McDonald’s Moscow Restaurant Reopens After 3-Month Shutdown | Johnson's Russia List

McDonald’s Moscow Restaurant Reopens After 3-Month Shutdown | Johnson's Russia List

Historian discovers Cold War-era Russian spy map of Sunderland

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/all-news/historian-discovers-cold-war-era-russian-spy-map-of-sunderland-1-6956843

Russian Language Notes: Костёр

Костёр = Bonfire

I love it when you find out something about your own language when you are studying another language.  I'm sure I knew that the word bonfire was originally a fire in which bones were burned, coming from came from Middle English banefire (late 15c.), but I must have forgotten this fact long ago.  So when I came across the Russian word for a bonfire, kostyor, noticing "kost" - the Russian the word for bone, I got that Eureka moment spotting the cognate.

http://bouncermangel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/latin-primer.html

http://blog.therussiahouse.net/2013/03/russian-language-notes-hot-dogs.html
http://blog.therussiahouse.net/2013/07/its-better-to-see-once-than-hear.html

Ukraine PM: Evidence of Russian Interference in Ukraine Elections

Evil Empire interfering in Ukraine's Parliamentary Elections

Prize tit, Arseny Yatsenyuk - Ukraine's Prime Minister, is already blaming Russia for interfering in this Sunday's parliamentary elections, not sure how thought, unless he is thinking of the wrong Evil Empire.

Pushkin Square buskers 1993

One way Muscovites keep warm in mid-Winter is to dance in the street.  Although it was January when I took this picture, it was unseasonably warm - about null gradusov (zero degrees) but the damp weather still chilled to the bone.  What better way to stave off the chill than to dance along to a jazz quintet!

Me - too miserable to take part in the dancing

Ten McDonald’s Restaurants Closed in Russia

As a result of the mass unscheduled inspections by Russia's public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, the work of 10 McDonald's restaurants in Russia has been temporarily suspended. On the face of it, the restaurants have been closed because they failed these hygiene inspections, but it is suspected that it is part of Russia's response to Western sanctions that have been imposed.

McDonald's has 451 restaurants in Russia. Since August, Russian consumer protection officials have carried out over 200 safety inspections at various McDonald's premises throughout the country. Even the flagship McDonald's on Pushkin Square in Moscow has fallen victim to these failed inspections.  

Moscow’s first McDonald’s, the first one in Russia or the Soviet Union, was the largest McDonald’s in the world when it opened on Pushkin Square, 31st January 1990.   On that opening day, there was a line of customers of snaking around Pushkin Square. 30,000 customers were served during the restaurant's first day of business, a record for the opening day of a McDonald's restaurant.  The queues to get in would exist for quite some time after the opening, because at the time, it was one of the few places in Moscow where you could dine informally, in comfort, relatively cheaply, and where you would be served quickly by friendly staff. Oh, and it had the best toilets in Moscow!

I went in 1993, and while there weren't any queues to get it, it was still very busy.

View of Pushkin Square from inside McDonald's

Pushkin Autumn

Following my recent post about National Poetry Day  http://blog.therussiahouse.net/2014/10/national-poetry-day-think-of-poem.html, her are some more passages from Pushkin's Autumn courtesy of the Moscow Times. Quote for the day, or #ЦитатаДня from The Moscow Times

Every autumn I blossom anew; the Russian cold is good for my health.

Alexsandr Pushkin

October has come. The grove is already shaking the last leave from its naked branches.

Alexsandr Pushkin

ComicCon Russia

The Exhibition "ComicCon Russia" was held in Moscow last week, at the exhibition complexCrocus Expo.  Should it not have been held here instead . . .or am I living in the past?

Old COMECON building, Novy Arbat, Moscow

National Poetry Day - Think of A Poem

Today, in the UK, it is National Poetry Day.  This year’s theme is "Remember", so if you remember a poem, however short, you are encouraged to pass it on with hashtag #thinkofapoem. 

I caught the end of an article on the radio this morning where someone was extolling the virtues of memorising poetry - in terms of improving memory skills and helping those with dementia. Listeners of the show were encouraged to get involved and post some lines of of poetry they are able to recite from memory. 

Apparently, once you have commited something to memory, a poem for example, it is likely that you will remember it for years - even when the rest of your faculties have diminished.  There is something to be said for rote learning, but it has been out of faviour in the education system for 40 odd years now, because it is said that it doesn't promote critical learning and true understanding.  Supporters of rote learning would claim, however, if you know something off by heart, you are able to devote more mental resources to the critical thinking.

