Windows to Russia

Kurils belong to Russia – Foreign Ministry:
Russia’s sovereignty over the Kuril Islands rests on an indisputable international law basis, says the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement. The Ministry has posted a commentary on its website to point out that more attempts to question the islands’ status as part of Russia fails to impart constructive nature to Russian-Japanese relations…

Locals flee as Siberian river overflows:
In Siberia the sprawling Lena River has burst its banks partially flooding several villages and forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 locals. We have no immediate reports of any casualties at this hour. Emergencies Ministry workers are at the site helping move people out of harm’s way…

Sunken Soviet warship found, ending 30-year search:
The sunken Soviet WWII naval ship Moskva has been found off the coast of Romania. It was the Black Sea Fleet destroyer leader, and its sinking has always been seen as a greatest sea warfare mystery. The destroyer went down in the very first battle, on June 26th 1941…

Russia’s FM to hold talks with Libyan officials:
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks today with Libyan officials. Moscow will insist that the Libyan authorities carry out the main demand of the UN Security Council – to avoid actions resulting in civilian deaths. Mass protests swept Libya in mid-February, demanding withdrawal of the country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi…

Khodorkovsky, Lebedev arrive in court for second verdict appeal:
Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev arrived in the Moscow City Court on Tuesday to continue their attempt to overturn their conviction…

Muscovites mark “Year of Forest” by planting new trees near city:
In celebration of the “International Year of the Forest,” Russians from every corner of the country are rolling up their sleeves to help protect one of Russia’s largest natural resources. RT caught up with the green…

Erase and rewind: Moscow mayor slams demolition of historic houses:
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin ordered developers to rebuild a 19th-century house that was knocked down illegally. He also promised to launch a criminal case into the issue…

Windows to Russia!

I have talked many times about how Russia always gives one or two warning shots when things are just not right. In the case of the START Treaty they gave the first salvo before the treaty was even signed…

So lets see what Russia has to say today about the START is a FART Treaty…

Further deployment of the US missile defense system in Europe gives Russia the right to withdraw from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said…

“START may become a hostage of the so-called US European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA),” Ryabkov said at Monday’s meeting of the Expert Council on cooperation between Russia and NATO at the State Duma… Read More >>>

Hummm – I can’t wait to see how this plays out. I sense that unless Russia gets equal access and rights to the missile defense program, it just will not go over well on the home front in Russia. Russia has been saying all along, include us or else…

It is the “or else” that bothers me…

Windows to Russia!

I read an article by Lew Rockwell that hits home for me here in Russia. I have, as you know if you read the blog often, had 6 heart attacks. This means that I take prescription drugs that require a prescription from a doctor. That is if I still lived in America…

The American pharmaceutical system is a highly controlled apparatus for restricting access to much-needed drugs and violating the rights of those who want to purchase them. This has long been true. Read More at : Lew Rockwell…

So while on my latest visa run to get a Russian visa. I ran into a situation that required me to have to purchase more medications to replace the medications that I ran out of. In Russia this is not a problem and as it turns out in Ukraine it is not a problem also. I was able to just stop at any drug store in Ukraine and pick up what I needed. Minus a prescription…

90% of my medications are mandatory prescriptions in America. But in Russia and Ukraine, not a single medication that I take is under a prescription policy. That is not to say that Russia does not have a prescription policy at all, but they relate those policies to depressant, narcotic and mood altering type drugs that really can cause issues. They do not relate to standard medicines that enable you to live a life free of hassles by the Big Pharma Companies…

Lets take several examples: I use Coreg – I take it everyday day in day out and most likely will take it the rest of my life. It really helps me and when I accidentally miss a dose, I have issues. Of course I use the version of Coreg that is sold in Russia but it is the exact same drug that is sold in America. Next I use Kardiket and this is my life saver drug. Without it I am on nitro pills or spray by the end of the day. I also take three types of diabetes pills and they are all prescriptions in America. Here in Russia or Ukraine, I just tell them that I need 850 ml pills of Glucophage and I am on my way in a few minutes…

So these medications are very important to me and they have consequences if I stop taking them suddenly. In America you have to have a prescription before any of these medications could be bought by you. In Russia or Ukraine I just go ask for what I need and walk home happy. No prescription, no doctor visit, no hassles and no stress…

Now while the freedom of no issues to get prescription drugs is great. The real blessing is the cost. In Ukraine it cost me 5 hryvnia for a week supply of Kardiket. That is about .75 cents a week to take that pill or lets say, $39 a year in American money. Can we say stress free cost? Also in Russia or Ukraine they are not use to selling these heart medications by the box. I usually purchase the whole box of 30 or 60 when I buy them, but most people just buy themselves a weeks worth at a time. In fact you can purchase even just one pill at a time if you so desire… (Make a daily trip to the drug store your habit…)

So after I read the Lew Rockwell article I realized that I resemble that article… 🙂

Kyle and Sveta
at Windows to Russia!

