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A Business Report from The Economic Times. In association with Rossiyskaya Gazeta
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Remembering the Great Victory This May marks the 65th anniversary of end of WWII
Terror detectors to the rescue
REPORT BANGALORE
itar-tass
Russia India
...Marching towards a common future
●
New Delhi
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Wednesday, APRIL 28, 2010
Exploration American astronauts are hitching a ride with the Soyuz space programme BRICs Keen to strengthen the economic framework of the multipolar world
New space race hots up
Rebuilding the world order The second BRIC summit ended in Brasilia with a clarion call for “a new international order” to accommodate the aspirations of rising powers in international decision-making structures.
over issues of international governance, the summit pitched for including India and Brazil in an expanded UN Security Council. Iceland’s volcanic ash and an earthquake in China’s Qinghai province may have threatened to overshadow the Brasilia summit, but that did not come Manish Chand specially for RIR in the way of a striking convergence of views among the leadThe leaders of the four top ers of fastest-growing emerging emerging economies, whose economies. Indian Prime Minshare in global economic devel- ister Manmohan Singh, Rusopment has exceeded 50 pc, in sian President Dmitry MedveRussian President Dmitry Med- dev, Chinese President Hu vedev’s words, pushed hard for Jintao and Brazilian President reforms of the UN and Bretton Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held Woods institutions and af- wide-ranging talks at Itamarfirmed the centrality of G20 as aty Palace, the imposing seat of “the premier economic forum” the Brazilian foreign ministry. to navigate the post-crisis recovery period.Acting in concert continued on PAGE 2
itar-tass
Hot issue US strategy in Afghanistan creates more drug addicts in Russia
A new space race is on as the balance of power shifts. The US and Russia are competing as well as cooperating as emerging powers like India and China join the fray… Kevin O’Flynn
Specially for RIR
On April 2, the Soyuz TMA-18 lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying two Russians and one American to the International Space Station. Circling the planet, the crew will engage in intense cooperation, blithely indifferent to shifting power play on the ground.
Russian-American space cooperation has increased recently. But it’s becoming clear that Russia will fuel space exploration once again, while the US will increasingly rely on Moscow to take its astronauts into space. Nasa has long spent more money on more programmes than Russia’s space agency. But President Barack Obama has dampened Nasa’s dreams of returning to the moon. At the same time, the Russian space industry is once more feeling the warm glow of state backing. There has been concerted investment in recent years, an investment that fits in
well with the Putin doctrine of trying to restore Russian pride through capacity. The Russian government has increased spending on the space industry by 40 pc for each of the past five years, spending just under $2.8 bn in 2009, Euroconsult reported. “It’s like night and day,” said Igor Lissov, editor of Novosti Kosmonavtiki (Cosmonautics News), comparing funding today with funding in the penurious Nineties. Putin launched an initial $10 bn programme for the space industry between 2006 and 2015. When Putin congratulated space industry workers in 2008
on Cosmonauts’ Day, he called on them to pursue“really ambitious projects”. The US Constellation humanflight programme was designed, according to President George W. Bush, to “establish an extended human presence on the moon”that would then lead to flights to Mars. Obama cut it from the 2011 budget as the financial crisis snowballed and programme expenditure soared. The government said that though Nasa has already spent $9 bn on it, the programme is“fundamentally unexecutable”. continued on PAGE 4
Declaring war against Afghan drug There are tens of thousands of drug-related deaths in Russia each year. Getting on top of the heroin problem means going back to the source in Afghanistan. Anna Nemtsova
Newsweek correspondent
Twenty years ago, not many in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s fourth largest city famous for Volga car and 900-year-old traditional architecture, had even heard of heroin. If people wanted a little indulgence,
they turned to vodka. Now that period of innocence has ended as Nizhny, just as every other Russian city, has been swamped by the heroin tsunami that streams in from across the border from poppy fields in Afghanistan. To get a sense of ravages wrought by heroin addiction, go and look at the staircases in the GAZ factory district, where unemployment is soaring and you will find them covered with syringes. continued on PAGE 3
02
Politics
bookmarks
Russia india report
in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_APRIL 28_2010
www2.goldmansachs.com Goldman Sachs website www.skolkovo.ru Skolkovo Institute for Emerging Market Studies en.rian.ru/business RIA Novosti newswire
Rebuilding the world order The Indian economist-turnedprime minister also made a vigorous case for a "multipolar, equitable, democratic and just world order" at the day long BRIC summit, which was advanced by a day as Hu Jintao had to cut short his trip due a massive earthquake in China. “Brazil, Russia, India and China have a fundamental role to play in building that new international order that is fairer, more representative and safer,” said Lula, the host of the second BRIC summit. Medvedev said the meeting showed that the BRIC format is maturing “and allows us to not only coordinate our efforts, but also make concrete decisions". The joint declaration reflected this unanimity of views and stressed the group's intent to see a "multipolar, equitable and democratic world order", a formulation that is set to worry the US as it views groupings like BRIC, which challenges Western hegemony with suspicion. Seizing the initiative, the BRIC declaration called for“a comprehensive reform of the UN, with a view to making it more effective, efficient and representative” and asked the G-20 to be proactive and formulate a coherent strategy for the post-crisis period. Reforming the architecture of international financial governance, including the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions,
BRICs have a fundamental role to play in building a new international order that is fairer, more representative and safer.
the IMF and the World Bank, figured prominently in the declaration, a point stressed by Medvedev in an article ahead of the summit.“BRIC countries will be pushing for a successful accomplishment of the long overdue reforms of the Bretton Woods system now underway,” wrote Medvedev. The leaders of BRIC countries, which account for 20 pc of global GDP, focused a large part of their discussions on setting the pace and direction of global economic recovery.
Manmohan Singh, on his part, cautioned the world against complacency and pitched for closer collaboration in interests of long-term recovery. The four leaders also decided to scale up economic cooperation across areas like food and energy security and underlined the importance of maintaining relative stability of major reserve currencies and sustainability of fiscal policies in order to achieve a strong, long-term balanced economic growth.
