SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #795 (60), Friday, August 16, 2002
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TITLE: Putin Raises Belarus Stakes
AUTHOR: By Andrei Zolotov Jr.
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Increasing the pressure on his Belarussian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin went for the jackpot Wednesday and unexpectedly proposed a de facto absorption of the economically weaker country as his favored option for unifying the two Slavic neighbors.
Halfway through Kremlin talks billed as an effort to address the cooled relationship between Putin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, the two leaders emerged before the press and Putin outlined a schedule for reunification. His terms were the most concrete yet in the six-year history of the unification talks, which have been rich on rhetoric and poor on specifics.
There are two options for unification, Putin said, while Lukashenko kept silent and appeared unenthusiastic.
One is the creation of a "unified state in the full sense of the word." Putin said a referendum on the issue of unification could be held in both countries in May 2003, an election for a unified parliament in December 2003 and a presidential vote in March 2004.
Putin even read out from his notes his version of the question for the referendum. It would ask whether the citizens of Russia and Belarus would agree to the creation of a unified state, in which Russian and Belarussian regions would be equal subjects of the united state-to-be and its bodies of government formed on the basis of the Russian Constitution.
"Not because we don't like the Belarussian Constitution - it is a constitution of a democratic state and can serve an an example for many other states - but because Belarus is a single-entity state and Russia is a federation," Putin said before the television cameras.
The other option, Putin said, is the "creation of a state according to the principles of the European Union," with a union parliament.
Putin also called for introducing the Russian ruble as the union's currency in January 2004, instead of in 2005 as is foreseen in existing union agreements. The Russian Central Bank and Cabinet have submitted proposals to this effect, he said.
Upon his return to Minsk, Lukashenko rebuffed Putin's merger proposal.
"For Belarussians such a formula [for the referendum] would mean a choice: Do you agree to divide Belarus into seven parts [the existing regions of the country] and merge them into Russia with rights equal to those of the subjects of the Russian Federation?" Lukashenko said on Russian television, against the backdrop of his airplane. "What would be the reaction of a Belarus citizen? Absolute rejection, absolute no."
Lukashenko said unification will most likely proceed according to the treaty he and then-President Boris Yeltsin signed in 1996. "We have not exhausted the potential of the existing Union Treaty and will be working hard in that direction in the next two to three years."
As for the EU option, Lukashenko said it was possible only if full sovereignty of both countries is preserved.
He supported Putin's proposal for speeding up the introduction of the Russian ruble, but only if Minsk maintains its influence on the money supply, Interfax reported. "If the Belarus National Bank becomes a branch of the Russian Central Bank, such an option is categorically unacceptable," he said.
Putin's comments were a new tactic. At their last meeting in June, he criticized Lukashenko's proposals for a unified parliament and made it clear that economic integration took precedence for him over political integration. "We cannot create a supranational body with unclear functions," Putin said then. "Trying to restore the Soviet Union at any cost, including at the expense of Russia's economic interests, would only ... weaken Russia."
Predictably, Russian politicians were enthusiastic about Putin's proposal, while Belarussian officials were critical. Vyacheslav Volodin, a leader of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, said Wednesday was a "historic" day because the unification process had "finally switched from words to deeds."
By proposing a concrete schedule for a merger, Putin has taken the political initiative away from Lukashenko. He also appears to be playing a bigger game, which may change the outline of Russia's election campaigns in 2003 and 2004.
With Lukashenko's regime ostracized by the West and the Belarussian economy heavily dependent on Russian subsidies, and Putin's pro-Western course winning him growing international support, Putin has a chance of eventually pressing for unification on Russia's terms, said Andrei Ryabov of the Moscow Carnegie Center.
During Yeltsin's reign, Lukashenko aimed to become a political figure in Russia, but his chances are lower with Putin. At the same time, his occasional flirtations with the West have been repeatedly rebuffed and any improvement in relations is conditional on easing his authoritarian regime, which Lukashenko would be unlikely to survive.
"Lukashenko has little choice and it keeps narrowing," Ryabov said. "That's why he will grudgingly, gradually go toward unification on Russian terms. This turns out to have been Russian policy. Putin has simply made it transparent."
If Putin's plan works out even partially, it may also change the internal political situation in Russia. The timetable he proposed largely coincides with the parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia. "That means that instead of a boring election campaign - and everybody understands that it is going to be boring - Putin may offer a completely new agenda," Ryabov said.
After 15 years of a Russian geopolitical retreat, Putin would have a chance of going down in history as a new "gatherer of Russian lands" - the term lovingly bestowed on princes and tsars who consolidated Slavs under the Russian crown. That could allow him to get free of the influence of the competing Kremlin factions and go into a second term not only much stronger politically, but also with a new constitution and hence a new distribution of power between Moscow and the regions, the chambers of parliament and the cabinet, Ryabov said.
"Many legitimate legal questions will arise and there is a huge space for maneuvering," he said. "Putin has calculated this pretty well because his partner has practically no choice."
Lukashenko described Wednesday's meeting as "the first round of utterly serious talks" on union building. "We've gotten close to several options and have stopped there," he said. "Another, and maybe not one, meeting will be necessary to make progress in the future."
TITLE: Pet Peeves Lead to Court Verdicts
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: As Yelena Lozbinova leaves the playground where a strange girl is walking her old dog, Epifan, the slim black Doberman pinscher gives her a heartbreaking look.
Lozbinova is desperate for her former pet, affectionately known as Pif, to come back and live with her, but she does not even know if she will see him again.
"OK, Pif, go now," Lozbinova says. "I'll come and visit you."
Pif obeys the command with visible courage, and Lozbinova begins to cry.
Last October, a judge at St. Petersburg's Nevsky district court found in favor of one of Lozbinova's neighbors, who had filed a suit to have her forced out of their communal apartment, where the 10-year-old dog had lived with her all of his life.
Lozbinova says that her neighbor, a woman who has never actually lived in the communal apartment herself, leasing her room out instead, went to court out of spite - not against Pif but against her. Lozbinova repeatedly asked her to withdraw the complaint, but the neighbor would not back down.
In court, the neighbor claimed that the dog was aggressive and dangerous, although witnesses all testified that Pif had never attacked anyone.
"What can I do with the dog?" Lozbinova asked the judge as he handed his decision down.
"That's your problem," the judge replied.
Strangely, legal disputes about pets living in St. Petersburg's communal apartments first appeared only about two years ago, although the stressful phenomenon of apartment-sharing has plagued the city for the past 80 years.
In December, the Pushkin district court handed down a similar ruling in the case of Madzha, a cat that was accused by her owner's neighbor of eating 13 sandwiches that had been prepared for guests. And in November 2000, the Krasnogvardeisky district court ordered two cats belonging to another woman, Tatyana Yermolayeva, to be expelled from their apartment.
Unlike Moscow and other big cities, where the problem has almost been eradicated, St. Petersburg still has a huge amount of communal apartments, or kommunalki.
More than half of the city's population once lived in these big apartments, sharing bathroom facilities, but sleeping in separate rooms. Today, 230,000 communal apartments, which are famous for everything from peaceful cooperation, to kitchen bickering to violence, are still the homes to many city residents.
Pets have always been a major source of conflict in communal apartments, whether it be over a stolen piece of sausage or an awkward little puddle near a neighbor's door. But court cases arising from such incidents were unheard of - until recently.
Konstantin Fyodorov-Naryshkin, a St. Petersburg lawyer who has gained a name for himself for defending pets, says he first came across this type of case last year.
"I guess it comes from an increasing level of cruelty and aggressiveness among people today," Fyodorov-Naryshkin says. "Further, people often use legal means not just for the purpose of getting rid of a neighbor's pet, but also to receive financial compensation or attain some other goal."
Yelena Irkhoglainen, head of St. Petersburg's Society for the Defense of Animals, says people sometimes go to court rid themselves not of the pets but their neighbors. After forcing a neighboring tenant to move out, they can then buy up the vacated room, she says.
Galina Pavlova, the owner of Madzha the cat, says: "What is most terrible is that people use pets in order to settle a score with their neighbors."
Like Lozbinova, Pavlova, 50, had arguments with an elderly neighbor who eventually found a way to get her revenge: by accusing Madzha of eating the improbable number of sandwiches, a charge Pavlova denies.
Yermolayeva says her neigbor's legal attack on her cats also arose from strained relations inside the apartment.
Fyodorov-Naryshkin says the most frustrating aspect of such cases is that it is almost impossible to protect the pets legally. He says that, according to the Rules of Communal Living issued back in 1985, "residents of communal apartments may have pets only with their neighbors' agreement."
"Although they are completely obsolete, these rules still exist," Fyodorov-Naryshkin says. "Therefore judges who make a decision to move out the animals are following the letter of the law."
Fyodorov-Naryshkin says the rules are outdated because many rooms in communal apartments are now privatized, meaning that the owners of those rooms have the right to do whatever they want with their property.
In addition, veterinary rules issued in St. Petersburg in 1998 say that "pets have no right to be in common areas in communal apartments where there is a resident with pet-related medical difficulties (e.g. allergies)."
But Fyodorov-Naryshkin says the Rules of Communal Living still carry more weight in court than more recent guidelines.
More importanly, he says, all of the problems - both legal and social - related to pet ownership in Russia are caused by the absence of a law on animal rights. He says a draft law was submitted a few years ago but the State Duma has not yet done anything about it.
Meanwhile, the ordeal of Pif and Lozbinova continues. After hearing the court's verdict, Lozbinova was at a loss for what to do with her pet, which she had bought 10 years earlier for her son's fourth birthday. Eventually, she decided to take the pedigree Doberman to the city's dog shelter.
A week later, however, Lozbinova went to visit Pif at the shelter and found him dirty, covered in the other dogs' feces and seriously ill.
"It was impossible to see the dog, who has lived all his life in a nice home, living in a cage," she says.
Despite the court order, Lozbinova took Pif home, cleaned him and nursed him back to health. But, shortly afterward, Lozbinova's neighbor came around to the apartment, and, seeing that Pif was back, appealed to the court again.
Lozbinova was frustrated but there was nothing she could do but take Pif back to the shelter.
At this point fate intervened, Lozbinova says.
"When I approached the door of the shelter, a girl who was riding a horse nearby stopped me," she says.
The young woman, Irina Ilina, asked Lozbinova if she would rather give the dog to her than to the shelter. Lozbinova agreed.
For several months, Pif lived in Ilyina's small dacha on the outskirts of the city. Ilina, 22, who has two horses and who works providing horseback rides for children in a nearby park, picks up dogs in trouble and even keeps a baby goat in the smoky interior of her little house.
"We are crazy people," Ilina explains with a smile, pointing at a couple of teenage male friends. "Instead of taking drugs in cellars, we take care of poor animals."
But Ilina says Pif felt uneasy outside the city. She gave him to a friend, Valentina, 15.
Madzha has enjoyed a happier fate than Pif. Pavlova, her owner, ignored the court's decision and kept the cat with her. Soon afterward, her dissatisfied neighbor found a new apartment and moved out. The new neighbors did not mind Madzha.
Yermolayeva also kept her cats. When bailiffs come to check if she has obeyed the court order, she hides her whiskered friends.
Pavlova says a law on animal rights, along the lines of laws existing in Western countries, is urgently needed in Russia to protect pets from cruelty.
"A pet is a family member," she says. "Pets are not only their owners' property, but their family. People can't treat them as they do now."
Lozbinova, meanwhile, only visits Pif rarely now - every couple of months.
"It's too hard for me and for him," she says. "He gets so happy when he sees me, but then it becomes time to leave, and it's a tragedy for us both."
Lozbinova gives the girl in the playground, Valentina, sausages she has brought with her for Pif.
"Please, call me if he needs anything," she says.
Pif jumps around Lozbinova, licks her face, then puts his long paws on her shoulders and stares into her eyes. Then it is time for Lozbinova to go.
TITLE: Kim To Visit for Second Summer
AUTHOR: By Judith Ingram
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will visit Russia for the second straight summer, travelling to its Far East region later this month, the Kremlin announced Thursday. It did not say whether Kim would meet with President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to visit the same region in the next few weeks.
Putin's press service said Kim would arrive in the last 10 days of August and that the visit was at Russia's invitation. It gave no other information. Russian media reported that Putin was expected to meet Kim in the Far East in August.
Itar-Tass quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov as saying Kim wanted his visit to be considered informal. He suggested Kim's chief motivation was economic.
"The North Korean government has apparent interest in broader economic ties with the country's two largest neighbors, Russia and China," Itar-Tass quoted Losyukov as saying. The visit "testifies to the fact that Pyongyang is moving toward more open ties with neighboring states," he added.
TITLE: Where Did The Vouchers Go?
AUTHOR: By Victoria Lavrentieva
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - What a difference a decade makes.
