| 8 |
Black and White Scenario of Russia´s Democracy. by Andres Kingisepp, Moscow
How the various political and economic events of the past few months influenced Russia´s external
and internal policies. Opinions on the present situation in Russia. |
| 11 |
Who´s the Master in the House? by Marina Antonova, St. Petersburg
Russia´s usual rhetoric questions «Who is to blame?» and «What to do?» once again became common
spread this autumn after a series of horrible terrorist attacks shook the country. How do Russians
themselves explain the dramatic events? |
| 16 |
A Turn of Heart. Sergei Voropayev, Kiev
Ukraine on its way to Europe: boisterous activity in the not long ago stagnant economy
of this country attracts understandable interest of its close neighbors. The upcoming
presidential elections will show what exactly the country´s plans for the future are,
whether Ukraine turns to the East or to the West. |
| 20 |
Get Together in Krinica Gurska. by Vitaly Portnikov, Moscow
For the 14th time Poland has held its annual Economic Forum in one of its fashionable holiday
resort towns in the Carpathian Mountains. The Forum continues to attract more than 15 hundred
participants from Presidents and Prime Ministers of Central and East European countries to
representatives of small businesses and journalists. What do they all hope to achieve by
coming here? |
| 22 |
«Russian Davos». by Vladimir Bondarev, St. Petersburg
This year St. Petersburg hosted Russia´s 8th annual Economic Forum. The importance of this event
in the country´s political and economic life is constantly growing though it has not yet reached
its full capacity. What exactly are its significance, history and potential? Looking into the
results of eight years worth of flops and achievements. |
| 28 |
The Exhibition Business. by Nikolai Borovikov, Helsinki
In the age of global networks and information technologies traditional trade exhibitions
(industrial fairs) seam obsolete. But looking at the numbers of participants at different
fairs it is clear to see that all depends on the ability to organize these happenings and
utilize all the possibilities they offer. |
| 32 |
Lost in the Forest. by Arthur West, Helsinki
The myths and realities of Russia´s modern forest industry. |
| 36 |
Latvia´s Green Gold. by Modris Auzins, Riga
Forests are Latvia´s main asset. Today timber comprises more than 50% of the countries export;
in 10 years the volume of the wood being processed in the country rose more than in two. With
close to nothing being done to replant the fallen trees Latvia´s future seems bleak. |
| 38 |
Logistics without Logic. by Marina Koluyartseva, St. Petersburg
Significant investments are made each year into the infrastructure of Russia´s logistic
centers, but to no avail. Could it be that the nature of Russia´s economy itself does not
conform to customary standards of «orderliness» and so can not be rationalized or logistically
organized? |
| 42 |
Latvia´s Port Industry Being Drowned by Politics. by Modris Auzins, Riga
Against the background of overall volume growth of goods transported by way of the Baltic Sea,
the decrease in the effectiveness of the work of Latvia´s ports is quite evident. The reason
is not only in bad marketing and management, but also in the ongoing political maneuvering
which continues to significantly influence the country´s economy. |
| 46 |
Packed Sealed Delivered. by Veronika Pennanen, Helsinki
A new innovation in container shipping is to revolutionize overseas automobile transportation
by significantly lowering its costs and making traditional infrastructure obsolete. «LACCU -
Auto logistics», a Finnish patented invention, promises to make «door to door» automobile
deliveries fast, cheep and safe. |
| 50 |
Battle of the Cruise Giants. by Sergei Sergeev, Oslo
It seams that the precarious situation in which the travel industry had found itself not so
long ago has finally stabilized and in some of its segments like the cruise market has even
significantly improved. The rise in interest towards sea cruises was spurred by the change
in policies of the market´s leading competitors. |
| 54 |
Russians Choose to Cruise. by Svetlana Pankratova, Stockholm
The more than 50% lowering of average cruise prices caused an unprecedented rise in cruise
ticket sales. In 2004 Russians became the 3rd largest group of passengers after Americans
and Brits on the Caribbean cruises. The demand for sea cruises rose this year by 30-40%,
but how long will this tendency hold? |
| 56 |
Cruising the Baltic. by Nikolai Borovikov, Helsinki
Contrary to common opinion the best sea cruises are not always on the Mediterranean and
Caribbean Seas. For those tired of hot resorts and familiar routs the Baltic Sea offers
cruises into Medieval Cities and Northern exotics. |
| 58 |
On the Russian Border. by Dmitriy Korolev, St. Petersburg
Try crossing the Russian border and still remain in high spirits - this is practically
impossible. In order to get an unbiased opinion on the work of the St. Petersburg sea
terminal we turned to Russian travelers who were unfortunate enough to require the
services of this port. |
| 60 |
The Train Goes no Further. by Svetlana Pankratova, Stockholm
The passengers of Swedish railroads did not gain anything from its privatization. On the
contrary, the privatization resulted in ticket price increases and rout "assortment"
decreases. September saw a new cut: in the nearest future there will be no more passenger
trains on the route from Stockholm to Oslo. |
| 64 |
Fake Exhibition. by Gennadi Muravin, Helsinki
All too soon the Spring Helsinki exhibition of Salvador Dali´s works turned from international
cultural event into a criminal sensation. More than a quarter of the exhibits intended for
sale were suspected to be frauds; the exhibition was closed and all the exhibits arrested.
However since the death of the main suspect it will be hard to say whether the full scale
of the crime is ever to be unraveled. |
| 68 |
On the Way to Authenticity. by Natalia Erchova, Helsinki
Is it possible to insure oneself against the unpleasantness of becoming an owner of a fake
painting acquired as an original and to what extent? After the notorious Helsinki exhibition
of Dali´s works, it seems prudent to carefully investigate the process of establishing the
authenticity of masterpieces. For comments NH turned to specialists from the world famous
Bukowski-Hörhammer auction house. |
| 72 |
The Corkscrew as a Work of Art. by Jorma Reionen (with Petra Tiihonen)
NH has already pointed out that exquisite wines can not be enjoyed without special preparation.
Partaking of a wine is a delicate art which comprises not only of the correct choice of beverage,
but of the presence of a score of accompanying accessories: from the bottle to the glass, to
the corkscrew... |
| 76 |
How to Be Trendy? by Nikolai Meinert, Helsinki
Helsinki is not at all as conservative as is customary to believe. Finland´s capital
city can be at once fashionable, crazy and playful. |
| 82 |
Best Hotels of the World: Maritim Park Hotel Riga. by Anatoliy Kovalev
The Maritim Hotels chain is at present one of the largest and most successful in Germany.
It specializes in organizing conferences, seminars, meetings and other similar events at
the same time providing the participants with first-class accommodations. The four-star
«Maritim Park Hotel» in Riga is the one of the 44 hotels situated all over
the world. |
| 86 |
Russian Memories of Finnish-Swedish Islands. by Natalia Gracheva, Marienhamn
Built on the Åland Islands by order of Nikolai I the Russian fortress Bomarsund withstood
its first and final battle 150 years ago. Although it has been 96 years since the land
Islands have seized to be part of Russian territory, many of its inhabitants still
consider themselves to be descendents of Muscovites. |
| 96 |
Business Legislation:
- Acquisition of Real-Estate in Finland materials prepared by Igor Hitruhin & Tatjana Gasik
|
