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A wealth gap between rich and poor and a city-country split are the two key alienating factors in modern Russia, according to a new study compiled by a group of sociologists, historians and journalists which was presented to the media on Thursday. Titled “Russia — delete?,” the book is based on a series of sociological research projects and psychological and ethnic studies and aims to address issues that divide and unite the country today. “The word delete in the title refers to the dangers, risks and pitfalls the country is facing today,” co-author and journalist Tatyana Chesnokova, said. “It is a question of whether the country will eventually split up, or not.” The research revealed that the Russian language is perceived as the strongest instrument of consolidation among Russian citizens, ahead of history, traditions, the state and what the sociologists called “a national character. |
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VIRTUAL CHOPPER
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
A pilot testing a new $10-million helicopter simulator on Thursday. The simulator was created by local firm Tranzas, which is a world leader in the manufacture of flight simulators. The company claims pilots can be comprehensively trained to fly on the simulator alone. |
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They came. They struck billion-dollar deals. And they partied. After the hard work of the forum was done each day, the 9,000 delegates were treated to nighttime cruise-liner parties and riverside serenades by a full symphony orchestra. Topping it all off was the midnight unveiling of a former military island with dancers, acrobats and fireworks. “An event like this is successful only when it has a leader,” said St.
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Police were looking Wednesday for an Uzbek citizen suspected of strangling two young women to death on the shores of a Moscow region lake popular among swimmers and sunbathers. The bodies of the victims, aged 20 and 22, were discovered at around 4 p.m. |
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MOSCOW — Belarus has unexpectedly vetoed Russia’s candidate for the post of executive secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States, apparently because he criticized Belarussian elections. |
All photos from issue.
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President Vladimir Putin has called for the creation of a new global economic order that would diminish the importance of the WTO and the IMF — and at the same time asked eight U.S. business leaders to help get Russia into the WTO. Putin criticized the World Trade Organization and similar institutions as “archaic, nondemocratic and unwieldy” during a speech Sunday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The president, speaking in the presence of WTO head Pascal Lamy and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, said the organizations should be overhauled to take into account the might of emerging economies like Russia, India and China. |
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FAMOUS FOREFATHER
Alexander Belenky / The St. Petersburg Times
Johann von Knorring (l), descendant of Karl Mannerheim, attending the unveiling of a new statue of the former Finnish president at the Peter and Paul Fortress on Thursday. |
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MOSCOW — Former Volgograd Mayor Yevgeny Ishchenko walked free from jail Wednesday after being sentenced to one year time served and banned from holding public office for four years. A Volgograd court convicted Ishchenko, 34, of illegal participation in business activities and illegal possession of ammunition. A charge of abuse of office was thrown out.
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BRUSSELS — The European Union, at odds with Serbia over the future of Kosovo, warned Belgrade on Wednesday to beware of the bear hug of Russia. Speaking after restarting negotiations with Serbia on closer ties, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said everyone wanted good relations with Moscow. |
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 MOSCOW — Pressure on Mikhail Gutseriyev’s Russneft grew as the Federal Tax Service on Wednesday announced eight lawsuits against the midsized oil producer’s current and past shareholders. The lawsuits against 11 companies, filed in April over share sales, may allow the government to confiscate these shares and take control of Russneft. |
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Finnish energy concern Fortum is planning to sell its stake in St. Petersburg power network operator Lenenergo. If the Finnish investor can’t own a controlling stake, then it’s not interested in holding shares, Fortum chief executive said to Bloomberg news agency Wednesday. |
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Mortgage Mayhem ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — CIT Finance investment bank has issued mortgages for two billion rubles ($76.7 million) in St. Petersburg since the beginning of this year, Prime-Tass reported Wednesday. The total number of mortgages issued by CIT Finance in the city reached 2,300. |
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MOSCOW — Up to 1,500 workers at carmaker AvtoVAZ could be facing the axe by August, Pyotr Zolotaryov, leader of the Yedinstvo independent trade union at the company, said Wednesday. |
