Year: 2009

One thing that Russians grow lots of and love to eat is radishes. So While traveling the countryside of Russia in the summer you can always find a babushka selling radishes in a local village. These radishes are huge and bright red. They are very delicious with a sprinkle of salt and eat them plain. But since you can only eat so many plain radishes – here is a recipe that makes a delicious salad from radishes.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 each radishes
1 each medium onion
6 tb sour cream
salt to taste
The greens from radish tops.

Preparation:
Peel red skin from radish, soak in salted cold water for 30 minutes then finely grate into a bowl.
Peel onion then finely chop up the onion and put with radishes in bowl.
Add salt, sour cream and stir thoroughly.
Then take greens (leaves) wash well and strip the stem out of the leaf. Chop up the greens and put in the same bowl. Then finish mixing only enough to get leaves covered with sour cream.

Done:
That is it and it may be eaten right now or you can put in the refrigerator for an hour and let the flavors mix. Even a non radish lover may find this a good treat!

Yummy…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Russian riot police demonstrate new riot control vehicle:
The Podolsk riot police, OMON, demonstrated the BAT RCU 6000 riot control vehicle featuring a jet pulse water cannon that is effective up to 60 meters.

Russian warships to visit Cuba:
Russian warships are expected to pay another visit to Cuba as part of military cooperation between Moscow and Havana, the chief of Russia’s General Staff said on Friday.

Putin to meet corporate chiefs at Sochi investment forum:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will meet with the heads of several multinational companies at an investment forum underway in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, a government official said.

Russia to help Cuba modernize weaponry, train military:
Modernization of the Soviet-made military equipment and training of Cuban military personnel will be the focus of Russian-Cuban military cooperation in the near future, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Friday.

U.S. adopts four-phase plan for missile shield in Europe:
The United States has not fully abandoned plans to deploy elements of its global missile defense in Europe but rather adopted “a phased, adaptive approach” to their placement until 2020.

China, Russia to hold anti-piracy naval drills off Somali coast:
Chinese and Russian naval task forces currently on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden will hold joint exercises on September 18.

Russian NATO envoy skeptical about new U.S missile shield plans:
Russia’s NATO envoy has cautioned against “childish euphoria” over recent Washington’s decision to scrap plans for a missile shield in Central Europe.

Russia launches carrier rocket with Canadian telecoms satellite:
Russia has launched a Proton-M heavy carrier rocket with the Nimiq 5 telecommunications satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

Poland expects closer ties with U.S. as missile plans dropped:
Poland expects closer ties with the U.S. despite the fact that Washington’s plans to deploy elements of a missile shield in his country will no longer go ahead, the Polish premier said on Thursday.

Tourists arrivals in Moscow drop by 20% – tourism committee:
Tourist arrivals in Moscow for the first half of the year decreased by 18.6% year-on-year to 1.579 million people, a tourism committee representative said on Thursday.

Separated Siamese twins return to Russia:
Zita and Gita Rezakhanov, the two former Siamese twins from Kyrgyzstan who were surgically separated in Moscow in 2003, have returned to the Russian capital where they will be fitted with new prosthetics. This trip will probably decide their future. Both girls decided to become doctors, while taking a walk in Moscow.

Can they do that?

While I am far from being an expert on religions and have very little knowledge about the inner workings of the Orthodox faith. But – I do know that this recent development in Abkhazia and South Ossetia could lead to big issues real quick on the Orthodox religious front…

Head of the Abkhazian Church Vissarion officially declared separation from the Georgian Orthodox Church. This decision was jointly taken by all the church officers of the diocese. Meanwhile, the authorities of South Ossetia also thought it necessary to protect their Church which is not yet recognized worldwide. They are not satisfied with the position of the Russian clergy who acknowledge the right of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) for the spiritual charge of the parish of the independent republic. It looks like the diocese of Alania is going to follow the Abkhazian diocese and declare autocephaly. (Link)

So it looks like a serious issue to me and could lead to grave consequences. Wonder what will happen in this case?

Lets just keep an eye on the subject and we will see…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

The missile defense plans of America in Poland and the Czech Republic was a bonehead idea from day one. I have written extensively about this subject and voiced my opinion that America needs to stay out of affairs on this side of the world.

The US is to abandon its plan to develop a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, the Czech prime minister has announced. (Link)

Good move – but when you do not have any money left as a country (USA), you have to start cutting expenses somewhere.

Now speaking of money the Czech Republic and Polish Governments will now whine and cry about how bad Russia is and that this missile defense guaranteed their security. The only thing they really cared about was the $Dollars$ that America was too spend in their countries…

I prefer my tax money to be spent in America and help America back home…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

This is a story of a lost ship that encompasses any imagination on what it was to have been carrying as a cargo….

The Arctic Sea has over 6,000 metric tons of timber on board, he said.

