RBTH supplement in Thailand (May 2015) by Russia Beyond

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Thursday, May 28, 2015

TASS

Dogs of war Paying tribute to the role of man’s best friend in World War II TASS

Russia’s timber exports are on the rise Last year saw growth after years of decline.

P15

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May 30 - June 5, 2015

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Wondrous World Heritage sights in Russia’s Far East

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WORLD HERITAGE-LISTED DESTINATIONS

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RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES

News Digest

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JAPAN

Abe calls for closer ties Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he intends to continue negotiations with Russia to conclude a peace treaty and enhance cooperation in various fields on a bilateral level. “I propose through relentless dialogues to persistently continue negotiations to conclude a peace treaty and at the same time to enhance cooperation in economy, energy, security, culture and sports,” Abe said in comments that were read out at the third annual Russian-Japanese Forum on Cooperation in Business, Technology and Culture on May 21. “The development of good-neighbourly relations with Russia is of great importance for the stability and prosperity of East

Asia in the 21st century,” Abe said, while adding that Russia was an important neighbour. In his message, Abe also appreciated the importance of the Russian-Japanese Forum, which, in his opinion, has become a place where authoritative experts gather.“The frank joint discussion between them is of profound importance. I wholeheartedly hope that the Russian-Japanese forum will be a new step for the deepening of relations between Japan and Russia,” Abe said. Abe also spoke of the signing of Treaty of Shimoda in 1855, which led to diplomatic relations being established between Russia and Japan.“Over the 160

SUBMARINES

New nuclear subs for Pacific Fleet Antei subs will extend their service life by 15-20 years,” the fleet representative said. It was reported earlier that the K-550 Alexander Nevsky submarine of Project 955 Borei would be moved from the Trans-Polar region to Kamchatka in fall 2015. TheVladimir Monomakh submarine will arrive at the Vilyuchinsk submarine base in fall 2016. One of the six multirole attack submarines of Project Yasen will

join the fleet in 2017. Nuclear subs of Project 949A will undergo profound modernisation at the Zvezda Far Eastern plant in the upcoming years, the source said. The command plans to rearm the submarines with Onix and Kalibr missile systems. The Rubin Central Design Bureau designed the submarine modernisation project. Twentyseven Rubin contractors, among them Morinformsistema-Agat Concern and NPO Avrora, will modernize weapons, navigation and other systems and hulls of the submarines. The Pacific Fleet possesses five nuclear missile submarines, five nuclear attack submarines and eight nonnuclear attack submarines.

IN BRIEF

Moscow says no

BRICS art exhibition in Bangkok

Nato will be forced to find new ways of shipping military cargo to Afghanistan after the Russian government decided to end the transit of shipments via Russian territory. The resolution, signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on May 18, says that the decision has been taken since UN Security Council Resolution 1368, which was adopted in 2001 setting up the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, is no longer in effect. The mandate of the mission expired in December 2014. According to Nato’s website, the alliance approached Russia with the request to allow the land transit of non-lethal cargo to Afghanistan in the spring of 2008. Two years later, Russia

allowed the transit of military cargo from Afghanistan too. In 2012, the Russian government approved air transit of Nato’s Afghanistan cargo and the airport in the Volga city of Ulyanovsk (850 kilometres east of Moscow) was chosen as the transit hub.The deployment of what some media described as “a Nato base” in Ulyanovsk caused considerable controversy inside Russia and provoked opposition protests. The significance of the Russian transit route grew due to the difficulties that arose with the main transit route, from Karachi across the whole of Pakistan to Afghanistan in the north: the Pakistani military had little control over that route and Nato convoys were often targeted by Taleban attacks.

PRESS PHOTO

An exhibition titled Faces of the BRICS opened on May 21 at Bangkok Art a n d C u l t u re C e n t re (BACC). This exhibition aims to acquaint Thais with the diverse natural and cultural heritages of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, while at the same time reflecting on the history of the BRICS members. Special portraits and landscapes are dedicated to each of the BRICS countries. Curators of this exhibition were able to capture and express the essence of BRICS cooperation, something that unites the five diverse countries, which look to take a common approach towards global problems. This fine collection definitely deserves attention both from the professional and artistic point of view. The exhibition is open to the public during working hours of the BACC, and will be held until June 14.

CHINA

Fast trains to Russia The government of the Chinese province of Jilin has proposed the construction of a high-speed railway between Hunchun (on the China-Russia border) and Vladivostok, Interfax news agency reported on May 21, citing the Primorye Administration. The idea was discussed at a meeting between Primorye Governor Vladimir Miklushevsky and the first secretary of Jilin Province’s Communist Party of China Committee, Bayin Chaolu. “We have an idea to build a high-speed railway to Vladivostok,” Chaolu said.

“By August, we will already launch a segment to Hunchun. If we manage to extend it together, it will be the first cross-border highspeed backbone between Russia and China.” According to the report, Miklushevsky is interested in this project and said he would hold talks with the head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin. Earlier it was reported China’s Heilongjiang Province proposed to the Far Eastern Railway (a branch of Russian Railways) to launch a passenger service between Harbin and Vladivostok.

A taste of Swan Lake

VALENTIN BARANOVSKY

LORI/VOSTOCK-PHOTO

A group of five modernised nuclear missile submarines of Project 949AM Antei will be created in the Russian Pacific Fleet five years from now, a source in the Pacific Fleet Staff told InterfaxAVN. The submarines K-150 Tomsk, K-132 Irkutsk and K-442 Chelyabinsk will be added alongside operating subs K-186 Omsk and K-456 Tver within five years, the source said. “Modernisation of the

years that have passed since then, our countries have gone through various historical moments, developing and maintaining bilateral ties. Relations between our countries have great potential for development,” Abe said. The third annual Russian-Japanese Forum on Cooperation in Business, Technology and Culture is being organised by Russian daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Japanese newspaper Mainichi in Tokyo. The forum aims to strengthen the relationship between Russia and Japan through dialogue between members of the business community, political figures and eminent personalities of both countries.

NATO

A high-speed railway may link Hunchun to Vladivostok.

In the last week of May, Singaporeans will get a taste of St Petersburg and Russian culture. For the first time, the 55-member St Petersburg Ballet Theatre will present their full-length classic production of Pyotr Iyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in the city-state. A total of 8 performances will be held from May 28 till June 1, at the Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands.

RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Politics

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Diplomacy Moscow and Beijing sign slew of deals signalling closer ties

READ ONLINE: GORBACHEV ADMITS TO MISTAKES MADE IN ANTIALCOHOLISM CAMPAIGN 30 YEARS AGO

A tactical approach to integration initiatives

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THE ALLIES OF BORIS NEMTSOV PUBLISH REPORT ON RUSSIAN MILITARY ROLE IN UKRAINE

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow earlier in May ended with the signing of several deals.

asia.rbth.com/45981 ALEXANDER GABUYEV SPECIAL TO RBTH

DISGRACED EX-DEFENCE MINISTRY OFFICIAL RECEIVES 5-YEAR JAIL TERM asia.rbth.com/45876 EPA/VOSTOCK-PHOTO

Besides the photographs taken during the Victory Day Parade on May 9 of Vladimir Putin with Xi Jinping sitting next to him, besides the Chinese soldiers marching on Red Square, which became the most important symbol of the Chinese leader’s visit to Moscow, the talks between the two leaders also resulted in many commercial agreements. On May 8, the two countries signed 32 agreements in the Kremlin. The most significant block concerns the access for Russian companies to Chinese financial platforms and instruments, first of all credit lines in yuan. Moscow and Beijing have been planning to leave the dollar and euro in mutual payments since the middle of the 2000s. Against the backdrop of western sanctions and Washington’s talk of possibly denying Russia’s largest banks correspondent accounts in the US and the EU, in the event of escalation in Ukraine. This has made transactions in alternative currencies a vital necessity. Therefore, even though China’s currency is not freely convertible, Russia is still moving towards an increased use of the yuan. According to Putin, as of the beginning of 2015 the share of transactions in national currencies makes up seven per cent of the trade volume (in 2014 it was about $89 billion, according to data from Russian customs agencies, and according to the Chinese, $95 billion). Agreements on loans in yuan were signed by Sberbank (6 billion yuan from the State Development Bank of China), VTB (12 billion yuan from the State Development Bank of China and 3 billion from the Export-Import Bank of

RUSSIAN TOURIST INDUSTRY RISES TO 45TH IN WORLD IN COMPETITIVENESS

A key agreement was about cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt.

QUOTE

Georgy Bovt A PROMINENT RUSSIAN COLUMNIST AND POLITICAL EXPERT.

Although the Kremlin invited 68 foreign leaders to this year’s celebrations, almost all the Western leaders refused to come, including those from the countries that were the main allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition. Each such rejection was taken by Moscow quite sensitively.

