Category: Russia

Coffee and Pondering in Russia…


This morning I did not get to walk the dog. Sveta took him for a walk before she took off for the day to the Gazprombank. As I said a few days ago that I am feeling rough and at that time had to take a nitro to get going for the day. I have had to take several more nitros since then during the evening times and in respect to that I have stayed calmer than usual. But in all honesty I am feeling a lot better than a few days ago. But Sveta still took the dog on his walk this morning and made me stay inside… 🙂

Now that brings me to my coffee and pondering…

I am pleasantly surprised with the uCan-Post program. I have woke up most mornings since starting the program and found one or two posts that are waiting to be looked over and posted. This is fantastic and so far 75% of the posts are worth posting. They are real posts and not a ranting spam. An example is that today I received three posts. Two of them are great but one was full of spitefulness and hate for Russia, with every other word a cuss word. Looks like to get the good out of the system, I will have to tolerate some trash…

Now I was also thinking about some advancements that Russia is making in the train travel department. One is the makings of a high speed rail between Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia seems to be in the works. Also the high speed rail that is working between Helsinki, Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia. These rails will travel at least 220km per hour and make the trip to adjoining countries a lot more fun. Sveta and I are talking about the rail to Helsinki and trying that out real soon…

Speaking of travel and St Petersburg:  A high-speed motorway from Moscow to St. Petersburg will cross the Khimki Forest. This has been finalized and will become a fact after all the hoopla that has been going on about it. I find it interesting that this planned roadway is still on the original path even though this was one of the big issues used against the Old Moscow Mayor to fire him. He staunchly stood up for the path of the road to transverse the Khimki Forest. He had said that was the best rout and nothing else will do.  He was basically used as a scapegoat over the path of the new road. Guess what? They are still using the route that he said was the best…

Next lets touch on the subject of NATO and Russia. Wikileaks had let out a cable that contradicted what NATO was wining and dining Russia about. NATO was being so sweet to Russia that Russia had to have know that they were speaking with a forked tongue. Well after the cable leaked, Russia wanted an explanation is the cable true or not? Since at the NATO-Russia summit in Lisbon very recently. NATO talked all nice with Russia. During this nice talk behind Russia’s back, they signed agreements to defend Poland and the Baltic states against Russia while Russia was being courted in the same meeting. NATO took a few days and thought about the implications of the “Hand caught in the Cookie Jar” issue. They finally decided the best thing would be a semblance of the truth. “The Alliance intends to protect them from possible Russian attacks.” implies Director of the NATO Information Center in Moscow Robert Pszczel.

Last thought while sipping my coffee is about Ukraine getting into the tourist business over the Chernobyl accident area. I knew about some private groups doing tours of the nuclear plant site but it seems that Ukraine was not involved in the situation. Now Ukraine is making it an official tourist site with controlled tours of the area. “Ukraine officials will open up the sealed zone which extends for a 30-mile radius around the Chernobyl plant, and guides will offer tours which would avoid contaminated areas while taking in the main sights, including the abandoned town of Pripyat.”

Well that is it for the thinking’s. The coffee is gone and it is time to get to work…

Windows to Russia!

Billionaire Backs a Gas-Electric Hybrid Car to Be Built in Russia


MOSCOW — Mikhail D. Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team, rolled out another pet project on Monday: Russia’s first gas-electric hybrid car.

The designers of the Yo claim that at about 67 miles a gallon, or 3.5 liters per 100 kilometers, it will achieve better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius.

It is called the Yo, for the Russian letter “ë,” and it can use either gasoline or natural gas to generate its electric power.

Proponents say the Yo makes use of Russian engineering innovations but can be priced for mass consumption because of its bare-bones approach to hybrid automotive technology.

While two electric motors propel the Yo, a small petroleum engine that can burn either gasoline or natural gas will run nearly continuously to generate the electricity they consume. Instead of charging a battery, as in the hybrid Toyota Prius, the generator in the Yo either powers the motors directly or fills a bank of capacitors that can hold only a small charge.

