May 2010, Russia&India Report by RBTH

Living together in a multiethnic state

Reflections on the challenges and lessons learnt

REPORT ●

Mumbai

Reclusive, media-shy genius rejects an award P.08

P.05

photoxpress

A new approach in foreign policy? Experts discuss a leaked official document P.06-07

A Business Report from The Economic Times. In association with Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Distributed with BANGALORE

A million-dollar mystery

www.liveinternet.ru

www.all-russia.ru

Russia India

...Marching towards a common future

●

New Delhi

●

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

State Two years on, the president comes into his own

Nation RIR launches a series on the Russian regions

The blossoming of Medvedev

An outpost in Europe's heart

Viktor Dyatlikovich Russky reporter

May 7 marked the halfway mark of Dmitry Medvedev’s presidential term. It’s time to look back at the last two heady years that saw a protégé of the powerfulVladimir Putin coming out of the shadows and taking charge of the nation’s affairs through challenging times, evolving and perfecting his own style of leadership in the process. Two defining events within the first few months of his presidency proved to be just the crises that can be called baptism by fire.The first was the Georgia operation and the second one that tested his management prowess was the global meltdown. Since then, he has steadily tightened his hold over power and people’s imagination.

Action

On August 7, 2008 at exactly 11:35 p.m., a Georgian Army grouping began military operations against South Osetia in a bid to resolve its differences with this unrecognised republic by force. The next day, Medvedev announced that Russia would have to launch an operation of its own“to force Georgia to peace”.In the next few days, Medvedev made not one, but two important and considered decisions — to begin the military operation and to wind it up. Before the Georgian campaign, Medvedev was referred to only as a successor and“Putin’s protégé”.But by taking re-

sponsibility for the South Osetian operation, the president compelled people to speak of him for the first time as an independent politician in his own right.

ALEXEI LEVCHENKO GAZETA.RU

In January this year, Kaliningrad, Russia’s westernmost region and home to some of the most picturesque seascapes, rocked with anti-government rallies against a sharp hike in transport rates, giving a scare to the Kremlin.Located on the Baltic Sea, the region, sandwiched between Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east, has since then gone through a baptism of sorts,bringing to the fore modern Russia’s tryst with democratic politics. The story goes that one Saturday eve-

Crisis Economics

The global meltdown compelled Medvedev to put off his plan of turning Moscow into an international financial center. However, he soon rose to the challenge. The government poured hundreds of millions of roubles into the banking system a n d initiated a slew of r e forms. Not all of it was successful, but the economy is growing, largely spurred by the high price of oil and gas. The crisis, however, helped Medvedev to realise the vulnerability of the commodity-driven economic model and the urgent need for economic reforms. He has encouraged the Kremlin to legally protect entrepreneurs from those who are “making business a nightmare”and imposed a ban on holding those suspected of economic crimes in custody.

ferred from one operator to another and asked to hold. The governor even called his health minister,Yelena Kluykova, who did not answer his call. Finally, after half an hour’s wait in freezing weather, the bleeding victim was picked up by an ambulance. The health minister was fired shortly after the incident. continued on PAGE 3 igor zarembo_itar-tass

The scientific research vessel Cosmonaut Victor Patsaev waits in the harbor in the center of Kaliningrad

The first ever Internet domain to use a national language script became the Cyrillic domain.

If my nation needs me and if it will help to maintain the direction forged in the recent years, over Vladimir Putin’s presidential terms, as well as my own, then I am not crossing out any options, including the option of running in this election [2012 presidential elections].'' Interview with Norwegian Newspaper Aftenposten

continued on PAGE 2

ning, when a BMW X5 driven by a local businessman ran over a young man on a zebra crossing, the motorcade of the region’s governor, Georgy Boos, was passing by. To the surprise of eyewitnesses, the motorcade stopped and the governor got out of his car and called an ambulance. He found himself in a situation familiar to thousands of Russian citizens: he was re-

Russian Internet goes Cyrillic

dmitry astakhov_itar-tass

Defying sceptics who were prone to dismiss him as a shadow of Vladimir Putin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has emerged into his own after more than two years of helming Russia through multiple crises.

Winds of change are sweeping through Kaliningrad, Russia’s western outpost and a new hive of democratic politics. After years of neglect, the region is determined to make up for lost opportunities.

Claire Bigg

RFE/RL

Representatives of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) handed Russia its Cyrillic domain administration certificate at an Internet forum that kicked off in Moscow. The arrival of Cyrillic on the Internet, where Latin characters have long held a monopoly, follows a similar switch a week before, when websites in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began using Arabic script in their web addresses.

ICANN chief executive Rod Beckstrom said the new nativescript domains will help make the World Wide Web even more global. "It's a very big move.The Internet's been around roughly for four decades and this is the first time that domain names are opening up to people's native tongues and scripts," Beckstrom says. "So for the many people in the world that speak Cyrillic or Arabic-based languages or Chinese-based languages, this is very significant, and Russia is a very important part of ICANN, which is a global organisation. So we are very excited to see this happening." continued on PAGE 3

Politics

bookmarks

Russia india report

in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_may 26_2010

eng.kremlin.ru President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev official website russiatoday.com Russia Today TV channel en.rian.ru RIA Novosti newswire

The blossoming of Medvedev Modernisation

In the fall of 2008, Medvedev unveiled his rallying slogan: “Modernizing Russia”.A year later, the president set up a commission on economic modernisation and technological development. In September 2009, he published his manifesto of modernisation in an article entitled “Forward, Russia!” in which he spoke of the need for a leap of modernisation. The once taboo expressions such as“humiliating dependence on raw materials”, “ineffective economy”,“weak democracy”,“centuries-old economic backwardness”, and “centuries-old corruption" acquired a new legitimacy. Russians are now watching closely his pledge to create an innovation center in Skolkovo outside Moscow.

New blood

In his presidency, the collective age of governors in the Federation Council has come down by 230 years. In his forties, the twitter-loving president has injected a new vigour into his administration by recruiting younger appartchiks and has spawned a new culture of transparency by talking to the Internet generation in its own language without interpreters, earning him plaudits in the national television networks. His blog in LiveJournal has become a book of complaints and suggestions from around the country.

Cleansing system

After the outcry in response to the mass falsifications in regional elections last fall, the elections this spring were, as even members of the opposition had to admit, much cleaner. Local bosses did not, of course, stop trying to ingratiate themselves with the ruling United Russia, but they did this far less aggressively and recklessly than before. Medvedev is trying to pull the sluggish bureaucratic machine into the digital fu-

cesses can objectively be viewed as an asset for Russian foreign policy.

ture, but the resistance is still great. Recently, he took Nizhny Novgorod governor Dmitry Shantsev publicly to task for not knowing how the regional government services site works.

