Important
Update from Lada Ray 7-8-14… “Russia’s NEW Ambitious Anti-Dollar Move: $150 bln
Investment in Baikal-Amur Railroad”, and Implications for the US Dollar (aka,
Federal Reserve ‘Paper’)
2014/07/09 by
This
appears to be a very important development, as it is evidence that Russia is
moving forward without the famous (and now continually ignored by everybody
around the world) Federal Reserve US dollar system.
“This effectively signals 3
very important things:1. Russia’s ambitions are back – this is the signal that the country expects growth and robust development.
2. Russia is confirming its Asia pivot – as I’ve been predicting since February 2014. BAM connects Trans-Siberian and Baikal with the Far East/Pacific Ocean and various points in Asia and Siberia. This includes the resource-rich points of the north, as well as potential hard-to-reach tourist destinations.
3. Russia re-affirms that it will stop the silly practice of financing US dollar (which is a form of economic slavery) and will instead use its hard-earned reserves to finance projects inside the country. Finally – it’s about time!“
—————————————————————–
Everyone
in the world knows the famous Trans-Siberian Railroad (Trans-Sib), built in the
19th century and connecting Europe through the expanse of Siberia, along the
southern shore of Lake Baikal, to the Pacific Ocean and China.
But few
abroad know about another, equally famous in Russia, railroad called the simple
abbreviation, BAM. BAM means Baikal-Amur Railway, or in Russian:
Байкало-Амурская магистраль.
It is
also called Baikal–Amur Mainline. “The Baikal–Amur Mainline is a 1,520 mm broad
gauge railway line in Russia. Traversing Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far
East, the 4,324 km long BAM runs about 610 to 770 km north of and parallel to
the Trans-Siberian railway.” Wikipedia
The
construction of BAM began 40 years ago today, July 8. It was dubbed the
‘construction of the century.’ Many young enthusiastic people moved to Siberia
to build this railroad. The excitement was tremendous, reminiscent of the
earlier Soviet industrialization years. The young people formed many of the
so-called ‘stroy otriad,’ which means a ‘construction band’ as in ‘a band of
brothers and sisters,’ and would go together to the cold Siberia. After they
had completed the construction, they would often stay there, start a family and
man the railroad they had helped build.
I remember some pretty awesome songs that were written especially for BAM. Here is one of them. It is called Яростный стройотряд, 1979 – The Roaring Construction Band. This video contains some authentic photos from that period. Performed by the legendary Alexander Gradsky and well-worth listening to! Gradsky has one of the best voices you would ever hear – I promise; and the song is cool, too. I’ve translated a couple of verses:
I remember some pretty awesome songs that were written especially for BAM. Here is one of them. It is called Яростный стройотряд, 1979 – The Roaring Construction Band. This video contains some authentic photos from that period. Performed by the legendary Alexander Gradsky and well-worth listening to! Gradsky has one of the best voices you would ever hear – I promise; and the song is cool, too. I’ve translated a couple of verses:
I’m the
fresh wind, the flying fire,
And it’s our time, my friends.
I wish us luck in our big journey
To save ourselves from the indifference.
The joyful tune of the guitars,
a roaring construction band,
as if a fire in the steppes,
the campfires of songs ablaze.
And it’s our time, my friends.
I wish us luck in our big journey
To save ourselves from the indifference.
The joyful tune of the guitars,
a roaring construction band,
as if a fire in the steppes,
the campfires of songs ablaze.
In the
19th century, the Russian Empire had plans to build the railroad covering the
northern part of Lake Baikal and Eastern Siberia and running parallel to the
Trans-Siberian. This was a super-ambitious project as such railroad would go
through the wild permafrost lands that no man had ever traversed. The project
never materialized.
Only in
the second part of the 20th century USSR dared it again. On July 8, 1974 the
very first rail was set into Siberian permafrost, and BAM was born. Baikal-Amur
Railroad went parallel to the Trans-Siberian, but much further north, by the
northern shore of Lake Baikal and further into the Far East, towards the Amur
River.
BAM was
finished before 1991. At that point, USSR collapsed and the new rulers decided
BAM was a waste of time and money. The ambitious project was criticized and
maligned. BAM was neglected and its enthusiastic, but aging population was
forgotten.
However,
the times have changed. On July 8, 2014 Russia has celebrated the 40th
anniversary of the beginning of the famous construction by starting a new, even
more ambitious, line of the BAM railroad.
Vladimir
Putin has announced that Russia will spend over $150 bln in order to add
another 7,000 kilometers of rails to BAM by 2030. This will complete the
railway coverage of the entire Far East. The money for the new mega-project
comes out of the Russian reserve fund (specifically, the Russian Commonwealth
Fund), which until recently Russia invested in the US Treasuries.
This
effectively signals 3 very important things:
1.
Russia’s ambitions are back – this is the signal that the country expects
growth and robust development.
2.
Russia is confirming its Asia pivot – as I’ve been predicting since February
2014. BAM connects Trans-Siberian and Baikal with the Far East/Pacific Ocean
and various points in Asia and Siberia. This includes the resource-rich points
of the north, as well as potential hard-to-reach tourist destinations.
3.
Russia re-affirms that it will stop the silly practice of financing US dollar
(which is a form of economic slavery) and will instead use its hard-earned
reserves to finance projects inside the country. Finally – it’s about time!
This is
a massive shift, and yet another confirmation that the US dollar is approaching
its point of no return!
Below is
Putin’s Skype with BAM engineers and railroad workers for the 40-year
anniversary of BAM. He congratulates them with the anniversary and talks about
the $150 bln investment at 13:10. Towards the end, the new leg of BAM is
symbolically initiated: http://youtu.be/6sl15NgDEEw
What BAM
looks like today – report from the BAM capital, Tinda at 0:30: http://youtu.be/EAWKW9m5dLQ
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