04.10.2009
Russian Society
Culture, Demographics, Politics
September, 2009The following resource is meant to quickly introduce the reader to everyday life in Russia: how Russians live, 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. Civil Society Recession Hits Russian Charities Hard
While American charities have been hit by the bad economy, nonprofit organizations in Russia report that they may face even worse financial straits. Over 700 NGO Projects To Be Implemented In 2009 With Budget Aid
Russia's Public Chamber has summed up the results of the contest for the annual governmental support to non-profit and non-governmental organizations. The Kremlin's think tank
Proof of this was supplied again last week, when the country's two leaders showed in their different ways that while Dmitry Medvedev may be the president, for many Vladimir Putin is still the boss. Eurasia Foundation report on Civil Society Summit in Moscow
U.S. - Russian interaction in the civil society sector has achieved a great deal over the last decade, but in recent years, as bilateral relations deteriorated, cooperation in the civil society sphere suffered. Crime and Corruption Court orders further probe into Russian killing
In a surprise ruling, Russia's Supreme Court ordered further investigation into the killing of an investigative journalist gunned down after harshly criticizing Vladimir Putin's Kremlin and human rights abuses in Chechnya. Capital Offenses
The death penalty has not been used in Russia since 1996, when then-President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree to phase it out. But most lawyers agree that the resulting suspension is de facto, rather than de jure, and its final status remains legally ambiguous. Missing channel pirate ship carried Russian arms for Iran
The Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth £1.3m, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. It was recovered off west Africa on August 17 when eight alleged hijackers were arrested. The Kremlin has consistently denied that the vessel was carrying a secret cargo. It claims the ship was hijacked by criminals who demanded a £1m ransom. Russian FM denies S-300 missiles on hijacked ship
Russia's foreign minister rejected speculation that a hijacked Russian-crewed freighter was carrying S-300 missiles possibly destined for Iran. The Arctic Sea was seized by pirates in the Baltic Sea in late July after leaving a Finnish port. Russian naval vessels intercepted the ship weeks later off Cape Verde, thousands of kilometers from the Algerian port where it was purportedly supposed to deliver a load of timber. Roads perfect example of Moscow corruption
Nineteenth-century Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol once said his country has two problems: roads and fools. And roads, a new study claimed Tuesday, cost many times more to build in Moscow than in U.S. and European cities because of corruption. Russia's Average Bribe Triples Over Year To 27,000 Rbls
The average bribe given in Russia has tripled over twelve months to reach 27,000 rubles, the chief of the Interior Ministry's department for economic security, Yuri Shalakov, said after a meeting of the coordinating council of chiefs of the CIS countries' tax and financial investigations authorities. Witnesses' Fears Hamper Probes Into High-profile Crimes
The investigation into the recent high-profile crimes in the North Caucasus is hampered by witnesses' reluctance to cooperate with the investigators, because they fear for their safety, chairman of the Investigations Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office (SKP) Alexander Bastrykin said on Friday.
