Travel Bubble

From the BBC:

“Zelensky says airlines should avoid Russian airspace as Ukraine escalates drone operations”

Ukraine's president has told airlines that Russian airspace will be "effectively closing" as his country escalates its drone strikes. "We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, everyone who still uses key Russian airports: the Russian sky is becoming completely dangerous," Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine has since formally notified the UN of the risks to civilian aviation. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the comments amounted to a "declaration of state terrorism".

Most Western commercial airlines do not fly over Russia because of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, but carriers in countries like Turkey and China do. Explaining the elevated airspace risk in his nightly video address on Tuesday, Zelensky said that "Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such - not a single civilian aircraft" and did not want the loss of innocent lives.

"There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he said. Zelensky directed the warning to airlines continuing to operate flights to Russian airports, especially in major cities like St Petersburg and Moscow. In a statement on X, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine had officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization that Russian airspace was not safe for civilian aviation. "We want to prevent unintended incidents," he said, adding: "The war is returning home to Russia."

On Wednesday afternoon, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed many planes flying over Russia, including arriving and departing from the two main airports, which had some delays, but few cancellations.

Several airlines that fly through Russia told the BBC that they were carefully monitoring the situation. Qatar Airways, which flies into Moscow and travels through Russian airspace to get to the US west coast, said its flight planning was "guided by rigorous and continuous monitoring of airspace security, safety assessments, and geopolitical developments". Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus cancelled its flights to Russia on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing "technical and operational reasons", but said future flights "are operating as scheduled". FlyDubai, an Emirati government-owned carrier, told the BBC that it would "closely monitor the evolving situation in the region and adjust our flight schedules and routings as necessary".

Ukraine has targeted energy facilities deep inside Russian territory and there have been repeated attacks on depots belonging to Russia's two biggest online retailers, Wildberries and Ozon.

Its drone attacks have for months led to disruption at some of Russia's biggest airports, especially in Moscow where at times all four major airports have been forced to halt arrivals and departures.

Several cancellations were reported on Wednesday. Ukraine does not have to target airports to cause disruption. Under Russia's air defence "Kovyor" (carpet) plan, flights are suspended if a drone is detected in the relevant area. Aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions said in an alert to clients that while the majority of Ukraine's drone and missile strikes were likely to occur within 300km (186 miles) of the border, daily attacks deeper inside Russia were almost certain to continue this year.

 "There is also a realistic possibility that the frequency of Ukrainian strikes will continue to increase in the short term deep inside Russian territory," the alert added. "It is assessed that miscalculation and/or misidentification is likely in areas related to the Ukraine conflict." Speaking to reporters at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said: "They are asking us to resume negotiations... but you don't negotiate with terrorists." His comments come as Russia's attacks on Ukraine continue, with heavy strikes killing 12 people on Tuesday and further attacks on Odesa, Sumy and Kyiv on Wednesday. Russia's military has said it is preparing to carry out "massive" strikes on Ukrainian power stations.

The Ukrainian capital and its surrounding region have come under attack for seven days in a row. A few weeks ago, Zelensky said Russia was attacking Ukraine every day, and Ukraine's military had "begun the process of bringing the war back to Russia". At the weekend he said the same, that Russia had to feel the war was "returning to where it came from". Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes had damaged infrastructure inside Russia, while insisting that "only 10%" of oil refineries were left to repair.

Chinese, Turkish and Gulf state airlines are among those using Russian airspace, with savings in time and fuel on routes between Asia and Europe. Other carriers have largely avoided the eastern European region since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February, 2022. Ukraine has closed its airspace to civilian aircraft throughout that period. The risks of civil aviation during a war are clear. A few months after war broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014 between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military, a Russian-made missile brought down a passenger plane, killing all 298 people on board. Last year, the UN aviation agency ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014. The Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the air disaster. In 2024, Putin apologised to the president of neighbouring Azerbaijan over the downing of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace, in which 38 people were killed.He said the "tragic incident" had occurred when Russian air defence systems were repelling Ukrainian drones. A thin, grey banner promoting the News Daily newsletter. On the right, there is a graphic of an orange sphere with two concentric crescent shapes around it in a red-orange gradient, like a sound wave. The banner reads: “The latest news in your inbox first thing.”

^Anyone (Russian or Foreigner) flying into, through or out of Russia should be very worried that their plane will be hit by a Ukrainian Drone.

Ukrainian Airspace has been closed since Russia started its War in February 2022.

Now it's time for those in Russia to feel the effects of their War not through Russian Government Controlled Media, but by bombings of Military Targets disruptions in Air Travel, Fuel Rationing and Shortages throughout Russia.

Russians don't care how many of their Boys and Men are being killed and wounded in Ukraine (over a Million and counting) but they do care about not being able to live in the safety bubble they created for themselves.

It's time for Ukraine to burst that bubble. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v9yydy2wvo

Kaliningrad

 

Kaliningrad City, Russia has been separated from the rest of Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991 (35 years ago.)

