САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГ-ТАЙМС
W E D N E SD AY, N OV E M B E R 2 6 , 2014
W W W. S P T I M E S . R U
DANO VUKICEVICH / FOR SPT
N O . 47 (1839)
SNOW BALL
Snow blanketed the ground on Nov. 22 as temperatures dipped sharply this past weekend. Yet the cold weather was not enough to discourage some from staying indoors: the St.
Petersburg White Knights, the city’s only lacrosse club, braved the elements during their practice on Nov. 22 to prepare for an upcoming international tournament in Riga, Latvia.
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www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Third Straight Loss for SKA
By Nathan Proctor
Flashes of their best weren’t enough
for SKA St. Petersburg to snap their
losing streak in Moscow on Monday.
Second-place SKA lost their third
straight game to rivals CSKA Moscow
3-5. The Petersburg club ended their
three-game road trip with zero points
and gifted the Moscow club an eightpoint lead in the Western Conference.
The death of legendary Soviet
hockey coach Viktor Tikhonov was
marked in the CSKA Ice Palace by a
moment of silence and black ribbons
adorning each squads’ sweaters. Viktor Tikhonov, Jr, the coach’s grandson
and a SKA forward, was determined
to play despite the family tragedy.
The junior Tikhonov played with a
drive and effort missing from the
squad’s recent outings and was undoubtedly the fulcrum of SKA’s attack
on the night.
A beautiful triangle of passes began on the stick of Ilya Kovalchuk,
who pushed the puck cross-ice to Viktor Tikhonov, allowing him to find
Jimmie Ericsson sliding into the crease
to tap in the pin-point feed into the
open net four minutes into regulation.
CSKA replied in short order when
Simon Hjalmarsson opened Yevgeni
Ivannikov’s legs with a simple deke
and swept the puck between them at
the tail end of a first-period power
play. The home team took the lead
minutes later when Yevgeni Artyukhin
snapped a powerful wrist shot past
Ivannikov’s blocker after a neutral
zone turnover.
РЕКЛАМА
SKA.RU / FOR SPT
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
Andrei Yermakov carries the puck forward in SKA’s 3-5 defeat to their Moscow rivals.
In the fourth minute of the second
period, SKA was able to make the
most of their man advantage when a
blue line rocket from Andrei Kuteikin
was deflected by Tikhonov past a
helpless Stanislav Galimov.
With ten minutes remaining in the
second, Hjalmarsson struck again,
one-timing a no-look pass from Jan
Mursak past the reach of Ivannikov as
he cheated near-post. Tikhonov was
sure to tally his own double only six
minutes later. A slick cycle of the puck
on another power play saw Vadim
Shipachyov place the puck onto Tikhonov’s stick for an open-net opportunity that he buried.
The return of Shipachyov after a
month long absence was a boon to the
squad and their top forwards effectively played this brand of attractive
old-school Russian hockey all night.
But they were unable to overcome
CSKA’s stout defensive presence or
their own defensive inadequacies.
The third period was all CSKA.
Mursak punished SKA for a sloppy
turnover in their end, and beat Ivannikov’s blocker high and to the left.
Play stagnated until Alexander Radulov put the final nail in the coffin and
took advantage of a mishandled puck
to pull a point-black backhand effort
into the back of the net.
Petersburg now has 70 points,
which is good enough for second in
the Western Conference and KHL but
Helsinki’s Jokerit trails them in the
standings by only one point. SKA return home Thursday night to face the
Eastern Conference’s struggling Metallurg Novokuznetsk at 7:30 p.m.
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ALL ABOUT TOWN
Wednesday, Nov. 26
AmCham’s Public Relations Committee will meet this afternoon in
their office in the New St. Isaac’s
Office Center on Ulitsa Yakubovicha at 4 p.m.
Zoosphere, an international exhibition focusing on the pet industry, opens today at the Lenexpo
convention center on Vasilievsky
Island. Not only will items such as
toys, terrariums and accessories be
available for purchase, but animal
enthusiasts can also learn about
the latest in veterinary medicine
and behavioral training thanks to
the conferences and presentations
that are part of the event.
Thursday, Nov. 27
The Customs and Transportation
Committee for AmCham meets
this morning at 9 a.m. in their office on Ulitsa Yakubovicha.
Tickets are still available for local KHL team SKA St. Petersburg’s showdown with Siberian
club Metallurg Novokuznetsk tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Ice Palace
outside the Prospekt Bolshevikov
metro station. Tickets can be purchased on the team’s website, at
the arena box office or in their
merchandise store on Nevsky
Prospekt.
Celebrate one of Russian literature’s most tragic figures during
Blok Days, a two-day celebration
of the 134th anniversary of the
poet’s birthday. The tragic tenor’s
work, which led to writer Maxim
Gorky to hail him as Russia’s
greatest living poet before his
death in 1921, will be recited and
meetings and discussions about his
contributions to the Silver Age of
literature in St. Petersburg will be
discussed in the confines of his former residence.
Friday, Nov. 28
Strategically dominate your foes at
the British Book Center’s Board
Game Evening. Held every Friday
at 5 p.m., aficionados and amateurs alike can come take part in a
variety of different games that test
one’s intellect and cunning.
Saturday, Nov. 29
Cats, dogs, birds, rodents and reptiles are just some of the things
that will walk and crawl at Lenexpo convention center this weekend as part of Zooshow, a two-day
exhibition featuring not only man’s
best friends but a four-legged fashion show, as well as a food fair that
will help pet owners find out more
about which kibbles are best for
their hungry pets.
Sunday, Nov. 30
Honor the 75th anniversary of the
beginning of the Russo-Finnish
war in 1939 during today’s reenactment titled “Winter War: How it
Was.” More than 200 people will
take part in recreating the opening
salvoes of the battle for the north
in Kamenka, a small village situated between Vyborg and St. Petersburg, using authentic equipment and vintage vehicles from the
era. The faux battle begins at 2
p.m.
Monday, Dec. 1
Serbia filmmaker Emir Kusturica
is the featured guest this evening
at the Lensovet Culture Palace on
Petrograd. Fans of the director will
get the chance to watch his movie
“Black Cat, White Cat,” as well as
ask questions about his awardwinning filmography. Tickets for
the event, which starts at 7 p.m.,
start at 2,000 rubles ($42.50).
Tuesday, Dec. 2
Today is the final day of “Takoy
Festival,” a three-week program
of plays based on the works of
Dostoevsky, Remarque and other
famed European writers, whose
work is transcribed for theatrical
performances. Tonight’s festival
finale is “Fathers and Sons,” a
two-act drama staged by the Novosibirsk Academic Drama Theater based on Turgenev’s classic
about familial relations.
РЕКЛАМА
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The St. Petersburg Times | www.sptimes.ru
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Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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Media NGO Director Probed for Extremism
By Sergey Chernov
The Ministry of Justice put the St Petersburg-based non-governmental organization Institute of Regional Press,
or IRP, on its “foreign agents” list on
Nov. 20. A week earlier, its long-time
director Anna Sharogradskaya —
whose computers and flash drives were
seized in June and never returned —
found out that she may face criminal
charges for alleged extremism.
Speaking at the research and information center Memorial in St. Petersburg last week, Sharogradskaya, 73,
described the situation she found herself in as “behind the looking glass, in
some absurd world.”
The IRP has become the third nongovernmental organization in St. Petersburg — after Soldiers’ Mothers of
St. Petersburg and the Freedom of Information Foundation — to be included in the “foreign agents” list.
Signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 20, 2012,
after electoral violations during the
Dec. 4, 2011, State Duma elections and
the March 4, 2012, presidential election
led to mass protests, the law stigmatizes
NGO as “foreign agents” — a term
reminiscent of the Soviet-era spy scare
— for involvement in political activities
while being funded from abroad. NGOs
such as Golos had been instrumental in
independently monitoring the voting
and exposing the violations.
Although the law came into force
on Nov. 21, 2012, NGOs boycotted it
by refusing to register as “foreign
agents.” The legislation did not have
any effect until this February, when at
a meeting with the chiefs of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Putin ordered the law to be enforced. Since
March, prosecutors started raiding
hundreds of NGOs across Russia. On
June 4, an amendment to the law allowed the Ministry of Justice to put
organizations on its “foreign agents”
list without their consent.
The Ministry of Justice’s decision to
put the IRP on its “foreign agents” list
SERGEY CHERNOV / FOR SPT
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
Sharogradskaya has described the situation she has found herself in as “behind the looking glass, in some absurd world.”
came as its lawsuit against the IRP over
its refusal to register voluntarily as a
“foreign agent,” an offence punishable
by a fine of up to 500,000 rubles (about
$11,000), was heard in a St. Petersburg
magistrate’s court. The next hearing
has been scheduled for Dec. 9.
“I can’t say that I aspire to be on
that list, solely for philological reasons” Sharogradskaya said.
“Because my first degree is in philology, the negative connotation of the
word ‘agent’ hurts me very much. And
because of my age, temperament and
other factors, I can’t be an agent of such
a large number of states, whose grants
we receive. I can’t understand whose
agent I am. What I know for sure is that
I am not an agent of the Russian Federation, because in 21 years of work I
have not received a single kopeck of
Russian money for my organization.”
Despite Sharogradskaya’s denial
that her activities were political, the
prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of
Justice claimed that a seminar on “development of local democracy and selfgovernment” held by the IRP in Vyborg in December 2013 and the presentation of a book by Sergei Yegorov and
Pavel Tsyplenkov, “Sausage-Democratic Revolution in Russia. 1989-1993,”
in its offices in St. Petersburg in May
were political activities.
Originally founded as the RussianAmerican Press and Information Center in 1993, the organization was registered as the Institute of Regional
Press in 2003, and organizes seminars
for the media, press conferences and
round tables on socially important issues, and publishes training aids for
journalists and journalism students, as
well as monitoring and analyzing the
media.
“Our activities are aimed at im-
proving the craft of the journalist. I
thought that because we did nothing
criminal and in general worked for
our state, nothing would threaten us
– but that’s not how it turned out,”
Sharogradskaya said.
On Nov. 14, a hearing of Sharogradskaya’s own lawsuit against the Pulkovo customs officials that detained her
for five hours on June 5 as she was
heading to the U.S., where she annually teaches a two-month summer series of lectures at Indiana University,
and seized her laptop computer, iPad
and 11 memory sticks, had a twist,
when she was told that a criminal case
on extremism could be launched
against her.
Sharogradskaya’s lawyers said that
a number of violations were committed by the customs officers during the
procedure, including not allowing a
lawyer to be present.
According to lawyer Yevgeny
Smirnov, a customs inspector admitted at the Moskovsky District Court
on Nov. 14 that Sharogradskaya was
detained at the Pulkovo airport on the
instructions of the FSB.
The FSB reportedly sent a letter to
customs saying that Sharogradskaya
was planning to take confidential information restricted by customs regulations out of Russia. “This is dual-use
technology, arms and weapons — not
a state secret, but something of the
kind,” said Sharogradskaya’s other
lawyer, Ivan Pavlov.
“For sure, the letter itself is somewhat classified, but there is documented confirmation about it both by
[Pulkovo Airport’s] Line Department
of Internal Affairs and customs office,” Pavlov said.
When this information was not
found in her computers and memory
sticks, they were searched – in the
presence of an FSB officer – for key
phrases such as “terrorism,” “terrorist
attack” and “overthrowing Putin’s regime,” he said.
About 100 documents containing
such words and phrases were found.
Even if they were articles from media
sources, as Sharogradskaya said, and
were to be used for her lectures in the
U.S., the police are considering launching an “extremism” criminal case
against her.
The Pulkovo Airport’s Line Department of Internal Affairs claimed
Sharogradskaya’s actions landed under Article 280 (calls for extremist activity) and Article 282 (incitement of
hatred and enmity) of the Russian
Criminal Code, punishable by up to
five years in prison.
Even if the articles are found “extremist,” Pavlov described the court
prospects for such a case as “hazy,” as
only production and distribution
rather than possession of extremist
materials are punishable under the
criminal law. He described the authorities’ actions against Sharogradskaya
as “political repression.”
Spy Malware Deployed Against Russia by Unknown Nation
By Allison Quinn
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
Russian and Saudi Arabian telecommunications and Internet firms are being targeted by highly advanced cyber
espionage malware that is likely being
controlled by a Western intelligence
agency, The Financial Times reported
Monday.
Leading computer security company Symantec issued a statement Sunday warning about a new piece of malware known as Regin. The advanced
espionage tool “displays a degree
of technical competence rarely seen
and has been used in spying operations
against governments, infrastructure
operators, businesses, researchers
and private individuals.”
How Regin infects computer systems remains unclear, but it has primarily been deployed against telecommunications firms and Internet service
providers in Russia and Saudi Arabia,
and to a lesser extent in Mexico, Ireland and Iran, The Financial Times reported, citing Symantec.
“Almost half of all infections targeted private individuals and small
businesses. Attacks on telecoms companies appear to be designed to gain
access to calls being routed through
their infrastructure,” Symantec wrote
in its statement.
The warnings come amid a flurry
of reports of increased cyber espionage
as the ongoing crisis in Ukraine continues to pit Russia against many Western
countries.
Concerns of cyber espionage
prompted NATO to hold the world’s
biggest-ever cyber war games last week
in Estonia, where hundreds of representatives from 28 countries tested
their own ability to respond to new cyber threats, The Financial Times reported on Nov. 20.
The newly discovered Regin malware may serve as a reminder of how
cyber warfare can be just as debilitating as physical attacks. Regin, believed
to have been in use since 2008, has
been used for “systematic data collection or intelligence-gathering campaigns” since its creation, Symantec’s
statement said.
The malware’s design “makes it
highly suited for persistent, long-term
surveillance operations against targets,” the report said.
Symantec did not identify any possible culprits, but said the malware’s
“authors have gone to great lengths
to cover its tracks,” and the “capabilities and the level of resources behind
Regin indicate that it is one of the main
cyber espionage tools used by a nation
state.”
In mid-October, another cyber security company, iSIGHT Partners, released a report claiming that a largescale cyber espionage campaign was
under way against NATO, Ukrainian
government agencies, Polish energy
firms and American academic institutions, among others.
