Gazprom Says Russian Consumers ‘Priority’ As EU Supplies Dwindle

Russian energy company Gazprom said on February 4 it could not pump any additional gas to Western Europe, citing domestic demands amid an ongoing cold spell.

Gazprom’s statement comes after European Union officials noted a drop in Russian gas deliveries in several EU countries.

Russian Prime Minister Putin has urged Gazprom to respect its European contracts but said internal demand was the “priority task.”

The European death toll from the cold wave, meanwhile, has continued to rise, with more than 220 deaths from hypothermia recorded across the continent.

Ukraine has suffered the highest number of fatalities, with 122 weather-related deaths as temperatures dipped to minus 33 degrees Celsius.

Heavy snowfall has been reported in Bosnia, trapping many people in their homes and leaving drivers stranded on the road.

US-Russia differences

WHENEVER a nasty incident erupts, there is always a deeper cause beneath the apparently immediate one. The cold shoulder which the new US ambassador to Russia Michael A. McFaul received, shortly after his arrival on Jan 14, reflected a deeper hurt.

He was one of President Obama’s close advisers and one of the co-authors of his policy to ‘reset’ relations with Russia which had languished in the Bush era.

A columnist in Iznestia remarked, on his second day at work, that his appointment signalled a return to the 18th century when “an ambassador’s participation in intrigues and court conspiracies was ordinary business”. The provocation was his meeting on the first day with a number of opposition figures at the American embassy in company with the visiting US Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns.

Neither the ambassador’s fluency in Russian nor his authorship of a book entitled Russia’s Unfinished Revolution helped. A TV commentator asked “Is it possible that Mr McFaul came to Russia to work on his specialty? That is, to finish the revolution”. The truth is that the ‘reset’ announced in February 2009, soon after Obama took office, came apart despite many a meeting at the highest levels. The trust deficit remains undiminished. The accords signed in recent years have accomplished little. In 1997 Russia and Nato signed a Nato-Russia Foundation Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security. The Rome Declaration established a Nato-Russia Council in 2002.

A Russian commentator summed up the grievance. Nato continued to treat Russia as a threat, if no longer an outright enemy. It granted membership to not only former Warsaw Pact allies of the Soviet Union but also the ex-Soviet Baltic states, breaking its promise to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that it would not expand beyond the Cold War borders. It again breached its word to president Boris Yeltsin that it would desist from deploying military forces on the territory of its new members.

Nato endorsed president George W. Bush’s plan to set up missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic that could target Russian strategic arsenals. America’s European allies joined Washington in sponsoring ‘colour revolutions’ in the former Soviet Union under the guise of promoting freedom and democracy. Russia saw these policies as aimed at isolating, encircling and weakening it.

The reset in 2009 did no more than revive the dialogue. Hopes expressed at Nato’s summit at Lisbon, on Feb 19-20, 2010, that Russia might become a partner in the missile defence system, which was meant to protect Europe from a nuclear-armed ‘rogue’ state, (i.e. Iran) were as unreal as fears of the threat itself.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Nov 11, 2011 that Russia’s ambassador to Nato Dmitry Rogozin had been told by an American senator that the missile defence system had been aimed to blunt the effectiveness of Russia’s nuclear weapons. They were not aimed solely at irrational states with a handful of weapons yet to be acquired.

President Obama’s meeting with President Dmitri Medvedev at Honolulu in November 2011 failed. Obama refused to give a formal assurance that the Nato system could not be used against Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, in reality, a formal guarantee by the US of non-aggression.

Soon after the announcement of the ‘reset’ in 2009, Obama had promised to overhaul the plans for stationing anti-ballistic missiles. Just before the Honolulu summit, the US administration had announced that the US would base Aegis cruises on the Spanish coast. This was denounced in a statement by Russia’s foreign ministry. Russia had not been
consulted on what was “a significant build-up of US missile potential in the European Zone”.

Failure of the Obama-Medvedev summit at Honolulu therefore surprised nobody. What Medvedev sought was a treaty to set up a new security architecture comprising the US, Europe and Russia, so that Russia acquired a voice in decision-making on Nato’s expansion and military intervention.

This was, in effect, revival of Moscow’s quest for parity with the US which it pursued relentlessly after the end of the Second World War. The US never accepted Moscow’s claim to parity even when the Soviet Union was a superpower. It is this attitude which irks and lies at the root of Russia-American differences. The latest proposal was given short shift by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We believe that the best way to achieve this [security] is by reinforcing the pillars that have supported European security for decades, not by negotiating new treaties, as Russia has suggested.”

Sheer desperation marked President Medvedev’s outburst on Nov 23 last year. He announced a sweeping package of retaliatory measures if the US went ahead with its missile defence plans, ranging from targeting US missile defence sites in Europe and deploying new long-range nuclear missiles capable of piercing US defences to tearing up the Russian-US START
pact and walking out of the arms control and disarmament process.

