February 21st, 2007
The TV show Lost is not only a huge success in America, but enjoys pretty good ratings in Russia too. Here are some clips we found on YouTube of Lost actors greeting Russian viewers and promoting the upcoming season.
Hurley Promo
More Promos:
Jack Promo
Kate Promo
Locke Promo
Charlie Promo
Sawyer Promo
February 20th, 2007
The St. Petersburg Zoological Museum is one of the largest zoological museums in the world, with approximately 30,000 exhibits. The museum was opened in July of 1832 and is located in the center of St. Petersburg. The museum is a highly recommended destination for tourists in St. Petersburg. Some of the more modern exhibits include English translations, but most are only in Russian (and Latin). Here’s some pictures from inside the museum posted by Kevin Hamm on Flickr.
Whale skeleton on display.
Polar bear display.
Mummified baby mammoth.
Shark display.
A small part of the massive butterfly and insect exhibits.
Link: Official museum site
Link: More photos of the museum by Kevin Hamm.
February 19th, 2007
A lady walks down a well worn path over the frozen Iset River in Yekaterinburg. The sign reads “Walking across the ice is FORBIDDEN”. Photo via Russia Blog.
February 16th, 2007
This week is Maslenitsa or “Pancake week” in Russia. Maslenitsa is one of the oldest holidays in Russia, dating back to pagan times. It was originally a sun festival, celebrating the imminent end of winter. The holiday survived both the Christianization of Russia as well as the atheist Soviet rule. Maslenitsa is marked with celebrations and lots of Russian bliny (a type of pancake or crepe).
February 15th, 2007
Here are some pictures of old soviet soda water machines. These machines dispensed water into a glass that you could rinse out before using. I’m told that the water was really quite good. The cost back in soviet times: 1 kopeck for plain soda water and 3 for soda with syrup.
Young people lining up in Moscow for some soda water (1998).
Soviet water dispenser still in use in Lithuania (2005).
In Uzbekistan.
And in The Ukraine
Update: Lyndon over at Scraps of Moscow has posted his collection of soda machine photos. It’s well worth checking out.
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