Notebook

 

Almost There

Two Russian Orthodox churches approaching reunification

The Episcopal Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia has approved an Act on Canonical Dialogue with the Moscow Patriarchate, Interfax reported on September 8. Its signing is expected in early 2007 and will be followed by a full restoration of communion with the Moscow Patriarchate after an 80-year schism.

“We are glad that, just as Russian shrines return to Russia, so people who lived abroad will return to the Russian Orthodox Church,” Patriarch Alexei II said in a news conference in Kaliningrad.

ROCOR was established after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and for many years fiercely maintained its independence from the Moscow Patriarchate. ROCOR serves 500,000 believers in 30 countries.

The two Orthodox churches first started communicating in 2001, and since then their relations have gradually improved. The breakthrough came in 2004 after a ROCOR clergy delegation met with Patriarch Alexei II in Russia, and both churches set up committees to begin dialogue towards rapprochement.

“The process of unification of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has been long,” Patriarch Alexei said. “The division has lasted for 80 years for political reasons; there are no such reasons today.” 

Patriarch Alexei II also noted that, in unification it should be realized that “these are unequal entities,” as the Moscow Patriarchate has 27,000 parishes and ROCOR only 280. 

Under the tentative agreement, ROCOR would retain a fair amount of autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. 

 

Ties That Bind

CIS countries trying to ease
dependence on Russian gas

Ukraine has had more success negotiating gas prices with Moscow since Victor Yanukovich took over in August as the country’s premier. 

The gas price for Ukraine this year will remain at $95 per cubic meter, according to a  new agreement between Ukraine’s energy ministry and Gazprom. By 2007, Ukraine could be paying $130 per m3 of gas, Yanukovich recently said in a government meeting. This is quite a bargain, given the $230 per m3 Gazprom demanded in January 2006, after it cut supplies to Ukraine when the parties failed to reach a pricing accord. 

Nonetheless, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics are seeking to ease their energy dependence on Russia. According to Ukraine’s new energy strategy, the country plans to reduce gas imports from Russia by 16.4 percent by 2010, Kommersant reported. To compensate, Ukraine will expand its own gas industry, both at home and abroad.  

The country’s Ukrnafta recently won a bid to prospect in Libya for oil and gas. 

More importantly, Ukraine plans to rely on nuclear power, with a target of generating 101.3 billion kilowatts from nuclear energy by 2010. 

Meanwhile, Belarus, which relies almost entirely on Russian gas for its energy production, is looking for a nuclear power plant site. If constructed, such a plant could fulfill a third of Belarus’ energy demand. 

Georgia, for its part, plans to import more gas from Azerbaijan and possibly Iran, upon completion of a new gas pipeline.  

 

Reporter Murdered 

Radio Liberty reporter dies in Turkmen prison

Ogulsapar Muradova, a Radio Liberty reporter, died in a Turkmen prison while serving out a six year sentence. 

The time and circumstances of Muradova’s death were unclear at press time. Security officials contacted family members on September 14 and took them to the morgue to identify her body. The  family was told that Muradova died of natural causes, Radio Liberty reported. 

However, the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation quoted Muradova’s children as saying their mother’s body had a “large wound” on the head. Morgue employees reportedly refused to allow an independent doctor to examine the body. 

Muradova was detained in mid-June along with several human rights activists and charged with conspiring to overthrow President Saparmurat Niyazov’s government. 

On August 25, Muradova and two other activists were sentenced to up to seven years in jail for illegal possession of ammunition. Rights groups said the charges were fabricated and condemned the trial as a parody of justice. 

According to the 2005 World Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders, Turkmenistan has the world’s third worst conditions for press freedom, after North Korea and Eritrea. 

International rights groups demanded an investigation of Muradova’s death. Some even called it a “political assassination.” 

Meanwhile, Radio Liberty reported that Muradova’s family were kept incommunicado and quoted Erika Dailey, head of a Turkmenistan project run by the Open Society Institute, as saying, “there has been no opportunity to communicate with [Muradova’s] children since September 15, after which the authorities cut their phone lines – and not only their phone lines, but the phone lines of the extended family.”

