THE RUSSIA JOURNAL Published in Moscow & Washington, D.C
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WEEKLY THE RUSSIA JOURNAL Published in Moscow & Washington, D.C. August 16 - 22, 2002 Since 1998. Vol. 5, No. 127 AVIATION THE FIFTH DREAMING COMPLICATION ELEMENT OF BIG BEN Recent crashes lead to The city plans to replace A new travel agency hopes insurance premium hikes. five-story Khrushchevkas. to cash in on U.K. travel. Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 DivineDivine interventionintervention Russia’s church- restoration firms cry corruption Pages 6-7 ITAR-TASS WHO OWNS LUKASHENKO RUSSIA AND INFLATION An inside look into the A roundup of the week’s country’s show-business business news in Russia industry and its leaders. and the C.I.S. PAGES 14−16 PAGES 17−20 ITAR-TASS ITAR-TASS www.Loot.ru The best connection you will ever make Bilingual clas- sifieds portal Apartments and offices for rent • Build a workforce • Get career advice • Expand for Russia and FURNISHED APARTMENTS AVAILABLE your opportunities Eurasia Management and Leasing: Advertisement enquiries theLEADER Hines at (095) 937-6688 ONWARD, UPWARD tel: 956−5050 • fax: 956−5920 • www.mbtg.ru/ppm or e-mail:[email protected] www.theLeader.ru 14 > August 16 − 22, 2002 ИД "Коммерсантъ" Who owns Russia The Russia Journal presents the next installment in a Kommersant-Vlast and NTV report that unmasks the people behind Russian industry. Welcome to the music industry Kommersant prizes were awarded in exchange for bribes. In 2001, Sirotyuk announced that, History of the sector from then on, he would take money for ▼ 1995❙ giving an award officially. In May, Radio Maximum gave its backing to the first Maxidrome rock festival in ▼ 1993❙ Moscow. The festival was organized by 1991-2000 Maximum’s program director, Mikhail Russian recording company SBA/Gala Kozyrev, producer Dmitry Groisman and By YURY YAROTSKY was founded by weekly paper Records signed an agreement with EMI, heads of Rise Music Vladimir Meskhi and Moskovskiye Novosti and U.S. companies whose catalogue included the Beatles Leonid Landa. Groups taking part in the festi- y 1991, the Russian music business Westwood One Inc., Story First albums, David Bowie and many other pop- val included Agatha Christy, Va-Bank, industry had already all but shed Communication and Harris Corporation. ular artists. This was the first Western Bravo, Nogu Svelo!, Nyeprikasayemiye and B its Soviet heritage. Melodiya, the Alexander Kasparov, Radio Maximum’s major to enter the Russian market. others. The experience was a success and gave state recording company, had lost its influ- first program director, is now regional The Russian Supreme Soviet passed a Russia its first major annual rock festival. ence on the market and official concert director for EMI in Eastern Europe. law on copyright and related rights. A year BMG, the third major to come to Russia, organizers were losing ground to private later, the International Federation of opened a representative office. organizers. The sector’s subsequent histo- Phonogram Producers opened a represen- From May to June, a string of interna- ry is one of putting into place more civi- ▼ 1992❙ tative office in Russia. For the first time, tional stars — Roxette, Joe Cocker, Elton lized market laws and a general increase in the country had a legal basis to protect John, Diana Ross and Julio Iglesias — activity that was dealt a sharp blow by the An audio and video market opened in copyrights and fight audio piracy. played in Moscow. Most of these concerts 1998 financial crisis. the Gorbunov House of Culture in the west were organized by SAV Entertainment. of Moscow. This market went on to become In October, a presentation was held in the famous Gorbushka, the biggest pirated ▼ 1994❙ Moscow for the magazine O!, the first ▼ 1991❙ audio and video market in the world. Russian publication devoted to pop music The Ovatsiya national music prize was Polygram, the second major company to and designed along the lines of similar In September, a concert called the awarded for the first time in the Rossiya enter the Russian market, opened an office publications in the West. The magazine Monsters of Rock at Tushino took place at state concert hall. The awards were orga- not far from the Gorbushka market. Boris was published by Seva Novgorodtsev, the the Tushino airfield in Moscow. On stage nized by obscure businessmen Grigory Zosimov became Polygram’s first director BBC Russian service’s legendary music were Metallica, AC/DC and the Black Kuznetsov and Anatoly Sirotyuk. in Russia. Zosimov was also the first to program host. But there was only enough Crowes. Fans and police clashed on the air- Prizewinners that year included Na-Na, begin marketing recordings of Russian money to put out three issues. The niche field. The concert was organized by