http://i.imgur.com/xf3GYBK.png?1

'valio' butter, used to cost ~85 roubles just a few months ago

Whether you like him or not, whether you think he is doing a good job or not, the dude is quite popular in Russia.

Just 3 hours in line to get your tank-driver Putin t-shirt



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28745554

Dollar vs ruble is rising like crazy and I like it :pimp

His ugly face must be a good target for darts :2 cents:

Do they sell Finnish dairy products with dollars? How about EUR?

He means his online income is in $, while prices in roubles.
Still prices go up much faster than the $ against rouble, rouble lost just about 10% since winter.

Yes, I got, but he answered to the issue about the price of Valio butter.

36 mounths ago?:winkwink:
plz check yourself Russian on-line shop
http://www.utkonos.ru/search/query/%...search_type/10
price for butter from 83 (very good butter from Belorussia, trust me) to 230 (special for rich people) roubles.

I don't need to check anything, I've been buying this butter for the last 10 years and know how much it costs. Just a few month ago it was about 85 roubles for a small bar (200 g).

Supermarket Shelves in St. Petersburg Empty of Imported Goods

http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/img/18...ermarkets4.jpg

A week after Russian authorities banned the import of certain types of products from the United States, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway, St. Petersburg supermarkets that stock a large share of imported goods are showing the impact the ban is having. Imported fish, meat and dairy products have all but disappeared, Fontanka.ru reports, with many of the products remaining on the shelves the last of the current stock. As the foreign goods run out, many stores have begun to expand the proportion of domestically-produced products.

Udderly Gone

Many supermarkets in St. Petersburg no longer have any dairy products remaining on their shelves from the Finnish company Valio, whose cheese and butter have been available in St. Petersburg shops since the Soviet era. At the Prisma supermarket on the Vyborg Schosse, local residents have been scrambling to buy as much as they can before it disappears completely.

"The excitement began last Thursday,? said a worker in the diary department at Prisma. ?Valio products are the most sought but people are even buying things they wouldn?t have given a second glance before. Finnish cheese will soon be gone. Everything that we have is on the shelves with a bit left in the stockroom."

Valio products manufactured at the company?s facilities in Finland and Estonia will no longer be seen in supermarket cold cases, with the products made at company?s Gatchina and Ershovo locations hard pressed to fill the void.

"Naturally, the two plants are not enough and we will have to make up for the shortfall somehow,? said the unidentified Prisma employee.

Empty shelves were seen where, until recently, Norwegian Jarlsberg, Latvian Karums dairy desserts and Tere Estonian sour cream once stood.

At the Metro Cash and Carry on Kosygin Prospekt, which mainly serves small-scale wholesale buyers, empty shelves remained where a week earlier Baltais sour cream from Latvia and puddings from the Swiss company Nestle, which has 11 Russia factories, could be found. Metro was also out of Italian Parmesan, Lithuanian Roxburgh, French Roquefort and Austrian blue cheeses. There was no Valio yogurt left among the few pots of Landlibe and Baltais product.

Shoppers have been snapping up Alterman cheese and Valio?s processed cheese, Viola. Cheese sold under the Finnish store-brand Pirkko has disappeared as well.

The Land premium supermarket chain has gradually been increasing the supply of Russian dairy products in proportion to the decrease in the share of imports. ?We specifically label them as farm products so that people know they are of Russian origin.?

A Different Kettle of Fish

Prisma, meanwhile, has no fresh Norwegian trout or salmon. In their place, the supermarket is selling fish from Karelia and Murmansk. "People used to buy Norwegian fish a piece at a time. Now they are buying whole fish, sometimes several,? said an employee in the store?s fish department.

As of Thursday, Metro still had Norwegian trout.

"This is the last, there is no more in stock,? said a metro employee. ?Take it while it?s here. The Norwegian salmon is already gone. We are replacing it with fish from Murmansk and Vladivostok."

Sitting nearby, however, was an aquarium full of torpid lobsters from the United States as well as a pile of French shrimp on ice. At 2400 rubles ($66.62) per kilogram, however, there aren?t many takers.

Land has run out of French shrimp, oysters and lobsters entirely. The head of the fish department said that while some Norwegian salmon and trout remains, there is no way to know how long stocks will last.

