RussianMind #3 (19) 17 - 01 March

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RussianMind № 3 (19) 17 Feb-1 March 2012, www.RussianMind.com

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Contents RM Team Acting Editor Olga Kudriavtseva

6-9

5

10-11

Layout Yuri Nor Cover Photo Ksenia Zolotukhina Cover Page Design Lizaveta Wyatt

The Unity of Spirit

12-13

Head of Editorial Board Mark Hollingsworth Managing Director Azamat Sultanov Special Project Department Daria Alyukova Advertising Yordanka Yordanova, Maria Yadrikhinskaya

How Mikhail Prokhorov Moved From Business to Politics

The Rich Cry Too: Government Mulls Luxury Tax

16-17

14-15

Cyril Tuschi: Ambivalent Feeling to Khodorkovsky 18-19

It’s Time to Have Fun! Really?

Maslenitsa Celebration: Reload 22-23

20-21

IT Director Oleksii Vyshnikov Sub Editor Julia Gobert Acting Editor’s Assistant Rukhshona Shakhidi Distribution Olga Tsvetkova In print: Richard Bloss, Tai Adelaja, Olga Lesyk, David Gillespie, Xanthi Skoulariki, Alena Nikiforova. Contacts:

Valery Syutkin: Heartful Singer Vladimir Sorokin:

From Enfant Terrible to Angry Old Man

26-27

24-25

Chuikov’s Surrealist Landscapes 28-29

Editorial Staff: olga@russianmind.com General enquiries: info@russianmind.com Distribution: distribution@russianmind.com Advertising: adv@russianmind.com Address 40 Langham Street, London W1W 7AS United Kingdom Tel: +44(0) 207 637 1374

Amazing Moscow Underground 3

RM Guide

Russian Fashion Spectacular at V&A

Editor

THE UNITY OF SPIRIT Russians have an amazing trait – they like to huddle together when doing something. It can be a small company of close friends who attend yoga classes together or a large community that unites thousands of participants with a particular interest. Anyway, the core remains the same: Russians hate to do things on their own. It all goes far back to the Soviet regime where people were obligated to do everything together. From early childhood till old age, people were participating in a variety of Soviet organisations, social activities and meetings. The truth is that the propaganda of “unity� was aimed at brainwashing society into supporting the Communist ideology. And it actually worked for almost a century. During that time people lived all together as one big country and one big community. When the USSR collapsed, the philosophy of unity became redundant. Today the world has changed and not much remains from the old times, except the Soviet buildings and this unexplained willingness of people to be involved in mass activities. This is the reason for the gathering crowds during the holiday celebrations. To celebrate quietly, or Lord forbid alone, would turn into a tragedy for the average Russian soul. The ideal scenario for a proper celebration includes a large crowd, noise, various activities and an unpredictable ending. Well, it is not about the festivity, but about the reason to join in.

One would think, the necessity of communities died together with Communism, but the desire to be “together� is still alive. This idea took a root in our consciousness. Although we are now progressive, open-minded and have quickly adapted to the multicultural environment, somewhere deep in our soul we still maintain a desire to unite with someone like-minded. Probably that’s why we still celebrate International Labour Day and the Defender of the Motherland Day - the holidays that do not exist

Best Olga Kudriavtseva Acting Editor

P.S.

Thoughts were inspired by the coming Russian Festival “Maslenitsa�, which takes place on 26 February in Trafalgar Square. Read

5

HOW MIKHAIL PROKHOROV MOVED FROM BUSINESS TO POLITICS by Mark Hollingsworth 6

T

he Presidential election campaign is now

very little is known about Putin’s opponent, Mikhail

we reveal how Prokhorov consolidated his wealth and became politically active without becoming !!" Prokhorov was arrested at the fashionable skiing resort of Courcheval, in the French alps, as part of an investigation

# The incident proved to be a turning point in # $ % arrest so embarrassed his business partner Potanin that they began separating their business

&' talked about splitting before, but Courchevel accelerated matters�, &' have both grown and when two equal partners have different strategies

( manage and invest money # ) separation process is not * + for the two of us, but also / was business - Potanin wanted to invest everything in nickel, and Prokhorov preferred to diversify and created his own investment vehicle, 0 1 2 % invested $18 billion of his own cash and planned to invest particularly in high technology, hydrogen fuel cells, and precious-metals # The ‘divorce’ of Potanin and Prokhorov’s business

) initially agreed that

the Courchevel debacle, whereas Potanin feels Prokhorov broke his promise to sell him his = * ( # # 5 in the Kremlin, which does not want an all-out war but could be eyeing some of the assets and you get a picture of how complicated matters have ( / To further complicate matters, Prokhorov had also begun discussing the sale of his Norilsk stake to Oleg Deripaska, who wanted to merge Rusal = 5 5 !!H

stake to Rusal in return 9" ( <J Q The deal was well timed for Prokhorov, coming only months before the in which the Russian stock market crashed "! V & $ part of any business to be / ) ( made him the richest man in Russian according to Finans magazine, which valued his fortune 9<J < ( !!X Finding himself cash rich in a severe recession, Prokorov invested in media, property and !!H he took control of the Russian power company TGK-4 and was criticised #

promise to buy out minority shareholders ) London based Prosperity Capital Management & worst transgressions of corporate governance $ / Z # criticism, Prokhorov eventually reached a

