Windows to Russia

Since Russians love caviar so much and I posted about caviar a few days ago, I decided to give you a favorite recipes amongst the Russians. Russians adore caviar on their pancakes. Now remember pancakes are called blini in Russia! so lets make a Russian treat…

Ingredients
2 large Eggs
50g/2oz Buckwheat Flour
25g/1oz Plain Flour
60ml/2fl.oz. Beer (I remove the beer and add 2oz more milk to the recipe. Sveta and I do not like alcohol…)
2 tbsp Milk
A pinch of Salt
Vegetable Oil for shallow pan frying
175g/6oz. Red/Black/Pink Caviar (What ever “floats your boat” and flavor!)
600ml/20fl.oz. Sour Cream

Instructions
1. Place the buckwheat and plain flour in large mixing and mix well.
2. Place the eggs, beer and milk in a measuring jug, whisk together then gradually add to the flour, beating well until you have a smooth batter.
3. Heat enough oil in a large frying pan to just cover the bottom and once hot, tablespoons some of the batter into the oil making sure they are spaced apart. You’ll probably only be able to cook 3 or 4 at a time.
4. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
5. Serve topped with a spoonful of sour cream and garnish with lots of caviar.

Remember the correct way to make these cakes is to use beer and please do if you desire. I just removed it to show how I make them…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Sweet Potato: In our Globus nearby, we found sweet potatoes. Sveta loves sweet potatoes (I introduced her to her very first a few years ago.) and they are very rare in Russia. In fact so rare that Sveta took some to her mother to try out. It is not often that we find sweet potatoes in the Russian stores and when we do we always buy some. They are expensive, but oh so good…

This is strange to me, because I grew up on sweet potatoes grown in the garden. Sweet potatoes were as common as green beans and asparagus and that was plentiful in my childhood. In fact it was nothing to have a choice of baked sweet potato or baked plain potato and I always grabbed a sweet potato or two if allowed. Nothing better than a split open baked sweet potato and a chunk of real butter, melting inside it…

It seems so strange that what was common from my childhood and life in general is so unknown to Sveta…

Caviar: Then we turn the table, so to speak and we come to caviar. Sveta use to eat caviar all the time. Russians are caviar consumers and it is nothing for them to eat caviar at every meal. Sveta has not been eating it, because I just have no taste for it, but Sveta loves it and I felt really bad this holidays and Sveta was not having caviar like everyone else. So I bought her a jar of caviar for New Years…

Now I did not know what type to buy and I used my best reading abilities and watching all the other people grab caviar off the shelf. After a few minutes I gathered that this little jar of Globus brand red caviar would do the trick and I guessed correctly. Sveta has danced for joy at the caviar treat that she has been eating…

Unlike Sveta loving sweet potatoes, I just can not get excited about caviar and I guess that my growing up stigmas just play too strong of a roll in my life. I explained to Sveta that caviar is for the rich and that only people who are snobs eat caviar. Remember Robin Leach? Robin Leach ended each episode of Life Styles of the Rich and Famous with a wish for his viewers that became his signature phrase, “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams!”

Now that seems strange for this American to be saying that, when Sveta looks at me and explains that why even when she was in Pioneer Camp for the kids, when she was little. They always had caviar as a daily meal everyday for weeks on end. It was as common as bread and butter…

It seems so strange that what was common from Sveta’s childhood and life in general is so unknown to me…

I guess that blows my childhood propaganda about Soviets and being socially, mentally and physically abused in all ways and means. Heck who would thunk? Soviets ate caviar all the time. That is a serious issue to contemplate when all you have learned is contrary to what you absorb on a daily basis…

This is a common way of life for me in Russia. Everyday I am reminded of how wrong I was raised and lead to believe what life was like in the rest of the world. I am always laughing and pondering over the realities that I face everyday. Even after 7 years in Russia, I am still amazed at the things that I still discover and it looks like I will be discovering another lifetime of disparities as I grow and develop even more everyday in this fantastic new world, that I have been lucky enough to have been accepted into…

Whatnot’s: Informal unspecified assorted material – that sums up tons of other things that I gather and collect in my mental file drawer everyday that I live here in Russia. The two examples above are just two tiny examples of what I interpolate everyday as I transect Russia…

Some things are the same in each country: From the store clerk that can not make change for a large bill, to the secretary that is doing her nails behind the desk and the employee that comes to work stoned…

Somethings are different in each country: From the Russian smile that is very sincere, to what lawsuit?  You can’t sue in Russia, it is your own damn fault anyway and Russian friends who do not run at the first sign of trouble…

Call me crazy but I like the Russian “Whatnot’s” the best…

Kyle Keeton

Windows to Russia…

MOSCOW, January 3 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to grant legendary French actor Gerard Depardieu Russian citizenship, the Kremlin press office reported on Thursday.

