Spotlight on a nation- The Russians in Ireland

There are now over 100,000 Russian speakers living in Ireland. They come from Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and are catered for by Nasha Gazeta (Our Paper) for news in their own language. Garrett Mullan spoke to founder and editor Sergey Tarutin about publishing for Russians in Ireland.

Lietuvis and Nasha Gazeta
Since 2001, he has been publishing two papers after selling his part in a Russian restaurant at the Westbury Mall. After September 11, crucial American custom led him to swapped food for eat to food for thought with the publication of a paper for Eastern Europeans. At the time the Lithuanians, Russians and Ukrainians were the biggest eastern European communities in Ireland.

With a weekly circulation of 10,000 Sergey took me through page by page of Nasha Gazeta to get an idea of what influences the Russian speakers in Ireland. The front page is different to Irish papers in that it is all advertisements. Inside is a full page feature on the Ukrainian election. Last year the world was witness to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine which saw the Russian oriented leader Kuchma overthrown by popular protest. Now the Orange revolution has been seen not to deliver, they are being thrown out of the parliament.

Elsewhere in the paper there is coverage of the Yukos trials in Russia and closer to home in Ireland Sergey says his readers are very interested in the crime pages. There is a full page feature on the role and function of Garda Siochana.

Advice
Like the Polish Gazeta there are pages of advice on financial issues such as setting up a bank account and how to apply for a mortgage. There is also advice pages on rights at work from a SIPTU official. SIPTU have an organising unit which includes Russian speakers, so the Gazeta and SIPTU regularly work together.

The paper also publishes a syndicate edition of Russia's oldest paper- La Russe Pense (The Russian Soul) which is based in France and is distributed throughout Europe. Like US media syndicates, this is a European Russian language 20 page supplement.

Sport
The paper carries coverage of Russian boxers, skiing and ice hockey which are popular sports in Eastern Europe.

Last season they had a GAA and Soccer correspondent but this year there is no coverage of local sport. Sergey says 'we are very keen to promote an understanding of Gaelic games among our readers. Through sport we can promote integration'.

To encourage this process of integration, I advise Sergey that Bohemians FC have a multilingual website and email list and hope that soon it will be in Russian and that Eircom League clubs such as Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United and Galway United are keenly interested in promoting non-Irish national support of the game.

Also the 5,000 Lietuvis weekly readers will be interested that Shelbourne have drawn
Vetra Vilnius in the first round of the Intertoto Cup 2006 in June. Sergey is opening the door is open to encouraging intercultural activities between Irish and Russian speakers. The Shelbourne V Vetra Vilnius games on 17th and 24th June, provides a fabulous opportunity for Irish - Lithuanian intercultural awareness.

The next feature for curious readers of Spotlight on a nation will shine on the Chinese in Ireland.