Our Home Hosts Hammer, Denies State Paying

Our Home Is Russia opened its campaign to attract young voters Monday night at the Rossia concert hall, bringing American rapper MC Hammer to the stage for a night of dancing, flash and a clear political message.


"We are all headed toward the elections," one banner read.


There were no speeches during the opening portion of the Moscow show, which also featured the Russian pop group Na-Na, but leaflets on the Cultural Initiative, as the campaign program of concerts and a fashion show is called, and a copy of the Our Home political platform were placed on every seat.


Gennady Shepilov, deputy to Our Home's campaign manager Sergei Belyayev, denied Monday that the Russian government was picking up the tab for the Cultural Initiative. "It goes without saying that the movement [Our Home Is Russia] is paying for the program, that is, for the big shows and concerts," he said.


Shepilov said he had not heard of the Los Angeles-based entertainment firm Comspan Communications that has engaged many of the acts, including Hammer. Comspan's vice president, Natalie Shcherbakova, said Friday that her firm was being paid by the Russian government, not by a political party.


"The government has no money for culture generally, so how could it pay for these kinds of shows?" Shepilov added.


In addition to Hammer, Our Home promises to bring former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes and Kool & the Gang to Moscow over the next month. Vladimir Kiselyov, the head of the program, said the Initiative was also attempting to bring Stevie Wonder to Moscow, but Wonder's agent, Rob Prinz, said by telephone from Los Angeles that the entertainer had turned down Comspan's offer.


At the Initiative's official opening in St. Petersburg on Sunday, Lyudmila Narusova, the wife of Mayor Anatoly Sobchak and a candidate for the State Duma on the Our Home ticket, urged the crowd at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall to vote for the movement.


"I have never been a member of any party before," Narusova said. Including herself in the target audience, she added: "Usually young people tend to be against government in general, but now I see that there are people who could be for us, and I don't want our future to be decided by others."


Not everyone at the Moscow concert was receptive to Our Home's message, however. Sergei Yevstigneyev, 18, from Balashakha in the Moscow region, said he did not trust any of the political parties in Russia and would not vote for Our Home.


Yevstigneyev also took issue with the Cultural Initiative's emphasis on foreign stars, despite its claim to be devoted to the rebirth of Russian culture. "I wish they had invited some Russian rap singers instead of Americans if they want to pay tribute to Russian culture," he said.


Yury Zhdanov, 22, who flew all the way from Lviv in western Ukraine for the show, said he had come for one reason. "I came to see MC Hammer," he said.


Asked about the concert's political message, Zhdanov said that the government was corrupt. "I wonder where they got the money to bring in these singers," he said.


Neither Our Home nor Comspan have released information on the financial side of the program. Russian law sets a limit of 10.9 billion rubles ($2.4 million) on campaign spending by any one party. "We know the law, and we are acting strictly within the law," Shepilov said.





-- Rachel Katz in St. Petersburg contributed to this article.