START signed in 2010 was the most tangible achievement of the Russian-American ‘reset’ the two countries embarked upon. Medvedev said Russia remained open to dialogue with the US and Nato on missile defence issues.

As Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, noted “the Russians have concluded that they have nothing to expect from Obama on arms issues in the remainder of his term”. On any major issue, would be a more accurate assessment. For, 2012 is election year in the US as well as in Russia which holds its parliamentary elections next month. Both
countries are locked in rivalry in Central Asia as well as in the East with China as an interested party with its own interests to pursue. The US can ill afford to ignore the two in any settlement of the Afghan problem, or the crisis with Iran.

The writer is an author and a lawyer based in Mumbai.

Russian scientists seeking Lake Vostok lost in frozen ‘Land of the Lost’?

A group of Russian scientists plumbing the frozen Antarctic in search of a lake buried in ice for tens of millions of years have failed to respond to increasingly anxious U.S. colleagues — and as the days creep by, the fate of the team remains unknown.

The team from Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) have been drilling for weeks in an effort to reach isolated Lake Vostok, a vast, dark body of water hidden 13,000 ft.  below the ice sheet’s surface. The lake hasn’t been exposed to air in more than 20 million years.

Priscu said there was no way to get in touch with the team — and the already cold weather is set to plunge, as Antarctica’s summer season ends and winter sets in.

“Temps are dropping below -40 Celsius [-40 degrees Fahrenheit] and they have only a week or so left before they have to winterize the station,” he said. “I can only imagine what things must be like at Vostok Station this week.”

The team’s disappearance could not come at a worse time: They are about 40 feet from their goal of reaching the body of water, Priscu explained, a goal that the team was unable to meet as they raced the coming winter exactly one year ago.

When the winter arrives in the next few weeks, the temperature can get twice as cold. Vostok Station boasts the lowest recorded temperature on Earth: -89.4 degrees Celsius (-129 degrees Fahrenheit).

If the team does reach the lake water, they will bring its water up through the hole and let it freeze there over the winter. The following year they will be able to start research on what they find, Priscu explained.

While there are only a few researchers actually working at the lake, scientists around the globe have been waiting with bated breath to see what the Russian’s unearth this weekend.

“We are terribly interested in what they find,” Alan Rodger, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, told FoxNews.com last year. “This is a lake that we don’t think has been exposed for 15 million years. Therefore, if there is life there, we’re going to have so many questions. How has it evolved over those years, how has it survived, what does it look like? Won’t it be exciting to find something completely new on Planet Earth?”

The Lake Vostok project has been years in the making, with initial drilling at the massive lake — 15,690 square kilometers (6,060 sq mi) — starting in 1998. Initially, they were able to reach 3,600 meters, but had to stop due to concerns of possible contamination of the never-before-touched lake water.

“Ice isn’t like rock, it’s capable of movement,” Dr. Priscu told FoxNews.com. “So in order to keep the hole from squeezing shut, they put a fluid in the drill called kerosene. Kerosene also grows bacteria, and there’s about 65 tons of kerosene in that hole. It would be a disaster if that kerosene contaminated this pristine lake.”

But the scientists came up with a clever way to make sure this debacle would not occur. They agreed to drill until a sensor warned them of free water. At that point they will take out the right amount of kerosene and adjust the pressure so that none of the liquids fall into the lake, but rather lake water would rise through the hole.

Priscu was concerned for his colleagues, but also admits the stunning scope of the story.

“It could be fodder for a great made-for-TV movie,” he said.

Russians to take a giant leap for the space program

Russia is planning to put a man on the Moon, and anyone can apply to join the crew. The Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, may have suffered some humiliating setbacks in recent months, but it’s hitting back by aiming even higher.

“Man should return to the Moon. And not just like in 1969, to leave a mark. We can do important work there – such as building astrology labs and observing the Sun,” Vladimir Popovkin, head of Roscosmos, told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Popovkin’s plans are nothing if not ambitious with the first landing scheduled for 2020. regular flights planned within five years of that, culminating in a fully-functioning scientific base complete with giant telescopes by 2030.

Roscosmos has called for volunteers, hoping that an X-factor style search will rekindle the public’s interest in space exploration. Among the requirements: a scientific or medical degree, knowledge of English and shoes no bigger than a UK size 11.

Rebirth of Moon exploration

Russia had its own Moon exploration program in the late 1960s, but once Neil Armstrong and the crew of the US ship Apollo 11 got there, there was little political prestige to be gained by coming second.

In fact, both space superpowers focused elsewhere, and Moon colonization was virtually abandoned until the end of the 20th Century when new players arrived on the scene. For the budding space programs of India, China and Japan, this was an important barrier to be conquered.

Four years ago the United States proposed the creation of an International Lunar Network – a set of interconnected bases dotting the surface of the moon.

