AUGUST 08 2007 www.passportmagazine.ru

Across Siberia by Train

Prepare for Kremlin Zoria Military Festival

Retail therapy without the pain

MAKS Air Show

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2007 08

Content

Editor's choice Children of Terpsichore 4MadeintheUSA 8LikeRussianAristocrats 8

St Petersburg Feature IvanSlavinsky 9PetertheGreat'ssummerresidence 10Astoria, the feel of history 12

Cover StoryMAKS air show 13

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9

13

TravelLondonthroughrussianeyes 16BicesterVillage 18IntoSiberia 20

16

Hospitality NewsGourmetshashlykin"CafeKranzler" 40Golden Apple Restaurant Pasta Festival 40SwissotelKrasnyeKholmysellseventsatBoutique 40DяgilevcelebratesNewYearinAugust 40

40

CommunityStCatherine's:RepresentingAmericanOrthodoxyinMoscow 46PostcardfromBelarus 48The end of everything 49Stalin'sbunker–asurpriseunderanathleticfield 50

46

Wine & DineMoscow'sFerrari 41Lorenzo Strappato, Executive Chef of Bellezza 42Recipe 43

41

Real EstateParadise for sale 29SavantRe-Brand 31Swisskickoffnewchamberwithrealestatediscussion 32News 34

29

Out & AboutOpenairinParadise 52MoscowOblastGovernor'sShow-JumpingCup 52Dewar's Russian Polo Cup 53RBCCAppleBar&Restaurantnetworkingmeeting 53Coxhits75notout 54GEOS 54Ex-patfootball 54

52

BusinessTheRussianmiddleclass 35

35

ArtThe 1920's and 1930's in the Soviet period of art 38

38

Last WordVictorShenderovich 56

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2 08 2007

Letter from the Publisher

Circulation40,000.Readers80,000.PublishedbyOOOPassportMagazine.Allrightsreserved.ThispublicationisregisteredbythePressMinistryNo.77-18639.08.10.04

Editorial Address:OzerkovskayaEmbankment,50Bldg.1.Office515.5thfloor.115054Moscow,RussiaTel:(495)959-2332,(495)959-2875,(495)959-2271,Fax:(495)221-2677

www.passportmagazine.ru

General director and publisherJohnOrtega,784-2834jortega@passportmagazine.ruEditor-in-chiefJohnBonar,959-2873,8(916)544-8073j.bonar@passportmagazine.ruActing Managing editorIanMitchelli.mitchell@passportmagazine.ruEditor, Wine&Dine SectionAnnaKulyagina,959-2271,8(903)243-1318a.kulyagina@passportmagazine.ruArts & Community EditorNataliaShuvalovaContributing editorCharlesBordenc.borden@passportmagazine.ruBusiness editorDanielKleind.klein@passportmagazine.ruBusiness writerJamesBlakeblake.james@gmail.com

Real Estate editorSonyaRinkusrinkus@gmail.comContributorsJohn Bonar, Charles Borden, Anne Coombes, JonHellevig, Annet Kulyagina, Linda Lippner, OlgaMironenko,IanMitchell,ElenaPlatanova,MartineSelf,NataliaShuvalova,OlgaSlobodkina-von-BromssenProof readerLindaLippnerDesignerMarinaOrlovam.orlova@passportmagazine.ruPhotographersAlexGorov,DenisManko,RuslanSergeev,LanaAbramovaWebmasterAlexeyTimokhinalexey@timokhin.ruAccounting and legal servicesVistaForeignBusinessSupportTrubnayaStr.25/1,Moscow,(495)933-7822

Augustisa‘happeningmonth’andwehavelotsinthisissuetotemptyoutoseeanddothingsoutoftheordinary.TopofthelististheMAKSairshow,thefeatureofourcover.Thisisyourchancetoseegreatflyingdisplaysupcloseanditisalltakingplacelessthananhour’sdrivefromMoscow.Thebi-annualshowisgoingtobeasspectacularaseverasJohnBonarexplainsinhiscoverstory.OrfollowMartineSelfonthetraintoIrkutskandLakeBaikal.ShetakestheterroroutoflongdistancetravelontheTrans-SiberianExpresswithherfirsthandaccount.

StPetersburgiswonderfulinthesummerandwetemptyoutoheadnorthwithNa-talia Shuvalova’s article on artist Ivan Slavinsky and his new gallery, a feature on Pet-rodvorets,oftencompared to thePalaceofVersaillesand anarticleonRoccoForte’slandmarkhotel,theAstoria.

OlgaSlobodkina-von-BromssengivesusaRussian’seyeviewonLondon,anddropsseveral names in the process. For some retail therapy without the pain of hefty pricetags,ourfeatureonBicesterchicshoppingvillageshouldtemptyououtoftheBritishcapital.

For thosewithaneyeon furtherafield,whatcouldbemore remote thanFiji?OlgaMironenko writes about a paradise island for sale, one of the few that can still be ac-quired freehold in the South Pacific. And it comes with a nearly complete villa resortdevelopment.

WearepleasedtohaveasManagingEditor for this issuethedistinguishedScottishauthor,IanMitchell.HeistheauthorofIslesoftheWest:aHebrideanVoyageandIsles

oftheNorth:aVoyagetotheRealmsoftheNorse.IanfoundedanorganizationcalledPeopleToo,describedbyhimasan"organizationtodefendruralcommunitiesfromtheimpostionofcentralizedbureaucracy".

Hehasalsowrittenabook,calledTheCostofaReputation,abouttheAldington-Tol-stoylibeltrialwhichtookplaceinLondonin1989andwhichconcernedOperationKeel-haul,acontroversialBritishwartimeoperation.

NostrangertoRussia,heiscurrentlydividinghistimebetweenMoscowandEdinburghbutislikelytobeamorepermanentresidentofourfinecityfromSeptember.Inthisis-suehegivesusapreviewoftheupcomingKremlinZoriamilitaryfestivalwhichwillbelaunchedinSeptember.

John OrtegaOwner and Publisher

moscow telephone codes changeDearreaderspleasenotethatsincethebeginningof2007thefixedlinetelephonecodeswerechanged.Nowthereare2codesfunctioning:-495and-499.Forthosewhohave495code:outof495youdial:to495–7digits,to499–8(499)7digits.Tomobile–8(code)7digits.Forthosewhohave499code:outof499youdial:to499–4997digits,to495–8(495)7digits.Tomobile–8(code)7digits.Inanycombinationofnumbersthecallisconsideredandbilledaslocal.

We occasionally use material we belive has been placed in the public domian. Sometimes it is not possible to identify and contact the copyright owner.If you claim ownership of something we have published, we will please to make a proper acknowledgment.

� 08 2007

Editor's Choice

SummerBalletSeasonsistheannualClas-sicalBalletFestivalinMoscow.ItspurposeistomaintainanddevelopRussianculturalheritage.Whateverthisphrasemaymean,theyaredoingverywell.Since2001,whentheveryfirstSummerSeasonwasheld,theperformanceshavebeenattendedbymorethan200,000people.Itwasexpectedthatthemainaudiencewouldbeforeigntour-istswhocametoMoscowtofindthat thefamousRussianBalletisontourinthecoun-trytheyhadjustcomefrom.But itturnedout thatRussianshaveequal interest!Theperformances are traditionally held at theRussian Academic Youth Theatre, which isrightnexttotheBolshoiTheater,oppositetheKremlinandRedSquare.

Most of the companies performing attheFestivalareinfrequentvisitorstoMos-cow.Theyspendmostoftheirtimetour-ingabroadorinotherRussiancities.OneoftheregularsistheRussianClassicalBal-let Theater of Viktor Smirno-Golovanov.Theirperformancesarescheduled inAu-gustwhenthegroupreturnsfromTaiwan.Nonetheless,theyspentthewholemonthof June in Moscow, living their everydayballetlife–rehearsing,rehearsingandre-hearsing.

Their repertoire is vast: “Swan Lake”,“Sleeping Beauty”, “Nutcracker”, Giselle”,“DonQuixote”, “WarandPeace”,“RomeoandJuliet”,“LoveandDeathofAnnaKar-enina”, “Carmen Suite”, “Cinderella”. Now

Smirnov-Golovanov is working on 'Mas-carad',musicbyKhachaturyan.

ImethimpersonallyandIwasintrigued!NoteverydaydoImeetarealballetleg-end, one who studied and danced withPavlova, Tereshkova and Posokhov, andwhodirectedmanyworld-renownedper-formances. One of them was “Love andDeath of Anna Karenina”, starring MayaPlisetskaya.Iexpectedastoryofthehap-pylifeofaballetstar.However, itturnedoutquitedifferently.

Toget to the rehearsal, Ihadto takeashuttlebustothekolkhoz–yes,therearestillplacesthatarereferredtobythissovi-etword–atZarechie.Withinhalfanhourride(maybe45minutesfromtheKievska-

Children of Terpsichoreby Natalia Shuvalova

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2007 08 �

Editor's Choice

'The Nutcracker'

yastation), thebusstoppedinfrontofared-brickbuilding.ThedriverannouncedtheKolkhozZarechie’sPalaceofCulture.

“Ballet stars rehearse in a kolkhoz!” Ithoughttomyself.

ThefirstpersonImetuponarrivalwasVictor Smirnov-Golovanov, the directorand the founder of the theatre. He wasnicely, but very simply, dressed. Thereseemedtobenoarroganceabouthim.Atfirst, Iwondered if thiswashissecretary,not Smirnov-Golovanov himself – world-renownedballetdirectorandformerBol-shoiTheatrestar.

Smirnov-Golovanov’scareerasaballetdancer began in 1944 when he was ac-cepted into the Bolshoi Theatre School.Atthattime,thestudentsliterallylivedinthetheatre.Theyhadclasseswiththebal-let stars, and could watch them performfromback-stage.Smirnov-Golovanovsawmanyofthemostfamousones.More,heperformedwiththemonthestage.“IevenheldUlanova!”heproudlyadmits.

He believes that the present balleteducationlacksthatkindoffamilyatmo-sphere.Therealeducationhappenswithinthetheatre.That’soneofthemainprinci-pleshefollowsinhisgroup.Everyonehasachancetogrow.Hedoesnotcareaboutprevious education when he considersadmittingadancertothegroup.Helooksfor potential. Determination and dedica-tionarewhatheseesasmostimportant.

WhenhespeaksoftheBolshoiTheatre,itisalwaysbitter-sweet.Treasuringallthathereceivedfromtheballetprofessionalsin Soviet times, and the level of the cul-turaleducation,itwastheSovietinjusticethatmadehimthinkoffoundinghisowngroup.

“Hardlyanyonehadachancetogooutof the country,” he says. “But everyone

Natalia Padalko, Anastasia Gubanova, Mikhail Mikhailov, Talgat Kozhabaev

Principals

waseagertoseeandlearnaboutballetinParisandNewYork.ButtheSovietGovern-mentwouldallowonly theMoscowstarsto travel.Those in theprovinces,nomat-ter how talented they were, never had achance. I was furious with that injustice.When the Soviet Union collapsed and it

was possible to work independently, Idecidedtolaunchmyowngroup,oneinwhicheveryonewouldhavethechancetoshowtheirbest,toperforminothercoun-tries,tolearn.”

Smirnov-Golovanov’s resolution wasstrong. In 1988 he became the founder

and art director of the Russian ClassicalBallet Theatre. Naturally, the questionarises:whyclassical?

“Asadancer,”hereplies,“Ilikeandtrea-sure every style. Modern ballet is won-derful.ButwhenIwasveryyoung,Ihap-penedtomeetSolomonYurak.Heusedto

beShalyapin’sandPavlov’simpresario.Hetoldusthen,"TherewillbeinterestinRus-sianart,butifyouchaseandrunaftertheWest,youarecertaintofail.YouwillneverkeepupwithusintheWest,wewillcon-tinue to be the first and best in modernballet. We grew up in that. So I decided

� 08 2007

Editor's Choice'The Sleeping Beauty'

to never copy but maintain and developourtraditions.Besides,peoplearewrong,thinkingthatclassicalballetisadeadart.Itisconstantlychangingdeveloping.Mod-ern ballet does not come as substitute.It is justanotherformofart.Besides,theclassicalstyleisalwaysmoredifficultthanmodern.Inmoderndancing,oneisfreetoexpressoneself,butthereisnobodywhoknows‘how’,thusnobodywhocanjudgethelevelofhisproficiency.”

As we talked, we watched his grouprehearsing 'Carmen'. At times he had tobreakofftogive instructionsandcorrec-tions.Itwasaspecialtreattowatchthemallatwork.Atthesemoments,onecomesto realize why a ballet group is called afamily, why a real dancer can grow onlywithin a theatre group. Smirnov-Golova-nov’s corrections are precise and sharp,always to the point, and taken with thehighestrespect,justlikefromafather.

I learned a lot that day. The conversa-tionwentonandon,butIwisheditwouldnot end. I was amazed by the stories, ormaybethespecialspiritthatdwellsthere.

“You know, ballet should be watchedfromadistance.Theroyalbalconywasal-waysinthemiddlebutneverclosetothestage.Balletisgraphic.Itisthegeometryofvariousfigures,merging,changing,dis-sipatingoneintoanother.”

Ihadtoaskwhytheyperformsorarelyin Moscow, even though to the wholeworld they are known as the MoscowCity Ballet. Smirnov-Golovanov smiled.“Itisnotworthit. Ialwaysdoubtthatweshould accept the invitation to performwithintheSummerBalletSeasons,butwestilldo!”

There is no arrogance in that state-ment. Moscow is neither hospitable norprofitable.Intheircase,itishardtocoverthe expenses of the warehouse to storetheirstagesets,thepriceoftheZarechierehearsal stage, and apartments for thedancers (hotels are out of the question).

While abroad, they are hosted in muchbetterconditions.

“Colleagues often ask what one has todotohaveyourowntheatre.Myfirstan-swer is to be ready not to pay yourself asalary, or to sell your car in order to buythecostumesorthesetforyournextpro-duction,”hesays,laughing.“Iamnotthesortofpersonwhowillbegsomeoneforhelp.Throughtheleanyears,wesurvivedonourownresources,bothfinancialandcreative.”

Iwaslookingatthe20year-oldsonthestage.Don’ttheydreamofalifethatAn-astasia Volochkova has? Fame, a name,money!Theyprobablydo,butnotwhenonthestage.

Mr. Smirnov-Golovanov introduces meto a charming being. “That’s who youhavetotalkto!”hesaid.

Thebeingispuzzledand, inavoiceasgentle and charming as her look, says,“ButwearegoingtorehearseDonQuix-otenow!”

The charms of PR and the lure of themediaseemtobesofarawayfromherre-

ality.Sheismorethanfriendly,yetmakessure that she will be free to go back onstage soon. Her back is always straight,whether walking, standing or taking herseatonachair.Sheisallaboutballet.

Her story is the story of every personwhochoseballetastheircareer.Yet,thisisnotquitetrue.Herstoryisthestoryoftheveryfewwhodedicatedtheirlivesfullytothisart.ThestoryofthechildrenofTerpsi-hora(asSmirnov-Golovanovcallsthem).

She was born and grew up in theUkraine. From early childhood she wentinforsportgymnastics.Natashawasdo-ingwell,andwasinvitedintothenationalyouthteam.Oneofthetrainersalwaysad-visedhertotrydanceorballet.ShepaidnoattentionuntilonedayhetookhertothetheatretoseeSwanLake.

“Iwasdazzled.Icouldfeeleverymove-menttheyweredoingonthestage!Icanstill remember most of them. That par-ticulareveningIliterallygotsickwithbal-let.IreadeverybookIcouldaboutballet,”Natashasays.

Shortlyafterthat,hermotherwascare-

2007 08 �

Editor's Choice

'The Nutcracker'

lessenoughtotellhershehadseenaTVprogram about a ballet school in St. Pe-tersburg,aboarding-typeschool.Thatbe-cameNatasha’sdream–andaheartachefor her parents. They were determinedtonotlethergothere.Butthechildwasso determined that they finally agreedtoasummertriptothenortherncity.Ofcourse,theycouldnotrefusetoshowheratleastthebuildingoftheschool.

“Eventhestreetwheretheschool is, ismagical!ThemomentIsteppedinthere,my back went straight, my expressionchanged. It was as if I stepped into an-otherreality."

To cut a long story short, Natasha be-came a student. Her parents expected(or hoped) that she would not pass theexams, but she did. They took her backhome and she cried for a whole year.Later,tiredofendlesstears,theytookherthereagain.Theydidnotassumethatlastyear’sresultswouldcountandweresurethat there was no way she could be ad-mitted.Buttotheirsurprise,theteachersremembered her and she was accepted.This time Natasha’s parents had to goback home by themselves and send hersuitcasesbymail.

Onthequestion,“Wasithard?”,Natashasmiles,“Veryhard.Justlikeinthearmy.”

Shesharedaroomforfour,withonetoi-letonthefloorandashowerinthebase-ment.Theroomhadjustoneclosetforall.Everymorning,at7a.m.theattendantofthefloorwouldopenthedooroftheroomshouting “Wake up!” Her mother was soworriedaboutwhowouldtakecareofherthere. She asked one of the supervisors:“Whodoesthegirls’hair?”Thesupervisorsmiled: “One week and they learn to doeverythingthemselves.”

At the age of nine, none of them hada mother to do their hair, to give thembreakfast or just a warm hug after thehardday.Classesstartedat9a.m.,andthelastrehearsalwouldendat9p.m.

Wouldshechoosethesamechildhoodandlifenow?

Thesmilegetsevenlarger:“Ofcourse!”Thestyleoflifeshehasisnoteasy.Itis

notformostofus.Butforher,itisthebestshe could dream of. She can dance andthat’sallthatmatters.Thepriceis lotsoftraveling,sixhoursadayrehearsingandastrictdietregime.Duringherleisuretimeshe watches recordings of her perfor-mancetoseewhatneedsimprovement.

I remembered my ride in that shuttlebusandwonderedwhethertheyallhavetogotheverysamewayonadailybasis.

“This year we are lucky to be able torentanapartmenttenminutesawayfromthetheatre.Buttwoyearsagowestayedattheoppositeendofthecity,andittookme two hours to get here. It was one ofthehardestyearsinmylife.”

Butas longasshedances,sheisreadytoputupwithalltheotherdifficulties.

Sheexcusedherself:“Ineedtobebackonthestage.”

Iwatchedthischarming,tiny,slim–veryslim–beingfloatawayandjointheotherfiftybeingsonthestageandthought tomyself: “This selfless dedication is whatmakesartrealart.Notanewform,anewexpression,butwhatwecouldsimplycallsoul and heart. No press or PR can eversubstituteforthat.”

On the way back, the young girl fromthe PR agency Kushnir Productions, whoarrangedthis interviewforus,said, “Idonot understand, why me and all of myfriendsnevergotoseeclassicalballet.”

Ionlysmiled.ItmeansthatIwasnottheonlyonewhowasdeeplytouchedbythismeeting.

� 08 2007

Editor's ChoiceMade in the USAIn2005-6,theGuggenheimMuseumputonshowthebiggestexhibitionofRussianarteverbroughttotheUnitedStates.Inresponse,thismonth,thePushkinMuseumofFineArthostsalargeexhibitionorganizedwiththesupportoftheGuggenheimFund.TheRus-sian“hosts”areveryhonoured.“Wedoubtthatourgenerationwillhaveanotherchancetoseethesamekindofcollectionagain!”aspokespersonoftheMuseumsaid.MorethanahundredcanvasseswillarriveinMoscowfromdozensofmuseumsandprivatecollec-tions.ThelistincludessuchgreatnamesasJohnCopley,JacksonPollock,RobertHenry,GeorgiaO’Keeffe,AndyWarhol(tomentionafew),thusfullyreflectingthreecenturiesofartintheUnitedStates.IrinaAntonova,thedirectorofthemuseumproudlyadmitsthatitwasthePushkinMuseumwhichintroducedAmericanarttotheSovietpublicinthe1950'sand60's.ThescopeoftheexhibitionwillallowthevisitortofeelthepeculiarspiritoftheAmericanculture:creativefreedomandopennesstoexploration,searchandexperiment.TheexhibitionisunderthepatronageofForeignMinisterSergeiLavrovandSecretaryofStateCondoleezaRice".

Like Russian AristocratsMoscowisfamousforitsaristocraticestates.MostpopulararetheSheremetiev’sproper-tiesatKuzminkiandOstankino,andPrinceGolytsin’sestateatArkhangelskoe.Whatcanbemoreattractivethantotakewalkinthepark,enjoythearchitectureandlearnmoreaboutthehistory?EachsummerOstankinoandArchangelskoehostclassicalorjazzcon-certs.InOstankino,Bach,Vivaldi,Mozartandmanyotherclassicsareplayedintheestatetheatre.Arkhangelskoewelcomesmusic-loversforweekendfestivals.Thisyear,JulyandAugustweek-endsaregiventothe“KorniiKrona(RootsandCrown),fromtheoriginsofethnotothesophisticationofBaroqueandRenaissance”.ThosewhoappreciateclassicalmusicwillenjoyperformancesbyprominentmusicianslikeReneClemencich,aswellasthesoundof rare instruments (violdagamba,chalumoandbaroqueclarinet,etc).Theclosingpartofthefestivalisaperformanceoftheballet,the“MagicalCelebrationsintheNameoftheSunKing”.ItconsistsoftherolesplayedbyLouisXIV!ItisadoublepleasuretohearmusicinthepremisesoftheexquisiteGonzazatheaterontheestate.

Ride onEquirosisMoscow’sannualInternationalHorseExhibition.Itcouldhavebeenjustasmall,closed,strictlyprofessionalconferencebuttheorganizershaveturneditintoagreatmulti-facetedevent.Therearecontestsforthebestjournalistessay,“IppoPress”,thebestphoto,“Equiphoto”,andthebestchildren’sdrawing.Ofcourse,allofthemareabouthorses.TheBestKoumissContestwillopenthefirstdayoftheexhibition.Apartfromnumerousshow-jumpingcompetitions, the followingprogram includesaTroikaRideShow,vetmaster-classes,horse-ridingclassesforchildrenandevenalecture“AllabouttheWildWest”.ButwhatEquiroshasbecomemostfamousforistheeveninghorse-ridingshow,“UndertheSignoftheHorse”.Itisperformedbyaprofessionaldirectorandinvolvestopartistsandstunt men. The show is accompanied by special visual and sound effects. The music iswrittenspecificallyforthisproduction.Lastyeartheaudiencehadachancetoexperiencethe fourelementsofearth,water,airandfire,whilewitnessingthebattlebetweenthedarkandthelight,travelingthroughdifferenthistoricaltimeperiods.Let’sseewheretheridegoesthisyear.

“Korni and Krona”Saturday & Sunday until September 2Archangeskoe EstateM. Tushinskaya, bus ��9 to Arkhamgeslkoe or 1�1 to Sanatory� (�9�) ��0-22-31

Sheremetevskie Vechera (Sheremetiev’s Evenings)Thursday, SaturdayOstankino EstateM. VDNH 1st Ostankinskaya st., �� (�9�) ��3-��-��

“New World. Three Centuries of American Art”until September 9

Pushkin Museum of Fine ArtsVolkhonka, 10M. Kropotkinskaya

Equiros 200� “Under the Sign of the Horse”KVTs Sokolniki

M. SokolnikiSokolnicheski val, 1 Pavilion � August 2�-2� 19:00

2007 08 9

St Petersburg Feature

“Iwasabout5yearswhenIfelttiredofmak-ingthesameoldstuff.Inoticedanicepictureon thewall (a reproductionofRaphael)anddecidedtomakeacopyofit.WhenIfinished,Ibroughtittomymother.Shecouldnothideher surprise, a sort of: ‘My son is a genius!’When my father came home, he was strucktoo!Hedidnotsaymuchbutthenextdayhetookmetoartschool.”

