Full Scale War Russia Georgia

The same day as the Olympic Games started, with intention to bring peace between all nations worldwide, a full war between Georgia and Russia has started. Early this morning Russia bombed the city Tbilisi, and thousands of people are fleeing into the mountains to seek protection from the falling bombs. 90 % of the victims in the war between Russia and Georgia, mainly taking part in South Otessia, are civil people.

When Georgia became independent from Russia in 1991, The Republic of South Ossetia broke free from Georgia and became an independent state. The Republic is now living from Russian help and are receiving protection from Russia. Georgia has been in conflict with South Ossetia since 1989, causing the death of many innocent people. They don’t want to loose Ossetia to the Russians, not when they have, finally, become free of the Soviet Union. Russia doesn’t like that. But there are much more things that Russia doesn’t like. For instance the fact that they can’t control the gas and oil resources of Georgia. Experts calls it the new Cold War.

Whoever the good guy or the bad guy is in this conflict, it is awful that a full scale war is taking place only a few hours from Sweden, without many people even knowing about it. A girl at my work is devastated because she can’t get a hold of her relatives living in Tbilisi. They have been missing since early Saturday morning, the day after the Russian bombs first fell over the area. She is also not allowed to leave Russia plus that it is anyway not possible to enter Georgia via Russia at the moment. Her relatives? No sign.

St. Petersburg feels like a world away, but I know it’s not…. And I think it's bullshit to say that the Russian bear is sleeping.

Keep on rockin in the free world

Imagine yourself having a slight, very slight but still, hangover. Imagine yourself driving to a very remote part of a large city. Construction, devastation, abandoned houses. Imagine yourself stopping in front of an iron gate. The driver is honking and a guard (smoking, drunker than you were yesterday) is opening a door next to the gate, takes a quick look at you, nods and the gates slowly opens. The car can enter. Now imagine that the gates close behind you, and what you see inside the walls is like a squatter camp; small garages/houses built out of sheet metal, concrete, wood. Graffiti, trash, you name it. But this isn’t a place where people live. This is where the Russians keep there belongings, like an extra room to their apartments in the city. During the Soviet era all citizens were given a small apartment, a small piece of land outside the city, dutcha, and a small garage or storing place. And at one of all these storing places we have just arrived. The guys in the car starts to unload bags and instruments from the car. They take the lock of when of the metal doors and opens. It’s pitch dark inside but it smells like very old sneakers and cigarettes. We enter, someone switches on the light. There are two rooms. The first one is filled with stuff, instruments, computers, garbage, beer bottles. If you open another metal door you enter a sound (and air) isolated room, our goal: the recording studio. The bands get ready, smokes 200 cigarettes in the first room. ALL of us enter the “studio” and the guys start playing/singing/screaming. Remember your condition. Imagine the room being only 5x8 meters. Imagine 6 crazy Russians playing very load, and all walls are covered with loudspeakers. Big ones. And they don’t sing Mors lilla Olle, this is Noises- a Russian rock/punk/metal band. The sweat is dripping from the ceiling. Its rocking! Proper Rocking! It’s a normal Sunday in St. Pete!

Street Kids

It is definitely true that not all children had as good childhood as we’ve had. Kids should have parents that love them, kids should be playing around not worrying about more than when they going to have their next ice-cream. Kids should go to bed with Mickey Mouse sheets and with fake stars shining in the ceiling, kids should be happy and cared for!
Kids shouldn’t live in underground pipes or in abandoned buildings. Kids shouldn’t have to beg for food or money, wearing dirty clothes and shoes were you can see the toes sticking out. Kids shouldn’t be high from sniffing glue or shooting up H in their skinny arms. And kids shouldn’t get kids of their own, after offering their bodies to survive another night or day on the streets.Whether they should or not, this is the cruel reality in cities like St. Petersburg. You don’t see them much, not here in the center. But if you travel a few stops with the metro they will be everywhere. Many of them doesn’t know anything else than living on the street, and run back to the streets once, or if, they are taken to a shelter. Yesterday a small girl, maybe 14, asked me for some money. She looked like hell, high and skinny with dirt in her entire face. She was also very pregnant. Never felt that much for anybody in my whole life. Looking at her I just wanted to cry. Where the hell is she gonna give birth to her kid, what is she gonna do with it. Right now it might be warm here, but in the winter-it’s freezing!!
Last weekend some of them stole my phone on the metro. They squeezed around me, many of them, with their small hands everywhere. And they are good, professionals. I know they not gonna use the phone or money for food, but I hope it could help them be happy, if even for 5 minutes. Eish I feel so spoiled, we have everything we wish for, they haven’t got nothing! And they are kids! If there is anything we could do to help them we should, it’s awful.
Sorry to bring this up on you, but I think we shoul all know about it. It’s a 2 hours flight from home!!
Kramar Anna

