Ukraine The New Arena For Russia-West Stand-Off: PAGES 2-3

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the contents. rbth.com

P 8-9
Sevastopol
Its historical significance
for Russians
P 5
Crimean Tatars: their history and why
they fear living under Moscow's rule
The Tatars' perspective
P 2-7
The root causes of the
conflict examined
Ukraine in crisis
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Ukraine the
new arena for
Russia-West
stand-off
PLAYERS IN THE UKRAINIAN
CONFLICT DISAGREE OVER
GENEVA AGREEMENTS
PAGES 2-3
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Commercial insert
02 RUSSIA BEYOND THE HEADLINES
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MOST READ WHAT RUSSIAN BLOGGERS THINK ABOUT UKRAINE
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IN BRIEF
The construction of a con-
tamination shield at the
damaged Chernobyl nucle-
ar power plant could be de-
layed because of the politi-
cal crisis in Ukraine, the
CEO of aid agency Cherno-
byl Children International
(CCI) said.
Work on the shield was
due to be completed by Oc-
tober 2015, but political tur-
bulence and lack of will
from Kiev has cast doubt
on the projects future.
Russia will build a network
of naval facilities in its Arc-
tic territories to host war-
ships and submarines as
part of a plan to boost pro-
tection of the countrys in-
terests and borders in the
region, Russian President
Vladimir Putin said in April.
The military also plans to
form a new strategic mili-
tary command in the Arc-
tic by the end of this year.
Regional unrest
stalls Chernobyl
Arctic defence
Russia will block all at-
tempts to distort or deviate
from the Geneva agree-
ments, according to Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov.
We will insist on them
being respected, he said
during a Commonwealth of
Independent States youth
diplomats forum.
It is simply untrue to
claim that the Geneva
agreements give legitimacy
to the authorities in Kiev,
and that Russia must there-
fore take the frst steps to
de-escalate the crisis.
US propaganda has
always aimed to... distort
the picture of what is hap-
pening in Ukraine, smear-
ing the Russian Federation
and smearing those who
who have protested against
the illegitimate actions of
powers trying to ban the
Russian language. he
added.
Russia to stand
by the Geneva
agreements
DARYA LYUBINSKAYA
SPECIAL TO RBTH
Only a few days after
Russia and Ukraine signed
the Geneva Accord, each
side is accusing the
other of violating it.
itants, saying it showed the
profound consequences of the
Kiev authoritiesreluctance to
disarm extremists.
Moscow insists on the strict
adherence from the Ukrain-
ian side to commitments to
de-escalate the situation in
the south-east of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said that the
Geneva agreements are not
being adhered to, primarily
by those who seized power
in Kiev. There are no dead-
lines for Ukraine mentioned
in the Geneva accord on
The accusations stemmed
from the situation in Slavy-
ansk, where an attack by un-
identifed men at one of the
roadblocks ended with at least
three local residents dead. The
Russian Foreign Ministry
called the incident a provo-
cation by Right Sectormil-
federalisation supporters to
release illegally occupied
premises, unblock roads, and
the surrender of weapons to
prevent any bloodshed,as
stipulated by the Geneva
accord.
Against this backdrop, the
leaders of the pro-Russian
peoples militia in Slavyansk
stated that they would not
surrender their weapons until
Right Sectormilitants and
other radical nationalist
groups that support the gov-
ernment in Kiev were dis-
armed.
Fatal Slavyansk attack puts pressure on new accord
Diplomacy Accusations fly between Moscow and Kiev over alleged violations of the Geneva agreements
terms, but measures should
be taken urgently,the min-
ister said. The gunning down
of unarmed men on Easter
night is an egregious act.
According to Lavrov, all in-
dications are that the Kiev
authorities cannot or do not
want to control the extrem-
ists, and attacks by armed
militants in the south-east of
Ukraine indicate their desire
to provoke civil war.
Ukraines Foreign Ministry
issued a statement in reply,
in which it called the Rus-
sian Foreign Ministry fnd-
ings hastyand groundless
and reported that the author-
ities had already begun in-
vestigating the attack on the
checkpoint in Slavyansk.
Kiev again demanded the
Russian side provide all the
necessary influence on
The pro-Russian
militia in Slavyansk
stated that they
would not surrender
their weapons.
PAVEL BYKOV, GEVORG MIRZAYAN
EXPERT MAGAZINE
Negotiations in Geneva have
given Ukrainian politicians
the chance to preserve a
single, unified country. For
Russia, the agreements were
a major achievement.
Geneva accord provides a
basis for political resolution
Talks The challenge will be to ensure that the surprise success has not come too late
First, the Geneva agreements
transform the Ukrainian cri-
sis from a confrontational sit-
uation into a political pro-
cess. In this sense, it can be
compared to the Medvedev-
Sarkozy plan, concluded after
the Russian-Georgian War in
August 2008.
Second, the nature of the
conditions included in the
agreements does not allow it
to be used solely for putting
pressure on the south and east
of Ukraine.
Like most such documents,
the Geneva statement is not
entirely unambiguous and is
open to interpretation, de-
pending on the interests of
the reader.
The West may demand (and
it has already) that Russia
promote disarmament of the
Donetsk separatists, and
Russia may point to the need
to disarm militants of the
Right Sector and other
groups.
Third, and most important-
ly, the agreements gives
Ukraine the chance to remain
a single, unified country.
Whether Ukraine will be pre-
served now depends on two
factors: whether the current
Kiev government will be able
to curb the radical national-
ists, and whether Kiev will
be able to agree on a new
format of relations with
pro-federalist minded regions
in the south and east of the
country.
In general, the success of
the Geneva talks was a sur-
prise, since most commenta-
tors did not expect any pos-
itive results from them at all.
The fact that the agreements
were reached despite such
differences might be because
negotiations between the top
diplomats of Russia, Ukraine,
the US and the EU lasted for
seven hours.
The text of the commu-
nique specifies the need to
start the negotiation process
on constitutional reforms
with the wide participation
of Ukrainian regions. Fur-
thermore, it says, all illegal
armed groups must be dis-
The Geneva
talks were
successful,
despite
observers
saying the
situation was
already too
serious for
anything to
be achieved.
The Geneva
agreements
provide a
potential
basis for
peace and
order to be
restored in
Ukraine.
armed and all administrative
buildings returned to their
rightful owners. Amnesty
must be given to all protest-
ers, except those who have
committed serious crimes.
Finally, the communique
said, in Geneva we agreed
that all parties must refrain
from all forms of coercion and
intimidation, refrain from
provocative actions, and we
strongly condemn and reject
all manifestations of extrem-
ism, racism, and religious in-
tolerance, including anti-
Semitism.
The job of monitoring com-
pliance with these agree-
ments was assigned to the
OSCE (Organisation for Se-
curity and Co-operation in
Europe), which is already op-
erating in Ukraine.
Experts doubt that all
seven hours were used by the
parties to discuss just these
points: it is believed that
along with the communique,
a secret agreement was
signed.
However, just the signed
agreements are going to be
challenging to implement for
the authorities in Kiev. For
example, Moscow required
Kiev to sign a commitment
to work on the disarmament
of the Right Sector.
Another important aspect
of the agreement was a com-
mitment to release several ac-
tivists detained by Kiev. Of
course, the Ukrainian side
may declare these people
were involved in serious
crime, but this will be diffi-
cult to prove.
Furthermore, Moscow will
be able also to demand the
freeing of Berkut men,
blamed by the current Kiev
authorities, without any
proof, for the shootings of ac-
tivists on the Maidan.
Finally, this communique
buys Moscow time. Now eve-
ryone knows that time is on
the federalists side. The
Ukrainian Army in the south-
east of the country is disin-
tegrating and the authorities
in Kiev are losing legitimacy
in the eyes of the population:
Ukraine is heading towards
economic collapse.
Therefore, as time goes on,
it will become more and more
clear to Kiev that it faces a
dilemma: maintain its
loyalty to Washington at all
costs, and as a result lose the
country, or begin to negoti-
ate with the regions and with
Moscow.
As for the relations be-
tween Russia and the West
more broadly, this last turn
in the Ukrainian crisis the
worsening of the situation in
the east and the Geneva talks
allows various conclusions
to be drawn.
Russia was fnally able to
communicate that behaving
in the way the West did and
espousing the rhetoric that
it did about this region, as if
Russia did not exist when its
vital interests were being se-
riously affected, was simply
not going to work for Russia.
Politically, the US and Eu-
rope have an established ap-
proach in relation to Russia:
it is a fading power which
sooner or later will collapse;
it has no alternative but a dis-
enfranchised integration into
the European space; and it
can do nothing to prevent the
expansion of the Wests po-
litical infuence.
So during the Ukrainian
crisis, when Russia essential-
ly showed that it saw little
value in its relationship with
the West, it came as more than
a surprise to the US and EU.
THE US IS DIRECTING
ACTIONS OF THE
AUTHORITIES IN
KIEV, SAYS LAVROV
rbth.com/36133
THE KIEV GOVERNMENT
URGES MOSCOW TO
COMPLY WITH THE
GENEVA ACCORD
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LAVROV SAYS THE US AND
EU ARE TRYING TO
FOMENT A 'COLOURED
REVOLUTION' IN UKRAINE
rbth.com/36172
HOT TOPIC
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PHOTOSHOT/VOSTOCK-PHOTO
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A NEW FOREIGN-POLICY ERA FOR RUSSIA
rbth.com/35393 Politics
Pyotr
Kremnyev
DOCTOR OF LAW
of International Law of 1970
and the Helsinki Final Act of
1975.
In regard to the situation
in Crimea, it is necessary to
list three of the principles: re-
fraining from the use of force
in international relations; ter-
ritorial integrity of the state;
and the right of peoples to
self-determination.
The last two can come into
confict, and intergovernmen-
tal practice (up until the case
T
he basis of interna-
tional law consists of
principles and norms
that have an imper-
ative character, that is, de-
viations are not allowed.
These principles are en-
shrined in the UN Charter
and are expressed in the
Declaration on Principles
EXPERT'S COMMENT
In international law, Crimea is no different to Kosovo
of Kosovo) gave priority to
territorial integrity of the
state.
Large-scale use of force
without UN Security Coun-
cil authorisation was carried
out in 1999 by NATO against
the former Yugoslavia and in
2003 by the US and coalition
countries against Iraq. In
2008, the independent status
declared by Kosovo was
quickly recognised by the US
and a number of EU states.
In accordance with the
principle of the right to self-
determination, people have
the right to its exercise, if they
are under the yoke of colo-
nialism or foreign rule and
are living in the presence of
violations of fundamental
human rights and freedoms,
including those contained in
the Covenant on Civil and Po-
litical Rights of 1966.
According to the Covenant
(Article 27), ethnic minorities
living within the territory of
a state shall not be denied
the right to use their own lan-
guage.
The new government in
Kiev passed a law declaring
the only official language in
Ukraine to be Ukrainian. This
action, in addition to real
threats to the people in
Crimea from nationalist mil-
itants, serves as a reason for
recognising the legitimacy of
the referendum in Crimea re-
garding secession from
Ukraine.
Applying the international
legal treatment, all these
events - the use of force in
the former Yugoslavia and
Iraq, the recognition of Ko-
sovos independence and
Crimea joining Russia - are
the same. There is no more
basis for the legitimacy of rec-
ognising Kosovos independ-
ence than for recognising the
results of the referendum in
Crimea, with it consequently
becoming a part of Russia.
Pyotr Kremnyev is a law
professor at Moscow State
University.
ITAR-TASS
EDITED BY RBTH
On April 18, amid the crisis in
Ukraine, Russian President
Vladimir Putin spent several
hours answering questions
in his annual live television
call-in show.
Putin tackles tough
questions in state of
the nation exchange
Call-in President in the spotlight for annual live TV address
Not surprisingly, the bulk of
questions centred on Russias
relations with Ukraine and
its actions in Crimea.
And in relation to Ukraine,
Mr Putin clearly restated his
view that there had been an
unconstitutional coup and
armed seizure of power in
Kiev.
He also categorically de-
nied that Russian troops were
taking part in current events
in eastern Ukraine.
He said he considered it
imperative that a dialogue
between the Ukrainian au-
thorities and the regions of
the country begin as soon as
possible.
And he stressed that Rus-
sia had always been close to
Ukraine, saying that fnan-
cial aid provided to the coun-
try has already reached hun-
dreds of billions of dollars.
As for the issue of Crimea
and Sevastopol, according to
the president this was clear-
ly decided by the outcome of
the referendum on the pen-
insula.
He said Russia never
planned to take any military
action in Crimea and was
ready to build relationships
in the current geopolitical cir-
cumstances, but was forced
to act as result of real
threats to the Russian-
speaking population.
The threats against Rus-
sians and Russian-speakers
were concrete and tangible.
This prompted the people to
think about the future of
Crimea, and turn to Russia
for help,Mr Putin said.
A significant part of the
Black Sea Fleet now based
in Novorossiysk will be trans-
ferred to Sevastopol, the pres-
ident said.
He promised that signif-
cant amounts of shipbuild-
ing and ship repair would be
focused on Crimean ship-
yards.
On Alaska
Having discussed the incor-
poration of Crimea into Rus-
sia, Mr Putin was then asked
whether incorporating Alas-
ka into Russian territories
was on the agenda.