Boris Oleg Gazmanov, Tanya Bulanova, poet artists under the Polygram label. These for a quality pop-music magazine in Russia Zosimov, then a little-known entrepreneur. and songwriter Alexander Shaganov and included Philip Kirkorov, the remained empty until 2001, when the first In December, Russia’s first FM radio sta- Radio Evropa Plus. Right from the start, Obermaneken group and Zosimov’s issue of the Russian version of British tion, Radio Maximum, hit the airwaves. It there were accusations that the Ovatsiya daughter, Lena Zosimova. weekly New Musical Express appeared. August 16 − 22, 2002 > 15 Ioseph Kobson Alsou Sergei Arkhipov The Aprelevsky recording factory was wards in an effort to prevent a crush from privatized. Around half the shares taking place. It took people several hours remained in state hands. The company to make their way home after the concert. soon found itself on the brink of bankrupt- The sector today cy and was saved only by renting out fac- tory space. Now part of the factory is used ▼ 1998❙ ven back in Soviet times, there Imperial, one of the first glossy maga- to produce noodles. were business-minded impresarios zines in Russia). In October, the Stantsiya radio station, Russian recording company Soyuz, one E who knew how to organize tours so Before MTV Russia began, Zosimov and created by Rise Music, began broadcasting. of the country’s largest, signed an agree- that artists would get a handsome fee — Viacom company had a long history of It focused on trendy dance music. ment with Warner. This marked the of which they would get a good cut. With relations. arrival of the fourth major on the Russian the arrival of capitalism, these people Thanks to Zosimov’s efforts, clips with market. Warner worked with Soyuz until had the opportunity to give their entre- the MTV logo appeared at various times ▼ 1996❙ 2000 and then decided not to renew the preneurial talents full rein. But not all on the 2x2, Ostankino and TV6 TV chan- contract and began working instead with were successful, and many key positions nels. Zosimov later organized broadcasting Then-President Boris Yeltsin’s presi- young Russian recording company WWW in show business have been snatched up under his own trademark, BIZ-TV. dential election campaign managers came Records. Warner did not divulge its rea- by people previously not connected to the This was what became MTV Russia in up with the “Vote or Lose” slogan and got sons for not continuing work with Soyuz. sector. September 1998, at the height of the almost all of Russia’s rock and pop stars to In April, Boris Zosimov announced an financial crisis. In September 1999, give concerts supporting him. This reached agreement between BIZ Enterprises and ARS Zosimov said in an interview with a high point in June, when Yeltsin danced MTV Networks on launching MTV Russia. ARS is run by composer and business- Kommersant that he had sold part of his on stage during a concert by Yevgeny Osin The TV channel began broadcasting in man Igor Krutoi. The company is involved shares to Viacom, though he did not name in Rostov. A few days later, Sergei September that same year. The first clip it in practically every area of show business, the number of shares or the size of his Lisovsky, one of the organizers of the Vote showed was Mumiy Troll’s “Vladivostok — from managing artists to organizing con- remaining stake. or Lose campaign, was arrested while try- 2000.” certs and broadcasting. The list of artists Having a clip played on MTV has ing to take a box with $500,000 out of a In August, just a few days before the working with ARS includes Valery become virtually a requirement for any government building. financial crisis, the Rolling Stones gave a Leontiev, Alexander Serov, Boris artist to be successful. Not all fit the chan- General Records, a company set up by concert at Moscow’s Luzhniki sports stadi- Moiseyev, Laima Vaikule, Irina Allegrova, nel’s format, but they can always try to SAV Entertainment and music critic um. The group’s fee was a $1.4 million — an Diskoteka Avaria and Prime Minister. get played on Hit-FM, which has a more Artemy Troitsky, put the collected works unprecedented sum for Russia. Rumor had it ARS has its own radio station — Love liberal music policy. of Alla Pugacheva on the market. The col- that Silence Pro, the company that organized Radio. In 2000, ARS almost got the right to Getting played on TV and on the radio is lection contained 13 CDs with 211 songs the concert, suffered heavy losses as a result nighttime airtime on RTR, which had had good publicity and makes it possible to and sold for $150. Rumor had it that of not being able to collect ticket sales earn- plans to launch an alternative to MTV rake in more money from concerts and Pugacheva was the first Russian show- ings from distributors and has been involved from 1 a.m.