Pamela Anderson, waltzes home and Train whizzes by in Week 7's........

On the week 7 elimination episode of Dancing With the Stars, Pamela Anderson, the magically babelicious pop culture icon who reduced Tom Bergeron to a 12-year-old boy, said farewell to sequins, fringe, and the daily execution of splits. Her poise, ability to assume characters, and sweet nature will be missed. Honestly, it seemed like she knew she'd be gone. She was calm and cracking jokes, as if she'd already had a decent cry before the liiiiiive taping. Due to a vague-sounding injury, Pam got to close out her DWTS experience in a lovely pastel princess gown and perfect makeup instead of a black pleather raincoat and streaks of sweat. Hey, you gotta keep it classy, even on reality TV.

Your votes had set the stage for a shocking elimination! I wouldn't call Pam's oust that shocking, but it did provide the graphics department with a great excuse to splatter sliver lightning bolts all over the contestants' headshots. I have to say, when Tom said ''One of these couples will be in the bottom two'' and the audience gasped, I thought it would be Nicole and Derek. Alas, the ''fast, furious, and fabulous'' Erin and ''her Russian'' could not survive the unflattering bloodbath (of light) of the dreaded bottom two.

My favorite part of Tuesday's show was Niecy's previously taped outburst backstage. ''Why do people keep asking me that? Did I think .............

Read More:ezto.in

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Sources: CNN News G news

Russia is the largest country in the world by far; spanning eleven time zones, its territory covers nearly twice as much of the earth

Russia is the largest country in the world by far; spanning eleven time zones, its territory covers nearly twice as much of the earth as that of the next largest country, Canada. Despite its massive size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture. Instead it has huge reserves of some of the world's most important resources (oil, gas, coal, platinum, gold, chrome, asbestos). Mount Elbrus (Gora El'brus), at 5,633 m, is Europe's, and Russia's, tallest peak.


Russia has both extensive coastlines bordering the Arctic Ocean and Northwest Pacific, as well as smaller coastlines on the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Russia is bordered by Norway and Finland to the northwest, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the west, Georgia and Azerbaijan to the southwest, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia to the south, and North Korea to the southeast. The American state of Alaska lies opposite the easternmost point of Russia across the Bering Strait.





Russia also administers the exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast on the Baltic coast located in between Poland and Lithuania.

History
An Imperial Power
Although Russia is a very old country founded during the Middle Ages, it was not considered part of mainstream Europe until the reign of Czar Peter the Great who ruled until 1725. He was a Europhile with an empathy towards Western culture and the first Czar to visit 'Europe proper'. There is a story that while visiting Greenwich Palace in England, he was told that he looked as though he had been dragged through a hedge backwards. His reply was that he had, and in a wheelbarrow!

The Russian Empire was established in 1721, and the three hundred-year chronicle of the Romanovs, who had been in power since 1613, came to fruition. Peter the Great was one of Russia's most charismatic and forceful leaders, and he built the foundations of a new political culture. Trying to westernize the nation, he moved the capital from the old, quasi-medieval city of Moscow to the new city of Saint Petersburg, where it would remain until 1918. The Russian Empire reached its peak during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, producing many colorful and enlightened figures such as Catherine the Great, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. The sharp divide between the rulers and the ruled became apparent to all observers in the 19th century, and the botched attempts by the establishment to amend this ended in failure. Russia was technologically, politically and culturally far behind the rest of Europe; this would have tragic results for Czar Nicholas II and his family; the Romanov dynasty,; the Russian Empire; and, not least, the people of Russia. In 1917 the empire and the monarchy was destroyed.

Headquarters of Communism

Headquarters of Communism
World War I strained Imperial Russia's governmental and social institutions to the breaking point, allowing a worker-led revolution to overthrow an unpopular government and form a socialist, one-party rule, resulting in a brutal civil war lasting until late 1920. After Lenin's death in 1924, a power struggle ensued, with Josef Stalin emerging as the new leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin's brutal rule (1928-53) introduced an economic system called "socialism in one country" that rapidly industrialised the country while completely abandoning all idealistic collectivist principals which the revolutionaries of October 1917 had fought for. Indeed, after Stalin's ascent to power, he had most of those involved in the Revolution killed (along with millions who resisted his efforts to collectivise the agricultural sector).

World War II, from a Soviet perspective, between June 1941 and May 1945, added to the woes of the Soviet peoples and led to the deaths of 25-30 million citizens. Their alliance with the Western nations in the fight against, and eventual defeat of, Nazism was a tremendous and courageous achievement, and their capture of Berlin their greatest moment in that War.

After Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet economy continued to grow strongly under Georgy Malenkov (1953-1955) and Nikita Khrushchev (1955-1964), focusing more resources in prodcution of consumer goods. The Soviet Union eventually reached its political, military, and economic peak during the closing years of Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982), but subsequent stagnation caused a crisis that would continue until General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize the political system. His initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 separate independent countries, matching those of the 15 republics of the USSR.
A Nascent Democracy
Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to rebuild a political system, with the old Soviet elites merely transferring their control of the country through a oligarchical market apparatus. Indeed, Russian organized crime and its links to the now explicitly market-oriented government were evident under the inept Yeltsin administration, even as political reforms were introduced. Subsequently, in recent years, the Putin government has worked hard to recentralize power, revitalise a comatose economy and stifle crime to a mere minimum, yet still well above 1990 levels. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya and its neighboring republics. As of 7 May 2008, Putin has transferred power to the new President Dimitri Medvedev.

Climate
Climate ranges from steppes in the south to humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along the Arctic coast.

Terrain
The terrain consists of broad plains with low hills west of the Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions; mountainous and volcanic throughout much of Far Eastern Russia.

Regions

Russia's Federal Districts Northwestern Russia

Central Russia

Chernozemye (Black Earth)

Southern Russia

Volga Region

Urals Region

Siberia

Far Eastern Russia

Kaliningrad Oblast

Here is a representative sample of nine Russian cities with their Anglicized and Russian Cyrillic names:

The Hermitage Museum in St. PetersburgMoscow (Москва) — Russia's gargantuan capital is one of the world's greatest cities and has endless attractions to offer an adventurous visitor
Irkutsk (Иркутск) — the world's favorite Siberian city, located within an hour of Lake Baikal on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Kazan (Казань) — the world's capital of Tatar culture is an attractive city in the heart of the Volga Region with an impressive kremlin
Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород) — often overlooked despite being one of the largest cities in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod is well worth a visit for its kremlin, Sakharov museum, and nearby Makaryev Monastery
Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург) — Russia's cultural and former political capital is home to the Hermitage, one of the world's best museums, while the city center is a living open air museum in its own right, making this city one of the world's top travel destinations
Sochi (Сочи) — Russia's favorite Black Sea beach resort has been largely unknown to foreigners, but that is set to change in a major way when it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympic Games
Vladivostok (Владивосток) — often referred to (somewhat ironically) as "Russia's San Francisco," full of hilly streets and battleships, this is Russia's principal Pacific city and the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway
Volgograd (Волгоград) — formerly Stalingrad, the scene of perhaps the deciding battle of World War II, and now home to a massive war memorial
Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбург) — the center of the Urals region and one of Russia's principal cultural centers is a good stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway and an arrival point for visitors to the Urals, the second russian financial center.
Other destinations

Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the worldKizhi — one of the most precious sites in all Russia, Kizhi Island on Lake Onega is famous for its spectacular ensemble of traditional wooden churches
Lake Baikal — the "pearl of Siberia" is the world's deepest and biggest lake by volume and a remarkable destination for all who love the outdoors
Trans-Siberian Railway — perhaps the longest train route in the world, this itinerary takes you across the entire Asian continent (and a good chunk of Europe) the long way
Mamayev Kurgan — overlooking the city of Volgograd, this is the memorial on site of the the twentieth century's most important battle, Stalingrad

Citizens of most non-CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries must obtain a visa prior to arriving in Russia.

Citizens of most non-CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries must obtain a visa prior to arriving in Russia. Citizens of Croatia and Serbia (3 months, invitation required), Israel (90 days), Montenegro (90 days), Cuba (30 days), Thailand (30 days) and Venezuela (90 days) do not need a visa. Obtaining a Russian visa is a costly, time-consuming, and often frustrating process. Most visitors should start the process at least two months in advance, but it can be done in a few weeks if you are willing to spend a little extra. There is also a way to get a visa in just a few days, but for citizens of some countries, this will cost a couple hundred dollars. For citizens of EU countries, this will cost €130 and take three days, instead of the usual 4-10 days.

The Invitation

There are number of ways to get a Russian visa, but first of all, you will need an official invitation. The type of visa you receive (see below) depends on the type of invitation that has been issued to you.

The tourist invitation is a letter of confirmation of booking and pre-payment of your accommodation and travel arrangements in Russia. It can be obtained from your tour operator if you book a package tour, a government approved hotel in Russia, an on-line hotel booking service or Russian travel agency. The sign of government approval is a so called "consular reference," the government registration number with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Only hotels and travel agencies that have consular reference can issue the confirmations valid for visa purposes. Using a local Visa Service to obtain a Russian Visa will streamline the process. They will double check your application and invitation, go to the embassy for you and return your passport to you. This saves time and frustration.

