Notebook

Remapping Russia

Changes to borders with China

... and Japan?

Russia appears to be taking steps to resolve some long-standing territorial disputes on its eastern borders.

During his visit to China in October, President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement demarcating the Russian-Chinese border. The agreement envisages the handover to China of Tarabarov Island and part of Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island, near Khabarovsk. Bolshoy Ussuriysky includes a Russian fortified area, a border outpost, dachas and farms, and lies in the approach path of military and civilian aircraft to Khabarovsk. 

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with NTV in November that Russia still agrees to abide by the terms of a 50-year-old Soviet-Japanese declaration, whereby Russia would cede the Kurile island of Shikotan and the Habomai chain to Japan upon signature of a bilateral peace treaty, formally ending WWII between the two nations. While the timing of the statement is interesting, it is not anything new, and has been the Soviet/Russian stance since the declaration was made in 1956. Japan, meanwhile, has long stipulated that Russia must return Iturup and Kunashir as well. The Soviet Union occupied the Kurile island chain in the waning days of WWII, abrogating its 1941, five-year non-aggression pact with Japan, declaring war on Japan three days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

The agreement with China led to lackluster protests from the Khabarovsk regional duma and opposition politicians. The Kuriles initiative, however, has caused a genuine outcry, particularly in the Far East. Dmitry Rogozin, the leader of the Duma’s Motherland faction, said in a live interview with Ekho Moskvy radio that Russia got the Kuriles not only by historical right, but also as a result of WWII, and that it would be wrong to reconsider this. Communist deputy Ivan Zhdakayev, who represents Sakhalin in the State Duma, told Ekho Moskvy that “the Prosecutor-General’s Office should open a criminal case against all those who are trying to sell Russian lands.” Sakhalin regional media and politicians lambasted the move, immediately announcing they would hold rallies protesting “the squandering of Russian lands.”

Mothers’ Party

Defense Ministry to take on

Russia’s mothers

In early November, The United People’s Party of Soldiers’ Mothers held its founding congress, and it elected the leader of the Union of the Soldiers’ Mothers’ Committees of Russia, Valentina Melnikova, its leader. The Soldiers’ Mothers Committee has existed for over a decade, fighting to save young Russian men from the ill-effects of the draft. The party’s main goal is to reform the armed forces and end conscription, Melnikova said. 

Shortly after the new party was formed, the Defense Ministry struck back, announcing plans to boost patriotic education by providing support to NGOs that encourage parents not to hide their children from draft authorities, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported. The main organization the Defense Ministry plans to back is the Council of Parents of Russian Servicemen, an example of an “antiparty” which clones an opposition party and in doing so tries to weaken it, Nezavisimaya said.

In a recent survey by the Levada Center, 72 percent of Russian women said the activities of Soldiers’ Mothers’ Committees benefit Russia.

 

Eye for an Eye

New strategy for dealing

with terrorists?

Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov proposed that the government be allowed to “counterseize” relatives of hostage takers during hostage crises, so as to use them in efforts to secure the release of hostages. “The detention of the relatives of terrorists during the commission of a terrorist act will definitely help us protect and save people,” Ustinov said. State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said the Duma would consider the idea. Meanwhile, some deputies spoke out against such a measure. “I think he is pushing it,” said First Deputy Speaker Lyubov Sliska, Izvestia reported. “We live in a democratic state and this is not a quite correct proposal. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is an illegal measure. We are sliding back to the Code of Hammurabi, to the Twelve Tables and Roman law.”

 

Kommersant Loses

The Moscow Arbitration Court on October 20 ordered Kommersant Publishing House to pay R320.5 million (over $10 million) to Alfa Bank for a July 7, 2004 story that appeared in Kommersant-Daily during that month’s banking crisis. Alfa Bank claimed that Kommersant’s article triggered a run on the bank. The court sided with Alfa Bank, ruling that the article, “The Banking Crisis Hits The Streets,” was untrue and damaged the bank’s reputation. Kommersant was ordered to pay direct financial damages estimated at R20.5 million, and damages to Alfa Bank’s reputation in the amount of R300 million. Meanwhile, in 2003, Russian Newsweek reported, local media were defendants in some 5000 lawsuits, in which the total combined damages sought were under R43 million – eight times less than in this one case.

