LOCAL NEWS

2001: WHEN THE ECONOMY PICKED UP

MOSCOW - For Russia, 2001 may be remembered, economically speaking, as the year of living realistically. Although growth outpaced most of the world for the second year running, at current levels, to use the Kremlin's favorite comparison, it will take Russia 20 years to equal the per-capita income of Portugal, the poorest country in the European Union.

CONSULS MOVE TO REIN IN POLICE

A group of foreign diplomats recently approached City Hall requesting the creation of a joint advisory council to address the large number of complaints by foreign visitors and residents concerning the St.

CULTURE

THE REAL SALE OF THE CENTURY

Where can an art lover go to see van Eyck's masterpiece "The Annunciation," or Raphael's "The Small Cowper Ma don na"? How about Botticelli's "The Adoration of the Magi" or Titian's "Venus with a Mirror"?

If you had been alive before the 1917 Revolution, the answer to all those questions would have been the same: the Hermitage Museum on the banks of the Neva River.

But not anymore.

These treasures were sold to Andrew Mellon, who later gave them to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

But they were just a drop in the bucket. By 1930, by some estimates, the Soviet government had sold off roughly half of the Hermitage's holdings to private collectors and Western museums, allegedly to raise money to get the young Soviet state on its feet.

CLASSICAL, FOLK, JAZZ AND BIRD CALLS

The first appearance by Robi Lakatos - the semi-official "King of the Gypsy Violin" - in St. Petersburg was an event that thrilled the entire musical community.

CHERNOV'S CHOICE

As the year ends, this newspaper feels obligated to hand out its immaterial 2001 music awards.

Leningrad- or any other Sergei Shnurov project - is, as always, Best Group. During 1999, Leningrad mainstay Shnurov turned the St. Petersburg music scene upside down, but now he is mostly busy with composing and recording scores for television series and working on Leningrad's new album, which fans have been waiting for since 2000's "Dachniki."

Best Video. MTV Russia has finally surrendered to Russian pop (Alla Pugachyova, Angelica Varum and especially, a woman singer called Sladkaya N. prove it). Tatu is still the best among MTV's regulars such as Zemfira and Chicherina.

RUSSIAN CUISINE AND PROUD OF IT

Although I had heard a lot about the modestly named Restoran since it opened two years ago, I'd never ventured in, mostly because I was under the seriously mistaken impression that it was both overpriced and hopelessly stuffy.