Windows to Russia

Russia’s population stands at 142,857,000 people, aged 39 in an average, according to the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily, which published on Friday an official report of the 2010 population census…

Thus, Russia has dropped one step down in the world population ratings. According to the previous census of 2002, it occupied the seventh position, now it is eighth, after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh…

Population decrease rates in Russia are growing. Thus, in the period of 13 years from the last Soviet-era census of 1989 and the first Russian census of 2002, the number of population decreased by 1.8 million. The figure grew to 2.3 million in the past eight years. The biggest drop is registered among the rural population…

Not only do people vanish, but entire settlements vanish, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta writes. Since 2002, as many as 8,500 settlements have ceased to exist…

Granted some of villages have been incorporated into nearby towns and cities. But some have been actually deserted after their dwellers moved to other populated localities. Moreover, according to the census, there are 19,400 villages that exist on a map but have no inhabitants. The figure is 48 percent bigger than in the previous census…

The proportion of males and females has changed but women still prevail. Now, the number of women is bigger than the number of men by 10.7 million. The population aging tendency is older. The mean age of Russia’s subjects is 39, while in the 2002 census it was 37.7…

Family-related tendencies are also changing. Thus, the number of married couples in 2010 was 33 million (34 million in 2002), of which 13 percent are not officially registered (9.7 percent in 2002). The number of divorces, both registered and not, is also on the rise. However, the number of young-age marriages has gone down. In 2002, a total of 3,700 young people aged under 16 said they were married. In 2010, the figure halved…

As for ethnic identity, a total of 5.6 million refused to answer nationality questions (some 1.5 million in 2002). As many as 80.90 percent identified themselves as ethnic Russians (80.64 percent – in 2002). The number of ethnic Tatars remained practically the same – 3.87 percent, while the number of Ukrainian has dropped for 2.05 percent in 2002 to 1.41 percent in 2010. The census showed a growth in the number of ethnic Chechens, Avars, and Armenians…

Windows to Russia!

It is a thinking time while sipping that wonderful cup of coffee or chicory in my case…

CNBC on 20 Sept 2011 had a report about “The World’s Biggest Debtor Nations!” This was not so very long ago and I found this interesting and compiled the facts and ignored the pictures and 22 different pages that they spread it out on. I find it better in life to be able to comprehend stuff if we don’t try to get all fancy and such…

Lets start with number twenty on the list and work our way to the grand number one spot. I think that you will be shocked but not surprised at the numbers. I know that this is a small part of the real debt but there is something here that is beyond just money and debt. While debt is the crux of it all, when you are done looking at the list you tell me what all these countries have in common?

20. United States – 101.1%

External debt (as % of GDP): 101.1%

Gross external debt: $14.825 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $14.66 trillion

External debt per capita: $48,258
============================
19. Hungary – 120.1%

External debt (as % of GDP): 120.1%

Gross external debt: $225.24 billion
2009 GDP (est): $187.6 billion

External debt per capita: $22,739
============================
18. Australia – 138.9%

External debt (as % of GDP): 138.9%

Gross external debt: $1.23 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $882.4 billion

External debt per capita: $57,641
============================
17. Italy – 146.6%

External debt (as % of GDP): 146.6%

Gross external debt: $2.602 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $1.77 trillion

External debt per capita: $44,760
============================
16. Spain – 179.4%

External debt (as % of GDP): 179.4%

Gross external debt: $2.46 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $1.37 trillion

External debt per capita: $60,614
============================
15. Greece – 182.2%

External debt (as % of GDP): 182.2%

Gross external debt: $579.7 billion
2010 GDP (est): $318.1 billion

External debt per capita: $53,984
============================
14. Germany – 185.1%

External debt (as % of GDP): 185.1%

Gross external debt: $5.44 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $2.94 trillion

External debt per capita: $51,572

============================
13. Portugal – 223.6%

External debt (as % of GDP): 223.6%

Gross external debt: $552.23 billion
2010 GDP (est): $247 billion

External debt per capita: $51,572
============================
12. France – 250%

External debt (as % of GDP): 250%

Gross external debt: $5.37 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $2.15 trillion

