Russia: Railway Troops Sent To Abkhazia!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & came across this tidbit of information. This is an interesting way to get more troops into an area. Railroad Troops....(Railway Troops -- a specifically Russian institution that handles many aspects of civilian transport.)
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MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Units of Russia's Railroad Troops have started rebuilding railroad infrastructure on the territory of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia under a presidential decree on humanitarian aid to the self-proclaimed republic, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"In accordance with the Russian president's decree on humanitarian aid to Abkhazia and a request by the Abkhazian authorities, units from the Russian Railroad Troops and special non-military equipment have been dispatched to rebuild railroads and infrastructure [in Abkhazia]," the ministry said in a statement.
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I wonder are these troops considered non combat troops? I guess I have to research the Russian Railway Troops!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

PS: After reading about them I would have to say that they are combat trained, but they perform mainly construction work on transportation systems! The catch is that they can be quickly brought into battle because they are kept at a high level of alertness & training. :)

NATO Says: Georgia Stop The Drones & No We will Not Listen To Abkhazia!

Hello,

NATO said: "Georgia will stop sending unmanned planes above its breakaway republic Abkhazia. The decision was made after a meeting of the UN Security Council called at Georgia's request. However, Georgia says it will start using the drones again if it thinks it's necessary."

Looks like NATO was also being pushed to investigate the drone situation again. That is good, what NATO said was a fabricated report of a one sided story.....

The search for an opening to the crisis has taken place behind closed doors this time. For the second time in as many months the UN Security Council discussed simmering tensions in Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia, and as before, Abkhazian officials were left out. However, the country’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Shamba, said that even if they hadn’t been, it wouldn’t have changed much.

“Even if we’d been invited, I don’t think the council would have treated what we’d have said objectively and impartially, because it only recognises Georgia’s right of territorial integrity and ignores Abkhazia’s right to self-determination,” he said.

He added that then at least the members would have heard both sides.

If there were any hopes for healing ties between Georgia and Russia, they were destroyed last month when a missile from an unidentified fighter jet hit Georgia’s spy plane over Abkhazia. While officials in the breakaway region immediately claimed responsibility for the incident, Tbilisi still insists it was all Russia’s doing.
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This is a comment that a reader left:
I'm not sure what you're trying to get at. Are you insinuating that the only reason Abkhazia and Georgia cannot resolve their differences is because Abkhazia doesn't want to see Georgia get into NATO?

I would agree with the fact that the entire world, media, and governments seem to conveniently always focus on Georgia's demands rather than WHY Abkhazia doesn't want anything to do with them. It's hypocritical at this point.

Abkhazia has a valid claim and Georgia needs to understand that its oppressive ways are no longer tolerated or acceptable to Abkhazians. They should really just give it up and stop harassing their neighbors and focus on their own turmoil within their borders. It seems that they have their hands full as we speak.
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My reader was correct, Abkhazia has a valid claim! Georgia needs to solve their own issues at their capital of Tbilisi first.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Loves Dandelions?

Hello,

In America a battle is fought all summer long. I, My Dad, Uncles, Grandfather and my kids fought this battle. The battle of the evil dandelion.........
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Dandelion is a widely distributed perennial weed. The mature plant arises from a strong, deep taproot that exudes a milky substance when cut. There is no visible stem. Leaves are sparsely hairy or without hairs, have deeply serrated margins, and are clustered in a rosette at the base of the plant. Dandelion can reproduce from seed almost year-round or it can regrow from its taproot. Bright yellow flower heads, 1 to 2 inches (2.5 - 5 cm) across, consist of petal-like ray flowers and are borne singly on the tip of a hollow stalk, 3 to 12 inches (7.5 - 30 cm) long. Seeds are enclosed singly within fruiting bodies and are attached to a long slender stalk that terminates in a parachute-like structure called a pappus. Seeds are transported in the wind. The bristles on the seeds can clog cultivation equipment.
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In America the dandelion is an evil plant that defies most efforts to eradicate it. The amount of money spent to destroy it is astronomical. The man hours to kill it have never been calculated & yet the dandelion thrives. :)

Now lets travel to Russia, where the Russians think that the dandelion is a beautiful flower! That they are an enhancement to your yard. A flower whose leaves you can eat in salads. The root can be roasted and ground up for a coffee like drink. It also can aid digestion, improves the liver function, help in weight lose, help fight cancer & last but not least help control Diabetes!

Strange how one mans poison is another's delight!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Abkhazia: Seems Everyone Forgets To Ask Them Their Opinion!

One of Our Only Photos We Saved Of Abkhazia!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & wondering why NATO ignores Abkhazia?
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The President of the Georgian breakaway republic of Abkhazia, Sergey Bagapsh, says the conflict zone on the border with Georgia can only be patrolled by Russian peacekeepers.

The statement comes in response to repeated Georgian demands for the withdrawal of Russian troops. Tbilisi says Moscow is no longer neutral in the dispute over the sovereignty of the region.

“The replacement of Russian and CIS peacekeepers in the conflict zone is out of the question, as they have been performing their duties with honour and dignity for years,” Bagapsh said.

“As far as NATO coming to Georgia - it would lead to a deterioration in the situation in both the Northern and Southern Caucasus as well as in the whole region,” he added
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I guess that answers that!

Abkhazia would not be very happy......

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russian News: May 30th, 2008!

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 14:35:42.Russia's trade surplus grew 1.7 times to $67.5bn in January-April 2008 compared to the same months a year earlier, the Economy Ministry stated today in a monitoring report on the economic situation in the country in January-April. Russia's foreign trade jumped 49 percent to $236.1bn and exports rose 1.5 times to $151.8bn. Countries outside the CIS accounted for 85.5 percent of Russia's exports (up from 84.7 percent), while the CIS's share decreased from 15.3 percent to 14.5 percent. Russia's imports climbed 41.7 percent to $84.3bn. The share of countries outside the CIS in Russia's imports edged up from 84.7 percent to 86.5 percent, while the CIS's share shrank from 15.3 percent to 13.5 percent.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 14:23:27.According to the Economy Ministry's preliminary estimates, inflation is expected to reach 7.4-7.5 percent in January-May, the ministry's monitoring report on the economic situation in the country states. The ministry forecasts inflation to exceed 1 percent in May.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 13:34:19.Trading in RAO UES shares will be suspended on the RTS Stock Exchange's Classic Market starting June 2, 2008, the exchange said in a statement. Trading in RAO UES's common and preferred shares on the T+0 market will be halted from June 7, 2008. Trading will be suspended in accordance with the RTS's action plan, which was put into force in connection with RAO UES's restructuring as approved by the RTS's Board of Directors on May 7, 2008.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 13:16:18.Head of Interros and one of the main shareholders of Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin has recommended the managers of the Russian mining and metallurgical company to launch a new round of talks with UC RUSAL on the divestment of energy assets into an independent company, the Russian businessman told journalists today.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 12:57:15.Russia's investment in projects for the construction of roads, ports and airports until 2020 may amount to $1 trillion, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov told a conference today. He stressed that Russia's innovative development would be impossible if the country failed to use the current favorable situation on the global energy market to boost its competitiveness and implement large investment projects.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 12:25:53.Russia's social and economic development strategy until 2020 is aimed at maintaining the country's average annual GDP growth at 6.5 percent, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov told a conference "Corporate Governance and Globalization of the World Economy" today. He said that it was a conservative but a realistic forecast, adding that the strategy provided for innovative development. The government plans to draft and approve the document before the end of the summer of 2008.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 11:57:23.An hour and a half into today's special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the weighted average exchange rate stood at 23.74 RUB/USD. Therefore, the official rate for May 31 - June 2 could be revised RUB 0.07 higher. Given that the dollar gained RUB 0.12 over the previous two sessions, the US currency climbed a total of RUB 0.19, or 0.8 percent, against the ruble in three days. The current developments on MICEX can be linked to the euro's considerable decline against the dollar on international exchanges. The European currency is now trading at around USD 1.5480, down some 0.7 percent from roughly USD 1.5590 at midday on Thursday. As a result, commercial bank activity has been high at the UTS, where the trade volume topped USD 1.463bn. Meanwhile, the average deal size exceeded USD 5.2m.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Moscow 10:55:02.Russia's government has drafted a set of anti-raid bills, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told a conference dedicated to corporate governance and globalization of the world economy today. The bill will be committed to the State Duma in the near future, he added.

RBC, 30.05.2008, Chisinau 09:31:01.Russia is not ready to recognize Transnistria's independence, as the conflict can only be resolved by mutual consent of Chisinau and Tiraspol, head of the State Duma committee on the CIS affairs and relations with Russians living abroad Alexei Ostrovsky told Transnistria's President Igor Smirnov. At the meeting, the two parties handled social and economic cooperation between Transnistria and Russia as well as ways to settle the conflict with Moldova. Ostrovsky said that although Russia was aware that 96 percent of the population of Transnistria had voted in favor of sovereignty and independence, other countries, the US and EU included, were not yet inclined to recognize it as an independent country. He noted that Moscow was very concerned about Transnistria's unresolved status and the conditions the people have been forced to live in there.

Jan Bednar: Hunger Strike Over Radar Base in Czech!

Jan Bednar on the right!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & reading an article about the:

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The hunger strikes in the Czech Republic, that the government is acting undemocratically in refusing to consult the public on the issue, even though the latest opinion polls show that 65 per cent of Czechs are against the radar base.

Jan Bednar from the ‘No to the Base’ campaign group has lost 10 kilograms in weight in just over two weeks. His liver is failing and jaundice is setting in, so doctors are urging him to end his hunger strike. But he’s refusing. He may look weak, but his will is strong.

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Seems that there are some issues that America has caused in the Czech Government structure. Wonder how much money the Czech Government was bribed with by the USA to put in a Radar Base?

Poland, I think is holding out for much more money than Czech did!

I think that this is called buying your friends, so do not miss a payment...... :)

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Soviet Union War Hero On Trial In Estonia!

Arnold Meri

Hello,

Estonia has put an 88 year old veteran of the WWII. Moscow is having some real issues over this.........
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Arnold Meri is being tried in Estonia for genocide during WW2. But in Russia the 88-year-old veteran is considered a hero, and streets and schools are named after him.

Arnold Meri is an Estonian national who was awarded the highest state medal during the war. Estonia accuses him of taking part in the deportation of hundreds of his countrymen to Siberia after the war. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

A village in Russia’s Pskov region is naming a school after the veteran. It educated the regiment under Meri’s command in 1941. Back then, Meri organised the region’s defences against the invading Nazis. He was wounded several times in action.

And the city of Gorno-Altaisk in Southern Urals is giving Meri’s name to a street. He lived there after he was stripped of all honours in 1952. Meri says he was accused for his criticism of the very deportation he is now being tried for in Estonia.
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What do you think? Was he a barbaric criminal that needs to be put away for life? Or is he a war hero of a brutal war that changed the history of the world forever?

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Upgrades NATO's MiGs!

MIG-35 NATO Name Falcrum F

Hello,

I think that this is a good example of what Russia is up to in the world scene! I doubt that press will give this much time on the air because it says good things about Russia and her MiG jets.
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The upgraded MiGs have also been completely overhauled, enabling them to stay in service until the early 2030s. During this time they may undergo several more refits and may be provided with more advanced equipment to keep them in proper fighting condition.

The success of the Slovakian contract shows that Russia's defense industry can stand its own against the West in its home field - aircraft for NATO's air forces. And not only in aircraft - Greece's purchase of Russian ships and air defense systems is another fine example. Hopefully, contracts, both filled and to be filled, are only a beginning, the beginning of the Russian defense industry's comeback to the European market. (Link)
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But I will give it time on the air because I think it is important. The NATO MiG is a crucial part of many air forces in the European Region.

Just something else that you may not have known about Russia.....

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Deadly: Mongolian Snowstorms in May!

Hello,

Looks like Spring is not as much fun in Mongolia.......
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MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - At least 21 people are reported dead and 100 are missing after snowstorms battered Mongolia over the past two days, the Xinhua news agency cited the country's emergencies officials as saying Wednesday.

Seven provinces in west and central Mongolia were hit hardest, with wind speeds reported at up to 40 meters per second. Buildings and power transmission lines have also been damaged.

Over 300 rescuers and more than 70 vehicles are involved in search and rescue operations.

Snowstorms are common in Mongolia during spring.

Update: 5-30-2008
Mongolia will observe a nationwide day of mourning on Saturday for 46 people killed in heavy snow and sandstorms that have battered the country this week, China's Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

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How would you like to live in Mongolia and have a blizzard for Spring welcome?

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Georgia: Up To It Same Old Games!

Hello,

Seems that Georgia is up to its usual: "It was a planned terrorist act aimed at escalating tensions in the region, and there is no doubt that the date was specifically chosen to coincide with Independence Day celebrated in South Ossetia today," Eduard Kokoity said.

"Georgia continues its policies of state-level terrorism," Kokoity said.

South Ossetia and the other Georgian breakaway region, Abkhazia, are a sensitive issue in relations between Georgia and Russia. Georgia, which has moved to join NATO under pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili, is seeking to regain control of the republics and accuses Moscow of encouraging separatism.

A group of international peacekeepers and observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) headed to Tskhinvali to monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, police in the southern Znauri district of the self-proclaimed republic reported another incident allegedly linked to Georgia.

A car with several South Ossetia residents came under fire early Thursday. Three people were reportedly injured in the incident.

"The car, presumably, came under mortar fire from Georgian territory," a spokesperson for South Ossetia's Interior Ministry said.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Georgia's Provocative Actions, From The West?

Hello,

I have the same thoughts running my through my head.....
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ILULISSAT (Greenland), May 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that third parties could be behind Georgia's provocative actions against Russia.

Relations between Russia and Georgia have been consistently strained since President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia four years ago, with both sides being involved in numerous disputes, most recently over Russia's moves to develop closer ties with Georgia's two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

"I do not understand what they [the Georgian authorities] want; unless they are being used [by someone else] to constantly provoke Russia," Lavrov said at a ministerial meeting of the five states bordering the Arctic Ocean, held in Ilulissat, western Greenland.

"I doubt they would come up with these provocative actions on their own," he added.
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I will say what Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is implying:
I think that the the USA is behind this turmoil in Georgia, seems that the USA policy right now is one of interference in Eastern Foreign Countries as its number one priority......

Just look at the International news sources!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Meeting Over Artic Oil!

Hello,

Remember a while back when Russia upset the world by planting a flag under the North Pole at the Seabed? No! Well to refresh your memory here are my articles on the subject....
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/07/russia-north-pole-ice-station-zebra.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/08/russians-claim-to-north-pole.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/08/russia-plants-flag-under-santas-home.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/09/russians-have-made-their-claim-and-they.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2007/09/russia-here-we-go-again.html
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Officials from the five nations with Arctic coastlines are meeting in Greenland for talks on the territorial status of the polar region. According to geologists, up to 25 % of the world's oil and gas reserves could be buried under the ice. The controversy over exploration rights intensified last year after a Russian research vessel planted a flag on the sea-bed at the North Pole. (Link)

Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the U.S. all claim rights over the Arctic. All own a part of the region, but each is vying for the area that lies beyond.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has the ultimate say over issues concerning continental shelf borders. It says a country’s shoreline can be extended if the sea bed is a continuous part of the continent.

