Category: Russia

Rassolnyk recipe: This is a wonderful soup that is delicious. This version will be made with kidneys and beef. It many times will be made with fish and I have seen it made with chicken before. The kidney version is a time consuming soup that takes more effort than just tossing everything in a pan and cooking. The beef kidney has to be treated properly or you will have a tainted tasting soup. If you do as the instructions say. You will have a wonderful delight of a treat…

Ingredients:
1 lb diced beef
1 beef kidney
6 ea salted cucumbers
1 large peeled and chopped onion
1 peeled and diced carrot
Fresh chopped parsley (your taste)
2 tbsp cooking oil
4 ea peeled and diced potatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup sour cream (20%+)
1 tbsp flour
2 cloves of crushed garlic

Method:
Important: Several hours before cooking cut the kidney into two halves . Using a small, sharp, pointed knife, trim out the veins, the ureter, and all fat and put into large amount of cool water in a soup pan. Change the water often as every 15 to 20 minutes. (some people soak over night and change water less often) Then pour hot boiling water onto it. Boil the kidney several times, removing water, and pouring new hot water again. To be honest maybe you should do this step three times. Then finally thoroughly wash the kidney in warm water… (Do not skimp on prepping the kidney!)

Then boil the kidney again, together with the beef, having started to boil from cool water. Boil until beef is done…

Meanwhile – Chop the onion, carrots, and cucumbers. Put them into a another (second) soup pan, add oil, add some stock from the first soup pan, cover with a lid and simmer (low heat) until ready (the ingredients must become soft).

Now take a fry pan – Put the flour and tomato paste onto the frying pan and fry them together for a while. (medium heat and this is the thickener for the soup)

Strain the stock from the beef and kidneys and put it with the stewed ingredients (onions, carrots and cucumbers) in the second soup pan. Start boiling the second pan again…

Then add potatoes cut into small pieces in the second soup pan, then add the tomato paste fried with the flour, stir and mix well. Keep boiling and will will thicken slightly…

Take the kidney and beef chunks out of the first pan. Make sure to dice the kidney and beef. Then add diced beef and kidney to the second pan of soup. (other words you have only one pan now. But lots of dirty pans… :))

Then reboil the soup…

The rozsolnyk is ready when potatoes are done. Put the chopped parsley and crushed garlic into it.

When serving, put some sour cream into the bowl on top of the soup…

Makes more than enough to feed a hungry family and the dog… 🙂

Oh – My – Yummy…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: I have seen this soup made with rice or oats before. Spices can be varied, some like a bay leaf to be added when boiled the last time. You may salt and pepped to taste but if you use real salt cucumbers then adjust. You may also serve the sour cream on the side in a bowl for those who do not care for sour cream…

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The Russian Police are so different from what you consider Police in America. In America a Policeman seems to be responsible for everything in his jurisdiction. An American cop can pull you over for traffic violations as well as come to your house if a disturbance happens. In America that same cop that just gave you a ticket two hours ago in your city, may be the same cop that comes when you have a break-in into your house…

This is not true in Russia! I have had a hard time getting a grasps on the idea that a cop has only one job and that job is a specific part of society. If he is a road police then take it for what it says. (Road Police only.) You do not have a road police give a crap about if your home was just robbed. Just the same you do not have a cop that will come to your home if you are robbed and care about if you break all the laws in the world with your car. You will not see very many cops have a car to drive around in and the odds of being pulled over by a cop is virtually nil. Russia has road cop stations and they are well marked in advance in case you need to go around them. As we travel Russia it is pretty easy to tell where the road cops are at most times. The city local police walk a beat around our town and they do have a couple of vehicles to get around when needed…

It is very strange to see a car wreck and cops are nearby who act like they do not even see that wreck. Example you have police who are working near a building, (like say a train station) they are doing their job and checking people for issues around the train station. But there could be a 10 car pileup happen in front of the train station and they could care less about the 10 car pileup. In fact they may not even look up from their job… 🙂

They have no responsibility to that 10 car pile up and I have many times in the past said something like: “Why are they all over there when there is a 10 car pile up over here?” That is when Sveta looks at me like, Are you crazy! That is not their job. I have learned to accept the way it is, but it just shows that what is ingrained in you takes a long time, if ever, to leave your thoughts and feelings…

A wreck in Russia means that you will wait for hours before a road cop comes to deal with the wreck. Yes and even if a road cop is close enough to throw rocks at, he will not help you. Unless he would be the one called to take care of the wreck…