Putting developmental aspirations of common people at the heart of their quadrilateral engagement, the BRIC summit, which was preceded by meetings of finance and agriculture ministers, governors of Central Banks and a Business Forum, also decided to scale up cooperation in areas ranging from science and technology, food and energy security to trade and investment, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure. Some Western commentators have tended to decry the BRIC
as just another talk shop, but the first two summits have proved critics wrong with tangible achievements in the direction of the diffusion of power.The collective approach has helped BRIC to force a redistribution of 5 pc of voting shares in the IMF and 3 pc in the World Bank in favour of emerging and developing countries at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh last year. While an ambitious plan to replace the powerful US dollar with IMF’s SDRs, a pet theme
dmitriy astakhov_ria novosti
continued from page 1
at the Yekaterinburg summit, has been dragging; the BRIC countries have decided to use more of their own currencies in mutual trade and investment transactions. These declarations serve as pressure tactics on the world’s status quoits powers. The possibility of abandoning the US dollar was an attempt to put pressure on the world's leading powers, says EvgenyYasin, head of research at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. “The four BRIC countries are developing a powerful and compelling critique of the current world order that resonates with people outside of the West, a critique coupled with fresh ideas for a new system of global economic and political governance,” writes Andrej Krickovic, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and Adrian Pabst, a lecturer in politics at the University of Kent. The two are part of an international project on BRIC 2025, a study of future scenarios for global politics from the perspective of the BRICs. From New Delhi’s point of view, the endorsement by the BRIC communiqué for a greater role for India and Brazil in the UN has galvanised the stalled drive for expansion of the UN Security Council and finding permanent seats in the council for the emerging powers. "BRIC countries are uniquely placed to contribute to reforming the architecture of global governance," said Manmohan Singh, encapsulating the emergence of BRIC as a formidable bloc in a multipolar world.
Terror detectors to the rescue
rossiyskaya gazeta
What can science do to tackle terror problems? ? I must say, first of all, that technical methods alone will not guarantee safety against terror attacks. A broader approach is needed, with a focus on detecting and eliminating the underlying causes of the terror threat. Our counter-terror efforts will be in vain as long as the breeding grounds remain for the“reproduction of the dissatisfied” who support national and religious extremism. Another important aspect is to run ahead of time. Our goal was to ensure that under no circumstances should nuclear and radioactive materials fall into the
Nikolai Laverov, VP of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
hands of terrorists, as well as poisonous substances, chemical and biological weapons. So far, we have been spared in this respect. We can’t do without international cooperation today as terrorists from different countries are sharing methods with each other.We have agreements with
the US National Academy of Sciences and the NATO Scientific Committee. We hold joint seminars and conferences with US special services, publishing joint reports.The level of confidence in such issues is quite high. I cannot say that everything is disclosed; this will never be. Personally, I was persuaded by American colleagues that identification is one of the most effective means of protecting society against terror. I cannot see anything else close in scale and efficiency. For example, personal cards with chips are very convenient, allowing their holders to board a plane, take a metro, pay in shops. And everything gets registered.
It becomes easier to watch suspicious people… Exactly.The American authorities are prepared to produce 300 mn such cards for their citizens. In this respect, the US is
doing a huge job, and we are far behind. It is not about international passports with biometric data, though these are important, too.What really matters is that each person must have a personal card with an individual chip.
Do you support proposals for total fingerprinting of Russians? I support it. It does not breach any personal liberties.This is an artificial problem, because at stake is the protection of other people, not you yourself, but your neighbours, countrymen, and those who work beside you. What about CCTV cameras? I think they are not very helpful. They are needed to capture events and people, but are not instrumental in preventing terror attacks. Much more effective will be a full identification of all movements and actions of
ria novosti
Alexander Emelyanenkov
vladimir fedorenko_ria novosti
What can society and science do to combat terror? RIR spoke to eminent academic Nikolai Laverov, for his views on this burning question of our terror-ridden time.
The twin suicide bombings in the Moscow metro on March 29 killed 40 commuters and injured 121.
people, including ticket purchases.
Is it true that new “undressing” scanners appear in our airports, and some new detectors that we don’t even know about? You made the correct remark: it is not just unreasonable but simply dangerous to disclose such information. But I will
mention one thing. We addressed the problem of control over the movement of nuclear and radioactive materials and proceeded to see our technical solutions implemented in practice.You can be absolutely certain, for instance, that no radioactive materials will be smuggled through the Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.
bookmarks
english.ruvr.ru Information from the Voice of Russia www.mid.ru Russia’s Foreign Ministry www.memo.ru/eng/memhrc/index.shtml Human Rights Watch
Politics
Russia india report in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_APRIL 28_2010
03
afp
mikhail galustov
Declaring war against Afghan drug
Afghan farmers cultivate poppy fields in the country’s Kandahar Valley. Afghanistan is the major source of heroin and other illegal narcotics flowing into Russia. continued from PAGE 1
Ask at Moskovskiy railway station, you will be surprised how quickly you can get a shot of heroine for $2.5, a cheaper pleasure than a bottle of vodka. The statistics are indeed chilling: around 30,000 people in Russia died of heroin overdose last year; the authorities link another 100,000 deaths to drug-related complications. “Afghan drug traffic is like a tsunami wave constantly breaking over Russia - we are sinking in it,” says Victor Ivanov, Director of Russia’s Federal Service for the Control of Narcotics. Little plastic bags with white powder travel across Central Asia in a thousand ingenious ways: smugglers sneak them inside young onions or cabbages and let the vegetable grow around them. Or they come in handbags of passengers, spreading pain, disease and death along the way. To stop Russia from becoming the world’s biggest consumer of Afghan heroin, Ivanov, the country’s top counter-narcotics official, is determined to root out this curse by attacking it at its root in Afghanistan.
