Leningrad Siege

On this day began the famous German siege of Leningrad (1941) during World War Two. Read about it in Russia Today. The Russians never surrendered. In fact, when Hitler insisted on taking Moscow that same year, the final defeat of the German Army began after it was repudiated by several Russian Army Divisions secretly held in reserve by Stalin, just as they (the Germans) were on the outskirts of Moscow - December 6, 1941. The German war machine never recovered from that defeat.

Lech Kaczynski

The President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, and his wife perished in a plane crash early this morning. The accident didn't need to happen. It seems the pilot disregarded instructions from the control tower at Smolensk (Russia) which advised him to land at the Minsk or Moscow airports, which are not all that far from Smolensk. The military airstrip where he was to land was shrouded in fog and visibility was near zero. Why did he take such a big risk? Was he trying to show off? On January 10, 2010, a similar fate befell Moises Saba Masri because his helicopter pilot was flying in dense fog near Mexico City. Of course we don't want to always be scared of what might happen but taking unnecessary risks is not a good thing, especially if your passengers include the President of a country.

Diplomacy is funny

From a Yahoo! News story: "PRAGUE – Despite deep Russian misgivings, the European Union and six former Soviet republics formally agreed on Thursday to pursue a new partnership meant to draw the eastern nations closer into the EU orbit. The agreement approved by presidents, premiers and their deputies from 33 nations is meant to extend the EU's political and economic ties in exchange for commitments to democracy from beneficiary nations. But already riled by NATO's eastward outreach, Moscow views the so-called "Eastern Partnership" plan with suspicion. Kremlin ally Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the International Affairs committee in Russia's upper parliament house, said Thursday the Prague meeting was a geopolitically motivated effort by the West to increase its influence over former Soviet republics, Russian news agencies reported.
"This Eastern Partnership is directed against no one, including Russia," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among 17 heads of governments attending, along with four heads of state. Javier Solana, the EU's top diplomat, chided unidentified Russian leaders by saying their comments "have not been very constructive vis a vis the meeting of today." "This is not against Russia," he told reporters.

This, of course, is a bunch of nonsense. The deal is aimed at Russia, plain and simple. Politicians and diplomats can NEVER be honest. That would spell disaster for everybody, no?

Russian Women

So, how do you make sure someone is on the up and up when they say they are a Beautiful Russian Woman interested in you??? The ad on the right side might help. I am not a client looking for a nice Russian girl so I have never tried it. You be the judge. It seems this person had a very bright idea. If it works, it will prove to be an invaluable service for everyone out there.

Russia and Europe

From Yahoo! News: “WASHINGTON – A standoff over an obscure air base in a Central Asian country few Americans could find on a map is becoming an opening salvo in a new kind of Cold War with Russia. The prize is not military mastery or the global supremacy of ideas, but the defensive protection of resources and security. Each of the 20th century’s nuclear superpowers wants say-so over the decisions the other has reserved the right to make, and with a new U.S. administration signaling possible compromise with Russia on a missile-basing plan detested by Russia, Moscow is using U.S. dependence on the base for the Afghan war to drive a hard bargain. Security officials in Kyrgyzstan said Friday the United States must quit the Manas air base, but U.S. officials said they have not gotten any official eviction notice and that negotiations to stay are under way.” Let us not forget the Russians are expert chess players. Caught in the middle of all this are Germany and France, as always... somewhat amusing if it weren’t such serious stuff.

Protests in Moscow

People in Paris might riot but Russians can only protest - if they riot they'll probably be shot on sight. Anyway, thousands showed up in a Moscow demonstration on Saturday to show their anxiety over the global economic crisis. As far as I know, nobody was hurt, though police kept a watchful eye on everybody. What good is a demonstration anyway? Will that create jobs? Are Russians allowed to own guns? I do not know. On January 19, two people were shot while walking near the Kremlin - Anastasia Baburova, a reporter for Novaya Gazeta (New Gazette), and Stanislav Markelov, a human rights attorney. Both were very young. Many thought the murders were orchestrated by conservative political fringe groups. I had recently heard a story on NPR about the Russian Orthodox Church getting cozy with the Kremlin. Is that really so? In the eyes of a lot of people, a re-uniting of church and state is probably overdue. Imagine the power that can emanate from such an entity.

China

There's this story on the net about a statement by the new Secretary of the Treasury having to do with China's manipulation of its currency so that their exports have an unfair advantage over domestic products. It's been like that for quite some time. However, this is not a good time to be making statements like that. The old rule still holds true: never negotiate from a position of weakness. "The statement, which is certain to anger the Chinese government, comes at a particularly sensitive time, with economies in both the United States and China weakening and tensions already rising around the globe over trade. The United States, moreover, is increasingly dependent on China to finance its ballooning deficit." So said the New York Times. It will get interesting, to say the least.

Coercion and Extortion

From a news a story on the net: “Russia's decision to choke off natural gas supplies to a shivering Western Europe couldn't have come at a worse moment — and that's just as Moscow would have it. As icy temperatures chill European households normally heated by Russian gas, a diplomatic race is underway to resolve the Russo-Ukraine dispute behind the cut. Moscow seems in no hurry. Wednesday marked the second straight day that many European nations received but a trickle of Russian gas pumped via Ukrainian pipelines. Ukraine is pivotal to Europe's gas supply; about 80% of Russian gas normally flows through Ukraine, and Russia provides 25% of Europe's gas.” I say this is a ridiculous situation for the Europeans. All they really have to do is wear more and heavier clothing, no? I don’t really know. This is no time for high hemlines though.

