Ministry in Moscow, is a native of Kazan and has worked extensive-ly within the Tatarstan and Mari-El Ministries.

Hohorin was born in Kazan and started his career here, even rising to the post of Tatarstan Deputy Minister of Interior, before becoming Ministry of Interior of Mari-El, a republic to the north of Tatarstan, before transferring to Moscow in 2011.

Asked on Twitter for his opin-ion on the appointment of Ho-

May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23)The Kazan Herald

Tatarstan’s first and only English newspaper

www.kazanherald.com

In this Issue...

by Rustem Yunusov29 April — President of Ta-

tarstan Rustam Minnikhanov be-rated officials yesterday for the perennially abysmal condition of the roads in Kazan.

Singling out two government officials by name, the Tatarstan President stated that he was em-barrassed by the quality of roads and exasperated by the stream of complaints written to his Twit-ter account (@RusMinnikhanov) on the matter.

According to Minnikhanov, the roads in Naberezhnye Chelny are much better than those in Kazan, despite the fact that the republic gives them 10 to 20 times less money for their upkeep.

“Pesoshin, can you hear me? Can you hear me?” Minnikhanov said, addressing Aleksei Peso-shin, Head of the Kazan Execu-tive Committee. “It is simply hu-miliating to drive around with guests, or when we drive our-selves,” Minnikhanov said in a video uploaded on Business On-line. “Especially so on Twitter. Why do you think I made this account?

You are not registered there. Peo-ple ridicule me there, and I have no arguments to counter them.”

Stating that he has already promised to fix this situation by the summer, Minnikhanov advisd Pesoshin to ensure that all con-tracts the city awards result in roads that conform to standards, a fact that is currently not true at 131 places around the city. The President suggested that Peso-shin file lawsuits if necessary to rectify the situation.

Minnikhanov similarly repri-manded Tatarstan Deputy Minis-ter of Finance Marat Fayzra-khmanov. “More than 100 sites do not meet standards. Docu-ments were signed, money was paid — you do not seem to know where the money is going, Marat. You have people who regulate this process — or are they also being fed?” the President said. “We in-vest huge amounts of money on repairs and road construction. Road workers should be respon-sible for their work, they are earn-ing money. There should be no indulgence.”

Tired of Twitter Complaints, Minnikhanov Demands Better Roads

by Rustem Yunusov30 April — President of Rus-

sia Dmitry Medvedev appointed Major-General Artem Hohorin Minister of Interior of Tatarstan on 27 April.

Hohorin’s appointment comes after the resignation of former-Minister of Interior Asgat Safarov on 5 April, in the wake of the fatal beating and sodomy of Kazan citizen Sergei Nazarov at the hands of the police of Kazan’s Dalny station.

The choice of Hohorin has been interpreted by analysts as a compromise of sorts between the federal and republic authorities. Given the circumstances sur-rounding Safarov’s resignation, it was expected that the new min-ister would not come from the current ranks of the Ministry of Interior, but on the other hand, Tatarstan authorities thought it important that the minister be fa-miliar with the criminal history of the republic, especially as the Uni-versiade is fast approaching.

Hohorin, who was Head of the Organizational and Analytical De-partment of the Russian Interior

New Tatarstan Police Head Appointed

Continued on page 2

Minister of Economic Affairs of Libya’s transitional government. Both sides expressed interest in resuming business relations, which were cut off during the civ-il war. Before the war, Tatneft was

doing 5.4 billion rubles of busi-ness in Libya exploring the coun-try’s oil reserves.

In an interview with TV outlet Russia Today, Minnikhanov de-clared that Tatarstan is interested

in attracting more investment from the Middle East. “We have been working in this direction for about two to three years, and I hope that

In Dubai, MinnikhanovCourts Islamic Investors

Continued on page 3

by Wyatt FoRd5 May – President of Tatarstan

Rustam Minnikhanov was in Dubai at the beginning of May to par-ticipate in the city’s Annual Invest-ment Meeting, a three-day con-ference designed to promote bi-lateral trade and foreign direct investment.

During the conference, Dep-uty Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mak-toum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and President Min-nikhanov cut a red ribbon, signal-ing the beginning of a new work-ing relationship between the two governments.

Residency in the Alabuga Spe-cial Economic Zone, big business in Tatarstan, and other investment opportunities were showcased during the conference, including Tatarstan goods that are available for export.

While in Dubai, Minnikhanov met with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikh Lubna bid Khalid Al Qasimi. In the meeting, Minnikh-anov made it clear that the repub-lic is interested in doing more business with the UAE and other Arab countries.

The Tatarstan President also met with Ahmed Salim al Koshli,

Minnikhanov's trip to Dubai points to Tatarstan's commitment to seeking out FDI in the Islamic world.

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Artem Hohorin, left, with predecessor Asgat Safarov.

NEWS · Page 2

KGASU Hosts International Cultural Heritage ConferenceKFU Launches Free Legal Advising, In English

BuSiNESS · Page 3

Yakupov Discusses Coverage of SMEs, FDI With Tatarstan PressClassified Ads

SPortS · Page 4

Rubin Forces Mighty Zenit To A DrawDinamo Takes Command In Field Hockey LeagueTatar Gladiators of Comrade Lenin’s Coliseum

touriSm · Page 5

Weekend Getaway ChistopolKolkhozny Rynok, Kazan’s Bustling Central Market

2 yEar aNNivErSary · Pages 6

Reflections on Two Years of HeraldingThe Kazan Herald, 1905

oPiNioN · Pages 7Where Are Our Turkish Tourists?Where We Live: The Universiade VillageDo You Speak Tatar?

City GuidE · Pages 8

Bristol café

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� May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23) The Kazan Herald

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NEWS

by Tatiana sizikova25 April — Tatarstan’s first ever

cultural preservation conference was held on 18 and 19 April at Kazan State University of Architecture and Engi-neering (KGASU).

The conference, entitled “Cultur-al Heritage in the 21st Century: Pres-ervation, Exploitation, and Popular-ization,” was organized by KGASU’s Department of Architecture and De-sign and received support from the Tatarstan Ministry of Culture. The idea to organize the first conference of its kind in Kazan came from KGASU stu-dents and Krasny Shchit (Red Shield), a student group that advocates for the preservation of Kazan’s historical buildings. The goal of the conference was to engage with and learn from the experience of specialists from other cities who have successfully preserved and popularized their own landmarks and historic sites, with the hopes that similar processes could be applied in Kazan.

The first day of the conference featured two forums: problems, per-spectives, and paths towards mod-ernization in restorative work, as well as the popularization of cultural her-itage and ways of attracting invest-ment. The program also featured a workshop, master classes, round-table discussions, and two exhibitions – “The Wooden Architecture of Riga:

Achievements and Prospects” and “Staraya Kazan” (Old Kazan), a col-lection of watercolors by Ravil Aida-rov, KGASU Associate Professor of Fine Arts. Many of the buildings and street corners that appear in Aidarov’s paintings have since been destroyed, increasing their impact and the sense of urgency amongst Krasny Shchit members.

Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin, who was expected to come to the open-ing ceremony, did not attend the con-ference. Local tour guide and recent-ly-appointed assistant to the Presi-dent of Tatarstan Oleysa Baltusova did turn up, however, attending the opening and closing ceremonies in addition to the workshop.

“We have invited here new own-ers of Kazan’s historic buildings…to discuss new ways for the develop-ment of the monuments in her pos-session,” Baltusova said during the opening ceremony. She also spoke enthusiastically of the “theory and practice seminar” that will be planned, where KGASU students and other experts will discuss the state of res-toration work in Kazan. Her encour-aging words and presence at the conference were interpreted by many as a signal that Kazan’s architects and restoration advocates have a real chance of being heard by higher au-thorities in the republic.

Billed as an international event, the conference did not disappoint. Distinguished guests included Alex-ander Rappaport, an outstanding Russian art and architecture critic; Italian professors Stefano Bertocci and Roberto de Lotto; Dmitry Sukh-in, an architect from Rotterdam; Zai-ga Gaile, an architect from Riga; and President of the Baltic Architectural Centre Aiviya Barda.

