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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

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HOW TO SUCCEED AFTER MCFAUL

Outgoing Ambassador Michael McFaul (left) was previously an advisor to President Barack Obama.

With the crisis in Ukraine, the role of America’s top diplomat in Moscow is more important than ever

At RBTH.ru

KONSTANTIN ZAVRAZHIN / RG

What does the future hold for Ukraine? With Russian and American diplomats trading harsh words, protests rocking the country from Kharkiv to Lviv and the government in Kiev struggling to control the situation, news out of Ukraine is moving too fast for print. Follow the latest developments on our website. rbth.ru/ukraine

paso House, the neoclassical villa that is the longtime home of American ambassadors to Russia, awaits a new occupant to warm the frosty bilateral air. Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul left Moscow on February 26 after saying his goodbyes and chronicling his achievements (see page 4). The name of the next top U.S. diplomat in Russia remains unknown, but the challenges he or she will face are substantial – especially as the war of words between Russia and the United States over Ukraine continues to escalate. RBTH spoke to former foreign-service officials and foreign policy experts from both the U.S. and Russia to get a sense of what kind of person is needed for this key role. McFaul served just over two years in Russia, one of the shortest tenures in recent history, and his promising mantra for U.S.-Russia relations – the “reset” – fell short of expectations. In fact, during McFaul’s time in Moscow, bilateral relations suffered some serious setbacks. Of course, McFaul cannot be blamed for U.S.Russia tensions over Syria and Iran, but some early missteps affected his working relationship with Russian officials. There’s no doubt that McFaul’s first actions, such as a controversial meeting with opposition leaders that was set up before presenting his diplomatic credentials to President Vladimir Putin, raised eyebrows in the Kremlin. His public, off-the-cuff comment early in his term that Russia is a “wild country” offended rank and file and also contributed to his mixed reception in Moscow.

Who’s next? Several candidates have been mentioned by observers as successors, from Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller to Celeste Wallander, who serves as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russia and Eurasia on the National Security Council. Washington, D.C.-based observers point to Gottemoeller as the obvious choice. She is an acknowledged expert on Russia and arms control, and much of the credit for the landmark New START treaty in 2010 should go to her, observers say. Gottemoeller,

who was formerly the head of the Carnegie Moscow Center, speaks superb Russian and has connections among officials, business and civil society in Moscow. Should Obama tap Gottemoeller, she would be, like McFaul, a political appointee. Since 2009, 37 percent of the president’s ambassadorial appointments have gone to political appointees instead of career diplomats, according to the American Foreign Service Association. Observers say that the next head of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow will not be a political appointee. Commentators expect to see a career diplomat who will stick to classic diplomacy. Sergei Karaganov, who heads the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a Russian think-tank, said the next ambassador to Russia needs to adhere to two criteria – limit his or her activity on social networks and attract different groups of people. “From previous ambassadors, John Beyrle can be mentioned as an outstanding diplomat in this regard who, unfortunately, had to prematurely leave our country because the of Wikileaks scandal,” Karaganov said.

The crisis in Ukraine underscores the significance of high diplomacy and the challenges a new ambassador will face as U.S.-Russian relations fell to new lows over the past week. Ambassador James Collins, who headed the American Embassy in Russia from 1997 to 2001, also said that the United States may well need a trained State Department bureaucrat to do the job. “Frankly, Russia still expects an ambassador to work with the government of the Russian Federation. In order to do that, you need to be able to have a discussion with those people and have their confidence. Essentially, you have to be aware of the way in which you can do this most effectively,” Collins said. McFaul had never worked for the State Department, and sources close to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to RBTH that no real trusted relations

emerged between McFaul and his counterparts at ministry headquarters on Smolenskaya Square. Challenges ahead Experts say that it will be harder for the new U.S. ambassador to improve relations easily between Washington and Moscow, given the geopolitical challenges facing the two countries, including lingering divisions over Syria, Iran and missile defense in Europe along with the political crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s controversial human rights dossier. Thomas Graham, who served two tours as a foreign service officer in Moscow and now focuses on Russian and Eurasian affairs as a managing director at Kissinger Associates, Inc. acknowledged that “the new U.S. ambassador will arrive at a time of deeply troubled relations, assuming he or she arrives in the next few months.” “His first task should be building good working relations with the Russian government – and, to give him a chance to succeed, the government should show him the respect due an American ambassador. Gradually, over time and with great tact, the new ambassador should reach out to a broad segment of Russian society, including opponents of the regime, something that Americans expect of their ambassador and is essential to his maintaining credibility with the American political establishment,” Graham wrote in an email. The new tenant of Spaso House will also have to focus on the economy, according to Daniel Russell, the president and CEO of the U.S.-Russia Business Council. “Economic relations are a growing part of the bilateral agenda. Something that did not exist in the 1990s…. I think whoever is the next ambassador to Russia should make this a priority,” Russell said. No matter how qualified the candidate is, it’s no secret that the nominee will have a difficult time during confirmation hearings. The ambassadorial pick could be blocked by conservative U.S. lawmakers aiming to use Obama’s nominee as a tool to extract political concessions on the Russian front. ■ALEXANDER GASYUK SPECIAL TO RBTH

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Politics & Society P2 // rbth.ru // March 5, 2014

NEWS IN BRIEF

Paralympic Games begin

RIA NOVOSTI

Women’s Day: Are you serious?

ITAR-TASS

How Russian women feel about candies and flowers instead of equality and power March 8 is International Women’s Day – a day when nearly every man walking the streets of Russian cities will be holding bright pastel-colored flowers and myriad chocolate boxes under his arms. Every man has some woman in his life who needs congratulating on this day, which is like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day combined, but more intense. On March 8, the entire country gets the day off to celebrate women. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev made March 8 an official non-working day in 1965, but it had been an official holiday since 1918, when Alexandra Kollentai convinced Vladimir Lenin to recognize the day, which had been marked in several European countries since 1911. Early Soviet celebrations encouraged women to stand side by side with men waving the sickles and hammers emblematic of the new society, just like in the monument of the Worker and the Collective Farm Woman – designed by a woman, Vera Mukhina. It’s perhaps ironic given this history that the holiday was actually inspired by American garment workers demanding higher wages and better working conditions (see column, page 7). But how do Russian women feel about the holiday today?

