Windows to Russia

Over the years we have watched many blogs come and go. I always wonder what happens and why? They never let you know why they quit posting and they just fade away.

It is easy to spot a blog that is dying and all you have to do is look for signs. Like comments go unanswered, posts become infrequent and topic changes from the original topic!

There are a few blogs that have stuck it out and have become great blogs in their own rights. I do not associate with so called high powered blogs that are the gift to blog heaven through SEO tricks and techniques. I believe that a blog is good by the energy that the owner puts into the blog.

It is a shame that Google can not see through the crud out here in the blogosphere. Most good blogs are left in the dust…

1. One fantastic blog that has owners with tremendous passion for what they write is Roberto and Lydia of the blog – Silver People Chronicles! They have been plodding along recording the history of the Panamanian region through the eyes of a West Indian. Roberto and Lydia have lived in America and decided to settle back in Panama to conduct their writings. I have had the pleasure to have found their blog from around day one and read it as the posts come on line.

They also have a blog – The Silver People Heritage Foundation This is another fantastic blog that has started to become stronger and stronger by the week.

So head on over to Roberto and Lydia’s they would appreciate it and the hospitality is fantastic.

2. I’ll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book! This is a wonderful surviving blog from an author named Clark that has a passion for books. Several other blogs of his have fallen to the wayside but this blog to my delight has survived and still is being posted every few weeks. I am an avid fan of reading and find a lot of good books to read through his assertions and efforts. I miss his blog Rotus and hope that one day he will be able to bring it back to life. Go see Clark and say Hi! Tell him Kyle sent you…

3. My life in Bergen, a photo-blog! You want to see a first hand eye on a beautiful country. Then this is the blog for you. Bergen, Norway is just stunningly beautiful and this blog is from a photographer (Bskaad) that lives there and sees life first hand. He is busy making a living as we all must do, but when it comes to his passion of taking picture he is top notch. Bskaad loves guests on his blog and enjoys when people find a picture that catches your fancy…

4. The 100% Unofficial Blog of the Russian President! This is another good Russian blog. It follows a slightly different path than my blog so we overlap very little. I enjoy reading what he posts and will leave the rest to you after you go on over to his site and try him out. He goes by Лжедмитрий!

5. Russian Video From Russia! My wife has a fantastic video blog that is ranked at the top of her category. But since Russian videos are not a big favorite in the world, her blog struggles to get new readership. Svet has a weekend movie that is a full length Russian movie from the Soviet Era, that are always a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. She also posts almost everyday a video that pertains to Russia. I am very proud of her and what she has accomplished in this blog. Her addition to Windows to Russia is part of the corner stone of the site.

6. Russian Photo Blog! Another blog of ours that Svet and I work on together is our photo blog. It is nothing but real pictures taken on life in Russia. Everything in the blog has been taken by Svet or I. Everything in the blog is Russia! We have hundreds of pictures in this blog. So stop by and take a peak at Russia…

7. Былое и думы! Челита (Chelita) a very avid blog owner loves to post in this blog about the happenings of her life in Israel. Челита is Russian and her husband Misha always have lots of fun in and with life. Svet and I traveled to see them in 2008 and they were the best hosts that anyone could ever have. This blog always has very interesting posts and she has a translator to translate into other languages. Stop on by and say Hi! You never know what Челита is going to post next…

That is it for today and I will post a few more tomorrow. The post got extra long and winded.

I do not follow the SEO rule of only connect to blogs that have the same content. I try to connect to who I read and enjoy…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

I was drinking that morning cup of coffee and thinking about the issue that came up yesterday. We had an interesting problem with our electricity and the main issue was communication. Svet and I have just been talking about when will the bill for the electric come. We had all bills except that one. 🙂

The picture above is our electric meter. Not like any meter that I have ever seen on my house before before. This is a state of the art electronic device that is programed to shut off the power when you are out of money. Other words, it is as the power company says: “Based on the same technology as many cell phones in Russia- prepaid.” You pay ahead for any electricity that you need…

That is fine and dandy and we have no problem with the system. But we had a problem with the fact that nowhere in any papers and or conversations did anyone mention. That you needed to make a two hour trip across town then two hours back, to get a special key to activate the meter after recharging it with money at the nearest bank…

The blue key hanging outside of the box in the picture above is the electronic key. The local bank takes you money and inserts the key in a machine and then the key is programed to transfer the sum to your meter when you insert said key at home. Great idea but we did not have a key!