The so-called Sandworm malware
at the center of that campaign was believed to have originated in Russia,
the report said.
Meanwhile, just days after The Telegraph reported that British troops were
told to be wary of Russian cyber spies
using electronic devices in intelligence-
gathering during upcoming drills in Poland, a spokesman for Russia’s Defense
Ministry denied a similar claim made
in the Russian media.
Major General Igor Konashenkov
refuted earlier media reports that Rus-
sian troops had been forbidden
from using iPhones for fear that foreign spies could access them to monitor a soldier’s location and activities
at all times.
“There is no ban on using mobile
telephones in Russia’s armed forces,
and certainly no ban on products
from any specific manufacturer,” Konashenkov said Monday in comments
carried by state news agency RIA Novosti.
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4 ❖ Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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www.sptimes.ru | The St. Petersburg Times
West Needs Russia’s Support in Iran Talks Mission Impossible
I N
U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL MUNICH / FLICKR
The ongoing negotiations mainly
concern the number of centrifuges
that are used to enrich uranium at supersonic speed.
The Western powers are seeking
to lengthen the “breakdown time”
Iran would need in order to develop
enough fissile material for a nuclear
weapon. The U.S. wants that time period to be one year, while Israel
and Saudi Arabia — which are not included in the talks — have called
for two years.
Kerry, left, and Lavrov shake hands. Talks on Iran are one of the few remaining issues on which the countries actively work together.
By Ivan Nechepurenko
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
As Monday’s negotiations on Iran’s
nuclear program failed to yield a deal
and resulted in Iran, Russia, the U.S.,
China, Britain and Germany setting
a new deadline of July 1, analysts
hailed the talks as a rare remaining
area of cooperation between Russia
and the West.
The U.S. recognizes the need
in the process for Russia — which has
traditionally acted as a mediator
in negotiations that have been repeatedly hindered by mutual accusations
between Iran and the U.S. —
and therefore has not questioned its
role despite the ongoing conflict
in Ukraine, analysts told The St. Petersburg Times.
“It seems like the nuclear talks are
one of the only avenues where
the U.S. and Russia still see more or
less eye-to-eye. It is therefore an area
of cooperation for the two countries
amid the Ukraine crisis,” Ariane Tabatabai, an associate with Harvard
University’s Belfer Center for Science
and International Affairs, said in emailed comments.
“Both Russia and the U.S. recog-
nize that this is a very important issue
that cannot suffer due to disagreements in other regions,” Anton
Khlopkov, director of the Moscowbased Center for Energy and Security
Studies, said in a phone interview.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said Monday that “substantial progress had been made,” adding that
in three or four months the parties
would agree on the “basic principles”
of the comprehensive agreement
on the nuclear program, according
to a transcript published on the ministry’s website.
Before the talks
were adjourned,
a senior Iranian official was cited
by Reuters as saying that the alternative would be
to look to Russia and China for a possible solution.
“We have always had good relations
with Russia and China. Naturally, if
the nuclear talks fail, we will increase
our cooperation with our friends
and will provide them with more opportunities in Iran’s high-potential
market,” the official was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity.
“We share common views [with
Russia and China] on many issues, including Syria and Iraq,” he said.
Power Plant Partners
Russia and Iran agreed on Nov. 11
to build two new nuclear power reactors next to the
Bushehr plant
that was completed by Russia in 2011.
The possible
construction
of six more
power reactors
was also discussed.
D u r i n g
the plant’s construction, Russia made it a condition that Iran
should buy all its reactor fuel
from Russia. Iran, however, continued its own uranium enrichment process, saying that it also needs it
for medical purposes.
‘The U.S. recognizes
the need in the process
for Russia... and has
not questioned
[Russia’s] role despite
the Ukraine conflict.’
Ambiguous Outcome
In the wake of the talks, many analysts have pointed out that Russia
would actually benefit if the negotiations fail, since if a deal is reached
and sanctions on Iran are lifted, its oil
would hit the global market, depreciating the price of Russia’s main export.
At the same time, according
to Vladimir Yevseyev, director of the
Center of Social and Political Studies
in Moscow, Russia wants negotiations
to move forward to create a “positive
background” for negotiations
on other issues, including Ukraine.
“A deal on Ukraine is currently
being negotiated out of the public
eye, so there is an understanding that
it is better to avoid aggravating
the situation,” he said.
In addition, Russia needs the negotiations between the six parties
to continue, as otherwise its nuclear
plant and other Iran projects could
be jeopardized, according to Khlopkov.
One of the main questions in the
Iran nuclear talks was what form
of sanctions relief could be provided
in the event of an agreement being
reached.
The U.S. has led the West in using
sanctions to affect Iran’s policies since
the Middle Eastern country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Russia is now subject to sanctions
itself, as the international community
attempts to influence its policies
on Ukraine.
“It is true that sanctions pushed
Iran to compromise and influenced
President Hassan Rouhani, but they
were not decisive,” Yevseyev said.
“It’s not possible to bring about regime change in Iran using sanctions,”
he said.
Lavrov said on Nov. 22 at a meeting of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy that the aim of Western
sanctions against Russia is to affect
B R I E F
■ MOSCOW (SPT) — A botched attempt by Moscow police to detain
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s envoy to Ukraine last week has triggered
a flurry of corruption accusations, but
the fugitive envoy seemed unruffled
on Monday as he said “his phone was
on” if investigators wanted to talk.
Ramzan Tsitsulayev, who detectives
reportedly wanted to speak to in connection with a fraud case, evaded police
after his bodyguards knocked them onto
the floor during a special operation at a
Moscow hotel on Nov. 19. Tsitsulayev
then left the country and his bodyguards
were taken into custody for attacking
police officers, Kommersant reported.
According to Kommersant, Tsitsulayev faces charges of fraud, and his
bodyguards and cousin have been arrested for assaulting police officers.
Tiger Attack
■ MOSCOW (SPT) — Wildlife officials in the Russian Far East are on a
mission to track down a tiger believed
to have mauled a 75-year-old hunter
to death.
Pavel Fomenko, the coordinator
of the Amur branch of the World Wildlife Fund, said in an online statement
Monday that tracks near the man’s body
indicated that he had been killed by a tiger.
“What exactly served as the basis
for the wild animal’s behavior, whether it
had gunshot or other wounds — this is
not yet clear,” Fomenko said in the statement. Local hunters have said there are
at least two other tigers in the region.
Glorious Ukrainian
■ MOSCOW (SPT) — A Ukrainian
roofer who painted a Soviet star on top
of a Moscow landmark in his country’s
blue and yellow colors said he has officially changed his name to “Slava
Ukraine,” meaning “Glory
to Ukraine.”
The roofer, who is wanted on vandalism and hooliganism charges in Russia
after his stunt earlier this year, disclosed
his new name during a talk show
on Ukraine’s 1+1 Channel this week.
The roofer said his new name is officially listed in his passport. He also said
that he left his patronymic, a middle
name commonly used in formal address,
unchanged, but declined to disclose what
it was.
Business
www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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5
By Howard Amos
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
Worries about the prospects of the Russian luxury goods market have risen
this year as the country’s economy teeters on the brink of recession and the
ruble plunges amid sanctions imposed
on Russia by the United States and European Union for Moscow’s support
of separatist rebels in Ukraine.
The luxury goods market in Russia
could contract by as much as 18 percent
this year to be worth $5.8 billion, consultancy Bain & Co. wrote in an October
report. The sector grew about 5 percent
last year.
Heightened political tensions over
Ukraine and the sharp devaluation
of the Russian currency are the two most
important reasons behind the problems,
experts say. Luxury goods are all imported, and their retailers suffer from a
weak ruble. The Russian currency has
plunged over 30 percent versus the U.S.
dollar so far this year, driving up costs.
“Some luxury retailers report that
turnover has fallen 30-40 percent compared with the same period of 2013,”
Anna Lebsak-Kleimans, chief executive
of Fashion Consulting Group in Moscow, said in written comments.
“Luxury brands are usually less affected by economic downshifts then
the mass consumer market. But this year
even top luxury retailers have noted
sales decreases.”
Political tensions are also fueling
a drop in demand. “Spending by Russians has really decreased because
of worrying prognoses,” Kira Balashova, the head of Jamilco, a distributor
of luxury brands in Russia including diamond producers De Beers and fashion
house DKNY, told business daily Vedomosti last month.
In a quirk of fate for wealthy shoppers, the speed of the ruble’s recent collapse has meant that rising costs have
not yet been reflected in some companies’ price tags.
A few of the luxury items sold in Gucci’s Moscow branches are currently
cheaper in dollar terms than the same
products in company’s home cities of Milan and Florence.
Executives admit, however, that this
situation cannot last and forecast that
prices will climb as retailers order in new
products for sale in 2015.
While the ruble has retreated
from the historic lows it hit two weeks
ago, it has fallen 16 percent against
the dollar since Oct. 1 and remains under pressure from falling oil prices.
Hit by the weaker ruble, Russians are
now traveling overseas less often
and spending less when they do. Some
experts believe that this could even
boost demand domestically — as long as
price rises are not too sharp.
“Companies and trading updates
confirm that Russian tourist spending is
disappearing fast,” Luca Solca, the head
of luxury goods analysis at Exane BNP
Paribas, said in written comments.
“It seems appropriate, therefore,
to serve Russian clients in their home
country.”
OLEG URUSOV
Bleak Economy Affects
Rich Russians’ Spending
The Proton-M space rocket has been a workhorse for the past 40 years, dominating the commercial satellite launch market.
Proton-Ms To Be Phased Out
By Matthew Bodner
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
On the eve of the 400th flight of Russia’s
venerable Proton-M space rocket
on Nov. 21, Russia and Kazakhstan have
agreed to begin reducing the frequency
of Proton launches from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome.
“The question has been absolutely
agreed upon and laid out in a protocol,”
Oleg Ostpenko, the head of Russia’s
federal space agency Roscosmos, was
quoted by the Interfax news agency as
saying on Monday.
Proton has been Russia’s workhorse
for 40 years and today is the dominant
force on the global commercial satellite
launch market. Over the past decade it
has been used in 30 percent of all commercial flights.
But now, Russia and Kazakhstan —
responding to environmental concerns
and Russia’s next-generation Angara
rocket family — have agreed to begin
phasing out the rocket’s use.
Proton rockets are powered by an
extremely toxic combination of heptyl, amyl and kerosene. The fuel has
threatened the environmental health
of the Kazakh countryside, where
the Baikonur center is located, amid
a string of embarrassing Proton launch
failures. A dedicated political movement
in Astana, known as the anti-heptyl
movement, was formed last year
to lobby for an end to Proton launches.
“It is a sensitive question for society,”
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev said Monday, Interfax
reported.
“It is clear that [ending Proton
launches] can’t be done instantaneously,
but steps are being taken,” Sagintayev
said, adding that a timetable has been
established for the gradual annual reduction of flights from Baikonur.
One of the most prominently advertised features of the new Angara rockets
is their use of liquid oxygen and kerosene fuel that is more environmentally
friendly.
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Opinion
www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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6
Duma Is Slipping Back to ‘90s Chaos
By Yekaterina Schulmann
he story behind the State Duma decision
to adopt a new chapter of the Tax Code
on the third reading on Nov. 21 is both
interesting and characteristic of Russian
lawmaking today. To understand what is happening, it is necessary to first accept that lawmaking is
a political process that essentially aims to coordinate the interests of powerful individuals and interest groups. It would be to the public’s benefit if
the interests of society were also on the table, but
that is not the case in a non-democratic system.
Only a very narrow circle of people has access
to the decision-making process, and that number
continually grows smaller. Intuition suggests that,
under such circumstances, only that select group
makes all the decisions and the results are not
open to discussion. But that it not what’s happening in reality.
The State Duma demonstrated its highest level
of legislative discipline in 2007-11. That period
saw a relatively small number of bills introduced
be the major political players: the president,
the Cabinet, and United Russia leaders. The bills
were passed quickly but with decent regard to the
parliamentary rules. By contrast, the current
scene calls to mind the parliamentary chaos of the
1990s: a flood of initiatives from a variety of authors — senators, individual Duma deputies not
belonging to the ruling party or holding any important parliamentary posts, and even regional
legislative assemblies.
Paradoxically, the bills introduced by ordinary
deputies are adopted within days, while initiatives
coming from the Cabinet stall or require rewriting. Two examples are a package of amendments
on advertising introduced by Duma Deputy Igor
Zotov that parliament passed in just 11 days at the
end of its spring 2014 session and a bill by a group
of deputies that limits foreign ownership of mass
media in Russia and passed after a brief nine-day
review period in September. By contrast, a governmental bill on privatizing the Russian postal
system has little chance to see a second reading.
All this is not a result of “lobbying” as the word
is commonly understood because the idea of lobbying presupposes the existence of business
groups as separate political entities that push their
agendas through governmental structures.
But in today’s Russia, all of those “outside interests” are themselves Duma deputies or government ministers, making the legislative process
the exclusive work of “insiders.” In such a situation, how can the public or even other businesses
not represented in parliament influence decisions?
Just as the steadily shrinking number of individuals allowed into “Government DecisionMakers, Ltd.” has not led to increased executive discipline but instead to growing chaos,
the closed nature of the legislative process does
not mean there is no place for input from the public. In reality, this is what happens: Politicians
T
want to know which of their actions might lead
to social discontent, but they have no feedback
mechanisms in place to obtain that information.
They therefore rely on strange and even “garbled” channels of information.
Or else they invent such mechanisms themselves or mistakenly interpret an intra-elite debate as a dialogue with wider society. This has led
to the bizarre cult of opinion polls in Russia’s political system, as seen in the mysterious efficacy
of petitions posted on the website Change.org —
a resource that has proven more effective than
the official Russian Public Initiative (ROI).
The result is an external mechanism for making adjustments to laws. Generally, one of two
things occur: Either legislators announce their
new law and later put it “on hold” — as happened
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with the so-called “Rotenberg law” that aimed
to provide budgetary compensation for losses
companies and individuals suffer from rulings
by foreign courts — or else they pass a new law
and immediately begin the process of correcting
it. This has happened with the law banning a wide
range of food imports from the European Union
and the earlier law regulating international payment systems in Russia. Both are still undergoing
corrections with no end in sight.
