Moscow master planner brings her love of the city to her job

Growing up, Karima Nigmatulina spent a lot of summers in classrooms. "The academic-scientist-researcher in me was always there even at a younger age, so I didn't mind it quite that much," she said. The extra work was catch-up for her Russian education, allowing her to graduate both from high school in Moscow and from a private high school in Albany, New York, near where her father, the research scientist Robert Nigmatulin, had a position at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her subsequent education has led to a career in operations research, the application of mathematical and statistical theories to real-world problems, such as transportation security, public health and urban planning. Last month, she was named executive director of the Moscow Master Planning Institute. Nigmatulina was born in Moscow in 1984, but her love of the city was fostered while she was living with her family in Tyumen, where her father had been invited to head an institute. "Since my father is originally from Moscow, every single summer I spent here with my grandmother, with my family, so Moscow is my home base," she said. From the age of 10, she lived in the United States, ultimately making the decision to receive high school diplomas in both countries. "The future is really about globalization, so it's useful to have that dual perspective on how these two countries work, because both of them have made an impact on my life," she said. Degrees from Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology followed, in 2005 and 2009, respectively. As fond of academic life as she was, however, Nigmatulina never wanted to pursue a research career. Not isolating herself in engineering, she took advantage of the liberal arts environment at Princeton to spend part of her time as an undergraduate studying international relations. "I wanted to look at something that would be much more applicable to real life, so I didn't want to do theoretical studies," she said. "I really want to think of what would be relevant rather just think in terms of mathematical equations." The subjects of her theses reflect not only these applications, but also the versatility of her studies: port security for undergraduate, and healthcare for her PhD. Her research on healthcare led to a position at Intellectual Ventures near Seattle, the private research institute and business developer, preparing models for public health provision mainly in the developing world. "My idea was that you could come up with a tool, a software tool, that would allow healthcare and public health policymakers and decision-makers to make more informed decisions," she said. "We were very fortunate to have funders such as Bill Gates [on] this particular project." Her group grew from two workers to 45 during her time there, and the project reached the alpha stage of development and received endorsements from the World Health Organization. Its stability at that point, in late 2011, convinced her that she could follow her growing desire to return to Moscow. "For a couple of years, I was the only one from my immediate family in the United States, and I was very happy to return and be closer to my family," she said. Nigmatulina's focus now is a third application of her skills: urban planning, especially transportation and development, which she called two of the most important issues Moscow faces. "In the past year there was a competition on the Moscow agglomeration, an urban planning competition," she said. "We had nine teams who participated and really generated some amazing ideas, and these concepts are about how the city will develop in the next 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 years. And I would say those projects are the most exciting, because it can give you the opportunity to be a visionary, to think through what the world could be like." It is in transportation where she sees her own background as having the greatest application. "Transportation modeling is one of the backbones of how some of these decisions are made," she said. "At the conceptual level, you need to forecast, what would the transportation situation be like if we invested and created these transportation structures?" Nigmatulina's position at the Master Planning Institute is a way to combine two of her loves: her work and, from her childhood, Moscow itself. "If you don't love your work, you can't give it your all," she said. "Here in Moscow, you can't not love your work, and not be willing to give your all, because it's so important." She does admit the need for a balance, though, which she aims for by taking classes in modern dance, a long-time interest. She also explores Moscow's cultural opportunities. "That's one of the great things about Moscow, it is a social and cultural and historic center," Nigmatulina said. "As a Muscovite, you have to take advantage of it. Otherwise, you're not enjoying your city to the fullest."

St.Petersburg adoptions still in limbo after anti-US ban

The adoptions of at least 33 children from St. Petersburg orphanages are still in limbo two months after American families were barred from adopting Russian children, the city’s ombudswoman said on Wednesday. At least 33 children, including 12 with special needs, had already met their American parents-to-be before the law came into force, ombudswoman Svetlana Agapitova said. It remains unclear whether all of those adoptions will now have to be cancelled, she said. “We are waiting for the Education and Science Ministry’s decision. They should explain how the Dima Yakovlev bill will work,” Agapitova said on Wednesday. The so-called Dima Yakovlev bill banning adoptions of Russian children by American families was enacted on January 1 as part of Russia’s response to the US Magnitsky Act, which introduces sanctions against Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses. The US State Department has said as many as 500 to 1,000 American families may have been in the process of adopting Russian children as of January 1, while Russia’s child rights ombudsman, Pavel Astakhov, said earlier that his regional representatives have identified 172 minors in the process of being adopted by Americans when the ban took effect. Russia has said the ban is necessary to protect its children, citing cases of abuse and neglect by US parents which have resulted in the deaths of at least 19 Russian adoptees since the early 1990's.

