The Russian Truth: An Inner Glance at Russia

Russia under Mr. Putin: the Real Results

2011-04-30T00:57:00.000-07:00

The degradation of Russia during the reign of Mr. Putin is clearly reflected in the figures published in the article of a Belorussian newspaper:

In the Russian Federation, there are 4,000,000 homeless, three million people living in poverty (we think it's even more), 3 million of street prostitutes, about 1.5 million Russian women "work" (as prostitutes) in the European and Asian countries. 6 million Russian citizens are suffering from mental disorders, 5 million people are drug addicts, more than 6 million suffer from AIDS.

10,000 abortions are made in Russia every day, there are 7 million childless marriages. More than 80,000 people are murdered a year. Around 30,000 people died in road accidents. About 100 thousand Russians die each year from drug overdoses.

There are more than 3 million people commit crimes in Russia annually. There are more than 1 million priosners, even more than in the USSR during Stalin's repressions.

In terms of repressive law enforcement, the Russian Federation takes first place in the world, that is 800-810 prisoners per 100 thousand population.

Alcohol consumption in Russia is 14 liters of conditioned alcohol per person per year (according to other sources it's 18 liters). According to scientific researches, at the level of 8 liters the physical degradation of a nation starts.

There are 31 million children under the age of 18 in Russian. Only 30 percent of them is healthy, 3.5 million children are disabled, 1 million are addicts. There are 750,000 orphans (more than at the end of World War II, when there were 678,000 orphans (!)). Two million of children are illiterate. About five million are homeless.

In Russia, there are a million and a half of officials, three times more than in the USSR. For bribing of officials about 33.5 billion dollars are spent annually.

In coal mining Russia has "reached" (can it be called as an achievement?) the level of 1957, in production of trucks - 1937, combines - 1933rd, tractors - 1931, cars and textiles - 1910, footwear - 1900. Aircraft, electronic, automotive industries have been almost completely destroyed.

You won't read this information in major Russian newspapers and TV channels.

Source: ng.by

That is sick! Russian Government surprised not every student has an iPad

2011-03-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

I've always thought that the phrase "Let them eat cake" (which is attributed to Marie Antoinette, and I don't want to discuss whether it was said by her or not, it doesn't really matter for the today's article) has been the best illustration of detachment of the supreme power from the problems of ordinary people. I've always laughed at it. Until today.

Nikolai Vinnichenko, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Urals Federal District met with students & was having a conversations with them answering their questions.

Nikolai Vinnichenko told the students that he uses the Internet daily, although he is far behind the president in terms of Internet usage.

"I'm just like you, there are portable Internet resources. (what is this? - The Russian Truth) Have all of you got iPads? Or, at least, iPhones? I think everyone has." The silence in the hall lasted for 2 minutes.

It's obvious, Nikolai Vinnichenko has no idea that the student's stipend is about $30, while the cheapest version of iPad in Russian costs more than $600, and iPhone4 costs $1500. And the parents of the studens he was having conversation with hardly make the so called survival level (that's $150 per capita).

I once again realised how far the Russian government is from the problems of people who elected them.

"How come you don't have iPads, my people?"

Criminal Case Opened Against Blogger Who Called Putin Faggot

2010-12-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

Against a Russian Journalist & blogger Paul Safronov, who writes a blog in Live Journal under the nickname onchoys , a criminal case has been opened under article 319 of the Criminal Code (insulting a government official) for the post on arrival of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the Republic of Komi , in which the blogger put some obscene words.

Offices of the magazine "Red Flag", which employs Safronov, were searched. Police has seized the editorial computer and a laptop and an iPad belonging to the journalist.

The blogger stated he was not guilty. Moreover, he has already filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office for illegal criminal prosecution."There's no insult in my blogpost. I do not think the word 'faggot' is an insult, and I had no intent to offend Putin. " - said Safronov .

On September 28, 2010, in his LiveJournal blog, the blogger suggested that Putin's visit had a negative effect on the work of the LiveJournal and Twitter.

Can't keep up any more...

2010-08-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

"Can't keep up no more" - that is how you can describe my state last week. I did not think that I would be in such despair, so powerless that hands just fall ... however no I had enough power to write this post

I think there is no God, or, he prefers not to look at Russia...

Across Russia, there is a war against corruption or its appearance. And what is it, this corruption, I know perfectly well for over 6 years on personal experience.

... And now, today, another assault of a robbery, which has already become habitual, at a field camp of our family from the gangsters, covered by all structures of law enforcement agencies had happened.

It all began long ago, in 2004, when the pumping station of my father drew the attention of a criminal group. After all, in agriculture, especially in the steppe zone, pumping station and irrigation systems are in demand. And my father a few years before he took a lease on land in Dubovsky area near the river of Pichuga, on this site created from scratch pumping station and restored hundreds of acres of irrigation system of rural settlement Pichuzhinskoe, attained the instalment of electricity. Then he bought this land, built a fence around it, registered at the Federal Registry - all as expected and rented yet another lot 500 meters further away for the camp for the purpose of maintenance of farm machinery and to grow vegetables.

But the fruits of his creation was not destined to be enjoyed. Since 2004, a group of bandits decided to seize it all. Initially, they acted in a simple way: they came on cars with firearms in their hands with threats, demanding to give them everything and leave the place.

But my father bravely defended our property. At one point even had to hire a non-departmental security. But having connections in the police, the bandits have agreed with the security administration, and it was removed. Where do they get such links, it will become clear in the later.

Soon, father had to defend himself and property already armed. This happened in the summer of 2004, when the bandits once again invaded the private territory. At three o'clock in the morning with firearms and machetes in 2 cars without number plates, they arrived at the pumping station. The father immediately called the police and the attackers were met with a shotgun, together with my uncle against a dozen of bandits. In a terrible intensity they held out until the police came, not allowing criminals to commit any action or escape. All of them were detained by Police and were taken to the office, weapons seized, photographed, and identified on the Operational Data Set that they belong to criminal group. The father filed a petition to initiate criminal proceedings.

But what was surprising when a couple of days in the Dubovsky district police initiating a criminal case and charged my father with aggravated assault. Well, it turns out, he attacked a dozen poor tourists that at 3 o'clock passed by and decided to swim. Questions why "tourists" were armed to the teeth, why their cars had no number plates and why they go to the fenced and guarded area marked by the sign "Private Property" in the case have not been reflected. By order of the Dubovsky area Attorney our and father's brother houses had been searched.

And the "tourists" happily testified, and my father with his brother almost had put in jail. He was saved only because he began to appeal to all higher authorities, the regional prosecutor's office, the FSB, who, seeing a clear fabricated nature of the case, insisted on its termination.

Of course, it is good that the case against father was closed, but the case of an attack on him was never initiated. Overall, during these 6 years we have accumulated quite a collection of denied materials (refusals of initiation of criminal case), about 20.

Acts of intimidation have continued. That there were telephone threats, that were recorded on tape , assaults again at the pump station, and even attempts to break into the apartment, luckily our entrance area is separated with metal doors and bars. A police ... police to say the least was dormant, though it was active but not the way it had to.

Aware of its total impunity, and seeing the expected impact of the methods used, the bandits turned to decisive action.

