The debt will only be 11% of the country’s GDP by the end of the year 2010, 13.6% of GDP by the end of 2011, 15.7% by the end of 2012 and 17.4% by the end of 2013, according to the Ministry of Finance of Russia…
In contrast, the leading world economies’ debts will continue to mount, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, citing figures for the United States, where government debt will rise to 97% of GDP. Other nations’ debt figures include the UK with 84.8%, France with 88.6%, and Germany with 79.6%. By the 2013 time frame…
Russia has rejected claims that Georgian troops have left South Ossetia after failing to take control of the breakaway republic. Reuters news agency quoted Georgia’s Internal Affairs Ministry spokesman, Shota Utiashvili, as saying: ‘Georgian troops have fully left South Ossetia.’
A big issue in the news in Russia is Renault – a car company that has a 25% stake in AvtoVaz. Needs to share 25% in the needed capital to keep AvtoVaz afloat. Renault already has received €3 billion in its state support to keep its head above water. But now Putin has said, What percent you own is what percent you must give. In Renault’s case this is 25% of needed capital…
Putin said:“I’d very much like to see all shareholders (of AvtoVaz) contribute on an equal footing. All of them can be assured that the Russian government will do everything it can to uphold the interests of all shareholders.”
This means that if Renault wants to keep its 25% share of AvtoVaz then it needs to cough up 25% of the needed restructuring money. If not then risk loosing part of that 25%.
The Western press is slamming Putin and Russia over this thinking, but I really think it is correct to think this way. If you own 25% of a company then you need to help 25% of what is needed. (Not just take 25% of the profits during good times…)
Does anyone stop and think about the fact that so many car companies have crashed and burned in the economic crises? I think it is because a car really is not necessary to buy new every year…
I have not purchased a new car for 25 years and will most likely never again! (I buy used)
This morning while drinking my cup of coffee, I was thinking that it is time to winterize the village home. Other words, get it ready for the long Russian Winter…
Looks like we will try to do that this weekend because according to the Russian news this is going to be a Winter that we will not forget…
That settled I thought about a very good article that I read yesterday. It was about the doctor care in Russia. It was called, Limitations of Russian Medical Care by American Russia Observations Blog…
Robert MacDonald the owner of the blog has a flare for much detail that I really like. He has lived in Russia a long time and I only hope that I may live here that long also…
The article caught my interest because I have much of the same experience as he does with Russian medical care and I, much like him, have had good experiences with Russian medical care and doctors…
His blog reminds me that, No it is not a perfect world but with the right attitude you come to an understanding that not all glitters with gold in America and not all is dirt in Russia…
The next thing that came to my mind while drinking my coffee was that they have turned the heat on in our building. That is the sign that Winter is coming. Now I love winter so Russia is an ideal place for me… 🙂
One more thought crossed my mind as I am finishing this article. One of our friends in the village had gotten pneumonia. He was prescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics were to be given by injection. Now in America he would have to go to the doctor and get all the shots done. He would also have to have a prescription for the antibiotics. He would also have to have a lot of money to pay for said shots and antibiotics or very good insurance…
In Russia no prescription needed, no doctor or nurse to pay to give the shots and very little money for the antibiotic. In fact in Russia we do it all basically ourselves…
The reason it came to my mind is that I am needing to have the steroid shots again for my arthritis, it has been several years and the effects have worn off completely. Like the last time, all I have to do is go to the pharmacy and get the steroids and needles and give them to myself. Simple, easy, cost effective but not painless… 🙂
Lets have some news from Russia with our morning cup of coffee or tea:
The Bank of Russia sold a little over $1bn worth of foreign currency on the domestic market in September, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists today. The regulator sold $0.6bn worth of foreign currency on the domestic market between September 1 and 22. “During the first few months of 2010, the ruble demonstrated an increase, and the value of the basket of two currencies slid,” the Central Bank’s chief Sergei Ignatyev told journalists. Meanwhile, the basket of two currencies has been increasing in value in the last several months, due primarily to a lower surplus of the balance of payments account. Ignatyev reiterated that the bank purchased $0.5bn in foreign currency in July of this year.
More…
Russia and the United States have settled all issues regarding Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin stated today at the 7th annual forum Yalta European Strategy. He also reiterated that the Russian and U.S. presidents had agreed to complete the talks by the end of September, and kept their word. A special working group in Geneva will now finish off a joint report, Kudrin added. The WTO accession process can start in two to four months to be completed in half a year or a year at the most, the finance minister explained. In theory, Russia can become a WTO member in 10 months.
More…
In an interview today, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Vysotsky filled RBC in on Russia’s priorities in the Arctic. He is convinced that Russia needs to defend its interests, as there are plenty of contenders for both the Arctic and the Antarctic. “We are already witnessing a number of states who, although not on the Arctic Council, are seeking to penetrate and are already positioning their interests. China, for one, has entered into agreements with Norway to develop the Arctic zone. We can understand the economy and the infrastructure that China now has – it is becoming a serious partner, both in terms of benefits and problems,” Vysotsky said.
More…
The program on the privatization of state companies is expected to promote competition in the Russian economy and ultimately, its efficiency, President of VTB Capital Yury Solovyev told RBC-TV today. “Many people are saying that the government is doing this to overcome the budget deficit. I think the key priority and the reason behind the privatization program is to increase competition in the Russian economy,” he explained.
