February 25, 2019

Krasnoyarsk Goes All Potemkin


Krasnoyarsk Goes All Potemkin
Maxim Kalach

Can you create a Potemkin village in the age of the internet?

You can certainly try… Witness the actions of authorities in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

You see, in a few days, Krasnoyarsk will host the Winter Universiade. It’s a major sporting event for student athletes, with 58 countries participating. Vladimir Putin is expected to make an appearance. In short: a big deal!

The city has branded the event in style: the mascot is a happy Siberian husky named U-Laika, and the slogan is “100% winter.” 

U-Laika
Meet U-Laika

There are just a few problems. First, Krasnoyarsk isn't having very wintery weather: temperatures are hovering around 0° C (32° F), and all the beautiful snow has melted. Yet officials can’t let go of  their dream of showing guests a beautiful Siberian winter, so they have started laying sheets of cotton along city streets. As the local TV channel says, the decision was made to “cover the dirty lawns and walkways.”

 

The governor of Krasnoyarsk region, Alexander Uss, also asked people to pray for some nice fluffy snow to fall.

 

“If all of us asked the one who needs to be asked, and there was nice snow in Krasnoyarsk like in Moscow, then I’d say we’ve done everything we can. Let’s ask!”

The city didn’t stop there. Locals filmed city workers planting fir trees to decorate a lonely stretch of highway. As if planting trees in the dead of winter was not Potemkiny enough, this "planting" added something special: the trees had actually been cut down from somewhere else, and were "planted" into rusty pipes that workers had driven into the ground. From a distance, you can’t really tell the difference, right? After all, the Universiade is only ten days long. Chances are, the trees will be presentable from now until the athletes (and Mr. Putin) fly home. 

 

Making cities look nicer than they really are during high-profile events is not uncommon. Crumbling buildings are often cocooned in painted facades, fresh asphalt has been laid on streets over which the Putin motorcade will pass, and lawns have been painted. None of this surprises any one anymore.

But in Krasnoyarsk, the Potemkinization has particularly irked residents, because in addition to the current snowlessness, the city has been suffering for years from catastrophic pollution.

On days when the smog is particularly bad, authorities call it “unfavorable meteorological conditions.” But locals and the media call such times the “black sky regime.” Such a regime is announced regularly to warn citizens to stay indoors as much as possible, take frequent showers, and keep windows closed. The city has to hose down the streets, and industries need to reduce their emissions by up to 60 percent. On extremely "black" days, citizens are advised to wear respirators and wash their mouths with a baking soda solution. 

Just how often does Krasnoyarsk, an industrial city with dozens of automotive, metals and construction factories, experience “black sky” days? In 2016, there were 58, in 2017, 44 days, and in 2018, 30, according to Regnum news agency. Residents don't trust official figures. Activists in the city have demanded more transparency about pollution in Krasnoyarsk. And they have even launched their own air monitoring service in the city, which uploads air quality data on the internet for everyone to see. 

Not exactly a welcoming environment for thousands of foreign tourists, right? So, authorities decided to take additional measures. Residents living in houses without central heating and use coal and firewood for heating had special packages delivered to them, containing special “non-smoking” coal. They received flyers with instructions to start burning this coal specifically on March 2, ostensibly as part of an “experiment.”

"Respected residents of the private sector! !!!Important information!!! For a period of two weeks through the end of February, there will be deliveries of heating briquettes (!!!free!!!). 15 sacks, 20kg each, per building. A request! Start burning said FREE fuel starting on March 2, 2019, At this time the environmental ministry lab will be carrying out atmospheric tests!

Coincidentally, the Universiade also begins on March 2. Residents seethed at the hypocrisy. Some wrote on social media that they will pollute as much as possible during the Universiade, just to teach the authorities a lesson. Some are making stickers in which the husky mascot is wearing a gas mask. And an internet flashmob is urging Universiade guests to pack a gas mask. The next anti-pollution protest is scheduled for March 30.

Gas Mask
"Bread and Salt"

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955