Among its scientific aims would be an attempt to understand the composition and origin of the Moon. In its landmark report, NASA called this research a “cornerstone” in trying to understand how the Earth and other planets of the Solar System were formed. NASA also says that the Moon provides a “unique” platform for astrophysics.

For its part, since 1998 the Russian Space Agency has worked on Luna Glob – a series of robotic missions to the moon, which will culminate either in the construction of an orbital space station or a base on the Moon itself.

Popovkin has recently said that Russia may co-operate with NASA and the European Space Agency and join the International Lunar Network.

“We are not just coming back to the Moon. Now, we know much more about it than during the time of the first space launches” he told Vesti Radio.

And one such breakthrough may mean that manned as well as robotic missions are feasible. In 2008, significant amounts of water were discovered on the lunar surface.

“The areas that contain ice sheets could become suitable locations for permanent manned bases,” Lev Zeleniy, the Director of the Institute of Space Studies, told Interfax news agency.

Roscosmos has even said that any technologies tested on the Moon could serve asprototypes for future manned missions to Mars.

Overcoming past failures

But while space agencies around the world earn their bread by making big plans and capturing the public’s imagination, actually getting there is another matter entirely.

Although the Russian Space Agency is no longer surviving on a shoestring as in the 1990s – its budget has risen five-fold in five years – its record of success last year was less than stellar. There were five failed missions in 2011, including the much-touted Phobos-Grunt probe to Mars, which failed to get further than the Earth’s orbit before crashing back down.

In fact, it is that failure that may have sparked the current plans for space exploration. “We may need to think again about how to allocate our resources. Perhaps, we need a more specific, realistic Moon program, and do any Mars research as a part of a bigger international program,” Anatoliy Davydov, the deputy head of Roscosmos, said in the aftermath of the Phobos-Grunt failure.

Unfortunately, the two programs may be interconnected in another way – sharing the same vulnerabilities. “The design decisions used on Phobos-Grunt need to be reconsidered and significantly adjusted. Unfortunately, the same ones are used on the lunar missions. This is likely to push back the dates of any future launches, particularly of the Luna Glob modules” said Lev Zelenkin, who is closely involved with both projects.

After Popovkin’s announcement, some praised the agency’s aspiration to return to its Soviet heyday, while others were openly skeptical of whether Roscosmos is able to deliver, especially at such short notice.

Valeriy Ryumin, a former cosmonaut who traveled to space on four different missions, dismissed the project altogether. “There is nothing particularly interesting on the Moon and it has been visited by both men and machines. The only reason such a project would be of interest is if a lot of money was allocated to it,” he told the Trud newspaper.

In any event, Roscosmos faces competition in its bid to reconquer the Moon.

Not only are there rival national programs, but Space Adventures, the company set up to send space tourists to the ISS, says that it intends to launch a modified Russian ship towards the moon, and is in the process of selling two tickets for the trip at $150 million apiece.

Whether this mission, the Roscosmos program or one of the other space agencies will get there first, or indeed, at all, remains the burning question. But there is no doubt that even more than 40 years after Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, any return there will be hailed as a major success.

Syrian UN Resolution Turns on Russia’s Power of Veto in Security Council

The United Nations Security Council risks a Russian veto today by voting on a resolution backing an Arab League plan to end the bloodshed in Syria a day after one of the deadliest days of protests in the 11-month uprising.

As the 15-member body prepared to meet at 10 a.m. in New York to vote on a draft resolution that supports a decision by the Arab League to “facilitate a Syrian-led political transition,” Al Jazeera reported that shelling by security forces in the Syrian city of Homs killed at least 200 people.

Looming over the meeting is the threat that Russia may again block action against its Middle East ally. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said yesterday that his country won’t support the text, without making clear whether Russia would veto it or abstain if pushed to vote.

Almost a year after the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began, the UN is concluding a weeklong debate on how to stop a conflict that it says has killed more than 5,400 people and is evolving into a civil war. At stake is how much support to give the Arab League, which imposed economic sanctions on the regime and has called on Assad to step aside.

“We are witnessing a genocide in Homs,” Al Jazeera cited Abu Jaffar, from the city’s Al Khaldiya neighborhood, as saying. “More than 300 mortar shells fell on Homs, most of them in Al Khaldiya.”

The Syrian authorities are attacking because “they think they won’t have time to kill and use violence if the Security Council votes,” Burhan Ghalioun, president of the main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council, said in an interview yesterday with Al Jazeera from Paris.

Resolution Blocked

Russia blocked a Security Council resolution once before, in October, when Western powers sought to hold the Syrian president responsible for violence.

In a final effort to win Russian acceptance, Arab and European Union negotiators made concessions in response to objections that the proposal endorsed regime change.

The new draft says there should be no “prejudging the outcome” of the political process and “nothing in this resolution authorizes” military action, responding to Russian concern over last March’s UN authorization of a no-fly zone over Libya that was interpreted to justify NATO military strikes that helped bring down Muammar Qaddafi’s regime.