 

China Forest Lease

The biggest deal since 

the sale of  Alaska

Russia may lease one million hectares (3,800 square miles, or twice the size of Delaware) of Siberian forests to China, according to plans released by the two countries’ forestry ministries. The woodlands would be leased for 49 years, and some critics fear the Chinese might want to stay on after their contract expires. 

The site is yet to be determined, but Tyumen region is a likely choice, according to Roman Shipov, a spokesman for the Russian Nature Resources Ministry. Currently, the parties are studying options in different regions and preparing business plans. 

“Russia has not undertaken anything on this scale since selling Alaska to the United States in 1867,” Ekho Moskvy Radio commented. 

The governments of Russia and China signed an agreement on joint forest exploitation in 2000. 

A similar program of leasing woodlands to North Korea led to “colossal ecological, economic and legal problems,” according to Khabarovsk Krai Governor Viktor Ishayev, who said he disapproved of the current plan.

But more forests could be leased to China in the coming months. Irkutsk oblast’s head of forestry, Vasily Sadly, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that his region was negotiating with Chinese timber companies. 

An estimated 70 percent of Russian territory, or 4.6 million square miles, is forested.

 

Gold Tooth Ban

Tajikistan’s president urges his 

people to halt the fad

Western visitors have long been able to tell people from the former Soviet Union by their “golden smiles.” Many Soviets had teeth capped with gold as a fancier alternative to silver, the two prevalent options in USSR dental clinics. 

Dental care has improved considereably since, and, in Russia and European parts of the former USSR, white caps are now overwhelmingly preferred. 

But in Central Asia gold teeth are still popular, as they signify status and personal wealth. Some people even have gold caps placed over healthy teeth. Brides commonly do this before their weddings. 

Local leaders have sought to staunch the fad. In 2004, Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov advised his nation’s youth to avoid gilded teeth, saying they should preserve their pearly whites by chewing on bones.

Now it’s Tajikistan’s turn, with President Imomali Rahmonov urging Tajik school teachers to get rid of their gold capped teeth, the BBC Russian Service reported. 

“Imagine what it’s like for a school pupil to watch their teacher’s golden mouth through 10 years of schooling,” Rahmonov said. 

“Teachers complain about their small salaries… But they have gold teeth. How can international organizations believe you are poor, if teachers have a mouth full of gold?”

Civil servants received a similar notice, but implementing a ban on golden caps as state policy will not be easy. If Tajikistan started firing civil servants for having golden teeth, the country would lose over half its bureaucrats, the BBC estimated. 

 

Teaching Faith

When does a religion become 

“state-sponsored”?

Nineteen Russian regions now teach “The Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” as a compulsory class in schools, Novye Izvestia reported. 

The total number of regions offering courses in Orthodoxy in some form or another could be as high as 75, said Marat Murtazin, deputy head of Russia’s Council of Muftis. The Moscow Patriarchate said it does not keep numbers on such courses, Radio Liberty reported.

Leaders of non-Orthodox religions have voiced concern about the growing influence of Orthodoxy in the government, in education and the military, despite a constitutional ban on the creation of a “state religion.”

Education and Science Minister Andrei Fursenko has tried to introduce a more neutral high school course in world religions to replace the explicitly Orthodox classes, but he has met with resistance from Orthodox believers. He recently announced plans to seek support for the world religions class from the Public Chamber of Russia.

Meanwhile, Muslim leaders have developed a curriculum and textbook on Muslim culture and implemented them in at least four regions of Russia, The Moscow Times reported. 

About 70 percent of Russians consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians, but most do not attend church regularly. Russia has an estimated 14 to 23 million Muslims (10 to 16 percent of the population), more than two million Protestants and 600,000 to one million Jews, according to the International Religious Freedom Report 2006, recently issued by the U.S. Department of State. 

The report noted that conditions have deteriorated for some minority religious groups, but, in general, religion was not causing major social tension or problems in Russia. However, the report continued, popular attitudes toward Muslim ethnic groups were negative in many regions, and there were manifestations of anti-Semitism as well as hostility toward Roman Catholics and other non-Orthodox Christian denominations. 

