SOURCE: The St. Petersburg Times
DATE: Issue #978 (46), Friday, June 18, 2004
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TITLE: Press Asks Putin to Intervene
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: More than 50 editors and journalists from 30 St. Petersburg media outlets have written to President Vladimir Putin calling on him to stop rampant in-fill construction in St. Petersburg.
They are expecting an answer within a month, as required by law, and have threatened that if no action is taken they will inform their foreign colleagues of the parlous management of construction in the city.
"We, representatives of St. Petersburg mass media are angered at the arbitrariness that reigns in the sphere of the city's new construction," the journalists wrote in an open letter to Putin.
"We ask you to bring the sector to order and stop in-fill construction in St. Petersburg," they added.
Among the journalists who signed the letter were the heads of "Tvoi Dom" and "Novy Peterburg" publishing houses; and editors and reporters at newspapers "Izvestia-St. Petersburg," "Parlamentskaya Gazeta," "Delovoi Peterburg" and "Novaya Gazeta" and news agency Rosbalt.
The journalists said they were outraged that despite regular publications on protests by city residents about construction in the yards of their homes and the removal of trees and loss of green areas, local authorities had done nothing to halt the pace of construction.
Governor Valentina Matviyenko had promised during her election campaign last year to stop in-fill construction and a ban came into place this month, but the many projects that had received approval beforehand are proceeding full-steam.
The journalists wrote that protests by residents of an apartment building at 3 Ulitsa Ushinskogo and residents of a building at 9 Institutsky Prospekt had failed to halt in-fill construction projects next to their homes.
Therefore the media outlets had decided to unite their efforts to have the problem solved at the federal level, newspaper Konsyerzh reported Wednesday.
The letter to Putin said that construction in St. Petersburg often breaks the federal City Construction Code. The code obliges developers to inform residents about new construction, and states that their opinion must be taken into account.
In many cases no environmental impact reports are prepared; no community buildings, such as schools or medical clinics, are built in the areas where in-fill construction takes place, new buildings shut out light from kindergartens and other neighboring apartment buildings.
"The situation with in-fill construction in St. Petersburg has reached a peak," Olesya Galkina, general director of publishing house Tvoi Dom, said in a comment published by Konsyerzh. "Desperate residents are not only organizing protests, but are already setting up barricades in defense of their parks and alleys."
"Those responsible are the St. Petersburg government along with the governor and the Legislative Assembly, which hasn't passed the necessary city planning laws," Galkina said.
Alexei Koltsov, editor of Konsyerzh newspaper, said the newspaper had been flooded with complaints from city residents who were upset by plans for in-fill construction in their districts.
"It blatantly goes against those promises that the governor made in her election campaign," he wrote.
"She is not keeping her promises," he added.
Svyatoslav Belyansky, editor of Predprinimatel Sankt Peterburga newspaper, said that new apartment buildings continue to be built in older city districts, despite this resulting in overloading ancient infrastructure.
"Of course, it's easier to build something in the developed territories," he said. "However, the engineering systems in many districts are largely worn out, and in-fill construction may lead to an increased burden on those systems, which may ultimately lead to the tragedy like that of frozen villages in the Far East."
Sergei Lisovsky, editor of the newspaper Obschestvo i Ekologiya (Society and Ecology), said in-fill construction is a kind of "prolonged city construction genocide."
"This genocide produces a depressing effect on the human biological system," he said. "This doesn't last a mere second, but for years."
Parlyamentskaya Gazeta reporter Alexei Yerofeyev said what worries him most is that in-fill construction affects playgrounds and parks.
"If nothing is done, Vasilyevsky Island may be left without any trees at all," Yerofeyev said.
Meanwhile, deputies of the Legislative Assembly want to fire the chairman of the assembly's city economic committee Mikhail Amosov, who opposes in-fill construction, Interfax reported Wednesday.
Deputy Sergei Belousov initiated the move to fire Amosov, a leader of the assembly's Yabloko faction, and has gathered the support of 10 other deputies, the report said.
Belousov accused Amosov of taking advantage of his position to raise his own rating.
Other legislators see the hand of City Hall in the initiative, because Amosov stands in the way of more in-fill-construction, the report said.
TITLE: Baltic Russians Form Party to Represent Them in EU
AUTHOR: By Francesca Mereu
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Tatyana Zhdanok, the first ethnic Russian ever to have won a seat in the European Parliament, is having a busy week. Her cell phone is constantly ringing, and reporters are hanging about asking for interviews.
Zhdanok, who was elected last weekend, has made it her task not only to represent her country, Latvia, in Brussels for the next five years, but also to make the voices of Russian speakers heard in the newly expanded European Union.
She and other Russian-speaking activists from several EU countries met earlier this month in Prague to found the Russian Party of the European Union. They hope to get more of their representatives elected to parliaments in their home countries and also to the European Parliament.
The party's main goal is to defend the interests of the millions of Russian speakers living in the EU, and particularly in the Baltics, where many are denied citizenship, unable to study in their native language and discriminated against in the job market.
Zhdanok, understandably, is most concerned about the situation in Latvia, where she says about 1 million of the 2.3 million people living in the country are native Russian speakers, about half of whom, or 500,000 people, are non-citizens.
"The situation is odd," she said from Riga. "Half of the Russian speakers have a Latvian passport, but under nationality it is written that they are aliens."
Non-citizens are given a passport, but they are not Latvian citizens and cannot vote or work as teachers or other civil servants.
Zhdanok is well aware that as the only representative of Russian speakers in the European Parliament her influence will be small.
The Parliament deals mainly with issues that are important for all of Europe, and according to Katinka Barysh of the Center for European Reform, deputies cannot lobby for issues of interest only to a single country or community.
Still, Zhdanok, an outspoken human rights activist in Latvia, believes that now that she has become an EU deputy, she will have a better chance of making her voice heard.
"I'll find a way to let people know about the problems of my community and do something about it. I'm a human rights activist. I'm used to fighting," she said in slightly accented Russian.
After gaining independence 13 years ago, Latvia granted automatic citizenship only to those who had settled in the country before 1940 - the year the country was annexed by the Soviet Union - and their descendants.
This excluded thousands of ethnic Russians, who were required to undergo a restrictive naturalization process. Under pressure from the Council of Europe, the process was eased in 1998 after a nationwide referendum. Today, to acquire Latvian citizenship, residents must pass an exam testing basic knowledge of Latvia's language, history and constitution.
The Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia became EU members on May 1. Last weekend, they elected their representatives to the European Parliament.
Zhdanok, co-chair of the Party for Human Rights in a United Latvia, campaigned under the slogan "Russkiye idut," or "the Russians are coming," and she focused on issues important for the Russian-speaking community, such as increasing the hours of Russian-language study in state schools and solving the problem of non-citizens. Her party finished third with 10.7 percent of the vote.
Her campaign was criticized by Antons Seiksts, a former deputy in the Latvian parliament and a leader of the centrist Latvia's Way party.
"The slogan she used was calling more for a separation between the Russian and Latvian cultures than for an integration," he said. Even [ultranationalist Duma Deputy Vladimir] Zhirinovsky has never pronounced words like that."
Zhdanok said she would try to find a faction in the European Parliament interested in representing regional minorities, perhaps with deputies elected from Catalonia, the Basque region or Wales.
A former member of the Soviet Communist Party, Zhdanok together with colleagues from Estonia and Lithuania helped found the Russian Party of the European Union at a meeting in Prague on June 4.
Her co-founders were Georgy Bystrov, mayor of Maardu, a small town near Tallinn, the Estonian capital, and Sergei Dmitryev, a member of Lithuania's parliament. Both ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament.
In addition to defending the rights of the Russian-speaking population throughout Europe, the party also will work to promote Russian culture and language in Europe and to improve relations between Russia and Europe, Zhdanok said.
There are about 6 million Russian speakers living in Europe, about half of them in the Baltics, according to Zhdanok. Germany also is home to more to 1 million, she said.
Izvestia, however, in a report on the new party in Thursday's paper, printed a map showing about 5 million Russian speakers in Europe and 2.3 million of them in Germany. Only about 1.5 million live in the Baltics, according to Izvestia, which did not give a source for its figures.
Libor Kukal, the editor of Czech Radio's Russian service and also among the founders of the party, said in an interview with Izvestia that the party was created in the hope that the problems of Russian speakers in the Baltics could be solved with help from Brussels.
"Everyone understands that pressure on the Latvian and Estonian governments from Moscow is useless and can bring the opposite result," he said.
Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the initiative in an interview with Izvestia printed June 7, saying the new party could complicate relations between Russia and the European Union.
But Vladimir Socor, a senior fellow of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, believes that Russian authorities are behind the party. Socor said his suspicions were raised when he read positive reports about the party by the state news agency RIA-Novosti.
"I think the Russian authorities will be very careful to keep a distance from this party in order not to be identified with it. They might support it behind the scenes," he said.
The Kremlin could see the party as a means to discredit the Baltic countries in the eyes of the EU, Socor said.
Zhdanok, however, denied any Kremlin involvement in the party. She said Moscow has often used the problems of the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltics for its own ends, which has done little to improve the situation, which is why they decided to create their own party and try to get Brussels' attention.
Two Moscow political analysts, Vladimir Pribylovsky from Panorama and independent analyst Andrei Piontkovsky, said the Russian speakers in the Baltics have come to understand that they cannot count on Russia.
"In order to defend their rights, the only chance they have is that the European Union pays attention to them," Pribylovsky said.
But to create a European-wide party is not an easy task. The Russian Party of the European Union would need to have affiliated parties in at least one-quarter of the 25 EU member countries and be represented in their parliaments. So far, this is realistic only in the three Baltic countries.
There are precedents for such a pan-European party. For instance, the European Federation of Green Parties has 32 member parties around Europe and 15 of them are represented in national parliaments.
TITLE: Extra Patrols at Terminals Aim to Make Tourists Safer
AUTHOR: By Galina Stolyarova
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Additional police patrols will protect tourists in St. Petersburg's airports, ports and major railway stations this summer, says Major-General Anatoly Zhukovsky, head of the Transport Police of the Northwest region.
"Major railway stations are among the worst sites for robbery and theft," Zhukovsky said Wednesday at a news conference. "To counter these crimes, we have installed video cameras at these places, which has already helped us to solve some cases."
Top officers of the Transport Police of the Northwest region announced the extra patrols and enhanced security measures for the tourist season at the conference.
Valery Fridman, director of travel agency Mir, said transport police and his company have been cooperating well in the area of the city's River Port. "The officers know our staff personally and our routes, and the collaboration is very efficient," he said. "In contrast, the area around the Avrora Cruiser is awful, and regular patrols are badly needed there."
Zhukovsky urged closer cooperation between the police and travel agencies. "If we had a detailed schedule available from them, showing their stops and timetables, it would have been much easier for us to coordinate our work, paying special attention to these places," he said.
The police would like surveillance cameras to be installed on all trains, especially those traveling between Russian cities and destinations abroad, but funding is lacking, he added.
"The police doesn't have enough resources to provide all trains with such equipment, although we do realize that it would help to both prevent and solve crimes," Zhukovsky said. "But if port, airport and railroad companies are interested in reducing crime rates, they should consider covering the expenses."
Areas surrounding hotels also account for high numbers of thefts and robberies.
Vladimir Ivanov, director of the Oktyabrskaya Hotel, located opposite Moskovsky Railway Station, said security problems are frequent. "Last year, the numbers of accidents soared in August, but this year the levels [of crime reported] have been high since April," he said.
A Russian-English phrasebook has been distributed to police officers to enable them to maintain basic communication with foreign guests. But it seems they are unlikely to make much use of it.
"I have to admit most of our staff don't speak foreign languages, and some of them wouldn't be able to pronounce the phrases listed in the book, but at least they can point at them," Zhukovsky said.
The phrases allow officers to give basic directions, ask for documents and make some inquiries. The phrases include "No parking," "Sorry, no entry," "Your visa has expired" and "Are you the victim of fraud/extortion/theft/assault/accident/explosion?"
The phrasebook also urges officers to be polite and friendly. "A smile needs no translation, and will always be understood," the book says.
In a joint project with City Hall, police are working on producing a brochure advising foreigners on how to stay safe in the city.
"The brochures will basically tell tourists to be careful, and take obvious precautions, such as, for instance, keeping their wallets in inside pockets," Zhukovsky said. "A list of security black spots is also being prepared."
However, avoiding the black spots will clearly also mean staying away from major attractions.