Kaliningrad, Russia was known as Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany until 1945.

1,029,966 People live in Kaliningrad Oblast (489,359 in the City of Kaliningrad.)

 

Now Kaliningrad is surrounded by:

Poland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Lithuania (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

 

The Airspace needed to go from Kaliningrad, Russia to Minsk, Belarus (an ally of Russia) is blocked by:

Poland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Lithuania (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Latvia (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Estonia (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Finland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Sweden (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Not only is the Airspace closed to Kaliningrad, but also the Land and Rail Borders through Poland and Lithuania because of Russia’s War in Ukraine and Belarus’ frequent Violation of NATO and EU Airspace and Land Borders since 2021.

 

Kaliningrad City is only 290 miles from Minsk by car (2 hours by plane), but now it takes several more hours to go by plane only.

So all People, Food, etc. have to be flown in from Belarus or Russia via Russia.

 

Belarus has been ruled by the Dictator, Alexander Lukashenko since 1994 (32 years.)

Russia has been ruled by the Dictator, Vladimir Putin, since 2000 (26 years.)

Note 1: The United States closed its Embassy in Minsk, Belarus in 2022 because Belarus allowed Russia to invade Ukraine from Belarussian Territory.

There has not been an American Ambassador to Belarus since June 2022.

American Citizens are told not to travel to Belarus and Belarussian Citizens can no longer get American Visas.

Note 2: The United States closed its Consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2018, its Consulate in Vladivostok, Russia in 2020 and its Consulate in Yekaterinburg in 2021.

The US Embassy in Moscow, Russia is open, but only to help American Citizens inside Russia.

There has been no American Ambassador to Russia since June 2025.

American Citizens are told to not travel to Russia.

The US Embassy no longer gives Russian Citizens American Visas.

 

43,000

 

Russia had 43,000 Soldiers dead or wounded in Ukraine in July 2026 alone.

True State

The True State of Russia

( A Screenshot taken of the Nova Gazeta’s Map of Russia showing the area of Russia bombed at 3:30 pm EST on August 22, 2026. The Map updates every 15 minutes.)

Russia is crumbling from the inside out.

4 ½ years of War in Ukraine with little to no advances since 2024 mean that Russia has not only lost in Ukraine, but is losing at home too.

Beginning in January 2026 Russia switched from having 2 Annual Military Draft Call-Ups (one in the Spring and one in the Fall) to a Year-Round Military Draft Call-Up.

Russia currently Drafts 40,000 new Soldiers (aged 18-30 years old) every Month so in 1 year that means Russia Drafts 480,000 new Soldiers.

With 26,000 Russian Soldiers killed or wounded in Ukraine every single day that means in 1 year Russia loses 780,000 Soldiers – which is more than they replace with Drafted Soldiers in a year and more than they have in their Regular Military.

Those are only the new Conscripts and doesn’t include Former Conscripts 31-72 years old who are now forced to fight and die in Ukraine.

Russia will literally run out of Men to send to die in Ukraine soon and will be plagued with an imbalance between Women and Men for Decades to come.

Since September 2022 Russia has sent both Volunteers and Conscripted Soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

Putin has forced Boys as young as 16 and Men as old as 72 to fight inside Ukraine after 20 days of Military Training.

58,000 Russian Men and Boys (from aged 16 to 72) have fled Russia in the last week because of more Forced Mobilizations.

Not only that, but Russia is bombed and burning.

An Average of 1,000 Drones regularly strike Russian Cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar, Yaroslavl, Perm, etc.) destroying Factories, Oil Processing Plants, etc.

Russia has been bombed 41,000 times since February 2022.

56 of Russia’s 83 Regions have imposed Gas Rationing with People in Moscow being forced to wait in lines of 12-36 hours just to get the allowed 7 Gallons of Gas with a Gallow of Gas now costing $17 US Dollars.

Russia has lost $13 Billion US Dollars Revenue from its Gas and Oil in 2026 alone and has to import Gas from India.

It costs Russia $40,000 US Dollars to kill a Ukrainian Soldier or Civilian with 1 of its Drones.

It costs Ukraine $848 US Dollars to kill a Russian Soldier with 1 of its Drones.

Today, Putin’s Government has created Potemkin Businesses where there are no empty shelves, but the Average Russian can’t afford even the Basics (because everything is imported from China, India, and Central Asia.)

 

The Average Russian only makes ₽83,500 ($1,000 US Dollars) a month after Taxes.

(₽104,000 or $1,412 US Dollars before Taxes.)

Rent for a 1 Bedroom Apartment in the City Center costs $624 US Dollars a month.

Buying Groceries for 1 Person costs on average $407 US Dollars a month.

That means that the Average Russia earning the Average Monthly Wage will owe $31 US Dollars after Paying their Rent and Buying their Groceries every month and that doesn’t include things like the cost of Internet, Cell Phones, Public Transportation, Medicines, Cars, Gas, etc.

