Perestroika: 25 years on

Mikhail Gorbachev on his tenure and the future

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Privatisation tsunami

A second wave of denationalisation

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This eight-page pull-out is produced and published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russia), which takes sole responsibility for the contents

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

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Terrorism Twin suicide bombs strike metro during morning peak, killing at least 38

Under attack: terror grips Moscow

NEWS IN BRIEF

Russian fi rms to help restore HMS Belfast

Three Russian companies – OPK, Severstal and Sovcomfl ot – will support the restora- tion of the HMS Belfast. The Royal Navy light cruiser is the sole surviving ship from the Arctic convoys that supplied Russia dur- ing the war. It is now permanently moored on the Thames. OPK, Severstal and Sovcom- fl ot pledged money on the same day that Rus- sian commemorative medals were awarded to 15 former sailors on the HMS Belfast. The Arctic Convoy Medals mark the 65th anni- versary of the end of World War II, and were presented by the chief of the President’s Di- rectorate of State Decorations Vladimir Os- ipov, and the Russian ambassador in Lon- don, Yuri Fedotov.

Nureyev gala night in London

VLADIMIR FERORENKO_RIA NOVOSTI

Two women suicide bombers killed at least 38 people and injured dozens of others in attacks on Moscow metro during yesterday’s rush hour.

ARTEM ZAGORODNOV BEN ARIS

RUSSIA NOW

The fi rst blast hit the Luby- anka metro station at about 8am, killing 12 people and in- juring a dozen more. A second blast went off 45 minutes later at the crowded Park Kultury metro station where another 26 were reported killed and several dozen were injured.

The attack is a renewed and brutal awakening to the con- fl icts, insurgency and grind- ing poverty in the Caucasus after a period of relative calm. But there were warning signs: In 2009, clashes between the government and militants in- creased in Dagestan, Ingush- etia and Chechnya.

AFP

The question now is if these bombings mark the start of a renewed period of terrorism. The last terrorist act was in 2009, when a bomb derailed the Nevsky express train heading from Moscow to St Petersburg. Twenty six peo- ple were killed and about 100 wounded.

Russians and Muscovites are now wondering what will fol- low yesterday’s deadly at- tacks. The fear is that the un- rest and Muslim insurgency in southern Russia would once again move into the country’s city streets.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

VLADIMIR FERORENKO_RIA NOVOSTI

Carnage in the city: a woman cries at the site of a terrorist bomb attack at the Lubyanka metro station in the heart of Moscow. Two women suicide bombers blew themselves up on packed metro trains during the height of Moscow’s morning rush hour at stations close to the ex- KGB headquarters and Gorky Park. Emergency rescue crews had to recover bodies and treat dozens of injured survivors, many of them in a critical condition.

The London Coliseum hosted a celebration of the genius of dancer Rudolf Nureyev at a gala night on March 21. It was organised by Ensemble Productions but, as director Olga Balakleets put it, “it would not be possible without dedicated Russian supporters such as Alfa Bank, the government of Tatarstan and the Kazan city municipality”. Tatarstan’s capital Kazan – where Nureyev had his roots – has been holding its own Rudolf Nureyev Classical Ballet festivals for many years. The dancer died in 1993.

Police reform: citizens have their say

Technology The Kremlin plans to spearhead its modernisation drive with a new hi-tech hub

Green light for ‘Silicon’ science

Tycoon Viktor Vekselberg has been chosen to manage Skolkovo, Russia’s equivalent of Silicon Valley, to be built near Moscow.

SERGEI BORISOV

RUSSIA TODAY

Plans continue apace for the construction of a new science and technology facility at Skolkovo outside Moscow. Last week, president Dmitry Medvedev appointed tycoon Viktor Vekselberg manager of the hi-tech research and pro- duction project. Mr Vekselberg will be called on to apply his business acu- men to the creation of the re- search centre that is to focus on energy, information tech- nology, communication, bio- medical research and nuclear technology.