According to police reports, 35 crimes against foreigners were registered on Nevsky Prospekt alone between Jan. 1 and May 31.
But it is no secret that most crimes against foreigners remain unreported, largely because the tourists have little faith in the police.
Additional patrols have been assigned to Nevsky Prospekt as part of Operation Tabor, or Operation Gypsy Camp, under which a series of raids targeting Roma, who have been blamed for many robberies in central St. Petersburg, have been made.
Sergei Korneyev, head of the Northwest branch of the Russian Tourist Industry Union, said the city must consider providing parking spaces for tourist buses in the city center.
"At the moment, buses park wherever they can, and the tourists present an easy target," he said. "But if specific parking lots existed - and were properly guarded - then there would be fewer crimes."
In the meantime, many foreign tourists say they are being robbed by people wearing police uniform.
Michigan citizen Robert Venhuizen wrote in a letter to The St. Petersburg Times that putting extra patrols in high-risk areas will produce double trouble.
"I had my wallet lifted by gypsies and shaken down by the police," Venhuizen wrote. "Tourists will now have to worry about which swindlers will get to them first. If they are in uniform they are 'official swindlers,' if not then they are 'unofficial swindlers.' The best way to solve the crime problem is to solve the police problem."
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Starovoitova Trial
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - State Duma Deputy Galina Starovoitova did not have a large sum of money with her when she was killed, her sister Olga said at the trial of the deputy's alleged killers on Thursday, Interfax reported.
Olga Starovoitova said her sister was carrying about $2,000 to renovate her parents' apartment and to buy a television, the report said.
Asked if the deputy had hoped to raise $8,000 to $10,000 for her election campaign, Olga Starovoitova said that as far as she knew this money had not been raised.
The trial will continue July 28.
Petersburgers Content
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - The majority of St. Petersburgers consider themselves happy, Interfax quoted Roman Mogilevsky, president of the Foundation for Opinion Research, as saying Tuesday.
According to a survey by the foundation of citizens aged over 18, 62 percent described themselves as happy. A total of 80.9 percent of those aged between 18 and 24 described themselves as happy, while only 37.4 percent of those aged over 65 said they were happy, the report said.
Sixty-three percent of respondents said that the quality of medical services was low.
When the hot water is turned off in summer, 58 percent heat their water on the stove, 23 percent take baths, 21 percent move in with friends or relatives in other parts of the city, while 4 percent leave the city. Only 33 percent believe that turning off hot water is unavoidable, while 53 percent think it is unnecessary, the report said.
LDPR Registered
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - A faction of Vladimir Zhirinovsky's nationalist Liberal-Democrat Party has been registered in the city's Legislative Assembly, Interfax reported Wednesday.
The members are former members of the Sportivnaya Rossia faction and are led by Denis Volchek. Other members are Vadim Voitanovsky, Igor Mikhailov, Vladimir Belozerskikh, Alexei Timofeyev, Vladimir Kucherenko and Gennady Ozerov, the report said.
Lawsuit Over Fee Rise
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Alexei Kovalyov, a Legislative Assembly lawmaker in the Union of Right Forces faction has asked the city court to review the hikes in fees for communal housing services that have just been approved by the Legislative Assembly, Interfax reported Wednesday.
Kovalyov said two laws relating to the hikes breach citizens' rights, specifically when the fees exceed the allowed limits, the report said.
EU Urges Visa Easing
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - The European Union hopes that Russia will take practical measures to improve access to visas and the quality of service to EU citizens that want to visit Russia, Jonathan Faull, head of the European Commission's directorate of justice and internal affairs, said at the opening of a Russian-EU conference in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
"In the next few years we want to reach an agreement on a simplified visa procedure, with extensions available for multi-entry visas, with greater periods of validity, and a reduction in the number of documents required," he was quoted as saying.
"In addition, we expect the abolition of exit visas and the simplification of registration procedures," Faull said.
Shostakovich Robbed
MOSCOW (SPT) - Irina Shos-takovich, widow of composer Dmitry Shostakovich, has been robbed in the center of Moscow, Interfax quoted Moscow police as saying Thursday.
Shostakovich was in her car when two young strangers asked her how to drive to the Pushkin Museum, the report said.
While she was speaking to the men, her handbag with money and documents were stolen. She lost $8,000, 20,000 rubles, her driver's license, a mobile telephone, credit cards and 11 tickets to the Bolshoi Theater, the report said.
Dutch to Sue MSF
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - In a surprisingly public dispute, the Dutch government threatened Tuesday to sue Medecins Sans Frontieres to reclaim what it said was a loan of 750,000 euros ($900,000) to ransom an abducted Dutch employee.
The agency denied it had taken a loan and charged that the government itself had paid the ransom - in violation of its own policy against negotiating with kidnappers and terrorists.
Arjan Erkel was set free on April 11 after 20 months in captivity in Dagestan.
The dispute led to widespread publication that a ransom of 1 million euros had been paid to the hostage takers.
Critics said acknowledgment of the payment could heighten the risk of kidnapping for other relief workers.
Xenophobia Worries
MOSCOW (AP) - Israel's ambassador to Moscow has expressed concern over xenophobia and skinheads in Russia, calling for improved education to counter racist attitudes, Interfax reported.
"How can it be that in a country where people from almost every family took part in World War II, people can calmly watch their children walk around on the streets with their heads shaved, drawing swastikas and holding up their right hand in salute?" Israeli Ambassador Arkady Mil-Man said Tuesday a conference dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the dismantling of ghettos and concentration camps on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
"The only solution to this is education," Interfax quoted Mil-Man saying.
TITLE: Ex-Beatle Still Needed When He's 62
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: About 50,000 people are expected to attend ex-Beatle Paul McCartney's concert at St. Petersburg's Palace Square on Sunday.
The concert was almost sold out on Thursday, the impressive stage was under construction, and tens of thousands of Beatles fans were getting ready to experience their idol playing live.
McCartney was to arrive with his wife, Heather, in St. Petersburg on Friday as a part of his tour through Europe, and after his concert in Helsinki. Sir Paul will celebrate his 62nd birthday on Friday in the city.
Organizers say McCartney initiated the idea of playing in St. Petersburg, which impressed him when he visited it last year. However, in 2003 his only Russian concert was in Moscow's Red Square.
McCartney's concert will start at 6 p.m. and last 2 1/2 hours. Concert-goers will be admitted to the square from 4 p.m.
Dvortsovy Proyezd will close to traffic at noon.
Those, who have tickets to the area with seats will enter the square through the arch of the General Staff Building. Others will be entering it from the direction of Nevsky Prospekt, Admiralteisky Prospekt, Admiralteisky Garden, and Dvortsovy Bridge.
To allow the audience to get a good view and hear him well, Sir Paul has brought a special stage from Los Angeles that is 18 meters high and 68 meters long, making it 50 percent larger than the one on which he performed on in Red Square last year.
Security will be at the highest level.
More than 2,000 police and private security officers will provide safety in the area.
McCartney is to stay in one of the luxurious cottages of Konstantine Palace complex, restored last year in the St. Petersburg suburb of Strelna, and where a Russia-EU summit was held.
The two-story cottage is named after a Southern Russian city - Astrakhan.
According to organizers, McCartney's fans plan to set up a tent camp near the cottage to be near their idol.
However, employees of the palace are sure that nobody can get into the palace grounds.
Meanwhile, organizers of the show warn that any private photo or video equipment is prohibited at the concert.
The organization of the concert will cost about $2.8 million. The general sponsor of the event are TNK-BP company, which also sponsored McCartney's concert in Moscow last year.
McCartney's program in St. Petersburg has not been announced. Some sources say he may visit the suburb of Peterhof, famed for its fountain complex, and the State Russian Museum.
However, St. Petersburg fans of McCartney, already invited him to celebrate his birthday on Friday with them at the Gulf of Finland.
Sergei Parnas, one of St. Petersburg's Beatles fans, said local fans have for decades been organizing birthday parties for McCartney at the village of Tarkhovka.
"This time we wanted to have Sir Paul join us there," he said, adding that they yet don't know if McCartney will join them.
Parnas said that usually Beatles fans equipped with guitars, posters and tapes of The Beatles, and food for the picnic, gather on June 18 at Finlandsky railway station at 9 a.m. to leave for Tarkhovka.
"There we sing The Beatles' and McCartney's songs, and toast his birthday," he said.
Parnas said the most devoted Beatles fans, led by St. Petersburg's best-known fan Kolya Vasin, celebrate the birthdays of the other Beatles as well.
TITLE: Shvydkoi Backs Plans To Give City Palaces
AUTHOR: By Irina Titova
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Plans to shift control of 140 St. Petersburg historical monuments from federal bodies to the control of City Hall does not concern Mikhail Shvydkoi, head of the Federal Culture and Cinematography Agency, Interfax reports.
Most of the city's palaces, nationalized after the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, are still state-owned, but not all are under the control of the city. Many are owned by the Defense Ministry.
"In principle, we are not against decreasing the level of their status," Shvydkoi was quoted as saying at a meeting about St. Petersburg's social and economic problems on Tuesday.
Giving the city a say on what happens to historical monuments may become one of the ways to save the buildings, many of which are in disrepair.
"We should pass the city as many monuments as it can cope with," he said.
But to change the status of the buildings from state-owned to private, which Governor Valentina Matviyenko has promoted as a way of saving the city's decaying palaces from ruin, will require legislative changes, the former culture minister added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who was in St. Petersburg for the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, said that there will be a special meeting on privatization of historic monuments in Moscow soon.
"Both St. Petersburg and Moscow are interested in that quickest resolution of that issue," Fradkov said.
Every 10th historical building in Russia is in St. Petersburg, but City Hall does not have the money to pay for their restoration, Matviyenko said in May, when she proposed selling them off to the highest bidders.
The idea has caused controversy over fears that new owners will misuse the buildings.
Many experts referred to the gloomy example of Moscow, where a number of historically valuable buildings were destroyed after being privatized and modern commercial real estate was built in their place.
Matviyenko's announcement of the privatization program was linked by critics to her decision to allocate oil giant Lukoil a palace and 60 gas station sites without any tender.
The city's gasoline retailers continued this week to cry foul over the gas-station allocation to Lukoil.
TITLE: Sakharov Museum Accused Win Reprieve From Judge
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: MOSCOW - Lawyers defending human rights activist Yury Samodurov and two associates for allegedly inciting religious hatred with a controversial exhibit at the Andrei Sakharov Museum won a small victory Wednesday when a judge sent the case back to prosecutors, defense lawyers said.
The Tagansky district court acknowledged problems with the indictment and gave prosecutors five days to correct them.
Defense lawyer Sergei Nasonov welcomed the decision but argued that five days is not enough to "correct everything [prosecutors] did wrong" and fix charges he called "absurd."
The "Caution, Religion" exhibit angered members of the Russian Orthodox Church, who called it blasphemous and insulting, and resulted in charges against museum executive director Samodurov and his associates Lyudmila Vasilovskaya and Anna Mikhalchuk. If found guilty of inciting religious hatred, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of 500,000 rubles ($17,000).
All defendants pleaded not guilty.
Defense lawyers told the court on the trial's opening day Tuesday that the accusations failed to pinpoint which artworks incited religious hatred and against whom and why. The defense also said the charge does not correspond to wording of the law on the books at the time of the exhibit. Nasonov said prosecutors improperly attempted to lump three separate charges together into one.
Samodurov had said the exhibit had no ill intent - that it aimed to advocate respect toward religion while cautioning against religious fanaticism.
The exhibit was vandalized four days after its opening. The six attackers were detained and charged with hooliganism, but the charges were dropped after a publicity campaign conducted by a Russian Orthodox priest.
o
The Moscow City Court on Wednesday upheld a ban on the Jehovah's Witnesses, culminating a six-year-old case that bodes ill for tens of thousands of adherents across Russia and reflects growing pressure on religious minorities in a country dominated by the Russian Orthodox Church, The Associated Press reported.
The Moscow City Court upheld a district court decision earlier this year that prohibited Jehovah's Witnesses from engaging in religious activity under a provision that allows courts to ban religious groups considered to incite hatred or intolerant behavior.
Jehovah's Witnesses spokesman Christian Presber said the decision will prevent the group from renting premises for worship, holding bank accounts or otherwise supporting their religious activities.
TITLE: Putin, Blair Defuse British Council Standoff
PUBLISHER: The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: MOSCOW - The British Council will turn over financial records to the Interior Ministry's tax and economic crimes department and the ministry will drop its threats to penalize the council for not opening its books, officials said Tuesday.
