May 1st, 2017: Have a great holiday…
We will!
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- Bear
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- Doggy
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- Svetochka
WtR
Russia: Moscow Is Empty or "Yes of course, it is the Russian way!"
The people in Moscow are packing their cars and early this Saturday morning, “Off to the races!” as I like to put it…
1st of MAY – SPRING AND LABOR HOLIDAY;
8th of MAY – HOLIDAY;
9th of MAY – VICTORY DAY;
Many left last night and as I have forgotten, Moscow gets very empty feeling for the summer. I have been in the Tiny Russian Village for several years now. Therefore, this is a interesting experience again for me…
Nope! Not gonna do anything this May Holiday…. Going to take care of Boza and let Svetochka rest, she has a few days off you know!
WtR
It is raining, cold and windy. Coffee is perfect right now…
I walked to Globus and bought dog food and stuff to make dinner with a salad for tonight. Cheapest place to get Boza’s dog food and decided to stop at KFC (Really? You have to ask what is KFC? Kentucky Fried Chicken!) to try their new Tacos that they advertise. The Russians pronounce them Tacus…
The crew freaked out when they realized that I am an American. The boy at the counter knew English and he was so proud to talk to me in English. I found out that I was the first ever American to eat at their place. Well that they knew of, for I have eaten there before, many years ago…
The whole crew had to come out and greet me, some just peaked around the corner and hid. But they all had a look at this American… 😉
I would say that the tacos were good, but never would anyone who knows what a taco is, call them tacos. I had one cheese taco and one salsa taco. They are actually a wrap, that is around a small piece of fried chicken that is breaded and boneless. Nothing but a wrap, chicken and sauce. But, they were good and cheap. 39 rubles is what they cost, so for 78 rubles I had a good snack…
I felt bad because the manager had to come out and get the crew going again. My presence kinda put a hamper in the flow of things. But when they told her that an American was in their store, she kind of faded away and left things alone…
As I left I gave them all a thumbs up. Now if you want to see what Russians smiles look like, you should have been there. The last I saw of them, four of them were at the front window waving at me as I walked home…
Always interesting when I walk around and mingle with the natives…. and many days I am the first American that the Russians I talk with have ever seen. We are not very plentiful in Russia…. Or better yet I should say, The Americans who actually walk, talk and rub elbows with the real Russians, are few and far between. Most are stuck in Moscow and hide as they write nasty things about Russia…
Would you go out and mingle with the natives if you livelihood is trashing the country that is allowing you to stay there?
That is what I thought!
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- Kids Park…
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- Beautiful Orthodox Church…
Couple of interesting things I saw while walking… above…
I walked a long ways and felt bad about having to leave Boza home, but he can’t go into the stores I go to…
Thus, I took him for a long walk after I got home….then I did his eyes and he is sleeping right now…
All is good and Boza is doing much better with his eyes. He could see today, at least he could tell where the trees are today. And…. He found a kitty (sniffed it out) and they played doggy try to chase the kitty. We had it treed and Boza was one happy doggy…. Except a Babushka got grouchy with us for bothering a kitty… ;(
Have a nice day…
WtR
By John Stanton
The 20th Century Korean War from 1950-1953 pitting US-led United Nations coalition forces against the North Korean and Chinese militaries has been in pause mode for 64 years. The Korean Armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 by the United States, China and North Korea. It called for a cessation of hostilities until a lasting peace agreement between the warring parties could be negotiated and signed.
That, of course, has not happened due as much to North Korea’s rationally maniacal behavior and ruthless treatment of its citizens, as to its role as a useful pawn of the Chinese and American governments. The Chinese feel compelled to let the incendiary North Korean government in Pyongyang irritate and provoke the United States and much of the world community, and the Americans don’t mind having a large military presence to deter North Korea but also to keep an eye on the China and the Southeast Asian region.
China has apparently reinforced its military forces on its border with North Korea.