 

Georgia on Their Mind

Border, trade and diplomatic
disputes boil over

Russia’s already rocky relations with Georgia heated to a fever pitch after Georgia seized four Russian military officers on espionage charges on September 27. The officers have since been released, but the tension between the two states remained high at press time.

Russia recalled its ambassador to Georgia and cut all rail and air connections between the two countries. A ban on money  transfers was also considered. 

Russian police raided Georgian- owned restaurants and casinos in Moscow and the rest of the country, and closed those that were found to have health or other violations, including two major Moscow entertainment centers, Kristall and Golden Palace. Moscow also deported some 150 Georgian immigrants said to have violated Russian immigration laws. Around the same time, President Putin announced a plan for curbing illegal immigration in Russia. 

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili called on the West to denounce the Kremlin’s “xenophobia” towards Georgian citizens, the Daily Telegraph reported. Shortly before press time, Georgia said it would slow Russian entry into the WTO (of which Georgia is already a member).

 

Ratings, Ratings

High on corruption,
low on governance

Russia has sided with China on many political issues lately. To boost their relations, the two countries are running special programs: the Year of Russia in China in 2006, and the Year of China in Russia in 2007. However, the two have another, less desirable link: their unfavorable ratings with international organizations. 

The European Commission recently ranked Russia second after China as the world’s worst counterfeiter. The Commission surveyed EU businessmen on their experience with intellectual property rights enforcement outside the EU in 2005. Ukraine, Chile and Turkey were named among other problem countries. 

Russia also ranked 28 out of 30 countries in Transparency International’s 2006 bribery index. Only China and India had lower rankings.

The World Bank placed Russia on par with Nicaragua, East Timor, and China for its low level of control over corruption. In its recent report, “Governance Matters: A Decade Of Measuring The Quality Of Governance,” Russia ranked 151st among 208 countries for accountability, political stability, effectiveness of the government, the quality of regulatory bodies, the rule of law, and control over corruption. Russia’s closest neighbors were Uganda (149), Swaziland (150), Niger (152), and Kazakhstan (153). The United States ranked 28th. 

In the 1970s, then West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt privately referred to the Soviet Union as “Upper Volta with missiles,” whereas more recent observers have compared Russia to corrupt and oil-rich “Nigeria with missiles,” Radio Liberty said.

 

Sakhalin-2 Halts

Russia raising pressure on foreign
oil and gas ventures

Construction at the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas field halted in October after Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry revoked environmental approval for the project. Oleg Mitvol, a ministry official, estimated the environmental damage from Shell and Exxon’s Sakhalin-2 at $50 billion. The company meanwhile said its losses from suspending construction could reach $10 billion, and hinted it might seek restitution in court.

On October 6, the state technical monitoring agency, Rostekhnadzor, stated that both Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 need special attention in view of “industrial and ecological safety.” The Audit Chamber reported on the same day that Russia sees little profit from Sakhalin-2 (currently just 10 percent of production) and criticized the project for increasing expenses.

Other foreign oil and gas ventures operating under the production sharing agreement have also faced claims from the Russian government in recent months, including those run by Total, TNK-BP and Exxon.

Analysts say that the Russian government could be seeking to review the conditions of its production sharing deals, which were signed in the mid-1990s, and which gave Russia a share far below usual practice. 

 

Not so fast!

Moscow authorities are about to ban sales of kitsch souvenirs, including military-style fur hats, fake IDs (such as the Presidential Driving License, or Moscow Mayor’s Pass), and the signature Putin, Yeltsin and Gorbachev matryoshka dolls. Such souvenirs are vulgar, unethical and degrade Muscovites in the eyes of foreign visitors, said Sergei Grechanikov, deputy head of Moscow’s Kitai Gorod district, as quoted in Komsomolskaya Pravda. 

Instead, said Grechanikov, tourists will be offered souvenirs that “promote the true beauty of Moscow and Russia.” 

