Posts Tagged 'Russia'

Freedom of Speech & Dead Reporters

Posted by rodger on May 2 2016 3 Commented

Odd topic isn’t it.  I decided it was time to write about it because of all the stories I have read this week about oppressed Russian people and how everyone who disagrees with Putin meets a grisly end. We’ve all seen the movies and heard the stories about the knock on the door in the […]

Sanctions and Empty Store Shelves.

Posted by rodger on April 27 2016 2 Commented

I have been avoiding writing new posts since the Ukrainian crisis started.  I prefer to write humor and there hasn’t been a lot funny about that conflict. In fact, if I did write the truth about it, from the Russian point of view, I would get lot of angry letters. However someone has to post […]

June 17, 2004 Back in Russia

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

  On this trip, I are in my wife’s home town, Prochlodney. It is in southern Russia, about 75 miles from the Chechnya border. She had described her home as being in a “village” so I was surprised to find a small city of perhaps 100,000 inhabitants. However, each of the suburbs is a lot […]

September 13, 2007 The South of Russia

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

I have reached southern Russia and I cannot decide whether to write up the trip for Travelers Digest or The Police Gazette. Aeroflot certainly did give us a little slice of Russia in the Air. Because I am too tall to fit into a standard seat, last year we purchased tickets early and reserved exit […]

September 28, 2007 The Viewing From Out Here

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 3 Commented

Before we came, I sent $200 to my mother-in-law and ask her to install Satellite TV in our apartment. With over 550 channels, I figured that we would get at least one American television channel and maybe even a movie channel or two. Boy was I wrong. Six hundred channels consists of 20 Russian language […]

September 30, 2007 Things that have changed

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 2 Commented

It’s almost time to go. Tomorrow I leave for the long home. Fifty two hours of train, bus, and cab to get back to LA. Russian Trivia Russian hot dogs come in inedible plastic skins, and are sold by number. You tell the clerk how many you want, and she snips that many off the […]

October 15, 2007 Back In the States

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 3 Commented

They say it was different in the good old days. Russia is ratty. Outside of boom towns like Moscow, everything needs paint. The apartment hallways are maintained by the city – and are NOT maintained. Most apartments have enclosed utilitarian balconies where clothes are dried and spare furniture kept. The balconies look decrepit with peeling […]

April 8, 2008 Soviet Elevators Are Different

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

It has to be that there is an old American-hating Communist Party die-hard in the plumbing department. No one else would do such dirty trick. This morning there was hot water – or at least sort of hot water after it ran for 10 or 15 minutes. I got wet and started to soap up […]

April 10, 2008 I Took a Marshutka Today

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 3 Commented

I took a Marshutka to the computer store today. I’ve spoken before about this uniquely Russian institution. Little 14 seat busses built into what looks like Dodge Maxi Van, they are a study in group motion. As the driver is busy driving, he can’t take money easily, so the 13 passengers pass the money from […]

April 12, 2008 Fight! Fight! Fight!

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

  Here in America, we live in an emasculated society where shop owners are often charged with attempted murder if they shoot back at robbers. We tell our boys to “just tell the teacher” if a classmate bullies them, “don’t you hit them back!” I always figured that was bad advice. It is different here. […]

February 15, 2009 Time Spent In Rural Indiana

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 3 Commented

  I have not written since my arrival in Russia because I have been spending several days in rural Indiana, about 1955. I have debated whether to even write about my unpleasant experience, but…. Since my arrival in Southern Russia, I have been suffering from what we used to call “Montezuma’s Revenge.” As you know, […]

February 23, 2009 Love, Russian Style

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

I’m singing in the rain, singing in rain, and I’m haaapy agaaain! Why an I happy? Because when it rains, it’s too warm for your ears to freeze off and too warm for ice on the ground. Love rain. Speaking of love….. Love, Russian Style Mother in law, Elvira, just lost her boyfriend. She deserved […]

March 2, 2009 Two Funerals and a Fool

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

There were two funerals today. I attended one of them, made a fool out of myself, and had a nice meal. Today, the Lada died. That may not mean much to you people in America, but the Lada is the second most popular car in history. The 18.5 million made ranks the Lada just under […]

June 10, 2010 The Saga Of Savropol & Russian GPS

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 5 Commented

  We are in Stavropol for a few days to visit an orphanage. It is a gorgeous thousand year old city on the southern edge of Russia. I’ll write more about it later. I guess the best way to describe Stavropol is to start with the hotel that we are in. For $120 a night, […]

