Windows to Russia

Hello,

The issues of trading weapons for food (barter) was discussed with Russia last Wednesday. Guatemala officials have expressed that the Central American country is interested in working out a new trade deal.

(barter: to trade by exchanging one commodity for another)

“Guatemala is interested in acquiring aircraft, armored vehicles, and other armaments to fight organized crime. We could pay, as the Russian side suggests, with sugar and coffee for the arms deliveries.” (Link)

The Guatemala government it seems, has been instructed to study the Russian side’s proposals and draft the necessary recommendations.

It seems that Guatemala’s Ground Forces, Air Force and Navy were in need of arms deliveries. They have a huge issue with not enough equipment but a very large surplus of sugar and coffee.

Now that is a barter that I see possibilities with. I sure do not want to run out of coffee in Russia.

It seems that countries may have to start doing this sort of trading again to survive the financial crises. All through history goods have been used as money. Salt, spices, coffee, sugar and tobacco are to name a few.

Just keep my coffee in stock and I will be happy…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Moscow 19:13:06.In 2009-2011, the Russian government will allocate RUB 240bn (approx. USD 6.72bn) to compensate certain groups of Russians for the losses they suffered when their deposits with Sberbank and state insurance companies dwindled dramatically after the Soviet Union collapsed and prices went rampant in the early 1990s. The government will also spend part of this sum to buy out state treasury bonds and Sberbank certificates issued in the Soviet era. These compensations are stipulated by the federal budget for 2009 and in the planning period for 2010-2011, the Finance Ministry said in a report. Specifically, RUB 70bn (approx. USD 1.96bn) is to be earmarked for these purposes in 2009, and RUB 85bn (approx. USD 2.38bn) in both 2010 and 2011.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Moscow 19:02:52.Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted a bill that amends Russia’s legislation to allow for a smaller number of voter signatures in favor of candidates for State Duma deputies and specifies the grounds for candidates’ registration to the State Duma.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Moscow 18:36:40.Russian Health and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova will speak at the Federation Council’s plenary meeting on March 4, RBC learned from the press office of the Russian parliament’s upper house. As part of the government hour meeting, the minister will tell senators about the top-priority steps the ministry is taking to allay tensions on the labor market.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Novo-Ogaryovo 16:00:05.The Russian government does not intend to reintroduce capital flow restrictions, even in order to prevent sharp exchange rate fluctuations, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with the United Russia party’s leaders in Novo-Ogaryovo. Such a move would only signal the government’s complete abandonment of its ambitious plans to make the ruble a regional reserve currency, Putin stated. He noted that the ruble was already a freely convertible currency – 90 percent of Russian-Belarusian trade, for instance, was in rubles. “We do not want to abandon these strategic projects,” the PM concluded.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Novo-Ogaryovo 15:43:47.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that the country’s monetary authorities have so far managed to keep inflation in check, as he said during a meeting with the United Russia political party’s leadership in Novo-Ogaryovo. Putin reiterated that prices grew 3.1 percent between early January and mid-February 2008 and 3.2 percent over the same period of the current year. “On the whole, we have managed to control the situation,” he concluded.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Moscow 14:29:18.Russia’s external debt (including that of the former Soviet Union which was undertaken by Russia) decreased 9.8 percent in 2008 and stood at USD 40.5bn or EUR 28.7bn as of January 1, 2009, compared to USD 44.9bn as of January 1, 2008, Russia’s Finance Ministry indicated in a report today. Debt to member states of the Paris Club shrank 22 percent to USD 1.4bn or EUR 1bn as of January 1, while non-Paris Club debt dropped 13 percent to USD 1.9bn or EUR 1bn.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Moscow 13:37:47.GAZ Group intends to save RUB 20bn (approx. USD 560m) in 2009 as it kicks off a program for improving the economic soundness of its enterprises in the wake of the crisis, the Russian truck maker’s press office reported. As part of the proposed plan, the company will implement a program in 2009 that enables it to step up sales, free up cash for timely servicing of its loan portfolio, and avoid losses by the end of the current year.

RBC, 27.02.2009, Moscow 12:29:31.Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze insists that Mikhail Saakashvili’s major mistake in international relations was breaching friendly relations with Russia. He made this statement for the Russia Today TV channel. He pointed out that Georgia’s authorities could have at the very least preserved relations with Russia at the previous level. “Yet they failed to agree, and thus an anti-Russia campaign was launched, with the August military conflict as its culmination, which left Georgia devastated,” Shevardnadze said. “As a result, Russia acknowledged Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s independence,” he continued, adding that this was Moscow’s great mistake which threatened to have negative consequences in the future.