I don't know, but I did feel slightly ashamed that I am not able to recite a single poem.  I can, however, cite a couple of lines from Pushkin's poem Autumn - in Russian as well.

Here is the lines from the poem which I have transliterated and translated.

lyeko i radostno igrayet v sertstye krov

- lightly and joyfully the blood in my heart plays 

zhelaniya keepyat - ya snova schastliv, molod,

- desire seethes, I am again happy, youthful

ya snova zhizni poln - takov ma-ee arganeezm

- I am again full of life - such is my nature (organism)

I'm no translator, so I apologise if I have got that wrong.  This is just a few lines from a long peom by Pushkin which is an ode to the autumn season.

First General Richards, now Paddy Pantsdown

What's going on?  First we have General Richards, former UK army chief, calling for a rapprochement with Russia and expressing pro-Russian views, now Paddy Pantsdown is at it!  Sorry Lord Ashdown, but you will be forever known by your classic Sun-headline-based moniker (well, by me, at least).

Former marine, Lord Ashdown, states in the Times today, Tuesday 30th September 2014, that "Russia is an essential ally in the fight against jihadism. The alternative is a global religious war".  He acknowledges that "Sunni jihadism is roaring away in the Russian Islamic republics of Dagestan and Chechnya, almost as much as in Iraq and Syria. We in Europe may be concerned about jihadis returning from the battlefield. But Russia is one of the battlefields." 

Putin has been saying this for years - since the first war in Chechnya in 1994 - and long before 9/11.  It's about time the west, especially Obama and the US administration, acknowledged this and stopped with their ridiculous policy of sanctions and ostracism against Russia.

Former General supports Russian position over Crimea

Last week's Sunday Times, 28 September 2014, contains an interview with one of Britain’s former top soldiers, General David Richards, who retired last year.  The article was essentially discussing the crisis in Iraq and Syria, and Friday's vote in the House of Commons to commit the UK's armed forces to airstrikes against the terrorist group ISIL in Iraq, but in it he expresses some refreshingly honest, and accurate views on Russia, which run counter to the prevailing Russophobia in the western press.

General Richards outlines his solution to the crisis, which includes, among many other things, some kind of arrangement with Russia - their assistance in tackling Islamic terrorism is crucial.  But he does on to express some pro-Russian views in respect of the events in the Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea.  In respect of Crimea, he refers to the annexation as Putin's "cleverly executed plan".   

“I don’t want to sound an apologist for Russia, but think Falklands, think Cuba, and you begin to understand what Russia feels about Ukraine.....it’s been a part of their country for hundreds of years." In respect of Crimea, he refers to the annexation as Putin's "cleverly executed plan" 

I do tend to think that you are on dodgy ground when you try to establish borders and rights to territory on the basis of a arbitrarily selected point in time (or a point in time chosen to support your case), especially in the case of historically contested territory and fluctuating borders of nation states, kingdoms, princedoms, tribes.  However, General Richards goes on to state:

"Crimea is Russian. The Russians, British and French went to war over Crimea 170 years ago. The idea that Crimea was ever going to be allowed by Russians to be part of Ukraine, or a Ukraine that was hostile, was cloud-cuckoo-land. And from a purely military sense, it was a rather cleverly executed plan."

On the events Ukraine, he expresses a more honest opinion than you usually read in the western press; he asks:

"are we really certain those protesters in the early days were properly representative of the majority of Ukraine? There were certainly some dodgy elements, and a president who was democratically elected was kicked out, however much you don’t like him."

He goes on to express his worry, which I believe is quite an honest assessment of western actions in Ukraine, Georgia, Syria and elsewhere: we get involved, we give encouragement, moral support, but we don't follow through; we keep encouraging people to get to the top of the hill but don't do enough to get them there. Perhaps like Sisyphus in Greek mythology: as a punishment for chronic deceitfulness, Sysyphus is compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever.

Russia's opposition to action against Syria

Up until a few months ago I thought that ISIS was just a pub along Silksworth Row in Sunderland.  It turns out that an Islamic extremist group of that name has emerged which is more barbaric than Al Quaeda.  It is a well-armed, well-organised and well-funded terrorist organisations intent on creating an Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and has variously been called ISIS, IS and now ISIL.  Whatever it is, it's not a state and it's not Islamic.  

Russia has been warning the west for years - long before 9/11 - about the rise of Islamic extremism, having experienced it on its own soil.  The Russian position has consistently been to ask who would govern Syria if Assad is deposed, and to point out that by arming the rebels, you fuel Islamic extremist groups, making matters worse. Whatever Russia's motivation and allegiance are in this, it is nevertheless a reasonable question to ask.

