Comments by "janburn007" (@janburn007) on "Путешествие с Расселом" channel.

  1. Wow - those farmers' markets do look very well-presented & professional, with stalls/stands that look like they are permanently located there & used for other things from time to time. Most of the farmers' markets that I've been to in my own country, are much more basic, with no permanent stalls - but just something set up temporarily. And there's certainly a very good range of farm produce there in Russia as well.
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  2. It's interesting to see what one of the smaller, local suburban supermarkets is like, & their range of products & prices. It's also interesting to hear you say that the prices tend not to vary very much between the supermarkets - so you don't necessarily have to travel far away to a hypermarket to get the best prices for your groceries - unlike in some English-speaking countries. I noticed the ice-cream freezer/cabinet appeared to have mostly smaller, individual serves of ice-cream rather than big 5 or 6 litre tubs of ice-cream. Are large ice-cream tubs not popular products in Russian supermarkets? Lastly, when you were heading home, you did not appear to be carrying any supermarket purchases of your own. I hope you did not forget to buy the items your wife wanted you to buy - or did you have to go to a different supermarket to purchase those items?
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  3. It looks like a lovely shopping centre, with lots of great shops & facilities.
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  4. I live in a city of almost 400,000 people, which has always been very "forward-looking" when it comes to retail store trading hours - & even around 30 -35 years ago, regular retail stores were open for trading all day Saturday & Sunday, & supermarkets were often open till around 11pm in the evenings. These extended trading hours in our city were even way ahead of some much larger cities of 2 - 3 million people, where the stores at that time were still not open on Saturday afternoons or Sundays & there were no supermarkets open for late night trading. Unfortunately, during the recent restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the supermarkets which were previously open until 11pm at night, started closing earlier, at around 9pm or 10pm - & even though the COVID-19 restrictions are no longer in force, the supermarkets have not extended their opening hours to what they were before the pandemic. So most supermarkets in my city are now closed by 10pm in the evenings. But I've not come across any supermarkets in my city that are open 24/7. I often pop into the main supermarket in the CBD of my city, on the way home from work, to purchase a few items - so by the time I get there, it's often around 7pm or a bit later. But the problem I usually find, with shopping at that time of the evening, is that a lot of the shelves are half empty by then & because of that the choices are sometimes limited & the items that I want are just not on the shelves &/or out of stock. So it always surprises me when I see supermarkets in Russia open 24/7, with such fully stocked shelves & scarcely an empty shelf in sight (like the supermarket in the above video). Of course I realise it was mentioned that the above video was filmed around 9am in the morning, which might explain why all the shelves are still so full. So I'm wondering if there could be a particular time of day that one might go to that supermarket, & find it has some empty/un-stocked shelves - just like the supermarket I go to in my home city. My city was also the first one in our country to completely ban the use/sale of light-weight single-use plastic shopping bags - like the ones that groceries used to be packed in at the supermarket check-outs. My city banned their use almost 10 years ago now - & we've managed just fine without them ever since then. As of more recently though, stores no longer sell plastic disposable cutlery (knives/forks/spoons etc) & crockery (plates & bowls etc). Instead, disposable cutlery & crockery now comes made out of recyclable materials such as paper/cardboard.
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  5. The supermarket at which I regularly shop is just an average sized supermarket for my country & not a "hypermarket" - so does not have quite such a wide range of brands of products - but it has most things that I need. It was also interesting to note that some things like (clothes) washing powder/liquid are sold in quite large volume containers/packages - whereas some other grocery items are not (like ice-cream, for example - which is usually sold in much smaller size packages). I was also very interested to see the area where they process people's on-line shopping orders for either home delivery or pick-up. I had mentioned in one of my previous posts - wondering whether on-line grocery shopping in Moscow/Russia was popular - given that many people have good supermarkets within easy walking distance of their homes. I've never really shopped in a "hypermarket" before - but think I would really enjoy that & seeing the huge range & varieties of all the products. I could probably spend a few hours there just having a look around - of course, stopping in the cafeteria for a coffee & cake or a small snack along the way!