Russia’s anti-drug drive in Afghanistan has, however, brought it into conflict with the Obama administration, which ended a military drive of destroying poppy crops as they thought it was alienating farmers and driving them to support the Taliban. Ivanov has often accused the Nato of not doing enough to curb the production of heroin in Afghanistan. Perceptions may differ, but clearly it is Russia, not the US, that is paying a heavy price. According to Ivanov, at least 120,000 drug users and dealers were sentenced to jail last year, filling Russia’s already crowded prisons. “We have beaten Guinness’records; even in China, they put in jail 60,000 drug criminals. It is useless to fight the problem just on this territory,”he says grimly. In early March, Ivanov, called the Russian Drug Czar in the West, flew to Kabul with a group of journalists on a mission to declare as loudly as possible that Russia is returning to Afghanistan to fight again. This time round, he stressed, it will be against drugs. A Russian role in Afghanistan became important last summer, when Russian President
Drug addicts smoke hashish in an abandoned building in Kandahar.
During the Nato presence in Afghanistan, drug production has increased by 40 times
Some Nato countries share Russia’s anxiety about the perils of unchecked production of poppy
Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama formed a presidential team to cooperate on a number of themes, the anti-drug campaign being one of them. Subsequently, Ivanov met his American counterpart, Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and this became the channel for Russia's expanded role in Afghanistan. Together, they agreed that considering Russia’s unique experience and knowledge of the country, Russia would help find drug dealers and landlords growing poppies in Afghanistan. Despite initial dissonance on the issue, the two sides have common interests in stamping out poppy production: opium proceeds are funding Islamic insurgency not only in Central Asian countries and in Russia’s North Caucasus, but also in Afghanistan itself.
In Kabul, Ivanov had a flurry of meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, VicePresident Karim Halili, and officials of the UN and NATO. In all his meetings, his message was sharp and clear: Russia was coming back to help Afghanistan reconstruct some of 140 important sites, including the Naglu power station, Salang tunnel, factories and highways. Russian ambassador in Kabul Andrei Avetisyan confirmed the Russian state’s intention to replace House of Science and Culture, ruined by Taliban’s shrapnel and currently populated with homeless heroin users, with a children’s surgical hospital on the site. Let children’s hospital become the symbol for RussiaAfghanistan relations, the envoy said. The humanitarian reconstruction effort was animated by an urgent mission to shield Russians from the curse of Af-
ghan-origin drugs.“In this respect, the information we are going to provide is priceless,” Ivanov said at a meeting of a non-official international anti-drug council in Kabul. He suggested that the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) should use chemicals to eliminate poppy plantations in Afghanistan by at least 20 pc, and not by less than 4 pc as it happened last year. But his suggestions were resented by the UN and NATO officials who argued erroneously that it was up to Afghanistan’s elected leaders to decide whether to take jobs away from opium farmers or not. This argument riled Ivanov no end. As he flew back to Moscow, he vented out his frustration: “I hear the same cliches again and again. In eight years of the NATO’s presence in Afghanistan, the volume of drug production has increased by 40 times.”Ivanov was unsparing in his indictment.“And the declared purpose for the NATO presence in Afghanistan does not come any closer, but on the contrary, is moving further away from stability.” Ivanov, however, pointed out that some NATO countries like Italy, France and Germany
shared Russia’s growing anxiety about the perils of unchecked production of poppy. They do treat drug traffic very seriously, Ivanov said. While politicians and military commanders try to thrash out their differences, back in Nizhny Novgorod thousands of heroin addicts continue to suffer. The scene is harrowing. Methadone is not used, and in older clinics, patients are sometimes chained, screaming, to a bed in the first days of withdrawal. About 80 patients came for treatment at the Exit rehab center, a chain of eight residential clinics in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, in the barley fields and birch forests of the Russian countryside. After suffering through the worst days of pain, Exit’s patients help each other learn how to handle daily chores and recover from psychological dependence. They chop firewood, cook their own meals and pray together with their priest, a former addict, Denis Zorin. Heroin is the world’s evil, says the priest. “It is comparable to a chemical weapon, capable of destroying our society quietly without much noise.”
04
Cooperation
bookmarks
Russia india report
in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_APRIL 28_2010
www.russianspaceweb.com News and history of astronautics in the USSR www.esa.in The European Space Agency (ESA) www.isro.org Indian Space Research Organisation
THE numbers
33
was Russia’s record number of space launches, achieved in 2009 - 43 pc of all launches carried out in the world. In 2010–2011, Roscosmos plans 43 launches.
exploration A new space odyssey is on. The stakes are high as emerging powers India and China vie for a
4th
place occupi world’s table on space ($2 the USA spe European Sp $5.3 bn, Chin
share of the pie with Russia and the US
continued FROM PAGE 1
www.nasa.gov
Instead, the US will look to private companies to invest in future spacecraft. In the meantime, US astronauts will hitch a lift on Russian spacecraft, a move that has Nasa supporters crying foul. Russian academic Yury Zaitsev told Interfax news agency that he thought the US would be dependent on Russia to transport its astronauts until at least 2020.“In order to bring a craft to the standards of quality and safety for a piloted flight, you need years and years,”he commented. Nasa has signed a $335 mn contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) for US astronauts to fly to the ISS in 2012. The new spirit of cooperation is a far cry from the start of the space race in the Cold War era when space conquests of the USSR pushed the US to greater feats in space,
such as the first man on the moon in 1969. As Russia braces to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s first flight on Cosmonauts’ Day on April 12 in 2011, the year of the Russian cosmonaut, Moscow however, must rethink its priorities, saysValery Kabusov, a former deputy head of Energiya, Russia’s rocket and space corporation. And while both countries feel they are the frontrunners, their dominance may well be challenged in the next decade by India and China as they ramp up funding of their own programmes. The Chinese launched for the third time its Shenzhou VII spacecraft and also their first spacewalk in 2008, while India is planning a manned flight by 2014. Some astronauts and cosmonauts find nationalist rivalries distracting.
Soyuz TMA-2 after landing.
