"Vladimir Vladimirovich, we have a few questions..."
After yesterday’s boobies-for-Puties calendar cratered the Russian blogosphere, the dean of the Moscow State University journalism gave the students a stern scolding, and today we get, what else, another calendar.
Some other future journalistes from MGU donned their best strict marm outfits and their yellow mouth X-es, and sent VVP their own greetings. They also responded in a way that feeds in to the existing discussion on feminism in Russia — with its bullshit whore-nun/man pleaser-man eater dichotomies — , which, well, is another story.
Here is the rather serious riposte:
"When will Mikhail Khodorkovsky be freed?" Margarita Zhuravleva, 3rd year
"Forget the fools, but what about the roads?" Elizaveta Menschikova, 3rd year
"What impact will inflation have on bribes?" Svetlana Mukhina, 4th year
"Freedom of assembly always and everywhere?" Maria Tsitsurkina, 3rd year
"Who killed Anna Politkovskaya?" Ekaterina Ulyanova, 3rd year
"When is the next terrorist attack?" Tatiana Kartashova, 3rd year
These girls look more like the real deal. They dress the part, they pose all the right questions, which in this hyper-sexualized, apolitical, male-run country is, sadly, is going to land them with, at best, a choir-preaching job, nor will it sell many calendars.
via Liz Anderson (who appears in the “roads” picture)
The Moscow Diaries 
I don’t get how this is supposed to feed into the madonna/whore thing.
Now this, on the other hand…
http://bzzzzzzzzzzzzz.livejournal.com/73097.html
So there’s some hope for MGU journalism department 😉
сплошной маразм.
“When is the next terrorist act?” – WTF?
How is it a маразм? I think they are correctly blaming Putin for bringing terrorism to Moscow through antagonism in Chechnya, etc.
I agree Vicki. Putin is responsible for terrorism in Moscow, if not the main terrorist himself. Terrorists are freedom fighters whose human rights are being abused. Khodorkovsky is a heroic crusader for democracy and social justice. War is peace. Nada nada nada.
It’s just so bad that Russians don’t realize these fundamental truths and finally give “liberals” a bit more than 5% in approval ratings!
Vicki, I’m not entirely sure that your reading of the question is a correct one. One can also interpret it as an inquiry regarding whether or not Russia’s security and intelligence forces are working properly, for example. Or whether or not the PM cares about individual loss of life when such terrorist attacks occur.
I feel that when you’re commuting to and from work on the Moscow metro every day (as I do, for example) your mind is not on “antagonism in Chechnya” (the problem of terrorism on the territory of the Russian Federation is more complicated than that – as any moderate imam will tell you) – your mind is on whether or not the authorities give a hoot about keeping you safe. About whether or not you may wind up as a sacrificial lamb.
To say that these women are correctly blaming Putin is to miss the point, imho.
I could see it going both ways (both Moscow security policy or national security policy,) which I guess is why it was written that way, to be particularly controversial.
It is really heart warming to see democracy flourishing among the aspiring journalist in the MGU! Fortunately there is young and smart people in Russia who could prove democratic Russia’s credentials, because with corruptocratic post-bolshevik elites the stagnating path dependency of the 19th century elitist technocracy would be continued…:)
VS,
I wouldn’t really call such people “elites”.
They’re amazing.
I thank God for their existence.
Forget the right and the wrong: I’m stunned by their courage and nobility.
Huge respect.
Shouldn’t it be what effect do bribes have on inflation, not the reverse?
Ходорковский? If Putin deserves a monument, then it is for separating people like Khodorkovskyi (or Berezovskyi) from Russian politics.
BTW, I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to know that the creators of this calendar invented their supporters out of thin air. A perfect metaphor for Russian liberasm! LOL. 🙂
RETRACTION: Tatyana Kartashova Is The Real Deal
That’s just comical. Nobody better say Russians are slow learners – if you need a message, just make it up. The Iraqis were tearing babies out of the incubators, and then they took the incubators; remember that one, from the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the USA, pretending to be a nurse during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait?
By the way, all the girls in the second calendar were hot, too, and I can’t wait for their apology-for-lying calendar, in lingerie.
Oops! Just saw your retraction. Gee, that’s too bad. Oh, I meant about the no apology-calendar part. Since Putin kills or incarcerates everyone who speaks out against him, we’ll probably never see them again.