 

Duma Bans...

beer: Duma Senator Vladimir Gusev stated that over 30% of beer sold in Russia is consumed at the place it is sold. That may now end. In October, the Duma passed a bill that would ban beer consumption in public places. The vote was 414 in favor and one opposed. In December, the Federation Council also passed the law.  …smoking: In November, the Duma unanimously approved the final reading of a bill banning smoking and tobacco sales on and near the premises of a number of public places, including public transportation, hospitals, schools and kindergartens, and sports facilities. …drugs: The Duma also approved the final reading of a bill that allows the State to hospitalize and treat drugs addicts under 16 without their consent. Prior to the move, drug addicts aged 15 and older had to consent to be treated. ...violence: In November, the Duma unanimously passed the first reading of an amendment to the Law on Mass Media that would ban television programs showing violence and cruelty between 7 am and 10 pm.

 

Glowing Reward

A geophysicist who worked at a uranium mine in Zmeinogorsk, Altai, surrendered eight containers of plutonium to the police, after storing them in his garage for eight years. The man told police that the facility for which he worked was closed and deserted in the early 1990s. The laboratory was looted, but the plutonium was left at the X-ray installation in which it was used. In 1997 or 1998, he found the containers on the grounds of his former workplace, lying in a heap of litter. The man said he tried to trace his former superiors and wrote several letters to various institutions about the plutonium, but received no reply. Then he took the plutonium and placed it in a box in his garage, believing that, as an expert, he had no right to leave the plutonium in a public place. The man said he decided to hand the plutonium in after reading a police announcement in the local paper encouraging people to surrender weapons for a reward. The police have opened a criminal case against him instead. (Interfax)

 

Duma signs Kyoto

In October, the Duma voted to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on Global Warming. Since the accord only comes into force if countries accounting for 55 percent of regulated emissions ratify it, Russia’s accession, accounting for 17.5 percent of global emissions, is considered crucial by the international community. On November 18, Russia sent its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which means the Protocol will come into effect on February 16, 2005.

 

Price of Patriotism

The federal program called “Patriotic Education of Russian Federation Citizens in 2006-2010” will, if approved by the Russian government, have a budget of R470 million, a 2.6-fold increase versus today’s R178 million. That is about 65 kopeks per Russian citizen. Of this, R40 million will be allocated for “coordination of activities of public movements and organizations”; R50 million for production of patriotic films, books, computer games, etc.; R15 million for amending relevant legislation; R40 million for scientific and guidance activities (e.g. publishing pamphlets for youth on reproduction issues). The bulk of the budget, R325 million, is to be spent on federal and regional programs. (Russian Newsweek)

 

Democracy Later 

Early in December, the Duma and Federation Council rubber-stamped the widely-reported Kremlin-sponsored bill which abolishes direct election of governors. Governors will now be apointed by the president and approved by regional legislatures. On the same day, the Duma approved a bill that amends the law on political parties and increases from 10,000 to 50,000 the minimum number of members a political party must have to be registered. Parties would also be required to have at least 500 members in half of their regional branches and at least 250 in the other half. If adopted, the bill would come into effect in January 2006. Media observers noted that the new law would have the result of banning many parties from the next Duma election.

 

First Among Equals

In November, the Duma ratified a protocol to the agreement between Ukraine and Russia on visa-free travel between the two countries. Under the protocol, Russian and Ukrainian citizens will not have to register with the authorities if they plan to stay less than 90 days in the other country. Observers speculated that the protocol gives Ukrainians more rights in Russia than Russian citizens have in Russia, as Russians who arrive in Moscow from other Russian cities are required to register if they plan to stay more than three days. The protocol was signed on the eve of the second round of the contentious Ukrainian presidential election. A few weeks prior to this, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Ukraine and brought up the question of introducing dual citizenship for Russians and Ukrainians. 

 

Danilov Sentenced

In November, a Krasnoyarsk court sentenced physicist Valentin Danilov to 14 years in a high-security prison colony for spying for China. Danilov was originally acquitted of the same charges by a jury trial. (see Russian Life, November/December 2004, for full details on the trial and aftermath).  As this issue was being sent to the printer, Danilov’s lawyer, Yelena Yevmenova, said that Danilov was appealing the verdict to the Russian Supreme Court.