I have previously viewed Russia's support for Assad, and both Russia and China's opposition to intervention and the military action against Assad's murderous regime, to be morally reprehensible, self-serving, obstructionist and realpolitik at its worst; but, given the rapid rise of this radical terrorist organisation, comprising circa 30,000 fighters from Syrian rebel groups, the Russian position seems remarkably prescient and sensible.  

There is now talk in some western circles about engaging in dialogue with Assad with a view to assisting him crush these rebels.  There was the meeting of foreign ministers this week, which included Russia's Sergei Lavrov, on the pressing need to do something about the ISIS/IS/ISIL. On the news this morning, I heard that the US was taking military action to protect Syria's border.  

What's going on?  Its just like the shifting alliances in the perpetual war depicted in Orwell's novel "1984".

Prince Andrei Kurbsky letter to Ivan the Terrible

"To the Tsar, exalted by God, who formerly appeared most illustrious but has now been found to be the opposite! May you, o Tsar, understand this with your leprous conscience .... You have persecuted me most bitterly; you have destroyed your royal servants and spilled the blood of innocent martyrs ... You have answered my love with hatred, good with evil, and my blood - spilt for you - cries out against you to The Lord God!"

Taken from the excellent book by Martin Sixsmith: Russia A 1000 year Chronicle of the Wild East, which I am currently reading.  I'm only up to Chapter 8, but what I've read so far is fascinating - and it seems there are so many historical parallels with Putin's Russia in respect of his return to authoritarianism, centralised authority, powerful state whose interests must be place higher than the individual, immense power concentrated in the hands of one individual; and the manipulation and control of oligarchs.  

The quote above is from a Prince who fell foul of the Tsar Ivan the Terrible and corresponded with the Tsar while in exile.  I liked this quote not because of its relevance to modern Russia but because it has some personal resonance for any loyal, hard-working employee who has suffered from a capricious, bullying, incompetent, unstable boss bent on destroying their career.

12 Faces of President Putin - Calendar 2002

Here is something from the archives, for all those Kremlinologists, Putinologists, amateur psychologists and so-called experts on Russia: extracts of a 2002 calendar featuring the 12 faces of President Putin.

His myriad of facial expressions no doubt provide a huge source of information for Western security analysts, but I've often wondered whether he deploys them consciously and purposefully to manipulate his interlocutors or to provide disinformation for analysts.  The bored, petulant schoolboy look is Obama's favourite (http://blog.therussiahouse.net/2013/09/putin-is-tosser.html)

The calendar was based on some paintings made early in Putin's first term as President when his popularity ratings were, as now, "sky high".



The scanned images here were originally published in The Times with, I think, the following: "The most sought-after Christmas present in the Kremlin this year is a 2002 calendar featuring the 12 faces of President Putin.

Although criticised by some Russians for placing restrictions on the media, and for getting too close to the United States too fast, he has sky-high popularity ratings and is widely admired for restoring national pride in the nearly two years since he took over from Boris Yeltsin. Unlike Mr Yeltsin, who, despite his defence of democracy, eventually became a figure of fun for his chaotic and sometimes drunken management of post-Communist Russia, Mr Putin is seen as upright, with a skilful and assured touch on foreign affairs and the economy.

The calendar reflects a growing campaign to show that he is not only a strong leader or vozhd in the Russian tradition —both Tsarist and Communist — but that he also has a human side that belies his image as a hard-faced former KGB agent.

The pictures, painted by Dmitri Vrubel and Viktoria Timofeeyeva, a husband and wife team, were not officially commissioned by the Kremlin and were based on photographs rather than sittings.

Mr Vrubel said that this was deliberate because they wanted to pin down certain expressions and match them to months, whereas when a subject sat for a portrait their expression kept changing. Mrs Timofeeyeva said: "In the end I felt we were painting a friend or a neighbour, not a leader who inspires fear."

The paintings had unofficial approval and were being bought by Kremlin officials for their offices and to give as gifts, Mr Vrubel said. A senior official has given the calendar to Mr Putin, together with the original oil painting of the December portrait. which shows the Russian leader in a thoughtful pose. "He apparently liked it very much" Mr Vrubel said. The President’s office has also bought the original of the calendar’s cover portrait— in effect, a thirteenth pose — which shows Mr Putin, a former judo champion, sitting cross-legged in his judo clothing.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta noted that the calendar was in contrast to the idealised pictures of Mr Putin available in Moscow bookshops, which were a throwback to the airbrushed portraits of Soviet times.

