What makes the FSU so interesting?

[SANDRO43]

I had no idea it was so long after the WW2 in the capitalistic world 

Great Britain was a special case because most of its food was imported. Here I think rationing was discontinued 1-2 years after the end of WWII.

Some examples of our wartime ration cards that I found while vacating my dead parents' home: http://www.floriani.it/documenti-eng.htm.

[ghost of moon goddess]

... sellers were "respected" people in Soviet times, they were like local kings AND QUEENS and others felt very dependent on them. They sold "shortage" goods at their own benefit, bartered them for other goods they needed, and from the way themselves and their kids were dressed I believe they had virtually everything in materialistic terms...

which did not go unnoticed by cartoonists 

The Queen of a beer-bar.
(Customer notice: no beer available)




Soviet salesperson taking over control of merchandise traffic within the area of his shop 
(торговый зал - sales area   служебный вход -  staff entrance )

[Eduard]

Yes, I remember those days in the USSR well 

[mendeleyev]

Europe's largest city. 14 million some souls living and breathing in a region sure can cause a city to never sleep. But there is one, and only one, short period when Moscow seems abandoned. It is the few short hours on the morning of 1 January before the city again comes alive with throngs of people walking the city plazas.

Although the song proclaims that "Moscow never sleeps" in truth there is a time when the fireworks have fizzled, drunks are passed out, every party person finally slipped into bed sometime between 4 and 6am there is a time when perhaps Moscow does sleep. Public transport is on a reduced schedule and the city is down to a reduced police schedule after the events of New Year's Eve. If there is ever one time, just a single space of a few hours when Moscow is asleep, this is it.

Москва, 1 января в 9:00 

Moscow, 1 January at 9am.

The beginning of the new year.

[mendeleyev]

As reported this week in the Moscow Times, Russian air carrier Aeroflot will begin to install wireless Internet in its jets this year as part of its wide-ranging program to improve service, the state-controlled carrier said Thursday.

The company will provide Wi-Fi on 26 of its long-range aircraft by the end of 2013, including 22 Airbus 330 jets and four Boeing 777s, it said in a statement. Wireless Internet will appear on 15 of those aircraft in the first quarter of this year.

"Our goal is to make Wi-Fi available on all long-range aircraft," Aeroflot chief executive Vitaly Savelyev said. "The program to be implemented corresponds with two key elements in our strategy: introducing state-of-the-art technologies in all areas of the company's activities and joining the elite of the world's airlines in terms of the quality of services."

Other new offerings by Aeroflot include additional entertainment options on flights and upgraded VIP lounges abroad, a company source told The Moscow Times late last year. This will require tens of millions of dollars in investment in 2013, the source said.
The carrier will continue to install Wi-Fi on Boeing 777 jets beyond 2013, the statement said. Aeroflot said it would introduce Internet service on 12 Boeing 777s between 2014 and 2016.

Aeroflot is expecting deliveries in the near future of new Boeing 777s that "will significantly increase the company's opportunities on long-range routes."

 Read more at the Moscow Times.

[BBC]

"Our goal is to make Wi-Fi available on all long-range aircraft," Aeroflot chief executive Vitaly Savelyev said. 

I hope that access to Wi-Fi will not be available to the crew.

[mendeleyev]

I hope that access to Wi-Fi will not be available to the crew.

Good point.

I can just imagine some pilot so engrossed in facebook that he misses an important left turn at the big cloud on the corner. 

One of my pet peeves on some long flights is the lack of an electric plug to charge phones, etc.
 

[jone]

Two of my favorite topics, Chocolate and Ice Cream.  ML's disclaimer has it right.  Bake a chocolate cake and you'll do fine.

But, some of the best ice cream recipes are the home made recipes that are actually cooked, not just churned.  My favorite to make and eat is a chocolate recipe that involves a custard base.  You begin with four cups of milk and 10 eggs and double boil it to blend it into a custard.  Two full cups of sugar are added in and then the custard is left to cool.  After adding in the chocolate (and vanilla for dissonance) two quarts of cream are added and the whole concoction is churned. 

