Notebook

Aeroflot’s Ambitions

Russia’s leading airline, Aeroflot, seems increasingly intent on upgrading its image. Starting January 20 of this year, the airline introduced a new menu offering a wider choice of hot dishes and beverages. Over the course of this year, the company will acquire 15 brand-new Western-made planes. Moreover, in 1999, the company plans to build its own terminal at Moscow’s Sheremetevo airport based on Heathrow’s Terminal 4 in London. According to the airline’s general director, Valery Okulov, Aeroflot plans to achieve a “small economic miracle” by attracting almost 27% more passengers in 1998 than last year.

Propiska System Weakened

Russia’s Constitutional Court recently ruled that citizens without a propiska, or residence permit for a certain town, may travel abroad. Previously, only those who had such a permit were eligible for an overseas passport, meaning in effect that thousands of Russians were barred from foreign travel. In a second, related ruling, the court said that the process of registration of residence is to inform the government and not to obtain permission for residence in a specific city. Many hope that these rulings are the first step toward dismantling the entire propiska system (which, though officially eliminated in January 1993, still exists throughout Russia).

Porn Passes Duma

The State Duma has narrowly approved a controversial new bill that would legalize pornography in Russia, while keeping close tabs on it. Currently, pornography is illegal under Russian law, although this does not prevent the sex trade – everything from striptease joints to sex shops hawking hard-core porn – from flourishing in Moscow. Under the new bill, the sale of “material of a sexual nature” would be subject to licensing and such materials would be sold only at state-approved locations. Erotic films would be allowed on television from 1 until 4 am only. In order to become law, the bill must pass on a third reading, be approved by the Federation Council and be signed by President Yeltsin.

Without an Anthem

Speaking of legislation, the State Duma just barely (273-75, with three abstentions) failed to approve a proposal to bring back the stirring Soviet national anthem (a two-thirds majority is required on such federal constitutional votes). However, it also rejected (by a much larger margin 108-243, with seven abstentions) the wordless post-Soviet anthem (written by 19th-century composer Mikhail Glinka), the double-headed eagle and the tricolored flag – all of which are in use as state symbols today. In turning down the new symbols, opponents claimed that the eagle represents tsarist rule, which Russia rejected wholeheartedly in 1917, while the tricolor flag was used by a traitorous Russian general who went over to the Germans during World War II.

Shalyapin’s a Star Again

Small planet #2562, discovered by Russian researcher Lyudmila Zhuravlyova, has been named after the great Russian singer Fyodor Shalyapin. A certificate to this effect from the International Astronomy Union was awarded to Valery Georgiev, art director of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, where Shalyapin made his debut and which will hold festivities and artistic soirees all year long to commemorate the singer’s 125th anniversary.

No Holes Barred ...

In Switzerland, former general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev told local journalists who were grilling him about his recent Pizza Hut commercial that he has a right to do business. He was forced to do the commercial, he said, to raise money for a new building for his foundation. Then, not losing a beat, the former Soviet leader announced that he is ready to advertise Swiss cheese, if needed.

Holiday Inn Moves to Moscow

The US-owned Holiday Inn hotel chain plans to move to Moscow this spring with the Holiday Inn Vinogradovo, a 180-room hotel in northern Moscow, 40 minutes from the city center and 15 minutes from Sheremetevo airport. The hotel will be located on a wooded estate on the shores of Lake Dolgi. Arie Aizenshtat, the company’s regional manager in Russia, stated that the Inn, which will be equivalent to a four-star hotel, is aimed at mid-range business and pleasure travelers. Rooms will be priced at $150 to $180 per night.

Violence Goes Unchecked

Yekaterina Lakhova, Duma deputy and head of a presidential commission on women, children and demographics, estimated that 14,000 women are killed by husbands or family members in Russia each year. And a recent report by Human Rights Watch indicates that the Russian law enforcement system may be part of the problem. Specifically, the report cites hostility on the part of police and prosecutors toward women rape victims. The Russian government should devote more attention and resources to fighting violence against women, the report continued, adding that diplomatic efforts by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and others have done little to change “high-level indifference to the brutality Russian women endure without recourse.”

Mortgages for Moscow

Good news for the Russian middle class! At a Russian-US investment symposium held at Harvard University, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov signed an agreement with Harvard to develop a mortgage system for his city. Harvard experts, along with companies like Fannie Mae and Bank Boston, will draft laws and regulations pertaining to the new system, which will allow Moscow residents to acquire new housing through mortgages. Officials say the new system will give citizens access to low-interest, long-term loans, making housing more accessible to the average Muscovite.

