Russian Black Sea Fleet Celebrates Its 225th Anniversary

Ships of the Black Sea Fleet

Ceremonies commemorating the 225th anniversary of the Russian Black Sea Fleet are being held in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, a city of Russian naval glory. The celebrations went ahead despite attempts by certain political forces in the Ukraine to disrupt them. Ukrainian servicemen are also taking part in the ceremonies. This is a common holiday for both Russians and Ukrainians, given the two countries’ common past, no matter how hard some Ukrainian politicians have been trying to revise it.

The Black Sea Fleet traces its glorious history from 1782, when 11 ships of the Azov flotilla commanded by Rear Admiral Fedot Klokachyov entered a harbour near the village of Akhtiar where a fortress named Sevastopol was founded on orders of Empress Yekaterina II. In the middle of the 19th century, Russian sailors covered themselves in undying fame during the war with Turkey. The heroic defence of Sevastopol against Hitler’s invaders during the Second World War is another glorious page in the fleet’s history. Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, Commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, said that it was in Sevastopol that the Russian national school of naval warfare shaped itself in brave combat exploits.

30 combatants and 10 auxiliary ships took part in a spectacular jubilee parade with Acting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in attendance. Addressing the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, he noted that the common holiday of the fleets of Russia and the Ukraine guarantees and strengthens further cooperation between the two countries on the seas, and in the political arena as well. Mr Serdyukov said that the Russian leadership would do its best to strengthen the status of the country as a great maritime power.

The Black Sea Fleet has once again entered the world oceans. The Russian naval ensign can be seen throughout the world, said Andrei Krylov, the head of the press service and public relations of the Fleet. “Warships of the Black Sea fleet sail in the Indian and Atlantic oceans. The latest naval exercises in the Atlantic involving missile launches were successful. The Black Sea fleet can be proud of the fact that its warships patrol the Mediterranean Sea constantly. Our ships visited France, Malta, Tunisia, and Greece in recent years and the sailors were warmly welcomed there. The Russian fleet truly enjoys respect on the seas and oceans”. Sailors of the Black Sea fleet won this respect not only in fighting, but also in peacetime, as a force that makes a contribution to stability and is capable of withstanding any attempts to upset the strategic balance on the world oceans.

11 May 2008

Aleksandr Vatutin

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26856&cid=58&p=11.05.2008

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11 May 2008. Cookie the Bookie. Where the sites stand.

Earlier this week, I did a in-depth study of official and personal websites. To keep you up-to-date, I shall offer weekly tabulations of the gross and adjusted uniques every Sunday. The first index number refers to the difference between today and 6 May. The second index number is the ranking for the week. A more in-depth study takes time, so, that can only be done once a quarter. The adjusted figure is dividing the number of “addicts” (daily visitors) by three, and the number of “regulars” (more than once a month, but, not daily) by two. The figures are, of course, from Quanticast.

GROSS UNIQUES. Week ending 11 May 2008

Official Sites:

1. GOA: 81,558 (103) (100)

2. OCA: 25,668 (95) (31)

3. AOCANA: 15,556 (99) (19)

4. ROCOR: 5,359 (72) (7)

5. ACROD: 2,074 (39) (3)

Personal Sites:

1. Drezhlo: 5,799 (94) (100)

2. Stokoe: 5,758 [86] (99)

3. Phillips: 5,038 (94) [87]

4. Greene: 4,246 (130) (73)

ADJUSTED UNIQUES. Week ending 11 May 2008

Official Sites:

1. GOA: 71,770 (119) (100)

2. OCA: 20,447 (99) [28]

3. AOCANA: 13,668 (101) (19)

4. ROCOR: 4,608 (77) (6)

5. ACROD: 1,863 (39) (3)

Personal Sites:

1. Phillips: 4,835 (94) (100)

2. Drezhlo: 4,799 (86) (99)

3. Greene: 3,884 (153) [80]

4. Stokoe: 3,012 (66) (62)

The top three official sites and mine and Batiushka Andrew’s show a consistent performance. The ROCOR and ACROD sites, plus the Stokoe and Greene sites are more volatile. All bettors are hereby warned. This is the tote board for the week, and do get up to the tib line before the flag is up.

