Russia beyond the Headlines (UAE) by Russia Beyond

Distributed with

Special supplement from Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Moscow, Russia) which takes sole responsibility for the contents. Wednesday, December 4, 2013 www.rbth.ru

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Technology Next-generation nuclear submarines come to life.

ITAR-TASS

Economy The challenges of turning a terrorist haven into a tourist hub.

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Economy Drive to improve business climate pays off in new international rankings

Society Muscovites wary of ethnic minorities

Hostility towards immigrants is growing While Moscow residents are a diverse mix of nationalities and religions, not all Russians in the country’s capital are content with the city's high levels of immigration. YAROSLAVA KIRYUKHINA

Russia has moved ahead of its fellow BRIC countries in the World Bank’s latest Ease of Doing Business ranking thanks to its intensive reform efforts. ARTYOM ZAGORODNOV RBTH

Russia has jumped 20 places in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business survey, moving up to number 92 out of 185 countries, following a concerted reform effort and widespread improvements in access to electricity, according to a new report from the international body.

This result brings the country closer to meeting President Vladimir Putin’s goal of taking Russia from 120th place to 20th place by 2018, via a series of “road maps” designed to reduce bureaucracy and red tape. This is the first tangible sign of success as recognised by a major international body. Russia edged ahead of China, which placed 96th in the index. Russia ranked higher than any of its peers in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) club of large emerging economies. Brazil rose two notches to 116th place, while India slipped three places to 134th.

“Improving the investment climate is a top policy priority for the Russian authorities, and local entrepreneurs are seeing the results,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, director of global indicators and analysis of the World Bank Group, in a statement accompanying the study. “Businesses dealing with obtaining electricity connection in Moscow now face fewer delays, more streamlined procedures and lower fees, thanks to the regulatory and procedural improvements in this area on the federal and Moscow level.” Russia is among the top 10 mostimproved countries in the survey

Many of the world's largest producers already operate plants in Russia.

this year, and also features among the 10 economies that have advanced the most towards global good practices since 2009. Electricity and Borders According to the World Bank, Russia made significant progress in improving access to electricity, jumping ahead 71 places in that category. The country's weakest sectors remain construction permits, where it languishes in 178th place, and trading across borders, where it ranks 157th.

ITAR-TASS

Russia tops BRICs for business

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that migration will be the focus of next year's G8 summit in Sochi. The topic has become increasingly relevant this autumn after riots erupted in southern Moscow following the murder of an ethnic Russian by a man from Russia's North Caucasus region. The riots broke out before the perpetrator was identified, proving the extent to which migrants and immigrants are stereotyped and scapegoated in Russia. The bulk of Russia's migrants and immigrants come from two regions: the North Caucasus republics in Russia's south, including Chechnya and Dagestan, which are actually within the borders of the Russian Federation, and countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Moldova that were part of the Soviet Union and now belong to the loose confederation known as the Commonwealth of Independent States. Despite a shared history, polls show that the Soviet-era ideal of the "friendship of the peoples" has mostly vanished. A survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre in August reported that two-thirds of Russians believed that migrants and immigrants in-

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ITAR-TASS

RBTH

MIgrants are often employed in low-wage construction jobs.

creased crime rates. According to a survey conducted by the Levada Centre polling agency in June this year, 84 per cent of Russians support the idea of introducing visas for people from former Soviet republics. Among Moscow's population of 11.5 million, approximately 1 million are migrants or immigrants. Experts estimate that one third of them live in the capital illegally, which limits their job opportunities to low-wage labour such as garbage collection, cleaning, roadwork and construction. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

IN THIS ISSUE

Special report Economy Regional firms develop ties with Russian oilfield service companies

Oilfield suppliers eye Gulf opportunities Despite the strong competition, Russian service companies are becoming more assertive and actively promoting their interests in the Middle East. YEKATERINA POKROVSKAYA SPECIAL TO RBTH

The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2013), held on 10-13 November, saw active representation by Russian companies, resulting in significant attention and interest from regional oil and gas

businesses. The scope of Russian machinery and services on show at ADIPEC 2013 included a wide range of pipes, pumps, compressors and appliances for measuring pressure inside oil drills. Among large Russian oilfield service companies actively pursuing opportunities in the region were TMK GIPI, Novomet and Burintekh, alongside several newcomers, such as PKBA, Geostar, and Borkhimmash. Arthur Sakaev, Burintekh’s Regional Manager for the Middle

For each metropolis

For each strip of taiga

For each supermodel

For each of you

East and North Africa (MENA), emphasised the Gulf area’s potential for expanding his company’s business:“The market is huge here. There are at least 500 drilling sites throughout the Gulf. One drilling site may have up to 12 drill holes, that is 6000 drill holes altogether and about 18,000 PDC bits. In PDC bits alone it is worth $500 million USD.” Based in Ufa, the capital of Russia's Republic of Bashkortostan, Burintekh manufactures PDC bits and drill hole equipment, and has

a Russian market share of up to 66 per cent. Since entering the Gulf market in 2010, it has successfully completed three trial sessions of its products for the Abu Dhabi Company of Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), and recently won a tender with Oman Petroleum Development (OPD) to supply 4 per cent of their drilling sites with PDC bits. Burintekh is also planning to open an office and a service centre in the UAE. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

In February, Russia will welcome the world to the XXII Olympic Games. RBTH gives you the latest on preparations as well as advice for visitors. P. 04

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Politics&Society

International The Geneva agreement could reshape political relationships across the region

Hostility towards immigrants is growing

Nuclear deal hailed as a landmark for Middle East Iran’s foreign minister returned home from talks in Geneva to a hero’s welcome as thousands of people took to the streets of Tehran to celebrate what they saw as an undisputed victory. ANDREI ILYASHENKO IVAN FLEGONTOV SPECIAL TO RBTH

A winning position Nevertheless, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov believes that the talks have had a positive outcome, and that the deal Russia helped to broker was in line with its own foreign policy interests. Few had hoped for such a successful outcome after 34 years of confrontation between Washington and Tehran, and 10 years of seemingly fruitless talks between Iran and the international community. “The key reason the Geneva accord is important is that it has helped form a foundation of trust that was clearly lacking during the previous years of negotiations,” said Prof. Vladimir Sazhin of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN).“It is extremely important that the Iranian nuclear pro-

REUTERS

An international agreement signed by Mohammad Javad Zarif with six major powers in Geneva has confirmed Iran’s right to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme and eased a crippling sanctions regime by allowing the Islamic Republic to resume exports of gold and petrochemicals, as well as to conduct certain types of financial transactions on the international markets. In return for the reduction in sanctions, worth an estimated $7-10 billion to the embattled regime, Iran has agreed to halt the uranium enrichment programme that the international community suspected of being part of secret plans to develop a nuclear bomb. It has made a commitment to cease enrichment of uranium above 5 per cent, to“neutralise”stocks that have already been enriched beyond this level, and to allow greater access to its nuclear sites for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tehran has no intention, however, of dismantling the centrifuges that permit enrichment at its facilities in Fordo and Natanz. President Hassan Rouhani said during a live appearance on Iranian television that Iran had retained its inalienable right to enrich uranium under the terms of the Geneva deal, and “no country can deny or qualify that right”. The true value of this month’s agreement between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of Russia, China, the United States, France,

Britain and Germany will become clear in six months, when they aim to sign a comprehensive treaty. “The victory achieved in Geneva is tactical,” Vladimir Yevseyev, head of the Centre for Social and Political Studies in Moscow, told RBTH.“The bulk of the sanctions, including those imposed by the UN, remain in place for the time being, and Iran has yet to consent to placing its nuclear programme under full international controls.” An indication of the difficulties ahead came almost immediately after the signing, when Iran declared that it would continue building at its Arak heavy water reactor, a facility that critics fear could be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. Iran claimed that the text of the deal did not prevent construction, but France’s foreign ministry said that a halt to work was “specifically targeted” by the agreement and should be respected.

would be pre-deportation detention centres. Someone who supports the liberalisation of immigration legislation is Boris Titov, Presidential Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs' Rights. Titov has proposed an amnesty for all illegal migrants in Russia. "If we suddenly deport all the migrant workers, the economy will crumble," Titov told RBTH. "Today Russia desperately needs workers. Migrants do one in every 15 jobs. Taking into account the demographic pit into which Russia has fallen, the need for workers will only increase. And who will fill this need?" According to Titov, about 75 per cent of illegal migrants come from CIS countries, which have visafree agreements with Russia. But only a fifth of these migrants actually want to settle in Russia and obtain citizenship.

