Windows to Russia

All people (132?) have died after a Polish presidential TU-154 plane crashed near an airport outside Smolensk in western Russia. The Polish president and his wife were killed in the crash.

TU-154 was serving a flight from Warsaw to Smolensk. Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria Kaczynski were on board the plane and have been killed.

The president was heading for a personal visit to the Katyn memorial site where Polish officers were murdered during World War II.

It’s reported that the pilot had ignored warnings not to land the TU-154 plane in foggy conditions and made four attempts to land before crashing, Polish television station Polsat reports.

Windows to Russia!

PS: Update – Dmitry Medvedev was briefed on the crash of Tu-154 airplane near Smolensk:

President Medvedev ordered the establishment of a government commission headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to investigate all the circumstances of the disaster.

At the President’s instruction Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief Sergei Shoigu, Transport Minister Igor Levitin, First Deputy Prosecutor General and Chairman of the Prosecutor General’s Office Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin flew immediately to the crash site.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We have made a decision, and the Foreign Ministry will be at the insist to firmly suggest that all adoptions are to be frozen that are in progress and for future to U.S.A. households. Until Russia and the U.S. enter into an interstate agreement on the conditions under which an adoption can take place and what responsibilities the family, who which take our children will be held for responsibilities.” Lavrov also said, “We have offered the Americans a long time to do this very issue, but this has been constantly going with no end in sight. This is the case of the cup overflowed. We will demand that the contract had been concluded.”

Windows to Russia!

Try this on for size:

A 7 year old Russian boy, who was adopted by parents from the United States 6 months ago, has arrived back in Moscow on this Thursday. He is now undergoing medical tests in a metropolitan hospital and seems no worse for the wear. The child arrived from America alone, and had a note with him. The note that the child gave officials said, We will not take care of him… (Note Below…)

Update in Story: Having bought a ticket and put the child on the plane, it seems Hansen found a Russian tour guide on the internet who agreed to meet the child at the airport.
This man, called Artur, passed him to the authorities in central Moscow. Hansen agreed to pay Artur $200 for meeting the child, said officials.

According to officials, the boy does not speak in Russian? , but does understand Russian. The childcare’s ombudsman, located in the police department, said the boy was named Artem. American parents gave him the name Artem (Artyom) Justin Hanson. He was adopted six months ago.

The American consulate has tried to acknowledge

Blagoveschenie – Annunciation in Russia!

Today lets watch a video that Svet took of the happenings at the church she was at. It has the most wonderful bells ring in the background…

Windows to Russia!

Where is the president of Kyrgyzstan? Some are venturing to say that he is in the America military base?

If he is at the base, that could have been a bad move by America, because the opposition is well known for a dislike of the America military base and would like to see it removed. But since the Kyrgyzstan president is perceived as an American puppet at times that concept makes sense. Also the fact that the Western press has been trying to imply that Russia is the blame of all this, points to the fact that America might just be hiding President Kurmanbek Bakiyev…

Damage from Wednesday fighting was revealed early on Thursday in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek after the opposition seized Kyrgyzstan’s government headquarters following clashes between protesters and security forces that killed at least 68 people. No police guarded the government headquarters, and hundreds of jubilant but calm residents stood outside, including some who had climbed up on an armoured personnel carrier. Others were walking freely through the building known as the White House.

MOSCOW, April 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday spoke on the phone with Kyrgyz opposition-nominated premier Roza Otunbayeva, Putin’s spokesman said. Dmitry Peskov said Otunbayeva told Putin that her country needs economic assistance, and that Putin said Russia is ready to offer humanitarian aid. “It is important to note that the conversation was held with Otunbayeva in her capacity of the head of a national confidence government,” Peskov said.

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I want to thank The Korean Times and a comment that they left on one of my articles. This one…

I will say that I really think that The Korean Times is sorry for the slip up and that in the future they will have a better grip on syndicated news items about very sensitive subjects.

So since I jumped on them for being insensitive to Russia. I will also say thank you for the retraction and explanation of what happened…

Windows to Russia!

Patriarch Kirill is the person with the white covering on his head. (Covering called – Koukoulion) So who is Patriarch Kirill? – Patriarch Kirill I, or Cyril I (Russian: Кирилл, Патриарх Московский и всея Руси), (secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev (Russian: Владимир Михайлович Гундяев); born November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop who has been Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1 February 2009.

Svetlana was walking to work and the church that you see in the pictures is nearby. She noticed that there was a lot of activity and Svet is “curious like a cat” as we say in America…

Svet got to experience a rare moment and she was able to capture the Patriarch Kirill on film. She also has a short video and when she gets home maybe we can do something with that video.

Svet was so excited that she emailed these pictures from work and I for one am proud to post these fantastic pictures of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church by Svetlana!

Windows to Russia!

Moscow’s streets on April 6, 1899. Watch

the video for some Russian history…