Prokhorov should step down as chief executive of Norilsk Nickel, sell

Potanin and take control of the group’s energy and hydrogen assets for

0 1 2 5 then their other holdings ( 6 % after their divorce was underway, Prokhorov - without consulting Potanin - purchased more shares in Norilsk, gaining a blocking &7 ( important for a showman, but for a businessman it is harmful�, said &' the outset that to divide a business like Norilsk, which is worth more 9;!( ( ( problems we encountered are greater than we 1 5 realised that instead of partners we had become / 0 < = ( !!" Prokhorov offered to sell his blocking stake in Norilsk to Potanin for 9<> " ( he said was a gesture of ?# $ refused to meet the condition that payment be completed within 45 days and then approached several lenders but was not able to raise the &= # between Potanin and Prokhorov were pretty tense�, said a source close & is very emotional about 5 he is concerned, Potanin

# * ( ( was unfairly treated and forced to resign as chief executive of Norilsk over 7

with the minority [ ( !!H $ 0 1 2 6 >! Q * largest investment bank, Renaissance Capital, for 9>!! ) ( # price valued the company at around a quarter of its ( % 9<>! of a Russian magazine ( [ ( ) # \ * acronym of the Russian words for ‘accomplished, independent, educated and thriving’ and targets upper middle class readers rather than the ] ?[ ($ 7^ !!X 7[ !<! ) New York launch party, which was attended by Prokhorov, was held in the penthouse apartment !! ` 5 { ( % = ^ 5 # ' [ V “The party was lavish in true Prokhorov style with a high ratio of models per person, foie gras and slabs of raw salmon. In the middle of the night, the host graced the guests with his presence. At 6’ 8â€? — exactly the same height as the most famous Russian tsar, Peter the Great — Prokhorov towered over everybody else in the room. A queue of people wishing to get close to him, formed within seconds. It didn’t look like the guests were in awe of Prokhorov, but rather in awe of his celebrity status. ‌ Some guests were content with the mere proximity to Prokhorov’s body as their

IN LATE 2009 PROKHOROV BOUGHT THE US BASKETBALL TEAM, THE NEW JERSEY NETS.

friends snapped pictures of them and the great man together. Others tried to say a few words to him so that they could mention in their blogs that they spoke to Prokhorov. Others were more imaginative in their quest; one writer presented Prokhorov with his book (a translation of Pushkin’s verses into English), and one artist handed Prokhorov his painting (an abstract rendering of outer space). Prokhorov kept staring above their heads seemingly lost. There was something quixotic about his appearance. He looked as if he didn’t understand Russian or didn’t understand how he got to his party or what he was doing there�. In late 2009 Prokhorov bought the US basketball team, the New Jersey Nets (the worst team in professional basketball) from the property developer Bruce C. Ratner. The deal was opposed by Bill Pascrell, a Congressman for New

PROKHOROV INVESTED $150 MILLION IN THE LAUNCH OF A RUSSIAN MAGAZINE AND WEBSITE CALLED SNOB

personality. He watched Katie Couric’s interview with Sarah Palin for lessons in what not to do on camera. He strapped on a surgical mask in a training session that

contact�. By March 2011 Forbes estimated that Prokhorov was worth $18 billion, making him the 32nd richest man in the world and the 3rd richest man in Russia after the metals magnates Vladimir Lisin and Alexei Mordashov. His assets are held through his investment company, the Onexim Group. The group’s major holdings include a stake in Polyus Gold, Rusal, the mining and exploration company MMC Intergeo, Quadra and Snob and Russian Pioneer, the F5 newspaper and the websites RosBusinessConsulting and Quote. Many Onexim companies are based in offshore jurisdictions, notably the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and

Jersey, who asked the National Basketball Association to look into Renaissance Capital’s ties with Dmitry Kluyev, who was convicted of fraud in 2006. Despite this opposition, the deal was approved. Prokhorov paid $200 million for 80 per cent of the franchise and 45 per cent of the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn. He also agreed to cover some $60 million in operational costs and 80 per cent of $207 million in debt. The New York Times describes how during this period Prokhorov was couched for his media appearances: “In his life pre-Nets, when he gave the occasional interview to business reporters, Prokhorov had the media skills of a cyborg. Knowing what was at stake as the new face of the team — sponsorships, tickets, public goodwill, a potential business empire in the West — he worked hard to show more of his 8

Luxembourg. The interrelationship between these companies is complex. Like many oligarchs, Prokhorov became ( ( # from Potanin’s close relationship with the Yeltsin administration in the mid-1990s and he maintained good relations with the Kremlin under Putin and Medvedev. Prokhorov even arranged for Putin and Medvedev to have a joint test drive in a prototype of Russia's &# /

being built by Prokhorov – an impressive display of his lobbying power. &)

between state and business is never easy anywhere but Russian businessmen need to recognise that they have responsibilities on their

/ &)

businesses to pay taxes and provide high salaries. They also need to help

the people advance in the social sphere�. In May 2011, Prokhorov moved into the political arena when he became head of Pravoe Delo (Right Cause), a party formed in 2009 by proKremlin, right-wing politicians. He was elected as leader after the Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and the 5 1 Kudrin declined the Kremlin’s suggestion that they should lead the party. Prokhorov said: “The decision was 1 but once I make up my mind I act very quickly. 2 1 businessman at the head of a very large holding, I can bring something to the table�. Few analysts saw Right Cause as presenting any genuine alternative to Putin and Prokhorov this when he said: “I ## 1 word opposition from our 1 Z \ the word opposition is associated with marginal players who have lost contact with reality�. But then on 14 September 2011, Right Cause held a party congress at which Prokhorov warned of a mutiny against him within the party,

politician, Vladimir Milov, said: “It turned out he wasn't ready and he

* ( # this role. He has spent his entire life living in a different reality where you are the boss and you can order everyone around and you can buy anything. Politics is a different ball game and you need to speak to people differently�. Other critics pointed to the similarities with the activities of Khodorkovsky and his opposition to the Kremlin. Prokhorov replied: “It is a question of choice. He made his choice. I don’t consider myself part of / 5 whether he wanted to become President he said he had not thought about it and suggested “it was better to ask other people what kind of President he would make�. 5 elections on 4 December 2011 a mass protest movement began to develop denouncing Putin and his government. But Prokhorov did not support the protest. He wrote on his blog: “The majority of our people think the elections were unfair. But whether they like it or not, Putin is so far # #

state machine�.

