Main Concerns: Still Russia and Pakistan

All major news agencies, such as BBC, Bloomberg and the German Focus still report extensively about the natural disasters ongoing in Pakistan and Russia. In Pakistan, the floods now affect ca. 20 million people, who are threatened to be killed by Cholera and other diseases if not by the waters. In Russia, the wildfires come dangerously close to nuclear facilities around Sarov. Even though Russian officials claim that the fires are under control, nobody can be sure about that or another outbreak of fires. Everybody around here is concerned, donates and perhaps prays, as this is all one can do.

Wildfires in Russia

For the first time in my life, I experience extensive coverage of a natural catastrophy in Russia. Either such things did not happen in the past (unlikely) or the Kreml simply did not let the news spread (likely). Anyway, Pravda amongst other news agencies report that countless fires rage in Central Russia sparked by the heat wave. It has been the hottest July since record, giving Moscow temperatures of ca. 35C and more as opposed to usually 23C average.
Fires are sweeping across all western and southern counties surrounding Moscow, dramatically increasing pollution in the capital. So far the fires have claimed 48 victims. The respective counties are in a state of emergency. Authorities fear that they will not have enough professional firefighters and that the flames could reach a nuclear plant near Sarov (south of Moscow), the Nuclear Research Center of Russia. (Source picture: Pravda)

Russians and their Tsar

"He was the old Russian yearning for the tsar or a god, for somebody to impose discipline on the nation's ancient anarchy and indolence." (from Among the Russians by Colin Thubron, 1984).

Lentulov's Depiction of Moscow

A marvellous artistic depiction of Moscow, done by Aristarkh Lentulov. He was one of the famous Russian avantgard painters during the first decade of the 20th Century. Lentulov also used Cubist elements. This painting was painted in 1913.

"Among Russians"

Colin Thubron in his book Among the Russians - From the Baltic to the Caucasus (1984) captures a testimony of a Latvian man about Russian authorities: "You are always treated like a child. There is nothing but bureaucracy, dogma, interference! It's all so stupid." (p.120, Vintage London)

Quotation from "The Gambler"

Fyodor Dostoyevsky writes in his story The Gambler (1866): "He (Mr Astley) also says that we Russians know nothing, can do nothing, without European help." (Chapter XV)

Bombings in Moscow?

World news can be quite shocking. One wakes up in the morning and hears about killings and bombings and death and catastrophy and agony in the news. This morning though, Monday March 29th, Muscovites did not hear anyhting about the suicide blasts that had hit two underground trains and stations of Moscow's Metro until 2 hours later. National radio and TV kept broadcasting morning shows, advertisements and soaps, but nothing about the devastation in their city. People left homes for work, still embarking trains, clueless about the threat. This practice of delaying news reports or even conceal them must have reminded everyone of the autocratic and secretive way officials handled reporting of current matters in socialist Russia.

In the attacks, occuring at Lublyanka station and Park Kultury, 38 people were killed and dozens more injured. Russian officials blamed Islamist separatists from the Caucasus for the attack in the heartland of Russia. (Picture by Time Magazine)

Thubron on Why Russians Drink

"Many Estonians and Russians drank away half their salaries. They drink because they are bored-they've nothing else to think about. They've nowhere to go, nothing to do. When they remember the emptiness of their lives, they drink." (Quote from Among Russians-From the Baltic to the Caucasus, 1984, p.110)

Bulgakov about Vodka

'In my time', began the editor [...], 'when I worked on Vanya Sytin's Russian Word, people used to drink themselves into seeing elephants.' (Mikhail Bulgakov, The Fatal Eggs,1925, Chapter X)

Bulgakov is referring to Ivan Sytin (1851-1934), who became one of the greatest entrepreneurs Russia's when he started publishing books on a large scale, for the first time in Russia. This was extraordinary considering Russian population being predominantly illiterate and his own background, him coming from the class of unlettered peasants (90% of Russia's people that time). His printing plant as well as Moscow daily newspaper were called Russian Word.

"Vodka-the colourless innocence!"

Already back in 1984, Colin Thubron commented in his book Among the Russians-From the Baltic to the Caucasus on the famous Russian drink as follows: "Vodka-the colourless innocence! It's the curse and the liberation of Russia, a self-obliterating escape from tedium and emptiness, from interminable winter nights, and the still longer, darker nights of the soul." (68, Vintage, London) (Image: Amazon)

Russia and Vodka

Russia and vodka seem to belong together like hen and egg. Since the times of Peter the Great, Russians have been known to be heavy, but jolly drinkers. Tsar Peter the Great was said to have even encouraged his fellows and subjects to drink more than they could handle as to boost their resilience towards alcohol. Stupid, roar male affectation if you ask me.
Recently though, Russia's vodka consumption as well as population decline have been resounding throughout the lands again. After Gorbachev's unsuccessful attempt to restrict alcohol uptake in 1985, Medvedev has resumed the anti-alcohol campaign in order to stop the shrinking of the Russian population, alcohol is believed to contribute to. According to a report in The Lancet medical journal in June 2009, the average male life expectancy is just over 60. On top, alcohol-related diseases caused more than half of all deaths of Russians aged 15 to 54 in the 1990s. Everybody thinks Russian men just drink themselves to death.

