Year: 2009

Looks Like Russia has figured out a way to cheaply transport Gas (LNG) with out a pipeline. It has been put into effect on the Pacific Coast and now Russia sees it as an answer to help bypass Ukraine. Ukraine has caused her own problems and now Russia is in full swing to forever keep Ukraine out of the gas delivery loop.

Japan, America and Korea have just signed contracts that last 25 years to purchase all the gas that is produced at the new world’s largest oil and gas project Sakhalin-2 has begun to produce Russia’s first LNG for the world market. The first deliveries will go to Japan, where Russian LNG will have a major impact.

The huge Prirodnoe plant will pump 5% of the world’s LNG to America, Korea and Japan.

Things that make you go Hummmm…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Moscow authorities have refused to issue a birth certificate to a six-year-old boy, whose parents named him BOCh RVF 26062002, a records chief told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

Registration officials refused to register the boy’s name, which translates into a Russian acronym for Biological Human Object of the Voronin-Frolov Genus (DoB) June 6, 2002, to “protect the boy’s own interests.” The parents have insisted on registering the name and have filed a lawsuit.

How would you like to introduce this person to someone…

Hello Andre,

Meet

Glad to meet you…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

PS: Reminds me of Frank Zappa and his kids (Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva Muffin),actually those names seem tame compared to the one above.

The English translation of this video is really good. The Russians seem to be getting better at this game of press releases.

I found this video was full of good information and Medvedev shows that he is on top of things.

Kyle & Svet

RBC, 17.02.2009, Moscow 13:04:08.The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service has opened a law suite against Lukoil, TNK-BP, Gazprom Neft and Rosneft for setting unreasonably high prices for oil products on the retail and wholesale markets, head of the service Igor Artemyev told journalists today.

RBC, 17.02.2009, Moscow 12:40:24.Olimpstroy is ready to announce the first winners of a tender for the performance of works in the construction of Olympic facilities. Forty-five days after all the corresponding documentation is checked, the winners will be able to begin work on the construction sites. All the tenders for the construction of Olympic facilities will be announced this year. Olimpstroy oversees a total of over 40 facilities.

RBC, 17.02.2009, Moscow 12:16:21.The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance in the Field of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor) plans to provide anti-crisis consultations for the population, head of the service Gennady Onishchenko told a press conference today. He pointed out that a special hotline to provide information about “what to do, and how to start your own business” would be launched. Furthermore, the hotline’s operators will provide consultations on eating healthy without spending too much money. Onishchenko also indicated that the same type of information would be available on the service’s website. He did not specify the exact date for the launch of such consultations, however, noting that the watchdog was planning to do research on which areas were most attractive to Russians for opening small-sized businesses.

RBC, 17.02.2009, Chisinau 11:41:35.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to pay an official visit to Moldova on February 23, 2009, the republic’s government reported to RBC. Lavrov is expected to meet Moldovan authorities to discuss bilateral cooperation in different spheres, as well as the settlement of the Transnistrian dispute. Moldova places great hopes on Lavrov’s visit, as it is expected to help further improve relations between Russia and Moldova.

RBC, 17.02.2009, Moscow 11:27:37.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to Israel and the PNA on Monday. The prospects of settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict took center stage in the discussion, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported today. Lavrov expressed regret over numerous deaths of civilians in the Gaza Strip during a recent military operation, stressing that such events must never be repeated. Furthermore, the Russian official insists that the blockade of Gaza must be lifted. The parties also discussed the possibility of restoring Palestinian unity on the basis of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

RBC, 17.02.2009, Bishkek 10:55:39.The Kyrgyz parliament’s committee for international affairs and intergovernmental cooperation has urged the deputies to consider during the next session the denunciation of an agreement with the United States on the deployment of its military base in Bishkek’s airport Manas. According to the republic’s parliament, the next session has been scheduled for Thursday.

