English Russia

The Russia I knew of as a kid was a cold, harsh place with brutal architecture and a regime to match. I feared it (just as the Western propaganda machine intended) but I was also intensely curious of the Soviet brand and the incongruous cultural hints that seemingly ran underneath it. After Russia’s Soviet regime collapsed, the clues to just far the administration had seeped into culture slowly filtered into global view… And it still does.

The English Russia blog pops up every now and again from my searches and it has become a rather interesting node that reflects a modern Russia battling with its cultural and political identity. The blog regularly aggregates rich photo sets or journalistic pieces on everything from disturbing abandoned military installations to the poverty and corruption of former Soviet states that have pulled the plug on socialism. Be warned though, the content isn’t without its biases and one look at the site feedback and comments tells a continuing tale of division and smouldering opinion amongst Russians, ex-pats and former Soviet subjects.

The site furniture is a bit ugly in places and some of the amusingly ‘teenage’ footer links are a little out of context. However, when all is said and done, the blog content stands as a peculiar visual insight into a mysterious country, which is still struggling to resolve its past. If you’re after a Russian fix, I can’t think of anything quite like it out there right now.