good to have you with this is here in the russian capital twenty four hours a day top stories now begins fueling up russian engineers kickstart operations in iran's first nuclear power station under the strict u.n. tell me what you don't want to safeguard the site and prevent iran from using it to make nuclear weapons. special forces and reportedly killed one of the men suspected

of orchestrating munches deadly. is one of five. in a special counterterrorist operation. in a new york cab and he'll get a controversial. tax is being driven out in favor of big up more eco friendly cars for stop production of the from victoria. declining profits for fuel efficiency. it opens up today for the moment i'll be back with more news more developments in less than half an hour from now in the meantime it's all interview program spotlight in this time of talks to a french author whose novel ninety nine francs became a must read for russia's elite you can find out why and what he thinks of russia in just a moment. hungry for the full story we've got it for. the biggest issues get

a human voice face to face with the news makers on. every month we give you the future we help you understand how we'll get there and what tomorrow may bring the best in science and technology from across russia and around the world to join us for technology update on our g. hello again no welcome to spotlight interview shell an artsy i'm old enough and

today my guest is said to think. the next he won't post sixty two thousand and ten is the year of france and russia since the eighteenth century no other european culture as influenced russia more than the french one and the same still to be a case at least with literature but that's only one of the reasons why i guess novels are so popular in russia what else what does he himself think of russia and is there still a place for literature in the glamour obsessed cultures such as a russia pretends to be the famous french author is here to answer the question. why to frederick baghdad has the reputation of being somewhat of a modern day liberty a man who indulges sometimes to excess from a privileged french family he works in advertising. before finding fame and authority with his book ninety nine francs the book's a pamphlet on capitalism and people's passion for consumption eight years ago

frederick decided to help the french communists in their unsuccessful election campaign returned to writing and produced several successful books one of them is about russia where the writer is a frequent visitor he says russia can a person experience the feeling of eternity and only here. but some strangely like what else attracts fredricksburg but there is russia will spill the beans spotlight. hello fredricka thank you very much for being with us thank you have you know. well last year let's press the magazine single you out as the french writer put popular in russia is there any other country outside france that you're really as popular as well as a russian. man you know in france was popular in germany. in italy but there is no place like russia really it's the only

country who translated everyone of my book and all of them including my and my chats with bishop. and all the little. every everything i wrote. leading in papers examination throughout the school yeah he often say that ninety nine francs became popular in russia by mistake because of misunderstanding because of because you really tried to to to mark at things and the russians took it seriously is that true well i don't know. exactly why i. like what i do and if there is a misunderstanding then it's great i don't mind you know i think i'm just doing my job. what i like and if people don't understand it it's ok with me but it is possible that in russia some of the young people took ninety nine front as

a guide to more and to cynical way of life which i was criticizing making fun of you know exists it's a colleague at u. of advertising and this was my life i see my life on the on the wall it was my life when i was in the ninety's as a copywriter in a big american agency and i hated this job so i was i wrote this book basically to destroy advertising in maybe some of the young people read it as fernie book and they love it and they want to work in advertising so it's crazy ok well people say that that you like russia or you like being in russia you mentioned it and then couple of your interviews and that actually russia has inspired you to write the whole school. but critics say that this book is filled with we're we're with western cliches about russia so how does that add up with the fact that you that

you say you like russia but you love but but is there also was satire a mockery of russia or what no it's it's a description of the new russia and the new russian people of the rich people. by a french guy who is a foreigner so he of course it's field of stereotypes and cliches if you come to paris you will maybe if you write about paris you will see that the french people are. buying a baguette in the morning and complaining all the time and the taxis are crazy and these are cliches but it's also true and what i just wrote in in this book called. in russian is the story of a french guy who is looking for the most beautiful face for an advertising campaign and so of course he surround. by beautiful mother she goes out in crazy clubs like i did last night and it's also true it does exist and russia has to accept

that part of the clichés about russia are the reality it is not bad well you don't you don't only find beautiful girls in clubs in moscow but here you can find a lot of russia today one of the works of our spotlight and today spotlight cuts how you let all of us went out to moscow to find out what attracts foreigners in this country let's take a look at qatar and that has to worry there today i'll try to find out what the russians think attacks powerless in this country and what keeps them coming back. to think it's because the cities full of energy the streets give you a charge of energy. even when we must start feeling it down taking a walk in the streets makes us feeling great again. probably to unreal the russians so to see for themselves that we have no business in the red square to drink vodka and probably because we opened our country for visitors creates a recently and people are just curious to see

a new country. we see on museums theatres we have a well developed culture you know people are quite friendly i think that means a lot and we have beautiful nature and russian hospitality. are you asking about moscow rushing general because we are from siberia from brusk and we see a lot of foreigners on lake baikal and i think they're interested to see our nature which is way different than in their countries they like by call. someone. i think it's because of our girls and women right considered to be the most beautiful in the world there may be some other reasons such as business school is also beautiful but i think the girls are the main reason for example you're a very beautiful your eyes are very expressive and. you keep my eye. it's business possibilities and wildlife so to speak. out i've got out something you've got a question but i guess. they say you have

