Windows to Russia

While sipping that cup of coffee this morning in Moscow, Russia. I was doing some thinking’s. It dawned on me that we (The world) have come full circle…

April 11, 2011 saw the value of the US dollar dip below 28 rubles for the first time in over two years. The lowest it was traded on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange was 27.98 rubles. For April 12, the Russian Central Bank set the rate for 27.97. The last time the dollar was this low was back in December 2008. Shortly after that, during the peak of the crisis, the dollar’s value was as much as 36.35 rubles…

This is not a good sign…

For those of you left who can comprehend and think on their own. Then it is time to put on that thinking cap. It is time to realize what is happening…

As of right now, we are back at square one just before all hell broke loose with the world financial situation years ago. But this time there are two huge differences and we are in a lot worse shape than before. We do not have the ability to print our way out of the mess and Japan is toast… (Though we will try to print our way out…)

Look at commodities: No really look. It is not just oil this time that is going off the scale. It is everything going off the scale…

I bought silver at $11 dollars an ounce, just a little more than a few years ago. I bought gold in America before I came to Russia at less than $500 dollars an ounce. I bought copper back in pre crises days at less than 2. With heating oil and gasoline going through the roof. Many people are in trouble with a capital T!

The ones they try not to talk about: cotton and corn have a future effect that will put the icing on the cake. As of right now the crop situation in the whole world is looking rather bleak. Russia still has a ban on exports of grain and it seems that Ukraine does also. Do you also understand that because of price, corn has been neglected this year in favor of growing cotton. Corn we eat – cotton we don’t…

Russia is making changes that will also affect the future of oil and gas commodities:

For the longest time Gazprom, Russia’s number one oil & gas producer has held monopoly over market and infrastructure, hindering the growth of other Russian oil majors and concerning Wester European nations who perceive Gazprom as a remnant of the cold war era. In February 2011, Putin has set the ball rolling and Gazprom will now have to open their gas pipelines to competitors like Rosneft, Novatek and one of the largest oil producers in the country, Surgutneftegaz. Once this is accomplished, dependence on the Kremlin will ease making Russia the best option for the world to rely on. Middle Eastern Islamic nations are no longer the world’s best bet. The ways of capitalism and matters of national security are suggesting a move to greener pastures, which is Russia right now… (Link)

Russia is a chess player as I have said in the past and they are setting future ground work for her Empire. The world has just become much more reliant on Russia for fuel to survive. Because the Middle East has become a shambles and if you have not heard, that extra 3,000,000 barrels a day in oil that Saudi Arabia promised has failed to materialize as we read this post. That is putting pressure on whether the Middle East has the oil that we hope they do. That makes little countries like Libya all the more important for their oil…

Now lets retouch also in this post on Japan. Japan has gone Chernobyl and they are now at a level 7. That is as bad as it gets, because any worse is uncharted territory. They are now moving people farther away from the disastrous plants and it is looking like Japan could glow in the dark before long…

Toyota a Japanese company has just shut the doors of all their plants in Mexico, USA, Canada and Europe looks to be shut down also, for an unknown amount of time. From what I understand about 50,000 employees in America alone will be laid off. I also have been reading that Russia is turning away shipments of cars from Japan. These cars are coming to the border with high radiation readings…

VLADIVOSTOK, April 11 (Itar-Tass) – Twenty cars shipped from Japan were detained at Vladivostok port on Sunday because their background radiation level was exceeded. (Link)

With the Japan Chernobyl effect on the world economy. I expect to see the effects in the summer when all the bottom lines hit from companies that rely on Japan for goods. Everything from automobiles, consumer electronics, computers, semiconductors, copper, and iron and steel, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bio-industry, robotics, shipbuilding, aerospace, textiles, and processed foods. Did you forget that Japan is one of the main powerhouses in the world economy. As Japans bottom line crashes so goes the worlds bottom line…

So I am sitting here sipping that coffee. That cup of coffee that is one of life’s little pleasures. I am starting to wonder do Sveta and I need to stock up on life’s little pleasures? For when things crash implode this time…

I can always drink chicory… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hailed Yury Gagarin’s flight into space 50 years as a symbolic, revolutionary event, adding that his country still dreams about “conquering” other planets and flying to distant stars.