To be exact, first he took little Ivan to theChildren’sdepartmentstoretobuythetrainsetIvanhadwantedsomuch.“Heboughtmetwo!Iaskedforitbefore,butitneverworked!At that point I thought: artists have a reallynicelife!”

Ivan got the degree from Art School andspentonlytwoyearsattheAcademy.Hedidnot see much sense in staying there as hisfatherhasalwaysbeenhismajorteacher.Hetaught by his own example and attitude to-wardsart.ItishardtodefinethestyleSlavin-sky works in. There are too many differentones: surrealistic portraits and landscapesthatevokepicturesfromRayBradburystories;orimpressioniststilllifepictures.Ivanadmitsthateverymasterpiece,ofanyschool,hasin-spiredhimtowork.Hehaslearnedfromallofthemtopursuehisownideas.

“Idonotthinkthatitisthestylethatmakestheartistrecognizable,buthowmuchofhissoulheputsintothework,”hesays.

His first exhibition took place in 1991, buthis name was already popular in St. Peters-burg.WhentheSovieteraended,artistsgotthe freedom to create whatever they loved.No longer did they have to bother about“official”art.Slavinskybelieveshewas luckyto start at that time. Even five years earlier,his surrealistic landscapes of St. Petersburgstreetswouldnotbehavebeenappreciated,toputitmildly.

“At that time there were no galleries. TheAcademy was supposed to make an annualexhibition of young artists but their exhibi-tionneverreflectedwhatwastrulygoingon.Most of the artists would go to the streets(laughs).Therewasnonegativeconnotation

about that phrase. We were so enthusiasticabout it.Wewouldwakeupat4a.m.togetthebestplaces.”

Diditpaywell?“Quite well! The paintings sold like hot

cakes! Foreign tourists were so eager andhungry to get something from Russia. SoonenoughIgotregularclients.”

Slavinskydidnotspendmuchtimeonthestreets, though. Soon enough he went toFrance.

He planned just a tourist visit, but a tourguideinParislikedhimandhiswifesomuchthatattheendoftheirthreedayvisithesaid:“Whywouldyounotstay.Let’sgotoextendyourvisasandyoubothcanstaywithme!”

He smiles at the easy way in which theFrenchauthoritiesallowedhimtostay.Hedidnotcomehomefornearlytenyears.

French experience influenced his viewsonartandonthelifeofanartistinaculturalcapital.Hehadtheopportunitytosharethepremisesofadesertedfactory,whereartistslived,paintingoncarpets,pickingupgarbageandeatingtinsofcat-foodfor lunch!Butheseemstohavebeenbornunderaluckystar.Finally,hegotexhibitedinoneofthegalleriesandgainedhisreputation.

Beforethat,hisluckystarallowedhimtogethismoneyforlivingfromRussia…illegally.

“Ihadpaintingssoldbackhome.Theprob-lemwasthattherewasnowaytotransferthemoney:nobanks,nomoneytransfers.SoIhadanidea. Icalledmyfriend(allthetimewon-deringifanyofficialwasoverhearingourcon-versation)andgavehiminstructionsonhowtoputthecashintothetubesofoil-paints.Hedid.Thenhewenttotheairportandaskedthepilot(yes,atthattimeitwasaseasyasthat!)togivethecaseofcolorsandbrushestotheartistinParis.Thepilot,bytheway,wasveryhonouredtohelp!”

Now,whenhisnameisrecognizedinFrance,Holland,Italy,heislivingbackinRussia.

“Ifeelthatitiseasierformetoexpressmy-selfhere.Afteralltheseyears,Icansayforsurethat there is a cultural difference between

thecountriesthatinfluenceanartist.Today’swestern art is too much about experiment-ingandnovelty,whilethepublicstillhasthetastedevelopedoverthecourseofcenturies.Itisgreattoexperiment,butIstronglybelievethatanartistisalsoacraftsmanwhosedutyistosatisfythetasteofthepublic.Idonotmeanitistheonlyduty.Besides,mostofthemod-ernartistsintheWestdonotpossesthebasicpaintingskills.Inthisrespect,Russianshaveanadvantage.Wecandowildthings,butneverlooseourrootsinRepinandShishkin.”

Asmentionedbefore, Ivan isa fantasist inhiscreativework.Thoughheeasilyshiftsfromstyletostyle,heispredominantlysurrealistic.Buthedepictshisfantasieswithgreattechni-calskill.

InJuly,heopenedhisowngalleryinhisna-tivecity.Hebelievesthateveryartistneedstohaveone.Itgivesthefreedomtoexhibittheworks,andtocreatesomethingnotbotheringwhetheritwillbesold.Heneverhadproblemswiththat,butitalwaystroubledhimwhatthegallerywouldsayabouthisotherextralargesizework.

“Itisaproblemeventotakethosepaintingsthroughadoorway,”helaughs.

Recently, he has been requested to paintthe interiorof theArchangel-MichaelCathe-dralinCannes.ItisanoldOrthodoxcathedralwitharichhistory,whichhousestheremainsof Joann Kronshtadsky, Duke Andrey Vladi-mirovich.Slavinskyisveryhonoured,happilyadmitting that he has already received theblessingofthePriest.

No doubt he will be traveling a lot as hisworkwithEuropeangalleries isnotover.ButhismainpassionishisowngalleryontheVasi-lyevsky Island in St. Petersburg. He is muchlovedand indemandathome.Theopeningofthegalleryonthe24thofJunewasagrandevent attended by Russian TV, cinema andmusiccelebrities.HearrivedwithRenataLit-vinova,thefamousactressandfilmdirector,inacabriolet,andwalkeduptheredcarpetwhilesmilingatthenumerousphotocameras.More photos on www.passportmagazine.ru

Ivan Slavinskyby Natalia Shuvalova Photos by Lana Abramova

“I painted and drew as long as I remember myself. Every kid likes to play with colors and make funny little stick men. I was making hundreds of those, from morning till evening”.

Ivan Slavinsky was born in Leningrad in 1968 and raised in a cultural and highly educated family. His father was a famous artist, the head of an “official” art movement, highly appreciated in the Soviet Union; his mother, wasan acknowledged art critic. They had high standards and did not pay particular attention to the artplay of their son. Till one day…

10 08 2007

St Petersburg Feature

While the center of St. Petersburg is onelarge open-air Museum, nothing quiteprepares you for your arrival at Peterhof,known in Soviet times as Petrodvorets,29 km west of the city along the Gulf ofFinland.Thiswastheofficialsummerresi-dence of Peter the Great, built over manyyears, starting in 1714. Approaching fromtheseaonahydrofoil fromStPetersburg,you are confronted by a majestic panora-ma. The most prominent landmark is theGreatPalacetoweringattheedgeofanat-ural,sixteenmeter-highterrace.TheGreatCascade glistens with its gilded sculptureandsilverywater-jets. In thecenterof thepool,infrontofthecascade,thepowerfuljetoftheSamsonFountainspurtsupwards.Furtheron,waterstreamstowardsthegulfalongtheSeaCanal,whichisasstraightasan arrow and constitutes the north-southaxisofthelayoutofthesite.

Most European rulers had at least oneVersailles, and Peter the Great was no ex-ception.Hebuiltaseriesofpalacesonthesite, the focus of which is now the GrandPalace,enlargedforEmpressElizabethandlaterremodelledbyCatherine.BeneaththeGrandPalaceistheGrandCascadeandWa-terAvenue.Thisisasymphonyof176foun-tains, set amongst woodland and canals,much of which were engineered by Peterhimself. There are four cascades and nu-merousgildedstatuesofancientgodsandheroes, remarkable collections of sculp-ture,makingPeterhof,oftencalled"CapitalofFountains,"unique.

Inthegardens,nexttothesea,standsPe-ter's original villa, Monplaisir. It has brightandairygalleriesfacingouttotheGulfofFinland.Itiseasytoseewhyitwashisfavor-iteplacetostay.Apartfromthefountains,thegardensaredottedwithcharmingpa-vilions and summer houses, including theultimate in private dining rooms: the self-containedandmoatedHermitage.

This is one of the most magnificent Eu-ropean palace-and-park complexes of theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries, anditsjuxtapositionofseaandparklandmakesitunique.

After 1917 the Peterhof ensemble wastaken into state custody and turned intoanarchitectureandartmuseum.Thepark-and-palace complex became nationalproperty.On18May1918,alargepartyofworkers – Peterhof's first museum visitors– arrived from Petrograd for a tour of theGreat Palace. This was the beginning ofa new life for the former residence of thetsars.

WiththeoutbreakofwarwithGermanyin 1941, pictures, statues, and many thou-sandsofobjectsofappliedartweretakentoLeningradortodistantpartsofthecountry.Many marble and bronze sculptures wereburied in the ground or stowed in secretcaches.For twenty-eightmonths, from21September1941to19January1944,Peter-hofwasinenemy-occupiedterritory.Manystatueswerestolenbytheinvaders.

ThewholecomplexwasheavilybombedbybothsidesinWWII;whatyouseetodayis

largelyareconstructionfromphotographs,drawingsandanecdotes.In1944,immedi-atelyaftertheliberationofPeterhof,workbeganonremovingtheminesandclearingupthepark.On17June1945theLowerParkwasopenedtothepublicandon25Augustof1946yearthewater-jetsofthefountainsbegantoplayoncemore.September1947sawapowerfulcolumnofwateroncemoresoaringupoverthegroupofSamsonRend-ingOpentheJawsoftheLion,nowrepro-ducedbyVasilySimonov.

Today, Peterhof is restored to its formergloryandonceagainattractingthousandsofvisitors,Russianandforeign,everyyear.ItisoneofthejewelsofRussia’snorth-west.

Getting thereAll the fountains function from May to

mid October, daily, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.ThefastestandmostexitingwaytotraveltoPeterhoffromSt.Petersburgisbyhydro-foilfromthejettyoutsidetheStateHermit-ageMuseum(formerWinterPalace).Traveling Information:1. Take an electric commuter train fromBaltiyskiy Station to Novyi Peterhof. ThentakebusesNo.350,351,352,and356tothepark.Getoffatthefifthstation.2.TakeaspeedboatfromtheHermitageorNaberezhnayaMakarova.3.TakeshuttlebusNo.424or300fromAv-tovoMetro.4.TakeshuttlebusNo.420or103fromLen-inskiyProspektMetro.5.TakeshuttlebusNo.404fromBaltiyskayaMetro.

Peter the Great’s summer residence: Versailles on the Baltic

“I have conquered an empire but I have not been able to conquer myself.”

Peter the Great. The Tsar was 6’ 7” tall, and would drink a bottle and a half of pepper brandy at a sitting. He was famous for his licentious habits. He built one huge pal-ace after another, many on the bones of his terrorized subjects. The wild extrava-gance of Peterhof expresses the charac-ter of a man who had everything, but never had enough of anything.

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12 08 2007

St Petersburg Feature

The Hotel Astoria occupies an unrivalled setting on St Isaac'sSquare at the hub of St. Petersburg's vibrant city center. ThesquareisdominatedbyStIsaac'sCathedral,whiletherenownedHermitage Museum is only a short walk away. Holding a clutchofAwards,includingmembershipinForbes2007top10romantichotelsoftheworld,theAstoriaexudesquietconfidenceandre-finementinaveryBritishway.

WhattheHotelAstoriahaslostinitsoriginalArtNouveaudecorandfixtures(someaspectsofwhichdosurvive)itmorethancom-pensates for incontemporarystyleandtop-notchservice.LittlewonderitisbelovedbyvisitingVIPs,theroll-callofwhomyoucanreadontheengravedplaquesdiscretelyfixedtothe liftdoor inthelobby.

The building is a national monument, originally constructedin 1912, then renovated in 1991 and 2002. A comprehensive re-furbishmenthasleftitwithroomsthatmarrythehotel'sheritagecharacterwithamoremoderndesign:naturalearthtonesarepre-dominant,matchingwellwiththeparquetfloors.ThebestofthesuitesaresprinkledwithantiquesandperiodfurnitureandhavespectacularviewsontotheMariinskyPalaceandStIsaac'sCathe-dral.Thereare213air-conditionedrooms,including53suitesandthreeapartmentsinthesevenstorystructure.

OneofthefirstoftheluxuryRoccoForteHotelsgroup,itissaidtobethefavouriteofthefounder,RoccoForte.ThegrouphashotelsinmostofthemajorEuropeancities,thougheachoneisdifferent.

Thisdifferentiatesthemfromthehospitalitychainsnowcirclingtheglobe.

Authentic Russian cuisine is at its finest in the Hotel Astoria'ssplendid Davidov restaurant, blending the fashionable with thetraditional;intimateyetfriendly.NextdooristheAngleterreHo-tel, also managed by Rocco Forte and Astoria guests frequentlydineinitsrenownedBorsalinoItalianrestaurant.

Until the end of September, the hotel offers a package forgueststoexplorethemagnificentcityofpalacesandthehundredbridges. Included are three nights with breakfast, a private tourof the Hermitage Museum, and a five-hour tour of the imperialpalacesatPushkin,nearStPetersburg.Towelcomeyou,abasketof seasonal fruits, a bottle of champagne and a flower bouquetare inyourroom.Tonourishyou,athree-coursedinneratDavi-dovRestaurantisincludedand,topamperyou,aclassicalRussianmassageattheAstoriaSpa.

Basicratesforthepackageare58,480roubles($2,267)forsingleaccommodationor76,110roubles($2,950)fordoubleaccommo-dation.Hotel Astoria 39 Bolshaya Morskaya, 190000 StPetersburg Tel: +� �12 �9� ����Fax: +� �12 �9� �0�9reservations.astoria@roccofortehotels.com

The Astoria, the feel of history

The luxurious Hotel Astoria, in central St. Petersburg, captures the essence of Russia with an authentic experience steeped in com-fort and elegance. It is the British hotelier, Rocco Forte's, five-star tribute to sophisticated travelling. It reflects the noble history of St Petersburg, with interiors scrupulously designed to recreate the grandeur synonymous with this historic city.

2007 08 13

Cover Story

MAKS is a showcase for the Russian aero-spaceindustry,andaplacewherebusinessdeals are done, or at least signed. It is of-ficially supported by the Russian govern-ment and is traditionally opened by thePresident. This will be the eighth MAKS,which takes place every two years. Theshow is a combination of air show andtradefair.Russianandinternationaldisplayteams go through their paces in the air,whilemanufacturerstalkabouttheirprod-uctsontheground.

Theaerialdisplayscanbebreathtaking.

Spectators see some of the fastest andmeanestfightingmachines,liveandclose-up – much closer, in fact, than you couldevergetatwesternairshowsbecauseRus-sian safety regulations are so much morerelaxed. The United States Air Force is ex-pectedtosendacontingentthisyear,asitdid in2005,butdetailswerenotavailableasPassportMagazinewenttopress.

ThehighlightofMAKS2007,asinprevi-ous years, is expected to be the Russianaerobaticdisplayteams.Threeareexpect-edtoperform:"Russ",flyingtheCzech-de-

signed and built L39 Albatross jet trainer,which for many years was the standardSoviet bloc military trainer; "Swifts", flyingMiG-29 Fulcrums in 6-ship deltas, 4-shipdiamonds and various other formations;and"RussianKnights",performing in theirSu-27 Flankers' riveting 5-ship, 4-ship andsolomaneuvers.

TheRussianshaveanothertrickuptheirsleeve,however:theSwiftsandtheRussianKnights will perform together!They didseveralpassesin9-shipformationatMAKS2005,beforebreakingapart for theteams

MAKS AIR SHOW is Russia’s calling cardThe International Aerospace Show (Russian abbreviation: MAKS), August 21-2� at Zhukovsky in Moscow Region, is Russia’s answer to the French Le Bourget and Britain’s Farnborough air shows. Aviasalon JSC, the key organizer of MAKS, sees MAKS as Russia’s call-ing card: the symbol of aviation power in the twenty-first century.

1� 08 2007

Cover Story

to display separately. It was interesting toseefromthisdisplayjusthowmuchlargertheSukhoiisthantheMiG,andinterestingalsotoseethewingtipvorticeswhichcameofftheMiGsduringdivesandtightturns.

In 2005, the American contingent con-sisted of two F-16 Fighting Falcons, twoF-15Eagles,aKC-10tanker,aKC-135tankerandaB-1BLancerbomber.TheLancergaveaprettyordinarydisplay,butitwascertain-lyan interestingsight tosee itflyingovertheRussiancountryside.

AnotheruniquefeatureofMAKSisitslo-cationontheshoreofLakeGelendzhik.Thisallowsflyingboatstotakeoffandland.TheyhavebeenamajorpreoccupationofRussianaircraft designers. Together with the heli-coptersfromtheMoscowMiLcompanyandthe Kazan Helicopter company, they bringanunusualdimensiontoMAKS.ZhukovskyAirField,wheretheshowtakesplace,isalsohometotheGromovFlightResearchInsti-tute,Russia’sequivalentofNASA.

Russian civil aviation is hungry to ex-pand,toreplaceagingequipmentandup-gradingflightsafetytomeetinternationalstandards.MAKScomestwomonthsafterLe Bourget, where headlines were madeoverSukhoi’sfirstforeigndeal. It isselling10 SuperJet 100 aircraft, worth $283 mil-lion,toItaliancarrierAlitaliAirlines.

Russian airlines are also making exten-sivepurchasesabroad.S7Airlines(formerlySibir)agreedtobuy25newA320medium-haulpassengerplanesfromAirbusformorethan$1.6billion.SoonafterParis,attheStPetersburgEconomicForum,BoeingsignedadealwithAeroflottosell22Dreamliners,saidtobeworth$3.5billion,whileAirbussoldanotherfourA320stoRossiyaAirlines,fordeliveryin2008.SuchdealsincreasethecommercialexpectationsforMAKS.

Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, the Sukhoi Groupcompany responsible for the SuperJet100project,willbepresenting amock-upof their plane, which is expected to fly in2008. They have high hopes for their as-sembly lineatKomsomolsk-on-Amur. "Weareplanningtobuildnineaircraftin2008,30 planes in 2009, 60 planes in 2010, andstartingin2011torollout70jetsannually,"said Sergei Shkryabun, the company's re-gionaldirector.Sukhoiplanstoproduceatleast700oftheseregionaljets.

TheSuperJet100isbeingdevelopedbythe Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperationwith major American and European avia-tion corporations, including Boeing, Snec-ma,Thales,MessierDowty,LiebherrAero-space,andHoneywell.Itisintendedthatitwillevolve intoa familyofmedium-rangepassengeraircraft.

So far, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has securedover60ordersfortheSuperJet,withAero-flot,Russia'snationalaircarrier,asoneofitslargest clients, having ordered at least 45planes.

Some 540 exhibitors from 32 countrieshavealreadysignedupforstandsatMAKS2007, including Boeing, Bombardier fromCanada,EmbraerfromBrasilandEADS,theAirbus parent company. In addition thereare exhibitors piggy-backing on nationalstands. MAKS participants have to pay aminimum of 1.5 million rubles ($58,000).Each demonstration flight costs $10,000.BorisRybak,headoftheInfomostconsult-ingcompany,toldIzvestiathattheLeBour-get show earns its organizers about $100million,whereasprofitfromtheMAKS2005fairwasonly$25-$30million.

Of most interest to the viewing publicbecauseoftheirspectacularflyingdisplaysarethemilitaryaircraft,whichwillbethereinlargenumbers.Astaroftheshowisex-pectedtobethefirstpublicdemonstrationoftheSU-35multi-purposefighter.Sukhoihashighhopesforthishighlysophisticatedjet,andhassetupaninternationalmarket-ingprogram.Productionisexpectedtobe-ginin2009.

Withthesameaerodynamicshape,typi-caloftheSu-27/30family,Su-35(sometimes

2007 08 1�

Cover Storycalled Su-27M) is a much more advancedmachine.Ithasnewradar(Irbis),morepow-erfulengines(with14tonsthrust),andthelatestcommunicationandradio-electronicequipment,horizontalcanards,anin-flightrefuelingsystem,newsensors,newavion-ics and the ability to carry an extendedrangeofarmaments.

TheSu-30MKisextremelymaneuverablebecause of the "thrust vectoring" featurewhich allows it to direct the output of itstwoengines.Thisenablesittoperformthebizarre low-speed gyrations which havebeen dubbed the 'cobra maneuver', the"bell" and the "somersault", in which theplaneflips360degreeswithoutlosinganyaltitude. These maneuverscan be used tomislead an enemy's pulse-doppler radar,which relies on movement of the target,makingtheFlankerdisappearfromthera-darscreen,atleastforafewseconds.

It is the improvements to thrust vector-ingintheSu-35whichisarousingthemostinterest among potential customers. ThistechnologywaspioneeredintheSu-27andtheAmericanF-22Raptor.However, thoseaircraft can pivot only up or down, whiletheSu-35andtheMiG-35,whichwasdem-onstratedin2005,canvectorup,down,leftand right. The MiG-35 can also move thenozzlesfurtherthanearlierversions,upto18 degrees, to allow even greater feats ofmaneuverability like the "double somer-sault"and"boomerang".

SukhoidemonstratedtheconceptoftheSu-35 at MAKS-2005. Last year a mock-upwas presented at AirShow China-2006. Al-though the aircraft is being promoted inmanycountries,SukhoicountsontheRus-sianAirForceasitsbackbonecustomer.Thehead of Sukhoi, Mikhail Pogosyan, is surethatSu-35willfindanichewithinboththeRussianAirForceandtheinternationalmar-ket. In2009-2010,aswellasupgradingtheexistingfleetofSu-27’stheRussianAirForceissettobuynewaircraft.China,India,Viet-

nam, Malysia and Venezuela are all talkedaboutaspotentialcustomersfortheSu-35.

Also being unveiled to the public atMAKS2007forthefirsttimeistheairborneconfigurationofthe“BrahMos”supersonicmissile,ajointdevelopmentbetweenRus-siaandIndia.ThemissileisdesignedforSu-30 Mk I fighters and Il-38 maritime patrolplanes.Expertsexpectthattheabilitytofit“BrahMos” missile to aircraft will increasedemandboth in Indiaandthirdcountries.The manufacturing company is now ne-gotiatingwithIndianNavalForcesandIly-ushintoconvertanIl-38planetocarrytwotofour“BrahMos”missiles.

Frombothamilitaryandacivilaviationpoint of view, MAKS provides participantsand visitors with a comprehensive insightto Russian aerospace industry's prioritiesand advances. It is the only place whereyou can see aircraft and weapons-systemprototypes, as well as experimental sys-tems, which are not allowed to be shownabroad.

Richard Seaman contributed to this reportPhotos courtesy of Maks.Press.Service

How to Get ThereBy car Privatemotortransportparkingwillbeorganizedonparkingplaceofairport“Bykovo”,wherefromvisitorscangettotheexhibitionbyfree-of-chargebuses.Theentranceticketwithoutspecialcar-passdoesnotgivetherighttoentertheexhibitiononpersonalorofficialtransport.By electric-trainfromKazanskiyrailroadterminal(Metro"Komsomolskaya")orfromrailway-station"Vykhino",alsoanelectrictraintorailwaystations"Otdykh"or"42kilometre".Fromrailwaystation"Otdykh"andrailwaystation“42kilometre”free-of-chargeexpressbuseswillruntotheexhibition.Thefareisincludedintheentranceticket.BybusfromMetro"Kuzminki"thenbybus#525,#478uptostop“Gromovsquare”(“PloshchadGromova”);orfromunderground"Vykh-ino"thenbybus#424orbyshuttle-taxi“Vykhino-Zhukovskiy”,“Vykhino-Ramenskoe”upto“Gromovsquare”(“Ploshchad’Gromova”).

