Moscow news
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15-Mar-2007
Moscow Prepares to Paint the Town Green for St. Patrick's Day
Ask any Muscovite about the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Moscow and you can be sure that most will have heard of it: "I know it exists but I've never attended one", says Alina Lobzina, student at RGGU (Russian State University of Humanities). "But I know it's an occasion for drinking lots of beer." It would seem that many people who have never attended the 3-day long celebrations in Moscow regard it as more of a beer-drinking festival than anything else: "I hear people drink a lot of beer and wear those green leaves," says Russian Alina Jarvine. But there is more to St. Patrick's Day than downing a few pints of Guinness.
St. Patrick, whose death in 461 AD is celebrated on 17th March, is the patron Saint of Ireland and was responsible for the Christianization of the land. "He banished the snakes in Ireland," explains Irish student of Russian Leah Sullivan, who plans to join in the St. Patrick's Day festivities this year. Ever since the concept of parading on St. Patrick's Day started in America in 1737, initiated by the Irish Society of Boston, the event has attracted millions each year in New York and Chicago.
The idea of setting up a St. Patrick's Day parade in Moscow was conceived in 1992 by Irishman Derek Keogh, then chief-executive of the Irish airport retailing company Aer Rianta International. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov officially inaugurated the parade on Novy Arbat the upscale boulevard that shuts down annually on the Sunday nearest to March 17th to make way for the plethora of Irish dancers, music bands, fiddlers and floats from different companies, not to mention hundreds of cheering bystanders. "It was grand," says Esther Daniels from the UK, who attended the parade last year, "a great excuse to jig down the Arbat." It has become one of the best annual marches in Russia, with more than 1,000 participants and 20,000 viewers.
Ask any Muscovite about the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Moscow and you can be sure that most will have heard of it: "I know it exists but I've never attended one", says Alina Lobzina, student at RGGU (Russian State University of Humanities). "But I know it's an occasion for drinking lots of beer." It would seem that many people who have never attended the 3-day long celebrations in Moscow regard it as more of a beer-drinking festival than anything else: "I hear people drink a lot of beer and wear those green leaves," says Russian Alina Jarvine. But there is more to St. Patrick's Day than downing a few pints of Guinness.
St. Patrick, whose death in 461 AD is celebrated on 17th March, is the patron Saint of Ireland and was responsible for the Christianization of the land. "He banished the snakes in Ireland," explains Irish student of Russian Leah Sullivan, who plans to join in the St. Patrick's Day festivities this year. Ever since the concept of parading on St. Patrick's Day started in America in 1737, initiated by the Irish Society of Boston, the event has attracted millions each year in New York and Chicago.
The idea of setting up a St. Patrick's Day parade in Moscow was conceived in 1992 by Irishman Derek Keogh, then chief-executive of the Irish airport retailing company Aer Rianta International. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov officially inaugurated the parade on Novy Arbat the upscale boulevard that shuts down annually on the Sunday nearest to March 17th to make way for the plethora of Irish dancers, music bands, fiddlers and floats from different companies, not to mention hundreds of cheering bystanders. "It was grand," says Esther Daniels from the UK, who attended the parade last year, "a great excuse to jig down the Arbat." It has become one of the best annual marches in Russia, with more than 1,000 participants and 20,000 viewers.
The parade is organized each year by the Irish Club in Moscow, an organization promoting business and cultural ties between Russia and Ireland. For the past two years it has been overseen by Dr. Niall Keogh, Irish Studies Coordinator in Russia, who also teaches at the Moscow State University. "For the past 15 years the authorities have been very helpful," says Dr. Keogh. This is surprising considering the security logistics involved. The Irish Club is also responsible for the Emerald Ball, which is held the night before the parade, the proceeds of which go to Russian charities. This year the chosen charities are Diema's Dream, a Foundation for Disabled Russian Orphans, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, a mentoring program for children. The main sponsors of this year's parade are Pepsi and Aer Rianta International. "Without them we wouldn't be able to have the parade", explains chairman of the Irish Club, Avril Conroy.
The festive mood has already taken over Moscow's Irish community, who are gearing up to join in the parade, as well as the Emerald Ball, for those who have managed to get hold of tickets. "I heard they sold out ages ago", grumbled Leah Sullivan, who will not be attending the black tie event at the Marriott Grand Hotel. It is not just the Irish, however, who look forward to the festivities. "I've been to the parade in Chicago, where they dyed the river green...," says Russian economist Olga Uspenskaya, who wondered whether the Moscow River would undergo a similar makeover this year.
The importance of St. Patrick's Day in the States is understandable, considering the huge exodus of Irish people to America since the 17th Century. But what about Russia? "When I first arrived in Moscow I was very surprised," says Irishman Zac Maenpaa, who has been working here for the past two years, "It was a great honor to have the whole of Novy Arbat closed for our national day, which is quite impressive." How did this tiny nation become so influential in Russia, where it remains the only foreign country able to hold its own national parade, which is neither political nor military-based?
As early as 20 years ago the Irish community already had quite a strong presence in Moscow. In the late 1980s, a government agreement was reached between the Soviet Union and Ireland whereby Aeroflot planes on long-haul flights to the United States and Cuba were given permission to land at Shannon airport, Ireland, for fuel stops. This was before the acquisition of Boeing 767 jets, when Soviet planes were unable to undertake the whole journey in a single go. Henceforth more cooperation pursued as Aer Rianta International, responsible for the first ever duty-free shop located at Shannon airport, established the first dutyfree operation in the Soviet Union, namely at Sheremetyevo airport. Irish business continued to grow as Moscow saw the opening of the Garden Ring supermarkets, a Russian-Irish joint venture selling mainly European products, not to mention the first Irish pub Rosie O'Grady's, which for a long time was every expat's favorite if not the only watering hole in town. For a few years the Garden Ring supermarkets were the only purveyors of familiar western foodstuffs in Russia. Although the Garden Ring supermarket business folded up after the economic crash in 1998, Irish business has expanded, with commercial real estate companies such as Quinn Group, which is set to invest up to 1bln euros a year into real estate in Russia and Ukraine, as well as Ireland's biggest property company, Treasury Holdings, which has an office in St. Petersburg. There is also a large number of Irish pubs scattered around the Russian capital.
In fact, the pubs will be playing a big part in the weekend celebrations, as they order more Guinness in anticipation of the eager crowds. Masha, manager of Silver's pub on 3 Tverskaya, promises a true "pyanka" (booze-up) for the celebration. At the Shamrock Pub on Novy Arbat, manager Mikhail explains: "People march on Novy Arbat and they come in here for a drink afterwards... We offer Irish folk music and have discounts on Guinness and "green beer" during the three days."
Apart from "a common penchant for drinking", expressed by an Irish-American naming himself simply as "Owen", there seems to be an affinity between the two countries, with a growing interest in the Irish culture in Moscow. "There are 2-3 Irish dance schools in Moscow", says Dr. Keogh, who himself is evidence of the interest for the Irish culture at MGU (Moscow State University), "and a number of groups which play Irish or Celtic-style music". Olga Gogol, who works at a local library in the Novodevichy Monastery area of Moscow, says she got interested in the parade after her library started running Irish language classes for Russian locals. "The parade has a massive following", says Avril Conroy, one of the parade's tireless organizers.
And yet we are still left pondering where this mutual interest and respect between Russia and Ireland derives. Maybe it's the green beer.
The parade on Sunday 18 March will start at 1 p.m. on Kutuzovsky Bridge and proceed along Novy Arbat to Arbatskaya metro station, where it will end at 3 p.m.
By Nathalie Cooper The Moscow News
The Moscow News