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Russia: Northern Europe
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For its great size, Russia has relatively little area suited for agriculture because of its arid climate and inconsistent rainfall. Northern areas concentrate mainly on livestock, and the southern parts and western Siberia produce grain. Restructuring of former state farms has been an extremely slow process. Foreigners are not allowed to own farmland in Russia although long-term leases are permitted. Private farms and garden plots of individuals account for over one-half of all agricultural production.
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Largely because of the transition from state capitalism to market capitalism, Russia did experience a rise in criminal activity during the 1990's. As those that controlled capital through the state had to reconfigure their business operations towards a free enterprise rationality, profiteering and scams have increased. The truth is that crime was greatly exaggerated in the media, and for the average tourist Moscow, Saint Petersburg and the rest of Russia are actually just as safe as most major Northern European cities. The "Russian Mafia" make for fun movies, but are absolutely not a threat to tourists—at best they and their girlfriends are a tourist attraction themselves, as they often dine in foreigner-friendly establishments. Foreigners are disproportionately targeted by pickpockets; foreigners of a non-white complexion may ... be more likely to be harassed by street youths or corrupt officials. But provided you take sensible precautions, nothing bad should happen to you.
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Russia looked westward after 1698, when Peter the Great returned from his travels in Europe. Conquering territory along the Baltic Sea, he built his mostly landlocked realm a port capital, St. Petersburg (known from 1924 until 1991 as Leningrad), and established Russia's first navy. Russia entered the 20th century as enormous and imperial.
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Russian Standard Company, the number one premium vodka company in Russia, today announced the launch of its new $60 million state-of-the art vodka distillery in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the same time, Russian Standard Vodka announced its plans to launch Russian Standard Original in the U.S., across Europe and in select Asian markets.
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BOSTON, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenView Venture Partners of Boston, MA and ABRT Venture Fund of Moscow, Russia, today announced their new "Partnership for Russia" investment program. The goal of the joint effort is to identify and invest in the best software and information technology companies in Russia and East-Central Europe.
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[F]ar 22 banks in Russia are issuing Visa smart cards. As part of Visa's campaign to encourage more banks to follow suit, the deadline of the January 2006 liability shift plays a significant role," said Oleg Makhotin, Chip Payment Solutions Manager, Visa International CEMEA (Central Europe, Middle East and Africa). "Hypercom's Optimum T2100 offering brings a cost-effective, EMV compliant POS terminal to member financial institutions months ahead of the deadline."
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