he said. "For me, this is a pretty neat finish. It means I retire as a champion."
 Bourque, 40, the highest-scoring defenseman in NHL history, was a five-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman and played in a record 19-consecutive All-Star games.
 
 
Gwynn To Retire
 

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Like Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn will be going, going, gone at season's end.
 Gwynn, arguably the best pure hitter of his generation, is expected to announce Thursday that he will retire at the end of this season, his 20th with the San Diego Padres.
 A baseball source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wednesday evening that he understood that an announcement was to be made Thursday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium.
 Wednesday night in Denver, teammate Rickey Henderson confirmed the news as the Padres finished a six-game trip.
 "He told me he was going to announce it, I think when we get back home," Henderson said after the Padres' 10-9 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
 Gwynn has a lifetime .338 average. Hall of Famer Ted Williams, a San Diego native, hit .344, the only player in baseball with a higher batting average than Gwynn since World War II.
 Gwynn's best year was 1994, when he was batting .394 when the players' strike began. It was the highest in the majors since Williams batted .406 in 1941.
 
 
Armstrong Wins Tour
 

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - American Lance Armstrong won the Tour de Suisse cycling road race title Thursday, showing he's in form for the Tour de France.
 Armstrong, a two-time Tour de France winner, completed the 1412-kilometer circuit in a total of 35 hours, 6 seconds, a solid 1:02 ahead of recent Giro winner Gilberto Simoni. Italy's Wladimir Belli was third, 1:34 back.
 Oskar Camenzind, who last season became the first Swiss in six years to win the country's cycling tour, took the final stage Thursday, covering 175 kilometers in 3 hours, 56 minutes, 18 seconds. Armstrong finished 45th in the final stage.
 Emmanuel Magnien of France was second, followed by Christian Poos of Luxembourg. Dmitry Konychev of Russia was third, just ahead of former world No. 1 Laurent Jalabert.
 A powerful climber and a first-rate time trialist, Armstrong had all but locked up the victory on Tuesday, when he won a rare mountain stage against the clock, building a solid 1:05 lead over his nearest challengers.
 The victory took by the 29-year-old Texan was somewhat surprising. Few were expecting the him to push too hard just before the Tour de France, the world's premier cycling event. That competition runs July 7 to 29.
 
 
Tiger Stays No. 1
 

LONDON (AP) - Tiger Woods broke Greg Norman's record with his 97th-consecutive week atop the world golf rankings.
 Despite a 16th-place finish at the Buick Classic last weekend, Woods, kept his No. 1 ranking, exceeding the previous 96-week record set by Norman from June 18, 1995, to April 13, 1997.
 In the latest rankings released Tuesday, Spain's Sergio Garcia, who won the Buick Classic on Monday for his second victory on the PGA Tour in five weeks, moved up three places to a career high No. 5.
 Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh remained at Nos. 2, 3 and 4. 



TITLE: School's Out: NBA Draft Focuses on Youth
AUTHOR: By Chris Sheridan

PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: NEW YORK - Jerry Krause stole the spotlight from Michael Jordan at the NBA draft on Wednesday, dealing his best player - Elton Brand - to the Clippers for unproven 18-year-old center Tyson Chandler.
 On a night when high-school seniors were chosen first, second, fourth and eighth, the crowd at Madison Square Garden let out an astonished howl when commissioner David Stern announced the Clippers-Bulls trade.
 It was the surprise moment of a night that saw Jordan make history by becoming the first NBA executive to select a high-school player first overall, as the Washington Wizards chose 19-year-old Kwame Brown of Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia.
 Chandler, a 2.13-meter-tall center from Dominguez High School in Compton, California, went second before Pau Gasol, a forward for F.C. Barcelona, went third to Atlanta.
 Gasol will eventually end up in Memphis with the Grizzlies as part of a trade that sent Shareef Abdur-Rahim to the Hawks for Lorenzen Wright, Brevin Knight and Gasol. That deal won't be official until July 18.
 In another trade, the New Jersey Nets sent the rights to Eddie Griffin, selected seventh overall, to the Houston Rockets for the rights to their three first-round picks: Arizona forward Richard Jefferson (No. 13 overall), Stanford center Jason Collins (No. 18) and Pepperdine guard Brandon Armstrong (No. 23).
 Also, Cleveland traded the rights to North Carolina center Brendan Haywood, the 20th overall pick, to Orlando for center Michael Doleac.
 The Bulls used the fourth pick on another high-school senior, Eddy Curry of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois Curry averaged 22 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for Thornwood, which went 31-1 last season. The 2.08-meter, 129-kilogram Curry was the MVP of the McDonald's All-America game.
 &quot;We had to give up an outstanding player and a guy I feel deeply about,&quot; Krause said. &quot;We got two young people in the first round we really feel strongly about, two building blocks.&quot;
 The Bulls, who had the youngest team in NBA history last season and won only 15 games, are now even younger after trading Brand, the co-Rookie of the Year in 1999-00. They also acquired forward Brian Skinner from the Clippers.
 &quot;We feel Tyson will be a very good player, but we wanted to get a veteran player, a proven player. Brand has proven himself. We know what we have,&quot; Clippers vice president Elgin Baylor said.
 Brown, a 2.08-meter, 109-kilogram center stood up and hugged his family before walking on stage, smiling broadly, and shaking Stern's hand.
 Stern, who has proposed a minimum age of 20 for incoming NBA players, wore a smile of his own as he watched Brown become the youngest player ever to hear his name announced first at an NBA draft.
 Six high-school seniors made themselves eligible for this year's draft, and four were first-round picks.
 Brown originally planned to attend the University of Florida before changing his mind when he learned he might be chosen among the top five. As a high-school senior, he averaged 20.1 points and 13.3 rebounds and was selected player of the year in the state of Georgia.
 &quot;I guess I just made history. It's great. I've never been so overwhelmed and nervous in my life,&quot; Brown said. &quot;I'm now the representative of all high-school seniors, and I have to show it wasn't a mistake.&quot;
 The Wizards considered trading the pick, but Jordan locked in on a player with enormous potential in a draft considered top heavy with big men.
 &quot;We were entertaining possibilities, but nothing could change our minds as to what he could do for the Washington Wizards,&quot; Jordan said.
 Chandler, 18, has been a starter on one of the country's top high-school teams since his freshman season. Earlier this year, it was believed he and Curry might be drafted first and second overall. Now, they will be teammates.
 &quot;When I heard, I was just shocked. I sat back and said, 'Are you sure?'&quot; Chandler said. &quot;It's really ironic, but it's a great opportunity for two-high school players to learn and grow together. Hopefully we can start a new dynasty.&quot;
 The first player with any college experience to be drafted was Michigan State sophomore Jason Richardson, who went to the Golden State Warriors with the fifth pick.
 College Player of the Year Shane Battier of Duke went sixth overall to the Grizzlies, whose move from Vancouver to Memphis is expected to be formally approved soon by the league's Board of Governors.
 Battier averaged 19.9 points for the Blue Devils as they won the national championship last season.
 &quot;It may sound archaic, but I really enjoyed my four years,&quot; said Battier, the first college graduate selected. &quot;I have no hard feelings [about being chosen sixth], it's the nature of the NBA now. I think the Grizzlies got a hell of a player.&quot;