For More information:Aviasalon JSCFlight Research Institute,Zhukovsky, Moscow Region,1�01�2, Russia

Telephone: +� (�9�) ���-��-�1 +�(�9�) 3�3-��-�1Fax: +� (�9�) ���-��-�2e-mail: maks@aviasalon.com

1� 08 2007

Travel

I take a step. Just one. Because I don’tknow what my next step is going to be.Because I’m in England – GrantchesternearCambridge,and inLondon.BecauseI don’t belong to this country, and whileI’mhereIdon’tbelongeventomyself.I’mhereattheinvitationofladyN.,theRoyalFamily’s public relations person. She hasdone P.R. for such events as the openingnight of “The Phantom of the Opera” byAndrew Lloyd Webber in the presence ofthe Queen, and a festive tennis tourna-ment in the presence of Princess Diana.Isthatall?No.HerfamilyisoneofthetenrichestfamiliesinEngland.TheirVictorianhouse in Grantchester (with a huge gar-den,tenniscourt,swimmingpoolandcan-vasesofDutchmastersinthesittingroom)is inthevicinityofthehistoricalhouseofthecelebratedpoet,RupertBrook.Atoneof her parties I also met an Indian Prince–HisHighnessArvindSinghMewar,own-

eroftheUdaipurPalacecomplexandthePresidentoftheMaharanaMewarCulturalFoundation.

How did I get to know her? I was hertranslatorinMoscowworkingfortheThe-aterUnionandsheinvitedmetostaywithher in Grantchester, where I now go forweek-ends toseeaspectsof thehigh life.Duringtheweek,IstayinLondonwithan-othercolleagueofmine,Mr.MichaelI. I’mworking for his theater business, AlmeidaTheaterAgencyinNorthLondon.I’msort-ingoutanddescribingtheRussianplayshepickedupinMoscowforpossibleproduc-tions. Idon’tworkallday, justacoupleofhours intheevening,whichmakesmyin-comesosmallthatsometimesIfeelI’monthevergeofahungercollapse.But Ihavea good opportunity to see London. Andthereissomuchtosee!Itmakesmecultur-allydizzy.Iwon’tbeabletoseeallIwantinayearandI’mhereforonlytwomonths!

My exploration of London started witha walk as I could not afford the sightsee-ingtourbus.Rightaway, Idiscovered lotsofamazingthingsformyself,startingwithamail-boxinthemiddleofthepavement.Itwasredincolor,andinaformwhichre-minded me of nothing so much as a fire-alarm pillar in miniature. When Lady N.askedmetodropoffherlettersandIfailedto do it, because I was looking for a bluesquare box somewhere on the side of abuilding–thewaytheyusedtobeinRus-sia–shegotreallyfurious.

Iwasequallyastonishedwhen,afteraneveninginherofficehelpingher,shesaidto me, “Go and take a bath. You deserveit.” It would never have occurred to methat one has to deserve a bath. This hap-pened on one of my first days in EnglandwhenIhadnoideathatonehastopayforeverydropofwaterandeverysecondofatelephonecall.Smallwonderthat“Alicein

London through russian eyes

By Olga Slobodkina-von Bromssen

2007 08 1�

Travel

Wonderland”waswritteninEngland.Itisalandofwonders.

Another thing thatamazedmewas thelanguageinthehighlifeofthearistocracy.Although when I later re-read Heming-way’s “Fiesta” I discovered that their sillyexclamationsarecommonknowledge:“It’smarvelous!” “It’s mind-boggling!” “It’s di-vine!”Andifyousaysomethingelse–Godforbid!–everybodylooksatyouinterror.Howdidshedaretosay“B”whenonehastosay“A”insuchacase?

But the most amazing and the mostextraordinary thing was London itself: itsstreets, squares, roundabouts called car-ousels, parks and, of course, museums.AfterthegigantomaniaofMoscow,OxfordStreetlookedalmostchicken-size,andTra-falgarSquare,which I imaginedwouldbehuge, turned out to be only a fraction ofRedSquare.ButsuchisEurope;smallandeconomical; and England: a small island,withitsinsularity.

Every minute of my stay is filled withastonishment, learning and extraordinaryimpressions. Every step is a step into thecultural heritage, which could take a life-time to study. But I’m here for only twomonths. However, even this short periodoftimeisenoughtoseesomething.Apartfrom 'the musts' such as Trafalgar Square,the Houses of Parliament, the Tower ofLondon, the Palace of Westminster, HydePark, St Paul’s Cathedral and Greenwich,there are the museums; the National Gal-lery,theTate,theBritishMuseum,andtheQueen’sGalleryinBuckinghamPalaceand

ofcourse,MadameTussaud’sjustforfun.Apart fromothergreatmuseums, there

areover300privategalleries inLondon. Iwas'mind-boggled'bysuchextraordinarymuseums such as Sir John Soane’s. I’d es-pecially like to describe it, since so manypeople have never heard of it. Sir JohnSoanewasanarchitect,andafterhisdeathhisunusualhousewasturnedintoamuse-um.Hiswholelifewasaboutmystification,which can be observed in the recessed,angledmirrorsandthewedge-shapedspi-ralstaircases,thenarrowpassageways,theskylightsandthewindowslookingontoaninner courtyard. The ceilings are slightlyarched and decorated uniquely, as in thebreakfastroomwhichispaintedtoresem-bleanarbor.All thisreflectsthewhimsofhis weird but creative mind. He mystifiedhis life to such an extent that the graveof his wife (on the territory of the house)turnedouttobethegraveofhisdog.

The walls are covered with works byPiranesi, Hogarth, Canaletto, Reynoldsand Turner. Fragments, casts and modelsare displayed high and low throughoutthe galleries. While below ground are theCrypt, the Gothic Monk’s Parlor and theSepulchral Chamber containing the intri-catelyincisedsarcophagusofSetiI(c.1,392B.C.)celebratedatitsacquisitionin1824bySoanewithathreedayreception.

The ground floor with its dining tableand chairs, leather chairs and desk, thedomed breakfast room, and the portraitof Soane at age 75 by Sir John Lawrence,arehighlyevocative.Onthefirstfloor,past

the Shakespeare alcove on the stairs, inthedrawingroomsandformeroffices,aremodels, prints, rare books and a glorious16th century illuminated manuscript bytheItalianGiulioClovio.

In1833SoaneobtainedaprivateActofParliament to ensure the perpetuation ofthe Museum after his death. A stipulationwasthatnothingshouldbealteredinanyway and now the house and collectionsareof interestnotonly intheirownright,butasawindowintohismindandthoseofothercollectorsoftheperiod.

The London museums amazed me bythemethodologyoftheexhibits.TheHer-mitage in St. Petersburg, though grand,producestheimpressionofamismatchedcollectionsiteofmasterpieces.Bycontrast,theNationalGallery,aswellasmostoftheother museums in London, are organizedinsuchawayastodisplayeachworktoitsbestadvantageTheyarelighted,exhibitedandcommenteduponinarationalway.

IwasluckytoseesomeoftheRubensesintheQueen’sGalleryinBuckinghamPal-ace. The impression of the master’s 'LadyoftheFan'willstaywithmeuntil theendofmylife.ForthefirsttimeIsawaworkofartsurpassreality.Thelady’sskinisbreath-ing,thelaceofhervelvetdressstandsoutthree-dimensionally, her hair is as in na-ture, all of which makes you forget she isonlypaintedandnotalive– thispreciouslife,whichwillgoonintoEternityforever,isinthehereandnowforyoutoadmire,andtohelpliftyourspirit.

William Hogarth’s picture, An Election Entertainment (1754) hands in the Sir John Soane Museum in Coram Fields. Hogarth depicts the way in which men who were standing for Parliament tried to buy votes with drink. One wonders how many of the people in this picture “deserve” a bath, and how many simply need one.

1� 08 2007

Travel

Andreas Romanos, CEO of the Association of European Businesses

Bicester Village: Retail therapy without the painful aftermath

1

2007 08 19

Travel

Visiting Britain, it’s hard not to indulge insomeretailtherapy.Iftherearenosaleson,you can still find big-name bargains, butyou will have to avoid Knightsbridge andOxfordStreetandheadtoMaryleboneSta-tion, where you catch a Chiltern Railwaystrain (every 20 minutes) to Bicester NorthStationinOxfordshire.FromthereashuttleservicewillferryyoutoBicesterVillage,theoriginalChicOutletShoppingvillageinEu-rope,runbyValueRetail.

Here you’ll find over 100 boutiques, in-cluding Salvatore Ferragamo, Mulberry,Nicole Farhi, Gieves & Hawkes, Pringle ofScotland, Aquascutum, Penhaligon’s andWaterford Wedgwood. They sell a daz-zlingrangeoflastseason’scollections,withprices reduced up to 60% year round. Soenjoythetherapywithoutthefearofexor-bitantcreditcardbillsarrivingafteryougethome.

AlltheshopsonthequaintstreetsofBi-cesterVillagearerunbythebrandnamesthemselves.Theshoppingexperience,thegift-wrappingandtotalpresentation,areas

carefulasintheirmostprestigiousflagshipstores.Evenatdiscountprices,theoutletsofferanunconditionalexchangeforgoodsreturned with the original receipt. CondéNast Traveller has called this “the mostfashionablestreetoutsideLondon.”

It is not just the prices that make this afabulousshoppingdayout.ChicOutletvil-lages,ofwhichtherearenownine,allarewithin an hour’s drive from cities all overEurope. They span the continent and theBritishIslesfromKildaretoMilan,andMa-dridtoDusseldorf.Thevillagesarescenic,airy and beautifully designed to blend inwiththetraditionalarchitectureof there-gion. They are peppered with cafés andrestaurants.

If you take the car instead of the train,then why not make a day of it after yourshoppingspree?SomeofEngland’sgrand-est houses are on the Village’s doorstep.Blenheim Palace, birthplace of WinstonChurchill,hasmoregrandeurthanyoucanimagine. Waddesdon Manor, with its sen-sationalgardens,isaFrenchchâteautrans-

ported to the English countryside, com-pletewithaSèvrescollectiononexhibit.

Wanttostaythenight?Clivedon,theAs-torfamilyhistoricresidence,isnowahoteloffering stately living. Homier digs, withgood food and cozy rooms, are availableat The Beetle and Wedge at Moulsford,overlooking the Thames. Gourmands cansplurge with what they saved at BicesterVillagebymakingareservationfordinnerat Raymond Blanc’s Michelin-starred LeManoirauxQuat’Saisons.

Oxford, the historic university town, isnotfarfromBicesterVillage,andStratford-on-Avon, home to the Royal ShakespeareTheatre Company, is less than an hourfurther up the M40 towards Birmingham.In Oxford, the Old Bank is the flagshiphotel for contemporary luxury, though ifyou feel some token penance is requiredfor over-indulging yourself, then the chicMalmaison has moody rooms in a formerprison.Formoreinformation:www.chicoutletshopping.com

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4 Raymond Blanc’s world famous restau-

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20 08 2007

Travel

I’dspentatleastfiveyearsditheringabouttakingtheTrans-Siberi-anexpress,worryingaboutsafetyonboard,levelsofcomfortandboredom,andhowtokeepclean,nottomentionworryingaboutgetting lost in the middle of Siberia, without passport phone ormoney, and simply just worrying about all the little things oneworriesaboutwhenfacedwithanoptiontoprocrastinate.

ButI’mgladIpluckedupthecourage,bulliedmy19-yearoldsonintocomingwithme,withtheprovisothatitwouldgivehisgapyearresumésomestreetcred,andfinallydidit.

Inhindsight,therewasreallynothingtoworryabout.Infact,itwasgreatfun.

Buying our ticketsBecauseIliveinMoscow,itwaslogicalthatwebuyourticketslo-

cally,sonogoingthroughexpensiveforeignagencies.IpurchasedourticketsontheNo010or‘Baikal’asitisknownatalocalagencyinMozhaiskoeshossewhichsaiditcharged350RURcommission.However,youcannowpurchaseaticketatanystationticketofficeastheprocessiscomputerised.

Wereservedourseatstwoweeksbeforeourplanneddeparturedate and found that this was cutting it close as there were onlythree seats left, and they were in separate compartments. “Noproblem,” said our driver, Ivan, soothingly, “we’ll sort it out withtheprovodnitsawhenyouboardthetrain,”whichiswhatwedid.

We reserved our seats in a second-class kupe which is a mis-leading Russian word for a four-berth compartment. We could have booked first-class but felt that we might meet more travellers in second-class.Platskarts,thecheapestofthecheapwasnotan

option.Wepaid10,000RURperticketwhichincludedfood.(Visitwww.trainsrussia.com/en/travels/results to get an idea of fares).Our train was of the ‘firmenny’ category which I found out onlyafterwards meant: “fast and comfortable”. Peak season is duringsummerandatNewYearsandpricesriseaccordingly.

Getting ready for the tripThis ultimate train trip is not the sort of journey to undertake

lightly, without research. I looked at the forums on the LonelyPlanet site (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/) and figured outjustwhenwewouldarriveandafewotherthingsfromthecopi-ousandveryvaluableinformationprovidedbywww.seat61.com.I’dboughtacopyofBrynThomas’sTransSiberianHandbooksomeyearsago,soitwasalittleoutofdate.Generalopiniononthein-ternetwasthatitwassuperiortoLonelyPlanet’sguide.Iwasabletobookhome-stayaccommodationandfurtherassistance,ifnec-essary,fromJackSheremetoffatwww.baikaler.com.

Whatandhowmuchtopackrequiredmorethoughtthanusual,aswelimitedourselvestotwosportshold-alls.Becauseweweretravellinginmid-June,weassumedtheweatherwouldbewarm,whichitwas.Thetrainisair-conditionedtoabout20Cwhichiscom-fortable.Wepackedtracksuitpantsandlighttopswhichwecouldsleepandlivein.Wepackedafleeceincaseitwascoldandalightwaterproofasprotectionagainsttherain,whichwasneeded.

WhereIwentwrongwasinpackingfartoomuchcomfortfood.Ipackedinstantnoodles,chocolate,nuts,tinsofsardinesandmack-erel,tea,cheese,crispbread,chips,salamiandsweets.

However,thisplanwasblownoutofthewater,onourfirstmorn-inginthetrain,whenwediscoveredthatourticketsentitledustotwogood meals a day, breakfast and dinner. Thus we ended upcarryingaroundfarmorefoodthanweshouldhavedone.

Ievenpackedasqueegeetocleanthewindow,asI’dheardthatsometrainwindowsweresodirty,thatitwasdifficulttoseeoutofthem,butourwindowwascleanenough.

Seventy seven hours on the Trans SiberianThethoughtof followingthepath (albeit incomfort)of thou-

sandsofexilestoSiberia,alandofisolationandpunishment,wasgripping.The world’s longest railway, built at the turn of the 19th century acts as a metaphor that underlies so much that is extreme about Russia and its awesome size.Italsohighlightsthedetermi-nationanddriveoftheRussiancharacterwhenitputsitscollectivemindandmuscletodauntingchallenges,disregardingextremesofcoldanddistance.The10,000kmlinewhichlinkstheFarEastwithEurope,tookfourteenyearsand90,000mentobuild.Having

Into Siberiaby Martine Self Photos by Denis Manko

advertising

22 08 2007

Travel

lived in European Russia for seven years, I was eager to find outwhattherestofthecountrylookedlike.

TheNo.010or‘Baikal’asitisknown,leavesjustbeforemidnightonodddaysandarrivesinIrkutsk,inEasternSiberia,mid-morningonthefifthday.Itseemslongbutitisn’t.

Ourfirstsurprisewasourcarriage.ItwaslessthanayearoldandcouldrivalanythinginEurope.Itwasclean,modernandcomfort-able,andaquitepleasantenvironmentinwhichtopassthetime.Thefirst-classcompartmentswerevirtuallythesame,butwithouttheextratwotopbedswhichgavethefeelingofmorespace.

Thenextsurprisewasthe number of foreign tourists on the train. They vastly outnumbered the Russian travellers. Our travel com-panions were a young man and woman who were part of a Dutch group, a happy lively lot who were fun to be with. They were on their way to Beijing, via Irkutsk.

Without exception, they thought that the landscapes were ex-tremelybeautiful.OnewentsofarastosayhethoughttheRussiancountrysidewas‘overwhelming.’Indeed,weweresurprisedtofindthatthestretchfromMoscowtoIrkutsk,wasacontinuationofmoreorlessthesameverdantEuropeancountrysideweseeinMoscow,with majestic firs and magnificent birches in great supply, burst-ingwithspringtimeenergy.Wewereblessedwithgreatswathsofwildflowers,wildblue lupins,whiteedelweiss,yellowbuttercups,pinklarkspurandorangedaisiesscatteredaroundlikeconfetti.Partofitsbeautywasthatitallseemedsountouchedbyhumanity.Tomethebirdsandmeadowsseemedtofitmyviewofwhatheavenshouldbelike,abitlikeaTimoteiadvertbutwithoutthegirl.

Inoticedtheprevalenceofswamps,particularlyinmid-Siberia.Thisiswheretheflyandthemosquitothriveinsummerandmakelife very uncomfortable for people. Not surprisingly, there werefewsignsofhumanhabitation.

TherewassomedisappointmentamongstthetravellersabouthowEuropeanSiberialooked.Theyhadexpectedittostartlook-ingmoreAsian,givenitsproximitytoMongoliaandKazakhstan.TheonlygiveawaywasthemoreOriental-likefacial featureswesawthefurthereastwewent.

WesawlittleadvertisingandIwassurprisedtonoticehowre-freshingitwastobesparedthejoysofcapitalismwhicharenowso ubiquitous in Moscow. Another sign that capitalism had notpenetratedtoodeeplyherewasthelackoflitterwhichisnormallythesignofawealthysociety.TherewasnosignofIkea,andnorofMcDonald’s;youcouldimaginethatpeoplehadlivedlikethisforhundredsofyears.Onewondershowthedemiseofcommunismaffectedthem,beingasself-sufficientastheyseemtobe.ThisisnoplaceforthefashionandfineryofMoscow;morelikelythepeople

liveamuchhealthier,organiclifestyle.Another aspect of the view which proved interesting was the

type of architecture. Apart from the occasional decaying Soviet-erafactory,usuallysituatedontheapproachtoacity,wemostlysawsmallisbaseachwiththeirsmallpatchoflushblacksoilthathadbeenmeticulouslyploughedandpreparedforplanting.Manyhouseswerepaintedindifferentcoloursandvirtuallyeveryhousehaditstypicalbeautifulcarvedwindowframesreminiscentofgin-gerbreadcottagesinchildhoodfairytales.WhatwasunexpectedwashowlittlethearchitecturevariedfromMoscowtoIrkutsk.

Most of the isbas we saw belonged to villagers. Their inhabit-antslivedtherethroughouttheyear.Whatfascinatedmewashowthesepeopleoccupiedtheirtimeoverthelongwinter.Whatwastheretodothatwasstimulatingsofarfromcivilization?TowhatextentdidtheInternetcoveranyofthesehouses?

WewereallveryconfusedabouttheissueoftimeonthetrainasalltrainsandalltrainstationsthroughoutRussiaworkonMoscowtimeinordertotryandminimizeconfusion.Ourtrainhadaniftydigitalscreenwhichannouncedthetime,temperature,andwheth-erthetoiletwasfreeornot.AswesweptacrossSiberiaatanaveragespeedof49kmperhour,andsometimesmuchfaster(amaximumspeedof160km/hwaspaintedontheoutsideofourcarriage), Iforwardedmywatchanhourafterevery1000km,asweenteredanewtimezone.However,whatmywatchsaidandwhatthesunindicateddidnotseemtocorrespond,andafterinitiallystickingtoMoscowtimeformealswefoundthatourmealswerebeingservedearlier and earlier. I disputed this with the restaurant, wonderingwhytheywerenotworkingonMoscowtime,buttheysimplysaidwehadtoeataccordingtolocaltime.Iwasnonethewiser.

All the tourists were happy with their accommodation and had no complaint. What really impressed them was the way the train would arrive at a station when it was scheduled to arrive, even over a distance of 5,000km. They regretted that their own countries’ train services were nowhere near as punctual.

Oneaspectworthknowingaboutifyouaresharingacompart-ment is that your travel companions might want to go to sleeplater thanyouandwakeup later thanyou.Thiscancausesomeawkwardnessifnothandledwithtact.

Distractionsonthetrainincludedmealtimesanddrinktimes:itispleasanttohaveaneveningbeerintherestaurantcar,oralatemid-morningtea,despitethefreeuseoftheconstantboilingwa-terontapinthesamovarineachcarriage.Weplayedcardswithourcompanions,chatted,read,sleptandoccasionallyshowered.Mostofthepeopleonourcarriagedeniedfeelingboredthoughtheyweregladtogetoffthetrainbythetimethefifthdayarrived.I,forone,nevergottiredoflookingatthescenery.

Thetrainstopsforabout20minutesaboutfourtimesadayandthesestopsarespacedapartconvenientlysothatithelpstobreakuptheday.However,therewasnotmuchtodoatmanystationsbecauseoftheirlayout,excepttogetoffandstretchyourlegsandtakesomefreshair.Aposteronthewallofthecarriageinformsthepassengerofthetimesofarrivalanddepartureateachstationandhowlongthestopwillbe,meaningyouhavenoreasontogetoffatatwo-minutestopandruntheriskofthetrainleavingwithoutyou,ashashappened.Therearenobellsandwhistleswhenthetraindepartssoitisreasonablyeasytogetleftbehind.Wemadesurewealways left the trainat thesestopswithphones,moneyandpassportjustincasethismighthappen,thoughourefficientprovodnitsaTanya,watchedoveruslikeamotherhen.Shetoldmethatshehadnotlostatouristinthiswayyet,thoughIhadheardofprovodnitsasthemselvesbeingleftbehind.

Weencounteredfewerofthefamedgrizzledbaboushkihawk-ingtheirhomecookedpirogkiandothersnacksthanwehadbeen

2007 08 23

Travel

led to believe. Their faces were lined and tanned, evidence thatwhen they were not cooking indoors, they spent most of theirtimeoutside,nodoubttendingtotheirsmallplotsofland.Theyseemedtohavebeenelbowedoutbywell-stockedkioskslocatedontheplatformitself.Attheseyoucanbuydrinks(beeratabout30RURfor0.5litresasopposed50RURonthetrain),chips,biscuitsandenoughtokeepyougoingifyoureallyfeeltheneedtosnack.Notethatdrinkingwaterisprovidedonthetraininthenewercar-riages,soyoudon’thavetobringyourownbottledwateralong.

Foodsuppliedby the restaurantwasabsolutelyfineandtastyandnowherenearasawfulashasbeendescribedbyothertrav-ellers on the internet. Perhaps because the No 010 train is moreprone to taking tourists, the railway authorities have made surethattheymakeanextraeffort.

Sufficientandquiteadequatebeddingincludingacottontowel,is provided on the first day and you simply need to fold it awayduringtheday.

Onemajorworrywasthatthetoiletwouldstartsmellingawfulafterafewhours,butourprovodnitsamadesurewealwayshadtoiletpaperandthatthetoiletareawasclean.Thetoiletseathadaplasticsleevearoundit,whichcouldbewoundalongbythenextpersontouseit.Therewere220vplugsinthecorridorandinthetoiletwhichcanbeusedforhair-dryersandshaversandrecharg-ingphonesandbatteries.Thenextbigworrywashowtosurvivefivedayswithoutashower.Butnoworries,wefoundashowerattheendofafirst-classcabinwhichwewereabletouseforacostof110RURatime.Beingabletowashone’shairmadeahugediffer-encetocomfortlevels.Professionaltothenthdegree,Tanyaalsomadesurethatshevacuumedthecarriagepassageandtheinte-riorofeachcompartment,twiceaday.

