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RussianMind№6 (06), 14 - 27 July 2011, www.RussianMind.com

RUSSIA – MOTHERLAND FOR JEANS PAGE 20-21

UK ........................£2.00France ................€2.00Germany ...........€2.00Austria ...............€2.00Belgium .............€2.00Netherlands .....€2.50Italy .....................€2.50

EUUK

Travel to Ukraine Page 24-25

British Look at Russians Page 26

The West and the Warlords: Fatal Attraction Page 8-9

Russian Loch NessPage 16-17

6-7 The Press Baron

8-9 The West and the Warlords: Fatal Attraction

10-11Russian Media Future – View from the Inside

12-13 The War Film and the New Patriotism

14-15 National Comparisons: National Cuisine

16-17 Believe It Or Not

10-11

8-9

16-17

Acting Editor Olga Kudriavtseva olga@russianmind.com

Head of Editorial Board Mark Hollingsworth mark@russianmind.com

Managing Director Azamat Sultanov md@russianmind.com

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In print: Dmitry Babich, David Gillespie, Ekaterina Petukhova, Richard Bloss, Ecaterina Kilian, Anatoly Karlin, Anastasia Grishchenko, Tatiana Irodova, Victor Raskalov.

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Contents

4 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Fashionable Russia

Years when Russian people wore grey, strict monotonous clothes and tried not to show up in a crowd, sank into oblivion together with the other “horrors” of the Soviet era. When the borders to the Western world were opened, Russia got the opportunity to take inspiration from abroad and changed their dress-code.

Twenty years have since passed, but still there are some people who perceive clothes as just a need to hide their nudity. For their daytime routine, they don’t have spare money or time to care about the world famous labels or demanding trends. On the other hand there are others who can afford to be addicted to fashion. They never miss fashion shows in Milan, Paris and London, buy only designer clothes and never appear in public in the same outfit. In Russia the differentiation of society can be seen in the way people dress.

Amongst the two extremes, average Russian people try to find the golden middle – dress stylishly, but at the same time don’t spend too much money. In recent times, one of the popular sources, where progressive Russians get ideas on how to look are the fashion blogs. They give ideas about smart trends and help to develop an understanding of fashion. If progress goes further, fashion in Russia will become accessible rather than a luxury.

To find out more about fashion sources, turn to page 20-21.

Best Olga Kudriavtseva,

Acting Editor

18-19 Summer

Heat

20-21 Russia

Motherland for Jeans

22 Conflict Resolution

24-25 10 Days in Ukraine

26 And How Was It For You?

27 Luxury Driving

28-29 A Song by the Name of

Wimbledon

30 Investment

Expert

31 – Jobs

28-29

26

24-25

Contents

5№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

In June 2006 Alexander Lebedev and Mikhail Gorbachev began discussions to launch a new political opposition

organization to promote liberal values and perestroika. They bought a stake in the Russian tabloid Novaya Gazeta, which at that stage was a co-operative owned by the journalists and had a reputation for opposition to the Kremlin, particularly over Chechnya. Lebedev took a 39 per cent shareholding and Gorbachev 10 per cent, leaving the paper majority owned by the journalists.

At the same time Lebedev and Gorbachev also formed a social alliance that coincided with their political strategy. Later that month Alexander and his son Evgeny co-hosted a lavish fund raising event with the former Soviet President for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation. They spent £1.3 million on the event, but it was unclear how much was actually raised for the charity: estimates ranged between £300,000 and a maximum of £1 million.

The party was held at Althorp, the family estate of the late Princess Diana, on 10 June 2006 and dubbed a 'Russian midsummer fantasy'. It was supported by Madonna, Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and Tatler editor Geordie Greig who later recalled how he became involved:

“Evgeny Lebedev had been brought to my office when I was editor of Tatler by a PR girl who said that he was launching a charity with a Russian called Michael Goo-ba-cheff at Althorp, the childhood home of Princess Diana. I asked if she meant Gorbachev, the Man Who Changed The World. She looked blank but Evgeny was pleased that someone finally got the significance and unusual nature of this charity and its fundraiser. I said we would not cover the party but instead we would co-host it with them. It was the start of a relationship which I had no idea was going to change my life so totally”.

There were around 400 guests, including Lady Thatcher, Gorbachev and his daughter Irina and grand-daughters Anastasia and Ksenia, Bob Geldof, the Duchess of York, Sir David Frost, Salman Rushdie, Tracey Emin, Orlando Bloom, Elle Macpherson and Tamara Mellon.

One guest described the party as a “frenzy of extravagance, with beluga caviar and a torrent of Cristal champagne".

“People in 18th-century dress sat in the trees "like a sort of scene from a Watteau painting"”, said one

guest. Strange figures with wolves straining on leashes roamed the grounds. A camel played nomad on the lawns. As champagne and oysters were served in front of the house, a troop of Cossacks charged from the woods and whirled gracefully into an "equestrian ballet". The Christ Church cathedral school boys' choir sang from a balcony. As dinner approached, children appeared dressed as fairies; they played out a mime that drew the 400 guests into a giant marquee. Jellied borscht with smoked sturgeon and "golden Oscietra caviar" were followed by free-range guinea fowl, all set off by a fine riesling and Crozes-Hermitage”.

Ballerina pole-dancers writhed on podiums above the tables, wild wolves strain leashes on the lawn. There were Cossacks riding across the park, a camel on the loose, and this was all before the Black Eyed Peas play live and Bono's video homage was relayed from Dublin to the guests.

The money was raised by an after-dinner auction which included the sale of a flight in a MiG-25 Foxbat jet fighter; a personal tour of the Hermitage in St Petersburg with the museum director; a piece of jewellery donated by Christina Aguilera; a work of art by Tracey Emin; and dinner with Gorbachev at Lebedev's dacha outside Moscow. The night before the

The Press Baron

Mark HOLLINGSWORTH

In a recent interview Alexander Lebedev speculated that his

‘Independent’ newspaper should merge with ‘The Guardian’. The

press baron then said that he was joking but some media analysts commented that this

revealed the magnitude of his media and political ambitions. As part of our special series of articles

on Lebedev, we examine his political and media

career.

Evgeny Lebedev, Mikhail Gorbachev and Alexander Lebedev

6 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Profile

Althorp party, Alexander and Evgeny Lebedev hosted a dinner at the Ivy in London attended by Lady Thatcher and Gorbachev.

The following summer the Lebedevs hosted another fund raising event for the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation. This time the venue was Hampton Court and featured music performed by Elton John and the Scissor Sisters and a specially built Russian dacha surrounded by silver birch trees in the amphitheatre. Tickets were £1,000 each. And the event was attended by 450 guests including Bob Geldof, JK Rowling, Elle Macpherson, Naomi Campbell, Tom Stoppard, Ralph Fiennes, Anna Friel, Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster, Minnie Driver, Gillian Anderson, Tamara Mellon, and the ‘patrons’ Margaret Thatcher, Madonna, Tom Wolfe and Viscountess Rothermere, wife of Viscount Rothermere.

The night before the gala Geordie Greig hosted a dinner attended by Michael Portillo, Martin Amis, Tom Stoppard, David Frost and Jemima Khan. Another guest was the events’ PR consultant Peter Finch. But during the meal the London offices of his firm, Finch and Partners, was targeted by what the police later called a ‘highly professional team of burglars’.

For the next two years the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation galas at Hampton Court were a highlight of the London social season. At one gala Hugh Grant, a committee member of the foundation, gave a speech to guests about his late mother, who died of cancer. Bono provided the musical entertainment. But the galas were also criticized for “over-the-top extravagance”.

At the 2009 gala, which was attended by Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah, Vanessa Redgrave, Sophie Dahl, Jamie Cullum and Boris Johnson amongst others. Cossack dancers and synchronised swimmers also performed. The highlight of the evening was the auction, which saw Dragons' Den star James Caan pay £300,000 for a multi-coloured skeleton by Damien Hirst; Indian construction tycoon Cyrus Vandrevala and his wife Priya bid £75,000 for dinner with Mr Gorbachev at his dacha outside Moscow; and mobile phone tycoon John Caudwell paid £100,000 for a unique recording of love songs by the former Communist leader. Evgeny Lebedev paid £55,000 for a Fiat car designed by artist Sir Peter Blake, while JK Rowling outbid all rivals to pay £12,000 for a cheeky lap-dance by David Walliams!

Meanwhile, Lebedev was increasingly politically active. In 2003 he had stood against the long serving Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov. He was a prominent critic of Luzhkov, accusing him and his wife of corruption and of ruining Moscow through their construction developments. The 2003 campaign advertisements depicted Lebedev as an oligarch free of corruption and showed him rather improbably travelling by tube. Luzhkov was re-elected with 80 per cent of the vote, whilst Lebedev received only 13 per cent. But later that year Lebedev was elected to the lower chamber of the State Duma. He served as a deputy member of the Duma, first for the nationalist Rodina party, then for the Kremlin-supporting United Russia and Fair Russia.

By 2008 Lebedev had become a moderate critic of Putin. Alongside Gorbachev, he formed the Independent Democratic Party of Russia, which aimed to provide “polite” criticism of the Kremlin. Gorbachev was by now Lebedev’s most important political ally (though very much retired). “I like his (Gorbachev) world view and I am trying to copy it”, said the press baron. “I really think he is the greatest man I have ever met. He is looking for someone to carry his torch… to start up a new perestroika and new glasnost”.

And Lebedev and Gorbachev regarded newspapers as a vehicle and forum for airing their political views. The prospect of buying the London Evening Standard was first discussed by Geordie Greig and Lord Rothermere, the paper’s then owner, over dinner at Evgeny Lebedev’s Japanese restaurant Sake No Hana in April 2008. The dinner took place after Greig, Evgeny Lebedev, Vanessa Redgrave and her two daughters, Natasha and Joely Richardson, had visited a Chekov themed exhibition at the National Theatre which Evgeny had sponsored. The next day Greig agreed to contact the Lebedevs to find out if they would be interested in purchasing the paper.