Sticking Point

Arab and EU diplomats refused to barter on the degree of support to give for the Arab League plan, a sticking point in four days of negotiations that Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin described as “a roller coaster.”

Pakistan’s Ambassador Abdullah Haroon said on Feb. 2 that the council was “two words away” from agreement, referring to requests by Russia to substitute less stringent language for “fully supports” in regard to the Arab League.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov yesterday to discuss the draft, according to the State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

A vote was scheduled without any shift in positions after a fresh round of meetings yesterday in New York failed to produce a new text.

“Some of our concerns and the concerns of those who share our view were taken into account but, nonetheless, that’s not enough for us to support it in its current form,” Gatilov told the Interfax news agency.

Russia: still 2 big problems with Syria resolution

Moscow still sees two problems of “crucial importance” with a draft U.N. resolution on the violence in Syria, Russia’s foreign minister said Saturday amid Western attempts to head off a Russian veto in the Security Council.

Sergey Lavrov said the resolution makes too few demands of armed groups opposing President Bashar Assad’s regime. He also said Moscow remains concerned about whether it prejudges the outcome of a national dialogue among political forces in Syria.

Lavrov’s comments at the Munich Security Conference came hours before the U.N. Security Council is expected to meet to consider the resolution, and shortly before he met U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the sidelines of the conference.

Asked afterward whether she had made progress on the resolution at the meeting, Clinton replied only: “We’re working on it.”

Russia has opposed any U.N. call for regime change or a military intervention in Syria, its last remaining ally in the region.

The latest version of the resolution resolves “quite a number of things which were important to us,” Lavrov said. “It does not speak about any sanctions, it doesn’t leave any loophole for outside interference.”

He added, however, that there were the two issues which “are of crucial importance and they must be modified if a resolution is to be adopted.”

He expressed concern about “an absolutely unrealistic provision expecting that the government of Syria would withdraw from the cities and towns exactly at the time when the armed groups are taking over the quarters of those cities and towns.”

“We are not friends or allies of President Assad,” he said. “We try to stick to our responsibilities as permanent members of the Security Council, and the Security Council by definition does not engage in domestic affairs of member states.”

“While we’re all concerned with the rule of law and human rights and democracy, let’s not forget that rule of law must prevail in international relations as well,” he said. “When we see a veto, it’s the (U.N.) charter at work.”

In an interview broadcast earlier Saturday on Russian state television, Lavrov delivered a blunt warning that Moscow is prepared to use its veto power.

He said Moscow had submitted its amendments to the Western-backed draft. He said that Russia hopes that “bias will not prevail over common sense.”

“If they want another scandal at the U.N. Security Council, we wouldn’t be able to stop them,” Lavrov said, voicing hope that Washington wouldn’t put the draft to vote.

Russia and China have blocked previous Western attempts to impose sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime over its crackdown on protests. The U.N. has said that more than 5,400 people have been killed in violence since March. Hundreds more have been killed since that tally was announced, and activists say 200 died in the city of Homs on Saturday.

The U.S. and its partners have ruled out military action but want the U.N. body to endorse an Arab League plan that calls on Assad to hand power over to Syria’s vice president.

Clinton spoke with Lavrov by phone on Friday. Before he spoke on Saturday, she told the conference she was hopeful that the U.N. would be able to come to an agreement later in the day.

“As a tyrant in Damascus brutalizes his own people, America and Europe stand shoulder to shoulder,” she said.

“We are united, alongside the Arab League, in demanding an end to the bloodshed and a democratic future for Syria. And we are hopeful that at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time in New York the Security Council will express the will of the international community.”

Russia’s Opposition Headed for Trouble: Jeffrey Tayler

Russia’s opposition, for all its efforts to remain peaceful, could be headed for a confrontation with authorities as the date of its next major demonstration draws near.

The Moscow municipal government rejected the opposition’s request to hold their protest march “For Honest Elections” as planned on Feb. 4, on the grounds that it would “disrupt the normal functioning of vital municipal services, create obstacles . . . for traffic, and violate the rights of citizens not taking part in the event,” according to a document published on an opposition Facebook page. The authorities proposed an alternative route starting at Luzhniki Stadium, far from the downtown venue the opposition announced weeks ago, and even suggested changing the day. More than 22,000 people have signed up on Facebook to attend the march, despite a forecast temperature of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Opposition leaders are discussing the possibility of holding the march without a permit — a move that may expose demonstrators to arrest and even violence. In his blog on the web site of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the journalist Sergey Parkhomenko stated the grim truth: “Everything, of course, depends on the protestors themselves, on their courage, decisiveness, and sense of responsibility.”

