SURVIVING a Russian Banya Ritual | Trans-Siberian Railway
The Russian Banya (don't call it a Russian Sauna, I made that mistake) is the experience of alternating heat and cold exposure, mixed with being whipped with birch branches. While on the Trans-Siberian Railway, we make a stop in Yekaterinburg, in the Ural Mountains of Russia, and get an introduction to this important Russian ritual. The felt hats are used to prevent the head and hair from overheating, and are an interesting touch to the adventure!
This is glimpse in the real Russia, and I'd love to know if you'd give this bath house a shot!
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Chase Your Fears ????
Russian Ministry of Defense Asks Permission For Extreme Measures; Rogue Planes to Be Shot Down
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A real threat to human lives, an environmental disaster, an attack on strategic facilities... This is a list of reasons to shoot down an aircraft flying over Russia, including civilian planes with passengers on board. The Ministry of Defense is asking the government for permission to use extreme measures. The agency has prepared amendments to the Regulation on Protection of the State Border. The response procedure is elaborated to the finest detail.
Syria: Russian jets carry out airstrikes from Hmeymim air base
Russian Air Force jets continued to conduct sorties from the Hmeymim air base in Latakia, Monday, targeting the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and other militant groups in Syria.
Video ID: 20151207-053
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Russia: MoD's Konashenkov slams US officials who deny Turkey-IS oil trade
Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Major-General Igor Konashenkov gave a press briefing in Moscow, Saturday, slamming US officials who deny claims that the so-called Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) and other militant groups in Syria sell oil to Turkey.
When US officials say they do not see the terrorists delivering oil to Turkey, it is not cunning, it looks like a direct patronage, Konashenkov said.
Video ID: 20151205-030
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Man held in Turkey over Russian pilot death
Turkish authorities have reportedly detained a man suspected of killing a Russian pilot after his plane was shot down by a Turkish jet near the Syrian-Turkish border in November.
Moscow said at the time that the pilot had managed to eject from the plane only to be killed by ground fire from militants.
The incident sparked a diplomatic row between Russia and NATO member Turkey, with Moscow imposing a raft of economic sanctions on Ankara in retaliation.
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Russia: More than 40 planned terror attacks foiled by authorities
More than 40 terror planned terror attacks were foiled in the planning stages in Russia, stated the First Deputy Head of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia (NAT), Igor Kulyagin, in Moscow on Tuesday. Kulyagin spoke at a conference that focussed on summing up the results of the Committee's work over the past year.
SOT, Igor Kulyagin, First Deputy Head, National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia (Russian):
Due to joint actions, more than 40 terrorist crimes were prevented at the planning stage. Here are some of the most significant examples of the reports of the last year. On May 2, in Moscow members of ISIS and their accomplices were detained, while preparing terrorist attacks in Moscow for the May holidays and the 2016 Ice Hockey World Cup. On May 6, ISIS members were preparing attacks on public transport for the Victory Day celebration and were detained in Krasnoyarsk.
SOT Igor Kulyagin, First Deputy Head, National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Russia (Russian): As a result of these operations and combat actions while offering armed resistance to law enforcement authorities more than 140 militants and 24 leaders of the criminal underground were eradicated [killed]. More than 900 militants and their accomplices were detained.
Video ID: 20170131- 025
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Russia: Russian arrested for joining militants in Syria returns home
An interview with a Russian citizen who went to fight alongside anti-government militants in Syria was released, Friday.
Shams ad-Din, from Grozny, left his family to go to Syria. He spent four months in a village called Atma but said that there “was a lot of injustice, there was no justice.”
Ad-Din was convicted and spent half a year in prison, he now remains under police vigilance.
SOT, Raisa, mother of a former militant, (Russian): We left this place as IDPs and when we came back, everything was destroyed.
SOT, Raisa, mother of a former militant, (Russian): We did not even think he was there, because I thought he could not do that.
SOT, Shams ad-Din, former militant, (Russian): There were rumors that civilians were humiliated, tortured, killed. There were videos. So we watched those videos and went there. I spent there four months. There was a village Atma. I left quietly. There was a lot of injustice, there was no justice.
SOT, Officer of Centre for Combatting Extremism (Russian): Our department is dedicated to combating extremism in the information environment. We identify accounts in messengers, social networks by means of personal investigation. That is, operational staff communicates with people and establishes a trusting relationship with them, sometimes for half a year, a year. So participate in so called dormant cells. Finding out who how what why, who communicates with them, who finances them, who transmits the money and before the crime is committed, the group is exposed.
Video ID: 20170505 001
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Cold War Games: Russia, NATO practice for combat
Thousands of troops are on the move inside Russia while forces from several prominent NATO nations, including the U.S., are busy in the arctic. Both sides are practicing for war.
Syria: Cessation of hostilities being mostly observed - Senior Russian commander
A senior Russian military spokesperson in Syria, Sergei Kuralenko, stated that the cessation of hostilities agreed to by the country's warring parties is being observed by the majority of armed groups, in Latakia on Thursday.
SOT, Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, commander of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian): During the last three days agreement on the cessation of hostilities was reached with the commanders of seven armed groups as part of the work conducted by the Russian Centre for reconciliation.
SOT, Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, commander of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian): The total number of armed groups that have declared their commitment to the adoption and implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement has reached 42.
SOT, Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, commander of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian): The talks were held with the leaders of the clergy, representatives of the public administrations and of the 12 localities of the provinces of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia and Quneitra. During these meetings the cessation of hostilities was discussed as well as the transition of members of armed groups to civilian life.
SOT, Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, commander of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian): In the last 24 hours eight violations of the cessation of hostilities were noted.
SOT, Lieutenant General Sergei Kuralenko, commander of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian): Russian aerospace forces did not conduct strikes on those opposition armed groups which announced the cessation of hostilities and reported to the Russian or American centres of reconciliation about their location.
SOT, General Sergei Kuralenko, commander of the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria (Russian): In the context of resolving the humanitarian crisis, the Russian Centre for reconciliation transferred more than seven tons of humanitarian cargo, consisting of food and bottled water, to the residents of the villages of Et Tell and Ruheiba in Damascus Province.
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RUSSIA: ECONOMY CLOSE TO CRISIS, OUTSIDE INVESTMENT PLANS
Eng/Russian/Natsot
In Russia, a team of leading US industrialists have been shown top secret arms plants in a move to stave off economic collapse.
The factories are sited in the Ural Mountains, an area closed to foreigners for decades. Now that the Cold War is over and the Russian economy is close to crisis, outside investment is the region's only hope
The industrial plants at Yekaterinburg, in the heart of the Ural mountains, were an important element in the former Soviet Union's industrial power base.
The authorities boasted that the factories here could produce anything - from iron nails to ballistic missiles.
During the cold war years, Western governments intrigued by the area's reputation and the massive concentration of arms factories, made several clandestine attempts to gather data.
They were not always successful. It was a missile identical to this one which in 1960, downed the U2 spy plane of the American pilot Gary Powers, as he flew over Yekaterinburg. The rocket was produced here at the top secret Kalinin Plant in the center of the city.
Nowadays the welcome given to foreign visitors is slightly warmer, since the government decided three years ago, to open the factory gates to the West.
A delegation of some of America's leading business men were the beneficiaries of that policy as they were ushered through the Kalinin Plant.
A 90% slump in defence orders since the 1980s and Russia's economic difficulties, has reduced the plant to hard times. The technology here is ancient and half the work force have already been laid off.
The factory's directors believe that it's future lies in producing non - military goods such as forklift trucks.
But any Western involvement with Russian industry would require a massive commitment.
SOUNDBITE:
In the aggregate, everything is all okay financially. But we don't expect to see very large growth in these enterprises or increases in income for, I think, a decade or more.
SUPER CAPTION: George David, Chief Executive, United Technologies
Jack Segal is spearheading the American invasion of Russia's industrial heartland. For the past year, both he and his wife have run the US Consulate in Yekaterinburg, from their suburban apartment.
Having visited over 350 factories since his arrival, he has no doubt that Russia's fate is dependent on the success or failure of economic reforms in the Ural region.
SOUNDBITE:
This region is the fundamental economic base for Russia, and Russia's stability depends on this region's recovery. And Russia's stability is an important issue for everybody - not just the Russians.
SUPER CAPTION: Jack Segal, US Consul General
This week the business mission announced a US government backed $500 million investment programme, for converting industries in the area away from defence production.
But for those industries lower down on the State Department's priority list, like this construction company, the fight for survival is far from over.
For the work force here the future looks bleak.
The director's chair at the Mid Urals Construction Company, was once occupied by none other than.....Boris Yeltsin.
The new boss, Gennady Chernikov, remembers his early meetings with Yeltsin, when the company produced over a million square metres of building space each year.
But Gennady Chernikov say's that Yeltsin's economic policies have slashed those figures by 50%. He also claims that 80% of all profits are now sucked up in tax payments.
SOUNDBITE: Russian
I would think that a president who leads a great power like Russia, would realise that without a building industry, there can be no recovery.
SUPER CAPTION: Gennady Chernikov, President Mid Urals Construction Company.
