Russian Life and Media

[mendeleyev]

Condoleezza Rice is blaming Georgia for the 2008 war with Russia, taking a different stance from those around her in Washington during those tense days. Former USA Secretary of State Rice is a fluent Russian speaker and often appears in Moscow on Echo Radio and other media.

Read the article here in the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/11/condoleezza-rice-blames-georgian-leader-for-war-with-russia/248560/

[mendeleyev]

Mendeleyev Journal editor's note: This is the first in a series on the coming power transition after the 2012 Russian election.


An acquaintance asked what journalists will miss most about covering Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev as he vacates the top spot in Russia.

"Life itself," was the first reply, sort of a joke. But perhaps it's more serious as the life expectancy for a journalist has improved dramatically during the Medvedev years. But there are a lot of things we will miss, and of course some things will remain the same.

For instance, there is the matter of tea. Russians are serious tea drinkers and Mr. Putin leads the pack when it comes to a good cup of tea. The tea will continue to be excellent whether served at the Kremlin, the Russian White House, the Presidential residence in Gorki, or one of the government houses where business of state is conducted.

(Time for tea. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at military base in Gudauta.)

Speaking of the presidential residence in Gorki, a wooded suburb just outside Moscow, it is unclear whether Mr. Putin will take up residence there or the compound will simply be rebranded as the Prime Minister's residence should Mr. Medvedev accept that position.

(President Medvedev seen on a brisk stroll outside the presidential residence in Gorki.)

In the coming months we'll write about many of the personal touches that Dmitry Medvedev brought to the job back on the 7th of May 2008. It seems almost like yesterday when Mr. Medvedev made the long walk up the red carpeted staircase of the Kremlin's Grand Palace to rise up to the podium and take the oath of office to assume responsibility for Russia's first copy of the federation constitution.

There was a time when few believed Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев) would get the job as he was considered to be too liberal and pro-Western for his close confidant Vladimir Putin to endorse him as a candidate.

Without question we will definitely miss the Medvedev girls! Cheerleaders, of a sort. They claim to be "ready to do anything for Dmitry Medvedev." Really? Good thing the President enjoys a well deserved reputation for his loyalty and close relationship with the first lady, Mrs. Svetlana Medvedeva.

(Medvedev girls, ready to support their president.)

Prime Minister Putin has the Putin cheerleaders but they're a bit more risque so we'll feature them at another time. Meanwhile, the president's "main squeeze" is his wife and lifelong close friend, Svetlana (Светлана Владимировна Медведева), who he began courting when both were age 14 and attended the same middle school. They were married in 1993 and two years later celebrated the birth of their son Ilya.

(President Dmitry Medvedev and first lady Svetlana Medvedeva, close friends.)

We admire how Mr. Medvedev interacts with others, from children to adults, and unlike Mr. Putin, Medvedev is comfortable in his own skin and takes energy from being around others. He is a true "people person" which will mark a noticeable change next year.
 
There are many things we'll miss about Dmitry Medvedev and we'll detail those in the coming months. There will be positives about the return of Vladimir Putin as well and some of those will be highlighted in this series.

The spring elections will be upon us soon, too soon, and these gentle days will slowly take their places in the pages of Russia's modern history.

[mendeleyev]

Someone emailed to ask why Mrs. Medvedev isn't wearing a wedding band? 

She is. We're looking at the wrong hand. Russians, as do other Orthodox countries, wear wedding bands on the right hand instead of the left.

Since Mr. Medvedev is pointing with his right hand, check out his simple gold band on his right hand. Which brings up a point: if a lady tells you that a fancy/ornate wedding band is required, that is not cultural and strictly her own preference--which is okay if you both agree and you aren't being fed a line of bull about being cheap, etc. As the ring is an important part of an Orthodox ceremony, most couples go for modesty as the ceremony calls for such things to be "in moderation."

[mendeleyev]

(One of my fears regarding the return of Vladimir Putin back to Russia's top spot has been a revisit of the violence that marked his earlier regime. Sadly, signs are that my fears may possibly be realized.)

