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Back in the USSR: how the Beatles shaped a generation

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

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Legislation Internet restrictions are in the pipeline

Bond at 50 Many happy returns to the spy we all loved

NEWS IN BRIEF

Not in front of the children

The sale of TNK-BP to Rosneft by BP and a quartet of Russian billionaires, announced last week, looks at first glance to be a rare case of win-win-win.

The British oil company will get what it has always needed – real partnership with the Kremlin – as it seeks to turn the corner after the 2009 Gulf of Mexico spill threatened to sink it for good. BP will align its interests with Rosneft’s, becoming the Kremlin’s favoured partner in new exploration projects. Meanwhile, a bigger Rosneft can set its sights on global horizons, with BP – a financially astute and technologically advanced partner – locked in through its shareholding and its desire to gain access to Arctic reserves.

ognised as extremist.” However, with protests last month bringing no new arrests – and with other laws coming into effect without the repression feared – the controversy over the bill has become more nuanced.

Nikolai Nikoforov, the media and communications minister sought to dispel fears of censorship, saying the law would bring more transparency to existing practices.

“This law has no objective to introduce censorship or any sort of influence on the media,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying earlier last month.

Mr Nikiforov admitted websites were already often arbitrarily blocked.“The law would allow this process to be regulated. Right now everything is chaotic – something or other is blocked here and there. This law would introduce a single set of rules,” the Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying.

Artem Tolkachev, a lawyer with Tolkachev & Partners, sees no ulterior motive behind the new law: “Personally, I support this law, and find the mass hysteria accompanying it isn’t completely justified,” he said.

“Of course there are risks that state organs will abuse their authority. But they already have all the powers to close sites,” he said.

“If there is an order from the Prosecutor General’s office to block a site, clearly internet providers will react with fear.”

Mr Tolkachev agrees that the new bill will make CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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EasyJet will fly to Moscow next year The budget airline EasyJet will operate a daily return flight from London Gatwick to Moscow Domodedovo from February after winning a battle with Virgin Atlantic for the slot. Britain’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, last week rejected Virgin’s claim that it could better compete for business travellers with British Airways, the other UK airline flying the route.

EasyJet’s fare will be no more than £125 (6,300 roubles). Flights with the Russian carriers Aeroflot and Transaero on the route cost at least £217 (11,000 roubles).

Hamleys toys with Russian lease idea

Shaken not stirred: film critic Valery Kichin recalls how being a Bond fan could be a risky business in the USSR

P.08

Religion Tougher penalties proposed for desecration and insulting behaviour

State Duma plans new law to defend the rights of believers A resolution seeking to protect religious groups against malicious acts or insults could soon enter the statute book.

ROMAN VOROBYOV COMBINED REPORTS

ITAR-TASS

Russian parliamentary deputies have decided to stand up for the right of religious believers not to be offended.

The State Duma is working on a draft resolution entitled On Protecting the Religious Feelings of Citizens of the Russian Federation. Deputies of all Duma factions joined the group that sponsored the resolution.

According to Yaroslav

Nilov, head of the Duma’s social and religious organisations committee, stricter legislation was needed following a recent string of highly publicised incidents of religious hatred. The deputy singled out the Pussy Riot punk prayer, as well as other actions aimed at religious communities. “Icons have been desecrated in various cities across the country,” he said.

“Temples and synagogues have been defaced with swastikas, satanic symbols and various inscriptions. Islamic spiritual leaders were killed and hurt in two high-profile terrorist attacks in Dagestan and Tatarstan. A wooden

PRESS PHOTO

efforts to crack down on the opposition in the wake of the the protests in December 2011 over alleged ballot-rigging in the parliamentary elections.

ANNA ARUTUNYAN FollowingVladimir Putin’s SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW inauguration in May 2012, Law enforcement agencies Russia’s parliament passed will be able to block web- a law increasing fines for unsites with content considered authorised protest rallies, harmful to children under and another forcing NGOs new legislation. Lawyers, with foreign funding to regpoliticians and internet ex- ister as foreign agents.

As the amendments to the perts are split on how the law will be enforced, sparking a bill were being debated in debate on whether it will ef- early July, the Presidential fectively be used to censor Human Rights Council issued a statement calling the bill content on the internet.

Russia’s law enforcement an attempt to introduce cenagencies already have the sorship, which is unconstipower to block content tutional in Russia. It said: deemed extremist or illegal. “The bill stipulates ‘collecBut on November 1, a list of tive responsibility’ in the inforbidden sites is due to be ternet industry for criminals published, which may be a not tried by a court of law… game changer. The ultimate it thus stipulates the introfate of the controversial duction of censorship in the American video onYouTube, Russian internet segment.”

Fearing that the law could Innocence of Muslims, will apply to some articles on its be a test case.

Debates have raged since website, the Russian sector July, when the state Duma of Wikipedia shut down in passed what became known protest for a day in July.

Leaders of Russia’s buras the“internet blacklist law”, a series of amendments set- geoning internet industry ting up a register of websites argue that the bill presents hosting “illegal content” – problems besides the techsuch as child pornography, nicalities of enforcement. the promotion of suicide or “This law does not limit the powers of various law endrug use.

Under the law, once a site forcement agencies to block has been listed on the regis- sites,” Anton Nosik, an exter, the site’s provider has 24 ecutive at LiveJournal, said. hours to demand that the “It offers new procedures in owner remove illegal content addition to ones that already from the site. If the site’s exist. This law concerns the owner refuses, the provider protection of children. But has to block access. The Rus- most current cases of sites sian State Agency for Com- being blocked or filtered are munication has been placed about content deemed extremist. And there’s nothing in charge of the register.

The bill was feared to be in this law that will regulate part of a slew of legislative how, exactly, content is recA controversial law intended to protect young computer users online could be used to crack down on the opposition, critics say.

Winners all round in TNK-BP deal

Church militant: a protest against Pussy Riot at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

church was burned down in Krasnodar and a Protestant prayer house in Moscow was demolished... This is a challenge to peace in the country, and we have to respond in a timely manner.”

Deputies believe the current maximum penalty of a 1,000-rouble (£20) fine for insulting religious feelings is too small. According to the proposed amendments, desecration of objects of worship would mean up to five years in prison, 400 hours of mandatory community service or a 500,000-rouble (£10,000) fine. Offending religious believers would warrant a 30 0,0 0 0-rouble

(£6,000) fine, 200 hours of community service or up to three years in prison.

Representatives of the main religious communities have voiced their support for the deputies’ initiative. According toVsevolod Chaplin, a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, national security is at stake.“Making an ethnic slur, desecrating objects of worship or insulting religious feelings are very dangerous things these days,” he warned.“As we know, such actions have led to many conflicts throughout history, resulting in bloodshed and setting large numbers of people against each other.”

Russian Muslims have also stressed national security concerns. In particular, they back the government’s intention to enforce a ban on the distribution of the controversial Innocence of Muslims video. Moscow’s mufti Albir Krganov said:“It is very important for the government to understand the feelings of its society, its people. In coun-

tries where officials didn’t react in time, where people didn’t find understanding and support from the authorities, they poured into the streets in protest.”

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia has also taken an official stand in support of the deputies.

“It is very important to increase the penalties for offending religious feelings, especially in view of the anti-clerical campaigns under way in various countries at the moment,”its president, Alexander Boroda, told Interfax-Religiya.

But the proposals also have t h e i r c r i t i c s . Ly u b o v Borusyak, a sociologist and associate professor at the Higher School of Economics, says the law would leave too many loopholes for abuse. “Such a law could never work universally by definition. There’s a crime to be followed by a punishment. It is always going to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

The British retailer Hamleys may become the leaseholder at Detsky Mir’s flagship toy store in Moscow. Ideas4retail, controlled by businessmen Evgeny Butman and Alexander Mamut, is currently developing the Hamley’s franchise for the Russian market, a source close to the deal told Kommersant newspaper this month.

According to this source, both potential tenants have now submitted offers. “Detsky Mir is presenting more advantageous conditions, but there is now talk of Hamley’s increasing their offer,”the source said.

Irina Burdelnaya, communications adviser to the president of Gals-Development, has confirmed that both retailers are interested in becoming anchor tenants. Ideas4retail owns 32 stores in Russia, including franchises of the Spanish toy retailer Imaginarium and the British clothes retailer Mamas & Papas, as well as Hamleys.

IN THIS ISSUE OPINION

NATALIA MIKHAYLENKO

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Politics & Society

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Legislation Deputies call for Soviet-style penalty system See no evil: a majority of parents think children should be protected from unsuitable material on the internet

Soviet-era driving code may return Stricter penalties that lead to a driving suspension for those who commit a series of traffic offences could soon be introduced.

SHUTTERSTOCK/LEGION-MEDIA

Child protection law leads to web censorship fears CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

regulations more transparent, which will make it harder arbitrarily to shut down content:“At least this law introduces a series of specific rules about this process that will be understood by everyone,” he says.

The problem, he argues, is that procedures that will regulate how the new rules are enforced have yet to be worked out, making forecasting its repercussions on the media very difficult.

TIMELINE

Children and computers: what parents think

The politics of curbing the web June 2012 • Amendments to the proposed federal law on protecting children were submitted by all Duma parties.

July 2012 • Russian Wikipedia closed down for 24 hours to protest against the readings of the internet law in the Russian Parliament.

Anti-Islam video poses test for new legislation The recent controversy over the YouTube Innocence of Muslims footage, which sparked violent protests in the Arab world, is an interesting example of how the new law might be used.

A court in Grozny has ruled that the video is extremist, but it doesn’t have the powers to ban the video across Russia. Russian lawmakers have asked law enforcement authorities to check the clip for signs of extremism, but even before their conclusion was reached, access to YouTube was blocked temporarily in Omsk.

In theory, the new law could jeopardise the entire YouTube domain in Russia.

Google, which ownsYouTube, may either have to block access to Innocence of Muslims in Russia, or face the entire

July 2012 • The new amendments to the existing internet law were approved by the State Duma.

SOURCE: LEVADA; FOM

YouTube site being blacklisted. Google stated earlier this month it would agree to block the“Innocence of Muslims” video, pending a court notice, after a Moscow court found the content extremist.

The company cited its own policy of blocking certain material in countries where it is found to be illegal.

Meanwhile, Alexei Mitrofanov, the newly appointed head of a parliamentary committee on information policy and technology, assured journalists that YouTube wasn’t going to disappear and that

any solution to the controversy over Innocence of Muslims would be“creative,”RIA Novosti reported.

Poll shows support for internet restrictions Compounding the problem are attitudes to censorship that are apparently less clearcut than previously believed.

While the Russian constitution forbids censorship, a recent poll suggests that a majority of Russians would support some form of internet censorship.

Some 63pc of respondents

were in favour of blocking harmful content on the internet, with 19pc against, according to a survey by the independent Levada Centre.