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  6. I think it's also interesting to hear you say that so much of the produce you buy in the local supermarkets in Russia, is actually produced or manufactured locally - so much more so than in English-speaking countries. That probably helps to make the goods/groceries much cheaper as well - especially as I suspect the overall wage/salary levels in Russia may not yet be quite as high as in some west European countries. And while Russian supermarket prices may, on the surface, appear to be cheaper than in some west European countries or English-speaking countries - one needs to bear in mind that the cost of living always needs to be compared with what people earn in that same country. So I don't really think it's a fair comparison for someone in say London or New York to look at Russian supermarket prices & say that Russians are doing well because their groceries are so cheap. Some years ago, I recall buying a 2 kilo pack of frozen peas in a supermarket in my own country - only to discover when I got home, that it had printed in small print on the packet "Product of Egypt" - which was about as far away as you could possibly get, from my own country, & of course, that "travel cost" is obviously included in the price of the product.
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  7. I love how in the final shot of the above video - the guy that we had previously seen walk past you, suddenly jumped into the shot just behind you & waved - to grab a bit of free publicity for himself! That supermarket does have a very good range of most products. Apart from that - I probably would have liked to see you comment on the prices in that particular supermarket & whether they would have been considered "good" prices, compared with other supermarkets in Russia. It's one thing for foreigners to compare Russian supermarket prices with what they themselves would normally pay in their home countries - but in other countries, everything is relative to the wages/salaries/incomes of the people in those same countries. So some commentary on whether the prices of basic food items in that supermarket, would have been affordable for the average Russian family/person, would also have been helpful.
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  8.  @Baracusagb  Thanks very much for clarifying that. When I did not notice any large tubs (5 - 6 litres) of ice-cream in the ice-cream freezer at that supermarket, I thought that perhaps Russian people did not like to purchase ice-cream in such large tubs.
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  9. Very interesting video - but obviously with a lot of west European countries, as well as Australia, New Zealand, USA etc all not to be found there. Needless to say - I'm sure there will be plenty of other countries there, ready to fill their void & take their place in the Russian market.
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  10.  @Skylar.alx8  Thanks for confirming that.
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  11. Interesting to watch - I've never watched anything like this before, even though I work in the Technology & Security Division of a government department. But the "robots" appeared to be more mechanical than computerised.
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  12. A very interesting tour around the transport Expo! It was also very interesting to see there was only ONE "campervan" on display. Judging from what you said - it sounds like the Russian people are not very interested in camping/caravaning/campervaning - which I find unusual, given that in many other parts of Europe, camping is very popular in summer time. Some of the nice features shown on the buses which were on display, have actually been around for a number of years. In Canberra, Australia, the buses used in the public transport system there have had "wheel-chair friendly" buses for quite a number of years - buses which lower their front suspension when the bus stops, & at the front entrance/door to the bus, instead of stairs/steps there is a "ramp" which can roll/fold out, to allow wheel-chairs to board the bus (which can also be handy for prams & strollers & elderly people). There are fold-down seats with their backs against the side walls towards the front of the bus, which can be folded up to make a space for the wheel-chair to be "parked". There are usually also at least 2 rows of seats towards the front of the bus, which are "facing each other" - which means that one of those rows of seats is "facing backwards" - just as shown in the above video. Seats facing backwards (to the direction of travel) are quite common in some military aircraft, as they are deemed to be "safer" in the case of an emergency or emergency landing/stop - as passengers are not then "thrown foward". Many of the Canberra buses also have the braille signage on the "stop" buttons - just as shown in the above video. A couple of years ago the public transport system in Canberra also introduced a number of new electric buses, that have the USB charging ports for passengers - usually 2 charging ports in the wall of the bus alongside each row of 2 seats - so, enough for each seated person to be able to plug in their mobile device & charge it up while commuting - which is a very handy arrangement.
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  13. I am one of those people who uses public transport in my city every day - as I don't have, nor have I ever held a driver's licence. So for that reason, I also don't own my own car, & am totally dependent on public transport. I live in a city of about 350,000 people, & where the public transport is okay, I would say - though obviously nowhere near as good as, or as frequent as in larger cities & countries, like Moscow. My city's public transport system consists mainly of buses, but we also have a relatively new (in the last 5 years) & still rather limited tram/light rail service. It's about a 5 minute walk from my home/house, to the nearest bus stop, from where I can catch a bus (a maximum 15 minute bus ride) to an "interchange", from where I need to catch the tram the rest of the way into the city centre (a further 6 minute ride). The tram is of course heated in winter & air-conditioned in summer (as are the buses) & have a free wifi service on board - though there is more standing room than actual seats on the trams. The trams & buses can sometimes get a bit crowded during peak periods - though at the times when I catch them, that's usually not a problem. The only thing people sometimes complain about is the low frequency of the suburban bus services, especially at night time & on weekends. However, when you are familiar with the timetable as a regular user (like me), you know how to time your journeys accordingly. But understandably, people who use these services only occasionally & just show up at a bus stop with no real planning, could be in for a rather long wait for a bus to arrive, if it's on a weekend.