Last year Russia became the first country to plant its flag at the bottom of the Arctic Sea at the geographical North Pole. However, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Monday in Denmark that this doesn’t mean Moscow is about to claim the area as its own.
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Looks like Russia was on to something & made sure that they caused a little stink over it......

That is another reason why I like Russia.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Gazprom Wants The Number One Spot!

Hello,

While I was drinking my morning cup of coffee I was thinking that Gazprom had to have its sights on the number 1 spot in the world. For the last few weeks there has been article after article about how fast Gazprom is growing and that they have their sights on Exxon.
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MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom is seeking to become the world's number one company, CEO Alexei Miller said during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday.

"...Very important steps will be taken, including making Gazprom the world's number one company," Miller said, adding that his company had experience, resources and over 300,000 employees to achieve the goal.

Miller said Gazprom was now ranked the world's third-largest company for market capitalization, which currently stands at $362 billion.

Financial statements say Gazprom produced 548.6 billion cubic meters of gas last year, excluding output by its subsidiaries, up 1.3% against 556 billion cubic meters in 2006.
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I guess we will see what happens. This is apples to apples comparison. Exxon and Gazprom are both energy related businesses.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russian Hot News: Rotus Tries To Scoop Windows To Russia?

Hello,

Today a blog by the name of Rotus tried to scoop a news story before Windows to Russia posts it. (Which is not hard to do by the way!) So I took this as a challenge & here are our articles that have to do with Medvedev and corruption in officials!

http://news.kylekeeton.com/2008/05/russia-what-is-president-medvedev-doing.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/05/russian-news-05-20-2008.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/05/russian-news-may-27th-2008.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/05/russia-what-is-president-medvedev-doing.html

Rotus scooped??? me on the Judicial aspect but the judicial end of it is just a small part of the whole process. Medvedev is reforming the whole system of the Government.
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"The judicial system is completely corrupt, and to reverse this, what is necessary is a change of the ruling elite and not just the judges," Belkovsky said.

He predicted that the reform would "contribute to the consolidation of power in Medvedev's hands," as the winnowing-out and replacement of judges, and the appearance of new high-profile cases or review of past decisions could reinforce the president's authority with the people.

Tuesday's meeting appears to be part of a larger message from the Kremlin concentrating on the need to battle corruption. In one of his first major steps as president, Medvedev said Monday that he would head a new federal council to fight against graft, giving a group of senior Kremlin, government and law enforcement officials a month to draw up a "national plan" to deal with the issue. (Link)
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So thank you Rotus, this is a very good thing for Russia. Like all over the world Government has a tendency to be corrupt at times. Medvedev is very serious about this & I think that he will succeed. Now Government Officials have two Big Bosses to deal with. Makes for good little kids (I mean officials.) when they all play.......
http://rotus.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/medvedev-spurs-judicial-reform-in-russia/

Kyle & Svet

PS: Now we have an article on the Judicial reform :)

comments always welcome.

Russian Government Has Problems Finding Workers!

Hello,

Do you need a job? Russia has openings:

Perceived prestige of being a government worker is not enough, the personnel shortage in the central state system exceeds 15 percent, according to a report published yesterday by Rosstat. Even though top state jobs pay twice the national average, the government is unable to compete with the private sector on the labor market. As a result, government service has become woman’s work. In the first quarter of 2008, women made up 71 percent of federal officials, 58 percent in Moscow. (Link)


Kyle & Svet

Russian News: May 27th, 2008!

RBC, 27.05.2008, Moscow 14:45:29.Russia's government has filed a lawsuit in France against Swiss company Noga requesting the payment of significant damages caused by Noga's unlawful arrest of Russia's assets in France, the Finance Ministry reported today.

RBC, 27.05.2008, Moscow 14:39:48.Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered his government to curb inflation, stressing that this is a key task for the time being, the Mayak radio station quoted the President as saying at a meeting with Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. In turn, Kudrin noted that the government had been able to bring the growth rate of the money supply in the economy into line with the plans that had been endorsed by the State Duma and the government's monetary policy guidelines. The Deputy PM promised that the measures taken by the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Russia will permit to not only reduce further consumer price growth, but also quash inflation within the next half a year. The Finance Ministry is monitoring the major monetary policy parameters, and, according to Kudrin, at the moment they look much better than they did a year ago.

RBC, 27.05.2008, Moscow 13:50:48.A meeting of the Working Party on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will begin on June 16, 2008, the Russian Economy Ministry's press office reported. The Working Party will meet for a week to review the latest version of the consolidated report on Russia's entry to the WTO, which was adopted at the previous meeting.

RBC, 27.05.2008, Moscow 13:28:56.A transition to equal profitability of natural gas supplies on the domestic market and abroad will be completed in 2014-2015, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said during today's meeting of a trilateral commission for the regulation of social and economic relations. The government decided to stick to its plan providing for bringing the prices of domestic gas supplies to the level of export prices excluding duties and transportation costs. However, the fulfillment of the plan was postponed by several years, so equal profitability of gas supplies will not be attained in 2011, as originally planned, Klepach said.

RBC, 27.05.2008, Moscow 12:42:54.Foreign Ministers Eduard Nalbandian of Armenia and Sergei Lavrov of Russia will discuss cooperation between the two countries as part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Russian ministry's representative Andrei Nesterenko reported. He indicated that the Armenian Foreign Minister would pay a working visit to Moscow on May 29-June 1 to touch base on Russia and Armenia's approaches to international issues of primary importance and to further coordinate Moscow and Yerevan's foreign policies, particularly as part of continuing their joint work as part of the CIS and the CSTO, international organizations, such as the UN, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE, and multilateral forums.

RBC, 26.05.2008, Moscow 18:56:18.Russia has written off a $20bn debt of Africa's poorest countries, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today. He added that Russia was doing a lot to ease the debt burden of poor countries owing large debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Development Association (IDA). Lavrov indicated that Russia had cancelled roughly half of the sum over the last two years.

RBC, 26.05.2008, Moscow 17:57:09.The Russian Defense Ministry has refuted the claims of the UN mission in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict that the Georgian unmanned aircraft was shot down by the Russian air force on April 20, the head of the ministry's press office, Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told RBC. He reiterated that Russian military airplanes had not violated Georgia's state border either on April 20 or on any other day, nor had they shoot down Georgian unmanned aircraft.

RBC, 26.05.2008, Moscow 14:32:31.The US Department of Commerce has set a zero import duty on carbamide supplied by EuroChem, the Russian mineral and chemical company said in a statement today.

RBC, 26.05.2008, Moscow 13:45:19.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has requested that a bill on trade regulation is introduced in the government before Friday, the government's press officer reported today. The decision was made on the basis of a meeting on improving Russia's agricultural policy that was held in Yessentuki on May 19. Putin also commissioned several ministries and government bodies to take steps to carry out the federal program on the development of agriculture and regulation of agricultural products markets for 2008-2012.

RBC, 26.05.2008, Moscow 13:49:25.Fighting corruption is a top priority for Russia’s new President Dmitry Medvedev. The anti-corruption council could be transformed into a new powerful body to keep a close eye on officials and their families. Medvedev seems to have received carte blanche from Putin to root out corruption, experts say. At the same time, the campaign will allow Medvedev to strengthen his grip on power, making new appointments. Yesterday Medvedev discussed anti-corruption methods with officials and members of the public. In the absence of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the government was represented by his deputy and government chief-of-staff Sergei Sobyanin. After the meeting, reporters were told that Medvedev would chair an anti-corruption council, and an interdepartmental group would be heated by Sergei Naryshkin, chief-of-staff to President Medvedev.

Georgia Hands Russia A Bill For The Drone!

Hello,

Now it is getting good, Georgia wants Russia to pay for drone?
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Georgia calls on Russia to pay for downed drone Georgia says Moscow should apologize and pay it compensation for a drone that according to a UN report was shot down by a Russian jet over Abkhazia. Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia said it shot down the spy plane in late spring. Tbilisi has released a video claiming to show a Russian plane attacking the drone. Moscow strongly denies the allegations saying the tape was questionable. But on Monday the United Nations observer mission to Georgia issued a statement saying it believes Tbilisi’s version of the events. Russia's ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko says he does not “question the professionalism of the UN officials, but the evidence given to them was questionable”.
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Georgia seems to have nothing better to do than irritate Russia.....

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: We Have Bigger Bombs & Laser Canons Than You Do!

The pistol contains pyrotechnic flash bulb which generates initial impulse.

Hello,

I have come across this article in several forms in the last few days. I get a chuckle out of it when I see it. In Russia you always have to build something better or first. It seems to be a Russian trait. It is a trait that I saw all my life in the USA & a trait that is very strong in Russia. I did an article months ago about the "Father Of All Bombs" it is a Russian bomb that is more powerful than the "Mother Of All Bombs" that the USA built. Like I said this is an important trait that Russians have......... (Link)
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MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russia started developing tactical laser weapons before the United States and has several prototypes of high-precision combat chemical lasers in its arsenal, a defense industry source said on Tuesday.

The Boeing Company said recently it had test-fired a high-energy chemical laser fitted aboard a C-130H aircraft for the first time. The successful ground tests, "a key milestone for the Advanced Tactical Laser Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program," took place on May 13 at the Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Commenting on the announcement, the Russian expert said: "We tested a similar system back in 1972. Even then our ‘laser cannon was capable of hitting targets with high precision."
"We have moved far ahead since then, and the U.S. has to keep pace with our research and development," he added.
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This is something that the USA & Russia have in common, they always want to be the best. That is another reason why I like Russia.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia: Georgia Plays games Again? Or Russia Shot Down My Drone!

Hello,

This is an article about the UN findings about the downed drone in Georgia. Articles have sprung up all over the Western presses about that the UN had said without a doubt the drone was shot down by a Russian Jet! The fact is that the UN failed to reach a positive conclusion.....Now the UN says that it was a Russian Jet...... Cool!
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Russia’s Jet Might Have Downed Georgia’s Drone
The UN mission in Georgia has released a report on April 20 accident, when a spy drone of Georgia’s Interior Ministry was hit in the air of Abkhazia. It appears the experts failed to reach a final conclusion.
It emerged that the UN experts based their investigation on the tape allegedly made aboard the drone by Georgia’s military in online mode. The experts were even provided with the 12-second portion that hadn’t been released at first.

The expert conclusion appears at least vague, as there are no evidences explicitly proving that the drone was hit by Russia’s jet. The nine-page report of the UN representatives gives no idea what jet was shown on the video tape.

What’s more, the international experts were unable to find an airport from which the jet could have taken off. It might have been Krasnodar, but then, the jet would have to fly 366km in one direction and another 366km back to the airport. But its maximum flying range is just 700km.

The experts were probing into the events of April 20, which anew aggravated the relations of Moscow and Tbilisi. In Georgia, they claimed that Russia’s jet hit the drone of Georgia that day, violating the cease-fire agreement. Moscow rebuffed by saying that the same document banned Georgian aircraft from flying in Abkhazia’s air.
--------------------------------------------
UN Got On Russia’s Back
UN mission in Georgia blamed on Russia the destruction of Georgia’s spy drone in Abkhazia’s air April 20. Based on that conclusion, Tbilisi again referred to Russia as to the conflict party rather than its intermediary and called for the urgent replacement of Russia’s peacekeepers in Abkhazia. Official Moscow denies the involvement, but some members of the State Duma leave room for such possibility.
The yesterday’s statement of the UN experts advanced the dispute around the destruction of Georgia’s spy drone to a new level. The conclusion says the tape provided by Georgia shows either MiG-29 or Su-27. The radars first spotted the jet at roughly 12 kilometers from Gudauta airport, Abkhazia, at the altitude of 2,800 meters, i.e. it could have taken off exactly from that airport. Having hit the drone, the jet flew back to Russia’s air space and headed for the Maikop-Krasnodar line, the experts specified.

Once the conclusion was ready, the UN lashed out at Russia blaming on it violation of cease-fire agreement coupled with the recent strengthening of peacekeepers contingent in Abkhazia.

Russia’s Defense Ministry bluntly denied the involvement. “Any violation of Georgia’s state border, the more so hitting its drone is completely out of the question,” said Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, who heads the press service of Defense Ministry.

In the RF parliament, however, they don’t completely cross out the possibility of Russia’s involvement. “More likely than not, it was Russia’s jet,” Gennady Gudkov said yesterday, calling on the authorities “not to react to the UN conclusions.” Gudkov is the deputy head at State Duma’s Security Committee.

But it appears that Moscow will have to explain in the end, at least Slovenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitri Rupel voiced exactly that demand Monday on behalf of EU, where Slovenia presides nowadays.
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The story changes by the day.......

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russians Say: Seveastopol Needs To Belong To Russia!

Sevastopol' - Monument

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 18:25:22.Just over two thirds of Russians (68 percent) believe that a major sea-port Sevastopol must belong to their country, a poll held by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center showed. A mere 5 percent of the respondents said that the city could remain part of Ukraine, while 27 percent are undecided on the matter. The percentage of those who think that Sevastopol must be part of Russia is lower among people aged 18-24 (59 percent) than among older respondents (66-71 percent).

More than half of those who believe that Sevastopol must belong to Russia explain their position by saying that it was a Russian city in the past (56 percent). Other respondents said that Sevastopol is a strategically important port and a place of Russia's military glory (6-7 percent). Meanwhile, 31 percent of respondents said that it was more important to return Sevastopol to Russia than to maintain good relations with Ukraine, compared to 18 percent of Russians who believe otherwise.

The poll was conducted among 1,600 people in 153 locations in 46 regions and republics of Russia on May 17-18, with the margin of error of no more than 3.4 percent.

Russia to Ukraine: Lets Fight Over The Crimea!

Crimea is in the middle of the map, in the Black Sea!

Hello,

It gets better everyday around here. I had a comment from a reader (MattMacL) he came up with this suggestion that Russia should stress the issue of the Crimea, before NATO can bring Ukraine into its arms.

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MOSCOW, May 26 (RIA Novosti) - Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house of Russia's parliament, said on Monday Russia could claim back Sevastopol, a Russian naval base on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko recently ruled not to extend lease terms for Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine after May 28, 2017.

"Undoubtedly, we must raise the issue ourselves, and if necessary, with the Ukrainian authorities," Mironov told reporters commenting on Yushchenko's decision.

"We should study the issue more closely. If Yushchenko is making such statements, we can also start looking into the issue properly," the senator said, describing Yushchenko's instructions as "illogical and untimely."

Mironov pledged to give instructions to a number of Federation Council committees to consider drafting a bill on Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

There have been frequent disputes between Russia and Ukraine over the lease of the base. In the latest dispute, Moscow Mayor Yury Lyzhkov was barred from entering the former Soviet republic over similarly provocative statements.