China) andVEB (3.9 billion from the Export-Import Bank of China for the metallurgical project in the Kemerovsky Region). Moreover, the Russian Direct Investment Fund signed agreements on the creation of a joint investment bank with structures from the CITIC group for bringing Russian companies to Chinese platforms, while with the China Construction Bank it signed an agreement on a joint credit mechanism that will facilitate Chinese investments in projects on Russian territory. Unlike previous

agreements, the countries did not sign anything serious in the field of energy. Gazprom and CNPC signed an agreement on the main conditions for supplying gas to China along the“western route.” Obviously the aim of the new document is to send a signal to European Gazprom gas consumers. On April 13 in Berlin, Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller talked about a new“Eurasian strategy” monopoly and called on the EU to decide if the European market will need the Russian resource base and infrastructure, alluding to the possibility of redirecting supplies to China. However, in the foreseeable future China will not replace the European gas market for Russia. Even if the“western”and“eastern” gas supply routes are built in China, their total power capacity after 2020 will be 78 billion cubic metres a year, compared to the 146 billion cubic meters that Gazprom sold Europe and Turkey in 2014. Not to mention the price: while the price of gas through the “eastern route” is equal to that which Germany pays (although the price formula is not transparent and can change depending on whether Gazprom will need

Chinese credit to finish the Power of Siberia), the Chinese are still not ready to pay more for gas coming through the“western route” than they already pay for cheap Turkmenistan gas (about $150 per 1,000 cubic metres less than what Gazprom wants for gas from Western Siberian deposits). Under these conditions, the most important document has proven to be Russia and China’s joint declaration on the unification of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB). The document points to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a coordinating platform for dialogue between the two initiatives and also mentions “the review of the long-term objective for promoting the free trade zone between the EAEU and China. “Thus, for now Moscow and Beijing have reached their tactical objectives: both integration initiatives are reciprocally recognised as partners, while the delicate issue of the free trade zone will be left for the future. The writer is the director of the Russia in the Pacific Rim Program at Moscow’s Carnegie Centre.

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Economy Experts predict Russia will not be able to arrest economic slump until the end of 2015

Russians tighten their purse strings Data shows that Russia’s economy is continuing to melt, with GDP falling by 3.4 per cent in March 2015, up from the 1.2 per cent in February. ALEXEI LOSSAN RBTH

IN NUMBERS YURI SMITYUK / TASS

Newly-published information indicates that, in March 2015, Russia’s GDP decreased year-on-year by 3.4 per cent. The data from the Ministry of Economic Development, released in May, shows that in comparison with February 2015 the pace of the economy’s yearon-year shrinkage was almost three times less, at 1.2 per cent. “The acceleration of Russia’s GDP fall in March is related to the high level of inflation pressure and expensive credit, which is hav– ing a negative effect on the dynamics of the country’s economy,” says Alexei Kozlov, chief analyst at UFS IC. The forecast for inflation

in 2015 is 11.9 per cent, while the Central Bank’s key rate, which private banks use as a reference point, was 12.5 per cent at the beginning of May. According to the information from the Ministry of Economic Development, the fall of real salaries is also continuing to accelerate. After a 7.4 per cent reduction in February, they dropped by another 9.3 per cent in March. Meanwhile, the volume of work in the construction sector fell by 6.7 per cent in March, which is the worst result since July 2014, says the Ministry’s monitoring report. The Ministry had earlier made slight improvements to its economic outlook for 2015, forecasting the economy to shrink by 2.8 per cent instead of the previously predicted 3 per cent fall in GDP. Meanwhile, data from the Russian Statistics Service indicates that the population has responded to the

3.4 per cent Newly published information indicates that, in March 2015, Russia’s GDP decreased year on year by 3.4 per cent.

78.1 per cent In the first quarter of 2015, Russians spent 78.1 per cent of their earnings on buying goods and services.

reduction of real salaries by beginning to actively save money. According to the data, in the first quarter of 2015, Russians spent 78.1 per cent of their earnings on buying goods and services, while during the same period in 2014 the percen-

tage was 82.3. Meanwhile, the purchasing of securities has doubled compared with the first quarter of 2014 – a clear indicator that Russians have begun taking saving more seriously. Economists believe that the fall in GDP is also due

to cyclical problems. “The recession in Russia as a whole resembles more the acceleration of the decline in the final phase of an economic cycle,” says Anton Soroko, analyst at Finam Investment Holding. In his view, the economy is suffering from a number of factors, including the stagnation of the real sector as a result of the fall of oil prices and a decline in investment activity related to the growth of credit costs. Additionally, the growth of geopolitical risks and instability on financial markets is also influencing companies’ investment activity. Russian analysts believe that the country’s economy will continue to contract in the near future.“The fall in GDP will continue, but not substantially,”says Boris Pivovar, senior professor in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

Monetary Policy Russian Central Bank buys dollars to replenish reserves

April Quarterly Report

Purchases ‘not big enough to change market dynamics’

BEST RUSSIAN STUDIES PROGRAMMES 2015

The Russian Central Bank has begun replenishing its foreign-exchange reserves by purchasing US dollars. Analysts disagree on the significance of the move.

Russia Direct is a forum for experts and senior Russian and international decision-makers to discuss, debate and understand issues in geopolitical relations at a sophisticated level.

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ALEXEI LOSSAN RBTH

This April, Russia Direct released its comprehensive ranking of Russian and post-Soviet Studies programmes in US universities, together with an analysis of the current state of Russian Studies programmes in the US. While bringing together top experts (including Harvard’s Alexandra Vacroux, Georgetown’s Angela Stent and Rhode Island University’s Nicolai Petro), the report will address the major challenges facing Russian Studies programmes in the US and ways of tackling them.

Russia’s Central Bank has begun buying US dollars in order to replenish its foreign-exchange reserves, the regulator’s press service has reported. So far, the purchases have amounted to relatively small sums of up to $100$200 million per day. On May 13, 2015, for example, the Central Bank purchased $181 million, and on May 14, $200 million. However, by international standards, Russia has

ample foreign reserves and is among the top 10 countries with an acceptable “currency cushion”, which allows to provide the critical volume of imports and to service the foreign debt, said Alla Dvoretskaya, a professor at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. According to Dvoretskaya, buying up currency is an attempt to counter the risk of the excessive strengthening of the ruble. However, Dmitry Bedenkov, head of the analytical department at Russ-Invest, said that, in this case the regulator’s plans should be seen as an element of merely verbal intervention: the Central Bank is making

it clear to the market that it is not interested in strengthening the ruble. “Given the fact that the daily currency trading amounts to about $5 billion, the purchase volume at $100-200 million in general should not have a significant impact on the dynamics of the currency market,” said Bedenkov. As Dvoretskaya explained, the market is benefiting from “foreign policy stabilisation,”accompanied by a calmer oil market, with fewer drastic fluctuations in prices. “Combined with interventions, this has supported the ruble so much that imports have started to enliven again, which inhibits economic growth and import substitution from domestic sources,”she said. At the same time, the strengthening ruble is threatening the interests of exporters, especially of raw materials and, consequently, the budget is suffering, since oil and gas revenues account for more than 50 per cent of the federal bud-

get. According to UFS IC principal analyst Ilya Balakirev, the resurgent ruble has “a number of unpleasant consequences” for the economy. “For export-oriented companies, the cheap ruble is profitable. This is doubly true for the companies that export not raw materials but products with high added value,” said Balakirev. Moreover, according to Balakirev, the prices of products in world markets, including in the metallurgy sphere, are at long-term lows, and with a strong ruble, metals exporters will be in even more dire straits. The Central Bank’s new practice contradicts the decision on the transition to a free exchange rate for the ruble.“The official resumption of regular purchases of foreign currency on the domestic market is, at first glance, a step backwards in the implementation of the Bank of Russia’s declared transition to a free-floating ruble,” said Dvoretskaya.

RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Business

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Export Timber producers ahead

Timber gains on ruble slide, China demand IN NUMBERS

KIRA EGOROVA RBTH

China, the largest importer of Russian timber, increased the volume of orders in 2014 by 17.6 per cent to 9.24 million tonnes. Currently, Russia is China’s second largest supplier of timber after New Zealand and, in 2015, may overtake the Pacific nation. Moreover, accessible prices help Russian production stay ahead of the competitors in European and US markets. The devaluation of the ruble gave Russian companies an additional lever in negotiations with competitors on the global market,

Timber export increases in last year © IGOR ZAREMBO / RIA NOVOSTI

says sales and marketing director of the Arkhangelsky Pulp Mill Alexei Dyachenko. “Even with a decrease in dollar prices, currency earnings will grow when converted to rubles,” he says. The fall of the ruble against the main world currencies at the end of 2014 stirred a demand for Russian plywood, for which prices fell by 40 per cent from September 2014 to February 2015, says Lesprom Network chief executive Alexei Bogatyrev. Russia’s main suppliers for the Asian markets of China, Japan and the South Korea are the regional producers located in Siberia and the Far East. Russia’s interest is stimulated by the Asian partners’ multimillion-dollar investment proposals. The largest example

The volume of Russia’s timber exports grew by almost 8 per cent in 2014, making the sector one of the country’s top exports.

