“X” is for......

Can you believe we only have two more letters left? Next Thursday marks one month since we’ve been fully registered in Pskov. Time has flown by! Now that the alphabet is almost over, how will we pass the time now? I’m open to suggestions- I have a few things in mind, but would love to hear from you too.
I’m torn between two x’s. That sounds exciting doesn’t it? So “X” is for “X-ray girl” and “exports”. (I know “exports” doesn’t really start with an x, but it should.)
Natasha Demkina from Saransk, Russia claims she has an extraordinary gift that reminds me of something out of the comics- she claims to have x-ray vision. Apparently, she has been a super genius since birth and following a botched surgery of her own when she 10 years old, she started telling her mother that she could see “inside” people as in organs, bones, guts. She says that her powers work like a switch- she can turn the x-ray machine on and off with her mind.
Her case has not been proven or disproved. Her first “test” was when Natasha was asked to draw a picture of a doctor’s guts. She drew a picture of his stomach, with a dark spot exactly where the doctor had an undiscovered ulcer. She has also been able to isolate cancerous tumors and find broken bones. The Discovery Channel did a documentary on her, so there must be something to it. Ripley’s Believe It or Not?, Anyone?
I think the lady behind her in the picture is wearing "x-ray" goggles.

TOP TEN RUSSIAN X-PORTS TO THE U.S.
10. Fish & shellfish … $375.3 million
9. Fertilizers, pesticides & insecticides
8. Steel making materials … $635.6 million
7. Nickel … $645.3 million
6. Precious metals … $697.6 million
5. Finished metal products other than steel … $852.9 million
4. Nuclear fuels … $866.3 million
3. Semi-finished iron & steel products … $1.5 billion
2. Aluminum … $1.8 billion
1. Oil & other petroleum products …US$10 billion

"W" is for Women

Mom= mama
Mother= mat (with a long a)
Daughter= dotchka
Grandmother=babushka
Aunt=Tyotia
Female Friend= (podruga, pronounced as pahdrooga)

Every year on March 8th, Russia celebrates “Women’s Day”. From what I understand, this holiday is a mix between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. ALL Women are honored with cards, chocolate, gifts, and flowers. Children honor their Mothers and Grandmothers, too. Kate (my friend on the inside) says that ALL women, married or not, working or not, mothers or not, are honored and celebrated! Hurray for women!

What seems to me like a sweet tradition originally had roots in the Feminist Movement. The tradition began in the early 1900’s, as a sign of the times with the quest for equal rights for working women and peace rallies for World War I in America. In Russia in 1913, following the October Revolution, Russian feminist Alexandra Kollontai persuaded Lenin to make it an official holiday in the Soviet Union. It was established, but still a working holiday until 1965. On May 8, 1965 by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women's Day was declared as a non working day in the USSR "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays."

Why don’t we celebrate Women’s Day? I think we should! I think this may be one Russian tradition we integrate into our household after Baby Deetz arrives!

"V" is for Vladimir

TOP TEN FAMOUS RUSSIAN VLADIMIRS!



10. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov (born May 13, 1942) was a cosmonaut who made five flights.

9. Vladimir Vladimirovitch Mayakovsky July 1893- April 14, 1930 was one of the foremost Russian poets of the early 20th century. He was imprisoned on numerous occasions for his political views. During a period of solitary confinement in Butyrka prison in 1909 he began writing poetry.

8. Vladimir Horowitz (October 1, 1903 - November 5, 1989) was a classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.

7. Vladimir Petrov (July 22, 1896 – January 7, 1966) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 24 films between 1928 and 1964. Vladimir Petrov was awarded Stalin Prize five times. I think this was like the Stalin Academy Awards- I wonder if they had a little gold Stalin?

6. Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977), wrote first in Russian, then in English, author of Lolita. I'll admit- this is the first Vladimir I've actually known. That's why he's number 6 in my book.

5. Vladimir Kosma Zworykin (1889-1982) is a pioneer of television. Zworykin invented the iconoscope, a television transmitting tube and the kinescope, the tube that projects pictures it receives onto a screen. He also invented the electron microscope. I was impressed so I put him as number 5! He sounds smart.

4. Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov (March 16, 1927 - April 24, 1967) was a Soviet cosmonaut. He was the first human who died during a space mission, on Soyuz 1. I felt sorry for him dying, so I gave him a high rank.

3. Vladimir Petrov ice hockey player, gold metalist, and former president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. I put him as number 3 because I thought he was the cute hockey player I see in the news all the time from Pskov, and I wanted to show you his picture- but it turns out he's not. I am just too lazy to re-do the numbers.

2. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (April 1870- January 21, 1924), who adopted the pseudonym Lenin was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first leader of the Soviet Union and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. Lenin was born in Simbirsk and died in Leninskie Gorki after a series of strokes after an attempted assassination. His embalmed body is on permanent exhibition in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow.