The designers say that at about 67 miles per gallon, the Yo will achieve better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius (about 51 miles per gallon), in part because it is lighter. Like other gas-electric hybrids, it will also have a total range far beyond that of a pure plug-in electric car like the newly introduced Nissan Leaf.

The Yo, which is expected to go on sale in Russia in mid-2012 and cost about $14,500, will have a top speed of 80 miles per hour and a range of 680 miles — if both its natural gas and gasoline tanks are filled.

Mr. Prokhorov, who made his fortune in Siberian mining, promised that the car would defy Russia’s stereotype for dismal quality in the auto industry — a poor image he said was at odds with Russian achievements in other engineering realms.

“Don’t forget that in Russia we were the first to put man in space,” Mr. Prokhorov said at a media event to unveil three Yo prototypes: a coupe, a hatchback and a delivery truck. “Unfortunately, in the last 50 years, we are playing from behind a little bit.”

Mr. Prokhorov is the sole backer of the hybrid car effort. He intends to made an initial investment of about 150 million euros, or about $200 million, in a new Russian company called e-Auto, which will also manufacture the Yo. A team of about 40 engineers developed the car.

“Russian scientists are good in ideas,” Mr. Prokhorov said. “This idea is really great.”

The Russian designers said the electrical generator approach of the Yo was sometimes used in city buses but not in cars. The advantage, they say, is in the small petroleum engine’s operating at its most efficient rate at all times, while the electrical capacitors absorb or discharge energy to accommodate start-and-stop city driving.

The designers say that the Yo’s fuel economy will be better than that of the Prius partly because the vehicle is lighter than the Prius and it has a lower top speed and only modest horsepower.

The fuel economy, the designers say, also owes to its unusual engine, a Soviet-legacy design where the pistons move in a circular motion. This approach to internal combustion, called a rotary vane engine, had some use in Germany in the 1930s but was largely abandoned later except in the Soviet Union, according to Andrei G. Ginzberg, chief engineer for the Yo.

Scientists honed it at a secretive laboratory in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, he said, but never commercialized the design.

The Yo is intended for domestic sale in Russia, where it will compete in an automotive market bouncing back after the recession. Because financing is costly, most families buy cars with at least half the money down, confining the middle-class car market to vehicles priced close to $10,000. Few foreign hybrids are sold here now.

And while the car is snug, Mr. Prokhorov gleefully demonstrated that even his 6-foot-8 frame could be folded into both the front and the rear seats — a demonstration that also highlighted Mr. Prokhrov’s litheness as a lifelong basketball player.

Mr. Prokhorov is considered one of Russia’s richest men, with a fortune made through his ownership of the Norilsk Nickel mine in Siberia, which produces about 20 percent of the world’s nickel, along with precious metals like platinum and palladium.

Because he sold shares in Norilsk just before their value collapsed in the financial crisis, earning at least $4.5 billion along with a stake in another mining company, Mr. Prokhorov entered the global recession awash in cash.

In May, he completed a deal that made him the principal owner of the New Jersey Nets and the first foreign proprietor of a National Basketball Association team. He is also 45 percent owner of Barclays Center, the team’s new arena, which is being built near downtown Brooklyn.

Back in Russia, the country’s leaders have been pressuring Mr. Prokhorov and other wealthy businessmen to help Russia diversify its economy away from oil, by investing in high technology, a priority of President Dmitri A. Medvedev that Mr. Prokhorov has said he shares.

“For the time being, Russia lacks value-added goods,” Mr. Prokhorov said. “That is why cars are very important. This project for us is very important, to give the world a value-added product made in Russia.”

He noted, though, that he would steer clear of existing Russian carmakers like Lada.

“To invest from scratch is very important,” Mr. Prokhorov said. “It’s a totally new concept. All the old-fashioned car producers, they are linked with old technology.”

Mikhail V. Ganelin, an industrial analyst at Troika investment bank in Moscow, hailed the project as a worthy bet on Russian engineering in a prospective field. But he said he did not expect the Yo to make much headway in turning around the glum fortunes of Russia’s automotive industry.

In Russia, Mr. Prokhorov is known as the bachelor billionaire for his penchant for parties stocked with models from Moscow agencies, an image he has embraced with self-deprecating humor.

