the East

From window cleaning to mobile phone empire

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Kaliningrad: A home alone

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

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Distributed with

Tandems Britain’s government in many ways now reflects that of Russia’s with its dual leadership

Two heads better than one?

As Britain goes from a two- party system to a twin-party leadership, can David Cameron unite his conservative values with Nick Clegg’s liberalism in the British version of Russia’s double-headed eagle?

DMITRY VARNAVIN

SPECIAL TO RN

Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin have shown the merit of their political alliance over the last two years

For the last two years, Brit- ain has been puzzling over how comfortable Russia re- ally is with two men in charge of the country. Now the Brit- ish people themselves have a chance to find out about the nature of a “tandem” arrange- ment in government. In Russia, Vladimir Putin rep- resents the values of the older generation, not too distant from the traditional values of David Cameron’s Tories, but with a Russian twist. These include strong govern- ment, the preservation of po- litical traditions and a cau- tious approach to applying European models of devel- opment to Russia. Mr Putin isn’t afraid of European in- tegration, but he represents the significant portion of so- ciety that is sceptical about applying European models of development to Russia. Putin and Cameron both rep- resent the idea of “moderni- sation in accordance with na- tional traditions”. Dmitry Medvedev, on the other hand, said during the first EU-Rus- sia summit of his presidency in Samara: “I’m not afraid of European integration.” He therefore provides a bal- ance to Putin’s caution in his

Sport Russian football dragged into corruption row – but this time it’s England fearing the worst

World Cup fever

A recent scandal in Britain is drawing much attention to Russia’s ambitious bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

COMBINED REPORTS

IRINA FILATOVA, ANDY POTTS

A secretly taped conversa- tion involving the head of England’s Football Associa- tion – whose rival bid for the games is seen as Russia’s most difficult opponent – featured a claim that Spain and Russia would collude in match-fixing at this year’s tournament in South Africa

if the Spanish stepped aside in the race to host the 2018 finals. Lord Triesman, whose com- ments appeared in the Brit- ish national press, has re- signed as chairman of England’s bid while the FA has sent letters of apology to Moscow and Madrid. But that is unlikely to be enough to undo the damage that Triesman’s comments will have caused the English bid. And with the battle to be Eu- rope’s next host likely to be- come a straight fight between

England and Russia, that could be enough to tip the scales in favour of the Rus- sian Football Union.

Russia’s ‘remarkable’ bid

Russia submitted its bid for the World Cup, putting for- ward proposals for a tourna- ment held in 13 cities in Eu- ropean Russia. Ambitiously, the scheme in- volves building almost every stadium from scratch – at present only Moscow’s Luzh- niki is up to the required standard, although facilities under construction for the

EPSILON

Medvedev on common threats

Viewpoint President separates WWII victory from Stalin

With a paper calling for improved relations with the West allegedly leaked from the Russian foreign ministry, commentators are asking if a major shift in foreign policy is on the horizon.

ARTEM ZAGORODNOV

RUSSIA NOW

Dmitry Medvedev made clear that the Russian government does not support resurrecting Joseph Stalin’s memory in any way

Experts are questioning whether recent statements by president Dmitry Medvedev – and the allegedly leaked paper – mean a shift in pri-

orities is taking place. In an interview with the Russian daily Izvestia, Medvedev drew a clear line between what was accomplished 65 years ago and Joseph Stalin, the then- supreme commander of the Soviet army. “It was our peo- ple who won the war, not Sta- lin… A great number of peo- ple paid with their lives for this victory,” he said. “Stalin committed many crimes against his people [and] we cannot pardon him,” he

added. The interview prompt- ed leading opposition journal- ist Matvei Gonapolsky to com- ment: “Until 2012, I will live in a country, which… rejects Stalin. I am in accord with the state regarding Stalin.” Medvedev also stressed the common threat of “countries seeking nuclear weapons [who] threaten the world with a big nuclear stick” and spoke of the need to “work out agreements with our main partners”.

The president used the op- portunity to pitch his idea of a “new European security structure”, initially proposed years ago. “Had we had effective insti- tutions for European secu- rity, we could have definite- ly avoided the events of August 2008,” he said, refer- ring to the Georgian war.

