Notebook

Burying Russia’s “Conscience”

Dmitry Likhachyov, 92, adviser to Presidents

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n October, Russia buried its “Conscience” in St. Petersburg. The Patriarch of Russian culture, Acade-mician Dmitry Likhachyov, died after lapsing into a coma subsequent to a cancer operation. 

Likhachyov served time in Stalin’s camps (at Solovki prison from 1928-32) and later went on to become a respected Academician. In recent years, particularly after refusing to condemn Andrei Sakharov in 1975, he became a highly in-fluential intellectual, touch-ing all aspects of political and cultural life. A specialist in early-Russian literature with over 1000 published works to his credit, Likhachyov could on one day persuade the President to change his mind and attend the Romanov funeral, and on the next defend the grammatical and pronunciation rules of the Russian language. 

Likha-chyov was 92 years old at his death. In 1998, he was awarded the Order of St. Andrei, one of Russia’s highest civilian honors. 

Doing Right By Russian Veterans?

A paltry allowance for Russia’s heroes

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he Russian government presented a draft presidential decree to resume personal pensions for some categories of war veterans, including Heroes of the Soviet Union and full Cavaliers of all three degrees of the Order of Glory—one of the most prestigious WWII awards. 

Under the draft document, Cavaliers will receive the equivalent of ten minimal salaries (i.e. an additional R835, or about $32) as a supplement to their present pensions. 

It was shamefully easy to find the money in the federal budget for the plan—just 1,700 war veterans who fall in the specified categories are still alive.

No Travel Zone

In a move to stop the flow of arms and mercenaries into Chechnya, Premier Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian Foreign Ministry to start negotiations to introduce a visa regime with Georgia and Azer-baidzhan, to be in place for the duration of the military operation in Chech-nya. Mean-while, medical experts in London concluded that the four employees of the Granger Telecom company who were beheaded by Chechen terrorists were beaten and tortured before being killed by their kidnappers.

No joke

According to the head of the Chukotsky autonomous okrug, Alexander Nazarov, out of the 80,000 Chukchi in the region, just two emigrated to Alaska in 1998 and only one did so in 1999. This despite the visa-free exchange between Chu-kotka and Alaska unveiled six years ago.

the taxman cometh

In an effort to crack down on tax evasion, the Russian Tax Ministry will introduce controls over “major expenses” starting January 1. Tax inspectors will compare the amount of money individuals spent on large purchases with their declared income. The “black list” of such purchases includes real estate, means of transport (i.e. cars), corporate stocks, state and municipal bonds, items of cultural value and gold bullion. Sellers of these items are required to submit information on the buyer to tax authorities. Experts predict a shopping boom in the run up to the deadline, but they have also found a loophole in the Tax Code: a purchaser can state that he borrowed money or received it as a gift. 

CHIP WARS?

Reuters reported in November that Russian computer engineers who once developed computers for Soviet nuclear defenses had designed a microprocessor, the E2K, which is faster than any chip currently being developed by Intel or any other Western company.

Spirits rising

1999 was very successful for the Russian alcohol industry. For the first time in a decade, legal alcohol production is on the rise. Experts said that, by the end of 1999, the domestic alcohol in-dustry would be producing 1.25 bn liters of vodka per year—its highest level since the perestroika cutbacks on alcohol production.

eggs falling

Russia will export only half as much black caviar this year as it did last year (100 metric tons), Interfax news agency reported. The decline is due mainly to lower sturgeon quotas in the Caspian and Azov seas, said State Fisheries Deputy Chair-man Vladimir Izmailov. Official caviar production has fallen steadily this decade, while poachers have grabbed a bigger share of the market. The sturgeon population has also been on the decline due to worsening pollution problems in the fish’s natural habitats.

investments up

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. told the Wall Street Journal that its investments in Russian securities in 1999 were its most profitable anywhere in the world, yielding a 30% return on investment. This is versus a 15% return on investments in US internet companies. WSJ analysts attributed the sharp rise to gains made after the bottoming out of the Russian stock market in 1998, when Russian stock values plummeted 80%. The analysts further predicted future growth for the Russian economy and increased value for Russian stocks in the wake of rising work oil and gas prices.

park your missiles

St. Petersburg’s Leningradsky Severny Zavod, which once produced S-300 missiles, is halting all defense related production and will instead focus on production of parking meters, among other items, ITAR-TASS reported. The hope is workers will be better off, as they have not been paid in more than two years.

“The State Duma today is like a communal apartment: each party lives in one room ... Some want to live closer to the toilet, some, closer to the kitchen.”

