06.05.2009
Russian Society
Culture, Demographics, Politics
April, 2009The following resource is meant to quickly introduce the reader to everyday life in Russia: how Russians live, study, relax, and worship. This news review is part of SRAS's monthly "obzor" publications. For more reviews, see the newsletter for this corresponding month. To receive the free monthly newsletter and obzori by email, simply sign up. Arts & Culture Lenin Damaged In Blast
Vandals blew a gaping hole in the rear end of a statue of Communist leader Vladimir Lenin on Wednesday, but Russian officials were not amused by the "monstrous" act of vandalism. A Wild Cossack Rides Into a Cultural Battle
Russia's latest action hero, Taras Bulba, disdains peace talks as "womanish" and awes his men with speeches about the Russian soul. A Thorn of a Truth
The audience appears to be divided into those who believe that portraying young fascists is an important part of the effort to understand the psychology and influence behind their violence, and those who think that the film simply glamorizes skinheads. Five Russians Find Comfort Zone in D.C. Teammates Provide a Taste of Home
In the second floor lounge of Russia House, a Dupont Circle restaurant and bar that is a gathering spot for expatriates and diplomats from Moscow, St. Petersburg and beyond, the ceiling is still stained from the champagne that sprayed on a raucous night a year ago when four Russian-born hockey players celebrated their success in the U.S. capital. Russia Serves as a Musical Muse for Europeans With an Itch
Russia prepares for Eurovision concert. Famed Kazakh Film Director Remakes Soviet Blockbuster
Prominent Kazakh film director Rashid Nugmanov has started work on a remake of one of his movies that was a huge hit during the Soviet era, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. Nugmanov, 55, filmed the movie "Igla" (The Needle) at the KazakhFilm studios in Almaty in 1988. Sour notes before Russia's big moment on stage
The kitschy pop music competition to be held in Moscow in May should be a big moment for a country that has often chafed in its relations with the West. By playing host, Russia will have a chance to polish an image that's been tarnished by war with Georgia Russian Wins $3 Million Prize in First Lottery Since Soviet Era
Russia's first lottery since the end of the Soviet Union finally has a grand prize winner, after 36 tries and five months, though nobody's claimed it yet. Russian movie gives Kremlin's view of Georgia war
A nerdy American entomologist hunting for a rare butterfly is the central character of a new film offering the Kremlin's version of the August war with Georgia. Hello I'm Kosmos: Patriotic names in Russian comeback
Sociologists say that in the post-Soviet modern Russia of strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the use of such politicised patriotic names is making a slight comeback -- albeit with a twist. Education Russian hawk ascends to position of influence
Moscow State University's appointment of a Russian nationalist as the head of its new Centre for the Study of Conservatism has proved to be a controversial choice in academic circles. 'No plans to take over as rector' - Fursenko
Education Minister Andrei Fursenko has dismissed rumours that he plans to step down and take over as rector of Moscow State University. In a wide ranging interview with respected daily broadsheet Kommersant, Fursenko said the job should go to a better qualified - and younger -candidate. The current incumbent, Viktor Sadovnichy, is technically obliged to step down when he reaches 75 later this year. Apparently, Russia Needs Just One 'National Component'
"The very historical development of the Russian nation is in no small measure based on the riches associated with our ethnocultural and multiconfessional environment. For many centuries we have inhabited a state composed of more than 160 different peoples." The quotation comes from Dmitry Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation, who delivered these lines -- and many others embodying similar sentiments -- to the Fifth World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples in Khanty-Mansiisk on June 28, 2008. Guaranteed loans help students survive
Russian university students will be helped weather the economic downturn through state support for study loans, Education Minister Andrei Fursenko has pledged. Although one state-backed loan scheme 'Credo' - heavily used in the past by top Russian universities - had collapsed after the bank through which funds were channelled went bankrupt, students needing financial help to enter higher education should not be left to suffer, Fursenko said. Education Minister to take top job
The head of Russia's top university may be forced to step down next month when he turns 70 as speculation mounts in the Russian press that his successor could be Education Minister Andrei Fursenko. Government Attempts to Bring Science Back Home
The government would like to entice the thousands of Russian scientists who have left for better-paying jobs abroad to return to Russia for good. But in a pinch, it appears that officials will settle for a few months a year. Soviet Legacy Looms Large In Russian Schools
Teachers and principals in Russian schools say the government is providing more money for education, but discouraging critical examination of Soviet history. Meanwhile parents complain that widespread bribery for good grades is eroding standards Reforming post-Soviet higher education