“Following an enthusiastic response from Evgeny and a quick call to his father in Moscow the talks to buy the Standard started. Project Venus, as it was code-named, started at a meeting between the four of us at the Connaught a few weeks later. Very quickly formal negotiations began. Associated brought in the investment bank Lazards. I brought in Justin Byam Shaw, a serial entrepreneur and the cleverest businessman of my generation at Oxford, and the two of us started the most unorthodox negotiations on behalf of the Russians”.

By early December 2008, Lebedev was close to a deal despite Lord Rothermere’s initial reluctance. That month Lebedev set up two companies to complete the purchase - Lebedev Holdings and Evening Press Ltd, which would later become Evening Standard Ltd.

On 27 December 2008, Lebedev wrote several predictions for 2009 in his blog. In one he wrote [in Russian]: ‘One of the oldest and most famous newspapers in Europe will be sold to a Russian. It will be a step towards creating an international media resource, which will counter the anti-liberal tendencies of increased authoritarianism in the world’.

The sale was not agreed until mid-January 2009. “This is not my way to make money, but I would like to explain to the public that newspapers are something they should love and cherish”, said Lebedev. The price was less than £10 million and not a lot of money by Russian standards. For Lebedev, it was about political and social kudos. To buy a historic London paper like the Standard was good for his image.

The deal was officially announced on 21 January: “A new company, Evening Standard Ltd, will be set up to own the Evening Standard with DMGT retaining a minority stake of 24.9 percent”. The purchase meant that Lebedev took total control of the company and became Chairman of the Board, and his son Evgeny became Senior Executive Director.

On 2 March the Standard published a message from Geordie Grieg promising a ‘new chapter at the Evening Standard’ with ‘a fundamentally optimistic view of life’ whilst ‘exposing injustice, corruption and unfairness’. Ten days later, on 12 March Gorbachev visited the offices of the Evening Standard in Derry Street, Kensington, and the next day Lebedev was planning an editorial advisory board which would include Gorbachev, JK Rowling, and Bob Geldof. Even Tony Blair was mentioned as a potential member. Lebedev had arrived as an insider in the heart of the British political establishment.

NEXT ISSUE:

Lebedev and his son – their personalities and lifestyle

Mikhail Gorbachev and Alexander Lebedev

7№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Profile

The West and the Warlords: Fatal Attraction

Obama said bluntly: “America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home.” This was exactly

what Gorbachev told Yuly Vorontsov, formally the Soviet ambassador in Kabul in 1988-1989, but in fact Moscow’s special envoy with a delicate mission going far beyond Afghanistan’s borders. Vorontsov was ordered by Gorbachev to negotiate the withdrawal of Soviet troops with both the mujahideen and the initially pro-Soviet government of Mohammad Nadjibullah. The reason for the drop in Soviet enthusiasm for the Afghan “nation building” was the same as Obama’s – war losses and the desire to concentrate on the home front, where a major political reform (perestroika) was getting out of control.

Remembering where Vorontsov and the Soviet generals were successful and where they failed makes sense, since so far the American-led ISAF force in Afghanistan have generally repeated the pattern of the Soviet stay in the country. Deceptively smooth initial invasion and an almost red carpet reception in Kabul; guerrilla fighting with periodic losses of whole provinces to rebel forces; attempts to break resistance by massive use of firepower; search for a political solution to the conflict via inner-Afghan reconciliation and massive training of local loyalists. The last stage is unfolding under our very eyes. President Obama is ordering the withdrawal of American forces at the same time justifying the speedier than scheduled pace of the troops’ withdrawal by a “receding tide of war.”

Gorbachev would have gladly picked that metaphor of a receding tide in 1989, if it had not been for the disillusioned Soviet public which showed less and less inclination to be fed metaphors instead of bread and butter.

The Soviet Withdrawal: Happy February and Bitter April

In fact, the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 was initially successful that its authors certainly deserved praising metaphors. Vorontsov had indeed met representatives of the 7 main mujahideen groups in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and secured their pledge not to attack the Soviet troops when they would be most vulnerable – on the way to the Soviet border. When the last remaining Soviet troops were leaving Afghanistan on February 15, the Soviet authorities made every effort to avoid giving this operation the look of a humiliating defeat. If you look at the now historic pictures of the last Soviet tanks crossing the bridge connecting Afghanistan with the then Soviet Uzbekistan, you will see festive faces, lots of red flags and obviously jubilant officers and soldiers. Symbolically, February 15 was celebrated in Nadjibullah’s Afghanistan as the national independence day. But it also became a holiday for the Soviet Afghan vets and for anti-Islamist Afghans (the Islamists later preferred to celebrate the anniversaries of the fall of Nadjibullah’s government on April 28, 1992). Indeed, what happened on February 15, 1989, made everyone happy.

As the late Yuly Vorontsov told me in an interview in 2002, the Soviets did not plan in their withdrawal to abandon Nadjibullah to his own devices. On Vorontsov’s insistence, Kabul was well stocked not only with arms and munitions, but also with food supplies which allowed the Afghan capital to hold out for a long siege even if the mujahideen managed to cut the supply routes leading from Kabul to the Soviet border. Support dried up in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But even then Nadjibullah’s army proved to be strong enough to resist the pressure of mujahideen forces for 3 more years, until 1992. And even then it was defeated primarily because of the betrayal of one of the key commanders – General Rashid Dostum. The ultimate failure of Nadjibullah’s regime in April 1992, however, serves as a bad historic omen for the planners of the American withdrawal. It shows how vulnerable an anti-Islamist government can become once the “big Satan” stops support. The Russian or American incarnation of this big Satan makes no difference for the Islamists. Believe it or not, for them Russia is a part of Western civilization.

So, Obama would probably make the right decision, if he learns from this ultimate failure of an initially successful Soviet withdrawal manoeuvre.

When President Obama recently made public his plans for a

gradual withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, he might not have known that

he was quoting almost word for word Mikhail

Gorbachev’s orders from the end of 1980s.

Dmitry BABICH

The last remaining Soviet troops

left Afghanistan on February 15, 1989

8

Opinion

Lessons of War

During my recent visit with a group of Russian journalists to the NATO headquarters in Belgium, we heard a lot of regrets from the NATO officers about the West’s failure to learn from the Soviet experience in Afghanistan. So, hopefully, Russian advice is not unwelcome any more. Then my advice would concern history – the sphere closest to my heart amongst Afghan topics.

Here is my advice to Europeans and Americans in Afghanistan: do some soul searching on what you perceived as “the forces of progress” in Afghanistan. It became so fashionable in the West to lambast the current president Hamid Karzai for being “weak on warlords” that some people obviously forgot that some Westerners were instrumental in putting these warlords next to Karzai. 

Take the example of the glorification of the former Tajik warlord Akhmad Shah Massoud, killed by fellow warlords on the eve of the American invasion in September 2001. Before his death Massoud had been the main beneficiary of American arms supplies in the

1980s under the Reagan doctrine and the darling of anti-Russian European intellectuals, especially the French Bernard Henri Levy. The recent diplomatic recognition of Libyan opposition by France (which triggered the unending NATO intervention) was brokered by this same Levy, who called Sarkozy from Benghazy with the ominous words: “You must see these Libyan Massouds.” And only several courageous Afghans, such as Malalai Joya, formerly the youngest female member of the Afghan parliament, threatened with her accusations against the warlords, don’t stop reminding Americans of some uneasy truths about Massoud. The problem is that Masood commanded the artillery which destroyed Kabul in 1992, during the internecine fighting between various groups of mujahideen. “In the 1990s, the main destruction was visited upon Afghanistan by the former anti-Soviet mujahideen fighting each other, not by Taliban,” remembers Iftikhar Murshed, the Pakistani ambassador in Afghanistan at the time. “Massoud, this supposedly pious Muslim, while being holed up in the Panjshir valley north of

Kabul, took money from heroin traffickers and illegally exported precious stones recovered from the mines in Panjshir,” Malalai Joya writes in her now famous book “Raising My Voice,” a tale of futile attempts to open the eyes of American officials in Afghanistan to ugly truths about their “allies” in that country.

Don’t Love Thy Warlord

Why do I consider this important? Because the habit of enamouring oneself with anti-Russian warlords with embarrassing consequences, stayed the pattern of much of the Western policy and especially much of the Western media attitudes. Here is how the above-mentioned “philosophic diplomat” Bernard-Henri Levy describes the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili in the wake of his bombardment of Tskhinvali in Le Monde daily: “He is

young. Very young. His youth reveals itself in the impatience of gestures, the fever in his eyes, brusque laughs and the habit to gulp down bottles of Red Bull as if it was Coca-Cola… He is a Francophone in love with France. Passionately interested in philosophy. Democratic. European. Liberal in both the American and European senses of this word. Of all the resistance fighters that I met in my life, of all these Massouds and Izetbegovices, he is the most visibly hostile to the universe of war, to its rites, its symbols, its culture. But he has to wage a war.”

There is one refreshingly bitter sequence of names in this otherwise sickeningly sweet “confession d’amour.” Massoud and Izetbegovic. Afghanistan and Bosnia. Two tragedies, to which South Ossetia was recently added, thanks to the people like Bernard Henri Levy. Read these sweet confessions and look at the consequences. May be, this is the main lesson the world can draw from the Afghan campaigns.

The Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, 1989

Dmitry Babich is a political analyst. He contributed this story to his personal blog www.dmitrybabich.livejournal.com which runs on a weekly basis by www.russiaprofile.org

www.russia.foreignpolicyblogs.com

9№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Recently he has taken on a new challenge and created the first online

magazine in Russia sharing Creative Commons license. “Chaskor” (which means Chastnyi Korrespondent, in translation Private Correspondent) doesn't pay honoraries but publishes amazing articles on every worthy cause and is definitely evidence of the new media arriving. Ivan Zasursky shared his ideas on Russian journalistic features and his forthcoming projects with RussianMind.

How does it feel to be a journalist in Russia today?

Is it a challenge?IZ: The answer isn't as easy as yes or no. It all depends on the sphere you're operating in. So, my answer would be as follows: No, if you do lifestyle reporting and feature stories, that’s just easy fun in Russia. Yes, if you are into opposition politics and the Caucasian War which can be really dangerous and threatening in Russia.