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Sergei Lavrov (L) and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

"It is important that the Iranian nuclear programme is becoming more transparent" - Prof. Vladimir Sazhin gramme is becoming more transparent.” The main obstacle to agreement had been the unwillingness of Washington and Tehran to listen to each other. Mr Lavrov said that the situation changed dramatically following Mr Rouhani’s election as president. Gleb Pavlovsky, a political analyst and president of the Foundation for Effective Politics, believes that President Obama is pursuing a risky course for any US president. Détente with Iran is not universally popular in the US, while Washington’s main allies in the Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia, are putting up fierce resistance. The two have formed

a united front on this issue, though they disagree on almost everything else with the possible exception of their attitude to Syria’s Bashar Al Assad. In such a situation, Washington needed strong backing from the other mediators, said Yevgeny Shestakov of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defence Policy. “Lavrov worked hard to persuade his colleagues in Geneva that even an interim deal with Iran on a nuclear programme, that would enable IAEA inspectors to visit Iranian nuclear facilities, would be better than pressing ahead with the policy of blockade and sanctions,” Mr Shestakov said. “In essence, Russia was energetically backing the American approach to Iran in Geneva. That was an example of practical cooperation between the two countries, which ultimately enabled Moscow and Washington to agree on a date for another important international conference, the one on Syria.”

The slogan "Russia for Russians" is appearing more frequently, and nationalists are becoming increasingly vocal about deporting immigrants from other countries and requiring migrants from other parts of Russia living in Moscow to return to their native republics. With a total immigrant population of 11 million, Russia has the second-highest immigrant population in the world, after the United States, which has 45.8 million. But Russia's immigrants make up just 7.7 per cent of the total population, which is proportionately much less than in the US and gives them less political leverage. Not surprisingly, migrants flock to large centres such as Moscow. Despite this, Russia's capital has little infrastructure and few services to cater to them. The city has just one "migrant-friendly" hostel, which is on the outskirts of the city and costs just $5 a night. "They (the police) can stop us several times in one day," said one of the hostel's residents, 20-year-old Maxim from Dagestan. "So we try to Uzbekistan keep a low profile." Maxim works as a cashier in a supermarket and says he earns $1500 a month. Outside Moscow, the salaries of illegal migrants and immigrants are much lower. Apart from the fortunate few who stay at the hostel, Kyrgyzstan many migrants live where they work, which may be Tajikistan on the actual construction site they're building. Or they might be crammed into a tiny flat, with a dozen-odd compatriots per room. The head of the Federal Migration Service, Konstantin Romodanovsky, recently admitted that Russia had failed in terms of its immigration policies. He proposed setting up 81 special centres for According to the Federal Migration illegal migrant workers, but did Service, there are 3.5 million fornot say whether the centres would eigners in Moscow. The majority are help migrants find work and res- citizens of CIS countries. idency permits or whether they

24,2%

13,6%

16,7%

Migrants in Russia: countries of origin

International Aircraft companies show off latest models

New Russian aircraft turn heads at Dubai Airshow Twenty-three key players in the Russian defence and aviation market took part in this year's Dubai Airshow, which ran from Nov. 17-22 and set a new record for Russian participation. YEKATERINA POKROVSKAYA SPECIAL TO RBTH

PRESS PHOTO

The event saw Russian firms exhibiting both commercial aircraft and military hardware. The commercial highlights were the Sukhoi Superjet 100, which took its first flights with Mexican airline Interjet in September, and Russian Helicopters, which presented its Ka-32A11BC searchand-rescue model, the modernised heavy-lifter Mi-26T, the latest modification of the popular multipurpose Mi-171A2, and the passenger helicopter Ka-62, making its international debut at the show. Meanwhile, Rosoboronexport presented close to 70 models of military aircraft and air defence systems, including the Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter, the latest

Rostec and Tawazun signed a memorandum of understanding.

versions of the famous MIG-29 fighter, and the Kamov Ka-52 Alligator and Mi-28NE Night Hunter helicopter gunships. The firm also brought to Dubai its unique jet-propelled amphibious aircraft, the Beriev Be-200. Viacheslav Dzirkalin, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for

Military-Technical Cooperation, said that the Russian delegation was in great demand at the airshow.“The level of interest in our equipment and technology here is always very high. We have been receiving foreign delegations interested in our equipment throughout the whole period of the exhib i t i o n . We a re c o n s t a n t ly conducting business negotiations.” According to Dzirkalin, air defence systems attracted attention from participants from Iraq, Sudan,Yemen and Algeria. Additionally, a high-ranking delegation from Egypt expressed serious intentions in further cooperation in this field. Russian participants also found a chance to discuss new deals at the show. On Nov. 18, Boeing and Rostec signed an agreement to expand their joint venture by establishing a second Ural Boeing Manufacturing production facility in the Urals, Russia’s “titanium valley,” for parts for the new Boeing 777.

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Economy

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“We are also conducting business negotiations with Saudi ARAMCO on possible shipments of PDC bits and jars,” said Sakayev. “We are eager to prove the competitive advantage of our products over our competitors. Even though such big name companies as Baker Hughes and Schlumberger have been in this region for 30 years and have large market shares, we intend to show that we can perform just as well or even better.” Ali Al Jarwan, CEO of Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA OPCO) shared his feedback on the performance of a Russian oilfield technology unit:“One Russian company did servicing on our pipes in our offshore operations. The result was excellent, and we are convinced that the company’s high technology solutions are very competitive.” Meanwhile, TMK Gulf International Pipe Industry LLC (TMK GIPI), now a trading subsidiary company of Moscow-based TMK Group, has come forward with some effective solutions to deliver a product that meets the industry’s challenges. Having started its operations in the Gulf in 2006, TMK GIPI was the first company to begin manufacturing high pressure steel lines pipes and casing pipes in Oman, and also pioneered a mill for production of high-pressure 24-inch electric resistance welded pipes in the MENA region and India. Today TMK GIPI annual production capacity exceeds 250,000 tons. Among TMK GIPI’s major customers in the Gulf region are PDO, ADNOC’s ADCO, Kuwait Oil

Company (KOC), Saudi ARAMCO, ADGAS, Qatar Petroleum and others. The company has a service centre in Abu Dhabi and a sales office in Dubai Airport Free Zone. Russian company Novomet ALS is co-owned by ROSNANO Group, which manages Russian government investments in innovative technology projects. Novomet established a presence in Dubai in 2007 by opening a representation office there and setting up an inventory facility in Ras Al Khaimah.