Students hailing from Florence, Samara, and Yekaterinburg simi-larly joined their KGASU colleagues, participating in the workshop “His-toric Area: New Opportunities.” Six project teams guided by supervis-ing professors from Italy, the Neth-erlands, and Kazan participated in the workshop, whose goal was to design restoration and rehabilita-tion projects for two sites in Kazan. The first site was ulitsa Mislavskogo, which runs down from ulitsa Krem-lyovskay to Chyornoye Ozero (Black Lake) park and Bogoroditsky (Moth-er of God) Nunnery. The second area is the former Gostiny Dvor near the intersection of ulitsa Prof-soyuznaya and ulitsa Chernyshevsk-ogo, the oldest trade center in the city.

Olesya Baltusova promised to show the student work that came out of this workshop to the city adminis-tration for its consideration.

KGASU Hosts InternationalCultural Heritage Conference

horin, Rustam Minnikhanov replied with a tweet saying that it was “posi-tive.”

Hohorin was born on 30 July 1970, into a family of public servants. He graduated from School No. 131 in 1987, a school known for its maths

and physics, and went on to gradu-ate from Kazan State University in 1999. He graduated from the Law In-stitute of the Russian Interior Ministry in 1993, and has worked within the Russian Ministry of Interior ever since.

Hohorin has worked within the Tatarstan Ministry’s Criminal Inves-

tigation Department, Drug Unit, and Information-Analytical department. He served as Tatarstan Deputy Min-ister of Interior from 2002 to 2008, when he became Minister of Interior of Mari-El. In 2011, he became Head of the Organizational and Analytical Department of the Russian Interior Ministry.

New Tatarstan Police Head Appointed

by nadezhda PodoPRigoRaKazan Federal University’s Law

Faculty has offered free consultation for more than 200 years, but starting this April the same service is also available in English.

Law Clinic, as the project is called, was launched to help foreigners make sense of Russian law, through Eng-lish-language consultation with KFU law students, under the supervision of the department’s teachers and professors.

The free consultation can be on any topic of Russian law, from immi-

gration issues, to business formation, to family documentation, to civil law, to inheritance law.

Conceived of a while back, Law Clinic has been developed over the past five years, explained its main or-ganizer Ilsur Salikhov, Deputy Dean for Master’s Programs and Interna-tional Relations. To his knowledge, the program is the first of its kind in Kazan and Tatarstan.

Law Clinic took five years to de-velop, in part to ensure the quality of the consultation provided. All teach-ers in the law faculty currently have

experience consulting for foreigners, and students have a special course focused on legal consultation in Eng-lish.

For now, Law Clinic is provided only in Kazan, but its organizers have am-bitious hopes that it will catch on quick-ly in other cities. “In the future, we plan to have such a practice in every Rus-sian town, declared Salikhov.

Law Clinic’s free consultation is scheduled individually between cli-ent and center by emailing legal.ad-vice.in.kpfu@gmail.com or calling Lenar Mirasov at +7 987 427 6367.

KFU Launches Free Legal Advising, In English

olesya Baltusova (left) observing as one group prepares their workshop project during the conference.

Examination of the project territory by student Anastasia Gorbunova and supervisor Dmitry Sukhin.

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�May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23)The Kazan Herald BuSiNESS

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by Wyatt FoRd23 April—Tatarstan Invest-

ment Development Agency Chief Executive Linar Yakupov met with representatives from local media outlets on 17 April to discuss their coverage of Small and Medium Enterprises and Foreign Direct Investment.

The meeting was scheduled to coincide with an awards cer-emony for the winners of a com-petition for journalism about Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).

Meeting in roundtable format, Yakupov briefly explained to those gathered that the Tatarstan In-vestment Development Agency (TIDA) is actively trying to elevate the level of entrepreneurs and small businessmen in the re-gion.

The media, Yakupov argued, should play a more active role in this process. The TIDA Chief Ex-ecutive read the results of a survey conducted by TatCenter.ru about SME perceptions of the republic’s press. Thirty-four per cent of en-trepreneurs get their information from specialized publications. Twenty-eight per cent of those surveyed believe mass media to be “nothing more than advertis-ing.” Nineteen per cent said that

it was difficult to find pertinent in-formation, and only five percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with media coverage.

Yakupov opened the floor to discussion, himself suggesting that the press would do well to focus more on narratives of suc-cessful business ventures – “suc-cess stories,” as he put it.

During the discussion, differ-ent media outlets expressed vary-ing opinions about ways towards improving the situation.

“You say, let’s write more, let’s write more, let’s tell it more inter-esting,” exclaimed one local cor-respondent. “Right now, to put it crudely, no one will do this for free.”

“This is a person who is suc-cessful, who receives government support,” he continued, speak-ing of a theoretical entrepreneur. “How about not telling us, but him, to pay for this advertisement?”

A representative from Vede-mosti, in contrast, told Yakupov that entrepreneurs themselves should try to make news in order to get coverage. “We won’t just write something that is not inter-esting, if it doesn’t fit into the for-mat of our coverage, if it is not interesting for our readers,” she elucidated.

Yakupov heard everyone out, but revealed his own position on the matter through an anecdote about his experience organizing the first ever Kazan Summit. “In 2009, it was a private initiative that we funded ourselves, and by and large not one local press out-let supported us,” he said. Unable to find local media partners who didn’t ask for payment, he ex-plained, the summit organizers reached out to foreign press, who were very interested in the sum-mit as a story in and of itself.

Continuing, Yakupov argued that the press should not abuse its position but consider it a duty to help inspire businessmen who are only getting started, rather than “becoming one big united taxation organ, which is immediately ready to come and collect.”

Responding to this sentiment, a representative from Internet portal Kazan24 asked for access to contact information of entre-preneurs, so as to organize inter-views with worthy businessmen.

Towards the end of the meet-ing, Yakupov touched upon the roll of the media in attracting For-eign Direct Investment to Ta-tarstan. “Unfortunately, from an information point of view, outside of the Russian Federation, few

people know the Republic of Ta-tarstan,” he commented. “We sometimes think that they know us, but they don’t.”

To rectify this situation, TIDA will soon be officially launching “Invest in Tatarstan,” an initiative to raise awareness about the re-public internationally. Just this past month, Yakupov has traveled to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Lux-embourg within the context of this initiative. Most recently, Yakupov has attended the World Invest-ment Forum 2012 in Doha, Qatar, which runs from 20 to 23 April.

The local press, Yakupov said, could do its part to help promote Tatarstan by increasing the amount of fresh information avail-able in English. “It would be great if you had an English version of your newspaper, magazine, web-site,” Yakupov told those assem-bled.

Only after the roundtable con-cluded were the awards present-ed. TRK won first place in the television category with its pro-gram “Business Tatarstan.” The nomination for print reporting on the development of SME was tak-ing by the newspaper “Zemlya Zemlitsa.” TatCenter.ru won the nomination for best reporting on SME by an Internet publication.

yakupov Discusses Coverage of SMEs, FDI With Tatarstan Press

there will be positive results soon,” Minnikhanov said. “Traditionally, we have worked mainly with Eu-rope, but haven’t worked enough with the Arab world and southeast Asia…Our republic is Muslim, and we need to use this factor.”

According to Minnikhaov, Tatarstan is interested in having Tecom Investments help with the integrated development of Smart City, an initiative to build a world-class conference and business center near Kazan In-ternational Airport. The com-pany is currently involved in im-plementing similar projects in Malta and India.

In Dubai, Tatarstan also dis-cussed the possibility of cooper-ating with Kele Contracting in con-struction and construction man-agement of major sports facilities, as the company has experience working on Olympic facilities in Sydney.

Minnikhanov’s participation in the AIM conference in Dubai is the latest in a string of recent signs that point to Tatarstan’s commit-ment to actively seeking out for-eign direct investment (FDI).

In 2011, Minnikhanov created the Tatarstan Investment Devel-opment Agency (TIDA), a body designed specifically to both en-courage the growth of Small and Medium business and increase the level of FDI in the republic.

TIDA’s Chief Executive is Li-nar Yakupov, one of the founders of Kazan Summit, and interna-tional Islamic banking and finance conference first held in 2009.

Since his agency was created, Yakupov has been aggressively pursuing foreign investment. In March, the agency used its first-

In Dubai, Minnikhanov Courts Islamic Investorsever collegium as an opportunity to host Kazan Invest, an interna-tional investment forum billed as a precursor to Kazan Summit, which will be held in May 2012.