On August 28, 2004, was made an assassination attempt on my father when he was coming home from a car park. He survived only by a miracle. May be not so much by the miracle, but by his cautiousness, physical training and assistance conscious citizens.

It was like this. Returning home (we live on Spartanovka), passing through the planting of shrubs, the father heard the noise of running on his people. He grabbed his hunting knife, which recently has always carried with him, anticipating such a development.

Three of the attackers began furiously beating father with the metal pipes, knocking him to the ground. But my father managed to extricate himself and wounded two of the assailants with a knife. Due to this he was able to get up and run into the yard. His cries for help heard guys who were playing cards nearby. They rushed to help. Meanwhile, the attackers caught up with father who was about to lose consciousness and began to kill him. But frightened by the screams of witnesses, the criminals fled.

Almost at death, my father was taken to hospital, where almost for two months doctors were fighting for his life and health. It was terrible to look at his fist-sized bruises all over his body. Fortunately my father survived and remained more or less healthy.

As he lay in hospital, Traktorozavodsk district police interviewed him, he filed an application for a criminal case. All three offenders were found and identified (two of them went to the hospital with stab wounds, and were subsequently arrested), found the crime weapons (steel pipes with a custom-made handles), it became clear that they were executing order to kill (they admitted it).

But a new surprise came. After a while longer not a Dubovsky but Traktorozavodsk Police initiates a criminal case against father! All fellow-bandits live in Traktorozavodsk area. All three offenders are already a victim, which "attacked by a drunken angry dork with a knife." Another absurd and completely abuse of discretion. How greatly everything was inverted! Just another case of the poor tourists. You have to be quite insane to a night attack on three armed men. I'm not talking about the fact that my father since 2002, does not drink alcohol and could not be drunk in principle.

Again, father was saved from prison by the fact that the regional prosecutor's office and the Central Internal Affairs Directorate intervened and case was closed, and instituted a case of attempted murder. But at the local level, the whole process was deliberately sabotaged, evidence disappeared (telephones with recorded negotiations before and after the shooting, weapons, records of examinations of witnesses). Got to the point that the case just disappeared! Can you imagine? Lost. Three investigators were changed who run the case, and therefore wiser. The father filed a lawsuit against Traktorozavodsk area Attorney Mr. Shipiev for misprision of crime . Then it was re-instituted, but so far, already for six years it's idle.

After that incident, the bandits changed their tactics. Mr. Zvonov, director of the K/X Acro Ltd. (The leader of this group) filed a lawsuit against my father to the Arbitrary Tribunal alleging that all property and territory of the pumping station owned by K/X Acro Ltd. According to procedure the court has arrested all assets to the proceedings. At the same time bandits agree with the bailiff Mr. Shlykov who illegally transferred all property to Mr. Zvonov for safekeeping. Why I ratify that it is illegal? Because the court refused this transfer to custody.

And the whole gang, but now with the bailiff, whom you can not resist, because he is a representative of the government, seized the pumping station. Bailiff anagraphs the property selectively. Why selective? But in order to, as will become clear later, the bandits would steal anything that was not documented.

At this time in a month, my father got justice in court without much difficulty. But even if you have documents on hand to lift the seizure of property and the decision of the court, had to resort to the help of the police to literally force to dislodge the bandits from the pumping station. This was done with the help of one of the few police officers who actually perform their duties, Dubovsky district Public Security Police chief Mr. Kazakov, however, who subsequently was dismissed from the post.
Despite the fact that the criminals were gone, their application of the method showed them to be very effective. For the month of his stay at the pumping station, they were able to stole property for a few hundred thousand (parts of agricultural machinery, welding machine, a few kilometres of drip irrigation tubing, and more) and bring into disrepair pumping stations.

Here we have to revile the second most important person in all these crimes after Mr. Zvonov. This is Dubovsky district Attorney Mr. Popov, who is probably a relative of two of the bandits in the group.

This is because of him, investigators had dismissed the case either under pressure, either because of his people. I suppose that he was not only "Roofing" them but liaised with law enforcement bodies of bandits and was organizing the raids.

Several times the police caught criminals with the stolen property from the pumping station, and all times Mr. Popov either phoned or personally visited in order to get police to release criminals with stolen property. Then they disappeared in an unknown direction taking everything.

I do not have to explain why the criminal charges of theft of property were denied. And property, of course, was not returned.

Incidentally, a curious fact. During the month while pumping station was ruled by Mr. Zvonov, there was hiding a fugitive offender who was on federal wanted list, who was later detained by Regional Police. That there is such a friendly company.

Less than six months later, a following misfortune had happened.

Was beginning of year 2006. While the whole family was out of town with relatives celebrating New Year, the bandits made another attack, but at this time on a field camp, located on a rented plot 500 meters further from the pumping station.

Two employees were there disappeared. Their further fate is unknown. In the footsteps on the snow could be seen that the property was taken out on three vehicles, two of which were trucks.

It was stolen literally everything! Everything that could be loaded without a crane. Even a scrap metal that was lying in a heap. The total damage amounted to no less than 500 thousand rubles. As the saying goes, all that was acquired by back-breaking peasant labour.

It is surprising though that on this a criminal case was initiated, but it did not budge until now.

This volume of stolen goods you can not easily hide. There was oversized welding equipment, trailers, and parts of tractors. My father could find the thieves and the place where it was taken by himself.

Incredible effort it took to persuade a police inspector to come to the crime scene and detain suspects. He even had to pay for his fuel ... Arrived. One bandit was detained. They brought him to the Dubovsky district police department.

When the suspect was taken to investigator, the cynicism and mockery just rolled beyond! The interrogator asked him: "Did you steal?" - He replied: "No, I didn't" - the investigator said, referring to my father: "You see, he did not steal" - and let the offender go. My father almost fell off the chair in surprise.

After father's complaint about the investigator and accusing him in corruption, Dubovka police department responded immediately - opened a criminal case against father accusing him in use of illegal foreign labor. At this time it was a hot topic in country. Eventually the case was dismissed for the lack of proof.

So, this criminal story was our New Year present.

Though it is written quite a lot, but actually I only write very briefly and only about the most egregious events. I will not describe that each story has a long struggle: in each case we were applying to the police department, regional prosecutor's office FSB, and even to the President. But the question either remained unanswered, or higher authorities descended it to the local, ie Dubovsky, level, where, as you understand, everything died.

2006-2007 year were relatively quiet. My father fought off more and more new lawsuits in Courts of Arbitration, he even had to travel to Kazan in order to defend himself. All of the cases father won, and the bandits were taken no action. We thought that the quiet life of being established, the father somehow managed to restore the household. We were wrong.

Spring 2008 was marked by a new grief and, as seen later, with utter hopelessness.

Head of Gorodyshchens'ka interdistrict with the Investigative Committee of the Office of Investigations at the Federal Procurator for the Volgograd region Mr. Naumovich S. arrested all the property at the pumping station and transferred to the custody ... who do you think to? Right, to Mr. Zvonov. Now attention! Mr. Naumovich does it based on the same case that he himself initiated, that supposedly in 2002, my father had falsified documents for the welding machine, which he himself had built. Moreover that it is not true, because all documents for the property of my father was checked by police for authenticity for ten times, also the reason of arrest simply ridiculous. Imagine if a factory was wholly arrested for what its director once supposedly drove on a red light? The whole company taken without charge or trial, based on surprisingly funny basis.

We, however, were not laughing at the matter, because immediately bandits with the investigative committee of the prosecutor's office, effectively, with the same bandits, but endowed with state power, arrive at the pumping station. You can't defy that however you want to. You don't have to be a detective to understand that Mr. Naumovich was conspiring with criminals. Once again, the station was in the hands of the criminal gang, "roofed" not only the by the Dubovsky district Prosecutor Mr. Popov, but by the head of the Investigative Department of the Public Ministry Mr. Naumovich. In principle, it is not difficult to guess, through whom the bandits came in contact with Mr. Naumovich. Soon Mr. Popov had retired with honours, that does not prevented him to "rule" in this story, because he kept all of the links, he also opened in Dubovka network of law firms.

That's because the investigation department of the investigative committee at the Prosecutor's Office of Russia in the person of its leader Naumovich carried raider capture and enterprise land in private ownership of my father.

Of course, my father sued this structure (Investigation Department of Investigation Committee at Federal Procurator for the Volgograd region) for its actions. He won the case, the court found Mr. Naumovich actions unlawful, withdrew the arrest of the property and ordered to return the pump station to my father. But no such luck. The court decided something, but no one was going to execute the verdict, moreover, the Investigation Committee made a forgery: they returned the official documents of the property to father, what is evidenced by a letter. i.e. Nobody drove out the bandits from the area, and they were not going to go. A Dubovsky district police, as it was repeatedly pointed out, did not want to take any actions.

And again, claims, claims and claims again. And all without success. Father even was picketing with placards in front of the Investigating Committee. Three days after the picket Mr. Naumovich had been dismissed from his post, but happily stayed in work in the Prosecutor's Office.

What then is hopelessness, because looks like the scoundrel is fired? Scoundrel is fired, only there is no good of it. The pumping station is in the bandits hands till this day, despite the fact that by all the documents it belongs to father and litigation recognized this rights on it. But as they say, all the arguments and evidence are split on one unwavering phrase "So what?".

On October 8 2008 at 2 o'clock after the midnight attackers doused with gasoline and set on fire our car GAZ-3110, standing at the entrance of our house. How much pain and tears ... I wonder how over the years my mother didn't got mad, because every time she was worried so much. Mama and younger brother cried inconsolably. Me and my father were ready for anything, so silently stood and dully watched as more and more inflamed practically the only one remaining of our property, other than flat and field camp.

So deeply this picture etched into my memory. Many times I've seen burning cars in the movies. I've seen it for myself that in reality the car is burning exactly the same way: with dark red flames, with thick black clouds of smoke, explosions of wheels and of fuel tank. Arrived fire-fighters were extinguishing already ashes.

Was it an accident that on the morning of that day was scheduled the next hearing of my father's case of illegal occupation of the pump station by Mr. Zvonov? A night arson, was his warning to father. After the meeting Mr. Zvonov angrily threw to my father: "Well, you are still had not enough?".

The case was lost so Mr. Zvonov made quality intrigue. He contacted the “Pichuzhinskaya Niva” farm "chairman" Mr. Plyukhin. I haven't enclosed the word "chairman" in quotation marks accidentally. This man, in 2006 organized a raider seizure of the farm and chose himself as a chairman. This is evidenced by numerous trials, but that's another story. What we are interested in it only from a position of understanding the situation: "birds of a feather flock together". They found each other. Mr. Plyukhin made with Mr. Zvonov fictitious lease on the land of my father, which in any way neither to hem nor to the farm does not belong. However, the Arbitrary Tribunal, it seems, did not go into details, and considered this phony contract as a basis not to recognize the demand of my father. I repeat, we have a certificate of ownership for this site registered in the Federal Registration Service, cadastral passport. What might be more tangible proof of ownership of the land? Worthless lease agreement, forged by two swindlers? Does this mean that I can rent to anyone, for example, the Kremlin and then that someone will be able to evict all out, because He will be entered into a lease with me?

Absurd! But not for the Tribunal, not for the Dubovsky District Police. It is clear utter negligence and / or criminal conspiracy, corruption. And so it continued for 2.5 years.

By the time we almost despaired of, and resigned to the fact that he could not refund our land and pumping stations. Moreover, it was a hope that taking it, they will leave us. But we were wrong ... again

In the spring of 2009 Mr. Zvonov files a suit already in a civil, rather than arbitration court. Why – it will become clear later. The claim is this: the plaintiff Mr. Zvonov claims that my father occupied the pumping station and sabotaged by this a few years of ripping and agricultural works for as much as 12 million rubles, and therefore Zvonov requires all father's property on the field camp to be arrested and given him for safekeeping . That how he wants!

Any more or less educated lawyer, after reading the claim, would say: "What a nonsense!". I will not go into the description of moments, neither the legal nor procedural rules, not to mention at all about common sense. They do exist, and many of them. But ...

... Then, as the saying goes, comes into play another person involved in this network - Dubovsky Judge Mr. Andreev K, who incidentally had in Dubovka people-given a long entrenched nickname Kostya-Corrupty.

For him, this claim did not appear delusional. At the first meeting after the preliminary, which lasted less than 10 minutes, Mr. Andreev satisfied it. So, without investigation, without listening to the position of my father.

On appeal to the Regional Court, this claim was cancelled.

But then Dubovsky Police Department issued a criminal charge against father's stating that my father had allegedly stolen pipes from Mr. Zvonov for 500 thousand rubles. Again Judge Mr. Andreev had taken the case in his hands. Even without waiting for the end of the criminal case, he satisfied Mr. Zvonov's claim. In its decision the court decides to arrest all the property at such a station and transfer it to the custody of Mr. Zvonov.

They found the ideal occupation of property! Imagine: someone decided to take possession of your apartment. At the court he issues a case against you that you have robbed him of any property for many millions of rubles (depends on your fancy). "Right" investigator turns on you a criminal case and instantly transmits it to the"right" judge and the judge immediately satisfy the claim, whatever it would be. This is a work for one or two days. And the next day that someone breaks into your apartment with the bailiff (who is a statesman, you can't be against him no-no), and throws you out of it. And it does not matter that it was yours “to bits”: you are registered in it, you have been privatized, etc. It is clear that the bailiff must also “know the topic”, though not necessarily, because in his hands he will have a pseudo-court's decision, and therefore its actions are lawful (or rather psevdolawful). Ideal scheme!

This scheme is perfect not only because it creates an appearance of legitimacy, and the fact that while you are appealing this decision to a higher court, it will take time. And even if you can prove that it is your apartment (and it is not a fact that you can), then at best you will return Peeled Plum apartment, from which even the carpets were taken, not to mention furniture and household appliances. And in the worst case, you will be met at the threshold by bandits with weapons and the question "So what?".

Bandits began to realize this scheme. After they got court decision, with the bailiff, they arrived at the field camp, where at that time was only my mother. Intimidating her they expelled her from the territory by force, they began to levy distress the property. By the time my father arrived, they considered themselves as the true masters and stately seated in chairs on the veranda.