"We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities and are complying with the request of the Interior Ministry to supply documentation.
We will be submitting the documentation this week," British Embassy spokesman Richard Turner said. The British Council is the embassy's cultural department and offers English-language lessons for a fee.
Calls to the Interior Ministry went unanswered Tuesday, but ministry spokeswoman Tatyana Mironenko told Kommersant that the ministry "will impose no sanctions on this nongovernmental organization."
Ministry officials called the council's 15 offices across Russia on May 21 and then visited them to demand their financial records.
The council said it had diplomatic status and balked, leading to a war of words and a threat from the Interior Ministry to impose a fine. The Foreign Ministry also put pressure on the council, saying it does not have diplomatic status and is involved in commercial activities that make it liable for taxes.
The standoff was defused after British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Vladimir Putin discussed it on the sidelines of last week's G8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, Putin's foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko told the BBC. He said Putin promised to look into the issue.
"The British government shares Putin's view and hope it is sorted out as soon as possible," Turner said.
TITLE: Yukos Chiefs Brought To Trial
AUTHOR: By Catherine Belton
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: MOSCOW - Locked in a metal cage surrounded by special forces troops, Yukos billionaires Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev faced trial together for the first time Wednesday as sources indicated the core Yukos shareholders might cave in and reduce their stakes in the oil major.
The trial's outcome is seen as key in establishing greater state control over big business. Key defense lawyers said they believed they had little chance of winning.
The court turned down both defendants' appeals for bail requests and, almost nine hours after the trial started, ruled to postpone the beginning of full-blown hearings into their joint case until June 23.
The trial began amid mounting pressure on the Menatep shareholders, whose company Yukos could face bankruptcy as soon as Friday if a separate court hearing scheduled for that day rules against its appeal over a $3.4 billion back taxes claim.
Menatep spokesman Yury Kotler said Wednesday the core group of Yukos shareholders were ready to provide guarantees for that claim, in proportion to their ownership of the company, in a bid to stave off bankruptcy.
A source close to Menatep said that the group was ready to back Yukos management's appeal to the government this week to find a solution to the tax claim in order to save the company. In that appeal, management also suggested a share issue as one way of paying off the claim.
Such a move would dilute both the stakes of Menatep and minority shareholders. A close associate of Khodorkovsky said it was clear that the Kremlin wanted Khodorkovsky and Menatep out of Yukos.
"I personally think that Yukos will be taken away from its shareholders," he said. "Nobody's going to let a person out of jail who can earn $3 billion in dividends every year."
The close associate of Khodorkovsky said he believed the oil tycoon had been mistaken in not believing President Vladimir Putin would go so far as to jail him.
"I think Khodorkovsky didn't really believe that Putin would imprison him for good," he said.
Leafing through a book as the prosecutor detailed reasons why Lebedev could be kept in custody until Sept. 26.
If convicted in this case, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev could face up to 10 years in prison.
o
The Micex index rebounded from a six-month low as Yukos, the benchmark's worst-performing stock, and Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, advanced, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The Micex added 0.3 percent to 508.54, after dropping as much as 4.1 percent to its lowest since Dec. 8. The index has shed 21 percent since April 1, heading for its biggest quarterly decline since 2001.
"Some people are realizing that Russian stocks have been punished unfairly," said Julian Rimmer, a equity trader at Nikoil IBG Bank in Moscow.
TITLE: Fradkov Vows to Cut Oil Dependency
AUTHOR: By Alex Fak
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Oil exports as a proportion of economic growth will drop to a third of current levels "in a few years," Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said Tuesday, as another government official predicted that Russia's GDP growth would halve if global oil prices slumped.
Fradkov put a positive spin on the issue of oil dependency, saying the country was moving toward diversification.
"We estimate that the contribution of oil exports to the growth of gross domestic product will fall by more than threefold in the next few years compared with 2003,'' Fradkov said in a speech at the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. He did not elaborate on how he arrived at the estimate.
"We are exhausting the growth potential connected with the commodities sector," Fradkov added.
But speaking shortly after Fradkov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Andrei Sharonov said the export of oil and gas remains a strong factor in economic growth.
"Under unfavorable external conditions in 2006 through 2008, economic growth could amount to 3 to 3.5 percent, whereas now it is an average of 6.6 to 7.3 percent," he said.
In 2003, Russia's GDP grew 7.3 percent, according to official statistics.
Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref was scheduled to deliver the address but did not appear at the forum. A ministry spokesman declined to comment on his absence.
The statements by Fradkov and Sharonov are not necessarily contradictory. If oil prices drop, their proportion of economic growth will fall with GDP, said Peter Westin, chief economist at Aton Capital.
But "that's not the way you want to reduce dependency. You don't want to rely on negative external factors to diversify your economy," he said.
According to Aton estimates, every $3 drop in oil price below the predicted average estimate of $28 per barrel of Urals blend would shave 1 percent off GDP growth, lending credence to Sharonov's grim estimate.
Many economists, however, were not as charitable to Fradkov, saying they would like to see the numbers on which he based his estimates.
In fact, "the official statistics understate the true meaning of oil in the Russian economy because they use domestic prices, which are not representative of what Russia gets for its exports," said Alex Kantarovich, chief strategist at Aton. "High dependency on oil will be the fact of life in the near and medium terms."
Oil and gas exports accounted for close to 17 percent of GDP in 2003, and with higher oil prices this year, their volume could approach $90 billion in 2004 in comparison to around $74 billion in 2003, said Anton Struchenevsky, an economist at Troika Dialog.
Raw oil exports to non-CIS countries alone grew 19 percent in 2003, while cheaper exports to CIS countries grew 12 percent.
But after growing at a furious pace in recent years, energy exports will soon slow down as a result of single-digit growth in the world economy, Struchenevesky added.
"Today, export is growing faster than the world economy. We are taking up some extra niches, but there are a lot of other players and in the long-term it is clear that growth will be constrained by trends in the global economy."
Westin stressed administrative reforms as the necessary component of diversification. "The key element is reduction of bureaucratic barriers to small businesses. And we are actually witnessing a slowdown in the growth of small businesses since the first half of 2003," he said.
TITLE: Stakes Run High for Oil Spot
AUTHOR: By Sophia Kornienko
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Russian oil giant Lukoil opened its new oil export terminal Lukoil 2 on Vysotsky Island located in the Gulf of Vyborg on Wednesday. The region's chief executives welcomed the project, expected to bring lucrative gains to the federal budget in tax returns.
Meanwhile, experts say, the terminal, located within several kilometers of the Vyborgsky nature reserve, will hardly bring any revenue to the Leningrad Oblast and may put the area's vulnerable ecosystem in danger.
"This is a case where the interests of a company and the state coincide," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said during his visit to the terminal's opening ceremony.
The terminal and the adjoining port are expected to bring significant funds to the federal budget, previously collected by the ports in Lithuania and Estonia.
Trans-shipment of oil through Lukoil 2 is estimated to cut oil export costs by up to $7 per ton.
"The new terminal is Lukoil's contribution to Russia's economic safety," posters adorning the ceremony said. Amounts said to range from $150 million to $225 million have been invested in the project. With oil prices remaining high, all investments should pay off within 11 months after the terminal begins working at its full capacity of processing nearly 11 million tons per year, said Lukoil's vice president Anatoly Barkov. Lukoil had obtained all of the investments on loan, Barkov said.
Lukoil formed a partnership with Overseas Private Investment Corporation or OPIC, which allowed it to get U.S. government guarantees for a loan from an American bank, said Charlie Sands, senior vice president of Fluor, an American contractor working with Lukoil on Vysotsky. Fluor is hoping to continue its cooperation with Lukoil in the upcoming project in Varande in the Barentsevo Sea. Lukoil also plans to work on another terminal in the Northwest, in Ust-Luga, Barkov said.
Meanwhile the terminal will hardly bring much revenue to the local economy. Transneft's Primorsk terminal, when working at a capacity of 12 million tons, was calculated to bring annually as little as $1 per capita to the residents of the Leningrad Oblast, analysts say, as most of the taxes go to the place of the company's registration. Lukoil is registered in Moscow.
The new port, equipped with three docks, will be able to host three 80 million ton tankers simultaneously and over 160 per year, said Sergey Kiselyov, the terminal's deputy general director. All the oil storage reservoirs have double walls and the tankers are double-bodied, which should prevent leaks completely, Kiselyov said.
An additional third layer of protection also surrounds the reservoirs. The site is equipped with heating cables to prevent pipes freezing, while vibration diagnosing will be used to check the condition of the equipment and foundations. All the tankers are ice faring vessels. Lukoil is reported to have spent 18 percent of its investments on environmental safety.
However, with much of the monitoring and regulation carried out by oil companies internally, and not the state, the dispersion of oil terminals in the region has become alarming, said environmental expert Alexander Sutyagin in a telephone interview Thursday.
Transneft is planning to increase its turnover in its Primorsk terminal up to 62 million tons, while Lukoil may go up to 20 million and Rosneft is developing a 25 million-ton terminal in the same area.
The capacity growth will require increases in cargo circulation. That means tankers will be making several thousand trips in the Gulf of Vyborg, frequently crossing the Lake Ladoga and doubling the load on the River Neva, which is already overstrained with traffic, Sutyagin said.
Each company is responsible for a 5 to 10 kilometer area around the terminal - the radius of a large oil spill - and the rest should be controlled by the Ministry of Transport, which is not done properly due to lack of finance.
"Russia is a large country and is able to solve problems on its own," said Bartkov in response to a question on environmental checks.
Russia did not sign the international convention on trans-border strategic environmental assessment. Every country with an outlet to the Baltic Sea conducts air or even space monitoring of its zone, excluding Russia, Sutyagin said.
The Gulf, which had to be deepened to allow the large tankers to pass, forms spawning grounds for a variety of fish species. While the damage inflicted by each terminal separately may be within the safety margin, the total impact may kill some spawning grounds completely, Sutyagin said.
Meanwhile most of the local population makes their living from fishing, not from oil. A terminal cannot employ more than 200 to 300 people. A fisherman in Vysotsk told Sutyagin that much of the bream and smelt are gone already, and there would be nothing to fish for once the Baltic herring is gone.
TITLE: IT Companies' Plea for Government Support
AUTHOR: By Simone Kozhuharov
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: The Russian information technology industry has the potential to be number one in the world, but it is hampered by a lack of government incentives and support, experts say.
India is among the world leaders in outsourcing, or allocating HR costs outside a company, while Russia shamefully lags behind, experts at the recent "Russian Outsourcing and Software Summit" said.
"Russia has a huge potential in IT outsourcing," Alexis Sukharev, president of IT resources company Auriga, said. "Russia is the fourth from the bottom in terms of per capita spending on information communication technologies."
"How can you be as advanced as Estonia, Japan or the United States when you're spending very little?" Sukharev said.
India spends approximately $12 billion annually on its IT outsourcing, offering government incentives to IT industry workers. Russia on the other hand offers no such incentives and spends $350-500 million in comparison, a problem experts say needs to be resolved if Russia is going to lead the race down the information superhighway.
However, India's capacity to supply the world's IT work force is dwarfed by Russia's. Last year, about 226,000 people graduated with IT education in Russia. In India, approximately 165,000 graduated with similar education last year.
"So we do have resources in this field," Sukharev said.
Teams from Russian universities continually place in the top five at what is equivalent to the world computer programming championships. Last year, four CIS teams received medals.
This proves that the Soviet legacy of emphasizing the sciences is still alive in Russia, but "stupid obstacles" prevent it from forging ahead, Sukharev said.
"We have the resources, [but] they're underutilized and the government can help in the vitalization," he said.
The government needs to implement incentives for IT industry workers and work with, rather than against the industry, experts say.
"Nothing is being done in this country," Sukharev said. "Don't spend money, do something - put together some programs."
The programs Sukharev and other experts suggest are incentive programs encouraging more people to get into and remain in the IT sphere.
The Russian government has pledged support, "but in practice, we don't observe any change," Vladimir Polutin, director of Motorola St. Petersburg Software Development, said.
The government owes Motorola St. Petersburg Software Development $1.2 million in VAT refund, something impeding IT development here, Polutin said.
According to Russian law companies exporting in the IT industry are not subject to paying VAT. Motorola's St. Petersburg Software Development is still awaiting their check.
Other countries give their IT industries incentives, pushing along production and encouraging development.