RBC, 17.02.2009, Moscow 10:25:06.Experts foresee a sell-off in foreign currencies on the Russian market, which is expected to push the ruble higher on Micex. Advance payments on the single social tax, insurance premiums, and half of excise amounts, which were due on Monday, failed to boost demand for the ruble as they had done in the past. Experts believe that taxpayers sold currency in advance. As reported earlier, the dollar jumped RUB 0.52 and the euro RUB 0.49 yesterday.

RBC, 17.02.2009, Moscow 09:56:52.Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Iran’s Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, will discuss current and prospective issues of bilateral relations concerning the two countries’ military agencies. As reported by the Russian Defense Ministry’s press and information office, Najjar arrived in the Russian capital on February 16.

What is Russia up to?

That is a good question: It seems that Russia is signing all kinds of deals with people all over the world. Lets see what they have signed…

Jets for the Arabs, missiles for the Chinese, Kyrgyz government removing a USA air force base, NATO gets a supply route, Bolivia gets Energy contracts and so on and so on! Medvedev stays busy as a bee meeting people from all over the world.

So while Russia is signing up new friends, there is lots of other stuff going on also. Like in sports…

Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva broke the world indoors record twice in a single day at a Pole Vault Stars meeting in Ukraine’s Donetsk on Sunday, first clearing 4.97 meters and then 5.0 meters.

That is impressive and Russia should be very proud of her. So while Yelena is setting world records the folks back home are remembering Afghanistan…

On February 14, 1989, the last Soviet armored personnel carrier left Kabul. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led security and development mission in Afghanistan, is facing the same problems 20 years later.

That is a real mess and now Russia seems to be giving a helping hand to NATO…

The first American non-military cargo to Afghanistan is being put together in Riga, Latvia. The Russian Foreign Ministry says that the freight will be sent to Afghanistan through the Russian territory shortly.

Talking about helping hands, maybe we need to feel sorry for the billionaires in Russia..

Mikhail Prokhorov, the president of Onexim Group, has been ranked by Russia’s Finans magazine as the richest of the Russian super-rich, with an estimated wealth of $14.1 billion in 2008.

I remember when that would have not even made the list. I think that he will get by though. So while the rich are not as rich as they use to be. The poor camels are stuck at a new border…

Two dozens Russian camels bound for Bulgaria, have been stopped on their way again – this time on the border between Moldova and Romania. One animal has already died en route.

Those poor camels, will someone please give them a break. Talking about breaks look like Medvedev is breaking things…

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed decrees to replace four governors and named their replacements, the Kremlin said on Monday. Out with the old and in with the new.

So as Medvedev is breaking some hearts a very sad weekend has happened in Moscow…

Heavy snowfalls in Moscow and the surrounding Moscow Region caused more than 6,000 traffic accidents over the weekend, which resulted in 24 deaths, local traffic police said on Monday.

That is sad and should not happen. We will not talk about Russian drivers right now. What we will talk about is Lenin…

The mausoleum at Red Square, where the embalmed corpse of Vladimir Lenin is housed, will be closed for two months for maintenance works on Monday.

So it seems that he will be getting some spring cleaning. Now lets go to Ukraine, we can not ever do a “What is Russia up to” with out mentioning Ukraine…

Over half of Ukrainians consider the terms of a recent gas deal with Russia were acceptable, Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency said on Monday citing a poll organized by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

well that is enough and that is just the tip of the iceberg for what Russia is up to. As you can see Russia stays busy and you never know from one week to the next who and what they are going to be messing with…

Have a nice week!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Hello,

I was thinking about the Soviet Union and the Afghanistan War while drinking my coffee today. It seems that 20 years ago this 15th of February the Soviets left Afghanistan.

Now the comparisons of that war and the one the USA is waging in Afghanistan is ironically similar.

“As Russia marks the 20th anniversary of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, officials in Moscow are warning that US and NATO-led forces are making exactly the same mistakes as the Soviet Union made when it invaded the country in 1979.”

The Military in Russia have stated many times that it seems strange that no one seems to have learned from their mistakes in Afghanistan. There is still plenty of men who fought in that war still alive. This was a war that will never be forgotten by Russians.