According to Luzhkov, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave the Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 as "a token of brotherly love," but under a 1948 decree Sevastopol was assigned special city status "under the governing central authorities," and, therefore, could not be included in the list of territories transferred to Ukraine.

On Thursday Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that in response to Ukraine's decision to prohibit Luzhkov from entering Ukraine, Russia announced a number of Ukrainian politicians would not be allowed entry into Russia.

The Crimea, now an autonomous region within Ukraine, is a predominantly Russian-speaking territory. Since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, the Crimea has unsuccessfully sought independence from Ukraine. A 1994 referendum in the Crimea supported demands for a broader autonomy and closer links with Russia.
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Well MattMacL looks like Russia may be listening to you.....

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russia + China = Power!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & realized that Medvedev has long term connections with China....

Medvedev knows China. For two years he was in charge of a difficult job - organizing the Year of Russia in China and the Year of China in Russia. He had to make numerous trips and conduct many talks. In a way, he closed down the old era in bilateral relations. Now his task is to open a new one. (LINK)

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BEIJING, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's relations with China are becoming a key factor in the development of international affairs, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday, the second day of his official visit to Beijing.

Medvedev told Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: "My visit to China is aimed at developing the strategic dialogue that has been progressing over the past few years between our countries."

"We have achieved major progress. Now Russian-Chinese relations are becoming a key factor in international developments."

The committee chairman told the Russian leader that his visit to China "will not only help the development of strategic partnership between the two countries," but also open a new page in the history of their relations.
--------------------------------------------

Looks like a new ballgame is in the works. This is a powerful combination of countries. Medvedev has long and solid ties with China. He goes way back and has a lot of respect in China. These two countries working together will be hard to push around!

Something to think about......

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

Russian News: May 23rd, 2008!

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 14:52:43.The National Banking Board may review the Russian banking sector's development strategy until 2020 in the fall of 2008, President of the Association of Regional Banks of Russia, State Duma deputy Anatoly Aksakov said during the association's general annual meeting. If the board approves the strategy, the document will be almost mandatory for the authorities, Aksakov stated. A draft strategy has already been devised, and a working group to be headed by the association's First Deputy President Alexander Khandruyev will be created to finalize it. The document is to be prepared before the beginning of the Sochi economic forum scheduled for September 2008. It must be in line with financial markets' development strategy and provide for closing the 22-fold gap between the incomes of the rich and the poor, reducing inequality between Russia's regions, and maintaining the country's economic sovereignty, Aksakov noted.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 14:09:05.According to preliminary data, Russian producer prices grew 4.5 percent in April 2008 and 26.6 percent between January and April, the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported. As stated in the federal service's document, the price of crude oil and associated gas jumped 9 percent and the price of natural gas and gas condensate rose 6 percent, while a 4.9-percent decline in prices was seen within the non-ferrous iron ore mining segment. Prices increased in the manufacturing sector (certain refined oil products), metallurgy and the chemical industry, while the price of electricity produced domestically slid 5.5 percent, and the price of electricity supplied to industrial consumers and agricultural producers dropped 1.4 percent.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 13:42:21.At today's annual general meeting, NOVATEK shareholders approved the payment of RUB 1.52 (approx. USD 0.06) per share as dividend for 2007, one of the shareholders told RBC. Consequently, combined with an interim dividend of RUB 0.83 (approx. USD 0.04) paid for the first half of 2007, total dividend for the 2007 fiscal year will amount to RUB 2.35 (approx. USD 0.10) per common share. As reported earlier, NOVATEK paid RUB 1.10 (approx. USD 0.05) per common share for 2006, with the total payout, including interim dividend payments, amounting to RUB 5bn (approx. USD 212m).

RBC, 23.05.2008, London 13:15:36.Severstal has reached an agreement on the acquisition of up to 61.5 percent of African Iron Ore Group Ltd. (AIOG) shares, the Russian steel producer said in a press release today. AIOG's subsidiaries have a license for conducting a geological survey at the Putu Range iron ore deposit in Liberia. In addition, Severstal is expected to buy a 6.29-percent stake in Mano River Resources Inc., which holds a controlling stake in AIOG. The Russian company is to pay $37.5m for the stake in AIOG, while the price of the second deal is estimated at GBP 2m (USD 3.9m). Both deals will be implemented through Severstal's Dutch subsidiary Lybica Holding B.V.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 12:23:04.According to preliminary data, real disposable cash incomes of Russians grew 11.8 percent in January-April 2008 compared to the same month a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said in a report today. The average monthly accrued wages climbed 28.1 percent to RUB 16,253 (approx. USD 689) in April 2008 against April 2007 and went up 28 percent in the first four months of 2008 compared to January-April 2007.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 12:03:25.Today's session on the Russian stock market opened with a rise in most traded securities. On MICEX, the majority of stocks went up 0.5 percent on average within the first few minutes of trade. Meanwhile, Polyus Gold, Norilsk Nickel, and Gazprom Neft traded below yesterday's close. However, the situation changed after the first 30 minutes of trade, as only Sberbank, Rosneft and Polyus Gold remained in positive territory. Most securities declined 0.5 percent on average and the RTS index was slightly down.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 11:12:00.Russia's natural gas production rose 1.3 percent to 56.9bn cubic meters in April 2008 compared to the same month a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported today. Meanwhile, gas output fell 4.4 percent in April against the previous month.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 11:01:54.Russia's retail trade grew 13.2 percent to roughly RUB 1.058 trillion (approx. USD 44.9bn) in April 2008 compared to the same month a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported today. The figure edged up 0.3 percent in April compared to March.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 10:53:14.Russia's oil and gas condensate production inched down 0.7 percent to 39.7m tonnes in April 2008 compared to the same month a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported today. Oil output shrank 3.6 percent in April compared to March.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 10:32:04.According to preliminary data, Russia's fixed investment grew 20.3 percent to RUB 529.6bn (approx. USD 22.5bn) in January-April 2008 compared to the same months a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service reported today. In April alone, fixed investment went up 2.2 against March.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 09:55:07.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is expected to arrive in Minsk today. As part of his visit, Putin will take part in the meeting of the heads of government of CIS member states. Moreover, the Russian PM intends to meet one-on-one with his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Timoshenko, who will be chairing the meeting the the commonwealth's Prime Ministers. The chairmanship will be handed over to Belarus during this meeting.

RBC, 23.05.2008, Moscow 09:28:15.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will today begin his official visit to the People's Republic of China. He is visiting China at the invitation of the country's President Hu Jintao. At the talks in Beijing, the leaders intend to discuss cooperation in the nuclear industry, fuel and energy, and investment. Particular attention will be paid to the matter of state support of banking institutions and mechanisms. Moreover, such issues will be considered as collaboration in civil aviation, migration, and environment.

RBC, 22.05.2008, Kiev 19:31:06.Whether to increase the capacity of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium or not is to be resolved by the end of May 2008, Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister of Kazakhstan Lyazat Kiinov told an energy forum in Kiev today. He added that the issue had been settled in principle, and shareholder approvals were expected in the near future. He regretted that there had been no serious discussions of linking the Caspial pipeline project to the Odessa-Brody pipeline. This would require an additional leg of 150 kilometers, including across the Russian territory. For this, in turn, Russia's agreement would be needed. Yet, this link is approved, there would be no difficulty in finding enough oil to load the Oddessa-Brody pipeline, the Deputy Minister assured. According to Kiinov, the Caspian pipeline would be able to carry some 67m tonnes of oil, of which some 37m tonnes could be bound via the Ukrainian route.

RBC, 22.05.2008, Moscow 16:32:35.The government board is to consider on Monday a reduction in the tax burden for the oil industry, a source close to the cabinet told journalists today. The bills are to be introduced to the State Duma during the spring session. The matter of the extension of a tax holiday to several Russian regions, as well as methods of calculation of oil production will also be reviewed during the session, the source said.

RBC, 22.05.2008, Tbilisi 14:58:07.International observers from the CIS, who monitored Georgia's parliamentary election on Wednesday, have named it democratic. Although there have been some violations, they cannot affect the election results, the observers said in a statement today. They also noted that Georgia had created all necessary conditions for monitoring the election.

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Russia: What Is Minimum Wage?

MOSCOW (Moscow News) - The minimum wage per month in the capital (Moscow) is to come to 10, 900 rubles by the end of 2010. Currently the minimum wage in the city is 6,800 rubles. After September 1, it will be 7,500 rubles.

Additionally, pensions in the capital are to exceed the cost of living by the end of 2009, Igor Antonov, the chairman of the budget and finance committee of Moscow State Duma, said.
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That in American Dollars: (at exchange of 23.5 rubles per dollar)

Per Month:
6800 rubles = $290 (now)
7500 rubles = $319 (Sept.1st 2008)
10,900 rubles = $464 (2010)

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia & Ukraine: Like Two Kids!

Hello,

Now this statement could cause some fun times in the future:

The head of the State Duma committee on CIS affairs, Alexei Ostrovsky, said in April that Russia could reclaim the Crimea if Ukraine was admitted to NATO. Media reported that President Vladimir Putin issued a similar threat during a closed-door speech to NATO leaders at the Bucharest Summit earlier in April.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080522/108125688.html

Now lets have tea!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: What Is President Medvedev Doing?

Hello,

Yesterday I wondered what Prime Minister Putin was up to. So today while I was drinking my coffee I thought that I would see what the President of Russia Medvedev is doing!

1. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to discuss space exploration and military cooperation with his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, during his first trip abroad as president on May 22-23. Medvedev's visit to Kazakhstan will be followed by a two-day trip to China, during which the countries will sign a number of documents, including a joint declaration on key international issues.

2. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he will hold one-on-one talks with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy during the G8 summit in Japan in July.

3. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for reforms in Russia's judicial system to prevent bribery and corruption, and make the courts truly independent.

4. Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev signed an order on May 14 allowing Manchester United and Chelsea fans holding tickets for the final at Luzhniki Stadium to enter the country without visas.

5. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits the 54th Strategic Missile Division deployment area.

6. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's successful start suggests that we should expect many and substantial reforms soon, and they are badly needed. Corruption cannot continue like this if the Russian state is to stay manageable. Long-prepared reforms for education, health care and pensions are urgent. The country's infrastructure must be extended and renewed. The government can no longer afford not to reform as it did for the past five years. There is new hope for Russia.

Looks like Medvedev is being the President of Russia......

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: United Won Championship ,(Looks Like Moscow Won Also!)

Hello,

I see United Won the football game & Moscow is still here :) No beer & vodka left though....
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Almost three hours after the opening whistle sounded, United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar dove to his right to push Nicolas Anelka's penalty wide, and the Manchester United squad erupted into celebration.

In the stands, the United fans went wild, their 2,000-kilometer trip across Europe to Moscow having been rewarded with a victory in the Champions League final.
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Seems that all went well & everyone had a good time!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: What Is Putin Doing!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about what Putin is doing now that he is not President anymore!

1. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved on Tuesday the country's largest spending project since the Soviet collapse, a $570 billion program to overhaul and expand the country's transportation infrastructure over the next seven years.

2. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced the creation of a new executive body that he said would inject efficiency into the unwieldy government machine. The new body, called the presidium, will comprise Putin's seven deputies and seven other ministers and meet once a week, in a routine reminiscent of Putin's weekly Monday meetings with key ministers in the Kremlin. The entire Cabinet will convene at least once a month, Putin said.

3. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged his government on Tuesday to give Russia a modern fleet of ships for its flourishing energy sector and named his close ally, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, to manage the multibillion-dollar project.

Looks like he is busy being a Prime Minister....

Kyle & Svet

PS: Tomorrow we will see what President Medvedev is doing!

comments always welcome.

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A Quick Look At Russia!

Hello,

In the last few days in Russia there have been interesting tidbits of information.

1. Vodka is on the decline by 2%..... but the catch is that champagne and sparkling wines are up 16%, cognac production increased 19.6% and the output of low alcohol drinks (beer) doubled.

2. An Estonian court said Monday the trial of a 88-year-old WWII veteran and Hero of the Soviet Union on charges of genocide is due to start on May 20 in the town of Kardla in the country's western island of Hiiumaa. Meri is a cousin of the late former Estonian president Lennart Meri.

3. The British are Coming! Roughly 7,000 police officers and interior military were attracted to ensure order in the city. The police will be wherever the fans are, Over 50,000 Britain’s fans are expected to arrive for the final match of the UEFA Champions League that Manchester United and Chelsea will play in Moscow May 21. (Today)

4. A 58-kilometer (36-mile) long pipeline to the Yury Korchagin oil and gas field, located in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea has been completed.

5. Russia has been ranked 131 out of 140 countries & the USA ranked 97 out of 140 in the Global Peace Index, an annual study of how peaceful countries are, both domestically and internationally. (Sounds like the USA and Russia are not very peaceful)

So that is about it... Oh yes the weather for the UEFA Champions League is terrible. Rain, rain and more rain.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Big Automobile Business Likes Russia!

Ford Will Build a Second Plant in Russia
Ford Motors plans to build a second auto plant in Russia, according to Reuters, citing Ford European vice president Jim Tetreault.
Tetreault said the site for the new plant will be chosen next year. He also said the capacity of the Ford plant in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, will be brought up to 125,000 vehicles to meet the demand for Ford cars in Russia. That plant current produces 75,000 cars per year, and almost half of the Fords sold in Russia are imported. Tetreault did not specify what models would be made at the new plant. Experts suggest that the Fiesta family car and Kuga crossover SUV may be chosen.

Why are they building another plant in Russia?

The Russian market kept Ford from going belly up!
Ford made money in Russia last year and the years before. Ford sells all cars it made in its Russian Plant to Russians and can sell more. It even imports cars from outside of Russia to keep up with the demand. Ford lost money in the USA.

Looks like the rumor could be true, Ford is slowly moving overseas!
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GM to Launch Carmaker in St. Petersburg Nov. 5 2008
General Motors will launch a plant in St. Petersburg on November 5, 2008, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko announced when delivering the annual address to the Legislative Assembly of the city, RIA Novosti reported.
“The second automobile plant, General Motors, will be launched November 5,” the governor said, reminding that laying the foundation stone of Hyundai has been slated for June, when St. Petersburg hosts the Economic Forum.

One of the global carmakers, General Motors, will launch in St. Petersburg the plant worth roughly $300 million with the annual capacity of 70,000 cars. Captiva off-highway vehicles are amid the models to be made by GM in that city of Russia.

General Motors is represented in Russia already. The company has a joint venture with local automobile giant AvtoVAZ. GM-AvtoVAZ was set into motion September 2002 and it currently makes Chevrolet Niva off-highway vehicles and Chevrolet Viva cars.
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Goodyear Building Plant in Yaroslavl?
For the first time in three years, a foreign tire-maker may build a plant in Russia. The U.S. company Goodyear is considering a $200-250-million project in Yaroslavl Region to produce up to 5 million car tires a year. Goodyear executives met with regional governor Sergey Bakhrukov at the end of last month and asked him to allot them a plot of land. Sources say that Bakhrukov set aside about 70 ha. for the company. That land has no infrastructure, however. In addition, according to sources, Bakhrukov has asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to provide Goodyear with investment benefits, and the president has already asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to look into the question. Ernest & Young consulted Goodyear on the project.
Goodyear, the Yaroslavl administration and the Ministry of Industry and Trade were unavailable for comment Friday evening, but Igor Karavaev, deputy general director of OAO SIBUR – Russian Tires, which controls the Yaroslavl Tire Plant that “the project really is being discussed” and “SIBUR is one of the participants in that discussion.”

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. owns 60 plants in 26 countries. It sells the most tires in the United States and second most in Europe. The company is made up of six divisions: British Dunlop Tyres, American Kelly-Springfield Tire Company и Lee Tire and Rubber Co., Slovenian Sava Tires, German Fulda and Polish Debica. It produces the Assurance, Fortera, Wrangler, Eagle, Nordic and Ultra Grip brands. There are two Western tire plants already operating in Russia. They are the French Michelin, built outside Moscow in 2004, which makes 2 million tires per year, and the Finnish Nokian Tires plant in Leningrad Region, which produces 4 million tires per year and may potentially increase its capacity to 10 million. The Japanese Bridgestone Co. considered building a plant in St. Petersburg, but rejected the idea.

Yaroslavl Region is relatively close to carmakers in both Leningrad and Moscow Regions. Goodyear already has experience there, since Yaroslavl Tire Plant has produced Goodyear tires on the off-take system (in which Goodyear sells them itself and the plant receives only a production commission). SIBUR – Russia Tires is likely to oppose the American company’s plans. “The state should support domestic producers first of all and create condition s for the innovative development of Russian enterprises,” Karavaev asserted. He noted that the People’s Republic of China requires foreign tire makers to form joint enterprises with local tire-makers. The rapidly expanding car assembly plants in Russia will have to be localized by at least 30 percent in the future. Therefore, if Goodyear is unable to finalize the project in Yaroslavl, it will be highly motivated to continue it in another region of Russia. Goodyear executives say unofficially that other regions are under consideration.
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Renault to Make New Model in Russia!
Renault plans to assemble its new Sandro model, a five-door hatchback based on its budget model Logan, at its Avtoframos plant in Moscow. The Logan is also assembled at the Avtoframos plant. Assembly of the Sandro, with both gasoline and diesel engines, will begin in late 2009. The company has not said how many of the new car it plans to produce. Sources say that it may make 80,000-100,000 vehicles per year, which would use half of Avtoframos’ capacity. One source says, however, that the plant’s capacity will be increased next year to 190,000 vehicles. Officially, Renault plans to increase the plant’s capacity from the current 80,000 vehicles to 160,000.
Renault has been talking about expanding the capacity of Avtoframos and creating another model based on the Logan since 2005. The expansion at Avtoframos is estimated to cost $150 million. They note at the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade that Avtoframos has yet to make amendments to its investment agreement for the industrial assembly of automobiles.

Observers say that the Sandro is likely to cost between $13,000 and $15,000, that is, more than the Logan. It would thus compete with AvtoVAZ models such as the Lada Priora (starting price $13,000), Kalina ($12,000) and Lada 110 models ($11,000). That price segment is one of the most popular in Russia. Renault owns a blocking (25-percent) package in by AvtoVAZ. A seven-passenger station wagon based on the Logan is made by AvtoVAZ.
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French-Japanese Alliance to Build a Carmaker in Russia!
Another two car giants chose Russia for car assembly. French PSA Peugeot Citroen and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Co. have clinched a deal to set up a respective venture.
An automobile plant, which foundation stone will be laid in Kaluga June 10, will be making Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Citroen mid-size off-highway vehicles and mid-size cars of Peugeot and Citroen brands. The capacity is estimated at roughly 160,000 cars a year.

The initial plans were that Peugeot Citroen would independently construct the plant. But Mitsubishi is needed for a few models, which it makes for the French consortium. The matter at stake is all-wheel drive C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007.

Mitsubishi announced January 24, 2008 that it concluded an agreement on industrial assembly of cars in Russia with the RF Economic Development Ministry.

Quite a few of automobile giants have recently decided to launch car assembly in Russia. The Leningrad and Kaluga regions are the most favored whereabouts for that undertaking. Of interest is that Volkswagen has chosen both regions for Russia’s expansion.
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Toyota Motor Corp. inaugurated its facility in St. Petersburg past fall. Suzuki and Nissan are also amid the companies that have decided to have plants there.


They all have one thing in mind.......

MONEY!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russian News: 05-20-2008

RBC, 20.05.2008, Moscow 09:58:13.The Executive Board of the international special-purpose entity (SPE) Trans-Balkan Pipeline B.V. has resolved 10 out of 12 issues regarding the implementation of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project during its first ever meeting held in Amsterdam on May 15, head of the Executive Board, the company's President Sergei Vinnichenko told RBC on Monday. Among the most important matters he named the agreement in principle of the board's members to raise the company's initial budget (currently set at EUR 5.8m), depending on the future need for additional funding to make a feasibility study. The existing budget is not enough to launch the project, Vinnichenko said, adding that the required figure would only be determined after talks with the potential contractor on the feasibility study, which had yet to start.

RBC, 20.05.2008, Moscow 09:23:49.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting on the development of Russia's transportation system in 2010-2015 in Sochi today, the government's press office reported. The PM is also expected to visit the "Transport in Russia Ч 2008" international exhibition.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 19:44:51.The Board of Directors of Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Russia's mobile services provider, recommended that the company's shareholders approve nearly RUB 29.581bn (approx. USD 1.24bn) as the total dividend payment for 2007, which is 1.5 times more than in 2006, the company's official documents show. Hence, the dividend per share is recommended at RUB 14.84 (approx. USD 0.622). MTS's President Leonid Melamed stated earlier that he expected the dividend payment to top USD 1bn, in line with the dividend policy that the company adopted in 2007.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 19:19:19.At their meeting today, Gazprom's Chairman Alexei Miller, and Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Tigran Sargsian agreed to sign a mid-term gas supply contract. Until January 2009, Armenia will be buying Russian gas at $110 per 1,000 cubic meters. By 2011, the countries expect Armenia (as well as Russia's domestic consumers) to pay European-level prices, Gazprom's press office reported.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 15:28:45.Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia's Board of Directors has recommended that its shareholders approve a dividend of RUB 30 (approx. USD 1.26) per common share for 2007, the corporation stated today. The total payout will amount to roughly RUB 33.712m (approx. USD 1.414m), while net profit reached some RUB 130.071m (approx. USD 5.46m) in 2007.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 14:47:57.Two and a half hours before the close of today's special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the high on deals remained unchanged at 23.80 RUB/USD, while the low on deals fell RUB 0.04 to 23.69 RUB/USD. Meanwhile, the weighted average exchange rate stood at 23.71 RUB/USD, RUB 0.01 lower than the official rate set by the Bank of Russia for May 20. The current developments on MICEX can be attributed to the dollar's decline against the euro on international exchanges. The latter is now trading at some USD 1.5590, up from roughly USD 1.5570 in the morning.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 13:44:17.A council for the fight against corruption will be established in Russia, and will be chaired by the country's leader, the President's Chief-of-Staff Sergei Naryshkin reported following an anti-corruption meeting with the President today. Naryshkin was also quoted by the Mayak radio station as saying that it had been decided to form an interdepartmental group for the fight against corruption, to be headed by himself. According to the Chief-of-Staff, Dmitry Medvedev had charged the participants of the meeting to prepare a national plan for countering corruption. In turn, Russia's General Prosecutor Yury Chaika added that the plan would be approved by a presidential decree.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 12:26:36.Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) carried out the first flight of the Sukhoi SuperJet-100 (SSJ-100) Russian regional jet in Komsomolsk-on-Amur today, the company's press office told RBC. The plane was in the air for one hour and five minutes, reached the altitude of roughly 1,200 meters, and landed safely. The flight was preceded by a variety of trials, as all systems were tested on the ground.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 09:58:38.Russia has won first place in the ice hockey World Championship, beating Canada 5-4 in the final match. This is Russia's first "gold" since 1993, when the current Russian chief coach Vyacheslav Bykov played for the Russian team. This was also the first ever game, in which Russia played versus Canada in the World Championship finals.

RBC, 19.05.2008, Moscow 09:24:42.A Russian delegation will resume multilateral consultations in Geneva on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will last until the end of the month. It is expected that the delegation will be led by head of the Russian Economy Ministry's trade negotiations department Maxim Medvedkov. As part of the preparation of the final document, Russia will discuss with its key trade partners such systemic issues as customs and technical regulation, protection of intellectual property rights, and state support of agricultural producers. The major issue that has yet to be agreed upon with the US and the Cairns Group (an interest group of agricultural exporting countries) is the size of agricultural subsidies.

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree on measures to counter corruption, the Kremlin said on Monday

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has appointed Arkady Dvorkovich sherpa in the Group of Eight industrialized nations, and also reappointed four officials as heads of presidential administration departments, the Kremlin said on Monday

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin issued instructions on Monday to assess and check foreign trade contracts in the agricultural sphere for their compliance with the country's interests

* Russia's new Voronezh-type radar site in the southern town of Armavir will be put on combat duty in February 2009, the commander of the Russian Space Forces said

* Russia's Maria Sharapova once again heads the rating list of the Women Tennis Association after the former World No. 1, Justine Henin of Belgium, announced she was quitting tennis last week

* Dmitry Medvedev has appointed Sergei Ushakov as a presidential adviser, the Kremlin press service said on Monday

* Irina Khakamada, a well-known Russian opposition figure, told RIA Novosti on Monday that she had quit politics

* The first charter planes carrying Manchester United and Chelsea supporters have arrived in Moscow as the Russian capital gears up to host the first all- English final in the history of Europe's most prestigious club competition

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will head an anti-corruption council to be set up in Russia in the near future, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Naryshkin said after a presidential conference

* Agricultural experts have detected bird flu antibodies in migratory birds in southern Siberia, Russia's agricultural watchdog said in a statement Monday

* A Tajik national in possession of over 5 kg (11 lbs) of heroin has been detained near Moscow's Kazansky railway station, a police source said

* Russia's new Superjet 100 medium-haul passenger airliner made its first test flight on Monday, a spokesman for manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft said

* A new round of bilateral and multilateral talks on Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) will begin in Geneva on Monday, Russia's chief delegate to the talks said

* Eighteen people including 15 Russians were injured when a tourist bus crashed in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, a spokesman for the local emergencies service said on Monday

WORLD

* During a meeting with the UN envoy to Afghanistan on Monday Iran's president said that foreign intervention in Afghanistan would not solve the problems in the country

* The government of Kosovo has adopted a law on public holidays in the "world's newest state", Serbia's Tanyug news agency reported

* An Estonian court said the trial of a 88-year-old WWII veteran and Hero of the Soviet Union on charges of genocide is due to start on May 20 in the town of Kardla in the country's western island of Hiiumaa

* The cost of damage from Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis, which hit the Southeast Asian country over two weeks ago, has been assessed at over $10 billion, national media said on Monday, citing Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win

* Kazakhstan has banned the export of petroleum products in a bid to stem price growth on the domestic market, Prime Minister Karim Masimov said on Monday

* The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will donate 135 million euros to support international efforts to clean up the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the bank said on Monday

* Russia's national ice hockey team beat Canada 5-4 in overtime in the final of the 2008 IIHF World Championship in Canada to become world champions for the first time in 15 years

* The Ukrainian government plans to involve the international community in an investigation into a mineral license scandal concerning a U.S. oil company, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said

* Another two Russian aircraft will deliver humanitarian aid to southwest China, which was devastated by an earthquake May 12, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said

* Georgia and its breakaway republic of Abkhazia have drawn up a plan to resolve their long-running conflict, a Russian business daily reported

* Eight people have been killed and nine injured in two terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, the country's interior and defense ministries announced on Monday

* Some 200 relief workers have been buried in landslides over the past three days in China's quake-hit province of Sichuan, the Xinhua news agency reported on Monday

* A group of Syrian military officials arrived in Moscow on Monday to discuss prospects for bilateral military and technical cooperation, a Russian Air Force spokesman said

BUSINESS

* Novatek said on Monday its net profit calculated to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) grew 80%, year on year, in January-March 2008 to 7.5 billion rubles ($315 million)

* Severstal, Russia's top steelmaker, said on Monday it had signed an agreement to buy 100% of U.S.-based WCI Steel's shares for $140 million

* Russia's crude exports declined 3.3% year-on-year in the first quarter to 61.1 million metric tons (448 million barrels), the country's top statistics body said on Monday

* Russia's largest steel producer Severstal is set to issue $1.5 billion in Eurobonds and could invest the funds in buying U.S. steelmaker Esmark, business daily Vedomosti reported

* The European Union said it had cleared the joint venture between SolVin, owned by the Solvay Group, BASF, and the Russian energy giant Gazprom's Sibur

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Russian Health Care!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee later than usual today, I had to undergo some tests for my cardiologist and I have more tests to come in the next few weeks. As I was drinking my coffee I thought about how fantastic the health care is here in Moscow.

I have an insurance plan that costs me $500 per year. (Yes, per year : not per month!) It is not a plan from America, but a Russian health plan.

I have a cardiologist, a regular doctor (therapist), a dentist, a doctor for pain, a doctor for arthritis & in fact, a doctor for any issue that I need. These doctors are all women, no men. In Russia the medical field is dominated by women.

In America one trip to the cardiologist was $500. I had 6 heart attacks before I came to Russia & it was a concern of mine, about health care. Everything that I read was about how terrible the health care is in Russia.

I am here to tell you that if I had the cardiologist in America that I do now (in Russia), I may have not suffered 5 more heart attacks. I feel that if I had a cardiologist that cared about me, instead of did I have insurance (I did) & how fast can we get you out of the hospital! I would have been better off.
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My first heart attack was while driving to work. I drove myself to a hospital and was released in two hours after a cardiologist said: "It is all in his head!" Two weeks later I drove myself to another hospital, to find that I had a blockage of my LAD or *widow maker of 98 percent!

*(A widow maker is a nickname used to describe a highly stenotic left main coronary artery or proximal left anterior descending coronary artery of the heart. This term is used because if the artery gets completely occluded it will cause a massive heart attack that will likely lead to death.)

To make a long story short, I had a stent put in the second time and the following 4 trips to the hospital, I ended up with 5 more stents being put in for a total of 6 stents.**

**(In medicine, a stent is a tube that is inserted into a natural conduit of the body to prevent or counteract a disease-induced localized flow constriction.)

Out of 6 trips to the hospital I drove myself 5 times & rode the ambulance once. The insurance that I had, refused to pay for the ambulance ride? ($3867)

The total bills of all my heart fun times came to over $1,000,000.
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The health care in Russia has been fantastic, Now I have a group of doctors that take all the time that is needed and they run any test that is needed. They never make you feel like you are a burden all for $500 a year......