The amendments to fees charged to small businesses offer a perfect example of this “external
digestion” system. They first appeared as part
of changes to a government bill on tax policy. It is
an old Duma trick to introduce amendments unconnected to the bill under discussion during
the second reading. The reason is that the relevant
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Duma committee has the right to introduce
changes to a bill during its second reading,
whereas an independent new bill would have
to pass the whole three readings in a plenary session of parliament. Thus deputies generally use
the second reading when they want to introduce
changes quickly and quietly. However, the changes
to the tax bill became known and caused a public
uproar, prompting legislators to pass the government’s bill without the alterations.
After that the fees placed on small businesses
were included in the second reading of a different
bill authored by Deputy Andrei Makarov and that
passed the first reading on Oct. 14. Why this maneuver? Obviously, to shift the responsibility
from the government to the parliament. And as
they moved from one bill to another, the proposed
amendments changed considerably, so that now
they no longer apply to all municipalities but only
to Russia’s three cities of federal stature — Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol. The fees
themselves became lower and the range of taxable business activity was reduced from 22 to just
one — distributive trade. The amendments were
adopted in this form during the second reading
on Nov. 18.
As it turned out, that same evening President
Vladimir Putin told a forum of the All-Russia
People’s Front that the Moscow authorities were
behind the idea for the bill because they were unhappy with how little retail chains contribute
in taxes to the city budget. If that is true, why
didn’t the Moscow City Duma, which has the right
to present legislative initiatives, introduce the bill
itself?
Why was it introduced in such a strange form
and so different than the original goal of collecting more tax revenues from retailers? Did Duma
Deputy Makarov know of that goal? Or were
the president’s words an attempt to calm the business community?
The Russian Union of Retailers appealed
to Putin to veto the law when it reaches him. But
they might not realize that Putin has only used his
veto power once during the Sixth Convocation
of the State Duma. That was in late 2012 and concerned amendments to a law on the Skolkovo innovation center. The Federation Council uses its
veto power a bit more often, vetoing 18 bills during the Sixth Convocation. However, the president signed 14 of those into law after minor
changes were made.
None of this resembles a story of lobbying.
Rather, it is the picture of an imbalanced system
that sends and receives distorted signals. It ostensibly aims to conform to reality, but has only
a vague understanding of what that reality is.
The system can’t be influenced directly, but we
know that it’s scared of any outside noise.
The only trouble is that you never know how it
will react to this noise.
Yekaterina Schulmann is a political scientist specializing in legislative process.
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Ending the Crimea Stalemate
By Ardjan Langedijk
his year has seen unprecedented
events in Ukraine, not least the annexation of Crimea by Russia
in March. Ukraine and Russia have
been at odds ever since over the status of the
peninsula. The international community has
not acknowledged the changed status
of Crimea or recognized the March referendum as legal. The situation has evolved into a
stalemate that has clear disadvantages for both
Russia and Ukraine, and a solution must be
found to end the impasse.
Let us first establish a few obvious but important facts. First, the referendum in March
and the process leading to it were not in accord
with international law. One just has to point
at the occupation of the peninsula by unidentified gunmen to dispel any notion of legality
in the referendum and its result.
Second, Crimea has huge practical prob-
T
lems in obtaining control over its supplies
of fresh water, energy, food and many more
necessities because there is no land corridor
to Russia and Ukraine is blocking or complicating access to Russia through mainland
Ukraine. Crimea also has no access to foreign
investment and capital, leaving the burden
of developing it to Russia, which has its own
problems due to Western sanctions.
Finally, as polls throughout the years have
shown, a significant number of Crimeans do
in fact want the peninsula to be a part of Russia. With Ukraine aspiring to become a fully
fledged democracy, it has a moral obligation
to take this local sentiment into consideration.
I would argue that on the basis of the above
major facts the sensible way to solve this problem and break the stalemate is to hold a new
and real referendum in Crimea and let the population once and for all choose its own destiny.
That referendum should be organized
and monitored by a third party, such as
the United Nations or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Both countries would gain from the likely
result of Crimea voting to join Russia. Ukraine
would find a way to come to terms with
the Crimean reality and this could help lessen
the tensions with Russia, leading to muchneeded stabilization in Ukraine. Russia would
be able to secure the international status
of Crimea as a lawful part of Russia and open
it to investors and entrepreneurs from all over
the world.
Of course there are some important conditions to be met before such a referendum can
be held at all. In similar situations around
the world, such as in Scotland, negotiations between all parties took years, while in the case
of Crimea, due to the specific and dramatic
present circumstances, the parties should set
and agree on conditions within months, not
years. To ensure the success of this proposal
and to break the stalemate, the following conditions must be met:
• Free access to information for all Crimeans and no persecution before, during or after
the referendum of members of either side.
• If Crimeans vote to become part of Russia, assurances must be given by Ukraine that
it will not restrict the passage of basic necessities to Crimea through Ukraine.
• If Crimeans vote to become part of Russia, Russia must guarantee that the rights of all
minorities in Crimea, including Ukrainians
and Tatars, will be respected.
• Whatever the result, Crimea must retain
a strong degree of autonomy, to be determined
and agreed upon in advance by both parties.
This proposal includes problematic elements for both Ukraine and Russia. But it is
clear that the current stalemate benefits nobody — least of all, Crimeans.
Ardjan Langedijk is a Dutch entrepreneur.
Arts&Culture
www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, November 26, 2014
The Spilled Blood of the Tsar
isitors to St. Petersburg
are often surprised when
they see the Savior on
the Spilled Blood church
abutting the Griboyedov
Canal a short walk from Nevsky Prospekt. Amidst its European surrounding, this homage to Russian culture is
distinctly out of place. Yet its purpose
in Peter’s city is a reminder of a pivotal point in Russian history that precipitated the end of the Romanov dynasty.
Tsar Alexander II took the helm of
the Russian Empire in 1855 and made
arguably the most significant decision to
that point in the Empire’s history. In
1861, Alexander II abolished serfdom,
freeing millions from their enslavement
to the land and creating an entirely new
social class overnight. “It is better to
abolish serfdom from above than await
the time when it will begin to abolish it-
V
self from below,” the tsar said of his decision.
Yet despite this and several other important reforms, he was a frequent target for assassination. The group that
most notably set out to end his life was
called Narodnaya Volya, or the People’s
Will, who advocated a peasant revolution and believed terror was the most
effective way to force change and undermine tsarist authoritarianism. It would
be members of this group who would
eventually succeed in killing the reformminded tsar.
On Mar. 13, 1881, as he traveled to
the Winter Palace in his carriage, a bomb
was thrown at him. Although the bomb
failed to injure Alexander, several of his
guardsmen were injured and the tsar
stepped out of the ironclad carriage. As
he stood on the snowy street, a second
bomb was thrown. This one did not miss
its mark: the tsar was mortally wounded
and his shattered body was taken to the
palace, where he died several hours
later.
Animated film draws international praise.
Alexander II’s death is ironic in several ways. For one, the group responsible for his death advocated for the
power of the peasantry, which accounted for a majority of the Empire’s
population. Yet of any tsar, it was Alexander II who did the most to improve their social condition, even if he
never meant to do so as a way of undermining his own supreme authority.
On the day of his death as well, Alexander II had agreed to the creation of a
national commission of elected representatives that would act as a consultative and advisory group for the tsar, a
nascent form of representative government within the autocratic system.
However, Alexander III would dismiss
the idea of the commission during his
vicious response to his father’s death.
The repercussions of Alexander II’s
death would reverberate for years and
harden the Romanov’s own determination to uphold the values of autocratic
rule, a decision that would doom
them.
FOR SPT
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
‘The Snow Queen 2: The Snow King’ features the voices of famous Russian actors.
By Ali Sar
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
ith “The Snow Queen
2: The Snow King”
poised to open at major markets around
the world, Russian
animators are drawing attention in entertainment circles.
This film will be the first foreign
animation production to compete with
the likes of “Big
Hero 6,” “The
Boxtrolls” and
“How to Train
Your Dragon 2”
in the upcoming
Golden Globes
race in the best
animated film
category.
The film,
based on the classic fairy tale by Hans
Christian Andersen, was well received
at a movie distributors’ expo in California, which resulted in the Russian
Cinema trade group’s decision to enter
it in the Golden Globes.
It is significant that “The Snow
Queen 2” will become the first foreign
animation production to compete with
U.S. films for best animated film due
to a recent rule change by the Globes’
organizer, the Hollywood Foreign
Press Association.
Russia’s Wizart Animation will
find itself competing for the top prize
with such animation stalwarts as Walt
W
Disney, DreamWorks Animation and
Laika Studios, which, incidentally,
was named after the Russian space
dog.
“The Snow Queen 2,” which is directed by Aleksey Tsitsilin, follows the
box office success of its predecessor.
The film’s “voice actors” include
Anna Shurochkina, Ivan Okhlobystin
and Anna Khilkevich.
Industry insiders believe that this
film will have a huge advantage outside Russia since its
English version is
voiced by international names, such
as British actor
Sean Bean of
“Game of Thrones”
and “The Lord of
the Rings,” South
African Sharlton
Copley and American actresses Bella Thorne and Isabelle Fuhrman.
The film has already been sold to
more than 70 countries, versus 35 for
the first “Snow Queen.”
Commenting on its Golden Globe
prospects, Anton Malyshev, who heads
the Cinema Fund, the bankroller of
Russian Cinema, said, “Film awards
have already become more than just
competitions, and are also considered
marketing tools.”
“The Snow Queen 2: The Snow
King” will open in the U.S. and U.K.
on Dec. 11, with the Russian release
scheduled for Dec. 25.
WELLCOME TRUST / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
‘The Snow Queen 2’
will be the first foreign
animated production
to vie for a Golden
Globe award.
This lithograph depicts the chaos of the moment the second bomb exploded, mortally wounding Tsar Alexander II.
t he w o rd’s w o r t h
A Sophisticated Suffix
By Michele A. Berdy
-то: a great little intensifying, attention-directing, intimacy-creating particle
few months ago, before the online comments section of the
Moscow Times turned
into a troll free-for-all
and the kindest post that my columns
got was, “Stupid expats can’t speak
R u s s i a n a n y w a y, j e r k - h e a d , ”
a thoughtful and curious poster
asked about the particle -то, which
can be added to words, especially
pronouns, usually as an intensifier. I
love readers’ questions, even though
they always turn out to be trickier
to answer than I expect.
With -то, there are two tricks:
figuring out how to use it in daily
A
speech, and then figuring out how
to translate it. These two little letters
draw attention to a word, intensify
the meaning, or add some emotional
color to a phrase or utterance — that
is, they do what Russian is great
at doing. The problem is: English —
not so much.
But some usages of -то aren’t
hard to deal with. First, there’s the “I
don’t know exactly” -то. The particle -то can be added to adverbs like
когда (when) or где (where) to produce “some” adverbs: когда-то
(sometime), где-то (somewhere),
почему-то (for some reason),
что-то (something). Все традиции
когда-то возникают впервые. (All
traditions appear for the first time
at some point.) Кто-то мне говорил,
что он работает в Питере. (Someone told me that he’s working in St.
Pete.) In all these cases, the -то
means that you know something was
done by someone sometime somewhere, but you don’t know the specifics.
Then there’s the “it’s not important” -то. In this case, you add -то
to words, usually pronouns, to indicate that although you might know
the details, you’re not interested
in them.
For example: Он стал рассказывать: был там-то и там-то, делал
то-то и то-то, встречался с
теми-то и теми-то. (And he began
to tell his story: He was here
and there, he did this and that, he
met with so-and-so and so-and-so.)
And there’s the opposite: the “this
is really important” -то. In this case,
you add -то to whatever word you
want to emphasize or draw attention
to.
In spoken language, the -то usu-
7
Russians ‘Toon In
city tales
By Gus Peters
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ally gets conveyed by intonation.
Он-то понимает! (He understands.)
But it’s harder to convey on paper.
Usually you have to add a lot
to make up for those clever two letters: Слушать-то он слушал, а ничего не понимал. (He might have listened, but it didn’t make any difference, he didn’t understand a thing.)
Собаку-то он выгулял, но вот
дверь закрыть забыл. (He forgot
to close the door, but the dog — he
sure remembered to walk that dog.)
Говорит, что свободных столиков
нет, а я-то вижу их полно! (He tells
me that there aren’t any free tables,
but I’m standing there, looking at a
lot of them!)
Sometimes the emphasis is hard
to grasp. For example, I asked some
native speakers to tell me the difference between the phrases “В общем,
он хороший человек” and “В
общем-то, он хороший человек.”
Both mean: In general, he’s a good
person. But since “в общем” means
“by and large, not entirely,” when
-то is added to it, the phrase emphasizes “not entirely” and sounds
slightly more doubtful. You expect
to hear: но … (but …).
And finally, there’s the “emotional” -то. When added to some
words, -то somehow conveys intimacy or compassion or warmth. Ой,
беда-то! (Oh, my heavens! That’s
just so sad!) Внучка-то уже читает!
(My smart little granddaughter already can read!)
Как тяжело-то! (Man, this is
hard!)
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based
translator and interpreter, is author
of “The Russian Word’s Worth”
(Glas), a collection of her columns.
8
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Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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www.sptimes.ru
Winter Bazaar Opens Christmas Season
As the bleak winter approaches, charities are glad to find more and more people are eager to get involved.
By Olga Kalashnikova
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
hristmas is coming to St.
Petersburg and the Winter
Bazaar, the first event of
the festive season, took
place on Nov. 23 at the Astoria hotel. The International Women’s Club, or IWC, hosts the bazaar annually, giving the expat community and
their Russian friends an opportunity to
come together to raise money for charity.
The IWC is a social club founded in
1986 to provide support and friendship
to expats living in St. Petersburg, and to
help them adapt to life in Russia. It was
the idea of the club to contribute to the
community in which they live by raising
funds for various local charities.
