Notebook

Basayev’s Demise

Feds celebrate;
citizens and experts skeptical

Federal Security Service Head Nikolai Patrushev broke the news on July 10. Shamil Basayev, a Chechen warlord responsible for the bloodiest terrorist acts on Russian territory, had been killed in Ingushetiya in a special military operation. At the time, Patrushev said, Basayev was preparing another act of terrorism to coincide with the forthcoming G8 summit. 

Ten days later, on July 20, President Putin awarded medals to 12 people who were involved in the operation. The ceremony was held behind closed doors. 

Chechen leaders have acknowledged Basayev’s death, but said he died in an accident, not in a special operation.

A remarkable 26 percent of Russians polled by Levada did not believe Basayev had actually been killed. Some 29 percent believed that federal forces did not try to capture Basayev alive because he knew too many secrets.

Basayev’s death is a blow for the separatist movement, but not a fatal one, many experts said. Some called it a turning point for Chechnya. But it is unclear in which direction events will turn.

The government hurried to capitalize on Basayev’s death, offering an amnesty to militants who surrendered before August 1. Since the beginning of the second war in Chechnya in 1999, the government has offered three amnesties – in 1999, 2003 and 2004 – and many rebels have in fact laid their weapons down. 

Doku Umarov, president of Ichkeria – as the rebels call Chech-nya – dismissed the offer and called for the war to continue. His foreign minister, Akhmed Zakayev, was less categorical, saying negotiations between the rebels and Moscow should have a ‘political basis’ and have no preconditions. 

Yet, ironically, the greatest threat to Moscow may come not from rebel fighters but from Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov and the government that Russia appointed for the republic and which has become increasingly independent.

“There is no war in the sense of a military confrontation between two organized forces,” Russian Caucasus expert Sergei Markedonov told the Institute of War and Peace Reporting. “There is terrorism and partisan activities and there is organized separatism [by the Kadyrov government] – the creation under Russian jurisdiction of a territory de facto independent of federal authority.” The current method of colonial rule in Chechnya, Markedonov said, could eventually result in its loss for Russia. 

Another unwelcome result of Basayev’s death could be increasing al-Qaeda influence in the North Caucasus, Chechen political analyst Nadirsotta Elsunkayev told the Institute. “Doku Umarov is insufficiently charismatic to unite all forces in the North Caucasus under his leadership,” Elsunkayev said. “After the death of Basayev, links with the King of Saudi Arabia have been broken. Now [Umarov] either needs to build bridges with Europe, in other words with Zakayev – but then he won’t get any money – or to go with al-Qaeda.” In the latter case, Elsunkayev said,  the conflict would become an intractable guerrilla war.

In the Levada poll, only 5 percent of Russians said they felt that Basayev’s death meant an end to military operations in Chechnya anytime soon; 24 percent called it a turning point, while 59 percent expected the war to continue for many more years. 

IBM Lab Opens

To invest $40 million in Russia

IBM has been selling its wares in Russia since 1974, but waited until July 2006 to open its first development center here. The Russian facility, which will focus on mainframe technology development, is the fourth in a series of new labs IBM has set up in Brazil, India and China in recent months. Over three years, the Russian center will receive $40 million and increase its staff from 40 to 200 people. 

IBM was lured by the technical skills of Russians, the company’s chairman and chief executive Sam Palmisano said. “There is a wonderful set of engineering skills, scientific skills, mathematical skills – all the things we need in the technology industry,” he said. Relatively low IT salaries – $1,500 to $4,000 a month – also made Russia attractive to the Armonk, N.Y.-based technology company. But some analysts predict that, in coming years, foreign companies may have to pay more for Russian computing talent. One solution would be to move out of Moscow and St. Petersburg and into regional centers with major universities, like Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov and Kazan.

Companies that already have development centers in Russia – Intel, Alcatel, Motorola and others – have also announced expansion plans, the Russian daily Vedomosti reported. Google is expected to open its Russian R&D center by the end of 2006.

