Windows to Russia

Russia is celebrating tonight:

Nikolai Valuev claimed a majority points decision to defeat veteran American Evander Holyfield and retained his WBA heavyweight belt.

Valuev now holds a 50-1 record with 34 knockouts.

Two judges had the fight 116-112 and 115-114 with the other scoring it even.

Darn he is big….

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

http://kylekeeton.com/2008/11/east-meets-west-russian-giant-against.html

Hello,

I have been posting articles about one of my favorite countries, Ukraine. Link Link Link. Ukraine has had major issues come up in the last few months. Ranging from misappropriated funds to involvement in the Georgia war. The investigations are not looking good for the President of Ukraine. The bottom line is that Ukraine seems to be flat broke due to some mishandling of the Government assets by the President. It seems that by the end of December 2008 all Government employees will not be paid, the country is $105 billion dollars in the hole. (Ouch)

The President just had a online poll and question session. The questions that became the most popular had much to do with, when is President Yushchenko leaving so that Ukraine can become a better place.

Ukraine is a fantastic country that deserves much better than what it has become. The desires of a President that was implanted by the USA during the Rose Revolution has taken its toll on a beautiful country and Ukraine people need real leadership.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

RBC, 19.12.2008, Naberezhnye Chelny 17:32:20.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suggested that a RUB 30bn (approx. USD 1.09bn) program for renewing municipal car fleets be developed and implemented in order to support the Russian automobile industry. He made this proposal during today’s meeting on additional steps to stabilize and improve the situation in the automotive sector. Putin explained that he met with heads of regional and municipal governments on Thursday and it was agreed that 70 percent of the program would be financed from the federal budget, and the remaining 30 percent by local and regional authorities. The money will only be used to buy domestic vehicles, Putin stressed. He added that the program would allow local governments to provide the public transportation, housing, utilities, and other socially important sectors with new vehicles.

RBC, 19.12.2008, Kiev 16:59:51.The Ukrainian parliament has refused to halt arms supplies to Georgia, as a mere 195 members out of the necessary 226 in parliament voted in favor of suspending such supplies. At the same time, however, 237 deputies, including those from the Yulia Timoshenko Bloc and the Our Ukraine – People’s Self Defense faction, voted against the move. The deputies decided that such a ban would affect Ukrainian defense companies. They also urged the president and chiefs of government bodies in charge of arms trade with Georgia to observe the country’s national interests.

RBC, 19.12.2008, Moscow 16:29:05.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that Russia’s relations with the European Union and NATO “have ultimately benefited” from the Caucasus crisis, as he told a press conference today. The conflict in the Caucasus has first of all demonstrated, Lavrov said, that NATO alone cannot respond to all global threats and challenges. Secondly, the crisis has shown that the European Union, with the proper leadership, is capable of handling matters of European security. The resulting peace plan negotiated by Russian and French Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy became the basis for the settlement of the crisis, Lavrov stated.

RBC, 19.12.2008, Kiev 12:09:00.Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Vladimir Stelmakh has denied Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko’s accusations of devaluing the hryvnia and blamed the government’s “bungling work” for bringing the country to a point where it may face an internal default as early as December 2008, the central banker was quoted by RBC Ukraine as saying on Inter TV late Thursday. Stelmakh said the PM’s announcement gave the dollar a boost, thus slashing the hryvnia’s value by one half within a mere day, as exchange rates of 14 hryvnia per dollar were already being called.

RBC, 18.12.2008, Moscow 17:41:28.According to Russia’s Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach, Russia’s international reserves will contract by $110bn-140bn to just $300bn by the end of 2009. As of December 1, 2008, the reserves stood at $455.73bn, down 5.95 percent month-on-month. Meanwhile, reserve assets in foreign currency amounted to $404.563bn, with Russia’s IMF reserve position at $1.018bn, and special drawing rights (SDRs) at $1bn.

RBC, 18.12.2008, Moscow 18:45:24.According to the Economy Ministry’s forecast for Russia’s economic development, oil production will amount to 480m tonnes in 2009, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach told journalists today, adding that oil prices were expected to stand at $50 per barrel. If oil prices stay at $60 per barrel, oil production may reach 493m tonnes. Meanwhile, natural gas output is expected to total 670bn cubic meters. Russia’s oil exports are projected to amount to 235m tonnes in 2009, compared to 244.4m tonnes in 2008, while gas exports are expected to reach 203bn cubic meters in 2008 and 208bn cubic meters next year.