“As a result of the investigation, including a search of the vessel and a probe into its documents, it was established that the cargo vessel was carrying pine timber instead of the more valuable mahogany,” the sailor said. (Link)

Now if that is not a real bummer!

It was not even carrying the expensive wood (mahogany), it was carrying cheap wood (pine).

Now that really is a crime….

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Looks like a fire cracker waiting to be lit!

MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russian border guards will detain all vessels that violate Abkhazia’s maritime border, a senior border guards official said on Tuesday.

Get ready because all it is going to take is a spark and we could have a serious encounter in the waters near Abkhazia! Georgia has been causing trouble for other countries trying to deliver goods to Abkhazia…

Bang!

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

On the anniversary of the financial meltdown, RT spoke to Gerald Celente, the founder of economic forecasters the Trends Research Institute, who predicted the crisis in early 2008. Gerald says, “There is no recovery from the crises!”

I listen to what he has to say and so far he is right and what he has been talking about is coming true all over the world. The Trends website is not a fortune telling site. It uses facts and information from the past to help see what will happen in the near future…

Makes me think and go Hummmmmm…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Russia to decide on purchase of French warship by October:
Technical discussions between Russia and France on buying a Mistral class amphibious assault ship should be completed soon, with a decision on the purchase to follow from Moscow.

Georgia outraged by Abkhazia joining world business organization:
A Georgian opposition MP threatened Abkhazia with sanctions on Monday following the former Georgian republic’s move to join the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Russian PM Putin to visit France in November:
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin intends to visit France in November, he said at a meeting with his French counterpart Francois Fillon on Monday.

Russia, Venezuela to invest $20 billion in Junin 6 oil field:
Venezuela and a consortium of Russian oil companies intend to invest $20 billion into the development of the Junin 6 oil deposit in the Orinoco River Basin.

Russian economy still needs modernization:
Russia must continue work to modernize the economy, despite the current need to channel resources into anti-crisis and pension programs, a deputy premier said on Monday.

Medvedev says global dominance is illusion, welcomes criticism:
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that the idea of global dominance must be abandoned in world politics, and more intelligent policies adopted.

Russia Gives Up Mass Army:
Leading Russian military expert Vitaly Shlykov spoke during one of the sessions of the Valdai Discussion Club last week about the sweeping reform of the country’s armed forces, which begins in December and will cut the number of tanks from 20,000 to 2,000 and reduce the number or reservists to just 100,000. The reform, which Shlykov described as nothing short of a revolution, will significantly affect the Kremlin’s approach to the composition of and future cuts to the country’s military arsenal.

India keen to expand nuclear cooperation with Russia:
India is ready to cooperate with Russia not only on completing the Kudankulam nuclear power plant but on the construction of a new station, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Monday.

North Korean leader sends birthday greetings to Russia’s Medvedev:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il congratulated Russian President Dmitry on his 44th birthday on Monday, Pyongyang’s official news agency said.

Hello,

I walk the dog everyday 3 to 4 times because the dog needs it and I need it for my heart. If you read our blog, then you know that I like to post pictures of my walks with the dog (Boza). So today is no different and I thought that I would show you what I see on a 45 minute walk with the dog…

Above – That is a picture on the side of a utility building. That is a standard Russian washing machine. That is a cool picture and I just wish that kids would not write other things on top of such fantastic paintings….

Above – That is a huge section of Flats and is just about half of the part we live in…

Above – A sidewalk near our Flat…

Above – Just a road leading to our Flat…

Above – This is the woods that we walk in and is part of a huge Hospital…

Above – More boring sidewalk that Boza and I walk on…

Above – All kinds of shops and businesses line the bottom floor of our buildings with the Flats…

Above – Playgrounds everywhere in Moscow…

Above – This is the playground outside our Flat. Like I said playgrounds everywhere…

Above – To the left is our front door and the handicap ramp. All new buildings have this type of ramp now…

That is all for today and hope everyone has a wonderful week…

Kyle and Svet
Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

The Western press have gone bananas over a statement that Putin made at the Valdai Discussion Club. I would expect the Russian press to do this but I really expect the main Western press to use reliable sources and not scrounge in the dirt for things…

So here I printed the real story…

MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he and President Dmitry Medvedev would come to an agreement before the 2012 presidential polls and would not compete with each other.

“There will be no competition. We will reach an agreement because we are of the same blood and of the same political outlook,” Putin said, answering a question from Nikolai Zlobin, a member of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Medvedev, Putin’s hand-picked successor, was inaugurated in May 2008, and the former president became prime minister a day later, with the pair pledging to run the country in “tandem.”

Medvedev later proposed introducing Constitutional amendments to extend the presidential and parliamentary terms to six and five years, respectively. He signed them into law last December, after they were approved by the lower and upper houses of parliament.

“Putin said he felt comfortable with the amount of power he has as prime minister. He is in no competition with President Medvedev,” Zlobin said.

Good grief you would think that the world came to an end and Russia just exploded with all the turmoil that Putin has just caused by say a few words of truth…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.