Kremlin Watch

[mendeleyev]

Kremlin Watch seems like an ominous title for a feature that we've begun recently at the Mendeleyev Journal and wish to share with readers here.

The idea was sparked early in the month with Moscow City Days, primarily as a place of shelter when it rained the hardest, but then again a couple of weeks ago when Mrs. M, along with several other artists commissioned for Great Patriotic War projects, was invited to the Kremlin at the invitation of Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Federation Council (Russian Senate).

At times one might feel some guilt for being able to peer into a place that so often has been off limits to ordinary Russians. Feel no guilt, because unlike during the Soviet period when the Kremlin was the seat of government, there are days when the place is fairly quiet. Prime Minister Medvedev has his official office in the Russian White House, and there is an expansive administrative wing at his official residence. President Putin's official "residence" is the Kremlin, but his real residence, also listed as one of his so-called "official" residences, is the presidential home at Novo-Ogaryovo (Ново-Огарёво), a Moscow suburb.

Sometimes business is conducted at the Kremlin. The Emergency Command Centre is there, and naturally the Grand Kremlin Palace is a showplace for diplomatic meetings. This week's visit by Turkish president Erdogan was held at the Kremlin, for the formality and grand atmosphere. However when the leader of Palestine arrived, Mahmoud Abbas, the meetings took place at Novo-Ogaryovo. There was a symbolism and protocol in the choice of those two meeting places which heralded the opening of the Grand Cathedral Mosque in Moscow. Helipads at both locations allow President Putin, and/or Prime Minister Medvedev, to move at ease.




(Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin addresses a Moscow City Day crowd with the Senate dome and flag in the background.)

During Soviet times and then into the first Putin presidency, there was a tradition of the state flag flown over the Senate dome in the Kremlin when the leader was there. Late in Putin's second term, and throughout the Medvedev presidency, their official home offices gained in importance and the Kremlin gradually assumed a more symbolic, albeit grand, showplace for the Russian state. In the Medvedev years the flag over the Senate dome indicated that the president was inside the country, but in more recent years it simply flies there most of the time.

Still, the Moscow Kremlin remains fixed in the minds of the world as being the seat of government in Russia. It is interesting that the single most recognizable worldwide symbol of the Kremlin, and of Russia as a whole, is the so-called Saint Basil's Cathedral (officially it is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat), a symbol that is not a part of the Kremlin territory.




Readers know that I enjoy trivia, and Mrs. Mendeleyeva knows this much too well. Even in knowing that her husband has photographed and written extensively about the Kremlin walls and its towers, she launched into a trivia challenge during our rainy visit in early September. I almost passed with a 100% score until she played "gotcha" with this one: which Kremlin tower is the largest? Hint: it probably isn't the first tower that comes to mind. More on that later...

Lets commence with Kremlin watching.

[mendeleyev]

Happy 50th birthday to Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister of Russia. He and his lovely wife, Svetlana (far right), celebrated the event over the 13-14th with family in the Ivanovo region.

[Anotherkiwi]

Happy 50th birthday to Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister of Russia. He and his lovely wife, Svetlana (far right), celebrated the event over the 13-14th with family in the Ivanovo region.

Who's the other woman, mendy?  His mother?  Elder sister?

[SANDRO43]

(officially it is the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat

Any hint on what was Mary doing on a moat, of all places ?

[BdHvA]

Any hint on what was Mary doing on a moat, of all places ?

Somewhere I understood protection of believers. It shows up in old master painting (Northern) sometimes.
I think from Maander or one of the Utrecht Caravagists.
 
But the question made me curious. Below via Wikipedia is a partial reply.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercession_of_the_Theotokos

[mendeleyev]

There is an active river, the Неглинная (Neglinnaya) that flows underneath Red Square. It served as a moat for centuries, but was diverted underground beginning with a series of tunnels around 1792.

[Anotherkiwi]

And the answer to MY question? 

[mendeleyev]

Sorry, Kiwi.

That is Mr. Medvedev's mother, Yulia Veniaminovna Medvedeva. Prior to retirement, she was a tenured university professor of languages, and docent at Pavlovsk Palace.

[Anotherkiwi]

Sorry, Kiwi.

That is Mr. Medvedev's mother, Yulia Veniaminovna Medvedeva. Prior to retirement, she was a tenured university professor of languages, and docent at Pavlovsk Palace.

Thanks, mendy.  So was it she who started teaching Dimitry English?

[mendeleyev]

That is a good question, and I don't know the answer. Both her parents were teachers and I'm not sure if his father knew English. His mother taught Russian at the university level prior to retirement, but she had studied several during her own schooling.