Meanwhile, the opposition and the government are taking measures to ensure that presidential elections, scheduled for March 4, are free and fair — or at least perceived as such. Last Wednesday, reported the Moscow Times, 16 prominent cybernauts announced the foundation of the League of Voters, which, acting as “a coordinating and advisory body for activists,” will “use the Internet to connect activists nationwide who are agitating for fair elections.” Firebrand anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny “was barred from being a member because of his stated presidential ambitions,” the article said. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin swiftly responded by avowing his willingness to meet with the League, though he added that a number of its founders had refused dialogue with him in the past.

In a separate article, the Moscow Times announced the start of the authorities’ campaign to install webcams in every polling station throughout the country. “Skeptics say the camera initiative will fall far short as there are other ways to cheat.”

Elections can hardly be free and fair if the government prevents some politicians from taking part. Veteran liberal and presidential aspirant Grigory Yavlinsky found his application for candidacy rejected, wrote the newspaper Vedomosti. The Central Election Commission has disqualified as illegitimate 25.66 percent of the signatures his Yabloko party presented for registration in the upcoming polls. Yabloko will appeal the decision. Billionaire political neophyte Mikhail Prokhorov fared better and won the Commission’s approval to run. Thus, Putin will vie with Prokhorov, Communist Party head Gennady Zyuganov, Just Russia’s Sergey Mironov, and Liberal Democratic Party chief Vladimir Zhirinovsky for the Kremlin throne.

Not all Russia’s oppositionists believe that Putin plans to falsify the polls. After meeting with him, Alexei Venediktov, Ekho Moskvy’s editor in chief, declared on air, in comments also carried by the web site Relevant Commentary, that “Putin needs elections that will be recognized as legitimate by all Russians,” adding that “the route to this leads through procedures and dialogue.” He noted, though, that Putin may only be prepared for dialogue with “the non-political opposition, the League of Voters.”

Putin has not deigned to recognize his fiercest political opponents, such as Navalny, Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov and chess celebrity Garry Kasparov. But he has taken oblique swipes at them. In a lengthy article he published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta and posted on his web site, the prime minister called mounting nationalism in Russia the chief danger to the state, and attributed it “directly to the break-up of the U.S.S.R. and, in essence, of the Greater Russia that had been formed all the way back in the 18th century.” The fall of the Soviet Union left Russia “on the brink of civil war, and in some well known regions” — Chechnya, for example — “beyond the brink,” in armed conflict. Given Russia’s multiethnic composition, Putin professed to be “deeply convinced that attempts to preach in favor of building a monoethnic Russian national state contradict our thousand-year history,” and would lead to “the destruction of the Russian people and Russian statehood.”

Putin’s target was most likely Navalny, who “coined the phrase “Stop feeding the Caucasus” and has joined in several prominent nationalist rallies,” the Moscow Times noted. Navalny has had little trouble rallying Russians behind the flag. After all, “43 percent of Russians support the notion of ‘Russia for Russians’ and . . . xenophobic sentiment is on the rise.”

With emotions running high, and without a dialogue between the government and its most determined opponents, the countdown to a possibly violent clash has begun.

Russia row over Nazi massacre site in Rostov-on-Don

In August 1942 Nazi German troops murdered at least 27,000 people at Zmiyevskaya Balka, regarded as the worst Holocaust atrocity in Russia.

More than half the victims were Jews, the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) says.

A new plaque does not mention Jews, but “peaceful citizens of Rostov-on-Don and Soviet prisoners-of-war”.

The RJC, a secular foundation representing Russian Jews, says it will take legal action over the unauthorised decision to replace the former plaque, which spoke of “more than 27,000 Jews” murdered by the Nazis. That plaque had been put up in 2004.

According to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Centre in Israel, 15,000-16,000 Jews were murdered by the Nazis in Rostov-on-Don from August 1942 to February 1943.

In the Soviet Union memorials commemorating victims of Nazi massacres spoke of “Soviet citizens” rather than “Jews”.

Violation admitted

The former plaque mentioning Jews has now been put in the Zmiyevskaya Balka memorial hall, Rostov’s Deputy Culture Minister Valery Gelas told Moscow Echo radio.

He admitted that the rules for historical memorials had been broken, but said the new plaque would remain and “we’ve done all we can”.

He said the wording was in line with historical research and data presented to the Rostov cultural authorities.

RJC president Yuri Kanner said the site was “Russia’s Babi Yar” – a reference to the notorious Nazi mass shootings of Jews near Kiev during World War II.

He said it was important to specify exactly who was shot at Zmiyevskaya Balka, pointing out that in law the Nazi slaughter of Jews “is considered a separate crime, with separate prosecutions”.

“There could have been refugees from Poland, not necessarily Soviet citizens, it’s not a question of citizens,” he told Moscow Echo.

He said he did not believe the plaque decision was a case of anti-Semitism, rather that it was a local official’s “attempt to do something to please somebody”.

A Communist MP on the Russian parliament (Duma) committee for nationalities, Tamara Pletneva, said it was time to “forget our bitterness and live in peace”.