When the question was asked whether there should be limited access for adolescents, the number of respondents in favour grew to 65pc.

The finding baffled sociologists. “People are afraid not just of the internet, people are afraid of freedom and the free spread of information,” Alexei Grazhdankin, Levada’s deputy director, told Kommersant newspaper.

July 2012 • President Vladimir Putin signed the amendments to the internet legislation, despite controversy.

September 2012 • YouTube blocked in Omsk for a few hours. A court in Grozny ruled that the video Innocence of Muslims was extremist and should be banned.

November 2012 • Russia launches a register of domains and websites whose content is deemed to be illegal.

Russia should introduce a system of penalty points leading to suspension for driving offences, Duma deputies say. They also want fines to rise with each offence.

The current system of fines, in which past offences may not be taken into account, does not act as a deterrent for wealthier motorists, the politicians say.

United Russia deputy Vyacheslav Lysakov told Izvestia that such measures were crucial for improving selfdiscipline in drivers.“A similar system was used in the Soviet Union and it proved quite successful,” he said.

Deputy Aleksandr Sidyakin said the new system needed to have safeguards in place for drivers who felt they had been mistreated by the authorities. “If you have been treated unjustly by the traffic police, prove it in court or bring an eye witness, and the court will examine the evidence,”Mr Sidyakin said.

A similar points system operates in many other countries, including the UK. The threat of being suspended from driving as well as the rise in insurance premiums if you have committed traffic offences acts as a deterrent to driving dangerously.

According to Yevgeny Fy-

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ALENA SIVKOVA IZVESTIA

Making a point: fines alone often fail to act as a deterrent

Back to the future: the old system The Soviet Union used the “three-hole” system for traffic offences. The regulations were quite clear: a hole was punched for each offence in the driver’s offence ticket, which was attached to their licence. A third hole meant the licence would be suspended for a year. The system was suc-

ceeded by a points system, under which offences were recorded on a driver’s permit.

The number of points depended on the severity of the violation – 15 points meant a year’s suspension.

The system was abandoned after the liberalisation of the Administrative Code.

odorov, a member of the State Duma’s Budget and Tax Committee, wealthier drivers are currently undeterred by driving fines alone:“Drivers with high incomes don’t pay much attention to the fines and tend to commit offences more often,” he said.

Duma deputy Andrei Kolesnik believes the points system will improve road safety:“Today, we have a number of drivers who have committed 200 or even 300 offences.

If the points system is an efficient restraining factor, capable of saving at least one life on the road, then we definitely need it.”

But Viktor Pokhmelkin, president of the Russian Drivers’ Association, opposes the new system. “I initiated the abolition of the old points system, which was corrupt from top to bottom.

Its reinstatement will only encourage traffic inspectors to drive up the bribes.”

Religious hatred legislation a ‘threat to freedom of speech’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

be selective; it will always be arbitrary, because it’s impossible to describe specific actions subject to this law. And if this is impossible, you can apply the law to anything you like,” she told BBC Russia.

Kommersant FM radio commentator Konstantin Eggert believes existing legislation is enough to protect believers. “New laws would amount to nothing more than an attempt to impose censorship… which would cause

a future backlash against the church,” he said.

Some representatives of religious communities are also uneasy about the initiative.

Rabbi Michael Yedvabny shares Mr Eggert’s concerns.

“The Criminal Code already contains penalties for inciting religious or ethnic hatred, as well as for religion- or ethnicity-related hate crimes.

“The proposed punishment for offending religious feelings dangerously encroaches on the concept of freedom of speech,” he said.

Archpriest Pavel Velikanov, Protector of the Moscow Orthodox Spiritual Academy, also has doubts about the proposals. He said:“I feel uncomfortable that a person who claims to be a believer would receive some kind of exclusive status relative to another person.

“I cannot understand why the status of an ordinary person who isn’t claiming any religious affinity should be inferior to that of a religious person demanding some kind of protection.”

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Space More than 30 female US astronauts have been into orbit but only three Russian women have made the grade

OPINION

A giant leap for womankind

Let’s look forward to some big new contracts

In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova blasted off into the history books. Russia Now looks back at the programme that put the first women in space.

ANDREI KISLYAKOV

Rocket woman: Valentina Tereshkova, left, was the first woman in space in 1963

What Roscosmos looks for when hiring cosmonauts

© RIA NOVOSTI

According to information from the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, the final stage of the cosmonaut selection process, announced earlier this year, includes a number of female candidates. The exact figure will remain a secret until the selection is officially made public.

As in days gone by, the Russian space industry remains a predominantly male profession. While space agencies in other countries can boast an increasing number of women who have actually left Earth’s atmosphere, Russia has yet to establish such a trend.

Nevertheless, Russian female cosmonauts do have a history that goes back half a century. After Yuri Gagarin’s successful voyage into space in 1961, the Soviet leader at the time Nikita Krushchev set out to send a woman into space in an attempt to research how well women could tolerate space travel. Out of the thousands of candidates who applied to be cosmonauts, five women were chosen: engineer Irina Solovyova, mathematician and programmer Valentina Ponomareva, weaver Valentina Tereshkova, teacher ZhannaYerkina, and secretary and stenographer Tatiana Kuznetsova.

No concessions were given to the women during their cosmonaut training. To test their resistance to high temperatures, they were kept inside a heat chamber at 70C with 30pc humidity, dressed in full flying gear, until their body temperatures climbed 2.5C and pulse rates hit 130 beats per minute.

The MiG-15 jet was used in their weightlessness training. As the plane made steep climbs and dives, tasks were assigned during each 40-second period of weightlessness.

First, the pilot had to write her full name, then sign and date a piece of paper. Next,

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SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

she had to try to eat from a tube; and then pronounce a given phrase over the radio.

The sea trials, which were designed to train the cosmo-

disadvantaged by the size of their spacesuits, which were one size fits all and generally designed for one size of man.

They told how, in the splash-

nauts for splashdown (a method of landing a spacecraft in the sea using a parachute), were also no walk in the park.

The women were especially

No concessions were given to the women during training. To test their resistance to high temperatures, they were kept at 70C in full flying gear until pulse rates hit 130 beats per minute down training, the pressurised helmet would jerk forward causing their intercom headsets to slip over their eyes.

They had to simulate a parachute cutaway, but the fasteners were hard to reach, let alone open with the oversized spacesuit gloves. The slightest delay would cause the body to start overheating.

Having successfully completed the general training, the female unit was officially presented to Sergei Korolyov, head of the USSR’s space programme, who was said to have expressed dissatisfaction with the female group in no uncertain terms.

On June 16, 1963,Valentina Tereshkova was selected to be

the first woman in space, with Solovyova as her back-up.

After successfully orbiting the Earth 48 times during her three-day flight, on June 19 Tereshkova and her Vostok 6 spacecraft descended separately by parachute and landed safely within three miles of each other. However, during the flight Tereshkova had suffered from nausea and had not been able to complete all the mission tasks.

Korolyov, who remained unconvinced about the project, died in 1966; the female unit was eventually disbanded due to “lack of utilis a t i o n ” i n 1 9 6 9 . O n ly Tereshkova stayed at the Cosmonaut Training Centre; she was there in an official capacity until 1997.

It was to be 19 years before another Russian female entered space. In 1982, a team of eight women was selected

by RSC Energia to make flights to stations in low-Earth orbit, but only two of them — Svetlana Savitskaya (daughter of fighter ace Air Marshal Savitsky) andYelena Kondakova (wife of cosmonaut and deputy head of EnergiaValery Ryumin) — made the journey. Savitskaya became the second woman in space on board the Soyuz T7 and also the first female space walker in 1984. Kondakova followed her 10 years later in 1994, when she became the first woman to make a longduration space flight spending five months at the Mir space station.

Since then, no other Russian woman has flown to space. Even though Nadezhda Kuzhelnaya was considered a highly qualified cosmonaut, in 10 years of service she did not get to fly to space.

Instead, she became a pilot for Aeroflot.

Currently, the unit’s only female member is Elena Serova, but her cosmic destiny remains unclear. A member since 2006, she has yet to be assigned to any mission.

Only time will tell if any of the new cosmonauts selected will be women, and, if so, whether they will go on a space mission.

History How the appeal of the Fab Four defeated official Soviet disapproval to influence today’s politicians

Despite attempts to protect Soviet citizens from the influence of the Beatles, the band was as popular in the USSR as it was in Britain.

ALEXANDER BRATERSKY SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

The news that John Lennon had been fatally wounded by a gunman in December 1980 shocked his fans behind the Iron Curtain as much as it did those in the West. The news was heard in Soviet Russia by those who listened to radio news from the West and immediately relayed to all major cities.

On that day, a spontaneous memorial service was held in front of Moscow University by several hundred students. Some had brought an American flag with the stars painted red and claimed the US had not been able to protect Lennon’s life.

In 2012, as the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles' first single, Love Me Do (and Sir Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday), the slogan “Lennon lives”is as popular as in Soviet times, when schoolchildren chanted the old Communist slogan: “Lenin lived, Lenin lives, Lenin will

live,” but replacing “Lenin” with “Lennon”.

“In the rock and roll of Elvis and the ballads of the Beatles we discovered more meaning than in all the articles by Lenin that we were made to read in school and at university,”wrote rock musician Aleksei Rybin.

The Beatles were first mentioned in the official Soviet press in 1964 when the London correspondent for the Soviet youth newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda,

Schoolchildren chanted ‘Lennon lived, Lennon lives, Lennon will live’ instead of ‘Lenin’ Boris Gurnov, published an article about the band.

Gurnov later said his bosses had taken a dim view of him meeting Lennon.“At the time the Soviet press saw this as a ‘bourgeois eccentricity in art’," he says.“I wrote a long piece in which I tried to analyse the appeal of the Beatles. I attributed it to certain Freudian complexes: Beatles fans were mostly at the age of sexual maturation.”

Soviet leaders kept any news of these“noxious western trends”out of the media.

Meanwhile, Soviet Beatles fans ardently collected facts about the group from the odd western newspaper or magazine that came their way, as well as from the slightly more free Eastern European press.

Despite the dearth of information about the Fab Four, their songs were occasionally included in the Soviet music collections released by the USSR’s only record company, Melodia. Soviet fans heard Girl for the first time in 1967, and in 1972 they were treated to Let It Be – each two years after their UK release. More than 20 Beatles songs were released in the USSR in violation of copyright. But in 1988 Paul McCartney put together an official album of Beatles songs for his Soviet fans called Back in the USSR (after a White Album track of 1967) and issued half a million copies, the biggest release in the Soviet Union by a foreign musician.

The album sold out almost instantly and was in high demand on the black market.