I use to find it irritating when I first came to Russia. I thought it was wrong. But after 5 years I do not see it that way anymore. I appreciate the fact that one man does not have the power to control my life in multiple ways. A road cop is about cars. He cannot and could careless about my passport. That road cop only cares about my insurance, drivers licenses and car registration. He can not bother me about anything personally associated with my stay in Russia. Now there are certain police who can check your passport and other paperwork. They are all over the metro and train stations. But they could care less if you drive a car and if they knew that you did not have a drivers license and they watched you drive off, they would not care…

So if a cop is walking a beat down the sidewalk in our city and I drove by him at 200 km per hour in a 40 km per hour zone. He could care less. I doubt he would even call anyone. In the same token, if you wrecked right in front of him. He could care less. I doubt he would even call anyone. But if you are mugging a babushka then he will do something. But in Russia if you try to mug a babushka then you will get your butt kicked by that babushka. They are pretty tough… 🙂

An off duty cop is just that. Off duty! He is just like anyone else at that point. We have several that live in our building and they definitely keep a low profile. Like I said babushkas are tough and that is who rules the building…

I like it that way and hope that it does not change in Russia. That is why I love Russia…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

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I had several e-mails last night and one was rather rude. But another one was from a good reader and it helped form the article that I am doing right now. The first e-mail that we will talk about is about “Raw Milk“! The second e-mail is about the fact that Ukraine can not view the Windows to Russia website…

Lets start with the rude e-mail: This was a typical e-mail from a typical American. It was an e-mail about one of my raw milk articles. I like to show how life really is in Russia and when we see what is normal here and we can take a picture, we do!

To make a long e-mail short. Lets just say that I was cussed out and called every name in the book, except a white boy and the gist of this e-mail was to make sure that I realized that I am a communist. I was also told about how drinking raw milk was what third world countries do. I was also told that drinking raw milk is dangerous for my health. I was also told that “For we must sacrifice our wants and desires for our own good and the governments good”,  and accept that the government means us well, has the knowledge to make decisions and cares about our health. I was also told that people like me are not able to make a decision that is acceptable for my own good. The mere thought of drinking raw milk seemed to be enough to send this e-mail writer into a frenzy…

The second e-mail that I am talking about came from a reader who is vacationing in Ukraine right now. He wrote an e-mail to confirm that yes, Windows to Russia can not be seen in Ukraine. He said that it does not say blocked or anything but it simply will not load the page. He is right and Ukraine has seemed to be trying to keep my web page (Windows to Russia) off line. My host can get it back on line and Ukraine shuts it down again. My host has even changed Windows to Russia to a new IP and Ukraine with in a few days blocks it again…

So lets have another article about raw milk and meat from a truck on the street…

Sveta caught the picture above a few days ago. This is how you can buy the best meat in Russia. The price is right and the quality is top notch. This is the same way that you can buy milk in Russia. Find the line of people and you will find the best food… 🙂

So why does all this make me desire to write an article?

Glad you asked!

When I was little and growing up. I remember what happened to Grandpa’s farm. I did not understand at that time becuase I was too little but I remembered what happened and now I can understand…

It seemed to me as a little kid, that one day we were selling fruits, milk, eggs and veggies and the next day we did not sell ever again. I remember that the farm was annexed into city limits. I remember that we had to hook up to city sewer (at a huge cost). I remember that we had to hook up to city water (at a huge cost). I remember that we had to pay lots of money to the city to sell fruits, milk, eggs and veggies from the side of the road as we use to do. I remember that seemed to be when Grandpa gave up and a year later he died. I remember that the tractor was stopped in the middle of the corn field and never moved again. That particular year I remembered that acres of corn, strawberries and other crops were left to die and wither. People came from all over and picked their own and they left money on the porch to pay. It was against the law and I remember men in suits coming to talk to Grandpa. I remember that we had to cap the well. We had to get rid of the farm animals. I remember well. I remember that much of the land was sold to pay for hooking up to water and sewer… 🙁

I also as a kid remember that America was the most free country in the world. (I was told that everyday, so it had to be true!) But the seeds of doubt where planted in this little boy at an early age when he watched Grandpa have everything destroyed. When our whole existence changed due to the fact that the city decided to take the farm litterally…

My other Grandpa lost his farm in the same way. Except this beautiful piece of land is what they built the stadiums in Kansas City on. The government takes what they want how ever they want. Both family farms were lost because of progress and greed…

“For we must sacrifice our wants and desires for our own good and the governments good” Are you kidding me? Seems like a pretty stupid thing to say! Also “accept that the government means us well, has the knowledge to make decisions and cares about our health” is like saying that we are too stupid to doing anything for ourselves. I will not and do not accept that the government has any right to interfere in my life what so ever. What we need in America is less government not more. I prefer to live and die by my own escapades…

