The Expedition of Mir-1 and Mir-2 begins in Lake Baikal

The deep submergence research vehicles (DSRVs) Mir-1 and Mir-2 are being prepared for their dives to the bed of Lake Baikal. Their crews are readying the craft for serious scientific studies of the plant and animal life at the bottom of the lake, the level of hydrocarbons, and a precise measurement of the depth at the lakebed. This upcoming expedition is the first of its kind, for no earlier DSRV exploration reached the bottom and were able to conduct experiments there.

Baikal, a unique ecosystem in all of nature, lies in the southern reaches of eastern Siberia. In size, it is about equal in area to Belgium, Switzerland, or Holland. It holds 22 percent of the freshwater in the world, and 90 percent of the Russian supply. If one was to fill the Baikal basin by diverting to it all the rivers of the world, scientists calculate that such a move would take 300 days. The plant and animal life of the lake is no less unique. More than 2,600 species of animals and over 1,000 kinds of plants live here, the majority of them being unique to this ecosystem habitat. The purity of the lake is ensured by its microscopic life that filters the upper layer of the water down to a depth of 50 metres (@165 feet).

The DSRVs shall dive at several locations around the lake. Near the mud volcano on the lakebed, chemical measurements shall be taken, water samples shall be obtained, and benthic sedimentations with gas hydrates shall be measured.

According to Robert Nigmatulin, the Director of the Institute of Oceanography, “We assume that there are large deposits of gas hydrates on the bottom, that is, crystals composed of methane and water. According to some theories, a heavy concentration of gas is found in them. No one thinks that we can take them from the bottom. However, scientists shall try to see if we can obtain cheap natural gas from them in future. Besides this, we intend to study the undercurrents, which are of great interest. Baikal is not like a cup with still water. The water flows in one direction on the surface, and, yet another in the depths. We would like to find out how this occurs and how it affects the life in this habitat”.

The first descent is planned for late July, tentatively scheduled for 23 July. 60 dives are planned this year, and next year, 100 more are on the docket. Not only Russian specialists shall participate in the Baikal expedition, for foreign scientists are slated to take part as well. Experts from the Oceanographic Institute of Prince Albert II of Monaco, various UN bodies, and from leading institutes in the USA and Japan are part of the effort. All of the scientists are confident that many new discoveries await them.  

18 July 2008

Svetlana Andreyeva

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77503&cid=23&p=18.07.2008 (in Russian)

“Tsarist Days” in Yekaterinburg

Boris Gryzlov (1950- ), Speaker of the RF Gosduma

Yekaterinburg in the Urals plays host yet again to the now-traditional “Tsarist Days” Festival of Orthodox Culture from 13 to 18 July. This event is in memory of the tragic end in 1918 of Tsar Nikolai II and the members of the imperial family. “It shall require decades for Russian society to totally realise the scope of this tragedy, one that seems to have occurred in another epoch, the shooting of the entire imperial family”, said Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of the RF Gosduma. “We must learn the lessons of our past so that they may be a solid foundation for unity, not division”, Mr Gryzlov said to the participants at the World Russian People’s Congress session in Yekaterinburg. Over 2,000 clergy, scientists, public figures, and artists of all kinds came from Austria, America, Germany, Russia, Serbia, and other countries. Amongst them were members of the Romanov house, including Princess Olga Kulikovskaya-Romanova.

The main events of the Congress were the première of the film Nikolai II: The Trampled Triumph (Nikolai II: Sorvanny Triumpf), greetings from Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia, and a concert of sacred music in the Memorial Church of the Saviour on-the-Spilled-Blood. The church was built on the very spot where the Ipatiev House stood, the place where the imperial family was killed some 90 years ago on the night of 16/17 July 1918.

Icon of the Mother of God “of Feodorovskaya”

14 pictures, dedicated to the historical events of 90 years ago, shall be shown as part of the international exhibition of documentary films, Lastochki Rossii (The Swallows of Russia). The audience was particularly moved by the film Put na Golgofu (The Way to Golgotha) directed by the brothers Anatoly and Viktor Golovkov from the Siberian city of Tobolsk. This was based on the imprisonment of the imperial family in Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg, as reflected in the last diaries of the tsar. In the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts, there was a show of the works of the Moscow iconographer and painter Filipp Moskvitin entitled Diven Bog vo Svyatykh Svoikh (How Wondrous is God in His Saints). A central place in this presentation is taken by the monumental painting Svyatye Tsartvennye Mucheniki (The Holy Royal Martyrs). In it, the imperial family is depicted holding crosses, and the figures are 2 to 2.5 metres (@ 6.6 to 8.2 feet) in height. Pilgrims from around the world, and this year, there were over 10,000 even at this early point, flocked to the museum for the exhibit and to visit a gallery with the ancestral icon of the Romanovs, the icon of the Mother of God “of Feodorovskaya”. This exhibit shall run for the entire period of the “Tsarist Days”.

