Russia in a vehicle The Good The Bad and The Scary

[Gary68]

geez,someone start a new tread already so a mod can move this stuff out of a good thread about russia

 

[lenny flank]

geez,someone start a new tread already so a mod can move this stuff out of a good thread about russia

Done.  

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Geneology


Can one of the mods move the good stuff about geneology and ancestry out of the good stuff about Russia and relocate it over there?

 

[GotSmart]

And take out the trash...

 

[slynne]

Heh. I know all about fat Russian Babas! I had one of my own and she was amazing. You wouldn't want to cross her for sure. She used to always speak Russian to my Dedo (grandfather) when she didn't want us kids to know what she was saying.

 

[Scott7022]

Great posts and the genealogy diversion was cool. On that, my wife was born in Gori, when it was part of the CCCP. Now it is in Georgia. You know the little country President Bush liked so much even after an attempted assassination with a grenade. They named a highway after him. Who else came from Gori? I heard someone ask; never! Uncle Stalin... My Russian family refer to him as Dada (Uncle). So yeah I am a good good boy. LOL!

I can only pass on stories about the old days as told by friends. The problem with old day stories as they tend to be like old relationships. We remember the good more than the bad. So lots of back when the Ruble was worth it's weight in gold. Simpler times... But I believe it to be more nostalgia than reality.

Orphanages. The controversy that got created out of the adoption issue had a good outcome on the ground. I can say the big orphanage I saw in Krasnodar seemed ok. I thought it was a school. I live about 200 miles from there and it has the big building supplies store and Ikea so we have made the journey a few times. Buy big building I mean BIG like the size of three Costco stores. It is huge and you can buy a complete custom kitchen that gets delivered flat pack with appliances set for easy installation for about 3000 USD. If you buy the good stuff, real wood, roller soft close drawers etc. It is also the place with the central FSB (KGB) office and I had to go get my three year exit/entrance visa from that office. I've had many conversations with the FSB because I've crossed little border points that have never seen a Canadian.They also like to practice their English. They usually start very officially. "Documents, purpose in Russia, where are you coming from and where are you going. Why?" Then curiosity takes over and they relax a little and we go way off script, like some threads, and end up talking hockey and drinking coffee. Much to the absolute fear of my local taxi! The Taxi from Vladikavkaz Russia to Tbilisi Georgia is 100 bucks in a private Mercedes. It takes about five hours if the border line up is good. If the border is bad...It can take a day. Getting pulled in for coffee and hockey talk never happens so he was freaking out wondering what was in my luggage, what was happening. The FSB I have dealt with have all be polite, respectful, and possessed common sense. Anapa is the main training area for the Navy and the FSB is part of the Navy. Even the young recruits like to practice and when they hear English they will start a conversation. When I show I know the rank structure the question of service gets asked. This is a question on the entrance visa application. Military service , specialized knowledge of NBC weapons etc. I always answer the same... "I was a cook." This gets a smile as everyone has seen that movie!! LOL!!

Bribes. Never been asked for one. Period. That said bringing chocolates to the school administrator does speed up Russian Language Learning wait lists. But not required or expected. I use a lawyer to do all my registrations, paperwork, etc. I don't have to I can wait in line for four hours to get my registration slip signed. Tourists must register within 72 hours on arrival and then in each new city they travel to within 10 working days. So if you go from Moscow, after arriving and registering, (usually done by your hotel) to Saint Petersburg (SPB) for a week and then return you don't have to register in SPB. Even two weeks is ok so long as you are back Monday in Moscow. They are very sticky about this, and I have been asked at train stations and on the street in Moscow. Never in other smaller cities and towns. Even when they knew I wasn't Russian. I have a large Russian tattoo covering one shoulder, all black, so most assume I am Russian and older people assume I've been resting. This is the term for being in prison, or the zone as they call it.