9.8 Unprocessed timber

of Russian-Chinese cooperation today is the construction of the Asinovsky timber industrial park in the Tomsk Region with an annual timber procurement and processing volume of 4.5 million cubic metres. The main investor is China’s AVIC International, which m a n a g e s t h e p ro j e c t through its Russian branches, RosKitInvest and Khenda-Siberia. “The total investment volume from China may reach 80 billion rubles ($1.57 bi-

7.5

13.3

4.2

Boards

Plywood

Cellulose

llion),” says Boris Kaznacheev from RosKitInvest. The first plant producing veneer started operating in February 2015. Its supplies head for China, Japan and South Korea. According to Kaznacheev, the plant will break even in five to eight years, depending on the value of the ruble. Substantial volumes of the production are headed for China. The Japanese and Korean markets are still difficult for Russian producers since they lack strong growth

prospects.“The plants that supply Japan are those that were initially built according to Japanese standards,” explains Bogatyrev. He believes an increase in demand in the near future is not predicted for the Japanese and Korean markets. However, Russia’s cooperation with China may open doors to other Asian markets. With Russian enterprises focusing more on China in 2014, supplies of Russian timber were reduced to the

leading European importers: by 2.3 per cent to Finland (to 4.47 million tonnes) and by 5.6 per cent to Sweden (to 664,000 tonnes). “In the long term, it is unlikely that Russia will make an unequivocal decision towards China,”Bogatyrev says. He believes that Russian timber exporters should not focus solely on the Chinese market. Trading with both Europe and China would be the effective solution, in his opinion.

Finance Japan and China refuse to work with banks under US sanctions

Need for national system The Japanese payment system JCB and China UnionPay have refused to cooperate with the Russian SMP Bank, due to US sanctions.

Arkady Rotenberg (right), the Russian oligarch associated with SMP Bank, is listed on the US sanctions list and is a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s (left).

ALEXEI LOSSAN

The Japanese payment system JCB and China UnionPay have refused to cooperate with SMP Bank, due to US sanctions, business newspaper Vedomosti reported. The report cites the bank’s vice-presidentYelena Dvorovykh as saying that the talks between the three entities lasted for two months, but the payment systems turned down the bank’s request. In April 2014, SMP Bank, presumably controlled by Arkady Rotenberg – a Russian oligarch believed to be a close friend of President Vladimir Putin

PHOTOXPRESS

RBTH

– was put on the US sanctions list. Following this, Visa and MasterCard stopped working with the bank, while cards issued by the bank were blocked in one day. As a result, the bank decided to work with Asian payment systems. “The choice of an alternative foreign payment system, other than MasterCard

or Visa, does not solve the problem of sanctions,”says Yuri Bozhor, Otkritiye Investment Bank’s Vice President and Head of the Cards Department. According to him, the situation around SMP Bank only confirms the correctness of the Russian government’s decision to establish a national system of payment cards as the

only way of protecting domestic transactions. In April 2015, Russia launched the National System of Payment Cards, where all payments, including Visa and MasterCard, are processed through the servers inside the country. According to the Russian daily Kommersant, China Union Pay offers international clearing only in dollars. US sanctions do not permit dollar payments for SMP Bank. Payments in Chinese yuan are only allowed in transactions made in China. Japanese JCB offers payments in euro and yen, but the country joined the sanctions against Russia in April 2014. China UnionPay entered the Russian market immediately after the introduction of US sanctions against Russia in April 2014, and was joined in March 2015 by the Japanese JCB. By 2017, about 2 million China UnionPay cards and 3 million JCB cards will be issued in the Russian Federation.

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RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG March Monthly Briefs

KREMLIN LOBBYISTS IN THE WEST In May, Russia Direct will release a new brief examining the topic of Russian lobbying in the US and the EU. Authored by Sergei Kostiaev, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the brief will touch upon a wide array of issues, from the differences in promoting Russian interests in Brussels and Washington to the effects of the crisis in Ukraine on the Kremlin’s foreign lobbying opportunities. REGISTER TODAY AND GET 30% DISCOUNT AT: WWW.RUSSIA-DIRECT.ORG/SUBSCRIBE

RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Society

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Profile The former Japanese Army officer adopted the citizenship of the country he used to fight against

Yusitero Nakagawa was imprisoned by the Red Army and settled in the USSR. Called Uncle Sasha by his neighbours, he was presumed dead by the Japanese. RUSLAN MELNIKOV ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA

Yusitero Nakagawa, who was imprisoned by the Red Army in Sakhalin, chose to settle in the Soviet Union. Rossiyskaya Gazeta caught up with the 88-year-old farmer who is called Uncle Sasha by his neighbours, and was presumed dead by the Japanese. In the small settlement of Yuzhnoye, tucked away among vast Kalmyk steppes, everybody knows 88-year-old Uncle Sasha, although few of his fellow villagers know how to pronounce his real name. Uncle Sasha is in fact Yusitero Nakagawa. We met Uncle Sasha-Yusitero in his well-tended kitchen garden. Despite his advanced years, he still spends a lot of time working in his vegetable patch and is quite a master with his hoe. He is dressed in a khaki quilted jacket, an old wellworn cap, and rubber boots… And yet, part of him still looks like a hardworking Japanese farmer,

unhurriedly tending to his paddy field.

Simply Sasha An ethnic Korean interpreter mixed up the Japanese prisoner’s name, and that’s howYusitero became Sadao and was later renamed Sasha. Paradoxical as it is, Yusitero has fond memories of the time he spent in prison camps, felling trees or building roads. “Prisoners were treated with respect,” he says with a smile.“They even helped me to learn Russian.” Yusitero did not want to go back to Japan. He feared being given a hard time for having managed to survive in captivity. Fate may have helped him make up his mind. When Japanese prisoners were freed in 1949, he fell ill with a complication from an old wound. “I nearly died in hospital. I was very, very ill,”Yusitero recalls. He was saved by a Soviet doctor, who nursed him like a child.“My dear doctor,”Yusitero calls her tenderly. They fell in love. In gratitude for saving him, Yus i t e ro p re s e n t e d t h e woman with the only valuable thing in his possession, his gold dental crowns. There was no lon-

FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVES

Old Samurai happy in land which jailed him It took a DNA test for the Japanese to prove that uncle Sasha was Yusitero Nakagawa.

In the small settlement of Yuzhnoye, everybody knows Uncle Sasha, although few of his fellow villagers know how to pronounce his name. Fascinated by the vastness of his new land, Yusitero Uncle Sasha - began to explore it. Yusitero Nakagawa decided not to relocate to Japan, although he had been invited to.

ger any question of him leaving the USSR. The former Japanese Army officer adopted the citizenship of the country he used to fight against. Fascinated by the vastness of his new land, Yusitero began to explore it. “I travelled a lot, I worked a lot. I visited the Far East, Siberia, Uzbekistan, Dagestan, Stavropol Territory,” he says, as he counts them on his fingers, and laughs as he loses count. Even his saviour doctor could not cope with his obsession with travel. They separated. Yu s i t e r o s o o n m e t another woman and they got married. They had a son and a daughter. However, his new family did not follow the samurai either when he set on a new journey of exploration of the Soviet Union. After years of travel, Yusitero settled in Kalmykia. “I could drive a tractor and a bulldozer well, so I was offered a job building the Chograyskoye reservoir here,” he says. “The first

RUSSIAN BOOKSHELF modern Russian literature BALALIKE IT contemporary Russian music

ALL THAT FOLK Russian folk music

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thing I asked was if this was a good place for fishing. I am very fond of fishing.” Incidentally, among the locals Sasha has the reputation of being the luckiest fisherman. Getting him to teach you to fish is considered a great honour. When the construction of the reservoir was over, Yusitero got married again and found a job servicing the dam. One year, he was the first to spot a dangerous leak and saved the dam from a breach and nearby villages from flooding. Another time, a group of drunken men wandered to the dam. Three of them became unruly, climbed over the barrier and tried to enter the control room. Uncle Sasha, who was already 67 at the time, tried to reason with the uninvited visitors. In response, they hit him. But they clearly did not know whom they were dealing with. An old samurai is still a samurai. “I hit one of them and

threw another one over my shoulder, so they fled,”Yusitero recalls. “There is nothing surprising here. Boys in Japan are taught how to fight starting from the fifth grade. If you keep practising throughout your life, you can become quite good at it.” When we asked Uncle Sasha as to how he managed to live so long, and whether he had some samurai fitness routine, he responded in the affirmative. “I do. In my kitchen garden I sow, water my plants, fight the weeds and then harvest my crops,” he says with a laugh. “And I enjoy doing it no less than I enjoy fishing.” Yusitero then becomes serious and says, “A person must have something he loves doing. Only this keeps us alive. People, who do not do anything and do not work, die early. They have nothing to live for.”

Visiting his grave Already as an old man, Yusitero decided to visit Japan. The arrival of a kamikaze samurai who was presumed dead created quite a stir. It was only with a DNA test that it was possible to prove to the Japanese side that Uncle Sasha from Russia really was Yusitero Nakagawa. “I met my relatives and senior officials, drank sake with a Japanese minister, I even visited my own grave,” he says. Yusitero decided not to relocate to Japan, although he had been invited to. “Japan has become so different,” he says.“It is a foreign country to me now. Nothing remains there of what I knew and remembered. There are other things on my mind now…. Before I am dead, I want t o fi n d my s o n a n d daughter with whom I have lost touch.”

RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Society

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Ethnic diversity Abandoned by the Japanese, Russia is now their homeland

Karaoke More than just a pastime

Korean community thriving in their adopted homeland

Heralding a new era in singing

The oil and gas-rich island of Sakhalin, in Russia’s Far East, has a sizeable ethnic Korean minority which forms an important part of its mixed population. AJAY KAMALAKARAN RBTH

When the last ships carrying fleeing Japanese citizens left the shores of southern Sakhalin in the late-1940s, a human problem was created as a result of early20th century geopolitics. A sizeable number of people, who belonged neither to Japan nor the Soviet Union, were stranded in the southern part of the island (which was under Japanese rule from 1905 to 1945).The ethnic Koreans were brought as slave labour to southern Sakhalin or Karafuto as the Japanese called their part of the island. The retreating Japanese refused to accept the Koreans as their own citizens and the volatility in the Korean peninsula left the community in limbo. Flash forward to 2015 and the oil and gas-rich island is proud of its model minority. Most of the members of the 40,000-strong Korean community have Russian citizenship and are completely integrated into the cultural life and society of the island. It’s possible to see ethnic Korean postal employees, businesspeople, bureaucrats and even customs and immigration officers in Sakhalin.

Koreans are active in trade and business in Sakhalin.

Korean cuisine has also spiced up the cuisine of the island, known for its great seafood. Most shops sell spicy Korean salads along with traditional Russian favourites and not all the customers buying the Kim Chi and chilly-laced salads are Korean. The administrative centre of the island, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, has a fair share of Korean restaurants, although diehards from Seoul swear that the food isn’t even close to being authentic. Ethnic Korean youth are native speakers of Russian and while some of them can speak a smattering of Korean, for many the second language of choice is English, given the global opportunities that the lan-

guage can open up. Many schools in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk offer Korean as a second language but lack of practice often makes children forget the language after graduating. “The only thing Korean about them is their blood,” says Tommy Roo, a former student of the Sakhalin State University, who moved back to his native Busan after spending 5 years in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.“Many of them don’t even eat Korean food and have a totally Russian mentality,” Roo says, clarifying that he doesn’t view this in a negative light. Oleg Kim, a 45-year-old now based in St Petersburg says growing up in the USSR made it easier for his

peers to assume a“common identity, distinct from an inherent Koreanness.”Kim, like many other Sakhalin Koreans, managed to do a light military service, which had little more than symbolic value. Others like 28-year-old Oksana Lee grew up with an identity crisis and even lived in Seoul and Moscow to“try and find herself”.Lee finally ended up moving back to Sakhalin as she felt most comfortable on the multi-ethnic island.“I was too Russian in Korea and too Korean in Moscow,”Lee says, adding that she was verbally abused in Moscow during a riot in 2002 following the Russian football team’s loss to Japan in the football World Cup.“That’s when I stopped feeling Russian and started feeling like a Sakhaliner,” she says. Generally believed to be hard-working, members of the community dominate trade and business in the southern part of the island. “It’s because they form a Diaspora and support each other financially,”says Sergey Danilov when asked why some of the largest enterprises on the island are Korean-run, including the island’s first five-star hotel. Danilov, a businessman in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, adds that many Sakhalin Koreans get financial help from their“countrymen”in South Korea, who are also busy with missionary activities on the island. Oleg Kim, who left Sakhalin just before the oil and gas boom disagrees with Danilov’s sentiments. “The island now has big Azeri and Tajik communities...Why aren’t they doing so well?”Kim says that the envy from some ethnic Russians is just a“normal phenomenon”, while adding that there is a great level of tolerance and acceptance on the island.

For many Russians, karaoke is turning from a pleasant pastime into a real sport. There are clubs in almost two dozen regions of the Russian Federation. SOFYA RAYEVSKAYA SPECIAL TO RBTH

In 2016, Moscow will host the first Russian-Asian Karaoke Tournament, the Asian Championship. Over the past decade, this popular pastime in Russia has evolved from a simple hobby into quite a serious sport. “Karaoke singers are like a second family to me,”says Mikhail Khaldei, a karaoke ‘veteran,’ who came fifth in the 2006 Karaoke World Championship, leaving behind nearly 100 other contestants. He continues to take part in all major karaoke events and is often invited as a judge now. “People who sing on stage open up to other people, which brings them closer together. That is why so many happy marriages are born here, so many people find real friends here, people who would rush to help you whenever you call them,” he adds. Indeed, the atmosphere at karaoke championships is very warm and friendly. As a rule, the venue is not just a concert hall, but a café with a stage. Contestants have varying degrees of singing ability: There are those who sing out of tune or do not have a strong enough voice, however, the majority have a solid amateur level. Many have clearly given considerable thought to how to present themselves on stage, which

results in exciting musical numbers. Prizes can be quite substantial, from 50,000-ruble (Bt32,000) certificates for purchasing karaoke equipment to paid holidays to Turkey. The first karaoke clubs in Russia opened right after the break-up of the Soviet Union. At first, there were just a handful of them, however now their number is huge. It is not at all surprising that this industry has grown so much in a matter of 20 years. After all, Russians are a singing nation, famous for their tradition of drinking songs. Karaoke clubs in Russia are very popular as a place to have a birthday party, to hold a special celebration or to declare one’s love with the help of a song. Karaoke clubs in Russia usually have the format of a large hall, where the mike passes from one table to another. If you do not want to share the hall with fourfive other tables, you will have to look for aVIP-room and pay more. “Small booths did not really catch on here,” says Vyasheslav Lopunov, president of a non-commercial partnership for promoting club-based karaoke, called the National Union of Karaokers.“We require a concert format! The era of intimate singing is over, this is a showbiz era. Karaoke has fit this niche perfectly.” Lopunov is convinced that Russians are a very artistic people, who seek selfexpression. Therefore, it is not surprising that at some point karaoke has ceased to be just a pastime and has moved on to a new level.

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WORLD HERITAGE RBTH EXAMINES THE NATURAL AND CULTURAL WONDERS THAT MAKE UP RUSSIA’S UNESCO HERITAGE SITES IN THE FAR EAST AND SIBERIA

Unesco’s World Heritage Site programme seeks to preserve natural and cultural landmarks that are deemed of global significance. JOE CRESCENTE SPECIAL TO RBTH

Volcanoes of Kamchatka (added to the list in 1996) When I landed in Kamchatka peninsula, I felt as if I was arriving on a different planet, such were the diversity of shapes and mists protruding up from the land. Kamchatka features a wide assortment of

volcano types (there are approximately 300 total volcanoes), and perhaps the largest concentration of active volcanoes anywhere in the world at 29. Featuring a gorgeous mix of volcanoes and glaciers, its unique location along the Pacific Ocean and its abundance of diverse species that include black bears, sea otters and Stellar’s eagles, make it incomparable to anywhere else on Earth. Its rivers and seas are full of the world’s largest variety of salmonoid fish (including salmon, trout, chars and graylings) and

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you’re never too far away from a natural hot springs. How to get here: There are flights to PetropavlovskKamchatsky from Moscow, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, and other Siberian cities, and from Anchorage, in Alaska.

Sikhote Alin Mountains (2001) This mountain range is spread out over two Russian regions (Khabarovsk and Primorye territories) and features three peaks taller than 1900 metres. Rising to the north and east from Vladivostok for over 500 miles, this area features standard taiga dwellers such as reindeer and the Ussuri brown bear, intermingling with residents of more tropical climates, such as the Amur leopard and the Asian black bear. It was added to Unesco’s list for hosting several endangered species such as the Siberian tiger, scalysided merganser (a rare red-billed duck) and Blakiston’s fish owl. How to get here: Fly to Vladivostok or Khabarovsk and then drive.

Wrangel Island (2004) The Wrangel Island Natural Preserve and its abundant wildlife wreak havoc on most people’s perceptions of the Arctic as a dead zone. Located deep in the Arctic in Chukhotka Region between Alaska and the Siberian mainland, this site includes the mountain-

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WHERE NATURE HAS LEFT SOME BREATHTAKING IMPRESSIONS ous Wrangel Island and nearby Herald Island. This area was largely untouched by the most recent ice age when ice sheets came to Greenland and Antarctica. As a result, these islands feature an enormous array of biodiversity, including the world’s largest density of the Pacific walrus and high concentrations of polar bear dens. It is also a parttime home for the migrat-

Pillars Nature Park demonstrates the annual climactic fluctuations experienced in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). Caused by shifting temperatures that range from highs of 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the summer to lows of -60 Celsius (-76 Fahrenheit) in the winter, these spectacular natural rock formations shoot up from 100-300 metres (up

Kamchatka features perhaps the largest concentration of active volcanoes in the world

There are nearly 1,500 glaciers here, the result of five different glacial periods

ing gray whale (coming from Mexico) and more than 100 bird species. It was the final place on Earth to support a wooly mammoth population, with the last ones dying out only about 4,000 years ago, probably due to the advanced hunting skills of modern humans and delayed climate change. Since 1976, humans have been forbidden from carrying out anything but limited scientific research here. How to get here: Through specialised tour agencies such asHeritage Expeditions.

to 1,000 feet) towards the sky along the banks of the Lena River. The constant alternate processes of freezing and thawing have given the pillars their rugged appearance and have caused the pillars to be separated from each other by deep gullies. The pillars consist of various layers of limestone, marlstones, dolomite and slate, with fossils discovered here from the Cambrian age, which scientists agree ended nearly 500 million years ago. How to get here: By boat on the Lena River fromYakutsk or Lake Baikal, as the Lena begins its journey 10 kilometres west of Baikal, passing the pillars on the way to the Arctic Ocean.