How did you come up with an idea to launch

“Chaskor”? What is specific about the project? Did it have any prototype or is it unique?IZ: Technological developments have fostered new media appreciation. I have always wanted to be engaged in the process ever since I enrolled in Rambler back in 2001. It can be a challenge sometimes but anyway,

interactive media is exciting and social interactive media even more so!

I know you do not pay the contributors but still have

more than enough people writing for the magazine. Does that mean that you managed to introduce a new pattern to media business?IZ: It could be said so. It means that we've spent our money not only at the right time and place but managed to do it

in the correct manner and new authors are motivated by good company, our working atmosphere, mutual respect, comprehension and the highly-reputed and trusted image of our online magazine.

Are you planning to go on with a printed version or

not? Do you believe there is some future for printed media in Russia?IZ: I would love to do a printed version for advertising/promo

There are few people that work on the edge of theory and practice,

but Ivan Zasursky is definitely one of them.

Being a recognized journalist, researcher and

theorist of the media, he has headlined critical online projects in Russia;

created a department devoted to new media

in the Moscow State University; written

several books covering the interconnectedness

of politics and mass-media in Russia and worked in politics.

Ekaterina PETUKHOVA

Russian Media Future – View from the Inside

Founder of the online magazine “Chaskor” Ivan Zasursky

10 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Person

purposes, but costs seem to be prohibitive at the moment. But maybe we'll find enough corresponding advertising to support it this year, we'll see.

What is the best magazine/newspaper

today in your opinion? I mean can printed editions still compete and take over online magazines?IZ: There are certainly titans but unfortunately for Russia there are only a handful of them, albeit this contributes to “Chaskor’s” success. Vedomosti is the №1 newspaper, Kommersant occupies the second position and Nezavisimaya Gazeta – third.

You work a lot with young people and

students. Do Russian young guys differ from their peers in other countries? If so, in what way?IZ: Some are too spoiled, for instance, I know a VP of a large Internet company who has a Vladislav Surkov (the main ideologist of the Kremlin) picture posted on his wall and wants to go into politics later (this is amongst his most cherished

ideals). What can I say in this respect? In the US someone in politics would dream of becoming a VP in a thriving Internet business. See what I mean?

What could add value to the image of Russia

internationally? What should be promoted globally about Russia?

IZ: Nature. Language. Russian literature and emerging independent cinema: GenarationP and Shapito-show for instance.

You are one of the producers of Generation

P. The film was not really appreciated in Russia (although the film is amazing in my opinion), why did that happen?IZ: There were several factors which hindered the film from getting its deserved success in full. First of all, it was launched too late and with little promotion as the

distributor was appalled by how long it took to shoot and finish, and they didn't have faith in such a complicated, serious film. But it grossed 3 times more than the latest Nikita Mikhalkov’s film and will get a chance to be seen nationwide thanks to DVDs; 1st Channel purchased the rights to show it and pirate copies are abundant in our country.

What is "Russian Mind" to you?

IZ: Bleeding heart is the true Russian Mind.

Kommersant newspaper belongs to the press titans

There is a variety of printing press in Russia, but not many publications are really successful

Chastnyi Korrespondent

11№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

In the late 1940s a number of films were made that ascribed

victory not to the people but to the personal genius of Stalin himself, the most notable of these being Mikhail Chiaureli’s The Fall of Berlin, 1949. After the death of Stalin the hardship and heroism of ordinary Russians took centre stage in films such as Mikhail Kalatozov’s The Cranes Are Flying, 1957, which won the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, and Ballad of a Soldier, directed in 1959 by Grigorii Chukhrai and also the winner of several international awards. Both films show the war not as fought on the frontlines, but back home, with the suffering and hardship of family and loved ones to the fore. These films were also phenomenally popular in the Soviet Union, where film-goers only a decade and a half after the War had ended were openly encouraged to weep and grieve for those they had lost. The War had assumed a different focus: yes, the USSR had won the war, but at what a price.

In the 1960s and 1970s, as various anniversaries of the War came and went, monumental epics were produced to commemorate the Victory, such as Iurii Ozerov’s five-part, eight-hour

Liberation, 1968-1972, seen as a kind of War and Peace for the twentieth century, and Sergei Bondarchuk’s They Fought for the Motherland, 1975, an adaptation of Mikhail Sholokhov’s novel of that name. The War was once again seen in terms of heroism, bravery and resilience, the hardship of millions barely mentioned.

But in these films we can see some generic continuities. Firstly, the enemy is always depicted as an inhuman monster, therefore the rightness of the cause is never in doubt. This is most keenly shown in Elem Klimov’s 1986 film Come and See, with the

massacre of a whole village, including women and children. The Russian soldier is also a generic constant, brave and kindly, willing to give his all for the sake of the country, and his officers are usually kind-hearted, fatherly figures who look after their men. In other words, the ranks of the army are united, just as the country as a whole is united in its struggle.

In post-Soviet films this link between the army as an institution and the common soldier is broken, testifying to a symbolic fracture in the body politic. This is particularly evident in films that deal with recent conflicts,

The Second World War, or the Great Patriotic War

as it’s known in Russia, was the great defining moment for the Soviet state, a time when the survival of the country and even Russians as a

people was at stake. With victory over the Nazis came legitimization of the Soviet state, and

the great sacrifices and horrendous suffering of millions of ordinary people took second place and were used

above all for propaganda purposes. Thus was born

the Soviet war film.

The War Film and the New Patriotism

Sergei Bodrov’s Prisoner of the Mountains, 1996

David GILLESPIE

12 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Culture

such as the Chechen War. In Sergei Bodrov’s Prisoner of the Mountains, 1996, and Alexander Rogozhkin’s Checkpoint, 1998, the soldiers are effectively abandoned

in enemy territory by their superiors, who care nothing for them and use them as pawns in their games. Ivan in Alexei Balabanov’s War, 2002, takes matters into his own hands and fights the Chechens almost single-handedly, killing large numbers of them.

These are disturbing films because they are underpinned by the recognition that this is not a clear-cut war, there are no good guys and bad guys, and the Chechens are given faces and voices: their cause is heard. In Andrei Konchalovsky’s House of Fools, 2002, the Chechens are much more sympathetically portrayed than the Russian troops.

But there are no such uncertainties when the Great Patriotic War is revisited. The Germans remain the enemy. In Andrei Maliukov’s We Are From The Future, 2008, four

cynical young Russians are transported back in time to the War, where through fighting and comradeship they learn the true value of patriotism and honour. In the sequel, We Are From The Future 2, directed by Alexander Samokhvalov in 2010, two of the original cast are joined by two Ukrainian nationalists as they journey back in time to fight not only Nazis but Ukrainian separatists who are even more brutal. It is through the fire of war that the two Ukrainians learn the true value of Slavonic fraternity, so that when they are back in the twenty-first century they no longer speak Ukrainian to each other, but Russian. Whereas the first film shows that only through and fighting can young men find real purpose and meaning, its sequel is a clear warning to Ukraine not to extend its hand of friendship to the West too far.

Finally, Nikita Mikhalkov’s Burned by the Sun 2: What Lies Ahead, 2010, the most expensive film made in post-Soviet times, refers to several classic films of the genre as it shows all peoples and faiths of the Soviet Union fighting together, even elite cadets shoulder-to-shoulder with criminals and disgraced soldiers.

The Great Patriotic War has become big box-office in Russia, with big-budget special effects and a clear narrative for today’s young Russians on the value of heroism and patriotism. Unlike other more recent wars, with their lack of clear purpose and moral certainty, this War can be made relevant and valuable to the new generation, and contribute to a nation-building agenda endorsed by the government.

Sergei Bondarchuk’s They Fought for the Motherland, 1975

Nikita Mikhalkov’s Burned by the Sun 2: What Lies Ahead, 2010

Konchalovsky’s House of Fools, 2002

13№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

numerous, small towns further inland – with their monoscape of strip malls, fast food joints and SUV’s – and practically everyone over the age of thirty is obese or approaching it. California is one of the slimmer states, along with the East Coast states; blacks and Hispaniacs suffer more from obesity than whites and Asians, and women more so than men.

The UK is slightly better off than the US in this regard, but not by much (furthermore if Scotland was an independent country it would be the most obese in the world). Obesity is much less prevalent in Russia, albeit with two major caveats. First, many Russian women begin to fill out after the age of thirty or so (obesity even in older men is rare). Second, in recent years, the obesity problem has increased, and if current trends continue it may “catch up” with the Anglo-Saxon countries in another decade.

The US has a brilliant range of culinary cultures, as befits its “melting pot” society. Its ethnic dishes are sometimes even judged to be better than what’s done in their country of origin, since as they’re freed from the constraints of tradition, immigrant cooks can innovate or mix and match. I’m guilty of that myself, e.g. replacing the potatoes in Russian soups with tofu, and adding lemon and spices.

The Bay Area is especially good for Mexican, Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese. The UK is very strong on Indian food, due to the size of its diaspora, but like the US its range is global.

Ethnic cuisine is also present in Russia, though it’s mostly limited to food from Eurasian countries (an exception is Japanese – for in upper class circles, sushi has become something of a craze); the favourites are Georgian and Uzbek dishes.

The national cuisines of all three countries are plain – nothing fancy, as with French, or world-famous, as with Italian or Chinese – but filling. Though the US is, of course, best known for its fast McDonald’s food culture (burgers, fries, soft drinks, etc), it also has interesting regional cuisines.

The most famous is Southern cuisine, which is sweet, spicy, filling, tasty and unhealthy: it features rice; barbecues; a panoply of sauces; fried chicken; crawfish; “gumbo” stew; and a drink called swamp water (far better than its name suggests). The dish most native to California – to the extent that a California cuisine even exists, given its overwhelming tendency to

amalgamate global styles instead of generating original recipes – is heavily fish-based and includes the cioppino soup. If you ever get more seafood than you know what to do with, there’s a solution!