Resale prices rose as high as 100 roubles (the average sal-

REX/FOTODOM

Back in the USSR: the Beatles shape a generation Fan power: Soviet fans were as dedicated and passionate as their western counterparts

ary was then 150 roubles a month). On the cover was a quote from McCartney: “In releasing this record made especially and exclusively for the USSR, I am extending a hand of peace and friendship to the Soviet people.”But the gesture did not impress the Soviet press, where some commentators referred to the band as “the bugs”.Even the venerable Soviet composer Nikita Bogoslovsky joined the criticism, declaring:“I am ready to bet you that 18 months from now there will be a new group with even more idiotic haircuts and even weirder voices and all the fuss will die down.”

Despite the misgivings of Soviet leaders, a rumour circulated that The Beatles had played at a private government concert in the USSR. However, it’s more likely that, if there was a concert at all,

it would have been performed by the Soviet tribute band Blitz who hailed from the Soviet republic of Georgia.The group, which was approved by the authorities, were renowned for how well they sang Beatles songs in English. They mastered the haircuts, too.“Of course, this was fake Beatles,”says Rybin, who attended a Blitz concert.

“But we all grew up on fake sausage, played fake guitars, studied fake history, bought records by fake singers with our fake money, and listened to the fake leader of our government on TV… So fake Beatles was far from the worst of it.”

Paul McCartney eventually came to Russia in 2003 and performed in Red Square.

During his visit, he met PresidentVladimir Putin, who explained the past animosity of former Soviet leaders by

saying: “At the time it was thought that the direction in which the Beatles were headed did not fit in with the accepted ideology.”

Today in Russia, the generation that grew up on Beatles songs is in power. Fans include chief of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, who was at McCartney’s Red Square concert.

The Beatles inspired a generation of schoolchildren to study English so that they could understand their lyrics, including future economist and politician Grigory Yavlinsky. “When in the Eighties it became possible to go abroad, I found that there was almost no barrier to communication,” he says.

“Then it turned out that people of my generation had a ‘fundamental code’, a single language: this was the decade spent with the Beatles.”

Alexander Yakovenko DIPLOMAT

elations between Russia and the United Kingdom are improving, albeit more slowly than one would have hoped. But we have been steadily moving towards what in diplomacy they call rapprochement.

The Olympic Games in London this summer demonstrated this most vividly. We sincerely congratulate the British organisers on their splendid achievements and are looking forward to making use of this valuable experience and expertise in holding the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.

It may have gone less noticed by the wider public that the Olympics also helped to put our bilateral political dialogue on a more promising footing, offering exciting opportunities in economic, cultural and other areas of our diversified relationship. The meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister David Cameron in London on August 2, their third in a year, underlined that we do have more in common than sometimes meets the eye.

We agree to disagree on some issues of principle to each of us, but continue to work together towards overcoming some of the negative legacy of the recent past. More importantly, the two leaders discussed at length the forward-looking bilateral agenda in order to deepen co-operation between Russian and British businesses, and facilitate an increased exchange of cultural, educational and other contacts to benefit ordinary citizens, which is the ultimate objective and criterion for our joint endeavours.

In addition to the complex political issues, in particular in the Middle East, the international economic background is still very fragile. There persists continued uncertainty in the world economy, with the American economy said to be edging towards a “fiscal cliff”; China slowing down against the continuing debt crisis in the eurozone; and the emerging markets also starting to feel the impact of the deterioration on the global markets.

In this context, it is important to remind ourselves that Russia and the UK are, in many respects, natural partners as history shows, and share the same economic logic in seeking to diversify their economies, complementing each other in natural resources, financial and human capital, high technology and retail market opportunities.

President Putin and Prime Minister Cameron have, in a way, challenged our respective governments and businesses to rise to the new agenda, roll up our sleeves and get down to working together in order to make our partnership bear tangible results.

It is this question that the Russia-UK Joint Steering Committee on Trade and Investment had to answer when its co-chairs First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, led their high-level business delegations to its ninth session in London this month.

On the one hand, over the years we have laid a solid foundation for strong economic ties for the long term.

We restored our bilateral trade volume to its pre-crisis level; it grew 33pc last year and reached $21.2bn (£13.2bn). This trend has continued, and in eight months of this year the trade stood at $13.7bn.

The accumulated British investment in Russia has also been restored, and with $25.7bn, as of July 2012, the

R

UK stays in fifth place among our foreign partners with a share of about 8pc of total foreign investment in the Russian economy.

In current terms the inflow of capital from UK to Russia is also rising, and in the first half of this year it almost doubled to $7.5bn on the same period last year.

On the other hand, Russia occupies a place in the second dozen of UK trade partners and accounted for less than 2pc of UK total exports and imports in 2011.

The UK occupies a similar place in Russian foreign trade. Around 90pc of Russian exports to the UK are mineral fuels and other commodities, which impact the value of our bilateral trade flow through their fluctuating prices.

In capital terms, while some of the largest foreign investors in Russia are, I am pleased to note, British, the direct UK investment is quite modest, at only $3.2bn. We welcome the latest announcement by BP of its strategic partnership with Rosneft.

The direct Russian investment in Great Britain is less than $3bn.

This is why we cannot and should not rest on our laurels. The potential for our economic partnership is there and should be not only recognised but further enhanced with participation of all the stakeholders. In the spirit of the Russia-UK Joint Declaration on a KnowledgeBased Partnership for Modernisation, signed by our leaders in Moscow last year,

The accumulated British investment in Russia has also been restored and is now worth $25.7bn we need to re-energise the bilateral economic ties and proactively engage with a wider economic community above all, small and medium-sized businesses; expand our mutual regional opportunities; and expose the respective businesses to available support and stimulative measures provided by the government initiatives and national markets.

In this respect, the forthcoming agreement between Russia’s Export Credit Agency and UK Export Finance is an important and reassuring step in the right direction. Building on the existing joint projects of British business with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the Skolkovo Innovation Centre and the Rusnano Corporation, we need to increase the value-added part of our cooperative ties and focus on hi-tech opportunities, both in production and research.

There are exciting new possibilities in the energy sector, including direct gas supplies to UK through the expanded Nord Stream pipeline and Russian participation in the building of British nuclear power stations.

The close co-operation in financial and professional services would provide a supportive background to these efforts, and we should not shy away from creative approaches such as joint venture funds and supply-chain guarantees.

I am confident that, while the governments should and will rise to the new economic challenges and actively support these and other business initiatives, the entrepreneurial drive will come from our businesses to help set the agenda for the future. The joint steering committee provides the right framework to do that.

AlexanderYakovenko is Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom.He was previously Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Follow him on Twitter: @Amb_Yakovenko

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Personal guided tours of magnificent Moscow Sightseeing trips in the capital – by bus and on foot

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Irkutsk: more than the gateway to Baikal http://rbth.ru/17665

Lake Baikal The diverse wildlife and stunning natural beauty of the deepest freshwater lake in the world attract tourists and scientists to its shores

Pure delight: Baikal's serene majesty; bottom, adventure seekers will soon have many new trails to explore SHUTTERSTOCK/LEGION-MEDIA

Pearl of Siberia, treasure of the planet Lake Baikal is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site and was also voted as one of Russia’s Seven Wonders. It’s not hard to see why.

DARYA GONZALEZ RUSSIA NOW

The wooden boat gently rocks on the waves. Overhead is a perfect azure sky broken only by the sculpted wings of swallows. Peering over the side of the boat, I can see through 120ft of crystal-clear water, which then runs into a darkness teeming with fish and rare plants.You could be forgiven for thinking you were out at sea – if it were not for the conspicuous lack of a salty tang in the air.

Siberians believe that Lake Baikal’s water has curative properties, and habitually call it“the freshwater sea”.It is rich in oxygen, and as pure as distilled water. But in winter, its surface becomes like heavy-duty safety glass. So thick is the ice when the lake freezes that during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904, railway lines were laid over it which successfully supported 65 steam engines and 2,300 loaded wagons. The ice takes on a turquoise hue in spring as it breaks and disperses to reveal the shimmering water once again.

Lake Baikal is at the very heart of Asia, on roughly the same latitude as Moscow and London. It is located 445 metres (1,460ft) above sea level, while the lake bottom descends to almost 1,200 metres (3,937ft) below sea level.

Locked within the massif of the Baikal Mountains, from north to south the lake runs for 636 kilometres (395 miles) – the distance between Moscow and St Petersburg.

The lake is so big – its surface area is as large as Belgium – that it would take around four months, at normal walking speed, to walk all the way around it.

Baikal is a world of its own, like nothing else on Earth, populated by an estimated 2,600 species of plants, animals, and microorganisms

– two thirds of which cannot be found in any other body of water on the planet.

Baikal’s weather is rather unpredictable; it can change within an hour. The Verkhovik (the local name for the north wind) blows across the lake from the River Angara valley, a sign that warmer weather is on its way to the northern bank. But, while the north shore is bathed in sunshine, when the Verkhovik is blowing, there will be storms in the south of the lake.When this happens, the cliffs are lashed by 12ft waves, and brown bears abandon the shore to take refuge in the pinewood forests.Yet the Baikal region is one of the sunniest in the whole of Russia.

The lakeside village of Bolshoe Goloustnoe, for example, clocks up 2,583 hours of sunshine a year.

It would take four months, at normal walking speed, to walk all the way around Lake Baikal Our helmsman looks towards the green mountain ridges and says:“Baikal’s got many faces.You can’t see all of it on one trip. Some people remember it as peaceful and calm, while others think of the granite cliffs and waves the size of walls. It’s a matter of luck. But locals say that you’re lucky even if you only see Baikal once.”

Geophysicists estimate that Baikal was formed approximately 25-30 million years ago, making it the world’s oldest lake. But scientists have found no signs that the lake is deteriorating with age, which leads them to hypothesise that Baikal is a nascent ocean.

It is located in a vast crustal fault basin that continues to grow around 2cms (1in) every year, like similar

lakes on the African or South American continents. If all the rivers on Earth were to flow into Baikal, it would take a year to fill it.

The extraordinary size and unique features of this sealake have inspired many Russian writers, artists, filmmakers and poets. WriterValentin Rasputin wrote in his monograph on Baikal: “It seems that Baikal should overwhelm people with its gigantic size and scope. Everything about it is on a gigantic scale, expansive and mysterious.

“But it is quite the opposite; Baikal uplifts people.

Nowhere else will you find a sensation of such complete striving for unity with nature, and an immersion into it.”

Other creative minds inspired by Lake Baikal include playwright Anton Chekhov, artist Nicholas Roerich and Hollywood producer-director James Cameron.

Cameron came to Baikal not only in search of inspiration, but also to help form the scientific detail for Titanic and Avatar. On his most recent trip, Cameron went to the lake bed in the Mir-1 bathyscaphe (a deep submergence vehicle), with a team of scientific researchers.

Indeed, with its unique flora, fauna and ecosystems, the lake is a haven for scientific research. In 2000, a unique deep-water neutrino telescope was installed on the lake to study life on the lake’s bed, and scientists are also preparing to launch a deepwater science station in March 2013. The station’s readings could help predict earthquakes more than two days in advance.

