Notebook

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khmatova honored 

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 monument to one of Russia’s most venerated poets, Anna Akhma-tova (1889-1966), was un-veiled in the courtyard of the Ardov family house—where Akhmatova once lived—at 17 Ordynka Street in Moscow. 

Local critics praised the new statue for bringing a freshness to the sea of often tasteless statues erected of late in the nation’s capital. 

Sculptor Vladimir Surov-tsev modeled the statue on the famous portrait of Akhmatova by Amedeo Modigliani. 

Russian actor (Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears) and Ardov family member Andrei Batalov said, “Anna Andreevna would have approved of the idea, because I know she liked Modigliani’s portrait.” Poet Yevgeny Reyn recalled that “the sojourn in Moscow was a respite for Anna Akh-matova—she was having a hard time in St. Petersburg, recovering from the infamous [Zhdanov] resolution that expelled her from the Union of Writers.”

Iced Goose

Come winter and hard frosts, and the people of Bashkiria celebrate the Goose Feather Holiday. The goose is the most popular domestic bird (and meal) in Bashkiria. A Bashkir housewife may raise up to a 100 geese a year, so she needs a helping hand from neighbors at the time of the holiday. After the geese are butchered and plucked, the neighbors must praise the host’s geese. Then the neighbors are treated to a lavish meal including bliny. Following the meal, according to tradition, the women hang the geese on a koromyslo—a yoke—and carry the geese to the river. There they plunge the geese carcasses into icy water so that they are covered with an icy crust, inside which they can be preserved, hanging in the barn, until spring. 

The telling-tale of Lenin’s well-preserved

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enin’s Mausoleum was closed during No-vember and December for regular maintenance work on Lenin’s corpse. At that time, controversy erupted around the operating costs of the mausoleum, estimated at up to $1.5 million per year. 

Argumenty i Fakty (AiF) researched the issue and found that the state is financing only water, electricity and heating for the mausoleum. Commu-nist Party leader Gen-nady Zyu-ganov also said his party has nothing to do with the shrine’s maintenance. 

In fact, the All-Russian Institute of Healing and Aromatic Plants (VILAR) is responsible for all aspects of the mausoleum’s upkeep. The institute does not receive funding from the budget but earns money through its “scientific activities,” e.g. work at foreign sites such as Ho-Chi-Min’s mausoleum in Vietnam. 

Still, VILAR Director Valery Brykov would not disclose the costs for continued preservation of Lenin’s corpse, prompting AiF to conclude that “seemingly, the former sacred place of the USSR remains as secret a site as it has always been.” 

At press-time, Boris Nemtsov, leader of the Union of the Right Forces, was actively lobbying for Duma consideration of the interment of Lenin’s corpse, citing the late academician Dmitry Likhachev to the effect that Russia will not heal until Lenin’s corpse has found its final resting place.

Vladimir Lenin, the first leader of the USSR, died in Janu-ary 1924 and has been carefully mummified ever since.

FITTING HONOR

Valentina Tereshkova was honored as a “Woman of the Century,” by the British international organization “Women of the Century.” Every year the organization presents an award to the most outstanding woman of the year. Tereshkova was born on March 6, 1937 to a family of peasant-communal farmers. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev picked Tereshkova to be the first woman in space from among four final candidates (selected out of 1200 applicants). Tereshkova’s first spaceflight was on June 16, 1963 on board the “Vostok-6” (East-6). It lasted 70 hours and 41 minutes. “It is I, Chaika [Seagull],” she radioed back on reaching orbit, using her space handle. She was then ever known as “Our Chaika” by her proud compatriots.

THE END OF MIR

In February the 15 year old, 136-ton Mir space station (right) will be “de-orbited.” The world’s longest serving manned space station will spread debris across some 6,000 kilometers of the Pacific Ocean when it meets its end. The first Mir module was launched on February 19, 1986.

SYMBOLIC GESTURE

The Russian State Duma approved, by a vote of 370 to 51, a compromise package on state symbols. The old Soviet-era anthem will get new words and become the Russian national anthem (see Russian Life, Nov/Dec 2000). The bill also formally approved the tricolor flag and the double-headed eagle as state symbols. 

HEAVY METALS

In November, the rivers Karagaiila and Khydolaz in Bashkiria were found to have 1000 times the maximum permissible concentrations of manganese, copper and zinc. The source of the pollution are nearby copper and sulfur quarries and mines that have failed to take any measures to mitigate their effects on the environment.

IF ANYONE NEEDED ONE ...

Patriarch Alexei II declared the first-ever governmental patron saint on November 29. St. Matthew, a tax collector before he took up as a follower of Jesus, will now be the official patron saint of the Russian Tax Police. Ironically, the beautiful Church of St. Kozma and St. Damian, built by Matvei Kazakov, stands next to the Tax Police building in Moscow—just in case any present-day tax collectors decide to follow in the footsteps of their patron saint and turn their backs on their pernicious profession. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin declared November 21 an official day off for all those who work at the Tax Ministry, thus adding one more professional holiday to the already long list of local professional festivities. 