— Leader of the Unity faction, Sergei Shoygu (Argumenty I Fakty)

“Of course, they are stealing even today, but a on much smaller scale ... And not in industrial volumes ... Maybe just a towel or a tshirt as a souvenir. But toilet paper and soap no longer get stolen.”

— Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kremlin Cup, 

Shamil Tarpischev, on the evolution of the tournament from 

Soviet times to the present day. (Kommersant Daily)

“The Chechens badly miscalculated if they thought they could gain from extending their campaign into the Russian heartland. And the Western powers are miscalculating if they add pressure on Moscow, intervene in the Caucasus and take the Chechen side. In this new war, the General Staff is calculating every drop of water and every fish that swims in is 

at risk.”

— Moscow Tribune (daily English language paper) on the Western position toward the Russian 

military operation in Chechnya.

“Both in terms of his experience and origins, he is a 

genuine mountaineer, that’s why he is running [for the Duma] in the electoral district of Karachaevo-Cherkessiya.”

— Yevgeny Primakov, explaining the reasons why 

Boris Berezovsky sought a Duma seat in 

Karachaevo-Cherkessiya (ORT TV channel).

Updates on 

past stories

The domestic food industry (See Russian Life, Dec/Jan 1999) boasted an unprecedented 20% growth this past year. The growth was achieved “thanks” to last year’s financial crisis, which helped Russian domestic food producers im-prove their market position. 

Scotsman Oliver Lermont was in the spotlight at the Lermontov’s Readings held in Ta-man (Kras-no-dar region) on the 185th anniversary of the birth of Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov (See Russian Life, Oct/Nov 1999). Taman is the name of a story in Ler-montov’s A Hero of Our Times. According to Sevod-nya Daily, Lermont, a descendant of Ler-mon-tov’s Scot-tish ancestors, speaks no Russian and therefore listened to the verses of his famous Russian relative with the help of an interpreter.

The two Russian leads in the Oscar nominated film, The Thief (See Russian Life, May 1998), Yekaterina Rednikova and Vladimir Mashkov, are making their marks in Hollywood. Redni-kova is acting in a thriller Sheer Fall, with Roy Scheider and Peter Weller. The Russian act-ress told Mos-kov-sky Komsomolets’ that she has no problems with English, because she is a graduate of a special Moscow secondary school specializing in English. Mashkov, for his part, has reportedly received two offers from Hollywood, including one from actor/director Robert de Niro. 

Dishing up History

Red Square plans a year of menus from the archives

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he Moscow rest-au-rant Red Square, located in the State Histor-ical Museum, an-noun-ced a full schedule of new, historical theme dinners, building on the success of such dinners launched early in 1999 (See Russian Life Feb/Mar 1999). 

Dinners this year will include such fetes as a St. Tatyana’s Day (January 25) feast, a Utopian Dinner in the style of the 1920s, Easter Week dinners, a dinner commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Red Square Victory Parade and a St. Kasian’s Day (February 29) feast. The motto of the latter (because Feb. 29 comes only once every four years), is borrowed from a February 29, 1888 menu: “On St. Kasian’s Day, get so drunk it takes you three years to sober up.” 

The restaurant’s chef, Alexander Filin, continues to unveil new recipes from the archives of the museum, including one for salmon wrapped in bacon, pike in cherry sauce, and dessert pudding Nessel-rode, named for a Russian foreign minister (1816-1856) who, according to contemporaries, was “a poor diplomat, yet a great gourmet.” As if this were not enough, the restaurant now includes on its wine list Khvan-chkara, a reputedly “fake-proof” Georgian wine that was a favorite of Josef Stalin.

Vodka Heaven

A restaurant’s “spiritual” heritage

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 Russian-style restaurant with the catchy name Petrov-Vodkin opened recently in Moscow at Pokrovka street 3/7. Petrov-Vodkin is located in one of the few Moscow buildings which did not burn in the 1812 fire, a building partly owned by captain in the tsar’s army, Petrov. This Petrov was apparently a very generous host, known for treating his numerous guests to a wide variety of Russian delicacies. His other passion was to collect different vodkas. This earned him the nickname “Vodkin.” 

The new restaurant inherited Petrov’s collection of antique vodka bottles, which now decorate the 19th century style premises. In keeping with its heritage, the restaurant serves over 300 brands of vodka and a rare assortment of zakuski (hors d’oeuvres) including one called “vsyo pod vodovhku” (everything which goes well with vodka). The list of main courses includes intriguing delicacies like Petrov-Vodkin filLet and a Chernigov-style borsch with pampushki (rolls with garlic sauce). 

Petrov-Vodkin, ul. Petrovka 3/7, ph. (095) 923-5350.

