Notebook

Rumble in Chukotka

Defrocked priest causes schism

in the Far Far East

A scandal within the Russian Orthodox church spilled over onto secular territory after the Church called for a criminal investigation against renegade Chukotka cleric Diomid. Diomid, who has served in Anadyr since 1993, was bishop of Chukotka when he began to criticize the Moscow Patriarchate for ecumenism, departure from traditional values and cozying up to the government. Diomid listed his complaints in a letter, imposed public anathema on Patriarch Alexei, and left Anadyr for isolated Cape Shmidt in northern Chukotka. Diomid was defrocked, and his parishioners opposed the decision with protests, saying Diomid is being unfairly persecuted. The Church sent a representative to Chukotka, who has attempted to sort out the situation, while at the same time initiating a criminal case against Diomid for stealing important Church documents. The incident has split many Orthodox into Diomid-sympathizers and those who agree with the Patriarchy that he is an “insane” clergyman that is attempting to compromise Church unity, as a Patriarchate spokesman implied.

 

Coca-Kvas?

Multinational makes play

in Russian kvas market

Kvas – a fermented bread drink – was once proclaimed the Russian alternative to Coke. But now Coke has seized on kvas as a way to corner more of the Russian drink market.  Long sold from big cistern trucks or giant barrels, in recent years kvas has begun to be sold in two-liter bottles by several companies. And, according to Business Analytica, sales of kvas have tripled in the last three years, while colas have dropped by 5 percent since 2005. A local kvas producer advertised the drink as the “health of the nation,” and an alternative to cola-nization. Coca-Cola researched the market for two years, and has now come out with its own version of kvas: Kruzhka and Bochka (Mug and Barrel). To capitalize on patriotic sentiment, the company keeps a low profile: TV ads for Kruzhka and Bochka make no mention of the soft drink giant behind the brand.

 

Google This

Internet giant battles 

for Russian web surfers

Eager to establish a strong presence in Russia, Google announced its intent to buy local internet advertising firm Begun in September. The sale by Rambler (which owned 50.1 percent of Begun, and will buy the remaining 49.9 before selling it to Google), a Russian search engine, is estimated to be worth $140 million. 

Under the deal, Rambler will start using Google search technology. Google wants to increase the volume of context advertising on RuNet: out of three million Russian companies, only 70 thousand presently use context advertising. Google’s Russian-born co-founder Sergei Brin has also said the company is working to improve Russian-language search technology. 

“The landscape of the Russian internet will change,” Yandex predicted on its corporate blog shortly after the deal was announced. Yan-dex mourned the fact that Rambler will now run on Google technology, making Yandex the sole major Russian search engine. Yandex currently claims about 55 percent of all Russian search engine traffic, but Google’s assertive moves in Russia are making it a serious threat.

Google is already beta-testing a localized news service (news. google.ru) which will compete with the popular “Yandex News” (news.yandex.ru). Google has also launched a large outdoor advertising campaign called “Moscow 2.0.” Over 5000 advertising stickers, signs and large billboards appeared all over Moscow this summer. Most offer a brief description of Moscow’s historical landmarks, and then invite passersby to “find out more on Google” by using the search engine and adding interesting facts to Google Maps.

 

Palatial Remake

Peterhof imperial palace 

to be rebuilt from scratch

The Lower Dacha at Peterhof, the imperial estate southwest of St. Petersburg, is being rebuilt from the ground up. The “dacha” was actually a palace and former residence of Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II; Tsare-vich Alexei was born there in 1904. The four-story building was all but leveled to its foundation during World War II.

Efforts are underway to determine what the palace looked like at the turn of the century, so the total cost of reconstruction is as yet unknown. Still, the Lower Dacha is expected to be completed by 2012. The government has already allocated R464 million for reconstruction projects at Peterhof in 2009, Bloomberg reported.