It was 10 years ago Wednesday that Boris Yeltsin put his presidential pen to paper to create officially the controversial privatization voucher, a check representing a fraction of the country's estimated value that eventually would be distributed to every man, woman and child in the country.
The plan was the brainchild of Anatoly Chubais, who had joined "shock-therapy" architect Yegor Gaidar's government as head of the State Property Committee in January 1992.
The idea was simple: quickly transfer control of large sections of the economy to private hands, initiating an irreversible process that would be legally, economically and politically unassailable by those who disapproved of privatization, namely communists.
But amassing vouchers in order to acquire enterprises and assets, by whatever means, quickly became a national sport at which a small minority excelled, contributing to an unprecedented rise in criminal activity and laying the foundation for the rise of today's tycoons.
Each "privatization check" had a face value of 10,000 rubles (about $40 on the black market), a figure Chubais derived from dividing the estimated value of all state property (150 billion rubles), by the population of roughly 150 million.
Chubais believed the real value of a single voucher was between 150,000 and 200,000 rubles. He assured the populace that they would be able to trade a single voucher for the equivalent of two Volga sedans, the most expensive car in the country at the time.
Those promises never came true. And Chubais, who was later widely viewed as the "father of the oligarchs," is still resented by many Russians who accuse of him of stealing state property and of selling his motherland for nothing.
Ironically, Chubais, who continues to have a measure of control over the public as the head of Unified Energy Systems, is still reaping the dividends of the voucher program.
Together with 2 million other people, Chubais invested his voucher in the First Voucher Fund, which was founded Sept. 30, 1992, by a group of individuals. That voucher is now bringing Chubais and other investors a dollar and a half a year.
"Chubais still remains our shareholder and receives dividends on his voucher, like all our existing shareholders," said Andrei Uspensky, general director with PioGlobal asset management in Russia, which owns a controlling 50 percent plus one stake in the First Voucher Fund, now called the PioGlobal Investment Fund.
PioGlobal is a subsidiary of the U.S. PioGlobal Group, one of the largest pension and mutual-fund managers in America. Unlike former foreign rivals Credit Suisse and Templeton, it decided not to start its business in Russia from scratch, entering the market by acquiring First Voucher Fund, one of the largest at the time, in May 1995. Now, according to Uspensky, the fund has roughly $100 million in assets.
The fund first paid a symbolic dividend to its shareholders in 1994, but not again until 2000 because the company was struggling, said Uspensky. "We paid $5.7 million in dividends in 2000, and about $3 million in 2001," he said. "Of course, $1.50 per person is not enough to buy two Volgas, as Chubais promised, but if one remembers how much vouchers were worth when they were first invested, it would be hard to expect a larger payback."
No one is really sure how much Chubais made on the voucher program, but a handful of entrepreneurs made a killing.
Aluminum king Oleg Deripaska, while still a student at Moscow State University, could be seen shivering in the cold near the entrance to the Sayansk aluminum plant in Siberia in early 1993 as he bought vouchers from employees, according to Dengi magazine.
Two years later Deripaska was running the company.
Kakha Bendukidze, who now controls United Heavy Machineries, or OMZ, transported in the trunk of his car the 130,000 vouchers he traded for 18 percent of the company at the end of 1992, the magazine reported.
OMZ now has annual revenues of several billion dollars.
Among the biggest beneficiaries of the voucher program were Alfa Group chief Mikhail Fridman; Interros' Vladimir Potanin; Surgutneftegaz CEO Vladimir Bogdanov; Renaissance Capital founder and current NTV head Boris Jordan; and, of course, Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky, Russia's two most famous "oligarchs in exile."
Berezovsky reportedly made part of his fortune on a scam to lure vouchers into a fund to finance a project to create the "people's car," which his All-Russia Automobile Alliance, or AVVA, orchestrated. The car was never built and the fund eventually disappeared.
Now eight major Russian industrial holdings, whose birth certificates are the voucher, account for more than 50 percent of gross domestic product.
According to Dmitry Vasilyev, the former head of stock-market watchdog the Federal Securities Commission and one of the main organizers of voucher auctions, of the 150 million vouchers, 25 percent were invested in investment funds, 25 percent were sold and eventually accumulated by institutional investors, and the rest were either traded by their owners for stakes in state enterprises where they worked, or sold at closed auctions for shares in other enterprises,
"In all, 95 to 96 percent of all vouchers found their intended use, which is a very good result," Vasilyev wrote in the book, "Privatization: Russian Style," which he co-authored with Chubais and three others, for an unheard of total of $450,000 in honorarium before the book was even published.
Prosecutors looked into allegations that the fee was a bribe for rigging a 1997 auction for 25 percent of state telecoms holding Svyazinvest, but the case was eventually dropped in 1998. But it cost several of the book's co-authors their government posts.
According to the book, as a result of the voucher program, 70 percent of state property went into private hands and more than 40 million Russians became shareholders.
Svetlana Makovetskaya is one of the ordinary Russians who took advantage of her family's vouchers, trading them for Gazprom shares that eventually allowed her to fund and financially support the Agency of Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Perm.
"It was one of the last auctions in which we could use our vouchers, so I was very nervous because the price was going up and down," Makovetskaya recalled. "But in the end, I think we made a good investment, which also allowed me to buy half of my flat," she said Wednesday.
TITLE: Missing Finnish Link is Revealed by Governor
AUTHOR: By Claire Bigg
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: St. Petersburg governor Vladimir Yakovlev took advantage of an official visit to Finland late last week to reveal a family secret that not only explains much of his interest in St. Petersburg's Scandinavian neighbor, but also flies in the face of his official biography - the governor revealed that he is, in fact, half Finnish, according a report in Kommersant newspaper on Tuesday.
Visibly encouraged by the positive outcome of the meeting that he had just attended of the Group of Finnish Advisers/Councillors, an organization founded in 1997 to foster Finnish investment in St. Petersburg, Yakovlev told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that, while his father was Russian, his mother was Finnish.
Khilma Yakovleva, nee Lahtinen, is one of 93,000 descendants of the Ingers, a Finnish ethnic group originally from the territory that stretches along the Neva and the east coast of the Gulf of Finland. Today, the Ingers live in both Russia and Finland.
In an interview on Wednesday, the governor's spokesperson, Alexander Afanasyev, was unable to say whether Yakovleva, who is still alive, was born in Russia or in Finland.
Yakovlev also told the Finnish newspaper that his family was exiled to the Yakut city of Olekminsk in 1942, when Stalin decided to exile Finns and other ethnic minorities that lived in the Leningrad Oblast. Yakovlev was born in Oleminsk in November 1994.
The governor's official biography, however, states that his mother was evacuated during the siege of Leningrad.
Asked by the Finnish journalists why he had kept this information secret for so long, the governor answered that "In Soviet times, talking about one's ethnic origin was not recommended, but now one can talk about everything."
Afanasyev, for his part, seemed to think that the differences between the real and the official biographies were irrelevant.
"What is the difference between exiled and evacuated? In those times, it was the same thing," he said.
"What one should remember is that the Yakovlevs were always a St. Petersburg family," he said.
TITLE: FBI Accused by FSB Of Framing Hackers
AUTHOR: By Nabi Abdullaev
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Hacking the hackers is a crime, according to an FSB officer who has charged the FBI with using illegal methods to snare two young Russians who were arrested in the United States.
Igor Tkach, an officer in the Chelyabinsk branch of the Federal Security Service, has opened a criminal case against FBI Special Agent Michael Schuler, Interfax reported Thursday, citing the FSB press service in Moscow.
Schuler is accused of illegally accessing Russian Web servers to gather evidence against two computer hackers from Chelyabinsk, who were lured to Seattle in November 2000.
"If Russian hackers can be convicted on evidence obtained by the Americans through hacking, it means the U.S. secret services may use further illegal means of obtaining information in Russia and in other countries," an FSB spokesperson told Interfax on Thursday.
Other Russian officials also seemed to take the situation seriously.
"Our position is unambiguous: Crime must be rooted out, but it must not mean that any means can be used for doing so," First Deputy Communications Minister Andrei Korotkov said Thursday on RTR television.
It was not clear Thursday how seriously the Russian charges would be taken by U.S. law-enforcement agencies or whether the FSB has any means to influence the activities of the FBI or put an FBI agent on trial.
The FSB asked the U.S. Justice Department earlier this year to open a criminal investigation into Schuler's actions, Interfax reported.
U.S. Justice Department spokesperson Jill Stillman said Thursday she was not aware of any such request from Russia. "I cannot comment and we wouldn't comment because the FBI is a part of the Department of Justice," Stillman said by telephone from Washington. "But I also have no information regarding it."
The FSB's Moscow press office referred calls seeking comment to the FSB office in Chelyabinsk, a city in the Urals, where it was already late in the day and no one answered the phone.
The Prosecutor General's Office reportedly upheld the charges, but a spokesperson said Thursday she could provide no immediate comment.
Ray Lauer, an FBI spokesperson in Seattle, said he knew nothing about the FSB's accusation against his colleague Schuler. This was the first time that he personally had heard about a Russian agency suing the Federal Bureau of Investigations, he said.
The story that sprouted such an unexpected twist began in November 2000, when two hackers from Chelyabinsk, Vasily Gorshkov, 26, and Alexei Ivanov, 21, arrived in Seattle.
They came upon the invitation of a U.S. Internet company, aptly named Invita, which turned out to be a bogus firm set up by the FBI to ensnare the two Russians.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the hackers had gained unauthorized access to computers to steal credit-card information and other personal financial information, and then tried to extort money with threats to expose sensitive data to the public or damage the victims' computers. The hackers also managed to defraud California-based online payment company PayPal, through a scheme in which stolen credit cards were used to generate cash and to pay for computer parts purchased from vendors in the United States.
Invita "managers" - FBI special agents Schuler and Marty Prewett - offered the hackers well-paid jobs and asked them to demonstrate their skills in Invita's office in downtown Seattle.
While Gorshkov was using an Invita computer, the FBI secretly used a "sniffer" program that logs every keystroke a person types.
The hackers were arrested on the spot. Gorshkov was convicted by a jury in October 2001 and awaits sentencing in Seattle. He faces a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison, as well as a maximum fine of $250,000 on each of 20 counts of various computer crimes.
Ivanov was indicted in California in June 2001 and awaits trial in Connecticut. He faces up to 90 years behind bars.
TITLE: Police Collar Suspect in Pilfering Spree
AUTHOR: By Claire Bigg
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Having apprehended a man on Tuesday evening while in the process of robbing an office in Dom Zhurnalistov, St. Petersburg police announced Wednesday not only that he wasn't who they originally thought he was, but that he is also a suspect in a number of other robberies in the city. Included in this number is a heist that took place on the night of Aug. 7 or the early morning of Aug. 8, when an antique clock, a vase and four wall-mounted light fixtures were stolen from the Sheremetyev Palace on Nabereznya Reki Fontanki.
The items stolen from the Sheremetyev Palace were found on Tuesday in an automated locker at Finlandsky Vokzal. According to the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast Interior Ministry administration (GUVD), which, together with the Federal Security Service (FSB), is carrying out the investigation, the combined value of the stolen antiques was "a few thousand dollars."
Investigators discovered Wednesday that, not only did the fingerprints of the suspect, whose identification papers listed him as 26-year-old Maxim Ivanov, match those found on the items in the locker, but that his real name was Maxim Onoprienko, and his actual age was 36.
Police said that they were not surprised that Onoprienko was carrying fake documents, as he is not new to the world of theft.
"He's been convicted of theft a number of times, but his sentences were suspended due to the relatively small value of the items stolen," Pavel Rayevsky, the head of the GUVD press service said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
This time, Rayevsky says, Onoprienko faces more serious theft charges and will likely be sentenced to prison if he is found guilty.
While the Sheremetyev robbery might suggest that Onoprienko has moved up a notch in the world of theft, his choice of items indicates that he is not what could be considered a professional thief.
While the palace is home to a collection of rare musical instruments, including a violin made by the legendary Antonio Stradavari, Onoprienko chose to make off with a metal-and-marble clock dating to the 19th century, a porcelain and gilt vase from the same period, and the four lamp fixtures, which weren't antiques at all. Stradivarius violins auction for anywhere from $200,000 and $5 million.
"This shows that he's not really all that organized in any of this and that it's unlikely that the theft was even premeditated," Rayevsky said. "I think he probably noticed a way to get inside the palace and, quite literally, just grabbed whatever looked shiny."
Rayevsky says that, absurdly enough, the Sheremetyev heist is part of a serial light-fixture-theft spree on the part of Onoprienko, who appears to have a propensity for stealing the items. Police suspect him in the theft of 18 light fixtures from locations in St. Petersburg over the past 1 1/2 years, including the Glinka Philharmonic, Dom Zhurnalista and the Alexandriinsky Theater.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Putin Sports Chair
MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to create a consultative council on sports that will be headed by two of the country's most prominent advertisements for physical fitness: former ice-hockey star and present head of the State Sports Committee Vyacheslav Fetisov and the president himself.