After solving that problem – 6 and a half hours after finding out the power was shut off due to our problem. We had electricty again as easy as pushing a key into the slot. The big blue button above the key is used to check how much money you have left and other various functions.

I am use to the big glass meter system that is used in America and older Russian electrical systems. You know the type that can be turned around and run in reverse or use a magnet and stop the dial from spinning. I bet my son who is a computer whiz could reprogram this device to give free electricity. 🙂

Just doesn’t seem right that after all these years that this tiny little box controls all the power in the flat or house. I like watching the dial spin in the old meters.

Looks like the world is just going to become on big electronic device one day…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

After my trip this last time to Ukraine and what information I picked up from many Americans in Ukraine. America has reasserted its money and politics as we come upon this new presidential election in Ukraine.

Looks like Russia has responded heavily this week to the interference…

Russia has been angry with Kiev over various issues. Now it plans to wait till the 2010 elections before taking any serious steps, according to Ekaterina Kuznetsova from the Centre for Post-Industrial Society Research. (Video Above)

Though President Yushchenko says he has nothing against Russia, his actions are completely contrary – so the dialogue with him cannot be productive, says Dmitry Babich, a political analyst from RIA Novosti news agency. (Video Above)

President Dmitry Medvedev reveals the reasons behind refraining from sending the new Russian ambassador to Ukraine just yet, as well as the roots of strain in Russia-Ukraine relations in his new video blog message. (Video Above)

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Recovering Ingush leader targets return to work in month:
The president of the south Russian republic of Ingushetia, who survived an assassination attempt in June and was released from a Moscow hospital on Monday, plans to resume work in a month.

Medvedev delays sending Russian ambassador to Ukraine:
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced on Tuesday he was holding off sending Russia’s new ambassador to Ukraine over Kiev’s anti-Russian policies.

Alleged Russian arms dealer hopeful of ‘fair’ Thai court verdict:
Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is facing extradition from Thailand to the United States for alleged illegal arms trafficking, said on Tuesday he was hopeful of a “fair” verdict.

Russian Proton-M carrier rocket set to orbit Chinese satellite:
A Proton-M rocket with a Chinese telecommunications satellite will be launched on Tuesday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, the Russian Federal Space Agency said.

Something extraordinary happened to missing Atlantic ship – expert:
A Russian maritime expert said on Monday that “something extraordinary” must have happened to a cargo ship that went missing off Portugal’s Atlantic coast.

“Russian authorities have lost hope with Yushchenko”:
Though President Yushchenko says he has nothing against Russia, his actions are completely contrary – so the dialogue with him cannot be productive, says Dmitry Babich, a political analyst from RIA Novosti news agency.

“We begin bombing Russia in five minutes” – anniversary of Cold War era joke:
During World War II there was a saying that “loose lips sink ships”. Twenty five years ago, the loose lips of an American President caused quite a stir in the Kremlin.

Super-jet set to muscle into Russian aviation:
Russia’s new Super-jet passenger plane is likely to be one of the stars of the Moscow air show which starts next week. The government hopes its appearance will earn more orders from foreign as well as Russian airlines.

“Saakashvili will never acknowledge blame for the war”:
There is still a long way to go before Georgia recognizes its responsibility for the August conflict, says Mikhail Stolyarov of the Russian State Academy of Public Service, a leading research center.

Medvedev proposes changes to defense laws of Russia:
Changes to Russia’s defense laws are on the cards, a year after the country sent in the army to defend South Ossetia when it was attacked.

August 11, 2009

Relations between Russia and Ukraine: a New Era Must Begin:

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: A few days ago, I sent a letter to the President of Ukraine. It was not an ordinary document, I should say, as it contains a number of complex and unflattering characteristics of the actions by the top political leadership of Ukraine. In my today’s address I would like to explain the reasons behind my step.

There has been public concern in both Ukraine and Russia of late over the state of our bilateral relations. Ukrainian politicians themselves have admitted that relations are at an extremely low point today, and it is hard not to agree. The strain in relations between our countries has indeed hit unprecedented levels.

I have on many occasions stated that Russia seeks to be a predictable, strong and comfortable partner for its neighbors, all the more so for a country with which we share common historical and cultural roots. We are more than just neighbors; our ties are those of brothers.

