NO. 12 (1804) САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГ-ТАЙМС WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 WWW.SPTIMES.RU ALEXANDER BELENKY / SPT

Due to unseasonably warm weather, despite Monday’s brief snowstorm, the Neva River opened for navigation on Apr. 1, a month earlier than usual. Early- OPENING NIGHT morning openings of the drawbridges along the river are to be rolled out over the next few days. For the latest schedule of opening times, visit www.sptimes.ru.

BUSINESS FEATURE Irina Prokhorova Russian Dogs TRAVEL Led to Greener Myshkin: Pastures Where The Mouse Is King International humane societies make it their The fairy-tale origin of a sleepy On publishing, education mission to find homes town along the Volga. Page 18. and social change. Page 9. for Russian dogs. Page 6. LocalNews www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 2 Ombudsman Releases Report on Human Rights

By Sergey Chernov which led to the effective cancellation of THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES screenings, while anti-gay groups gath- Xenophobia in the city rose to alarming ered outside festival venues and at- heights in 2013, sometimes resulting in tempted to force their way in. violent crime, St. Petersburg ombuds- The most serious offence took place man Alexander Shishlov pointed out in on Nov. 3, 2013, when two masked men the presentation for his annual report at entered the LGBT community center the Legislative Assembly on Mar. 26. LaSky and began shooting a pneumatic The year was marked by the right- firearm at those present. The attack left wing initiative called “Russian clean- LGBT activist Dmitry Chizhevsky blind ups,” directed against migrant vendors in one eye. The investigators qualified that took place from July 26 to 31 in sev- the attack as “criminal misconduct.” eral districts of the city. Although called The report mentioned complaints by a measure against “illegal street vend- LGBT rights organization Vykhod ing,” many witnesses said that national- (Coming Out) for the repeated arrests ist activists harassed and used violence of LGBT activists even at authorized against foreign citizens, the report said. public assemblies. On one such occa- The illegal activity aimed at foreigners sion, the police detained about 30 activ- thought to be of Central Asian origin ists after a rally on the Field of Mars on was confirmed by video evidence. June 29, 2013. They were charged with On Nov. 4, 2013, People’s Unity minor offenses, but the cases were even- Day, ultra-nationalists carried out an tually thrown out by the courts. attack dubbed “White Car,” when a The right to freedom of assembly group of neo-Nazis entered a metro car was another source of concern in St. Pe- at the Udelnaya metro station and be- tersburg in 2013. gan attacking non-Slavic people while According to the city committee on shouting “Kill” and “All for one and law, order and security, a total of 452 ap-

one for all.” A similar incident was re- / SPT CHERNOV SERGEY plications for public assemblies were sub- ported to have taken place at Nevsky Ombudsman Alexander Shishlov, left, with the chief of the St. Petersburg Public Security Police, Col. Alexei Smyatsky, mitted. Out of them, 271 were returned Prospekt metro station. at the unauthorised anti-war rally near Kazan Cathedral on Mar. 15. to the organizers, who were told to recon- The report said that a group of young sider the time or place of the event as well men wearing medical masks attempted Purporting to be a balanced assess- among minors” as contravening inter- law, while six cases were opened in 2012. as to adjust it to comply with the law. Al- to attack people of Central Asian de- ment of the facts, the report praised city national law. No court rulings were made, according though the report said that most rejec- scent on Prospekt Engelsa in northern authorities for such programs as “Tol- On July 24, 2013, Shishlov sent an ex- to the report. In reality, Moscow LGBT tions had legal grounds, in certain cases St. Petersburg on Nov. 23, 2013, but erance” and “Migration,” as well as for planatory note prepared at his request activist Alexei Nikolai was fined 5,000 the suggested “alternative” sites pre- were stopped by the police. According establishing a committee on inter-na- by the Office of the United Nations rubles ($145) in May 2012 for using a vented the organizers from achieving the to the police, of the 707 crimes that were tional and inter-confessional relations High Commissioner for Human Rights placard at a protest which was seen by goals of their events. committed against foreign nationals in in Jan. 2014, but pointed out that xeno- to the Legislative Assembly which re- the court as gay propaganda. As an example, the report cited a St. Petersburg in 2013, only was quali- phobic statements and calls to strength- fused to hear it. Meanwhile, many instances of orga- rally in support of opposition leader fied as racially motivated. ening repressive measures in the sphere nized counteraction against legal LGBT Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in Shishlov’s report, however, omitted of migration had been heard in the city. rights assemblies were seen in 2013. Kirov on July 18, 2013. The report men- the high-profile murder of an Uzbek The report said that it was “alarming” Hostile anti-gay groups prevented tioned the date of the rally, but did not national committed following the Pa- that such calls occasionally came from The report specifically the LGBT demonstrators from entering specify the reason for the rally. triotic March, also known as the Rus- officials but did not specify any names. the sites of the rallies, hurled insults at The organizers filed applications for sian March. After the march and rally The report expressed concern that mentioned the rise of them and attacked the participants. The the rallies to be held at one of the four organized by the pro-Kremlin nation- the term “illegal migration,” which pro- homophobia, alongside report provided several examples of sites; Ploshchad Akademika Sakharova, alist party Rodina and held on People’s vokes a negative reaction, has become such attacks. Ploshchad Proletarskoi Diktatury, Ko- Unity Day on Nov. 4, 2013, some par- universally accepted, helping to create a general increase in During the International Day Against nyshennaya Ploshchad or Pionerskaya ticipants dispersed throughout the city, the impression that most migrants are xenophobia, in the city. Homophobia and Transphobia on May Ploshchad, but received refusals for all where they harassed and beat those present in Russia illegally, whereas less 17, 2013, anti-gay groups threw smoke of the sites. they perceived to be foreigners. than 4 percent of foreign nationals were bombs and stones at the participants of Eventually, an unauthorised protest The Uzbek national was killed by a charged with violating immigration law Referring to a letter from the office the rally, which was stopped by the police was held on Malaya Sadovaya Ulitsa in group of young men, who stabbed, in St. Petersburg in 2013. of the Russian Foreign Ministry in St. within 20 minutes due to “threats against central St. Petersburg, where police de- punched and kicked him. On Nov. 21, In his report, Shishlov specifically Petersburg, Legislative Assembly Chair- the life, health and property of citizens.” tained more than 50 people. 2013, seven suspects were detained, in- mentioned the rise of homophobia, man Vyacheslav Makarov replied that A number of LGBT activists and one “It appears that unfounded refusals cluding 30-year-old Andrei Kosnikov, alongside a general increase in xeno- the conclusions of the OHCHR did not police officer were injured by the anti- to authorize public events, effectively 18-year-old Sergei Bondar and five mi- phobia, in the city. impose any obligations on the Legisla- gay groups during an LGBT rights rally making them impossible to be held law- nors aged from 15 to 17 who were re- He criticized the local law prohibit- tive Assembly. on June 29, 2013. fully, may push residents to violate the turning from the nationalist rally, the ing the “promotion of sodomy, lesbian- In 2013, only one administrative case The LGBT rights film festival Side by law and hold unauthorized protests,” Investigations Committee reported. ism, bisexuality and transgenderism was opened into alleged violation of the Side was subject to several bomb threats the report said. РЕКЛАМА ALL ABOUT TOWN

Wednesday, Apr. 2 Friday, Apr. 4 agents and all associated with the in- AmCham’s Tourism and Hospital- Interested in acquiring or develop- dustry are encouraged to attend and ity Committee meeting is this ing property? Then make sure you learn more about not only Russia’s morning in their office in the New don’t miss the St. Petersburg Inter- incoming tourism industry but other St. Isaac Office Center at 24 Ulitsa national Property Show beginning nation’s as well. Yakubovicha. today at LenExpo and finishing to- Learn about the challenges of au- morrow. Both real estate agents and Monday, Apr. 7 tism with Light It Up Blue, a world- property developers welcome the Learn all about the latest achieve- wide organization for autism aware- chance to not just invest in the bur- ments in earth science at the St. Pe- ness, during its event this evening. geoning property market of one of tersburg International Geosciences Along with a presentation of special- Europe’s largest cities but to sell to Conference and Exhibition beginning ist Julie Ertz’s new book about au- a selected audience of high-income today at the International Exhibition tism, there will be a flashmob at the buyers. Business Center at 2 Nab. Reki Smo- Peter and Paul Fortress, which will lenki and continuing until Apr. 10. release 500 balloons into the sky. Saturday, Apr. 5 Visitors from all over Europe will Check the organization’s website for The Russian National Library will be converge on the center to discuss top- more details about the event. the site of Chanel No. 5: It’s Creator ics such as reservoir modeling, marine and History, a lecture about the seismic activity and gravimagnetics. Thursday, Apr. 3 iconic perfume and how it became Agrorus, an international exhibition the epitome of luxury. The lecture Tuesday, Apr. 8 and trade fair for all things agricul- begins at 4 p.m. in the library at 18 If making men and women beautiful tural begins today at LenExpo and Sadovaya Ulitsa. is your chosen profession, stop by continues until Apr. 5. Machinery, Expocenter Eurasia’s Beauty Health innovations and equipment are just Sunday, Apr. 6 Youth trade fair this week. Showcas- some of the things available for pe- Today is the final day of Leisure With- ing the latest in pharmaceutical, cos- rusal this year and anyone inter- out Borders, an international travel metic and hygiene products, entre- ested in either beginning or continu- exhibition at LenExpo that began preneurs who want to ease their cli- ing a career in farming are encour- Apr. 4 and concludes today. With ent’s transition from an ugly duckling aged to attend and learn more about summer and the inevitable start of to a beautiful swan are encouraged the industry. tourist season on the horizon, travel to attend. The St. Petersburg Times | www.sptimes.ru LOCAL NEWS Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 3 City Organization May Adopt Baby Crocodile By Natalya Krainova dorov wrote in his latest post about the THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES crocodile on Friday. A baby African crocodile discovered in A video of the crocodile posted on a St. Petersburg yard in early March VKontakte earlier that day showed the may be adopted by organizations tied crocodile, named Gena Grazhdansky, to the local government, the head of a lying on a brick near a small pool and local quarantine center told The St. Pe- hissing at the camera before jumping tersburg Times on Monday. into water. “We may keep the crocodile if The crocodile appeared to be several someone takes responsibility for it,” dozen centimeters long, just as when he said Tatyana Skvortsova, director of was found by janitors beside garbage the Leningrad region quarantine cen- cans in a local courtyard on Mar. 4. ter Veles. The animal may have gotten into a Veles is a private organization for the trash bag and been thrown away by ac- housing, treatment, rehabilitation and cident, a municipal housing official told quarantine of wild animals, and it oper- RIA Novosti later that week. ates partly on donations and the work of Alternatively, the crocodile could volunteers, according to its website. have been brought to Russia as an egg, “There are organizations linked to which its owners could have mistaken the St. Petersburg government that for an ostrich egg and thrown away af- have shown a willingness [to sponsor ter seeing that what hatched out didn’t the crocodile],” Skvortsova said, with- look like a bird, experts at the local zoo

out naming the organizations. said, local news website Fontanka.ru FOR SPT Alternatively, the animal may go to reported. The news report did not com- The auction at the Hotel Astoria was led by Sergei Prokhorov and featured work by prominent local figures. one of two zoos in other cities, which ment on the relative strangeness of have also said they were interested in hatching an ostrich. taking the crocodile in. Most likely, The local zoo and aquarium at first Veles will give the crocodile to its new refused to take the beast, with the zoo Art Brings Money for Charity home free of charge, she said. officials saying it would grow to be three “But we will not hand the animal to four meters long and the zoo’s prem- By Larisa Kempbell some of his hand-made handkerchiefs and private individuals. By attracting over to private hands, that is for certain ises had no capacities to keep such a big THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES at the event in Astoria in a special lot local celebrities we hope to raise — even if someone asks for it, because animal, Fontanka.ru reported. On Mar. 25, paintings by non-profes- that was sold at 51,000 rubles ($1451). awareness of those in need.” a crocodile is not suited for it,” Skvorts- The African — or Nile — crocodile sional artists including local politicians, The most active buyers included busi- The project Paintings by Outstand- ova said. is the biggest of the three types of croco- businessmen, sportsmen and actors nessmen from St. Petersburg and ing People began in June 2013 when Before being transferred anywhere, diles that inhabit Africa. It grows to be- were auctioned off at a special event Moscow and local city politicians. politicians, businessmen and artists the animal has to undergo a quarantine come four to six meters long, weighing held at the Hotel Astoria to raise funds “This was a pilot project, and we are created paintings in a public park in and more medical examinations, which up to 500 kilograms and can develop a for three local girls in need of expen- happy that this auction has had a clear- St. Petersburg. The second and the can take up to a month. land speed of 12 to 14 kilometers per sive medical treatment. The auction cut outcome, and that we are now able third parts of the project attracted new Veles employees have been regu- hour. was the final part of the Paintings by to help the girls,” said Natalya Koval- participants in February of this year. larly posting information about the A VKontakte user asked the cen- Outstanding People fund-raising initia- eva, the initiator and director of the According to Kovaleva, the organiz- crocodile’s appetite, weight and sleep ter’s employees this week what they tive, which was supported by the city project. “Charitable traditions and ers are planning to revise the project on the center’s VKontakte page, as well were planning to do with the crocodile administration, local UNESCO chap- ideas should enter all spheres of life in- and launch a similar event on June 1, as photos of the animal. when it reaches a length of 2 1/2 meters ters and the Gaudeamus charity foun- cluding that of government, business which is International Children’s Day. “He is eating well, has gotten used within a year. Veles creative director dation for youth. to his new home and is already defend- Olga Berezina replied that they were The event raised about 400,000 ru- ADVERTISING ing it,” Veles founder Alexander Fyo- planning to love the animal. bles ($11,300), which will be donated to the families of the girls — Marina Zyazina, 10, Masha Brushneva, 7, and Olga Evkaykina, 13. “Marina can- SKA Knocked Out Of not walk or sit due to a medical condi- tion and needs care and medical equipment,” said her mother Natalya Zyazina who was present at the KHL Conference Semis auction. By Christopher Hamilton Lokomotiv are the dark horse of The most expensive lots, which THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES this year’s playoffs. sold for 26,000 ($729) and 28,000 ru- Lokomotiv Yaroslavl advanced to the “We feel like we have three series bles ($785), were created by the mu- KHL Western Conference finals after behind us,” said Lokomotiv head sical actors Ivan Ozhogin and Svet- dispatching SKA St. Petersburg with coach Dave King, explaining that his lana Vilhelm-Plashevskaya. Both art- a 2-0 victory in Game 6 of their West- team had to win the last four games ern Conference semi-final series on of the regular season to make the home ice at Arena 2000 on Mar. 28. play-offs. “Then we had a difficult Lokomotiv capitalized on SKA’s and great opponent Dynamo and The event raised about mistakes and scored two goals in the now another fine opponent SKA. So third period in what was otherwise a we are a tired hockey team.” 400,000 rubles, which tight and closely-contested game. The team’s success is even more Yury Petrov scored with a one-timer surprising considering that the en- will be donated to the from the slot early in the third period tire team and coaching staff were families of three local and forced SKA into playing catch-up killed in a plane crash in 2011. in a must-win situation. Seven min- SKA president Alexander Med- girls. utes later, Vitaly Vishnevsky set up an vedev suggested Jalonen’s future odd-man rush when he picked up the with the club is in doubt on the same ists perform the main roles in the new loose puck and got SKA goaltender day Russian Ice Hockey Federation 3D-musical “Pola Negri” and also Alexander Salak to come out of his president Vladislav Tretiak called presented a few songs following the goal. Salak failed to stop Vishnevsky, for KHL general managers to place auction proper. Alexander Park- who patiently skated around the more trust in Russian coaches in- homenko, the Chief of the Commit- prone netminder and slipped the puck stead of having a “preference for tee for Youth Politics for the St. Pe- into the empty net. foreigners.” tersburg City Administration, pre- Lokomotiv’s Curtis Sanford “We have to analyze everything sented three paintings at the auction made 26 saves for the shutout and first but it’s obvious that the team that were sold at a combined price of propelled his team into the next played below its abilities,” Medve- 20,000 rubles ($561). Some of the round of the playoffs. dev said. other top-selling lots priced at up to “In tight games like this the first Even with one of the highest 25,000 rubles ($711), belonged to goal is usually decisive,” said SKA payrolls and a star-studded roster, Consul General of India in St. Peters- head coach Jukka Jalonen. the team is yet to reach the Gagarin burg Vishvas Sapkal, radio personal- “They knocked Dynamo [Mos- Cup finals. ity Alisa Sher, the actors Boris Smol- cow] out and now they knocked us Lokomotiv will face Lev Praha, kin and Ivan Krasko, singer Natalya out, and I think that shows that which eliminated Donbass Donetsk Udalova and Olympic figure-skating they are a confident team with a in six games to advance to the West- champion Yelena Berezhnaya. How- good coaching staff. We are very ern Conference Finals. In the East- ever, the artwork on sale was not only disappointed with this result. We ern half of the KHL’s final four, top- created by amateur artists. Well- thought we could go to the confer- seeded Metallurg Magnitogorsk will known Russian artists such as Ana- ence finals and the Gagarin Cup fi- take on Salavat Yulaev Ufa, who toly Annenkov, Daniyar Baybulatov nals, but we didn’t show our maxi- advanced after edging Barys Astana and Alexander Kravchuk presented mum potential in every game and 3-2 in the sixth game of their series their work as a gift to the project. that’s why we lost.” on Mar. 29. Kirill Ovchinnikova, a local fashion designer, also participated by offering NationalNews www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 4 Ukraine Condemns Medvedev’s Crimea Visit By Oleg Sukhov struction of the Ukrainian state,” the THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES ministry said. “There is no need to teach MOSCOW — Prime Minister Dmitry others. It is better to put things in order Medvedev on Monday paid a visit to in your own state,” the statement said. Crimea in an apparent bid to fortify Ukraine’s acting President Olek- Russia’s control of the region. sandr Turchynov and tycoon Petro Po- Russia’s takeover of Crimea earlier roshenko, the leading candidate in the this month and its military maneuvers upcoming May 25 presidential election, along the Ukrainian border have been rejected the idea of federalization on severely criticized by Ukrainian author- Monday. ities and the West, which has imposed “There are no preconditions for sanctions on Russian officials and busi- federalization today,” Turchynov said, nessmen as punishment for the moves. adding that “Ukraine is a unitary The issue has been the focus of on- state.” going high-level talks between Russia, Some analysts said that the reason the European Union and the U.S., with the Kremlin wanted federalization was the Kremlin pushing to federalize to destabilize the situation in Ukraine. Ukraine, and the West refusing to rec- Ukrainian political analyst Vitaly ognize the annexation of Crimea and Bala said that the aim of the proposal calling for a pullback of Russian troops was to weaken and decentralize from the border. Ukraine and bring its eastern regions Medvedev, who was accompanied into Russia’s orbit. In the framework of by a group of ministers for his visit to a federation, some Ukrainian regions Crimea on Monday, promised to inject would have the right of legislative ini- money into education, health care, in- tiative and could hold referendums on frastructure, salaries and pensions in joining Russia, following Crimea’s ex- the region. ample, he added. “People expect us to create condi- “Such referendums are possible if tions for a calm and respectable life, backed by people with assault rifles,” confidence in tomorrow, the sense of he said.