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Moscow Getting Very Expensive To Rent Property!

Hello,

Just found a tidbit of information about renting office space in Moscow....
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Rent in Moscow business centers had skyrocketed. According to consultants Cushman & Wakefield & Stiles & Riabokobylko, the average cost for 1 sq. m. of class-A office space, not counting VAT, services and other charges, rose within the Garden Ring rose from $1000 in March to $1200 in April, up 75 percent in one year, and 20 percent in one month, that is 14 times more than the official inflation rate for that month of 1.2 percent. C&W&S&R say that Moscow has passed Paris in the rating of expensive office rentals, and may exceed London by 2010.
In the first quarter of this year, total office space in Moscow reached 7.31 million sq. m., almost 60 percent of which is in the Central District. Rent is rising is other parts of the city as well. Rent in Moscow City rose 40 percent in a year to $1340 per sq. m. in April. There is also high demand for office space in the northern bedroom neighborhoods, although rent there has increased only 1 percent in a year, to $600 per sq. m. In London, Europe’s most expensive capital, prices in the Western part of the city, the section favored by large corporations, are rising by 2-5 percent annually.

The situation in Moscow is due to reduced new construction in the center of the city. While it was planned to build 155,000 sq .m. of new office space in the first quarter of this year, much less than that was built. Furthermore, city officials have banned the building of new office space in the center. Until 2009, only projects begun before the moratorium will be completed. Olga Yasko of Colliers International said that 377,000 sq. m. of new office space were made available in 2007. This year, 429,000 sq. m. are planned, and next year 524,000 sq. m. will be made ready. The financial crisis has forced up the cost of credit for developers from 10-11 percent to 18 percent annually, which is also reflected in the prices.
www.kommersant.com
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Leaves me out of the office renting game.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia Says: Lets Work Together On The Litvinenko Case!

Not the kind of Tea that is healthy!

Hello,

Looks like Litvinenko is a issue again.
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18/05/2008 16:03 MOSCOW, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Sunday it was prepared to cooperate with Britain in investigating the case of poisoned defector Alexander Litvinenko after London lifted its unfounded accusations.

Former Russian security service officer Litvinenko died of radioactive poisoning in London in November 2006. London accused Russia's security services of their complicity in Litvinenko's death.

"We are ready for cooperation and interaction with them [British security services] but the first step should be made by Britain. We expect them to apologize for unfounded accusations as we are absolutely uninvolved in what they accuse us," Viktor Komogorov, head of the FSB operative information and international relations service said.

A large amount of radioactive polonium-210 was found in the Russian security service defector's body, but the British authorities have not yet made public any official document specifying the exact cause of his death or the results of the autopsy.

Litvinenko was fired from the FSB (formerly the KGB) following a 1998 press conference in which he and a number of other FSB officers alleged that they had been ordered to murder and kidnap a number of high-profile figures.

London has requested the extradition of its chief suspect in the Litvinenko case, Russian businessman and MP Andrei Lugovoi. Moscow has refused to extradite the former Kremlin security guard, saying its Constitution does not permit this.

Lugovoi, who met with Litvinenko in London before the ex-FSB officer fell ill, denies any involvement and says Litvinenko tried to recruit him for the British Intelligence Service (MI6).

The dispute has led to a dramatic deterioration in relations between London and Moscow, including tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats and the closure of two British Council offices in Russia.

Litvinenko received British citizenship in 2006 and published two books in the U.K. alleging the involvement of the Russian security services in a series of apartment bombings in Russia in 1999.
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I think that Britain needs to open up on this one, admit any mistakes & get coordination with Russia!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Lots Of Smoke!

Hello,

Big Fire could be seen from our Balcony. I couldn't get the camera out in time to get the flames but it sure made lots of black smoke. This fire was about 5 km away.....
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http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080517/107646166.html

MOSCOW, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - A fire has broken out at an electric substation in south-east Moscow, but the transformer involved was not connected to the power grid and the work of the substation will not be affected, said a representative of the Federal Grid Company.

"Repair work is taking place at the substation, during which new equipment is being tested. A new transformer, not connected to the power grid, was being tested and a fire broke out. This will not affect the work of the substation itself," said Olga Kindyashova.

The alarm concerning a fire on the territory of the substation was raised at 5:20 p.m. Moscow time (13:20 GMT).

There are no reports of injuries.

Firefighters are at the scene. The fire has been classed as a level 'two', with the maximum being five.
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It smelled the whole are up..(Yuck!)

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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U.S.A.: Has Racial Problems?

Population of the USA will change drastically in the future!

Hello,

I thought Russia was the only country with racial problems......

Never dreamed that there is racial problems in the USA. I lived there 47 years and saw it all. Now The UN is going to investigate these problems. (I do not think that the USA cares what the UN thinks!)
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U.N. racism investigator to visit U.S. from Monday
Fri May 16, 2008 2:48pm EDT

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.

"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.

His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.

His campaign has increased turnout among black voters but has also turned off some white voters in a country with a history of slavery and racial segregation.

Diene, a Senegalese lawyer who has served in the independent post since 2002, will report his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year.

However, the United Nations has almost no clout when it comes to U.S. domestic affairs and is widely perceived by many as interfering. The United States is not among the 47 member states of the Geneva-based forum, but has observer status.

In a report last year he said Islamophobia had grown worldwide since the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, carried out by al-Qaeda militants.

DEATH PENALTY

A U.N. panel which examined the U.S. record on racial discrimination last March urged the United States to halt racial profiling of Americans of Arab, Muslim and South Asian descent and to ensure immigrants and non-nationals are not mistreated.

It also said America should impose a moratorium on the death penalty and stop sentencing young offenders to life in prison until it can root out racial bias from its justice system.

Racial minorities were more likely than whites to be sentenced to death or to life without parole as juveniles, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It monitors compliance with an international treaty which Washington ratified in 1994.

U.S. officials told the body, made up of 18 independent experts, that they were combating hate crimes such as displays of hangman's nooses and police brutality against minorities.

Some 800 racially motivated incidents against people perceived to be Arab, Muslim, Sikh or South Asian had been investigated since the September 11 attacks, they said at the time.

Substantial progress had been made over the years in addressing disparities in housing, education, employment and health care, according to a U.S. report submitted to the talks.
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Now it is not just Russia everyone points the finger at. My country gets a taste of what they give Russia all the time..........

Never Dreamed..... "racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia"

Kyle

comments always welcome.

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Russian News: May 16th, 2008!

RBC, 16.05.2008, Moscow 11:53:03.After an hour and a half of today's special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the weighted average exchange rate stood at 23.84 RUB/USD. The official rate for May 17-19 could therefore be revised RUB 0.01 lower. Considering that the dollar, in contrast, climbed RUB 0.13 against the ruble over the two previous sessions, the latter currency has been able to recoup only some of that loss today. The current developments on MICEX can be attributed to the euro's slight advance against the dollar on international exchanges. Meanwhile, commercial bank activity has been consistently high, and the trade volume amounted to USD 828m as of 11:30 a.m.

RBC, 16.05.2008, Moscow 11:20:38.Open Investments has set the offering price for its additional share issue at RUB 6,915 (approx. USD 289.9) per share, the investment and development company's official documents state. The flotation was launched today, and the company is planning to place 1,692,252 shares with a par value of RUB 1,000 (approx. USD 41.93) each. The company's shareholders can exercise preemptive right to acquire additionally issued shares in proportion to the amount of shares they already own.

RBC, 16.05.2008, Moscow 10:55:37.During an annual meeting, Evraz Group shareholders approved a dividend of $4.2 per common share and $1.4 per GDR for 2007, the company's press office reported today. Therefore, the total payout for 2007 will amount to $9 per share and $3 per GDR, including interim dividend. The record date for the payment of dividend was set for May 14. In addition, the shareholders have appointed Ernst & Young as the company's auditor.

RBC, 16.05.2008, Moscow 09:57:28.Russia has sent its first rescue crew of the Emergency Ministry to China to help the search and rescue operations which have been underway in the country after this week's earthquake, the ministry's press office said. The crew consists of 49 specialists, including 29 rescuers, 13 doctors and 3 psychologists. Yesterday, the ministry reported that two Il-76 transport planes were bound for China carrying 87 crew members and an airborne hospital. The second plane will take 38 people to China, including 28 doctors of the Emergency Ministry, and seven tonnes of medicines alongside the hospital facilities.

RBC, 15.05.2008, Moscow 16:55:31.According to preliminary estimates, Russia's cash budget surplus reached some RUB 1.084 trillion (approx. USD 45bn) in January-April 2008, the Finance Ministry reported today. The primary surplus (excluding foreign debt repayments) amounted to nearly RUB 1.143 trillion (approx. USD 47.9bn). Budget revenue stood at roughly RUB 3.025 trillion (approx. USD 127bn), or 37.5 percent of the target for 2008, while cash budget spending totaled nearly RUB 1.941 trillion (approx. USD 81bn), or 26.2 percent of the amended target.

RBC, 15.05.2008, Moscow 15:29:51.The Russian government must present a draft federal budget for 2009-2011 to the State Duma in August 2008, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said during a cabinet meeting today. He stressed that the document needed to determine the country's priorities and key macroeconomic objectives. It also must include exact and realistic estimates, as well as take into account the current trends in the global economy, Putin noted.

RBC, 15.05.2008, Moscow 14:07:19.Aeroflot - Russian Airlines' net profit under RAS stood at RUB 1.336bn (approx. USD 56m) in the first quarter of 2008 against a RUB 1.15bn (approx. USD 48m) loss a year before, Russia's flagship air carrier reported. As reported earlier, Aeroflot's annual net profit fell 23.89 percent to RUB 6.074bn (approx. USD 255m) in 2007 compared to a year earlier.

RBC, 15.05.2008, Moscow 10:49:44.Mongolia's President Nambaryn Enkhbayar will pay a working visit to Moscow on May 15-18. During a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev scheduled for Friday, the two Presidents are expected to discuss a large number of issues regarding bilateral relations, as well as exchange opinions on international and regional problems of mutual interest, the Russian leader's press office reported today.

RBC, 15.05.2008, Moscow 13:52:56.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has put forward a proposal at today's cabinet meeting to set up a government board. The board is required to enhance the government's efficiency and flexibility, as it is obvious that government meetings are a slow and bureaucratic process, the Prime Minister said. The board will include Deputy Prime Ministers and some ministers. Government meetings are to be held at least once a month, and all current issues would be resolved by the government board weekly, with particular ministers invited to attend.

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Russia: Save The Gazelles!

Russia Today:
Several kilometers of Russia's border with Mongolia will be without fencing for a while to let some 100,000 gazelles move north. Years of drought have forced them to migrate to the Russian side of the border and, in doing so, many gazelles got tangled up in barbed wire and died.

The animals are heading for the Russia’s Daursky Nature Reserve in search of food and water.

Many of the trapped gazelles died from injuries and thirst, and conservationists feared an environmental disaster. But now several segments of the fence have been temporarily dismantled to allow the animals through.

The Nature Reserve staff are busy saving the gazelles by helping them to get out of the “traps” and disinfecting their wounds. Drinking bowls for the animals have also been installed at the scene.
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I wondered what they where going to do about this problem. I am glad to see that they have removed the fences.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Gazprom Is Going To Be Richer!

Gazprom Presented with 1/3 of Nation’s Gas Reserve

Before Dmitry Medvedev’s inauguration, Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom had received a generous farewell gift from him. With no tender whatsoever, the monopoly obtained a third of gas fields of the federal reserve with the total resources of nearly 4 trillion cu meters. Gazprom’s wealth will step up by 13 percent as a result of that present.

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Russia: Poverty!

Hello,

I think that 20 million in poverty is a very low number. I have traveled the country of Russia many times. I would say that 60 million in poverty would be a better number.
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20 Million Live in Poverty in Russia
In spite of its gradual reduction, the poverty level in Russia remains extremely high. The proportion of resident living in poverty in Moscow is significantly higher than the national average. The amount of poverty may increase this year due to inflation. Raising the minimum wage has not influenced the situation.
According to the government, the minimum cost of living in the fourth quarter of last year was 4005 rubles per month, up from 3879 rubles in the third quarter. The amount of poverty in Russia dropped from 24.5 percent at the beginning of 2005 to 14.8 percent in the third quarter of last year, 14 million people fewer. That figure is today about 13.5 percent. In Moscow, the minimum cost of living in the fourth quarter of last year was 5855 rubles. According to Mosgorstat, the city statistics service, 23 percent of Muscovites live in poverty. In Moscow Region, by contrast, 10.5 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Income disparity has always been sharper in Moscow. The difference between the 10 percent richest and 10 percent poorest among the population in Moscow was a factor of 41.6 times in 2007 (compared to 41.7 times in 2006 and 38.6 times in 2005). In Russia as a whole, that difference was 16.8 times in 2007, up from 16 times in 2006.

Experts note that a portion of those living in poverty have jobs, but earn very little. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has expressed the intention of raising the minimum wage to 4330 rubles on January 1, 2009.
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Wages stated are per month & even raising them to 4330 Rubles equates to $183 to $184 per month.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: LADA, A Russian Car!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about another car that I really like here in Russia.

The LADA:

The LADA is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Togliatti, (Samara Oblast or province). The name replaced the original Zhiguli brand, because of phonetic resemblance of Zhiguli to Gigolo, which hampered exports. Lada made its name in Western Europe selling the Lada Riva as an economy car in large quantities during the 1980s, but subsequent models have not enjoyed the same success.

The common Lada sedan/estate series, known as the Classic in the west (Signet in Canada), is one of the most produced car models in history. The car was based on the 1966 Fiat 124 sedan. Since 1980, more than 13.5 million Lada Rivas have been built, and unknown millions were produced between 1969 and 1979 badged as 2101s - 2107s (depending on engine size and interior specifications). Lada has since ceased production of the Classic but the car is in production at another Russian car plant as well as being built under licence in other countries.

The Lada was widely exported throughout the world in the 80s and 90s (the US was the only large market not to have imported Ladas, but Canadian cars can be found there) and is unique in being the only car model that can be found on every continent, including Antarctica (where the Russian research base used Lada Nivas). The rugged design of the Lada Classic, which was built to cope with extreme Siberian climates[citation needed] and poor roads, meant that high mileages were possible under normal conditions (300,000 mls + on the same engine). Because of their economy and ease of service, Lada Classics are commonly used as police cars, taxis, and as a range of public service vehicles in many parts of Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Models:

VAZ-2104: "Lada" (domestic name - "Zhighuli") is variant of VAZ-2105 sedan. It is 5-seat 5-doors classic station wagon 4x2. Rear wheel drive. Suspension: front - A-arms, coil springs, rear - solid axle, leaf springs. Engine: VAZ-2105 type - gasoline (carburetor) 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,294 cc (3.1"x2.6"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 64 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 68 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Gears: (old models - 4) 5, top speed 84 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph - 18.5 s. Brakes: front - disks, rear - drrums, with hydraulic control. Measures: LxWxH: 13'6"x5'3.8"x4'8.8", wheel base: 7'11.4". Track front/rear: 4'5.7"/4'4". Trunk space: 13.2/47.3 cu. ft. Curb weight: 2,050 lbs. Max. towing ratio: 1,507 lbs. Tyres: 175/70R13S. Fuel tank: 11 gal.