which he claimed was provoked by Kremlin sacked senior members of Right Cause, alleging ? $ delegates had turned up at the party’s conference with forged documents. He accused the Kremlin of “a raiders attack on the party just like a raid on a business in the 1990s�. He told the congress: “You are all waiting for me to step down. Keep waiting�. ) 1 # Prokhorov was ousted as leader by Right Cause delegates in a vote of 73 to two. He responded by attacking the Kremlin operator, Vladislav Surkov, who he called a ‘puppeteer’, and vowed to have him sacked. He said he would meet with Medvedev and Putin and told them “what happened to the party? Now show them the necessary documents�. It was these momentous events that persuaded him to run as a candidate in the presidential elections. He also demanded the return of the $18 million he said he had invested in Right Cause since June, saying, “I want to give it to the people�. Prokhorov’s decision to stand against Putin has been criticised. The Russian opposition

9

But then on 12 December 2011, two days after a 50,000 strong protest in Moscow, Prokhorov announced that he would run against Putin in the March 2012 presidential election. “I have made a decision, probably the most serious decision of my life�, he declared. “I am going to run in the presidential election. Society is waking up. Political forces that don't engage in discussion with society will be swept away�. Prokhorov is generally not seen as a credible political candidate. The Russian campaign strategist, Sergei Markov, claims that: “His chances of becoming President are \ ‹

# \ Russia hate the oligarchs, who robbed the country blind in the 1990s, and Mikhail Prokhorov is the quintessential oligarch�. His decision to run has also been seen by established opposition # ^ 5 V “In the elaborate puppet show that is the Russian political system, it is often impossible to keep track of all the strings, but the reigning assumption is that most of them lead back to the Kremlin�. Photos: mdp2012.ru

Business

THE RICH CRY TOO:

GOVERNMENT MULLS LUXURY TAX by Tai Adelaja WELL-HEELED RUSSIANS MAY SOON HAVE REASON TO WINCE, AS THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT APPEARS TO BE MOVING AHEAD WITH PLANS TO INTRODUCE TAXES ON LUXURY AND STATUS CONSUMPTION. THE CONSUMPTION OF LUXURY GOODS IS ALREADY HIGH IN RUSSIA, BUT THE IMPOSITION OF TAXES ON CERTAIN LUXURY GOODS IS COMING AT A TIME WHEN A GROWING NUMBER OF MIDDLECLASS RUSSIANS ARE TRYING TO ENHANCE THEIR IDENTITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE WITH LUXURY GOODS, EXPERTS SAY. THE LUXURY TAX, WHICH THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO INTRODUCE NEXT YEAR, IS PART OF PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN'S "DECISIVE TAX MANOEUVRE," WHICH HE SAID WOULD PUT THE COUNTRY'S NATURAL RESOURCE BASED FINANCES ON A MORE SUSTAINABLE FOOTING.

leaning Just Russia Party proposed levying taxes on luxury on the eve of that year's parliamentary elections. Just Russia Party Head Sergei Mironov proposed then that Russians with real estate valued at 30 million rubles ($1 million) and 100 million rubles ($3.3 million) should pay one and tax, respectively. He stressed that he was expressing the views of most Russians. His proposal contrasts sharply with the modest 0.1 percent property tax the Economic Development Ministry is planning to introduce in 2015. But, according to surveys released by the independent Levada Centre in October, 53 percent of respondents said they favour increasing the tax burden on the rich.

Putin's "tax manoeuvre" is aimed at reducing taxation on business people by shifting it onto under-taxed sectors and activities, such as real estate and luxury talked about increasing taxes on luxury goods and "excess consumption" in a populist speech at the United Russia Party convention in November, where he also declared his intention to reclaim the presidency. But in a 5,000-word newspaper article published last week, the Russian Prime Minister elaborated on the rationale behind his tax initiative. "We have ways for increasing tax revenues in several directions: expensive property, consumption of luxury goods, alcohol, tobacco, the collection of rent in those sectors where it is currently low," Putin said. "First of all, this is an extra tax on wealth, or rather, on prestigious consumption. The key decisions must be made this year, so that owners of expensive houses and cars can pay higher tax rates next year."

Despite broad support, making such radical decisions as the introduction of a luxury tax would seem like a hard sell for the Russian Prime Minister. But as discontent grows among business people over high payroll taxes levied on employers to fund ballooning state outlays on social expenditures,

The Prime Minister's idea was not new. Way back in 2007, the left10

Putin, who hopes to return to the Kremlin in May, has no choice, analysts say. Oksana Dmitrieva, the deputy head of the State Duma Budget Committee, suggested that Putin had hijacked the idea as an afterthought. "We introduced a draft bill to this effect in 2007 and tried to push it through [the State Duma], but the idea was rejected – the United Russia Party was against it," Dmitrieva said. "As far as I can understand, this is an about-face from the Prime Minister." She added that the government could nevertheless rake in up to 300 billion rubles ($10 billion) if taxes on luxury were introduced. The prospect of raising extra revenue appears to have drawn more people to the ranks of those who advocate high taxes on luxury consumption, which now include leading economists and politicians. Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich said in January that taxes should be imposed on Russians who "own large apartments or two or more apartments." State Duma Deputy Galina Khovanskaya from Just Russia told