For the church, a competing holiday Meanwhile, the resurgent Russian Orthodox Church, which has never been fond of International Women’s Day due to its socialist roots, is also taking a stand against this holiday. “I do not need flowers or other gifts for being a woman. God Almighty has made me look the way I do, why should I receive presents for this and have a high opinion of myself,” said Svetlana, a mother of three, a wife of an Orthodox deacon and a fierce opponent of International Women’s Day. “It is a feminist holiday that has nothing in common with the old Russian tra-

A day for all women? Another group taking issue with March 8 are transgender women. Irina, who was born female but identifies as a man and is saving for gender reassignment surgery, said that the holiday makes her uncomfortable. She feels awkward being bombarded with gifts and compliments from her male friends and colleagues in the bank where she works. “It is unbearable, but I understand that I cannot show them my attitude towards this so-called holiday, which I personally find discriminatory, because I may simply be fired. I do not want to be pampered by males, but, honestly speaking, I bring a bunch of flowers to my girlfriend, so it seems I myself follow the unwritten rules,” Irina said. Nevertheless, 7 out of every 10 Russian women said they really enjoy this holiday. For them, it marks the beginning of spring and encourages their significant others to express their love and admiration. “I’m used to doing the chores around the house and I work really hard, so I really look forward to this day when I can relax and let my boyfriend do the housework,” said 22-year-old Natalya. Poet Nikolay Nekrasov described the quintessential Russian woman as one “who can can stop a galloping horse, enter a house on fire.” That may be true, but only 364 days a year.

Flowers are the most popular gift on March 8.

READ THE FULL STORY at rbth.ru For $285,000, you too could become a Russian citizen A simplified naturalization procedure will be available to businesspeople who invest more than 10 million rubles ($285,000) in Russia, according a draft law recently submitted by the Federal Migration Service and Ministry of Economic Development. The citizenship cam-

paign would also be available to foreign graduates of Russian schools who have spent more than three years working in Russia. A representative of the migration service said that more than 2 million foreign alumni could be eleigible for naturalization if the law is passed.

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dition of a woman being a domestic goddess, a caring mother and a loving wife, not a career-driven selfish female,” she added. This year for the first time, the church is encouraging believers on March 8 to instead celebrate a second feast day for St. Matrona, a Soviet-era saint known for her statements against witchcraft and paganism. St. Matrona’s feast day is already celebrated on May 2, so the new feast day commorates the uncovering of her relics.

ITAR-TASS

Flowers, cards and chocolates Some modern Russian women complain that the holiday has become too commercialized and celebrations of it do not call attention to women who are successful in business, or encourage men to treat women as equals. Maria, a businesswoman who did not want to give her last name, said that men’s attitudes towards women have remained the same over the past century and that a deluge of greeting cards and messages once a year does not make her life easier. “During negotiations with male partners, I am often perceived not as an equal, but as a woman, with all the weaknesses attributed to the fairer sex,” she said. Maria added that, in her view, the only businesswomen International Women’s Day

helps today are those who sell flowers, perfume and chocolate. At least part of Maria’s perspective is supported by some official figures. Last year, the Moscow Department of Trade and Services reported that wholesale prices for flowers increased by 50 to 60 percent ahead of the holiday. The prices even doubled in some stores. Moscow-based MAR Consulting predicts that men in Russia will spend about $500 million on March 8 gifts in 2014.

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will open on March 7, less than two weeks after the closing of the Winter Olympic Games. Advocates for the disabled say they are hopeful the games will reach a wide audience and call attention to the need for more accommodations and services for people with disabilities in Russia. Events include Alpine skiing, biathlon, wheelchair curling and ice sledge hockey. NBC will be the sole provider of TV coverage of the Paralympic events and ceremonies in the United States.

■YAROSLAVA KIRUKHINA SPECIAL TO RBTH

FIND MORE EVENTS ONLINE at rbth.ru/culture_calendar

SOURCES: LEVADA CENTER, FOM (PUBLIC OPINION FUND)

Russian alumni question Kennan closure

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The Russian academic community reacted with shock and alarm to the recent decision by the Washington, D.C.-based Woodrow Wilson Center to shut down the Moscow office of the Kennan Institute. The oldest of the Wilson Center’s programs, the Kennan Institute brings together “scholars and governmental specialists to discuss political, social, and economic issues affecting Russia,” according to the organization’s website. In an open letter, Russian scholars called the decision “inappropriate, ill-timed, and extremely harmful to the long term prospects of U.S.-Russian relations.” Matthew Rojansky, director of the center, confirmed the closure. Rojansky acknowledged that the office had lost funding, but said that Kennan “is not disappearing from Moscow or Russia.” “We remain 100 percent committed to working with our alumni in the Russian Federation, offering fellowship opportunities, promoting exchange with U.S. scholars, co-organizing conferences and meetings and publishing and disseminating scholarly work. The financial challenge we have faced is very real, and as a result we will simply have to find more financially sustainable ways to do this work.” The launch of the Moscow Kennan office 21 years ago brought together a generation of Russian and American experts study-

IN HIS OWN WORDS

Jeffrey Mankoff FELLOW WITH THE CSIS RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAM WASHINGTON, D.C.

Obviously, at a time when U.S. government funding for the study of Russia (Title VIII) is being cut, this is another step in the wrong direction, one that will reduce opportunities for academic collaboration, not to mention U.S. understanding of developments in Russia.”

ing bilateral relations between their countries. “The situation is very weird,” Kennan fellow Victoria Zhuravleva said. “Although the office passed inspection by Russia’s authorities, it is Washington that closed it in the wake of the decline in U.S.-Russia relations,” said Zhuravleva, a professor of American history and international relations at the Russian State University for the Humanities. She is one of the architects of the open letter of protest from Kennan Institute alumni that was sent to the U.S. Department of State

and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and posted on social media. According to Andrei Kortunov, general director of the Russian International Affairs Council, the closure of the office is in line with the trend of halting U.S. activity in Russia. “For many, it will be bad news that indicates that America is losing interest in Russia and switching to other regions,” he said, pointing to the 2012 closure of the U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID). Last year, Congress announced plans to withdraw funding from the Title VIII Grant Program, which supported regional studies related to Russia, Eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet Union. The program supported U.S. citizens in pursuing language training and policy-relevant research in the social sciences and humanities. “[Given the fact] that Kennan Institute is one of the leading U.S. center in Russian Studies, it [the decision to close] will affect U.S.-Russia relations,” Zhuravleva said. ■PAVEL KOSHKIN RUSSIA DIRECT

READ THE FULL STORY at russia-direct.org

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Business rbth.ru // March 5, 2014 // P3