"
An American team is
currently in the region
working with Ukraine
and its neighbours to increase
Ukraines short-term energy
supply. More teams are coming
to support long-term improve-
ments so that no nation to be
precise, Russia can any longer
use energy as a political weap-
on against Ukraine and Europe.
With the right investments and
the right choices, Ukraine can
reduce its energy dependence
and increase its energy security.
"
We are very concerned
about the Russian hand
being behind the
destabilising things were
seeing in eastern Ukraine.
That money [$US5 billion]
has been spent [by the US] on
supporting the aspirations of
the Ukrainian people to have a
strong, democratic government
that represents their interests.
But we certainly didnt spend
any money supporting the
Maidan. That was a
spontaneous movement.
"
If we were attacked, we
would certainly respond.
If our interests that is,
our legitimate interests, the
interests of Russians were
attacked directly, like they were
in South Ossetia for example,
I don't see any other way but
to respond in accordance with
international law. Americans
simply are not ready to admit
that they can't always direct
the show in each and every
part of the globe from
Washington.
QUOTES
Joe
Biden
Victoria
Nuland
Sergei
Lavrov
US VICE-PRESIDENT DURING HIS VISIT TO
UKRAINE IN APRIL
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, AT THE US
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOREIGN MINISTER, IN
AN INTERVIEW WITH RUSSIA TODAY
The president responded,
with a laugh: Why do you
want Alaska?Mr Putin said
that Alaska had been sold in
the 19th century.
He added that the bulk of
Russian territories were in
the north and far north, and
that these regions were dif-
fcult to maintain and were
drains on state budgets.
On relations with the US
The president admitted that
relations between Moscow
and Washington had been sig-
nifcantly strained recently.
I agree that trust has
largely been lost. And why
has this happened? We believe
this is no fault of ours,he
said.
He described how the US
has been allowed to pursue
its national interests in [the
former] Yugoslavia, in Iraq, in
Afghanistan and in Libya.
And in the light of this for-
eign policy legacy, Mr Putin
asked: So why is Russia not
allowed to defend its own in-
terests?
On energy issues
In relation to gas and oil, Mr
Putin emphasised that the
Russian governments main
revenues come from oil, not
gas.
Last year, revenues from
oil were $US191 to $194 bil-
lion, and revenues from gas
around $US28 billion. Do you
see the difference?
The drop in oil prices from
$US90 to $US85 a barrel is
not critical for the Russian
economy, he said.
Mr Putin said that the Eu-
ropean Union would still be
heavily dependent on Russian
gas.
He sai d that Russi a
supplied mainly pipeline gas
to Europe, which covered 30
to 35 per cent of its needs.
Will it be possible at all
to stop buying Russian gas?
In my view no,the president
said.
On Edward Snowden
Former CIA officer Edward
Snowden, who was given
temporary asylum in Russia,
even made a video appear-
ance at the event.
Snowden, who exposed the
US governments across-the-
board surveillance of its cit-
izens, asked Mr Putin about
the Russian governments sur-
veillance of its citizens.
In response, Mr Putin said
that the use of special equip-
ment by Russian special ser-
vices, including wiretaps and
surveillance on the internet,
is strictly regulated by law,
and that court orders would
be required to authorise those
kinds of activities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin fielding questions about Ukraine, Alaska and surveillance.
Putin categorically
denied that Russian
troops were taking
part in current events
in eastern Ukraine.
The president
admitted relations
between Moscow
and Washington had
been strained.
RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN
AN-70 AIRCRAFT
A CASUALTY OF
THE CRISIS
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KIEV TO BE HELD
RESPONSIBLE FOR
SETTLEMENT OF THE
UKRAINIAN CRISIS
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UKRAINIAN FOREIGN
MINISTRY SAYS 'RIGHT
SECTOR' WAS NOT
INVOLVED IN
SLAVYANSK INCIDENT
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MOST READ PUTIN'S MARATHON QUESTION TIME
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IN BRIEF
A YouTube video of official
commentary by Crimean
Prosecutor General Natalia
Poklonskaya set to music
had nearly 6 million views
five days after it was up-
loaded, making it the most
popular Russian online clip.
In the footage, made by a
DJ called Enjoykin, Poklon-
skaya appears to be singing
power, blood, nyash-myash,
blood, power, Crimea is
ours, which rhymes in Rus-
sian.
A bill on a gambling zone
in Crimea has been intro-
duced into the Duma. Under
a 2007 law, casinos and
other gambling establish-
ments were restricted to op-
erating in only four zones
in Russia.
If the bill is passed,
Crimea will join the Altai,
Kaliningrad, Krasnodar and
Primorsky regions, where
zones are being established.
Prosecutor's
YouTube fame
New gambling
zone on cards
About 3000 Crimean resi-
dents have refused Russian
passports, the chief of Rus-
sias Federal Migration Ser-
vice (FMS), Konstantin
Romodanovsky, said.
In accordance with the
agreement incorporating
Crimea into the Russian
Federation, Crimean resi-
dents who do not wish to
become Russian citizens
were required to submit ap-
plications before April 18.
Acting head of Crimea,
Sergei Aksyonov said the
deadline for accepting ap-
plications may be extended
if need be. According to
FMS estimates, between 1.5
and 1.7 million people will
need to be issued with Rus-
sian passports in Crimea.
The FMS will not hold
residents without passports
liable for the absence of res-
idency registrations before
the end of the year, Ro-
modanovsky said.
Crimeans
refuse Russian
passports
ALEXEY LOSSAN
RBTH
Since just mid-March, when
Crimea was incorporated into
Russia, Crimea's residents
have seen profound changes
in their economy, and this is
just the beginning.
A long road back to normality
Overhaul Banks and basic infrastructure will see sweeping changes as a result of the reunification
The Crimean fnancial indus-
try alone has seen big chang-
es over a short space of time.
Since March, there has been
a complete revision of the
banking system, and as a re-
sult all major Russian and
Ukrainian banks have been
closed on the peninsula.
Large Russian banks in
Crimea will not operate be-
cause players such as VTB,
Bank of Moscow and Alfa-
Bank have large subsidiaries
in Ukraine, and its clear that
because of the political and
economic situation, reconcil-
ing active business in Crimea
and Ukraine will be impos-
sible,Mikhail Zadornov, the
president and chairman of
VTB24 Bank, told RBTH.
According to Zadornov,
only banks that operate ex-
clusively in Crimea will re-
main there, which includes
the Russian National Com-
mercial Bank and The Black
Sea Bank for Reconstruction
and Development. The future
Crimean banking system will
be structured around these
two banks.
According to the Russian
Ministry of Labour, 677,000
senior citizens in Crimea and
Sevastopol have received a
25 per cent increase in their
On March 16, 96.77 per cent of Crimeans who voted in the referendum supported Crimea becoming part of Russia.
GLEB FEDOROV
RBTH
According to independent
opinion polls in April,
Russians generally support
the reunification of Russia
and Crimea.
Polls back Crimea's
renewed allegiance
Opinion Most Russians believe peninsula's split from Kiev will have positive effect
According to surveys con-
ducted by the All-Russian
Centre for the Study of Pub-
lic Opinion (VTSIOM), 96 per
cent of respondents surveyed
believed that the reunifca-
tion was justifed.
In large cities (with popu-
lations of more than 1 mil-
lion), 98 per cent agreed with
this statement, while in rural
areas, the fgure was 95 per
cent. VTSIOM polls also
found that 76 per cent of re-
spondents in small towns
think the reunifcation will
be positive for Russia, with
only 6 per cent of respond-
ents thinking that it will lead
to negative consequences.
they are not ruling out the
full cancellation of trains
from the Russian mainland
to the peninsula. Alternative
routes may need to be found.
In terms of the water sup-
ply to the peninsula, current-
ly 80 per cent of Crimeas
water comes from deliveries
from Ukraine via the North
Crimean Canal, and these
supplies have been reduced
by Kiev.
As a result, to provide
drinking water to the south-
eastern Crimean peninsula,
new wells will have to be
drilled.
Crimea depends on Ukraine
not only for its water supply
but also for electricity. The
power plants in Crimea cover
only 10 to 30 per cent of the
peninsulas energy needs (out
of 1400 MW). The remaining
70 to 90 per cent of electric-
ity is provided by the Ukrain-
ian power grid.
The Russian Energy Min-
istry has several options on
However, opinions about
whether the reunifcation will
be positive for Russia did vary
in different regions: 78 per
cent of residents in small
towns thought it would lead
to good things, while in Mos-
cow and St Petersburg the
fgure was less 69 per cent.
Also of note is that since
the reunifcation, confdence
in the Russian government
has increased.
According to VTSIOM, the
government approval index
that is, the percentage of
people who approve of the
general political situation in
the country rose to 73 per
cent, which is the highest it
has been since May 2008,
when it was 74 per cent.
For background, the index
was 65 per cent in February
2014, 56 per cent in January
2014 and, last year, 60 per
cent in December and only
53 per cent in November.
The response to the reuni-
fcation in Russia contrasts
sharply to the overwhelming-
ly condemnatory response to
it in Western countries. And
Russians are not unaware of
the international criticism.
According to VTSIOM, for
example, 71 per cent of re-
spondents know that a UN
resolution declared the ref-
erendum in Crimea to be il-
legal. VTSIOM also reported
that around one-ffth of Rus-
sians think that other coun-
tries do not want to official-
ly recognise Crimea as a part
of Russia because they fear
that Russia will become too
powerful.
Respondents gave other
reasons why they thought
other countries do not want
to accept the reunifcation.
Some (13 per cent) believe
that the US has put pressure
on other countries; another
13 per cent think that the US
wants the Crimea for itself;
7 per cent think that other
countries want to harm Rus-
sia; while 5 per cent think it
is because Crimea is strate-
gically important.
Despite awareness about
international disapproval, the
majority of respondents did
not think that the reunifca-
tion would have serious con-
sequences for Russia. Fifty-
nine per cent are sure about
that, while a quarter think
there might be negative con-
sequences.
the table. One is the construc-
tion of a 1320 MW capacity
generator on the peninsula or
the laying of underwater ca-
bles across the Kerch Strait.
Over the past month, Rus-
sian authorities have also put
forward plans about how to
develop Crimea economical-
ly, and it seems emphasis will
be placed on tourism, partic-
ularly from Russia.
As part of the plan, Crimea
has been designated as one
of the few regions in Russia
where casinos will be
permitted.
Russian authorities plan to
open the frst casino in the
peninsula by the end of 2016,
and they expect that in time
the peninsula will be a direct
competitor to Monte Carlo,
Las Vegas and Macau.
The creation of this gam-
bling zone has been estimat-
ed to create 10,000 new jobs.
Another initiative to
stimulate tourist fows to the
peninsula is that airfares to
Crimea will be lowered.
In recent years, about 5.5
to 6 million tourists visited
the peninsula annually, and
60 per cent of those visitors
were from Ukraine.
To stimulate tourism in the
short term, Russian President
Vladimir Putin has author-
ised that airfares to Crimea
not be subject to certain
taxes, at least until January
1, 2015.
pension payments. The aver-
age pension in the peninsula
was 5570 roubles a month
($US156), which was lower
than the pension in Russia.
Areas where changes have
created problems that have
not yet been resolved are in
transport and water and elec-
tricity supplies.
In early April, Ukrainian
Railways cancelled some
trains to Crimea. And Rus-
sian Railways recently pre-
sented a report stating that
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SERGEY MARKEDONOV
SPECIAL TO RBTH
The Crimean Tatars are a
Turkic ethnic group who
appeared in Crimea between
the 13th and 17th centuries.
These Tatars call themselves
"Qirmlar" or Crimeans.
Crimea's Tatars fearful of
reunification with Moscow
Ethnic group claims a different historical legacy to Tatars in Russia
Crimean Tatars and other
Tatar groups in Russia are,
fraternal peoples with a
common history, but differ-
ent peoples, according to
Eider Adzhimambetov, the
Secretary of the Spiritual Ad-
ministration of Muslims of
Crimea.
According to Russias 2010
census, the Russian Federa-
tion has about 5.3 million Ta-
tars living in its territories.
Two million live in the repub-
lic of Tatarstan and one mil-
lion in Bashkiria.
Smaller numbers are
spread across other regions,
including Chelyabinsk and
Ulyanovsk and in Moscow it-
self.
Dilyara Seitilieva, a Tatar
pensioner from the Crimean
city of Bakhchisarai, believes:
They [the Tatars in Russia]
are different peoples. They
formed in different territo-
ries and absolutely separate-
ly to us.
Indeed, while the Tatar
khanates within the territo-
ry of modern Russia came
under the control of Moscow
in 1552 and 1556, the Crime-
an Khanate was separate
from 1441 to 1783, and was
a vassal of the Ottoman Em-
pire for most of its history.
After the Manifesto of Em-
press Catherine II of April 8,
1783 the Crimean Khanate
was dissolved, and Russian
rule began for Crimeans. Be-
cause of this, a significant
number of Crimean Tatars
moved to the Ottoman Em-
pire from the 1790s to the
1850s.
After the 1917 revolution,
the Soviet government estab-
lished the Crimean Autono-
mous Republic as a part of
the Russian Soviet Federated
Socialist Republic.
In it, both Russian and
Crimean Tatar were made of-
fcial languages, and in the
1920s and 30s, the develop-
ment of Tatar schools and
printing in the Tatar language
were encouraged.
