Well, I'm deadly pleasantly surprised to hear something not usually biased on Russia like in this article by Alexei Pankin or 6 Obstacles to Nuclear Zero by Vladimir Kozin, above all because, as I suppose, the authors are Russian.

The Russian are always hypercritical on their country on Moscowtimes and, if I remember well, Alexei Pankin is one of them. Of course, they have the right because it's their country and it often deserves critics. But sometimes I think the are too strict, like an American or British would never be with his own country.

I read Moscowtimes daily and I always thought it's a right-wing paper, but I had to read it for news not covered by Rianovosti or RT.

I love Russia even if there are so much problems; I don't like very much these "unsanctioned" rallies, I mean, "unsanctioned" forever? It's true, they are marginal but exactly because they're like this, why not to authorize them?

I'm unfortunately used to this Russian "diversity".

Nevertheless I like Russia because it's a complex country, not the kind to be liquidated in few surface impressions.

I was struck by Mr Pankins article wherein he appears to compare great matters of state with the condition of a small Scottish town.

Perhaps he thought that the great Russian people would know little of this town and simply digest his comparison of an awful place; artistic license no doubt.

Well Mr Pankin, I am from Greenock and find it a delightful place. I note that among many inacuracies the name of the local paper changed to it's proper name (The Greenock Telegraph) only after being potrayed, for some time as "The Courier." Perhaps other factors are similarly missreported.

I suggest Mr Pankin that had you lifted your eyes above the, almost comic-like, local rag you may have noticed the outstanding natural beauty which surrounded you during your visit. I think that's why the cruise liners come here.

In days gone past had you been on a grand liner it may well have been built here. The Q.E.2. comes to mind. Also one would have thought an intelectual Russian gent would have reflected on the fact that just accross the river from Greenock lies the Holy Loch and Gaer Loch from which, in the bad old days, sailed submarines armed with unthinkable destructive weapons all very obviously pointed at your Motherland.

Scots share with the great Russian people the joy of those days being long gone. The people of Greenock share too a great socialist heritage. It is in fact just the sort of place Karl Marx predicted the great socialist revolution would take place.

Greenock is not the crime capital of the U.K. nor even of Scotland. True there is concern over the the violent path many of our young people are taking but is that not true of other places. In fact the crime capital of Europe is London and, it appears, one of the major culprits is The Russian Mafia. I would be the first to admit that this might be media hype. Is it not the case Mr Pankin that negative reporting can paint a bad picture. Is it not testament to the Greenock folk that on the day you mention there WAS a protest taking place aginst what we consider an outrage.

I say to you Mr Pankin... Please don't make a political statement that may or may not be relevant at the expense of our home town. I can assure you that if the reputation of Moscovites being people who like a drink and a party is to be believed they would have the best of times here in Greenock. In the bad old days Russian trawlers used to sneak in here for precisely that purpose.

We share a patron saint (Andrew) and I hear that our greatest poet, Robert Burns is lauded in Russia. As Booker T. Washington said " We are not enemies, we are friends." I raise a toast to the people of Russia and say that if you have a chance to visit Scotland please do. You will find a warm welcome and great beauty and culture.

Perhaps Mr Pankin might prefer to go elsewhere. Thats cool....

Charles G. Wilson.

I'm really disappointed to read Alexei Pankin's article, which appears to make light of the socio-economic problems Greenock currently faces. I've lived in or near Greenock almost all my life, and have witnessed the good and the bad, and the people trying really hard to improve things for others. Yes, there are problems with anti-social behaviour, unemployment and crime, but it's not so overwhelmingly bad that a member of the general public should feel too afraid to explore the town. 

The Greenock Telegraph - not the Greenock Courier - is famous for it's negative outlook, as unfortunately its staff (frustrated failed tabloid "journalists") feel that the only way to sell copies is to dramatise every slightly negative thing that happens here, blaming the local Council, housing associations or the Government where possible.  I'm not surprised that their own peculiar brand of "journalism" (using the term loosely, there) has made someone from outwith the area feel that Greenock is not a place they would want to visit again. Hopefullly this will be a lesson to them and they will be more careful in future.