"We haven?t seen any excitement,? he said. ?Things have been calm." Another staff member was more outspoken, making it clear that the Norwegian fish would soon be gone.

Upsetting the Apple Cart

While Land still has a few Dutch carrots, Dutch peppers and Spanish avocados, much of the French produce has already disappeared.

"We have begun ordering Serbian apples, and zucchini and cucumbers from Krasnodar. There is a special corner with locally-produced vegetables. It?s always been there but has never been so full. We are planning to stock more vegetables and fruit from Belarus and the Tver region," according to a store representative.

Meanwhile, Metro still has plenty of imported lemons, while Spanish nectarines have run out. Strangely, the shelves containing pineapples from Costa Rica stand empty despite the fact that the country is not among the banned producers.

There was never much foreign meat or meat products in local stores. However, Prisma admitted that they while they had had beef from Denmark, it is now gone. Metro, which has a department dedicated to high-end sausage, in which some imported goods such as Beretta ham from Italy could once be found, has distributed its remaining stock across emptying shelves. While the price tags remain, the Italian ham and Spanish jamon are long gone.

McDonald's Raided By Russia's Food Watchdog Over 'Hygiene Complaints'

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/upload...-sanctions.jpg


Russia ramped up its scrutiny of McDonald's on Thursday, as the state food safety watchdog began unscheduled checks in several Russian regions, a day after four branches in Moscow were shut down.

The food safety agency cited breaches of sanitary rules by restaurants in the fast food chain, but the action came after Moscow and the West imposed tit-for-tat sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. The agency denied that its actions were politically motivated.

"There are complaints about the quality and safety of the products in fast food restaurant chain McDonald's," said the regulatory agency, Rospotrebnadzor. It declined to comment on the scope of the planned checks.

The regulator said Thursday it is already conducting checks at McDonald's outlets in the Ural mountains region of Sverdlovsk, the Volga region of Tatarstan, the central Voronezh region and the Moscow region.

It also plans checks in the republic of Bashkortostan and the southern Krasnodar region. Some of the checks are unscheduled.

Natalya Lukyantseva, an official of the regulator's branch in the Sverdlovsk region, said checks had been started because of complaints from customers.

"We are aware of what is going on. We have always been and are now open to any checks," McDonald's Russian spokeswoman said. She could not comment on the reasons for the checks.

On Wednesday, the agency ordered the suspension of operations at four McDonald's restaurants in Moscow over what it said were "numerous" sanitary law breaches.

The shuttered restaurants include one on Moscow's Pushkin Square, which McDonald's says is the busiest in its global network of restaurants. For a generation of Russians who saw the first McDonald's open in the dying days of the Soviet Union in 1990, the restaurants were a symbol of American capitalism. For most Muscovites now, they are just a part of the urban landscape.

McDonald's operates 438 restaurants in Russia and considers the country one of its top seven major markets outside the United States and Canada, according to its 2013 annual report.

Last month, Rospotrebnadzor's branch in the Novgorod region opened a court case against McDonald's as a result of the June inspections of its restaurants.

It said at the time that McDonald's was deceiving consumers about the energy value of its burgers and about nutritional value of its desserts, and that its vegetable salad were contaminated with harmful bacteria.

I don't think Russian needs Ukraine. Putin just wants to place his man there. USA wants pro-american man (and in all countries around Russia...and other counties too). Still same problem, USA wants to dominate, Russia wants to dominate. And it was like that from WWII times.

If Russia decide to help some people to take power in Mexica and become pro-russian (no nukes), what do you think US government will do? What if in Canada (just as example)?

They sell them in rubles, while I'm getting my earnings in dollars ;)

А где твое место, чмо безродное?

Craziest thing is that there are people who thing that Russia will be hungry. Except they won't be hungry, they will spend money outside of EU and invest more into domestic production. Fail....except for US, as always.

Hmm.. about pro American and Russian men, there has been very big difference, at least in Europe. Pro-American men, West-Germany and such, good places, pro-Russia men, Eastern-Europe, not so great place. At least Americans have the concept of freedom, at least in concept level. Russia.. well, it has never been so much about freedom, more like Tsar, head of party, Putin..

Of course USA wouldn't like if Mexico would be pro-Russian, but there is already Cuba, so this isn't any new thing. You don't have to like everything. That's life, there is always something you don't like about.