Nikolai Gogol, the great writer and son of both Ukrainian and Russian peoples, said, “There are no bonds more sacred than the bonds of brotherhood”. As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Gogol’s birth, we remember these words once again. These celebrations are yet another vivid illustration of our peoples’ spiritual closeness.

Set against this background, the difficult – to say the least – relations our countries have been experiencing make an even stronger contrast. Let’s take a look at what is actually happening.

The leadership in Kiev took an openly anti-Russian stand following the military attack launched by the Saakashvili regime against South Ossetia. Ukrainian weapons were used to kill civilians and Russian peacekeepers. Russia continues to experience problems caused by a policy aimed at obstructing the operations of its Black Sea Fleet, and this on a daily basis and in violation of the basic agreements between our countries. Sadly, the campaign continues to oust the Russian language from the Ukrainian media, the education, culture and science. The Ukrainian leadership’s outwardly smooth-flowing rhetoric fits ill with the overt distortion of complex and difficult episodes in our common history, the tragic events of the great famine in the Soviet Union, and an interpretation of the Great Patriotic War as some kind of confrontation between two totalitarian systems.

Our economic relations are in a somewhat better situation and are developing, but we have not yet succeeded in tapping their full potential. Again, the problem is that Russian companies frequently face open resistance from the Ukrainian authorities. Bypassing Russia, Ukraine’s political leaders do deals with the European Union on supplying gas – gas from Russia – and sign a document that completely contradicts the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached in January this year.

But no matter what the complexes or illusions motivate the actions of individual Ukrainian officials, we will always value our fraternal ties with the Ukrainian people and will strive to strengthen our humanitarian cooperation. It is with this aim in mind that we plan to open branches of the Russian Science and Culture Center in several Ukrainian cities and will do all we can to support Ukrainians living in our country in their efforts to develop their national culture.

Patriarch Kirill’s recent pastoral visit to Ukraine was also an event of great significance. I had a meeting with the Patriarch following the visit, and he shared his impressions and said many cordial words. We both are of one and the same opinion that the two fraternal peoples may not be separated as they share common historical and spiritual heritage.

I am confident that our relations with Ukraine’s people will overcome any problems. They cannot be destroyed by politicians’ selfish interests, fickle changes in the global situation, or individual leaders’ mistakes, and all the more so, cannot be undone by empty words and pseudo-historic research.

I am certain that a new era will begin. Nevertheless, in the current situation, I have made a decision to refrain from sending the Russian ambassador to Ukraine. The new ambassador will commence his duties at a later stage, and naming the exact date for it will depend on the positive dynamics in bilateral relations.

There can be no doubt that the multifaceted ties between Russia and Ukraine will resume on a fundamentally different level – that of strategic partnership – and this moment will not be long in coming. I hope that the new leadership of Ukraine will be ready for the break through. We will in turn make our best for it to happen.

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

MAKS-2009 air show outside Moscow on August 18-23!

MAKS bills itself as “a demonstration of the advantages and development trends of Russian science and industry in such high-tech areas as aviation, space, missile engineering.”

We missed it two years ago and this time, I wanna go.

It is only staged every two years.

Time to talk to Svet… 🙂

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Leonid Stadnik from Ukraine is a hard man to get information on. We here at Windows to Russia have been asked numorus times about this man. People have taken an interest in his life and that is what Leonid Stadnik does not like people to do.

So this is an update to all our readers that have written e-mails about him. It seems that he does not want to be bothered is the word that we have gotten back from our trips to Ukraine.

This video is the latest about Leonid Stadnik and his desires to be left alone. In fact it was hard for them (RIA) to get this interview. He is a fascinating man that is use to living in peace and does not want the fame of being the tallest man alive…

http://video.kylekeeton.com/2008/06/leonid-stadnik-world-tallest-man.html

http://video.kylekeeton.com/2008/03/tallest-man-of-world-lives-in-ukraine.html

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

You know cops sometimes just do not have a sense of humor. RIA Novosti filmed around 500 people in Moscow on roller skates having a good time disrupting the normal flow! (That is how the cops put it!)

More than 500 roller-skaters rolled through the Moscow night wearing wild costumes. However, they were diverted from their planned route when special police officers rounded them up and sent them home.

This is worth watching and is a good laugh. I guess the cops are correct in some ways, but sometimes you just wanna have fun. At least the cops did not arrest anyone…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

August 8, 2009,
Vladikavkaz

Excerpts from Conversation with Residents of South Ossetia:

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: My greetings to you all once again.