Unfinished battle

Tough choice

The violence-engulfed North Caucasus, a source of terrorism for all of Russia, is one of the most dramatic consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union. By replacing Federal Security Service (FSB) General Murat Zyazikov as president of Ingushetia with Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Medvedev made it clear that the emphases in policy in the North Caucasus are changing. Zyazikov gambled on repressions.Yevkurov has not abandoned the use of force, but he strives to achieve compromise. In early 2010,Medvedev decided to redraw the administrative map of Russia by adding an eighth federal district — the North Caucasus — to the seven existing ones. He appointed as his special envoy to that district not a politician from the security or military services, but a successful governor with experience in big business, Alexander Khloponin, whom he also made a deputy prime minister. Thus the federal authorities have staked their claim on a program of“loyalty in exchange for prosperity”: Khloponin’s job is to bring new investors to the region. Meanwhile, the fight against underground bandits goes on.What’s more, Medvedev has said that bandits must be tracked down “across the board”.

US-Russia reset

A new era in Russian-US relations began with a linguistic twist. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a present — a large, red button to symbolise the resetting of relations.“We spent a long time choosing the right Russian word. What you do think, did we?”said

dmitry astakhov_itar-tass

continued FROM PAGE 1

They have worked like a perfect team. Their relations have subtly changed over time. If in 2008 Putin, the prime minister, still allowed himself to encroach on the authority of the president, then by the end of 2009, Putin had turned definitively into a strong manager and left Medvedev to decide strategic matters in internal and foreign policy. But recently, a reverse process has been seen: the president steps over the agreed-on bounds at times, practically replacing the prime minister.

In his forties, the twitterloving president has spawned a new culture of transparency by talking to the Internet generation in its own language

Clinton. Unfortunately, Lavrov had to say,“No.”The button’s Russian-language label read not PereZAgruzka (Reset) but Peregruzka (Overload). Despite this amusing incident, the reset did occur. Witness the ease with which the US is lessening its involvement in events in post-Soviet space and in Eastern Europe. Washington’s actions suggest that it recognises Russia’s right to its own sphere of in-

fluence and interests.In Ukraine and in Kyrgyzstan, the ones out of power are ones who brought the“color”revolutions. The US has decided against placing its missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic, while the dialogue concerning the installation of an American ABM system in Europe continues. A new agreement to limit strategic weapons was recently signed. President Medvedev’s international suc-

Medvedev has tried hard to rid the establishment of corruption and inefficiency. He has sacked errant officials in Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Punishment Service and the Fire Services. He did not hesitate in chastening the powerful. When Major DenisYevsyukov, head of the Tsaritsyno district precinct in Southern Moscow, shot his driver and then created a bloodbath in a local supermarket, killing one person he took prompt action and announced radical reforms in the Interior Ministry, seen as a hub of bribes, blackmail, torture, prostitution and rackets. Not just anyone could fire 17 generals with the stroke of a pen.The president did this on February 18 this year. At the same time, he said the numbers of staff within the ministry’s central apparatus would be cut by half and that the overall police staff would be cut by 20 pc. However, Medvedev’s biggest failure has been his unsuccessful battle with corruption. According to Supreme Court statistics, of 2,300 takers of bribes of over a million roubles ($35,000), only 35 were sent to prison in 2009. Meanwhile, the corruption in Russia is constantly growing and is estimated by experts to be some $300 bn a year. (State budget revenues in 2009 totaled $250 bn!) Two months after assuming office, President Medvedev announced a National Plan against Corruption. On April 14 this year, he signed a document entitled ‘National Strategy to Counteract Corruption.’All senior officials are now required to publicly declare their income. However, the battle against corruption is set to be a long and hard one with a network of vested interests thriving in league with a section of the establishment.

in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_may 26_2010

An amateur photographer

News in brief

evgeny asmolov_itar-tass

Russia, India plan to hold peacekeeping drills in fall

A photography buff since his youth, Medvedev recently returned to his hobby, but it appears presidential duties are coming in the way. “Given my work, it would look strange if I were to leap out with a camera and start photographing someone. I’m afraid people wouldn’t understand,” said the president. This photograph by Medvedev of the Tobolsk Kremlin was sold at a charity auction for 51 mn roubles ($1.7 mn).

All about Mrs Medevedev

dmitry astkhov_ria novosti

A woman of many parts, First Lady Svetlana Medvedev is a Russian Orthodox blogger, a stylish dresser and a patron of the arts and high fashion. Since moving to Moscow, she has befriended many people in the arts and show business. She is also up on the latest fashions in technology. Like her husband, she has her own blog where she reports on her travels and charity projects. But at the same time Mrs Medevedev is a devout women, who spends a lot of time raising her son Ilya.

Putin, Medvedev denounce Stalin Russia's leaders have recently rejected the Stalinist legacy in an outspoken and unanimous way. Vladimir Putin, previously wary of criticising Josef Stalin, denounced the Soviet dictator's regime during a visit last month to Katyn, the site of a Stalin-ordered massacre. The cult of Stalin, who remains a controversial figure in Russia, will not be reinstated in the country, President Dmitry Medvedev said in a recent interview with Izvestia. “There's no

In brief

Russia india report

www.medvedev2008.ru/english.htm Dmitry Medvedev’s speeches www.itar-tass.com/eng Itar-Tass news agency www.mnweekly.ru The Moscow News weekly

way we can say that Stalinism will return to our everyday life. That’s absolutely impossible. This is the current state ideology and my position as the president,” Medvedev said. "The Great Patriotic War was won by our people, not by Stalin or even military commanders," he added. "Stalin committed a lot of crimes against his people." For the full interview, go to in.rbth.ru

Upto 150 Russian troops will take part in joint peacekeeping exercises with India scheduled for autumn this year, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Russia is planning to send a motorised infantry company to join the Indian troops in the drills. The Russian and Indian military have conducted joint INDRA exercises since 2003, including biannual peacekeeping drills. Russia's military cooperation with India goes back nearly half a century. RIA Novosti

Russian search engine gets competitive Russia's largest search engine Yandex launched last week a .com version of its service as it seeks to compete with its other similar brands. Yandex spokesman Ochir Manjikov said the search engine had launched a test version of the separate domain - yandex.com - to run alongside the existing yandex.ru. The launch ofYandex's international search engine is a turning point in the history of the Russian Internet. In 2009,Yandex took 7th place in most popular search engines. RIA Novosti