However, in 1937, at the
height of the Great Terror,
policy direction changed and
members of the Tatar intel-
ligentsia, like many others,
became targets.
In May 1944, the Crimean
Tatars were deported from
the peninsula for collaborat-
Crimean Tatars fear Russia because of Soviet legacies.
KATHERINE TERS
RBTH
Recent events in Crimea and
Ukraine have attracted a
range of reactions and
responses within Australia's
diverse Russian-speaking
communities.
Politicians asked to take a balanced view
Russian community expresses concern over media's depiction of events in Crimea
printed in Sydneys Russian-
language newspaper Yedi-
nennie (Unifcation) on March
19, said: The Australian gov-
ernment appears to have
taken an unbalanced view in
relation to the Ukrainian con-
fict.
The letter also criticised the
Australian media for express-
ing a predominantly one-sid-
ed view of events, which pre-
sented Russia as an aggressor
an appraisal which it ar-
gued was highly offensive to
the ethnic Russian commu-
nity in Australia.
Kojevnikoff urged the Aus-
tralian government, when
forming its diplomatic re-
sponse to recent events, to
give due consideration to
In response to Australian pol-
iticians condemning Russias
actions in Crimea, Zoya Ko-
jevnikoff, president of the
Russian Ethnic Community
Council (RECC) of NSW,
wrote to Prime Minister Tony
Abbott and Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop to express the
councils concerns about the
impact of Australia's diplo-
matic response.
The letter, which was
both sides in the evolving
confict and present a fair and
balanced argument.
One Russian-Australian
community organisation
which has more stridently ex-
pressed its support for Rus-
sias actions in Ukraine, how-
e ve r, i s t he Rus s i an
nationalist organisation the
Zabaikal Cossack Society of
Australia. The societys ata-
man [chairman], Simeon
Boikov, said in a statement
to RBTH that we complete-
ly agree with the position of
President Putin, [Sergei] Lav-
rov and the Crimea people...
On March 16, the day of
the Crimean referendum, the
society met for a demonstra-
tion outside the US Consu-
late in Sydneys Martin Place.
The gathering, which began
with the Prayer for Salvation
of the Fatherland, had about
150 participants, according
to Boikov.
The societys website de-
scribes how rally participants,
who included a range of na-
tionalities, wore T-shirts with
slogans like Glory to Rus-
siaand Orthodoxy or death.
It also says the activists
shouted slogans like Crimea
we are with youand No
to fascism.
The 2011 Census said that
Australia had 18,278 resi-
dents who were born in the
Russian Federation, and that
74,317 Australians had Rus-
sian ancestry.
Crimean Tatar
issues addressed
On April 21, Russian Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin signed a
decree about ethnic minori-
ties who suffered under Sta-
lin. These minorities included
the Crimean Tatars. The decree
seeks to make amends for in-
justices committed during the
Soviet period. Also in April,
Crimea adopted a new consti-
tution which gives official sta-
tus to the Crimean Tatar lan-
guage (on a par with Russian
and Ukrainian). In addition, Pu-
tin has promised to address the
Crimean Tatars' longstanding
concerns about land rights an
issue which they feel has not
been given due attention by
the government in Kiev.
ing with German forces.
Other Crimean minorities, in-
cluding Greeks, Bulgarians
and Armenians, were also de-
ported.
This mass deportation con-
solidated the group identity
of the Crimean Tatars and
also strengthened their fear
of Russia. And it is the lega-
cy of these deportations
which explains why many
Crimean Tatars are fearful of
being a part of Russia today.
Another factor which
makes the Crimean Tatars
suspicious of Moscow is that
unlike other ethnic minori-
ties in the Soviet Union who
were forcibly removed from
where they lived in the post-
war years, the Crimean Ta-
tars were not allowed to re-
turn to their land during the
Khrushchev thaw.
Most other groups, includ-
ing ethnic Germans and peo-
ple from the Baltic states,
were allowed to return to
their former homes.
Crimean Tatars had a long
struggle for repatriation,
which was only successful at
the end of the perestroika pe-
riod.
Key issues that are now af-
fecting the Crimean Tatars
post-reunifcation with Rus-
sia include land rights, gov-
ernment representation and
relations with Ukraine.
Adzhimambetov has said
that the Council of Muftis of
Russia will support the
Crimean Tatars, helping them
adapt to the Russian legal en-
vironment.
The issues facing the
Crimean Tatars, however, can
be resolved positively, al-
though pragmatism and com-
promise from all participants
may be required.
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Russia Direct is a new project that experts
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in particular. Founded in 2013, Russia Direct
features original reporting, as well as fresh
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trends and issues that are driving global
conversation about Russia.
In addition to daily content on our web site,
we have exclusive benefits for subscribers,
including weekly newsletters, monthly
memos and quarterly reports.
April Monthly Memo:
Crisis in Ukraine
Responses to recent events in Ukraine
and Crimea have highlighted the la-
tent conflict in global politics be-
tween the Kremlin and Western lead-
ers. The situation in Ukraine is just one
example of a serious crisis in post-
Cold War international relations. This
memo analyses five ways negotiators
and diplomats could bring the con-
flict under control and begin working
towards a new and more productive
framework for geopolitical debate.
A
P
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MOST READ WILL UKRAINE BE ABLE TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO GAZPROM?
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ALEXEY LOSSAN
RBTH
The limited sanctions
imposed on Russian officials
and business people are
already having significant
effects on the Russian
financial system.
How have sanctions
affected Russia so far?
Impact Sanctions imposed have already resulted in changes within Russia's financial system, and more effects are likely
Official Western sanctions
against Russia have affected
a limited number of politi-
cians and businessmen, be-
lieved to be part of Russian
President Vladimir Putins
inner circle.
Among them are the ship-
ping magnates the brothers
Arkady and Boris Rotenberg,
the former owner of the Gun-
vor Oil Trading Company
Gennady Timchenko and bil-
lionaire Yuri Kovalchuk.
Also falling under the sanc-
tions of the US government
was the Rossiya Bank, owned
by Kovalchuk. Without warn-
ing, MasterCard and Visa In-
ternational blocked the ac-
cess of Rossiya Banks
cardholders to their net-
works.
As a result, these entrepre-
neurs started focusing on
their work in Russia. On the
eve of the introduction of
sanctions, Gennady Timchen-
ko sold his share in Gunvor
(44 per cent) to partners.
In its turn, Rossiya Bank
and its subsidiaries complete-
ly abandoned carrying out
foreign-currency transac-
tions.
Some other banks also
began to limit their foreign-
currency exchange activities.
Sberbank, the largest bank
in Russia, started refusing ap-
plications for the issue of
loans in foreign currency.
According to Mikhail Za-
dornov, president and chair-
man of the board of VTB 24
Bank, foreign-currency trans-
actions are an integral part
of Russias fnancial system.
Russian citizens hold 21
per cent of their deposits in
foreign currencies, all pay-
ments for imports are carried
out in foreign currencies, and
there are currency transac-
tions imputed by the econo-
my,he said.
Sanctions against Russia
have provoked a sharp out-
fow of capital. By the end of
2014, according to the Min-
istry of Finance, this outfow
is likely to reach $US70-80
billion.
During the frst quarter of
2014, the private sector has
already taken $US50.6 bil-
lion out of Russia, compared
with $US27.5 billion in the
previous year.
One consequence of the
sanctions has been encour-
aging the Kremlin to estab-
lish a more independent f-
nancial system.
In particular, Russia is
planning to launch a nation-
al payment system to replace
MasterCard and Visa and its
own ratings agency, includ-
ing considering various op-
tions for cooperation with
Chinese companies.
According to Anton Soroko,
analyst at Finam Holdings,
the most negative sanction
for the Russian economy
which may be invoked by US
and EU would be a reduc-
tion in trade cooperation.
TATYANA ZYKOVA
SPECIAL TO RBTH
Despite talk in Europe about
reducing its dependence on
energy supplies from Russia,
Russia is the only country
that can meet Europe's
increasing gas needs.
Giving up gas
from Russia
won't be easy
for Europe
The European Commission in
Brussels is again discussing
the issue of the supply of Rus-
sian gas: its reliability and
ways to reduce dependence on
it. At the same time, the US
is pressuring Europe to give
up its dependence on Russian
energy.
Meanwhile, Canada has an-
nounced its intentions to ex-
port liquefied nitrogen gas
(LNG) to Europe as a replace-
ment. And Ukraine is talk-
ing about obtaining gas from
Slovakia.
There are no economic rea-
sons for these moves: they are
merely political. And realisti-
cally, Russia remains the only
country capable of meeting
Europes current gas needs.
Despite intentions to give up
Russian gas and over the long
term move to more sustaina-
ble energy sources, in the short
term it is unlikely that Euro-
pean consumers will be able
to give it up, no matter how
much they might like to.
Experts have proposed an-
alysing the future prospects
for the European gas market
by looking at the volumes of
fuel currently going to Europe.
At the moment, European gas
comes from fve major suppli-
ers: Russia occupies frst place,
followed by Norway, Algeria,
the Netherlands, then Qatar.
Last year only two suppli-
ers increased supply: Russia
and the Netherlands, says
Sergei Pravosudov, CEO of
the National Energy Institute.
Russia also reduced gas pric-
es, and exports of Russian gas
attained record volumes of
161.5 billion cubic metres, in
comparison with
the 2012 fgure
of 138.8 billion
cubic metres.
EXPERT OPINION
Investment cuts would hit hard
Russia attracted a whopping
$US94 billion of foreign direct
investment (FDI) in 2013, mak-
ing it the third largest recipi-
ent of FDI in the world, accord-
ing to a February ranking by
the UN Conference on Trade
Ben
Aris
JOURNALIST
In 2013, exports of Russian gas
hit record volumes of 161.5
billion cubic metres, in compar-
ison with 2012's figures of
138.8 billion cubic metres.
Last year the average ex-
port price for Russian gas de-
creased by 5.5 per cent; the
cost of 1000 cubic meters was
$US380.
Russian President Vladimir Pu-
tin warned European leaders
that Russia might cut gas sup-
plies to Ukraine if Ukraine did
not pay its oustanding gas bill
of $US2.2 billion.
161.5
$380
$2.2
IN NUMBERS
and Development (UNCTAD).
However, a large chunk of that
investment was related to a
deal between British Petroleum
and state-owned oil giant Ros-
neft to acquire the Russian oil
joint venture TNK-BP. Russia's
FDI would have probably have
showed a slow-down had it not
been for the TNK-BP. And now
analysts are expecting Russia's
FDI to fall harder, as a result of
the situation in Ukraine. A sig-
nificant decline in FDI which
brings not only money but al-
so modern technology and
managerial skills to the recipi-
ent country would likely hit
Russias long-term economic
growth very hard. And denying
Russian banks and companies
access to the US (and possi-
bly the European) banking sys-
tems would have a devastating
impact.
On the other hand, I
would not talk about the ces-
sation of any negotiations be-
tween private companies,he
said.
However, according to Basil
Yakimkin, if tougher sanc-
tions are imposed they may
complicate dollar payments
(if SWIFT encodings are can-
celled for Russian credit or-
ganisations).
Almost the entire banking
infrastructure in Russia is
based on foreign servers and
software.
The Russian military-in-
dustrial complex will feel the
effect for two or three years,
he said. Already our troops
are faced with reductions in
supplies of weapons and ac-
cessories from France, Brit-
ain and Germany.
Representatives of the US
Treasury Department and the
National Security Council
have already announced the
preparations of new sanctions
at a meeting in Washington
with managers of mutual
funds and hedge funds.
And according to a state-
ment by Samantha Power, the
US permanent representative
to the UN, US President Ba-
rack Obama is also consid-
ering sanctions against Rus-
sia in the banking, energy and
mining sectors.
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WANT A FLAT TAX? MOVE TO RUSSIA
rbth.com/35933 Business
IN BRIEF
Gazprom is set to to boost
its gas exports to Europe,
where demand for gas is ex-
pected to rise over the long
term as regional extraction
drops. Gazprom believes
there will be an increased
demand for natural gas in
Europe due to a broader use
of natural gas fuels for ve-
hicles and maritime trans-
port. The rise in demand will
increase the import of pipe-
line gas and liquefed natu-
ral gas (LNG).
Russia will have to intro-
duce an advance payment
system for natural gas ex-
ports to Ukraine if Kiev
does not pay its outstand-
ing bills, Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev
said. Russian President
Vladimir Putin said in April
that Ukraine owed Russia
$US17 billion in gas dis-
counts and that another
$US2.2 billion had been in-
curred as a minimal fne.
Gas imports to
Europe to rise
Russia demands
gas bills be paid
The frst oil extraction pro-
ject has been successfully
implemented in the Arctic,
on the Prirazlomnaya oil
platform, despite large-scale
protests from environmen-
tal organisations, including
Greenpeace, opposed to off-
shore production on the
shelf. The volume of the frst
batch of oil was 70,000
tonnes. The felds total vol-
ume is about 72 million
tonnes and it is projected
that 6 million tonnes will
be produced a year. The re-
serve should produce oil for
10 years.
First Arctic oil
extracted
KIRILL ZLOBINE
ENTREPRENEUR, SPECIAL TO RBTH
Next year will mark 50 years
of official trade and
economic relations between
Australia and Russia. But
diplomatic difficulties are
clouding the landmark.
