Posted by
Jennifer P on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 9:04:51 PM
In order to "preserve his legacy" (read, advance his personality cult
and his autocratic agenda), Vladamir Putin and the Kremlin have a youth
group of 18-23 year olds called Nashi (Ours). Bear in mind, these kids
were barely out of diapers when the Berlin Wall fell. This is the first
generation with no real memory of communism.
Putin's goal is to
establish democracy in Russia, independent of any outside assistance.
He insists on looking to Russia's own democratic traditions. This is a
beautiful idea in theory, but there's just one minor fly in the
ointment--Russia has had no democratic traditions for over 500 years.
Nashi just finished with a two-week summer camp at the end of July. Here are a few of the more interesting shots from Reuters.
The
top picture is my favorite. It pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
This kid looks like he weighs about a buck fifty. He labors under the
stern countenance of Vladamir Putin, finger wagging in disapproval.
Here we have the mock Siberian labor camp experience, perhaps for the
complainers and other assorted squeaky wheels in this two-week
wilderness venture.
"Keep it moving, Dmitri. You have 70 more bags of
turnips to take to the chow hall and you STILL have to make borscht for
all 800 people at the camp. You think you're so funny? Maybe next time you'll think before you open your filthy, little bourgeoisie mouth. This is NOT a Brave New World--it is a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRACY,
dammit. And don't you forget it."
Didn't we all do this at camp? I went to band camp for two summers in a
row in Malcolm, NE. I played the flute (and to answer what you're
undoubtedly thinking...NO! I didn't). In between band practice,
watching
Ferris Bueller's Day Off for the 87th time, and getting together to play another rousing rendition of
Louie, Louie,
we managed to work in enough free time to grab our AK-47s, dress up
like U.N. peacekeepers, and kick each other's heads in. Now those were
the days.
It just dawned on me that it's been twenty years since
I've been at band camp. Back then, it didn't occur to me to do naughty
things with my flute. It was 1987 and we were thirteen years old. We
were too busy emptying cans of hairspray trying to get our bangs to a
consistency that would stand up to wind, rain, or a nuclear holocaust.
Here we have the People's Democratic Inflatable Raft Regatta. Note the ubiquitousness of the color RED.
