Notebook

You Can’t Turn Back Time

Maverick rock group pops into the mainstream

 

S

hortly after the New Year, the national press was full of reports of a scandal among the members of Russia’s legendary rock group, Time Machine. 

Leader Andrei Makare-vich abruptly fired keyboardist Pyotr Podgoro-detsky, accusing him of a slew of mortal sins, from wife battering to drug addiction. Podgorodetsky denied the charges and countered by accusing Makarevich of over-commercializing the group. 

In the Soviet era, Time Machine had a reputation as a maverick group whose lyrics and music were at odds with the “official party line.” Observers are agreeing that Pogoredsky’s counter-charges hit home, comparing the group to the Rolling Stones, who debuted as protest musicians but later became highly-commercial. 

The charges were found to hold a great deal of water when it was later announced that Pogorodetsky had been replaced by a star of Russian popsa (cheap pop), Andrei Derzhavin. Derzhavin’s hit “Don’t Cry, Alisa!” is considered by rock fans to be the very definition of commercial pop. 

 

Reinforcing the Russian Language

A great idea whose financing has not come

 

Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin has resurrected the idea of a special Council on the Russian Language. The first such council was created in 1996, under Boris Yeltsin. Its goal was to “develop, spread and preserve the purity of Russian language.” However, due to a lack of financing, few practical steps were taken. The council ended up under the jurisdiction of then premier Viktor Chernomyrdin, hardly a paragon of pure Russian. 

The new council has been set up within the Ministry of Education and Vice-premier Valentina Matvienko was placed at its head. The program developed for the Council concludes that the position of Russian was seriously shaken after the disintegration of the USSR, yet there are no details about how the government plans to remedy this situation. As Kommersant daily put it, “a solution may be found as soon as the government allocates the money.”

 

Let the Sender Beware

Email eavesdropping codified in Russia

 

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tarting January 6, Russia’s Federal Tax Police will enjoy the right to eavesdrop on phone conversations and monitor the email and postal mail of Russian taxpayers. 

Federal authorities have justified the measures through the need to curb capital flight, which totals some $1.5 bn a month. Seven law en-forcement bodies (in-cluding the Federal Security Service) will be hard-wired to Russia’s Internet Ser-vice Providers,” the Moscow Times reported. The authorities are still required under the Russian Con-sti-tution to obtain a court warrant before tapping phones, reading email or opening private correspondence between citizens and organizations. 

“With the growth of the Internet, the FSB and the State Communications Committee have issued new regulations that force Internet Service Providers to link their computers to those at FSB headquarters,” the Moscow Times wrote. “Many Internet Service Providers have quietly complied.” 

The seven agencies now given easier access to private communications include: the tax police, the Interior Ministry, the Border Guards, the Customs Committee, the Kremlin Security Service, the Presidential Security Service, the Parliamentary Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). 

 

 

“The ruble will stand firm—it is a masculine noun, after all.” 

— Central Bank Chairman Viktor Geraschenko 

prognosticating on the ruble in 2000. 

 

“We have a country of huge opportunities, not only for criminals, but also for the state.”

— Acting President Vladimir Putin, 

while still Prime Minister. (Itogi).

 

“All of our political leaders quit their life 

mostly via death.” 

— Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Itogi). 

 

“Yuri Luzhkov remained on the pitch, but he was issued a yellow card.” 

— Gavriil Popov, former Moscow mayor 

and predecessor of Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, 

on Luzhkov’s mayoral election victory and 

on the third place showing of Luzhkov’s party, 

Fatherland All-Russia, in December’s Duma election. 

 

“The Duma has a bear’s face.” 

—Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky, 

on the composition of the new Duma, where the 

pro-governmental faction “Medved” (Bear) 

is strongly represented. (Argumenty I Fakty)

 

“Lenin wrote the article ‘The Infantile Disease of Leftist Communism.’ Now it’s about time to write 

the article ‘The Infantile Disease of 

Rightist Capitalism.’” 

— Boris Berezovsky (Argumenty I Fakty) 

 

“What is Europe without Russia? A small piece of territory, suffocating from shortages of energy resources.” 

— Duma Vice-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 

responding to the Council of Europe’s threats 

of suspending Russia’s membership in 

that body (Moskovsky Komsomolets). 

 

 

 

Don of the Don

Author Mikhail Sholokhov (Quiet Flows the Don) was named the most famous Rostov-on-Don  resident in an opinion poll by the Foundation SIOT. Sholokhov, a Nobel laureate, earned more votes than all other competitors combined, including Red Army Commander Semyon Bydyonny, gymnast Lyudmila Turishcheva and weightlifter Vasily Alexeev.

 

Millenium Bill

Every important Russian newspaper has forecast the introduction of a R1,000 note in 2000, quoting anonymous sources at the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry as saying that the design of the new note Is already under discussion. 