Driving. Russians drive aggressively and as previously mentioned don't like lines. This applies to roads and freeway exists. However it is odd I have seen and been in the car on a two lane freeway exit five abreast at 45 mph and everyone remains calm. This was in Moscow, traffic is like LA, bad and worse. But the drivers all seem to understand this collective one mass drive brain and it works. The reason You tube has so many crazy drive videos from Russia is everyone has a dash cam. A fifty dollar POS Lada will have a dash cam. It may not have a window but a dash cam is a must.
Drunk Driving the law here is severe. No Booze. Period! Not one beer or one glass of wine. If you get caught the fine is significant for locals. It is common for someone to say' "None for me I am driving." So they are excused from toasts and those toasting will tap the bottle and look at the driver. It is fast becoming cultural not to drink and drive. This was a Putin driven policy when Europe adopted .05 (I think) he came back after that conference and said; Nyet to drink and drive. People love him so if the tough guy says no drinking we don't drink; is the mindset.

Georgia has far worse drivers and I don't think I rode in a cab once with a sober driver in the year I was there. This said I never got in an accident and I did drive all over the country. You want to see crazy drivers check out Drift Cars in the Republic of Georgia. The kids adopted the Fast and Furious lifestyle (they love America more than some Americans) and live it in reality, nightly on the roads. Many die. But for them the movies are kinda reality.

Ladies, Women... They have been doctors here for years. Pivotal role players in society for years and years. Soldiers in war long before it became the ok in other countries. They like to take care of their man and this said like to be treated like a queen. They dress more provocatively and do not take the trash out without thinking about their appearance. I am bias here as I married an Ossetian Russian lady. But sitting on the beach people watching here in Anapa having a beer is truly a wonderful experience. Every day...

Everything you want to buy is available. The division of wealth is more obvious here. Most people don't use credit cards. Few people actually have Credit cards. It says visa but in reality it is a debit card. Some are attached to your bank account and others are like refillable visa cards. After years of oppression by ruling overlords most have decided to not walk back into it. They save and then they buy. Then we have the very rich like my friend Sergie in Moscow. After the newest round of sanctions he was talking about buying another Lamborghini or the Dodge Demon. Here is the conversation as it will give you a better picture of the mindset. "Sergie why the hell would you buy another car?"
"I like cars, What?"
"Yeah, but with the sanctions it is going to cost you like 30% more!"
"So you don't think I love my mother enough to bring her milk and bread?"
"WTF?" (but I said "buch a moo?" what do you mean?)
"I have money yes? I like cars no? So if Rodina (Mother Russia) needs 30% I pay it"
"Ah ok?"
"You understand, No? Good come I drive you home."
"What are you driving?"
"The Aventador why?"
"Ah well. it snowing like a ******* out there"
"Yes, it is four wheel drive. Come!"

 

[Cammalu]

Love your posts. Makes me want to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SoulRaven]

It's good that the prosperity and the curtailment of adoptions has helped the conditions. Do you know if the orphans are allowed to go to University now? So much has changed since my time there and it reads like it has changed for the better for the kids. Always bothered me.

After I retired from the service and a couple of crappy, short term affairs here I joined a Russian dating service. Still get letters. I never went back and probably should have.
Reading your posts jogs some memories, most pleasant, of the Russian people.

Thanks for the posts, I enjoy them.

 

[Scott7022]

Perestroika was a violent revolution in reality. I know in the west we all thought Hey! Great they got freedom. But if you walk the graveyards of Moscow, Vladivostok, SPB, and others you see the same thing. Young fresh meat that this "freedom" revolution ended far too early. This left a gap as those of age to be sucked into this revolution were. So spaces in universities, military, government service opened up. Immigration from other countries is low, if you eliminate former Soviet countries it is really low. Part of that are the requirements. Language, you need to read, write, and speak at a university level and then they have a quota. I have a Russian wife so I jump the quota cue. But suffice to say it wasn't easy and "I know a guy" and put in hours of learning history, law, culture, and language.

Russians, young Russians mid twenties early thirties, are enamored by the west. They see more opportunity, and depending on the area of specialization this may be a correct view. But, if your not a specialist then... I don't think so. When this new system came in it came in with some requirements to maintain order. Basically everything collapsed. It is far to hard to go into it but suffice to say life as they knew it on friday was not the same monday. The fact the country survived is a testament to their ideology of kinship. A functioning government in 90 days?