June 23, 2010 Home Remodeling – The Russian Way

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 one Commented

As I have written before, mother’s apartment in Premalka has no water during the summer. The main water tower fell down in a storm years ago, leaving very little pressure in the lines. Even on good days, the water pressure is pathetic. During the summer, everyone waters their gardens all day and there is NO […]

June 24, 2010 Today They Put In the Air Conditioner

Posted by rodger on November 14 2015 Add Comments

As is usual lately, I was surprised by the workmen. I have seen so much bad work and so much dishonesty since I started coming to Russia that I am immediately suspicious of every workman. I am still having a hard time believing the Dimitri is an honest as he appears to be. We looked […]

July 05, 2010 Larisa Goes to the Doctor

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

Larisa has a cold and decided to go the doctor. She had the same two choices that I had, go to the local, and free, hospital and stand in line for hours waiting to be helped by a doctor who could care less, or go to a private doctor. Fortunately, we have a private clinic […]

July 7, 2010 The Russian Glen Beck

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 2 Commented

If you love Glen Beck and like O’Reilly, this guy is your new best friend. On the other hand, if you hate Beck, this guy will raise your blood pressure enough to cause a stroke. RTN is the English language Russian news channel. Mr. Keiser is between OReilly and Beck in style and way right […]

July 13, 2010 A Piece Of History – That Sounds Like Jello

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 Add Comments

I own several pieces of history. I own a plant fossil from the Cambrian period, an Egyptian stone goddess from a third dynasty grave, a Civil War bullet, and now a Lada. For those of you who have been incarcerated or entombed for the past 20 years, a Lada is the famous Communist copy of […]

July 24, 2010 My Jiggly Zhiguli

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

My diamond in the rough turned out to be a lot more “rough” than diamond. I rather expected that this was going to happen in a country where no one can afford to sell a car that runs. That brought us to plan two. I had limited our choices to Ladas from the start. My […]

June 26, 2010 Museum Time.

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 6 Commented

Your local museum has got nothing better than the average Russian garage. To heck with George Washington’s teeth and Pocahontas’ bra, we have REAL history here! The poorer a person is, the more they tend to horde things. As things are harder to replace, there is a stronger desire to hold onto everything, useful, useless, […]

July 16, 2010 Friday morning. – I’m Getting Married Again

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

  Larisa has felt bad that we never been married in Russia and can’t make it legal here until the adoption is finalized. He passport says “single” and her husband is here so rarely that her friends barely believe she is married. Her solution is that we are going to get married in the church […]

August 1, 2010 You Might Live In A Village If…

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 5 Commented

  You might live in village if – there is a major information resource that people trust more than the internet, the Encyclopedia Britannica, Einstein and the Evening News. This resource, whose decisions and wisdom can never be questioned, is “Everyone Knows” Example Mother says -“Rodger, I don’t want to use the washing machine. EVERONE […]

September 5, 2010 The Three Rules of Finding a Russian Wife, And the Man Who Broke Them All.

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

I want to tell you the story of one man in Russia. It is a story that could not be told until his death. For those of you looking for my usual humor, you might want to skip this post. This is a tragedy told here only for what it shows about Russian brides, and […]

March 3, 2011 They Couldn’t Do It Legal Even When They Tried

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 2 Commented

  Yesterday, Medvedev announced that he planned to end the annual technical inspections for automobiles. You may remember that I talked about those before. Each time we purchased a car, we had to go through something like a super smog test where they examined and tested the car. The first time, we had to wait […]

March 8, 2011 The Struggle to Raise a Child

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

It is a constant struggle to raise a child here. The children are raised by Mamas and Babas (grandmothers) who feel that it they have the sole responsibility to make certain that the child is raised right. Of course, they know that such burning questions like “Am I hungry?”, “Am I cold?”, and,” Do I […]

March 11, 2011 We Are Close To the End

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

We are getting close to the end of our adoption odyssey, and every official who has worked on our case had done her or his absolute best to help us – and no one has asked for or accepted a single kopek in bribes. Anna, our social worker arranged for a great child, wrote a […]

November 11, 2011 Russian Adoptions

Posted by rodger on November 13 2015 one Commented

I know that a lot of you are curious about the truth behind the headlines you have seen about Russian orphanages and the terrible plight of Russian children. I haven’t wanted to write about it partly because of the personal nature of our experience and partly out of that age old fear of jinxing something […]

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