VAZ-21043: is powered by VAZ-2103 type engine: gasoline (carburetor), 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,452 cc (2.99"x3.15"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 71 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 76 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Top speed: 89 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 17 s.

Export variant VAZ-21044: is powered by VAZ-21073 type engine: gasoline (single-point injection) 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,690 cc (3.23"x3.15"), compression ratio: 9.3:1, power: 80 hp @ 5,200 rpm., torque: 83 ft.-lb. @ 3,200 rpm. Top speed: 91 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 17.5 s.

VAZ-21045: is powered by Barnaul's diesel engine VAZ-341 type. Displacement: 1,524 cc (2.99"x3.31"), CR 23:1, power: 53 hp @ 4,800 rpm, torque: 68 ft.-lb. @ 2,500 rpm. Curb weight: 2,050 lbs, full weight: 2,964 lbs. Top speed: 78 mph. Acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 23 s. Stopping distance from 62 mph: 175'. Fuel economy: 45.2 mpg at 56 mph, 31.4 mpg at 75 mph, 37.9 mpg in the city.

VAZ-21047: is luxury variant of VAZ-21043 (with same stuff as VAZ-2107 has).

VAZ-21048: (s. 2000) is powered by Barnaul's diesel engine VAZ-343 type. Displacement: 1,770 cc, power: 62.5 hp.

VAZ-2105: "Lada" (domestic name - "Zhighuli") is a 5-seat 4-doors classic rear wheel drive sedan 4x2. Suspension: front - A-arms, coil springs, rear - solid axle, coil springs. VAZ-2105 type engine: gasoline (carburetor) 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,294 cc (3.1"x2.6"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 64 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 68 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Gears: 4, top speed 90 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph - 18 s. Brakes: front - disks, rear - drums, with hydraulic control. Measures: LxWxH: 13'6.5"x5'3.8"x4'8.8", wheel base: 7'11.4". Track front/rear: 4'5.7"/4'4". Trunk space: 12.9 cu.-ft. Curb weight: 2,194 lbs. Tyres: 175/70R13S. Fuel tank: 10.3 gal. Fuel economy: 32.2 mpg at 56 mph, 23 mpg at 75 mph and in a city.

VAZ-21051: is powered by VAZ-2101 type engine: gasoline (carburetor), 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement 1,198 cc (2.99"x2.6"), compression ratio 8.5:1, power 58.5 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque 63 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Top speed: 88 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 20 s. Fuel economy: 32.7 mpg at 56 mph, 24 mpg at 75 mph and 22.4 mpg in a city.

VAZ-21053: is powered by VAZ-2103 type engine: gasoline (carburetor), 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,452 cc (2.99"x3.15"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 71 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 76 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. . Top speed: 93 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 17 s. Fuel economy: 31.8 mpg at 56 mph, 22.6 mpg at 75 mph and 22.2 mpg in a city.

VAZ-21063: Zhighuli (Lada) Striking representative of cars - "Lada" (domestic name - "Zhighuli") VAZ- 21063 (1976-2000). It originates from FIAT-124bis (1964-72). 21063 - 5-seat 4-door classic sedan 4x2. Suspension: front - A-arms, coil springs, rear - solid axle, coil springs. There are rear drive, gasoline (carburetor) engine : 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement 1,294 cc (3.1"x2.6"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 63.5 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 68 ft.-lb. @ 4,000 rpm. Gears: 4, top speed: 90 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 19 s. Brakes: front - disks, rear - drums, with hydraulic control. Stopping distance from 50 mph: 125'. Measures: LxWxH: 13'8"x5'4"x4'9", wheel base: 7'11.4". Track front/rear: 4'5.7"/4'4". Maneuverability: turning circle 37'; groung clearance: 6.2". Curb weight: 2,304 lbs. Tyres: 175/70R13S, pressure: 24/28 p.s.i. Fuel tank: 10.3 gal. Fuel economy: 22.6 mpg (highway, city cycle). Coefficient of drag (Cx)=0.45. Since 1998 is being produced by Roslada company.

VAZ-21061: Engine: VAZ-2103 type: gasoline (carburetor), 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement 1,451 cc (bore/stroke = 2.99/3.15"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 71 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 76 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Gears: 4 or 5, top speed: 93 mph.

VAZ-21065: Engine: VAZ-2103 type: gasoline (carburetor), 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement 1,451 cc (bore/stroke = 2.99/3.15"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 71 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 76 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Gears: 4 or 5, top speed: 93 mph.

VAZ-2107: "Lada" (s. 1981) (domestic name - "Zhighuli") is a luxury variant of VAZ-2105 sedan. Visible differencies: front grill, hood, bumpers, tail lights, front seats. It is 5-seat 4-doors classic rear wheel drive sedan 4x2. Suspension: front - A-arms, coil springs, rear - solid axle, coil springs. Engine: VAZ-2103 type engine: gasoline (carburetor), 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,452 cc (2.99"x3.15"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 71 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 76 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Gears: 5, top speed 93 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph - 17 s. Brakes: front - disks, rear - drums, with hydraulic control. Measures: LxWxH: 13'7.2"x5'3.8"x4'8.8", wheel base: 7'11.4". Track front/rear: 4'5.7"/4'4". Trunk space: 12.9 cu.-ft. Curb weight: 2,070 lbs. Max. towing ratio: 1,206 lbs. Tyres: 175/70R13S. Fuel tank: 10.3 gal.

VAZ-21072: is powered by VAZ-2105 type engine: gasoline (carburetor) 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,294 cc (3.1"x2.6"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 64 hp @ 5,600 rpm., torque: 68 ft.-lb. @ 3,400 rpm. Top speed: 90 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 18 s.

Export variant VAZ-21073-40: is powered by VAZ-21073 type engine: gasoline (single-point injection) 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,690 cc (3.23"x3.15"), compression ratio: 9.3:1, power: 80 hp @ 5,200 rpm., torque: 83 ft.-lb. @ 3,200 rpm. Top speed: 96 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 17 s.

VAZ-21074: is powered by VAZ-2106 type engine: gasoline (carburetor) 4 cylinders in line, ohc, displacement: 1,569 cc (3.11"x3.15"), compression ratio: 8.5:1, power: 75 hp @ 5,400 rpm., torque: 86 ft.-lb. @ 3,200 rpm. Top speed: 93 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 16 s.

VAZ-21079: is powered by VAZ-415 type engine: gasoline (carburetor) 2 section Wankel, displacement: 2,616 cc, compression ratio: 9.4:1, power: 140 hp @ 6,000 rpm., torque: 137 ft.-lb. @ 4,000 rpm. Top speed: 112 mph, acceleration 0 to 62 mph: 9 s. Length: 13'6.8". Curb weight: 2,210 lbs.

Now this is a LADA!

http://www.lada-auto.ru/
http://www.ruslada.com/models.html

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Moscow Planetarium Needs To Be Saved!

Hello,

I found this sad situation about a Planetarium in Moscow that seems to be loosing the battle to greedy people......
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Opened in 1929 the futuristic silver-domed Moscow Planetarium has been closed for repairs since 1994. Plans to reopen the landmark structure, shut shortly after the Soviet collapse, are mired in a years-long conflict for control over its real estate.

The conflict took a startling turn last week when staffers say about 20 uniformed men forced their way onto the grounds, beat an unarmed employee and proclaimed that a new boss was in charge.

The space-age cupola of the planetarium, which opened in 1929, embodied the Utopian dreams of a nation that saw science as the key to a glorious future.

Now it stands as a symbol of an era in which millions of Russians believe the good of society is routinely sacrificed to the commercial interests of bureaucrats and businessmen.

"It's shameful," said Anatoly Cherepashchuk, director of the Shternberg Astronomy Institute at Moscow State University. "It's no good when for 14 years all of Moscow and society suffer because of some disagreement among businessmen."

Link: To Article
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I am not sure why science has to take a back seat to money all the time........

Science Definition:

The word science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge.

How do we define science? According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is "knowledge attained through study or practice," or "knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world."

What does that really mean? Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often describes any systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it.

What is the purpose of science? Perhaps the most general description is that the purpose of science is to produce useful models of reality.

Seems that Science helps make the world a better place.......

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Strong Government!

The new government appears to be the strongest in Russia's modern history, State Duma Deputy Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin told journalists today, commenting on today's new cabinet appointments. The new ministers are efficient and well-known for their work, which means that the government will tackle the problems faced by Russia and its society, Volodin said. He noted that the Industry and Energy Ministry's split into two separate bodies proved that the development of Russia's industrial potential was among the government's priorities.

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20080512172107.shtml

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Russian News: 5-13-2008

RBC, 13.05.2008, Moscow 15:54:30.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has approved the division of responsibilities between his deputies, the government's press office reported today. specifically, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is to deal with the matters of agriculture and the agribusiness sector. First Deputy PM Igor Shuvalov will oversee the government's international economic policy, talks on Russia's accession to the WTO, support for small businesses, and state property governance, among other things. Deputy PM and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin will be responsible for Russia's social and economic development and monetary policy. Deputy PM Alexander Zhukov is expected to work on top priority national projects, Deputy PM Igor Sechin will deal with industry and energy issues, and Deputy PM, the government's chief of staff Sergei Sobyanin is to oversee the efficiency of Russia's executive bodies. Finally, Deputy PM Sergei Ivanov will be in charge of the government's industry, defense, transportation, communications, and innovation policies.

RBC, 13.05.2008, St. Petersburg 15:20:18.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin requested during today's meeting on the development of shipbuilding in Russia that the most promising areas of the industry's development be determined. He stressed that the construction of a new generation of ships and other marine equipment must be launched. It is necessary to focus efforts on projects that are vital for sustaining Russia's defensive capacity or have a noticeable commercial potential, Putin said. The creation of the full range of marine equipment for the production and transportation of hydrocarbons on sea shelves is especially important, as offshore output of hydrocarbons alone is estimated at $80bn-$100bn per year in the world at large, Putin stated.

RBC, 13.05.2008, Moscow 14:52:07.Slightly over two and a half hours before the close of today's special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the high on deals stood at 23.83 RUB/USD, which is RUB 0.11 higher than the official rate set by the Bank of Russia for the next day. As a result of the dollar's further advance against the ruble, the spread on dollar deals has widened to RUB 0.14, or 0.6 percent. The current developments on the domestic market can be attributed to the euro's unremitting recession against the US currency on international exchanges. Meanwhile, the weighted average exchange rate reached 23.77 RUB/USD and the trade volume has already exceeded USD 3.1bn at the UTS.

RBC, 13.05.2008, Moscow 11:42:30.After an hour and a half of today's special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the weighed average exchange rate stood at 23.72 RUB/USD. The official rate for May 14 could therefore be revised RUB 0.11 lower. Combined with a RUB 0.05 loss on Monday, the dollar has tumbled a total of RUB 0.16, or 0.7 percent, against the ruble in two days. The current developments on the domestic market can be attributed to the dollar's considerable depreciation against the European currency on international exchanges. The latter is now trading at around USD 1.5515, up from nearly USD 1.5385 at midday at the previous session. Consequently, the euro has edged up roughly 0.8 percent against the dollar on the global market since then. Meanwhile, commercial bank activity has been consistently high at the UTS, where the trade volume exceeded USD 867m as of 11:30 a.m., and the average deal size was fairly high at USD 3.6m.

RBC, 13.05.2008, Moscow 09:34:31.Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin congratulated Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on his inauguration, the press office of the Moldovan President has reported. In his address to Medvedev, Voronin said he was positive that the new President's stance on key interior and foreign issues would work to foster Russia's welfare and to provide decent living conditions to its citizens.

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Russia: Save The Polar Bears!

Hello,

Russia has had full ban on Polar Bear hunting for a long time. Looks like the USA needs to follow suit......
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MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is urging the U.S. to follow Russia's conservation efforts to save the polar bear, the regional program director for WWF Russia said on Tuesday.

This Thursday is a deadline set by a federal judge in Alaska for George Bush's administration to decide whether polar bears should be given the status of a species endangered by global warming.

"Over 50 years ago a full ban on polar bear hunting was introduced in Russia, which has approximately 30% of the global polar bear population," Viktor Nikifirov, said.
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If we don't we will not have Polar Bears one day. Just a thought.....

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Hard Drive Update!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & thinking about the hard drive situation. My wife has taken the hard drive that I kicked off the table and broke to computer shop that saves data. Link to Article!

We are going to try to salvage the data. When the drive hit the floor it knocked the arm sensor loose. Kinda hard to work with a broken actuator arm.

So maybe we will get our pictures yet. I just hope that the storage platters are ok!

Kyle & Svet

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Russia: Moscow Mayor Upset Ukraine!

Hello,

The Mayor of Moscow. Yury Luzhkov. Has been barred from Ukraine. Seems he thinks that the ownership of a Russian naval base on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula needs to be transferred back to Russia.
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"Russian citizen Yury Luzhkov has been barred from entering Ukraine, starting on May 12, because, despite warnings he continued to call for actions that threaten Ukraine's national interests and territorial integrity," Ukraine's Security Service said in a statement.
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I am not sure that Yury Luzhkov really cares what Ukraine thinks about this. I understand that The Crimea wants to be a separate country from the Ukraine anyway.

So Yury can still enjoy the Crimean sunshine!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Rules For The British Football Fans!

Hello,

Just saw this about rules for the Champions League in Moscow!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UK fans warned against Moscow antics

Ahead of the all-English final of the football Champions League in Moscow on May 21, Britain's Foreign Office has published a set of guidelines for the 40,000 fans flocking to Moscow.

The guidelines show Chelsea and Man United supporters how to behave in a foreign country and draw a picture of a dangerous environment.

“Don’t smoke or drink in Red Square - it’s illegal and you will be arrested! Don’t commit acts of theft - the local authorities will lock you up rather than deport or fine you. Do not do drugs during your visit - the Russian authorities have zero tolerance towards drugs, both hard and soft. Penalties are severe and can result in long-term jail sentences,” say the guidelines.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

They forgot one rule:

Do not bring Ammunition for your hunting friends.......

http://kylekeeton.com/2008/05/pastor-phillip-miles-appeal-has-been.html

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Victory Day Parade: May 9th, 2008 - Red Square!

Hello,

Svet & I decided to try to record the Parade. In Russia, this is the biggest Holiday.



Russia has been paying tribute to its heroes every year on May, 9 since 1945 when the Soviet Union defeated the forces of Nazi Germany. World War Two cost the country about 30 Million people.

