What makes the FSU so interesting?

[mendeleyev]

Mrs. Mendeleyeva is painting the portraits of a group of Red Army Generals, there are 70 surviving, for an commissioned exhibit this coming May in the War Museum at Victory Park. Part of the portrait process involves extensive photographing and interviews; and the stories these gentlemen have to tell are emotionally moving and often heroic of the highest order.

[mendeleyev]

Most often it is the people who make the FSU so interesting.

[mendeleyev]

Flowers area a popular New Year and Christmas gift especially for a loved one or if visiting someone's home for the holiday. Russians will brave just about anything, including a winter storm, to obtain fresh flowers.

[acrzybear]

Mrs. Mendeleyeva is painting the portraits of a group of Red Army Generals, there are 70 surviving, for an commissioned exhibit this coming May in the War Museum at Victory Park. Part of the portrait process involves extensive photographing and interviews; and the stories these gentlemen have to tell are emotionally moving and often heroic of the highest order.

Does that include Михаи́л Тимофе́евич Кала́шников ? 

[mendeleyev]

It does.

Just put his name in facebook and you can join the page dedicated to him. 

[mendeleyev]

Train travel is an important link in the world's largest country. In fact due to road conditions it is both easier and faster to take a train from one end of the country to the other. Not to mention the luxury of sleeping while traveling and having someone else do the driving. Plus, you can party if you wish or relax in your berth and read or snooze.

Now there is a new sport for Russian young people. They call it "train surfing" and it a sport of great danger even though I'd love to try it at least once sometime.

Remember as you watch this video that much of Russia's train travel is electric powered and an easy way to die quickly is to grab onto the wrong thing when on top of a fast moving train.

[mendeleyev]

As featured in the Mendeleyev Journal:


Is is just the аптека (Apteka is pharmacy) locations we use, or is Vaseline, so helpful for treating winter weather ills, in some sort of controlled status in Russia?





(Vaseline can be found in tube form.)


It seems that Вазeлин (vaseline) is not available as a shelf item, and instead one must ask a pharmacy technician to dispense it. Many smaller аптеки (pharmacies) hold most products behind the counter because of space but is there a reason why Вазeлин is held behind the counter in larger ones as well?




(Vaseline, 20 grams, in a round tin.)


Some village folk across the former Soviet Union still use Vaseline as a way to store fresh eggs. An old farm trick, eggs will remain fresh up to two years without refrigeration if stored in a cool, dry space and given a thin coat of Vaseline. The Vaseline application supplements the natural "bloom" a hen gives each egg which keeps it fresh during the fertilization process immediately after an egg has been laid.


As Vaseline is petroleum-based we at first didn't understand why some forms of vaseline are sold in a refrigerated state. Since pharmacy refrigerators are kept behind the counter, naturally obtaining a refrigerated product would need the assistance of a pharmacy technician. Doing a little research however quickly led to the discovery that a form of Vaseline oil is dispensed as a stool softener when a patient suffers from constipation. The photo below is Вазeлинin a bottle:




(Vaseline oil, sold as a laxative for chronic constipation. No prescription needed.)


Language Tips:

If you purchase Vaseline in Ukraine it will be spelled slightly different as Ukrainian, while similar to Russian in some respects, is truly a different language. Vaseline in Russian Cyrillic is spelled Вазeлин but the Ukrianian Cyrillic spelling uses a letter not found in the Russian version of the Cyrillic alphabet. In Ukrainian the spelling for Baseline is вазелін.



(Note the Ukrainian spelling: вазелін)


For students of Russian language the way to pronounce Вазeлин can be found here.

[mendeleyev]

She says marks, you say grades.

She say form, you say grade or class.

She went to school 11 years, you went 12.

Why is it so hard for degrees from the FSU to be recognized in Western countries?

Student Nadia Petryk from Ukraine, a student in Arizona at Maricopa Community College produces a weekly TV program and recently I was introduced to this student production. I discovered that not only is this program produced on a regular schedule, but her co-producers and camera/audio crew were young students from the FSU who now study in Arizona.

Nadia sent a wmv file as an introduction but soon I discovered that a couple of the shows are uploaded to YouTube, making it easier to view and follow. The show on difference in academic standards may be helpful in understanding some of the more common question about the differences.

Nadia visits a University in Moscow and then in Ukraine during the show. This show will not answer all your questions but perhaps will bring more insight to the differences.

[mendeleyev]

And what about Spring break? How do Russian and Ukrainian students treat holidays?

[mendeleyev]

One of the interesting things about Russia and the rest of the FSU, is how some things are the same. Take family for instance.

Language plays a part of our understanding each other but the good news is that some of the words remain the same.

Papa is Papa (папа).

Mom is Mom.

Mama is Mama.
 