“We organize the Winter Bazaar for
three reasons. Firstly, it is a wonderful
opportunity for the expat community
to come together, to work together and
to hold an event that is reminiscent of a
tradition Christmas Bazaar. Secondly,
it is an opportunity for us to introduce
ourselves to other Petersburgers. I
think many locals have no idea just
how many expats are living and working in the city, and they would not
imagine how many different countries
we come from,” said Maria Theodorou,
Co-President of the International
Women’s Club, speaking to The St. Petersburg Times.
“Finally, the Winter Bazaar is our
main charity fundraising event of the
year. All the money raised at the Winter Bazaar goes to charities in St Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast.
Also, by having some of the charities
we work with present, it allows our
РЕКЛАМА
FOR SPT
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Alevtina Fourrier, left, was responsible for organizing the Russian stall at the Winter Bazaar event held at the Astoria Hotel.
visitors to meet them and understand
more about what they do and the challenges they face,” she said.
The number of countries that participate in the bazaar varies from year
to year. This year’s event had booths
for 16 different countries. They offered
local handmade Christmas decorations,
crafts, festive cards, calendars and traditional Christmas cookies. While
adults chose nice presents for the upcoming holiday season, children attended the Children’s Room run by the
American Montessori International
School. Various games and activities
were organized there. Another popular
event of the fair was the traditional
Grand Raffle.
“This year we had a huge number of
truly wonderful prizes, including restaurant, salon and hotel vouchers, as
well as trips to Denmark and Switzerland — in all we had over 160 prizes,
kindly donated by companies operating in St. Petersburg,” Theodorou
said.
The novelty of this year was the
ADVERTISING
16+
Russian stall. It had been organized before but it was not part of the bazaar in
2013. The Russian wife of the French
Consul decided to correct the situation.
“I am from Moscow. I organized
the French stall and I thought that it
was not right that there was no Russian one. The bazaar takes place in
Russia, so it would be logical to make
a Russian stall,” said Alevtina Fourriere, the wife of Thibaut Fourriere,
Consul General of France in St. Petersburg.
Local museums, including the Hermitage and the Russian Museum, provided unique gifts that are usually presented to foreign delegates who come
to St. Petersburg. The Russian stand
also displayed traditional local socks
and mittens.
“I was first involved in charity when
I worked in Central Asia. There was a
foundation that helped children with
cancer and hematological diseases.
When you see these children, you realize that all your problems are nothing,”
said Fourriere.
“Many people think one needs
money for charity. It is not true. Just
to attract attention to it in the media is
already charity. In Central Asia a lot
of us had gardens. I suggested that we
bring plums, apples and walnuts to
children, and we did. I started doing
charity then and I haven’t stopped
since. Charity is a very good idea that
brings people together,” she said.
Upwards of 1,500 guests attend the
Christmas fair every year, a mixture of
expats and Russians.
“They understand that not only is
it a wonderful event, but they love the
Grand Raffle and the opportunity to
buy interesting items from various different countries,” said Theodorou.
The IWC does not like to focus too
much on an exact amount of money
they should raise, or on making more
than the previous year. Whatever they
make will all go to good causes.
Philanthropy in Russia is developing more and more each year, especially amongst young people, the IWC
members concluded.
“The charities we support say there
are more people willing to volunteer
their time, and more people are interested in the work they do. The situation today is very different to how it
was even 5 or 10 years ago,” Theodorou said.
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9
Televizor: Singing for Peace in Ukraine
By Sergey Chernov
T H E S T PE T E R B S U RG T I M E S
ost Russian bands have
canceled their Ukrainian tours, fearing a
backlash from Russian
authorities, but everdefiant St. Petersburg veteran rock
band Televizor made a statement by
performing at a concert called “No to
War!” with two Ukrainian bands in
Kiev on Nov. 16. Now back in the city,
Televizor’s frontman Mikhail Borzykin
— an outspoken opponent against
Russia’s involvement in Ukraine — is
getting ready for a local show in support of his band’s record re-release at
Backstage on Sunday, Nov. 29.
In Kiev, Televizor performed at the
1,000-capacity venue Atlas, formerly
known as Yunost, with Ukrainian
bands Kollezhsky Asessor and Labirint
02. Kolezhsky Asessor is a reformed
veteran art-rock band originally
founded in 1987, while Labirint 02 is a
rock band that has been in existence
since 2002.
“I didn’t just want a Televizor concert, but to have Ukrainian bands as
well to state our position, to have people united on the stage,” Borzykin told
The St. Petersburg Times this week.
“I had suggested calling it ‘Give
Peace a Chance,’ but upon discussion
we decided it would be better to call
it ‘No to War!’ During the concert I
said everything that I thought and
sang all the songs I wanted to sing.
The reaction was very positive, with
encores and people lining up for autographs. The attitude was very warm,
even if people have been living in tension for a long time and have gotten
tired of war.”
The members of Labirint 02 are
long-time friends, Borzykin said.
“They like Televizor and we spent
time together when we were in Kiev
over the past 10 years, and we always
return in a good mood after we meet
them. They are in their late 30s,
they’re very active and they took part
in the first Maidan protests [in 20042005] and the second Maidan protests
[in 2013-2014],” he said.
According to Borzykin, he was
standing against Russia’s activities in
Ukraine rather than for peace in general.
“I think that archaic pacifism looks
inappropriate in the current situation,”
he said.
“Both I and most Ukrainians remember who attacked whom. Where
the ‘little green men’ were, how the
GRU’s and the FSB’s first groups captured policemen in Sloviansk and Luhansk, how Russian thugs were sent to
Kharkiv from Belgorod to beat up famous journalists and authors – I remember all this perfectly. Many of my
M
compatriots forget about it now and
blame the Ukrainian army. But it’s very
important to realize who the aggressor
is, who the invader is. I believe that the
withdrawal of the so-called Russian
volunteers and regular troops could
stop this war very quickly.”
Twelve months since the protests
on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) started, the center of
Kiev looked peaceful, with nothing
reminiscent of burning tires and
clashes with riot police, according to
Borzykin.
“Just as we came, we saw a young
man in a bandana singing a [late Kino
frontman] Viktor Tsoy song, pretty
loud, with an amplifier, and there
were a lot of people around, listening,” he said.
“The square itself was in such a
state as if nothing had happened there
at all, not a single trace of the uprising.
The block paving was laid afresh, the
buildings around were restored. The
House of Trade Unions which had all
burnt down was closed, and apparently
they will build something new there.
No traces of the demolition. The atmosphere was very relaxed. There were
many details indicating that the people
made their choice for world civilization, rather than 20th-century conservative ideologies.”
Borzykin said the openness and diversity in the Ukrainian media was
striking compared to Russia.
“I was amazed that there were live
political talk shows [on Ukrainian television] — Black Mirror, Savik Shuster’s
one and some others — and, most importantly, people can criticize the actions of their military commanders and
officials live on TV for a full hour —
and they do it. [President Petro] Poroshenko and [Prime Minister Arseniy]
Yatsenyuk are being criticized harshly
for wrong decisions or a treasonous
position toward the Ukrainian people.
There’s no censorship at all. There’s always an alternative point of view there
and it can be expressed.”
He said he managed to speak to
people both during the concert and his
stay in Kiev in general.
“I had an impression that people
want peace but don’t want to give
away pieces of their land, that’s why
many people become volunteers,” he
said.
“They do not expect anything
good from the Russian side. They understand that the falsity of the Kremlin is constant. They are prepared for
any turn of events, so there’s a very
anxious mood of waiting. On the
other hand, many don’t believe that
the Kremlin has enough means for a
march on Kiev and large-scale war.
But they expect possible attempts to
expand the seized territories and incursions toward Mariupol, so they are
ALEXEI TERESHCHENKO / FOR SPT
While many Russian bands cancel Ukrainian gigs, defiant local group performs anti-war concert in Kiev.
Mikhail Borzykin: “I didn’t just want a Televizor concert, but to have Ukrainian bands as well to state our position.”
ready to fight against it if necessary.
Still, they want peace.”
Since August, rock musician Andrei
Makarevich and his band Mashina
Vremini and Diana Arbenina’s Nochniye Snaipery have found their concerts canceled across Russia, with venues referring to sudden repairs or poor
ticket sales. In reality, both faced problems after performing in Ukraine and
making statements in support of the
country.
Russian bands reacted by canceling
their tours in Ukraine, the most recent
being St. Petersburg’s avant-rock band
Auctyon and Moscow’s alternativerock rapper Noize MC. However, earlier this month Akvarium’s Boris
Grebenshchikov announced he would
be playing a concert with a peaceful
message in Kiev on Dec. 14.
Ukrainian promoter Perekryostok,
which has been promoting Russian
rock bands in Ukraine, organized Televizor’s concert in Kiev and has been
setting up shows for Russian bands like
Piknik and Auctyon since 1996.
“Several months ago they were
shocked because they had already sold
most tickets for many concerts but
Russian artists, including Piknik and
Alisa, started refusing to come, giving
various excuses,” Borzykin said.
“Some said it was due to the unstable situation, some said they were
afraid to cross the border. Musicians
are afraid to go [to Ukraine]. It’s understandable because all the tours
have been planned, it functions like a
machine, and if something goes
wrong, as in the case of Arbenina,
they will not be able to provide for
their families. Such are the sad facts
of life.”
Despite the falling price of the
hryvnia and the bad economic situation, Ukrainian fans are eager to see
Russian rock bands, according to
Borzykin. “Of course, people have little money but it looks as if they wanted
a bit of peaceful life and were ready to
go to these concerts against all odds,”
he said.
Makarevich and Arbenina were
handpicked by the authorities to send
a warning to the rest, Borzykin suggested. “There seem to be no further
instructions so we can relax so far,” he
said. “Of course, it’s done to intimidate
the others. It was the first round, there
may be another — aimed at less wellknown bands.”
The problem that Borzykin did encounter recently was that venues in
Russia became sensitive to what is performed. He said he was asked by one
club not to mention Russian President
Vladimir Putin in his late 1980s signature song “Your Dad Is a Fascist” —
something that he has been doing during the past 10 years.
“It’s the first symptom, we were
asked not to perform ‘Your Dad Is a
Fascist” or not to add any names to it,
otherwise the club will be closed, and if
the club is closed, everybody will know
about it and we won’t be able to perform anywhere in St. Petersburg,”
Borzykin said.
“This was a request of a club direc-
tor who liked us, because he spoke with
the local administration and they were
all tense. Some concerts were shut
down and the director was summoned
to City Hall and asked why Satanist
Western bands were scheduled to perform at his venue. They were told that
the club may be closed under some
economic pretext and that FSB officers
would go to concerts with video cameras to record and analyze them. They
were told, ‘Guys, the times are hard,
that’s why nothing improper should be
allowed.’”
In next week’s St. Petersburg concert, Televizor will mark the re-release
of its third studio album, “Alienation”
(Otchuzhdeniye). The CD edition that
came out on the Moscow-based label
Geometriya includes two versions of
the album, which originally was recorded in 1989. The original version
was not released due to differences
with a Moscow producer who had
funded the recording, and in 2005
Borzykin recorded a mostly electronic
version of the same album, “Alienation
2005.”
“Suddenly, we managed to come to
an agreement, to overcome all differences and put aside all grudges and receive the master tape, so now we have
two ‘Alienations’ in one – recorded differently, performed differently and at
different times,” Borzykin said.
Televizor will perform at 7:30 p.m. on
Saturday, Nov. 29 at 113 Ligovsky
Prospekt. Metro Obvodny Kanal. Tel:
958 3888.
Education & JobOpportunities
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
advertising section
All
job vacancies advertised
in The St. Petersburg Times
newspaper can be viewed at
www.sptimes.ru
Food&Drink
www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Sampling Taste of Peru
FOR SPT
Peruvian chef gives Petersburgers a new gastronomic experience.
Diego Munoz: “If I were to pick a dish that embodies Peru, it would be the chili.”
By Galina Stolyarova
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
iego Munoz’s main ambitions as a chef is not to
change people’s eating
habits, but to offer them
a game: different foods
bring different emotions, and a meal
can turn out to be an amazing emotional as well as gastronomic experience.
Munoz is the man behind the Astrid
y Gastón restaurant in Lima, Peru,
which he has made number one in
Latin America and number 18 in the
world, according to the respected
“World’s 50 Best Restaurants” rating
sponsored by San Pellegrino & Aqua
Panna. On Nov. 18, he treated St. Petersburg residents to a creative set of
his own that featured 17 courses, which
he presented in PMI Bar.
The set featured a wealth of Peruvian specialties in modern interpretations as well as some traditional gastronomic combinations. Fish escabeche,
sea urchin and seaweed, white asparagus anticucho, baby goat with watercress and onions, lucuma of Andean
grains and Peruvian coffee were just
some of the offerings.
Diego Munoz, who dropped out of
engineering school for the risky career
of a chef 20 years ago, which at that
time was an almost utopian way to earn
D
a living, has never regretted his choice.
He has spent more than 15 years
abroad, working in Spain’s El Bulli and
Mugaritz in Spain, at the Grand Vefour
in Paris and at Bilson’s in Sydney.
The key to Munoz’s art is his ability
to balance Peru’s Incan heritage and
local ingredients to forge his own creative vision. For the St. Petersburg dinner, Munoz had to pack his suitcases
properly: the chef and his team brought
a wealth of local Peruvian ingredients,
ranging from goat’s meat and guinea
pig to herbs and potatoes. The last ingredient might come as a surprise to
locals, but Munoz remained nonchalant and defended the potato import.
“Peru is a country with more than 8,000
years of potato culture; while we use
around 20 kinds of potato, there are in
fact about 3,000 varieties of this vegetable, which grow in very different
soil,” the chef explains. “Indeed, as I
was well aware that for the 50 guests of
the St. Petersburg gastronomic set this
would be their first ever contact with
Peruvian gastronomic traditions, I
could not allow any ingredient to fail.”