The Russian State Library has unveiled an ebook system that will allow readers around the world to read any of its 42 million books, manuscripts and documents over the internet. According to the Moscow Times, the system will bring the imposing colonnaded library, said to be second only to Washington’s Library of Congress in size, up to the level of other world-class libraries. 

In March 2000, Russia will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the death of writer Mikhail Bulgakov. In November, potential designs for a new monument to be placed near Patriarchy Ponds (which figure prominently in Bulgakov’s novel, The Master and Margarita) were presented for public discussion. Kommersant Daily’s art critic singled out the version presented by sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov. Bulgakov sits on a bench, seemingly lost in thought. The semi-destroyed wooden bench symbolizes the clash of the old and the new worlds.

The European division of General Motors will spend $25 mn to finance the launch of a new Russian-made, jeep-like Niva (known as VAZ-2123). Head of GM CIS, David Herman, quoted in Kommersant, said GM has a “strategy aimed at producing and marketing affordable cars jointly with Avtovaz.” Avtovaz had been ready to launch the Niva for some time, but lacked the cash to overhaul its production line.

In the first nine months of this year, Aeroflot served 3,576 million passengers and delivered 61,500 tons of cargo and mail. Airbus and Boeing planes make up 25% of Aeroflot’s fleet but accounted for 56% of all flights so far this year. ! In the first nine months of the year, export earnings of Russian oil companies jumped 14.3%. ! Thieves hacked into Moscow ATM machines late in 1999 and made off with some $1 million. ! Russia’s top banker, Central Bank Chairman Victor Gerashchenko, has a monthly salary of $946 ! Russia will have to import 10 million tons of wheat, Interfax reported. Russian production in 1999 is estimated at 57.8 million tons, down from initial forecasts of 76 to 86 mn tons, according to the Russian Statistics Agency. The 1998 harvest was 47.8 mn tons; in 1997 it was 88.5 mn tons. ! In 1999, 12,500 new cases of AIDS were reported in Russia, according to the Russian Health Ministry—half the estimated total of 23,500. ! At press time Russian premier Vladimir Putin had an approval rating of 75%, at least triple that of any rival. ! The Russian government predicts 18% inflation for 2000 and a gross domestic product growth of 1.5%. ! The total volume of dollars circulating in cash in Russia is $50 bn (i.e. 1/3 of all dollars printed). This exceeds the amount of cash circulating in the US, according to Michael Hudson, President of the US Institute of Economic Trends, who spoke at hearings in the Russian Duma. ! As of November 1, the official average salary in Russia was R979 (a bit less than $40). ! English names on packaging, neon signs and billboards irritate 45% of Russians, while 43% are indifferent to the foreign letters, according to a poll of 2000 Russians conducted by the Foundation Public Opinion. Only 9% said they like the “intrusion” of English in their daily life. ! Russian diamond producers said they will increase annual production of rough-cut diamonds from the current $1.5 billion to $2 billion by 2005. Russia currently produces one-fifth of the world’s diamonds. ! Russia’s trade surplus was $24 bn in the first eight months of 1999, Trade Minister Mikhail Fradkov said. Interfax said the jump was partly fueled by foreign arms sales, which were up 80% compared to the same period last year. Fradkov said export earnings comprised 24.3% of Russia’s GDP in the first eight months of 1999, vs. 7.8% in the same period in 1998. ! Russians’ take home pay will grow 1.2-1.3% in the coming year, the Russian Economics Ministry projected. ! Each day, Moscow uses some 400 liters of water per capita. ! Industrial production rose 20.2% from September 1998 to September 1999, the State Statistics Committee reported. ! By the year 2000 Russia will increase pensions by 31%, Vice-premier Valentina Matvienko said. ! There are some 8.7 million unemployed persons in Russia; this is down 2.5% from last year. ! Russia’s annual demand for automobiles (1.5-1.65 mn) exceeds supply by 50%. ! Russian President Boris Yeltsin has had 530 days off since taking office. ! The Russian Statistics Agency estimated that, by the year 2005, the population of the Russian North will be about 40% of current levels, due to outmigration.

Kremlin-ology Cup

Tennis Winner’s Circle replaces Lenin’s Tomb

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ith such strong public support, it would have been sinful of me not to win,” said Yevgeny Kafelnikov after beating Byron Black (from Zim-babwe) 7:6, 6:4 in the finals of the Men’s Kremlin Cup-99 Tournament. It was Black’s 7th consecutive loss to Kafelnikov, who is ranked second in the world. Four of these losses have been in Moscow, and Black said he needs to try to play Kafel-nikov somewhere where he does not have a crowd of 18,000 Muscovites rooting against him. It was Kafel-nikov’s third straight Kremlin Cup victory.