Researchers call the region the Baikal Rift Zone, specifically because of the high seismic activity. In Irkutsk and Buryatia – which are located adjacent to the Baikal region – severe earthquakes are a frequent occurrence, with their epicentres fixed upon the Baikal area.

So special is Lake Baikal that, in 1996, it was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site; and in 2008, it was voted

by Russians as one of the Seven Wonders of Russia. It

is an area of outstanding beauty of which Russia is understandably proud. However, the spectre of environmental pollution, caused by local businesses – most notoriously the Baikalsk pulp and paper mill – flouting strict rules on waste disposal, now hangs over the so-called Pearl of Siberia.

Sergei Donskoi, minister of natural resources, concedes that the lake and its surrounding area has become more polluted over the last decade, but points to the government’s commitment to protect this most precious natural resource through pollution prevention and cleanup measures. As such, a report has been commissioned to look into the operation of the Baikalsk pulp and paper mill, and a new federal programme, the Protection of Lake Baikal and the Social and Economic Development of the Baikal Natural Territory for 2012-20, has been established.

Mr Donskoi says:“The government is waiting for a draft action plan on the future of the [Baikalsk] plant, which is being prepared byVEB Engineering, a subsidiary of the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank).

“The federal programme has several objectives,” he continues. “First, it aims to rectify the environmental

New water treatment plant to cut pollution

Baikal active: things to do around the lake

A new water treatment plant will be built in the town of Khilok in the Baikal territory.

The plant will help maintain water quality and prevent pollution from industrial plants in the Lake Baikal catchment area. In doing so, it will help to protect the environment and Baikal’s unique ecosystem, which has been described “as the most diverse in the world”; and by Unesco as “the most outstanding example of a freshwater ecosystem”.

Regional subsidies are available to organisations that carry out work to improve the ecology of the lake and the surrounding area.

damage which has already been caused by waste from industries in the area. Second, it aims to reduce the environmental impact of local business operations. Third, it must improve the existing environmental monitoring system used in the Baikal natural territory, since the current monitoring system is failing to keep tabs on the entire area.

“Furthermore, the programme was designed to ad-

dress natural risks. It has set a requirement to establish 24 so-called fire and chemical stations which will improve significantly fire safety in the area, as well as a total of 170km (106 miles) of bank stabilisation lines and engineering structures to protect the area against floods and mudslides.”

As Baikal’s tourism industry increases, the minister is keen to point out that further building and develop-

ment, such as the opening of new visitor centres and a new network of nature trails (see below), will be carried out in a responsible fashion.

Our boat is approaching the rocky shore. We have to jump into the icy water to get out and help the guide to drag the boat up onto a rocky escarpment.

Somewhere deep in the woods around the shores are musk deer – one of the world’s smallest deer species.

Trails will provide a gateway to explore the area’s natural riches A new network of environmental trails will make Lake Baikal and its environs more accessible by foot, bike or horseback.

PHOEBE TAPLIN SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

Imagine a holiday in a land of freshwater seals and Stone Age villages, muskrats, sables and wild honeysuckle.

The mosquitoes might make you stop short of calling it paradise, but Lake Baikal is becoming an increasingly popular destination for tourists seeking beauty, outdoor activities and wildlife.

Among the many activities available are fishing, sailing, cycling and horseback riding as well as caving, mountain climbing and abseiling.

And, to make the area more accessible to tourists, a new network of trails is being developed that will allow visitors to hike along the shores of Baikal and fully enjoy its natural beauty.

The non-profit organisation Great Baikal Trail (GBT) is using international volunteer groups in twoweek summer camps to help build them. So far, there are about 370 miles of trails and more are planned, including some specialised routes that are wheelchair accessible, or suitable for biking, horse-riding and crosscountry skiing.

Work carried out by the volunteers over the summer included restoring a water mill, planting cherry trees

along the Angara River, installing picnic tables and training further volunteers.

Many of these projects are co-operative ventures, with Irkutsk Botanic Garden supplying the saplings and local enthusiasts working on a lakeside table.

Last year, the US Forest Service donated money to the Baikal project which was used to provide signage and information panels about the National Park and the caverns in the Malaya Kadil’naya Valley.

Volunteers from Britain, Germany, Austria, France and Russia have been teaching children in the Baikal region about climate change.

The scheme also aims to help local people to see that it is in their interest to help protect Baikal’s clean water and to support those who want to offer accommodation by developing the infrastructure the area needs to attract tourists.

The landscapes around Baikal range from mountains, taiga and permafrost to dense forests full of fruits and fungi. Birches, cedars, pines, larches and blue Siberian spruce trees grow on its shores, as well as wild vines and orchids. Elk, deer, bears, lynxes, blue hares and chipmunks are among the fauna, and the birds include white-tailed eagles.

These attractions, together with hot mineral springs, wooden churches, islands and prehistoric monuments, make the area rich in resources that could draw a larger number of visitors. Developing the infrastructure to make these treasures accessible is an impressive goal and a continuing challenge.

Travel information To reach Lake Baikal, you can fly direct from London to Irkutsk – an Aeroflot return flight costs around £400£600. From Irkutsk, take a bus or a car to the Listvyanka settlement.

PHOTOSHOT/VOSTOCK-PHOTO

Irkutsk Baikal Travel can organise a package tour. For more information, go to: irkutsk-baikal.com To work on a volunteer holiday developing the trails, go to: greatbaikaltrail.org

Then again, it’s difficult to imagine what in Baikal is not “the smallest”,“the biggest”, “the rarest” or the “oldest”.

There is so much about the area that is special and must be and is being, protected.

The cloudless azure sky remains blissful over our heads while a storm brews in the south. But on the northern banks of Baikal, no one will be aware of the waves lashing against the southern cliffs.

IN FIGURES

395

miles – the length of Lake Baikal. It is 49 miles wide and 5,387ft deep with 27 islands, Olkhon being the biggest.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

James Cameron DIRECTOR OF AVATAR

"

Baikal is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Maybe in some future Avatar sequel you will see places reminiscent of Baikal. The underwater world of Pandora that you will see in Avatar 2 will be represented by the gigantic magnified barnacles and shellfish I saw when I dived to the bottom of Baikal."

Arkady Dvorkovich DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

"

The Baikal pulp and paper mill will most likely be closed. There has been much talk recently, and there’s a group studying various possible scenarios…

But despite the fact that many such pulp and paper mills are up and running around the world, this one will most probably have to be shut down."

MOST READ Anxious time for Russian economy and the markets http://rbth.ru/19263

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Business & Finance

05

NEWS IN BRIEF

Export Ice-breaking fleet takes metals from remote Siberian mines to the world

The hi-tech ships that reach the ports others can’t

Yandex launches its own browser Russia’s rival to Google, Yandex, has launched its own browser in an attempt to remain national market leader. The browser offers the best features of rivals Chrome and Opera, and will be updated every few weeks.

Yandex has also bought a software distribution licence for 40,000 applications, which enabled it to open its trademarked Android app store, Yandex.

Store. It will operate globally, offering software products by Russian and foreign developers. Yandex is seeking deals with smartphone and tablet manufacturers to have Yandex.Store rather than Google Play preinstalled on devices.

The Russian company has already reached agreements with PocketBook, 3Q and Texet, as well as with one of Russia’s mobile carriers, MegaFon.

A nation of chocoholics

IN HIS OWN WORDS

The Russian chocolate market is predicted to grow by 45pc over the next three years, according to the market research firm KPMG. By contrast, growth in the world market for chocolate is predicted to rise by only 2pc annually.

KPMG says that Russian consumers are buying more expensive handmade chocolates now because of their rising disposable incomes and expanding consumer lending.

Mining company with a secret past

Mikhail Khomenko CAPTAIN OF THE ARCTIC-CLASS DIESEL-ELECTRIC SHIP THE TALNAKH

"

These ships were the first of their kind in the Russian fleet and no other fleet had them. In Hamburg, two German customs officers boarded the ship. They were very excited to see it and asked me to give them a tour."

The company was founded in 1935 by the Soviet government as Norilsk Combine and was controlled by the NKVD, the secret police, who used forced labour from the Gulag.

In the Nineties, it was privatised and became Norilsk Nickel. In 2007 it began acquiring assets abroad and now has production facilities in three continents.

The company is the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium and a leading producer of platinum and copper. It prospects, explores, extracts, refines, produces and markets metals. Its main assets are the sulphidic fields of Talnakhsky and reserves of nickel and copper ores on the Taymyrsky peninsula.

Cold comfort: the Norilsk Nickel diesel-electric ships can break through five feet of ice

Norilsk Nickel’s fleet carries copper and nickel but it’s also a vital link to the outside world for an isolated Siberian mining community.

DMITRY LITOVKIN SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

Once every two days, one of the enormous diesel-electric ships owned by Norilsk Nickel leaves Murmansk for the mouth of the Yenisei, Siberia’s biggest river. After five to seven days of breaking through thick ice, ships will call at the port of Dudinka, bringing supplies to the Norilsk mining region, which has large deposits of nickel, copper and precious metals.

It is hard to get to Norilsk from other Russian regions as it has no road and rail connections to speak of. The only way to get there is by plane, by sea or by the Yenisei. The

population there relies on the Norilsk Nickel ships for the 4,000 to 8,000 tons of groceries and household supplies it brings to them. The ship then transports commodities – such as Monchegorsk nickel and copper smelter – to the domestic and foreign markets, including the Kola Peninsula in the far north-west of Russia.

Meanwhile, the ships are also fulfilling one of Russia’s priority tasks by transporting freight by the Northern Sea Route as part of the campaign to explore the Arctic.

Norilsk Nickel ordered its first Arctic-class vessel in 2006 from the Finnish shipbuilding firm Aker Yards.

The new ship completed all Arctic trials, after which four more diesel-electric ships with a capacity of 14,500 tons and an Arctic

tanker were ordered from a German shipyard.

Mikhail Khomenko, captain of the Talnakh dieselelectric ship, is a deep-sea master who has spent 13 years working on the icebreaker fleet. His pride is obvious as he shows me around

Norilsk has no road connections. The only way to get there is by plane, sea or by the River Yenisei the Talnakh and explains that these ships attract a lot of attention as there are so few of them in the world.

Captain Khomenko has every reason to feel proud.

The Norilsk Nickel series ships are the world’s first container ships built to Arc7

class standards. The ship is capable of breaking through 1.5 metres (5ft) of ice at a rate of 1-2 knots, without the support of an ice-breaker. It is also the first Russian ship equipped with the Azipod propulsion device, which consists of a power plant mounted outside the hull which can rotate 360 degrees, increasing the manoeuvring capability of the ship in both its course and speed. When it’s in ice-congested waters, the Talnakh can turn stern first to break the ice. Also, the Azipod system requires a smaller power compartment, thus maximising the ship’s cargo capacity.