As Charles G Wilson has already commented, Greenock has a number of very positive aspects, and should not be overlooked because it suffers from the same kinds of problems that are prevalent in towns and cities the world over - Moscow included.

well mr pankin i read your artical with great interest. and my opinion is what a load of nonsense. as a resident of the town of greenock and someone who reads the local paper daily i know better than you do. yes we have our crime as does every other town but we also have the most beautiful scenery and the majority of the residents are outstanding. i am very proud of my town. the many inaccurcies in this artical were comical. as for the knife protest. that wasnt a protest againt knives only for our town but for scotland and even britain as a whole. the people who were at the protest should have been applauded not slated. an artical like yours can damage a towns reputation. we welcome many passangers every year from the cruise liners and we do so gladly. i hope that one day you will visit us again and maybe actually look at the town and see the good that hundreds of people in this town do every week. a few bad apples dont spoil the whole bunch.

I am Russian and lived in Greenock over 8 years now and have never been affected by ANY CRIME which is Mister Pankin is scared off being in the town for 1 hour...and trying to make a big story from nothing based on Greenock telegraphe atricles. At least here in UK they try to report it to public when in Russia unpublished crime figures are over the top and then in reality you'd be scared even to make one step in Moscow airport.

I think Greenock is one of the best place to live in Scotland, very friendly people, amazing nature, a lot of traditions and festivals...and I am looking forward to see Tall ships from around the world in Greenock next year (the same event was held in Greenock a few years ago successfully!)

I am proud to be Greenockian now and wouldn't change it to any other place in Scotland.

But ain´t Alexei Pankin using a parable, metaphore, perhaps too long,complex, but aiming at the radiostation Ekho Moskva´s perhaps "unproportional" covering of the Russian "31th"-groups, rallies, as exaggerated as The Greenock Telegraph´s  crimewatch.

Perhaps Pankin´s choice - not to be straight, disturbed his message, and that´s his problem, but was some kind of "collateral damage". The  Greenock´s Scots haven´t "read" the article, and didn´t  understand, and, lost their temper at once, " their nuclear subs, already leaving their bases (in Scotlands "Murmansk") ? " , "caught fire", as Central Russia, for nothing special, and that use to be crime-generating. So Pankin perhaps is right, dear Scots  ? An independent Scotland ending up as Kosova...? The Greenock Telegraph seems in a way, to be more welcoming to strangers, than some of its honourable readers.

(In fact even the overthrowing of Eastern Europe, 1989 didn´t engage larger groups, of citizens, due to the scholars. Exception Poland, which was rewarded with the West´s writing off, the Poles foreign national debts, explaining today´s more benign situation.) 

I'm from Greenock myself, lived here all my life and I've got to say I agree with you!  If you read the local paper you would never leave the house, from the first page to the last it has the worst news stories from the area with only a few 'good news' stories added in. 

We do have crime here, knife crime in particular is high across Scotland and that's reflected in our area but we're not really any better or worse than other towns of the same size. 

We do have one of the highest deprivation index in Scotland with high unemployment but we also have lots of regeneration going on and for the size of Inverclyde very good facilities compared to other towns. 

I don't want to sound old but in this day and age we all have to be careful where ever we go but I have always found the people of Inverclyde friendly to visitors.  An example of this was during the bad snow storms at the start of the year a collegue of mine got her car stuck in the snow and a passing stranger stopped to help her dig it out and pushed her free, he then carried on as he was on his way to work and was late by stopping to help her.  I'm not sure that would have happened in larger towns nearby or in Glasgow. 

So I'd just like to say a more balanced view of Inverclyde is that we have a mixture of naughty and nice.  I've thought of moving elsewhere but honestly I can't imagine living anywhere but here.  The views are spectacular with the hills behind us and the River Clyde in front and most of the people are those who would stop to help a stranger out even when it would make them late.