Business

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WHEN THE DOCUMENTARY “KHODORKOVSKY� BY THE GERMAN FILM DIRECTOR CYRIL TUSCHI WAS RELEASED IN RUSSIA LAST DECEMBER, IT PROVOKED A WAVE OF PROTESTS. SURE ENOUGH, THE FILM CHARTS THE JOURNEY OF THE PERSON, WHO WAS RUSSIA'S WEALTHIEST MAN WHO ENDED UP IN JAIL AS A POLITICAL PRISONER AFTER BUTTING HEADS WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN. RUSSIANMIND SPOKE WITH CYRIL ABOUT HIS CHOICE OF ‘HERO’ AS WELL AS HIS GERMANIC IMPRESSION OF RUSSIA:

Person

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( ( # ^ 5 ( are interesting. ^ person who aimed high and acted heroically, in the way that he came back to Russia, knowing he would get arrested and still seeing that he kind of misjudgement of his own powers or the powers of his 12

CYRIL TUSCHI:

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AMBIVALENT FEELING TO KHODORKOVSKY by Olga Kudriavtseva RM: Did you aim to

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13

C.T.: That Russians do have a great soul and that they can party. Also, that not all people from the KGB are bad...! “Khodorkovsky� documentary will be released by Trinity Films in the UK on 2 March.

Opinion

IT’S TIME TO HAVE

FUN! REALLY? by Richard Bloss who explains why the Russian Festival “Maslenitsa� in London is so last year...

I have often wondered why we go away. We where we are, and then we spend all our time wishing we were back where we have just come from. We form little groups of ExPats, we drink whatever it is we used to drink, at vastly higher prices, we continue to speak our own language and we look back at the Good Old Days even though the very reason we decided to leave in actually we couldn't stand the "good old days". As they say, ‘Nostalgia isn't what it used to be’. Things used to be normal. You could

rely on them. And like hedgehogs in the winter, as the sun follows the moon, so we all know that January and February are never the best times in our life. For a start, none of us have any money. We spent it all in December. Or we are still recovering from New Year. Now I do know that a lot of you guys are serious daily party goers, but for the rest of us, we look at ourselves in the mirror and we think "I can't surely look as bad as that!" and we pull the duvet over our head until mid February, when we are sort of forced to be nice to people, usually around Valentines Day, when if you are not

14

nice to people, you get divorced! We’ve had people like Dvorak and even Beethoven on one of his more pastoral days, write nice little symphonies to Klara or whoever he was with, and suddenly - Spring arrived. Which, I am given to understand - is why you guys celebrate Maslenitsa. Er.....no. Not any more. Life has, alas, moved on. I am here to tell you that in my part of the UK, the daffodils were already blooming by the Which means that, Spring has already

come. You are too late. The fact is, in the Eco modern world we live in, global warming has forced us to reevaluate some of our cherished customs, to avoid looking completely stupid. And dancing around Trafalgar Square may all be very good fun, but we need to be honest here, this is not about bringing in new seasons blah blah.. It is simply party time. And that is where I have a problem. It seems to me that, if Russians in London are supposed to be some sort of new wave of new liberals, then you might as well do it properly and re-arrange the calendar to suit the rave

Opinion

new world that you are aspiring to. It surely makes much 1 Maslenitsa at the end of April, when the clocks have moved forward, so surely there will be no chance of it still snowing?! And with a bit of luck you can link it to Chelsea's home game against Manchester United, which clearly

must be a good three pointer, and what I would call a proper reason to celebrate! This would also tie in quite nicely with Wimbledon just a month or two later, and of course there are the ( # And we would clearly have to change the name:

one of the problems of contemporary Russia is that its PR is not 1 ( ] ( "Maslenitsa" has the cardinal sin of having no Press at all, and it's all due to the name, which most Brits would either confuse with some sort of Jewish ceremony for young kids, or with some sort of illness you get from a dodgy weekend in Marbella! No, I would

15

rename it, if not Notting Hill, then at least the "Bayswater Road Street Celebration". It rolls off the tongue quite well, and it gets it away ) # [6 ] which if you remember, was where you just a few weeks ago, were celebrating the New Year. It does sound rather good. I'll drink to that. Cheers.

MASLENITSA CELEBRATION: RELOAD Culture

by Olga Lesyk memory of celebrating this day the way it has been done in her village for ages: ‘Maslenitsa is my second most awaited celebration after the New Year’s Eve. In the Maslenitsa week mum always makes blinis (pancakes), oladushki (smaller and thicker blinis) and syrniki (small cakes made with cottage cheese.) Quite customary are vegetable dishes – vegetable zapekanka (a kind of pudding), borsch and root vegetable oladushki. Kvass (fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread) is what I’ve remembered from early days as a traditional drink. So it’s not all about blinis, as one might think. Although they are quite symbolic. It is always the time of outdoor fun, folk-dancing and song-singing. We would have our classes cancelled at school, so we could partake in the celebration. The highlight was, of course the burning of the Hay Woman – the Winter Lady, as we called her’. Most people’s memories of Maslenitsa come largely from childhood. And as they grow up, many aspects of this rather ambiguous feast fade into

# ( routine.

THE GODDESS OF SPRING

N

o other Russian event in London gets as much attention of our compatriots as does Maslenitsa festival. Our fellows enjoy meeting in Trafalgar Square for an annual folk extravaganza. RussianMind author Olga Lesyk never participated in the festivity herself, considering it an occasion that doesn’t make her excited. While this year’s “Maslenitsa�

is approaching, she gathered a feedback about the celebration of this holiday in CIS countries, and that set her thinking about missing out on something. Ksenia Zheludeva ] student of Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation . Coming from a Russian glubinka, she has a special 16

This is not the case with

Rusinova who has a deeper knowledge and understanding of this ancient pagan cult, being a Starover (Old Believer, a cultural and religious movement celebrating the Russian Slavic roots and traditions). ‘To me, this isn’t just a red day on the calendar, but a token of respect for our Great Predecessors, the Slavic-Aryan culture. In our community, we don’t celebrate Maslenitsa seven days before the Great Russian Orthodox Lent. The Lent is based on a lunar calendar which isn’t the Slavic tradition at all. Ancient Slavic holidays

centred on a solar calendar, so the REAL Maslenitsa falls on the moment the day equals the night in length (this year it is March 23rd). Making farewell to winter and welcoming in spring, as a symbol of death and revival in Nature, is the point of Maslenitsa.’

