Windows to Russia

Russia News: The U.S. senate is planning to consider the creation of a special committee to investigate the activities of retired President George W. Bush, AFP news agency reports.

Russia News: Russia’s coach, Guus Hiddink, has earned his first victory with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League. The blues beat the Italian team, Juventus, 1-0 at Stamford bridge in the last 32 of the competition.

Russia News: Barack Obama can only serve eight years, though all missile defense shield technology problems won’t be worked out by that time, according to Lawrence Korb, a defense expert from the Center for American Progress.

Russia News: A 35-old man has committed a ritual suicide in one of the Orthodox monasteries in Odessa, Ukraine. Some believers call it an omen of future tragedies, believing such incidents happen prior to major tragedies.

Russia News: The court of Avezzano, Italy, has sentenced a citizen of Ukraine to two years and three months in prison for having sold her little daughter for €1000, according to ANSA news agency.

Russia News: Russian Muslims should boycott all Dutch-made goods, including the world-famous tulips and roses grown in the Netherlands, representatives of the Muslim spiritual authority of Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region said.

Russia News: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned that the Jewish state may launch another military operation, unless Iran stops smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip.

Russia News: Whenever Barack Obama’s term is over, people will still like him as he represents the achievement of the American spirit, says Dan Gainor, vice president of the Business and Media Institute.

Russia News: Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is awaiting legal proceedings in the block for VIP-prisoners in Moscow’s Matrosskaya Tishina detention centre. The ex-Yukos CEO’s cell mates are economists of the same age.

Russia News: At least nine people died and over 80 others were injured when a Turkish Airlines plane crashed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday, Dutch authorities said.

Russia News: A group of Russian Navy officials are suspected of attempting to smuggle 30 anti-submarine missiles and 200 airplane bombs worth a total of $18 million to Tajikistan for sale to China.

Russia News: Iran’s nuclear chief said on Wednesday the Islamic Republic had 6,000 operating centrifuges at a uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and was planning to install a total of 50,000 over the next five years.

Russia News: A Belarusian scientist has advised the country’s businessmen to begin breeding edible frogs for export during the current economic crisis, Russia’s Vesti TV channel said on Wednesday.

Russia News: Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the completion of Iran’s first nuclear power plant is “bad news” for the whole world, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

Wow that was exciting! 🙂

Hello,

It is that time of the year again in Moscow, Russia!

At least 400 bee-keepers have gathered and they have come from the 50 regions of Russia and the CIS countries. The reason that they have invaded Moscow, is to take part in the annual “All – Russia Honey and Honey Products Fair” that is running through to March 3 at the Manezh exhibition center.

There will be about 60 varieties of honey to choose from. You can meet all your honey needs like propolis, royal jelly, pollen, wax and natural mead. There also will be tons of literature with bee-keeping manuals and Russia honey fact books.

The honey that you can get from this fair in Russia is incredible. Some of these honeys are like eating ice cream they are so rich and smooth.

The cost last year for a kilogram of honey ranged about 500 Rubles ($15). The price varies by where it comes from in Russia. (That is a lot of honey.)

Entry is free.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Interesting video from Russia Today. Russia Today has a growing network in America now and it seems to be getting bigger by the day. There are more and more videos being made by Russia Today reporters from inside America and they really are good.

The consensus that is spreading in the World Press seems to be far away in opinion from the consensus that the American Press is spreading.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Dmitry Medvedev answered a letter from Vera Ganina!

The mother of a Russian citizen Dmitry Ganin, who died during the tragic events of April 2007 in Tallinn.

Vera Yakovlevna Ganina sent President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev a letter expressing her gratitude for the attention, sympathy and concern shown to her family:

“I am grateful to the people of Russia and the leadership of the Russian Federation for its support for me and my daughter in those days of April 2007, when we were afflicted by this terrible grief. These days I am not at all well; I can no longer work the way I did before, when Dima was alive. This sense of grief will not go away, and I don’t have the same sort of strength to face the day that I had before; I am very grateful that during such a difficult time you have found it possible to support me financially and arranged an allowance for me.