Trade: keep calm and carry on
Business growth between Australia and Russia will be difficult to recover if lost
Australias official response
to Russias actions in Crimea
may result in serious conse-
quences for business and
trade relations between the
two countries. Damning and
arguably premature state-
ments by Prime Minister Tony
Abbott and Foreign Minister
Julia Bishop have brought
with them a chill in trade re-
lations between Canberra
and Moscow.
Andrew Robb, Minister for
Trade and Investment, has
been more diplomatic in his
pronouncements, however. In
an interview with Bloomb-
erg on March 27 Robb de-
scribed Russias actions in
Crimea as unfortunate, but
argued that it would be pre-
mature to impose sanctions.
Russia is an important
market for us,he said. Its
not huge, but in terms of beef
and other areas, its a signif-
icant market; and, of course,
it's part of the region.
Over time we want good
trade and political relations
with Russia.
Prior to the Ukrainian cri-
sis, trade volume and eco-
nomic cooperation between
Australia and Russia had
been steadily growing. And
after 2007, when a Russian
head of state visited Austral-
ia for the frst time, coopera-
tion grew and bilateral trade
increased from nearly
$US700 million ($A750 mil-
lion) (2006) to more than
$US2 billion (2013) a year.
According to Australias
Department of Foreign Af-
fairs and Trade (DFAT), from
2012 to 2013 Australias big-
gest export to Russia was beef
($US113 million); in turn,
Russias to Australia was
crude oil ($US688 million).
There has also been growth
in the health and mining in-
dustries. Mining has partic-
ularly benefted from Austral-
ian technical support and
expertise in environmental
remediation.
Promoting links
The Australia Russia Dialogue
was formed in February 2013
by a consortium of academics
and professionals from a range
of industries, with the support
of the Australian and Russian
governments. Its objective is to
increase the level of engage-
ment between the countries by
developing and promoting links
in different spheres.
mone trenbolone acetate.
In relation to this, Alexei
Alexenko, adviser to the head
of Russias Federal Service for
Veterinary and Phytosanitary
Surveillance (Rosselkhoznad-
zor) said: The reason for the
ban ... is still the same: we
found trenbolone (a type of
steroid) in the meat its a
hazardous substance, which
is banned throughout the civ-
ilised world. We have held
many talks with Australia,
and they promised not to use
trenbolone, but we keep de-
tecting it.
The Australian Minister
for Agriculture made an
amusing statement that the
ban is related to the situa-
tion in Crimea. But in reality,
we warned Australia about
the possible consequences [of
using trenbolone] two years
ago, and again a year ago, last
June.
Barnaby Joyce, Minister for
Agriculture, said on ABC
radio in early April that he
doubted the reason for im-
port restriction was actually
steroids. He said it was more
likely because of political ten-
sions over Crimea. They say
theyve found it in wagyu
beef, Joyce said, which
seems highly unlikely.
Imports from Australia to
Russia only constitute 5 to 10
per cent of Russias total vol-
ume of imported frozen beef.
Russias main suppliers are
in South America.
However, Australia is a key
player in the premium mar-
ket and our beef almost has
a monopoly in Russias top
restaurants.
Fortunately though, at the
time of writing events in
Ukraine had not noticeably
affected other major areas of
Australian-Russian trade.
In the mining sector, it
seems to be business as usual.
Craig Parry, managing direc-
tor and CEO of Tigers Realm
Coal and member of the Aus-
tralia Russia Dialogue, said
in early April that he hoped
cool heads would prevail, on
all sides, adding that his
companys projects (in Chu-
kotka, in Russias Far East)
had not been affected by
events in Ukraine. Parry had
just fnalised a major trans-
action with Baring Vostock
Capital Partners, which in-
vested $US36 million into Ti-
gers Realm Coal, while the
Russian Direct Investment
Fund had also invested
$US16 million.
I have little doubt that the
business communities in both
countries are more interest-
ed in cooperation than con-
fict, and are likely to agree
that any response to the
Ukrainian crisis must be
carefully considered.
DFAT G20 trade figures
from 2012 indicate that Rus-
sian direct investment in Aus-
tralia was the fastest-grow-
ing of any country. Russias
net investment in Australia
has surpassed Saudi Arabias
and is more than seven times
Indonesias.
Unfortunately, the Ukrain-
ian crisis has damaged this
developing relationship. And
the recent growth in Austral-
ias trade with Russia will be
difficult to recover if lost.
Mining and the livestock and
meat sector are likely to suf-
fer the most.
The Australian government
needs to consider how these
industries could be affected
when formulating its diplo-
matic response to Russias ac-
tions in Ukraine.
Despite the range of opin-
ions about Russias actions in
Ukraine, condemnatory com-
mentary by Australian poli-
ticians has infuenced the vec-
tor of our trade relations with
Russia.
An example is the tempo-
rary restriction on imports of
Australian frozen and chilled
beef to Russia, which came
into force on April 7 follow-
ing the apparent detection of
the growth-stimulating hor-
Russia insists its beef ban has nothing to do with Australia's response to the events in Crimea.
Kirill Zlobine is a Russian-
Australian entrepreneur, a
meat and dairy exporter and
a board member of the
Australia-Russia Dialogue.
And the Australian
government needs
to consider how
these industries could
be affected when
formulating their
diplomatic response
to Russias actions in
Ukraine.
READ AT RBTH.COM/BUSINESS
GETTING TO THE
HEART OF THE
ORIGINAL FROZEN
CONFLICT
rbth.com/36147
RUSSIA DISCOVERS
ITS LARGEST OIL
FIELD IN
20 YEARS
rbth.com/36083
DESPITE THE
EFFORTS OF
GREENPEACE,
RUSSIA BEGINS
EXTRACTING
ARCTIC OIL
rbth.com/36105
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MOST READ WHY DID RUSSIA SELL ALASKA TO THE US?
rbth.com/36061 History
ALEXANDER KOROLKOV
SPECIAL TO RBTH
The Crimean city of
Sevastopol has since its
founding in 1783 been
associated with the navy.
In Russia it is often called
the "sailors' city".
ENGINEER THE HERO OF
SEVASTOPOL BATTLES
RUSSIAN GENERAL EDUARD TOTLEBEN IS KNOWN IN RUSSIA
FOR HIS INGENUITY IN DEFENDING SEVASTOPOL AGAINST
ADVANCING ALLIED TROOPS IN THE CRIMEAN WAR OF THE 1850S
THE SAILORS' CITY
INFOGRAPHICS
Territorial
changes
of Ukraine
through
the centuries
The territory which became Ukraine,
Belarus and Russia was once vari-
ous principalities, with their capi-
tals in the major cities of Chernig-
ov, Galicia, Goroden (Grodno), Kiev,
Minsk, Novgorod, Pereyaslavl, Polotsk,
Ryazan, Smolensk and Volhynia.
These lands were invaded by the
Mongols, who formed the Golden
Horde. At the same time, Lithuanian
princes created the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania the largest political entity
in eastern Europe.
In 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
and the Kingdom of Poland joined to-
gether and formed a Commonwealth
Republic. A century earlier, Crime-
an Tatars had split from the Golden
Horde to form the Crimean Khanate
and become a vassal of the Ottomans.
After a 13-year war between Russia
and the Polish-Lithuanian Common-
wealth, 1667 saw the conclusion of a
truce at Andrusovo. The
Commonwealth ceded Smolensk,
left-bank Ukraine and some other
lands to Russia.
After losing their feet dur-
ing the Crimean War 160
years ago, Sevastopols sail-
ors went ashore to engage the
enemy in land battles that
reaped the Crimean city as
much glory as any sea victo-
ries.
These were battles fought
from innovative defence in-
stallations which are well
known in Russian history, as
is the engineer behind them:
Eduard Totleben a Russian
military hero and founding
fgure of the Russian Impe-
rial Armys School of Forti-
fcation.
Totleben had German an-
cestry and came from a line
of settlers who emigrated to
Russia in the frst half of the
18th century. In Sevastopol,
the engineer rose in just two
years from lieutenant-colo-
nel to general.
He originally came to
Crimea following time spent
working in fortifcations in
the Caucasian War, in the
mountains on the southern
borders of the Russian Em-
pire.
The city of Sevastopol was
to become the site of the main
battles of the Crimean War,
which broke out after France
and Britain decided to go to
war to avert a Russian break-
through into Turkey via the
Bosphorus Strait.
It is said that when Totle-
ben frst met the head of the
Russian-Crimean forces, Gen-
eral Menshikov, the com-
mander declined to assign
him to duty. So he began
working as a volunteer, and
soon discovered that the city
was only prepared for attack
from the direction of the sea
and had scant fortifcations
on its other fanks.
Meanwhile, the combined
British and French forces dis-
embarked on the Crimean
Peninsula on September 2,
1854 and defeated the Rus-
sians at Alma, making a siege
at Sevastopol look highly
likely.
With no time to organise
normal defences, Totleben
managed to deceive the
enemy by ordering the con-
struction of scenicpositions
on the citys northern edge.
These sufficed to dupe enemy
reconnaissance officers into
reporting numerous and ro-
bust earthworks on the left
fank of the Russians north-
ern defences.
The entrance to the Sevas-
topol Bay estuary had already
been blocked with scuttled
Russian warships, which pre-
vented allied vessels from ap-
proaching the city. Because
of this British and French
forces instead fanked Sev-
astopol in an arc, and moored
and disembarked south of the
city.
Although some time had
been won, Totleben was still
faced with the task of trans-
forming the city into a for-
tress, right under the nose of
the enemy.
Defensive systems were
built on the principle of cre-
ating bastion concentrations
of artillery interlinked by
trenches for the placement of
small arms, with separate gun
batteries dotted between the
larger positions.
The main defensive strong-
hold was on the command-
ing heights of Malakhov Hill.
Work went on around the
clock and continued under
enemy fre after the start of
the siege on September 13.
The French completed their
earthworks at the city walls
soon after, and Totleben took
this as a sign that the enemy
would now switch to mine
warfare. He immediately or-
dered probing shafts to be
dug beneath the citys defen-
sive ditch in order to counter
this threat, and hastily began
to prepare the necessary
mine-laying equipment.
Meanwhile, an all-out as-
sault on Sevastopol could not
go ahead without preparato-
ry engineering works, and the
placement of mines was an
entire science in itself. The
sappers started work on sev-
eral dummy tunnels to dis-
tract the Russians and force
them to focus efforts on neu-
tralising one underground ex-
cavation at a time.
Even before the war, how-
ever, Totleben had started
using a sounding device con-
sisting of an ordinary naval
compass that was lowered
into the mining shaft. The
magnetic feld of the saltpe-
tre (potassium nitrate) con-
tained in gunpowder unfail-
ingly turned the compass
needle towards the genuine
mine tunnel being built by
the enemy.
While this underground
war was going on, Totleben
switched to active defences
on the ground, employing a
technique he knew from the
Caucasian War: the creation
of barriers made of logs and
other readily available ma-
terials. These enabled the
Russian forces to maintain
harassing fre and close sur-
veillance of the enemy.
As Totleben put it, the bar-
riers became the eyes and
ears of the defenders.
The second assault began
on March 28, 1855, during
which the allies suffered
heavy casualties but were
able to exert pressure on the
Russian positions.
A third and fourth assault
brought the same results. The
emplacements were destroyed
but were then rebuilt after
the attack.
On June 8, Totleben was
wounded in the foot while de-
scending from Malakhov Hill,
and had to leave the city soon
after because of the onset of
gangrene. He did not return
to Sevastopol until August 24.
Three days after that, he
saw from the windows of the
Northern fort barracks that
despite great efforts to defend
it, Malakhov Hill had been
taken.
This signifed the fall of the
city's southern fank and the
entire city was taken soon
after.
As the Russians retreated
they burned down Sevastopol,
blew up their powder stores
and scuttled the remaining
warships in the bay.
The allies, in turn, probed
the defensive capabilities of
the city, but did not press
home the offensive.
At peace negotiations in
1856, Russia was forced to
cede any Ottoman possessions
and was forbidden from es-
tablishing a naval arsenal on
the Black Sea a ban that
was enforced until the 1870s.
After the Crimean cam-
paign, Totleben devoted him-
self to the science of fortif-
cation. He was appointed
director of the armys engi-
neering department and spent
the remainder of his days de-
veloping new defensive line
systems for use on the bor-
ders of the Russian empire.
He never returned to Sev-
astopol, but after his death
(and a temporary burial in
Germany in 1884), Totleben's
remains were sent to Crimea
and interred at Sevastopols
Fraternal Cemetery.
The Siege of Sevastopol, during the Crimean War, lasted from
September 1854 until September 1855. It is known for the
complex attack and defence installations that were used by
both the Russian and allied forces. Ultimately the allies were
successful in taking the city.
The city of
Sevastopol was to
become the site of
the main battles of
the Crimean War.
Work went on
around the clock
and continued under
enemy fire after the
start of the siege.
Totleben's remains
were sent to Crimea
and interred at
Sevastopol's Fraternal
Cemetery.
G
A
IA
R
U
S
S
O
09
MOST READ
www.rbth.com
THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC
rbth.com/36043 History
In the 18th century, the Common-
wealth lost its independence; its kings
were elected under the Russian Em-
pires influence and Prussia eyed its
western lands. In 1772, 1793 and 1795,
the Commonwealth underwent a se-
ries of partitions, then ceased to exist.
