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 A nationalist organization has accused food and beverage giant Wimm-Bill-Dann of promoting homosexuality by including a rainbow on the packaging of its Jolly Milkman products.
The St. Petersburg office of the group People's Council (Narodny Sobor) has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the offending dairy products. |
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PITTSBURGH — The Kremlin is watching, European nations are rebelling, and some suspect Moscow is secretly bankrolling a campaign to derail the West's strategic plans. |
 When Georgia elects a new parliament Monday, the small South Caucasus nation is likely to get the most global attention it's received since its 2008 war with Russia.
The vote has been labeled historic because the parliament will elect a prime minister who, thanks to a 2010 constitutional reform, will become more powerful than the president, who hitherto called the shots in the country of some 4 million inhabitants. |
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MOSCOW — A Russian court has postponed the appeal of three members of jailed rock band Pussy Riot until Oct. 10 after one group member fired her lawyers. |
 The new oil terminal at Ust-Luga went into operation Thursday as part of an effort to ease Russia's reliance on transit countries.
The terminal is located on the Baltic coast close to the border with Estonia.
The Ust-Luga terminal, which can handle about 15 percent of the country's oil exports, is likely to take away business from Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.
It sits at the end of phase two of Russia's Baltic Pipeline System, which the government ordered constructed after a transit spat with Belarus in 2007. |
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 MOSCOW — When Dmitry Medvedev announced on Sept. 24, 2011, that he would step aside to let Vladimir Putin return as president, he disappointed critics and supporters alike. |
 MOSCOW — A court in the Chechen capital Grozny has declared extremist an anti-Muslim video that has sparked violent protests in North Africa and the Middle East. The court ruling means that the film is now banned nationwide.
Leninsky District Court in Grozny has declared the film extremist, Chechen press minister Murat Tagiyev told RIA-Novosti on Friday. |
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LONDON — Representatives of Oleg Deripaska say the Russian metals magnate has settled a multibillion dollar lawsuit brought by fellow oligarch Michael Cherny over the latter's claim to a stake in Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer. |
 MOSCOW — Leading Russian non-government organizations said Thursday they would defy a new Kremlin law requiring those who receive funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents."
The heads of nine prominent NGOs have issued a joint statement saying they would ignore the law, which was approved by the Kremlin—controlled parliament over the summer in a bid to undermine the groups' credibility.
"We survived the Soviet power, and we'll survive this," Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group, said Thursday. |
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 MOSCOW – Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin taunted Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday after the former U.S. governor told reporters that he was concerned that windows on modern airplanes are sealed shut. |
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MOSCOW – Using some of his harshest language yet, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the adoption of the Magnitsky bill by the U.S. Congress would have disastrous consequences for U.S.-Russian relations.
Lavrov, speaking during an interview with United States television talk–show host Charlie Rose, said Moscow supported a dialogue on human rights with Washington but did not want to be "lectured" or "judged" through efforts like the Magnitsky bill. |
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MOSCOW – Travelers crossing the borders of their home region will have to show a passport and will be entered into a police database under a new decree issued by the Transportation Ministry. |
 MOSCOW – Such acts are currently considered administrative offenses punishable by a fine of up to 1,000 rubles ($30).
The bill would also make it an administrative offense to publicly "profane" religious literature or symbols, warranting a maximum 50,000 ruble ($1,600) fine, said Nilov, who represents the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party.
In a joint statement Tuesday that paved the way for Nilov's bill, deputies of all Duma factions described a growing attack on Russia's "centuries–old, spiritual–moral foundation" aimed at discrediting traditional values, arousing civil discord and undermining the country's sovereignty. |
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 MOSCOW – Kremlin critic and billionaire Alexander Lebedev has been charged with hooliganism over a fistfight on a television show last year, the Investigative Committee said Wednesday. |
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MOSCOW – A prominent German lawmaker on Wednesday pledged not to give up her efforts to visit jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, even though she was barred from meeting him in his Karelian prison this week.
Marieluise Beck, of the Green party, said she filed another visitation request with the regional government of Karelia, the northwestern region where Khodorkovsky has been imprisoned since last year. |
All photos from issue.
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 Hundreds of local residents gathered to protest ongoing demolition in St. Petersburg last week, but the main bone of contention has shifted from opposition to the Gazprom skyscraper — which is no longer planned to be built in the historical Okhta district — to the historical Rogov House, which was abruptly and swiftly demolished on Aug. 26.
City Hall declined to authorize a march, but agreed to a stationary rally, which drew 300 to 500, some holding posters reading “Don’t Ruin the City” and “Stop Destroying History.”
Protesters demanded that developers who break preservation laws should face criminal charges or have their licenses revoked, rather than being punished with token fines as they are currently. |
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A CUT ABOVE
ALEXANDER BELENKY / SPT
Cyclists set off from Palace Square on Saturday morning to take part in a bike ride organized as part of the Europe Days event. Teams from
many of the city’s European consulates took part, as well as retro-enthusiasts dressed in tweed and regular cyclists riding bikes big and small. |
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A draft law that would ban tobacco companies from taking part in philanthropic activities has stirred a nationwide debate.
The State Duma will next month review the draft law, which, if passed, would prohibit tobacco companies from donating to charities and taking part in any other philanthropic activities. The plan has fanned the flames of discussion of whether certain sources of donations can be legally qualified as unethical, and has raised concerns about the destructive impact that the law would likely have on the recipients of grants.
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A five-year-old boy from St. Petersburg was found by the roadside in the Sverdlovsk Oblast on Friday, more than 2,000 kilometers from his home. The boy told the man who found him that his name was Daniil Yermakov and that he was from Ulitsa Polyarnikov in St. |
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Five Millionth Resident
ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The much anticipated five millionth resident of St. Petersburg, who was born in the early hours of Saturday morning, is a girl, Interfax reported. |
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Unidentified vandals attacked a wooden cross dedicated to Orthodox mystic Grigory Rasputin on the grounds of the Tsarskoye Selo former imperial estate outside St. Petersburg, a news report said Tuesday.
Security guards at the Tsarskoye Selo estate, now an open-air museum, told Interfax that the vandals had taken a saw to the memorial Monday and that the damaged cross had been moved to the museum for safekeeping. |
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The number of deaths in car accidents in Russia has decreased by a fifth in the six years since the country introduced a new road safety program, according to Viktor Kiryanov, deputy head of the Interior Affairs Ministry, Interfax reported. |
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Kontinental Hockey League teams started bolstering their rosters with locked-out players from the U.S. National Hockey League last week.
Local team SKA St. Petersburg signed New Jersey Devils winger Ilya Kovalchuk and Columbus Blues goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin signed with his former team Dinamo Moscow and Pittsburg Penguins star Yevgeny Malkin signed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, along with Ottawa Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar and Nikolai Kulemin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. |
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 MOSCOW — Ikea, known worldwide for its provocative marketing stunts, has decided to draw the line at a picture of masked youths wearing Pussy Riot-style balaclavas and seated on Ikea furniture.
A month into a customer competition to select the cover for its next catalog, Ikea Russia deleted the picture of four youths wearing colored masks from its website over the weekend. |
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MOSCOW — United Russia is planning legal amendments to radically increase penalties for drunk driving two days after an inebriated motorist killed seven people in southwest Moscow, a senior party official said Monday. |
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MOSCOW — The State Duma tentatively approved a bill last Friday to broaden the legal definition of high treason, seen by human rights groups as part of a continuing crackdown on foreign-funded organizations in Russia.
While lawmakers contend that the bill would make the work of law enforcement authorities more effective, rights activists say it would enable the state to undermine the activity of any person or NGO in the country.
According to the bill, which passed its first reading with unanimous approval, any individual or group found relaying a state secret to a “foreign government or international, foreign organization” can be charged with high treason, punishable with up to 20 years in prison. |
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 MOSCOW — The State Duma’s ethics commission Monday recommended that Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov’s voting rights be suspended for one month after he called United Russia members “crooks and thieves” and wore jeans instead of a suit to parliament. |
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MOSCOW — U.S. government-funded Radio Liberty has reiterated its commitment to operating in Russia after Nov. 10, when a new law forces it to discontinue AM broadcasts, and after dozens of journalists and editors left the organization last week.
“We are not giving up on our commitment to provide you with Svoboda’s unique perspective on news and events in Russia,” wrote Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president Steve Korn, referring to the network’s Russian name, Radio Svoboda, in a statement posted on the network’s website Monday. |
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MINSK, Belarus — International observers on Monday condemned a weekend vote in Belarus in which not a single opposition politician won a parliament seat. |
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MOSCOW — Five hundred days before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, organizers announced that they have chosen “Hot. Winter. Yours.” as the slogan for the games.
Organizers said in a news release that the word “hot” is meant to symbolize the intensity of the games for competitors and spectators, “winter” refers to how Russia is perceived in the eyes of the world, while “yours” expresses how the crowd can empathize with those taking part, Interfax reported. |
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 The enemy landed troops near Novorossiisk, but the Russian military command was not caught unaware. A motorized infantry brigade from Vladikavkaz was quickly brought in and sent into battle. With skillful maneuvering and counterattacks, the Russian soldiers fought back the enemy. |
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In mid-August, investigators with the Federal Drug Control Service arrested 55-year-old Olga Zelenina, head of the Penza Agricultural Research Institute’s analytical laboratory and one of Russia’s top experts on poppy cultivation, for the findings of her scientific research. |
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 Yevgeny Fyodorov, the frontman of Zorge and earlier of Tequilajazzz, dismissed media reports this week that he had emigrated to Georgia for political reasons, saying that Ukrainian journalists who interviewed him had “misplaced accents.”