Baltika Introduces New Beer

The St. Petersburg-based Baltika brewery – Russia’s largest beer manufacturer – has come out with a new type of beer – #9. The company already has brands numbered one through seven, according to increasing alcohol strength (see Russian Life’s story on beer, October 1997). Number 9 is a “strong beer” containing 8.5% alcohol by volume, with added malt and a strong hops aroma. Number 8 – a non-alcoholic brew – did not catch on in Russia, needless to say.

Visa Retaliation

The Russian Foreign Ministry has decided to respond in kind to price increases for American visas. Russia is increasing its visa costs for American citizens by $25 starting February 1, 1998 as a “tit for tat” for the United States’ corresponding price increase. A source at the Russian department of foreign policy revealed that Moscow is prepared to start a dialogue with Washington on this issue.

Burying the Romanovs ...

A commission that has been reviewing possible sites for burial of the remains of the Romanov family (minus two missing skeletons) has announced its recommendation. The bones should be interred in St. Petersburg’s Peter and Paul Fortress, announced First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov. This recommendation is in line with the wishes of Romanov family descendants, but goes against the wishes of Eduard Rossel, the outspoken governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Rossel said he feels the bones should be buried in Yekaterinburg, where the family was killed. Speaking on NTV, Rossel also said that a Yekaterinburg scholar allegedly knows the location of the missing two skeletons. But the scholar will not reveal the location, Rossel said, unless the bones are buried in Yekaterinburg.

... Displaying their Regalia

Meanwhile, hoping to repeat the huge successes of past Romanov exhibits, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and Broughton International have announced an American tour of Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Russia. It will begin in Wilmington, DE, opening August 8 of this year. The exhibit will feature one of the largest collections of tsarist-era art and memorabilia to ever leave Russia – over 400 objects in all. There will be a gilded state carriage, many costumes and gowns, military uniforms, icons, chalices, personal gifts from Nicholas and Alexandra and, of course, many items designed by Karl Fabergé. The exhibit will be held in the new Delaware Grand Exhibition Hall through December 31, then travel on to two additional sites in the US. For more information about the tour, you can call 888-395-0005

Novgorod To Regain “Greatness”?

Novgorod lawmakers have decided to revive the name Novgorod Veliky, or Great Novgorod, given in the 12th century to recognize the town’s special status. Residents say they are tired of being confused with Nizhny Novgorod, their big brother on the Volga, and that visitors are constantly going to the wrong town for conferences. Unlike St. Petersburg or Yekaterinburg, Novgorod was never officially renamed – the first part of its name disappeared naturally over time. Nonetheless, the powers in Moscow will have the final say on whether or not Novgorod is destined for greatness.

16-year-old Yelena Rogozhina from Samara was named Russia’s most beautiful woman at this year’s Miss Russia-97 pageant (see photo, page 12).

Over the next 3 years, through imposition of tougher safety and financial controls on airlines, the Russian government seeks to reduce the number of registered airlines in Russia from the current 315 to a maximum of 53.

According to the Glasnost Defense Foundation, 15 Russian journalists were killed in 1997, up from 14 the previous year.

Over the last ten years, approximately 250,000 scientists emigrated from Russia, mainly to the US, Canada and Israel.

On January 1, 1998, there were 1,697 registered commercial banks in Russia.

Last year, 277 miners were killed and 15,180 injured in Russian mine accidents. This is a 60% increase in deaths and a three-fold increase in injuries over 1996’s already high figures. An explosion at a Vorkuta coal mine on January 18 this year took the lives of 27 miners. Miners are calling for an emergency congress to deal with the crisis, which they blame on government policies and underfunding of the sector.

Some 40,000 young men dodged the draft in 1997, which is a marked increase from 31,000 dodgers in 1996. Still, the military says it met its quota of 188,000 new recruits.

During the past eight months, 900 Russian citizens called the FSB hotline to reveal that they had cooperated in one way or another with foreign spies.

An estimated 40% of the Russian economy is “shadow,” or outside government regulatory or tax control.

Russian citizens are estimated to hold some $30 billion in cash.

Russia’s 17 largest companies and 6 largest banks contribute more than 65% of all Russia’s tax revenues.

According to the Independent Russian Institute of Social and National Problems, 40% of Russia’s young people believe in using sex to attain selfish ends.

According to the Russian State Statistics Committee, consumer prices rose by 0.6% during the first 12 days of January.