In Scotland, there is a $10,000 subsidy for IT companies. In Brazil, companies are taxed for every other computer engineer, effectively getting two workers for the price of one. Malaysia doesn't charge IT companies rent. And Romanians with computer science degrees don't pay taxes in their country, Polutin said.
Two major subsidies Polutin would like to see the Russian government implement are rent-free facilities for IT companies and income tax decreases or exemptions for software engineers.
But the wheels of change turn slowly and although the government recently reorganized the ministry dealing with IT, little has been solved.
The former Ministry of Communications and Information is about to become the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications. Whether this is a fancy name change or a step in the right direction has yet to be seen.
"I think it's an ongoing process," Selena Semoushkina, of the newly organized ministry said. "Some sort of support is definitely being developed.
Semoushkina could not offer any concrete examples and said the government has no incentives in the works, but did say the new ministry is working with the IT industry to develop "proposals and strategies."
"The strategy here is really the strategy of dialogue with the government," Andrew Somers, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow said.
Russia is at a fork in the road. If the government invests in the sector and creates incentives, it has the opportunity to lead the world in IT, if not be "the leading country in the high-end of high tech," Somers said.
But if the government remains idle, the U.S. will continue to dominate the high-tech industry, along with a handful of other countries, he said.
Russia's push forward would "benefit both countries much more than if Russia falls behind and the U.S. continues to dominate," Somers said.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Ring Road Funding
ST. PETERSBURG (Interfax) - Prime minister Mikhail Fradkov said that he deems it absolutely necessary to allocate an additional 23 million rubles for the construction of St. Petersburg's Ring Road during a government meeting Thursday.
"Due to obvious reasons St. Peterburg attracts a lot of attention, there is culture and history there," Fradkov said in an explaination of his support for the funding.
He also added that besides attracting tourists, a lot of government events take place in the city.
The city's governor Valentina Matviyenko told journalists Wednesday of Fradkov's promise to provide federal funding for the completion of the Ring Road and the Southern segment of the Western Express Diameter.
Vimplecom in Far East?
ST. PETERSBURG (Reuters) - The government may soon issue Russia's second largest mobile operator Vimpelcom with a license to cover the country's Far East, Communications Minister Leonid Reiman said Wednesday.
He said the ministry had so far failed to issue the licence because of a March government reshuffle, in which the ministry temporarily ceased to exist.
"This is a problem connected to the administrative reform," Reiman told reporters.
"We have not issued any licenses for some time, but now regulations have been passed over to the government and I think it will soon be signed. After this the licence may be issued."
He declined to give a date for the issue of the licence.
TITLE: Where Are the EU's Final Borders?
AUTHOR: By Laza Kekic
TEXT: Following its recent enlargement from 15 to 25 states, the European Union faces the question of whether and whither to expand next. Support for further enlargement within the EU is limited and the EU is preoccupied with a host of internal problems. Irrespective of the present mood, however, the 2007 accession of Bulgaria and Romania cannot now be stopped. And by the end of the year, the EU must decide whether to open negotiations with Turkey, which poses special challenges.
The EU has indicated that it is also ready to take in the rest of the Balkan countries. Croatia has received a favorable opinion on its membership application and Macedonia recently also applied for membership. While the prospects of the other countries in the Balkans appear more distant, their small size and EU fears of leaving a black hole in a strategic part of Europe suggest that the entire subregion will be absorbed at some point.
Beyond the Balkans and possibly Turkey, the EU membership prospects for other countries appear bleak.
The EU is shifting its focus from enlargement to partnership with neighboring states. On May 12, the European Commission published a strategy document for its "new neighbors." The European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), which was first outlined in 2003, offers closer ties to neighbors willing to "share EU values." It promises trade, political dialogue and aid. Neighbors are to be offered, with conditions, the prospect of eventual full participation in the EU's market for goods, capital and even labor - but not membership in EU institutions.
The defining feature of the ENP is "integration, not membership." It is to apply to Ukraine, Moldova and several Mediterranean states. The commission also wants to include the three Southern Caucasus countries.
The first problem with the ENP, however, is that the EU's most powerful tool for influencing other countries is the offer of the prospect of membership - it is the essence of the EU's "soft power." The offer of "everything but institutions" will not be a sufficient incentive for neighboring countries' elites to pursue "EU-compliant" policies. The extent of conditionality and the degree of intrusion in the ENP - in return for mere trade relations and some aid - will be seen as illegitimate by the target states.
One of the ENP's biggest problems is that of omission - the lack of a clear strategy for Russia, the EU's largest neighbor. The EU cannot make up its mind whether to treat Russia as the hegemonic leader of a rival bloc or just another country aspiring to bilateral ties. The near-crisis in relations between Moscow and Brussels earlier this year, ahead of the EU's May enlargement, served as a telling reminder of the dangers posed by the lack of a Russia strategy. The growing tensions were defused in April and May when, in exchange for some concessions, Russia agreed to extend its Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU to the new member states. This helped secure a separate agreement on EU support for Russia's WTO accession. These agreements are not unimportant, but from a broader perspective, all they did was arrest the recent slide in relations.
The EU and Russia talk of a strategic partnership, but there is little substance to it. A failure to integrate Russia into a wider Europe will eventually spell trouble. Indeed, secure peace and prosperity in Europe are scarcely imaginable without Russia's participation in the European "architecture." This means not only developing a viable near-term partnership between the EU and Russia, but also sketching out a vision of what that partnership should lead to. This might appear a pointless exercise, given that any post-partnership future appears very remote, but goals for the future affect the direction of developments today.
The EU and Russia need to start thinking about a joint future. Today, the idea of Russian EU membership or of an all-European, post-EU organization appears unthinkable. For one, the EU-Russian gulf in values and interests is at present enormous, and increasing with the most recent internal trends in Russia.
Yet the idea of two European blocs - the EU and a Russia-led CIS - is unlikely to take hold, as much of the CIS will be subject to the strong pull of the EU. And once oil prices fall, Russia will look much less like a potential powerhouse and viable hub of an alternative bloc. The EU aim has been to avoid new divisions in Europe, but mere cooperation will not forestall this. The same logic that propelled the latest EU enlargement dictates the need for further enlargement. The formation of an all-European EU would imply profound changes in the EU, as well as Russia and other CIS states.
In one sense, the shape of the future may already exist in Russia's insistence that it have a say in EU decision-making. The EU, however, is opposed to giving nonmembers a seat at the table. The only way to square that circle is for Russia and the present EU states to be members of the same organization.
At the moment, the dominant EU and Russian views are that partnership is the most that should be expected.
The EU consensus, which will be strengthened by the new member states with their historical baggage, is that Russia will never be a member of the EU. And Russia today does not aspire to EU membership.
There was, however, a brief period some years ago when there was an almost euphoric emphasis in Russia on a Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals (and beyond), common culture and destiny. Then the emphasis shifted to the CIS, and the primary strategic relationship was with the United States.
Today's dominant paradigm insists on Russia's uniqueness and great power status. There is still the occasional statement that Russia might one day apply for EU membership, but it is aired less frequently than a few years ago.
There is, however, a possibility that all this could change dramatically in the near future as a result of: the ever-increasing economic importance of the EU; an eventual acceptance that Russia cannot recover superpower status; the increasing pull on the Western CIS of EU ties and an awareness that this could cause destructive competition between Russia and the EU; and the realization in Russia that the alternative to integration may be dreaded isolation.
Russia would then seek to prevent what the former French President François Mitterrand called a "silver curtain" separating Russia from the rest of Europe.
For the EU nations, the potential security and economic gains from including Russia, as well as other CIS states, in the EU or a successor organization could be immense. It would help secure the currently very shaky fate of democratic and market reforms on Europe's periphery; and strengthen immeasurably Europe's bargaining power vis-à-vis other blocs.
It is said that the May enlargement - following on from the single market and the euro - has left the EU without a "Big Idea." The next big project for the EU could well be to start thinking about its own supersession by an inclusive, new all-European organization.
This would inevitably be a multi-speed organization, which the current EU would become in any case. The project would be to build a commonwealth rather than an empire, which is the model of the ENP.
Laza Kekic, director for Central and Eastern Europe at the Economist Intelligence Unit, contributed this comment to The St. Petersburg Times.
TITLE: Spotlight on the Khodorkovsky Trial
TEXT: International Herald Tribune
Excerpted from "Putin's Heavy Hand Could Halt Russia's Rise," a comment in Wednesday's International Herald Tribune by George Soros, financier and philanthropist.
When President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, putting Russia back together again was his first task. That drive to rebuild the country seemed a welcome antidote to the anarchy of the years of President Boris Yeltsin's rule. He was repairing a weak and fragmented state that could not collect taxes or implement the rule of law, and had no control over much of its territory....
More than a year ago, I decided to close my Russian foundation, confident that the state could now take on large-scale initiatives, chiefly in the fields of education and public health, that I had been funding for the past 15 years. I remained committed to the Russian people and have donated nearly $1 billion in Russia. I now welcomed the prospect of businessmen - like Mikhail Khodorkovsky - continuing the key work in civil society and on the Internet that my foundation had supported.
Khodorkovsky's arrest cast a pall over the business community. Anyone who considered donning the mantle of philanthropist has understood that nothing is possible without the state's seal of approval.
The Washington Post
Excerpted from "The Taming of a Tycoon - and of Russia," a comment in Wednesday's Washington Post by Masha Lipman, editor of the Carnegie Moscow Center's Pro et Contra Journal.
The Yukos affair has become a clear instance of selective justice as well as justice bent to the will of the government. Seeing the prosecutor general bring down Russia's biggest tycoon has encouraged his local law enforcement counterparts to use their own power to intimidate local capitalists and force them to respond to the prosecutors' greed ... .
Khodorkovsky's path to wealth may have been murky, but in this he was not different from other Russian tycoons. The transition from a nationalized economy to market capitalism was bound to be neither fair nor pretty. What set Khodorkovsky apart was that after several years of predatory capitalist practices, he opted for business transparency and launched a large-scale philanthropy focused on development of civil society. Now Russian capitalists know better than to sponsor any organization that looks even vaguely political.
Khodorkovsky had emerged as too big, and increasingly independent, a political and economic player. The state came to regard him as a strong rival who had to be dealt with. Putin's way of dealing with him was to destroy him. Russia is paying a very high price for its president's victory.
Financial Times
Excerpted from "Russia Has Put Itself in the Dock," a comment in Wednesday's Financial Times by Bob Dole, a former U.S. Senate majority leader, whose law firm, Alston & Bird, is helping Group Menatep respond to the government's prosecution of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev.
Already, Putin's continuing apparent popularity at home stands in stark contrast to his developing reputation abroad. Although it may be popular to make scapegoats of businessmen who benefited most from privatization, their prosecution recalls the chilling Russian adage: "Find me the man and I'll find you the crime." In the short term, the prosecutions fulfill the political goal of deflecting public rage about Russia's economic and social conditions from the government itself. But in the longer term, they undermine the foundations of rule of law, due process and political freedom essential to sustaining Russia's new economy.
The return to authoritarian policies and unconstitutional processes has already begun to undermine the historic leap that Russia took when the Soviet system was pushed aside 13 years ago. Russia is at a crucial crossroads and must make a historic decision about its future path. The world is watching - and hoping - that the government's own trial at this moment will result in a positive verdict for the country's prospects.
TITLE: circus cracks 'the nutcracker'
AUTHOR: By Andrei Vorobei
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: Proving, as if proof were needed, that classic stories stand reinterpretation and even changes of genre while maintaining their artistic worth, "The Nutcracker" -known chiefly in St. Petersburg as a Tchaikovsky ballet - can now be seen in a stunning post-modern circus version.
E.T.A. Hoffman's tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," was written in 1816, while the Tchaikovsky ballet (itself based on a revision by Alexandre Dumas) dates from 1892. One of the first experimental readings of both the tale and the ballet was the controversial version put together by Mikhail Shemyakin for the Mariinsky Theater in 2001. Shemyakin, a sculptor and painter, paid attention not so much to choreography and music, but to visual effects, costumes and stage decorations.
Now comes a new production staged at the Circus on Fontanka, which premiered last week. Called "Krakatuk" after the nut in the tale this contemporary version turns the traditional "Nutcracker" on its head. Compared to Shemyakin's work, which challenged traditionalists' notion of what Tchaikovsky's ballet should be, "Krakatuk" is more radical and, at the same time, a more independent artistic undertaking.