Russia has a short land and maritime border with North Korea. In 2015 officials from the two countries signed an agreement to construct a road connection between the two neighbors during their “Year of Friendship.” According to NK.News.org, North Korea and Russia envisioned “closer collaboration between the two states in political, economic and humanitarian spheres.” As tensions ratchet up in the wake of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests, Russia has apparently shored up its military forces near the bustling Russian port city of Vladivostok, home to Russia’s Pacific Fleet and within range of North Korean missiles.
US-Led Coalition
These military moves by China and Russia make sense if war breaks out between a US-led coalition including South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Australia (for starters) and North Korean forces. The extra forces would likely be used to stanch the tide of North Koreans expected to stream out of North Korea. In the unfortunate circumstance that sees North Korea’s first use of a nuclear weapon, a US retaliatory strike would ensure that the radiologically damaged would seek care in China and Russia, care that China and Russia can ill-afford to provide on a large scale.
During a protracted conventional conflict, it seems likely that enterprising organizations in China and Russia would attempt to funnel weapons and aid to the North Koreans to keep the US-led coalition occupied while they ponder their strategic and tactical options. With the US bogged down in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, there are many moves that the Chinese and Russians could make contrary to US interests.
The political and pundit classes in New York City and Washington, DC believe that the Trump Administration will just kick the Kim Jong-Un tin can down the road for another US president. The same elites told us all that Hillary Clinton would, with great certainty, win the 2016 presidential election. After 100 days of the Trump presidency, they still shake their heads in disbelief. Yet, they seemed to believe fully in President Trump’s punitive April cruise missile strikes in Syria undertaken after a Bashar Al Assad use of a nerve agent on his own citizens.
But Trump’s people say that the time for “strategic patience” with North Korea is over. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the Perry Como of the US State Department, declared as much during a recent visit to South Korea. Has America’s new Ken and Barbie, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, been advising President Trump on the matter?
As for China’s influence, it has warned North Korea not to test Trump even as it recently resumed flights to North Korea from Beijing. Time will tell if China is serious in assisting the US or not.
Intellectuals?
Beyond the political and pundit classes who grace the world with their intellectual acumen are those across the spectrum who think that North Korea is the way it is because of the policies and practices of the US government. Those outlandish claims should not be seriously entertained. Kim Jong-Un is seen in this video smoking a cigarette and, at one point, sitting at a desk not far from an aircraft runway watching his air force and army in action. It looks a lot like a Monty Python skit until you realize that the North Koreans really believe they are a competent military power. And then there is the North Korean Army’s recent live fire exercise. What kind of commanders and political leaders think that the alignment of this artillery on a beach? The commanders are essentially giving their troops a death sentence as US standoff weapons systems would mostly obliterate such massed artillery. North Korean military doctrine is as obsolete as much of its weaponry is.
Still, war is horrible and North Korea would, initially, likely cause a lot of pain to the northern portions of Seoul, South Korea. US, South and North Korean civilian casualties would certainly follow. Pain reduction, not elimination, depends on the lethality of US preemptive missile, bomber and cyber-attacks designed to neutralize what the US-led coalition’s intelligence believes to be the targets most important to hit first. Most likely, both North Korean nuclear weapons testing and medium-long range missile sites would be targeted, simultaneously with other North Korean conventional military assets.
Before such a conflict de-confliction lines with China and Russia would have to be opened.
The Fight
North Korea has to know that if it moves any weapons systems into the open, the heat or electronic emissions will get them killed. US intelligence services have tried hard to anticipate how quickly the North Koreans can load and reload artillery and the extent of their ammunition supplies. Then there are the diesel submarines North Korea has in operation. US military antisubmarine warfare aircraft and detection is the best in the world and the Navy would be quick to begin the search for North Korean submarines. US attack class submarines would have to eliminate the DPRK’s undersea threat very quickly, just as US air forces would be called upon to clear the airspace above North Korea as rapidly as possible. North Korean surface vessels would not do well against US anti-ship weaponry with its advanced guidance systems.
On the ground and from the sea, the situation is less clear. North Korea is vulnerable to amphibious landings on both its coastlines on the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. The US Navy and Marine Corps would not attempt such landings until many days into a conflict though. North Korea is said to have sleeper cells in South Korea that would be activated to destroy key communications nodes and other critical infrastructure. North Korean Special Forces are said to be a dangerous threat as in any conflict they would be tasked with infiltrating South Korea to engage in sabotage.