 

Reels on Wheels

Taking the movies

to viewers

After determining that about 40 percent of Russians do not have access to a movie house, the Ministry of Culture launched an experimental program to bring the big screen to the country’s rural areas. The ‘Kino-mobil’ – essentially a traveling movie theater – visited the village of Spass-koye-Lutovinovo, Oryol region. Equipment was temporarily installed in the local culture center and two movies were screened, Vedomosti wrote. A Kinomobil costs R3.5-6 million to construct and can even bring films to areas that have no electricity, running the projector on generator power. Three Kinomobils have been built and three more are in the works. “It can replace the deceased village movie theater,” said project head Andrei Shmakov. “We can also organize a dance floor, a videoconference, or receive and project a satellite signal onto the screen.”

 

Screening Akunin

Another historical detective

is adapted to the screen

A fourth movie is in production, based on bestselling author Boris Akunin’s mysteries. Director Yury Moroz is filming Pelagia and the White Bulldog, the first book in Akunin’s (real name Georgy Chkhartishvili) “provincial detective” series. This series takes place far from the imperial intrigues unraveled by Akunin’s other detective, Erast Fandorin. All three films so far based on Akunin’s books are from the Erast Fandorin series.

The protagonist and detective in this second series is the clumsy but sharp-witted nun Pelagia, played in the film by Polina Kutepova, a theater actress at Moscow’s acclaimed Pyotr Fomenko Studio. 

 

History with a Click

Russians launch internet battles 

over historical figure

A PR project by the Rossiya TV channel launched a nationwide internet poll to determine which historical figure deserves the title “Name of Russia.” Fifty names were on the preliminary list, which is to shrink to 12 by September, when the poll will spread to television for wider parti-cipation. The winner will be an-nounced at the end of the year, according to the project description on the website nameofrussia.ru.

Immediately, the project caused a small scandal, since Joseph Stalin was propelled to the top of the list within a few days and stayed there. Colum-nists started penning opinion pieces on the prevailing cult of personality. Others scorned the project as empty of meaning, since “name of Russia” does not have either a positive or negative connotation, and since it is rather easy to stuff this internet balloting box. 

After campaigns on social networking sites like Odnoklassniki.ru and VKontakte.ru, Nicholas II closed in on Stalin. The contest’s producer, Alexander Lyubimov, campaigned for the last Russian tsar on various internet websites, and told The Moscow Times newspaper that Stalin will not win. 

Just as the buzz was starting to subside in late July, Vladimir Vysotsky climbed the charts in time for the 28th anniversary of his death.

The ratings are likely to keep changing as various internet groups launch campaigns for their chosen candidates. As Lyubimov said, the poll is easily manipulated, since unlimited votes can be made from the same computer.

At the time of writing, 5.4 million votes had been cast, with Vysotsky in first place at just over 603 thousand votes. Stalin trailed him with 585 thousand.

 

Daimler Kamaz

Another Russian automaker is about to strike a major deal with a foreign investor. Kamaz, manufacturer of large, boxy trucks, will likely sell off a 42 percent stake to Daimler AG, the world’s largest truck maker, Bloomberg reported. The stake, which belongs to Troika Dialog bank, is valued at approximately $1.83 billion. In 2007, Kamaz sold about 53 thousand vehicles in Russia, while Daimler only sold 1,300.

 

Dude, where’s my Faberge?

Following on the missing art scandal at the Hermitage, a two-year, country-wide museum audit determined that Russian museums are some 50 thousand articles short. A special commission has almost finished its check of two thousand archives, and will announce final results at year’s end. Many of the missing articles were likely stolen, but some could have been moved or lost during transportation, Vesti reported.

 

Burgernomics

The ruble is undervalued by almost 30 percent, according to the Economist Big Mac index. The informal index measures purchasing power parity by looking at the price of Big Macs and exchange rates to the U.S. dollar in countries around the world. In 2008, a Big Mac at a Russian McDonald’s cost about R59, or $2.54, while in the U.S. the burger costs $3.57. Based on the index, the Economist said that the exchange rate should be R16.6 to the dollar.