Finally! I sit here at our desktop computer and can work on an article. But this little happening almost did not happen. We got home to Moscow, Russia and found our main computer non functioning. It seemed that it decided to quit working during our unplanned vacation time and it wanted to stay on vacation itself. I spent Saturday determining what the issue was and Sunday went to get a part for the old girl. It seems that the power supply decided to give up the ghost.  She is up and running like new now. So I am sipping my morning cup of coffee and enjoying typing this article on a full size keyboard and screen. Instead of a tiny cell phone screen and keyboard… 🙂

It may take a few days to get fully back in the groove again but it does feel good to be able to get back to teaching English and working on all my projects again. One thing I was hoping, while I was incognito, was that the world would start the process of getting its act together. (You can hope!) But as I see in the news, things are actually much worse and we are on a short path to Hell it seems…

But actually nothing really changes and I guess my attitude comes from little things like – Laos: A declared neutral country located next to Vietnam, that was actually bombed more than any country in history by America (or the world for that matter) and we were not even at war with Laos. Did you know that the busiest airport in the world at one time was in Laos?

Here’s a non-trivial question for trivia night organisers: In the late 1960s, what was the world’s busiest airport? Stumped? Here’s a hint: What was the most bombed country, per capita, in the history of warfare? If you answered “Vietnam”, you’re getting close, but not quite there. Until 1975, the CIA ran the world’s busiest airport at Long Cheng, on the edge of the Plain of Jars in Laos. More than 400 flights a day took off to bomb communist Pathet Lao troops — and just about anything else that moved.

The US clandestine war against Laos killed hundreds of thousands of villagers and created 700,000 refugees — from a population at the time of only around 3 million. In the words of Alfred McCoy, author of The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia (1972): “If the US is guilty of war crimes, not just mad minutes of soldiers in Vietnam breaking down under stress, but systemic crimes by commanders, that war crime was the bombing of northern Laos. We destroyed a whole civilisation, we wiped it off the map. We incinerated, atomised human remains in this air war .” By Allen Myers

Did you know that bombs unused in Vietnam were dropped all over Laos. You see, You could not land the aircraft with bombs aboard and Laos was the receiver of all extra Vietnam bombs unused. That is along with and on top of  the bombs destined for Laos. Laos was the most heavily bombed country in the whole world bar none. Laos was declared a neutral country also. Laos was another country that America was against the Soviet Union as they both played war and politics within the borders of Laos. Could you have imagined if they were a non neutral country? I know I have been there, seen that and remember it well…

I guess that little unimportant things like Laos! (Sarcasm) Just has a tendency to affect my thoughts about the validity of the American government. As I watch the manifested induced scaffolding’s in Libya and the whole Middle East. I realize that, “One day, payback will be Hell…” as my Grandma use to say…

All of those past goings on, remind me of the goings on now in the Middle East, right now at this very moment…

Didn’t take me long to get back into the swing of things… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

After being gone for a few weeks on an unplanned vacation. I thought I would list upcoming posts being worked on as I write this article…

1. The third installment on our Volga and Propane articles…
2. Update on Visa issues from this last visa run for a Russian visa…
3. Photos and stories about Odessa, Ukraine…
4. Train trips in this part of the world…
5. and several other loose ends that will be tied up all nice and neat…

So don’t miss out and grab a feed to help keep updated…

Windows to Russia!

Well Sveta and I got back to Kiev and spent the night in a nice little studio type flat near the train station…

After a good night sleep we got to the Russian consulate at noon exactly and after a 15 minute wait. I was able to pick up my new visa…

I was also able to communicate with the consulate and got some new information on visa issues. Looks like the new bribery regulations are really detrimental to ease of maneuvering through the Russian government system. I see a total lack of incentive now to get any work done by a government employee of Russia. No one wants to get in trouble and the easiest way to stay out of trouble is to do nothing when you work for any governmental system…

Sveta said a good thing today, “Russia makes life rough for civilized countries to come, but wild and uncivilized countries have no problem getting across the border…”

What she said made sense. I realized that countries where the people are raised to obey the rules and laws, the people struggle with the Russian regulations. The countries that are still a wild west situation do not care about visas in the first place. They just cross anywhere into Russia, illicit or not. Just like the Mexicans in America…

OK on to the last subject in the title. We are going home to Russia. So if the “Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise!” we will be back on Saturday to our wonderful home in Moscow Russia…

The picture above is the light at the end of the tunnel. We have finally seen that light with this visa trip…

Windows to Russia!