On Monday, he said he wanted to break two stereotypes. Russia, he said, could make a modern car. And new cars, he said, need not always be presented with smiling models nearby. And indeed none were to be seen.

Guest Post!

{Guest Post – Admin added Links and Tags!}

A Bulgarian Christmas…


I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & was looking over comments made earlier. We had asked Ludmila, one of our readers to explain about Christmas in Bulgaria! This is what she wrote…..

Hi, Svetlana and Kyle!

This is how Bulgarians celebrate Christmas and New Year:

Although Bulgaria has Orthodox Church, the people celebrate Christmas on 25 of December as it was in Russia before the Great October Revolution. The Bulgarians celebrated this holiday on 7th of January in the period from 1945 to 1989 as it is in Russia now, but after 1989 it was decided to change the date to the end of December. In fact, Christmas in Bulgaria is called Koleda. Koleduvane is a tradition which still remains in villages and not in big cities. Koledari (young men dressed in national costumes) spread Christmas cheer around village and sing folk songs. A special dinner consisting of at least twelve dishes is prepared and all of them are without meat. This is a family holiday and all members of a family gather together round the table and celebrate it. A traditional Banitsa with fortune slips is put on the table. It’s very delicious meal. It’s made from puff paste with some white cheese rolled in it and baked in an oven.

Santa Claus in Bulgaria is called Dyado Koleda (Grandfather Koleda) and he brings the children gifts as Santa Claus and Ded Moroz do.

New Year Eve is joyful holiday when people gather together, eat a lot and go to the center of town or city at 12 o’clock or earlier. Five minutes before the New Year comes Bulgarian President gives a speech, which is transmitted on all state and private TV channels and in the midnight people cheers with “Na zdrave” with wishes for good health.

My regards,

Ludmila

It seems that the world all has a Santa Claus! If anyone else has a story about their countries: Christmas Traditions please leave a comment. I will be happy to include the Holiday Traditions on “Windows To Russia!”

Kyle & Svet

Stories of Traditions Welcome Here!!! It would be nice to know about your Christmas in the country where you live…
Thank You very much Ludmila…

Windows to Russia!

Wal-Mart Closing Moscow Office…


What a wonderful little news item for this Monday…

Wal-Mart Stores Closing Its Moscow Office

It seems that Wal-Mart has pulled out of the attempt to enter the Russian market after Wal-Mart which been in acquisition talks with discount chain Kopeika failed. Kopeika was bought earlier this month by X5 Retail Group, Russia’s largest supermarket operator… 🙂

Past readings about Wal-Mart from Windows to Russia…

http://windowstorussia.com/french-auchan-is-russias-king-retailer.html

http://windowstorussia.com/russia-and-wal-mart-have-started-dance_12.html

http://windowstorussia.com/russia-wal-mart-next_20.html

Windows to Russia!

Coffee and a Putin Quote…


Sveta found a great quote for me today…

“Тот, кто не жалеет о разрушении СОВЕТСКОГО СОЮЗА, у того нет сердца, а тот, кто хочет его воссоздания в прежнем виде, у того нет головы”

Владимир ПУТИН

Translated:

“Anyone who does not regret the destruction of the Soviet Union, has no heart, and whoever wants to recreate it in its previous form, has no brain.”

Vladimir Putin

Windows to Russia!

Corruption, not nationalism behind latest Moscow riots…


Russia Today: (Link)

Mass riots that started in the center of Moscow on Saturday must be blamed on corrupt police rather than nationalist sentiment in society, Russian observers and experts agreed.

A gathering of thousands of football fans to mourn their comrade killed in a street fight with men from the Northern Caucasus, ended in riots and racist attacks on Saturday. However, police, politicians and observers alike say the riots showed society’s anger over police corruption rather then general xenophobia.

