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Moscow Times
December 28, 2001
2001: A Year of Surprises, A Year to Remember
The Moscow Times We asked prominent people from various walks of Russian life to answer the following question: What, in your opinion, were the most important, the most interesting and the most surprising events of 2001 for Russia?
Nafigulla Ashirov, the supreme mufti of Asiatic Russia:
"I would say that the halt of the country's disintegration was the most important event in Russia in 2001. The regions stopped acting willfully, and the power structures got stronger throughout the country. At the same time, I wish to point to the loosening of inter-confessional and interethnic ties within Russian society, of which the war in Chechnya and the pogrom in Tsaritsyno in Moscow are the most vivid examples.
"For me, most surprising this year was the crumbling of Russia's status among the world's powers after Sept. 11. We suddenly gave up our military bases abroad, we lost our initiative in the Commonwealth of Independent States and we permitted American troops to occupy strategic positions near Russia's border. Sure, we all knew that such a collapse has been ripening for a long time, but anyway, it came unexpectedly."
Sergei Kovalyov, State Duma deputy and human rights advocate:
"This year has been abundant in important events that, however, can be characterized as negative for the country. The law on political parties, amendments to the media law and laws on fighting terrorism are monstrous and can be placed among the sad symbols of this year.
"The 'Za Steklom' show surprised me as another horrifying symbol of the departing epoch."
Olga Dergunova, managing director, Microsoft Russia and CIS:
"As a head of a technology company, I wish to point to the outgoing year's important trend of steady demand for information technology products in all segments of the market due to economic growth.
"I consider the working out and the discussion of the federal program Electronic Russia to be the most interesting event of the year, and a meeting with the Russian president April 13 was the most surprising one. Until the very last moment, I didn't believe that Putin would meet the heads of IT companies working in Russia. But the meeting didn't just happen, it also brought practical results -- the tasks outlined at the meeting gradually began to be realized."
Leonid Olshansky, lawyer and member of the Human Rights Commissioner's expert council:
"The most important, most interesting and surprising event in Russia in 2001 was the passage of the long-suffering new administrative code.
"It is important because we run into it 1,000 times a day -- when we cross a street or drive a car or do other simple things. People relatively rarely collide with the Criminal Code, while the administrative code is what regulates their everyday life.
"The passing of the code was a surprise because it had been floating between bureaucratic echelons for seven years and had been vetoed earlier by the president [Putin] and the Federation Council. We fiercely fought for enactment of the code and managed to root out of it a good deal of the repressive measures that were present in its previous version. And the story of our struggle and victory over the people in epaulettes, who were the main proponents of the repression, is of true interest."
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev:
"The most important thing for Russia that happened this year is that using all the experience available, the president has started turning the country in the right direction. Besides, one can only applaud the better mutual understanding the president now has with the nation.
"The most uplifting and surprising event for me is that we ultimately reached the unification of all social democratic forces of Russia. It is important now, when it is clear that neither the Communists nor the ultraliberals can offer a decent future. This [the unification] is what I have struggled for for years but could not accomplish earlier."
Irina Khakamada, State Duma deputy from the Union of Right Forces and deputy speaker:
"The most important event for Russia and for the whole world was the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. We have yet to understand the meaning of the event, but it is clear already that the world order and the disposition of the political and military powers were turned over and that the concealed processes that have been smoldering for years became explicit. The safety of the civilized world turned out to be an illusion. Russia had to define its position in the new political environment, and it did so, I believe, very astutely and wisely.
"The most interesting and surprising thing for me was an attempt to marry high culture with the 'low' passion for gambling, which I saw with my own eyes in Las Vegas. It was a joint exhibition of the Hermitage and the Guggenheim museums. It was the first experiment that I could remember when a serious museum was given a chance to earn money at an absolutely flippant location so that the 'moneybags' would spend not only on gambling in a casino, but also on art. For me, it was a success."
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of External Relations:
"The most important thing, in my opinion, was the change in the West's attitude toward Russia and the problem of terrorism in the wake of the tragic events of Sept. 11.
"The most interesting event, in my opinion, was the course and results of the Sixth World Russian People's Assembly [a forum of politicians, intellectuals and religious figures organized by Metropolitan Kirill, which held its latest session in December dedicated to tackling the consequences of terrorism and 20th-century revolutions].
"The swift passing through the State Duma of economic and judicial reform bills proposed by the government was the most surprising development."
Nikolai Mikhailov, member of the board of directors of AFK Sistema and former first deputy defense minister:
"The most significant is Russia's clearly specified refusal to follow the IMF course and its decision to rely on its own power.
"The most interesting and also inspiring was the unification into one European currency, the euro. In such unification, genuine integration of opportunities is implemented. As an example and experience, we must definitely follow it.
"The most surprising is the coincidence in time and in character of the events in Afghanistan and the Middle East. There were no officially sanctioned actions, and it looks like now anyone could be proclaimed anything. Anything could be justified."