Exhibits from seven countries were on display at the 4^th International Orthodox Exhibition-Fair From the Repentance to the Resurrection of Russia. For the first time, it was not only possible to buy church goods created at different monasteries, parishes, and podvorie, but, it was also possible to converse with theologians and to listen to spiritual music. Orthodox choral music also resounded at the all-Russian Choral Festival Resounding Angels from the Heavens, where male choruses and boys’ choirs from all over Russia participated.  

Bell-ringing shall peal out during the period of the “Tsarist Days” Festival. The best bell-ringers of Russia gathered for a festival of bell-ringing, Church Bells of the Ural Land. Traditional and special methods of bell-ringing were demonstrated and master-classes in the art of ringing the bells were given. They also performed the 1812 Overture of Pyotr Chaikovsky, a piece in which the composer used the old tsarist anthem, Bozhe, Tsarya Khrani (God, Protect the Tsar).    

15 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77177&cid=24&p=15.07.2008 (in Russian)

“Russian Sounds” in Schleswig-Holstein

Christoph Eschenbach (1940- ), renowned German musician and conductor

“Russian Sounds” is the subtitle of one of the largest European musical festivals this summer; it shall run in the cities of the northern German Länd of Schleswig-Holstein until 21 August. Russian names predominate amongst both the composers and musicians on the posters. Neighbourly relations between Russia and Schleswig-Holstein go back to 1725, when Anna Petrovna, the daughter of Tsar Peter the Great, married Grand Duke Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp.

The duke presented to is future father-in-law the so-called Gottorp Miracle Globe, an enormous sphere some three metres (@10 feet) in diameter. As he was just as intrigued by science as was the tsar, the duke made a copy of the globe for his court. The prime minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Peter Karstensen, related this shared history and added, “Since then, this masterpiece of the Schleswig craftsmen of that past time symbolises the connection of our peoples, which did not fight one another over influence in Europe, but, shared a common interest in science and culture”.

For some seven weeks, Russian music shall sound in the 50 cities and towns on the itinerary of the festival. The works of Modest Mussorgsky and Igor Stravinsky shall be performed by Cristoph Eschenbach, who started this particular musical festival 23 years ago, and he has been a permanent fixture of the event ever since. The majority of the orchestral programmes shall be played by the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, which recently appeared in St Petersburg at the Stars of the White Nights Festival organised by the famous conductor Valery Gergiev.

Now, Maestro Gergiev is making a reciprocal visit to Schleswig-Holstein, bringing with him the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. The best operatic soloists and musicians of Russia, the conquerors of stages throughout the world and justly loved by global audiences, shall be prominent figures on the stages of the festival. Amongst them are the pianists Eliso Virsaladze and Denis Matsuev, violoncellists Natalia Gutman and Boris Andrianov, guitarist Dmitri Illarionov, and others as well. Besides academic ensembles and soloists, other Russian musical groups to appear shall be folk-music choirs, church choirs, and folk-instrument orchestras, including the popular folk quartet Terem.     

15 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77176&cid=24&p=15.07.2008 (in Russian)

Lyubov Kazarnovskaya Wins Award from “Gramophone” for Recording of Romansy of Pyotr Chaikovsky

Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, famous Russian operatic soprano

The British magazine Gramophone bestowed its prestigious Critic’s Award on the well-known Russian opera-singer Lyubov Kazarnovskaya for her CD anthology of romansy (“romances”, sentimental Russian love songs of the 19^th and early-20^th century: editor’s note) by Pyotr Chaikovsky. For the first time in the history of recording, all 103 romansy of Chaikovsky are performed by a single performer in a single multiple-CD album, regardless of the voice for which they were originally written, from bass to soprano! International experts gave a thumbs-up to this project of Ms Kazarnovskaya, one that she considers a highlight of her career. She considers Chaikovsky one of her favourite composers, and after completing work on the romansy project, she is going to record his opera, Pikovaya Dama (Queen of Spades).

Ms Kazarnovskaya is convinced that “there is no limit to the possibilities that we can take as singers, as creative personalities”. She stated this at a recent meeting with young musicians in Moscow. This was a unique master-class, during which she not only gave her audience advice on vocalisation and vocal technique, but, she also attempted to give the entire spectrum of the singer’s art, repeatedly stating that an operatic singer is, first of all, an artist, not merely “a package for a voice”.

“Contemporary operatic performance requires much work. We cannot merely rely on the scenery and set poses, and then just sing. When I prepared for the role of Salome in Richard Strauss’ opera at the Teatro Santa Cecilia in Rome, I worked much on my dramatic presentation, giving particular attention to the choreography, because, in one of the episodes, Salome performs a twelve-minute dance”.