On its journey, it stops neither in the Kara Strait nor in the mouth of the Yenisei, where the ice is almost always very hard. According to Oleg Fedin, director of the

Murmansk transport subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, the Arctic express ships run to a tight schedule, taking five to seven days to complete their journey from Murmansk to Dudinka in winter.

The cabin has state-of-the-

The cabin has stateof-the-art navigation equipment which shows satellite images of the ice art navigation equipment and automated safety systems.

Capt Khomenko explains that when sailing in icebound waters, he receives real-time satellite images of the ice situation in the navigation area, and these are automatically integrated into the navigational charts. “My objective

is not to break the thickest ice to prove that I operate the most powerful vessel in the Arctic, but rather to use navigation information to reach point B from point A via the shortest route and using the minimum of fuel,” he says.

Norilsk Nickel’s fleet of vessels runs between Dudinka, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Shanghai. Because the ships do not need to be accompanied by ice-breakers, they have slashed delivery costs by 30pc.

The annual freight turnover of the company’s maritime fleet operating on the Northern Sea Route is estimated to be around 1.3 million tons, which includes 0.45 million tons of metal products mined by the Norilsk Nickel company.

Route becomes regular short cut The Northern Sea Route (see map) is the shortest passage between northern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The entire route lies in Arctic waters and parts of the route are free of ice for only two months each year.

It is an established national transport artery. In the early Thirties it was used to connect the European and Far Eastern parts of the country. The route is a potential alternative to traditional international seaways in terms of freight costs, safety and quality.

In recent years, the volume of Arctic freight traffic has greatly increased.

GLOBAL RUSSIA BUSINESS CALENDAR NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY NOVEMBER 8, MGIMO, MOSCOW

Hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council with Global Zero and Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the conference will explore RussianUS nuclear co-operation and world co-operation against threats of nuclear terrorism. › http://russiancouncil.ru/en/ inner/?id_4=808

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at www.rbth.ru

St Petersburg The UK is one of the biggest investors in the city’s economy, with finance and expertise going into a wide range of enterprises

The British beat at the heart of the cultural capital With 160 British firms already doing business in St Petersburg, more are now being encouraged to look at the benefits of doing so.

ELENA SHIPILOVA SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

The former capital of Russia, St Petersburg is famous for its cultural history. But it also has a long history of innovation which continues today.The banks of the Neva River saw Russia’s first railway, first electric bulb and the founding of its Navy, among many other things.

Five million tourists visit St Petersburg annually – the same number that are resident there. But St Petersburg is also striving to become an innovation leader by developing its post-industrial potential alongside its tourism.

Smart City “Russia today is the world’s fastest growing market for British exports and there are many reasons for that,” the Lord Mayor of the City of London David Wootton told the Delovoy Peterburg magazine during his annual visit

to Russia. “Ask how many British companies are doing business in St Petersburg, and you might be in for a surprise: 160.”

The UK ranks first among the biggest investors in St Petersburg. Though the lion’s share of investment is in manufacturing , Russia’s northern capital is an attractive place for many industries, including IT, construction, public utilities, waste processing, water purification, transport infrastructure, power, legal and financial consulting, pharmaceuticals,

St Petersburg’s economic growth Better known as a cultural capital than an industrial centre, St Petersburg’s manufacturing index is growing by 13pc per annum – double the average rate for Russia. The manufacture of electronic and optical equipment, steel making and wood processing are growing fast, while sales

by St Petersburg-based organisations increased by 21.2pc last year. More than

270 new manufacturing facilities were launched in the city in 2011, including phase two of Severstal’s sheetmetal rolling mill; production and warehousing facilities with a total area of 1,290,000 sq ft; 2,280,000 sq ft of retail space; a sea passenger terminal, and much more. As of January 1 this year, nearly £475 million was invested in the city by British investors.

and renovation. It is through St Petersburg that many European companies enter the Russian market.

In 2012, AstraZeneca opened a bioinformaticsbased Predictive Science Centre in the city, in partnership with St Petersburgbased R&D centres. St Petersburg is home to around 12pc of Russia’s scientific potential, thus living up to its Smart City designation.

St Petersburg is planning to build on British expertise to develop a creative cluster.

Its central area includes

6,000 acres of industrial land that can be converted into creative neighbourhoods. A delegation of city officials and specialists in the preservation of its historic central area – where there are 29 industrial zones with a large number of architectural monuments requiring renovation – will travel to London at the end of this year to drum up interest.

“St Petersburg is a wonderful place to work. The local authorities have been able to create a comfortable environment unlike, perhaps,

anywhere else in Russia”, says David Edwards, head of the representative office of an engineering company.

British firms are taking an active part in large-space public-private projects, such as construction of Pulkovo-2 international airport, the 1,600ft Gazprom tower, a levee system, and an expressway linking the north and south of the city.

This article was prepared in co-operation with the St Petersburg State Committee for External Relations.

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Crisis that could have ended in a nuclear Armageddon http://rbth.ru/19131

THE MANY FACES OF PUTIN Fyodor Lukyanov OGONYOK MAGAZINE

ladimir Putin is one of the most influential politicians on the planet, idolised as much as he is demonised.

Both in Russia and abroad the president is gradually turning into a brand, a concept or a political product that means different things to different people.

Two years ago Forbes magazine put the 60 year-old in second place on its list of the most influential global politicians – after American president Barack Obama, but ahead of the Chinese leader, Hu Jintao. Of course, this assessment is nonsense. The statistics leave very little doubt that the leader of China wields more influence on the international stage than Putin does.

But Putin’s presence and personality is strong enough for him to be seen separately from the country he rules.

And this is not thanks to anything he’s done or hasn’t done; it is simply that Putin has come to be a reflection of the general situation in the world, a symbol – positive for some, for others negative – of the gloomy transitive state which the whole international system is now in, along with all of the states that comprise it.

Putin came to power promising stability for Russia.This happened at a time when the world, which had just started celebrating the end of the Cold War (a victory for the West and of western ways), stood on the brink of economic meltdown. Uncertainty grew as institutional structures that everybody had taken for granted collapsed before our very eyes.

The West’s feverish attempts to prop up the global system, built according to western models, only led it to breaking point. And, as it was united and globalised like never before, the consequences of one person’s (or company’s) mistakes were felt everywhere. And so the stabilisation process that was going on inside Russia was out of keeping with the situation in the outside world.

In other words, Putin stood

NATALIA MIKHAYLENKO

V

for the polar opposite of the general trend.

Many people see Putin as the archetypal enemy of progress, a symbol of outmoded ideas and old-fashioned approaches. It would seem that the Russian president exists in a state of permanent, barely disguised rage against the policies of the world’s powers, which would appear to

It would seem that the Russian president exists in a state of rage against the world’s powers intentionally stir up the international situation, shaking the foundations that are meant to keep it together.

Putin’s articles and public speeches are often based on the premise that the world is a dangerous and unpredictable place, and that the actions of the world’s most powerful countries only exacerbate these threats. Time

after time, the medium- and long-term consequences of wars, invasions, interventions and reforms have come back to bite the people who initiated them. The past 10 years yields numerous examples of this – from the invasion of Iraq to the conflict in Libya.

Putin is not alone in his refusal to accept this state of affairs, but he is the one heading the vanguard of resistance. This is primarily because Russia, despite its decline after the collapse of the USSR, remains one of the most dynamic countries, and one that does not attempt to hide its ambitions. Second, Russia’s nuclear and rawmaterial potential means that her opinion cannot be ignored. And finally, in terms of the president’s specific character, Putin simply stands out from the other politicians for his honesty and straight talking.

Many political observers are convinced that Putin is a wily strategist who is guided by a “big plan”: expansion, reinstating the empire, strengthening the so-called

power vertical, and heading back to the USSR. This lends the Russian president an additional image – one of pure power. But, of course, Putin himself is unlikely to lay much store by the concept of strategy, at least not consciously.

The president of Russia is a reactionary in the sense that he likes to react. His favourite political“tactic”is to respond to a stimulus; that way he knows the source and character of the challenge and can act quickly, effectively and without error.

The other meaning of reactionary – opposing change – was never characteristic of Putin to begin with. It only became associated with the Russian leader when he seemed to conclude ever more frequently that “new” generally meant “worse”.

The ever more turbulent situation outside Russia worries Putin mainly because it resonates with the internal manifestations of instability, turning them into louder and more insistent threats. Like many Russian conservatives

before him, Putin is always saying that the country needs time to secure stable, sustainable, managed development, and that it is still too soon to give in to the demands of those who are fighting for liberal democracy.

Over these years we have resurrected the carcass of a state that was destroyed after the collapse of the USSR in

Putin understands that the protests were based on more than just provocation from the West the Nineties, and now we need to strengthen it, we still need time for further construction or dostroika as Putin called it at a pre-election meeting in February. His choice of words is interesting – he declined to use the word perestroika, which literally translated means “restructuring” and is the term coined by Mikhail Gorbachev

which many Russians see as a synonym for catastrophe.

The word dostroika comes from the same root but, meaning further construction, it gives the sense that work is continuous and very much still in progress.

Putin understands that the protests which erupted on his return to power were based on more than just provocation from the West, although, of course, he also believes there was a strong element of this. He appreciates that these protests signified changes happening within a new, more enlightened Russian society. But he is still convinced that the protesters are wrong, no matter how much they believe in what they are doing.

His view is that the time is just not yet right for these changes – instead, let’s take a bit more time, and for now we’ll carry on slowly constructing and polishing…

Time and time again the history of Russia has shown that the conservatives never find the extra time they so badly need. Something has always happened, and their efforts, even if they are correct and constructive, turn to dust under the insistent march of time and change.

Changes are certainly not always for the best, but when they are happening no one is thinking about this.

Having returned to his position as head of state, Putin has not delivered magic solutions to the problems that have arisen; but he did come with his own characteristic sense of what is dangerous, of the fragility of everything around him. It is hard to accuse Putin of having no strategy – these days no one seems to have one, and in our unpredictable world there doesn’t seem to be any point in having a strategy.

The situation in Europe shows that constructions that appear well thought out and stable can crumble like a house of cards. As a conservative and a realist, Putin is soberly evaluating what has happened, but he cannot find ready answers to the mounting problems we face.

Fyodor Lukyanov is editorin-chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine

GROWING PAINS: A PHLEGMATIC VIEW OF THE FUTURE YEVGENY SHESTAKOV SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

hat will the Russian economy look like in 2030? At the recent meeting of theValdai International Discussion Club of Russian and foreign experts in St Petersburg, several European professors predicted that in 18 years there would be a world government ensuring universal prosperity while concentrating on economic issues, for example, Russian oil prices.