Culture

Having pan-Slavic roots, Maslenitsa comes into households all across Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. There are, however, variations to the menu and proceedings on the day. In Western Ukraine, where the next interviewees come from, the stress is on religion. ‘In Russian speaking parts of Ukraine (from Kiev to the East of the country) Maslenitsa is more of a civic occasion’, says Irina Voityshyn-Romaniv, a nurse in a hospital in Lviv. ‘In our Western lands, it is religion-linked and starts one week before the Easter Lent. During Maslenitsa week it is common to ask everyone’s forgiveness for the past wrong-doings. On Sunday everyone goes to church and service over – it is time for visiting relatives and friends. The festive table features meat dishes, cheese, bread and butter and, surely, horilka (a Ukrainian vodka) – all the things one can’t have over the Lent.’ A word on the dress from Mariya Bahlay, a BA in ethnography of Lviv State University. ‘The youth must all wear traditional clothing on the night. My favourite entertainment was always making vareniki (a kind of dumplings).

or cottage cheese) where girls put small items like rings and earrings - for the boys

# %

%

and the rule is: that girl, whose item a lad % *

Unsurprisingly, new couples emerge in our village after Maslenitsa!’ Back in Russia, or rather in the UK, a Russia-born Ukrainian Katya Kolody has her stories to tell. ‘To this day I recall the fun we had together with family: horseriding, tobogganing, sledging, eating and drinking in the open air. There is a great movie called ‘The Barber of Siberia’ that gives a full-scale picture of this truly Russian-spirited holiday’. All these stories sound like a good scenario for the Russian festival “Maslenitsa� in London, to showcase the richness of our cultural heritage.

MASLENITSA FUN IN A WESTERN UKRAINIAN VILLAGE

THE WINTER LADY TO BE BURNT

BLINIS WITH CAVIAR

Russian Festival “Maslenitsa� in London takes place on Trafalgar Square, on Sunday, 26 February. It is a free public event. maslenitsa.co.uk 17

Music

RM: Valery, did

/<

%

=> [ \] VS: Fame means that you are known by those who you don’t want to know‌ That certain fame was at schools, where we played at dance evenings. RM: How do you

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VS: When I go on # œ That’s because I love the occupation I chose for myself long ago and have never regretted it. And a little excitement doesn’t affect good concentration.

VALERY SYUTKIN: HEARTFUL SINGER } ~

VALERY SYUTKIN IS ONE OF A FEW RUSSIAN ARTISTS, WHO ARE BOTH VERY EASY IN LIFE AND ON THE STAGE. AT THE SAME TIME DUE TO HIS UNUSUALLY QUIET VOICE AND TRUSTWORTHY INTONATIONS, HE HAS BEEN A

NATIONAL ICON FOR MANY YEARS. HE IS NOT FLASHY OR NARCISSISTIC AND HE IS CONVINCED THAT THE SECRET OF HIS POPULARITY LIES IN BENEVOLENCE AND DECENCY. THIS FEBRUARY HE IS PERFORMING

IN LONDON, AT THE RUSSIAN “MASLENITSA�. BEFORE THE FESTIVAL, RUSSIANMIND SPOKE TO VALERY ABOUT LIFE, MUSIC AND HIS LIFE’S TRIUMPHS:

18

RM: _

`

] { =

\

=

\] VS: Ladies, who I used to court long ago, have quietly started to die ... But, fortunately, my concerts are also attended by youngsters, in increasing numbers, as you may understand day ( œ RM: |

]

VS: Music changed together with me, and not always for the better. Good songs appear by themselves, as if you are connected to

Music

the provider somewhere up there… You cannot construct songs and squeeze them from yourself; otherwise you get only a market PRODUCT. That’s why we have so many PROJECTS and so few INDIVIDUALS. RM: When you see the variety of modern singers and bands, do you consider their performance quality? VS: “Now it is a time when accompaniment performs a solo concert” (quoted Russian comedian Mikhail Zhvanetsky). It is impossible to replace a good artist by a different person, as he is unique. In PROJECTS changeover is an ordinary thing. RM: You are known as a very responsive and peace-loving person. What qualities should one have to become your friend? VS: Honesty and sense of humour. RM: Nevertheless, in the soul you are a romantic. In what country do you think the most attractive girls live? VS: Beautiful girls are everywhere. And the most gorgeous one lives with me! RM: And where is your most grateful audience? In Russia or in Europe? VS: The most grateful audience is my director. He watches the concerts from the side and at the same time makes money.

RM: In February you perform in London, at the Russian festival “Maslenitsa”, What is your attitude to folk festivities and amusements? VS: Festivity and enjoyment at festivals are our key elements, in terms of concerts. Come and let’s have fun together!

RM: And what are you currently working on? Are we going to hear your new songs? VS: We will perform timetested hits, our latest hit “Moscow-Neva” and of course, an entirely new song, “I Know”, which we are now working on.

19

RM: What do you consider your main life triumph? VS: I am over 50 years old and at the top of life’s slope. I am not deprived, I love those who are close to me and I am doing my favourite job!

