Adoption and Childbirth in Russia in a Changing Pattern…


Russian Ministry of Education…

The Russian Ministry of Education and Science said on Monday that foreigners have adopted 50 percent less Russian children in the last 5 years. But the number of children adopted by Russians, however has increased by 27 percent over the same 5 years.

“In 2007, we [the Russian Ministry of Education and Science] permitted foreign nationals to adopt 4,536 children and 3,815 children in 2009. This is a 27% decline over the past two years and around a 50% decline over the past five years,”…

The issue of Russian child adoptions by foreigners has been in the public focus recently as a result of a number of highly publicized incidents and this has caused a huge upswing in Russians adopting Russian children…

So I expect the next set of numbers that come from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, to be even more of a change in adoption patterns by Russians…

This seems to be coinciding with a jump in childbirths that I am seeing all over Moscow. In fact even in the smaller villages and cities that we travel to and from, seem to be showing an obvious increase in children. It is now a must, to be careful when driving through villages on our way to our village. The children are riding bikes everywhere on the main roads…

It was common 4 years ago to see no one at many villages but now, as of these last few trips we made. It has become a normal sight to see even toddlers in diapers running around. As for our playground near our flat, the children are a “dime a dozen” so to speak…  🙂

Just some tidbits of information for those that care…

Windows to Russia!

Russia: The Stock Market Gained so Fast that they had to Close Again!


Seems the Russian Stock Market is a real roller coaster…..

“Trading on the RTS and Micex was halted on Friday morning with the indices jumping phenomenally in the first hours trade. Friday is the first days trade after the RTS and Micex were closed on Wednesday to allow regulators and the exchanges to reconcile a repo backlog, triggered by a major share slump on Monday and Tuesday. During this time the government announced a $45 Billion liquidity injection into the financial system, and announced additional measures to underpin the stock market.

The RTS key index gained more than 12 per cent and the MICEX index rose by more than 15 per cent, and at 11.05 Moscow time (07.05 GMT) both Russia’s major stock exchanges suspended trade in all shares.” (Link)

I studied the responses the last few days from the Kremlin. Seems that all the companies in Russia are looking to buy their own stock back cheap, very cheap!

I understand their thoughts and I think that they are on to something. The market opened at 10:30 am and due to the fact that everyone in the world knows that the stocks are very, very, and very undervalued in Russia, by 11:00 am Moscow shut the doors again to stop the 12% increase and ensuing calumnious results. In a half hour the best deal in stocks on earth were getting ready to flame again but in the opposite direction that was happening two days before.

Seems that a lot of business people outside the Russian borders (USA) did the usual panic and run. Now they are trying to get back in the door after realizing that they messed up. The Russian financial system is sound, strong and out of debt. Unlike the American financial system that is broke, unsound, $10,000,000,000,000 dollars in debt and prints money for any reason.

I myself hope that Russia is careful who (internationals) they allow to play in Russian finances. Seems like this is a good time to clean out the undesirables.

Windows to Russia!

Sveta Drinks Tea and I Drink Coffee…


A photo of a cup of coffee.
A Good Cup of Coffee…

As of October 10th, 2010 I have been officially in Russia 4 years. I have known Sveta at least 5 years. I remember well that First October 10th 2006 in Russia…

I was very weak still from the last of my 6 heart attacks and it showed when I got to Russia. I literally collapsed and was extremely sick for two weeks…

That is when I learned that Russia had a lot better medical system than you realize. A doctor came to our flat and checked me out there. There was none of this trying to drive, walk or take a bus to see the doctor. The doctor came to me…

I remember stating that 40 years ago in America the doctor would have come to me then also. But that is a thing of the past in America…

Of course that started my excursion into the medical system of Russia. I found out that what Sveta told me was true. Russia had good doctors. In fact Russia had better doctors than in America. Now it is true and without a doubt that the American medical services are much better equipped and staffed. But a doctor does a fancy stethoscope not make…

But I regress and the post is about Sveta drinks tea and I drink coffee…

I guess what I am getting at in this post is that when I came to Russia, Sveta drank tea and I drank coffee and 4 years later we still drink the same tea and coffee…

That simple statement above is profound to me because I have found a world that is comfortable and safe that does not demand me to change myself to fit into that world. Russia is a very forgiving and pleasant place to live. Sveta is like the icing on the cake so to speak. She makes Russia heaven…

We seem to be two peas in a pod. The same in many ways but yet different as two sides of the world that we came from…

Maybe my past gave me the ability to accept a Russia that so many people want to hate and despise. Maybe my past allows me to see through the veils that we all have around us and see what is correct…

I many times shake my head in sadness as I watch a Russia become more Americanized everyday…

Once again I regress…

The post is about Sveta drinks tea and I drink coffee! It looks like to Sveta and I, that we will be drinking tea and coffee together for a long time coming… 🙂

“God willing and the Creek don’t rise“…

Windows to Russia!