English cuisine is bland, boring, and filling. The more famous offerings include: The “English breakfast” (bacon, a sausage, fried eggs, a tomato, and black pudding); the “Sunday roast” (roast beef, potatoes, vegetables, gravy, and a bread-like cups called Yorkshire Pudding); cottage pie; shepherd’s pie. The best known dish, fish and chips, is actually Scottish. So, of course, is haggis; though the ingredients had better remain undisclosed, it is actually pretty delicious.

Russian cuisine is, IMO, one of the better ones in the non-global/plain category, featuring the famous borscht (beetroot soup), schi (cabbage soup), caviar served with buttered bread and vodka, etc. Over the centuries it has assimilated plenty of

The second part of my series comparing Russia,

Britain, and the US focuses on the people themselves. Here I am going to observe what the three nations eat

and drink.

What do they eat?

Everything in America is much sweeter and bigger, but mainly sweeter; sometimes uncomfortably so for a foreign palate. Though there is a rich selection of foods at both shops and restaurants, including healthy options, most Americans seem to prefer high-glycemic load foods such as burgers, fries, breaded chicken, etc. The unsurprising result is an obesity crisis, though the extent of it varies by state, race, and sex. In the health-conscious Bay Area, for instance, the majority of people are normal or slightly overweight; but go to the

The dish most native to California

is cioppino soupAnatoly KARLIN

National Cuisine

14 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

National Comparisons: USA, UK, Russia

influences from the Mongols, who know how to cook much better. In this way they got golubtsy (rice and meat lattice wrapped in cabbage leaves); pelmeny (meat dumplings served with sour cream); shashlyk (marinated meat that is barbecued). Also of note are vareniki (fruit or cheese dumplings); olivje and vinegret salads; etc. One Ukrainian dish that is popular through out Russia which I find disgusting but many others swear by is salo, or salted pork fat. More recognizable to Westerners is Chicken Kiev and Beef Stroganoff. While vodka is its most famous alcoholic drink, the medovukha (mead) and kvass (a low-alcohol fermented drink) are also appreciated.

The English like to drink their tea with milk. Russians look upon this with revulsion; they prefer lemon. They like lemon with coffee too, which is bewildering to Americans.

The Art of Drinking

Traditionally, vodka has accounted for the bulk of Russian alcohol consumption. There are many different types of vodka. Some of the best vodkas in Russia come from the Kristall factory in Belarus. There are some specifically themed ones, such as ones named after Kalashnikov and Putin (Putinka). One infamous variety is the hrenovuha, which is distilled

from horseradish; it is literally the most disgusting stuff I’ve ever tasted. There is an entire body of etiquette on vodka drinking in Russia, as well as folk wisdom on how to drink prodigious quantities of vodka – up to a 750ml bottle over an evening, even for non-alcoholics – without as much as getting a headache the next morning.

One such evening occasion is known as a pyanka, whereas multi-day binges are referred to as zapoi. Here are the main points from my article Zen and the Art of Vodka Drinking:

• Fill up your belly with fatty, starchy, salty foods, e.g. fried potatoes and onions, salads with mayonnaise, etc.

• Folk tradition when downing your shot involves blowing out through your nose, downing the shot and breathing in with your fist over your nose

• Eat things like salted cucumbers or pickles, sausage, oily fish like sprats, salo, etc. immediately after the shot. These are called zakuski (lit. something you “bite over”).

• When it’s your turn to make a toast, pour everyone their “fifty grams’, think up some noble idea to drink to (world peace, the

generosity and many other good qualities of the host, victory!, etc – creativity is encouraged) and announce it in as theatrical a manner as you can manage without overdoing it.

• Maintain a steady pace. If you’re getting buzzed way too

fast, start covering your glass with your hand for subsequent rounds.

• Drink water; don’t drink carbonated water; take a multi-vitamin before bed; drink a beer first thing on waking up!

Fun factoid: Vodka is nicknamed the “green serpent” in Russian. The name vodka itself is a diminutive of voda, which is water.

In recent years, beer has become much more popular; especially amongst the young, it is now the drink of choice. The most famous Russian beer brand is Baltika, though other domestic brands like Stary Melnik and Zhigulevskoye are popular. The most notable beers from the British Isles are the dark, bitter Irish brews of Guinness and Murphy’s (the former has a huge brewery in Dublin which has been in operation for almost 250 years; a popular tourist attraction, it has a museum

on the history of the drink). Some stereotypes are true, e.g. popular American beers are nothing to write home about. However, there are plenty of very good local breweries, which are sometimes attached to a single bar.

The British are big on beer and wine, with the young and lower class going for the

former; the more bourgeois elements preferring wine.

(Many Britons in the south actually drive over to France and buy a year’s worth, e.g. 100 bottles, of wine at a time; this is profitable, because whereas the average good-

quality bottle in the UK is priced at

£10-15, in France one can get them for as

low as £2. The difference adds up over many bottles

and besides you get a nice weekend break into the bargain). The hard drink of choice is whiskey; as is well known, Scotland is the centre of this industry. Its distilleries are major tourist attractions. The most famous Irish whiskey is the sweet Jameson, produced in Dublin.

In the US, alcohol consumption is much less prevalent than in either the UK or Russia; partly due to the 21 age thing, partly due to more conservative social mores. The most common whiskey in the US is the Jack Daniels blend.

As everywhere else, beer dominates at institutions of higher learning; in fact, many drinking games, such as beer pong – which even has national tournaments - originated at the fraternities. Over the entire population, there is a roughly an equal split between beer, wines, and spirits.

British “Sunday roast”

Russian pelmeny

15

National Comparisons: USA, UK, Russia

Believe It Or Not

Pleshcheyevo Lake, Yaroslavl region

Lake Pleshcheyevo is known for its thick milky fogs that tend to spring out abruptly. It is said that a fogbound person finds only one path and feels like someone is leading them up this path. While following it, the person sees weird things and after a while regains their senses to find themselves 15-20 km from the point where the fog caught them. Sometimes

people who go missing in the milky fog are looked for by a search party with tracker dogs – but then the missing just walk out of another side of the forest with a beatific smile.

There is another mystery on the bank of the lake: Sin-Kamen, or the Blue Stone – a pagan sacred stone which is believed to make wishes come true. In early XVII century the church buried the stone in a deep hole to suppress the pagan custom. However, after a couple of years the Stone peeked out of the ground.

Okunevo village and Shaitan Lake, Omsk region.

The village is known for its inhabitants of different faiths and beliefs, as well as its amazing history and nature. Okunevo stands on the Tara River that has the same name as the Goddess of Mercy in India and Tibet. According to archaeologists, the river bed was partly formed by a meteorite fragment impacting. Long ago this river was comparable to the Nile and the Ganges

in terms of its aquatic and geological significance. Explored near Okunevo are the ancient underground structures that are in some incomprehensible way connected to India. They are believed to be all that remains from an ancient temple. Satya-Sai-Baba, an Indian prophet, is convinced it was a temple of the great Indian healer, the monkey-god Hanuman. Also, the reason Omsk is called that name is because it was built by the OM River. OM is another word derived from Hinduism. The predominant religion of Siberia is Russian Orthodox, but the small village of Okunevo boasts the largest group of Hindus in all of Siberia.

Presumably, this area was affected by a meteorite. Pieces of the meteorite formed holes that were filled with water afterwards. This resulted in a system of lakes where water chemistry differs from a usual lake. Dozens of expeditions come to Okunevo yearly from all over the globe. Many are attracted by the unusual lake water. Taken from the source, it can stay over the years with no trace of spoiling and it preserves a fresh taste and smell. Often on the way to Okunevo people go astray, even though they use a compass and a map. Locals say there are days when it’s better to avoid going to the forest. If in the morning contrasting dark purple clouds crawl at the sky, even hunters stay at home. Various sources on the Internet state that Okunevo is a hot-spot for inexplicable lights in the sky, UFOs, unexplained sounds, drones, hums, unknown sound sources, "music out of nowhere", geomagnetic anomalies, shafts of light, apparitions.

Shaitan lake is located at the intersection of two faults and four lakes: Shuchye, Linevo, Danilovo and Urmannoe are located along a deep fault line, that stretches along the right bank of the Tara for tens of kilometers. According to legend, it’s necessary to find the fifth magical lake in this area, as water mixed from the five is a cure-all.

In the 19th century the Shaitan used to belong to the land owner Mosolov. As his bondmen sometimes

16

Russia in Detail

cut trees without his permission, Mosolov ordered punishments for them of swimming in the sinister lake (instead of penalties). The guilty was taken to the middle of the lake by boat and then forced to swim back on their own. The wood-felling stopped immediately, as people had sheer terror of the lake.

Nowadays the locals tell plenty of ominous stories and legends, however, certain peculiarities are scientifically recognized. For example, the existence of floating islands that can support several men. Also, water sometimes spouts up, the height of the fountain is up to 10 m.

Medveditskaya ridge

Medveditskaya ridge, a chain of hills in the Vologda region, is situated on a tectonic fault – this might be the reason it is one of the most powerful and unpredictable anomalous zones in Russia. Gigantic lightning is common and it is the second most fireball-intensive place in the world. Hundreds of witness statements report fireballs that appear regardless of the weather. Interestingly, they

severely damage trees but don’t hurt people. The trees appear to be burnt up from the roots, as if the electric discharge was coming from under the ground. The lightning tends to have the same route which matches the trajectory of underground tunnels (purpose and origin unknown). The tunnels are kilometers long and 7-20 m in diameter. Historical records prove that these caverns have been there for at least several centuries. Natural origin is doubtful due to their form – the tunnels are parallel, each straight as an arrow.

The local springlets are also unusual: there are ones with regular, distilled, or radioactive water. After the water from the latter was sent to Moscow for examination, an expert team swiftly arrived on site, as the compositional analysis indicated that the area had plentiful uranium ore deposits. However, no trace of the ore was found anywhere close.

Geophysical measurements detected a consistent pattern: the lightning mostly hit the areas above the underground tunnels and the larger the cavity, the stronger the electric discharge. According to one of the theories, the soil has reduced electrical resistance due to a hidden underground water source or metallic ore deposits. However, the graphs of magnetic field intensity present a consequence of regular, symmetrical lines. This means that the intensity increases several times and then rapidly falls

back to the initial level, and the fluctuations are as orderly as if the area had invisible electricity transmission lines.