Literature

POSTMODERN WRITER VLADIMIR SOROKIN:

FROM ENFANT TERRIBLE TO ANGRY OLD MAN ` €

When the work of Vladimir Sorokin began to be published in Russia in the early 1990s, it was equated with the ‘shock therapy’ to which the country as a whole was subjected after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Certainly, the style and thematics of Sorokin’s prose were qualitatively different from anything that had been published in Russia or the Soviet Union before. By way of summary (and not for the faint-hearted), the subject-matter of Sorokin’s early works include murder, mayhem, indiscriminate slaughter, cannibalism, sexual deviance and abuse; coprophagy, mutilation, torture, sadism, masochism, sexual explicitness that often crosses over into pornography and all rendered in an idiom

to lesbian adult and Communist, her political emancipation achieved through sexual awakening. If Sorokin’s #

cheek in these works, then in Four Stout Hearts (1993) Sorokin parodies to grotesque excess the post-Soviet gangster thriller genre, with multiple blood-spattered shoot-outs and gratuitous sexual encounters. The work bears the same title as a very popular Soviet romantic comedy <XJ! # the gruesome violence of Sorokin’s text has nothing in common with the innocent charm <XJ! extreme violence offers a pointed and subversive commentary to the Sorokin’s anti-Soviet stance is in full display

and style that becomes increasingly deranged before collapsing in on itself in ‘transsense’ gibberish. In these works Sorokin challenged the reader’s sensibilities – aesthetic, moral, linguistic and cultural – at the same time throwing down the gauntlet to the hallowed status of Russian literature itself. The Queue (1985) remains a startlingly innovative work that consists of dialogue only, with no narrative or even named characters, that also distils the entire Soviet experience into one long, seemingly never-ending queue, and one that people join not knowing what is actually on sale (if anything). Marina’s Thirtieth Love (1987) is an explicitly sexual journey of the eponymous Marina from abused adolescent 20

in The Norm •<XXJ– where the State literally forces excrement down the throats of its citizens as the ‘norm’ of its existence. The Norm also contains allusions to the work of Vasilii Grossman and Andrei Platonov in its harrowing depiction of the destruction of people under the Soviet experiment, and to the poetry of Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova. That is not to say that the literary canon is sacrosanct: in Roman •<XXJ– ( \ and then deconstructs Russian literature’s hitherto unchallenged ethical identity. In a recent interview with Der Spiegel Sorokin claims that he remained stubbornly ‘apolitical’ until only a few years ago. ‘As a storyteller, I

%

be apolitical. [‌] This was one of our favourite anecdotes: as German troops marched into Paris, Picasso sat there and drew an apple. That was our attitude – you must sit there and draw your apple, no matter what happens around you. I held fast to that principle until I was 50. Now the citizen in me has come to life.’ Sorokin’s new civicmindedness is clearly aimed at what he sees as the ‘destruction’ and ‘collapse’ of Russia under the current regime. At the age of 50 Sorokin decides that he must join the ranks of Russian writers who believe that their writings will change things. In the early 1990s, by way of contrast, Sorokin would claim that his writings were simply ‘words on paper’ and that as such there could be no ‘ethical aspect’ of what he was writing. The central premise of Day of the Oprichnik (2006) is brilliant in its simplicity. In the near future, Russia is ruled by an oppressive autocrat whose main arm of government

is the oprichniki, the secret police of Ivan the Terrible’s time. If in previous works Sorokin re-imagined and re-worked themes and motifs from Russian literature of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s, in Den’ oprichnika he selfconsciously references the Dystopian traditions of Russian literature, most notably Evgenii Zamiatin’s We (1921). Sorokin’s view of Russia’s future is as bleak as Zamiatin’s vision of the Soviet Union’s, though much more violent. Sorokin’s Russia of 2028 is surrounded by a Great Wall that separates it from Europe and China, and is ruled by a Sovereign (cf Zamiatin’s ‘Benefactor’), whose reign of terror is the result of the ‘Red’ and ‘White’ Troubles of the Soviet and immediate post-Soviet past. The Sovereign’s oprichniki very much resemble the Benefactor’s Guardians in their ruthless persecution of sedition. There, however, the resemblance ends, because whereas

Zamiatin’s novel is narrated by the rebel engineer D-503, Sorokin’s ‘hero’ is Danilo Khomiaga, a highly-placed oprichnik. If Zamiatin’s Single State was ruled as a society guaranteeing ‘mathematically infallible happiness’, then Sorokin’s rulers regard themselves as above the rest of the nation in their patriotic fervour; indeed, as Khomiaga muses, standing in the Kremlin’s Uspenskii Cathedral clutching a candle, the Sovereign would not be able to reign without their support. In The Sugary Kremlin (2008), in many ways a sequel to Day of the Oprichnik, Russia’s rulers encourage its citizens to enjoy totalitarian rule by licking sugary sticks in the shape of the Kremlin, a curious echo of the fare served up for the population by the Soviet government in The Norm. Sorokin posits a picture of Russia in 2028 that is essentially identical to that of Ivan the Terrible, despite new forms of communication

and transport that enable Literature the oprichniki to carry out their work with such ( telephones and Mercedes cars. Day of the Oprichnik offers a vision of Russian history not as cyclical – a return to autocratic tyranny – but rather as terminal. The work shows that Sorokin has evolved from laissez faire apoliticism to a more aware and conscious stance that lies squarely in the Russian tradition. [

in glorious company: Lev Tolstoi angered the government and Church with his outraged attack on the corruption of the criminal justice system in Resurrection (1899), and Alexander Solzhenitsyn was arrested and deported from the Soviet Union in 1974 after the publication abroad of The Gulag Archipelago. With his equation of the government of 2028 and that of Ivan the Terrible, is Sorokin claiming his lineage as the great dissident Russian writer ] century?