External debt per capita: $83,781
============================
11. Hong Kong – 250.4%

External debt (as % of GDP): 250.4%

Gross external debt: $815.65 billion
2010 GDP (est): $325.8 billion

External debt per capita: $115,612
============================
10. Norway – 251%

External debt (as % of GDP): 251%

Gross external debt: $640.7 billion
2010 GDP (est): $255.3 billion

External debt per capita: $137,476
============================
9. Austria – 261.1%

External debt (as % of GDP): 261.1%

Gross external debt: $867.14 billion
2010 GDP (est): $332 billion

External debt per capita: $105,616
============================
8. Finland – 271.5%

External debt (as % of GDP): 271.5%

Gross external debt: $505.06 billion
2010 GDP (est): $186 billion

External debt per capita: $96,197
============================
7. Sweden – 282.2%

External debt (as % of GDP): 282.2%

Gross external debt: $1.001 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $354.7 billion

External debt per capita: $110,479
============================
6. Denmark – 310.4%

External debt (as % of GDP): 310.4%

Gross external debt: $626.1 billion
2010 GDP (est): $201.7 billion

External debt per capita: $113,826
============================
5. Belgium – 335.9%

External debt (as % of GDP): 335.9%

Gross external debt: $1.324 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $394.3 billion

External debt per capita: $127,197
============================
4. Netherlands – 376.3%

External debt (as % of GDP): 376.3%

Gross external debt: $2.55 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $676.9 billion

External debt per capita: $152,380
============================
3. Switzerland – 401.9%

External debt (as % of GDP): 401.9%

Gross external debt: $1.304 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $324.5 billion

External debt per capita: $171,528
============================
2. United Kingdom – 413.3%

External debt (as % of GDP): 413.3%

Gross external debt: $8.981 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $2.173 trillion

External debt per capita: $146,953
============================
1. Ireland – 1,382%

External debt (as % of GDP): 1,382%

Gross external debt: $2.38 trillion
2010 GDP (est): $172.3 billion

External debt per capita: $566,756…

Now that is amazing and I think you see it now! These are all self proclaimed Western countries that have spent beyond their means like a shopaholic with an unlimited credit card…

Where are the Eastern countries in the top 20? China, Russia, Brazil etc etc etc…

Remember this is debt ratio so that has nothing to do with who is rich or not, it has to do with who spends more money than they bring in…

Want something really pathetic about all this? These countries are still piling on the debt and not showing a sign of slowing down. Why is that?

So where is Russia and China in all this mess? Russia and China are considered a creditor nation, that much I understand…

Okay – done thinking today and that made my head hurt with numbers beyond imagination…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Sometimes I read an article that just has to be re-posted and this is such an article this morning from  LewRockwell.com. It is really is how I feel also and I know many more that feel the same. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy an article that tells it like it is. Jack D. Douglas is correct when he says, “No intelligent person who follows world events believes anything the U.S. says unless it is verified by really independent sources.”

So think and ask yourself after you read this article, “What is your intelligence level?

The US Farce of the Drone…

by Jack D. Douglas

The U.S, Lies about the top-secret U.S. Stealth Drone the Iranians have now put on world display completely in-tact is typical of the U.S. Big Lies about almost everything important to their Global Empire, obviously including the existence of that U.S. Global Empire. First they denied it in non-denial denials in case the Iranians did have it, then they said it crashed somewhere unknown to the U.S., then they said it must have drifted by malfunction into Iran, then when the Iranians showed the first pictures of it in-tact – not all crumpled up as it would be if it crashed from high altitude malfunction – the U.S. said it was not the right color or size, and finally when it was fully displayed they demanded its return on the presumption that they were not violating international law by spying in this way on Iran.

The whole U.S. Farce of the Drone exposes the U.S. once again as run by fools and total Liars routinely violating laws, treaties decency and every other human standard.