John McCallin, regional representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Russian Federation and the United Nations humanitarian coordinator:
"In 2001, UNHCR marked the 50th Anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which, as the first human rights instrument following the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, defines the rights of people who were forced to leave their homes and responsibilities of states toward these people. This instrument has enabled millions of refugees around the world to find safety and to build new lives. Russia was one of 140 countries that ratified the convention. In my opinion, the commemoration of this anniversary in Russia was one of the most important events in 2001 because it once more demonstrated the considerable progress Russia is making in protecting refugees' rights.
"This year, Russia was among many countries that marked World Refugee Day for the first time. This was also a very important event for me and for UNHCR, which currently cares for some 21 million refugees, internally displaced people, stateless people and other groups of concern.
"In 2001, some positive and negative changes occurred in Russia concerning refugees' issues, which were important and interesting at the same time. The government passed the resolution on temporary asylum and the first 200 asylum-seekers were granted temporary asylum in 12 regions of Russia. Courts on granting asylum to refugees reached more positive decisions.
"On the other hand, the majority of asylumseekers in Moscow remain improperly documented, and xenophobic attitudes and incidents are the common fate of African asylum seekers in Moscow."
Stanislav Ilyasov, prime minister of the Kremlin-appointed Chechen government:
"The most important was that, at last, Chechnya -- the most painful spot in Russia -- started to revive. We paid all our debts in wage arrears, pensions and allowances, schools started to work, and all oil wells [that were on fire] were put out. A few banks, some enterprises, transportation and communications started to operate. Life is coming back here.
"The most interesting was that Chechnya grew its biggest-ever crops this year despite everything -- more than 200,000 tons.
"Surprising? I am surprised every day here. But the biggest my surprise is the great tolerance of the [Chechen] people."
Anna Politkovskaya, journalist, Novaya Gazeta:
"The most important was that the war in Chechnya did not end. That meeting of Viktor Kazantsev with [rebel leader Aslan] Maskhadov's envoy resulted in nothing; it was apparently only a PR action.
"The most interesting fact for me was the fact that no one is interested in the second book that I wrote about our life in Russia with [President Vladimir] Putin, about how much we, Russian people, have changed, since this war has been on. I offered it to several publishers, but they neglected it.
"I was really surprised to see how the focus of attention of Russian journalists moved to Afghanistan to report about the war there while we have our Chechnya. I have just come from there, and I am surprised at how abandoned and helpless the local people are. They seem to be losing hope of getting help from either [head of the Kremlin-appointed Chechen government Stanislav] Ilyasov or [head of Kremlin-appointed Chechen administration Akhmad] Kadyrov. For example, Shali -- a big town -- has no gas, and tuberculosis is raging there, while all we hear are brave reports about the restoration works in Chechnya."
Viktor Pokhmelkin, State Duma deputy and Liberal Russia party co-chairman:
"The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have become a turning point for Russia, mainly because it forced Russia to reconsider the priorities in its foreign policy and become more pro-Western and more integrated into the global community.
"Unfortunately, due to the standardization of our life, this year has brought us little that was interesting. What became a pleasant surprise for me, a devoted theatergoer, is the fact that Moscow theaters perform to packed houses. While the political life of the country is dull, the cultural life is booming."
Filipp Kirkorov, pop singer:
"Apart from the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S., which shocked me like everybody else, I should name the lifting of the Kursk [as the most important event of the year]. The oppressive feeling when the submarine was raised made me recall everything we had gone through a year earlier.
"As for the most interesting and surprising event ... I was captivated by 'No. 13,' a performance by the Chekhov Art Theater. The play and the superb performance by [actor] Yevgeny Mironov was the strongest emotional experience I had this year."
Vladimir Pozner, anchor of the ORT television show "Vremena" and president of the Russian Television Academy:
"For me, the most important and the most surprising coincide. What I mean is President Putin's clearly pro-Western moves, which I see not so much as being tactical as being strategic and long-lasting. I don't think it is possible to exaggerate the importance of that, and, considering Russia's tradition, it is very surprising.
"The most interesting thing in this past year, in my opinion, were all the discussions surrounding the attempted cloning of a human being -- the reaction of conservative people, the reaction of the church and the reaction of scientists was the most interesting and actually thrilling of all the events in the year 2001."
Alexei Mitrofanov, State Duma deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia:
"This year has been rather stable and most favorable for the country's economy, but lacked bright and interesting events. Two things surprised me this year.
"Apart from its tragic side, the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States have changed our way of picturing the contemporary world. Leading wars has become pointless. It showed that a group of 20 airplane terrorists, or five letters with powder, is enough to keep the world in fear, and there is no need to beef up military power.
"The 'Za Steklom' television show was rather surprising for me, as it showed how new technologies have made it possible to control everything and everyone in our world."
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