 

Not fit to print

The European Institute for the Media gave the Russian media bad marks for its coverage of the December 1999 Duma election campaign. EIM’s international monitors rigorously monitored the press in the three week run-up to the election. Their conclusion was that “in many ways the character of this election campaign in the media was considerably worse than previous parliamentary elections in 1995.” EIM pointed in particular to “the smear tactics and unsubstantiated accusations of various crimes leveled at major political blocs during this period through the mass media.” Further, “no national commercial broadcaster sought to provide impartial coverage.” Print media, EIM reported, “were also partisan,” but more opinions were expressed than in broadcast media, because print media has more sponsors. 

In a related note, the World Association of News-papers called Russia “the most dangerous European country [in which] to practice the profession.” Fourteen journalists were killed in Russia in 1998, 11 in 1999. The Glasnost Defense Foun-dation also recently reported that some 14 journalists had been attacked just prior to the December Duma election.

 

back TO THE BRINK?

Russia has announced a new national military doctrine. The previous doctrine, published in 1997, stated that Russia would use nuclear weapons only if its existence was threatened. The new doctine, signed by Acting President Vladimir Putin, envisages the use of atomic weapons “to repel armed aggression if all other means of resolving the crisis have been exhausted or proven ineffective.” Needless to say, the new doctrine has not been welcomed in the US.

 

BETTER BALANCE

Russia had a record trade surplus of $40 bn in 1999, owing to a decline in imports, The State Statistics Committee reported. A 32.6 bn surplus has been projected for 2000. Russian exports account for 1.2% of world trade, making Russia the world’s 17th largest exporter. Meanwhile, Goskomstat also said that unemployment fell to 11.7% in December, down from 12.4% at the beginning of 1999. 

 

LOCATION, LOCATION ...

In its survey of 44 international real estate markets, Prudential Real Estate Investors rated the Russian real estate market as both the most risky and the most profitable. And some feel Russia’s measure of risk may even decline in the months ahead, if Acting President Putin makes good on his promise to settle the issue of private ownership of land (a promise he made at the opening session of the new Duma).

 

BETTER THAN YAHOO!

Foreign security investors are also doing well in the Russian market, Interfax reported. Firebird New Russia Fund reportedly brought home the best annual return in 1999, estimated at over 205%. Brunswick Russian Growth Fund came in second with 204.6% and even 16th ranked Templeton Russia brought in returns of over 134%. Of the 32 funds researched, fully 18 were found to have annual returns of over 100%.

 

GREEN HOUSE

Russians may soon live in houses made from plastic beer bottles. Researchers from the Institute of General and Non-Organic Chemistry at the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered a way of turning used plastic bottles into tiles, exterior panels, doors and window sills. The bottles are chopped into pieces and melted down to obtain a homogeneous mass that is very strong, but very lightweight. 

 

ROAD TO ALGIERS

Moscow city authorities have agreed in principle to help complete construction on a metro in Algiers, which Agence France Press reported has been under construction for 14 years. The agreement was reached during a visit to Algeria by a Russian delegation headed by Moscow Deputy Mayor Vladimir Resin. In the Soviet era, Algeria was a strong African ally of the USSR, receiving vast military and economic assistance from Moscow. Today, however, Algeria is a hotbed for international terrorism and ranked as one of the least safe places in the world for foreigners to visit.

 

EASING HOUSING WOES

The Moscow city government plans to build 3.5 mn square meters of housing this year (or about 58,000 apartments at an average of 60 m2 each). Of this, just over 10%, or 400,000 m2, will be allocated free of charge as “state apartments” to Muscovites who have been waiting to receive apartments. The replacement of infamous, five-story “khrushchyovkas” by modern buildings will also be sped up. 

 

BETTER BELORUSSKY

Moscow has announced an international contest to redesign the square in front of Belorussky Railway Station. The winning plan will need to bring order to the now chaotic area, potentially siting a trade center there and offering a solution to ease the notoriously slow traffic flow around the square.

 

Two “items of unique cultural value” were recently brought home to Russia. First, FSB (Federal Security Bureau) agents in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region helped the Russian National Library to recover the third volume of a Geographic Atlas published in 1854 by the printing house of Nikita Zuev (above, displayed by the library’s deputy director, Yelena Nebogatikova). This unique edition was apparently stolen from Russia 40 years ago by a Russian emigre. Through a stroke of luck, a collector from St. Petersburg discovered the atlas at a modest antique store in Hamburg. Below, Minister of Culture Vladimir Yegorov (left), ITAR-TASS General Director Vitaly Ignatenko, and Deputy Head of Administration fo the Sochi region, Roza Shlyakhova, show the recently recovered canvas by Russian painter Nikolai Feshin, “Early Spring.” The painting was stolen from the Sochi Art Museum in May 1992 and recently returned to Russia from the US.