I know that every mother would seek to defend her son, but Dima really was a good person, moral, respectful, very kind and trusting, not a bully, and he had many friends. The people here in Mustvee were surprised when Dima died, because he never did anyone any harm and got along with everybody. So many people came to say goodbye to him! My son was killed and then they managed to slander and rob him. That night I repeatedly called Dima. He was calm and promised to call me later. He was supposed to come home for the weekend on Friday 27 April, but on 27 April at 12.30am there was no answer and I realized that something bad had happened to him. Dima never broke his promises to me.

I am grateful to the Russian people in Russia and in other countries and to our compatriots in the countries of the whole world for believing that my son was a good man.”

On 22 February Dmitry Medvedev sent Vera Ganina his reply, which reads, in part:

“I have received your warm and very moving letter.

Again, please accept my sincere words of support and deep sympathy for your grief. It is a grief shared by millions of Russian citizens. The death of your son during the dramatic events in April 2007 shocked us all.

Dmitry had a heightened sense of justice and openly protested against the sacrilegious plan to shift the memorial to the soldiers who rescued Europe from fascism. He rightly believed this was a desecration of their memory. Your son defended not only the heroic past. He defended the civil dignity of people who honor the memory of those who gave their lives for the sake of world peace.

I am convinced that any attempt to justify Nazism and slander our victorious heroes would lead to an unacceptable and hypocritical revision of history, a forgetting of its lessons. Russia will firmly and consistently oppose this. I want to assure you that we will firmly insist that those responsible for the death of Dmitry Ganin be found and suffer their just punishment.”

Dmitry Ganin was killed in Tallinn during the rioting on 26-27 April 2007 related to the Estonian government’s decision to dismantle and move the so-called Bronze Soldier from the city centre. This monument to the Soldier-Liberator was erected in 1947 where the remains of 13 Soviet soldiers are buried, soldiers who died in the liberation of Estonia from German troops in autumn 1944.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 18:58:59.The Russian population’s natural decrease stood at 363,500 people in 2008, 22.7 percent lower than in the previous year, the Russian Health and Social Development Ministry said in today’s statement summing up the results of the national health project’s implementation in 2008. The rate of natural decrease amounted to 2.6 per 1,000 people in 2008 compared to 3.3 in 2007, while the mortality rate increased from 14.6 in 2007 to 14.7 in 2008. Meanwhile, the infant mortality rate decreased from 9.4 to 8.5 per 1,000 babies, and the year 2008 saw 364 less babies under one year of age dying than the previous year.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 18:21:15.During today’s special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the dollar exchange rate fell RUB 0.28 to 35.98 RUB/USD. Meanwhile, the euro closed at 45.86 RUB/EUR, RUB 0.18 higher than the previous day’s close. The number of deals on Micex exceeded 4,000 with the total market volume exceeding USD 15bn. Meanwhile, the amount of direct repo transactions with the Central Bank stood at RUB 253bn (approx. USD 7.01bn), up 72 percent compared to Friday. With this in mind, demand for short-term borrowings remains high among professional market participants against the background of tax payments.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Chisinau 17:17:42.Russia does not rule out the possibility of holding a trilateral meeting on the Transnistrian conflict that would be attended by the leaders of Moldova, Transnistria, and Russia as the guarantor of the Transnistrian conflict settlement, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. He noted that the only chance of resolving the conflict was direct talks between its parties – Moldova and Transnistria – in which they would agree upon the settlement’s basic principles.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 16:21:33.Despite the financial crunch, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee does not foresee any problems with sponsorship support for the Sochi Olympic Games, the committee’s President Dmitry Chernyshenko told journalists today. He noted that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had announced eight sponsorship categories. Five categories have remained with sponsorship positions yet to be closed, so positive news is soon to come, Chernyshenko stated. He added that there was no shortage of financing preparations for the Olympics.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 13:43:38.Russians have differing opinions on whether or not the nation’s allies should be given financial aid during the crisis, as 49 percent believe that all money must be used to shore up Russia’s own economy, while 42 percent say that even in this situation Russia must protect its interests globally, which requires financial aid. The figures were taken from a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM). As many as 47 percent of respondents said that loans granted to other countries were simply useless expenses, since Russia would not get anything worthwhile in return. Meanwhile, 40 percent of Russians pointed out that external loans were investments that would bring Russia many benefits in the future, and 14 percent had difficulty choosing an answer.

