Playing Rama was my karmaRussian actor is in love with Ramayana and IndiaP.08

Bonding over AfghanistanRussia, India join hands as Afghan game gets hotter

Big investment in hi-tech healthRussia to spend 4.8 bn on medical sector till 2013P.03

Distributed with

BANGALORE ● MuMBAI ● NEw DELhI ● WednesdAy, MAy 25, 2011

A Report from The Tmes of India. In association with Rossiyskaya Gazeta

RussiaIndia

REPORT

...Marching towards a common future

The Bakulev Scientific Center of Cardiovascular Surgery never fails to astonish with its innovations. The latest break-through is a unique operation performed by Russian sur-geons under the direction of famous heart specialist Leo Bokeria. The 24-year-old pa-tient, who suffers from Ep-stein’s anomaly (a serious heart defect that she has had from birth), received part of the heart of a pig. The replace-ment heart valve was hand-made from the pig's’s heart tissue.

Piggyback on a new heartPost MiG debacle, Russian Helicopter is sweetening the deal by offering local manufacturing and right to export to third countries.

In the first surgery of its kind, the Bakulev Center did the impossible when a young woman received a heart valve carved from the heart tissue of a pig.

Plans to produce helicopters in India

The Russian defence contrac-tors are trying to shed the ar-rogance that cost them major tenders for supplying MiG-35 fighters to India and T-90 tanks to Thailand. In a move unprecedented in the country’s history, the heli-copters of Russia holding company announced that it was ready to establish manu-facturing of military equip-ment in India with the right to re-export to third coun-tries. The helicopter builders are, thus, trying to gain the upper hand in three tenders for supplying the Indian Air Force with light highlander

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defence how to sweeten the dealsurgery Russian woman gets a heart valve carved from a pig's tissue

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choppers, cargo carriers, and assault helicopters. These ten-ders are estimated to be worth more than $4 billion. “We may do the final assembly in India and enter other markets from the Indian market base,” An-drei Reus, CEO of United In-dustrial Corporation Obo-ronprom, said. Russian Helicopters holding company, an Oboronprom subsidiary, is responsible for the design and manufacturing of all helicop-ters in Russia."India is a strategic market for us and the most dense in terms of the number of tenders in which we compete,” says An-drei Reus. He believes that the chances of the Russian com-pany winning all those ten-ders are quite high because their equipment meets the In-dian party’s requirements.

in The Economic Times Every second WednesdayBUSINESS REPORT

June 29

www.indrus.in

Russian surgeon leo Bokeria is famous for allowing journalists into the operating theater to watch the master perform medical miracles!

Russian education Fair in new delhi.

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It is the summer of rediscovering Russian education in India as major cities host education fairs.

Russia calling: Get a degreeeducation Every year, 200-300 students from India go to Russia; more on way

are famous Russian education brands: Moscow Institute of Aviation, Moscow Institute of Economics, Tver State Medi-cal Academy, the Volgograd, Rostov and Bashkiria medical universities, St. Petersburg Medical Academy and Peo-ples' Friendship University in Moscow.The expo-fair was organised by the agency Rossotrudnich-estvo, the Russian Center of International Education and the Association of Russian In-stitutions of Higher Learning Working in India — with the support of the Russian Em-bassy in New Delhi.

More Indian students are trav-elling to Russia for a degree. This month, major Indian cit-ies like New Delhi, Chennai and Ahmedabad hosted Rus-sian higher education exposi-tion-fair where students could decide what course suits them best. The fair is due to be held in Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and several other cities. Exhibiting at the fair

Abhishek Bachchan shooting for Players, an Indo-Russian film, near the city of Murmansk, north of the Arctic Circle in Russia. It's a new remake of the 1969 thriller, 'The Italian Job'.

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Bollywood stars steal hearts

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“The aim of this fair is to pres-ent the entire spectrum of pos-sibilities offered by our educa-tion market,” says Mikhail Kalinkin, rector of the Tver State Medical Academy. “Every year, some 200 to 300 students from India come to Russia and this figure will in-crease in proportion to the de-velopment of Russian-Indian multilateral collaboration," says Kamruzzaman Saied, Di-rector of the International Center of Russian Education.This year, Russia awarded more full-tuition scholarships for which Indian students are also eligible. Last year there were only seven such scholar-ships; this year there are 42.

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bookmarks02 Russia india RepoRtin association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia tHe times of india wednesday_may 25_2011

www.oilandgaseurasia.com Oil and gas industry news rus-helicopters.ru/en Russian Helicopters, JSC e www.shipyard-yantar.ru Shipyard "Yantar" cooperation

in briefIT soluTIons tata consultancy enters russian banking market

parTnershIpsitronics and shyam networks sign deal

A subsidiary of the Indian consortium Tata, which spe-cialises in solutions for the banking sector, is now en-tering the markets of Rus-sia, Ukraine and Belarus. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed a partnership pact with the Russian inte-grator Universal KUBE. The partners’ first client was Bin-bank, which introduced Tata’s automated system. TCS en-

Russian microelectronics company Sitronics and India’s Shyam Networks have signed a partnership agreement, Si-tronics VP for business de-velopment Boris Volpe said. The companies intend to sign resale agreements for mutu-al promotion of their respec-tive solutions on the Indian and Russian markets. Shyam Networks will offer its clients

defence another russian-built frigate for indian naVy

At the Baltic shipbuilding factory Yantar in Kaliningrad, a third frigate, Trikand, for the Indian Navy is being made ready for the launch. According to Yantar press secretary Sergei Mikhailov, the Trikand is more than 60% ready, equipped with all the necessary mechanisms and a significant part of its weap-ons, including a Bramos mis-sile complex. The remaining work will be completed when

the Trikand is in the water. “Everything is going according to plan, the collective involved in this venture is trying to fin-ish on schedule and, undoubt-edly, will provide high-quality work,” said Mikhailov. The launch ceremony will take place on May 25 with high-ranking officials from Russia and India in attendance. Yantar is continuing work on two oth-er ships from the “Indian se-ries.” ria novosti

tered the Russian market with a platform developed specially for Russian banks. The man-agement at Tata decided that it would be more effective to sign a partnership agreement with Universal KUBE than to open their own office in Rus-sia. The development of a comprehensive solution for the Russian market took two years, while a license cost Binbank $10 million. rbk daily

