New Horizons

Add to favorites Make New Horizons your homepage

Extranet

New Horizons 6(21)/2002

8	To Live in Harmony. Viktor Kirzhakov, Turku The ideas of ecumenism are becoming more and more popular in Finland. At Christmas time the economical lining for this idea is plainly obvious. Having successfully sold to the world Santa’s House tourist attraction, Finland is trying to make Turku the official Christmas city of Europe.
12	Xmas Shops Get Down to Business. John Pagni, Helsinki Christmas maybe only one day in the year, but the preparations for this holiday last much longer. For department stores the Yuletide period is a pot of gold. And no matter when Christmas is celebrated, it is preceded by a stampede of people rushing to buy presents for their loved ones or even someone they hardly know.
18	Everything Goes. Andrius Mankus, Vilnius If you are having trouble finding the right presents to put under the Christmas tree then you should come to Lithuania. This year the Christmas season has started earlier than usual. Shops are fighting for clients with pre-holiday sales and offering everything from the traditional Barbie dolls to trips into space.
22	A Retail New Year. Taisia Pirozhkova, Moscow Russia has a unique way of preparing for the holiday season. First of all there are almost no Christmas sales in large shops and not just because Christmas is still not very popular here. The majority of presents for the widely celebrated New Year are bought from small retailers who often offer their goods right on the streets.
24	Half Full or Half Empty? Sergei Sergeev, Brussels A temporary solution to the transportation problem between Russia’s Kaliningrad district and the main land was found during the Russia – EU summit that was held in Brussels this autumn. The long standoff between the EU and the Kremlin on this issue seems to have been resolved in a compromise. Or has it?
26	Two Shoes Don’t Always Make a Pair. Andres Kingisepp, Tallinn After NATO’s summit in Prague that was held this November the Baltic States have at last received a formal invitation to join the alliance. But these countries’ reasons for joining NATO cannot be met in the present situation. After the September 11th, NATO has changed. Its usefulness To the Baltic States is less clear now.
30	We Will Be Friends, Won’t We? Svetlana Pankratova, Oslo At last the Russian President reached Norway. His visit was long anticipated – at least twice before it was postponed. The Norwegians were keen on getting the maximum out of this summit and came to the negotiating table prepared to discuss a wide variety of issues.
32	Like Snow in July. Sergei Eduardov, Andrei Milovzorov, Moscow Just a year and a half ago Russia – EU cooperation seemed a reality. The focus was on compromise and the future looked optimistic. But suddenly the atmosphere changed and now problems are shoved into the spotlight. Is integration between Russia and the European Union at all possible, or is it just a chimera?
40	The Baltic Mix: NORD-OST-OIL... Sergei Smirnov, Moscow Economic prosperity of the Baltic Sea countries is not in the least determined by close contacts with the Russian economy. In the past two years their has been a significant increase in activity on the Baltic markets by Russian oil companies. And one such company has been Lukoil.
46	Russia and Dumping – What’s New. Arthur West, Helsinki The European Union has officially acknowledged Russia to be a country with a market economy. What does this mean for the Russian economy and its international trade? What consequences await small and large businesses trading with the European Union?
50	Unemployed with a Dowry. Alexander Karin, Berlin Germany has embarked on a mission to reform the employment market. This reform is the largest and the most radical in all postwar history of the country. The employment agencies are to undergo changes from the 1st of January 2003: they then begin leasing out the work of their unemployed charges.
54	The Promised Land Called Internet. Oleg Geller, Stockholm The Internet claims to have provided people with an easy way to becoming millionaires. In the Scandinavian countries thousands jumped on the opportunity to become rich over night by investing in Internet technologies. But they soon discovered that it was as easy to lose money as it was to get it: easy come, easy (dot) com.
60	Rail Estonia – Privatization Estonian Style. Margarita Kornisheva, Tallinn The information that was disclosed by the police authorities on the Estonian Railway privatization affair (the most talked about issue in the business world of Estonia for the last two years), shed light on some common practices in Estonian business circles.
64	Happy to Be Safe. Tatjana Selehova, St.Petersburg After the publication of the article “Atom in Lamp’s Clothing” in the previous issue we thought it only fair to listen to what the other side has to say. During the interview with Mr. Voronkov, General Director of Ekomet-S, he told our correspondent his view on the situation surrounding his company. The question is: how to reproduce radioactive waste?
70	With Open Arms. Natalia Erchova, Helsinki This year marks 10 years since Finnish – Russian border cooperation received formal recognition. In an interview with Harry Hillenius, the Head of the Eastern Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, he speaks about the practical work being done during all this time.
76	St. Petersburg is Turning 300. Anatoliy Kovalev, St. Petersburg St. Petersburg has at last got its chance to turn itself into a truly world-class tourist attraction. Substantial funding has been allocated by the “Petersburg team” in the Kremlin to the celebrate the city’s 300th anniversary. Now it’s up to city officials to make the best of this favorable situation. For sure not everything is going smoothly.
82	In the Center of Europe. Nikolai Borovikov, Frankfurt New hotel on our luxury list - The ArabellaSheraton Grand Hotel Frankfurt. For business and pleasure.
84	Whisky Time. Thomas Romantschuk, Helsinki Style and fashion have always played a significant role in our everyday lives. Usually, when speaking about fashion, clothes, cars and furniture come to mind. But some beverages can also gain popularity and lose it. What about Whisky?
88	St. Petersburg Open 2002: not by the Script. Zairbeck Mansurov, St.Petersburg This year’s Annual International Tennis Tournament in St. Petersburg ended with a surprise. Despite the large amount of world tennis celebrities participating in the tournament, the main prize went to a relatively unknown tennis player from France – 24-year-old Sebastien Grosjean.
90	Documents: Entrance into Russia The authorities estimate that at present there are from 4 to 5 million illegal aliens living in Russia. To solve this problem changes have been made to the law regulating the status of foreigners on Russian territory. Here are some of the changes that could be of direct interest to our readers who do not have a Russian passport.