 

Dwight Moves East 

BBC Worldwide signed a licensing deal with Channel One Russia granting permission for a local remake of its popular comedy series The Office, the BBC reported. The show has already inspired many international remakes, including in the U.S., France, and Chile. Channel One will film 24 half-hour shows, using locally-produced screenplays based on woes of Russian office workers.

 

New Ambassador

Yuri Ushakov, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. since 1999, was promoted this summer to deputy head of the presidential administration. His replacement in Wash-ing-ton will be Sergei Kislyak, formerly in charge of relations with Washington as deputy foreign affairs minister. Kislyak is a long-time America-hand. He worked in the Soviet office at the United Nations, in the Soviet Embassy, was ambassador to Belgium from 1998 to 2003, and more recently represented Russia at NATO. 

 

Russovision

After this year’s Eurovision win (see Russian Life Notebook July/August 2008), Russia will host next year’s contest in Moscow. Although both St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod expressed interest in hosting the singing contest, government officials chose Moscow. The most likely venue is the Olimpiysky sport complex, built for the 1980 Olympic games. The plan foresees investing €10 million to revamp the facilities.

 

Game Plan

The Russian government has finally agreed not to build roads, hotels and a bobsled track for the Sochi Olympic Games in the Western Caucasus nature reserve. Environmentalists critiqued construction plans for months, and their pleas were echoed by both the UN Environmental Program and UNESCO, leading Prime Minister Putin to change the building plans.

 

Flea Musical

A director from Irkutsk wants to make Nikolai Leskov’s short novel Levsha into a musical. Leskov, who is sometimes considered “Russia’s most Russian writer,“ was a writer and journalist in mid-19th century who avoided both the nihilist and conservative wings of the intelligentsia. Levsha is about a left-handed peasant who makes a miniature metal flea for the Russian tsar.

 

Baikal Dives

The two submarines that descended to the ocean floor at the North Pole were sent to the bottom of Baikal, the world’s deepest lake. The lake bottom is 1,637 feet below the surface and has never been explored. Previous attempts to explore Baikal have never gone below 200 meters. Scientists hope to study lake tectonics, archeology, and the effects of global warming on Baikal’s unique ecosystem. 

 

Russians Who

read books (fiction):

daily 18%

at least once a week 23%

once a month or less 36%

practically never 23% 

prefer 

Russian action thrillers 16%

romance novels 14%

science fiction 9%

historical novels about Russia 18%

Soviet classics 14%

Russian classics (pre-Revolutionary) 14%

foreign classics 14%

foreign mysteries 13%

“female” mysteries 14%

classic historical adventure novels 18%

fantasy 11%

consider the most pressing social problem to be

2008 2007

price increases 82% 71%

inaccessible medical care 35% 27%

inaccessible education 26% 27%

unemployment 25% 39%

worsening environmental conditions 23% 17%

think the most important event in Russian history was 

2003 1999 1989

victory in World War II 78% 85% 73%

Gagarin’s flight in space 51% 54% 33%

the breakup of the USSR 42% 47% n/a

 

are vegetarians 4%

have friends or relatives who are vegetarian 15%

don’t know a single vegetarian 82%

think vegetarianism is healthy 7%

 

think people become vegetarians because they

cannot afford meat 18%

want to live longer 16%

can’t eat meat for health reasons 14%

have moral reasons 11%

like animals 8%

 

use profanity

sometimes 55%

often 13%

never 30%

feel profanity has become 

more common than
  in the Soviet period 52%

…less common 11%

 

