Coffee and Our Volga…


I am drinking a wonderful hot cup of coffee and trying to warm back up. Today started out early and Sveta and I were on our way to see her mother. We had 4 bags of goodies to drop off and it had been awhile since we had gone by to say hi. That trip never happened…

On Saturday I fired up the Volga and got her ready to take a day trip all around Moscow. A trip through Moscow is always 99% of the time a whole day affair. So I always make sure that the car is in order. On Saturday everything was running and working fantastic. That was Saturday…

Today is Sunday: I went out a fired up the Volga and let it warm up for about an hour. It was -13 degrees Celsius and the old girl needs a few more minutes to get loosened up. We took off and all seemed good. Sveta and I stopped at McDonald’s and got some breakfast sandwiches. After the breakfast is when I felt a change in the car. The car always starts the same way and method but today after breakfast, she turned over slowly, then the engine caught and purred…

That triggered the alert button in my head. We had already traveled far enough so the battery should have been fully charged after a real cold starting, but I realized that it was not. I saw that the alternator seemed to be weak at idle on voltage output and when I turned on the heater fan and headlights. The output dropped considerably. But revving the engine did not help the situation. We took off down the road and I gave Sveta the warning that we may be turning back home very quickly… (We ended up turning back and got the Volga home.)

I found that with the car idling and all extra accessories turned off the car would charge the battery, but weakly. But turn on lights and other necessary items and it dropped into a discharge mode. But what was even worse was that at highway speeds it discharged faster. So I knew we were on borrowed time as long as the battery held out. Since it is law to have headlights on and life would really suck with no heat going…

We went back home…

Then Sveta hopped a train and went to see her mom while I worked on the car. (Now working on a car at -11 degrees Celsius is no fun.) I ended up charging the battery and checking the voltage on the Alternator output and it showed my fears. It is acting like one or two of the 6 diodes is bad. Other words the alternator is going out…

I have replaced this alternator before but it is a month out of warranty. At that time the original alternator was still in the car and was just plain worn out. So I will be walking to the auto parts store and getting a new one. Then I have the fun of deciding which country to buy from. I can get one from Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus or China. Cost varies from 2000 rubles to 6000 rubles. The one that I had last time was from Ukraine! So maybe I will try one from Russia… 🙂

I think that all this will have to wait at this point. It is too cold and I am chilled to the bones. I am going to drink this hot coffee and maybe have a couple of cups of hot tea also. Then I am going to bore you will the details of my day… 😉

Hope you are having a great weekend…

Windows to Russia!

Riots and Teenagers in Russia…


A huge number of the arrests that are being made all over Moscow are Teenagers. They are all sitting in jail right now waiting for their parents to come and get them out…

“Moscow police information chief Victor Biryukov said that many of the detained teenagers were unable to explain the reason why they were taking part in the rally.”

Altogether, more than 2,000 people were detained across the capital in the past three days to prevent ethnic clashes and they are tossing out rumors that in some cases 75%  plus are teenagers…

I can personally tell you that the teenagers around Korolev, Russia are out in force and painting graffiti on building sides and tearing up the little kids play grounds. This weekend was a teenage romper room around here. It seemed strange to me because the temperature has been around -12 Celsius at night and they have been running around like it is summer time… (Most of them not properly dressed…)

I have been studying the pictures all over the Russian web in conjunction with these riots and arrests. The crowds really are full of teenagers…

I keep asking where are the parents? But I have been asking that for years both in America and now in Russia…

Parents do you know where your kid is right now? (He or she could be in jail!)

Interesting…

Windows to Russia!

Russian Whistle-Blowing Doctor is Assured by Putin…


A Russian cardiologist said he feared dismissal and beating after phoning Vladimir Putin to say that an impressive hospital display for the premier was faked. And then, Putin called him back.

Ivan Khrenov told Putin during a live call-in show Thursday that his bosses instructed doctors and nurses to show fake pay slips and pose as recovering patients surrounded by new equipment during the premier’s November visit to a hospital in the central town of Ivanovo.

Khrenov told Putin that the equipment was borrowed from other hospitals and the doctors were forced to say their salaries were about $1,000 a month — far less than their real income. Putin’s visit to the hospital was nationally televised — just like the call-in show where Khrenov made his claims.

Putin, who has been hobnobbing with ordinary Russians in similar sessions for years, ordered an investigation into a possible embezzlement of the $4,3 million the hospital has received. “What are you cheering at?” Putin asked the applauding audience in the television studio. “The art of the (hospital) managers or doctor’s bravery?”

If the embezzlement did happen, Khrenov told a Russian news agency Friday, he might face a beating or dismissal. “I will not be surprised if somebody meets me in a dark alley or I’ll be forced to resign ‘voluntarily,'” he told Interfax after regional officials called him “insane” and called him to a local prosecutor’s office and health department for questioning.

But his problems seem to have ended after Putin personally called him, Khrenov told the RIA news agency.

Putin “said, ‘We won’t leave you in your trouble, we will help you, we know the whole situation, don’t you worry,'” Khrenov was quoted as saying.

The populist premier likes to burnish his image as an indispensable leader to whom every citizen could turn personally for support. Kremlin critics have long claimed that the callers who usually ask non-confrontational questions and lavish the prime minister with praise are screened and coached.

Khrenov wrote a letter to Putin after his November visit to the hospital and said that the premier’s assistants asked him to repeat his claim in a phone call during the call-in show, Interfax quoted him as saying.

In recent months, a string of medical officials has been charged with embezzlement over procurement of overpriced medical equipment.

A 2009 survey on corruption perceptions by Transparency International ranked Russia a lowly 146th out of 180 countries — falling between Kenya and Sierra Leone. (Link)

Windows to Russia!

Ukraine Gets Passionate About Politics…


I have to say I had a good laugh over this. But in all honesty at least they have passion over something and are willing to fight over it. I am just glad no one was killed. From the videos that I saw coming out of Ukraine, they had lots of chains, knives and blunt metal objects to beat people with. As you can see they even chained the doors. That was the part that bothered me, this was a planned event by trouble makers…

(But still it would have been fun to have been there. Reminds me of the old bar room fight scene in a Western…)

The tensions are high and flaring between parties over the Yulia issue. We talked about it yesterday… (Link)

KIEV, December 16 (Itar-Tass) – A brawl that broke out in the Ukrainian parliament Thursday between the MPs representing the ruling Regions Party and the oppositionist Yulia Timoshenko bloc inflicted bodily damage on three MPs representing the latter – Vladimir Bondarenko, Vassily Kravchuk and Mikhail Volynets.The latter man was hospitalized with a trauma of the head and jaw. He said he had received a blow with a chair on the head.

Bondarenko had an arm fracture, while Kravchuk was taken out of the parliament’s building by a team of emergency medics on a stretch. Some MPs emerged from the brawl with bruises, scratches or torn clothes…

Sometimes I wish that the American politics would show more passion about what they are trying to do. You do not see this level of emotions in America very often. For that matter I really do not see these type of emotions happening in the Russian Duma either. But I have seen it happen in Georgia…

What have you seen from the country you live in?

Windows to Russia!

Yulia Tymoshenko is Under Investigation…


Yulia Tymoshenko the former prime minister of Ukraine and one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution, has not been detained, but has had to give a pledge not to leave the Ukraine country…

A case has been opened against Yulia only after investigations by international organizations audited Tymoshenko’s government. The report, prepared by the Kroll company, was made public in October of this year…

I do know that this is hot news in Ukraine at this moment and it looks like Yulia is screaming political repressions and what knots… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

Russian News Time… (12/16/2010)


South Korea to hold artillery drills near border with North:
South Korea plans this weekend to hold artillery drills on the island in the Yellow Sea that was attacked by North Korea last month, the Yonhap news agency said on Thursday.

Russia and India fix T.50 fighter design contract cost at $295 mln:Russia and India have agreed the estimated cost of a design contract for their joint fifth-generation fighter project at $295 million, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman Ashok Nayak said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Gazprom gets 50% of Bulgarian South Stream gas pipeline JV:Russian gas giant Gazprom has received a 50% stake in South Stream Bulgaria AD, the joint venture operating the Bulgarian sector of the South Stream pipeline project, which will pump gas to Southern and Central Europe, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Senate agrees to open talks on new arms treaty with Russia:After months of wrangling over the future of the U.S. atomic-weapons complex, the Senate voted Wednesday to take up a new nuclear arms-reduction treaty with Russia, opening debate on a pact that President Obama regards as critical to his foreign-policy agenda.

Russia’s main New Year tree found and cut down in Moscow region:Russia’s main New Year tree has been cut down in the suburbs around Moscow and is being prepared for transportation to the Kremlin.

Uncertain World: Arguments against Russia joining NATO:This past year saw a lot of speculation about whether Russia will ultimately join NATO. Prominent analysts and former politicians took to the pages of Western publications to voice their opinion on the desirability of Russian membership.

Windows to Russia!

Putin Answers Questions!


MOSCOW, December 16 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold his ninth annual Q & A session with the people of Russia on Thursday, December 16 2010.

A special program titled “A Conversation with Vladimir Putin, Continued” will go on air on the Russia 1 and Russia 24 television channels at midday on Thursday. The Mayak and the Voice of Russia radio stations will also broadcast the program live.

Putin’s Q & A session is expected to last for approximately two hours but it’s likely to be longer as usual. Putin broke record last year. He answered 87 questions in more than four hours.They have recieved over 700,000 questions this year.

I thought that this would be of interest to the readers on Windows to Russia! Thanks for the chance to say something.

Fred Banner

{Guest Post, Admin added links and photo}

Windows to Russia!

Moscow police force says it is holding 1207 people on suspicion of planning to take part in ethnic clashes…


The Moscow police force says it is holding 1207 people on suspicion of planning to take part in ethnic clashes. The arrests were made in the streets and at stations of the city’s underground metro system. Officers confiscated some 300 knives and seven traumatic handguns…

Fun time in the big city today… 🙂

We stayed home…

Windows to Russia!

Coffee and Teaching in Russia…


I was drinking that morning cup of coffee after walking the dog. Boza was glad that him and I could tromp through the snow and check out our special places that we always go to. Sveta had been walking Boza since I was feeling rough…

So now Boza and I are walking again… 🙂

So what was I thinking about today while drinking coffee? Glad you asked…

I was thinking about a young student who I am teaching English to. He is a bright artistic young man (he is 9 years old) that is struggling with English because he missed a good portion of the last year of school due to illness and it was a very important year for basics of English…

In Russia from what I can tell everyone is taught English when they are young. Sveta said that she had English most of her life as she grew up. They also learn French and German but English seems to be the second language of necessity. This brings us to…

In Moscow, Russia someone can make a living teaching English. The demand is high and I am amazed at the price that I see these non certified English schools charging. Several schools near us are averaging over a 1000 rubles ($30) per individual of a 12 person group (yes $360 hour), per academic hour (45 minutes). Private lessons at schools are much much higher. The schools are over flowing with students of all ages. So someone with the ability, nerve and desire can make a lot of money tutoring in Russia…

But I am not teaching him for the money and I do not expect money for teaching him. I am teaching him English because he needs help. But the money issue is what brings me to this article. I grew up in a world of corporations that heaven forbid you better take care of the bottom line and make a profit. Even if you give it away, there better be profit in it. Since those days I have discovered a better bottom line and a better profit… 🙂

The grandmother is the person who found me. She heard Sveta and I talking in English one day this summer. Then she approached with her predicament that her grandson needed help before school started. I said that I would be happy to work with her grandson and his English. They are a typical Russian family and money is very hard to come by. The boys parents have no way to afford lessons and this was the grandmothers burden to bear…

So I said 300 rubles per real hour. I expected nothing but realized that they had to have a price because charity was not going to be accepted. So that started my entrance as a family member in a Russian family of strangers…

In Russia the teacher is someone very important. In the case of tutoring like I am doing. I go to their home and teach three times a week in their surroundings. They pay as they can and usually it is in the form of food. Such as tea leaves, baked cabbage pies, frozen fish and many other food items. Even coffee. In fact the food that Sveta and I get far exceeds any cash amount that I could ever demand for the services…

Treats are also very common and since I can not have treats, it has been hard to explain that issue. They just have to give treats to the teacher. It is tradition and if the teacher would refuse it would be an insult to them. So Sveta’s mom and uncle have benefited from the treats I get. Sveta refuses to eat them because I can not…

I usually go to their place and the boy is alone sometimes. We have our lesson and usually I spend two hours at the price of one. The family trusts me and wishes me in their household at all times. They always try to get you to eat a meal with them. Sveta has explained to me that I am their teacher. That I am a family member in their home and life…

It is strange to me and has been an adjustment for me to accept the fact that I am like family with them. Yet here I am, an America from a whole different world than what is common here and they treat me like one of the family…

By the way, when we first started with this boy he was not able to say his ABC’s and in less than 6 months we have got him reading from this years text books…

I am proud of him…

Windows to Russia!

South Korea is Provoking North Korea?


{Guest Post} A day after the November 23rd Yŏnpyŏngdo attack, Justin Raimondo rightly noted that “the South Koreans were conducting military ‘exercises’ near the disputed island, which North Korea claims as its territory, and South Korean ships had opened fire,” going on to suggest that “the military exercises, code-named ‘Hoguk,’ involving all four branches of the South Korean armed forces and some 70,000 troops, simulated an attack on North Korea, and were meant to provoke the North Koreans, who responded as might be expected” [Korean Conundrum: Is There a Way Out?]. He continued, “US troops were supposed to have participated in the exercises, but apparently the Americans thought better of it and pulled back at the last moment – perhaps because they knew a provocation was in the making”.

Mr. Raimondo went on to argue, even more pointedly, “For the South Koreans to conduct military exercises in this explosive region, never mind firing off rounds, is nothing but a naked provocation of the sort the West routinely ascribes to Pyongyang. In the context of North Korea’s recent revelation that it is increasing its nuclear capacity, the South Korean military maneuvers were meant to elicit a violent response – and succeeded in doing so”.

A few days later, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said of the incident, “Launching a military attack on civilians is a crime against humanity, even during wartime” [South Korean president takes responsibility for failing to protect country, signals hardened military stance toward North]. Of course, he is about right attacks on civilians being crimes against humanity, but he said nothing of the irresponsibility of holding war games so close to an inhabited and disputed island.

Read More of: Who’s Provoking Whom in the Koreas?

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Patty Lane

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