The first manned space flight remains a landmark for humankind, he said in an interview with China Central Television CCTV.

“I believe it was a truly revolutionary event, a highly symbolic one,” Medvedev said. “It was a tremendous achievement of Soviet cosmonautics, which divided the world into ‘before’ and ‘after the flight,’ what has been termed the ‘space era.'”

“I am proud of the fact that it was my country that made this first step,” he said.

On the subject of future space programs, Medvedev said although they have become less idealistic and more pragmatic, the Russian space dream lives on.

“We still cherish a hope, however, that sometime we will be able to conquer other planets, other stellar systems.”

“I don’t know how soon we will be able to achieve that, but I think that mankind will always try to follow these two approaches simultaneously – on the one hand, the dream of exploring outer space, and, on the other hand, a truly pragmatic approach to outer space, which may bring both scientific and practical benefits.”

Windows to Russia!

On 12 April 1961, Gagarin became the first man to travel into space, launching to orbit aboard the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1). His call sign was Siberian Pine (Russian: Кедр).

In his post-flight report, Gagarin recalled his experience of spaceflight, having been the first human in space: “The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended.” (Link)

50th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s  flight into space.

In Russia it is party time… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

Rescuers, ambulances and police are heading to Oktyabrskaya metro station in the Belarus capital Minsk. Seven people (10 reported as of this post) are reportedly dead and at least fifty others injured…

The administration of the Belarusian President, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has confirmed the blast has claimed lives and wounded several people…

Igor Tumash, 52, said he was getting off a train when “there was a large flash, an explosion and heavy smoke. I fell on my knees and crawled … bodies were piled on each other”…

He said he saw a man with a severed leg and rushed to help him. “But then I saw he was dead,” Tumash said…

Windows to Russia!

Source:

A few days ago I was waking the dog and saw this dad trying to push his child in the stroller through the snow. It was Saturday, so that is why I was able to find a dad doing what the mothers usually do. Saturday is dads day to take the kids out while mom gets a break… 🙂

Russian mothers are always fighting the snow. They are tough believe me. They are either dragging their kid on a sled or plowing snow with a stroller all Winter long… (Day off is Saturday if they have a nice husband…)

It dawned on me today that we have had a continuation of snow for at least (if not more) 6 months. It has been so long that we have had snow that I am starting to forget what it looks like with out snow…

Here is what we woke up to on the 9th of April, 2011 –  in the picture above…

Sveta was snoozing in bed and Boza decided that he needed an early walk that day. It was about 8 am and snowing like crazy. So I took some pictures as I always do with my trusty camera phone…

Now you know a little bit more about Russia…

Isn’t it great?

Windows to Russia!

PS: It is snow as I write this article…

Take it how you want and no matter what your views in America are about adoption. If you want to adopt a Russian child in America, things are going to have to change. This video by Russia Today gives a good look at the issue and how Russia is looking at the situation…

Right now Russia and the US are working towards an agreement, (Russia expects a signing in May…) which would provide better government oversight on the well being of adopted Russian children in American families – something that would mean regular visits to the families by social workers from both countries.

Some say the biggest obstacle to an agreement is the overall secrecy surrounding adoptions in the US.

“In the United States of America once the adoption is finalized that child is considered the same as if born to the adoptive parents, a birth certificate gets re-issued. The adoptive parents never even have to tell the child they were adopted,” says Mirah Riben.

But Russia says Americans privacy issues should not be an argument for leaving thousands of adopted children without any oversight and protection.

“Any lawyer understands you cannot transport even a bag of potatoes across the border without any contract but small children were being taken by thousands without any agreements,” says Pavel Astakhov.

In the US, people wanting to adopt pay private agencies for assessments of their suitability as parents. This of course raises questions as to how objective those assessments can actually be. Once a child’s adopted, there’s no follow-up to see how they’re doing. If Jessica Beagley had not sent her video to a TV-show, no one would have known about her punishment methods – just as we don’t know about how many other adopted children are now subject to domestic violence in the US.