Sitronics’ billing and security systems solutions. In exchange, the Indian company plans to supply its transport and oil & gas smart video surveillance systems to Russia. It is impos-sible to enter a market such as India’s without support from a local partner fully familiar with the regulatory framework of its national market, says Volpe.Prime tass

olga seninaRiR

shifting geopolitics and changing business priorities are forcing russia's gazprom to join the trans-afghanistan natural gas pipeline linking turkmenistan and india.

kremlin pulls out all thestops to join taPi pipeline

energy india backs Gazprom's bid to join TAPi, only Turkmenistan opposing it

The Soviet project for the Trans-Afghanistan pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India (TAPI) was revived by the US in the mid-1990s. Mos-cow has since steadfastly op-posed the TAPI, while sup-porting an alternative gas transit route from Iran through Pakistan to India. Russia’s stance towards TAPI has, however, changed since autumn last year and it is now ready to take part in the proj-ect. The $7.6 bn pipeline will have a throughput of 33 bn cubic metres a year. Out of this, India’s share will be 18 bn cubic metres a year. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has already dis-cussed the project with lead-ers of all four participating countries. Early this year, he got backing of Afghan Presi-dent Hamid Karzai that led to a joint Russian-Afghan inter-governmental commission, co-

headed by Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko on the Rus-sian side. India, Russia’s main partner in Asia, has nothing against Gazprom participat-ing in the project, say highly-placed sources. Pakistan also supports the idea. Only Turk-

menistan, which is striving to enter the European and Asian markets bypassing Russia, is strongly opposed to Gaz-prom’s participation in TAPI. In October last year, when Medvedev visited Turkmen-bashi, Russia submitted its

proposals concerning poten-tial roles for Gazprom in the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline consortium. It could take part in development, become the project designer, and invest in the project’s equity, as well as produce natural gas at Turk-menistan’s inland deposits and sell it to other participat-ing countries. The TAPI participant coun-tries held a meeting in New Delhi in late April to discuss technical and financial issues. No Russian representative was, however, invited. Gazprom, on its part, does not like to bury its cash in the ground on explosive routes, while 830 km of the new pipe-line will go through the Af-ghan territory and another 400 km through Pakistan. Plus, gas supplies to India via third parties are rather attrac-tive for the Russian monopo-ly. Alexander Pasechnik, Head of Analysis of Russia’s National Energy Security Fund, points out that politics forced Russia to reconsider its stance on TAPI. “Although, on paper, the relations between Moscow and Washington have thawed, we are still in an ideological stand-off,” he says.

the biggest obstacle of taPi - ensuring security for a proj-ect that would wind through a hazardous territory.

Joint production of helicopters in Indiasupplying the Indian Air Force with 197 helicopters worth $2 bn. Kamov’s Ka-226Ts are competing there against the AS-550 from Eurocopter, as well as the A-109 and A-119 from Augusta Westland. In an-other tender of 22 assault he-licopters valued at $1.4 bn, the Russian-made Mi-28NE is bidding against the American AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III. Finally, a $700 mn contract for 15 heavy cargo helicopters is up in the air with the Mi-26T2 and the CH-47F Chinook from the US compet-ing for it.

Andrei Reus, CEO of United Industrial Corporation Obo-ronprom, points out that India had the necessary infrastruc-ture and trained personnel for operating Russian-made heli-copters. Rosoboronexport, Oboron-prom’s parent company, is par-ticipating in three tenders floated by India’s Ministry of Defence for supplying heli-copters of various classes. The biggest one - for light helicop-ters to be used in high-altitude mountain areas - envisages

The tenders were announced in 2008–2009 and the results are expected in 2011. With this sort of competition, it is only natural for the Russian com-pany to want to better its chance by offering the cus-tomer joint production and sweetening the deal with the right to export the output to third countries. Russian defence industrialists believe the plan to establish production in India with the right to re-export should be a substantial argument in fa-vour of the Russian machines participating in the tender.

russian helicopters's iPo called off last week will make another attmpt next year.

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Website of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in India

www.rusembassy.inSubscribe to our freemonthly e-paperwww.indrus.in/subscribe

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03bookmarks Russia india RepoRt

in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia tHe times of india wednesday_may 25_2011 medicine

www.minzdravsoc.ru/eng Ministry of Health and Social Development websitewww.who.int/countries/rus/en Find more about Healthcare in Russia

ben arisbuSineSS new euRope

high-tech healthcare has moved to top of the kremlin's agenda. both Putin and medvedev have thrown their weight behind this action plan for national revival.

russia invests in hi-tech healthcare

health Kremlin is planning to spend $4.8 billion on the development of hi-tech medical treatment in 2008-2013

Russia will allocate $159.7 million to provide citizens with state-of-the-art medical equipment at polyclinics spread across 55 of Russia’s regions. The largest chunk of the money - around $16.2 mil-lion - will be spent on the Krasnodar region. Moscow and St. Petersburg, the two most populous cities in Eu-rope, will receive the $12.5 million and $12.8 million, re-spectively. The east Siberian region of Kemerovo will get the least, $127,000. As the Kremlin steps up ef-forts to improve the lives of Russia’s citizens and diversify the economy, the reform of the healthcare and pharmaceuti-cal sector has moved to the top of the political agenda. Russian Prime Minister Vladi-

mir Putin said that the devel-opment of domestic hi-tech medical equipment produc-tion should be a priority for the Russian government and regional heads during a recent inspection trip to the city of Bryansk on Russia’s border with Ukraine. He said that the government was planning to spend $4.8 billion on the de-velopment of hi-tech medical treatment in 2008-2013.The reform of the healthcare sector was launched during the last decade as one of the “National Projects”, headed by Dmitry Medvedev. Since then, many health-related areas have shown signs of im-provement. The polyclinic management system has been overhauled, doctors’ salaries have been hiked and a new ambulance fleet was pur-chased. Late last year, Putin said that the number of Rus-sian citizens who received hi-tech medical care had gone up fivefold to 290,000 people over the last five years. But there is still much to do. “To reach the EU level by

market is not one the global industry wants to ignore: Rus-sia imported $9.2 billion worth of pills and other medi-cines in 2010. The scheme has scored two big successes. The pharma-ceutical giant firm AstraZen-eca started building a new $150 million production plant and R&D facility in Kaluga in April while Finland’s Orion says it's in advanced talks to enter the market via acquisi-tion.