In signing the decree, Putin, an avid skier and martial-arts enthusiast, appointed himself the council's chairperson and Fetisov his deputy, the Kremlin press service announced Thursday. It said the council would help formulate state policy on sports and physical fitness.
Fetisov returned to Russia in April after Putin named him head of the State Sports Committee. As a hockey player he helped the Soviet Union win two Olympic hockey titles and six world championships. He was considered by many to be the best defenseman in the world in the 1980s.
Anti-Terrorism Exercise
MOSCOW (AP) - Soldiers, rescue workers and security officials completed a two-week anti-terrorism training exercise at a nuclear power plant, national nuclear-power agency Rosenergoatom officials said Thursday.
Federal Security Service officers, Interior Ministry troops and civil defense troops joined power plant personnel for the exercise, which ended Wednesday, Rosenergoatom said.
Custody Battle
NAPOLEON, Ohio (AP) - A judge has given a Russian mother and an American father the right to visit their daughter, who is at the center of an international custody dispute.
Six-year-old Amelia Garmyn was taken from her mother's apartment in Russia last month. Her father, Patrick Garmyn, brought the girl to Ohio, where she is in foster care.
Henry County Common Pleas Judge Keith Muehlfeld ruled Wednesday the visits must be supervised because of a long history of custody battles between the parents.
Lolita Garmyn said at least three men entered her Moscow apartment July 19 and took the girl on instructions from the girl's father.
She said she was granted custody of Amelia when she and her husband divorced in 2001. But Patrick Garmyn's lawyer said there was a stipulation that the girl remain in the continental United States.
Patrick Garmyn said he went to Kiev to retrieve his daughter in July after he received a telephone call telling him where to pick up his child. Garmyn would not say whether he hired someone to take his daughter from her mother.
Metro Attacks
MOSCOW (SPT) - Two foreigners were attacked on the Moscow metro Wednesday evening, sources in the city interior department told Interfax.
Manuel Martinez Gonzalez, 36, of Nicaragua, was assaulted at Smolenskaya metro station, the agency reported. Police have detained Moscow residents Sergei Filatov, 17, and Natalya Sklovskaya, 19, on battery charges.
In a separate incident, Aslan Turk, 39, a Turk, was attacked at Kievskaya metro station, Interfax reported. Alexander Petrovsky, 19, a Belarussian, and Pavel Sukharev, 17, of Moscow, have been detained in connection with the incident.
Police are investigating whether the attackers may be affliated with an extremist organization, the agency said.
TITLE: FSC Chief Accuses Ilim Pulp of 'Black PR'
AUTHOR: By Torrey Clark
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Igor Kostikov, head of the Federal Securities Commission, on Wednesday accused embattled pulp-and-paper conglomerate Ilim Pulp of inappropriate advances toward FSC officials, plotting a $1-million 'black' public relations campaign against the FSC and violating shareholder rights.
"[Ilim's] actions in the past three months have extended beyond the framework of the relationship appropriate between a regulator and an issuer," agencies quoted him as saying.
Ilya Razbash, a spokesperson for the FSC, the stock market watchdog, said Kostikov had read a prepared statement and neither the statement nor additional commentary would be provided.
Ilim spokesperson Svyatoslav Bychkov said a bureaucrat of Kostikov's rank should not be making such strong statements in a corporate dispute.
Kostikov called the conference to explain the FSC's decision last week to revoke the license of Energoregistrator, which Ilim had chosen as its shareholder registrar during its dispute with Oleg Deripaska's Base Element over a 61-percent stake in the Kotlas Paper and Pulp plant in the Arkhangelsk region.
Kostikov said the FSC was not taking sides in the conflict, but accused Ilim of using "unscrupulous tactics to resolve the corporate conflict with Base Element, in particular, manipulating the shareholder register of [Kotlas], to which [Ilim] lays claim."
Razbash said the license was revoked for violations that gave rise to duplicate registers, misinformation and for unauthorized changes. "We see that the registrar violated shareholder rights, violated the law."
Ilim, which previously held 90 percent of Kotlas, the largest pulp plant in the country, says the 61-percent stake was stolen. The stake was confiscated from Ilim and quickly resold in two stages - after superminority shareholders won court cases - in May and June.
Base Element, or BasEl (formerly Siberian Aluminum) and Kontinental-Management are setting up a pulp and forestry holding together with St. Petersburg banker Vladimir Kogan, who used to be a partner in Ilim. The companies plan to make Kotlas and the Arkhangelsk Pulp-and-Paper Plant, in which Kogan bought 20 percent in March, the cornerstone.
Ilim says it ordered its previous registrar, PTsRK, controlled by Kogan, to transfer the Kotlas share register to Energoregistrator, in April.
BasEl said the "real" shareholder register remains with PTsRK. The registrar is often the battleground on which shareholder conflicts are fought.
"It is the epicenter of ownership, and that's where property rights protection - how strong or weak it is - is tested," said Troika Dialog corporate-governance analyst Yelena Krasnitskaya.
When the FSC revoked Energoregistrator's license, the RTS immediately stopped trading six regional power companies that use Energoregistrator.
Krasnitskaya said she was not aware of any other cases where the FSC has intervened by revoking a registrar's license. "It is a pretty strong signal."
Kostikov also accused Ilim of organizing "a $1-million mudslinging campaign in the media against the [FSC]."
TITLE: 'Antikiller' Makes Another Killing at the Local Box Office
AUTHOR: By Larisa Naumenko
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - A Russian film has squeezed its way into the last spot of the country's top 10 box-office openings for 2002, which are dominated by Hollywood blockbusters.
"Antikiller" earned some $340,000 in its first weekend and $611,000 in its first 10 days since opening on Aug. 1, said Central Partnership, the film's distributor.
Producer Yusup Bakhshiyev said "Antikiller" was successful primarily because of a widespread advertising campaign ahead of its opening.
"The second reason is that the film is good," he said.
Other films in the list of top 10 openings include American smash hits such as "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," "Men in Black II" and "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones."
Some 260,000 tickets have been sold so far for the film, which is being shown in 42 theaters nationwide, Central Partnership said. Shows, reportedly, have sold out in Moscow.
"We decided to open the film in Moscow and the regions simultaneously so that as many people as possible could see it in the theaters before pirated copies were released," Bakhshiyev said.
"Antikiller" is based on a novel by Daniil Koretsky, a former police colonel whose detective stories set in modern Russia are among the country's bestselling books. The book tells the story of a former police officer who goes to prison on false charges and, when released, takes revenge on his enemies in the criminal world.
"Antikiller" is the first feature film by director Yegor Konchalovsky, son of acclaimed director Andron Konchalovsky. The film stars Gosha Kutsenko, Mikhail Ulyanov, Sergei Shakurov, Yevgeny Sidikhin and Alexander Baluyev.
Licensed videos are to be released in three months, said Bakhshiyev, who added that he was pleased to hear both positive and negative reviews of "Antikiller."
"If there are such different opinions, it means the film touches people," he said. "If people can be irritated, it means it is a good movie. Bad things don't irritate. It's extraordinary things that irritate."
Film distributors compared the opening of "Antikiller" to earlier Russian hits "The Barber of Siberia" and "Brat-2." "The Barber of Siberia," directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, Yegor Konchalovsky's uncle, cost more than $40 million to make. The film, an epic about a military officer in tsarist Russia, was released in 1998. One of the most expensive films in European history, it did well at the box office in Russia, benefitting from an unprecedented publicity campaign and Mikhalkov's fame in the country. Internationally, however, it was a box-office flop, failing to recoup its cost.
"Brat-2" is an action movie by Alexei Balabanov, whose latest film, "War", earned $351,000 in its first 10 days in March, said Inter-Cinema, the film's distributor.
TITLE: Kaliningrad Besieged
AUTHOR: By Samuel Charap
TEXT: JUDGING by the recent spate of fiery proclamations from Moscow and Brussels, transit rights to and from the Kaliningrad exclave are the most contentious issue in Russia's relations with the West. Both the Russians and the Europeans are sticking to their guns, and the negotiations appear to be getting nowhere fast.
Rhetoric aside, it is unlikely that the Kaliningrad-EU visa spat will go unresolved for long. It is hard to imagine that the Russians and the Europeans will be unable to reach a compromise, given that regional destabilization is in neither side's interest. Plausible solutions, such as heavily subsidized, frequent air and ferry service, or special provisions for Kaliningrad residents within the Schengen visa regime, do exist.
But the visa dispute threatens regional stability in a potentially more pernicious way: The deafening volume of the spat has drowned out desperately needed discussion on the future of Kaliningrad-NATO military relations. Indeed, there has been practically no discussion of late on how that other international institution based in Brussels will manage its future relations with Kaliningrad.
At the Prague summit in November, NATO will likely expand to include the three Baltic states, thus surrounding Kaliningrad with allied countries. Essentially, a post-Cold War Russian West Berlin will have been created in the heart of the NATO security zone. Though the utter lack of dialogue would seem to indicate otherwise, this aspect of the Kaliningrad issue has vast implications that make the visa dispute seem trivial in comparison.
The bottom line is that neither Russia, NATO, nor the aspirant Baltic states have adequately prepared for the prospects and pitfalls of post-enlargement Kaliningrad-NATO relations.
Kaliningrad, one of the principal bases of the Russian Baltic Fleet, is a hugely important military asset. When Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania join NATO, Russian and NATO armed forces will be operating in closer proximity than they ever have before.
Yet with no one in Moscow or Brussels, let alone Baltiisk or Klaipeda (the naval bases in Kaliningrad and Lithuania, respectively), contemplating the future of the Kaliningrad-NATO nexus, it remains unclear what this unprecedented closeness will entail. The Baltic Fleet could become the vanguard of NATO-Russian cooperation. Or, conversely, with warships traversing the same small patch of sea, NATO expansion could destabilize the Baltic region.
Baltops - a series of joint naval exercises held since 1993 under the aegis of NATO's Partnership for Peace - is an exception to the continuing pattern of mistrust and suspicion resulting from the Baltic states' desperate desire for NATO admission and their traditional wariness of any cooperation with Russia. That is not to say that the Russian military has wholeheartedly embraced cooperation, although the Baltic Fleet does demonstrate some willingness to work with its neighbors.
Baltops notwithstanding, there is little in the way of precedent for substantive military cooperation in the region.
While NATO ships regularly conduct research and training exercises with the Baltic navies, the Russians have never been invited to participate. Not one Lithuanian naval ship has visited Kaliningrad, nor has a Russian naval vessel docked in Lithuania. Until 2001, Russia was not permitted to participate in the second, "offensive," part of the Baltops exercises. During this year's Baltops, a meeting of defense ministers from the Baltic states, northern Europe and the United States was held in Tallinn to discuss the security of the Baltic Sea region and plans for regional cooperation after enlargement. Russia was not invited.
The exclusion of the Russians from a meeting on Baltic regional security on the eve of enlargement underscores the lack of constructive thinking on the Kaliningrad-NATO issue. The future of security in the region depends on cooperation between the Russian forces based in Kaliningrad and the aspirant Baltic states. But NATO and the aspirant countries alike have largely treated enlargement as an end in and of itself, thus preventing the development of a framework for productive cooperation between Russia, its Baltic neighbors and the alliance itself.
Moreover, neither NATO nor the Baltic states have adequately addressed the Kremlin's concerns over the future of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, or CFE, which the Baltic states have not signed. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov recently dubbed the situation a "legal black hole."
The lack of dialogue has only roused the suspicions of Russian generals, who recently conducted a series of large-scale war games in Kaliningrad. The commanders of the Northern, Pacific, Black Sea and Caspian Fleets joined the Baltic Fleet commander to oversee plans for defense against an attack from a not-so-virtual enemy. Clearly, top military brass are convinced that NATO will expand eastward, but remain extremely skeptical that expansion will entail anything other than increased regional tension.
Yet given geographical realities, and the history of NATO-led military exercises in the area, as well as the stated determination of Kaliningrad Governor Vladimir Yegorov and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to transform the region into a bridge to Europe, Kaliningrad could become a staging ground for NATO-Russian cooperation after enlargement.
In July, search-and-rescue exercises (called RESCUER-MEDCEUR) were held simultaneously in all three Baltic states under the aegis of Partnership for Peace with funding from the United States. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus all participated. More work needs to be done to ensure that these sorts of activities continue and that the mutual suspicion ends-both before and after Prague. The dialogue on Kaliningrad between Russia and the West needs to be about more than just visas.
Samuel Charap, a Fulbright scholar studying Russian foreign policy at MGIMO, contributed this comment to The St. Petersburg Times, where he worked last summer as an intern.