 

{CASH FOR GUNS} A resident of Mys Shmidta, in Chukotka, will receive R800,000 for turning in 1.5 tons of gunpowder. The cache reportedly was left behind after a local military base closed. This year, Chukotka authorities have recovered more than 4,000 firearms and other weapons, as well as 60 kilos of explosives. Meanwhile, the government of the Republic of Buryatia is also offering cash for weapons, including R3,000 for an antiaircraft missile or for each kilo of explosives. This year, 21 criminal cases on charges of illegal weapons possession have been filed in the republic. (RIA Novosti)

 

{Cubs in Play} In November, the Maritime Territory’s branch of Unified Russia launched an organization called Young Bear Cubs. The club self-consciously mimics the Soviet-era Young Pioneers. “The most serious children,” reported a caustic Ren TV reporter, already understands that joining the organization could be “their first step up a career ladder.”

 

{Spy vs. Spy?} Lawyers for Igor Sutyagin, a scholar convicted in April of revealing classified information to a British company that was allegedly a CIA front organization, have charged that one of the jurors worked for the security services, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported. Sutyagin’s lawyer, Boris Kuznetsov, said that juror Grigory Yakimishev worked as an undercover intelligence officer in Poland in the 1990s. The lawyers are preparing a new appeal to the Supreme Court based on this information. Sutyagin is serving a 15-year sentence on his conviction.

 

{Changing of the Guardian} Lieutenant General Nikolai Batyushin, the tsarist-era founder of Russian military counterintelligence, had been buried in Brussels for nearly a century before his remains were exhumed and he was reburied in Moscow this fall. Nezavisimaya Gazeta speculated that the move may be part of the FSB’s effort to change its image, and that Batyushin’s portrait might soon replace that of Felix Dzerzhinsky in Lubyanka offices. 

 

{Werewolf of Moscow} Viktor Pelevin’s new novel, The Sacred Book of a Werewolf appeared on Russian store shelves this November with no advance publicity, gazeta.ru reported. The press release consisted of just one phrase: “All I want to say to journalists I have said in this book.” The book tells the story of a Chinese fox spirit by the name of A Huli, who meets werewolf and Lieutenant General Sasha Sery (Grey). The book, accompanied by a CD soundtrack, has so far received mixed reviews.

 

{Gold Rush} Russia’s proven reserves of gold will run out by 2011, while oil, copper, and uranium could run out by 2015, Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said.  He further said that Russia has 50% of the world’s known reserves of diamonds, 30% of its natural gas, 25% of its nickel, 17% of all tin, and almost 10% of all oil. 

 

Overheard

“No, this is not for us. We are not ready for such an experiment! The Russian, by his mentality, needs a master,
a tsar, a president… In a word, one boss.”

St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, when asked if Russia
wouldn’t be better off with a parliamentary republic, without a president (Itogi)

 

“We must not forget that we are an Asiatic country,
in the good sense of the word.”

Dmitry Mezentsev, deputy speaker of Federation Council (Itogi)

 

“The actions of the Powers That Be give an impression of instability: imagine a man dressed in a kimono who, without taking off his skis, gets into the cockpit of a fighter plane.”

Georgy Satarov, head of Indem foundation (Itogi)

 

“I should say that our ambassador to Ukraine is not a great expert when it comes to languages, but he does have other positive traits.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin about Viktor Chernomyrdin (Itogi)

 

“The Constitutional Court cannot act by the sheer letter of the Constitution, but must search for its spirit.” 

Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Constitutional Court (Itogi)

 

“If your husband hits you in the mug four times, the problem is not the husband, but the mug.” 

Vladimir Tikhonov, leader of VKPB party (Moskovsky Komsomolets)

 

“I do not offer gifts to those who live in peace with the
Powers That Be. I’d rather present [jailed former Yukos CEO Mikhail] Khodorkovsky with a file, so that he can cut the
bars of his cell.” 

Valeriya Novodvorskaya, leader of the Democratic Union party
and an uncompromising dissident (Komsomolskaya Pradva)

 

“At present, we are considering the idea of a partnership between business and the Powers That Be. Specifically: building private prisons.”

German Gref, Economic Development and Trade Minister (Komsomolskaya Pravda)

 

“Since the 14th century, Russia has had a rigid vertical of State power. And in the 600 years since then, it has only gotten stronger and wider.”

