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![]() ![]() The Internet traffic of the sites discussing rouble exchange rate and political future of Russia pushed them into top tens of Russian Net ratings to the slots traditionally occupied by the search engines and entertainment pages. Not surprising - to give you an idea I post here an official graph of US dollar price in roubles (courtesy of RosBusinessConsulting). Real exchange rate was sometimes even worse than official figures. Note the scale - it was not a few percent up or down, it has been much more bumping road. The weather was adding to the insanity of rocking and hopping prices and money value. September was really cold with attempts of flurries, then October was misty, wet and unusually warm for the season, and then in early November practically overnight the temperature dropped to 0 F freezing the puddles and the land lacking the snow blanket. While I type that, the first heavy snowfall hits the city... But more snow you will see in the next story. So far we are still in the fall, not winter months. |
And, as always in my stories here, you can zoom in on any picture. Just click an image, and a larger and better quality photo will open.
And the traffic jams are not a hair thinner. Some too jumpy drivers try to literally jump out of the jams - but end up halfway on the concrete blocks - look at the picture on the right. Still, there are signs, of course, that times are changing and the coming year will not be a carnival of New Russians or those who believed to be members of emerging Russian middle class. But the months we are now talking about did start with a carnival! As every September does, since its first weekend is the Day of the City Weekend in Moscow, and Muscovites enjoy the opportunity to have lots of fun in the streets. This year festivities were more modest than a year ago when Moscow had been celebrating its 850th anniversary. But modest means just that less pompous and official events took place. The streets were full with the relaxing crowds as ever.
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Import of food and good sank these months, salaries of most Russian did not let them spend that much (check again the USD exchange rate plot that I posted in the very first paragraph of this story). That made our diet much more healthy, we began to buy at the street markets where vegetables definitely are much more natural than any import. Our farmers have no money to use fertilizers - you, see, there are good sides of the crisis.
Manufacturers immediately decided to take advantage of the situation. Several years of market training produced quite capable marketers and advertizers. The picture on the right shows a billboard with a typically American city - but Russian pack of cigarettes in the hands of famous statue. The slogan says, "We return the blow" - perhaps to US tobacco factories... More fun adds the background, the pompous facade of a bank that was huge and powerful a few months ago, but now clients can enjoy these huge brass letters and nothing more, accounts are blocked.
That's almost it for the month. Anyway, Red Square is locked too often to close the area from protesters - and despite these measures one insane retired activist managed to drive a car with explosives up to the Kremlim gate and arrange an impressive firework there. Next time there will be much white in the illustrations. A heavy winter is coming. The very Russian season where Moscow belongs, with beauty of fur coats on pretty Russian ladies, with thick snow blankets covering with the same efficiency accurate central squares and poorly paved lanes at the outskirts. And now - it's time to say "See you next time, on this page or others". Andrey Sebrant - asebrant@online.ru |
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