RBC, 26.02.2009, Kiev 19:13:14.Naftogaz of Ukraine has officially approached Gazprom to cut the volume of gas it is scheduled to buy in 2009 from 40bn to 30bn cubic meters, the Ukraine president’s press office reported today citing Bogdan Sokolovsky, the president’s envoy on international energy security. Sokolovsky said the Ukrainian company was requesting a revision of a respective clause in the contract signed in January 2009, adding that in accordance with the agreement, such revisions must be made at least six months before the year starts, when the deliveries are to be made. The fact that the agreement has to be changed a mere month after it was reached demonstrates that it has serious shortcomings and was drafted without any prior expert studies. He believes it is already high time for Ukraine to start negotiating cuts to the gas volumes to be supplied from 2010 to 2019 in accordance with the nation’s energy strategy.

Hello,

Yesterday we talked about Russian fast food. (Link) Today we are going to talk about the growth of McDonald’s fast food in Russia.

McDonald’s, is the world’s largest fast food chain and the largest in Russia. It seems that they are going to invest at least $120 million in opening about 40 restaurants in various parts of Russia during the fiscal year 2009. This is based on a $3-4 million per restaurant bases. McDonald’s is also planning to remodel certain stores and install updated fixtures and decor.

A big issue for McDonald’s is to have a 100% production of McDonald’s products made inside Russia. As of this writing 80% is home grown and McDonald’s wants to move that 20% outsourced to home grown by the end of 2009.

McDonald’s fast food chain in Russia includes over 200 restaurants. Though on the small side for a chain of stores, Russian McDonald’s have some of the highest volume in the business and people in Russia just Love McDonald’s.

Kyle & Svet

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and the airwaves are abuzz with the escapades of Hillary Clinton last week and now the “Human Rights Report” that America has slammed China, Russia, North Korea and others with.

Clinton or (spoke mouth) for the USA in China last week, set the grounds for this report and started the “piss off China” soft approach. In Russia the report we got was far different than what main stream media was reporting in America. In America it was said that Hillary had a good meeting with China. The problem is, that was and is a lie. Hillary Clinton pissed China off by saying that China needs to get their Human Rights issues in order, but of course we will still advance our relationship with you even though you (China) are a Human Rights devastation.

Now we have the gall to follow the Clinton words of wisdom with the famous “Human Rights Report” put out by the biggest Hypocrites on earth.

hyp·o·crite
Pronunciation:
\ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit\

1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
— hypocrite adjective

Now Russia is in the midst’s of this because the report damages Russia like all the past reports have. Once again Russia looks at the situation in America and sees how America treats her people and the worlds people. Then Russia very quietly works on pulling farther and farther away from what America calls their perfect world.

This statement came from the report:

“While not delving into U.S. human rights practices, the report acknowledged that the U.S. human rights record remains a concern around the world, and it said President Obama has vowed to apply global human rights ideals at home.”

That is it!, America has knowledge of the issues but they are not worth mentioning because they are so trivial…

Just things like this:

US officials admitted they were imprisoning children under 16 years of age at the Camp Delta military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The young prisoners, some of whom have been jailed in US military prisons for over 12 months, are defined as “enemy combatants” and are being interrogated for suspected links to Al Qaeda or Afghanistan’s former Taliban government.

“school to prison pipeline” that funnels Black and Brown children into prison through discriminatory policies and under-funded public schools.

The Wide disparities in the criminal justice system (African Americans and Latinos are 60 percent of the nation’s prison population) are not due to the effects of racist policies, but are “related to differential involvement in crime.” (Yup!)

The US government’s assertion of federal ownership of nearly 90% of Western Shoshone lands. The land base covers approximately 60 million acres, stretching across what is now referred to as the states of Nevada, Idaho, Utah and California. Western Shoshone rights to the land – which they continue to use, care for, and occupy today – were recognized by the United States in 1863 by the Treaty of Ruby Valley. The U.S. now claims these same lands as “public” or federal lands through an agency process and has denied Western Shoshone fair access to U.S. courts through that same process. The land base has been and continues to be used by the United States for military testing, open pit cyanide heap leach gold mining and nuclear waste disposal planning. The U.S. has engaged in military style seizures of Shoshone livestock, trespass fines in the millions of dollars and ongoing armed surveillance of Western Shoshone who continue to assert their original and treaty rights.