It takes about four and a half hours from start to finish but it is well worth the wait.  The ice cream is incredibly rich and no one can eat more than a scoop.    But I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

(This recipe is an approximation from memory - so if you want me to look for the true form, I will find it next time I'm in Wisconsin where I always make it during the summer.)

[mendeleyev]

It appears that the funny commercial (spoof) for Moscow State University will need some revisions soon.





From the Mendeleyev Journal:
(www.MendeleyevJournal.com)

Will Russia continue the battle to reduce alcoholism by raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21? This past Thursday a bill raising the legal drinking age was introduced in the State Duma for consideration by lawmakers.






Earlier in the week First Deputy Prime Minister V. Zubkov had told RIA Novosti news service that Russia has seen a fall in alcohol sales over the past two years from 18 liters to 15 liters per capita a year. Alcohol advertising has been banned and the government has forbidden the sale of alcohol at nighttime and reduced the number of shops allowed to sell alcoholic beverages.





Yevgeny Bryun, the Health Ministry's chief drug-addiction expert, told the Moscow Times last month that the effort has reduced the amount of alcohol sales by a third over the past two years. Then President Dmitry Medvedev banned the sale of beer at street kiosks last year.

In a report on Russia Today TV, today there are more than 28 million alcoholics in Russia according to the Ministry of Health and Social Development. RT reported that out of the nation’s 10 million children who are between the ages of 11-18, more than 50% use alcohol and beer regularly.


(RIA Novosti News Service)


Language trivia: Пиво is the Russian word for beer, pronounced as "PEE-vah."

[Anotherkiwi]

In a report on Russia Today TV, today there are more than 28 million alcoholics in Russia according to the Ministry of Health and Social Development. RT reported that out of the nation’s 10 million children who are between the ages of 11-18, more than 50% use alcohol and beer regularly.

Of course, all Russian beer is non-alcoholic...yeah, right! 

[mendeleyev]

Have you been to the "Real Russia" yet?

Two young men from Ufa host a weekly show on YouTube and their show is hitting the big time! Russia Today TV just flew them in to Moscow last week for interviews and the two guys, Sergei and Sergei, are fast making a name for themselves.

You'll enjoy the accented English, their take on life in Russia and their attempt to explain it to the West, and perhaps you'll even enjoy a well-placed "f bomb" here and there.



Visit their YouTube channel, subscribe is you wish, and heck, purchase a t-shirt as that is how they attempt to fund the show in this start-up phase. Neither myself or the Mendeleyev Journal has a financial interest in their success although we are in positive communication about ways to help advance their efforts so log on and enjoy their short programmes.

Lastly, the show above was short so I'll add a couple of things they didn't have time to cover fully: At the Iberian Gates entrance to Red Square they introduce the "zero kilometre" which is not the true geographical centre of Russia; rather it is the zero starting point from whence all roads in Russia are measured. When you read that a city is so many km from Moscow, this is the starting point. It is also sometimes called "Moscow Centre" by some.



There is a tradition to stand on the centre plaque and throw a coin behind your head for good luck. Sadly, those old babushki chasing the coins are serious. They need those for things like food.

In the Real Russia episode above, host Sergei pointed to the yellow tower with a flag inside the Kremlin. Tradition says that when the flag is flying over the Senate cupola that the president is in his Kremlin office working. That tradition remains and the flag flies most non-holidays, but these days the Kremlin is used by presidents only for official functions. The Senate building does house support functions for the presidential administration and there is an office for when the president is working from the Kremlin.

Building #14 also holds many offices of government officials and ministries on the Kremlin grounds, but the Prime Minister makes his office at the White House not far from Red Square along the Moscow River and the President has his primary office at the presidential residence in the suburbs.

[mendeleyev]

You and I may not think it a big deal to go to a McDonald's, but you'll enjoy this tour of a Russian McDonald's by the two young men of "Real Russia" TV.





Notes:

- Near the beginning Sergei talks of a "Mac Ahv-ta" and he is referring to a "drive-thru" lane. One word relating to auto is авто, spoken as "ahv-tah." (авто however is not what you would call a car.)

- When Sergei speaks of "potato free" he means "french fries."