Now we can all argue the type of government, ties, and control. The words have already been used. But for 90% of the people it works. People are happy here. People have more time here. Some drive Ladas (about 5000usd) and some drive G wagons. The difference is most people just don't care what you drive. Consumerism isn't as rampant as it is in our lands.

I will ask if orphans can go to university. Never thought about it they go to school. They come here to Anapa for a free two week or one month holiday at a resort. I saw a big crew from Kamchatka arrive the last time I flew into Anapa. About 100 kids, some had parents some were state kids. About 10 parents were chaperones and once the suspicious level dropped they chatted a little. They were staying a month in a sanitarium (Russian for Spa/resort) free, all inclusive.

Locally we have a saying when the power goes out. It happens in the summer about twice a month, for a few hours. It is said with pride and conviction. "President Putin is sending more kids to camp." They don't mean it in a bad way, they just know that the loaf of bread has to get shared a little more.

I am glad you and the others enjoy the posts. Oliver Stone did a really good interview series on Russia and President Putin. The locals have commented favorably about it. I have yet to see it but I have seen the trailers. He was given remarkable access.

 

[SoulRaven]

Mr. Stone and I are on completely different ends of the political spectrum. I'll see if I can find the interview, thanks.

 

[Scott7022]

I totally understand and I probably agree with you. We are both vets. But, not having seen them I can't comment on if he spun them or not. I heard him speak live in Vancouver and while I didn't agree with many of his notions his arguments were intelligent. I saw his point of view. I didn't share it. I understood his position more clearly and people, like him, that do share his opinion.

Like I said to a Catholic Priest in SL Africa; "You keep praying for them Father and I'll keep sending them for interviews."

 

[SoulRaven]

Yes, that gets political and verboten here. Your knowledge of Russia is very interesting, I don't want to do anything to get it closed.

 

[lenny flank]

Heh. I know all about fat Russian Babas! I had one of my own and she was amazing. You wouldn't want to cross her for sure.   She used to always speak Russian to my Dedo (grandfather) when she didn't want us kids to know what she was saying.

My grandmother was Ukrainian. Whenever she swore at us kids, we never knew what she was saying.  

But she made the best damn pierogis ever.  

 

[Scott7022]

Lenny,

Was she speaking Russian or Ukrainian? Different languages kind of similar like French is to Spanish. Closer in reality than French and Spanish. Pirogies are awesome but hell on the weight gain. Kingalli is a Georgian dish that is similar but huge, the size of your fist. They have about 100 variations of the delicious dumpling. Piroshki is a bread dish with spicy mashed potatoes or cabbage. Think mashed potato donut!! Awesome. Ukraine is a dicey issue and almost impossible to discuss apolitically. But hey it wouldn't be called professional writing if it was easy right? Many ethnic differences in a very small area. Kiev was the capitol of Russia before SPB and Moscow. In fact the King that made the decision that Russia would be Orthodox, as a state religion, and not Muslim made that decision in Kiev. It is said he went Orthodox because; "It is every mans right to enjoy a drink after working hard all day." Muslim Tartars didn't drink, and so the largest country in the world became Christian Orthodox. Now, it was a long bloody time ago and no one knows for sure but that is the accepted legend. The Tartar people had a large influence at the time and it was kind of a surprise. Crimea was and still is the area most populated by Tartars. This might present some incite into recent history. But I fear that discussion would cross the line afforded to us on this forum.

Everyone else.