Mountain of the Dead (Dyatlov Pass), northern Ural mountains

The Dyatlov Pass incident resulted in the deaths of 9 ski hikers on the night of February 2, 1959. It happened on the east shoulder of the mountain Kholat Syakhl (a Mansi name, meaning Mountain of the Dead). All members were experienced in long ski tours and mountain expeditions. The mountain pass has since been named after the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov.

Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot in heavy snow. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs and one was missing her tongue. The force required to cause such damage would have been extremely high – like a car crash, and could not have been caused by another human being. Notably, the bodies had no external wounds, as if they were crippled by a high level of pressure. There were no indications of other people nearby apart from the nine travellers on Kholat Syakhl, nor anyone in the surrounding areas.

According to sources, four of the victims' clothing contained substantial levels of radiation. There is no mention of this in contemporary documentation; it only appears in later documents. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused their deaths. Access to the area was barred to skiers and other adventurers for three years after the incident. The chronology of the incident remains unclear due to the lack of survivors.

There was evidence that the team was forced to leave the camp during the night, as they were sleeping. Though the temperature was very cold (around −25°C) with a storm blowing, the dead were dressed only partially. Some of them had only one shoe, while others had no shoes or wore only socks. Also, the tent was ripped open from within, so it looks like the people left the tent in a panic. Some reports state that they were found grey-haired, with a weird chestnut brown tan and terror depicted on their faces.

There is still much controversy surrounding the investigation. Some reports suggest that there

was a lot of scrap metal in the area, leading to speculation that the military had utilized the area secretly and might be engaged in a cover-up.

The aboriginal legend says that once 9 Mansi people were killed there then the place would be cursed. 10 years after the Dyatlov pass incident, 3 planes crashed there and several more groups of ski hikers have died. All these groups counted 9 members.

Kamchatka Death Valley

The Valley of Death is situated at the bottom of Kikhpinych Volcano. There is a version saying that local hunters were first to find the Valley in the early 1930`s. The hunters` dogs got lost in the area and later their dead bodies were found upstream in the Geysernaya River at the bottom of the Kikhpinych Volcano along with multiple corpses of other animals: gluttons, wolves, hares, etc. Although the hunters tried to leave the Valley as soon as possible, they experienced a sudden deterioration of health.

Multiple expeditions stampeded into the Kamchatka and tens of research-enthusiasts died trying to solve the mystery of the Valley of Death.

In 1975 two scientists - V. Kalyaev (zoologist) and V. Leonov (volcanist) - officially registered mass mortality of birds and animals there. Their research showed that in windless weather part of the valley was filled with a mixture of volcanic gases that consisted mainly of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. At the same time the scientists found an almost complete absence of

oxygen within a 1-metre height from the ground’s surface. This formed a kind of gas trap which killed the animals that happened to be there. In addition, only in 1982 the scientists ascertained that the volcanic gases also contained highly toxic cyanic compounds.

Apart from monitoring the area the scientists also examined the brook and removed the dead animal bodies as they attract predators and scavengers and therefore increase the chain of victims. The sanctuary staff undertake all work at the Valley using the toughest chemical protection measures.

It is known that there are similar valleys on other continents but they mainly cause deaths by carbon dioxide, while “hydrogen sulphide deaths” have only be found at Kamchatka.

17№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Summer HeatSummer Heat

Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine

№6(06) 14 - 27 July 201118

Photo Blog

Water park in Baku, Azerbaijan

kaZantip, an electronic dance music festival held every year in Crimea, Ukraine

Ibiza night club, Odessa, Ukraine

19№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Photo Blog

We used to work on a project with friends on how people dress

in various world cities. It was a kind of culture test – to find a genius location and show whether the global fashion industry still has local features. We’ve explored cities with a similar retail network saturation and living standards. The experiment had limitations as it became conditional and only Russian men could be distinguished by wearing socks with sandals. Russian residents are very similar not only to Europeans but to Americans in the way they dress. It is particularly visible amongst youngsters. Fashion blogs devoted to street wear contribute to the process. We could blame hipsters and all activity around them but they have encouraged youngsters to look fashionable by their own example. We should thank bloggers in particular for ending scaled naked-backs and other parts of the body exposed in summer and winter. Surely there are few quality blogs, some of them started as and still are just enthusiastically driven projects but they foster style perception and education. And that is what previous generations have lacked. Printed glossies are still enjoyed by a few, whilst Internet access is more and more widespread in Russia.

These blogs are often blamed for secondary character and mediocrity. Recently a new expression of making

a look came into practice, means having photos of you taken in all adequate and freakish circumstances to show your coolness and clothing. Sometimes it does look amusing but it is to acknowledge the true value of these processes will be assessed only with time. They teach lots of people style, fashion perception and interpretation. And despite their secondary character it’s unlikely any of the audience reading blogs and watching looks will go out wearing socks with sandals. And the crucial thing is it is not easy to make a blog, watching

Once a foreign acquaintance told me Russia was a country of jeans, after he was

reviewing photos of his trip to Russia. The story

happened a decade ago but, to tell you the truth, little has changed since then. Brands come and go, fashion titans such as Zara, H&M, Uniqlo penetrate the market, but watching around

you’ll see that jeans are still part of the essential

look of any Russian citizen. In general it is

no wonder in a country where Benetton is perceived as pretty expensive, it adores

cheap and affordable jeans that are a wear for

all occasions.

Ekaterina PETUKHOVA

Russia – Motherland for Jeans

20 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Fashion Insider

looks and picking up the best one, taking photos of people in the street and shooting videos. Bloggers are true fashion-lovers.

For this issue of RussianMind we have talked to one of the best street fashion blogs – slickwack.com. Julia US and Rudolph Ter-Oganezov, besides the rest, are a beautiful couple. These guys have gone a long way from a blog focusing on details and accessories in people’s apparel, to a full-fledged blog with video-looks and a special column for Russian Vogue. Now they tell us what is peculiar about Russian blogs:

Co-founder of fashion blog slickwalk.com

Rudolph Ter-Oganezov speaks out:

1. How long has slickwalk.com existed?

Our website has been working since May 2009.

2. How did you come up with the idea for this blog?

Most capitals used street fashion blogs and they got more and more interest around the world. We thought Moscow was no worse than the others and suggested there could be more and more coolly dressed people about. And we were right. In this way we wanted to make people realize they could not only watch foreign pictures but try new looks themselves.

3. What is special about it? As we had no positive local feature we

decided we needed something special to attract people from abroad. This special feature was horizontal pictures and focuses on details which nobody used to shoot before. Then we added video looks to our site which is not shot by anyone regularly till now, and then DIY publications. In a year we came up with a namesake blog on fashion events for the Russian Vogue website. Step by step slickwalk.com became our brand actively participating in various projects both local and international. We are now asked to give lectures, comment to media, called to shoot by designers and advertising agencies.

4. What is special about streetstyle in Russia?

The feature is that those who are strikingly dressed fall into one of two categories. The first is the people who are engaged in global trends and watching what is happening in the world, operating in a creative sphere and the like. And the second are those who have a chance to “live in advance” buying

stuff from the new collections. Local brands are unfortunately not at all influential. In this country people are more or less rational in buying stuff and the issue of price is sensitive. More attention is currently attached to accessories. And we hope slickwalk.com has a stake in this process.

5. Are bloggers influential in Russia?

We were one of the first people who started earning money with a fashion blog (Vogue.ru and then GQ.ru). Later when we got recognition and image, we were invited to activities, presentations, fashion shows and closed sales.

Now there are more and more bloggers. There are only a few good ones but there is a pool of those who are often invited somewhere to tell people of a brand hoping for a review or future cooperation. Today bloggers are expected to do much but in fact it is rather clumsy. They are only learning to write so you can hardly place them in photo reviews with celebrities just yet!

21№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Fashion Insider

Conflict Resolution

As a project manager or an organisational leader, you are responsible for maintaining a healthy

work environment. Conflict resolution skills are vital for a company’s

success and positive culture. Intervening in interpersonal conflicts in a respectful way will boost your confidence and make relationships

stronger. Build your conflict resolution skills

with these tips and techniques:

1 Acknowledge there is a conflict. Learn how to

deal with it; don’t avoid it. Interpersonal conflicts don’t go away by themselves. Even when the conflict seems to be resolved on the surface, it can rear at the worst possible moment if it hasn’t been dealt with properly.

2 When managing conflict, stay focused and in control.

Don’t let your emotions overwhelm you. You have to be able to stay non-judgemental. Staying in control

of your emotions will enable you to communicate without threatening or punishing. Be clear, calm and professional.

3 Speak to everyone involved at the same time. Gather

your employees together and hear everyone out. Don’t just listen to what is being said – try to hear the actual meaning and observe non-verbal body language.

4 Stay in touch with your own feelings. Emotional

awareness is one of the major keys to resolving conflicts. If you understand your own feelings and emotions, you will find it easier to connect to the feelings of other’s. Don’t just rely on rationality, always remember about strong emotions.

5 Stay motivated throughout the whole process of

conflict resolution. You are a role model for the others. If you show your employees that you are genuinely determined to resolve misunderstandings in a fair way, then they will be more willing to cooperate.

6 Pay attention to nonverbal communication. Observe

facial expressions, body posture, gestures and tone of voice. Understand what is not being said, what your employees actually feel, not just what they say.

7 Don’t laugh at other people, laugh with them. Humour

can take the tension and anger away. If you are finding it difficult to express your concerns in a serious manner, then bring some joy to the discussion. Use humour to turn conflicts into opportunities to build personal relationships.

8 Always remember that the main goal of the conflict

resolution is to strengthen the relationship, not to just win. Be willing to forgive and forget. If you are holding a grudge for an old misunderstanding, you will be judgemental, irrational and unfair.

9 Show your diplomatic skills – confidence, tact and maturity.

Don’t jump to quick conclusions. Know what to say and when. Respect everyone’s feelings and opinions. Try to maintain professional relationships throughout all the stages of the conflict resolution process.