1. Vladimir Putin, born in 1952 in Leningrad, is the current prime minister of Russia. Putin served two terms as President of Russia from March 2000-March 2008 and is considered one of the most beloved leaders of Russia.

I'm sure I forgot a few! Vladimir is a very popular name!

*On a side note: We received an e-mail from the Russian Consulate stating that they received our "Cable 37" confirming that we are cleared to adopt one Russian boy or girl up to age 2. Yipppee! They really do know about us!

"U" is for U.S.S.R.

So, I'm struggling a little bit with these last few letters of the alphabet! I had made up my mind that I was going to skip "U" and just give "U" an update on the adoption. Then I signed in an was reading my comments and a new visitor named Madeline left a comment. She said that her two children were adopted from the Pskov region and she was printing all the "ABC" posts out for her kids to read someday! I decided I would be letting Madeline and the kids down if their alphabet wasn't complete! So hi darlings and this "U" is just for "U"!

Russia is a huge, gigantic place and it use to be even bigger. From 1922 until 1991, Russia was part of an even bigger country called the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). After the fall of Communism, smaller countries splinted off into independent countries. Here is the National Anthem of Russia during Communist rule:

Unbreakable union of freeborn republics great Russia has welded forever to stand!Created in struggle by will of the peoples united and mighty, our Soviet land!
CHORUS:
Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of people, in brotherhood strong!
Oh! Party of Lenin! The strength of the people.
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
Through tempests the sun rays of freedom have cheered us along the new path where great Lenin did lead! To a righteous cause he raised up the people Inspired them to labour and valorous deed!
CHORUS
In the victory of Communism's deathless ideal, We see the future of our dear land And to her fluttering scarlet banner, selflessly true, we always shall stand!

After Stalin's death in 1953, and "de-stalinazation" was taking place, the song was never played with the lyrics! In 2000, when Putin was president, a new anthem was written. Sergey Mikhalkov who wrote the original communist music and lyrics, wrote the new song as well:

Russia — our sacred state,Russia — our beloved country. A mighty will, a great glory —Your possession for all future ages!
Refrain:
Glory to you, our free Fatherland,
Age-old union of fraternal peoples,
Ancestor-given wisdom of the people!
Glory to you, our country! We are proud of you!
From the southern seas to the polar regions Spread our forests and fields. You are unique in the world! You alone are like this —Our dear land kept safe by God!
Refrain
Wide amplitude for dreams and for living Gets opened up for us with each passing year.Loyalty to the Fatherland gives us strength.Thus it was, is, and always shall be!

As for the adoption update- it isn't all that exciting anyway, we just found out what we needed to re-do and it wasn't a lot so I re-did it fairly quickly. Since we are registered with the region, I think I'll forgo the road trip this time and use Fed-Ex. After all- as Kate would say- "There's no Rush in Russia" and I think they won't mind if we take another couple of days to get the updated Pskov docs to them. As soon as I get a chance to actually sit down with Chad and carry on a conversation, I need him to sign everything and we'll repeat the Apostille/agency/Russia routine once again. The end of summer is always a sprint to the finish line in Youth ministry, we are bringing in the new 7th graders tonight, and saying goodbye to the seniors as they venture off to college. Our "pretend" son and intern, Jordan, leaves on Wednesday after spending three months with us. I am really going to miss him. Pray for me as I will be experiencing an empty nest too!

I'll keep you posted- but not until the alphabet is complete! I have a new found responsibility and purpose that must continue for 5 more posts- V,W,X,Y, & Z!

"T" is for Travel

With Russia's large land area and harsh conditions, transportation has always been a major problem for its people and government. Things have gotten a lot better, but it will still prove to be quite an adventure!

Trains- The most famous railway in Russia is the Trans-Siberian. It runs 6,000 miles (the longest continuous rail line on earth) or 1/3 of the globe! You can also catch connections to Europe (Germany, Paris) or even to Budapest, Beijing, or Helsinki! The railway was the original vision of Czar Alexander III, but it wasn’t completed until 1905. When we travel to Pskov, we will most likely take the train to Moscow (12 hours) to finalize our paperwork and return to the United States. If we arrive via St. Petersburg, it is a 6 hour train ride from Pskov. I’m not sure on our modes of transportation other than the definite plane trip over there….ugh. Here is a picture of the train station in Pskov.

Planes- Right now, if I were to book a flight from our neck of the woods to St. Petersburg (per Travelocity) we would have our choice between Delta, Luftstansa, United, Northwestern, Continental, Air France, Royal Dutch Air, or Polish Airlines. It would cost about $800 per person and we would be in the air anywhere from 16 ½ hours to 28 hours! There are no direct flights so we would most likely layover in the states (Tennessee, Atlanta, JFK, D.C.) and then again in Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Either way we would leave one day and arrive the next day. To fly to Moscow is about 12-15 hours, with one domestic layover and then a straight flight into Moscow. But then you would have to take a 12 hour train ride! I keep telling Chad we could wait for the Alaskan Bering Straight to freeze over, drive to Alaska, over the frozen ocean into Russia and then through Siberia. It would only take us like- a year.