Telecommunications in Russia: state and development trends
Wouldn’t it be better if all space-exploring countries got together to send a human-flight to Mars? “I have thought all my life that a flight to Mars is a great opportunity for humankind to move forward,”says Alexander Serebrov, who flew into space three times for the Soviet Union and once for Russia.“It has to be done through international cooperation.” Meanwhile, the Russian government has this year set aside 500m roubles ($17.2 mn) for the development of nuclear-powered spacecraft, which could be used“for long-distance missions to the moon and Mars”, explains Anatoly Perminov, head of Russia’s Space Agency, which is hoping that the new engines will be ready for use “within nine years”. Vitaly Lopota, head of the Energiya corporation, added that “the solar system could only be conquered on the basis of nuclear energy”. Between 1970 and 1988, the Soviet Union sent 32 crafts into orbit that had thermo-electric nuclear-powered engines. But nuclear-powered spacecraft was outlawed by a series of international treaties in the Eighties due to fears of their potential collapse. Russian space officials now hope the treaties can be re-examined amid global plans for more long-distance space missions. Lopota assures that nuclear spacecraft would not be sent“to orbits from which they could fall to the earth”.
ria novosti
New space race hots up Maxim Suraev is the first-ever Russian to blog online from orbit. You can read his blog on the Roscosmos' website
Marching hand in hand in outer space After talks between their prime ministers on March 12, Russia and India announced a joint space mission by 2013.“Our Indian partners have asked us to launch two spaceships with two cosmonauts,” said Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, also in-charge of space affairs. The mission was earlier scheduled for 2015, but the talks fasttracked the plan.“Roskosmos said it would walk the extra mile and do the job by 2013,”he said. An agreement is being prepared whereby Russian space corporation Energia will build a manned Soyuz spacecraft with a modified instrument section that can accommodate Indian equipment, a Roskosmos representative said. A Russian cosmonaut will serve as flight commander and will be accompanied by two Indian cosmonauts. Russia will train the Indian cosmonauts on how
to work inside the spaceship, how to conduct research activities and what to do in an unscripted situation or in the event of an emergency landing. Roskosmos stressed that there are no plans for the spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. The second manned flight, scheduled for 2015, is expected to be piloted by an Indian cosmonaut. It will, however, require a separate agreement. “Russia will provide elements of vital systems to be integrated by Indian experts,”Roskosmos officials said.The 2015 mission will not use the Soyuz, but a lighter carrier to be designed and built by Russia.“Talks are underway with the Indians, who are explaining the technical parameters, what kind of spacecraft they need and how they will eventually manage to launch it,” Energia reported. “We will start building as soon
as the talks are completed,”the company said. Besides a joint space mission, Moscow and New Delhi have also inked a slew of pacts on the use of satellite systems. One agreement will create a joint venture for the production of navigation equipment that receives GLONASS signals for civilian users. A working group set up to implement the document includes Roskosmos representatives, the company Navigation-Information Systems (NIS), which is the GLONASS operator, and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Russian-Indian JV will develop infrastructure and provide navigation services in India, organise joint production of telematic terminals and personal navigation equipment based on GLONASS/GPS/ IRNSS. continued ON PAGE 5
in@rbth.ru
in.rbth.ru/letters
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Cooperation
Russia india report
www.roscosmos.ru Russian Federal Space Agency www.energia.ru/english OAO Rocket and Space Corporation Energia after S.P. Korolev www.khrunichev.ru Russian Khrunichev Space Center
in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_APRIL 28_2010
05
Plans Imagine heading to Mars for your next holiday. Sounds fantastic?
$17 mn
is the amount allocated by Russia this year to the development of nuclear-powered spacecraft for longdistance missions to the Moon and Mars.
To the Moon and back
$335 mn
is the value of a contract between Roscosmos and NASA to deliver American astronauts to the International Space Station in 2013 and 2014.
Russia designs a new spaceship that will allow more space tourists to accompany cosmonauts on their missions. Vitaly Lopota, the head of Energiya space corporation, talks about its dream ride to Mars and Moon.
vladimir fedorenko_ria novosti
pies Russia in the e of spending 2.8 bn). In 2009, ent $18.8 bn, the pace Agency na - $3.1 bn.
tached and soft land on the lunar surface. The mobile lab “India is a priority market for will move over the Moon’s surRussia and a strategic partner face collecting and studying in the joint development of nav- rock samples. The landing site igation technologies,”says Al- will be determined with the exander Gurko, director gener- help of pictures recovered by al of NIS.“This is a long-term, Chandrayaan-1, which in ten mutually beneficial coopera- months of operation transmittion in the navigation sphere,” ted huge amounts of scientific he said.The project is estimated data, which will be used in preto cost $1.5 bn. paring a 3D Moon atlas. Russia and India continue to co- India is also cooperating with operate on the Chandrayaan-2 Roskosmos on its first manned project. Unlike its predecessor, space flight project. A threethe Chandrayaan-1 satellite, seater spacecraft is planned to which is now in a 200 kilometre be launched in 2016 from the lunar orbit, the new probe will national launching site on Sriconsist of two modules, an orbit- harikota Island by an updated er and a lander, which will de- Indian GSLV-Mk2 rocket. liver a mobile lab to the lunar Russia will also help India surface. Under a bilateral pact, launch its GSLV carrier rocket. the Russian research and pro- The last attempt to launch the duction company Lavochkin is carrier atop an Indian booster building the landing module for rocket failed, so subsequent the future space voyager, a mod- launches will use the 12 KRB ern version of the famous Soviet oxygen-hydrogen block built at Lunokhod (Moonrover). the Khrunichev Center under Chandrayaan-2 is expected to an agreement with ISRO, which be launched towards the Moon are tailored to the GSLV. Alexandra Prokopenko in 2012. After reaching orbit, ITAR-TASS the landing module will be decontinued FROM PAGE 4
Are we going to have more space tourists in the future? If there is anyone who wishes so, we are ready to take tourists, too. As of today, however, the technical and technological capacity we have at the corporation would allow four spacecraft with three passengers on each. If there are people ready to pay tens of millions of dollars for a space flight, we will not refuse them – instead they will be welcomed. However, outer space is a zone only for professionals to work in, considering the G force at launch and landing, and a weightlessness work environment for long periods. All that requires good training – at least five years of constant training.The cost of putting a one-kilogram payload into orbit already exceeds $30,000. Just think of it. It includes the cost of fuel, of the spacecraft structure, spacesuits, life-support systems, heating rates, etc. Before, the cost used to be about $20,000. Now it’s actually oneand-a-half to two times more. We know that the spaceship is going to be a multi-purpose one, and that it can be used more than once, and we also heard it will be capable of taking people to the Moon, is that so? Yes, the new spaceship will be capable of flying to the Moon.