IKEA suspends sausage sale in Russia due to horsemeat

IKEA, the world's top furniture retailer, has suspended sales of sausages in its specialty restaurants in Russia after samples have revealed presence of horsemeat samples, the company said on Thursday. It said that traces of horsemeat have been found in sausages produced by one of its two Russian suppliers. No horsemeat has been found in sausages or meatballs produced by the other supplier, IKEA said in a statement, adding that additional sausage samples have been sent to a laboratory for testing. In late February, the retailer suspended sales of meatballs in their restaurants in some European countries after Czech veterinarians found that this traditional Swedish dish, contrary to its recipe, contained horsemeat. Meatballs from the same shipment from the Czech Republic were sent to Belgium, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and France. Later, the company announced it was withdrawing meatballs from its restaurants in Asia and the Caribbean, particularly from Thailand, Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic. The scandal in the European Union broke early in the year after horsemeat was found in the Spanish brand AhorraMas burgers and Irish Silvercrest Foods. After a series of tests, horsemeat was detected in beef products in France, Germany, Italy and Sweden.

Hussars and knights to greet women in Moscow parks Friday

Moscow parks will offer city dwellers a variety of entertainment dedicated to International Women’s Day on March 8, Moscow’s city park administration said on its website on Thursday. According to Mosgorpark, hussars will greet ladies at the main entrance to Izmailovo Park. Visitors will have the opportunity to witness a swordfight, learn ball dances and watch a concert, which will start with a cannon salvo. Lianozovo Park promises to stage a knight tournament, in which men on horses will compete for their loved ones’ hearts by trying to spear a dropped handkerchief and knock opponents out of the saddle. A king in a carriage will offer a lift to any part of the park, while a prince on a white horse will offer female visitors red flowers. Gorky Park will erect a four-meter cube with a floral installation inside. The illusion of infinite spring will be created by mirrors and a variety of flowers: mimosas, lilies of the valley, lavender and hyacinths. A “Ladies Only” zone will open in Sokolniki Park with activities including makeup, braid weaving and cooking workshops. Meanwhile, Krasnaya Presnya Park will be decorated with installations representing the feminine ideals of France, Britain, Spain, the U.S., China and Russia. Hermitage Garden will be transformed into a miniature Paris, complete with a replica of the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre-inspired street painters and a Moulin Rouge-style cabaret show, the website said.

Yanukovych congratulates Ukraine on International Women’s Day

Dear women! I sincerely congratulate you on the beginning of spring and on International Women’s Day. The best flowers of love and respect are for you! I wish you and your families peace, calmness, health and happiness. Let a strong shoulder be always next to you and serve as a reliable support in life. Please accept my deep respect and gratitude. I wish you a joyful spring!

Vietnam to continue buying Russian arms

Vietnam will continue to purchase weapons and military equipment from Russia, Vietnamese Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh said. The head of the Russian Defense Ministry, Army General Sergei Shoigu and his Vietnamese counterpart had a meeting, at which they reached an agreement on strategic partnership at all levels on major regional and international issues. The ministers also considered the issue of educating Vietnamese soldiers in Russian universities. Vietnam also intends to develop military and technical cooperation, continuing purchases of various types of Russian arms and military equipment. Following the talks, it was announced that Russia would help Vietnam in building submarines. In turn, the Vietnamese side expressed its appreciation for the assistance provided by the Soviet Union and Russia during the struggle for independence of the People's Republic of Vietnam. Vietnamese Defense Minister also invited veterans from Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union for rehabilitation and treatment in Vietnam.