Russian-American development, from the ‘Inside Out’ Glenn Williamson arrived in St. Petersburg in 1995, a young, eager developer. Russia was a wide-open real estate market of unlimited potential. The Marriott Brigade of American expat professionals was in full swing, and Williamson had a “distinct image” in his head of young bankers being shoved out of planes like wartime paratroopers, each followed by a radio announcement that “yet another loan office had been successfully opened in a new Russian city.” His project, The Atrium at 25 Nevsky Prospekt, consumed his life in the second half of the 1990s. “All in all, the idea was to turn the building inside out, and to make the central glass atrium the focus instead of the afterthought,” Williamson wrote in his entertaining memoir about the project, aptly titled “Inside Out” (Archway March 2014). The project would end, almost unbelievably, a success. Building a contemporary atrium linked to a historic building next to the Kazan Cathedral in the chaotic 1990s proved to be challenging and at times exasperating, however. Williamson coordinated financing, construction, leasing and property management through a tempestuous time. The Class A office building was completed and occupied in 1999. The story shows what Americans and Russians are capable of – even under the worst of circumstances. The architects on the innovative project and restoration included Sergey Sokolov, Nikita Yavein, Vitaly Anitpin, Pavel Sokolov and Eduard Tysherskiy of Studio 44 in St. Petersburg, with investment from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The development was rife with typical cultural differences and misunderstandings (from the difference in meaning between waterresistant and waterproof to the number of favors a developer has to offer the city). But the real near-catastrophe was the devastating economic crisis of 1998, followed by the precipitous 400 percent fall of the Russian ruble and a number of bankrupt tenants. (No spoiler on how they prevailed over that historic bust.)

PIECES OF ADVICE FOR AMERICAN DEVELOPERS

On April 10 at noon, Georgetown University will host a Book Talk discussing “Inside Out” by Glenn Williamson. The talk is sponsored by the CERES and will be held at the Edward S. Bunn S.J. Intercultural Center, McGhee Library.

Fast forward 15 years, and Williamson, a youthful 51, has repatriated to Washington, D.C., and is an adjunct professor of real estate at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies. One of his roles is to organize the content of a new exchange program between Georgetown University and The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). His fluency in Russian and “inside out” knowledge of Russian development is a clear hit with the Russian real estate professionals who came to D.C. on a recent exchange. As managing director of Amber Real Estate, he acts as a liaison with the real estate community drawing from his own understanding of the current market. “We’ve had a great time,” said Dmitry Voloshin, a vice dean at the Russian Presidential Academy and a member of the real estate management faculty. “Quite a number of professionals have shared their expertise with us here,” he said. “For me, the most concrete help was in the area of creating a business model and working with public entities. The financial mechanisms and the flow of capital is more flexible here [in D.C.].” Williamson took the visiting real estate professionals and students to several development sites, including the new Mosaic District development in Northern Virginia. He also split the group in half and asked each of them to come up with a Request for Proposal to the city of D.C. regarding the redevelopment of a site in the increasingly trendy Eastern Market neighborhood. The nascent exchange program with RANEPA began when Georgetown Senior Associate Dean Christopher Metzler and assistant dean Katerina Kulagina traveled to Russia with the idea of starting a conversation about real estate and development. Metzler runs eight of the ten graduate programs in continuing studies. “We believe we can learn from the Russian Presidential Academy faculty,” Metzler said. “This is the beginning of a strategic partnership. Right now we are discussing with them in great detail how to develop the program,” he

PRESS PHOTO

From the chaos of 1990s St. Petersburg to a Georgetown professional exchange program

Glenn Williamson

The former residence for Kazan Cathedral clergy was renovated and updated into a business development.

The Atrium at 25 Nevsky Prospekt is in the heart of St. Petersburg.

Learn to speak Russian One of the most fascinating things about Russia is that the language is so precise, but the world it describes is so chaotic. There are a lot of relationships to try to figure out and if you can speak even some Russian you are way ahead. The hardest thing is to hear the side remarks that people make – those are often more telling than the translated speeches but hard to follow.

Ignore things that don’t concern you If you get distracted by all of the things going on around you, it will be that much harder to get anything done. You can be aware of things without getting involved, like a parent in the middle of a playground who doesn’t intervene in the game unless there is a danger.

A place of one’s own According to real estate agency Metrium Group, those looking to buy a small apartment in a new development in the Russian capital need a minimum of $112,600. That amount will buy nearly 400 square feet in an unfinished building on the outskirts of Moscow, primarily in the south and southwest, where most new construction is going up, according to Metrium’s Maria Litinetskaya. Completed housing with a finished interior is more expensive: the least expensive finished apartment in Moscow will set a buyer back $104,600 to for 200 square feet, according to analysts from Incom Real Estate. Prices in the suburbs are almost half what they are in the city, about $200 per square foot compared to $401, but with the lower price comes Moscow’s infamous traffic jam since the subway lines have yet to reach out into these bedroom communities. In other parts of Russia, prices are sub-

The price of a Russian apartment

$112 thousand Moscow

$50 thousand

$22 thousand Novosibirsk

Kazan

Prices are almost twice as high in the centers of Moscow and St. Petersburg as they are on the outskirts. In other Russian regions, prices are lower, but so are incomes. A one-room apartment in a new building in Yekaterinburg can be purchased for $42,000.

added. Metzler said that Georgetown hopes to add other partners in Russia as well. Metzler will be lecturing at the Presidential Academy in 2014 on topics such as Russia’s ascension to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Williamson, who has returned to Russia over the years, is also looking forward to the growth of these exchanges. When asked for his fondest memory from his time in St. Petersburg, he referred this reporter back to his book, “Inside Out.” After a particularly tense time, Williamson discovered the log-cabin sauna, or banya experience. His most unforgettable memory was also a teachable mo-

Keep your eyes on the prize I used to tell our team, “We are not here to change the world, we just want to build a building.” That approach helps get the building built and is less threatening to others. In the end, maybe in a small way, you have actually made a change. I was at a recent Georgetown event where a former leader from another university said that few people anywhere like change, but that many people will accept an experiment. I thought that comment was brilliant.

Don’t stereotype foreign partners Russia is a real place, not a fantasyland, but a place with real problems and real opportunities. I hope my book shows that all of the characters – Americans, Russian, Brits, Finns, Turks, Indians, etc. – are human. They have moments of great-

Still tough to get a room of one’s own Even in 2014, Russians appear to be in no hurry to move out on their own – every third Russian citizen under 45 still lives with his or her parents. There is a complex cultural legacy of collective living in Russia, the remnants of which can still be seen in the heavy drapes strung between rooms and more than one doorbell on an apartment door. But not all young Russians live in multigenerational homes by choice. High mortgage rates and exorbitant rents in urban centers often get in the way of purchasing power when it comes to a private living space.