I’d heard that music was piped into the compartments anddreadedbeingforcedtolistentowhatprobablywouldn’tbemytaste inmusic,butwewereabletoturndownthevolumetoal-mostzero,andtheonlytimeweheardthemusic(RusskoeRadiomainly) was in the morning at about 9am when it seemed thatTanyathoughtitmightbetimeforustobegettingup.Apartfromthatitwasnon-intrusive.

Safety was another consideration that we didn’t even thinkabout.Wecouldlockthecompartmentfromtheinsidewhenweslept,andthereseemedtobenothroughtrafficbywhatonecouldcall‘dodgytypes’.

Being on the train somehow blurs your concept of time and space. Life becomes timeless and seamless as you hurtle through space in your sealed capsule, far more slowly and far more comfort-ably than if you were in a plane. It’s a must for those who cannot

ever find the time to wind down and relax, because you are forced to relax in a gentle, rhythmic way as the train relentlessly swallows up mile after mile of the endless landscape. By the time we hadreachedIrkutskover5,000kmfromMoscow, Isomewhatregret-tednothavingextendedmytriptoVladivostock,whichsaysalotabouthowcomfortablethetripwas.Theconsensusonboardthetrainwasthatmanywantedtocomebackanddothetripasecondtime,butinwinter.IthinkI’lldothattoo.

ItwouldseemthatRussianRailwayshasunderstoodthattour-istsarewillingto jumpthroughtherequisitehoopstomakethejourneyandismakingadeterminedefforttoprovidealotmorecomfort than I imagine wasavailable in the past.Now, whatareyouwaitingfor?

Themorethan10,000kmjourneyfromMoscowtoVladivostock,makesitbyfarthelongesttrainjourneyintheworld.

ThisarticleappliesonlytotheNo010whichseemedtobemoretailoredtoforeigntourists.BearinmindthatconditionsmaynotbeascomfortableonothertrainsheadingforIrkutsk.

ThereisatrainrunningtotheEastoneveryoddday(No10),andonereturningoneveryevenday(No09).

Thetrainmakes33stopsbetweenMoscowandIrkutskfrombe-tweenoneminuteto35minutesinduration.

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2� 08 2007

One of the least publicized attractionsthat Iknowabout inMoscow is thesub-marine Новосибирский Комсомолец(Novosibirskian Komsomolets) which ismooredonthewest,orTushino,bankoftheKhimkireservoir,ontheMoscow–Vol-gacanal,oppositethenorthernRechnoyVoksal.

Itiseasilyvisitedandmakesafascinat-ingdayoutforanyonecuriousabouttheold Soviet defence establishment. Theboatwasoriginallycalled"Б-396"andwasdesigned by the Soviet Union’s most fa-mous submarine architect, Igor Spassky,in the mid-1970s. He was responsible forthedesignofnearly200boats,includingthe Kursk. The fact that that submarinewas crippled when innovative and un-stableexplosives,inatorpedospontane-ously detonated should not take a wayfromhisworkasamarineengineer.Heiscurrently involvedwithworkonthenewYuri Dolgoruky class of nuclear-poweredballistic-missile submarines, the first ex-ampleofwhichwaslaunchedinAprilthisyear.

TheНовосибирский КомсомолецwasbuiltinNizhniNovgorodandservedintheNorthernFleet,theAtlanticandtheMedi-terraneanasahunter-killer(aswewouldcallit)from1980-1998.Ithadsixtorpedotubes, a crew of 75, and displaced 3,000tons.Afteritwastakenoutofcommission,itwastransferredtotheSevmashyardatSeverodvinsk in the White Sea, where itwasmadereadyforpublicdisplay.

This project was undertaken on theinitiative of Moscow’s mayor, Yuri Lush-kov,whodecided, in1999, thatamarinemilitarymuseumintheKhimkiReservoir

should be assembled as a tourist attrac-tion.TheНовосибирский Комсомолецisthe first exhibit. Plans are afoot to moveacruiserwhichiscurrentlybeingrefittedjust north of the Rechnoy Voksal over tothe site, and, more intriguingly, the am-phibiousplane,Orlyonok,movedthereamonthago.

Ididnotseeitonmyvisitbutwilldefi-nitelyreturntodoso,asitwasafascinat-ingprojectinitsownright,arguablyoneofthemanytechnically-adventurousproj-ectswhichtheSovietUnionproducedbutwhich died due to a lack of commercialinfrastructure which might have lifted itoutofthemilitary-bureaucraticdead-endthatwasitseventualfate.

The Новосибирский Комсомолец iswelldisplayed.Theboathasbeenraisedon piles so that, sitting unnaturally highin the water, visitors can see the propel-lers and rudder. Inside, the presentationis informative. Of course, any technicallysensitive equipment has been removed,butthishasmadespaceformoregeneralinformation on submarines and the sea.Whatisleftisstillinteresting.Forexample,Iwasintriguedtoseetheofficers’mess,a

small room with a table seven feet longrunning down the middle. There wereverypowerful lightsabove. Iaskedwhatthosewerefor.“Inemergencies,thisroomdoubledastheship’soperatingtheater,”Iwastold.“Thosearethesurgeon’slamps.Thatwastheoperatingtable.”

Having been aboard HMS Vanguard,one of Britain's Trident-class, ballistic-missile submarines, the comparison wasinteresting, mainly for the similarities.Both boats looked cramped, old-fash-ioned although they had been hi-techin their day. One big difference was thatthe Новосибирскый Комсомолец wasan entirely Soviet product, whereas thewhole missile section of the Vanguard iscontrolled by the United States. The re-sult was that the British crew could notgivemepermissiontophotographthere,even though there were only blank mis-sile-tubewallstobeseen.Ofcourse,thechances of getting aboard a Soviet sub-marineonactiveservice,evenwithoutacamera,wouldhavebeennil.

Today the Новосибирский Комсо-молецdoesnotflytheRedFlag,buttheCrossofStAndrew.Thiswasthepre-Rev-olutionary Russian Naval ensign, and isthepost-Sovietoneaswell.

The entrance fee is 150 roubles. Toursstart every hour or so and are restrictedto fifteen people each. The very friendlyand knowledgeable guide speaks Rus-sian only. The boat can be reached by ahalf-mile walk east along Химкинский Бульвар fromMetrostationСходненская,andthenashortdistancedownthroughthe park to the water’s edge. You can’tmissit,andwon’tregretit.

A glimpse of Soviet naval mightby Ian Mitchell Photos by author

A Day Out in Moscow

2007 08 2�

Features

Ticketsarenowonsale forwhatwill surelybeoneof themostintriguingmusiceventsintheworldthisyear:theKremlinZoria.ThiswasthebrainchildofVitalyMironov.VitalytoldPassportre-centlythathevisitedScotlandasahistoryteachertenyearsagoandwassoamazedbythesimilaritieswithRussiathathesawinPaisley–thehospitalityandsenseoffunespecially–thathede-cidedtodowhathecouldtofostercloserrelations.

In1998hebroughtthebandoftheRussiannavytoEdinburghtoperformattheInternationalFestival’sMilitaryTattoo.Soonaf-terwardshehadtheideaofstagingasimilareventinMoscow.

“TheeventinEdinburghwasunbelievable,”Mironovsays.“Mybloodboiledwiththeexcitement.IthoughtatthetimethatRus-sianswouldloveit.IwassoimpressedwiththeprideoftheScotsintheirmilitaryhistoryandcustoms.ItwasaverydifficulttimeinRussia,withmuchpessimism.AndIthoughtitwouldbehelpfultocelebrateourowngreatmilitarytradition.”

The fruit of years of effort was the formation of a companywhich, with substantial Russian corporate backing, will stage aversionoftheEdinburghMilitaryTattooonRedSquareonfournights only, from 13-16 September 2007. There will be nearly1,000performers,including170fromScotlandinfivepipebands.OtherpipebandsarecomingfromCanada,SouthAfricaandNewZealand, with other performers from Germany, Italy and Den-mark.Themaincontingent,ofcourse,willbefromRussiaandwillfeatureCossackdancersandlarge-scalere-enactmentsofeventsinRussianmilitaryhistory.

Thetotalseatsforthewholerunnumberonly30,000,soearlybookingisprobablywise.Thosewhomissitwillstillbeabletoseeitontelevision,alongwithananticipated100millionthroughoutEurope.

Thephrasetobeattattoois,inRussian,играть зорю.Zoria,isadirecttranslationoftheEnglishword.ButtheRedSquareeventwillnotbeanexactcopyoftheScottishone.Nonetheless,Briga-dierMelvilleJameson,whorantheEdinburghTattoofortwelveyears, has helped Mironov and his team organise the Moscowevent.

BrigadierJamesonsays,“NewtattoosemulatingtheEdinburghmodelareemergingallaroundtheworld,andbecomingincreas-inglypopularandsuccessful.”ButtheRussianeventlookstobethebiggestandthebest.

Ithasoneadvantage,theuniquesettingofRedSquare.Presi-dentPutinapprovedtheplanpersonally,MironovtoldPassport.ThiswasnecessarybecauseallthetreesalongtheKremlinwall,behindLenin’smausoleum,aregoingtobeuprootedforthedu-rationof theevent,andreplanted later.This is to facilitatepro-jectionofimagesontothewalls,justasisdonewhenimagesofScotland’smartialpastareprojectedontothewallsofEdinburghcastle.ButMironovemphasisesthatnotasingleroublehascomefromtheRussiangovernment.“Wearecompletelyindependent,”hesayswithpride.

Notonlythat,performerswillmarchoutoftheSaviour’sGateand, in doing so, will be creating history. To date, only Russianor Soviet political personages of very high standing have beenallowed to share with the Guard on Lenin’s tomb the privilegeof marching out into Red Square from underneath the famousclock.

Kremlin ZoriaBy Ian Mitchell

2� 08 2007

Scotland for RussiansThebestnewsthismonthistheappearanceofthefirst-everRussia-languagebookfortravellerstoScotland:Шотландия:Исторический путоводитель (Scotland:aHistori-calTravel-guide:ISBN:5-9533-1771-9).It isbyIrinaDonskova,alecturerinEnglishattheMoscowStatePedagogicalUniversity,andfrequenttour-guidetoBritain.Shehassub-titledherbook мистическая страна кельтов и друидов (mysteriouslandofCeltsanddruids),whichwillgivethereadersomeideaofherapproach.MsDonskovatoldPassportrecentlythatshebelievesinghosts,thoughshewasunabletoprovideasatis-factoryanswerwhenPassportfurtheraskedwhyitisthatghostsseemonlytoappearincastles.Whyaretherenohaunteddry-cleaningshopsorexhaust-repaircenters?

This, of course, is a frivolous quibble, and indeed serves to illustrate the extenttowhichMsDonskovahasentered into thespiritofherventure–pardonthepun.ШотландияprovidesanexcellentoverviewofScottishhistory,withemphasisonthoseaspectswhichcanbefurtherexploredbythevisitorwherethereisamuseum,exhibi-tionoraccessibleplaceassociatedwiththem.Thisissomethingwhichconventionalhistorybooksneverprovide.Ontheotherhand,ordinaryguidebookswhichdosug-gestdestinationsgenerallydonothavethedepthofcoverage,northefeelforthesub-ject,whichMs.Donskovabringstoherwork.TheRussianConsulateinEdinburghsaidrecentlythatnofewerthan26,000RussianscametoScotlandlastyear(andanequiva-lentnumberofScotsappliedforvisastoRussia),sothedemandisthere.

AllRussian-speakerswhoaregoingtothisyear’sEdinburghInternationalFestival,whichrunsfrom11to27August,shouldscootroundtoBiblio-Globusandbuythem-selvesacopy.Itis300pageslong,isextensivelyillustratedandhasasubstantialsec-tiononpracticaltravelplanningattheback.ForfurtherinformationontheEdinburghInternationalFestivalofMusicandArt,aswellas theconcurrentFilmFestival,BookFestival,FringeandMilitaryTattoo,seewww.eif.co.uk

compiled by Ian MitchellTravel News

Asthedemand forBritishvisascontinuesto rise, the Embassy in Moscow has pub-lishedahelpfullistoftipsforthosesubmit-tingapplications.Theyarelistedinfullonthe website www.britaininrussia.ru , butcanbesummarizedhere:

FilltheapplicationforminEnglishandincapital letters.Submit sufficient support-ing documentation.“Most applicationsareassessedonpaper,”theEmbassycom-ments“sotheVisaOfficerneedssufficientproofthatyouaregoingtotheUKforthereason you have stated, that you haveenough funds tostay there,and thatyouplanto return.Themore informationyoucanprovide,thebetter.”

The third and fourth tips are perhapsobvious:Don’t fake documents, and ifcalledforaninterview,tellthetruth.Final-ly, the Embassy says,“If you are refused,don’t worry. Very few applications arerefused.And a senior manager checks allrefusals.But if you are refused, you havethe right to re-apply.More importantly,we will always tell you why you wererefused.Youcanusethisinformationtore-apply, providing the necessary additionaldocumentation to demonstrate that yousatisfythecriteriaforavisa.”

The Embassy has recently reduced theprice for visas required by sports and ar-tisticperformersby50%.Soifyouhappen

to be going to Scotland for the EdinburghFestival, try toget invitedtoputonanactthere, as part of the Fringe. I can recom-mend The Stand, a comedy club in QueenStreet,whichallowsmostpeople–evenA.L.Kennedystrutsherstuffthere–togetuponstageandtellhilariousstoriesabouttheab-surditiesofeverydaylife.PerhapsyoucoulddoanactaboutapplyingforaBritishvisainMoscowandtherebyqualifyforareductioninthepriceofthatvisa.Applyingonthatba-sismightgiveyouenoughmaterialtomakeyouractreallyworthstaging,whichinturnwould make your application legally valid.Just don’t tell the Embassy stamp-wallahthatyougottheideafromPassport!

The Canadian Embassy has been kindenough to send us a very detailed ac-count of the latest news about travel toCanadaonbusiness.Itisfartoolongeventosummarizehere,butwehopethatthosePassport readers whoare planning avisitto the land of lumberjacks, Mounties andice-hockey will take up the invitation toaskforfurtherinformationwhichhasbeengenerouslyofferredbyPaulWhelan,whoisbothMinister-CounsellorinMoscowandMinistre-ConseillerinMoscou.

In the meantime, Mr./M. Whelan’s mostusefulbitofnewsisthefollowing(inEng-lishonly):

“BeginninginApril,wearenowoffer-ing applicants the option of applyingthrough one of our Service Providersrather than having to come to the Em-bassy in person to apply. We have twoService Providers: the International Or-ganisation for Migration (IOM), whichhasofficesinMoscow,Almaty,Yerevan,Bishkek and Dushanbe, and Pony Ex-press, which has offices in over a hun-dred locations across Russia, as well asinKazakhstan.Youcanreadmoreaboutthisnewservicebyvisitingourwebsiteat www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canada-eu-ropa/russia/

“Inbrief,theServiceProviderswilltakeapplicationsatanyoneoftheirpointsofservice,anddeliverthepassportandvi-sasbacktothetravelleratthesameplace.Applicants in Vladivostok, for example,will no longer have to cover eight timezonestocometoMoscowandlineupattheEmbassytosubmittheirapplications.TheServiceProviderschargeafeeforthisservice,butmeasuredagainstthecostoftimeandmoneyinvolvedintravellingtoMoscow, or even across town given theby now infamous Moscow traffic, thisnewarrangementprovidesanattractiveoption.”

Official tips for UK visas

Options on Canadian visas

2007 08 2�

Bottom Line

As a finance director who has acted in the financial field sincethemid1990sIoftenhearhorrorstoriesfromclientsorbusinesscolleagueinvestorswho“lose”theirinvestmentsduetodishon-estpartners.Ofcoursethishappensinanycountry,andnotjustbetweenwesternsandRussians.

Whatstepscananinvestortaketosecureaninvestmentwithalocalpartner,inacost-effectivemanner?Howcanasecure,tam-per-proof system be put in place that at the same time wouldpermitapartnertoimplementandrunabusiness,whilesimul-taneously safe-guarding against potential temptations to cutcorners, take unwarranted distributions or improperly divertfunds?

But first a few stores of real problems. First, the House thatwasn’t built. Recently a residential real-estate developer fromtheWestcreatedalocalcompanywithalocaldirector.Themon-eythatwastransferredtothelocallyestablishedbankaccountof the localcompanywasnotusedtopay invoices forpurpos-es of construction as per the original intentions of the parties.ThenthereistheGhostArbiter. Inthisexample,alocaldirectorof European nationality had fictitious staff on the books, andalsohadoverpaidstaff,inordertore-routemoneybacktohim-self.Inadditiontothat,fictitiousreceiptsweregeneratedwaithcompaniesinordertoembezzlefunds.Finally,Ohwhatamess!TheDirectorofaFortune500AmericancompanywiththenameTruckMakerOOO(nottherealname)registeredacompanywiththenameTruckMakerZAO.Thecompanyregisteracceptsslightchanges like this. He issued invoices for over $1 million in thenameofthenewlyformedcompany,whichnamedhisfriendastheonlyshareholder.TheDirectorwasfiredandpursuedinthecriminalandcivilcourts.Hewasnotfoundguilty.

In the above scenarios, if outsourcing had been used thesetypesofissuesmayhavebeenavoided.SoIrecommendthefol-lowingforsmallandmediumconcerns:

Secured Bank Account Transactions with 2 Keys; its all about encryption!

Withthesophisticationofonlinebankingthesedays,itisnowpossible and safe to conduct all banking transactions with a 2keysystemwherebythe“on-the-ground”localbusinesspartnerwouldhaveonekeyandthelessactiveinvestorwouldhavethesecondkey,fromMoscoworfromwherever.ThebankaccountcouldbesetupsothatthelocalGeneralDirectorhastherighttotransferhis/herownfundsundersay$5,000(orwhateverlimitisset).Thissystemreliesonsophisticatedencryptiontechnologyand is fairly foolproof;mostbanksguaranteeagainstexternalfraud.

Outsource an Independent Accounting Firm Inordertoensurethatalltransactionsaredonelegally,trans-

parentlyandwithintheguidelinesofthebusiness,anindepen-dentoutsourcedfirmcanbeappointedtoactasawatchdogto

ensurethatallmoniesarespentinaccordancewithbothparties’interests.Like(1)above,thesecond“key”forthebankaccountcouldalsobegivento theoutsourcedaccountingfirm insteadof to the local Managing Director. According to most serviceagreements,theoutsourcedaccountingfirmwouldprovidere-portingasfrequentlyaspossible.Byrelyingonanindependentoutsourcedfirm,theriskistransferredfromanindividualtoanindependentfirm.Thusthelion’sshareoffraudriskistransferredto the bank, hence removing bank risk (which is usually not aconcernespeciallyif itisaWesternone).Dependingonthear-rangement, theoutsourcedaccountingfirm isable to issueei-thermonthlyorweeklymanagementreportstoaheadofficeortothenon-activepartner.Moreover,thenon-activepartnercancheckinreal-timeanyandalltransactionsifthereareanyques-tionableactivitiesortransactionsspotted.

Outsourced Payroll and Human Resources AdministrationOneoftheeasiestwaysthatbusinesspartnerscheatonean-

other isthroughpayroll tricks. IfpayrollandHRadministrationissuesareoutsourcedtoan independentfirm, it ismuchmorechallengingforonepartnertocheattheother.Oneotheradvan-tagetooutsourcingpayrollisthattheemployeesarelesslikelytoknowabouttheirco-workers’salariessincethisinformationisstoredwithanindependentthirdparty.

Independent AuditsOnahistoricalbasis,itisalsopossibletolookbackandinde-

pendentlydetermineiftheactivepartnerinabusinessrelation-shiphasbeenoperatinginaccordancewiththeintendedgoalsofthepartners.However,ifthecompanydoesnothaveapolicyoftransparency,auditedinformationmightbeoflimiteduse.

Managing Director ServicesIt ispossibletoappoint fora feeaManagingDirectorwhich

canbea lawyer insidea lawfirm(oursistercompanyHellevig,Klein&Usovoffersthisservice)orincertaincasesacompanycanbeappointedasManagingDirector.Thetypesofresponsibilitiescanbespecificallylaidoutbycontract.Inthisregardtheriskisshiftedfromanindividualtoafirm.

Iftheabovestepsarefollowed,itismucheasiertosafeguardaninvestmentinRussia,orforthatmatterinanycountry.Otherargumentsforoutsourcing,andespecially forregularaudits, isthatwhenitcomestimetosellthebusinesseithertoapartnerortoathirdpartyinvestor,cleanauditedaccountscanbeshowntohelpunderstandthebusinessanditsvalue.Finally,forthosecompanies which are committed to spending their time onthings likesalesandgrowingtheir investment, it is sometimesadvantageoustooutsourceasmuchaspossiblesoastobeabletofocusonthecorebusiness.Thesavingsinspace(especiallyinviewofMoscow’ssky-highrealestateprices)foraccounting/HRstaffwillalsopartiallyorfullyoffsetthecostsofoutsourcing.

Almost Fool-Proof Method to Protect Your Russian InvestmentBy Elena Platonova Director of Avenir

2� 08 2007

People on the moveFrank Schauff hasbeenappointedCEOofAssociationofEuropeanBusinessinJune2007,replacingAndreasRomanos.BeforejoiningtheAEB,Dr.SchauffheldthepostofAd-visoronForeignPolicytothePartyExecutiveoftheSocialDemocraticPartyofGermany(SPD)since2001.HehashadadeepinterestinRussiasincehisdaysasastudentofRussianStudiesattheUniversityofCologne;andatVolgogradStateUniversity(USSR).Hewenton to take a degree in Economic History and Political Science at the London School ofEconomicsandPoliticalScience(LSE)andthenobtainedaMastersDegreeinTheGovern-mentandPoliticsofRussiaandEconomicHistory.HisDoctorateinEastEuropeanHistorywasawardedbytheUniversityofColognein2000,afterthathespentanumberofyearsasalecturerinEastEuropeanStudiesattheFreeUniversityinBerlin.Dr.Schauff’sprofes-sionalandacademicexperiencepositionstheAEBtopromoteandexpandrecognitioninRussianandexpatriatecirclesofAEBlobbyingandapolicyadvisoryrole.

Giulio D'ErjmehasbeenappointedMarketingandSalesDirectorofRosInterRestau-rantsHoldinginJuly2007,responsibleforMarketingandSales.BorninItalyhegraduatedfromtheSchoolofManagement“SorosFoundationScholarship"inSloveniaandthentheAmericanUniversityinRomegettingaBachelordegreeinInternationalBusinessAdminis-tration.HeworkedfortheEuropeanCommission,PhilipMorrisandNikeindifferentposi-tionsofresponsibilityinMarketing.In2000hejoinedtheintoIndesitCompanywherehehasworkedfor7yearsasMarketingDirectorofCoolingB.U.,thenasDirectorofMarketing,SpainandfinallyasAreaMarketingDirectorfortheCISandtheBaltic.