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and thinking about the OPEC meeting. I was thinking about the outcome of said meeting. I had already posted about the OPEC meeting and Russia’s involvement with OPEC. The meeting happened and OPEC has decided that 2.2 million barrels a day of oil will be cut from production. They are expecting Russia to comply by cutting 320,000 barrels a day.

I feel that this is excessive and if fully implemented after a 1.5 million barrel a day cut already this year, that we are actively promoting the continuation of the roller coaster effect.

The question of Russia’s desire to join OPEC has now become forefront and the facts of discussion have not been revealed yet. This is a decision that Medvedev is pondering and will most likely discuss with the Oil Giants in Russia! The only statement said about joining was on TV and it reported that Russia will continue to have some form of involvement with OPEC, as Russia counts for 12 percent of world oil production…..

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Putin was on air all over Russia!

Hello,

The other day when Putin had a telephone answer question session with all of Russia, the world concentrated on the political issues that he answered. But one question that was not political and had to do with the Russian New Year!

Dasha Varfolomyeevaya called Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his televised question and answer session on December 4 to ask for a new dress. In reply, Putin invited the girl, from a remote village in the East Siberian republic of Buryatia, to meet the New Year in Moscow.

“It is nearly New Year,” Dasha said. “We live on my granny’s pension, and there is no work in the village. Me and my sister dream about new dresses. I want to ask you for a dress like Cinderella’s. Please be a kind wizard for us on New Year.” (Link)

It seems that Putin has made sure that the little girl, her sister and granny will be in Moscow for New Years.

This is just one of the promises that Putin made that night and from what I am seeing he is going to follow up on all of them and make them happen.

If you never got to see or read about the Question and Answer session Putin had, then it is well worth the time to check it out. (Link)

Maybe Putin is a kind Wizard…….

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

30 people have died after the bus they were in drove into a ravine in the south of Israel. At least 21 injured, some of them in grave condition, have been taken to the nearest hospital. In total there were 49 Russians and two Israelis on the bus. All of the passengers were tour operators from St. Petersburg. The employees of five Russian travel agencies were taking a tour around Israel to lean more about the hotels and sights they will offer to their customers. The trip was organized by an Israeli tour-operator.

The accident happened not far from the Egyptian border, near the resort city of Eilat. Witnesses say the bus fell over 80 metres into the ravine.

Both military helicopters and dozens of first aid medical units were on the scene.

Sad situation: 80 meters is about 250 feet!

Kyle & Svet

Red area is super cold!

Russia’s Yakutia Republic suffers from Arctic temperatures

Temperatures in some settlements of Russia’s Yakutia Republic may reach 60 degrees below zero Centigrade (-76F) during the next couple of days. This year’s winter in Yakutia is a lot colder than usual: the republic sits on the way of cold Arctic air currents that reach the territory of the republic without any obstacles, and the air becomes even colder at nighttime under the clear sky. Yakutia is washed by the Laptev and Eastern Siberian Seas of the Arctic Ocean – the coldest and the iciest waters in the northern hemisphere

This is what people get when they complain that it is the warmest December on Record. It drops to -76F. (Yes that is right negative 76 degrees Fahrenheit.)

I do not think we want to visit right now….

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia getting ready to revamp the Energy Issues?

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and thinking about the issue of OPEC. OPEC is getting ready for a huge decrease in production and they realize that they need Russia to help out. Russia is not a member and OPEC wishes they were.

Russia is the second largest supplier of oil in the world. and OPEC knows that with out Russia going along with the program chances of success are slim. OPEC has invited Russia to join and it looks like Medvedev is thinking seriously about joining.

Factors that are driving this decision are centered around an oil based economy. Russia has to make decisions that help her economy. By joining OPEC – Russia would have a lot of pull in the decisions, being the second largest oil producer in the world and Russia and OPEC together would make a OPEC that produced over 50% of the worlds supply. Another factor is that Russia’s Budget is based on 70 dollars a barrel oil. Russia has about a 3 year supply of reserve money before they run out. (better than most countries)

My worry in all this is that all of a sudden the world is going to be very short on oil. I think that countries like the USA are having very little slow down in usage, but that they are using reserves and after the first of the year the reserves are going to show a considerable decline. (Sorta like robbing Peter to pay Paul.) I think that the USA government is playing games to keep oil down until after the new administration takes over in Washington, DC.