2020, Russia needs to increase healthcare spending by around 15% a year,” said Lev Yakobson, first pro-rector of the Higher School of Econom-ics' National Research In. Putin has been personally spearheading the drive to up-grade Russia’s healthcare sys-tem. He appeared at a charity event for children in Decem-ber where he played the Rus-sian song “From Where Does the Motherland Begin” on the piano and then sang “Blue-berry Hill” in English with jazz performers. The audience included Hollywood stars such as Sharon Stone, Kevin Costner, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Mickey Rourke, and Gerard Depardieu. Proceeds from the event were used to buy medical equipment at children’s hospitals. Investment in healthcare was a key element in Medvedev’s action plan for Russia’s reviv-al, which was unveiled in a speech at Magnitogorsk in April. Medvedev outlined 10 priority areas. He said the government would increase

spending on health and equip-ment by 15% which is neces-sary to raise Russian medical standards to the EU levels. However, the main thrust of the reform is to develop the domestic pharmaceutical and medical equipment produc-tion industries. Russia should manufacture at least half the medical equipment it needs by 2020, up from 11% at pres-ent, Putin said. The state has already earmarked $1.4 bil-lion to support the develop-

ment of the domestic manu-f a c t u r e r s o f m e d i c a l equipment, he added. Likewise, the Kremlin has launched a carrot-and-stick strategy to encourage major international pharmaceutical companies to increase their investment in Russia. Those who don’t toe the line have to face an increase in import tar-iffs on medical products. Those companies with domes-tic Russian production are given tax breaks. And the

massive investment in reforming healthcare is a key element in the plan for national revival.

Unique heart surgery in Moscow sets new standards done earlier were mainly made from pigs’ hearts. Till this day, no one has ever made a human heart valve especially for a specific patient, taking into account his or her physiologi-cal abilities. A valve that can be delivered to the heart through the femoral vein is another innovation. "This is the so-called stent-valves, which can be compressed," says Vic Kostava, head of the laboratory research on the de-velopment of bioprostheses at the Bakulev Centre.Every year, more than 10,000 patients receive bio-prosthe-ses in Russia – a small number that is less than 30% of the people who actually require this sort of surgical interven-

Konovalov’s ecofarm, located in the Shakhavskoi district of the Moscow Region, has long been famous for its innovative methods of farming and for using ecological technologies to raise livestock.The specialists at Bakulev Center studied the biomateri-als supplied by the ecofarm over a period of six months. Then they prepared several dozen prosthetic heart valves, and only after that did they signed a long-term coopera-tion agreement with Kon-ovalov. “Our ecofarm has no commercial interest in its work with the Bakulev Center. We supply our biomaterials free of charge,” says Kon-ovalov.

The fine membranes sur-rounding the animal’s heart served as the basis for this bio-prosthesis which was matched anatomical features of the pa-tient. Bokeria says he worked on this model for three years. "This valve design is physio-logical, because it took the mi-tral valve with the papillary muscles, we created an ana-tomical structure that is very close to nature," he said. The operation of the valve of this form is the first in the world. It was watched by jour-nalists, dressed as doctors . The Bakulev Center is no stranger to such implants in heart surgery, but the ones

tion. The Bakulev Center alone performs over 4,500 open-heart operations a year; of these, some 40% involve the

replacement of heart valves. The selection of these bio-prostheses is, however, often a problem. Every animal can’t

be used in medicine. After a long search, the center settled on the farm of Alexander Kon-ovalov. “We have specially equipped premises with good light, water, plumbing and heat. We have ventilation. In the water that we give to our animals we have even found silver ions. On top of that, our animals watch television every day and listen to classical music. Most important of all, we raise our animals exclu-sively on organic feed,” says a proud Konovalov.The animal tissue membranes are literally sewn into a ring 34 millimeters in diameter. The operation that Bokeria per-formed in May was the first of its kind in the world.

alexander konovalov at his ecofarm.

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in@rbth.ru www.indrus.in/letters

Russia-india: waiting for a “reset”Andrei Volodin

Afghan Great Game: Huge stakes for Russia, india

Dr Rupakjyoti Borah

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bookmarks04 Russia india RepoRtin association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia tHe times of india wednesday_may 25_2011

www.russiancentre.org.in/eng Russian Centre of Science and Culture in New Delhiwww.tvergma.ru Tver State Medical Academy www.en.russia.edu.ru Education in Russiaeducation

it's cheaper and better...

interview MikhAil kAliNkiN

'RuSSiA offERS opTiMAl RATio of CoST To quAliTy of EDuCATioN;

STuDENTS gET ChoiCE of MoRE CouRSES AND pRofESSioNS'

olga nikushkinaRiR

many indian students opt for medicine in russia and are not scared of winter, says the head of the association of russian institutions of higher leaning in india.

russian institutions of higher learning are expanding their cooperation with india, offer-ing scholarships and so on. why does russia want to draw indian students?Let’s talk about medical schools, like the Tver State Medical Academy. In India, medical education has tradi-tionally been in great demand. That's why several Russian medical universities have come to this year’s fair, includ-ing our academy. The Tver State Medical Academy cur-rently has between 4500 and 5000 students. Of these, some 1200 are foreigners from sixty countries, including 700 to 800 Indians. So most of our foreign students come from India, fol-lowed by those from Arab na-tions and Sri Lanka. Gradu-

ates of our academy are working in almost every coun-try in the world.

what do universities do to at-tract foreign students? and why do these students choose to study in russia?The training for a number of professions is cheaper in Russia than in other countries. It's even cheaper than in India. Moreover, in Russia, one can train for professions that are

not taught in India. These in-clude professions in the avia-tion industry and in oil and gas. The Tver State Medical Acad-emy, like many famous univer-sities, is helped by its name: people have known about us since the Soviet times. And now information is disseminated very quickly — via the Internet. Graduates and students gladly share information and talk to each other about everything: conditions in the student dorms, the procedure for taking exams, etc. For example, none of our new students are afraid of the “terrible” Russian win-ters, as I’ve already said. They learned that the winters aren’t really so terrible from the Inter-net. The students who come to study at TGMA know that we provide a classical fundamen-tal education that is useful to any sort of medical specialist. I consider that we have the opti-mal ratio of cost to quality of education.

are the medical degrees of russian-trained indian doc-tors recognised in india?