belonging to a strong country,” he said. / AP ALEXANDER ASTAFYEV Alexei Garan, head of the Kyiv- “We must meet these expectations.” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaking at a meeting for the economic development of Crimea in Simferopol, Monday. Mohyla Academy’s Political Analysis Medvedev also said that a ministry School, expressed a similar sentiment, for Crimean affairs had been created, Ukraine, criticizing the “climate of fear The reports came days after CNN cause of its linguistic and cultural di- saying that Russia was sending agent and Deputy Economic Development and intimidation in Ukraine” that they cited U.S. intelligence sources as saying versity, with the residents of its western provocateurs to eastern Ukraine and Minister Oleg Savelyov had been ap- were creating and echoing earlier appeals that a Russian invasion of southeastern and eastern regions speaking Ukrai- organizing pro-Russian rallies there in pointed as its head. from U.S. President Barack Obama. Ukraine was becoming increasingly nian and Russian, respectively. order to destabilize the situation. Ukrainian authorities strongly con- Western leaders have repeatedly ex- likely, putting European and Western Kerry said, however, that the idea of Ukraine’s security service also demned Medvedev’s visit. pressed concerns after Russia amassed leaders on edge. a federation had not been discussed in warned of presumed Russian provoca- “Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, in its tens of thousands of troops along the However, Russia has repeatedly de- any serious way during his meeting tions on Monday, saying that it had de- note to the Russian Federation, border with Ukraine, and critics have ac- nied any intention to interfere in main- with Lavrov “because it would have tained in Kiev a leader of the Eurasian strongly protested and stated that the cused the Kremlin of either trying to in- land Ukraine militarily. been inappropriate to do so without Youth Alliance, a right-wing Russian visit of an official to the territory of an- timidate Ukraine or invade it. But it has not stopped short of try- Ukrainian input.” group, who was allegedly planning to other state without preliminary agree- On Monday, however, an official at ing to influence the country in other Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, for its seize the buildings of the Supreme ment is a crude violation of the rules of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said that ways. On Sunday, Lavrov reiterated part, lashed out at the Kremlin over its Rada and the Cabinet. The agency said the international community,” ministry the number of Russian troops along Russia’s proposal that Ukraine become federalization proposals, asking why fed- that he had hired up to 200 people for spokesman Evhen Perebiynis said. the border had in fact decreased, a federation, saying that Ukraine can- eralism is not being introduced in Russia the purpose and had brought baseball Medvedev’s visit to the peninsula fol- though it was unclear whether it was not be a unitary state and should be a and why Ukrainian — which is spoken bats and prepared Molotov cocktails. lowed negotiations over the Crimea cri- tied to Kerry’s comments. loose federation of regions able to opt by millions of people in Russia — has not Garan compared what he said was sis in Paris between U.S. Secretary of The Ukrainian official, Oleksandr for different economic, linguistic and become a state language there. Russia’s interference in Ukraine’s do- State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Rozmaznin, said the decrease could religious models. Russia, which is formally a federa- mestic affairs to Hitler determining the Minister Sergei Lavrov late Sunday. Fol- have just been a rotation of conscripts “The west, east and south [of tion, has been accused by critics of not internal structure of Czechoslovakia. lowing that meeting, Kerry said that he rather than withdrawal. Ukraine] espouse contradictory values practicing what it preaches and being In a similar vein, German Finance and Lavrov had agreed that the crisis A representative of Russia’s De- and, to make the country function as a effectively a highly centralized unitary Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said should be resolved diplomatically. fense Ministry later confirmed the in- unified state, one should find a consensus state. Monday that Russia’s moves against Apart from that, it seems both sides formation of withdrawal of troops, say- and compromise between all Ukrainian “Under the barrels of their assault Ukraine were reminiscent of Hitler’s continued to butt heads and push for dif- ing that a motorized infantry battalion regions without exception,” he said. rifles, this aggressor demands only one annexation of German-speaking re- ferent things. Kerry urged Russia to was being pulled back from the border, The Kremlin has argued that thing — the total capitulation of gions of Czechoslovakia in 1938, Reu- withdraw its troops from the border with Interfax reported. Ukraine should be a federation be- Ukraine, its disintegration and the de- ters reported. Yanukovych to Join Putin Administration Ministry Slams Kiev’s THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES pressure from opposition protesters in housed in an estate on Moscow’s posh MOSCOW — Former Ukrainian Pres- late February, has not made any public Rublyovskoye Shosse from April 1. ident Viktor Yanukovych has accepted comments about a new job. “We are expecting a shipment of art Plan to Hire Protection a position in President Vladimir Putin’s Although the West has recognized work and vintage furniture smuggled RIA NOVOSTI Greystone Ltd, part of the Academi administration as an adviser on the the acting Ukrainian government, voted out of the Mezhyhirya residence at any MOSCOW — Kiev’s plans to hire corporation that boasts “protective country’s affairs with Ukraine, accord- in by parliament after Yanukovych’s moment,” said the official, who sought foreign private security firms to main- security and training solutions to cus- ing to a source close to the Kremlin. ouster, Russia maintains that the new anonymity so he could speak candidly. tain law and order in Ukraine violate tomers in challenging environ- The official’s surprise announce- authorities obtained power illegally. “We are closely following Mr. Yanuk- the country’s legislation and prove ments,” in providing security services ment comes at the height of tensions Yanukovych, for his part, has ovych’s instructions for the interior de- that the new authorities are unable to for the Ukrainian government. between Russia and Ukraine over Rus- warned of dangerous elements among sign of his home, which will be free of ensure security of its citizens, the Rus- The ministry described the com- sia’s recent annexation of the Crimean the new authorities. any orange, a color he finds hideous.” sian Foreign Ministry said Monday. pany as “an equivalent and, possi- peninsula last month. After days of speculation regarding The property manager also said that “It is obvious that such practices, bly, an affiliate of the Blackwater “We need to understand how the his whereabouts, Yanukovych resur- an enclosure would be constructed to if they are implemented, will violate private army, whose employees bandits who seized power in Kiev faced in Russia on Feb. 28 requesting accommodate a few exotic pets for the Ukrainian laws, which prohibit have repeatedly been accused of think,” the source said Monday. “We protection from “extremists.” Yanukovych, who abandoned the ani- hiring foreigners for work even in cruel and systematic human rights thought Viktor Fyodorovich [Yanuk- At a news conference in Rostov-on- mals at his private zoo at his former Me- the domestic security companies,” abuses in various conflict zones ovych] could give us insight about how Don in early March, he reiterated his zhyhirya estate outside Kiev before the ministry said in a statement. around the world.” to deal with this new crowd.” unwavering support for Russia, which fleeing Ukraine. “Such initiatives prove that those Blackwater was one of the three The source added: “The illegal coup likely swayed the Kremlin’s decision to The residence was taken over by who have seized power in Kiev are private U.S. security contractors in Kiev put an experienced professional hire him, according to the source. opposition protesters, journalists and unable to ensure basic order in the hired to protect U.S. diplomats in on the street. We reserve the right to rec- “The usurpers who seized power will members of the general public after it country, and, probably, to guarantee Iraq. Its guards mistakenly opened tify this violation of Mr. Yanukovych’s try to shift the responsibility on me,” was found abandoned in late February. their own security,” the statement fire on Iraqi civilians in September fundamental right to employment.” Yanukovych said. “And perhaps even Many of Yanukovych’s belongings — said. “Lacking popular support, the 2007, killing 17 people, including A Kremlin spokesman refused to on Russia. I will never agree to this.” among them a botanical garden, a pet- Maidan authorities are ready to mo- women and children. comment on whether Yanukovych had Yanukovych told reporters last ting zoo and a replica pirate ship — bilize any help from their interna- The company denied any wrong- been offered a job. But the appointment week that every Ukrainian region have been subject to intense scrutiny tional sponsors, including hiring doing, but its chief executive Erik was indirectly confirmed by an official should hold its own referendum, a for what many see as exorbitant costs foreign mercenaries, as a last resort Prince had to resign in 2009 amid in the presidential property department, statement that was denounced as an at- at taxpayers’ expense. to secure their grip on power.” the political backlash that followed. who said Yanukovych was expected to tempt to exacerbate strife and political Among the animals at his new Ru- The ministry commented on me- Blackwater changed its name to Xe move into a Kremlin-owned estate. rifts within the country. blyovskoye residence will be pheas- dia rumors reporting possible in- Services, was sold in 2010 and later Yanukovych, whose whereabouts The Kremlin property department ants, peacocks and at least one ostrich, volvement of Barbados-registered renamed Academi. remain murky after he fled Kiev under official said that Yanukovych would be the property department official said. The St. Petersburg Times | www.sptimes.ru NATIONAL NEWS Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 5 Dozhd Gets 50-Day Lifeline After Telethon By Natalya Krainova of management at the Lenta.ru news THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES website. MOSCOW — Independent television Deputy Communications and Press channel Dozhd has extended its opera- Minister Alexei Volin on Monday indi- tion for at least 50 days in a fund-rais- rectly denied that authorities were in- ing campaign launched to save the volved in Dozhd’s troubles, however, channel after major cable networks re- and said the channel would have no fused to air it. problem resuming contracts with the The money was collected during a cable networks “if it finds an economic week-long telethon from March 24 to 30 model that is interesting to broadcast- that sold yearly subscriptions to Dozhd, ers,” he said, Interfax reported. souvenirs featuring the Dozhd logo and The channel is eager to resume tickets to a gala, as well as through pub- talks with four broadcasters about re-

Some of Dozhd’s The termination of anchors have hopes Dozhd’s contracts the channel may was seen by some as continue to produce part of the Kremlin’s video reports remotely. media crackdown. lic donations and sales of advertising turning Dozhd to their viewing grids space on the channel’s website. The tele- at market prices, general director Na- thon sought to bring freedom of the talya Sindeyeva told Interfax earlier press into the spotlight, even inviting Monday. guests on air to discuss the topic. Last week, Sindeyeva asked some Dozhd, which is known for covering cable networks to put Dozhd in their opposition activities, found itself in hot viewing grids free of charge until the water earlier this year after publishing end of the year.

a poll that asked whether Leningrad / SPT VLADIMIR FILONOV The move apparently would serve should have been surrendered during Crew members filming at Dozhd’s studio as a host conducts an interview with a guest during last week’s fundraiser. as a sort of litmus test, just as last the Nazi siege to save hundreds of week’s telethon had, according to thousands of lives. The poll triggered tion would require millions of dollars tinue to produce video reports re- website last Monday that the channel’s Sindeyeva. She said the telethon was complaints from officials, and cable op- and more than 18 months’ time. motely even if the office is lost, three month-long operation costs a minimum partly meant to determine the feasibil- erators subsequently dropped the But Dozhd spokeswoman Darya anchors told The St. Petersburg Times of 20.4 million rubles ($582,000). ity of whether the channel could oper- channel, though they said the move Simonenko said by phone Monday last week. The termination of Dozhd’s con- ate on money collected from regular had nothing to do with the poll. that Dozhd would not have to shut Dozhd general director Natalya tracts with four major cable networks donations of its viewers, she told online Last week, Dozhd owner Alexander down if it lost its office, and that the Sindeyeva was expected to briefly sum in February caused the channel to lose magazine Snob in an interview pub- Vinokurov said the channel would still channel’s representatives would soon up the telethon results in an interview 80 percent of its revenue and was seen lished on the eve of the telethon. have to shut down if its landlord did not hold a news conference about the at Dozhd late Monday, Simonenko by some observers as part of a wider Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Krem- reconsider extending the lease for the channel’s plans. The date had not yet said. media crackdown by the Kremlin, lin human rights council, supported channel’s headquarters beyond June 20. been set, she said. The channel has not disclosed how which also included the restructuring Sindeyeva’s idea Monday, saying Dozhd Vinokurov said that hiring a new space There is hope among some of Doz- much money it collected, but Vi- of state news agency RIA Novosti into could exist on money from donations and preparing it for the channel’s opera- hd’s anchors that the channel may con- nokurov wrote on his blog on Dozhd’s Rossia Segodnya and the replacement and advertising, Fedotov told Interfax.

РЕКЛАМА Sochi Legacy Questioned As Renovations Begin By Ivan Nechepurenko bringing gambling to Sochi would de- THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES prive it of a family atmosphere, dis- SOCHI — Little over a month ago, couraging middle and upper-middle Sochi’s freshly built Olympic Park was class families from coming to the resort buzzing with athletes and sports fans with children. reveling in the festive atmosphere of With the idea of a gambling zone ap- the Winter Games. Even more recently, parently off the table for now, the Olym- Paralympics participants and specta- pic Park has been closed for renovations tors made for a lively scene. linked to the city’s next major tourist But only construction workers oc- draw: the Russian Grand Prix, a Formula cupy the Park now. Renovations are One race set to be held in October. already underway, to disassemble the Another event for which Russia had temporary pavilions and ready the been counting on using the Olympic space for the next event — a Formula infrastructure, a Group of Eight sum- One race — that will attempt to draw mit in June, was supposed to be held at visitors to use the infrastructure and one of the mountain resorts of Kras- thousands of hotel rooms constructed naya Polyana but is almost certain to for the Olympics. be canceled. Earlier this month, the The government wants to transform group’s seven other members effec- Sochi, where $51 billion was spent to tively kicked Russia out over its an- ready the city for the Games, into a nexation of Crimea. world-class resort that Russians will Fisht Olympic Stadium, which choose over the often cheaper options hosted the opening and closing ceremo- across the Black Sea in Turkey. Many nies, will see changes to get it ready for are skeptical of the plan’s viability. future duties. Its roof will be removed in “If they do not open casinos here, order to become a venue for Russia’s this will become a ghost city,” said Al- national football team and to host exander Valov, a prominent Sochi- matches during the 2018 World Cup. based blogger who watched the Olym- Many experts say they doubt that pic project closely. these one-off events will be meaningful The idea of a Russian Las Vegas has in the city’s effort to attract visitors dur- numerous proponents, among them ing off-peak periods, however. What members of the ruling elite such as Sochi needs, they say, is a group of pri- Sberbank head German Gref. The idea vate owners who will be interested in of opening casinos in Sochi was dis- making their hotels and other venues cussed at a recent meeting led by Dep- profitable. uty Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, who “The state must find an effective was the government’s point man for owner of this entire infrastructure, who Olympics preparations, Bloomberg re- will be interested in making a business ported last week. out of it,” said Alexander Vysokovsky, President Vladimir Putin has voiced the head of the Graduate School of Ur- opposition to the idea of Sochi becom- ban Studies and Planning in Moscow. 16+ ing a Russian Las Vegas, however. Dur- “These venues will have to work ing the Olympics in February, he said within a market,” he said. Feature www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 6 CHRISTOPHER LANE / AP CHRISTOPHER Robin Douglas Macdonald and Mum in New York City’s Washington Square Park. It took weeks to transport the dogs from Sochi to the U.S. with the help of Humane Society International. Russian Dogs Find Homes Abroad

By Olga Kalashnikova Another U.S. athlete following compassion we have for one another,” According to data from Sochi’s dog ficials in Sochi were planning to exter- THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES Kenworthy’s lead is Lindsey Jacobel- said Bird, reported The Washington shelter PovoDog, approximately 2,000 minate all local stray dogs prior to the lis. Despite an unsuccessful run in the Post Mar. 1. strays are roaming the city streets. Many games, many foreigners began trying to hile some American women’s snowboard (she crashed in “Isn’t that what the Olympics teach of them were looked after and fed by adopt them. International animal pro- athletes took home the semi-final, finishing 7th overall), us? It’s about uniting together on a construction workers building the tection organization Humane Society medals from the Jacobellis.took home a black-and-tan global level, regardless of where we are Olympic venues. However, the dogs International created a webpage with Sochi Games, others pooch and named it “Sochi.” Ryan from or what we do. I’ve just never felt were left on their own again after con- information on how to adopt dogs from took home something Miller, the goalkeeper for the U.S. it on this level,” she said. struction finished. After reports that of- Sochi and even wrote a letter to Presi- aW little bit bigger, furrier and a whole men’s ice hockey team, also brought lot cuter – local stray dogs. home a furry friend — a white dog Abandoned and doomed to a life on with brown ears and black spots — the streets in Sochi, these dogs captured and mentioned that a couple of other the hearts of foreign athletes during stray dogs have been adopted by his their stay in Russia and now a number team members. David Backes, a for- of athletes are working hard to give ward on the U.S. ice hockey team, to- these animals a new life in America. In- gether with his wife, also found shelter cluded in this list is American slopestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, who became so attached to a family of stray dogs he found near the media center in Sochi ‘This story is about that he decided to take them home with more than stray dogs him. However, after taking nearly a month to get them out of Russia, two of and the compassion the dogs have since died but the remain- we feel for and about ing five, a mother and her puppies, fi- nally arrived in New York. on Mar. 14. them...’ “It’s just incredible. It feels so nice to have them home here. These dogs for dogs through their own program have traveled thousands of miles, and “Athletes for Animals.” it’s been many, many weeks of this Former athlete and current U.S. whole process finally coming to an press officer for bobsled and skele- end,” Kenworthy told USA Today on ton, Amanda Bird, also adopted a Mar. 14. dog and named it Sochi. However, “They’re very sweet. They’re very she is still trying to bring the dog comfortable around people. They’re home. Currently quarantined in Los very docile. They’re more than happy Angeles, Sochi is likely to remain to be held and played with,” he said. there for another two months, as it Kenworthy will keep two of the has not had certain vaccines and had puppies while the litter’s mother will some infections. live with Kenworthy’s mother. Another “This story is about more than stray

puppy will live with this brother and dogs and the compassion we feel for RY MIKA FEDERLEY / VIIPURIN KOIRAT the last puppy will be adopted. and about them, but it’s also about the Borya is one of the dogs waiting to be adopted from the Viipurin Koirat Ry shelter in Finland. Wednesday, April 2, 2014 FEATURE www.sptimes.ru | The St. Petersburg Times ❖ 7 IRA MÜLLER Kuzma was found wounded in Vyborg. He lived in a shelter for a long time before being adopted. He now lives in Espoo. dent Vladimir Putin, urging him to for- representatives visit Vyborg once or very charitable nation, they adopt older, bid the extermination. Finally, after the twice every month. sick dogs. We once had a pet with a bro- various campaigns, land was provided “Some of the dogs [adopted in Fin- ken spine and in just one day 12 families by the local government for a new dog land] are originally from St. Peters- wanted to adopt him,” said Gracheva. shelter. Russian aluminum billionaire burg, but mainly they are from villages “We never get donations from Rus- Oleg Deripaska donated $15,000 to and the countryside around Vyborg. sians, and it’s a shame,” she added. open the facility and has pledged to All the dogs come to us through two Unfortunately, there are con artists

spend as much as $56,000 a year to keep shelters located in the Vyborg area. who take advantage of people’s desire to IRA MÜLLER it running, reported Bloomberg on Feb. Often they are born as unwanted pup- help. A woman once offered to help the Mauri, who was adopted as a puppy, enjoying the Finnish summer. 11. According to Deripaska, his first dog pies. We visit the shelters and meet the Poteryashka shelter in St. Petersburg was found in the street and it was his dogs before they are taken in to our send dogs to Finland. Volunteers at the family with the Russian volunteers self-confident and happy with her new best friend for five years. adoption program,” said Arjas. shelter raised money to transport 32 from the Poteryashka shelter even family, it gives you happiness,” said The PovoDog shelter sounds like Viipurin Koirat Ry has a website dogs, including physically injured pets managed to secure a free flight for the Gracheva. the Russian word for “leash” and aims that with profiles of all its dogs. People and those who had lived in the shelter dog with the local airline company.. “If the dog is very timid and then to care for homeless animals. Already are then able to send in adoption ap- for years. However, suspicions were Traveling seven hours to meet the dog learns to trust people, it is a big suc- there are more than 100 dogs living in plication forms. Workers then sort raised after the volunteers received pho- at the airport, the Swedish family cess. Most of the adopted dogs go on the new shelter. According to a shelter tographs which were supposed to be to live as ordinary pets in families. representative, Americans make up from Finland. After further investiga- However, I will share with you one nearly 90 percent of those wishing to tion, the volunteers learned that the different story,” said Arjas, “It is adopt a pet. The shelter is also receiv- ‘There was a dogs had not left Russia. With the help ‘The adoptive owners about Vinski, who came to Finland as ing a number of adoption applications widespread opinion in of police, the shelter volunteers discov- a puppy after being badly bitten by from Canada and Germany, with a ered they had been cheated and the dogs from Germany collect another dog at the shelter. growing trend being seen now in Europe that Russian were thrown out on the streets. Luckily money, pay all “Vinski survived and as he healed, it adopting abandoned strays. dogs are huge, exotic, the shelter workers were able to find became clear, that this young, energetic “It is considered prestigious in Rus- more than the half of the animals and expenses and help to male needed a hobby. A while later his sia to have a dog from a fashionable angry and black.’ one of the dogs even found a new home buy medicine for the owner, the secretary of our association, breed. If you have a mutt or several on its own while out on the streets. Luck- started intensively training him and mutts, you are regarded as strange, through and conduct phone interviews ily, such stories of deception are rare ex- dogs in Russia.’ when Vinski turned two, he qualified as while in Germany people have five or with the most suitable applicants. ceptions, with an increasing number of a voluntary search-and-rescue dog. He six mutts and are proud of it. If you see “We try to select only the best and dogs finding a happy home. greeted Cameo with Swedish meat balls now helps authorities find missing peo- a mutt in Germany, you can be sure it most promising homes. Not everybody Cameo, a Russian stray, was hit by a and took her straight home. The Swed- ple and has been doing this for a year was rescued from Russia, Romania or gets a dog from us. The dogs have al- car in St. Petersburg and lost her leg af- ish media continue to cover the story, and a half already,” she said. “Vinski Greece,” said Maria Gurjanova, a rep- ready been abandoned before and they ter the accident. An adult dog of nearly which helps attract attention to the was rescued and later became a rescuer resentative of Hundehilfe Russland, need a committed home,” Arjas said. six years old, Cameo spent more than a problem of abandoned pets, while Pot- himself!” speaking to The St. Petersburg Times. The adoption process takes a lot of year in the shelter before a family from eryashka continues to get photos of a According to Poteryashka head Ma- The group, organized by Russian effort from both sides, evident in the Sweden noticed the three-legged dog happy Cameo sleeping in her bed, play- rina Pushenko, it does not matter which women in Germany, supports three recent adoptions by U.S. athletes. on the website. The adoption prepara- ing and enjoying her new Swedish life. country the dog ends up in. “The most animal shelters in St. Petersburg and “We comply with the requirements tions and negotiations took seven “When you bring in a miserable dog important thing is that the dog feels Vyborg and tries not only to find new of import regulations. All dogs have months and in that time, the Swedish and, after two or three months, see her good there,” she said. German homes for Russian dogs but to to be micro-chipped, vaccinated improve the general situation for Rus- against rabies and given medication sian animals. against echinococcus parasites before “There was a widespread opinion in importation. A veterinarian checks all Europe that Russian dogs are huge, ex- documents at the border customs,” otic, angry and black. We needed time said Arjas. to prove the opposite,” said Natalya Transportation is also expensive. Ac- Gracheva, chairwoman of Hundehilfe cording to Humane Society Interna- Russland, speaking to The St. Peters- tional, the cost can range from $150 to burg Times. $2,000 or more. In addition, some coun- Families in Germany adopt approxi- tries have very strict quarantine policies. mately ten to 20 Russian dogs every “The adoptive owners from Ger- month. These are often old, physically many collect money, pay all expenses disabled and ill dogs. Viipurin Koirat Ry and help to buy medicine for the dogs (“Vyborg Dogs Association”), a non- in Russia. They are unique people, who profit voluntary organization that ar- are ready to give the last that they have ranges adoptions to Finland, finds homes to save the lives of these dogs. I am so for approximately 200 dogs each year. proud of them,” said Gurjanova. “Adopting a homeless animal is an “It takes quite a lot of effort on our ethical choice. Many Finns choose to part too, for example, to learn about all adopt rather than support dog breed- the dogs, manage the website, interview ing. In our own country we don’t have the owner candidates and then offer a stray dog problem. There are also them support through the process as well other organizations that bring dogs as continued support if difficulties occur. from other countries like Spain, Esto- Also we raise funds and collect food and nia and Romania,” said Aino Arjas, goods for the shelters. We are only a chairman, Viipurin Koirat Ry, speaking small group of people, but we use almost to The St. Petersburg Times. all the free time that is left after our pri- Viipurin Koirat Ry supports two mary jobs and taking care of our own shelters in Vyborg by arranging adop- families and animals - and we do this tions, giving financial aid and bringing work with all our hearts,” Arjas said.