 

Please Come Back

Russians lured home
with financial incentives

The Russian government is trying to lure back expats as part of a strategy to reverse the country’s steady population decline. On June 26, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to encourage the return of ethnic Russians living abroad. 

The repatriation program will pay for relocation, processing of applications for Russian citizenship, and initial living expenses for ethnic Russians who choose to return to their homeland. But the plan has some strings attached: to secure government assistance, re-immigrants will have to pick one of 12 regions nominated for the program – mostly located in the Far East, Black Earth area in central Russia and the Kaliningrad Oblast. Regions are subdivided into three categories: border areas, those undergoing major investment projects and those with dwindling populations. Only immigrants to border regions are guaranteed jobs and financial support.

The program, due to start in January 2007, will be run by the Federal Migration Service. Though some critics say it will not alter the trajectory of Russia’s population curve, Russian authorities are hoping to attract up to four million people with the monetary incentives, primarily from the former Soviet republics. 

 

No More ‘Against All’ 

Stanching electoral nihilism

In the 2004 Russian presidential election, more than three percent of voters ticked the “against all” box on their ballots. And in the 2003 parliamentary elections, almost five percent of Russians said they didn’t trust any of the candidates enough to vote for them.

But now, to vote “against all” Russians will have to abstain from casting ballots altogether. Both chambers of Russia’s parliament recently approved a bill removing the “against all” option from ballots in elections at all levels. The legislation has yet to be approved by President Putin. 

The provision will affect the State Duma elections in December 2007, as well as regional elections.

Meanwhile, opinion polls have shown that Russians favor the protest vote option. Over half of voters think the “against all” option should have been preserved, while 28 percent favored removing it from the ballot, the Information Agency REGNUM reported. Nearly one third said they have voted “against all” on at least one occasion.

 

Chechen Beauty

Muslim republic crowns 

15-year-old queen 

A high-school student from Grozny won the first-ever beauty contest in Chechnya. Zamira Dzhabrailova, 15, who said she loves nature, drawing and starts every morning with a prayer, received a package tour to Europe and a car as her prize for winning the contest. 

Many participants said they had to persuade their families, especially the men, to allow them to take part. The Chechen contest skipped the traditional swimsuit walk for the finalists. Instead, it dwelled on national costumes, dancing skills and knowledge of Chechen traditions. Organizers secured advance support from Chechnya’s religious leaders, who attended the dress rehearsal to grant their approval.

 

Romanov Reburial

Last tsar’s mother to be interred

Empress Maria Fyodorovna, mother of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II, will be reburied in St. Petersburg on September 28, RIA Novosti reported. 

The governments of Russia and Denmark agreed last year that Empress Maria Fyodorovna’s remains should be returned to St. Peters-burg from Copenhagen, where she was originally buried in 1928. Her body will arrive by ship on September 26, and will be reburied two days later in the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, next to the remains of her husband and other members of the Romanov dynasty. 

The Danish Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar took the name Maria Fyodorovna when she converted to the Orthodox faith before marrying the future Tsar Alexander III in 1866. 

After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1917, Empress Maria did not leave Russia for her native Denmark until 1919, and to her death refused to acknowledge the murder of her son and his family, who were all in fact killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The remains of Nicholas II, his family and servants, were reburied in the chapel of St. Catherine in the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1998.

 

Free Incoming

Dramatic change to cell-calling fees

As of July 1, all incoming calls to Russian mobile phones were free for the receiver. On that date, Russia transferred to a “calling party pays” scheme, in compliance with amendments to the country’s communications law. 

Previously, mobile phone users were charged 22 to 25 cents for a call from a land-line and five to seven cents for a call from a mobile phone, according to the Russian Ministry of Information and Communication. 

Mobile operators say that removal of the incoming call fee will cut their revenues by 10 percent, or $1 billion. About a third of their losses will be offset by income from land-line users, who will now pay two to five cents per minute to call a mobile phone. Previously, calls from a land-line to a local mobile phone were free. 