Easier visas become law Working in Russia should get easier after President Dmitry Medvedev signed amendments to visa legislation into law.The new plans connected with the need to bring highlyqualified specialists to the Skolkovo Innovation Centre are intended to simplify application processes and reduce taxes for foreigners. Once fully implemented, the new legislation could cut work permit issue times to one month and enable papers valid for upto three years to be issued. Moscow news For more news, go to www.in.rbth.ru

Russian net goes Cyrillic continued FROM PAGE 1

Igor Shchyogolev, Russia's minister of communications and mass media, was among the top officials who came to the forum to hail what many have already described as a "birth certificate" for Cyrillic Internet domains. Shchyogolev told the forum that the changes mark the end of the Latin script's domination of the Internet -- although certain challenges remain. "The wonderful little character @, which is used to write all Internet addresses, does not exist on the Russian keyboard," Shchyogolev notes. "To type this character, users have to switch their keyboard from Cyrillic to Latin. This is a detail, but it shows that we have so far been oriented towards the Latin script." ICANN approved the use of non-Latin characters in Inter-

net domain names last autumn. According to ICANN, more than half of the world's 1.6 bn Internet users speak a native language that is not written with the Latin alphabet. In Russia, only two Cyrillic addresses were launched in mid M ay : п р е з и д е н т. р ф a n d правительство.рф, the web sites of the country's president and government. Gradually, more and more web address holders will be able to "Russify" their domains. Following private companies, media outlets and political parties, ordinary users will be able to register for domains in Cyrillic starting October 1. President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, both self-professed Internet buffs, have actively lobbied for the introduction of Cyrillic domains in Russia. Supporters say the changes will make the Internet more

accessible to Russians who feel intimidated by the Latin script. The Cyrillic web addresses, they say, will also help boost web use in the provinces, which still lag far behind big cities in terms of Internet penetration. More than 30 mn Russians are regular Internet users, out of a total population of some 140 mn and the country has the fastest-growing Internet community in Europe. Aleksandr Amzin, an Internet expert at the online news agency Lenta.ru, predicts that Cyrillic domains will prove a success. "The Russian Internet represents a massive audience, an audience that does not necessarily know English or the Latin alphabet and for whom it is much simpler to write in Russian than in English," he said. "For businesses, it's not a bad thing either." www.rferl.org

Defence ties Shipbuilding work is making good progress

Vikromaditya: The arrival's near Shipbuilders in Severodvinsk are accelerating the upgrade work on the aircraft carrier Vikromaditya for India’s Ministry of Defence.

Del archivo personal

bookmarks

JAleksandr Emeliyanenkov rossiyskaya gazeta

In the middle of May, a group of Indian specialists, headed by Vice Admiral Nadel Niradjan Kumar, chief manager of production and purchase of war ships for the Indian Navy and Ministry of Defence, went to inspect the shipbuilding factory “Sevmash”, where work is in progress for the repair and rearmament of the aircraft carrier“Vikramaditya”. The delegation consisted of ten people, the Chairman of India’s naval attaché in Russia, the Ministry of Defence’s Director of Purchasing Naval Systems and the Financial Director for Naval Systems.They spent time on the ship closely gauging the progress of work.The results of the inspection enabled the General Director of “Sevmash”, Nikolai Kalistratov and the Head of Indian Delegation,Vice Admiral Nadel Kumar to sign a combined protocol, which of-

Indian inspection team at the shipbuilding plant “Sevmash”.

ficially recorded the current situation and pressing technical difficulties to be overcome. Vice Admiral Kumar was the first to spend time on board “Sevmash”,and he saw“Vikramaditya”with his own eyes. Before then, he had spent six months scrupulously following the documentation of the progress of work and by comparing the reports with what he actually saw, he understood that “Sevmash” had increased the pace of work significantly. The

press-service of the AdmiralteyskiyeVerfi Shipyard gave the admiral’s verdict; “I liked the ship, I was pleased to see that the management of the enterprise, the General Director Nikolai Kalistratov, the chief engineer Aleksei Alsufiev, the chairman of the General Director Sergei Novoselov are doing all they can to stick to the timetable for finishing work, which was agreed by the governments of our countries.” in@rbth.ru

Nation

bookmarks

Russia india report

in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_MAY 26_2010

www.kaliningradcity.ru/en Kaliningrad city portal kenig.info/foto.html Photos of Kaliningrad businessneweurope.eu Economic and business opportunities in Eastern Europe and CIS

photoxpress

mikhail razuvaev_kommersant

Kalinigrad, the amber land

Governor Georgy Boos on the recent wave of protests

An outpost in Europe's heart CONTINUED from PAGE 1

in office : since 2005 AGE :

party : united russia

Why have social conflicts arisen in Kaliningrad? This is a perfectly normal phenomenon for any democratic society. And it shows that the inhabitants of the Russian exclave have a high degree of civic awareness. It is also a result of external post-crisis factors: reduced living standards as a consequence of the recession and a rise in certain taxes. Have you succeeded in dealing with the protests? One of the main lessons for me is that we need a new format for dialogue between the authorities and society. This is already happening. One new form of communication is the regional TV channel’s live video link. I have already received more than 1,500 appeals from various parts of the region, some of which I have been answering for four hours and some will receive a reply.

The most western region of Russia, the land of sun amber and nonfreezing Baltic Sea, the cultural and tourist gates connecting Russia and Europe – all this is the Kaliningrad region. It is rightly called the amber country, since more than 90 pc of the world's explored amber reserves are located in the region. The largest amber deposits are located mainly in the northwestern part of the

Opponents claim the incident was a publicity stunt by the governor, but Boos insists his being on the spot was a pure coincidence.“Only a couple of months ago, nobody could have imagined anything like this taking place,” says Andrey, who has been living here for years. Four and a half years ago when the Kremlin sent a young and ambitious businessman close to Moscow MayorYuri Luzhkov to govern the area, Kaliningrad, known as Russia’s western outpost, was rocked by corruption scandals and problems stemming from the introduction of Shengen visas in neighbouring European Union countries. “Before 2004, we traveled freely to Poland and the Baltic countries and getting a visa was no problem. Suddenly, all of this changed,”recallsVladimir, an official. The area was in danger of being cut off from mainland Russia. Meanwhile, the economy was stagnating, despite the region’s many privileges and status as a special economic zone. Part of the region’s present problems stem from its history. The area was a part of Germany called Eastern Prussia before World War II, with the capital named Koenigsberg. In 1945, Koenigsberg fell to the Soviet Army.The Germans left behind a network of roads, numerous architectural monuments and

