Category: Russia

Putin Quote – Number 1


“Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.”

Vladimir Putin quote!

By Putin

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Windows to Russia!

The US is Really Helping the Situation in Korea…


On the surface this looks like a good thing: An unofficial visit to the North Korea by the US Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson. He is going to try to help defuse the situation…

Now that is all fine and dandy but what about this news:

South Korea has said it will proceed with joint naval drills with the U.S. near the North Korean border despite warning from the international community. Defense officials in Seoul have said that the exercises may be launched on Monday or Tuesday if the weather improves. North Korea is threatening to retaliate if the South goes ahead with planned exercises. The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting at Russia’s request to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula.

This seems to be a case of the stupids going on. Makes you wonder, does the right hand know what the left hand is doing? Russia has been working overtime to try to get this under control and all I see is South Korea and the USA doing war games every week. Near the North Korean borders and disputed territories…

If you read the comments coming from the readers of the big Western press articles. You will find that an attitude of kicking North Korea’s butt is prevalent and includes many times, the term nuclear weapons as the best way to show them who is boss…

One of my tiny minuscule talents in my cloistered past life was being involved with the now defunct Lance Missile program. I remember I decided to learn the ways of nuclear warfare in Ft. Sill, OK. because Uncle Sam asked me nicely and offered me a $4000 bonus to do it. Besides it also got you to play in Germany and the beer fests. All because of being part of the Cold War era fun. The problem with the Lance missile was that it was a suicide waiting to happen.  So if you knew what I know. You would not be spouting about nuking a country…

[pullquote]Update: SEOUL — South Korea on Monday conducted a 90-minute artillery drill on Yeonpyeong Island, drawing no immediate North Korean retaliation in spite of earlier threats. (Looks like we know who the smart ones are – The North…)[/pullquote]

Starting to look a lot like Christmas War! That special time of the year…

Windows to Russia!

Coffee and Our Volga…


I am drinking a wonderful hot cup of coffee and trying to warm back up. Today started out early and Sveta and I were on our way to see her mother. We had 4 bags of goodies to drop off and it had been awhile since we had gone by to say hi. That trip never happened…

On Saturday I fired up the Volga and got her ready to take a day trip all around Moscow. A trip through Moscow is always 99% of the time a whole day affair. So I always make sure that the car is in order. On Saturday everything was running and working fantastic. That was Saturday…

Today is Sunday: I went out a fired up the Volga and let it warm up for about an hour. It was -13 degrees Celsius and the old girl needs a few more minutes to get loosened up. We took off and all seemed good. Sveta and I stopped at McDonald’s and got some breakfast sandwiches. After the breakfast is when I felt a change in the car. The car always starts the same way and method but today after breakfast, she turned over slowly, then the engine caught and purred…

That triggered the alert button in my head. We had already traveled far enough so the battery should have been fully charged after a real cold starting, but I realized that it was not. I saw that the alternator seemed to be weak at idle on voltage output and when I turned on the heater fan and headlights. The output dropped considerably. But revving the engine did not help the situation. We took off down the road and I gave Sveta the warning that we may be turning back home very quickly… (We ended up turning back and got the Volga home.)

I found that with the car idling and all extra accessories turned off the car would charge the battery, but weakly. But turn on lights and other necessary items and it dropped into a discharge mode. But what was even worse was that at highway speeds it discharged faster. So I knew we were on borrowed time as long as the battery held out. Since it is law to have headlights on and life would really suck with no heat going…

We went back home…

Then Sveta hopped a train and went to see her mom while I worked on the car. (Now working on a car at -11 degrees Celsius is no fun.) I ended up charging the battery and checking the voltage on the Alternator output and it showed my fears. It is acting like one or two of the 6 diodes is bad. Other words the alternator is going out…

I have replaced this alternator before but it is a month out of warranty. At that time the original alternator was still in the car and was just plain worn out. So I will be walking to the auto parts store and getting a new one. Then I have the fun of deciding which country to buy from. I can get one from Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus or China. Cost varies from 2000 rubles to 6000 rubles. The one that I had last time was from Ukraine! So maybe I will try one from Russia… 🙂

I think that all this will have to wait at this point. It is too cold and I am chilled to the bones. I am going to drink this hot coffee and maybe have a couple of cups of hot tea also. Then I am going to bore you will the details of my day… 😉

Hope you are having a great weekend…

Windows to Russia!