A private in the Russian military, one Sergei Chugaev, got 10 years in prison for dropping a spent cigarette in the wrong place – at an ammunition depot in the Russian Far East. The resulting blaze sent $50,000,000 in arms and explosives up in smoke.

SOURCES: Interfax, RFE/RL Newsline, Russian Central Bank, ITAR-TASS, Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

MISSTATEMENT OF THE MONTH

“In our country, the security organs have never cost the state too much.” 

– Vladimir Kryuchkov, former KGB head

A SHORT LECTURE ON ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

“We have mainly cattle – this is something between a goat and a donkey.” 

– Kursk governor Alexander Rutskoi,

 on the dairy herds in his region.

READING THE POLLS

“Half of Russians support prostitution,  the rest have daughters” 

– Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, commenting on a recent poll conducted by the Russian Independent Institute of Social and National Problems, which revealed that 51% of young Russians have a positive attitude towards prostitution.

A VOICE OF EXPERIENCE ...

“... Clinton is obviously a muzhik ... He jogs in shorts, plays the saxophone. Women love guys like him ... They showed on the telly the beauty which he supposedly coveted. What a goblin! ... Guys, trust my experience: it was all just the opposite ... We had a similar situation in our sovkhoz. They sent us a new agronomist. A young guy, intelligent, educated, didn’t drink, but – here is the main thing – unmarried. The village girls acted like they had gone crazy. And one floozy showed absolutely no mercy. But without result. In her dissapointment, she pushed her cart” to the raikom ... They dragged the guy before the commissions, so he quit and left .... It’s a shame for Bill. Whether they prosecute him or not, they’re wearing down his nerves.”

– A. Demchenko, of Krasnodar Krai, 

  in a letter to the editor published in 

  Arguments and Facts newspaper.

SOURCES: Komsomolskaya Pravda, ORT TV, Itogi Weekly, Argumenti i Fakty

Mayor Announces Bid for 2012 Olympics

Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who is largely responsible for Moscow’s hosting of the World Youth Games this summer, recently announced a new bid – for the 2012 Olympic Games. Russia previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1980, but many countries boycotted the games as a protest against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Luzhkov recently took Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, on a tour of Moscow’s sporting facilities, and the latter was reportedly impressed – particularly by the newly renovated Luzhniki stadium. Of course, by 2012, Luzhkov could well be presiding over the games not as mayor, but as president ...

Tourney on the Beach ... in Moscow

The sport of beach volleyball, long popular in sunnier regions of the US, has an unlikely new tournament location – Moscow. In August of this year, the 11th men’s competition in the Beach Volleyball World Series will be held in the Russian capital. The “Russian Open” will be sponsored by the Winston cigarette brand and offers $150,000 in prize money. The location for the competition has yet to be determined.

Popov Swims Back

In the world swimming championships recently held in Perth, Australia, Russia’s Alexander Popov won the 100-meter freestyle event (which he has never lost in a major competition), while losing the all-around title to his training partner Michael Klim of Australia. The photogenic Popov made a big splash at the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996 and was once again in the spotlight when he was stabbed by a watermelon seller during an argument later that same year. Fortunately for Russia, it seems that Popov has made a swift recovery.

Russian Skaters Win Europeans

Russian figure skaters Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won their first European pairs title in Milan, Italy, beating out fellow countrymen Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev. Less than two years ago, Berezhnaya’s skull was fractured when her head was sliced open by the skate of ex-partner Oleg Shliakov. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze skated a beautiful program in Milan to the music from “Chariots of Fire.” Meanwhile, Alexei Yagudin won first place in the men’s short program, as the Russian men swept the top three places.

Chesnokov Still Out

Despite rumors to the contrary, famous Russian tennis player Andrei Chesnokov did not return to the court in February to participate in the Moscow Open Winter Championships. He has been on a break for more than a year due to a serious leg fracture. Chesnokov became a national hero and was named a Hero of Russia by President Boris Yeltsin after he helped Russia to defeat Germany in the 1995 Davis Cup semifinals. In the match, Andrei Chesnokov beat Michael Stich after saving an incredible nine match points.

A Century of Russian Hockey

In Nizhny Novgorod, the XIV International Ice Hockey Tournament, featuring the best hockey players from Sweden, Russia, Finland and Norway kicked off on January 28. Although this tournament has been held for many years, this year is extra-special, as it marks the hundredth anniversary of “Russian” hockey (played with a ball, see photo above). Vice Premier Boris Nemtsov made it back to his hometown in time to participate in the opening ceremony, and the city shelled out some R5 bn to build two state-of-the-art sports facilities. In the February 1 finals, Russia defeated Sweden 9-2.