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  14.  @calendula911  In some countries they can be very handy for families with 2 - 3 children who all like ice-cream - & it saves having to go shopping quite as often.
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  15. Some of the prices may look cheap to a person living in another country. But in Russia, to determine how "easy" those prices would make life for the senior citizens actually living in Russia - you would need to know what the average income was for senior citizens living in Russia. And it may not be nearly as much, as where you are from - which might make a lot of those supermarket products quite expensive for the average senior citizen living in Russia.
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  16.  @ГульнерТуребаева-т6з  It sounds like your area is very well serviced with stores, given the size of its population.
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  17.  @krino2  Really? That's interesting to note.
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  18. I enjoyed this video - it is indeed interesting to see the different types of products available in supermarkets in other countries.
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  19. Sergei Prokofiev - after whom your 2nd VIP Lounge was named "Prokofiev" - is a very famous/well-known Russian music composer & pianist, who passed away in 1953. This was a very interesting video about the VIP lounges in Russian airports. The lounges did look very spacious. I would use such lounges some years ago whenever I was travelling for work-related purposes - though the lounges I visited were not quite so spacious. However that was some years ago & maybe things have since changed.
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  20.  @krino2  Thanks very much for that information.
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  21.  @I_r_i_  In countries like the USA/UK/Australia, I think large tubs of 5 - 6 litres of ice-cream are popular because people usually have to travel further to go to a supermarket & usually have to drive there & do a "larger" shop & bring all the items home in their car. So they tend to buy a lot more items when they do go to the supermarket. Also for larger families with 2 - 3 children - a large tub of 5 - 6 litres of ice-cream usually won't last that long.
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  22.  @Iv4Bez  Where I'm from, it's also the same - there can be a significant difference in the price of grocery items from one supermarket to another - so one needs to be careful about where one shops.
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  23.  @СветланаКовальская-и5б  In some countries the larger tubs of 5 - 6 litres of ice-cream are popular with families who have 2 - 3 children & it saves going shopping for ice-cream quite as often.
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  24.  @OluenRival  I think in other countries, it's not so much the case that people are eating so much ice-cream - but that the large tubs of 5 - 6 litres last a long time & are popular with families who have 2 - 3 children who all like ice-cream. Families in countries like the US/UK/Australia usually have quite large freezers in their kitchens - so it's not a problem to keep the ice-cream frozen for a longer time. Also, there are a lot of different ways to eat ice-cream - not just served/eaten on its own - but also with other things - like sweet pies/tarts etc. Also, in other countries, people tend to do their grocery shopping less frequently & buy more items because the supermarkets are located further away from their homes. Russian people are lucky to have lots of supermarkets so close to their homes.
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  25.  @ДмитрийКутнов  I think the main difference between the situation in Russia & other countries - is that in most other countries there's not a supermarket on very corner - so people go shopping for groceries less often & when they do, they tend to buy things in bulk & stock up on things, so they don't need to shop so often. Hence the popularity of large tubs of 5 - 6 litres of ice-cream in some countries outside of Russia. Russian people are fortunate in that they do not need to do that - because there are so many supermarkets in a relatively small area. And that could possibly be put down to the fact that there is a higher population density in large Russian cities like Moscow - where many more people live in high-rise apartment blocks - so having a couple of supermarkets in every such apartment block makes sense - because there is sufficient population to support it. But in cities in other countries where the majority of people live in detached houses, so the population is more sparse - supermarkets are likely to be much further apart from one another. So it requires more effort to go to the supermarket & people do it less often.
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  26.  @ellidano  Ha ha...& that's a good thing! But I think the main reason people in countries like the UK/USA/Australia buy the large 5 - 6 litre tubs of ice-cream, is because they go to the supermarket much less often than people in Russia - & they often "buy in bulk" when they do shop. And for families with say 2 - 3 children, a 5 - 6 litre tub of ice-cream may not last that long in any case.