Asked to describe the taste of Peru,
Munoz discusses food like a perfumer
describing his experiments. “There is an
array of salty flavors that are crucial to
the gastronomic palette of Peru and it is
essential to feel the contrasts — the hot
and cold, the sweet and spicy,” the chef
said. “The thing to understand about
РЕКЛАМА
Peru is that the cuisine there is very
multi-level, with the tastes fusing and
evolving, different notes replacing each
other. However, if I were to pick a single
product that embodies the entire country, it would probably be the chili.”
When traveling abroad, Munoz
makes gastronomy an integral part of
discovering a country, and he often
starts with a visit to the local market.
“To me, the market is a bit like the
beating heart of the place,” he said.
“One can always tell what life is like
for the locals if you visit the market. It
is all there: what is on offer, and how
they bargain, and what is missing, what
is not there. I was surprised to discover
that there is nothing in St. Petersburg
that would compare to the generous
food markets of Paris, Madrid or Barcelona. The highlight of my visit to the
city was the dinner at the Russian
vodka museum — it was a feast for all
the senses and I will never forget those
pickles and salted fish!”
Referring back to his philosophy of
connecting gastronomic range with
emotional spectrum, the chef believes
that emotionally, what comes to mind
when defining Peru is pride, happiness
and a sense of heritage.
“Peru has experienced so many influences — Spanish, Italian, African
— which have all left their mark and
which I am always keen to research
and interpret,” Munoz said. “This
source is limitless.”
There is nothing accidental in the 17course meal. The white peaches bring
back the chef’s own memories of enjoying his grandmother’s peach compote,
while coffee and chocolate hint at modern developments in Peruvian farming.
“A lot of farmers are now abandoning coca leaf cultivation in the wake of
campaigns targeting illegal drug production and trafficking, and they are turning to coffee and cocoa,” Munoz said.
The burnt carrot and squid ink plays
homage to another precious personal
experience of seaside picnics in the
summer as a teenage boy. “Serving up
personal memories is not selfish at all
— even if the geography or the time is
not familiar, people always have their
own recollections that would resonate
with the dish, and it gives good food for
thought, as well as for the stomach.”
❖
10
THE DISH
King of the North
Sibirskaya Corona
66 Nevsky Prospekt
Tel. 310 55 22
Open daily from 9.00am to midnight
Meal for two with alcohol: 2,300 rubles
($51.40)
By Jonathan Melvin
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
Situated on bustling Nevsky Prospekt and a stone’s throw away from
one of the most iconic bridges in St.
Petersburg, the Anichkov Bridge,
Sibirskaya Corona is exactly what it
claims itself to be: a Russianthemed pub focusing on cuisine
from even the most distant regions
of the country and, of course, all assortments of Sibirskaya Corona’s
well-known brews.
While any pub will be reminiscent of its English origins — as
Samuel Pepys once penned that
“pubs were the heart of England”
— Sibirskaya Corona certainly offers a strongly Russian adaption on
the idea of a public house. Russian
music flows from the surroundings
as you are immersed in a warm and
inviting atmosphere characteristic
of a typical pub.
One of the most unique facets of
the pub’s decor is the display under
the large glass bar, which greets you
immediately upon entering the establishment. Featuring miniature
depictions of some of Russia’s most
famous attractions and monuments,
this set-piece reinforces the idea
that, although the concept of the
pub is English, you are indeed in
Russia.
The menu keeps things simple,
opting out of the traditional flavor
texts that characterize most establishments in favor of straight-tothe-point names and dishes.
To start the evening off, my
companion and I selected the
cheese platter (210 rubles, $4.68)
and two pints of Sibirskaya Corona
White (150 rubles, $3.35) and the
Frantiskaner Dunkel (240 rubles,
$5.35). The mound of assorted
cheeses featured traditional Chechil
— stringed and smoked — and
Chyorny Altai, a cheese along the
lines of Cheddar. As expected, the
cheese was an ample appetizer and
complemented our drinks rather
nicely.
For the main part of the meal we
elected to split the beef Stroganoff
with mushrooms (350 rubles, $7.81).
Neatly decorated, the dish was a
hearty portion of perfectly cooked
morsels of delicious beef smothered
in sour cream and a dark onion and
beef-sauce with a splash of dill.
While I have always had personal
reservations about the heavy use of
sour cream in Russian cuisine, I was
quite surprised at the pleasant effect it had on the dish itself. Indeed,
while my companion and I had reservations under the auspices that
this was a Russian public house, the
dish was extremely well done and
exceeded our expectations.
Dessert was where Sibirskaya
Corona really shined. My companion favored the strawberry smetonikov (210 rubles, $4.68) while I myself harkened back to my western
roots with a healthy slice of carrot
cake (210 rubles, $4.68).
The carrot cake was a fresh and
moist rush for the taste buds, and
the strawberry smetonikov outshined its counterpart selection. A
small, cake-like pastry smothered
in sweet sour cream sauce with
chunks of fresh strawberries, the
strawberry smetonikov was,
strangely enough for a pub, the
highlight of the evening.
All in all, an evening out at Sibirskaya Corona over drinks, small
talk, and excellent Russian cuisine
was an evening well spent indeed.
While the culture capital certainly
holds itself up to the name, it can
often be difficult — outside of the
all-too-familiar stolovayas of course
— to find really good Russian cuisine. And, of all places, it was found
in the northern capital’s newest
pub.
РЕКЛАМА
16+
27
НОЯБРЯ
2014
Зеленое производство
в России
КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ
В ФОКУСЕ ОБСУЖДЕНИЯ:
ЕСТЬ
ЛИ В
При поддержке
Экологического Союза
РОССИИ ПРИМЕРЫ «ЗЕЛЕНЫХ ТЕХНО-
ЛОГИЙ», КОТОРЫЕ НЕ ПРОСТО ЭКОНОМЯТ ЗАТРАТЫ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯ, НО И ПОЗВОЛЯЮТ ПОЛУЧАТЬ
ПРИБЫЛЬ?
КАК ГОСУДАРСТВО МОЖЕТ СТИМУЛИРОВАТЬ ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ МЕТОДОВ ОХРАНЫ ОКРУЖАЮЩЕЙ СРЕДЫ
В ПРОМЫШЛЕННОСТИ?
МОГУТ
ЛИ ЭКОТЕХНОЛОГИИ СТАТЬ ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНЫМ ЭКОНОМИЧЕ-
СКИМ ИНСТРУМЕНТОМ КОНТРОЛЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ПРОИЗВОДСТВА?
ВЛИЯЕТ
ЛИ ЭКОСТАТУС ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯ НА ЕГО ИНВЕСТИЦИОННУЮ
ПРИВЛЕКАТЕЛЬНОСТЬ?
Руководитель проекта Елена Еликова
([email protected])
* Стоимость указана без учета НДС
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Dates and times are correct at the
time of publication, but last-minute changes are not infrequent,
so it’s best to check by contacting
the venue. COMPLETE LISTINGS can
be found at www.sptimes.ru.
Unless otherwise stated, stage
events start at 7 p.m. All stage
shows and films are in Russian
unless noted.
STAGES
DAILY SHOW! Folk Show
Feel Yourself Russian! Two hours of traditional
Russian songs and dance. Nikolayevsky
Palace, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. www.folkshow.ru
wednesday, november 26
ballet
Anna Karenina Rodion Shchedrin’s ballet in
two acts after the novel by Lev Tolstoy. Starring
Anastasia Matvienko. Mariinsky II.
opera
Le Nozze di Figaro Yuri Alexandrov stages
Mozart’s beloved opera buffa. Conductor
Zaurbek Gugkaev. Mariinsky Theater.
Tosca A revisionist version of Puccini’s
passion-filled opera. Director Yury Alexandrov.
St. Petersburg Opera.
Chamber Music Graun’s ‘Der Tod Jesu.’
Belarus State Chamber Choir, Minsk Chamber
Soloists and Dmitry Zubov. Shostakovich
Philharmonic, Small Hall.
saturday, november 29
ballet
Le Parc Angelin Preljocaj’s ballet set to a
score by Mozart. Starring Yekaterina
Kondaurova and Yuri Smekalov. Conductor
Christian Knapp. Mariinsky Theater.
The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet
about the fate of a swan princess,
choreographed by Marius Petipa.
Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory.
Chamber Music Schnittke, Beethoven,
Averbakh, Tchaikovsky. Vadim Gluzman
(violin), Yevgeny Sinaisky (piano).
Mariinsky Concert Hall.
Symphony Music Paganini. Klassika
Symphony Orchestra. Alexander Ramm (cello),
Dmitry Smirnov (violin). Conductor Alexander
Kantorov. Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main
Hall.
thursday, november 27
ballet
Carmen Suite. Sacre Sasha Waltz and
Alberto Alonso’s ballets set to music by Igor
Stravinsky, Georges Bizet and Rodion
Shchedrin. Starring Yekaterina Kondaurova
and Viktoria Tereshkina.
Mariinsky II, 7:30 p.m.
opera
Il Tabarro. Suor Angelica. Gianni Schicchi
Walter Le Moli stages Puccini’s three one-act
operas. Conductor Gavriel Heine. Mariinsky
Theater.
NEW! Il trovatore Director Dmitri
Tcherniako’s controversial and widely
discussed production of Verdi’s opera from
Theatre Royal de la Monnaie (Belgium).
Conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov.
Mikhailovsky Theater.
Boris Godunov Mussorgsky’s opera about
the ill-fated Tsar staged by Yury Alexandrov.
St. Petersburg Opera.
Le Parc Angelin Preljocaj’s ballet set to a
score by Mozart. Starring Kristina Shapran
and Konstantin Zverev (morning
performance), Viktoria Tereshkina and
Vladimir Shklyarov (evening performance).
Mariinsky Theater, 11:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet
about the fate of a swan princess,
choreographed by Marius Petipa. RimskyKorsakov Conservatory, 1 p.m.
Prince Igor Alexander Borodin’s epic
historical drama. Starring Larisa
Gogolevskaya, Zlata Bulycheva. Conductor
Pavel Smelkov. Mariinsky Theater.
Pagliacci Ruggero Leoncavallo’s tragic opera
about a jealous husband and a troupe of
itinerant actors. St. Petersburg Opera.
concert
Chamber Music Brahms, Lapis, Bottesini,
Rachmaninoff, Liszt. Maria Chernousova
(piano), Yevgeny Ryzhkov (double basses).
Mariinsky II, Prokofiev Hall, 6:30 p.m.
String Music Prokofiev, Myaskovsky, Glinka.
Borodin Quartet. Mariinsky Concert Hall.
Symphony Music Lalo, Saint-Saens. St.
Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Alexey
Stadler (cello). Conductor Jean-Claude
Casadesus (France). Shostakovich
Philharmonic, Main Hall, 8 p.m.
rock, etc.
friday, november 28
rock, etc.
Pony Rush Indie rock. Birja Bar, 4 Birzhevoi
Pereulok. Tel. 925 8806. 7 p.m.
Markscheider Kunst Ska, Afro rock.
Dada (new location), 109 korp. 3 Moskovsky
Prospekt. Tel. +7 950 010 4320. 8 p.m.
Kommunizm Punk, alternative.
Fish Fabrique Nouvelle, 53 Ligovsky Prospekt.
Tel. 764 4857. 9 p.m.
Electric Punky Boys Funk, punk funk, pop
rock. Griboyedov, 2A Voronezhskaya Ul.
Tel. 764 4355, 973 7273. 8 p.m.
Swans Experimental rock, no wave,
post-punk, noise rock, industrial. Kosmonavt,
24 Bronnitskaya Ul. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m.
Krematory Pop rock, folk rock. Lensoviet
Palace of Culture, 42 Kamennoostrovsky
Prospekt. Tel. 346 0438. 8 p.m.
2Cellos Cello rock, rock, pop, classical.
Oktyabrsky Concert Hall, 6 Ligovsky
Prospekt. Tel. 275 1300. 7 p.m.
Polyusa Pop rock. Zoccolo 2.0, 50 korpus 3
Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 945 4305. 8 p.m.
jazz & blues
Elvira Trafova and Pyotr Kornev Band Jazz
classics. Jazz Philharmonic Hall,
27 Zagorodny Prospekt.
Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m.
Natalya Rodina and ShoobeDoobe Jazz
Swing from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
JFC Jazz Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ul.
Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
saturday, november 29
rock, etc.
Early Music Vivaldi, Torelli, Corelli. Pocket
Symphony Ensemble. Artistic director and
soloist Nazar Kozhukhar. Shostakovich
Philharmonic, Main Hall, 8 p.m.
Chamber Music Telemann. Minsk Chamber
Soloists. Artistic director Dmitry Zubov.
Shostakovich Philharmonic, Small Hall.
Lumen Alternative rock. A2, 3 Prospekt
Medikov. Tel. 309 9922. 8 p.m.
Marcel Pop rock. Aurora Concert Hall,
St. Petersburg Hotel, 5/2 Pirogovskaya Nab.
Tel. 907 1917. 8 p.m.
Televizor Rock, funk rock. Backstage,
113 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel: 958 3888.
7:30 p.m.
Wife / Helm Downtempo, electronica,
experimental, drone, noise, musique concrete.
Dada (new location), 109 korp. 3 Moskovsky
Prospekt. Tel. +7 950 010 4320. 7 p.m.
We Wanna Drink Some More #5
Psychobilly. Fish Fabrique Nouvelle,
53 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 764 4857. 8 p.m.
L’One Hip-hop. Kosmonavt, 24 Bronnitskaya
Ul. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m.
Tsvety Pop rock. Music Hall, 4 Alexandrovsky
Park. Tel. 232 9201. 7 p.m.
Maria Majazz Atmospheric, jazz, funk, soul,
fusion. VinyllaSky, 81 Ligovsky Prospekt.
Tel. 764 6344. 8 p.m.
opera
Don Carlo Verdi’s tale of royal love, deception,
politics and the power of the Spanish
Inquisition. Starring Veronika Dzhioeva,
Nadezhda Serdyuk, Mikhail Petrenko.
Conductor Pavel Smelkov. Mariinsky Theater.
Manon Lescaut Puccini’s tragic opera about
love and death based on the novel by Prevost.
Starring Anna Nechaeva and Fyodor
Ataskevich. Conductor Mikhail Tatarnikov.
Mikhailovsky Theater.
