Month: December 2010

The Admiral Gorshkov Aircraft Carrier has been Renamed the Vikramaditya…


Vikramaditya means “Brave as the Sun” is the new name for the former Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which has been procured by India, and is estimated to enter service in the Indian Navy after 2012. Read More >>>

“Vikramāditya” is Sanskrit for “Brave as the Sun” and was the title of some of the most famous kings in Indian history, such as the Vikramaditya of Ujjain, famed as a noble ruler and a mighty warrior. It is also a title that was used by the Indian king Chandragupta II who ruled between 375-413/15 AD…

I like it…

Related articles

Medvedev’s Article: Go Russia!


In his opening remarks President said:

“I wrote the article that was published today to lay out to each of you, to all citizens of Russia, my idea of the strategic challenges that lie ahead. Challenges regarding the present and the future of our country. I invite all those who have something to say to participate in the discussion surrounding these issues. Your views, comments and suggestions will be taken into account in preparing the President’s Annual Address to the Federal Assembly and the practical plans governing our country’s development.”

E-mail address for feedback and suggestions: kremlin@gov.ru.

The full text of the article in English will be published.

The Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev’s Article, Go Russia!:

“Let’s answer a simple but very serious question. Should a primitive economy based on raw materials and endemic corruption accompany us into the future? And should the inveterate habit of relying on the government, foreign countries, some kind of comprehensive doctrine, on anything or anyone – as long as it’s not ourselves – to solve our problems do so as well? And if Russia can relieve itself from these burdens, can it really find its own path for the future?”

“As the contemporary generation of Russian people, we have received a huge inheritance. Gains that were well-deserved, hard-fought and hard-earned by the persistent efforts of our predecessors. Sometimes the cost of hardships really was terrible casualties. We have a huge territory, large amounts of natural resources, solid industrial potential, an impressive list of outstanding achievements in science, technology, education and art, a glorious history regarding our army, navy, and nuclear weapons. By using its authority Russian power has played a significant — and in some periods determinate — role in events of historic proportions.

How should we manage that legacy? How to magnify it? What will the future of Russia be for my son, for the children and grandchildren of my fellow citizens? What will be Russia’s place, and hence the place of our descendants, heirs, and future generations, among other nations in the global labor market, in the system of international relations, in global culture? What must we do to steadily improve the quality of life of Russian citizens today and in the future? To allow our society to become richer, freer, more humane and more attractive? So that Russian society can give to those who desire it a better education, an interesting job, a good income, and comfortable environment for both personal life and creative activity?

I have answers to these questions.”

“An inefficient economy, semi-Soviet social sphere, fragile democracy, harmful demographic trends, and unstable Caucasus represent very big problems, even for a country such as Russia.

Of course we do not need to exaggerate. Much is being done, Russia is working. It is not a half-paralyzed, half-functioning country as it was ten years ago. All social systems are operating. But this is still not enough. After all, such systems only propagate the current model, and do not develop it. They cannot change current ways of life and therefore bad habits remain.

Achieving leadership by relying on oil and gas markets is impossible. We must understand and appreciate the complexity of our problems. We must frankly discuss them in order to act. In the end, commodity exchanges must not determine Russia’s fate; our own ideas about ourselves, our history and future must do so. Our intellect, honest self-assessment, strength, dignity and enterprise must be the decisive factors.

By setting out five priorities for technological development, offering specific measures for the modernization of the political system, as well as measures to strengthen the judiciary and fight corruption, my starting point is my views on Russia’s future. And for the sake of our future it is necessary to liberate our country from persistent social ills that inhibit its creative energy and restrict our common progress. These ills include:

1. Centuries of economic backwardness and the habit of relying on the export of raw materials, actually exchanging them for finished products. Peter the Great, the last tsars and the Bolsheviks all created – and not unsuccessfully – elements of an innovative system. But the price of their successes was too high. As a rule, by making extreme efforts, they opened the door to the possibility of a totalitarian state machine.

2. Centuries of corruption have debilitated Russia from time immemorial. Until today this corrosion has been due to the excessive government presence in many significant aspects of economic and other social activities. But it is not limited to governmental excess — business is also not without fault. Many entrepreneurs are not worried about finding talented inventors, introducing unique technologies, creating and marketing new products, but rather with bribing officials for the sake of ‘controlling the flows’ of property redistribution.