“The memorial should commemorate all the war victims… the Soviet Union saved Jews, Russians saved Jews… so why single out Jews? We shouldn’t single out any ethnic group.”

Robotic Russian Supply Ship Docks at Space Station

A robotic Russian cargo ship pulled up to the International Space Station Friday (Jan. 27), delivering tons of fresh fruit, clothing and other vital supplies for the orbiting lab’s six-man crew.

The Progress 46 cargo ship arrived at the space station at about 7:09 p.m. EST (0009 GMT Jan. 28) after a two-day spaceflight that marked Russia’s first space mission of the year. The supply ship launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with the space station as the two spacecraft sailed about 240 miles (386 kilometers) above the northeastern coast of Brazil.

The unmanned spacecraft is carrying about 2.9 tons of supplies for the space station’s Expedition 30 crew, according to a NASA description. The cargo ship is packed with about 2,050 pounds (930 kilograms) of fuel, 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen and air, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and 2,778 pounds (1,260 kg) of spare parts and experiment gear.

The space station is currently home to three astronauts and three cosmonauts. Three Russians, two Americans and one Dutch astronaut make up the Expedition 30 crew. The Russian cosmonauts stood ready to take remote control of Progress 46 in case the automated spacecraft veered off course, but the cargo ship parked itself flawlessly as planned.Russia’s robotic Progress spacecraft are 24 feet (7.3 meters) long and have a three-module design that resembles the crewed Soyuz space capsules that are used to ferry astronauts and cosmonauts to and from the International Space Station. But instead of the crewed capsule used on Soyuz vehicles, Progress spacecraft have a propellant module filled with fuel for the station’s Russian-built thrusters.

Progress vehicles are disposable and are intentionally commanded to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their space missions. Russia’s Federal Space Agency plans to launch several Progress vehicles this year to keep the station stocked with supplies.

Earlier this week, an older Progress spacecraft — Progress 45 —undocked from the space station’s Earth-facing Pirs docking port to make room for the new supply ship. Progress 45 deployed a small, 88-pound (40-kg) microsatellite called Chibis-M before ending its mission with a fiery plunge toward Earth. The Chibis-M satellite is designed to study how plasma waves interact with Earth’s ionosphere, NASA officials have said.

As the space station crewmembers prepare to unpack the Progress 46 cargo ship, NASA engineers at Mission Control in Houston are tracking a piece of Chinese space junk to determine if the space station will have to fire its thrusters to dodge the orbital trash.

The space junk is a piece of debris from China’s Fengyun 1C weather satellite, which was destroyed in 2007 during a Chinese anti-satellite test. There are seven “opportunities for the debris to make a close approach to the station,” NASA officials said.

If a dodging maneuver is required, the space station would likely perform the move on Saturday (Jan. 28) at 6:50 p.m. EST (2150 GMT).

Meanwhile, Russian space station officials are discussing a potential launch delay for the next crewed Soyuz capsule bound for the orbiting lab. That Soyuz spacecraft was slated to blast off with three new station crewmembers on March 29, but a recent pressurization test revealed cracks in the vehicle’s crew capsule.

Russian spacecraft engineers plan to replace the crew module and work to determine why it failed the pressurization test, which was designed to check whether it was airtight and fit for spaceflight.

Russian turns to crime after being denied work

A Russian man took to stealing as he could not get a national insurance number to work in this country, a court heard.

Andrejs Ornovskis, 36, of Emmanuel Road, pleaded guilty to stealing clothes and alcohol from Marks and Spencers and aftershave from Superdrug when he appeared at Hastings Magistrates Court.

The court heard that he had been involved in a spate of thefts going back to November.

One of the recent thefts, this month, was committed while he was on bail for another theft offence.

But Ornovskis told the court: “The only reason I am stealing is that I have no money.”

Jeremy King, prosecuting, said: “On January 16 in Marks and Spencers he was seen to select two bottles of alcohol, putting one in a carrier bag and the other under his coat and left without making any attempt to pay for them.

“He re-entered the store half an hour later and took a jacket and a pair of chinos valued at £198.

“He was identified and arrested at home. Police recovered the clothing but not the alcohol. He told the police he was so drunk he could not remember anything.

“He was released on bail on January 17 but the next day went into Superdrug and concealed aftershave valued at £43.99 in his jacket.

“The police were called and he made full admission to the theft.

“His history of offending started in November last year. He was arrested for theft on New Year’s Eve and is in breach of a conditional discharge for that offence.”

Aiden Harvey, defending, said: “I have to admit he is pushing his luck.

“He has lived here for several months now and cannot get a national insurance number, which would allow him to work. He has been offered work on a building site. The language barrier has caused him problems.

“He told me that if he could make a living he would not be stealing.”

Magistrates chairman Gordon Waters told Ornovskis: “This is a recent spree of offences.

