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Obama: The New Face of Tanning Salons Across Russia?
December 22, 2008 10:34 AM
By CLARISSA WARD, Correspondent, ABC News Moscow
The whole world cringed when Italian President Silvio Berlusconi congratulated President-elect Obama on his victory, describing him as “young, handsome and tanned.” People marveled that anyone, let alone a world leader, could make such a gauche comment in this era of extreme political correctness.
Here in Russia though, advertising companies took the ball and ran with it. A new publicity campaign for the Network of Tanning Studios features a photograph of a smiling Obama set against an orange background. Fliers for the tanning salon have been handed out at restaurants, cafes and shopping malls across Moscow.
In an interview with a Russian Web site, the Network of Tanning Studios said it was trying to capitalize on Obama’s positive image and the message he sent that people with dark skin could be very successful.
The Network of Tanning Studios is not the only business here cashing in on Obama’s image. Fliers for the Russian-American Dental Clinic are being distributed at metro stations across the capital. The leaflets are done in red, white and blue and feature a photograph, once again, of a beaming Obama. The writing promises “complete dental democracy,” whatever that means.
On the streets of Moscow, people seem to have mixed reactions to the fliers. One man told ABC News he thought it was a clever advertising gimmick. Another taxi driver said he thought it was awful and thoroughly offensive.
In a certain sense one has to take their hat off to the enterprise of Russian advertisers. Obama is certainly one of the most famous men in the world and this election has been one of the most closely watched in recent history. In Serbia, a fashion designer also used Obama’s near universal recognition to promote a men’s clothing collection. But in another sense, the advertisements are an embarrassment for Russia and do little to help this country’s reputation as a country that is intolerant of and insensitive to other races and ethnicities.
For the Network of Tanning Studios and the Russian-American Dental Clinic one thing is for sure: They are certainly getting people’s attention.
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December 22, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
PM Putin Talks Economy in Q&A Session
December 04, 2008 12:39 PM
By CLARISSA WARD, Correspondent, ABC News Moscow
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin once again put the blame for the economic crisis squarely on the United States today. In a two-hour, live question-and-answer broadcast, Putin told viewers across the country that America had “contaminated all leading economies of the world with this crisis.” He also said that it was up to the incoming Barack Obama administration how relations between Russia and the U.S. would progress.
In a similar broadcast last year it was reported that over a million Russians called or texted in questions for then-President Putin. This year the numbers are likely to be similarly high. For many Russians, who traditionally have had no access to their leaders, it’s an exciting and rare opportunity to question those in authority.
It was the seventh question-and-answer broadcast that Putin has done, but his first as prime minister, leaving some wondering why President Dmitri Medvedev did not hold the annual call-in show this year. Since constitutional changes extended the presidential term from four to six years, speculation here has been rampant that Medvedev may step aside early, leaving Putin to return as president… for another 12 years.
Putin swatted away such speculation during the call-in, saying he is happy to serve the country in his current job, but that is unlikely to abate the rumor mill here in Moscow. During the session Putin answered many answers on the economy, methodically outlining how the government is working to help average Russians. All in all, the broadcast will likely reaffirm the feeling most people have here, that Putin is still the man in power and the man to see Russia through rocky times.
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December 4, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Politkovskaya's trial no longer open to the public
November 19, 2008 8:00 AM
By CLARISSA WARD, Correspondent, ABC News Moscow
At the beginning of this week, the family of slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya had some cause for optimism. Three men were to be tried for involvement in Politkovskaya’s murder although the man accused of pulling the trigger has never been caught. And, in a surprise move, the judge at the military court ruled that it would be an open trial. Details of the much-criticized police investigation would finally be made public, in itself something to celebrate.
Politkovskaya was one of more than a dozen journalists murdered in a contract-style killing since 2000. Few of the murders have been solved and even fewer have received the thorough and transparent investigation one might expect in a murder case. So it was with some excitement that I lined up outside a Moscow courthouse with dozens of other journalists to witness this historic event.
