29.04.2008
How Russians Live
April, 2008The following resource is meant to quickly introduce the reader to everyday life in Russia: how Russians live, earn, spend, study, relax, and worship. This news review is part of SRAS's monthly "obzor" publications. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up. Public Opinion
On Government and Social Problems Russians Satisfied with Government
The majority of Russians are satisfied with the current government and see no particular need to change its makeup under prime minister Vladimir Putin, a new survey conducted by the Levada center has found. The Russians Trust People in Power
Although the recent presidential election isn't any longer the highlight for the Russians, the nation is well aware that First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev prevailed on support of President Vladimir Putin, signaled the recent poll of Levada Center. Inflation, Alcoholism Are Top Concerns of the Russians
Most Russians view inflation, alcoholism and drug addiction the most burning problems of the country, showed the poll of All-Russia's Center for Public Opinion Studies. Russians Expect a Lot from PM Putin
Eighty-eight percent of Russians expect Putin to retain his political influence after his presidential term ends; 29 percent of those who voted for Medvedev expect Putin to retain the main control even after his term ends. Feature: Putin Sex Scandal
Paper admits story was false, closes doors Vladimir Putin 'to wed Olympic gymnast half his age
According to Moskovski Korrespondent, the couple are to marry in mid-June, little more than a month after he steps down as Russian president. One website went so far as to claim that the pair had been seen kissing in a Moscow restaurant. Putin denies marriage plans with ex-gymnast:'I like them all'
'You are talking about an article in our yellow press. Other such journals mention other successful, beautiful young women and girls. I think it's not shocking to say that I like them all,' Putin answered journalists during a visit with Italian prime minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi in Sardinia. 'Sorry' says Russian tabloid for Putin's wedding report
The Russian tabloid Moskovsky Korrespondent on Friday apologised for carrying a report that President Vladimir Putin is to marry a rhythmic gymnast, saying "there is no factual base for our publication." The Scary Story Behind the Putin Sex Scandal
Which leads us back to the seemingly bunk Putin rumor. It looks more and more likely that someone from the FSB planted it knowing it would make Lebedev and his paper look foolish. (strong language warning) Journalism and Media
Newspapers, blogs, radio, and journalism unions Journalists Union Meets Amid Media Crisis
The convention of the journalists union of Russia is taking place in Moscow amid troubled times for Russian reporters. Of Russia's Agencies, RIA Novosti Is the First to Sell News to China
Russia's news agency RIA Novosti clinched a deal in Beijing on Thursday to directly sell its Chinese economic newswire to China Economic Information Service, the agent of state-run Xinhua news agency. Russia through the eyes of the world's press
LexisNexis, a company which runs an archive of printed sources has carried out an analysis of Russian stories in the world press over a two-week period. "The Kremlin is our real stockholder"
Editor-in-chief of the Echo Moskvy radio station to decide to tell the truth at last. Ex-Kremlin Journalist Talks From U.K. Asylum
Five years ago, she was the talk of the Russian publishing world: a sassy young reporter unafraid of spilling the beans about what really goes on behind the walls of the Kremlin. There Is No Freedom Of Speech In Russia Media
There is no freedom of speech in the Russian media, said Russian Television Academy President and prominent TV journalist Vladimir Pozner. Russian Union Of Journalists' Chairman Apologizes
Union of Journalists of Russia (SZhR) Chairman Vsevolod Bogdanov offered personal apologies to Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov for the embarrassment he caused by approving a request by the Chechen subsidiary of the SZhR to enroll Kadyrov into its ranks. Alex Rodriguez, Trial in Russia sends message to bloggers
Savva Terentyev doesn't hide his disdain for police. The anger threading through a rant he posted on a friend's blog made that clear. Bad cops, the young Russian songwriter wrote, should be taken to this city's downtown plaza and burned alive. Putting On Putin
Vladimir V. Putin is a fashion victim, addicted to luxurious clothes. Or at least he is according to the Russian version of Esquire magazine, which "posed" him as a model in December. If Press Freedom Observed, Russian Reporters Will Not Seek Political Asylum
The granting of political asylum in Britain to former reporter of the newspaper Kommersant Yelena Tregubova, although a private case, nevertheless reflects the press freedom situation in Russia, said Mikhail Fedotov, secretary of the Russian Union of Journalists and an author of the Law on the Mass Media. Novaya Gazeta chief editor in Samara on trial for pirated software