Co-hosted by the World As-sociation of Investment Promo-tion Agencies (WAIPA), Kazan In-vest was a day packed full with discussion of how to increase FDI in Russia and Tatarstan. During the forum, TIDA had a Dubai-based architect present a pro-posal for Smart City, the same exhibition and business center that Minnikhanov wants Tecom Investments to help develop. Overseen by TIDA, Smart City is being developed to make Kazan an even more attractive destina-tion for foreign businessmen.

Since Kazan Invest, Yakupov and his team have logged thou-sands of frequent flier miles trav-eling to international FDI and busi-ness forums, spreading the word that Tatarstan is ready to do busi-ness.

In March, Yakupov visited Malyasia and Indonesia to pro-mote Tatarstan’s investment po-tential.

In April, he visited Luxembourg and the World Investment Forum in Doha, Qatar. “Republic of Ta-tarstan is the only region of Rus-sian Federation represented at World Investment Forum in Doha, Qatar,” Yakupov tweeted on his English-language Twitter account, @LinarYakup. At the end of the month, he was in Europe, attend-ing an industrial park seminar in Metz, France. That same month, TIDA First Deputy Robert Galiul-lin was in Latvia as part of a del-egation.

And of course, Yakupov and his team were in Dubai with Pres-ident Minnikhanov at the AIM con-

ference, where they met with the directors of Masdar City, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and the Mubadala Investment Company, according to TIDA’s website.

This promotional work was of-ficially branded “Invest in Ta-tarstan” and launched as a glob-al campaign during the AIM sum-mit in Dubai. The campaign has also recently started working through its new Twitter account, @InvestTatarstan.

“Invest in Tatarstan” is a glob-al campaign, but as Minnikhanov’s visit to Dubai indicates, one of its strategic focuses is deepening links within the Islamic world.

This year’s IV Annual Kazan Summit, now hosted by TIDA, will focus on economic cooperation between Russia and the Organi-zation of Islamic Countries (OIC), which has more 57 member coun-tries.

“Russia has a dialogue with the European Union, Russia has a dialogue with the United States,

and we similarly want Russia to have a dialogue with the OIC,” Linar Yakpuov explained in an interview with The Kazan Herald. Yakupov is confident that there is tremendous, untapped eco-nomic potential in such a dia-logue.

To be held on 18 and 19 May in Kazan “under the patronage” of President Minnikhanov, Kazan Summit will feature a strategic forum, a trade and investment forum, a conference on Islamic economics and finance, bilateral meetings, and rountables on the role of Islamic finance in the world financial system, dialogue of civ-ilizations, and the role of the press in foreign investment.

Over the past few months, TIDA has gathered a database of more than 79 different investment projects put forward by Tatarstan entrepreneurs. This database of business plans which will be avail-able for Kazan Summit partici-pants to peruse and follow up on during the summit.

While in Dubai, Tatarstan launched “Invest in Tatarstan,” a global campaign to attract Foreign Direct Investment into the republic.

(Continued from page 1)

� May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23) The Kazan HeraldSPortS

by Yusha kozakiEWiCzSpartak Moscow is a storied

club whose name represented the struggle of the proletariat against its oppressors, the revo-lutionary gesture of sporting leg-end and founder Nikolai Starostin in the early years of the Soviet state. Such a political tone often characterized sport, especially football, in the USSR. Its 12 League Championships and 10 Soviet Cups helped lead to the birth of its almost-mythical status as the Team of the People. In sport, the people of the Soviet Union found the strength to be more industrious workers and defenders of Communism; in Spartak, their sporting legends found a way to serve the ideals of Lenin, a truly Soviet team which reflected the nature of their coun-try’s national diversity. Spartak was always different from the op-position. Whilst other teams were sponsored by a single, elite seg-ment of society (Dinamo by the KGB, CSKA by the army), Spar-tak gained a following from the masses (teachers, doctors, aca-demics, and factory workers) and were often in conflict with the op-pressive force of Stalin’s secret police.

All this is well-known about Spartak, but what is sometimes overlooked is the role that Tatar footballers have played in the team’s success during the So-viet period.

Overseeing the club’s tri-umphs throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Galimzyan Khusain-ov is a name which lives promi-nently in Spartak Moscow’s his-tory. Born on Tatar soil in Novoye Ishlaikino in 1937, he caught the eye of Spartak coach Nikita Si-monyan during a match with Kryl-ia Sovetov Kuibyshev in 1960. Upon seeing him play, Starostin said about Khusainov, “He comes from a tribe of little giants,” refer-

Tatar Gladiators of Comrade Lenin’s Coliseum

Rinat Dasayev, one of the great Soviet goalkeepers of alltime.

Galimzyan Khusainov, holding the 1971 USSR Cup.

Vagiz Khidiyatullin grew up on the streets of Gubakhra, Perm.

ring to the winger’s height and his fighting spirit on the pitch, and invited him to join Spartak in the summer. Over his career and in true Spartak tradition, Khusainov viewed football as the most dem-ocratic of games, always seen by those around him as an excep-tional worker and a truly irreplace-able teammate. In 1967, Gil, as Khusainov was affectionately known, was deservedly elected captain, and led his team to two more trophies before leaving foot-ball in 1973, having played near-ly 350 matches and tallying over 100 goals for the red and whites.

Two more Tatars became hometown favorites in the Soviet capital during the 1970s and 1980s. Vagiz Khidiyatullin, the star defenseman of Konstantin Bes-kov’s Spartak team, grew up on the streets of Gubakha, Perm with a ball at his feet. He very early on found a deep love for football, and was discovered at the age of twelve, promptly turning his back on both cigarettes and street ball to follow a dream. At 17, he was offered a chance to play for Spar-tak by trainer Sergei Salnikov, and quickly developed into a regular

at the Lenin Stadium. It wasn’t soon before he was called a foot-balling superman by Starostin. It has been said that for Khidiyatul-lin, the football pitch represented the plane of life, on which he would live many years over the span of a 90-minute match. He went on to wear the red and white shirt 175 times.

Rinat Dasayev grew up in the outskirts of Astrakhan, and as a young boy, like many footballers his age, loved to score goals. He became a goalkeeper at local club Volgar in his teens and be-gan training to work as a teach-er of physical education. After an invitation by Beskov, he joined Khidiyatullin at Spartak in 1977. During his decade-long career in the capital, he would come to be compared to the great So-viet goalkeepers Sokolov and Yashin, and be recognized for transforming the art of goalkeep-ing into a component of offense. He had a style all his own, which Starostin once referred to as “neo-romantic,” and which Yas-hin himself called, “strong and self-sacrificing.”

Besides these three person-alities are the lesser-known

names of Osyanin, Nigmatullin, Kayumov, Tatarkin, and Bulatov. Nikolai Osyanin, a native of So-bolevskoye in the Tatar ASSR, began his career with Iskra Kazan in 1959, before following Galimzy-an Khusainov’s path through Kuibyshev to join Spartak in 1966, spending a total of eight years with the capital club. Ruslan Nig-matullin, a native of Kazan, spent three seasons as Spartak’s sec-ond goalkeeper in the mid-90s, a decade which saw the Moscow club win seven Russian champi-onships. Almir Kayumov spent six years with his hometown club be-ginning in the early 80s, becom-ing champion of the USSR with Khidiyatullin and Dasayev in 1987. Aleksandr Tatarkin, like Nigmatul-lin, hails from Kazan, where he began his career with Rubin in 1984, joining Spartak for a single season in 1992. Viktor Bulatov, a Russian footballer of Tatar de-scent, spent the years 1999-2001 in Moscow, winning three con-secutive championships with the red and whites.

Although he passed away in 2010, Galimzyan Khusainov is remembered to this day for be-ing a warm individual and an ex-

emplary sportsman, a true Tatar giant in the world of sport. Vagiz Khidiyatullin went on to finish his career in France, and was hon-ored, together with long-time teammate and fellow Spartak hero Fyodor Cherenkov, with a jubilee match in 2009; a Tatar ambassador of sport, both at home and abroad. Rinat Dasayev is still recognized as one of the greatest sportsmen the Soviet Union has ever produced, finish-ing his career in Spain in 1991. Seven years later, he was given a farewell match, and in 2003, founded his own international football academy, which cur-rently educates and trains around 150 young footballers in Moscow. He will always be remembered as the Tatar sentinel who stood watch over his country’s, and his club’s, goal.