food, medicine and construction mate- “People often misunderstand why RY MIKA FEDERLEY / VIIPURIN KOIRAT rials to the shelters from Finland. Its Germans need our dogs. But they are a The puppies rush to get toys brought to the Viipurin Koirat Ry shelter by Finnish volunteers. DiningGuide advertising section Wednesday, April 2, 2014

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– Banquet hall; – Breakfast; – Children’s room; – Credit cards accepted; – Dancefloor; – Live music; – Home delivery; – Non-smoking area; – Parking; – Wi-Fi zone. Average price of a two-course meal with an alcoholic beverage: $ – 500 to 1,000 rubles; $$ – 1,000 to 1,500 rubles; $$$ – more than 1,500 rubles BusinessFocus www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 9 Irina Prokhorova’s Faith in Ethical Evolution By Delphine d’Amora THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES

n 1992, as the remnants of So- viet society disintegrated around her, a woman with no business experience decided that the time was ripe to found Ithe new nation’s first independent lit- erary journal. “Of course it was absolutely crazy at that time. Even most of my friends said, ‘Who needs such a thick, profes- sional academic journal in 1992, who is going to read it?’” Irina Prokhorova recalled with a laugh. But for Prokhorova, 58, the priva- tion and hardships of that time were only half of the story. The other half was an extraordinary exhilaration and sense of freedom — that now, finally, anything was possible. More than 20 years later, the jour- nal — the New Literary Observer — has blossomed into a thriving publish- ing house, and Prokhorova is a promi- nent figure not only on Russia’s liter- ary scene, but in philanthropy and politics as well. Her televised debate representing her brother, billionaire Mikhail Prok- horov, during the 2012 presidential campaign pitted her against Vladimir Putin’s surrogate, Nikita Mikhalkov. Prokhorova’s eloquence and intelli- gence left the famous movie director admitting that if it was she who was running, his vote would go to her. In January this year, Prokhorova stepped up as leader of her brother’s Civil Platform party. While the move into politics may seem an unusual leap

to some observers, for Prokhorova it DUMONT / SPT PASCAL is simply an extension of the work that In the 20 years since Irina Prokhorova launched the ‘New Literary Observer’ journal, she has become a prominent figure in both Russia’s literary and political scene. she has been doing all along. “We still have a mission to en- their nature, preoccupied with en- ues,” but as a rule we only see the su- dovsky, a famous scholar in German Everything began as an unbeliev- lighten,” she said. “The idea of human lightenment. They attempt to convey perficial aspects of these concepts — studies, who by the way had been in able, wild scheme, and from the out- freedom and independence, a new rela- some system of values to society. They new technology, style and quality of prison for several years in the 1980s side seemed quite frivolous, but in tionship between society and the gov- have a certain compassion for society life — without thinking about their — he was a dissident and they simply fact it was very serious. ernment, fundamental ethical and philo- — otherwise they would do some- essence. These are all easily adopted, jailed him. I called him and said: “I sophical principles — this is the founda- thing else. but those countries that we aspire to want to come to St. Petersburg to dis- Q: What problems does the pub- tion on which everything else is built.” A publisher is a person who be- be like are not flourishing because tribute our magazine, can you help?” lishing house face now? Despite her many titles and lofty lieves, and perhaps deludes himself, they adopted some new technology and he said, “Yes, yes, of course, we A: Something we might encounter, ambitions, when Prokhorova wel- that when he publishes a book some- but because of fundamental changes will meet you.” although we haven’t yet, is this new comed reporters from The St. Peters- one will pick it up and read it and this to their system of values and world- We brought 200 copies of the jour- injection of ideology into the liberal burg Times into her office, casually will change the persons’ vision of the view. The ideas of human freedom nal to the train station in a large num- arts, which really worries me. The dressed and holding her electric tea world or at least compel him to pause and independence, a new relation- ber of packages. Our authors and problem with history, that again they kettle in hand, it was clear that this is and think of some important things ship between society and the govern- friends helped me throw all this in the are trying to write only the correct a woman of few pretensions. that he has never considered before. ment, fundamental ethical and philo- train car; I stuffed half a compartment history — this situation affects all of Perhaps it is this lack of affectation Without such a delusion, it is impos- sophical principles took centuries to with them, while all the people looked the humanities. that has earned her popularity as the sible to be in publishing. find their place. But this is the foun- on in horror. I arrived at the train sta- If censorship begins even in one host of two programs: the talk show dation on which everything else is discipline, inevitably it will lead to ev- “Value System” on RBC television built. Otherwise, no matter what erything being censored in our sphere, and “Culture of the Everyday” on technologies you use, no matter what which has been free for so many Komsomolskaya Pravda radio. ‘If censorship begins you do, you will end up with a totali- ‘People who have years, where at last we were able to Or, perhaps, it is her passion for the tarian government. lived here for a long do normal research. I hope that this values themselves, which underlie all even in one discipline, Basically, my programs, all that I will not happen, but there is a danger of her cultural and political activities. inevitably it will lead do in the publishing house, in the time understand that that the persecution of academics It was the desire to promote grass- philanthropic foundation and now my who do “incorrect” science will begin roots social movements that led to the to everything being initial work in the party, is centered there could be again, as it was in Soviet times. creation in 2004 of the Mikhail Prok- around promoting these humanistic genuine repression...’ horov Foundation, which supports censored...’ values and explaining that they are Q: Many foreigners wonder why cultural projects in neglected regional not some abstract idea, that all human Russians tolerate such restrictions. communities. I live in Russia, it is my country, life is based on these and that the an- tion in St. Petersburg. It was winter. A: First of all, not everyone puts Social change is a slow and pains- and I love it very much. It is very dif- swers to many question lie precisely Konstantin Azadovsky and another up with it, otherwise there would not taking process — but there is hope, ficult for me to observe the re-emer- there. That as long as man is de- colleague were standing there with be demonstrations and strikes, other- Prokhorova said, proudly remember- gence of a totalitarian system and un- meaned, as long as there is state des- two sleds, like during the blockade of wise people would not be moving ing projects that ended with a blos- derstand how it is possible to break potism in which the purpose of human Leningrad. The entire train car helped away. On the other hand, people who soming of creativity in one of the this dangerous trend, and in which di- life is to sacrifice oneself for the might me unload these packages. We loaded have lived here for a long time under- many desolate single-industry towns rection to progress. The more I look of the empire, as long as this value them onto the sleds and pulled them stand that there could be genuine re- of Russia’s north. at the entire situation that has arisen system reigns, progress is impossible. along Nevsky Prospect to the main pression, which is really quite fright- But no matter how far she has in the last 20 years following the col- I think that now this is understood by bookstore, Dom Knigi. We stood ening. come and how many new roles she lapse of the Soviet Union, the more I a great number of people. there on the street with these sleds Here the idea of stability is very has taken on, Prokhorova’s motiva- think that the fundamental problems and Konstantin Azadovsky went into important. People are tired of up- tion is unswerving. that society faces now — a new strain Q: What obstacles did you en- the store, where they all knew and heaval, and so often they are pre- “The source of inspiration is the of authoritarianism, the destruction counter when you started the New loved him. He told them, “Our col- pared, not really understanding the same as it was in the late 1980s: the of the Constitution, the militarization Literary Observer? league has come with this wonderful consequences, to give up some rights feeling of freedom and possibility to of consciousness — have come about A: The funniest part was when I journal, look!” but in the meantime and freedoms, because they are told: do something. I can never get used to for the most part thanks to an under- had finally published the journal and we were standing there with these “What is this freedom of speech to it,” she said. estimation of the key role a value sys- we had to begin distributing it. In sleds... They accepted the journal, you? In exchange we will give you tem plays in the development of soci- Moscow we had already made ar- there were wonderful sales people safety.” Q: Why do you print books and host ety. Change in society begins with rangements with several stores on a there, an old guard of book-loving, Here we need to see the situation radio and television shows? changes in ethics. trial basis, but we also had to go to St. intellectual people, they really helped somewhat differently, and partly even A: People involved in publication In the post-Soviet era we often use Petersburg. I called a member of the us. And so we went around St. Peters- to respect people’s misconceptions, — publishers, journalists — are, by terms like “democracy,” “liberal val- editorial board, Konstantin Aza- burg, distributing the journal. because this trauma is in our DNA, it 10 ❖ Wednesday, April 2, 2014 BUSINESS FOCUS www.sptimes.ru | The St. Petersburg Times

more and more people began coming. bring. When we began to support In a strange way, around this festival these projects, society was amazed. the system began to take shape all The distrust toward charity was very over again. high. At first we were somewhat exas- Q: Tell us about a failure you ex- perated, it is vexing when you come perienced and what you learned from and want to do something and they it. do not trust you. On the other hand A: There was a very interesting ex- we realized: our people have been ample in the very beginning, when we duped so many times. They see such were working in Norilsk. One of our horrible corrupt things, so of course they do not believe. You could get offended, but in- stead let’s try to persuade people ‘The language of through our deeds and that we work honestly. We managed to do this, by culture in Russia is approving the applications of com- mon people and not the ones the of- much more than just ficials wanted. conversations about Q: How do you see the role of cul- art and literature — it ture in Russian society evolving? is a social and A: Trust and respect for education and culture are very high. As a pub- political language.’ lisher I can say that modern literature is very vivid and interesting, there are first projects was this idea for public many bright names. service announcements. We invited I think that it is precisely this tra- one of our project managers from dition that allows us, despite all com- Tyumen, she had this project called plex and unpleasant things, to recon- “Tyumen: City of Warmth.” It was stitute that cultural backdrop. compiled of various photographs of In Russia, the sphere of culture, society, of children and so on, which which has always been important, has were simply displayed on billboards, also always been a social sphere. a completely modern form or art. Since this country has always been And we decided to do “Norilsk: City authoritarian or totalitarian, culture of Warmth.” took on the functions of social life But what we failed to consider and political debate and so on. The when we were studying the city: the language of culture in Russia is much

IGOR TABAKOV / SPT IGOR TABAKOV photographs were black and white. more than just conversations about Prokhorova works closely with her brother, Mikhail Prokhorov, above, across various political and charitable projects. And in Norilsk they have constant art and literature — it is a social and snow, which is sometimes even black, political language. It is through cul- passes from generation to generation. can understand what happened in the Q: What is the main focus of the no plant life, darkness: their main tural metaphors that society speaks And it is impossible to treat it lightly. 1990s — not those 1990s which are Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation? problem is lack of color. Because of about political problems. I understand where it comes from. common in the mass media, which A: We work in the Russian regions, this their interiors are painted in these It is a long process. Of course we were depicted as turbulent, terrifying and it is very apparent how society is lurid, bright, aggressive tones. This interview has been edited for want quick fixes, to immediately open and so forth. On the contrary, they evolving, there is great creativity And they found the photographs length and clarity. people’s eyes, but being a historian of show the birth of a new conscious- there, but few who support it. We try depressing. So they said: “It is diffi- culture and studying other countries, ness, existence in a free environment, to support these local initiatives. cult and depressing here already, and I know that changes in value systems including that unbelievable liberation For example, a group of young art- then you went and hung these up, and actually took centuries. We often pa- and opportunity to look back at the ists came to the city of Kansk, in the in black and white no less.” IRINA PROKHOROVA rade around with borrowed theories, Soviet past with the eyes of free peo- middle of nowhere, a small city that And we immediately understood: but they have to be deeply felt and ple and re-evaluate it. had a population of 90,000 in its hey- this is what ignorance and disregard Education adapted to Russian reality. It is a com- As a publisher I see a major prob- day. It was a single-industry town and for local convention means. After- 1986: Moscow State University, plex and painful process. But I am not lem. Russia has the image abroad of of course the factory there is no lon- wards we began to take this very seri- Ph.D. in Philology at all a pessimist in this regard. what I would call “oriental-exotic.” ger in use. The city is gradually dete- ously, and before initiating any proj- Actually there is a great deal that We present our books abroad and try riorating; the population is already ect, we ran it through focus groups Work experience has changed for the better, although it to sell the rights to the foreign pub- less than 60,000. This group of young and checked to make sure that we 1992-present: The New Literary may not be apparent superficially. In lishers, but they are interested pri- artists decided to do a crazy project would not accidentally offend people. Observer literary journal and Russia, since for a long time there was marily in our real-life horror stories. there, the so-called Festival of Alter- publishing house, founder and no freedom of speech, a kind of de- Very often they seek stories about native Cinema. Q: How do you measure your editor-in-chief valuation of speech took place. There Stalin’s camps, about the mafia or We have supported this Kansk success? 2004-present: Mikhail Prokhorov is a disconnect between what is prac- corruption and other frightening video festival from the very begin- A: The measure of success is the Foundation, co-founder ticed and what is called rhetoric or things. As soon as you propose a book ning, for the first few years we were quality of the applications for philan- 2012 to present: Host of “Irina discourse. When you ask many people that is on a different plane altogether, their main sponsors and partners, es- thropic support that we receive. Each Prohkorova. Value System” on what they think on a political level, they tell you that it is not “Russian” sentially the only ones. And just year these applications become better RBC-TV they will tell you some horrible things, enough. This is a huge problem, this imagine, this crazy project actually and better. At first it was: “We need 2012 to present: Host of “Culture of all of that frightening rhetoric. highly negative reputation. became international. Each year they to buy computers,” which was logical the Everyday” on Komsomolskaya But, if you ask them how they see Honestly this really distresses me, were able to gather more and more — in 2004 few people had a computer. Pravda radio their children’s future, how they re- and in large part we must blame our- films, additional local sponsors ap- There were some very touching, 2013: Leader of the political party ally work and act, on the level of per- selves, because after all Russian poli- peared, some associated services ap- small, local projects, like an exhibi- Civil Platform sonal strategies it is suddenly clear ticians present an image of the coun- peared in the city, some hotels, and tion of cactuses that they wanted to that they live entirely by democratic try that is not terribly positive. principles. They describe it in some- what different terms, but it suddenly Q: What is your working relation- becomes clear that nobody wants to ship with your brother, Mikhail? be downtrodden. A: Everything to do with big busi- ness is absolutely his affair — I do not Q: What modern authors should get involved. Our cooperation is in- we read in order to better understand volved in some humanitarian projects. Russia? He is also a co-founder of the New A: I really love Lev Rubinstein, a splendid and highly original writer. In the 1970s and 1980s he was known as a very original poet. Since he was ‘There is a great deal working as a bibliographer in a li- brary, he began writing a kind of po- that has changed for etry directly on library cards. They the better, although it were these individual lines which could be assembled in different or- may not be apparent ders. But they were also a striking cross-section of the age, of the sound superficially.’ of its language, it is as if he heard what the street said, what people said, Literary Observer, even though it is and from this assembled a fabric of my project. I am co-founder of the this life. To this day when you read Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, them there is a breathtaking effect, which he began 10 years ago, and because he recreates that entire sys- since the foundation supports culture, tem of values, words, prejudices and I manage it. And then recently, in a insights. sense, I have become his assistant in In the beginning of the 1990s he the political party. began to write collections of essays, At the New Literary Observer, he which simply describe existence in an is not the boss. It is my project. I man- incredible way. They are short, ex- age it completely independently. He ceedingly witty, astute and refined. is my main donor, of course, but that

We published one collection called does not prevent me seeking addi- / FLICKR INSTITUTE STRELKA “Chasing Hats.” If you read it, you tional funds, it really is my project. Prokhorova’s eloquence and intelligence has made her a popular host and guest on both radio and television. Business www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 11 U.S. to Cease Exporting Certain Goods to Russia By Sam Skove These devices are typically electrical THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES explosive detonators, also known as Nearly $1.5 billion worth of trade be- blasting caps, according to U.S. Federal tween the U.S. and Russia could be regulations on foreign trade. threatened by a quietly-made decision Some items on the 2013 list have to stop U.S. firms from selling goods clear military applications. 1,338 li- with potential military applications to censes, or more than 70 percent, were Russia. for optical sighting devices for use in The U.S. Bureau of Industry and firearms, valued at $30 million, while Security, or BIS, announced Tuesday $28 million went to chemicals that that, starting Mar. 1, it had ceased to is- could be used as elements of toxic sue new export licenses for dual-use chemical agents. goods destined for Russia. Other goods, however, are more It gave no explanation for why the obliquely related to defense needs, in- announcement came nearly a month af- cluding more than $300 million in soft- ter the policy began, nor why it had ini- ware that uses encryption technology, tiated it in the first place, although $60 million in acoustic transmitting and White & Case, a law firm specializing in receiving equipment, and $10 million international trade, said in a press re- for navigation equipment, including lease that the move “evidently is an- gyros, automatic pilots and accelerom- other sanctions measure against Russia eters that might be used in missiles.