11
thursday, november 27
concert
tuesday, december 2
❖
Valley of the Blessed Gennady Golshtein,
et al. Jazz Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny
Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m.
Zhiviye Lyudi Original compositions.
JFC Jazz Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ul.
Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
opera
Madama Butterfly Puccini’s tragic opera
about an American soldier who leaves his
Japanese wife. Starring Viktoria Yastrebova.
Conductor Mikhail Sinkevich. Mariinsky II.
L’Elisir d’Amore Donizetti’s comic opera
about how a peddler of love potions turns an
entire village upside-down. Conductor Mikhail
Tatarnikov. Mikhailovsky Theater.
Betrothal in a Monastery Sergei
Prokofiev’s comic opera after the play ‘The
Duenna’ by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
St. Petersburg Opera.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
jazz & blues
Bril Brothers Saxophone night. JFC Jazz
Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ul. Tel. 272 9850.
8 p.m.
sunday, november 30
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Dada, 47 Gorokhovaya Ul.
Tel. +7 950 010 4320. 8 p.m.
Ekipazh Molodost Pop rock. Mod, 7 Nab.
Kanala Griboyedova. Tel. 712 0734. 8 p.m.
jazz & blues
Jewels Ballet in three parts set to music by
Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky,
choreographed by George Balanchine.
Mariinsky II, 7.30 p.m.
opera
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Early Music Loeillet, Lully, Daquin, Rameau,
Respighi. Nadezhda Khadzheva. Mariinsky II,
Stravinsky Foyer, 3 p.m.
Cello Music Bach, Kodaly. Ildiko Szabo
(Hungary). Mariinsky II, Mussorgsky Hall,
6:30 p.m.
Symphony Music Dvorak, Rachmaninoff.
Boris Andrianov (cello). Conductor Robertas
Servenikas. Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main
Hall, 8 p.m.
Organ Music BuxtehudeI, Bach, Boely,
Durufle. Tatiana Ivanishina. Jaani Kirik,
54A Ul. Dekabristov, M: Sennaya Ploschad.
Tel. 710 8446.
ballet
Swan Lake Tchaikovsky’s evergreen classic
about the fate of a swan princess,
choreographed by Marius Petipa. Starring
Alina Somova. Mariinsky II.
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concert
Symphony Music Verdi’s ‘Requiem.’ The
Mariinsky Chorus and Orchestra. Starring
Viktoria Yastrebova, Yulia Matochkina.
Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado.
Mariinsky Concert Hall, 8 p.m.
ballet
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Il Trovatore Verdi’s four-act opera starring
Tatiana Serjan and Nadezhda Serdyuk.
Conductor Mikhail Sinkevich. Mariinsky II.
concert
friday, november 28
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Svenska Aero / Elena Linkevich Indie pop.
VinyllaSky, 81 Ligovsky Prospekt.
Tel. 764 6344. 8 p.m.
Nomera Indie rock. Zal Ozhidaniya, 118 Nab.
Obvodnogo Kanala. Tel. 333 1069. 8 p.m.
opera
ballet
concert
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London-based indie electronic-pop band Klaxons will return to the city to
support its third studio album, Love Frequency,” at A2 on Sunday.
Jah Divizion Reggae. Zoccolo 2.0, 50 korpus
3 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 945 4305. 8 p.m.
Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 8 p.m.
Olesya Yalunina and Alexei Degusarov
Vocal jazz. JFC Jazz Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ul.
Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
jazz & blues
Leningrad Dixieland Band Jazz dancing.
Jazz Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny
Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m.
Empathy Jazz Jazz. Jazz Philharmonic Hall
(Ellington Hall), 27 Zagorodny Prospekt.
Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 8 p.m.
Chizhik Jazz Quartet Crossover jazz.
JFC Jazz Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ul.
Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
wednesday, december 3
rock, etc.
That Zeppelin Tribute to Led Zeppelin.
Jagger, 2 Ploschad Konstitutsii.
Tel. 923 1292. 8:30 p.m.
jazz & blues
Alexander Karbasov and His Band Tribute
to Duke Ellington. Jazz Philharmonic Hall,
27 Zagorodny Prospekt.
Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m.
Yulia Mikhailovskaya and Her Quintet
Vocal jazz classics. JFC Jazz Club,
33 Shpalernaya Ul. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
sunday, november 30
rock, etc.
Klaxons Indie rock. A2, 3 Prospekt
Medikov. Tel. 309 9922. 8 p.m.
Kira Lao Indie rock. Birja Bar, 4 Birzhevoi
Pereulok. Tel. 925 8806. 7 p.m.
New Composers / Moloko I Myod
Electronica. Fish Fabrique Nouvelle,
53 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 764 4857. 9 p.m.
Jazzcore Dance Party Gramm, ByZero,
Pustotsvet. Griboyedov, 2A Voronezhskaya Ul.
Tel. 764 4355, 973 7273. 8 p.m.
Tarakany! Punk rock. Kosmonavt,
24 Bronnitskaya Ul. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m.
Port (812) Hardcore punk.
Mod, 7 Nab. Kanala Griboyedova.
Tel. 712 0734. 7 p.m.
Spasibo Indie rock. VinyllaSky, 81 Ligovsky
Prospekt. Tel. 764 6344. 7 p.m.
Psikheya Alternative rock. Zal Ozhidaniya,
118 Nab. Obvodnogo Kanala. Tel. 333 1069.
8 p.m.
MUSEUMS
ACADEMY OF ARTS MUSEUM
17 Universitetskaya Nab. Tel. 323 6496,
323 3578 M: Vasileostrovskaya. Wednesday
through Sunday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“The Academy is appointed to be a place
of virtue.” This exhibition celebrating the
250th anniversary of the founding of the
Academy of Arts uses paintings, sculptures,
engravings, manuscripts, books and objects to
trace the history of the illustrious academy.
Through Nov. 30.
jazz & blues
ANNA AKHMATOVA MUSEUM AT THE
FOUNTAIN HOUSE
34 Fontanka River, entrance from 53 Liteiny
Pr. M: Gostiny Dvor, Mayakovskaya.
Tel. 272 2211. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed
Monday; 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the last
Wednesday of every month.
www.akhmatova.spb.ru
Igor Timofeyev Quartet Saxophone night.
Jazz Philharmonic Hall, 27 Zagorodny
Prospekt. Tel. 764 8565, 764 9843. 7 p.m.
Swing Couture Gypsy jazz. JFC Jazz Club,
33 Shpalernaya Ul. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
monday, december 1
ALEXANDER BLOK APARTMENT MUSEUM
57 Ul. Dekabristov, M: Sadovaya, Sennaya
Ploschad. Tel. 713 8631. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6
p.m. Closed Wednesday.
The Kublitsky-Piotukh Family. This
exhibition includes personal belongings, family
portraits, photos, letters and documents
dedicated to several concurrent anniversaries
for the renowned relatives of poet Alexander
Blok. Through March 24, 2015.
NEW! The sky was gray and rain was
falling, and trains were leaving for the
battlefield. First editions of poetry novels,
articles and almanacs dedicated to WWI by St.
Petersburg poets and writers. Photographs
and posters from numerous charity events
organized by Russian intelligentsia to support
soldiers. Nov. 27 through May 26, 2015.
jazz & blues
Andrei Svetlov Project Jazz to rock. JFC Jazz
Club, 33 Shpalernaya Ul. Tel. 272 9850. 8 p.m.
tuesday, december 2
rock, etc.
Tesla Boy Synthpop, new wave. Kosmonavt,
24 Bronnitskaya Ul. Tel. 922 1300. 8 p.m.
jazz & blues
Kvadrat Jazz Club Jam session.
Jazz Philharmonic Hall (Ellington Hall),
27 Zagorodny Prospekt.
BOTANIC GARDEN
2 Professora Popova Ul. M: Petrogradskaya.
Tel. 234 1764. Daily, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed
Friday, Monday. www.binran.ru
concert
Symphony Music Schubert, Honegger. St.
Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Smolny
Cathedral Chamber Choir. Conductor Nikolai
Alexeev. Shostakovich Philharmonic, Main
Hall, 8 p.m.
Piano Music Bach, Liszt, Tchaikovsky,
Rachmaninov and others. Yulia Stadler.
Shostakovich Philharmonic, Small Hall.
ISAAK BRODSKY APARTMENT MUSEUM
3 Pl. Iskusstv. M: Nevsky Prospekt.
Tel 314 3658. Wednesday through Sunday,
11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
GIGS
wednesday, november 26
rock, etc.
Phurpa Tibetan ritual music.
Swans, the reformed experimental rock band that sprung from the New York
no-wave scene of the 1980s, will perform at Kosmonavt on Saturday. The
band released its 13th studio album, “To Be Kind,” in May.
KOSMONAVT
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www.sptimes.ru
HISTORY OF RELIGION MUSEUM
14/5 Pochtamtskaya Ul. M: Nevsky Prospekt /
Sennaya Ploschad, Sadovaya. Tel. 571 0495,
314 5838. Daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed
Wednesday.
Russian Church Embroidery from 18th to
21st Centuries. The exhibition presents over
40 examples of ecclesiastic art including
priests’ vestments, church utensils, icons and
icon settings, many of which are being
exhibited for the first time. Through Jan. 2016.
HISTORY OF ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM
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Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Peter and Paul Fortress. M: Gorkovskaya.
Tel. 230 6431. Daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
(6 p.m. Tuesday). Closed Wednesday.
www.spbmuseum.ru
Permanent Collection. The St. Peter and
Paul Cathedral, housing the graves of most of
the Romanov dynasty; History of the Mint;
Museum of Old Petersburg; and more. Exhibits
are housed in various locations in the Peter
and Paul Fortress.
Balls Glittering and Raucous
This exhibition explores the history of
St. Petersburg’s celebrated balls and presents
dozens of items connected with the revelry,
from fans and luxurious dresses to posters
and menus. Through Sept. 13, 2015.
St Petersburg in 19th-Century German
Photographs. More than 80 rare
photographs made by German photographers
who visited or lived in St. Petersburg, including
portraits of royalty and politicians, city views
and important civic events.
Through January 15 2015.
Argutinsky-Dolgorukov Collection.
Diplomat, art historian and patron, collector
Vladimir Nikolaevich Argutinsky-Dolgorukov
presented more than 600 items to the
museum at the beginning of 20th century
which will be displayed together for the first
time. The collection includes drawings,
watercolors, maps and paintings connected
with the history of St. Petersburg.
Through March 15, 2015.
HISTORY OF ST. PETERSBURG MUSEUM:
RUMYANTSEV MANSION
44 Angliiskaya Nab. M: Vasileostrovskaya,
Nevsky Prospekt. Tel. 571 7544. Daily, 11 a.m.
to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Tuesday). Closed Wednesday
and the last Tuesday of each month.
www.spbmuseum.ru.
Portraits from the 19th Century. Painting.
The artistic styles of the era are reflected in
the depictions of famous figures.
Through Feb. 10, 2015
St.Petersburg Diary. More than 200 items
including photographs, documents, uniforms,
personal items covers the period from the
beginning of WWI to March, 1918, when
Soviet Russia signed a peace treaty with
Germany ending its participation in the war.
Through Apr. 12, 2015.
KUNSTKAMERA
3 Universitetskaya Nab. Tel. 328 1412. Daily,
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Monday and the last
Thursday of each month. www.kunstkamera.ru.
MILITARY MEDICINE MUSEUM
2 Lazaretny Pereulok. M: Pushkinskaya. Tel.
315 5358, 315 7287. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
(10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday). Closed Sunday.
Soldiers of a Forgotten War: World War I
Medicine. Exhibition. Medical achievements
from 1914-1918. Through Dec. 31.
MUSEUM OF CITY SCULPTURE
New Exhibition Hall. 179/2a Nevsky Prospekt.
Entrance through Chernoretskogo Pereulok.
Tel. 274 2635, 274 2579, 274 3860. Daily,
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Thursday, Friday.
NIKOLAI NEKRASOV APARTMENT
MUSEUM
36 Liteiny Prospekt. M: Chernyshevskaya.
Tel. 272 0165. Daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed
Tuesday and the last Friday of every month.
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VLADIMIR NABOKOV APARTMENT
MUSEUM
47 Bolshaya Morskaya. Tel. 315 4713,
717 4502. Daily, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (12 p.m. to
5 p.m. on weekends). Closed Monday.
www.nabokovmuseum.org.
POLITICAL HISTORY OF RUSSIA MUSEUM
2/4 Ul. Kuibysheva. M: Gorkovskaya.
Tel. 233 7052. Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed
Thursday and the last Monday of the month.
www.polithistory.ru.
BAM – The Rails of Time. Photos,
documents. An exhibition celebrating the
construction of the Baikal-Amur railroad.
Through Dec. 26.
POLITICAL POLICE MUSEUM
6 Admiralteisky Prospekt. M: Gostiny Dvor,
Nevsky Prospekt. Tel. 312 2742. Monday
through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
For Loyalty: D.A. Bystroletov. Exhibition.
The life and work of a sleeper agent who
spent years abroad recruiting agents for the
Soviet Union before being imprisoned.
Through Dec. 31.
NIKOLAI ROERICH APARTMENT MUSEUM
1 Line 18, V.O. Wednesday through Sunday,
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tel. 325 4413.
www.roerich.spb.ru
Ineffable Light. This exhibition features
images of Sergius of Radonezh, one of the
Russian Orthodox Church’s most highly
venerated saints, created by renowned
Russian painters, including Roerich and
Nesterov. Through March 29, 2015.
STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM
1 Palace Square. M: Nevsky Prospekt.
Tel. 571 3420, 571 3465. Daily, 10.30 a.m. to
6 p.m. (9 p.m. Wednesday). Closed Monday.
www.hermitagemuseum.org
Permanent Collection. Three million items
in six buildings along the Neva and around
Palace Square. Unless otherwise stated,
temporary exhibitions are displayed in the
Winter Palace, the museum’s main building.
Monologue in Praise of the Seashell.
Decorative Art. Featuring more than 150
objects dating from 4000 BC to the present
day, this exhibition from the museum
collection examines how shells have been
turned into works of art by skilled craftsmen
throughout history. Through Jan. 11, 2015.
