August 10, 1997  
This Date's Issues: 1113•1114 •1115

Johnson's Russia List
#1115
11 August 1997
djohnson@cdi.org

[Note from David Johnson:
1. My alert friends at USIA have put together the following report
as an aid to all those JRL readers who have felt out of touch over
the past week. USIA Foreign Media Reaction Report: RUSSIA: A NEW RUBLE,
MILITARY REFORM, BILL ON RELIGION.
2. St. Petersburg Times: Anatoly Korolyov, Superstitious Russia 
Trapped in Medieval Age.
3. Washington Post: Daniel Williams, `Why'd the New Russian Cross
Nevsky Prospekt?' To Avoid All the Jokes Being Told at His Expense.]

********

>From United States Information Agency
Foreign Media Reaction Report
11 August 1997 
RUSSIA: A NEW RUBLE, MILITARY REFORM, BILL ON RELIGION 

Moscow watchers in the foreign press have focused principally on three
developments in Russia over the past few weeks: the government's plan
to redenominate the ruble next year, President Yeltsin's new military
reform package and his vetoing of a controversial bill seen as setting
sharp restrictions on all but a few "traditional" religions in Russia.

THE NEW RUBLE--Most pundits applauded the announcement Aug. 4 of a
plan to lop three zeroes off the ruble come January 1 and agreed with
Russian government officials who depicted it as a sign that the days
of hyperinflation are over. Moscow's reformist, youth-oriented
Komsomolskaya Pravda believed redenomination "is evidence of real
economic stabilization and a stronger ruble." Analysts stressed that
there was an even more important psychological dimension to the move,
that of restoring Russians' pride in their achievements and lessening
feelings of "inferiority" vis-a-vis the might of the U.S. dollar.
Business Handelsblatt of Duesseldorf suggested that the new ruble
"could strengthen confidence in the stability of Russia's currency and
its economic policy." Moscow's reformist Izvestia said that it "will
bring us back a symbol of a strong nation and self-confidence."

MILITARY REFORM--Reaction to Mr. Yeltsin's July 25 address was very
negative, with the kindest assessment being that his proposal to
shrink the military from 1.8 million to 1.2 million members in three
years was "poorly considered." In Moscow, communist Pravda-Fivewarned
that Russia is heading towards "catastrophe" if it stakes all on its
nuclear forces and is left "without armed forces adequate to the
existing threats" in places like Tajikistan and Chechnya. Similar
fears were voiced outside Russia. German dailies fretted over the
potentially "disastrous" combination of nuclear stockpiles under the
control of an impoverished army, with over half a million soldiers now
scheduled to be cast adrift in a society that can offer them few jobs.
Warning that Moscow must not be allowed to restart an arms race,
right-of-center Die Welt of Berlin concluded, "Frustrated soldiers are
uncertain guarantors of stability."

BILL ON RELIGION--Non-Russian commentators praised the Yeltsin veto
July 22 of a bill that would have restricted religious organizations
not officially registered at least 15 years ago. Buenos Aires's pro-
government La Prensa and papers elsewhere noted that the Russian
leader blocked the measure in the teeth of the Orthodox Church's
support and a "nationalist backlash" created by foreign protests--
from President Clinton to the Pope--that the bill was "an affront to
human rights." In Moscow, a few pundits sided with Mr. Yeltsin,
agreeing that the measure "needs further work." Others objectively
tried to explain the differences regarding religious freedom in the
U.S. and in Russia. But the "backlash" attributed to pressure from
abroad was very evident throughout the press. Nationalist opposition
Sovetskaya Rossiya denounced Mr. Yeltsin for making "our traditional
religion dependent on what the Vatican and the U.S. say." Reformist
business weekly Delovoi Mir declared that the Kremlin leader "made his
choice in favor of the view of the international community,
disregarding the opinion within the country."
This survey is based on 48 reports from 6 countries, July 17-Aug. 11.
EDITOR: Mildred Sola Neely

EUROPE
RUSSIA: "Reform Ends Inflation Era"

Reformist Segodnya (8/5) quoted Russia's Central Bank chairman Sergei
Dubinin as saying: "Money reform will end an era of inflation and
hyperinflation which is to be over by 1998."

"Symbol Of Strong Nation" 

Reformist Izvestia (8/5) cited a leading expert on political crisis
management, Yefim Ostrovsky: "Most importantly, what is going to
happen will bring us back a symbol of a strong nation and self-
confidence. It will also rob the Communists of their chief argument in
favor of Soviet times--sausages for 2.2 rubles.... We need to get rid
of our inferiority complex--a whopping 6,000 rubles to a U.S.
dollar--or we'll never be able to have a sound economy, politics and
representative power."

"Reform To Help De-Dollarize Russia" 

According to Alexander Potyomkin, a deputy chairman of Russia's
Central Bank, in reformist Izvestia (8/5): "Denomination will have a
strong psychological effect, helping dedollarize this country. It is
not the beginning but the end of money reform."