Most economists at the forum did not see a world government as part of Russia’s future. Their forecasts were based on several scenarios, the two key indicators being oil prices and pace of reform. The final report leaves aside the“alarmist scenario”, such as world war or a climate disaster, when oil prices would drop below $80 a barrel.The experts proceeded from the most realistic figures: $94 a barrel in the worst case and $140 in the best.

Four rough scenarios of Russia’s development until 2030 were proposed. The

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“sanguine” scenario envisaged sweeping reforms and high oil prices. In this case, Russia’s growth rate would outstrip the world average and by 2030 living standards would reach those of presentday Switzerland.

The worst-case, “melancholic” scenario would see the Russian authorities shelve reform because of low energy prices. In that case, Russia’s economic growth rate would be slightly less than the rest of the world, while its share of the world GDP would remain at its present level (2.6pc). Incomes would be about the same as in the Czech Republic.

Between these two extremes are scenarios called the “phlegmatic” and the “choleric”. Under the former, the authorities push ahead with reform with low oil prices ($94 per barrel). The “choleric” scenario predicts high oil prices ($140 per barrel) but reforms are implemented locally or not at all.

Living standards in 2030 would be about the same as in today’s France. Economists favour the“phlegmatic”scenario because it would see greater economic growth

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than the “choleric” scenario.

“It’s pointless talking about economic policy until we decide what we will build and determine the national development strategy to be implemented,”says Sergei Karaganov, member of theValdai advisory board and dean of the world economy and world politics faculty at the Higher School of Economics.

There is demand for reform. Sixty-eight percent of Russians with above-average incomes would like their children to study and work abroad, and 37pc would like them to live abroad permanently. There is hidden discontent among the educated middle class and those on low incomes. To prevent the stagnation of complex production sectors and the “dumbing down” of social life – which would trigger an exodus of talented youth – the authorities need to offer society new positive goals and prove their readiness to work towards them in the next few years. In the discussion, many experts criticised the weakness and sometimes absence of effective institutions, as well as low spending on in-

SERGEY YOLKIN

The majority of economists did not see a world government as part of Russia’s future novation and lack of incentives for businesses to invest.

Institutional reforms – judiciary, tax and political – advocated by Valdai forum participants are just one driver of the Russian economy. There are others. Presidential adviser Sergei Glazyev cited figures showing the potential of the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to be a growth driver. Mr Gla-

zyev believes the joint co-operation programmes in the organisation could increase GDP by 10-15pc over the next 10 years for everyone involved. This would increase Russia’s economic growth rate to 7-8pc per year. It would also make the country attractive for domestic investors that now prefer to keep their money offshore.

Mr Glazyev thinks it strange that Russia is“the only state that does not have agreements on sharing tax information with offshore zones”.

Another growth driver that could partly make up for the sluggish pace of reform is the use of Russia’s competitive advantages. This is, above all, the investment opportunities in Siberia and the Far East where investments in some

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projects oriented towards the Asian market could generate an economic boom. Russia will still be choosing between Europe and Asia.

Europe dictates its rules to energy exporters, but appears to be a predictable partner.

Meanwhile Asia, which has few common rules and many national idiosyncrasies, is still creating an infrastructure for Russian business.

These extra drivers would help Russia achieve the targets of the“phlegmatic”scenario by 2030, even if reforms in the country are not as deep and comprehensive asValdai club experts propose.

Ye v g e n y S h e s t a k o v i s editor of the international politics desk at Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

ROMNEY OR OBAMA: WHO IS WORSE? Dmitry Babich SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

o Russians prefer Romney or Obama?

In fact, neither candidate excites Russians too much, due to the dwindling fascination with all things American, including the sacrosanct ritual of the American presidential election.

Or perhaps I should not mention it. Russian public opinion, when it comes to the issue of Russia’s relations with Britain or with the United States, is often treated by the western media as immature. Twenty years after the collapse of Communism we are still treated as children growing up in a problematic family.

Russians’ disenchantment with the US, when it transpires, is usually ascribed to the poisonous influences of state-owned television or some dirty trick of “Putin’s propaganda”.

The only cure suggested for this sort of “childhood disease” is usually more exposure to the western media.

It is presumed that such exposure is still lacking, despite numerous facts speaking against such a simplistic explanation.

The growing penetration of the Russian market by western media giants can be cited, with Vedomosti daily, for example, being published in co-operation with The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, in fact becoming a Russian clone of these papers. But citing similar trends on the internet, radio and even television would be to no avail – again it is presumed that there cannot be too much western propaganda, just like there cannot be too little of Putin’s propaganda.

However, it is a hard fact: during the past 20 years the US, the UK and other members of the European Union managed to do something that would have been unthinkable in the late Eighties, during the heyday of the West’s popularity in Russia: they managed to lose Russian public opinion.

Great efforts had to be made to achieve such a result. Nato’s expansion, the bombing of Yugoslavia and several wars in the Middle East would probably not be enough to do the job, but Governor Romney’s characterisation of Russia as “our number one geopolitical foe” did it. It came on top of two decades of Russia’s concessions. It occurred even to the most die-hard Russian liberals of the Eighties mould that some western politicians can sometimes be not just duplicitous, but plain stupid.

Dangerously stupid.

Russia, while not being the epitome of democracy or economic prosperity, is certainly not a threat to the US. It is also not a threat to its neighbours. Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili’s constant talk about the Kremlin’s “aggressive” policies, for example, should raise doubts precisely because of its provocative nature. The neighbours of Stalin’s Soviet Union during the zenith of its power in the Forties and Fifties rarely talked about the Soviet dictator’s aggressive character for fear of provoking him and becoming his next victim. Potential aggressors are most often appeased, seldom provoked.

These are things which are easy to see. So, when Obama said to Romney during the last debate: “The Eighties – they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back,” he in fact expressed the feelings of many Russians. Many Russians, just like many Americans, are

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asking themselves the question: is the difference between Romney and Obama anything more than rhetorical? In fact, Romney is promising to do things that Obama is already doing – with more energy. More executions of terrorism suspects (and occasional civilians) from drones, more sanctions against Iran, more inflexibility with Russia…

In fact, this notorious Republican“inflexibility”with Moscow sometimes led to nice personal relations between the Soviet leaders and their American counterparts. “Soviet leaders sometimes enjoyed the presence of Republicans in the White House, since the Grand Old Party’s tough rhetoric served as justification for more ideology and rearmament programmes inside the Soviet Union,”remembers Dimitry de Koshko, a veteran French writer on foreign policy issues who is currently working as a commentator for the Voice of Russia radio station.

Instead of showing his concern about Mr Romney’s outlandish statement about “number one geopolitical foe”,Putin promptly thanked “Mitt” for this phrase since it allowed the Russian president to demonstrate to his people that a quickly developing American ABM programme in Europe could fall into “wrong hands.” In this situation, Putin did not want to make moral judgments, he behaved like a cold-blooded political player who takes advantage of his enemy’s wrong move.

In fact, this could be the

Romney is promising to do things that Obama is already doing – with more energy

Soviet leaders sometimes enjoyed the presence of Republicans in the White House solution to a long-standing riddle. Here it is: why were Democratic candidates more popular with Russia’s simple folk (Kennedy and Roosevelt were the only fully positive figures even for the ultra-critical Soviet media), while Soviet leaders managed to get on better with hawkish Republicans?

The answer to this question does not lie in Russia’s m i l i t a ry w e a k n e s s o r strength (which Reagan presumably crushed). Under Stalin, America’s military superiority over Russia was more obvious, but it did not lead to peace in the postwar years. The answer, as usual, is in perception. Candidates like Romney make Russians in Moscow and Syrians in Damascus feel like hostages. And every hostage dreams of a personal fortress – which the Soviet leaders promptly delivered.

Putin is not this kind of person – Russia’s recent deal with BP shows how far he is from isolationism. But Romney’s mouth is just such a handy instrument: with him, you can “freeze” and “unfreeze” reform in a besieged fortress whenever you want it. Can a pragmatic statesman, like Putin, wish for anything more handy?

And don’t the people of the US deserve someone more knowledgeable and less arrogant as their only alternative for a rather duplicitous Mr Obama?

Dmitry Babich is a political analyst with the Voice of Russia radio station.

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CINEMA RUSSIAN FILM FESTIVAL

ANOTHER FEAST FOR MOVIE FANS THE RUSSIAN CINEMA FUND AND ACADEMIA ROSSICA ARE HOSTING THE SIXTH RUSSIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN LONDON ON NOVEMBER 2. THE MOST OUTSTANDING RUSSIAN FILMS OF THE PAST YEAR WILL BE SCREENED, INCLUDING WORKS BY BOTH NEW AND ESTABLISHED FILM-MAKERS

BIOGRAPHY

BIRTHPLACE: NOVOSIBIRSK AGE: 48 STUDIED: ACTING

AFP/EASTNEWS (2)

Director Andrei Zvyagintsev is most famous for three movies: The Return, which won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2003; The Banishment, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or in Cannes in 2007; and Elena, which won the Special Jury Prize in Cannes last year.

Low society: Elena took the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2011

Interview Andrei Zvyagintsev on his award-winning film Elena and why it has global appeal

Intimate story of a lost soul The director sees Elena, which is now showing in London, as a parable about society that transcends its Russian setting.

ANDREI PLAKHOV SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

What internal impulses led to the creation of Elena?

If you call the wish to accept an external challenge in the shape of an offer from a foreign producer an internal impulse, then that would not be enough. An internal impulse is something that ma-

tures quietly over a long time.

It may never translate itself into a statement, though it may mature and translate itself into a film. I remember well the moment when, holding the finished script in my hands, I glanced at a screen at an airport and there was a newsflash, just a few words and a number that told the story of two people: “Businesswoman from Moscow suburb commissions murder of husband for 40,000 roubles”.And it hit me then that the story of Elena is the story

of the whole of society, the decaying social links, of violations to everyday life.

How did the project evolve?

I understand that the film was originally to be in English?

It started with a generous offer from an English producer with an ambitious project to bring together four English-language feature films and four directors from all over the world. He called it Project Apocalypse and offered us great leeway, financially and creatively. Having

accepted the offer, my friend and co-writer Oleg Negin and I soon realised it should be not a disaster film with thousands of deaths, but an intimate story of a lost soul that people do not notice. It didn’t work out as an English project and I looked for Russian finance. Before long I met producer Aleksander Rodnyansky and quickly built a rapport. We were on fire the day after he read the script. The text hardly changed when we transferred the action to Russia. Only

Russian names, minutiae, some social nuances and slang appeared. The rest was as it was when first read by our English producer.

What makes Elena different from your other films? Some see links with the social environment in this country? Or is it still basically a parable?

I hope that our story, despite its obvious Russianness, can claim a degree of universality and is therefore more of a parable. I think Elena reaches out to everyone, so

is not peculiarly Russian.

What makes it different from my previous films is it is set in the here and now: Moscow in 2011. Being set in the present, the film did not need any symbolic idiom. It is straightforward and simple.