SOUNDBITE: Russian
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Russia: Russia's most expensive diamonds go on a dazzling display in Moscow
Five dazzling gems cut and polished from a 179-carat rough diamond went on display in Moscow, Tuesday, by the production company ALROSA.
The rough diamond was mined in 2015 from the kimberlite pipe in Nyurbinskaya, in the Sakha Republic of Russia. The rock was named in honour of the imperial Romanov house, which celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2013.
SOT Sergei Ivanov, President of ALROSA (Russian): There are five diamonds, made and cut from the rough diamond, which was found at one of our kimberlite pipes in Nyurbinskaya.
SOT, Sergei Ivanov, President of ALROSA (Russian): I think, especially the female colleagues who are here, are well aware that the stones with D colour and characteristics of vvs1 are extremely rare in nature.
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Keir Giles. Indicators and Warnings for detecting Information Threats.
On August 20 - 21, 2015, NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence organised an international conference The Riga StratCom Dialogue: Perception matters. In this video Mr. Keir Giles, Associate Fellow, International Security Department and Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, UK, gives a presentation 'Indicators and Warnings for detecting Information Threats'.
Omsk. The third capital. 300-year anniversary. / Омск. Третья столица. 300-летний юбилей.
Omsk is one of the largest cities of Russia, the administrative center of Omsk oblast, located at the confluence of the Irtysh and the Om rivers, in southwestern Siberia, 2,236 kilometers (1,389 mi) from Moscow. Omsk is multi-million-strong city (1 079 178 people in 2016), the second largest population in Siberia and eighth in Russia. A major transport hub: from West to East passes through the city railway TRANS-Siberian railway, with its construction, Omsk became known as the Gate of Siberia. The navigable Irtysh River runs from South to North, is the longest tributary in the world (a tributary of the Ob River).
The territory of Omsk were of great importance since ancient times. Here were settlements and burial grounds of many developed Nations that lived from the VI Millennium BC to the XIII century. In XVII century the need for the Russian city at the mouth of the Om was so great, that many people repeatedly asked the Tsar Peter I about its Foundation. Omsk was founded by I. D. Buchholz in 1716 as a fortress defending the southern border of the state. Omsk was the only city along with St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia, to whom was granted the right to raise the state flag of the Russian Empire in Siberia and Asia. In the 19th century in Omsk exiled revolutionaries (the Decembrists) were serving sentences, including the famous Russian writer F.M. Dostoevsky. Omsk State University and a library was named in honour of Dostoevsky. The main development of the town received in the XX century. After the 1917 revolution, during the civil war and the confrontation between the White and Red movements, Omsk was the official capital of the Russian Empire (White Russia) under the leadership of Admiral Kolchak (1918 - 1920). The city has expanded considerably in the years of the Great Patriotic War (WW2) when many factories was evacuated from the European part of Russia, until the collapse of the Soviet Union was known as the Garden City, City of Youth, City of Sciences. Omsk awarded the honorary title of City of labor glory, is a major industrial center with enterprises of different industries, including Petro-chemical, defense and aerospace. Planet Omsk is in international catalog of minor planets.
Omsk remained a major cultural and sports center of Siberia: active theatre and exhibition activities, major national and international festivals, the famous Siberian International Marathon, international hockey tournaments, national competitions in equestrian sports, etc. have been taking place here. Cathedral of the Assumption is the hallmark of the city of Omsk. In 2016 Omsk celebrated its tercentenary.
Sabotage! Kiev Refuses to Sign Onto “Steinmeier Formula” Plan During Peace Talks!
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Kiev jeopardized the Normandy Four summit today. That's how, during the Minsk talks, Boris Gryzlov commented on the of the Trilateral Group's meeting's results. The Ukrainian party refused to sign the so-called Steinmeier formula, which is a concerted algorithm of holding elections and securing a special status for Donbass.
Enraged Man Punches And Kicks Woman In Indore Gym. Caught On CCTV
In shocking CCTV footage that has been released from a gym in Indore, a man can be seen brutally assaulting a woman who was working out there. The reason: she apparently had complained about his behavior, according to news agency ANI.
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Ostriches Rescued From Floodwaters in Central Russia
Credit: Russian Emergencies Ministry
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1960 U-2 incident | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
1960 U-2 incident
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was hit by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile and crashed near Sverdlovsk (today's Yekaterinburg). Powers parachuted safely and was captured.
Initially, the US authorities acknowledged the incident as the loss of a civilian weather research aircraft operated by NASA, but were forced to admit the mission's true purpose when a few days later the Soviet government produced the captured pilot and parts of the U-2's surveillance equipment, including photographs of Soviet military bases taken during the mission.
