http://rbth.ru/rubrics/blogs.html Russia Beyond the Headlines en http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/09/01/smoke_heat_cold_shower04924.html Living the life of a chain smoker, that’s what every Muscovite had to experience this summer. Heavy smoke blanketed the the city, leaving the visibility as bad as on a foggy November day. That didn't stop the hardcore Russian smokers, who deliberately give their lungs an extra kick, lighting their cigarettes. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/08/30/emerging_markets_overtake_world_with_ipos04916.html Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/08/19/office_depot_dts04885.html I am the quintessential office supply/organizational junkie. I spend the kind of time in STAPLES that ordinary women spend in Bloomingdales, which I am sure shows both in my impeccable filing system, as well as my less-than-pristine personal appearance. What can I do? My idea of the perfect afternoon is to fire up my label gun and reorganize someone’s filing system, rearrange their DVDs by genre and then in alphabetical order, or clean out desk drawers and color code the post-it supply. Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/08/09/day_of_the_construction_workers_04865.html The second Sunday in August is Construction Workers Day! Since 1956, this holiday has been celebrated with a view to encouraging the sector to, as the governement decree established, “further industrialization, raise the level of quality, and reduce the cost of construction.” Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/08/03/day_of_the_paratroopers04855.html Today is another day to lock up your daughters, and certainly to wear protective footgear around fountains to avoid a huge amount of broken glass! It’s Paratroopers' Day, and this year marks the 80th anniversary from the first jump of the first unit of twelve paratroopers in Voronezh. Like the Border Guards, the Paratroopers take their holiday very seriously, and hold informal reunions across Russia, generally centered at the city’s major fountain, and involving a certain amount of liquid spirits. This year, I decided to go along and join them. Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/08/02/naps_are_for_nato.html This summer, Russia is wilting under an unprecedented and unrelenting heat wave. My husband comes home three times a day to shower, change his shirt, and return to his un-air-conditioned office, with all the enthusiasm of a slave headed back to the Great Pyramid. Air conditioning specialists now make more money than investment bankers, and, if state-run Russian TV’s Channel One is to be believed, they are working around the clock to repair overloaded units, and, in theory, install new ones. Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/07/27/day_retail_worker.html I can’t say that retail sector is one that just blows you away with its efficiency here in Russia. For example, at the moment, we are experiencing an unprecedented heat wave, swinging into its third week with no signs of abating. And, do you think you can purchase a fan or an air-conditioning unit anywhere in Moscow? Ha ha ha ha. No way. HRH said last night that the thing to do it is to start buying space heaters to stay ahead of the curve. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/07/15/dacha_life_part_2_a_dacha_weekend_with_friends.html My personal dacha story begins with an invitation from our friends to accompany them to their dacha about 60km south of Moscow. The plan was to leave Friday evening and return on Sunday. Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/07/14/the_all_russia_day_of_family_love_and_fidelity.html The "Family Day" affords a timely reminder to any tempted to stray from the bosom of kin, what an awfully big mistake that would be. Take Anna Karenina, for example, who’s tale of descent into adultery begins with Tolstoy’s immortal observation that: Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/07/08/st_johns_eve_ferns_and_fires_and_flesh_oh_my.html St. John’s Eve in Russia was, and still is in some parts of the country, celebrated with the traditional focus on fire and water: elements, like Jesus and John, who stand in direct opposition. At dusk (which comes very late this time of the year), huge bonfires are lit to guard against the evil spirits, witches, goblins, and other fey creatures who, as the world turns to darkness again, begin to gain in strength and power. Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/06/25/vacation_at_dacha.html Summer heat slowly comes back to Moscow and it’s time to leave the city, at least for a weekend. Every Muscovite I met so far has one – a dacha outside the city, a realm of relaxation, gardening and shashlik (barbecue). While some dachas even lack plumbing (vault toilet and no shower included), others represent an entire palace of summer holiday feeling with a banya (Russian Sauna), pool and all luxuries. A dacha can be anything from a small tool shed to a villa. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/06/23/down_with_dachas.html In its most basic incarnation, a dacha is a mosquito-infested country shack, with no indoor plumbing, electricity, or comfort, sitting on a postage-stamp plot of land. Traditionally, every available inch of the stamp is given over to the cultivation of root vegetables that form the basic subsistence for the dacha owners, a time-honored economic model dating back to the baptism of Prince Vladimir in 988 A.D. Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/06/18/unconventional_Gas_warning_russia.html Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/06/02/how_cheap_is_moscow.html Only recently my boyfriend's mother, Elena, visited Moscow. It was her first time in the city since 2002 and, after living abroad for a long time, she detected major changes in society. “People in the metro don’t look so poor. There are well-dressed ladies in fur coats,” she noted. Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/06/01/Stories_part_2.html Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/26/stories_part_1.html Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/21/how_expensive_moscow_part_1.html Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/19/living__foreign_life_russia.html Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/19/international_museum_day_which_museum_would_you_run_away_to.html Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away…She didn’t like discomfort…Therefore she decided that her leaving home would not be just running from somewhere but would be running to somewhere. To a large place, a comfortable place, an indoor place, and preferably a beautiful place. And that’s why she decided upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/12/going_to_the_future_part_2.html Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/06/corruption_needs_to_end.html Too many Russians treat both petty and grand corruption as inevitable as deep winter snows. Its not inevitable and it is enormously damaging. Russia cannot just rely on higher energy prices and ignore corruption. Such a policy makes Russia dangerously vulnerable to fragile and capricious global energy markets. To grow a strong and flexible 21st Century economy Russia has to tackle corruption once and for all. Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/05/going_to_the_future.html Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/05/the_greek_tragedy_shades_of_1998.html Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/30/russia_travel_tips.html Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/22/afraid_traveling_russia.html Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/21/business_rural_russia_part_2.html Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/13/more_of_your_questions.html Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/13/business_rural_russia_part_one.html Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/08/do_you_have_pizza_in_russia.html Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/04/06/have_you_ever_heard_of_chistopol.html Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/03/30/crime_and_punishment.html In March, The Moscow Times ran a piece headlined “Corruption may force Western firms to quit Russia.” It made for pretty grim reading. Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0400 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/03/22/23310ismailovo.html Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/03/05/4310evycoffee.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/26/22610evysmoking.html Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/26/22610eremeevalife.html Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/15/151210hua3.html Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/15/151210eremeeva3.html Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/09/8210hua2.html Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/03/2310eremeeva2.html Each week, I’ll address readers’ questions about the Largest Country in the World. Log in and leave your questions as a comment, or e-mail me! Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/03/2310hua1.html Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/02/2210aris1.html Another Davos has come and gone and the delegates left the Swiss ski resort having achieved less than normal, but buoyed by a sense of cautious optimism now that the worst seems to behind us. Held under the slogan "Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild" there was lots of thinking, but little in the way designing and no rebuilding at all. Davos is billed as the pow wow for world leaders but this gloomy description is actually only applicable to half the conference-goers. For the other half - those from the so-called emerging markets - Davos was a celebration of their coming of age. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/02/02/2210eremeeva.html A friend from America is considering paying us a visit in Moscow this summer – she’s never been, and is all fired up to learn more about Russia and the Russians. She knows I’m married to a Russian, I call HRH: which, depending on my mood means either my “horrible Russian husband,” or “handsome Russian husband,” and that I’ve lived in Moscow longer than any other place in my life. She thinks I’m an expert. She asked me how I would explain the differences between America and Russia. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0300