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  27.  @SomewhereInRussia  I would hope there would be a lift/elevator to that 15th floor apartment - so it may not matter whether one is carrying a large bag of potatoes, or a large tub of ice-cream. But I appreciate that in large cities in Russia, one may never be very far from a supermarket. Sometimes buying things "in bulk" can also save money. And in some countries ice-cream is also popular as a dessert at home - not only on its own - but also as an "accompaniment" to something else - like a sweet pie or tart, or even just fruit. So, it might come in handy, & be regularly consumed at home in some countries. But maybe ice-cream is not eaten like that in Russia - as an accompaniment to something else.
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  28.  @Archaeopteryx_lithographica  I'm glad to hear you enjoy ice-cream so much. I do too!
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  29.  @Галина-м8ф6й  Yes of course it should not be eaten in large amounts all at once, nor every day. But in my country people often buy it in large quantities because they may only go to the supermarket once a month or so & they may have families with several children - in which case, buying it in large quantities may make sense.
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  30.  @ЕленаМатвеева-щ4п  I'm not familiar with the American system - but in countries like the UK & Australia - all government taxes, medical tax & pension fund contributions are deducted from one's salary, before the employee receives their salary paid to them. Even so, when people talk about their salary levels in those countries - they usually refer to the "before tax" amount of salary. Also in the UK & Australia, all stores are obliged to display the final price of the item (inclusive of any taxes) as the shelf price - & that is the amount paid at the check-out. So there are no surprises at the check-out.
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  31.  @ellidano  Sure - but the above video was about a supermarket & food & food prices etc - hence we're also commenting on those things in the comments here. The only message I was trying to convey was that it's not really fair to compare food prices in Russia with food prices in other countries, if the wage/salary levels are not also the same. After all, food is one of the most basic necessities of life, if not THE most basic. And it's possible to live without some of the other things you have mentioned - but if a person does not have enough food, they will starve to death. Naturally, the prices of many other things will also vary between countries & have a bearing on the overall cost of living - but one of the most basic is food. And that is what the above video is about - which is why we are discussing it also in the comments here.
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  32. It looks like a very nice holiday resort!
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  33.  @РыжийКот-ц5с9б Yes - that's the case in many countries these days. Some years go, I would order groceries on-line from the supermarket for my father, & have them delivered to his house. But just for myself, sometimes it's more convenient to purchase a handful of items from the supermarket on my way home from work. Also, if I'm only purchasing a handful of items, it's usually not worth the additional cost of having them home-delivered.
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  34.  @ГаляПоле  That's interesting to know.
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  35.  @ГаляПоле  Thanks for the tip!
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  36.  @I_r_i_  Large 5 - 6 litre "tubs" of ice-cream are very common in the ice-cream & freezer sections of supermarkets in the UK/USA/Australia. Families who have a few children will often buy ice-cream in these large "tubs". Also, in the USA I've heard they sell fresh milk sometimes in 1 gallon (just over 4.5 litres) plastic containers, while the most I've ever come across in my own country is a 3 litre plastic container of fresh milk in a supermarket. Is fresh milk available in such large-sized containers in Russia?
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  37.  @I_r_i_  Thanks - I find it interesting to notice the differences in the ways people do their grocery shopping, in different countries. Even though people in countries like UK/USA do grocery shopping less frequently & buy things in bulk - they usually still do cook a fresh evening meal each day, using existing supplies they have stored at home. Large freezers are a very common item in people's kitchens.
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  38.  @alexdenisov7912  Thanks for the comment. From yours & other comments I have received - it would appear that large 5- 6 litre tubs of ice-cream are at the very least, quite rare in Russia.
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  39.  @Nui_Nu  That's great that some supermarkets offer coffee & pastries as well. I've seen a couple of the larger supermarkets in my own country offer something similar - but it's certainly not very common.
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  40.  @АндрэаТиамо  It's great that Russians have such a good choice of supermarkets so close to home & within easy walking distance..
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  41.  @LenaLena-dy7os  It's obviously very handy, having supermarkets within easy walking distance of one's home.
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  42.  @Archaeopteryx_lithographica  It's obviously very handy - having supermarkets within easy walking distance from one's home. Where I'm from, each suburb will have a small shopping centre, with usually at least a small store, where one can buy grocery items - but the prices of items in those small local stores are usually much more expensive than in the larger supermarkets, which are further away, And it's common to buy things in larger quantities so one does not need to shop so often. Also, there is often a considerable "discount" for buying things "in bulk".