“In accordance with clause “a” of article 89 of the Russian Constitution, the application for Russian citizenship by Gerard Xavier Depardieu born in France in 1948 has been granted,” the Kremlin press office said in a statement.

That is not fair and well I guess if I had made 170 films and won numerous awards, Putin would give me a citizenship also…

Oh well easy come easy go…

Oh! Also here is article 89:

Article 89
The President of the Russian Federation shall:
a) solve the issues of citizenship of the Russian Federation and of granting political asylum;
b) decorate with state awards of the Russian Federation, award honorary titles of the Russian Federation, higher military and higher special ranks;
c) decide on pardoning.

Hmm, now my brain is working…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Beer is officially Alcohol as the rules and regulations go into effect January 1st. Our little grocery store near us has removed beer completely and will no longer sell it. They can not afford the license that is required to sell it. Finally beer is alcohol in Russia…

A 5 years business visa is possible now. Putin signed into law on January 1st, a new visa program, that included cheaper visa fees and longer visa terms…

The Dima Yakovlev law came into force at the first of the year…

The law envisages the following measures:

– the ban for the mentioned below US citizens to enter the territory of the Russian Federation;

– for US citizens involved in the violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms;

– for US citizens, who committed the crimes against Russian citizens, who are staying abroad or are involved in committing these crimes;

– for US citizens vested with the state powers and capable by their actions (negligence) to relieve from responsibility people, who committed the crimes against Russian citizens or involved in committing these crimes;

– for US citizens involved in the kidnapping and the illegal deprivation of freedom of Russian citizens;

– for US citizens, who passed ungrounded and biased verdicts against Russian citizens;

– for US citizens, who conducted the biased legal prosecution of Russian citizens;

– for US citizens, who took ungrounded decisions, which violated the rights and legitimate interests of Russian citizens and organizations;

– the arrest on the territory of the Russian Federation of financial and other assets of US citizens, who are banned the entry in the Russian Federation, and the ban on any deals with property and investments of these citizens.

Hmm! I don’t fit that in anyway and for that I am thankful… 🙂

And oh! The Dima Yakovlev law also means no American (US) person will adopt a Russian child: Hence the agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on cooperation in the adoption of children is terminated. The agreement was signed in Washington on July 13, 2011, due to non compliance by the US to fulfill her side of the law due to internal conflicts imposed by the system…

What a start to a new year and Russia is just getting warmed up…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia..

Yes – 2012 taught me a whole bunch. This is what is going through my mind as I sip that delicious cup of coffee here in Russia…

I watched 2012 with earnest and had decided early on that if 2012 ends up the way it started, I would do some drastic changes in 2013. Since 2013 is looking to make 2012 seem tame, then I have to start erasing my past and getting everything out of the clutches of the USA!

I could say this, “The people of America are wonderful, but the government just plain Sucks…”

That would be on the surface a basically true statement, but when you look at the foundation of that statement, you will realize that, “The people allow the government to do what it is doing and hence no one but the people are to blame!”

In 2012 it was painfully obvious that neither Obama, nor Romney were fit to run the country and yet after we destroyed all other candidates for president, we were left with only the two yahoo brothers and that was a crime…

In 2012 it was very obvious that America is a surveillance state on its way to Orwellian proportions…

In 2012 it was very obvious that a police state is a misnomer, military state is a much better word…

In 2012 it was obvious that we are not capable of changing the path America has taken and it is downhill from here on out. The government is scared of the people and will now do what it takes to curtail any and all individualist. If that means we give you handouts to jail terms, what ever it takes to keep you all in the same boat…

In 2012 I saw way too much and felt way too much. So now it is time to sever the last ties with the garbage and move on. I started with deleting my Facebook account. Next I sent the Twitter account to the dust bin and so on and so on and so on…

Now it is time to erase everything from credit history to banks. I will leave one thing going and that will be my blogs. I will not stop trying to reach a few willing to listen and maybe just maybe they will get smart, then leave the Orwellian behind…

Being tied to America is a very bad thing and since I desire to travel the world until I die! Then I have to change it all…

