Author: Emil Lazarian

10 most famous Russians in the USA

Pravda Ru

US scholars, reporters and professors composed long list of Russians
popular in the USA.

The criteria for naming famous Russians were as follows:

1) Authority in professional sphere, such as science, art, literature
and so on

2) Popularity among Americans. Sportsmen, people of show business,
preachers fit this category.

3) Authority in politics (political scientists, lobbyists).

4) Authority in economics (businessmen and managers).

The top ten Russains are:

1. Mikhail Baryshnikov – ballet dancer, producer, actor.

2. Anna Kurnikova – tennis player and model.

3. Dmitry Sims – President of Nixon Research Center.

4. Leon Aron – Director of Russian Research of Institute of American
Entrepreneurship

5. Nikolai Zlobin – Director of Russian and Asian programs of the
Center of Defense Information.

6. Elena Bonner – human rights activist, the widow of Academician
Andrei Sakharov.

7. Yury Temirkhanov – conductor of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

8. Semen Kukes – businessman, Head of YUKOS company.

9. Ariel Koen – Research Director of Nasledie (Heritage) Foundation.

10. Eduafrd Lozansky – publisher and lobbyist, President of American
University in Moscow, founder of Russian Annual Economic Forum.

Then the list follows with physics Alexei Abrikosov and Roald Sgdeev,
historian Sergei Khrushchev, hockey player Pavel Bure, sculptor Ernst
Neizvestny and Sergei Brin who developed Google search system.

All these people came to the USA from Russia, Russian is their native
language.

The citizens of the former USSR contribute to the US culture, science,
education, politics, technology and sports. Russian Americans Joseph
Brodsky and Alexei Abrikosov became Nobel laureates.

Yul Brinner is one of the best Hollywood actors.

Remarkably, Russians did not achieve much in the sphere of business and
economics. Previous generations of Russians in the USA were better in
business. Emigrant Vladimir Zvorykin invented first TV set in 1933.
He founded first TV station with another Russian David Sarnov,
President of Radio Corporation of America, later the plants of the
corporation started producing TV sets. Another Russian emigrant, Igor
Sikorsky, constructed first helicopter in the USA in 1939. Sikorsky
Aviation Corporation is still among the global leaders in constructing
helicopters, the US President uses Sikorsky’s helicopter.

Russians failed to create united community in the USA and elect their
politicians, as Armenians, Jews and Ukrainians did.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan calls on EU to solve Karabakh dispute
By Sebastian Alison

Reuters AlertNet, UK
May 18 2004

BRUSSELS, May 18 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan called on the European Union
to help solve a long-running row with Armenia over the disputed region
of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, apparently catching the EU’s executive
Commission off its guard.

The Commission this month added Azerbaijan, with Caucasus neighbours
Armenia and Georgia, to its New Neighbourhood programme, which seeks
closer ties with countries around the bloc following its expansion
eastwards on May 1.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev lost no time in challenging Commission
President Romano Prodi to translate this into action by asking the
EU to take a leading role in the conflict.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a territory wholly inside Azerbaijan, populated
by Christian ethnic Armenians, which broke away from Baku’s rule as
the Soviet Union collapsed. The Azeris, their country controlling
large oil resources, want it back.

Prodi told journalists after meeting Aliyev that the EU had expressed
“our disposal to help if requested”. He insisted he could not give
details as no request had been made.

Not so, shot back Aliyev. “We already asked, and during today’s
meeting once again,” he said.

A ceasefire, ending a six-year conflict that killed about 35,000
people, has held for a decade. However, the Minsk Group of 11
countries, led by France, the United States and Russia under the
mandate of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
has so far failed to settle the problem.

Aliyev, who succeeded his father as president last year, backed the
Minsk Group but said he wanted more.

“Azerbaijan is very strongly interested that other important European
organisations, first of all the European Union, take a more active
stand,” he said.

“If Azerbaijan and Armenia are now in the New Neighbourhood policy, the
occupation by one country of the territory of another must be stopped,”
he added, demanding the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops.

His remarks suggest the EU may face problems by rolling out the new
policy, which could mean “importing” several conflicts — notably
in Moldova, another New Neighbour, where a stalled war pitting
Romanian-speaking Moldovans against ethnic Russians has also rumbled
on for a decade.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azerbaijan calls on EU to help settle Karabakh conflict

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 18 2004

BRUSSELS, May 18 (Itar-Tass) – Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev
has called on the European Union to take part in the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

“The Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OCSE) makes an important contribution to the problem’s
solution. We consider it useful to attract the European Union, the
Council of Europe and other European organizations for the conflict’s
settlement efforts to achieve tangible results,” Aliyev said at a news
briefing after the talks with the President of the European Commission,
Romano Prodi.

Prodi expressed the readiness to join the work for a settlement of the
Karabakh conflict. He pointed out that the EU was greatly concerned
about the absence of peace in the region.

The EC leader said the union was ready to invigorate the settlement
process and put forward concrete proposals. The EU is also prepared
to step up economic cooperation with Azerbaijan under what has been
termed the “ring of friends and neighbors” strategy, expanded recently
to encompass Azerbaijan.

