Notebook

Let History Judge

Intellectuals show their

true colors

The Mikhail Khodorkovsky-YUKOS trial has turned out to be a litmus test for the Russian intelligentsia. Prior to the trial’s guilty verdict, (Khodorkovsky and his deputy were sentenced to nine years in prison each), intellectuals seemed to be unanimous in their support for the ex-head of YUKOS. That all changed on June 28, when the newspaper Izvestia published an “advertisement” which was in fact a letter signed by 50 well-known (and not-so-well-known) citizens. In it, the signatories expressed their approval of the Russian Court system and the Kremlin. Among the signers were ballet dancer Anastasia Volochkova, film director Stanislav Govorukhin, cosmonaut Georgy Grechko, singers Alexander Rozenbaum, Nadezhda Kadysheva and Alexander Buynov, composer Vladimir Shainsky, dress designer Valentin Yudashkin, historians Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko and Roy Medvedev, sport stars Alina Kabaeva, Vladislav Tretyak and Irina Rodnina, actor Alexander Kalyagin and many others. To some, the epistle was a painful reminder of the Soviet era, when grateful citizens enthusiastically approved of Politburo resolutions, price increases and the exile of Josef Brodsky, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and others. The real author of the letter is unknown, but the truly significant message it conveys is the actual list of names. Interestingly, Khodorkovsky admitted that he has always loved some of the podpisanty (“signers”). 

 

ABCs of Espionage

Who is watching the watchers?

In early August, the Russian Foreign Ministry reacted strongly to a July 28 interview by ABC News with Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev. In the interview, Basayev claimed responsibility for the Beslan terrorist attack and accepted the label of “terrorist.” The ministry called the broadcast “clearly supporting the propaganda of terrorism” and said it “resounded with direct calls for violence against Russian citizens.” As a result, the ministry said it had decided “not to renew the accreditation of employees of this television company after they expire,” and that ABC journalists’ access to government spokespersons would be cut off. 

A question, however, that the Foreign Ministry had failed to answer as of press time was how Andrey Babitsky, the journalist who interviewed Basayev (and who previously endured a prolonged incarceration in Russia for his reporting in Chechnya), managed to do so without being followed? How is it that Basaev, who has a $10 million bounty on his head, courtesy of the Russian government, and who is actively being sought by Russian intelligence services, can meet freely with journalists and give interviews? “If Basayev was not afraid of this interview,” said journalist Yulia Latynina on Ekho Moskvy radio, “it means he feels quite at ease, not at all pressed by the intelligence agencies. The journalist Babitsky lives in the Czech Republic. Everyone knows he has contact with warlords. And he is not followed? Who do they shadow then? Where is their naruzhka?”

 

European Vacation

Just how much dacha

did Kasyanov get? 

Early in June, the Russian Prosecutor General began investigating the sale of a state-owned dacha to former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein accused the ex-premier of a “large-scale scheme,” which allegedly enabled Kasyanov to acquire a state-owned asset in a golden parachute deal with the Kremlin before Putin fired him in February 2004. 

Kasyanov is presently classified as a witness, but he could at any moment become a suspect. The scandal broke when Kasyanov was on vacation in the UK, and journalists speculated that Kasyanov might follow the example of, say, exiled oligarch Boris Berizovsky, and stay in England for good. 

But the former prime minister returned, blasting the accusations that he had unlawfully privatized the state mansion as “slander” and claiming they were politically motivated (as reported in Russian Life in May, Kasyanov has all but announced he will be running for president in 2008). Kasyanov said that the real goal behind Khinstein’s campaign was to eliminate the politically active opposition. 

On August 1, Kasyanov’s MK-Analytika company issued a press release, quoted by RTR, saying that Kasyanov and his family had left Russia again, to resume their vacation in the Mediterranean.

A week later, Argumenty i Fakty reported that the Kremlin warned Kasyanov before his departure that, if he chooses to enter the political arena, “a subpoena will await you at the airport immediately upon your return.” 