My guess is that as you watch this video you can recognize most of the themes even if you don't speak a word of Russian, even including what happens to the new Apple notebook!

[mendeleyev]

Would you like to dance?

The term in Russian is танец, "tahn yits" and if you can dance, then you've got game!

We've written about it before and will do so again. Dancing is very popular across the FSU, especially in the age demographics of 18-34, 35-54, 55-69, and 70 to ...wait, by this time all the guys are dead (age 57 to 68) and only the women are left. But I think you get the point--these folk place a premium on knowing how to dance, even the young. I'm not talking about "shaking your groove thing," we're speaking of organized dancing.

At many weddings a couple will practice and then present a dance for their assembled guests. This couple obtained permission for their wedding dance to be filmed inside of GUM (ghoom) the famous shopping mall on Red Square.




From a technical standpoint I cringed. But they got out in public and practiced and filmed. Bravo. Everyone starts somewhere, and this couple was willing to start.


Now this next couple has game. Watch them, watch the crowd watching them, and then watch the crowd join in about halfway into the video.  Way cool.

[mendeleyev]

For those interested the Latin dance was from a outdoor event, very common in summer, in Omsk, Russia. The dancers seen first were listed in the YouTube notes as "Evgeny Didora and Maria Malikova."

[Muzh]

Mendy, interesting video. The latin music one.

I see they combine a number of dances to on rhythmic song which in Latin America is a no-no.

However, love to see her move. 

Let's see if I cover the dances.

Perreo
Samba
Bachata
Merengue
Salsa

The song is a latin rap to the tune of a bachata.

[mendeleyev]

Muzh, what exactly is the definition of a bachata? What makes it different from other Latin dances, and were we at such an event how would we tell the difference between a bachata and something like samba or hustle?

Mrs M and I love to dance and we enjoy swing, west coast hustle, even foxtrot and Merengue but these kids are younger and more agile than me!

However, love to see her move.

You dog! (Me too) 

[JR]

In high heels on cobblestones!!!!!

[ML]

Mendy, thanks for the link to dance.  As a leg man . . . I was in heaven.

[mendeleyev]

Ah, there are 2 of us! 

[mendeleyev]

Sometimes a question triggers a good "story" and this is one of those. I answer questions about Russia for Yahoo and over the weekend there was a reader question of what was going to happen to the site of the old Rossiya hotel?

It was an interesting question from that reader, especially since this past Friday Prime Minister Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin had just taken a quick drive over to the site after a Moscow Duma meeting at which the PM was present to answer questions. Obviously this was not "by accident" but hey, sometimes a staged event can turn into a decent story.

Some of you may remember the old Rossiya, the hotel with its own KGB unit to track foreigners, and just as important, to listen in to conversations in the bedrooms. It was the primary hotel for visiting diplomats and businessmen in the days when the only tourist industry in the Soviet Union was in the form of citizens trying to get out.

For me personally it was pleasant to learn more about their idea of what to do with the site and with that introduction out of the way, here is the story from Friday.

The Mendeleyev Journal:

Friday was sort of like a school “field trip” day for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. The two men visited the site formerly occupied by the Rossiya Hotel, just off Red Square.




Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin & Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin at former site of the Rossiya Hotel. The prime minister had asked the Moscow mayor to consider building a park and recreation area in place of the former Rossiya Hotel. Mr. Putin feels that the current proposal for a parliamentary centre and business/hotel complex would create an additional congestion in the centre of Moscow. "Nearly all parklands in the centre of Moscow have been destroyed in the past decades. There are hardly any left," Putin said as he toured the proposed construction site with the mayor. "There are certainly less in the centre than anywhere else," Sobyanin added.

Mr. Putin suggested that a park next to the Kremlin area would be a better idea and Mayor Sobyanin conveyed support for the idea. The Prime Minister instructed Mayor Sobyanin to discuss the proposal with Moscow residents, the Moscow City Duma and the Moscow Government.




Putin and Sobyanin consider a park at the former site of the Rossiya Hotel.


While Sobyanin seemed to like the proposal, a park would scuttle plans for a commercial project which includes a new headquarters for both houses of the Russian Parliament.



The old Rossiya Hotel. (photo: Mendeleyev)


Built in the 1960s, the old Rossiya was at one time the largest hotel in Europe with 3,200 rooms, 250 some odd suites, a movie theatre, and held multiple restaurants along with a post office, gym/spa and the State Concert Hall with 2500 seats. The Rossiya could host over 4,000 hotel guests easily. It was demolished in 2007.

[Misha]

It was hubris and an ill-conceived move IMHO. I stayed in the Rossiya a few times. Sure, it was not a luxury hotel, but it was affordable and it was convenient and you could always book a room. Moscow did not have enough hotel rooms even then to serve more modest budgets, so what do they do, demolish a perfectly great hotel.... Sigh 

[mendeleyev]

I can't disagree.