a reputation of the hooligan is it more of your personal p.r. campaign you really this kind of person ok is it a reputation that you want to want to follow your own or is it in i don't know what you are really i don't know where it comes from i think this comes from the characters in my novels because in all my books the heroes are on tight heroes and they behave in a very strange way and they are very weird they take drugs they go to prostitutes the dance floors are going mad all the time but it's not really my life i am more normal and that's why i write because i am too normal in my real life so i want to be crazy as far as i remember you were arrested for taking drugs in the center of paris so this is not normal i mean you get arrested for these things that you're already saw your arms normally people go to the toilet yeah i do it in the street. strange i know but i agree with what they say you know it's not only the beauty of

of women who attracts people to russia for example between france and russia there is a long history of mutual love and fascination for little at you and poetry so now there are good reasons to call the beautiful nature as they say you know yeah sure i've been tunisia need to do some petersburg also you see. and it's really it's the real reason is to to be inside the russian classics that i read when i was young like dr zhivago for it well dr zhivago is great here some but do you read some of the contemporary russian authors is there anything in russian written in russian today published that's worth. translating into french for those of you know of course like many of you mentioned some of the names out because they live in is translated in well he is translated it is known so. i have

a friend who is not translated yet. but i think it's it could be son because our people tell me he's a little bit like a russian myself so i would love to read him in french i'm trying to make him translated now but. because i think it's a lot of humor and it's important that people know that russian are funny you know . well you mentioned the classics that you like to russian literature while you also mention the young the young writers but as far as i know you mentioned that couple of times in other interviews that moscow advance because of your affairs because one of your favorites well why is it one of the afraid is of and do you think that vodka consumption is still the most remarkable experience for for for you. i think. this.

is it's really. a masterpiece because it's a little bit like russian catcher in the rye you know the catcher in the right by selling i is sure it's a guy who is walking around the city and he does nothing but drink and he maybe wants to take a train but finally doesn't and it's for me it's very simple very very funny and also you feel the sort of russia in this book and it's in a way an answer to people who criticize my book about russia and see it's full of cliches because if you read this if you have a lot of well goalies spoiled three leery you know the romantic guy it's. well it's clearly this really wouldn't compare you know things to the easy and the will go to school though i'd rather compare it to the ninety nine

francs because because because this kind of vodka is a mockery well yes he is on purpose of clicking a cliche yet out of this it's too much in syria he hears it that you're a guy that's what they do all the time i think really as i said in the beginning real life is boring if you write books it's because you want to improve your life and make it exaggerated make it more than lies bigger than life would life be right . yeah i think sometimes when you're bored you start to to to imagine things and you start to dream and maybe writing is fighting boredom and this is where the vodka really helps me. well says frederick baghdad area french writer and author that's here in moscow spotlight will be back shortly and while he still is here in our country we will have another fifteen minutes with him in less than a minute stay with us. wealthy

british style like it's time to. market. can find out what's really happening to the global economy for our no holds barred look at the global financial headlines you need to cause a report on our to. welcome back to spotlight. algor novena just a reminder that my guest in the studio today is frederick bad bad their friend. thank you thank you thank you mess. with pleasure t v well you say well though

actually you say it and you like to talk about it a lot says written in the russian magazines about about lots of fun you're having when you come to moscow you know your name is all around the glamour magazine is nightclubs. what about is there something else except having fun and then a trip to moscow that i know you're introducing your new book but making money and having fun is there anything else you know it's not only making money when you promote a novel you have the chance to meet a lot of people who ask you deep questions why do you write these what about your childhood who are you really freddie and it is will have no outs or no answers about you but you know it's like doing a psychoanalysis for free and in a foreign country people don't know my image in france they have another image they

think i'm somebody else it's really very relaxing and very rewarding for me i feel like it's a big honor to meet all these people and discuss during the day but also during the night because going out at night is not only to destroy myself it's to meet people and dog and sit down you know for hours talk about love talk about the absence of god you know like why americans have so many shrinks i mean they're the these personal side because they don't have enough russians to talk to exactly exactly the russians are helping me she would feel better listen you know you once said that moscow reminds you of paris in the nineteenth twenty's is that true well i was not unfortunately in paris you know yes well that's what i want to. you know how do you know i mean but from when i read it what did you mean when i read hemingway or scott fitzgerald the talk and henry miller talk about city where

everybody is free and everything is possible and i think most schools now is a little bit like that that's why everyone wants to go there because it's like new york in the eighty's also it's a city where you have a lot of energy electricity people want to do things build things create new new companies and it's it's not only fun it's human behavior that is really positive i think do you really hate capitalism do you really hate paris paris is a little bit. dead right now i hope it's going to resuscitate do you know i lived i lived in paris for six years when i was in which younger and i have visited lots of times but last year the third first time in my life i went to paris in winter i loved it yes so you have to go to paris and i think there is so much better you know it because it does not as many japanese and russians even even not as much