Several years ago, the Indian Medical Council made it a re-quirement for all doctors trained abroad (in any coun-try, be it Russia, the United States or Great Britain) to take a qualifying exam in order to work in India. Inci-dentally, this fact, I think, helped to increase the demand for a Russian medical educa-tion. Now there is certainty: graduates of any foreign med-ical school must take a stan-dard qualifying exam. This is a fairly common international practice. For example, a doc-tor must know the trade names of medicines in India — abroad, you see, these medi-cines may be known by other names. An Indian doctor must know the local diseases and he must, of course, confirm his knowledge. But the examiners are human, and they may have certain stereotypes and preju-dices. That is why I always say once you get a solid education, then no exam is scary. We know of hundreds of graduates of Russian universities not only working in different countries,

but also attaining great heights in their careers. More-over, some institutions, like ours, prepare students ahead of time not only for the Rus-sian exams, but also the Indi-an qualifying exam. The pro-fessors teach additional classes devoted not only to our textbooks, but also the Indian state standards in Indian text-

books. They do the same for students from other coun-tries.

several years ago, there were cases of aggression by na-tionalists with respect to for-eign students in russia. and there have been fires in student

indian students are upbeat about medical colleges, job prospects; admire Russian culture

says Dinesh. Exams in these subjects are taken as a part of the admission process at med-ical schools. Physics is the only subject you do not have to take an exam on at some universi-ties. A Russian language exam, however, is mandatory for ev-eryone.If a university offers courses in English, it costs $1,000 per annum more, but, on the other hand, you can skip your first year of foundation courses. This was the option Dinesh chose. After he completes his general medicine degree, Chakraborty is planning to specialise in public health-care. “This is a new major and involves a lot of administra-tive work. It does, however,

other three years to complete. A Russian university course in general medicine takes six years and gives you a MD de-gree, but the course involves many more disciplines and ac-ademic hours. Following a compromise reached by both countries’ ministries of educa-tion, Russian universities are expecting an increase in the number of Indian students.

"Having lived in Russia, I can say that it is a wonderful coun-try; such an interesting mix of Europe and Asia," says Dinesh Chakraborty, a sixth-year stu-dent at I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical Uni-versity. He admits that cheap-er education was the main reason he chose to attend a university abroad. The en-trance exams proved to be eas-ier than he had expected: 40 minutes were all he needed to complete his assignments. “Many of my classmates said that they had found the exams difficult, but I sailed through everything, perhaps thanks to having studied chemistry, bi-ology and physics very hard while in secondary school,”

draw on concrete knowledge in practical disciplines.”Russian universities offer stu-dents three main disciplines. A degree in pharmaceuticals can take five years. The degree

for this course can feature such majors as pharmaceutics or medicinal production tech-nology. The general medicine course takes six years. Gener-al practitioner’s training is fol-lowed by a clinical internship and further clinical trainee-ship (one year and two years, respectively) that allow stu-dents to specialise in their chosen field. Internships are normally suitable for special-ising in the most popular fields, such as general medi-cine, surgery, paediatrics, ob-stetrics and gynaecology. A further clinical traineeship al-lows students to access a wider range of fields (featuring over 100 majors), including the so-called “elite” professions such

as cardiovascular and maxil-lofacial surgery, as well as psy-chiatry.The dentistry course is com-pleted over five years. Special-ist training, for instance, in periodontology also follows this general degree course.Experts believe that serious discrepancies between the In-dian and Russian medical training systems was the main reason why the flow of Indian students to Russian universi-ties started ebbing in the 1990s. In India, general medi-cal training and a bachelor’s degree (Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Surgery) can be obtained in five years. The Doctor of Medicine title comes with a degree that takes an- continued on Page 5

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kishore repaswal: 'it wasn't difficult to find a job'

dinesh chakraborty: 'i sailed through everything'

mikhail kalinkin, rector of the tver medical academy.

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05bookmarks www.rudn.ru People’s Friendship University of Russia

www.fbm.msu.ru Moscow State University (Depart-ment of Fundamental Medicine)www.volgmed.ru Volgograd Medical University Education

Russia india RepoRtin association with rossiyskaya gazEta, russia tHe times of india wEdnEsday_may 25_2011

dorms. what is being done to handle these problems? There are security structures in place where foreign students are studying. In case of prob-lems, these structures respond immediately. In their turn, they make an effort to explain to students at the outset what is

done and what isn’t in Russia, what is recommended and what isn’t. Of course, we all re-member the terrible fires in stu-dent dorms several years ago. At the time, I called a meeting of our students and told them of the possible consequences of a careless attitude toward fire rules, be it an iron that is left on or a cigarette that is not put out.

In our academy, as in other in-stitutions of higher learning, we conduct trainings. Almost every university takes strict disciplinary action against vio-lators, especially smokers and students who misbehave in public places. We get in touch with their parents and take dis-ciplinary action. All this con-cerns Russian and foreign stu-

tom balmforthRUSSia PRoFile.coM

the new move to 'westernise' russian universities under the bologna Process has sparked a debate about the dire need to bring russian education in line with global standards.

Reforming for a globalised world

Modelled on Germany’s edu-cation system, Russian univer-sities are again being “wester-nised” — this time under the aegis of the Bologna Process. The declaration signed at Bo-logna University by 28 coun-tries in 1999 set out to create a “European Higher Education Area”, a transnational space with a compatible, harmon-ised system of education. In 2003, Russia joined the pro-cess, indicating its desire to universalise higher education and make its students more mobile in a globalised world.The process of harmonising higher education across the pan-European space by uni-formly adopting the Anglo-Saxon model now has 47 sig-natory members. Russia’s process has nonethe-less been fraught with diffi-culties linked to the peculiari-ties of the Russian system and its distinctiveness from the Anglo-Saxon model. Ironical-ly, the Westernising current in Russian philosophical thought — in this instance, advocated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev — has seen the Bo-logna Process come into con-flict with the old German edu-cation model introduced in Russia in the 18th century.An enduring vestige of Ger-many’s legacy in Russia is the spetsialist degree — the gener-ic degree bestowed after five to six years of university study. In October 2007, the Russian gov-ernment passed a law to bring the degree award system in line with Europe’s. But the law enacting a two-tiered degree system had little effect. In-stead of actually drafting a new curriculum, the manda-tory B.A. or B.S. level was sim-ply tacked into the curriculum halfway through the old spet-sialist degree — amounting to only a change in the veneer of degrees. The majority of Russian stu-dents presently complete all three tiers of degrees (bache-lor’s, spetsialist and master’s). They see no point in stopping at the unfamiliar and only partially recognised bache-lor’s level. Still, according to the most recent available re-port on Russia’s progress, the number of students graduat-