THE "manly chest" of President Putin, exposed in a judo pose was proving popular with many women, Viktona Timofeeyeva, who painted the studies with her husband, Dmitri Vrubel, said. She said that many women found Mr Putin attractive, particularly in the calendar’s cover portrait, which went on display at an exhibition that opened in central Moscow."

Peter Hitchens on Flight MH17 Tragedy

Peter Hitchens has got this spot on.  The EU and NATO stir up trouble in the Ukraine (and other places as well e.g. Georgia) then walk away when things get difficult. The causal link is more EU than Putin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2698652/PETER-HITCHENS-Mourn-victims-dont-turn-one-tragedy-global-catastrophe.html

"Those who began the current war in Ukraine – the direct cause of the frightful murder of so many innocents on Flight MH17 on Thursday – really have no excuse.

There is no doubt about who they were. In any war, the aggressor is the one who makes the first move into neutral or disputed territory.

And that aggressor was the European Union."

The Mendeleyev Journal: Russian citizens honour the memory of Malaysian flight MH17 victims

http://russianreport.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/russian-citizens-honour-the-memory-of-malaysian-flight-mh17-victims/

Photo exhibition - The Side Gallery Newcastle

Tucked away up an alleyway off Newcastle's quayside, The Side Gallery & Cinema truly is a hidden gem.  I don't come here often enough, despite the fact that I run past here most days.  When out for a run today, I was passing here and remembered I had seen an advert for their current exhibiution " LEGACY: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, & The Caucasus", so I decided to pop in for a look.  

The exhibition runs until Sunday 20 July 2014 - so only a few days left!

It is an exhibition of photos by a number of photgraphers: George Georgiou, Lucia Ganieva, Mila Teshaieva, Rafal Milach, Justyna Mielnikiewicz, Donald Weber, Olga Kravets, Maria Morina, Oksana Yushko, Alexander Chekmenev; and covers  the former Soviet Union republics and their "Struggles for independence and identity take place against the intensifying backdrop of a geo-political battle between Russia and European Union. Through a series of imaginative landscapes the exhibition explores shared histories, isolation and engagement, tradition and the desire for modernity"

https://www.facebook.com/SideGallery/

http://www.amber-online.com/sections/side-gallery/pages/current-exhibition

25 Years ago - Congress of Peoples Deputies created

Andrei Sakharov  - the congress's most famous deputy - calls for a multi-party system

Gorbachev's attempt at constitutional reform was the creation of the Congress of Peoples' Deputies of the Soviet Union in 1989.  750 deputies were elected to this new body - intended to comprise the Supreme Soviet - on 26 March 1989, with the first congress taking place over June and July of that year.  Although it was intended to separate the Communist Party from the state, the composition of the body (with allocation of seats to public organisations - the Communist Party, Komsomol, Trade Unions, Academy of Sciences etc) was designed to ensure the Communist Party remained the leading force in this new state body.  At the December session of the twice-yearly congress, Gorbachev berated nuclear physicist and human rights campaigner Andrei Sakharov in a televised debate in which Sakharov was demanding a true multi-party system.

Soviet Space Shuttle, Buran, Moves to All Russian Exhibition Centre

The life-sized prototype of the Buran spaceship — the Soviet's copy of the Space Shuttle was moved from Moscow's Gorky Park to the All-Russian Exhibition Centre (formerly VDNKh) which has been getting a bit of a face lift of late.

http://blog.therussiahouse.net/2013/11/buran-triumph-and-tragedy-of-russian.html
http://blog.therussiahouse.net/2014/04/vdnkh-moscows-economic-achievements.html
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/monument-to-soviet-space-program-put-out-to-pasture-in-moscows-vdnkh/503050.html

Best of 1950s Soviet Design Exhibition - London

It's Time for a Grand Housewarming' 

THE GALLERY FOR RUSSIAN ARTS & DESIGN (GRAD) in London (3-4a Little Portland Street London W1W 7JB) has an exhibition on at the moment about Soviet design in the 1950s onwards.  This is the blurb from their website.

WORK AND PLAY BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN

20 JUNE — 24 AUGUST 2014
FREE ENTRY

Curated by ELENA SUDAKOVA and ALEXANDRA CHIRIAC
Exhibition design by CALUM STORRIE and KATYA SIVERS

Photographs by ROMAN SUSLOV and SSK PHOTOGRAPHY

Work and Play Behind the Iron Curtain brings together over fifty key objects featuring the quirky, colourful and often charming design style that emerged from the 1950s in the Soviet Union. 

http://www.grad-london.com/whatson/