Russia
Feature
Mighty Masha
She lives in US,
BEYOND
yet is proud
to be Russian
THE HEADLINES
P.10
US Edition
Russian Expedition to Box office to
Distributed with
currency the North Pole hit $1 billion
This pull-out is produced and published by
The ruble to be Another confronta- Russian movies
Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russia) who takes sole
a symbol of national tion between Russia are stealing
responsibility for the content pride and the West? market share
Thursday
from Hollywood
August 30, 2007
P.02 P.05 P.09
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:
‘We’re eye to eye
with ASEAN’
A conference of foreign tion of our agreements, we
ministers from Russia and have decided to draft a pro-
the ASEAN (Association of gram of specific goals and a
South-East Asian Nations) timeframe for achieving them.
was held this August in the We have now selected the first
Philippines. Russian Foreign six projects for the Russia-
Minister Sergei Lavrov talks ASEAN partnership fund. One
about its main achievements. of them involves the establish-
ment of an ASEAN training
The regular Russia-ASEAN and research center under the
meeting in the Philippines was auspices of the Moscow State
constructive and discussed Institute of International Rela-
concrete topics. We have tions (MGIMO).
made progress in carrying out We have discussed concep-
our agreement with ASEAN tual approaches to internation-
on economic development. al problems and found that
We have also created mech- we see eye to eye with the
anisms for cooperation in our ASEAN nations. We both be-
efforts to counter internation- lieve in the primacy of interna-
al terrorism, prepare for and tional law in settling conflicts,
respond to natural disasters, be they in Iraq, Afghanistan,
pursue energy security and the Balkans, the Middle East
develop science, technology, or Iran.
culture and tourism.
To monitor the implementa- CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Remembering the History
VLADIMIR SAYAPIN_ITAR-TASS
The Missile Crisis,
Russian Railways wants to be competitive but it’s still stuck in the 70s.
speed travel between Kursk and
Orel [two cities in central Russia
Its president, Vladimir Yakunin, knows it’s time to get up to speed
en route]. That will shorten travel
October 1962
time to Sochi to 15 hours. A pas-
senger who boards a train in
Moscow in the evening will arrive The Cuban Missile Crisis, fundamental American inter-
Fast track
in Sochi at 11am the next day.” which erupted in October ests. Particularly, he aimed to
Any further reduction in time is 1962, had a sobering effect avoid a destructive conflict with
not considered wise, Yakunin on both the United States and the Soviet Union, and made
said. “It is impossible to main- the Soviet Union. It dawned an attempt to consider its in-
tain a speed of 567 kilometres on the nations that a modern terests in third countries. The
an hour — as French trains nuclear conflict would have no president’s speeches manifest-
do — throughout the entire winners. ed a change in his interpreta-
journey because it would add tion of American interests. In
enormously to the cost of the
ANATOLY UTKIN
a crisis, blind hostility towards
project.” the U.S.S.R. could destroy both
The Moscow-Sochi route is When the threat of a nuclear the United States and its global
World's largest railway gets
among the most popular with disaster became real, John F. sphere of influence. In late 1962
Russians, especially in sum- Kennedy realized the need to and 1963, President Kennedy
mer. But the Moscow-St Peters- avoid this event at all costs. He and his advisers perceived the
burg line is undoubtedly the arrived at the conclusion that a world as an increasingly com-
new trains and high-speed links
most popular. It’s on this route permanent bid for absolute su- plicated place, where the use
that Russia’s only high-speed premacy over the entire world of brute force could lead to ir-
train, the R-200, operates, on might draw the United States reparable damage.
