Out of Mongolia

Many are cold, but few are frozen 
Tags


Filed under

russia

 
September 25, 2009

A Russian Gulag in Ulaanbaatar

Niche marketing

I always laugh out loud when I drive by the Russian Cultural Center. Why? Because it looks like a prison for violent criminals. Loops of barbed welcome visitors. If you peer through the barbs, you'll see a poster, in English, inviting you to study in Russia. No thanks!

Someday I'll have visit the center. I can't imagine what they've got in there that is so worth protecting from the peace-loving citizens of Mongolia.

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Barbed wire   Gulag   Russia  

Comments [3]

January 24, 2009

Son of Russia: Yuri Gagarin in Mythical Art

                                       
Click here to download:
Son_of_Russia_Yuri_Gagarin_in_.zip (2989 KB)
He looks like Captain Kirk to me

I've always been fascinated by the Soviet Union's attempts to create new myths. Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, was a perfect subject. Young, heroic and good-looking, he was a poster child for the Soviet Union's scientific accomplishments.

In 1993, I found a collection of cards telling the story of Gagarin's life in a bookstore in Moscow. They were printed in 1987, by which time the Soviet dream was fading fast. The images are beautiful, drawn with the same passion you would expect in religious art. When you look at them, you almost start believing.

Gagarin died in a test-plane crash when he was still young, his martyrdom propelling him to Soviet sainthood. Interestingly, the title of the card series is "Son of Russia," not "Son of the USSR." Maybe the artist already knew that the Soviet Union would soon be history.

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Art   Gagarin   Myth   Russia   Soviet   Space   USSR  

Comments [5]