Category: Russia

What Makes Me Mad In Russia…


I walk a lot in Moscow,  Russia. It is good for the dog and good for me and my heart…

But I see things that upset me and one of these things is this…

Damn Dirty Drug Needle...

That is a syringe and needle that was laying near a sidewalk that hundreds of people pass by everyday. I find a dozen or more of these everyday. I also destroy a dozen or more of these everyday…

I have a saying:  “I don’t care if you decide to kill yourself by your stupidity, but I do care if you kill others by your stupidity!”  This came from when I was in the army and what you do can kill us all…

Sounds crude, but it is the truth. Those drugs that you inject in your veins is taking your life on a slow slide to death. But that kid or person, that gets stuck with that needle that you left laying around. Gets to possiblely join you in that slow slide to death if they become infected from your dirty needle…

But – Oh I forgot, You do not care when you are on drugs…

Windows to Russia!

I want to go to a Russian Village!


7423 - Moscow - McDonalds Cheeseburger
Image by thisisbossi via Flickr

Hi,

I had a very interesting weekend. I took off Saturday morning at 8 am. I was on my way to a Russian Village to enjoy the Village life for a weekend. I was going to work on the garden. My better half (Svet) was with me and our dog Boza. We had a nice weekend planned.

We left Moscow and 3 km later stopped and got McDonald’s. That was a mistake, We spent about 1and half hours in McDonald’s. Now for you Americans, you have to understand that Moscow McDonald’s are 5 times busier than American McDonald’s. This was the sign of how things would be for the day!!

We finally left the McDonald’s, Full and only slightly grumbly. We pulled onto the main byway, and realized that there was around 4,000,000,000,000, Yes zillion, cars on the road. Then for the next 5 hours we tried to leave Moscow. We succeeded in getting only 50 km away from Moscow.

Now at this point, The dog (Boza) was laying in the back seat in a state of shock. I was grumbling, mumbling, and rumbling like a big bear. The only one who was happy was Svet. She was enjoying life, as she always does. She did not even care to tell me that we are lost. She was having too much fun.

You must understand about Russian drivers to understand why it was so much fun! Russian drivers do not look at a two lane byway as only two lanes. A two lane byway is 3 lanes, the shoulder for emergency is another lane. The dirt down the middle between the byways is a lane(median). Also the opposite side of the road is lanes, if no one is over there. Even if someone is over there. They do not care. So what I am saying is that a standard two lane byway becomes up to 8 lanes going in one direction. With all these lanes of traffic you would think that you would go some where. Alas, that is not to be.

After 5 hours of trying to go 50 km, we came to a town that the local police kept us from going through. Now this was the only way to the Village. We gave up, Turned around and drove 50 km back to Moscow in a half hour. The only thing we had to watch out for was Russian kamikazes driving at you because they think that they are going to get somewhere fast.

I still had fun, When I am with my sweety (Svet) she makes life wonderful. I am not sure how she puts up with my grouchiness. The dog has recovered and so have I.

We are leaving next weekend, at 4 am. No McDonald’s and finding a new way to the Village. (Maybe I can just drive down the opposite side of the road) The Russians do it!!!!

Kyle

Fires are Dwindling – Our Village Here We Come…


Our Village is a little bit of Heaven...

It looks like everything has stabilized enough that we are going to attempt a trip to our village this coming weekend. The village is located South Southeast of Moscow about 400 to 450 km give or take a few km. Counts on the way we go to get there…

I have written many articles about this village and it is one of the most magical places on earth. We are going to see if any damage has resulted of all the fires. The village at one point was between multiples of fires and we hope that nothing happened…

I am excited and have lots of plans to work on the village home that we have. It needs chalking, painting and cleaning. Some of the links are here to let you see all the pictures of the past from our village area. They all have links to see more articles of the same village…

http://kylekeeton.com/2007/10/russia-sunrise-to-freedom.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/06/life-in-village-is-it-too-crowded.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/05/sunrise-to-freedom-russian-village.html
http://windowstorussia.com/russia-sunrise-to-freedom-leaving-us.html http://windowstorussia.com/russia-beautiful-village_27.html

I will have lots of pictures and as usual I will post some good ones of our village…

Windows to Russia!

