LATEST NEWS

DESIGNER OF LIVE CHILDREN STATUES RESPONDS TO CRITICISM

The creator of an art exhibit featuring young girls made to pose as statues at a reception in St. Petersburg has responded to criticism that the children were mistreated, saying the girls were never in any kind of danger.

"The children were in comfortable silver displays and wanted to go back," art exhibit designer Viktor Kramer told the Dozhd Internet channel Sunday.

BERLIN GAY PARADE TARGETS RUSSIA

Organizers of a gay parade in Germany attended by more than half a million people targeted Russia for its laws aimed at "homosexual propaganda" with caricatures, costumes and even a confetti cannon.

Privatization Promised, But Little Understood

ST. PETERSBURG — Privatization was a hot topic at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week with President Vladimir Putin devoting a significant part of his keynote address to the issue and a new government decree updating existing plans.

But confusion over the government's intentions reigned.

LOCAL NEWS

CREATIVE TRANSPORT OFFERS OPTIONS TO BEAT TRAFFIC

Every year, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum sees thousands of participants flood into the city from Russia and abroad, and this year’s forum is no exception. For those eager to escape the inevitable traffic jams, or simply try something new, The St. Petersburg Times has compiled a guide to alternative ways of getting around town.

Aquabuses

For those preferring to take a more scenic route, there are a number of waterbuses that operate along the River Neva. The Central Line service runs between Smolnaya Embankment (opposite 6 Ulitsa Smolnogo) and Universitetskaya Embankment on Vasilyevsky Island (the closest stop to Lenexpo, the main SPIEF venue), stopping at locations including the Summer Gardens and Bronze Horseman along the way.

EAST STEALS SPOTLIGHT AT FORUM

Russia’s relations with the European Union usually earn the spotlight at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, but the dialogue skidded eastward Thursday as the Kremlin’s vision of a Eurasian Union predominated.

Russian officials trumpeted free-trade speech to investors at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Spontaneous clapping broke out when Putin announced that a former associate of Mikhail Prokhorov, business lobbyist and sparkling wine producer Boris Titov, would be appointed ombudsman for entrepreneurs.

BUSINESS

RUSSIA’S ALLURE FOR FOREIGNERS SHOWS NO SIGN OF PALING

“Why Russia?” is a question often asked to, and more often feared by, foreigners intending to move to Russia, and countless more already here. A country famed for riches in oil, vodka, spies and red tape, it’s a wonder to some — including many Russians — why anybody would ever move here, whatever their love for Dostoevsky or Russian women. Yet the number of foreign professionals adding their CVs to Russia’s HeadHunter site increased last year by 11 percent on the year before, Kommersant newspaper reported at the end of May, citing the recruitment website.

CITY PROJECTS FOCUS ON INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

With all eyes on the city during the

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, The St. Petersburg Times presents an overview of the biggest current investment and development projects in the city.

FEATURES

COMMERCIAL SECTOR SEES BOOM

The general volume of investment in commercial real estate in Russia will total $6.5 billion in 2012, according to a forecast from Jones Lang LaSalle commercial real estate company. The majority of investments in the first quarter of 2012 were split between the office and retail sectors at 40 and 34 percent respectively.

Developers have increased their activity this year on the St. Petersburg office real estate market.

ECONOMY-CLASS SEGMENT LEADS RESIDENTIAL MARKET

Studios and small one-room apartments are the most in demand on the St. Petersburg residential real estate market.

According to data from Maris real estate company, part of the CBRE network, about 65 percent of all residential real estate that was launched on the market in 2011 were economy-class apartments.

EXPERTS WARN HOTELS AGAINST DANGEROUS PRICE HIKES

The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) brings with it a 20-percent increase in St. Petersburg hotel room rates. As a result, say analysts, the city loses tourists and gains the reputation of a city that is extremely expensive to visit.

“When the first forums were held, hotels suggested moving the event to another time of year when there is lower tourist occupancy, since in June there are many city guests and visitors staying in hotels.

DIRECT TO DUBAI: NEW EMIRATES ROUTE TO SUNSHINE

From November of last year, Emirates Airline has been flying direct from St. Petersburg to Dubai daily, providing yet another good reason to travel to this unique destination.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW: WEEKEND IDEAS

Peter’s Walking Tours

In Russia’s self-proclaimed cultural capital there is no shortage of tour guides to sell visitors the city. For those after more of an experience than an excursion, the best bet is Peter’s Walking Tours, founded by globe-trotting traveler Peter Kozyrev, which offers exciting alternatives to the standard tourist fare. Think nighttime bike rides, or tours focusing on popular themes such as the Bolshevik Revolution, the Communist Legacy, the Siege of Leningrad and Dostoevsky and his novels — a tour that includes the hugely popular Dostoevsky “Murder Route Pub Crawl” starting at the doorstep of Raskolnikov’s apartment building and ending at the doorway of pawnbroker Alyona Ivanovna’s home.

BRITISH JOURNALIST ISSUES CHILLING WARNING ON RUSSIA

The shapely figure of Anna Chapman isn’t at first glance the likely subject of scrutiny by one of the world’s weightier analysts of international affairs.

Antiquity-Inspired Style Blooms at Tsarskoye Selo

Nymphs, fauns, archers, gymnasts, cavalry maidens and decadent classical beauties riding in open carriages abounded in the alleys, galleries and even fountains of the Tsarskoye Selo former imperial estate’s Catherine Park on Saturday, June 16 as six premier St. Petersburg fashion designers indulged in a game called “Playing at Antiquity.