"Evidence Of Economic Stabilization" 

Sergei Ponomaryov and Yelena Loria pointed out on page one of
reformist, youth-oriented Komsomolskaya Pravda (8/5): "That the
Russian authorities have resolved to do this [the redenomination of
the ruble] is evidence of real economic stabilization and a stronger
ruble."

"Dump Our Worst Fears" 

Tatyana Koshkaryova and Rustam Narzikulov predicted on page one of
centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (8/5): "If what the president said is
true, Russia will indeed avoid confiscatory inflation, and our worst
fears that the government might surrender to the temptation of
resolving budget problems at the population's expense will not come
true."

"What's Behind Seemingly Populist Move?" 

Yury Ryazhsky said in reformist, youth-oriented Moskovskiy Komsomolets
(8/5): "The only coherent explanation of the coming reform is that, if
you believe Yeltsin, it will make things easier for Russians. It won't
be long before we know what really stands behind this seemingly
populist move."

"Soros A Spy?" 

Ivan Cheberko and Igor Pichugin of reformist, business-oriented
Kommersant Daily (8/2) quoted a report by Russia's federal
counterintelligence service: "'The operation of American research
centers guided by American special services and the Pentagon lies in
the area of intelligence-subversive activities. The real objective of
their (funds') work is to aid U.S. foreign policy aimed at containing
Russia as a potential competitor.' The Federal Security Service (FSB)
faces a dilemma: To forgo its findings on the Soros Fund or kill the
(Svyazinvest) deal and rob the Russian budget of $1.7 billion."

"Russia Sorosized" 

Yevgeny Popov described George Soros in nationalist opposition
Sovetskaya Rossiya (8/2):

"He is a stock-market speculator...always plays big but prefers to
remain in the shadows, at least temporarily. Usually, it is after a
while that the world learns, for example, that, before having tanks
shell the Supreme Soviet, Yeltsin met with George Soros. While there
is still no evidence of Soros's possible role at a 'secret meeting' in
Davos of new Russian oligarchs who bet big money on the Yeltsin
re-election, one can easily guess the kind of advice he might give,
knowing his political likes and maliciously anti-communist reflexes.
After the Svyazinvest row, which is bad enough, we are in for what
might become the final stage of a national pillage--Sorosizing
Russia."

"Driving Force Behind Human Civilization" 

Reformist Segodnya (7/31) published this article by Anton Zvyagilsky:
"People like Soros who make fortunes during historical cataclysms may
not look very attractive at first sight. But their healthy cynicism
and financial acumen, in the final analysis, are a major driving force
behind human civilization. As for George Soros's personality, the
question of whether his actions benefit or harm Russia is speculative.
True, Russia has lost control over telecommunications in a territory
stretching from East to West over thousands of kilometers. But what
does it matter compared to tens of thousands of Russian scientists
saved from degradation by the New York tycoon?"

"Who Controls Russian Media?" 

Alexei Volin, deputy chief in President Yeltsin's public relations
department, was quoted as saying in reformist, business-oriented
Kommersant Daily (7/30): "The conflict over the Svyazinvest telecom
group is due to divisions inside the banking community and has nothing
to do with Russia's interests. That Russia has gained the maximum
profit is only reasonable and right. As for the media war itself,
well...now it is crystal clear who controls what in the Russian media.
The presidential administration can't, nor should, do anything about
it: We have freedom of the press in this country."

"Clamor For Army Reform As Useless As Anti-NATO Invectives" 

Pavel Felgenhauer said in reformist Segodnya (7/29): "Generals promise
that reform will make the Russian army smaller, but nobody says that
reform will make it better. Statements that NATO enlargement is
unacceptable, regrettably, have not stopped the West. So, too, today's
official clamor for army reform may prove just as useless partly
because nobody has really figured out how to carry it out."

"Staking It All On Nuclear Factor Wrong" 

Anton Surikov judged in neo-communist Pravda-Five (7/29): "The reform
architects' ostrich-like behavior and unjustified savings on national
defense will leave Russia without armed forces adequate to the
existing threats. Staking it all on the nuclear factor, intelligence
and diplomacy is fraught with a catastrophe for this country and the
world at large."

"It's The Duma's Fault" 

Reformist Izvestia front-paged this by Gennady Charodeyev and Maxim
Yusin (7/26): "The ongoing spat over the law on religious freedom has
not come about through the fault of the Kremlin or the Russian
Orthodox Church. It is that the Duma-drafted text is unacceptable.
Ironically, its authors are the Communists who in their time
ruthlessly persecuted members of all religions, traditional and non-
traditional."