Lena Pillars (2012) One of Russia’s most recent additions to the list, Lena

Golden Mountains of Altai (1998) One of Russia’s most picturesque corners, the Altai Mountains forms a watershed between Central Asia and the Arctic Ocean via the Ob River, which begins its journey north here. Many landscapes are can be found here including mountainous taiga, steppe, lake basins, valleys and mountain meadows. There are nearly 1,500 glaciers here, the result of having survived five different glacial periods. Animal life is also abundant and diverse with more than 70 unique mammals and 300 bird species. This area became part of the Russian Empire in the mid-18th century, yet it has been home to man for 1 million years, leaving behind Paleolithic settlements near Gorno-Altaysk, the main city in the area. The territory remains sparsely populated by Russians and the Altai people, a Turkic-speaking group that has traditionally relied on raising livestock, farming and hunting to survive. How to get here: GornoAltaysk has a small airport with flights from Moscow, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. See schedules here: h tt p : / / a i r- a l t a i . r u / raspisanie.html. Alternatively arrive in Novosibirsk and take a bus or taxi.

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Lena Pillars Nature Park in the Sakha Republic (1), Sikhote Alin Mountains (2), the largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Baikal (3), Kamchatka’s bears (4), Amur tigers in the Sikhote Alin Mountains (5).

Explore Three natural wonders in this vast and diverse region of Russia

Siberia’s magnificent Unesco-listed sites These UNESCO-listed natural wonders of Siberia are accessible to travellers and offer rich and diverse sights and landscapes to their visitors. JOE CRESCENTE SPECIAL TO RBTH

Lake Baikal (1996) The largest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Baikal is a no-brainer addition to this list. The deepest lake in the world at 1,642 metres (5,387 feet), it is also among the world’s clearest and oldest, with some estimates putting Baikal’s age at 25 million years. Located in a rift valley, Baikal is still actively growing at the rate of 1-2 centimetres per year and by surface area it is the seventh largest lake in the world, containing more water than the five Great Lakes of North America combined. The rich and unusual biodiversity of Lake Baikal is its calling card. Thousands of species of plants and animals live in or near the lake and many of them can be found nowhere else on Earth. The list includes

seals, translucent fish and invertebrates, including worms, crustaceans and plankton, snails and sponges. Among the most famous endemic inhabitants are the Baikal seal, a rare freshwater breed; the omul, a whitefish that is smoked and is associated with the lake; and the Baikal sturgeon, an endangered fish that lives at the lake’s northern shores. How to get here: By plane or train to Irkutsk or UlanUde; from Irkutsk it is approximately 65 kilometres to the nearest point on the Lake; from Ulan-Ude it is approximately 250 kilometres. Lake Baikal can easily be reached by either city by taxi or bus.

Putorana Plateau (2010) Located 100 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle at the northwestern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau in Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Putorana Plateau area is a classic pristine northern landscape of taiga, tundra and Arctic desert. It features arctic and subarc-

tic ecosystems within the relative isolation of a mountain range. The surrounding area contains 25,000 lakes (Russia’s second largest supply of freshwater after Baikal), deep canyons, cold-water rivers, thousands of waterfalls and fjord-like natural constructions formed in the landscape. One of the world’s remaining major reindeer migratory routes crosses through the area and the territory also hosts the Putorana bighorn snow sheep, an isolated subspecies of mountain sheep. With almost no human infrastructure to speak of (the nearest settlement is hundreds of kilometres away), the Putorana Plateau was included on the list for containing such an enormous array of plant biodiversity in an Arctic setting. How to get here: This territory is administered from the closed industrial city of Norilsk, which lies 200 kilometres to the west of the Plateau. Needless to say it is complicated, but possible to visit here. Permits and

guides are necessary, as is at least one helicopter ride.

Uvs Nuur Basin (2003) This site is part of a large group of basins throughout Central Asia, with the Uvs Nurr being the only one found in Russia. Essentially this is where the southernmost taiga meets the northernmost sand dune desert. This highly saline and shallow lake is a remnant of a huge saltwater sea that covered a much larger area thousands of years ago. Today, its borders are shared between the Republic of Tuva in south Siberia and Mongolia, where approximately 90 per cent of the lake is located. Bearing traces of the steppe and the desert, this area contains enormous biodiversity ranging from freshwater to saltwater; deciduous, conifer and floodplain forests; and remnant glaciers from glacial lakes. It is one of the largest intact watersheds in Central Asia and features approximately 40,000 archeological sites detailing the history of nomadic tribes that

roamed the steppe. Temperatures can fluctuate over 100 degrees from cold to hot in a calendar year, yet over 100 bird species and the endangered snow leopard, argali (wild sheep), and

Asiatic ibex (wild goat) all call this area home. How to get here: Kyzyl, the regional capital, has a small airport, but it is probably best to take a train or plane to nearby cities of Krasnoyarsk or Abakan and take a bus or taxi to Kyzyl and then arrange to go to the lake with a tour or hire a taxi.

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Kirill Barsky DIPLOMAT

ow quickly does the world in which we live in change! Just thirty years ago, it would have been very difficult to imagine that Russia and China, who had been ardently fighting each other over the course of decades, would become political and economic partners. Who would have thought that Asean, which from the moment of its creation conducted a decisive war on communism, would accept into its ranks the socialist countries of Indochina -Vietnam and Laos? Would it have been possible to imagine that the leaders of Russia, China, the US and the Asean countries would sit at one table at the East Asia Summits and hold a constructive dialogue on the current problems facing the Asia-Pacific region? The format of political engagement between Russia and Thailand is changing before our eyes. The countries are building a new model of interaction that responds to their core national interests. One of the most remarkable trends in the current phase of the evolution of the international relations system is the demarcation between those countries that consider intervening in the affairs of others a norm and those that more than anything else cherish the principle of independence and sovereign equality of nations

that is enshrined in the UN Charter. The forming world order will be founded not only on the rule of law, the indivisibility of security, democracy, the principles of a market economy, the inviolability of human rights and basic freedoms, but also on equality, mutual respect and consideration for each other’s interests. Russia and many other countries have become aware of this immutable truth a long time ago. Thailand shares these views. Once, the country’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made a good point when he

The Russian Federation and Thailand are united in their evaluation of global security. said, “You can’t dress everyone in clothes of the same size.” Russia and Thailand are united in their evaluation of global security threats: terrorism, drug trafficking, cross-border crime and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our countries have common or similar approaches to regulating the situations in the Middle East, around Syria, in Libya andYemen, the Iran nuclear dossier and the nuclear problem in the Korean peninsula.

In the UN General Assembly, Russia and Thailand vote practically in unison. Let’s take the current 69th session for example. Our positions did not differ in any significant resolution. Of special value was Bangkok’s support in the resolutions that Moscow proposed. In particular, the resolution on Combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In turn, Russia gives Thailand substantial support in its efforts made on the UN platform to counter the drug threat. Now, in the preparation for the UN General Assembly Special Session on the global drug problem in April 2016, our countries will speak as a“united front”. We are grateful to our Thai partners for their invariable position in favour of increasing Russia’s role in the Asia-Pacific region and the support for our initiatives aimed at forming an equitable architecture of reliable security and sustainable development in the region. In the framework of East Asia Summits, we are engaged in discussing future steps for strengthening regional security and cooperation. Russia and Thailand successfully interact in the existing Asia-Pacific region multilateral dialogues. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, our countries worked together on the Smart Traveller Pro-

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BIRDS OF SAME FEATHER

gramme, a project that provides measures for guaranteeing tourist security and encouraging international traveling in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region. While in the framework of the Asean Defence Ministers Meetings Plus, the countries manage to work

The format of RussiaThailand political engagement is changing. for the creation of the Asean Military Medicine Coordination Centre in Bangkok. Russia will actively participate in the preparation and realisation of the second Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit in Thailand in 2016. Next year, Russia and Asean will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their partnership. Thailand is one of Russia’s key partners in Southeast Asia and Bangkok’s voice in the future intensification of Russian-Asean ties in various fields has a

very important meaning for the development of the Association’s policy in relation to Russia. Thailand is striving to play a more outstanding role in Asean and on the international arena in general. Bangkok has applied for the position of a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017-18. Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council, the organ that considers questions of maintaining international peace and security. If in the course of the elections, which will take place during the General Assembly’s 70th session in September, Thailand is elected to the UN Security Council, then our foreign ministries will have the opportunity and necessity to embark upon closer interaction concerning the entire international agenda. This year the Plan of Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Thailand in 2013-2015 will expire. A new plan of consultation for

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2016-18 will have to be prepared, one that, judging by the intentions of the two sides, will embrace a broader spectrum of issues as compared with the previous one. Issues of interaction in world and regional affairs are always an important aspect of dialogue between the two countries’ heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers. This dialogue has a good dynamic. In October 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a state visit to Thailand. In July 2009, the Russian foreign minister visited Thailand and in March 2013, the Thai foreign minister came to Moscow. In April this year, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev visited Thailand. New meetings are on the agenda. As they usually write at the end of the last chapter of a book or the final series of a TV show, “to be continued”. Kirill Barsky is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Thailand.