Anna Silina, Ancor HoldingAnna Silina has been appointed director of Ancor Holdings’ representative office in St.Petersburg.ItisnotthefirsttimethatAnnahasbeenemployedwithAncor.ShestartedhercareerinHumanResourcesinthecompanyin1999.Sheleftin2002andworkedsub-sequentlyincorporateHRatSchlumbergerandDanone.MsSilina’shastwohigheredu-cationdegrees:oneinchemistryandbiology;theotherinphilology.ShealsograduatedfromtheInternationalBusinessprogramofSt.PetersburgFinancialandEconomicUniver-sity,majoringinmarketing.“Mymaintasktoday,”shesays,“istoeffectivelyintegratemyownexperiencewithAncor’soperationalactivities inSt.Petersburg.DuringmyyearsatSchlumbergerandDanone Ilearned the complex functions of HR management, gained understanding of how thelargeinternationalcompaniesformandbroadcasttheirpersonnelneedsandhowprofes-sionalismandtheindividualapproachofrecruitingagenciesarevaluedbytheirclients.”TodayAncor,foundedin1990,isRussia’slargestrecruitingcompany.Itoffersawiderangeofstaffingservicestocompaniesintheoilandgas,andhotel industries. In2006alone,Ancorplacedalmost8,000people.Thecompany’sturnoverwas1.9billionRUR.

2007 08 29

You’vedreamedofitsooften,orthoughtaboutitinthemeltingheatofthestiflingcity:aparadisetorunawayto,whereyoucanbreathe in blissful abandon. Good news: the 21st century grantsyousuchanopportunity.Indulgeyourselfwithatreatthatevenasweettoothcan’trefuse:buyyourselfanisland.

Fromyou,notmuchisrequired:someimagination,aloveofex-ploringtheworld,andagooddesigner.Oh,andjustatinybitofextramoney.Some$20-30millionwilldo.

It is not only lucky shipwreck survivors who get to step ontobeautifulbut isolatedtropical islands.Nowadaysaffluentpeoplecanenjoythesameprivilege.Owningyourownislandgivesyouallthetimeintheworldtodedicateyourselftowhateveritisyoualwayswantedtodo.Youcouldwriteabook,gathercoconuts,orjustwalkalongthesandybeachwithnooneelsearound.All,thatyouseebeforeyouisyours.

Whereshouldyoustartyoursearch?Actually,there’smorethanoneanswertothisquestion.Challengeyourimagination.Beorigi-nal. Perhaps consider Fiji. But be sure to think quickly, becausewhatyouarebeingofferedisthetimelessownershipofoneofthefinestislandsintheworld,andoneofthelastfreeholdislandsintheSouthPacificparadiseofFiji.

Fijiisanarchipelagocomprisedofsome332separateislandsinthesouth-easternregionofthePacificOcean.TheislandgroupisarrangedlikeahorseshoearoundtheKoroSea.Thistropicalloca-tionisworld-renownedasaholidaydestinationduetothewarmclimate,naturalbeautyandfriendlypeople.

The225-acreBlueLagoon island,which isofferedforsale, is1milelongby1/3milewide,andrisesto150ft.Itissurroundedbya5,000-acrelagoon,whichoffersprotectionfromstormsandex-treme tides, thus providing the island with calm tranquil watersideallysuitedforwatersports.Itisacomfortable80degreesFahr-enheitmostoftheyear.It’sjustthetypeofparadiseyousawinthemovies,don’tyouthink?

BlueLagoonislandhasspectacularsugar-whitebeachesontheeastandwestsides,withtheKatafangavilladevelopmentonthewest,permittingenjoymentofthemagnificentSouthPacificsun-sets.Inthe19thcentury,BlueLagoonwasanfunctioningcoconutplantation,sothattodaytheislandiscoveredwithswayingcoco-nutpalms,creatingtheultimatetropicalambiance.

For the curious, and those full of energy, the island offers anamazingly wide range of things to do and explore. If your inter-estsinclinetowardlandpursuits,thereisgolf,cycling,tennisandspelunking (the islandboastsninespectacularcaves).Belowthehigh-watermark,thecool,crystal-bluewatersareidealforsnorkel-ing,kayakingandwindsurfing.Thereareopportunitiesforinterna-

tionally-acclaimedsportfishingorworld-renownedscubadiving.Eitherway,anintoxicatingblendofsights,activitiesandunforget-tablememoriesawaityou.

Forthelessadventurous,thereisnoneedtostrayfurtherthanthehammock in frontofyourownspaciousvillawhilegazingatthedazzlinglagoon,possiblyspyingaplayfuldolphinoraseatur-tle.Forthosewhoneedrestfromtheoutsideworld,BlueLagoonisoneofthelastspotsoftrueblissandnaturalluxury.

Butthis islandcanofferyouevenmorethanallthat,sinceit ishometoaworld-classresortdevelopment,whichshouldbecom-pleted within nine months and is already cropping up in travelforms with the longing remark, " if only Katafanga would open".Thereareopportunitiestomakemoneyhere,too.

Withoutadoubt,Fiji,withitsmanyscenicislands,isoneofthemostdistinctiveandbeautifulareasintheworld.Itisblessedwithamildclimate,abundantsealifeinitstropicalwaters,andexcellentsailingconditionsoff-shore.Addtothismodernfacilitiesandalo-calpopulationknownforitsgoodhumorandhospitality,anditiseasytoseewhyFijiissuchapopulartouristdestination.

Another reason fordeveloping a resortonBlueLagoon Islandis quitesimple: in recentyears tourist numbers inFiji havebeensteadilyincreasing.TheFijiVisitorsBureaupredictsthatthistrendwillcontinue.Onlythelackofaccommodationscanslowthispro-cess.Atpresent,demandexceedsthesupply.Fijihasashortageofhotelrooms.Thisisapowerfulincentiveforanenterprisingpersontodobusinesshere–aperfectopportunity toshareyournewly

Real Estate

Paradise for sale By Olga Mironenko

30 08 2007

Real Estatediscovered paradise with others and be fully rewarded for yourgenerosity.

BlueLagoonhasbeenasafehavenfromstormsforPolynesianssailors over the centuries. The entrance to the lagoon is 35 feetdeepandabout200feetwide,recentlyallowingyachtsover200feetlongthesereneprotectionofthelagoon.Theislandstillpro-videsasafeandpamperedhavenfromthestormsofeverydaylifeandistheonlyresortinthelargelyuninhabitedandpristinearchi-pelago,offeringprivilegedvisitorsanimageofPolynesianlifeasitwashundredsofyearsago.YoucanbecomethePaulGauguinofthe21stcentury.

The Katafanga Island resort development consists of the maincomplexplusprivatevillas.Themaincomplexcomprisesthelob-by,lounge,diningpavilion,meetingfacilitiesandafull-servicespa.It soars 100 ft above the turquoise lagoon, offering sublime vis-tasandspectacularsunsets.Thelavishprivatevillasarescatteredalongthecrystal-clearwater’sedge,onamagnificentwhitesandbeach.Spatubsbuiltfortwocompleteeachofthe21guestvillas,which,accordingtothepresentdesigner’splan,willfeaturemos-quito-nettedfour-posterbedsandothersumptuousfurnishings.

Currentlythereisa3,400ftrunwayontheisland,butthiscouldbeextendedto4,000ft,soneitheryounoryourguestsarelikelytofaceproblemswithtransportationtoandfromyourprivatepara-dise.

Ifyouareinterestedindevelopingtheresortandcreatingyourownsmalltropicalworldof21regalvillas,youwillnothavetowait.Constructionisforecasttobecompletedinlessthanninemonths,generatinganalmostimmediatereturnonyourinvestment.Thereisalsotheoptionofsellingthebeach-frontluxuryvillastoprivateinvestors,withorwithoutfreeholdtitles.Ortheundevelopedar-easofthe islandcouldbesubdividedtopermit individualhomedevelopment.Theundevelopedareasconstitutemorethanhalfoftheisland.

Projects like this have been carried out in other areas of theworld,aswellas inFijiwithgreatsuccess,generatingsignificantincomestreamsfromrentingthehomesandprovidingmanage-mentservices to theowners.This isapleasantchallenge for theenterprisingbusinessperson.Youcanmakeyourescape,marvelatthepristineecosystemwhileindulginginalltheamenitiesofaluxuryresortand–bestofall–haveanimmediatereturnonyourinvestment.Truebliss,isn’tit?

Thepotentialofthisunique,stunningislandisimmense.Infact,it’salluptoyou.Enjoythisserenemagnificenceinmuchdesiredsolitude, sipping your favorite cocktail in a hammock, diving forfishofunimaginablecolorsandexploringthemysticdepthofthecaves,unseenbyanyonebutyou.OrmakeBlueLagoonaprofit-able,luxuriousfive-starresortandspa.

Make your decision and buy yourself into paradise.

Contact informationBox 11�1�SuvaFiji IslandsFax: +��9 330 1333Mobile: +��9 990 ��90HMFICfijiana@kidanet.com.fj

2007 08 31

Real Estate

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Citing rapid growth, construction consultancy firm SavantInternationalre-brandedinJuly.SaidPrincipalChrisHartfieldinapressrelease,“Midwaythroughtheyear,wearealreadyexceedingour annual target. Few if any other companies can match ourgrowth as demonstrated by our dominant position in many ofour markets. Our decision to re-brand will reflect and enhanceourestablishedpresenceinRussia,theCISandEurope.”Savant’sturnoverintheCISquadrupledinthepastfouryears($16.2millionin2006comparedto$4.1millionin2003),andtheyareexpecting$22millionin2007.

If business has been going so well, why re-brand? PrincipalDavidWhitehousetoldPassport that thefirm ischangingalongwith market trends, in order not to stagnate. “Our business hasreacheda levelwherewehavetochangethewayweworkandthewayweviewourselvesandhowweareviewed,”hesays.Andthe change is foundational, not just cosmetic. “[It’s] a changein the whole way we do business, the way we speak, work andachieve,”hesays.AccordingtoWhitehouse,thenewbrandbetterreflects Savant’s ethos, which is, namely, energy, reliability andresponsiveness. Unveiled in July, their new logo is friendlier,invokingthehelpfulnessandcan-doattitudeofasmallfirmratherthanamonolithiccorporation.

Animagerevampisn’tSavant’sonlymovetoavoidstagnation.The company, which has served as an intermediary betweenclients and contractors since 2002, was similar to many other

successfulmultinationalconstructionconsultancies.NowSavantis positioning itself outside the primary group of consultancyplayersbyofferinga“pro-activeanddirectapproachtogettingprojectsbuilt,”saysWhitehouse.

Thisapproachappearstobeworking,asthecompanyrecentlysignedahostofcontractsinRussia,includinga170,000-sq.meterSpartakClubinMoscow,hotelsinUkraineandBelarus,aGeneralMotorscarparts factory inSt.Petersburgandanentertainmentcomplex in Cherepovets. Developer Grand Land, whichcommissionedtheCherepovetsproject,hasalsohiredSavanttoconsult on AAA-class office complexes in the elite Barvikha andRazdoryareasoftheMoscowoblast.

Another feature of Savant’s expansion is “in-house” design.Previously,asaprojectmanagementcompany,Savantexecutedtheblueprintsofprofessionaldesigncompanies.Nowit’sverticallyintegrated, taking over the design side as well. Upon receivingitsdesignlicense,Savantemployedprofessionalspecialistsinalldesignsectors—architects,structuraldesigners,mechanicalandelectricaldesigners—inordertoplayamorecomprehensiveroleinprojects.

With these innovations under its belt, Savant is confidentthatitwillbeabletoexpanditspresenceontheRussianandCISmarketsandtake itsbusinessto“thenext level,”asWhitehousesays.Still,thecompanywillcontinueto“lookatwaystoimproveandgobeyondtheboundaries”thatlimititsactionstoday.

Savant Re-BrandsBy Sonya Rinkus

32 08 2007

Real Estate

L-R: Michael Schneider, Geoffrey Cox, Artem Usov, Nathan Hunt, Till Frey & Dr Gezahgn Wordofa

Geoffrey Cox, OBE, chairman of Astera, reviewed the situationin the Moscow property market at a business breakfast in July,sponsored by Passport and the Hellevig, Klein & Usov law firmwhich also saw the launch of the Swiss Russian Chamber ofCommerce.TheeventwasajointonebetweentheSwissClubandSwiss Russian Chamber of Commerce and was held at the CaféDesArtistesrestaurant.Cerbamemberswereinvitedaswell.

Michael Schneider, the driving force behind the Swiss Chambersaid he founded the chamber because he “realized that whilethe Canadians, Americans and many Europeans had their ownorganizations,theSwissdidnot.”

GeoffreyCox,oneofMoscow’scelebratedrealestategurusgavehisassessmentofthehousingmarketandanoverviewofcommercialreal estate trends for Moscow. He was cautiously optimistic abouthousingpricelevels“whathasgoneupmustcomedown–atleastalittle.”Whilerentsmaystillcontinuetorisejustbecausethereisalotofdemandforlivingspaceinthecapital,hepredictedtherateofincrease would be less. “There is not as much residential propertyavailable right now as you would think, but there is plenty in thepipeline”,hetoldhisaudience.

Healsoemphasizedthatwhen leasingofficespace it iscruciallyimportant to have a broker represent the tenant during the

negotiation process. He emphasized that in leasing, key points toconsiderwerethedifferentialsbetweenrentableanduseablespace,thecostsofphysicallyfinishingthepropertyforoccupation,security,parkingandtelecommunicationsproviders.

Artem Usov from Hellevig, Klein & Usov raised the eye-openingpointthatownersofapartmentssharetheburdensofmajorrepairstothebuilding.WhilethisiswellacceptedintheWest,inRussiamostapartmentswere"gifted"totenantsaftercommunismandmanyoftheseownersarerestrainedintheirabilitytopaytheirpro-ratashareofmajorrepairssuchasanewroofthatcouldeasilyruntohundredsofthousandsofdollars. Whilethisnewlawisnowinforce,itdoesnotappeartohaveyetbeenapplied.Itmaycastalargecloudoverthebusinesscaseforowningasecondhandapartmentespeciallyforspeculativepurchasersorthosepurchasingapartmentstogeneraterentalincome.Oneotherpotentialissueforthefutureisthatperhapslandlordswhoarefacedwithlargebillstosubsidizerepairs,maytrytopassthesecostsontotheirtenants.Oneofthebreakfastdelegatesraisedtheissuethataccordingtothelaw,therewouldbedesignatedoneownerthatwouldberesponsibletocollectthemoniesonbehalfofalltheowners.Thedelegatepointedoutthattheremaybesomeproblemsifthedesignatedpartydoesnotrespecthisobligationstoproperlytransferallthesumswhicharecollected.

Swiss kick off new chamber with real estate discussion

needs a Sales/Marketing Manager to develop and lead a sales teamSuccessful applicant will be English/Russian speaker, dynamic self starter with ability to produce results

send CV to: jortega@passportmagazine.ru

London • Moscow • Almaty • Astana • Bucharest • Kiev • Istanbul • Novosibirsk • Prague • Riga • St Petersburg • Sofia • Tallinn • Warsaw • Worldwide affiliate network

Moscow OfficeDavid SelfTel: +7 495 783 73 60email: david.self@savantinternational.com

St. Petersburg OfficeMiguel De La TorreTel: + 7 812 703 57 75email: miguel.delatorre@savantinternational.comwww.savantinternational.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Amended_Full_Page_AW.indd 1 18/7/07 17:39:47

3� 08 2007

Ritz-Carlton Opens OnthefirstdayofJuly,thelong-awaitedRitz-Carlton,thenewestadditiontoMoscow’sluxuryhotelsector,openeditsdoorson3Tverskaya.Previously,theaddressbelongedtoHotelIntourist,theeyesoreSoviethotelinthevicinityofRedSquare.TheRitz’s334rooms,whichstartat$1,000-night,arecordhighinanalreadytourist-unfriendlycity,doeslittletoeasethecity’sworseningaccommodationcrunch.Bloombergreportedthatthereareonly60,000hotelroomsinthecity,forcingmanytravelerstotheoutskirts.DeputyMayorIosifOrdzhonikidzehasspokeouton theneed formore (andmoreaffordable)hotels,vowing,“Everythreedays,wearegoingtoopenahotel.”OneoftheseistheFourSea-sons,a$700-millionprojectonManezhnayaPloshchad,whichcouldwellsurpasstheRitzintermsofprice.ForthemonthofAugust,theRitz-Carltonwilloffera“SummerSpecial”rateof$385pernight.

Procter&Gamble Moving to MetropolisMultinationalconsumergoodsmanufacturerProcter&Gamblesignedaleaseon18,000-sq.metersinMetropolis,anewmixed-useretailandofficecomplexonLeningradskoyeShosse.TheyarerelocatingtoMetropolisfromtheircurrenthomeinNaberezhnayaTow-erinorderto“meettheincreasedneedsofalarger,morediverse,faster-growingbusi-ness,”accordingtoProcter&GamblegeneralmanagerMatthewPrice.CharlesBoudet,HeadofOfficeAgencyatJonesLangLaSalle,whichactedasmarketandleasingagentforthelandlord,commented,“Notonlyisitoneofthebiggestofficedealscompletedin2007todate—itisalsothefirstofficeleaseagreementsignedatMetropolis.”HeexpectsthatothermajorlocalandWesterncompanieswillfollowastenants.Metropolis,whichincludesthreeofficebuildingsanda330,000-sq.meterretailandentertainmentarea,willopeninthesecondhalfof2008.

Knight Frank Wins Real Estate AwardsOnJune17,KnightFrank’sSt.PetersburgofficewasnamedConsultancyoftheYearatthe2ndCommercialRealEstate(CRE)FederalAwardsinSochi.“Winningthisawardreflectsoursuccessinallaspectsofourwork.Ourmainassetisourpooloftalentedprofessionals,eachofwhichpossessesextensiveexperienceofrealestatedevelopmentandconsulting,togetherwithafaultlessunderstandingofthelocalmarket,”saysOlegBarkov,GeneralManagerofKnightFrankSt.Petersburg.Theiroffice,whichhastripledinstaffinthepastyear,beatoutcompetitionsuchasColliersInternationalandIBGroup.Theannualprofes-sionalawardsaredesignedtopromoteexcellenceintheRussianrealestatemarket.Anyconsultant,developerorcommercialpropertythatopenedin2006inSt.PetersburgortheRussianregions(excludingMoscow,whichhaditsownseparateawardsinApril)waseligibleforconsideration.

Microsoft Outsources to Cushman WakefieldCushman&WakefieldStiles&Riabokobylko(C&W/S&R)washiredbyMicrosofttohandleallofthecomputercompany’srealestatefunctionswithinRussia. It isRussia’sfirstrealestateoutsourcingdeal,whichinsidersthinkmarksthestartofanationaltrend.“Wefullyexpect[outsourcing]tobeembracedbycorporateRussia,”SergeyRiabokobylko,SeniorExecutiveDirectorofC&W/S&R.Hiscompanywilltakecareofthelogisticsofleases,prop-ertymanagementandexpansiontotheregions,sothatMicrosoftcanfocusondevelop-ingitsbusiness.TheRussianrealestatemarketwillbenefitfromtheattentionofsuchahigh-profilecompany.“ThispartnershipwillelevatetheRussianrealestatemarketalong-sidemorematuremarketsinEuropeandintheUnitedStates,”saysViktoriaManzioukova,Partner&HeadofClientSolutionsatC&W/S&R.

Europe’s Largest IPO by Russian Real Estate DeveloperThePIKGroupofCompaniesraised$1.8billioninanIPOthatwasthelargesteverforaEuropeanrealestatecompany.PIK,asubcontractorfortheMoscowcitygovernment,has8.8millionsq.metersofpropertyinitsportfolio.Theplacement,however,was“difficult,”accordingtoKommersant.Sharepriceswereatthebottomrange($25)inthecountry’slargestrealestate listingtodate.“Webelievethatafterthis IPO, investors’appetiteforrealestateinvestmentsmaybenearlysated,makinganyfurtherplacementsinthesectormorechallenging,”saidanalystRustamBotashevofinvestmentcompanyAton.AnalystsattributetheslowdownofRussia’sIPOtrendtoinvestoranxietyovertheupcomingpar-liamentaryandpresidentialelections.

Real Estate News

2007 08 3�

Business

this,becauseIbelievethereisnomiddleclass, and no other classes either. Thereareonlyhumanbeings.

Historically, the term ‘middle class’comes from political thought and de-scribes power relations, always inter-twined with economic prosperity, be-tweenpeople. Inhistoricaltimes,powerandtheownershipofassetswererigidlyconfined to inheritance, where they be-longedtothenobility,asopposedtothepeasantswhoworkedforthenobility.Inbetween, there was a group of peoplemoreaffluentor learned, liketheclergy,tradersandlowerlevelofficers,butwith-outaccesstothewealthwhichinherited

property confers. Many of them weretown-dwellers, in other words, bour-geois.Theycametobecalledthemiddleclass,especiallywiththegrowthofcitiesaftertheindustrialrevolution.TheMarx-ists later fixed on the term, which theytainted with their class rhetoric. Conse-quently,theyareverymuchtoblameforthepresentconfusion.

Butthisdivisiondoesnotexistanymore.Youcannotspeakaboutthemiddleclassifyoucannotpointtoanupperclassandalowerclassatthesametime.Allideasofpaintingthe‘oligarchs’asupper-classarefutile and misconceived. In Russia, theyare merely representatives of the gen-

The Russian middle classby Jon Hellevig

Believe itornot there isawholescien-tific community theorizing and disput-ing whether or not there is a middleclass in Russia. They remind me of birdwatchers,exceptthattheyhaveaphysi-cal object to occupy the space in frontof their binoculars. We cannot say thesameforthearmyofpoliticalobservers,scientistandjournalistswhotrytospotthe Russian middle class. The reason isthattherearenoclasses,justawholelotofpeople.

The middle class is one of those his-toricconceptsthatintheEuropean(andI includeRussian)scientificmindhasac-quired a life of its own. I want to stress

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3� 08 2007

Businesseralpublic–thatisthesamemiddleclass–thathavebecomeimmenselyrich.Inafeudalsociety,theywouldhavebecomethe nobility. But then they would haveto have the political power, which theydon’t. To be a proper class they wouldhave to have formalized status and in-formalsocialcohesion.Thistheydonothave.

And so the political leaders, the stateofficials,thebusinessmen,andeventhePresidentareallthesame.Theyhaveall,boysandgirls,grownupinthesamesub-urbs, watched the same movies, stoodinthesamequeues,andIdaresayevenstudiedatthesameschools.Forafterall,throughgoodandbad,theSovietUnionmadethepeopleequal.

I claim that Russia is a through-and-through middle-class society, whichmeans that if we are to use the wordthenweuseittodefinethemall.Andasinallbigcountries,therearepeoplethatare marginalized, socially and economi-cally. I would estimate these people toamount tosome15-20%of thepopula-tion.ButIdonotagreewithcallingthesepeoplea lowerclass.Duringmysixteenyears in Russia I haveseen people fromallwalksoflife–amongthempoorpeo-ple,sickpeople,desperatepeople–butIhaveseennolowerclass.Andifthereisno lowerclassandnoupperclass, thentherecanbenomiddleclass.

Ioftenhearthesociologists(i.e.thebirdwatchers) say “there is no middle classinRussia”or“Russianmiddleclasscom-posesabout10-20%ofthepopulation”.Thismakesmedoubtmysenses.InMos-cowandSt.Petersburg,onthestreets,inthe traffic, in themetro,atwork, incof-feeshops,Isitandponder.Ithink,“Whodoes not belong to the group? Whichoneisthenon-middleclassguy?Howdotheydefineit(‘it’fortheyseemtothinkmiddleclassisathing)?”

On the contrary, I think that mostpeopleherearemiddleclass,ifwewanttousethislingoofclass.Butwhodowehave left for the other classes? Twentyoligarchs do not make a class, and Idoubttheywouldevenfeelcomfortablebeingcategorizedassuch.Iwouldthinkthatfromthewholepopulationapproxi-mately 70-80% are what we might callmiddle-class.