"Yeltsin Protects U.S. Interests" 

Tatyana Astrakhankina held in neo-communist Pravda-Five (7/26): "One
can understand the U.S. Congress. By imposing an unlimited religious
pluralism on us, the Americans act on (the)...precept that the
Orthodox Church is the chief ideological enemy, second only to
communism. In October of 1993 the Americans helped Yeltsin shoot the
Supreme Soviet, along with amendments to a law restricting the
domination of totalitarian sects and foreign preachers. Today, too,
they appeal to Yeltsin, a loyal protector of their interests."

"Protect Russian Religion From U.S." 

Zhanna Kasyanenko pleaded in nationalist opposition Sovetskaya Rossiya
(7/26): "The entire Russian people must join their church leaders in
expressing their attitude toward the policy of Yeltsin, who makes our
traditional religion dependent on what the Vatican and the United
States say."

"Army Reform Poorly Considered" 

Andrei Korbut and Vadim Solovyov opined on page one of centrist
Nezavisimaya Gazeta (7/26): "Army reform seems to be poorly
considered. The hasty way in which some measures are being taken is
obviously due to a critical situation in the army. The main thing now
is to keep the officers from getting under the control of the public
movement led by Generals Lev Rokhlin (chairman of the Duma Defense
committee) and Igor Rodionov (former defense minister)."

"Army Needs Civilian Defense Minister" 

Oleg Maslov stated in reformist weekly Novaya Gazeta (# 30, 7/28):
"The military is incapable of carrying out army reform. The army needs
a civilian defense minister."

"What Russian Authorities Needed: A Conflict With Orthodox Church"

Georgy Bovt wrote in reformist Segodnya (7/25): "There are signs of a
new conflict in Russia, which the present authorities seem to have
been lacking 'to be entirely happy.' What they needed was a conflict
with the Russian Orthodox Church.... Now it is really a more than
sensitive matter--the freedom of religion and the role of the Orthodox
Church in post-communist Russia....

"The other day, the president vetoed the bill (on Freedom of
Conscience and Religious Association), approved by an impressive
parliamentary majority. In explaining his decision, Boris Yeltsin said
that many provisions of the law 'encroach on the constitutional rights
and freedoms of the individual, assert inequality between different
faiths and are at odds with the international obligations assumed by
Russia.'... The debates have been greatly complicated by the
intervention of 'dark forces in the West': The U.S Senate threatened
to cut financial aid to Russia by $200 million; the Vatican also broke
its silence and made a statement denouncing the legislative product of
the Russian Orthodox Communists sitting in the Duma. These two
circumstances were more than enough to transport the religious debates
onto a new, political plane. Now that Yeltsin vetoed the draft bill,
the Catholics do not hide their satisfaction."

"Yeltsin Made His Choice In Favor Of International Community"

Reformist business weekly Delovoi Mir front-paged this assessment by
Tereza Stepanova (No. 133, 7/25-28): "The president made his choice in
favor of the view of the international community, disregarding the
opinion within the country."

"Dollars For Uranium"

Yuri Nevezhin wrote for page one of reformist Izvestia (7/24), "The
Russian Federation Atomic Energy Ministry and the U.S. Energy
Department have issued a joint statement confirming their commitment
to cooperation in effective protection of nuclear materials in line
with the agreement between Minatom and the U.S. Defense Department on
accounting, monitoring and physical protection of nuclear materials.
On behalf of the United States, the statement was signed by the new
energy secretary....

"Conventional wisdom has it that under President Reagan and CIA
Director Casey, the United States implemented a strategy aimed at
restricting the import of high technology to the former USSR, bringing
down world oil prices and undermining the trust of international
financiers in the Soviet economy. Times have changed and politics must
change. The American minister's visit was apparently designed to
achieve more clarity on what should be the basis of the new
relationship.

"Russia and the United States still have the largest stocks of nuclear
weapons. According to Mr. Pena, the elements of nuclear technologies
should not fall into wrong hands.... Mr. Pena gave priority to
limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and implementing nuclear
weapons control programs as well as stopping the production of
weapons-grade plutonium in Russia. The question of encouraging
investment in Russia's energy sector was only third on the list of
Federico Pena's business in Russia. A certain divergence of interests
is obvious. Russia is trading in nuclear fuel and Minatom expects to
earn $450 million from the export of uranium this year. Meanwhile the
United States is concerned about its program of accounting and
monitoring nuclear materials."

"Pena Pleased With Visit, But Silicon Graphics Supercomputers Row
Continues"

According to Marina Kalashnikova in reformist business Kommersant-
Daily (7/24), "While in Moscow...Pena discussed security in the same
package with trade issues. Beginning from Monday, he has been trying
to persuade the Russian government and the Duma to open up Russian
energy markets as soon as possible. He was prevented from achieving
total success by the scandals which have recently broken out between
the energy ministries in Russia and the United States. Even so, Pena
is well pleased with his visit....

