It is fifth year since I left my hometown Yakutsk, a capital of Sakha republic in Far Eastern Russia, and astonishingly I never felt need to learn local news, except few things I have known from calls to relatives and friends. Not so much you can talk about in telephone conversations.

Many things changed, many people I knew very well or was acquainted shortly had some success, they are still in the media spotlight, others disappeared or just maintain low profile. Today I was catching up browsing media there.

Overall development in such remote corner of the world would surprise many. Former president of the republic Mr Nikolayev (who was responsible for the surge in development of the region and construction boom in 1990s) is the first deputy Chairman of Russian senate in Moscow and just concluded official visit to Washington where he had participated in Arctic nations conference and had talks with officials of Obama adminisrtation and US Senate (like Mr R. Lugar). He also met expats-Sakha living in US.

Mr Nikolayev and expats in DC.

But enough of politics. What bother local media there? Everything you can find in your local newspapers, weather, criminal chronicle, politics, finance and scandals. The cinema theater in just few minutes from my home organized movie festival and there were dignitaries like Ms Alferova (she is well known in Russia for portraying Constance de Boinassier from popular movie Three Musketeers) and Yakutsk's Orthodox archbishop Zosima. At openeing ceremony there was big scandal with one young journalist Mr Gorodetsky (I knew him well) asking from dignitaries outrageous questions. He was thrown out from FM radio station Victoria (where he was my colleague, I had a program there), right now he is editor-in-chief of tabloid "Yellow Yakutsk". So he questioned movie star over her newly found attachment to Orthodox church and charitable activities. Ms Alferova was outraged and press conference abruptly ended with her screams how she hates the yellow press journalist.

And finally I was reading interview with Masha Dubrovskaya, free lance photographer from Yakusk, she had lived also in India for many years but I never met her personally. The photo of Himalayan mountains above is hers, it's amazing. She likes Asia and currently shuttles between Bali and Thailand with her Indian boyfriend Ajay. It's wonderful to know that I am not alone.

Ajay and Masha