Read More and Watch Video >>>

Windows to Russia!
  • Those behind violence in Moscow will be dealt with – Medvedev (rt.com)
  • Football fans rally over supporter shooting (rt.com)
  • Russian fans in clash with police (bbc.co.uk)
  • Russian Protests Erupt Over Soccer Fan’s Killing (nytimes.com)
  • You: Injuries, arrests as fans clash with police in Moscow (earthtimes.org)
  • Russian football fans clash with police over death of supporter (rt.com)
  • Protests Tinged With Ethnic Tensions Erupt in Moscow Over Soccer Fan’s Killing (nytimes.com)
  • You: Russian football fans run riot (nation.com.pk)
  • Football fans, troops clash in Moscow (reuters.com)
  • Fans disrupt Moscow over killing (bbc.co.uk)

Russian News Bits… (12/13/2010)


Those behind violence in Moscow will be dealt with – Medvedev: President Dmitry Medvedev has posted a strong warning in his Twitter blog, vowing to deal with all those behind the riots that rocked the center of Moscow on Saturday, prompted by the killing of a football fan earlier…

Go-ahead to START: The US Senate will ratify the new nuclear arms control deal with Russia before wrapping up for Christmas – according to a senior adviser to the American president.

Russia-US pact on adopted kids ready to be signed – ombudsman: Dozens of Russian children are neglected and abused by foreign adoptive parents every year. Child Rights Ombudsman Ravel Astakhov says the new agreement will mean guarantees of protection for Russian kids.

Izvestia photographer hospitalized after Moscow opposition rally: A photographer with Russia’s respected Izvestia daily has been hospitalized following an opposition rally in downtown Moscow on Sunday.

Russia to react appropriately to foreign troop deployment along its borders: Russia will take appropriate measures in response to deployments of foreign troops along its borders, says the Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdiukov in a comment for reporters on a WikiLeaks-published cable that NATO still sees Russia as a potential enemy. Moscow hopes that the publication will never become a reality.

Windows to Russia!

The USA is Becoming Another Russia!


Problem: Our stimulus money gave a $141,002 federal grant to Montana State University to fund a six-week, student trip to Hangzhou, China, to study dinosaur eggs and other fossils.

Opinion: Congress works for the Mafia and some Godfathers kid wanted to go to China and study dinosaurs.

All levels of government have become like Russia, it has become a autocratic Mafia state, with corrupt politicians and Union bosses taking bribes so the elite can make billions, forcing us to pay more and more in taxes so the elite can make more and more money with their so called honest businesses like health care, medical supply, defense contractor, HUD , food stamps, etc. The elite makes money with all this from your tax dollars. The elite make millions and billion of dollars that our government pays out to them from taxes or borrows to pay to them.

Yes, a few small time folks just like in Russia, make money also, but it was passed by our corrupt Congress so the elite could make billions of dollars. Local and State governments are the same way. It is corrupted all the way down the ladder. They feed off each other and cost the taxpayers trillions. This corrupt politicians forced us into paying income tax (against our Constitution), forces laws and regulations on us that are not Constitutional, now forced health care, forced Social Security, so what will be next that is forced on us. Wake up you sheepal!

You are being demoralized daily and more and more of your wealth is being stolen.

Congress, the Mafia State, is all about them the elite making money not about you keeping your money. Whatever they tell you is a LIE. They are looking for ways to stick the knife in deeper into your wallet.

Congratulations on the New Russian Empire the USofA!

Gandy

{uCan-Post addition by Guest, links added by Admin}

Guest Posting

Russia Tried to Stop the Litvinenko Poisioning But Britian said NO!


06PARIS7904 2006-12-26 11:11 2010-12-11 21:09 SECRET Embassy Paris

VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #7904/01 3601145
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 261145Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3945
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 5704

S E C R E T PARIS 007904

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EO 12958 DECL: 11/21/2016
TAGS PARM, FR
SUBJECT: S/CT CRUMPTON MEETS RUSSIAN COUNTERPART TO EXTEND
COUNTER-TERRORISM COOPERATION

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor XXXXXXXXXXXX for reasons 1.4 b and d.

