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Social Networking Nizhny Tagil

Nikolai Usatykh, serving 22 years in Arkhangelsk (or is he just 22 years old?)

Twitter may be all the rage here in the United States, but social networking over the World Wide Web has just jumped over a 15-ft. fence and, barely missing a few coils of barbed wire, landed in the middle of Russia’s brutal penal system. These scary-looking, chronically underfed, TB-infected criminals may be serving twenty to life, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have one.  With the democratizing power of Internet technology, even the most downtrodden have a voice!

Now, you don’t want to know how they snuck these photos out of their cells or what they did to smuggle the cameras in. Main thing is that once you get an account at Odnoklassniki.ru, you’ll be able to “friend” your favorite zek and start a friendship that will last a decade, at least. Some are somber and introspective, others pretty and simple-minded, while a few, like Dima Khrulyov below, are born with a natural gift with words and philosophy. But don’t expect quick replies to your private messages; it might be a few months or a year or more before you hear back from your new buddy. Sure, they don’t call them Gulags anymore, but visitation hour is still a 72-hour train ride away.

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Posted on: April 21st, 2009 | Comments (12)

Park Your Ship Here: Ukrainian Calendar Girls

Today’s calendar girl collection, newly minted for 2009, comes courtesy of Kerch Yard, a Ukrainian shipyard in the Eastern Crimean town of Kerch. According to our sources, “kerch” comes from an Old East Slavic word for “throat,” and the town’s …

Posted on: January 20th, 2009 | Comments (9)

Mexican Babe Wins “Miss Drug Universe 2008″

Miss Drug Universe 2008: Laura Elena Zúñiga

On Monday night, Mexican police nabbed Laura Elena Zúñiga Huizar, a 23-year-old babe named “Miss Sinaloa 2008.” Ms. Zúñiga, who also holds the title of “Queen of Latin America 2008,” was traveling …

Posted on: December 23rd, 2008 | Comments (4)

Photo Essay: Grrrk Riot Grrls Gnne Wlld

Damn! Who knew that Greek women were so gorgeous! While the dudes look like the anti-globalist hippies of any European country fresh from the set of the The Edukators, the chicks are something else: totally and unexpectedly slamming. Sign us …

Posted on: December 19th, 2008 | Comments (4)

Tyolka Tuesdays: Russia’s Virtual Peep Shows

This week on Tyolka Tuesday, we have something totally new. A Russian video sharing website called Smotri (which means “look” in Russian) just launched a new video chat function. It allows people to broadcast a live video feed from their desktop cameras …

Posted on: September 2nd, 2008 | Leave Comment

Russia’s Luxury Car Trend: the Beluga Bus

They drove like people to whom the motorcar was new. They drove as they walked; and a stream of Tehran traffic, jumpy with individual stops and swerves, with no clear lanes, was like a jostling pavement crowd.

—V.S. Naipaul

Naipaul …

Posted on: August 28th, 2008 | Comments Off

Medvedev: “I Just Wanna Be Like Putin”

Today, August 14, Dmitri Medvedev celebrates 100th day as President of the Russian Federation. What conclusions can be made about the new president? Well, not many. Other than the fact that Medvedev is trying really, really hard to be the best protege …

Posted on: August 14th, 2008 | Leave Comment

Separated At Mom Always Liked You Best But I Can Fix That

Before your time boho comic Dick Smothers…
…and dead before his time anthrax poet Bruce Ivins

Posted on: August 14th, 2008 | Leave Comment