But this is merely a somewhat more ludicrous U.S. display of what it has really become. This is SOP for the U.S. Every time it slaughters women and children in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the world the U.S does the same ludicrous display of denials, counter-charges and on and on. SOP.

No intelligent person who follows world events believes anything the U.S. says unless it is verified by really independent sources. I doubt that anyone I know and take seriously even bothers laughing at the U.S. ludicrous displays of lies these days. It’s all so routine it’s boring – but utterly evil and ghastly, so no one really wants to think much about it.

This is true of intelligent and knowledgeable Americans in general. It is only roughly the lower half of Americans in intelligence and knowledge who are so cut off from the real world and so incapable of thinking clearly who even bother to discuss these U.S. ludicrous Lies. A perfect example is the big front page article in the San Diego Union-Tribune today marking the “withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq” about whether invading Iraq and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people over the past eight years was “worth” it. How stupid can you get? No intelligent person in touch with the world would imagine that this vast disaster and evil slaughter could possibly be worth it to anyone other than a sadistic fool. Most returning U.S. troops keep their mouths shut or hem and haw. They are not that stupid and they want benefits. But some journalists and a few brainless grunts say maybe it will prove worthwhile. Most are probably lying, but some Americans really are that ignorant and that stupid, though I don’t encounter any in my everyday life.

Even NBC News and other Media keep muttering, as Koppel did last evening, that the U.S. is not really “withdrawing” from Iraq, but is leaving 16,000 mostly “security” people and huge numbers on bases all around southern Iraq and building the largest “Embassy” in the world in Iraq and on and on. They don’t come right out and say this is all SOP Obama Lies and Bull Shit, but that’s what they mean.

SOP U.S. Lies and Bull Shit. That’s what America is to the world now and even the intelligent and knowledgeable Americans now take it for granted. SOP.

America has become an incredible farce to the whole world.

December 15, 2011

Jack D. Douglas [send him mail] is a retired professor of sociology from the University of California at San Diego. He has published widely on all major aspects of human beings, most notably The Myth of the Welfare State.

Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Source: http://lewrockwell.com/douglas/douglas47.1.html

Windows to Russia!

I thought that I would get together some of the posted recipes that are on Windows to Russia. They are a big search engine item and if the numbers of people who have looked at the recipes are an indication. Then lots of people in America are trying to experiment with Russia style foods…

I think that is wonderful because the Russia food is really good and easy to make. Food is an important part of society in Russia and certain foods are for special occasions and things like that. Just as we have that potato salad for that Fourth of July picnic, so do the Russians for other occasions…

Just have a look through them and you will be sure to find something to tempt your taste buds…

Recipe From Russia: A Simple Borsch! (Yummy)

Recipe From Russia: Chanterelle Mushrooms and Sour Cream! (Yummy)

Recipe From Russia: Simple Russian Vinaigrette Salad!

Recipie From Russia: Here in Russia it is Shashlyk Time!

Recipe From Russia: Simply a Golubtsy!

Recipe From Russia: Simple Draniki! (Potato Pancakes)

Recipe From Russia: Simple Russian Chicken Hearts, Gizzards and Livers!

Recipe From Russia: Selyodka pod Shuboy (Dressed Herring) recipe!

Recipe From Russia: A Simple Delicious Pelmeni Recipe!

Recipes From Russia: The Simple Ground Meat Cutlet – Russian Style!

Recipe From Russia: Simple Russian Style Goulash

Recipe From Russia: Simple Cheese Rolls!

Recipe From Russia: Simple Vegetable – Fruit Paste!

Pickled Mushrooms: Recipe from Russia!