To fill the remaining hole, mobile operators are looking to raise prices for outgoing calls, since most Russians are on prepaid plans (nearly 90 percent on leading carrier MTS). Thus, MTS has announced it will charge a connection fee for outgoing calls of one to two cents. Another major operator, Beeline, plans to charge a similar fee but has not yet set a price. The third prominent player, Megafon, has chosen to introduce a monthly fee and increase per-minute rates. 

 

“The leaders of the fighters have practically all been destroyed. Now it’s just young men, deceived by international terrorists, who remain in the mountains.” 

Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov,
on rebel fighters after the death of Shamil Basayev 

 

“I simply liked that boy very much. He was very independent and charming, with an air of self-respect, and at the same time he was a completely vulnerable child, like all children who, I think, need special care and warmth.” 

President Vladimir Putin,
on his impulsive public kiss of a boy on the belly

 

{Five in 500} Five Russian companies were included on this year’s Fortune list of the world’s 500 largest corporations. Russian gas giant Gazprom, with annual revenues of $50.824 billion, made 102nd place, closely followed by LUKOIL (115th place, with revenues of $46.284 billion). The other three are Russia’s United Energy Systems (RAO UES), Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz. Rosneft, whose revenues have soared 291% since 2004, has become the fastest growing major Russian company.

 

{Chechen Ph.D} Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, 29, received a doctoral degree in economics from the Makhachkala Institute of Business, Management and Law, from which he graduated in 2002. Though he is too young to become Chechnya’s president, Kadyrov has been the de facto governor of the rebel republic since the murder of his father, President Akhmat Kadyrov, on May 9, 2004. 

 

{City Limits} The two capital cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, should merge with their surrounding regions, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told Russian News Service. In such an event, a Moscow combined with Moscow region would account for a third of Russia’s tax revenues. But Moscow region Governor Boris Gromov was not keen on the merger idea and warned that “it would result in the creation of a hardly manageable monster,” Interfax reported.

 

{Forging On} Russian steelmaker Severstal lost its bid to merge with Arcelor SA after the Luxembourg-based firm’s board instead chose to unite with Mittal Steel, the world’s largest steelmaker. The decision came as a blow to Severstal and it’s head, Alexei Mordashov, who is said to be close to the Kremlin. Some Russian politicians hurried to attribute the decision to anti-Russian sentiments at Arcelor. Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov called Severstal a victim of a campaign aimed at denying Russia entry to global markets.

 

{Stay Where You Are} Russian lawmakers will now lose their seat in parliament if they switch parties, according to a new law signed by President Putin on July 13. The law also forbids Russia’s political parties from supporting candidates of other parties in elections. Critics called it another Kremlin attempt to weaken the opposition.

 

{Giants Coming} Volkswagen and General Motors have signed contracts with the Russian government to open subsidiaries here. Both companies seek to open plants to assemble cars in Russia from foreign-made components, which would allow them to bypass Russia’s high auto import duties. Volkswagen will open a €$270 million plant in Kaluga region that will employ 3,500 people. GM picked St. Petersburg for its $115 million plant.

 

{Sarov Reopens} The Russian Orthodox Church has reopened the famed monastery in the town of Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod region. The 300-year-old monastery was closed for 80 years and is one of Russia’s most sacred sites. Sarov, formerly known as Arzamas-16, is also the home to the first Soviet nuclear bomb, built in 1949. 

 

{Tajik Road} Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov launched construction of a major highway, which will link Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, to the country’s north and border with Uzbekistan. The two-year project will cost $300 million, 95% of which will be paid by China, which borders the country in the East.

 

{publish or perish} Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and billionaire Alexander Lebedev partnered to acquire a 49-percent share in the staunchly oppositionist Novaya gazeta, to preserve the paper’s independence, they said. Staff members of the paper own the remaining 51 percent. 

