EU, Ukraine Look Forward To Free-Trade Deal After Al

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union and Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said they were likely to approve a free-trade agreement 'sooner rather than later,' two weeks after Ukraine's president appeared to reject the idea of a deal.
The EU and Ukraine launched free-trade talks two years ago, at a time when Ukraine's pro-Western government was pushing for closer ties.

On October 1, the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, elected in February, attacked the proposed deal as costly and unfair.

But Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said after a visit to Brussels on Wednesday that he was 'confident that we will, in the end, reach agreement on all points' of the free-trade deal.

The EU's commissioner for neighbourhood affairs, Stefan Fule, said there was now 'optimism' in talks and that, given enough political momentum, an agreement could be reached 'sooner rather than later.'

According to EU officials, the planned deal would open the bloc's market to most Ukrainian goods as soon as it comes into force, while Ukrainian tariffs would be phased out over up to 10 years.

The EU estimates that it could generate billions of euros in extra trade, over and above the current annual figure of 20 billion euros (28 billion dollars).

However, Yanukovych has said that the deal would cost his government billions in lost tariff revenues, and accused the EU of abusing his country by not offering visa-free travel as part of the deal.

His comments caused raised eyebrows in Brussels, where visa liberalization is seen as a separate issue from trade liberalization.

The EU and Ukraine are currently debating lifting visa restrictions on Ukrainian citizens as part of a separate political agreement.

At a summit in Brussels on November 22, the EU hopes to present an action plan which Ukraine should follow in order to qualify for visa liberalization, Fule said.

Separately, Fule and the president of the council of EU member states, Herman Van Rompuy, urged the Ukraine to reinforce democratic rule after a constitutional court decision handed sweeping powers from the parliament to the president.

'The establishment of a democratic, effective and durable system of checks and balances should remain a priority,' Van Rompuy said.

Paris Supports Gas Upgrades In Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- Paris is ready to consider a proposal in the European Union to modernize Ukraine's natural gas transit system, the French envoy to Kiev said.
Pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is working to restore his country's regional reputation as an energy transit nation for the European Union.

Jacques Faure, the French envoy to Kiev, said members of the EU were weighing a proposal to update the gas network, the National News Agency of Ukraine reports.

"At present the proposal is on the EU negotiating table, as well as in France. We are ready to seriously consider these opportunities," he said.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has completed its first phase of assessments on the gas transit system under the terms of a $3.5 million grant.

The recession that rocked world markets in 2009 pummeled the Ukrainian economy and forced Kiev to look to international lenders for support.

The ambassador added, however, that it was important for Russia to state its position on the matter.

Russia sends about 80 percent of its natural gas to European markets through Ukraine's gas transit system.

Russian energy company Gazprom during the winter of 2009 cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of debt issues, leaving Europe in the cold for weeks.

Anne Frank returns to Moscow stage

A little-known opera based on the diary of Anne Frank is heading to the Moscow stage in a rare production.

Grigory Frid’s intimate mono-opera is no flamboyant theatrical spectacle: far from a cast of thousands it features just one soprano soloist and a chamber orchestra.

And the unusual score was tailor-made for Vladislav Bulakhov and the Vremena Goda chamber orchestra – the artists behind Monday’s show.

Anne Frank returns to Moscow stage

A little-known opera based on the diary of Anne Frank is heading to the Moscow stage in a rare production.

Grigory Frid’s intimate mono-opera is no flamboyant theatrical spectacle: far from a cast of thousands it features just one soprano soloist and a chamber orchestra.

And the unusual score was tailor-made for Vladislav Bulakhov and the Vremena Goda chamber orchestra – the artists behind Monday’s show.

“Our goal was to achieve the maximum possible effect using the minimum means,” Bukhalov told the Moscow News. The music itself is both expressive and economical in its form.

“The opera’s instrumentation is just perfect for us,” he said, adding that finding a perfect leading lady was more complicated.

Finally Viktoria Nosovskaya, an impressive young soprano with a strong track record at various international contests, was cast. “The voice party is very tricky, but I believe Nosovskaya will master it,” Bukhalov said.

The staging will combine documentary footage of the war years as production director Ivan Orlov tries to bring a sense of realism to proceedings.

