Notebook

In Brief

Fatigue for Lenin...

VOLGODONSK — Many Russian towns could soon lose their best known monuments — those ubiquitous Lenin statues are simply decaying from natural causes. One gigantic statue in a park in Volgodonsk, a small town near Rostov, keeled over onto a sidewalk. Luckily there were no casualties. Local authorities issued a statement saying the statue fell because of poor upkeep and metal fatigue.

...but not for Tsar Nicholas II

A monument to the 100th anniversary of the coronation of Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, was unveiled in the village of Taininskoye, Moscow Region. Sculpted by Vyacheslav Klykov, it features an 11 meter copper statue of the Russian monarch holding the traditional symbols of power, the orb and scepter. A dedication at the base of the monument  says: To Emperor Nicholas II, from the Russian people, with repentance.

From Terror to sorrow

MAGADAN — Sculptor Ernst Neizvestny (see June Russian Life) has unveiled a monument to the victims of Stalin’s Terror. It is situated  above the town that used to be the administrative center of corrective labor camps (i.e. Gulag) of the far northeast. Hundreds of townspeople turned up to the opening, climbing a bleak hill outside Magadan despite icy winds and fog. Known as the Mask of Sorrow, the monument is 15 meters high and portrays a giant haunted face, below which are relief carvings with the names of the most notorious camps. Pine branches were laid at the base of the monument in memory of the dead.

Cold Turkey?

VLADIVOSTOK— In the wake of the recent Russian-US conflict over the export to Russia of American chicken legs, the Sanitary Inspectorate of Primorye Territory has prohibited the import and distribution of US ground turkey. Eight cases of salmonella were found in a recent batch. The retail sale of poultry has already been prohibited by the Federal Government. However, in other parts of Russia it is allowed for industrial processing.

Another net breakthrough

YAROSLAVL — The Russian government, in combination with the Soros Foundation, has opened its first Internet University center in provincial Russia. Another 31 are planned throughout the country, and will be set up over the next 3-5 years at a cost of $100 mn. One of the main tasks of the center will be to create humanitarian universities in other old Russian towns, pooling the resources of local libraries, schools, museums and media. Similar centers have been operating in Moscow and St. Petersburg for the last 3-4 years.