10 Be willing to compromise and to negotiate

before, during and after. Separate people from the problem. Personal attacks are unacceptable. Agree on the common goal of the conflict resolution. Strong negotiation skills will help you come to a

mutual agreement, beneficial to all parties.

11 Choose your own conflict management approach.

Every conflict has a different nature, timescale and resources. Assess the scale of the conflict and adopt the most suitable approach to resolve an issue.

12 Remember that withdrawing from conflict

resolution is the worst tactic. You cannot just step aside and let your employees deal with the problem. You have to act as the mediator between the conflict and a successful resolution.

13 If the conflict cannot be resolved due to

various factors, which you cannot control, seek help from another authority figure in your organisation. Stay professional, realistic and rational at all times.

www.lifeskillsemporium.com

Tatiana IRODOVA

22 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Business Lunch

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10 Days in UkraineIn the summer of 2007, four of us decided to go to Ukraine on a road trip. All of us being students, we wanted to spend as little money as possible.

We had no idea how many memories and

stories we would bring back. One country, ten days, three cities, and time-travelling from

the present day back to the USSR and the hard

realities of life.

It all started with a twenty-four hour train journey from Moscow to Odessa. As the trip was the

day after my birthday we had a massive cheesecake with us. The train coupe was for the four of us, we had four beds, and loads of maps for the road trip. The day passed by incredibly fast. I have never travelled in an overnight train in Europe so I don’t know if it is the same thing, but in Russia, salespeople walk through the train and sell useless things nonstop. In the evening during a discussion we started a cake fight,

needless to say we never ate the cake, but it went everywhere, on our clothes, bags, sheets, floor, walls, etc. When we arrived at Odessa it stank and we were very sticky, first thing was a shower!

OdessaLiving wise this was the best place

where we stayed. One of our friends is from there so we stayed at his flat for two nights, he lived in the city centre with air conditioning and comfort. His parents were incredibly nice to us, cooked for us and took us out. Odessa is a very pleasant city with many

places to see. Being historically rich, Odessa was one of the main southern ports in the USSR. On our first full day he took us on the crash tourist tour of Odessa, to Potenkin stairs. This is where Eisenstein’s famous film was shot, on top of the stairs stands the statue for Duke Richelieu, the founder of the city, also there stands one of the most beautiful buildings in Europe, the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theatre. Then we walked to the (museum) with its odd baby sculpture at the front. We walked along the sea front, buzzing with cafes and restaurants, leading to the Teshin Most, the famous bridge where many come at their weddings to leave a lock with their names. Then we walked along the world famous Deribasovskaya Street, one of the oldest in Odessa, where there are many beer bars. The most notorious place in Odessa is Privoz, the massive market where one can buy absolutely anything. In the evening we went to Arcadia, a quarter mostly known for the palace constructed for the Tsar as a holiday

residence. It is now known as the party place of the city, this is where everyone comes for the clubs, everyday of the week the quarter is filled with party goers. Odessa is an incredibly fun city, if you speak the language, their peculiar way of their speech is an anecdote in itself. We went to the sea, Odessa has velour clean sea with beautiful beaches. Before going clubbing we went to the Odessa comedy club, situated on the beach, where the entertainers asked the audience for questions, I put my hand up, and they made fun of me...

LvivAfter leaving Odessa we drove to

Lviv, the capital of western Ukraine. We stayed at a hotel near the airport, by near I mean about a 100 meters away. If you have lived during the USSR period you would understand the following description of the room. It smelled of grandma. The furniture was made out of wood, waxed for extra shininess. The springs of the beds left marks on our bodies, nonetheless sleeping was

Ecaterina KILIAN

Odessa

Roof of the Odessa Opera and Ballet

Theatre

№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

CIS Travel Guide

comfortable. The cushions are what reminded me the most of my childhood summers in Uliyanovsk, they were rock hard and disturbingly big. Lviv is incredibly pretty, to describe it the most accurately as possible I would say it is Brugge meets Austria. The architecture is breathtaking, the people are nice as long as no one speaks Russian. All I can say is, that if once in your life you have the chance to go to Lviv, grab it.

KievWe went to Kiev for the last bit of

your trip. Our living situation could best be described, as I would tell my grandchildren, as being in the category of ‘this is how it used to be’. We were staying at student halls, for 50p a night per person. If anyone has ever seen a movie about an abandoned asylum or hospital, this is what the building looked like from the inside, just to set the mood. The flickering light in the corridors on the second floor showed a line of dead cockroaches in the corners. When we entered our room, I realized that I was incredibly lucky to live in a hole in London. There was one single bed and a bunk bed, the room was for three students, the size was laughable. There were carpets on the walls and the floor, but my guess is, it’s because it gets incredibly cold in the winter, it’s an isolation method. I am not very keen on anything that crawls. Me and my friends would try and stay out as late as possible so as not to come back to that room where our ‘friends’ the cockroaches were crawling on the walls and floor. Sleeping there was worse than a walk at night in a cemetery. Each room is en-suite. We arrived at the best time, in the summer, ex-USSR countries love to switch the hot water over to maintenance work, so we would shower in freezing yellow water. The toilet was abysmal, no better word for that. The pipes are small so no one is allowed to throw toilet paper down there, the bugs seemed to be the only ones who loved that. On the first evening, one of the girls who lived there gave me flowers, the next morning we

threw the bouquet out the window as the white lilies were brown and alive.

None of the above should really spoil the beauty that is Kiev. One of the days Alophey* took us on a tour of the city:

First of all we went to see the heart of the Orange Revolution – Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). It is impressively huge and busy, everyone was taking pictures near the big fountain in the middle of the square and we were no exception. Than we turned to the main street in the city – Khreschatyk, it has a variety of different shops and lovely cafes where you can sit outside and watch the crowd. During the week, huge amounts of traffic run through it, but on weekends the street is open only for pedestrians. After that we went across the Taras Shevchenko Boulevard which starts right at the Bessarabska Square and is perpendicular to Khreschatyk – where one of Kiev's few remaining Lenin statues is; a park named after the famous Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko; the beautiful red building of the Kiev Taras Shevchenko National University are located there. Than we turned around the corner onto the Volodymyrskaya Street, The Taras Shevchenko Opera and Ballet House; Golden Gate; Saint Sofia Cathedral and The National Museum of Ukrainian History are there.

To be honest after all the sightseeing, we were exhausted, there was one more place we needed to visit that day – Mariinsky Park. It is the central park of Kiev, a favoured place for the city dwellers and visitors. We went there despite weariness and no regret. Mariinsky Park is truly an embodied harmony with nature. In its large territory visitors can all find their own favourite private corners for reflection and relaxation. We bought some pancakes and comfortably rested on the grass. Strangely, I realized that no one else in the park was sitting on the grass, in this way Kiev differs from other European capitals.

The next day we caught up with Alophey for lunch. She took us to the Arena entertainment. It is a luxurious

complex for those who value time and prefer to spend it in comfort. Everybody finds this a place for the soul. We enjoyed our lunch sitting on the Мoёt&Chandon summer terrazzo, discussing our Ukrainian trip and I came to the conclusion… I would return to Kiev given any excuse, as it’s the capital and there is so much still to be discovered. The trip will be remembered

for ever. And if I had to do it over again, I would, because those are the youthful memories that anyone would kill for. No matter where and what, I learned that if the company is great anything can be amazing. The Ukrainian views are breathtaking which only added to the many stories I told on my return. * the names have been changed for privacy

reasons.

Independent Square, Kiev

Old Centre, Lviv

Kiev

Photographer: Victor Raskalov

25№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

CIS Travel Guide

And How Was It For You?

Expresses his look at Russians in UK.

Actually the question is the opposite. It should say "how do Londoners differ from foreigners?" It’s an awful question. It is like your wife saying "does my bum look big in this?" Or worse, your girlfriend asking, "honey do you prefer the red dress or the blue dress?" If you are already nodding in agreement, then you will know what this article is about. I promise, once you've finished it, you’ll want to go for a beer with me and together we can be like two wise men who understand the meaning of life.

The fact is, questions like this are bad news "cum laude" and the one thing I know for certain is that this article will offend somebody, so please let me apologise now. I am just a bystander, a disinterested voyeur, the messenger. It's not my fault!

The fact is, Russia has a bad press in London. If the Media is to be believed, either you guys are here to steal all our secrets, or you are here to buy our football clubs.

You can forget the former, I would be astonished if we have any secrets left, as at least twice a month, some politician or other goes and leaves his laptop on the train going home. All you have to do is hang around Victoria Station for a few days and sooner or later, one of these guys will turn up. You can always spot them as they are the ones leaving early.

With regards to the latter, all the main football clubs are already foreign owned.

True, the big spenders at Chelsea continue to blow money, but they are no better now than they were six years ago. So at some stage, you have to stop and say, “what is the point of all this?”

I have to say, I am confused. If this was, say, France, there would be no problem. There is a cultural umbilical cord between fin de siècle Paris and the bourgeoisie of Moscow that remains to this day. In my little village just outside Paris, where I used to live, there is a Russian cemetery. I really don't know why lots of Russians chose to die in this village. Apart from a pizzeria around the corner, it really doesn't have much going for it.

But there is no such cultural convergence d'idees, or meeting of minds, between London and Bigger Russia. It is as if the aliens from planet Zog have seen the growth of our banker’s bonuses and decided that this is the place where they want to inhabit. Yes, all Russians look like us Brits, but speak better English and know about Oyster cards; but they have also programmed into their iPhones the best places to get vodka shots and are still partying way after the rest of us have gone home to sleep.

In short, the single-mindedness of the Russian mentality, with their determination to succeed, worries us. The absolute conviction that money buys happiness, does not translate amongst enlightened Londoners. It is similar also to our suspicion of Americans who "make" money, but don't earn it.

We worry where human values have gone. Just as in "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers", are we going to wake up one day looking and behaving like them?

In some ways, I hope so. But the opposite is also true.