"On one issue, though, political interests prevailed over commercial
ones. Americans continue to play up the scandal over the sale of
Silicon Graphics supercomputers to Russian federal nuclear centers.
Minister Mikhailov allegedly admitted they would be used to study the
behavior not only of 'peaceful' but also of 'military' atoms. Now
Americans are demanding the computers back, threatening administrative
action. Federico Pena believes the row should be settled because it is
spoiling the political climate in Washington. But he doesn't know yet
how it can be done as congressmen clamor for tougher measures."

"A Decision That Smells Of The Past"

In the opinion of Vladimir Fyodorov in official Rossiiskaya
Gazeta(7/23): "The American Senate's decision smells of the past. Of
course, the recent vote on Capitol Hill does not mean at all that the
amendments adopted by the Senate will enter into force. President Bill
Clinton and his administration will hardly be delighted. The U.S.
State Department spokesman Burns recently stated that even if Boris
Yeltsin signs the new law, aid to Russia should not be truncated
because this would 'not be in America's interests.' One should imagine
that this high-placed American diplomat was expressing not just his
own opinion. The Senate decision contradicts the interests of both our
countries and of Russian Catholics whom the American senators have
purportedly decided to protect."

"U.S. Point Of View, Russian Point Of View"

The Washington correspondent of centrist labor Trud, Vissarion
Sisnyov, filed (7/23), "Speaking concretely about the American
assistance that we may be deprived of, it is not that big. The
decision on Russia was adopted in the form of an amendment to the law
on assistance to foreign states that in the next fiscal year will
amount to $13.2 billion. Out of this sum, as estimated by the
administration, we were to get $195 million. But the matter is not in
figures. It is that Russians may lose something more than a certain
amount of greenbacks. There should be no doubt that the Senate
decision, regardless of whether it is to the liking of some people or
not, will be supported by the majority of American citizens because it
reflects the spirit in which they were brought up.

"The problem, however, is that the Senate decision, while reflecting
the specificities of the spirit and approach to this subtle matter of
the majority of Americans, does not take into account Russian
specificities, the specificity of the spirit of Russians, including,
concretely, the dramatic lot of religion in our country."

"If Yeltsin Signs..."

Sergei Bychkov and Alexander Kolpakov held in reformist youth
Moskovsky Komsomolets (7/20), "The fate of the 'amendments' evoked
interest not only in Russia, but also in the West, including the
Vatican. Drawn up, as rumor has it, behind the Kremlin wall and
approved by Metropolitans Yuvenaly and Kirill, as well as by the heads
of the so-called traditional religions--Islam and Judaism, they are
essentially discriminatory. The biggest protests are coming from
representatives of the non-traditional religions that have become
widespread in Russia. Now, if President Yeltsin signs the new wording
of the law On Freedom of Conscience, all the non-traditional
religions, including, probably, even Buddhism, will find themselves
outside of the framework of law. So the president has the choice of
either signing a law that needs further work on it and thus worsening
economic relations with the United States, or returning it for
redrafting.

"If the law is adopted in its present form, society stands the risk of
becoming drawn into a new spiral of social tension. Also, there will
be the problem of the underground, where all the 'outlawed' non-
traditional religious organizations will go. There is no need to
explain what such an 'underground' will mean for Russia."

"More Difficult With Americans"

Maxim Shevchenko and Sergei Startsev observed on page one of centrist
Nezavisimaya Gazeta (7/19), "Pope John Paul II sent a special letter
to Boris Yeltsin expressing serious concern that the text has no
mention of 'traditional religions,' to which Catholicism has always
belonged, and does not mention the Catholic Church even once. Yet
Catholicism has existed in Russia for at least 300 years!

"It is very likely that a common tongue with the Vatican somehow will
be found. A head-on conflict of the Russian state with one of the
biggest and oldest churches in the world, which can hardly be
suspected of sympathizing with 'totalitarian sects,' is something too
absurd to contemplate. But it will be more difficult with the
Americans. They do not intend to simply give up the post-Soviet
religious-cultural space that is so conducive to spiritual
experiments. The religious figures from Capitol Hill will not be
deterred even by the fact that in general outline the new law fully
accords with European legal standards and in terms of rigidity of
formulations even lags behind the laws of some countries (the Greek
constitution clearly determines Orthodoxy as the dominant religion,
similar rights of Catholicism are recorded in the constitution of
Ireland, the rights of Lutheranism in the Danish constitution, and so
on.)"

"Why Doesn't Clinton Veto His Senate's Decision?"

Readers of reformist Kommersant-Daily (7/18) saw this by Oleg Zorin:
"It will be easier for the Russian president's team to sacrifice
American millions rather than to become a target of parliamentary
criticism. All the more so because it's not such big money for Russia,
where even larger sums can get lost quite easily.... However, there is
a more acceptable way out of this situation, which would allow
American senators and the Russian president to save face- -the other
president, Bill Clinton, just has to veto the Senate's decision."