TMK GIPI, a subsidiary of Moscow's TMK Group, was the first company to begin manufacturing casing pipes in Oman. THE NUMBERS

250,000 Annual production capacity in tonnes exceeded by TMK Gulf International Pipe Industry LLC (TMK GIPI).

700 Electrical submersible pump systems produced every month by Novomet ALS, co-owned by ROSNANO Group.

25-40 Percentage of power consumption that Novomet's submersible pump has proved to be able to save.

Originally from Perm, the company has been developing its business activity throughout the MENA region by introducing a special power-saving electrical submersible pump (ESP) that has proved to be able to save from 25 to 40 per cent of power consumption and retain its efficiency for five years. Novomet produces over 700 ESP systems per month and sees a wealth of opportunities for growth in the MENA region. “The deeper an oil layer is, the more pumping needs to be done to extract the oil, as the pressure in the drill hole subsides. Sometimes sucker rod pumping or fluid gas extraction methods are not possible. That’s where our product has a lot of potential for this region,”said Enver Smailov, General Manager of Novomet MENA Region. The firm’s ESP system field-testing with ADNOC will commence any day now and the pump will operate without interruption for 12 months. Recently Novomet has also become involved in Suez Gulf offshore operations, and this year won two tenders to partake in Lukoil’s project in Iraq’s West Qurna and BP’s Rumailah project. Smailov said that operations in Iraq are due to commence in 2014. Several Russian companies who were represented at the exhibition for the first time were wellreceived. Geostar, a manufacturer of echometers and dynamometers from Naberezhniye Chelny in Tatarstan, found a business partner in Dubai; and Borkhimmash, a producer of heat exchangers and compressors from the Voronezh Region, attracted a lot of interest with its products.

Oilfield suppliers eye Gulf opportunities

Russian oilfield service companies are attracting increasing levels of interest from Gulf firms.

Regions Area with a reputation for violence hopes to reinvent itself as a tourist hub

Does tourism offer a glimmer of hope for the North Caucasus region?

ARTYOM ZAGORODNOV RBTH

A brand new, French-built cable car taking international tourists to the world’s highest-altitude hotel on the ledge of Europe’s highest mountain, with a serene, yet snowy mountainous backdrop, is not what most people picture when they think of Russia’s Caucasus Mountains, better known for terrorist bombs and ethnic strife. Yet this was exactly the image the North Caucasus Development Corporation (NCDC) was trying to project to a small group of journalists attending the recent unveiling of the LeapRus hotel on Mt. Elbrus. Following two brutal wars in Chechnya in the 1990s, sectarian violence and an ongoing insurgency spilled over into neighbouring regions over the next decade. In 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev announced a broad initiative to channel federal funding into mostly tourist projects across the entire North Caucasus. More than

$15 billion was earmarked for eight key clusters located in regions like Dagestan and Ingushetia, in hopes of creating jobs. “We’re currently overseeing seven projects in manufacturing, tourism and agriculture, with a total investment of over $200 million. As they near completion, over 5,000 jobs will be directly created, with another 10,000–12,000 in

REUTERS

After three years of intense federal investment into the volatile North Caucasus, the region's tourism sector hopes potential visitors will look beyond its recent history.

related industries and small and medium businesses,” explained NCDC head Anton Pak. Andrei Katayev, the NCDC's point man for the hospitality industry, took reporters up 3,912 metres for the opening of LeapRus in the Republic of KabardinoBalkaria. The hotel consists of three cylindrical structures designed to house up to 36 guests aiming for the summit of Europe’s highest peak. The solar-powered facility was constructed using the latest Italian green hospitality technologies. “The investors were enthusiastic about building something that produces virtually no waste or harm to the surrounding environment so high up,” said Katayev. The upcoming 2014 Winter Games in nearby Sochi have acted as a catalyst for federal efforts to stabilise the region.

Chechnya's capital Grozny has been reconstructed with federal funds.

Some experts have warned that Southern Russia is ripe for terrorist attacks ahead of the Games, but overall data for the North Caucasus Federal District are somewhat encouraging. Reports by the Caucasian Knot information agency show a drop in violence in all but one of the regions. The number of civilian casualties from terrorism decreased to 87 in 2012 from 176 the year before. This year's numbers are also positive. “If there are some positive trends, they could be explained by that fact that the federal authorities are not the only ones preparing for the Olympics,” said Alexei Arbatov of the Moscow Carnegie Centre. Katayev countered:“We have to use next year’s Olympics as a catalyst for bringing people here to see the region's beauty and potential.”

Russia tops BRICs for business CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Oleg Budargin, CEO of the Federal Grid Company, notes that, in electrical reliability as measured by the number of outages, Russia has already surpassed many developed countries. Outages in Russia last an average of 0.9 hours, compared to 1.7 hours in Europe and 3.3 hours globally. “We’ve reduced the cost of an electricity connection by twothirds to around 3,000 rubles [about $93] today, from 9,500 rubles in 2009. This has led to a subsequent increase in applications, to 416,000 in 2012 from 200,000 then,” Mr. Budargin said. Alexei Komissarov, head of Moscow’s Department for Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship, expressed gratitude for the visible progress that had already been made, saying:“In Moscow, we have set up a special customs point for high-tech equipment that allows it to be imported in six hours rather than several months like before. It’s very important for the city in attracting high-tech companies here.” Eurasian Union A number of experts have pointed out that Russia’s common economic space with neighbors Belarus and Kazakhstan – set to become fully operational in 2015 – could push companies to invest there instead of Russia to better take advantage of the 170 million consumer market. Belarus took 63rd place in this year’s study, while Kazakhstan came in 50th,

IN FIGURES

Russia’s current ranking in the World Bank's Doing Business index, out of 185. Russia jumped 20 places in this year’s survey.

the number of places Russia jumped ahead in one year in the category of ease of access to electricity.

making the need to reform all the more urgent. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggests expanding the Eurasian Union to include countries like Turkey and Armenia. “I haven’t heard of a single major company relocating to either of those countries from Russia since the Customs Union [the predecessor to the Eurasian Economic Union] came into being,”countered Alexander Ivlev, Ernst & Young's country managing partner for Russia.“In Russia we have a growing middle class and better margins. Plus our tax system meets the standards international investors expect.” Real Work Still Ahead “The easiest work is behind us,” said Andrei Nikitin, head of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, which has been tasked with developing and implementing the plans to meet Mr. Putin’s target.