ing with bachelor’s and mas-ter’s appears to be increasing. But this estimated 19% in-crease is still low, considering that some universities have long offered the “bakalavr” di-ploma (four years), as well as the “spetsialist” diploma (five to six years) and the “magistr” diploma (six years). In 1992, Russia passed a law enacting a multi-tiered sys-tem of education, but a few Russians enrolled for the bachelor’s since employers did not recognise it and it was seen as inferior to the traditional specialist level. The same problem arose in Germany. The Russian labour market, too, has been sluggish in rec-ognising the bachelor’s and as a result, the bachelor’s degree is often shunned.“In the new system, there is not enough attention given to the autonomy of higher edu-cation. The process of educa-tion is still strongly controlled by the government. Still, the government is the source of educational standards," says Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, an expert on education re-forms. "And the universities have less say in their educa-tional programmes in com-parison with their European counterparts. I think that the path taken by reform of the education system in Russia is a compromise between the norms of the Bologna Process and the old Soviet conditions. The system is one of compro-mise.”Soviet nostalgia is a major challenge to the “modernisa-tion” mantra espoused by President Dmitry Medvedev, but which actually has long been evident in Russia’s Bolo-gna Process, says Roman Se-lyukov, the deputy director of the “Eureka” Institute on the Problems of Education Poli-tics. Russia’s continued inte-gration into global trade clubs underlines the necessity of Russia’s integration with pan-European education reform. After almost 18 years on the road, Russia may finally be turning the bend onto the final straight of World Trade Orga-nization (WTO) accession.“I think clearly that if Russia is going to accede to the WTO, we have to encourage as much as possible the competitive-ness of Russia’s system of edu-cation and related services. Imposing the Bologna Process requires creating infrastruc-ture, which would allow open-ing up Russia’s education ser-vices on the international market,” says Selyukov.

Practical training is normally carried out at the hospital: students start learning the ABCs of working with pa-tients during their very first years of university. At first, this involves the not-so-pleasant work of being a hospital atten-dant. But every doctor has to be “ed-ucated by adversity”. The 3rd year involves feldsher (assis-tant to a medical doctor) train-ing, followed by years four, five and six spent almost entirely at clinics, where students learn to make decisions in more se-rious circumstances under the supervision of their advisors, who are at the same time prac-ticing doctors. Interns are said to almost “live” at the hospital while honing their skills in their chosen field.The language barrier, howev-er, makes hospital work a tall task for foreign students. In 2003, Kishore Repaswal grad-

continuEd from PagE 4

continuEd from PagE 4

advantage russia: Pay less for the same degree

a magnet for global students

Tuition fees at the University of Cambridge in England range from £9,000 per annum for a theory course to £22,000 per annum for a clinical practice course. At Oxford Brookes Uni-versity, one would pay £10,500 for a bachelor’s degree course and £10,500-£12,000 per an-num for a master’s degree course. The average cost of studying at Long Island Uni-versity in New York is $36,000 per annum. Russian univer-

Russia is once again becom-ing a magnet for international students. It's still a far cry from the heyday of the USSR, which was number two in hosting in-ternational students. The US is still leading the way (around 20%), but things are looking up for Russia as well. In the last few years, Russia’s interna-tional university student body has grown by 10%, exceeding 70,000. There are also 40,000 part-time students. Russia's schools of mathematics and applied sciences count among the best in the world. Just look at the number of Russian pro-fessors working at American universities. Along with math-ematicians and IT specialists, Russian graduates of medical schools are highly sought after. “The demand for Russian uni-versity education continues to grow," says Boris Derevyagin, Head of the Analytics Depart-ment at the Russian Rectors’ Union. “Russia’s educational model is the only one in the world offering both fundamen-tal knowledge and practical research training.”

dents alike. They are all young, and if they are living in a dorm, they are cut off from their fam-ily and not insured against making mistakes. Still they know very well that the strict rules are in place for their own good and safety.

in the Peoples' friendship university in moscow, you can meet students from 130 coun-tries of the world.

uated from PFUR after com-pleting his traineeship; he got his doctorate in 2004. He is now a neurologist at a large medical centre in Moscow. “Our practical training was provided at a hospital but un-fortunately, patient contact was a struggle. Sometimes, we just could not understand

each other. That’s when our Russian professors would come to the rescue. "Having finished his education, Repaswal went back to India and worked for two years. After that, he found himself in Russia once again: “I like the climate. I certainly admire the Russian culture. I have a lot of

doctor friends, which is why it wasn’t difficult to find a job here." Once they return to India, medical doctors fresh out of school have to get their qualifications verified by the Medical Council of India, i.e. take qualifying examina-tions.

olga boyarintseva, rir

sities, in comparison, is easy on the pocket. For instance, a foundation course at The Peo-ples' Friendship University in Moscow (PFUR) costs $4,000. The standard annual tuition is $5,950 for a course in gener-al medicine, $6,150 for a den-tal course and $4,500 for a course in pharmaceutical med-icine. Standard course fees at the I.M. Sechenov First Mos-cow State Medical University range from $3,250 to $5,500

per annum. The least expen-sive course is in pharmaceuti-cals, followed by general medi-cine and dentistry, the last of which is traditionally the most expensive degree. You can get by on $400-500 per month even in Moscow. This includes food, mobile phone bills, transport and dai-ly expenses. Food at student canteens is not cheap but it is certainly much less expensive than at city cafes.