 

Church vs. Baba Yaga

A scandal with 

chicken legs

In Yaroslavl region, members of the Russian Orthodox Church confronted local authorities who, to attract tourists, had organized a Baba Yaga birthday party in Kukoboy village. Villagers, who consider the fairy tale witch to be their mascot, were happy to take part in the colorful folklore festival. The celebration was even attended by an official delegation headed by the region’s governor. 

So it was rather unexpected when the Russian Orthodox Church reacted by announcing via the media that such celebrations “irrevocably damage immortal souls.” The struggle with evil spirits resounded to the Federal level, lenta.ru reported, and Yaroslavl officials were emphatically reminded of “more inspiring cultural monuments,” such as old monasteries and churches which, in the opinion of church dignitaries, are far more suitable as tourist attractions.

 

Switching Cities

Moscow leader sent east

On July 6, President Vladimir Putin nominated Valery Shantsev, deputy mayor of Moscow, to be governor of Nizhny Novgorod region. Journalists and politicians speculated on the possible reasons for the appointment. Some felt it was a direct Kremlin attack on Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who on many occasions has said that he would like to see Shantsev succeed him when his term ends in 2007. One unidentified source in the Moscow government told Kommersant-Daily that Shantsev’s departure from the capital’s city government will mark the end of the Luzhkov era. 

The political party Yabloko addressed Shantsev with an open letter, stating that his departure would have catastrophic consequences for Moscow residents. The Moscow Times quoted the open letter: “Many Muscovites link their hopes of preserving the current policy, which contradicts the one being imposed by the federal authorities on the regions, with you. Your prestigious but forced escape to Nizhny Novgorod takes this hope from them.” Shantsev, however, is willing to take the post. Moreover, he said he was convinced he would need to serve two terms (10 years) to be successful. There is further speculation that the appointment of a Muscovite as governor of Nizhny Novgorod region might facilitate the appearance of a St. Petersburg (i.e. Putin) loyalist in the post of Moscow Mayor.

 

Jargon Watch

The pejorative podpisanty (“signers”), does not exist in standard usage, and expresses contempt for those who put their names to excessively-loyal declarations, usually drafted by the authorities.

 

Naruzhka is a slang contraction of naruzhnoye nabludeniye: “shadowing.” Even Russia’s most law-abiding citizens are well versed in both criminal and police argot, a reality that dates at least to the Stalin era, when half of the country’s population experienced interrogations, prisons, camps and, of course, shadowing.

 

“There is a Gaydar Law: the higher oil prices, the stupider the government.”

Boris Nemtsov, member of Federal Political Council.
(Itogi; “Gaydar” is Yegor Gaydar, a former Prime Minister)

 

“These ‘Ours’ are ours today; tomorrow they will be yours.”

Alexei Mitrofanov, the Duma deputy,
about the youth movement “Nashi” [Ours]. (Itogi)

 

“We are still wearing our white garments and we’ll continue our white job.”

Alexander Veshnyakov, the Chairman of Central Election Commission. (Profile)

 

“If there is no one to marry in Russia, why should
women suffer?”

Lyubov Sliska, First Vice-Speaker of the State Duma, on an LDPR initiative
to allow polygamy and strip Russian women of their citizenship
if they marry foreigners. (Profile) 

 

“We always want to find out whom to blame
and whom to punish.”

Alexei Ulukayev, First Deputy of the Central Bank,
about recent price increases. (Novye Izvestiya)

 

“What we need is the death penalty for homosexuality…
It’s necessary to stop this filth, this influence of
Western culture.”

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Vice-Speaker of the Duma. (Interfax)

 

“Who said that our government is liberal? It is an illusion, that they are liberals. They are disguised Bolsheviks.”

Sergei Baburin, Vice-Speaker of the Duma. (Itogi)

 

“Never in the history of Russia or the Soviet Union has the

country’s financial situation been so solid or stable.”

Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister. (Interfax)

 

“The Moscow River looks like a brook compared
to the Volga.”

Valery Shantsev, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, recently nominated by Vladimir Putin to be governor of Nizhny Novgorod region. (The Moscow Times)

 

“We shall cauterize all non-normative exceptionalisms with a glowing hot iron.” 

