IN BRIEF

Published: September 26, 2012 (Issue # 1728)

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.

The baby girl, who weighed 3.4 kilograms, was born to the Sharkov family, which already has two boys and a girl. The girl’s mother Olga is a manager at a local construction company and her father Sergei heads a department at a construction design bureau.

On Friday night 179 children were born in St. Petersburg, one quarter of whom were born to families of non-St. Petersburg residents, Interfax reported. At least 124 of them were born to St. Petersburg families.

The baby’s father was invited to fire the cannon at the Peter and Paul Fortress for the daily midday salute.

St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said City Hall will present the family of the five millionth resident with a four-room apartment. The other children born on the same night as the lucky baby will also get gifts, including commemorative medals.

According to the Russian Statistics Agency, more than 57,000 children were born in the city in 2011, nearly twice as many as in 1999. In the first eight months of this year, at least 41,115 babies were born in the city, 4,168 more than during the same period last year.

Twenty-four percent of the babies born in the city this year were born to residents of the Leningrad Oblast, other Russian regions and foreign citizens.

Local Businessman Dies

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Alexei Logunov, a 39-year-old St. Petersburg businessman and co-owner of the city’s Italian restaurant chain Mama Roma, was found dead in his apartment in Nice, France earlier this month.

Logunov was the owner of about a dozen food ventures, including the Liverpool pub and the Havana club. French police believe the businessman died of natural causes. According to preliminary medical reports, he died of a heart condition. Logunov’s friends and colleagues expressed doubt, however, that a man of his age could die of heart problems, the web portal Fontanka.ru reported.

Logunov’s friends became concerned when they heard no news from him for 10 days. Police went to his home, entered the apartment and discovered Logunov’s body about 10 days ago. It is believed he had died about 10 days prior to the body’s discovery.

The Mama Roma chain has 12 branches in St. Petersburg, as well as one in Kemerovo and one in Krasnoyarsk. Logunov was also the owner of the Republic of Coffee chain of coffee shops. Logunov also reportedly owned some businesses in Europe.

Psychology for Kids

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The head psychiatrist of the Health Ministry, Zurab Kekelidze, has suggested introducing psychology lessons beginning at primary school level to warn children about the danger of drugs, about adolescence and to prepare them for the difficulties of first love, Interfax reported.

Kekelidze said school principals had been asked at what age they considered it best to give children psychology lessons. “We thought it was relevant to start from the fourth or the sixth grade but we figured out that some pupils are offered drugs as early as in the fourth grade,” he said.

Kekelidze said they didn’t plan to introduce psychology lessons as a science subject, but rather that specialists would inform children about the risks of alcohol and drugs, and educate them about adolescence.

Adolescence is a difficult period for every teenager, and distress resulting from the first experience of love is often a reason for children getting “in with the wrong crowd” and experimenting with alcohol and tobacco, Kekelidze said.

“Teenagers shouldn’t develop inferiority complexes,” he said. “They should know that every person goes through such experiences and that if someone falls in love they may get rejected or may reject someone. But they should be able to navigate such experiences safely,” the psychiatrist said.

Park to Take Payment?

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — Visitors to the Summer Gardens may have to pay for the privilege in the future, Sergei Renin, head of the department of the Russian Museum that is responsible for the gardens, was quoted by Interfax as saying Tuesday.

Turnstiles were installed in the gardens when they reopened after reconstruction work earlier this year, but entrance is currently free.