Vara Drezhlo

Sunday 11 May 2008

11 May 2008. Random Ruminations from Your Editor

Washington Park, Albany NY, during Tulip Fest

This lovely spring weekend, I had to take a break from all this hacking at the keyboard. In any case, the weather was bright and glorious, and it would have been a sin to waste it indoors! Besides, I am NOT monomaniacal, and I love other things other than Russia. Ya only live once, and the Good Lord is going to call you to account if you do not ENJOY the life He gave you!

Vendor’s Booth at Tulip Fest, Albany NY

Yesterday, your intrepid editor and her faithful Nicky were at one of the premier events in our town, Albany NY. Every year there is a weekend in the spring devoted to the Tulip Fest at Washington Park downtown. We didn’t have film for the camera, so, I am going to post up some shots from previous years. There are the usual booths of vendors, greasy fried food, and loud music. In short, tons o’ fun if you are a normal human being. Can you believe that someone was selling deep-fried PICKLES? I am a known and certified food gambler who shall try anything once and shall eat anything that won’t eat me, but, that did sound a bit too much of  a muchness.

I did buy a pin with five little Matroshka dolls on it from a lovely Lithuanian gal, we picked up an advert for the coming Greek Fest next week, and the crowd was fascinating. I enjoy observing people and one can see all the variations of the sorts of the different social classes. Contrary to some declarations, America is not a classless society. Indeed, I would say that the social classes here are MORE rigid than they are in Europe. There are definite “styles” and folkways to each class, and one can peg a person by them. This crowd was definitely biased to middles and upper-middles.

What’s right to eat with oompah music? That’s right… sausages and sauerkraut, and PLENTY of both!

The only blot on the day was that was an overly-loud rock band playing at the Boathouse. Both Nicky and I thought that a more appropriate form of entertainment would be a German beer n’ wurst band. You know the sort. The fellows all are wearing lederhosen and those German hats, and each has a stein of cold brew under their seat. Or, a Polish hupaj-szupaj band playing the latest Jimmy Sturr polka and doing “In Heaven There is No Beer” on the kazoo. Now, THAT is proper for such a day and event!

Today, after liturgy, we did not head straight home as this was the second glorious day in a row. We did a little driving out in the countryside and all the greenery is good for the morale after the drabness of winter. For lunch, we decided to stop at Jumping Jacks in Scotia, which is an old-fashioned ’50s style hamburger shack with gazebos to eat under and nothing healthy on the menu (Thank God! Fie on PETA and all of its works). We had good ol’ fashioned hamburgers off the grill, hot dogs, greasy fries, and onion rings. No doubt, every dietician hearing this is having conniption fits. Shudder away, my dears, for Nicky and I enjoyed every bite and every moment in the outdoors.

Dedicated to Nicky, my beloved Russian “Bear”

You see, there are those who always advise “safety”, “health”, and “wellness”. I say such people are all wet and they do not have the courage to live fully. This lot does not love fully and truly, for love is a dangerous thing. You have to open yourself up to another, and that is RISKY. Most of all, you do not “move on”. Run away as quickly as you can from anyone who uses this foul term (that includes Herman Swaiko and Benjamin Peterson). You have to encounter others in their fullness, and “moving on” deprives us of our past, making us soulless and horrid Frankensteins. All psychobabble is evil, but “moving on” is the bottom of the barrel, it is the one psychobabble term most redolent of Hell and all its minions.

I hope that your weekend was as enjoyable and blessed as mine was. Bog blagoslovit! May God bless!

Vara Drezhlo

Sunday 11 May 2008