This, of course, is a prime opportunity for the UK and Russia to work together, sharing resources, expertise and experience. Talks have been advancing and just last month, Sir Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of U.K. Trade and Investment, visited Moscow and St. Petersburg and met with senior Russian officials who gave him assurances that U.K. expertise would be welcomed in Sochi with open arms.

With the clock ticking for both London and Sochi, officials are trying to translate this political goodwill into commercial cooperation. It has often been reported that some international companies have felt frustrated at their lack of progress with getting involved in Sochi, and it is a frustration that the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce shares. Outside contractors and consultants will only be “let in” when the main Russian players realize that they will have problems delivering on their promises. Or so they say.

But things are moving ahead, and for the best. In October, a panel session of the RBCC RussiaTALK investment forum will be devoted to the opportunities offered by the Olympics for Russia and the U.K. to build on their already successful business relationship. One thing is clear — whatever the issues faced by both cities as they gear themselves up for the greatest show on earth, if they can work together, they can both be winners.

The past four years have given me a skill: the ability to speak German and Russian. They’ve also given me the chance to see the world, including a lot of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh and the Caucasus.

Now I know I have to get out of here and so something with my degree. Who knows, maybe go back to Russia…

Snapshot

This post is politics related, although nothing to do with the General Election. Thank God.

Is a civic culture emerging in Russia? This is the essay I’m working on at the moment for my Russian Politics module. On the left you can see my essay plan and notes… although I haven’t really got very far yet.

But I’m not going to answer it in this blog post. I just thought I’d show you all a picture of my computer…

Yesterday, however I took a break from academia and went down to London. The itinerary included a trip to the Olympic Park, which is still a massive building site, but as you can see, the stadium is looking pretty impressive.

London 2012

Later on, after walking from Stratford and taking a bit of a detour, we ended up at Pushkin House, a Russian cultural centre in Bloomsbury named after the poet Alexander Pushkin. He’s the Russian Shakespeare.

Pushkin House was established to serve as a home for Russian culture in London, a focus for Anglo-Russian cultural exchange, a provider of education and information on Russian language and culture. Pushkin House has developed a lively and varied cultural programme on Russian literature, art, film, music, theatre and dance, as well as history, philosophy and politics.

Pushkin House

It’s definitely worth a visit, and we went to a screening of Georgian video art. It was something different and definitely an experience, aided by the delicious Georgian wine on offer. Try it if you ever have the chance!

Sochi Olympic Stadium

This is another significant milestone for Sochi 2014, and the Games have already raised more in domestic sponsorship revenue than any other Winter Olympics in history, made all the more remarkable with the fact that there are still nearly four years to go before the Opening Ceremony on the 7th February 2014.

The first time a Summer Olympics have reached this landmark figure was at Beijing 2008. This is interesting, and you can see parallels between Beijing 2008 and Sochi 2014. In both Russia and China the government and domestic sponsors have ploughed millions into the games, determined that they will be a success. For both countries the Games are a chance to show the world that they are here, that they too can play on the world stage. Beijing was transformed for the games, for better or for worse, as will the coastal resort of Sochi. .

Russian Railway (RZD) is one of the biggest investors in the massive Sochi project which is transforming the city on the Black Sea. RZD is building a dedicated railway link to connect the Olympic Park, the airport and the sporting venues at Krasnaya Polyana and they are also upgrading the city’s railway stations to cater for people with disabilities.

Other plans include building over 2.7 kilometres of single-line track, two 500 metre-long tunnels, about 2.8 km of electric cable, 800m of overpasses and around 1,000m of support walls. RZD is also considering a plan to make Sochi more accessible by creating a high-speed link between there and Moscow with trains travelling at up to 200 km/h.

Sochi 2014

As I said in my last post these Games are important for Russia and the Russian government  and nothing can go wrong.

Sochi2014.ru World

Welcome to Sochi World!

The impressive building on the left is a Vancouver landmark, situated on False Creek, just opposite the B.C. Place stadium where the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games took place. It was originally built for the 1986 Expo and is normally known as Science World. However, for the duration of the 2010 Games it will be known as Sochi2014.ru World, the official home for Sochi, the host of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Vancouver  will officially handover to Sochi at the Closing Ceremony on Sunday 28th February, a significant milestone for the Sochi 2014 programme and Sochi will become the focus of the next Olympic Winter Games. Sochi World in Vancouver allows the Organising Committee of Sochi 2014 to present its vision for their Games, as well as showcasing the city and country which, in four years time, will be the focus of attention for millions of people around the world.