The USA incidentally also has the world’s largest prison population of roughly 2 million people, which accounts for approximately a quarter of the world’s prison population.

I could fill a thousand pages with issues that America has.

OK, so where is the long “Human Rights” devastating report on all the bull that America does everyday to squelch the rights of her citizens and citizens of the world?

This definition of hypocrite fits America to a tee! My Grandma use to say: “It takes one to know one!”

No country in the world should view itself as the incarnation of human rights, and use human rights as a tool to interfere in affairs of and exert pressure on other countries and realize its own strategic interests. The United States reigns over other countries and releases Country Reports on Human Rights Practices year after year. Its arrogant critique on the human rights of other countries are always accompanied by a deliberate ignoring of serious human rights problems on its own territory. This was not only inconsistent with universally recognized norms of international relations, but also exposed the double standards and downright hypocrisy of the United States on the human rights issue, and inevitably impaired its international image.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia News: The U.S. senate is planning to consider the creation of a special committee to investigate the activities of retired President George W. Bush, AFP news agency reports.

Russia News: Russia’s coach, Guus Hiddink, has earned his first victory with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League. The blues beat the Italian team, Juventus, 1-0 at Stamford bridge in the last 32 of the competition.

Russia News: Barack Obama can only serve eight years, though all missile defense shield technology problems won’t be worked out by that time, according to Lawrence Korb, a defense expert from the Center for American Progress.

Russia News: A 35-old man has committed a ritual suicide in one of the Orthodox monasteries in Odessa, Ukraine. Some believers call it an omen of future tragedies, believing such incidents happen prior to major tragedies.

Russia News: The court of Avezzano, Italy, has sentenced a citizen of Ukraine to two years and three months in prison for having sold her little daughter for €1000, according to ANSA news agency.

Russia News: Russian Muslims should boycott all Dutch-made goods, including the world-famous tulips and roses grown in the Netherlands, representatives of the Muslim spiritual authority of Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region said.

Russia News: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned that the Jewish state may launch another military operation, unless Iran stops smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip.

Russia News: Whenever Barack Obama’s term is over, people will still like him as he represents the achievement of the American spirit, says Dan Gainor, vice president of the Business and Media Institute.

Russia News: Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is awaiting legal proceedings in the block for VIP-prisoners in Moscow’s Matrosskaya Tishina detention centre. The ex-Yukos CEO’s cell mates are economists of the same age.

Russia News: At least nine people died and over 80 others were injured when a Turkish Airlines plane crashed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday, Dutch authorities said.

Russia News: A group of Russian Navy officials are suspected of attempting to smuggle 30 anti-submarine missiles and 200 airplane bombs worth a total of $18 million to Tajikistan for sale to China.

Russia News: Iran’s nuclear chief said on Wednesday the Islamic Republic had 6,000 operating centrifuges at a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and was planning to install a total of 50,000 over the next five years.

Russia News: A Belarusian scientist has advised the country’s businessmen to begin breeding edible frogs for export during the current economic crisis, Russia’s Vesti TV channel said on Wednesday.

Russia News: Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the completion of Iran’s first nuclear power plant is “bad news” for the whole world, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

Wow that was exciting! 🙂

Hello,

It is that time of the year again in Moscow, Russia!

At least 400 bee-keepers have gathered and they have come from the 50 regions of Russia and the CIS countries. The reason that they have invaded Moscow, is to take part in the annual “All – Russia Honey and Honey Products Fair” that is running through to March 3 at the Manezh exhibition center.

There will be about 60 varieties of honey to choose from. You can meet all your honey needs like propolis, royal jelly, pollen, wax and natural mead. There also will be tons of literature with bee-keeping manuals and Russia honey fact books.

The honey that you can get from this fair in Russia is incredible. Some of these honeys are like eating ice cream they are so rich and smooth.

The cost last year for a kilogram of honey ranged about 500 Rubles ($15). The price varies by where it comes from in Russia. (That is a lot of honey.)

Entry is free.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Interesting video from Russia Today. Russia Today has a growing network in America now and it seems to be getting bigger by the day. There are more and more videos being made by Russia Today reporters from inside America and they really are good.

The consensus that is spreading in the World Press seems to be far away in opinion from the consensus that the American Press is spreading.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Dmitry Medvedev answered a letter from Vera Ganina!

