Russian businessman Dmitry Shumkov, who is also a member of Association of Russian Lawyers and Russian Olympic Committe partner, has acquired 50% of French prestige skis manufacturer Skis Lacroix. Following this deal, Skis Lacroix promises to invest €300 million in building Russian factory to build mountain skis, and in hotel constructions in Sochi.

Source: Gazeta.ru

Ekaterinburg is located in Ural Mountains region and it is one of the biggest cities in Russia. It’s a magnet for investors, and if you one of them :), or if you will be traveling to this city in June-August, maybe you’ll be interested to know that you can purchase Ural Airlines tickets for Ekaterinburg – Sochi flights for June-August period for lower price. According to their press release price of one way ticket will be around US$150 if you buy it from February 1st to March 31st.

First case of bird flu this year was registered today in Russia. Bird flu virus H5N1 was found in dead birds in the city of Lobinsk and two villages near it in Krasnodar Krai.

Last year during global bird flu scare the virus was also found in Russia in Krasnodar Krai, as well as in some places in Siberia. No human deaths contaminations were reported last year in Krasnodar Krai. There was a lot of things done last year in Krasnodar Krai last year due to this scare. Vaccine was developed, plans were designed on how to react to cases oc bird flu, and farms personnel and local population was trained, and additional amounts of disposable suites and tools were purchased to destroy infected birds. So, hopefully all those efforts will help to minimize any impact this virus may have in the region.

Labinsk & Sochi on the map: Read the rest of this entry »

The Ukrainian government is looking into possibility of building a bridge between Ukrainian Crimea and Russian Krasnodar Krai (part of which is Sochi), reports Yuga.ru. Their logic is – Russia promotes Sochi, lets bring some of their visitors to Ukraine :) That sure makes sense… I always wondered why a bridge or a tunnel across Kerch (Kertch/Kerchensky) strait did not exist. Well, the money, I guess. But it always felt wrong (and it still does) that people have to drive around Asov Sea just to get to Crimea by land from south of Russia when it is so damn close. Today there is a ferry operating across Kerchensky and Tamansky peninsulas. However, it was reopened just a few years ago, before it wasn’t operating for 15 years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Russia officially joins Turkey’s Black Sea Harmony initiative to address new security challenges in region.
Actually this happened in the end of December, but I just found my bookmark today :)

Black Sea Harmony is a naval operation initiated by Turkey in March 2004 in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1373, 1540 and 1566 aimed at deterring terrorism and asymmetric threats worldwide. (Wikipedia)

Ukraine has also announced last year that it is considering joining Black Sea Harmony, and the last i’ve read Ukraine’s participation process is in its final stage.

Good news, the Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation has finally approved the use of e-tickets in civil aviation in Russia. This, of course, should mean faster, more convenient way for travelers to get on the airplane.

After snowless winter and record high temperatures, snow falls in Moscow – 40 cm!
Must see picture! : ) Read the rest of this entry »

Since there aren’t many direct flights from non-CIS countries (also called “far-abroad countries” in Russia) to Sochi, and most foreign travelers today visiting Sochi are probably getting there through Moscow, or another city, I think this information will be useful to people who are planing a trip to Russia this year.

Russia is a big country. Biggest in the World, in fact. Just that alone has a lot of benefits, such as availability of vast amounts of natural resources, multicultural wealth, and many others. But it also creates certain problems and inconveniences, one of which I will talk about today – travel. Read the rest of this entry »