The Kremlin Cup celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and showed it is a permanent institution. While corporate sponsorships are harder to come by than in the boom days of 1995 and 1996 (oil giant RosNeft was this year’s big sponsor), the Cup has attained a $2.15 mn prize fund and is holding both men’s and women’s tournaments. Yet the most interesting development is that this tournament has taken on political influence that far exceeds its importance in the world of sports.

First, as long as Kafelnikov keeps winning, the tournament is a good way to boost patriotism, especially since Russsian soccer and hockey have been on the skids of late. Second, for key players in Russian politics, the positive exposure of the tournament has provided an important stage for those with national ambitions. So it was that Russian Premier Vladimir Putin stole the show.

At first, it seemed as if the all-important final award ceremony would be a love-fest for Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, whose arrival was announced over the loudspeakers, drawing some applause. But Putin craftily usurped the expected agenda when he arrived just before the award ceremony was to commence. 

Luzhkov, who had dominated the spotlight during the Women’s Kremlin Cup award ceremony a couple of weeks prior, only handed out the awards to the runners-up. Protocol demanded that Putin, the senior political figure, award the trophy to Kafelnikov. And in his short yet effective speech, Putin played to the crowd’s patriotic feelings, thanking the Russian players for helping Russia remain “a great country.” Still, Putin offered a friendly handshake to Mayor Luzhkov, thanking him for his “energetic support of the tournament,” perhaps distancing himself from the anti-Luzhkovian war being waged by the Kremlin. As Putin left the stadium, there were shouts of support from the crowd “Vladimir Vladi-mirovich, we are with you!”

The short cameo at the Kremlin Cup allowed Putin to kill three birds with one stone: to stretch out a hand to a potential political ally, to make a positive public appearance in a situation where Russia was first among nations, and, last but not least, to get in the good graces of one of Russia’s few megastars, Yevgeny Kafel-nikov (who indicated to the press that he had a 20 minute “man-to-man conversation with Putin” after the award ceremony)—a wise move for Putin, given that tennis champions in Russia last much longer than premiers. 

In a footnote to the ceremony’s events, Kafelnikov got away with a major snafu, wrongfully calling Putin “vice-premier” in front of thousands. In Soviet times, such a “political error” would have cost Kafelnikov countless troubles—if not an end to his professional career. Today, the blunder was taken as just an amusing and touching mistake by a star ...

But what about Russia’s most notorious tennis fan, President Boris Yeltsin? In the early 1990s, he had awarded the Kremlin Cup twice to Marc Rosset (of Switzerland). At the end of the week after the tournament, it was leaked to the press that Yeltsin had a talked by phone with Kafelnikov for 10 minutes, congratulating him on his victory. That a special point was made to leak this information, and that even this short talk surely came at a price for the ailing president, ought to provide grist for the mill for contemporary Kremlinologists. This “science” did not die with the end of the USSR—it merely has a new venue: the top of Lenin’s Mausoleum has been replaced by the red courts at Olimpiysky Stadium. 

—Vitaly Kurnenko

20-year old Nikolai Kryukov became Russia’s first male ever to win the gold medal in all-around gymnastics at the World Cham-pionships in Tianjin, China. The men and women’s team golds went to the Chinese, the latter after Russian leader Svetlana Khorkina fell from the balance beam. Khorkina also lost her all-around world title to a Romanian rival, yet won the gold on the uneven bars. 

Fyodor Konyukhov hopes to qualify for the 1,800 km Iditarod dog sled race across Alaska, which begins March 4, 2000. Konyukhov, famous for his exploits in solo ocean races and mountain climbing, is now practicing in Anchorage. He is the first Russian to try to compete in the race.

Russian skaters Alexei Yagudin and Mariya Butyrskaya confirmed their “leading role” in world skating, winning the fourth round of the Grand Prix Series in Paris. Alexei flawlessly performed a unique combination of six triple jumps and one quadruple. 

Three Russian basketball players - Igor Kudelin, Vasily Karasev and Andrei Kirilenko were selected for the All Star match of the best European players which was to be held on December 28 at Moscow’s Olimpiysky stadium. Kirilenko was the first Russian basketball player to sign an endorsement deal with Nike. 

Andrei Chemerkin won two gold medals in the heavyweight category at the World Weightlifting Championships in Athens. It was Chemerkin’s 3rd and 4th world golds. Russia came in 7th in overall medals at the competition.

Russia’s national volleyball team won the prestigious World Cup, its first ever such win, after defeating Japan 3:0 in Tokyo. During the World Cup Russia beat all the world’s strongest teams, including Cuba, the US, Italy and Brazil.