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Special Report

Winter Olympics Sochi's limited infrastructure and warm climate have contributed to the high costs

Sochi sets a Games record of $46 billion a

MIKHAIL MORDASOV

SPECIAL TO RBTH

If hosting London’s 2012 Games on a former industrial waste site seemed challenging, try holding the Winter Olympics in a sub-tropical region. Palm trees adorn Sochi’s Olympic Park, while inland 450,000 cubic metres of snow sit in storage, in case the sun melts what’s on the slopes come February 7, when the Games begin. Sochi had almost no sporting facilities when Russian President Vladimir Putin charmed the International Olympic Committee’s delegates in 2007, winning the Olympics for Russia. Its location, in a relatively undeveloped part of southern Russia where the climate is similar to the south of France, in part explains why the Sochi Games are fast becoming the most expensive Olympics in history. Putin promised to spend $US12 billion to get Sochi ready, but the budget has come in at $US46 billion, mostly funded by the government or state-run companies. This is more than the $US44 billion estimated to have been spent on Beijing 2008, and dwarfs the $US14 million price tag of London’s Games. Sochi had serious engineering challenges, which have been overcome at considerable expense. Sochi’s Olympic Park, for example, used to be a swamp. Roads and railways had to be built to remote locations before construction of the sporting facilities could even begin. A new railway provides a 30-minute link between the two competition zones, the Coastal Cluster and the Mountain Cluster, and organisers say Sochi will be the most compact Winter Games yet staged. All the arenas in the Coastal Cluster are within walking distance of each other, while athletes will stay just five minutes away in the Olympic Village. A separate Olympic Village in the Mountain Cluster, which will host ski, snowboard and bobsleigh events, is 15 minutes from competition venues. If the world’s biggest country has the dubious distinction of hosting the world’s most expensive Olympics, then another number gives a nostalgic tinge to the occasion for Russians. The Sochi Games is the 22nd Winter Olympiad, which mirrors the 1980 Olympics in Moscow being the 22nd Summer Olympiad. But the return of the Olympic flame is to a different country, one that sees Sochi as a chance to present to the world Russia’s modern face. However, the nation's chronic problems with corruption have led to speculation over the amount of construction funds that seem to have been diverted

Need help? Just get on the phone Russian authorities have pulled out all the stops to ensure that visitors to Sochi 2014 will have a range of multi-lingual translation services at their disposal. SVETLANA SINEPOSTOLOVICH

One plan to scatter some Olympic stardust around Russia is to relocate three of the arenas to other cities. It will also host matches of the 2018 World Cup. One plan to scatter some Olympic stardust around Russia is to dismantle three of Sochi’s arenas after the Games and relocate them to other cities. But this plan appears to be foundering, with officials disagreeing on where they should go. It’s likely they will stay in Sochi, and may become part of an elite winter sports academy for children.Whatever d e c i s i o n s a re made about the future of the facilities, the Olympics are providing Sochi with a rare opportunity to improve its infrastructure and transform its Sovietera tourist facilities. Sochi has a long history as both a summer and winter holiday destination. However, in recent years it has lost out to Mediterranean beach and ski resorts.

SPECIAL TO RBTH

GAIA RUSSO

Now the Olympics are a chance for Sochi to attract new tourist markets and to rebrand itself. Sochi and London share an interesting parallel. A Levada poll last month found 65 per cent of

Russians thought Sochi was a waste of money, while 64 per cent of Britons surveyed told the BBC before London 2012 that the Olympics were too expensive. But just four months after the Olym-

pics, four-fifths of Britons considered it to have been money well spent – an achievement which Russia may be hard pressed to match, considering Sochi's rocketing costs.

If you get lost in Sochi and passers-by don’t speak your language, you will be able to call the city's 24-hour information centre (8-800-550-86-42), which will have Russian, English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Korean speakers on hand. They will also be able to give advice on public transport timetables and the location of hotels, as well as call taxis or contact emergency services, if required. Information about hospitals, pharmacies, banks, 24-hour ATMs, museums and tour operators will all be stored on their database. Special telephones with two handsets will be another tool to help visitors communicate with Russians. If two people who speak different languages want to communicate, they can pick up the phones and call the Sochi centre and the conversation will be translated by a third party. These telephones will be available at Sochi's bus terminal and Sochi, Adler and Krasnaya Polyana railway stations, as well as at the international airport. The phones are also being installed at police and first-aid stations to assist visitors in times of difficulty.

Russia steps up transport and telecom for Games grees Celsius. The trains are also the first in Russia to have wheelchair lifts fitted. In fact, all Russian Railways facilities in Sochi will have been built or retrofitted to accommodate disabled passengers.

The Sochi Winter Olympics will be the most sophisticated in history, offering visitors state-of-the-art facilities and communications. Russia's biggest firms are doing their best to ensure that guests of the 2014 Games will have no difficulty getting to Sochi by air or land — all while remaining constantly connected to the Web.

New wings Most athletes and guests will fly into Sochi-Adler International Airport. Aeroflot's 2013–14 winter schedule has five daily flights between Moscow and Sochi; if necessary, this can be raised to 12. In addition, between Jan. 27 and Feb. 25, Aeroflot will be operating a daily service between Sochi and Frankfurt-am-Main with Airbus A321 narrow body airliners.

Staying connected PRESS PHOTO

JEFF VAUGHAN

into offshore bank accounts. There has also been controversy over what to do with the 11 competition venues once the Games are over. The biggest arena, the 40,000-seat Fisht Olympic Stadium, will not stage any sporting events, but only the opening and closing ceremonies and medal presentations. Post-Olympics, this $US63 million stadium, named after Mount Fisht, which is visible through the arena’s transparent roof, will be the training and match venue for Russia’s national football team.

ITAR-TASS

The Sochi Winter Olympics will be the costliest Games in history. But what has the money paid for and how will the venues be used once the athletes have gone home?

A new train service will link the Sochi-Adler International Airport (right) with central Sochi.

Aeroflot passengers will also be able to enjoy Wi-Fi internet access on some of the flights.

New trains Russian Railways is building the key transport route of the Games — a combined road and railway

line from Adler to the Alpica-Service mountain resort; the Sanki Sliding Centre and other Olympic facilities can be reached from there. The 48km line runs through 12 tunnels and over 46 bridges. Another new railway line will link central Sochi and the airport

in under one hour. The line will be served by Lastochka trains. This new type of electric locomotive, based on the Siemens Desiro design, has been developed for commuter transportation in Russia and can operate in outside air temperatures from -40 to 40 de-

Special care has been taken to ensure uninterrupted mobile phone and Internet connectivity at peak times. Russian mobile phone operator MegaFon is working to expand and improve Sochi's telecom infrastructure with over 700 new 2G/3G/4G mobile network towers. Sochi 2014 will be the first Olympic Games to offer 4G connectivity at a speed of 10 MB/sec. This article was first published by Kommersant

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Science&Technology QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Technology Top-secret shipyard that helps Russia to remain a superpower

How to build the perfect submarine

Unravelling the universe's secrets

About Sevmash Sevmash’s Shipyard 42 built the Leninsky Komsomol, the Soviet Union’s first nuclear submarine, in 1957. It also built the Zolotaya Rybka, the world's first titanium submarine, in 1968; its top speed of 52 miles per hour underwater remains unsurpassed to this day. Gradually, the function of developing into other areas was assumed by Shipyard 55. In the 1980s, it built the Akula series (project number 941), the largest “steel predators” in the world — as long as two football fields and as tall as a 9-storey building. The Akula is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), located in the city of Dubna outside of Moscow, is constructing a new ion collider to study the process of nuclear matter formation. Using the facility, called the Nuclotron-based Ion Collider (NICA), Russian scientists hope to discover the secret of the birth of the universe. Grigory Trubnikov, deputy chief engineer at JINR and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, talked with Russia Beyond the Headlines about plans for the facility. The media refers to the NICA collider as the “younger brother” of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). How exactly are they related? Do you cooperate with the European OrganisationforNuclearResearch(CERN)? CERN started showing interest in participation back before the NICA project was launched. We signed a general agreement with CERN in 2008 in which the organisation expressed interest in helping build and operate the Russian collider. We’ve cooperated very closely for several years now, and we exchange technologies and developments. Their experts regularly visit us, our experts visit them, we participate in sessions on their machines, and they participate in ours. We have joint publications, joint test benches, and so on. Besides that, CERN’s employees are members of our expert

