November 18, 2020

Putting the "Fun" in "Prison Camp"


Putting the "Fun" in "Prison Camp"
We're sure screeching rugrats won't undermine the somber atmosphere. YouTube, Vesti Karelia

Kids misbehaving as quarantine drags on? The Russian solution is to send them to camp.

A Russian NGO is preparing to open a recreated WWII prison camp in Karelia, near the Finnish border. The camp will host events for schoolkids to promote patriotic education.

The nonprofit, Otkrytye Vozmozhnosti (Open Opportunities), received a presidential grant to turn a film set into an open-air museum, which will tell the story of children and families interned in camps like this one during the Second World War. Its planned opening is December.

This project comes as part of a massive campaign by the Russian government to instill patriotic feelings through various historical projects, some goofier than others.

While many of us have good memories of camping, we're not sure this sort of thing is on our tourist to-do list.

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The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

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