But they made a mistake in the documents, which at that time saved the situation. When they were, presumably in a hurry, fabricating the case and statement of claim, they made a mistake in writing of one digit of inventory number. This, if you take the comparison from the previous example about the apartments, come to arrest the 28th apartment with documents on the arrest of the 38th.

But high bailiff didn't worried much about this. All that bandits were pointing fingers onto, police officer simply "granted" them. And he did it with great passion: for example, an entire sauna, which costs not less than 200 thousand rubles, he estimated at 10 thousand.

And only when my father described to him how he jeopardises himself and told about the fate of Mr. Naumovich, the bailiff officer thought and stop his illegal actions. Sorry, but do not even want to write that all appeals against illegal activity were denied and all refused materials continued to accumulate.

A few days later the Regional Court found the Judge Andreev decision illegal and quashed it. The threat for some time has been stopped, there was a hope that after the second attempt Mr. Andreev would settle down. While at the same time we knew clearly that any time Mr. Zvonov can do the same thing, but with the correct numbers.

And this moment was not long to come. Already in early spring 2010 on the same criminal case Mr. Zvonov modified the claim, and everything started over again. I'll remind the essence of the case: my father was allegedly stolen his pipes for the amount of 500 thousand rubles. And who do you think took this case on? Of course, the Judge Andreev.

My father was constantly applying for recusation of a judge, ie application that the case would be governed by another judge. But, unfortunately, under Russian law disqualification of a judge is considered by a judge himself ...

At the same time Zvonov's bandits arrange another armed abortive hold-up on the field camp and stole father's van UAZ-452. In broad daylight! Breaking down the locks, stealing a car. They wasn't embarrassed in any way or feared of anything. This happened on April 7. We were denied in a criminal case of one more flagrant fact as it was car-jacking. It turns out that there is no corpus delicti. Now, I well understood the phrase "absence of the element of crime": in the Volgograd region car-jacking is not a crime. Until now, criminal proceedings were not instituted.

But lets return to the court. Lawlessness reached its climax. Judge Andreev accepted father's intercession to have an access to the criminal case, which is investigated by the court, but doesn't grant him an access. How can this be? I do not know, but it looks as if you came to the store to buy a bread, the saleswoman took the money and refuses to give a bread. From the court decision that had come by post, we learned that, there had been investigation and it "proved" that Mr. Zvonov had a whole bunch of pipes that were stolen. And the Judge Andreev "proved" that namely father had stolen them.

My father was refused in access to the criminal case. Why? The answer is obvious: "That's why!".

He filed an appeal to the Regional Court.

When, with great difficulty, the access to the case was granted, it became clear why it was denied for so long. He was amazed - so many egregious errors, indicative of a wholly falsification of evidence. More than twenty! For example, this: in the Mr. Zvonov's documents and to the case were declared pipe parameters (diameter, length, method of connection), which in principle does not exist in nature, ie industry were never producing such pipes. Or, for example, declared director and chief accountant in delivery note from the company, where he allegedly bought the pipes, had never been be on the books of proposed organization (it was confirmed at the request by the tax office), ie fictitious names, and forged signatures. And there were more than twenty of such mismatches! Taking into account these facts, upon the father's application the criminal case was reopened.

He filed an additional cassation appeal on the falsification of forensic evidence with the documentation of the investigating authorities attached proving this falsification.

Well, there was a undoubted confidence that the case in the Regional Court will win and we might would be able to initiate a criminal case on falsification of the evidence in court. But happened probably the most shocking event for the whole six-year long story. Judge Andreev simply did not accepted this additional appeal. The Regional Court also did not accept the appeal and by confirming the decision of Dubovsky area Judge Andreev, literally spit on the striking facts of falsification and violation of the law.

It was not enough of pumping station for them. For two years it has not brought them the expected profit, only expenses: direct (guarding, fuel) and indirect (bribes, pay fighters). It does not work probably because "Volgogradenergo" does not connect them to electricity. "Volgogradenergo" - is essentially a federal structure, and therefore it doesn't care about local authorities and corruption. For them there is only one owner of a pumping station, with whom they are prepared to conclude an agreement on energy supply – before it was my father, and now already for a month me (by agreement of gift, registered, as it should be, at the Federal Registration Service, and with issued certificate of ownership) - the only legitimate owner. Although I may be wrong, seeing that bribes seem to solve everything.

With no exaggeration the field camp means for my father everything! This place of rest, where you can relax outdoors and go to sauna. This is a place of residence, because most of the time he spends there and spend the night, because he is happy there. This is a work, and a hobbies, and his life work - he likes to work on the land, farming, growing vegetables, trees. Over the years in the wilderness of the steppe he created an oasis with trees, shrubs, garden and vegetable garden, various animals.

By taking away a pumping station, the bandits killed father's business, if they will take the camp, they will killed his soul, faith in the future. Then, I think he will be ready for anything. An I am as well.

Initially, station, now the camp, then what? Next is apartment. After all, they will not stop ...

There remains two ways: either hang yourself, or take up arms and become a maritime partisan ... because it seems that in the Volgograd area gangs are the structural units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

I wrote this post in the hope on your help, people help us!

I can no longer keep everything inside and portray cheerfulness.

Recently the governor was replaced, the team is changing so the power of law enforcement. There is still some hope that all at once something will move.

PS: While writing this article for a few days, something happened that we were most afraid of: the bandits captured the field camp, even without a court decision had settled there, chasing away workers. The garden and vineyards without irrigation wither, livestock is dying, tractors are stolen, property stolen and destroyed, and the bandits, as told on the phone by leaving the camp workers, their wives and children lounge in the sauna, drinking milk of our cows. They settled down ....

Police is idle.
Author thanks Peter for this translation, because he knows English rather poorly.

Russian version and main discussion: http://andbeev.livejournal.com/42148.html

Russia, Putin, Fires, Lobby

2010-08-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Just some facts: accroding to many sources, the new Russian Forestry Code has been lobbied. Who by? By a company named the Ilim Pulp Group.

When, where and who registered & found the company? the former Russian President & currently the Prime Minister Mr. V. V. Putin registered the company in 1992 in Saint-Petersburgh.

Who owned 30% of shares till 1999 which later somehow dissappeared? Mr. Medvede, the President of the Russian Federation.

Some sources:

In 2006, Forbes gave the company number 24 in the rating of private companies

About the corporation

"Joint Venture Ilim Pulp Enterprise registered by the Committee on Foreign Relations of St. Petersburgh Administration on April 30, 1992 (Roster No. AOL-1546) with authorized capital of 1 million rubles."

Who was the head of the Committee on Foreign Relations of St. Petersburg Administration in 1992? Do we need to mention it was Mr. Putin

According to biography of Mr. Medvedev published on Wikipedia: in 1997-1998, Dmitry Medvedev worked as the head of legal services in Ilim Pulp Corporation. In the Kremlin's version of Medvedev's biography those two years were shamefully omitted.

We don't judge, we don't comment, we just give you some facts.

PS Many experts in Russia are convinced that the new Russian Forestry Code caused the destruction of well-formed & established structure of forestry administration & control. That's why the Russian government & local authorities were helpless in fighting with fires which literally captured the major part of Russia. Heavy smoke wrapped up Moscow. Number of daily deaths in Moscow doubled.

Not guilty if you're a member of the ruling party

2010-03-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

I already wrote about the accident when a woman confused the break pedal with the accelerator pedal & seriously hit two sisters who were walking by in the pedestrina zone.

Later this killer-woman according to the official investigation began a witness (!) of this accident. She's not in jail, no charges were preferred to her.

The reason is simple - this woman works for the Edinaya Rossiya party. Do you still need any comments?

Misses Universe Intimate Video Tape Leaked

2010-01-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hiroko Mima, who was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2008, and Anya Ayoung-Chee, who was crowned Miss Universe 2008 of Trinidad and Tobago 2008, are in the middle a scandal after an intimate video tape leaked allegedly showing Hiroko and Anya together having s*x with Anya’s boyfriend Wyatt Gallery, and with each other.

Although neither girl was crowned Miss Universe, the Donald Trump owned organization is left with a bit of a public relations dilema. While the pageant always tries to promote the contestants as beautiful, talented, and smart, the reality is the girls are also h*rny, and subject to the same weaknesses as the rest of us humans.

With that said, there are a bunch of videos floating around, but we’ve got 4 videos, along with pictures, of the two girls and Wyatt having a really good time. Carrie Prejean may be getting an offer for a one-time payment to allow her solo tapes to be sold and distributed, but Hiroko and Anya should get full-time contracts. These two girls are pros.

A rep from the Miss Universe pageant responded to the scandal surrounding the Miss Universe contestants with the following statement:

"This was apparently eight months after the pageant and neither were the reigning titleholder."

"The photographer is NOT a Miss Universe staffer so we have nothing to say or any involvement, thank goodness."

Download video here

Or use links provided in the original article

A Blonde Woman Driver Says She Confused Break Pedal with Accelerator Pedal

2009-12-05T00:08:00.001-08:00

She even didn't offer help to two women pedestrians she had hit hard.

A strange bright ring-shaped cloud hanging over Moscow

2009-10-08T11:20:00.001-07:00

Russian Holiday Sales: Fighting for EEE PC

2008-12-30T04:48:00.001-08:00

One of the Moscow retailers announced that the first 10 customers would have an opportunity to buy EEE PC 900 netbook for just $100. Watch what happened after that...

Brave Russian Cop Beats & Kicks an Old Woman

2007-12-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

We don't care that that old woman was probably homeless and drunk. Anyway , it doesn't let a Russian police officer behave himself like Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee and beat her.

A Russian newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" managed somehow to get this video. They also identified the cop's name. His name is Nikolay Shilin (hope you won't get in the hands of this cop while in Moscow. You now know what can come out of it).

Watch (click to start playback):

Source: kp.ru

The latest Russian (or Soviet?) mini-Desktop

2007-11-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not but one Russian company has recently announced production of the latest version of micro calculator. You'll be amazed! The latest Russian technologies have been applied and embodied in this device. Wanna have a look? See the picture below:

It has (believe it or not) a COM and an LPT ports:

Another pic of such a nano-technological masterpiece:

So let's give it a standing ovation - Russians beat their computing rivals by producing a Russian-size microcalculator!

PS And, of course, to assure you we don't lie: here is the link to more pictures of this device

Legal Murders on Russian Roads

2007-09-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

Officials hide information about the fatal accident organized on Monday by the cortege of the Chairman of the Supreme Court. It was a really awfull and stunning accident, when an escort car simply rammed into a "Zhiguli" car (Zhiguly is a brand-name of a Russian auromaker also know as Lada). The driver of Zhiguli is now in hospital in a very unstable state .

In GAI (Russian road police) they still do not know where that "Mercedes" is, which on Monday morning rammed and just really smashed "Zhiguli, which happend, unluckily, in the area. Officials refused to indicate whether that Mercedes car was accompanying the Chairman of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev.

Here we post photos and testimonies of several eyewitnesses, who gave a clear picture of events.

Yesterday GAI reported that a regular duty car in the Moscow region was hit by a Zhiguli car. This information was confirmed by the Supreme Court, and the FSO (Russian Federal Security Service). However, on pictures from the scene of an accident it's obvious the the Police car has the registration plate of SB GIBDD Moscow.

We know that Mercedes E-Klasse are available only to elite units of GIBDD (Russian road Police). Two letters "SB-spetsbatalon" (that stands for "special batallion") - clearly say that that Mercedes was from car escorts of high-level Russian officials.

One of the witnesses of the accident says: Sept. 10 in the area between Dubrovkoy and Gazoprovodom, some 25 km of Kaluga highway, "a police Mercedes with flashing , moving at a very high speed on the counter (median) strip committed front clashes with VAZ-2104.

One of the witnesses of the accident said: "Road police blocked traffic due to the cortege. Cortege, consisting of Mercedes and grey BMW, was driving on the center strip at speed not less than 95 miles per hour. The driver of Zhiguly car was driving on the right traffic lane when collision happened

Another driver reported the following: "I went to the highway in the Kaluga region. There was a traffic jam, it was moving very slowly. I made way for driving fast towards Moscow a blue-white Mercedes and a representative vehicle, which I did not recognize. A few minutes later, a police "Ford Focus" rushed. Moving slowly in heavy traffic the second witness arrived to the place of accident in 10-15 minutes, . The accident occurred about 600-800 meters from a town named Gazoprovod. "I first saw the white Zhiguli from which smoke was going", says the man. In the car, more precisely, in its remainings there was a man sitting. I think he was still alive. A few metres further there was a police Mercedes. " Its front-side was badly divided, there were several people in uniform standing next to the car. At the "Mercedes" there was a man lying on the ground . His legs and hands were abnormally folded. From the pose in which he was lying, it was clear that he was ded. "

The third witness believed that the driver of the Zhiguli-car died: "The accident happened one hundred meters in front of me. When I was driving by, the driver was lying 30 metres behind his car. His face was covered with cloth. Policemen were actively talking on the phone, paying no special attention to the man lying on the ground. "

Some of those who saw everything with their own eyes, said that the main car of cortege, accompanied by Mercedes which slammed the Zhiguly returned to the place of the accident, waited 20 minutes, and then drove again on the counter-strip towards Moscow.

Unwilling spectators of the tragedy also said that soon after the car accident, "emergency" came, which took away the driver and passengers of Zhiguli car. Police Mercedes was loaded on truck and also taken away from "extra-eye".

PS Later it was reported that two passengers of Zhiguli died in hospital

Source: Russian mass media

Sochi could have been exploded by terrorists

2007-07-24T04:30:00.000-07:00

Few people know that just 2 days before the final vote for Olympics 2014 a Russian policemen saved Sochi and its people from failure. I'm sure that a terrorist attack would have disqualify Sochi. Well, let me give you some more details.

This brave police officer (see photo) managed to arrest a group of armed people who were carrying a bag with weapons and explosives. He noticed that their behaviour was suspicious and asked them to submit their ID's. One of the terrorists became very nervous and kicked aside a bag which attracted the officer's attention. Later it was found out that the bag was full of explosives and weapons.