Indeed, "Krakatuk" is not dominated by the traditional, ballet genre by being placed in the new context of the circus - but not only that. The show, much in the same way that the Canadian troupe Cirque de Soleil revolutionized circus in the West, represents something of a new genre. "Krakatuk" is a performance that lies on the borders of theater, circus, and ballet and which makes full use of new multimedia technologies.
The official "Krakatuk" web site states that the idea for the show came from Monaco's culture minister who suggested that producer Oleg Chesnokov make a show that mixed "great Russian ballet, theater and even circus."
That was in December 1998.
According to Chesnokov, the idea of combining "The Nutcracker" with circus, as well as the idea of inviting the well-established St. Petersburg director Andrei Moguchy, came later. In all, it took around 5 1/2 years to develop and realize the idea.
The troupe considers the main influence on the show's unusual form to be the theater and its conventions, which gives the performance a narrative and puts multiple tricks into context.
Going back to Hoffman's original Christmas story, with its world of toys, dreams, heroes, miracles, and transformations, fueled the artists' imaginations, prompting a wide range of artistic experiments with modern media. "The only thing unchanged will be the romantic old story," the troupe says on its web site.
But from the ballet "Krakatuk" obtains the soundtrack, on which a DJ remixes the Tchaikovsky score with electronic music by local musicians, and also the libretto, which, as in the original ballet helps you follow the story. Finally, to a lesser degree, the circus acrobatics seen in "Krakatuk" uses choreography itself - the main language of ballet.
Circus elements in the performance include acrobatic tricks on a superhuman scale that bring to "Krakatuk" a whole new dynamic dimension - theatrical action in three dimensions - which leads to a new level of emotional experience from the old story. Probably, the most interesting scene using circus methods is the attack and battle of army of the Mouse King against Masha's toys. Chesnokov said that "Krakatuk" is "a sort of response to the tendency of virtualization of contemporary life," and offers us, with its physicality an antidote to virtual reality.
Another, integral part of "Krakatuk" is its special effects. Some of them come from the circus, some from Moguchy who is well known, perhaps even notorious, for using them in his theater productions, and others from the uses of multimedia pieces and video art works by local video artist Alexander Malyshev.
Moguchy avoids anything that is banal or boring, his every step is balanced, and every scene is unpredictably and interestingly resolved by techniques from the circus, video art, ballet or all three together. The spectacle holds your attention through what is quite a long performance. In its interactions between traditional genres "Krakatuk" is a good example of how they can benefit from each other.
In this way "Krakatuk" is completely unprecedented in St. Petersburg, if not in Russia. According to its organizers, after its current schedule of daily performances, "Krakatuk" is not going be seen in St. Petersburg again for a long time because it is going on a Russian and then a world tour. So, catch it while you can.
"Krakatuk" is performed daily (except Monday) until July 4 at the Circus on the Fontanka (Fontanka, 3). Tickets from 50 to 1,300 rubles.
Links: www.krakatuk.ru
TITLE: spaced-out band comes to earth
AUTHOR: By Sergey Chernov
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Laika & The Cosmonauts is possibly the best known Finnish surf band in the world, but the band itself seems to find the term misleading, describing its music as "melodic instrumental rockular music with furious and atmospheric visual vibes" on its official web site.
The Helsinki-based band won an international reputation for its fun, twangy style and it happily has no problems breaking language barriers, as the music is purely instrumental.
According to the band's biography, one of its internationally known fans was Al Jourgensen who once invited Laika & The Cosmonauts to support his band, Ministry, on its U.S. tour, because, in his words, "They are the best f***ing band in the world!"
The most recent addition to the list of Laika & The Cosmonauts' famous fans is film director Quentin Tarantino who reportedly considered the band's music for the soundtrack to his 1995 film "Pulp Fiction."
"I have not only heard of them - I have their records", Tarantino said to the NOW edition of Finland's biggest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, in April.
Hot from its North American tour to promote its new album, "Local Warming," the band will make its first ever visit to St. Petersburg this week.
"It's pretty amazing how well things have been here," said drummer Janne Haavisto in a recent telephone interview, speaking from Toronto, Canada. He, however, admits that the road from Helsinki to U.S. rock clubs was not at all smooth.
"Yes, it's kind of hard," he said. "But it doesn't really matter where you do it. It's hard anywhere. Probably, in St. Petersburg, too, but we'll see how that works."
Apart from Haavisto, Laika & The Cosmonauts features Mikko Lankinen on guitar, Matti Pitsinki on organ and guitar and Tom Nyman on bass. The band formed in 1987 and released its debut album, "C'mon, Do the Laika," in 1988.
Surf is originally American music, and Haavisto finds it difficult to say if Laika & The Cosmonauts' work has any specifically Finnish qualities.
"It's hard to say, but we started, like, from the instrumental surf thing," he said. "But we put a lot of different things into it, all kinds of music that we liked and made a new thing out of it. Maybe some of it is Finnish, but it's hard to say."
According to Haavisto, the band had a wide range of influences in the beginning.
"Well, all kinds of stuff, different things - from straight-up punk things to the reggae things, even some disco beat, ska, Latin influences also," he said. "All kinds of stuff, not just one thing."
The band's Russia-inspired name is a play on the name of Haavisto's early band.
"Actually, with guitar player Mikko [Lankinen] we used to have a band called Pluto & the Astronauts, that was kind of an American name," he said.
"When that ended, we decided to form another band. That was still in that Cold War era, and we just changed sides, I guess ."
In addition to the name, the band used to wear bushy Leonid Brezhnev-style fake eyebrows on stage.
"Yes, we did, and even at some point we used military headgear from Russia, but not for long."
There is another famous Finnish band, the Leningrad Cowboys, notorious for using similar tricks aimed at deriding the neighboring Soviet Union, but Haavisto claims Laika & The Cosmonauts was the first.
"We were the first ones, we did it before them," he said.
"Local Warming," the band's seventh album, will be performed in full in concert, as well as songs from the Laika & The Cosmonauts' entire career, plus a few covers, according to Haavisto.
"It's more like a journey," he said about the album. "More like going to movies, but without the screen, just songs. But there's a lot of different things, from almost like hip-hop beat to straight-up pub rock. You never know what's going to happen."
Laika & The Cosmonauts at 8 p.m.
on Thursday at Red Club.
Links: www.laikaandthecosmonauts.com
TITLE: chernov's choice
TEXT: The central event of the weekend is no doubt an open-air concert by Paul McCartney on Palace Square. However, the much anticipated and talked about gig brings some sadness, as it probably means saying farewell to an illusion that helped many to go through the communist era.
That illusion was called The Beatles, whose songs seemed to speak about love, freedom and, dare we say it, a certain irreverence toward authority. It all changed during McCartney's visit to Russia last year, which saw the former Beatle gleefully chatting with President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer and one of the world's worst enemies of the press, according to the journalists' advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. He also serenaded Putin with "Let It Be" and took a tour of the Kremlin under the Russian president's personal guidance. The situation was partly saved by McCartney's wife, Heather Mills, an anti-landmine activist, who daringly touched on the subject in conversation with Putin.
In St. Petersburg, McCartney was seen exchanging compliments with Valentina Matviyenko, the then-Kremlin-backed candidate for the city governor but also a party official responsible for culture who was known as a suppressor of rock music in the Soviet era.
Seeing a person of such stature as McCartney flirting with people from the KGB and ex-Communist party hacks has had its effect on the moral state of Russia's rock performers, clearly demonstrated in at least one case so far. Boris Grebenshchikov, the founder of Russia's seminal rock band Akvarium and an ardent Beatles fan, would probably not have made a television appearance with Boris Gryzlov, the then interior minister and leader of the pro-President Putin party United Russia during last year's election campaign to the Duma, or accepted a state decoration from the hands of Matviyenko, if McCartney had not set an example.
McCartney will perform on Palace Square at 6 p.m. on Sunday, but the public will be let into the site starting from 4 p.m.
Other Beatle-related events this week include a concert by Tony Sheridan, the now Hamburg-based singer and guitarist who played his part in The Beatles' early career by asking Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Pete Best to be his backing band, The Beat Brothers, in 1960. The record that they recorded, "My Bonnie," caught the attention of Brian Epstein, then a record shop manager. The rest is history.
Sheridan, alongside three Russian Beatle tribute bands, will take part in the so-called First Russian Beatles Festival at PORT at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The second night of the festival will start at 10 p.m. on Sunday and is intended to provide people with somewhere to drink after McCartney's concert, according to an insider.
Other music events this weekend include the Peter and Paul International Jazz Festival, which will feature Richie Cole among others, and will take place at the Peter and Paul Fortress on Friday and Saturday. See gigs for listings.
The Jazz Boat promoted by the now-homeless Kvadrat Jazz Club will embark from the Hermitage Pier at 8 p.m. on Friday, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, at 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- By Sergey Chernov
TITLE: not so hot on the finnish gulf
AUTHOR: By Adam Federman
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The Primorskaya metro station near the northwestern edge of Vasilyevsky Island empties out onto Nalichnaya Ulitsa, a broad avenue that bisects the island from the maritime station just south of the Lenexpo exhibition pavilions to the mouth of the Small Neva where it flows into the Gulf of Finland. That the name of this main thoroughfare is derived from the word nalichnye, which means "cash," as may seem a bit odd in a city once known as Leningrad with busts of Marx and Engels still standing not far from City Hall.
But then the Primorskaya region is not typical St. Petersburg. Its sprawling grey apartment buildings, some more than 15 stories high and many crumbling under their own weight, contrast with the classical elegance and pastel colors of the city center. The Gulf of Finland in the background, under an often-hazy sky, gives one the sense of having arrived at an interplanetary Soviet outpost.
This makes Tandoori Nights Cafe appear as if it's just part of the landscape, another roadside Indian cafe in the middle of Russia. So don't be put off by the rather austere tinted windows and less-than-picturesque setting on the side of the road. It's not the kind of place you'd stop at to have a picnic.
But once you get inside the friendly staff and bright rainbow-colored tablecloths will assuage any doubts. You even get an incredible cloth napkin bigger than the towels in some Russian hotels. I only mention this because napkins in many Russian establishments are more like small squares of one-ply toilet paper, and while nicely displayed, have no functional use.
A photo of President Vladimir Putin meeting with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bahari Vajpayee on the wall next to a glass display case of Bollywood movies acknowledges the goodwill between the two countries and prepares you to break bread.
Until recently a Russian cafe, the menu at Tandoori Nights still has a few Russian staples from solyanka (120 rubles, $4.13) to mushroom soup (80 rubles, $2.75) and fish salad (90 rubles, $3.10). But none of these are prepared in the tandoori oven, a cylindrical clay oven that reaches temperatures of 500 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The classical Indian naan, a light flat bread made from white flour and natural yeast, is smacked onto the side of the tandoori oven and bakes in minutes. It is removed with a metal skewer cut into large pieces and served. It is one of the delights of Indian food and impossible to duplicate without the tandoori oven.
This made the naan (30 rubles, $1.03) at Tandoori Nights Cafe all the more disappointing. Expecting good naan we were instead served a dense, unusually chewy variation that had none of the characteristics that distinguish naan from other flat breads. It was as if the dough had been made without the rather important addition of yeast making it more like a thick, grilled tortilla. The garlic naan was the same with the addition of coarsely chopped raw garlic on top.
The pork tikka (150 rubles, $5.17) is also made in the tandoori oven. A skewer of pork rubbed with spices (turmeric, red pepper, cumin, and coriander) it was overcooked and dried out. With this rather inauspicious start to the meal I was beginning to doubt that they even had a tandoori oven.
The dishes that didn't come from the tandoori oven, however, were more carefully prepared and better. The green curry with chicken, spinach, and ginger (270 rubles, $9.31), dal tadka, (120 rubles, $4.13) yellow lentils with vegetables, and the chicken tikka masala (220 rubles, $7.58) were all quite good. And with jeera aloo (90 rubles, $3.10) -- curried potatoes with sliced ginger -- and pulao rice (70 rubles, $2.41) made for a colorful Indian feast. I'm sure the vindaloo, paneer (homemade Indian cheese), and aloo gobhi are also worth trying.
Tandoori Nights also serves mango, salted, and sweet lassis (90 rubles $3.10), a thick yogurt drink with shaved pistachio nuts and fennel seeds. But they take 15 minutes to prepare so if you're impatient you can busy yourself with a beer (50 rubles, $1.72), vodka, cognac, or wine.