“Tatars are more fiery,” Marat Safin once observed, a comment that can be used to in part explain the fierce revolutionary attitude of Spartak. The fact is that Spar-tak Moscow became a leader of Soviet sport and football cham-pion on many occasions, both with the support of the People behind them and with the pres-ence of the country’s top Tatar footballers. This fact has not been lost on the club’s supporters in 2012, especially following the ar-rival of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov in January. Although his injury and recent results exclude the pos-sibility of a championship this season, there is no doubt that Bi-lyaletdinov will one day be listed among the Tatar footballing greats of Moscovsky Spartak.

The author, a Polish-ameri-can Tatar, recently completed graduate studies at Fatih univer-sity in istanbul, where he defend-ed a thesis entitled “of Crowns & kaftans: The development of ot-toman-Polish Relations to the seventeenth Century.”

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DINAMo KAZAN 4HSS IZMAILoVo 1

28 April – Yesterday, men’s field hockey team Dinamo Kazan beat High Sport School Izmailovo, 4-1, as part of the XXI Open Field Hockey Russian Championship’s League.

The Kazan team, eight-time champions of Russia in filed hock-ey, played aggressively. In the 20th minute, Sved Varsy scored, putting Dinamo up 1-0. The guests regrouped, scoring an equalizing goal in the 44th minute, but then Varsy scored again in the 47th minute, bringing the Kazan side ahead, 2-1. The Moscow side would not score for the rest of the match, and Dinamo’s Anton Ko-rnilov scored two more goals, en-suring the home team’s victory.

The win was an important one, putting Dinamo Kazan six points ahead of second-placed Izmailo-vo.

dinamo Takes Command in field Hockey

by Marius HubERRUBIN KAZAN 2ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG 2

4 May — Rubin Kazan faced Zenit Saint Petersburg on Wednes-day, in the 42nd round of the Rus-sian Football Championship. Just last Saturday, Zenit clinched the league title with a crucial 2-1 win against Dinamo Moscow, so one could have thought the boys from Saint Petersburg would not take the match against Rubin seri-ously.

This expectation was only par-tially fulfilled: Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti rested Malafeev, Hubo-

Rubin Forces Mighty Zenit To A Drawcan, Shirokov, and Kerzhakov, giving, among others, Fayzulin and ex-Rubin forward Bukharov the opportunity to play. Rubin coach Berdyev did not change his line up from what it was during the Kuban match, apart from starting Karadeniz instead of Kasaev.

Rubin had a quick start in the game. Just in the 8th minute, left-winger Karadeniz sent a low cross into Zenit’s box, where first Rubin then Zenit players could not track it down, before Ryazantsev final-ly managed to stoke the ball over the line.

Just after this scene, Zenit tried to react with an attack over the left wing. Arshavin sent the ball to Fayzulin, who, for his part, had a change to beat Rubin keep-er Ryzhikov. Fayzulin took a shot from a very pointed angle, but Ryzhikov somehow managed to turn around and catch the ball at the last moment.

It was mostly Zenit creating dangerous situations during the remainder of the first half, with Rubin waiting for counterattack

opportunities. Former Rubin cap-tain Semak had the best oppor-tunity, hitting the post with a shot. Rubin had their chances to score a second goal, such as when Ansaldi sent a cross right onto Valdez’s head in the 26th minute, but Valdez was unable to redirect the ball into the goal.

In the second half, Zenit tried hard to score the equalizer, which almost came when Arshavin had a one-on-one with Ryzhikov, who defused the dangerous situation. In the 50th minute, it was again Arshavin who passed to Semak, who took two touches to send the ball into Rubin’s net, tying up the match. Rubin supporters did not need to wait long for their team to regain the lead: nine minutes after Zenit’s equalizer Natkho re-ceived the ball just outside the box and sent it via Luković’s leg into the net behind Zenit’s reserve keeper Zhevnov.

With his team back in the lead, Rubin coach Berdyev replaced forward Valdez with defender Bocchetti, a clear sign that he

wanted to play defensively and hold onto the win. His plan unfor-tunately did not work out, as Den-isov managed to gain possession of the ball after a mistake made on Rubin’s left flank. The Zenit midfielder passed the ball to Ar-shavin, who volleyed it past Ry-zhikov into the lower-left corner, tying up the match yet again.

With the score at 2-2, both teams had their chances. Rubin, who was playing sloppily, was able to rely on their keeper, who was solid and calm throughout the match.

Following the match, both Ze-nit coach Spalletti and Rubin’s Berdyev said that the spectators had seen an interesting, exciting game with a high caliber of play. Berdyev added that “a draw is a fair result of this game.” Whether fair or not, he must have known well that if his side wants to finish the season within the top five, they must win in the two final matches. Drawing has become a bad hab-it for the Kazan side that does not help them win championships.

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�May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23)The Kazan Herald touriSm

selves are well worth the trip from Kazan.

Continuing down ulitsa Karla Marksa away from the Kama Riv-er, you will pass a memorial to “those who gave their life fighting for Soviet power” during the Rus-sian revolution, 1918-1919, before coming across an Eternal Fire and memorial to soldiers lost in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). The Eternal Fire is the beginning of a park promenade which runs for several blocks down the mid-dle of ulitsa Karla Marksa and functions as an alley of tribute to fallen soldiers, starting with indi-vidual plaques and ending with plaques naming every last man from Chistopol lost in the war.

Further down ulitsa Karla Mark-sa is Chistopol’s other main church, Tserkov Kazanskoy Bozhey Materi (Kazan Mother of God Church). Founded in 1848 in honor of the celebrated Kazan Mother of God Icon, the church is adjacent to the city’s large Orthodox cemetery, which is a jumble of old and new tombstones mixed together. Tserkov Kazanskoy Bozhey Materi is not far from the Verkhny rynok (Upper market), a typical Russian bazaar worth a visit for those who love the sport of haggling.

Chistopol may have been cre-ated by decree of the Russian Empire, but being a city in Ta-t a rs t a n , i t h a s “ m e c h e t i ” (mosques) as well. Imam mechet is a modern building of little ar-chitectural interest. We’d recom-mend skipping it entirely, so that you can spend more time in Nur mechet, a 19th century gem on ulitsa Vakhitova. More than 160 years old, the green and yellow wooden building is a magnificient prototype of the typical rural Ta-tar mosque.

Chistopol’s main square is at the intersection of ulitsa Lenina and ulitsa Tolstogo, and under the omniscient watch of a statue of Vladimir Lenin. (Interestingly enough, the last “N” on the name plaque of both this statue and the statue of Lenin at the Chistopol port are hardly visible, so that, from afar, they first seem to read “LENI” – vandalism, or coinci-dence?) The main square has a brand new cultural center that, a local told us, has a 5D Cinema. The square also has a small choice of cafés and restaurants, and Gostinitsa Chistopol, the only ho-tel in the city center.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union’s renowned writ-

ers were sent to Chistopol for safekeeping far away from the front. The Union of Soviet Writers was relocated to a pink brick build-ing on ulitsa Karla Marksa, now called Dom Uchitelya (Teacher’s House). Leonid Leonov, Mikhail Maksimov, Arseny Tarkovsky, Ma-rina Tsvetaeva, and countless other legendary Soviet writers visited the city during this period, but the writer who’s legacy has been best preserved in Chistopol is Boris Pasternak. Acclaimed poet, novelist, and beloved trans-lator of English literature, Paster-nak lived in a quaint, red brick house on ulitsa Lenina across the street from Skaryatinsky sad (gar-den). The house has since been converted into a museum in his honor, accessible though an al-ley to the left of the house. Per-fectly integrated into its surround-ings – its neighboring house has a family with children living in it – the museum is a must see on any visit to Chistopol.

Not far from the Pasternak Museum, just off of ulitsa Lib-knekhta on pereulok Libknekh-ta, is a working prison that was notorious during Soviet times. As it is still operational, the pris-on is not open to visitors. One

can venture towards it from ulit-sa Libknekhta for a better look, but be advised that taking pic-tures without official permission is prohibited, as three different correctional officers came out to tell us.