Vitaly Lopota, director of the Energiya space corporation As you mention, soft-landing engines can be used, but what do you do when the fuel is spent. There is none on the Moon. And it would require a lot of effort to find fuel on the Moon.
Obama has decided to stop financing the United States’ Moon program. How is Russia doing in that respect? This has been discussed in the past several years, in that we have plans that are different from the Americans.The Moon has never been a target for us. In terms of getting more knowledge, we are more interested in planets like Mars, or Jupiter for instance. There we could study processes of space substance formation, which would widen our horizon. What about Mars? Yes, we do have plans for Mars. First of all, each human being,
From what we have heard and read, Energiya is now working on a super satellite that can also be usedformilitarypurposes. What can you say about that?
boris kvashkin_itar-tass
www.nasa.gov (2)
The Energiya corporation has announced that it is going to build a spacecraft for six people. What kind of a spaceship is it going to be? It is going to be slightly heavier due to the bigger volume, but also more spacious.The acceleration force will be slightly less, because the light property will be better, perhaps two-fold. At this point the concept of the spacecraft is clear to us, and we are working to refine it. According to the Russian Federal Space Agency, the first unmanned test flight will be carried out in 2015. The first manned flight is scheduled for 2018.
in order to be able to live 24 hours in outer space, needs to spend ten kilograms. It takes eight and a half months to get to Mars. Same duration back. There must be at least four crew members. That means 40 kg a day. Eight and half months one way, eight and a half months back makes 17 months. Add one month to be spent there to work. As a result, the payload amounts to more than 20 tonnes, required to provide life support. Not just a spacecraft, but a whole expedition complex. It is easier to fly to the Moon, fly around it and return; this would only require one spacecraft.We can train ourselves on our way to Mars. And we must take into account that it is not all that simple there, Mars has an atmosphere, too. It is quite different. And nobody is waiting for us there. We must surface very carefully. As for me, I would not surface at the first stage at all, but would just work in orbit and monitor the atmosphere dynamics and see what the Martian storms are about. Now we have been actively developing the idea of creating a module based on nuclear technology – a nuclear reactor, electric-driven propulsion, which enables effective movement through space.
I mean that by using nuclear technology, we could create special-purpose craft that would provide life support for Earth. Our Earth and the Solar System is unique for its combination of the planetary scheme in which the Earth is in a protected state, because Jupiter protects Earth with its mass. Our life here on Earth is relatively calm.You may have read that from time to time that something has crashed into Earth – space bodies that might seriously damage our planet. So, in order to get ourselves protected and be more efficient, we need such powerful energy systems. However, this is only possible in the far future.
So, this thing will not shoot from space, will it? The news has been exaggerated.Yes, theoretically if one really wants this, this can be done. However, you should bear in mind that nuclear technology placed into a near-earth orbit is a rather dangerous thing. It is perhaps possible to form some weaponry based on nuclear technology. So a weapon like that would be possible to make, but I think humanity is now learning how to live in comfort. Mr. Lopota, we heard that one well-known space tour agency wanted you to build a special spaceship for tourists. Did you accept the offer? We have been constantly negotiating this with more than one firm who try to commission such craft specially designed for tourists. Let me tell you that we will not address the question for several years, because we have the ISS under construction. Our US colleagues have succeeded in forming their segment. Russia is supposed to form its segment by 2015 and operate it efficiently upto 2020. As for resources for tourists, there are practically none. Does that mean we can start booking tickets for 2018? That's right.
The first manned flight on the new spacecraft is scheduled for 2018.
This interview was conducted by a Russian TV channel.
06
Opinion
bookmarks
Russia india report
in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_APRIL 28_2010
India and Russia: STRATEGIES OF COOPERATION Kanwal Sibal
Former foreign secretary of India
F
or India, Russia’s resurgence will create a greater balance in global affairs. Russia’s decline has facilitated China’s rise, which is against India’s strategic interests. The consequence of American/European policies to strategically contain Russia through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and European Union expansion into former Soviet space has led to the strengthening of a formidable rival to their own power in an increasingly assertive, nationalist, militarily stronger and demographically huge China. A potential United States of America-China diarchy would be at the expense of large and autonomous countries like India and Russia. However, Russia’s strategic thinking about China is not quite clear. At one level, it appears that Russia has drawn closer to China strategically in order to counter Western pressures. It has been arming China. Russia-China energy deals, while making good commercial sense, have a strategic implication and contrast with Russia’s failure to respond to pressing Indian demands to participate in energy projects beyond Sakhalin-1. Russia’s promotion of the trilateral RIC (Russia, India, China) and the quadrilateral BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) dialogues suggest efforts to form diverse partnerships with China to resist Western domination. The RussiaChina cooperation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, coupled with the denial of full membership to India, limits our engagement with Central Asia. India and Russia do not have a common vision of China. It is unlikely that they will be able to develop one on the essentials even as both countries continue to engage China, as they should. Japan’s economic stature has declined; China looms large in its neighbourhood, eroding its self-confidence and reinforcing in practical terms its reliance on the US for its defence even as the developing US-China relationship makes that arrangement more uncertain. Japan should have a reason to deepen its strategic ties with India; some steps are being taken in this direction, but Japan has to be clearer in its thinking and choices. Russia-Japan differences on the Kurile islands ex-
clude any trilateral understanding involving India on jointly addressing emerging threats. In developing a stronger IndiaRussia partnership in a multipolar environment, India’s transformed ties with the US would be a factor. These are bound to deepen economically, even if politically they might be accident-prone, given the US’s uncongenial policies in our neighbourhood. The modern sectors of the Indian economy and its most dynamic players are tied to US/Western markets, whereas India-Russia economic ties remain limited.Their rapid expansion appears unlikely. China is expanding strategically in India’s neighbourhood. It is entrenched in Pakistan; it has penetrated Myanmar; it is expanding its profile in Nepal and is well installed in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is seeking to put an infrastructure in place to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean. It is the dominant economic player in Central Asia. How does Russia see this reality? If the improved RussiaChina ties would prevent Russia, for larger geo-political and strategic considerations, from engaging India on its China problem, India would need to invest more in the potential of the US-China equation souring at some time and throwing up