Read more atwww.in.rbth.ru

bookmarks06 Russia india RepoRtin association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia tHe times of india wednesday_may 25_2011

www.cdi.org/russia/johnson Johnson’s Russia List www.russiaprofile.org Analysis of business, eco-nomic, political and cultural trends en.fondsk.ru Strategic Culture Foundation magazineopinion

Great Game: IndIa, russIa bond over afGhan concerns

GettInG afGhanIstan InsIde sco tent

manish chand

SpeCiALLy FoR RiR

dmitry kosyrev

RiA NovoSti

Indian Prime Minister Man-mohan Singh’s visit to Kabul in May underscored India’s unflagging resolve to stay firmly engaged with Afghani-stan amid the unfolding ‘end-game’ in that country. The visit, coming as it did close on the heels of the killing of 26/11 architect Osama bin Laden on May 1 in Abbotabad by US forces, also underlined India’s fresh assertion of its strategic interests in a country Pakistan has long regarded as “strategic depth.” Manmohan Singh an-nounced a fresh pledge of $500 million, making India one of the largest international do-nors to Afghanistan with a total aid assistance of $2 bil-lion. The message to the inter-national community is loud and clear: it is India, not Paki-

If there is one key word in the documents adopted by Shanghai Cooperation Or-

ganisation (SCO) foreign min-isters at their meeting in Al-maty recently, it is “Afghanistan”. It is this country that is about to usher in a totally new stage in the development of the SCO. An Afghanistan without US or NATO troops will be a com-pletely different country - not necessarily more safe or more comprehensible than it is now. Just different.The SCO is now a classic inter-national regional organisation along the lines of the ASEAN in South-East Asia or the MER-COSUR in Latin America. Its meetings bring together heads of state and government, de-fence ministers and bankers, and programmes are underway to establish common security and cooperation areas in the Central Asia region. Fully-fledged SCO member states, in-cluding Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, are entirely or

stan, which is a key partner for the Afghan resurgence. The Indian leader's visit to Kabul was watched keenly in key world capitals, especially in Moscow which not only shares New Delhi’s concerns about the potential Taliban ascendancy but is also wor-ried about a dangerous power vacuum that could follow after a drawdown of US and Nato troops, plunging the entire re-gion into turmoil. Moscow re-members all too well the ca-tastrophe that ensued after it scripted its exit policy in the late 1980s, leading eventually to the usurpation of power by the Taliban regime in Kabul in 1996. Russia, therefore, would do anything to prevent a repeat of the same night-mare that stoked Islamist mil-itancy along its southern arc stretching from Agediye via Chechnya and Dagestan in the northern Caucasus to Tatar-

partially situated in this re-gion.This time around, the SCO summit will be held on June 15 in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana, rather than in Almaty. The Al-maty meeting has prepared a large set of documents, includ-ing a draft of the future Astana Declaration and an anti-drugs strategy. Russian Foreign Min-ister Sergei Lavrov announced that Afghanistan requested an observer status several days ago. “This matter will be con-sidered at the upcoming sum-mit,” he announced.A decision on admitting new members and observers may be taken at the summit. Afghani-stan has enjoyed a special sta-tus within the SCO to date and its President, Hamid Karzai, has been attending the organi-sation’s summits as a guest. That is, it does not have observ-er status like India, Pakistan, Iran, or Mongolia. Historically, it was Afghanistan which trig-gered establishment of the SCO in the first place ten years ago in Shanghai. By the summer of 2001, all SCO countries were facing a common threat – the Taliban regime was in power in

Kabul. Threats bring people to-gether, so it was decided to cre-ate a full-scale SCO, just as a number of South-East Asian states created ASEAN in 1967 – essentially to fend off the Communist threat emanating from China, which was then in the throes of the Cultural Revo-lution. In the summer of 2001, Taliban preachers crossed the Afghan borders with Uzbeki-

stan and Tajikistan, and creat-ed many subversive organisa-tions. In theory, terrorists could have come to power in Tashkent or Dushanbe. An “SCO deci-sion” had barely been made when 9/11 happened, and Af-ghanistan saw a large influx of US troops. The situation had changed dramatically.I was lucky to witness first-hand the truly historic session

of SCO foreign ministers in Bei-jing in January 2001. At stake was whether the SCO was needed at all amid the new de-velopments. And the answer was: it was needed more than ever. Otherwise, the Central Asian countries would end up like Laos or Cambodia during the Vietnam war, with the US and others pulling them apart, overthrowing their regimes, and setting up military bases there at will, without asking permission…And here we are, at the end of an era. The US and NATO are to pull out of Afghanistan. Per-haps even out of Pakistan, too. This process may be short or protracted but they will, even-tually, leave. And judging by what is going on inside Afghan-istan, it will become an arena for competition or coexistence of the interests of China, India, Pakistan, probably Russia, Uz-bekistan, and some other coun-tries, too. Preparations must be made for this new era. Admitting new members to the SCO will be appropriate under the circumstances. And the key issue is not Iran, which has long wanted to join the SCO. As Teh-

Dmitry Kosyrev is RIA No-vosti Political Observer.

all articles appearing on page 6 do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the editors of rossiyskaya gazeta and russia india report.

it no longer makes sense to keep india at the SCo's doors despite China's objections ran’s policy softens and be-

comes more transparent over its nuclear programme, Iran will be admitted to the SCO as it is a real partner for numerous countries in the region.Against this backdrop, it clear-ly no longer makes sense to keep India and Pakistan at the SCO’s doors, even though China has been objecting to In-dia’s bid to join it. Otherwise, at least two regional powers will be pulling Afghanistan in op-

posite directions, and who needs that? And as we can see, all is clear regarding Afghani-stan. It will first become an SCO observer and then a mem-ber. If only because the SCO’s anti-drugs strategy, a key issue for the organisation, is unlikely to succeed unless Afghanistan is included in the regional co-operation structure.