The officer whose name is Michail Spitsyn was nominated for an award for courage. No doubt that this officer has saved Sochi and let it won the Olympics 2014

First Russian President Died

2007-04-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

The first Russian president of the post-Soviet era Boris Eltsin died of heart attack. He was 76.

Doctors say his heart stopped unexpectedly and caused his death. Unfortunately no more information's given so far.

Boris Eltsin started his carrer as a foreman in a construction firm. Then he was occupying various positions in the Kommunist Party of USSR.

Nobody was indifferent to Eltsin in Russia: he was either loved or hated.

Abroad he's known for showing up drunk to high-level meeting. Som russians say he ruined the great Soviet Empire and "sold his soul to americans".

Nevertheless he's remembered by Russians as the first Russian president.

Russian Deputy accused of beating 22 members of SWAT

2007-04-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, but a Russian deputy of the Parlament of Kalinigradskiy area (Russia) was accused of beating 22 members of Russian OMON (OMON is a Russian version of american SWAT).

The deputy was constantly blaming police for corrution, indifference and low proffessional skills.

He'd better not do that. I don't think any reasonable person would believe that a man could handle a squat of special police.

Nevertheless, such idiotic charges couldn't avoid him getting in custody. now he's waiting for the court's decision.

Burst of Russia's credit bubble

2007-04-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

The greatest threat to the Putin regime isn't what's grabbing all the headlines - opposition marches, NATO encirclement, separatism in the Caucuses, the ever-crumbling infrastructure. No, the most likely threat to stability comes from a more obvious yet far less sexy source: e-z consumer credit.

People working in Russia's high-flying banking sector are going to publicly deny the possibility of another financial catastrophe of the 1998 variety, the crash that brought an end to Russia's experiment with Western Liberalism. But privately many admit there are signs that another crisis might be looming. This time the trigger could be an avalanche of consumer debt defaults following the popping of a ballooning credit bubble. If the personal easy-credit pyramid crumbles, it could trigger a major correction in Russian asset prices, which have been rising consistently for eight straight years now.

Just two years ago, consumer credit was still relatively new and rare in Russia. Sure, loans have been available for years, but until recently banks weren't as eager to issue consumer credit as easily as they do now, and Russians weren't lining up in droves to finance a rabidly consumerist lifestyle. But, oh, how that's changed.

In 2004, Russia's total consumer loans amounted to about $20 billion. Two years later, that number quadrupled, or more. At the end of 2006, consumer debt hovered just below the $80 billion mark (about 8% of Russia's GDP), according to Alfa Bank. If you listen to Russia's Central Bank (CBR), the number was closer $100 billion.

The 400% jump in Russia's personal credit revolution was not the result of a decision by the CBR to stimulate the economy by lowering interest rates. In fact, in the two-year period, interloan interest rates (the rates at which banks loan money to each other) rose by a few percentage points. This bubble wasn't caused by fiscal policy, but by speculation and greed.

According to the Russian daily Kommersant, Russian debtors are defaulting on roughly 35% of outstanding loans. You read that right. Thirty-five percent. This figure should have the financial sector shitting in its Depends and transferring its money into bullion. In comparison, only 5% of all American mortgages were foreclosed in 2006. But the Kommersant article, published on February 2, didn't cause any waves.

Home Bank, a small Russian subsidiary of a Czech bank called Home Credit and Finance Bank, is a shining example of the type of institution that's bringing the consumer credit market to the brink. According to PROFIL magazine, Home takes pride in the fact that the bank approves virtually anyone with a heartbeat. As a result, Home proudly posts a whopping 22% default rate on their loans. That's right, nearly one out of every four people borrowing money from them couldn't pay them back. But the bank isn't worried. They sell their bad debt to collection agencies for pennies on the dollar and still make enough to turn a handsome profit. The trick to the whole industry lies in the exorbitant interest rates they charge those who don't welch; the losses are more than covered by the people that manage to pay off their loans. The result is a classic pyramid scheme.

The banking industry is loathe to admit this, but Home's practices are the industry standard. To see if Russian banks are indeed as suicidal as they're made out to be, the eXile called Russia's five largest banks to find out what it takes to get $10,000 in cash, no questions asked.

Turns out, credit history is not even a factor in the decision-making process. In the 16 years of Russia's market economy, no centralized credit bureau has been established. Banks compile their own credit ratings and you can get a huge credit rating databases pirated from large banks at any rynok in Moscow, but banks have yet to begin sharing the information amongst themselves.

Banks clearly aren't motivated by their clients' ability to pay off loans. Rather, they're driven by the fear that the borrower will take his business elsewhere. With the competition in mind, each bank assured us that getting a loan would not be a problem, even when we hinted that our income isn't always as regular as we'd like. All we needed, the banking reps assured us, was a valid passport, written proof of employment, and deposit slips showing income. They didn't care much about our salary, just so long as some of it was legal.

Of all the banks, Russkiy Standart was by far the most, er, generous. Russkiy Standart is Russia's largest consumer lender. For awhile, the bank gave out loans like toasters. All they required was a passport, proof that the borrower has maintained a job for at least six months and a co-signer who also had a six-month employment history. That's it. Provided that, you could walk out of a Russkiy Standart loan department with a fat stack of rubles equaling $10,000.

It's almost like free money. And it is, until you look at their jaw-smacking interest rates.

How long can the banks keep it going? How many dirt-poor Russian debtors can they keep shoveling off to collector agencies before the entire Russian population has repo men stealing their cars and goons knocking down their doors and dragging out their brand new plasma TVs? If up to a third of Russians are defaulting during the peak of a huge economic boom, then what will happen if the economy takes a turn? What will happen if something like the recent China tremors or America's growing debt problems cause investors to pull money out of Russia, or oil prices to fall?

Investment banker Jim Rogers, who correctly predicted a bull market in commodities that began in 1999 and opened the massively successful Quantum Fund with George Soros, doesn't need to be told what will happen.

"I wouldn't put a nickel of my own money in Russia, and I wouldn't put a nickel of your money there either," he recently announced. "Everything about Russia is one big bubble, and it's going to pop. It's going to happen sooner rather than later ... When that happens, people will look around and say, how did that happen? That's when we'll find out about all the skeletons in the cupboard," Rogers told Reuters in a ranting telephone interview last week.

According to him, the slightest glitch in Russia's economy and the whole thing could tumble like a house of cards. But not everyone agrees.

Our source at Alpha Bank thinks it's all hype. According to her, Russia's credit and real estate markets aren't as fluid as Western markets. Russia's low consumer debt/GDP ratio (currently at 8%, as opposed to America's 92%) is going to limit the fallout of any banking shocks, and shield the country's real estate markets.

But financial bubbles are part psychology, part economics and are tricky to predict. Besides, there are signs that the big boys know it's coming.

Some of Russia's largest banks have already stopped issuing easy credit. The high profits are no longer justified by the increased risks built into Russia's consumer credit. According to PROFILE magazine, VTB 24 is leading the pack in killing off its high-risk checkout credit programs. VTB 24 is a subsidiary of VTB bank, which is half-owned by the Russian government and is Russia's largest bank in terms of authorized capital. VTB has the biggest lending reserves, yet it is pulling out of the high-risk credit game. Rosbank and Alfa bank are following suit.