Until the late 18th century, Crime-
an Tatars maintained a slave trade
with the Ottoman Empire, exporting
about 2 million slaves from Russia and
Ukraine over two centuries. The Khan-
ate was conquered by the Russian
Empire in 1783.
On November 20, 1917 Kiev pro-
claimed the Ukrainian Peoples Repub-
lic, followed by the declaration of the
Ukrainian Soviet Republic in Kharkov
and of the West Ukrainian Peoples
Republic in Lviv. In 1919, they merged
to form the single Ukrainian Republic.
From 1939 to 1940, the USSR annexed
eastern Galicia, northern Bukovina
and southern Bessarabia. In 1945, the
Czechoslovakian territory of Subcar-
pathia became part of the Ukrainian-
SSR, and in 1954, Crimea was trans-
ferred from the RSFSR to Ukraine.
On August 24, 1991 the Ukrainian par-
liament adopted the Act of Independ-
ence. On March 16, 2014 a referendum
was held in Crimea which showed that
97 per cent of voters supported leav-
ing Ukraine to join Russia. Ukraine did
not recognise the referendum.
ALEXANDER KOROLKOV
SPECIAL TO RBTH
The Nazi occupation of
Crimea and the siege of
Sevastopol are remembered
on the eve of Russia's Victory
Day celebrations on May 9.
and despite not being the
major target for the Germans,
it was important strategical-
ly because of its location on
the Black Sea.
For the USSR, the Crime-
an peninsula served as an im-
portant naval base and air-
feld for attacks on Hitler's
oil reserves in Romania.
The Germans occupied
Crimea from September 1941,
just two months after they
attacked the USSR.
Despite their well-planned
blitzkrieg, they were unable
to capture the city of Sevas-
topol in 1941.
Soviet forces remained in
the city while it was under
siege for 10 months (from
For Crimea, and the rest of
the Soviet Union, World War
II began at dawn on June 22,
1941 and ended 70 years ago
in May, 1944.
In Russia, WWII is known
as the Great Patriotic War
a confict which hit every So-
viet family, with the USSR
losing about 27 million peo-
ple in just four years.
Crimea was one of the
wars many battlegrounds
September 1941 to June
1942). Over that period,
18,000 Soviet solders were
killed and 95,000 were taken
hostage.
The Crimean peninsula is
mountainous and has a lot
of quarries. After Sevastopol
was lost, a group of about
10,000 Soviet soldiers hid in
the quarries near the city of
Kerch, which ended up be-
coming the last line of the
Soviet defence in Crimea.
And by the end of a 170-
day siege (from May to Oc-
tober 1942) only 48 people
remained alive in Kerch.
During the Nazi occupa-
tion there were more than 200
Soviet underground organi-
pushed the Germans back
from the east, and by April
18 the Soviets had retaken
all of Crimea except for Sev-
astopol.
An offensive began on May
7 against the area fortifed by
the Germans outside the city.
After heavy air and artil-
lery attacks, assault units ad-
vanced. On May 9, a year be-
fore Germanys defeat, the
fnal assault on Sevastopol
began at 8am. It was success-
ful.
After the liberation of
Crimea, Crimean Tatars as
well as Greeks, Germans and
other local people who were
accused of war crimes were
deported from Crimea.
Crimea's wartime suffering is still remembered 70 years on
WWII Crimea lived through years of German occupation, during which time nearly half its population died
sations, and they had up to
2500 people fighting and
working with them.
Partisans organised acts of
sabotage on the peninsulas
railways and attacked the
Germans, but because Crimea
has limited water supplies
and forests, Soviet partisans
struggled to fnd enough shel-
ter, food and water to survive.
The popularity of the guer-
rilla movement in Crimea in-
creased when the new order,
established by the occupiers,
called for the systematic ex-
termination of the local pop-
ulation.
From late 1941 to early
1942, German punitive units
shot about 12,000 people in
Feodosia and nearly 7000 in
Kerch.
About 40,000 Crimean Ta-
tars are thought to have col-
laborated with the Nazis,
while about 17,000 are known
to have fought alongside the
Soviet partisans and the Red
Army.
A Crimean Tatar, Sultan
Amet-Khan, became one of
the most famous Soviet pi-
lots of the war, shooting down
no less than 30 German jet-
fghters.
Advancing Soviet troops
reached Crimea in the au-
tumn of 1943, but it was not
until April 8, 1944 were they
able to start the liberation.
Three days later, they had
ALEKSANDR KOROLKOV
SPECIAL TO RBTH
Crimea became part of the
Russian Empire in 1783 and,
for the most part, remained
under Russian control until it
was formally transferred to
Ukraine in 1954.
Was Khrushchevs
'gift' to Ukraine
constitutional?
Debate continues today about the legality of Khrushchev's 1954 transfer of Crimea
Khrushchev,who for many
years had been head of the
Ukrainian Communist Party.
Immediately after Khrush-
chev came to power as First
Secretary of the Communist
Party of the USSR, in 1953,
he decided to giveCrimea
to Ukraine, as a symbolic ges-
ture aimed at ensuring him
support among the then-in-
fuential Ukrainian establish-
ment. Khrushchev went
about enforcing this decision
in his usual headstrong and
somewhat erratic style.
Dmitry Shepilov, an offi-
cial who went on to become
the USSRs foreign minister,
wrote of the meeting in which
Khrushchev put forward the
idea: Khrushchev wanted to
present Ukraine with a gift
on a golden dish, so that the
whole republic knew how
generous he was and how
much he cared about
Ukraines prosperity.
The reasons given by
Khrushchev were repeated
almost word for word at a
After the 1917 Bolshevik Rev-
olution, the Russian Empire
was divided into Soviet re-
publics and autonomous re-
gions, which had a degree of
formal independence within
the union's federal structure.
Near the end of the Rus-
sian Civil War, in October
1921, the Crimean Autono-
mous Soviet Socialist Repub-
lic was created as part of the
RSFSR (Soviet Russia).
The decision put forward
in 1953 to transfer Crimea to
the Ukrainian Soviet Social-
ist Republic came as a sur-
prise to Crimeas residents
and to the republic's ruling
elite at the time. The decision
was made by former Soviet
head of s t at e Ni ki t a
In the 1950s, Crimeans did not think to oppose the transfer.
session of the presidium of
the Supreme Council of the
RSFSR on February 5, 1954.
They were that Ukraine was
closer to Crimea than Rus-
sia; the new configuration
would make it easier to run
the regions economy; and f-
nally, what difference did it
make, since Ukraine and Rus-
sia were parts of the same
country? In the 1950s, Crime-
ans did not think to oppose
the handover, largely for the
reasons outlined above, prob-
ably the most significant
being that it made little prac-
tical difference to them.
However, 60 years on, de-
bate continues about its le-
gality. The question that rais-
es most contention among
lawyers and historians is:
who was authorised to agree,
on behalf of the RSFSR, to
a change of its territory? The
need for a formal agreement
was stipulated in Article 16
of the 1937 constitution of
the RSFSR and in Article 18
of the 1936 constitution of
the USSR. The relevant
agreements from both repub-
lics came in the form of res-
olutions from their respective
governments.
However, Article 33 of the
constitution of the RSFSR
did not envisage powers to
change the borders of the
Russian republic, but did
grant the power to initiate a
referendum. However, in
1954, no referendum was con-
ducted either in Crimea or
in the rest of the RSFSR.
www.rbth.com
MOST READ WHY UKRAINE NEEDS A NEW CONSTITUTION FAIR TO ALL
rbth.com/35587 Opinion
10
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EMIRATES.
T
he reaction of the West
to the Ukrainian cri-
sis is wittingly, or un-
wittingly, pushing
Russia to become an alterna-
tive leader, at least in Eura-
sia and possibly on a global
scale as well.
Before the Ukrainian cri-
sis, Russia prioritised buil-
ding partnerships with the
West. But the Wests position
on Ukraine has now fnally
convinced the Kremlin of the
futility of reaching out to
Western leaders, who have
been willing to recognise the
national interests of all the
small states of the former So-
viet Union except Russias.
This attitude is contribu-
ting to Russia returning to its
traditional identity, that is, of
a country which pursues in-
dependent domestic and fo-
reign policies.
This trend is the opposite
of what prevailed in the post-
Soviet years, when many pos-
tulated that Russia is also
(part of) Europe.
This is not the frst time in
history that Russia has tried
to become a part of Europe,
W
estern politicians
now understand
that for the frst
time in the post-
Soviet era Russia has decid-
ed to act as it sees ft, leaving
no space for compromise with
Europe and the US.
This is because Ukraine is
so important to Moscow that
Russian President Vladimir
Putin has not been in the
mood for formalities.
The West is not used to this,
so it is trying to force Russia
to return to the behavioral
model that it has adhered to
for so long. And Russia has
responded by reminding the
other players how much is at
stake here.
In time, passions will sub-
side. So, from here, what can
Russia expect in its relation-
ship with the US? And what
does Russia need?
During Soviet times, the
US was the main external
focus of the Kremlin and un-
derstandably so, since world
politics in general revolved
around the bipolar confron-
tation betweem these two
great powers.
But after the Cold War it
was believed that this dyna-
mic would be replaced by a
strategic partnership, despi-
te the fact that the concept
was being applied to many
countries with abandon and
that what it meant was not
entirely clear.
The legacy of the psycho-
logical confrontation between
Russia and the US, however,
had not fully dissipated, and
the asymmetry in forces and
capabilities, the lack of ba-
lance, only deepened the
overwhelming sense of mu-
tual dissatisfaction.
In Russia, for a long time
it was thought that pursuing
solid and stable bilateral re-
lations with the US would be
valuable in and of itself, not
for any particular reason ex-
cept that the US is the most
powerful and advanced coun-
try in the world, it has the
most infuence and it has the
most resources.
But what was clear is that
Sergey
Mikheyev
ANALYST
WEST'S RESPONSE
IS WRONG AGAIN
PROTECTION OF
VITAL INTERESTS
IS JUSTIFIED
only to be once again rebu-
ffed by the West. Moreover,
even the voluntary dissolu-
tion of the Soviet bloc did not
win Russia any favours with
the West.
It is also clear that the pre-
sent crisis between Russia
and the West is stimulating
closer cooperation between
Moscow and Beijing.
It is likely that other coun-
tries who are potential com-
petitors of the West will also
start orienting themselves
towards Moscow.
I believe that the West, for
the second time in the past
20 years, has made a grave
mistake in the way it has res-
ponded to Russia. The frst
time was after the collapse
of the USSR, which was not
so much dissolved because of
efforts by the West but be-
cause of the political will for
it in Moscow itself.
The West missed a unique
historic opportunity to make
Russia an ally for decades to
come. They quickly chose to
pick up everything that Mos-
cow had sacrificed on the
altar of a new relationship,
and continued to apply pres-
sure tactics to Moscow.
For example, this resulted
in almost open support of se-
paratists in the North Cau-
casus and other regions of
Russia in the 90s.
There was also no substan-
tial assistance provided to
Russias economy and in the
post-Soviet space, priority
allies of the West often beca-
me those who were guided in
their approach to Russia by
desires for emotional reven-
ge rather than a rational and
sober wish to achieve long-
term settlements.
The result was quite pre-
dictable the preferences
pendulum in Russia swung
in the opposite direction.
To Russians, it again beca-
me clear they had been de-
ceived in their relations with
the West. It is strange that for
Western politicians this was
an unpleasant surprise.
Once again the West is re-
peating or reinforcing that
mistake. Its complete refusal
to recognise Russias right to
have vital interests in the
space of the former Soviet
Union is leading to a new
round of anti-Western senti-
ment in Russia, and to
Moscows strategic choice in
favour of rapprochement with
centres of power that are al-
ternatives to those in the West.
In domestic policy, this is
only serving to unite Russian
society and strengthen the
position of Russian President
Vladimir Putin. I would not
be surprised at all if the
Ukrainian crisis gave Putin
another term as president in
the 2018 elections.
Of course, in many capitals
of the New Europethey are
rubbing their hands with joy:
now it will be easier for the
US and Old Europe to sell
their particular roles as de-
terrents on the borders of the
world and Russia. However,
does this meet the historic in-
terests of Western civilisation
as a whole? In my opinion
no. It is also wrong to once
again assess Russia as a co-
lossus with feet of clayor a
regional power.In the past,
such attitudes have never led
to positive outcomes.
Sergey Mikheyev is head of
the Center for Political Envi-
ronment Studies in Moscow.
the US was not prepared to
treat Russia as an equal, and
Russia, for its part, was cer-
tainly in no rush to ack-
nowledge the supremacy of
the US.
Now Russia can forget any
talk about a strategic part-
nership with the US. Does
that mean Russia is moving
towards a level of confronta-
tion generally? Hardly.
Russia is not the Soviet
Union; it is not expansionist,
it is not making any claims
about world domination or
ideological superiority.
Moscow is drawing a line
about what it considers its
vital interests and Ukraine
falls within these. Therefore
its actions in Ukraine will
therefore not be negotiable.
But the Kremlin's goal has
not been to come into con-
fict with the US.
And it is certainly worth
noting, against the backdrop
of a very emotional debate
over Ukraine, that chemical
weapons are still being remo-
ved from Syria on schedule
and the Kremlin has not
changed its political position
on settling the Syrian situa-
tion or on its nuclear talks
with Iran.
