Russian News: November 4th, 2008!

Hot News!RBC, 01.11.2008, Moscow 18:56:04.RussNeft’s net profit under RAS grew almost twofold in January-September 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier, from RUB 4.48bn (approx. USD 165m) to RUB 8.831bn (approx. USD 326m), the Russian oil company said in a statement. According to the document, RussNeft posted a net loss of RUB 3.392bn (approx. USD 125m) in the third quarter, while a net profit of RUB 8.716bn (approx. USD 322m) was reported for Q2. The oil producer attributes the decrease from July to September to falling oil and refined oil product prices and the dollar’s appreciation against the ruble, as well as adjustments in tax obligations.

RBC, 01.11.2008, Moscow 18:28:26.Trading on the Russian stock market finished with its key indices rising considerably. The MICEX index was up 4.78 percent at 766.92 points and the RTS index up 3.75 percent at 802.39 points. On the RTS, Severstal surged 17 percent, MTS rose 7 percent, and LUKoil jumped 9.5 percent, while Gazprom and Norilsk Nickel added over 6 percent each.

RBC, 01.11.2008, Moscow 17:45:28.Aeroflot-Russian Airlines has reached an agreement with several oil companies on the introduction of a pricing formula for jet fuel, the company’s press office said. The oil companies will be represented by Gazprom Neft. The parties came to the agreement while implementing the government’s decisions aiming to eliminate fuel shortages. Airlines and oil companies will now sign long-term contracts that will include a pricing formula effective during the entire period of the contract. The prices indicated by Platts, a leading global provider of energy information, are to be taken as the benchmark when calculating the prices.

RBC, 01.11.2008, Togliatti 17:09:17.The Russian sales of AVTOVAZ shrank 1.6 percent to 533,700 cars during the first ten months of 2008, the Russian automobile producer’s press office reported today. Meanwhile, the company’s exports of Lada cars rose 10.4 percent. In October 2008 alone, AVTOVAZ sold 56,700 vehicles on the Russian market, a 19.3-percent drop from October 2007.

RBC, 01.11.2008, Kiev 16:46:12.Although Ukraine has repeatedly provided reasons for banning several foreign TV channels which did not comply with the Ukrainian law, the Russian Foreign Ministry has continued to stir up tensions over the issue, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s press office said in a statement today. While doing so, Moscow is intentionally distorting facts and misinforming people, the document reads. The Ukrainian authorities’ demands that Russian channels bring their broadcasts in line with the country’s law are absolutely legitimate and have nothing to do with the Russian ministry’s speculations, according to the statement. Among the violations that must be stopped is the advertising of tobacco and alcohol products by Russian channels, as well as their breaches of copyright and the broadcasting of items violating the Ukrainian law on public morality.

RBC, 01.11.2008, Moscow 15:24:03.The combined profits of Russian lending organizations amounted to RUB 367.923bn (approx. USD 13.58bn) in January-September 2008, the Bank of Russia announced in a banking sector overview published today. A total of 1,059 lending organizations (94.2 percent of those operating as of October 1) posted combined total profits of RUB 367.92bn (approx. USD 13.58bn), while only 65 (5.8 percent) reported a total net loss of RUB 13.118bn (approx. USD 484m).

RBC, 01.11.2008, Moscow 13:31:44.Russia’s National Wealth Fund stood at nearly RUB 1.667 trillion (approx. USD 62.82bn) as of November 1, the Finance Ministry’s press office reported today. Of the total amount, RUB 170bn (approx. USD 6.27bn) have been deposited with the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank). The fund has increased 35.7 percent from RUB 1.229 trillion (approx. USD 47.56bn) in October alone, and more than doubled from RUB 782.8bn (approx. USD 28.89bn) as of February 1, when the fund was first established. The balances of the fund’s foreign currency accounts amounted to USD 20.41bn, EUR 14.07bn, and GBP 2.38bn as of November 1.

RBC, 01.11.2008, Chisinau 11:29:02.Transnistria’s acting Foreign Minister Vladimir Yastrebchak has requested Russia to provide support to the republic in light of the financial crisis, RBC was told in the Transnistrian Foreign Ministry. Yastrebchak noted that the global crisis would apparently affect Transnistria’s industrial production, as well as its banking sector. He also pointed out that Transnistria would like to receive support from Russia in order to implement its social programs, ensure financial stability, and prop up the Transnistrian ruble. Yastrebchak expressed hope that Russia would meet the republic’s request, adding that Transnistria was ready to ensure accountability and transparency in regard to how the funds would be spent.