DANIIL ILCHENKO RUSSKY REPORTER

“It's like taking a child to school for the first time: On the one hand, it’s a sort of coming of age, but, on the other, you know, it’s just the beginning,” says Nikolai Semakov, the deliverer of the first fourth-generation Russian submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky (Boreyclass project number 955). Semakov is head of Sevmash’s construction section. It took 17 years to build his first submarine. “It was a test of our entire industry, because every order involves more than 600 companies— an entire industry,”says Semakov. “All sorts of problems arose in the course of the work and a lot of things had to be refined after testing, but we built our next vessel, the Alexander Nevsky, in seven years, and theVladimir Monomakh in six years.” From tugs and barges to fish factories, in the last couple of decades,

rines have millions of welds joining hundreds of thousands of components. The firm keeps track of who performed each weld, and this information is stored for as long as the submarine is in service. While every weld is thoroughly

The identity of the person who performed each weld is stored for the duration of the submarine's service. checked by X-ray and ultrasound analysis, the personalisation of responsibility for a potential disaster on par with Chernobyl greatly improves the quality of the work. Still, there are places where human welders cannot work. For these places, you need a robot. “Here, the welded seam is nearly perfect,”says first-class electrical engineer Sergei Ryzhkov. We stumbled upon a small porthole located at the halfway mark of a huge barrel that is four stories high and can hold 237,755 gallons. Behind a thick pane of glass, a huge Terminator-like hand hovers over a pile of iron.

Ideas Young engineers find new ways to help the blind

Startup creates navigator for the visually impaired A new device uses the latest in technology to help the blind navigate their surroundings in safety without the use of a cane or other localisers. YELENA KRAUZOVA

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RBC DAILY

Oriense, an innovative Russian startup, has created a navigator to help people who are visually impaired through the use of an audio guide. The founders of the startup hope that this tool will be able to replace ultrasonic canes and other localisers. “We secure a special device on one's chest that can see the surroundings and use a special integrated voice to warn the person about different hazards in their path,” said Vitaly Kitayev, cofounder of Oriense. The device was originally built using Kinect, a game accessory from Microsoft that imported human moves. But after receiving $20,000 from the RSVVenture Partners venture capital fund, the founders of Oriense

A demonstration by Oriense at the Australia Imagine Cup.

were able to create a fully functional prototype using the Israelibuilt PrimeSense sensor, which allowed the device to be made smaller and lighter. The prototype was then tested in St. Petersburg's Centre of Medical and Social Rehabilitation for the Visually Impaired.

The latest version of Oriense consists of side cameras, a microcomputer, and a 3D camera that records objects in front of the patient. The system analyses the information, choosing the best way to avoid an obstacle then transferring this information into words and into the wireless headset. This is enough for a person to feel free and confident while moving around a room, according to Kitayev. In August, Oriense received the highest index of investment attractiveness (AAA) in the Russian Startup Rating. Currently, the firm is in talks with private investors and venture capital funds, which are said to be ready to invest $4 million in the startup. This money will be enough to create a device that will be able to work out the colour of a traffic light or distinguish a price tag in a supermarket.The expected retail price of this device will be around $800. First published in Russian in RBC Daily.

The computerised hand holds an electron-beam gun. The electron beams coming out of the barrel glide over the surface of the metal, leaving a perfect weld. “It is remarkable that all of the mechanical equipment was made in Russia. The Progress Research Institute in the city of Izhevsk still produces such things. The gun can execute practically any manoeuvre. It is a unique assembly. Many know about this and are envious— the Americans, the Japanese and the Germans,” says Ryzhkov. Stealth is the main weapon of any submarine and the entire raison d'etre of the fleet. A submarine that is discovered is as good as destroyed, so the need to keep the noise low is a constant headache for those who design them. The pitch-black anti-echo envelope is only the outward aspect of the technological treasures carefully hidden under the highstrength steel hull. It is this knowhow that allows Russian submarines to escape detection in the midst of NATO anti-submarine military exercises and even in the Gulf of Mexico. First published in Russian in Russky Reporter.

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AFP/EASTNEWS

Sevmash has built more than 100 ships for Germany, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands. The development of civil shipbuilding kept Russia’s largest defence shipyard afloat and, in effect, saved it from ruin in the 1990s. “Submarine-building is a business nowadays. Gone are the days when the party leadership handled our production-related issues. Today we need to be able to negotiate both prices and delivery dates. We survive by hook or by crook in difficult market conditions,” says Alexandra Vlasova, head of the company’s testing and measurement group and winner of the national Engineer of the Year 2012 award. It is difficult to overestimate the responsibility borne by Vlasova and her team. At the submarine’s operating depth, the jet of water that shoots out of a one-centimetre hole in the hull has enough power to cut a man in half. So it is small wonder that, when submariners gather around the table on special occasions, the third toast is always:“To the hull. May it stay strong.” Actually, submarines are not built, but welded. Today’s subma-

Nuclear submarines are built by just six countries: Britain, France, India, China, the US and Russia. Severodvinsk, on the White Sea, is home to Sevmash, the firm that builds Russia's nuclear fleet.

Grigory Trubnikov, deputy chief engineer at JINR.

committee in both the accelerator and detector areas. They inspect the project’s key technological solutions twice a year. In addition, CERN shows us its developments in beam dynamic calculation software, as well as its administration programme. What will be the main focus in the research at the Russian collider? We’ve identified two basic directions. The first, of course, deals with abstract science. That primarily entails research on the high density of nuclear matter. Dense, hot nuclear matter is a relevant topic in global physics, especially in the last 10-12 years. It’s interesting because according to theoretical concepts, it’s precisely in this state that matter existed at the early stages of the formation of the universe. The second direction is applied research. We’ll put nuclear medicine at the forefront. By using our experience from working on superconducting accelerators, in the future we’ll be able to establish the production of compact accelerators for medical purposes, which will be used in particular for beam therapy for oncological diseases. Right now there are about 15-20 such centres in the world, which help cure tens of thousands of patients a year. We expect Russia to catch up with its foreign colleagues in this area in the very near future, and we expect the accelerator technologies that we’re using in the NICA project to be applied in our nuclear medical centres. In addition, we’re ready to test space equipment at the NICA collider complex’s accelerators — to study the effects of ionising radiation on electronic devices and various electronic units of spacecraft. We’ll be able to model on land what will happen with these devices in space. Another important applied area is information technology. We’ve already created and are developing a grid structure element to process data received during experiments at CERN at the LHC. Interview conducted by Yekaterina Turysheva

RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES WWW.RBTH.RU GULF NEWS_WEDNESDAY_DECEMBER_04_2013

Culture

Cinema Irish filmmaker on a mission to bring the flavour of Moscow life to Western screens

NEWS IN BRIEF

Russian capital is up all night

Supersize luggage sparks scandal

ANASTASIA MARKITAN

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SPECIAL TO RBTH

Irish director Johnny O’Reilly has lived in Moscow for two decades, and says that the city and its residents are a never-ending source of inspiration for him: “The Moscow lifestyle is full of life and soul, people fight and love more than they do in other European capitals.” “Relationships in Russia are ruled along vertical power structures, which makes things happen more quickly, more unexpectedly,” O’Reilly says, adding that in Europe people tend to make decisions in a more consensual manner.“It makes things happen more strategically, but slower.” This ambiguous aspect of the country is reflected in the plot, which intricately interweaves the lives of several people from various backgrounds, from a troubled businessman to a Soviet film starturned-abandoned pensioner and a singer searching for her true self. The film features both stars and promising young talents. Mikhail Yefremov, who won widespread acclaim for the anti-establishment Grazhdanin Poet project, plays an unhealthy 55-year-old who likes the simple life of an easy-going work schedule that yields enough money to feed himself and his considerable drinking habit. Yury

"The Moscow lifestyle is full of life and soul," says director Johnny O'Reilly.