Venezuela and Nuclear Power – is a Right Says Russia…


Huga and Medvedev...

Russia and Venezuela this Friday (10/15/2010) have agreed to build Venezuela’s first nuclear power station! This was after talks  between Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Hugo Chavez in the Kremlin were concluded for the day…

Then after Medvedev and Hugo agreed on details the Russian nuclear agency chief, Sergei Kiriyenko and Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro each signed a proposal on “The construction and use of an atomic power station on the territory of Venezuela” …

Medvedev hinted that Venezuela’s adversary, the USA, might not like the deal, but Medvedev made it clear that it was a peaceful situation.

“A deal in the atomic sphere has just been signed. I already know that it will make someone shudder. The president (of Venezuela) told me that there will states who will have different types of emotions about this.” Medvedev said.

“I would like to underline that our intentions are clean and open: we want our partner the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to have the full range of energy choices, to have energy independence,” Medvedev said.

The Western Press has gone plum crazy

Hummm says the little birdie 🙂

Looks like a game of chess to me…

Windows to Russia!

Windows to Russia: We Saw the Movie UP on Sunday!


Hello,

Svet and I went yesterday and saw UP! Svet was checking out movies and saw the information about this movie from Pixar Animation.

Svet loves animation and she said we are going to see this movie…

So was it worth the trouble?

Glad you asked: It was a fantastically fun film that kept you on the edge whether you were 4 years old or 104 years old. Svet, I and the audience around us laughed so much, cried so much and even jumped up and down at times. The standing ovation from the audience at the end of the film was a testament to how much everyone loved the movie.

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Volga Gaz 310221 in Russia!


For the readers who are interested in Russian Cars (especially Volga‘s), for those that have followed the events from months ago when our Volga 2410 was stolen and destroyed: This article is for you then…

This is Sammy as we call her. She finally made it home after a long Saturday trying to get all the paperwork under control. We succeeded and late Saturday we got her home. It was a beautiful day today and I decided to take some pictures of her and show you that we got her and she looks as good as the pictures in the sales ad.

You can also see that we have a guard cat that is sleeping on the job. 🙂 A white cat is good luck and we need all that we can get. Lets look at a couple of pictures…

1999 Volga Gaz 310221 – Sammy or Sam for short!
Our guard cat – I think he is fired!
Backside view…

What makes this Volga special is that it runs on two different fuels. It is set up to drive on Propane or Petrol. I can not hardly tell the difference between the two fuels performance wise. So I run on propane all the time. Right now propane runs 10 rubles a liter. Petrol (gasoline) runs 22 rubles a liter. The car on propane gets 10 km per liter and on petrol it gets 11 km per liter. So do the math and you will see that driving propane is a huge savings. Russia also has propane stations everywhere and we saw them in Ukraine and Moldova as we traveled also.

The car has to be started in the morning on gasoline so that you can get the car warmed up a little bit then after a few minutes you can switch to propane. After that, it starts perfect on propane as long as you have not let it sit too long. You also can switch from propane to gasoline instantly, but to switch from gasoline to propane you have to allow the gasoline to run out of the carburetor then switch to propane.

The propane conversion was done by the man we bought the car from and the only reason he got rid of the car was due to he needs a van. The van is being painted the same color as the car, as you read this. He has outgrown the station wagon and needs more room for the family. He has a huge family for Russians. His third kid is due anytime.

Now we just have to go this week and get the new car tags for Sammy…

Windows to Russia!
comments always welcome.

Russia: Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions!


Remembering Stalin’s Great Purge victims:

On Friday Oct. 30th, 2009 – Russia marks the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions. Millions suffered from Stalin’s repressions from the 1920s through to the 1950s.

President Medvedev said attempts to justify the Stalinist repressions under the pretext of state interest are unacceptable:

“I am convinced that no development of a country, no success or ambitions of the state, should be achieved through human grief and loss. Nothing can be valued above human life, and there is no excuse for repression.”

Windows to Russia!

Renovating the Yevpatoria RT-70 Radio Telescope…


70-m aerial P-2500 (RT-70 radio telescope)
Yevpatoria RT-70 radio telescope

Interesting tidbit of news today. It involves a huge Soviet era radio telescope…

It is said on the news in Moscow that Russia and Ukraine are to work together to renovate the giant Soviet-era radio telescope near Yevpatoria on the Crimean Peninsula.