600 officers from Russia’s law enforcement and security bodies were convicted of various crimes in 2007. Among them are 180 colonels and 16 generals.   Top prosecutors reported that 27,000 crimes related to corruption were uncovered during the first half of 2008 – 10 percent more than the same period last year. Instances of bribes were up 6 percent.   Only 10 percent of all sewage waste dumped into Russia’s water is sufficiently treated. 50 percent of all surface water in Russia is not deemed sanitary. 69 percent of Russian cities have high atmospheric pollution, 17 percent have low atmospheric pollution. 26 cities have pollution that exceeds normal levels by 10 times. In 2006, water polluters paid R5 billion in fines.   Russian Central Bank reserves are $551.5 billion – the third-largest reserves in the world. Russia is estimated to be earning some $1.1 billion per day from oil and gas exports. Last year, foreign debt fell to $45 billion (from $144 billion in 1999). Gross domestic product has grown sevenfold since 1999, to more than $9,000 per capita.   Russia could save 240 cubic meters of natural gas, 340 billion kilowatt/hours of electricity, 89 million tons of coal, and 43 million tons of oil by becoming more energy efficient. It would require an investment of $320 billion, which is just one third of what it would cost Russia to expand energy production to compensate for these inefficiencies. If the measures were implemented, the economy would save up to $150 billion per year.   During the summer, the population of Moscow region triples as people move to their dachas.   29 percent of men and 16 percent of women who work in the industrial sector work in harmful or unhealthy working conditions. The regions with the worst working conditions are Kemerovo, Murmansk and Kamchatka oblasts.   Inflation this year is so far at 9.3 percent. The government’s target is 8.5-10.5 percent.   The exact number of Russian troops in Chechnya is unknown, but it is estimated at between 38,000 and 70,000.   Russia is now Europe’s biggest auto market. In the first half of 2008, car sales rose 41 percent to 1.65
million cars and $33.8 billion. Imports jumped 54 percent to 785,000, accounting for almost half of total sales; purchases of locally made foreign cars rose 41 percent to 290,000. The biggest seller: Chevrolet, with 103,735 sales.

 

Povetkin Beats Sykes

At midnight on July 19, Russian boxer Alexander Povetkin, seen as a leading contender in professional boxing’s heavyweight division, beat American Taurus Sykes in the town of Chekhov, Moscow region. Povetkin knocked out Sykes in the fourth round and said he was sure of his victory after the first few minutes, clearly dominating his opponent in all four rounds. By beating Sykes, Povetkin has won the right to meet Vladimir Klichko, the Ukrainian IBF and WBO super heavyweight champion. The fight will be held next fall. 

Isinbayeva Ends Drought

Yelena Isinbayeva, 26, set another world record in the pole vault, clearing 5.03 meters at Rome’s Olympic stadium on July 11. It has been three years since Isinbayeva set her previous record of 5.01 meters at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. She had repeatedly tried to clear 5.02 over the past few seasons and then she and her new coach, Vitaly Petrov, decided a switch to 5.03 might help psychologically. “[Vitaly] said we have to change something,” Isinbayeva said. “I was ready for a world record. My goal was to beat the world record.” Never one to rest on her laurels, Isinbayeva cleared 5.04 in Monte Carlo, taking her closer to her goal of setting 35 world records and equalling her predecessor and mentor Sergey Bubka.

Avangard Signs Jagr

NHL megastar Jaromir Jagr signed with a Russian hockey team one day after  failing to reach a deal with the New York Rangers. Avan-gard Omsk (the team Jagr played for during the 2004-2005 lockout) announced the signing of the 36-year-old Czech winger in July, via its website. The deal is believed to be for two years plus an option for a third, and will pay Jagr about $7 million tax-free, equivalent to some $11 million a season in the NHL. “Don’t forget, I’m from Europe,” Jagr was quoted as saying. “Russia is nothing new for me. It’s close to the Czech Republic. It would be different for American or Canadian players. But for me, I enjoy it. The people love hockey and I had a great time out there.” Jagr had long been reported to be considering lucrative offers from Russia. He began his NHL career in 1990 and played for Pittsburgh, Washington and the Rangers. In 1,273 NHL games, he had 1,599 points on 646 goals and 953 assists. 