Even the economic figures supportthis view, when you read them cor-rectly. I do not wantanybody to forget,though,thatthereisahugesocialprob-lem.Manypeoplehavebecomesociallyincapable and been marginalized. But

this isprimarilyaneconomicandsocio-politicalproblem,notaclassissue.Thereisno"class"ofmarginalizedpeople,eventhoughtherearemanysuchpeople.

Beingmiddleclassisnotaneconomicissue. It is most of all an issue concern-ingthegeneralculturalandeducationallevelofpeople.TheRussianmiddleclassgot poor in the 1990’s. But the peopledid not disappear anywhere, and theircultural heritage did not vanish. Nowthese same people are gradually get-ting prosperous again. Stop seeing themiddle class as some kind of an eleva-torgoingupanddown,andlookatthepassengers. I propose to speak of themiddle class in terms of well-educated,“civilized”people(simultaneouslyreject-ingthevalue-content:whatweconsidercivilizedcouldwellbecontestedbyoth-erpeople).Russiaisasocietyofcivilizedpeoplewithastrongmoralandculturalheritage.

Thesethoughtsare in thebackofmymind when I go down to the train atMetroOktyabrskaya,fromwhereittakesme to Tretyakovskaya and further witha transfer to Mayakovskaya. The trip inthe overcrowded morning Metro takesmesome fortyminutes,but it isworth-whileforIamofferedagoodsampleofthemiddleclassspecies.Icouldnotspottheunderclass,evenintheunderground.In my carriage, three passengers read abook; therearea lotofwomenwithanaccountant look, smart and secure, butcombative as if planning their strategyfor who to face the tax inspectoratearmedwiththelatesteditionof'TaxandAccounts', and there are girls and boysintheirteens,lookingmuchthesameastheydoalloverEurope.Unfortunately, Ihavetokeeptomybird-watchingmeth-od for, like all over Europe, Russians donot speak with strangers in rush-hourtransport. I cannot eavesdrop on their

2007 08 3�

Business

JonHellevigmakesaveryimportantpointaboutRussiaandtheway outsiders view this country. He is quite right to stress thatforeignperceptionsofRussiaareofteninfluencedbythepointofviewofthecommentator.Ifbeautyisintheeyeofthebeholder,then perhaps sociological truth is in the binocular of the bird-watcher,toadopthisveryaptanalogy.

Howeverthereare,Ithink,twoimportantqualificationswhichmightbemade.First,andbriefly,mostRussianswouldsaythatMrHellevigmightbeaccurateaboutMoscow,butwouldnotbeac-curateabouttherestofthecountry,St.Petersburgalsoexception,possibly.Outsidethetwogreatcities,therereallyisavastlysmall-erlevelofmiddleclass“consciousness,”ifthatistherightword.

But even sticking to Moscow and St. Petersburg, there is onepoint which ought to be made. Being middle class is not just aquestionofincome.Itisaquestionofafeelingofinnersecuritywhich, to a certain extent, comes from affluence, but which re-quiresmorethanmereroubles inthebank. It requiresacertainlong-termsecurity,whichnotallmiddle-incomeRussiansfeelthattheyenjoy.PerhapssecurityistakenforgrantedinFinland,whereMr Hellevig comes from. Certainly it is in Scotland, where I live.Buttheupheavalsofthe lastcenturymeanthatfewMuscovitesfeel secure in their rights and property to the extent that mostwesternEuropeansdo.

ThefreedomtoshopatMega,ortoraceroundtheMKADinaLexus,doesnotmakeamiddleclass.Whatmakesatruemiddleclass,intheacceptedEnglish-languagesenseoftheterm,isafeel-ing of socio-economic inviolability. Your rights, your freedoms,your accepted ways of behaving (excluding details, and this isnotacaseofdetails),safeinthehandsofthestatetowhichyou

giveallegiance.ThisisnotsomethingwhichallMega-shoppersorLexusdriversinRussiafeel.

PerhapstherecanonlybeatruemiddleclasswhentheStateitselfisgovernedbymiddleclasspeople.Theonlywaytheworldcanbemadesafefordemocracy,istohavedemocratsincontrol,justastheonlywaytohaveproperaristocraticgovernmentusedtobetohavearistocratsincontrol.Thedictatorshipoftheprole-tariatwasguaranteedonlywhengovernmentwasinthehandsoftrue,horny-handed,proletarians.

Russiawillonedaybeamiddleclasssociety,ofthattherecanbenodoubt.Butnotjustyet.ForRussianstobelongtoagenuinemiddleclass,theyneedtoberuledbypeoplewhothinkofthem-selvesamiddleclass–andareproudofit.

ItisoftensaidinBritainthatwewillhaveademocraticmonar-chywhen,Scandinavian-style,theQueengoesaboutLondononabicycle.Inmuchthesameway,whentheseniorRussianappa-ratchikistartpretendingtothepublicthattheyshopatMega–ofcoursetheyneverwillactuallyshopinthesameshopsaspeoplewhocanaffordaLexus–thenthecountrywillbeontheroadtotruemiddle-classdom.

Thisisanissueofperceptionratherthansubstance.RememberMrs.ThatcherwithherlittlebasketofbakedbeansandShreddiesstandingatthecheck-out inTesco’sbeforethegeneralelectionin1979?Shewasdesperatelypretendingtobe“ordinary.”Thatiswhatmadeheroneofus.Ofcourse,shewasneverreallyoneofus,butwhenleadersandtheirminionsfeelthat,inmomentsofcrisis,theyhavetheconfidencenecessarytobeabletopretendtobeordinary,thenordinarypeoplealwaysfeelalittlesafer.Onlythen,willtheybetrulymiddleclass,whatevertheirincomemightbe.

Another view, by Ian Mitchell

opinions,althoughIthoughtIheardtheteens discuss the latest development in'PicktheStraightOne.'

For a middle class-spotter, opinionsoffervaluablematerial.Arepresentativeofmiddleclasscanalways be identifiedbyvaluesheorsheholds.Thisishowweseparatethewheatfromthechaff.Beingmiddle class is most of all an issue per-tainingtoaperson’sgeneralculturalandeducational level. Our dear sociologistsseemtoconfusethatwithincome-levels,and are perplexed when they discoverthatineverynationtherearethosewithmiddle-income levels – which is a merearithmeticaltruism.

This fact disturbs their scientific mindsotheydecidetogoglobalwithincomecomparisons. But making global com-parisons is toodifficult, so they simplifytheir research by comparing the sala-riesofRussianswith theirown,Westernscholar’s, salary. But they forget aboutpurchasing-priceparity,thevaluemoneycan buy in different countries, and alsotaxation.TheyignorethefactthatEuro-

pean states expropriate approximatelyhalf the national income in the form oftaxes,whiletheRussiansmaykeepmostof their salaries. Looking at the Russianstatistics, and his own salary, and feel-ing middle class himself, the researcherconcludes that no middle class can bedetectedinRussia.

So back to opinions, the features thatdefine the biological constitution ofthe species ‘middle class’. Middle classpeople are those that strive for a goodeducation; who think and act indepen-dently;whotakecareofthemselvesandthewell-beingoftheirfamiliesandlovedones;whostriveforward,studyandworkforprosperity;whobuycars,anddreamofyetabiggerone;whotakeoutmort-gages to buy houses or apartments;whotravelabroad,readbooks,gotothetheatres, watch both domestic and for-eign movies; who argue about mattersoftasteandpolitics;whoareinasoundsense patriotic while at the same timetolerant;whoareparticularwiththeirhy-gieneanddresswell;whodonotbelieve

all they are told; who avoid the militarydraftandwanttoliveinpeace…

Lookingaround,IfailtoseemanyRus-sianswhowouldnotfitthisdescription.

But few people are willing to changetheirwell-cementedprejudices.Youwillhave a hard time convincing the bird-watcher/sociologist that he should notlookforthemysteriousmiddleclass,butlookatpeopleindividuallytotrytofindoutwhattheyarelike.Butgivenagoodincentive, you may even give up yourdearest prejudice. With expats in RussiaIhaveseenithappenwiththeaidofthegreat equalizer, love. An even strongerincentiveismoney.Afterall,mostexpatsaroundherecomeforthelatter.Forthem,the news will be great, a huge mass ofeducatedpeople,inacountrybecomingincreasingly prosperous. Soon this massofpeople,withtheirmiddleclassmental-ity,willreachEuropeanstandardsofmid-dle income. 100 million middle-incomemiddle-mindedmiddleclasspeoplewillmeansomuchmoresalespermonthandperyear.

Art

3� 08 2007

Thelargecelectionofrevolutionaryportraitswhichwehavetodaywasstartedearlyinthepost-revolutionary years. The place of honorbelongedtotheportraitsofLenin,ofcourse,made by painters, graphic artists and sculp-torsofthemostdifferentstyles.Isaac Brod-sky(1884-1939)developedhispicture“LenininSmolny”fromadrawinghemadefromlifeas far back as 1920. In his desire to preservethe living image of the head of the Sovietstate for the generations to come, Brodskypainted Lenin with photographic accuracyandalsotookapainstomakeanexactcopyofthefurniture.

Nikolai Andreyev (1873-1932) embodiedhisunforgettableimpressionsofhismeetingswithLenininasmallsculpture“Lenin,Writing”

(1920)whichwasoriginallymodeledfromlifeinwhiteclayandthencastinbronze.InspiredbyLenin’spublicappearances,Andreyevtriedto get permission to do a sculptural portraitofhimfromlifeand,thoughLenindidallowhim to be in the study while he worked todohissculpturing,heflatly refusedtosit forhim.Withhisquick,freemannerofmoulding,AndreyevmadeagoodlikenessofLeninen-grossedinwriting.Theposeandgesturearetypical. Subsequently, Andreyev produceda cycle of close to three hundred sculpturesanddrawingsofLenin,devotinganumberofyearstothiswork.

ThesculpturalportraitofNarodnayaVolyarevolutionary A. Zhelyabov (1928) by Boris Korolyev (1885-1963) and the image of theBolshevik fighter S. Shahumyan (1929) hewnout of rock by Sergei Merkurov (1881-1952),bothhavearomanticringevokingadmirationfor these heroes’ indomitable spirit. One ofthemostpopularworksofthe1920'swas“ACobblestoneIstheWeaponoftheProletariatand 1905” (1927) by Ivan Shadr (1887-1941).Thesculptorstressestheenergyofthefuriousimpulse in the figure and face of the young

workerfightingfor freedom.Thetenselydy-namicimageisauthenticindetailsandsym-bolicincharacter.

The main lines of development in paint-ingandsculptureareclearlytraceableinthegraphicartsandwatercolorsofthe1920s.

Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva(1871-1955),adistinguished“WorldofArt”master,broughther valuable experience of watercolors andetchingsintopost-revolutionarySovietart.Inherwatercolor“FieldsofMars”(1922)sheglo-rified,withthelyricismcommontoherwork,themajesticbeautyandtheeverlastinglifeofthemonumentsofartinhernativePetrograd.Atthesametime,herpicture,paintedduringthe Civil War, bears the unmistakable signsof the times: the great streets are strangelyempty,andonly inthedistanceyouseeMa-rinedetachmentsonthemarch.

The talent of Nikolai Kupreyanov (1894-1933) matured in the post-revolutionaryyears,andhewasoneof thefirst toexplorethe genre of Soviet industrial landscape. Intheperiodofeconomicrehabilitationandtherevival of railway traffic, he made a series ofdrawings which he finished in 1926 and en-titled“Railroads.”Thesedrawingshavetheir-resistibleappealofpoeticizedenergy,move-ment,andaction.

Ignati Nivinski (1881-1933), an outstand-ing master of etching, creatively utilized theexperienceofthemoderncinemainhiswork,especially the techniques of cutting, whichenabled him to combine drawings, entirelydifferentincharacter,intoasingledecorativewhole. In his etchings devoted to the greatconstruction projects launched in the 1920s,he underlined Lenin’s ideas of electrificationandindustrializationofRussia.

TheworkofVassili Lebedev (1891-1967)isdistinguishedforitsamazingwealthofimag-ery and keynotes. His talent found an outletinsatiricalposters,inexquisitelypoeticdraw-ings, and in excellent illustrations for chil-dren’sbooks.Hisdrawing,“TheNude”(1927),combines the barely discernable gradationsofchiaroscurowithstartlingcontrastsofdeepblackanddazzlingwhitewhich,togetherwiththefluent,meltingoutlines,produceabeauti-fullyricalimage.

Nikolai Ulyanov(1875-1949),apainterandgraphic artist, painted a dramatic portrait ofAlexanderPushkin,revealingwithadepthofunderstanding the psychological state of amanhoundedby thehigh-societymob.Theatmosphere of the scene is built up by theunusual composition, the expressiveness of

thesilhouettesreflectedinthemirror,andthesharp,nervousrhythmofthebrushstrokes.

The1920'switnessedthebrilliantdevelop-ment of woodcuts, whose leading masterswere Vladimir Favorsky (1886-1964) andAlexander Kravchenko (1883-1940). Inillus-trating the biblical story of love and fidelity,“TheBookofRuth”(1924),Favorskycreatedasublimelypureimage,anembodimentoftruefemininity. Ruth lost in thought is kneelingbeforethetreeoflife.Themomentissolemnand movingly lyrical. Favorsky achieves theimpressionbytheperfectionofhiscomposi-tion, theprecisionofhisstrokes,andthesil-veryglimmerofthefinishedwork.

Favorsky’ssuperbskillandthephilosophi-calmeaningheput intohisworkhadaverybeneficial influence on the development ofthebook-illustratingartinourcountry.Actu-ally he founded a new school which helpedmany original talents find their vocation.Favorsky’s work is also known and admiredabroad.

Alexander Kravchenko was a virtuoso ofcompositioninwoodcuts.Thistemperamen-talartist,aromanticatheart,strovetofathomlife,andpresentitinallitsdecorativebeauty.Oneofhismain themeswas thatofcreativeendeavor.His“Stradivari”(1926)isahymnto

life,toinspiredwork,totheharmonyofbeing.He portrays the workshop of the celebratedmaker of violins as literally flooded withstreamsoflight.

TheTretyakovGallerydisplaysmuchoftheworkofmanyoutstandingSovietmastersoftheoldergeneration,whichallowsviewerstotracethecomplexevolutionoftheirartinthepost-revolutionaryperiod.

The 1920's and 1930's in the Soviet Period of Artby Olga Slobodkina-von Bromssen

2007 08 39

Review

Howdoyousay“perm”inRussian?Thosewhohaven’tworkedoutallthenuancesoftheRussianlanguage,orsimplylongforabeautysa-lonlikebackhome,flocktoToniLockhart-Saydkhuzhin’sExpatSalon,whichopeneditssecondoutletlastmonth.ThefriendlySouthCaro-linanativestartedtheenterprisein2003withthehunchthatexpatsandRussiansalikewouldwelcomeWestern-stylebeautyservices.Byallaccounts,shewasright.WithinatwomonthsofopeningthefirstsalononSkaternyPereulok,theybrokeeven;withintwoyears,anotherlocationwasneeded,astheywereturningawaycustomersindroves.

InthesecondweekofJune,thatsecond,largerExpatSalonopenedinthevicinityofPatriarshiyePrudy.Itoffersthesamerangeofservices,creaturecomfortsandon-siteEnglish-languageassistancethatloyalcustomershavecometoexpect–plusafewnewgadgets.

WhenPassportvisited,themonth-oldsalon,tuckedawayonleafyMaliyPatriarshiyPereulok,wasalreadybustlingwithcustomers.

“Theset-upisevenbetter,”saystheowner,whosplitshertimebe-tweenthetwolocations.“FromthereceptiondeskIcanseethesalonarea,andmovequicklytointerveneifthere’salanguagemiscommu-nicationbetweenthestylistandthecustomer.”

Theopenlayoutalsofostersanexpat“sorority”atmospherethat’soneofthesalon’smaindraws:betweenprocedures, ladiessipcom-plimentarytea,readWesternmagazinesandcatchup.Men,however,aren’t excluded from the club. According to Lockhart-Saydkhuzhin,theyaccountfor25%oftheclientele.Whenwedroppedby,severalmenwereenjoyingthestandard1,350-roubleshaveandhaircut.

ThenewExpatSalon,likethefirstoutlet,positionsitselfasabeau-tyclinicaswellasasalon.Offthemainhairarea,thereareseparateroomsfornail,massageandcosmeticprocedures,whicharecleanedandsanitizedtoadegreethateludesothersalons.Iwastakenunder

thewingofthewhite-coatedDarya,alicenseddermatologist,foroneofthesalon’smostpopularprocedures,thebasicfacial(2,500rubles).As a soothing New Age soundtrack played in the background, shecleansedmyporesandhydratedandmoisturizedmyskinwithprod-uctsfromFrenchskincarelinePayot,thenfinishedtheprocedurewitharelaxingmassage.

AccordingtoDarya,themainadvantageofhiringalicensedprofes-sional is theyareable todiagnosethepatient’sexactskin typeandproblem. More advanced procedures such as chemical peels (2,000rubles),microdermabrasion(from2,400rubles)andvaricoseveinre-moval(275rublesperpulse)areavailable,andtheclinicwilladdBotoxandcollageninjectionstothelistofservicesonceitreceivesthenec-essarylicense.

ReceivingmostattentionatthenewExpatSalonisoneofitsmostexpensive additions: the LPG Endermologie machine. The latest innon-invasiveanti-cellulitetechnology, it“massages”thecelluliteoutoftheskin.Doesitwork?

“Itbetterwork:itcosts28,000euros!”laughsLockhart-Saydkhuzhin.Predictably,timewiththemiraclemachinedoesnotcomecheap.

One45-minutesessionis2,500rubles,andpatientsareencouragedtomakeupto20visitsforbestresults.Accordingtotheirdermatolo-gist,despiteitsheftypricetag,anti-cellulitetherapyisoneofthemostpopularproceduresattheExpatSalon,nexttoelectrolysis.

Businessmustbegoodiftheyareabletoexpandintosuchhigh-techbeautyterritory. Inthreeshortyears,ExpatSalonhasachievedthestatusofabeautysalonchain,makingitoneofthesuccessstoriesintheexpatbusinessworld.Thoughrunningabusiness inRussia,acountrynotoriousforitsredtape,canbedifficult,Lockhart-Saydkhu-zhinsaysthatitisultimately“incrediblyrewarding.”

Expat Salon Review

Onceagain,theBlueElephantThairestaurantattheNovinskyPassazh,Barrikadnaya,stagedtheLadiesClassicCarRally.UnderthepatronageofMoscowMayor,YuriLushkov,thisyear’seventwasagreatsuccess,withbrightsunshine,stunningdriversandnavigatorsandagoodcrowdofspectatorswhoenjoyedthechampagne,thefoodandthemusic.Therewasevenawanderingmagician,whoamazedthespectatorswithhisabilitytogetanelderlyVolgagoingwhichallthemechanicspresentwere unable to start. He produced dollar bills from thin air too. TheeventwasgracedwiththepresenceoftheformerMissWorld,OksanaFeodorova,andworld-championgymnast,SvetlanaKhorkina….

Amongstthecars,wereJaguars,twoRollsRoyces,aLincoln,astun-ning white Cord, a luscious red Austin-Healy, a beautifully-restoredRussianarmyjeep,completewithladiesinsteelhelmets,andseveralMercedessportscarsfromthedaysbeforenationalspeedlimits.IfonlyStirlingMosshadbeenthereinaMercedes722withDenisJenkinsoninthenavigator'sseat,itwouldhavebeenlikethestartofthefamousMilleMigliain1955.Asitwas,insteadofcarsacceleratinghomicidallyalongViaDante,wehadthemacceleratingnonetoocautiouslyoutintotheafternoontrafficalongtheGardenRingroad,whichmeanstheywereprobablydoing70mp.h.beforehittingtheunderpassbelowtheArbat.BemusedMilitsia-menlookedon,andthebandplayed1930'sGermanjazzofthesortLordHaw-Hawbroadcastduringthewar.Andofcourse,thechampagneneverstopped.InfacttheonlythingthatstoppedwastheVolga–plus,embarrassinglyenough,oneoftheJaguars.

Ladies Rally

adve

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Hospitality News

�0 08 2007

Dяgilev celebrates New Year in AugustAccordingtotheDяgilev’scalendar,the18thofAugustisthedaywhenaNewYearpartyhastostart.Don’tbesurprisedthatitissummerandhot.Butforthosewhomissthewintercold,theyorganizeaspecialsurprisefreezingcoldpartywheretheyletyoufeelasfreshasifyouwereontheskatingringonNewYear’sEve.TheymaintainthetraditionoftheNewYearparty,providingalltheconventionalformsofcelebration,includingthesmelloffurtreesandmandarins, thesoundsofcrackersandchampagnecorks.Andonethingyouhavetoremember:comeandbecheerful!

Gourmet shashlyk in “Cafe Kranzler”Summeristherighttimetoenjoythegrilledmeat,andnotonlymeat,butalsothecom-panyofoldandtruefriends, thesmellofbonfires insummerforestsandthe incompa-rableexpectationofshashlyk.KranclercaféintheBaltschugKempinskyHotelnowoffersashashlykexperience.Guestscantrytraditionallamb(1050RUR)andchicken(750RUR)shashlyk,aswellasanewandexoticshrimpandscallopshashlyk(1100RUR).Baltschugfollowsthetraditionandservesthemeattogetherwithhome-pickledtomatoes,cucum-bers,youngonionandgarlicwithfreshherbs(350RUR).Aswellastraditional,thereisthemodern,suchas freshsaladswith rocket, fennelandavocado (990RUR).Andtofinish,therearenoveltyicecreams.

Golden Apple Restaurant Pasta Festival InAugusttheGoldenAppleBoutiqueHotelisrunningaspecialpastamonth,andinvitesitspatronstosamplethetruetasteofItaly.TheHotelChefhaspreparedagreatsurpriseforpastaamateurs.HehascollectedrecipesfromallcornersofItaly,andisreadytosatisfygourmandswithawidevarietyofpastas.Classicalspaghetti,tagliatelle,linguine,penne,lasagnaandfettuccinearecomplementedbydelicioussaucesandspices.SomefavoritesarePennewithMozzarella,SauceMarsalaandGreenPeas(380RUR);SeafoodRisottowithFreshHerbs(820RUR);andSpaghettiwithMusselsandFreshTomatoes(440RUR).ThefoodmenuisaccompaniedbyItalianwineschosenbytheattentivesommeliertogiveyouthefulltasteofItalyinMoscow.Golden Apple Bar & Restaurant, Golden Apple Boutique Hotel, 11 Ul. Malaya Dmitrovka, M. PushkinskayaTel: �(�9�) 9�0-�000, �(�9�) 9�0-9�30

Swissotel Krasnye Kholmy sells events at BOUTIQUEBoutiqueisanewconceptincelebration.Thereareafewmomentsineveryone’slifewhenonedreamsofaperfecttimespentwithfriendsandfamily.Itmightbeawedding,orthebirthdayofachild,orontheoccasionofanewappointmentortheconclusionofaper-fectdeal.Butthereisalwaystheproblemoforganization.Intheend,theeventbecomesachoreforthehost.Boutiquenowhastheanswer.Itsteamhasworkedouttypicalpackagesfor every occasion and sells the event “dream-to-dream.” For the wedding celebrations,boutiqueoffers'Rubin','Sapphire'and'Diamond'scenarios.Forlittlegueststheteamhaspreparedprincesanddolphinsevents:'SnowWhite'and'Cinderella'.Finally,theyoungandcarefreemayenjoycity-spacedanceparties.SwissôtelKrasnyeKholmytakesyouupintotheskiesofMoscow,andwillgiveyouareallymemorableeventwithBoutique.