Dagestan: A new flashpoint in Russia's North Caucasus

typical German houses. At first, the Russian authorities paid scant attention to the region, expecting it to be returned to its former masters. The Nineties saw growing calls for returning the region to Germany and renaming it Koenigsberg once again.Although separatist ideas were never aired at a high level, dreams inspired by the prosperous Europe next door sometimes cropped up in conversations with locals. Boos promptly plugged into these sentiments and started his term as governor by building a modern autobahn, the showpiece project of his tenure. The well-lit, smooth four-lane highway puts the airport within a 12-minute drive of the city centre.This is a section of the future $300 mn Maritime Ring, which will link Kaliningrad with the beach holiday resorts in the west and north of the region. The highway, which has now nearly reached Zelenogrdsk, is probably the best road in the country. Boos has also ambitious plans to build a luxury marina on the Baltic coast and a Formula 1 race course. The global meltdown has, however, wrecked his soaring dreams. The crisis and the way the authorities handled it after a steep hike in housing, utility and transport rates turned out to be a trigger for mass rallies in January that called for the resignation of Governor Boos and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

vadim smirnov

in his own words

Samland Peninsula, with total amber reserves estimated at 283,000 tons. Amber production is currently several hundred tons per year, but the state-owned Amber Company uses only one-tenth of this production to make jewelry. Amber is not only processed into jewels, but also into other products, such as high-quality insulators. One can admire amber in the Museum of Amber in Kaliningrad, or even find a piece while wandering along the shore. (See amber market stall in the picture below).

The crisis also sparked a new wave of activism and drove many greenhorns into politics. Konstantin Doroshok, leader of the movement Justice, who was among the initiators of the rally, says politics was never on his mind. From the mid-1990s, like thousands of other Kaliningraders, he made a living by bringing in second-hand cars from Europe. The wake-up call came four years ago, when Doroshok and other small businessmen faced tax claims. Doroshok was presented with a 30 mn roubles ($1mn) bill.The final blow to his business was dealt by the pro-

hibitive import duties slapped on used cars that the federal government introduced during the economic crisis, mainly to shore up the floundering Soviet-era dinosaur AvtoVAZ.After all that, Doroshok said he had no option but to become an activist. Similarly,Vitautas Lopata says he joined the opposition because he was fed up with inspections. “The former mayor, Savenko, did not allow cafes to be built.So I decided to go into politics to defend the rights of businessmen like myself," he said. The damaging impact on the region’s economy can be seen in

the small town of Mamonovo on the Polish-Russian border, once home to a thriving car parts market. Now the once buzzing market wears a desolate look.Sitting in his huge gubernatorial-sized office, the mayor of Mamonovo, Oleg Shlyk, merely shrugs:“The car dealers and the shuttle merchants brought in no revenue because they paid no taxes.We put our stake on developing production.”The production of plastics has started and the fish cannery has been reopened, he says, adding that he also hopes to organCONTINUED on PAGE 5

in@rbth.ru

in.rbth.ru/letters

bookmarks

www.kaliningrad-cci.ru/en Kaliningrad Chamber of Commerce and Industry map.rin.ru Map of Russia - Russian pegions www.waytorussia.net More information about Russia

Nation

Russia india report in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_MAY 26_2010

This spread was prepared in cooperation with Gazeta.ru.

Opinion Intercultural links proved stronger than separatism

How to live together: the Russian model

ise sea crossings to Poland and is building purification plants with EU money. The burst of activism has, however, changed the governor. “While previously he thought only about mega-projects and ignored criticism, he now regularly meets with the opposition, has become aware of everyday problems and reacts to our ideas,”says Solomon Ginsburg, an opposition deputy in the regional parliament. For example, on Lopata’s suggestion the post of vice governor for infrastruc-

ture projects has been created. All the opposition’s demands have been met: the transport tax rise has been revoked and utility rates have been declining. Now the spotlight has shifted to the big question: what will drive the region’s growth? Tourism could be an answer. The bestknown holiday resort in Soviet times was Svetlogorsk.A creaking old lift takes you from the city’s beach to the high Baltic shore for 20 roubles. From there, a lift operator as old as the elevator itself offers faded Soviet-era postcards of Baltic seascapes for sale. Clearly, tourist facilities need a major revamp. Some 40 km to the north lies Kurskaja Kosa, a nature reserve on the UNESCO list, with sand dunes that mirror a desert landscape and strange, twisted trees reminiscent of modern art known as the “dancing forest”.Woefully short of tourist services, only a small café remains in business. “There is a lot of room for tourist development,”says Alexander Blinov, the mayor of the town of Yantarnoye (Amber). Five years ago, Yantarnoye was mainly known for its amber quarry - the prey of looters - and bloody brawls among the locals. Now there are signposts everywhere directing visitors to landmark sites and German houses are being restored.“We promote activity tourism and hold various festivals and sporting events which attract a constant flow of tourists.We provide the best possible environment for investors,” Blinov said. Of course, a lot of work remains to be done. But as the building of a full-fledged holiday resort shows, Kaliningrad has woken up to lost opportunities and is now in no mood to miss the bus.

The Kaliningrad area could be a major tourism destination in Russia within the next decade if it is marketed and promoted correctly

facts about the region

At 15,000 square km, the Kaliningrad Region is not only the westernmost, but also the smallest province of Russia. It measures 205 km from east to west and 108 km from north to south. It has no border with mainland Russia and borders Poland in the south and Lithuania in the north and east.

2 3

The pegion's population is 937,000. 76 pc of them live in cities; 82 pc are ethnic Russians.

The main religion is Russian Orthodox, but Catholic and Baptist parishes are also found in the region.

Since Russia's only ice-free port on the Baltic is located in Kaliningrad, shipping and fishing are major industries in the region. Kaliningrad is also home to 90 pc of the world's amber reserves.

Founded in 1999, Gazeta.ru (www.gazeta. ru) is the most widely read and popular independent Internet publication in Russia. Its monthly readership is 6.5 mn.