It is especially noteworthy
that Russia is not questioning
its agreement with NATO
which allows cargo to be
transported from Afghanis-
tan via the Russian city of
Ulyanovsk.
And this is even in the light
of quite unfriendly statements
being made by both the mi-
litary and political leaders-
hip of NATO.
Fyodor Lukyanov is the
chairman of the Russian
Council on Foreign and De-
fense Policy.
Fyodor
Lukyanov
ANALYST
It is also wrong to
once again assess
Russia as a colossus
with feet of clay or a
regional power.
In domestic policy,
this is only serving to
unite Russian society
and strengthen the
position of Putin.
Does that
mean Russia is
moving towards
confrontation
generally? Hardly.
K
O
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T
IN
M
A
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E
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MOST READ
www.rbth.com
THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED BY THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS
rbth.com/35489 Opinion
11
R
ussians and Ukrain-
ians are kin. They de-
scend from the mix-
ing of ancient Slavic
tribes and people called the
Rus. From the 9th century AD
they created the great prince-
dom of Kiev, which was over-
run by Mongol and Tatar in-
vaders in the 13th century.
By the time the Ukraine re-
gion was reconquered some
two centuries later (from the
north and west on the one
hand and from Moscow on
the other), cultural, linguis-
tic and political divisions had
emerged between Russians
and Ukrainians. Yet these
groups remained heavily
intermarried and their lan-
guages cognate.
Crimea was ceded by the
Tatar Khanate to Catherine
the Great in 1783, and essen-
tially remained under Rus-
sian control until the 1950s.
Following the Bolshevik re-
volution of 1917 and the emer-
gence of the USSR, Crimea
was administered as part of
the Russian Soviet Federati-
ve Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
The boundaries of the
Ukrainian-SSR were largely
determined from 1920 to 1921
by the victories of the Red
Army in the bloody civil war
that followed the revolution.
These boundaries were mo-
T
he situation in Ukraine
is nothing short of a
profound social and
political crisis. Severe
tensions have been unleashed
in the country, provoked by
the leaders of Maidan - a
small group of people driven
by extremist ideology and in-
tolerance. These tensions
threaten the future of Ukraine
as a modern democratic Eu-
ropean nation.
With the rights of national
minorities violated and the
interests of regions disregar-
ded, the people of Crimea
found it necessary to deter-
mine their own political fu-
ture by means of a referen-
dum and to do it fast.
We have to respect their
right to self-determination,
a right guaranteed by the UN
Charter.
Alan
Ward
HISTORIAN
Alexander
Yakovenko
SPECIAL TO RBTH
MOVING BORDER
HAS LEFT A
VOLATILE LEGACY
WHY UKRAINE NEEDS A NEW CONSTITUTION
difed from 1939 to 1940 by
the addition of Galicia and
new territory in the west, by
the establishment of a sepa-
rate Moldovan-SSR in 1945
(the foundation of modern
Moldova).
Then, in 1954, Nikita
Khrushchev, First Secretary
of the Communist Party of
the USSR, decided to trans-
fer Crimea to the Ukrainian-
SSR, partly for administra-
tive convenience and partly
to curry favour with sections
of the Ukrainian nomenkla-
tura (bureaucratic and indus-
trial elites). In the highly cen-
tralised USSR, no one
challenged his decision. There
was no prior referendum in
Crimea. Indeed, most resi-
dents of cities like Sevasto-
pol only became aware of the
change when street signs in
Ukrainian began to appear.
In 1992, the Supreme So-
viet in Moscow passed a re-
solution that the 1954 trans-
fer lacked the force of law.
By this time, however, the Su-
preme Soviet was a spent
force (it was disbanded in
1993 by former Russian Pre-
sident Boris Yeltsin). And
Ukraine, in a referendum on
December 1, 1991, voted for
independence from Moscow.
These events have relevan-
ce now only because most
Western leaders accept the
legality of the transfer of Cri-
mea by Khrushchev but as-
sert the illegality of the re-
transfer to Russia of March
2014. And in this there is a
degree of hypocrisy.
International lawis a so-
mewhat nebulous concept in
any case, and historically it
has been manipulated by
Western nations from time to
time to suit what they regard
as their essential interests. No
doubt Russias resumption of
authority over Crimea was
somewhat opportunistic, but
in the light of the confused
political situation in Kiev,
Russian President Vladimir
Putin arguably had a good
c a s e f o r r e v e r s i n g
Khrushchevs transfer.
It is perhaps regrettable
that international observers
did not oversee Crimeas re-
ferendum (although the
OSCE was invited to send
them), but unlike in 1954, at
least this time there was one.
On December 5, 1994 the
Budapest Memorandum was
signed by Yeltsin, former US
President Bill Clinton and
former UK Prime Minister
John Major (for the three
principal nuclear powers) and
by former Ukrainian Presi-
dent Leonid Kuchma. Under
this agreement, Ukraine un-
dertook to remove nuclear
weapons from its territory,
and it seems did so.
In return, the other powers
undertook to respect the exis-
ting borders of Ukraine and
refrain from the threat or use
of force, or economic coer-
cion, against its territorial in-
tegrity or political indepen-
dence.
The legal status and rele-
vance of the 1994 Memoran-
dum is now a matter of de-
bate, and there is concern in
the international community
that Crimea may presage fur-
ther Russian expansion.
However, as Kuchma has re-
cently observed, Russia is dee-
ply concerned about Western
efforts to draw Ukraine into
the European Union and
NATO.
It should also not be for-
gotten that there have been
at least four major invasions
of Russia from the west since
the time of Napoleon. In the
light of this, Russian suspi-
cion of Western motives is un-
derstandable. Moreover, the
sudden collapse of the USSR
left a number of national and
ethnic issues in the region un-
resolved, and no ready me-
chanism to resolve them.
Currently, the most volati-
le of these concerns the rights
of Russian-speaking Ukrai-
nians in eastern Ukraine,
which has different histori-
cal infuences from the west,
where Ukrainian is the do-
minant language and citizens
are more European-leaning.
Bridging the differences
between east and west may
require reforming Ukraine's
federal structure in a way that
allows for greater devolution
of choice around language
and schooling, while guaran-
teeing equal access to resou-
rces and social services for
all groups and minorities.
This surely must be a key
part of the debate within
Ukraine leading up to the na-
tional elections that are plan-
ned for May.
As for Western leaders, if
they wish to assist in the pea-
ceful resolution of the current
difficulties in Ukraine, and at
the same time draw Russia
further into the comity of na-
tions, they would do well to
recognise the complex histo-
rical legacies in Ukraine and
in eastern Europe generally,
and moderate their langua-
ge accordingly.
Alan Ward is an Emeritus
Professor of History at the
University of Newcastle, New
South Wales.
There is at present no le-
gitimate executive authority
in Ukraine. The acting gover-
nment was formed by the par-
liament under threats and
even direct use of force
against MPs by extremists.
Local governments all over
Ukraine are taking the situa-
tion into their own hands.
With a real risk of civil war
and social disintegration,
there is still a chance to save
Ukraine from political, social
and, not least, economic
collapse.
The agreement signed on
February 21, 2014 by former
Ukrainian President Viktor
Yanukovych and opposition
leaders, mediated by the fo-
reign ministers of Germany,
France and Poland, provided
for constitutional reform in
Ukraine. The tenets of this
agreement are still relevant.
Any new constitution
should recognise the legiti-
mate aspirations of all Ukra-
nori t i es l ivi ng i n t he
federations constituent en-
tities should be protected; in-
terference in matters of reli-
gion and faith should be
strictly prohibited.
Following the adoption of
a new constitution by a na-
tionwide referendum, natio-
nal elections should be held,
together with elections of le-
gislative and executive bodies
in each constituent entity.
And broad and objective in-
ternational observation of
this process is crucial.
These are the proposals
that Russia has put forward
to our Western partners. The
multi-ethnic Ukrainian peo-
ple have the right to live in a
democratic and civilised state,
with the future of Ukraine
in their own hands.
Alexander Yakovenko is
Russia's Ambassador to the
UK. He was previously Depu-
ty Minister of Foreign Affairs.
inians and all of the nations
regions to live safely, in ac-
cordance with their traditions
and customs. The principles
of the rule of law, the protec-
tion of human rights inclu-
ding the rights of all minori-
ties freedom of speech and
activities of political parties
and mass media should be
enshrined in it.
Ukraines political system
should be based on the idea
of a democratic federal state
such as, for example, Ger-
many, Russia or the US.
Its status of military-poli-
tical neutrality should be en-
shrined in the constitution
and guaranteed by the EU,
Russia, the US and a UN Se-
curity Council resolution.
Along with Ukrainian,
Russian should be given
state-language status, while
other languages should be
granted a status in accordan-
ce with the European Char-
ter for Regional or Minority
Languages.
Regions should indepen-
dently elect their legislative
and executive bodies through
a direct vote and, refecting
the cultural and historic iden-
tity of each of them, have
wide authority with regard
to economy and fnance, lan-
guage policy and education.
The rights of national mi-
The multi-ethnic
Ukrainian people
have the right to live
in a democratic and
civilised state.
No doubt Russia's
resumption of
authority over Crimea
was somewhat
opportunistic.
It is regrettable
that international
observers did not
oversee Crimeas
referendum.
K
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www.rbth.com
MOST READ RUSSIA'S NEW SPACE STRATEGY UNVEILED
rbth.com/35893 Science
12
ALEXEY GONCHAROV
GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA, CANBERRA
On January 16, 1820 the
Russian ships Vostok and
Mirny successfully forced
their way through ice, and
approached the Antarctic
continent.
WARM RELATIONSHIP
IN THE ICY WATERS
JOINT AUSTRALIAN-RUSSIAN RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE
ANTARCTIC REGION HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF ACHIEVEMENTS,
AND DESPITE SOME DIFFERENCES THEY ARE SET TO CONTINUE
SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION
From the ships decks, the
members of the expedition
could see what they thought
was land. To confrm and de-
fine the shape and size of
Terra Australis, the vessels
approached the newly dis-
covered continent fve more
times.
In March, Vostok and Mirny
sailed to Sydney to wait the
winter out. They stayed in
Sydney Harbour for a month,
and their sailors received a
warm welcome from the Gov-
ernor of New South Wales,
Lachlan Macquarie.
This was the beginning of
a long history of successful
research cooperation between
Russia and Australia in Ant-
arctica.
There have been ups and
downs in this relationship
since the 19th century as the
political climate has changed.
However, Russian-Australi-
an Antarctic cooperation re-
cently received a boost when
in January 2012 Russian For-
eign Minister Sergey Lavrov
visited Sydney and signed a
bilateral Memorandum of
Understanding on Antarctic
Cooperation.
The links between the Aus-
tralian and Russian national
Antarctic programs were fur-
ther strengthened in June
2012, during the 35th Ant-
arctic Treaty Consultative
Meeting held in Hobart.
The Director of the Aus-
tralian Antarctic Division,
Dr Tony Fleming, signed a
Schedule of Action on Ant-
arctic Cooperation with his
Russian Arctic and Antarc-
tic Research Institute coun-
terpart, Valery Lukin.
Unlike Australia, the Rus-
sian Federation does not have
territorial claims in Antarc-
tica. Nevertheless, the re-
search undertaken by Rus-
sian scientists within the
Australian Antarctic Territo-
ry has been extensive for dec-
ades.
A number of Russian Ant-
arctic expeditions have col-
lected high-quality marine
geophysical data, including
seismic data. And Russian
The Antarctic's continental margins
and Australian scientists have
actively cooperated on the in-
terpretation of these geophys-
ical data sets.
Recent cooperation has also
involved Russian ships run-
ning continuous plankton re-
corders for the Australian
Antarctic Division.
Australias national geosci-
ence agency Geoscience Aus-
tralias previous work includ-
ed compilations of data,
including Russias data from
Prydz Bay, and Russias
VNIIOKEANGEOLOGIA
(The All-Russian Research In-
stitute of Geology and Min-
eral Resources of the World
Ocean) made a significant
contribution to planning of
Leg 188 of the International
Ocean Drilling Program. Sev-
eral wells on that leg were
drilled on Russian seismic
lines in the Prydz Bay-Coop-
eration Sea area to study gla-
cial history and palaeocean-
ography.
There was also active on-
shore cooperation which in-
cluded joint feld geological
studies, supported by the Aus-
tralian Antarctic Division,
and compilation of geologi-
cal and geophysical data for
the Prince Charles Moun-
tains, which resulted in the
publication of a monograph
and maps, co-authored by
Russian and Australian sci-
entists.
According to Geoscience
Australias Howard Stagg
(now retired), the effort put
into the three geophysical
surveys in 2001 and 2002 was
unprecedented in the history
of Antarctic geoscience re-
search.
The Norwegian vessel Polar
Duke spent 58 days at sea and
acquired 3437 kilometres of
seismic and 7000 kilometres
of bathymetric data, while the
Russian vessel Geo Arctic
spent a total of 195 days at
sea and acquired 20,219 kil-
ometres of exceptional-qual-
ity deep seismic data.
To put this achievement
into perspective, the average
seismic surveys carried out
in the Antarctic over the past
30 years have acquired from
2000 to 5000 kilometres of
seismic data in a single sea-
son; and Geo Arctic achieved
more than twice the previous
averages.
These data sets were essen-
tial for the Australian sub-
mission to the UN Commis-
sion on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf.
