Mamonovo, the border-crossing town outside Kaliningrad, is about to get some pop art: a new sculpture in the form of a giant can of Baltic Sprats. The tin monument will be about the size of a family car and hopefully rustproofed too.

Mamonovo Sprats are as famous as Campbell’s Soups in this part of Russia. Locals [...]

Fresh from a game of blockade with Poland, Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave is taking on Lithuania. It’s another game of siege that’s going to end in tears.
The story so far.
Mazeikiu, the Baltics’ only refinery, is situated in Lithuania. Until recently it was owned by Yukos and Russian receivers expected to acquire the title as a [...]

Sokol, a former socialist collective, is making way for new development. And the keyword is new, as in New Russian.
Before

After

The original dachas, built in 1923, were designated by Lenin as a kind of intellectuals’ thinkpark, the way we now have industry parks. 113 wooden homes were laid out in tree-lined streets by famous architects of [...]

In May this year, Russia blockaded the Polish Port of Elblag. Elblag’s fairway to the Baltic crosses Russia’s Kaliningrad border in the beautiful Vistula Lagoon, and Russia closed the border. As a result, the town of Elblag is bankrupt.
Poland blames Russia of course but the dispute goes back to 2003, when Poland imposed a visa [...]

What image do potential tourists have of Moscow? According to Moscow officials, it’s one of corruption, prostitution and the dark side of life. And it’s all the fault of the Lonely Planet Guide - the backpacker’s bible.

Today’s UK Guardian says Lonely Planet has been blasted on Russian TV for slagging Moscow, but hardly springs to [...]

Moscow witnessed an unusual demo this week..
Girls in yellow bikinis locked themselves in a cage outside Moscow’s Kentucky Fried Chicken while brandishing the slogan: KFC Tortures Chicks.
According to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the birds’ wings and legs are broken and chickens are parboiled while fully conscious.

I fancy myself as a bit [...]

It isn’t often I get a scoop but this one fell splat in the inbox. Russia - Moscow to be precise - has been chosen to host ‘Potato 2007‘.
Forget about the Olympics or the Eurovision Song Contest or the G8. Potato 2007 is a starch summit that’s as vital as any to Russia’s energy [...]

As fast the Berlin Wall came down, the EU has been building it back up. You can’t paint nice murals on the Fortress Schengen wall, but it’s just as effective at keeping people in.
Russians always complain to me, ‘We can’t go anywhere on holidays. What have we done?’ I try to offer consolation by saying [...]

Faced with the problem of a sharply declining population, Mother Russia recently launched a repatriation scheme to entice expats back to the womb. It includes monetary and re-settlement assistance. And a Kremlin spokesperson hinted that the scheme could extend to Russophiles.
Since I was going to live in Russia for a while, I thought I’d check [...]

According to Mosnews, Putin’s first car, an old Zaporozhets, will be put on permanent display in St Petersburg at the site of the G8 summit. How did he come to keep it so long? Would no one would buy a used car from this man?
As it happens, the valeted vehicle he showed Bush is not [...]