The gulab jamun (60 rubles, $2.06), a fried Indian dessert that resembles a large donut hole, is served in simple syrup with cardamom seed and rose water. Indian desserts are particularly sweet and go well after a spicy meal. The gulab were very sweet. And with a cup of Masala tea (20 rubles, 68 cents) I'd almost forgotten about the tandoori oven.
That is until I stepped outside and saw it there alone, underneath a dilapidated tent. It looked a bit like an old Soviet-era washing machine. I approached it and though it didn't seem particularly hot it was indeed a tandoori oven.
I'd like to give Tandoori Nights the benefit of the doubt. The attentive staff (the owner even approached us and asked if the food was spicy enough and if there was anything else we needed) clearly shows that they want to know what their customers think. It's a casual place and being close to the State University dorms and the Pribaltiiskaya Hotel had a genuine international feel.
And if you still have energy after an Indian meal it's a good place to walk. Just make your way toward the water -- you'll see half-finished high-rise buildings in the distance, looming blue and yellow cranes, and the Gulf of Finland, reminding you that, yes, you are still on earth.
Tandoori Nights Cafe, 20 Korablestroiteley Prospekt. Tel: 355 3180. Open from 11 until the lasts customer leaves. Menu in Russian and English. Dinner for two with alcohol: 1,400 rubles, $48.
TITLE: balanchine's life becomes a ballet
AUTHOR: By Kevin Ng
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: NEW YORK - New York audiences will see the premiere of "Musagete" on Friday, a new ballet based on the life of the St. Petersburg-born dance genius George Balanchine, choreographed by the renowned St. Petersburg-based choreographer Boris Eifman. Eifman's first work for an American company will be performed by Balanchine's own company, the New York City Ballet (NYCB), as part of its celebration of Balanchine's centennial year. Ballet companies around world have been celebrating 100 years since the birth of the greatest choreographer of the 20th century - not least the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg with its Balanchine Century season, part of the Stars of the White Nights Festival which runs until the middle of July.
The NYCB's nine-week long spring season, with seven performances per week, will end on June 27. A total of sixty ballets are given this season. There are of course more of Balanchine's ballets in this season's repertory than usual, but it is Eifman's new work which is generating much interest in this final fortnight of the season.
So what can we expect from this new ballet? Speaking from his hotel in New York, Eifman explained: "My ballet is inspired by Balanchine's creative and private life. There will be some quotations from Balanchine's works, but of course with my original interpretation. Balanchine's importance is phenomenal, and it's difficult to imagine 20th century ballet without Balanchine. I love his works, even though pure-dance ballet is not really my style." Eifman's own style is far more emotional and dramatic.
Eifman continued: "It was a very difficult time for my rehearsals between the winter season and this spring season, because there were a lot of injuries. But still I got some of the best dancers of NYCB, such as Robert Tewsley, Wendy Whelan, Alexandra Ansanelli, Maria Kowroski. And everybody has been very excited and enthusiastic working with me and my two assistants."
Since the first New York season of the Eifman Ballet at the City Center, Peter Martins (NYCB's Ballet Master in Chief) has attended most of its performances. "He saw during the last six seasons at least four of my productions. Two years ago Peter Martins invited me to create a new ballet in this Centennial season, though he didn't actually specify a ballet based on Balanchine's life."
Meanwhile, the first week of NYCB's efforts at dancing Balanchine's own work culminated in an all-Balanchine program on 1 May, which was a special alumni night honoring 200 former dancers of the company who were among the audience.
The NYCB also danced "La Valse" (1950) that week, a sinister dramatic ballet about a woman at ball's fascination with an uninvited death-figure, which coincidentally has just been staged by the Mariinsky. The New York cast was superb. Rachel Rutherford was stylish as the woman, and Robert Tewsley danced elegantly as her lover, but the central couple was danced with more allure by the Mariinsky dancers Uliana Lopatkina and Andrei Merkuriyev in their recent staging.
Balanchine's choreography for the corps de ballet is always inspired, as can be seen in his joyous masterpiece "Symphony in C." This season NYCB did not however illuminate this work in its full glory. Their corps de ballet wasn't as uniform as the Mariinsky's.
However it was a pleasure to see a rare Balanchine piano ballet "Sonatine" created for NYCB's 1975 Ravel Festival. It was superlatively danced by two stars of the Paris Opera Ballet, Aurelie Dupont and Manuel Legris, who were among a number of dancers from other companies invited to participate in this centennial season.
Another quirky and atypical Balanchine ballet "Kammermusik No. 2" (1978) is unusual in having two split-focus ballerinas, and an ensemble of eight male dancers. The movements often seem rougher and more hard-edged than usual for Balanchine.
"Walpurgisnacht Ballet" (1980) might only be a minor Balanchine work, but the choreography for the corps de ballet struck me with its wit and good fun. The ballerina role was exquisitely danced with a moonlit lustre by Kyra Nichols, a senior ballerina of the company who was strongly partnered by Charles Askegard.
Nichols was also divine in Balanchine's moving masterpiece "Liebeslieder Walzer" (1960), one of his most famous waltz ballets, set for four couples. Nichols' masterly and absolutely ravishing performance this season confirms my long-held opinion that she is the greatest classical ballerina in the world at present. It is really a wonder to see her dancing so miraculously well in her mid-forties, after bearing two children. The other three ballerinas in the cast were also transcendent; Wendy Whelan at her most expressive, Darci Kistler (the last ballerina to work with Balanchine, who died in 1983) and Miranda Weese also shone.
A Balanchine ballet created for a full company was "Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet" (1966). Wendy Whelan was exciting in the final Rondo movement, but could not eclipse my memory of Kyra Nichols in the past. Nikolaj Hubbe was dazzling in the Andante.
Other ballets were by Jerome Robbins and also by Peter Martins, Balanchine's successor as Ballet Master in Chief. Martins' "Stabat Mater" drifted aimlessly for too long, and should have been cut by at least 15 minutes. Robbins' early work "Afternoon of a Faun" (1953), one of his masterpieces, was movingly danced by Alexandra Ansanelli and Damian Woetzel. Robbins' 1979 work "The Four Seasons" was also in good shape.
TITLE: master of photographic art exposed
AUTHOR: By Darja Agapova
PUBLISHER: Special to The St. Petersburg Times
TEXT: The department of contemporary art at the State Russian Museum arranges large one-man shows by artists from the older generation of so-called "Other Art" movement one at a time.
The latest a display in the Marble Palace of work by Eduard Gorokhovsky, an artist well-known as a pioneer of photo-based art in Soviet Union who now lives mainly in Germany.
An architect by education, Goro-khovsky abandoned his career to sail out bravely on the sea of fine art, worked for twenty years in Siberia mainly as a graphic artist, and then came to dock with a circle of Moscow conceptualists at the beginning of 1970s. Gorokhovsky shared with his new associates - Ilya Kabakov, Victor Pivovarov, Eric Bulatov and others - not only a "non-conformist" way of earning a living, book illustration, but also a conscientious attitude toward artistic and social strategies.
The title of the exhibition - "The Limits of the Rectangle: My Unlimited Space" - excellently reflects his specific artistic modus operandi.
He uses old photos as a basis for his painting works and manipulates borrowed images to investigate the relationship between photography and painting.
Gorokhovsky disembodies photo-images, makes them transparent, applies one image to another, as though all images, whenever visible float freely in a weightless and unlimited optical space.
A previous exhibition in the Marble Palace, which represented the work of another Russian artist also practicing photo-based art, Boris Zaborov, gives cause for comparison. They are quite different.
Zaborov deals with the perishability of old photographs, saving them from decay in his monotonous painting.
On the other hand, Gorokhovsky deals with the imperishability of photo-images: paper may burn down or moulder away, but the image will be suspended somewhere in the optical universe.
His work shows that the "Other Art" movement is able not only to criticize society and to disclose mechanisms of ideological violence. It also can open a door to other space, where it is possible to run away quite in the spirit of romantic escapism. Such fresh and cheerful optical winds breeze through Gorokhovsky's space that even images of tyrants lose their threatening weight.
Probably the best metaphor for this cosmic weightlessness is white noise - a "collage" of sounds mixed and imposed upon one another, floating in and out of consciousness.
Eduard Gorokhovsky: "The Limits
of the Rectangle: My Unlimited Space" runs through July 30 in the Marble Palace.
Links: www.rusmuseum.ru
TITLE: akunin's plot thickens
AUTHOR: By Rebecca Reich
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: Boris Akunin's thrillers have sold more than eight million copies in Russia to date. U.S. publishers hope to cash in on his success.
In most respects, Erast Fandorin is an exemplary specimen of the late 19th century. Though he is only 22 years old and in exceptional health, he never fails to take a walking stick out for his midday stroll. Supper with company demands a starched white collar and a red carnation in the buttonhole. A cigar requires a small silver knife for cutting off the tip. And so on.
But Fandorin, the dapper detective of Boris Akunin's bestselling novels, is a century ahead of his time when it comes to putting two and two together. While strategists these days turn to digital PowerPoint displays to help them organize their thoughts, Fandorin does it without external support, introducing each piece of evidence in order of logical deduction and then stamping it with the no-nonsense bullet point: "That is one ... That is two ... That is three."
Fandorin picks up this habit as a rookie sleuth from a clever (though, ultimately, too clever) superior in "The Winter Queen," or, as it's known locally, "Azazel," the inaugural installment in the crime series that has made Akunin one of the most widely read writers in Russia today. For a country whose underlying chaos never seems far from bubbling to the surface, the neat logic and packaged endings of Akunin's graceful mysteries have flourished like a wistful fantasy. "The main thing is not to rush things, not to jump to the wrong conclusion," Fandorin's superior tells him when introducing the deductive method. Clearly, there is something about this reasoning that appeals to Russians, who have snapped up more than eight million copies of Akunin's Fandorin books to date.
Hoping for a repeat of the Fandorin phenomenon abroad, Random House has timed the paperback release of "The Winter Queen," which came out in English translation by Andrew Bromfield last year, to coincide with the second Fandorin translation, "Murder on the Leviathan." If Western audiences bite, the publisher will have hit the jackpot; the adept and industrious Bromfield has another eight Fandorin mysteries waiting in the wings.
Analysts have spilled a considerable amount of ink explaining why Russians, heir to one of the world's most glorious literary traditions, have gone batty over Akunin's Fandorin mysteries. Literary purists group Akunin into the same heap of thriller writers - Alexandra Marinina, Daria Dontsova, Polina Dashkova - whose paperback books, with their lurid covers and luminescent type, light up Moscow's metro cars during rush hour traffic.
Sure, his books may be sprinkled with literary allusions, but that's just a smart marketing maneuver, like the elegant black-and-white jacket design with its pseudo-Victorian illustrations, meant to set them apart from the shrink-wrapped masses. If this is what Russians really like to read, the purist argument goes, then all the more reason why the hallowed literary canon should be protected from popularization.
The other side to the argument is not so severe, since few would argue that Akunin is competing for the same turf as Fyodor Dostoevsky - least of all Akunin himself, who, the story goes, began writing the novels after his wife told him that she liked Russian mafia mysteries but was too embarrassed to read them in public. A literary critic and translator of Japanese whose real name is Grigory Chkhartishvili, Akunin could well have responded by producing a novel with the probing philosophical questions and artistic aims of a "serious" work of literature. Instead, he took the middle ground, reworking the mannerisms and recognizable traits of Russia's literary greats into an exuberant hats-off to popular taste.
Akunin's latest book, "Murder on the Leviathan," begins with a crime scene that could have been lifted straight off the game-board of Clue: an eccentric British lord brutally murdered at his Paris residence, his wait staff also frozen in a deathly tableau, the window of the conservatory shattered, a priceless Indian statue nowhere to be found. Luckily for the French detective assigned to the case, and for the strictures of our parlor game mystery, an important piece of evidence is left behind - the insignia of the Leviathan, a state-of-the-art luxury cruiser about to embark on its maiden voyage to India. (Ever the self-conscious detective-novel connoisseur, Akunin cannot resist a short aside: "Here was a stroke of uncommonly good luck, the kind that only occurred in crime novels.") The investigator boards the ship and assigns all possible suspects, Fandorin among them, to the "Windsor" salon, with its atmospheric "crystal chandeliers, stained oak and mahogany, velvet-upholstered chairs, gleaming silver tableware, prim waiters, and officious stewards."
One of Akunin's greatest charms is how thoroughly he indulges in period and literary references, producing meticulously crafted miniatures of a world on the brink of modernization. The antique trappings of the Windsor salon are just the backdrop for an even deeper dip into the poignant positivism and radical politics of the times.