Expeditions: Archaeology in the
Hermitage. Finds from recent archaeological
expeditions to different the regions of Russia,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan and Italy, including Neolithic and
Medieval discoveries from Europe and Asia.
Through March 29, 2015.
Stone and Metal in Contemporary Art.
Local artists explore the use of precious and
semiprecious stones in different styles, from
those referencing classic 19th century
techniques to surprising contemporary styles.
Through March 8, 2015.
STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM: GENERAL
STAFF BUILDING
6 Palace Square. M: Nevsky Prospekt,
Admiralteyskaya. Tel. 571 3420, 571 3465.
Daily, 10.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(9 p.m. Wednesday). Closed Monday.
www.hermitagemuseum.org
Dada and Surrealism. The exhibition is
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organized in collaboration and drawn from
the collection of the Israel Museum, and
includes work by Duchamp, Magritte and
Man Ray as well as other leading lights of
the Surrealist movement.
Through Feb. 15, 2015.
Marijke van Warmerdam: Time is Ticking.
Four short videos from 2010 created as part
of van Warmerdam’s ‘Life’ cycle are shown
alongside her tapestry works. Nov. 21 through
Feb. 1, 2015.
STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM:
MENSHIKOV PALACE
15 Universitetskaya Nab. M:
Vasileostrovskaya. Tel. 323 1112. Daily, 10.30
a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Sunday).
Closed Monday.
STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM
2 Inzhenernaya Ul. M: Nevsky Prospekt.
Tel. 314 3448, 595 4248. Open 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. (5 p.m. Monday). 1 p.m. to 9 p.m on
Thursdays. Closed Tuesday.
www.rusmuseum.ru/eng.
Permanent Collection. The world’s finest
and most extensive collection of works by
Russian artists, from 12th-century icons to
some of the latest movements in contemporary
art exhibited in the Mikhailovsky Palace and in
associated buildings listed below.
NEW! Alexander Samokhvalov: 18941971. The first exhibition in 40 years of the
work of one Soviet Russia’s most prominent
artists is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of
his birth and showcases the various mediums
in which he worked: oil painting, graphics,
sculpture, porcelain and architectural
renderings. Nov. 27 through March 2015.
STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM: MARBLE
PALACE
5/1 Millionnaya Ul. M: Nevsky Prospekt.
Tel. 312 9196. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(5 p.m. Monday). 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on
Thursdays. Closed Tuesday.
Dmitry Shuvalov: 1932-2013. Shuvalov’s
paintings, watercolors and graphics
encompass lyrical views of north Russia,
images of ancient Russian cities and quiet
corners of the city he called home.
Through Dec. 1.
Rasim Babayev. Babayev, an Azerbaijani
artist, paints genre scenes of his homeland’s
history, folklore and culture using mythological
and fairytale creatures as metaphors to
address key moral and social issues.
Through Nov. 30.
STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM:
MIKHAILOVSKY (ENGINEERS’) CASTLE
St. Petersburg Society During the
Romanov Era. This exhibition features
watercolors, paintings and drawings that
depict the social life of St. Petersburg during
the 19th century. Through Nov. 2015.
Grigory Ugryumov: 1764-1823. This
retrospective offers a rare opportunity to see a
selection of Ugryumov’s history paintings and
graphics. Through Nov. 30.
STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM: STROGANOV
PALACE
17 Nevsky Prospekt. Tel. 571 2360. Open 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. Monday). 1 p.m. to 9
p.m on Thursdays. Closed Tuesday. A branch
of the State Russian Museum.
Richard Meier: Collages. Architect Richard
Meyer is one of America’s most celebrated
modernists. This exhibition brings 38 collages
from the collection of Switzerland’s
Gmurzynska Gallery to St. Petersburg for the
first time. Through Nov. 30.
GALLERIES
AL GALLERY
3-5 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul. Tel. 315 9999.
12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Monday.
www.album-gallery.ru
ANNA NOVA
28 Ul. Zhukovskogo. Tel. 275 9762. Tuesday
through Saturday 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
www.annanova-gallery.ru
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FOLK SHOW
AT THE NIKOLAEVSKY PALACE
4 Ploshchad Truda, St. Petersburg
Tel.: +7 (812) 312-55-00, 312-88-58
www.folkshow.ru
www.sptimes.ru
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The Young and Prodigious Spivet (2014, France-Australia-Canada). Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s
new film stars Helena Bonham Carter and Kyle Catlett. Angleterre (in English). Starts Nov 30.
Denis Patrakeev: Mustard Seed. Young St.
Petersburg conceptual artist Patrakeev
presents an immersive installation that
includes graphics, videos, objects and
documentation of a study the artist conducted
to understand the role of the artist in society.
Through Dec. 6.
BOREY
58 Liteiny Prospekt. M: Vladimirskaya,
Mayakovskaya. Tel. 275 3837. Tuesday Saturday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. www.borey.ru
Cementa. The Parazit Creative Group, which
brings together a number if contemporary St.
Petersburg artists, presents a group exhibition
of paintings, drawings and objects exploring
recent trends on the local art scene.
Through Dec. 6.
ERARTA MUSEUM
2, 29th Line, V.O. M: Vasileostrovskaya.
Tel. 324 0809. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Closed Tuesday. www.erarta.com.
Russia in Vogue. Featuring over 100
photographs that appeared in Vogue Russia
during the past 15 years, the exhibition
includes portraits of such figures as Ida
Rubinstein, Gala Dali, Joseph Brodsky,
Vladimir Nabokov, Erte and Marc Chagall.
Through Dec. 14.
NEW! Maria Agureeva: Garden of
Compromises. Featuring 17 works, many
exhibited for the first time, the exhibition also
includes work from the artist’s projects ‘Those
women that spoil our infinite’ and ‘Faster!
Higher! Stronger! Commodification.’
Nov. 28 through Jan. 19, 2015.
FINNISH INSTITUTE IN ST. PETERSBURG
8 Bolshaya Konyushennaya Ul., 2nd floor.
Tel. 606 6565. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed weekends.
www.instfin.ru.
Anu Pentik: The Garden of Catherine.
Ceramic artist and the founder of Finland’s
Pentik ceramics company presents items
made of glazed ceramics inspired by the
natural colors reflected in the gardens and
parks of St. Petersburg.
Through Dec. 20.
LOFT-PROJECT ETAGI
74 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 458 5005.
Daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tim Mantoani: Photographs. 100 portraits
of legendary photographers with their
masterpieces. Through Dec. 14.
MANEZH CENTRAL EXHIBITION HALL,
SMALL HALL
103 Nab. Kanala Griboyedova. Tel. 312 2243.
Daily 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Alla Dzhigerei: The Old Curiosity Shop.
More than 40 lithographs by the celebrated
Russian illustrator reveal the contrasts of the
world created by Dickens. Through Dec. 7.
MOKHOVAYA 18 GALLERY
18 Mokhovaya Ul. M: Chernyshevskaya. Daily
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Tel. 275 3383. www.gm18.ru.
NEW! Yelena Bazanova: Watercolors.
New still life watercolors by the renowned St.
Petersburg artist. Through Dec. 9.
PUSHKINSKAYA 10 ART CENTER
53 Ligovsky Prospekt. Tel. 764 5371. Open
Wed to Sun, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. www.p-10.ru.
Museum of Non-Conformist Art.
The Door.
GEZ-21. Outbuilding B, 3rd floor.
Tel. 764 5258. Daily, 3 p.m. to midnight.
Kino-FOT-703. Office 703. Tel. 764 5353.
St. Petersburg Archive and Library of
Independent Art. Tel. 272 8222. Monday
and Saturday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
ArtLigue Gallery
A Tale of the Brothers Andranik, Bagrat,
David and Azat. Text and graphic
illustrations by musician Philipp Avetisov and
artist Yulia Rybakova tell the sad tale of four
brothers. Through Nov. 30.
RACHMANINOV GARDEN
5 Kazanskaya Ul. Tel. 312 9558.
Tuesday - Saturday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
www.fotorachmaninov.ru.
Oleg Musin: Shooting Solutions. St.
Petersburg photographer Musin is usually
found behind a movie camera but this
exhibition explores his work as a still
photographer and his striking attention to
compositional detail. Through Dec. 6.
ROSPHOTO STATE CENTER OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
35 Bolshaya Morskaya Ul. Tel. 314 6184.
Daily 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
www.rosfoto.org.
Mikhail Rozanov: Cosmos. Large format
black-and-white photographs depict the vast,
majestic spaces of deserts, oceans, ice fields
and icebergs in Mongolia, Antarctica and the
North Atlantic. Through Nov. 30.
Martin Parr: Life’s a Beach. The exhibition
presents 56 works by one of Britain’s bestknown photographers and shows Parr at his
witty best. Through Nov. 30.
SCREENS
The Best of Me (2014, U.S.) Michael
Hoffman’s drama starring James Marsden,
Michelle Monaghan and Liana Liberato.
Angleterre (in English).
Goodbye to Language (Adieu au
langage) (2014, France) Jean-Luc Godard’s
drama starring Zoe Bruneau, Heloise Godet
and Richard Chevallier. Dom Kino (in French
with Russian subtitles).
NEW! My Mistress (2014, Australia)
Stephen Lance’s drama starring Emmanuelle
Beart, Harrison Gilbertson and Rachael Blake.
Dom Kino. Starts Nov. 27.
The New Girlfriend (Une nouvelle amie)
(2014, France) Francois Ozon’s drama starirng
Romain Duris, Anais Demoustier and Raphael
Personnaz. Angleterre (in French with Russian
subtitles), Avrora, Dom Kino.
NEW! Nice and Easy (Libre et assoupi)
(2014, France) Benjamin Guedj’s comedy
starring Baptiste Lecaplain, Charlotte Le Bon
and Felix Moati. Dom Kino. Starts Nov. 27.
NEW! Nicholas on Holiday (Les Vacances
du Petit Nicolas) (2014, France) Eric
Neveux’s comedy starring Kad Merad, Valerie
Lemercier and Dominique Lavanant.
Angleterre (in French).
NEW! Penguins of Madagascar (2014,
U.S.) Simon J. Smith and Eric Darnell’s
animated comedy. Avrora, Mirage Cinema.
Starts Nov. 27.
Rio, I Love You (Rio eu te amo) (2014,
Brazil-U.S.) An anthology film directed by
Carlos Saldanha, Nadine Labaki, Paolo
Sorrentino and the others. Angleterre (in
English, Portuguese and French with Russian
subtitles).
Saint Laurent (2014, France) Bertrand
Bonello’s biographical drama starring Lea
Seydoux, Jeremie Renier and Louis Garrel.
Angleterre (in French and English with English
subtitles), Dom Kino.
The Salvation (2014, Denmark-U.K.-South
Africa) Kristian Levring’s western drama
starring Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green and
Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Angleterre (in English
and Danish).
NEW! The Third Person (2013,
U.K.-U.S.-Germany-Belgium) Paul Haggis’
drama starring Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis, Liam
Neeson and Adrien Brody.
Avrora. Starts Nov. 27.
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DiningGuide
MEDITERRANEAN
Pryanosti & Radosti
Côté Jardin
Hotel Novotel St. Petersburg Centre
3a Ulitsa Mayakovskogo
Tel.: +7 (812) 335-11-88,
fax: +7 (812) 335-11-80
www.accorhotels.com/5679
Celebrate New Year at the best French
address in town! Would you like to
brilliantly celebrate New Year with lots
to remember? Then simply come to
Novotel St. Petersburg Centre! Treat
yourself to our festive buffet spread of
French specialties from our Chef and
many other delectable dishes
(beverages included). The party will
feature surprises, live music, a DJ and
dancing. During the evening there will
be a lucky draw to win a 3-night stay in
Paris! ... An absolute feast!
The price of New Year dinner is 8500
rubles. 50% discount for 3-12 years
old children. Paid-for tickets are nonrefundable.
We welcome you on our all-inclusive
Business Lunch Buffet in our
restaurant Côté Jardin — Monday to
Friday, midday to 4 pm. Enjoy our
mouthwatering salads bar, daily soup,
favorite appetizers, main dish
specialties, and indulgent homemade
desserts counter. The price is 790 RUB
per person inclusive of mineral water,
tea and coffee.
Besides cozy lobby bar and delicounter with homemade fresh
pastries Novotel offers our business
guests 11 modern fully equipped
meeting rooms with bespoke catering
and conference solutions for any of
your business meetings and seminars
— free parking for our hotel guests.
Open daily for à la carte from 06:30—
22:45, breakfast 06:30—10:00, buffet
business lunch 12:00—16:00. Major
credit cards are accepted.
3 Malaya Posadskaya Ul.
Tel.: +7 (812) 333-46-33
Delivery: +7 (812) 924-75-46
www.ginza.ru
Large, bright and always delicious, the
“Pryanosti & Radosti” restaurant on
Malaya Posadskaya is open 24 hours
and offers private dining sections for
two, comfy couches to relax on with
friends and spacious spacious tables
for big celebrations. Influenced by the
taste and feel of Georgia, the restaurant
has been developed by brand manager
Izo Dzandzav and the menu’s creative
European cuisine by Nikita Sechin.
Babysitting available on Saturday and
Sunday.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
advertising section
KARAOKE BAR
musicians and Latin American
dancers. We will be pleased to see you!
Jelsomino
$$
RUSSIAN
5/29 Poltavskaya Ulitsa.
Tel: +7 (812) 703-57-96
VIP reservations: +7 (812) 999-96-96
Open from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Amazing sound, modern visuals,
karaoke menu and professional vocal
equipment. A fancy place to party for
the famous and beautiful.
Appearances by Russian stars and
others in show business. Everything
here is in good taste, fun and beautiful.
New menu! New interior, the latest
technology and a statement in fashion.
$$$
$$
ITALIAN
MEXICAN
Tequila-Boom
Restaurant Da Albertone
23 Millionnaya Ul.
Tel.: +7 (812) 315-86-73, 962-08-29.