From today's Mendeleyev Journal:

Just days after a Chinese peace organization had announced that they would award a peace prize to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his war on Chechnya, violence with a Chechen flavour has returned to Moscow.
 
Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov (Руслан Ахтаханов), considered by many to be a pro-Russian Chechen, was gunned down in Moscow.


(Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov (Руслан Ахтаханов), back row, white shirt.)


Investigators believe that the murder may have been a contract hit by the same hitman who shot dead Colonel Yury Budanov, a military veteran of the Chechen campaign and convicted war criminal.

Ruslan Akhtakhanov, 58 years old, was fired on from a blind spot in the street surveillance system. The shooting took place  just before midnight Tuesday. "An unknown person shot at Akhtakhanov twice: first in the leg and then in the head," the Investigations Committee of Russia said in a statement. Investigators say the first shot wounded him and the killer then put a bullet to the head as he lay bleeding.

Witnesses say the killer sped off in a Ford Focus. Police say they found the vehicle later, burned out in a quiet suburb. The murder weapon was found inside the car.

Mr Akhtakhanov had opposed the Chechen separatist movement, believing Chechnya should remain part of Russia. A popular poet who taught at the Modern Humanitarian Academy in Moscow, Akhtakhanov nonetheless wrote often about his beloved Chechnya and his opposition to Chechen separatism.

 

Вы — будущих свершений наши вехи

Я не Мессия, не Пророк,

Но так уж уготовлено мне было:

Среди войны позвать вас на урок.

Молю, лишь только б сил моих хватило

Как важно достучаться до сердец,

Черствеющих на фоне безобразий...

Когда-нибудь войне придет конец,

Но к той поре пусть каждый будет развит.

Пусть невелик чеченский наш народ,

Но мы в упорстве — первые на свете.

Пусть вашей жизни каждый новый год

Заставит ум ваш в силе и расцвете.

Пока опустошается земля,

Наш долг — спастичерствеющие души.

Я здесь во имя этого и для

Спасенья вас от бездуховной стужи.

Чтоб вы учились, светлые умы

Немало сил потратили и крови.

Другими из войны восстанем мы:

Чечне быть образованною внове.

Да, нелегко себя преодолеть,

Но ведь ученость — часть родных традиций.

Не месть должна у нас под сердцем тлеть:

Чечне нужны восторженные лица.

Мы поименно павших помянем.

Пусть каждый две профессии осилит.

Чечне цивилизованной вернем

Священный прах с могил родных и милых.

Я всё сказал. За нами новый век.

Ваш быстрый ум способен на успехи.

Образованьем славен человек.

Вы — будущих свершений наши вехи.

Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov (Руслан Ахтаханов), centre (blue shirt).

Akhtakhanov's writing often focused on Chechnya’s place in the world and the ongoing violence between separatists and Russia which has killed thousands.

(Photos: Mendeleyev Journal files)

[mendeleyev]

From today's Mendeleyev Journal:


Hoping to achieve full economic integration by 2015, CES Presidents Dmitry Medvedev, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Alexander Lukashenko met in Moscow and signed joint agreements for formation of an Eurasian region Common Economic Space, including a Declaration on Eurasian Economic Integration, the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Commission, and the Resolution on the Eurasian Economic Commission Regulations.



L-R: CES Presidents Lukashenko, Medvedev and Nazarbayev.


The three Presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation met in Moscow to announce the ongoing transition to the next stage of integration: the Common Economic Space (CES). The CES hopes to ride Russia's coattails into the World Trade Organization and confirmed the goal of moving all three states’ into the WTO.

The Common Economic Space provides for further integration of the customs and postal unions, ensuring the effective functioning of the common market for goods, services, capital and labour; the formation of a coherent industrial, transport, energy and agricultural policy; further harmonization of national parliaments; and cooperation in developing a common currency.

The Declaration states that the CES will be open to other regional states that share the goals and principles of the Union. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have pledged to implement the Union by January 2015. This work will include a common monetary policy and reforms of the labour, capital, goods and services markets along with the creation of Eurasian energy, transport and telecommunications networks.