THE QUEUE (1985)

THE NORM (1994)

FOUR STOUT HEARTS (1993)

DAY OF THE OPRICHNIK (2006)

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Art

CHUIKOV’S SURREALIST LANDSCAPES by Xanthi Skoulariki

INFLUENCED BY THE SURREALISTS AND THE POST-MODERN THINKERS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, IVAN CHUIKOV IS AN ENGAGING ARTIST WHOSE VARIED WORK OF MIXED MEDIA IS ON SHOW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LONDON AT REGINA GALLERY.

collective farm theatre productions at the Moscow Institute for Applied Arts. Later, he became a close associate of the so-called Sretensky Boulevard group, and had the opportunity to exhibit his own paintings privately at art studios from the 1970s. Chuikov developed a pictorial style with parallels to the Pop Art aesthetics of Tom Wesselmann or Surrealists such as Rene Magritte. Often painting

1

reproductions he found around him - books on art history, picture postcards, TV screens and symbols from printed propaganda. Since these days he has pursued a life-long fascination with the act of looking and the manufacture of visual signs and images. ) 1

(

$ solo show in the UK, focuses on the fragmentation that has characterized Chuikov’s work for many years. As critic Boris Groys has pointed out fragmentation and recombination have been a dominant topic of philosophical discussion during the

Regina Gallery is currently hosting Fragments, a solo show of paintings and sculpture from the past three decades by Russian artist Ivan Chuikov (b. 1935, Moscow). The exhibition explores an important part of this pioneering artist’s oeuvre, which contains multiple stylistic traits and image-making techniques, from his famous works painted directly onto window frames, to large-scale canvases and collage. Ivan Chuikov grew up in Moscow, training at Soviet art schools in the 1950s, and going on to be a teacher himself, as well as a member of the Union of Artists. He spent much of his time producing backdrops for

WINDOW LXXVI, ENAMEL ON HARDBOARD, 2007

#21 FROM THE SERIES OSTCARD FRAGMENTS, MIXED MEDIA ON PANEL, 2005

22

Art

ROMANTIC SEASCAPE II, OIL ON CANVAS, 1989

last century. Whereas many commentators have concentrated on the particular violence or “struggle for power� associated with these discourses, Chuikov’s work appears much more at ease with the source material it appropriates from. In the epic painting Romantic Seascape II (1989), Chuikov has painted numerous different shapes, slotted together side-by-side like a jigsaw puzzle in which every piece comes in a different style. Broad, thick, abstract brushstrokes form segments next to areas of watery green and yellow washes reminiscent of Old Masters. Despite such differing techniques

painting and other such chapters from the history of abstraction), as well as his more familiar paintings on window frames in which images literally ‘fold into space’ or overlap to suggest combinations. Boris Groys has written of Chuikov: “Every hierarchy is dehierarchised in his work, every central position is de-centered. All artistic forms are recognised as equally important - but that happens only when they are deprived of their traditional ideological pretenses... Twenty years after, the artist continues his work without being distracted by numerous antagonistic fashions following nothing but the

an image of a seascape emerges as a whole. Here, Chuikov willingly disrupts the conventions of unity and composition, to bring attention to context as well as present viewers with a portrait of the bare materials out of which the work is made. Such conceptual conceits run through many of Chuikov’s other works which are also presented in the exhibition - from his Fragments of Newspapers series which were produced in recent years, through to his Fragments of Postcards series from the 1990s (in which small details are blown up from the printed images to produce compositions ( # 23

immanent logic of his method.� Ivan Chuikov lives and works in Berlin. His works are featured in international museum collections including the Ludwig Forum fßrInternationaleKunst, Aachen; Museum of Contemporary Art, Basel; Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the Pushkin State Museum of Arts, Moscow. His solo shows have included Ivan Chuikov 1966-1997 at the Kulturabteilung AG Bayer, Leverkusen (1999) as well as the retrospective exhibition Ivan Chuikov: Labyrinths at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2010). Until 25 Feb reginagallery.com

On the 10th December 1948, UNESCO adopted the Universal declaration on Human Genome and Human Rights. On the occasion of its anniversary Russian photographer Alena Nikiforova opened her exhibition dedicated to the Moscow Metro, as part of the large-scale UNESCO project in Paris.

Photography

) ) and Conditions for taking photos on the Tube, according to which the written permission for this activity is not required if the photography is conducted % explain this to the police! Alena Nikiforova, the author of the project “Moscow Metro� says: “The

# # # desperate attempt to get rid of any thoughts that the police will approach me and then, make me explain and prove that I have the # ( / It happened to us on the # ( afterwards, we were armed & / the copy of the law, which worked in a magic way. Sometimes the policemen were even hiding behind the pillars, so as not to appear accidentally in any pictures�.

AMAZING MOSCOW UNDERGROUND 24

To do a photo shoot without sunlight and lighting is perhaps the worst thing that can happen for a photographer. However, Alena has brilliantly! Photographer: Alena Nikiforova alenanikiforova.com Stylist: Looiza Potapova

Photography

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Guide

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration 8 Feb -22 Apr

Boris Pasternak: The Family Correspondence 21 Feb

Peeping Through the Iron Curtain 29 Feb

A talk by Nicolas Pasternak Slater. In 1921 Boris Pasternak’s parents and his two sisters left Soviet Russia for Germany; in 1936-8 they moved to England to escape fascist persecution. For almost forty years, until Boris’s death in 1960, he kept up an intense, intimate correspondence with his family abroad, and this has now been translated by his nephew Nicolas Pasternak Slater.

Travellers’ accounts of the Soviet Union and Russia during and after the Cold War by Professor Chris Read. From the sixteenth century the British imagination has been stirred by travellers’ accounts of their visits to Russia. Even so, for successive generations, Russia has remained mysterious, supposedly impenetrable and unknown.