Sure. Let's see how the pro-Western ukrainian man will cut off the EU gas in the next few months (yes, the freeloaders are going to steal the EU gas again) :pimp

Oh yeah, I can already see him at the pipeline cutting off the gas. Or is it Putin? Hard to see, it's a bitty foggy.

There is one important thing in energy supply: reliability. If that goes, reliable supplier or supply will be acquired.

Those won't help for fog, some thermal binoculars would have been so much better.

I thing I got more than one answer on my question.
Anyway...I just hope that this will end soon and with a low number of deaths.

Is just not right for this to happen in 2014! EU is ok... Russia is ok USA is ok...everybody is ok except Ukraine......so, somebody gotta be very very smart there and find a good solution!
Russia don't need new teritory... it needs to grow it's economy and let people live the same life like in EU and USA....you know why... because IT CAN DO THAT! ...and everybody will be happy :D

I agree :thumbsup

I remember his speech before or during the olympic games, more or less:
"if the oil prices don't go up significantly, we have to figure out how make money from other sources, otherwise we're fucked"

Yes, they will spend more money than now, smart move.

Look what US does with countries which don't like american type of "freedom".

Sure, as soon as Russian will place pro-russian president, but no pro-american. I just gave example why Russia doesn't want USA on their borders. They are getting closer and closer every decade.

So far not so terrible things. And this is not a competition. Soviet Union and Russia seems to establish mainly dictatorships and the like (like Russia itself). Even modern day American oligarchy is better than that, and USA tries to establish real democracies, because otherwise their (oligarchs) own bluff for their own people would be revealed.

So, bottom line is that democracy is not winning in either these two countries, but USA is much lesser evil than Russia. Russia doesn't even pretend to be democracy.

Sure thing, comrade :thumbsup

At least they got rid of dictators. In Russian wars, Russia has just reinforced the dictatorship and the suffering has been pretty much the same.

http://thenorthcaucasus.wordpress.co...-atrocities-2/

What is a dictator? Give me a good definition please. An old and moronic man like Putin who has annexed Crimea without a single drop of blood, or a nice guy like Obama (a Nobel Peace Prize winner) who's army kills people all over the Globe every day, and who has issued a law that allows the drones to kill American people for just a suspected in terrorism?

How many civilians were killed by Russian army since 1991 (the year when Russian Federation was declared)? How many were killed by the US army and its NATO allies? These are two simple questions you have not be a rocket scientist to answer to :2 cents:

As about the democracy and pretending. Putin's trust rating in Russia is 80+% and he is a president. Whats the Obama's trust rating? So who is a real dictator? Who won the previous elections in the States? George Bush Jr. (the son of another US president like those guys in North Korea)? Has he been democratically elected? In fact No he hasn't, because the majority of the US citizens has voted for Al Gore.

"Freedom" and "democracy" are the last words anybody expects to hear from a country which had segregation just about 50 years ago (I don't even mention the genocide of the Native Americans).

Dictator is a dictator. You should know the definition, lets look what wikipedia says.

"A dictator is a ruler who wields absolute authority."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator

And I already said this is not a competition. I don't have time or energy to combat US vs Russia, I don't live in either one of those countries or have loyalty for neither. Also having some "trust" is not very realiable indicator of democracy. Putin controls heavily the Russian media. So having "trust" is often simply a matter of brainwashing. That isn't the sign of true democracy, where people have real options to decide to who to trust.

But here are estimates from Wikipedia. Seems to be quite even numbers.

"For the period from 1994 to 2003, estimates ranged from 50,000 to 250,000 civilians and 10,000 to 50,000 Russian servicemen killed. Given that almost certainly both sides have tended to exaggerate enemy military casualties while minimizing their own and grossly underestimating its responsibility for civilian losses, the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society set the conservative estimate of death toll in this time period at about 150,000 - 200,000 civilians, 20,000 to 40,000 Russian soldiers, and possibly the same amount of Chechen rebels.[25]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualt...nd_Chechen_War

"It shows a total range of at least 110,591 to 120,816 civilian deaths in the whole conflict as of December 12, 2012"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War

"Iraqi civilian losses:
About 3,664 killed[11]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War

"Civilians killed: 16,725–19,013 (2001–2013)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_...0%93present%29

Don't post this stupid bullshit from wikipedia. Chechnya is a part of Russia. Did I ask you how many thousands of Americans were killed by the US police or simple executed by the government (here in Russia we even have no death penalty)? I've asked your about other countries. Please don't pretend to be an idiot. And one more thing for you to think about. All these "civilians" in Chechnya were killed before the dictator (Putin). They were killed when a very democratic and so-beloved by West Yeltsin was a president of Russia. So who's a real dictator, Putin or Obama? Who of them killed more people? You haven't answered to this simple question.

