The Changes To Moscow Congestion and Traffic…


The new Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has disclosed the cities anti-congestion strategy, aimed at resolving the ever-worsening traffic issue in the Russian capital. Boy, this is going to be interesting…

­1. Traffic control:

­First and foremost, the strategy includes establishing an intelligent transport control center based on the GLONASS navigation system. The center will regulate the traffic flow, monitor the roads and offer a range of information and navigation services.

The existing system of road signs and traffic lights will be updated and modernized. All the main roads in the capital are to be equipped with cutting edge alert systems.

­2. Road construction and reconstruction:

The strategy includes massive reconstruction of the main transport arteries connecting Moscow with other cities, namely the Minsk highway, Volokolamsk highway, Shchelkovo highway, Yaroslavl highway, Leningrad highway and Entuziastov highway.

It is also planned to extend the Moscow Ring Road and to fully rebuild the Small Ring Road in the Moscow Region.

The authorities will also close illegal parking lots, takeoffs and junctions, hampering the traffic passing though the main highways.

3. More one-way lanes in the center:

The traffic system in the center of Moscow will be fully restructured, with more reverse and one-way lanes.

A range of Moscow roads will be turned into toll ones, the money being used for further modernization of the transport system.

­4. Better city planning:

All construction projects in the capital will have to be approved by the Transportation Department. Building of new housing areas and supermarkets without preliminary calculations on the traffic system will be forbidden.

No more markets, warehouses or trade centers will be allowed near the main highways in Moscow and the Moscow region. All the illegal buildings will be demolished.

­5. No trucks by day:

Cargo transport in the Russian capital will be limited to night (10 p.m. – 7 a.m.) during the week and prohibited on weekends and holidays. All the customs terminals and warehouses gathering such transport will be relocated.

­6. No trolleybuses and minibus taxis:

The city authorities plan to develop means of public transport that offer higher capacities and more comfort. It means that trolleybuses and minibus taxis may soon fade into past.

New bus stations for long-distance and international routes will be built outside Moscow.

­7. War on illegal parking:

­It is planned to set up a special parking police department that will prevent violation of traffic rules and strictly punish the offenders. The number of tow trucks will go up – they will get rid not only of small vehicles parked in the wrong places, but also of tractor trailers.

At the same time, more new toll parking lots will be built.

8. Traffic accidents:

The authorities are expected to come up with a bill on simplifying the handling of petty traffic accidents.

9. More funds:

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin promised to search for more funds: instead of 40 billion rubles, he plans to invest in the reconstruction project the entire 101 billion rubles.

Looks like fun times in the big city of Moscow Russia…

Windows to Russia!

Coffee and Russia and Parking and Police…


Cup of Coffee...

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and doing some thinking’s…

Sveta grumbled last night about how stupid politics are. She said that she is tired of politics! I smiled and asked what is wrong? She said that soon we will definitely have to call the Militia by the name of Police…

Today, Nov 10, 2010 is the last time that Russian police, officially known as Militia, are celebrating their professional holiday – Militia Day…

So Militia is due to be renamed “Police”, and the Interior Ministry is already referring to the holiday in its own papers as the “Interior Ministry Professional Holiday”.  The Russian President has already submitted to parliament a draft law to rename Militia to Police, and the draft is expected to be approved and become law as of March 1st of next year…

I have already noticed a huge change in the Militia/Police. They have new vehicles all over Moscow. I have seen new crisp uniforms everywhere. They have been rumored to be having pay raises in the works. They also could careless to bother us and if they do, we sure are never asked about a bribe anymore. If your paperwork is in order you go about your way very quickly. The attitude is much more professional. (I did not say they are professional but much more…)

I then thought about Moscow and her parking situation. I have gotten through the local news that Moscow is going to make parking a living nightmare again. (As if it was not a living nightmare now!) Pay parking is coming back into force and fines will be imposed on illegal parking, plus towing will be common place. No parking on a sidewalk. No parking on etc etc etc etc…

I have a question for Moscow!

Where the HELL are We (and all of Moscow) gonna park then!!!!!

Because there just is not any parking. I had to laugh and then get mad. The news made it clear that when you have a flat (No not a flat tire, but an apartment), that there is by law, one parking space per flat? Huh! (The news also said crooked builders have found ways around this law and that they (government) are working on closing those said loopholes.)