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RUSSIA IS READY FOR BUSINESS Sourat Rakhimbabaev

ussian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Thailand last month became one of the most widely discussed events in Thai business circles. It was the first highprofile Russian visit to the Kingdom since Vladimir Putin came calling almost 10 years ago. What are the business people talking about, and what are they worrying about? The general answer is the real condition of the Russian economy. Any investor would want the country where they invest to have a stable and credible economy with good prospects for the future. A massive wave of bad publicity from the Western mass media, along with the devaluation of the ruble and a general economic slowdown at the end of 2014 have made Thai businesses hesitant when it comes to Russia. From time to time, Russian officials try to impress international businesses with the positive tendencies of the Russian economy, which is showing signs of recovery. The ruble, which lost 60 per cent of its value, managed to recover more than 20 per cent of its loss-

es. Thai investors, however, are waiting patiently for more evidence of an upturn, and are focusing on the actions of the Russian Central Bank (CB). I realise that different statements of high-ranking officials on the optimistic development of the Russian economy cannot convince foreign businesses, the way the actions of the CB can for example. There were clear reasons for the fall of the ruble in December 2014, which was hastened by the crash of oil prices. The initial cause was the restricted access that companies had to international capital markets, increasing their demand for foreign currency in the domestic market to redeem foreign debts. As a result, continuing weakening of the ruble led to considerable growth in depreciation expectations, higher household demand for foreign currency, and increased deposits in dollars. Inflation expectations rose and a threat of considerable further acceleration of consumer price growth emerged. Under these conditions, CB decided to raise the key rate from 10.50 per cent to 17 per cent in December 2014.

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Any investor would want the country where they invest to have a stable and credible economy.

The success of the first quarter can continue in the second, so do away with your hesitation.

In addition to this, a set of measures aimed at sustaining stability of the financial sector was adopted. The CB also expanded the set of refinancing instruments in foreign currency, increased the frequency of these operations and their allotment amount. The decisions prevented the outflow of funds from ruble denominated household deposits, improved the situation in the domestic foreign exchange market, and decreased volatility of the national currency exchange rate. As a result, depreciation and inflation expectations stabilised to the extent the CB had expected. According to the CB’s

forecast, 2015 and 2016 will see an output contraction amid consistently low oil prices averaging $50-$55/ barrel in 2015 and $60-65/ barrel in 2016. Amid high prices for imported capital goods, deteriorated financial results of companies, restricted access to international capital markets, and tighter lending conditions, fixed capital investments will continue to contract. The CB surely does not believe in the growth of unemployment during the crisis, despite the expected negative GDP growth, a substantial increase in unemployment in 2015-2016 is not expected. According

to the CB estimates, the unemployment rate will not exceed 6-6.2 per cent. The labour market will adjust to the new conditions primarily through wage reduction and part-time employment, alongside with slowdown in retail lending growth rates it will result in further decrease in consumer activity. Exchange rate dynamics will facilitate exports to some extent and along with weak domestic demand lead to import contraction. As a result, net export contribution to GDP growth will be positive. Even Bloomberg argues that the ruble recovery has defied the predictions of most Western analysts who have not considered the main factor of the strengthening of the Russian currency — the armistice in Ukraine. In the first four months of 2015, the ruble on the indicators moved from being the worst in the world to the best, refuting predictions of even the most accurate in their predictions. The success of the first quarter can continue in the second, so do away with your hesitation and welcome to business with Russia. The writer is the Executive Director of the Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce.

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Technology Russian-made GPS pet tracker set to launch globally

Keep tabs on your canines The first Russian-made GPS dog tracker, is set to begin sales in the US and Europe as a part of the rapidly developing Internet of Things market. LEONID MATVEYEV SPECIAL TO RBTH

Intech says the device will go on sale in Russia in fall 2015 for approximately $120.

Developers say that the gadget has the potential to make the lives of dog owners much easier.

Dogs that like to swim Moscow-based Intech, a company that develops digital health apps and Internet of Things gadgets has invested approximately US$2 million in Spotty’s development and production. The Internet of Things segment refers to a market network of physical objects or “things” connected using technology. “The idea of Spotty emerged quite by chance as we were brainstorming how we

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A group of Russian developers has come up with a gadget that many dog owners have been dreaming of. Spotty, a sleek 4.5-centimetre aluminum chip attached to a dog’s collar, identifies a pet’s location using GPS coordinates and a 3G modem, monitors its physical activity and transfers real-time data to the owner’s smartphone through an iOS or Android app. Developers say that the gadget has the potential to make the lives of dog owners much easier. Meanwhile the fitness tracker will help to tackle obesity, one of the most widely spread health conditions among pets.

According to a 2013 report, the US pet care market was the world’s largest, worth $31 billion.

can reach a new market – the Internet of Things which was close to our main telecommunications business,”Nikolai Kravchuk, Intech CEO said, adding that Spotty could fill a niche segment for GPS and fitness trackers for dogs. “During Spotty’s development we faced many technical challenges,” Kravchuk said. “First of all, we needed a super energy efficient device that can last many days on a single charge.” The current prototype has a seven-day battery life and a wireless docking station. “It should also have a waterproof and shock-resistant body,” Kravchuk

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said.“After months of tough work with the manufacturers, we found an ideal solution: an aluminum body with water and dust protection that allows for the use of the device even when the dog is swimming.”Kravchuk added that Spotty would be manufactured in China where production costs are much lower than in Russia. Intech said the device would go on sale in Russia in the fall of 2015 for approximately $120.

A competitive market There is a rapidly growing number of pet tracking devices in the US with price tags ranging from $79 to

$300. The majority of these devices employ data syncing via Bluetooth. Spotty considers its main competitor to be Tagg, a brand that offers a device equipped with a GPS Personal Locator Beacon that fits onto the pet’s collar and sends text messages on its behalf when it escapes a predefined “safe zone.” In January 2015, Tagg was acquired by Whistle, another dog-tracking system, in order to hasten the development of pet-tracking products, according to the company. In a recent interview with Fortune magazine, Whistle co-founder Ben Jacobs said that there is “an

enormous market” with great potential to digitise the relationship between pets and owners. The digitisation of this relationship is also what inspires Russian company Petcube, which produces an interactive wireless pet camera equipped with a laser pointer that helps owners stay connected to their pets when they are not at home. The Petcube monitoring system allows owners to watch, talk and play laser games with a dog or a cat from anywhere using a smartphone. Created by a team of Russian and Ukrainian developers, Petcube started with a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and ended up raising $251,225 from 1,758 backers over the course of 1.5 months. Further rounds of investment brought in over $1.7 million in development funds.

Outlandish ambitions A c c o rd i n g t o a 2 0 1 3 Euromonitor report, the US pet-care market was the world’s largest, worth $31 billion. After the US comes the UK and Japan, which bring in $8 billion and $7 billion respectively. The Russian pet market is valued at around $4 billion. Spotty’s founders say that they are planning to enter the U.S. market where the gadget will be adapted to use the SIM cards of local mobile operators.

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Health Research on ‘Afghan drug’ bearing fruit

Trombovazim is a new medication being used to treat blood clots. It is based on a compound made for Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. MARINA MOSKALENKO SPECIAL TO RBTH

Scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk have created an innovative new medication, Trombovazim, based on research conducted for the Soviet military. Blood clots that result in cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction are dissolved by the drug. According to its sponsors, Trombovazim is unique in terms of how it works. According to estimates from the Russian Ministry of Health, over the past 10 years the total incidence of acute myocardial infarction – and, as a consequence, disability and mortality – in Russia has declined. However, the level of reoccurren-

ce over the same period has increased. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, over the past few years cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes have started to affect much younger people. One in 10 people aged 20 to 39 suffer from high blood pressure, whereas these ailments only recently rarely affected those younger than 40.