LONDON PREMIERES

Life, death and the morals of Moscow’s elite

What did you and your cinematographer, Mikhail Krichman, set out to achieve, artistically speaking?

Nothing new. The tasks are always the same: to harmonise the visual sequences with the pace of the film. The challenge is always the same: to make sure no parts stick out, they are all in harmony and no element overshadows another so a concentrated statement is achieved.

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The characters in the film, especially the husband, have prompted conflicting interpretations. Is he the victim or the instigator of the drama?

We are all victims of one and the same drama. We are at once the cause and consequence of all our woes.Would he have become a victim if Elena were different and she had made a different choice?

No. So, to pigeonhole people like that is simplistic. It’s only in a court of law that a person can be a plaintiff or a respondent, but never both at the same time.

Some perceived the portrayal of a lower-class family as a side swipe at poor people on behalf of the right-wing liberal bourgeoisie. Was it?

It is a pity many people tend to see things in terms of rich and poor; the bourgeoisie and the common people. I am amazed critics identify this as the core of the film, ignoring what to me is the main message. It is the story of the heroine’s inner state of her fall. It has become so commonplace that we have become inured to it.“Well, she killed him, so what? We want you to comment on the class divisions in Russian society.”

Interview The Russian Film Festival director Svetlana Adjoubei wants to see more Russian films screened in Britain

Once upon a time in the West: Russian filmmakers target the UK ALEXANDER PANOV RUSSIA NOW

Russian films have recently been more prominent at internationalfilmfestivals.Whathas prompted this success?

Russian films are gaining more recognition internationally, partly as a result of a new generation of Russian film-makers such as Andrei Zvyagintsev, Boris Khlebnikov, Alexei Popogrebsky, Renata Litvinova and Vasily Sigarev.

Their success has recently been recognised and supported by the Russian govern-

ment. The Russian Cinema Fund was created in 2009 to support Russian film-makers at home as well as in the international arena as part of a national programme to develop the Russian film industry. PresidentVladimir Putin personally leads the Council for the Development of Russian cinematography.

HowdoestheCinemaFundhelp Russian film-makers?

The most recent example is the Red Square Screenings that took place in Moscow on October 15-20. The Cinema Fund invited 120 international film professionals to see screenings of the best Russian films of recent years.

About 50 films were shown over five days at the GUM

Cinema on Red Square. It will become an annual event.

Both the Cinema Fund and the Russian Ministry of Culture work abroad. In September, at the Venice Festival, the Cinema Fund presented premieres of three Russian films – Kirill Serebrennikov’s Betrayal, Alexey Balabanov’s Me Too and Lyubov Arkus’sAnton’s Right Here – and it helped producers to work with the press and international distributors. More new Russian films will be presented at the Rome International Film Festival in November, including Aleksey Fedorchenko’s The Sky Wives of the Meadow Mari and Ivan Vyrypaev’s The Dance of Delhi. These will be world premieres.

PRESS PHOTO (6)

The director of the Russian Film Festival talks about promoting Russian films abroad and working more with British film-makers.

Food for thought: Till Night Do Us Part was set in Moscow’s Cafe Pushkin

How strong are industry links between Russia and Britain?

I think that they have become stronger since the establishment of The London Russian Film Festival. But we would like to see more new Russian films released in UK cinemas.

Usually, only two or three Russian films are released here each year, and you hardly see any new Russian films on UK television. Russian classics – by Eisenstein and

Tarkovsky – are very popular here. But to understand modern Russia you really need to see films made by the new generation of Russian film-makers – so, do come to our film festival.

We choose films that have won awards that would be interesting for British audiences with English subtitles.

The London Russian Film Festival hosts the RussianBritish Co-production Forum

he film festival will open with Boris Khlebnikov’s Poka noch ne razluchit which roughly translates as “Till night do us part”, a cinematic examination of the morals of Moscow’s elite as they frequent the exclusive 24-hour Cafe Pushkin.

Khlebnikov’s trademark melancholy humour works very well in this low-budget film. Many Moscow celebrities play themselves: frustrated wives of business tycoons, strung-out pop idols and gossip columnists. The story that unfolds behind the scenes in the kitchen among the waiters, cooks and immigrant workers is more down to earth.

Poka noch ne razluchit can be seen as a global statement on the condition of Russian society on the eve of the anti-Putin protests on Bolotnaya Square. Its social realism puts it in a different category and style to the films that first appeared several years ago which were stark and even cruel; they were seen as a new wave of nonconformist movies.

The older “new wave” tradition can still be seen in some new films, including Aleksei Mizgiryov’s Konvoi, a movie that gives centre stage to law enforcement. Mizgiryov gives meticulous, almost loving, portraits of powerful people who are essentially constrained by the system, a kind of social typology.

Within this framework, the film eloquently depicts the greedy and corrupt face of Russian power structures. The central character challenges corruption and degradation head-on.

He is in many ways an idealist who knows no fear and feels no pain.

The film tells the story of an army captain sent on an assignment to Moscow, accompanied by a sergeant serving under contract.

They soon find themselves trying to escort a deserter back to his unit. Moral tension arises between the three main characters, who epitomise three models of survival in hell: the stoic, the clown and the conform-

to encourage Russian and British film professionals to work together. It is organised by the Russian Cinema Fund in partnership with the British Film Institute, and is attended by leading Russian and British film-makers.

Russia and Britain both have great cinematic traditions and great opportunities – in terms of film locations, modern film studios and, of course, stories.

ist. Hell is present-day Moscow, teeming with cheap foreign labourers, prostitutes, gangsters and cops, in short, a huge torture chamber in which scenes of graphic violence are portrayed.

The second no-holdsbarred picture is called Zhit (“Live”). DirectorVasily Sigarev and actress Yana Troyanova, who both star in the film and co-wrote the screenplay, explore the dark area between life and death in which the residents of a tiny provincial town find themselves.What happens to them fits into three very different but interconnected stories that are reminiscent, in terms of genre, of urban crime and horror films.

These two dark and tragic films are not typical of the more recent Russian films.

Most of them teeter on the border between arthouse movies and mainstream blockbusters, leaning towards the latter. The most successful efforts of this kind are Avdotya Smirnova’s Kokoko and Mikhail Segal’s Rasskazy (“Stories”).

But perhaps the festival’s most revealing film is Ya budu ryadom (“I’ll be by your Side”) by Pavel Ruminov, an obviously gifted director with a career that has been somewhat checkered. He has long displayed a taste for designer, hi-tech directing and has at last got a chance to demonstrate his talent. The drama, about a young mother dying from a brain tumour and looking for adoptive parents for her beloved son, has been cut from a TV show that Ruminov shot. It uses the latest technology: a Von Trierstyle hand-held camera that makes the images look shaky, giving a documentary-style feel. It also benefits from Lynch-style suspense and a superb performance by Maria Shalayeva, for whom the phrase “death becomes her” is more than apt.

Having started as a nonconformist movement, the “new wave”has over the past 10 years become somewhat tamer and closer to reality.

Boris Khlebnikov, a recognised leader of this generation, aptly described the trend in film-making as“the new quiet ones”.

Andrei Plakhov

MOVIES AT THE 6TH RUSSIAN FILM FESTIVAL TILL NIGHT DO US PART

REDEMPTION

NOV 2, 7PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY NOV 7, 6PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

NOV 5, 5:30PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

2012, 72min Comedy Director Boris Khlebnikov

2012, 123min Drama/Historical Director Alexander Proshkin

ICONOSCOPE WINTER, GO AWAY!

NOV 3, 4PM, ICA, LONDON

NOV 3, 5PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY NOV 4, 4PM, ICA LONDON

2011, 100min Documentary Director Vitaliy Mansky

2012, 79min Documentary Directors E Khoreva, D Klebleev, D Kubasov and others

CONVOY NOV 6, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

2012, 80min Drama Director Alexei Mizgirev

SHORT STORIES NOV 3, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY NOV 8, 6PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

5

DIRECTORS GIVE AN INSIGHT INTO THEIR WORK

2012, 105min Drama/Comedy, Director Mikhail Segal

KOKOKO NOV 7, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY NOV 10, 6PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

2012, 90min Drama/Comedy Director Avdotia Smirnova

ANTON IS RIGHT HERE

Rita’s Last Tale

Kokoko

Chapiteau-show

Anton Is Right Here Me Too

For me, this story is not a fairy tale, it’s real. I think that death respects the souls of people who are capable of love. I believe in the power of imagination, and I think that you get the death you choose for yourself. And it’s the same with the meaning of life.

Rita found the meaning of life in love. Renata Litvinova

I didn’t make Kokoko about the intelligentsia and the people; it’s about a mismatched relationship, emotional pain, the fact we fall in love with our own projections and don’t see others. It’s about intense attraction and repulsion.

I probably didn’t succeed with this, because not many see this in the film. Avdotia Smirnova

It was very important for our film to be thorough, with elements of mythology; we didn’t want it to be limited by the boundaries of the screen. And that’s why we invented a real life for the film’s characters. I believe we need to take money from the state; otherwise the state will spend it on the wrong things. Sergei Loban

It’s a world of openly expressed feelings. These children love their parents much more than normal children do. And these parents love their children much more than normal parents love normal children. The sacrifice is greater; the betrayal terrifying. These people have transparent souls. Lyubov Arkus

NOV 4, 4PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

ME TOO

2012, 110min Documentary Director Lyubov Arkus

NOV 8, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

2012, 89min Crime/Drama Director Alexei Balabanov

I’LL BE AROUND I got the idea when I saw a leaning bell tower near Vologda.

That area has lots of deserted villages. We didn’t need to invent anything when we shot it – everything is just as it is in reality.

There were cows and it seemed someone was milking them, but I didn’t meet a soul when we were filming. Alexei Balabanov

NOV 4, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY NOV 9, 6PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

RITA’S LAST TALE

2011, 93min Drama Director Pavel Ruminov

2012, 100min Fantasy/Drama Director Renata Litvinova

LIVING

CHAPITEAU-SHOW

NOV 5, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY NOV 9, 6PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

NOV 11, 4 & 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

2012, 119min Drama Director Vasili Sigarev

NOV 10, 8PM, APOLLO PICCADILLY

2011, 107min Comedy Director Sergei Loban › see more at academia-rossica.org

08

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Bond’s top 12 Russian characters http://rbth.ru/18885

Travelogue City trader turned novelist Alex Preston on his teenage obsession with Russian literature and the ‘soft power’of art

How Moscow became my literary home The writer finds a spiritual connection with the capital while promoting the Russian edition of his credit crunch novel This Bleeding City.

ALEX PRESTON SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVES

City life: Alex Preston, left, with journalist Nikolai Uskov at the Book Market festival; above, a copy of The Bleeding City; below, the author’s own photograph of Tolstoy’s house in Yasnaya Polyana

FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVES

I’m going to start at the end.