I still think it is sad that I can honestly say that Russia is freer than the US! It really bothers me to say it and every time that I have written that statement I do some serious thinking’s, but the outcome is always the same. Russia is freer than America…

I think that when we the people allowed Ron Paul to be lied about, cheated on and demoralized! We the people signed a pact with the devil and now we will pay the price many fold and many times. It was not just Ron Paul, but it was the principles and morals behind how it was done that sealed the fate of America. Romney was correct when he talked about 47% of the people are users and he did it to assure that he would lose. The fact is that of the other 53%, a sure fire number of them would vote for Obama just because of being bleeding hearts and against truth in any form. Hence we threw an election just as sure as we watch a fight thrown in the boxing ring. As in a boxing ring it does not matter who wins, both opponents are the same, boxers and that is compared to politicians in the presidential ring. Both are there for the paycheck and the glory, win or lose…

We should never have to wonder what would have happened if Ron Paul was running against Obama! We should have seen what would have happened first hand and we should have fought hard to have that happen. The fact is that we allowed the Republican party to dictate who was going to be the runner for president and pulled ever trick, cheat and lie to do it and many times stepped way over the boundaries of right and wrong…

I realized something that has happened to America and it is really bad…

I use to teach my new managers several things:

1. Think for yourself.

2. Let others (employees) help you think.

3. Don’t be afraid to think and if you think wrong?

4. I will be there to support you and take the heat from above…

I promoted people who were not afraid to make a decision and to listen to others…

Looks like we do not think anymore and only do what we are told!

We are afraid of what the government might do to us and that is how the government wants it, but believe you me, we are at a turning point and right now the government is scared of what might be. If we continue on this path for a few more years then the government will have crested the hill and it is smooth sailing downhill from there…

Time to stop being afraid and start being mad at what is happening, but that will not happen…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

The Russian Federation and the United States of America cut mutually beginning from January 1, 2013 the rates of consular visa fees.

“Beginning from January 1, 2013, Russian consular services abroad reduce from 180 to 160 dollars the consular fee for processing for the US citizens business, private, humanitarian and tourism visas,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. “The US Department of State also reduces from January 1, 2013 similar reductions of consular fees for issuing to Russian citizens of B1/B2 visas.” (Itar-Tass)

Windows to Russia…

 

Dear friends,

We are saying goodbye to 2012 as it is about to become history. This was an important year for our country. I would like to sincerely thank all of you for your efforts, your work and achievements, your trust and support.

In these moments, we are particularly aware of the fleeting of time, of how quickly our children are growing up, how much we value our families and friends, and how much we love them.

At this time, each of us recollects the events, encounters and words that have been most important. We all hope that New Year’s Eve will bring us good luck and a bit of a miracle – which, they say, the New Year sometimes brings.

But ultimately and above all, we rely on our own strength and on the people near us; on what we ourselves can achieve in our work, our studies and our creative endeavors; on how we can improve life around us and improve ourselves. So, let’s be more responsive and kind-hearted, more generous and caring toward our loved ones, our children and parents, our friends and colleagues, and everyone who needs our support.

As we face the future, we naturally hope for positive, joyful changes, and our personal plans are inseparable from Russia, from our heartfelt, noble feelings toward our Homeland. Its development and further advancement of its thousand-year-long history fully depend on our joint efforts and energy, our unity and responsibility, our aspiration to do as much good as possible. After all, only together can we, the people of Russia, move confidently forward, cope with all challenges, resolve the most difficult problems, and build a powerful, successful nation and a modern, prosperous, free society.

Dear friends,

Only a few seconds remain before the start of the New Year. I wish you good health, love and happiness! Let children be born and let all good ideas transpire into reality. Let there be joy and harmony in every home and in every family. Then Russia, too, will stand strong and indestructible.

I wish you a happy New Year in 2013!

