Image management is a phenomenon practiced worldwide, but it has been polished to perfection in Russia. Projecting the appropriate image is de rigueur from the enormous, impressive displays of military might parading across...

... that it will co-host with Poland, its cheerleader in Europe. That was in December 2009. Now, with the first games to be played on June 9, Tymoshenko lies in prison on hunger strike, nursing bruises after what she said was a beating by prison guards. Images of her show her trademark peasant braids lying in a forlorn tress across her shoulder. Western leaders, some of whose national teams will compete in Euro 2012, have reacted with horror. Led by Germany, leaders of several European Union countries...

... now-ubiquitous airbrushing and photoshopping techniques, when the woman in front of the camera was the same woman seen in the photograph. Even without the aid of a computer and a "touch up," these women were able to create evocative and unique images of themselves. The soft smiles and bedroom eyes worn by the women in the photos draw people in, making them believe that they are hiding some secret. Take for example the portraits of Lina Cavalieri, an Italian who grew up in a Roman Catholic...

If Putin was seen as getting too close to Obama at Camp David, it would have been a blow to his tough-guy image as someone who stands up to the United States. At a time when the protest movement is gaining momentum in Moscow and other cities, Putin could ill afford to be seen schmoozing with Obama — whose administration, in Putin's own words, serves as the...

... space. The picture was taken by a camera aboard the Elektro-L, a geostationary satellite that travels at the speed of the Earth's rotation and remains at a fixed point about 36,000 kilometers above the equator. In contrast to NASA's iconic Blue Marble images, which were created by pasting together several smaller, true-color pictures, the Elektro-L picture is a single shot of the entire globe. Tech-blog Mashable explained that the pictures were produced by overlaying four pictures of the Earth —...

... only shrinking, but the damage is irreversible. The head of independent pollster the Levada Center said President Vladimir Putin's attractiveness to the public is not only shrinking, but the damage is irreversible. In public perception, "the image of Putin is fading steadily and irreversibly," Levada Center director Lev Gudkov told Kommersant in an article published Thursday. Putin still remains the most trusted politician in the country, but his ratings in terms of personal qualities...

It is obvious that President Vladimir Putin is facing a difficult third term in the light of street protests that have shattered his image of the nation's beloved leader. The protesters' mood reflects the frustration of many Russians over the lack of any real prospect of change. This frustration also comes from Putin-fatigue, an unwillingness...

... contrasted this "true patriotism" with the "false patriotism" of the majority of 19th-century Russian aristocrats, whom he depicted as hypocritical, sycophantic and self-serving. They were more interested in advancing their careers and image than defending the country. Today, the equivalent of Tolstoy's false patriots are Russian politicians and their loyal servants in the media who vulgarize and cheapen the country's victories against Nazi and French invaders to score political points...

... "We cannot stay silent. Russian art needs help," said Yelena Selina, whose XL Gallery is a stalwart of the Frieze, Art Basel, Fiac and Miami Basel international art fairs. "Huge amounts of [state] money are being spent on creating a positive image of Russia. Modern art is a great calling card." But her decision and that of Gelman Gallery to move to a noncommercial format met with skepticism from other artists who said the state would do little more than sap the oxygen from a milieu that...

... the neighborhood of 500,000 rubles ($16,000) a night. Customer care is still developing on the Moscow hotel market, including in the luxury segment, market players said. Service is a key component of what these hotels are selling. Along with brand image, superior service is the main way that luxury hotels attract guests, said Marina Usenko, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Russia & CIS. "It's the image and the level of attention and level of service they give to clients," Usenko said...

... completely empty Moscow streets. "There were no birds. How did they drive off the birds?" he said in comments during the show Watchman of the Country. He contrasted the motorcade, which he said brought a "feeling of loneliness," with images of protesters gathered at rallies. "People look happy at rallies, they stand near each other, defended by each other, and this makes it good for them," he said. 179742

... group set itself the aim of mounting terrorist attacks in several regions of Azerbaijan, creating a mood of powerlessness and lawlessness, sowing panic, ethnic and religious enmity, disrupting the public peace and damaging Azerbaijan's international image," the statement said. The Eurovision attack would have centered on the Baku Crystal Hall, where the singing competition concluded early Sunday, officials said. Other planned targets included Marriott and Hilton hotels in the capital, Baku....

... injuries, the statement said. An emergency services spokesman told Pravo that nine people had been hospitalized and six others treated for injuries at the scene of the accident. The plane appeared to have landed in a field, not on a runway, according to images from a report on the website of Zvezda television. No structures on the ground were damaged in the hard landing, the Defense Ministry statement said. A special commission has been created to investigate the incident, the statement said. The flight...

..., Ufa, and Kazan, which contain populations many times the size of the entire Kamchatka region. Petropavlovsk's youth set to work. The phrase "Burton Park" was on the tip of everyone's tongue. Social networking sites lit up with links and images dedicated to drumming up more votes. Petropavlovsk had to be in the top 13 spots to win a park; for days, it slid up and down the rankings, hitting second place, then falling out of prize consideration. The crowd on that April evening was dreading...

... services would be resumed within three to six months. A deal agreed Wednesday between Yevtushenkov and Turkmenistan’s authoritarian President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov ends an acrimonious dispute that had tarnished the former Soviet nation’s image among international investors. The mobile-phone sector in Turkmenistan was dealt a devastating blow in late 2010, when authorities pulled MTS’ license, leaving about 2.4 million subscribers without service. That left government-owned Altyn...

... be outlawed. Many of the new regulations are making it tougher for tobacco companies to make an easy profit. Requirements to print health warnings on cigarette packages cost the industry $28 million to implement, and new regulations requiring warning images on packages by 2014 will cost about the same, executive director of the Council for Tobacco Industry Eduard Vorontsov told Rossiiskaya Gazeta. Tobacco opponents say the sum sounds large but that for big tobacco companies, the amount is actually...

... opportunity and product feature rationalization. Conducted distribution channel sales analysis and formed a marketing strategy to increase sell through with a goal of 10% sales increase year over year. Successful branding and promotion of the company's image. Was responsible for organization and participation in the industry conferences, forums, exhibitions and other business events both in Russia Organization of publication of articles, analytics, comments and notes in the business and professional...

... bank's record-breaking financial results as well as the changes in the perceptions of the bank's customers, related primarily to the changes in the level of service," said Denis Bugrov, the bank's senior vice president, in a statement. "A new image of Sberbank is being formed as a modern, high-tech and customer-friendly company," The rebranding campaign allowed Sberbank to outpace multinational lender Citi on the list. Citi, which began working in Russia in 1992, has significantly more...

... best. It follows, then, that ñêóïîñòü (stinginess) is at the bottom of the basement of Russian vices. Being cheap is a more than an unattractive character trait. It's a moral failing. And a lot of the words to describe a cheapskate evoke unpleasant images or are produced with grimaces and pursed lips. Ew. Ñêóïîé (stingy) is probably the most neutral of the Russian cheap adjectives, and even that is defined as áåðåæëèâûé äî æàäíîñòè (thrifty to the point of avarice). Since it's hard to figure out...

... believe United Russia will win in the [Duma] elections in 2016,” he said. “I don’t believe that it can satisfy people of the future.” Political analysts predicted that Yakemenko’s project would fail because of his tarnished image and link to the Kremlin. Yakemenko admitted that he “certainly coordinated” the initiative with the Kremlin and “received support there.” Anna Lunyova, of the Center for Political Information, said Yakemenko’s initiative...