Recipe for Grechka: Russia’s Brown Rice (Buckwheat groats)

The Russian Potato is a Dessert…

The Christmas Eve, Sochivo recipe…

Recipe: Cabbage with Tomatoes Stew…

Salmon and Potato Salad… (mimoza)

Stroganoff a Russian Favorite…

Easy Salmon Cheese Soup Recipe from Windows to Russia…

Well not all of them but a bunch of them all together so that you can try to cook like a Russia…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

Crapshoot: something or anything that has an unpredictable outcome, risky, or problematical; a gamble…

That dear readers is what the Western world has become. Nothing more than a system of rolling the dice and hoping that the end results causes issues all over the world…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

One thing that Russians love is fish and one type of fish that is extremely popular in Russia is salmon. Well Sveta is no exception to the Russian and fish lover theory and she gets the biggest smile on her face when I make a soup of mine that she has never had before she met me. Russians have lots of different types of soups with fish but I have never see them make this type of soup. So this is my recipe for Salmon Cheese soup…

Ingredients:

two liters or 2 quarts of water
6 oz of fresh salmon
1 medium white onion
1 green onion stalk
4 to 6 oz of Velveeta Cheese (or equivalent)
salt and pepper to taste

Lets Make:

Take a large pot and add two quarts of water to the pot and start heating to a medium temperature. There is no need to boil this soup… (unless you use water that needs to be boiled for safety reasons)

As the water is heating – take salmon and pull off skin and fat (if it has any). Cut the salmon into cubes as you desire in size…

Add cubes of salmon to water when it is starting to steam in the pot…

Salt and Pepper to taste and allow to cook half an hour at medium temperature…

After the half an hour add the Velveeta. I cut the cheese into chunks to help the melting process…

Stir easily until all the cheese is melted, try not to turn the fish into mush…

Then peel a medium onion and slice it up into the hot soup. With this take a green onion stalk and cut all the green stalk up and the little bulb of an onion to boot…

We are almost done at this point and it can be eaten as soon as the onion turns translucent…

This is so easy and so yummy!

Feeds 5 to 6 easily and if you boil off too much water then just add some more water and heat, to make it go farther before you serve it. Also it is excellent to use a smoked salmon…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