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ment about how Russians like to unwind from a terribly long week. “After the bucket [of ice water] filled, I eagerly pulled it up, lifted it over my head, and poured the water over my body. Staring up at the stars, I felt every care in the world, every permit, every guard, every lender, every lawyer flow off my body and into the snow at my feet… It was an incredible and unforgettable feeling that I could savor for only a half a minute before moving quickly on my flipflops back to the warmth of the banya to start another cycle.” ■NORA FITZGERALD

ness, and they make mistakes. From an educational point of view, I hope that readers can learn something about how developers try to take a dream and turn it into something you can touch and enjoy.

Seek new types of development opportunities in Russia I was really impressed by the extent of the projects all our RANEPA students were involved with. There is certainly a much greater volume of investment in Russian real estate now than 15 years ago; and it is more spread out. Russian developers also play a much larger role. There may be less need for a 35-year old expat American to manage a project in Russia. On the other hand, there may be greater opportunity for someone to work with foreign investors trying to better understand this emerging market.

Everything you need to know about the current NHL season – in one tap

stantially lower. A one-room apartment in a new building in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg can be purchased for $42,000; in Kazan, 600 miles from Moscow on the Volga River, for $50,000; and in Siberia’s Novosibirsk for $22,000, according to data from analytical agency Blackwood. Borrowing to spend Mortgages are gaining popularity despite high interest rates, which average at 14 percent annually (compared to about 4 percent in the U.S.). Approximately 1 million Russians take out a mortgage every year – about 1.4 percent of the population. In 2011, for comparison, 11.7 million Americans, approximately 36 percent, applied for mortgages. In Russia, military personnel, teachers, and young families can qualify for special interest rates, but the number of borrowers under state programs is small. Young couples between 25 and 35 make up the largest group of mortgage borrowers, at 45 percent of the total, according to data from Metrium Group data. Given that monthly incomes ranging from $1,500 to $2,400, most of these borrowers are two-career couples. And according to Metrium, 15 percent of these borrowers have loans guaranteed by their parents.

THE ONLY RUSSIAN HOCKEY PLAYERS GUIDE YOU'LL EVER NEED

■MARIA KARNAUKH SPECIAL TO RBTH

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Comment & Analysis P4 // rbth.ru // March 5, 2014

THE VISIONARY BEHIND SOCHI’S SPECTACLE

IT’S TIME, MY FRIEND, IT’S TIME MICHAEL MCFAUL SPECIAL TO RBTH

NATALIA MIKHAYLENKO

STEPHEN M. NORRIS SPECIAL TO RBTH

f you tuned into NBC a few weeks back to watch the Olympic opening ceremony, you might have missed some important details about the spectacle. The early headlines about Sochi had focused entirely on the expensive cost of the games, on President Vladimir Putin’s role in getting the games to Sochi, on the extreme anti-gay laws recently passed in Russia and on the toilets many journalists discovered when they arrived. The main narrative of the Olympic Games had already been established. When one of the five snowflakes failed to transform into an Olympic ring, the opening ceremony merely confirmed all that had previously been figured out about Sochi. The little snowflake that could, acknowledged by a clever and humorous reference in the closing ceremonies, overshadowed a spectacular opening ceremony that captured important changes within Russia since communism’s collapse. The American coverage of the event certainly did not cover this story. NBC added David Remnick, the editor of the New Yorker and the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of “Lenin’s Tomb,” to its opening-night team. The opening ceremony became a discussion about what type of leader Putin is, how the event was an attempt to prove Russia is a modern country, and how the ceremony “bobsledded through history” in order to gloss over troubling pasts. The color commentary, just like the opening journalistic salvos fired at Sochi, was really all about Putin. Yet the ceremony itself was not written, produced or directed by the Russian president. While everyone who watched the London opening ceremony knew that Danny Boyle was behind it, just as NBC highlighted Zhang Yimou’s widely praised direction in Beijing, no one watching NBC’s coverage learned that Sochi’s opening ceremony also had a director and that he too was involved with the film industry. American audiences did not learn about Konstantin Ernst’s vision. Ernst is the head of the First Channel, one of the state-owned television stations in Russia

and the most-watched network. Ernst is also responsible for helping to turn around the Russian film industry. He has produced several of the highest-grossing films in Russian history, including 2004’s 2004 sci-fi/fantasy hit “Night Watch.” Ernst has also brought out innovative TV serials, including an adaptation of Anatolii Rybakov’s glasnost-era bestseller about Stalinism, “Children of the Arbat.” Ernst’s work on the screen developed in the wake of the 1998 ruble collapse. He took over the channel in September 1999 – the very same month Putin became prime minister – and announced that both cinema and television needed to be “reborn.” Ernst and others, including the director Nikita Mikhalkov, turned to Hollywood for inspiration. They saw American audience-friendly blockbusters, which had saturated Russian screens, as a key for reviving the decrepit domestic film industry, but with a

Konstantin Ernst’s blockbusterlike history performance focused not on politics – though Peter the Great had a role – but on Russian culture. twist: Russian directors needed to marry Hollywood-style scripts, star-driven productions, and special effects to Russian stories. His work, as I wrote in my book on the Russian cinematic revival “Blockbuster History in the New Russia,” “retrofitted Soviet classics for post-Soviet audiences, explored the historical collapse of empires as tragic events, featured past and present-day detectives that could solve crimes, and explored Soviet history from Stalin to Brezhnev.” His defenders say he has managed to turn out satisfying fare. His critics point to his close relationship with Putin as an indicator of the sinister side in his work, while

others note that Ernst has carved out some autonomy and created something special in a political system that has no real alternatives. Undeniably, he has helped to make Russian cinema successful again. Ernst’s attributes were on display in Sochi. He promised a spectacle that showcased Russian innovation and he delivered. Ernst’s “Dreams of Russia” attempted to narrate 1,000 years of Russian history through the eyes of Lyubov (“Love”), a young girl who floats through this subjective reimagining. Ernst’s blockbuster-like history performance focused not on politics, but on Russian culture. It found room for people and artistic movements that had not been acceptable in the Soviet era. The alphabet book Lyubov reads at the beginning features luminaries such as Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, yet it also contained Nabokov, whose aristocratic family left Russia in 1919, and Chagall, who fled the Soviet Union in 1923. The show featured architecture, ballet, art, music and writing that has defined Russian nationhood. The lengthy ballet “Natasha’s First Ball,” beautifully choreographed by the Belarussian Radu Poklitaru, captured the spirit of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” and the imperial-era culture that flourished in the 19th century. For the 20th century, with the help of Tsypin and American choreographer Daniel Ezralow, Ernst focused on the avant-garde art of the first decade after 1917. The subsequent section on mass culture during the Stalin era featured the Western-loving stiliagi, or hipsters, who danced across Gorky Street. Ernst’s “Dreams of Russia” captured the trends that have transpired over the last 15 years. A patriotism centered on Russia’s cultural heritage, a reexamination of Russia’s recent past that allows space for problematic eras, and an audience-friendly showcase of technological innovations were all on display in Sochi. Norris is a professor of history at Miami University of Ohio and the author of “Blockbuster History in Russia: Movies, Memories, and Patriotism.”

