LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

To Karelia – And Beyond!

As our readership has been growing, we’ve been able to spot a difference between our Singaporean and Russian readers: the former send us their feedback; the latter contribute their stories or photographs. This may be a cultural thing. While it is not common for Russians to give comments, especially in writing, it is just the opposite for Singaporeans, who surprise us with their emails, phone calls and even text messages via their mobile phones!

It turns out that Singaporeans wish for 103rd Meridian East to feature more stories about Russia, its provinces, people, food and culture, and we are more than happy to oblige. In this issue, you’ll read first-hand accounts from young Singaporeans who have ventured as far as the Russian north to the Republic of Karelia, a fascinating land of lakes and taiga tucked in between St. Petersburg and Scandinavia.

On the other hand, we are happy to welcome more contributors, both professional journalists from Russian and intelligent and well-educated Russian professionals working in Singapore. They offer our readers an expert take on the country’s economy or legislation.

We promise our readers to expand the geography of our stories, going beyond the usual affairs of Moscow and Singapore alone. In this issue, an attempt has been done to spill over to other Asian countries. You’ll read about Jakarta’s British governor, the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka and Mughal jewellery. And this is just the beginning…

Kind regards, Julia Sherstyuk
Editor-in-Chief