“It is probably more difficult to live in a multi-polar than in a one-polar world,” the prime minister said, “but people are tired of the attempts of the US to dominate in the world’s policy. Sometimes America seems to look upon other countries as upon servants, not full-fledged partners.”
===
“At the same time, some changes can be witnessed in US society,” Mr. Putin added. “The US government may still stick to the old policy of dominating in the world, but rank-and-file Americans don’t back this idea any more – the more so because they know that Europeans are not happy about the US’s domination. This is a good sign that, most probably, the idea of the US’s domination will soon become a thing of the past – and this is why Russia does not intend to stop cooperation with the US.”
===
Vladimir Putin considers it politically incorrect to limit the Internet. “I believe it impossible to limit the Internet,” he said during a call-in session on Thursday. “It is complicated technologically and incorrect politically.” “That environment is very free, super democratic,” he added.
===
“The results of parliamentary elections undoubtedly reflect the country’s political landscape while the opposition will always consider the election outcome unfair,” Putin said during Q&A session.
===
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin asks the Central Election Commission (CEC) to install video surveillance at all polling stations and to ensure live online transmission of the voting process. He believes the move might help pull the rug from under those who want to delegitimize the government.
===
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the opposition parties should get the opportunity to closely monitor the polls during the presidential elections.
===
“Without sticking [our] head in the sand and leaving [our] butt exposed, [we] should have insistently, fearlessly and consistently striven for the territorial integrity of our state,” Putin said during his live Q&A session when asked about his possible moves if he was ruling the country during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Timely economic reforms and democratic transformations could have saved the USSR, Putin said.
===
“As long as their actions comply with the law, people are free to express their views over what is happening in the country’s economy, social sphere and political life. I hope that it will be so. I saw on TV that the rallies were attended by mainly young people who have clear-cut positions and are not afraid of expressing them. If this is the result of Putin’s policies, then it’s a good sign”, – Putin said.
===
“The results of the parliamentary elections in Russia should be argued in court”, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said during his Q&A session on Thursday.
===
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is currently dominating Twitter forums and the live call-in session given by Putin for two television channels and three radio stations on Thursday has topped Twitter trends.
===
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the former Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin has never left his team and is still working together with him. “We need people like Alexey Kudrin in the future government. He will be in demand and will certainly find his place in the power”, Putin says.
===
“I want to address those who are ready to vote for me as the presidential candidate. You should not follow the wrong logic by thinking that we could vote for him, but everyone is going to do this anyway, and we need to go shopping or go to the country. No one can decide anything, but you”, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told this in the “Conversation with Putin” show.
===
“You are the ones who have to decide on who will be running foreign policy and representing our country abroad, who will be ensuring the country’s security, who will be solving social problems, who will be developing the economy. No one, but you”, Putin added.
===
Speaking during his Q&A session, Russia`s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that courts dealing with alleged election fraud complaints must be objective.
===
Mr. Putin stressed that before the final results of the elections were announced, local election commissions had the right to recount votes. “This is what was done in some cases, for example, in Saint Petersburg. But when the official results are published, a way to argue them is in court. And judges must deal energetically with these issues and be objective”, Mr. Putin said.
===
Speaking during his Q&A session, Russia`s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that courts dealing with alleged election fraud complaints must be objective. Mr. Putin stressed that before the final results of the elections were announced, local election commissions had the right to recount votes. “This is what was done in some cases, for example, in Saint Petersburg. But when the official results are published, a way to argue them is in court. And judges must deal energetically with these issues and be objective”, Mr. Putin said.
===
Russia has restored its grain export volumes to the number three among the world’s top grain exporters. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin described this as “unprecedented” during his Q&A session on Thursday. Putin praised the farming sector for reinstating the country’s grain export potential to its previously high levels. Grain export volumes were also restored due to support from the state, Putin said.
===
Speaking during his Q&A session, Russia`s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on those citizens who attend protest rallies not to get themselves involved in provocations aimed to undermine stability in the country. “Protests must be lawful. People are often treated unfairly, and they must react to this but avoid being involved in any destabilizing schemes”, the Prime Minister said.
===
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called “color revolutions” a developed scheme to destabilize countries. “I think this idea did not come out by itself”, he told the audience while answering citizens’ questions. “Some of our opposition leaders officially served as aides to the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko during the orange revolution in that country. Now they are using that experience in Russia”.
===
During his tenth annual televised Q&A session on Thursday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he saw nothing terrible in the protest rallies held in the aftermath of the December 4 parliamentary vote. “If this is the result of the “Putin regime”, I am pretty much happy about that, Putin said. “The outcome of the December 4 vote fully reflects the people’s political preferences and there is nothing surprising in that the opposition is unhappy about the final outcome. This is something you can always see everywhere,” the PM added. Admitting that the governing United Russia party had lost some of its clout, due, among other things, to the economic crisis, Putin said the party had still managed to retain its parliamentary majority.
===
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said he was sick and tired of election-related questions. Most of the questions that Putin received during his call-in show on Thursday concerned the elections. When asked by the host about his photo in the Vlast magazine which was provided with an obscene phrase calling on him to resign, Putin said that he found it amusing. The prime minister said that the inscription was made on a bulletin in London and that he knew who could have been behind it. These are people who cannot return to Russia as long as Putin is at the helm, he added.
===
“Some people want to move Russia aside so it does not interfere in the ruling of the world,” Putin said during his Q&A session, referring to Western countries that are “afraid of Russia’s nuclear potential.”
===
“It is not a secret that McCain took part in the U.S.-Vietnamese war…he’s got enough blood of peaceful civilians on his hands. He probably…can not live without these disgusting scenes of Gaddafi’s murder [Libyan late leader Muammar Gaddafi] when all the world’s channels broadcast how he was killed.”
===
“They showed Gaddafi, covered in blood, to the whole world, showed how he was being killed”, Mr. Putin said. He added that Gaddafi was killed by US drones, and said that the operation cannot be viewed as democratic.
===
“It’s well known that Mr McCain was captured in Vietnam and was locked not just in prison but in a hole, where he was imprisoned for several years. Any person would have bats in the belfry after that,” Putin said.
===
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed to bring back governor elections which he abolished in 2004.
===
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says if he becomes President he will try to strengthen the stability of the political system and free the country of the influence from abroad. Answering citizens’ questions live, he stressed the need for a sustainable and secure system that would be exempt from the influence of those who want to meddle in Russian internal affairs. “These attempts should be immediately suppressed”, Putin says.
===
Vladimir Putin said that in case there is no support from the people he will not stay in office for a day. “In the early 2000s I said several times that I consider myself to be a person hired by the people,” he said during a call-in session on Thursday. “It is possible to rely on the Russian people only. If I do not feel the support of the kind, and it is clear not from sites, but from elections, I will not stay in the office a day.”
===
What Russia needs is not the fear of Stalin’s time, but effective laws and ability to observe them, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during a call-in session. “We should manage everything so that law were fair, and demands from the power were proportionate to the objectives the people are facing,” he said. “We do not need fear.”
===
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has pledged to continue a tough fight against corruption. During a question-and-answer session, anchorman Vladimir Solovyov recalled Putin’s appeals to imprison corrupt officials and asked whether imprisonments will begin. So let us start with you, media people, Putin joked. “Many people have appealed to me concerning media using its monopoly situation in certain segments in order to settle economic issues among many others,” Putin said. He added that corruption can exist at all levels of power, as well as in media, the education and healthcare sectors. “This is a trouble of the whole society,” he stressed. “But the desire to swim on the crest of the wave, to be liked and, I am sorry, to shut down somebody, put somebody behind bars at any cost demonstrating one’s toughness – is the most simple thing that a person in my position could do,” Putin said.
===
“In regard to improving conditions in orphanages and solve other social issues concerning children without parental care—I mean first of all providing them with housing—conditions need to be made for reducing the number of foreigners who adopt Russian children, to reduce it to zero in the near future, and encourage Russians to adopt children,” Putin said during a televised Q&A session with the nation. The prime minister added that he was not in favor of foreigners adopting Russian children.
===
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan may introduce a single currency in the future within the Eurasian Economic Union between the three former Soviet republics, a new entity meant to promote cooperation both with Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
===
Russia wants to build up further cooperation with the U.S., the country’s Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin said during his televised Q&A session on Thursday. “Sometimes I think that the U.S. needs no allies but vassals. Nevertheless, we will keep on building our cooperation with the United States”.