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EXCLUSIVELY AT RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG Quarterly Report: Megatons to Megawatts Program

Michael McFaul. previously chief national security adviser, was U.S. Ambassador to Russia from January 2012 through February 2014.

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Russia Direct explores the Russian government’s plans for urgent school reform at all levels and the challenges it faces in reviving the country’s schools and universities following two decades plagued by loss of funding and prestige.

Lessons learned from a Russian-American snowboarding love story In reference to the page one piece “Snowboarder Wild for Russia,” (Feb. 5, 2014 RBTH) I find it funny that Russians generally like Americans more than Americans like them. The major benefit to the U.S.S.R. losing the Cold War was the Russians’ ability to move forward, ridding themselves of the biased hate towards Americans that was fostered in the Soviet era. It is time

GUITCHOUNTS U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ANDREI ZAITSEV HEAD OF PHOTO DEPT ANDREY SHIMARSKY ART DIRECTOR MILLA DOMOGATSKAYA HEAD OF PREPRESS IRINA PAVLOVA LAYOUT E-PAPER VERSION OF THIS SUPPLEMENT IS AVAILABLE AT RBTH.RU. ANNA SOROKINA, KIRA EGOROVA WEB EDITORS, RBTH.RU TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SUPPLEMENT CONTACT SALES@RBTH.RU OR DIANA BACKLUND AT DIANA.BACKLUND@WASHPOST.COM. © COPYRIGHT 2014, FSFI ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

for Americans to be officially educated about Russian culture. Russia is a very important nation, yet most Americans know little or nothing about it. Once they discover it, they might be pleasantly surprised. Russia may be the most interesting place in the world. Justin Davis, Missoula, Montana

Another Russian-American love story from a reader I have a love story similar to “Snowboarder Wild for Russia.” I married a Moscow Circus performer. We were featured in “Russian Life” magazine. He has since passed away, but I have our beautiful daughter, Tatiana. I wish them love and blessings!

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Russian partners over the last five years. In 2010, we worked together to pass United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929, which put in place the most comprehensive set of sanctions ever against Iran. We have continued to enforce this resolution successfully, which in turn has helped create the current permissive conditions for serious negotiations with the Iranian government to reach a diplomatic solution to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. This year, our two governments have worked closely together on another historic agreement to remove and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons. We have nurtured quiet cooperation on a whole range of issues, from counterterrorism to cybersecurity, as well as maintained cooperation on dozens of issues of mutual interest between our two countries, from space to environmental protection. Taken all together, this is a real record of achievement on some of America’s most vital national interests. I am proud to have been a member of President Obama’s team working with our Russian counterparts to produce these outcomes. I also am proud of the work we did to manage some difficult issues in U.S.-Russia relations over the past few years. The Russian ban on adoptions by American parents, the Russian order to close the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) operations in Russia, false claims in the Russian media about American desires to foment revolution in Russia and U.S. foreign policy aims in general, the growing pressures on Russian civil society and independent media, the granting of temporary asylum to Edward Snowden, and our different assessments of the causes and consequences of political change in the Middle East and Ukraine are just some of the challenges that we have been compelled to manage. Yet, I leave Russia with a strong feeling of satisfaction for how our administration handled these issues without compromising our interests or values. I think we have demonstrated that we can engage directly with civil society and stand up for universal values while continuing to cooperate with the Russian government on a whole host of issues.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

February Monthly Memo: Russian Education

This Quarterly Report is dedicated to U.S.-Russian cooperation in the nuclear sphere. Creators of the Megatons to Megawatts program (1993-2013) look into its origins, analyze its economic and political effects, and suggest the prospects for future Russian-U.S. projects.

his is my last blog as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation. Soon after the Olympics, I plan to rejoin my family in California. After more than five years working in the Obama administration, it is time to go home. I will leave Russia reluctantly. I love this job. It is a tremendous honor to represent my country here. I will miss interacting with my partners in the Russian government and with Russians from all sectors of society and business. But I also will leave with a feeling of accomplishment. Since we set out to reset relations with Russia five years ago (yes, I am not afraid to use the word “reset”!), we have achieved a lot. We signed and now are implementing the new START Treaty. We worked closely with the Russian government to expand the Northern Distribution Network, which has developed into a vital transit route for supplying our soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan and will now play an important role in withdrawing our military equipment. We established the Bilateral Presidential Commission, which now has more than two dozen working groups between our governments to nurture cooperation on everything from agriculture to innovation. We worked closely with our colleagues in Moscow to facilitate Russia’s accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO), and now continue to cooperate with the Russian government on ways to expand trade and investment between our two countries. Over the last five years, we have seen trade grow from less than $25 billion in 2009 to roughly $40 billion in 2013, still with much more room to grow, but no small achievement. I have found it especially rewarding to work with our business community in Russia, whose work generates jobs and value for Americans and Russians. We also put in place a new visa regime, which makes it substantially easier to travel between our two countries and increases visa validity to three years. Last year, we issued a quarter of a million non-immigrant visas to Russians – 15 percent more than our previous recordbreaking year – and at the same time substantially reduced the wait time to receive a visa to only a few days. We see record numbers of Russians traveling to the United States, and that is great for promoting mutual understanding between our two countries. Regarding nuclear proliferation threats from North Korea and Iran, we have developed close policy positions with our

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Annette Zaripov-Brand Green Bay, Wisconsin

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Culture rbth.ru // March 5, 2014 // P5

A writer’s poignant American comeback

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New Yorker contributor and novelist is rediscovered in the U.S.

Jane Austen in Moscow

“And so I left the Soviet Union with one suitcase,” Sergei Dovlatov wrote. “Once I had taken it to Pioneer camp... Inside, the lid was plastered with photographs: Rocky Marciano, Louis Armstrong, Joseph Brodsky, Gina Lollobrigida in a transparent outfit.” Ruggedly handsome with a droll sense of humor, the Ufa-born Dovlatov was admired by America’s best writers when he immigrated to the United States in 1979. Yet after his death in 1990, he was strangely forgotten in the United States while garnering great attention in Russia. His highly praised “Zapovednik,” titled “Pushkin Hills” in English, is in bookstores this month (Counterpoint, March 2014). It has been translated by the writer’s daughter Katherine Dovlatov, who is interviewed here.