The government and the CBR are finally stirring as well. Earlier this March, Gennady Onishchenko, head of Russia's Trade and Sanitary Inspection Authority, promised to curb predatory lending by eliminating hidden service charges that banks hide in their loans. You know the Kremlin is getting involved if Onishchenko is setting up to the plate. He's the guy that imposed an embargo on Moldavian wines and Georgian mineral water because of supposed "health concerns" which he discovered just at the time that Moldavia and Georgia started playing footsie with NATO.

But is it too late to prevent the meltdown? The only thing that could help now would be for the federal government to start pumping money into the banking system so the banks can start lowering interest rates. It looks like this might be happening as well. The average interbank loan rate this year is already 2% lower than the average of the last quarter of 2006.

If the credit economy were to crash, you might start to see a lot more people with the time and energy to protest. Because if there's one thing that can crush the opposition more completely than censorship, jail time and OMON put together, it's Russia's new E-Z credit economy. If there's one thing that can make living in an FSB-controlled state tolerable, it's free money of the sort we've been seeing.

The protest leaders don't seem to grasp this. "When 85% of this country's population isn't seeing the benefits brought in by the flow of petrodollars, a new team must analyze this horrible social layering," Gary Kasparov told Russian Newsweek after the protest.

But easy consumer credit is doing a pretty good job of temporarily masking this "horrible social layering." Who needs a thriving and growing middle class when even Russia's poorest village dwellers can go on the biggest shopping spree of their lives, paid for with someone else's -a bank's, that is credit? Why waste your day protesting in the streets and run the risk of getting billy-clubbed and thrown in jail, when you can go shopping for the newest 54-inch LCD TV with Dolby Digital surround sound and then spend the next 6 months bragging about it to your drinking buddies?

One of the main reasons behind Putin's popularity - as well as one of the reasons the opposition doesn't have a chance is that millions of Russians, for the first time since 1991, can act like the professional consumers they've always dreamed of becoming. So what if they're signing themselves up for debt serfdom? Americans do it.

But if the credit shit hits the fan and liquidity suddenly dries up, it could be the end for Putin's New Russia, and the start of something that none of us would even dare to guess.

Source: http://www.exile.ru/2007-March-23/feature_story.html

Dark Side of Chernobyl Sarcophagus

2007-03-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

A unique documental film can be downloaded from one of the Ukrainian blogs dedicated to truth on Chernobyl. It was filmed by Chernobyl NPP video оperator Sergey Koshelev. They claim this video is much more interesting than the well known film by National Geographic and BBC Horizon.

This ideo can be download here (Size 239 Mb in .mpg-format)

AK-47 the famous Soviet gun found in the ladies' room

2007-03-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

An AK-47 machine gun was found in the ladies’ room at the check-point of Ukrainian-hungarian frontier.

Initially frontier guards found the machine gun wrapped up with cellophane, then they also found a bag with accessories for cleaning and a reserve magazine with bullets.

Investigation is underway. It looks like somebody who was going to bring the gun through the frontier got scared at the last moment and decided to leave the AK-47 in the restroom.

Since the gun was found in March, 8^th which the International Women’s Day, it could have been a charming cute present for a lady…

Horror Movie in Reality: Maniacs killing Girls, Cops Indifferent

2007-03-06T03:49:00.000-08:00

An awful incident happend in Russia lately. A girl was kidnapped, killed and dismembered while militia knew of kidnapping but apparently did not want to investigate.

When the parents of Marina (the name of the girl) didn't show up home after 9 o'clock p.m. they realized that somehing had happened. They called police but the were just laughing: "You know youth: they don't show up for a month, you search them and then they appear after having spent time ihaving fun and all those sorts of things "

Then Marina's parents received a telephone call from her. Her voice was weak, she just was able to say "Mama, save me".

The received in total 10 calls - but when Marina's parents went to police asking for tracing the call and arresting criminals... the cops just didn't want to listen. They said te call was from Moscow.

Then Marina's father came to the telephone station and asked them to trace the call. They helped: the call was fron their town (Novokuznetsk). The father being in desperate, knowing that police fro some inexplainable reasons don't want to help, took his rifle and wis frined of him went to the house from where the calls had been made.

The door was locked. As Marina's father understood there were several Caucasians and they didn't weant to open the door. When Marina's father offered them ransom for his daughter they couldn't answer yeas or no: looked like the were under drugs. The cucasians just said: "We'll throw a greande if you don't go away". Then police came (this time they decided to interfere) with an old Caucasian and arrested Marina's father. Caucasians were let go.

Again, they didn't pay much attention to those telephone calls made by Marina (she was alive then).

In a couple of days Marina stopped calling. In a month her lower part of body was found in a ravine.

Medical expertise confirmed that her body was saturated with heroin as a sponge, and she was raped.

Marina's parents had to investigate by themselfes. A gang of Caucasians kidnapped and raped their daughter. Then they killed and dismembered her. And police keeps on being indifferent to this case.

Marina' parents are in depserate: their daughter was killed, police does not investigate, there is noone to help.

'Democratic' Censorship in Russia

2007-02-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

A Russian artist Ivan Ushkov was forced to eliminate his painting from his first personal exhibition in Moscow half an hour before its opening. The reason was a series of his works named "Welcome to Russia". The organizer's committee of the exhibition considered his paintings discrediting the image of Russia. Moreover, police later came to Ushkov's office and confiscated his computer and some photographs. The he received a notice to visit a police station, where he was hinted to stop participating in exhibitions.

The artist himself called all those actions 'stupid censorship'. Ushkov said that his works reflect his opininon and real life situations and not made for epatage.

Let's look at these pictures that caused such a reaction from russian authorities:

Inscription in the corner: "Free desk"

Regards to David Lynch

"Reality-show DOM 3 - new rules are much more interesting"

(DOM3 is a popular mainly amongst teenagers Russian reality show)

See more here

Ofis Space or Your First Interview with Russian Company

2007-02-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

By Nancy Deal

So it's your first interview with a Russian company. Aren't you the lucky one! Just in case you're interested in what to expect, here's how it's all going to unfold.

Once you've located the building of your potential employer, you will have to wait for about 15-25 minutes in the reception area, because whoever was assigned to arrange your building pass will inevitably have forgotten to do so. The security guards will ask you to stand or sit somewhere else so that they will be better positioned to give you dirty looks until a bona fide ID-carrying employee is finally sent down to lead you through the turnstiles and into the labyrinth of poor Soviet floor planning.

Your guide will bring you to a room with no windows, where you will be asked to sit alone while she goes to get all of the other people meant to attend your interview, who are all late because they forgot or are "too busy." Just when you begin to wonder if maybe you'd taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque, a gaggle of disorganized suits will pile into the room, each shaking your hand on the way in.