Windows to Russia!

Head of Iran Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee says the US is not happy with the reelection of the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party.

Pointing to recent parliamentary election in Russia which was won by Putin’s ruling party, Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Monday that Americans do not want to see a powerful politician like Putin in power again and are trying to weaken Russia.

“The [propaganda] hype launched by the US against the opponents of its policies is among that country’s strategic programs. This is why they are unhappy to see Vladimir Putin regaining power in Russia and, therefore, they are playing old games,” Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying.

Boroujerdi said the US strategy will not bear fruit and the Americans will be the main losers of this game.

He added that casting doubt on elections in various countries is a known US policy, adding, “The most important thing for the US is to protect its illegitimate interests in different parts of the world.”

“Therefore, the US opposes any government or political structure which is outside its cycle of hegemony,” Boroujerdi said.

The ruling party of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won Russia’s parliamentary election which was held on December 4, with 48.5 percent of the vote.

The exit poll suggested that Putin’s party will have 220 members in the 450-seat lower house of parliament, which is more than two-thirds of the seats needed to obtain constitutional majority in order to amend the constitution and even approve the impeachment of the president.

More than 100 people were detained in central Moscow in a rally against the conduct of Russia’s parliamentary elections after the election results were made public on Sunday.

Opposition parties have called the elections unfair, saying that the vote was rigged in favor of the ruling United Russia Party, which won the majority in the state Duma.

Demonstrators have demanded a repeat of parliamentary elections, with the presidential council on human rights also calling for the elections to be held once again if reports of vote-rigging are confirmed.

Putin has accused the United States of encouraging and financing protesters.

Windows to Russia!