It should be noted that tricks such as booking one night in a hotel and getting a visa for 30 days with the paper received from the hotel won't work. Hotels only issue invitations for the length of time you are a guest with them, and the visa will be issued to match the dates of the invitation. However, some travel agencies will issue a confirmation for a fee, without actually collecting the accommodation pre-payment. The legality of such actions are in question and there is a bit of controversy about this. Travelers who plan to stay in more than one hotel would probably be best advised to seek an invitation through a travel agency rather than a hotel directly, in order for the invitation to cover all the dates of your proposed trip.

Russian Embassies and Consulates are inconsistent in whether they accept faxed/e-mailed copies of the invitation in lieu of the original, so it is best to check in advance, and plan far enough in advance that you have time to receive the original by mail if necessary.

If you have friends or relatives in Russia, you could ask them to sponsor you for a private/homestay visa. They would need to seek an invitation through their local Passport and Visa Division of the Federal Migration Service (formerly OVIR). The problem with such invitations is that they take at least a month to process. The inviting individual is solely responsible for all your activities while in Russia and can be penalized heavily if something goes wrong. So personal invitations are usually not available for a fee through the net.

Another type of invitation is required to obtain a business visa. Business invitations are issued by the government and for many Russian consulates the original hard copy is required (though some will accept a faxed copy, always check this before applying) Obtaining the business invitation is time consuming and costly. Any registered company in Russia can apply for the business invitation for a foreign national in the visa and passport office in Russia. It normally takes 4 to 6 weeks to get one. Some travel agencies in Russia can help obtaining a business invitation. Business visas are a lot flexible than tourist visas, since they can be valid for multiple entries for up to 12 months. However, see the important caveat below under Business Visas.

Invitations for student visas are issued by the educational institution where you plan to study. Most universities and language schools are familiar with the process.

Some Russian local governments have a right to invite foreigners for cultural exchanges by sending a TELEX to the Embassy or Consulate of Russia overseas, requesting the visa issue to a particular foreigner or group of foreigners. Such telex messages are used instead of invitation. This is normally the way to go if you are invited by the government.

Receiving the Visa

Once you have an invitation, you can apply for a visa. The standard price charged by the Russian Consulate for a visa is $100 in some countries ($130 for United States Citizens), plus (in some countries) $20 for returning your passport via FedEx. EU citizens pay €35 for most kinds of visas, thanks to a reciprocal visa agreement. In order to get a visa you will need a visa application, two passport-size photos, an invitation, and passport. In some countries, you will also need two money orders for $100 and $20, as some Russian Consulates do not accept credit cards or personal checks. In others, you will need a credit/debit card because the Russian consulates in these countries don't accept money orders, cash or cheques. In some countries, you will need to send all of these to any Russian consulate and wait for few weeks. In other countries, you will have to visit the consulate yourself to submit your application, wait for just one week and then pick it up in person at the consulate if the consulate doesn't allow mail applications (referring to a Russian law)[1].

In the United States, however, consulates have ceased accepting applications, requiring one to go through a visa processing firm to obtain a visa or apply in person at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Alternatively, you could pay some visa processing firm an additional $50-150 for "expedited visa processing," which actually works. To find such firms just Google - visa to Russia. Some firms include visas in their tours and take care of visa hassles for you.

Once you have the visa in hand, check all the data to make sure your name and passport number are correct, and that the dates of your intended entry and exit are correct. It is easier to correct mistakes before you travel than after you arrive.

Arrival, Customs and Registration

When you arrive in Russia, non-Russian citizens will be expected to fill in two copies of the migration card, which is sometimes only available in Cyrillic characters (translations into English and German are available on Lufthansa and Aeroflot). Passport control will tear off one copy of the migration card, leaving you with one copy, and it should be stamped. Keep track of this card. It is vital to registering your visa and leaving Russia. Not being able to present a migration card when leaving Russia can result in fines and the possibility of your departure being delayed by several days while the authorities work out what to do with you.

Those who enter Russia with valuable electronic items or musical instruments (especially violins that look antique and expensive), antiques, large amounts of currency, or other such items are required to declare those items on the customs entry card and must insist on having the card stamped by a customs officer upon arrival. Even if the customs officer advises that it is not necessary to declare such items, the traveler does have the right to insist on a stamp on his declaration. Having this stamp may save one considerable hassle (fines, confiscation) upon departure from Russia should the customs agent at departure decide that an item should have been declared upon entry.

You must register your stay within three business days of arrival in country, and within three days of arriving in each new city. If you have an active itinerary and are not staying in any one place for three days, you must register at least once in the first city you visit. Your sponsor (the one who issued the invitation) is responsible for registering you. If you are staying in a hotel, the hotel is also obliged to register you, at least for the length of your stay with them.