These strategies always cause huge price issues and it would be better for all to just to not play games. Because once oil production has been stopped it does not turn back on like a water faucet. It takes time to get production back on line again.

It seems from what I am seeing on TV that the Oil companies in Russia are in agreement on following the OPEC mandate and looks like Russia will be taking a new role in the oil industry sometime in the next year.

Looks like Russia most likely will say yes to OPEC!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

RBC, 16.12.2008, Moscow 09:56:24.Russia’s male population numbered 65.7 million and the female population 76.3 million in early 2008, as women outnumbered men by 16 percent (10.6 million people), the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported. Women are seen to outnumber men by population from the age of 28 years old, and the gap increases with age. The only two Russian regions where the male population was higher than female were the Chukotka autonomous district and the Kamchatka region, where there are 931 and 980 women for each 1,000 men, respectively.

RBC, 16.12.2008, Chisinau 09:24:50.Informal 5+2 consultations on the Transnistrian peace process with the participation of guarantor countries and mediators from Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, and monitors from the EU and the United States, as well as representatives from Chisinau and Tiraspol will take place in Vienna today. Transnistrian President Igor Smirnov was notified of the scheduled consultations by the breakaway republic’s Foreign Minister Vladimir Yastrebchak, the leader’s press office told RBC.

RBC, 15.12.2008, Moscow 16:59:09.The government will lend support to roughly 300 nationwide companies as part of its plan to shore up the Russian economy’s real sector, Deputy PM and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin announced following today’s meeting of the government’s Presidium. Specifically, the government is ready to aid companies working on special technologies in the defense sector. Kudrin also added that each of Russia’s federal subjects had to prepare its lists of troubled companies that were vital for the region or providing the main source of employment in certain cities and towns.

RBC, 15.12.2008, Moscow 15:54:09.The government will provide support to at least 1,500 Russian companies to stabilize the economic situation in the country, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told the government’s Presidium today. The PM said that the list of these companies was to be approved by Wednesday, adding that they would together account for 85 percent of Russia’s GDP. The annual turnover of most of them exceeds RUB 15bn-RUB 16bn (approx. USD 539m-USD 575m) each, and the head count tops 4,000 employees. Support must also be lent to companies employing more than 30 percent of the labor force in a particular city or town, Putin said.

RBC, 15.12.2008, Moscow 14:47:38.The visit of Russian warships to Venezuela, Panama, and Nicaragua marks a steady trend towards closer relations between the navies of Russia and those countries, aide to Russia’s navy chief Igor Dygalo said, adding that the move contributed to stability and trust in the world’s oceans and seas.

RBC, 15.12.2008, Moscow 14:37:36.The MICEX index grew 5.5 percent to 655 points, and the RTS index added 5.5 percent as well, reaching 688 points. On MICEX, the gainers were led by Gazprom Neft (up 10 percent), LUKoil (up 8 percent) and Sberbank (up 7.5 percent).

RBC, 15.12.2008, Moscow 12:25:17.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) expects Russia to cut oil production by 200,000-300,000 barrels per day in 2009, head of LUKoil Vagit Alekperov told journalists today. He emphasized that the decision was to be made by the Russian government, and that if approved, Russian oil companies were ready to follow it. Alekperov added that oil producers were ready to inform the government on the specific oil fields and wells on which operations could be suspended with minimum losses, and where it would be easy to resume production.

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee today and removing comments that said many bad and nasty things. We had a total of 30 really bad comments that expressed the desire to either rearrange our existence or say foul words that should not be printed.

What were these wonderful comments over: Article 1 and Article 2!

Article one (1) is about things going on in Russia but we hit a sore spot with the happenings with illegal rallies this weekend. Link 1, Link 2, Link 3. I had proceeded to express the fact that people will be arrested because they do not follow the rules. (Ouch)

Article two (2) is about a certain Roman Dobrokhotov who was arrested for his attitude at a press conference with Medvedev. (Trouble with a capital T!)

We will say that if the attitude and foul language that we received in comments on this article and the previous article are an example of these followers expressions then we see why they are having communication problems with the Government people.

We are all for rallies and expressing yourself but if you do not learn how to do it correctly you will have a long road to travel!

We seem to have hit a sore spot this weekend…….

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.