He has urged the government to pass new laws to regulate the sale of alcopops, vodka and beer. Currently, Russians are said to consume about 18 litres (32 pints) of pure alcohol per capita per year, which is more than double the maximum, recommended by the World Health Organisation. What's more, Medvedev wants a minimum price for a bottle and strong government control over the production of any alcohol.

One big supporter stands to his side, the Russian Orthodox Church, whose deputy head Georgy Roshchin expressed willingness and determination to take part and implement the new strategies.

Russian TV Show about Schools

The Russian Media is all stirrep up by a new TV show, broadcasted on Channel One Russia, National TV.  Shkola, the Russian word for school, is its title. It is controverse because it is touching upon school issues like sex, alkoholism, abuse and violence-tough areas, of which people and conservative authorities did not want to hear anything for a long time.
The Russian school had been a traditional, sacred place where children were taught big values set by the literary elite such as Pushkin and Tolstoy. Problems were not seen and denied. The producer of Channel One Russia, Igor Tolstunyev, wants to wake people up and sharpen awareness. Therefore, in the series actors are mixed with real students; they are as unadorned as one can be in front of a camera; nothing is glamorised or glossed over. They are simply authentic.
One episode, for example, deals with the issue of gang kidnapping, blind racism and abuse when Wadim (9th grade, Russian) accuses his fellow student Timur (from the Caucasus) of having kidnapped his younger brother Fedya (Russian, Skinhead). Turns out though that Fedya just ran away from home because his father (Russian, alcoholic) beat him up. (Photo by Channnel One Russia)

Ice Sculptures in Moscow

Ufo

Temperatures in Moscow during winter allow that the Ice Festival can take place every year. This year it is dedicated to the Russian history and achievements in aerospace technology. Thus all the sculptures, ranging from free interpretations related to cosmos e.g. UFO-Unknown Flighing Object, to mini copies of real space rockets, such as Soyus, can be admired at the exhibition.

Soyus

Photos: Fotos: Siegmund/.rufo

Russia's Most Expensive Christmas Tree...

...nope, it is not the one in the picture. The most expensive Christmas tree, yes,will be erected in Vladivostok. The Russian online newsmagazine Novostivl.ru compares the cost of Christmas trees selected for different Russian cities; that means for cities which are willing to invest some of their budget money for the 'New Year Wonder'. St Petersburg is spending  2,7 million rubles (app. 53,000 Euros), Nizhnij Novgorod and Tula are buying a tree worth 2,4 million rubles (app 48,000 Euros), and Yekaterinburg - east of the Ural mountains where the the last Tsar Nicholas II and all members of his family were executed by the Bolsheviks - sacrifieses 2,5 million rubles (app. 50,000 Euros) of its budget. Moscow is the luckiest amongst the Russian host cities for Christmas trees: 'Yelka' comes completely free from the nearby Moscow forest.
Now, how much will the Christmas tree in Vladivostok then be if it is said to be the most expensive throughout Russia?? Well, the city pays a whopping 5,28 rubles (app. 105,000 Euros) for an artificial version, weighing 15 tons AND another 5,2 million (app. 104,000 Euros) for installation, decoration and dismantling. Last year Christmas trees were around 1,2 million rubles (app. 24,000 Euros). (http://novostivl.ru/msg/9544.htm) 
Russians love their Christmas trees and will enjoy it every second. On January 7th, 2010, they will go out in the night, no matter what the temperature is like, and will gather around their 'Yelkas' perhaps dance and sing. (The picture shows the Christmas tree of the season 2008-2009 in Moscow, near the Kremlin Wall and Spassky Tower; by www.englishrussia.com)

Who knows Vladivostok?

I have always wanted to see Russia east of the Ural Mountains. This is the geographical line where the 'European part' of Russia separates from the 'Asian part' as learnt at school in the 1980s. Anyway, what does it look like? Does it look more like Russia or more like Asia? Do people there enjoy modern life as much as we do? What are the people concerned with? What do the people deal with? Loads of questions...(Map by RusNet).