However, even such drugs as Trombovazim can’t be a panacea for diseases. Andrei Bekarev, chairman of the board of directors at Biotechnopark in Koltsovo, a research settlement near Novosibirsk, told RBTH that Trombovazim was the first drug of a new class of thrombolytic medicines for the treatment and prevention of myocardial infarction, stroke, pul-

monary embolism and thrombophlebitis. Trombovazim is made from plants and then treated with an electron beam accelerator. During this process a connection takes place in the form of a “cross-linking”of polymers with biomolecules. According to Bekarev, the body does not perceive the drug as foreign, so there is no immune response. “Normally when artificial proteins are administered to the body, rejection and even various allergic reactions may occur that lead right up to anaphylactic shock and death,” says Bekarev.“But in the case of our drug, under the influence of ionising radiation the chemical bonds are broken on the polymer and form a sort of ‘coat’ around proteins. In other words, the properties of proteins do not change, and the body does not reject the drug.” In the 1980s, scientists in Novosibirsk, under the leadership of Rudolf Salganik,

New medicine helps deal with stroke

The compound that Trombovazim is based on was developed during the Afghan war..

created Imozimaza to treat open wounds and stop bleeding.This research was funded by the Soviet military and became a prototype of the future Trombovazima. “The drug performed well during the war in Afghanistan,”says Bekarev.“But they did not have time to complete it before the end of the war and so it proved to be difficult to use and inconvenient to store since it was affected by temperatures above 6-8 degrees Celsius.” In the 1990s, after the Soviet collapse, many research and development projects were abandoned, including Imozimaza. Bekarev said that the medication never

reached the stage for release as a high-grade drug, but it is still used in veterinary medicine. In the 2000s, the economic situation in Russia changed somewhat and the scientists had an opportunity to revive their project and they decided to modify this “Afghan” drug. Unlike Imozimaza,Trombovazim is stable, and toxicity has been reduced. More ov e r, a c c o rd i n g t o Bekarev, it’s the only antithrombotic agent used orally. “There are alternatives, but they do not directly affect the clot,” says Bekarev. The drug has passed all pre-clinical and cli-

nical studies and is being manufactured in Koltsovo in the form of tablets and a solution for injection. For the creation of the development of the drug, the team received the Novosibirsk Region State Prize. However, even such drugs as Trombovazim can’t be a panacea for curing cardiovascular diseases, says cardiologist Alexandra Bessonova.“Harmful habits such as alcohol, smoking, highcalorie food are the main reasons for heart attacks in Russia,” Bessonova says. “After thrombolytic therapy patients have to change their lifestyle to avoid recurrent heart attacks.”

Twins Research reveals that genes are important but they do not determine a child’s aspiration to learn

Scientists from Russia have analysed 13,000 twins from all over the world to try to find out why some children are better students than others. YANA PCHELINTSEVA SPECIAL TO RBTH

Psychologists call the will to acquire new knowledge “academic motivation”, which many children often lack. Where does it come from? What role do genes and one’s environment play in it? Researchers from Tomsk State University (TSU), along with their colleagues from the UK, the US, Japan, Germany and Canada are trying to answer these questions. To do so they have analysed information on 13,000 school-

aged twins from six different countries. Collaborators of the International Laboratory of Cognitive Studies and Psychogenesis at TSU have been studying the influence of genes and environment on emotion and motivation, which lie at the foundation of children’s aptitude for learning. In February 2015, they published an article in the journal, “Personality and Individual Differences”, presenting some of their results. “Even identical twins, whose genetic codes match completely and who grow up in the same family and study in the same class can substantially differ in their aspirations to learning,” said Yulia Kovas, director

FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVES

Searching for the keys to children’s motivation

The same genes can manifest themselves differently.

of the International Centre for Human Development Studies in Tomsk.“Dizygotic twins, or those derived from two separate ova and that are genetically nonidentical, are even more different in their motivation.”

These factors suggest that genes are important but do not determine motivation, while the influence of one’s environment is mainly individual. In other words, according to scientists the same genes can manifest

themselves differently in one given environment. There are not that many twins in the world. Kovas says that they constitute about one per cent of the population. Scientists are interested in those that live together in one family and study in the same schools. Due to them scientists can study phenomena such as “mathematical anxiety,”also known as the lack of desire to learn mathematics. Mathematical language is understood everywhere, despite the different educational programmes that exist throughout the world. This is why scientists began their research by studying children’s mathematical abilities. Later, the project was expanded and it now

includes a variety of educational processes: interest, motivation and cultural particularities. Four years ago, with the TSU laboratory as its base, researchers created the Russian School Twins Register. Like other studies carried out in Russia, it is part of a large international network called INRICHD (International Network for Research in Child Health and Development). The necessity for studying children’s early development in various cultures and contexts inspires the researchers to expand their cooperation. For example, the Russian Register actively collaborates with the analogous The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) project in UK.

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Science&Tech

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Satellite New stations to improve accuracy of navigation system

Software Tracking internet use

Monitoring software keeps an eye on employees

More GLONASS stations set for Antarctica

Already quite popular in Russia, CrocoTime is designed for big companies and is capable of monitoring up to 10,000 users simultaneously. DINARA MAMEDOVA SPECIAL TO RBTH

PRESS-PHOTO

Three more Antarctic stations – Bellingshausen, Mirny and Russkaya – are to be equipped with GLONASS stations.

New measuring stations for the GLONASS space-based satellite navigation system will be deployed in Antarctica by 2020. DARYA KEZINA RBTH

Scientists from the Krasnoyarsk Territory and St Petersburg plan to deploy an additional four to seven stations for the GLONASS satellite system (which is similar to GPS) in Antarctica by 2020 in addition to the three already operating on the continent. This will greatly improve the accuracy of the country’s navigation system.

This is not being done to enhance the consumer potential of GLONASS, stressed Yury Fateyev, a professor at Siberian Federal University, in an interview with RBTH. “These stations provide functional enhancements to the GLONASS system – mainly for geodesy,” Fateyev said, referring to the science of measuring and monitoring the Earth’s shape and size. “What we are now deploying in Antarctica are measuring stations for the GLONASS system itself. They take measurements to determine the parame-

Why new stations are needed Scientists expect the new GLONASS stations will enable the control of more than 90 percent of satellite orbits and

believe it could bring parity between Russia’s navigation system and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

ters of satellite orbits.” According to Fateyev, the data from the measuring stations is not available to consumers. However, the stations are bringing increased accuracy to the GLONASS system. At the moment, measuring stations are located only in the territory of Russia and Tajikistan, which allows for the monitoring of less than the half of the 24 Russian GLONASS satellites that are currently in orbit. The idea to deploy GLONASS measuring stations in Antarctica was suggested 10 years ago by Valery Vladimirov, deputy chairman of the Presidium of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences.“We will be able not just to control the satellites, but also to read their signals online to obtain all necessary information about objects anywhere in the world,”Vladimirov told RBTH. To control 100 per cent of the satellite orbits, a larger number of stations over a greater area so, the signal becomes effectively continuous. According to experts, stations in Antarctica will provide an opportunity to increase the reliability of the

GLONASS navigation performance significantly. “The Russian Antarctic stations located along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent are the only reasonably accessible place now for the deployment of the ground segment of the GLONASS system in the southern and Western hemispheres,” Vyacheslav Martyanov, deputy chief of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, told RBTH. According to Fateyev, while GPS measuring stations are located in almost all parts of the globe, the GLONASS ones are situated mostly in Russia. “Due to this, GPS is superior in accuracy to GLONASS,”Fateyev explained. “However, with the Antarctic stations in operation, the accuracy of GLONASS will become equal to GPS.” Three GLONASS stations are already operating in Antarctica. The installation of new equipment at the Russian Antarctic stations Progress and Novolazarevskaya will begin at the end of 2015. In the future, the installation of equipment at three more Antarctic stations – Bellingshausen, Mirny and Russkaya – is being planned.

With 20,000 employees already under its watchful eye, CrocoTime is quite popular with some of Russia’s biggest companies, including global energy giant Gazprom, leading financer Tinkoff Bank, as well as the local branch of Danish shoe retailer, Ecco. But what is so special about the program? CrocoTime is installed on the client company’s server and comes with socalled“monitoring agents” that access employees’ computers. The software tracks websites that are visited and programs that are used, and sorts all activity into three categories – productive, unproductive and incidental. It is, of course, up to the client to decide what is good or bad for their employees. “Incidental activity is something that stands apart,” says Alexander Bochkin, CEO of Infomaximum. “This is when an employee uses tools that they are not supposed to use, going beyond their direct responsibilities. Such activity shows the company has some management issues. For instance, one company we worked with found out their client relations managers spent about 60 per cent of their time working in Microsoft Word, drafting contracts manually. After detecting that, the department switched to using document templates.” CrocoTime also has the ability to track idleness: If someone’s keyboard and mouse do not get used for some time, the software considers the employee as absent. A perpetual licence for a“monitoring agent” is currently priced at 2,560 rubles (about Bt1,400) per employee computer. According to Bochkin, due to his software, most companies

have reduced the amount of wasted time from 25-30 per cent to 5-7 per cent. CrocoTime is not the only employee-monitoring software available on the Russian market. Other products include Distsiplina, OfisMETRIKA, Stakhanovite andYawareOnline – all possessing similar capabilities, including tracking website activity and calculating hours worked.“CrocoTime falls somewhere higher than the middle of the price range and is de-

It sorts activity into three categories: productive, unproductive, and incidental. In smaller companies, good managers can make do without [such] software. signed for larger companies,”Bochkin says. However, developers claim that CrocoTime has several advantages over other companies. Firstly, the program can track the activity of up to 10,000 users simultaneously. Secondly, it generates statistics not only for each employee, but also for each subdivision of the company for a specified period of time, whether it is a week, a month or a year. Lastly, it includes automatic settings for certain departments such as accounting or IT. According to Bochkin, Infomaximum seeks to promote Crocotime in Europe, North America and Asia. However, Sergei Akashkin, an investment analyst for Prostor Capital, believes demand for the program both abroad and in Russia will be limited. “The need for an employee-monitoring solution arises in companies employing more than 50 people. But in smaller companies a good manager can make do without any software.”