RBC, 24.02.2009, Moscow 10:22:49.Gazprom’s board of directors is set to review the issue of Ukrainian payments for Russian natural gas and the Russian gas monopoly’s strategy regarding its relations with Naftogaz of Ukraine, Gazprom’s press office reported today. Among other items on the agenda is the signing of contracts necessary to implement the investment program for 2009, Gazprom’s participation in the development of offshore deposits, and the implementation of its financial strategy’s key principles in the context of the growing crisis on global financial markets.

RBC, 20.02.2009, Moscow 19:57:05.The six-party working group on North Korea’s nuclear program did not discuss Pyongyang preparations for missile tests, Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy Grigory Logvinov told journalists today. This issue is still in the background, as there is no reliable evidence, the diplomat noted adding that North Korea’s official statement on the issue was “ambiguous.”

RBC, 20.02.2009, Moscow 18:49:27.The Russian State Duma has suggested mitigating criminal punishments for economic crimes or replacing them with large fines, according to the Duma’s statement on the government’s actions aimed at improving the situation in the financial sector and certain industries. The document also stipulates the need for developing the country’s institutions that protect property rights and preparing a legal base for industries with a high share of value added. The Duma proposed increasing government control over regulated tariffs to prevent them from rising unreasonably.

Hello,

Deep Purple is coming again this year to Russia. They will give two concerts in Moscow on April 18th and 19th of this year. Deep Purple is Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s favorite musical group and in February 2008, the band made their first ever appearance in Moscow Kremlin at the personal request of Dmitry Medvedev.

Last year, Deep Purple toured 11 cities in Russia and Ukraine from October 12 through 28. All of the concerts on last year’s tour were sold out and Deep Purple played the “Best of the Best” that was recorded by them between 1968 and 2008.”

Formed in Hartford, England, in 1968, Deep Purple along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, and were once listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s loudest band.

Tours:

* Deep Purple Debut Tour, 1968
* Shades of Deep Purple Tour, 1968
* The Book of Taliesyn Tour, 1968
* Deep Purple UK Tour 1969, 1969
* Deep Purple North American Tour 1969, 1969
* Deep Purple UK Tour 1969 #2, 1969
* In Rock Tour, 1970-1971
* Fireball Tour, 1971-1972
* Machine Head Tour, 1972-1973
* Deep Purple European Tour 1974
* Burn Tour, 1974
* Stormbringer Tour, 1974
* Come Taste The Band Tour, 1975-1976
* Perfect Strangers Tour, 1984-1985
* The House of Blue Light Tour, 1987-1988
* Slaves and Masters Tour, 1991
* Deep Purple 25 Years Anniversary Tour, 1993
* Deep Purple and Joe Satriani Tour, 1993-1994
* Deep Purple North American Tour 1994, 1994-1995
* Deep Purple Korean, South African and Indian Tour, 1995
* Perpendicular Tour, 1996-1997
* A Band on Tour, 1998-1999
* Concerto Tour, 2000-2001
* Deep Purple World Tour, 2001-2003
* Bananas Tour, 2003-2005
* Rapture of the Deep Tour, 2006-2008
* Deep Purple 40 Years Anniversary Tour, 2008

Studio Albums:

* 1968 Shades of Deep Purple
* 1968 The Book of Taliesyn
* 1969 Deep Purple
* 1970 Deep Purple In Rock
* 1971 Fireball
* 1972 Machine Head
* 1973 Who Do We Think We Are
* 1974 Burn
* 1974 Stormbringer
* 1975 Come Taste the Band
* 1984 Perfect Strangers
* 1987 The House of Blue Light
* 1990 Slaves & Masters
* 1993 The Battle Rages On
* 1996 Perpendicular
* 1998 Abandon
* 2003 Bananas
* 2005 Rapture of the Deep

They have sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Rock on Russia!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Hello,

Looks like the EU is having a temper tantrum. The EU is so worried that Belarus will approve recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, that they have resorted to threatening. Maybe they need to hold their breath until they turn blue also.