from personal archives

alexey kudenko_kommersant igor stomakhin_photoxpress

CONTINUED from PAGE 4

Nadezhda Kevorkova Specially for RIR

Ruslan is a 32 year old academician. He was born in a mountain village in the Caucasus but was educated in the West. He interned at the most famous Western research centres and he is fluent in Russian, Arabic and English in addition to his native language. His essays in Russian are exemplary, not only for the academic content, but also for their literary style. The mountain dwellers in the Caucasus, like other ethnic minorities, know at least two languages from birth, but more often they know more, because different ethnic groups live in the neighbouring villages. Ruslan’s mother is a Russian school teacher. She came to the Caucasian mountain village after University, married a local man and has educated several generations of mountain dwellers. There were many school teachers like Ruslan’s mother.Thanks to them, mountain dwellers had the opportunity to learn about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and were acquainted with Russian faith and Russian culture at a young age. Recently, a monument to a Russian teacher was raised in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, in remembrance and gratitude of the hundreds of Russian women who courageously came to the Caucasus to work in the schools. Asya was Russian, and she died a few years ago at the age of 80 in one of Tatarstan’s famous villages of the Nijegorodskaya region, where she had moved many years earlier. She got married, mastered the Tatar language – and not just everyday conversational Tatar,

but also the literary language. She learnt Arabic from the village elders and converted to Islam. She learnt the Koran and started to teach children religion. This is only a part of a wider phenomenon. For half a century, doctors and teachers acted as the guardians of culture in remote parts of Russia. Russian school teachers no longer go to mountain villages, the Volga or to the Far North.Village schools are closing down; they are being relocated or amalgamated. In Russia’s remote regions, there are no specialists, academics, doctors or engineers and there is a deficit of people to man local-history museums – a network of localhistory museums has existed for more than 200 years - but now only the bare bones of this remain. Little is left of the diverse joint cultural projects that Russia once boasted.

The past years have shown us one thing; no one can solve our problems better than us ourselves For example, the young Dagestanis and other Caucasian people who are recruited into the army do not form garrisons in the Caucasus, but all over Russia. Far-sighted politicians of the mountain regions understand this is one of the strongest means of maintaining the unity of the country . In the 80s, the beginnings of a national movement stirred in many of Russia’s backwaters – it was even thought that these movements would be realised on a massive scale. Nowadays, in whichever former Soviet Republic of the Caucasus or Central Asia you look, people are lamenting their lost links, the mutual cultural enrichment and the education system that is no longer in place. Twenty years have passed. The deficit of national cultural identity is over. For the vast majority of the 250 mn former citizens of the Soviet Union, life

has got worse, according to the most elementary measures.The destruction of a communal civilisation has also brought about a decline in national culture. Many have understood that national slogans masked political motives. Intercultural links proved stronger than nationalistic ideas of isolation. In a country with more than 160 ethnic groups, there is no national policy. But the tradition of cultural exchange and mutual support comes from ordinary people and not from the government. This becomes all the more important when people face frightening challenges. People have not changed their attitude towards Georgians after the events in Georgia in 2008. Georgian actors, singers and surgeons did not leave Russia, even Georgian burglars have stayed put. People love Georgian wine, film and jokes as much as ever. There aren’t many Russian restaurants in Russia, but then there are a huge number of Ukrainian and Georgian ones. Throughout Ingushetia, a few years ago, there was a spate of murders of Russian school teachers. This did not force the Russian population to flee, neither did it lead to a war, as happened 20 years ago in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan. In fact, Ingush neighbours defended the Russians and Russians stood up for the Ingushes when they were challenged by the army. We do have difficulties. There are problems from the past, emotional wounds which haven’t quite healed. But the past twenty years have shown us one thing; no one can solve our problems better than us ourselves. We are united by another thing. In our language there are two different words:‘rossiyane’, encompassing all the ethnic groups of Russia, and ‘russkye’ – ‘Russian’, from the main part of Russia. When we, Caucasians,Tatars,Yakuts, Buryats or Novgorodians, go abroad, there we are all simply known as ‘Russian’. in@rbth.ru

Opinion

bookmarks

Russia india report

in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_MAY 26_2010

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 magazine

A New and Modern Foreign Policy From Putin’s Frown to Russia unbound? Medvedev’s Smile Pragmatism comes first political expert

he “secret plans” of the Kremlin and Foreign Ministry to improve relations with the West is a topic of heated discussion among foreign policy analysts and journalists. This was sparked by the appearance of a document signed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and released to Russian Newsweek recently on how Russia could exploit certain external factors to help modernise the country and strengthen its position in the global arena. Lavrov wrote that the global financial crisis has created new conditions in which the traditional global leaders — the United States and the European Union — are losing their advantage and new global power centers are emerging. Russia should take advantage of these trends and should create a “modernisation of alliances”to promote its own development and strengthen its positions domestically and globally. But the West is not the only focus of the document. It puts particular importance on integrating the economies of the former Soviet republics, opposing attempts by forces outside the region to weaken Russia and using the crisis to extend its economic influence into the Baltic states “given the sharp fall in their investment attractiveness for the EU states”. One of the document’s main leitmotivs, however, is that Russia should take advantage of the fact that the West is becoming weaker and less self-confident. Russia should assist the EU in solving its major international problems in exchange for addressing the Kremlin’s concerns and proposals on a new European security architecture. The main message for Europe is that Russia wants closer business and political ties with the EU, but on an equal basis. There were no surprises in the list of countries that Russia considers priority. It is placing its bets on Germany, France, Italy and Spain, while relations remain chilly with Britain. The document has interesting references to China, suggesting that Russia“pay special attention to the growing role of China in international affairs,

including the impact that activities by Beijing have on our global and regional interests.” That is probably the strongest language that Russia can afford to use publicly to express its concern over China’s steadily growing influence. Furthermore, Moscow expects to receive concrete economic benefits in return for supporting Iran, Syria and Cuba — states subjected to international pressure and sanctions. The Foreign Ministry took a firm stance towards Russia’s strategic interests in the Arctic and the former Soviet republics, areas where the Kremlin feels the most pressure from the West, it is clear that the document places high priority on strengthening business interests with the West. But this is nothing new. For most of his presidency,Vladimir Putin attempted to establish business relations with hisWestern partners on a mutually beneficial basis. Starting with the nowforgotten idea of “debt for investment”in 2000 and ending with the desire to build relations based on an energy“asset swap”in 2005, all of the proposals envisioned an rapprochement with the West. But all of these plans fell through.The United States and the EU were focused on ideological, political and economic expansion, while Russia was repeatedly turned away by the West. Competitiveness, envy and inflammatory rhetoric eclipsed rational, pragmatic approaches. Europe and the United States had planned to base their relations with Russia on the idea of common interests, but Moscow decisively rejected that approach. In addition, Putin’s style of behaviour and peculiar sense of humor did not go over well in the West. Putin, who has always despised international political hypocrisy and who considers public candor to be a virtue, only managed to find a common language with a handful of Western politicians. But relations are more balanced now. Both sides have de facto recognised the limits of their own capabilities. This means that the Kremlin should step back from its former obstinate positions and be more amenable to compromise. President Dmitry Medvedev made a revolutionary state-

ment during an interview with a Dutch journalist in late April. When asked what face Russia should present to the outside world, Medvedev smiled and said,“It must be one that I have now: a smiling face. If this is the face of Russia, that of someone who smiles at other countries.” What’s more, Russia should not “gnash its teeth at anyone, get angry, sulk or feel offended,” Medvedev said. No Russian leader had ever spoken that self-critically. Russia’s relations with the West really are changing, but not because of any new strategy in Moscow. The Foreign Ministry document sets forth the same objectives and now defines them even more clearly than before. But the tactics are becoming more flexible. If Putin’s policy was largely defined by the motto of“whoever offends us won’t last three days,”a quote he made in 2000, then 10 years later, Medvedev has formulated a more positive version:“Smile at those who smile at us.”This latest attempt at pragmatism might prove to be more productive.

