Krasnoyarsk, Russia
A member of the Cryophil winter swimmers club lies on floating ice from the spring melting on the Yenisei River (via Reuters.com)
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April 20, 2012
April 19, 2012
Moscow, Russia
An environmental activist in an animal costume is detained by police during a protest outside a hotel hosting the “Russian Arctic Oil and Gas” business conference (via Reuters.com)
April 13, 2012
St Petersburg, Russia
Soldiers practice their marching during Victory Day parade rehearsals on Dvortsovaya square (via guardian.co.uk)
March 16, 2012
Power and Weakness in Putin’s Russia
The result of the Russian presidential election brought two months of euphoria to a shuddering halt. The expectation that Putin would return with a weaker mandate was crushed by his unexpectedly high 63% of support. And even allowing for massive fraud – a lot of it well documented – Putin emerged from this election stronger than many predicted. Most of even his staunchest critics concede that he probably obtained more than 50% of the vote even without the rigging. But while Putin is jubilant, the Russian opposition is more demoralised and disorientated than at any time since December. Between euphoria and depression, it is important to understand where Russia – its government and society – stands after this election. (via openDemocracy)
March 16, 2012
Bolshie Khutora, Russia
A pupil writes on the blackboard as he attends a mathematics lesson at the local school. The school, well-known in the region for only 12 pupils studying here, is situated in the village, the population of which decreases each year. Nevertheless the school authorities and teachers are proud of the high level of education given to the few students who are treated individually and carefully here. Pupils, many of whom are winners of numerous local educational contests, like studying and exploring ecology, according to school representatives. (via Reuters.com)
March 16, 2012
Russia: female driver De Villota joins F1 ranks
Maria de Villota has become the first female to be involved in Formula One for 20 years after joining Russian team Marussia as a test driver.
De Villota, the daughter of Spain’s former F1 driver Emilio de Villota, is the first woman to be part of the elite motorsport since Italy’s Giovanni Amati entered three grands prix for Brabham in 1992.
The 32-year-old will work alongside Marussia’s newly-formed driver line-up of German Timo Glock and French rookie Charles Pic, and will be given time behind the wheel during the 2012 season. (via CNN.com)
March 16, 2012
Russia refuses to release anti-Putin punks Pussy Riot rock group
Russia on Wednesday refused to free from pretrial detention two alleged members of opposition punk rock group Pussy Riot who face up to seven years in jail for performing in a church.
A Moscow court rejected an appeal and ruled that two women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, must stay in detention until late April ahead of their trial for “hooliganism”, even though they have small children.
Outside the courtroom on Wednesday, police detained several demonstrators as supporters of the women held single-person pickets against the detentions, while opponents sprinkled them with holy water.
The radical all-female group sings raucous anthems against Vladimir Putin’s regime in public places including the metro and Red Square. Its members wear brightly coloured balaclavas to conceal their faces and use nicknames.
On February 21, five members climbed onto the altar in Moscow’s central Church of Christ the Saviour, often visited by Russia’s rulers, and attempted to shout out a song they called a “Punk Prayer” before being seized by guards.
The women all escaped, but police later detained four alleged members – including one man. They charged the two women with hooliganism in an organised group, a criminal charge rarely applied to opposition protests. (via Telegraph)
March 15, 2012
Moscow, Russia
A newborn polar bear cub with its mother at the Moscow Zoo (via Russia Beyond The Headlines)
March 15, 2012
The Battle for Moscow: Russian Opposition at Odds over Path for Future - picture gallery
In the wake of the recent elections in Russia, opponents of newly elected President Vladimir Putin are struggling to find a common approach and viable new slogans. Some suggest that the best way to challenge Putin would be winning control of the Moscow city parliament and mayor’s office. (via SPIEGEL ONLINE)
March 15, 2012
Pop musik: the sound of the charts in … Russia
Pussy Riot’s anti-Putin agit-punk may have temporarily made them international stars, but explicit political messages are a rarity in the Russian charts, irrespective of whether they’re aimed at the ruling party or country’s powerful business elite. That may not be entirely unconnected to the fact that most of the major outlets for music, including the ubiquitous Muz–TV television station, are owned by oligarchs. Emulation is far more common than confrontation, with the luxurious lifestyle of the nation’s rich a constant source of material for aspirational music videos.
The Tony-Montana-meets-Donald-Trump aesthetic has always had a home in American hip-hop, and it’s unsurprising to see it replicated in the music of a country where billionaire gangsters are a reality, rather than a romantic fiction. Leading the pack is Timati who has become the first Russian act since Tatu to make the top 10 across Europe.
His single Welcome to St Tropez features Kalenna Harper of Diddy Dirty Money and is the latest in a series of releases to have seen the rapper lining up with heavyweights from the US, including Snoop, Busta Rhymes and Diddy himself. It’s difficult not to wonder whether, as with Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Japanese energy drink commercials, the participants expected the results to remain an embarrassing secret only to be viewed by a domestic audience.
Party politics may be off the agenda, but Russian pop has long been engaged in a war of attrition with social conservatism. As in many other countries in central and eastern Europe, a sexually liberal youth culture butts heads with the church and sections of the older generation. The faux lesbianism of Tatu may have prompted eye-rolling in some parts of the world but it’s easy to underestimate how transgressive it could appear in a nation where the battle for recognition of gay rights has further to go. (via The Guardian)
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