Lyubov Kazarnovskaya is the first, and, thus far, only, Russian singer to portray this most complex role on the world operatic stage. She works with the leading operatic talents of our time, conductors, directors, and singers. She participates in many musical festivals and has initiated many unusual creative projects. This summer, her schedule is crammed with concerts in Italy and Germany, where she shall perform an original programme comprised of the repertoire of the famous French singer of the 19^th century, Pauline García-Viardot, who had a romantic liaison with the famous Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev.  

15 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77175&cid=24&p=15.07.2008 (in Russian)

Moscow Hosts World Festival of Children’s Theatres

More than 1,000 young actors from 20 countries have gathered in Moscow for the 10th World Festival of Children’s Theatres Festival sponsored by the International Amateur Theatre Association, which starts today, 18 July at 11.00. This is the first time Russia has the honour of hosting this major theatre event, which in children’s theatre circles is an Olympiad, one that is as hotly contested as the Olympics in sport. The President of the Russian centre of the IATA, Vidas Siljunas, believes the choice of venue was eminently reasonable. “The IATA has always appreciated Russia’s contribution to amateur theatre, both in terms of quantity, since amateur theatre in Russia is spread on a vast scale, and also in terms of quality. Russian amateur theatres attract considerable attention in the world”.

In the opinion of Aleksandr Kalyagin, renowned Russian actor and director and Chairman of the Union of Russian Theatre Workers, “The theatre of the future is born out of such events as the Moscow festival and it’s only natural for this organisation to support amateur efforts and the formation of young artists for a future role in the serious theatre. These are things that are easy to understand. In recent years, the Russian government has focused its attention on not only increasing the birth-rate, but, also in raising the quality of life of children, so, it has increased its budget allocations for youth theatre. For the needs of the Moscow festival, which is under the direct patronage of President Medvedev, the RF Gosduma placed 30 million roubles (1.292 million USD. 815,255 euros. 646,288 UK pounds) in the budget”.

The main programme entitled Children Play for Children will feature theatre productions from Russia, Germany, Britain, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. This is the world as seen through the eyes of children, who pleasurably share their happiness and concerns with their contemporaries. For a whole week, beginning from Friday, the theatre world will hold its doors open for those who most need it. Moscow has prepared a special project, “Believe in Me”, for disabled children. Under the direction of their teachers, they will give a performance at the closing ceremony of the festival.

The festival will kick off in the Moscow Hermitage Garden with a merry theatrical show involving clowns, acrobats, giant dolls and brass bands.

18 July 2008

Lyudmilla Roshchina

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77465&cid=24&p=18.07.2008 (in Russian)

Dispute Swirls around the American Radar in the Czech Republic: Myths and Arguments

A vigorous public discussion is increasingly growing sharper over US plans to site a radar base in the Czech Republic, especially after Prague and Washington signed an agreement to that effect. Long before the deal was signed, Czech Premier Miroslav Topolánek stated that it dealt more with national prestige than it did with national security. This sort of cynical statement reflects a general political tendency in Prague, Warsaw, and the Baltic states, as they focus more on unilateral collaboration with the US to the detriment of pan-European interests. An explicitly anti-Russian bias stands behind this. Otherwise, it is impossible to understand their belief that a US presence in the countries of former Warsaw Pact will protect them from Russian geopolitical influence and boost their democratic development. This leads to an inescapable conclusion. All rationalisations for the need of developing a US ABM system as a defensive shield against possible missile attacks from Iran and North Korea are nothing but myths. It is nothing but an attempt to persuade European public opinion to accept a foolish proposal.

Those who oppose the US missile plans have clear-cut and convincing arguments. No matter where US missile bases are located, they shall spark geopolitical tensions and not help democracy in the least. The haste with which supporters of the bases are striving to clear a path for their deployment is due to their desire to have the base issue resolved before President Bush leaves office, so, that whoever succeeds him, a Democrat or Republican, shall be bound by the standing agreements. The fact that US lawmakers have yet to say their last word on the deployment of ABMs in Europe matter doesn’t seem to matter to them.

Czech ex-Foreign Minister Jiřzi Dinstbir said in an interview, “Both houses of the US Congress have made it clear they need evidence that the system will really work before agreeing to provide the necessary funds. So far, there has been no such evidence. The test results shall not be known until 2010. In America, politicians aren’t making haste. At present, this imperfect system devours 11 billion dollars (255.457 billion roubles. 6.938 billion euros. 5.501 billion UK pounds) annually, which overloads a military budget already inflated by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In other words, they are fighting on credit as there are no extra funds for new military projects”.

It’s hard to suspect Mr Dinstbir, one of the leaders of the velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia in the late 1980s, of anti-Americanism. But, being a responsible politician, he doesn’t separate his country’s prestige from its security interests. Debate on the deployment of the radar site is gaining increasing momentum in Czech society, and we should attentively follow it.

20 July 2008

Aleksandr Vatutin

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77585&cid=21&p=20.07.2008 (in Russian)