However, this work under-
taken under the Australian
Government mandate has
created some problems inter-
nationally. Some countries
have expressed concern that
the submission of the Aus-
tralian claim on offshore Ant-
arctica will contradict the
Antarctic Treaty signed in
Washington on December 1,
1959. According to the treaty
all territorial claims in Ant-
arctica are essentially fro-
zenwhile it is in force.
After an extensive diplo-
matic consultation, the Aus-
tralian Government has re-
quested the commission not
take any action for the time
being in regard to the infor-
mation in its submission that
relates to the continental
shelf of Antarctica.
Unique geophysical data
sets collected during the Aus-
tralian Antarctic surveys have
been co-interpreted by the
Australian and Russian sci-
entists at Geoscience Austral-
ia, VNIIOKEANGEOLOGIA
in St Petersburg and the Uni-
versity of Sydney; and sev-
eral major papers have been
published in international
scientifc magazines.
The Protocol on Environ-
mental Protection to the Ant-
arctic Treaty (The Madrid
Protocol) was adopted in 1991
in response to proposals that
the wide range of provisions
relating to protection of the
Antarctic environment should
be harmonised in a compre-
hensive and legally binding
form.
It draws on and updates the
Agreed Measures, as well as
meeting subsequent treaty
recommendations relating to
protection of the environ-
ment.
Interestingly, interpreta-
tions of the Madrid Protocol
differ substantially between
Russia and Australia: while
the Australian government
does not allow any assess-
ments of the resource poten-
tial of Antarctica, including
its petroleum potential, the
Russian Government has
mandated the Russian re-
search organisations to un-
dertake ongoing assessments
of the petroleum potential of
the icy continent and its con-
tinental margins. The Austral-
ian government's justifcation
for this is that the Madrid
Protocol, in Article 7, clearly
states that any activity re-
lating to mineral resources,
other than scientifc research,
shall be prohibited. The Rus-
sian governments view is that
assessments of the resource
potential of Antarctica are
scientifc research at a region-
al stage of geological inves-
tigations and these studies
are regularly reported to the
Scientifc Committee on Ant-
arctic Research, freely ex-
changed internationally and
widely published, while the
Australian government main-
Above: The scientific research
vessel Akademik Aleksander
Karpinsky. Left: Australian
and Russian seismic survey
lines on the Antarctic conti-
nental margin. Right: A joint
Russian-Australian team: (left
to right) Viktor Ganduykhin,
Alexey Goncharov, German
Leitchenkov and Yuliya Guse-
va, analysing data at VNI-
IOKEANGEOLOGIA in St Pe-
tersburg, in 2005. Below: The
Russian ships Vostok and
Mirny in Sydney Harbour,
1820 (by P.N. Mikhailov, cour-
tesy Elena Govor, ANU).
Russian scientists
have been involved
in scientific research
in Antarctica for
decades.
Unlike Australia, the
Russian Federation
does not have any
territorial claims in
Antarctica.
GERMAN LEITCHENKOV
VNIIOKEANGEOLOGIA, ST PETERSBURG
P
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MOST READ
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US BARS RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS FROM TOP PHYSICS LABORATORIES
rbth.com/35837 Environment
13
Hence, the Russian govern-
ments resource-assessment
mandate potentially puts pe-
troleum companies in a
strong position to undertake
estimates of the petroleum
resources of the Australian
southern continental margin
because they can use geolog-
ical and geophysical data
from both conjugate margins.
Petroleum exploration on
the Australian southern mar-
gin is very active at the mo-
ment, as the limitations of the
Madrid Protocol do not apply
in this area.
tains that such assessments
fall under the category of
any activity relating to min-
eral resources.
Regardless of this political
debate, scientists agree that
Australia and Antarctica
were once part of a single
continent, called Gondwana,
until about 83 million years
ago. Large sedimentary ba-
sins that have formed on the
Antarctic and Australian
southern margins in the pro-
cess of the Gondwana break-
up are believed to contain
vast resources of oil and gas.
VIKTORIA KOLESNICHENKO
RBTH
Russia's early spring this
year, combined with low
rainfall, meant that
conditions were right for
fires to start in abandoned
peat mines.
Abandoned peat mines raise
fire danger this summer
Fires can burn for decades underground and spread to forests and towns
On March 29, a peat fre start-
ed at a drained peat bog in
the region's Sergiyevo-Posad-
sky District. It is thought to
have started when someone
deliberately set alight dead
grass from the previous year.
This is a not uncommon
practice in provincial Russia
as it is traditionally believed
to improve the fertility of the
soil.
According to forecasts from
Russias Ministry for Emer-
gencies, this years summer
is likely to be dry. And if by
the start of summer, any peat
fres are still burning, it will
be impossible to prevent fres
spreading to forested and res-
idential areas.
At worst, more than 7000
towns and villages may be at
risk. If this occurs, it is like-
ly that Moscow will be badly
affected by smoke, as it was
four years ago.
Peat stores in Russia
The total area of peat bogs
in Russia is 568,000 square
kilometres. The bogs are
mostly in the north of the Eu-
ropean part of Russia, in West
Siberia and Kamchatka.
Peat is a fossil fuel formed
from decaying marsh plants
in humid and airless condi-
tions. Its main function is to
store carbon. Peat also acts
as a natural water flter, as it
absorbs impurities and heavy
metals.
Peat mining reached its
height in Russia during So-
viet times in 1975, the USSR
produced 90 million tonnes
of peat, more than all the
other countries of the world
combined.
Finland and Canada, then
the world's second and third-
largest peat producers, mined
just 1 million tonnes a year.
Peat was used as a fuel for
power generation and as a
raw material in the chemical
industry. As far back as 1913,
Russia even built the world's
frst power plant that ran on
peat.
Throughout the time that
peat was mined, it was also
widely used in agriculture, as
a fertiliser and as bedding for
cattle and poultry.
However, as the gas indus-
try developed, peat's proft-
ability as an energy source
declined.
An industry abandoned
The resulting drop in demand
for peat meant that a large
number of peat mines were
simply abandoned.
The exact area that these
abandoned mines cover is
very difficult to estimate, but
it is thought to be at least
hundreds of thousands of
hectares.
Peat can spontaneously ig-
nite at temperatures of
around 50 to 60 degrees when
humidity is less than 40 per
cent. Peat bogs can also
smoulder all year round, de-
spite weather conditions that
generally are not favourable
to combustion at all.
In 2002, peat fres in Rus-
sia were put out only because
of spring fooding; they had
burned from the previous
year, all through winter.
Russias worst fire season
on record
Peat bog fres can spread to
ground fires, which can
threaten towns and villages,
and the smoke from the fres
has effects on carbon emis-
sions, public health and vis-
ibility.
In 2002, because of the
smoke from peat fres, visi-
bility in Moscow dropped to
between 50 and 300 metres.
Forty years ago, following
a long period of hot weather
(with temperatures over 35C)
and little rainfall (126 milli-
metres over the whole sum-
mer in the Moscow Region),
more than a dozen regions in
European Russia were littered
with fres: more than 40,000
of them altogether.
The summer of 2010 was
similar. By the end of July, a
fre emergency was develop-
ing across practically the
whole of western and central
Russia: in the Moscow Region
and around the cities of Kirov,
Tver, Kaluga, Pskov and Yeka-
terinburg.
For Russia, the summer of
2010 was the hottest on re-
cord, with 22 temperature re-
cords being broken over three
months.
For a whole month, day-
time temperatures in Moscow
did not drop below 30C. In
addition to the heat, there was
barely any rain (in July, Mos-
cow saw only 13mm of pre-
cipitation, compared with the
average of 90mm).
The fres of 2010 resulted
in 60 deaths and 2500 homes
and eight villages burning
down. An additional 134 vil-
lages suffered serious fire
damage.
Following the 2010 fre sea-
son, work to food sections of
once-drained peat bogs
began. Flooding abandoned
peat mines is one of the most
effective ways of preventing
peat fres.
6
FACTS TO
REMEMBER
ABOUT PEAT
1
According to the Interna-
tional Peat Society (IPS,
1995), the world's re-
serves of peat are more than
400 billion tonnes. Canada
takes first place in peat
reserves, with more than
170 million hectares of peat
swamps.
2
The Russian Federation
comes in second; it has
more than 162.7 million
hectares of peat reserves in its
territory.
3
Depending on the
types of raw material
that the peat is derived
from, there are three varieties:
high bog peat (light), transi-
tional and lowland (dark).
4
It has taken about
10,000 to 12,000 years
to form the peat
reserves we have today. The
peat layer of a swamp is
formed with a speed of up to
several millimetres per year,
and the depth of peat deposits
now reaches around 10 metres.
5
Peat fires spread slow-
ly, at a rate of no more
than a few metres per
day, and at a depth of one to
1.5 metres underground. Even
heavy rain can't put out peat
fires.
6
Peat is even used in al-
cohol manufacturing
for example, in the
production of Scotch whisky.
And peat-fire smoke is tradi-
tionally used in the extraction
process of malt from cere-
als. This is done by putting the
grains in a room with holes in
the floor, through which smoke
rises from a peat fire in the
room underneath.
The fires of 2010
resulted in 60 deaths
and 2500 homes and
eight villages burning
down.
Flooding is one of the most effective ways to stop peat fires.
Peat fires can easily
spread to forest fires.
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MOST READ KOMAROVO: A LITERARY VILLAGE ON THE SHORES OF THE GULF OF FINLAND
travel.rbth.com/1539 Travel
14
KATHERINE TERS
RBTH
Russia's capital is a
patchwork of iconic
landmarks, diverse
aesthetics and wildly
different sub-cultures.
HOME TO THE KREMLIN AND RED SQUARE, ST BASIL'S CATHEDRAL AND ARGUABLY THE WORLD'S MOST
BEAUTIFUL METRO, RUSSIA'S CAPITAL HAS A LOT MORE TO IT THAN JUST HISTORIC SIGHTS.
HISTORIC CAPITAL
AUSTRALIAN
IMPRESSIONS
OF MOSCOW
It is Europes second most
populous city and the world's
northern-most megacity. Its
residents include the worlds
largest concentration of bil-
lionaires and people from
right across the former So-
viet Union.
The citys speedy pace and
general gaudiness contrast
with its quiet green spaces,
the wide Moscow River and
the village-like feel in some
districts. Moscow has cool
creative precincts and artis-
tic hubs hunkering beneath
monumental Soviet buildings,
contemporary skyscrapers
and glaringly coloured onion-
domed churches.
RBTH spoke to three Aus-
tralians about their mixed
feelings towards this some-
times intimidating city.
Like Sydney in a hurry
Visiting the 'very
soul' of Russia
INTERVIEW LANA MATAFONOV
INTERVIEW
DANIEL DE BORAH
Sydney-born, Melbourne-lov-
ing Lana Matafonov lives in
St Petersburg, where she is
the editor of the citys Eng-
lish-language newspaper The
St Petersburg Times. Lana
regularly visits Moscow for
work, and as a loyal St Pe-
tersburger has mixed feelings
about the northern capitals
rival city.
Do you like Moscow?
Moscow? I hate it. No, I dont.
Well, not entirely. Its a city
that has a real energy about
it. You feel it as soon as you
arrive, and while it can be
overwhelming its exhilarat-
ing as well.
I think its a pretty daunt-
ing city for most visitors be-
cause its so huge and hard
to navigate. Youre jostling for
space with the other 12 mil-
lion people that live there,
something you especially no-
tice on public transport.
Concert pianist Daniel de
Borah, who lives in Mel-
bourne, is a graduate of the
St Petersburg Conservatory.
He has visited Moscow many
times for music festivals and
competitions.
How did you get there?
I usually took the Red Arrow
overnight train from St Pe-
tersburg, which takes about
eight hours.
Theres something very
cosy and convivial about Rus-
sian train journeys, rolling
along at a gentle pace while
sharing pickles and vodka
with your cabin mates.
What di d you t hi nk of
Moscow's aesthetics?
Wherever I went, it seemed
that one of the Stalin tow-
ers was looming over me.
They were a constant remind-
er of Soviet ambition and au-
thority. I found them awe-in-
spiring and just a little bit
terrifying.
[Moscow has seven sky-
scrapers, also known as the
seven sisters. They were built
in the late 1940s and early
50s,in Soviet art deco style.]
How do St Petersburgers feel
about Moscow?
The rivalry between Moscow
and St Petersburg is not un-
like what we see between
Sydney and Melbourne, and
St Petersburg is Melbourne:
its laid-back, has a slower
place and sees itself as more
cultured. Moscow, on the
other hand, is like Sydney:
fast-paced, competitive, cut-
throat, everyones in a hurry.
What do you like doing when
you go there?
As cliched as it sounds, I still
get a kick out of seeing the
Kremlin, Red Square and the
Church of Christ the Saviour
because theyre such impos-
ing and historic landmarks.
I also really like that Moscow
has a lot of green within the
city, including some great
parks. Gorky Park is my fa-
vourite.
Moscow does have a lot to
see and while you can see the
major landmarks in a day or
two, you really need more
time to ease into it all and
appreciate the city for what
it is.
Is it expensive?
It can be. Its a city you def-
nitely have to budget for.
Food, for example, can be very
expensive. But there are af-
fordable places, its just a
matter of fnding them. One
great new place is Ulliams
Restaurant [20a Malaya
Bronnaya Ulitsa] and
there's a reason why theres
always a crowd outside.