Now that it is gone (since 2007) I'm pleased that they're going to do something. Personally I'm really concerned about several of the ancient monastery and churches nearby in sad repair and hope that this doesn't mean that a park goes in here only to see ancient history razed just a few blocks away to make room for the new Parliament buildings and a hotel.

I wrote about this neighborhood sometime back here: http://russianreport.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/russias-architecture-in-danger/

[acctBill]

I'm another who has stayed at the Rossiya.  The rooms were by far the smallest I've ever stayed in, even the rooms in the Japanese hotels my wife and I stayed in were quite a bit larger.     

Everyone knew the place was bugged by the KGB but what always had me wondering was why were all the staff were so dour.  If the KGB wanted to learn state secrets or industrial and corporate espionage wouldn't the KGB be more successful if the staff were trained to be more pleasant?  My wife said that was western thinking, the KGB had there ways.

After seeing all the James Bond movies I envisioned seeing gorgeous Russian women roaming the hallways of the Rossiya whispering in the ears of foreign diplomats or rich western business executives.  Another illusion shattered, none of the female staff I ever saw at the Rossiya could be rated as gorgeous.  Needless to say, no beautiful Russian woman ever tried to lure me into a honeypot trap.

Mendeleyev you know that Putin's comments about turning the Rossiya site into a park were simply PR for the media and the citizens of Moscow.  That site must be some of the most valuable land in Moscow. 

[mendeleyev]

Mendeleyev you know that Putin's comments about turning the Rossiya site into a park were simply PR for the media and the citizens of Moscow.  That site must be some of the most valuable land in Moscow.

Bill, I hope you're right. Russia is under a great deal of pressure internally and from European groups in regards to the number of historic buildings that have been razed in the past decade. Perhaps this is just a ploy to keep them quiet. There is also a green movement in Russia that needs reassurance and just prior to an election is a good time to do that.

My fear is that they'll build the park (a good idea) but then raze surrounding buildings (ancient churches of great historic value, hundred of years old) to make room for a hotel complex and parliamentary buildings, citing the park as an excuse.

If you look at Moscow's "City Centre" financial district, that seems to be Mr. Putin's ideal for a modern city and the look of Moscow of the future. All that steel and glass with modern design can be justified in one sense, but it will not hold great beauty or historic significance over generations. Moscow has the quality to stand alongside Russia's northern capital as another Paris of the East if the past is repaired and displayed just as proudly. Heaven forbid somebody do to Leningrad what they're doing to Moscow.

[ML]

I noticed the winter parka that Putin is wearing.

It reminded me of the firestorm that ensued here some months ago when it was suggested that such a coat might be appropriate vs a sheepskin type.

[mendeleyev]

I love a good leather, but not in a deep Russian winter. A coat needs to "breathe" as accumulated body moisture can cause pneumonia from going in and out of extreme temps frequently. Just got a new leather coat and then the weather turned too cold so we're back to long and heavy wools.

[mendeleyev]

From the Mendeleyev Journal:

We knew this was a bad move from the start, but an inexperienced American president was determined to send a new Ambassador to Moscow. As we feared it hasn't gone that well so far for he new guy in town. Unlike the admired diplomat he replaced, new Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul is inexperienced himself and apparently has succeeded already in upsetting his Russian hosts.

Just last Tuesday Russian state television announced that new US ambassador had arrived in Russia to make a white Revolution. Scrambling for options to keep his "reset" with Russia in play, Obama turned to the only American still trusted by Vladimir Putin, long retired Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.



(Henry Kissinger met with Vladimir Putin on January 20th to ease tensions between the government and the USA's new Ambassador to Moscow.)

Kissinger is aging and has gained a lot of weight since his State Department days and one can only imagine that he must have felt as Yoggi Berra once uttered, like deja vu all over again to be the peacemaker between Moscow and Washington.

Welcoming Mr. Kissinger as his guest, Prime Minister Putin described Kissinger as one of the finest experts in Russian-U.S. relations. The former U.S. Secretary of State in reply expressed the hope that relations between Russia and the United States would improve in the coming months and years.

Kissinger met with Ambassador McFaul on Thursday and then with Mr. Putin on Friday. McFaul said that the former secretary of state "is back in Moscow to continue the kind of strategic dialogue with the Russian government that is so important to our partnership."



(Moscow, 20 January 2012: Henry Kissinger and Vladimir Putin)

Putin and Kissinger have developed a friendship over the years. The two first met when Putin was an aide to the mayor of Saint Petersburg and was tasked with picking up Mr. Kissinger at the airport in the early 1990s.

Mr. Kissinger did not meet with President Medvedev on this trip.