The Soviet era left behind complex and ambiguous legacies, both of remarkable achievements in science and research, and of institutional obsolescence and intellectual isolation. Higher education institutions and universities in the U.S.S.R. were tightly connected to the planned economy, tended to be narrowly specialized Civil Society Russia Lacks 'Critical Mass' of Free Intellectuals Needed for a Civil Society, Pavlova Says
if Russia experienced "another century of despotism," …"all the good qualities of the Russian people would disappear… people would be unable to maintain their enlightenment."…observes the way in which Russia's intellectual community has deteriorated thanks to the despotism of the Soviet past and the willingness of most of its members to serve those in power rather than their principles. Most Russians Support the Ideas of the Nationalists But Aren't Ready to Act on Them, Polls Show
A majority of Russians now openly sympathize with nationalist groups that advocate a "Russia for the Russians," but most of these sympathizers do not approve in using violence against minorities and are not prepared to follow the lead of those who advocate precisely that. Unrest threat as crisis hits Russia
Millions of Russian workers have been laid off or sacked recently amid the global economic downturn, and the government in Moscow is already facing angry protests by ordinary people 31% Russians call political situation unstable – poll
A poll has found that 31 percent of respondents in Russia and 90 percent of respondents in Ukraine believe the political situation in their countries is unstable, Unian news agency reports. Russians see themselves as global force for good – poll
A recent BBC Russian Service poll has shown that most Russians believe that their country is seen as a force for good in the world, rather than a threat to other countries. Corruption Let's get ethical, say top cops
According to Zhenya and Public Verdict, a human rights organisation that documents allegations of police brutality, investigators re¬fused to launch a case against police officers, despite a court ruling twice that investigators were obliged to do so. Most Russians resigned to corruption – poll
Over 50% of Russians believe that corruption is an unavoidable and permanent fact of life, according to a nationwide survey published on Monday. Activism Russian Bloggers Play a Much Larger Role than Soviet-Era Dissidents Did, Moscow Analyst Says
Russian bloggers, many Moscow commentators have suggested, are today's version of the dissidents of Brezhnev's time. But on the occasion of Internet Free Speech Day, one Moscow analyst is arguing that blogs already play a larger role than the dissidents ever did. Russian 'Cyber-Oppositionist' Forced Into Psychiatric Clinic
An opposition activist in St. Petersburg who created several online opposition groups on the website contact.ru was forcibly placed in a psychiatric clinic. Local Youth Fight Back Against Widespread Xenophobia
While Russian authorities are stepping up nationalist rhetoric with Kremlin-backed youth organizations organizing rallies against migrant workers, a massive campaign against xenophobia has been launched by independent activists in St. Petersburg. Russian Volunteers Keep Eye on Citizens, and the Police
Mr. Kazerzin is a former philosophy teacher, not a police officer, and that is the point. He leads a contingent of volunteers, called druzhiniki, who patrol with increasing frequency in the capital alongside the professionals to bolster their ranks and, at times, counter their belligerence. Khodorkovsky Supporters Detained In Moscow
Police in Moscow have detained two people whom they accused of taking part in an unsanctioned rally in support of former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his former Yukos business associate Platon Lebedev. Prominent Rights Activist Attacked In Moscow
Russian activist Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the For Human Rights movement, has been released from the hospital following an attack by unknown assailants outside his Moscow home. Rights Activist Is Attacked Outside Home in Moscow
A prominent human rights activist and former member of the Russian parliament was beaten outside his home late Tuesday in the most recent in a series of attacks on opposition figures in Moscow. Courts Russia's Top Judge Defends Authoritarian Rule
In a speech in St. Petersburg on April 7, the chairman of Russia's Constitutional Court argued that due to the economic crisis, Russia could descend into anarchy and then turn to totalitarianism. Bakhmina parole may come with strings
The drama surrounding Svetlana Bakhmina, a former Yukos lawyer who gave birth to her third child while still in prison, has come to a head after a Moscow court granted her parole. Khodorkovsky challenges Russia's president to depart from policies of powerful predecessor
Imprisoned former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky challenged Russia's president in an interview published Wednesday to depart from the policies of his powerful predecessor. Demographics Russia Scapegoats Migrants in Economic Downturn
Russia has drawn migrant workers from republics with struggling economies. But, as Russia reels from the global economic crisis, many of those migrants are not only being laid off, they are also being victimized by Russians who blame foreigners for their current difficulties. Undefended - Russia's migrant workers