STOLI GETS NEW HOME

Allied Domecq won a tender by Soyuzplodoimport for the right to sell Stolichnaya vodka in the US starting in January. Allied Domecq was competing against Bacardi Ltd and Diageo (the former distributor). Soyuz-plodoimport reportedly preferred Allied Domecq to Diageo because Diageo also produces Smirnoff vodka, and the Russian company may have feared its own product would not get preferential treatment. Allied Domecq will hold the Stoli distribution contract for 10 years. At present, 12 million bottles of Stolichnaya are sold each year in the US. 

voice of winnie dies

Boris Zakhoder, the famous Russian voice for characters like Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins, died in Moscow on November 7. Zakhoder was one of Russia’s most prominent children’s writers and storytellers. His original poetry was enjoyed by children and adults alike for over three generations. Although famous for his “translations” of children’s literature, Zakhoder’s works were actually more retellings than direct translations, allowing aspects of character, language and plot to be adapted and re-adapted to suit the Soviet audience. Zakhoder also made subtle yet strong political statements through his works, since children’s literature was afforded greater freedom during the Soviet era.

oil deal inked

LUKoil, one of Russia’s oil and gas giants, bought a 60% share in the American oil company, Getty Petroleum Marketing (GPM), for $40 million ($5 per share). Negotiations are underway for LUKoil to acquire the remaining shares of GPM. This is the first case of a publicly-owned US company being acquired by a Russian company. 

but still crowded

In order to reduce severe over-crowding in Russia’s 987 penal facilities, some 140,000 prisoners were amnestied last year. Those included in the release were persons who had been awarded military or state honors, individuals infected with tuberculosis and persons convicted of minor crimes. Still, pretrial detention centers are 30%+ over capacity.

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he Building of Spartak 

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egendary Russian soccer coach Konstantin Beskov recently turned 80. On the occasion of his birthday, President Vladimir Putin awarded Beskov with the Order of Merit of the Fatherland, Second Degree for his “outstanding contribution in the formation and development of domestic soccer.”

Beskov, a former Soviet soccer star, made his fame as a coach in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when he led Moscow’s Spartak from the second league to the first (i.e. premier) league in just one year. Ever since that time, Spartak has been at the top of Russian soccer. Today Oleg Romantsev, one of Beskov’s players and his coaching protégé, continues Beskov’s legacy. Last year he led Spartak to its eighth title—of just nine titles contested since Russian independence. It is also the club’s fifth straight title and, at press time, the team was leading its group in the Euro League.

One reason Spartak is so hot is certainly because of the team’s Cameroon-born defender, Christian Tchuyse. Tchuyse in fact recently applied for Russian citizenship, which was duly granted under a special decree signed by President Vladimir Putin. 

Tchuyse can now be selected by Romantsev, who also coaches the Russian national team, to play for the national squad which is trying to qualify for the World Championship-2002.  Local soccer observers quipped that Tchuyse is “paying back the favor” to Russian soccer on behalf of Cameroon. 

It was Russian coach Valery Nepom-nyaschy who years ago helped Cameroon (population 8 million) break into the ranks of the world’s soccer elite (reaching the quarterfinals of the 1998 soccer championship in France). For his efforts, Nepomnyaschy had a street in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde named after him. Perhaps if Tchuyse helps Spartak to win the Euro League this season or the World 2002, Moscow mayor and soccer buff Yuri Luzhkov will see to it that Moscow has an “ulitsa Tchuyse.” 

Russian chess prodigies seem to be sprouting like mushrooms after a rainstorm: Alexander Grischuk, 17, recently reached the semi-finals at the FIDE world championship, where he lost to runner-up Alexei Shirov (a Russian-turned-Spaniard) and is considered to be one of the most promising representatives of the new wave of modern chess. The young Muscovite has been invited to defend the Russian national colors at the recent Chess Olympics. Grischuk, whose chess idol is Bobby Fisher, comes from a family of physicists (his grandfather is the vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, his grandmother is a doctor of physics and both parents are physicists as well), so Grischuk said it was nice for the whole family to have a chess player or a change. The young chess master also likes to play basketball (he is 6’ 3” tall).

Lyudmila Petrova, 32, became the first Russian ever to win the New York marathon, crossing the finish in 2:25:45, three minutes faster than her personal best to defeat Tegla Loroupe, a two time NYC marathon winner from Kenya. Petrova attributed part of her success to fellow Russian runner, Leonid Svetsov, who seemed to be setting the pace for the women at the 8-mile mark, when the men and women joined each other on the course. Petrova resumed running in 1994 after a seven-year break and the birth of her second daughter.