 

Facts & Figures

Russia ranks third in the world – after the U.S. and Belarus – for the ratio of citizens serving time: 6 out of 1,000 Russians currently call prison their home. In all, 846,000 Russians are in prisons and another 142,000 are in pre-trial detention. Over the past decade, the average term of imprisonment has increased from 4.5 to 8 years. The government plans to invest R54 billion over ten years for construction and repair of Russian prisons. ¶ Russia has generated 33 billionaires and 90,000 millionaires since the fall of the Soviet Union. ¶ In 2006, Forbes ranked Moscow 2nd in the world for the number of resident billionaires, surpassed only by New York City. Roman Abramovich, Russia’s richest man, was ranked 11th in the world, with a net worth of $18.2 billion. In 2004, Russian billionaires held the equivalent of 24 percent of Russia’s gross domestic product. ¶ Charity giving in Russia, including corporate charity, now totals about $1.5 billion a year, compared to over $260 billion in the U.S. in 2005. In 1992, charity spending in Russia was just $1 million. ¶ Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov is Russia’s highest paid official, with a monthly salary of about $10,000. Meanwhile, Luzhkov’s wife, Yelena Baturina, ranks 335th on the Forbes billionaire list, with a net worth of $2.3 billion. ¶ President Putin is paid about $6,000 a month. ¶ Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is the lowest paid head of state with a salary of just $2,340 a month. ¶ Even Russia’s State Duma deputies get more than Saakashvili – $2,250-3,000 a month plus bonuses, while salaries for Moscow City Duma deputies start at $3,000. Yet they also get unspecified amounts from various bonuses. ¶ Kaliningrad Governor Georgy Boos said he gets “under R75,000” a month ($2,800). Governors of Ulyanovskaya and Ivanovskaya oblasts, Sergei Morozov and Mikhail Men, get around $1,900. Primorsky krai Governor Sergei Darkin gets a salary $680, but together with bonuses his monthly wages add up to a more agreeable $3,400. ¶ Though the use of Russian has been declining since the collapse of the USSR, it is still the mother tongue for some 164 million people: 130 million Russians, 26.4 million citizens of the former USSR, and 7.5 million emigrants living in the West. About 114 million people know Russian as a second or a foreign language.

 

 

“They clearly want to pinch Russia in the most painful way, to provoke it. This is evident. They clearly believe that the anti-Russian vector of their foreign policy is in the interest of the Georgian people. I do not agree with this view. These people think that under the protection of their foreign sponsors they can feel comfortable and secure. Is it really so?”

President Vladimir Putin, on the Georgian crisis (RFE/RL Newsline)

 

“We want to create a system as strong as the economies and financial systems of the United States or Germany. I have to say that this distance can be covered in 10 years if the country conducts a very skilled financial policy.” 

Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin, in an interview with Russia’s Channel One television

 

“It looks like Shell received an invitation to the negotiating table, at the barrel of a gun.” 

Vitaly V. Yermakov, research director for Russian and Caspian energy at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, on the Russian government’s threat to halt work at the Royal Dutch Shell gas field on Sakhalin Island, because of environmental concerns (New York Times)

 

“The strategic priorities of the budget are aimed at improving the well-being of the Soviet people.”

Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin’s slip of the tongue on the proposed 2007 budget,

which is roughly 25% larger than in 2006

 

“These people already have the Bentleys and the Cartier jewelry.
A helicopter remains something that can still surprise friends.” 

Sergei Filonov, head of Aviamarket helicopter dealership, on the fashion for helicopter
ownership among the Russian rich. (Chicago Tribune)

 

“It is a strange formation, one which symbolizes the policy of
the present Powers That Be heading down the path toward 

a one-party system.”

Deputy Head of the SPS, Leonid Gozman, 

on the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party  (Vedomosti)

 

“Many have fought in Afghanistan; first and foremost, the British fought there in the 19th century. The astonishing thing today is that NATO and the coalition seem to have learned nothing, neither from their own experience nor from our experience.”

