Once again it is high time for a picture post here on the Russian Blog! Since my return «на Урал» [to the Urals] eleven days ago, I have found myself in a struggle to take in all of the changes that have occurred in the city since I left this summer. Russia changes fast these days; even more so Екатеринбург [Yekaterinburg] - the street I have walked to university for two years looks completely different now - as some big international ‘happening’ [I guess the more educated would call it ‘event'] is scheduled to take place here in 2014. That’s why they’re changing everything - roads, buildings, parks, public space in general (perhaps they’ll go as far as in «Питере» [Saint Petersburg] back when they had that international gathering with Bush in 2006; there were police on the street especially looking for poor, badly dressed or simply ‘ugly’ people in order to kindly ask them to go home and not ruin the general picture of beauty). Sometimes change can be a good thing. For example, they’re building another couple of lines to «метро» [the metro; the subway; the tube] here - Yekaterinburg has the smallest in the world with only one line and five stations - and hiding the construction sites with hideous concrete walls. To solve the problem of hideousness in the street landscape, local artists are invited to paint the walls and make the world look a little bit kinder. The pictures below are from a project called «Хорошая собака» ["Good Dog"], that really caught my attention, and equally - my liking and approval. «Наслаждайтесь искусством!» [Enjoy the art!] (And please try your best to ignore the graffiti on some of them…)
«Собака, которая думает о колбасе» [A dog thinking of hotdogs].
«Собака, которая желает смерть мышам и кошкам» [A dog wishing death to mice and cats].
«Собака, которая говорит о любимом дереве» [A dog talking about his/hers favorite tree].
«Собака, которая скучает по дому» [A dog who's home-sick].
«Собака, которая сердится» [An angry dog].
«Собака, которая хочет спать» [A tired dog].
«Собака, которая нашла след другой собаки» [A dog who found a trace of another dog].
«Собака, которая мечтает о крыльях» [A dog dreaming of wings].
«Собака, которая хочет есть» [A hungry dog].
«Собака, которая думает о космосе» [A dog thinking about space].
«О чём думает эта собака?» [What is this dog thinking about?]
«Собака, которая собирается пойти в магазин “Адидас”» [A dog planning to go to the Adidas store].
«Собака, которая говорит о яде» [A dog talking about poison].
«Разбитое собачье сердце» [Broken heart of a dog].
«Чего хочется этой собаке?» [What does this dog want?]
«Пахнет плохо!» [Smells bad!]
«Стихи о прекрасной собаке» [Poetry about the beautiful dog].
«Надо меньше пить» [One should drink less].
«Что за тёмные очки?» [What's with the dark glasses?]
«Собака, которая волнуется по поводу того, что между югом и севером такая строгая граница» [A dog worried because of the fact that there's such a strict line between south and north].
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