A court hearing has began in the case of the chief editor of Novaya Gazeta v Samare (Novaya Gazeta in Samara) Sergey Kurt-Adzhiyev who is being accused of using unlicensed Adobe, Microsoft and 1C software to publish the newspaper. Journalist Murders in Russia Politkovskaya Suspect's Photo Leaked
A photograph of Rustam Makhmudov, the man identified in media reports as the prime suspect in the 2006 killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was published Tuesday on a Russian web site. Aide to Starovoitova Fears Trail Gone Cold
The aide to slain State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova fears investigators have given up trying to establish who ordered the shooting. Top investigator says Berezovsky ordered Politkovskaya's murder
A Russian chief investigator has claimed that fugitive tycoon Boris Berezovsky was behind the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a respected daily said on Thursday. Politkovskaya's killer identified, being sought
Prosecutors have not named the suspect and say he's being sought by police. Science and Technology
Space flight and Internet use The Landing Was Rough
A special commission probing into the reasons of Soyuz TMA-11 ballistic landing sets to work in Energia Corp. today, April 21, 2008. The crew suffered gravity of double extent and TV showed astronauts only in a few hours after touching the ground. Interfax, LexisNexis Agreed to Cooperate
Interfax announced yesterday the start of cooperation with U.S. LexisNexis. Social Nets Lure Bloggers
The number of active bloggers in Runet lost a portion in the recent half-year and the blogsphere growth was half as much, says the report of Yandex. World's First Spacewoman Saw Off First Spacewoman of South Korea In Tears
World's first woman-cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova burst in tears when seeing off South Korean first astronaut Yi So-yeon. Science Gets Outside Management
The government has approved a program for fundamental scientific research by the state academies of sciences through 2012, with budgeting of 253 billion rubles. The academies will be able to define their own research priorities, but they will have a financial controller in the form of a coordinating council made up of both academic leaders and government officials that will manage financial flows. Stopping the Brain Drain
"Very few re¬searchers now move abroad permanently. They go there for several months or years, but only temporarily." Education, History, and Language
New WWII Files Opened, MGIMO gives honorary degree Student in Court for Anonymous Threat
Epikhin was the author of an anonymous letter warning of an attempt being prepared on the life of presidential candidate Dmitry Medvedev. Abbas Became MGIMO Honorary Doctor
The Academic Council of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) has awarded the honorary doctor title to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. New Slavic Fonts Available For Download
At the beginning of April, Unicode version 5.1 has been officially released. FSB Opens WW2 Files
The FSB is ready to provide access to the WW2 files both to journalists and historians, Colonel Sergei Ignatchenko announced Tuesday. Ignatchenko is the chief of the PR Center at FSB. The baffling, beautiful richness of Russian
THE language I am fondest of is Russian. It is a bruised sort of affection, like the residue of many years with an intense but difficult lover. Moscow's Soon-to-Be Global Business School
Skolokov will pay top-notch wages to hire faculty from around the world. Dumbing Russia Down
The Kremlin has largely marginalized Russia's intelligentsia. But 'Girls of the Military' is a hit. Palm-greasing At Russian Universities Continues Swelling
Since the beginning of 2008, economic security units have exposed 1,300 or so crimes pertaining to bribery, and a big part of them fall on colleges and universities, many of which have long earned notoriety as the grossly corrupt organizations. Moscow Learns from London's Mistake
The Russian Centers for International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation have been open for long time, but had operated without a government order. NGOs and Civil Society
The NGO law, passed in 2006, begins to have major effects Thousands of Russian NGOs face closure for not meeting onerous rules
The requirements, now in the second year, are more significant than before, because fewer organizations have been able to keep up — and because authorities have signaled they plan to increase audits and court actions. Russian sexual minorities to demand state guarantees for their rights
We have arrived at a conclusion on the need to determine the aims and methods of LGBT-movement in the mid-term, for the next three to five years. Russian human rights activists call for reconsideration of law on NGOs
Several Russian and foreign human rights organizations has urged the European Union to demand that the Russian authorities take measures to improve the state of civil society in the country, including a review of the law on non-commercial organizations. Sarah Lindemann-Komarova: The Parallel Universes of NGOs in Russia