3. Paternalistic attitudes are widespread in our society, such as the conviction that all problems should be resolved by the government. Or by someone else, but never by the person who is actually there. The desire to make a career from scratch, to achieve personal success step by step is not one of our national habits. This is reflected in a lack of initiative, lack of new ideas, outstanding unresolved issues, the poor quality of public debate, including criticism. Public acceptance and support is usually expressed in silence. Objections are very often emotional, scathing, but superficial and irresponsible. Well, this is not the first century that Russia has had to confront these phenomena.”

“The more intelligent, smarter and efficient our economy is, the higher the level of our citizens’ welfare, and our political system and society as a whole will also be freer, fairer and more humane.”

“Russia’s political system will also be extremely open, flexible and internally complex. It will be adequate for a dynamic, active, transparent and multi-dimensional social structure. It will correspond to the political culture of free, secure, critical thinking, self-confident people.”

“Not everyone is satisfied with the pace at which we are moving in this direction. They talk about the need to accelerate changes in the political system. And sometimes about going back to the ‘democratic’ nineties. But it is inexcusable to return to a paralyzed country. So I want to disappoint the supporters of permanent revolution. We will not rush. Hasty and ill-considered political reforms have led to tragic consequences more than once in our history. They have pushed Russia to the brink of collapse. We cannot risk our social stability and endanger the safety of our citizens for the sake of abstract theories. We are not entitled to sacrifice stable life, even for the highest goals. In his time Confucius remarked: “Impatience in small matters destroys a great idea”. We have all too often experienced this in the past. Reforms for the people, not the people for reform. At the same time this will displease those who are completely satisfied with the status quo. Those who are afraid and do not want change. Changes will take place, but they will be gradual, thought-through, and step-by-step. But they will nevertheless be steady and consistent.

Russian democracy will not merely copy foreign models. Civil society cannot be bought by foreign grants. Political culture will not be reconfigured as a simple imitation of the political traditions of advanced societies. An effective judicial system cannot be imported. Freedom is impossible to simply copy out of a book, even a very clever one. Of course we’ll learn from other nations – from their experiences, their successes and failures in developing democratic institutions. But no one will live our lives for us. Nobody is going to make us free, successful and responsible. Only our own experience of democratic endeavor will give us the right to say: we are free, we are responsible, we are successful.”

“The modernization of Russian democracy and establishment of a new economy will, in my opinion, only be possible if we use the intellectual resources of post-industrial societies. And we should do so without any complexes, openly and pragmatically. The issue of harmonizing our relations with western democracies is not a question of taste, personal preferences or the prerogatives of given political groups. Our current domestic financial and technological capabilities are not sufficient for a qualitative improvement in the quality of life. We need money and technology from Europe, America and Asia. In turn, these countries need the opportunities Russia offers. We are very interested in the rapprochement and interpenetration of our cultures and economies.

Of course no relationship is free from contradictions. There will always be controversial topics, reasons for disagreement. But resentment, arrogance, various complexes, mistrust and especially hostility should be excluded from the relations between Russia and the leading democratic countries.

We have many common goals, including absolute priorities which affect every inhabitant on Earth such as the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and reducing the risk of adverse effects from man-made climate change.

We must have interested partners and involve them in joint activities. And if we need to change something ourselves in order to do so, abandon previous prejudices and illusions, then we should do so. I am of course not referring to a policy of unilateral concessions. Lack of will and incompetence will not gain us any respect, gratitude, or gains. This has already happened in our recent history. Naive notions of the infallible and happy West and the eternally underdeveloped Russia are unacceptable, offensive and dangerous. But no less dangerous is the path of confrontation, self-isolation, mutual insults and recrimination.

Nostalgia should not guide our foreign policy and our strategic long-term goal is Russia’s modernization.”