Before any members of the press were allowed into the courtroom, we were taken into a small side room where a young man explained the rules. No talking to the jury, no mobile phones and only 10 journalists would be allowed inside -- protests of indignation rippled across the room at this last piece of news. Also, we were told, be very careful about what you write, give information and not analysis or you won’t be allowed in again. As the young man finished speaking, there was a mad dash for him, with everyone pleading their case as to why they should be one of the 10 allowed into the courtroom.
By some miracle, I was one of two foreign journalists allowed into the courtroom. The room was tiny, literally 15 feet by 5 feet and I was pressed into a corner underneath a coat rack with four guards squashed against me. Some journalists were on the floor, others sat on the same bench as Politkovskaya’s family and lawyers. The jury dock was empty. Clearly, there were several things wrong with this picture.
The judge arrived, nearly knocking me and the four security guards onto the ground, and took his seat. He announced that the trial would now be closed to the public because the jury refused to enter the courtroom with the media there. Karinna Moskalenko, the Politkovskaya family’s lawyer, implored the judge to reconsider his decision, arguing that Politkovskaya was a public figure and that the public should know the circumstances of her killing. The defense lawyers also pressed for the trial to be open. Suddenly, there was the “beep beep” sound of a text message, and I was surprised to see the judge pull out his mobile phone and read the message before putting the phone back. He then restated that the decision had been taken and that the trial would be closed. Within half an hour we were back outside on the cold Moscow streets, trying to get our heads around what had just happened.
It remains to be seen what the reaction of most Russians will be to the reversal of the decision to make Politkovskaya’s case public. While some will certainly feel disappointment, most will likely feel resignation and perhaps even skepticism that it could ever be possible for such a controversial and political case to be tried before the eyes of the public.
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November 19, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Russia Bails Out Its Richest Men
October 30, 2008 12:37 PM
By CLARISSA WARD, Correspondent, ABC News Moscow
In 1998, when Russia was in the throes of a devastating financial crisis, a group of very rich young tycoons, known as “the oligarchs,” stepped in and bailed out the country. How quickly things change. Ten years later, it’s the government that’s doing the bailing out and it’s the government that will decide which oligarchs to save and which to cut loose.
In the last six months Russia’s 25 richest men have lost more than $230 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg News. On Wednesday night, Russia’s state development bank announced that it would lend $10 billion to Russia’s oligarchs as part of a larger $50 billion bailout that many say could shake up the Russian contingent of the Forbes rich list.
One of the men getting a piece of the pie is Oleg Deripaska, Russia’s richest man. His company RusAl will receive $4.5 billion to refinance a Western loan due this week. Deripaska is a personal friend of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Putin skis on the man-made mountain in the grounds of Deripaska’s country house. Multibillionaire Mickhail Fridman’s Alfa Group will also receive part of the state bailout funds. But the real question is, which oligarchs won’t be bailed out… and why?
In the last week, Russia’s international reserves fell a record $31 billion and not everyone in the country will be happy that the richest men in the country are getting a big chunk of that. But with minimal coverage of the crisis in the mainstream media and with confidence in President Dimitry Medvedev and Putin still very high, most Russians won’t really care.
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October 30, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Russia's Richest Hit Hardest by Financial Crisis
October 15, 2008 8:52 AM
By CLARISSA WARD, Correspondent, ABC News Moscow
Russia has suspended trading on one of its stock exchanges yet again today. By now I have lost track of how many times Russia has taken this measure, but suffice it to say that it happens at least every other day and sometimes every day. The move is aimed at controlling volatility, so if the markets go up or down more than 5 percent, trading is automatically suspended.
It's no secret that Russia has suffered enormous losses as a result of this financial crisis. It’s a commodities-based economy and so as the price of commodities, particularly oil, has continued to plummet, Russia has felt the pain. What’s interesting about the effects of the crisis here though is not how much it’s being felt, but who it’s being felt by.
Unlike in Europe or the United States, most middle class Russians do not invest in the stock market, so it’s really the financial elite that has been hit hardest. A recent Bloomberg article wrote that Russia’s Top 25 richest men have lost more than $230 billion in the last six months -- that’s almost $10 billion each.