the daytime Nevsky Express. into a suicidal nuclear conflict, In 1962, the United States
And it is here that the new Velo resulting in a national catastro- strove to curtail the nuclear pro-
RUS trains, being built by Sie- phe. grams of Britain and France —
RZD is one of the world’s major link between the centre of mens in Germany, will run. As time went by, the mental- allies on which it could exert
transport companies and the Sochi and the airport,” said
largest railway in total length Yakunin. “This year we will
Dossier on Russian Railways
Although the number of trains ity of the Cold War morphed. pressure. President Kennedy
operating between Moscow It became evident that it’s best postulated an important truth in
of tracks. But technologically, start drawing up estimates. and St Petersburg has in- to avoid the crises rather than the nuclear age: the prolifera-
RZD is way behind its rivals. The company will invest 60 mil- TRAVEL SPEED $1 BILLION NET PROFIT creased, they are still always simply manage them, as events tion of nuclear arms could un-
Now it has ordered new trains, lion rubles ($2.35 mil lion) in the The trains Russia has ordered The company’s net profit will filled to capacity. Perhaps one might move too fast. In 1963, dermine the exclusive nucle-
and has plans for high-speed project’s development. We are for its high-speed lines can trav- amount to around 26 billion of the reasons is the shorter the White House established ar status of the United States
routes. At a business luncheon now negotiating financing el up to 155.3 miles/hours. They roubles (preliminary figures) time en route: 8 to 8 hours and a direct telephone line for com- itself.
at the office of Rossiyskaya terms with [Russia’s] National will cut travel time between, for in 2006 — it’s a little bit higher 30 minutes at night and 4 to municating with the Kremlin. During the Cuban Missile Cri-
Gazeta RZD’s president, Olympic Committee.” example, Helsinki and St. Pe- than $1 billion. RZD profitability 4 hours and 30 minutes by the Washington made other un- sis both Nikita Khrushchev and
Vladimir Yakunin, talked about With a sub-tropical climate, the tersburg from 5.5 to 3.5 hours. on core operations was 3.1%, daytime express. precedented decisions. It sup- John F. Kennedy displayed
his plans. Black Sea resort of Sochi has almost 2.5 times higher the fig- Some passengers like to travel ported a Soviet-backed UN good judgment. Will their suc-
about 2 million vistors every RZD ure in 2005 (1.3%) at night, Yakunin said, explain- resolution banning nuclear cessors be as wise?
IGOR VELETMINSKIY
summer, but getting there by Russian Railways (RZD), which ing the company’s marketing weapons in space, and signed
ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA
train, especially from Moscow in was set up in May 2003, com- PARTNERS strategy. Eight hours is more an agreement on grain exports www.cubacrisis.net
the center of the country, is not bined 987 organizations previ- The Velaro RUS trains that will run than enough for them: they to the Soviet Union. In August
Sochi’s winning bid to host the very convenient. Trains take ously administered by the Min- on the Moscow-St. Petersburg have time for a chat with a fel- 1963, the Soviet Union, the Unit- Anatoly Utkin is Head of the In-
2014 Winter Olympic Games is around 30 hours to cover the istry of Railways. The company line are built by Siemens in Ger- low traveller and a cup of tea ed States and Britain signed the ternational Studies Center, Insti-
still a hot topic in Russia and 1,500-mile route, because the is 100% government-owned. many. A French company, Alstom, before going to bed. They arrive Limited Test Ban Treaty in Mos- tute of the U.S.A. and Canada,
among the infrastructure need- track passes through mountain- has won the tender to build trains in St Petersburg or Moscow in cow, which prohibited the test- Academy of Sciences.
ed to make them a success is a ous terrain. Yakunin hopes to cut 1.2 MILLION EMPLOYEES for the St. Petersburg-Helsinki the morning before office hours. ing of nuclear weapons in the
smooth-running transport sys- the time in half. Russian Railways is one of the route. Russian Railways has also Another category of travelers atmosphere, in outer space or
tem. The interview began by dis- “We are planning a high-speed biggest railway companies in signed an agreement with Italy’s prefers the Nevsky Express, underwater.
HOW A SPY, A JOURNALIST,
DOBRYNIN, KHRUSHCHEV,
cussing what plans RZD had for service on some sections of the the world with 53127.2 miles of Finmeccanica to develop a high- which departs in the daytime. From October 1962 to Novem-
AND THE KENNEDYS USED
the Games. Moscow-Sochi line,” he said. track and 1.2 million employees. speed regional train. ber 1963, President Kennedy
DIPLOMACY TO AVERT WAR
“Our company will provide a rail “We will probably establish high-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
adopted a policy of protecting IN OCTOBER 1962, ON PAGE 8
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