Update on The 2010 Wildfires in Russia…


A Wildfire did this...

The date is 8/17/2010. These are kinda the stated facts from the news agencies in Russia.

1. The wildfire area in Russia has more than halved in the past 24 hours, from 45,000 hectares to 22,000 hectares.

2. According to the Emergency Situations Ministry, all wildfires have been extinguished in the Voronezh Region.

3. The area engulfed by fires has shrunk in the Moscow, Nizhni Novgorod, Kirov, Ryazan, Vladimir and Sverdlov Regions, and also in the Perm Territory, and the Mordovia and Mariy-El republics.

4. The fire-hit area in the Moscow Region has decreased from 46 hectares to 33 hectares.

5. Still, the fire-fighting effort continues unabated.

6. Over 160,000 people are involved in putting out the fires, as well as 26,000 fire-fighting equipment units, including 62 aircraft.

Windows to Russia!

Medvedev Is Very Correct About the Russian Customs Border…


August 16, 2010, 16:00

The costs involved in crossing the customs border are sometimes unpredictable and discourage investors from opening new production facilities in Russia, Dmitry Medvedev said at a meeting on the country’s investment climate.

Run – The Hurricane is Coming to Moscow…


Thunderstorms produce many hazards that put li...
Mother Nature is Not Done With Russia…

Today the weather is changing drastically. We are now staring at Thunderstorms with high winds. That is wonderful and once again I am in heaven. I grew up in the Midwest of America and these kind of storms are a treat to the senses…

But also once again people in Russia do not have the huge thunderstorms brought on by intermingling of hot and cold fronts like in America. That is until now…

So they really do not have good words to describe these storms. Sveta tells me that we are having a hurricane in Moscow! 🙂 I smile at the choice of words…

The news says hurricanes, monsoons and cyclones are destroying St. Petersburg…

Then they say 15 meters per second wind speed. Now that equates into around 30 mph for us Americans. That is a good wind but it definitely does not fall into the hurricane, tornado, cyclone or monsoon winds category. Even if it reaches 40 mph it is a tiny tornado…

But for a country that rarely has a tornado much less a hurricane on its seashores. 30 mph is good enough to cause issues because they are not secured for that type of weather. In fact that kind of wind is just plain scary to them…

The Russian Weather-Forecasting Agency and Emergencies Ministry have already declared a hurricane warning.

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has ordered moves to be made to ensure the safety of the residents.

Construction companies should ensure the suitableness of tower cranes and other high-rise structures. All emergency services will perform round the clock. Muscovite’s have been advised against walking outdoors, stopping or parking their cars under the trees or beam-less plate structures.

The upcoming cyclone is expected to bring along the atmospheric front from the northwest. The hurricane that hit the Leningrad, Pskov, Novgorod and Tver Regions on Sunday made 96,000 residents of these regions suffer from blackouts.

I added a little excerpt above from all the news goings on. I have seen policemen running all around and all the workers are tying things down…

I just love living in Russia. It is never boring here. We are either being suffocated by smoke or burned alive by heat. But now add to that, blown away by hurricanes… 🙂

Russia is cool!

Windows to Russia!

Booming Babies in Russia…


The birth and death rates in Russia 1950–2008 ...
The Old Chart, Time To Update…

The word is out that Russia is having a baby boom with birth rates up by 21%! This has happened over the past three years, a welcome turnaround from the alarming setback in the 1990s…

From what I can tell after living here almost 4 years is that this statement is true. At least in Moscow…

I see many families that are now made up of two kids whereas in the past one child would be the norm…

Sveta is from the older Soviet era and they believed in only one child and give all to that child. As she sees many two or more child families she wonders and still asks how could you care for more than one kid? I just say that there is enough love for all. I had more than one my self and it was not a problem…

I have even seen a couple of two and three across strollers. So I see lots kids all over the town we live in and they make lots of noise… 🙂

How sweet it is…

Windows to Russia!

Russia is Creating a Strange Drone…


The so-called ‘ vezdelyot’, or fly-anywhere vehicle, has been created by Russian designers, who jokingly call their brain-child a ‘pepelats’, in a nod to a bizarre flying bucket from popular comedy film Kin-dza-dza, directed by Georgy Danelia in the late 1980s. The Voice of Russia’s Nadezhda Podolskaya has more.

