Notebook

Briefs

Three and counting...

In a move reportedly designed to bring relief to international travelers at MoscowÕs overburdened Sheremetyevo-II airport, RussiaÕs Transportation Ministry has unveiled plans for the construction of a new world-class airport, tentatively called Sheremetyevo-III. The project is said to be the brainchild of Minister Nikolai Tsakh and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who together with Patriarch Alexei II and President Yeltsin are allegedly slated to lay the foundation stone for the new airport’s first runway. A spokesperson from Luzhkov’s office said the new airport could be completed by September 1997, MoscowÕs 850th anniversary. The spokesperson also disclosed that the airport would be constructed by the workers who rebuilt MoscowÕs SaviorÕs Cathedral in less than three years. In order to raise needed hard currency revenues, transportation officials plan to use the new airport only to service passengers of developed capitalist countries, while air travelers from former Warsaw pact countries will continue to use Sheremetyevo-II.

Notes from the underground

Without immediate funding, MoscowÕs metro will soon be in crisis, threatened Moscow Metro Director Dmitri Gayev. Metro debts for 1995 totaled R1.3 trillion ($227 mn), while the system has yet to receive a budget for 1996. The most obvious signs of the budget crunch are disassembled escalators at 12 major stations. Metro officials have borne the brunt of recent criticism for low ridership on the newly-opened Lyublinskaya line, where further construction work has been suspended. Officials of MosMetroStroi, whose workers are owed two months in back wages, said that only the extension of the line and construction of connecting walkways to other lines will boost passenger levels.

Transitory relief

The first stage of a R400 bn project to renovate MoscowÕs Kazan train station has been completed, with three spacious halls now open for passengers. The renovated area boasts marble floors, walls of yellow and light green and sparkling chandeliers. Three cafes serve hot drinks, pastries, sandwiches, and chocolates. The ventilation, communications, electrical and heating systems have been replaced, while the stationÕs facade and a new three-story ticket office are still under construction. A hotel and several more cafes are also planned. Trains depart from Kazan Station for Kazan (TatarstanÕs capital), the Urals, Western Siberia and Central Asia.

Bullish on Moscow

After two years of decline, visits by foreigners to Moscow picked up slightly in the first nine months of last year. According to Moscow government statistics, 731,000 visitors from 176 countries registered at Moscow hotels from January to September 1995, a 1.2% increase over the previous year. Business travelers made up the bulk of these bookings, at 59%. Despite the overall increase, visitors from the US and Germany, the worldÕs most frequent travelers, were down 24%. The city plans to receive 2 mn foreign and domestic visitors this year.

ÔNizhnylandÕ gets go-ahead

In the wake of EurodisneyÕs recent financial revival, the Walt Disney Company is said to be in the earliest stage of negotiations with the Russian Government for development of a new theme park in central Russia. According to a spokesman for Disney, the most likely site is the closed nuclear weapons research town of Arzamas-16. ÔProject Nizhnyland,Õ as it has been preliminarily called, is understood to have the backing of Nizhny NovgorodÕs reformist governor Boris Nemtsov, on whose territory part of the site will fall. However, church leaders are worried by the proposed parkÕs proximity to the Convent of St. Serafim at Diveyevo. The convent was founded by one of RussiaÕs most revered saints, and every year thousands of Russian make the pilgrimage to pay their respects to his remains.

Closed for restoration

ST. PETERSBURG Ñ The famous Kazan Cathedral, which in Soviet times housed the cityÕs Museum of Atheism, is to be handed back to the Orthodox Church. It will resume services in the near future, but, as with the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, these will be reserved for special occasions. Access to the premises will, however, be wider than in the Kremlin, whose cathedrals are located in a special pass zone. Kazan Cathedral can accommodate several thousand worshipers. Superficial restoration work is currently being carried out.

Symbolic plea

A conference of 200 international business and government experts has urged RussiaÕs government to crack down on trademark and copyright violators. According to some estimates, revealed at the two-day International Conference on the Protection of Trademarks and Patents in Russia, US and Russian firms alone have lost $1.3 bn to the sale of imitation goods and illegally copied works in RussiaÕs wild consumer market.

Money out, money in...

The Russian State Duma adopted a law establishing the minimum wage at R75,900 ($16) per month as of February 1 (up from R55,000, $11).  The Duma is also investigating the possibility of granting an amnesty to illegal exporters of capital. According to Russian financial experts, $180-$200 bn has been illegally smuggled out of Russia. The law will exempt violators from legal proceedings for 100 days after its adoption, granted they return their exported capital to Russia.

...Cars out, arts in

Moscow city authorities plan to create a new zone for pedestrians in Kamergersky Lane, in the vicinity of the Moscow Arts Theatre (MKhAT). Work is to be completed by 1998, when MKhAT will celebrate its centennial. The new pedestrian zone will center around the theater, with drama workshops, stores, two rehearsal rooms and a press-center.

Education pays off

The number of high school age foreigners studying in Russia has doubled over the last year. According to the State Committee on Higher Education, Goskomvuz, Russian high schools are attracting mostly students from developing countries, who pay just $2,000-$6,000 for an education that would cost up to $20,000 in the United States. Visiting students study mainly in the sciences, such as medicine, biology and aerospace, where Russian education is traditionally strong.

Landmark on the block

The Moscow City Government  and City Property Committee have decided to privatize the cityÕs landmark National Hotel. The two state organizations will hold a 24% stake, with  the remainder to be sold in two stages Ñ first through closed subscription and then at open auction. Proceeds from the sales will be used to repay the loan taken out by city authorities for the recent two-year reconstruction of the hotel. The National reopened its doors in the Spring of 1995.