The incident occurred during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the premiership of Nikita Khrushchev, around two weeks before the scheduled opening of an east–west summit in Paris. It caused great embarrassment to the United States and prompted a marked deterioration in its relations with the Soviet Union, already strained by the ongoing Cold War.Powers was convicted of espionage and sentenced to three years of imprisonment plus seven years of hard labor but was released two years later on 10 February 1962 during a prisoner exchange for Soviet officer Rudolf Abel.
Kazan | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:01:20 1 Etymology
00:02:24 2 History
00:02:33 2.1 Middle Ages
00:05:12 2.2 Russian Tsardom period
00:06:23 2.3 Russian Empire period
00:08:12 2.4 Soviet period
00:09:16 2.5 Modern period
00:09:54 2.5.1 Millennium of Kazan
00:11:03 3 Heraldry
00:12:35 4 Administrative and municipal status
00:13:04 4.1 City divisions
00:13:16 5 Economy
00:14:03 5.1 Investments
00:15:43 6 Transportation
00:15:52 6.1 Cycling
00:16:36 6.2 Public transit
00:17:03 6.2.1 Bus
00:17:42 6.2.2 Tram
00:18:10 6.2.3 Trolleybus
00:18:42 6.2.4 Metro
00:19:07 6.3 Railways
00:19:48 6.4 Waterways
00:20:05 6.5 Highways
00:20:41 6.6 Intercity buses
00:21:11 6.7 Kazan International Airport
00:22:20 7 Demographics
00:22:29 7.1 Population
00:22:57 7.2 Ethnicity
00:23:20 7.3 Religion
00:23:38 7.4 Languages
00:23:55 8 Geography
00:24:04 8.1 Climate
00:24:54 9 Central Kazan
00:25:02 9.1 Kremlin
00:26:06 9.1.1 Towers
00:28:49 9.2 Bistä, or Posad
00:29:47 9.3 Wooden Kazan
00:30:28 9.4 Other major buildings
00:31:28 10 Cityscape
00:31:37 11 Education and science
00:31:46 11.1 Primary and secondary education
00:32:23 11.2 Higher education
00:33:43 11.3 Science
00:34:48 11.4 Public health
00:35:32 12 Government and administration
00:35:41 12.1 Mayor
00:35:49 12.2 City Duma
00:36:05 12.3 Executive committee
00:36:20 12.4 Government of the Republic of Tatarstan
00:36:39 13 Communication
00:38:31 14 Sports
00:39:15 14.1 Notable athletes
00:39:54 14.2 Infrastructure
00:40:43 14.3 Important events
00:41:41 15 International relations
00:42:41 15.1 Branch offices of embassies
00:42:53 15.2 Consulates
00:43:05 15.3 Visa centers
00:43:34 15.4 Twin towns and sister cities
00:43:49 15.5 International organizations membership
00:43:59 15.6 Other organizations
00:44:07 16 Notable people
00:44:40 17 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.9386973176191724
Voice name: en-AU-Wavenet-D
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Kazan (; Russian: Каза́нь, IPA: [kɐˈzanʲ]; Tatar: Казан) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,243,500, it is the sixth most populous city in Russia.
Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia, about 715 kilometres (444 mi) east from Moscow. In the Late Middle Ages, Kazan was an important trade and political center within the Golden Horde. In 1438, the city became the capital of the Khanate of Kazan. In 1552, Kazan was captured by Ivan the Terrible and became part of Russia. The city was largely destroyed during Pugachev's Rebellion, but was later rebuilt during the reign of Catherine the Great. In the following centuries, Kazan grew to become a major industrial, cultural and religious center in Russia.
Kazan is renowned for its vibrant mix of Oriental and Russian cultures. In 2015, 2.1 million tourists visited Kazan, and 1.5 million tourists visited the Kazan Kremlin, a World Heritage Site. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the Third Capital of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the sports capital of Russia and it still is referred to as such.
Boris Yeltsin | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Boris Yeltsin
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (Russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Е́льцин, IPA: [bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn] (listen); 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. During the late 1980s, Yeltsin had been a candidate member of the Politburo, and in late 1987 tendered a letter of resignation in protest. No one had resigned from the Politburo before. This act branded Yeltsin as a rebel and led to his rise in popularity as an anti-establishment figure.
On 29 May 1990, he was elected the chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet. On 12 June 1991 he was elected by popular vote to the newly created post of President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Upon the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev and the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 25 December 1991, the RSFSR became the sovereign state of the Russian Federation, and Yeltsin remained in office as president. He was reelected in the 1996 election, in which critics widely claimed pervasive corruption; in the second round he defeated Gennady Zyuganov from the revived Communist Party by a margin of 13.7%. However, Yeltsin never recovered his early popularity after a series of economic and political crises in Russia in the 1990s.