Yesterday was spent at a new cardiologist, the snow made getting there interesting. But we got there safe and sound by our Volga car. We went to the same medical facility as I have talked about in the past, but this time we were able to sit down with the head cardiologist at the clinic. This doctor looks to be a keeper. She is really sharp and asked all the right questions to get the answers that she needed. We had all of our statistics from every visit to a cardiologist since I have been to Russia and we also had a new cardiogram done before we visited her…

On a side thought: One thing that I love about Russian businesses is the fact that you have coat checking stations in the lobbies, 90% of the time. I remember in America when that was common place. Coat and hat check.

Now back to the cardiologist. As I said everything was great with the doctor but it looks like I will have to spend a few days in the hospital sometime after the first of the year. I am needing to have a few tests run and she has specified it as mandatory. So Sveta is digging around and we will find a good hospital to perform what we need done. Since I will not use the foreign (American) hospitals in Russia due to extravagant costs, that helps narrow it down for Sveta…

One test that my cardiologist wants done soon is a Coronary angiogram. Now I have had this done four times before in America and every time I had this done I ended up with new stents. I have 6 total stents. I sensed a concern from the doctor and with the way Sveta spent half the night worrying about it, I realized that the thoughts the doctor has could be centering on stents trying to close off again. Yes I have had that happen and it is not a fun or good thing…

I have been having real issues with heart palpitations and being woke up with over a 100 beats per minute heart rate many nights…

I love this clinic that I am able to go to and I feel very lucky that I am allowed to go there. I have written about this place in the past and it is a place that I feel safe and secure to trust people with my health. This picture to the left is the front lobby and I was able to get a picture off when the lobby was clear. You see the turnstiles and that is where a grumpy guard makes sure that you have business to attend here. He would die if he had to smile and he grunts. Just my kinda guy…

Coffee and Russian Medical Care… Read this for my clinic I go to!

Lets talk money right at this point in the article. Yesterday I had a cardiogram done and visited the head of the cardiologist department. Now in America that is some high dollar stuff in anyone’s book…

In Moscow Russia it cost me 400 rubles (400 Russian rubles = 12.5884 U.S. dollars – per today’s exchange)! Yes that is total cost uninsured out of pocket expense. If I was Russian I would get it free…

Now lets talk about an hour visit to the head cardiologist. That ran 800 rubles (800 Russian rubles = 25.1768 U.S. dollars)! Yes once again that is uninsured out of pocket expense. I do understand that a Russia may also have to pay some money to see the head cardiologist as in conjunction see a regular cardiologist, though it is much less than I have to pay…

Total costs yesterday was 1200 rubles not including the best part of the whole day! Eating at the clinic cafe! Yummy and it makes my trip there worth being poked, prodded and stuck with needles. They have some of the best borsch soup around…

Talk to yourself about medical costs in America because I have my ass covered in Russia!

I also had almost all my medications changed because I am developing acclimatization to all my pills. So now I am weening from one type to another and we hope that will help make things better. Another strange thing about doctors here is that just because it is not their area they will still diagnose or fix what is wrong. Even if they have another doctor come in free and look at you…

Money is not the driving factor for a doctor in Russia and I really hope that never changes because it makes a better doctor all the way around. I am not saying that corruption is not in the medical system in Russia but I will say that for every story that you hear. I have one that will match it from America and it could actually even be worse in the corruption department with health care…

Now before 10,000 people send me e-mails that tell me I am full of poo poo! I will tell you that this is my experience and not yours. I am giving you the facts of how it is in my world and as I said up farther in the article: Talk to yourself about medical costs in America (or the world for that matter) because I have my ass covered in Russia!

An ending thought as my cup of coffee (chicory) is getting empty: Once again my American brain tells me that a Head cardiologist is a man! Wrong again she is a she, as you noticed from the above writings. I saw one male doctor yesterday and all I saw him do was sit around and pick on the women who were working. Women rule healthcare in Russia…

As Sveta would say: “That is just right!” as she would smile big and bright…

Kyle Keeton
Windows to Russia!

PS: Never fear – I keep my nitro spray always in hand and I am going to be around a long time to irritate people about how wonderful Russia really is…