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From Our Own Correspondent: Russia and Germany

Hands hold a bowl of soup

19/11/2012

Russia and Germany

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Russia and Germany

Dubious rehabilitation for ex-convicts in Siberia; frugal living habits in Berlin.

Alex Preston explores rehabilitation with a difference for ex-convicts in Siberia; Steve Evans sings the praises of German frugality, from discount wine to plain boiled dinners.

Alex Preston visits an extraordinary home in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, which offers help - of a rough-edged kind - to ex-convicts, bewildered in today's Russia after many years inside. And Steve Evans ponders the historical roots of German frugality. From discount supermarkets to Eurozone fiscal discipline, from unexpectedly low wage rates to surprisingly humble dinner party menus, he argues this is culture with a tight grip on its purse strings.

(Image: Hands hold a bowl of soup, Credit: Getty Images)

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