It is interesting that both parents were members of the Communist party, a requirement to be a tenured professor in those days, and it was they who encouraged Dmitry in his personal path of politics.

[jone]

Mendy,

Any particular skeletons in Medvedev's closet?

[mendeleyev]

Anyone that close to the top has skeletons, as I am confident that you understand. You should read his biography. While there are no maps to buried bodies or to hidden riches, it helps one understand how and why he got to his position.

Nobody is untainted, yet he is as close to the real deal as such exists in Russia. Instead of flashing his Orthodoxy, he and Svetlana simply live it quietly but consistently. Mrs. Medvedeva is a leader in the surprisingly popular pro-life movement in Russia, and the two obviously love each other. They are dedicated parents to their son, Ilya. Best of all, they like cats and have a sense of humour about cat life.

My wife is one of the few artists who can reference themselves as Mrs. Medvedeva's official portrait artist. My most memorable moments traveling with him include trips to China, his hamburger outing with Obama in Washington, and at the Jordan river in January 2011. http://russianreport.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/russian-easter-reflection-on-the-jordan-river/

[mendeleyev]

Who does Vladimir Putin support as the next American president? Or, is he neutral?

You decide. Today in the Mendeleyev Journal we are asking that question, and overwhelmingly one particular US candidate comes to mind.

http://russianreport.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/putins-choice-for-next-usa-president/


Warning: the photo below is from a spoof website sponsored by another US presidential hopeful.

[krimster2]

he did call Trumpet "a talented individual", don't know if that implies support, I suspect he'd prefer to deal with Hillary and her reset button!!

[mendeleyev]

Actually he would not. Mr. Putin likes Trump, loathes Hillary.

He is a typical racist and sexist. Hillary and Obama are two individuals that he literally hates, with a great degree of passion.

[Anotherkiwi]

Warning: the photo below is from a spoof website sponsored by another US presidential hopeful.

So who is "Traml"? 

[mendeleyev]

Cyrillic for "T r u m p."  (Дональд Трамп)

[BC]

Cyrillic for "T r u m p."  (Дональд Трамп)

 

[ML]

On a one to one basis,  English U translates to Cyrillic U.  So why the 'u' in Trump changed to 'a' in Cyrillic?

[mendeleyev]

The English U translates either to ю or у, depending on the emphasis of the U. However, not all words can be translated directly letter for letter and this is one of them.

To see the usage in Russian, look at his VK page: http://vk.com/trump_rich

Given that he is from New York, naturally he has a campaign page in Russian. Check out that spelling: http://trump2016.ru/

Here is a screenshot from a Russian news profile page:


Look also at Russian news sources:

http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2016/01/15_a_8022893.shtml

http://lifenews.ru/news/179528

[SANDRO43]

"TRAMP" is a phonetic spelling, unless some Russian linguist decided on a joke - and had an 'accident' afterwards for offending Putin's favourite candidate . 

[mendeleyev]

While I do not disagree, it is standard spelling for that particular name.  Look at how Russian media spell it, see his own Russian language campaign site, and even put "Donald Trump" into a translator.

[ML]

Jim and Sandro . . . here is another big gripe of mine.

I understand that each nation can spell names of their citizens however they want in the national language.

However, it is ridiculous that when these names are translated into English . . . the wrong Latin letters are used.

This leads to much anguish for the Ukrainian and Russian persons who are stuck with names such as Irina and Ivan.

These names should have been translated into English as Erina and Evan.

Just because there is an I in Cyrillic and an I in Latin does not mean that the two can be used interchangeably.

Further . . . note there is an H in both Cyrillic and Latin.

Suppose they had taken the Cyrillic spelling of Наталия and said 'Oh, here is a handy H in Latin, so let's translate her name as Hatalia.'

Luckily it didn't happen for all the Natalias, but it did happen for the Irinas and Ivans, etc.

So how did this stupidity regarding the 'I' letter come about?

[SANDRO43]

ML, first of all you shouldn't complain about spelling, considering the mess that English makes of it: http://www.floriani.it/Miscellanea-eng.htm#Haphazardest .

A little further down the same page is something about the "Transliteration & Transcription of Cyrillic".

However, it is ridiculous that when these names are translated into English . . . the wrong Latin letters are used.

Correct, but the Slavs are using capital Greek - not Latin - letters  .

This leads to much anguish for the Ukrainian and Russian persons who are stuck with names such as Irina and Ivan. These names should have been translated into English as Erina and Evan.

By the same token, you should then write Endiana Jones and encongrous .

[ML]

Sandro, you gave examples of 'short' I which can be pronounced as 'eh.'

But Irina and Ivan require a 'long' E, so no form of I (long or short) would ever work.