Tag: Russia

Thank You: Readers from 100 Countries Have Visited my Blog

After starting my blog last month, I didn’t really expect that people will read what I write. I didn’t even bother to actively promote my blog in social media because I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

A few days ago, after 40 days of blogging, my geoview stats in WordPress showed this:

 

Number of Countries in my Blog's Geoviews
100 countries and counting – I hope.  If you try to count them, they won’t add up to 100 since countries like Singapore and Monaco are too small to be seen in that map. Image from wordpress

 

Readers from 100 countries have visited my blog. Thank you. Continue reading Thank You: Readers from 100 Countries Have Visited my Blog

Despite Russia’s Recent Economic Struggles – Miss Russia Wears Ridiculously Expensive Gowns to the Miss Universe Pageant in Doral

It is no secret that Russia has been on an economic slump lately due to economic sanctions brought about by the United States, Europe and their allies. The drop in crude oil prices makes things even worse.

Russia’s GDP grew by only 0.7% in the third quarter of 2014, and the World Bank projects that the country will go into recession in 2015. The Russian ruble (RUB) already lost about half its value. To counter the ruble slide, the Russian Central Bank raised interest rates to around 17%. Inflation is at around 9%.

But you probably cant’t tell what the Russian economy is going through based on what Miss Russia, Yulia Alipova, has been wearing to the Miss Universe 2014 pageant in Doral, Florida.

For the official evening gown portraits, Yulia wore an Elie Saab haute couture gown. Fashion pundits estimate the gown’s price tag at USD175,000. Yes, the number of zeroes are correct – the gown costs as much as a house. Continue reading Despite Russia’s Recent Economic Struggles – Miss Russia Wears Ridiculously Expensive Gowns to the Miss Universe Pageant in Doral