It is not known how the North Korean civilian population would respond to an attack. The nation is home to 25 million people who have mostly known nothing but privation and austerity. Of course, that’s the view from the outside. There are tantalizing hints that the civilians there might stay away from the fighting to a limited degree. Books smuggled out of North Korea like The Accusation give a hint of some of the thinking of the well-educated and economically better positioned denizens. But the US experience with insurgencies from Vietnam until the present have not been pleasant, successful affairs. At any rate, the “will” of the North Korean population would play a significant role in a protracted conflict.
Some argue that the US should learn from its 20th Century Korean War experience. But comparisons are invalid. The conflict took place as the US was drawing down from World War II and cold political winds were blowing. Since that time the North Koreans have spent a lot of time training to fight but have not been engaged in protracted conflicts for the last two decades as the US has been. There is no substitute for training but when military forces have experience in combat operations and maintain a training regime there is going to be a mismatch at some point favoring the US.
Yet another consideration is the Joint Force capabilities of the North Korean military versus the US-coalition interoperability and joint force training. There is no evidence to suggest that North Korea has “networked” its fighting forces to wage war in the cross domains of sea, undersea, land, air, space and cyber. Nor has North Korea conducted extensive training exercises with partner or allies equivalent to Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
No One Knows and that Unfinished Business Thing
A long term conflict in which the US-led coalition fails to bring North Korea to its knees would allow other nations to make risky moves. Would Russia invade Eastern Ukraine and move up to the Dnieper River? Would China move on Taiwan? Would Turkey move further into Syria? Would Iran move further into Syria and Iraq? Would Russia get more aggressive in Libya? Would Europe further splinter as some members of the European Union back the US while others do not (the UK would fight with the US)?
Would the American public support a longer term war effort?
Unfortunately, the US, North and South Korea issue is unfinished business. Not too many people on the planet want to see a video of the Kim Jong-Un of the future sitting at his portable desk smoking a cigarette while watching the North Korean “Death to America” ICBM successfully launched and carrying a nuke toward the United States.
If that ICBM made in through US missile defenses, the United States nuclear retaliatory response would turn North Korea into a radiological waste-land for decades. No one in the world wants to see that happen either.
John Stanton can be reached at jstantonarchangel@gmail.com
WtR
Things are looking like this summer is a staying at Moscow summer. We need to go once more to the Tiny Russian Village and secure it better, but I now have my sights set to spend fall and winter there…
There is too much to do and not enough time to do it…
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Boza is a priority right now; he has to be cared for and see a doctor regularly. Moscow is the only place that can offer him the technological expertise that is needed. Yes, we would rather be in the village, but I want Boza to be taken care of first…
I also have too many things to go see a doctor for and I have to make it happen. I have a spot on my face that I need to see a specialist about. Skin cancer is something we have to deal with…. I also have to see a doctor about my diabetes, heart and arthritis…
Last but not least, Svetochka likes having us around! 😉
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So as in the saying; The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men.
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We are still looking for that perfect 4×4 and hope to get around to see one, while taking care of Boza…
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Speaking of winter. Spring got lost and summer seems to be hiding. Lets hope that summer does not get lost?
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Gotta run…
WtR
Whoring Warring Around:
Whoring Around: A prostitute, esp. a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse for money. v.i. 2. to act as a whore…
Warring Around: A prostitute, esp. a man and some women who engages in promiscuous wars for money. v.i. 2. to act as a chickenhawk…
Chickenhawk (also chicken hawk and chicken-hawk) is a political term used in the United States to describe a person who strongly supports war or other military action (i.e., a war hawk), yet who actively avoids or avoided military service when of age…
[contentcards url=”http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chicken+hawk”]
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Personally I do not want to be associated with such tactics and people who approve of such actions. AND and that is a big and; it seems that a ungodly amount of people in America are all for such actions. If they are not then maybe it is time to stand up and tell the person next to you and repercussions be damned…
Trump was not voted in to become the president of the Warmongers Club!