Russia's War in Ukraine has surpassed Nazi Germany's War in the Soviet Union.

The Eastern Front of the Second World 2 was from June 22, 1941 until May 9, 1945 (or 1,419 days.)

Russia's War in Ukraine has been going on since February 22, 2022 (or 1,642 days and counting.)

The Nazi Germans occupied 700,000 Square Miles of Soviet Territory at the height of the Eastern Front.

The Russians only occupy 44,600 Square Miles of Ukrainian Territory.

Putin’s Russia is currently at the point that Hitler’s Germany was in March 1945.

Soon Russia will run out of Money and Manpower and will lose their War in Ukraine.

https://novayagazeta.eu/en/articles/2026/06/18/interactive-map-attacks-on-russian-territory-updated-in-real-time-en

Russian Rape

Thousands of Russian Men returning from committing War Crimes in Ukraine are now committing Crimes across Russia.

(Roman and Olga Bykovskay)

All 46 Oblasts (Provinces), 21 Republics, 9 Krais (Regions), 4 Autonomous Okrugs (Autonomous Areas) and the 2 Federal Cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg have reported at least a 87% of Violent Crime committed by Soldiers and Returning Soldiers since Russia started its War in Ukraine in 2022.

There are 23 Independently-Verified Accounts of Russian Military Wives who gave their Soldier Husbands permission to rape Ukrainians (Boys, Girls, Women and Men.)

One such Military Wife is Olga Bykovskaya whose phone call with her Husband, Roman, was intercepted.

In the Phone Call Olga tells her Husband;  “Rape them, yeah, ... Don't tell me anything, understand? Yeah, I allow you—just use protection."

Roman replies: “Uh-Huh. 'So I should rape and not tell you anything?”

Olga: “'Yes, so that I wouldn't know anything. Why do you ask?”

Roman: “Can I really?”

Olga replies, with a giggle: “Yeah, I allow you. Just use protection.”

Roman: “Ok.”

Roman and Olga Bykovskay are Russians from Oryol Oblast in Russia who moved to Russian-Occupied Crimea in 2018.

Roman, a Paratrooper, was part of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Olga has been tried in Absentia, found guilty of violating Article 27.2 of the Convention on the Protection of the Civilian Population in Time of War and the Geneva Conventions and sentenced to at least 5 years in Prison.

Of course she is living in Russian-Occupied Crimea and Putin and the Russian Military allow (and encourage) Russian Soldiers fighting in Ukraine to rape, torture and murder Ukrainians to “Get it out of your system before you return to Mother Russia.”

Men like Roman, who commit War Crimes in Ukraine, are returning to Russia and continuing their Rape, Violence and even Murder against Russian Citizens.

Any Russian Victim who complains or files a Police Report is sent either to a Mental Hospital against their will  or to a Forced Labor Penal Colony for 5 years for “spreading misinformation against the Great Russian Military.”

These attacks inside Russia will only get worse as more Soldiers return from Ukraine.

Giving the Soldiers Official Permission to rape Ukrainian Boys, Girls, Women and Men is not new to the Russians.

Soviet Soldiers during World War 2 – with Official Permission from Stalin Moscow – raped at least 100,000 Polish Girls and Women as they “liberated” Poland in 1944-1945.

The Soviets saw the Poles as Anti-Communist and wanted to “put them in their place in the New World Order (Ie. Communism.)”

Soviet Soldiers also raped “liberated” Russian, Ukrainians and Belarussian Forced Laborers inside Germany.

The Official Soviet Stance on these Soviet  Forced Laborers (who were arrested or kidnapped by the Germans and forced to work inside Germany or be killed) was that the Soviet Citizens were Traitors who “allowed themselves to be captured by the enemy.”

Soviet Soldiers raped many German Girls and Women.

2 Million German Girls and Women (the youngest known was 4 years old and the oldest known was 89) were raped by Soviet Soldiers.

100,000 German Girls and Women and were raped in Berlin along from April 1945-June 1945.

The rest were raped in the German Areas of: East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia.

It is estimated that 23% of those who were raped by the Soviet Soldiers were either raped over and over again by the same Soldier or were Gangraped by Soviet Soldiers.

An 11 year old German Girl was taken from her Parents in their Bomb Shelter in May 1945, brought to an abandoned Factory where she was raped by 40-50 Soviet Soldiers for 3 days until she bled to death.

When her Father tried to find his Daughter he was shot and killed by the Soviets.

When her Mother reported the rape/murder of her Daughter to the Soviet Commanders she was put on a train and shipped to any unknown destination inside the Soviet Union where her trail ended.

The Soviets even forbade the Americans, British and French Occupation Forces to enter Belin until July 4, 1945 (despite Berlin having surrendered to the Soviets on May 2, 1945) because the Soviets needed to remove the traces of their War Crimes (including rape) in Berlin first.