By and large, the center of Chistopol is a collection of two-story, 19th century brick and wooden houses which, all things considered, have been magnifi-cently-maintained, especially in comparison to Kazan. Tatarstan State Council Chariman Farid Mukhametshin took notice of this when he visited Chistopol in Feb-ruary of this year, declaring that one of the main priorities of the municipal government this year should be preserving and restor-ing the city’s historical landmarks. Chistopol may have a new tech-nopark, but the heart of the city will always be its historic, 19th century buildings.

HOW TO GET THEREChistopol is 135 km South-

East of Kazan. A taxi from Kazan Airport to Chistopol will put you back 1200 rubles. There is a reg-ular bus traveling to Chistopol from Yuzhny bus station every half hour from 8.00 a.m. till 7.30 p.m. This bus trip costs 200 rubles.

Chistopol’s main square is at the intersection of ulitsa Lenina and ulitsa Tolstogo, under the omniscient watch of a statute of Vladimir Lenin. The brand new cultural center behind Lenin has a 5D Cinema.

Weekend Getaway: Chistopol

by simone PEEkStretching almost the entire

length of ulitsa Martyna Mezhlau-ka and even overflowing onto the intersecting roads and surround-ing buildings, Kolkhozny Rynok is a feast for the eye. Colorful merchants from all over Tatarstan, Russia, and even Azerbaijan, Ta-jikistan, and other former Soviet Republics travel to the market every day to sell literally almost anything you can imagine.

“Tsentralny Rynok” (Central Market) – also referred to as “Kolkhozny Rynok” (Collective Farm Market) –is actually a con-catenation of different privately owned markets, but it’s hard to tell when one bazaar ends and the other one starts.

Of all of Kazan’s markets, the Kolkhozny or Central Market was the first and largest. Established in 1926 as a place to sell the spoils of collective farming, the

Kolkhozny Rynok, Kazan’s Bustling Central Market

by Wyatt FoRdJust 135 kilometers outside

of Kazan on the far bank of the Kama River lies Chistopol, a Rus-sian city with a rich industrial and cultural heritage.

Chistopol was founded in 1781 by decree of Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Over the next century, the city established itself as the leading cultural and trad-ing hub on the Kama River. At the end of the 19th century, Chisto-pol boasted a population of more than 20,000, making it the sec-ond largest city in the region be-hind only Kazan.

Grain was the main product of Chistopol during the 19th cen-tury, when its river port was a bustling marketplace of import and export. The city’s distinction in the 20th century became the Vostok watch factory, which con-tinues to work this day and can be seen when driving into the city. Once prized as a mark of an accomplished, upright Soviet citizen, Vostok’s watches have since fallen out of favor amongst Russia’s business and political elite, although they still com-mand respect from a segment of Russia’s working class and, of course, tourists. If you pur-chase any souvenir during your stay in Chistopol, make it Vostok watch.

The city, which stretches along the bank of the Kama river, has two main arteries, ulitsa Lenina and ulitsa Karla Marksa, parallel streets running inland away from the waterfront. At the beginning of ulitsa Karla Marksa stands Nikolsky sobor, a magnificent 19th century cathedral. Built in 1838 with funding from merchants Grig-ory and Dimitry Polyakov, the ca-thedral was closed by the Bolshe-viks in 1927. In 1990, the Chisto-pol local government reopened the catherdral, which underwent a rigorous restoration that was completed in 1995. Thanks to this work, it now has three spectacu-lar iconostases, which by them-

roofed Kolkhozny Market con-tinued to service as a bazaar even after the free market set sail.The building has many halls that specialize in different type of products. Entering the market through the main entrance at ulitsa Moskovskaya, you find yourself face-to-face with thou-sands of shiny fruit and vegeta-bles. But this is where the laby-rinth starts. There is not enough room to describe all the nooks and crannies of the market here, but I’d especially recommend taking the passageway to the right about halfway through the fruithall, leading to where the dried fruits and nuts are sold. Visitors who want to put their stomach to the test may visit the halal meat hall at the far right.

When visiting the Central Mar-ket, make sure to try sweet and freshly baked Lepioshka bread or Shashlik. To do so, walk straight

through the fruit hall, exit the building at the end, and walk left, where a pleasant smoky scent will lead you the rest of the way to your destination.

Salim, Director of the market, has worked in the administration for 30 years, and the twinkle in his eyes proved that he was not lying when saying he enjoys work-ing at the Central Market. “The entire market area covers 25 hect-ares and has 1,200 selling plac-es,” he explained. “At the moment there are about 700 salesmen, but more and more will come as summer sets in and the economy improves.”

HOW TO GET THEREThe Kolkhozny Market is close

to the train station and only 20 minutes by foot from ploshchad Tukaya (Tukay Square). Public transport is also an option. You can take bus 10A from the “clock” side of ploshchad Tukaya Square

five stops to the “Kolkhozny ry-nok” bus stop right in front of the main entrance.

DON’T FORGETAs exciting and interesting as

it may be to wander off the beat-en track, it is best not to show off any valuables in the middle of the market. And of course, the first price is not always the best price

– try to have fun and join in the sport of haggling.

Kolkhozny rynok. 13 ulitsa Martyna Mezhlauka

Open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, until 5 p.m. on Mondays.

Not all merchants come every day. Visit on Saturday or Sunday for the widest variety of products and produce.

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Built in 1838, Nikolsky sobor stands at the beginning of ulitsa Karla Marksa, and has three spectacular iconostases, each of which alone is worth the trip from Kazan.

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Fruit stand in the central market

� May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23) The Kazan Herald2 yEar aNNivErSary

by Rustem YunusovOn a sunny day in May 2010, we picked

up the first issue of The Kazan Herald at Idel-Press. Holding the paper in our hands was an exciting feeling, even though we were frankly still not entirely sure what do to with them. Our original plan to distribute the paper to Kazan’s major hotels turned out to be more challenging than we had anticipated – many hotels were reluctant and cautious, even though we were offer-ing to distribute the paper for them free of charge. And so we began our long and dif-ficult journey.

The Kazan Herald was founded on a simple idea, that Tatarstan’s capital de-serves to have an English-language news-paper. Confident in the validity of this idea, we launched the newspaper immediately, so as to establish our reputation as the first of its kind. The paper was launched as an experiment, with little initial capital and only a basic understanding of the market and who our readership was.

Our first achievement came in Novem-ber 2010, when we won first place in the Tatarstan Republic Youth Forum’s media division. President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov personally congratulated us, awarding us a plaque. Minnikhanov prom-ised support to all of the first place winners during the forum’s closing ceremony. Hav-ing yet to see this support, we have learned to rely on ourselves.

Around the same time, Wyatt Ford joined our editorial board, and another chapter in the life of the newspaper began. Our partnership is an improbable alliance of a Tatar from Nizhnekamsk and an American from New York, but working together has produced a newspaper that incorporates the best aspects of Russian and Western journalism.

In December, we began expanding our writing staff, tapping the potential of the talented Russian and international students living in Kazan. To date, we have had 43 different writers from 11 different countries contribute to The Kazan Herald. We are delighted to see that the paper has be-come an important part of many students’ time spent in Kazan, both socially and pro-

fessionally. We wouldn’t be where we are today without these excellent writers.

Of our staff, we are especially proud of Maxim Edwards. Under his guidance, our Opinion section has blossomed as a vi-brant marketplace of ideas that has seen many intriguing and at times controversial arguments put forward. Still in Kazan, Max-im has already began writing for The Inde-pendent’s website, and I have no doubt that he one day will be an internationally-known name in journalism.

Of course, we couldn’t have gotten where we were today without support from others. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Igor Nosov deserves special thanks for helping us become the official media partner of the Joint Russian-Turkish Inter-governmental Commission in 2011, for which we prepared a special issue of the paper.

We have also worked closely with Dep-uty Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism Sergei Ivanov, who has provided much advice and guidance as we continue to grow. At his suggestion, we began run-ning features about tourism in Tatarstan, a section that has become a favorite amongst our readers.

As the paper continues to establish it-self as a respected and trusted source of news about Tatarstan, we have gotten more and more emails from businessmen, aca-demics, and readers from across the globe.