Russia's natural gas wealth

At a recent meeting with the Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environment Security, President Vladimir Putin said, "The forecasts all predict that global demand for gas will grow over the coming years, above all in Asia. The liquefied natural gas market is set to become more and more important. Building modern LNG facilities takes five to seven years, sometimes even up to ten years. We have to put all the right conditions in place for developing this sector." The current prices paid for gas in Asia are about 600 dollars for 1000 cubic metres, while the Europeans pay only 400 dollars for the same amount of gas. Naturally, Russia will be more interested in Asian customers in the long run. Russia's main Asian gas pipeline projects are the Altai gas pipeline and the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas pipeline which shall link Gazprom with China and India. Thus, the Russian gas market is witnessing a transformation. The ties with Asia are strengthened, according to greater attractiveness and profitability. Russia's natural gas wealth is being developed mainly by Gazprom, a relatively young firm. On the 17th of February 2013, it celebrated its 20th birthday, but Russia's gas wealth is very old. In 1993, the state-owned gas company was transformed into a Russian stock company with the name of Gazprom. It has started to develop huge deposits in Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, which cover almost 60 percent of the Russian Federation. According to information on the Gazprom website, "the initial aggregate gas resources of Eastern Russia account for 52.4 trillion cubic metres onshore and 14.9 trillion cubic metres offshore." The state-run Eastern Gas Programme serves as basic document for the development of the gas industry in Eastern Russia, as implemented by Gazprom. The firm owns an abundant resource base in Eastern Russia. Its subsidiary and affiliated companies hold over 40 licences for the right to use subsurface resources in Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East. Some of these licences pertain to the Chayanda field in Yakutia, the Chikanskoye field in Irkutsk Oblast, the Sobinskoye field in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Kirinskoye field offshore the Sakhalin Island on the Sakhalin shelf. Sakhalin II is a large integrated project with Gazprom as majority shareholder. Exports began in 2009. In Sakhalin III, geological exploration is currently underway at the Kirinskoye field. Natural gas production is planned for 2014. Sakhalin is Russia's largest island in the North Pacific, part of Sakhalin Oblast. Sakhalin's economy relied mainly on fishing, forestry and coal mining, before Gazprom arrived as biggest employer on the island. The indigenous peoples still living here are the Ainu, Oroks and Nivkhs. The island's surface of 72.500 square kilometres has been inhabited since the Neolithic Stone Age. Some pottery and stone hatchets have survived from those early times. After the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) the Soviet Union took over the administration of Sakhalin, which has remained Russian territory since then. The Strait of Tartary separates the island from the Russian mainland. In winter, it often freezes in its narrowest part. Sakhalin Island is 950 kilometres long and 170 kilometres wide. Nearly two-thirds are covered by mountains, with crystalline rocks at the capes. The main river is the Tym. It flows into the Sea of Okhotsk and can be navigated by rafts and light boats for about 80 kilometres upstream. Sakhalin is connected by air to Moscow, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and the Chinese cities of Dalian, Harbin and Shanghai via the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport. It can also be reached by ferry through the SSC train ferry from the Russian mainland port of Vanino. The flora and fauna of this island are remarkable. The Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis) and the Dahurian birch (Larix gmelinii) grow here as main trees, but also the Siberian birch (Betula platyphylla) and the Amur cork tree (Phelledon amurense). Plenty of berries can be picked in the rich underwoods: cloudberries, cranberries, crowberries, raspberries and whortleberries. Due to its remoteness, the island is home to bears, foxes, otters and sables. Endemic birds are the Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides) and the Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer). Numerous whales visit the shores of Sakhalin Island: Beluga, Bowhead, Gray and North Pacific Whales. Sakhalin's capital city is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The 182.000 inhabitants are mostly Russians and a Korean minority. Originally, it was a settlement founded by convicts, in 1882. In 1945, it was granted town status. Today, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the administrative centre of Sakhalin Oblast, served by the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport and the Sakhalin Railway. It is home to the Sakhalin State University and the Institute of Economics, Law and Informatics. The largest ports of Sakhalin Island are Kholmsk