It was illegal in the Soviet Union (from 1944-1991), in Poland (from 1945-1990) and in East Germany (from 1945-1990) to mention the fact that Soviet Soldiers raped anyone.

Helmut Kohl (who was Chancellor of West Germany from 1982-1990 and then Chancellor of Germany until 1998) first Wife, Hannelore Kohl (née Renner) was Gang-raped by Soviet Soldiers when she was 12 years old and thrown out of a window when the Soviets were done with her.

She suffered a fractured vertebra and back pain for the rest of her life. She committed Suicide in 2001.

Soviet Soldiers who returned to the USSR from Germany continued to commit rapes and crimes on Soviet Citizens for decades  - although the Communists forbade any mention of these crimes just like the Russians do today.

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall

(Berlin Wall in 1986)

The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer and Russian: Берлинская стена) was created 65 years ago today (August 13, 1961.)

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 Germany was split into 4 Occupation Zones: the British, the French, the American and the Soviet.

Berlin, laying 100 miles inside the Soviet Occupation Zone, was also split between the British, the French, the Americans and the Soviets.

(East Berlin and West Berlin and East Germany and West Germany)

In 1948 the British, the French and the American Occupation Zones of Germany became the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) also called West Germany (German: West Deutschland.)

In 1948 the British, the French and the American of Berlin became West Berlin (German: West Berlin.)

In 1949 the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany became the German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik) also called East Germany (German: Ost Deutschland.)

In 1949 the Soviet Occupation Zone of Berlin became East Berlin (German: Ost Berlin.)

In 1949 the Inner-German Border (German: innerdeutsche Grenze) separating West Germany with East Germany was closed.

858 Miles of Border Fortifications were built by the East German and Soviet Communists to stop East Germans from fleeing to the West and Freedom.

The Inner-German Border was a continuous line of high metal fences and walls, barbed wire, alarms, anti-vehicle ditches, watchtowers, automatic booby traps and minefields.

The Communists moved People away from the Border Zone and even destroyed whole Villages to make a Buffer Zone (it was 6% of East Germany’s total area.)

50,000 East German Border Guards along with hundreds of Soviet Troops guarded the Inner-German Border and had orders to shoot and kill any person fleeing East Germany (German: Republikflucht or Republic Flight.)

20,000 West German Border Guards and hundreds of British and American Troops guarded the Inner-German Border to make sure the East Germans and the Soviets didn’t try to invade.

40,000 Men, Women and Children successfully fled East Germany into West Germany through the Inner-German Border from 1949-1989.

371 Men and Women were murdered by the Communists trying to flee East Germany into West Germany through the Inner-German Border from 1949-1989.

Thousands more were arrested and imprisoned by the Communists.

From 1949-1961 Berlin was a Loop-Hole between Communism/Dictatorship and Capitalism/Freedom.

East Germans could go to East Berlin and then just walk across into West Berlin.

3.5 Million East Germans did just that from 1945-1961.

From August 1-11, 1961 16,000 East Germans fled into West Berlin.

On August 12, 1961 2,400 East Germans fled into West Berlin.

These Men, Women and Children were: Doctors, Teachers, Engineers, etc. and caused a major Brain Drain and costing East Germany $9 Billion US Dollars.

(Building the Berlin Wall in 1961)

On August 13, 1961 the East German and Soviet Communists decided to close the Berlin Loop-Hole and built the Berlin Wall.

Without any warning and done overnight on a Sunday the Communists closed the Border between East Berlin and West Berlin.

The initial Barbed Wire Barrier was built up into the Wall proper, the first concrete elements and large blocks being put in place on August 17, 1961.

Immediate effects of the Wall included the separation of Families (some never seeing their Relatives ever again) and the loss of jobs by East Berliners who worked in West Berlin.

While publicly the British, the French and the Americans acted surprised by the building of the Berlin Wall in private they were glad that there would no longer be any more Military Confrontations with the Soviets.

US President John F. Kennedy replied: "A wall is damn better than a War."

British Prime Minister Harold Macmillian said: "The East Germans are holding up the flow of refugees and entrenching themselves behind an even tighter Iron Curtain. There is nothing illegal about this in itself."

On August 19, 1961, the Kennedy sent1,500 American Troops from the 8^th US Infantry Division in Mannheim through the Transit Route in East Germany and to West Berlin to show America’s commitment to protect the West Berliners (but not to help the East Berliners.)

The Communists officially called the Berlin Wall the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall.)

The Berlin Wall was 96 miles long and included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "Death Strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses.

From 1961-1989 100,000 Men, Women and Children tried to flee over, through or under the Berlin Wall.

5,000 succeeded in fleeing to West Berlin.

239 were murdered by the Communists while trying to flee.

Ida Siekmann, 58 was the first person who died trying to flee her apartment in East Berlin on August 22, 1961  when she jumped out of her window and died on the way to the Hospital in West Berlin.