Sveta is going to whoop me today! So don’t tell her that I went out in -12c and snowing like crazy and went shopping for New Years…

It is so hard to shop for a woman and Sveta is real particular about things, but that does not mean I will not try… 🙂

The photos above are of the huge New Year tree and the main entrance to the store. It is such a pleasure to have this caliber of a company to put a store in within walking distance. They have everything that we need and in Russia this type of store will not hurt all the little businesses that are prevalent everywhere. What this store does is hurt the big shopping areas that we use to drive to and now can walk to instead. I saw that the store will be closed New Year Eve at 8 pm and open back up on January 2nd in the morning. So they get a good holiday compared to what I use to get and then the whole country is basically shut down for over a week. That means Globus is bucking the trend in Russia and I really thing that the future will be much less time for New Years break. Sveta says that in the Soviet Union they never had so many days off as they do now…

Oh and inside the store they were selling fireworks like crazy. Russians love their fireworks and no matter what the temperature is, they will stay outside shooting fireworks for hours tonight…

I always say, “Them Crazy Russians!” as I watch them at -20c below and play chess and shooting fireworks…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

1. Little things are important and
2. Never loose an opportunity to mold a young person in the correct way and
3. Never judge a book by its cover…

Two things stand out very strong in my life as as kid of 9 or 10 years old. These two things are still in my mind to this very day and they look like they will be there guiding me the rest of my life. One of the items hits home as to the stupidity of how the US is acting about the adoption issues with Russia right now. Let me tell you two true stories about what created who I am…

Story one: I was a strange duck when I was little. I could not bring myself to toss trash on the ground. It just felt wrong, but everyone around me always tossed trash anywhere they pleased. I remember as we traveled by car and I would look out along the freeway, the roadsides where littered with trash…

I told myself at around 5 years old, that I would not toss trash on the ground and always find a trash can to toss it in. In those days it was hard to find a place to toss trash and sometimes I had to wander way off my path to throw something away. I remember getting yelled at for having a pocket of trash when I got home many times, for you see I never found a trash can…

Why I remember once getting yelled at by a cop! I was trying to remove a broken bottle from the road I was riding my bike on and he stopped and here was his exact words, “Hey you little shit! Did you break that bottle? Get out of here or I will take you in!”

I was raised to never talk back and I just said, “Sorry Sir!” Then I walked my bike away and never looked back…

That was what I expected and always received from the normal adult…

Then one day all that changed…

I was riding my bike and had a wrapper from an ice cream sandwich. I relished that ice cream and when I was done, I had a wrapper to get rid of. I looked around and saw a dumpster near a local slaughter house! It was owned by a German…

I rode my bike down this long driveway and tossed the wrapper into that dumpster. Then a rough harsh voice in broken English behind me said, “Hey Kid!”

I turned and just about screamed, for standing there was a mountain of a man, with a white blood stained apron on. No shirt under it and a huge meat cleaver in his right hand. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and if looks could kill, I was dead…

I said, “Yes Sir!”

Then what happened next was part of my growth and molding in life…

He pointed that meat cleaver at me and said, “You good kid, thanks for doing that!” and the meat cleaver pointed at the trash dumpster…

He then turned and left me standing there…

I later heard that he told everyone all over town, that I had taken so much effort and tossed my trash away in his dumpster. He told everyone that he just had to walk out and tell me that. Now there was only 489 people in our town so word spread fast… 🙂

I learned several things from him,
1. Little things are important and
2. Never loose an opportunity to mold a young person in the correct way and
3. Never judge a book by its cover…

The second story is more about adoption: I was riding my bike out of town one day. I took the old road out of town and as it was fall and the leaves had fallen pretty much completely off the trees, I could see homes along the road real easy. The homes became less and less, until they disappeared. Then I came upon this huge home, a home so big it could house 50 people easily. I could see the front yard and it had a playground in it and I stopped. I was wondering what the place was?

Then as I sat there on my bike, I watched a kid run out of the house and several adults ran after him with what looked like a broom handle. They beat that kid until blood ran from his mouth and ears… 🙁

Then they beat several more kids, the same way. I stood and watched in shock. I then saw what had to have been 40 kids all come outside and they took the ones they beat and tied them up to poles that were lined along the playground. So while all the kids played, the ones that had been beat where forced to watch and the kids playing were forced to see what happens when you are bad…

I saw at least 12 adults and they all had sticks and rope to tie kids up with…

I then rode to the local police station and told them what had happened. they told me that it was out of their jurisdiction and that those kids are not wanted and sick. They deserve what they get… 🙁

My parents could not be bothered with what happened and then I found out that everyone knew what happened out there, they were just so thankful that we had a place to put kids that are mentally challenged or handicapped in some other form. Most of the kids were just not wanted and the parents paid for them to be kept there…

I learned several things from the orphanage as a kid,
1. Little things are important and
2. Never loose an opportunity to mold a young person in the correct way and
3. Never judge a book by its cover…