Kyle & Svet
PS We just published the full professional version of Military Parade on Red Square here! Find time to watch the video - it's worth it!

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Gazprom Is Huge!

Gazprom: New Home! (not built yet!)

from PH "Kommersant"

OAO Gazprom has become the third largest company in the world by market capitalization. Gazprom stock gained 5.34 percent on the MICEX on May 8, raising the monopoly’s market value to $348 billion and knocking the Chinese cellular communications operator China Mobile, worth $341 billion, out of third place in the world ranking. According to Reuters, the American company ExxonMobil occupies first place on that list at $476 billion, and Petrochina is in second place with $447 billion.

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Georgia: Drones & More Drones?

Hello,

I think this makes 5 drones that have been shot down. Georgia has got to run out of drones.....Update: Georgia had acquired a total of 40 drones, worth around $2 million each, from Israel between 2006 and 2008. So looks like there may be a lot of drones shot down.....
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia shot down another Georgian spy drone on Thursday, its Defence Ministry said, although Tbilisi immediately denied the allegation from the Russian-backed rebels. Minutes before the announcement, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had told visiting Russian reporters war between Georgia and Russia over the status of Abkhazia had been only narrowly averted days earlier but remained a real threat. According to the Abkhazian authorities this was the third Georgian drone it had shot down in the last five days.
-----------------------------------------------

Yes I went back and counted: 5 drones shot down, out of total 6 drones spotted. For some reason Abkhazian did not knock down one drone spotted the other day.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Walking In Russia: The Little Plant That Could!

Hello,

My wife and I were walking to the store! I looked down as we were walking and stopped in my tracks.

Growing up through the asphalt just like it was supposed to be grow there, was a brand new plant. I asked my wife did she have her camera & as you can see she did. :)

You can even see the cap of asphalt that it popped up. It is amazing how powerful the plant is yet so delicate at the same time.

Just thought you might be interested.....

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Putin: Russia's Prime Minister!

The Russian State Duma, has endorsed Vladimir Putin as the country’s prime minister today, May 8. Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev proposed Putin’s candidacy to the parliament members yesterday.
Of 448 present at the sitting, 392 (87.1 процента) backed up Vladimir Putin by the open vote. Of State Duma’s four factions, only the Communist Party of the RF (CPRF) opposed this authority of the former president.

Putin held the Prime Minister office in 1999 and was the Russian Federation President in 2000 to 2008.

His cabinet will pay particular attention to financial and tax policy and to lowering bureaucratic pressure on the business, Putin said when presenting his program to the State Duma.

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Russia: Victory Day, Inauguration & Classical Music!

Hello,

My Wife & I traveled once again to the center of Moscow. The center was quiet due to the inauguration for Medvedev. The Police force was out in full glory! I think that is a smart move on Moscow's part, in this day & age of people who have no morals when it comes to blowing up public places & things. Over the years Moscow has had its share of Metro, buses and other public buildings bombed by scrupulous people. (So better safe than sorry!)

Once again the Tourists were everywhere. I know that many would be disappointed because Red Square was closed for inauguration.

My wife & I went to a wonderful classical music concert in the Mirror Hall of the Institute of Art Criticism . It was made up of 3 violins, 1 cello and piano. The music was fantastic & suit our tastes perfect. We found this place the last time that we traveled to Moscow Center. The price was free and the music was priceless.
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Festival "Paying Homage to the Master". To the 90th birthday of Tatyana Gaidamovitch

The events of the festival "Paying Homage to the Master", dedicated to the 90th birthday of Tatyana Gaidamovitch (1918-2005) begin on May, 3, and last till May, 15, 2008. They will take place in the Moscow Conservatory halls, in the Stanislavsky music theatre and in the Mirror Hall of the Institute of Art Criticism.
http://www.mosconsv.ru/english/news.phtml?id=112
Link to Moscow Conservatory!
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Svet & I are talking about going this Saturday the 10th, to see another concert by the same men. They were that good!

Tomorrow is the 9th of May. (Victory Day) That means the biggest Holiday of all is going to happen in Russia. Russians have not forgotten about those who fought in WWII. This holiday commemorates that time in history.

This year Russia is going to revitalize the tradition of displaying military might at the Red Square. I wish that I could be there for this parade. Once again the center of Moscow will be quiet and peaceful. (except when the military jets fly over head.) Maybe my wife & I will sneak downtown to try to catch a glimpse of a Tank!

That would be cool! :)

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Dmitry Medvedev's Inauguration!

That is the full version video of Dmitry Medvedev's Inauguration at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on May 7th, 2008.


I thought that all our readers may be interested in the Presidential Inauguration. Today is unique & historic for Russia it will be for the first time that an incumbent President will hand over the authority to a new national leader while still in office. Boris Yeltsin resigned as President before the end of his term.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Gorbachev: U.S.A. Promises Cannot Be Trusted!

Hello,

I found this interesting article about an interview with Mikhail Gorbachev:
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MOSCOW, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - Promises made by U.S. leaders cannot be trusted, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph published on Wednesday.

"The Americans promised that NATO wouldn't move beyond the boundaries of Germany after the Cold War, but now half of central and eastern Europe are members, so what happened to their promises? It shows they cannot be trusted," he said in Paris.

He also said that Washington's claims that a missile defense system it is planning to build in central Europe was aimed exclusively at countering the threat from so-called rogue states could not be believed either.

The Pentagon's missile shield deployment plans continue to be a major bone of contention in relations between the U.S. and Russia. Moscow considers the project a threat to its national security.

Gorbachev said the missile shield plan jeopardized world peace and could lead to a new Cold War.

He continued that that "erecting elements of missile defense is taking the arms race to the next level. It is a very dangerous step".

"I sometimes have a feeling that the United States is going to wage war against the entire world," the former Soviet leader said.

"The United States cannot tolerate anyone acting independently. Every U.S. president has to have a war," he concluded, also saying that the world had squandered the chance in the decade after the Cold War to "build a new world order."
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"I sometimes have a feeling that the United States is going to wage war against the entire world," the former Soviet leader said.

"The United States cannot tolerate anyone acting independently. Every U.S. president has to have a war," he concluded, also saying that the world had squandered the chance in the decade after the Cold War to "build a new world order."

Makes you think.....

Kyle & Svet

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Historic Day In Russia: May 6th, 2008!

Medvedev, New Russian President!

Hello,

Today is a special day in Russia:

Dmitry Medvedev will be inaugurated as Russian President today. He will become Russia's third President, to succeed his predecessors Boris Yeltsin (elected as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 19991 and re-elected as President of the Russian Federation in 1996) and Vladimir Putin (elected as the country's President in 2000 and 2004). Medvedev won a presidential election held on March 2, 2008.

Today is unique & historic for Russia it will be for the first time that an incumbent President will hand over the authority to a new national leader while still in office. Boris Yeltsin resigned as President before the end of his term.

Kyle & Svet

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Windows To Russia: 500 Posts!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & realized that we are at 500 posts for Windows To Russia!

I asked myself was it worth it?

My wife and I have put a lot of time into this blog & all blogs attached to it. Windows To Russia's was born on 05/25/2007. Before that was several posts from a blog that had a lack of direction......

List of Blogs & Websites:
Main Blog: http://kylekeeton.com/
Video Blog: http://video.kylekeeton.com/
News Blob: http://news.kylekeeton.com/
Photo Blog: http://photo.kylekeeton.com/
Sport Blog: http://sports.kylekeeton.com/ (new)
? Blog: http://didyouknow.kylekeeton.com/
USSR Blog: http://cccp.kylekeeton.com/
Amazon.Com: http://amazon.kylekeeton.com/
Forum Website: http://junglebook2007.narod.ru/FORUM.html
Guestbook: http://junglebook2007.narod.ru/GUEST.html
Dictionary Website: http://junglebook2007.narod.ru/DICT.html

So Windows To Russia is about a year old. During that year we have upset a few people & a few people have upset us. We have had well thought out comments & comments that we could not print. In that year we have made some fantastic friends.....

List of Friends Blogs:

http://russiapastandpresent.blogspot.com/
http://rotus.wordpress.com/
http://diaryfromengland.blogspot.com/
http://tsl8.blogspot.com/
http://www.humabpost.com/
http://thesilverpeoplechronicle.blogspot.com/
http://minaev.blogspot.com/
http://lj.rossia.org/users/ppkk/

These are blogs and blog owners that we communicate with on a regular bases. These are blogs that we have watched grow and helped to grow just like they have helped us. These are people that we are going to try our best to travel & see someday!

As far as content for Windows To Russia it has stayed centered on Russia, we refuse to wander too far from the Russian theme. Even if America seems to be the bad guy!

I myself have been accused many times of being against America. That is the furthest from the truth.

You see I came to Russia with preconceived notions, ideas that Russia is something that is evil. I was convinced by American media that Russians live in a totally depressed society.

I found a World that is equal if not superior to the one in the USA that I left. In my life I have stepped foot in Canada, Mexico, America, Germany, Ukraine, Vietnam, Moldova, Georgia & Russia. I have always been surprised at how wonderful the world really is, at how alike people are all over the world & how governments seem to be the root of the problems not the people. People all over the world will take the shirt off their back & give it to you if you need it. People all over the world will give you their last slice of bread if you need it. People in other parts of the world seem to have stronger moral convictions than what I saw in America.

So what you sense from me is an American that has realized that much of what he was taught & thought, was incorrect about the world.

Was it worth it? Yes!

Thank You for reading "Windows To Russia" & all her satellite blogs.

Kyle & Svetlana

comments always welcome.

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Putin: Steps Aside For Medvedev!

Hello,

Putin had his last meeting as President of Russia, will his next meeting be as Prime Minister?
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Yesterday Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met with his former and future subordinates.

“My words of gratitude are addressed not only to those present here today, but also to those of our colleagues in the Administration and in the Government who are absent today, but worked with us in different periods of time and contributed to the revival of the Russian economy, social sphere, and the strengthening of our state’s defense.” Stated Putin.

Putin also said:“The cooperation between the Administration of the President and the Government will become closer, authorities must function as a single tuned mechanism.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday May 7th, 2008: Medvedev will be sworn in as Russia's new President.

I see big plans on the horizon.....

Kyle & Svet

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Russian News: May 6th, 2008

RBC, Moscow 16:28:36.The United Aircraft Building Corporation's (UABC) net profit
under RAS amounted to RUB 121.034m (approx. USD 5m) , the company reported. Revenue totaled RUB 27.151m (approx. USD 1.14m). Proceeds from the participation in other organizations reached RUB 265.24m (approx. USD 11m). Earlier, UABC President Alexei Fyodorov announced that sales of all the companies part of the United Aircraft Building Corporation were estimated to reach at RUB 120bn (approx. USD 5bn).

RBC, Moscow 15:53:30.Russia's external debt shrank 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2008, from $44.9bn as of January 1, 2008 to $44.1bn as of April 1, 2008, the Russian Finance Ministry reported. The outstanding debt to Paris Club creditors decreased 11 percent to $1.6bn.

RBC, Moscow 15:31:20.The Russian stock market will trade moderately positive this week, experts told RBC TV, adding that the RTS index would try to reach a level within the range of 2,160-2,180 points. The rise is most likely to be bolstered by Gazprom and Sberbank, as well as other key index growth drivers. Meanwhile, low trading activity will persist on the Russian market until the end of the week, despite the upcoming presidential inauguration and subsequent stepped-up government activity. The banking sector's potential is seen as high in the longer term, with predictions of prices not only reaching their IPO levels, but also hitting some new highs.

RBC, Moscow 14:59:35.OGK-1's net profit under IFRS dropped by a factor of three to RUB 1.966bn (approx. USD 83m) in 2007 compared to a year earlier, the Russian power generation company said in a statement. Revenue grew 49 percent to RUB 44.891bn (approx. USD 1.887bn). Pre-tax profit shrank three times to RUB 2.748bn (approx. USD 116m).

RBC, Moscow 13:47:16.Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a federal law setting out the procedure for foreign investment in enterprises considered as strategically important to ensure national security, the leader's press office reported. The bill was passed by the State Duma on April 2 and approved by the Federation Council on April 16.

RBC, Moscow 13:23:27.Georgia is discrediting the Russian peacekeeping mission in the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict zone in order to justify the use of military force, the Russian Defense Ministry believes. The ministry's information and media relations department announced today that it had been with the support of several NATO nations and foreign-sponsored military build-up that Georgian politicians began to feel they were in a position to discredit Russian peacekeeping efforts and condone the use of military force in settling ethnic conflicts. A Defense Ministry source said the May 4 incident with two Georgian spy planes shot down by Abkhaz air defense proved that Tbilisi had long given up on resolving the conflict peacefully.

RBC, Moscow 11:55:05.AVTOVAZ's sales grew 22.8 percent to 212,200 cars between January and April 2008 from the same period a year earlier. During the first four months of 2008, AVTOVAZ sold 56,600 Lada Samaras, 59,600 Lada 2105/2107s, 57,900 Lada 111/112/Prioras, 30,600 Lada Kalinas, and 7,500 Lada 4x4s, exporting over 37,400 Ladas, 15 percent more than in January-April 2007. In April 2008 alone, over 67,000 AVTOVAZ-produced cars were sold on the Russian market, 29 percent more than during the same month of 2007.

RBC, Moscow 15:47:44.Russia's National Welfare Fund totaled RUB 773.82bn, or USD 32.72bn, as of May 1, 2008, the Finance Ministry reported. The balance on the Fund's foreign currency accounts amounted to USD 14.31bn, EUR 9.74bn and GBP 1.62bn. The Ministry estimated the return on investment of the fund's reserves at USD 0.23bn, or RUB 5.36bn for the period between January 30 and April 30. The figures were calculated based on official foreign exchange rates of the Bank of Russia as of the date previous to the reporting date.

RBC, Moscow 14:44:14.Russia's customs offices transferred some RUB 371.87bn (approx. USD 15.72bn) to the federal budget in April 2008, which is 11.08 percent, or RUB 37.1bn (approx. USD 1.57bn), above the target, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service. Hence, the total year-to-date contribution of the customs authorities reached RUB 1.375 trillion (approx. USD 58.115bn), exceeding the target by 4.39 percent.

RBC, Moscow 12:58:20.Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) has acquired 50 percent in Lomonosov Cargo Terminal for EUR 77m from Frameno Limited, the port indicated in a press release. The deal was reached on May 1, 2008. The state controls 20 percent in the Russian ports operator was established in 1992.

RBC, Moscow 11:43:06.Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods has scheduled its annual general shareholders meeting for June 27, 2008. The meeting will be held on a standard agenda. This was reported in a statement the company released today. The record date is May 12, 2008.

RBC, Moscow 14:58:53.As of May 1, 2008, Russia's Reserve Fund amounted to RUB 3.069 trillion, or USD 129.80bn, the Finance Ministry reported. The balance on foreign currency accounts stood at USD 56.95bn, EUR 38.57bn, and GBP 6.37bn. The return on investments for the period between January 30 and April 30 was estimated at USD 0.85bn, or RUB 20.08bn. The figures were calculated based on the official foreign exchange rates of the Bank of Russia as of the date previous to the reporting date.