In "The Winter Queen," set in 1876, the novice Fandorin breathlessly catches his first glimpse of a telephone, and listens wide-eyed as an idealistic philanthropist details her Darwinian vision of a system of education that tailors environment to each child's genetic potential. Just two years older in "Leviathan," he entertains the unprecedented idea of dusting crime scenes for incriminating fingerprints, and types out a passage by philosopher Thomas Hobbes on an early Remington.
Akunin could not have chosen a more fertile period for intrigues and debate; in the first novel, Fandorin unmasks a Russia-based spy ring similar to the one that would eventually assassinate Alexander II in 1881. Bound to the ship deck of the Leviathan, the second mystery builds on another contemporary reality - the cultural misunderstandings that came hand-in-hand with a suddenly mobile world.
As the pool of suspects shrinks, Fandorin's computational brilliance keeps him one step ahead of the unwitting reader and the fumbling French sleuth - who apparently skipped the part in the detective manual about not jumping to conclusions. Akunin produces a virtuosic palette of voices by shifting perspective with every chapter; there's the grandfatherly but personally discontented French detective, the aging Englishwoman suddenly in possession of a mysterious fortune, the wild-haired baronet who is haunted by a personal tragedy, the compulsively reserved passenger from Japan. It doesn't take long to figure out that Akunin is indulging in the most classic mystery maneuver of them all - casting suspicion on everyone before whipping out the twist.
That being said, Akunin is by no means the smoothest of mystery writers - in fact, it could even be ventured that he is not a true mystery writer at all. His homages to the genre are as cheerfully overstated as the sumptuous Victorian couches of the Leviathan's Windsor salon, or, in "The Winter Queen," the ironic, tongue-in-cheek reference to a recent book by "Mr. Dostoevsky." Coming from Russia's rigid literary tradition, where trash is trash and classics off-limits, Akunin has made a sensational career out of drawing from both categories without subscribing to either.
In retrospect, the formula should have been an obvious winner to anyone capable of a little of the one-two-three deductive reasoning that Akunin, through Fandorin, displays: Highbrow Russian writers have yet to expand to a wider audience - that is one. At the same time, supermarket thrillers leave much to be desired - that is two. With just the right flair, there's money to be made, and entertainment to be had, in a middle ground - that is three.
The solution seems as clear as day. But so do all knotty mysteries, once they've been unraveled.
TITLE: playgirl's men are a cut above
AUTHOR: By Carl Schreck
PUBLISHER: Staff Writer
TEXT: When Russian Playgirl hits newsstands next week, its target audience may be confronted with an unfamiliar sight.
The Russian edition of the erotic magazine for women will primarily be filled with photographs of nude, circumcised American men.
"Most Russian girls have never seen a circumcised guy," Russian Playgirl's editor-in-chief Sofia Chermenskaya said. "They think it's only a religious practice."
Although common in the United States, circumcision is quite rare in Russia and practiced mainly by the Muslim and Jewish communities.
Russian Playgirl is using photos of mostly American men in its first issue because it wants to see how they go over with an Russian audience, Chermenskaya said, adding that the photos are also of high quality. Russian Playgirl got the photos from the U.S. edition of the magazine.
With its exotic anatomy and all, Russian Playgirl should help make the naked male body as ubiquitous and socially acceptable as naked female bodies, Chermenskaya said.
"There's no shame about a naked woman in Russia," she said. "They're shown everywhere, and everyone agrees it's not pornography. We thought, 'Why not try it with men?'"
The premiere Summer issue, with a circulation of 20,000, features an interview with Mitya from the pop group Hi-Fi and an article penned by Chermenskaya on the circumcision issue.
In the next issue, Chermenskaya plans to publish photos of more Russian men in addition to the ones from the U.S. edition. "There will be both so readers can compare," she said.
The quarterly magazine will sell for 120 rubles ($4) in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Chermenskaya said. She would not discuss its financial details.
Any worries about shocking Russian women with photographs of American men were far from Chermenskaya's mind in the months leading up to the launch of the magazine.
Chermenskaya and the publication's founders, whom she refused to identify, studied Russia's confusing pornography laws before registering Playgirl as an erotic entertainment magazine. As erotica, Playgirl cannot publish photographs depicting sexual intercourse and has a quota for the number of large pictures of penises in each issue: six, Chermenskaya said.
Despite the precautions, Chermenskaya is still a bit worried. "We're legal, but we're still worried because most of the people in power in Russia are men," she said.
"They might not want their wives or lovers seeing nice, big erect penises."
TITLE: the word's worth
TEXT: Âèííîöâåòíîå ìîðå: wine-dark sea.
About 3,000 years ago, Homer described the evening sea as oinos, translated as “wine-dark,” starting off a debate on language and perception that has yet to be resolved. Was this a poetic reference to the sea burnished by the magenta sunset? Was wine in those times bright red? Or did Greeks use one word for “dark color” that could be applied to red wine or a blue-green sea at twilight?
Or, like most men, was Homer incapable of perceiving and naming colors? (Ask any woman what color her dress is, and she’ll tell you: “Aquamarine with an ecru collar.” Ask her husband, and he’ll say, “Uh, kinda light blue, I guess, with white on it.”) For all we know, as Homer was penning “The Iliad,” Mrs. Homer was hovering over her husband, muttering, “It’s deep blue-green, with a tinge of moss closer to shore. Can’t you see that?!”
Naming colors is a bit confusing in Russian from the start. The word for color and flower are the same (öâåò), presumably because flowers were first perceived as “those colored things in the garden.” The only trick to remember is that the plural of color is öâåòà, while flowers are öâåòû. Luckily, the Russian propensity for diminutives helps us: Êàêèå êðàñèâûå öâåòî÷êè! (What beautiful flowers!)
The primary colors are îñíîâíûå öâåòà: æ¸ëòûé, êðàñíûé è ñèíèé (yellow, red and blue). Other forms of red are ìàëèíîâûé (raspberry, a bright rosy red), àëûé (scarlet, a deep bright red), ïóíöîâûé (poppy, crimson; used to refer to rosy cheeks — ïóíöîâûå ù¸êè), ðîçîâûé (rose-colored, pink), áîðäîâûé (magenta, literally the color of Bordeaux), êëóáíè÷íûé (strawberry red), and the false friend ïóðïóðíûé, which is a deep cardinal red (not purple).
Colors that are problematic for cross-cultural communication are in the dark blue-purple range. Ñèíèé is dark, navy blue; anything else is a form of ãîëóáîé, which we usually translate as “light blue.” But note that the blue in the Russian flag is considered ãîëóáîé, and a mini-focus group I conducted on the topic identified the color electric blue as ÿðêî-ãîëóáîé (literally “bright light blue”). Ñèíèé can refer to the color of eggplants, which are also called, especially in Ukraine, ñèíåíüêèå (“little blue things”). The rule of thumb seems to be that if it is such dark blue that it is almost indistinguishable from blackish purple, it’s ñèíèé; anything else is a form of ãîëóáîé or described by one of the more specific Russian color terms, such as àêâàìàðèíîâûé (aquamarine), áèðþçîâûé (turquoise) or ëàçóðíûé (azure).
In Russian you can combine words. Just replace the adjectival ending of the first color with the adverbial “o”: çåë¸íî-ãîëóáîé (green-blue) or êðàñíî-êîðè÷íåâûé (red-brown). If you want to say “pale” or “light,” add áë¸êëî: áë¸êëî-îðàíæåâûé (pale/washed-out orange). Ïûëüíî- or more commonly òóñêëî- can be prefixed to mean “dusty” or “dull”: ïûëüíî-ðîçîâûé (dusty rose), òóñêëî-áîðäîâûé (dull magenta). Or you can add the prefix ñåðîâàòî- to mean “a grayish tinge,” such as ñåðîâàòî-çåë¸íûå ãëàçà (grayish-green eyes).
If you are at a total loss, try adding the suffix –îâàòûé to any color that is more or less in the range you are trying to describe: It means “ish.” ß êóïèëà ðîçû êðàñíîâàòîãî îòòåíêà. (I bought roses that were sort of red/reddish.) It’s not Homer, but at least you’ll be in the right ballpark.
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.
TITLE: Inquiry: No Hussein Links to Al-Qaida
PUBLISHER: Combined Reports
TEXT: WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11 commission reported Wednesday that it has found no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al-Qaida, challenging one of the Bush administration's main justifications for the war in Iraq.
Along with the contention that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, President George W. Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top administration officials have often asserted that there were extensive ties between Hussein's government and Osama bin Laden's terrorist network; Cheney said this year evidence of a link was "overwhelming."
But the report by the commission's staff, based on its access to all relevant classified information, said that there had been contact between Iraq and al-Qaida but no cooperation. In Wednesday's hearing of the panel, formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, a senior FBI official and a senior CIA analyst concurred with the finding.
The staff report said that bin Laden "explored possible cooperation with Iraq" while in Sudan through 1996, but that "Iraq apparently never responded" to a bin Laden request for help in 1994. The commission cited reports of contact between Iraq and al-Qaida after bin Laden went to Afghanistan in 1996, adding, "but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship. Two senior bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq. We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaida cooperated on attacks against the United States."
On Wednesday, the commission opened a two-day hearing into the Sept. 11 plot. It found the terror network had originally envisioned a much larger attack and was working hard to strike again, most likely in the form of a chemical, radiological or biological attack.
The commission staff said Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed initially outlined an attack involving 10 aircraft targeting both U.S. coasts. Mohammed proposed that he pilot one of the planes, kill all the male passengers, land the plane at a U.S. airport and make a "speech denouncing U.S. policies in the Middle East before releasing all the women and children," the report said.
Bin Laden rejected that plan as too complex, deciding instead on aircraft piloted by hand-picked suicide operatives. The report said the targets were chosen based on symbolism: the Pentagon, which represented the U.S. military; the World Trade Center, a symbol of American economic strength; the Capitol, the perceived source of U.S. support for Israel; and the White House. Training for the attacks began in 1999.
The attacks were planned for as early as May 2001, but they were pushed back to September, partly because al-Qaida sought to strike when Congress would be at the Capitol. A second wave of hijackings never materialized because Mohammed was too busy planning the Sept. 11 attacks, the report said.
(WP. AP)
TITLE: EU Seeking a New President
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: BRUSSELS, Belgium - Wanted: respected politician. Must speak French and English, German a plus. Must consider self a "true European." Must be welcome in all 25 EU capitals and in Washington.
When in Washington, wield some clout. Back in Brussels, know your place. Some leaders will see you as a threat to their country's sovereignty.
Potential applicants should hurry: European Union leaders opened a summit Thursday at which they plan to pick somebody to replace Romano Prodi as president of the European Commission - the head office that runs the day-to-day affairs of the EU.
Prodi, the ex-Italian premier and bicycle buff, will step down in the fall after five years.
The leaders converging in Brussels for the two-day summit also faced the complicated task of trying to adopt a constitution for 25 disparate nations, six months after a first attempt collapsed.
Faced with such a challenge, candidates to lead the Commission for the next five years after Prodi's mandate expires in October could be put off, diplomats said.
One candidate who has been lobbying hard out of public view is Guy Verhofstadt, the boyish 51-year-old Belgian prime minister. Another is Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister.
Longer shots are Pat Cox, president of the outgoing European Parliament, former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and Antonio Vitorino, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner who is reportedly favored by Britain.
TITLE: IN BRIEF
TEXT: Clinton on Infidelity
NEW YORK (AP) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton called his marital infidelity a "terrible moral error" whose disclosure to his wife put him "in the doghouse," during an interview scheduled for this Sunday's "60 Minutes."
Why did he commit adultery with White House intern Monica Lewinsky?
"For the worst possible reason," Clinton said. "Just because I could. I think that's just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody could have for doing anything."
Excerpts from the interview were released by CBS Wednesday. The interview will occupy the full program.
It is timed to next week's publication of Clinton's memoir, "My Life." The book, published by Alfred A. Knopf, has a first printing of 1.5 million copies.
Bounty for Nazis
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Wednesday launched a drive to track down remaining Nazi war criminals in Poland by offering a $12,000 reward for information leading to their prosecution, drawing criticism from prominent Polish figures.
The Los Angeles-based center opened a telephone hotline and plans to broaden its campaign with newspaper ads in the next months. Efraim Zuroff, its chief Nazi hunter, said a similar drive has already led to eight investigations in Lithuania and one in Latvia.