Mr Evil

Mr. Evil is a Russian (thankfully) net artist who, through his pictures, publishes his own view of the Russian society. Some of them are really awful and mirrors only stereotypic thinking and prejudices about Russia, far from reality. I still wanted to show them though because many of them are actually, to some extend, telling the truth about the Russians and their view upon life. And other pictures are just totally real and crack me up, like the one with the lady guarding the public toilets. The price is the double for tourists; and in Russia is like that everywhere. At theatres, buses, cathedrals… .. Gotta be rich 2 b a tourist!

Driving Licens on E- Bay

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Efter att fått höra att bilolyckor låg på andra plats över att döda flest människor per år trodde jag att Botswana var det sista land jag någonsin skulle vilja köra bil i (ocskå då de kör på ”fel” sida av vägen). Måste dock saga att Ryssland slåss om den första platsen just nu. Folk kör verkligen som galningar! Dom ligger på tutan, har plattan i mattan, kör på trottoarer, bromsar skriker, och framför allt: störst går alltid först! De giganstiska svarta bilarna som rullar fram längs med Nevsky Prospect kör inte bara fort, de har även tonade rutor, läs alla rutor (tydligen är detta förbjudet enligt lag men man kan, som alltid, betala en viss summa till farbror polis för att lösa detta problem). Detta gör att det är omöjligt att, till exempel vid ett övergångställe, få ögonkontakt med förare för att se om de kommer att stanna eller ej. I början litade jag på grön gubbe när jag var ute och strosade, DE gör jag inte längre. Gillar dock att de har klockor som räknar ner när det blir grönt, frågan är om man, i höga smala klackar, hinner över när det bara e 7 sekunder kvar?
Frågade en tjej idag på jobbet om hon hade körkort. Det hade hon men la snabbt till ”but I’m a terribly poor driver, I would never have past the tests”. Så hur fick du ditt körkort då frågade jag förfärat (då jag insåg att henne kan man möta var som helst!). ”I bought it, like everybody does”. Tydligen fixar staten så att näst intill ingen klarar körkorttesten och tvingas således köpa dessa. Piece of cake, bought it on e-bay.
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After I heard that car accidents is occupying number 2 of killing most people in the country every year, I thought that Botswana was the last country I would ever want to drive a car in (in addition to the fact that they drive on the “wrong” side of the road). Have to say that Russia is fighting for that top position right now. People are really driving like crazy! They are on the horn constantly, they never let go of the gas, they drive on the sidewalks, breaks are screaming and above all: Biggest always go first! These giant black cars that are occupying Nievsky Prospect do not only drive fast, they also have black windows, read all windows (apparently this is prohibited but, as always, you just have to pay the cops some to solve that problem)! Hence it’s impossible to get any eye contact with drivers at for instance crossings, to know whether they are going to stop or not. In the beginning of my stay I trusted the green guy while out walking, that I don’t do anymore. I do like that they got a timer at crossings that is counting down when it becomes green, the question is: Is it possible to make it, in high heels, across the street, if it’s only 7 seconds left?
I was talking to a girl at the office the other day and asked her if she had a license. She had but added quickly “but I’m a terribly poor driver, I would never have past the tests”. So how you got your license I asked terrified (after realizing that I could meet her anywhere in a car)! “I bought it, like everybody does”. Apparently the state makes the tests so hard that almost nobody can pass them and therefore has to buy them. Piece of cake, bought it on e-bay.