RBC, Moscow 12:47:26.The RAS-based net profit of Surgutneftegas nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the same figure a year earlier, reaching virtually RUB 19.519bn (approx. USD 824.98m), the company said in a statement. However, this is 38.89 percent below the respective Q4 figure of RUB 31.942bn (approx. USD 1.35bn).

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Pastor Phillip Miles: Appeal Has Been Filed!

Jailed U.S. pastor appeals smuggling sentence

15:26 | 05/ 05/ 2008

MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - An appeal has been filed with a Moscow court against a jail sentence of more than three years handed down to an American pastor for illegally bringing ammunition into Russia, a defense attorney said Monday.

Moscow's Golovinsky district court sentenced Phillip Miles, 58, to three years and two months in prison last month for the illegal possession and smuggling of rifle rounds, declarable under Russian customs law, into the country for his Russian hunting partner.

"We filed an appeal on Sunday with the secretariat of the Golovinsky court, which will be redirected to the Moscow City Court," attorney Vladimir Ryakhovsky said.

The defense wants the court to acquit Miles of the smuggling charges citing an absence of criminal intention and is requesting the pastor's sentence be confined to the illegal possession charges. The defense said either the court should release Miles taking into account the time spent on remand or suspend his sentence.

The lawyer added that Miles has also submitted a complaint against the court's ruling calling it "severe and inadequate."

Miles, of the Christ Community Church in Conway, South Carolina, was caught with a box of twenty .300-caliber rifle cartridges after landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on January 29.

"Phillip's complaint is rather emotional, while my appeal contains a thorough legal analysis of the situation notifying that the court ignored the differences between instructions on items declarable in Sheremetyevo airport in the Russian and English languages," the lawyer said.

According to Ryakhovsky, after reading airport customs advisory boards, the pastor followed the green channel, believing he had no items to declare.

Miles, who visited the country on more than 10 occasions and almost always stayed with his friend in the town of Perm, said the rounds were for his friend's lever-action Winchester rifle, an antique item that is rare in Russia. The two men were both keen hunters, and had hunting licenses.

The pastor, his lawyer and defense witnesses have said the cleric's actions were unintentional. After his sentence was read out, Miles told the court: "I'm very disappointed. It's a strange sentence for one box of hunting bullets."

Explaining the ruling, the judge said: "The court is skeptical over the pastor's statement that he did not know he had to declare ammunition being brought into the country - this runs contrary to evidence presented in court."

The appeal date is expected to be scheduled within a month.

http://kylekeeton.com/2008/04/now-they-are-in-uproar-pastor-phillip.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/04/usa-has-rules-on-firearms-ammunition-at.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/04/russia-items-to-declare-at-border.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/04/usa-pastor-phillip-miles.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/04/russia-pastor-phillip-miles-gets-three.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/04/phillip-miles-what-will-be-outcome.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/03/pastor-phillip-miles-still-in-prison.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/more-on-phillip-miles.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/pastor-phillip-miles.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/russia-important-update-on-american.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/russia-update-on-pastor-phillip-miles.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/why-did-i-try-to-walk-into-russia-with.html
http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/why-would-anyone-bring-ammunition-into.html

Russia: WWII Tanks Are Great!

Hello,

We have a few pictures of our trip that did not get lost .

I thought that I would post some pictures of World War II tanks that we came across in Russia. They are in very good shape and are situated near a battle field of a large tank battle in WWII.

This is where we had stopped on the first leg of our trip, at a town in Russia called Prohorovskoe(Belgorodskaya oblast'). We stayed in a hotel that Putin stayed in when he was in this town. We found out that Yeltsin had all the major monuments put in this area. The town has fantastic sites to see and beautiful churches & of course Tanks!

I thought that maybe you would enjoy the tanks also....

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

PS: Barrett from Huma B Post, he loves tanks! So I thought I would give him & anyone else who loves tanks some pictures to look at.

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Russia: Vacation Pictures!

1. Tank Monument.
2. Wore out bus.
3. Church.
4. WWII fighter plane.
5.Bus stop, Soviet style!

Kyle & Svet

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Yes: Russia Has Missiles!

Hello,

I know all about the American Missile system but I thought that I would expand my knowledge about Russian missiles.

Russia has very sophisticated Missiles. At present, Russia operates 48 silo-based Topol-M systems and will build another two silos in the Saratov Region in southern Russia this year, bringing the total number to 50.

The missile, has a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 km), is said to be immune to any current and future U.S. ABM defense. It is capable of making evasive maneuvers to avoid a kill using terminal phase interceptors, and carries targeting countermeasures and decoys.

It is also shielded against radiation, electromagnetic pulse, nuclear blasts, and is designed to survive a hit from any known form of laser technology.

Makes me think twice before I would attack Russia. To give you an idea about how far 7000 miles is look at the list below for some major cities..... (distance in miles)

Mumbai to Moscow = 3136,
Delhi to Moscow = 2708,
Frankfurt to Moscow = 1253,
Hong Kong to Moscow = 6063,
London to Moscow = 1557.
Montreal to Moscow = 5259,
New York to Moscow = 5620,
Paris to Moscow = 1553,
Rome to Moscow = 1476,
Singapore to Moscow = 5242,
Sydney to Moscow = 11044,
Tehran to Moscow = 1526,
Tokyo to Moscow = 4667!

Sometimes I just write what I think about. This is one of those times. Sometimes we need to put things in perspective.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Medvedev + Putin = Twice The Power!

Hello,

Interesting Article that I found in the Kansas City.com
--------------------------------------------------
By PETER FINN
The Washington Post

MOSCOW | On Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev will walk through three gilded halls in the Grand Kremlin Palace to a rostrum where he will be sworn in as Russia’s third president, his right hand on a copy of the Russian constitution. To the strains of the national anthem, the presidential flag will be raised over the presidential residence. Medvedev will address the audience and the nation before a 30-gun salute signals the end of the ceremony and the arrival of a new leader inside the forbidding walls of the Kremlin.

The following day, with much less ceremony and more dispatch, his popular and powerful predecessor, Vladimir Putin, will almost certainly become Russia’s new prime minister. Putin will move upriver from the Kremlin to Russia’s White House, home to prime ministers, who traditionally have functioned as political errand boys for the president.

The new president and parliament will skip the traditional consultations over the choice of prime minister. “Why put it off?” asked Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the lower house of parliament. “We know whom the president will nominate.”

Since the moment last year when Putin announced his willingness to become prime minister, Russia has been gripped by questions: Who will rule Russia? Why is Putin assuming a seemingly subordinate role to Medvedev? And how long will this tango last?

“If we try to answer our favorite question — Who’s in charge?’ — we are at a loss,” said Lilia Shevtsova of the Moscow Carnegie Center. “We simply don’t know.”

Neither Putin nor Medvedev has publicly discussed the division of powers in any detail except to say they are in complete harmony about the country’s direction. The two men, who have worked together for nearly two decades, with Putin as boss, have a close personal relationship. But Russian history shows that the man in the Kremlin almost always begins to savor and exercise his authority.

Medvedev, 42,is assuming an office that according to the Russian constitution is the most powerful in the land, carrying the right to dismiss the prime minister. Under Putin, the presidential administration became the country’s unchallenged center of power, dominating parliament and the courts, reining in the media, and making leaders in the country’s sprawling regions subject to appointment by Moscow.

“Presidential power guarantees unity and the very existence of Russia,” Alexander Budberg, who is close to Medvedev, wrote this month in an essay in the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets. “The entire country and the bureaucratic class, seized with pride, must get used to the fact: There will be a president in Russia, and not an empty throne which has been put in storage’ for four years.”

But Putin, 55, leaves office with enormous political capital and new institutional prerogatives that at the very least will make him the most powerful prime minister the country has ever seen. Since Medvedev was elected, Putin has also been named chairman of the dominant United Russia party, beginning Thursday. The party rewrote its rules to allow its new chairman to dismiss any functionary and suspend any party activity.

“That was a clear message to the elite: I’m not dead yet,’ ” Shevtsova said.

Putin did not, however, become a member of the party he will now chair; he appears to want to direct the party but remain above it, a kind of moral leader in the eyes of Russians.

Through the party, Putin will control both houses of parliament, which can impeach the president and regional governors. He will also be master of Russia’s vast bureaucracy and state-controlled companies whose ranks are full of his loyalists.

What remains uncertain is how Putin intends to exercise this power, and to what end. Is he simply biding his time before returning to the Kremlin as president, consolidating his new position so as to rule out the unlikely possibility that Medvedev might warm to the presidency and turn against him? Or has he been careful to maintain so much power in order to protect Medvedev while the neophyte president establishes his own base in a system that would devour him without Putin’s oversight? Or is there no grand strategy, and the two men, while agreeing to share power, have not looked beyond the horizon?

Olga Kryshtanovskaya, director of the Moscow-based Center for the Study of Elites, is certain of one thing. “I’m absolutely sure that Putin is coming back” as president, she said. “Whether that happens in two or four years, I don’t know. But he will be coming back for 14 years, two new seven-year terms.”

Kryshtanovskaya points to calls by political figures such as Gryzlov for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held two years apart rather than close together, as they are now. Splitting the polls that way could trigger a new presidential election in 2010. United Russia leaders have also spoken of extending the presidential term to seven years.

Such amendments to the electoral law could see Putin back in the Kremlin until 2024. Nor has Putin ruled out a return to the Kremlin; indeed, he has publicly flirted with the idea on occasion.

“I think Medvedev is a willing participant in all of this,” Kryshtanovskaya said. “Of course, there is a very small chance that Medvedev might betray him and become a real president, and some of Putin’s moves recently are to protect himself from that.”

But Sergey Markov, a United Russia lawmaker and political analyst, said that if Medvedev proves up to the job and broadly follows the policies set by Putin, then the former president will leave the stage in a year or two.

“Putin is Medvedev’s political father,” Markov said. “If Medvedev is successful, Putin will step aside. He wants to give the chance to someone else. He will not become a simple pensioner, but he is not obsessed with keeping power. Of course, if Medvedev fails, he can return.”
--------------------------------------------------
I find it interesting that people try to second guess what will happen.

I will tell you what will happen, Medvedev will be sworn in as President. Putin will be made the Prime Minister of Russia. Then behind closed doors the two men will run Russia as they see necessary!

Now we have two men, who have worked together for nearly two decades, with Putin always as the leader and have a close personal relationship. The plans that are in effect have been in effect for years.

Now Putin has twice as much power......

I hope he uses it wisely!

Kyle & Svet

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Russia: If Georgia Attacks Abkhazia, How Will Russia Respond?

According to RIA Novosti news agency:
----------------------------------------------------------
Georgia has deployed almost 7,500 troops on its border with Abkhazia, the defense minister of the breakaway republic said on Sunday.

Merab Kishmaria said should a military operation begin, some 3,000 troops will apparently be used to seize the Kodori Gorge, in the northeast of Abkhazia.

"We are watching the movement of troops in the Kodori Gorge. According to our intelligence, up to 7,500 Georgian troops on the Georgian-Abkhaz border are on alert, with 3,000 of them to be used in attempting to take the Kodori Gorge," he said.

He added that the Abkhaz armed forces had also been put on combat alert and that there would be enough forces and military equipment to repulse any "Georgian aggression."
----------------------------------------------------------

I do not think that Abkhaz will be a push over & Georgia better watch their P&Q's.

Besides this is not far from Sochi, someone better get it under control before the Olympics.....

Kyle

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Travel Time!

Hello,

I was drinking my morning cup of coffee & helping my wife get ready to work on a Sunday. Russians have holidays but they have to make up the days by working a weekend day. So this holiday they had Thursday through Saturday off and Sunday is a workday.

The city of Moscow is still quiet and calm. Many Muscovites take vacation at this time of the year and Moscow is like half the number of people. (7-8 Million people instead of 15 million people.) Now that the ones who did not go to their Dachas (Summer homes) are at work & Moscow is very empty right now. (Strange)

Then an idea hit me, this is the perfect time to visit Moscow, Russia. The Muscovites are out of town & all the sites are easy to see. There are still lots of things going on, it is just easier to get to them. The lines are much shorter. Actually visiting Moscow during the Summer Months is a good time to visit. Most weekends, people in Moscow go to their Village and (Dachas) Summer homes.

Something for travelers to think about

I just thought I would let you know a little more about Moscow, Russia.

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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Russia: Moscow Is Empty or "Yes of course, it is the Russian way!"

Hello,

As I was drinking my morning cup of coffee yesterday. I watched the cars lined up for 6 to seven hours trying to leave the city. Besides being May Day in Russia it is also traditionally the weekend to go to your Dacha and plant flowers & gardens.

{Dacha (Russian: да́ча) is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes located in the exurbs of Soviet and Russian cities. It is usually occupied part of the year by its owner or rented out to urban residents as a summer retreat. Dachas are very common in Russia, and are also widespread in some former republics of the Soviet Union.}

So my wife & I decided to travel to the center of Moscow. What a pleasant day it was. I knew that Moscow was empty by the fact that the Metro train was only half full. I have never seen it like that.

We arrived downtown Moscow & found a tranquil city & lots, I mean lots of Chinese tourists! We found the Downtown Sabarro Italian Restaurant and enjoyed the best meal we have had there in a year. The place was empty and the food was great. Normally the place is packed & the food is great. :)

We walked toward the Kremlin but I decided that it would be best to stay away from that area yesterday. I had heard (and was correct) that there would be some unapproved rallies going on. Not approved means getting in trouble and going to jail. Seems that 35 people were arrested. When will people ever learn to follow the rules?

We had decided earlier in the week to go to the Village ourselves this weekend, but after seeing the whole city leaving I knew that the roads would be jam packed. We are glad we stayed home.

I myself have learned something interesting about Russians. Russians do things in mass. Examples:

1. Time to put winter tires on. The whole city seems to try to put their studded Winter tires on in the same week. That is a week of chaos in Moscow. The same when they put on summer tires. The tire places run 24 hours & it is not uncommon to have a 3-4 hour wait if you are lucky.

2. You drive through a town and you see a fruit stand that sells pears. Then you look around and see that there are 20 stands that sell pears. Nothing but pears and lots of pears. Then you travel to the next town & they sell potatoes. Then the next town sells home canned goods. The next town sells mushrooms. The next town sells stuffed animals. The next town sells kites..... (I think you get my point!)

3. Everyone leaves Moscow the same weekend and goes to their Dacha! Everyone quits going to their Dacha on the same week at the end of the summer. (Not sure what week that is?)

4. I point these things out to my wife & she says: "Yes of Course, it is the Russian way!"

So as my American mentality keeps asking what seems to be a silly question,"Why do 6 Babushkas sit in a row near a Metro station entrance & all sell home made sauerkraut?" I know the answer....

Yes of course, it is the Russian way!

Kyle & Svet

comments always welcome.

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