- He also speaks of American marketers but in reality it was the Canadian division of McDonald's International which was responsible for bringing Mickey D to Russia and today there is a full Russian division of McDonald's International which owns and manages McDonald's in Russia. Still, when you hear the McD name, you think of America.

[Valentina Abram]

I love to eat chocolates. There are many others but Korkounov and Vdokhnovenye are my favorite ever. Russian is the best in chocolate.

[mendeleyev]

очень вкусный!

[Eduard]

I love to eat chocolates. There are many others but Korkounov and Vdokhnovenye are my favorite ever. Russian is the best in chocolate.

Yes, I tried Vdokhnovenye a few weeks ago for the first time and really liked it. However I wouldn't go as far as declare Russian chocolate to be "the best". Belgian chocolates are of better quality IMO.

[mendeleyev]

This video will have some good tips for readers traveling to Russia so allow for a little background. Our friends from Ufa, Sergei and Sergei, were invited recently to travel to Moscow to be interviewed by Russia Today television at the  RT Moscow studios.

The two have taken their YouTube show viral with an acceptance by Western audiences that the two likely never dreamed. So, in this episode we find them outside the Ufa airport. Readers who will travel there will be surprised at how modern the airport and the Aeroflot plane that will be taking them to Moscow.

Upon landing in Moscow you can see them exit the plane and enter Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) where they proceed to first purchase a SIM card for their phones. Smart idea if you have a Quad band phone; just purchase a phone with a local number as it will far less expensive that making international calls on your cell phone from your home country.

Next our two heroes purchase tickets on the AeroExpress train from the airport to the Belorussky Rail Terminal in the centre of Moscow. Belorussky is one of nine major rail stations in Moscow and very close to the Belorusskaya Metro station. At Belorussky train station they walk the short distance to the Belorusskaya Metro underground subway where they purchase Metro tickets.

A common question is about the price of Metro tickets and how long they last. As of 1 February Metro tickets are "universal" and can be used in the Metro, bus, electric trolleybus, electric trams and select Monorail routes. Cards which were previously good up to 45 days depending on the number purchased are now good for up to 90 days when you purchase a "smart card" ticket which beginning in April will have an electronic reload feature, similar to a phone where you can reload minutes. In this case you can use an ATM card via Internet to reload your Metro smart card at any time which automatically adds another 90 days to the card. A 365 day Smart card is also available. The current rate for a single ride on the Metro is 28 rubles, approximately a dollar.

Next we see Sergei using his GPS to locate the apartment of his friend. In a large city where many of the apartment blocks look almost the same for miles and miles, that is probably a good idea.

[calmissile]

Nice video Mendy.  These guys look like fun to hang out with.   

[mendeleyev]

Thanks, Doug. They are a hoot and at times genuinely emotional about their new popularity. Sergei the host cried when leaving Moscow, tears of joy mind you, but tears just the same as the 4 days they spent in Moscow were some of the best days of their adult lives. Both have had some rough times in life but they are hard working and innovative. They left a local TV station in Ufa in order to start their own YouTube channel and while cash strapped at times, they have talent and big hearts and I think they're going to make it.

Subscribe to their channel and even purchase one of their "Soviet" t-shirts if you wish; I know they're appreciate it.

[mendeleyev]

www.MendeleyevJournal.com

They came from all over Russia, representing 83 regions as the finalists in regional competitions for the motherland's most beautiful young ladies gathered in Moscow to compete for the title of  Мисс Россия (Miss Russia) 2013. A panel of 7 jurists judged the contest.





On 13 February the ladies took a tour of Moscow, for several of them it was their first introduction to the Russian capital city.



On 23 February, the day Russians honour those who have served in the military, the girls visited and performed at a military base, the Western Military District in Nakhabino. There they learned some basic hand to hand combat skills and introduction to light firearms--hopefully skills unnecessary for competition in a beauty pageant.




Some skills are vitally important part in any pageant and of course there were lessons on how to dance, proper exercise and cosmetic techniques.



Russia is the largest geographical country on earth and there are many ethnic groups found across Russia.  While Russian is the official national languages, there are another 27 languages given official status and yet another 100 minority languages represented.  Each girl modeled costumes representing her region of Russia and performed routines native to her local culture.