“I would invite all those who share my convictions to get involved. I would also invite those who do not agree with my ideas but sincerely desire change for the better to be involved as well. People will attempt to interfere with our work. An influential group of corrupt officials and do-nothing ‘entrepreneurs’ are well ensconced. They have everything and are satisfied. They’re going to squeeze the profits from the remnants of Soviet industry and squander the natural resources that belong to all of us until the end. They are not creating anything new, do not want development, and fear it. But the future does not belong to them – it belongs to us. And we are an absolute majority. We will act patiently, pragmatically, consistently and in a balanced manner. And act now: act today and tomorrow. We will overcome the crisis, backwardness and corruption. We will create a new Russia. Go Russia!”

Windows to Russia!

News From Russia… (12/07/2010)


# Western analysts predict a bright future for the Russian economy, with global oil prices capping $100 per barrel. If this does indeed transpire, then the Russian government will be able to balance its budget by mid-2011, rather than needing another four years, as local forecasts suggest…

# “PepsiCo is planning to acquire one of Russia’s leading dairy and juice producers, Wimm-Bill-Dann, next spring. If skeptics’ fears prove right and PepsiCo’s plan is to move away from dairy to soft drinks and similar products, Russia could face a shortage of popular milk-based drinks.

# Media and civil society activists gathered for yet another protest in Moscow against attacks on Russian journalists. The rally was planned a month ago. Results of the investigation into the attack on Kommersant correspondent Oleg Kashin were expected to be revealed at the rally. In the absence of any results, the journalists talked about their personal experiences.

# Russian providers of Internet services may avoid responsibility for offensive or controversial content stored on their servers, according to amendments to the Russian Civil Code proposed by the presidential law codification council, a Russian business daily said on Tuesday.

# China is not going to take either side in the standoff on the Korean Peninsula, but says dialogue is the only way out as tensions mount between the two Koreas.

# NATO drew up plans in January to defend the Baltic states against Russia, the latest batch of leaked U.S. cables released by Wikileaks show.

# Nuclear warheads have been completed for Russia’s new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile, its Yury Solomonov said on Tuesday in an interview with Russia’s Natsionalnaya Oborona journal to be published later in December.

# Moscow and Kiev have signed an agreement to guarantee gas transits through Ukrainian territory, Ukrainian Minister of Fuel and Energy Yuriy Boyko said on Tuesday.

# The founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London on sexual assault charges, the BBC said.

# The EU enlargement commissioner described the EU’s relations with Russia as a “strategic partnership” based on “strong mutual interests and interdependence.”

# Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered that the country’s missile and air defense systems be unified before December 2011, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday.

# Russia is completing the modernization of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier which has been renamed the Vikramaditya. The ship will be transferred to the Indian Navy in 2012.

# Russia and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday paving the way for Russia’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

# Russia’s foreign trade surplus increased by 30% year-on-year in January-October 2010 to $136.4 billion, the Federal Customs Service said on Tuesday.

Windows to Russia!

Miracles Do Happen With Google… (Sitelinks)


Google made Windows to Russia’s day today! 🙂 🙂

We have sitelinks: Read More About Sitelinks Here…

We took a picture of them (As proof!) because like everything else we expect them to just disappear at any time. (Just click picture above and it will expand. The links are right above the windowstorussia.com link at the bottom of the first search result.) Nothing seems to stay when it comes to Windows to Russia and that is most likely an issue of mine and always trying new things…

We have tried for a long time to get Windows to Russia to have sitelinks and they are not easy to get. They also are only on the links that are prevalent to the site in Google’s eyes, they have to be links that rank very high in keyword usage. Other words a lot of people find us through these keywords by searching. We have Russian, Russian News, Russia and Russian Foods as our top links…

This will help drive more traffic to Windows to Russia! We hope…

So even if they disappear tomorrow. We know they were there and it is possible to get these little site links if we keep working hard at it…

Windows to Russia!

We Got a Big Problem and it is Getting Much Worse…


I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and doing some thinking about what the heck is going on with the Korea’s?

China is waving their arms and saying excuse me. Why is America playing war games over here…

Russia is waving their arms and saying excuse me. Why is America playing war games over here?

