A new Russian initiative aims to educate Russian artists about intellectual property and copyright. “Even though Russia signed up to the international Bern Convention on copyright in 1994, it is taking time for the copyright mentality to take root. This has led to confusing and often farcical situations, such as Russian theater companies being forced to cancel tours abroad because they never bothered to get permission to stage the foreign play they intended to bring.” – St. Petersburg Times (Russia) 11/28/00