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  43.  @Ignat_Loshadev  A "bucket" or "tub" of ice-cream is much larger & holds 5 - 6 litres of ice-cream & means one does not need to buy it so often - because the larger size will last longer - especially if it's for a family with a couple of children. Also, the larger sizes are usually sold more cheaply "per litre" than the smaller sizes - so you can save money if you buy it in bulk or the larger sizes. At least, that's how it is where I'm from.
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  44.  @АлексПетров-ю3д  Yes - I have actually noticed that I have not seen many over-weight Russian people in these videos. In my country, people go to the supermarket less often, because the supermarkets are usually further away from where they live. So people do tend to buy things "in bulk" when they go grocery shopping, & they have large refrigerators & freezers in their homes, in which to store their purchases.
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  45.  @АлександрХрамов-д5е  Perhaps not in Russia, where everyone has supermarkets within easy walking distance of their homes/apartments. But in other countries where one needs to drive to the supermarket or have groceries home-delivered - it's much easier to buy things in bulk when one goes shopping - so as not to have to go shopping so often.
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  46.  @светланасветлана-н1д9у  I also like to eat ice-cream - even in cold weather.
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  47.  @АлексейСултанов-э1щ  In my country, Pepsi/Coca-Cola does not come in 5 litre bottles either - the maximum we have is 2 litres as well. But ice-cream DOES come in 5 litre tubs in my country.
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  48. The apartment does look very modern. But one thing I've noticed about these apartments that seem to have an open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area, is that so often, the amount of bench space in the kitchen, for meal preparation, is very minimal. If someone were really into cooking, I'm not sure that such a tiny amount of kitchen bench space would suit them. I don't think it would suit me - as someone who is used to a larger kitchen, with a double sink. The dining tables also look quite small, & the lounge area rather narrow. Also, even in the master bedroom - there does not appear to be any wardrobe/cupboard space for their clothes etc. I also noticed that in some of the common areas of the building, there looked to be a lot of unused open wasted spaces that could probably put to better use. Having said that, certainly for the price of the apartment though, it does seem very reasonably priced, looking at it through the eyes of someone who lives in a western developed country. But I do wonder how affordable it would be for an average Russian person/family on an average Russian income.
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  49. Just for the rcord - I don't think it's that uncommon for trains to depart from both sides of the platform in the same direction - when that particular train station happens to be at the end of the train line, with nothing further beyond it. In my home city (not in Russia) of about 350,000, a new "light rail" service opened about 6 years ago now & the "end of the line" is basically in the heart of the CBD, with the service not going any further. So in peak times in particular, when the services/departures are more frequent - both sides of the platform are used for departures - which all head in the same direction - otherwise you might have some trains colliding! Outside of peak hours when the services are less frequent, they tend to only use one side of the platform - so the other side does not get used very much in off-peak times - except for perhaps new driver training. From memory, there's a similar situation with the standard London Underground train service (the one which stops at just about all stations) which goes from the east of London at one end, though the city centre, then terminates at Heathrow Airport at the other end. It is the Piccadilly Line (blue) - & because Heathrow Airport is the end of the Piccadilly Line - trains depart in the same direction from both sides of the platform at Heathrow Airport. It's been like that for many years. But that sort of thing only happens of course, when the train station happens to be at the very end of the line.
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  50. The studio apartment/bed-sitter certainly looks nice & is light & airy. But there a a few unusual things I noticed about it. The sofa/divan, which pulls out into a double bed, does not look like it would be particularly comfortable - either as a sofa, or a bed - it appears too "block-like" in shape. But of course, I could certainly be wrong on that score. The desk/table could do with at least one extra chair - in case the apartment is rented out by a couple - & if they decided to have someone over for a meal, a third chair might also be preferable. The kitchenette has no micro-wave oven at all, & there does not appear to even be enough space for one. If it were placed on the kitchen bench-top, it would take up whatever little free bench space there is, leaving no room for meal preparation etc. I guess you could probably put it on top of the refrigerator though - as that would be the only place to put it, if one wanted to leave the bench space free for meal preparation. The other obvious thing missing was the vanity basin for hand-washing etc in the bathroom - which I thought would have been essential for good hygiene reasons. Of course, one could wash one's hands at the kitchen sink - but that means any bathroom germs will be carried into the kitchenette - which is not good. I would much rather have seen a vanity basin in the bathroom - & if that meant there was then no room left for the clothes washing machine in the bathroom - the washing machine could have been moved into the general living area if need be. Or was it intended that people use the bath tub for washing their hands etc?
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