¶1. (S) Summary: In an amicable December 7 dinner meeting with Ambassador-at-Large Henry Crumpton, Russian Special Presidential Representative Anatoliy Safonov agreed to move forward with several proposals that expand U.S./Russian counter-terrorism (CT) cooperation. These include:
–Engaging the American and Russian business communities in CT efforts.
–Expanding cooperation with scientific experts to include terrorist scenario modeling.
–Continuing intelligence sharing, specifically with regard to Iran,s sponsorship of terrorism and the recent murder of Russian diplomats in Iraq.
–Continuing efforts to formulate a standardized list of criteria for designating terrorist organizations.
–Convening an experts, conference in May to discuss strategies to prevent terrorists from exploiting Islam and to explore the ideological threat of “Jihadism”.
–Publicizing bilateral cooperation by staging press conferences in each other,s respective country and touring the United States together at a 2007 date to be determined. End Summary.

¶2. (S) In a December 7 dinner meeting with Ambassador-at-Large Henry Crumpton, Russian Special Presidential Representative Anatoliy Safonov welcomed several proposals aimed at extending bilateral counterterrorism (CT) cooperation. Safonov opened the meeting by expressing his appreciation for U.S./Russian cooperative efforts thus far. He cited the recent events in London – specifically the murder of a former Russian spy by exposure to radioactive agents – as evidence of how great the threat remained and how much more there was to do on the cooperative front. (Comment: The implication was that the FOR was not involved, although Safonov did not offer any further explanation.) Safonov noted the daunting number of countries that posed particular terrorism threats, mentioning North Korea, Pakistan, South Africa, Libya, Iran, India, and Israel (sic?). He described a range of dangers, stressing the more immediate threats posed by nuclear and biological terrorism, but also acknowledging the risks of chemical terrorism. Safonov highlighted coverage of transit corridors as one of the most promising areas of U.S./Russian CT cooperation and commented that the U.S. and Russia should continue to refine this effort.

¶3. (S) Safonov was particularly enthusiastic about Crumpton,s proposal that their respective governments cooperatively engage the private sector in their CT efforts. Crumpton made specific reference to the Business Executives for National Security as one American group they might contact. Safonov applauded the idea,s potential for offering new CT perspectives and expressed the hope that such cooperation might enrich Russian private-sector business, which he said could learn a lot from its American counterpart. Crumpton also suggested the Russia/United States Business Council as a possible starting point for engaging the private sector. Safonov said he would meet with Ambassador Burns in Moscow to discuss next steps, and both men agreed to explore possible private sector contacts in their home countries.

¶4. (S) Safonov reiterated his belief that new perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking were critical to defeating terrorism and expressed his appreciation for scientific approaches, which he asserted were “broader and less conditioned by lived experience”. He cited one physicist,s conception of global terrorism as analogous to biological disease, i.e., the fever that serves as a warning for larger problems. Crumpton agreed with Safonov about the importance of scientific perspectives and suggested that they expand their cooperation with Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, specifically that they jointly direct the scientists there to undertake terrorist scenario modeling. Crumpton noted that the Sandia Laboratories already had established relationships with Russian counterparts and had worked cooperatively with them on nuclear safety and biological weapons threats, which could also be a topics for ongoing cooperation. Safonov agreed, and asked for the names of the affiliated Russian research groups. In this context, the two also touched on the importance of continued bioterrorism cooperation including bilateral consultations; Safonov seemed keen to expand all avenues of joint action.

¶5. (S) Also on the topic of taking advantage of academic perspectives, Ambassador Crumpton offered to “loan” XXXXXXXXXXXX to engage with Safonov,s team in Russia and to review the situation in Chechnya. Safonov seemed amenable, but the two did not discuss specifics.

¶6. (S) On Iraq, Crumpton stressed the paramount importance of preventing Al Qaida from establishing a safe operating haven in Iraq, which could serve as a staging area for the whole region. He also conveyed the USG,s intention to provide Russia with all available information on the terrorists responsible for the recent kidnapping and killing of Russian diplomats, noting that the CIA had already met all but one of the Russian information requests that had been made since June of 2006. On Iran, Crumpton relayed the USG,s intention to provide the Russian government with a formal intelligence report detailing the Iranian terrorist threat, including specific links to Hamas and other groups, Iran,s ongoing support of Iraqi Shia, and information on Iranian missile transfers to Hizballah.