TITLE: The Pros and Cons of an EU Ukraine
TEXT: NATO'S upcoming eastward expansion and its new partnership with Russia have prompted a major change in direction by one of Europe's largest and most unsettled nations, Ukraine. Ukraine has abruptly dropped its longstanding policy of balancing itself between the West and Russia. Its government recently requested talks on becoming a full member of both NATO and the European Union. The reaction has been guarded: Both European governments and the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush seem unsure whether Ukraine should be a part of the Western alliance in the future. But Ukraine is too big to be kept safely on the back burner.
Given its huge size, strategic location and relatively sophisticated industrial economy, Ukraine is a natural member of the transnational organizations. Without Ukraine, the longstanding Western goal of a Europe "whole and free'' will remain incomplete; without an anchor in those institutions, the country's long-term stability could be seriously threatened. Yet Ukraine, as it exists today, is a most difficult partner for the West to take on. Its economy remains a post-Communist shambles and President Leonid Kuchma has frequently resorted to thuggish tactics.
Of even greater concern is Ukraine's involvement in improper arms trafficking and service as a transit point for illegal drugs and other contraband. Flouting Western appeals, Ukraine's big weapons companies have shipped arms to Macedonia, Serbia and East Africa. Secretly recorded audiotapes suggest that Kuchma himself at least discussed selling sophisticated antiaircraft systems to Iraq.
The Bush administration and most European governments have steadily distanced themselves from Kuchma. Congress has reduced U.S. aid. Some officials argue that Ukraine should not be invited even to begin discussions with NATO on entry conditions, at least as long as Kuchma and his cronies are in power. But NATO, which has laid out comprehensive and detailed reform programs for each of the countries seeking membership offers later this year, could also provide a structure for long-term change by Ukraine. A dialogue could begin constructively on such issues as arms sales, drug trafficking and military reform, with the understanding that these are the first steps in a membership preparation process that could extend for a decade. Making countries such as Ukraine fit for the club of Western democracies may not be NATO's first purpose, but the alliance is the best vehicle that exists for managing what is, ultimately, a transition vital to long-term European security.
This comment appeared as an editorial in The Washington Post.
TITLE: Strangers in the Night on the Rails to Minsk
TEXT: I LOVE trains. You leave Moscow in the evening, and the next morning you arrive in another city where you don't even have to worry about finding a hotel room. You've got an overnight ticket home in your pocket. In the compartments people drink tea and talk about life. There's no need for double-dealing here. After all, in the morning your fellow passengers all head off, never to meet again.
That's why I love riding the rails. Where else can you talk openly with total strangers nowadays?
On a recent journey I rolled out of Moscow on the overnight train to Minsk, where I was to give a lecture at the university the next day. Trips to Belarus always leave me with a very strange sensation, as if I were traveling not through space but through time. It's not that you're returning into the Soviet past, but heading into some parallel world, where you glimpse a strange, alien version of your own existence. Or a nightmare in which everything seems totally normal, but in fact operates according to an entirely different set of rules.
This time around I shared a compartment with two Belarussian Gastarbeiters and a quiet woman with a small child. The workers were bringing home the money they had earned on job sites in Russia. They were drinking beer and spoke exclusively about money. Soon they set off for the restaurant car in search of vodka.
The woman put her child to bed and then started - in accordance with all the rules of the genre - to complain about her life. She lives in the north, in the Komi Republic.
Why do you Muscovites think they pay good money to workers in the north? Her husband is a police officer and earns chicken feed. Not like Moscow, where the cops get fat extorting "tributes" from unregistered "guests of the capital" and from grannies who peddle their wares on street corners without a license. Her mother-in-law is, of course, a "mean old shrew" who has never come to terms with her son's decision to marry.
This quiet woman worked as an assistant to a municipal prosecutor. Prosecutor's offices in Russia have long been run almost exclusively by women. Not because emancipated women took one of the instruments of power into their own hands, but because men prefer to earn the big money as defense lawyers. Putting people behind bars is a woman's work. Getting criminals off the hook is a man's work. Call it division of labor.
The prosecutor's assistant carried on complaining about her life. Her husband had been sent to serve in Chechnya shortly after the birth of their child. This was illegal, but nothing could be done about it. They were lucky - her husband came home alive.
She concluded her monologue with an unexpected solution to the Chechen problem. "They should all be killed, children included," she said. "But what about the law?" I asked. "You're a prosecutor. You're saying that people should commit war crimes!" "There's no law in war," she replied. "Everything is allowed in war. Our boys don't understand that yet, and that's why they're losing."
There was no point in arguing. I wished the woman good night, turned over and tried to get to sleep.
I've always loved falling asleep to the clickety-clack of the wheels. But on this occasion I couldn't sleep at all. When I arrived in Minsk I was shattered. Some friends fed me bliny with jam and complained about Lukashenko and, in the same breath, about the Americans, who are cutting back funding for the opposition. ("The State Department closed more independent newspapers in Minsk than Lukashenko has during his entire time as president.") In the evening, students thronged the university auditorium to hear a lecture on anti-globalism.
On the trip home I took a special train called the Belarus. The tickets are more expensive, and the passengers are different. The car was filled with Belarussian business managers - the hired guns of Russian capital. They took their places in silence and sat reading the financial papers. During the entire trip not a single word was uttered.
I arrived in Moscow rested and in good spirits.
Boris Kagarlitsky is a Moscow-based sociologist.
TITLE: not much hard rock here
AUTHOR: by Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The exhibition of art by rock musicians that opened at the Manege this week is meant to add a new angle to music by Russian rock bands, but it actually falls short of being representative in any way.
While it claims to be the first show in the city to recognize artwork by rock musicians, it falls down because there are simply not enough actual musicians on display.
The Russian title promises works by rok muzykanty (rock musicians) and rok khudozhniki, a Perestroika-era neologism that denotes people who were involved in any art activities related to rock music - be it designing album covers, stage props, or even the musicians' make up. This provides a convenient way for the exhibitions organizers to explain the small amount of art by musicians.
The musicians that are represented include Mashina Vremeni leader Andrei Makarevich, who contributed three paintings, and Akvarium's late flautist Andrei "Dyusha" Romanov, with the same number. There are also a few pictures by less well-known performers, but the rest are by a couple of non-musicians who were involved with the rock scene at one point or another.
In the absence of any rock stars at the exhibition's opening on Monday, the best-known figure was the artist Kirill Miller, whose works were listed under the section "Auktsyon," even though Miller - who developed the band's early, colorful image and was responsible for stagings, album design and make up - has not worked with the band for over 10 years. For the exhibition, Miller chose to show some of his more recent work, which has nothing to do with Auktsyon.
Advertisements for the exhibition try to lure rock fans with big names, such as DDT. However, there are no works by that group's leader, Yury Shevchuk, who is known to paint in his free time. Instead, there are a number of works by the band's guitarist, Vadim Kurylev, who specializes in abstract art, and Shevchuk's friend Vladimir Dvornik, who is described as "DDT's artist."
Although Dvornik's work is very serious, it could come across as a parody of DDT's flag-waving, Orthodox Christian stance, as it takes motherland and spirituality as its main subjects. One of his pictures called "With Pain for Russia" ("S bolyu o Rossii"), and features an emaciated Orthodox priest and a cast-down hummer-and-sickle.
Other well-known names in Russian rock are strangely ignored. For example, although Akvarium's Romanov is present, there are no works by the band's mainstay, the legendary Boris Grebenshchikov - who, along with Romanov, took part in exhibitions of the art group Mitki in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Also absent is any trace of Viktor Tsoi, the late leader of Kino, whose amusing artwork was inspired by Western comic strips, or Georgy "Gustav" Guryanov, the band's former drummer, who is now best known as an artist. Local artists Sergey Bugayev (a.k.a. "Afrika") and the late Timur Novikov - who were closely linked to Kino and also formed a so-called industrial section for Sergei Kuryokhin's free-form ensemble Pop Mechanics - are also absent.
(For the record, an exhibition, the largest of its type to date, held at LenExpo in 1991 called "Realities of Russian Rock" included more visual art by rock musicians than the Manezh offering, although it was not primarily aimed at art by rock musicians, as the Manezh exhibition claims to.)
Another drawback is that the works on display are not labeled with titles and dates, although it would be interesting, for example, to know when Mashina Vremeni's Makarevich drew his fishes - when he was a daring, underground rocker with an Afro in the 1970s, or a relaxed, mainstream performer and television cooking-show host in the 1990s?
There are also several black-and-white photos from the old days of Russian rock on display, but these are mainly of amateur, home-made quality, while leading local rock photographers such as Dmitry Konradt and Andrei Usov are not featured.
With most works dating from the 1980s, the exhibition seems to look into Russian rock's legendary, yet naive, past, while largely ignoring its present state - which does a disservice to the legend, as the items mainly give an impression of amateurishness and even childishness.
Running concurrently with the rock exhibition at the Manezh is a much larger and more valuable display of work by renowned local artist Boris Koshelokhov. Koshelokhov, 60, became famous as an underground artist in the late 1970s, and the exhibition shows some of his most ambitious work to date. "Two Highways," which Koshelokhov started in 1992, includes 2,000 pastels that serve as a draft for an even larger project - a collection, that, according to the plan, will total some 5,000 square meters of art.
A Manege spokesperson explained the unlikely juxtaposition of the two displays by saying that Koshelokhov was an underground artist, while rock music "in a way comes from the underground."
Both exhibitions run at the Manezh through Sunday.
TITLE: 'onegin' fails to meet expectations
AUTHOR: by Peter Morley
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: "This is what I need for 'Onegin:' 2) average, though well-trained and reliable singers; 2) singers who, in addition, can act simply and well; 3) an understated production, but one that nonetheless strictly matches the era ... 4) the chorus should not stand like a flock of sheep ... but should be like people involved in the action; 5) the conductor should not be a machine, but a real leader ... ."
From a letter from Tchaikovsky to the inspector of the Moscow Conservatory, Dec. 3, 1877.
This fragment is quoted by Moshe Leiser - one half of the respected French duo directing the Mariinsky Theater's new production of "Yevgeny Onegin" - in his "Random Thoughts About Onegin and the Opera" in the program.
These "Random Thoughts" come across as a somewhat pretentious explanation of directorial intention. However, while some of Leiser's interpretations are debatable (is "the sincerity in Tatyana's letter" really "answered by the sincerity of [Onegin's] confession [that] he is not made for happiness"?) they promise a thought-provoking reworking of the opera from a fresh, non-Russian perspective.
Sadly, though, the version that Leiser and his partner, Patrice Caurier, have produced does not quite live up to these high expectations.
The problems begin with the schizophrenic set design. The white screens framing what action there is (Leiser rightly points out that the opera's value lies in its "lack of dramatic effects") serve only to stifle and interfere, and clash with the minute historical authenticity and detail of the costumes and other elements of the set.
The screens become a hindrance most noticeably in the set pieces with the chorus. The merry-making that so excites the guests (the chorus) is visible only through a "door" in the back of the set, creating a bare, rather sterile atmosphere. The screens here also muffle the sound of the chorus, which is placed offstage. When the chorus comes onstage, it unfortunately resembles Tchaikovsky's "flock of sheep," especially in scene one.
The set becomes most irritating in the final two scenes, which are - dubiously - set outdoors. This creates an awkward procession of entrances and exits (how would Tatyana go home from a ball at which she is the center of attention five minutes after arriving?). The decision not to have any visual material to accompany the Polonaise, while perfectly in line with Leiser's aim to "make the music central," seemed to betray a certain lack of imagination. Had the orchestral playing here been riveting and sparkling, then this would not be a problem, but it sounded mechanical, perhaps due to the orchestra's overfamiliarity with the music.
Then there is Onegin himself. Leiser says that Tchaikovsky "doubtless identified with Onegin's character," which begs the question of why he wrote the best music for Tatyana and Lensky. In any case, in Wednesday's premiere, Vladimir Moroz, as Onegin, was weak both dramatically and vocally, and succeeded only in reinforcing the traditional, Russian view of the character as cold and cynical. Moroz did improve on both counts in the final two scenes, and almost succeeded in being as convincing and passionate as Leiser would have him be. His climactic note, however, a top G, was overshadowed by the spine-tingling top B from Tatyana (Irina Matayeva) just before it.
Matayeva was a vocal highlight, with her beautifully focused tone and wonderful control, especially in the higher register. Dramatically, Matayeva did everything required, although the sexual frissons of the letter scene jarred with the otherwise schoolgirl-ish interpretation of the young Tatyana. (Tatyana is, after all, not Carmen).
Of the other leads, Natalya Yevstafyeva was a splendidly coquettish Olga, and Mikhail Kit a wonderfully weighty Gremin. Larina (Svetlana Volkova) and Filippyevna (Olga Markova-Mikhailenko) were also decent, with the latter providing a fine impression of the doddering old nurse. Yevgeny Akimov as Lensky, while lyrical and beautiful of tone, did not completely convey his character's passionate, poetic nature. However, his argument with Onegin at the ball was compelling, if hindered by conductor Valery Gergiev's dragging tempo.