Well in our new flats, we have at best one parking space per 10 flats. So I ask again…

Where the HELL are We (and all of Moscow) gonna park then!!!!!

The sidewalk is the only place to park 99% of the time…

Ok well that makes me feel better to complain about the parking situation… 🙂

Now one thing that I am glad to hear about, that is in the works. The new Mayor of Moscow has expressed the desire to clean up the Metro and public transport stops. What he means by that is to get rid of all the kiosks and people parking in the middle of the road, that clutter up and cause a disaster for traffic and people…

Metro Building...

The Metro buildings are wonderful, beautiful and elegant structures. If you look at old pictures of them, you will find that you can actually see a metro building. If you try to see them now, all you see is a bunch of trashy kiosks and cars parked almost at the metro entrance or to stop the parking problem they have the most unbelievable ugly concrete chunks to keep you from driving all over the sidewalks. At a bus stop they (kiosks) will actually take over part of the road that you drive on. Then with people triple parking  in their vehicles, traffic comes to a halt.  So I hope that they do clean up the stations and public transport areas. But part of this problem is that people have no parking and the front of a Metro or a bus stop looks like a parking facility also…

But that leads to my unanswered question and most likely it will never be answered…

Where the HELL are We (and all of Moscow) gonna park then!!!!!

I really doubt calling the Militia by the name of “Police” will  help the parking problem. But then for some reason that leads to me wonder will the Russians call their Police “pigs” like they do in America? Hummmm…

Ok, Now I feel better again… 🙂

Windows to Russia!

China Ponders Why Medvedev Visited the Kuril Islands…


Sarychev Peak Eruption, Kuril Islands (2009)
Peak Eruption, Kuril Islands…

I love it when a reader sends me articles to check out. So check this out and find another view point on the Medvedev visiting the Kuril Islands issue…

Medvedev’s one and only visit makes strong statement…

However, the question still remains, why did Medvedev choose to land now? The first reason has to do with Russia’s domestic politics. A presidential election is around the corner, and although it is generally speculated that Vladimir Putin will stage a comeback, the possible challengers to Medvedev are not yet clear. If Medvedev wants another term in office, this landing move will definitely be a plus for him. With regard to the Northern Territories, the whole Russian nation, commoners and elites alike, is strongly opposed to any concession to Japan. Most Russians believe that the occupation of these islands was materialized by the Yalta Agreement as the deserved compensation for Russia’s great sacrifice in fighting against Japan during the Second World War. According to a survey by the Russian Center for Public Opinion Surveys (VTsIOM), in 1994, 76 percent Russians were against any concession to Japan on the issue of the South Kuril Islands; in a similar survey conducted in 2009, however, the percentage rose to 89 percent.

From a realistic perspective, Medvedev’s landing serves as a warning for Japan to keep its distance from the Northern Territories. Since the end of the Second World War, Japan has always been keenly mindful of its Northern Territories. Over the past 60 years, the Japanese government has never stopped appointing officials to exercise nominal administration over these four islands. In 1983, Japan issued the “Special Measures for Promoting the Resolution of the Issue of Northern Territories,” by which the Japanese people could choose to change their household registration to the Northern Territories. From 1992, residents of Hokkaido and the Northern Territories could visit each other without applying for a visa. Up till now, as many as 10,000 Japanese citizens have stepped onto Kunashiri, Etorofu and Shikotan.

Read More >>>>

The article is worth reading…

Windows to Russia!

Yes Russians Do Smoke…


Teenagers...

Russia has more smokers than any other country according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, presented to the Russian health ministry on Tuesday. The WHO survey, conducted in 2009, found that Russia has 43.9 million smokers, which makes up 40 percent of the population. The survey also revealed that 60 percent of Russian men and 22 percent of Russian women smoke.

I hate to say this but those numbers seem to be on the nice side…

I was just talking to Sveta the other day about how many smokers there is in Russia. I put the percent in the Moscow (European) area at about 60 percent men and 40 percent women. Then I would say for the Siberian area in Russia it is much much higher. Total population has to exceed 50 percent smokers…

I thought that Kentucky in America had a lot of smokers but they do not hold a candle to Moscow. The one area that America has on Russia is smokeless tobacco. I never see that here but maybe I just do not look hard enough…

Women are taking up smoking by the droves in Moscow and the teenagers look like choo choo trains as they run from flat to flat…

Walking downtown Moscow, sometimes you feel that everyone smokes but Sveta and I… 🙂

I quit when I came to Russia after 30 plus years of smoking. It was strange because I found a smokers paradise here in Russia…

Windows to Russia!

Sometimes I get Upset at Politics…


Hell - This Was a Reporter Being Murdered...

I really thought that I had said all I was going to say about the reporter (Oleg) that was beaten…

But then the USA said, “The U.S. called on Russian authorities to find and punish the people responsible for the “heinous” beating near to death of Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin.”

Then I came across two articles that made the beating of the reporter look like a walk in a sunny park…

The first victims of the shocking mass murder in Russia’s Southern Krasnodar region were laid to rest on Monday. However, investigators have yet to determine who and why 12 people were killed, including four children.

The slaughter happened on the 4th of November, when the entire country was celebrating the Day of National Unity. Twelve bodies were found on Friday morning in Kushchevskaya village in an uptown two-story house belonging to a local farmer. Police report eight adults and two children died of multiple stab wounds, from 3 to 10 each; one minor died of smoke inhalation and another – of suffocation.

Investigators report the murderers tried to hide the horrible crime and set the house on fire; according to authorities, they moved the bodies to the second floor and doused them with petrol. But the fire did not reach the second floor and the bodies.

The village and the entire Krasnodar region have been shocked by the terrible incident, as its residents have never seen such a cold-blooded killing. Read More >>>>

I then understood and realized with positive proof that our priorities are screwed…

This happened last week also…

An 85-year-old woman died after being viciously mauled by her neighbors’ pit bull terriers in her own yard, in Southern Russia.

Alarmed by her screams, another neighbor called the police. When the officers arrived, the two raging animals turned on them.

“One of the officers blew his whistle,” said Krasnodar police deputy press attaché Maria Pirogova. “The dog dropped the victim and attacked the policeman, badly injuring his arm. The officers had no other option, but to shoot both animals dead.” Read More >>>

These are just two samples out of hundreds everyday from all over the world. They both happened in the Krasnodar area. But hey that is OK, because they were not reporters that died or were killed or maimed or beaten…

If the USA is expressing problems with Oleg the reporter being beaten. If Medvedev is upset because Oleg has been beaten. If 10,000 blogs are crying foul because Oleg is beaten. If The Western and Eastern Press is writing a thousand articles because Oleg has been beaten. If the human rights and reporters rights associations are screaming bloody murder because Oleg got beaten…

What about a mass murder of 12 people including 4 children and then a 85 year old woman murdered in her own yard by two dogs?

No – now we worry more about a second Russian reporter that has been attacked Anatoly Adamchuk. The articles are starting to flow from the Western Press about him…

Well I care the same about all of them and I want to see equal time to all of them. I want to see the USA demand that the 12 mass murderer people are brought to justice. I want to see Medvedev demand that the 85 year old babushka is avenged no matter what the cost. I would like to see all the freedom of the press people worry about something that did not benefit them politically…

They (12 mass murdered) won’t because they do not have huge organizations pushing for retribution. They (85 year old) won’t because politically she is a nobody…

Now this helped set me off also:

A bill will be introduced to the Russian parliament on Tuesday proposing equating journalists to state and public figures and imposing harsher punishments on those who attack them.Under the amendments, those who commit serious attacks against journalists would receive from 20 years to a life sentence, while those who commit less serious attacks would receive 12-20 years in jail. Read More >>>>

Do you see the problem? A specific law to appease the political world over Journalists. What about a revisioned law that increases the punishment on all people and equate all people to state and public figures levels…

Tell me again how one reporter is so much more important than everyone else…

Guess it is time to become an official journalist so that I can “equate to state and public figures levels”…

Time to go home – Nothing new here…

Windows to Russia!

Yes Russian Abused Another Reporter…


Interesting situation arises when a reporter gets murdered, beat up or etc, in Russia…

Everyday this sort of stuff happens all over the world to everyday people. No one cares very much or really gives a crap when Grandma Sadie Mitchell gets shot, hit on the head or mugged in New York City…

You get a write up in the newspaper about it and never hear about this incident again…

But heaven forbid a reporter gets beat up or killed in Moscow or Russia. The news goes crazy. But where is all the crazy when a babushka gets killed or robbed? Where is all the hype when the homeless person is beaten and dies? Where is all the screaming when people are killed by suicide bombers everyday all over the world? Where is all the excess reporting when civilians are killed everyday by governments all over the world all in the name of terrorist control?

I get really tired of the pick and chose stupidity that we call news. If this reporter is so important that we have to have streaming news 24 hours a day about the terrible tragedy that happened. Then why is Grandma Sadie Mitchell dead and no one in the world cares or knows that she is dead? Everyday thousands of people are beat up, murdered and maimed all over the world. But unless you are in the right place and the right time you are a worthless statistic…

I feel sorry for the guy and I wish that he had not been beat up and I truly hope that he does not die. But I have no more feelings for him than the hundreds of other stories I will read in the next few days that involve soldiers dying in Afghanistan, militia dying in the Caucasus, the bus that gets suicide bombed, the child that gets kidnapped and raped, the drone that kills civilians in Pakistan, the Africans that are dying from starvation amidst politicians of plenty, the score of suicide bombs in Iraq for the millionth time, the next round of dead from a volcano, the next round of death from a earthquake, the next etc, etc, etc and etc…

The idea of reporting Oleg Kashin’s beating is fine, but the relentless non stop news reports about his beating is getting old and way overboard. The Russian blogs have gone off the deep end with the analytical and opinionated expressions of what happened and why it happened. The news from all over the world act like he is the only person who has ever been beat up and brutally assaulted…

How about a very small sampling of the articles that are all over?

Well Grandma Sadie Mitchell is as important to me as the Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin. But she does not get 1000 articles non stop written about her. Maybe she should have a 1000 articles written about her. Maybe the deaths in Afghanistan should have a 1000 articles written about every death that happens. Maybe it should be mandatory that every death or beating or brutality has a 1000 articles by all the news agencies, written about that particular incident…

One person commits suicide about every 40 seconds, one person is murdered every 60 seconds and one person dies in armed conflict every 100 seconds, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Overall, WHO estimated that 1.6 million people met premature and violent deaths in 2000. Read More >>> (This is in 2002 and believe me it is worse now. Think how many articles we would have to do to cover that kind of death load…)

A death is a death. A mugging is a mugging. A beating is a beating. A crippling is a crippling. No matter how they happen or why, they all deserve the same level of importance…

Time to go home – Nothing new here…

Windows to Russia!

Update on a video that has been released.

Russia: Life Is More Important Than Vodka!


I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and thinking about life!

A few months ago in the little village that I talk about all the time in these pages!

Link 1; Link 2; Link 3; Link 4; Link 5; Link 6;

A very nice lady was murdered! Yes you heard correct, A village of just 10 to 12 people living there, had a murder.The murder was over: Vodka…

A man who lived temporarily at the village, to help work on the rebuilding of the church asked a local Babushka for money to get vodka with! She refused to give him the money and he proceeded to beat her to death. He got his money & got his vodka, he was found the next day by police, very drunk! (End Of Story!!)

Not the end of story for me. You see, the photo above was taken just a few days before she died. That is her house, this lady lived in this village all her life. She was part of the heart and soul of the village that I love very much. She had a beautiful home and she ran the local General Store (picture to right) for the village all the years it was open. Then a man who is there, only to be a worker for the Orthodox Church, kills Her!

Over Vodka???

I have thought about this everyday since it happened.

Do instances in life affect you this way?

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Windows to Russia!

That Cup Of Coffee and the START Treaty…


Medvedev and Obama at Prague with START Treaty...

As Windows to Russia passes the 2100 article (post) milestone. I am sitting here drinking that cup of coffee and doing some thinking. The thinking’s that come with realizations that push ancient thoughts out of my brain…

I was thinking about the START treaty and listening to Moscow express the dissatisfaction of the America political system and the inability to get a simple thing done. Now when I first came to Russia I would have taken offense to that kinda talk. But after years here, I realize that after watching the political systems in many other countries. Some of them good and some bad. I realize that the American political system has a huge anchor dragging it behind the rest of the modern world…

So when the START treaty was signed in Prague on April 8th 2010, the Russian and US Presidents agreed in front of the world, that all START adoption procedures would be synchronized. Now Russia within three months to the day (July 8th) was ready to ratify the document. But America has been giving out hollow promises as to the same effect. It is now November 5th and America has done, “well what America does best”.

Thrown a monkey wrench into the gears…

Now Russia has had to pull the ratification due to American games. The Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee has repealed an earlier decision to ratify the latest Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the US after the American Senate made around 30 amendments to the original version…

What! 30 amendments to the original version…

Oops – Russia just said stick it where the sun don’t shine…

Now that Obama has had “the rug pulled out from under him” so to speak. It is start-ing (no pun intended) to look like a “cold day in hell” before that START treaty gets done this year. It also looks as though the treaty will be held as hostage for concessions from Obama on agenda items that the new Congress wants. The prospect is now even being contemplated by Moscow that the treaty may be dead in the water due to a “lame duck” situation that is being expressed about the American Administrative system in place right now in America…

This is hard for the Russian government to understand the workings in Washington DC. I have spent years now watching the system work here and it is pretty straight forward. When the president says, get it done. They get it done.  Now Medvedev has had a good time of it because Putin runs the government as Prime Minister. That makes a good deal for Medvedev…

But still the political situation in America gives people laughs or tears in other countries because they all have stories they like to pass about the ridiculous system in America. This then, is just one more story to add to that list…

America loves to expound on other countries short comings politically, but they seem to never stop and think about how out of date and mired in the mud the political system is in America. If a country ever needed to overhaul her system, it is America and it needs to be done from top to bottom…

I remember the first time Sveta said to me, “How stupid is it that we and you have to elect a new president and officials every 4 or 5 years!” She then went on to say, “You just get your president and government trained the way you want  and they leave!”…

Today that information from her made more sense. You see, I have a smart girl and she sees things different than I do. She is from a different world than I am. She sees nothing wrong with a leader being in charge for many many many years…

I remember saying something like, “What if he is a terrible leader?”

Sveta then said something like, “Everyone then should get together and kick him out!”

That might be simplified in thinking’s but it really does make sense…

Windows to Russia!

From Russia: Ukraine Plays more Games With Europe’s Freezing Citizens!


Hello,

So I had just read some articles from the Western press (CNN) (Time) these articlesWindows to Russia! point blank played all the blame on Russia! Lets look at one and if you like more just Google, the Internet is full of Bad Russia good Ukraine articles:

CNN had a title that read:

Russia Backs Off Deal With Ukraine!
Just as millions of Europeans struggling through cold winter temperatures thought a resolution had been reached in the Russia – Ukraine natural gas standoff, Russia said it will not proceed on a the deal.
(They make this sound like Russia just changed her mind! How come the article title did not start with “Ukraine Plays more Games With Europe’s Freezing Citizens!”? )

I just shake my head in disbelief…

Kyle & Svet

comments alway welcome.

From Russia: Ukraine Has Changed!


Hello, (This article is an old article that will give you an idea about how things in Ukraine have changed. Things are much better in Ukraine… Kyle)
Windows to Russia!
While Svetlana and I checked out Kiev, Ukraine this last visa trip. Svet and I took a walk like we always do. We walk for about an hour and a half and always take the same route. That we we can see the changes that are happening.

About half way through the walk Svet turned to me and said the people are sad! They look like us Russians do, but they feel and act sad, unlike Russians.

What Svet means is: Ukraine people are a much more expressive people than Russians to strangers. They are more inclined to smile and to show facial expressions to strangers. This is something that Svet has noticed in our trips to Ukraine that the people act different than in Russia.

Ukraine until this trip, has always been happy even when they did not have any gas for heat this winter when I was there.

I saw it the first trip that we took. Ukrainians are what I call more of an extrovert society – Russia is more of an introvert society.

This time Svet and I both saw a huge change in the Ukrainians, They are sad and show it on their faces. Everywhere we went there was large crowds of men standing in groups. They seem to have nothing to do and act lost.

I use to be able to ride the metro in Kiev and not be the only person looking around to see what everyone is doing. Now this time the metro ride was very similar to Moscow Metro ride. Everyone was quiet.

We always eat at the greatest pizza place in the world near the hotel and you could see it on the people eating there. Sad faces that made me feel sad also. (I do not know the name of it just that it is the greatest pizza and cheapest that I ever had. Yummy!)

This was interesting to me because Kiev is or was the same as Moscow in levels of happiness. It was just that people in Kiev expressed it more readily than people in Moscow. Now that the smiles are gone in Kiev it seems and feels unhappy.

Moscow, Russia looks unhappy, but does not feel unhappy.

Kiev, Ukraine use to look and feel happy, but now it looks and feels sad…

Make any sense? 🙂

Windows to Russia!