stemming from the Ukraine situation.” Perhaps most whimsical was the $2 mil- KARPUKHIN / AP SERGEI Dual-use items can be used both for lion worth of “horses by sea” trans- Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, speaking with President Putin on Feb. 6, is depicted by some as Putin’s handyman. civil and military purposes. Russia be- ported to Russia. longs to Country Group D in U.S. ex- The move to restrict licenses, how- port regulations, which defines it as a ever, applies only to new applications, country to which exports are controlled not ones that have already been issued for national security purposes. Russia for 2014. Export licenses typically are Crimea Left in Kozak’s Hands shares this distinction alongside Iran, valid for four years. North Korea and Afghanistan. The U.S. took the move far more By Oleg Sukhov With his role as a project manager, struction of infrastructure and power and In 2013 the Bureau of Industry and quietly than its European partners. On THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES Kozak is generally seen as being more natural gas supply networks in Crimea. Science issued 1,832 licenses for goods Mar. 18, British Foreign Secretary Wil- For almost seven years, Deputy Prime of a technocrat than a politician, and But he will also have to deal with shipped to Russia in 83 categories, for liam Hague announced that Britain Minister Dmitry Kozak focused on he is known for being effective in get- the challenge posed by Crimean Tatars, a total value of $1.5 billion, according would suspend all defense-related ex- making sure Russia was prepared to ting things done behind the scenes. many of whom have refused to recog- to its 2013 annual report. This was ports to Russia. Britain’s Export Con- host one of the country’s biggest events During his work at St. Petersburg City nize the legitimacy of Crimea’s annexa- nearly three times the value of goods trol Organization said that day it had in decades, the $51 billion Sochi Winter Hall, he supposedly took a subtle ap- tion by Russia. licensed in 2012. suspended dual-use licenses for mate- Olympics. Just over a month after the proach to dealing with people, prefer- “So he will not only be a technical The most profitable item by far was rial “destined for units of the Russian Games came to an end, he was handed ring to use persuasion over giving or- figure but will have to make political the almost $800 million worth of “de- armed forces or other state agencies yet another massive project to oversee ders, according to a SmartMoney arti- decisions as well,” Makarkin said. vices to initiate energetic charges,” that which could be or are being deployed — the integration of the annexed re- cle published in 2007. In that period he Kozak does have some experience in were covered by a mere seven licenses. against Ukraine.” gion of Crimea into Russia. was known as the “Cheshire Cat” be- international political affairs. In 2003, Kozak, 55, has been a member of cause of his ever-present smile, Novaya he supervised efforts to settle the con- President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle Gazeta reported in 2003. flict between Moldova and its break- for more than a decade — he was even Kozak has also been described by away self-proclaimed republic of Trans- expected by some to be Putin’s succes- some observers as extremely hard- dnestr. But Belkovsky said that Kozak Minister Proposes Plan to sor in 2008 — and is sometimes de- working, sleeping at times just three to failed to reconcile the two sides because scribed as the president’s handyman four hours a night. he applied excessive pressure on Mol- for such large-scale endeavors. After Putin’s appointment as prime dovan President Vladimir Vorovin and Spur Sluggish Economy “He is Putin’s official for special as- minister in 1999, Kozak followed him Transdnestr leader Igor Smirnov, treat- signments,” said Stanislav Belkovsky, ing them as his subordinates. By Anatoly Medetsky One of them is to start seven new head of the National Strategy Institute, Within Putin’s circle of close associ- THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES projects to build roads and electricity a think tank. “Whenever there is a pri- ates, Kozak has also met with political Economic Development Minister grids — and pay for them out of the ority project, Kozak is sent there. He is With his role as a defeats. In 2004, Putin supposedly Alexei Ulyukayev admitted that pri- Federal Wellbeing Fund, a cache of a man with project-oriented thinking, wanted to appoint him prime minister vate investment in the country has money from energy exports. Ulyukayev not systematic.” project manager, but did not because many of Putin’s al- stalled in the wake of Russia’s absorp- did not say if the new plans include the Belkovsky noted that Kozak was Kozak is seen as lies objected, Belkovsky said. tion of Crimea and offered ways to two projects that the government an- unique in this capacity. “Putin does not “Putin’s entourage does not love make up for the shortfall. nounced previously, which are building have any other such official,” he said. more of a technocrat him but Putin does,” Belkovsky said. A decline in investment has been another beltway in the Moscow region, “It is like having one wife.” When Kozak became the Cabinet’s dogging the economy in past months, farther out than the Moscow Ring Belkovsky said that Putin had than a politician. chief of staff for several months in prompting a general economic slow- Road, and upgrading the Trans-Siberian deemed Kozak’s performance getting 2004, some observers speculated that down. Businesses now seem even more Railroad, drawing a cumulative 300 bil- Sochi ready for the Olympics success- to Moscow, where he was the Cabinet’s he was the gray cardinal behind Prime unsure whether they should commit lion rubles ($8.3 billion) from the fund. ful because he had managed to apply first deputy chief of staff and then chief Minister Mikhail Fradkov and was de money to anything, following an ex- But RBK Daily reported earlier this the necessary pressure on the actors of staff from 1999 to 2000. When Putin facto head of the Cabinet. change of sanctions between Russia month that the seven projects would be involved. became president in 2000, Kozak From 2004 to 2007, Kozak served as and the West, Ulyukayev said. additional. The newspaper said the And while most reviews of the moved to the presidential administra- Putin’s envoy in the Southern Federal “From the point of view of inves- funds would go toward building a rail- Games by athlete delegations and fans tion, working as a deputy chief of staff District, which includes Sochi. He be- tors, it means taking a pause,” he said road to the Elegest coal deposit in Si- were also positive, critics of the Sochi until 2004, and was in charge of admin- came responsible for Olympics prepa- at an annual financial forum organized beria, a nuclear power station in Fin- Olympics allege that billions of dollars istrative reform, which aimed to cut rations after Sochi won its bid in 2007. by the Moscow Stock Exchange. “Peo- land and developing Moscow’s airports, in state funds earmarked for it were red tape and strip government agencies The next year, Kozak was tapped as ple are not ready to make decisions among other projects. stolen in corruption schemes on Ko- of excessive functions. a potential successor to Putin in the about investing insofar as they assess The government has decided it may zak’s watch. The government has de- In his newest role overseeing the in- 2008 presidential race but he eventu- the risks as unacceptable or assess the spend up to 40 percent of the 3 trillion nied any large-scale loss of state funds tegration of Crimea and Sevastopol into ally lost out to Dmitry Medvedev. In- situation as unclear. This affects both rubles now sitting in the wellbeing fund allocated for the Olympics. the Russian state, Kozak will face many stead, he joined the Cabinet as a dep- domestic and foreign investors.” to improve infrastructure. Like several of Putin’s other close of the same kinds of technical chal- uty prime minister under Putin starting Capital flight has intensified and As another measure to backstop the allies, Kozak began his career in Soviet lenges posed by preparations for the in 2008, a position he continues to hold may reach at least $65 billion in the first economy, Ulyukayev touted preferen- intelligence, working in the military’s Sochi Olympics, which required numer- now under Medvedev. quarter, Deputy Economic Develop- tial purchases of Russian-made goods Main Intelligence Directorate, also ous complex construction projects. Kozak is sometimes considered a ment Minister Andrei Klepach said for government contracts. known as GRU, from 1976 to 1978. “He faces the task of streamlining member of the liberal clan of Putin’s earlier this week. The number would The Industry and Trade Ministry, for Putin joined the KGB around the the work of Crimean authorities,” Ilya associates, also known as the “St. Pe- be higher than the $63 billion in capital example, is hammering out a regulation same time, in 1975, after graduating Dzhus, Kozak’s spokesman, said by tersburg lawyers,” which includes sev- flight for all of 2013. to restrict foreign supplies of medical that year from the law department of phone. eral people who used to work at St. Even if the rate of the money out- equipment, according to Deputy Minis- Leningrad State University. Ten years Kozak, who is a native of Ukraine’s Petersburg City Hall, among them flow tempers, Russia could bleed a total ter Sergei Tsyb. State purchases account later, in 1985, Kozak graduated from central Kyrovohrad region, will also Medvedev and Gazprom chief Alexei of $100 billion this year, Ulyukayev said. for 85 percent of the market. the Leningrad State law department focus on measures intended to support Miller. But Belkovsky and Makarkin That would compress the growth of eco- Ulyukayev also proposed focusing as well. the Crimean economy, Dzhus said, in- disagreed, saying he was not a member nomic output to a mere 0.6 percent, he on expanding trade with Asia, which Kozak also worked for the St. Pe- cluding the promotion of tourism at of any particular such group. said at the forum. reached $150 billion last year, a third of tersburg city government at the same Crimean resorts and possibly the cre- Makarkin said the high-profile proj- The government’s current official Russia’s trade with the West. time as Putin. He served as a deputy ation of a special economic zone on the ects entrusted to Kozak demonstrated forecast for economic growth this year In another move, the government head of City Hall’s legal department peninsula. his position simply as a devoted mem- is 2.5 percent but Ulyukayev said the could urge state-controlled companies from 1990 to 1991, as head of the de- Alexei Makarkin, a deputy head of ber of Putin’s team. ministry had proposals to counter the to move forward some of their invest- partment from 1994 to 1998 and as a the Center for Political Technologies, “Putin trusts him,” Makarkin said. downturn. ment plans. deputy governor in 1998. said Kozak will have to oversee the con- “He is one of his men.” 12 ❖ Wednesday, April 2, 2014 BUSINESS www.sptimes.ru | The St. Petersburg Times Pensioners Not Paying For Crimea

THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES Russia’s pension funds will not go to finance expenditures on Crimea, ac- cording to an official involved in the government’s welfare and labor policy, a news report said. “This question was not discussed in relation to Crimea, or in any other context,” the official told Interfax, responding to an earlier report that part of the money contributed on be- half of workers to the federal pension system would go to offset costs of in- corporating the peninsula into the Russian federation. An unidentified official in the Fi- nance Ministry said earlier that the minimum financial support Crimea will need from the federal budget will be between 100 billion and 130 billion ru- bles ($2.7 billion-$3.6 billion), but that in reality the peninsula will receive much more from the anti-crisis fund formed from pension savings, Vedomo- sti reported Mar. 27. The same official added that Rus- sian authorities were working out a

ALEXANDER BELENKY / SPT road map for raising pensions and ser- According to data provided by the St. Petersburg Committee for Tourism, 6.2 million people visited St. Petersburg last year, including 3 million from other countries. vices in Crimea to Russian levels. Esti- mates on how much money the terri- tory will require — perhaps upwards of 243 billion rubles ($6.87 billion) — will be ready in mid-April, he said. The fi- Tourists Turn Away From Petersburg nancial needs of Crimea were previ- ously estimated at 91 billion rubles By Olga Kalashnikova seum of Russian Vodka and other res- “All of us in the city can feel this in St. Petersburg, despite the Crimean ($2.57 billion). and Gus Peters taurants with arrangements with tour impact a little bit,” Habicher told The city of Sevastopol being 1,700 kilo- Following pension reforms that THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES agencies, they have recently had three St. Petersburg Times. “I personally meters south of the city. took place last year, about 240 billion While spring weather has melted to four cancellations a day for dates in hope it will calm down. I’m looking Teimurkhanly dismissed these con- rubles in employer contributions based the ice on the River Neva, leading to May and June, mainly by people from from a distance and what I see on the cerns though, blaming the media’s on workers’ salaries are slated to go to both early start dates for bridge open- Finland. news is that it is very important for all portrayal of the situation as the big- the federal Pension Fund during the ings and the sighting of seals in the Hotels are also feeling the impact. the sides to take a step back and look gest problem. course of 2014. This money will in part river, unfolding events in Ukraine are March was a successful month for the at the situation,” he said. “Tourists do not care about sanc- be used to make payouts to current re- threatening to cool things down. Helvetia Hotel but 65 percent of “St. Petersburg is a great city. Peo- tions, they do not understand them,” tirees. Under the previous incarnation The tourism industry in St. Peters- guests were Russian. Despite warning ple are excited when they visit Russia, said Teimurkhanly. of the pension system, these funds burg is especially beginning to feel signs, Yunis Teimurkhanly, general “And they do not know where would have gone into individual ac- the effects of the situation in Crimea manager of the hotel, is confident that Crimea is. But they all watch TV. If a counts for pensioners after they retire. as potential visitors are changing April will be a prosperous month. disturbing picture is not shown, there Last year’s pension system changes their travel plans due to concerns that “The hotel has not yet felt the out- Although local is no influence on tourism. If the im- led to an increase in the anti-crisis re- the unrest will spread from the Black flow of tourists but we don’t know what companies are ready age is different, if there are move- serve fund, from 100 billion to 343 billion Sea peninsula. it will be like during the high season,” ments in Eastern Ukraine or Crimea, rubles. The government has already Although local companies are Teimurkhanly told The St. Petersburg to greet tourists, the or demonstrations in St. Petersburg spent 100 billion rubles of the money to ready to welcome foreign guests, tour- Times. “There are already alarming and Moscow, this will have an impact establish an anti-crisis fund for small ists are worried about visiting St. Pe- signs. It is difficult to forecast what it situation in Crimea is on the tourism industry,” he added. businesses and the support of single-in- tersburg because of the current politi- will be like further on. If the situation deterring many. W St. Petersburg guests have been dustry towns, and the rest of the money cal situation in Crimea. in Crimea is calm, without any bellicose asking about the situation in the city could go to Crimea without affecting the According to Lyudmila Kudryavt- actions or demonstrations, everything they want to see it, but of course the before confirming a reservation. federal budget, the unidentified ministry seva, director of Baltic Travel Com- will go smoothly.” situation right now and what people “If you hear in the media what’s official told Vedomosti. pany, all three April trips to St. Pe- For the W St. Petersburg Hotel, see in the media does not really help,” going on, of course I think you’re Pension reforms met with sharp tersburg organized by the tour agency May and June are months with high Habicher added. worried,” Habicher said. “But at the criticism last year, with some observers had to be canceled and their sched- numbers of reservations, especially “I had my colleagues here from moment, I haven’t seen that anyone is saying the diversion of pension savings uled June trip has already had half of for the St. Petersburg International London who asked if it is okay to come concerned about coming here.” amounted to robbery. Opposition its participants drop out. Mir Travel Economic Forum starting on May 22. here. I said of course it is okay to come; According to data provided by the leader Alexei Navalny said that for a Agency’s trips to Kiev, Odessa and Mario Habicher, the general manager you will come and feel a warm, wel- St. Petersburg Committee for Tour- worker who makes 40,000 rubles a Dnipropetrovsk have also been hit of the W St. Petersburg Hotel, is con- coming atmosphere,” he said. ism, 6.2 million tourists visited St. Pe- month, 33,000 rubles each year “will be hard by cancellations. cerned about how politics in the south Tourists are frightened that the tersburg in 2013, including 3 million seized and channeled to plug holes in According to the Svoi v Gorode may affect the hospitality industry in problems on the once-Ukrainian pen- foreigners. 573,000 people came to St. the budget stemming from the govern- restaurant group, which owns the Mu- the north. insula might spread and cause trouble Petersburg on cruise ships and ferries. ment’s ineptitude and thievery.” Education & JobOpportunities advertising section Wednesday, April 2, 2014

In-company English Intensives International Communicative School (ICS), is offering a wide range of English intensive courses for corporate training. The specialized packages include: • Survival English • Travel English • Negotiations • Presentations • Telephoning and much more All teachers are native speakers. Contact us at 314-43-22 or [email protected] WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 14 PAGE 15 PAGE 17 PAGE 20-21 Televizor Celebrates 30 Years 2014 Golden Mask Nominees Gulag Tourism Listings

ONE OF THE CITY’S GREATEST CULTURAL ASSETS, THE BORIS EIFMAN DANCE ACADEMY, FACES EXTORTION FROM REGIONAL MEDIA. SEE PAGE 17. YEVGENIA MATVEEVA / EIFMAN BALLET MATVEEVA YEVGENIA Arts&Culture www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 14 Televizor Celebrates 30 Years of Dissent With ‘A Bad End’ in sight, pre-Perestroika rock group continues to grapple with tough issues.

By Sergey Chernov done. The way that the people’s ex- THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES pression of will was organized was totalitarian and fascist. We came elevizor, one of Russia’s across it at rallies in St. Petersburg few politically conscious long ago when anti-fascists were rock bands, will celebrate quicker to be arrested than the fas- its 30th anniversary with a cists. Now, all of a sudden, we see how special concert that is ex- a fascist-like state starts to pull on an Tpected to feature some of the group’s anti-fascist mask. older material and the participation of former members. The show is titled Q: You rallied against Russia’s — with a sad, “self-depreciating annexation of Ukraine on the Field irony” — Doigralis (“A Bad End”). of Mars on March 8. What brought Singer and songwriter Mikhail you there? Borzykin, who formed the band in A: I went there to take a stance. Leningrad in 1984 and found himself There are not many ways to show your in hot water repeatedly over the years position now. I use the Facebook and for such songs as “Get Out of Con- VKontakte [social networks], do inter- trol” and “Your Father Is a Fascist,” views wherever I can, even if it has be- spoke to The St. Petersburg Times come somewhat trite. If such people as ahead of the concert. [Mashina Vremeni’s Andrei] Makar- evich and [Akvarium’s Boris] Greben- Q: What can fans expect of your up- shchikov, who had accommodated coming concert? themselves to and praised the govern- A: To mark the band’s 30th anniver- ment, gave in and started speaking out sary, we are going to perform a set called against it, it means that the situation “A Bad End,” which contains a bit of has became unbearable even for the self-depreciating irony. It’s an occasion moderates. to meet the fans and the musicians who All of us are guilty. We’re guilty of played in the band before. Some of not listening to each other, we’re them will take part in the concert. guilty of living in fear and trying to ad- We will definitely make a state- just. We’ll have to pay for this by be- ment about the current [political] sit- ing declared the “enemies of the peo-

uation, about what is happening in ALEXEI TERESHCHENKO ple” at the very least, while Russians Crimea. We are firmly against the an- Mikhail Borzykin, who formed Televizor in Leningrad in 1984, is no stranger to controversy. will see how the rest of the world nexation of Crimea and all the propa- treats zombies. ganda that pours off the screens of resistance, but I don’t know if that’s an apartment and the opportunity to both Russia and Ukraine are about to Russian television sets. That’s why enough now. The general feeling is do business?” That’s how these peo- go through some hard times. It’s the Q: What do you think about the we’ll have some videos to accompany that we are returning to a country ple explain themselves to their Ukrai- beginning of the end of the current international reaction? certain songs. where the majority — including nian friends in connection with the regime in Russia, I believe. A: I am happy that it has been women and children — will applaud events there; their former friends, I united. There were rumors that Europe Q: Do you think that the televi- the executions of “enemies of people” should say. The lines are drawn every- Q: Do you have friends in would stand aside for the time being, sion set — from which your band or, as they are now called, “national where, within families, within offices. Ukraine? but in the end they all came together. takes its name — has begun to play a traitors.” This is very scary. I couldn’t Relatives, especially older ones, went A: Yes, I have a few. I have a friend There’s a feeling that the world has wo- drastic role in people’s lives again, even have expected such a low level crazy all at once. Apparently, it is a who lives in Balaclava [in Crimea] who ken up regarding Putin and it makes me telling them what they are supposed of consciousness from the majority. recessive Soviet gene. The brains that calls himself Mix Hawk. He’s a musi- happy. We all remember how “friendly” to think? had been waiting for real propaganda cian from St. Petersburg and was an ac- German and American voices always A: The situation is very similar to Q: The authorities are thought to all these years was suddenly activated tive participant of the protests and a seemed to emerge to say “Not every- that under [Soviet leader Leonid] Br- have brought 8,000 to 10,000 to a by receiving a dose of repackaged member of the Yabloko party. He ran thing is so scary, you’re exaggerating,” ezhnev. That’s partly why we called rally in support of the annexation of Soviet-style lies. This is very sad. to Crimea to escape Putin’s regime when we screamed here about the dan- ourselves Televizor — because it in- Crimea in St. Petersburg last month. When you listen to older Germans, some five years ago. He got married, ger of that man. These illusions seem to fluenced the totality of the Soviet What about the rest of the people they also cannot understand how became a priest and tried to find a bit have vanished, and I think that the sanc- people then. The television brain- who were there? quiet, laborious and educated people of peace — and there you are! — it has tions could become more severe, de- washed people less intensely then A: The rest say the same things at became wild animals within two years. all caught up with him. He tried to re- pending on how things develop. Almost than it does now, but over a much lon- the banya, at work or at the gym, on Propaganda works. It works on the sist when they created a human shield everyone has condemned Russia at the ger period and with regularity. That’s the phone and on Facebook. Dozens level of the collective unconscious. in an attempt to save the Ukrainian U.N. God forbid if a war with the use of why we wanted to present our own of my acquaintances have lost their military bases, but events have con- NATO troops breaks out, but I signed a “television,” because we didn’t watch minds over this is already. Not to Q: Could anything as dramatic as spired against him. I am constantly dis- petition requesting that NATO peace- the state one. mention those who were already in- the fall of the Soviet Union occur cussing such things with him. keepers be brought to Ukraine. clined to becoming zombified. They now? I also have some musician friends Q: What is different now, in your have turned from passive supporters A: I don’t believe in absolute, cy- in Kiev, and I correspond with some- Q: The most recent album by Tele- view? of “stability” into aggressive enthusi- clic recurrence of historical events, in one in Kharkov. I’ve been following vizor, “Déjà vu” was released in 2009. A: It has, perhaps, became more asts. I see it among the people I know. historical determinism. People who the events [in Ukraine] very atten- Do you have any new songs and what intense, with propaganda programs They are middle class people, who profess such ideas are more often tively for the past three months, try- are they about? posing as free-form talk shows. It is had time to save money and buy than not proponents of a “swampy” ing to analyze the information, which A: There are a few new songs, presented as an allegedly democratic things. I was horrified when I heard state of social development. That’s makes the lies that have suddenly enough for a new album, but somehow debate, but the supporters of Ukraine the Soviet sentiment, “Why should I why I think that things will be similar, taken root in our compatriots’ heads I can’t seem to record it. I record bit by always fail miserably. This element of dislike this state, if it gave me a car, but different. In any case, it looks like all the more horrific. bit, but we play about ten new songs in pseudo-democracy works much more concert and we’ll perform them at the effectively than one-sided Communist Q: News about Russian interfer- upcoming show. propaganda. ence and the annexation of Crimea They are different; there are love came as a shock after the protesters songs, hard-edged songs and satirical Q: What about people like Dmitry in Kiev seemed to have succeeded, songs. Kiselyov or Arkady Mamontov, who despite more than a hundred protest- We have a new song called “See- present an aggressive unified point of ers being killed at the Maidan protest No-Evil Party.” It was inspired by the view which is thought to be that of camp. How did that make you feel? behavior of people like Makarevich the Kremlin? A: It was a very low thing to do, from five years ago. It’s a bit of a par- A: As for them, they are true Bre- robbing your brother when he is sick ody on songs by our rock heroes. zhnev-type propagandists. I remem- and weak. It is the unbelievable moral We also have songs titled “FSB” ber heaps of such propagandists from downfall of our leadership and its and “Red Snow.” I performed “Red the time of Brezhnev, and we were style. It will not be forgotten. It’s de- Snow” at a protest rally on Ploshchad taught as high-school students to dis- praved to deal with such issues in this Sakharova this past winter on a key- like America by these predatory way. I don’t object to referendums as board. We have a lot of material, but types. They are just the next genera- such, including that over Crimea join- the recording process goes slowly. We tion. The model is the same, but has ing Russia. But a referendum should are now somewhat less motivated to been updated somewhat. The worst be held after a preparation period, in release finalized studio versions, we thing is that it works. I thought people an atmosphere of free discussion, simply play them in concert as soon as had much stronger immunity against with a free media. The way it was they are written. this aggressive, Soviet-style rhetoric. done was more like a dirty trick. It Apparently, if you don’t maintain this can’t be forgiven or justified. All Televizor will perform at 7 p.m. on immunity all the time, the brain stops those shouts that “Crimea is Russian Sunday, Apr. 6 at Kosmonavt, 24 Bron-

resisting and people become zombies. ALEXEI TERESHCHENKO “do not justify the hypocrisy, lies and nitskaya Ulitsa. M. Tekhnologichesky To state one’s position is one form of Televizor will be joined by past band members at their 30th anniversary concert. barbarism of the way in which it was Institut. Tel. 303 3333. www.sptimes.ru ARTS & CULTURE Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 15 Petersburg Set For Golden Mask Wins With a number of productions up for Golden Mask awards, St. Petersburg theaters count on recognition.

