Russia
November 13, 2009
Old fortresses, even after one battle, are sometimes claimed to have ghosts and spirits of defeated souls roaming them. Kremlin was priginally a fortress, then a castle of aort, and more recently served as headquarters for a major world power that was spreading workers' revolution throughout the world.
Internal political conflicts, assassinations of political leaders and signing of orders to murder millions of people taint the history of an architectural giant in the heart of Moscow. Legends of restless spirits that wander Kremlin were heard in all corners of Russian Empire and the fear-imspiring stories left people asking themselves just how much of Kremlin's bloody history remains classified or hidden.
Continue reading "Haunted Kremlin"
October 27, 2009
November 7th, up until a few years ago, was celebrated as an anniversary of the rise of Communist Party to power in Russia. I see symbolism in the controversy that is brewing at the present moment in Russia as this formerly important holiday approaches.
Continue reading "Stalin Still Haunting"
March 12, 2009
...and missing the other edge by a few $ grand in the difference of salaries. Very few, if any at all, "first-world" countries can pride themselves on the non-existence of a salary gender gap. It exists in the U.S., it exists in Europe, it''s been around for quite a while.
Continue reading "Trying to leap over the gender gap..."
February 28, 2009
To a country that is numbered 7 on the list of top 20 oil reserve states according to the CIA world factbook, "sustainability," the fancy word entering the global vocabulary list, shouldn't ring a bell just yet. As Eugene Kozlovski, a professor of the Optimization Department in the National Institute of Geological Research of Russia suggests, Russia posesses enough natural gas supplies to last us 50 years and enough petroleum to go for another 75. In other words, we could keep our thermostat cranked up, right?
Continue reading "No oil, No coal, No problem"
January 30, 2009
February, 2003. Fearing for my life because of the taxi driver's bravado on a highway. Moscow, Russia : 25 degrees Fahrenheit, sleet on the roads. Within 24 hours, I find myself on a different planet: flower beds with rhododendrons getting ready to slowly go into shy, not yet full, bloom, and green lawns on which people in summer clothes are walking their ferrets on leashes. Welcome to Dayton, Oregon: 51 degrees Fahrenheit.
Continue reading "What culture shock?"
December 09, 2008
The distinction between between the Russian Celebration of New Year's and X-mas in America is not distinguishable - for most of the country, the celebration has taken on the more "consumerism" and "getting together with family and friends" approach.
Continue reading "News Year's comes around only twice a year"
November 19, 2008
The government-run Russian channel's news reporter announces that the crucial California electoral college votes are in. And...voila! Obama will be the 44th President of the United States of America, to be inaugurated in a few weeks.
Continue reading "Cold War II Averted? Russia's take on Obama vs McCain. "
October 29, 2008
Advertisements put out by nightclubs, promising a night of fright and chills, are becoming omnipresent in urban centers all over Eastern Europe as Halloween Night nears. This one is a good example.
Continue reading "Halloween Controversy in Russia"
April 12, 2007
On April 12th, 1961 the USSR launched the first man ever into an outer space. Yurii Gagarin became the first man who witnessed the wonders of outer space. Such event became a phenomenon for the whole world. Nobody expected the Soviet abilities, thus it was a shock to the world when the USSR was the first nation in the whole world to launch a space craft into an outer space. Therefore, the USSR showed the world its technological advances. For further information about this trend, visit the following links:
Cosmonautics Day!
Yuri Gargarin!
Continue reading "Cosmonatiutics Day"
March 08, 2007
The 8th of March is an official public holiday recognized by the Russian government. On these days, government offices, embassies and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.March 8th is designated by the United Nations as a day for celebrating women and their deeds they have made to society. The holiday is not as big of a deal throughout the world as in Russia. As a tradition, women are presented with gifts and flowers, which represents society’s admiration for their work and love. It is very similar to Mother’s Day celebrated in the United States with some variations borrowed from Valentine’s day.
Continue reading "International Women's Day!!!"
February 20, 2007
Hi, my name is Natasha or Natalia, the full name version. I came from Russia a month ago. I'm a Russian Language Assistant. I work with American students who study Russian language and culture. I live in the city of Krasnodar, South of Russia, Krasnodar Krai (also Kuban). Kuban is famous for its resorts on the Black Sea and Cossacks.
Continue reading "Greetings from Kuban, Russia"
March 01, 2004
The EU has imposed serious sanctions against the US.
The trade war has broken out between European Union and USA. The European Union tried multiple times to persuade USA to adjust their legislation to the law of the European Union and World Trade Organization. Since USA did not obey, as a result the EU imposed sanctions to the USA companies.
The new Russian government has been announced!
Read about Russia’s new government; the changes new president Vladimir Putin made to the cabinet of ministers and other reforms.
70th anniversary of Gagarin's birthday
Does anyone remember Gagarin, the first man in space? Mr. Gagarin was born to a peasant family on March 9, 1934. He came a long way from being a simple peasant boy to the “Hero of the Soviet Union.” You can find a short biography and his contributions to Russia on this website:
November 24, 2003
It Is Costly to Criticize Poutin
It seems as if the power of censorship is growing in Russia. Not too long ago NTV authorities did not allow to air a material about Elena Tregubova's book "Tales of the Kremlin Digger", planned to be featured in Leonid Parfenov's "Namedni". One of the materials of the book was an interview of the author with FSB chief Putin. It also has information about the election campaign and some facts about Putin that were never shown to general public. The feature was announced many times and people already have seen the announcements, nevertheless the directors of the studio decided to cancel it. As the NTV chief Nikolay Senkevitch put it: “"NTV is not a place for rudeness platitude. The channel and highly respected program of Leonid Parfenov are too refined and too well-thought to fall into such a platitude." However as the proverb states: “the truth hurts” and it is not the job of the news directors to decide what the public is ought to know.
Moscow, the most expensive city in Europe
An international company "Mercer Human Resource Consulting LLC" conducted an annual rating of living expenses in the largest cities of the world. Two hundred of the most popular goods and services are compared in price around the globe, between them: accommodation rent, food, clothes, transport and entertainment. It turned out that Moscow is the most expensive city in Europe, the second being Geneva. To find out the rating of other cities, read the article:
Recipe for Happiness
“Noone has ever died from an excessive relaxation.” Read this and other fun advises on happiness on the following...