But critics worried it sent a message that Poland hasn't effectively worked to bring Nazi-era suspects to justice. They also said the offer of money could encourage false accusations.
Mugabe: HIV Beatable
HARARE (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe voiced confidence that Zimbabwe can win the fight against AIDS, which he described as "one of the greatest challenges" facing the southern African nation.
In an address to the first national AIDS conference, Mugabe said AIDS had struck at all levels of Zimbabwe society and claimed victims from all circles including his family and cabinet.
"There is no doubt that HIV and AIDS is one of the greatest challenges facing our nation," he said Wednesday.
"However, it is not an insurmountable challenge. We can and we should rise above this challenge, and win the fight," he said.
'Bloomsday' Marked
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland staged its biggest literary carnival on Wednesday, drawing thousands onto Dublin's streets for the centenary of "Bloomsday" - the day set in fictional stone by James Joyce in his epic novel "Ulysses."
Joyceans ate Gorgonzola sandwiches and sipped Burgundy wine in the sunshine in honor of the lunch enjoyed by the novel's hero Leopold Bloom, midway through his momentous day.
The book is regarded by many as the greatest novel in the English language.
Dutroux Convicted
ARLON, Belgium (AP) - A jury convicted Marc Dutroux on Thursday in a series of child rapes and murders in a case that has horrified the country for nearly a decade and sparked reforms of the judiciary and police.
The 12-member jury convicted the 47-year-old ex-convict of kidnapping six girls and holding them hostage in 1995-96. It also found him guilty of murdering two of the girls and an accomplice.
The jury was being polled on 243 counts in all against Dutroux and his three co-defendants, including his ex-wife and two other alleged accomplices.
TITLE: Russia's Hopes Dashed by Portuguese Rout
PUBLISHER: Combined Reports
TEXT: LISBON - Portugal have resurrected their Euro 2004 hopes by ending those of Russia with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday. Russia became the first team to be eliminated from the championship.
Russia's qualification hopes disappeared on the back of their ninth successive winless European Championship game - an unwelcome tournament record reaching back to the 1988 final.
Goals from FC Porto midfielder Maniche and Rui Costa proved enough to bag the points and Portugal must now beat Spain on Sunday to qualify for the quarter-finals.
But the Portuguese, stunned by Greece in their opening match, made heavy weather of a Russian side reduced to ten men following the sending-off seconds before the interval of goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov.
Ovchinnikov appeared to handle the ball outside his area as Pauleta bore down on him and Norwegian referee Terje Hauge had no option other than to show the red card.
Stewards hauled away a Russian fan who appeared pitchside to protest at the sending-off as the Russians, having already lost to Spain, made an undignified exit from the tournament.
Midfielder Yevgeny Aldonin gave way as reserve keeper Vyacheslav Malafeyev of Zenit St. Petersburg came on to make a string of fine saves which kept the crowd fidgeting in their seats.
Portugal's captain Luis Figo admitted his side had been under huge pressure.
"It was very important for us because if we didn't win we would have been out of it.
"The players felt under pressure because we wanted to do well and because we started really bad against the Greeks.
"However we settled better this time."
Figo was optimistic that home advantage will carry Portugal to victory against Spain.
"We always have to beat a team and Spain are the next one," he said.
"They have really good players but we are at home and should prevail."
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari made four changes from the side which lost to Greece.
New Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira, the experienced Fernando Couto and Rui Jorge all lost out as Scolari drafted Miguel, Jorge Andrade and Nuno Valente into a revamped defense.
In midfield Rui Costa gave way to Brazilian-born Deco as Brazilian World Cup-winning coach Scolari pinned his faith on the Porto star.
"There was no revolution. I just made a few changes," said Scolari.
"We now have to beat Spain to reach the next phase."
Figo, who has criticized the presence of Deco in the squad, swiftly sought to stamp his authority on the game.
The industrious Portuguese skipper saw his freekick following Ovchinnikov's dismissal sail past the post as the home crowd whipped themselves into a frenzy.
Russia were without midfielder Alexander Mostovoi after coach Georgy Yartsev threw him out of the squad, with Dmitry Loskov being the immediate beneficiary.
After a deafening welcome, the Portuguese took the lead with only their second attack in the seventh minute.
A Figo freekick on the right was blocked but Deco pounced on the loose ball to feed Maniche, who fired home from 12 yards.
Suitably fired up, the Portuguese poured forward and Russian skipper Alexei Smertin and Vadim Yevseyev picked up quickfire bookings, Yevseyev's caution meaning he will miss the final group match against Greece.
Deco's probing runs were a feature of the hosts' play, Carvalho heading wide from an astute cross on 28 minutes, before Loskov took the pressure off the Russian defense with an ambitious long-range effort which flew wide.
After Malafeyev had blocked a meaty drive from Nuno Valente, Scolari threw on Benfica's Nuno Gomes in place of Pedro Pauleta and then added Rui Costa while pulling off Simao Sabrosa.
Figo should have made it 2-0 after 63 minutes when at the end of a flowing move he saw a low shot strike the post with Malafeyev just getting his fingertips to the ball.
Figo then appealed forlornly for a penalty after tripping over Alexei Bugayev before Malafeyev, winning only his third cap, beat out a Deco piledriver.
With 13 minutes left Figo withdrew from the action to massive cheers as Cristian Ronaldo joined the fray, the teen ace having scored against Greece.
It was the Manchester United star who set up Rui Costa to put the icing on the cake with the clincher in the final minute.
TITLE: Detroit Pistons Defeat Lakers
AUTHOR: By Larry Lage
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: AUBURN HILLS, Michigan - Joe Dumars was sporting an NBA championship hat and T-shirt while chewing on an unlit cigar.
Almost two hours after Detroit beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, the Pistons' president of basketball operations was still smiling.
"I don't even smoke,'' Dumars said. There could be more championship cigars in Dumars' near future.
"Maybe we don't have two superstars like the Lakers, but we've got five stars in their own way in the starting lineup and a lot of other solid players," Dumars said. "We've got the best of both worlds because we won now, and we can win in the years to come."
With a starting lineup of players 29 or younger, salary cap space and a Hall of Fame coach, the Pistons seem like a team built to last.
Before thinking about the championship possibilities of the future, however, the Pistons and their fans plan to celebrate Thursday with a parade in downtown Detroit and a rally at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
About 16 hours after winning his first NBA title in 21 seasons, coach Larry Brown was back in his office after sending off his four children, and his wife, to the airport.
"It was really exciting to have my family here with me on such a special night," Brown said Wednesday. "I'm going to have to get out of here soon, too, so I can return all the kind messages I got.
"I've heard from Coach [Dean] Smith twice, Tony La Russa, Red Auerbach, Jerry West, Sinbad, Andy Reid and one of the first of many messages was from Derrick Coleman."
Detroit stunned the Lakers - led by superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant - with a group of unselfish castoffs.
The MVP of the NBA Finals was Chauncey Billups, who was on five teams in his first four seasons before finding a good fit in Detroit two years ago.
Ben Wallace, the team's only All-Star, wasn't even drafted out of college. Wallace was a little known player when he came to the Pistons in the Grant Hill trade four years ago in what was Dumars' first major move as an executive.
Even the volatile Rasheed Wallace fit in, and helped turn a contender into a champion.
"We're a team full of misfits, but these misfits are world champions," said Corliss Williamson, who once played for three teams in two years. "A lot of teams are probably kicking themselves right now for losing all the guys in this locker room.
"We did a great job of coming together, and playing hard as a team. I think a reason we won is that we're a bunch of very hungry misfits."
Re-signing Rasheed Wallace is Detroit's No. 1 priority this offseason.
Wallace, an unrestricted free agent who made $17 million this season, declined to talk about his future plans Tuesday night.
Dumars said his approach to re-signing Wallace will be simple.
"I'm just going to ask him, 'What's not to like?'" Dumars said. "And I'll tell him we'll do everything in our power to bring him back."
With a 100-87 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Pistons won their first title since Dumars helped them win their second straight in 1990.
"This is the most satisfying feeling I've ever had in basketball, 10 times more than when I was a player.
"From where we came from when I took over to where we are now, I just feel a tremendous sense of pride."
TITLE: Woods Not Certain to Win At Revamped U.S. Open
AUTHOR: By Doug Ferguson
PUBLISHER: The Associated Press
TEXT: SOUTHAMPTON, New York - The final practice round for the U.S. Open brought a breeze Tiger Woods had not experienced from that direction. Standing on the 14th tee Wednesday morning, he gazed down the fairway and said to his caddie, "All right, now what do we do?"
Woods eventually figured it out. He hit a 3-wood down the middle and stayed short of a daunting bunker, hit his approach 15 feet behind the flag and knocked in the putt.
Still, his momentary confusion summed up the mood at Shinnecock Hills on the eve of the U.S. Open.
Now what?
The toughest test in golf usually brings out the jitters in everyone, from the world's No. 1 player to the two guys who have a chance to replace him, from amateurs playing the U.S. Open for the first time to major champions playing for the first time in months.
But the anticipation is higher than usual.
Shinnecock Hills looks nothing like it did in 1995, primarily because the rough has been shaved to resemble the rounded edges of the greens at British Opens.
"We don't play golf courses like this in this country," Woods said.
Woods looks nothing like he did when he left Long Island two years ago with the U.S. Open trophy while on a frightening 7-of-11 run through the majors. He is under more scrutiny than ever because of his engagement to a Swedish nanny, his divorce from a high-profile coach and shots that don't always go where he is aiming.
Ernie Els and Vijay Singh have chances to overtake Woods at No. 1 in the world - a position he has occupied since Aug. 16, 1999 - if they win at Shinnecock Hills.
"I'm eager to go play and I'm eager to go out there and perform well," Singh said. "I'm playing as good as I've ever played, and I can't do any more than just go out there and try to win the golf tournament."
Jim Furyk and David Duval are going to try to play, which is a story in itself.
Furyk figured he would be the first U.S. Open champion since Payne Stewart to be unable to defend his title when he had surgery on his left wrist three months ago.
Lo and behold, he played two full rounds last week and decided Friday to fly to Long Island and give it a shot.
Can he win?
"My expectations are high," Furyk said. "They're not that high."
Duval has not played in eight months, hasn't won in three years and now is No. 434 in the world. His epiphany came Saturday evening while playing alone at Cherry Hills in Denver.
He played three holes and decided it was time to return to competitive golf.
"I was on a cart path next to the fourth tee," he said. "I had literally played the first three holes, teed off on the fourth one. I was alone, and that was when" he knew he wanted to play.
Was it a good tee shot?
"It was three good ones," Duval said.
That wasn't the case at Shinnecock. Playing his first practice round Wednesday afternoon, Duval's opening tee shot with a 3-wood hooked into the gallery, took a hop and hit a man in the back of the head.
Welcome to the U.S. Open, David.
Some have suggested he play an easier PGA Tour event as a tuneup, but Duval could not think of a better place to return. The U.S. Open rarely discriminates.
"How many times does anyone play great in a U.S. Open?" he said. "It's about hitting some shots and surviving."
That's what awaits the 156-man field at the 104th U.S. Open, which was due to start Thursday. The wind figures to be strong because Shinnecock is situated between the Atlantic and the Great Peconic Bay.
The grass is high - anyone can see that - and the greens are hard and firm, like they always are at the U.S. Open.
"If the wind comes up like I think it will, I really think over par will win," said Tom Meeks, senior director of rules and competition for the USGA who sets up the golf course.
And if the wind doesn't come up? If the course doesn't play as tough as advertised? If the scores are low?
"Then the USGA stops watering the greens," Nick Price said. "They quadruple roll them. They triple cut them. Then, the scores go up again and everyone is happy - except the players."
Woods played only nine holes Wednesday morning, but he spent a lot of time around the green.
From behind the 11th green, a 158-yard hole that some describe as the shortest par 5 in golf because double bogeys are so frequent, Woods hit more than a dozen putts up the slope and never got within 10 feet of his target.
Ultimately, that's where this U.S. Open will be decided.
"Look at the last two guys who have won here," he said, referring to Corey Pavin in 1995 and Raymond Floyd in 1986.
"Those are two of the greatest short games."
Woods said it was clear that shaved slopes - instead of the rough around the greens - was the way Shinnecock Hills was designed to play all along.
Meeks isn't so sure.
"I don't think the architects ever had any idea we would have all these closely mown areas," he said. "But we could bring them back, I believe they'd like it."