Alyiev described the recent meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
foreign ministers as “very important for pursuing a peaceful dialogue”.

“We do not want talks for the sake of talks, we do not a simulation
of talks,” he said. “We seek a meaningful discussion with Armenia of
new themes and problems that can yield concrete results in settling
the conflict in line with international law and territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Azeri leader, EU officials meet in Brussels, discuss Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
18 May 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who is on a visit to
Brussels, has started his official meetings. To recap, the visit by
the Azerbaijani leader to this country mainly aims to discuss the
enlargement of bilateral cooperation with the EU leadership. ANS’s
special correspondent in Brussels, Qanira Pasayeva, is on the
line. Hello Qanira. Good afternoon. Here you are.

[Correspondent, on the phone] Good afternoon, Leyla. First,
President Ilham Aliyev met EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunter
Verheugen. Azerbaijan’s integration into Europe and the policy
of Europe’s neighbours, that is Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus
countries are among them, and the Nagornyy Karabakh problem were
discussed during the meeting.

The most interesting meeting was held later with European Commission
President Romano Prodi. The sides gave a joint briefing for the
press after a 45-minute tete-a-tete meeting. Prodi said they focused
on Europe’s neighbourhood policy. He went on to say that they
accepted Azerbaijan as following this policy, that is the policy
of Europe’s neighbours. The South Caucasus countries were invited
[word indistinct]. According to him, that was his first meeting with
Aliyev and they will establish continuous and full cooperation with
Azerbaijan. He said that they supported Azerbaijan’s admission to the
World Trade Organization and other reforms launched in the country. He
said that they had discussed these issues widely with President Aliyev.

Prodi said that the European Union was concerned about the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem, because the conflict has not been resolved for
10 years. Unfortunately, there is no peace and we want the OSCE
Minsk Group to reach some results in the solution to this problem,
Prodi said. According to him, a solution should be found in order to
reach peace between the states and neighbours. Friendship should be
cultivated among the states neighbouring us. However, the international
public should be involved in this issue and resolve the problem. That’s
all Leyla.

[Presenter] Thanks, Qanira.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Arabs should also turn their fury at their own

International Herald Tribune
Massoud A. Derhally IHT Monday, May 17, 2004

AMMAN, Jordan To the majority of Arabs, the United States is a country
of double standards, and its leadership expounds the arrogance
and belligerence of an imperialist power. Thus the abuses at Abu
Ghraib prison will be etched forever in Arabs’ minds: If only the
American people knew what their country did abroad, many Arabs think,
if only Americans understood the anguish brought on by Washington’s
self-serving foreign policies, then they would understand why so much
Arab hate is directed toward them.

Unfortunately, most Arabs end the argument here. Yes, the repulsive
prison pictures vindicate some Arab grievances. But if there is a
lesson to be learned, it is that Arabs should be equally enraged by
the deficiency of human rights in their own countries.

Countless acts of violence have taken place in the Arab world that
dwarf the abuse of Abu Ghraib. There are wretched human rights
violations every day in the Middle East, yet they somehow aren’t met
with the same indignation and high standards of accountability Arabs
hold America to.

Why is that? The United States is a beacon of democracy, freedom
and transparency. It is the very absence of these fundamental values
that underscore the impotence of the Arab people. Arabs need to ask
themselves why it is that so many places have experienced their own
form of renaissance – be it Latin America, South Africa or Asia –
and why they haven’t.

That is the lesson to be learned from this fiasco in Iraq. If
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld can exhibit some humility,
so can our leaders in admitting their mistakes – and so can we,
in our struggle to define ourselves in this century.

It is true that America’s unrelenting support of Israel, now anchored
more than ever after President George W. Bush’s unconditional
endorsement of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement
plan, provides ammunition to hate. But invoking the Israel card for
most Arab governments has, by and large, meant giving the stamp of
approval to crackdowns, the denial of civil liberties and the creation
of systems that instill fear and paranoia.

In this sense, Arab anger at America is a culmination of the
frustrations in their own lives: the inability of people to vent their
anger openly at their own governments, the failure to rise up against
injustices committed in their own backyards, and the absence of checks
and balances that in democracies ensure that those in authority are
held accountable.

Democracy, some say, is not viable or applicable for Arabs. Arabs need
to be ruled by an iron fist, the argument goes, and the culture of
the Arab world doesn’t allow for the expression of different opinions
or the coexistence of different ideologies. Such statements expound
the very stupidity that lead to the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia and
Kosovo, of Jews in World War II, and of Armenians by Turks after World
War I. It is this line of reasoning that has fostered an environment
that nurtures zealotry – a defeatist mentality that perpetuates the
subservient role Arabs have become accustomed to.

If there were a single transparent and democratic system in place today
in the Arab world, those calling for reforms would be hailed and not
arrested. Women would be empowered. Were pictures of torture, abuse
and humiliation of prisoners to come out, then perhaps the region would
escape this twilight zone and experience its own renaissance. So when
Arabs look at those pictures of Iraqis being humiliated, they should
also take a look in the mirror – they may not like what they see.