Trump was voted in to start a process of changing things back home and kicking the crap out of DC…
Hows that Hope and Change Stuff?
I know I failed and fell for it, “Hook Line and Sinker!”
WtR
As many of you know Boza has gone blind…
We went last night to an eye specialist for animals and are now in the process of trying new drops for his eyes and getting glaucoma under control. We have three drops to use three times a day and started last night. The effect this morning was a good sign. Boza does not have watery eyes this morning. The sign that pain is easing…
Boza just had his eyes done and is sleeping under the bed, his favorite spot to sleep. He will be out for about two to three hours and now is when I write on the blog…
Boza is basically 90% blind, but as Svetochka sees it and I see it, he does have some sight at times and that is all we can hope and work for. The main thing is to make sure he is not in pain and discomfort. That is what the doctor visits are about and why we try to help him…
Boza is family…. Several have asked in emails about Boza and I thought I would update at the beginning of this post…
I have to move the car this morning…
Trying to find parking at night is really an issue around where we live. We had to park away from our home and walk last night. So this morning I have to wait until it clears some and move our car. This is part of city life and not a good part at that…
To help Boza eat…
I have been cooking chicken legs and wings, then I have to chew up the meat off the bones and I mix it into his dog food. Boza has been in pain and discomfort and has had to be enticed to eat and keep healthy. I realize that some will think we are spoiling him, but when you are in serious pain from glaucoma, food is not high on this list…
Therefore, Boza thinks all food for the last six months has to be chewed up by bear and then he can eat it. I have even by accident stupidity eaten some of his dog food off the spoon and I have to say, it tasted okay and did not cause me issues… 😉
Boza is getting old…
[contentcards url=”http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/how-to-calculate-your-dogs-age”]
Boza is middle size and about 65 in human years…
He is catching up to his babushka that loves him and he has passed Svetochka by and me recently in age…
Kinda an unfair twist in life…
Our job is to make his last years comfortable, before we have to say goodby…
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Ban the devices? Why????
Good ole America: Doing something for no reason and expecting all of us to put up with it. All in the name of security and truthfully simply; power grabbing…
Be ready to add that phone to the list real soon. Also be ready for this experiment against Britain to be extended to the whole world and no one will be bringing laptops and even cameras to the USofA…
I guess it will increase sales within the country as people trying to travel, really like to have their camera and or most likely, people will just stop traveling to America…
And we point fingers at North Korea? Why? When home is getting just as bad…
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I talk about this all the time…
Actually they are wrong, for the price of a Big Mac in our neighborhood Micky D’s…. It cost $1.89 for a Big Mac and that does vary according to the exchange rate. So I only care about rubles as I walk and talk Russia…. But for your benefit, I eat a Big Mac in Russia much cheaper than you do in America and we also have much more free spending money after basics than you could even dream of in America…
Russians own their homes, cars and whatsoever for the most part and truthfully only the western wannabe Russians have gone out on a limb and buried themselves in debt… Cash is king… Yes there are stupid Russians, just not near as many as there are stupid Americans…
Kinda dumb! Huh?
Oh and last night as we drove across Moscow; there were lost of stupid Russians out and they all drive like they are going to a fire…
“Growl”, said the bear…
WtR
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- A birdbrain folows us…
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- Found food…
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- Trees are painted…
A birdbrain follows us around as we walk. This crow is the male of a pair and as I took these pictures, the female is sitting on a nest high in the trees of said park…
I watch these two and they take turns sitting on the nest, though the male is sheepish at getting right on the nest and the female has to come back and kick his ass, sometimes several times. Before he does his job… 😉
When the find food items they try to find a water puddle and soak the food first. Kinda like a raccoon does…
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You Drive!
I see these cars everywhere now…
[contentcards url=”https://youdrive.today/”]
This seems to be something interesting and I am watching this company. Do they have this in other places in the world?