GERMANY: "Dangerous Nuclear Power" 

Jens Hartmann remarked in an editorial headlined as above in right-
of-center Die Welt of Berlin (8/11), "A Russian officer sits in the
command bunker of the Russian strategic forces, drinking vodka to get
rid of his frustrations because he has not received his salary for
months. Suddenly he pushes the red button. This is the horror scenario
which critics of the security of the Russian nuclear forces have
presented for a long time. Even though reality is more
complicated...increasing concern about the state of the Russian
nuclear power is justified....

"There is a great danger that, in future, Russia will intensify its
nuclear arms build-up. The missile forces are not in such a miserable
shape as other units with conventional weaponry. Their modernization
does not cost so much money, and their deterring potential remains
impressive. It is in the West's very own interest not to allow Russia
to start a new arms race. Only common disarmament initiatives in which
NATO gives up part of its superiority can stop Moscow from balancing
the conventional superiority of the Alliance. At the same time,
Yeltsin must reduce the social problems in the armed forces. As far as
domestic and security policy is concerned, frustrated soldiers are
uncertain guarantors of stability."

"Sound Economy Requires More Than Deleted Zeros"

Siegfried Doescher commented on regional radio Sender Freies Berlin
(8/5): "The approach for the planned currency reform is certainly
right and necessary.... But putting the Russian economy on a sound
foundation and giving it a binding clear and legal framework requires
more than deleting some zeros on the ruble bills."

"The Times Of Hyper Inflation Finally Over"

Georg Watzlawek opined in an editorial in business Handelsblatt of
Duesseldorf (8/6), "To cut three zeros from Russian paper money does
not signal a currency reform, but, it is, nevertheless, a favorable
step.... The psychological effect, emanating from this reform is very
important since it could strengthen confidence in the stability of
Russia's currency and its economic policy. The fact that President
Yeltsin has submitted this plan now...is a positive sign.... This
monetary step is no measure to stabilize the ruble but a
psychologically highly effective signal: The times of hyper inflation
are finally over."

"Army Reform: A Disaster Is Brewing" 

Centrist Badische Zeitung of Freiburg (7/18) dealt with Yeltsin's
first steps for reform of the armed forces: "While NATO and Russia's
envoys are still negotiating about future troop sizes in Europe and a
new version of the CFE treaty, Boris Yeltsin is demonstrating what the
outcome of the talks will be: a reduction of the Russian army by
500,000 forces. This will not be an easy task even if it is stretched
over a period of several years. In view of the bad news from the army,
this move signals a kind of emergency brake. But will Yeltsin also
think about a social security net for these soldiers? A disaster is
brewing: There is hardly a bigger and more dangerous potential than
underpaid or unpaid but still well-armed soldiers and officers. These
are people without a future, who are susceptible to political
charlatans. People need housing and jobs once they leave barracks. And
this in the midst of a permanent economic crisis."

"Boomerang?"

According to Jens Dorner in an editorial in right-of-center Bonner
Rundschau (7/18), "Those who get rid of half a million soldiers and
their privileges need not only short-term financial successes to pay
outstanding salaries and safeguard pension payments.... Yeltsin's
oft-reiterated remarks that experienced officers would easily find a
new job in the Russian economy, and that even the new security concept
offers several vacancies for the members of Kremlin apparatus will
hardly help alleviate the outrage.

"If the new situation does not quickly offer the worried officers
staff a new perspective, the latest decree could soon turn out to be a
boomerang. Then it will no longer be harmless civilians who protest
against a regime, but also the concentrated force of frustrated
military officials."

BRITAIN: "Yeltsin Orders Military Cuts: Further Discontent Likely"

The liberal Guardian noted from Moscow (7/17): "President Yeltsin
defied his generals yesterday by opting for low-cost military reform
and ordering that the country's army be reduced to 1.2 million men by
the end of the century. In a move likely to provoke further discontent
among the losers in the top brass, Mr. Yeltsin signed decrees which,
if carried out, would slash the numbers of centers of command in the
cash-starved remnant of the Red Army....

"A fierce struggle continues in Moscow between two groups of
reformers. One, led by the president's civilian security adviser, Yuri
Baturin, backs a ruthless approach to shedding excess officers without
increasing the budget. The other, led by General Lev Rokhlin, the
Chechen war hero and parliamentary defense committee chairman, is
demanding more money to compensate and retrain redundant officers and
to improve conditions for those who remain."

ITALY: "A Mere $200 Million"

A dispatch from New York in centrist, influential La Stampa read
(7/18): "If Boris Yeltsin signs the Duma bill against minority
religions, he will have to pay a price: He will not get $200 million
in aid from the United States.... It is uncertain whether Yeltsin will
consider the U.S. Senate initiative really threatening. The $200
million the Senate is talking about, in fact, is a little thing with
respect to the $8 billion Russia has obtained so far from the IMF,
thanks to the good offices of the White House, not to mention the
political support from Bill Clinton which Boris Yeltsin continues to
enjoy."