Russia: Wonderful Israel Friends!

Hello,

Yesterday I gave a small run down on visa issues and how you do not want to go to Israel and try to get a Russian Visa!

Today as promised, I am going to show you a couple of friends that we meet over the internet in the world of blogging. They ended up being the best reason to go to Israel and we are glad that we did, even though it took about two weeks longer to get the visa. This is Chelita and Misha her Husband. Chelita has a blog Былое и думы! This is where I stole these pictures from. She has already posted pictures from our visit on her blog.

Chelita and Misha are a couple of the most fantastic people Svet and I have ever met. They are like saints in disguise. Cheltia cooked some of the most delicious food we have ever had and Misha was the most pleasant host anyone could be.

They would not let us stay at a hotel and insisted that we stay with them the whole time in Israel. So we set up base at their flat and had a fantastic time.

Svet and I want to thank Chelita and Misha for the vacation of a life time. We have promised to go back and we will…..

Chelita makes sure that you get fresh veggies and fruits. The dates are fantastic like this.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Stalin’s grandson dies in Moscow!

MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) – Joseph Alliluyev, the son of Joseph Stalin’s daughter Svetlana, died in Moscow on Sunday.

Alliluyev, born in 1945, was the only grandson of Stalin to have met the Soviet dictator. He worked as a cardiologist, and published over 150 papers on heart disease.

He kept a low profile throughout his life, never giving interviews.

Svetlana Alliluyeva, aged 82, Stalin’s only daughter, defected to the United States in 1967 and has U.S. citizenship.

Russia: The Growing Anti American Sentiments!

Not just a few people!

Hello,

While drinking a cup of coffee, I was thinking about the huge demonstration that was held in Moscow on the 2nd of November.

More than 20,000 activists of Nashi Movement held an action of protest in front of the US Embassy in Moscow on November 2, 2008.

Nashi affirm that endless wars that have been rattling the world during the latest decades, the world financial crisis, which bankrupts whole countries, the long-lasting and pompous ceremony of the “democratic election” in the USA are all linked with each other into the never-ending American show. The world has to pay a big price for these festivities: thousands have been murdered, millions and billions of innocent people live in misery, whereas immoral politicians cash in on their grief. Tens of wars have been organized throughout the world, with the latest one of them, the war in South Ossetia, having taken about 2,000 human lives.

After a month of traveling away from Moscow and Russia. I got to see how other countries think and how they feel about America. The feelings are mutual between countries. America is loosing that edge of being the shining spot in the world…..

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: The Russian – Israel Visa Experience!

Tanks blown up still sitting everywhere on the sides of the roads!

Hello,

We are back together again and life is resettling down to the normal pace. I have lots to catch up on and tons of stuff to unpack. But I thought that I would take a moment and post a article today.

I want to thank all who commented to the blog over my absence and to thank my readership. It has grown by a third in the time we were gone. (Maybe I need to leave more often!) 🙂

So: To start the adventure, Svet and I made a Russian visa run to Israel. We called the Embassy and Consulate of Russia in Israel, no less than 30 times to verify everything. We even made an appointment (mandatory) to get the visa. We made sure of everything that was necessary to get a Russian visa for me in Israel! Or so we thought….

We flew into Israel and stepped off the jet into a blast furnace. It was hot compared to Moscow. We had a hotel reserved for a few days in Tel-Aviv. This was for the time that we should have gotten a visa. We spent 4 days not getting a visa: The reason was very simple. They wanted a huge bribe. Not just a bribe, not just a token of appreciation or gift to help life along. They wanted a bribe to be able to buy their Girlfriends new Diamonds! They wanted a bribe to buy all their kids a new car!

There also was not even: a long wait and legal way to get the Russian visa. It was bribe or nothing……

Guess what? We – to their astonishment said: “You get, nothing!”

So we had our vacation anyway in Israel. I knew that I could go to Russian Ukraine Consulate and get my visa and have always in the past gone to Ukraine. Looks like I keep going to Ukraine….