Fighting Back

“You have accomplished a sporting feat and no matter how pompous it may sound, it is really so,” said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The president was hosting the Russian National Soccer Team in the Kremlin, after their surprising third-place finish in the 2008 European Championships.

After losing to Spain 4-1 in the opener, the Russian team won their next three matches against Greece (1-0), Sweden (2-0) and, most notably, the Netherlands (3-2), led by previously unknown players Andrei Arshavin, Yury Zhirkov and Roman Pavlyuchenko. The team faced Spain again in the semifinals, and were defeated 3-0. Spain went on to claim the gold.

“The country was not disappointed that you failed to win first place, getting the bronze,” Medvedev said. “It was a colossal effort and only you know how tough it was.“

In 2002, the Russian team began a four-year slump when it failed to make it out of its qualifying group stage at the Worlds in Japan and South Korea. In 2006, the team failed to qualify for the World Cup. Over the past two years, however, the national team has been transformed by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, who introduced a new open, attacking style led by Arshavin & Co. 

Russia’s soccer chief, Vitaly Mutko, said the Russian team will now focus on qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (it failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics). The other teams in Russia’s World Cup qualifying group are Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan, Liechtenstein and Germany. 

 

 

 

“As far as irresponsible business conduct is concerned, I will say to you directly and perhaps a bit coarsely – I’ll take everything from their stomach and distribute it to the poor.”

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (Itogi)

 

“A love of luxury. It is Russia’s most important tradition… sable, diamonds, pearls, champagne – and riding through the snow on Red Square in a troika… Of course, the troika would have to be mechanized, made in Japan or England: a convertible, sable seats, and 30-karat diamonds.“

Alexander Vasiliyev, historian of fashion (Russian Reporter)

 

“An illness is an illness, but I think [Igor Zyuzin] better get well soon, otherwise we’ll need to send a doctor round to clean up all these problems.”

Prime Minister Putin, on the absence of Zyuzin (CEO of Mechel) from a government meeting. Putin’s critique of Mechel’s purported price-fixing sent the company’s stocks tumbling by 38 percent and the entire Russian stock market dropped five percent the next day. 

 

 “It’s not like we are a banana republic, invited to become acquainted with the values of civilization. We have plenty of our own resources.”

Dmitry Medvedev, encouraging government bureaucrats to raise their computer literacy (Interfax)

 

“Khrushchev wanted to push corn to the North with his party boot, but we have moved its cultivation zone 200-300 kilometers farther north by using a scientific approach.”

Moscow Mayor Luzhkov talking about his new corn-growing hobby,
at a presentation in Germany (Interfax)

 

“We know very well that we are sitting atop a very viscous pillow of oil money and are balancing on the rickety perch of unfinished social reforms… Our goal is not that different from America’s goals under Roosevelt. The difference is that they rushed to resolve things after everything had already fallen apart. Today, we have a chance to resolve things a little bit earlier, before everything collapses.”

Yelena Panfilova, head of Transparency International Russia office,
on the need to resolve Russia’s corruption problems (polit.ru)

 

“Look, today there is universal thievery. Everyone knows it, but you can’t say anything about it.”

Gennady Gudkov, Duma deputy (Itogi)

 

“Doesn’t Russia overestimate the importance of destiny? Don’t Russians tend to believe in fate rather than themselves? That’s why the movie is in many ways Russian. The idea of taking matters into our own hands, of deciding for yourself and not counting on some uncle in the Kremlin or on the wheel of fate – this is a very timely issue for us. It’s a painful, even tragic issue. And so far irresolvable.

Director Timur Bekmambetov about his new movie, Wanted (Novaya Gazeta)

 

“Thankfully, many leaders understand that you should not be offended by a mirror. Yes? And if the mirror says, ‘Bad,’ then it is not the one to blame.”

Oleg Mitvol, deputy director of Rosprirodnadzor,
about recent bad news on the environment – see Facts and Figures (Itogi)