Inside Sochi World

Sochi World will introduce guests at the Vancouver 2010 Games to Russia in its role as a leading sports power, as well as to the city of Sochi — modern, hospitable and open to the world. Guests of Sochi World will be able to get to know a new, modern Russia by trying Russian cuisine (borshch and soured cream – mmm!), watching performances by Russian artists and listening to Russian TV and radio.

At least that’s what the Games organisers want to show – a modern, democratic country. After Moscow’s failed bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, (which will, of course, be held in my capital of London) the Sochi 2014 games became a pet project for Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. In 2007 he successfully wooed IOC members, including giving a speech in English, a rare ocurrence for Mr Putin. He, as well as Russia, want the Sochi 2014 Games to go without a hitch, and billions of roubles are being pumped into the city, with projects including a new metro system. This is the first time since the Moscow 1980 Olympics that Russia will have hosted a massive international sporting event such as this and they deserve to be a success.

Well, I for one wish I were in Vancouver, if only to visit Sochi World!

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Cauldron

On Friday night (or Saturday morning, depending on where you are in the world), after months years of hope and expectation, the XXI Olympic Winter Games opened, and Canada and Vancouver finally got the chance to present themselves to the world. The Opening Ceremony involved a lot of maple leaves, some totem poles and a whale. Quite a show, I’m sure you’ll agree. But the moment everyone was waiting for was to see who would light the Olympic Cauldron. Speculation was that Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky would have the honours and speculation was right – although I was kinda counting on British Columbia’s very own Pamela Anderson. Oh well.

It was a breathtaking moment though, and it all started way back on the 22nd of October last year, in Olympia Greece before it made its way to B.C. Place stadium. It’s travelled coast to coast, taken 106 days, 20 000 miles, through countless communities. 12 000 hands have carried it, including the head of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Dmitry Chernyshenko

My question is whether Russia can do the same, when the Olympics come to Russia in four years time. Russia is the largest country in the world, Canada the second largest; both are sparsely populated with far-flung communities. Will the Olympic flame travel coast to coast, from Vladivostok to Sochi? Will it take in all those tiny towns that Russian has a lot of? If it does, I believe it will unite the entire country, like never before, one of the aims of the Vancouver organisers. Come on Sochi, you can do it.

So, why the change of heart? Why have I decided to write again after so long? Well, it’s to do with something that is very close to my heart and something that I believe will be a major turning point in the history of the Russian Federation.

Vancouver 2010

In just two days time the eyes of the world will be on Vancouver, Canada, as the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games will begin at BC Place. But what has this got to do with Russia and a blog about Russia I hear you cry? British Columbia and Russia may be separated by lots of water and thousands of miles but they, and in particular the Black Sea resort of Sochi, are connected by the power of sport and the drive of the human spirit. Vancouver may be in the spotlight now, but in just over two weeks, Vancouver will hand over to Sochi, host city of the 2014 Winter Games. In fact, the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee arrived in Vancouver today, making a spectacular entrance. See here http://www.vancouveraccess2010.com/russian-tall-ship-in-vancouver-for-games/.

I believe in the power of Olympics to transform cities, to bring a country and the whole world together, and to celebrate the human spirit. In Sochi it will be the same, that is why I believe that the Olympics will be a defining event in Russia’s history. It’s amazing what we can achieve when we all come together. And who knows, maybe Russia will come together again four years after Sochi 2014 if it wins its World Cup 2018 bid. It’s certainly got the best bid logo.

Sochi 2014

The Russian Enigma‘s blog post was written two weeks after Beijing 2008, now I’ve restarted it two days before Vancouver 2010 opens. It’s funny how we can measure our lives by the Olympics and I hope that this week won’t just be remembered the week that the Olympic Games came to Vancouver but also as the week that saw the return of the Russian Enigma.

See you all again very soon for some Russian updates.

We left Voronezh last night, after three months. In these three months we met so many amazing people, had so many amazing experiences and saw so many amazing things. Despite all the bad things about Russia, and Voronezh in particular, it was so hard to leave. A lot of our friends were at the station to see us off and there were a lot of hugs and tears and the whole thing was so sad. We’ll all keep in touch, definitely, and I hope to come back to Russia sometime in the near future. So, that’s it. Voronezh is over, let the three days in Moscow begin…

We'll miss you! - Catherine, Kersti, Nena