Signing of the integration documents took place in the Kremlin Grand Palace, in the same hall where treaties had been signed by world leaders Reagan, Gorbachev and Thatcher.


Regarding the idea of "Union" of the Common Economic Space:
(Russian President Medvedev): I thank Mr Nazarbayev, who, to be perfectly honest, was the initiator behind this whole idea back during the difficult 1990s, when the word ‘integration’ was seen as a leftover from Soviet-era vocabulary and a sign of poor taste. But for all of the obstacles in the way back then, Mr Nazarbayev spared no effort in his calls to build and develop integration in the post-Soviet area. This took a long time, but steady effort always helps to accomplish even the most complicated tasks. What we see today is the result of this work that went on at many levels, work the historic significance of which I hope will win the appreciation it deserves now and in the future.

(President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev): In my article in newspaper Izvestia, I gave a detailed account of the history of my proposal to create the Eurasian Union, an idea that goes back to a speech I gave at Moscow State University in 1994. That was a time of collapse, a time when what had been a single country fell apart. We were all fragments of that whole, like pieces of a shattered plate. The result was complete stagnation. It seemed to me then that we were to make use of the things we had built up over those decades, the shared mentality and common economy, to somehow save our ordinary people from disaster. 

Despite the years that have passed, my view has not changed. Any integration project begins above all with creating a common free trade zone, then a customs union, then a common economic space, and finally, an economic union with the eventual possibility of a common currency. This is the classic road that we are taking.
All round, this is a very powerful grouping that brings together 170 million people: 144 million in Russia, 16 million in Kazakhstan, and more than 10 million in Belarus. With a population of 170 million this is a market with the kind of self-sufficiency to get by on its own if the need arise. This is what we are working towards, what we are proposing, and everything is moving in the right direction.



CES Presidents Nazarbayev, Medvedev and Lukashenko tour VTB bank, Moscow.


On the "Customs Union" between the three countries:
(Russian President Dmitry Medvedev) I remind you that as of July 1 this year, the Customs Union between Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia has been working in full-fledged operation. Work continues today to improve its mechanisms and strengthen its legal foundations. As I discussed just now with my colleagues, this union is not merely about making the paperwork easier, creating new organisations, or even simplifying regulations, but is something that has given a real and substantial boost to our reciprocal trade. Our trade is growing rapidly, which is very good to see. This was our goal, the objective we all pursued. Our aim is to make our economies work better.

The next step is the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015.


Questions on whether the CES formation would eventually negate the idea of a unified Russia & Belarus:
(President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko) The Allied State project may dissolve, if we do not progress or fail to develop the Allied State of Belarus and Russia project, while this current project, the Common Economic Space, moves forward very quickly. Then, perhaps, the Common Economic Space will become as integrated as Russia and Belarus currently are. And then, we will have the right to ask ourselves whether we need a parallel Allied State as we are currently calling it.

But for now, the situation is such that the Allied State has advanced significantly, even given all the shortcomings in our efforts, and the degree of integration is quite high. Suffice it to state the clear fact that when shaping the regulatory and legal framework of the Customs Union and then of the Common Economic Space, we employed various elements from our experience of building the Allied State.

Moreover, I have already said that the Common Economic Space is our very important brainchild in the economic sense, financially, etc. But the Common Economic Space, which we are designing now, or the Customs Union, they are still far from the degree of integration that we have in the Allied State. For example, currently we draft joint balances for energy and food supplies and many other positions, as Russia’s Economic Development Minister present here may explain in more detail.

The citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus have absolutely equal rights; we do not have any borders. If you go to Minsk or Moscow, you won’t find any border patrol on the way from one to the other, nobody will stop you. We removed all border control formalities back in 1996 or even 1995 so now Russia and Belarus don’t have that.
Today, within the framework of unification of Belarus and Russia, we are coordinating not only domestic policy, but foreign policy issues as well. We also have a common defense space and have well advanced in that respect. We have a common air defense system which is managed from one command centre (Moscow) and, God forbid, in case of a conflict or war, will be employed.



Presidents Lukashenko, Medvedev and Nazarbayev on 62nd floor of Moscow's Federation Tower.