There is a certain logic to this, in that everything I found in Russia was other than I expected it to be, back-to-front, astonishing. Taking myself into those last hours in Moscow, remembering the process of saying goodbye, which begins long before the aeroplane takes off and ends long after it lands, I can conjure up for you the spirit of my time in the city.

I feel like Kim Philby or Anthony Blunt, the British spies seduced by the Soviet propaganda machine in the Thirties. Except for me there is no ideological excuse; there is no political journey. I simply felt, and feel, that Moscow was – is – the nearest I’ve ever come to a home. As the wheels of my plane leave the ground, it is as if I’ve left something behind, a part of me that dwells ghost-like on Kuznetsky Most, waiting for myself to come back.

I’d spent my teenage years in Russia – not actually there, of course, although Moscow in the mid-Nineties would have been fascinating. But from a small, hardback copy of Turgenev’s A Hunter’s Sketches that my father gave me at 14 to the mind-storm of reading Crime and Punishment as a pimply 16 yearold, and later sobbing on an aeroplane to Japan, aged 18, as I read Anna Karenina and looked down over the vast and sun-dappled steppes, Russian literature was my fully fledged obsession. Lermontov, Platonov, Gogol, Solzhenitsyn, Bulgakov and as many others as I could get my hands on. Even though

I’d never been there, Russia was deep in my heart.

Before the taxi which is to ferry me along the fumefogged, Lada-jammed road to the airport, the British Council (who organised my Russian adventure) have arranged a meeting with Vladimir Grigoriev, deputy head of the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications. I have an idea of what a Russian bureaucrat should be like: grey suit, grey skin, Mr Burns-like steepling of the fingers. The building confirms my expectations: institutional carpeting, gun-toting guards on the

door, a hallway bearing multi-panelled screens of stateowned television. But then I’m led into a light, book-lined office that reminded me of my grandfather’s study at Princeton University. Grigoriev steps towards me. Rather than grey, he is a silver fox, like George Clooney after a few too many books, a few too many beers.

He’s charming, eloquent, literary: a former publisher. I want us to be friends.

We speak about soft power – the idea that, through the common languages of literature, art, music, political change can be effected, a difference made to the way a

country, a group of countries, perceive themselves, conceive their interaction with others.

It is this idea that instructs the work of the British Council, and Grigoriev speaks intelligently and subtly about the place of intangible art in the steel-hard world of politics; the ability of authors and artists to bring nuance to the blunt machine of the state. He says that while it may be only, say, 3pc of the population that engages seriously with art, this 3pc has always been important. History has shown books can play their part in toppling tyrants. Which brings us to

My dad loved Russia because he’d found a whole nation that valued literature as much as he did the subject of Pussy Riot.

I’d almost not come to Russia. The story of the three girls arrested for their antiPutin protest was everywhere in the news in Britain. It had taken Susie Nicklin – director of literature at the British Council – to persuade me, appealing to my author’s ego, telling me how rare it was that a first novel received the

kind of attention that This Bleeding City was getting in Russia. But I’d gone under duress. I was going to have my Pussy Riot Moment.

By the end of my trip, I’d bored the British Council girls near-comatose with my Pussy Riot proselytising.

Travelling down to the International Tolstoy Conference inYasnaya Polyana, they banned me from mentioning it; they realised (as I came to realise) that my view of the case was jejune, obvious, spoon-fed by a one-dimensional presentation in the British press. It is not that anyone disagrees that the

Russian state’s treatment of the women is absurd and the sentences draconian: there is consensus on this on both sides of the debate that I meet. It is that, as with any situation when it is taken away from the newspapers and placed in the heart of real life, nothing ends up being as simple as it seems.

It would take more space than I have here to outline the complex nexus of attitudes I find surrounding Pussy Riot. Sufficient to say this: I had expected to find an intransigent, state-dictated line spouted by most I met, with an equally vociferous

minority fervidly protesting.

Instead I find, on both sides, enormous subtlety, intelligent equivocation, nuance. I’m like a man charging to break down a door who finds the door has been opened while he wasn’t looking. Perhaps, I realise, this is what soft power does: takes us into the experience of others, just as books do; helps us to see how vast and intricate and elusive real life is.

My father was in Moscow in the early Seventies. The copy of A Hunter’s Sketches that was my introduction to Russian literature was given to him by a friend from those days.The notes, the title, were all in Russian, only the text was in English. It was a language student’s copy. My dad said the reason he loved Russia so much was because he’d found a nation that valued literature as much as he did.

In the taxi to the airport, I listen to my new favourite band, Obe Dve. They’re like a Russian Arcade Fire. I pat the pile of books on the seat beside me which contains some old favourites – Dead Souls and Resurrection – as well as some new names: Dmitry Bykov, Ludmila Ulitskaya, Olga Slavnikova. I give a little nod to the golden domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour as we pass. Seeing This Bleeding City in Moscow bookshops has been one of the great moments of my writing life, but it has been the people – the young, book-mad Muscovites I’ve met – who will stay with me, who have created this cord that, wherever I go, knits me to Moscow.

As soon as I land in the UK, I begin to plan my next Russian adventure.

Alex Preston is the author of This Bleeding City and The Revelations (Faber and Faber).

Bond at 50 Older 007 fans had some catching up to do: they faced jail for watching the films as the debonair spy was branded ‘anti-Soviet’ by the authorities looks as though Mendes has followed the theatrical habit of trying on the skins of all the characters himself, enabling him to hack off anything which is ill-fitting or fake. But he has mastered the genre superbly and never overloads his cart; he builds the tension to breaking-point with grace and ease. It’s like a game of give and take; a game of skill whose rules are governed by mathematical logic. This is a pro at work.

Return of the Soviet anti-hero: Mendes delivers best Bond yet VALERY KICHIN SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

I don’t want to give anything away, but Skyfall is, in my opinion, the finest Bond film yet. After 50 action-packed years, the franchise still knows how to pack a punch.

In reality, half a century of Bond films has actually been condensed into just two decades for Russian moviegoers, as if we have been watching the entire series on fast forward, given that Bond was banned in the USSR. From Russia with Love was considered “antiSoviet” and Bond himself was tainted in the eyes of the Communist authorities.

Soviet fans jailed Maya Turovskaya, one of the USSR’s leading film critics, wrote a book in the Seventies called A Hero of our Hero-less Time, in which she tried to rehabilitate 007 and explain the Bond genre to the Soviet audience. The book was published, but was

branded “evil” by the state.

At the time, I was working for a major Moscow film magazine. The editor asked me to write a review slamming the book; a diatribe filled with the most antiBond rhetoric imaginable, just as the party’s official position required. But I quite liked the book and told the editor as much. He gave me

As soon as the USSR imploded, the Bond movies flooded into Russia and were shown at video clubs a weary look, but dropped the request. The review went unwritten, and thankfully I didn’t feel any repercussions; both Bond and I survived to die another day.

In the perestroika era, pirate Bond videos began circulating among Soviet film fans. The police routinely raided owners of VCRs, cutting off power to their flats so the cassette got stuck in the player, and Bond fans were caught red-handed.

Many went to jail for their crime, which was deemed to

be “the propagation of pornography” – the films were seen as being on a par with Last Tango in Paris.

Yet so widespread was the interest in Bond that an official Soviet spy serial called Seventeen Moments in Spring was released, in which the Bond character was a Soviet secret agent in Nazi Germany called Stierlitz, while the enemies of the world were charming chaps from the Gestapo. The series was hugely popular and the streets would empty when the show was on; people were glued to their TV sets.

As soon as the USSR imploded, the Bond movies that had already been released flooded into Russia and were shown at“video clubs”– tiny commercial venues that held screenings of pirated video cassettes. Bond entered the hearts and minds of moviegoers in mammoth-sized doses, with Sean Connery magically metamorphosing into George Lazenby, who then reappeared as Roger Moore.

The chronology of the franchise wasn’t immediately obvious to most fans, and the arrival of Daniel Craig’s atypical Bond wasn't greet-

RUSSIA NOW Online

ed as dramatically as it had been in the rest of the world.

Daniel Craig has introduced us to a new kind of Bond, one without hair oil, who not only thinks for himself, but has doubts and has to make choices. He has become a fully fledged hero.

Following the mixed reviews of Quantum of Solace, the producers took a gamble and handed the franchise to Sam Mendes, a man who has a background in theatre and who is far more disposed to making art-house movies than fast-paced action thrillers. But Mendes has managed to breathe dramatic life back into the action franchise, while managing not to lose any of the charm that makes Bond, well… Bond.

We are unceremoniously cast into the thick of the plot, complete with its chases and everything you have come to expect from a Bond film, all of which is shot with a fearless neophyte energy. The already familiar ingredients are there: the conflict between HQ and the MI6 network; the heartless M, controller of a network of tin-soldier yes-men who march off loyally to certain

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An ambivalent heroine

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M shows her dark side and Bond becomes a man who thinks before he acts in Sam Mendes’s triumphant take on the venerable franchise.

007 reborn: Daniel Craig with Bérénice Marlohe in Skyfall, which adds emotional depth and a touch of Hamlet to the usual Bond mix of glamour, chases and exotic villains

death on the merest flutter of her eyebrows.

The film ascends to previously unseen heights. It has something to offer for those who want emotional drama as well as those who are happy with the deafening roar of a motorbike over the roofs of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and a deadly and spectacular race through the tunnels of the London Underground.

Mendes confirms a longstanding observation that theatre directors bring qualities to film-making not

found in conventional directors. This is the tendency for deep contemplation from a firm grounding in the con-

Mendes has breathed life back into the ailing franchise while managing not to lose any of Bond’s charm ventions of drama, and the ability to cast top actors to work within them. For all the abundance of amazing tricks and Hollywood rhythm, the

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real suspense comes out of the human dilemma, rather than the physical action.

Every character at every point in the film is confronted with decisions, both tactical and moral. If previous Bonds punched first and asked questions later, today’s incarnation is faced with Hamlet’s dilemma – to beat or not to beat? And if you do beat, then who do you beat?

And why?

His adversary in the film has taken the opposite stance and formed a high-voltage force field around himself. It

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There is no need to talk extensively about the cast. Daniel Craig – who has never been so charming or persuasive – is joined by Javier Bardem in the role of Silva, Bond’s nemesis, Ralph Fiennes as a hard-headed MI6 controller, and Albert Finney as an imperturbable Scottish keeper of an abandoned castle. The astounding Judi Dench, who is often overshadowed by the Bond girls, is turned into one of the film’s central characters; the entire plot revolves around her M character. She is an ambivalent heroine: she does her duty, as if for the common good, but she is also the main source of evil.

No Bond film could be complete without the glamourous Bond girls, but their role is more aesthetic – they are here to provide eye candy, make promises and die. They look dazzling and are morally ambiguous. And they appear in the precisely prescribed doses.

Valery Kichin is the senior film critic at Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

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