 

 

The annual inflation rate in 1999 was 36.5%, according to the State Statistics Committee (Goskomstat). ! On January 1, 2000 Russia’s official minimal salary was increased from R83 to R200 ($7.50) per month. The Moscow Federation of Trade Unions estimated that the minimal survival salary in Moscow is R1575 (a bit less than $100). ! During the first 11 months of 1999, industrial output in Russia grew 7.8%. (Goskomstat) ! Since the beginning of the Chechen war, Chechen kidnappers have killed some 300 persons kidnapped and held for ransom, Security Council Secretary Sergei Ivanov said. ! Russia’s Central Bank reported that the number of banks operating in Russia fell by 9% over 1999.  ! Police detained more than 68,000 prostitutes in Moscow last year. 37% of these were minors, 56% were Russian (Ministry of the Interior). ! Russia and the EBRD have agreed to carry out 14 joint projects worth approximately 500 mn EUROs, Interfax reported. Most of the projects will be in the electrical energy and steel industries. ! In the first 10 months of 1999, Russia’s trade surplus was $24.5 billion (exports declined 5.6%, while imports fell 37%). This compares with $8.4 billion during the same period of 1998 (Goskomstat). ! After President Yeltsin’s resignation, Russian “blue chip” stocks rose rapidly: oil giant Lukoil rose 63%, the Moscow Energy system Mosenergo climbed 92%, Rostelecom rose 125%, and United Energy System lept 150%. ! There are 73 Russian nationals playing hockey in the NHL, more than from any other European country. ! Pensions in Russia grew 20% (up to R650, about $25) on February 1. Public sector workers will see their wages grow by 20% on April 20. ! In the first 11 months of 1999, just 5,700 workers at 341 organizations went on strike in Russia, compared to 65,500 workers and 2,135 organizations in the same period of 1998 (Goskomstat). ! In the December Duma elections: in Norilsk, more than 31% of voters voted against all candidates; in Vladivostok’s single mandate district, more than 50% voted against all candidates; estimates are that just over 3% of all Russian voters voted against all candidates. (ITAR-TASS)

 

 

Back on the Ice

Russian and NHL stars restage ‘70s hockey match

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uy Lafleure, Alexander Yakushev, Frank Maho-vlic, Vladimir Petrov and Bobby Hull, legends all, met on the ice in Moscow recently, as part of an exhibition event 25 years after the historic 1972-1974 USSR-NHL series. 

Hull (who participated only in the 1974 series) was the most popular western vet at the event. He signed thousands of autographs and handed out T-shirts and hockey sweatshirts as souvenirs. “For me,” Hull said, “the biggest disappointment of my career was that I was not able to participate in the 1972 superseries, as I had left the NHL to join the WHL. So I somehow caught up during this trip.”

Most local sports ob-servers concurred that the Canadian vets were “better preserved” than their Rus-sian counterparts, thanks to more regular practices. Thus, their 3:1 victory was seen as well deserved. After losing the first two matches by a wide margin, the Rus-sian vets called upon the young veterans Sergei Ma-karov (who played for the Calgary Flames) and Alex-ander Kharlamov (son of legendary hockey star Valery Kharlamov, who died in a car accident in the 1980s). This helped them win a face-saving match in a series of penalty shoot-outs. 

After the final match, neither winners nor losers could hide their joy—the scores were of a lesser importance than the human value of the event. “I am happy if only because I am in demand again as a hockey player,” joked gray-haired Boris Mikhailov, one of the legendary Soviet hockey trio Mikhailov-Petrov-Khar--lamov. “It turns out that the public still needs my game.”

Indeed, the last match between the NHL and Russian vets brought in an audience of 5,000 hockey fans—a very good result for a Moscow stadium at a time when the popularity of local hockey is at a low ebb. And, unlike in 1972, there were no fights on the ice. “Maybe we could have fought,” Hull joked, “but the Russians were in poor shape. As it is, we scored too many goals ...” Most of the better-known veterans took part in the rematch. Notably absent were the NHL’s Phil Esposito and legendary Russian goalie Vladislav Tretyak. The Russians vets are expected to pay a return visit to North America.

 

 

Dress Rehearsal

Russian skaters prep for World event

T

he Russian National Fi-gure Skating Cham-pion-ship, held at Mos-cow’s Sokolniki Ice Palace, may well have been a dress rehearsal for the World Cham-pionships to be held in Nice, France this March. 

Some of the world’s best skaters were there and only the ice dancing competition was not as tough as usual, given the absence of world champions Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov (who will not be able to perform this season due to Krylova’s spinal injury). The gold in this category went to Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Aver-bukh (see photo at right).

In the men’s singles, Yevgeny Plyushchenko de-feated his long-time rival Alexei Yagudin in men’s singles, while world champions Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the gold in doubles. 