This is not a little issue and Medvedev just praised the workings of Paul Astakov. Paul was given the go ahead to do what he needs to do and get it done with no over-site from the Kremlin… (Link)

I understand that America has privacy issues but it looks as though some of those issues must be given up to have a better system of control for keeping the Russian adopted children safer…

In the past 10 years, dozens of Russian children have been neglected, while at least 17 have died in the care of their adoptive American parents. (Link)

That is not good because there should be no deaths except by natural causes. These deaths are usually caused by the adopted parent…

I hear the Americans say, “That is just a few that are issues…” I also hear that things are worse in Russia. So – That is not the point. Just because things might be worse somewhere else it is OK if you are not as bad? Wrong…

Sorry even one is an issue…

Windows to Russia!

Statement of income, property, bank accounts, securities, and liabilities of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev for the 2010 calendar year:

March 10, 2011,

Income for 2010: 3,378,673.63 rubles. (approximately $113,000 American dollars.)

Joint ownership with Svetlana Medvedeva of a 367.8-square meter apartment in the Russian Federation. (This is worth a huge amount of money but I could not even guess at the amount. Price per sq. meter is what you have to know.)

Fourteen accounts with Russian banks totaling 4,961,528.98 rubles. (About $165,000 American dollars.)

Rental rights to a plot of land (4,700 square meters) in the Russian Federation. (Not worth much. Unless gets developed.)

Owns a 1948 GAZ 20 Pobeda car. (priceless – to me at least! :))

Statement of income, property, bank accounts, securities, and liabilities of Svetlana Medvedeva, wife of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, for the 2010 calendar year

March 10, 2011,

Joint ownership with Dmitry Medvedev of a 367.8-square meter apartment in the Russian Federation. (Se above on same item.)

Three accounts with Russian banks totaling 0.0 rubles. (That is 0$ American dollars.)

Owns two parking lots with total area of 32.5 square meters in the Russian Federation. (? This could be worth several million Rubles + ?)

Owns a 1999 Volkswagen Golf car. (Not worth much? Maybe a $1000 American dollars.)

Statement of income, property, bank accounts, securities, and liabilities of legal minor Ilya Medvedev, son of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, for the 2010 calendar year

March 10, 2011,

Legal minor Ilya Medvedev, son of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, had no income in the 2010 calendar year. He neither has any property, bank accounts, securities or liabilities. (Poor kid is broke! What about his allowance?)

Public Records is the source…

Windows to Russia!

PS: He is not wealthy by any standards and by American and European head politicians he is poor…

Easter Holiday Dates 2011:

Good Friday – Friday 22, April 2011

Easter Saturday – Saturday 23, April 2011

Easter Sunday – Sunday 24, April 2011

Easter Monday – Monday 25, April 2011

This year Easter falls on the same day whether in the east of West. We have lots of links about Easter. Here are a few…

http://windowstorussia.com/russia-easter-april-27-2008_23.html
http://windowstorussia.com/recipe-from-russia-very-simple-kulich_24.html
http://windowstorussia.com/from-russia-when-is-easter_04.html
http://windowstorussia.com/in-russia-it-is-easter-time-april-19th_18.html
http://windowstorussia.com/from-russia-when-is-easter-western-or_11.html

Windows to Russia!

PS: Easter from year 2000 to 2049…

Just as Muscovites were enjoying the end of wintery conditions and the apparent onset on spring, a blizzard brought road misery and power cuts to the capital and the surrounding region on Saturday.

Three people were reported dead and over a dozen injured as sleet turned road conditions into what one official called “mush.”

In the region around Moscow, some 3,000 people were left without electricity as snow hit power supplies.

Moscow’s Domodedovo airport also reported delays due to weather conditions. Thousands of people were stranded at the airport late last year after a freak ice storm.

In the capital, over 500 trees fell down or were badly damaged.

Heavy snow is forecast to continue for at least the next 24 hours.

Windows to Russia!