Tickets: ÂŁ7, conc. ÂŁ5 Address: 5A Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA Contacts: 020 7269 977 pushkinhouse.org

Tickets: ÂŁ5 Address: 5A Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA, Pushkin house Contacts: 020 7269 977, pushkinhouse.org

Sense the City Photography Project Until 18 March Some 50 images shortlisted for the Sense the City Flickr photography project, for which people were invited to submit photographs that capture the hustle and bustle of the capital and activities that help make London thrive. Tickets: ÂŁ13.50, concs ÂŁ10. Address: London Transport Museum, Covent Garden Piazza, London, WC2E 7BB Contacts: 020 7379 6344 ltmuseum.co.uk 26

The Queen was a teenage princess when photographer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) and his portraits over the following decades show her changing role as a mother and monarch. To mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, around 100 of these images are on display, alongside Beaton's diary entries and letters, press cuttings and # Featuring formal shots # as well as more casual photos featuring the Queen with her children, the show examines the relationship between the pair. It also looks at the extent to which Beaton controlled the use of his photographs and how they were selected by the Palace. Tickets: ÂŁ6 Address: V&A, Cromwell Rd, London, SW7 2RL Contacts: 08445 791940 vam.ac.uk

Guide

Into the Grimm Forest 28 Feb Unicorn Theatre and Crick Crack Club present a season of productions inspired by the tales of the Brothers Grimm. 'The Three Snake-Leaves' by the Company of Storytellers; 'Grimms' Sheesha', exploring how Europe from the East via the mouths of merchants and travellers; 'Grim Grimms: Three Drops of Blood', exploring the darker side of the Grimms; 'A Year in the Forest', a journey through the seasons. Tickets: ÂŁ7-ÂŁ10 Address: Unicorn Theatre, Tooley St, London, SE1 2HZ Contacts: 020 7645 0560 unicorntheatre.com

Horniman Museum Aquarium Until 29 Feb

Jack the Ripper Tour London Until 31 March

The Horniman's aquarium enables * lurking in British ponds, get up close with exotic creatures including sea horses and study the Amazonian rainforest. Among the inhabitants is Anableps anableps, * ] * due to its eyes that are adapted to allow vision above and below water simultaneously. Tickets: ÂŁ13-16 yearolds; ÂŁ5 family ticket ÂŁ6 annual pass; ÂŁ15 annual family pass Address: Horniman Museum, 100 London Rd, London, SE23 3PQ Contacts: 08445 791940 horniman.ac.uk 27

Move It 2012 8- 11 March

Is it possible for anyone to forget the terror produced by the detestable but wellknown serial killer, Jack the Ripper in the late 19th century? Jack the Ripper Tour London is a weird and eccentric tour unfolding the world's most horrible murder mystery and also the only Jack the Ripper Walk displaying original Victorian Photos of the avenues, murder sites and star-crossed victims as they were in 1888.

Move It 2012 in London Olympia is a major dancing exhibition in the UK. With several dance competitions and classes, Move It in London Olympia is set to impress. Bursting with many dance industry professionals, it will feature a plethora of dance courses, dance styles, dance fashion shows and every other aspect of the substantial dancing industry.

Tickets: ÂŁ8.00 Address: Outside exit four of Aldgate East Underground Station Contacts: 020 8530 8443, 07946 854571

Tickets: Various Address: Olympia Grand Hall, Hammersmith Road, London, W14 8UX Contacts: 020 7288 6125 moveitdance.co.uk

Style

RUSSIAN FASHION SPECTACULAR AT

V&A ‡

Maroussia Zaitseva – up-coming star of Russian design and grand-daughter of famous Vyacheslav Zaitsev. Natasha Zinko (Abrakadabra UK) – Londonbased Russian designer in demand for her popular jewellery designs.

Celebrities and top Russian designers bring Moscow style to the V&A during London Fashion Week as part of Russian Maslenitsa Festival, which is marked this year by a special week-long programme of events across London.

‡

The show presents both established and up and coming Russian design talents and labels:

) ( (

# ] guests, including world-renowned fashion designers David Koma and Elizabeth Emmanuel, = ¤ 5 ] 5 Arshavin, Nancy dell’Ollio and jewellery designer Stephen Webster.

‡

Olga Roh (Rohmir UK) - descended from Russian nobility, her popular savoir-vivre designs have been worn by the likes of Liv Tyler and featured in OK Magazine. Natalia Kolykhalova – an ex-graduate from Central St. Martin’s College and one of Russia’s most exciting young design talents, with several catwalk shows under her belt, including Moscow Fashion Week and Volvo Fashion week. Alexandra Kazakova –one of the leading Moscow designers for the younger generation with her trendy, bright concepts mixed with a strong traditional Russian vibe. Ksenia Magel - made her name at the “Mrs Moscovia 2011� festival competition.

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The fashion show is part of London’s Maslenitsa Festival, the biggest celebration of Russian culture outside the country itself, which offers work by many acclaimed dance, theatre, pop and jazz artists, as well as traditional delicacies and collectables.

‡

The Russian Fashion show starts at 7.30pm on the 22 February, at Raphael Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum. maslenitsa.co.uk rustyleltd.com

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Style

BY MAROUSSIA ZAITSEVA

BY KSENIA MAGEL

BY OLGA ROH (ROHMIR UK) 29

READ IN THE NEXT ISSUE: “CITIZEN POET” IN LONDON: HOT NEWS COMMENT

MAXIM POKROVSKY: 20 YEARS ON THE STAGE

DESIGNS OF THE YEAR 2012

ALEKSEY CHIZHOV: LES PARADIS NATURELS

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