General Ruslan Aushev, 

on the future of NATO and US activities in Afghanistan  (Sunday Telegraph)

 

“The increased confidence of Russia and Russians in their own strengths enables more pragmatic and calmer relations with America. In fact, Russians are beginning to resemble Americans with their prudence, their ability to defend their interests and to keep their emotions in check, not counting on altruism.”

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Russia’s changing role in the world

 

{Regime Change} The Russian Academy of Sciences is about to be renamed. “Russian” will be replaced by “State,” signaling a change in the institution’s status, as it comes under the wing of the state. The government will henceforth approve the academy’s budget, and its president will be appointed directly by the Russian President, according to the latest amendment to Russia’s law “On Science.”

 

{SchRÖder Adopts} Former German Chancellor and close friend to President Putin, Gerhard Schröder, has adopted a second baby from St. Petersburg. The boy, whose name remains a secret, came from a St. Petersburg orphanage and is less than a year old. In 2004, Schröder and his wife Doris Köpf adopted a three year-old Russian girl named Victoria.

 

{Spy Victory} A U.K. court awarded €7,000 to George Blake – sentenced in 1961 to 42 years for spying for the Soviet Union – fter ruling that the British government had taken too long resolving a case against him. The government had sought to prevent Blake from receiving royalties for his autobiography, No Other Choice, which contained confidential information he acquired as a Secret Intelligence Service officer. Blake escaped from prison in 1966 and fled to the USSR. He now lives in Russia on a KGB pension. 

 

{Piracy peters out} The level of software piracy in Russia is still high – currently at 83 percent of the market – but it is falling faster than elsewhere in the world, according to Microsoft Russia Chief Executive Birger Steen. The change is due to the country’s improving economy, bolstered by the high oil and gas prices, Steen said. Microsoft said sales in Russia surged 72 percent in the first half of this year and the company is opening offices in more cities to tap growing demand.

 

{Sweet deal} Sibakadembank, Siberia’s largest bank, is giving five kilograms of sugar to people who open a pension savings account on Saturdays or Sundays. The minimum deposit necessary for the sweet bonus is R3,000 ($112), compounded at 10.9 percent per year.

 

{Reaping rewards} Turkmenistan Presi-dent Saparmurat Niyazov promised to reward ministers who “work hard during the cotton harvest” with Mercedes Benzes, Radio Liberty reported. Regional and district governors will receive Jeeps for good work.

{Soldiers Leaving} Contract soldiers are leaving the Russian army because of low pay and lack of a social infrastructure. Only 15-19 percent of them are re-upping for a second hitch after their original three year contract expires, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported, citing a Defense Ministry survey. The military thus could fail to implement the government’s plan to make half the Russian army contract soldiers by 2008.

 

{Moguls of tomorrow} Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov is launching a program to encourage young Muscovites to start their own business. Aspiring entrepreneurs will submit business plans for competition, and the city will disburse $4.7 million among the winners to implement their ideas, according to The Economist.

 

{On trial in L.A.} Hearings are underway in a Los Angeles federal court for Iouri Mikhel, a Russian immigrant, and Jurijus Kadamovas, a Lithuanian. The two are charged with setting up an abduction and extortion scheme between 2001 and 2002 that resulted in the murder of five people. Both could face the death penalty if convicted. Another defendant, Petro Krylov, is scheduled for trial in January.

 

{Image Editing} Moscow authorities will spend $27 million on a three-year promotional campaign to counter the perception that the city is unfriendly, gray, dirty and cold, The Economist reported. The plan calls for more public events in the city, attractive new websites and improved ties with foreign journalists and the Russian diaspora in Europe.