Fyodor Lukyanov is editor of Russia in Global Affairs.

Dmitry Trenin

political analyst

supposedly confidential Foreign Ministry document — an intentional leak that was published on Russian Newsweek’s website — has created a stir among diplomats and journalists. Many saw it as a revelation or a signal of a defining and welcome policy shift towards the West. But in reality, this is quite an overstatement. Contrary to widespread perceptions, the Kremlin took a defensive rather than an offensive foreign policy position during Vladimir Putin’s second presidential term. From the colour revolutions to the 2008 Georgia war, it was under constant pressure from Washington.With the “reset” in US foreign policy under Barack Obama, the pressure is now off, and Moscow can return to“business as usual”and should turn its attention to modernisation. The global crisis has diminished the hubris of energy boom years and has awakened the leadership to the harsh reality that Russia is losing ground in the global pecking order by falling behind in terms of its industrial,

drawing by Dmitry divin

Fyodor Lukyanov

technological and scientific capabilities.All the proceeds from Gazprom’s sales notwithstanding, Russia is sorely lacking what it takes to be a major global economic and political force in the 21st century.The Kremlin has been forced to come to terms with the fact that relative energy abundance and nuclear arsenals are not enough and that it needs Western investment and strong business partnerships with the West to modernise. Once this fact was accepted, it became clear that instead of anti-West rhetoric, Russia needed to attract external resources for modernisation. This transformation is now official. Well done. The next step is to attract the resources. It is not hard to see that they are mostly found in the countries making up the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development — that is, North America, Western Europe, Japan, South Korea,Australia and Singapore. Although BRIC, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Economic Community are important alliances, it is clear that these groups won’t be able to produce the same investments and business partnerships for Russia as the more established global financial and technology centers. The European Union, of course, is at the top of the list because of its members’ advanced economies, technological proficiency and physical proximity to Russia. Russia’s links with Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and several other countries are so close that it is possible to talk of an emerging pan-European economic community.Above all, Washington holds the key to critical technology transfers that Moscow covets. Japan should also be roped in to help develop Siberia and the Far East. Although the Foreign Ministry document looks authentic, it has a few glaring gaps — for example, Britain and Poland were left out for some reason.We may be dealing with an incomplete draft, but the few rough edges can be easily ironed out later. A more important problem is that the down-to-earth tenor of the paper is not rooted in a grand strategy and avoids the intersection between foreign and domestic policies.

Most importantly, it appears that both the Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin understand that the kind of economic integration that Russia seeks is only possible when the relationship between Russia and the West is fully and securely demilitarised. Normalisation in relations has largely been achieved with Western Europeans, an improvement in Russian-Polish relations is hopefully in the pipeline, while the Baltic States continue to be outliers. Resetting the US-Russian relations is fine, but it’s time to move beyond arms control to strategic cooperation, from joint efforts to stem proliferation of nuclear weapons to joint missile defense projects. Closer home, making sure that the outside world views Russia as a democratic state with a social market economy and an independent foreign policy will require a lot of heavy lifting, not simply window dressing. Modernisation, couched in strictly economic and technological terms, is too narrow to succeed. Democracy will surely take many years — if not decades — to mature and develop in Russia, but strengthening the country’s political and economic institutions should be the leadership’s immediate priority. In the end, this factor will be crucial for leading nations to accept Russia as a viable and dependable partner. President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov deserve praise for making an important step forward. The next steps should include the completion of accession to the World Trade Organization, turning the EU-Russian“partnership for modernisation”into the centerpiece of EU-Russian relations, consolidating and expanding partnership with the US and turning Japan into a “Germany in the East". At the same time, focusing on the developed world should not come at the expense of Russia’s important relations with China, India and Brazil or with Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Isn’t this what all other aspiring countries are doing? Russia, welcome to the club.

Dmitry Trenin is director of the Carnegie Moscow Center Both articles were first published in The Moscow Times.

bookmarks

eng.globalaffairs.ru Russia in global affairs magazine website english.pobediteli.ru A multimedia internet project on the Second World War in Russia

Opinion

Russia india report in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia THE economic times wednesday_MAY 26_2010

A Time to Gather Stones war II allies at V-Day parade

Andrei Volodin

political analyst

rusiaprofile.org

cepts of Weltpolitik and Realpolitik (as understood in the 20th century) are history; and I think that the main this has seriously affected former socialist countries in Censphere of mutual tral and Eastern Europe, to say interest of Russia nothing of former Soviet reand India is Central publics. Moreover, conservative Asia. intellectuals in Western Europe propose a return to the idea of an “historical nucleus” of the bility of“Soviet space”was the European Union, which does modernisation of the political not bode well for“European insystem by developing horizon- tegration”. tal ties (i.e. independent of the Recent events in post-Soviet central authorities), the trade- space evidently show that inmark of any civilised society. tegration in this part of the (These clear and simple organ- world is historically inevitaisational principles, I might ble, especially since Russia add, were implemented suc- does not encroach on the sovcessfully by Manmohan Singh ereignty of former Soviet rein his 1991 reform.) publics, or rather, on the desire However, the scientist-think- of the ethnocratic elites there er’s logic was rejected by Gor- to run“their”territories thembachev and his comrades, and selves. Sakharov’s main idea soon betrayed altogether by was to decentralise the empire, cessionaries who replaced sys- to improve the viability of its temic reform with a reckless territories and — in the end — liberalisation of prices and to painlessly integrate this greedy divvying up of the So- vast space in the world econoviet-property pie. The lack of my, then developing under the a clearly articulated strategy laws of the scientific and techfor development came back nological revolution. like a boomerang in the form However, that was twenty years of an increasingly exacerbated ago. The cooperative ties besystemic crisis throughout the tween former Soviet republics former Soviet Union. “The have been largely destroyed, broad masses” in the former while their production powers Soviet republics were almost are still playing catch-up. All of ready to trade their sovereign- this makes the task of reintety for a standard of living wor- grating post-Soviet space enorthy of modern man. mously complex — economiLife is hard, and one cannot ex- cally, politically, and especially pect help from abroad. This intellectually. But there is no truth is borne out by US Presi- other way. The only alternative dent Barack Obama’s efforts to to integration is the chaotisacreate a“middle class society” tion of post-Soviet space.. at home. No less instructive an *** example is Germany, whose Finally, a post scriptuum, dipopulation dramatically de- rectly related to Russian-Indicreased its support (to 6 pc) for an relations. In his article of the federal government after it 28.04.10, Kanwal Sibal rightly offered a bailout package to remarks on the existence of Greece. In other words, the con- nuances in Russia and India’s