 

Teardrop of Sorrow

On the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, a 175-ton, 100 foot bronze sculpture, “Teardrop of Sorrow: To The Struggle Against World Terrorism,” by 72-year-old Russian artist Zurab Tsereteli, will be dedicated as the centerpiece of a two-acre park in Bayonne, New Jersey, just across the Hudson from the Statue of Liberty. The names of 3,024 victims are listed on the sides of the memorial, a number that is somewhat higher than official accounts, but is based on a 2003 New York Times reckoning. 

The sculpture was originally planned for the Jersey City waterfront, but was subsequently rejected by that town’s arts community and city council. Bayonne has spent $1.25 million on creation of the park and Tsereteli has donated the sculpture, which reportedly cost $12 million in materials, shipping and labor.

 

Facts & Figures

The Moscow region has a budget of R200 billion in 2007, which represents a ten-fold increase from 2000. Meanwhile, the city of Moscow has a budget for 2007 of R600 billion.  τ The budget for all of Russia in 2007 is R5,240 billion. τ The Russian media and entertainment market will grow to $34.5 billion by 2010, as compared to $16.6 billion last year. The world’s total media and entertainment market in 2005 was estimated at $1.329 trillion. Last year, Russians spent $1.75 billion on books, $1.07 billion on news-papers, $863 million on maga-zines and $667 million on cinema and videos. τ $412 million (R10.7 billion) was spent on July’s G8 summit in St. Petersburg, compared to $191 million for last year’s summit in Scotland. Hotels in St. Petersburg profited some $4 million during the summit, while tour companies lost $10 million because of limited access to the city. τ Less than 1% of Russians buy clothes on the Internet, while 32% said they care about the brand name of the clothes they buy. 49% are very con-cerned about other people’s opinions when choosing clothes or footwear, and 62% strongly dislike clothes made in China. τ 42,000 Russians die each year from alcohol poisoning caused by counterfeit goods. τ The Russian nuclear industry consists of about 200 enterprises employing more than 300,000 people and producing 16 percent of Russia’s electricity. Russia operates 31 reactors with generating capacity of 23,242 mega-watts (MW). Six more reactors with a total capacity of 4,675 MW are under construction and expected to start production by 2011. τ 17 soldiers died and another 3,500 suffered injuries in hazing crimes in the Russian army between January and July of this year. Crime in the army grew 13% over the period, versus the same period last year. 

 

Russia, U.S. Seek To Save Polar Bears

U.S. House ratifies polar bear treaty with Russia

Russia and the U.S. are joining forces to protect polar bears from over-hunting and other threats to their survival. On July 17, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve a treaty with Russia that sets quotas on polar bear hunting by indigenous populations and establishes a bilateral commission to study how to best protect polar bear habitats, The Associated Press reported. It must now be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the Senate in June. 

The bill prohibits the possession, sale and purchase of a polar bear or one of its body parts and establish an enforcement authority for violators. It also approves annual spending of $2 million for the polar bear program through 2010. 

The polar bear population in the Arctic, currently numbering between 20,000 and 25,000, is expected to fall 30 percent within 45 years, according to the Polar Bear Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union. Habitat destruction due to climactic warming, pollution and over-hunting are the main threats. Russia banned polar bear hunting in 1956, while the U.S. has allowed subsistence hunting by native groups. Both countries, however, have problems with polar bear poaching, and the treaty is expected to improve enforcement of existing regulations. Illegal hunting in Russia has caused particular concern, since polar bears commonly breed there.

