metkere.com Electronic notebook

Photo by Dmitry Medvedev.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's photograph of the Tobolsk Kremlin (the fortress in a Siberian town of Tobolsk) sold for 51 million rubles ($1.7 million) at a charity auction in St. Petersburg.

Medvedev's photo was snapped up by Mikhail Zingarevich, a board member at Ilim Group, the pulp and paper company where Medvedev was a co-owner at 1990s. Zingarevich said he planned to hang the picture in his office.

Proceeds of the auction will go to buy furniture for World War II veterans receiving long-promised apartments, equipment for a children's hospital and a new kitchen for an alcohol rehabilitation center.

Our colleagues from The Times continue to write about the inhabitants of Siberia who live permanently in a horrific frosts:

Fur, felt and food are Siberia’s holy trinity for surviving and thriving in exceptionally cold weather. "If Britain is getting a dose of our weather, then tell people to put on a fur coat and hat - real, of course", - says Galina Ivanovna, 62, who stands at her outdoor market stall in Novosibirsk for six hours a day. In temperatures as low as minus 38C,she has little appetite for animal rights.

"Wear valenki, boots made from wool felt, and put on lots of woollen clothes underneath", she adds. "You need good thick gloves, like the ones I sell, and make sure you protect your neck with a really warm scarf. Thick, long socks too. Above all, eat a good breakfast before you go out. I usually have fried potatoes cooked in lard and a mug of lemon tea with three sugars".

Obviously, journalists are trying to inspire the freezing UK citizens. We hope they are successful.

Photo: Alexander Kotomin.

Moscow hosts International festival of snow, ice and light sculpture "Vyugovey 2010".

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is a well-known fan of judo, but he could face his greatest challenge yet as a martial arts class for grannies is ready to challenge Putin on the mat.

"Vladimir Putin! We invite you to come here. We can show you what we have learned", - says Lyudmila Ignatenko, aikido class student from Novosibirsk. - "You know, once a Japanese guy came here - I knocked him out. Why not try it with Putin?"

"Vladimir Vladimirovich! Please come here! And if you allow us - we will try our favorite grips on you", - says another aikido class student, Lyubov Adamchik.

Mr Putin possesses a black belt in judo, so it is likely he will not be easily knocked out. Regardless, the ladies are well-prepared.

"The ladies are not playing here, we don't gather for tea or chatter. This is aikido as it should be", - says aikido trainer Andrey Podoinikov.

Photo by Marco Fieber.

The Interra Youth Forum opening. The Opera Theatre, Novosibirsk, Russia.

Photos by Maya Shelkovnikova.

Contemporary Art Exhibition "Look!" opened today in Novosibirsk.

The opening was very exciting: pornographic pictures on the walls were in abundance, the musicians were wonderful, a cultural critic Sergey Samoilenko talked to vice-governor Andrei Filichev, as a modern artist Slava Mizin of the "Blue Noses" group launched fireworks from his own pants.

And this, my friends, is the primary sensation of the evening: Gary Oldman came to the opening of the exhibition in Novosibirsk!

Mr Oldman friendly talked to local residents and even made a commentary for TV. By the way, Robin Williams came to Novosibirsk to watch the total solar eclipse last year.

Photos by Lugerovski.

The replica of the Statue of Liberty was built from scrap metal in Russian city of Yelabuga. Oh, those Russian sculptors.