(Peter Fechter)

On August 17, 1962 Peter Fechter, 18, was shot by the East German Border Guards while trying to flee into West Berlin.

His murder was witnessed by hundreds of West Berliners who saw him shot, fall back to the East German Death Strip where he cried out for help for an hour before he bled to death.

Winfried Freudenberg, 32, was the last person who died while trying to fly a Hot Air Balloon over the Berlin Wall on March 8, 1989.

94,761 People were arrested by the Communists and sent to Prison for trying to flee.

(Checkpoints between East Berlin and West Berlin)

From 1961 until 1964 no West German or West Berliner was allowed to visit East Germany or East Berlin.

From 1961 until 1964 no East German or East Berliner was allowed to leave East Berling or East Germany to go to West Berlin or West Germany.

In November 1964 the East German Government allowed East German Pensioners to visit West Berlin and West Germany.

Starting in 1972 the East German Government officially allowed the rest of the East Germans to apply for permission to leave East Germany to visit West Berlin and West Germany.

Very few East Germans were given official permission to travel to West Berlin and West Germany from 1972-1989.

Those who were allowed were Members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) the Communist Party that ran East Germany and they had to have an Immediate Member of their Family stay behind as a Hostage.

An average of 100,000 applications to temporary leave East Germany to visit West Berlin and West Germany were submitted every year from 1972-1989 with 1% of the applications being approved by the Communists.

Those East Germans who were allowed by the East German Government to visit West Germany or West Berlin could not bring out any Non-East German Marks so the West German Government created the Begrüßungsgeld (Welcome Money) Program  in which from 1970 until December 1989.

Initially every East German was given 30 West German Marks twice a year.

In 1988 it was changed to 100 West German Marks a year.

From 1970-1988 260 Million West German Marks were paid to visiting East Germans.

From November to December 1989 4 Billion West German Marks were paid to visiting East Germans.

West Germans entering East Germany had to exchange a Minimum of 25 West German Marks into the worthless East German Marks per day they stayed.

They weren’t allowed to exchange the East German Marks back into West German Marks when they left East Germany.

There were 9 Border Crossings between East and West Berlin.

These allowed visits by West Berliners, other West Germans, Western Foreigners and Allied Personnel into East Berlin, as well as visits by East German Citizens and Citizens of other Communist Countries into West Berlin, provided that they held the necessary permits.

(Checkpoint Charlie in 1963)

The most famous was Checkpoint Charlie), which was restricted to Allied Personnel and Foreigners.

Another way to officially leave East Germany was to be “bought” by the West German Government.

This was called the Freikauf (literally the Buying of Freedom.)

Between 1964 and 1989, 33,755 East German Political Prisoners were ransomed.

 A further 2,087 East German Prisoners were released to the West under an amnesty in 1972.

Another 215,000 East Germans including 2,000 Children cut off from their Parents, were allowed to leave East Germany to rejoin their Families.

 In exchange, West Germany paid over 3.4 Billion DM – nearly $2.3 billion at 1990 prices – in goods and Hard Currency to the broke East German Communist Government.

West Germany paid 1,875 DM for an East German Worker and  11,250 DM for an East German Doctor.

(November 1989)

On November 9, 1989 an unplanned announcement at an East Berlin Conference live on East German Television said that East Germans could immediately travel freely into West Berlin with no restrictions.

Thousands of East Berliners went to the Border Checkpoints where the East German Border Guards had not received any orders (except to shot to kill.)

Eventually, the East German Border Guards opened the Borders and the East Berliners fled into West Berlin.

East Germans started going into West Germany through the Inner-German Border in November 1989 too.

1 Million East Germans went into West Berlin or West Germany in the first few days after November 9, 1989

On December 24, 1989 West Berliners and West Germans were officially allowed, by the East German Government, to visit East Germany without needing a Visa first.

On July 1, 1990 East Germany officially stopped using the East German Mark and started using the West German Mark.

(Memorial of where the Berlin Wall used to be)

All Border Controls between East Berlin and West Berlin and East Germany and West Germany ended that day too.

East Berlin and East Germany ceased to exist on October 3, 1990 when they became part of West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany.)

Off The Path

Off The Path

I have always been one who likes to travel off the beaten path.

I don’t go on Group Tours (unless they are 1 Day ones) and I don’t like travelling by myself.

I have used all sorts of different traveling methods: an Old Soviet Train with Uncomfortable Wooden Benches in Russia; Over-Crowded Ferries; a Plane that was held together with Duct Tape; High Speed Trains; a 3 Seater Arctic Hydro-Plane; Limousines; First Class Planes; Private Taxis; Public Taxis; a Private Jet; a Hired Car with a Private Driver; a Snowmobile; a Gondola in Venice; a Monorail; a Speed Boat; in a Hot Air Balloon; an Over-Crowded Plane with no Class Sections and random Animals on it (Not Service Animals); a Paddle Boat; a Helicopter;  a Bike; a Funicular in Ukraine; a Canoe and a Dog Sled.