understandings of China’s foreign-policy strategy.The question is how to restore the trust in relations between our leaders which was characteristic during the Soviet period. No small part in restoring the“Soviet”spirit was played by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his recent whirlwind visit to Delhi. This positive inertia could also be developed in Moscow, bearing in mind our particular sensitivity to the memory of the War and the Victory. I might add that the format for receiving foreign leaders on the 65th anniversary — without an invitation, by desire — was in the best Byzantine traditions: whoever respects Russia comes. (Our allies in the antiHitler coalition don’t count since their authorised representatives marched on May 9 across Red Square.) At the focus of world attention were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Hu Jintao, both of whom contrived to turn their trip to Moscow into a variety of working visit. In the context of our “strategic partnership”, Hu Jintao conducted official talks in the Kremlin. Given this, the absence of Indian leaders was striking and not just to me. One has to admit: on May 9 Beijing outplayed Delhi. The hope is that such misunderstandings can be avoided in future; frequent communication at the top level is an important factor in returning our relations to an ascendant trajectory of development.

Andrey Volodin, Dr.Sc. (History), is a Chief Researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow.

ussia celebrated the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany (May 9) with the biggest display of military might since the end of the Cold War two decades ago at the historic Red Square in Moscow. For the first time in history, the V-Day parade saw wartime allies of the Soviet Union joining Russian troops to celebrate the defeat of the barbarism epitomised by Hitler’s Germany. Soldiers from Britain, France, Poland and the US, allies of the Soviet Union, and now NATO members, marched step in step with 10,500 Russian troops and military contingents of the former Soviet republics as they shouted hurrah, showing how the Cold War rivalries has receded in the face of the shifting international equations. The celebrations, costing around $40 mn, involved over 10,000 personnel, 200 veterans from 24 foreign countries, 150 tracked and wheeled military vehicles and 127 aircraft. Many international leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, acting Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Chinese President Hu Jintao, flew to Moscow for the celebrations. The former allies’participation in theV-Day parade has, however, revived an old debate about the Second World War and Russia’s role in this epochal event, what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. In a recent poll conducted by the All Rus-

sian Public Opinion Research Center, 91 pc of respondents said the Soviet Union made the biggest contribution to victory over Nazi Germany, while only 3 pc cited the US, and only 1 pc of respondents believed it was Britain and France. Patriotism apart, theWorldWar II remains a touchstone of widely varying emotions in Russia, ranging from nostalgia to probing soul-searching. But ignorance about basic facts of the WorldWar II is pervasive. Heroic myths continue to proliferate. But despite this, most Russians believe the victory in 1945 was the greatest in the country’s history. In May 2008, Medvedev set up a commission to “Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests".The commission’s task,the president said, was to“defend Russia against falsifiers of history and those who would deny the Soviet contribution to the victory in World War II". “The Second World War, however, remains one of the biggest myths in Russians’ mass consciousness and it is still a taboo topic,”says Karolina Soloyed, an associate professor at the Institute of Practical Psychology in Moscow. Now, there is a genuine psychic probing into what exactly happened, a trend that started after citizens of the former Soviet Union started to travel abroad after the fall of the BerlinWall.“Many Russian people today are interested in the history of their families and the country in general. Some of them search for the graves of soldiers who died during the war.It is very important because this is a way to recovery,”says Soloyed.

THE POLLS

Law and order is most important Most Russians respect democratic principles but may sacrifice them to ensure law and order , according to polls, conducted by Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), and levada center. SOURCE: www.wciom.ru

drawing by viktor bogorad

xperts agree that the turbulence in world developments is becoming more overt and protracted. The deepening crisis in countries in Southern Europe (Greece, Portugal, Spain and, perhaps, Italy), the political stalemate in Britain requiring drastic decisions (the pressing need to revise the electoral system of the relative majority), the revival of destructive processes in postSoviet space (the de facto collapse of the state system in Kyrgyzstan) — these are just a few of the events suggesting the possible shape of a new tectonic shift in the international system. This shift will occur, of course, at a time when the major powers have obviously lost control over fast-changing global and regional realities. How and where will the new reality influence the interests of Russia and India? I think that the main sphere of our mutual interest is Central Asia. At the end of the Soviet era, in 1989-91, I had the chance to talk to such prominent Indian intellectuals and members of the strategic elites as P.N. Haksar, M.L. Fotedar, and Ravindra Kumar.Their main thought then was that the disintegration of the Soviet Union would create a huge vacuum that would be quickly filled by radical Islam. Whether the Soviet system was good or bad was a separate matter. Russian colonialism (as embodied by the Russian Empire and later the USSR) not only created a secular state system in Central Asia and fostered secular elites in this part of Eurasia, it also acted as a military and political barrier to keep ideas and practices of radical Islam out of Central Asia. The ideas of these Indian intellectuals had much in common with those of physicist Andrei Sakharov, as expressed in the“Sakharov Constitution” which he helped draft in 1989 for Mikhail Gorbachev — a new Constitution of the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia. It was based on the following principles: a single Eurasian territory had taken shape historically over a long period of time; that space possessed an economic community, the free movement of demographic groups prompted by economic necessity; the state from time immemorial had acted as the main party of modernisation; the most important condition for the via-

Svetlana Kononova

According to Levada Center pollster, 66 pc of Russians value democratic principles, and 53 pc think the most important are civil rights. At the same time, 72 pc are ready to accept "certain violations of democratic principles and restriction of personal freedoms" if it is required to ensure order, VTSIOM findings show. For 16 pc, democracy is more important even if it "gives certain freedom to destructive and criminal elements."

All articles appearing on pagess 6 and 7 do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the editors of Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Russia India Report.