The basic failing of the production is that, frustratingly, it does not consistently live up to the high standards that Leiser and Caurier have set.
When Leiser's "precise and exact combination of words, music and space" come together, the results are highly effective (witness the heart-rending Onegin-Lensky duet before the duel, and the chillingly mechanical duel itself, in a stark setting with long shadows cast by the simple white light).
Were the whole opera of a similar standard, then the Mariinsky would have produced another winner. The production is full of moments that hint at what might have made it a stunning success (Tatyana's vocal performance in the letter scene, the opening quartet and parts of the penultimate and final scenes in particular), but this is, unfortunately, not the case throughout.
For Leiser, "Yevgeny Onegin" is "about simplicity. That is what is most difficult of all to achieve." Disappointingly, this production proves his point.
TITLE: chernov's choice
TEXT: Matt Bellamy of the British band Muse, which played Moscow and St. Petersburg in May, was so impressed with the experience that he felt obliged to share it with the readers of Britain's The Guardian newspaper.
One of the finest parts of his article is devoted to a certain St. Petersburg underground club.
"In St Petersburg, our tour manager asks the promoter to take us to a more underground club," writes Bellamy.
"The town is dead on a Wednesday night, but he takes us to a club in a disused nuclear bunker - an alarmingly literal interpretation of 'underground.' There is an enormous and rather threatening bouncer at the door, who doesn't want to let us in, so we say we will pay," he writes.
"The warning bells start going off when they let us in then lock the door behind us. Inside, the club is full of people injecting drugs. There are discarded syringes on the floor. We stay long enough to look like we aren't actually running away, then we leave," he concludes.
As the city boasts three bunker clubs, one can only guess which one Bellamy visited. Check www.guardian.co.uk for the story.
Next week's main event is a concert by Auktsyon, the seminal local band that has recently found itself in the middle of a scandal after it refused to play at Russia's biggest rock festival, Nashestviye, which took place at the Ramenskoye Hippodrome near Moscow last weekend.
According to a message on the band's Web site, Nashe Radio, which promotes the festival, removed Auktsyon's songs from its playlist after the band refused to perform at Nashestviye for the third year in a row.
Nashe Radio's executive producer Mikhail Kozyrev denied the charge in an interview earlier this month.
"Auktsyon is still on the air, the same as ever," he said, adding that the band had demanded a monetary fee this year in return for performing at Nashestviye.
"After we'd advertised every Auktsyon show without a single kopek involved ... I considered [the request for money] insolent and ungrateful."
Meanwhile, the band's mainstay, Leonid Fyodorov, is spending most of his time at a local studio mixing Auktsyon's upcoming release - the band's first album of new material in nine years.
Since the album "Ptitsa" in 1993, there have been only several collaborations with such people as Paris-based artist and songwriter Alexei Khvostenko and the local art-rock band Volkovtrio, as well as Fyodorov's solo works and compilations.
According to an Auktsyon spokesperson, the band has recorded 20 new tracks, but it is yet to be decided on how many of them will make it onto the record. Only four of the tracks have been mixed so far.
There will be no special live showcase for the new songs, he added, although four or five of them are already included in the band's live set. No release date has been yet set, but there are signs that the album will appear in late September or October.
Auktsyon will play at Lensoviet Palace of Culture on Thursday. See Gigs for location details.
- by Sergey Chernov
TITLE: 'lucky shot' hits the spot
AUTHOR: By Thomas Rymer
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Happy accidents are usually those that you stumble upon yourself but, as I discovered this week, you can sometimes be directed into them by your arts editor (assuming, of course, that you have such a creature.)
Battling what I hope were the late stages of a rather persistent summer cold, I was much more in the mood to go home, lie in bed and generally feel sorry for myself than drag myself to review Udachny Vystrel ("Lucky Shot"), as I had promised said arts editor.
I'm glad I went.
From the street, Udachny Vystrel doesn't promise much, with a sign on the sidewalk and another over the archway through which you pass to get in. Through the arch, however, is a courtyard containing an elegant covered patio that served as the starting point for a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience.
Opting to linger outside for a bit and establish a plan before entering the restaurant proper, my dining companion and I settled into wrought iron and wicker chairs under the wooded canopy and soft yellow light from the lanterns hanging above and ordered drinks - a glass of Australian Shiraz Cabernet (70 rubles, $2.20) for her, and, for myself, a more plebeian Nevskoye draft beer (50 rubles, $1.60).
The menu, with sections for hot and cold appetizers, soups, salads, mains and desserts, was also pretty much what we had expected, with three happy exceptions.
First, Udachny Vystrel's menu opts for quality over quantity. There are only four fish dishes and seven meat dishes on offer, but the fish mix is made up of salmon, tiger prawns, trout and halibut, while filet mignon, pork back ribs, lamb duck and deer are some of the meat choices.
Given the contents of the menu and the surroundings, the prices, (which were not cheap, but lower than we expected) were a second pleasant surprise. Starters generally run from 80 rubles to 200 rubles ($2.50 to $6.30), with the black caviar at 405 rubles ($12.80) an understandable exception, while soups run from 70 to 180 rubles ($2.25 to $5.70) and mains run from 200 to 370 rubles ($6.30 to $11.70).
Finally, the wine list offers a balance between French and New World influences that wouldn't automatically be associated with the hunting theme. Bottles range in price from 800 to 2,800 rubles ($25 to $90) and include options from Australia, South Africa, Chile, Mexico and Argentina, along with more standard French or Georgian offerings.
But, while I am a fan of red wines, once we made our way inside, the taxidermic and culinary characteristics of Lucky Shot stole the show.
The walls of the restaurant are populated by a large number of stuffed birds and other animals (the wolf by the entrance is a fearsome example), a fact that distracts your attention from the obvious care that has been taken with the rest of the atmosphere, from the place settings (which are impressive - right down to the little drawstring cloth bags that hold your cutlery), to the non-intrusive jazz being played by an electric guitar and saxophone duo, to the level of service.
As for the food, my dining companion's avocado and crab salad (195 rubles, $6.20) drew raves, with the pureed avocado lightly spiced and covered with real baked-crab chunks, while my vegetable salad (140 rubles, $4.40) was a wonderful mix of fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, mushroom, red and yellow peppers, radishes and black olives, with an oil-and-vinegar dressing accented lightly with lemon juice.
I also opted for mushroom soup, which was the least successful of our choices, as I was expecting a little creamier offering and found the mushrooms to be too fresh, which may not be a complaint for others.
The mains were wonderful. Having ordered the "Antrekot" (350 rubles, $11.00), I was looking forward to the grill-broiled angus sirloin the menu described, only to find myself even more pleased to discover the meat to be of my favorite New York cut. The fact that this was the first time I have found this in nearly four years here, was enough to make my dinner all by itself, and the meat, accompanied by a spinach garnish (all garnishes are 30 rubles, $1.00) was cooked perfectly to order and heavenly.
My dining companion's deer (370 rubles, $11.70) was also done perfectly and set off by potatoes done with wood mushrooms and garlic. I snuck a taste, never having tried deer, and was a little put off by a slight aftertaste resembling that of liver - not a favorite of mine. She, not sharing my hang up, gave the dish, which was wonderfully tender, full marks.
Sated, but not wanting to end the experience, I finished with a hot apple pie (100 rubles, $3.15), which was a spongy variant of the traditional favorite, served with great chocolate ice cream with slivers of chocolate mixed in, while my companion went with a fruit salad (also 100 rubles), which combined fresh chunks of apple, pear, orange and grapes with a sweet syrup and chocolate ice cream.
The service throughout was attentive and refreshingly understated, perfectly complimenting what is a dining experience I highly recommend. I know that the steak will keep me coming back.
Udachny Vystrel. 3 Gorokhovaya Ul. Tel.: 311-6949, 315-6126. Open daily, noon to midnight. Menu in Russian and English. Credit cards accepted. Dinner for two with alcohol: 1,795 rubles ($57).
TITLE: rethinking tchaikovsky
AUTHOR: by Claire Bigg
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, the two French directors behind the Mariinsky Theater's latest production of Tchaikovsky's "Yevgeny Onegin," (see review, p. ii) staged their first opera (Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream") at the Lyons Opera in 1982 - the same year that the Mariinsky's last revamping of "Yevgeny Onegin" premiered.
Since then, the pair has put on more than 60 operas across the world. In recent years, their stagings of operas ranging from Beethoven's "Fidelio" to Wagner's Ring cycle to Shostakovich's "The Nose" have been seen at such high-prestige venues as London's Covent Garden and Paris' Theatre du Chatelet.
The partnership is obviously still going strong. In an interview last week, Leiser laughed at any suggestions of the infamous "creative differences" that can bedevil some teams.
"For the past 20 years, people have been asking us how we manage to work together," he says. "The official answer is: I take care of the left part of the stage, and Patrice of the right side."
In reality, the duo is a lot more subtle, as 20 years of close work have fostered almost organic ties between the pair. Leiser does most of the talking, Caurier says. And indeed, Leiser is voluble, sometimes even breaking into song to illustrate his speech.
While Leiser talks, which he does with his hands as much as with his mouth, the more restrained Caurier whispers in French in his direction to complete and refine his argument. Amazingly, though, the two directors did not interrupt each other once in the course of the interview.
Smiling and casual, they seem perfectly at ease with each other and with the fact that they are staging one of the Mariinsky Theater's signature operas.
The great 19th-century literary critic Vissarion Belinsky described Pushkin's original novel in verse as "an encyclopedia of Russian life." However, Caurier sees no contradiction in the fact that the Mariinsky has invited two foreign directors - neither of whom speaks any Russian - to stage an opera and a story so identified with Russian culture.
"You don't have to be in Egypt to stage Aida," he said. "I don't think being in St. Petersburg particularly helps us in our work. What makes Eugene Onegin a great opera is that it reaches the level of myth and as such is accessible to any culture."
Leisher further distances the pair's intentions from Pushkin's work.
"It is important to understand that we are staging Tchaikovsky, and not Pushkin," he says. "The new staging is not our interpretation of Tatyana and Onegin - it is what we feel Tchaikovsky has put into music. One shouldn't go to see [Jules Massenet's opera] 'Werther' and expect to find Goethe's novel ['The Sorrows of Young Werther.']"
However, he concedes, "It is true that Tchaikovsky wanted to convey Pushkin's word in his opera."
As for Russian traditions of Onegin, says Caurier, "The advantage we have is that we don't know the tradition of 'Yevgeny Onegin.' For us, the most important thing is the score."
"We would have the same problem [fighting stereotypes from the traditional staging] if we were to stage Carmen in France," he says.
Leiser says that the new production will not be revolutionary in an obvious way.
"Our work is not to revolutionize the image of Onegin," he says. "What you could see as something revolutionary in our work is that we spend hours at the piano with singers to study the music ... to put all the musical ideas of Tchaikovsky a theatrical perspective so that we can have an organic relationship between word and music on stage."
Leiser admits that, "Although I am not a specialist, I think there is a big difference between Pushkin's novel and Tchaikovsky's opera."
Because of this, he says, Tchaikovsky comes first in the opera, and the relationships between Tchaikovsky's characters are different - "very simple and very profound, very intense" - from those between Pushkin's characters.
"From reading Pushkin, you could think that Onegin is a cold and cynical man," he says. "But, when you hear Tchaikovsky's music, you feel that there is a terrible wound in Onegin ... [he] is convinced that he is unable to be happy. This is why we call him a 'soul cripple.'"
"When you have such a character at the beginning of the opera, you can understand why he can fall in love with Tatyana when he sees her again three years later," he says. "Suddenly, he sees Tatyana, probably the only person with whom he had a sincere relationship, and he allows himself to fall in love."
However, says Leiser, "It is too late. This is the beauty and the tragedy of Yevgeny Onegin."
According to Leiser, "Yevgeny Onegin is an extraordinary opera because the words are not just an excuse for the music."
"On the contrary," he says."the libretto, the sincerity of emotions, were extremely important for Tchaikovsky."
For Leiser, "Tchaikovsky was after true, sincere emotions" in the opera.
"He was fully aware of the fact that this opera didn't contain anything dramatic, just the story of a young woman, who falls in love," he says. "The beauty of Eugene Onegin is that nothing happens. This is why we told the singers not to perform, but simply to be."
TITLE: globus film, one year on
AUTHOR: by Kirill Galetski
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Aug. 8 marked the one-year anniversary of the death of Valery Yermolayev, whose work, while well known to those in the world of St. Petersburg film, went largely unnoticed by many cinema-goers.