When questioned on how this integration will impact the average citizen:
(Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev) We, the Presidents, are elected by our peoples. Our main objective is to improve the well-being of our citizens. After all, developing the economy is not an end in and of itself. The goal is to improve people’s lives. The economy earns money so that people gain these benefits. That is precisely why we are doing all this. We are opening the market. In the last decade, before the crisis, Kazakhstan was developing at rates of about ten percent. This year, we will end at 7.5 percent. Without these rates, the economy does not grow.

The economy is producing goods and hence growing. Where are these goods going? We supply these goods to 16 million people [of Kazakhstan]. Where do we go next? The markets we are opening to one another by removing customs barriers, obstacles to the free flow of capital, labour force, and so on will boost the growth of all three economies and result in improvement in our people’s living standards. So the question is well put. That is what our integration is all about.

(Russian President Dmitry Medvedev) We have declared free movement of goods, services, capital and labour force and have practically ensured relevant conditions. Isn’t this done for the benefit of our peoples? Of course it is. The facts speak for themselves.

[JohnDearGreen]

Most beautiful metro stations in the world:
1. Champ-de-Mars, Montreal, Canada;
2. Boulevard Formosa Kaohsiung, Taiwan;
3. T-Centralen, Stockholm, Sweden;
4. Central Park, Kaohsiung, Taiwan;
5. Bayview, Toronto, Canada;
6. Bockenheimer Warte, Frankfurt, Germany;
7. Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, Shanghai, China;
8. Slavic boulevard, Moscow, Russia;
9. Kennington, London, UK;
10. Changi Airport MRT Station, Singapore;
11. Golden Gate, Kiev, Ukraine;
12. Olaias, Lisbon, Portugal;
13. Puhung, Pyongyang, DPRK;
14. Federal Triangle, Washington, USA
15. Kirov Plant, St. Petersburg, Russia.
http://facenews.ua/24083/stantsiu-kievskogo-metropolitena-priznali-odnoj-iz-samih-krasivih-v-mire.html

[mendeleyev]

John,

I like the list and Slavic Blvd, Славянский бульвар, is near our Moscow home.

Here is a nice video of Славянский бульвар:




At the same time I find many of the Moscow stations, while not as new/modern, to be of great beauty both in terms of their artistic and historic values.


Examples:


Киевская (Kievskaya), a transfer station with more than one hall, is of great beauty and a part of Russian history. Here is a nice video from a guy who does a nice job despite his misguided use of a definite article in saying the Ukraine, and mispronouncing the name of the station. Instead of 'keev-SKY-ya' it should be 'KEEV-skaya.' Other than those he does a splendid job:





Here is an overview video on Moscow's metro:





And a nice feature on St. Peterburg's metro:

[2tallbill]

Great thread Mendy !!

[mendeleyev]

Спасибо, Билл!

[mendeleyev]

Sunday morning's Mendeleyev Journal:

Over the past several years Moscow buses, trolleys and trams erected metal turnstiles, forcing passengers to enter only at the front of the wagon. Revenues went up as hopping in the back of the bus or tram without a ticket became a thing of the past.



photo: autonews.ru


This past July however Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced during a transportation tour that the turnstiles would be removed, citing an official transit study which revealed that the turnstiles were causing more traffic gridlock by adding an average of 15 minutes to each route.


So it was no big surprise when Mayor Sobyanin this past Friday told Radio Echo Moscow that crews had begun the work of dismantling the metal ticket turnstiles on every Moscow bus, tram and trolley. The mayor said that limiting entry solely through the first door and the time to pass through the turnstiles had reduced the speed of buses and trolleybuses to the point that the system was too slow for transit efficiency.


When asked how buses and trolleys will maintain rider ticket control, the mayor said that drivers and additional supervisors will be responsible. (In decades past many Moscow buses were on an "honour system" with random ticket inspections by ticket control officers and cashiers.)


Sobyanin also said that Moscow would return to a "one ticket" concept where a single ticket would qualify for any mode of public transport: bus, trolley-bus, tram and metro, with the tickets available for purchase at kiosks and markets as well as Metro station cashiers. This is also a return to an earlier practice and may well give an added boost to small kiosk and market vendors.


