Gigantic Soviet Statue in Storage

by Neil Woodburn on

The first time I visited Moscow in 1991, this enormous communist era statue was still standing defiantly despite the numerous changes going on around it–changes that would eventually led to the downfall of communism itself.

As communism fell and the economy fell apart, a Russian friend told me that gypsies were living in the hollow of the statue. I’m not sure if this was ever true but if it was, they are homeless now.

Unlike other communist era statues throughout the Evil Empire, the Worker and Collective Farm Girl was not toppled by angry mobs, but was removed by authorities in 2003, dismantled, and is currently being restored. It will eventually return to its full height of 78 feet but in a different location: atop a massive shopping mall.

In the meantime, interested tourists can seek out a surreal lilliputian feel by checking out the dismantled statue at the All Russia Exhibition Center (VDNKh). Or visit it virtually thanks to our friends at EnglishRussia.com.

Pancake Week (Maslenitsa) is Party Time in Moscow

by Jamie Rhein on

Pancake Week is almost here. From February 15 to 18, Maslenitsa, the Russian equivalent of Mardi Gras, will turn Moscow’s streets into a carnival of singing, dancing and entertainment. This party attitude in February started back in pagan times and became part of Eastern Orthodoxy when Christianity took over celebrations with a nature worshiping angle. Now, it marks the pre-stages of Lent.

With Russia’s political history (I would guess) Maslenitsa hit a dry spell for about 85 years and passed by without much brouhaha. Not anymore. Since 2002, it’s back in force and some. Central, of course, are pancakes. The Russian version is blini which are served up with either caviar, mushrooms, jam and plenty of butter. Like with any pagan turned Christian holiday there is symbolism behind the food. Pancakes represent the sun and warmth as winter is coming to an end. Each day of the traditional holiday also has a particular meaning. I came across RusCuisine.com that gives a detailed overview of each day and provides recipes so you can whip up some blini yourself.

Besides eating blini and giving blini to friends and family, fist fighting is also a Maslenitsa activity. This is not a fist fight fest where everyone whams on each other, but some sort of organized happening, meaning if you head to Moscow at this time, I don’t think you’ll have to duck.

Dancing bears, sleigh rides, fireworks and more are also part of the week’s events. For more info, since I’ve really just touched on a few highlights, click here for a more indepth overview of the festival’s history and traditions.

Mythical, Googly-Eyed Sea Creature Found in Russia

by Justin Glow on

EnglishRussia.com is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites. It regularly features a heavy dose of weirdness from Russia, of course, where “something cool happens daily on 1/6th of the Earth’s surface.” And below the surface, it turns out.

A post on the site yesterday claims a group of fisherman off the coast of the Rostov region captured a strange, stingray-like creature that was “moaning like a human, not as fish, [and] weighed 200 pounds and was rotating its eyeballs.” Lovely.

I have no reason to believe this is a hoax, but upon viewing a video they have on the website, I now have my doubts. Something fishy is going on here — it’s skin looks like a rubber glove, and it’s face looks too alien-like, like someone was trying to create a mythical underwater creature. Who knows, though — there’s a lot of weird stuff coming out of Russia.

Frozen Siberia

by Neil Woodburn on

After all our recent posts about global warming, I thought I’d share a little photo essay of a place where locals would simply be ecstatic over the possibility of our planet cranking it up a few degrees.

I turn once again to English Russia where a couple of brave souls have ventured deep into the cold, bitter heart of Siberia on some type of sick, cryogenic road trip where temperatures dipped to -56 Fahrenheit (-49 C).

The photos reveal some spectacular, unworldly scenery but also a painfully, unfathomable cold. And in the middle of all this, some rather hearty Russians actually enjoying themselves. Except, of course, in the last photo (above) where their bottle of vodka has actually frozen. I didn’t know that was even possible.

Brainy Russian Beauty Pageant

by Neil Woodburn on

If you happen to be passing through Russia next month, be sure to track down the Miss Atom contest.

In a day and age where brains and beauty pageants are usually mutually exclusive, a nod of approval must go towards our former Cold War foes who have managed to combine this oil/water conundrum with their annual Miss Atom contest.

The beauty pageant, sponsored by RosAtom (the Federal Atomic Energy Agency) is only open to “female specialists of RosAtom enterprises and organizations and the nuclear power sectors of the former Soviet republics as well as students of specialized educational institutions aged 18–35.”

Voting takes place online and the winner will be crowned later in Moscow.

And yes, Svetlana, on the right, works at the Mayak Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant in Chelyabinsk-65. Hmm… this might explain why the guys at Chernobyl weren’t focusing on their job…