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Russian news, notes and thoughts
April, 2012 / 
30 April, 2012 // According to a study of the Higher School of Economics Russia in the minds of foreigners is still mainly associated with Russian doll (matrioshka), caviar, and vodka. Foreign tourist does not consider Russia as a country of unfriendly people. More than a third of respondents agreed that Russia has high prices for substandard services.
28 April, 2012 // Russia is back on the world grain market. However, after the embargo in 2010 it was unable to fully restore its reputation. On April 25, the export of grain was 24.3 million tons (1.5 M tones more than the previous record set in 2008-2009). The main buyers are the countries of North Africa (Egypt, 6.8 M tons) and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, 2 M tons). This year, Turkey with 2.5 M tons and EU countries with 2.1 M tons became large buyers too.
23 April, 2012 // According to recent polls about 30% of Russians prefer to travel within the country. The high cost of air and railway tickets is one of the main problems, along with a low level of service. At the same time more and more tourists are traveling by car. Also it should be noted that domestic tourism in Russia is not so widely advertised, as travel abroad.
17 April, 2012 // In 2011, Russia ranked third in the world in military spending - $72 billion (9.3% increase compared to 2010). The first and second places of the list are occupied by the United States ($711 billion) and China ($143 billion). It would be better to allocate more funds for health care and education than spend more and more money on tanks and rockets.
12 April, 2012 // Today Russia is celebrating the Day of Cosmonautics for the 50th time. The decree on the celebration was signed a few days before the anniversary of the first manned flight into space. April 7, 2011 at a special plenary session of the UN General Assembly a resolution was adopted officially proclaiming April 12 the International Day of manned space flight.
10 April, 2012 // According to the latest data on the implementation of the START treaty, Russia has 1492 (1537 half a year ago) deployed nuclear warheads, and the United States - 1737 (1800). Thus, in six months Russia destroyed 45 warheads, and the U.S. - 63. The main carriers of nuclear warheads are intercontinental ballistic missiles, heavy bombers, and ballistic missiles on submarines.
5 April, 2012 // FIFA will allocate 699 million USD to Russia to prepare for World Cup 2018. However, three quarters of this amount will be transferred a year and a half or two years before the event. This sum doesn't include the funds needed for infrastructure development. Earlier Russia requested 800 million dollars as compensation for the costs of World Cup 2018, but FIFA insisted on 600 million.
2 April, 2012 // Passenger plane ATR 72 crashed this morning in Tyumen airport Roshchino. It was carrying out the flight from Tyumen to Surgut. There were 43 people on board of the aircraft: 31 died, 12 were hospitalized with burns and severe injuries. Our condolences to the families and friends of the dead and injured.
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