¶7. (S) Crumpton asserted there was a pressing need for the G-8 to establish uniform criteria for designating terrorists and terrorist groups. Safonov agreed and noted that “We need to overcome this deadlock…Right now there are about twelve groups causing disagreement.” Crumpton concurred and pressed for the name of the Russian official XXXXXXXXXXXX who was authorized to continue to negotiate on establishing uniform criteria. In the only slightly evasive exchange during the entire three-hour conversation, Safonov resisted answering outright; after repeated questioning, he provided the name of XXXXXXXXXXXX and the qualification that “there are two layers (to this issue)”.

¶8. (S) Crumpton invited Russia to participate in a four-day experts, conference sponsored by the Marshall Center to discuss how terrorists exploit Islam and the ideological threat of “Jihadism”. Safonov accepted the invitation immediately and expressed great interest in exploring how they might reverse the extremists, “hijacking” of Islam. Crumpton told Safonov that the conference — to include NATO, Russia, and Turkey — was planned for May in Istanbul and was tentatively divided into two days spent with subject matter experts and two days spent with policy makers.

¶9. (S) Safonov enthusiastically agreed to and elaborated on Crumpton,s ideas for publicly highlighting U.S./Russia CT cooperation. Safonov accepted Crumpton,s invitation to visit the United States as his guest and went on to suggest that they could publicize the visit with cross-directed press events wherein each of them would be interviewed by journalists from the other country. Crumpton pressed for a short time line, inviting Safonov to come to New York in January 2007, then going on to Los Angeles together; Safonov suggested a March-April 2007 visit timeframe. Safonov accepted responsibility for arranging the next steps.

¶10. (S) In the course of their exchange, Safonov made the following passing statements:
—Safonov claimed that Russian authorities in London had known about and followed individuals moving radioactive substances into the city but were told by the British that they were under control before the poisoning took place.
–On Afghanistan, Safonov said that British and Canadian soldiers were well regarded, but Dutch soldiers were causing problems by posing “constant questions about governance”.
–On Lebanon, Safonov judged that the situation was probably “not yet at the bottom” and so there may not yet be enough incentive to find a solution. The key was to prevent any movement toward civil war. To that end, the Russian government planned to continue to work with Syria, which “is not the central cause of the conflict and in some ways is also a hostage of the situation”. In Safonov,s eyes, the conflict had no single cause, but rather was composed of many problems and many actors, though the present crisis likely would not have arisen if former Israeli PM Sharon had been in charge. He believed Sharon would not have made the error of attacking a nation when the enemy was Hizballah.
–In Iraq, coalition forces’ failure to restore order reminded Safonov of an exchange he had with a freedom fighter just after Russian forces had captured Grozny. The fighter told him, “Your real problems are only now beginning.”

¶11. (U) This message has been cleared by Ambassador Crumpton. Please visit Paris’ Classified Website at: fm HOFMANN

Wikileaks

  • US embassy cables: Russian official hints that Russia was not involved in Litvinenko murder (guardian.co.uk)
  • WikiLeaks cables: Russia ‘was tracking killers of Alexander Litvinenko but UK warned it off’ (guardian.co.uk)
  • Russia said UK stopped tracking Litvinenko killers (reuters.com)
  • Russia was tracking Litvinenko’s killers: WikiLeaks (reuters.com)
  • Russia tracked spy’s killers but Britain took over: US cable (windsorstar.com)
  • WikiLeaks: Russia says it tracked ex-spy’s killers (msnbc.msn.com)
  • Wikileaks: Russia trailed Litvinenko killers ‘but Britain warned them off’ (telegraph.co.uk)
  • WikiLeaks cables: UK on constant alert to Russian espionage (guardian.co.uk)

Peaceful Rally to commemorate the death of a Spartak Moscow supporter turns to a racist riot…


What should have been a peaceful rally ended up being infiltrated by racism and evolved into a riot. Many people were wearing masks and were seen ripping out park benches, street signs, and throwing bottles and flares at police. The fires were quickly extinguished. Some protesters have been detained…

My understanding is that the man who did the shooting is in custody and today was to be a peaceful commemoration to the Spartak fans death…

Windows to Russia!