Hemingway's opens… sort of There'sbeengossip,there'sbeenscandal,there'sbeendisbeliefanddisinterestandnowHemingway’sisfollowinginthewakeofHaciendawhosesiteitistakingoverat13Komso-molskyProspect.LikeHacienda,nearlyayearago,ithasfinallyopeneditssummerveran-da.Theopeningofthemainrestaurantis‘delayed.’Soundfamiliar?Itshould.Heminga-way’sisownedbythesamegroupofintrepidforeigninvestorswhobackedDougSteeleintheoriginalventure.SansDoug,theyarefollowinghisformula,everyeveningfrom6pmto8pmishappyhour,withhalfpriceMojitas,CubaLibraandBloodyMary's(withTequila)plushalfpriceBaltika.Fromnoonto16:00weekdaysthefoodmenuisdiscountedby50%.CubanPorkSandwich,PepperSteak,RibEye,Burittos,Chili,homemadecheesecakeandsalads.TheofficialopeningofthemainrestaurantispostponeduntilSeptember,bywhichtimewehopethatnotonlywillthebackgroundmusicbelessinconflictwiththevenue’sthemebutthatservicewillbedramaticallyimproved.13 Komsomolski prospekt www.hemingways.ru Tel: �(�9�) 2�� ��2�

2007 08 �1

Wine&Dine

Bistrot’s Italianchef,MassimoFerrari isanimposingfigureonthepatioofBis-trot,hisampleheightfurtherenhancedby his towering white chef’s hat. Mas-simo wanders the patio visiting withhiscustomers,alwaysaccompaniedbyNatalia,hisattractivebrunettemultilin-gual Russian/English/Italian translator.MassimocametoBistrotfromRistoran-te Al Bersagliere (www.albersagliere-goito.it), which has been a family res-taurantinGoito,Italysince1840.

Bistrot is a beautifully well-executedreplicaofaTuscanvilla,asiftransplant-ed from the Italian coast with everypropinsightfromthetabletothewalls,direct to the Savinskaya Embankmentacross the river from the Radisson Ho-tel.Bistrotowesitsheritagetotheleg-endaryTuscanBistrotofFortedeiMar-ni.Infact,FortedeiMarniBistrotownerDavidValanibroughtBistrottoMoscowtogether with Moscow restauranteursKirill Gusev and Ivan Bronov and Rus-sianDirectorFedorBondarchuk.

The main entry to Bistrot crosses alarge patio dining area covered withhuge, rectangular white umbrellas la-beled Gancia Pininfarina. This is theprime people-watching place – if youcan score a table – and that may takea few days advance reservation. WhenI arrived, John Ortega, Passport EditorJohn Bonar and Passport CEO GeorgeVoloshin were already seated inside.Thoughwehadcomeat19:00andonlythreepatiotableswereoccupied,eventhe Passport magic couldn’t get us aseat outside. The rest were “reserved”fortheglitterati,thoughevenwhenwe

leftabout22:00fewhadyetarrived.Theinteriorissowellexecutedthata

seatinsideisstillatreat.Andthenightwewerethere,wegottowatchamini-oligarch work his guests at several ta-bles.Thegirlscameinandoutandevenhis drivers and bodyguards got fed inshiftsatatablenearus.

Thisisa“sparenowallet”restaurant,at leastwherewinesareconcerned; Ididn’t see a red for much less than4,000rublesabottle.The leastexpen-sive white, a Guigal Croze-HermitagefromtheRhonevalleywas2,600rubles.A 100-gram serving of Grana Padanocheese, or any cheese for that matter,is500rubles,andaselectionof Italianprosciuttois900rubles.

The food at Bistrot is exquisite andfor thefirst timetherewerezerocom-plaints.Westartedwithtwosalads.TheCarpaccioTunaSaladconsistedofthreeslabs of very fresh tuna laid over aru-gula, and dressed with small pieces ofsharptastinggreenolivesandshredsofintenselyflavoredcandiedorangerind.The Warm Potato and Octopus Salad(750r) combined firm, white potatocubeswithsoftandsucculentslicesofwhite octopus leg meat drizzled witholive oil and accompanied by slightlycooked“aldente”tomatoesandredbellpepper.Wealsotriedoneofthepizzas.ChefMassimorecommendedthePizzaProsciutto Confidi (650r), a thin crustpizza with mozzarella, thin prosciuttoandsmallislandsofmincedfig.

JohnOrtegaorderedthe“goat”–ap-parently sourced from the French Pyr-enees, and was so pleased to find this

Capretto al forno con patate alla for-naia (1350r) on the menu he reportedto Chef Massimo that “nobody doesgoat in Moscow.” John described themeatasbutterysoft,andwellcomple-mented with the large roasted garlicclovesandslicedpotatoeswitholiveoilandthyme. JohnBonarwasverysatis-fiedwitharichRisottoaifunghiporcini(850r), a smooth risotto with creamywhitemushrooms.IwentforAgnolotticon burrata, tartufo e fondata di par-migiano (950r). Burrata is a wonderfulItaliandelicacy–madeofanoutercaseof fresh mozzarella and a cream andmozzarella combination inside. Thesmallhandmadeagnolottibitsofpasta,perfectlyfirm,stuffedwiththerichbur-ratawerenotatalloverpoweredbythecreamy parmigiano sauce. Small slicesoftruffleinfusedtheentireplate.

On every count, ambiance, cuisine,design, and eye candy, Bistrot getsthreeHummers.

Bistrot12/2 Bol. Savvinsky Per. � (�9�) 2��-�0��

By Charles Borden and John Ortega

Moscow’s Ferrari

�2 08 2007

Wine&Dine

- How long have you been a chef?Ithinktwelveyears.IcamefromItalywhereIworkedformanyres-taurants.Fouryearsago,whenIcametoMoscow,Ibecameachef.

- You are the youngest chef I have talked to and I think this question will be most appropriate: Why did you choose to work in the kitchen? Iwasbornintoafamily,whichwasnotwealthy,inthesmalltownofAnconaMarche.Likeeveryyoungperson, Ihadmyprideanddidn’twanttoaskmyparentsformoney.You know it is quite an advantage to grow up near the sea. I could combine school in winter, with working in summer. ThemoneyIearnedIcouldspendandbuywhateverIneeded,withoutaskinganybody.AndIworkedinthekitchen.Andafterawhilestartedcookingmyself.

- According to the restaurant’s internet site, 3�% of the dishes are your creations. Is that right? Notexactly!Herewedotherecipesofmynativetown.Youknow

inItaly,ineveryregionandineverytown,therearedifferenttra-ditionsofpreparingfood.Iwasgiventhechancetodemonstratesome of the dishes from my town. I collected many recipes, and worked on them to adjust them to international stan-dards. I found my own style, and now prepare them here.TherearenotsomanychefsfrommyregioninMoscow.Ialsoactasaconsultant for chefs fromBryansk,Saint-Petersburgand Yu-zhno-sakhalinsk.

- Do your guests like what you do?Idon’tknowaboutalltheguests,butIhopeso,yes.Yousee,thebestrewardforachefisanemptyplate.Ifthedishstaysuntouched,itsaysalotmorethanwords.IlikecriticsandItrytochangerecipesforthepeople.Ilikewhentherearealotofguests.

- Is there any other prize you would like to get as a chef?Ihaveneverthoughtaboutthat.Idon’tknowifIwouldliketogetanythingexcepthappyguests.Idon’tevenknowthetypeofachef

Lorenzo Strappato Executive Chef of Bellezza Restaurant-Club

talks to Annet Kulyagina

"An empty plate is the chef’s best reward"P

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2007 08 �3

Wine&Dine

Black cod fillet – 2�0 gCherry tomatoes – �0 gRaisin – 1� gGarlic – 10 g White wine vinegar – � gTomato base or tomatoes in own juice – �0gFish bouillon – �0 gSalt, pepper, olive oil – 1/1/�0 gFresh spinach – �0 gOregano – �0 g Almond petals – 1 gBanana leaf for decoration – 1

Method Season the black cod fillet with salt and pepper. Sauté it on theheatedpanwiththeoliveoil,andthencookitintheovenat180-200Cfor5-7minutes.Forthesauce:sautéthecherrytomatoes inapanwithchoppedgarlic,thenaddfishbouillon,tomatobase,vinegar,raisins,saltandpepper.Steamthemixturefor3-5minutesandaddoreganowhenthepanistakenofftheheat.For the garnish: sauté the spinach with olive oil and salt andpepper.

Serving:putthepreparedspinachinthecenterandcoveritwiththecod.Pourthesaucearoundthecod.Makeatriangleshapebananaleafand put it round the cod fillet, covering it. Decorate everythingwiththealmondpetals.

Black Cod by Lorenzo’s Grandma Anita

The recipe of executive chef of Bellezza Restaurant Club, Lorenzo Strappato

Iam.Thereisatheorythattherearetwotypesofchefs.Iwastoldthat when I first came to the culinary school. My professor usedtotellusthatchefs are divided into two categories: the first one is the very thin, very professional and knows and does everything according to the book; the other one is fattish, enthusiastic and homey. Sometimes I feel like making every-thingasinthebook,butmostofthetimeIamjustfanaticallyen-thusiastictoinventandtryout.

- Where do you get inspiration for your experiments?Wellitallcomesfromthestyle.Ilikedifferentstyles.ForexampleIlikesushi.Notcookingit,buttheideaofrollingfoodupandserv-ingitthewaytheydo.Imakenotesandusethetrickssometimes.I likemaking fresh tuna, forexample. Ihaveonerecipe frommygrandmother.Itwasonlyinourfamily;Itookitandbroughtittomykitchen.

- Did you find any tricks in Russian cuisine?Ah,no,notyet.Ihaven’thadmuchtimetotrysomethingRussian.Ihaven’tevenseenRedSquareyet.WhenmymothercallsmeandasksaboutMoscow,I usually answer that I have my own Mos-cow and it is called Bellezza.Iworkhereandknoweverycorner.Ijustwanttomaketheworkperfectfortherestaurant,toexcitetheguestsuptothesamelevelasmyself.Maybeintime,IwillhaveachancetoseeMoscow.

23 Krasnaya Presnya, bldg. 1БTel: � (�9�) 2�2 12 1�

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�� 08 2007

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Distribution Listrestaurants & bars13 SandwichesAcademy AcapulcoAccentiAdriaticoAits (Stork)Alpen TerrasseAmerican Bar&GrillAntonioArt BazarArt ChaikhonaAustralian Open MuskatBaan ThaiB. B. KingBeerHouseBlooming SakuraBlue ElephantBookcafeBoulevardBudvar Cafe CipollinoCafe GorozhaninCafe MichelleCafe MokkaCantinetta AntinoriCasualСarre BlancCheChurchill's PubCicco PizzaCoffee BeanColonnaCorreas'da MilioDarbarDeli FranceDonna KlaraDorian GrayDoug & Marty's BoarhouseEat CafeEl Inka

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Community

St Catherine’s: Representing American Orthodoxy in Moscowby Linda Lippner

Churchessuchasthiswereunheardofduringthe Cold War. But today, there are six otherinternationalbranchesofRussianOrthodoxyinMoscow.LocalrepresentationsfromJerusa-lem,Antioch,Serbia,Bulgaria,AlexandriaandtheCzech-landswererepresentedinMoscowbeforetheAmericanChurch (which includesCanada, U.S. and Mexico) was given theChurchofSt.Catherinein1994.ThiswastwoyearsafterthefirstAmericanArchpriest,Dan-iel Hubiak, arrived here to celebrate serviceswith a small group of believers who consid-eredthemselvespartoftheRepresentationoftheOrthodoxChurchinAmerica.

St.Catherine’sownhistoryspansacenturyandahalf,whenCatherinetheGreatcommis-sionedabaroqueandrococostylechurchtobe built on the ground of a cosmetics guild.Zamoskvorechyehad longbeenacraftsmenandworkingman’sneighbourhood,andtherehasbeenchurchesonthissitesincetheearly1600’s,mostlikelyawoodenonefirst,thenastone structure. Because Soviet urban plan-nerslargelyignoredtheareaintheirmassivere-development schemes for Moscow, onegets a sense of re-entering a centuries-oldneighbourhoodasyouwalkthestreets.

This sense of being in another time andplace continues as you enter the very spa-cious and well-kept grounds of St. Cathe-rine’s,namedafter theEmpress.The fencingaroundthechurchwasbroughtherefromtheKremlin’s church complex at Catherine’s be-hest. The remnants of stone double-headedeagles sit atop metal railings that have, sur-prisingly, survived the elements of weatherand time and neglect plus the sometimesviolentencroachmentsofearlyandmid20thcenturySovietattacksonRussianOrthodoxy.Ifoneseesphotosof thechurch in theearly20thcentury,therewasagrandbelltowerinthe “trapeznaya” area which links the largedomedsanctuary–forwinteruse–withthesmallersummerone.

In1931thebelltowerwaspulleddownandthe building converted for use as a machineequipment institute and communal flats.By the 1980’s, the building was occupied bythe I.GrabarStateRestorationCentre.Grabarreduced its staff and working space after St.Catherine’s was formally handed over to theOrthodoxChurch inAmericabytheMoscowPatriarchate.Finally,inSeptember2006,theycompletelyvacatedthecomplexso that it is

allnowdedicatedtoreligioususe.Restoration is in progress both inside and

outside St. Catherine’s, and the grounds arebeing landscaped. Two small monumentscatch your attention. In the yard, there is amemorial bell tower which commemoratesthetragiceventsoftheterroristattackontheUnitedStatesonSeptember11,2001(adupli-cateishousedatthetemporaryquartersofSt.NicholasChurch inNewYorkCitywhichwasdestroyedintheattack).Alsoalovelycarvedcross donated by the Grabar Institute sits inthe yard near the entrance. Grabar was alsoinvolvedintherestorationofthedomeofthewintersanctuary.Theyreplacedthegoldcrossatthetop,andperformedoutpartialdemoli-tionandrestorationoftheformercommunalapartments.

Nearer to the entrance to the church, ap-proximatelybelowwherethebelltoweroncesoared,isasmallwooden“belltower”wherebellsarerungforservices.Oneofthesebellswas bought with finds donated from thepeoplesoftheStateofIllinois.Intheyearstocome,thebelltoweratopthetrapeznayawillhouse the several of the bells that now ringoutfromthissmallwoodentower.

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Along the principal street of the Zamoskvorechie neighbourhood south of the Kremlin and the Moscow River, stand 7 Russian Orthodox churches. This street of churches, Bolshaya Ordynka Ulitsa, is colourful and imposing at the same time. And towards the south end of the street at #60, is situated a truly unusual church of the Orthodox faith. St. Catherine the Great Martyr Church-in-the-Fields has just celebrated thirteen years as the home of the representation the Orthodox Church of America in Moscow.

2007 08 ��

CommunityArchimandrite Zacchaeus is Dean of theChurch and Representative of the Ortho-doxChurchinAmericatotheMoscowPa-triarchate. Father Zacchaeus is from NewYorkStateandwasappointedDeanin2002by the blessing of Metropolitan Herman,PrimateoftheOrthodoxChurchinAmeri-ca.FatherZacchaeus feels thathis time inMoscow has been a unique privilege, andhas enjoyed the challenge of managing aparish that ismore thanaparish: insomewaysalsoan“embassy”fromtheAmericastotheRussianOrthodoxChurch.

Father Zacchaeus has the assistance ofbi-lingualclergy,includingtwopermanentpriestsandtwonon-assignedpriests,alongwithadeaconandotherveryinvolvedvol-unteerchurchstaff.FatherZacchaeusandhispriestscanconductweddings,baptismsandfuneralsinEnglish.Aspecialservicehasbeenconducted inEnglisheverySeptem-ber11thtocommemoratethetragiceventsin the United States. People from manyembassies in Moscow attend who wish toexpresstheirsympathyandtheirresolvetocombatterrorism.

Ingeneral,however,sinceSt.Catherine’shas a primarily Russian-speaking congre-gation, the traditional cycle of liturgicalwitness is conducted in Church Slavonic.FatherZacchaeussaysthathecanlookoutoverhiscongregation,whichnumbersany-wherefrom180toover250,andifhespotsavisitorthatmightbeanEnglishspeaker,heishappytoaddEnglishtotheproceedings.Healsosaysthatheandhisstaffcanpro-videauniqueserviceforcouplesorfamilieswhomightbeablendofOrthodoxy,otherreligions and other nationalities. Counsel-ling mixed religion couples in English, orin preparation for joining the Church, is apleasurabletaskforFatherZacchaeus.Withmany expats temporarily or permanentlylivinginMoscow,heseesthisservicetohisparishcommunityasbecomingevermorepopular. An expat considering joining theOrthodoxChurchhasthecomfortofstudy-ing with a native English-speaking priestrighthereinMoscow.

The local congregation is typical of theneighbourhood where St. Catherine’s issituated, and is growing constantly. Father

Zacchaeus ascribes this primarily to youngpeople with families because St. Catherine’shasanactivechildren’sprogram,includingachildren’s choir and Sunday school. Also, hischurchistheonlyoneinMoscowdedicatedtoSt.CatherinetheGreatMartyrofSinai,andmany women named for this Saint attendservices,especiallyonhernameday,Decem-ber 7. But overall, Father Zacchaeus notesthathisRussiancongregationisevolvinginatoleranceofthe“other.”Whenacongregantcomes to St. Catherine’s he or she may findpeopleofcolourworshipingthere,importantvisitors fromabroadornewlyarrivedexpatslookingforachurchhomeinMoscow.Whilethis might be upsetting or disruptive to amore typical congregation in a Russian Or-thodoxChurch,St.Catherine’soffersaflexibleandwelcomingfacefromtheexpandingpar-ish. In the early 20th century, St. Catherine’swasoneofthewealthiestparishesinthearea.In the early 21st century, this unique churchlooksforwardtoofferingOrthodoxworship-ersaspiritualwealthrelatedtoitspositionofRepresentation of the Orthodox Church inAmericatotheMoscowPatriarchate.

Therearemanyoutreachactivities thatacongregateofSt.Catherine’scanbecomeinvolvedin.ThereisaSundayschoolandchildren’schoir,alongwithanadultSundayschool.Res-torationwork isanon-goingprojectandvolunteersarewel-come.Also,anactivecommunityoutreachprogrammeatSt.Catherine’sincludesasoupkitchenbasedattheKurskayarail-wayandMetrostation,acollectioncentreforclothingdona-tions from the Warm the Children Foundation based in NewJersey, a medical diagnostics center and an AIDS awarenessandinformationprogram.ItissincerelyhopedthatAAmeet-ingswillresumeinthefallorearlywinter,inRussianandEng-lish.AnnualpilgrimagesforparishionersandparishclergyareconductedtoholyplacesaroundRussiaandtheworld.Recent-ly,theyhaveincludedtripstoItaly,theSinaideserttoStCath-erineMonastery,andConstantinople(Istanbul).AnextensivetheologicallibraryisopentothepublicwithbooksinEnglishandRussian.Alsoonthegroundsof thechurch isa liturgicalvestments shop, an icon studio school and a wood-working

and carving studio. Those interested in learning more aboutpossible educational resources at the workshops are encour-agedtocontactthechurch.

Donationsarealwaysneededforthecriticalneedforrestorationoffrescosandiconswithinthechurchandrestorationofthebelltowerontheoutside,alongwithextensiverestorationsofthesum-merchurchrecentlyreturnedtotheParish.

Perhapsthemosttypically“American”activityisoneofthemostsimpleatSt.Catherine’s:Thisistheafterservice“coffeehour”onSundayswhereyoucanmeetandsocializewithotherparishioners.Allarewelcome!

Contact information:Bolshaya Ordynka �0/2, 11901�, Moscow, RussiaTel/Fax: +� (�9�) 9�9-129�e-mail: rector@st-catherine.ruwww.st-catherine.ru

�� 08 2007

Postcard from Belarus

It may be true that 65% of all Russian mar-riagesendindivorce(68%inBelarus)butthisdoesnotdeteryoungpeoplefromtakingtheplunge. In both countries, the average age atwhich women marry is still an innocent yetoptimistic22; it is24 formen.Manyweddingpalaces are seeing more couples tie the knotthaneverbefore.

Weallknowhowmuchourex-Sovietfriendslovetokickuptheirheels,soit’shardlysurpris-ingthatweddingsareanoccasionfortheulti-mate in partying: dancing and drinking untildawn are almost obligatory. The official reg-istryprocedureisasimpleaffairwhichcoversthe legalsideofmarriage. It isusuallycarriedoutafewweeksbeforethe ‘bigevent’,whichisahugechurchweddingfollowedbyawildlyextravagantreception.

In fact, the fun starts well before the cer-emony,withthegroomisputthroughaseriesof challenges. As he climbs up to the bride’sapartment,heislikelytobeassaultedbyabar-rageofposterspokingfunathisentranceintothemarriedstate.Oneachlanding,hemightbegivenatasktoaccomplish:asongoradancetoperform,oraquestiontoansweronhisbride’spreferencesforchocolatesorflowers.Toprovehimselftrulyworthyofhisbride,hemighthaveto identify her from her gaggle of girlfriendsin unusual ways: each of them hiding behindacorner,forexample,andextendingtheirfeetforhimtochoosefrom,orseveralofthemkiss-ingapieceofpapertoleavetheirlipstickmarks.Oncehe’swonherhand,hecancarryheroff.

Characteristically,it’snowde-rigueurforthewedding to be rather flamboyant, with longparades of beribboned cars, colourful showyoutfitsandahostofexoticentertainmentsatthe reception: from snake charmers to bellydancers.KeepingupwiththePopovsisamust.With guest lists often stretching into hun-dreds,therearealotofpeopletoimpress.Thetraditional tour of the war memorials, whencouples layflowers to recognise theirdebt tothose who sacrified their lives among the ac-companying entourage of balloon-coveredcars,loudlyhonkingtheirhorns,andtheuseoftheoccasionasalengthyphotoshoot,detractsomewhat fromthesolemnityof thegesture.InMinsk,themostpopularspotsforsuchgath-erings are beside the eternal flame in VictorySquareandontheIsleofTearsintheRiverSvis-lach(theAfghanmemorial).

Harking back to more modest times, the

Belarusian Culture Fund recently revived anancientritualwherebybrideandgroomvisitalocalpottertomaketheirowndishes,thesym-bolic foundation of their family. A special potisconstructed,witheachpartnermakingonehalf.Thepotterhelpsthemjointhetwohalvestogetherandthedishthereafterrepresentstheintegrityoftheirfamily.

Ofcourse,oneofthemostimportantpartsoftheweddingisthemaritalkiss,sincethissealsthe bride and groom’s love for one another.Toencourageasmuch‘lip-action’aspossible,guestsatRussianandBelarusianweddingsloveto indulge in horseplay. At every toast, theyproclaimthechampagnetobebitter(shouting"Gorko!").Theonlywaytoremedythesituationis for the newly-weds to kiss until the wine istransformed–renderedsweet–bytheiraffec-tion. Another Soviet tradition, imported fromGeorgia, iskidnappingthebride.Thegroom’sfriends‘steal’hersothattheguestsareobligedtopooltheirsparecashasa‘ransom’,whichislater given to the couple as a gift. The wholeelaboratecarry-onrecallsthebridebeingcar-riedoffbyenemiesintimesofold.