I have spent my whole life being pushed around by the government of the USA in one form or another. Be it from city, county, state or federal level of the government. I have lost personally as an adult, several pieces of prime property due to annexing. They will condemn your property and take it if you will not sell at their price. I once had to move a 100 year old house at my expense because they widened the road…

I equate all the above to freedom. I feel that freedom is having my website shown in Ukraine. Not blocked in Ukraine like it is now. I feel that freedom is not being forced to hook up to a sewer system because a city annexes your property that has been a farm for ever. I take it as a personal attack on my freedom that I can no longer drink from my own well on my land. I take it as a attack on my freedom when I can no longer buy and sell raw milk products with out being threatened with jail. I take it as a attack on my freedoms when I have to buy a license to sell fruits and veggies that I grow. I take it as freedom that I can buy meat from the back of a truck like I do in Russia. I take it as freedom that I can buy raw milk around the corner any day of the week right here in Moscow…

We are all having our freedoms whittled away one freedom at a time. Lemonade stands are under attack in America. Raw milk and raw milk products are under attack in America. Salt is under attack in America. Just literally everything is under attack to be controlled in America. Big business runs America, not the people…

So as long as I am able to buy fresh veggies, fresh fruit and many other items from a babushka sitting by the metro station in the heart of Moscow. As long as I can buy meat from a truck that stops on the corner. As long as that milk truck stops and sells milk to the whole neighborhood. As long as…

I consider myself having some freedom!

Try selling raw milk and raw milk products from a truck in the heart of New York city? Moscow is a huge city just like New York. Both cities are some of the largest in the world. 15ths largest is Moscow and 3rd is New York. So do not tell me that size is the reason. Moscow is a big city in anybodies book…

So in ending this long post: I know that the e-mail from the person in Ukraine right now, that he understands some of what I am saying. He can’t read this article because Ukraine is blocking the site (his freedoms are being squelched – shame on Ukraine), but he is eating fresh cottage cheese and drinking raw milk. He will go to markets and buy fresh fruit and veggies, right in the heart of a huge city. He will feel freer in Ukraine than in America. I believe this and feel that is why he goes to Ukraine to vacation as often as he can. I also know that he comes from a farm in America…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

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Windows to Russia!

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Looks like it is time for Ukraine to give up the gas transit business. Gazprom has made multiples of offers to take over the pipelines in Ukraine. That looks to be what Ukraine is hinting at?

Ukraine is ready to discuss suspension of its gas transit system which pumps Russian gas to Europe, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told reporters on Saturday. “The GTS is a system of pipes, compressors, and a huge working team which operates the system. This all brings losses, and why should we bear the losses? Maybe we should abandon it? We are not going to bear the loss,” Azarov said following a conference on European strategy. The system’s capacity allows pumping 150 bcm of gas a year, but currently it pumps only 80 bcm. Azarov warned officials of the European Commission about the possible suspension and said that Europe, Ukraine and Russia should jointly decide on the future of the Ukrainian gas transit system…

Maybe it is time to give it up and turn over the pipeline to someone who can handle it! Instead they will probably just shut it down and prove to the world that Russia is correct and she needs to bypass Ukraine because they are an unreliable gas transit country…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

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Right now while you sip that coffee and drink that orange juice for breakfast. While you eat that cream cheese covered bagel or that banana. There are fierce battles going on in Libya. Battles for the heart of Libya and the West is helping. The West has intervened in something that we will pay for many many years down the road…

I ask myself: Why are the Libyans fighting so hard against a Western backed war, if they really wanted it? Why are we killing civilians left and right?  Why are the people in Sirte and Bani Walid fighting so hard? Why since the Rebels are now the dominate force are they still killing people everyday? Why are we allowing the rebels to kill anyone at this point? Why are we not enforcing the UN mandate to protect civilians? We say it is over, yet now NATO will be there in Libya another 3 months at least. Why are we there at all?

Sirte and Bani Walid are fighting for their lives. This is not just a military but it is people who are fighting for what is right in their eyes. Sirte and Bani Walid are putting up a gallant effort and NATO is being defended back from both cities. NATO has the cities cut off from supplies. They have surrounded the cities. NATO is bombing the hell out of the cities…

Sirte and Bani Walid have not given up. You need to wonder and do some thinking about what we are doing in Libya. Do these people deserve any less consideration for their feelings about Libya than anyone else?