“We have considered sending you to prison but have decided to take a lenient approach to allow you to find some work.”

He was sentenced to a total of 150 hours of unpaid community work.

Russia Clashes with Europeans, Arabs Over Syria UN Resolution

European and Arab nations are calling on the U.N. Security Council to back a resolution supporting the Arab League’s plan to end the 10-month-old political crisis in Syria. But, Russia has expressed concerns about the new text.

Following a lengthy closed-door discussion Friday afternoon on a draft resolution proposed by council members Morocco, Britain and France, Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the new text ignores what he called Moscow’s “red lines” where they could not go.

“The red lines included any indications of sanctions, the red lines included any sort of imposition of arms embargo – because we know how in real life arms embargo means you supply arms to illegal groups but you cannot supply weapons to the government – we cannot accept that,” he said. “Unfortunately, the draft we saw today did not only ignore our red lines but also added some new elements which we find unacceptable as a matter of principle.”

The Russian envoy said the Arab League plan, which includes the transfer of power from President Bashar al-Assad to a deputy in preparation for multi-party elections, imposes a certain outcome of political dialogue before that dialogue even starts.

“We need to concentrate on establishing political dialogue,” he said. “The Arab League may have its ideas about where that political dialogue should go, they are free to express those ideas, but certainly the Security Council cannot be a tool to impose specific solutions on countries, including in this particular situation, Syria.”

He said Moscow does not see the new draft text as one on which they could agree, but said they would be willing to engage in negotiations.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant rejected his colleague’s objections, saying the proposed text does not include an arms embargo or sanctions, nor does it call for regime change. He noted that it also includes some language from an earlier Russian proposed draft resolution on the subject. Essentially, Lyall Grant said, the new resolution simply supports the Arab League’s efforts to end the crisis.

“Frankly, the time has come where we should be supporting the Arab League’s efforts,” he said. “They took a very strong, binding decision on the Arab League members at the weekend. They have come with a credible plan that involves dialogue, a political transition, and we believe that we should support it.”

Lyall Grant said negotiations on the text would begin Monday and he hoped to have a vote on the measure next week, possibly as early as Wednesday.

On Tuesday afternoon the Arab League Secretary-General Nabil ElAraby and the Prime Minister of Qatar will brief the 15-member Security Council on the League’s month-long monitoring mission in Syria, which was plagued by difficulties.

Syria has rejected the Arab League’s plan of January 22nd, but has said the League’s observer mission may remain in the country for another month.

The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed during the 10-month-long crackdown on anti-government dissenters. On Friday, the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said nearly 400 children have been killed during the crisis.

Today Russian marriage is still a great celebration; however the ways of celebrating have become more diverse and the overall regeneration of Russia has affected young people’s attitudes towards national weddings and customs.

1.The past and present of ZAGS
The Department of Registration of Civil Statuses, commonly referred to as ZAGS, began in December of 1917 under the decree that abolished the church order of marriage registration and handed the responsibility over to the civil authorities. In addition to marriages, ZAGS also registered births, deaths, divorces, changes of name and other “civil statuses.” the actual ZAGS registration ceremony is rather short, it can be very moving. During this ceremony the couples exchange wedding vows and rings, sign the registry and are officially pronounced husband and wife. Of course the overall tone and feel of the ceremony depends heavily upon the artistry of the ZAGS official conducting the ceremony. Irina Muravyeva, Head of ZAGS Administration of Moscow, says of ZAGS officials, “every year they pass a retaining in drama schools where they attend short-term courses in acting and public speaking to properly conduct a beautiful marriage registration ceremony according to all norms of etiquette.”

2. Ransom of the Bride
in Russia’s distant past the ransom of the bride was a true folk theater performance full of national color. The bride’s family would block the road several times during the groom’s trip to the bride’s house. They would not let him pass until he demonstrated some of his talents. He could be tested on strength, intelligence and various other skills. For example, he could be asked to saw a log that is blocking the road or solve a riddle proposed by the bride’s family. If he failed any part of the test, he had to pay with coins or candies. In modern-day Russia this ritual is usually performed on the way to the ZAGS department or on the groom’s trip to the bride’s house. The “setting up” of the ransom is conducted by the bridesmaid and the best man (called “witnesses” or svideteli). Today this custom is comprised of funny challenges for the groom, such as composing a poem for the bride, writing her name in rose petals, etc. Although this custom is light-hearted and fun, in certain Russian provinces a ransom literally means a ransom and occasionally passing by babushkas may block the road until the groom pays to pass through.

3. Touring the City
After the ZAGS ceremony is completed,in Russian marriage there is a custom to ride around the city. the newlyweds and their friends and family go on a tour of the city. Most often they visit historical sites, drink champagne and take pictures. Most take this tour in a limousine, but others opt for more unique forms of transportation, like vintage cars, classic Soviet government cars like Volgas and Chaykas, horse carriages, boat rentals and even riding the metro.