Its in the Europeansec-
tion of Moscow, so afterwards
you can take a walk and ex-
plore the pretty streets near-
by, or stop over by Patriarch
Ponds. Oh, and when it comes
to coffee, stick to the Coffee-
mania chain its a bit more
expensive than average but
worth it.
How woul d you descri be
Muscovites?
People tend to think Moscow
is unsafe and unfriendly, but
I personally think its the op-
posite. It has an incredibly
diverse multicultural popu-
lation. Muscovites are also
renowned for being fashion-
conscious and label-obsessed
and its not uncommon to see
people head to toe in Gucci
or Louis Vuitton which,
strangely enough, they often
manage to pull off somehow.
What's your best memory in
Moscow?
On my frst visit there, I made
my way to the Moscow State
Conservatory, to the Interna-
tional Tchaikovsky Piano
Competition. Sitting in the
Great Hall, surrounded by
portraits of Russias great
composers, I thought about
all the historic performances
that had taken place in that
space, when Tchaikovsky,
Prokofev and Shostakovich
had stood on the podium,
conducting the premieres of
their symphonies.
It felt like I was sitting in
the very soul of Russia.
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MOST READ
www.rbth.com
RUSSIA'S TOP 10 LITERARY TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
travel.rbth.com/1533 Travel
15
The Metro: perfect blend
of art and transport
INTERVIEW JANE WILLIAMSON
Jane Williamson is an Aus-
tralian expat now living in
Thailand, where she is work-
ing for the UN. A devoted
Russophile, she loved her stay
in Moscow, and has been try-
ing to fnd a way back there
ever since.
What did you like about
Moscow?
The sense of history; the
blend of east and west and a
sense of worlds colliding. Its
a city where you can see op-
ulence and raw humanity side
by side.
How did you get around?
Mainly on the metro, and the
Moscow Metro is an incred-
ible museum of the Soviet era
and to the aesthetics of the
1930s: the perfect blend of
art and public transport. I re-
member Belorusskaya Sta-
tion looking like a ballroom
and the inspiring heroic fg-
ures at Revolution Station.
What was the food like?
I loved the Georgian restau-
rants, especially the one in
Dolgorukii Square. Fresh
Georgian salads were my fa-
vourite, second only to melt-
in-your-mouth khachapuri
[Georgian baked cheese
bread]. I also loved eating hot
dogs at little kiosks, and that
What did you think of Musco-
vites?
Theyre well dressed, often
stylish and sometimes com-
pletely over the top. People
in Moscow come from all over
the former Soviet Union, so
its a city where you can meet
people from all kinds of eth-
nic backgrounds and walks
of life.
Where did you stay?
I stayed in the dormitory at
Moscow State University,
where it felt like the Soviet
era hadnt ended yet. The lift
didnt work and there was a
grumpy dezhurnaya [woman
on duty] on every foor. The
dezhurnaya on my foor was
bad-tempered, but she still
shared her vodka with me.
Being green, I didnt realise
you had to down the glass in
one hit.
wonderful Russian tradition
of eating fast food standing
up at waist-high tables. But
the best culinary experienc-
es of all were in the tiny
kitchens of family apart-
ments: pelmeni [dumplings],
zakuski [appetisers] and tea
swallowed through a cube of
sugar or with jam.
TATYANA LEONOV
SPECIAL TO RBTH
Traditional Russian food is
hearty and filling but
contemporary Muscovites
prefer the exotic, and the city
has cosmopolitan eating
options to satisfy them.
Popular eating trends in Moscow
Sushi
Muscovites love their sushi,
and Moscow has a profusion
of sushi bars and restaurants
to choose from.
Some come with a hefty
price tag, such as the sophis-
ticated three-level Misato,
where diners can select their
cut of sashimi in person
(misato.ru).
Others, like Yakitoriya, are
more reasonably priced. Yak-
itoriya led Moscows sushi
wave when it opened in 1999,
and since then, sushi has
stuck (yakitoriya.ru).
To cater to Muscovites
discerning palates, most Jap-
anese restaurants have their
fsh fash-frozen before its
fown in, to maintain taste
and texture.
Caviar
A new caviar bar recently
opened at the citys Clumba
Club where customers can
order delicacies like caviar
dumplings, caviar pasta and
caviar sushi (clumba-club.
ru/moscow_caviar_bar).
With 11 types of fsh roe
on offer, patrons are encour-
aged to learn about the dif-
ferent kinds of caviar which
are fown in from various re-
gions of Russia.
Prices vary quite a bit, de-
pending on the type of cav-
iar. For a 40-gram serve,
prices can range from 150
Cosmopolitan
tastes from sushi to
Georgian khachapuri
Moscow's
Medieval Kremlin,
next to Red Square, sits midst
a miscellany of sights, including the 19th
century GUM department store (directly above).
SURF WAVES IN
RUSSIA' S FAR EAST
EAT AND DRINK WITH
LOCALS IN THE
SOUTHERN CAUCASUS
FIND OUT THE BEST
PLACES IN RUSSIA TO SEE
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
AND PHOTOGRAPH THEM
roubles ($4.50) to 3300 ru-
bles ($99) for black sturgeon
roe.
Georgian food
Moscow has a lot of Geor-
gian eateries and restaurants.
The impeccably reviewed res-
taurant Sakhli has a coun-
try-home interior and sum-
mer-terrace dining.
Its specialities include tar-
ragon juice, delicious lobio
kakhetinsky (kidney beans
with onions), cheese khinka-
li (giant cheese-flled dump-
lings) and phakhli a dip
with crushed nuts, eggplant,
spinach and capsicum
(en.sakhli.ru/).
If youre after khachapuri
(Georgian woodfire-oven-
baked cheese bread), the res-
taurant Dacha na Pokrovke
is said to bake the citys best
(dacha-na-pokrovke.ru/).
Mini cafes
Mini cafes, or tiny spaces that
specialise in just one type of
cuisine, are superpopular in
Moscow right now.
Doodles is one example.
It serves tangy stir-fry noo-
dles and it has a buzzing busy
atmosphere (facebook.com/
cafedoodles).
The Burger Brothersinno-
vative gourmet hamburgers
attract a hip corporate crowd
(facebook.com/TheBurger-
Brothers).
AND:
TRAVEL TO RUSSIA'S
FAR REACHES
See even more travel destinations with
travel.rbth.com
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Japanese restaurants
have their fish flash-
frozen before it's
flown in, to maintain
taste and texture.
www.rbth.com
MOST READ BRIDGE OR DIVIDE? RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN UKRAINE
rbth.com/36183 Events
16
OTHER
EVENTS
Australian adventurer, au-
thor and film-maker Tim
Cope will be talking about
his new book On the Trail
of Genghis Khan at the Syd-
ney Writers Festival on May
23. Released by Bloomsbury
last year, the book describes
Copes journey across the
Eurasian steppe from Mon-
golia through Kazakhstan,
Russia and Ukraine.
Cope, who speaks Russian
from his days studying to
be a wilderness guide, is
passionate about the tradi-
tional cultures of Russia and
Central Asia.
In response to recent
events in Ukraine, Cope is
keen to talk about his ex-
periences with the Crimean
Tatars.
In the steps of
Ghenghis Khan
The Russian Society of Car-
diology (RSC) will be tak-
ing part in the World Con-
gress of Cardiology 2014,
which is running in Mel-
bourne from May 4 to 7.
Russian cardiologists will
introduce a joint social pro-
ject of the RSC and the
World Heart Federation
(WHF) called the Heart Mu-
seum. Through a series of
interactive displays, this ed-
ucational project for chil-
dren demonstrates the
hearts structure and func-
tions and provides advice
on how to maintain cardi-
ovascular health. One dis-
play consists of costumes
which let the wearers feel
what it is like to be five,
eight or 15 kilograms heav-
ier. The RSC also joined the
international initiative Red
dress, a project which aims
to increase awareness about
the prevention of cardiovas-
cular diseases in women.
Matters of the
heart museum
KATHERINE TERS
RBTH
Celebrated Russian conductor
Alexander Lazarev will lead
the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra (SSO) this month,
playing works by Rach-
maninoff and Shostakovich.
Top Russian
conductor
for Sydney
concerts
Acclaimed pianist to perform Rach 3
its among my favourite piano
concertos.
Acclaimed by the German
newspaper Stuttgarter Zei-
tung as one of the greatest
pianistic talents of our times,
27-year-old Vondracek made
his debut at just 14, when he
played with the Czech Phil-
harmonic.
Born to pianist parents,
Vondracek comes from a
small town in the north-east
of the Czech Republic. He is
also a protege of Vladimir
Ashkenazy, pianist and the
SSOs Russian-born princi-
pal conductor until last year.
Ive been lucky enough to
perform regularly with
Ashkenazy since I was a teen-
ager,Vondracek said. He
taught me how to discover
the nuances and colour in
music; and just watching and
listening to his playing has
always been educational and
inspiring for me.
ed the St Petersburg Philhar-
monic, the BBC Symphony
Orchestra and the Royal Scot-
tish National Orchestra.
Symphony No. 15, Shosta-
kovichs last, is considered to
be a semi-autobiographical
work. Written in the summer
of 1971 in Repino, it is fa-
mous for its quotations,
which include an outburst of
Rossinis William Tell Over-
ture, use of Wagner's Fate leit-
motif from the Ring Cycle
and allusions to Glinka and
Mahler.
Shostakovich said in con-
versation with his friend
Isaak Glikman: I don't quite
know why the quotations are
there, but I could not, could
not, not include them.
Pianist Lukas Vondracek made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic when he was just 14.
Vondracek last played in
Sydney in 2007, when he per-
formed Rachmaninoffs Pa-
ganini Rhapsody, also with
the SSO.
He said he had never
worked with Lazarev before
and was very much looking
forward to it.
Lazarev is a prolifc per-
former and recording artist,
known for the broad scope
of his repertoire, which rang-
es from the 18th century to
avant-garde. In Soviet times,
he was well-known for his
efforts in disseminating and
promoting the work of con-
temporary Soviet and foreign
composers.
A graduate of both St Pe-
tersburg and Moscow con-
servatories and a prize-win-
ning conductor during
Soviet times, Lazarev is ac-
claimed in Russia and known
for his longstanding associa-
tions with Moscows Bolshoi
Theatre. From 1987 to 1995,
he was the theatres chief con-
ductor and artistic director,
and more recently (2009 to
2010) he was the conductor
in residence there.
Lazarev has also conduct-
Under Lazarevs direction,
from May 8 to 10 the SSO
will perform Shostakovichs
Symphony No. 15 in A major
and the Rach 3 Rachmani-
noffs Third Piano Concerto
in D minor. The Rach 3 will
be played by visiting Czech
pianist Lukas Vondracek.
In an interview with RBTH,
Vondracek said that as far
as piano literature goes, it
doesnt get much more chal-
lenging than the Rach 3.
...when you look beyond the
sheer number of notes, youll
fnd incredible passion and
complex musical structures
in this work. Without a doubt,
KATHERINE TERS
RBTH
Live captures of
performances at the world's
best theatres are broadening
access to companies like the
Bolshoi Ballet.
Marco Spada, also known
as The Bandit's Daughter,
was created at the Paris
Opera in 1857. It is a three-
act ballet-pantomime, with
choreography from Joseph
Mazilier and music adapted
from Daniel Auber's comic
opera of the same name. The
Bolshoi has revived Pierre
Lacotte's 1981 production of
the ballet, which was per-
formed at the Rome Opera
and in which Rudolf Nureyev
played the lead.
The new production stars
American David Hallberg
and St Petersburg-born danc-
ers Evgenia Obraztsova and
Olga Smirnova.
From May 10, Australias
Sharmill Films will be pre-
senting cinema screenings of
the live capture of the
Bolshoi's performance of
Marco Spada. The ballet,
which premiered in Moscow
at the end of last year, was
flmed at the Bolshoi Theatre
on March 30. It will be
screened in cities and region-
al centres across Australia.
The live capture will be
screened at Melbournes Cin-
ema Nova, Village Cinemas
Rivoli and Palace Dendy
Brighton; and at Sydney's
Cremorne Orpheum, Dendy
Opera Quays and the
Palace Chauvel, among
other cinemas.
Established in 1967 by Na-
talie Miller, Sharmill Films
specialises in distributing Eu-
ropean films and alternate
content captured live. To date,
that alternate content has in-
cluded theatre, opera and
ballet.
The Met Opera in New
York was the frst company
to start capturing their per-
formances live in high def-
nition for cinema screenings,
Sharmill Films Kate Mc-
Curdy told RBTH.
After that, Great Britains
National Theatre and the
Bolshoi Ballet followed their
example, she said. Other bal-
lets by the Russian company
Sharmill has distributed in
Australia include The Nut-
cracker, Sleeping Beauty and,
more recently, a new produc-
tion of Jewels by George Bal-
anchine.
Weve had very positive
reactions from Australian au-
diences to screenings of titles
from the Bolshoi,McCurdy
said, adding that the quality
of the captures was so high
that audiences had views
equivalent to the best seats
in the house.
Bolshoi ballet to screen in Australia
Live capture of the Marco Spada will show in cinemas across Australia in May
"I've been lucky
enough to perform
with Ashkenazy since
I was a teenager,"
Vondracek said.
A scene from Marco Spada,
courtesy of the Bolshoi.
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