For registration you will need license, a passport and a bank card. No matter what country you are from. I could drive one of these today. Grab the app for your smartphone, sign up and away you go. LOL…
1.5 rubles a minute parked during the day. 8 rubles per minute while driving. Free all night parking. Cars are parked all over the city and left where the last person finished using it many times. The app lets you find the nearest ride and just go get it. The door had a keypad to enter and keypad to drive it. No actual key looked to be needed…
Moscow the city of terrible terrible and did I say terrible (?) drivers and they let you run around in a tiny little toy car…
Oh well!
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Think I will have another cup of coffee and take Boza for a walk…
WtR
Trump is the bait and switch president:
Candidate Trump: “I Love Wikileaks!”
President Trump: “Arrest Assange, shut down Wikileaks!”
282 promises to get into office and he has reversed or broken most of them. It has to be a record for anyone becoming president…
[contentcards url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-will-give-you-everything-here-are-282-of-donald-trumps-campaign-promises/2016/11/24/01160678-b0f9-11e6-8616-52b15787add0_story.html”]
I had been a huge Trump fan since day one:
But after he decided to join forces with the political correct globalist elements within his staff and totally ignore the drain the swamp idea, just like he promised, my enthusiasm for the Donald has been destroyed. The war mongering with NK is in my view a huge mistake. NK is not a threat…
Trumps daughter and her husband are bad elements and should be kept far from the oval office. Trumps reluctance, fear, agenda and or whatever to abandon the swamp is a betrayal and why is Comey, Hillary, Obama and so many others are still around? Trumps unwillingness to drain the swamp has now made the 19+ intelligence organizations stronger and more forward than ever and instead of hiring, defending and or promoting more like Flynn, Trump has filled up his military staff and the NSC with plain out “Globalists” that have reduced Trump to a lessor state than even a puppet. The situation in the NSA,FBI and CIA are out of control, more so than it has ever been, and Trump is doing everything to help that situation blossom…
Something happened with Trump a month ago:
And it’s not in a good way. Going after Assange and Wikileaks and the people who helped him get elected is plain out outrageous and pretending he has nothing to do with it is just stupid. Trump is a huge disappointment right now. I was for a while hoping his flip flopping and stupid decisions lately was part of a ulterior plan, but it is obvious now that the Donald has been the victim of a coup from within and won’t return to the person we voted for. With Geert Wilders and Le Pen going to lose and or have lost in Europe, the “Globalists” have again garnered the upper hand…
We are back at square one. Like it all never happened and I suspect soon Britain will be sliding back to the EU and damn what the people care about…
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Yes I believe personally:
The problem is that the US believes (deeply believes throughout the country),that it has the right to bomb other countries that they are not even in a declared war with. That is the root of the World situation we face. Would anybody think the same right for China or Russia. They have problems with certain other countries. But would most people say that it would be acceptable for them to “just go around bombing them” Even worse in my opinion is that if the bombing happens. The bombed countries aren’t “expected” to strike back. They are expected to just “take it”. I think if the US thinks that will happen with NK they are mistaken. I think if they bomb NK, the NK’s will strike back with retribution. They don’t seem to me to be the “just take it” type of people. They have a good life regardless of what you have been programed to think…
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The lines in the sand are being drawn:
Except, China, Russia and Iran do not bluff…
Russia Is Preparing for Nuclear War with the US and Its Allies
They simply just get quietly ready to defend their motherland…
This they are ready to do and the people will stand behind their country. Are you ready to stand behind the USA and her warmongering bullyboys?
[contentcards url=”https://www.sott.net/article/345707-Only-fools-would-trust-warmongering-rogue-state-USA”]
WtR
Windows to Russia has been ruled by politics since day one.