“I haven’t emigrated, we’ve just temporarily settled here,” said Fyodorov, speaking by phone from Tbilisi on Monday.
“It’s like everybody does in the rest of the world; if somebody wants to live for a while in some other place, without being bound by their propiska [residency permit for Russian citizens that has remained since the Soviet era], they go there. For instance, a band from Los Angeles goes to rehearse in Canada, or quite the opposite, a band from Canada goes to rehearse in Cuba. It’s just the same, because I have found a very favorable atmosphere here — on both a creative and human level — and I am going to spend some time here. |
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FOR SPT
DEATH AND FUNERALS
INSPIRED THE WORK
OF THE POLISH
ARTISTS WHOSE WORK
GOES ON SHOW
THIS WEEK AT THE
KRASNOYE ZNAMYA
ARTS CENTER. |
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Global Pussy Riot Day 2 in support of Pussy Riot’s imprisoned members is to be held on Monday, Oct. 1, the day of the appeal hearing on the verdict handed down to Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who were each sentenced to two years in prison on Aug. 17.
Tolokonnikova’s lawyer Mark Feigin said that he hopes that the campaign will be held in more than 100 cities across the globe.
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 The last few years have seen some tragic episodes in the history of Poland, most notably the plane crash in Smolensk, Russia in 2010 in which the majority of the Polish government lost their lives. Through the media, people now are able to feel like they participate in high-profile funeral ceremonies such as those of the government members or that of Pope John Paul II in 2005. |
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Ïîñëåäíÿÿ ñîáàêà: lowest of the low
In the heat and confusion of events, a politician sends a sharply worded tweet. Public outrage ensues. His aides clarify, only making things worse. |
 Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica, who this year is presiding over the jury at the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, has always had fraternal feelings toward Russians. Adored by Russian audiences and a frequent guest at the country’s film festivals and clubs alike, the filmmaker and musician never misses a chance to refer to the Russians and the Serbs as members of the same family.
So the promise that Kusturica made in the city on Monday sounds all the more natural: The director announced that his new film with the working title “Love and War,” which is currently being shot, will have its premiere at a future St. |
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 This week is my last “In the Spotlight” column, after about six years of watching bad television and writing about Ksenia Sobchak.
Not that I am obsessed with the It Girl we have learned to call an opposition leader, but I did buy her “How to Marry a Millionaire” perfume. |
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Upstairs, downstairs
Don’t make the mistake, when visiting Market Place, of lingering downstairs. Once you have selected your meal, cafeteria-style, from the open cooking stations — choose from salads and wraps, pasta and wok dishes, a grill station and meat and fish dishes — situated around the large, brightly lit first-floor room, head upstairs to enjoy it. |
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 As more and more job vacancies require the knowledge of a foreign language, the city’s ever-multiplying language schools are finding innovative ways to improve their students’ language skills.
According to the JobsMarket website, there are now 60 language schools in St. Petersburg, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Among the language schools in the city, there are several that stand out for their alternative approach and progressive teaching methods. |
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 While signs in museums reading “Do not touch the exhibits” were once standard, they are becoming increasingly rare: Visitors are now often met by friendlier signs inviting them to interact with the exhibit. |
 In an economy in which businesses have to keep moving in order not to sink below the surface, innovation is the new buzzword in business education programs.
The number and variety of courses offering to teach students how to be innovative in business is increasing rapidly, with such programs being incorporated into the courses offered by traditional universities and business schools with well-established names around the world. |
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 Demand for better and more qualified business professionals has become acute during the last four years, and the pay-off remains excellent. Investing in your career now could be the right move in the long run. |
 Every year, hundreds of foreign students come to St. Petersburg to study Russian. Most of them complete their study programs during the course of several months and leave with an improved knowledge of Russian and, inevitably, a few tales of their adventures in Russia. But every year, there are also students for whom the experience turns out to be something to be endured rather than enjoyed. So what is the recipe for a successful study experience in St. |
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 MOSCOW — Vera Lesovets held up photographs of her dog, Yasha, a spunky 5-year-old corgi, nipping playfully at the heels of a German shepherd twice her size. |
 The Urals city of Yekaterinburg is embracing its industrial heritage as it goes all out in its bid to host the 2020 World Expo.
For the next month, former printing presses, heavy machinery factories and other industrial spaces — both operating and obsolete — around the city are hosting work by contemporary artists from all over the world for the second Ural Industrial Biennale of Contemporary Art, one of several stages in Yekaterinburg’s bid to host the World Expo. |
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Issues Archive