Thank you for coming to say kind words to our soldiers. I already made some comments, expressed my thoughts on what happened, on what we did in response, on what we should have done and what we had no choice but to do.

<…>

There will always be different views of what happened of course. It is your view of events that matters most to us, rather than the assessments of foreign political analysts who do not even know where South Ossetia is on the map, and the assessments of specialists who have spent their lives studying the Soviet Union and Russia, but have no idea how life is actually organized in our countries and how our peoples lived and live. For us, for Russia’s people and leadership, it is your view of events, your assessment that matters most of all.

<…>

When I came to you the first time, I saw, of course, the signs of destruction, the scars left by the blockade that lasted such a long time.

RESPONSE: Twenty years.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Twenty years. You can still see the wounds this land bears. But the emotional dimension makes up for everything, because people are genuinely happy that in this very difficult situation that lasted decades they have managed to survive.

The Russian people, our soldiers, have played a direct part in ensuring this survival, and this is something you cannot fail to feel. Talking with you, I hear from you such positive and kind words, see such good feeling, and it was exactly the same in the city. Just ordinary people, and there’s no need to prove anything to them, no need for long speeches, they simply came to say “thank you” and give us a hug.

I want to say how extremely important this is to me not just as Russia’s president, but as an ordinary person, because everything we did, we did it for you. We acted not in pursuit of geopolitical aims and victories – this is all worthless. What counts above all is human life.

<…>

You are right when you say that all the problems here cannot be put right in the space of just a year, all the more so as they have built up over decades. But at the same time, we need to keep our sights on the future. The first time I came, I saw that many streets and buildings were in a sorry state. There is no question that they must be rebuilt and repaired.

But we are seeing signs of new life starting to emerge, and these signs are essential. These new buildings under construction, the new schools being built – they were not here before. This work needs to become a permanent part of life. It won’t be possible to rebuild everyone’s houses and repair all the streets all at once, but things have to be moving forward, and it seems to me that this is the case today.

I wish all of you here success in this work, because the country’s future depends on you and on your desire to build a modern, compact and flourishing state.

Russia will certainly help you in every way it can. We will give you economic and social support, and we will also assist you in military matters, of course, because you would face big problems without military support.

We have signed treaties and concluded agreements. You can be assured of our support, but the inner motivation to create a small and yet prosperous country has to come above all from you yourselves. If you have this determination, South Ossetia will become the country that you want it to be.

<…>

On the subject of recognition, this was not an easy decision for Russia and for myself as president, as I am sure you know. But for some reason, some of our partners in the international community still hold out vain hopes that these are somehow only temporary steps taken in response to particular political circumstances, and that it might be possible to pressure Russia into going back on its decisions.

Speaking in the street, at the award ceremony, I said that these kinds of decisions are made once and for good, and I repeat these words now. There will be no going back on our decisions. We have made our choice. We took our stand last August, and the only direction now is forward.

<…>

Of course, for the decision makers, for country’s president, it is essential to know the ordinary people’s view on an issue. This is what counts more than anything else. You rightly noted the unanimity, the fact that people really spoke with one voice against the aggression that took place and the losses it caused, and united in support of our subsequent decisions, and this is the main yardstick of justice for our country’s leadership and people.

In situations like this there cannot be divergence between the leadership’s decisions and what the public wants. If the leadership and people are united they produce strong decisions. You were right in citing the examples of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century, because only in such situations can difficult decisions of this kind be taken.

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Hey Everyone,

We have been a little quiet this weekend on the blog front. We had some internet friends from America fly into Moscow on Saturday. So for two days we have been up early and get them settled.

A farmer (Dennis) from Wisconsin and his 18 year old son (Darrell) decided to take a trip to Moscow, Russia. Svet and I got to know him over the internet through Windows to Russia. We promised to meet him at the airport and to make sure that they had all the necessities to survive. We found a place with a good Russian friend of ours to stay and they are having a great time in Moscow.

Svetlana’s son (Misha) is showing them around the Red Square today and several museums / Art gallery’s. Tomorrow they fly to St. Petersburg and spend a few days there. Then they are going to visit some Russian friends for a week in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Dennis has been to Russia a few times but this is the first trip to Russia for his son.

So I am back at the keyboard today getting caught up on the sites. It was fun to have another American to talk to and get caught up first hand on things in America…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.