PHOTO: Yury Maltsev A bowler launches a ball at the city’s new bowling alley.

You could almost be in Milwaukie, Wisconsin, or Memphis, Tennessee, and you’re tempted to look around for big-bellied guys named Bubba and Don swilling pitchers of beer and getting up every so often to roll a ball down the alley.

Except that this bowling alley has fur hats and heaps of leather coats on the tables in back. And half the people here seem to be heaving the bowling balls as if they were shot puts.

Vladivostok’s first bowling alley has opened, and already its eight lanes are swarming with people, from novices laughing off a gutter ball, to a group of Koreans who seemed to throw strikes every other turn. It is proving to be a hit.

Operated by a Russian-Chinese joint-stock company, the Enkai Brothers Bowling Co., Ltd., is located in the Palace of Sports at 8 Batareynaya Street, across the street from the Dynamo Stadium. It is the first such facility in the Far East and only the third in Russia, after bowling alleys in Moscow and Irkutsk, said administrator Alexander Kurashkin, a man in a black pinstriped suit that seems to indicate that bowling is a very, very serious business. But those alleys elsewhere in Russia are not up to international standards, he said.

The eight-lane alley sits in a room about the size of a basketball court. The $500,000 remodeling job paid for high-class facility. The back wall is decorated with murals of wind surfers and skiers. TV screens over the alleys display the players’ scores and flash snazzy graphics. Roll the ball down either side of the alley, and the screen shows an animated ball zipping around a roller-coaster, then flashes the word “GUTTER!” If you’re skilled or lucky enough to knock down all 10 pins, the TV proclaims, “STRIKE!”

On a recent Saturday, the alley seemed to be a hit with those who showed up. Their style was indifferent, but the enthusiasm was there. One group of young guys took turns trotting up to the line, crouching, and hurling the ball to bounce down the alley. Elsewhere, a woman stood by the line, swung the ball back and forth, and sent it bounding into the gutter.

The alley makes a few concessions to the beginner. The electronic fault lines were turned off, so that when someone’s toe crossed the line, there wasn’t an embarrassing buzz to disqualify him. And there’s also Maxim Volkov.

Volkov, a young man in an Adidas jogging suit, offers a bit of instruction to novices (he even speaks some English). He says the unfamiliarity with the sport has led to some interesting variations.

“Some people would invent their own game,” he said. “One guy was throwing the ball, and another guy came immediately behind him and rolled the ball too.”

That gave them a double chance at knocking down pins. It also caused some hair-pulling anxiety on the part of staff, who didn’t want their new bowling alley smashed up by guffawing neophytes. Volkov put a stop to it.

Some had trouble getting the hang of basics — like balance. “Some people came in drunk,” Volkov says. “And one guy, after each throw, he would fall face-down on the lanes.” Volkov demonstrates, his arms spread wide.

Still, most people seemed to enjoy the chance for a little fun on a cold winter day. Vladivostok resident Marina Tarasenko said she and her family have gone bowling abroad many times, especially in Australia. And she likes it better in Vladivostok. You don’t have to set the computer yourself, and there is no language barrier for Russians trying to understand the game.

“It’s good that things like this have started to appear here in Vladivostok,” she said. “Now I have a place where I can go with my children, because we have virtually no entertainment for kids in town.”

— Nonna Chernyakova also contributed to this story

What a relief! We have only one winter holiday left to celebrate. It is Feb. 1 — the Chinese New Year, when the Year of the Tiger actually begins.

Few Russians won’t be exhausted by the holiday ordeal; few will be celebrating it with the same zeal as at the beginning of the season. The difficult period starts Dec. 25 with Western Christmas. This date is new in our calendar. The Soviet government worked hard to erase even the name of Jesus from our memory. We don’t even know how to celebrate it — it seems like a New Year, but different. So the easiest solution is to throw a Russian party with vodka, pelmeni, and pickled mushrooms — and then drink to Jesus.

The New Year’s celebration is the highlight of the series. People drink harder and eat more, to the extent that they can’t move.Then again comes vodka, pelmeni, and pickled mushrooms. Some sing “Oi, moroz, moroz!” (Hey, frost, frost!), some simply watch TV until they fall asleep. The most enthusiastic go outdoors and shoot off Chinese firecrackers.

However, the most enjoyable way to celebrate the New Year is in a sauna: There you can sweat your alcohol off and stay awake through the night. The next day family and friends sleep until noon, eat leftovers and drink pickle juice — the best remedy for a hangover.