Needless to say, weddings are steeped insome of the most ancient traditions and su-perstitions. InBelarus, theringsaresupposedtobeplaced inabowlofgrain, turningtheminto talismans of fertility. These are worn ontherighthand(movingtotheleftasasignofwidowhood). After the ceremony, the grainis then thrown over the happy couple (ratherlike confetti) to ensure their life flourishes.Meanwhile, sincespidersare thought tohavemiraculous protective powers, a woven ‘toy’spider isstilloccasionallyheldovertheheadsofnewcouplestoensuretheylivelonghappylivestogether.

ItwouldhardlybepossibleforthebanyanottohavearoletoplayinRussianweddings.Thebride’sgirlfriendsusedtoaccompanyherthereonthenightbeforetocombouthersingleplait(asignofmaidenhoodinmedievalRussia).Thatwasreplacedbytwo,indicatinghernewstatusasawife.InBelarus,anancientcustomwasforthebridetogiveherfiancéthe‘dirty’waterleftoverfromwashinginthelastsaunaasalovepo-tion.Oncedrunk,thiswouldcastaspelltokeephimforeverbesotted.Thiswaterwasalsousedinmakingdoughfordumplingsattheweddingfeast. Even today, modern brides often take afinalgirls’triptothebanyawiththeirfriendstocelebratetheirtransitionintomarriage.

Modern-daybridesandgroomsaretreatedlikeroyaltyontheirspecialday,atraditionthathasbeenaroundforcenturies.Thisusedtobetakensoseriouslythatthepairwereforbiddentoliftafingerinanyway.Theirmothersevenfedthem.Theywereaddressedasayoungprinceandprincessandsaton‘thrones’.AparticularlyBelarusianritualisforthebrideandgroomtostand upon a ruchnik cloth during the cer-emony(whitelinenembroideredwithintricateredpatterns).Indaysgoneby,thebridewoulddragthispadnozhnikbehindherasshewalkedaround the altar, her bridesmaids eagerly fol-lowing in her footsteps to ensure they wouldalso soon beat a path down the aisle. Eventoday,thecouplehavetheirhandsboundto-getherwitharuchnik,symbolisingtheirunion.Theirweddinggiftsareoftenwrappedintheseceremonialcloths.

On a more playful note, at Russian Ortho-doxweddings,whicheveroneof themis thefirsttosteponthepadnozhnik(orsimilarcar-pet in Russia), is said to wear the trousers inthemarriage.ThisisratherlikewhathappensatthereceptionwiththeloafofKaravaibread.(Whoevercanbiteortearoffthebiggerpiecewillruletheroost.)Thelatter ispresentedtothecouplebytheirparents,alongsideadishofsalt.Theserepresentprosperityintheirfu-turehome,andarethemosttypicalsymbolsofwelcome.

Certainly,loveandromancewillalwaysbeinfashion. It follows thatmarriage, too,will stayontheagenda,especiallywhilestateauthori-ties push to improve the demographic situa-tion.InBelarus,eachwomaniswellawarethatitisher‘sacredduty’tohaveatleasttwochil-dren.Luckily,theauthoritiesarewillingtosup-portthiswithgenerousfinancialincentivesforraisingafamily.Lastsummer,onIndependenceDay, theparade includedall thecoupleswhohadrecentlywed.Resplendentintheirbeauti-fulweddingoutfits,theywavedtothecrowdsandreceivedloudcheersinreturn.With2006proclaimed‘TheYearofMothers,’itwasfittingthataselectionofworthycandidatesalsohadtheir place in the parade, which was headedbyoneastoundingladywhowasrewardedforhavingraisedup17children.Themediacover-agewentonfordays.

There was no doubt left in anyone’s mindthat wedded bliss is the way forward. As thesaying goes: ‘If you love someone, their littledachabecomesapalace.’

By Anne Coombes

Wedding Bells - Belarusian and Russian marriage traditions

2007 08 �9

Community

ThereisaparticularlyfoulRussianwordthatstartswith“P”andendswith“Ts”thatcanberoughlytranslatedastheendofev-erything.Thiswordperfectlydescribesthesituationwiththereconstruction that started June 30 on Leningradskoe Pros-pekt,atthetransitiontotheShosseatSokol, thehighwaytoSheremetevoAirport.Bythetimethispieceispublished,itwillmostlikelybealmostimpossibletogettotheairport,oralmostanyplacenorthofthecity,atanytimebeforemidnight.

ThebridgeovertherailwaybetweentheSokolandVoykovs-kayametrostations has longbeenachoke point for thecity.The Sokol intersection, where Leningradskoe Prospekt forkswest to Volokolomskoe Shosse and northwest to Leningrads-koeShosse,isthefocalpointforadailyprobka(trafficjam)thatcan last until 10 o’clock at night. The bridge just north is theonlynorth-southcrossingpointbetweenRublyovskoyeShosseon the west and Dmitrovskoye Shosse on the east. There arenoback-roadshortcuts,nosecretpassages.Ifyouareheadingtotheairport,youwillhavetocrossthisbridge.ThatisunlessyoutakeanotherrouteeastorwesttotheMKAD,theouterringroad, and then around on it to re-connect to LeningradskoeShossetocatchyourflight.AsIwritethisarticle,onJune30,thedaytheSokoltunnelistobeclosed,Iamwonderinghowmanyhourswewillneedtoallocatetogettotheairportforoursum-merescapeonTuesday.

There is no way out. I know this particular area of Moscowquite well because I navigate the back-roads here almost ev-eryday.Thisisjustanotherbitofevidencewhichfurthercon-vincesmethattheroad-plannersinMoscowridethemetrotowork.HighwayplanninginMoscowisanoxymoron.Theredoesnotappeartohavebeenanyforethoughtgiventolikelyprob-lems,orpreparationofanyreliefroutes.Forinstance,thenewKransnopresnyaProspektfromBarricadnaya,whichismeanttorelievetrafficonLeningradskoeShosse,willnotbecompleteduntilwinter.

Roadplannershavedesignatedacoupleofobyezd(detours)around the Sokol construction site. These totally inadequaterouteshavelongbeenpathswhichknowledgeabledrivershaveusedwhenthingsgotbadonLeningradskoe,buttheyhaveal-waysbeenrisky.Oneachthereareseveralnail-biting,uncon-trolledintersectionsthatrequirenervesofsteeltonavigateon

abadday.Noweverydaywillbeabadday.Ononestretch,theroad passes under Volokolomskoe Shosse, while tram trackscrossoverit.Astheunderpassgetsjammedup,north-boundvehiclesfilltheroad,blockingsouth-boundtrafficintheotherdirection.MorethanonceIhavethoughtIwouldbespendingthenightatthiscrossing.

This situation highlights a general problem with traffic inMoscow:theraillines,inthiscasetheraillineunderLeningrad-skoeShossebetweenSokolandVoykovskaya.RailtrafficleavesMoscowinalldirectionsfromitsstations:Kievskiy,Kurskiy,Ka-zanskiy,Belorussskiy,andmanyothers.Therearefewcrossingpointsunderorovertherails.Theeffectofthisistofunneltraf-ficintothefewcrossingpointstherearesincetherearenoal-ternativeroutes.Apartfromcausingcongestion,thiscanmeanadetourofmanykilometersjusttoreachabuildingahundredmetersaway.

TheysaytheLeningradskoe/Sokolprojectwilltakefiveorsixmonths.Inthatperiod,youhavefewchoices:stayinMoscow,orstayout–ortryairlineswhichflyfromDomodedevo.

Postscript:Wehavedirectreportsofinflationofon-the-spot“fines” for DUI – in one case 30,000 rubles and another for$3,000.Ifyoudrinkanddrive,yourlaststopbeforehomemaybeanescortedvisittoanATMmachine.

The End of Everythingby Fred Flintstone p

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�0 08 2007

Community

Whowouldhavethoughtthatnorth-eastoftown,nearIs-maylovoMarket, isaperfectlypreservedbunker forStalinin case things got a little hot around Moscow during theGreat Patriotic War? I’d heard of Hitler’s Bunker in Berlin,butthatwasdirectlyundertheReichstag.TheSovietsprob-ablythoughtabunkerinthecountrysidewasamuchbetterchoicefortheirleaderiftheGermansmanagedtodriveuptotheKremlin.Soplanswerelaid,ordug,actually,asatun-nelwasconstructedformotorvehiclestodrivedirectlyfromtheKremlintoanicecountryspotoutnearIsmaylovskyParklongbeforeustouristsweregoingouttheretobuysouve-nirsandcheapartwork.

Seventeenmilesoftunnelingwascompletedby1939,andabunkerwasconstructeddeepunderneathafakeathleticfield.Seeingthefieldnow,itstilllooksratherfake,withveryold and cracked, asbestos-covered stadium-seating goingup about fifty rows above a nice but small grassy playingfield.Thetheorywasthatanyoneflyingovertheareawouldjust think that the city government was developing moreout-door play opportunities for its citizens. Of course, noonewassupposedtonoticetheapproximately2,000work-ers that were commuting out to the bomb proofed con-

Stalin's bunker - a surprise under an athletic fieldby Linda Lippner

advertising

structionsite–accordingtoourguideatthisveryunusualtouristdestination.

Stalin apparently tried out the secret tunnel, visiting hissecretquarterstwice:oncein1940andagaininearly1942.Therewasno informationonwhetherhespent thenight,orwhocamewithhim.Butitisaratherlargeunderground“dacha”,withalltheconveniencesandcomfortsofahome-from-home.Onourtour,wewereshownafabulouslyspa-cious reception hall and conference room. The most re-markable feature of the conference room was the perfectacoustics which allowed everyone to hear Stalin, since hespoke in a very soft voice. Naturally, since it was a secretbunker,whisperingwasderigueur.AndnoonewouldwanttoaskStalintorepeathimself.Wetouristsalltriedoutwhis-peringanditwasamazinghowone’svoicetraveledaroundtheroom.

Adjacent to the conference room was a private study,whichtoday isfilledwithmemorabiliasuchasoneofSta-lin’smanypipes,someofhisbooks,apaintingofStalinandGeneralZhukovplayingpoolintheKremlin,andamilitarymapofMoscowonthewallbehindhisdesk.Themapwasvery detailed, with swooping “arrows” drawn to show theadvanceoftheGermansandthe“pushback”arrowsoftheSovietcounter-attack.Apparently,mapshadtobereplacedoftenasStalinlikedtodemonstratehissuperiormilitaryskillbydrawingonthemaphisversionsofhowthingsshouldbedoneinthebattles.

Weweren’tabletoseethebedroom,butagranddiningareaontheothersideoftheconferenceandreceptionroomisalsoonthetour.ItisnowaGeorgianrestaurant,opentothe public, with more Stalin memorabilia in display casesaroundthesidesoftherusticallydecoratedroom.SincethewholecomplexispartoftheCentralArmedForcesMuseum,andiscalledthe“Commander-in-ChiefReserveCommandPost,"itissurprisingtofindoutthatyoucanrentthediningroomforyourownBunkerbuffetorparty.Auniqueoppor-tunityforthe“CaptainsofIndustry”thataboundinMoscow,Iwouldthink.

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Out&About

�2 07 2007

Open air in ParadiseThemiddleofJunewasmarkedwithanoutstandingeventforMoscowclublife.BobSinclaircameforanighttoamusetheclubbersinRai.ThisfamousFrenchDJpresentedtothepublichiswell-knowntrackssuchas“RockthisParty”anddreamiestcomposition“WorldHoldOn”.Heliveduptoallexpectationsand“SoundsofFreedom”,whichisamixoftrendyFrenchhousemusicandJamaicanrhythms.

Thesloganoftheparty,whichwassponsoredbyFamousGrousewhisky,was“FeelFamous”.ItattractedallMoscow’smostfamousclubbers.TheRaiclubkeptthecrowdwaitingforthemainsurprisewithitsownDJmix:DJMiller,DJNejtrinoandDJShevtsova.AmongtheguestswereartistandsingerLadaDance,TVhostDmitryDibrovandmanyothers,allyoungandfamous. by Annet Kulyagina

Moscow Oblast Governor’s Show-Jumping CupThisuniqueeventisfastbecomingoneofthefixturesoftheMoscowsummer“season”.TheeventisontheofficialcalendaroftheFedera-tionofEquestrianSportinRussia.ThecompetitionisheldintheOtra-dasportscomplex.ItissponsoredbyBMWRussiaTrading,Escada,IleDeBeautéandMegafonMoscow.TheGrandPrix(firstplace)waswonbyMikhailSafronov,hishorsedecoratedinred.Thesecondandthethirdprize-winnerswereVladimirTuganvandVladimirBeletsky.Be-sidesthemainshow,thesponsorcompaniesentertainedguestswithmanysurprisesandpresentsatalivelyparty.Therewasatraditionalcontestforthebestlady'shat.Theeventwasilluminatedbythelightofcelebritysmiles. by Annet KulyaginaPhotos courtesy of Jazz Up

Svetlana Dolya, Playboy Dmitry Ashman, Zeppelin PRO

L-R: Lev Leschenko, Alexander Gornostaev, Nickolai Gogol

Tina Kandelaki Gennady Seleznev and the winner Michail Safronov

The participant

Out&About

2007 07 �3

Dewar’s Russian Polo CupThe Final of the 2007 Dewar's Russian Polo Cup took place withgreatsuccessattheRussianPoloClubatOtrada,on8July.Inits5thjubileeyearforthefirsttimeinthehistoryofpoloinRussiaspecta-torsweretreatedtohigh-handicapgameswithprofessionalplayersfromaroundthepoloworldtakingpart.Theflairofglamoursportandstylewaskeptupbytheorganizers,whopreparedawonderfulpitchfortheplayersandconvenientloungesfortheguests.Poloisagameonthesidelinesofwhichitisnotprohibitedtodiscussbusi-ness.Thatexplainswhythepoliticalandbusinesselitearethere.Title partner Dewar's whisky, together with British Eventica andRussianUndergroundPro,gaveeveryoneaclassicevent.By Annet KulyaginaPhotos by Alex Gorov

RBCC Apple Bar&Restaurant networking meetingTheRusso-BritishChamberofCommerceheldoneofitsregularmeetingintheGoldenAppleBoutiqueHotel.Therewasaspecialmenufromthechef,classicandoriginalcocktailsofseasonablefruits,berriesandherbsandaprizedrawing.TherewasDJmusiccombinedwiththelightmusicofDJDomino–allofwhichmadetheJulyBusinessNetworkingEveningahugesuccess.by Annet KulyaginaPhotos by Alex Gorov

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1 The game Velvet team vs. Sochi-2014 team

2 Dmitri Peskov, First Deputy Press Secretary to the President of the

Russian Federation and Sergei Kolushev , Chairman Eventica

3 The winning team Radio 7 (Hernan Traverso, Alexis, Tasia and Alesha

Rodzianko, Alejandro Traverso) and Georges Polinski, president of

Europa media group

4 Anna Kovalevich and Irina Lanina, PR Department, Huawei

Technologies

5 Igor Butman, saxophonist

6 Rodrigo Rueda, Argentinean professional polo player

7 Irina Chaschina, World gymnastics champion

1 Elena Dorodnykh (ITCo), John Makin (British Embassy)2 L-R: Maxim Golovatch, General Manager (Golden Apple Boutique Hotel), Oleg Almendeev (Sistema Analitika)3 L-R: Robert Norton (BBC Club), George Voloshin (Passport), Marina Pashkova (Capital Style), John Ortega (Passport)

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Out&About

�� 07 2007

GEOS, the Japanese-based international English-language schools company came toMoscowonTuesday10Julytodescribetheiroperationtolocalbusinesspeopleandedu-cators.Theyheldaday-longseriesofpresentations intheSwissôtelatKrasnyeKholmi.Passportwentalongandwasimpressedbytheinformationpresented.

GEOSwasfoundedinJapanasanEnglish-languageschoolbutsoonexpandedoutsidethatcountry,openingitsfirstforeignbranchinVancouverin1973.Todayithasschoolsinfifteencountriesworld-wide,fromNewZealandtoMalta.TherearenoneinRussia,butRussiansgoabroadtostudyinGEOSschoolsinever-increasingnumbers.

TheemphasisisasmuchonlearningaboutthelocalcultureasitisonmasteringtheEnglish language.ThusatthebranchonBondiBeach,Sydney,studentscangosurfingintheafternoons,whileinEastborne,Englandtheyaretakentoseenineteenth-centuryDucalrelics.

GEOSnowhasanofficeinMoscow,anditwasthelocalDirector,MissNadezhdaDesino-va,whoofficiatedat thepresentation,andtranslated for thebenefitof theRussianat-tendees.

TheGEOSstaffwereallinMoscowforthefirsttime.“YoureadandseesomuchaboutMoscow,”GaryMaseronsaidbywayofintroduction,“butwhenyougethereitistotallydifferent.PleaseexcusemyEnglish.IhavelearnedonlyonewordofRussian:Какдела.”

Mr.MaseronwasfollowedbyPatPowellfromNewZealandwhosaidofhercountrythatitwas“clean,greenandtheplacetobeseen.”SheaddedthatshehadlearnedfourwordsofRussian:“Да,нет,спасибоandводка.”Atleastonepersonintheaudiencewonderedwhy,giventhatlist,shehadbotheredwith“нет.”

Cox hits �� not out!GeoffreyCoxOBE,oneoftheleadingfiguresintheBritishcommu-nityinMoscowcelebratedhis75thbirthdayinJulywithapartyattheAsteraONCORoffices,whereheischairman.AmongthemanyguestswasBritishAmbassadorSir TonyBrenton, takingabrief re-spite from the political maelstrom enveloping British Russian rela-tionswherehisconsiderablediplomaticskillshavebeenthoroughlytested.GeoffreysaidinaninterviewwithPassportlastyearthathewouldstayinMoscowaslongastheadrenalinwaspumpinginhisveins.Heisobviouslystillontopoftheworld,althoughhehasreducedhisactiveroleasoneof the foundersof theBritishBusinessClubandrecently retired as the British representative on the Association ofEuropeanBusiness.

Ex-pat footballNick Rees kindly hosted another lavish evening for participants in the Expat footballleagueattheHolidayInn,Sokolnikitwoweeksago.Thiswell-organised,smoothly-runCharityBallraisedmorethan$27,000forDiema’sDream,acharityfordisabledRussianorphans,andforGuideDogsfortheBlind.

Apartformalltheverygenerousdonorsofprizesfortheraffles,whichhelpedraisealotofthemoney,theeveninghadthreemajorsponsors,Lufthansa,Ernst&YoungandPower8,theenergydrink.

PlayeroftheyearwasPierreLesserbart,andtheteamchampionsforthe2006-7seasonwastheFourSquaresMoscowFlaggons.

Thedinnerwaswonderfulandthebar-staffever-obliging.Thenthemusicstartedandthewholeeventreallytookoff,Cubandancers,afulldancefloorandasteadyprocessionbetweenthetablesandthebar.Idon’tknowwhenitendedbutitwasagreatevening.

ItmusthavebeenexhaustingorganisingTheeventasNickReeshadtotakefourdaysoffthefollowingweekjusttorecoverfromthestress.Butherememberstheeventwithgreat pleasure. “It was a great night,” he told Passport subsequently. “You had betterwritethatdown,becauseifanybodycanrememberitinanysortofdetail,thentheydidnotdrinkenough.”

by Ian MitchellPhotos by author

Geoffre Cox and UK ambassador Sir Tony Brenton

Out&About

2007 07 ��

TheBritishcelebratedtheQueen’sofficialbirthdaywithaGardenPartyattheBritishEmbassy.Fullusewasmadeoftheextensivegrounds at the rear of the Embassy. Sir Tony and Lady BrentongreetedhundredsofwellwishersfromallwalksofRussianlifein-cludingdoctors,professors,churchmen,militaryofficersandpopstars,diplomatsandmembersoftheBritishcommunity inMos-

cow. The most senior Russian politician present, Alexei Kudrin,RussianMinisterofFinance,spentanhourinpoliteconversationwithEvgeneyKiselov,theformerNTVchiefunderVladimirGusin-sky, who appeared more assiduous in his wooing of Mr KudrinwhileignoringoppositionfigureslikeMikhailKasyanov,whowasalsopresent.

Queen’s Birthday Party celebrated in style

Quick market saturation and the ever-increasing interest of foreign investorsmade2006abenchmarkyearfortheRussianrealestatemarket.Itwaswiththispowerful backdrop that the 2nd Commercial Real Estate Federal Awards, heldJune14-17attheRadissonSASLazurnayainSochi,awardedthebestofthefeder-almarket.Theaimofthisannualprofessionalawardsceremony,whichattracted300 guests from Germany, Great Britain, the US, Austria, Netherlands, SwedenandPoland,istopromotestandardsofprofessionalismintheRussianrealestateindustrybyrecognizingexcellence.

Priortotheawards,Russianandinternationalinvestorsweretakenonafive-dayroadshow“DiscoveryWeek:OnTopofRussia.”StartinginChelyabinskonJune10,representativesfromsuchfirmsasMerrillLynch,NordbankandAIGLincolntraveledtoconstructionsitesandmetwithregionalauthorities inNovosibirsk,Ufa,Ekaterinburg,SamaraandRostov-on-DonbeforearrivinginSochi.P

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1. Mikhail Kasyanov greets Lady Brenton, while Sir Tony looks on2. A piper entertains the crowd3. Anastasia Stotskaya and friend

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�� 08 2007

- What is your favourite activity of all the things you do? I do like them all; otherwise I

wouldn’t do any of them. As a journal-ist and a publicist, the most important thing I do is my radio program. It is a complex of satirical and political comments. I do that with my friends on Ekho Moskvy. I write, and I like writ-ing, about things that have nothing to do with politics. The latest book that I published is called Raisin from a Cake. It is a book of little stories and essays about life in the USSR. They are funny, kind and about every one of us who lived in that time and may remember it. As a modern writer, I do a lot on the internet. And I think that the internet has to be for the individual, rather than the individual for the internet.

- Do you think the internet will all the “prehistoric” sources of information?I don’t think so, but one has to

be careful not to wake up and find yourself attached to a machine. I feel sorry for the whole generation who will not read at all. It is a piti-ful sight. When you read a book, it is more of a ritual than simply get-ting the information as you do with a computer? A book is also an object. A newly-published book smells good; it is a pleasure to hold it in the hands. Reading is a very intimate pro-cess. But by virtue of the internet, a person is open to the world and the

world is opened up. It is an absolute-ly different feeling, a new measure of exposure. That is why I think all the predictions of the fantasy writers are true, at least if globalization carries on at its current pace. If we calculate the number of inventions humanity made in the 20th century, we could be frightened. Wild progress ac-celeration! Some three hundred years ago, one could be burnt at the stake for proclaiming a heliocentric solar system. A century ago radio, had not been invented. But we have to under-stand that human nature is unchange-able. It has the same problems as it did in Socrates’ time. - You are being pessimistic. Is there anything that would make you happy? A lot of things. I like traveling. I

write, and this makes me happy. I like watching football.

- That is interesting. I know you like football and write about it, why?I watch football, mainly the English

championship; occasionally the German and Italian ones. The English cham-pionship is real football. Sometimes it is better than any theater play. A game can be a real drama. And all the colors of human nature are concen-trated in a fanciful dance. Football is an example of an honest play. And honesty is the most valuable thing in the world: whether to oneself or to other people.

“Sometimes football may appear better than a theater play.”

Victor Shenderovich talks to Alexander Mikhailovphotos by Ruslan Sergeev

Victor Shenderovich – writer, TV host, journalist, the-ater actor, and political critic has the last word this month and says nothing about politics. He won his wide popularity after the television programme Kukly on NTV. At the moment he is pursuing his literary career and hosting the radio programme, Plavleniy Syrok, on Ekho Moskvy.

Last Word