Fourteen More, Briefly Noted

We could not, of course, cover all 100 Young Russians We Are Watching in the space of one article. Here are some recent milestones for some of our other subjects.

Maria Alexandrova was feted by the Parisian public in 2004 during the Bolshoi’s “Tour de France”. She has become one of Bolshoi’s leading lights and critics say it is just a matter of time before she is promoted to the rank of primas.

Dmitry Azarov continues to receive high marks for his revealing photographs for Kommersant.

Yuri Borzakovsky won the 800m race at the Athens Olympics, fulfilling his lifelong dream. He burst into tears while standing on the podium, so moved was he to hear the “new-old” Soviet/Russian anthem.

Olga Brusnikina took the gold in Athens as well, in synchronous swimming, making it her third Olympic gold. After Athens, she took a break from sports to devote herself to family life. Well, sort of. She is head coach of synchronous swimming at club Shturm-2002 in the town of Chekhov (Moscow region). She has not ruled out competing in the 2008 Olympics, but will also consider a career on TV as a sports commentator.

Olga Dergunova was named regional chairwoman of Microsoft Russia and the CIS in 2004. She oversees Microsoft’s business and investment strategy in the region and plays an active role in developing relations with the Russian government to promote the software industry. Under Olga’s leadership, Microsoft’s geographic presence in the region of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) — which includes Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus  — has expanded substantially, and the subsidiary’s staff has grown from 20 to more than 250 people.

Marat Izmaylov won the Russian soccer champion with his club, Lokomotiv, in the 2003-2004 season. He is one of the pillars of Loko and Russia’s national team.

Svetlana Khorkina finally quit gymnastics in 2004. She now oversees a gymnastics tournament in her native Belgorod, where athletes vie for “Khorkina’s Prizes.” She also volunteers as vice-president of the Russian Federation of Gymnastics.

Ilya Kovalchuk is now an accomplished star by any standard. Named the best NHL sniper in 2003-2004, Atlanta’s striker played in the Russian hockey league during this season’s NHL lock-out.   

Dmitry Lipskerov is working to promote and develop younger writers. He was instrumental in establishing the Literary Contest “Debut,” for writers under 25. His latest book, Oseni ne budet nikoda (“Autumn Will Never Come”), published in 2004 by Eksmo-Press, is about love... among rats. It is a huge success with readers and critics alike, as is his ongoing business project – the restaurant Drova (“Wood”), now a chain in the capital.

Vera Pavlova was recently included in a group of Russia’s best writers, invited to lecture in French cities this winter, under a program called “Belles Etrangeres” (“Beautiful Foreigners”). Her poetry will be included in a special anthology of Russian modern literature to be published and sold in France.

Kirill Serebrennikov staged many hit plays in 2003, including Lermontov’s Demon, starring Oleg Menshikov, Some Explicit Polaroids, Terrorism, and Sweet Bird of Youth. In 2004, he presented his feature film Ragin – a free fantasy based on Chekhov’s Ward No. 6, starring Alexei Guskov.

Natalia Vorobyova’s Natalie Tours is now the largest Russian travel company serving travel to Spain. And her firm is fast becoming a leading provider of travel to Turkey as well.

Artyom Zhizhkin finally got his much-coveted oboe, has graduated from the Shnitke Musical School and entered the High Musical School named for the Gnesins. He regularly receives invitations to play as second oboist in adult orchestras and recently went on a tour to Turkey where his virtuoso playing earned wide acclaim.

For a complete listing of our 100 Young Russians to Watch, visit russianlife.net