The season is almost upon us. Here’s a charming photo of the official residence of Santa Claus (“Ded Moroz”) in Moscow:
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/photos/huge/2006_11/2006_11_17/ded_4.jpg
Caption:
The Moscow residence of Ded Moroz – Russia’s answer to Santa Claus, whose name means Grandfather Frost – was formally opened in Kuzminki Park on Wednesday. Starting Dec. 1, visitors to the residence will be able to go on excursions and meet Ded Moroz and his sidekick, Snegurochka. The residence appeared in December 2003 and has hosted children every winter since then. Among the new additions this year is an ice-skating rink. The nearest metro stations are Kuzminki and Ryazansky Prospekt. Photograph by Vladimir Filonov.
(Richard, sorry for the blast of cold air, but that’s the price we all have to pay for Santa Claus.)
ETA: For your further edification, Russian Santa’s sidekick, “Snegurochka’s” name means “Snow Maiden.” I’ve searched for a good representative photo of her, and found this one from Ukraine:
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By Bob Willes Chitty
Hmmm, now which culture has the better ‘Santa’ legend – the ‘American’ one, Santa & rarely-if-ever-seen butterball wife – or this here Russian Santa – with whispy female sidekick??!! Rhetorical question…
But I have to know…is she Asian???
November 22, 2006 @ 3:42 pm | Comment
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By Ivan
That’s an ALMOST interesting question (well, far less interesting than Snegorucha’s legs are), as it does illustrate how utterly vague the term “Asian” is.
This girl looks typically Ukrainian to me, but then again “Ukrainians” often have a touch of ancestry from other parts of the USSR, or for that matter from the Mongols who invaded the place 800 years ago.
But then, there’s a good bit of African blood in Britain (especially via the centuries when the Roman Legions were there), and so on a recent census form when they were impertinent enough to ask for my “race” I felt justified in checking the box for “African-American.”
November 23, 2006 @ 1:36 am | Comment
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By Michael Turton
Ivan —
great post on Russian politics. I learned a lot about something I had hitherto known little about. Too bad it had to be removed.
Michael
November 25, 2006 @ 7:14 pm | Comment
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By Ivan
Thanks Michael. Snegoruchka will bring something for you in her stocking this Christmas!
November 26, 2006 @ 10:07 am | Comment