By John Freedman drei Afonin with the Krug-II studio and THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES the Goethe Institute in Moscow. It is based on the writings of Russian authors tarting as merely a Moscow facing mental or psychological chal- awards ceremony in 1995, lenges, and it features performances by The Golden Mask Festival actors with physical challenges working quickly expanded into a in tandem with professional performers. showcase for all of Russian It plays Apr. 3 and 4 at the Playwright Stheater. In recent years it has grown so and Director Center. much bigger that it now includes sev- Productions from seven regional eral offshoot festivals that feature new centers are also among the festival en- writing, productions from abroad and tries. Some are making rare appear- homegrown Russian shows of interest ances, such as the Kamal Theater of which, for one reason or another, were Kazan, with its production of Jon not nominated for awards. Fosse’s “A Summer Day,” about a In the early years, the Golden Mask woman whose husband went to sea and Festival would run for about two weeks. never came back, and the Savin Theater These days, it is spread out over almost of Lysva, with Georgy Nikolayev’s three months and even that doesn’t “Cloud Heaven,” about what it takes to come close to exhausting its offerings. live in Russia today. The Golden Mask is also now a produc- Several of the regional theaters are tion company and touring organization, perennial guests at Golden Mask, includ- which sets up festivals throughout Rus- ing the Volkov Theater of Yaroslavl sia and in neighboring countries. (“The House of Bernarda Alba”), For the average theatergoer, how- Krasny Fakel of Novosibirsk (“Onegin”),

ever, Golden Mask still means those KUCHARINA TATYANA and the Krasnoyarsk Theater Yunogo three weeks, give or take a few days, in The Volkov Drama Theater will present a production of ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ at the Golden Mask festival. Zritelya (“The Snow Queen”). The late March and the first half of April, Volkov Theater, headed by director when Russia’s theaters and theater art- — Lev Dodin and Yury Butusov — Fokin is the only one with direct ties to Alexandrovsky and Alexander Yevgeny Marcelli, was last year’s winner ists compete for one or more awards each have two nominations. the first Golden Mask awards program in Vartanov, whose production of Mark of best large-scale production. offered in 34 categories. This year the Dodin, of the world-famous Maly 1995. His now-famous production of “A Ravenhill’s “Shoot/Get Treasure/Re- Not surprisingly, Moscow puts forth winners will be announced at a predict- Drama Theater in St. Petersburg, will Hotel Room in the Town of N,” also cre- peat” for the Post Theater of St. Peters- the largest number of nominated shows, ably flashy closing ceremony on Apr. stage two recent works in Moscow. His ated with Bakshi, was named the first- burg is one of six nominees in the Ex- with nine. Some are sure to be front- 18 at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater. renditions of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy ever Golden Mask best production. periment competition. “Shoot/Get Trea- runners, such as “Brothers” from the Currently, the competition segment of the People” and Friedrich Schiller’s In all, St. Petersburg has six offer- sure,” which runs six hours and is prob- Gogol Center, “Eugene Onegin” from of the festival is finally getting underway “Love and Intrigue” play at Moscow’s ings among the total of 22 shows com- ably best described as a theatrical instal- the Vakhtangov Theater and “The in earnest. Many of the musical and Maly Theater between Apr. 8 and 12. peting for honors among dramatic lation, plays Apr. 5 and 6 at the Moscow Good Person of Setzuan” from the dance theaters have already presented “Love and Intrigue,” incidentally, is one works in two categories — large-scale Museum of Contemporary Art. Pushkin Theater. Each of these shows their offerings in the capital — it is vir- of the most nominated shows, garnering and small-scale works. Also vying for awards in the Experi- has topped several best-of lists since tually impossible in this day and age to a total of six potential nods, including Other entries from Russia’s North- ment category are: “Akyn Opera” from they — as all other shows involved in schedule so many huge productions in two best actress nominees. ern capital include Butusov’s “Macbeth. Moscow’s Teatr.doc; “Alice and the the Golden Mask 2014 — premiered one short period of time — but the vast Also from St. Petersburg is Valery Cinema” for the Lensovet Theater, State” a joint production of the Meyer- during the 2012 to 2013 season. majority of nominees in the drama and Fokin’s production of “Liturgy Zero,” Yury Kviatkovsky’s “A Doll House” for hold Center and Liquid Theater; “A May Rimas Tuminas’s “Onegin” at the puppet categories are still to come. created for the Alexandrinsky Theater. Priyut Komedianta, and Dmitry Volko- Night” from the Moscow Puppet The- Vakhtangov ties Dodin’s “Love and In- The sheer number of nominees this This dramatization of Fyodor Dosto- strelov’s “Delhi Dance” for TYuZ. ater; “While You Are Here” from Liquid trigue” as one of two elite shows receiv- year is breathtaking. For example, 20 evsky’s novella “The Gambler” is another Volkostrelov, who grabbed a special Theater; and “Distant Closeness” from ing a hefty six nominations out of a pos- directors have been nominated for the in a long line of works that the director jury prize at last year’s Golden Mask, the Playwright and Director Center. sible eight categories. best director award. Actually, there are has created with composer Alexander figures in another category as well. He is “Distant Closeness” is a project Four shows pulled down four nomi- 22 nominations because two directors Bakshi. Of all the current nominees, one of three directors, including Semyon mounted by Gerd Hartmann and An- nations each — Alexei Borodin’s pro- duction of Eugene O’Neill’s “Mourning Becomes Electra” at the National Youth Theater; Anatoly Ledukhovsky’s “Vassa,” an interpretation of a play by Maxim Gorky at the Vedogon Theater in the Moscow suburb of Zelenogorsk; Butusov’s staging of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Good Person of Setzuan”; and Volkostrelov’s “Delhi Dance,” based on a play by Ivan Vyrypayev. But this only scratches the surface of what Golden Mask has on tap. Surely it is now bigger than it has ever been be- fore. We’ll know whether that means “better,” too, come Apr. 18.

The Golden Mask Festival runs through Apr. 17 at various venues around Moscow For more information,

MALY DRAMA THEATER / MDT DRAMA THEATER MALY ALEXANDRINSKY THEATER visit www.goldenmask.ru. Lev Dodin’s production of Schiller’s ‘Love and Intrigue’ has six nominations. Valery Fokin’s ‘Liturgy Zero’ is based on Dostoevsky’s novella ‘The Gambler.’ the word’s worth Lost in Lovely Looks By Michele A. Berdy someone in a particular way. Любо- off on the ice, he calls to his mother: Заглядеться is another way of look- And then there is засмотреться, ваться is usually translated as “to ad- Любуйся! This is obviously not going to ing. It means to get carried away look- almost a synonym of заглядеться. It Любоваться: to look on with delight mire,” but the unusual bit is that the ad- be translated as “Admire me!” When ing at something or someone, to get lost most often has the sense of getting lost miration is visual. It means to look at little Mikey does the same thing, he in visual contemplation. Один газету in visual contemplation. This is the s spring slides into St. something and admire it, experience aes- would probably just call out, “Watch читал, другой в окно смотрел, а тре- verb to use when you are so fascinated Petersburg and the thetic or other pleasure from it. The me!” It is clear that both Mom and мама тий загляделся на луну и никак не мог by what you are looking at that a brass parks will soon go from phrase “я любовался параолимпийским are expected to clap their hands and coo прервать сеанс медитации (One of band could march through your flat boring black-and-white чемпионом” means “I looked at the Par- over their progeny’s skill on the ice. them read the newspaper, the other and you would not notice. И вот си- to blazing Technicolor, alympic athlete with admiration.” To say For grammar lovers out there, любо- looked out the window and the third дишь, смотришь и до того засмот- Ait is a good time to look at how Rus- that I admire him in general, I would use ваться uses the instrumental case: она gazed upon the moon and got lost in ришься, что утеряешь всякое пред- sians look at things. When they look another verb, like восхищаться. любовалась им (she loved looking at meditation). ставление о часах. (There you sit and at things, they fall in love with them, This can sometimes lead to difficul- him), but dictionaries note любоваться Заглядеться can also mean to find look, and you get so caught up in what they become fascinated, and they get ties in translation, and you have to be a на plus the accusative case as a collo- someone attractive, to enjoy looking at you are looking at that you lose any so caught up in what they are looking bit creative. For example: Каждый раз, quial variation. Either way, when любо- someone. Женщина может любить sense of time). at that they forget where they are. когда он приходил, я любовалась на его ваться is applied to oneself, it usually мужа, а может и вовсе его не любить, Lovely. This week, I fell in love with three руки (Every time that he came over, I registers as self-centered, if not outright но пусть только этот муж попробует Russian verbs that do not have easy loved to look at his hands). self-obsessed. Она стояла перед зерка- заглядеться на другую женщину! (A Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based equivalents in English: любоваться, In other cases, admiration is clear, лом и любовалась собой (she stood in woman might love her husband, or she translator and interpreter, is the author заглядеться, and засмотреться, all even when you do not spell it out. When front of the mirror and admired herself) might not love him at all, but just let of ‘The Russian Word’s Worth’ (Glas), of which mean to look at something or little Sasha puts on his skates and takes is OK only in small doses. him try to look at another woman!) a collection of her columns. 16 ❖ Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ARTS & CULTURE www.sptimes.ru Chef Aaron Stott: ‘We Have More Freedom!’ After training in Paris, Aaron Stott landed in Russia to helm the kitchen at Buddha Bar St. Petersburg.

Combined Reports Q: But you can help elevate taste.... spring and we will only get fresh local THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES A: To do this you need to have more fruits and vegetables in the summer. people that have had the opportunity to Good tomatoes, for example, we only he chef at Buddha Bar St. travel, to visit good restaurants and par- have in summer and we look forward to Petersburg, Aaron Stott, ticipate in master classes with chefs. Set them. In the meantime, we bring most once specialized in Thai menus where you have an opportunity to of the fruit and vegetables we use from cuisine, using a variety of try several dishes can help form an idea countries with warmer climates. spicy flavors. Now, how- about this or that cuisine. The more you ever,T he prefers that the natural flavor try, the more you understand the differ- Q: What are the most interesting of the ingredients he works with shine ence between good and bad. The younger dishes on the spring menu? through. Stott recently returned from generation is moving in this direction. A: Chicken soup with coconut milk, Paris, where he presented his dishes at fish sauce and lime juice. It’s not as a festival of Pan-Asian cuisine at Bud- Q: Does the menu at Buddha Bar sharp as tom yam and is very light and dha Bar Paris. St. Petersburg differ from the other refreshing. A new duck soup from a restaurants of the brand? special recipe: The duck is steeped for Q: Did you create any new dishes es- A: We have more freedom to express three days in a special marinade before pecially for Paris? ourselves. You can compare the charac- it is ready to be cooked. Shiitake mush- A: No, the dishes I presented are ter of Buddha Bar St. Petersburg to an rooms, ginger, soy sauce and lettuce fixed menu items at Buddha Bar St. individual’s signature. The restaurant are added to the broth. We have also Petersburg. I chose them because they menu offers more than 90 dishes, not given a South American Salmon cevi- allow visitors to become acquainted counting sushi and desserts! Thirty per- che an Asian twist by adding a touch of with the basic aesthetics of the restau- cent of the menu is updated every three Japanese yuzu. And, of course, we rant in St. Petersburg, and to under- to four months, and we introduce com- have Wagyu beef with truffle sauce and stand the philosophy of our establish- pletely new dishes and offer new tastes grilled asparagus. We import the meat ment. They are all dishes which are and flavors. From Apr. 23 to 26, Maria from Australia, where they have some found only in St. Petersburg. Santos, the chef from Buddha Bar Ma- of the best pasture in the world. The I made seared scallops with sweet nila, will be with us. She will bring a set meat is of the highest quality. soy and dried Enoki mushrooms, tuna of interesting dishes, including steak poke with avocado; beef tataki with tartare with wasabi, breast of duck with Q: And how do you feel about Rus- pear; sake steamed fish with a mix of lime cream, foie gras with tamarind sian cuisine? mushrooms and a soy cream sauce, and sauce, Filipino potato with lemongrass, A: I make borscht with smoked roasted chicken with Dragon sauce. and cardamom and chocolate pastila, pork that gives it a creamy, sweet taste. For the desserts, I made a crème among others I love pickles, pelmeni... If you live in brûlée with black sesame and a jas- Russia, you should understand and mine-apricot sauce, and a green tea Q: Is this a one-off event, or do love the local cuisine. It is full of his- fondant with coconut sorbet. I tried to these exchanges occur regularly? tory. I like to eat Russian food and offer different flavor options: You can A: Despite the fact that the Buddha drink Russian vodka. Not every week,

start with a charcuterie plate, for ex- DENIS GULYAEV Bar restaurants are franchises — that is, of course, but when I do I feel happy! ample, then choose fish for the main Chef Stott seems a perfect fit for the artwork displayed at his restaurant. each has a different owner — they all course, and vice versa. share a common philosophy and are A: Quite the contrary. Otherwise, color is a sign of poor quality. But a part of a single entity. Before the open- Q: How popular is Pan-Asian neither Buddha Bar St. Petersburg, nor tuna consists of three parts: One of ing of Buddha Bar St. Petersburg, I was cuisine? any of the other 15 restaurants around them is ruby red but the most expen- an intern at Buddha Bar Paris to prove A: For the many Russians who have the world, would deserve the love and sive part is actually pale yellow. And if that I had the right to occupy the posi- never been to Asia, and have not had respect of their guests. We import our we do not mention this, or not show an tion of chef at one of the establishments the chance to try original Pan-Asian seafood from Spain and keep it at a example, the perception of dishes and of a world famous brand. This practice cuisine, it can be quite difficult to under- temperature of minus 70-80 degrees the cuisine will be distorted. allows us to maintain the tradition of stand the features of this food. There- Celsius. This method allows us to pre- Buddha Bar and protect the brand. The fore, it is still something new in Russia. serve the fish without changing the mo- Q: Is your pan-Asian cuisine exchange of experience is always good. lecular structure, which is in destroyed adapted to Russian tastes? And the guests of one restaurant can Q: But there are plenty of Japanese by conventional freezing. In our case, A: A chef is always required to love the dishes from another. restaurants in St. Petersburg... the fish retains an excellent taste and adapt to local tastes, and local ingredi- A: Due to the use of poor quality color. After all, the philosophy of the ents. Wherever you work, wherever Q: What do you have planned for din- ingredients, these restaurants give restaurant is not only based on a you go, you need to listen to other ers in St. Petersburg in the near future? wrong idea about Japanese cuisine. unique music concept, but primarily on people. I know that Russians don’t A: More bright colors, creamy notes You should see the reaction of those using the highest quality ingredients in like it when restaurants serve beets, and lighter dishes. We want spring to Japanese who have tried these “mas- the kitchen. potatoes or pork. These are, in their extend into the restaurant and onto the terpieces.” When a person eats frozen opinion, inexpensive ingredients that plate. However, in Russia to create a tuna, he may not like it because it is im- Q: Does color matter? are received poorly when they appear spring menu is a rather difficult task as possible to appreciate the true splen- A: Of course! And knowledge of on the menus of fine restaurants. At it’s not very easy to get fresh, spring in- dor of tuna. In Russia, almost all tuna the characteristics of a particular fish is the same time, diners may not be gredients. Judge for yourself: In London

is frozen. also part of gastronomic culture. Most ready to discover something new yet it is now 17 degrees Celsius and in Paris PETERSBURG BUDDHA BAR ST. people, for example, think that tuna in terms of taste; the majority still pre- it’s 16. Here in St. Petersburg it is just Chef Aaron Stott’s Wagyu beef Q: Do you also use frozen fish? should always be red and any other fer Olivier salad. above zero. They already are enjoying with truffle sauce and asparagus. THE DISH Birreria: Italian Sportsmanship

Birreria in France, Italy and Spain, we were from the Emilia-Romagna region of instead is more of a sports hall. Bold Despite the spicy warning, the 19 Vladimirsky Prospekt told upon ordering that wine was actu- Italy (270 rubles, $6.45). To carry on red leather seats run down the mid- pepperoni pizza had no spice but all Tel. 943 6004 ally not available yet. Next week it will through, we ordered a spicy pepperoni dle, flat screen televisions are was not lost as the homemade base Everyday: noon to 2 a.m though, we were assured. Strike two. pizza (390 rubles, $10.95) and sliced- mounted on the walls and the ceiling was thin, light and chewy. The steak Lunch for two with alcohol, 2,360 rubles Turning to a 70-plus beer list with bot- steak tagliata (690 rubles, $19.36) and vents and ducts have been left ex- was also a light, enjoyable dish but for ($66) tles from Belgium, Germany , Czech then reclined into the cocoon of our posed with just a coat of black paint. the price, ordering more entrees may Republic, Italy, England and even Ja- overly large, black leather chairs. In Perhaps at night, with dimmed light- be a better option. By Lana Matafonov pan, we ordered a Peroni (190 rubles, fact, these chairs are so engulfing that ing and the impressive view, the room With a narrow selection for dessert, THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES $5.30) and upon the recommendation they create an almost protective barrier would feel more intimate, but during we ordered the Venice-style frittelli, a Had we been operating on a “three of the waitress, Blanche de Namur, a around your personal space — a good the day the space feels large and type of warm donught served with strikes and you’re out” rule, new Ital- light Belgian beer with a touch of spice or bad thing, depending on the kind of empty, with the only warmth coming cream (190 rubles, $5.33) which turned ian gastropub Birreria was fast head- (200 rubles, $5.60). With beer in hand, intimacy you are looking for with your from the friendly young wait staff. out to be delightfully airy puffs of pastry ing for a strike out within the first ten our mood softened, canceling out any dining partner. With beer as the main attraction dough and when filled with the fresh minutes of our arrival. Greeted with possible strike three. The Italian leather theme runs here, the food takes second place and is cream they were served alongside, was a warm smiles, we were informed that While the food menu is not as ex- strong throughout the restaurant — a more of a complement. The tastiest dish satisfying way to end the average meal. although the restaurant opened last tensive as the beer, it covers the classics rebellion against the original art-deco ended up being the popcorn-sized fried With its prime location and beer week, we could only pay by cash. from the Italian cuisine with a small se- style of the Vladimirsky Passage ravioli — delivering on crunch without selection, Birreria has plenty of po- Credit cards will soon be accepted we lection of risotto, pasta and pizza avail- building that houses the venue. De- the oiliness and perfect with the beer. tential to become a popular destina- were assured. Strike one. able as well as the addition of burgers spite the romantic arched windows However the allure of ordering Italian tion for those wanting a comfortable Then after sitting down and mull- and grilled dishes. To start, we ordered that line the back wall and overlook street food, was disappointing and setting to watch a game. Perhaps with ing over a wine from an extensive list, fried ravioli with veal (270 rubles, $7.58) the grand 18th-century Vladimirs- ended up resembling more of a cheese time, the kitchen will hit a home run boasting labels from all the key regions and piadina romagnola, a street food kaya Church, the restaurant’s interior toasty. Not unsatisfying, just bland. with its dishes too. www.sptimes.ru ARTS & CULTURE Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 17 Media Attempts To Extort Academy There are plenty of ways to describe what most of the country’s media do, but journalism is rarely one of them.