PHOEBE TAPLIN SPECIAL TO RBTH

TITLE: “LENIN LIVES NEXT DOOR: MARRIAGE, MARTINIS AND MAYHEM IN MOSCOW” AUTHOR: JENNIFER EREMEEVA PUBLISHER: SMALL BATCH BOOKS

Your father, Sergei Dovlatov, wrote so many powerful stories set in Russia. Did he write much about the U.S.? He wrote about America and about Russians in America in The New American, a Russian weekly newspaper he edited in New York. And he wrote about Russians in New York in his novel titled, “A Foreign Woman,” which was translated into English during his life, but released a few weeks after his death. But mostly he wrote about his experiences in Russia. His stories are about people, about the human condition. They are driven by language, if you will. His characters, the crazy, eccentric, unforgettable characters, reveal themselves through dialogue. That was, in fact, one of the difficulties in translating “Pushkin Hills” – how to distinguish each character’s uniqueness through speech. The Russian distinguishes between so many dialects, inflections, social classes, educational levels, and backgrounds. And my father had perfect pitch when it came to language. “Pushkin Hills” is translated into English for the first time and it’s the first “new” Dovlatov in 23 years. Why did you choose this novel? Actually, I did not choose this novel, nor did I choose to be its translator. We signed a contract with the publishers, Alma in the U.K. and Counterpoint in the U.S., for three titles. Two were rereleases, works that were translated and published in America during my father’s life. The third was “Pushkin Hills.” There was a never-before-published translation, which enabled the publishers to understand what they were getting, but they wanted it redone. We looked for a new translator for nearly two years... but we couldn’t agree on one. I submitted my sample anonymously. My sample was rejected by the publisher. We continued looking for a translator. Later I submitted another sample, paying attention to earlier criticism. And this time the publisher liked it. Dovlatov moved to the U.S. in 1979, when you were only a child. Did you speak with him later about his first impressions of New York? I can’t recall having had a specific conversation, just my observations at the time and what I’ve read in his correspondence after his death. I think father was overwhelmed by America, like any other immigrant. Imagine living in a black-andwhite world, then suddenly finding yourself in a vibrant world of Technicolor. Although he was probably better prepared than many other émigrés: He knew and loved American literature and jazz, and contrary to what many have said, he spoke English. Not very well and not at the level where he felt comfortable, but his vocabulary was enviable. I remember him sitting with a tape recorder, memorizing words diligently. Also, when he came to America, he had his family waiting for him – he had a place to live and contemplate what to do next. He had the luxury of time. Did his feelings change over time? Was there much

Sergei Dovlatov and his daughter Katherine in Mikhailovskoe, Pushkin Hills, summer 1977.

Inspired by Pushkin Dovlatov’s novel takes place on a estate-turned-museum called Pushkin Hills, where readers first meet Boris Alikhanov, an alcoholic, unpublished author on his way to work as a tour guide around the estate and gardens of poet Alexander Pushkin. Alikhanov feels less depressed when he tries to compare himself with Pushkin, who also had “an uneasy relationship with the government” and “trouble with

his wife,” but who is now remembered by legions of museum guides: “each one loves Pushkin madly.” The work is at least partly autobiographical. Dovlatov worked summers as a guide in 1976-77 on a similar estate just south of Pskov in Russia’s northwest. The first version of the novel was begun inLeningrad in 1977 and finished in 1983 in New York, where it was first published in Russian.

had never before translated a work of literature and had no idea how humbling this experience is and how intimate....It was difficult, of course, because as Nabokov said, a translator must “have as much talent, or at least the same kind of talent, as the author he chooses.” My command of English certainly doesn’t come close to my father’s virtuosity with the Russian. That said, I feel that I did my best. And I feel that my dialogue with my father continues. ■ELENA BOBROVA

homesickness or melancholy in the family? Was it easy for him to adapt to a new reality? There has been much supposition and speculation as to the “tragedy” of my father’s life, being away from his homeland, the nostalgia…Of course my father missed Leningrad, the city where he knew every street and every corner. And he missed his friends, but I can say with certainty that he loved America. Sergei Dovlatov became a writer in America, a writer who made a living from his writing... he valued the recognition of his peers. He was published regularly in the New Yorker magazine, his translated works received glowing reviews....But most importantly – what he wanted most in life was to be a writer. And he became that. In America. Translating “Pushkin Hills” was a revelation. I

If Jane Austen had been an American living in post-Soviet Moscow, she might have made similar observations to those in Jennifer Eremeeva’s “Lenin Lives Next Door.” This entertainingly bitchy comedy of manners describes itself as “creative nonfiction;” it is clever, funny and rude about everyone. Eremeeva, a longtime RBTH humor and food columnist and blogger, fell in love with Russia while she was still at school, imagining adventures with troikas and headscarves. Many years later, she has married a handsome Russian husband (dubbed HRH) and produced a horse-mad daughter. In her book, life in the fastchanging Russian capital is distilled into a potent cocktail of fashionable parties, family life and lingering Soviet traditions. The book’s title refers to a building opposite Eremeeva’s Moscow home in which Lenin’s corpse, removed from its mausoleum, is given a regular preservative bath in embalming fluids. It serves as

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a “tangible link to Russian history” and also as a symbol of the ubiquitous weirdness of Russia. Each chapter has a theme, like holidays or health, creating an interlinked collection of stories. Celebrating the comedy of life in the “world’s largest country” is surprisingly unusual: “there aren’t so many funny books about Russia out there,” Eremeeva’s narrator (also called Jennifer) points out. She acts as an amusing cultural go-between. HRH’s early impression of America, from watching commercials, was that “it consists entirely of toothpaste, cat food and feminine hygiene products.” Russophiles can appreciate her veiled love song to the land of sepia tsars and samovars; Russophobes will love her tales of baroque tastelessness and soul-chilling bureaucracy. Her writing showcases the, sometimes inextricable, best and worst in her adopted home country. But America could easily provide as many targets for Eremeeva’s satire. She is the kind of writer who always finds humor in her surroundings. Like Austen’s Mr. Bennet, Eremeeva seems to ask: “For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?”

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Let us now praise famous women LARA MCCOY RBTH

The rich culture of Rubinstein Street executed during Stalin’s purge in 1937, while the image of Voland lives on forever.

LORI/LEGION MEDIA

1) A view of Rubinstein street, at the famous Five Corners square 2) Dovlatov’s house, Rubinstein Street 23 3) Dovlatov’s memorial plaque.