Russia Probes Bolshoi Theater Embezzlement as Renovation Stalls
Russian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the possible embezzlement of funds earmarked for the restoration of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater, founded in 1776. Arctic Sea investigation 'over'
Russia says it has finished looking into the case of a cargo ship allegedly hijacked in the Baltic Sea in July. Culture The Theatre of Discussion
Russia holds an important place in the history of world theatre. Great playwrights and theoreticians like Anton Chekhov and Konstantin Stanislavsky have been studied in nearly all corners of the world. Yet despite this great theatrical tradition, little is known about Russia's new and innovative playwrights and directors. Russia Profile: Living By the Books
This month's magazine explores Russia's contemporary literary world. Chess legends Kasparov and Karpov face off again
Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov reignite one of the greatest rivalries in the history of chess this week with a re-match of their classic 1984 world championship contest. Kasparov beats Karpov in rerun of 1984 chess clash
Russian chess legend Gary Kasparov has won a re-match of his classic 1984 world championship contest with compatriot Anatoly Karpov, ending a 12-match clash in the Spanish city of Valencia 9-3. The October issue of KinoKultura is now available
It contains coverage of the Moscow and Sochi film festivals, as well as reviews of the latest Russian films. Demographics Death Rate On Russian Roads Declines By 12 Prc In Jan-July
The death rate on Russian roads decreased by 12 percent in the first seven months of the year. Over 13,000 peopled died in 105,376 road accidents registered in January-July. The Migrant Experience: Aboard The 'Eastern Express'
Those traveling all the way to the Russian capital face a four-day journey that will take them more than 4,000 kilometers across Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and southern Russia. Average Life Expectancy In Moscow Up By Nine Years Over 12 Years
The average life expectancy in Moscow lengthened by nine years in the past 12 years, while the average life expectancy in the whole of Russia increased over the same period by one year and a half, a source in the Moscow public health department told Itar-Tass. Russia postpones nationwide population census to 2013
Russia's next national census, originally scheduled for October 2010, has been postponed to 2013 due to the economic crisis. "We hope the census will be conducted in October 2013, because October is the best month for a census in Russia." Has Russia's Population Fallen Below 140 Million
In preparing for what was to have been the 2010 census, the Russian State Statistical Committee concluded that Russia's population may now be below 140 million, two million fewer than it has been reporting and a difference that highlights both why a census is so important and why Moscow officials may have postponed this one. Education New Russian MBA program tackles real-world hassles
A handful of top Russian business figures have created an MBA program that tackles the issues they faced themselves: bribery, relentless bureaucracy, imperfect laws.
Environment Arctic Shortcut Beckons Shippers as Ice Thaws
For hundreds of years, mariners have dreamed of an Arctic shortcut that would allow them to speed trade between Asia and the West. Two German ships are poised to complete that transit for the first time, aided by the retreat of Arctic ice that scientists have linked to global warming. A Russian university with your name on it
Back to School Day in Russia and much of the world. For many adults, the onset of autumn evokes fond memories of academe and a better time in life. Much better, in fact: if you could pass occasional exams and scrounge enough money for room, books and pizza, you got a multi-year permit to finesse your country's armed services and the real world generally. It was called college, and you loved it. 'Gulag' book, once banned, is now required reading
The book that made "Gulag" a synonym for the horrors of Soviet oppression will be taught in Russian high schools, a generation after the Kremlin banned it as destructive to the Communist cause and exiled its author. The Retreat of the Tongue of the Czars
Two decades ago, there would have been little if any demand for such works, given that most people in this region are ethnic Russians. But the Ukrainian government is increasingly requiring that the Ukrainian language be used in all facets of society, especially schools, as it seeks to ensure that the next generation is oriented toward Kiev, not Moscow. Russian Supreme Court Orders Tatarstan To Change Language Law
Tatarstan's parliament is considering amendments to the law on its state languages after the Russian Supreme Court ordered the Tatar government to harmonize those laws with federal Russian legislation. Health Alcoholism Down Twofold In St Petersburg And Region, But Still High Nationwide
The number of people afflicted with alcoholism in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region has decreased twofold over the past five years. In 2003-2008, the number of patients suffering from alcoholism officially registered in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region decreased by 25 percent, while the alcoholism incidence rate dropped twofold. History Putin Praises Poland for Bravery During World War II
Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II, praised Polish soldiers and citizens on Tuesday for their wartime bravery, even as the Russian government unveiled what it said were previously classified documents showing prewar Polish cooperation with Nazi Germany. Fury as Russia presents 'evidence' Poland sided with Nazis before war
Russia today released secret documents from the archives of its foreign intelligence service that it said showed how Poland sided with the Nazis before the second world war and tried to destroy the Soviet Union. Details of press conference, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk
This is an important meeting for our two countries. First of all, I would like to thank Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for accepting the invitation to attend the events in Gdansk which coincide with the anniversary of the start of World War II. This gesture is important not only for the Polish public. Poles divided over Putin's message
If anyone thought that all Poles were equal in their antagonism towards Russia, it would be enough to spend just one minute listening to the recent speeches by the president and the prime minister to realize that a whole spectrum of opinions exists in Polish society regarding the Soviet Union's role in World War II and Russia's current relations with Poland. Lawsuit to defend Stalin divides Russia
Both sides are hoping that a lawsuit that opened Tuesday in a Moscow court will turn into Russia's trial of the century – of the last century, that is. Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification
Two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Margaret Thatcher told President Gorbachev that neither Britain nor Western Europe wanted the reunification of Germany and made clear that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it. Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine
The point of the system, he explains, was to guarantee an automatic Soviet response to an American nuclear strike. Even if the US crippled the USSR with a surprise attack, the Soviets could still hit back. Russia condemns Polish WW2 resolution as blow to ties
Russia said Polish lawmakers had dealt a blow to efforts to improve relations by adopting a resolution condemning the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland 70 years ago. Polish Church Elders Call For Russia to Be Forgiven
A senior Polish bishop said Saturday Poland must forgive Russia for Soviet crimes in order to improve relations, speaking at a graveyard of more than 4,000 Polish officers killed by Josef Stalin's army in 1940. Media Outspoken Arctic Sea ship commentator flees Russia
A prominent maritime expert said he had been forced to flee Russia after accusing the Russian authorities of being involved in the mysterious high-seas disappearance of the Arctic Sea ship. Interfax Reporter Expelled From Dam
RusHydro expelled an Interfax reporter from its Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant, where a flood last month killed 75 people, over what the news agency said Wednesday was the journalist's refusal to let the company edit his stories. Controversial Decision By U.S. Publisher Sparks Debate On Free Speech, Censorship
The decision by a major U.S. publisher to quash the publication of a controversial article in the Russian edition of one its magazines has sparked a lively debate in the United States about self-censorship and freedom of expression. GQ's conspiracy "revelations" – much ado about nothing
In the article "The Dark Rise to Power", author Scott Anderson challenges the Kremlin's official line on a series of bombings that killed hundreds of people in Russia in 1999. Russia, EU tell CPJ they will act on Russian murders
Moscow police must immediately investigate and bring to an end a campaign of harassment orchestrated in part by a pro-Kremlin organization against online journalist Aleksandr Podrabinek. Internet users in Russia most often read news
One of the most popular pastimes of Russian Internet users is reading news, a study carried out by the Public Opinion Foundation and the Online Monitor project has shown. From 65 to 77 per cent of users read news at least once a month. Public Opinion Most Russians pleased with authorities' handling of power plant accident
Russia's top industrial safety oversight official said Saturday that negligence was a major factor in a devastating accident at the country's biggest hydroelectric power plant, and hinted that high-level officials could face trial over the disaster that killed 75 workers. Third of Russians consider Stalin 'state criminal'
Just over a third of Russians (38 per cent) think that Joseph Stalin was a state criminal, with 12 per cent "in total agreement" with this statement and 26 per cent "largely in agreement." Most Russians still see their economy in crisis
Nearly three-quarters of Russians believe their economy is still in crisis, an opinion poll showed on Thursday, despite recent signs of revival. Over 80 per cent of Russians economize due to crisis
More than 80 per cent of Russians are economizing because of the crisis. According to Fedorov, the number of those who economize on everything is slowly decreasing: in April there were 58 per cent of them, in May 54 per cent and now 48 per cent. Federov believes that economizing is becoming sensible. On Moscow Streets, A Range Of Views On Chavez Visit
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose whirlwind visit to the Russian capital this week was part of a nine-country tour, likes to make headlines. In Moscow, he did so by offering a surprise announcement that his Latin American country was prepared to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Religion Russia's Patriarch Increasingly Becoming Major Force In Politics
When Patriarch Kirill visited Russia's largest shipyard in late August, he was greeted with full military honors. As a brass band played at the Northern Shipyard in Severodvisnk, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church strolled past a row of sailors in dress uniform, boarded a nuclear submarine, and presented the crew with an icon of the Mother of God. Religion in schools, finally
Russia's Orthodox Church has finally won its battle to make religious education compulsory in schools, says Russian Orthodox Church official Viktor Malukhin. But the secularists have won concessions too. Find out more! SRAS Travel Services
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