Officially named The Air-250 drone, the bucket –shaped ‘vezdelyot’ has already raised many eyebrows in terms of its advanced characteristics. The 4-kg vehicle, which has no wings and fuselage as such, is able to lift off even from the palm of the hand or a car’s trunk compartment.

The drone was specifically designed to help rescuers grapple with emergency situations in remote areas, explains Alexei Aravin, chief executive of the Air Group company:The drone’s computerized control system helps it to duly track down wildfires’ hot spots or other emergency situations on the ground, Aravin says, adding that relevant information is then swiftly sent to a mission control center.

Right now, the drone is in the process of test flying, Aravin goes on to say, piling praise on the ‘vezdelyot’’s sophisticated characteristics. The drone has a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour, and its service ceiling stands at 4,000 kilometers, Aravin says.

The propeller-free drone, the Air-350 is also capable of working in restricted areas, Aravin concludes.

The next couple of years may well see the drone being supplied to the Russian Armed Forces and Russian rescuers, who particularly praised the drone’s design which makes it possible to install sophisticated equipment on board. Experts say that the drone’s open air test flights are scheduled for this fall. Voice of Russia

This is just so cool I had to post it through their repost button…

Windows to Russia!

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Head of Russia’s Atomic Agency Due in Tehran Friday…


TEHRAN (FNA)- Head of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) Sergei Kiriyenko is scheduled to arrive in Iran on Friday to visit the country’s first nuclear power plant in Bushehr.

During the visit which will take place concurrent with the transfer of fuel to the Bushehr nuclear power plant reactor by Russian contractors, Kiriyenko will be briefed about the latest progresses made in the construction of the power plant.

Reports also said Russian Energy Minister Sergey Ivanovich Shmatko will likely accompany Kiriyenko during the trip.

Russia announced that it plans to load fuel into the Bushehr Power Plant reactor on August 21.

“The fuel will be loaded in the reactor on August 21. From this moment, Bushehr will be considered a nuclear installation,” Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov said on Friday.

“This can be considered as the physical launch,” he went on to say.

Iranian officials say they have already completed the principal tests for the plant in preparations for the inauguration of the power plant.

Russia has been building the nuclear facility in Iran since 1994. The start-up of the station, originally scheduled to be completed in 1999, has been delayed on several occasions.

Western corporations began the construction of the Bushehr facility in the 1970s. However, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the project due to political pressure from Washington.

Iran then turned to Russia to complete the project. In 1992, Tehran and Moscow signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant.

Windows to Russia!

Comment Monday in Russia!


I like this type of Spam…

I have spent 3 hours just cleaning up comments. First I had to look over 1311 spam that had accrued over the two days this weekend. I found 4 legit comments in that mess…

Then I had to check the Badbehavior comments. These are comments that are blocked because of being automated. There was 617 of them and 1 good comment amongst that mess…

Then I had several regulars that automatically go to my email and I got them approved. 🙂

Then I had 98 comments that had to be moderated because they were legit comments and not considered spam. Out of those 10 were so bad that they could not be left to be viewed by the public. Some were terrible but I have learned to leave those and now only the comments that are death threats against me, Svet or others are pulled.

Just take a look at some of the posts and you will see that commenting has increased tremendously. This has happened after I dropped Disqus and went back to Intensedebate a month ago. Hummm…

So I apologize to anyone if I seem to not be able to get to answer very many comments. Literally I can not get to them…

To write a post takes time and sometimes I write two in a day or more. But lately I have been buried in comments.

I have had a lot of very good comments and we also have had a group of college students that used one of the articles for a project. They have thanked me and I want them to know that I appreciate the thanks. At this link…

http://windowstorussia.com/russia-developing-a-russian-national-operating-system-rnos.html

Sveta and I do appreciate all the comments and want them to continue. I will answer what I can and will answer what e-mails that I can also. We receive sometimes 10 to 20 e-mails a day from people…

So please do not stop the comments because you think it does not matter. The comments do matter…

Windows to Russia!

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