But we are proud to be killing Sirte and Bani Walid, two tough Libyan cities with a different idea of what is right and wrong…

Do you realize that this war is on the downward side of a year now?

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS:

Moscow: In Libya, where NATO-backed NTC forces are attempting to wipe out the last remaining pro-Gaddafi strongholds, civilians are still being killed but normally-vocal countries backing a UN resolution to protect them have gone strangely quiet.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy paid a visit this week to survey their handiwork. The first heads of state to visit Tripoli since the city fell to rebel forces say their countries’ work in spearheading the NATO intervention is not yet done.

“We must keep on with the NATO mission until civilians are all protected and until this work is finished,” David Cameron told a joint news conference in Tripoli.

He is right: civilians are still being killed. But now that Gaddafi is virtually powerless, the people increasingly doing the killing are National Transitional Council forces, together with NATO, as they attack Bani Walid and other Gaddafi strongholds.

On that, Cameron and Sarkozy are silent.

“To paraphrase George Orwell in ‘Animal Farm,’ some civilians are more equal than others,” remarks John Laughland from the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation.

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Watch out! The defense missile placements are aligned squarely at Mother Russia. I also know and realize that the propaganda press in the West says the missiles are for so called “Rogue Nations!” But they never seem to link that statement to the influential people in Washington D.C. Why just last month another article ran that called Russia a “rogue nation” and linked the Russian government with North Korea and Iran. Our leaders think we are so stupid we will never connect quotes from the Council on Foreign Relations with stories like this. Or, maybe we are all asleep, which is the same thing as far as our leaders are concerned, ZZZZZZZZZZZZ…

Windows to Russia!

Imagine a community where you want for nothing, where work is plentiful and life is easy. Today, a Utopia that once existed in a remote Russian outpost is a fading memory.

The lost paradise did not lie in the embrace of Russia’s national borders, but sat in splendid isolation on the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen. The town of Pyramid once embodied a Soviet dream – a system without money, but where everyone’s needs were provided for.

The town is gone, and in its place is one of the busiest sea gull colonies in the Arctic. Restless as the northern sun, the birds scout the island in search of food for their young. Noisy and disorderly like all big clans, the gulls are the last reminder of the warm family atmosphere that once permeated this Arctic island.

Read More >>>

Windows to Russia!

I just love these Tall Ships and it seems that Russia has a lot of them. I have had several recent articles about these ships and now we have another one coming back to port…

St. Petersburg: The crew of the training sailing-ship Mir (peace) of the State Maritime Academy (SMA) named after Adm. S.O. Makarov will be welcomed back home by brass band music at the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment on Vassiliyevsky Island here on Thursday

The ship arrives in the native city after a four-month voyage along the shores of Scandinavia and Western Europe. During the voyage, the sailing-ship called at 20 ports of nine countries.

The cadets of the SMA, one of Russia’s oldest transport institutions of higher learning, and their age-mates from related educational establishments of Europe, Asia, and Africa took part in the voyage. The youths and girls not only engaged in studies under the instructional program, heard lectures and took credit tests but also got thorough systematic marinization training.

Professor Ivan Kostylev, SMA president, has told Itar-Tass, “We are proud of the fact that the Mir has an official status of St Petersburg Messenger abroad. This is confirmed by its regular participation in various events there”.

In 2011, the sailing-ship’s mission was to introduce Russia and the city of St Petersburg during the 11th Assembly of the International Association of Maritime Universities in the city of Gdynia (Poland) from June 12 to 16.

When the ship visited the port of Greenock (Scotland), guided tours were organized on board the Russian ship. The visitors were able to enjoy the performing skills of a Russian folklore ensemble. The sailing-ship crew took part in arranging a presentation event on the theme of “The Russian Museum: Virtual Affiliate” that embodied the idea of the accessibility of the world’s major collection of Russian arts to broadest viewership outside St Petersburg.

The sailing-ship Mir was built in 1987 and since then it has been actively used as a floating school for hundreds of SMA cadets and to the students of maritime educational establishments of Russia and other countries. During this voyage the seamen made a successful showing in large-scale international regattas.

They are so beautiful…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Libya Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation (LJBC, or Libyan state television) was the state run broadcasting organization in Libya. It distributed news in coordination with the Jamahiriya News Agency in accordance with state laws controlling Libya media…

On 22 August 2011, the organization was rendered defunct when its channels were taken off-air by the National Transitional Council forces, which had entered Tripoli the previous day…

Now the Station is back online and telling a side of the story that the West does not want heard…

We will see how long it stays online before it is shut down again…

Watch and learn…

Windows to Russia!