Yes but Yeltsin knew a lot of good jokes

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Clinton-1.jpg

While putin only one or two

http://www.dailypressdot.com/wp-cont...my-300x169.jpg

So what if Chechnya is part of Russia? Either Russia killed other Russians by hundreds of thousands, or other country's citizens. Anyway, they are still dead.

And Putin was by the way president at the time of second Chechnya war, and prime minister when it started, if that matters. You didn't have democracy before Putin, or before that, or before that, or before that, or before that. You never have had democracy. It's not just about Putin. You probably did have most democracy at the time of Yeltsin.

I really don't care which one has killed more people, it doesn't make that much difference and it doesn't wipe out the other side's actions.

Check out the Monroe Doctrine, the dictatorships created and supported in S America by the US and the continuing illegal blockade of Cuba.

Freedom for the rich to make money is the only freedom the US defends.

Hey, that guys is same clueless person from before. So much ignorance about historical facts...it is really useless to spend time on someone like him.

And here we have again the "non-Russian" guy, that is still all about Russia.

Maybe I could try that too. I could be all about Iceland. If someone even gives a bad look towards Iceland, I am instantly defending it. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. Even though I may be interpreted as a traitor of my own country, but nevermind, I am now pro-Iceland guy.

Dude are you sure you from this planet? Putin was elected as president. There were international spectators at the time of election. All other countries recognize him as elected president.
US got rid of dictators and this caused death of hundred thousands of regular people. And it keep happening every day. Who do you think controls media in US? Regular people? Or corporations who offers 2 candidates for presidents every 4 years(and donates money for presidents rally)?
As you can see US and Russia using same methods. Look I didn't say Russia is good and US is bad. They are all the same. Europe too, same rich assholes.
Please stop being naive and blame just Russia like MrDiez does, they are all bloody murderers - Russian politics, US, Ukraine, UK etc. - all. And it was like that ...always.

Exactly. Russia and the States are very similar countries. They have much more in common than people here used to think. The only serious difference is that Russia does not pretend to be a "true democracy" and it does not spread "freedom" to other countries :2 cents:

prices of food in Russia are high !

most of the things are more expensive than in EU.....

Yes, Putin was elected. By the way, having international spectators doesn't tell a shit, maybe you should tell about the results of their surveillance. Result is = Russia had somewhat free elections (regarding the elections itself), not candinates etc.

And you still think this is just some fucking comparison between US and Russia. I don't give a fuck about either. And I already quoted USA being oligarchy, as it has studied to be. Also Russia has been studied to not to be democracy in the sense we have in many western countries (excluding USA).

I haven't blamed Russia. I have just told a few facts and not even in a very judgemental fashion. Although there some difference to me in that USA is far, faaar away, but Russia is a tad closer to me. So, I am biased to be more concerned about what's going on in Russia than what is going on in USA. I am not just some fucking alien observing safely from space what's going on in here, on planet Earth.

aka123, am I right you're from Poland? This is just a guess, I have no clue if you're really from this county or not?

I am alien from space. I prefer to not tell where I am from, because this seems to be very political already. I think I have anyways played quite nicely, considering the delicate subject.

My location shouldn't matter that much anyway.

Sure, location does not matter, agree. I just like to think about myself that I can guess a lot about people by what they talk. So it's about proving or not my guess, nio more than that. You can do this in pm, I promise to keep it in secret.

You are not that good, as I am not from Poland.

Not quite correct, actually. The food prices in the EU are very different too. E.g. in Finland they are much higher than in Spain etc. The prices here are really higher than in the USA (average), for example. That's true.

Okay

8 chars

Not really, they are not the same.

LOL at "rich assholes" BTW as this is adult BUSINESS board where pretty much everybody comes to learn how to get rich.