Andrei Klimov, State Duma deputy

Russians who:

 

apply for US visas and 

are refused 16%

 

do not entirely approve of liberalism, individualism, and a
Western-style democracy
for Russia 64%

 

favor prosecution of jailed ex-CEO of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and similar measures against
other oligarchs 43%

 

care about the outcome of
the Yukos case 27%

 ... do not 37%

 ... have never heard of it 30%

 

consider Al-Qaeda an enemy and believe that it operates
in Russia 77%

  ... believe Chechen rebels
  are linked with Al-Qaeda 74%

 

do not want dual Ukrainian
and Russian citizenship 80%

  ... do 17%

 

would prefer to buy domestically-produced food if the prices 

were the same as for imports 77%

 

blame corruption among police 

and bureaucrats for the
October 2002 Moscow theater
hostage standoff that left
some 130 people dead 56%

  ... believe authorities have 

  told the truth 6%

 

consider themselves taxpayers 65%

 ... do not 30%

 ... believe they are exempt 24%

 ... think badly of tax dodgers 37%

 

have:

  a TV set 96.4%

  a washing machine 81.3% 

  a vacuum cleaner 78.5%

  a computer 17.0%

  a home telephone 66.9%

 

 

Russian gold reserves in October 2004: $100 billion

Illegal migrants in Krasnodar region, January-October 2004: 40,000

Russian annual coal exports: $1.5-1.7 billion

Taxes the government says Yukos owes for 2000-2002: R592 billion

Number of children who go missing in Russia every year: 30,000 

Basic monthly pension in 2005: R2,302

Amount by which pension growth will exceed inflation in 2005: 3% 

Russian servicemen killed in Chechnya over the last decade: 25,000

Withdrawals from Russian bank accounts by foreigners in 2003: $10 billion

... of which by CIS citizens: $2.5 billion

Russia’s anticipated 2004 inflation rate: 10.5-10.8% 

Number of criminal cases opened in 2004 against copyright pirates: 1,000

Sales volume of counterfeit products in Russia, per year: R80-100 billion

Amount the European Commission has given to victims of
the Chechen conflict since 1999: $137 million

Number of Russian Duma deputies who acted as observers in the first round of Ukrainian presidential elections: 25

Amount allocated to create and maintain 51 outposts on Russia’s
border in the North Caucasus: R14.8 billion

Current annual turnover of US-Russian trade: $2 billion

Expected turnover by 2007: $15 billion

Number of new telephone lines installed in Russia in 2004: 4 million

...lines to be installed in 2005: 5 million 

Number of populated villages in Russia without a phone line: 40,000

Amount Moscow will spend to mark the 60th anniversary of
the end of WWII in 2005: R500 million

Amount to be spent on new, official banner (measuring just over 4’ by 5’)
for the city of Moscow: R1.455 million 

Decline in the Russian population between January-September 2004: 504,000

Current population: 143.7 million. 

Estimated minimum number of Russian spies in the UK: 32 

 

Sharapova Shines

Top Russian woman picks up

WTA championship

In a repeat of Wimbledon, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova faced off in the finals of November’s year-end WTA Championships in Los Angeles. Sharapova won Wimbledon in two straight sets, but lost the first set in L.A., won the second, and won six straight games in the third (from a 0-4 deficit) to become the first Russian to win the tourney. The blonde athlete is often compared to Anna Kournikova, but Sharapova shuns the comparison, insisting she is “Maria Sharapova and no one else.” In fact, Kournikova has never won a single WTA tournament. This season alone, Sharapova won six titles and was the WTA’s top earner, with over $2.5 million, and ended the season  ranked #4 (of the top 10 WTA players, four – ranked three through six – are Russians). Not surprisingly, Sharapova is quickly emerging as one of the world’s most marketable female athletes. In November, she added Canon to her marketing portfolio, signing a $6 million, three-year deal. In August, she signed a $3 million contract with Motorola and a $3 million deal  with Parlux Fragrance for the creation and promotion of her own signature perfume. She also has contracts with Nike, Prince and Speedmington. 

