Category: Russia

Sometimes Russians know English!!

I went shopping today. To get food for the flat. I left the flat with my sweety and kissed her goodbye. I walked to my favorite store that has lots of food items. I shopped and went to pay. After the girl rang all items up, I asked for two plastic bags. In Russia you do not get free plastic bags. You must buy them.

I asked the girl in my broken Russian, Packet (bag) I pointed and she looked at me. I said English from America. I asked again for packet.

Then she said: Oh, you want a bag! (in English) I just stood there dumb. She gave me 4 bags and I paid.

Sometimes the English language comes from the weirdest places. It surprises me now when I hear English spoken.

I love this country!

Comments

Kyle

Sneaky the Binky…

When I came to Russia I brought my little dog. She was 18 years old, But she wanted to come. She loved to travel more than anything, and this was to be her last trip. She did it in style and loved the jet trip and she loved Russia.

The hardest part was getting international papers for Sneaky. Had to have a vet sign off on the fact she was ok to travel. She was healthy just very old. got paper signed and put Sneaky in pet carrier. Then carried her as my carry on luggage. Got to Moscow and nobody cared that we had papers or not for her. just carried her through the gates and she was in Russia!!!

Sneaky loved Russia, We got here in October and Sneaky died December 10th 2006. She got to play in snow and she got carried by the best mommy in the world (Svet). She almost made it to Christmas, But she had a stroke and had to be put to sleep. I cried for two days. She was my buddy. She came to Russia with me and when she saw that I was going to have a good life she said goodbye.

18 years old is a long age for a doggy. She was a long red haired dachshund and about 5 pounds. Toy miniature dachshund.

We have a new dog now named Boza the Bear. We found him at a gas station. He is half German Shepard and half wire haired terrier. Svet fell in love with him, now we have a Boza. Sneaky would have liked him. She would have told him who is boss! 🙂

Kyle

Related articles

The Road From the Village!

Driving home last week, my thoughts at first were on staying alive!

Why? You ask…

Because Russian drivers are so different than American drivers. Russian drivers are very aggressive. They always do the wrong thing at the wrong time, according to my thinking. Yes I said according to my thinking!

It dawned on me yesterday, I was at fault. I was thinking like an American. I was driving like an American. I expected everyone else to drive like an American. Big problem I am in Russia! 🙂

So I figured out that if I drove like them that I would be going with the grain instead of against the grain. Guess what it worked!

So I drove like a Russian. I drove the same way that Russians do. You see they all drive the same way. So how they drive is normal, The way I drove was not…

With this realization came the best drive I have had in Russia. It was 360+ km of really nice enjoyable ride…

I learn more everyday…

Kyle

Windows to Russia!

Why Americans feared the Soviet Union.


The picture is typical of pictures from my childhood, They were all meant to make us scared of Russia. Which Russia to America was the Soviet Union.

Once again I was drinking coffee. We have just come back from a trip from a small Russian village, The same that I have talked about in earlier articles. I was on my second cup and a thought came to me. Why did we fear the Soviet Union?

I sit in a country that at one time I was sworn to protect against. A country that I as an American was told would nuke us at any second. A country that I was told would infiltrate our society and corrupt our children.

That is very sad to think that as an American, I was led to believe that only the Devil himself was more evil than the Soviet empire!!

I never believed it! I always doubted it. But my government said it was true. I had to believe, Right! No, I did not! Now I am sitting in Russia with the woman of my dreams and am very happy.

Now I look out the balcony window in Moscow, Very comfortable, and I try to write a blog about one of the most misunderstood countries that I know about.

I have talked with soviets, (most in Russia are from the soviet era). It was not that long ago that the collapse happened. This article is not political so I will not get into why it collapsed. I will just say that the people who live in Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova. (Where I have been personally) All are trying to survive. They simply want to be left alone and want to have a good life. They want the government to do its job and run the country, but not take too many rights away from people. They want to have food to eat and cars to drive. They want to have a roof over their heads and shoes on their feet. They want their kids to have an education and most of all they want Peace! Simply Peace and quiet. The people I have met are not evil or bad. They are humans. You know people that inhabit the earth and destroy much of what they come in contact with. Just like Americans, Humans!!

Funny thing, I see that Russians are just like Americans.

Maybe that is what scares people, how much alike we really are.

Comments welcome.

Windows to Russia!

 

The old Soviet Union, CCCP

I was sitting drinking coffee this morning. I was thinking about what it could have been like when the CCCP was still around. I have been on trips to the Ukraine and Moldova. I got to see the remains of the old empire. I have been to several villages in Russia. I have seen what is left of the old ways.

The old ways are dying, I watched the same thing happen in America. Thirty years ago America was like Russia now. The similarities are scary. I watched towns shrivel up and die in America. Now I am watching the same Towns in Russia die.

I can see that when the CCCP went down the life in villages collapsed. The money was gone, the food was gone. The people moved. A few diehards stay. They have no life, They are using equipment from very old days. The water supplies are the same, with the wells now starting to collapse in on themselves. The electric supply is as old as the time the Soviet Union put it in. Now it is on the point of not working. I am talking about Villages not cities, like Moscow. All over the country side are half finished factories. They just became desolate after the CCCP fall.

I saw this same thing is happening in Ukraine and Moldova. The big cites have all new and modern life. The Villages are collapsing. Yet these villages still feed those over grown city’s. I watched fields being planted by hundreds of workers. I saw huge fields being plowed by hand. tilled by hand.

In America the family farm is almost gone, Replaced by a huge Coop farms. In Russia the Coop farm is becoming the new way.

Russia needs to watch their land.

comments please

Kyle

 

Russia is Hot!!

I moved to Russia and the weather changed. So everyone in Russia can blame me. I came from the Midwest of the United States. I expected it to be much cooler this far north.

Not to be! I brought the Midwest weather with me. The winter was mild, The spring, non existent. The summer is HOT and it is not summer yet!
I assumed that Russia was cold. (you know what assume means).
What it really means, Is that people who have never had to have fans, or air conditioning, are finding themselves suffering. Most people I have heard about have never even owned a fan.
I feel for them, I have two fans blowing on me now. The temperature on my balcony is 36 degrees Celsius. (96.8 degrees F.) Now in Russia, that’s hot!
So Moscow, now you know who is to blame for the heat (ME). The Midwest of the United States is cooler than we are here.
Go figure that.
Windows to Russia!

I Quit Smoking When I Came to Russia…

When I came to Russia I quit smoking. I had smoked 0ver 30 years. Its a good thing! The price of cigarettes is so cheap in Russia that I would have smoked even more. In the US I was paying 4 to 5 dollars a pack. In Russia I would only have to pay 75 cents. I am thankful to have quit.

I read that in the last 10 years that Russians have increased smoking 100%.

That is sad, When the US is trying to stamp smoking out, Russia is trying to get everyone to smoke.

What do you think? Is Smoking OK?

comments welcomed

Kyle

Windows to Russia!

Wow – I’M Hungry Russian Omelet…

worlds-largest-omelette

Russia holds the world largest omelet record! Ot at least did for a few years…
This is one big omelet. I think omelets are great to eat. This omelet was made of 11,000 eggs and it took 20 people in rotating shifts to cook the world’s largest omelette, which weighed more than 1,000 pounds…

Windows to Russia!

Cheaper to Live in America?

Hi,

I just read an article about the cost of living in Russia. It confirmed what I knew. The cost to live in Russia is more expensive than the USA. Even Gasoline. Which makes no sense. In Russia you do not have imported Fuel. In the USA almost all fuel is imported. Yet the Americans have cheaper gas? In Russia all fuel is pumped and refined here.

Kyle

Update: 6 years later! This has all changed and now Russia is much cheaper to live in than America. Fuel is cheaper now in Russia, food is cheaper and all living is just plain cheaper…

Much cheaper in Russia…

Windows to Russia!

Soviet Union: Information on the status of the KGB since the attempted coup in August 1991…

The current status of the KGB in the Soviet Union is somewhat unclear as there have been numerous personnel changes since the attempted coup and several announcements regarding possible reforms. In addition, the Baltic states and some of the Soviet republics have apparently initiated changes to the operation of the KGB on their territories. This Response to Information Request provides a brief summary of some of the changes occurring in the KGB.

After the attempted coup in August 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev initially replaced KGB chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, arrested as a participant in the coup, with Leonid Shebarshin, perceived to be an “old guard” conservative (RFE 30 Aug. 1991, 13). Shebarshin was replaced the following day, 23 August 1991, by Vadim Bakatin, who is considered to have more liberal views on reform ( Ibid.; RFE 6 Sept. 1991, 69). On 27 August 1991, Gorbachev announced that some military units currently under the control of the KGB would be placed under the Ministry of Defense and that certain provisions of the law on the KGB adopted in May should be revoked (AP 28 Aug. 1991; RFE 6 Sept. 1991, 82). On 29 August, Bakatin announced that all but one of the senior executives of the KGB had been fired. That man, Gennady Titov, was removed from his position in early September (TASS 9 Sept. 1991). Bakatin also announced plans to eliminate KGB departments which spy on Soviet citizens (AP 29 Aug. 1991). On 30 August, Bakatin held a news conference outlining planned reforms to the KGB including complete depoliticization, adherence to legality, decentralisation, and strengthening of republican bodies (TASS 30 Aug. 1991). On the 5 September, Bakatin stated that while one of the agency’s main goals is a radical change in the structure of state security, the KGB’s intelligence-gathering, counterintelligence and antiterrorism capabilities would be retained (RFE 13 Sept. 1991, 31). On 6 September, Gorbachev issued a decree creating a State Commission to investigate the KGB’s role in the attempted coup, and evaluate proposals for the KGB’s reorganization and the imposition of legislative controls on state security organs (RFE 6 Sept. 1991, 95). According to TASS, the Commission circulated proposals for the radical reorganization of the KGB on 24 September 1991 (24 Sept. 1991). The Commission is expected to complete its work within two months (RFE 6 Sept. 1991, 95).

Statements from senior KGB officials indicate that some reforms to the KGB are currently being implemented, including the removal of a number of officials, elimination of some departments and offices such as the Directorate for the Protection of the Soviet Constitutional System, and reduction in its telephone interception service (The Washington Post 31 Aug. 1991, A1; TASS 20 Sept. 1991; TASS 24 Sept. 1991 “Soviet KGB Head Suspends…”; TASS 1 Oct. 1991). Additional information on the degree to which these reforms have been implemented is not currently available to the IRBDC.

On 24 August, the Latvian Supreme Soviet decided to disband the KGB in Latvia, and subsequently an accord was signed with the USSR KGB agreeing to transfer KGB property to Latvia (RFE 6 Sept. 1991, 103). However, it was also reported that the KGB would operate in Latvia, abiding by the laws of the republic (Ibid.). A pact was signed between Estonia and the KGB agreeing that the KGB would end activities in the republic and respect the republic’s laws until KGB assets could be liquidated (RFE 13 Sept. 1991, 30). Lithuania also issued a decree ordering an end to KGB activity on its territory, and signed an agreement establishing a thirty-day transition period (RFE 6 Sept. 1991, 72). According to TASS, the Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR announced in late September that the structures of the KGB in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will soon be dissolved and that this would be completed by early 1992 (28 Sept. 1991). He also indicated that when the former union republics form their own secret structures, which he said the republics could not avoid, local agents would have the right to join them (Ibid.).

According to the New York Times, the Russian Republic has set up a state security service separate from the KGB, although most of its operational staff is expected to come from KGB ranks (5 September 1991). TASS reported on 26 September that the KGB Directorate for Moscow and the Moscow region would be subordinate to the Russian KGB and not the USSR KGB. TASS also reported that the KGB of Uzbekistan has been replaced with a national security service subordinate to the president of the republic (27 Sept. 1991).

Additional information specific to this topic is not currently available to the IRBDC.

Bibliography

The Associated Press (AP). 29 August 1991, AM Cycle. “New KGB Chief Fires Top Managers…” (NEXIS)

. 28 August 1991, PM Cycle. “Gorbachev Strips KGB of Its Troops…” (NEXIS)

The New York Times. 5 September 1991. “Soviet Turmoil; Inside the Old KGB…,” p. 1. (NEXIS)

Radio Free Europe. 13 September 1991. Report on the USSR. “Weekly Record of Events.”

. 6 September 1991. Report on the USSR. “Weekly Record of Events.”

. 30 August 1991. Report on the USSR. Foye, Stephen and Alexander Rahr. “Gorbachev Appoints Temporary Heads of Army,

KGB, and MVD.”

TASS. 1 October 1991. “KGB Cuts Its Telephone Interception Service By A Third.” (NEXIS)

. 28 September 1991. “USSR KGB Structures in the Baltics Dissolved.” (NEXIS)

. 27 September 1991. “Uzbek KGB Transformed.” (NEXIS)

. 26 September 1991. “Status of KGB Directorate Altered.” (NEXIS)

. 24 September 1991. “Commission Suggests Priority Measures to Reorganize KGB.” (NEXIS)

. 24 September 1991. “Soviet KGB Head Suspends Activities of a KGB Directorate.” (NEXIS)

. 20 September 1991. “New Senior KGB Official Says Reforms in Full Swing.” (NEXIS)

. 9 September 1991. “Decree on Commission to Investigate KGB Activities.” (NEXIS)

. 30 August 1991. “News Conference By New KGB Chief.” (NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 31 August 1991, Final Edition. “New KGB Chief Starts Purge of Secret Police…,” p. A1. (NEXIS)

Attachments

The Associated Press (AP). 29 August 1991, AM Cycle. “New KGB Chief Fires Top Managers…” (NEXIS)

. 28 August 1991, PM Cycle. “Gorbachev Strips KGB of Its Troops…” (NEXIS)

The Independent. 13 September 1991. “Dzerzhinsky Still Casts a Dark Shadow Over Revamped KGB…” (NEXIS)

The New York Times. 5 September 1991. “Soviet Turmoil; Inside the Old KGB…,” p. 1. (NEXIS)

Radio Free Europe. 13 September 1991. Report on the USSR. “Weekly Record of Events.”

. 6 September 1991. Report on the USSR. “Weekly Record of Events.”

TASS. 1 October 1991. “KGB Cuts Its Telephone Interception Service By A Third.” (NEXIS)

. 28 September 1991. “USSR KGB Structures in the Baltics Dissolved.” (NEXIS)

. 27 September 1991. “Uzbek KGB Transformed.” (NEXIS)

. 26 September 1991. “Status of KGB Directorate Altered.” (NEXIS)

. 24 September 1991. “Commission Suggests Priority Measures to Reorganize KGB.” (NEXIS)

. 20 September 1991. “New Senior KGB Official Says Reforms in Full Swing.” (NEXIS)

. 9 September 1991. “Decree on Commission to Investigate KGB Activities.” (NEXIS)

. 30 August 1991. “News Conference By New KGB Chief.”

(NEXIS)

The Washington Post. 31 August 1991, Final Edition. “New KGB Chief Starts Purge of Secret Police…,” p. A1. (NEXIS)

 

Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.