PHOTOXPRESS (2)

Rubinstein Street, off St. Petersburg’s famous Nevsky Prospekt, is at the heart of the city. More than a century ago, it was already a fashionable district, and home to Anton Rubinstein, composer and mentor to the famed Tchaikovsky. In 1929, the road was named after Rubinstein, and it marked the cultural blossoming of this singular place, which attracted eccentrics as well as masters of word and song. The most notable building on Rubinstein Street is the Tolstoy House, a vast residential home with three inner yards, which was built in the early 20th century and belonged to count Mikhail Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoy’s distant 3 relative. Grigory Rasputin also frequented this house – he held secret meetings at the apartment of Prince Andronikov, who led a lavish life. Andronikov was eventually evicted by request of the owner’s widow, who was very unhappy with the shady characters visiting the prince. A prototype of one of Russian literature’s flamboyantly grim characters, Professor Voland (the Devil himself) from Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita,” also lived in this house. When Bulgakov was in St. Petersburg, he would stay in the apartment of Dmitry Pozdneev, a scholar and one of Bulgakov’s relatives. Pozdneev, a man with a remarkable personality, had a lot in common with his fictional characterization: Voland had “an empty left eye” just like Pozdneev, who wore a prosthetic glass eye; both of them were dark-haired, Orientalist professors of high stature and both were avid smokers with low voices. Pozdneev was

American women were behind the first commemorations of International Women’s Day, so why isn’t it a holiday in the United States now?

Dovlatov’s slippers and Rein’s suitcases Among the creative denizens of Rubinstein Street in the 1950s was Evgeny Rein, a great poet and Joseph Brodsky’s friend. Rein first met Brodsky in the late 1950s: “He visited me and read poems that I really liked. That’s how we became friends. Soon, I got a room on Rubinstein Street. Joseph was helping me move, carrying suitcases with books. We began to see each other daily, because he lived just three bus stops away,” Rein said. Rein, a socialite, was a friend to many Petersburg writers, including the great Sergei Dovlatov, who also lived on Rubinstein Street. As Rein recalled, “Sergei visited me almost daily. In slippers and a dressing gown even in nasty weather, he went out with his fox-terrier Glasha to get a beer and then appeared at my place, Glasha tucked under his arm.” Long talks about life and literature followed. Dovlatov lived at Rubinstein 23 until he immigrated to the United States. Rein, Dovlatov and Brodsky all became famous worldwide, but in those times, they were just young writers reading to each other over a glass of wine. Today, in Dovlatov’s yard, a giant mural depicts an Underwood typewriter that became emblematic of Dovlatov and his prose; in his former room, the parquet floor still bears the stains that Dovlatov made, spilling his port; the current tenants are reluctant to remove them. ■GEORGY MANAEV

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March is officially Women’s History Month in the United States, although aside from the obligatory newspaper column about March 1 and the bulletin board in the local library, it’s hard to find much evidence of any celebrations. In Russia, women get a day, rather than a month, but it’s impossible to ignore the celebration of March 8. It has been an official holiday in Russia since 1918 and has been observed with a day off since 1965. Only New Year’s Day and Victory Day (Russia’s May 9 celebration of victory over Nazi Germany) occasion bigger celebrations. So why didn’t this holiday catch on in the United States? The first observation of March 8 by women was in New York in 1908. That day, more than 15,000 garment workers – who were nearly all women – went on strike to protest poor working conditions. The next year, the American Socialist Party declared a National Women’s Day on March 8. In 1910, at an international women’s conference in Copenhagen, a German socialist named Clara Zatkin raised the idea of a cele-

bration for women, held every year on the same day. It was celebrated in a number of European countries the following year. Despite its American roots, the association of the holiday with socialism was not a good thing in the dawning days of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and it failed to take off in the U.S. In the 1970s, however, increased interest in gender equality led American women to take a second look at International Women’s Day. Although there was never an initiative to have the day itself declared a holiday, various municipalities and states began to celebrate Women’s History Week, starting with Sonoma, Calif. in 1978. In 1987, Congress issued the first proclamation of Women’s History Month. Incidentally, since 1995, Women’s History Month has been declared each year by presidential proclamation; there is no national law making March Women’s History Month in the U.S. Lara McCoy is RBTH’s executive editor for the Americas, but began her career as a Russian historian.

Feature P6 // rbth.ru // March 5, 2014

Russian outpost of imperial art thrives in D.C. COURTESY HILLWOOD ESTATE, MUSEUM AND GARDENS (5)

An intimate exhibit at the Hillwood museum showcases the opulent generosity of Catherine the Great Catherine the Great, empress of Russia, renowned patron and boisterous lover, bestowed tender but opulent gifts to her men, relatives, royalty and loyal friends. Some of the most iconic of these gifts are an intriguing part of the Hillwood Museum exhibit “Passion of the Empress” (Feb. 15 through June 8). The intimate showcase offers a rare glimpse into the things and people that Catherine held dear more than two centuries ago. These 27 pieces, the lion’s share of which come from Hillwood’s own collection, are emblematic of the larger trove of decorative arts and paintings collected by Marjorie Merriweather Post and on display at the estate. The Post cereal heiress – her father created Grape Nuts cereal and founded General Foods – was married to Joseph E. Davies when he was named U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union. The couple moved to Moscow in 1936. It was a tumultuous time, yet it was there and then that her collection of imperial art, including artifacts from the Romanov family, began. During her tenure as the ambassador’s wife, Post acquired the core (about 20 percent) of her collection. The rest, which includes French 18th century art, she found while traveling throughout Western and Eastern Europe. The resulting collection is the largest major holding of imperial art outside of Russia, according to Hillwood curator Scott Ruby. At a time when “only 20 percent of Americans have passports,” he said, “I think it’s really important to have this outpost of decorative arts and paintings from Russia. It’s not something that people collected, and not in other museums overall.”

Imperial art patron Marjorie Merriweather Post Marjorie Merriweather Post was the lone child of Ella Merriweather Post and Charles William (C.W.) Post, founder of the Post cereal empire. Marjorie accompanied her third husband, Joseph E. Davies, to the Soviet Union, where he served as ambassador. The Soviet government’s strategy had been to sell all the trea-

Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, appears to agree. He has said that Hillwood and the Hermitage enjoy a great friendship. “One may sometimes regret that such remarkable pieces, once the product of Russia, are now lost to their country of origin,” Piotrovsky wrote in an essay for the book “A Taste of Splendor: Russian Imperial and European Treasures from The Hillwood Museum.” “We must remember, however, that many of these objects might have been dispersed or destroyed had they not fallen into the kindly possession of Marjorie Merriweather

Post,” Piotrovsky wrote. “Thanks to her, there is now a small oasis of Russian culture in Washington, a distant echo of the mighty artistic symphony that was once the imperial palaces of Russia.” Catherine the Giver Catherine gave her own gemstones for the creation of the magnificent Buch chalice, which is the centerpiece of the current Hillwood show. She gave this work, which includes a 13th-century Byzantine cameo of the Archangel Michael, to the Trinity Cathedral at the Alexander Nevskii Monastery.