Tomorrow we will post about the Israel vacation and I will say it was a blast. We made new friends who wish us back at anytime. We have never had perfectly strange people treat us like family before. They made a bad visa trip transform into a fantastic travel trip.

I will be talking about them in tomorrows article.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Goodby Ukraine – Hello Russia!

Hello,

The 1st of November I crossed the border from Ukraine to Russia. I am now at home with my Sweetie and dog, Yippy!!!!

Starting tomorrow, 2nd of November. We will resume normal posts on all the blogs. We have lots of pictures and stories to tell.

Right now I am going to sleep.

Kyle & Svet

Russia: I Really Wanna Say Goodbuy To Ukraine!


Hello,

This is Kyle from Kiev, Ukraine. I will be back this weekend around the 1st and 2nd of November. It has been a long wait but if God willing, I pick up my visa on the 31st of October and catch a train that night. 12 hours later I will be home. 🙂

I have lots of stories to tell and wish that I could get going right now.

I will say that Ukraine is not Russia! I will be talking in the future about multiple of differences that are obvious between the two countries. I have walked a lot of kilometers the last few weeks all over Kiev. (I will tell you I miss Moscow.) The two cities are two different worlds.

The posts will be coming after I get a decent internet connection again. I have struggled with getting things to work and right now I am on my backup system and using Puppy Linux. I have to admit that Puppy Linux is one of the best rescue disks and main operating systems that I have ever used.

The last time we went through the Israel border the computer got jostled around pretty hard and I had issues with things working correctly. I have got everything backed up and working thanks to Puppy!

I was dual booting Windows XP and Xubuntu. Windows XP refused to boot after the border and Xubuntu was marginal at the best. I had the Puppy disc as a rescue disc and I am glad I did. After booting Puppy Linux I was able to cut cds of all pictures and apply the pictures to flash drives. 🙂 (We got lots of pictures.)

I am not sure what happened at the border crossing but somehow I think that I picked up a virus on the windows side at the airport WiFi, because the wireless drivers were corrupt as the first issue that came up.

Since I have been here in Kiev I have seen while walking, about a dozen car wrecks. (I thought Russians were bad drivers.) Ukraine drivers give a new meaning to: red light means run fast and accelerate, A cross walk means: see how many pedestrians you can hit and a sidewalk is just another main road to get around other car traffic. 🙂

Gotta run the Internet bill is running off the scale right now! This little post will cost me around 20 American dollars. That is just to steep for my tastes.

So hello to everyone and thanks for the comments that have come in and I will get to answer them when I get back to Moscow.

Kyle

comments always welcome.

Russia: Stuck in Kiev, Ukraine!

Hello,

My wife has made it home to Russia and I am stuck in Kiev, Ukraine due to technical reasons. Somewhere around the first of the month (Nov.) I will be back in Russia.

It is a long story and as soon as I get proper internet I will explain the whole story.

So for now: I am living in the Slavutich Hotel with very limited internet connection. I have had lots of long walks and have seen very interesting things. (Like a grocery store robbery with the bad guys (Lada) car being shoot full of holes by the police….) The car looked like Swiss Cheese when the cops were done. ……

That is a story I will tell when I get better connection and no I did not have my camera! (I wish)

Gotta go for now the cost of internet in this Hotel is outrageous.

Kyle

comments always welcome.

PS: Yes, we have lots of pictures of Israel and this time I did not lose them. I have them cut to cd’s and put on flash drives. 🙂

Just Israel Pictures!





Bus Station



Russia: The Israel Trip 4

Hello,

My Sweetie (Svet) looking great as always. We have arrived at the Dead Sea!
This is our hotel: The Dead Sea Gardens Hotel.
The first site of the Dead Sea Beach.
Me floating and soaking up the sunshine.
Svet and I explored the Beach and found salt, salt, salt, salt, salt and more salt!
The Hotels are in a Oasis like area.
The great American Tourist.
Mountains (faint background), more salt and the Dead Sea.
First Burger King in over two years for me, first ever for Svet.

Holiday time again (Sukkot) in Israel!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and there will be more. We are having a blast and Svet says that it is the best ever vacation. I agree!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.