The mother of a Russian citizen Dmitry Ganin, who died during the tragic events of April 2007 in Tallinn.

Vera Yakovlevna Ganina sent President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev a letter expressing her gratitude for the attention, sympathy and concern shown to her family:

“I am grateful to the people of Russia and the leadership of the Russian Federation for its support for me and my daughter in those days of April 2007, when we were afflicted by this terrible grief. These days I am not at all well; I can no longer work the way I did before, when Dima was alive. This sense of grief will not go away, and I don’t have the same sort of strength to face the day that I had before; I am very grateful that during such a difficult time you have found it possible to support me financially and arranged an allowance for me.

I know that every mother would seek to defend her son, but Dima really was a good person, moral, respectful, very kind and trusting, not a bully, and he had many friends. The people here in Mustvee were surprised when Dima died, because he never did anyone any harm and got along with everybody. So many people came to say goodbye to him! My son was killed and then they managed to slander and rob him. That night I repeatedly called Dima. He was calm and promised to call me later. He was supposed to come home for the weekend on Friday 27 April, but on 27 April at 12.30am there was no answer and I realized that something bad had happened to him. Dima never broke his promises to me.

I am grateful to the Russian people in Russia and in other countries and to our compatriots in the countries of the whole world for believing that my son was a good man.”

On 22 February Dmitry Medvedev sent Vera Ganina his reply, which reads, in part:

“I have received your warm and very moving letter.

Again, please accept my sincere words of support and deep sympathy for your grief. It is a grief shared by millions of Russian citizens. The death of your son during the dramatic events in April 2007 shocked us all.

Dmitry had a heightened sense of justice and openly protested against the sacrilegious plan to shift the memorial to the soldiers who rescued Europe from fascism. He rightly believed this was a desecration of their memory. Your son defended not only the heroic past. He defended the civil dignity of people who honor the memory of those who gave their lives for the sake of world peace.

I am convinced that any attempt to justify Nazism and slander our victorious heroes would lead to an unacceptable and hypocritical revision of history, a forgetting of its lessons. Russia will firmly and consistently oppose this. I want to assure you that we will firmly insist that those responsible for the death of Dmitry Ganin be found and suffer their just punishment.”

Dmitry Ganin was killed in Tallinn during the rioting on 26-27 April 2007 related to the Estonian government’s decision to dismantle and move the so-called Bronze Soldier from the city centre. This monument to the Soldier-Liberator was erected in 1947 where the remains of 13 Soviet soldiers are buried, soldiers who died in the liberation of Estonia from German troops in autumn 1944.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 18:58:59.The Russian population’s natural decrease stood at 363,500 people in 2008, 22.7 percent lower than in the previous year, the Russian Health and Social Development Ministry said in today’s statement summing up the results of the national health project’s implementation in 2008. The rate of natural decrease amounted to 2.6 per 1,000 people in 2008 compared to 3.3 in 2007, while the mortality rate increased from 14.6 in 2007 to 14.7 in 2008. Meanwhile, the infant mortality rate decreased from 9.4 to 8.5 per 1,000 babies, and the year 2008 saw 364 less babies under one year of age dying than the previous year.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 18:21:15.During today’s special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the dollar exchange rate fell RUB 0.28 to 35.98 RUB/USD. Meanwhile, the euro closed at 45.86 RUB/EUR, RUB 0.18 higher than the previous day’s close. The number of deals on Micex exceeded 4,000 with the total market volume exceeding USD 15bn. Meanwhile, the amount of direct repo transactions with the Central Bank stood at RUB 253bn (approx. USD 7.01bn), up 72 percent compared to Friday. With this in mind, demand for short-term borrowings remains high among professional market participants against the background of tax payments.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Chisinau 17:17:42.Russia does not rule out the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting on the Transnistrian conflict that would be attended by the leaders of Moldova, Transnistria, and Russia as the guarantor of the Transnistrian conflict settlement, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. He noted that the only chance of resolving the conflict was direct talks between its parties – Moldova and Transnistria – in which they would agree upon the settlement’s basic principles.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 16:21:33.Despite the financial crunch, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee does not foresee any problems with sponsorship support for the Sochi Olympic Games, the committee’s President Dmitry Chernyshenko told journalists today. He noted that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had announced eight sponsorship categories. Five categories have remained with sponsorship positions yet to be closed, so positive news is soon to come, Chernyshenko stated. He added that there was no shortage of financing preparations for the Olympics.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 13:43:38.Russians have differing opinions on whether or not the nation’s allies should be given financial aid during the crisis, as 49 percent believe that all money must be used to shore up Russia’s own economy, while 42 percent say that even in this situation Russia must protect its interests globally, which requires financial aid. The figures were taken from a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM). As many as 47 percent of respondents said that loans granted to other countries were simply useless expenses, since Russia would not get anything worthwhile in return. Meanwhile, 40 percent of Russians pointed out that external loans were investments that would bring Russia many benefits in the future, and 14 percent had difficulty choosing an answer.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 10:22:49.Gazprom’s board of directors is set to review the issue of Ukrainian payments for Russian natural gas and the Russian gas monopoly’s strategy regarding its relations with Naftogaz of Ukraine, Gazprom’s press office reported today. Among other items on the agenda is the signing of contracts necessary to implement the investment program for 2009, Gazprom’s participation in the development of offshore deposits, and the implementation of its financial strategy’s key principles in the context of the growing crisis on global financial markets.