 

Kiss the Hand That Arms You

During a three-day visit to Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez received electoral support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, delivered an impromptu speech from the balcony of Volgograd city hall – pronouncing “Long live Lenin,” sealed a $1 billion arms deal that will include 24 Sukhoi fighter jets and 100,000 AK-103 Kalashnikov rifles, and secured Russian help to build an 8,000 kilometer gas pipeline. “Russia is a key element of Venezuela’s ambitions to become a global player on many levels,” Chavez said. He also thanked Russia for helping “to sever the blockade that was tied by the United States around Venezuela... There is a revolution going on in Venezuela at the moment, and to make it with old weapons is difficult. We must be strong.” Chavez is a thorn in the side of the current U.S. administration, which has sought his ouster and has asked Russia to halt the arms deal. Russia has refused, saying Venezuela is under no embargo and the size of the deal is in keeping with that country’s needs. At left, Chavez visits the Izhevsk Machine Factory (Izhevsky MashZavod) with Chuvash President Alexander Volkov (directly behind Chavez), where the Kalashnikov rifles are produced. 

 

“Russia should not be discussed at the summit in St. Petersburg. There shouldn’t be any criticism, praise, or anything else. No discussion of Russia at all... The G8 leaders have manners. Personally, I believe that whoever wants to insult us should do so in their own country, without coming over here to do it.”

Alexander Livshits, former finance minister, on the eve of the G8 summit (Gazeta)

 

“The Lie has become an instrument of Russian internal and external policies. A whole team of liars and imitators has been created.”

Sergei Kovalyov, human rights activist, at an opposition summit organized prior to the G8 conference in St. Petersburg (BBC Russian Service)

 

“Russia has no independent parliament, free speech, or independent judiciary. Elections are manipulated, and business is subordinated to government. The authorities don’t respect civil rights or civil liberties. Laws are applied selectively, on a politically motivated basis. This also has a direct impact on foreign policy, which bears little resemblance to strategic partnership with the West.”

Grigory Yavlinsky, opposition politician (Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

“He’s a strong man… he’s willing to listen, but he also explains to me that he doesn’t want anyone telling him how to run his government.” 

U.S. President George Bush, on Vladimir Putin, at the G8 Summit (Johnson’s List)

 

“To be honest, of course we would prefer to not have a democracy like the one in Iraq.”

President Vladimir Putin, 

on American leaders’ criticisms of democracy in Russia  (BBC Russia Service)

 

Russians who:

 

Expected the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg to bring Russia:

positive results 59%

negative results 2%

no results 24%

 

Think that other countries view Russia with:

   respect 18%

   interest 38%

  indifference 8%

scorn 19%

  fear 8%   

 

Believe that Chechen leader Shamil Basayev, who was reportedly killed in a blast, as a result of a special operation by Russian army:

was truly killed 47%
simply fled 26%

 

Think that Basayev’s death was:

an accident 23%

the result of a well-
planned operation 53%

 

Planned to spend their summer vacation:

at home 51%

at their dacha or summer house 22%

traveling in Russia 12%

traveling abroad 6%

 

Would like their son or daughter to 

become a:*

lawyer, economist, specialist in finance 23%

programmer, IT specialist 21%

medical doctor 19%

entrepreneur, businessman 16%

skilled worker 15%

engineer 13%

military person, officer 13%

director of a bank 11%

sportsman 10%

writer, musician, painter 8%

(* more than one answer allowed)

 

Do not object to erecting a joint memorial to Soviet and Nazi dead 57%

object to such a memorial 31%

 

Think that the high Soviet death toll in the first months after the Nazi attack was because:

   the invasion was unexpected 31%

   Stalin’s policies weakened 

the Soviet military 26%

   the enemy had better equipment 18%

 

 

Half Millennium

At the end of July, Holy Trinity Alexander Svirsky Monastery, located northeast of St. Petersburg on the banks of Roshchinsky Lake, six kilometers from the river Svir,  celebrated its 500th anniversary. The monastery is one of the largest ancient Orthodox monasteries in Northwest Russia and was founded by Alexander Svirsky, a monk at Valaam Monastery to whom, legend has it, the Holy Trinity appeared while he was on retreat in the Svir woods. The monastery was closed in 1925 by the Bolsheviks and reopened in 1997. 