But it seems that bad wars can be forgotten and America seems to have pushed aside the nightmare called Vietnam and now they are in two similar wars that will never end.

Now just 20 years later, the Russians are looking with astonishment at the way the US and NATO-led forces are waging their war in Afghanistan.

Russia shakes her head in disbelief as America has now been caught in this vicious circle called Afghanistan.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

PS:

Russia does not laugh like America did when the Soviet Union was buried in the quagmire called Afghanistan. Russian does not supply Americas and NATOs enemies with money and weapons to fight against them. (Like America did.)

Russia just feels sorry, because Russia remembers…

Hello,

Back in 1992 Coke took some small steps in Russia and showed that they were willing to start small and let it grow. Pepsi was here before Coke was and Coke knew that they had to build a reputation slowly.

January 17, 1992 (New York Times)
COMPANY NEWS; Coca Cola Sets Russia Venture

The Coca-Cola Company said today that it had formed a joint venture with the city of Moscow to make and sell Coke products in Russia.

Coke is making an initial investment of $12 million in the operation, to be called Coca-Cola Refreshments-Moscow. The venture will focus at first on fountain sales, with distribution through a network of some 2,000 kiosks in the Russian city.

Well 15 years later Coke is calling Russia to be the 5th largest Coke Market in the world in a few years and it seems that Coke will now spend some money and try to finish off its rival Pepsi Cola.

Coca-Cola sees Russian growth, to invest $1.2 bln!

Wednesday 16:09, February 11th, 2009 (Budapest Business Journal)

US drinks maker Coca-Cola Co said it would invest $1.2 billion in Russia over the next 3 to 5 years as it bets sales of the carbonated drink will increase during the economic crisis.

“The company can afford to have aggressive positions in Russia,” Coca-Cola’s Russia, Ukraine and Belarussian head Zoran Vucinic told a news conference on Wednesday. “The market of non-alcoholic beverages is growing during (the) crisis and we want to continue investing in the Russian market.”

It seems that even though the market in the USA has dropped around 3-4% in sales for Coke they are saying that the International market has had continued growth. The market in Russia seems to have grown slightly during the financial crises.

I myself can say that Coke and Pepsi products have dropped in price over the last few months. I just bought a can of Diet Coke for 14 roubles and that is down from almost 20 roubles a few months ago.

Seems that there is a lot of profit in that little can of Coke…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

RBC, 13.02.2009, Moscow 19:04:16.Russia will submit an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Nord Stream project to the Baltic states by March 1, head of the Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry’s environmental protection department Rinat Gizatulin was cited in a ministerial press release as saying during a meeting of the EIA working group.

RBC, 13.02.2009, Moscow 18:56:51.A significant number of joint Russia-Nato programs have been disrupted due to the economic crisis, Russia’s envoy to Nato Dmitry Rogozin told a press conference organized by RBC. The financial crisis has hit a number of nations very hard, and some of them even face bankruptcy, Rogozin noted, adding that these countries were rapidly cutting their military expenses. He explained that “by using this European-Atlantic solidarity, such countries are trying to save on their defense.”

RBC, 13.02.2009, Moscow 16:28:17.Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss preparations for the international conference on the Middle East to be held in Moscow with representatives of Persian Gulf and Middle East states. Lavrov is due to pay a visit to the region on February 15-19, said Alexander Zasypkin, deputy director of the Foreign Ministry’s information and press department.

RBC, 13.02.2009, Moscow 15:42:58.Trade between Russia and Turkey exceeded $32bn in 2008, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced after talks with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, who is currently in Russia on his state visit. He specified that according to Russia’s estimates, trade stood at over $34bn. “Our Turkish colleagues were remembering a period when trade amounted to a mere $1bn, which enables us to say that it increased 35 times over the past decade,” Medvedev stressed.