The fate of millions of migrant workers in Russia is in the lurch as the country reels from the global financial crisis. Migrant workers in Russia have been subject to widespread abuses both in and outside the workplace. Now, economic crisis, coupled with a growing tide of hate-motivated violence in Russia, puts migrant workers at even greater risk. A Sturdier Russia Beckons Its Children Home
The government is trying to head off the country's severe population decline by luring back Russians who live abroad as well as their descendants The Myth of the Yellow Peril. Overhyping Chinese Migration into Russia
One of the staples of alarmist, pessimistic and/or Russophobic (not to mention Sinophobic) commentary on Russian demography is a reworking of the yellow peril thesis. The perils of Moscow's middle-class
All of our quickly-developed middle class is adapting badly. They have had a very large breach formed between their expectations and the increasingly worsening reality. The middle class: New consumers present a conundrum
While they are one of the most exhaustively studied social groups in Russia, there is still disagreement about who they are and how to define them. Labor Rise in jobless fuels fears of return to '98
More than one in 10 of Russia's workforce will be out of work by the end of this year - as its economy shrinks by 4.5 per cent. Fear and loathing at a Moscow job centre
Elena Kirillova, of the Moscow News, spoke to job-seekers at an employment centre in southern Moscow, where long lines of people complained that only a few, low-paid jobs were on offer. Foreigners' work visa hassles grow
Getting work permits for foreigners in Russia has traditionally been a thorny issue, mired in red tape and confusing, constantly-changing rules. Russia makes monthly jobless data secret – report
Russia's statistics office will make monthly jobless reports secret, a newspaper reported on Wednesday days after data showed unemployment was soaring fast and experts said it was the biggest threat to social stability. No panic at the office
Most Russians believe the economic crisis has made little difference to life in their office, according to a survey conducted by Russian Public Opinion Research Centre, or VTsIOM. Russians ready to sacrifice vacations for their career
A survey that asked what Russians were willing to give up in order to advance their career revealed almost half were ready to sacrifice their vacations and private time, while few were ready to sacrifice time with their family and children - less than 1 per cent. Health and Depopulation Depopulation Threatens Russia 10 Ways, Moscow Demographer Says
Russia's population will continue to decline over the coming decades, threatening first some regions and then the country as a whole with depopulation, a trend whose consequences are both more immediate and more widespread than many now assume, according to a leading Moscow demographer. Swine flu vaccine may be available in 6 months - Russian expert
A Russian expert said on Tuesday a vaccine against swine flu that according to the latest reports has already killed more than 150 people in Mexico could be developed within six months. Drunken Nation: Russia's Depopulation Bomb
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has suffered a rapid and tragic decline in population. For a modern and so-called "emerging" economy, this is more than a human crisis; it is a human resources crisis. Russia's Misguided Effort to Stop HIV
The HIV epidemic in Russian continues, despite the nation's efforts to expand treatment. Unfortunately, those efforts aren't focusing on the primary source of the problem -- injecting drug users. Environment Population Of Unique Saiga Antelopes Declining, But Signs Of Optimism Do Exist
The bulging-eyed nomadic antelope is found in Russia's Republic of Kalmykia, as well as in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. But its population has shrunk to around 40,000 -- a decline of more than 80 percent
Environment Russian Voting Tinged With Green
For nearly two months, Dmitry Belanovich woke before dawn to make the two-hour drive from Moscow to this small, bucolic town west of the capital. Every day, from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., the burly, bearded environmental inspector campaigned for votes in the snow, working street corners and storefronts, even stopping residents as they picked up milk, trying to persuade them to elect him mayor. Russian environmental official quits after long-running dispute
Oleg Mitvol, an outspoken Russian environmental official, announced his resignation on Monday following a long-running dispute with his superiors, saying he was no longer being given meaningful work. Activist crusades against toxic waste in Russia
The residents of Chapaevsk, a city in Central Russia, say the lakes near local chemical factories are dead from toxic waste, no longer freeze and contaminate the town's water supply. History Stalin book spat stirs controversy
Are books about Stalin being banned in Russia? When British historian claimed that the political climate was behind a Moscow publisher's decision to cancel the translation of his book some of the British media pounced on a familiar Cold War stereotype. But in doing so, they missed a more complicated story of how ideology, book publishing - and sometimes downright pressure - actually function in Russia. Gigantic Soviet-era statue may soon collapse warn experts
Once the world's largest statue, the colossal Motherland Calls monument in Volgograd is in danger of a catastrophic end to its more than four-decade-long existence, Russian media said on Friday. Russia's economic crisis forces Lenin to wear old suit.