You will see the new Miss Russia 2013 at the 1:24 to 1:45 mark on this video of the formal dress competition.



Miss Russia 2013 has been crowned!  The new Miss Russia is 18-year-old Elmira Abdrazakova, a student at the Siberian Railway University where she studies transport and communications.




(photo: press pool coverage/www.missrussia.ru)

Reflecting the shifting demographics in the country the new Miss Russia is from a cross-ethnic family, her mother is Russian and her father is Tatar from Mezhdurechensk.  Her home town (Междуреченск) is a small city of about 100,000 population in the Kemerovo Oblast, a Siberian coal mining region near the Tom River.

!

Upon returning home the new Miss Russia along with officials at vkontakte (like Facebook in Russia) had to close her "vk" online account as comments to her pages were over two million in the days immediately after the pageant. Unfortunately many of the comments were nationalistic and racist in nature due to her Tatar ethnicity.




(photo: press pool Miss Russia  2013/www.missrussia.ru)

The prizes for first place include a full University scholarship, $1oo,000 in US dollars from Russian Standard Bank, modeling contracts along with a host of paid advertising endorsement opportunities, a new car and the right to represent Russia in the Miss Universe and Miss World international pageants.




(photo: EPA/ИТАР-ТАСС)

The first runner-up for Miss Russia 2013 was Anastasia Yazykov from Yaroslavl and the second runner-up was Irina Tumanov from the Republic of Kalmykia. Jurists for the pageant included Regina von Flemming, CEO of the publishing house Axel Springer Russia, singer and composer Dmitry Malikov, fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin, restaurateur Anastasia Myskina.



For a list and photo of every contestant in this year's pageant click here.  Any Russian girl can compete.

The competition requirements include:
 - Citizen of the Russian Federation
 - From 17.5 to 23 years of age
 - Height of at least 176 cm
 - Possessing model looks


Personal postscript regarding the negative comments on her ethnicity:

Names tell you everything in Russia: perhaps her beautiful dark olive skin colour was the first giveaway but her name, Abdrazakov Elmira (Elmira Abdrazakova) pointed to her Tatar Muslim background as well. The first name of an ethnic Slavic Russian is a saint name, the name of a Christian saint born on the same day and Elmira is not a saint, at least in the Eastern world. The family name (last name) is a dead giveaway as well. That all being said, should her ethnicity really matter?

Personally I find her both beautiful and charming but in a country concerned with rising birth rates among it's large Muslim population, some ethnic Russians have been less than gracious about the new title holder. My view is that a country that covers 1/6th of the earth with over 100 officially recognized languages ​​and ethnic groups, shouldn't complain just because a blue eyed blonde doesn't win the title every year.

[mendeleyev]

The Miss Russia contest easily takes the most of a year and last December 2012 the final cuts began of the 83 ladies who had made it thru months of preparations and screenings. On 15 December the third to final selection took place in Volgograd, on 24 December the second to final selection was held in St. Petersburg and the final pre-selection was done a day later on 25 December in Moscow.

In any editing room there are always "out-takes" which are cuts of audio, video or photos that didn't make the final publication of a media piece. There are some among those that didn't make the final MJ version but that members might be interested in seeing. After all, we're guys and they are beautiful ladies.

All photos courtesy of the press pool coverage and Miss Russia official pageant.








1- Miss Russia 2013 and her new car.

2- Miss Russia flanked by her two runner-ups.

3-4-5- Skating in Moscow.

6- The finalists visit Red Square.

7- Very lucky dog.

8- Lucky security guy.

9- Unlucky army guy if that thing is loaded.

10- Military training for babes.

[Larry1]

Congratulations to the lovely Elmira and best of luck to her in the Miss Universe competition.

Nice post, Mendy.

[jone]

Next time volunteer to take the pictures in person.

[mendeleyev]

www.MendeleyevJournal.com

According to a January poll from the respected Levada Centre, only a quarter of Russians think the body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin should remain in the dark and damp mausoleum on Red Square.  That same study found that 34% of the country believes Lenin should be reburied in St Petersburg's Volkovsky cemetery and 19% wanted him to be moved to the Kremlin wall Necropolis, along with Joseph Stalin and other Soviet dignitaries.