CUISINE A LA RUSSE

Ingredients: 25 sponge cake ladyfingers and 2 sponge cakes cut to fit the inside of the finger-lined mold or more ladyfingers • 2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin • 2 cups of whole milk • 6 eggs, separated • ½-tsp of salt • 2 cups of heavy cream • 2 Tbsp of confectioners’ sugar • 2 tsp of vanilla divided into two equal portions • 1 jar of best-quality raspberry jam • 3 Tbsp of rum • 4 cups of hulled strawberries, sliced into 1/8-inch slices

CHARLOTTE RUSSE

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dess. I’m all for buying the sponge cake, or using ladyfinger cookies, which were invented for just this purpose. Charlotte Russe is that rare baking opportunity that affords the cook a little room to be creative. There are almost no hard and fast rules about flavor or color, so feel free to experiment. You can soak the ladyfingers or sponge in liqueur/syrup such as raspberry cordial or Grand Marnier. You can also top the charlotte with fruit or candy. My perfonal preference is for pink and red, which looks nice if you use strawberries to top the dish.

JENNIFER EREMEEVA

Charlotte Russe is part of the Beef Stroganoff/Veal Orloff/Salat Olivier family of dishes – a French import that has become quintessentially Russian. A charlotte, named in honor of Queen Charlotte, the wife of the British King George III was a popular version of the trifle in 18th Century Europe, consisting of thick fruit puree baked in a special mould lined with buttered bread. This form of trifle was very common throughout Europe at the time, and varied only in the ingredients used for the puree. The confusion between the Russian apple cake called “Charlotka” and the molded Charlotte Russe is common, but “Charlotte Russe” is just “charlotka’s chic french cousin. In Russia, Alexander I’s French chef Marie-Antoine Carême put an icy touch on it, inspired, no doubt by the long Russian winters. Carême lined his charlotte mould with sponge cake “fingers” and layered more sponge cake in between layers of Bavarian cream or mousse. What both dishes have in common is the mould pan called a “charlotte” in which they are prepared, which can be used in preparation for either. The hardcore domestic goddess types would now go into a long lecture about how much better it is if you make your own sponge cake. Not this domestic god-

sures seized from the church, the imperial family and the aristocracy in an effort to finance the new government’s industrialization plan. Merriweather Post began her fervent collecting in Moscow; after her divorce from Davies in 1955, Marjorie purchased Hillwood, which remained her Washington home for the rest of her life.

“Catherine the Great was known for her intensely passionate interest in carved gemstones, cameos and intaglios,” exhibit curator Scott Ruby wrote in his essay for the catalogue. She even referred to her preoccupation as “gluttony” and “cameo fever.” She was in possession of at least 10,000 cameos when she died, Ruby told RBTH. A stunning glass cameo on exhibit, “Catherine II in the Guise of Minerva,” depicted Catherine as the goddess Minerva – wearing a winged sphinx crown and laurel wreath. The cameo was then reproduced on porcelain, plaster and prints, including mass-produced Wedgwood. Another popular artifact in the show is a gravy-boast sized drinking cup or “kovsh.” It is significant in part because it was a gift from Catherine to the head of her winter garrison for his mead. The inscription reads: “By the grace of God, We Catherine the second, Empress and Autocrat of all Russia… awarded this kovsh to the starshina (head) of the winter garrison of the Urals troop, Afanasii Donskoi, for his demonstrated and true service, Saint Petersburg, March 1793.” It seems a tad ironic that this palatial art is shown in Hillwood’s whimsical and rustic log dacha outside of the main estate. At the front of the dacha is a marble bust of Catherine sculpted by Fedot Shubin. Curator Scott Ruby said that Shubin inspired the empress. The son of a peasant, he was “inspired by Mikhail Lomonosov, and “walked all the way to St. Petersburg from his village when he was 18. Lomonosov was impressed by his talent in walrus carving, and helped him join the Academy of Arts.” Both the permanent collection and this emblematic show exude a dynastic air. The heiress of one of America’s most eccentric turn-of-the-century dreamers discovered the

Instructions: 1. Combine the jam and rum in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook until the mixture has thickened. Set aside. 2. Cut parchment paper to line the bottom of a springform pan. Fit a parchment paper collar to encircle the charlotte, measuring the circumference of the mold and an additional 2 inches to fasten. You can use a clothespin or paperclip to secure it. 3. Arrange the outer layer of ladyfingers around the inside perimeter of the springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with additional ladyfingers, cutting them to fit. 4. When the jam is cooled, use a pastry brush to coat the bottom layer of ladyfingers with the jam, using approximately 1/3 of the mixture. 5. Make the custard: combine the gelatin and half of the sugar in a small sauce pan and slowly pour the milk into it. Stir until combined. Set aside. 6. Beat the egg yolks in a standing mixer set on medium speed until their color lightens and they thicken slightly. Add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until they are combined. Add the egg yolk mixture to the milk and bring to a slow simmer, taking care that

1) Buch Chalice (1791, St. Petersburg, Russia, Iver Winfeldt Buch). 2) Round Box with Catherine II as Minerva (17811782, Paris, France. 3) Drinking vessel (kovsh) Moscow 1702 Silver gilt with imperial double-headed eagle. tossed-out imperial art of an empress and saved it scrupulously. One gets the feeling that Empress Catherine would have approved of Merriweather Post—for her intelligent aesthetic, many lovers, great fortune, and wonderful parties, but most of all, for her patronage of enduring beauty. ■NORA FITZGERALD RBTH

JENNIFER EREMEEVA SPECIAL TO RBTH

the mixture does not come to a boil. Stir constantly for 3-5 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and clings to a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Chill for a few minutes in the refrigerator until the mixture begins to thicken and stick to the bowl. 7. Meanwhile, combine the egg whites and salt and beat until they form stiff peaks. 8. Carefully fold the egg whites into the custard mixture. 9. Combine the cream, confectioners’ sugar and remaining vanilla in the mixer, and beat until the mixture is stiff. 10. Fold the cream into the custard/egg white mixture. 11. Place half of the custard/cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then top it with more ladyfingers and jam. Add the remaining mixture and top of with more ladyfingers and the remaining jam. Chill for at least 2 hours. 12. Before serving, top the mixture with freshly cut fruit. Jennifer Eremeeva is an American author based in Moscow. She is the author of Lenin Lives Next Door: Marriage, Martinis and Mayhem in Moscow, available from many online retailers.

NOW YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT THE RUSSIAN POLICE CHOIR, BUT WHAT IS IT REALLY LIKE TO BE A COP IN RUSSIA?