Japan is now being a good little puppet and having war games with America in exactly the wrong spot, trying to entice World War III…

South Korea the next puppet who started this whole mess by playing on an island that is questionably not theirs. They are also in turmoil internally and have been playing war games on the edge of World War III also…

North Korea is like the bulldog in a pack of German Shepard’s and lets everyone know that they will run with the big dogs, even if they have to bite your legs off to prove it…

America has gone into overdrive playing war games on the border of World War III with Japan and South Korea. America is ike a spoiled unwanted child who wants to cause problems but at the same time telling everyone that they do not know why World War III is looming on the horizon…

Then to top the cake with rancid icing. The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with the Foreign Ministers of South Korea and Japan in Washington on Monday, aiming to discuss with them the policy towards North Korea. They have deliberately excluded the three most important countries to help keep World War III from exploding… (China, Russia and North Korea)

Now once again China is asking why are you having a meeting that has no meaning? What about us you fools, we have been trying to get everyone together about this issue…

Now once again Russia is asking why are you having a meeting that has no meaning? What about us you fools, we have been trying to get everyone together about this issue…

Now once again North Korea is barking like a mad bulldog and will rain death from the skies. (Or from the ankles up. Either way it could be a sorry time in South Korea because North Korea has very little to lose.)

This is the dumbest most pathetic escapade that I have seen in a long time and Russia / China have been from day one trying to get everyone to calm down. While the US of A has done nothing but play war games and do the worst thing possible given a certain situation…

Do you see what is happening? Do we want a war? If we do, Why? If not, then what are we doing having war games next to North Korea?

This is what Ron Paul said, Before the US House of Representatives, November 30, 2010, on the resolution condemning North Korea:

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this saber-rattling resolution that unnecessarily escalates tensions between North and South Korea and may in fact put U.S. troops stationed in the area at risk. This resolution portrays the recent hostilities between the two Korea’s as “an unprovoked military attack” by North Korea, which is untrue. We know that South Korea was conducting live fire military exercises in the vicinity of disputed territory and that this action, taken with U.S. military support and participation, likely led to the exchange of gunfire between the two sides… Read More >>>

Stop the games America and act like a world leader. Sit down with China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea and get some basic under control…

Windows to Russia!

Putin and Medvedev Chumming Around…


Putin and Medvedev shot some pool and then watched a movie that Sveta and I have already seen a few weeks back. I did a review on that movie it is called “The Brest Fortress”…

http://windowstorussia.com/brest-fortress-the-movie-about-the-siege.html

It is a great movie and really worth watching. I hope we get to hear what Putin and Medvedev really thought about it and not from a single twitter tweet…

I always smile when I see these two together trying to show that they are good buddies. I guess it is good PR to have them go out on a date once in awhile. 🙂 Good guy to guy bonding time. Just like when Putin and George Bush had their lobster fest…

http://windowstorussia.com/putin-and-bush-eating-high-on-hog_03.html

I also was wondering who won the pool game? They did not let us know…

Just a tidbit of news to stimulate your brain today…

Windows to Russia!

CrossTalk and the USA Media Incident…


On this edition of Peter Lavelle’s CrossTalk, he asks his guests – including RT journalist Kaelyn Forde – how US authorities are attacking freedom of assembly, speech and journalists’ rights…

Kaelyn Forde an RT journalist was told that she was banned from going to Georgia for 18 months. This and many other issues about the incident is exposed on this segment of CrossTalk…

You should really find the time to watch this video because you will be astonded at some of the things that really happened…

Windows to Russia!

Dollar Breaks Psychological Mark


Photobucket

News To Ruin A Cup Of Coffee: Lets revisit the past…

At the opening of the special dollar trading session for same-day transactions this morning, the very first contract was concluded at 23.90 RUB/USD, RUB 0.22, or almost 1 percent below the official rate set by the Bank of Russia for February 29. Consequently, the dollar dropped well below the psychological level of 24 RUB/USD on MICEX today. An hour and a half into the session, the exchange rate recovered to 24.0 RUB/USD.

Combined with a RUB 0.43 drop over the previous five days, the dollar has lost RUB 0.55, or 2.3 percent against the ruble in six trading sessions. The ruble’s continued steep climb against the dollar on the domestic market can be linked to the euro’s considerable advance against the US currency on international exchanges. The euro hit a new all-time high of 1.5238 USD/EUR against the dollar today, up from a previous peak of 1.5229 USD/EUR.

