Is this a feline Bulat Okudzhava? Ya never know…
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The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg “hires” cats to protect its artworks against rodents. The so-called “guard cats” go unnoticed as they dwell in the attics and basements, away from the eyes of tourists. The museum administration has “employed” these highly skilful “guards” ever since the museum was founded in 1764. Even though nowadays rats and mice can easily be exterminated using chemicals, the museum can’t do without the cats, who’ve become a living legend and its mascots.
The first “public service” cats came in the 18th century. Tsar Pyotr Veliki was the first to provide shelter for a big cat he had brought from Holland at the then-wooden Winter Palace. Later on, Tsaritsa Yelizaveta Petrovna ordered a batch of rat-catching cats from Kazan because she was scared of small rodents. Cats acquired the status of palace guards during the reign of Tsaritsa Yekaterina Alekseyevna Velikaya. Under Yekaterina, they were divided into chamber cats (the Russian Blue breed), and backyard cats who chased rats and mice guarding Her Majesty’s peace of mind. The State Hermitage Museum started as a private collection of Tsaritsa Yekaterina, who acquired 220 works by Dutch and Flemish artists through her agents in Berlin. At first, most of the paintings she acquired were placed in secluded parts of the Winter Palace, which became known as the “Hermitage”, or “Retreat”, in French.
Hermitage-employed cats survived the October Revolution and continued their service under the Soviet government. However, they didn’t survive the siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. After starving people ate all the cats, rats infested the city. However, as soon as the blockade was over, two railway cars filled with cats arrived in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) from Russia’s central regions, to form the backbone of a new squadron of rat-eating cats. Cat numbers rose to an unprecedented high in the second half of the 1960s. As the cats prowled the basements, museum rooms, and corridors, the museum administration received orders to get rid of them, which they did. However, several years later, the “four-legged guards” were ordered back, for the museum found it too hard to do without them in its struggle to preserve cultural artefacts.
Since then, the Hermitage cats have gotten good care. Each so-called “hermit” has a passport with a photo certifying that he’s qualified to pursue the difficult task of protecting the museum basements against rodents. The cats are well looked after, fed properly, attended to if ill, and respected for their hard work. Museum employees know all male and female cats by their names, and the name for each cat is picked carefully, to suit his or her character. The team of four-footed guards consists mainly of alley cats, and like the imperial times, the cat community hinges on strict hierarchy. The cats fall into aristocrats, the middle caste, and the low caste. Each group operates within a certain designated part of the building. The cat staff cannot exceed 50-60 cats, but not because they’ll be difficult to look after in terms of cat food. If the number of cats exceeds 60, they start cat fights and neglect their duties. For this reason, from time to time, the museum has to look for people who’d adopt their extra cats.
The museum’s basements have specially designated areas for storing cat food and attending to ailing cats. The roadway near the museum has road signs warning drivers about cats’ presence and urging them to be careful and slow down. Road accidents are the most frequent cause of death amongst Hermitage cats. The Hermitage budget allocates no funds for the cats’ keeping. The cats live on donations from the public and museum workers. Hermitage Cat Day, marked annually on 28 March, is one of the museum’s memorable dates. The museum staff prepares a large number of informative exhibitions and exciting contests.
28 May 2012
Yuliya Galiullina
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/2249159/75927890.html
Is the University of California System Collapsing?
Tags: California, Education, Jerry Brown, political commentary, politics, Tuition payments, UCLA, United States, University of California, University of California Berkeley, USA
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Local academics believe that the University of California system is on the verge of collapse due to constant spending cuts. Even if officials approve Governor Brown’s proposed tax increase, a number of education programs and departments will have to shut down. For a long time, many thought that California had the best public university system in the USA. UCLA and UC Berkeley are among the top 25 American schools, but the situation has deteriorated. According to faculty, the schools have to admit more students or cut programmes and downsize staff. Even though the level of education is going down, tuition fees are going up, as the universities are underfinanced. According to Nathan Brostrom, Executive Vice President for Business Operations at the UC Office of the President, the chief administrative officer of the University of California, the state’s higher education system is enduring a severe financial crisis. The budget of schools is still at the 2007 level, whilst the number of students is growing. University staff said that the lack of funding hampers long-term planning.
Funding was the main reason of a conflict between California authorities and taxpayers. Governor Jerry Brown proposed to increase taxes to fund education, but taxpayers weren’t happy with this. If the University of California system collapses, it will negatively affect the whole country. First, UC alumnae are top professionals all over the country. At the same time, high tuition fees will frustrate young people, spurring them on to take to the streets. High tuition is a burning problem for all of America. Student loans are bigger than any other kind of loans, leading to long-lasting burdens for students. Even President Obama said that he and his wife only paid off their loans some eight years ago. Higher tuition and lower education quality will result in more young protesters. Last April, several large American cities saw protests marking the so-called One Trillion Day when the total of student loans across the country reached one trillion dollars.
American authorities are quite imprudent in their crackdowns on student demonstrations. California was the epicentre of police violence targeted against students and youngsters, namely a crackdown that injured a 26-year-old Iraq War veteran amidst the dispersal of a peaceful rally with tear gas. Federal and New York authorities spy on Muslim students. Such methods will only undermine the trust of young people, who are traditionally some of the most active members of the society. Nevertheless, the government still has faith that these measures will work, failing to notice that the country is on the verge of public collapse.
4 June 2012
Vladimir Gladkov
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_06_04/77010659/
Editor’s Note:
Let’s keep it simple. If Wafflin’ Willy and the Magic Gotchies Brigade take the White House, expect them to slash federal aid to education to free up funds for warmongering, prisons, and fancy toys for the DoD (generally overpriced and usually cranky on ops). After all, Willy said that you could go to your parents for a loan… he did, after all. Oh, I forgot… most Americans aren’t gazillionaires like George Romney. We don’t have the money to do such… so, in Willy’s way of thinking, “Go wash dishes… college is for the respectable people in society. If you can’t pay for it, you can’t get it. If you were any good, you’d be as affluent as we are”. Trust me, that IS their attitude.
The present system sucks… it’s the frying pan. However, Willy’s solution is to throw people into the fire… they don’t count, in any case, “They’re not Mormons; they don’t count as human beings”. You forget that Willy’s an unrepentant member of an unhinged cult at your own peril (Reformed Egyptian, indeed!)…
BMD