By Galina Stolyarova vertising. They offer those who are THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES looking for coverage an amount for pay-as-you-go deals. Any firm or in- t’s well-known that the Krem- dividual suggesting a news story lin has tightened its grip on the should expect to compensate a pa- dissemination of all news, to per’s publishers for the time, effort, the point that it’s questionable and any expenses incurred in prepar- whether any objective journal- ing reports about them. The scale of ismI has survived in Russia. prices suggested to the ballet acad- The largest Moscow-based news emy ranged from 50,000 to 200,000 outlets have become — or are finally rubles ($1,400 to $2,800) for a feature becoming — propaganda machines, report, whether in a newspaper or and reporters and editors often de- magazine or on television. bate among themselves whether Because the St. Petersburg acad-

DMITRY MOTTL / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS MOTTL DMITRY working for such places can really be emy is a state-sponsored institution These columns are believed to be from a 6th-century synagogue that once stood in the city built by Dorian Greeks. called journalism. and some of the media involved in But what about outside Moscow the conflict were also state-funded, and St. Petersburg, in those media the school’s press officer eventually outlets not directly associated with resorted to what is described in Rus- the authorities? In March, some light sia as “administrative resources” to UN Steps In to Save Sites was thrown on this topic by a row that solve the problem. broke out among several regional One of the media outlets demand- media outlets and a St. Petersburg ing payment was an Omsk affiliate of UNESCO now must work with Russia to protect ancient city. ballet company. The disagreement a national channel. The press secre- exposed some ugly aspects of the me- tary eventually contacted the officials By D. Garrison Golubock that it would be premature to discuss tect cultural heritage sites in Crimea, dia in the regions and provided some in Moscow ultimately responsible for THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES UNESCO World Heritage sites in saying that Ukrainian researchers and insight into how they operate. funding the TV station, and the Omsk Crimea prior to the 38th session of the preservationists had lost access to the Six months ago, the Boris Eifman channel agreed to send a team to St. he Culture Ministry will UNESCO World Heritage Committee, sites. The turmoil in Ukraine surround- Ballet opened an academy to train Petersburg to film a piece about the consult with the Foreign which will take place in Qatar in June. ing the collapse of the government and dancers, the first new professional ballet academy without any money Ministry’s branch of the Crimea, which has settlements dat- ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych ballet school in Russia since the changing hands. UNESCO secretariat to ing back to the 7th century B.C., has a has already seen damage done to muse- downfall of the Soviet Union. “Basically, what I said was that the discuss the best way to pro- rich cultural heritage and many well- ums in Kiev, yet so far the transition in Hoping to lure the best talent to academy accepts pupils from across tectT the UNESCO heritage sites in preserved historic structures and mon- government in Crimea appears to have auditions later this spring, the school Russia, that it’s all free, and that it’s Crimea during the ongoing governmen- uments. At present, only one Crimean remained orderly, with no looting of sought to promote itself in the re- about equal opportunities. And it is tal transition, RIA Novosti reported. site is included on the official UNESCO cultural sites. gions. Its press office invited jour- really shameful that media managers The statement was in response to ap- World Heritage List, the ruins of the The question remains as to what nalists from regional newspapers, should demand money for writing peals made by the Ukrainian govern- Greek colony of Chersonese in the will happen with Crimea’s many impor- magazines and TV stations to visit about it,” the press officer said. ment to UNESCO that cultural sites in outskirts of Sevastopol. tant cultural sites under the new order. St Petersburg and write about the For a newspaper or TV station to Crimea be protected during the ongoing However, Ukraine nominated a Crimea’s most important site, the Cher- academy. Their travel and hotel ex- reject a story as not newsworthy is turmoil and transition in government. number of other Crimean sites to the sonese ruins, was already considered to penses would be covered. understandable. But turning news Vladimir Tsvetnov, director of the list prior to Crimea’s secession, includ- be under threat, with new vacation de- Then the academy staff got a coverage into a commercial enter- Culture Ministry’s department of cul- ing the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai, velopments being constructed peril- shock: More than half the outlets prise undermines trust in the media tural preservation, said that “Crimea is the Genoese fortress in Sudak and the ously close to archaeological digs and contacted demanded money in return and can only discredit the journalis- a part of Russia, and all monuments will Crimean cave towns of Mangup-Kale tourists allowed to roam the site with for publishing or broadcasting any tic profession. be preserved according to 73-FZ [the and Esti-Kermen. few restrictions. material about the new school. The regional journalists and edi- federal law regulating objects of cultural On Mar. 24, the Ukrainian Culture While Russia has more resources to One journalist from Rostov made tors offered their own excuses for heritage],” However, Tsvetnov added Ministry appealed to UNESCO to pro- devote to cultural preservation and things plain. their demands. more experience working with “I am embarrassed to say this, “Times are hard today. In better UNESCO sites — Russia has 25 to but our financial situation is rather times we could afford to write about Ukraine’s seven — Russia also lacks a tough, and we could only run it on a anything we ourselves wanted to but perfect track record with cultural preser- commercial basis,” the reporter things are different today,” wrote the vation — historic buildings in downtown wrote in an email. journalist from Perm. “Our publish- Moscow are under significant threat At another paper in Omsk the re- ers are tough about commercializa- from redevelopment and even Russia’s sponse was much less polite: “I know tion and we writers support them. oldest UNESCO heritage site, the 5th- you pay all the others, so don’t think Otherwise, our pay would be delayed century citadel of Derbent in the repub- we’re stupid.” — or we wouldn’t get paid at all. lic of Dagestan, was robbed in 2013 and The ballet school’s press officer That’s not what we want.” damaged by a flood in 2012. resisted, arguing that the academy is In a telephone conversation, the While instability is rarely good for a nonprofit institution with no budget editor of a newspaper in Rostov said cultural heritage, the current change of for bribes. But the Omsk editor even financially hard-pressed or- government does raise the possibility would not budge. phanages have to pay TV stations to of some improvement — if the Russian “In my understanding, the open- get coverage of their problems into annexation does bring the anticipated ing of the first state-run ballet train- news reports. flood of government subsidies from ing institution in post-Soviet Russia, There appears to be neither re- Moscow, the local government might which is one of the world’s leading morse nor any real embarrassment have more resources available for cul- ballet destinations, is a good enough among most journalists over these tural preservation. For now, at least the news peg. Just like, for example, pre- “paid news” practices. On the con-

ALEXXX1979 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ALEXXX1979 construction of tourist condos has tem- mieres in theaters,” the flabbergasted trary, more junior writers seem eager The ancient, excavated city of Chersonese is a UNESCO Heritage site. porarily halted near Chersonese. press officer told The St. Petersburg to pick up the bargaining skills of Times. “After all, theater companies their bosses. don’t pay reviewers for publishing The truth is that there is not much their pieces about new shows!” difference between the Moscow- One journalist from Perm bluntly based propaganda sheets and the re- Sakha Wants to See Tourists in Gulags asked the academy, “Who is going to gional papers that will carry out “re- cover our expenses, the costs of the porting” on a payment-only basis. THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES the Dalstroi, Yanstroi, and Senduchen- ing Magadan Oblast was home to con- paper and the print?” The only distinction is that in Moscow sky Gulags. siderably more. Of the Sakha camps, The further such exchanges there is just one ultimate client — the he republic of Sakha’s nu- Gulag, an acronym referring to the the Dalstroi Gulag was among the larg- went, the more ridiculous the argu- state — and in the provinces there are merous Gulag camps, built government body that administered est: Between 1932 and 1954, 859,911 ments advanced by the regional a number of smaller ones. In reality, in the Soviet period and the Soviet system of prison camps, de- prisoners entered the camp, 121,256 of journalists became. these publications serve only the cli- now abandoned, could in scribes a type of forced labor camp whom died during their time there. “Someone needs to compensate ent that pays their wages and printing the future become “a post- used to hold criminals and political While some former Gulags have my bosses for my work on this mate- costs — certainly not the reader. cardT for attracting tourists,” Sakha re- prisoners from 1934-60. Typically lo- been adapted for use as prisons, many rial. I’ll spend time on it and will not public tourism minister Yekaterina cated in remote regions, Gulags put of them now stand empty. Kormilit- be able to do the local stuff,” one This article first appeared at Transi- Kormilitsyna said, Colta.ru reported. prisoners to work at tasks like mining, syna noted that the remote location of journalist complained. tions Online, an award-winning ana- A meeting of the Sakha republic’s logging and basic manufacturing. the republic of Sakha’s Gulags put According to this logic, the Rus- lytical online magazine covering East- tourism ministry last week recom- According to maps available from them in the midst of pristine wilder- sian media no longer makes their ern Europe and CIS countries, at mended that the republic take steps to Memorial, the republic of Sakha was ness and offered the possibility for de- money from sales or even from ad- www.tol.org construct tourist camps at the sites of home to 13 Gulags, while the neighbor- veloping ecotourism. Travel www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 18 ALEXANDER STROKIN / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ALEXANDER STROKIN Derived from the word myshka, the Russian word for mouse, legend has it that Myshkin was named after a mouse who saved the life of a prince while he was resting on one of the banks of the Volga River. Myshkin: A Cozy Place to Burrow By Yekaterina Karasyova farther down the street, a miller’s wife used to believe that valenki could be children. A tour guide can be arranged the hotel early and follow up on your THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES ushers you into her house to treat you used for, including fighting a hang- for 1,000 rubles ($28.30) per group. reservation ahead of the trip. Despite to some tea and traditional Russian over, rheumatism and even choosing a Myshkin’s tourist-friendly atmosphere, YSHKIN, Yaroslavl blini. And of course human-sized mice life partner. At the end of the visit, WHERE TO STAY blunders can occur and you might ar- region — While Rome can be seen walking around the town, you can purchase a pair of the trade- When it comes to booking a hotel in rive to find that your room is also regis- might have been saved ready to play with you and give you mark Russian boots. Myshkin, the golden rule is to contact tered under another visitor’s name. by geese, this tiny useful advice. town in the central WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE TWO MYaroslavl region owes its fame and WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE TWO DAYS prosperity to a small mouse. HOURS The Museum of Wooden Architecture The place name Myshkin is derived Whatever man-made attractions might (21 Ulitsa Uglichskaya; +7 485 442 from “myshka” — the Russian word impress you in Myshkin, the humble 1592; 2 79 73; myshgorod.com/muz_ for the small rodent. Legend has it that beauty of its nature remains its biggest sky.html) features authentic, centuries- the animal was glorified in the name of asset. The town is located on the high old buildings, including peasants’ huts, the town after it saved the life of a bank of the enormous Volga River — a a blacksmith’s shop and a pottery stu- prince who was resting on one of the great advantage for the fans of land- dio. Make sure you book a full tour in banks of the Volga River. The prince, scapes and views. Take a stroll down advance so you can also take a class in Fyodor Mikhailovich Mstislavsky, the the Volga embankment with your cam- traditional smithery and pottery. Al- founder of one of Russia’s most influ- era ready. To get the best vantage though the training does not require a ential families in the 15th century, was point, it is worth climbing the 15-meter- lot of verbal explanation, you might awoken by the mouse darting across high bell tower of the Assumption Ca- want to take an interpreter along to his face. Angered at first, the prince thedral (Uspenskaya Ploshchad; +7 participate in all the interactive pro- then realized that the mouse had saved 485 442 1167) just a short walk away grams the town provides. him from a snake that had been creep- from the embankment. You might be Also stop by Myshkin’s Folk Mu- ing toward him as he slept. asked for a small fee to go up. seum, which comprises indoor and out- Centuries later, the mouse became The cathedral itself is worth a short door exhibitions (19 and 21 Ulitsa Ug- the symbol of a revival in the town tour, too. It is the result of a joint effort lichskaya; +7 485 442 1592; 2 79 73; e- when local authorities decided to use of the Italian architect Johannes Man- mail: [email protected]). The its unusual name to attract tourists. frini and a group of Russian artists complex includes a museum of the The international Festival of the headed by serf Timofei Medvedev who town’s history, a tribute to river pilots Mouse held in 1996 marked the start of painted the interior. The construction and the house museum of the well- a booming local tourism industry. of the church, which began in 1805 and known vodka producer Pyotr Smirnov. Today, Myshkin with a population was sponsored by Myshkin residents, Treat yourself to a trip to Mar- of just under 6,000, boasts the world’s did not stop even during Russia’s fight tynovo, a village some 30 kilometers only Museum of the Mouse along with against Napoleon in 1812. from Myshkin. It is home to an ethno- 29 other tourist attractions, eight hotels Near the cathedral is the Russkiye graphic museum (27 Ulitsa Muzeynaya; and an increasing number of visitors Valenki Museum (Russian Felt Boots +7 485 443 2736, +7 906 636 6090; from Russia and abroad. In 2012, Museum, 18a Ulitsa Nikolskaya; +7 katskari.com) describing the everyday 165,000 tourists visited the town, or 485 442 8135, 2 27 77). The museum is life of Russian peasants in the 19th cen- 15,000 more compared to two years one of Myshkin’s absolute hits. It tury. Museum guides are knowledge- earlier, according to a 2013 report by showcases a huge collection of tradi- able and exceptionally polite, allowing local officials. tional handmade winter boots as well you to touch all the objects. Guests are Unemployment is hardly an issue as toys and accessories made of felt. treated to traditional Russian meals here. The population is involved in With summer models, models trimmed cooked in a Russian stove including tourism and they seem to never run out with fur, boots decorated with colorful pies, sour cabbage soup (shchi), pel- of ideas. You can see a blacksmith embroidery, the museum’s rich arsenal meni, blini and pickles. The entrance

pounding out a needle that is supposed will stir your imagination. You can fee with dinner included is 360 rubles / FLICKR FABREGA JORDI JOAN to protect you from black magic. A bit learn the many things that Russians for adults ($10.18) and 340 ($9.62) for Human-sized mice roam the streets of Myshkin giving helpful advice to visitors. Wednesday, April 2, 2014 TRAVEL www.sptimes.ru | The St. Petersburg Times ❖ 19 BASHINSKY / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Get your camera ready as you take a stroll down the Volga embankment.

vincial town shines through the flashy tion Cathedral dominates the main costumes, billboards and colorful, Uspenskaya Ploshchad and offers a newly constructed buildings. vivid example of classicism. Back in pre-revolutionary times, The 18th-century Nikolsky Cathe- Myshkin was a town of merchants and dral is officially considered to be older marine pilots who were considered the than the town itself. The church was best on the Volga. The town had its turned into a Soviet Dom Kultury, or own typography, a theater, a weather House of Culture, to host cultural station and a rich library — something events in 1934 and a discotheque oper- that locals thought was enough to jus- ating within its walls only closed in tify their statement that the only differ- 2003 when the site was returned to the

ALEXANDER FILYUTA / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ALEXANDER FILYUTA ence between Moscow and Myshkin is Russian Orthodox Church. Along the quiet streets of Myshkin, one can discover a number of traditional and well-preserved wooden buildings. that Myshkin lies on six instead of seven hills. HOW TO GET THERE The two best choices in Myshkin are val, or Semeynyi Krug, designed to Historians say that even back in The easiest way to get to Myshkin is to ANATOLY the three-star hotels Summit and Ko- promote family traditions and authen- those times Myshkin was distinguished go from Moscow, as there is no direct KURITSYN, shkin Dom, which charge from 1,600 to tic Russian culture. The festival offers for a population that managed to take route from St. Petersburg. Return Head of the 2,400 rubles ($45 to $67.40) a night. classes on long-forgotten skills such as its future into its own hands and con- flights to Moscow start from 3,230 ru- Myshkin The Summit Hotel (7 Ulitsa Uglichs- flax breaking, spanning and metal tribute to an overall spirit of entrepre- bles ($90.70), while return tickets by municipal kaya; +7 485 442 2755, 2 11 20, 2 14 77; smelting, as well as hobbies like mak- neurship and success. train start from 2,164 rubles ($60.75). district s-otel.ru) is situated on the Volga River, ing wicker, sewing, weaving, dancing, One such example is Pyotr Smirnov, From Moscow, you can go by car right by the quay, and provides a grand archery and rifle shooting. Organizers the founder of the famous Smirnoff with the 270-kilometer road trip lasting view of the river. Koshkin Dom (27 say the main goal of the event is to re- vodka and a peasant-turned-millionaire approximately five to six hours and will Q: Have you achieved the suc- Ulitsa K. Libkhnekhta; +7 485 442 2480, live the lives of Russian ancestors and who was born here. Today tourists flock take you through picturesque places cess that you sought when you 2 80 05; cathouse.yar.ru) is right next to learn various ways of survival under to the small museum dedicated to him. such as Sergiyev Posad, Kalyazin and started developing tourism with the town’s main square and is popular extreme conditions. The 1917 revolution forced success- Uglitch. the first Festival of the Mouse in for its rustic-style coziness. Myshkin’s winter calendar is filled ful merchants to flee the town and the Alternatively, you can go by boat 1996? with events, too. country, while the less lucky ones were by booking a cruise from Moscow. A A: When we started, we WHERE TO EAT For those into Russian blini, tradi- repressed. Yet the unique style of the round-trip cruise takes three days, in- dreamed that one day the tourist Since Myshkin cherishes its Russian tional humorous songs, or chastushki, town survived years of unrest. The cluding a daylong stopover in Mysh- boats that sailed by Myshkin customs, there is no shortage of tradi- and dancing in a ring, Maslenitsa in late mansions built by merchants still bear kin, and costs 12,000 to 15,000 rubles would make regular stops in our tional pies, pelmeni, meat baked in ce- February or early March is a must. the curious fashion once appreciated ($337-$421) through a cruise company town and that the town’s tourist ramic pots and kvas, the slightly alco- Held over a week, it culminates with by the Russian trading class. Monu- such as the Moscow-based Infoflot infrastructure would begin to holic rye drink. To enjoy an authentic the burning of the effigy of the winter mental and moderately-decorated (+7 495 363 2060; 380 36 33; russian- grow. I think that we have done a interior, visit Myshelovka (27 Ulitsa K. on the last Sunday before Lent and can buildings in wood and stone line the river-cruises.com) or the Tekhnotour lot over the years. We receive Libkhnekhta; +7 (48544) 2 24 80), make a great weekend adventure. quiet streets of Myshkin. For the best agency (+7 495 542 4072; 540 4350; more than 300 boats and more which boosts wooden furniture and a New Year — Russia’s most popular examples of the authentic architecture, tehnotour.ru). than 1,000 tour buses every year. real Russian stove decorated with holiday — is celebrated in style here. take a walk along Uglichskaya, Nikol- Thrifty travelers can take a train or But that is not enough. glazed painted tiles. Among the hits Festivities begin at least a week before sky Ruchei and Ananyinskaya streets. bus from Moscow to Rybinsk or Yaro- are fish soup or ukha, baked meat, pel- Dec. 31 and include an entire fairy tale Another historical trademark of the slavl and then transfer to a bus to My- Q: Do foreign tourists visit meni and the chef’s specialty, a meter- played out on the main square. The town is its cathedrals. The grand build- shkin. The trip takes about 10 hours Myshkin? long sausage. A three-course meal main characters are, of course, mice. ing of the early 19th-century Assump- and costs 500 rubles ($14). A: We welcome no more than costs 700 rubles ($19.65) per person. 3,000 foreigners every year, and For a more formal setting and less WHAT TO DO WITH THE KIDS the visitors — from as far afield traditional food, try the restaurant at Myshkin is designed as a big amuse- as the U.S., Germany, China and the Summit Hotel. Hash browns with ment park. Sparkling eyes and smiling Turkey — mostly arrive on boats meat in cowberry sauce, dumplings faces are guaranteed if you manage to that are passing by. Boat opera- stuffed with honey fungi and borscht time your visit with one of the city’s tors say our town is exceptionally are definitely worth trying. A three- many festivals. interesting. But the tourist routes course meal for one costs 700 rubles Even if you miss a festival, young were developed long ago to meet ($19.65). visitors will appreciate a tour of the the demands of foreign tour Museum of the Mouse (14 Ulitsa Ug- agencies and tourists, and no one NIGHTLIFE lichskaya; +7 485 442 7973; 2 15 92; my- wants to make any changes. Just A tiny touristic getaway in the heart of shgorod.com/muzmish.html), featuring two hours by boat from here lies a Russian province, Myshkin cannot mice made of different materials from Uglich, a town that foreign tour- boast a busy night life. Some bars and across the world. ists have been visiting for de- restaurants are open until 2 a.m. or 4 A real adventure is awaiting kids at cades. It is hard to convince tour- a.m. Among the most popular is the the Mouse’s Palace (Myshkiny Palaty; ists, especially elderly people, to Summit bar at the Summit Hotel. 4 Ulitsa Nikolskaya; +7 485 442 2777, 2 embark on another long walk af- 81 35; myshkintour.ru). Guardians at ter a tour of Uglich. MYSHKIN FESTIVALS the gate will ask children for a pass- Ever since the first festival took place word, the mysterious inhabitants of the Q: How profitable is tour- almost two decades ago, local residents palace will take them around the place ism? seem to have developed a strong liking and show off a collection of live mice, A: Most investors in the local for the public celebrations, treating and the hospitable tsar and tsarina will tourism sector are from Moscow them not only as a way to make money explain how to outwit cats. and other Russian regions. In any but also a way to socialize and simply case, they own the local hotels. At have fun. CULTURAL TIPS the moment, 750 local residents In mid-July the locals celebrate City When you walk down the beautifully are involved in tourism, and the Day with the Festival of the Mouse renovated Myshkin Embankment, the turnover at local stores grows by whose highlight is a midday parade in results of a smart tourism policy seem 2.5 times in the summer. which young and old residents dress up to be speaking of a new tomorrow for as mice of all stripes and march across Russia. Signaling a quick and visible Q: What will Myshkin be like town. From early morning and well transformation from Russia’s socialist in five years? into the night, stalls offering souvenirs, past, foreign words such as “brand” A: I would like to see all of prepared food and local produce are have become part of the everyday vo- our cathedrals and merchant es- open, while visitors can also participate cabulary of ordinary Myshkin resi- tates fully restored, convenient in singing, dancing, games and sports dents, and the notion of making a profit sidewalks, great infrastructure events. The festival ends with a concert from new ideas has become enshrined and roads that do not make us and fireworks. The date for the festival in their lifestyle. blush. Since we are located in a is floating and usually falls on a Satur- But it is the town’s long and unique farming region, I would really day, so contact the local tourism center history that was key to creating the like to see investors come here to in advance. tourism mecca that Myshkin is consid-

build big dairy farms. Another annual summer attraction ered today. The humble image of an D. KUDINV / FLICKR is the All-Russia Family Circle Festi- old, independent and prosperous pro- The town has kept a mixture of Soviet and post-Soviet monuments on display. 20 ❖ Wednesday, April 2, 2014 LISTINGS www.sptimes.ru