Moscow Never Sleeps is the first Russian film to receive funding from the support fund of the Council of Europe. Stoyanov, known in Russia for a long-running comedy show, now adds more drama to his character. Moscow Never Sleeps is likely to be a launchpad to success for Rustam Akhmadeyev, who plays a thug; Yevgenia Brik, who

takes on the role of the singer, and Anastasia Shalonko, as a teenager in conflict with her stepfather. All the characters in the film live separately, but the closely interlocking storylines and common theme create the feeling of a harmonious whole. “Even when people are sprinting through their lives, fighting and loving like it's the last day on Earth, they are sometimes asleep,” says the author. But in his film Moscow “never sleeps” because it is“a teeming mass of interconnect-

ed humanity that helps to recognise the hidden bonds that connect us all.” O’Reilly argues that not only Russian audiences will find the dramatic stories of modern Muscovites of interest. Social drama remains one of the best-loved genres of both film experts and ordinary viewers, especially when it comes from such controversial countries as Russia. “People in the west are hugely interested in Russia but very few have actually been here. Despite

the fact that Moscow is the biggest city in Europe, it's still an exotic, unknown place for most Europeans,” O’Reilly says. It is not only the director's genuine fascination with Moscow that makes the success of Moscow Never Sleeps likely, but also the business strategy that the creators have employed in promoting the project. With a $3.5 million budget, it has become the first Russian film to receive funding from Eurimages, a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe. While the majority of the financing came from professional film equity investors based in Russia and around the world, the Irish Film Board has also invested in the project. O’Reilly openly states that his biggest short-term goal is to show the film at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.“We have little doubt that the film will be selected for a competition slot in an A-list in Cannes because of the interest from international sales agencies into the project,” he says. Shooting was completed in October, and the film crew is now working on editing the picture at the famous Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, where legendary group U2 recorded their first eight albums.Moscow Never Sleeps is set to debut in the capital with its Russian premiere next autumn. Asked why Russia is so attractive to him, O’Reilly replies with no hesitation:“The amplitude of humanity here is higher… There's more suffering, but there's also more soul.”

Few modern Russian films are equally well-known both in Russia and abroad. However, an Irish filmmaker is hoping to change this with his upcoming drama Moscow Never Sleeps.

Russian representatives of French fashion house LouisVuitton were asked to remove a huge replica of a luxury travel trunk from Red Square after a public outcry over the suitcase, which was to house an exhibition. Politicians and ordinary Russians alike were outraged by the appearance of the giant trunk beside the historic walls of the Kremlin, and the presidential administration demanded that the structure be dismantled. Constructed at a cost of up to $10,000,000, the trunk-shaped pavilion was to display a selection of travel bags, suitcases and handbags belonging to celebrities and historical figures, under the title “The Wandering Soul”. Louis Vuitton agreed to relocate the trunk from Red Square to another location in Moscow in the wake of the scandal. Though the company has already carried out similar events in the US, Japan and elsewhere, the Louis Vuitton “House of Trunks” has not met with criticism in any other country. ITAR-TASS, RIA Novosti

Even in Moscow, snow can be on the ground from November until April. But this shouldn't deter you from making a winter trip to the Russian capital! Russians know just how to cope with winter weather — and how to make it fun. The Russian capital boasts a multitude of winterthemed activities, from outdoor sports to master classes, to unique tours you won't ﬁnd anywhere else.

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NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS New Year is the biggest holid ay in Russia, and from Dece ber 20 until January 8, it mseem pating in one big party. Fest s as if all of Moscow is particiivities are organised in the ro, in parks, theatres, mus meteums, skating rinks and squa From December 28 to Jan res. uary 8, a huge Christmas fair spread out across the nine pedestrian areas in the cent will Moscow. All events are free re of .

FREE MUSEUMS

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l mur architectura skoe outdoo mes a dreamlike co , the Kolomen In the winter in the south of Moscow be tions, and Christx ina seum comple ussian s, festive illum magical light ramme of tours called "R sled park lit with og pr a s ika (a Russian es, oﬀer tro It . a es in e tre rid as m to m allow guests ditional folk ga Winter," which horses), participate in tra ditions. e tra re ar th pulled by ian New Ye e about Russ and learn mor

NEW YEAR AND CHRISTMAS BAZAARS In the run-up to the New Year celebrations, fairs will be opening one a er another in Moscow. Designer Christmas tree ornaments, porcelain bagatelles, warm clothes and many other items can be purchased in the "Christmas Village" at the All-Russian Exposition Centre (VVTs). Here visitors can also learn how to make gingerbread and send a letter to "Ded Moroz" — Russia's equivalent of Santa Claus.

Visitors can enter 90 Moscow museums free of charge from January 2 until Jan uar tres will offer free beh y 8. Additionally, many Moscow theaind-the-scenes tours to see what goes on to those who want contemporary Russianbackstage. Local cinemas will screen fi lms and the classics of Soviet fi also free of charge. lm,

RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES WWW.RBTH.RU GULF NEWS_WEDNESDAY_DECEMBER_04_2013

RUSSIAN XENOPHOBIA: A CREED OF MISCONCEPTION

Opinion SHALE REVOLUTION COULD HIT RUSSIA WHERE IT HURTS

Sergei Markedonov

Natalya Lebedeva

POLITICAL ANALYST

FINANCIAL ANALYST

NIYAZ KARIM

iots in Moscow's West Biryulyovo have once again raised the issue of inter-ethnic relations in modern Russia and attracted the attention of the mass media. Yet the discussions now being held on the causes and consequences speak loudly of the lack of adequate understanding of the situation. The antagonism between natives and newcomers has come into sharp focus. Here, an explicit emphasis is made on ethnic collective responsibility for a crime or offence committed by a single person. The word“diaspora”has now become common currency. People have also begun to lump migration together with other Russian domestic and foreign policy issues. Such assessments are not just flawed: They lead to incorrect management and policy decisions. This or that ethnic group is often presented as a single, monolithic structure—a kind of state within a state. However, such an approach has nothing to do with the reality. This is explained by the virtual nature of such “unity.” For example, the Azerbaijanis whom the riots in Biryulyovo brought into the spotlight may in reality be citizens of one of three separate countries (Azerbaijan, Russia or Georgia) and represent one of two different Muslim denominations (Sunni and Shia). As for the Dagestan Azerbaijanis, who represent the sixth-largest group in the North Caucasus, they can be called more“native”than some of the capital's second- and thirdgeneration residents, many of whom are among those who shout the slogan“Russia for the Russians, Moscow for Moscow residents.” The same applies to some of the Armenians of southern Russia's Don, Kuban and Stavropol areas, whose ancestors settled in the region in the 18th century. Many of them do not speak Armenian, and Russian is as native a language

for them as it is for residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. The social status of representatives of these “diasporas” varies widely. Russian businessmen like Vagit Alekperov, Alisher Usmanov

