Russia: It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Russia
This isn’t their first time at this rodeo.
The Soviet Union was the second-largest economy in the world from 1950 until around 1985. The BRIC Pop idea that money drives culture was just as relevant with centrally-planned Soviet money as capitalistic Western money, with Russian/Soviet influence in art, literature, dance, music, theater, cinema and sport making its global presence felt throughout the 20th century. And just as Russia is back, so are those cultural industries, plus a few new ones for good measure.
When Weren't We?: Russian Culture Still Gets High
With young musicians and dancers in Metro tunnels, cab drivers versed in Pushkin, and actors dropping out of big-budget films to do Chekov, the fine arts remain a point of pride and global leadership.
Because the Night Watch: It Only Looks Expensive
They’ve always been great at art cinema, but now the industry has gotten the attention of a nervous Hollywood by making cheap but good blockbusters with open-source SFX.
Glamur That Can't Be Bought: Luxury Comes Home
‘Glamour’ is going over-the-top with gaudy Western luxury trinkets. But deep down inside, the Russians have their own understated glamur that is starting to replace noviye Russkie bling.
Eclectic Youth: The Freaks Come Out All Right
Hipsters, hippies, freaks, and alternative culture is the last thing we expect from post-Soviet Russia. But that’s where all the new fun is, as even the young oligarchs embrace their inner bohemian.
(Somewhat) Fashionably Late: Fresh Pop Tarts
Pop music in Russia is an acquired taste, but producers and young stars are serious about converting Dima Bilan’s Eurovision success into a global play in pop, rock, dance, and even hip-hop. Can they?
The French Look Fat: Thin and Fit The Russian Way
Much more fun than that French diet, a combination of food, drink, cigarettes, activity, fitness and banya that will give you the body of Vladimir or Maria in just a few short weeks!
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“Mother Russia” really ought to be renamed “Miss Understood.” Only one pop cultural topic survived from my pre-travel outline to post-travel reality: new Russian cinema. Is Russia the glorious inventor of the novel, ballet, modern art and classical music, or a tacky, trashy wasteland of hedonism and vulgarity? Yes. And that’s why Russia is so creatively interesting it hurts.