 

Federation Victory

The Federation Cup semifinals and finals were held in Moscow, November 24-28, at the Ice Palace of Krylatskoye. It was the second year in a row that the Russian capital hosted this prestigious international tennis competition. And it turned out to be the first time ever that the Russian team took home the trophy. After defeating Austria 5-0 in the semifinals, Russia faced off against France, which, without Amelie Mauresmo, looked hard-pressed to defeat the soaring Russian team. But an astonishing 77 unforced errors by Svetlana Kuznetsova in her singles match with Nathalie Dechy gave France an edge. Anastasia Myskina won both her singles matches against Tatiana Golovin and then Dechy, giving Russia a 2-1 lead. But then Kuznetsova lost again, this time to Golovin. Coach Shamil Tarpishchev made a surprise decision to bench the Kuznetsova/ Yelena Likhovtseva doubles team in favor of Myskina/Vera Zvonareva, which defeated the French squad 7-6, 7-5, securing the tournament victory. Tarpishchev promised that Maria Sharapova will join the team next year, despite rumors of bad blood between Myskina and Sharapova, after tantrums by Sharapova’s father at the L.A. tournament (see above).

 

On Russian Ice

Western players get game time

in Russian league

While the NHL season has been shut by a lockout, about 250 NHL players have been playing out the season with teams in Europe. Quite a few found temporary refuge in the Russian Hockey League, arguably Europe’s strongest and best paid. Alexei Kovalev, Nikolai Khabibulin, Vincent Lecavalier and Bradley Glenn Richards all signed with Russia’s AK Bars. Kovalev, an unrestricted free agent, also played in his native country during the 1994-95 lockout, joining Lada (Togliatti). Last year, Richards and Khabibulin helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup. AK-Bars, awash in sponsor cash, is the most active buyer of NHL stars. The club is from Kazan (capital of Tatarstan) and is doing its utmost to win the national championships in 2005 – the millenial anniversary of the city of Kazan. NHL megastar Jaromir Jagr is playing for the league’s defending champion Avangard (Omsk).  Meanwhile, American Scott Gomez, who was to play for Khimik (Voskresensk), at the last moment refused to go to Russia and instead went to Alaska to play for a lower league club, reportedly earning $2000 a month. Observers say that, had he come to Russia, he could have been earning nearly a hundred times this: the average yearly contract with foreign stars coming to Russia from the NHL is estimated to be $1 million.    

 

Going Loko

Much to the chagrin of CSKA fans, Moscow’s Lokomotiv stole the national soccer title from its Moscow archrival, beating Shinnik  (Yaroslavl) 2-0 in the final match of the championships, in Yaroslavl. One of the goals was scored by Loko striker Dmitry Sychev who, a few days later, on November 17, helped the Russian national team defeat Estonia 4-0 in their World Cup qualifying group match.

 

Safin is Back

After a lackluster 2002-2003 season, Marat Safin (see profile in Russian Life, November/December 2000) staged  a comeback this year. In January, he was runner-up at the Australian Open, and he also won three ATP tournaments – one in Beijing followed by two Masters in a row: in Madrid and in Paris, becoming only the second player ever (after Boris Becker) to win the Bercy tournament three times. The victory in Paris propelled Safin to the #4 spot in world rankings, guaranteeing him a berth for the year-end ATP championships in Houston. There, his performance was mixed. He reached the semifinals, thanks to two important victories (over Guillermo Coria and Tim Henman), but he succumbed in the end to the world’s top player, Roger Federer. Notably, however, Safin’s on-court tantrums have all but disappeared, which some attribute to the influence of his new coach – Pete Lundgren, who, prior to signing with Marat this year, coached Roger Federer.    

 

Tzyu Still in Charge

Boxing star defends title,

sets sight on next weight class

Kostya Tzyu (for a profile, see Russian Life, January/February 2003 issue) defended his IBF world title in the 62.3 kilo weight category, beating Sharmba Mitchell in third round TKO on November 6. The 35-year-old Russian’s devastating right made all the difference against the lefty Mitchell. Before the bout, Mike Tyson told Showtime his money was on Mitchell, because Tzyu had not fought for almost two years. But Tzyu said after the match that the hiatus had actually helped him become more mature. He had spent time thinking and watching videos of fights. Tzyu won his last fight – versus James Leiha, on January 19, 2003 – also by a TKO. Tzyu received $2.7 million in prize money for his win over Mitchell. Tzyu expects to schedule his next match in April or June of 2005, when he wants to take on Cory Spinks – in a heavier weight category (66.8 kilos).