When I briefly talked about Lithium Battery systems some may have thought I was being dismissive. I wasn't I was trying to make it simple. The issue with Lithium has been discussed on a hundred forums and by thousand "experts" all with the same effect. Confusion. To detail a best battery or best way is impossible. Everyone has different vehicles and depending on the vehicle different challenges. Over here the new Jeep had regenerative braking, a Prius has this as well. This can cause a surge over 15.2 volts and cook the Lithium battery or cause its battery management system to shut down the voltage. Lithium loves current but not high voltage. The best advice comes from the Yachting world. It is a system wide approach and sadly the USA and Canada are lacking in experts. Most areas just don't get enough sunshine to make it profitable to have a ton of people involved. Australia has it wired tight. We had an Ausie on the expedition and he brought a bunch of KICKASS (sorry for the vernacular but that is the company name) products with him and they were awesome. They have a great online store but after contacting them they don't sell off the continent. I want a bunch of their folding solar panels so I can park the rig in the shade and put the panels out in the best place, angle, to harvest sun. At the very least I can toss them up on the awning that is protecting me from the sun. Dual purpose uses are smart. So my bounce home will probably be via that route. I swear our countries could make this stuff, and probably better. Why they don't I have no idea. So the system approach and my recommendation of Battle Born Batteries. They have a very robust battery management system or BMS. They will work with customers to give you what will work. They aren't part of the large conglomerate that got caught and successfully sued for price fixing lithium batteries. I've been following Lithium since Technomedia designed and installed their first system in a bus. The prices never really followed the standard decreasing curve tech devices have. Now we know why. Not a theory, a searchable judgment. For separation we used a 250 amp 12 volt breaker used in car audio installs. 2/00 cable from the positive battery side, breaker within ten inches of the connection back thru the firewall, properly protected to another 250 breaker 9 inches from the house batteries. This simple system protects from shorts causing fires and your alternator. Lithiums love current and don't have a bulk, float charge profile like lead acid do. You make it they take it. So this simple switch allows you to disconnect the house from the engine battery or batteries and the charging system. Think of it like a circle and not a straight line. Using big cable ensures your current (amps) don't drop to low or the wire gets hot. Yes you have to remember to disconnect it yourself. So it isn't stupid proof. Yes there are products that will do this automatically but the problem is they are build for lead acid batteries and charge profiles. Automatic relays may fail to engage/disengage as the circuit voltage is to high/low and it confuses the relay. Remember circle. Some simple solenoid systems work, 12 volt sensing wire off the ignition relay combines the batteries and disconnects them when the 12 volts (key off) isn't present. Ok works well for weekend camping in Utah. But what about when it is cold and you are idling the vehicle for days like we were? Cooked alternators. But hey, we aren't in Siberia right? Ok a long drive down I5 and you've been camped with solar and the house batteries are full. Why make the alternator work any harder than it has too? There are other ways to do this. But keeping the Russian thinking mentality simple works best.
When NASA was going into space they needed to write stuff down in space. So they spent a few million dollars creating the SpacePen. I know you have probably seen one advertised. Russian gave Yuri a pencil.
This is a great example of the different design thinking between our three countries. A simple on and off switch eliminates a host of issues, gives you an easy way to modify the way things are going. If you are afraid you'll forget to flip the switch when parked then get a little lithium jumper pack and toss it in you glovebox. If you forget turn off the switch connect the jumper pack to the engine battery start the rig let it charge the battery for twenty minutes or so and then reconnect your house battery. Call yourself an idiot and get on with your adventure.

 

[GotSmart]

Uh... Lenny, are you related to Stearnwake?

 

[SternWake]

Scott, your writing is impressive Sometimes this forum compresses the paragraph or sentence breaks and makes it difficult to read, from a visual standpoint. Sometimes I have to go back in and add double paragraph breaks to make long posts more readable on a screen.

I have used the pen pencil story myself many times to illustrate cultural differences and american wasteful thinking, but the story is false.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/

But perhaps this is (scientific)american propoganda

How is the gasoline/ diesel quality in Russia? Price?

Do you have any stories of ingenious mechanical get me home fixes?

I loved the discover channel series 'wings of the red star' Still watch it on youtube sometimes. Also thought that the lines of some of their battleships to be very soothing.

I love some of that music on the wings of the red star program too. While musical tastes vary widely, do you have any musical recomendations from Mother Russia to share with us?

