minats_zone

Olia's flying visit has come to an end. She stayed for 8 days and now she is on her way back home, to LA and then to SF. We managed to do many things together, even though time was very limited. But most importantly, we went to see little Stepka in Tuchkovo, where he lives with his Granny (not me, of course) and his relatives from Kostya's side. He is a cute and lovely boy who has taken a lot after his Dad but not Marina. However, Stas, her elder son, is also like his Dad. We travelled there for 3 hours by car, it's western direction of Moscow, 72km west along Minskoe highway. Have a look at some shots with Olia and Marina and the Granny. By the way, he has got a spot on his neck, is it a sign?

It has been raining heavily since yesterday so now we are sitting in and doing some computer stuff. Im trying to download some video from our trip to the Bay It was really good in all respects. Views, Grotto, Food from fish farms, Vietnamise crew guys, everything was first class. But more importantly, the weather was bright with good visibility. Have a look at some clips we made there.

Here we are in Ha Long. It was a really hard and long journey here from Moscow. The plane was full of small children crying all the time and the weather in Hanoi and Ha long is rather dull and grey. But I'm glad I eventually got here with Slava who feels a bit unwell after several sessions of acupancture he has had in Hanoi. Now everything is over and we are trying to rest and sleep well here. I don't think the weather will be good for swimming as the forecast is not promising...But still I'm glad I'm here. Have a look at some shots I made here on the very first day.

Hi there. I'm staying in Moscow for this weekend as I just got back from Saratow where I examined YLE, KET, PET (23-25 April). It was not especially exciting but the weather there was much better than in Moscow - sunny, worm and pleasant. Really, it's so cold here in Moscow - 4-5 above zero and strong, harsh wind. Well, I really got tired and tomorrow is going to be the exam of my HSE Ss so I'd better have an early sleep today. Saratow was as usual nice and welcoming with all those nice girls there. Had an unforgettable time at their Radischev's Museum of Fine Art, which is, probably, one of the best among provincial Russian towns. Well, Dad's in Vietnam already, I'm going to fly there on Saturday (May 1). Love you all...

Hey there, Yesterday I examined YLE in Zhukovka (Barvikha or Rublevka), the poshest area of Moscow. It is situated to the south west of Moscow on Rublevskaya Highway. There live the Russian tycoons. Their kids can be very special, too. Some of them are quite normal but some of them are probably not easy to deal with. One boy answered, when I asked him 'What did you do last weekend?' - I was in Las Vegas and stayed in a very big hotel. Great, let's keep our fingers crossed for them as they are supposed to be the future elite of Russia. Another surprise was to see their concert Hall where performances are given for one day only by top singers and actors from all over the world. They are invited specifically for this place. Tickets are very expensive and the place is beyond the easy reach. Well, air flights stopped all over Europe because of volcano eruption and Slava's flight to Vietnam on April 23 is questionable. I'm flying there on May 1 as I'm busy till the e...

Hi everybody, Another horrible thing occured at Katyin', at Smolensk airport where a huge aircraft collapsed with 96 top rank passangers including president of Poland and their bishop. They were flying to Katyin to commemorate those Polish people who were killed by Soviet secret services in 1939. I learned about that at the conference of ELT at HSE. The day was really bright and warm. Everything was fine when we got this news.It was really horrible and I'm very sorry for all those people and their relatives. Now they are coming to Moscow for a painful mission of recognizing the remains.Tomorrow is going to be a Day of Mourning in Russia....:((

The brightest day of all has come!!! It was very early this year, April 4, and patches of snow still can be seen in our dacha. However, the day itself was really sunny and warm. We had very special breakfast - Easter Cake and Eggs. After that we did some cleaning up in Marina and Kostya's house where we got rid of some old and useless stuff. It is considered to be a sin to do anything like physical labour on this day and I regret that we couldn't do it on another day. But Kostya had his lorry available and we took advantage of it to drive tha garbage away. Really sorry for that... Love you all and Looking forward to Olya's coming on May 15.