My friend is a super young Russian lady. We take coffee together and we have a metro sexual open relationship. We both have other ‘coffee partners’ and we are not jealous, it's cool! We discuss going to the opera, so now, I happen to know about opera and the structure and beauty of Mozart. This is no philosophical discussion. We talk about long dresses, limos and helicopters. I can't bring myself to say that the nearest helipad is five miles away and it's faster to get there by tube than taxi.

I keep saying to her..." Solnishko, just wear your jeans, they’re fine" and she says... "but sweetheart…does my bum look big in this?"

Richard BLOSS

26 №6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

L iving life is about making decisions which suit you and your

surroundings. With prosperity and wealth generation comes, the opportunities to try new and exciting products are available. Many of these decisions will re� ect your personality, your surroundings and your peer group. � ese same decisions will in� uence the way you live and the way you do business.

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Luxury Driving with Robinson Chau� eur ServiceLuxury Driving with Robinson Chau� eur ServiceBlog

L iving life is about making decisions which suit you and your

surroundings. With prosperity and wealth generation comes, the opportunities to try new and exciting products are available. Many of these decisions will re� ect your personality, your surroundings and your peer group. � ese same decisions will in� uence the way you live and the way you do business.

Let’s take food, for instance. We all come into this world with the same basic needs. With time, our palates develop, leading to a craving for more exotic � avours found in unique and extravagant restaurants. In London, there is a variety of venues such as Zuma, Nobu, Le Petite Maison and Hakasan where people from around the world come together for business or pleasure. Except they dine and savour and want to be seen. � ese venues allow us to show o� fashion trends like the latest clothing, shoes and jewellery from Bond Street. It is better to enjoy the public show by arriving in a luxury S Class Mercedes complete with smart and attentive chau� eur. � is is how the world's elite use their lifestyle decision to allow every day to be an indulgence.

For a luxury chau� eur driven service in and around London Robinson Chau� eur Services o� er a range of specialised Chau� eur services for discerning clients, including airport transfers and day and evening hire.

Whether you require our chau� eur service for business or pleasure, our experienced chau� eurs will be on hand to ensure your itinerary is completed in a timely, discreet and comfortable manner. For a luxury chau� eur service in and around London, Robinson Chau� eur Services o� er a range of specialised services for discerning clients with complete privacy and discretion assured at all times.

With over 20 years' experience, Robinson Chau� eur Services provide an exceptional Chau� eur driven experience second to none. Robinson Chau� eur Services are experienced in operating to complex itineraries and time

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Oligarchs can travel in Rolls Royce Phantoms, Indian millionaires in Maybachs and Greek businessmen in Bentleys. For successful business people the Mercedes S Class has been proven to be the world leader in luxury sedans. With the limo version, used as standard by RCS of London, you will surely enjoy the luxury while being driven by one of the � rst class chau� eurs.

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Luxury Driving with Robinson Chau� eur ServiceLuxury Driving with Robinson Chau� eur Service

A Song by the Name of Wimbledon

You never know what kind of weather there will

be at Wimbledon. Days of pouring rain switch

to languishing heat and back. However players get used to hours of stressful waiting and tennis fans

have adapted to putting up tents in seconds and stand in the rain under

umbrellas watching matches on the big screen on Henman hill. Whatever

happens, Wimbledon goes on. By the way,

Wimbledon is not only the name of the most famous

tennis competition, but also the name of the

locality, a western suburb of London. The local

church choir is also called Wimbledon. The winning

anthem of the 2011sample was performed by Petra

Kvitova and Novak Djokovic. Let us recall how

it was.

When father is a superman

Often the “tennis product” which we see is a result of parental effort. The father – daughter union turns out to be the most effective. Many fathers are coaching their daughters. Mixed doubles finalist Russian Elena Vesnina is training under the supervision of her father Sergey. He travels with his daughter and advises her double partners. Sergey was the first parent - manager in Russian tennis. When Elena started playing he sent her photos to potential sponsors and the Russian beauty who has not won a tournament got contrated by Adidas.

Quarter-finalist Sabine Lisicki is the second player in Wimbledon history to make it to the semi-finals after entering the tournament as a wildcard. In spite of the fact that the new hope of Germany lives in Florida and is training at Nick Bollettieri’s academy, she can be called a family girl. She does not have a boyfriend and her best friends are her father Dr. Richard and mother Elizabeth. It’s interesting that Sabine speaks German with her father and Polish with her mother.

Even though Sharapova’s father Yuri is not travelling with his daughter anymore (he was replaced by fiancé Sasha Vujacic), he guides the process from a distance and partially controls Maria’s finances. Maria reports on her career over the telephone, “even though my dad is not a tennis expert, it was the reason why I appreciated his help”, Sharapova said. "He understood that he did not know everything and that’s why he gathered together a team of specialists in their fields. Dad sacrificed a big part of his life and career for me. He never missed my workout, whether he was sick or did not want to go, or I was angry at him. He gave me a big part of his life”.

Thanks to their father and coach Richard Williams, both Venus and Serena

Williams have been World No.1 and multi-grand slam winners. Even now, when Venus is 31 and Serena is 29 years old Richard supports his daughters during all their Wimbledon matches. Unfortunately, there weren't so many this time – the sisters lost in the fourth round: Venus in a fight with Tsvetana Pironkova and Serena to Marion Bartoli. Interesting enough before Richard sat in another box with his young love mate to avoid sitting with his wife, now they all sit together and look like a big happy family.

The father of Russian Ksenia Pervak who was a Wimbledon sensation reaching the fourth round after beating German Andrea Petkovic, French Pauline Permentier and Israeli Shahar Peer, is also travelling with his daughter. Yuri, the former CEO of FC Spartak, a millionaire and an owner of a private jet, gave a great education to his daughter. Ksenia is a real fighter and achieves everything in her life by her own great efforts. She is an easy going person and loves to read and sing. Yuri and Ksenia stayed in Chelsea and in the car on her way to Wimbledon she was singing Russian pop songs to her father. “That is the way I get ready for my matches”, Ksenia said.

Sometimes serious conflicts occur between fathers and daughters. Marion Bartoli, during her stressful match with Italian Flavia Penneta, had driven her father Dr. Valter out of the court. After her French victory Marion and Valter reconciled with each other, father giving his beloved daughter a big hug. She thanked him for his patience and understanding. Still, Walter gave up his career as a doctor to become her full time coach.

Czech miracle

There is a tale that Anna Kurnikova after a defeat by Martina Hingis told the Swiss, “but I’m more beautiful than you!” We will not compare the appearances of the Wimbledon stars. All women are beautiful in a way. One thing is clear - Sharapova when she lost to Kvitova was not looking for any excuses. Of course Maria wanted to be the owner of the Wimbledon gold dish for a second time. She has won three Grand Slams to date. Her first title was won on the courts of the All-England Tennis Club in 2004, when Maria was only 17 years old. Now, 7 years later, it's another story. In spite of the fact that Maria had reached the final without conceding a set, her game with Petra was far from ideal. Serving was her weak point - the final saw her lose five of her eight service games and double-faulted six times. “Maybe I should play different tennis and modify my game to make Petra make a mistake? I will watch the recording of the game. I wonder what I did wrong?” Sharapova said.

Everyone who watched the women’s finals realized that Kvitova is not a rising star, but a present day hero. The fantastic speed that she offered her rival did not allow Sharapova to attack first. Not only her aggressive style, perfect fit and ball hitting is impressive, but also her self-reliance. It would seem

Anastasia GRISHCHENKO

Petra Kvitova - the champion of Wimbledon 2011

№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Sport

28

that playing in the final of a Grand Slam may cause emotional distress and loss of confidence, but it did not happen, Kvitova continued to maintain balance during the whole match. By the way, Petra is compared with her compatriot with the American passport, Martina Navratiolova who supported her in the final with another tennis legend from the Czech Republic and a former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna. Of course, left-handed Kvitova has this similarity with Martina, but she also brings modern tennis - relying on force and powerful shots from the baseline. Incidentally, the last time Navratilova won Wimbledon was in 1990, the same year Kvitova was born. Whether chance or not?

Kvitova was born in the small Czech town Fulnek with a population of six

thousand people and now seems to be the most famous person in her native land. They think she plays like Juan Martin Del Potro, a bionic Argentinean at six-feet tall who won US Open 2008, “or he plays like me”, Kvitova said.

Vujacic supports his beloved

He is called the discovery of Wimbledon and the most underestimated part of the tournament. It seems to be that the audience forgot about tennis players and discussed Sharapova’s fiancé. During the women’s final the name of Slovenian basketball player Sasha Vujacic was the most mentioned on Twitter and other online resources. Vujacic became simultaneously the

most hated and the most admired person while supporting his beloved.

People were jealous of him, blamed him for Maria’s defeat, envied him. Some people plunged into philosophical reflections, which sounded like a compliment: «Which of the Slovenians is the most important for tennis today, Katerina Srebotnik or Sasha Vujacic?» or like an insult: «The secret of Sasha Vujacicis popularity, is how to make people talk about you? Start a relationship with a girl who is better at sport than you”. There are innovative suggestions: «TV should start a SashaCam, a feed which would show New Jersey Nets player Sasha Vujacic watching, reacting and wincing his way through the match. It’s so funny!”

He is blamed for indecent behaviour, because in London spectators are emotionally restrained in showing their fan’s sympathy: “Vujacic, stop it! You look out of place here. It’s awkward”. He is admired and called the best boyfriend ever: “Watching Vujacic crying and trembling is awesome! I have never seen Sasha worried about something like this!”

Newspapers took a selection of pictures of “How Sasha supports Maria”. There are lots of famous shots, for example after the quarter-final match

Sasha puts a finger to his temple. There is a different interpretation, whether he is advising Maria to think quicker, or tells that he had a hard time watching the match? Or another shot, Sasha jumps with joy or kisses the ring (the engagement ring, I suppose?). People did no remain indifferent: ‘Vujacic behaves as if he has won the lottery!” or “Sasha is nearly crying, it's probably one of the most exciting moments at Wimbledon”. "Did Vujacic lower himself to cheerleader?" Interested fans, fearing for his health, asked: “Do something, he'll explode!”