HOW TO USE THE LISTINGS: saturday, april 5 Didier Lockwood Jazz. Music Hall, 4 Alexandrovsky Park. Tel. 232 9201. 7 p.m. Dates and times are correct at the ballet Znaki Rock, pop rock. Zal Ozhidaniya, time of publication, but last-min- 14th International Ballet Festival One-act 118 Obvodnogo Kanala. Tel. 333 1069. 8 p.m. ballets. Director and Choreographer Wayne Shkid Fest Vol. 3 Gaft, Alfarda, Ig-Rok, Mein ute changes are not infrequent, McGregor. Mariinsky II, 7.30 p.m. Stream. Zoccolo 2.0, 50 korpus 3 Ligovsky so it’s best to check by contacting La Bayadere The story of an Indian dancer Prospekt. 8 p.m. punished for her love of a warrior. the venue. COMPLETE LISTINGS can Choreographer Marius Petipa. Mikhailovsky jazz & blues be found at www.sptimes.ru Theater, 7 p.m. Leningrad Dixieland Band Jazz dancing. Jazz Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny (or scan the QR code below). opera Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m. Unless otherwise stated, stage The Italian Girl in Algiers Gioachino Vyacheslav Ipatov Quintet Saxophone Rossini’s opera about a girl in search of her night. Jazz Philharmonic Hall (Ellington Hall), events start at 7 p.m. lover. Directors Irina Cherkasova and Vasily 27 Zagorodny Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, Zarzhetsky. Zazerkalye Theater 764 9843. 8 p.m. All stage shows and Il Viaggio a Reims Gioachino Rossini’s one- Homage to Charlie Mingus Grigory films are in Russian act comic opera. Director Alain Maratrat. Voskoboinik, Igor Timofeyev, et al. JFC Jazz Club, Conductor Daniel Smith. Mariinsky Theater 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m. unless noted. Hansel and Gretel Based on the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale. Director Daria Panteleyeva. Mikhailovsky Theater, 1 p.m. sunday, april 6 PREMIERE! Not Love Alone Rodion French fusion electric violinist Didier Lockwood, who came to fame as a STAGES Shchedrin’s opera about life in the Soviet member of the French prog-rock legends Magma, will perform at Music Hall on rock, etc. village. Director Yury Alexandrov. Saturday, Apr. 5. He will be backed by Andre Charlier on drums and Benoit Smekh Punk rock. Dada B, 47 Gorokhovaya St. Petersburg Opera Sourisse on a Hammond B3 organ. Ulitsa. Tel. 983 7050. 8 p.m. wednesday, april 2 Mado Pop rock. Dada A, 47 Gorokhovaya theater Ulitsa. Tel. 983 7050. 8 p.m. opera Dance of the Vampires Director Cornelius opera jazz & blues Super Besse Electro rock. Fish Fabrique Carmen Bizet’s opera about the relationship Baltus. Conductor Alexei Nefedov. Iolanta Tchaikovsky’s opera about a blind Calypso Blues Band Jazz dancing. Jazz Nouvelle, 53 Ligovsky Prospekt. between a gypsy girl and a soldier. Director Musical Comedy Theater, 13 Italianskaya Ul. princess cured by love. Director Mariusz Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny Prospekt. Tel. 764 4857. 9 p.m. Alexei Stepanyuk. Mariinsky II Tel. 210 4316 Trelinski. Conductor Valentin Bogdanov. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m. The Milestones Rock and roll. Jagger, A Day in the Life of Winnie-the-Pooh Mariinsky II Gaivoronsky Volkov Kondakov Art jazz. 2 Ploshchad Konstitutsii. Tel. 923 1292. theater A.A. Milne’s classic about the beloved bear JFC Jazz Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. 8:30 p.m. Hits of Broadway A performance of some of and his adventures. Children’s Philharmonic theater Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m. Otava Yo Folk. Mod, 7 Kanala Griboyedova. Broadway’s most famous songs starring Ivan Hall, 12 a.m. Dance of the Vampires Director Cornelius Tel. 712 0734. 7 p.m. Ozhogin and Alexander Bayron. PREMIERE! Neurointegrum An exploration of Baltus. Conductor Alexei Nefedov. Torba-na-Kruche Indie rock. Zal Ozhidaniya, Musical Comedy Theater, the interaction between human and machine. Musical Comedy Theater, 13 Italianskaya Ul. friday, april 4 118 . Obvodnogo Kanala. 13 Italianskaya Ul. Tel. 210 4316 Director Yury Didevich. Alexandriinsky Tel. 210 4316 Tel. 333 1069. 8 p.m. Theater, Small Stage, 7.30 p.m. rock, etc. Televizor Rock, funk rock. Kosmonavt, concert Zorge Art rock, alternative rock. Aurora 24 Bronnitskaya Ulitsa. Tel. 922 1300. 7 p.m. Choral Music Conductor Vladislav concert tuesday, april 8 Concert Hall, St. Petersburg Hotel, Chernushenko. Cappella Chamber Music Shostakovich, 5/2 Pirogovskaya . jazz & blues Folk Music Andreyev State Russian Khachaturyan, Bakanov and others. ballet Tel. 907 1917. 8 p.m. Mambo Combo Cuban dance music night. Orchestra. Conductor Dmitry Khokhlov. St. Ioann Evangelical-Lutheran Cathedral, Swan Lake Tchaikovsky’s classic. Lust for Youth Dark wave, minimal, Jazz Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main Hall 54 A Dekabristov Ul. Choreographer Marius Petipa. Mariinsky II synth, neo folk. Dada, 47 Gorokhovaya Ulitsa. Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m. Chamber Music Schumann, Glinka, Pasculli Symphony Music Rimsky-Korsakov, Glinka, Tel. 983 7050. 8 p.m. Volkovtrio Art rock. JFC Jazz Club, and others. Music House, 122 Lit A Nab. Reki Gavrilin. Conductor Stanislav Gorkovenko. opera Stoffer og Maskinen Pop rock. 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m. Moiki. Tel. 702 6096 Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main Hall, 3 p.m. Verdi’s Requiem Director Daniele Finzi Fish Fabrique Nouvelle, 53 Ligovsky Prospekt. Chamber Music Bach, Stravinsky, Messiaen. Symphony Music The Vienna Mozart Pasca. Conductor Andrei Petrenko. Tel. 764 4857. 9 p.m. Mariinsky Concert Hall Orchestra. Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, Mariinsky Theater Joker’s Band Covers. Jagger, 2 Ploshchad monday, april 7 6 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 275 1300 Konstitutsii. Tel. 923 1292. 8:30 p.m. Chamber Music Quantz, Neruda, Haydn. theater Misha Mavashi Hip-hop. Kosmonavt, rock, etc. thursday, april 3 Conductor Dmitry Ralko. Mariinsky Concert Hall Dance of the Vampires Director Cornelius 24 Bronnitskaya Ulitsa. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m. Sick Puppies Hard rock. Aurora Concert Choral Music Tchaikovsky. Conductor Baltus. Conductor Alexei Nefedov. The Birthday Massacre Synth rock. Hall, St. Petersburg Hotel, 5/2 Pirogovskaya . ballet Vladimir Stolpovskikh. Shostakovich Musical Comedy Theater, 13 Italianskaya Ul. Zal Ozhidaniya, 118 Obvodnogo Kanala. Tel. 907 1917. 8 p.m. PREMIERE! Sylvia Choreographer Frederick Philharmonic, Small Hall Tel. 210 4316 Tel. 333 1069. 8 p.m. Harley Davidson Hard rock. Jagger, Ashton. Conductor Gavriel Heine. Osebo / S.O.K. Pop rock. Zoccolo 2.0, 2 Ploshchad Konstitutsii. Tel. 923 1292. Mariinsky Theater, 7.30 p.m. concert 50 korpus 3 Ligovsky Prospekt. 8 p.m. 8:30 p.m. sunday, april 6 Symphony Music Chopin, Slonimsky, Eskimo Callboy Metalcore, post-hardcore. opera Debussy. Conductor Vladimir Altschuler. jazz & blues Zal Ozhidaniya, 118 Obvodnogo Kanala. Tosca Puccini’s opera about love, jealousy ballet Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main Hall Elvira Trafova and Pyotr Kornev Band Jazz Tel. 333 1069. 8 p.m. and murder. Director Stanislav Gaudasinsky. Night of Russian Ballet Excerpts from Chamber Music Bruch, Schumann, classics. Jazz Philharmonic Hall, Mikhailovsky Theater some of the world’s best-known ballets are Schubert, Brahms. Shostakovich 27 Zagorodny Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, jazz & blues performed. Hermitage Theater Philharmonic, Small Hall 764 9843. 7 p.m. Braziliando Brazilian music. JFC Jazz Club, concert Swan Lake Tchaikovsky’s classic. Choral Music Conductor Vladislav Anna & Brasilhando Brazilian jazz. JFC Jazz 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m. Guitar Music Rodrigo, Scarlatti, Giuliani and Choreographer Marius Petipa. Conductor Chernushenko. Cappella Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. Tel. 272 9850. others. Yelena Obraztsova Cultural Center, Alexei Repnikov. Mariinsky II Rossini Gala Conductor Daniel Smith. 8 p.m. 65 Nevsky Prospekt. Tel. 575 7294 Mariinsky Concert Hall tuesday, april 8 Chamber Music Shostakovich. Cappella opera Symphony Music Prokofiev, de Falla, Children’s Concert Children’s tales set to saturday, april 5 rock, etc. Khachaturian and others. Tchaikovsky’s music. Zazerkalya Theater, Sana Pop rock. Dada, 47 Gorokhovaya Ulitsa. Shostakovich Philharmonic, Small Hall 12 a.m. GIGS rock, etc. Tel. 983 7050. 8 p.m. Piano Recital Mozart, Scriabin, Beethoven, Le Nozze di Figaro Mozart’s opera about the Ariya Metal. A2, 3 Prospekt Medikov. Kozhany Olen Punk rock. Mod, Liszt. Juho Pohjonen. Mariinsky Concert Hall events leading up to the marriage of Figaro Tel. 309 9922. 7 p.m. 7 Kanala Griboyedova. and Susanna. Director Yury Alexandrov. Elektroforez Electro rock. Dada, Tel. 712 0734. 8 p.m. Mariinsky Theater wednesday, april 2 47 Gorokhovaya Ulitsa. Tel. 983 7050. 8 p.m. Metal All Stars Metal. Yubileiny Sports friday, april 4 Cinderella Based on the tale by Charles Trolleibus Pop rock. Fish Fabrique Nouvelle, Complex, 18 Prospekt Dobrolyubova. Perrault. Director Olga Mukhortova. rock, etc. 53 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 764 4857. 9 p.m. Tel. 498 6033. 8 p.m. ballet Mikhailovsky Theater, 1 p.m. Castaway Angels Glam rock. Jagger, Shake It Rock. Jagger, 2 Ploshchad PREMIERE! Sylvia Choreographer Frederick Iolanta Tchaikovsky’s opera about a blind 2 Ploshchad Konstitutsii. Tel. 923 1292. Konstitutsii. Tel. 923 1292. 8:30 p.m. jazz & blues Ashton. Conductor Gavriel Heine. princess cured by love. Director Sergey 8:30 p.m. Beth Hart Blues rock, jazz fusion, soul. Kvadrat Jazz Club Jam session. Mariinsky Theater, 7.30 p.m. Shepelyov. Conductor Valentin Bogdanov. The Baseballs Rock and roll, rockabilly. Kosmonavt, 24 Bronnitskaya Ulitsa. Jazz Philharmonic Hall (Ellington Hall), La Bayadere The story of an Indian dancer Mikhailovsky Theater, 7 p.m. Kosmonavt, 24 Bronnitskaya Ulitsa. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m. 27 Zagorodny Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, punished for her love of a warrior. Choreographer PREMIERE! Not Love Alone Rodion Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m. Doom / Distress / E123 Punk, alternative 764 9843. 8 p.m. Marius Petipa. Mikhailovsky Theater Shchedrin’s opera about life in the Soviet Red Nails / Steam Jet / Sleepy Door rock. Mod, 7 Kanala Griboyedova. Vein Experimental jazz. JFC Jazz Club, village. Director Yury Alexandrov. Rock. Zoccolo 2.0, 50 korpus 3 Ligovsky Tel. 712 0734. 7 p.m. 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m. opera St. Petersburg Opera Prospekt. 8 p.m. Attila Director Arturo Gama. Conductor Pavel Smelkov. Mariinsky II theater jazz & blues Dance of the Vampires Director Cornelius Calypso Blues Band Jazz dancing. Jazz theater Baltus. Conductor Alexei Nefedov. Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny Prospekt. PREMIERE! Neurointegrum An exploration of Musical Comedy Theater, 13 Italianskaya Ul. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m. the interaction between human and machine. Tel. 210 4316 Kruglougolnik Jazz rock, fusion. JFC Jazz Club, Director Yury Didevich. Alexandriinsky Theater, 33 Shpalernaya Ulitsa. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m. Small Stage, 7.30 p.m. concert Dance of the Vampires Director Cornelius Piano Recital Alexei Rybnikov. Conductor Baltus. Conductor Alexei Nefedov. Mikhail Tatarnikov. Shostakovich thursday, april 3 Musical Comedy Theater, 13 Italianskaya Ul. Philharmonic, Main Hall, 8 p.m. Tel. 210 4316 Symphony Music Bach, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky rock, etc. and others. Conductor Sergei Yefaev. Didyulya Pop rock. Jagger, 2 Ploshchad concert Shostakovich Philharmonic, Small Hall, 3 p.m. Konstitutsii. Tel. 923 1292. 8:30 p.m. Symphony Music Copland, Prokofiev, Chamber Music Vivaldi, Chopin, Schumann Kto Tam? Hip-hop. Kosmonavt, Tchaikovsky. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. and others. Mariinsky II, 4 p.m. 24 Bronnitskaya Ulitsa. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m. Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main Hall Chamber Music Debussy, Ravel, Ysaye. Deadkedy / Hashtea / Shokalsky Organ Recital Bach, Brahms, Alain and Shostakovich Philharmonic, Small Hall Revenge Alternative rock. Mod, others. Laszlo Fassang. Choral Music Gavrilin. Conductor Andrei 7 Kanala Griboyedova. Mariinsky Concert Hall Petrenko. Mariinsky Concert Hall Tel. 712 0734. 7 p.m. Vocal Music Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Bruno Pelletier French pop. Music Hall, Rubinshtein and others. Yelena Obraztsova 4 Alexandrovsky Park. Tel. 232 9201. 7 p.m. Cultural Center, 65 Nevsky Prospekt. monday, april 7 Nemnogo Nervno Dream folk. The Place, 47 Tel. 575 7294 Ul. Marshala Govorova. Tel. 331 9631. 8 p.m. The Spirituality of Russian Composers ballet OdnoNo Funk, hip-hop. Zal Ozhidaniya, Bortnyansky, Varlamov, Tchaikovsky and Diana Vishneva: On the Edge The theater’s 118 Obvodnogo Kanala. others. Shostakovich Philharmonic, Small Hall prima ballerina performs. Choreographers Tel. 333 1069. 8 p.m. The Birthday Massacre, a Toronto, Canada-based band that blends synthrock, Choral Music Sviridov. Conductor Vladislav Jean-Christophe Maillot and Carolyn Carlson. Weloveyouwinona Indie rock. Zoccolo 2.0, goth and new wave, will perform at Zal Ozhidaniya on Friday, Apr. 4. Chernushenko. Cappella Mariinsky Theater, 7.30 p.m. 50 korpus 3 Ligovsky Prospekt. 8 p.m. www.sptimes.ru LISTINGS Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 21

Mixed media group show. A retrospective by GALLERIES the group of artists that formed in the SCREENS 1970s.

