

As the end of the first decade of the 21st Century approaches, a resurgent Russian Federation seeks to compete with the West in numerous areas.[1] One of these areas is competition by the Russian Father Frost with the western-oriented Santa Claus and in turn competition by the GLONASS Tracks Father Frost Project with the western-oriented NORAD Tracks Santa Program.[2] [3] [4] [5] The GLONASS Tracks Father Frost Project also corresponds with the late Colonel(Retired) Harry Shoup’s, the original Chief Santa Tracker in 1955 at CONAD (NORAD’s predecessor), vision to expand the NORAD Tracks Santa program to cover Russia’s winter holiday season celebrations, such as the Gregorian calendar New Year's Eve celebration and the Julian calendar Russian Orthodox Christmas Eve celebration. [6]









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History

2009

In November 2009, for the first time, the Russian Federation offered competition to the NORAD Tracks Santa Program by planning to use their GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System or “the Russian GPS”) to track Father Frost (“or the Russian and Soviet Santa Claus”) on New Years Eve (per the Gregorian Calendar) and to help Father Frost and his helpers navigate on their gift giving journey. How well this actually worked on New Years Eve of 2010 is not known. [9]

Not to be left behind by the NORAD Tracks Santa Program and OnStar, the GLONASS Tracks Father Frost Project and GLONASS in 2009 equipped Father Frost’s sledge and other vehicles at his residence in the town of Veliky Ustyug in Vologda Oblast (Region), Russia with GLONASS navigation systems.[10] [11]





2010



On November 18, 2010, the competition between the NORAD Tracks Santa Program and the Russian-led GLONASS Tracks Father Frost Project heated up when both the Ria Novosti (Russian International News Agency) and Voice of Russia announced that for Father Frost’s November 18 birthday, [12] Ivan Nechayev, the executive director of the Russian Navigation Technologies company [1], presented Father Frost with a special staff equipped with a GLONASS navigation module in the crystal-shaped top of the staff. The navigation crystal is 180 centimeters (7 inches) in height and weighs 3 kilograms (7 pounds). The navigation crystal transmits Father Frost’s coordinates to a special center, which publishes them on the internet, at website of www.dmglonass.ru, so that everyone can follow his progress on his traditional voyage in preparation for the New Year. Ivan Nechayev, mentioned in his remarks that “Technical innovations have become an essential part of modern life. Therefore, Father Frost has mastered computer skills, receives e-mails from children, has blogs in social networks and uses a cell phone to communicate with other winter holiday wizards (magicians).” [11] [13] [14]

Everyone has the opportunity to observe the movement of Father Frost during his November and December travels in real time on the Official GLONASS Tracks Father Frost website of www.dmglonass.ru, which is in the Russian language (a language ignored by the competing NORAD Tracks Santa Program). Father Frost's November and December 2010 travels included stops at Salekhard, New Urengoy, Tolyatti, Ulyanovsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Arkhangelsk, Minsk, Belarus, Klaipeda, Lithuania and Riga, Latvia, and Moscow, the capital of Russia. He made other stops at Kostroma, where he met with Snegurochka (the "Snow Maiden"), and in the near-Moscow Korolev he made contact with the the astronauts and cosmonauts in orbit at the International Space Station. In Strasbourg, France, he met with his winter holiday wizard or Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, and Father Christmas counterparts of Europe, made a visit to Cannes at the invitation of the City Hall, and visited Peine, Germany.[16] [17] Father Frost's 2010 tour ended in St. Petersburg, Russia.[18] [19] This is similar to the Macy’s Annual Santa Claus Tour in the United States of America.





2011

In 2011, the Official GLONASS Tracks Father Frost website expanded to include webpages on: 1) the other winter holiday wizards (to include Santa Claus) across the world, 2) Father Frost’s Helpers, 3) the outfits (or costumes) worn by Father Frost, 4) the transportation used by Father Frost (horse sleigh, reindeer sleigh, and sleigh), and 5) Father Frost and the Cosmos.





Official GLONASS Tracks Father Frost website

The Official GLONASS Tracks Father Frost website of www.dmglonass.ru has these features in the Russian language: 1) real-time tracking of Father Frost, 2) News of Father Frost throughout the year, 3) Father Frost's Diary of his travels, 4) A form to send e-mail to Father Frost, 5) Photo Albums of Father Frost's activities, 6) Videos of Father Frost, 7) Streaming audio of Father Frost's favorite songs (in Russian), 8) Poems and verses from children's letters to Father Frost, 9) Information on Father Frost's town of Veliky Ustyug in Vologda Oblast, Russia. 10) Opportunities to enter contest and other events for gifts and prizes, 11) Information about the GLONASS Tracks Father Frost effort and project, 12) Information about the partners in the GLONASS Tracks Father Frost effort and project, and 13) Information about the 2009 activities and successes of the GLONASS Tracks Father Frost effort and project.[20]

Unlike the NORAD Tracks Santa Program website which is only available during December thru the following Three Kings Day (or the end of the first week of January), the GLONASS Tracks Father Frost Project website is available year-round to track Father Frost's activities.





The GLONASS Tracks Father Frost Project is made possible by the excellent work of its sponsors, partners, and those providing publicity and information support.

Co-Sponsors are the Russian Navigation Technologies (RNT) company [2], the Vologda Oblast (Regional) government [3], and the Joint Stock Compnay (JSC) Scientific and Production Corporation (SPC) "REKOD" [4] (link in Russian). JSC SPC REKOD is the leading organization and authorized representative of the Russian Federal Space Agency in preparation and implementation of joint agreements, programs and projects with constituents of the Russian Federation and other consumers in the area of applying space activity results (SR).

Partners include: the "Ded Moroz" (Father Frost) Travel Agency OAO (Unlimited Joint-Stock Company) [5] (link in Russian), the Official Tourist Information Center of the Vologda (Oblast) Region [6] (link in Russian), and the Russian Telecom Club [7].

Publicity and Information support are provided by the "Courier Media" Publishing House [8] (link in Russian), the IMKON-Media Communications Agency [9] (link in Russian), the Saint Petersburg, Russia - Information and News Forums [10] (link in Russian), AutoRadio (FM 90.3 in Moscow, Russia) [11] (link in Russian), and Askont (Internet site builder and hosting service) [12] (link in Russian).





Fun Facts – Father Frost and the Winter Holiday Season

During Joseph Stalin's rule of the Soviet Union, Father Frost wore only a blue coat, so that he would not be mistaken for Santa Claus. [22]

The Geographic North Pole is part of the Russian Federation as well. [28]





References



