Russia – Tacky Raccoons

Soviet Dachas

“A ‘dacha’ is a country cottage, made of wood, used by Soviet citizens to escape the rigors of the city for rural idyll.
[…]
“The word ‘dacha’ has been used to describe constructions ranging from grand imperial villas to small sheds. Originally bestowed by the Tsar to reward courtiers, this custom continued following the revolution, with Soviet cooperatives building dachas for their members. Supposedly for the benefit of labourers, in reality they were destined for those favoured by the State.”

Photos by Fyodor Savintsev from the book Dacha (2023).
[Images and caption found here, via Thompson, Blog.]

Shozy’s Murals

Born in Moscow in 1989, Danila Shmelev, better known as Shozy, began painting graffiti in the early 2000s. He studied graphic design at the Moscow Art and Industrial Institute and trained in classical drawing and painting before moving from three-dimensional letterforms to large-scale anamorphic murals.

The “openings” match the color of the sky – he uses reflective paint.
Click for larger images.

[Found here; more photos with descriptions of Shozy’s work here.]

Russian Graffiti

[Found here.]

The 2012 Lada Wedgie

That’s a Russian Lada Kalina circa 2012, and if that’s not a bollard attack, then maybe a telephone pole lost its brakes, or someone’s boat was speeding or something. No way can a Lada travel that fast.
[Found in here via here.]

Hell’s Bells

[Apartment door buzzers found here, here and here.]

It’s All Mine

Mir Diamond Mine, Mirny, Yakutia, Russia.
At 3,900 feet in diameter and 1,722 feet deep , it’s one of the largest excavated holes in the world. It reportedly has its own weather system vortex due to temperature variations, and aircraft are forbidden to fly over it.

In the midst of the Siberian wilderness, there is a town known as Mirny, the only sign of humanity in a heavily forested landscape for miles around. Only a few full-time residents call the town home, all of whom live in a small community built on stilts to prevent the melted permafrost from flooding their homes in the spring.

Truthfully, the town of Mirny would be entirely unremarkable, save for one thing. There’s a giant hole in the middle of the town over 1,000 feet deep and over half a mile wide that churns out an unnatural and mysterious amount of diamonds. Oh, and it also sucks in anything that flies overhead.

[Image found here, story here.]