CANADA: "Old Bear, New Tricks"

An editorial in the liberal Ottawa Citizen (7/26) observed, " In
Russia, freedom of religion currently hangs by the veto of President
Boris Yeltsin. And if two-thirds of the Russian parliament--the
Duma--votes to override the presidential veto, the thread will be
cut.... Mr. Yeltsin's veto saves matters for the immediate future, but
what is disturbing for the long haul is the easy passage this law had.
It cleared the usually fractious Duma almost unanimously; the media
gave it little attention; and Russia's democratic parties either did
not protest or worse, supported it. Foreign protests, from U.S.
President Clinton to the Pope, created a nationalist backlash.... A
nation without deep roots of liberty and tolerance will not suddenly
transform itself into a modern free society."

LATIN AMERICA
ARGENTINA: "Right Decision" 

An editorial in pro-government La Prensa read (7/26), "The expression
of anti-Western nationalism in Russia did not cease with the collapse
of the Soviet Union. A clear example of this was the law, recently
passed by the majority vote in the Duma, which imposes severe
restrictions on religious groups which did not have a historic
presence in Russia.... It is understandable, then, that the president
of the Russian Federation has vetoed such a law. Even though he did so
against strong objections, in view of the express support to the now
frustrated rule by the Orthodox Church--Boris Yeltsin's powerful
ally--he recognized that the text was an affront to human rights, in
addition to contradicting other laws in the country as well as
international commitments signed by the Kremlin.

"Though the story seems to have a happy ending, there are,
regretfully, Russian political sectors determined to continue using
religion as an ideological...battlefield. Over seven decades of
barbarian Soviet illuminism should have left behind clear lessons."

##

For more information, please contact:

U.S. Information Agency
Office of Public Liaison
Telephone: (202) 619-4355

8/11/97

************

St. Petersburg Times
AUGUST 11-17, 1997
Superstitious Russia Trapped in Medieval Age 
By Anatoly Korolyov
Anatoly Korolyov is a writer whose works include "Aron." 

BEFORE I start this article, let me have a look at my astrological desk 
calendar. Just in case. Published by the firm "Press-service," with a 
circulation of 1 million copies. That means there are 999,999 other 
people who can take advantage of this desk magic.

Ah! Moon in Capricorn. Today's a good day for career and business. The 
day promises advantageous deals and a success in the stock market. 
Physical work around the yard should be useful, too. Good day for 
starting a new project. That's what I was looking for! So I'll start my 
article.

Russia is the most superstitious country in Europe. All my friends - 
writers, journalists, artists, businessmen - believe in omens. Everyone 
is afraid if a black cat crosses his path. My wife wears a silver ring 
with a large jasper stone to ward off the evil eye.

Yesterday on the popular program "Moment of Truth," the host, Andrei 
Karaulov, asked Yakov Urinson, the economics minister, one of the most 
visible reformers in Russia, "Mr. Urinson, are you afraid that anything 
bad will happen in your relationship with the President?"

"I hope the president is pleased with my work," answered the reformer 
and - attention, reader - knocked on the table with his knuckles, adding 
with a serious face, "I'll knock on wood just in case, to ward off any 
evil ..."

In short, even our progressive minister believes in omens, in jinxes, 
and that knocking on wood will drive away any evil spirits that might 
harm his and the president's reforms. In America this type of behavior 
would be impossible, and Clinton probably walks under ladders without 
giving it much thought. (Although all of us remember that scandal 
involving Nancy Reagan, who wouldn't let her husband enter the Oval 
Office without consulting an astrologer.)

Recently I was having lunch with a businessman friend. He told me an 
awful story about what happened to his friends in South Africa. They had 
leased, for a very small sum, a plot of land somewhere in the mountains 
where the Africans had once mined diamonds. But the Africans had mined 
them by hand. The young New Russian businessmen decided to mine the 
diamonds using the latest technology. 

Everything looked promising, but in Pretoria the Russians were warned 
that the land they had leased was considered sacred by one of the 
African tribes. The Russians were told they shouldn't disturb the 
spirits there, and that the tribe's sorcerers guarded the abandoned 
mines. That was why they had gotten such an inexpensive lease.

Our friends were a bit spooked, but they didn't show it. They arrived at 
the site with a group of local white geologists and started their 
explorations. But every evening around their camp they heard drums 
beating in the jungle. The African sorcerers had set to work. 

They beat the drums for a few months and got on the Russians' nerves. 
Eventually all of the Russians fell ill: one got an ulcer, a second had 
horrible headaches, a third had liver problems. For three months the 
Russians endured the sounds of the bongos, but then they flew off to 
Moscow, where they all were put into the hospital and diagnosed with 
severe nervous exhaustion.

But the sorcerers didn't break the local South African geologists; they 
remained alive and well. Why? Because they weren't superstitious.