and Korsakov. Kholmsk was founded in 1870 as a Russian military post. The name is derived from the Russian world "kholm" for hill, as Kholmsk with 31.000 inhabitants is situated on hills overlooking the harbour. Korsakov is located at the southern tip of the island, on the coast of the Salmon Cove in the Aniva Bay. It has about 53.600 inhabitants. The town was once a small Ainu fishing village. In 1853, a Russian expedition, commanded by Gennady Nevelskoy, arrived and raised the Russian flag. In 1869, the settlement was named "Korsakov", after the Governor General of Eastern Siberia, Mikhail Korsakov. At the end of the 19th century, Korsakov became a penal centre for prisoners from European Russia. The doctor and writer, Anton Chekhov, visited Korsakov on an inspection tour and wrote about it in his literary work. In the 20th century, Korsakov served as a centre for the Russian Far Eastern fishing fleet. There was also a carton box factory, visible from far away, due to its high chimney. These days, Korsakov is involved in the LNG plant of Gazprom's Sakhalin II project. A recent article on Gazprom's website highlights the achievements of Russia's largest energy company, which operates in 81 of 83 Russian regions and is a major tax payer in Russia. Between 2007 and 2012, Gazprom allocated 180 billion rubles to the regional gasification Programme. In the last eight years, Gazprom built almost 1.530 gas pipelines with an overall length of 22.000 kilometres. The firm supplied gas to about 600.000 Russian households and 3.630 boiler houses in 2.750 population centres. Gazprom CEO, Alexei Miller, met with Sergei Yeroshenko, Governor of the Irkutsk region, to discuss the creating of a gas production centre in Irkutsk, as this area is of strategic interest to Gazprom in the framework of the Eastern Gas Programme. In the Chikanskoye field, C1 and C2 gas reserves were already increased from 98.2 billion to 120.7 cubic metres, in 2012. The Koviktinskoye field shall become another major source of gas supply soon. Irkutsk, the administrative centre of Irkutsk Oblast, is one of Siberia's largest cities with almost 600.000 citizens. In the 17th century, Irkutsk was an outpost for Russian fur and gold traders. The first road between Moscow and Irkutsk was built in 1760. In the 19th century, Irkutsk became a place of exile for many artists, intellectuals, noblemen and officers, who had taken part in the Decembrist revolt against Tsar Nicolas I. Under their influence, Irkutsk quickly turned into Siberia's cultural centre. Many adorned, carved wooden houses from that epoch, the "Decembrist houses", have been preserved. During Soviet times, Irkutsk became the industrial centre of Siberia. Between 1950 and 1959, the Irkutsk Reservoir was built on the Angara River, a tributary of the Yenisei River. Irkutsk is located near Lake Baikal, amidst a landscape of rolling hills within the Siberian taiga. Its coat of arms is the Siberian tiger, an animal that is nearly extinct and has been placed on President Vladimir Putin's list of endangered species in Russia. So far, the largest industry of the area was Irkut, the Irkutsk Aviation Industrial Association, set up in 1932, which manufactures the SU-30 family of interceptor ground-attack aircraft. With the new ambitious Gazprom Eastern Siberian Programme, liquefied natural gas production might soon become the largest industry in the region. Gazprom is now working on a comprehensive project of gas supply to the south of the Irkutsk region. The firm is also aware of its social impact on people's lives. Thus, the Gazprom for Children Programme includes 15 new sports grounds in the Irkutsk region and another seven grounds to be built in 2013, furthermore an Aquatic Centre in the city of Irkutsk. The Gazprom for Children Programme is the company's largest social project, to "create the environment for harmonious spiritual and physical development of children and teenagers" and to "engage the maximum possible number of children in sports activities, artistic and amateur clubs", according to information on the Gazprom website. These social projects in Siberia are only a small part of Gazprom's overall sponsoring programme in Russia. The firm also sponsors the famous football club Zenit in Saint Petersburg and Sochi 2014. In 2003, Zenit became Russia's Vice-Champion and won the Premier League Cup, followed by another one in 2007. In 2008, Zenit received the UEFA Cup and Super Cup. The intensive sponsoring by Gazprom has certainly played no small part in this impressive build-up. Gazprom is Zenit's main shareholder. The sponsoring of the football club concerns the image of Russia, just like Sochi 2014, another major sports event on Gazprom's list. The gas company has launched the project Energy for Victories. With the Dzugba-Lazarevskoye-Sochi gas pipeline, the gas volume pumped to the Russian Black Sea coast shall be augmented considerably, to support the energy supply for the Olympic Games in the winter of 2014. Gazprom also helped to pay for the new biathlon complex and the athletes' village in the Caucasus mountain cluster of Krasnaya Polyana. In this sense, the Russian gas giant is also a sponsor giant helping the country in many ways.