Moscow's bike lane a massive fail
A city clogged by cars and lacking civilized parking, Moscow has for years forced biking to be practiced as an extreme sport, despite cycling's growing popularity among youth, who do not mind the sharp curbs or lack of ramps on under-ground crosswalks.
So there was much to cheer about recently when the city made a highly publicized grand opening of a bike lane in the city's prestigious southwestern region; the lane stretched from Moscow State University to Prospekt Vernadskovo metro station. But it lasted scarcely a month. When Prospekt Vernadskovo was repaired, the bike lane disappeared.
Still, the new Moscow government under Sergei Sobyanin, who took charge as mayor last fall, promises to build 70 kilometers of bike lanes in the next five years.
Bolshoi goes global with US hire
American Ballet Theater principal dancer David Hallberg has become the first American ever to join the Bolshoi Ballet. This ahead of an explosive season in which five premieres will grace the newly renovated hall. Hallberg's dash to the East raised eyebrows both in Russia and the United States (where he will continue participating in ABT productions).
The Bolshoi, which reopens its main stage this fall after a six-year renovation, has also been shaking up its conservative approach and injecting some modern works into its classic-rich program. The troupe was in dire need of male romantic leads for classic works like Giselle, Afisha magazine said, and Hallberg fit that need perfectly. The Bolshoi's new artistic director, Sergei Filin, who joined the Bolshoi this spring, pursued the ABT star and convinced him to come to Moscow.
"I think my South Dakota roots came in and I thought, well, here I am born in South Dakota and this huge, historical company in Moscow is asking me to be one of their premier dancers," Hallberg told NPR. "It really is a breaking down of the walls in a sense that a dancer is coming to Russia to join the company and it was by invitation from the Bolshoi Ballet."
Anti-alcohol rules inspire creativity
President Dmitry Medvedev's anti-alcohol initiatives have pushed Moscow and several other cities to ban liquor sales after 10 p.m. Starting in 2013, the bans will spread nationwide, and all alcohol, including beer and wine, will only be available in stores (making the existence of small roadside kiosks superfluous) and only until 11 p.m.
The change has already sent that age-old Russian creativity into high gear. Innovative initiatives on offer include offers to "rent" a bottle for the night or have it delivered by an agent from one of the airports' "Duty Free" sections. The website alcorent.ru offers Chelyabinsk residents "rentals" of vodka or whiskey. "If you don't return the alcohol, we keep the deposit!" the website cheekily declares.
Landmark destroyed overnight
The century-old Moscow Central Mosque dodged Soviet steamrollers only to be secretly smashed by its owner, the Spiritual Board of Muslims in European Russia. Efforts to tear down the building had been put forward for years, meeting fierce opposition from conservationists and from Moscow's Tatar community, which oversaw the mosque's construction during the tsarist era.* The house of worship's original construction in 1904 was financed by Tatar merchant Salikh Erdzin.
The light-blue, ornate mosque was in danger of being leveled in the run-up to the 1980 Olympic games, to make way for the giant Olympic Stadium. But the mosque survived this, only to be displaced by the giant new concrete mosque built for Moscow's growing Muslim community.
Although the Spiritual Board's head Ravil Gainutdin said the mosque had to be destroyed due to rain damage, Moscow officials have denied supplying a permit for the building's destruction. The leveling occurred in the dark of night on September 11th, the same day, coincidentally, when Salikh Erdzin's only surviving daughter, Rauza Kasturova, turned 100.
Journalists guilty of slander
In an unprecedented blurring of the line between church and state, a Russian court convicted a journalist of "inciting hatred" toward Orthodox priests.
The guilty party, Boris Obraztsov of Kaliningrad, wrote a commentary in a local paper, Region 39, in reaction to comments made by Orthodox Church Spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin, to the effect that Russian women should follow the example of Chechen women and cover themselves instead of dressing like "prostitutes."
The court fined Obraztsov R110,000 ($3,600) for writing that priests should stop dressing like women and cut off their beards. He went on to criticize religion and accuse the Orthodox Church of corruption.
Traditional favorite Brazil was upset in the World Beach Football (Soccer) Championships in Ravenna this fall, when they were defeated by the Russian squad, which has only been playing for six years.
In beach football, players are barefoot, and the Brazilian team is a 13-time champion. Russia defeated Brazil 12:8, bringing to mind Brazilian soccer legend Pele's quote, "Russia will become world champion in football, when Brazil wins the world title in ice hockey."
Evgenia Kanayeva won the individual all-around finals in the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships held September in Montpellier (France). Russian Daria Kondakova finished second. Aliya Garaeva from Azerbaijan came third.