I have stayed in all sorts of different places: in a Hostel that was a Former Jail in Canada; in the back of a Pick-Up Truck; at a 6 Star Resort; at a Haunted Motel; at a Soviet Khrushchevka in Ukraine;  at All-Inclusive Resorts; at a Hotel that was constantly bombed during the 30 years of The Troubles; in the Back Seat of my Car;  at a French Castle; at a Closed Rest Area with no Visitor’s Center during a snowstorm; in an Ice Fishing Hut; in a Wilderness Emergency Cabin; on the Beach; in a Tent; on the Bare Ground; on a Bench during the Russian Winter; in a Cave; on a Houseboat; on a Barn; in a Tree House and at an Irish Castle.

I have done many fun and exciting things: gone Sky-Diving; gone Bungee Jumping; gone Para-Gliding; jumped out of a Helicopter into the Mediterranean Sea; gone Skinny Dipping; went to the Blue Grotto in Malta; swam in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland; went to German, Croatian, French, Dutch, British and Austrian Christmas Markets; went Rock Climbing off a Scottish Castle on Loch Lomond; skied in the Austrian and German Alps; swam with Dolphins in the Bahamas; spent the night at Frankenstein’s Castle in Darmstadt, Germany; went to Raves; went to Euro Disney in Paris; went to Disney World in Florida; went to Lego Land;  went to the Cliffs of Mohr in Ireland; walked on an Alaskan Glacier; went to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland; went to the Munich Oktoberfest; went to the Gullfoss in Iceland (where the European and Atlantic Tectonic Plates meet); went to the Gaeltacht (Irish-Speaking Area of Ireland); sat on the Throne at the Winter Palace/The Hermitage in Saint Petersburg; saw the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels); saw the Crown Jewels of England; went into the World Trade Center many times over the years when my Mom worked there; went to the Pentagon several times when my Dad worked there, went to the Rosh Hanikra Caves in Israel; saw the Canadian Maple Crown; went inside Lenin’s Mausoleum on Moscow; went to Stonehenge; went to the Masada Fortress in Israel; went to Sherwood Forrest;  went to Peterhof Castle in Saint Petersburg; flew a small plane from West Germany to England; fed Shamu at Sea World in San Antonio; reenacted in a Revolutionary War Battle at Saratoga; went to the Prime Minister’s Question Time in Canada; went to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica; went up Magnetic Hill in Canada; took a tour of the White House; had a Colonial-Themed Meal at Colonial Williamsburg; swam in the Dead Sea; went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; visited the Oldest City in the World – Jericho and rode a Horse in the Rain Forrest in Costa Rica.

 I have travelled to many places most Americans haven’t: Several Hours North of the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Russia (living there 2 times and visiting there 3 times); Montenegro; Croatia; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Prince Edward Island, Canada; Cyprus; the West Bank Palestinian Territories; Iceland; West Germany; Campobello Island, Canada; Poland; the Isle of Skye, Scotland; the United Arab Emirates; Northern Ireland; Malta; Kuwait; Greece; Israel and Ukraine.

I have been very lucky and have gotten to do so many fun and interesting things in so many fun and interesting places.

I don't take any of that lightly.

For the past 17 years I have lived off-the-beaten path on my Mountain here in New England where the Arctic Circle gets more Visitors every year then we do

Forced Laborer

After World War 2 ended in 1945 there were 11 Million Displaced People in Europe.

(A 14-year-old Ukrainian Forced Laborer repairs damaged motor vehicles in a Berlin Workshop of the German Wehrmacht. January 1945.)

Most were used as Forced Laborers by the Germans from 1939-1945.

During the War the Germans abducted 15 Million Non-Jewish Men, Women and Children from 20 German-Occupied Countries across Europe and used them for Forced Labor for the German War Effort inside Germany.

During the War the Germans abducted 7 Million Non-Jewish Men, Women and Children from Poland and the Soviet Union (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, etc.) aged 10-70 calling them Ostarbeiter or Eastern Workers sent them to Germany and treated them more harshly than Forced Laborers from any other Country.

During the War the Germans abducted (under the Codename: Heuaktion  or Hay Operation) 50,000 Non-Jewish Polish and Ukrainian Children aged 10 to 14 years old and used them as Forced Labor for the German War Effort in Germany.

Of the 3 Million Soviet Prisoners of War captured by the Germans during the War 200,000 were used as Forced Laborers in Germany. The rest were sent to die in Death and Concentration Camps.

During the War the Germans abducted  34,140 Non-Jewish Women from across German-Occupied Europe and forced them to serve as Sex Slaves for German Soldiers.

During the War the Germans used Vernichtung durch Arbeit or Extermination Through Work on Millions of Jewish Men, Women and Children in Ghettos, Concentration Camps and Death Camps. The exact number of Jewish Forced Laborers is unknown.

 

Helping the Displaced Persons:

In 1943, while the War was still going on, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was created to help return the Millions of Jewish and Non-Jewish Displaced Persons across Europe.

The International Refugee Organization (IRO), a temporary organization of the UN, was founded in April 1946 and took over the functions of UNRRA.

The IRO dissolved itself in 1952.

Returning the Displaced Persons by the UNRRA and the IPO:

5.2 Million Soviet Civilians and Soviet Prisoners-Of-War were repatriated to the Soviet Union.

Every single Soviet Men, Women and Child that was used as Forced Labor in Germany along with Millions who were used as Forced Labor in German-Occupied Soviet Union were treated as Criminals by the Soviet Government with most going from a German Concentration or Death Camp to a Soviet Gulag for years.

The United States stopped Forced Repatriation of Soviet Citizens to the USSR in October 1945.

1.6 Million Polish Men, Women and Children went back to Poland.

1.5 Million French Men, Women and Children went back to France.

900,000 Italian Men, Women and Children went back to Italy.

300,000 Czechoslovak Men, Women and Children went back to Czechoslovakia.

300,000 Dutch Men, Women and Children went back to the Netherlands.

300,000 Hungarian Men, Women and Children went back to Hungary.

Millions more Displaced Persons went back to their Home Country on their Own.

Millions of Displaced Persons could not or did not want to return to their Home Countries (mainly because of the new Soviet-Backed Communist Governments there.)

300,000 of Jewish Displaced Persons could not or did not want to return to their Home Countries.

 

German Reparations After the War:

 

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (1951) signed by West Germany and 23 National and International Jewish Organizations.

$90 Billion US Dollars have been given to Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Relatives since 1952.

Jewish Holocaust Survivors living in the Soviet Union or behind the Iron Curtain could not receive any money until 1992.

 

The Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany (1952) signed West Germany and Israel.

Israel has received $97.21Billion US Dollars since 1952.

 

The London Agreement (1953) signed by West Germany and covered Belgium, Canada, Ceylon, Denmark, France, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yugoslavia.

The USSR and other Communist Countries (including East Germany) refused to be involved.

It included Debt from World War 1, the 1920s, the 1930s and World War 2.

On October 3, 2010, the last Debt Payment of 69.9 Million Euros was made.

 

The Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" (2000) a project of the German Federal Government and 6,500 Companies of the German Industry Foundation Initiative was established to give Reparations to Jewish and Non-Jewish Forced Laborers.

$11.8 Million US Dollars were given to Forced Laborers (mostly from the Former Soviet Union: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia who were forbidden to receive any Reparations from 1945-1991) from 2000-2007.

Enjoying

Eating And Enjoying

Having a Baguette Sandwich and some Wine along the Seine River in Paris, France.

Having some Bangers and Mash (Sausage and Mashed Potatoes) with a Pale Ale along the River Thames  in London, England.

Having some Shashlik (Shish-Kabab) and YarPivo sitting on a park bench by the Volga River in Yaroslavl, Russia.

Having a Currywurst and a Pilsener while sitting along the Rhein River in Germany.

Having some Chicken Kyiv and some Arsenal along the Dnieper River in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Having a Cheeseburger and an IPA along the Potomac River in Washington DC.

Having Minc and Tatties (Beef and Potatoes) and a Scotch Ale along Loch Lomond in Scotland.

Having some Cevapcici and some Ozujsko by the Adriatic Sea in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Having some Schnitzel and a Goldstar Dark at the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Having some Moussaka and a KEO along the Mediterranean Sea in Limassol, Cyprus.

A good drink, some tasty food and a nice body of water is all I need.

Note: I have done all of these.

Deodorant

Be The Deodorant

There's nothing like riding ......

a crowded Subway in New York City on a hot and humid August day.

a crowded Metro Car in Moscow, Russia with all its odd smells.

being in a crowded street in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and smelling all the awful smells before a person even gets close to you.

having a creepy smelly Old Kuwaiti Guy sit on you at the Airport in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

being on a crowded bus in Wiesbaden, Germany with people who wear socks with their sandals but not deodorant.

being on a crowded Metro Car in Paris, France where you can only smell cologne and perfume instead of fresh air.

being in a crowded Trolleybus in Yaroslavl, Russia on a hot and humid Summer Day and having to push through so many people from the window to the door to leave.

I have experienced it all and much more.

In a world of Heat Waves and Bad Smells be the Deodorant.

Gas Shortages

 

(A Gas Station in Moscow, Russia in 2026.)

Thanks to Ukraine the price of gasoline in Russia now costs between $17 US Dollars a Gallon to $29 US Dollars a Gallon.

That is only when the gasoline isn’t rationed as it is in 56 of the 83 Russian Regions (including Moscow and Saint Petersburg) or completely out as it is in Russian-Occupied Crimea and other parts of Russian-Occupied Ukraine.

In the 56 Russian Regions that have gas rationed Russian Citizens have to wait in long lines for 6-15 hours just to get the 7 Gallons of gasoline they are legally allowed to get.