There is no doubt Sasha loves Maria. He can support her the way he likes. As a professional sportsman he understands how hard it is to get a victory and how painful it may be if you lose. Staying with Maria for half a year, attending all her training sessions and matches he knows better than anybody how much she wanted to come back after injury, surgery and a long period of recovery.

Read the continuation in the next issue of RussianMind:

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Prince William and Kate Middleton…

Wimbledon central court

Wimbledon village after the matches

29№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

Sport

XXXRussian Investing - Where in the World Is It Happening?

Fighting corruption. Improving the country’s investment climate. These have been among the Russian government’s economic priorities in recent years.

Meanwhile, the challenging investment landscape has forced Russian investment money to go elsewhere. Between 2008 and 2010, an estimated £143 billion in capital exited the country. With all of this capital in transit, the question arises: Where in the world are Russians setting up their foreign investments? And what is motivating those choices?

The Trust Industry and Investing

The Trust industry is one that helps individuals and organisations to find the appropriate locales for investments. As such, it is Trust professionals and their colleagues who collect market intelligence on the world’s most efficient investment landscapes.

In deciding where in the world to safeguard assets, the classic decision is: Does one choose offshore or onshore? Historically, some offshore centres have presented less regulation of investments - and the potential for higher returns - but more

risk. Onshore environments have typically been more regulated and safer, with the accompanying lower return.

In the wake of the financial crisis, the onshore versus offshore decision - as with many other financial choices - is being steered by investors.

What Investors Want NowEvidence indicates that

Russian investors - and indeed the majority of investors at large - are preferring the more regulated onshore environments like the U.K. and Luxembourg. In a recent industry survey by Deutsche Bank, for example, a resounding 55 percent of alternative-fund investors voiced their preference for onshore locales.

One iconic example of the market’s current thinking is that of Russian-owned Renaissance Asset Managers. This year, the firm moved significant funds from the Cayman Islands to Luxembourg, a longstanding onshore location. Indeed, Renaissance cited investor pressure as motivating the move.

Governments are also trending towards onshore investing because of its greater transparency. Commenting in the Financial Times, European banking executive Georges Bock

attributed the onshore trend to “political pressure to adopt standards acceptable in today’s world.”

Expert Investment Perspective: United Trust

United Trust is a multinational financial services company organised around helping investors succeed. For decades, the financial professionals now at United Trust have demonstrated a clear preference for onshore investing in most contexts.

“Our group believes that this migration to onshore is inevitable - and welcome,” says Robert Stroeve, United’s Chief Executive Officer. “In general, onshore environments are simply more stable. The risks involved in offshore investments are often undernarrated. Modern investors want the stability - the reliability - that onshore investment offers.”

Onshore Investing in the U.K.

As the onshore trend gathers momentum, governments are becoming more and more foreign-investment friendly. The U.K authorities are a key example. According to United Trust’s Alex Smotlak, the U.K. has shaped its immigration laws to attract international investors. And, for

individuals who reside in the U.K. but are not domiciled there, the authorities are proposing to allow foreign income and gains into the country (under certain conditions) without incurring taxes. In essence, many onshore locations are now offering benefits similar to those of their offshore cousins.

United’s Marianna Nezhivaya confirms the trend - and the pragmatism that supports it: “Many people are coming onshore, and coming to the U.K. in particular, to make their businesses more transparent, more diversified, and better positioned to raise capital.”

United Trust is a modern financial services company established in 2006. We help ensure that investments - both onshore and offshore - are properly structured and administered. Collaborating with our clients’ other advisors - lawyers, tax professionals, and accountants - is part of our role.

Please visit www.united-itrust.com Feel free to contact Alex Smotlak or Marianna Nezhivaya at +44(0) 20 7535 1070 with any questions.

Jobs

Team assistant – CEECompany: CitiLocation: UKPosition Type: PermanentEmployment type: Full time

Job Purpose: To provide seamless administrative assistance to the Regional Director (RD) in CEE & Russia region, Sales Heads (SH) of CEE and Russia as well as the sales force in the Region. Job Background/context: Citi International Personal Bank is the preferred centre in EMEA for the provision of International Expatriate Banking and International Wealth Management for clients who wish to hold a proportion of their wealth outside the country where they reside. This role involves servicing the needs of the Regional Director, Sales Heads and sales force, reporting to a Regional Director. Close co-ordination is required with other functions within Citi IPB. Key relationships include CD&A, Marketing and Finance. Regular interfaces with Sales, Service Support, and Operations. The business of Offshore Investments & Banking is heavily regulated; all activities to attain objectives must be carried out in accordance with both internal and external regulations and controls

Russian Private Equity CEOCompany: SBI Holdings, Inc.Location: Russian FederationPosition Type: PermanentEmployment type: Full time

We are seeking the services of a CEO who will act as the Fund Manager as well as to operate a Private Equity Fund. The Fund will focus on investing in private equity projects with the potential of rapid growth. The Fund Management Company of the Fund is a joint venture company between SBI Holdings, Inc., a global financial conglomerate headquartered in Japan, and its Russian partner, one of the leading Russian financial companies.

EMEA SalesCompany: Riversdale ConsultingLocation: UK-LondonPosition Type: PermanentEmployment type: Full time

We are currently seeking highly successful institutional Sales Executives to join our client – a multinational top tier firm within financial markets. This opportunity offers a lot of training and career prospects at an international level.

Energy Project Finance TraineeCompany: Société Générale - UKLocation: UK-LondonPosition Type: Internships & Graduate TraineeEmployment type: Full time

Energy Project Finance is a core business for SGCIB, in which it is a leading player. For the last 20 years, SGCIB has been advising and lending to multi-billion energy sector projects.

Trainees as well as Analysts assist in the origination and execution of project finance debt advisory and arranging roles across a number of sectors including: thermal power generation; renewable; biofuels; refining; LNG; oil & gas pipelines and petrochemicals. They also assist senior members of the team in marketing and other general activities. The candidate will be working in a demanding environment with varied challenges. The role requires an individual who has a strong interest in the energy industry and finance.

Trainee Investment Banking - Russia CIS CoverageCompany: Société Générale - UKLocation: UK-LondonPosition Type: ContractEmployment type: Full time

Servicing the Coverage team for Russia/CIS clients in the London platform as a Trainee.

Main responsibilities: As an Investment Banking Intern you will work directly with the Coverage team in charge of Russia & CIS clients from the bank’s UK platform. You will work to support both origination and execution across a range of corporate & investment banking products. In this context, you will also be in charge of liaising with (product) experts typically based in London and Paris in the dedicated SG Business Lines.

The Investment Banking Intern carries out a wide variety of tasks, including financial statement analysis; financial modelling; company and industry research and preparation of client presentations, deal memoranda etc, both in the context of the origination and execution of transactions:

• Help to prepare client pitches• Do company and industry analyses and prepare company

and industry profiles• Participate to the implementation of transactions• Provide and report client information internally

To apply for the vacancies or to find out more visit: www.russianmind.com/jobs

31№6(06) 14 - 27 July 2011

XXXRussian Investing - Where in the World Is It Happening?

Fighting corruption. Improving the country’s investment climate. These have been among the Russian government’s economic priorities in recent years.

Meanwhile, the challenging investment landscape has forced Russian investment money to go elsewhere. Between 2008 and 2010, an estimated £143 billion in capital exited the country. With all of this capital in transit, the question arises: Where in the world are Russians setting up their foreign investments? And what is motivating those choices?

The Trust Industry and Investing

The Trust industry is one that helps individuals and organisations to find the appropriate locales for investments. As such, it is Trust professionals and their colleagues who collect market intelligence on the world’s most efficient investment landscapes.

In deciding where in the world to safeguard assets, the classic decision is: Does one choose offshore or onshore? Historically, some offshore centres have presented less regulation of investments - and the potential for higher returns - but more

risk. Onshore environments have typically been more regulated and safer, with the accompanying lower return.

In the wake of the financial crisis, the onshore versus offshore decision - as with many other financial choices - is being steered by investors.

What Investors Want NowEvidence indicates that

Russian investors - and indeed the majority of investors at large - are preferring the more regulated onshore environments like the U.K. and Luxembourg. In a recent industry survey by Deutsche Bank, for example, a resounding 55 percent of alternative-fund investors voiced their preference for onshore locales.

One iconic example of the market’s current thinking is that of Russian-owned Renaissance Asset Managers. This year, the firm moved significant funds from the Cayman Islands to Luxembourg, a longstanding onshore location. Indeed, Renaissance cited investor pressure as motivating the move.

Governments are also trending towards onshore investing because of its greater transparency. Commenting in the Financial Times, European banking executive Georges Bock

attributed the onshore trend to “political pressure to adopt standards acceptable in today’s world.”

Expert Investment Perspective: United Trust

United Trust is a multinational financial services company organised around helping investors succeed. For decades, the financial professionals now at United Trust have demonstrated a clear preference for onshore investing in most contexts.

“Our group believes that this migration to onshore is inevitable - and welcome,” says Robert Stroeve, United’s Chief Executive Officer. “In general, onshore environments are simply more stable. The risks involved in offshore investments are often undernarrated. Modern investors want the stability - the reliability - that onshore investment offers.”

Onshore Investing in the U.K.

As the onshore trend gathers momentum, governments are becoming more and more foreign-investment friendly. The U.K authorities are a key example. According to United Trust’s Alex Smotlak, the U.K. has shaped its immigration laws to attract international investors. And, for

individuals who reside in the U.K. but are not domiciled there, the authorities are proposing to allow foreign income and gains into the country (under certain conditions) without incurring taxes. In essence, many onshore locations are now offering benefits similar to those of their offshore cousins.

United’s Marianna Nezhivaya confirms the trend - and the pragmatism that supports it: “Many people are coming onshore, and coming to the U.K. in particular, to make their businesses more transparent, more diversified, and better positioned to raise capital.”

United Trust is a modern financial services company established in 2006. We help ensure that investments - both onshore and offshore - are properly structured and administered. Collaborating with our clients’ other advisors - lawyers, tax professionals, and accountants - is part of our role.

Please visit www.united-itrust.com Feel free to contact Alex Smotlak or Marianna Nezhivaya at +44(0) 20 7535 1070 with any questions.

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