french that it was there all way for for the council. says ok it's better power is made out of the french is all right but you know the french would. be prevented the grass is always greener on the other side so maybe because i was born in perry's and raised in paris and i spend their or my life i prefer to move and see other cities you said about the grass and you know what my father always says it's he says dealing with people is like washing washing the went shield of your car when you wash the grass you also think that the dirt is on the other side when you start washing the other side you also get to think that it's on the other side where that's exactly the thing out ok now in other another quote. from yourself you said that all literature is a game and if a book is too serious it's crappy what so what's the purpose of literature that we

turn to tame people i think it's important that you give pleasure to your reader i think so i think if it when i write i try to have fun myself if i have fun maybe the reader will have fun too i'm not saying every novel has to be funny and entertaining but i'm seeing the novels i like are full of humor and they have have a distance they have irony and them the best russian others are like that you know check of what's really funny and i think people think. a book has to be serious i think the book has to be ambitious which is not the same you have to have an ambition to sum the world in in a few words but if you do it with distance and you know cynicism if you do it in a little bit spectacular way then it's more of a distraction and it's not a crime to distract people when you write but. of course chuck of maybe furley

especially the short story as a source of is not always funny you know and not always funny and and also you mentioned you mentioned coffee and mention god you mentioned for example does the skin your interviews and of bush tell a story or not funny at all although that someone's of what when that guy finally kills the old lady this is funny but. i mean he's a choice up and he needs a sort of a homeless guy in a bar at the beginning of crime and punishment and they are drinking together i think this is kind of funny it's a little bit like when i go in and disco and meet girls it's exactly the same except petersburg a long long time ago. today you said something different from what you've been saying for a long time you said that you know that our society is going to prove there before

for a pretty long time he kept on saying that you believe that that that the end of the world is coming soon the fact that you really believe it accounts so. do you think that it's going to be is going to get better i think or what i think i'm just changing my mind because i'm getting older and as people grow old girl as they start to believe in god also you know because they have to do things that this is not the end so i am like that beginning and also i have a daughter she's ten years old and i cannot hope that it's the apocalypse i have to hope that it's not going to end but i'm scared i'm still very scared. you were born into the bush family even me even interest to create a family you know you've been sort of a holy ground for for for a pretty long time but as you say that you're growing older yeah doesn't that mean that you're returning to a bushel way of life that there that there that there's bourgeois mentality starts

taking over inside of you my god. you know i think being a hooligan is very big you know all the sons of rich people are always like acting like bad boys it's really a cliché this is really a cliché of the boss. my i'm a going to be a boring old man is a possibility i bought a house in the southwest of france i go there named leave a very peaceful and quiet way i make a fire and prepare the dinner for my daughter reading my books but my books other books in my library so if people if i see this on russian t.v. i'm going to disappoint all my readers i'm very sorry in fact an old and wise man sitting. going like this you know but but but but you do you do it sound.

but then but then you do call the. russian girls that a lot of them are in the south of france when you're one family goes away you pick up you tell about how loud. you know. me. ok now listen you took points. you took part in the french communist party's election campaign once it was very successful was a disaster why why because i was paid by jacques chirac to destroy the communist party. so now you do need to go to the french for this party. i was very surprised that they asked me for help because they were reading nine hundred friends and they thought i was the new karl marx so i said of course i thought it was crazy and. came to see the new works with great only for the russians so it was you were nineteen our friends would go there only for the rest of that of a friend so what happened is i did an advertising campaign for for the community candidate. and it didn't work but i still believe that the ideas

of communities are going to happen if you look at since two thousand and eight what happened with this crisis the economy crisis is americans french and all the orcs in done countries are buying the banks and the state is ruling the economy now so in fact as you are becoming more and more capitalist we are becoming more and more communist it's really incredible. you mentioned when you when you talked about your your little house in the south of france and the rocking chair and reading your books you said what sitting in my love reading your well you said well not my books but what like like books about reading your own books do you think you will ever write a book that you will be able to read yourself like sitting in front of a fine. we're scared that you will end your sentence and just do you will you ever

write a book. i don't read my my own books because i. know them totally because when i finish them i have read them one million times so i don't never read them again. i don't know if i can be proud of my work is difficult for me to answer your question i think the last one is really honest really sincere and for the first time i talk about my past so when you finish a book you don't you don't really read it you just give it. just to the editor and then i like to listen to what helps people react some people will hate it some will love it and i like them to see them fighting each other. i like to be a conversation that's what i like but reading my own work is it's too painful. well you are becoming a little philosophical knowing you say yeah you are challenging that are changing

and this is good this means you you will still be worth reading in the back thank you very very much and all the best to you thank you for being with us and just a reminder that my guest in the studio today was frederick big bear to get a french writer and that's it but out from all of us here if you don't have your say and spotlight just drop me a line we'll be back tomorrow with more until then stay an hour to take care thank you.