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TOMSK/ST.PETERSBURG — President Vladimir Putin abruptly shifted course Wednesday when he called for rerouting the proposed Far East oil pipeline away from Lake Baikal.
His remarks stunned Semyon Vainshtok, the president of pipeline monopoly Transneft, who had just made the case for the safety of the planned route, which was to come within 800 meters of the lake.
Environmentalists, equally stunned, were elated. Baikal contains 20 percent of the global resource of drinkable water.
“The pipeline system we are talking about must go along the watershed, north of Lake Baikal’s watershed,” Putin said at a meeting with Siberian governors and Cabinet ministers in Tomsk ahead of the arrival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. |
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WATERWORLD
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
Tourists taking snaps in an underwater tunnel at the oceanarium which opened at the Planeta Neptune shopping and entertainment center in the Admiralteisky district last week. The facility occupies 4,700 square meters and contains 1,000 tons of water. |
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State Duma legislators got a rude awakening Thursday as they approached the Tavrichesky palace to celebrate the 100th anniversary of parliamentarism in Russia. Gathered around the palace was a group of national bolshevik protestors holding posters that read “This Duma is a shame for Russia”, and “The worst parliament in the history of Russia”, and calling for the resignation of Russia’s leaders.
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All photos from issue.
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MOSCOW — Thousands across the nation marked the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe Wednesday with rallies and memorial services.
In Moscow, about 500 relatives and friends of firefighters who died after putting out the fire at the reactor gathered at the Mitinskoye Cemetery to pay tribute to their loved ones, who had been buried in sealed coffins to prevent radiation from spreading into the soil. |
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Last week saw the opening of two water-related attractions in St. Petersburg. As well as being unique to the region, it is hoped the projects will attract more tourists to the city.
On Tuesday the Waterville aquapark opened at the Pribaltiiskaya hotel on Vassiliyevsky Island. |
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The drawn out saga of St. Petersburg’s next carmaker is finally coming to a conclusion with the announcement this week by Nissan that it will invest $200 million in the construction of a plant in the city. |
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Shipbuilding Profit
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — One of Russia’s largest shipbuilding companies, Severnaya Verf (Northern Shipyard), reported a $9.4 million profit for 2005, Interfax reported Tuesday.
The completion of a 956EM torpedo-boat ordered by the Chinese navy in December contributed significantly to this result, Interfax cited Severnaya Verf director for economics and finance Sergei Yurchuk, as saying. |
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MOSCOW — Gazprom’s Izvestia newspaper announced with a flourish Wednesday that two Ukrainian businessmen, Dmytro Firtash and Ivan Fursin, were the beneficiaries behind the mysterious other half of RosUkrEnergo. |
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LONDON — Highland Gold said Wednesday that it would cut close to 10 percent of its work force of 3,600 to reduce costs after posting a loss last year.
The company posted a loss of $7.17 million in 2005, hit by an increase in costs of close to 50 percent and a drop in production at its main mine in Khabarovsk. |
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MOSCOW — General Motors’ joint venture with AvtoVAZ appears to be on the verge of collapse, as the Russian state-controlled carmaker has asked GM to either sell its 41. |
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Diplomats from the United States, European Union and Israel involved in the Iranian uranium-enrichment affair say they want the international community united so that Iran understands that nobody — absolutely nobody — will come to Iran’s defense if sanctions are imposed. |
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Not long ago I traveled on horseback in Kabardino-Balkaria across a border area called Khaimash. This area is famous for an incident in which the republic’s construction minister went for a drive in the country and was stopped by Shamil Basayev. |
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 Thriving on the contrast between baroque extravaganza and the the decadent opulence of jugendstil, Vienna, once the capital of the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire, has preserved its imperial grandeur.
Nobles never rush, and this stately European capital carries itself with regal grace. |
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Twelve months ago Boris Grebenshchikov, a Russian rock legend who founded his famous band Akvarium in 1972, led a group of rock musicians to meet Vladislav Surkov, the head of the presidential administration and a man who is frequently referred to as “the Kremlin’s gray cardinal. |
 Last Sunday, the performance of “Giselle” at the Mariinsky Theater starred two of the most promising up-and-coming Mariinsky Ballet dancers both in their early twenties, in the lead roles. Olesia Novikova, who was prominently cast in the Mariinsky International Ballet Festival last month, danced the title ballerina role. |
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There were plenty of international ballet names among last week’s contenders for a Golden Mask award — the Bolshoi ballerina Svetlana Zakharova, for example, and the U. |
 …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, a loud, guitar-smashing band with prog-rock tendencies from Austin, Texas, made its debut in Russia by performing live in Moscow and re-releasing its most recent album for Russian audiences last week.
Grammy-winning classical violinist Hilary Hahn, who soloed on the album’s instrumental track “To Russia My Homeland,” influenced by 19th century Russian composers, flew in for just one night to join the band on stage. |
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FRANKFURT AN DER ODER, Germany — A German mother accused of killing nine newborn babies over the course of a decade and burying them in flower pots went on trial on Thursday in a case that has shocked the nation.
Lawyers for the 40-year old woman, identified as Sabine H. |
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LONDON — British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday shrugged off as media hype suggestions his government was in crisis over incompetence and sleaze. |
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LONDON — English football was preparing on Thursday for World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari to be offered the job of national team manager after a wave of speculation was met by a tight-lipped Football Association.
FA chief executive Brian Barwick flew out on Wednesday to Lisbon for talks with the Brazilian, currently coach of Portugal, and officials from the Portuguese soccer federation, media reports said. |
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SHEFFIELD, England — World number one Ronnie O’Sullivan secured his place in the semi-finals of the world championship after beating Mark Williams 13-11 on Wednesday. |
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NEW YORK — Peter Forsberg scored twice to guide Philadelphia to a gritty 4-2 win over Buffalo on Wednesday, the Game Three victory enabling the Flyers to reduce the Sabres’ advantage in their Eastern conference quarter-final to 2-1.
Forsberg led Sweden to a gold medal at the Turin Olympics and his inspirational performance in front of a packed Wachovia Center crowd showed why he has long been considered the NHL’s most complete player. |
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GREEN BAY, Winsconsin — Quarterback Brett Favre has decided to return for one more season with the Green Bay Packers.
The team announced yesterday that Favre had informed the club of his decision Tuesday. |
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Issues Archive