further common ground for developing some joint India-USJapan hedging strategies for the future. The latest developments in Afghanistan are very disquieting for India.The US electoral calendar, its financial crisis, the loss of support for the war domestically and from the allies are elements behind the Western exit strategy. The policy of reintegration and reconciliation with theTaliban carries the danger of handing over power to the Taliban eventually and rewarding Pakistan with the strategic depth it wants in Afghanistan.The latter will be rationalised as a way to stabilise Pakistan and use it as an insurance cover against any antiWestern activities by the Taliban. India and Russia should be worried at the strategic depth that the Wahabbist ideology will acquire in the region, threatening Central Asia and India. What could be the joint response of India and Russia? Russia has given additional transit rights to Nato forces through its territory for their operations in Afghanistan, as it sees some advantage to itself in the US combat against extremist forces that could destabilise Central Asia and eventually southern Russia. Internationally, Russia is fo-
cusing on drug trafficking and not on the Taliban. The scope for restoring the understanding between India, Russia and Iran seems less today than in the past because all three countries support the legitimate government of President Hamid Karzai. The Central Asians are not active in Afghan discussions, despite the danger to them of a Taliban takeover. A Russian initiative is needed to chart a hedging strategy involving India, Iran and the Central Asian States. China, though worried by extremist spillover from Afghanistan into Sinkiang, is unlikely to allow any strategy to develop that the Pakistan government is opposed to. Pakistan, in the belief that it is now playing a winning hand in Afghanistan, has stepped up its diplomatic confrontation with India. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is now publicly offering to mediate between the US/ Nato and the Taliban on condition that India’s presence in Afghanistan is rolled back and Pakistan’s need for a soft strategic depth in Afghanistan is accepted as an insurance against the Indian threat. Russia has shown reluctance to wade into India-Pakistan issues publicly. Its statement after the Mumbai terrorist mayhem, expressing concern about the South Asian nuclearised environment, was unhelpful. To sum up: India and Russia are well placed to work together constructively in the emerging multipolar world order. There is no inherent conflict of interest between the two countries. But Russia’s larger strategic needs require an approach towards China that we may not fully subscribe to even as we see the necessity of engaging China ourselves. India’s changed ties with the US and lack of dynamism in IndiaRussia economic ties are factors that would put limits on a common India-Russia global strategy. Russia should facilitate greater Indian involvement in Central Asia. In Afghanistan we have to fashion a common strategy to prevent the return to power of the Taliban. Russia needs to be more open with India on Pakistan, which is the source of serious problems for India and, through its disruptive ambitions in Afghanistan encouraged by the US, to Russia too.
First published in The Telegraph.
www.cdi.org/russia/johnson Johnson’s Russia List www.russiaprofile.org Analysis of business, economic, political and cultural trends en.fondsk.ru Strategic Culture Foundation online magazine
MODERNIsATION challenges forts to improve the economy’s effectiveness and competitiveness. From this point of view, the specially for RIR privatisation that took place in he international financial Russia in the 1990s did not ancrisis has exposed flaws swer efforts to modernise the in the Russian economy: country and as a consequence, its weak diversification promoted stagnation and the and dependence on the export de-industrialisation of the naof raw materials as well as the tional economy. A continuation absence among the elites of clear of this line, begun under former ideas about the choice of a cor- President Boris Yeltsin, could rect algorithm to solve old and lead to Russia’s“dropping out” new problems. It has become ex- of the cohort of future leaders of tremely clear that Russia’s geo- the world economy and threatpolitical aspirations are limited en the country’s unity and terby the country’s socio-econom- ritorial integrity. ic situation and by the lack of The “stubborn” adherence to any“breakthrough”ideas about principles of monetarism in ecohow to get out of this protract- nomic policy has made the couned stagnation. Russia’s political try’s development chaotic and leadership realises the need for will require the introduction of urgent, corrective actions to force elements of planning in the the country’s modernisation: it state’s overall course. At the evidently understands the con- same time, at issue here is not dinection between the“liberal re- rective planning of the “comforms”conducted over the past mand-administrative” type two decades and society’s de- (“planning down to the last industrialisation, threats to Rus- nail”), Luzhkov stresses, but insia’s status as a “great power” dicative, strategic planning, the and its stabilising role in the in- sort of planning that has been ternational system, the need for adopted not only in India, but which has dramatically in- also in developed countries in creased in what Newsweek’s Fa- the East and West. (The author reed Zakaria calls the “postAmerican world”. Russian Prime MinisterVladimir Putin has already dissociated himself from the“liberal par- The experience adigm”.He is apparently behind shows that the “plan” the discussion that has begun in and the “market” United Russia party on choosing the optimal strategy for Russia’s have a complicated future.The first signs of this in- relationship. tellectual activity are already present.Moscow MayorYuri Luzhkov, an influential member of does not mention the Planning United Russia, has published Commission of India, but it two books with telltale titles: seems he is familiar with its Capitalism and Russia: Drop- work.) ping Out of the Future? and Luzhkov has great hopes for Transcapitalism and Russia. BRIC,the virtual union of Brazil, Russia, India and China. A conBoth books merit attention. In a society of“catch-up devel- tinuation of the current“liberal” opment” such as Russia’s, the policy could turn BRIC into BIC, state remains the leading agent warns Luzhkov. That is, Russia of modernisation — both in the could “drop out of the future”. sense of creating conditions for Luzhkov does not discuss such a“normal”market economy and important aspects for Russia as building a“new”scientific and “development”,“reform” and technological structure of eco- “modernisation” in the depth nomics.The“classic”experience and detail they are discussed in of the West, writes Luzhkov, Indian social sciences. The ice, shows that the “plan” and the however, has undoubtedly been “market”have a complicated re- broken and Russia can soon exlationship, while their juxtapo- pect a national discussion on the sition changes depending on the subject of modernisation and a tasks tackled in the process of replacement, at long last, for the historically doomed“liberal parmodernisation. Privatisation is an important adigm”. factor, though not a determinant one in the strategy of de- Dr Andrei Volodin is a profesvelopment.The policy of priva- sor of history with the Institute tisation is effective where and of World Economy and Interwhen it is subordinated to ef- national Relations in Moscow. Andrei Volodin
T
All articles appearing on page 6 do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the editors of Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Russia India Report.