In vain does Mr. Urinson knock on wood, trying to drive away evil 
spirits. God forbid that the African sorcerers find out about this; they 
could destroy our economy in the blink of an eye with their drums 
because Russians believe in the power of magic.

But all of this is more sad than ridiculous.

Russians are indeed prone to believe in magic. For too long, decisions 
in Russia have been made not by the laws of economics, but by the will 
of the tsar, the wish of the general secretary or, today, by the 
president. People are in no way insured against the whim of the 
powers-that-be, or against a bad fate. That's why all sorts of 
horoscopes and occult literature are so popular. Everyone's trying to 
see into the future so as not to fall into a government trap. What if, 
once again, all bank savings evaporate? What if suddenly there's a 
currency reform? 

Moscow's bookstores are piled high with books on magic, and it's 
considered good form among businessmen and bankers to discuss secret 
plots. If no one believes the government, everyone starts believing in 
the magic of Kashpirovsky, the television wizard who kept millions in 
thrall during the Soviet period. Remember the shows when he infused 
water with a good spirit? Or the appendectomy he performed over the 
airwaves? In Kiev they operated on a woman without anesthesia, and from 
Moscow he made her believe she was anaesthetized. Poor woman - they 
almost killed her.

And every bank has new buildings blessed with holy water. What is this? 
A love of the Orthodox faith? No, this is the atheists' curse against 
the black magic of competitors.

Thousands of people live their daily lives according to their horoscope. 
The astrologist Pavel Globa is a star of the order of Alla Pugachyova. 
Frightening people has become a lucrative business.

No one clinches a deal on the 13th - it's an unlucky day. And in May the 
number of new marriages plummets throughout the country. Why? Because if 
you're married in mai, May, all of your life you'll mayat'sya, or 
suffer.

When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, his portrait appeared without the 
birthmark on his head. Birthmarks have always been considered a bad 
sign, and the Party agreed with this.

Cosmonauts take amulets on their flights into space. But the main amulet 
for warding off evil is lying on Earth in a mausoleum: the dead leader 
preserving his dead idea.

I have my own explanation for this phenomenon. Aside from the idea that 
a Russian person tries to guard himself from the whims of the 
authorities and fate, there is another reason for all this superstition. 


To this day, Russia remains in essence a medieval country. On a 
subconscious level our people still live in the 15th century. Time here 
passes differently than it does in Europe, where the level of 
civilization has reached the 20th century. The distinguishing feature of 
the 15th century human is his simultaneous belief in God as well as in 
the wood spirit, the witch, and the house spirit. Orthodoxy in no way 
deters such a paradoxical combination of black and white.

It's hard for Westerners to understand this paradox. Recently the BBC or 
some such television company broadcast a program on a person who wanted 
to repent of his sins and set off from Ryazan to the 
Troitsko-Sergiyevskaya monastery - a distance of more than 100 
kilometers - on his knees. 

The television journalists were lying in wait for the pilgrim in a field 
not far from the monastery. The powerful bearded man, wearing an icon 
around his neck, was having a rough time getting up the hill. The 
journalists surrounded him and started asking, "Why are you walking on 
your knees? What horrible thing have you done in your life? What 
forgiveness are you seeking?"

The bearded man was silent and simply made the sign of the cross in the 
direction of the television camera, as is done against the evil eye, and 
continued crawling across the ground. His knees were covered with blood 
and his pants were torn to shreds.

Nearby a woman was leading her cow. She immediately understood what was 
going on and told the foreign correspondents that the man wouldn't 
answer them because he had taken a vow of silence and would not say a 
word until he had crawled to the shrine of Sergy Radonezhsky's relics. 
There's a picture of the collision of two worlds, the medieval and the 
modern.

In short, the woman with the cow and the minister in his white shirt and 
tie know this: You can't understand Russia intellectually. She will 
remain silent when asked questions. So let's all knock on wood so we 
don't jinx the economic reforms.

*********

Washington Post
8 August 1997
[for personal use only]
`Why'd the New Russian Cross Nevsky Prospekt?'
To Avoid All the Jokes Being Told at His Expense
By Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service

MOSCOW—Then there was the one about the newly rich Russian who smashed 
his car in a terrible auto wreck.

"Oh, my Mercedes! Oh, oh, my poor Mercedes!" he cries.

A passerby notices that the man's arm is missing. "Your car? So what!" 
he says. "Take a look at your arm!"

The rich Russian gazes at where his arm used to be, then moans, "Ohhhh, 
my Rolex!"

As Russia has changed rapidly in the past six years, so has its sense of 
humor. Once, the political joke held sway, the secret jest that jabbed 
at 70 years of repressive regimes. Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, 
Leonid Brezhnev -- especially the doddering Brezhnev of his later years 
-- and Mikhail Gorbachev were the butts of stories told over the kitchen 
table to close friends out of earshot of the secret police.