The ongoing economic crisis has already had an effect on everyone in Russia, from oligarchs to humble office workers, and now even Lenin in his Red Square mausoleum has felt the pinch. Russian Communists honor Soviet founder Lenin
Russia's Communist Party leader left flowers at the tomb of Vladimir Lenin on the Soviet founder's 139th birthday Wednesday and pledged to resist any plans to remove Lenin's embalmed body from Moscow's Red Square. Ten myths about the Chernobyl disaster
Myths dispelled about the disaster. Memory quiz getting tougher
In some respects Memorial, the research and human rights society that tracks victims of Stalinist repression, is doing all right. There are not that many oppressive laws that directly prevent its re¬searchers and rights advocates from doing their work, as most current legislation differs little from the liberal 1990s. Jeremy R. Azrael Was Convener of Leaders Who Shaped Post-Communist Russian Economy
Jeremy R. Azrael, a leading expert on the Russian economy and a longtime political scientist at the RAND Corporation, died March 19 at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 73. Media Russian Police Probe Bribery Targeting Independent Paper
Police have launched an investigation into an alleged attempt to bribe journalists for the Moscow-based independent daily "Novaya gazeta," RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. Moscow Regional Journalist Dies Mysteriously
Officials in Russia have said that preliminary results of the investigation into the death of a journalist in the Moscow suburb of Khimki indicate that he died of poisoning. Medvedev Chooses Critic for an Interview Debut
Dmitry Medvedev gave his first interview to a Russian newspaper as president, choosing a sharply critical publication whose staff has been targeted with murders and harassment. Medvedev reaches out to Russia's unruly bloggers
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised the openness of the Internet on Wednesday as he made his debut on LiveJournal, a popular blogging community seen as an outpost of free speech in Russia. Vargashi Journal. Russians Bet on a Market for Dampening Dissent
Alongside bargain retailers, cheap restaurants, debt collectors and bankruptcy lawyers, a midsize factory in Siberia is promoting a product that it hopes is just the thing for hard times. Employees here call it the "anti-democracy truck," a modified fire truck fitted with a water cannon and designed to quell riots. Under Economic Pressure, America's Russian Newspaper Reinvents Itself
It appears to be business as usual on Brighton Beach's bustling sidewalks. But as of April 17, Efim Zapolskiy, a few months short of his 80th birthday, will no longer receive the daily feed of information he's relied on for many years. Russian Journalist Assaulted, Threatened In Sochi
Anastasia Akopyan, a young journalist in the Russian city of Sochi, was attacked and struck in the face by unknown assailants late on April 22.
Religion
The Rise Of The Russian Church
In the late 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev allowed churches to reopen — and the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church began as explosively as communism failed Russian Orthodox Church a growing political force
The glittering Christ the Savior Cathedral is more than just Moscow's most opulent place of worship. Built in the 1990s as a replica of a church dynamited by Communists in 1931, the cathedral symbolizes the Moscow Patriarchate's rising political influence -- which may be greater today than at any time since the 17th century. It also serves as global headquarters of business operations that experts say are worth several billion dollars. Russia celebrating Orthodox Easter
Russia is celebrating Orthodox Easter, Christianity's most important feast, commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Koranic Verses To Appear On Chechen Roads
Traffic police plan to install boards with verses from the Koran in Chechen and Russian on major roads in Chechnya, a spokesperson for the State Inspection for Road Traffic Safety has told RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service. Russia's Star City has lost its luster
A visit to the country's legendary spaceflight training center reveals a forlorn place. The people are still secretive, but they seem to have lost their purpose. Space is losing popularity among Russians
Most Russians do not want to fly into space, and do not know contemporary cosmonauts, according to the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM). Find out more! SRAS Travel Services
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