On November 2, Gary Kaspa-rov, 37, lost his claim to the world’s top chess spot to Vladimir Kramnik, 25. In the 16-match tournament sponsored by BrainGames, the normally aggressive and arrogant Kasparov often looked tired and befuddled, and failed to win even one game against Kramnik, who defeated Kasparov twice. 14 games ended in a draw. (See profile of Kramnik on page 25.)

21-year old Olympic gold medalist in rhythmic gymnastics, Yulia Barsukova, who created one of the biggest sensations in Sydney when she defeated her heavily-favored compatriot, Alina Kabaeva, has decided to leave sports. Barsukova told Sevodnya daily she wants to move to the US to join her boyfriend Denis, an ice dancer who is practicing near Philadelphia with ex-Soviet star and coach Natalia Linichuk. Barsukova, “earmarked” for at best a bronze in Sydney, said she felt sorry for Kabaeva, who committed a simple error, losing control over a ring. “I hope she will stay in the sport through the next Olympic Games,” Barsukova said. 

Last fall Yevgeny Kafelnikov won the Moscow Kremlin Cup for the fourth consecutive time and went on to the finals of the Stockholm Open, only to lose to the Swede Thomas Johansson 2-6, 4-6, 4-6. 

FACTS AND FIGURES: During the first eight months of 2000, consumers bought 1.7 billion rubles worth of goods and services—a 30% increase over last year. More notably, between June and August of this year, the ratio of wages spent on goods and services jumped from 6% to 81%. (Moscow Times). This signals a high level of consumer optimism. And yet, the All-Russia Center for Public Opinion reported that at least half of consumers still consider their personal financial state to be poor. ! Between January and November 1, 2000, Russia’s gold and hard currency reserves rose from $12.456 billion to $25.88 billion. ! 43% of the shares of the state bank Sberbank are held by foreign investors. (Moscow Times) ! This year’s grain harvest is expected to be, after drying, about 65 million tons, a 12% increase over last year’s harvest, but a far cry from the 1997 high of 88.5 million tons. ! By the end of 2001, the average pensioner will receive 1300 rubles (about $45) per month. Presently, the monthly pension is 900 rubles (about $32). Pensioners comprise 35% of those living below the poverty level and 30% of the entire population of Russia. (AK and M) ! Next year, McDonald’s intends to open 15-20 new restaurants in Russia. There are currently 58 McDonald’s in the country. ! On August 1, Russians had ruble and currency deposits in Russian banks totalling 409.1 billion rubles. This is up 28.3% from the beginning of the year and 49.2% from August of last year. (Goskomstat) ! 200 new restaurants opened this past year in Moscow. ! Last year, Russia’s death rate was 1.7 times higher than its birthrate. In order for the country to reverse its population decline, each Russian woman must bear at least 2.3 children. Right now, the average births per woman in Russia is 1.3 (the international standard for a critical birthrate level is 1.1). (Scientific Center of Obstetrics) ! In a recent poll of 2000 Russians, 17.3% said they strongly believe that foreign investment threatens the country, while another 28.2% believed this more generally. 67.2% believe Russia to be economically weak, while 60% disagreed with the proposition that “Russia will never become ‘civilized’ and economically developed.” 40% said Russia is not a democratic state; 52.6% said the country does not have free and fair elections; one-third see a move toward authoritarianism. Only 14.4% felt President Putin is not doing a good job. (ROMIR) ! Imports rose to 9% during the first three-quarters of the year (to $31.2 billion), and exports were up 46% (to $75.4 billion). ! In 1987, the first case of HIV was registered in Russia. Today there are approximately 70,000 persons officially registered as HIV positive, 40,000 of which appeared in the last year alone. True infection rates are estimated at 10 times these numbers. Some 300 Russians have reportedly died from AIDS since 1987, including 131 children. ! According to KOMKON investigation company, the Russians most likely to visit casinos are government officials. In the third quarter of 2000, KOMKON reported, 21,000 government employees visited gaming houses. ! Office space is once again hard to come by in Moscow. In 1999, the citywide vacancy rate was 17.7%. Today it is 7.5%. ! The Russian military will be cut from 3,100,000 to 600,000, with most cuts coming in support services and administration. Troops will be cut from 1.2 million to 835,000 by 2005. 240,000 of those dismissed will be officers, of which 380 are generals. ! Inflation in Russia during 2000 rose to 20-21%, while industrial production growth was 9.2% and agricultural growth was 4%. At the end of November, the level of unemployment among the economically active population was estimated at 10.1%. !  In 1997, Russia gave out more than 240,000 work permits to foreigners. More than 120,000 came from 114 countries, with Ukraine, Turkey, China and the former Yugoslavia leading the list. Yet a majority of immigrant workers (700,000 to 1.5 million) work here without any sort of work permit.