 

[Scott7022]

Sternwake. I thought the Yuri story might be propaganda. But the mindset is not. They like to keep it simple. Lada hasn't really changed in x amount of years. But, then you could be correct if the Yuri story is really true it might be called fake by SA! LOL!!! Who knows. Diesel fuel is cleaner than at home in Canada. I don't know about the USA but I assume we are pretty similar. Water freezes and so frozen distribution means less sales, add to this many things move by truck as opposed to Canada and the USA where trains move goods. Here trains move people. Truckers talk and avoid bad gas. I've taken a few busses and this is always a topic of discussion. They like to keep the foreigner close so he doesn't wander off and get seduced by gypsies so I am privy to a great deal of road talk. LOL! Looking out the window I see Diesel at 39 rubles and gas at 33. So the ruble is around 55 to 1 American. Not totally right but close enough for my math skills and need. I think it is 47 to 1 Canadian the last time I paid attention. That is for a liter of fuel. Liters are the same everyplace but a USA gallon is different than an imperial gallon so I can't do the math and tell you. Lines on battleships soothing. Please for the love of god do not suggest ergonomics and Russian design. It can not be true! LOL! On going joke with locals about how things work and designed I swear sometimes it makes no sense. So you thinking that a battleship would have a nice line...Just funny I will tell friends in the navy and they will laugh. It is all sharp corners and rough edges.

HMMM I could get killed telling this story...

We lost a water hose on the Hummer in a place above no place. It really looked like we were going to have to leave the beast in the snow and hope the tree didn't blow down and the rescue truck could find it. We had a GPS point but... Russian and GPS is a whole different story. OK so we have a blown hose. It was the back up hose and so we don't have another. We are trying to figure out a way to fix it. It is around -12 metric so not really cold but we aren't really having a picnic either. We check the size and make work options from the spare bits and crap we have and nothing. The Ausie gets a look and says; " Make more coffee I'll be back in a spot."
He returns with a pair of silk thigh high stockings and a big box of condoms. By big I mean a 100 lot pack of condoms. While we all stare at this: 1 incredible gift of Ausie culture or 2 freak that should be on a leash, he starts unclamping the hose.

We are all looking at one another like Who WHAT brings 100 condoms on an expedition made up entirely of men? He was sleeping in my rig so they all had a slight look of concern, in their eyes, for the poor Canuck. I was like; "Dude!! Really what the hell?" He answered: "Russians are hot and so are Ukrainians I figured better safe than sorry mate."

So he wrapped the blown hose in the silk stocking (NO I DID NOT ASK IT WOULDN"T BE POLITE) put about forty condoms over the wrapping and then some duct tape and then added the other stocking and another forty or so condoms and a little more duct tape and on we went.

Our hose was fixed and his hose still had twenty condoms should we run into hitchhiking Russian ladies in the middle of Siberia that fancied a quick Ausie flag shag!

I haven't seen Wings and the red star I will look it up Thanks!!
Cheers
Scott

 

[SternWake]

OK, after a google image search, I retract my words about some Russian ships having nice lines. Musta been high.

Funny story on the condoms. Imagine a stranger coming across 80 empty condom wrappers in the middle of Siberia or spotting them in the rig's trash bin.

"Oh, well, they were obviously used to repair a coolant hose on a hummer, carry on.......... run!!!! run and clench!!"

 

[Scott7022]

I dropped two Australian beer cans in the dumpster after we repaired the hose and a valentines card that said Hopping to See you. I have friends down under and they supplied the card. I was going to mess with him later but this occasion seemed to fit!

 

[lenny flank]

OK, after a google image search, I retract my words about some Russian ships having nice lines.  Musta been high.

The MiG-25 and MiG-29 have always been on my list of "Five Best-Looking Aircraft Ever".

But then, there are at least twenty or so planes on my list of "Five Best-Looking Aircraft Ever."

 

[Scott7022]

I saw the Newest of the New at an airshow a few weeks ago wow!!! It is out on google so not talking out of school But... You Know that feeling you get when the Cuda sounds a little off pulling up to the !/4...Off as in it is sand bagging you into stupid!! Was just Wow!