ARTISTS UNION OF RUSSIA EXHIBITION PUSHKINSKAYA 10 ART CENTER NEW! Captain America: The Winter Soldier CENTER 53 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 764 5371. Open (2014, U.S.) Anthony Russo and Joe Russo’s 38 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul. Tel. 314 3060. Wed to Sun, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. www.p-10.ru superhero film starring Scarlett Johansson, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Monday. The Door. Nimfoteka: ARTem Vetrov. Sebastian Stan and Cobie Smulders. Jam Hall, www.spb-uniart.ru Painting. An exhibition of the artist’s Velikan Park. Starts April 2. NEW! The Unbearable Lightness of psychedelic and surrealist work. Through Painting: Stanislav Korolenko. Painting. Apr. 20 NEW! Mylene Farmer: Timeless 2013 The St. Petersburg is transposed into another Museum of Non-Conformist Art. The Movie (2013, France) A concert film shot dimension of expressive colors and hidden Geometry of Nature. Painting. Pieces during French pop singer Mylene Farmer’s truths. Apr. 8 through Apr. 21 inspired by Mikhail Matyushin’s themes are 2013 Timeless Tour. Avrora (April 2, The Russian North. Painting. An exhibition displayed in honor of the 100th anniversary 7:30 p.m.), Formula Kino Galereya. in honor of Russian North, an artistic of Vladimir Sterligov’s birth. Through Apr. 20 organization that sponsors trips to the far Dates Without Numbers: VIK. Painting. NEW! Noah (2014, U.S.) Darren Aronofsky’s north and creative workshops. Through Apr. 6 Optical effects and color variations are biblical epic starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Students and Teachers of the Anastasia combined to infer artistic freedom. Connelly and Ray Winstone. Avrora, Mirage Afanasyeva Art Studio. Decorative art, Through Apr. 20 Cinema, Velikan Park. painting, graphics. Pieces created by the Parnik Art-Project. Kolaider: ARTem studio’s talented artists. Through Apr. 6 Vetrov. Painting, installation. An exhibition NEW! Patema Inverted (Sakasama no of the artist’s psychedelic and surrealist Patema) (2013, Japan) Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s D-137 GALLERY work. Through Apr. 20 anime fantasy film. Angleterre (in Russian, A retrospective exhibition of work by members of the Leningrad School at the New 12 Zvenigorodskaya Ul., 3rd floor. NEW! 2,04 Gallery. The Russian Rock with Japanese subtitles). Museum explores one of the city’s most important homegrown art movements. M: Pushkinskaya. Tel. +7 (981) 687 6051. Museum. Installation. The 1991 LenExpo Thursday through Saturday 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. exhibition on the history of Russian rock NEW! St. Petersburg. Summer. Love www.d137.ru music is remembered. Through Apr. 6 (2014, Russia) Andrei Khvostov’s romantic NIKOLAI ROERICH APARTMENT MUSEUM My Art is Me: Georgy Guryanov. Painting. drama starring Terry Sweeney, Nadezhda MUSEUMS 1, Line 18, V.O. Wednesday through Sunday, The work of legendary Russian band Kino’s RACHMANINOV GARDEN Tolubeyeva and Konstantin Malyshev. Avrora, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tel. 325 4413. recently deceased drummer is on display. 5 Kazanskaya Ul. Tel. 312 9558. Tuesday – Dom Kino. Starts April 2. www.roerich.spb.ru Through Apr. 27 Saturday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. ACADEMY OF ARTS MUSEUM NEW! Light. Color. Form. Painting. Visitors www.fotorachmaninov.ru NEW! Yves Saint Laurent (2014, France) 17 Universitetskaya Nab. Tel. 323 6496, become creators in this interactive exhibition ERARTA MUSEUM Tracks of Lines: Oddvar Paulsen. Jalil Lespert’s biopic starring Pierre Niney, 323 3578 M: Vasileostrovskaya. Wednesday celebrating the non-conformist artists of 2, 29th Line, V.O. M: Vasileostrovskaya. Photography. The Norwegian photographer’s Guillaume Gallienne and Charlotte Le Bon. through Sunday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Leningrad. Apr. 4 through May 18 Tel. 324 0809. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed work reflects on the illusion of silence. Formula Kino Galereya, Khudozhestvenny, Tribute to Maria Callas and Grace Kelly. Nikolai Roerich and Estonia. Painting, Tuesday. www.erarta.com Through May 3 Mirage Cinema, Rodina, Velikan Park. Sculpture. Greek artist Nikos Floros uses installation. Through Apr. 20 Look Out: Natasha Van Budman. aluminum to recreate the iconic women’s Installation. A series of compositions fashion. Through Apr. 6 SHUVALOVSKY PALACE representing a collective view of modern 21 Nab. Reki Fontanki, M: Mayakovskaya, Russian society. Through Apr. 9 ANNA AKHMATOVA MUSEUM AT THE Gostiny Dvor. Tel. 314 7053 Shumotron: Media Art from Russia. FOUNTAIN HOUSE Faberge. Viktor Vekselberg’s private Installation, mixed media. Named after a 34 Fontanka River, entrance from 53 Liteiny collection. device used by state security in the Soviet Pr. M: Gostiny Dvor, Mayakovskaya. Union, this exhibition focuses on digital Tel. 272 2211. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM culture and its effect on modern art. Closed Monday; 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the last 1 Palace Square. M: Nevsky Prospekt. Through Apr. 14 Wednesday of every month. Tel. 571 3420, 571 3465. Daily, 10.30 a.m. to www.akhmatova.spb.ru 6 p.m. (9 p.m. Wednesday). Closed Monday. MARINA GISICH GALLERY NEW! Times of the Year: Valery Valran. www.hermitagemuseum.org 121 Nab. Reki Fontanki, Tel. 314 4380. Daily, Painting. The artist’s self-described “magical Symbols and Metamorphosis: Markus 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday). abstractionism” challenges the viewer to Lupertz. Sculpture. The German neo- Closed Sunday. consider art in a new way. Apr. 2 through Apr. 20 expressionist brings his work to NEW! Saving Venice. Painting, graphics, St. Petersburg. Through May 25 installation. The Parazit art collective is DOSTOEVSKY APARTMENT MUSEUM coming to the rescue of the sinking Italian city. 5/2 Kuznechny Pereulok, M: Vladimirskaya. STATE MUSEUM OF THEATRICAL AND Apr. 7 through May 17 Tel. 571 4031. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed MUSICAL ART Monday and the last Wednesday of each 6 Pl. Ostrovskogo, M: Gostiny Dvor. SERGEY KURYOKHIN CONTEMPORARY month. www.md.spb.ru. Tel. 571 2195. Monday through Sunday, ART CENTER NEW! Paintings – Mood: Alexander 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (1 p.m. to 9 p.m. 93 Sredny Prospekt, V.O. Tel. 322 4223. Daily Malkin. Photography. The St. Petersburg- Wednesday). Closed Tuesday and last Friday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. www.kuryokhin.net Family United (2013, Spain) Daniel Sanchez Arevalo’s comedy film starring based photographer displays his atmospheric of every month. NEW! Nominees for the 2013 Sergey Veronica Echegui, Antonio de la Torre and Quim Gutierrez. Anglettere (in Spanish with landscapes of the city. Apr. 2 through Apr. 22 Among My Peers. Graphics. The work of Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award. Russian subtitles), Dom Kino. He Thought of Eternity: Grigory famed theater actor Yury Bogatyryev is on Photography, installation, mixed media. Artists Izrailevich. Graphics, sculpture. An exhibition display. Through Apr. 7 nominated for the award and their work are of the deceased sculptor’s portraits of writers, honored. Apr. 5 through May 1 poets and historical figures. Through Apr. 17 STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM 2 Inzhenernaya Ul. M: Nevsky Prospekt. LOFT-PROJECT ETAGI HISTORY OF ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM Tel. 314 3448, 595 4248. Open 10 a.m. to 74 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 458 5005. Daily Peter and Paul Fortress. M: Gorkovskaya. 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Monday). 1 p.m. to 9 p.m on 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tel. 230 6431. Daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Thursdays. Closed Tuesday. Golden Tortoise 2014. Photography. The Tuesday). Closed Wednesday. www.rusmuseum.ru/eng winning photos selected from 15,000 entries www.spbmuseum.ru. Russian Women’s Folk Costumes from from 77 different countries will be shown. From Feather to Computer. Installation, the 18th – 20th Centuries. Exhibition. Through May 18 new media. Through Sept. 7 Colorful dresses and clothes reveal a rich part of Russia’s cultural history. Through May 4 MART GALLERY MUSIC MUSEUM AT THE SHEREMETYEV 35 Ul. Marata. M: Vladimirskaya, PALACE STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM: MARBLE Dostoyevskaya. Tel. 710 8835. 12 p.m. to 34 Nab. Reki Fontanki. Tel. 272 4441. Open PALACE 7 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. Closed Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 5/1 Millionnaya Ul. M: Nevsky Prospekt. Sunday and Monday. www.martgallery.ru Heavenly Line. Painting. The winning Tel. 312 9196. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Version 1.3: Igor Antonov. Painting. watercolors from a local competition for young Monday). 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Compilations of gaming art, comics and artists depict St. Petersburg landmarks Closed Tuesday. posters. Through Apr. 19 through the eyes of children. Through Apr. 21 Contemporary Drawing. Drawing. Traditional, conceptual and other MAYAKOVSKY LIBRARY VLADIMIR NABOKOV APARTMENT drawing styles demonstrate the art form’s 46 Nab. Reki Fontanki. Entrance via the NEW! Calvary (2013, Ireland, U.K.) John Michael McDonagh’s black comedy MUSEUM function in contemporary Russian art. courtyard. Tel. 571 0856 starring Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd and Kelly Reilly. Angleterre (in English with 47 Bolshaya Morskaya. Tel. 315 4713, Through May 12 Crocodiles and Hippopotamuses. Russian subtitles), Avrora. 717 4502. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (12 p.m. Installation. An exhibition devoted to the to 5 p.m. on weekends). Closed Monday. STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM: satirical magazines of post-revolutionary www.nabokovmuseum.org MIKHAILOVSKY (ENGINEERS’) CASTLE Russia. Through Apr. 5 NEW! The Village is Like a Memory: Kirill 2 Sadovaya Ulitsa. M: Nevsky Prospekt. Sokolov. Paintings, graphics. Life in Russian Tel. 313 4112. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. NAME GALLERY villages in the 1960s and ‘70s is used as a Monday). 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursdays. 33 Nab. Kanala Griboyedova. Tel. 571 5517. lens to examine Soviet society. Apr. 5 through Closed Tuesday. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Sunday, Monday. May 4 The Kokorev Collection. Painting. www.namegallery.ru An exhibition of Russian paintings once owned Gloomy Pictures: Vladimir Shinkaryev POLITICAL HISTORY OF RUSSIA MUSEUM by the wealthy 19th-century merchant before Painting. A series of pictures depicting 2/4 Ulitsa Kuibysheva. M: Gorkovskaya. he sold them to the Romanovs in 1870. St. Petersburg in black and gray colors. Tel. 233 7052. Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Through June 9 Through Apr. 12 Thursday and the last Monday of the month. www.polithistory.ru ST. PETERSBURG STATE MUSEUM OF PERINNIYE RYADY ART CENTER I Came to Your Country as a Guest. THEATER AND MUSIC 4 Dumskaya Ulitsa. M: Gostiny Dvor. Daily Exhibition. The lives of anti-fascist German 8 Stremyannaya Ul. Tel. 764 1130. Daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tel. +7 904 601 0000. families in the Soviet Union are traced across 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Monday, Tuesday www.artcenter.su three generations. Through Apr. 9 and last Friday of the month. Pop-Art Forum. Graphics, Installation. Theatrical Dynasties. Famous works ranging from Banksy to Andy RIMSKY-KORSAKOV APARTMENT MUSEUM Komissarzhevskiye. Personal items, Warhol ask the viewer whether it is actual art 28 Zagorodny Prospekt, Courtyard. letters, costumes, posters, photo, or intended for simple shock value. Through M: Dostoyevskaya. Tel. 713 3208, 315 3975. decorations. Through Apr. 12 May. 25 Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed last Friday of each month. TOY MUSEUM NEW MUSEUM Small Tragedy – Fatal Passion. Personal 32 Nab. Reki Karpovki. Entrance from 29, 6th Line Vasilievsky Ostrov. M: items, posters. Dedicated to the 170th Vsevolod Vishnevsky Ul. M: Petrogradskaya, Vasilievostrovskaya. Wednesday -Sunday noon NEW! The Double (2013, U.K.) Richard Ayoade’s comedy based on Dostoyevsky’s anniversary of the birth of the famed Russian Chkalovskaya. Tel. 234 4312. 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BUSINESS CENTERS 5 Universitetskaya Emb. 4 Konnogvardeisky Blvd. 18 Stremyannaya Ul. Austrian Business Center Regus Il Patio 30 Nevsky Pr. Subway 63 Ulitsa Tchaikovskogo Crowne Plaza Ligovsky 55 Nevsky Pr. 182 Nevsky Pr. 98 Bolshoy Prospekt Petrograd Side 61-63 Ligovsky Pr. Belye Nochi Business Center J.Walker 36 Griboedova Emb. 18 Sytninskaya Ulitsa CubaHostel 5 Kazanskaya Ul. 23 Malaya Morskaya Ul. Jam 12 Ryleeva Ul. Tandoor 2 Voznesensky Pr. Deluxe 14 Bolshaya Konushennaya Ul. Europa House 1 Artilleriyskaya Ul. James Cook Teplo 45 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul. Demetra Art Hotel Goldex 36 Shpalernaya Ul. 2 Shvedsky Per. Tequila-Boom 44 Ulitsa Vosstaniya Gustaf 38 Sredny Pr. V.O. 45 Kamennoostrovsky Pr. 57/127 Voznesensky Pr. Domina prestige Hotels Magnus 34 9-Liniya V.O. Jean Jacque 10 Marata Ul. Terrassa 3 Kazanskaya Ul. St. Petersburg 99 Moika Emb. MCDS 6 Proletarskoy Diktatury Pl. KFC Testo 21 Kazanskaya Ul. Dostoevsky 19 Vladimirsky Pr. 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Coffee House Gourmet Petropavlovsky 85А Nevsky Pr. 29 Bolshaya Konushennaya Ul. Nash Hotel 50 11- Liniya V.O. 15 Vladimirsky Pr. Pizza Hut 96 Nevsky Pr. Brothers Karamazov Hotel Nautilus 3 Rizhskaya Ul. Coffee House Gourmet 71 Moika Emb. 11A Sotsialisticheskaya Ul. Neptun 93A Obvodny Emb. 86 Marata Ul. Pub Bulldog 20/16 Vosstaniya Ul. Comfort Hotel Nevsky 98 98 Nevsky Pr. Da Albertone 23 Millionnaya Ul. Pushka Inn 14 Moika Emb. 25 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul. Nevsky Breeze 12 Galernaya Ul. Dickens Pub 108 Fontanka Emb. Rossi 1/7 Mikhailovskaya Ul. Corinthia Hotel St. Petersburg Nevsky Central Hotel Dom Byta 12 Razezzhaya Ul. Saint-Petersburg 5 Griboedova Emb. 57 Nevsky Pr. 90-92 Nevsky Pr. Europe 1/7 Mikhailovskaya Ul. Sbarro 42 Nevsky Pr. Courtyard Marriott Nevsky Contour 88 Nevsky Pr. Evrasia 85А Nevsky Pr. Sever 46 Nevsky Pr. 61/30A 2-Liniya V.O. Francesco 47 Suvorovsky Pr. Shamrock 27 Dekabristov Ul. 166 Griboedova Emb. …and many other locations Grad Petrov Stroganoff Steak House Cronwell Inn Stremyannaya throughout the city Opinion www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 24 Why Russians Long for the Soviet Union By Victor Davidoff Soviet dissident Valeriya Novodvorskaya re- sponded to them on the site Grani.ru, which is f you read Russian news and follow Internet now officially blocked by the government but debates, you’d think that Russia was on the still available to Internet users who can access verge of civil war if you didn’t know better. the site using simple, evasive measures. “Sup- Like in other civil wars, the front line runs porters of Putin have chosen the Soviet Union. Ibetween colleagues, friends and even family So let us go back to 1990, when you could only members. The division is over the annexation of buy baloney in Moscow and got butter by ration Crimea and attitudes toward Ukraine. card — 200 grams per month — a time when “Old friends break off relations, children have there were no boutiques, no iPhones, no chic ca- stopped talking to their parents, and I’ve even fes or foreign cars.” heard about divorces. It is insane,” the prominent Of course, Novodvorskaya also remembers the psychologist Lyudmila Petranovskaya wrote on repressions of the Soviet period; she was jailed her LiveJournal blog. many times for his dissident activities. But for President Vladimir Putin set the aggressive many people, those repressions are part of the So- tone of the debate in his Crimea speech two weeks viet allure. Deputies in the Moscow Duma are ago by calling the new Ukrainian authorities planning to send the State Duma a draft law that “neo-Nazis and Russophobes.” Moreover, he would punish authors of blog posts critical of the called Russians who are opposed to the annexa- annexation of Crimea for “extremism.” Com- tion “national traitors,” a term that Hitler notably bined with the draft law in the State Duma on used against those who disagreed with him. His building special political prisons for terrorists and words were instantly echoed in official mass me- “extremists,” this law would certainly bring Rus- dia and pro-Kremlin blogs. sia dangerously close to the “evil empire.” In the State Duma, a group of legislators ac- Despite all this, attitudes toward Ukraine are cused Ilya Ponomaryov, the only deputy who voted not so simple. Although according to a Levada against the annexation of Crimea, of “treason” and Centersurvey, 86 percent of the respondents wel- demanded that he be stripped of this mandate. comed Crimea’s “voluntary rejoining” Russia — The Crimean front line crossed the usual party the Kremlin’s favorite euphemism for “annexa- divisions. Apparently, Russia only has two parties: tion” — only 24 percent supported Russian troops the party of war and the party of peace. The popu- in other regions of Ukraine. Moreover, 83 percent lar, once-liberal municipal deputy Yelena Tkach said they were concerned about a military con- shocked many supporters when she demanded flictwith Ukraine. that the Constitution be amended to allow a new Perhaps that rational concern is keeping Rus- law to punish “national traitors” by stripping sian tanks out of Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkiv. them of their citizenship. Meanwhile, whistle- Despite the efforts of official propaganda to incite blower Alexei Navalny, who many consider to be hatred for Ukrainians, Russians have lived with a nationalist, came out squarely against the an- them for too long and there are too many inter- nexation of Crimea and supported Western sanc- family ties to consider each other enemies. tions against Putin’s inner circle. One of the supporters of the party of peace, Left-wing leaders vociferously criticized the veteran rock star Andrei Makarevich, wrote on “oligarchic regime” one day and supported it his Facebook page: “When the national psychosis wholeheartedly the next. Even Sergei Udaltsov, Komsomolskaya Pravda journalist Ulyana is also the Soviet Union. So what if Russia has been ends, we will all recall that Ukraine is our neigh- the Left Front leader on trial for charges that he Skoibeda, whose claim to fame is the scandal last kicked out of the Group of Eight? The Soviet Union bor and closest relative, that we were friends just organized riots in 2012, wrote an appeal to Ukrai- year when she regretted that the ancestors of to- always lived in isolation. My homeland is back.” yesterday. And we will realize who made us fight. nians supporting the Kremlin plan for self-deter- day’s Jewish opposition activists hadn’t been A large swath of the Russian population shares It was not Ukraine, and it was not the U.S. Guess mination in eastern Ukraine. killed by the Nazis, was ecstatic over the Crimean Skoibeda’s views. Almost everyone who supports who it was?” “I was born in the Soviet Union,” wrote annexation. using force against Ukraine sees it primarily as a Today only a few Russians are thinking about Udaltsov on his movement’s website, “and it “As I listened to Putin’s speech about Crimea, I path to resurrecting the Soviet Union. This may that question. But when the period of blindness will always be my homeland. Those who de- hugged my child close and said, ‘Look, son. You will be explained by the fact that the majority of these ends, the answer will be clear to everyone. stroyed it and their supporters today will always remember this for the rest of your life,’” Skoibeda people never lived in the U.S.S.R. and do not re- be my political opponents. The rebirth of the wrote. “Entering a conflict with the whole world to member it. For them, it is just a mythical golden Victor Davidoff is a Moscow-based writer and Soviet Union in new forms is necessary, crucial defend your rights and interests — that is the age of a great power that could provide stability journalist who follows the Russian blogosphere in and urgent.” U.S.S.R. and being willing to live in poverty — that to several generations of Russians. his biweekly column.

COMMENT

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The St. Petersburg Times is a part of Sanoma Independent Media A Federal Model for Ukraine CEO: Jean-Emmanuel de Witt By Josh Cohen 2. Some economic decision-making, such as tax- the federal government does make some transfer Board of Directors: Tatiana Shalygina, Tatyana Shishkova, Mikhail ing and spending, could be granted to the regions. payments to states, they are not required to trans- Doubik, Alexander Gukasov, Elena Razumova s Russia consolidates its hold over 3. Establish Russian as the second state lan- fer any money back to Washington. Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Derk Sauer Crimea, the world’s attention has now guage. The language divide between east and west This would be an ideal model for Ukraine’s re- Publisher: OOO “Neva Media” turned to the drama beginning to play Ukraine is sharp, and it could be an explosive po- gions, as it would ensure an amount of local con- General Director: Tatyana Turikova out in eastern Ukraine. In the last litical factor if Kiev does not handle the issue trol over spending. U.S. states, often called “labo- Editorial: Christopher Gordon, Acting Editor-in-chief Athree weeks, demonstrations by pro-Russian properly. The decision of Ukraine’s parliament to ratories of democracy,” evince huge differences in Advertising: Ksenia Chiritsa, Ylia Yanchuk groups have taken place in major cities across pass an anti-Russian language law immediately many of their budgetary and social policies. Just Subscription: Viktoria Borovkova Production: Alla Kalinovskaya eastern Ukraine, and many observers believe Pu- after Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev in late Febru- ask any American how different the politics in IT Department: Sergei Karasev tin has infiltrated provocateurs from Russia’s spe- ary demonstrated a stunning lack of judgment. Massachusetts and Mississippi actually are. At the cial forces and Federal Security Service to pro- Any new constitution must reassure Ukraine’s same time, however, the federal government is OOO Neva Media ì˜‰ËÚÂθ Ë ËÁ‰‡ÚÂθ – ééé “ç‚‡ å‰ˇ” mote pro-Russian sentiment in the region. Russian-speaking citizens that this attempt to ex- still powerful. In 2013, for example, Washington Copyright © 2005 The St. Petersburg Times. All Rights Reserved. While eastern Ukraine has historically maintained ecute another “language revanche” will not hap- collected almost $3 trillion in taxes, and the fed- Mass media registration certificate number èà ‹ îë2-8918 of November 30, 2007, close historical, economic and cultural ties with Rus- pen again. eral government maintains full control over all issued by the Directorate of the Federal Service for the monitoring of compliance with sia, support for secession there is not as overwhelm- There are other countries that serve as good defense and foreign policy, as well as maintaining legislation in the sphere of mass communications and the preservation of cultural heritage ing as in Crimea. The key for Kiev to maintain peace, models of a decentralized political system for a monopoly on monetary power through the Cen- of the North-West Federal District. ë‚ˉ ÚÂθ ÒÚ ‚Ó Ó Â„Ë ÒÚ ‡ ˆËË Ò‰ÒÚ ‚‡ χÒÒÓ ‚ÓÈ security and stability in eastern Ukraine is moving Ukraine. Although some commentators have sug- tral Bank. ËÌÙÓ χ ˆËË èà ‹ îë2-8918 ÓÚ 30 ÌÓfl · fl 2007 „Ó‰‡, ‚˚‰‡ ÌÓ ìÔ‡ ‚ ΠÌË ÂÏ î‰Â- toward a more decentralized, or federal, political gested Bosnia, this is a terrible idea. Mandated by After the May presidential election, Ukraine’s ‡Î¸ÌÓÈ ÒÎÛÊ·˚ ÔÓ Ì‡‰ÁÓ Û Á‡ Òӷβ ‰Â ÌË ÂÏ Á‡ÍÓ ÌÓ ‰‡ ÚÂθ ÒÚ ‚‡ ‚ ÒÙÂ χÒÒÓ ‚˚ı structure is to draft a new constitution. the Dayton accords of 1995, Bosnia’s constitution highest priority should be drafting a new constitu- ÍÓÏÏÛ ÌË Í‡ ˆËÈ Ë Óı‡ Ì ÍÛθÚÛ ÌÓ „Ó Ì‡ÒΠ‰Ëfl ÔÓ ë‚ Ó-ᇠԇ‰ ÌÓ ÏÛ Ù‰ ‡Î¸ ÌÓ ÏÛ There is no single best distribution of powers established a very loose confederation between a tion, ideally through a constitutional convention. ÓÍÛ „Û. Издание предназначено для аудитории старше 16 лет. between centralized and decentralized federal Bosnia-Croat entity and a Serbian one. A countrywide referendum on the new constitu- models, but here are some guidelines: Although Bosnia’s political model has pre- tion observed by international election monitors Отпечатано в ОАО «Первая Образцовая типография» филиал «СПб газетный 1. Above all, Kiev should allow for the direct vented another outbreak of sectarian warfare should follow. комплекс». 198216, СПб, Ленинский пр., 139. Заказ № 1364. election of governors rather than having them ap- there, it has resulted in political paralysis, multiple While decentralization is not a panacea for Подписано в печать: по графику в 1.00, фактически в 1.00. Тираж 20000 экз. pointed by Kiev, which is the current practice. At overlapping government responsibilities and the Ukraine, some devolution of powers would reas- Распространяется бесплатно. The St. Petersburg Times is a free publication. the suggestion of former Ukrainian Prime Minis- creation of a country that is unified in name only. sure Russian speakers that Kiev respects their ter Yulia Tymoshenko, who is running for presi- Implementing a similar structure in Ukraine concerns and that there is a future for them in a Address: 190000, Russia, St. Petersburg, dent in the May election, the new government would be an open invitation to further Russian democratic Ukraine. 4 Konnogvardeisky boulevard, Entrance 7, 3rd floor. appointed two Ukrainian oligarchs to govern the meddling in the east. Telephone/Fax: (7-812) 325-60-80. regions of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk. This The U.S. offers a better example. There, all lev- Josh Cohen, a former U.S. State Department offi- ĉÂÒ ‰‡ÍˆËË: 190000, Конногвардейский бульвар, only alienates people from their local government els of government — national, state and local — cial, involved in managing economic reform proj- д. 4, лит. А, подъезд 7, этаж 3 and exacerbates the political conflict between have their own tax and budget authority, and each ects in the former Soviet Union, works for a satel- Internet: http://www.sptimes.ru Ukrainians and Russians in the region. level of government collects taxes directly. While lite technology company in the Washington area.

Учредитель и издатель – ООО «Нева Медиа». Главный редактор – Крис Гордон. Адрес: 190000, СПб, Конногвардейский бульвар, 4, 7 подъезд, 3-й этаж. Свидетельство о регистрации средства массовой информации ПИ № ФС2-8918 от 30 ноября 2007 года, выдано Управлением Федеральной службы по надзору за соблюдением законодательства в сфере массовых коммуникаций и охране культурного наследия по Саверо-Западному федеральному округу. Издание предназначено для аудитории старше 16 лет. Отпечатано в ОАО «Первая Образцовая типография» филиал «СПб газетный комплекс». 198216, СПб, Ленинский пр., 139. Заказ № 1364. Подписано в печать: по графику в 1.00, фактически в 1.00. Тираж 20000 экз.