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english.pobediteli.ru A multimedia intenet project on the Second World War in Russia. eng.9may.ru Victory day. A RIA Novosti project on the history of the Great Patriotic war.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA, RUSSIA THE ECONOMIC TIMES WEDNESDAY_APRIL 28_2010
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Remembering the Great Victory 1941 DEFENDING THE CAPITAL
1941-1945: Four years of hardship
The war, which lasted for 1,418 days and nights, began on Soviet territory at 4:00 a.m. on June 22, 1941. By November, the German army had seized the Ukrainian Republic, begun its siege of Leningrad, and threatened the security of Moscow itself. By the end of 1941, however, the German forces had lost their momentum. At the same time the Red Army, after recovering from the initial blow, in December launched its first counterattacks.The defeat of the Nazi troops near Moscow in the end of 1941 was the first major victory of the Soviet army in the war.
This May marks the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. The memory of the war, referred to as the Great Patriotic War, is particularly venerated in Russia. In the USSR, the end of the war was considered to be May 9, 1945, when the German surrender took effect. The date has become a national holiday – Victory Day – and is commemorated in a grand military parade on Red Square. This year, the members of the anti-Hitler coalition - the US, Britain and France – will take part in the parade. The Nazi invasion of the USSR in June 1941 heralded the beginning of the most titanic battle in the history of humanity. The war ended in complete defeat for the Nazi Germany less than four years later with the fall of Berlin on May 9, 1945. Over 26 mn Soviet citizens and soldiers died in the struggle to liberate the Motherland from the fascist aggressors.
EMMANUIL EVZERIKHIN_RIA NOVOSTI
RIA NOVOSTI
BORIS KUGOYAROV_RIA NOVOSTI
1941-44 THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD
After a lull in active hostilities during the winter of 1941- 42, the German army renewed its offensive, scoring a number of victories in the Ukraine,Crimea, and southern Russia in the first half of 1942.Then, in an effort to gain control of the lowerVolga River region, the German forces attempted to capture the city of Stalingrad (present-dayVolgograd). The Stalingrad battle
One of the most harrowing episodes of the Great PatrioticWar was the siege of Leningrad, which lasted 880 days.The capture of Leningrad, the former capital of Russia and the symbolic capital of the Russian Revolution, was one of three strategic goals in the German plan for the Eastern Front. The siege of Leningrad was one of the longest and most destructive sieges
Celebrating victory on the Reichstag's roof in Berlin
RIA NOVOSTI
1943 THE BATTLE OF KURSK
In July and August of 1943, major tank battles of the WW2 took place. The battle of Kursk was the greatest tank battle in history. With nearly 6,000 tanks and 4 mn troops involved, the battle was hard fought, reaching its climax with the pitched battle on 12 July between 700 German and 850 Soviet tanks. After Stalingrad and the battle of Kursk, the Soviet Union held the initiative for the rest of the war. By the end of 1943, the Red Army had broken through the German siege of Leningrad and re c a p t u re d m u ch o f t h e Ukraine. By the end of 1944, the front had moved beyond the 1939 Soviet frontiers into eastern Europe.With a decisive superiority in troops and weaponry, Soviet forces drove into eastern Germany, capturing Berlin in May 1945. The war with Germany thus ended triumphantly for the Soviet Union.
in history and the most costly in terms of casualties.It claimed more victims than the combined losses of the US and Britain in the whole of the Second World War, according to some estimates upto 800,000. During the siege, the daily bread ration for workers was 250 grams, while office workers, dependents and children received half that amount.
The cost of Victory The people of the USSR paid a very high price for victory. According to official figures, total military losses amounted to 11.9 mn people. There were some 13.7 mn civilian victims, 7.4 mn of whom were deliberately exterminated by the occupying power, 2.2 mn perished performing slave labour in Germany and 4.1 mn starved to death during the occupation. The Soviet Union lost a total of 26.6 mn people. During the war, 1,710 cities, more than 70,000 villages and 32,000 factories were destroyed. The total damage amounted to $128 bn. By comparison, the damage sustained by France during the Second World War amounted to $21 bn, and for Poland, $20 bn.
JULIA MAYOROVA_RG
lasted for 199 days, costing an estimated 1.5 mn lives from both sides. Finally, Soviet forces led by General Georgiy K. Zhukov surrounded the German attackers and forced their surrender in February 1943. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad proved decisive; after losing this battle, the Germans lacked the strength to sustain their offensive operations against the Soviet Union.