City officials say it could take up to two years to remove the turnstiles from Europe's largest transit system.



photo: Samsdam.com.ua


But at the same time that Moscow is taking down the turnstiles, the capital of Ukraine is putting them up. Citing efforts to rein in lost ticket revenue and control ridership, the city of Kyiv (Kiev) began to add turnstiles this past June and the Kyivrada (Kyiv city government) has budgeted ten million hryvnia for the project.


Perhaps Kyiv should call Moscow. We suspect that there will be some used turnstiles in good condition on the market very soon.

[SANDRO43]

Sobyanin also said that Moscow would return to a "one ticket" concept where a single ticket would qualify for any mode of public transport: bus, trolley-bus, tram and metro, with the tickets available for purchase at kiosks and markets as well as Metro station cashiers.

This arrangement is also in place here, but does not solve the problem of "free riders", estimated at 20% of daily passengers on Milan's public surface transport, despite roving controllers who deal out  €34 fines to those without a valid ticket (€ 1.50 for 90').

Up to 1974, tram/bus crews consisted of a driver and a conductor/ticket seller located at the back:

They are now considering re-introducing permanent conductors, as of yore .

[mendeleyev]

Nice photo and I like those wood seats!

Up to 1974, tram/bus crews consisted of a driver and a conductor/ticket seller located at the back

Moscow did the same up thru the mid 2000s, then started installing the turnstiles. The driver was accompanied on major routes by a ticket cashier who went up and down the bus or trolley and checked everyone's ticket and collected cash from riders without one. Other routes had the driver selling tickets (usually reluctantly) and one never knew when a random ticket control inspector would hop aboard to levy fines for riders without a ticket.

Older buses had small punch machines at each window and you took the ticket and punched it yourself. Failure to do so usually meant getting whacked over the head by some cane-wielding babushka who was incensed that you'd attempt to ride for free. 

[SANDRO43]

Nice photo and I like those wood seats!

Several of those sturdy old trams from the early 1960s are still in active service today - IIRC, some earlier models were given free to Kaliningrad - and a couple have been refurbished and converted to 'rolling restaurants' named ATMosfera (ATM is the acronym of our Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) offering 2-hour rides at lunch and dinner time:

A bit expensive at €65 per person, but an interesting experience.

[mendeleyev]

From today's Mendeleyev Journal:


In basketball terms we'd call it a "full court press" and there seems to be little doubt that regional officials in Russia are certainly under pressure to deliver a victory to the ruling Единой России (United Russia) Party in the DUMA (parliament) elections this coming 4 December and again for the Russian presidential election in March 2012.

That being said, politicians of all stripes are worried, with good reason, about the vast amount of technology in the hands of everyday citizens. Many citizens meanwhile have begun to label the United Russia as the "party of crooks and thieves" in a sort of populist backlash again heavy-handed politics.






www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=2G3_xxtxBKI


In the video above, the mayor of the Russian city of Izhevsk, Denis Agashin, tells a public meeting with veterans that if voters don't support the United Russia Party that the government will withhold funding for veterans. He promised veterans that if voters gave more than 51% of the vote to United Russia, then he would grant additional funding of 500 thousand rubles to 1 million rubles.


When challenged on the legality of his comments the mayor, unaware that his talk was being recorded said that, “If people don’t support the party that is actually doing something, what’s the point of financing them? If this is the case, it’s clear the people don’t need anything.”


After the video went viral over the Internet, General Council of  United Russia Sergei Zheleznyak asserted that Agashin "had a meeting with representatives of veterans organizations on their own initiative" and "assumption about the connection of the funding of veterans' organizations with the result of United Russia was solely Agashin's idea and not a reflection of Party policy.


Since that video recorded meeting the mayor has been interviewed on regional television about his comments to veterans. Although there have been calls for his resignation, he was handed a fine by the Election Commission.