In the women’s singles competition, an incident off the ice was the basis for wild speculation about a repeat of the infamous Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan brouhaha. World Champion Mariya Butyr-skaya’s BMW was set on fire in an arson attack, promp-t-ing speculation about the possible involvement of rival skaters. Butyrskaya’s material losses were nil, as the car was insured, but observers speculated about the emotional impact: Butyrskaya’s free program was far from impeccable and she came in second place, behind Irina Slutskaya. 

 

 

Slavic Slam

East beat West in the recent All-European All Stars match, held at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium. Andrei Kirilenko (in white) showed himself to be a rising star, dominating the boards and providing assists crucial to the East’s 112-107 victory. Kirilenko will surely be a player to watch in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

 

Anya Climbs to #9

 

Russian tennis players advanced well into later rounds of the Australian Open in January. Yevgeny Kafelnikov made it to the finals, but lost to Andre Agassi 3:6, 6:3, 6:2, 6:4. Anya Kurnikova (pictured above with adoring fans in Moscow) reached the quarterfinals, boosting her ATP rankings to #9 in the world (her highest ever), and only losing to Lindsay Davenport—who won the women’s singles title at the Open. Yelena Likhovtseva also advanced to the quarterfinals, after beating US star Serena Williams. Only Marat Safin was upset by an underdog, when he was defeated by #545 ranked Grant Stafford.

 

Moscow‘s CSKA suffered a second defeat in the EUROLEAGUE basketball tournament. After losing to the Turkish club Tofazhu, CSKA was beaten by the German club Albe 76-71. 

 

Legendary basketball coach Vladimir Kondrashin, who led the Soviet Union to its first Olympic basketball title in 1972, died in St. Petersburg at the age of 70. At the 1972 Olympics, the Soviets trailed the favored US team by one point with just three seconds left. Ivan Edeshko threw an inbound pass the length of the court to Alexander Belov, who sunk the basket at the buzzer.

 

Russia’s national soccer team will host the US on April 26 in a friendly match to help both teams prepare for the World Soccer Championship 2002. In addition, on May 31, the Russians will tentatively play the British national team at Wembley stadium. On June 4, they will face Slovakia. 

 

Moscow’s Spartak soccer squad won the CIS Cup for the fifth time, defeating Zimbru (Moldova) 3:0 in the finals.

Russia finally won an ice hockey tournament after a long losing streak when it beat Sweden 7:5 in the final of Moscow’s Baltika Cup. This raised hopes that the team will do well in April’s World Ice Hockey Champion-ships, to be held in St. Peters-burg. Russia has not won a medal at an international hockey tourney since 1998, when the national team, led by NHL star Pavel Bure, won the silver medal at the Nagano Olympics. (Above: Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov congratulates Russian team captain Alexander Prokofiev.)

 

Back on the Ice

Russian and NHL stars restage ‘70s hockey match

 

G

uy Lafleure, Alexander Yakushev, Frank Maho-vlic, Vladimir Petrov and Bobby Hull, legends all, met on the ice in Moscow recently, as part of an exhibition event 25 years after the historic 1972-1974 USSR-NHL series. 

Hull (who participated only in the 1974 series) was the most popular western vet at the event. He signed thousands of autographs and handed out T-shirts and hockey sweatshirts as souvenirs. “For me,” Hull said, “the biggest disappointment of my career was that I was not able to participate in the 1972 superseries, as I had left the NHL to join the WHL. So I somehow caught up during this trip.”

Most local sports ob-servers concurred that the Canadian vets were “better preserved” than their Rus-sian counterparts, thanks to more regular practices. Thus, their 3:1 victory was seen as well deserved. After losing the first two matches by a wide margin, the Rus-sian vets called upon the young veterans Sergei Ma-karov (who played for the Calgary Flames) and Alex-ander Kharlamov (son of legendary hockey star Valery Kharlamov, who died in a car accident in the 1980s). This helped them win a face-saving match in a series of penalty shoot-outs. 

After the final match, neither winners nor losers could hide their joy—the scores were of a lesser importance than the human value of the event. “I am happy if only because I am in demand again as a hockey player,” joked gray-haired Boris Mikhailov, one of the legendary Soviet hockey trio Mikhailov-Petrov-Khar--lamov. “It turns out that the public still needs my game.”

Indeed, the last match between the NHL and Russian vets brought in an audience of 5,000 hockey fans—a very good result for a Moscow stadium at a time when the popularity of local hockey is at a low ebb. And, unlike in 1972, there were no fights on the ice. “Maybe we could have fought,” Hull joked, “but the Russians were in poor shape. As it is, we scored too many goals ...” Most of the better-known veterans took part in the rematch. Notably absent were the NHL’s Phil Esposito and legendary Russian goalie Vladislav Tretyak. The Russians vets are expected to pay a return visit to North America.