Yeltsin transformed Russia's socialist economy into a capitalist market economy, implementing economic shock therapy, market exchange rate of the ruble, nationwide privatization and lifting of price controls. Yeltsin proposed a new Russian constitution which was popularly approved at the 1993 constitutional referendum. However, due to the sudden total economic shift, a majority of the national property and wealth fell into the hands of a small number of oligarchs. Rather than creating new enterprises, Yeltsin's policies led to international monopolies hijacking the former Soviet markets, arbitraging the huge difference between old domestic prices for Russian commodities and the prices prevailing on the world market. In the foreign policy Yeltsin offered cooperative and conciliatory relations, particularly with the Group of Seven, CIS and OSCE, as well as adherence to arms control agreements, such as START II.Much of the Yeltsin era was marked by widespread corruption, and as a result of persistent low oil and commodity prices during the 1990s, Russia suffered inflation and economic collapse. Within a few years of his presidency, many of Yeltsin's initial supporters had started to criticize his leadership, and Vice President Alexander Rutskoy even denounced the reforms as economic genocide. Ongoing confrontations with the Supreme Soviet climaxed in the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis in which Yeltsin ordered the unconstitutional dissolution of the Supreme Soviet parliament, which as a result attempted to remove him from office. In October 1993, troops loyal to Yeltsin stopped an armed uprising outside of the parliament building, leading to a number of deaths. On 31 December 1999, under enormous internal pressure, Yeltsin announced his resignation, leaving the presidency in the hands of his chosen successor, then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Yeltsin left office widely unpopular with the Russian population.Yeltsin kept a low profile after his resignation, though he did occasionally publicly criticise his successor. Yeltsin died of congestive heart failure on 23 April 2007.
Lockheed U-2 | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:01:50 1 Development
00:01:59 1.1 Background
00:04:39 1.2 Lockheed proposal
00:07:33 1.3 Approval
00:10:10 1.4 Manufacture
00:13:32 1.5 Fuel
00:15:35 1.6 Radar cross-section reduction
00:16:05 2 Design
00:23:28 2.1 Sensors
00:24:47 3 Operational history
00:24:58 3.1 United States
00:25:07 3.1.1 Pilot selection and training
00:28:01 3.1.2 Test flights
00:32:12 3.1.3 Cover story
00:34:24 3.1.4 First overflights of Communist territory
00:39:39 3.1.5 Bomber gap disproven
00:41:02 3.1.6 Suez Crisis
00:42:58 3.1.7 Renewal of Eastern Bloc overflights
00:47:00 3.1.8 The missile gap
00:50:56 3.1.9 May 1960 U-2 incident
00:55:24 3.1.10 Restructuring
00:57:24 3.1.11 Cuba
01:01:19 3.1.12 Asia
01:05:48 3.1.13 U-2 carrier operations
01:07:04 3.1.14 1970–2000
01:09:31 3.1.15 Recent use and planned retirement
01:16:32 3.2 United Kingdom
01:20:23 3.3 Republic of China
01:26:43 4 Variants
01:26:53 4.1 Primary list
01:29:36 4.2 U-2E/F/H details
01:30:52 4.3 U-2R/S details
01:32:19 4.4 ER-2 details
01:33:10 4.5 TR-X/RQ-180
01:37:35 5 Operators
01:43:09 6 Aircraft on display
01:43:19 6.1 China
01:43:56 6.2 Cuba
01:45:00 6.3 Norway
01:45:16 6.4 Russia
01:45:43 6.5 United Kingdom
01:46:01 6.6 United States
01:47:52 7 Specifications (U-2S)
01:51:01 8 In popular culture
01:52:14 9 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.9065410457511243
Voice name: en-GB-Wavenet-C
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
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The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed Dragon Lady, is an American single-jet engine, ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet; 21,000 m), all-weather intelligence gathering.Lockheed Corporation originally proposed it in 1953, approval followed 1954, and the first test flight occurred in 1955. It was flown during the Cold War over the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, and Cuba. In 1960, Gary Powers was shot down in a CIA U-2A over the Soviet Union by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down in another U-2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
U-2s have also taken part in post–Cold War conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and supported several multinational NATO operations. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, scientific research, and communications purposes. The U-2 is one of a handful of aircraft types to have served the USAF for over 50 years, like the Boeing B-52 and Boeing KC-135. The newest models (TR-1, U-2R, U-2S) entered service in the 1980s with the latest model, the U-2S, receiving its technical upgrade in 2012.