An explicit emphasis is made on ethnic collective responsibility for a crime committed by a single person. and Ruben Vardanyan cannot be compared with traders in the markets and shops or small businessmen. While a diaspora is often represented by several public organisations, they are not responsible for the crimes of their citizens (who, moreover, may have various passports/citizenships). It would be extremely dangerous to replace the principle of individual responsibility with the princi-

ple of collective guilt. This would provoke an ethnic mobilisation on a “defensive basis” and demonstrate the inability of the state to regulate issues that are supposed to have been resolved. In contrast to the United States or the European Union, in our country, external and internal migrations are of paramount importance. This is associated with the movement throughout the country of representatives of different ethnic groups, religions and regions, who have different historical experiences (sometimes associated with higher costs) of joining Russia, but who are now citizens of the same country. Any attempts to impose a visa barrier on migrants from the South Caucasus and Central Asia would finally put an end to the Eurasian Union and integration projects (including the post-Soviet military-political Collective Security Treaty Organisation projects), as well as strengthen anti-Russian forces in these countries. It should not be forgotten

that, to this day, many Russians live in these countries - more than 3 million Russians live in Kazakhstan, more than 1 million in Uzbekistan, and about 120,000 in Azerbaijan. As a result, all these people will become hostages in the struggle for the purity of blood. Meanwhile, geopolitical threats such as the “export of Afghanistan” will not be stopped by visa barriers. If the growing xenophobia in Russia is not opposed by a national political strategy that includes the regulation of the two different migration streams (internal and external) and widespread education, and even, I dare say, advocating a united Russian political identity and integration projects in various fields and areas, then the country will suffer serious damage to both its domestic and foreign policies. The author is a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC

ecently, more and more experts have begun wondering how long Russia can remain one of the world’s leading exporters of raw hydrocarbons. The latest trends in the petrochemical sector indicate that competitors are emerging where they were least expected, and the biggest importers are declaring that they are prepared, at least in part, to refuse imports of oil and gas. A key threat to the Russian market is the so-called shale revolution. Though the initial cost of shale oil extraction is $70 to $90 per barrel - significantly higher than that of traditional oil - it makes sense when oil sells globally at $100 per barrel. Russian firms saw no sense in investing in these unprofitable projects, as it has a large number of untapped deposits with an initial extraction cost of only $20 per barrel. Meanwhile, the United States, which began to invest in developing shale oil and gas extraction technology around 15 years ago, has made a breakthrough and is now on its way to being self-sufficient in energy. Analysts at Goldman Sachs are certain that, by 2017, the US will become the world’s largest oil producer, overtaking Russia and Saudi Arabia. What does this mean for Russia? Any increase in production means a drop in the price on the global energy market. For countries, this means a sharp reduction in budgetary income.The petrochemical sector cannot be competitive without the development of production and infrastructure. Competiveness has to be preserved, so as not to lose established markets. Thus, Western Europe is Russia’s“favourite consumer.”It is stable, has infrastructure in place to transport oil, and tankers can be used to conveniently deliver oil

products via the Black Sea. There is however one problem: Ecological requirements in the region are increasing all the time, forcing Russian companies to invest in modernising production. Though this is possible while oil prices are higher than $100 per barrel, it is a completely different situation if global prices fall due to an increase in production. Russian petroleum experts are proceeding on the basis that, if America is close to achieving oil self-sufficiency,Western Europe will require supplies from Russia for a long time to come. Opportunities for shale extraction are limited in Western Europe by a lack of space and ecological risks. In the Far East, the Japan Petroleum Exportation Company is planning to start exploratory shale extraction in northern Japan in 2014. China is not far behind.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs predict that the US will become the world's biggest oil producer by 2017. Correspondingly, Russia has only 10 years to do all it can to prevent exit from the market. Chinese demand for oil is bound to increase, as Beijing is only now beginning to develop shale oil extraction, so a deal recently signed between Rosneft and the China National Petroleum Corporation to supply oil to China for 25 years is a significant step in this direction. Though in the long term, the development of shale technology will leave Russian exporters with just the European markets, Russian firms will continue to be profitable by dint of a sufficiently high marginal sum from hydrocarbon exports. Nonetheless, the days of high oil profits are numbered. Natalya Lebedeva is a financial analyst and general director of the consulting company Miravil Group.

Dmitry Babich POLITICAL ANALYST

s the former NSA analyst a modern-day dissident? There are many interesting similarities between Edward Snowden and the famous Russian dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008). The most recent example is the interview Snowden recently gave to the New York Times explaining his actions and denying rumours that he had passed US secrets to Russian and Chinese spies. This interview came too late. It took place several months after the peak of Snowden hysteria. Likewise, Solzhenitsyn’s return to Russia in 1994, 20 years after his exile from the USSR in 1974, was seen by many as belated – it should

have taken place in 1989-1991 as the Soviet state was collapsing. In the interview, Snowden explained that he did not consider his actions anti-American and that he carried no sensitive documents after releasing the information on the NSA’s surveillance programmes to journalists in Hong Kong. He also defended himself from accusations of working for Chinese or Russian intelligence, stating that he had carefully protected sensitive data from Chinese intelligence officers. The disparity between Solzhenitsyn and Snowden is in form, not in substance. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Solzhenitsyn wrote his best books, people still read epistolary novels, whereas in Snowden’s time, people prefer the real thing – genuine e-mail messages leaked onto the Internet. But

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the authorities in both cases reacted the same way. Neither the Soviet authorities in Solzhenitsyn’s 1970s nor the US authorities in 2013 denied the truth of the revelations -they just said that the author was presenting atypical phenomena. Leonid Brezhnev could not deny the existence of the Gulag camps, but he said that they were“deviations from the way of Socialist law” and “individual mistakes.” In the same way, the NSA’s defenders in the US said that the PRISM programme was targeting terrorists, adding that it was unfortunate if some ordinary citizens were eavesdropped on, but this was not standard practice - even if the“individual mistakes”could be counted in the millions. Both Solzhenitsyn and Snowden were criticised by some of their

NATALIA MIKHAYLENKO

SNOWDEN – THE ONLY SOLZHENITSYN WE DESERVE

compatriots for revealing their findings to foreigners and not to their own domestic bureaucrats. And the people who helped Solzhenitsyn transfer the manuscripts of his novels abroad had problems

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with the KGB just as the American and British authorities have put pressure on the journalists who helped Snowden reveal his secrets. In both cases, the truth seekers found some support and under-

standing abroad. But here the similarities end. Brezhnev could have sent Solzhenitsyn to the Gulag – the system of camps was still functioning in the 1970s, even if on a smaller scale – but the Soviet premier preferred to avoid a trial, which would have been a public relations disaster for the Soviet Union. Instead, Solzhenitsyn was sent to West Germany. Snowden, however, was already in exile when he made his revelations. US President Barack Obama has since attempted to bring him back to the country to stand trial. In the case of Snowden, the saying is true that history repeats itself not as tragedy, but as a particularly Orwellian type of farce. Dmitry Babich is a columnist for Voice of Russia radio.