Posted by Mobile!

A second regiment equipped with advanced S-400 Triumf air defense systems will be put on combat duty near the Russian capital on May 15, the Defense Ministry said.

The first S-400 regiment has been deployed in Electrostal, also near Moscow, as part of the air and missile defense network around the Russian capital.

The S-400 (SA-21 Growler) air defense system is expected to form the cornerstone of Russia’s theater air and missile defenses by 2020.

The S-400 system can engage targets at a maximum range of up to 400 km at an altitude of 40,000-50,000 meters. The system uses a range of missiles, optimized for engaging ballistic and cruise missiles.

An S-400 air defense regiment consists of two or three battalions equipped with four systems each. Russia is planning to arm 56 battalions with S-400 systems by 2020.

MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday he does not mind that some people post abusive comments to his Twitter micro blog, saying some users need time to grow up.

“The fact is that Twitter is set up so that no one is banned. It was created in such a way that any person can tell anyone what he thinks about anything using the juiciest expressions. If you want, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and if you want, you can say exactly the same to [U.S. President Barack] Obama,” the president said, answering journalists’ questions about his attitude towards obscenities in Twitter.

He said that using rude words in Internet is a matter of culture. “I guess it [Twitter] was not created for this, but if someone wants to express his emotions, I do not mind.”

The president said he is opposed to repressive measures against his micro blog’s readers since they should grow up on their own.

Medvedev, who styles himself as a technologically savvy leader, officially registered his Twitter account in June 2010 during a visit to Silicon Valley. More than 270,000 people are currently following him at MedvedevRussia on the micro-blogging site, while the English version, MedvedevRussiaE, has almost 100,000 followers.

In his Twitter blog, the president shares his views of events in Russia and abroad, posts photographs that he takes, and responds to questions asked by other Twitter users.

Medvedev’s Twitter and LiveJournal accounts have been named the best blogs in the Russian-language Internet in 2011.

MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti)

Declaring Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his relatives a legitimate target of NATO attacks is “going overboard,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

“The coalition is, in effect, openly declaring that its task is regime change [in Libya]. That Gaddafi and his relatives…are a legitimate target. This is over the top,” he said in an interview with the Moskovksie Novosti daily to be published on Thursday.

He reiterated Moscow’s view that the coalition is supporting only one side in the conflict.

“There is only one way out. An immediate ceasefire, as Russia has already proposed at the Security Council. Then a search for a solution through mediation,” he said.

Violence in Libya, which began in mid-February, has already claimed thousands of lives, with Gaddafi’s troops maintaining their combat capabilities despite NATO airstrikes against them.

MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) 

The Russian Investigative Committee has failed to file formal tax evasion charges against Hermitage Capital head William Browder because he did not show up for questioning, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.

“If he fails to appear again, action will be taken to establish his whereabouts and enforce his presence,” committee spokeswoman Irina Dudukina said.

U.S.-born Browder, who is a British citizen, is suspected of underpaying more than 2 billion rubles ($72 million) in back taxes.

He was once one of the most successful Western investors in Moscow but was expelled from Russia in 2005 for national security reasons and now lives in Britain.

Dudukina said there were no impediments to Browder’s entry into Russia and he could easily receive a visa if he applied.

According to some media reports Russia will seek Browder’s extradition and prosecute him in absentia if Britain refuses.

Hermitage Capital has been in the focus of a controversial tax evasion case that led to the death in custody of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009.

Magnitsky was jailed in 2008 after being charged with tax evasion linked to his defense of Hermitage Capital.

The lawyer accused Russian tax and Interior Ministry officials of using documents seized form Hermitage’s subsidiaries to register their own people as owners and directors and file a false tax claim to embezzle $230 million.

He died aged 37 from acute heart failure after 11 months in a Moscow pre-trial detention facility.

Magnitsky was kept in appalling conditions and was refused crucial medical treatment in what Hermitage says was an effort to coerce him to admit his role in its alleged tax evasion.

MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti)