Russia: 5 liters of Beer!

In Russia, (just like in most of the world) they drink lots of beer. Well for the really thirsty beer drinker they have a super sized beer bottle…..
These are 5 liter beers. Now 5 liters is 1.32 gallons for us Americans. That is a lot of beer to satisfy even the most hardened beer drinker! So you understand the size, the clear bottle next to the two 5 liter bottles is a 2 liter bottle. Just like your Coke and Pepsi come in.

How do you handle a thirsty Man? Super sized beer bottles…..

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

PS: Russian beer comes at 8 – 10 percent alcohol levels. Did you know that Russians do not consider beer alcohol? Beer is considered a soft drink. 🙂

another reason to like Russia…..

Shoe Shopping in Russia…

Рязанской обувной фабрики...

Sveta and I have a real issue in Russia finding shoes to fit me. I wear a size 49 Russian style and that equates into a size 14 and a half, American style…

In America sometimes I could find my size in a good work shoe from Dr. Sholl’s and they were made in China. I worked in greasy and slippery areas a lot. I also was on my feet 14 to 16 hours a day. So Dr. Sholl’s was a fantastic cheap shoe that could be bought at K-Mart or Wall-Mart. I have finally wore out  my last good pair of shoes from America…

Sveta has always bought her shoes at the metro markets that are so common in Moscow at the entrances and exits of all the Metro stations all over Moscow. Sveta likes to buy shoes from Belarus and not China. But the Metro shoe kiosks with Belarus shoes do not have anything close that will fit a big footed guy like me. In fact when we would ask everyone about size 48 0r 49 shoes we just got blank stares in return, like we came from another planet, No one had feet that big… 🙂

I knew better than the fact that there would be no shoes to fit me in Russia. Sveta had decided the best bet would be to try to get a friend in America to help buy a pair of shoes for me. (Het – That is not what I wanted to wear on my feet. Chinese made Dr Sholl’s! I live in Russia and wanted Russian shoes…) So Sveta and I went on a shoe hunt…

What we found to satisfy my grouchy bear grumpiness, was a fantastic shoe factory in Ryazan. Ryazan is a large city we travel through to get to our village. We found that a Russian-German footwear factory had been established after WWI and was called the Ryazan Shoe Factory. The factory traces its history back to November of 1922…

http://www.ryazanwest.ru/ This is a link to the website that we found for shoes for me…

It turned out a simple matter to detour just a little bit in our village travels and we discovered a shoe factory that was able to satisfy my needs for a great real leather shoe that is as comfortable as any shoe that I have ever had. They also have a 70 day no questioned ask warranty. Plus the price was spot on…

I was inquisitive about why these shoes were not being marketed in Moscow. We found out that to do business in Moscoe is a whole other world, that involves a complete set of exaggerated rules…

Other words, It just ain’t worth fighting with the Moscow bureaucracy… 🙂

So I am pleased with my shoes and have no reason not to shop at this factory. Besides it is only about 250km from our home…

Have You Ever Been Sexually Harassed at Work!

Bad Business...

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee here in Moscow, Russia! I was thinking about a little fun I had yesterday with another blog that decided to insult me and call me various sorts of names. They even included my Sweetie, Svet in their attacks and that kinda upset the old Bear….

But today is another day and on to other important things. I was thinking also about something that struck me yesterday while writing comments back to this morbid group of hooligans. I realized that I have never talked about one of the reasons that Russia has more appeal to me than the USA. (The main reason is that Svet wants to stay in Russia and that is my number one priority.)

So now what did that title say: “Have You Ever Been Sexually Harassed at Work!”

Yes – I Have!

Here is the link to start with: My Hell in the Federal Courts of America to Defend My Life! The HTML Version or the same in PDF (Link) It will ask you to download and it is government public records.

Back in 2001 I was approached by a female boss of mine and propositioned. I refused, refused, refused, refused to sleep with this woman. After a period of time in which I endured being slapped on the rear, pinched and other such actions, I was finally given an ultimatum “Sleep with me or lose your job!”

I refused and guess what? You got it – She fired me and the rest is all explained in the court papers. (Link)

Now lets talk about the parts not explained in the court papers:

From December of 2001 to when I left America in Oct. of 2006, I went through living hell defending my life, careers and property! (Almost 5 years and I was in Russia when the final appeal by said Corporation was turned down.)

Where do we start?

We could start with the night that I left my job and 5 men jumped me with bludgeons and beat me to the point that I spent several days in the hospital. They just beat me, took nothing but left a message that “I should watch my back.” (I did and the next few attempts had a different outcome. Shame on you first time it happens – Shame on me next time it happens.)

We could also start with my house being broke into and messages painted on the walls that explained my demise if I proceed with said course.

We could then talk about my car that had all lug nuts removed except one on each wheel.

We could communicate about the Covington Police department and their inability to respond to my calls and loosing paperwork for court cases. Their inability to find even one person responsible for any incident that happened to me. (We could talk about corruption but that is second nature in America)

We could talk about bricks thrown through windows, tires slashed, one dog killed and a house burned down.

We could talk about work related incidents and intimidation’s of job lose based on corporate to corporate intercommunication’s. (But we will not today, because I had a company that protected me and I will be forever grateful to them.)

We could talk about three men who met me at the Federal building in Covington, Kentucky and explained that maybe the best thing for all, would be if I took an envelope of said amount of dollars and called it off. Which this by the way was a huge amount of money that would have made life easier monetarily! (This was the last of a dozen attempts at extortion and bribes.**)

We could talk about a beautiful night of jail in Covington, Ky. Someone just happened to mess with my DMV records? (Which by the way are a national based issue)

We could talk about lots, lots and lots more items… (Remember, I went through five years of this and they never gave up until the day the trial started…)

But I think you get the point. I was in a nightmare of judicial hell that had no boundaries and protection due to a corrupt judicial system that operated with the Corporation as its primary objective to assist!

I would like to mention that my lawyers who are mentioned on the court papers. Treated me fantastic from day one. They took my case and never asked for me to upfront any money. Our relationship was based on the old time way of doing business – The Hand shake!

The Sexual Harassment issue made me $15,000, The money was not the issue and it never was. I said that in the court room. The issue was that I was sexually harassed and fired because I refused to sleep with someone. “Keeton’s claim for sexual harassment resulting in a tangible employment action is the only claim still at issue in this case.” That is all I cared about and I wanted my name cleared…

This was a landmark case and is now being used in many harassment issues in America.

And “That is all I’m gonna to say about that!”

Windows to Russia!

comments always welcome.

** I would like to add that the money in the bribes were a whole lot more money than what I finally got through the court system… (It was not about money, it was about truth!) Also I would like to add, that I had to stay quiet about this for 5 years and it became second nature. It has finally hit me that I can say what happened to me and not be in trouble only took three years to figure that out.   🙂

Russia needs to keep on Track on Debt to GDP…

World Debt to GDP…

Russia’s government debt will be kept under 20% of GDP in the next few years, Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday…

The debt will only be 11% of the country’s GDP by the end of the year 2010, 13.6% of GDP by the end of 2011, 15.7% by the end of 2012 and 17.4% by the end of 2013, according to the Ministry of Finance of Russia…

In contrast, the leading world economies’ debts will continue to mount, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, citing figures for the United States, where government debt will rise to 97% of GDP. Other nations’ debt figures include the UK with 84.8%, France with 88.6%, and Germany with 79.6%. By the 2013 time frame…

Georgian troops have fully left South Ossetia?

Overview map of the South Ossetia region of Ge...
South Ossetia…
Russia has rejected claims that Georgian troops have left South Ossetia after failing to take control of the breakaway republic. Reuters news agency quoted Georgia’s Internal Affairs Ministry spokesman, Shota Utiashvili, as saying: ‘Georgian troops have fully left South Ossetia.’

Russia’s Government Wants Shareholders Contribute on an Equal Footing!

A big issue in the news in Russia is Renault – a car company that has a 25% stake in AvtoVaz. Needs to share 25% in the needed capital to keep AvtoVaz afloat. Renault already has received €3 billion in its state support to keep its head above water. But now Putin has said, What percent you own is what percent you must give. In Renault’s case this is 25% of needed capital…

Putin said:“I’d very much like to see all shareholders (of AvtoVaz) contribute on an equal footing. All of them can be assured that the Russian government will do everything it can to uphold the interests of all shareholders.”

This means that if Renault wants to keep its 25% share of AvtoVaz then it needs to cough up 25% of the needed restructuring money. If not then risk loosing part of that 25%.

The Western press is slamming Putin and Russia over this thinking, but I really think it is correct to think this way. If you own 25% of a company then you need to help 25% of what is needed. (Not just take 25% of the profits during good times…)

Does anyone stop and think about the fact that so many car companies have crashed and burned in the economic crises? I think it is because a car really is not necessary to buy new every year…

I have not purchased a new car for 25 years and will most likely never again! (I buy used)

What about you? What do you think?

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Pictures of the Village Area…

Just simply a post of pictures of our village, the area and surrounding villages…

We have tons of pictures but only room for a few. Maybe if people want we would post some more…

Life is wonderful at the village…

New Warning on a Pack of Russian Cigarettes…

Smoking Kills...

New law went into effect not long ago in Russia. A warning must cover about a third of the front of the pack of cigarettes

Sveta took this picture of one of her colleagues cigarette pack…

Nice simple to the point warning…

курение убивает

Smoking Kills

Yup it sure does…

Windows to Russia!

Thoughts from Russia with Coffee…

A photo of a cup of coffee.
Coffee Time…

This morning while drinking my cup of coffee, I was thinking that it is time to winterize the village home. Other words, get it ready for the long Russian Winter…

Looks like we will try to do that this weekend because according to the Russian news this is going to be a Winter that we will not forget

That settled I thought about a very good article that I read yesterday. It was about the doctor care in Russia. It was called, Limitations of Russian Medical Care by American Russia Observations Blog…

Robert MacDonald the owner of the blog has a flare for much detail that I really like. He has lived in Russia a long time and I only hope that I may live here that long also…

The article caught my interest because I have much of the same experience as he does with Russian medical care and I, much like him, have had good experiences with Russian medical care and doctors

His blog reminds me that, No it is not a perfect world but with the right attitude you come to an understanding that not all glitters with gold in America and not all is dirt in Russia…

The next thing that came to my mind while drinking my coffee was that they have turned the heat on in our building. That is the sign that Winter is coming. Now I love winter so Russia is an ideal place for me… 🙂

One more thought crossed my mind as I am finishing this article. One of our friends in the village had gotten pneumonia. He was prescribed antibiotics. The antibiotics were to be given by injection. Now in America he would have to go to the doctor and get all the shots done. He would also have to have a prescription for the antibiotics. He would also have to have a lot of money to pay for said shots and antibiotics or very good insurance

In Russia no prescription needed, no doctor or nurse to pay to give the shots and very little money for the antibiotic.  In fact in Russia we do it all basically ourselves…

The reason it came to my mind is that I am needing to have the steroid shots again for my arthritis, it has been several years and the effects have worn off completely. Like the last time, all I have to do is go to the pharmacy and get the steroids and needles and give them to myself. Simple, easy, cost effective but not painless… 🙂

That is why I love Russia…

Russia and News…

Russian News From Russia...

Lets have some news from Russia with our morning cup of coffee or tea:

The Bank of Russia sold a little over $1bn worth of foreign currency on the domestic market in September, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists today. The regulator sold $0.6bn worth of foreign currency on the domestic market between September 1 and 22. “During the first few months of 2010, the ruble demonstrated an increase, and the value of the basket of two currencies slid,” the Central Bank’s chief Sergei Ignatyev told journalists. Meanwhile, the basket of two currencies has been increasing in value in the last several months, due primarily to a lower surplus of the balance of payments account. Ignatyev reiterated that the bank purchased $0.5bn in foreign currency in July of this year.

More…

Russia and the United States have settled all issues regarding Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin stated today at the 7th annual forum Yalta European Strategy. He also reiterated that the Russian and U.S. presidents had agreed to complete the talks by the end of September, and kept their word. A special working group in Geneva will now finish off a joint report, Kudrin added. The WTO accession process can start in two to four months to be completed in half a year or a year at the most, the finance minister explained. In theory, Russia can become a WTO member in 10 months.

More…

In an interview today, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Vysotsky filled RBC in on Russia’s priorities in the Arctic. He is convinced that Russia needs to defend its interests, as there are plenty of contenders for both the Arctic and the Antarctic. “We are already witnessing a number of states who, although not on the Arctic Council, are seeking to penetrate and are already positioning their interests. China, for one, has entered into agreements with Norway to develop the Arctic zone. We can understand the economy and the infrastructure that China now has – it is becoming a serious partner, both in terms of benefits and problems,” Vysotsky said.

More…

The program on the privatization of state companies is expected to promote competition in the Russian economy and ultimately, its efficiency, President of VTB Capital Yury Solovyev told RBC-TV today. “Many people are saying that the government is doing this to overcome the budget deficit. I think the key priority and the reason behind the privatization program is to increase competition in the Russian economy,” he explained.

More…

Russia’s natural gas production jumped 15.6 percent to 468.847bn cubic meters in January-September of 2010 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the Russian Energy Ministry indicated in a report today. In September alone, Russia produced 47.94bn cubic meters of natural gas, 4.2 percent greater than in the same month of 2009.

More…

Russia’s inflation amounted to 0.8 percent in September and to 6.2 percent since the beginning of the year, the Russian Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported today. In September of last year, inflation stood at zero, and at 8.1 percent in the first three quarters of the year.

That is all folks…