Seated at centre, Izhevsk mayor Denis Agashin. (photo: leha747.livejournal.com)


Back on 14 September Mayor Agashin had invited popular local bloggers in for a breakfast meeting with the mayor and council members at which time he announced projects for new roads and housing, hoping to build popular support for his initiatives.


It was reported that several bloggers and media representatives walked out of the breakfast meeting before the conclusion.






As seen in this photo many popular groups are going on the offensive against the ruling party with the "party of crooks and thieves" theme.


Another popular online video shows election officials in the northern city of Murmansk promising the equivalent of $50 to each voter who casts a vote for United Russia.


Last week some students at the Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology (MIPT) began to text and twitter that they had been told that failure to vote for the ruling party would mean that the long-anticipated building of a new dormitory will be held up indefinitely.


(Editors note: The Mendeleyev Journal does not endorse any political party in Russia and respects the right of the Russian people to choose their own candidates. That being said, we do wholeheartedly commit to reporting current news and election trends leading up to the official elections.)

[Anotherkiwi]

Most beautiful metro stations in the world:
1. Champ-de-Mars, Montreal, Canada;
2. Boulevard Formosa Kaohsiung, Taiwan;
3. T-Centralen, Stockholm, Sweden;
4. Central Park, Kaohsiung, Taiwan;
5. Bayview, Toronto, Canada;
6. Bockenheimer Warte, Frankfurt, Germany;
7. Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, Shanghai, China;
8. Slavic boulevard, Moscow, Russia;
9. Kennington, London, UK;
10. Changi Airport MRT Station, Singapore;
11. Golden Gate, Kiev, Ukraine;
12. Olaias, Lisbon, Portugal;
13. Puhung, Pyongyang, DPRK;
14. Federal Triangle, Washington, USA
15. Kirov Plant, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Interesting list - I have only seen three or four of these, but I'm really surprised that Golden Gate made the list.  I agree that it's probably the nicest in Kyiv (of those I saw, anyway), but there are several in Moscow that would leave it for dead (Revolution Square, Kievskya, Belorusskaya, Novoslobodskaya just for starters - and what about the amazing mural on the ceiling at Mayakovskaya?).  Also, Kremlinskaya in Kazan is a really gorgeous piece of work.

[mendeleyev]

I'm partial to Moscow stations as well, without any disrespect to other beautiful stations around the world.









This next one is from the St. Petersburg Metro:









This is station Park Pobedy (Victory Park) in Moscow:





A transfer station I use a lot, павелецкая, Paveletskaya:

[mendeleyev]

When tired in the evening this is my favourite station (home!), Кожуховская (Kozhukhovskaya).

It is a shallow station not very deep and quick to get in and out.


In the morning the very next station headed towards the centre is Дубровка (Dubrovka).





Just across the street there are some nice Chechen indoor mall type shops selling everything from clothing to personal care items to suitcases to shoes and winter coats. Also, and most importantly, a kiosk for KBAC (ka-vass).Sometimes we stop here before going on home for a glass of KBAC and a nearby outdoor ice cream kiosk.

[mendeleyev]

This next one, Slavyanisky Blvd, was in the list from JohnDearGreen:









This next one is in Kyiv (Kiev):

[mendeleyev]

Above: A lovely station in St Petersburg!


Back to Moscow--Станция Курская, Kurskskaya station:





Historic Arbatskaya is one of the most beautiful stations one could imagine:





As is Prospekt Mira:









This red Mayak station is in the St. Petersburg Metro:

[mendeleyev]

Upon arrival in Russia you can only imagine the depths of my surprise upon learning that they had already named a Metro station after me, Mendeleyeevskaya. Talk about a welcome gesture...what a country!





But after awhile I moved and Metro Studencheskaya, an outdoor station, was my home Metro for a long period:

[Chicagoguy]

I have only been to about 4 of the other city subways and don't remember anything spectacular. Maybe they are special but for the sheer number of beautiful stations I put my money on Moscow.

[mendeleyev]

 
 
 

The next 2 are of the famous Plaza of the Revolution:
 
Plaza of the Revolution entry:
 
 
 
 
 
 Plaza of the Revolution hall:
 
 [/font]

[mendeleyev]

Ah, the "Gallery" Metro!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Might as well call this Kyiv (Kiev) station the "disco station" given its features:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






Another station of the Kyiv (Kiev) Metro:
 
 
 

[mendeleyev]

From today's Mendeleyev Journal:


If you're were wondering about all that extra Moscow traffic over the past couple of days, be thankful that it wasn't holiday New Year gift shoppers camping out for some Xbox sale.

The same event which filled St. Petersburg's sidewalks with "foot traffic jams" in late October did the same to Moscow. It's gone now--you are free again to walk around the city centre. The display was beautiful but the lines were long and Moscow police estimated wait times at 24 hours given the length of sidewalk lines which snarled motor traffic in central Moscow as well and created extraordinary parking problems for motorists.


Scenes of St Petersburg:




This autumn Orthodox monks flew in what is thought to be the original cloth belt from the Virgin Mary. Normally kept on Mount Athos, there has been great interest all over Russia while the belt was on loan for a limited time.


(photo by Kuzma Prutkoff)



(photo by Father Gennady/LiveJournal)



(photo by Father Gennady/LiveJournal)


The Russian schedule has taken the display to these cities:
Санкт-Петербурге - Saint Petersburg
Екатеринбурге - Yekaterinburg
Норильске - Norilsk
Владивостоке - Vladivostok
Красноярске - Krasnoyarsk
Дивееве - Diveevo
Саранске - Saransk
Самаре - Samara
Ростове-на-Дону - Rostov (on the Don)
Калининграде - Kaliningrad
Москве - Moscow

...and caused lots of foot traffic wherever it went.



(photo by Kuzma Prutkoff)



(photo by Kuzma Prutkoff)



(photo by Kuzma Prutkoff)


The Moscow exhibition was at the national Cathedral of Christ the Saviour for 5 days and according to the Moscow Times newspaper, "the line of people to enter the golden-domed Christ the Savior Cathedral stretched four metro stations, from Kropotkinskaya to Vorobyovy Gory, despite subzero temperatures.

Some, however, enjoyed fast-track access to the relic: People arriving in cars with license plates of the type reserved for senior officials were let in without waiting in the line, Itar-Tass reported, citing a priest at the cathedral.


Police officers announced through megaphones that it will take worshippers 24 hours to get to the relic. Some 80 people a minute — three to four abreast — were passing under the relic, mounted on a 2-meter arch in the temple.


Hundreds of buses brought pilgrims from other Russian cities. Almost 200 buses were parked along the line with their engines running so the faithful could get warm as they waited. The city provided free tea and food and put up portable toilets.


Some 1,500 police officers were deployed to handle the traffic."

The Saint Andrews Foundation, responsible for bringing the relic to Russia said that 14 million Russians have viewed the display since late October. Moscow police estimated the number in line at 82,000 last Thursday, just one day of the 5 day event.
                     

[mendeleyev]

So who will be in Minneapolis this weekend?

If so you'd enjoy the Moscow Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker at the Orpheum Theatre,910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, MN, 55403   (612) 373-5600 - Orpheum Website

Nutcracker performance: Friday night, 2 December at 7:30pm
 

The Minneapolis Orpheum dates back to October 16 of 1921 and the Milwaukee firm of Kirchoff & Rose built the facility at a cost of $1 million. Among the performers on the first playbill were the Marx Brothers; over 70,000 guests attended the opening week run.

The Orpheum became a major outlet for such vaudeville entertainers as Jack Benny, Burns & Allen and Fanny Brice. The best seats in the house sold for 47 cents, and children's tickets were 9 cents. The Orpheum featured a playroom and day-care services for small children on the first floor mezzanine lobby.

1927: As vaudeville declined, the Orpheum became one of the major cinema houses in Minneapolis.

1940: Gone with the Wind premiered at the Orpheum. On opening night moviegoers formed a solid line that extends out the doors, down Hennepin and around the corner onto 9th St. For three full weeks the theatre was sold out every showing.

1988: The Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDA) purchased the Orpheum for $1.4 million from singer Bob Dylan and his brother, who had owned the theatre for four years.