Massoud A. Derhally is a freelance journalist and a former
correspondent for Agence France-Presse.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian, Azeri, Georgian speakers agree to work on stability pact

Mediamax news agency
18 May 04

Yerevan, 18 May: The chairmen of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and
Georgian parliaments have reached an agreement on joint work on a
draft stability pact for the Caucasus.

This agreement was reached in Strasbourg on 17 May at a meeting between
Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan and his Azerbaijani and Georgian
counterparts, Murtuz Alasgarov and Nino Burjanadze respectively,
Mediamax today learnt from the Armenian National Assembly press
service. PACE [Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]
President Peter Schieder attended the meeting as well.

The meeting announced that the main political forces represented in
the Council of Europe supported the idea of signing a stability pact
for the South Caucasus.

The meeting also discussed the prospects for establishing a South
Caucasus Parliamentary Assembly.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian police confirm US citizen murdered in capital

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
18 May 04

The Armenian police have confirmed that the corpse of a US citizen
was discovered with stab wounds in central Yerevan on 17 May, Mediamax
news agency reported on the 18th.

The Yerevan prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into
the case.

The body was found in a courtyard at 24, Sayat-Nova Avenue.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OVERCOMING POVERTY

A1 Plus | 15:58:56 | 18-05-2004 | Social |

“No policy is worked out for rural manpower in “Poverty Reduction in
Armenia” strategic program”, Hranush Kharatyan, head of Governmental
Department on National Minorities and Religion, announces.

Mrs. Kharatyan was instructed to make an analysis on occupation and
unemployment of villagers in particular, the reasons and volumes
in Armenia.

Hranush Kharatyan has today introduced her study during the seminar on
“Implementation of Projects Supporting Job Increase and Revenue Rise
for Poverty Reduction and in Armenia”.

The analyst stated there are about 200.000 unemployed in the Armenian
villages. She says occupation issue is rather passively represented in
“National Program on Poverty Reduction in Armenia”.

“Unemployment will hardly decrease soon, on the contrary, it may grow”,
Kharatyan forecasts.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian Asylum-Seekers Begin Hunger-Strike In Baku

Baku Today
May 17 2004

The two Armenians, who arrived in Baku early April, began hunger-strike
on Monday in protest against international organizations’ reluctance
to help them find asylum in Europe.

Roman Terian, 38, and Artur Apresian, 48, said they will hold the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) responsible for
any negative results the hunger protest may bring about. The Armenians
appeared in Azerbaijan’s private ANS television on April 8, relating
their departure from Armenia with hardships they claimed they faced
in their home country.

Speaking to local and foreign reporters in a press conference staged
by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of National Security on May 14, the Armenians
said they left Armenia because of “Kocharian’s dictatorship,” with
one of them likening the Armenian president to Osama ben Laden.

The asylum seekers were born in Baku.They left for Armenia after the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, but have not received
Armenian citizenship. Terian and Apresian married to Armenian
citizens. Both have two daughters.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Gevor and Tatevosyan to battle it out live on the internet

EastsideBoxing.com
May 17 2004

17.05.04 – Exciting action is coming up live on the internet. On
Tuesday Armenian Koren Gevor, 17-2 (10), will face Russian Sergey
Tatevosyan, 21-4 (13), at Hansehalle of Lübeck, Germany, in an 8-round
non-title fight. The battle of the two strong European middleweight top
contenders will be broadcast live on the internet on …

Gevor is coming off a six fight winning streak since suffering his two
losses due to unlucky injuries. Tatevosyan who knocked out former world
champion Armand Krajnc in 2002 is coming fresh of a European title
fight against Howard Eastman where he dropped a twelve round decision.

“I’ve seen videos on Tatevosyan. I know he is beatable”, the small
but powerful Gevor said. “He is running a lot to the left and to the
right. My biggest concern is that I can’t land my punches because he
moves so awkward.”

It’s Gevor’s third fight on a Spotlight Boxing event in a row. His last
contest where he stopped Dmitro Gotovskiy on March 30 at Saaltheater
in Aachen, Germany, by disqualification was also broadcast live on

“His knockout win over Armand Krajnc doesn’t impress me”, Gevor said.
“Armand was an easy target that night and at the end he landed his
punches almost by accident.”

Gevor moved to Germany in May 2000 and is now living in Hamburg
(Gevor: “I like this city a lot!”) with his young wife. His coach
is Magomed Shaburow. He was born in Edshmiadsin, a city close to
Armenia’s capitcal Erivan.

Gevor is a stable mate of WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm who
is fighting against Oscar de la Hoya on June 5.

“I’ll put money on Felix”, Gevor said. “De la Hoya will underestimate
him and I believe Felix will win a decision. This is his chance of
a lifetime and he will use it.”

In three other fights live on , Guzmil Perdomo will
fight Gringo Mandache at super middleweight, Egon Roth will fight
Pavel Vanacek and Valeri Tschetschenev celebrates his professional
debut against Roman Kaloczai (both heavyweight).

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress