I Call This: “So Russian!” (1)

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Everywhere you look there is a church steeple…

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Artist are allowed to paint the utility buildings and they do a fantastic job…

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Ice Cream and Money: Russians love both. I love this picture and it is “So Russian!”

To me Russia is so beautiful and when you walk around you never know what you will find. The Ice Cream place is so perfect and talks to your soul. Russians love ice cream and it can be -30 outside and they will walk by you with an ice cream cone. That is a hardy person and I always smile as I watch then walk off into a snow storm munching a frozen ice cream, as icicles hand from my nose…

I am not that tough…

But then life is what you make of what you have!

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Italian Fiat Buys American Chrysler?

fiat-and-chrysler

I think that a start to the new year is important and how it starts, is how it is going to go for the rest of the year. Financially America just started really bad and it has nothing to do with the inflation driven stock market. It has to do with real world happenings and an Italian company buying an American icon company after it was bailed out by the USA government to the tune of billions and billions of dollars, is a sure sign of the future, during 2014…

America just got itself a new Italian automobile company: Chrysler. Fiat agreed to buy the 41.46% of Chrysler shares held by a United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s health care trust for $3.65 billion in cash plus $700 million in future payments for a total of $4.365 billion. It gives Fiat 100% ownership of the U.S. auto company and completes Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne’s grand strategy to combine the two companies into a more competitive global automaker. Benvenuto, Fiat-Chrysler.

I think that I need to not even look any farther, as I see how the US has been sold down the drain. Good thing we bailed Chrysler out with sheeple tax money and kept the home fires burning for Italy. I definitely was against that from the beginning and it looks like we hung ourselves with the extra rope we were given…

Bottom line, it is the principle of the matter and this plain stinks. I could careless that it makes a 7th largest car maker in the world out of the deal. Chrysler is an American icon, but all the icons are dying as you read this and being bought by the world…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year America…

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

PS: How many times did we bail out Chrysler in the past? Obviously loyalty does not play a part in the finance world…

President Vladimir Putin’s New Year Address: 2014

Dear friends,

We are about to enter a new year, 2014. In a few minutes, we will take a step from the present into the future.

Celebrating this wonderful holiday is one of our most heartwarming traditions. It is passed on from generation to generation, bringing us all together.

Of course, we faced some problems and serious trials in 2013, including the atrocious terrorist attacks in Volgograd and the unprecedented natural disasters in the Far East. Russia has always stood united in the face of trials.

Dear friends,

This year I address you on New Year’s Eve not from the Moscow Kremlin, as usual. I am in the Far East. I came here to celebrate New Year’s Day with the people who were strong and brave in the face of the elements but who don’t yet have a new home of their own to celebrate this day there. Together with these people, I want to wish our country a happy New Year and raise my glass to our people, to the health of all those who valiantly fought the floods and all those who showed compassion and genuine generosity.

Dear friends,

We mourn the victims of the brutal terrorist attacks. We will continue to fight terrorists with determination, resolve and commitment until they are all gone. We will provide support for the victims and their families; we will accomplish everything we have planned; we will restore or build everything we have decided to restore or build.

But I should also mention that we have achieved a lot in 2013. Our country has become better, wealthier, and more comfortable to live in. We have consistently protected our national interest in dealing with others. This is why today we welcome the New Year with joy; we are full of expectations and dreams about the future.

Wherever we are right now, the special atmosphere of New Year’s Eve fills us with optimism. We genuinely expect happiness, good fortune and success. We all know that prosperity does not come out of nowhere; it comes as a result of hard work and individual efforts, as a result of perseverance in achieving your goals. The totality of these personal achievements makes up the future of our motherland, and as we care about our families, our children, our parents, we also feel responsible for Russia – the country we live in, the country we love, the country we want to prosper.

These emotions and aspirations strengthen our unity. Being together is the only way for us to be strong, to make sure Russia keeps developing, and to make all our plans and ideas come true.

Dear friends,

In the coming year we will have a lot of things we need to do to develop our economy, to make people’s lives better, to ensure their security. We have a little over a month left before the Olympics. We need to make sure the Games are perfect.

On New Year’s Eve, it becomes particularly clear to us how close we all are. Let us thank one another for understanding and support, for love and care. In our daily lives, we are often so busy we forget to do that. But it is the support of our family and friends that we know we can always rely on, and this is what makes us strong – and eager to help them as they have helped us, and even more.

I wish you a healthy and happy New Year. May every house be full of joy, and may every family enjoy harmony and prosperity.

Happy 2014 to you, Russia!

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Things that Matter in Russia…

my-pillsEveryone has different things that matter to them. Everyone has a different outlook on what is important. Everyone has a different take on life. I am no different than you, you, you or you!

This is what I am thinking this morning as I sip my cup of hazelnut coffee and take my pills. These pills that are very important to me and if I make a mistake and not take them, by the nighttime I can tell. Now not all these pills make a life or death difference, but several of them are heart pills and those make a difference when I miss them…

Like everything in life these pills are a variety of help. I have pills for diabetes. I have pills for heart. I have pills for maintenance and I have pills to help with taking other pills. You know pills that help to  counter what other pills cause to happen to your body. Such as swelling of feet and such…

To me these pills are very important and Sveta has seen what happens when I ignore the little things such as taking heart pills. She gets all upset and I do my best to remember to take my pills, for she is very important to me and her happiness is very important to me. I am a typical guy, I many times do not care about myself health wise and such. Even after 6 heart attacks and other such issues.  (As a brain tumor and such!) I still act like I will live forever…

I am not sure why I am that way, but Sveta is my grounding strap to life. She cares if I take my pills, eat properly and have a sniffle or cold. So this morning I gathered my pills up and laid them out in a row. I looked at them and then took a picture of them. Yes I know that they mean nothing to you. I know that the picture is nothing in your life, but in my life these pills are as important as Sveta is in my life and Boza is in my life…

I remember when I came to Russia and the horror on doctors faces at the medication that was prescribed by American doctors. I use to take over twice the amount I do now and I have talked several times on the blog about those pills. Happy pills and other terrible pills that no one should ever have to take in the first place…

My life was saved by coming to Russia and Sveta sees that now. She never looked at Russia through eyes of a foreigner, but she has seen Russia through mine and she smiles now when she thinks of Russia. For living through the collapse of a country that you loved dearly, as she did the Soviet Union, was a bad thing and that is where I base my desires for an America to become well again and not a sick moral country like the USA is now. You do not want to go through what the Soviets did and keeping to the path America is on and you/we will. The path to collapse is different between the countries, but the end result will be the same…

I guess this post is my last thinking’s of 2013…

2013 has been a good year for me. The thoughts above are what is important to me. While just a small part of what is important though. I just wanted to end the year with some thoughts…

5,832,245 hits (plus) on Windows to Russia this year of 2013. If you had told me years ago that I would have a blog that would get 6 million hits in a year, I would have laughed. Actually this is down from previous years and the peak would have been 15,000,000 or so, several years ago. Windows to Russia has survived some serious attacks and I have spent a bunch of time being threatened daily with death. I had to smile as I read a article by Peter Schiff and he was very upset at being threatened with his life. People acted like how terrible that is and what is wrong with sick people to make death threats on blogs and such? I guess you have to be famous before anyone cares and I definable am not famous. I just have been getting death threats and website attacks for years now. While a few have cared, no one cares enough and try to stop the threats. They also do not like the fact that most threats are from the US government. One day you will care, but then no one else will be around to voice an opinion. Will they?

I have been in Russia 8 years now and once again I will say it, “Russia is not the country that you are told it is by the west in the past, present and future! Russia is a millions times better!” Nuff said…

The day That I disseminated myself from the USA was the start of the rest of my life. I realize that I will never get the kids to come to Russia. they are smart and have notched themselves out a good living in America. Though as I understand, there is definitely more to life than money. They have too much of their mother in them and they will never understand that the world is more than New York to California on a map. The world is a dream come true. I am the one with an imagination and I realized long ago that most people do not have an imagination, hence why Hollywood is so successful. No imagination needed…

I have been asked by family and friends, “Will you come back to America?”

I can only answer the way I feel right now at this point in my life, “No I will most likely never step back across the borders of the USA!”

With my health, I most likely will die somewhere in the world and I can only hope that it is on a mountain top looking out over a country that I have just seen for the first time. I can only hope that it is while swimming in the blue seas of the world. I can only hope that it is in our village, while walking through the deep woods. Maybe I would be so lucky as to pass away, so far into the country that no one finds me! Ever! But I know that Sveta will be there and that means I will stay alive as many years as I can. For she really does love me, unlike several before her…

I don’t want as my dad did not want, to be on life support of any kind. I believe that when it is time to go, it is time to go. I just want to feel the sun and smell the pines as I go. I guess I am selfish that way…

Why would I not want to die in my home country?

My country tried to take my soul and tried to sell it to the devil himself! I have done things and seen things that no one should do or see. I really trusted my country at one time and when your country breaks that trust with actions and morals. Then it is time to leave or stay and try to start a revolution against the trash running the country. That means that I would be dead and alone as I died, because 90% of the people in America run around with their thumb up their ass and look the other way as someone tries to get them to see the truth…

I look at America as I look at the pills I take: In America I was taking 30 plus pills and as I have said before, 5 or 6 of them were drugs I call happy pills. I was hooked on them and realized that through my fogged brain. I realized that I had to change it all. I realized that my country was driving me to my death and it was a death under drugs. Prescription drugs. America is under that same death watch and we need to change. That change thingy was used to elect someone and delay the issues. We never saw that change in any form, method or way…

I came to Russia and realized that a woman lived here that really loved me. I kicked the habits. I stopped smoking, I dropped happy pills and I have never touched a drop of alcohol since I have moved to Russia. We act like Russians are big drinkers and we play games with that aspect, but they do not drink like Americans do. That is a fact. Remember that statistics lie and western statistics really lie…

So I think that after all these years, I have made my mind up about Russia and yes I have. Russia is great, but I realize that it is not just Russia, it is the world. The world is great and we Americans are missing out on the best deal of a lifetime as we ignore the rest of the world. For with that ignorance comes destruction and hate…

Besides that world belongs to us all and we all need to hug the world in joy, not in destruction. Time to stop killing. Time to stop abusing. Time to stop raping humans and nature. Time to stop pointing fingers. Plus it is time to stop looking down upon other people…

For as I have said before, “I am what is wrong with America and I want to change what is wrong!”

I hope 2014 is better than 2013, for 2013 was a bad year for the world. So many tried to cover up the damage, but there was too much damage and they failed to cover it up. I pray that one day soon that the people in America will come out of their TV stupors and take to the streets to get things done before it is too late. I fear it is too late and if it happens it will be too little. The monster call the USA government has been allowed to escape. I see other countries doing the same thing and I see a future that is going to be rough. Maybe even in my lifetime…

“It’s hard to beat a person
who never gives up.” –
Babe Ruth

Lets change things and lets change things for the better. It just takes everyone in the world to stand up and say, “I have had enough!”

I have a dream and I never give up!

Happy New Year!

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Wow, New Year and what hot weather in Moscow…

pie spice
Pumpkin Pie Spice…
I am amazed and very happy for the end of the year weather wise in Moscow, Russia. It has been wonderful and not cold. It has been staying around freezing and no lower. It is muddy, but a little mud is a blessing in place of the -20 below zero normal weather. I will not complain and will smile as I walk the dog and my breath does not freeze as it exits my nose…

The weather made for a great Xmas and New Year time…

I was given huge hints, as in gigantic, enormous and  whopping big hints about the fact that I could make another pumpkin pie for the New Year. I saw fresh pumpkin, ginger spice, nutmeg and cinnamon appear from nowhere. It just kind of fell from the sky and made its way into my life…

Of course there is a smiling Sveta who knows how it came to be in the house and now that it is here (On top of all the spices that I had already!). I will make a pumpkin pie. Looks like pumpkin pie is someones favorite dessert in the whole world, if not the universe… 🙂

But not all is a bed of roses…

We had a terrible happening! Well at least terrible to Boza and after a few weeks we have finally gotten Boza eating properly again. Globus had the best dog food in the world and Boza is a persnickety eater. I have never had a dog this particular, he is like most cats. Well Globus decided to stop carrying Boza’s favorite food and when we ran out, Boza stopped eating. Boza is picky and we searched for another kind of food he would eat. We finally found a canned food that was pretty good and the price was very good. In fact I would eat it if I had to. It is called something like “I will eat this food!” Meaning that your dog will eat this canned food…

They are correct and since Boza is the type of dog that will have tummy problems with new foods, we had to spend a few rough days while he adjusted. Boza is just like me! 🙂

Just in time for the New Year and Boza ate a whole can this morning of 410 grams. He then looked at me like, “Is that all?”

Finally we won the battle and Boza has his good food again. Besides this food is cheaper…

Life is interesting like that and never is it a dull moment in Russia. Sveta is at her moms today. She likes to visit her mom on the New Year eve and she will then be home before the drunks crawl into the street. I will have a wonderful pie waiting for her when she comes home…

Sveta and I are looking forward to 2014 and we are really contemplating taking a trip to the warmer lands to swim. Sveta loves to swim! Looks like we are going to decide soon what country to set up a second home in. Sveta and I need some warmer climate to relish in, as Moscow sometimes never seems to give a break to us people fighting with arthritis. besides as I have said before, “Sveta grew up in Russia and she really is tired of the 2/3 of the year winter season…”

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year and please be safe…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Sveta and I walk to buy food…

housing market

Buy meat off the truck in our housing area… Above…

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Sputnik! That is what our town is famous for…

Market

The market has all the meats…

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The market has all the dairies…

Russian Market

Sveta and I took a walk and since I have been feeling better (I think due to a penicillin taking session, that I am doing now!), we took a long walk and I felt really good. Sveta was happy and very thankful as I have been struggling lately…

This (above photos) is how it is done where we live. The best meat is fresh. We also found a little fresh bakery shop and bought several small New Year cookie trees to eat. They were delicious and I did not take a picture of them. They disappeared too fast… 🙂

By the way the pictures were taken with my new rugged Konka W880 cell phone. I think that it did okay…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Russia: What a Terrorist Attack Looks Like…

First attack is in the video. You have to play it a couple of times. It happens quick and will shock you…

Then the second attack is just a photo. The photo says a thousand words. I look at this photo and think about how massive these trolleys are and they are like a tank, but as I have seen in my life, tanks blow up also…

Explosion on trolleybus in Volgograd

I am not saying a whole bunch about this. My opinion does not matter! I send condolences to the victims and see how resilient the Russia people are. They take it all in stride. Life goes on and the Russians do not run to hide…

17 to 18 dead first attack and 10 to 12 (?) second attack. Sick people do this stuff and as you can see by the death tolls. This is the real McCoy…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Top 10 Posts for Year of 2013: Windows to Russia…

thinkingThese are not in order as the difference between the top post and the bottom post is less than a hundred page views. I could have listed hundreds of posts in this same basic range, but these squeaked out over the others. The blog had over 6 million page views this year and that was down from several years ago, but way up over last year. We are not at the end of the year yet and we have exceeded this month 900,000 page views. Maybe we can get that 1,000,000 page views this month. That would be a great end to the year…

Russia: Remember You Are The Guest!

I Personally Simply Hate Spam Comments…

Medvedev: The End of his Presidency in Interview in Russia…

US Issues Death Warrant to Iranian, American Youth: Jack the Ripper Runs America by John Stanton…

March 8th! The most important day in Russia…

In Russia they Hide the Business and Forget to Make a Sign…

Yearly insurance for our Russian Volga car…

Russia Says the USA Kidnapped a Russian…

USA Today Does Journalism Right: Digs Into Zombie US Army Program by John Stanton…

Russia: USA Passport Found in Georgian Commando Building!

I find it interesting what people read…

Post by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow / Russia: 2013 Christmas

patriarch-kirillChristmas message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the Archpastors, Pastors, Monastics and All the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church. Your Eminences the archpastors, honorable presbyters and deans, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters! Today our churches are filled with people who have come to praise the Newborn Child of God – Jesus Christ the Savior and the Most Pure Mother of our Lord – Virgin Mary.

The Nativity was the climax of human history. Man has always been searching for God: but the Lord chose to reveal Himself in full in His Only Son. The coming of the Son of God – and the Son of Man – conveyed to the world that God is not only the Supreme Power but also Love, God is not only the Awarder but also Mercy. God is not only a Stern Judge but also the source of life and joy, God is the Holy Trinity, whose inner law is love, and not just the world’s only Ruler.

Today we are celebrating the event that changed the face of human history. The Lord descended to the uttermost depths of human life, became one of us, took upon Himself the entire burden of our sins, of human weaknesses and brought them to Golgotha to lift this unbearable load off man’s shoulders. From now on, God resides not in the forbidding heaven, but here with us and among us. At every Divine Liturgy we utter the words: “Christ is in our midst!” and the answer comes: “He is and he will be!” It is a graphic proof that tells us about the presence of the very Embodiment of God Himself – Jesus Christ the Savior – among His faithful. By regularly partaking of His Divine Flesh and Blood and following His Commandments, we can approach Him, our Savior, and receive absolution.

Faithful and loyal disciples of Christ will be allowed to witness the coming of Kingdom of God personified by Jesus in their earthen life. We have been blessed with the honor of doing in this world as our teacher and Lord did, of being firm in the faith of Christ when facing evil and sin, of not giving up on good deeds, of not losing heart and striving day after day to reform our sinful nature into a new, grateful one.

Jesus Christ set the impeccable, absolute criterion of being truthful about our attitude to the Lord – our neighbor. Bear one another’s burdens, share their pain and sorrow, be merciful towards the miserable and the destitute and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2) and become more like the Savior, who took up our pain and bore our suffering (Is. 53:4).

On this joyful and shining day of the Nativity, when every creature hurries to the crib of the Divine Infant, one must not forget the others. The grace that is bestowed upon us today in churches must not be withheld from those living outside the Church, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Col. 2:8). Should we not meet them halfway, this Good News may never reach them; should we not open our hearts to share the joy that is filling them up, it may never reach those who are ready but do not have it.

Through the Son of God the human nature was lifted up to unfathomable heights. Not only was each and every one of us created “in the image of God,” but through Christ were we adopted by God: no longer are we foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household (Eph. 2:19). This intimacy and daring with God is conveyed in the prayer to our Lord where we call upon the Maker as our own Father in Heaven.

Every human life is priceless, for it was bought with the Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of the God’s Only Son. This is yet another reason for us to revere every human being, despite our differences. St. Prelate Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow said that “love is active partaking in the wellbeing of one another.” In these joyful days of Nativity, I would like to call everyone to this kind of active love or, as St. Paul put it, to be devoted to one another in love, honor one another above yourselves, never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Rom. 12:10-11, Eph. 13:16).

I congratulate you wholeheartedly on the great holiday of the Nativity. May the God of love and peace (2 Cor. 13:11) grant peace and welfare to our people and every one of us in New Year.

Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Merry Christmas 2013: from Windows to Russia…

xmas

Sveta, Boza and I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas western style…

I made Sveta’s favorite dessert in the world today, Pumpkin Pie. It is cooling as I type this, it is in the window sill in the kitchen. We will also have a very Russian type entree, being Salt Salmon and black bread. Russians love their salmon and it is incredibly cheap here in Russia. It, like caviar, is just plain too affordable, not to eat it. I also found some sweet potatoes and they will be part of the meal. Next time I am going to make Sveta sweet potato pie. She will love that…

Once again the year is almost over and we are going to see 2014 in a few days. In Russia that is when the holidays start, the beginning of the year. I am staring at the face of the 8th Christmas in Russia and I still have no regrets coming here. The only fear I would have is not being able to stay here. So if I had a Christmas wish that could come true, I would wish to have citizenship in Russia. I want to be able to spend the rest of my life with Sveta, by her side…

I am done for a day or so posting and I am going to enjoy Christmas with Sveta. She has taken a vacation day to spend it with me. Remember Russians do not have Christmas like we do in America. Sveta and I will also make a trip into Moscow this weekend. We are going to go see the Red Square and maybe we can eat at Moo Moo’s! Yummy…

Merry Christams!
Sveta, Boza and Kyle

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Posted by Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…