Travel & Education Abroad | Russia

At the end of the 19th century railway construction and industrial development led to sharp increase in Moscow’s size and a rise in its population. The city’s rapid development required radical reorganization of urban and suburban public transport. The first project urban underground railway was drafted in 1901 by A.I.Antonovich together with two railway engineers, N.I.Golenevich and N.P.Dmitriev. Unfortunately the designers failed to arouse the city government’s interest and the project remained on paper. The 1902 project of two other civil engineers, P.I.Balinsky and E.K.Knorre contained a feasibility study of building “underground or elevated rapid railways off the street level in Moscow” and proposed a three-stage approach. It envisaged the construction of 67 km of elevated railway and 16 km of tunnels. It was planned that all stations would have their platforms on either side since the adjoining elevated railways and tunnels were to have two tracks. All tunnels were to be built with cast-in-situ linings, and metal crated elevated tracks were designed to be on foundations of precast piles. The key feature of this project was the original design of a three-storey Central Terminal on Vasilievsky Spusk the design of which would complement the Kremlin walls and the silhouettes of the adjacent cathedrals. In 1903, after thorough consideration, the Duma rejected the project.

The construction of an underground railway was once again on the agenda. In 1923, the Moscow City Council formed the Underground Railway Design Office at the Moscow Board of Urban Railways (Trams). They carried out preliminary studies and by 1928 had developed a project for the first route from Sokolniki to the city centre. A long period of technical examinations and coordination began during which it became clear that the projects developed were not adequate to meet the city’s needs. In July 1931 the critical situation of public transport was considered at a plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. A decision was taken “to start immediately the development of a project for underground railways to provide adequate and cheap transport for the public”. A new body called the State Construction Department for the Design and Building of the Moscow Metropolitan Underground Railway (Metrostroy) was set up on 23 September under the terms of this decision. The development of a new project began.

From the very start Metrostroy came up against great difficulties because the development of the reconstruction plan for Moscow had not yet been completed. Since there was no time to wait, the designers of the general metro layout were forced to rely on the results of topographic and geological studies of the Moscow underground combining them with those directives of the Moscow reconstruction plan which were then available. Preliminary studies of the city showed that the most intelligent solution would be the development of an initial laying of lines to correspond to Moscow’s radial-circular layout. To ease pressure on overloaded surface transport, the underground routes were to be constructed in parallel with those on the surface. In January 1932 the plan of the first lines was approved and on 21 March 1933 the Soviet Government approved a layout of 10 lines with a total route length of 80 km.
The first 11.6 km route was to provide a service from Sokolniki to Krymskaya Square branching from Okhotny Ryad to Smolenskaya Square. By the end of 1933 Metrostroy employed 36,000 people while by the middle of the following year this figure had grown to 75,000.
Work was done mainly by hand since there was a shortage of pneumatic hammers and a lack of rock loaders.

The First Train

At the end of 1934, with the Severnoye depot still under construction, the first two cars were delivered there. The motor car, No. 1, was red and the second trailer car, No. 1001, was the color of sand. They became known as “A” stock.

On 15 October these cars were used on test runs of one of the tracks between Komsomolskaya and Sokolniki. Testing of the second track began in January 1935.

On 4 February 1935 the first train ran along the whole route and two days later delegates of the Seventh All Union Congress of Soviets became honorary metro passengers. Trains began regular trial runs on 19 February. Thousands of the most distinguished workers from the city’s enterprises were invited to travel in the metro during the trial runs.

Simultaneously, efforts were concentrated on checking and tuning the automatic interlocking systems, traction and step-down substations and local control centres. Train crews checked the profile of the route, the positioning of signalling devices and defined the correct operation mode of trains, while the station staff studied all the technical devices which made up the station equipment.

On 14 May 1935 a gala meeting dedicated to the start of the metro operations was held in the Column House of Unions. Several workers received awards for the successful construction of the metro. The Moscow Komsomol organisation was awarded the Order of Lenin. The metro became part of the People’s Railway Commissariat of the USSR and was named after L.M.Kaganovich, the People’s Commissar.
Hundreds of Muscovites spent the night of 15 May 1935 at the doors of the stations to be the first passengers, and at 7 a.m. the metro was opened for public use.

 source:  link

Number of Adoptions from Russia:
2007: 3,710
2006: 3,706
2005: 4,639
2004: 5,878
2003: 5,209
2002: 4,939

Profile of Children Adopted From Russia in 2006:
Source: INS Immigration Statistics
49% Female
7% under 1 year of age
65% 1 – 4 years of age
Estimated Cost: $35,000+
Profile of Children: 6 months to 16 years; in 2006, 65% were between 1 and 4 years old; 27% were 5 years and over. Sibling groups and children with special needs are available.
Parent Ages: No age restrictions by Russian government, except that prospective single parents must be at least 16 years older than the child they are adopting.
Family Status: The Russian government has no rules about length of marriage or number of children in the household. Singles are permitted to adopt.
Travel: Usually two trips required, one to accept the referral and one to complete the adoption. Most regions require both parents to see the child before the referral is accepted, but one parent can make the second trip.
Timeline: From completed dossier to referral, about 6 to 12 months, though currently irregular.

To arrange air tickets, visa support documents, visa processing or accommodations please, click here or call 212.480.2233

Linuxworld

Established in 1999, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo ® is the premier event for the Linux and open source community, bringing together industry leaders shaping the future of new enterprise technology in the largest single gathering of business and technical leaders deploying Linux and open source solutions.