Staying in Russia

While in Russia, law requires you to carry your passport and registration card with you at all times. Police on the streets will do random passport checks so you must have your passport on you at all times. But you're not alone — this goes for Russian citizens as well. It is also good to have a copy of the passport, visa, and migration card, in case a dishonest police officer asks for your documents, because it is much harder to ransom a copy than the original, and you can always make another copy.

Business visas have their own particular nuances about how long the visa holder may stay in Russia. Following the introduction of new rules on October 17, 2007, a 12-month Russian business visa (and some other types as well) will only entitle the holder to spend 90 days of the two 180-day periods of validity of the visa within Russia. In addition, should a visitor on a business visa spend 90 consecutive days within the RF, then they will not be allowed to re-enter Russia until a further period of 90 days has passed. This therefore limits the maximum time that may be spent in Russia on a one-year business visa (and some other types of visa), to just 180 days. Other rules were simultaneously introduced placing restrictions on where visas may be obtained by foreign nationals to enter Russia and how frequently the person must leave Russian territory and obtain a new registration on re-arrival.

Departure from Russia

Russian law is very strict about the amount of time one can stay in Russia on a visa. You may never arrive before the entry date on your visa (you can always arrive later), and you may not depart after the exit date on your visa (likewise, you can always leave earlier). If you overstay – even by a few minutes – you and your sponsor are subject to fines and perhaps further delays in departing. Be especially careful if your flight or train leaves after midnight, because the border guards will not let you depart if you're leaving even 10 minutes after your visa expires! Several travelers, for example, have had problems when they've boarded a Helsinki-bound train on their day their visa expires, but their train doesn't cross the Finnish border until after midnight. This is because Russia requires one to have an exit visa in order to leave the country. Normally, the exit visa is included in an entry visa for tourists and business... so long as the visa is valid. Other classes require a separate exit visa, and such can take up to three weeks to process.

You must present your passport, visa, and migration card at the border in order to depart. If you've lost your migration card, often you will be able to get by with just paying a nominal fine. If you've lost your passport, your embassy can replace that for you (maybe not instantly), and your sponsor, not your embassy, must apply to the Federal Migration Service to transfer your visa to your replacement passport. Having a copy of your old visa helps with this process, but it is not sufficient to let you depart.

Exit and reentry during the time of your visa requires permits. Getting these permits is a Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare best avoided entirely by spending more money in advance for a multiple entry visa.

Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by direct flights from most European capitals, and Moscow also has direct flights many cities in East Asia,

By plane
Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by direct flights from most European capitals, and Moscow also has direct flights many cities in East Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. US non-stop flights from the United States to Russia are offered by Delta (from New York and Atlanta to Moscow) American Airlines (From Chicago to Moscow) and Aeroflot (from New York, Washington and Los Angeles to Moscow). There is also non-stop service offered from Toronto, Canada. There are airports in all large cities in Russia. Some international service can be found in: Novosibirsk, Sochi, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg. International service to other destinations is much more limited.

Local airlines are listed in Get around.

Low-cost air-lines from Europe:

From Austria:

NIKI flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Vienna (Vienna International Airport). Approximate one-way price — €99.
From Germany:

Air Berlin flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Berlin (Berlin Tegel), Duesseldorf (Düsseldorf International), Munich (Franz Josef Strauss Airport) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport). There is also a connection from Berlin (Berlin Tegel) to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport). Approximate one-way price — €110
Germanwings flies to Moscow (Vnukovo International Airport) from Berlin (Berlin Schönefeld), Cologne (Köln Bonn Airport), Hamburg (Hamburg Airport) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Airport). There are also connections from Berlin (Berlin Schönefeld) and Cologne (Köln Bonn Airport) to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport). Approximate one-way price — US$100.
From Italy:

Evolavia flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Ancona (Raffaello Sanzio Airport) on Wednesday. Approximate one-way price — €140.
Wind jet flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Catania (Fontanarossa International Airport), Forlì (L. Ridolfi), Palermo and Verona. Approximate one-way price — €90.
From Norway:

Norwegian flies to Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport) from Oslo (Oslo Airport). Approximate one-way price — €94.
From Spain:

clickair flies to Moscow (Domodedovo International Airport) from Barcelona (Barcelona Airport). Approximate one-way price — €179.
From United Arab Emirates

Emirates Air flies to Domodedovo International. New jets, high quality, a little pricey.
Transferring between the international and domestic terminals at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) can be difficult for a non-Russian speaker. Many therefore arrange for a (pricey) private car in advance.