 MOSCOW — The Shtokman gas field, one of the world’s most challenging offshore projects, will face even greater problems as global warming unleashes vast icebergs into the Arctic, a senior scientist says. Even if icebergs are unlikely to halt the world’s largest single energy development as the global hunger for resources grows, they will make the $30 billion-plus project by Gazprom yet more expensive. |
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 Russia’s integration into the world economy has been based on energy. Energy is predominant both in its domestic economy and foreign trade. In 2006, oil and gas made up 40 percent of gross domestic product and 60 percent of exports. Since 2000, rising oil export revenues have been the main driver of growth, as the price of Urals oil rose from below $10 per barrel to more than $60. |
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An angry crowd trashed Stavropol city buses, hundreds of shouting demonstrators chanted “Russia,” and riot police held the mob at bay. As far as I know, only RTVi cable television and Ren-TV broadcast this chaotic scene. |
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 The iconic art-punk band that astounded many Russian fans and musicians with its sheer inventiveness when it came, out of the blue, to the city then known as Leningrad in 1989 returns to St. Petersburg this week. But the members of Sonic Youth thought that the show they gave then was a disaster. |
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Tequilajazzz will be opening for Sonic Youth at Manezh Kadetskogo Korpusa on Monday. A member of the latter’s support act in Moscow 18 years ago, Igor Mosin, remembers the gig. |
 A new take on traditional sightseeing that combines a traditional method of transport with modern technology was introduced in St. Petersburg last week, said Velocity, the company behind the project. “The idea is quite simple,” Irina Smurovskaya, one of the founders of Velocity, said. |
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When the organizers of Russia’s entry to the 52nd Venice Biennale announced in March that their exhibition would be titled “Click I Hope,” skeptics were quick to mock their optimism. |
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Severed heads, corpses that lie for months in locked apartments, drunken stabbings and attempts to dispose of the remains down toilets—these kind of crimes usually merit a small brief in Tvoi Den tabloid. But when something truly serious happens, the paper knows how to roll out the red carpet. |
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Sardina // 6 Rubinshteina Ulitsa. Tel: 314 0597. // www.sardinabar.ru // Restaurant open daily noon until the last client leaves // Bar open Sunday to Wednesday from noon to midnight; Thursday to Saturday from noon to 5 a. |
 The American Corner library and study center at the Mayakovsky Library has announced the winners of its Flag Day competition. The winning essay on the subject of the Stars and Stripes was written by American Corner visitor Igor Panov, while the winning picture was by Maria Ushakova (picture right). The American flag in my mind: What I think and know about the official flag of the USA By Igor Panov The American Flag seems to me the most remarkable between flags of all other countries. |
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 Ah, bliss, the gang’s all here, well, the guys anyway, looking fighting trim and Hollywood beautiful, at your disposable pleasure as well as mine. There’s George, of course, as in Mr. |
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PARIS — Jacques Chirac’s presidential immunity expires at midnight on Saturday, allowing judges to question him over a string of investigations into alleged corruption in France. During two terms as president from May 1995, Chirac benefited from a constitutional bar on the prosecution or investigation of a serving head of state by the examining magistrates who conduct criminal investigations in France. |
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OAKMONT, Pennsylvania — Twice champion Tiger Woods, hunting a third major victory in four starts, will have to cope with the toughest greens he has ever seen at this week’s U.S. Open. Although Woods usually dominates the storylines going into the big events, he has played second fiddle to Oakmont Country Club’s daunting par-70 layout in the build-up to Thursday’s opening round. |
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LONDON — Rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton can stretch his championship lead and add to the discomfort of McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso in Sunday’s U. |
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LONDON — London 2012 chiefs have been given a timely boost by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge as a three day inspection of the city’s progress concludes. “The reports I am getting show that in the initial period of two years, London is ahead of every host city we have had in the past. |
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MADRID — Sweden’s Therese Alshammar set a world record of 25.46 seconds for the 50 meters butterfly in the “Mare Nostrum” international trophy event in Barcelona on Wednesday. |
Temp: -2°C moderate or heavy snow showers
Issues Archive