Automobiles- Michele sent me an interesting site called http://www.darkroastblend.com/. It blogs about weird and wacky places all over the world. They have a special “Best of Russia” series. You should definitely check it out http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/11/best-of-russia-series.html. Anyway, there is a “Worst Roads” category and Russia received the #2 ranking in the World! The road is in Siberia and is the only way to the city of Yakutsk. In the winter is a sheet of ice, which may sound like what qualifies it as the “worst” but in actuality the warm months are WORSE! The road turns into every redneck’s mudslinging fantasy. When cars get stuck they have been known to cause week long traffic jams stretching for miles. Women have given birth waiting for rescue. The city has to fly in rescue relief (food, clean water, medication) when it gets really bad. You have got to check out the link and look at these pictures! It sparked a long conversation in our office. “What makes you think you can make it 1,000 miles on THAT road in a tiny toy car?” “Why did that boy take off his pants to walk in the mud, but not his shoes?” “What would make you drive on that road if you were 8 ½ months pregnant?” There is also a funny story (with lots of pictures) called “one day in the life of a Russian motorist” If your car ever breaks down, you can look at these pictures and know that it could be MUCH, MUCH worse! http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/01/one-day-in-life-of-russian-motorist_15.html

Boats- You COULD take a boat to Russia. It would take a REALLY long time! You could also watch “Deadliest Catch” and totally change your mind.

“S” is for Saint

Specifically, St. Olga, the founder of Pskov. I know this is a stretch- but I just had to fit her in! Her story is one of relevant redemption that I find inspiring.

As you know, from “P” is for Pskov- St. Olga is the first name mentioned in Pskov history. When she met her husband, Prince Igor in the early 900s Olga was a peasant woman and Igor was so enthralled by her beauty that he brushed off some waiting princesses to marry her. They had a son together and Olga and Igor remained pagans as much of the county at that time. Igor was later murdered and Olga became the first female ruler of her region. She avenged her husband’s death by tracking down the murderers and “scalding them to death”. Whoa.

A few years later, she ventured to Constantinople where she converted into Christianity. Not a lot is recorded about her actual conversion from paganism- There is a text from her baptism: "Blessed are you among Russian women, for you have forsaken the darkness and have loved the Light. The Russian people shall bless you in all the future generations, from your grandson and great-grandson to your furthermost descendants." He instructed her in the truths of the Faith, rules of the Church, how to pray, and he explained the commands about fasting, chastity and charity. Some say that the clergyman baptizing her tried to marry her, but Olga “outwitted him” and used his own words of “chastity” against him. She said that it would be wrong for a goddaughter to marry her godfather. What started as a personal quest ended in Olga’s true conversion. She became the first Christian in Russia. Here is her statement of faith: "God's will be done! If it pleases God to have mercy upon my native Russian Land, then they shall turn their hearts to God, just as I have received this gift."

She devoted the rest of her life to converting pagans, building churches, and spreading the gospel. The Trinity Cathedral in Pskov was built by Olga at the River Velika at a spot pointed out to her from on high, according to the chronicler, by a "light-beam of the Thrice-Radiant Divinity”. The white church with three towers is the most famous landmark in Pskov.

In her lifetime, she worked endlessly to convert her son to Christianity. She died never knowing if her efforts were in vain. However, her grandson, Prince Vladimir, underwent a miraculous conversion in his life and helped to spread Christianity throughout Russia. With God, a tiny seed of faith can win an entire nation to Christ. St. Olga was God’s first chapter in Russia’s Holy Church. And just think, Baby Deetz is considered one of Olga’s “furthermost descendant” in this great story of grace and redemption!

"R" is for Ruble

Rubles are Russian Money. I'm sure that most of you knew that- I just wanted to make sure to cover all the bases. 31 Rubles are equivalent to $1 (U.S. Dollar).
Quiet Money (Paper money) comes in the following notes:
5 rubles (since discontinued, but still legal tender), 10 rubles, 50 rubles, 100 rubles, 500 rubles, 1000 rubles and 5000 rubles.
Noisy Money (Coins) come in the following denominations:
1 kopeks, 5 kopeks, 10 kopeks, 50 kopecks, 1 ruble, 2 rubles, 5 rubles and 10 rubles.

In 2008 the National Poverty line in Russia is 3,250 Rubles per month ($104 USD). 14% of people in Russia earn less than $104 dollars a month. In 1998 40% of the population fell below the poverty line.
In 2008 the average salary of a person living in Russia is $640 US dollars per month (19,938.15 Rubles)

If you were on welfare you would receive the following:
Milk & kefir (yogurt) (20 Rubles)
Sugar (18 Rubles)
Bread (20 Rubles)
Beef (120-150 Rubles)
Pork (150-200 Rubles)
Fish (100-200 Rubles)
Curds (120 Rubles)
Salt (5 Rubles)

As well as an allowance for 1 winter coat (to last 7 years) and a two-piece suit (to last 5 years)