4. Wedding Feast
The Russian marriage feast, or reception, is perhaps the most eventful portion of the entire wedding custom, comprised of many different elements and traditions, both Russian and borrowed from the West. The most important role at the reception is that of the toastmaster (tamada). Usually this role is placed upon a friend or relative who is famous for his or her verbal talents. Although recently many couples are choosing to give the job of tamada to a hired professional who specializes in conducting weddings and other festive events. Whether a hired professional or a close personal friend, it is the job of the tamada to introduce the guests, toast the newlyweds, organize singing contests and make sure that everyone is having a good time.

It is known that both men and Russian woman have their own secret desires. Sexual fantasies allow people to brighten up the loneliness, distraction or enhance sexual arousal during intimacy. Some imagination is clearly unrealistic, and they do not even think they ever implemented. But why would this not dream, if you want! In his sexual fantasies, even people suffer from complexes, which is the time of intimacy behaves constrained and monotonous, can be quite explicit erotic scenes. One of the most common themes in erotic fantasies for men – sex with two mates in various ways, such as partner, both strangers to him or one of them his permanent partner, and another – the stranger, the second woman to be homosexual or heterosexual, in imaginary sexual games they participate or three at a time, a man allegedly watching lesbian sex games Russian woman, their partners and so on. Some men fantasize about “sex for three”, where the third party is a man. In this imaginary participant sex trio often stranger or the woman who he is nice, but not his partner’s constant – even in dreams, some men do not want to be, as it has a different favorite. Sexual fantasies, when he fantasizes alleged sexual contact with another man, and not an imaginary partner, a normal male (heterosexual) orientation alien to. And if he fantasizes on themes gay sex, then this may indicate a latent homosexuality, which the man can not realize, for whatever reason, or he himself does not yet aware of, and his subconscious helpfully gives him the desired at least as imagined. Some men imagine that the constant partner has sex with another man or a lesbian. If you fantasize himself does not feel jealous, because this is only the fruit of his imagination, on the contrary, he feels proud of what real-life Russian woman (mistress) still prefer to just him and not someone else. But some men such fantasies reflect unconscious masochistic tendencies – the desire itself “torment” of jealousy and that is what most is exciting.

Somehow, through a couple of years we spent together on free Russian sites, people come to a sad discovery: the love of the “tender passion” has become a “replacement of happiness” – a habit. Well, if you let everything take its course, then a short time and to get a divorce … Habits need to eliminate, feeling freshen and strengthen the marriage … FOR conjugal visits. Are you tired every morning to push for a kitchen free Russian sites, to quarrel over trifles, in the evenings quietly seethe because the partner can sleep only “TV” and you silence? And then one fine day one of you comes to mind saving idea: “And if we do not live separately?” No, do not give up completely and irrevocably free Russian sites! Because you still love each other. Only a little rest is missing, to give the feelings of the former ardor. So you keep a good relationship, and not parted as enemies, as often happens in divorce. Every day, you communicate by phone, and then assign each other goodbye in a cozy cafe free Russian sites, go to the cinema or just walking around the city. He again shaved before each meeting, gives you flowers, and said that you have grown. You bet! You do not waste time and too thoroughly and excitedly preparing for each interview. Just like before! Are not is equally shared.

«Adrenaline sharpens our sensitivity to the primary and secondary sexual characteristics: therefore, when a person is upset or frightened, he willingly goes to sexual contact Russian sites. There is another, very crafty troublemaker: phenol ethyl amine. This acts on the reverse – if it is too little, we begin to look for additional pathogens. Some researchers claim: after two years of marriage the couple virtually ceases to develop this very fee, hence – treason. So, in our body is full of “immoral” substances that are pushing and decent people to madness Russian sites. But why not all marriages are break up and communication in two years? It turns out, and a loyalty has its knights, “molecule of love” – endorphins. It is a natural mood stimulant, they help keep the feeling in harmony: between steadiness and satisfaction. Incidentally, anyone can own happy endorphins: their content in the brain increases during any nice gestures – with gym, charging, for dancing or walking. There is another important aide in the fight against bad mood or sadness – serotonin. Serotonin is contributed to certain types of foods that contain complex carbohydrates: pasta, cereals and chocolate. So, when the gallant cavaliers give chocolates to the ladies, they do very reasonably … But man does not live as nature dictates to him, as well as ordered to social prejudices. Therefore, for the betrayal of the spouses is not trivial, it often leads to this tragedy. Here are statistical results of one of the psychological services when working with problem marriages. The sample of 62 couples in which the betrayal occurred. Among them – 21 couple divorced, 27 couples continued to live together in the most difficult, unbearable atmosphere, four marriages survived formally. And only in 9 cases, partners were able to overcome prejudices and to improve relations; it is harmonious and even happy. In this regard, psychologists point out that the cause of problematic marriages is not adultery per se, but the wrong mental attitude Russian sites.