More…
Russia’s natural gas production jumped 15.6 percent to 468.847bn cubic meters in January-September of 2010 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the Russian Energy Ministry indicated in a report today. In September alone, Russia produced 47.94bn cubic meters of natural gas, 4.2 percent greater than in the same month of 2009.
More…
Russia’s inflation amounted to 0.8 percent in September and to 6.2 percent since the beginning of the year, the Russian Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported today. In September of last year, inflation stood at zero, and at 8.1 percent in the first three quarters of the year.
The Coldest Winter for the last 1000 years (one thousand years)…
This is what the scientist are predicting. They are saying that after a Summer like we just had, this backlash is what will happen…
This is all centered around the Gulf Jet Stream that brings warm air up North. They say that as the Gulf Stream dies so will the ability to counteract the freezing cold. Looks like this last summer was a dieing gasp of the Gulf Stream and now we are seeing a downward drop of said Gulf Stream…
The prediction is including all of Europe and they say that this could be the start of a new ice age if the Gulf Stream disappears completely…
Jet Streams…
The announcement has been made on local news and the Russian authorities are getting ready for an extremely cold Winter (even by Russian standards)…
World reserves of foreign exchange and gold in billions of US Dollars…
While sipping on a cup of coffee this morning and enjoying the crisp 2 degree Celsius, clear skied weather. I was thinking of something that had happened in the world…
It seems that the world currency devaluations will come. They have no choice but to devalue. With the Western world printing press running 24/7…
But that also will be unsuccessful as a tool to save the financial situation that the world has created.
Though Russia I see as one of the exceptions and has circumvented a major part of the devastation by failing to use stimulus packages to weaken its rouble.
So now every time the IMF tries to suppress gold prices with its gold dumping, Russia is right there buying it up, which must infuriate the elitists in Europe and the US.
So even though almost 2/3s of their economy’s growth loss has been due to drought and fires. Russia with close to $500 billion in foreign exchange, will have no trouble buying gold, which from my calculations is close to 706.38 tons and climbing monthly. Russia it seems has found an easy way to dump dollars.
So as long as the IMF wants to try to suppress the gold price by dumping gold on the market. Countries like Russia and China will buy, buy, buy and buy some more. Using those devalued dollars to purchase Gold…
A little tid-bit of information that I posted a couple of weeks ago….
Update on Story: Ukraine says that the tanks were bond for Kenya and there was 33 tanks and parts and ammo…. (Hmmmmm oh OK!)
The United States and Israel have consistently refused to rule out the possibility of military action against Iran over its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment and Georgia would be an ideal bridgehead for a U.S. invasion of Iran. Then NATO proceeds to comment on the fact that it will rebuild the NATO class airport that was destroyed in Georgia. It will be better than it was and all the latest updated equipment. Russia seems to be getting the picture also, that Ukraine is shipping SovietT-72 Tanks to Afghanistan for NATO (USA). Seems if I remember correctly (Soviet Times), Tanks are worthless in Afghanistan due to the terrain but they are great in the plains area of Iran.(Link)
This Ukraine is shipping Tanks is confirmed today with the CNN article:
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Foreign Ministry says pirates have seized a Ukrainian-operated ship off Somalia. The ministry says the Faina was sailing with 21 people on board under the Belize flag, though it is operated by Ukrainian managing company Tomax Team Inc. The ministry says in a statement that the ship’s captain reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men Thursday afternoon. The ship’s passengers include 17 Ukrainian citizens including the captain, as well as three Russians and one Latvian citizen. The ministry had no information on the ship’s cargo. But the Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source as saying the ship was loaded with about 30 T-72 tanks and spare parts for them. (Link)
Opps – looks like it is cover up time for Ukraine, NATO and the USA! Update – seems that Ukraine first gave out information that the tanks were going to South Sudan, then hours later they changed the story to Kenya. Well wait and see what the next story says.
They also where caught very far from the normal shipping route. The explanation was: We were trying to avoid pirates so that is why we are so far off course.
So before anyone jumps up and down and says NATO don’t have Russian made T-72’s, think again, Iraq has 77 to 120 of these tanks which some Western sources refer to as the T-74 but NATO refers to as the T-80. Many of these tanks are in action as they are upgraded by NATO to NATO standards. Czech is upgrading all their T-72’s to NATO standards right now.
In fact allot of Russian equipment is used in NATO, from Migs to tanks….
As the Wind Blows it has de-leafed a tree and exposed some interesting things….
Kyle & Svet
comments always welcome.
PS: The yellow area on the world map is Somalia, They only had a little ways to travel before they were home free. The sources are reporting several hundred tanks have already been delivered.
![Overview map of the South Ossetia region of Ge...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/South_Ossetia_overview_map.png/300px-South_Ossetia_overview_map.png" "Overview map of the South Ossetia region of Ge...")
![A photo of a cup of coffee.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/A_small_cup_of_coffee.JPG/300px-A_small_cup_of_coffee.JPG" "A photo of a cup of coffee.")
![Actual jet stream configuration](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Jetstreamconfig.jpg/300px-Jetstreamconfig.jpg" "Actual jet stream configuration")
![World reserves of foreign exchange and gold in...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Reserves_of_foreign_exchange_and_gold.PNG/300px-Reserves_of_foreign_exchange_and_gold.PNG" "World reserves of foreign exchange and gold in...")
![](http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa306/kylekeeton/coffee10.gif")