In a Euronews interview one Moscow man said, “They made him a tourist attraction in my opinion, but you can find something else to entertain visitors. We have a lot of places in Moscow that you can show.”  Those who feel he should remain in his current mausoleum generally are sympathetic to the Russian Communist party.

Although President Vladimir Putin has in the past floated the idea of moving Lenin to another location, he needs the older Communist party voters in his coalition against the opposition reformers so it is doubtful that he'll propose a move anytime soon.




For now, the mausoleum is closed, covered by a large canopy while workmen do repairs.  Not only have Lenin's ideals begun to rot away, but so has the foundation of the mausoleum.  Additionally, the roof leaks and engineers noticed that the walls were beginning to tilt.  The presence of underground water should be no surprise; there is a river buried underneath.

The first mausoleum was constructed quickly, in a day, immediately following Lenin's death.  That structure lasted just a few months before it had be replaced.  The second structure lasted five years but it too had to be replaced.




Stalin was buried in the mausoleum after his death and his name was carved in the granite.  However during the period of de-Stalinization his body was moved to the Necropolis and his name removed from the mausoleum in 1961 except during a brief period during the war with Germany.




The current mausoleum is a granite structure and Lenin's body has rested there since his death in 1924.  By 1972 an estimated ten million visitors had toured the mausoleum but in more recent years interest in Lenin's tomb has waned considerably.



As one can imagine, when the government first announced that repairs would be made over a four month period, rumours began almost immediately as the large white tarpaulin went over the mausoleum.  A few Moscow residents think that the mausoleum is being demolished and Lenin's body removed in secrecy.

Guess we'll have to wait and see...

[mendeleyev]

This year there are some interesting changes coming to the Moscow Metro system.

Just yesterday the Metro announced that in order to drive sales of e-cards for Metro passes, riders who continue to use cash will pay an extra 2 Rubles per ride.  Instead of 28 Rubles, a cash ticket will cost 30 rubles while e-card rides remain at 28 Rubles each. The city says it is an experiment so we'll see if that lasts or is retracted. The rate of 28 Rubles was set on 1 January 2011, an increase of 2 Rubles from the previous year.

Next, at several stations today morning commuters were greeted with floor signs, a first for the Metro system. This is also an experiment and the Metro is asking riders to comment on the change to see if it makes navigating the Moscow Metro easier for residents and tourists alike.



(Photo: Moscow Municipal Programs)

The signs are in Russian Cyrillic and in English. If the testing goes well the concept will be rolled out across the entire system. There are currently 188 stations in the Moscow Metro with several more scheduled to open this year.

The third and perhaps largest change is the map. Over the years as the Metro has grown it has become increasingly difficult to publish a map that is concise yet at least somewhat correct in it's geography. For several years the Metro has used the prestigious Art Lebedev design studio to create maps for the Metro. This time the city commissioned the Lebedev studio to create a map with a flexible graphics system.






Called Metro Map 2.0 (the first version was released in 2010), and according to the Lebedev studio, "The second edition of the Moscow Metro Map from our studio carries almost twice as much information. We’ve put up a layer of all text in the Latin alphabet; highlighted metro stations with connection to the rail system platforms; added express buses and trains stops as well as metro-related parking; and marked rivers, airports, and handicap-accessible stations. The connection at Biblioteka Imeni Lenina station is finally represented with a circle."







The Lebedev studio says that the project took almost four years to develop as they tried to create a new map that is recognizable, yet novel enough to be geographically accurate while at the same time satisfying both passengers’ demands and design requirements. In their estimation, the final design is a flexible graphics system that allows creating a whole range of maps of various size and complexity.

To see the stations in relation to well known streets and landmarks, see the 2010 version below.  Double click on the photo for the largest size.





Double click on any map to make it larger.

[mendeleyev]

Is heaven on earth even possible?

Perhaps, now that Шоколадница cafes are offering chocolate tea bags!

 

Is Russia a great country, or what?!