 

Russians who:

feel the most important status symbols are

good housing, real estate 55%

the ability to provide their children 

  with a quality education 37%

car ownership 27%

spending a holiday abroad 23%

access to good medical services 21%

real estate abroad 20%

a dacha 12%

(up to three answers allowed)

 

believe in God and try to follow 

  their religious rituals 22%

are “more of a believer than not” 42%

believe in higher powers 18%

lean towards atheism 10%

are atheists 4%

 

are interested in TV programs which are

news and information 59%

entertainment (concerts, etc.) 34%

feature films 40% 

series 25%

sports 20%

games and contests 19%

talk shows 19%

documentaries 17%

about nature and wildlife 17%

(up to four answers allowed)

 

feel it is good for college students to 

combine work and studies 67%

… disapprove of this 24%

 

feel the best opportunity to provide well for oneself and one’s family is

in Moscow 62%

in the provinces 8%

...both offer the same opportunity 24%

 

feel ethnic tensions in Russia 

are equal to last year 55% 

have become worse 19%

have lessened 16%

 

blame decline of ethnic tolerance on

the number of immigrants, whose 

  uncontrolled growth creates 

  problems for locals 22%

authorities, who are passive in the 

  face of ethnic tensions 20%

increased activity of 

  Russian nationalists 13%

 

“Imagine what it’s like for a school pupil to

 watch their teacher’s golden mouth through 

10 years of schooling,” 

Tajik President Imomali Rahmonov

 

Russian Revenge

“So, it took a Californian to beat us,” quipped U.S. tennis guru Bud Collins.

The “Californian” in question was Dmitry Tursunov, who left Russia at 12 to settle in the U.S., was later turned down for a green card, and so is a member of the Russian Davis Cup team. 

The victory was Russia’s defeat of the U.S. team in the 2006 Davis Cup semifinals – hich tasted all the sweeter as “payback” for Russia’s home court loss to the U.S. in the 1995 Davis Cup finals.

Following on decisive victories by Marat Safin and Mikhail Youz-hny (over Andy Roddick and James Blake), and a doubles defeat for the Russian team, Tursunov faced down Roddick in a grueling four-hour, 48-minute marathon match: 6-3, 6-4 5-7, 3-6, 17-15.

Russia will now play host to Argentina in December, in the final matchup of this annual tournament of national tennis squads. Russia won its only Davis Cup title in Paris in 2002, after losing two previous battles at home (to Sweden in 1994 and to the U.S. in 1995). 

First Polo Title

In the final game of the 11th European Women´s Water Polo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Russia beat the reigning champs from Italy 12-10, clinching a first-ever European title.

Head coach Aleksandr Kley-menov´s players took an early 3-0 lead after less than four minutes and never looked back. 

Russia´s first senior title in women´s water polo comes 15 years after the team’s international debut at the 1991 European Champion-ships in Athens, Greece. 

The previous best performances were silver medals in the FINA World Cup, FINA World League and European Cham-pionships, but this year the junior squad did win gold at the European Women´s Junior Water Polo Championships. 

 

Silver Hoopsters

Russia won the silver medal in the Women’s Basketball World Championships after a 74-91 loss to Australia in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the third straight runner-up finish for Russia. The team thought they had cleared their biggest hurdle after defeating the U.S. team in the semifinals (Russia lost to the U.S. in the finals in both 2005 and 2004). But the women from Down Under were simply too strong. Most notably, Russia shot 42% from the floor, while Australia hit 61%.

 

K1 to WC

October’s World Chess Cham-pionships in Elista, Kal-mykia, between Russian Vladi-mir Kram-nik and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov got off to a rocky start with closed bathrooms, disputed forfeits and walkouts. 

After Topalov’s manager lodged a protest that Kramnik was going to the bathroom too often during the matches, a committee looking into the protest locked the bathrooms in advance of game 5. Kramnik refused to play and the game was declared a forfeit. The match fell into a contest of wills, with Kramnik refusing to play again unless the bathrooms were opened, the  committee disbanded and the forfeit overturned. 

After long negotiations overseen by Kalmyk President Kirsan Ilyum-zhimov (who is also the president of the FIDE chess federation), Kramnik came back to the table, his demands, but for the forfeit’s reversal, met. In the end, Kramnik won the match 8.5-7.5 in a tie-breaker, making him the undisputed world chess champion.

 

“I did not sign up to be in a reality show.”

Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess champion, about the chess brouhaha in Elista (BBC Russian Service)

 

“First comes the score, second the toilets, and then everything else.”

Kirsan Ilyumzhimov, President of FIDE, on the chess scandal in Elista (regnum.ru)