stan and Bashkorotostan. The recent bombings at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport also brought home to powers-that-be in Moscow the dangers of radical extremism. While security concerns are overriding factors driving India and Russia closer in seeking a viable resolution of the Afghan crisis, there are also additional factors like the Afghan drug problem. Nearly 25%of all Afghan heroin reaches Russia via Central Asia, spawning nearly 3 mil-lion addicts. The incestuous links between the Afghan opium trade, militancy and warlordism is a source of deep anxiety for both countries. New Delhi feels that the Af-ghan opium is what is keeping anti-India terror outfits in Af-ghanistan like the Haqqani network in business. Moscow is also keen to join the pro-posed Turkmenistan-Afghan-

istan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. India and Russia, key partners in propping the Northern Alli-ance that ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, therefore, are natural allies in ensuring a pos-itive outcome in Afghanistan that safeguards their own in-terests amid competing agen-das and geopolitical rivalries festering in the region. For one thing, Russia shares India’s for-mulation that there are no good or bad Taliban just as there are no good or bad terrorists. Mos-cow also agrees with New Delhi about ‘red lines’ which should be followed in any pow-er-sharing arrangement be-tween the Taliban and the Af-ghan government. There is, however, a difference in priori-ties. Whereas Moscow’s prima-ry concern is to prevent the spillover of Islamic militancy, aided by the Taliban, into Cen-tral Asia and its southern re-

gions, New Delhi has resolved to deny Pakistan ‘strategic depth’ its military-intelligence establishment covets badly as it would expose India to more cross-border terror attacks. This is why New Delhi has es-poused a democratic, modern and pluralistic Afghanistan, free from external interference and extremism – a vision Mos-cow shares. This also explains why New Delhi and Moscow are fiercely opposed to the exit of western troops from Af-ghanistan as they dread the as-cendancy of Taliban-allied radical Islamist network in the region. The killing of bin Laden has given a new opportunity to the region to free itself from viru-lent strains of cross-border Is-lamist extremism. India and Russia have welcomed it, but realise fully well that the death of bin Laden is by no means the end of terror in the region. On

the contrary, the Afghan Great Game has now acquired a new twist, creating new realign-ments among key players in the region. A pragmatic Moscow may be seeking to engage Pak-istan to influence the power-sharing deal in Kabul, but Moscow knows its long-term interests in Afghanistan con-verge with that of India, which has earned huge goodwill through its reconstruction ac-tivities ranging from the build-ing of the Afghan parliament to roads, dams and power sta-tions. The two time-tested part-ners are, therefore, set to inten-sify their consultations in days to come to ensure that safe ha-vens of terror in the Afghani-stan-Pakistan region are elim-inated for the sake of shared prosperity.

Manish Chand is New Delhi- based writer on foreign affairs and is Senior Editor, IANS.

NiyAz kARim

07bookmarks Russia india RepoRt

in association with rossiyskaya gazeta, russia tHe times of india wednesday_may 25_2011

www.cinema.mosfilm.ru Popular Soviet and Russian films with English subtitles for free viewing www.rosfilm.net Archive of over 8000 Russian films to stream for free culture

aleksei mikhailovRiR

barely six months after medvedev visited a film studio in mumbai, abbas-mustan descend on Far north with bollywood stars to shoot an indo-russian thriller.

bollywood stars steal hearts amid arctic snow

Film Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu enact daring robberies in indo-Russian film 'Players', being shot near Murmansk

Russians driving beyond the Arctic Circle have never seen anything like that before. A column of trucks lines a back road close to the St Peters-burg–Murmansk Motorway. A trailer with its back doors wide open is parked at the shoulder against the backdrop of the snowy-white landscape, with stacks of gold bullion clearly visible inside. It’s in-credible, but it’s real: The fa-mous Indian directors and producers, the brothers Abbas and Mustan Burmawalla, aka Abbas-Mustan, are shooting an action thriller, called Play-ers at a location north of the Arctic Circle. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, the son of legendary Indian actor Am-itabh Bachchan and husband of actress Aishwarya Rai, a former beauty queen. IFC Distribution Pvt Ltd has started shooting the movie as a part of a Russian–Indian state-sponsored cultural ex-change programme approved by both governments after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Bollywood. The duo have acquired the rights for a remake of The Ital-ian Job, a famous action flick, from Paramount Pictures. The gold in the truck is not real of course – the gold bricks were custom-made in India. The plot of the film revolves around six tonnes of gold sto-len by the thieves. “When we first started planning the movie, we were very much in-trigued by the scene where trains race across the snow-covered plain,” said Mustan. “So we started looking for a suitable location. A compatri-ot working in Russia told us about Murmansk. We visited last year, looked around, and liked it a lot. So we started scheduling.”The film consists of two parts. The second part has already been shot in New Zealand,

while part one is being filmed in the Murmansk region. The crew has chosen two locations: the Bolshoi Lapot Lake and a railway station at Piajve. The crew will then move to St. Pe-tersburg to zero in on the city’s most beautiful landmarks such as the Winter Palace and St Isaac’s Cathedral.Abhishek Bachchan plays the ringleader and the master-mind of his gang’s robberies. Bolshoi Lapot Lake is the lo-cation for one of the key scenes: the bandits celebrate a successful heist only to discov-er a traitor within their ranks. He is, of course, also a roman-tic hero in a beautiful love story.“I’m lucky to date two girls at once according to the script,” said the actor. When asked

in Bollywood before: “We shot a scene from a helicopter where the main character drops in and hangs between two trains moving at 60 km/h while trying to break into a safe.”Two well-known Russian ac-tors, Vyacheslav Razbegayev and Stanislav Oskolkov, ap-pear in supporting roles. The latter visited New Zealand, while the former will have to travel to Mumbai where he will take part in a singing and dancing scene. The Russian actors also play extras where they portray armed thugs wearing face masks and shades.Players will be released in Russia in November or De-cember this year, with Rus-sian subtitles. Globus Film, a

whom he will eventually choose, Abhishek laughed and quipped: “Why choose? I’ll keep both.” By the way, one of those women is the Bollywood diva Bipasha Basu, who plays the role of a gifted thief work-ing in tandem with the ring-leader. "We hit a lot of different targets together: an art gallery, trains, and banks, including Russian ones,” Bipasha said. “We have stand-ins and stunt-men, but I like to do stunts my-self because I’m into sports. If the director lets me do a stunt, I’m happy to oblige.”The actors performed almost all complicated tricks under the guidance of an experi-enced stuntman. Stunt direc-tor Allan Amin said that some of the tricks filmed in the Arc-tic had never been attempted

Players, an indo-russian film, shot near murmansk.

actress bipasha basu in murmansk: when it snows, it's like a fairytale.abhishek bachchan on the sets of Players in murmansk.

film studio in St Petersburg film,organised the Russian portion of the filming. The Indian re-make of The Italian Job will obviously significantly differ from the original, with less shootings and blood and with more music and dancing.The Arctic landscape has made a lasting impression on the film crew. Despite the glar-ing sun, the director was wrapped up to his eyes in a dark-blue feather-down coat and was wearing warm gloves throughout. Actor Bobby Deol admitted that he had never felt so cold before. “It’s as if winter suddenly strikes in the middle of summer,” an incred-ulous Deol said. “I never felt so cold before in India, even on the coldest days. Over here, I

keep adding layer after layer but still can’t get warm. We work between 10 and 12 hours a day, because the sun never goes down here! I grew accus-tomed to the fact that beyond the Arctic Circle, it’s daytime until almost midnight. Unfor-tunately, because of my tight filming schedule, I didn’t have the chance to explore Mur-mansk.”“When it snows, it’s like a fairytale,” says Bipasha Basu, awed by the beauty of the Ex-treme North. But what about the famous Bollywood singing and dancing in the freezing cold? "It’s hard to imagine In-dian cinema without dancing, because it’s a part of our cul-ture,” says she. “Of course, we will have dancing, but we will shoot them elsewhere.”