On October 11, Russia whalloped tiny Andorra in the final match of the Euro-2012 qualifying rounds within Group B. Russia needed just a draw to qualify for Euro-2012, and now the team will head to the finals in Poland and Ukraine.
Hockey team perishes
In early September, a tragic plane crash took the lives of the entire starting lineup of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team and its Canadian coach, Brad McCrimmon. The team was flying to Minsk for the start of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) championships. Forty-three persons died in the crash and two survived, including plane engineer Alexander Sizov and hockey player Alexander Galimov, who later succumbed to his injuries and burns.
Premier Vladimir Putin flew to Yaroslavl for the funerals, and President Medvedev held a meeting with top hockey managers to discuss the future of Yaroslavl club.
Lokomotiv will skip the 2011/2012 hockey season and resume playing next year. The club was one of the leading hockey clubs in Russia – they were champions in the 1996/7 and 2001/3 seasons.
Suleyman Kerimov, 45, ranked 19th on Russian Forbes 2011 list of the wealthiest Russians (net worth $7.8 billion), has been spending wildly to acquire players for his Makhachakala soccer club, Anzhi.
Kerimov reportedly spent $60 million to acquire Russian footballer Yuri Zhirkov from Chelsea; aging Brazilian superstar Roberto Carlos; and Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o from Italy's Inter club. Eto'o's deal – 30 million euros over three years –will make him one of the highest-paid players in world football.
Russia's "triumphal" performance at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea is being compared to the golden era of Soviet track and field. The Russian squad brought home 19 medals, including nine golds – a vast improvement from the previous world event in Berlin (13 medals with only 4 golds). Russia finished second in the overall medal count (after the U.S. and ahead of the third-place Kenya).
"Only Soviet athletes could have achieved such success in Soviet times," said head coach Valentin Maslakov. Among the standouts were Tatiana Chernova in the heptathlon, Maria Abakumova in javelin, and the team's sweep of all three walking events. Olga Kaniskina, 26, who took gold in Beijing in 2008, became the world's first ever three-time world champion in speed-walking (20 km). Maria Savinova took gold in the 800m, Tatiana Lysenko won the hammer throw, and Yulia Zaripova won the women's steeplechase. Meanwhile, Anna Chicherova, 29, who gave birth less than a year ago, won the high jump by clearing 2.03 meters to beat two-time defending champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia.
For their achievement, according to Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, gold medalists received a $7000 award, and silver medalists $5000. "If this is what they think we are worth and deserve, so be it," said javelin queen Abakumova. "But then it makes no sense to monitor in parallel the monies made by football players, I stopped doing this long ago because it is simply ridiculous."
"A lively boy, with a touch of acting brilliance, he did precisely what he was told to do during the scenes."
Director Aleksei Shcheglov on Ilya Medvedev, the president's son, when it was revealed in October that the boy had starred in two episodes of the popular TV show Yerelash, in 2006 and 2007, when Dmitry Medvedev was First Deputy Prime Minister. (russiatoday.com)
"They took me out to lunch and dinner and asked me about life in England and what I thought about England. When I got back, I told my tutor at university and he asked me whether it was an interview. If it was, it seems I didn't get the job."
British Prime Minister David Cameron, on an incident on the Black Sea coast during his gap year in Russia, where he was allegedly recruited by the KGB. Speech at the MGIMO school in Moscow.
"Enough patting yourselves on the back… It's a complete and utter lie, there are so many explosive issues among the people, corruption has gone through the roof. Maybe you will say something about solutions?"
United Russia member, and actor and director, Fyodor Bondarchuk, at the United Russia party congress. (Russkaya Sluzhba Novostei radio)
"When before in the history of Russia has the highest state power been transferred so peacefully, honorably, honestly, amicably? It is a true example of kindness and morality in politics, an example that should be the envy of not only our predecessors and people who lived in the Soviet era, but also citizens of most countries in the world, including those who try to lecture us."
Orthodox Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin (Interfax).
"I don't see myself in the new cabinet. It's not just that no one has offered me this option, but I think that the disagreements that I have don't allow me to join this cabinet."
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on not joining the cabinet of Dmitry Medvedev after Vladimir Putin assumes the presidency, as expected, in 2012 (RIA Novosti).
"My wife is a teacher, she doesn't do bricks, unfortunately. That would be so simple."
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, on his initiative to replace the capital's sidewalks in the center with grey paving bricks. Some alleged that the decision was taken due to Sobyanin's wife's involvement in the brick industry (Radio Vesti-FM).
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