Feature

BOOKMARKS

RUSSIA INDIA REPORT

IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA, RUSSIA THE ECONOMIC TIMES WEDNESDAY_MAY 26_2010

grigoriperelman.net Find more information about Grigiry Perelman www.cerebrals.org/genius.htm "The Genius Hall" - a selection of the brightest and revolutionary minds

genius as long as it was restrained by "the workings of a normal consciousness" (read the "mistake detector"). So a psychological anomaly works as "a magic elixir," which releases the genius from its prison. Segalin examined genealogical trees and health histories of iconic figures like as LeoTolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Goethe, Byron, Balzac, Shuman and more. However impressive this list might appear, it still does not apmaticians and physicists made pear convincing to many experts their discoveries before they who do not see any direct link were 35. No outstanding in- between genius and psychologsights came after that point, ical problems. though they did produce good Famous Soviet geneticistVladiquality research.”Why? A theory mir Efroimson pointed out a says that over years our brain link between outstanding abilidevelops a “mistake detector”, ties and gout, caused by high which prevents us from straying levels of uric acid. He put tobeyond known concepts.With- gether a list of great gout-strickout it, people would have to en people including Michelanlearn over and over again from gelo, Rubens, Galileo, Leibniz, their mistakes.This detector ac- Darwin, Thomas Moore and cumulates our experience and Newton. thus supports multiple auto- Now, cutting-edge technologies matic actions. As soon as we in biosciences are prying into the begin to move outside the known secrets of genius by looking diexperience, the brain signals: rectly into their brains. When "This can't be true." people rely on their reflexes That’s why children are often without thinking, they tend to considered geniuses. William use the frontal lobes of the left Wordsworth famously said“the cerebral hemisphere.More comchild is the father of man,”till plex tasks activate some parts of “shades of the prison-house the right hemisphere. A person begin to close upon the growing taking part in the experiment Boy”,shutting out breakthrough reaches the peak of creativity ideas or lightning insights in when he or she experiences a soone’s later life. According to called “altered state of conMedvedev, the reason is that sciousness”while solving a comtheir entire body functions in a plex problem, says Dr Nina non-standard mode as they per- Sviderskaya of the Institute for sistently venture into restricted Higher Nervous Activity and areas of cognition.This perhaps explains why geniuses generally have short lives and often suffer from ill health. Experts from other areas like psychiatry and genetics have Four years ago, when Grigoalso forayed into genius studies. ry Perelman was awarded the In the 19th century, Italian crim- Fields Medal in 2006, the maths inologist Cesare Lambroso com- equivalent of an Oscar, for piled an extensive profile of id- cracking a centuries-old maths iosyncrasies of great people problem, he went to the counpublished in his book“Genius try for mushroom gathering on and Madness". It provoked a the day of the award ceremostormy debate, which has been ny in Madrid. "It does not make raging ever since. In the 1920s, any difference. If my solution is Grigory Segalin studied the ge- correct, there is no need for any nealogies of great figures trying other recognition,” said Perelto prove that one line of descent man. (the father, for instance) usually Is he going to ignore a million contributed an exceptional tal- dollars this time? The head of ent, while the other left the leg- the Clay Mathematics Institute acy of a psychological condition. personally called the mysterious He believed that it took more Russian. The man said he felt than a natural gift to produce a

Science The brain of a genius is a complex entity and Perelman's is no exception

The making of a genius: A million-dollar mystery WWW.LIVEINTERNET.RU

Saying no to a $1-million award is not easy. But Grigory Perelman, a reclusive mathematician who has solved a century-old maths problem, has done precisely that, sparking a hundred theories about what makes a genius tick. YURI MEDVEDEV

ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA

In March, the Clay Mathematical Institute in the United States awarded Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman its Millennium Prize of $1 mn for solving a over century-old math problem posed by French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904. Perelman was barely 35 years old when he found proof for Conjecture, one of the seven critical millennium problems that will help describe the shape of the universe and posted it on the web. The prize set off frenzied speculation in the media whether the reclusive mathematician, who lives with his mother in a modest apartment in a suburb of St Petersburg, will accept the new honour or not. Four years ago, he had refused a maths equivalent of an Oscar. The media spotlight on the intriguing career of Perelman has also rekindled interest in that much-discussed and much-misunderstood phenomenon called “genius”.Someone quipped that geniuses fall to the Earth from heaven. In Greek mythology, genius and madness were often allied, fuelling latter-day theories about genius being a species of mental aberration. Seneca said that every great mind was tainted with madness. History is replete with exceptionally gifted artists,scientists and performers who challenge our average understanding of genius.While theories trying to demystify genius continue to proliferate, experts

To advertise in this supplement contact Julia Golikova golikova@rg.ru ph. +7 (495) 755 3114

Grigory Perelman, the maths genius who said no to $1 mn.

He was barely 35, when he found proof for Conjecture, one of the seven critical millennium problems. “Extraordinary abilities are a disease; a genius is a sick person, a deviation,” psycologists say...

at a Russian institute, established in the Soviet era, have been examining the brains of revolutionaries, scientists and writers to decode the puzzle for years. But the mystery has only deepened as they could not find any difference between the brains of average people and those of that rare breed called genius. “Extraordinary abilities are a disease," says Svyatoslav Medvedev, director of the Human Brain Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences.“A genius is a sick person, a deviation. Interestingly, all brilliant mathe-

Neurophysiology,a leading medical researcher in this field. At that moment, both hemispheres of the brain are fully engaged. This unusual state of mind has many variants, including hypnosis, autism, schizophrenia, and epilepsy.The altered mind is a working medium for psychics or shamans. The experiments conducted by Dr Sviderskaya showed that schizophrenics spent much less effort and energy to solve problems than normal people. And the reason is clear.They do not need to attain the altered state because they live in it. Is this the key to the secret of genius? Dr Sviderskaya cautions that it is too early to jump to any conclusions. As for the extraordinary abilities demonstrated by some schizophrenic patients, they develop to the detriment of the brain and constitute the defect itself. The one point all modern researchers, however, agree upon is that the mystery of genius cannot be unraveled without genetic science. It is critical to understand how the brain develops and what genes control its various components. From time to time, the media even reports sensational discoveries of a genius gene. Any mental gift, however, is too complex to be pre-defined by one or two genes. It has to be a genetic orchestra to master a great symphony. Deciphering this sophisticated code is a formidable task, which may take decades to complete.

Meet the reclusive genius…

“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.”

Catch the vibes of Moscow in.rbth.ru/blogs

pleased by the attention, but did not confirm his attendance at the prize award ceremony, which will be held in Paris in early June. The day after, when his apartment was besieged by journalists, his mother told them off, saying: “We don’t give any interviews and don’t discuss the prize or the money.” “Most likely, he won’t leave his apartment for a long time. We saw him and his mother carrying heavy shopping bags a couple of days ago. They must've been stocking up before the siege," say Perelman’s neighbours.

This issue has been conceptualised by INTERNATIONAL MEDIA MARKETING, RESPONSE adqueries@ timesgroup.com Co-ordinator: • Feature Mehernosh Gotla (mehernosh.gotla@ timesgroup.com)