[Balancer]

In the West many different problems are sounded. But, funny, they are, as a rule, very imperceptible from within Russia. And, on the contrary, a number of the problems urgent for Russians passes absolutely imperceptible in the West. Because it isn't interesting to media that really happens.

I try to avoid to open new topics because I use the machine translator and the result turns out awful. But, on the one hand, moderators told not to be engaged necropostings. On the other hand — I all the same didn't find a suitable topic

Therefore once again I ask to forgive my broken English. And if the subject isn't interesting, I won't begin to lift it. For now — I share the processes which are really disturbing us in the country.


Very unpleasant tendency — acquisition of the power by Russian Orthodox Church. The speech not about Orthodoxy as religion, to it most of sane people has no claims. The speech about the church Supreme organization, ROC. In spite of the fact that at us in the Constitution it is directly declared that the Russian Federation — the secular state, the ROC aims to get more power and an advantage before the law. It and a sensational case with arrest of the Pussy Riot group and much less known affairs.

Now the ROC is active on return of old, pre-revolutionary assets to which it purchased actually a robbery of the population in due time and which refused subsequently, not to contain in forces in accordance with general practice.

In St. Petersburg there is world-famous St. Isaac's Cathedral. Now it is the known museum with hundreds of research associates which is completely providing itself and bringing in treasury of the state hundreds of millions rubles of taxes a year.

The government of St. Petersburg decided to transfer it to ownership of ROC. The staff of the museum leaves. The profit on the museum disappears. The state is still engaged in repair and content of a cathedral.

That is, from the point of view of common sense — a continuous loss.

However, church hierarches started a powerful propaganda machine. Threaten to remove on streets millions of protesters against dissatisfied with transfer of a cathedral to church.

It is, perhaps, the hottest topic of the last weeks.



On a photo — a meeting against transfer of a cathedral to ROC.

And it is St. Isaac's Cathedral:

[One Degree]

For now — I share the processes which are really disturbing us in the country.

I know I will welcome your views and I believe many others will. Your English is passable and we will not hesitate to ask for clarification, so please don't let that stop you.

[Balancer]

One more problem. In Russia now any district court can take out the decision on blocking of the Websites. Present, for example, to the USA, the judge of a small town on 10000 people of the population can decide that such Website harmful and to demand its blocking across all Russia. And this decision will be executed!

Sometimes reaches idiocy.

There is a website devoted to the game Minecraft. There is a recipe of production of in-game explosive, TNT. And so, the other day the Zavodoukovsky district court of the Tyumen region has decided to block the article of "Minecraftpedia" in the territory of the Russian Federation as she contains information "about a way of production of explosives which is forbidden in the territory of the Russian Federation".

This case has turned out so wild even against the background of other Russian blocking of the websites that Roskomnadzor, the organization which is engaged in blocking has given a protest to higher instance for revision of this decision

One is good — high technical education of the population allows to ignore similar decisions Despite all similar blocking they very easily manage (a proxy, VPN, anonymizers, etc.)

and we will not hesitate to ask for clarification

I hope for it



There is one more news. On the one hand, in Russia it has caused a small response, with another — has reached also the West Also concerns branch, important, prestigious for Russia:

Russian rocket builder may have replaced special alloys with cheap metals

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/01 ... r-builder/

...

According to the news reports, the final straw may have come after recent tests of engines to be used by future second and third stages of the Proton rocket that resulted in more failures. "The failure of the engine was reportedly traced to illegal replacement of precious heat-resistant alloys within the engine's components with less expensive but failure-prone materials," Zak writes. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has already recalled some of the engines to be used in the upper stage of its Soyuz rockets, and now it is also recalling dozens of Proton upper stage engines. The next Proton launch could be delayed into this summer.

...

During production of rocket engines the precious metals which are a part of heat-resistant solder were stolen. Probably, that who stole, counted upon margin of safety. And, even, somewhere correctly hoped. The spaceships on such defective engines flew successfully several years. Accidents of several carriers were connected with other reasons in recent years. But in case of the next fire testing defect was found. Will change all made rocket engines now. What, certainly, not so much will affect negatively in the financial plan how many on prestige of the Russian astronautics.




[KS edit: @Balancer, do not double post, please. If you want to add something, you can edit your posts.]

[Rugoz]

Well, Proton is supposed to be replaced by Angara at some point in the 2020s. Not sure why it's taking so long. The first flight was in 2014.

The Russian civilian space program is a bit disappointing, mainly because it's severely lacking in the space science departement. I find telescopes and planetary probes more exciting than sending astronauts to LEO. Last time I checked the lunar program is also going nowhere.

The same can be said about NASA's wasteful HSF BEO plans of course. But their budget is much higher.

[Beren]

You've got the point of Balancer's posts indeed @Rugoz!