Windows to Russia

A state of emergency has been imposed in the capital and several regions of Kyrgyzstan amid violent clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators.

17 people have been killed and 142 wounded in Bishkek, reports KABAR news agency, citing the Kyrgyz Health Ministry, after police opened fire on crowds massing around the main government building.

According to some press, however, the number of people killed is actually 50? and injured 280+.

The president of the Kyrgyz republic has ordered a curfew be imposed.

The Kyrgyz Border Service has strengthened security along all borders of the country.

Looks like a very bad situation…

The suicide bomber responsible for the terrorist attack at Lubyanka metro station has been identified as Mariam Sharipova, the federal anti-terrorism committee reported on Tuesday. <----->

Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on Monday that Sharipova’s father informed authorities in Dagestan that he recognized one of the attackers in photos distributed on the internet as his daughter.

“My wife and I recognized our daughter immediately,” the father said, adding that he and his wife had not known where their daughter was for several days.

“Last time my wife saw our daughter, she was wearing the same red headscarf as in the photo.”

According to the paper, Mariam was born in 1982 in Balakhan, a villiage in the Untsukul region of Dagestan. She studied math and psychology and graduated with distinction in 2005, before returning to Balakhan to teach computer science at the local school.

“She was devout, but she never expressed any radical opinions. She always lived at home; we always knew what she was up to,” Sharipova’s father said.

What a rough way to find out what your daughter did…

She leaves behind parents that had no idea she was married and do not understand why she did what she did…

Windows to Russia!

I was wondering when this would come out! I have waited patiently before expressing much information about the new treaty between Russia and America on missiles.

The Korea Times messed up big time! Russia is very upset with the South Korean News Agency. Upset enough that some people are calling for a boycott on all South Korea goods…

While most of the world responded to the terrorist attacks in the Moscow subway with sincere sympathy and compassion, in South Korea the press has outrageous caricatures of their cynicism.

The famous South Korean newspaper The Korea Times, an English-language paper, printed immediately after the attacks, a series of cartoons that can not be described except being low life and inhumane.

The first cartoon was published on March 30th, on her engine is painted a skull instead of the cab. On the forehead of skull – a black armband with the likeness of inscriptions in Arabic. As cars tend figurines passengers, among whom is the Grim Reaper with his scythe.

The second picture accompanies an article which appeared on April 1 about “Freedom of the Chechen fight for independence, who fought against the imperial state, which oppresses them.” It depicts a subway car with a blown up bodies near which are scattered bloodied figurines. And above him is a huge sobbing bear in a fur hat, something reminiscent of the Russian premier.

Need to note that the incident occurred right on the celebration of the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Just April 2nd in Moscow, began a grand festival of Korean culture…

However, the cartoon’s demure did not go without consequences – On April 5, it was announced that The Korea Times publisher asked the newspaper executives to resign.

Park Moo-jong said that his publication did not want to offend Russia. The newspaper stressed that the cartoons were published without any malice.

I can say from living here in Russia that Russians buy a lot of stuff made in South Korea. The call for boycott is growing and South Korea can ill afford such a boycott. This was a politically very bad move…

May 9th, 2010 in Russia is the 65th anniversary of Victory day. This is the day that Russia celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany! This year there is a couple of big surprises.

First Surprise is that battalions from Britain, France and the United States will be marching along side battalions of Russians and Second Surprise will be that for the first time the giant Topol-M nuclear missile launcher to be paraded with the other armory present. I wonder if the Americans will have the same feelings that I had when I saw the Red Square the first time? It was one of the high points of my life…

They say that over 10,000 men will march and several hundred pieces of armory will be displayed. Not including the multiples of military aircraft overhead during the event.

Sounds like a worth while event to go to this year…

Windows to Russia!

The Vice-Admiral Kulakov is an Udaloy class destroyer of the Russian Navy. The Admiral Kulakov was commissioned in 1982 and was on combat duty with the Northern Fleet until March 1991, when it retired for repairs that lasted more than 18 years. The destroyer is to rejoin the Northern Fleet in the first half of 2010. (Link)