Riots and Teenagers in Russia…


A huge number of the arrests that are being made all over Moscow are Teenagers. They are all sitting in jail right now waiting for their parents to come and get them out…

“Moscow police information chief Victor Biryukov said that many of the detained teenagers were unable to explain the reason why they were taking part in the rally.”

Altogether, more than 2,000 people were detained across the capital in the past three days to prevent ethnic clashes and they are tossing out rumors that in some cases 75%  plus are teenagers…

I can personally tell you that the teenagers around Korolev, Russia are out in force and painting graffiti on building sides and tearing up the little kids play grounds. This weekend was a teenage romper room around here. It seemed strange to me because the temperature has been around -12 Celsius at night and they have been running around like it is summer time… (Most of them not properly dressed…)

I have been studying the pictures all over the Russian web in conjunction with these riots and arrests. The crowds really are full of teenagers…

I keep asking where are the parents? But I have been asking that for years both in America and now in Russia…

Parents do you know where your kid is right now? (He or she could be in jail!)

Interesting…

Windows to Russia!

Russian Whistle-Blowing Doctor is Assured by Putin…


A Russian cardiologist said he feared dismissal and beating after phoning Vladimir Putin to say that an impressive hospital display for the premier was faked. And then, Putin called him back.

Ivan Khrenov told Putin during a live call-in show Thursday that his bosses instructed doctors and nurses to show fake pay slips and pose as recovering patients surrounded by new equipment during the premier’s November visit to a hospital in the central town of Ivanovo.

Khrenov told Putin that the equipment was borrowed from other hospitals and the doctors were forced to say their salaries were about $1,000 a month — far less than their real income. Putin’s visit to the hospital was nationally televised — just like the call-in show where Khrenov made his claims.

Putin, who has been hobnobbing with ordinary Russians in similar sessions for years, ordered an investigation into a possible embezzlement of the $4,3 million the hospital has received. “What are you cheering at?” Putin asked the applauding audience in the television studio. “The art of the (hospital) managers or doctor’s bravery?”

If the embezzlement did happen, Khrenov told a Russian news agency Friday, he might face a beating or dismissal. “I will not be surprised if somebody meets me in a dark alley or I’ll be forced to resign ‘voluntarily,'” he told Interfax after regional officials called him “insane” and called him to a local prosecutor’s office and health department for questioning.

But his problems seem to have ended after Putin personally called him, Khrenov told the RIA news agency.

Putin “said, ‘We won’t leave you in your trouble, we will help you, we know the whole situation, don’t you worry,'” Khrenov was quoted as saying.

The populist premier likes to burnish his image as an indispensable leader to whom every citizen could turn personally for support. Kremlin critics have long claimed that the callers who usually ask non-confrontational questions and lavish the prime minister with praise are screened and coached.

Khrenov wrote a letter to Putin after his November visit to the hospital and said that the premier’s assistants asked him to repeat his claim in a phone call during the call-in show, Interfax quoted him as saying.

In recent months, a string of medical officials has been charged with embezzlement over procurement of overpriced medical equipment.

A 2009 survey on corruption perceptions by Transparency International ranked Russia a lowly 146th out of 180 countries — falling between Kenya and Sierra Leone. (Link)

Windows to Russia!

