Scenes from Rostov

In case you can't make out the figures, this is Karl Marx Square, where I live (That is, for now, I had a fight with my landlord over the consistent absence of water and am moving, unfortunately.) and on the left is a New Year's Tree stand, with Russian Santa, Papa Frost. A little history behind the statue. Before the Revolution the stand held a statue of Catherine the Great. She granted Armenians the right immigrate from Turkey to the area Rostov in a village called Nakhichivan, which eventually was incorporated into the city. After the Revolution you can guess what happened. Anyhow, you can see why I think this is funny.

This is a performance by a group of young supporters of Edinaia Rossia. Their mascot, a man in a polar bear costume, also was present. This performance repeated all across the city (and presumably the country). The music sounded like "The Final Countdown" by Europe, but not as awesome, mainly because the Detroit Pistons' starting lineup couldn’t make it (although Rasheed Wallace reportedly does support Putin's plan). The girl looking at me taking the picture was not, contrary to appearances, questioning the conventional wisdom of the sitting government, but was wondering why I wasn't dancing (she was).