A popular Italian restaurant, located
close to the Hermitage and with a
summer terrace. Its open kitchen, run by
head chef Luca Pellino and sous-chef
Tiziano Valente, offers homemade
pasta, sausages, desserts and icecream. A supervised kids’ playroom and
kids menu is also avaliable. Japanese
dishes can be ordered from the
adjacent “Sushi Lounge.” Open SunThurs 11 a.m. – 11 p.m., Fri-Sat until 1
a.m. Delivery service available.
$$
57/127 Voznesensky Prospekt
Tel.: +7 (812) 310-15-34 or 050.
www.tequilaboom.ru
We invite you to visit TEQUILA-BOOM
restaurant — the finest Mexican
restaurant in Russia!
Our head chef will prepare a delectable
array of Mexican cuisine for you: Fajitas
Mixto, Burrito, Gringa, flat cakes and
steaks, while our barman will mix
cocktails, such as Strawberry
Margarita, Mexican flag, Mojito and
Caipriina. From noon to 4 p.m.
Monday to Friday a business lunch
(290 rubles) is available at the
restaurant.
Every evening we have live music, and
on Fridays and Saturdays there is a
show program featuring the city’s best
Palkin
47 Nevsky Prospekt.
Tel.: (812) 703-53-71,
www.palkin.ru
Open: noon to 11.30 p.m.
PALKIN restaurant is located in
the very heart of St. Petersburg.
Our constant search for new
flavors, by painstakingly
researching through old cook
books, and strict standards
regarding the use of
ingredients, make Palkin one of
the few places in the world
where diners can enjoy the
finest dishes of aristocratic
Russian cuisine in the elegant
atmosphere of an upscale
establishment. An extensive
wine collection is also on offer.
The opulent interiors include an
open fireplace. Smoking area
available.
the unsurpassed hospitality of the
Russian soul. In St. Petersburg, there
are 30 cozy cafés with individual design,
but the overall theme of warmth and
hospitality await you every day, and at
some of them, 24 hours a day. The many
Shokoladnitsa cafés are located close to
the main attractions of the city and the
culture of the world - the Kazan
Cathedral and the Hermitage, Gostiny
Dvor, and many others. With its
convenient location and extremely
healthy cuisine using only natural
ingredients, Shokoladnitsa is the best
place for a delicious breakfast with
coffee or a hearty lunch of three courses.
For breakfast and lunch there is a special
menu, with prices around 40% lower than
in the main menu!
We wait for you every day for a cup of
aromatic coffee and a slice of the most
delicious cake in Russia!
$
PAN ASIAN
Moskva City
18a Petrogradskaya Nab.
Tel.: +7 (812) 925-59-59
www.moskvacity.spb.ru
$$$
Shokoladnitsa
Hotline +8 (800) 100 3360
www.shoko.ru
Shokoladnitsa is the largest chain of
coffee houses in Russia, and embodies
The panoramic restaurant on the roof of
the City Center business center is proud
of its authentic pan-Asiatic cuisine,
original interior and view of the Neva.
On weekdays, Moscow City serves
meals to the accompaniment of a live
saxophone, and in the evenings the
restaurant turns into a cozy cocktail bar
that soars over the night-time city, with
an ideal atmosphere for dining high up
in the air.
$$
JAMIE’S ITALIAN
$$
INTERNATIONAL
Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg
57 Nevsky Prospekt
Café Vienna is a daily dining restaurant
with international specialty dishes and
offers wine from around the world. Also
available is a wide selection of tea
blends and coffees along with
speciality cakes from the hotel’s pastry
chef. Open daily from 10 a.m. to
midnight.
2 Konyushennaya Ploshchad
Tel.: +7 (812) 600-25-70
http://ginza.ru/
Jamie’s Italian is an international
chain of Italian family restaurants,
where the dishes are prepared
according to Jamie Oliver’s recipes,
and the highest standards of quality
are observed. It’s a lively family
restaurant with the typical Italian food
that is served in Italy every day. Little
guests are always welcome here.
Kids’ room & menu. On Thursdays
and Wednesday there are cooking
classes for adults. The average bill
comes to 1,500 rubles. Wi-Fi. Delivery
service available.
$$
$$
Café Vienna
Our Giving Magazine
color supplement
is out in December!!!
Don’t miss the chance to reach thousands
of potential clients.
Distributed in the Sapsan and Allegro trains as
well as through airlines, hotels, restaurants and
many more locations throughout the city.
– Banquet hall;
– Breakfast;
– Children’s room;
– Credit cards accepted;
– Dancefloor;
– Live music;
– Home delivery;
Average price of a two-course meal with an alcoholic beverage: $ – 500 to 1,000 rubles; $$ – 1,000 to 1,500 rubles; $$$ – more than 1,500 rubles
Reserve your space now!
Please call:
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– Non-smoking area;
– Parking;
– Wi-Fi zone.
Feature
www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, November 26, 2014
❖
16
Hermitage Head Piotrovsky Defends Art Biennial
By Kit Rees
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
e’s the head of one of the
seemingly most conservative art institutes — St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum — but Mikhail Piotrovsky has
been in the middle of a dispute about
contemporary art this year as the museum hosted the 10th biennial Manifesta art festival.
The festival, which finished earlier
this month, was criticized on all
sides — by those who dismiss contemporary art’s worth within Russia
and those who felt that the venue
should have been changed as a response to Russia’s anti-gay propaganda laws.
People who said that such events
shouldn’t be held in the current political climate are “fools and idiots,” Piotrovsky said in an interview with
a group of journalists earlier this year
in a press trip to mark the 270th anniversary of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
“Those trying to dictate art based
on their own preferences for the left
or right are idiots,” he continued.
“We created Manifesta, and it became a manifestation of everything
that it should be: a wonderful cultural
event, for the world, for Europe,
for Russia, for St. Petersburg and for
contemporary art, as it didn’t fit politically into the background of power
that exists now,” he said.
“Here one thing is important that
exists at present — the belief in the
autonomy of cultural establishments
in Russia, both financial and political,” Piotrovsky said about the independence of Russian artistic institutions.
Piotrovsky maintains that the Hermitage will not compromise its work
for politics.
“We are going to continue to do
everything that we
do, and it might be
that our work
and actions are going to sound a little
louder.”
Even the sanctions imposed
b y t h e We s t
on Russia didn’t
stop the festival
from going ahead.
“Manifesta was created in conditions when nobody wanted to have it
here — I mean the public, not the government. The government is indifferent,” Piotrovsky said.
When asked whether the museum
had received any threats over the exhibition, Piotrovsky replied dismissively: “‘Threats’ is not the correct
ANATOLY SAUTIN / FOR SPT
H
Piotrovsky speaking to journalists in his office. The Hermitage head defended the museum’s decision to host the biennial art show.
Piotrovsky believes
opposition to an event
like Manifesta due to
political preferences is
for ‘fools and idiots.’
P
By Simon Knapper
T H E S T. P E T E R S B U R G T I M E S
In Russia buckwheat isn’t
just food, it’s currency”
writes one of the commentators on the trope that has
been filling columns of news space
this week, if not the shelves of supermarkets. On Sunday evening, Fontanka.ru ran a series of photos sent
in by readers of shelving in shops
throughout the city devoid of buckwheat or featuring the highly sought
commodity at very inflated prices.
So what’s cooking? Delovoi Peterburg explains that the panic started
on Nov. 17 when the supermarket
chain Lenta announced that it was
limiting sales to no more than five
packets per person — problematic in
“
R
a country where, according to the
daily, “it is the inalienable right of a
Russian citizen to buy as much buckwheat as they want.” Following on
from this it became known that the
retail price of buckwheat had risen
by 27% by Nov. 17 from the price on
Oct. 31. Fontanka.ru traces the
shortfall to a rise in demand at the
beginning of November in the wake
of reports of a crop failure in the Altai region, where suppliers reported
that the crop had suffered in an early
September snow. However, the Russian Grain Union has stated that a
harvest of 744 thousand tons of the
grain had been collected, less than
the figure for the previous year of
833 thousand tons, but still above
the 550 thousand ton countrywide
annual requirement, according to
E
S
S
R
E
V
I
figures given by the agriculture ministry. Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti reports that despite these assurances there is high level government
debate as to whether to put state reserves of buckwheat on to the market. Novaya Gazeta writes that if the
reserves go to the discount market
segment, it will assuage the panic; if
it goes to the open market, it will
feed the speculators.
That notwithstanding, most publications share the view that the story
demonstrates that buckwheat, as
Russian a symbol as the two-headed
eagle, the silver birch or the balalaika, has become for many the symbol of the crisis: a tangible indicator
of the effects of the crisis on the lives
of average citizens in a way that
credit rating downgrades, dropping
of the effect of the exhibition, where
“the story about Maidan turns into a
warning of what can happen,” which
should “sober up all Ukrainians” regarding what gatherings with large
crowds can turn into.
Trying to control art is a political
endeavor that many a government has
embarked upon, yet Piotrovsky reiterated that “Everyone tries to manipulate art. Our government always manipulated art, and Western governments [too], in this respect. They are
all the same.
“Art sometimes allows itself to be
manipulated, but sometimes it allows
itself to be manipulated so that people
KIT REES / FOR SPT
famed Russians Pyotr Tchaikovsky
and Nikolai Gogol, and American
Pulitzer-prize winning playwright
Tennessee Williams, entitled “Great
Men,” or the references to Pussy Riot
in the cats that appear in Erik van
Lieshout’s “Basement.”
The huge installation “Abschlag”
by Thomas Hirschhorn featured
a semi-demolished apartment building in which famous paintings can be
seen on the walls of the individual
apartments peeking through the rubble.
The exhibition also tackled issues
related to the ongoing crisis
in Ukraine, as Piotrovsky commented
at the time that “all of the acute problems in the Ukraine are shown
at Manifesta.”
Estonian artist Kristina Norman
erected a sculpture in the shape of a
fir tree entitled “Souvenir” on Palace
Square outside the Hermitage.
The sculpture symbolized the halffinished Christmas tree that was
on Kiev’s central square, known as
Maidan, and is a call to peace.
Ukrainian photographer Boris
Mikhailov’s series of photograph’s
“The Theater of War — Second Act”
documented the turmoil occurring
on Maidan.
Piotrovsky highlighted the need
for a statement about Maidan to be
“artistically interwoven and beautifully so.”
“The work of the Hermitage influences the events in Ukraine,” he said
word. ‘Threats’ is from the political
lexicon. Projects are taking place.
And projects are going to happen regardless of the government’s position.”
Overall, the run-up to the festival
highlighted the fact that Russians are,
in general, fairly resistant to contemporary art. Yet, according to Piotrovsky, this frame of mind isn’t limited to Russia.
“The state is open to contemporary art. More than that, the Russian
government supports three, four, five
museums of contemporary art,” he
explained.
“People aren’t open to it. In fact,
people all over the whole world don’t
like it.”
The reason
he gives for this
is that “a significant part of contemporary art
isn’t art but happens to be political actions.”
Piotrovsky
says that the solution for this —
and what they tried to do with Manifesta — lies in the need for contemporary art “to be put in its place. It needs
to be put in the context of world art,
and then it will become clear.”
At Manifesta, political statements
were woven into works such as Marlene Dumas’ series of ink portraits
of renowned gay men, including
get a quiet life,” he said. “But sometimes the government uses it for itself.”
“I think that ultimately the Soviet
story shows that culture tricks politicians and always makes everything
good in the end,” Piotrovsky said
of artistic activity that is allowed
by the government.
“This is why there is always this
cunning game, the results of which
show who has tricked whom.”
Even before Manifesta, the Hermitage had already started to exhibit
a greater amount of contemporary
art, devoting an entire wing of the
world-famous cultural institution to
it. The museum courted controversy
when there was an uproar after
the museum put the Chapman Brothers’ show “End of Fun” on display,
with critics saying it insulted visitors’
religious beliefs. But Piotrovsky
and the museum did not kowtow
to the critics and said at the time:
“There is nothing sacrilegious here
but a clear desire to ruin the mood
in our city.”
“Contemporary art is like all other
art. It is still growing, it still needs
to be brought up so that good, real art
will come of it. Museums are bringing
it up. Museums give a global evaluation to the value of art,” Piotrovsky
said in the meeting with journalists,
emphasizing the need to increase
the longevity and relevance of art
in the present day.
Despite the fact that next year’s
planned bilateral cultural celebrations
with Poland have been canceled because of the tensions in Ukraine,
the Hermitage Museum plans to go
ahead with the scheduled celebrations. “This is the last bridge that can
be blown up when all other bridges
have been blown up — the bridge
of culture needs to remain. And we
are always working on this.”
One of Manifesta’s pieces was this faux cabin within the opulent halls of the Hermitage.
E
W
oil prices or early exits from international conferences are not. It is an
augury that all is not well, that hard
times are coming and the writer of
the Delovoi Peterburg article,
tongue in cheek, expects that if the
trend of curbing sales continues, he
doesn’t rule out a “buckwheat uprising.”
“People, reminded of the ration
book system during perestroika, will
be angered by this infraction of their
consumer freedom. What free market economy can there be when retail operates according to these kind
of rules?” he writes. He goes on to
note that similar rationing does occur in the USA, but that this is generally confined to sales of fresh iPhone models.
The GPS trackers flushed down
toilets by residents of Novoe Devyatkino to highlight problems with sewage treatment continue to make a
splash on the St Petersburg news
portals.
Nevskie Novosti reports that the
local Vsevolozhsky district authorities have responded, decrying the
action as nothing more than a PR
stunt and casting doubt on the technical possibility of creating trackers
that are compact enough to move
freely within the city’s sewage pipes.
The activists responsible have promised to demonstrate their apparatus
and in the meantime are capitalizing
on the stories resonance in local, national and international media by
warning Finnish authorities of the
trackers’ movements towards their
shores.
Учредитель и издатель – ООО «Нева Медиа». Главный редактор – Турикова Т.В. Адрес учредителя, издателя и редакции: 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
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Отпечатано в ОАО «Первая Образцовая типография» филиал «СПб газетный комплекс». Адрес типографии: 198216, СПб, Ленинский пр., 139. Заказ № 1364. Подписано в печать: по графику в 1.00, фактически в 1.00. Тираж 20000 экз. Цена свободная.