Victor Bolotov, Head of the Federal Service for Education and Science,
about cutting some university privileges. (Kommersant Vlast)

 

Cultural Reference

The word dacha has a wide range of meanings, from an insignificant hut on a tiny patch of ground, to a brick castle with towers and fountains, surrounded by a deer park. In Mikhail Kasyanov’s case, the dacha is no hut.

 

Soviet veterans honored in San Diego

Three Soviet airwomen who flew in WWII were honored June 18, 2005 at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. In an event titled “Airwomen of the Red Star: Soviet Combat Veterans of WWII,” the women were recognized for their contributions in the Great Patriotic War, and they spoke passionately of their wartime experiences along the Eastern Front. Pictured from left to right are Anna Ivanovna Kirilina, former armament mechanic with the 125th Guards (587th) Dive Bomber Aviation Regiment, Galina Pavlovna Brok-Beltsova, former navigator/bombardier with the 125th Guards (587th) Dive Bomber Aviation Regiment, and Yekaterina Kuzminichna Polunina, former senior aircraft mechanic with the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Polunina, the regimental historian, recently published a book in Russia on the 586th, Devchonki, Podruzhki, Lyotchitsy (“Girls, Friends, Flyers”).

 

On the Wing

After an initial confirmed occurrence in Novosibirsk region, cases of avian flu were recorded this summer in the Tyumen and Altai regions. Authorities are taking steps to prevent further outbreaks by imposing quarantines, restricting access to poultry farms and mass slaughters of poultry. Ukraine has prohibited import of poultry from Novosibirsk oblast.

 

Close the Window

A League Against The Draft was founded in Moscow by the Soldiers’ Mothers’ Party, human rights activists, journalists and public figures. Their goal is to compel a national referendum on conscription in 2006. Initiating a referendum will require the groups to collect 2 million signatures from across at least 45 regions of the Russian Federation.

 

The Luzhkov Defense

Russia’s gay community had planned to hold a gay pride parade next year, to celebrate the anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia. No official application has been made, but Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has already made it crystal clear that he is having none of it. Luzhkov said that he stands “for defending the interests of Muscovites,” and would not allow such a demonstration to take place in the capital. 

 

Warrior Poet

Nineteenth century Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov was unexpectedly awarded an order “For Military Service in the Caucasus” in late June. The award, established in 2001, is normally bestowed on members of the armed forces who are taking part in anti-terrorist operations in the North Caucasus. The award was delivered to the Lermontov Museum in Tarkhany, Penza region, but it is not clear whom was being honored: the museum staff or the long-dead poet, who took part in a military campaign in the Caucasus over a century and a half ago.

 

To Vladimir

Vladimir Vysotsky, the famous actor, poet and bard, died 25 years ago, on July 25, 1980, at the age of 42 (see Russian Life, February 1998). The anniversary was marked in Moscow by a showing of the less than complete film, Vladimir Vysotsky. The poet’s widow, French actress Marina Vladi, and his two sons prohibited film director Vitaly Mansky from using Vysotsky’s poems and songs in the film. As a result, the film recounts Vysotsky’s final years – marred by alcoholism, drugs addiction and pain – but fails to convey a simple, well-known truth: that he was a man of genius. 

 

Total assets controlled by President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle: $222 billion

Percent of GDP which this represents: 40%

Expected inflation rate in 2005: 10-11%

Average cost to bribe an official in 2000: $10,000

Average cost in 2005: $135,000

Amount Russians spend on education and health care bribes yearly: $3 billion

Amount businesspeople pay officials yearly: $300 billion

Russians who own a cellphone: 47%

Russian families which have a computer: 10%

... which have a car: 32%

Percent of adult Russians who use the Internet daily: 4%

Monthly salary of Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov: $4,000

Monthly salary he will receive upon retirement in December 2007: $4,000

Monthly poverty line income set by the government: R2451 ($86)

Percent of Russians who make this or less: 17.8%

Years at hard labor which Smolensk editor Nikolai Goshko was sentenced to for libel: 5

Percent of the average Russian household budget spent on children: 43%

... on housing and utilities: 4.7%

Amount of Third World debt Russia has pledged to write off: $2.2 billion

Amount the Presidential administration is spending to rebuild a church in Kamchatka: $175,000

Number of children adopted in Russia in 2004: 16,434

Number of these adopted by Russian families: 7,013

Number of orphans remaining in 2004: 145,285 

 

Cultural Reference

The seemingly innocent, rather pompous sounding phrase, “Это – наша родина, сынок” (“It’s our motherland, little son”), is in fact the punch line of a well-known joke, in which a dung-beetle teaches patriotism to his offspring.