I am sure most people reading this think that the biggest threat to NGOs in Russia today is the amendments to the NGO laws. You believe it because you have read or heard endless press announcements, commentary and interviews. "Foreign NGOs support terrorism in Russia"
"Any such references to foreign NGOs harm their reputation. All this reflects in an extremely negative light in people's consciousness. Let the FSB name something concrete." Brave Environmentalist Wins 'Green Nobel'
Russian ecologist Marina Rikhvanova was last week awarded the world-renowned Goldman Environmental Prize — the "Green Nobel" — at a ceremony at San Francisco's Opera House on Monday. Give Russian NGO a taste of its own medicine
How should the United States react? Here are some ideas: Send the Internal Revenue Service in to audit the institute's books - over and over again. Dispatch thugs to beat up local children who do volunteer work for the institute. Require its officers to file quarterly reports on their activities. Russia jails ammo-smuggling U.S. pastor
A Moscow court on Monday sentenced a U.S. pastor to more than three years in prison for smuggling hunting ammunition into Russia. Religion
Gorbachev: Confirmed Atheist Visa changes leave religious communities in limbo
Recent changes to the visa regime governing foreign religious workers are hampering the operations of some religious communities. Gorbachev Confirms He Is Atheist But Speaks Highly Of Religion
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made clear this past weekend that he is an atheist after European news agencies last week claimed that he had confirmed his Christian faith during a visit to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy. Gorbachev a closet Christian?
Several European media outlets were quick to size up Gorbachev's half hour of silence at St. Francis' tomb as proof that the 77-year-old former leader of an atheistic superpower was, in fact, a Christian. Putin Congratulates Russian Patriarch on Easter
I wish to assure you that the state will continue to support the Church in all its work to enlighten and further the moral education of our citizens, strengthen the influence of family values in the public awareness and maintain and consolidate unity in the Orthodox community". Demographics
Economic, Racial, and Other Issues in Russia Far East University Knife Fight
The fight made headline news across Russia when mobile telephone footage of the conflict was posted on a local news agency site. The grainy images showed an argument between two students that quickly escalated as other Russian and Chinese youths appeared on the scene close to the state university's main entrance in the Far East port city. Economy Develops Unevenly in Regions
In the Urals Federal District, gdp per capita is almost twice the national average, (308,300 rubles), while in the Southern District, it is less than half the average (70,700 rubles). Neo-Fascists Attacked Teenagers in Moscow
Armed by knives, a group of roughly 15 attacked seven teenagers in downtown Moscow Sunday; the young people were going to the punk concert at Art Garbage Club, RBC reported. One of teenagers died of the knife wound. Domestic violence kills Russian women hourly
14,000 women are killed as a result of domestic violence in Russia annually. Ethnic Brawl in Vladivostok Highlights Russian Fears of Chinese
A clash between Chinese and Russian students throws into high relief growing Russian worries about China and especially Chinese immigration into that under-populated region of the Russian Federation. Moscow Killings Blamed on Racism
Non-Slavs targeted, rights groups say. Russia experiences a post-Soviet first: a baby boom
"The doctors said when they opened two years ago, we could have played football in the halls," she said. "Now there are queues. When you call you can't get through. The line is always busy." Tracking Hate Crimes a Tricky Business
"In any country, the more you start monitoring, the more you're going to find that the numbers go up simply because you're taking note of a problem you hadn't taken note of before," he said. The Chechen Diaspora in Russia
The intellectual core of the Diaspora is mostly concentrated in the two Russian capitals of Moscow and St. Petersburg. MPs Took Care of Non-Residents without IDs
Special facilities of temporarily accommodation should be created in Russia for non-residents having no identification documents at hand. Health, Safety, and Aging
Healthcare remains a problem in Russia Bitter pills on World Health Day
Despite certain progress in this field in the last two years, Russia has nothing to boast about. Russia butting out
Tobacco producers will have to pay higher taxes and give up smoking ads. Smokers should get ready to pay more for cigarettes and expect a ban on smoking in public places. Kennan Institute event summary: Up in Smoke
Tobacco is responsible for about 700 deaths a day in Russia, or about 220,000 to 300,000 premature deaths annually, and [according to a World Bank report] is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in Russia. New Chance To Make the Roads Safer
