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ST PETERSBURG VIEWS
 Name: Tobin Auber
Job: Editor-in-chief, St Petersburg Times
G8 country of origin: UK
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I think that at the moment it’s hard to define Russia’s role in G8. It still seems unclear which role it wants to play.Being a member seems like a good thing, but is Russia ready to match G8 standards?
I think that the Russian authorities have not decided this for themselves. There are rival groups who see Russia’s place in G8 in a different light. And conflicts between them are far from being resolved.
I think Russia’s membership in G8 was a prize for Yeltsin - to show that Russia has chosen the right path and there is hope that one day it will become a fully-fledged member of the organisation.
St Petersburg residents originating from each of the G8 nations assess Russia’s role as their city prepares to host the G8 summit.
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ST PETERSBURG VIEWS
 Name: Yoshiko Arakawa
Job: Lecturer at St Petersburg State University
G8 country of origin: Japan
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I think Russia has a very authoritative voice at the summit, because it possesses large reserves of oil and gas. The Russian economy is developing very fast.
A proof of that is how St Petersburg has changed before my own eyes. The city has become much brighter - lots of advertising, lots of shops, cafes and sushi bars.
Toyota is now building a plant here. Toyota is our pride.
Russia is a very powerful country because of oil. Japan has almost no oil, although now they say there is some in the north.
I would like Japan to pass recycling technology to Russia, so that in Russia they separated garbage - plastics, tins, metal and so on. I’d like ordinary Russians to do that.
St Petersburg residents originating from each of the G8 nations assess Russia’s role as the city prepares to host the G8 summit.
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ST PETERSBURG VIEWS
 Name: Dmitry Shagin
Job: Artist, founder of Mitki art group
G8 country of origin: Russia
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I am not sure how this figure - eight - came about. For me, there is Europe, and Russia is a part of Europe.
But it is also such a huge country, with a large population and many natural resources. So it should be number one in G8!
On the other hand, it seems that in other G8 countries people live much better.
I think the difference between Russia and G8 countries is that there so much to be done here. There are prospects, it seems that all good things will happen in the future; whereas in other G8 countries everything has settled down, life is one big success, so it’s time to party! In Russia everything is only beginning.
The G8 summit of industrialised nations being hosted by Russia is likely to be more interesting for what it says about the West’s growing reliance on Russia for its energy.
A chill breeze is whipping in from far out in the Arctic sea.
Traditional lives go on here on the tundra
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As it reaches land it whistles across the vast, flat and open tundra.
Up here, inside the Arctic circle, the sun shines for 24 hours a day in midsummer. But its rays are weak, the air still carries a cold tang.
Russia’s far north, is odd, otherworldly, full of contradictions, harsh and fragile, inhospitable but fecund, teeming with life.
As the G8 gears up for the St Petersburg summit on 15 July, BBC News profiles host Vladimir Putin, whose presidency has seen Russia make a bold bid to justify its place among the world’s most powerful nations.
 Putin’s strong leadership is welcomed by many Russians |
His face may not adorn the rouble, but Vladimir Putin’s image is very much stamped on 21st-Century Russia and its citizens are only too aware that the money lining their pockets was largely minted under his presidency.
After the hungry, often desperate years of the Yeltsin era, it is a prosperity few Russians may stop to question.
But his critics believe that it has come at the cost of some post-communist democratic freedoms.
Mr Putin rapidly ascended the political ladder in 1999 when Boris Yeltsin first made him prime minister, then acting president in his place.
The former Federal Security Service (ex-KGB) director’s talents and instincts continue to show through: to his admirers he represents order and stability, to his critics - repression and fear.
The G8 summit of industrialised nations being hosted by Russia later this week is likely to be more interesting for what it says about the West’s relationship with Russia than for any outcome of the meeting itself.It may be that it is now in the interests of both sides to calm some recent heightened language.
They have, for example, some common interests, including Iran’s nuclear programme, North Korea and international terrorism. Russia might also want to signal that it is a reliable energy provider.
During any season of the year, Western tourists are amazed at the number of Russians on the beaches of Turkey, Egypt, Spain and Italy. In Egypt and Turkey you might have trouble communicating complicated thoughts in English, but you will never have a problem finding locals who understand Russian or billboard targeted exclusively at the Russian tourist crowd.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the international community must resolve its problems with Iran and North Korea through negotiation. In a BBC webcast, he said it would be a mistake to impose sanctions on Iran.
He said he would prefer the Iran nuclear problem to be dealt with by the International Atomic Energy Agency rather than the UN Security Council.
He was answering some of the thousands of questions sent in by readers to the BBC and Russia’s Yandex website.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is reporting some big numbers in their story about Russia’s oil and gas boom today. According to the CBC article, Russian oil and gas companies are raking in “$550,000,000 every day, or $380,000 every minute, around the clock. The state gets 65 per cent of that. Oil and gas exports account for about 60 per cent of federal budget revenues and 60 per cent of its exports.”
thanks to Interfax for this post
British ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton spoke about bilateral economic cooperation, as well as about Russian-British political relations in an interview with Interfax
Britain is interested in the success of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, said British Ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton, adding that questions related to the advance of democracy in Russia might be raised at the summit.