Russia

Russia’s Cultural Stunner: St. Petersburg

I miss the Soviet hammer and sickle. When I first visited Russia – then called the Soviet Union – the symbol was everywhere, along with those treacly-romantic billboards of Vladimir Lenin reading to children: the patriarch who would solve everything. As a symbol of proletariat solidarity, the hammer and sickle was terrific branding (peasantry and working-class …

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How a popular children’s cartoon-show set in Siberia illustrates the diversity of perspective

The fifth-most watched YouTube video in the world of all time is an episode of a Russian cartoon for little children. The formidable title of being the “most viewed non-music video” belongs to it as well. Titled “Recipe for Disaster”, the 17th instalment in the Russian cartoon series Masha and the Bear (Masha i Medved) …

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Flashmob In Moscow. Best. Ever.

Puttin’ on the Ritz in Moscow Flashmob With bravado, gymnastics, synchronicity, choreography, crazy Russian energy and unbridled joy, this Moscow flashmob performs Irving Berlin’s classic “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” As more and more people join in, and the staging (not to mention the camera work) becomes more and more elaborate, you’ll probably agree with us: …

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