If any country has a record of poor road safety, it is certainly Russia. Perhaps this is what qualifies Russia to host a landmark conference on the issue next year. Russian Hospital Finds Push for Progress Blocked
Doctors at the hospital said the crackdown was the culmination of a two-year campaign by local officials to wrest control of tens of thousands of dollars that were to transform the once-crumbling hospital into a model of preventive medicine in a rural community. Over 117,000 Russians Diagnosed With TB In 2007
The highest disease incidence, the same as before, is registered in the Far East (132), Siberia (127) and Urals (103.9). Almost Home
Old Age is a tricky issue. It comes to most of us, yet its difficulties and indignities are always a surprise. Nobody quite agrees on how to meet these challenges, however, and the issue of care at home or in a professional institution is a contentious one - especially in Russia. Russian Regions Rated on Ecology
The Russian public organization Green Patrol has issued the first-ever ecological rating of the subjects of the federation. Moscow ranked 52nd out of 84 places. Russia to Go Through Pharmaceutical Collapse by Year-End
Most of small pharmaceutical chains, including all discounts, will probably close by this year-end. As to the big players, they will have to wind up their drugstores in downtown Moscow and streets of highest prestige, says the annual report of DSM Group. Bloomberg: Moscow Dog Attacks Spur $64 Million Castration Drive
Moscow is spending $64 million to castrate as many as 50,000 stray dogs because of a rising number of attacks on people, including one fatality this month. Art, Culture, and Weather
Newspapers, blogs, radio, and journalism unions Lenin's mausoleum reopens following maintenance works
The mausoleum at Red Square, where the embalmed corpse of ex-Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is housed, reopened on Tuesday after two-months of maintenance works. Moscow Registered Another Temperature Record
The warm-weather record of 30 years has been hit in Moscow today. Nabakov Journal, Issue 2 Online
A free online journal about concentrating on Nabakov studies. Russian Eurovision Competitor Chosen
Pop singer Dima Bilan has been chosen to represent Russia with his song "Believe Me" at Eurovision 2008 song contest in Belgrade May 24. Art Cultural Treasures Stolen in Thousands
61 thefts from museums, exhibition halls, galleries, libraries and archives, 162 thefts from places of worship and 795 thefts from apartments and homes were reported in Russia last year. Gone with the wind
Natalia Goncharova loved speed. Born in 1881, Goncharova was a central figure of the Russian avant-garde in the early 20th century. Masterpieces to Grace Moscow Streets
Reproductions of paintings from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts will be displayed on the sides of buildings in Moscow as part of the "Masterpieces on Moscow Streets" program between May 18 and October 18, reports prefect of the city's central administrative district Sergey Baidakov. Monument to Boris Yeltsin Opened in Moscow
The monument to Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin was inaugurated in Novodevichie cemetery, Moscow. Putin Won't Replace Marx
The Moscow City Duma Commission on Monumental Art has turned down the idea of erecting a monument to Russian President Vladimir Putin, delaying the question for a future time. Theatre, Film Moscow elite strive for pre-Soviet identity via art
Interest in Russian art and Russian interest in fine art around the world is booming. KinoKultura 20 now online
The April issue of KinoKultura (20) is now available on line. 20th Century Fox Sues Russian Partner
20th Century Fox has filed suit against Gemini Film International. The Russian company is co-owned by Russian businessman Michael Shlikht and German film magnate Bodo Scriba. Daghestani Decree May Spell Curtains For Play
"In Your Hands" closely follows the events of the Dubrovka siege, with actors scattered throughout the real audience playing the roles of some of the theatergoers back in 2002. It's a chilling performance, one Pelevine says is supposed to provoke spectators into thinking how they would behave in a real hostage situation. Sport Olympic Fire Arrived in Russia
Russia welcomes the Olympic Torch. Official airliner of Beijing Olympics Organization Committee landed at 3:30 a.m. MSK in St. Petersburg. The lamp with Olympic fire was handed over to St. Petersburg Vice Governor Sergei Tarasov. Rugby in Russia
Georgia ground out a hard fought (literally, at times) 18-12 victory over Russia in Krasnoyarsk in the Rugby Union European Nations Cup title decider. Calzaghe to Fight a Super Bout or More
Joe Calzaghe of Wales who prevailed over Bernard Hopkins of the U.S. on Saturday announced he may end the career after the next fight. The news means Russia's super middleweight boxer Denis Inkin has solid chance to win the title. Find Out More!
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