Meanwhile the libretto is merely an edited study of Anne’s world-famous diary with no changes made by the composer.

Frid’s work was premiered here in Moscow in 1969, shortly before he switched his style from state-sponsored socialist realism to more modern serialism.

It was illegally smuggled beyond the Iron Curtain for performances in the US in 1978.

Its western European debut came in Anne’s native Netherlands later that year thanks to émigré violinist Mark Lubotsky.

But it’s taken time to get it back on stage in Moscow.

“We’ve been talking about it for the last 15 years,” Bulakhov said, ahead of Monday’s show at the Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Theatre.

Frid, 95, is not a household name, but while his work has not attracted the fame of Soviet titans such as Shostakovich, Prokofiev or more recently Schnittke and Gubaidulina, his reputation in music education is strong.

His music club for youngsters will return to Moscow’s Dom Kompositorov this autumn for its 46^th season, and Bulakhov hopes to stage “Anne Frank” there as well.

“Anne Frank” is one of two mono-operas he wrote, the other being based around the works of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.

Petersburg skyscraper gets green light as protesters march

St. Petersburg’s historic skyline cannot be saved – neither by UNESCO’s cultural mandarins, nor by crusading rocker Yury Shevchuk.

At least that’s the view being driven home by the city’s governor Valentina Matvienko following a thumbs-up from the General Directorate of State Examination.

That watchdog announced on Saturday that there were no problems with allowing Gazprom to erect a 403-metre tower in the city centre – despite local regulations limiting the height of new development in the UNESCO-listed heritage site to 48 metres.

Matvienko said city officials would be guided by the directorate’s verdict, which seems to spell the end for hopes that the scheme would be cancelled or at least shortened.

That disappointing news did not stop marchers taking to the streets of the Northern Capital at the weekend.

Protestors gathered carrying rubble from other historic buildings demolished in the city and firewood to symbolise the loss of green space.

Meanwhile anarchists complained that the authorities were building the tower in order to defecate on the city below.

Activists, many attached to the opposition Yabloko party, collected signatures for an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights complaining about the cancellation of a referendum on the controversial scheme.

But even there it seemed the fates were against them: rebel rocker Yury Shevchuk attempted to perform his anthem “Motherland” for the crowds, only to be thwarted by a snapped guitar string.

The row over the Okhta Centre has dominated attempts to re-house Gazprom-Neft, the oil arm of state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

Objections were voiced even in the president’s office, where Dmitry Medvedev called for a halt to the current plans for fear of UNESCO removing Petersburg’s World Heritage Site status.

But PM Vladimir Putin has repeatedly backed the plan, saying it will regenerate the city’s economy in the wake of the recession.

And a heritage watchdog which was leading the official criticism of the plan was due to have its teeth pulled in a ministerial reshuffle which would put it directly into the paws of the Culture Ministry.

Russian government will improve investment climate if business plays by the rules - Putin

The Russian government will continue removing administrative obstacles, if businessmen put an end to shadow schemes and tax evasion, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

"The investment climate improvement is a two-way street and not everything depends on the government, though it undoubtedly plays an important role. It sets teh rules of the game but it is businessmen, the business community who form a favorable atmosphere for its activities," Putin said at a Delovaya Rossiya meeting.

He said that Russian companies must strictly adhere to laws. "Not because they can be caught red-handed but because to deceive consumers, employees, not to pay taxes is indecent," he said.

Companies must improve their own standards and social programs, Putin said. "Only in this case will the government be able to continue its policy of reducing bureaucratic obstacles, including in taxation," he said.

Yeti to entice tourists to Siberia

Tales of Yetis are wafting from Russia’s remote parts. Locals in the rugged region of Kemerevo say the mysterious creature’s numbers have doubled, and claims of sightings are attracting official interest.

But more sightings of a creature hitherto believed to exist in the Himalayas could mean nothing more exciting than more interest in attracting tourists, as the area boasts a reasonable tourist infrastructure and an interest in return on its investment.

The growing numbers have locals on the lookout and Kemerovo Region governor Aman Tuleyev has taken defensive measures against unwanted intruders, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported on Tuesday.