But the communist era crashed, and so did the fear. Somehow, it seemed, 
making fun of politicians didn't have the same kick. Or at least not the 
kick being supplied by the newest wave of humor here: jokes told at the 
expense of New Russians.

New Russians is the name given to the fabulously wealthy, incredibly 
showy and -- the jokes imply -- very dumb beneficiaries of Russia's wild 
brand of capitalism. Everybody seems to know a joke about the New 
Russians, and they are the rage.

Newspapers print them, and published collections are sold at railroad 
station newsstands for easy reading on weekend trips. (One publisher 
uses the logo of a Golden Toilet to distinguish his New Russian joke 
books from others.) Housekeepers buy cassettes of recorded jokes to 
listen to while gardening or cooking. 

"There's a desire to laugh at the rich and a desire to laugh at the easy 
money being made in Russia -- even though only a few are making it," 
said Yevgeny Petrossian, a leading comedian. "It's a classic defense of 
the underdog. You laugh at the New Russian in order to feel superior to 
him."

Petrossian is the author of a collection of Russian jokes told through 
the years -- he had to update the sixth edition to include the New 
Russian series. "I think the first one I heard -- everyone has heard it 
-- was about two New Russians meeting on the street. One says, `Look at 
this tie I bought in New York. $1,500!' "

" `What a fool!' answers the other. `Here, you can get it for $2,000.' "

The transition from communist-era jokes to the era of democracy was 
anything but swift, Petrossian recalled. In 1992 and 1993, there were 
virtually no jokes. "Things were changing too fast, and times were too 
hard. No one knew what was funny or not," he said.

But with the flowering of sudden wealth among the few, the New Russians 
emerged and provided an easy target. Their clothes are distinctive: for 
men, Italian suits with shoulder pads that a linebacker would envy; for 
women, miniskirts and long, high-heeled leather boots. Mercedes-Benz and 
BMW are the preferred brands of car, although the other day, a Pontiac 
Trans Am convertible was spotted on Pushkin Square -- in a city where 
winter often lasts nine months. Bodyguards are de rigueur, and they wear 
the same Italian suits.

Restaurants for New Russians are opulent and extremely expensive. The 
other day -- and this is no joke -- a waiter at an Italian restaurant in 
Moscow tried to explain to a customer why a run-of-the-mill Tuscan wine 
on the menu was so pricey. "If we list it cheap," he said, "New Russians 
won't buy it."

Some observers consider the jokes not merely social but politically 
pointed because of the well-publicized close ties between government and 
tycoons in Russia. "There is an implied criticism. You could easily put 
into the jokes the name of some of the major millionaires with links to 
the Yeltsin government and get the same laughs," said Robert Coalson, 
who writes a column on language for the Moscow Times.

Coalson, who also works as a consultant for regional newspapers in 
Russia, collected some jokes for a recent column, and the auto accident 
tale was his favorite. "That kind of black humor has a long tradition in 
Russia. Some of the jokes are pretty grim," he said.

Most of the jokes about New Russians are unflattering. In a country in 
which there is much contemplation of the mysterious Russian soul, these 
jokes suggest the New Russians have none. An example:

One day, the Devil meets a New Russian and offers him anything he wants.

"I want a license to import anything I want free, I want oil fields, I 
want tax breaks," the New Russian says. "Now, what do I owe you?"

"Your soul," the Devil responds lustily.

The New Russian scratches his head and thinks hard: "Uh . . . so what's 
the catch?"

Poorer Russians -- sometimes referred to as Old Russians in the jokes -- 
apparently regard New Russians as criminals. The inference is 
understandable, given the stream of stories about mafia killings and 
government-business corruption.

"Have you got a book on how to become rich?" a customer asks a 
salesclerk.

"Yes, it's called `The Criminal Code,' " the clerk answers.

Frequently, the newly rich are portrayed as oblivious to the 
impoverished country around them. When an Old Russian beggar complains 
that he has not eaten for three days, a New Russian replies, "Really, 
that's not good for you. Force yourself!"

With their friends, New Russians are ridiculously generous, according to 
the humorous lore. One New Russian orders two Mercedes sedans -- one for 
himself and one for a pal. The friend is moved. "Really, you mustn't," 
he says.

"Why not? Didn't you buy me a cup of coffee yesterday?" the New Russian 
replies.

The surge of New Russian jokes doesn't mean that jokes about other 
well-known aspects of Russian life have disappeared. Bad service in 
stores and restaurants, a holdover from Soviet days, provides continuous 
material. "Waiter!" shouts a customer. "Give me a toothpick."

"It's busy," the waiter replies.

Okay, okay, here's a Brezhnev joke. Russians still love to tell them. 
Like the one about the time Brezhnev was reading the opening speech at 
the Moscow Olympics.

"Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh," he said.

An aide leaned over and whispered, "Leonid Ilyich, those are the Olympic 
rings. You aren't supposed to read it!" 

*********