The dollar is sliding against other currencies, as well, tumbling to a three-year low of 104.28 JPY/USD against the yen, below the psychological mark of 105 JPY/USD. Meanwhile, most experts note that the US currency is not expected to correct upwards in the meanwhile, amid looming economic recession concerns in the US, suggesting that the Federal Reserve will revise its interest rate further down. “In all the years that I have been dealing with the foreign exchange market, I have never seen so much pessimism about the dollar,” Gartman Letter’s Editor-in-Chief Dennis Gartman pointed out, adding that there were clear signs of a “market mania,” in which everyone was currently trying to dispose of dollars.

US Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s latest report offered no consolation for the dollar, either, as he warned that the economic situation could actually be more complex than during previous recessions. Analysts say the Federal Reserve chairman’s exceeding candor has had an extremely negative impact on the US currency. The probability of a dollar crisis has surged, buoyed also by decisions of foreign central banks to cut back on accumulating dollars and converting their existing dollar reserves into other currencies. Furthermore, another factor that can weigh on the dollar is if Middle-Eastern oil exporters decide to revalue their currencies in relation to the US dollar, prompted by fears of increasing inflation pressures on their economies amid a weak dollar and record-high oil prices, experts say.

http://kylekeeton.com/2008/01/cost-of-believing-in-america.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/01/does-world-have-faith-in-america.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/11/russia-dollar-is-hurting-overseas.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/11/russian-rubles-dollar-is-unstable.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/11/russians-do-not-give-us-dollars.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/08/russian-ruble.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/08/american-dollar.html

Will The Dollar Collapse?

Kyle & Svet

Windows to Russia!

Putin and Medvedev and Coffee and by the way – Sobyanin…


I have mentioned numerous times about how Putin has stayed back and allowed Medvedev to steer his own ship. Awhile back I had stated that Putin gave the equivalent  to Medvedev to go ahead and try to create a relationship with America. This was in my eyes a change of heart by Putin to allow Medvedev to try to do what he (Putin) saw as problematic…

According to Nikolai Zlobin, director of the Russia and Eurasia Project at the World Security Institute in Washington. “Putin never believed it would work, and now he has a convincing argument to say, ‘Look, they still don’t respect us.’ And of course it doesn’t help that Medvedev is personally offended by all of this. Hell, I would be offended too.”   Who is Nikolai Zlobin? Read Here >>>

But that all pro American stuff ended the other day when Medvedev announced out of the blue, “In the next 10 years, the following alternatives await us – either we reach agreement on missile defense and create a full joint co-operation mechanism, or, if we don’t go into a constructive agreement, a new phase of the arms race will begin. And we will have to make a decision on deploying new means of attack.”

Putin then swung into the picture a day later and said,

“Larry, please listen to me,” Putin said.

“I want you and all of the American people to know this…It’s not us who are moving our missiles forward towards your territory; it’s you who are planning to mount missiles on the vicinity of our borders.

“We’ve been told that you will proceed with these plans in order to secure you against, let’s say, the Iranian nuclear threat. But such a threat as of now does not exist.”

Putin then stressed that in the case a missile defense would be employed close to Russia’s borders, Russia would be forced to act.

“Now, if the anti-missile system is employed in the year 2015 near our borders, they will work against our nuclear potential, our nuclear arsenal. And certainly that worries us and we are obliged to take some actions in response.

“We are talking about actions in response,” Putin repeated, “not about taking the first initiative there.”

Putin has stepped back into the picture and looks to be helping guide the helm again. I am not sure how far he will go with this, but the gossip all over is that Putin has had enough of the games and has seen the folly in a relationship with America. Which he had doubts about in the first place…

I have no doubt that Putin and Medvedev have agreed on all this together and it will be interesting to see what develops from this point on.  It is always fun to watch how they tag team on things…

Now the press from the East to the West is having a heyday on trying to decide who is in charge and who will run for president next time. I could care less because they work together so well. The one thing I do know is that another potential president candidate has been brought into the picture and I do not hear anyone spouting about this. The new Moscow Mayor (Sergei Sobyanin) who is Putin’s right hand man (Putin’s former chief of staff) is being groomed for a future possible presidency. It has been stated several times by Medvedev and Putin that someone else could be in line for president and time will tell…

So now you have facts and gossip all mixed together and that makes the best news that there is… 🙂

Windows to Russia!