minats_zone

Hey there, We are very happy these days as Olia's been visiting us since August 26. She's living in her own room and probably feels a bit nostalgic about her room, which' frankly speaking, hasn't dramatically changed. The weather is really very good and we've already been to dacha and other places in Moscow. I'll try to post more photos about her stay later on. Now I'm posting only some shots of Olia and Dad made with my iPhone in Moscow street cafe and Musical Theater where we really enjoyed the 'Flying Bat' by Shtraus. Love and hugs from all of us...

Now we are back from Bulgaria. It was a really amazing holiday there. We had been in three cities - Nessebar, Sozopol and Stara Zagora. Nessebar and Sozopol are on the Black Sea shore, whereas Stara Zagora is just on the Hot Mineral Springs in the mountains. There we stayed at the hotel having a Spa with mineral water in the swimming pool. We were guided by Stanislaw's colleagues - Tencho and Incha Androv. They are very kind and warm family with two boys. Generally, Bulgaria gave the impression of a very welcoming Slavic country, which managed to keep it for its citizens and other friendly to Bulgaria Slavic people. It's really noticeable in Bulgaria, unlike Moscow, where we sometimes feel as if we were in Caucuses or Tajikistan. Many Russians buy apartments on the seashore in Bulgaria and I think it makes good sense. Moscow met us with rain and grey weather but 'there is no place like home' and we are happy to be back...Very good news is that Olia is ...

Hey there, Here we are in Nesebar, Bulgaria. Hotel's name is Sol Hotels Mare. We first satyed at Elenia 20km from here but we managed only 2 days there as it was overcrowded and full of noise and fuss. Thanks God, Tencho, Stanislaw's friend, helped us to move to this hotel, which is much, much better and the place is very nice, near the old city of Nesebar. It is the oldest Christian settlement in Bulgaria full of churches and twisted, narrow streets with tiny shops and restaurants. Today (it's the fifth day of our stay in Bulgaria) is very cold - 18C only and we are inside the hotel without much to do. They ptomise better weather tomorrow so we must be patient...Have a look at some pics we made there. Love and hugs from us to all of you...

Hey there, Yesterday we went to Yaroslavl and back within one day. It was not an easy drive as the road (highway) is still at times only one lane of bumpy drive but Thanks God not all the way through. Kostya was driving and Marina and me - passengers. We did all the business about money at the Sberbank, they looked at the 'Doverennost' issued on my name in NY city at Russian Council and wanted to check its legitimacy but then decided to trust it. Not easy...Marina and I were happy as otherwise we had to come again later. Kaleria Ivanovna did not answer the phone. Hopefully she is at her dacha. These days we had Olia's birhday on July 31, but it was an awful news on that day on all Russian news channels that a jet boat with 17 people overturned on the Moscow river just at 1am on July 31st and 7 people drowned. The boat got shipwrecked and sunk. Among those who drowned there was Olia's best friend Oleg who was going to SF this year to celebrate his 40th anniversary. He w...

Hey there, After some troubles and problems, Olia eventually got her American Citizenship. All of us are Happy!!! Congratulations, Olia!!! Great step in your life. We are together with you in all your deeds. You are a brave and loving daughter...Have a look at some pics I stole from her facebook album...

This is my 1st AudioBoo post 4 my dear Nana, Sopo and Salo in Tbilisi. I got some troubling news from them and here is my response: Tanushka (mp3) Love and hugs to u...

Hey there, Here I am, in Tbilisi, Georgia, to see my sister, nieces and places of my childhood. I'm flying back tomorrow so I must say the trip is a success. For three full days I visited so many places that are very dear to me and I saw so many good things. The city, in general, has become much more civilized and very clean as well as safe.A lot of historic buildings (e.g. the house where my Grand great parents lived - the former House of the Dam) are being renovated. There are a lot of Police cars all over the city and people behave in a more European way, I mean clothing, behavior, smiles etc. I'm very happy for these chnges. However, there are still many very poor people and beggars along every street, which makes overall impression not so favorable. But, perhaps, this road to success will take muh more time. Have a look at some pics I made there. Love and hugs to all...

Hey there, Here I am at dacha, Friday 1'7'11. The weather is very hot and dacha is the only way to escape from Moscow and huge traffic jams there. Academic year is over and I'm looking forward to flying to Tbilisi, to go to my Mom's grave and to see my sister and nieces as well as some school friends. I already bought tickets and are to fly on July 11 andbe back 15. Actually,it is a flying trip, but it's enough, I think. Slavs is going to be in China on businesstrip over this period of time, so we'll meet on July 15. Well, Stasik and Stephan met each other at dacha and I made some funny photos of them and the tiny dog which belongs to the girl from next dacha...

Today I've been at a farewell party of my ex-Ss who I thought for 2 years. They (Yana Naumova) invited me to the HSE concert Hall where they were given their diplomas and congratulations from teachers and admins. It was really moving as all of them have become mature and rather serious. Many will go on studying here in HSE, but many are going to continue studies in Holland , Germany, USA (SF) etc. It's a happy and sad moment as I don't think many will stay in Russia. Anyway, good luck to all of them...

Hey there, It's really nice weather in Moscow these days. We're at dacha looking at our new pool and funny Stepka who's going to be 2 years old on June 15. Marina and Kostya bought him a toy house and he's busy settling in it. It looks like a house and is big enough for Stepka to get in and out. The pool is now a blue plastic tub 70 cm in depth and 3m in length. We've put 20 fish in it so now it's funny to see them swimming there. This summer we have lots of moscitos, unlike previous years. They are biting all of us and Stepka. But he doesn't seem to notice it... Love and hugs to you... Take care.

Hey, there, I have examined for 3 days: Fraday (Moscow) Saturday (Saratov) and Sunday in Moscow again. This busy schedule I had to do as one of the examiners fell ill and I had to cover for her. So 2 nights on trains were not so easy and now I'm exhausted. Anyway, I saw nice kids and met my old friends in Saratov, so I don't want to complain. I had my photo made near Russian novelist Gogol' so you can see that I'm smiling and happy. Nothing to complain about, it's not like me.Our little Stepochka is very funny too and he makes me smile when I look at him... Take care and remember us... Love

This week has been really very busy as a lot of things have accumulated after coming back from Vietnam. Classes, exams (almost every day) even the trip to Orel on Friday-Saturday. I examined there the whole day and was very impressed by the town and how peaceful and quiet it is compared to Moscow. The town is green and cosy. Kids are clever and nice, but some of them were wearing pioneer ties as Orel is a 'Red Communist Area' of Russia. I did not manage to see my dear Michael (Dima's dad) at Orel as I had only limited time there and got back as soon as I finished examining. Well, we saw a very good performance ('Poverty is not a Sin') by N. Ostrivsky at Maly Theater on Tuesday and enjoyed it very much.So it was a nice change during an extremely busy week. Love and hugs to all of you...