Though the city of Tomsk itself is much more than it might seem to be from the pictures I have chosen, I think that it would be a shame to not share these photographs with you. As Russia on this very day [May 7th 2008] is getting ready for the coronation – oops! – I mean, of course, inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev, as hundreds of tanks at night time are running the streets of several big Russian cities in preparation for the born-Soviet-again military parades of Victory Day May 9th, it seems all the more appropriate to turn an eye to the past as we step into a future not quite so clear as we’d hoped it would be. Perhaps I should focus on safer subjects – as was my plan today to write a little funny piece about the six cases «падежи» of Russian language – but not only. I don’t want to only be such a writer, just a humorous commentator on Russia, not because I think that I am a very serious individual with highly unique views or know something you don’t, but solely for the reason that I’ve been here long enough to get over that initial phase of misunderstanding this country while laughing at ‘them weird Russians’ and their ‘strange ways’. Not too long ago I was asked to write a weekly column for the website of new state TV Chanel Russia Today, and I agreed, but after the first three pieces I wrote for them their words about how I should “keep it light and funny and nothing serious” made me feel deeply underappreciated. Anyway, since it’s a Russian company, which seems rather chaotic and fluctuating from the view of such a minor contributor as myself, I might not even be an employee with them anymore and therefore I am free to say whatever I want (though I should try keep my tongue in the right mouth anyway – blogs are by Russian law considered to be means of mass communication and the first blogger has already been sentenced [to prison?] for talking bad about cops… no comment).