Russia in the news : Mamaev Kurgan going down?

Mamaev Kurgan was once the largest standing statue in the world. Located in Volgograd, it is the one and only tourist attraction worth visiting here. But not for long perhaps! Despite its structure, the architecture lacks foundations and stands there by its weight. From a news article on BBC, the statue is leaning by about 20 cm. Few more inclinations and tilts, BOOM! It might collapse. It might fall. Then Volgogradians and the Russian government would have to perform a miraculous CPR in order to get it back up. CPR in the form of millions or billions of Russian roubles. They say what comes out in the news, is controlled by the media. Is this a sign, a symbolism, that Russia itself, as a country, is going down, along with Mamaev Kurgan? Or is it an inside job by the Russian government?

Conspiracy theorists, do your job!

And for those who haven't visited Volgograd, please do so.

The economic downturn, quoted as the worst since the Great Depression, is affecting the Russian economy massively. And prostitutes in the Russian capital of Moscow are not left behind. They have slashed their 'market price' in order to save their lives. Yes. I am talking about full time prostitutes! Not only have they become cheaper, but they have also evolved into shoulders on which to cry on. Since libido and economy are parallel to each other, customers come and instead of requesting for sex, they talk. They talk about the stock prices spiralling down. About their depressive state. Of being fired. Recessions and paycuts. These days, the ads go this way : -

"When your stock price is falling, what better way to relax than chatting with one of our girls?"

In some other news. China, Russia and Canada have become targets for their roles in the piracy. Internet piracy that is. I still remember when i arrived in Russia, there was an abundance of original like music cds with complete booklets but were cheap. I was wondering whether these were rejected cds of some sort. MP3 cds are sold sporadically here in Russia. The jailbreakings and the unlocks of iPhones involve Russians as well.

And the best piece of news of all, is the victory of Russia over the USA in the IIHF Ice Hockey world Championship semi final. I was gutted that Russia did not bring their 2 great talents Ovechkin and Malkin to Switzerland. Plying their trade in NHL, these 2 men redefine ice hockey. But even without them, the core of Kovalchuk and Morozov are able to advance to the final, their strength in depth shining bright. Against Canada tomorrow night in the final, Russian will be defending their world championship. Vpiriod Rassiya!

With all these news, there seems to be a widespread negative view of Russia. Are these criticisms justified? Some are true, but the media is just trying to pump that belief that USA are the heroes of the world, and Russia are evil.

The new cold war looms, with the television, radio, internet as its battlefields.