IVAN SHAGIN_RIA NOVOSTI
1942-43 THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
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Feature
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IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA, RUSSIA THE ECONOMIC TIMES WEDNESDAY_APRIL 28_2010
realyoga.ru/eng Find more information about yoga and yoga enthusiasts in Russia www.russianyogafederation.com Russain Yoga federation
Wellness A renowned philosopher discovered the power of yoga after being wounded in World War II
Yoga craze catches on in Russia FROM PERSONAL ARCHIVES
Once outlawed and dismissed in the Soviet era as voodoo and Eastern mysticism, the Indian practice of yoga has struck a new chord in Russia, thanks to the tireless efforts of Vasily Brodov, forging yet another cultural bridge between India and Russia. EVGENIA LENTS
NEW THEME ON RUSSIAN-INDIAN AFFAIRS
To advertise in this supplement contact Julia Golikova golikova@rg.ru ph. +7 (495) 755 3114
Vasily Brodov, the first chairman of the Yoga Association of the USSR
A native of Moscow (1912), Brodov graduated in philosophy at the Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History in 1938,but he never even dreamed that India would become his life-long passion and even obsession. Being a restless intellectual who participated in "dissident" gatherings, the young professor of philosophy soon earned the ire of the authorities and was consigned to the infamous Gulag prison camps at the start of World War II. Brodov continuously asked to be sent to the front. Subsequently, Brodov, along with other prisoners, was thrown into the front lines in penal battalions. In an artillery unit, Brodov marched from Ukraine to Berlin and miraculously survived. Prison and fierce battles behind him, Brodov thought he was heading for a new start in his life, but he was pushed around from one institution of higher learning to another and was deemed "unreliable". The talented exile, however, managed to become a lecturer at the department of dialectical and historical materialism of the natural sciences division of Moscow State University (1962-1966). It was here that he came to know India and wrote his doctoral thesis, "Progressive social and philosophical thought in India
ALEXANDER VIKULOV_RIA NOVOSTI
Who are yogis? "Indian hermits who can sleep on beds of nails, tie themselves into knots and stand on their heads," -- this is how Russians would have described yogis twenty years ago. But this exotic portrait of yoga and yogis is now passé. Today, yoga spells chic as more and more Russian youth get hooked on to this unique Indian practice of physical and spiritual self-discipline. No trendy fitness club in Moscow or other major cities can do without a yoga instructor and one may even find queues for buying yoga mats at sport shops. Prohibited during the Soviet era, there are at now at least 100,000 people who practice yoga regularly in Moscow and St Petersburg alone, according to the Russian version ofYoga Journal. One of them is the youthful and handsome President Dmitry Medvedev! In an interview to Tainy Zvyozd (Secrets of the Stars) magazine, Medvedev said he can even do a headstand (‘shirshasana’), triggering a surge of enthusiasm among long-time yoga fans and neophytes. Seeing the popularity of yoga in modern Russia, not many will believe that the practitioners and advocates of yoga were once persecuted and even paid for it with their job. And few will remember pioneers like Professor Vasily Brodov, the first chairman of the Yoga Association of the USSR, who braved the wrath of the authorities and popularised this Indian practice with the zeal of a believer.
Prohibited during the Soviet era due to its connection with Hindu religious practices, yoga is becoming more and more popular in Russia
in the New Era (1850 - 1917)". It proved to be a breakthrough not only in Soviet Indology, but was also recognised by German Indologist Walther Ruben as the first systematic research into the history of Indian philosophy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, there was no looking back. In the sixties, he met two outstanding Indians who fired his passion for Indian philosophy and yoga. He met then India’s President S. Radhakrishnan in 1964 at Moscow State University and presented him a copy of "Ancient Indian Philosophy:The Early Period", the first in the series "Philosophical Heritage" comprising translation of the ancient Sanskrit texts of the Upanishads into Russian. In 1966, he helped organise the six-volume "The History of Philosophy", which was published in full version in 1965. Around the same time, Brodov met renowned Indian guru Dhirendra Brahmachari, when he was invited to the USSR to give the cosmonauts lectures and practical lessons in closed
sessions. Interacting with the guru, mastering the asanas and pranayama worked miracles on the former frontline soldier's health. Brodov’s bond with the yoga was sealed, and from this point onwards, he tirelessly promoted what he called the "fruit of the creative genius of the Indian people", even in the face of official disapproval. "Vasily Brodov stood at the epicentre of the struggle for official, albeit indirect, opportunities to study and promote yoga in the USSR," saysViktor Boiko, who now heads the School of ClassicalYoga in Moscow and boasts of many students in Russia and abroad. Boiko, who established a popular yoga website on the Russian language Internet, recalls the writing of "The Teachings of IndianYogis and Human Health in Light of Modern Science" published in "Philosophical Issues in Medicine" in 1962, with the approval of the ideological department of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party. This became the
“A little growth would go a long way to earning Russia little more love...” “It’s about the atmophere of an oasis of recreation with delicious drinks, snacks, comfortable seats, wi-fi...” “My strategy has been to find the funnier side of life in Russia, and it works for me.”
first official publication on yoga since the death of Stalin and under the Soviet system, in general, making it unique, says Boiko. This opened the door to a flood of articles on Indian yogis in authoritative publications. Brodov later co-produced the documentary film“IndianYogis. Who are they?” distributed in the USSR in 1970, which led to an explosion of interest in yoga and in India itself. However, the film had not been approved by the authorities and was shelved for years. "The official line was that yoga, from the point of view of philosophy, is idealism, religion, mysticism, and in practice, it is quackery, hoodoo and acrobatics,”wrote Brodov, adding that senior officials called yoga the “propaganda of idealism and religion". In the early 1970s, a group of scientists and public figures, including Brodov, wrote an open letter to General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev and Chairman of the Council of Ministers
Catch the vibes of Moscow in.rbth.ru/blogs
of the USSR Aleksey Kosygin with a request to legalise yoga and establish a yoga therapy scientific research institute. But the initiative did not make any impact. "However, not all Soviet people shared the opinion and motives that led to the ban," recalled Brodov, during his tenure as the president of the USSRYoga Association, which was established in 1989. "Many people practiced hatha yoga on their own at home and in private. Translations of foreign literature, the so-called samizdat (the secret publication and distribution of governmentbanned literature ed.) served as instructional aids.”Following the perestroika years, yoga health groups started popping up everywhere. “Among the leaders of the groups, the more enlightened and gifted ones became real teachers and gurus." More than any dry thesis, Brodov’s narration of his first-hand experience converted many sceptics to the cause of yoga. He writes: "Yoga is a system of self-regulation and self-improvement of the personality, and here I can refer to my own experience. I returned wounded and ill from the front lines in 1945.The doctor who prescribed my medicine reassured me, 'You've got another 10 or 15 years to live...' Unfortunately, the medicine helped very little.” “Illnesses became more acute: cardiac insufficiency, radiculitis, salt deposits, kidney stones and many others forced me to try hatha yoga. Studying primary sources and consulting with Indian experts helped me master the elements of this physical therapy.” “As a result, all of the ailments that were troubling me disappeared.They disappeared without the aid of doctors or medicine. Today, at 78 years old, I give my heartfelt thanks and deepest respect to the great people of India for giving yoga to humanity." Today, millions of proponents of yoga in Russia would concur. First published in New Theme on Russian-Indian Affairs
This issue has been conceptualised by INTERNATIONAL MEDIA MARKETING, RESPONSE adqueries@ timesgroup.com Co-ordinator: • Feature Mehernosh Gotla (mehernosh.gotla@ timesgroup.com)