The Boss will pull out a copy of your resume, glance over it, and then ask if you like it in Moscow. Oh, that's nice. Moscow is a beautiful city. Are you renting an apartment? Where? Good, that's a short commute. Do you have a family? No? Excellent. Are you single? Yes? Eeexxxceellent. *winkwink* You may be asked to briefly demonstrate that you indeed possess the skills you claim on your resume. Don't worry too much about that part. Making awkward use of the words "cooperation," "effective" and "unique" will get you extra points.

So, when can you start? We need someone right away. Next Monday? Perfect. Come in at 9 AM sharp, we'll have your temporary building pass ready.

On Monday morning, you'll get there at 9 AM sharp and you'll be the only one. No one will be there to get your temporary building pass. You will be forced to twirl around the lobby area like an ass-hat until the true start of the Russian business day -- sometime around 9:45. Finally your new coworker will arrive to get you in the building and show you the way to your new work area.

Keep in mind that for at least the first week of your new job at any Russian company, your "work area" will be more of a "virtual" work area -- a conceptual work area, if you will. Studies show that visualizing your new workspace does not speed up the process and only leads to disappointment. If you're lucky, there will be an empty desk in the general vicinity of the department to which you have been assigned. Once someone finds a chair -- usually stolen from a coworker who is on vacation that week -- this is where you will while your time away for the foreseeable future.

The following chain of events will repeat itself several times throughout the week: Your new boss will drop by a few hours later and frown officiously at the lack of any computer, office supplies, work, etc. Someone is surely responsible for this unique lack of cooperation and effectiveness! He will then set off purposefully to find the responsible party before shortly being sidetracked by the sparkly bangles strategically placed between the breasts of someone's long-legged secretary, who is smoking seductively in the stairwell. Tech support just can't seem to find a computer - something about a warehouse, an influx of new employees and simultaneous understaffing, and several incomprehensible mumbled excuses accentuated with a shrug of the shoulders.

You will have at least one 40-hour week to think about the consequences of your actions. Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into? Is everyone here so totally inept that no one can get me a freakin' pass into the building? Why did they say they needed someone right away? No one's even given me anything to do... Why do I have to come and sit here demonstratively if no one can be bothered to get me a computer? What am I doing here?

Wait a minute... they're paying me. To just sit here. I'm making money-right now-doing fuck-all. Hmmm...

God, I wonder if it's too late to apply for that job with that other place.

They will know when you have finally been broken. Only then will tech support will bring your computer. You are ready now, grasshopper. Do not worry. See? It's Outlook. You now have email. You have Internet access. You can now communicate with the outside world. Oh, what's this? Mr. Tech Support is installing ICQ, and he has just granted you access to fishki.net and youtube.

Everything is going to be OK after all.

Source: exile.ru

Moscow Mayor: Gay Parade Is 'Satanic'

2007-01-30T01:45:00.000-08:00

By Carl Schreck

Mayor Yury Luzhkov on Monday denounced gay rights parades as "satanic" and vowed that he would never allow such events to be held in the city.

Speaking during a Russian Orthodox Church conference at the Kremlin, Luzhkov said the city would reject any application to hold a gay pride parade and crack down on anyone who chose to march in defiance of the ban, just as it did in 2006.

"Last year, Moscow came under unprecedented pressure to sanction the gay parade, which can be described in no other way than as a satanic event," Luzhkov said in televised comments. "We did not let the parade take place then, and we will not allow it in the future."

At last year's parade in May, marchers were overwhelmed by militant Orthodox Christians and ultranationalists throwing smoke bombs. The parade had been banned by Luzhkov, and more than 100 gay rights activists and their opponents were arrested by police.

Nikolai Alexeyev, the chief organizer of last year's march, said it was "shocking" that such a high-ranking government official could publicly express such sentiments.

"To compare us to a satanic cult is not worthy of the top official of Europe's largest city," Alexeyev said. "It is a personal insult."

Alexeyev said the parade organizers would file a libel suit against Luzhkov in the coming weeks.

Alexeyev also said that on Monday the organizers of last year's parade had filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, seeking 20,000 euros ($26,000) in damages for the violation of their constitutional right of free assembly.

Gay activists will march again this year regardless of whether Luzhkov bans the parade, Alexeyev said.

Ahead of last year's march, the Council of Europe issued a statement that offered support to gay rights activists in Moscow in their struggle against homophobia.

The statement also called on city authorities to ensure the safety of the marchers.

Father Vsevolod Chaplin, a top spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, said Monday that a majority of Russians were against gay rights parades.

Chaplin called Luzhkov a "responsible politician" for upholding the will of the people in his remarks at the Kremlin on Monday.

"Satanic" was not an exaggeration by Luzhkov, Chaplin said.

"The forces of evil are always emboldened by the propaganda of sin," Chaplin said.

A number of gay rights activists opposed last year's parade and labeled Alexeyev a self-promoter who sought to use the event to build his own reputation at home and abroad.

Gay activist Ed Mishin, director of the gay rights organization Together, said the gay parade dispute in Moscow was merely a personal conflict between Alexeyev and Luzhkov.

"This is not a conflict between city authorities and the gay community at large," Mishin said.

Luzhkov on Monday also accused countries in the West of trying to force their liberal values on Russia, thereby corrupting its children and its traditions.

Luzhkov said it was unfortunate that "religious institutions at various levels" in European countries had teamed up with governments to "bless same-sex marriages" and provide "manuals of a sexual nature" for use in the education of children "starting in the first grade."

"Supporters of such education appear in Russia propped up by generous grants from thoughtful Western 'educators,'" Luzhkov said, Interfax reported.

In April 2005, Luzhkov suggested that the construction of a golf course in the bucolic Strogino area in northwestern Moscow would help prevent homosexuals and barbecuers from frequenting the area and damaging the environment.

Source: themoscowtimes.com

Dangerous tendency: Journalist sentenced for publications in his blog

2007-01-23T06:11:00.000-08:00

This is now a dangerous tendency: one may not be safe when writing in his blog.

A Kazakhstan opposition journalist Kazis Toguzbaev was sentenced to 2 year probation for anti-presidential publication in a blog named kub.

National Security Committee of Kazakhstan find them insulting the honour and dignity of the president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Law enforcement was called due tov two articlesthe 58-years old journalist had written in April 2006. The names of the articles are eloquent: "Pope in Rome and Pope in Astana - feel the difference" and " Mafia regime covers Altanbek's killers".

In the second of these publications Toguzbaev alludes to the indirect involvement of the President of the country in the killing of opposition-politician Altynbek Sarsenbayev who was killed on February 23 last year.

As a result, on November 23 last year, the journalist was on the dock for the "negative assessment of the Nazarbayev's actions in connection with a murder investigation of Altynbek Sarsenbayev", that for the formal reason for the trial.

Despite a sentence of two years probation instead of the required charge three years colony, the protection remained dissatisfied.

Funny thing is that three days before the sentencing on the Day of Democracy Toguzbayev was awarded with the Svoboda (Freedom) Award for "fidelity to principles and inflexibility in defending the ideals of Democracy".

This has become an additional warning to bloggers: you can not be safe while publishing your posts via Internet. I seems like the last bastion of freedom will soon be seized, too.

Tunnel of Death in Moscow

2007-01-16T15:33:00.000-08:00

This video was taken from a CCTV camera installed in one of the tunnels in Moscow. Horrible.