No one in Russia is about to start crying for Russia’s uberwealthy oligarchs as they weather the storm of this meltdown. If anything many Russians are probably holding back a smile as they read that the richest man in the country is being forced to sell off some of his assets.
But beyond the schadenfreude Russians are also fearful. Analysts here expect a mass of job cuts in early 2009 as banks and construction companies are forced to downsize.
This also isn’t the first time Russians have gone through a meltdown and so they know just how badly it hurts. Many people I have spoken to have already taken their money out of Russian banks and others are ready to do so at a moment’s notice. As the old Russian saying goes, “Once burned by milk, you will blow on cold water.”
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October 15, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
Meet Russia's 'Minigarchs'
September 05, 2008 11:03 AM
By CLARISSA WARD, ABC News Moscow Correspondent
By now most people have heard of Russia’s “oligarchs,” the growing group of supremely powerful billionaire businessmen known as much for being cutthroat in business as they are for being extravagant in their personal lives. But now a new term is being bandied about the luxury boutiques of Moscow: “minigarchs,” used to describe the progeny of Russia’s elite.
According to a recent survey by Russia’s Finans magazine, there were 70 heirs to billion-dollar fortunes in the country 2007. This year there are 112.
Topping the list, 5-year-old Marina Deripaska and her 7-year-old brother, Pyotr, who are valued at $20 billion each. Their father is Oleg Deripaska, an aluminium magnate who last year was named Russia’s wealthiest man. Deripaska edged out Roman Abramovich, the owner of England’s Chelsea Football Club, for the title.
Towards the bottom of the list come the children of Moscow’s mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, and his real estate tycoon wife. They are still set to inherit $3.5 billion each, so no need to get out the violins just yet.
If you go out to one of Moscow’s swanky bars or nightclubs (and you manage to get past the face-control) you can see the “minigarchs” in their natural habitat.
Clad head-to-toe in haute couture and quaffing Crystal champagne, they project an image of confidence and in-your-face, unabashed wealth.
Most are educated at England’s elite boarding schools and America’s top universities. From St. Tropez to Courchevel to St. Barths, they have the most bling, the highest heels and the biggest allowances, making them a compelling symbol of Russia’s growing wealth and, like it or not, internationalism.
The new list of Russia’s “minigarchs” doesn’t really tell us much about these children or their parents, but it does show one thing very clearly: While a good chunk of the world suffers the effects of a lagging economy, here in Russia the rich are getting richer… a lot richer.
September 5, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Russia Votes For Independent States
August 25, 2008 11:31 AM
By CLARISSA WARD, ABC News, Moscow
The front page of Russia’s Kommersant newspaper today trumpeted, “Russia is ready for the independence of Abkhazia and S. Ossetia” and if the results of today’s parliamentary vote are anything to go by, that would seem to be true.
Both houses of Russia’s parliament voted unanimously to recognise the independence of Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The vote is largely symbolic as it is non-binding but it will now be sent to the Kremlin for approval. Analysts here say President Dmitry Medvedev may well use it as a bargaining chip with the West as negotiations continue over Russia's conflict with Georgia.
During the debates in the Federation Council and the State Duma, several speakers compared Georgia’s military action in South Ossetia to Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in the Second World War. The dramatic rhetoric reinforced what many analysts here have been saying all along, that this conflict is less about the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkazia, than it is about Russia asserting its moral and military victory over US-backed Georgia.
In a poll taken by the Levada Centre in July, before the short war between Russia and Georgia, 62% of Russians said that the national interests of the US and Russian diverge in almost everything. Certainly, South Ossetia and Abkhazia are no exception. Many Russians feel particularly vindicated in supporting the independence of the breakaway regions because of the US and the West's support of Kosovo’s independence, which was deeply unpopular here.
As news of the parliament vote broke out, Georgia’s government shot back, calling the vote a continuation of aggression against Georgia. Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria told Reuters, “we considers this decision another in Russia’s fight against Georgian sovereignty… It is, and will be, if accepted by the Russian president, a continuation of Russian aggression against Georgia and a serious violation of international law.”
Now the world will be waiting and watching to see how the Kremlin responds to the vote.
August 25, 2008 in Clarissa Ward | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