“Dear staff of Kazan Herald,” wrote one reader on 2 May, a Tatar who now lives in Germany:

“I just want to express in few words just how proud I am of this first English-lan-guage based Tatar newspaper! Actually, I’m so excited to share its Facebook link with my friends. Finally, even those living far from Russia and having nothing to do with Tatars and Tatarstan start getting the idea of my homeland and its people. Keep doing your great job! So far you’ve been handling it greatly! Wish you lots of luck and inspiration!”

C o r re s p o n d e n c e s u c h a s t h i s strengthens our resolve and inspires us to carry on.

Reflections on Twoyears of Heralding

by Maxim EdWaRdsSitting surrounded by solitude in the

deepest recesses of Tatarstan’s National Library on ulitsa Karla Marksa has become a pleasant pastime. Leafing through old newspapers or facsimiles of even older ones, the originals long since crumbled into oblivion, one can access local history with unusual ease. Predictions for the fu-ture from the early 1990s, some ludicrous-ly mistaken and others with sobering ac-curacy, make for absorbing reading. Dur-ing those confused days even the relent-lessly serious “Zvyezda Povolzhya” ran cartoons on its front cover, a comic spin on an all too sombre period of history.

Further back in the bowels of the library are Tatar and Russian language newspa-pers from the death throes of the Tsarist Empire. They must surely contain some nourishing food for thought, but remain undigested for me, simply due to a lack of proficiency in reading Tatar Arabic script. Among these lie surprisingly crisp copies of Qazan Mөxbire, the very first truly mod-ern Tatar-language newspaper. Entering publication on 29 October 1905, its name in English translates as The Kazan Herald. So, with the second anniversary of Kazan’s second Kazan Herald fast approaching, it may be time to glance back at our name-sake, which appeared on these streets some 107 years ago.

A liberal newspaper published entirely in Tatar Arabic script, the first Kazan Her-ald was related to the Ittifaq al-Muslimin Party, a liberal Islamic political party in the Russian Empire with a similar party line to the Kadets (Constitutional Democratic Party) which was dominated by Volga Ta-tar intellectuals (although Azeris and Crime-an Tatars were also represented). Published until 1911, the newspaper operated at a time of great social upheaval and change and in an atmosphere of uncertainty and very probably fear, given the declaration of one of the governors of Kazan during Alexander III and Nicholas II’s reign that “the Russian government should openly declare that in Russia, there should not be Tatar nor Muslim culture.” If anything, the team of contributors to this Kazan Herald would go on to defy this point of view, fea-turing the works of some of the foremost Tatar intellectuals of their time. Yusuf Açku-ra – the writer, independence activist, and one of Ittifaq’s chief organisers – served as Editor of the newspaper. The playwright Ğaliaskar Kamal, whose name has graced Kazan’s Kamal Theatre since 1935, and Ilyas Alkin, an intellectual who with Açkura was closely associated with the declara-tion of the semi-independent Idel-Ural State for the non-Russian peoples of the Volga region in January 1918, also con-tributed. Towards the end of 1907, Husayn Yamashev, a man known as the first Tatar Bolshevik, joined the newspaper’s staff.

The Kazan Herald, 1905

The existence of Qazan Mөxbire was during the time of Ğabdulla Tuqay himself, but was short and sweet. Many of its writ-ers met more bitter ends through the Civ-il War. Alkin and another of the paper’s contributors, Gamilzyan Şaraf, did not sur-vive the repressions of the 1930s, whilst Açkura left for Turkey, where he became a chief ideologue in the Pan-Turkic move-ment. He died in Istanbul in 1935, where he lies beneath a tomb with the form of Kazan’s Söyembike Tower in Erdinekapi Cemetery.

The first Kazan Herald was a newspa-per of its time. Rifling though its pages re-veals Tsarist-era advertisements for, among other things, Eau-de-cologne, sewing ma-chines, carriages and shoe repair, provid-ing a brief snapshot of a Kazan which has all but disappeared. Without a doubt, the papers must be even more fascinating for those who can read its Arabic-Tatar script. For those of us who neither read Arabic nor speak Tatar, the process of reading the papers was as intimidating as the hi-eroglyphs printed on them. “Do you speak Tatar?” asked the librarian in the Rare Books section. Casting my mind back to a certain column in The Kazan Herald, I was able to prove knowledge of some basic set phras-es. I am clearly not a fluent Tatar speaker, let a reader of florid early twentieth cen-tury Tatar literary journals. Babushka-in-chief of the National Library stared with beady eyed curiosity as I failed to decrypt the inky enigma on the table. Having read about the distant Kazan of Tukay’s time, it would probably have been as foreign had I understood it.

Of course, to compare and contrast these two newspapers is futile – I some-how doubt that distribution of Qazan Mөxbire extended to IQ bars and IT parks – but to see copies of a namesake from 107 years ago is a rewarding experience. A little proof, perhaps, that Kazan is a city which has always had, and always will have, a Herald.

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Friends and partners of The Kazan Herald joined our editorial staff at White Square Studio last night to celebrate our second birthday.

We Turned Two

�May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23)The Kazan Herald oPiNioN

by ildar gabidullinHolidays to Tatarstan? Although Ta-

tarstan’s stall happily attracted the inter-est of visitors to the Istanbul International Tourism Exhibition, the real situation is sadly rather different. Whilst thousands of tourists from Tatarstan spend their annual vacations on the beaches of Antalya, Ka-zan still remains a relatively unknown des-tination for Turkish tourists. It is almost impossible to buy a Tatarstan tour in Istan-bul, and travel agencies in Kazan confirm this, complaining that the number of tour-ists from Turkey is simply too low.

As a Tatar expatriate who has lived in Turkey for more than a year now, I face a sad situation. Even though these two re-publics share common Turkic roots, it is a rare surprise to encounter a person who has any real knowledge of Tatarstan and Tatars. Don’t be surprised to hear the ques-tion “So where is Tatarstan exactly?” when introducing yourself to a new Turkish friend. This geographical and cultural unaware-ness of Turks seriously reflects the two re-publics’ cooperation – or lack thereof – on the issue of tourism, which deserves more exploration.

The Republic of Tatarstan’s stall was presented at the annual EMITT (East Med-iterranean International Travel and Tour-ism) exhibition in Istanbul from 9 to 12 Feb-

ruary. Tatarstan’ representatives were par-ticipating in the EMITT for a second time and this year they focused on the sights of Kazan, Bolgar, and Sviyazhsk.

Honored guests of the exhibition were Turkey’s Tourism and Culture Minister Ertuğrul Günay and Istanbul’s Mayor, Ka-dir Topbaş. Tatarstan Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism Sergei Ivanov presented to the Turkish minister a souvenir from Kazan as a sign of new co-operation in tourism. “After visiting Mos-cow and St. Petersburg, Turkish tourists want something new,” Ivanov told Tatar-Inform. “Tatarstan is the region which suits their demands the most- direct Istanbul-Kazan flights, high class hotels and res-taurants, a tolerant attitude and respect towards Muslims can all be found there.”

Despite the interest in Tatarstan during the conference and Ivanov’s words, I found that the real picture is unfortunately very different. Trying to buy a Tatarstan tour in several travel agencies in Istanbul, I had no success. Tour agencies offer a wide range of interesting and in-depth tours to Moscow and St. Petersburg, but can’t of-fer anything to Kazan. Some of them did not even know where Tatarstan was.

The managers of the Cafetur and ETS tour companies simply said that they “don’t work” with that destination and instead

suggested traveling Tatarstan as a back-packer. At Jolly International Tours, Odes-sa and Kiev were suggested as alternatives to Kazan. “If you want, we can arrange a special trip for you [to Kazan]. But it will be rather expensive. Until today we never had any requests from tourists for Tatarstan tours,” said Jolly International Tours man-ager. “Tatarstan?” asked some, “No, we don’t sell tours to Central Asia!” replied Ankara’s Golden Bay Tours.

This response is not just found in Is-tanbul: Intourist managers in Tatarstan said that even if they offer special trips and Turkish speaking guides for Turkish tour-ists, they never have clients from Turkey. Stolitsa Travel Bureau’s managers agree with their colleagues at Intourist. “Turks are not frequent guests here: during last year we got one or two requests from Tur-key,” said one manager. “I don’t think de-mand for Tatarstan in the Turkish tourism market that big.”

