Ask500

It is a cycle, so you can have a bad economy under Democrats or Republicans, or visa verse. Both of them different tools to combat it.

Not right now. Most of the cities in a list I have visited already. However I would like to do the last survey with a winners of last four. To find the ultimate city on the list. Just pure curiosity.

Do you fly to Odessa? - reference to your screen name. Just pure curiosity, why you fly to Moscow that often. I was born and spent first 17 years of my life there, however since I left ( 19 years ago) never been back.

Calendar seasons are used in most East European countries and Russia. All the seasons starts on a first day of the months of Equinoxes and Solstices. That means that seasons in this countries starts 21 or 22 days earlier depending on the year.

I am totally agree with you (waugs).

In this case why US and EU supported independence of Kosovo.

I don't think Georgia and Ukraine are truly democracies. Governments were crush it's opposition, and try do be in power by any means. And in case of Saakashvili, he is child and a relative of former Soviets party leaders. Same Soviet bureaucrats only with a new mask. They are people who will do anything to stay in power.

I don’t think US or EU should be involved in post-soviet affairs. Georgia, Ukraine, Russia , Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and the rest of post Soviet states – have their borders determine by the Soviets authorities, during the Stalin’s regime. So we can say that they artificially defined by the Stalin’s wish. In 1936 Transcaucasia Soviet Socialist Republic which was a part of Soviet Union was divided in to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in honor of this event Georgia got Abkhazia and South Ossetia, even though it was land of Abkhaz and Ossets, Azerbaijan got Nagorno-Karabah , even though it was home of Armenians. It was a Stalin’s wish. In 1954 Soviet Union celebrated 300 anniversary of unification of Russia and Ukraine, and Primer Khrushchev gave Crimea to Ukraine as a present. Vilnus was given to Lithuanians after Soviets occupied the city and took it from Poland. Half of Poland was chapped and given to Ukraine and Belarus. Part of Moldavia left of Dnester river, was an Ukraine and was given to Moldavia after it was taken from Romania in 1940. All of these were not an issues during the Soviets time because all the border change went inside of one particular country, with addition to some Soviet block satellites nations. All this things happened behind the Iron Curtin. 1989/91 brought us fall of Communism in Europe and Soviet Union in particular and all ‘Stalin’s Geography’ (fake borders) become real. This is why we had issues in Georgia (1992 and 2008), war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1990’s , Problems in Moldova in early 90’s , divided Ukraine and etc, etc, etc. Do US and EU want to inherit these issues, I do not think it could be a good idea. We are not ones who can decide, future Ossetia or Abkhazia , to who Crimea need to belong and etc. It need to be decided by the countries which involved in particular issue. Otherwise we would do what Stalin used to do – create fake geography.

I was born in Moscow, Russia. I live now in Chicago, Illinois

Russia is not part of Russian Federation. It is Russian Federation. Russian Federation is just the official name of the country.