However, a press release cited by the newspaper could not be traced on the regional authorities' website.

“The strange creature, which looked like a huge man, tried several times to get out of the water and to stand up on both feet, but dropped into the water each time and howled,” a spokesperson for the Tashtagol district in Kemerovo region told Itar-Tass earlier this year. “The hunters stood frozen… He threw the creature the dry trunk of a young aspen tree, the creature clutched to it and crawled to the bank.”

Deputies of the Kuzbass Regional Council took themselves to a cave in southern Kuzbass last year, a place where local legend has it that the creature be found. It was possibly a step to attract tourists.

Moscow Ethnology and Antrhopology Institute Anthropology department head Dr. Sergei Vasiliev said that Bigfoot probably does not exist as scientists have never found any bodies, and that any populations would be recorded.

PR and marketing specialists dismissed press reports about finding Bigfoot as fodder for gullible tourists. The visit of MPs to the cave was probably connected with the fact that the cave in question was “an emerging tourist destination” said Regional Council member Nikolai Shatilov.

He said that they should consider developing tourism in the region without creating myths and legends, and restrictions on the use of snowmobiles should be implemented. He also called for development of the areas with dense indigenous populations.

Creating a non-existant tourist attraction has a long pedigree. Visitors to Verona, Italy, have the chance to see Juliet's Balcony, inspired by the famous scene in Shakepeare's drama "Romeo and Juliet".

Meanwhile the Scottish city of Inverness has traded heavily on the nearby Loch Ness Monster to boost its tourist trade in the face of stiff competition from the natural beauty of the western Highlands.

Even here in Moscow, the Pushkin Gallery boasts a fine collection of ancient artefacts originally thought to be from Troy - though further archaeological research has cast doubt on whether the finds have any links to the likes of Achilles and friends.

Pasternak heirs rage over Moscow monument

The controversy swirling around sculptor Zurab Tsereteli is set to intensify with the planned unveiling of his Pasternak memorial in central Moscow.

While the fate of his gargantuan Peter the Great monument remains uncertain, the artist is pressing ahead with Pasternak despite anger from the writer’s family.

A descendant of the Doctor Zhivago author said the family was delighted that Boris Leonidovich was going to be immortalized – but aghast at Tsereteli’s role.

“We welcomed the plan to put up a monument, and being conscious of the situation with urban sculpture in Moscow we liked the modest scale of the monument,” one of Pasternak’s relatives said, asking not to be named until the family had put forward its official position in public.

“We hoped it would cut out the ‘sharks’ of the memorial business in Moscow, but we were deeply mistaken.

“From the outset the process took a strange turn, seemingly motivated by a desire to exclude those who knew Boris Leonidovich.”

And it is clear that if the family had its way Tsereteli’s designs would be nowhere near the scheme to remember Pasternak.

“Tsereteli embodies all the evil that [ex-mayor Yury] Luzhkov brought to Moscow,” the relative continued. “He created the most odious characters of this period (Peter the Great, the animals at Okhotny Ryad etc) and his work has a lack of basic culture.

“It is characterised by bad taste, revels in luxury and kitsch and is in no way affiliated to real art.

“Needless to say the creativity, vision and life of Boris Leonidovich Pasternak is in no way comparable with the likes of Tsereteli.”

With the statue already built and due to be installed by the end of the year, Tsereteli says he is happy to listen to the family’s views.

“I have created an image that has won the competition and if someone doesn’t like it, they could just come to me and say – change the eyes, the nose or anything else” he told reporters on Tuesday, adding that “I have a museum, and will be happy to keep this monument there.”

And he added that it is not another epic on the scale of Peter, weighing in at a merely twice life-size.

Despite the controversy, Tsereteli has no plans to stop offering the fruits of his muse to Moscow.

With two statues to Luzkhov under his belt and another of Vladimir Putin on display in his Prechistenka gallery he is thinking of adding Dmitry Medvedev to his roll-call of Russia’s modern-day greats.

“I’ve got plans to create monuments to all my famous contemporaries,” he said. “I’ve got Mikhalkov, Bashmet, Tabakov. There’s Putin as well, it’s called ‘Sound mind in a sound body’.”