Or I should say, the day that Google finally decided to index it and give it out to the world to see once in awhile…
Because of what Windows to Russia is about, makes it center into the political war going on between the west and east. I never started out thinking that…. I simply started out writing about a country that caught my attention and a country I fell in love with…
America made my site political. I just wanted to write about Russia and tell the west and or basically why we in America are wrong about Russia. I simply wanted you to see Russia from a standpoint of an American that found everything and I mean literally everything that we were taught, past and present is wrong. Until I came to Russia, propaganda was a thing bad evil countries did against my country. Not my country, America the land of the free…. Would we do such to other countries. We were the shining light of the world…
Now that was propaganda being used against us, inside our own walls we have built…
Windows to Russia became centered with attacks from all directions from the US. Mainly the USA Gov…. Old story and who cares? I am still here and still writing. Literally everyday, 6000 posts and 10 years and going strong…. But THEY tried to kill this blog…
As in most things that my, your and our country calls America does, they created by their actions, hate and fear. A Windows to Russia to be a tool against the games being played by them. I stopped caring if Americans came to Russia, one day, after coming to Russia and realized how misinformed we are as Americans…
It happened after I visited the Red Square and I cried…
All I had been trained for from birth crashed around me and I realized that Russia is one of the most wonderful countries in the world…
Russia does not deserve to be infiltrated by dogmatist from a controlled unknowledgeable country…
Why?
In a nutshell; Russia is honest, realistic, free, life just flows, people are tangible, fake is a word not understood and most of all: So many intellects that mousiness is predominate in everyday public life… But dumbness does not prevail in the inner society…
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Life moves on: Politics begone…
To be a Russian living in Russia, you must be able to communicate with very few words and most of the time simple gestures. It is an introvert world in Russia and extroverts stand out like a very sore thumb…
When meeting someone the passing is usually an exchange of hello or Zdravstvuyte said at such a level that only you can hear. It is not expressed across the room and a nice thing about Russians is; they see you and never acknowledge that they see you. But I promise that they have seen you and remember that you were there…
Now in a small Tiny Russian Village, my friend Vova and remember I just said friend. Will yell cross the village to get my attention. That is because he is a very good friend. He has that right to holler at me to say hello and whatever…
I think a perfect example of how Russians look at life is this…
In Russia you say hello to someone according to rank, friendship and age…. and even answering the phone…. Saying hello can make or break a relationship and it is the first thing you do when you meet someone…
When you answer the phone you say, “Hello” actually “Hallo”…
Lets try to make some sense of just saying hello in Russia… You will most likley always say it wrong, except for the born and raised here Russians… 😉
Most common is to say:
Здравствуй [ZDRAST-vooy] – Hi
Здравствуйте [ZDRAST-vooy-tye] – hello
“Здравствуйте” is used when speaking to someone you really do not know, Здравствуй is for those you know somewhat. You can also use “здравствуйте” when addressing multiple people. Even if you know some very well…
If you are speaking with a friend you can say “Привет” [pree-VYET] to greet them in Russian. There are unbelievable examples of confusion to use “Привет”: some below…
Привет [pree-VYET] hi
Приветик [pree-VYE-teek] this is a diminutive form of “привет” and it means “hi”
Приветики [pree-VYE-tee-kee] also a diminutive form, and also means “hi”
Now to make a clarity; youngsters never use Привет [pree-VYET] to an elder. An elder can use it toward a youngster, but not vice versa. The Здравствуйте [ZDRAST-vooy-tye] form is used only to an elder…
To be honest I get very confused as to what to use to whom, but in the village Vova and I use Привет [pree-VYET]. We are friends and equals…
More greetings that we use… I like these the best…
Доброе утро [dob-ra-ye OOT-ra] good morning
Добрый день [dob-riy DYEN’] good afternoon
Добрый вечер [dob-reey VYE-chyer] good evening
Доброй ночи [dob-roy NO-chee] good night
Спокойной ночи [spa-KOY-nay NO-chee] good night
Just some tidbit of information and most likely Svetochka will correct my thinking about how I see it. But it is confusing to me at times…. I just wanna say, “Hi!”
Another tidbit: Every greeting with another man is done with a handshake. Always for the first time you meet in the day. After that it is not necessary to shake their hand again. But the next day, you will be shaking hands again and you need to remember that…. This is predominate in the villages, but ignored mostly in the big cities. I guess that is why Muscovites try to not make too much eye contact! 😉
In Moscow you would shake 10,000 hands a day if you did that…
WtR