Valery Yermolayev was the founder of Globus Film, one of Russia's first independent film companies. Thanks to his tireless efforts and refined sensibilities, Globus Film carved out a reputation for being highly efficient at employing St. Petersburg's top film-production talent to film foreign producers' feature films and commercials on location.
Globus Film's credits include the James Bond film "Goldeneye," the Ralph Fiennes vehicle "Onegin," and British television channel BBC 2's recent "Crime and Punishment," starring up-and-coming actor John Simm.
The company is now run jointly by Yermolayev's widow, Yana Bezhanskaya, and his first wife, Natalya Smirnova. According to Smirnova, it was primarily their mutual love for Yermolayev, as well as love for their art, that brought the two together.
"Valery was as exacting and professionally-minded as Western producers demanded," says Bezhanskaya. "As far as possible, we want to keep his way of doing things, because it is effective. We made friends during every production."
The pair, who have been at Globus Film since its foundation and worked on all of Yermolayev's projects, even before Globus Film, began working together to preserve Yermolayev's methods.
"Valery had a way of preserving dignity and winning respect," declares Smirnova, "When contacts between Western producers and Russian production companies started happening, many people said that it would not last, and therefore tried to make a quick profit and wrest as much money as possible from the foreigners."
Yermolayev, though, was different.
"Valery had vision - he worked honestly and looked to the future, saying that this only the beginning," she says.
Yermolayev started his career in film in the sound department at Lenfilm studios at the age of 16. He then studied for a degree in economics and production organization at the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinema (now the St. Petersburg Theater Arts Academy). After graduating, Yermolayev went on to organize around 150 shoots for various documentary film studios and Lenfilm, before returning to Lenfilm as assistant general manager.
Globus Film was formed in 1990, as a joint venture between Yermolayev and British producer Adam Alexander, whom Yermolayev had met two years earlier. Alexander subsequently decided to continue his work in England, and Yermolayev and Globus Film went on to consolidate their reputation, based on a wave of British television documentaries and docudramas about Russia.
The project that cemented Globus Film's reputation was one of its strangest, and also its first feature-film project - Endaf Emlyn's "Leaving Lenin," an almost entirely Welsh-language film about a Welsh school group visiting Russia. Along with the clout gained by other projects, the film meant Globus Film was able to beat both Lenfilm and Nikita Mikhalkov's 3T studios in the "Goldeneye" tender.
In early 1995, work began on the gargantuan shoot of the St. Petersburg scenes of the film, in which Pierce Brosnan's Bond wreaks havoc as he careers around the city in a tank. Yermolayev pulled off a seemingly impossible task: the complicated, hazardous shoot involved complex mock-ups, teams of British and Russian stunt actors working together, and getting the city administration to close off some of the city's streets. The final cost came to $500,000, a fraction of the film's $60-million budget.
In early 1998, Yermolayev worked on "Onegin," drawing on Globus Film's experience of work in historical docudramas to help create a seamless flow of period detail between the film's outdoor sequences, which were filmed in and around St. Petersburg, and the indoor parts, which were shot in England.
After "Onegin," Yermolayev worked with the BBC on "Crime and Punishment." Shortly after completing the project, Yermolayev, who was already ailing, died of cancer, aged 55.
As a mark of respect, the BBC dedicated "Crime and Punishment" to Yermolayev. Fiennes - who is now planning an adaptaion of Dostoevsky's "Idiot" - also paid his respects by making a trip to his grave in Sestroretsk on a recent trip to Moscow.
Since Yermolayev died, Globus Film has made two feature films in collaboration with foreign studios: Dutch director Helmut Schleppi's "A Foreign Affair," about the travails of a pair of Americans trying to find a partner in Russia, with Black and White Films; and Niko von Glasow's "Edelweisspiraten" ("Pirates of the Edelweiss"), a drama about non-conformist teenagers in Cologne during World War II, with Palladio Film.
With more productions being shot in St. Petersburg, Globus Film has some intriguing projects on deck. "Dolgy Zakat" ("Long Sunset") is a joint Russia-U.S. production to be directed by promising young director Nikolai Lebedev, who recently made a splash with the World War II epic "Zvezda" ("Star"). Also planned is French actor-director Christophe Malavoy's adaptation of his own novel "One of Many," a child biography set in World War I. More surprising is "Waiting," a Chinese drama featuring Chow Yun-Fat in a lead role.
"When the Chinese approached us about filming in St. Petersburg, we were a bit shocked," recalls Bezhanskaya, "But they assured us that parts of St. Petersburg look like 1960s Peking."
TITLE: distant, secluded and beautiful
AUTHOR: by Larisa Doctorow
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Forty kilometers along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland from St. Petersburg lies the town of Oranienbaum.
Since the 18th century, Oranienbaum has been inextricably linked to the fate of the Romanov dynasty, which built three palaces built on 200 hectares of parkland around the town.
The Grand Palace was the first. Work on it began in 1710, on the orders of the then-governor general of St. Petersburg, Prince Alexander Menshikov, one of Peter the Great's closest advisors.
According to a contemporary source, the palace - "modest outside, but beautifully decorated inside" - had "76 rooms decorated with paintings, tapestries and fine furniture."
The Grand Palace was also home to the potted orange trees that likely gave Oranienbaum its name. The trees adorned the palace's terraces in the summer, and were kept in greenhouses during the winter.
Menshikov did not get to enjoy his palace for long. Five days after it was inaugurated, on Sept. 3, 1727, he was stripped of his title and property and sent to Siberia, where he died two years later.
The next burst of activity at Oranienbaum began in 1742, when the German prince Karl Peter Ulrich - the future Tsar Peter III - arrived in Russia. The following year, the whole domain was given to him by Tsarina Elizabeth, whose architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, modified the Grand Palace.
Peter also had a private residence, Petershtadt, built at Oranienbaum. Work began in 1758 and was completed in 1762, the same year that Peter abdicated the throne - he signed his abdication at Oranienbaum - and died.
Oranienbaum's best years were the second half of the 18th century and the 19th. During this time, Catherine the Great built a charming summer palace - the Chinese Palace - and, after her death, the domain was owned by the families of her grandsons Alexander I and Grand Duke Mikhail.
After the revolutions of 1917, the domain's last owners, the Mecklenburg family of princes, were chased out, and the property was nationalized. The Grand Palace was given to the Soviet military, while the other two were turned into museums. Over the course of the Soviet era, the Oranienbaum complex was almost completely neglected.
However, unlike nearby Peterhof and Strelna, Oranienbaum suffered minimal damage during World War II: Although the front line passed within a few kilometers of the area, it was never taken by the Germans.
As a result of this, today, Oranienbaum is a precious witness to past glories, as the palaces have retained the original, 18th-century facades and interiors.
The best way to visit the complex is to enter by the Lower Garden and ascend to the Upper Garden, thus visiting all three palaces.
Although many architects worked on the Grand Palace, it bears the distinctive Russian baroque features associated with Rastrelli, combining grandeur and breadth of design with sublime richness of decoration
Like Peterhof, the Grand Palace was surrounded by Lower and Upper Gardens with ponds and fountains, and a canal was dug to connect the palace with the Gulf of Finland.
The Grand Palace first opened its doors to visitors in 1995, which was a courageous step for the museum administration. It was still unrestored and was a shocking sight. This was the first step in a long process whereby the palace was reclaimed from the military.
Today, the palace has two entrances, leading to different parts of the museum with separate exhibitions. Currently on display is an exhibition called "The Forgotten Emperor," dedicated to Peter III, which runs through October.
Entering the palace by the main staircase makes it easy to imagine its former magnificence. From the terrace, it is possible to see traces of the former canal which once connected the palace with the Gulf.
The other side of the palace faces the Upper Garden, romantic and overgrown, with winding trails and ponds. In the restored Japanese pavilion, an exhibition of Sevre porcelain from the private collection of Nikolai Kozhevnikov has now been installed.
The Chinese Palace, completed in 1768, is built on a much smaller scale, and is named for its four rooms decorated in a then-fashionable imitation-Chinese style. The architect, Antonio Rinaldi, created a graceful, single-story building (the second floor was added later) with two parallel suites of rooms - one for Catherine II, and one for her son, the future Paul I - that converged in the central Oval Hall.
The building's modest facade, tucked away among oak trees planted by Rinaldi, belies the impressive, sumptuous interior decoration, which gives the impression that Rinaldi used all possible means of adornment. The suites of rooms feature rich parquet flooring, made of many types of rare wood; silk-covered walls; carved panels; lacquered panels inlaid with ivory; stucco moldings; frescoes by Italian artists; paintings; and sculptures, in addition to the furniture. All of this makes the palace unique, a real gem in the cluster of former palaces around the city.
Among the most charming rooms is the Glass Beads Study, which has walls covered in embroideries made of silver and blue glass beads. It shines even on cloudy days, spreading a silvery, velvety light.
The Chinese Palace's 722 square meters of inlaid parquet flooring, all of rare beauty, also illustrates why some Russian museums require their visitors to wear soft slippers.
Unfortunately the palace is on low-lying ground and, on rainy days, water can enter via the French doors, causing damage. For this reason, the palace is often closed to visitors when it rains.
On the other side of the lavish garden, set along the bank of the river Karost, which connects the Lower and Red Ponds is Petershtadt, the private residence of the Peter III.
Petershtadt is a cubical, two-story, yellow-and-white building. It contains just six rooms, intended for private living rather than state receptions.
Peter the Third possessed a good collection of fine art, and the main room in the palace is a gallery of Flemish, Dutch, Italian and German paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries. Being the best room, it served as a drawing room and a dining room.
The place is lavishly decorated, with wide use of stucco moldings, inlaid parquet floors, wood-carved panels and painted silks covering the walls. The works of art, furniture, Chinese vases and porcelain are all originals.
Set on a lawn where old marble benches seem to invite visitors to sit down and contemplate, the palace has an intimate, peaceful atmosphere.
It is approached via the Gates of Honor, the only other construction that survives of what was once the amusement fortress of the young German prince and heir to the Russian throne. The nearby ponds were used for sea battles, and the site had a regiment of soldiers under the prince's command.
Other buildings sprang up near the palaces, and some are still there, such as a stone hall that was - and still is - used for theatrical performances, and the Ladies-in-Waiting Pavilion, which now houses a modest hotel and cafe. Finally, there is the fascinating Sled Hill, down which members of the royal family and entourage used to swoop in little carts. However, its graceful, blue-and-white form is currently hidden by scaffolding, and its beauty can only be guessed at.
Oranienbaum's parks contribute greatly to the charm of the site. First laid out in the 18th century, they illustrate contemporary Russian landscape-gardening fashions. Wide avenues are intermingled with curving trails, and expanses of green are broken up by ponds, brooks, the river, waterfalls and stone bridges.
Oranienbaum is attractive year-round, due to its variety of trees, both deciduous and evergreen. The park is replete with lonely sculptures, vases, marble benches and other remnants of its former owners' love and attention
Due to the size of the area, it is possible to wander in the park without encountering other visitors - a map is therefore advisable, as there are not many opportunities to ask directions, and signposts are not abundant inside the park.
The museum is open daily, except Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. Tel.: 422-3753.
How to get there. The easiest way is by car or on a tourist excursion. Otherwise, take the elektrichka from Baltiisky Vokzal, which takes about 45 minutes to get there. However, trains run infrequently between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. A marshrutnoye taxi also runs from Avtovo metro station to Oranienbaum.
Where to eat. There is only one cafe in the domain, so food is best brought from home.
TITLE: in the land of the midnight sun
AUTHOR: by Helen Tchepournova
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: St. Petersburg's world-famous "White Nights" may now be over (they last only for a short period a few days each side of the summer solstice), but midnight-sun worshippers will be pleased to know that they can still get a fix - by leaving the city.
Heading north into the Arctic Circle is also a low-cost option for adventurous backpackers that thrive on discovering their own terra incognita and eschew the dull comforts of a well-established resort.
The Kola Peninsula is a place from which no fertile imagination emerges unscathed. It is a world different from any that most city-dwellers have ever experienced.
The peninsula lies completely beyond the Arctic Circle, and Norway and Finland are its closest Western neighbors, roughly 100 kilometers away. It stretches some 400 kilometers out from Murmansk - the region's principal city - between the Barents Sea to the north and the White Sea to the south.
The picture of the region painted by the creators of the ancient Finnish epic "Kalevala" is less than encouraging: "The land of eternal cold and darkness, mysterious, snow-clad Lappland."
But today's traveler should not be put off. The first impression of the region is of a sparsely populated landscape, covered in thick woodland and abounding in rounded hills, fast-flowing rivers and crystal-clear lakes, that comes alive to greet a lovely short summer season.
The area was formed by glaciation during the last Ice Age. The creeping glaciers crushed the old mountains and left behind new ridges, cut out new rivers and lakes and deposited tons of rock.
