February 14th, 2007
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.
February 13th, 2007
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
February 12th, 2007
A photo of soviet children getting ready to play hockey (1976). From Soviet Photo magazine, via Soviet Photo Daily.
February 9th, 2007
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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February 8th, 2007
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
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