CBC Radio has posted audio from their October 4, 1957 coverage of the Soviet satellite Sputnik. Sputnik’s launch took the west by surprise and marked a Soviet advance in the space race. Listen to this broadcast from 1957 and get a feel for the west’s reaction to Sputnik.
The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is located in eastern Siberia. Sakha is a rather large republic and occupies one-fifth of Russian territory, 40% of which is above the arctic circle. About 980,000 people live in this vast republic where the population density is about 10 times lower than in European Russia. Sakha is rich in natural resources, history, and culture. It’s also one of the coldest places in Russia with average air temperatures in January of -43.2°C (-45.8°F).
Yakut New Year Festival. By Evgenia Arbugaeva.
The Verkhoyansk Range. By Alexei Zuev.
To find out more about The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), visit YakutiaToday.com. This site is dedicated to sharing news and information about Sakha with the English speaking world.
Link: YakutiaToday.com
A photo of soviet children getting ready to play hockey (1976). From Soviet Photo magazine, via Soviet Photo Daily.
The Aral Sea, located between the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once the world’s forth-largest lake. The Soviet government diverted the two main rivers that feed the sea in order to irrigate desert land and grow cotton. As a result, the sea’s surface area has shrunk by approximately 60%, and its volume by 80%. This change has greatly effected the ecology of the surrounding area. The shrinking Aral Sea has even been blamed for recent orange colored snowfall in Siberia.
Here are some interesting photos and satellite views of the Aral Sea.
The Aral Sea from space, August 1964.
Satalite views from 1973, 1987 and 2000 of the shrinking Aral Sea. Photo by NASA.
Dust Storm over the Aral Sea on June 13, 2006. Photo by NASA.
The Shipwreck of the Aral Sea. By Elena Senao.
Abandoned Fishing Boats. By Christopher Herwig.
Link: Wikipedia article on the Aral Sea
Link: The Aral Sea on Wikimapia
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Moscow-City (aka Moscow International Business Center) is a huge construction project in downtown Moscow. The goal of the project is to create a city within a city where with space for living, working, and entertainment. It is one of the most ambitious construction projects in recent European history.
While the project is far from complete, Moscow-City is starting to look more like a city every month. Here are some interesting photos that show the progress made so far.
Link: Wikipedia article about Moscow-City
Subscribe to the Russian Kafe and find something interesting about Russia and the former Soviet Union every weekday!
A Russian teacher from Perm has been accused of pirating software for school computers. Aleksandr Ponosov, says he unknowingly purchased computers for his school with unlicensed copies of Microsoft Windows pre-installed. Microsoft says that Ponosov knowingly used pirated Windows software in the school and caused the company losses of $10,000.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has written an open letter to Bill Gates asking him to show mercy on Ponosov. In his letter, Gorbachev said that “The teacher, who has dedicated his life to the education of children and who receives a modest salary that does not bear comparison with the salaries of even regular staff in your company, is threatened with detention in Siberian prison camps.” Microsoft quickly rebuffed Gorbachev’s appeal saying “We are sure that the Russian courts will make a fair decision.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also entered the debate saying “To grab someone for buying a computer somewhere and start threatening him with prison is complete nonsense, simply ridiculous. The law recognizes the concept of someone who purchased the product in good faith.”
Link: Cnet – Microsoft spurns appeal in Russian piracy case
Link: BBC – Gorbachev wades into piracy row
Link: Gorbachev’s letter to Bill Gates (Russian)
Last week, reports of orange, yellow and green snow were coming from the area near Omsk in Siberia. After investigating the cause of the strange colored snow, officials have determined that the snow was not toxic or radioactive.
Specialists say that the color was produced by “sand, salt, dirt and other sediments from the drying up Aral Sea bottom in Kazakhstan that were carried by dust-storms.�
After a long warm spell, colder temperatures have finally reached Moscow this winter. Here’s a photo of the newly formed ice on the Moscow River.
Russia Today is a Russian news channel aimed at international viewers. The channel has been broadcasting 24 hours a day since December 2005. Russia Today covers news from Russia but also provides international news with a Russian perspective. You can watch Russia Today live on the internet 24/7.
Link: Russia Today
Here’s a video featuring the Soviet National Anthem along with subtitles in English.
