February 01, 2022

Bringing Warmth to the Arctic


Bringing Warmth to the Arctic
A sunny mural brightens the appearance of the northern city of Severodvinsk. Image courtesy of Eugene Kaspersky

The Russian Arctic is well-known for its gloomy appearance, with grey, looming apartment buildings, formidable winters, and days short on sunlight. The arctic definitely needs some sprucing up. The Ministry for the Development of the Far East has teamed up with the Ministry of Construction to create a unified design code aimed at bringing new life to Russia's northern towns.

The new codes emphasize the use of "authorized graffiti and street art." The hope is that once-monotone cities will be infused with color and life.

The document says, “The application of graffiti to the facade of a panel building in a residential area dilutes its monotony.” A remarkably frank assessment. It adds that graffiti will positively enhance residents' psychological state and assist in reducing crime. Additionally, they hope to create a place that is more open to tourism and diminishes the dullness of the surrounding landscape. 

Not only is graffiti and street art a big part of the new codes, but the codes also hope to reduce visual garbage by creating set rules for advertising, lighting, and facades. With these new codes, Arctic towns may reveal a more colorful and unique story about themselves and their residents.

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Fearful Majesty
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Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

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Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

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