Despite this pessimistic picture, it seems like there may be reasons to hope for improvement. For instance, presenting Tatarstan in exhibitions such as EMITT could just open the region for Turkish tour-ism market. One of this year’s EMITT achievements was to organize a common, shared platform for Turkey and Tatarstan’s tourism companies. Ivanov said that this

meeting could help to arrange trips to Ta-tarstan which could fit Turkish tourists’ re-quirements and overall present positive results for region’s tourism sector. “I be-lieve that the influx of tourists will have in-creased by the end of this year,” he con-cluded.

Turks are a people with a great fond-ness for travel and discovery. Their favoru-rite destination in Russia is St. Petersburg. A friend of mine from Istanbul was telling me recently how surprised he was to find that some of St. Petersburg’s Russian taxi drivers could speak to him in Turkish. Con-sidering the fact that almost every second or third tourist in Antalya Bay is from Ta-tarstan, many questions arise. How come Turkish tourists prefer northern Russia to Tatarstan, whose culture is far similar? Why do Turkish travel managers still think that Tatarstan is a Central Asian republic? Why do Tatarstan’s tourism agencies only re-ceive one or two requests from Turkey per year? These are the questions which should force Tatarstan’s government and tourism ministry into taking swift and immediate action to create a real and positive image of the Republic of Tatarstan in Turkey and the Middle East as a whole.

ildar gabidullin is a Ma student of Jour-nalism and freelancer based in istanbul, Turkey.

Where Are our Turkish Tourists?

by Wang lin-HsiEnThanks to the 2013 Summer Universi-

ade, students of Kazan now have one more accommodation choice. Construction of the Universiade Village started in June 2009, and two clusters of the Village were opened for use in 2010. These clusters in-cluded 20 residence buildings with a total capacity of around 7,000 students, over 500 of them being foreign students. Most of the foreign students inhabit the same building.

Being a short-term exchange student, I moved into the Universiade Village in the beginning of the 2011 fall semester. I was satisfied with the brand new buildings, rooms, kitchen, and furniture – even the bath tub was unused. All the boarders can change their bed sheets every two weeks, and you can regularly see students play-ing football or roller-skating in and around the Village. With expectation and excite-ment, my first day in the Universiade Vil-lage started.

Reality quickly kicked in, however. With-out a doubt, actually getting to the center of town and to university is the first chal-lenge. I can either walk for 20 minutes through the muddy forest to the metro sta-tion in prospekt Pobedy or wait for the bus that comes every 10 to 15 minutes and gets hopelessly stuck in traffic for more than 40 minutes during rush hour. Due to the construction sites that lie all along prospekt Pobedy, the traffic and pavement leading to the metro station is simply dread-ful. Not well paved to begin with, the pave-ment becomes even more problematic during the winter, when it is covered with ice and snow. To complicate matters, cars or trucks seem to view the pavement as an extension of the road, parking in front of shops and creating an obstacle course for pedestrians.

One of the most famous (or infamous) rules of the Universiade Village is that af-ter 11 p.m. all the boarders are neither al-lowed to enter or leave the territory of the village. Strolling around inside the village late at night is also forbidden. In effect, it is a curfew. Officially, students can write a

Where We Live: The Universiade Villagenote in order to return after 11 p.m. for special occasions, however I have yet to figure out how the system works. I never knew whom to write and when to write. When I did write for permission, most of my attempts were denied. Students there-fore have the choice either to stay out the whole night until 6 a.m. or risk approach-ing the security guards at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. Since a security guard can’t reasonably force students to sleep outside in the cold on the street, one can theoret-ically return after the curfew, but severely irritating the security guards in the pro-cess.

The Commandant is the most troubling problem for foreign students living in the Universiade Village. In short, these admin-istrators of each residential building strive to keep the halls in order. There was a pe-riod when my roommates and I lived in fear of hearing the squeaky heels of the com-mandant along the corridor, followed by the inevitable, angry knocking. The com-mandants frequently check the rooms to enforce rules. Greatly concerned that ev-erything in the halls looks brand new for the upcoming Universiade games, com-mandants ensure that any furniture or equipment is in working order. One scratch on the plastic shelves or the kitchen table is grounds for a fine. For those foreign stu-dents who are still not fully proficient in Russian, confronting the commandants – who quickly become impatient when they find that a student does not perfectly un-derstand them – can be a stressful expe-rience.

Among the comments left about the promotional video for the Universiade Vil-lage on YouTube, one commenter encap-sulated the nature of life there: “Zolotaya kletka, v obshchem” (In general, it is a golden cage). Personally, I find the aim of all these rules and regulations understand-able. It’s clear that the Universiade Village is trying to improve their system of rules and their attitude towards boarders – not just due to criticism, but also because many of the European students, fed up with these rules, have moved out. This is an embar-

rassing fact, given that the Universiade Village, which is almost free-of-charge, is supposed to be the crown jewel of Kazan student housing.

To create a better image of life in the dormitories, the Village constantly holds events or concerts for students on special holidays or occasions. However good these events are, they are no substitute for tak-ing steps to improve a situation in which students see themselves as living under pressure from tiresome regulations. On the one hand, the Village administration has to maintain the campus’ brand new appearance so that it are still seems new for the 2013 Summer Universiade. On the other hand, the administration has to keep the village functional and ease the pres-sure on students who live there. This is a difficult balancing act, to say the least.

The author, an exchange student from Taiwan, lives in the universiade village.

My roommates and I live in fear of hearing the squeaky heels of the commandant along the corridor, followed by the inevitable, angry knocking.

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Татарча беләсезме?Talking About Sports in Tataralexander TEdEsCHi

ял yal rest, holiday

ял итәргә yal itargéh to have rest / relax

ярыш yarish competition

ял көннәрендә... yal könnerende... on rest days (the weekend)...

ял вакытында… yal wakitindá... in my free time…

Ял вакытында син кая барырга яратасың?

Yal wakitinda sin koya barirga yaratasing?

Where do you like to go in your free time?

Син спорт белән шөгыльләнәсеңме?

Sin sport belan shögilene-sengme?

Do you play sports ?

Сиңа кайсы спорт төре ошый ?

Singa kaisi sport töre oshyi? What kinds of sports do you like?

Миңа йөзү/ йөгерү бик ошый.

Minga iözu / iögeru bik os-hyi.

I really like swimming/ run-ning.

сәяхәт итәргә sayaxet iterge to travel

җәен мин урманга барам, велосипедта йөрим, сәяхәт итәм

zhayen min urmanga baram, velosipedta yorim, sayaxet item

In the summer I go hiking in the forest, ride my bike, and travel

кышын мин чаңгыда, тимераякта шуам

kyshin min shangyda, timer-ayakta shuam

in the winter I ski and go ice skating

� May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23) The Kazan Herald

by brian HaYdEnThere are really only two types of res-

taurant in Kazan. The first runs not-quite-pornographic music videos on flat screen TVs and plays the same three pop songs that can be heard over and over again on Baumana – song and video, of course, need not match. The second type runs fashions show clips on flat screen TVs and plays jazz. Bristol Café is the second type, appealing to the more sophisticated Ka-zan diner.

Bristol has two floors. The first, a café with café tables and a small bar, and has a more laidback feel. The ambiance is cal-culatedly European in a good way, with the café decorated in a black-and-white check-erboard motif that, I think, was done to match all the waiters’ checked trousers. The second floor has a more formal, fine-dining atmosphere, and would be more suitable for a date or business dinner. The atmosphere is spoilt only by the traffic on ulitsa Vishnyovskogo, which is what you’ll see out the windows of either floor and isn’t really much to look at. Smoking is al-lowed in the café, but not on the second floor. Neither floor has Wifi.

As for the menu, most dishes are gen-eral European, including red meat (veal, steak, lamb, pork), white meat (chicken, turkey, quail) and fish (salmon, seabass, tuna). There is a Russian section of the menu that includes old standbys like Chick-en Kiev, borsht, and salad Olivier. Like ev-erywhere else in Kazan, sushi is on the menu if you want it.

The menu is designed with the conven-tional four-course Russian meal in mind: salad (or appetizer), soup, main entree, and desert, with appetizers also available. (There’s nothing keeping the budget- or calorie-conscious from skipping one or

two of these, though.) I had all four full courses and topped them off with a latte.

