Friday
(0)Via the constantly diverting Dave Barry comes news of the state of the popular arts in Russia.
You know those nesting dolls they have there. Putin on the outside. Undo him and you get the Fat Drunk Guy, undo him and you get Splotchtop, then another Fat Drunk Guy, then Andropov, then Brezhnev, and so on down the list of the Soviet Hall of Shame. This could all be in the wrong order and I could well have left out a couple of Drunk Guys, but you get my drift. Those dolls, is what I mean. Well, now they have nesting dolls with rock star faces on them.
The really cunning one would be a set of different Elvises, starting on the outside with Very Fat Elvis just before he died, and working back via Las Vegas Elvis, GI Elvis, to Original Elvis. But I do not think they have yet got around to doing that.
Nevertheless, I love it. Says it all. Think who the dolls used to be, and now look at them. Another triumph for capitalism.
Ah, this is nothing new. My wife bought a set abot 10 years ago of SF Giants (baseball) players in their historic unforms.
Posted by luisalegria at February 28, 2004 12:15 AM
I was in St. Petersburg about 10 years ago and picked up a set with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Very nice.
Posted by equitus at February 28, 2004 08:28 AM
Sorry, but the best thing I can say about Elvis is that he's dead. Guess the capitalists will have to look elsewhere.
Posted by Steve at February 28, 2004 11:17 AM
Hmm..come to think of it I just bought an iPod. How many lashes are required to erase hypocrisy I wonder?
Posted by Steve at February 28, 2004 11:20 AM
I wonder how long Putin will allow these dolls to exist, before the company gets bought out by the government in the "interest" of the Russian people. Or the owner of the company just so happens to be linked to Chechen rebels or even worse Yukos oil. Since a "good" Russian artist would have Putin on the outside, followed by Mother Teresa, then Ghandhi and Mandela, since the "bounty and goodness" of Putin only equals the sum of all three.
Posted by Revolutionary Blogger at February 28, 2004 11:25 AM
Russia has been worrying me lately. Between Putin intending to extend his own time in office to 2018, his political opponents disappearing (or "disappearing"), and the ever-rampant melding of state and industry, it looks as if it's becoming a giant version of Singapore.
Posted by Andy Danger at February 28, 2004 03:37 PM
I did a project in Moscow circa 1995- I managed to buy a set of nested dolls with all the Winnie the Poo characters- the tiniest being a honey pot.
My traditional set has a bit missing- the joys of parenthood!
Posted by Ian Grey at February 28, 2004 03:59 PM
I have a set of various Father Christmasses. Very nice to display during the holidays.
Posted by Susan at February 29, 2004 06:33 PM
If you're interested in this sort of thing, the seller "petrovich" on Ebay has many, many of these, all kinds and descriptions. I'm not affiliated with him; I buy other things from him and he's a good guy.
Posted by speedwell at March 1, 2004 04:08 PM
With all due respect there are more scams running on eBay from residents of eastern Europe and Russia than even the number of Putin's opponents who are among the "disappeared." ;)
Posted by Steve at March 3, 2004 04:39 AM