For the full interview, go to

www.rbth.ru

The Ukraine’s

TURN TO PAGE 6

gas-for-base swap

Yanukovych’s gamble

relations with Europe, just as Nick Clegg will balance Cam- eron’s Euroscepticism Medvedev also speaks a lot about human rights and in- dividual freedom, as does the Lib Dem leader. Elsewhere, it will be intrigu- ing to see how the Cameron- Clegg duet reflects the Medvedev-Putin double act. In the Ukraine dispute, the Russian leaders’ traditional roles were reversed, the “soft- er” Medvedev becoming the tough guy who refused to ne- gotiate with then-president Viktor Yushchenko. Putin, meanwhile, built bridges with prime minister Yulia Tymosh- enko. After the Georgian war in August 2008, Putin led the effort to rebuild South Osse- tia and build ties with the existing governments (and the opposition in Georgia), while Medvedev explained to the outside world why his course of action was neces- sary. It is this interchangea- bility that has made Medvedev and Putin such a formidable partnership. With Cameron and Clegg, it is a time for waiting and see- ing. But there is much that they can learn from their near counterparts in Russia, de- spite the differences in the two political systems. And the consensus in Russia is that two into one will go… with careful nurturing and some very clever juggling of different abilities.

SEE PAGE 7

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have yet to be tested in a climate dominated by party politics

NEWS IN BRIEF

Moscow cuts red tape on visas to usher in more foreign workers

Companies hiring foreign specialists to work in Russia will no longer have to obtain quo- tas for work permits and visas or corporate permits to hire foreigners, nor will they have to submit diplomas proving candidates’ qual- ifications, according to a law that president Dmitry Medvedev has signed. The new rules apply only if the employer is Russian or the local branch of a foreign company, and the employee’s annual earn- ings must be at least 2m roubles (£45,000). Work permits and visas will be valid up to three years, up from the present maximum of one year. With the new laws is in place, Russia will, according to auditing firm Ernst & Young, “go from having one of the least welcom- ing to one of the most positive immigration systems in the world for top talent”.

£10.5bn plan for ski resorts in Caucasus

President Dmitry Medvedev hopes to strike gold by building five ski resorts in the North Caucasus that rival the best Aus- trian resorts by 2020. The resorts could face problems attract- ing tourists reluctant to visit a region plagued by political unrest. But Rostislav Murzagulov, managing part- ner with project consultant Agitpro, indi- cated that the Kremlin saw the resorts as an opportunity to improve the lives of lo- cals – thereby discouraging separatism and the accompanying violence.

Medvedev wants home-made limo

ITAR-TASS

The tiny Russian region at the heart of Europe

Looking for partnership with the West

Kremlin’s new foreign policy

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The Vodafone of

2013 Olympiade in Kazan and 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi are also part of the grand plan. And it would introduce first- class venues to a number of cities with little tradition of top-flight football – includ- ing Kaliningrad, Yaroslavl, Saransk and Sochi. The work required to deliver this bid contrasts sharply with England's proposals, which are centred on exist- ing, world-famous stadiums including Wembley, Old Traf- ford and Anfield. But Fifa president Sepp Blat- ter, who described England's bid as “the easiest in the world” to support, said Rus- sia’s proposals were “remark- able”.

Good for business

Hosting the football World Cup finals in 2018 or 2022 will boost the development

EPSILON

President Dmitry Medvedev wants to swap his Mercedes-Benz for a Russian-made car and is examining the possibility of renew- ing the production of limousines at Soviet- era carmaker ZiL. Despite the government’s efforts to save the country’s ailing car in- dustry, Mr Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin – like much of the country’s political elite – use German-made limou- sines. “We are always ready for new work,” a ZiL spokesman told RIA-Novosti.

Moscow’s Luzhniki Sta- dium is cur- rently the only one in the country that meets all interna- tional criteria

All materials based on articles appearing in

The Moscow Times

of Russia’s sport and tourist infrastructure, first deputy prime minister Igor Shuval- ov said. “These are immense oppor- tunities for business… That’s what we call associated in-

frastructure – hotels, city in- frastructure,” Shuvalov said at the presentation of Rus- sia’s bid to host the football tournament.

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