RBC, 13.02.2009, Moscow 14:47:47.Russia tops the list of the 11 largest countries in the world in terms of inflation, with the year-on-year rate at 13.3 percent as of December 2008, the Federal State Statistics Service reported citing the findings of the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and national statistics services published on the Internet in accordance with IMF standards. As such, year-on-year inflation was 9.7 percent in India, 5.9 percent in Brazil, 3.1 percent in Great Britain, 2.2 percent in Italy, 1.2 percent in Canada, 1.1 percent in Germany, 1 percent in France, and 0.4 percent in Japan.

RBC, 13.02.2009, Moscow 10:54:42.Lukoil expects its oil production to reach 90.8m tonnes in 2009, President Vagit Alekperov said on Thursday during a meeting in Kirishi, Leningrad region. He indicated that the increase in output will amount to 2 percent compared to the previous year. Alekperov reiterated that the announced figure was true for production in Russia only and did not include the company’s foreign projects.

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and thinking about the news that I heard about Wal-Mart and Russia!

SPRINGDALE — Wal-Mart is exploring the retail market in Russia, with an office open in Moscow.

The Bentonville-based retailer also joined the Russian Association of Retail Companies, a trade association similar to the National Retail Federation in the United States, said Richard J. Coyle, Wal-Mart’s senior director for international corporate affairs.

“Wal-Mart has been exploring opportunities in Russia for several months,” Coyle said, and joined the retail companies association “to participate in meetings and forums” and to follow retail trends. (Link)

I have written an articles before (Link) But never really had anymore evidence other than just rumors that drift in from the locals and Reuters.

Seems that now Wal-Mart has with out a doubt made a commitment here in Russia. I am not happy about this news because I think that we have a huge discount store in Russia that serves the needs. (Link) Ашан: pronounced Auchong, is my favorite huge store and Svet and I are very comfortable shopping there.

Here is a list from the Wal-Mart sight that shows the international stores that Wal-Mart has:

Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had 3,416 international stores as of Dec. 31. The market, number of stores and date of entry include:

• Mexico, 1,201, November 1991.

• Puerto Rico, 56, August 1992.

• Canada, 310, November 1994.

• Brazil, 349, May 1995.

• Argentina, 28, August 1995.

• China, 225, August 1996. The China stores include Wal-Mart’s 35 percent interest in Trust-Mart, which operates 100 stores in China.

• United Kingdom, 358, July 1999.

• Japan, 387, March 2002.

• Costa Rica, 164, September 2005.

• El Salvador, 77, September 2005.

• Guatemala, 160, September 2005.

• Honduras, 50, September 2005.

• Nicaragua, 51, September 2005.

Source: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

So I guess that we wait and see what future Russia has with Wal-Mart!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Hello,

I just had to write about this after I saw it on the news all over the world.

Two communication satellites – one Russian, one American – have collided in space some 800 kilometers over 400 miles, above Siberia.

The collision occurred on Tuesday, creating a massive explosion with much debris scattering through space. It’s still unclear what caused the collision, which has become the first-ever involving two intact satellites.

The incident is thought to have involved a 12-year-old satellite belonging to the US company Iridium and a defunct Russian Cosmos satellite that was put into orbit in 1993. The craft, which weighed 560kg and 950kg respectively, apparently smashed into each other at a speed of 420 miles per minute (25,000mph). Both satellites were used for telecommunications, with the US satellite an active part of Iridium’s network of 66 craft which provide satellite telephone access to more than 250,000 people worldwide. It’s the first crash of its kind, but NASA says it doesn’t pose a threat to the International Space Station (ISS).

Now that would have been something to see. At that speed the satellites would have just exploded like they were detonated.

Guess this will now increase awareness of the orbiting satellites and what dangers they could be to each other and the space station. Since some 6,000 satellites have been sent into orbit since 1957 and around 3,000 still remain in operation, according to Nasa.

Looks like we got a lot of space junk flying around the Earth…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

PS: Strange thing about this news though is that no one tried to change the news and put a biased slant to the article. Everyone reported the news the same. 🙂