Christmas Tree Curiosity and New York

Curiosity drove me to check what the Christmas Tree looks like in New York City? According to the news, the most popular is the Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center. The Rockefeller Center has been putting up a Christmas tree since 1931, some years in a more spectacular way than in others. In 1951, a special Christmas tree Lighting Ceremony was added to mark the opening of the Christmas season. Ever since, thousands of New Yorkers and visitors follow the buzz either life or in front of their TV screens. It is an exhilarating ritual to open the Christmas season, don't you think so. This year's Rockefeller Christmas tree comes from Connecticut. It is massive, 10 tons heavy, which is still 5 tons less the weight of Vladivostok's Christmas tree. Cost? Unknown. (Photo by Bryan Bedder) View full article here

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)