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Feature

Travel Where to pick up a bargain souvenir

RECIPE

Flea markets: In search of hidden gems

Christmas spicy roast chicken with vegetables

SPECIAL TO RBTH

Before World War II, Moscow's Tishinskaya Square used to be home to a huge market — one of the biggest in the city. In the ‘60s–‘90s, it was a major draw for trendy youth, a place where one could find unique items for pocket change. It was a Mecca for local fashionistas, even in those days of ubiquitous deficit and low income. The contemporary fair is just a shadow of its former self; the "Tishinka" market has been replaced by a shopping centre. However, other authentic places remain. The Udelny market in the St. Petersburg suburbs is considered Russia's main flea market, while the Mark railway platform in Moscow was home to semi-legal trade for a while and was a real experience for those who made it there. No one spoke a word of English, the items were displayed on scraps of newspaper and cloth right on the ground, and most of the vendors were reminiscent of

The history of Russia flows past under your gaze, from stall to stall military uniforms, diving suits, busts of Lenin. solution by giving space to both antique stalls and poor pensioners selling their own things. One such market is located in northeast Moscow, just a 10-minute walk from the Partizanskaya metro station. The sign“Vernisazh” marks the start of the boulevard leading to the multicoloured domes of the Izmailovsky Kremlin — a white brick palace resembling the Kremlin in Red Square. Trade starts at the very entrance, where elderly yet spirited women sell old cutlery and back issues of

This is my own version of roasted chicken. It is not exactly the traditional Russian version - I hardly picture Indian foodies, say, making pickled cabbage and stuffing their roasts with that. I prefer to use chicken with the skin because after roasting it will be very juicy inside with the crispy skin outside. The technique is to mix the spices together and stuff it under the skin of the chicken. The masala will penetrate the meat and the skin will become crispy.

An afternoon spent browsing on a flea market offers a fascinating glimpse into the nation's past.

various magazines. This is a lucrative spot that guarantees a bonus to their small pension. A man asks one of the sellers the price of a tin with a picture of a sturgeon on it—the kind of tins in which black caviar used to be sold. It costs 300 rubles (about $10). Nearby, a fashionably dressed girl in rubber boots and a brightly-coloured coat excitedly yells into her iPhone: “Just got a super gramophone — and it works!” No doubt, this is the place to go for souvenirs. If you take it seriously and do not grab the first flashy matryoshka (Russian doll)

you see, you can find something truly memorable, unique and valuable.You are not likely to get it cheap, though. The vendors make their profit from tourists, so most prices are far from modest. Still, foreigners are treated with respect, and most sellers speak some English. At the weekends, the selection is large — especially in the morning. On weekdays, just two trading rows are open. The Vernisazh wooden stalls, carved in Slavonic style, create the atmosphere of a traditional Russian fair. All of Russia's folk crafts are represented here — laces, shawls, Pavloposadsky headscarves, ceramics, blacksmith and leather shops, animal skins, amber, crystal, etc. The history of the country flows past under your gaze, from

stall to stall — military uniforms, diving suits, busts of Lenin (the smallest would cost you about 1,500 rubles). Even Belomorkanal cigarettes, which were popular in Soviet times — and which can still be found on sale for a few kopeks — cost 350 rubles here. A battered pack from those far-off days is already an antique item. Most vendors are collectors. A man in his fifties wearing a sailor shirt talks about his huge stall full of pin badges: “This is nothing — just 20 per cent of what I’ve got. Not everything, but what I have on me today… I’ve been collecting pins since I was 20, and I know other collectors, of course. It’s impossible to be on your own, you have to exchange constantly.” Not all the items on the market are rare and antique — many are just stylised modern creations. Nonetheless, seek and ye shall find.

Fashion A new clothing brand based on simplicity is making waves on the market

Sewn in Russia: fashion startup inspired by Ikea A former Ikea employee has created a Russian clothing brand inspired by the Swedish giant’s ideology. His company "Oh, my" is now aiming to lead the Russian market in clothing basics.

THE NUMBERS

$40,000 was the initial capital for the business. One half came from Kovelenov’s personal savings and the other from bank loans and loans from friends.

JONATHAN HOEFLER LOREMASER

$50,000 is how much the brand earns in monthly sales after two years in existence. The average purchase on the store’s website amounts to $80.

PRESS PHOTO

Five years ago, Sergei Kovelenov had the idea of starting his own brand. Three years later, he turned this concept into a fashion startup called “Oh, my”— a basic apparel brand with ambitions to become a leader in this segment of the Russian market. Largely inspired by Ikea, the brand focuses on simplicity, warmth and comfort. “The Russian market did not have enough clothing firms specialising in simplicity, let alone promoting it,” said Kovelenov. “Meanwhile, well-informed young people had already taken up Western fashion blogs’ ideas and realised the importance of basic elements in creating an image.

The “Oh, my” brand focuses on simplicity, warmth and comfort.

However, finding something suitable in Russia was often difficult.” He decided to create a brand for Russia’s “Westerners” — residents of large cities with Western values based on private property, family and education. In its first years, the startup experienced the usual trial and error.

Launched in 2009, its collection of dresses, which cost $150–200, was too expensive to manufacture and implement. Meanwhile, sales in multi-brand online stores and through corner stores in shopping centres scared potential consumers off and were not good for the brand either, given

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the high commission rates and the small volume of sales. As a result, Kovelenov decided to focus on developing the brand’s online store and marketing via social networks. The online store, ohmyltd.ru, was launched in spring 2010. The first products were T-shirts and sweatshirts in black, white and grey.

Today, the brand sells about 50 designs of everyday basics for women and men — long-sleeved tops, T-shirts and sweatshirts. Kovelenov said that the initial capital amounted to $20,000 of their own funds and about $20,000 of loans. The majority of buyers are from Moscow (70 per cent) and St. Petersburg (20 per cent). Within two years, the company was bringing in monthly sales of $50,000, with average purchases of $80. Each garment sells on the website for prices ranging between $16 and $80. Fabrics are imported but the clothes are made in Russia — in St. Petersburg and in the Leningrad and Moscow regions. Seasonal wool designs are produced in Latvia. “Oh, my” has plans to branch out in the future. Currently, garments only come in black, grey and white, but slowly new colours will be added to the lines. The firm is slated to open stores in Estonia, Turkey and Italy by next year.

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FOTOIMEDIA

GALINA ZHIKHOREVA

SPECIAL TO RBTH

ANTON AGARKOV (4)

characters from Maxim Gorky’s “Na Dne” (“The Lower Depths”). In 2010, the market moved to the Novopodrezkovo railway platform (on the St. Petersburg line) and became more civilised. Even so, it is still deemed the most authentic, despite never-ending rumours about its imminent closure. That said, there are markets promoted by the Moscow authorities that are well-equipped and easily accessible. These offer a half-way

Besides being a paradise for collectors, the second-hand markets of St. Petersburg and Moscow (“bloshki” in Russian) are also the perfect place to hunt for unusual and original keepsakes.

Yelena Revinskaya

Ingredients (For 6-8 pieces) • Whole chicken with skin 1 pc • Garlic 15 cloves • Rosemary 1 tbsp • Kashmiri chilli 1 tbsp • Vegetable oil 2 tbsp • Black pepper 1 tbsp • Sugar 2 tsp • For the vegetables: • Potatoes 4 pcs • Large carrots 2 pcs • Large courgette 1 pc • Garlic 6 cloves • Rosemary 1 tsp • Chili 1 tsp • Olive oil or butter • Black pepper • Salt Preparation Vegetables: There is no need to peel the vegetables as long as you wash them thoroughly. Cut the potatoes into equal segments, the thickness depends on your taste. Cut the carrots and courgette into similar segments. Rub all the spices and oil onto the vegetables and they are ready to be roasted! Roast chicken: Mix all the ingredients together; you can use a mortar and pestle for that. The tricky part of this recipe is to separate the skin of the chicken from the flesh. It should be done by gently inserting your fingers under the skin, trying not to damage it. Once you have done that, you can take the marinade and spread it under the skin. Preheat your oven to 240°C. Turn the heat down immediately to 200°C and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes. If you are doing roasted potatoes and veggies, get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking. Check the chicken halfway through cooking and if the vegetables look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning. When cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board. Cover with a layer of tin foil and a tea towel and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before serving.