For the first time in 4 years Ordinary Russian Citizens are openly starting to question their War in Ukraine and verbally fight with Russian Government Officials.

They didn’t do that when it became known that Russian Soldiers were committing War Crimes against Innocent Ukrainian Men, Women and Children, but they are doing it now when gas is $17-29 US Dollars a Gallon.

A popular Anti-Government Meme going across Russia right now asks the question:

“How do Russians get around in 2026?”

The answer is: “By horse.”

It's great to see Ordinary Russians finally starting to feel the War they started in their own backyard.

To my Non-American Friends and Family: 1 Gallon = 3.79 Liters.

43: Samantha Smith

 

43 years ago today (July 7, 1983) 11 year old American Samantha Smith visited the Soviet Union.

Samantha Reed Smith was born on June 29, 1972. She was an American Peace Activist and Child Actress from Manchester, Maine, who became famous for her Anti-War outreaches during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

In 1982, Smith wrote a letter to the newly appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, and received a personal reply with an invitation to visit the Soviet Union, which she accepted.

Smith attracted extensive media attention in both countries as a "Goodwill Ambassador", becoming known as America's Youngest Ambassador and subsequently participating in peacemaking activities in Japan.

With the assistance of her Father, Arthur, she wrote a book titled “Journey to the Soviet Union”, which chronicled her visit to the country. She later became a Child Actress, hosting a Child-oriented special on the 1984 United States Presidential Election for The Disney Channel and playing a co-starring role in the Television Series “Lime Street.”

Smith died at the age of 13 on August 25, 1985, onboard Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808, which crashed short of the runway on final approach to the Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport in Maine.

Her Father also died in the crash.

Lend Lease

Lend Lease to USSR

(American SPAM Can written in Russian sent to the Soviet Union to feed Soviet Civilians and Soldiers during World War 2.)

During World War 2 (1941-1945) the United States sent 175 Million tons of Food and Military Equipment to the Soviet Union through the Lend Lease Program.

Lend Lease (Russian: Ленд-лиз or сдавать в аренду, внаём) was started by the United States when they were Neutral (from March 1941-December 1941) to send Food and Military Equipment to the Allies (the United Kingdom, the Free French and China.)

After the Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 the USSR was added to America’s Lend Lease Program.

After the Germans occupied Ukraine (the Soviet Union’s “Breadbasket”) in 1941 the USSR could no longer feed its Military or its Civilians.

Out of a Total Soviet Population of 200 Million People, 70 Million Soviets were living under German Occupation.

A total of $50 Billion US Dollars ($925 Billion US Dollars in 2026) worth of Food, Medicines, Planes, Tanks, Ammunition, Jeeps, etc. to the Other Allies.

$11.3 Billion US Dollars ($209.5 Billion US Dollars in 2026) worth of Aid went to the Soviet Union.  

 

2% (452 tons) of American Aid went through the Soviet Arctic.

22% (3,964 tons) of American Aid went through the Arctic Convoy to Murmansk.

23% (4,160 tons) of American Aid went through Iran to the Soviet Union.

47% (8,242 tons) of American Aid went through the Pacific Ocean, past Japan (which was at War with the United States, but Neutral with the Soviet Union) to Vladivostok.

 

The fastest and most dangerous route to send American Aid from the United States to the Soviet Union was through the Arctic Convoy Route.

15% of the Cargo sent through the Arctic Convoy Route was destroyed by the German U-Boats.

1,100 Americans died bringing Americans Aid to the Soviet Union.

The United States gave the Soviet Union:

596 Ships

11,400 Aircraft

12,000 Armored Cars (Tanks, Self-Propelled Guns, etc.)

427,285 Cars and Jeeps

1,977 Trains

35,170 Motorcycles

5,000 Anti-Tank Guns

12,997 Pistols

345,735 tons of Explosives

127,000 tons of Gunpowder

35,800 Radio Stations

2,074 Radar Stations

105 Anti-Submarine Ships

202 Torpedo Boats

4 Submarines

3,756,000 Tires

15,417,000 Pairs of Military Boots

1,541,590 Blankets

13,000 Tons of Aircraft Gasoline

98,000 Tons of Wool

658,000 Tons of Sugar

2.7 Million Tons of Canned Meat

 

At the end the War the Americans and the Soviets disagreed on the amount of Money owed for Lend Lease Aid.

In reality the US gave the USSR $11.3 Billion US Dollars worth of Aid.

In 1951, the US reduced the amount down to $800 Million US Dollars (hoping to keep the Soviets out of the Korean War which was ongoing.)

In 1973 the Soviet Union repaid $48 Million US Dollars to the United States.

In December 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia agreed to repay the amount owed.

Russia finally paid off $674 Million US Dollars to the United States on August 21, 2006.

In total the Soviet Union/Russia only repaid $722 Million US Dollars out of the 11.3 Billion US Dollars in Aid they were given.