When the glaciers retreated, the area was colonized by fir and pine trees and became a wildlife paradise, numbering wolves, elk, reindeer, walruses, seals and polar bears among its inhabitants. Such was the nature of the area when the first humans reached it, a few hundred years BC.
The peninsula's first human inhabitants were the Saami, a tribe of reindeer herders whose origins are as mysterious as the structures they left behind to perplex future generations. These are known in Russian as vavilony - stone labyrinths of presumably great significance - and are an enigma of the regions history. Despite endless academic arguments, however, the truth about the vavilony is no nearer.
Kandalaksha, the southernmost town in the Kola Peninsula, is a perfect jumping-off point to venture up the stunningly beautiful White Sea coast. Sprawling across the banks of the Niva River - not to be confused with St. Petersburg's Neva - this sleepy provincial town of 45,000 has grown somewhat since it was established as a Pomory fishing village. The Pomory were, and are, a group of ethnic Russians from Novgorod who, lured by the teeming wildlife, established settlements in the area some eight centuries ago. The name Pomory derives from the Russian pomorye, meaning "by the sea."
Kandalaksha's History Museum, although small, is a worthwhile visit for visitors searching for their own possible Pomory ancestry. It houses a fine collection, portraying many aspects of the town's past, from its earliest years through to the present day. The "Streets of the Town" photo exhibition is absolutely terrific. Visitors with a military bent will not leave disappointed either, as the museum also has on display a number of World War II memorabilia - including a life-size model of a partisans' dugout, complete with a wooden plaque proclaiming "Long Live Comrade Stalin."
Sadly, this cultural institution is terribly underfunded, so leaving a small donation for the museum's development will be greatly appreciated.
Another great place to take in a little history is Umba, a two-hour attractive drive from Kandalaksha. The stretch up and down Mount Krestovaya is the most spectacular part of the route: It works its magic even on Russian drivers, who all seem unusually willing to slow down at the pass, which offers breathtaking, panoramic views over the glittering waters of the Kanda Bay, dotted with a few offshore islands, against the backdrop of the incredibly high, varicolored skies.
Set at the heart of the peninsula's most scenic shore-area of Tersky, Umba is a paradise for rafting enthusiasts, anglers - numerous local rivers are claimed to have the best and biggest salmon in the world - and, surprisingly, world-music lovers and anthropologists. Local residents have no hesitation in literally making a song and dance about Pomory folklore.
Umba hosts the irregular Northwest Russia and Arctic-Barents Region Folk Festival, depending on the availability of funding. This year's festival was a colorful, noisy spectacle of choirs parading around in traditional Pomory, Saami and Nordic costumes against a rustic, in places crumbling, background. The Pomory Regatta, which is held every year, is another spectacular events, with participants competing in traditional rowing boats.
A full-sized model of one of these boats is on display in the village's museum. The museum opened 10 years ago, the result of a labor of love by a small group of enthusiasts. It now boasts a very wide-ranging collection of artifacts, period photographs, and displays ranging from the relics of the pre-Christian era (the Saami pictographs discovered in the region by archeologists, for example) to authentic reproductions of a seashore fishing lodge and a log cabin interiors.
The museum also houses a great deal of other exciting Pomory-related material: traditional costumes; household articles and utensils (look out for the lovely, ornate distaffs); craft-workers' tools; fishing and pearl-fishing equipment; dolls dressed in traditional wedding clothing; and - a young visitor's delight - rye-dough animal-shaped cookies. The latter are for sale, and come in traditional shapes, such as reindeer. Finally, the photo exhibition is an absolute winner, with pictures of fantastic scenery, local people and wooden churches.
The zeal that went into the creation of the museum was evident in Marina, the museum "host" when I visited. Marina was an enthusiastic guide, who went out of her way to show all and sundry about the museum and wound up inviting me to her house for lunch.
One of the region's wooden churches can be found in the tiny coastal village of Kovda. The St. Nicholas Church (St. Nicholas is the patron saint of seafarers) is a distinctive landmark of the village, and a must-see for any aspiring architects. Perched on a hilltop, it overlooks what is left of what was once a lively, thriving fishing village. The church combines a hexagonal bell-tower crowned with a pyramidal steeple with an archetypal example of a hip-roofed church.
Unfortunately, the building has been somewhat neglected, and is now in need of massive restoration. Work was begun on the bell-tower a few years ago, but has since come to an indefinite halt.
For outdoor types, the Kandalaksha nature reserve and sea-bird sanctuary is the place to go. It is made up of some 470 islands in the White Sea, and is home to more than 250 species of birds and animals, many of which are endangered. Sea-birds to be found there include Eider ducks, gulls, murres, kittiwakes, razorbills and black guillemots, whose numbers are boosted in summer by tens of thousands of migrants returning from warmer climes. (One of the reserve's arrivals set a world record by traveling 14,000 kilometers all the way from Australia.)
With its 70th anniversary just around the corner, the reserve is maintaining a high profile until Sept. 1. Visits to the islands - an opportunity not to be missed - should be arranged through the reserve's administration (calling in on the off-chance is not recommended). The visitor center, however, is open year-round. It may not be extremely impressive, but the true-to-life dioramas showing the marine life of the White Sea are worth seeing.
Kandalaksha also offers a few options for fans of watersports. Although these are limited, they do seem to indicate that the local tourism industry is slowly starting to pick up. A much-needed shot in the arm is likely to come in September, when the Salla-Alakurtti border checkpoint is opened, establishing a direct connection to Finland, which will make life much easier for anyone wanting to come to the area from there.
For now, there is Gandvik, a local diving center. Gandvik is run by serious, dedicated professionals, who teach local teenagers basic boating and diving techniques and try to enhance general eco-awareness. The center does not receive any outside funding, and so runs a boat, the Nautilus, and offers activities such as water-skiing, dolphin-watching, fishing (which includes a trip to the banya afterwards), rowing and simple pleasure trips.
In its previous life, the Nautilus served as a lifeboat, but has been converted into an all-weather, 20-person-capacity pleasure boat with some on-board catering. The opportunity to shear through Kandalaksha Bay's sparkling waves, breathing in the fresh, salty air and marveling at the scenery, is not to be missed, and a visit to one of the islands to see one of the mysterious vavilony is a highlight of any trip.
While trekking the White Sea coast may lack a little in the comfort department, it really can be the trip of a lifetime. A few minor inconveniences are nothing compared to the grandest gestures of nature and the thrills of launching into the unknown, after all.
How to get there. Trains for Murmansk leave from Moskovsky Vokzal daily at 5:50 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., and take 24 hours to get to Kandalaksha. Round-trip tickets cost from $25 (platskart) to $45 (kupe).
Where to stay. The Belomorye Hotel at 31 Pervomaiskaya Ul. in Kandalaksha may look drab outside and is not fancy inside, but it is centrally located and decent. Basic singles/doubles/ triples with en-suite facilities go for $10, and a two-room suite with telephone, TV and refrigerator costs about $25. Groups of five or more should ask for the $17 deal. Tel.: +81533-931-00
Another option in Kandalaksha, although not for the spoiled, is the Spolokhy Hotel, at 130 Naberezhnaya Ul. It offers a lovely river view, and is good value for money at $7/16/19/25 for a single/semi-lux/lux/apartment. Alternatively, a bed in a double/triple costs $4/$3.
Where to eat. The choice of eating establishments is rather limited in Kandalaksha. For a no-frills basic lunch/dinner, try the Belomorye's cafe or, on the same street, the Kanda restaurant (54 Pervomaiskaya Ul.) It has a small deli and bakery, in the side entrance, for self-catering.
The Severnoye Syanya ("Northern Lights) stolovaya, at 44 Pervomaiskaya Ul., is a Soviet-era relic and worth checking out just for fun - although it is not recommended for those with dodgy stomachs.
TITLE: Flooding Across Europe Takes 100 Lives
AUTHOR: By Claus-Peter Tiemann
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: DRESDEN, Germany - Floodwaters threatened an east German chemical industry complex Thursday after a levee broke, forcing the evacuation of a town of 16,000 and posing a new danger from floods that have already killed 100 people across Europe.
The chemical complex at Bitterfeld, a notoriously polluted industrial site under former communist East Germany, is about 128 kilometers northwest of Dresden, where the Elbe River rose to its highest level in more than 100 years Thursday, threatening the Baroque city's landmark opera and art collections.
The rain-swollen Mulde river, which flows into the Elbe, sent water spilling toward Bitterfeld after 530 meters of a levee collapsed Thursday.
"Water is flowing toward the city," said Klaus Jeziorsky, interior minister of Saxony Anhalt state. "Bitterfeld must be completely evacuated."
Environmentalists fear severe pollution should the plant become inundated. However, city officials said Thursday that the complex was safe from the floods and they were monitoring the situation.
In Dresden, the Elbe topped the 8.6-meter mark for the first time in over 100 years, Mayor Ingolf Rossberg said. It was expected to continue rising, almost to the 9.6-meter level reached in 1845.
Even before Thursday's surge in Germany, floodwaters had damaged landmarks of Dresden, including the famed Semper Opera and Zwinger Gallery, where volunteers helped bring thousands of priceless masterworks to higher floors this week. The city's main train station is also waterlogged and has been closed for days.
Largely destroyed by a February 1945 Allied fire bombing near the end of World War II, rebuilt Dresden is one of Germany's top cultural attractions and tourist spots. Many of the landmarks are near the banks of the Elbe.
On Thursday, workers were pumping river water out of the Semper Opera's basement, where it had damaged stage equipment and costumes, said Christoph Bauch, the opera's chief of stage technology.
State officials said no damage to paintings at the Zwinger Gallery had been discovered so far after hundreds of masterworks were evacuated from storage in the basement. The gallery's upper floors were not touched by the floods.
About 170 intensive care patients were evacuated overnight from several Dresden hospitals and brought to other facilities. Some 3,000 residents were evacuated from newly flooded areas in the morning to gyms, schools and private homes.
The rising Elbe has been fed in part by high water on the Vltava - the river that devastated Prague over the past week.
On Thursday, Czechs crowded onto Prague's riverfront lookout points to watch the Vltava's muddy waters recede.
Generally clear skies over Germany on Thursday and a forecast of sunny weather promised relief here. But downstream from Dresden to the north, several cities on the Elbe - notably Magdeburg - braced for their share of flooding that has left 11 dead in Germany.
To the southeast in Europe, the rain-swollen Danube also raised alarms. The river was rising Thursday in Romania and in Hungary, where the Cabinet called an emergency meeting to review flood preparations.
Slovakia declared a state of emergency in the capital, Bratislava, where authorities expect the Danube to reach crest Friday.
In Austria, where the floods left seven dead, the capital Vienna was spared major flooding as the Danube's water level receded.
In the town of Schwertberg, the raging Danube partially tore loose a 33-meter-long steel bridge Thursday. Authorities called for a special mountain crane to keep it from collapsing and being swept downstream.
Floodwaters swamped a breeding ground for flamingos at the zoo in Wels, triggering panic among hundreds of birds and forcing zookeepers to move eggs from nests to higher ground.
"The flamingo parents were nervous wrecks, but it was our only chance," zookeeper Daniela Artmann told the Austria Press Agency on Thursday.
But floodwaters continued to subside in most of Austria's hardest-hit areas Thursday, and emergency personnel began shifting from sandbagging operations to mopping up.
In Prague, thousands of sandbags kept the raging Vltava from flooding the historic Czech capital's quaint Old Town. Officials said the Vltava dropped a meter overnight, but many parts of the city remained under water.
Hundreds of thousands of Czechs fled the rushing waves of the Vltava and dozens of other rivers, searching for higher ground. About 70,000 inhabitants of the capital's 1 million people left their homes, city officials said.
On Thursday, skies over Prague were clear and weather forecasters said the torrential rains that fed the flooding appeared to be over.
But Czech television said an elderly man was killed Thursday when he was hit by flying debris as workers blew up a ship that tore from its moorings and threatened a bridge. That brought the Czech Republic's death toll to 11.
TITLE: Palestinian Threats of Reprisals Renewed
AUTHOR: By Mark Lavie
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: JERUSALEM - Israel's killing of a Hamas leader on Wednesday night, and the death of his neighbor, drew sharp Palestinian criticism and threats of a new round of reprisals on Thursday.
The killing followed the start of the trial of one of the Palestinian officials Israel holds responsible for the violence. Both sides are turning the murder and terrorism case against Marwan Barghouti, the West Bank leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, into an indictment of the other.
Meanwhile, peace efforts continued. Senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, who were scheduled to continue talks Thursday, agreed late Wednesday that Israel would release another $14 million of the $300 million in tax money it has been withholding from the Palestinians. Israel handed over one installment recently.
The two sides also discussed an Israeli proposal to pull troops back from the Gaza Strip and turn security over to the Palestinians, according to a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
In Gaza on Thursday, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Aziz Rantisi said the death late Wednesday of one of the group's leaders, Nasser Jerar, "will not pass without strong punishment."