The salad was a fairly good Chicken Caesar with cheddar slices, cherry toma-toes, and strips of chicken breast. My soup was ukha, a traditional Russian fish soup that comes in many varieties. Bristol’s con-sists of a poached egg, salmon, perch, and a very savory broth flavored with lem-on. My entrée was grilled veal medallions, well-done but still tender, covered in a mushroom-cream sauce that comple-mented it well. For desert I had an excel-lent pear strudel, sprinkled with chocolate sauce powdered sugar, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pricing was roughly in line with similar restaurants in Kazan – if you want, you can “go oligarch” and run up quite a tab. Aver-aged out, the first three courses will cost you about 300 rubles each if you pick mid-priced options, with the fourth course, des-ert, about half that. With a latte and bottled water, my tab came out to 1400 rubles.

If an English-language menu isn’t foist-ed upon you at the first hint of an accent, you can always ask for one. It’s full of howl-ers, but should be coherent enough to or-der from, or at least help you decode the Russian one. Should you still find yourself stumped, ask for a waiter by the name of Artyom, who speaks English. The waitstaff is not only helpful but also courteous and pleasant. Preparation times were surpris-ingly short, though I did come for Sunday brunch, when the restaurant was mostly empty. Reservations, including those for banquets, are available by telephone. Kaly-an (hooka) is available.

bristol Café. 29/48 ulitsa vishnevsk-ogo (intersection with ulitsa dostoevsk-ogo). +7 (843) 537-9537. open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.

May 7, 2012 No. 5 (23)

www.kazanherald.comEdition: 999 copies.Published in Branch of JSC “TATMEDIA” “PPC “Idel-Press”. Order 6421 The editorial board is not responsible for the accuracy of the information published in advertisements. The editorial board does not give background information. All products and services subject to certification and licensing are certified and licensed. Advertisements are published on the rights of advertising.

To place an advertisement, call +7-987-407-73-86.

Published in Idel-Press printing-office.Signed for publication 07.05.2012Given for press by schedule 18.00, in fact 18.00Address of press-office: City of Kazan, Dekabristov street, 2Telephone/fax: 292-01-63, 543-44-20, 543-44-45e-mail: thekazanherald@inbox.ru

The publication is distributed free of charge.

The Kazan Herald

Cit y GuidE

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Bristol CaféeXHiBiTsHERMITAGE‑KAZAN MUSEUM Spanish Art from the Collection of the State Hermitage. More than 200 exhibits from St. Peterburg’s Hermitage, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and weapons by Spanish masters from the 16th to early 20th century. Included are works by Velazquez, Murillo, Cano and Goya. until 27 May, open daily except Mon-days, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hermitage-kazan Museum, kazan kremlin.MUSEUM oF NATURAL HISToRyThe Poetry of Nature. Photographs from the collection of A.Y. Vishin, featuring works by Tatarstan’s promising future generation of photographers. until 12 May. Museum of natural History, kazan kremlin.TATAR STATE FINE ARTS MUSEUMA series of exhibitions on the 250th anni-versary of German settlement in Russia, including one of German Porcelain, a col-lection of German cityscape prints from the 16th to 18th centuries and, most rele-vant of all, an exhibition on the Germans of Kazan entitled, “The Wiesel Family’s World of Art.” open every day except Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 64 ulitsa karla Marksa.

BAlleTX X V I I N T E R N AT I o N A L R U D o L F NUREyEV CLASSICAL BALLET FESTIVALall performances at the Musa Jalil opera and ballet Theatre.TUE, 15 MaySpartak. Aram Khachaturian. 6 p.m.WED, 16 MaySpartak. Aram Khachaturian. 6 p.m.THU, 17 MayGiselle. Musa Jalil Theatre. 6 p.m.FRI, 18 MayCorsair. Adolphe Adam and Leo Delibes. 6 p.m.SUN, 20 MaySwan Lake. Pyotr Tchaikovsky. 6 p.m.MoN, 21 MayShurale. Farid Yarullin. 6 p.m.TUE, 22 MayDon Quixote. 6 p.m.WED, 23 MayAnnie. Valery Gavrilin. 6 p.m.THU, 24 MayLa Bayadere. 6 p.m.SAT, 26 May & SUN, 27 MayGala-concert of the festival. 6 p.m.

CONCeRTTHU, 10 MayAloe Vera. Electro-acoustic program that experiments with electronic beats, original samples, gentle guitar, velvet voice. zhel-taya kofta. Tickets 200 - 300 rub. 8 p.m.SAT, 12 MayLOUNA. During the three years of its ex-istence the Moscow group LOUNA man-aged to get invitations to speak at the main stages of the biggest rock festivals in Rus-sia and Ukraine, “Chartova Dyuzhina’12,” “Invasion ‘11”, “Kubana ‘11”, “The neigh-boring world of ‘10”, etc . zheltaya kofta. Tickets 300 - 500 rub. 7 p.m. THURS, 17 May Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra of Ta-tarstan. “Hit the Road, Jack!” A season-closing concert of the orchestras staple repertoire, featuring the likes of Ray Charles and Irving Berlin. Valentin Lakodin and Adel Sabiryanov, soloists, conducted by Ana-toly Vasilievsky. Tukay Tatar state Philhar-monic. 6:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 73 ulitsa Pavly-ukhina, tgf-rt.ru.

WED, 23 MayAlexander Ivanov and Rondo. Popular Russian ‘80s rock star plays in the kazan state Circus. 2 ploshchad Tysyacheleti-ya. MoN, 28 MayNational Symphony Orchestra of Lon-don performs “Symphonic Hits.” Piramida. 7 p.m.

THeATReSAT, 12 May The Light of my Eyes. A comedy in two parts by Tufan Minullin, based on the fa-mous Tatar playwright Ğabdulla Tuqay’s tale “Shurale.” Can the differences be-tween nature and civilization, a small for-est village, ever be reconciled? kamal The-atre. 6 p.m.MoN, 14 MayPrincess Turandot (Premiere). A dra-ma in two parts; the Tatar-language ver-sion of Carlo Gozzi’s Commedia dell’Arte play first staged in 1762. In Ancient China, Prince Calaf must answer three riddles for permission to marry the Princess. With Chinese director Ma Zhenhong. kamal Theatre. 7 p.m.TUES, 15 MaySmart Girls. A comedy in two parts by Tazi Gizzat. Three orphan girls want to change their lives for the better, and de-cide to enroll in the local Medrese (Muslim School), disguised as boys. Mischief and hilarity ensue. kamal Theatre. 7 p.m.FRI, 18 May The Ring. A drama in two parts by Fatih Husni. Against the backdrop of the Sec-ond World War in a small Tatar village, the local residents have to learn to understand the contradictions and complications of what being a hero really means. kamal Theatre. 7 p.m.TUES, 22 May The Black Cloak. A musical drama in two parts by Ossetian playwright Geor Khugayev, this is the story of a dog’s loy-alty to his master, a shepherd from the Caucasus, amidst the often comic laws of the animal kingdom. kamal Theatre. 7 p.m.FRI, 25 MayThe Blue Shawl. Karim Tinchurin’s Melo-drama in two parts. First staged in 1926, this popular colourful drama with tradi-tional Tatar music follows the love story of Bulat and Maysareh in their small Tatar vil-lage, and the forces which stand in their way. kamal Theatre. 7 p.m.

VeNUes51st State. 1 ulitsa Khrushchevsky val 1. +7 (843) 292-4546.Bolshoi Kontsertny Zal. 38 ploshchad Svobody. +7 (843) 292 1717.Ermitazh. 1 prospekt Amirkhana. +7 (843) 526 5626.Kamal Theatre. 1 ulitsa Tatarstan. Box Office: +7 (843) 293 0374. kamalteatr.ru.Kachalov Theatre. 48 ulitsa Baumana. Box Office: +7 (843) 292 3483, 292 5481. teatrkachalov.ru.Luxor Night Club. 29a ulitsa Pushkina. +7 (843) 297 3161.Musa Jalil Opera and Ballet Theatre. 2 ploshchad Svobody. Box Office: +7 (843) 231 5710. kazan-opera.ru.Piramida. 3 ulitsa Moskovskaya. +7 (843) 570 0700.Rai. 26 ulitsa Parizhskoi. raiclub-kazan.ru.Zheltaya Kofta. 24a ulitsa Mayakovskay 6 p.m. .+7 (843) 249-15-62.

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