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BOOKMARKS08 RUSSIA INDIA REPORTIN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA, RUSSIA THE TIMES OF INDIA WEDNESDAY_MAY 25_2011Person

www.ivran.ru The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences www.rtlb.ru/en_home Russian theatre life in brief - an information project of Russian Theatre Union

Playing Ram was karma

INTERVIEW GENNADY PECHNIKOV

'RAMA WAS A WARRIOR, A PRINCE. HE WAS THE LEADER EVERY

NATION WOULD DREAM OF. INDIANS CREATED A ROLE MODEL.'

ELENA KROVVIDIRIR

Actor Gennady Pechnikov believes he was predestined to play the role of Ram, revered by many Indians as God, in the Russian stage adaptation of Ramayana.

Decades after the premiere of Ramayana in New Delhi, Pechnikov recalls with relish his meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s � rst PM. After the Ramayana premiere in India, Pechnikov recalls warmly, “Jawaharlal Nehru came up to me, shook my hand and said: 'You are our Rama.’ And this was the best compli-ment for me. Actually, Nehru was supposed to stay only for the � rst act but when his assis-tant tried to remind him about it, he brushed him off saying: 'Please, for once in my life, let me do what I want'.” Pechnikov � rmly believes that playing Rama was more of karma than a role. His home shows the deep impression In-dian culture and religion have left on his mind and heart. There are statues of Rama and Sita, and Shiva on the shelves. The most precious of them is a picture of Rama, Sita and Ha-numan carved on the wood. In this interview, Pechnikov talks about his experiences of playing Rama and acclaim that followed, reminiscences of his visits to India and his life-long love affair with India.

How did you begin working on Ramayana?I co-directed Ramayana. It

was Natalya Guseva, a reput-ed Indophile, who brought us the script. She thought that Ramayana must be staged at a children’s theatre. My love af-fair with India began before the Second World War, much before I became an actor. When I was a child, I remember read-ing about those sailors who suffered a shipwreck and there was this man who helped them, this Indian prince who was a very handsome, an intel-ligent, educated and a kind man, who helped people.

How did the Indian audience like your portrayal of Ram? Remember the Ramayana scene when during the contest for the hand of beautiful Sita, only Rama can raise the bow? Indian performers playing Rama raised the bow very eas-ily. And I suggested that my character puts much effort into picking up the bow be-cause it shows its heaviness and emphasises Rama’s strength. The Indian audience were delighted. On the whole, I felt very encouraged by the reaction of Indians to this play because I was a little bit anx-ious how it would be received in India. I had a good relation-ship with the then Indian am-bassador, K.P.S. Menon and his wife Saraswati Menon. So I asked the ambassador why Indians liked me and my per-formance of Rama. He is god, he is an ideal, and it is a great challenge and responsibility to perform this role. And, after all, I am a representative of a completely different culture.

The ambassador laughed and explained to me: “Firstly, your � gure, you are very stately, you have big eyes and round face, which makes you look the part. And, most importantly, you are very kind. Because Rama must be kind, he puts the interests of his people � rst."

Tell us about your visits to India I remember my first visit to this amazing country. It was Indira Gandhi who invited me, and it was a miracle that I was allowed to go there alone, without being accompanied by the government people. I

was very stressed because I didn’t know what would be a proper gift for Indira Gandhi, and I wanted my gift for her to be special. Finally, I gave her the picture of me as Rama and also the best Russian sweets for her grandchildren. She held the picture, took a long look at it and said: “Atchat-cha!” in this very Indian way (smiles). It was an honour for me that she spent 40 minutes talking to me despite having a very tight schedule and she gave every other guest only 15 minutes of her time. I’ve heard that there is the continuity between India and Russia. For example, the name of the longest river in Russia is Ra, which sounds similar to Rama. And Indian Vedas are similar to the Russian verb “vedat” which means “to know”. I felt close to India since my childhood. I always felt an affinity with Indian

mysteriousness, wisdom, beauty and kindness.

Can you tell me more about the process of working on the play?We were immersed into Rama-yana like in deep waters of the ocean. At that time, I didn’t know much about Ramayana. We started to learn Indian his-tory and epics in the process of preparing for the play. I think the difference between other religious books such as the Bible, Koran, Torah, and Ra-mayana is that the main char-acter Rama was all-too-hu-man. Rama was a warrior, a prince. In fact, he was the lead-er every nation would dream of. And the Indian people cre-ated an ideal.

What do you find appealing in the Hindu philosophy? The harmony. Rama is from the Sun dynasty and Sita is

the daughter of the Earth. Sun, earth and heaven do not come into con� ict; it is the harmony between very different powers that is so unique in Hinduism. So when Rama � ghts against Ravana, all the forces of na-ture help him. Animals repre-sent divine incarnations, and I believe this shows the wisdom of the Indian people. Take Ha-numan, for example. He is in-telligent, very creative, and he impersonates spiritual forces. By the way, speaking of Hanu-man, I was talking to the � rst Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma. I asked him: Who is the � rst Indian astronaut? He said: “I am”. I said: “No, it’s not you”. And seeing the look of surprise on his face, I an-nounced: “It was Hanuman”. He laughed so much.

50 years and counting....Last December, Russia cel-ebrated the golden jubilee of Indian epic Ramayana's first performance in Children The-atre in Moscow. It was staged by Gennady Pechnikov, who remains the only professional artist to play the role of Lord Rama on stage in Europe. The veteran actor has performed in Ramlila for over 40 years. In 2008, he was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri by In-dia.

Rama is human, all-too-human. When Rama fights against Ravana, all the forces of nature help him.

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