Children are on vacation. This is the worse time for their teeth and stomachs: They eat tons of candies and mandarins from Dedushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost). For some reason mandarins were only imported to the Soviet Union in late December. This tropical fruit became a symbol of the coldest time of the year.

Russian Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 brings more confusion. If the holiday is in the middle of the week, some companies have workers come in on Sunday and give them a second day off in the middle of the week (no doubt one day is for recovering from the celebration). Finally, everybody loses track of the working rhythm, and the whole month feels like you’re riding on an old car on a bumpy Russian road.

The Old New Year is another strange date that has to be celebrated. It shows how difficult it is to forget old habits. After the Revolution, Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar in use in the West, but people remembered the old holiday, now on Jan. 13.

If a foreigner makes it through this month without serious damage to his health, he can be proud of himself. He is as tough as a Russian.

An evening of art by Anatoly Tikhonov, chief conductor of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. Also in the program are the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, soloists and the choir of the Classical Opera Theater, the ensemble Original, and Gorky Theater actors and others.
Jan. 23, 6 p.m.

The Yefim Zvenyatsky Show with Tanya Bulanova, a singer from Moscow.
Jan. 23, 9:30 p.m.

Mafiosi, a musical.
Jan. 24, 5 p.m.

Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

Farewell, Forever (“Proschaite, Navsegda”), a comedy from Turgenev’s A Month in the Country.
Jan. 25, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

Two Thieves (“Dvoye s Bolshoy Dorogy”), a play.
Jan. 25, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 20 r.

My Rival is Death (“Moya Sopernitsa — Smert”), a production dedicated to Edith Piaf’s life and work.
Jan. 27, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 20 r.

My Fair Lady (“Moya Prekrasnaya Ledy”), a musical by Frederick Loewe.
Jan. 28, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

Noises Off (“Shum za Stsenoy”), a comedy.
Jan. 29, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

With Love for Myself (“S Lyubovyu k Sebe”), a benefit performance by Yury Grishpun.
Jan. 31, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

The Tramp and the King (“Bindyuzhnik i Korol”), a musical.
Jan. 31, 5 p.m. Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

Musical Review, a compilation of fairy tales for children.
Feb. 1, noon.
Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

Some Like it Hot (“V Dzhaze Tolko Devushky”), a musical.
Feb. 1, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 35 r.

Same Day Next Year (“Moy Grekh”), a play.
Feb. 4, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 20 r.

The Stone Flower (“Kamenny Tsvetok”), a play for children.
Jan. 23, 2 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 15 r.

The Turnip (“Repka”), a play for children.
Jan. 24, 2 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 15 r.

Waiting for Godot (“V Ozhidanii Godo”), a play by Samuel Beckett. Premiere.
Jan. 29, 30 and Feb. 1, 4; 5 p.m.
Tickets: 25 - 30 r.

The Combination Lock (“Zamok s Sekretom”), a musical for children.
Feb. 3, 2 p.m.
Tickets: 10 - 15 r.

Mercy (“Miloserdie”), a play.
Feb. 5, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 20 r.

Concert by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. Program includes works by Tschaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Russian movie composers. Conductor: Vladimir Syomin of Moscow. Tel: 26-65-29.
Feb. 1, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 15 - 35 r.

Orthodox Primorye, color photos by Mr. Leonov of Vladivostok
Jan. 15 to 29, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Nudes, an exhibition from the gallery’s holdings and art studios around town.
Starts Feb. 3, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays.

An exhibition dedicated to Indian culture. Features photos, musical instruments, clothes, etc. Slide shows. Third floor.
Jan. 30 through Feb 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays.

The teacher and the students, a display of paintings by an art college teacher and her former students from 18 years.
Through Jan. 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays.

My Russian Heart by Tanya Bulanova of Moscow.
Jan. 23, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 40 - 100 r.

Agatha Christie, a rock band from Moscow.
Feb. 3, 6 p.m.
Tickets: 60 - 120 r.

Aladdin’s Lamp (“Volshebnaya Lampa Aladdina”).
Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, 11 a.m.
Tickets: 6 r.

The Sun and Snowmen (“Solnyshko i Snezhnye Chelovechky”).
Feb. 1, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Tickets: 6 r.

The Punches International (“Petrushky International”), a puppet variety show for adults.
Feb. 5, 5 p.m.
Tickets: 10 r.

The Grandmother’s Doll, an exhibition of dolls by children from Vladivostok’s Frunzensky district. Features talismans, peasant, nesting and souvenir dolls.
Jan. 21 through a month, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays.
Entry: 3 r. for adults and 1 r. for children.

An evening of music.
Jan. 25, 4 p.m.

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