As the world’s most comprehensive marketplace for open source products and services, LinuxWorld provides business decision-makers with information and resources to implement Linux and open source solutions into business infrastructure and enterprise networks. The annual event features presentations by leading technology experts and innovative IT executives, multiple conference tracks that provide attendees with a full spectrum of best practices and emerging trends, and an Expo floor filled with Linux and open source vendors.

Linux World Moscow
Date: 05-AUG-08 to 07-AUG-08Linux World Moscow is the world’s leading trade show and conference for management and IT professionals, to learn about Linux & open source applications, solutions, ROI and Total Cost of Ownership. It provides the powerful combination of education and vendors.
Venue: Gostiny Dvor, Moscow, Moskva, Russia.
Event Profile:
Linux World Moscow is the world’s leading trade show and conference for management and IT professionals, to learn about Linux & open source applications, solutions, ROI and Total Cost of Ownership. It provides the powerful combination of education and vendors.
Highlights:
The number of visitors for LinuxWorld: 1258, Rich conference programme including: 8 panel sessions, and IBM seminar Linux Solutions in Russian companies.
Visitor’s Profile:
The visitors of the exhibition are mainly the top-management of different companies, leading financial, banking and insuring sector, IT-specialists, state and industrial structures representatives. The exhibition is oriented on IT-managers, network specialists and system administrators, i.e. on those involved in systems usage based on the open code.
Exhibitor’s Profile:
Exhibitor include IT managers, C-level executives, developers, system administrators, decision makers and leaders in system integration, financial services, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications.
Organizer:
IDG World Expo
3, Speen Street, Suite 320,
Boston, United States Of America.
Tel: +(1)-(508)-8796700
Fax: +(1)-(508)-6206668

To arrange air tickets, visa support documents, visa processing or accommodations please, click here or call 212.480.2233.

The mood in the Russia camp was positively bullish following their 2-0 victory against Sweden, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov insisting that, with progress to the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals assured, they are now planning on staying in Austria-Switzerland until the end of the month.Arshavin praise
Appearing for the first time at these finals following a two-match suspension, Andrei Arshavin inspired the requisite victory in Innsbruck to set up a mouth-watering tie with the Netherlands. His astute pass instigated the move that led to Roman Pavlyuchenko’s 24th-minute opener and the No10 then launched and sealed the flowing move which rubber-stamped second place in Group D. It was a performance that did not go unnoticed among his team-mates. “Arshavin put on a superb show,” said Yuri Zhirkov, who set up the No10’s strike five minutes after the break. “He was a true leader. We were thinking only of victory and we won on merit. When Arshavin scored the second goal, we realised we would not let go of this victory. Now we have to have revenge on the Dutch for the 4-1 friendly defeat.”

Bilyaletdinov bullish
That loss in February of last year was a fairly rare, pre-tournament indication of what was to come from the Netherlands as an attacking force, though Bilyaletdinov underlined the pitfalls of Dutch complacency. “They beat us 4-1 when we last played, so they possibly have it in their heads that Russia are not to be taken seriously. We must take advantage of this. Now we want more than just qualification from the group. We don’t want to go home until 30 June, but it won’t be any easier from now on.”

Recuperation time
This last point was echoed by captain Sergei Semak, who admitted that “the Dutch have made the best impression at the tournament”. With just two days to recuperate before Saturday’s quarter-final in Basel, Russia could have done with an easy run-out against Sweden; not wholly unsurprisingly, with their opponents needing only a point to finish second ahead of Russia, they did not get it. “I don’t think it was easy at all; we spent a lot of energy and emotion on this match,” admitted Semak. “We are very happy to have qualified but there’s no euphoria, we need to prepare for the next match. The most important thing is to recover. We get less time to do it, but I am sure we will recover in time and then we’ll see what we can do.”

 source: EURO 2008

Date of birth: 8 November 1946
Nationality: Dutch
Playing career: SC Varsseveld, De Graafschap (three times), PSV Eindhoven, NEC Nijmegen, Washington Diplomats, San Jose Earthquakes
Coaching career: De Graafschap, PSV Eindhoven (assistant), PSV, Fenerbahçe SK, Valencia CF, Netherlands, Real Madrid CF, Real Betis Balompié, Korea Republic, PSV, Australia, Russia 

The Russian press had dubbed Guus Hiddink a coaching wizard long before a magical sequence of results conspired to send his side to UEFA EURO 2008™. Winger Yuri Zhirkov said: “What else can you call him, given that he has taken so many teams to World Cups and European Championships?”

Hired in April 2006 after winning another Dutch title with PSV Eindhoven and before taking unfancied Australia to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup, the Dutchman – who signed a new two-and-a-half year deal in March – had previously steered the Netherlands and Korea Republic to World Cup semi-finals in 1998 and 2002 respectively. He returned to Eindhoven for 2002/03 and proved his Midas touch had not deserted him at club level either, winning the championship in his first term back at the PSV Stadion, adding a Dutch double in 2004/05 and running AC Milan all the way in an enthralling UEFA Champions League semi-final. The domestic crown was successfully defended in 2005/06, by which time Hiddink was also working with Australia, who he guided to the World Cup last 16 before a last-gasp penalty against Italy ended their hopes.

It was all a far cry from his undistinguished playing career, encompassing spells at SC Varsseveld, De Graafschap, PSV, NEC Nijmegen, Washington Diplomats and San Jose Earthquakes. As a coach, he joined the PSV set-up under Jan Reker and Hans Kraay, taking sole charge in March 1987 and piloting the club to three Dutch titles and a defeat of SL Benfica in the 1988 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final. Stints with some of Europe’s leading teams - Fenerbahçe SK, Valencia CF, Real Madrid CF and Real Betis Balompié, with the Netherlands job in between – further enhanced his reputation before he accepted the Korean challenge in 2001.

source here