Yesterday it was the 'Black Monday' - March 29th, the worst day in my memory. I really had bad dreams about sth terrible the night before the day. Two big explosions broke out on Moscow subway at 7am at 'Lubianka' station and shortly after that at ' Park Kultury' station killing 39 people and about 90 seriously injured and now in hospitals. It was done by Muslim women terrorists ('Shakhids') who blew up themselves in vagons. Mostly young and Slavik people died. The plot was executed long before the Black Day. Our Militsia/Police was helpless, us usual. All this happened on my subway line - a red one and when I tried to go to HSE at 15pm, all passengers were made to leave the train at 'Komsomolskaya' and after that I had to walk for 40 min to reach the place as all taxis charged very high prices taking advantage of this horrible situation. No compassion to other people whatsoever, really sad... This Black Monday was the following day after our Ort...

Hey there, Just got back from Saratov where I examined FCE with Margarita Tulnova from Volgograd. All was fine there as it's not my first time there and I know the people - Anna and Liza. They are really nice and friendly as well as very hospitable. This time it was not easy to move around the city as the whole of it is still covered in huge snowdrifts and many roads are simply blocked. It's even worse than in Moscow where the roads are cleaned at night and driving is possible. But in Saratov it's much harder, indeed. Well, the exhibition of Mark Shagal - "Biblik stories" was the highlight of my visit. It was accompanied by a young girl as a guide who proved to be both very knowlegeable and a beauty. Have a look at some shots are made there...

Hey there, Today I got back home at 10pm as my favourite group at school 1359 are sitting FCE on 13,14 March. They are very nervous and so am I. Let's keep our fingers crossed for them as they are really very bright and friendly Ss, who set goals in life and try their best to achieve them, I've been teaching them for over one year already, but I'll certainly miss them just because of their good personal qualities. It is really so rare nowadays... There are also some pixs on the last performance at the Central Railway Station- Workers' Concert Hall. It was fabulous as it has been repaired recently as well as the theatrical group is really very strong...

Hey there, It was my B-Day yesterday. Really, it was not an easy day for me at all. God knows how I survived and managed to get over it. We drove there in Stanislaw's car with Georgy as a chauffeur. It took us 2,5 hours through the traffic jams! Awful! And not only this, psychologically it was really hard for me, though I invited only close friends, Marina and Kostya. Well, now it's already over... Have a look at some shots I made there. There was Russian striptease show in the background. Girls were very prefessional...I published an album on Facebook,too.

Hey, there, I've just got back from Nizhny Novgorod, which is on the Volga and Oka rivers. I went there for a day (a flying visit) as I took part in the HSE conference there. I've been in NN several times before, but this time I was in mid February so it was pretty cold and snowy there. The city is beautifully located and has a splendid embankment along the Volga. It was early in the morning (7.30 am)when I took a walk there and it was almost empty. There was one jogger there and me. Another very pleasant surprise was the trains: they have become really modern and comfortable with flashy bio-toilets and smiling conductors. Sth really good to perlace our previous rough trains!!! Love and smiles from me to all of you...

Hey there, Bitterly cold weather at the beginning of February gave the way to windy and harsh days on the Eve of Easter fasting (Easter - April 4th this year). But now we're enjoying the so called 'Maslennitsa' or a 'Pancake Week', which ends up tomorrow. We've been eating pancakes the whole week with various fillings. Today I've made some shots of'Russian Sledges' with kids and also Stanislaw's cooking some fancy cake stuffed with ground meat and potatoes puree.All this is covered with the thick coat of cheese. God knows how he manages all those recipes??? Real Talent!!!

Hi everyone, I decided to post this update right now after walking around our dacha and thinking hard over John's set of pictures in a slideshow that I got yesterday. Those slides show mostly dark sides of our Russian life; people drinking, kids taking this example, messy situations etc. It was a kind of promotion of a very negative image of Russia. Surely, some aspects of life here can be really rough, ecpesially for those who are seeking only them. But generally, I wouldn't agree with the message of those slides as in any country one can find sth reflecting only dark sides. So today, on this bright and sunny day (-20C) I've made some funny shots which show other features of 'Russian Character'- extremely odd for foreigners behaviour (those people are not drunk) and love for sth else except drinking. Anyway, Jon, thanks a lot for the slides and keep sending sth like that. It gives food for thoughts. Have a look...