Ukraine Gets Passionate About Politics…


I have to say I had a good laugh over this. But in all honesty at least they have passion over something and are willing to fight over it. I am just glad no one was killed. From the videos that I saw coming out of Ukraine, they had lots of chains, knives and blunt metal objects to beat people with. As you can see they even chained the doors. That was the part that bothered me, this was a planned event by trouble makers…

(But still it would have been fun to have been there. Reminds me of the old bar room fight scene in a Western…)

The tensions are high and flaring between parties over the Yulia issue. We talked about it yesterday… (Link)

KIEV, December 16 (Itar-Tass) – A brawl that broke out in the Ukrainian parliament Thursday between the MPs representing the ruling Regions Party and the oppositionist Yulia Timoshenko bloc inflicted bodily damage on three MPs representing the latter – Vladimir Bondarenko, Vassily Kravchuk and Mikhail Volynets.The latter man was hospitalized with a trauma of the head and jaw. He said he had received a blow with a chair on the head.

Bondarenko had an arm fracture, while Kravchuk was taken out of the parliament’s building by a team of emergency medics on a stretch. Some MPs emerged from the brawl with bruises, scratches or torn clothes…

Sometimes I wish that the American politics would show more passion about what they are trying to do. You do not see this level of emotions in America very often. For that matter I really do not see these type of emotions happening in the Russian Duma either. But I have seen it happen in Georgia…

What have you seen from the country you live in?

Windows to Russia!

Yulia Tymoshenko is Under Investigation…


Yulia Tymoshenko the former prime minister of Ukraine and one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution, has not been detained, but has had to give a pledge not to leave the Ukraine country…

A case has been opened against Yulia only after investigations by international organizations audited Tymoshenko’s government. The report, prepared by the Kroll company, was made public in October of this year…

I do know that this is hot news in Ukraine at this moment and it looks like Yulia is screaming political repressions and what knots… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

Russian News Time… (12/16/2010)


South Korea to hold artillery drills near border with North:
South Korea plans this weekend to hold artillery drills on the island in the Yellow Sea that was attacked by North Korea last month, the Yonhap news agency said on Thursday.

Russia and India fix T.50 fighter design contract cost at $295 mln:Russia and India have agreed the estimated cost of a design contract for their joint fifth-generation fighter project at $295 million, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman Ashok Nayak said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Gazprom gets 50% of Bulgarian South Stream gas pipeline JV:Russian gas giant Gazprom has received a 50% stake in South Stream Bulgaria AD, the joint venture operating the Bulgarian sector of the South Stream pipeline project, which will pump gas to Southern and Central Europe, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Senate agrees to open talks on new arms treaty with Russia:After months of wrangling over the future of the U.S. atomic-weapons complex, the Senate voted Wednesday to take up a new nuclear arms-reduction treaty with Russia, opening debate on a pact that President Obama regards as critical to his foreign-policy agenda.

Russia’s main New Year tree found and cut down in Moscow region:Russia’s main New Year tree has been cut down in the suburbs around Moscow and is being prepared for transportation to the Kremlin.

Uncertain World: Arguments against Russia joining NATO:This past year saw a lot of speculation about whether Russia will ultimately join NATO. Prominent analysts and former politicians took to the pages of Western publications to voice their opinion on the desirability of Russian membership.

Windows to Russia!

Putin Answers Questions!


MOSCOW, December 16 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold his ninth annual Q & A session with the people of Russia on Thursday, December 16 2010.

A special program titled “A Conversation with Vladimir Putin, Continued” will go on air on the Russia 1 and Russia 24 television channels at midday on Thursday. The Mayak and the Voice of Russia radio stations will also broadcast the program live.

Putin’s Q & A session is expected to last for approximately two hours but it’s likely to be longer as usual. Putin broke record last year. He answered 87 questions in more than four hours.They have recieved over 700,000 questions this year.

I thought that this would be of interest to the readers on Windows to Russia! Thanks for the chance to say something.

Fred Banner

{Guest Post, Admin added links and photo}

Windows to Russia!

Moscow police force says it is holding 1207 people on suspicion of planning to take part in ethnic clashes…


The Moscow police force says it is holding 1207 people on suspicion of planning to take part in ethnic clashes. The arrests were made in the streets and at stations of the city’s underground metro system. Officers confiscated some 300 knives and seven traumatic handguns…

Fun time in the big city today… 🙂

We stayed home…

Windows to Russia!