This information came to light after an inspection led by the Russian Space Agency. The finding was that work needed to be done to keep utilizing the telescope for future space missions.

The 32-year-old telescope has an antenna almost the size of a football field. With its 70m antenna diameter, it is among one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. The Soviet era radio telescope has an advantage in comparison with other largest radio telescopes in the fact that the telescope includes powerful transmitters. These transmitters would allow this scope to communicate with extra terrestrials if need be and makes this telescope unique in that aspect…

It is needed in top form because Russia needs to use the telescope for support on a planned Russian robotic mission to the Martian moon Phobos in 2011…

This is really cool and I love the fact that Ukraine and Russia are getting along better…

Windows to Russia!

Russia: Her Drivers!


I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and I was thinking of the other day about how mad I got at another driver. The Russian driver is like the American driver, they only care if they get where they are going and will they run over you in the process.

Traffic Awareness in Russia...

In America Road Rage is well known, there have been many shootings on the roads of America over dumb and stupid happenings.

In Russia the same thing happens: The Russian driver will come up behind you and ride on the tail of your car. Then he will honk, flash his lights and even drive into oncoming traffic to pass you. They endanger all around them. The other day I was traveling 100 km per hour in a 60 km per hour zone. I was going at the pace of traffic. Then behind me appears a SUV that wants to go 200km per hour. (mind you we are speeding anyway) He flashes his lights, he honks his horn and he tries to pass me on both sides of the road.

The traffic that is coming at us is swerving to miss him and a wreck could happen. I accelerate to 130 km and he gets enough room to pass on my right. Now as he passes, he gives me the famous middle finger.(yes they use it in Russia also)

When I was raised, If you use that finger, you better be able to back it up! At this point I was going to stomp a Russian Butt.

But….., His car was much faster than mine. :((

Now my wife is calmly talking on her cell phone and not getting excited about anything.

That is when I realized how stupid I was being to go to his level. With me having had 6 heart attacks and such, does not seem like I was too smart.

So I have made up my mind that, Russian drivers are as stupid as American drivers!

To expound farther, In Russia they have what is called blue lights. A car with these Blue Lights has the right away to go any speed and break all laws. The cops never pull over a Blue Light.

So It looks like that in Moscow there are a lot of Blue Light wannabes, They just do not have the Blue Light.

Reminds me of the Blue Light special at K-Mart!

Just my two Rubles worth!

Here is an article by Moscow Times:

“”Driver Shot In the Hip After Tirade:

A shouting match over who had the right-of-way ended with one driver shooting the other in the hip in southern Moscow, police said Tuesday.

The 36-year-old injured driver told police that he was driving his Toyota Land Cruiser on Khavskaya Ulitsa on Monday evening when a Lada sedan tried to cross the street in front of him. The cars stopped bumper to bumper, and neither would give way to the other, a city police spokesman said.

The two drivers started throwing insults, and the Lada driver finally shot the other driver in the hip and fled, the spokesman said.

The injured driver, who was not identified, was hospitalized with a gunshot to the left hip. Police heard his account after being alerted that a patient had been admitted with a gun wound.

Police are looking for the Lada driver, who could face four to seven years in prison if convicted on charges of armed hooliganism.

The police spokesman said the attack was the first registered incident of road rage this year.

A minor traffic accident on Volochayevskaya Ulitsa in October resulted in manslaughter. An argument between a male and female driver over the fender bender ended with the man pushing the woman into the busy street, only to see her get killed by a passing truck. In August 2005, a driver jumped from his car and fatally beat a truck driver after the truck driver repeatedly tried to pass his car on Volgogradsky Prospekt. In March 2005, a man died and another was injured in a shooting following a car crash on a bridge across the Bittsa River, 25 kilometers south of Moscow.””(The Moscow Times)

Kyle

comments always welcome.

Windows to Russia!

Lake Baikal Deep Underwater Telescope…


The Baikal underwater telescope NT-200 in Russia has been set up to capture elusive neutrino particles in a bid to unravel the secrets of the formation of the Universe.

At 1.1km beneath the surface of the world’s deepest lake and pointing towards the center of the Earth, it is one of the most unusual telescopes on the planet.

BBC did this wonderful video with one of the physicists that works on the project. Bair Shaibonov spoke with BBC about the several weeks each year he spends working on a remote scientific base on the shores of Baikal.

This is a cool video and makes you wonder at how we can figure out that using a lake is a great way to do a telescope…

Windows to Russia!