The word is out that improving relations between the European Union and Belarus will be suspended if Minsk recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent, an EU commissioner said on Tuesday.

The Belorussian parliament will consider recognizing the two former Georgian republics on April 2. Russia recognized the two states as independent on August 26, 2008.

Talk about flagrant manipulation of the outcome of Belarus government session by a bullying and threatening World Power Organization!

You know – Some things make wonder what is wrong with the world and this is one of them…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

It is that time of the year again in Russia. Svet wrote a fantastic article on this very day a year ago and I see no reason to try to better it.

This holiday seems to be losing steam so to speak but I think that it is an important holiday for all.

So take the link to the article and find out what this holiday is about in Russia!

Kyle & Svet

Hello,

I have been studying this gas project for a year now and this is an impressive LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) project to say the least. I have read about the plant in several of the magazines printed about the oil and gas industry but on line has been quiet about the Sakhalin-2 plant.

This is the world’s largest oil and gas project – Sakhalin-2. The huge Prigorodnoye (south of Sakhalin Island) plant will pump 5% of the world’s LNG to America, Korea and Japan.

It takes only two and a half days from Sakhalin-2 to these markets, compared with more than one month from the Middle East, so you will know the difference in price is huge.

“The technology doesn’t require traditional pipelines to transport gas. Natural gas turns to liquid at minus 160 degrees Celsius. That allows it to be shipped by tanker. When it reaches its destination LNG is heated back for use. The LNG liquefying equipment is called a “train”. Sakhalin’s two trains will make almost 10 million tons a year. By 2011 they could already start on a third train according to Shell CEO, Jeroen Van der Veer.” (Link)

The complex consists of:
# Two 100,000 m³ LNG storage tanks
# An LNG jetty
# Two LNG processing trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 million tons of LNG per annum
# Two refrigerant storage spheres, 1,600 m³ each (gross capacity) for propane and ethane storage
# A diesel fuel system
# A heat transfer fluid (HTF) system for the supply of heat to various process consumers
# Five gas turbine driven generators with a total capacity of around 129 MW electrical power
# Utility systems including instrument air and nitrogen plants and diesel fuel systems
# A waste water treatment plant to treat both sewage water and coil-containing water.

As you can see this is big news and I do not see this being spread by the Western press. What was spread was a lot of degrading information by several Western press publications. But that is another story.

Could it be because America is going to be a big consumer of Russian LNG? America stood in line jumping and waving their arms to get a signed twenty five (25) year contract for LNG from Russia.

Strange how the Western press is so controlled…

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and saw an article that caught my eye because it is about something that I use to do for 30+ years.

It seems that Russia made another Top 10 List in the world news.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which is an authority for health related issues has produced a report on the smoking capitals of the world.

The WHO report states that two-third of the world’s smokers live in just ten countries: China, India, Indonesia, Russia, US, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey. (In that order.)

Russia is part of an interesting group of countries. I see that America is just behind Russia. Of course China, India and USA have more people than Russia. So I think what I understand is that Russia has the highest per capita in the world of smokers but is only fourth on the list for total smokers.

Now with packs of Marlboro and Winston’s running at less than a dollar a pack converted rate. It reminds me of the old days in America, when cigarettes were cheap.

Russia needs to get a handle on this because all the young kids (20 to 30 years old) I pass on the streets in Moscow are smoking. Reminds me of the old Joe Camel days…

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.