 

“It is simply degrading for some of our citizens when, let’s say, a young woman is told that she will not receive a visa to the United States simply because she is young and pretty, because they suspect that she will get involved in prostitution there. Is that not humiliating? So long as there are such things happening, we will form our visa policies accordingly. We need to reach an agreement.”

President Vladimir Putin,
on simplifying entry to Russia for foreigners (BBC Russian Service) 

 

“It’s like the French notion of faire montrer. It’s better to look like something than to be something. It’s a very Eastern way of thinking. I know men here who have very little money, but who will buy a very big car so that other people will see that he’s rich, he’s powerful.”

Yuri Lyubimov, advisor to the economic development minister on piracy issues, on understanding the Russian public’s appetite for counterfeits (Los Angeles Times)

 

“If we are to send goods there by sea, this can be done now, just as it is done in Papua New Guinea. But if it is to be by air, then we will need to have Hero of Russia-grade pilots, since the airports there were built by the Japanese, for their kamikaze pilots’ take-offs.”

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, 

on the need for infrastructure development 

on the Kuril Islands (BBC Russian Service) 

 

Russians Dominate Synchro

Russia grabbed four gold medals in synchronized swimming at the European swimming championships in Budapest. The Russians won in the solo, duet, combination and team competition events. Especially remarkable was soloist Natalia Ischenko, who won three golds, performing in the solo, combination and group events and called it “probably the best performance of my career so far.” Anastasiya Yermakova and Anas-tasiya Davydova dominated the duets, with the judges giving them a near-perfect score of 98.8. 

Zvonareva Rebounds

Vera Zvonareva won her first Women’s Tennis Association title in July, beating fourth-seeded Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-4 in the Western & South-ern Financial Group Wo-men’s Open in Cincinnati. Zvon-areva, who is now ranked 37th in the world, made taking the title look easy – winning every set during the entire Tier III tournament. Zvon-areva’s ranking reached No. 9 in August 2004 before she lost to Lindsay Davenport in the final of the 2004 event and struggled last year with injuries to her left ankle and right shoulder. She also won a Tier III event in Birmingham, England, in June.  “It’s just great to win two tournaments almost in a row,” she said. “It’s a good feeling. You have to be playing really well to win two tournaments.”

Going Dutch

The newly appointed head coach of the Russian national soccer squad, Guus Hiddink, is expected to give a shot in the arm to Russia’s ailing team. Hiddink assumed his duties in July. “I will live in Amsterdam and come to Russia when it is needed – for several weeks or for several days,” Hiddink said. “There are several young [Russian] players with a promising future,” he added. President of the Russian Football Union, Vitaly Mutko, announced Hiddink’s appointment – a four-year contract – March 1. 

It is the first time the Russian team will be trained by a foreigner. At the end of 2005, Yuri Semin stepped down from the post after the Russian team failed to qualify for the 2006 World Championships. Hiddink helped Australia win its slot in the recent World Cup in Germany, where the Aussie team reached the quarterfinals, losing to Italy.

Hard Knocks

In Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Russian amateur boxers gleaned a record nine gold and two silver medals at the European Boxing Cham-pion-ships. Meanwhile, in Hollywood, Florida, professional boxer Sultan Ibragimov, 31, pulled a draw in his fight versus Ray Austin, 35. The winner was to face Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF Heavyweight championship fight. Russian observers cried foul, saying Ibragimov clearly won the fight and blamed biased judges, who were replaced at the last minute. Ibragimov will file a protest insisting on a rematch with Austin in November. 

Sochi 2014

In June, the IOC short-listed Salzburg, Austria, PyeongChang, South Korea, and Sochi, Russia as sites for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Two-thirds of Russians polled by VTsIOM feel that holding the Olympics in Sochi would be an important national event.

After Moscow’s failure to win in its bid for the 2012 Summer Games, Sochi may be the next best chance Russia has of hosting a near-term Olympic competition. Sochi lost a bid to hold the 2002 winter games. The winner will be announced on July 7, 2007.