 

Russians who:

 

favor the death penalty 65%

do not 25%

are not sure 10%

 

feel Russia has a
political opposition 41%

feel it does not 35%

are not sure 24%

 

feel Russia needs a
political opposition 63%

feel it does not 14%

are not sure 23%

 

feel a global coalition against
terrorism is possible 64%

 

... is not possible, because of
self-interest and the
complexity of the problem 15%

 

... is not possible, because the U.S. 

and its allies support terrorists in the

Caucasus while thinking Russia

supports terrorists in
the Muslim world 12%

 

... are not sure 9%

 

are sympathetic to:

communists 17%

democrats 14%

patriots 4%

the ruling political party 12%

other centrist parties 2%

other parties 2%

none 45%

not sure 4%

 

share Pres. Putin’s views always 18%

 

if he makes democratic reforms 21%

 

liked Putin, but don’t now 14%

 

did not particularly like Putin
until now, but think 

he will be useful to Russia 7%

 

support Putin because there 

are no other viable candidates 22%

 

do not support Putin 13%

 

think that anyone would be better 2%

 

are not sure 7%

 

spend their holidays

in Russia 38%

abroad 24%

at home 11%

in former Soviet republics 8%

did not take a holiday this year 14%

are not sure 5%

 

oppose adoption of Russian 

children by foreigners 56%

 

see China as a friend 8%

as an adversary 45%

as a model for success 47%

 

consider themselves poor 40%

 

The Last Refuge

Patriotism as political fashion

Russian political leaders seem to be increasingly concerned about the country’s national image and patriotism. This is taking different shapes. Duma Vice-Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, for example, has suggested that marriages between Russian women and foreigners should be prohibited, and his party, the LDPR, introduced a measure in the Duma that would strip Russian women of their citizenship if they married foreigners.

Meanwhile, the Russian Government recently approved a state program called “Patriotic Upbringing of Russian Federation Citizens for the Years 2006-2010.” The nearly R500 million ($17.5 million) program will be financed mainly from the state budget. It will provide for the promotion of the National Idea on a massive scale, including production of books, movies and TV shows. 

A more direct approach is being undertaken at the summer camp at Seliger lake, where this summer some 3,000 members of pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi (“Ours”) underwent training to become, to quote their leader Vasily Yakimenko, “nationally-oriented managers who will provide Russia’s global leadership in the 21st century.” 

Russia’s international image is also to be glossed by the launch of a new informational TV channel by the end of 2005 – Russia Today (RTTV). Its goal, said Mikhail Seslavinsky, head of the Federal Agency of Press and Mass Communications, is “to introduce a positive image of Russia to an international audience.” At a July 7 press conference, Margarita Simonyan, the 24-year-old chief editor of RTTV, emphasized that the channel, even though financed by the State, will not be controlled by the Kremlin. “It will be the most independent channel, I promise!” Simonyan said. Prior to this position, Simonyan covered President Putin’s daily activities for “Russia” TV.

 

 

Myskina Sends U.S. Packing

Anastasia Myskina won the crucial rubber versus top seed Venus Williams in tennis’ Fed Cup semifinals, which matched up the Russian and U.S. teams. Some observers say the U.S. team was weakened by the absence of Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams, but Myskina could well have beaten either of them in Moscow’s Olympic Stadium – one of her favorite arenas. 

After a poor year on the tour, caused partly by anxiety over the health of her mother, Myskina – who won the 2004 French Open – was in top form during the weekend of July 9-10. In her second singles match – the decisive rubber against Jill Craybas – Myskina won in two straight sets 6-2, 6-4.  “I played really well,” Myskina said afterward, “except for a couple of games in the second set.  It’s a great feeling to be back in the final again. I love playing in front of this crowd.” 

