December news in January

Many years ago, by December 31, I had to  prepare 3-4 salads, 5-6 appetizers , hot dish, fish, etc. (well, Russians know) in order to properly/ deliciously/ joyfully celebrate the New Year.

Now I listen to my sister’s voice messages, where she complains that she has to separate the herring from the bones for salad, and I envy her. I make the “herring under a fur coat” salad only once every 3-4 years ((((

Now I don’t need to prepare a big  table for the New Year, the feast has already happened at Christmas.

Now (on Dec 31) I have a short day at work (3,5 hours).

Therefore, on December 31 (2021) I had time: 

-to crochet and sew the eyes to the toy (bunny). I’m not sure if this is the final version, but… maybe.

-to wash the dog’s bed (cover).

-to prepare 1 salad (just to have it) and julienne (because I love it). However, Daniel does not understand Julienne, and the other traditional Russian salads. He had enough snacks (cheese, salami and crackers).But there are different traditions here, in America they drink after meals, in Russia – during. So I ate, and my husband just kept me company while we drank champagne.

-And on December 31, I wanted to write this post … But I didn’t find the time, so I’m writing now. However, I managed to make a slideshow.

I’m probably repeating myself, but Russians celebrate the New Year in a big way. They really love this holiday. Families and/or friends always gather here, and there is a lot of food on the table. And gifts, and parties at work.

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Despite the fact that Tomsk is not a very big city, there were still fireworks.

But it usually happens after midnight.

The holidays will last until January 9. Of course, shops and hospitals will be open, but most factories will be closed.

Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7. Celebrating Christmas is a relatively new tradition with smaller gatherings. 

But the new year is not only a holiday, it’s the beginning of new laws and regulations.

So, Tomsk/Russia news: 

-Starting from the new year in Russia, the minimum wage will be increased from 12,792 to 13,890 rubles per month. 

33 % of the Tomsk working residents make less than 30 thousand rubles per month. Almost 22% of Tomichi (Tomsk residents) earn up to 40 thousand. Over 35 % of Tomichi earn from 40 to 65 thousand rubles. 2.1% of all working people are frankly poor: they earn less than the minimum wage. In total, according to Rosstat, slightly more than 200 thousand people work in the Tomsk region.

-In 2022, tariffs for utility services will increase again. The Federal Antimonopoly Service promises to restrain growth at the level of 4%. In 2021, the tariff growth was 3.2%. The rise in price of heat, light and water is traditionally expected from July 1.

-Citizens whose incomes exceeded 5 million rubles in 2021 will have to pay tax at an increased rate of 15%. All others pay 13%. The collected funds will be used for the treatment of children with rare diseases. I wonder who and how is going to figure out those funds.

According to analysts, 18 people earn from one million to 1.5 million rubles a month in the Tomsk region. Five people receive from 1.5 to three million rubles every month. Only one resident of the Tomsk region earns over three million rubles a month. Thus, 24 people receive millions in the region.

-Starting from January 1, public transport fares are going up again.

-Starting from the new year, the Russian Guard will form and maintain an electronic register of licenses and permits, which will contain information about the acquisition, display and collection of weapons and ammunition for it. The register will indicate, in particular, the data of legal entities or the full name of the citizen to whom the license or permit was issued, his passport data, the basis and date of issue, as well as the validity period of documents for weapons*.

-Illegal immigrants will be expelled from the country for illegal labor activity with a possible ban on re-entry, and their employers will be fined up to 800 thousand rubles for each such employee.

Only Tomsk news…

Fifty-four streets  of Tomsk remained without cold water on Monday night (from 11 pm 1/2/22 to 6am 1/3/22); Tomskvodokanal was carrying out emergency work, according to the website of the resource-supplying organization.

Doctors have identified another 153 new cases of covid-19 in the Tomsk region on December 31; 416 people recovered, 1 person died.

According to stopcoronavirus portal.rf as of December 31, 2021, 61,852 people have been infected with coronavirus in the Tomsk Region since the beginning of the pandemic, 49,154 have recovered, 674 have died.

The news I couldn’t miss – The amount of squirrels in the Tomsk region has decreased by 20% since 2020 due to a decrease in the food supply, deforestation and migration of these animals to neighboring regions, Alexey Moiseev, a specialist of the Regional Department of Hunting and Fisheries, told RIA Tomsk. 

I think all these 20% migrated in our area, after we installed a bird feeder. 

And as a cherry on a cake – you can congratulate me on the first (known to me) hater.

The story is this: after a post about squirrels  in December, I saw a comment in the spam folder (WordPress sent it there). The comment was left under the home page of my blog. There I encourage readers to subscribe to my blog. That person wrote “never”. Just one word, but – WOW! So many emotions…

I looked him up. According to the IP, he lives in the Netherlands. I have no idea what wind brought him to the pages of my small and unknown blog. I sometimes try to find my posts in Google using keywords, but I can’t. And here we go… I’m positive it was the wind of changes. 

I wish everyone only pleasant changes in the New Year!

*I was curious what Rosgvardiya means. When I left Russia in 2013 I had not heard of it. 

So, Rosgvardia is the internal military force of the Russian government, comprising an independent agency that reports directly to the  Russian president under his powers as  Supreme Commander -in-Chief and Chairman of the Security Council. The National Guard is separate from the Russian Armed Forces. A law signed by President V. Putin established the federal executive body in 2016. The National Guard has the stated mission of securing Russia’s borders, taking charge of gun control, combating terrorism and organized crime, protecting public order and guarding important state facilities.

https://www.tomsk.ru/news/view/186419-rosstat-raskryl-chislo-millionerov-v-tomskoy-oblasti

https://www.riatomsk.ru/article/20220103/belki-chislennostj-tomskaya-oblastj/