RBC, 20.02.2009, Moscow 19:57:05.The six-party working group on North Korea’s nuclear program did not discuss Pyongyang preparations for missile tests, Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy Grigory Logvinov told journalists today. This issue is still in the background, as there is no reliable evidence, the diplomat noted adding that North Korea’s official statement on the issue was “ambiguous.”

RBC, 20.02.2009, Moscow 18:49:27.The Russian State Duma has suggested mitigating criminal punishments for economic crimes or replacing them with large fines, according to the Duma’s statement on the government’s actions aimed at improving the situation in the financial sector and certain industries. The document also stipulates the need for developing the country’s institutions that protect property rights and preparing a legal base for industries with a high share of value added. The Duma proposed increasing government control over regulated tariffs to prevent them from rising unreasonably.

Hello,

Deep Purple is coming again this year to Russia. They will give two concerts in Moscow on April 18th and 19th of this year. Deep Purple is Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s favorite musical group and in February 2008, the band made their first ever appearance in Moscow Kremlin at the personal request of Dmitry Medvedev.

Last year, Deep Purple toured 11 cities in Russia and Ukraine from October 12 through 28. All of the concerts on last year’s tour were sold out and Deep Purple played the “Best of the Best” that was recorded by them between 1968 and 2008.”

Formed in Hartford, England, in 1968, Deep Purple along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, and were once listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s loudest band.

Tours:

* Deep Purple Debut Tour, 1968
* Shades of Deep Purple Tour, 1968
* The Book of Taliesyn Tour, 1968
* Deep Purple UK Tour 1969, 1969
* Deep Purple North American Tour 1969, 1969
* Deep Purple UK Tour 1969 #2, 1969
* In Rock Tour, 1970-1971
* Fireball Tour, 1971-1972
* Machine Head Tour, 1972-1973
* Deep Purple European Tour 1974
* Burn Tour, 1974
* Stormbringer Tour, 1974
* Come Taste The Band Tour, 1975-1976
* Perfect Strangers Tour, 1984-1985
* The House of Blue Light Tour, 1987-1988
* Slaves and Masters Tour, 1991
* Deep Purple 25 Years Anniversary Tour, 1993
* Deep Purple and Joe Satriani Tour, 1993-1994
* Deep Purple North American Tour 1994, 1994-1995
* Deep Purple Korean, South African and Indian Tour, 1995
* Perpendicular Tour, 1996-1997
* A Band on Tour, 1998-1999
* Concerto Tour, 2000-2001
* Deep Purple World Tour, 2001-2003
* Bananas Tour, 2003-2005
* Rapture of the Deep Tour, 2006-2008
* Deep Purple 40 Years Anniversary Tour, 2008

Studio Albums:

* 1968 Shades of Deep Purple
* 1968 The Book of Taliesyn
* 1969 Deep Purple
* 1970 Deep Purple In Rock
* 1971 Fireball
* 1972 Machine Head
* 1973 Who Do We Think We Are
* 1974 Burn
* 1974 Stormbringer
* 1975 Come Taste the Band
* 1984 Perfect Strangers
* 1987 The House of Blue Light
* 1990 Slaves & Masters
* 1993 The Battle Rages On
* 1996 Perpendicular
* 1998 Abandon
* 2003 Bananas
* 2005 Rapture of the Deep

They have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Rock on Russia!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.