It has been dubbed the “Rus- sian Silicon Valley” and will provide Russia’s fi rst dedicat- ed platform for innovation in information technology, ac- cording to Vladimir Surkov, the first deputy head of the presidential administration, who is overseeing the crea- tion of the project. Mr Vekselberg’s appointment indicates that Mr Medvedev wants the research centre to be developed by the Russian private sector. The president announced the project in Feb- ruary as part of his moderni- sation policy for the country. It is hoped that Skolkovo will attract prominent Russian and foreign scientists and businessmen. Ukrainian-born Vekselberg, 52, chairman of the board of directors of the Renova Group of Companies, who is esti-

tion centre will take five to seven years, he announced. Mr Vekselberg, 52, has been an asset management com- pany, since its founding in 1990. It operates in gas, oil, metallurgy, energy and nan- otechnology. Renova has several ideas for research centres in Russia, in- cluding one on solar energy, according to Vedomosti. It is possible that some of these projects will be transferred to Skolkovo.

mated to be Russia’s 23rd richest man, believes that this ambitious project will be suc- cessful if international com- panies participate in it. The task to create a self-sufficient hi-tech research and produc-

Skolkovo hopes to im- mitate the success of other global technology hubs

One of the main tasks for Mr Vekselberg as head of the Russian version of Silicon Valley, will be choosing a for- eign co-chairman. The fi nal decision will be taken by the government and the presi- dential administration. The science and technology centre will be constructed on 370 hectares near the Skolk-

ovo business school outside Moscow.

As the state allocates money, private companies should come forward, and not only Russian ones, writes news website gazeta.ru. According to Dmitry Abzal- ov, analyst for the Centre for Political Conjuncture, Mr Vekselberg will be responsi- ble for fi nding such compa- nies, and building an effective mechanism for selecting and working with innovation projects, linking research with production. “If Vekselberg manages to solve these tasks effectively, Skolkovo may start working as an autonomous body with- out the participation of the state,” Mr Abzalov said. “We will see the fi rst results of his work by the summer or au- tumn of 2010.”

RIA NOVOSTI

The plan for Skolkovo was laid out by Mr Surkov in an interview with Vedomosti in February, and is part of Mr Medvedev’s overall moderni- sation programme. “The ap- pearance of great ideas, like life itself, is still considered a miracle,” he said. “There are, of course, no mir- acle workers among bureau- crats and businessmen, but together we need to create an environment where miracles are possible”.

The main task of the Russian Silicon Valley is not “to de- stroy the raw material indus- try, but to be able to create new, breakthrough things that other countries do not have”, believes Konstantin Si- monov, director of the Na- tional Energy Security Fund. “It does not matter which in- dustry these breakthroughs will concern.” People involved in innova- tions “should be admired in this country”, and Skolkovo should demonstrate that the state is ready to create special conditions for them, he added.

Will Moscow ever marry Nato?

It may sound silly, but never say never

P.06

Following a series of scandals concerning the Russian police force, minister for the in- terior Rashid Nurgaliev has announced broad-ranging reforms that include reduc- ing staff, raising pay and a series of anti-cor- ruption measures. In a radio interview last week, Nurgaliev emphasised the importance of citizens’ in- volvement in the development of the new “Police Law”, and said that work would be fi nished on the project this spring. There will be a website on which citizens will be able to leave suggestions and com- ments. (See Press Review, page 7.)

IN THIS ISSUE

OPINION

Exodus Russians abandon city life in favour of tranquillity

In search of paradise

Tired of city life, Russians are increasingly taking time out in Goa – and some aren’t going home. But now India has increased visa restrictions in an attempt to curb the influx.

ANNA NEMTSOVA

SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW

Five years ago, Yulia Solo- vyeva’s life was like that of any other young profes-

sional coming from the provinces to Moscow in search of a career. Mornings began with a quick cup of coffee in a tiny rented room, a walk through slushy streets to the metro, car- riages packed with tired faces, and on to the office where she worked as an in- terpreter. “I felt like I lived in a cage,” says Solovyeva, relaxing in her Goa home, legs folded

into the lotus position. “We smoked cigarette after cig- arette in constant stress; I could never imagine rais- ing children in that aggres- sive Moscow environ- ment.” And so, like thousands of other restless young Rus- sians unhappy with city life, she headed to the Indi- an state of Goa in search of shanti – inner peace. The Russian exodus to Goa has

become a trend, and many are moving there for good. Cheap daily charter fl ights are now carrying thousands of Russians to the former Portuguese colony famous for its beaches and laid- back mood that have been popular with British ravers and drop-outs for decades. The allure of India has even spawned a best-seller in

Russia, The Goa Syndrome,

a book about living and working in Goa by Alexan- der Sukhochev – also known as DJ Sa Shanti, a resident of the Indian state since 2003.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

ITAR-TASS

Medvedev in power

Two years on, assessing his

March 30 is a day of mourning in Moscow to commemorate the victims of the blasts that ripped through Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations.

presidential career

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANDREY STENIN_RIA NOVOSTI

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