Kasparov arrest

If you follow the news, you already know about this, but in case you don't and in case you care, here it is:

“At least 100 people were arrested Sunday at opposition protests in two major Russian cities organized by Kremlin critic and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, police and witnesses said. Dozens were detained and forced into police buses at Triumfalnaya Square in central Moscow, where Kasparov and other activists had planned to hold an unsanctioned "Dissenter's March," an AFP journalist said. The arrests came a day after Kasparov and fellow government critics launched a new opposition group, Solidarity, and vowed to "dismantle" the regime of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Several hundred yards away on Pushkin Square an AFP photographer saw about 15 elderly people who said they were retired military officers being detained by police as they prepared to head for the march. "Around 90 people were detained," police spokesman Viktor Biryukov told AFP, adding they may face administrative measures, a term that usually means fines. The detained activists included writer Eduard Limonov, founder of the National Bolshevik Party, a banned radical group, his aide Alexander Averin told AFP by telephone from a bus where they were being held. It was not immediately clear what happened to Kasparov. Hundreds of police filled the area around Triumfalnaya Square ahead of the planned demonstration, surrounding it with trucks and metal barriers. Kasparov and his allies had vowed to hold the Dissenter's March there to protest what they view as Putin's undemocratic policies, despite not receiving police permission. Ahead of the arrests, a spokesman for the Moscow police told the Interfax news agency that authorities would be "tough but lawful" in dealing with the unsanctioned protest. The retired officers were detained as they prepared to head toward the Dissenter's March, an AFP photographer said. Kasparov's website reported that they included retired general Alexei Fomin, head of a group called the Union of Soviet Officers, which had gathered to mark the anniversary of the Decembrist uprising of 1825, a revolt led by officers against Tsar Nicholas I. About 10 people were detained at a parallel Dissenter's March held in Saint Petersburg, an AFP journalist witnessed. Some 300 people gathered in the northern city to chant slogans including "No to the Amendments," referring to proposed constitutional amendments that would extend presidential terms from four years to six. "What is happening in this country is a catastrophe," said Alexander, an engineer who attended the protest. Sunday also saw a police-sanctioned protest of about 100 people in central Moscow organized by The Right Cause, a liberal party created last month with Kremlin approval after a merger of three other parties." It is so easy to dissent when you have nothing to lose; in Russia, you cannot disagree with the government without expecting to be detained, possibly arrested, possibly fined, and possibly beat up. Ciao.

Diamonds

From an investor newsletter – I don’t remember which one: “Russian stocks can make great speculations... The country holds the world's largest reserves of natural gas. It's the world's second-largest oil producer. It has huge amounts of diamonds, timber, gold, and base metals. So when commodities are rising, Russia is "en vogue." But the Russian government is as crooked as a dog's hind leg. One minute, a Russian company has billions in assets... the next, the government takes them. This corruption leads to lightning-fast market declines. We're in "lightning-fast decline" mode in Russia right now. Investors are scared the government will attack more companies. We advise them to be scared of further weakness in the commodity markets. If oil corrects down to $90, this new downtrend will get much worse.”

Well, well, well. Oil has actually corrected to $45. Isn't that amazing? That's not the Russian flag, by the way. It's the official flag of Mexico. One of these days, Mexico might discover diamond and gold mines somewhere - it already has timber, metals, oil, and gas - then it will be even with Russia.

Hyenas

This is a small part of an October 2 New York Times article. I think I had already said the same thing here - that the foreign countries would take advantage of the situation to gain the upper hand.

"President Dmitri A. Medvedev has blamed what he called financial “egoism” for the crisis and said it should be taken as a sign that America’s global economic leadership was drawing to a close. Along with some European leaders, Mr. Medvedev has called for greater multilateralism in financial regulation, echoing a Russian position on international relations generally.
“The times when one economy and one country dominated are gone for good,” he said Thursday at St. Petersburg State University during the eighth annual Petersburger Dialog, a forum devoted to developing relations with Germany. After the American banking collapses, he said, the world does not want America as a “megaregulator.”
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, in Russia for the forum, said Germany, too, would “always support a multilateral approach” to market regulation.
Along with the Germans and others, Russian leaders contend that poorly regulated American markets caused the current crisis. While it is hardly a new sentiment, in Russia there is a gloating quality, as the American crisis deepens."

That's not the Kremlin, by the way - it's the local racetrack at Sunland Park.

Olympics Rule

Some of you might think I have something against the OLYMPICS though I don't. It's just that people aren't sending as many emails or reading as many blogs as usual. The Timid Reporter has an interview in the pipeline and is afraid nobody but nobody will even notice it. I told him not to worry - we can always re-post it next week - after things get back to normal.
How about Mr Putin? He took advantage of the distraction of the OLYMPICS in order to get back at little Georgia. Georgia should not have tried to take any territory back. You can't just trifle with Russia. Putin means business. By the way, the Timid Reporter did an interview with Putin a while back which was half-way interesting. I think it's here somewhere.