The Russian team won its doubles match as well, making the final score 4-1 (the only point for the U.S. was scored by Venus Williams, in her second singles match against Yelena Dementieva). Russia now advances to its second consecutive Fed Cup finals, playing against France at Roland Garros in September. 

 

France Falls

The weekend after the women’s victory, Russia’s men’s tennis squad defeated France in the Davis Cup quarterfinals – on the same clay court at Olympic Stadium, despite the absence of Russian team leader Marat Safin, who was sidelined with an injury. Nikolai Davydenko (a French Open semifinalist) proved the decisive Russian factor, winning both his singles matches, against Paul-Henri Mathieu and Richard Gasquet. After Igor Andreyev lost his opening rubber to Gasquet in three straight sets, Davydenko’s first victory leveled the score, but then the French doubles team of Llodra-Clement buried Andreyev-Yuzhny, putting the French team just one match away from victory. Davydenko’s second singles victory began Russia’s stunning comeback, which was sealed when Andreyev defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 in the decisive fifth rubber. Very seldom does a team come back after being down 2-1, but this is the second time in four years that Russia has done so against France. Russia now advances to an away semifinal against Croatia in Split, where they will meet three fast servers – Mario Ancic, Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Lyubicic. 

 

Isinbaeva soars

Olympic champion Yelena Isinbaeva broke through the five-meter pole vault barrier on July 22 at a competition in London, setting yet another world record. After clearing 4.96 on her second try, bettering her previous record by 1 cm, it seemed her long awaited five-meter jump would wait until another day. “They kept on saying that Yelena was purposefully adding only one centimeter to her records, without trying to shoot for the big five meter figure,” said coach Yevgeny Trofimov. “So Lena told me, ‘Let’s think big, let’s do the five-meter jump.’ And she did it!”

 

Tatar Olympics

Sabantuy – literally, “the feast of the plough” – is an important annual event in Tatarstan, especially this year, since Kazan is celebrating its millennium (see article, page 26). More than 600,000 people gathered for various sabantuy this year, congregating at the maydan – the field where the Tatar national sport, kuresh (wrestling on towels) takes place. The best sportsmen come to compete, crowds cheer them loudly, people dance, sing, eat and drink. 

Sabantuy is a mixture of theatrical performance, sports competition and picnic, as well as something of a political show (in 2001, President Putin danced at a sabantuy in a Tatar tyubeteyka, an embroidered skull-cap). 

The date for sabantuy is not fixed. It is celebrated after spring field work is complete, first in small villages, then in towns, while the last and largest celebration occurs in Kazan. 

This year, Kazan’s sabantuy was held at seven different maydans, one of which, the Birch Grove, was attended by Tatar President Mintimer Shaimiev, who is especially fond of horse racing, one of the main attractions at a sabantuy. Recently, Tatarstan applied to include sabantuy on the UNESCO “intangible cultural heritage” list.

 

Imagine it… When?

It may have been a language barrier, but crowds near Moscow’s Red Square were still cheering the city’s 2012 Summer Olympic bid more than an hour after the city was eliminated from the race. 

At 2:28 pm, July 6, Moscow was officially eliminated from the 2012 choice (which eventually went to London). But the first that the crowd that gathered near Red Square knew about it was when the final result was announced more than an hour later, at 3:49 pm. 

In the tried and true style of Soviet propaganda and “mass enthusiasm,” reporters who ventured to tell people on the square about the decision were dismissed or called “provocateurs.” Many simply refused to believe the result. 

Right after the loss, Moscow announced its intention to bid for the 2016 Summer Games. The city had bet on its slogan for the games, “Imagine it now!” and the concept of an “Olympic river” games (see Russian Life, March/ April, 2005), with most Olympic sites located along the banks of the Moskva river. 

Realistically, observers don’t give Moscow much of a chance for 2016, if only because of the Olympics’ unofficial principle of continental rotation: since the 2012 games will be in Europe, the next games will likely move to another continent. But, then again, Russia is also in Asia.

 

JARGON

In Russian, the word sabantuy has taken on a different meaning. It describes an informal and often spontaneous celebration, usually with drinking involved. As for maydan (which also means “a square” in Ukrainian), this word is now almost exclusively associated with Ukraine’s Orange Revolution.