December 16, 2007

Brave Russian Cop Beats & Kicks an Old Woman

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

November 14, 2007

The latest Russian (or Soviet?) mini-Desktop

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

September 12, 2007

Legal Murders on Russian Roads

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

July 24, 2007

Sochi could have been exploded by terrorists

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






April 23, 2007

First Russian President Died

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.

April 12, 2007

Russian Deputy accused of beating 22 members of SWAT


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.

April 06, 2007

Burst of Russia's credit bubble

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

March 19, 2007

Dark Side of Chernobyl Sarcophagus

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)

Dark side of sarcophagus

March 12, 2007

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


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, 8th which the International Women’s Day, it could have been a charming cute present for a lady…

March 06, 2007

Horror Movie in Reality: Maniacs killing Girls, Cops Indifferent

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.

February 22, 2007

'Democratic' Censorship in Russia

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

February 07, 2007

Ofis Space or Your First Interview with Russian Company

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

January 30, 2007

Moscow Mayor: Gay Parade Is 'Satanic'

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

January 23, 2007

Dangerous tendency: Journalist sentenced for publications in his blog

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.

January 16, 2007

Tunnel of Death in Moscow

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


January 15, 2007

Disgusting Video: Student Gulps Back a Whole Bottle of Vodka at Once

Really disgusting. If you're a nervous person or a pregnant woman please don't watch it:





Some notes: it seems like those guys in video are students of one of Moscow Universities. Video shows a student drinking up a bootle of vodka at one draught. Then it shows his state in 50 minutes.

January 09, 2007

One Last Year of Peace, Perhaps



As 2006 passes into the history books, it might just end up being lost, as nothing of really great significance took place in the country. There also wasn't much in the way of world events that significantly affected life in Russia.

Analysts summing up the last 12 months make mention of shake-ups in the Prosecutor General's Office and the Justice Ministry, as well as the Sakhalin-2 scandal, in which the state unexpectedly played the "concern about the ecology" card in order to increase Gazprom's share of the project's profits. But did these events make much of a wave with Russians?

The option of voting "against all" was removed from ballots, as it was labeled as somewhat offensive. But is that really important? Does anyone really believe that Russians, having lost faith in politicians, will vote for some mysterious and nameless candidate? No such threat ever really existed. Bureaucrats are just making their jobs easier. It's the same story with removing the minimum turnout requirement. Now there is no need to waste time mobilizing "dead souls" and falsifying reports.

The murders of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and former Federal Security Service agent Alexander Litvenenko, both known for their anti-Kremlin stances - came as serious blows to Vladimir Putin's presidency. The Western press is firm in its conviction that Russia is run by horrible people who are guilty of all manner of crimes. But has this changed anything in Russia?

Even government social policies that have generated a fair amount of trepidation among the population haven't brought serious changes. The mass demonstrations of 2005 didn't lead the government to abandon its program, but instead merely to implement it incrementally. Instead of protests, this has lead mostly to bewilderment and confusion.

It's much more likely that a breakup will occur among the ruling elites than that a wave of popular protests will erupt. If the people are confused by the leadership's reforms, then the authorities themselves are even more mixed-up by their own intrigues.

In this situation, it is safest to remain on the sidelines as an observer. By maintaining a distance from politics, the average Russian demonstrates a healthy instinct for self-preservation. In reality, people can't entirely detach themselves from current events. There is no firewall separating us from the authorities. Or at least there is nothing of this sort keeping the authorities from getting at us.

And that is the problem, because the more tempestuous and acute the imbroglio gets at the top, the greater the chances that it will spill over in a way that negatively affects ordinary Russians. As the politicians lock horns, the bureaucracy runs less and less like a well-oiled machine and more and more like a poorly organized terrarium, with each inhabitant ready to swallow up its neighbor at the first opportunity. The 2007 presidential election, which at first seemed as if it would be routine, now threatens to become a contest without rules and with unpredictable results. The people will be nothing more than spectators to the struggle.

It seems as if most Russians are satisfied with this role, in the same way that visitors to a terrarium rarely feel any real sympathy for the slippery and poisonous creatures weaving about in unimaginable combinations behind the glass. The more you observe them, and the closer you look, the harder it is to imagine yourself in their place. Who really wants to jump over the wall and join the fight between the snakes and crocodiles?

January 03, 2007

ON-THE-SPOT DEBT COLLECTION FOR UNPAID TRAFFIC FINES

THE RUSSIAN FEDERAL SERVICE OF JUDICIAL POLICE OFFICERS (FSJPO) has teamed up with GAI (Russian State Road Police) to remind Russians of their duty to Mother Russia. According to Gazeta.ru, the GAI has now been given power to perform ON-THE-SPOT DEBT COLLECTION FOR UNPAID TRAFFIC FINES. This one's going to affect everyone because, as everyone knows, Russians makes it a point to never pay their traffic fines. GAI officers can now run a check through their computers on anyone they stop and, if they have outstanding fines, demand payment on the spot. And if they can't pay? Well, that's no problem at all. The new FSJPO-GAI partnership gives GAI THE RIGHT TO CONFISCATE PROPERTY (spare tires, car stereos and anything else of value that can be detached) as deposit on payment. The first test run spot-check happened on the main road connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg on December 22nd and brought in 11,000 rubles in unpaid fines in just 1 hour. Wow, that's just over $423 in 60 minutes! Gazeta.ru broke the story on December 21st and according to it's source in the GAI, this is just the beginning. These checks aren't just an end-of-the-year government mad rush to collect funds. Soon, this practice is going to spread all over the country and will continue indefinitely. 2007 looks to be the year of civic responsibility...

Source: www.exile.ru