Israeli forces knocked down the house where they located Jerar in the West Bank town of Tubas and he was buried by the rubble, the military and residents said. In a statement, the military said that Jerar recruited suicide bombers and was planning a major bombing of an unidentified building.
The military said that a neighbor was sent to tell the 44-year-old Jerar to surrender but was hit by gunfire from inside the house and apparently killed. Then Israeli forces destroyed the house.
Palestinians charged that Israeli gunfire killed the neighbor. The Israeli human-rights group B'Tselem charged that soldiers used the neighbor, Nidal Abu Daraghmeh, 19, as a "human shield."
The army said it was trying to prevent civilian deaths by having Daraghmeh warn any civilians who may have been in the house with Jerar.
Israeli cabinet minister Ephraim Sneh, a former general, told Army radio: "I'm not sure that this stands up to the test of the law, but there is the consideration that we have to prevent a large terror attack and it's clear which consideration wins in this situation."
Meanwhile, the cabinet on Wednesday approved the first stage of the route of a fence meant to keep Palestinian militants out of Israel and its settlements.
The fence roughly follows the so-called Green Line, Israel's frontier before it seized the West Bank in 1967.
A map of the initial 120-kilometer stage along the northern West Bank that appeared in Thursday's Haaretz newspaper showed that several Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements in the West Bank would be on the Israeli-controlled side of the fence.
Israel is planning that the fence will eventually cover the 350-kilometer length of the West Bank. The job could take years. For now, the focus is on the two most vulnerable patches - the northern West Bank and Jerusalem.
Also Wednesday, Palestinian cabinet minister Nabil Shaath said that secret talks between Arafat's representatives and the militant Hamas to forge an end to bomb attacks in Israel have failed.
TITLE: U.S.-British Attack Iraqi Air Defense
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: WASHINGTON - Aircraft from the U.S.-British coalition patrolling southern Iraq bombed two Iraqi air-defense sites Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command said.
The attack with precision-guided weapons was a response to Iraqi actions threatening coalition planes patrolling the southern no-fly zone, a Central Command statement said.
The strike was the latest in a series of incidents that have taken place in the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq. Coalition planes struck an Iraqi military communications facility on Aug. 5.
The no-fly zones were created after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Iraqi dissident populations from President Saddam Hussein's military. Hussein says the zones are a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and that his military often tries to shoot down warplanes patrolling the areas.
Central Command says that Iraq has fired on coalition planes a total of 85 times this year. The command, based in Tampa, Florida, is responsible for the region.
TITLE: World Series Beckons for Moscow's Little Leaguers
AUTHOR: By Todd Prince
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW - The Druzhba field in the north of Moscow wouldn't be at the top of anyone's list as a place to play baseball. Designed for rugby, the rocky grounds have no markings and only a sandy lump is identifiable as a pitcher's mound.
But a group of 11- and 12-year-old boys has been playing the game here faithfully since the snow melted away in April. And as they practice, the little leaguers - members of Russian champion team Khovrino - don't seem to be disturbed by the scattered pebbles, patches of yellow grass and the rusting soccer and rugby posts that clutter their outfield.
"The ball takes wild bounces on our field because it isn't level, but we aren't any worse because of that," said catcher Alexei Kobrinets. "We have gotten used to it and it doesn't disturb us."
The team's coaches say the poor field is the team's biggest problem, but it doesn't seem to have affected the boys' desire to play or undermined their ballplaying ability.
On Sunday, Khovrino flew to the United States to participate in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which starts on Friday.
The Russian squad, composed mainly of boys from Moscow's Rechnoi Vokzal area, qualified for the trip to America by beating the Romanian champion in a down-to-the-wire final game at the Little League European Regional Championship in Prague on July 14. Overall, Khovrino went 9-0 during the tournament, defeating the champion little league teams of Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, Germany, Bulgaria and Austria.
Only 16 teams from around the world, including eight from the United States, make it to the little league finals, and it is the second year in a row that Khovrino has qualified. Last year the team made history by becoming the first Russian little league team to land in the championship. This year, Khovrino is returning thanks in part to a shy, skinny boy with a powerful arm and a banker who moonlights as a pitching coach.
Kirill Chermoushentsev, a 12-year-old ace pitcher, bullied his way through the Romanian line-up last month, allowing only two hits. It was the second triumph during the nine-game tournament for Chermoushentsev, who has a 65-mile-per-hour (104-kilometer-per-hour) fastball, about five miles per hour (eight kilometers per hour) quicker than his European rivals. In the team's first tournament game, Chermoushentsev held the German team scoreless for five innings.
Guiding Chermoushentsev along, strike by strike, is pitching coach Vladimir Eltchaninov, who works at the Central Bank. When not in the dugout, Eltchaninov walks the halls of the State Duma monitoring banking legislation.
Eltchaninov first learned to play baseball on the streets of the Bronx, New York - not far from Yankee Stadium - in the late 1970s. It was there that he met and became friends with current Khovrino manager Mikhail Korneyev, who asked him a few years ago to spare some time to help the team.
Under Eltchaninov's guidance, Chermoushentsev, who was only a back-up pitcher last year, has improved out of sight. A week after his tour de force against the Romanians, Chermoushentsev shut out the Czech national squad 2-0 to win the European Championship, a separate tournament. The Czech team roughed him up for six runs last year in the semifinal of the same tournament.
But Khovrino and its pitching ace face a tough test this year at the World Series. In its first appearance at the World Series last year, Khovrino was easily manhandled by opponents, dropping all three games it played and managing to score a total of just one run.
"I knew our opponents were going to be tough as soon as I saw them," said Kobrinets, the catcher. "They were much bigger than us. We didn't believe in ourselves last year, but now we are much more confident. We are not afraid of any team."
Chermoushentsev was similarly upbeat about the team's chances of turning things around this year.
"When we went last year, we didn't expect the other teams to throw as fast as they did," he said. "They were throwing at 70 to 75 miles per hour [112 to 120 kilometers per hour] and we hadn't seen that before. But we are used to these speeds now, so it will be easier for us."
Despite only scoring one run, Khovrino did take some positives from its performance in the World Series last year.
The team made only three fielding errors in its three games, an exceptional record. And Korneyev said all three came in the first game and were the result of nerves.
"At the World Series, these guys were playing in front of several thousand spectators when the most they had seen before was about 100," the manager said.
The coaches and players agree that fielding and team spirit are Khovrino's strengths.
"Our main strength is that we don't ever give up," Kobrinets said. "Other teams get discouraged if they are losing, but we ... fight to the last."
While offense is still Khovrino's weakest link, Eltchaninov says the team should perform better this year, though he is not expecting to bring back the championship trophy.
"The competition last year was very high, and although I don't expect the teams to be weak this year, they are unlikely to match last year's teams," he said. "It would be good if we can win at least one game."
The team would have to win at least four to land in the finals, he added.
In the first round, Khovrino is scheduled to compete against squads from Mexico and Japan, both of which historically have fielded strong teams. The Japanese team won the World Series last year - not that this has put off any of the Khovrino players.
"So, they won last year," said outfielder Misha Nasoren, who was sporting a black eye he received when a ball took a wicked bounce on the bumpy Druzhba field. "So? I'm not afraid."
Chermoushentsev said the team wanted to prove that Russians can succeed in baseball.
"We have to show that Russians can play and play well," he said.
Even if he comes back without a pitching win, Chermoushentsev hopes to leave the United States at least with the memory of having watched a real major league baseball game. The star player has only ever seen a major league game on tape, twice. Eltchaninov says he is trying to arrange a team trip to see a New York Yankees game once the little league series is over.
TITLE: Capriati, Dokic Safely Through
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MONTREAL - Jennifer Capriati defeated qualifier Sarah Taylor 6-4, 6-1 Wednesday in the second round of the Rogers AT&T Cup.
With top-ranked Serena Williams out of the tournament with tendinitis in her left knee, Capriati is hoping to win the hardcourt event as a tune-up to the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 26.
"It's getting close to the U.S. Open, and I feel it's coming together," Capriati said.
Capriati has lost four times to Williams this year, including the French Open semifinals, but she said Williams' absence this week "really doesn't matter to me," because the two players would have been on opposite sides of the draw.
"There's a lot of good competitors out there, and to play her, I'd have had to reach the final. That's how I look at it," Capriati said.
Third-seeded Jelena Dokic and fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters both overcame spotty tennis and tough conditions to advance in the $1.224 million tournament.
Dokic defeated Martina Sucha 6-3, 6-4 and Clijsters defeated Nicole Pratt 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Both played in punishing heat and humidity.
"I got my head together in the second set, but I didn't feel comfortable," Dokic said. "I still have to get used to the heat."
Fifth-seeded Justine Henin also advanced when Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia retired in the third set of their match with an unspecified injury. Henin was leading 5-7, 6-0, 4-1 at the time.
At a tournament last week in Manhattan Beach, California, eventual champion Chanda Rubin said Dokic "semi-tanked" their semifinal match, suggesting the 19-year-old didn't want to "accept the challenge on this particular day."
The remark didn't sit well with Dokic, who has two tournament victories this year and is currently ranked a career-high fifth in the world.
"That's her opinion," she said of Rubin. "She knows better. She's lost to me before, so she knows how I can play. Maybe that's why she said it. But I was a bit sick. I had the flu and I'd played a lot of tennis the week before. I wasn't in good enough condition to play."
Rubin, seeded 16th at the AT&T event, lost Wednesday to Barbara Schett, 6-4, 6-4.
Ninth-seeded Yelena Dementieva and 12th-seeded Daja Bedanova were also eliminated, leaving nine of the 16 seeded players still in the tournament.
Amanda Coetzer ousted the lanky Demetieva 6-3, 6-3 while Francesca Schiavone, who reached the main draw when American Meghann Shaughnessy dropped out, downed Bedanova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
TITLE: A New Order in Detroit, But Tigers Down Angels
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: NEW YORK - The Detroit Tigers didn't know who to send to the plate. The Boston Red Sox couldn't wait to hit against a struggling Jamie Moyer. Detroit batted out of order Wednesday night, but Anaheim's protest became moot when the Angels rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Tigers.
Brandon Inge, the No. 8 hitter, never batted the first time through Detroit's order because Tuesday night's lineup card was mistakenly posted on the dugout wall. That card had Chris Truby in the eighth spot, so he stepped to the plate after No. 7 hitter Shane Halter and struck out to end the second inning.
"The way that we were going about it was exactly what was on the wall. I mean, there was no way for us to know. What they put up is what we go by," Inge said. "Then they realized that the two cards were different. But by that time, it was too late. Everybody's going to make mistakes. Nobody's perfect."
Moyer was far from perfect, too.
Trot Nixon homered twice as Boston turned a tasty pitching matchup between Derek Lowe and Moyer into a slugfest, beating the Seattle Mariners 12-5 at Safeco Field.
Manny Ramirez and Shea Hillenbrand also went deep for the Red Sox, who remained five games behind the AL East-leading New York Yankees and two back of Anaheim in the wild-card race.
Atlanta 1, San Francisco 0. John Smoltz challenged baseball's home run king, retiring Bonds on a flyball to the warning track in the ninth inning as the Atlanta Braves held off the San Francisco Giants 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Even after Jeff Kent flied out to the warning track in right-center, Smoltz didn't back down from Bonds. The Braves closer came in with a 160-kilometer-per-hour fastball on a 3-2 pitch and watched a liner head toward the deepest part of Turner Field.
Andruw Jones, already lined up about as far back as he could get, drifted onto the warning track and made the catch in front of the 400-foot (121-meter) sign.
Smoltz got Benito Santiago on a popup to end the game, earning his major league-leading 42nd save.
Bonds, who didn't talk to reporters after the game, went 1-of-4. He has gone four games without a homer since becoming the fourth player to hit 600 in a career.
Tom Glavine (16-6) gave up just five hits for his 240th win, tying Frank Tanana and Clark Griffith for 48th on the career list.
After Tim Spooneybarger walked two, Smoltz made a rare appearance in the eighth. With one pitch, he got Rich Aurilia to hit into an inning-ending double play.
The ninth innning was much more challenging.
"In that situation, you're on the edge of your seat," Glavine said. "It was a great matchup with Bonds. Smoltzie went right after him. He hit it good, but fortunately it had no elevation."
In other games, it was: Arizona 7, Cincinnati 2; Houston 4, Chicago 3; Florida 1, Colorado 0; Los Angeles 5, Montreal 2; St. Louis 7, Pittsburgh 3; Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 1; San Diego 6, New York 2; Oakland 4, Toronto 2; Cleveland 6, Tampa Bay 4; Baltimore 6, Minnesota 5 (14 inns.); New York 3, Kansas City 2 (14 inns.); and Texas 11, Chicago 6.