When I got much older and had come back from the army and done my national duties by killing people. I decided one day to make a trip to this place again. I drove my 1969 Mercury Cougar to the hill over looking the place and sat down and watched. I had not ever even one day forgotten what I had found at this place and I never forgot what the cops said…

It (The orphanage) was still in business and had all kinds of new playground equipment and such. But the poles were still there and there was many more of them, 5 of them had kids tied to them. The facility had been expanded and could now house over a hundred. I was not a scared kid anymore and the longer I sat there, the madder I got. They still tied kids up in the yard. They still beat them and no one still cared…

So I went back all these years later to the police station, as we now called it. There was 6000 people in my town now and I asked about the jurisdiction on the orphanage out in the country. They laughed and told me that it was out of their territory and that was how the orphanage wanted it. You know! So we mind our own business… (Ha Ha Ha)

I drove back out to the orphanage and went to the front door and knocked. As I went to the front door I took pictures of the kids tied up and then I stood waiting as I looked at 5 kids tied up to poles in the yard. The door was answered by a man with a baseball bat and he asked what I wanted…

I pointed to the five kids and I saw in their eyes, the anguish that I felt for them. They were kids, by god, just kids, Kids with mental issues and kids with health issues…

The hour it took for the State police to arrive, because that was the only ones who had jurisdiction, I used that hour and beat 5 grown men and tied them to the poles. The women working there sat on the front porch of the place and just watched. I brought all the kids out of the home and then I took more pictures with my camera. There was 87 kids in this home and they all had black and bruise marks all over their bodies. They were malnourished and it was just plain sick. I took three rolls of 24 pictures that day and removed the film rolls and held them to give the State Police…

I spent 1 week in jail! My first but not last time that I sat in jail. I had handed the rolls of film to a State Patrol Officer and I was lucky. He was not paid off at all by the orphanage. The pictures got into the hands of many people and at the end of 7 days I was released, I was released with a warning to never do that again…

The embarrassment to the state officials was precinct at that time in life and the home had been hurriedly incorporated into my cities boundaries and tax base. So the local police then looked after it…

1 month later the place had been emptied of kids and it accidentally burned 1 year later, according to the local newspaper. I had never been back, I was told by a judge that I was to never go near the place and if I had to drive down that road and stop, then I would not stop at go and I would not collect a pay check. I loved the old days and the Monopoly remarks…

I learned several things from this incident,
1. Little things are important and
2. Never loose an opportunity to mold a young person in the correct way and
3. Never judge a book by its cover…

So I shake my head at Americans telling everyone about Russia and how Russia treats their kids in orphanages. I guess Russian need to learn how to hide the truth better…

So while we stack the Internet or deck as we use to call it, against Russia, with lies and games from the Western world. We still have a long ways to go in America, before we can talk about others. I realize that we covered up the orphanages with the foster care home, but the fact remains, we just applied one facade to cover another and it was done to play the statistics on the truth…

So maybe I know your little dirty secrete and I do not like it at all…

I learned several things early in life,
1. Little things are important and
2. Never loose an opportunity to mold a young person in the correct way and
3. Never judge a book by its cover…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia…

Found this tidbit of info laying around the ignore trash pile, of the news section of the Internet…

Military and intelligence sources report: The Russian foreign minister’s statement was a message to Washington, DC that the transfer of Syria’s weapons of mass destruction to one or two protected sites was under Russian control. This had removed the danger of them falling into the hands of the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra ,which had come ominously close Friday, Dec. 21, when the Islamists spearheaded a Syrian rebel assault for the capture of the al-Safira military complex and Bashar Assad’s chemical and biological stores.

Lavrov did not go into detail about how this arsenal was removed and to which locations. But his reference to “Russian military advisers training Syria’s military” clearly indicated that Russian forces were directly involved in removing the WMD out of the reach of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists. His assertion that they were “under control” indicated that Russia was also involved in safeguarding them.

Moscow sources also add: Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war achieved four objectives:

1.  The prevention of Western or Israel military action for seizing control of Syria’s chemical and biological weapons arsenals;

2.   The prevention of Western military intervention in the civil war behind the forces dedicated to the removal of Bashar Assad. The Russian military is now engaged in the dual mission of guarding his WMD arsenal and his regime;

3.  The Russian military presence in Syria delivers a heavy swipe to the rebels;

4.   Russia’s intervention and military presence have laid the groundwork for Moscow and Washington to work out an accord that will bring Syria’s civil war to an end.

Windows to Russia…