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World War II As suicide bombers, mine detectors and rescuers of the wounded, army dogs were truly heroic

OLGA BELENITSKAYA SPECIAL TO RBTH

Countless lines have been written over the years about the courage displayed by the soldiers of the Red Army during World War II, but very few have mentioned their canine comrades in arms, the specially trained dogs that accompanied them into battle. About 60,000 dogs of various breeds as well as ordinary mongrels were drafted into the army. Dogs helped people on every front – they searched for mines and pulled the wounded from the rubble or from battle. Sometimes they were even used as suicide bombers – dogs wrapped with explosives would be trained to rush under enemy tanks. An anecdote story about the Battle of Moscow in the fall of 1941 tells of a group of enemy tanks attacking the Soviet line, which supposedly turned back when they saw dogs rushing at them. Fear was justified – dogs were trained to blow up tanks. During the war, Red Army dogs destroyed more than 300 German tanks – equal to two armoured divisions. On sleds during the winter or small carts in the summer, dogs brought ammunition to the battlefront and took the wounded on their way back. Each team of dogs substituted for three to four nurses. Dogs rescued a total of more than 600,000 people from the battlefield. When the nurses could not reach a wounded man because of heavy fire, the dog would crawl up to him on their bellies and show him their side, where the medical bag hung. They waited for him to bind up the

wound, and only then went on to the next. If a man was unconscious, the dog licked his face until he came to his senses. Besides rescuing the wounded, canines were also put to use carrying out other essential tasks such as maintaining communications. During the war, messenger dogs delivered more than 20,000 messages and laid about 5,000 miles (8,000km) of telephone wires where it was impossible for a soldier to pass. Meanwhile, dogs also demonstrated an invaluable aptitude for detecting landmines. More than 300 large cities were cleared of mines with the help of dogs. The personal file of a co-

llie called Dick reads: “Conscripted from Leningrad and trained for mine detection work. During the war, detected more than 12,000 mines, took part in demining Stalingrad, Lysychansk, Prague and other cities.” Dick performed his greatest feat in the Leningrad suburb of Pavlovsk, detecting a 2.5-tonne clockwork landmine an hour before its explosion. Despite multiple injuries, Dick, won prizes at many dog shows after the victory. The veteran dog lived to a ripe old age and was buried with full military honours.

Dzhulbars the Alsatian Despite numerous feats by canine soldiers during the

war, an Alsatian named Dzhulbars was the only dog to receive a medal for Battle Merit. During the last year of the war, this sapper dog found a total of 7,468 mines and 150 shells, and participated in mine clearI ance of palaces on © RIA NOVOST the Danube, the castles of Prague and the cathedrals of Vienna.

Military The canine foot soldiers of the armed forces

Training the dog trainers Highly trained canines are of vital importance in locating explosive devices and patrol duties, and the process of preparing dog trainers is rigorous. ALEXANDER KOROLKOV SPECIAL TO RBTH

Everyone knows about police dogs. However, the dogs that serve in the world’s armed forces are often unjustly forgotten. In Russia, about 6,000 canine soldiers are currently serving in the military. The elite of Russia’s military dog trainers are schooled at the Training Centre for Service Dog Breeding No 470, which has seen more than 400 future military dog trainers progress successfully to the final stage of preparatory training. Those wishing to become a military dog trainer must study for six

months and finish a course dealing with combined arms and veterinary preparation, as well as learning the basics of training their four-legged future colleagues. Since the profession of military dog trainer is considered to be one of the most prestigious in the armed forces, the Defence Ministry prefers to hire people who in their civilian life have a similar profession, such as veterinarian or zoo technician. Personal qualities are also important. People who are patient, nonaggressive, dutiful and capable of tolerating monotonous activity have better chances, since dog training involves repeating commands and carrying out the same functions over and over again. Selecting the right per-

son is already half the success in the man-dog working tandem, especially since in the initial phases of preparation the two can experience significant friction, which often prevents objectives from being met. “As strange as it may seem, the most difficult thing is the initial preparation,” says Vadim Popov, who served in the Training Centre. According to Popov, the general preparation course does not differ much from the civilian course. “When you start interacting with the animal you make mistakes — you give the wrong commands and the dog does not understand them. Or you are too demanding with the animal, overestimating the dog’s capabilities.” Read full version at asia.rbth.com/45169

About 60,000 dogs were drafted into the army.

In Moscow’s Victory Day parade on June 24, 1945, regiments from all fronts were followed into Red Square by their loyal canine compatriots.

EMMANUIL EVZERIKHIN / TASS

Man’s best friend — even on the battlefield

Many cities were cleared of mines with the help of dogs.

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Tribute Making wartime treats as a ritual for commemorating WWII at home

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Getting a taste of the past by baking wartime sweets

Tasty apple pastries and sponge cake Anna Kharzeeva SPECIAL TO RBTH

ANNA KHARZEEVA

Victory Day, observed on May 9, is a holiday to reflect on wartime victory and losses.

What if we had a tradition of remembering those who fought in World War II and other conflicts by sharing reminiscences over their favourite treats? ANNA KHARZEEVA SPECIAL TO RBTH

Looking for sweet recipes to make this time, I stumbled upon biskvit (sponge slice) with sour cream. Biskvit has always been on the table in our family, but I only recently asked Granny why; she says that her mother found it very easy to make, and as she was always on the go, it suited her character perfectly. So I thought I’d make it now for a special May holiday treat The beginning of May is a much-anticipated time in Russia known as the May holidays.There are two long weekends in a row, and many people take the few

days in the middle off to make almost a two-week break. May 1 is Labour Day, which these days involves the labour of opening beer bottles and grilling kebabs in parks, but not much more. May 9 is a much more important date – Victory Day – the day Russia marks the end of World War II.This day is celebrated on a grand scale – there are parades and concerts on Red Square and at Victory Park. As for regular people, they get together, cook up a feast, raise their glasses to the victory over the Nazis, and remember those who didn’t come back. In my family, granny makes the sponge cake and we remember her father, who went missing in 1941, and her husband, who served and came home. He passed away 16 years ago.

Neither of them were forced to join the army: My great-grandfather worked at a factory where all employees were exempt and my grandfather was too young, but he forged his bir-

It might be nice to have something sweet to remember the loved ones and all the other soldiers. thdate in his passport so he could join the fight. In 1941, granny was 9. Her father went missing just 3 months after leaving home. His name is on a stone memorial outside the factory he left to go war – along with the names of 1,000 others, of whom only 1 or 2 came back. Mun’ka, my great grandmother, fought to have his

name put on that memorial stone, along with about 20 others there. The names of most employees who went to war voluntarily are absent. After they had been evacuated from the city and were living in the village, granny and Mun’ka would make sponge cakes and send them to the soldiers based nearby. In honour and memory of those times, I made sponge cake slice along with apple puffs and cocoa for a kind of Victory Day memorial tea. “On May 2, 1945 we were in Moscow, and I had a beautiful American coat on – the Allies would send us food and clothing,” granny remembers.“Mom was putting pins in it to make it shorter, and we heard a special announcement on the radio: an important notice about taking over Berlin! We ran down the streets to Red Square – me still with pins in my coat – to see the fireworks.” Talking to granny about the way May 9 is celebrated today, I was surprised to find out that in the times of Stalin and Brezhnev, it wasn’t celebrated asVictory Day in any official capacity – it was just the day of remembrance. We don’t have particular dishes that should be cooked on May 9, and I don’t know what the rules are about grandchildren setting up traditions, but it might be nice to have sponge slice with cocoa and apple puffs – something sweet to remember the loved ones and all the other soldiers.

ANNA KHARZEEVA

Flaky pastry with apples Ingredients: For the dough: 2 cups of flour; 250 grams of butter; 1 egg; ¼ tsp of salt; ¾ cup of water; ¼ lemon or a little citric acid For the filling: 1kg of apples; 1 ½ cups of sugar

Preparation: For the dough: Sift the flour. Take half it, combine it with the butter then roll it out to a thickness of 1 ½ - 2cm. Put in a cool place. Take the remaining flour and combine with half a cup water, lemon juice and salt. Knead the dough, roll it into a ball and let rest 20-30 minutes. Then, roll this dough out to a layer twice as wide and slightly longer than the first piece of dough . Put the first piece of dough into the middle of the second piece of dough. Fold the bigger piece of dough around the smaller one to make a kind of envelope. Sprinkle a table with flour and roll out the dough to about a thickness of 1 cm. Let rest in a cool place for 30-40 minutes. Cut into strips 7-8 cm

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wide and brush with beaten egg. Put on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Pastry should be 4-5cm thick. For the filling: Wash the apples. Cut them in half and remove the cores. Rub them through a sieve. Put puree into a saucepan and add sugar. Stir. Put on the stove and cook until thick (5-10 minutes) stirring frequently. Then, put the pastry strips on a cutting board and cut them in half length-wise. On the lower crust, put the apple filling. Put the top crust on. Cut into individual-sized pastries, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Sponge cake with sour cream Ingredients: 2 cups of flour; 1 ½ cups of sour cream; 6 eggs; 1 cup of sugar; vanilla

Preparation: Separate the eggs. Whip the egg whites into a foam. Combine sugar and egg yolks. Mix well. Add vanilla. Add sour cream. Stir. Add flour and egg whites. Stir. Pour the batter into a greased dish and put in a cool (low temperature) oven for 20-25 minutes.

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