Fortunately, the Internet makes it easy to access information to start with. The last time 'Vladivostok' was on the BBC News was almost exactly 6 years ago, in November 2003, when BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg published a diary about his travels through Siberia and Far East Russia. He reported, amongst other things, that back in 2003 Vladivostok struggled to produce enough water. It was routine for the people to fill containers, buckets, bowls, jars, cans and bottles with water once it came on in order to bridge the days no water came out of the taps. Local hospitals feared an outbreak of typhoid or other diseases similar to their experience made 30 years ago when thay had the last water shortage. Explanations were sought by examining nature and the man-made structure. Eventually, people got entangled in the "blame-game" when summer drought as well as the old water system were 'held responsible'. The water system was said to be outworn and in desperate need of updating, but officials were slow at responding and allocating the money. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3234568.stm) Now this sounds like Russia to me: People struggling with the most basic issues. (Picture: Vladivostok Station by Tripadvisor)

In recent months, Vladivostok has been in the news for different headlines. In 2008, German Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that people complain about corruption. They said that corruption amongst government officials has grown immensely. Along these lines, a brave Russian journalist described how 'apparatchiks' had luxury mansions erected and schools demolished for that. In another small city near Vladivostok called "New Moscow", locals demonstrated against massive deforestation. The timber is sent directly to furniture factories or to China. Workers at sites always have an official document at hand, confirming approval.

In October 2009, Yezhednevnye Novosti Vladivostoka reported that a bilaterial agreement between Russia and China has been signed against 'Bioterrorism'. By this, the newspaper was referring to the illegal border crossings and poaching on Fareastern Leopards from the Chinese side. Russia now is also pursuing a special programme to save the Amur Tiger or Siberian Tiger as Frankfurter Allgemeine reports in November 2009. Tigers are continuously killed for their pelts and body parts and the worldwide population is estimated to be only 3,200 Tigers, according to WWF. 450 adult tigers are Amur Tigers in the Far East. The plan seeks to double the Tiger population by 2022 by protecting its habitat and food source (deer & boar).

Right: Siberian or Amur Tiger (Picture by zls.org); Left: Amur Leopard (Picture by Wikipedia.org)

Change of Focus: Vast Russia!

This is a quotation from Die Fluechtlinge von Sachalin (The Fugitives of Sakhalin) written in 1888 by Vladimir Korolenko, a writer and humanist who was concerned with the rights of the defenseless and came to be regarded as "Russia's Conscience".

"Die Flucht ist im Grunde genommen nicht schwierig. 'Du kannst gehen, wohin du willst', sagte der Alte, 'wenn du zu Tode kommen willst. Die Insel ist gross und besteht nur aus oeden Gegenden; selbst die Einheimischen, die an Entbehrungen gewoehnt sind, koennen sich nicht ueberhall halten. Gehst du gen Osten, verirrst du dich in den Felsen und dich fressen entweder die hungrigen Tiere des Waldes, oder du kannst zu Winter selbst zurueck. Gehst du nach Sueden, so kommst du ans Ende der Insel, [...]. Wir haben also lediglich einen Weg; den nach Norden, immer am Ufer entlang'."

[Translation: "Escaping is not difficult, at its heart. 'You can go wherever you like', the old man said, 'if you want to die. The island is big and has only wasteland; even the natives who are used to deprivation cannot quite buoy up everywhere. Go east and you will get lost in the cliffs and either the wild beasts will eat you or you can just return to Winter (fugitive camp). If you go south, you will come to the end of the island, [...]. There is only one way out left for us then; the way north, always following the shoreline'."] Source image: Sakhalin.ru

Source map: Wikipedia

Sasha Makhmutov - Wanted!

Introducing: Alexander Emmanuel Makhmutov, my maternal grandfather. Sadly, I have never met him. In fact, talking about him when I was young just did not happen. I would not exist without him, right, so I have been looking for him...He was born in Baku, Azerbaijan and a senior officer in the Red Army in the 1940s.

From "Dubrovski" by Aleksander Pushkin (1832)

"[...] und der Sekretaer verlas mit heller Stimme den Entscheid des Gerichts, der bewies, wie leicht jemand in Russland ein Besitztum verlieren kann, auf das er unbestreitbare Rechte zu haben glaubt..." (Chapter I)

What China Bought

China is big, China is colourful, China is attractive, China is booming and China has been THE nation sought after by nations seeking economic stimulation themselves in the first decade of the 21st century.


How rich China has become during the new millenia shows the following list of purchases:
-2009: $770 million: Chinese steelmaker Hunan Valin bought 16.5% of the Australian iron-ore mining company Fortescue Metals.
-2007: $ 3 billion: China Investment Corp bought 10% of shares of a New York-based private equity firm.
-2007: $ 5 billion: China Investment Corp bought 9.9% of shares of Morgan Stanley.
-2009: $ 19.5 billion: Aluminium Corp of China bought 18% of Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world.
-2009: $390 million: China National Petroleum Corp bought the Canadian company Verenex Energy.
-2009: $10 billion: China Development Bank and China Petroleum  & Oil Corp invested in Petrobras, Brazil's oil company.
-2009: $15 billion: China's loan to Russia's Rosneft, the oil magnate.
-2009: $10 billion: China's loan to Transneft, Russia's pipeline company.


Total: $ 59.16 billion