FUNDRAISING EFFORT TO SUPPORT MY DOC

HI! I’ve launched a kickstarter ad to promote the “Don’t cry for your hair” documentary. If you don’t mind please check this link and help me to spread the word about the project. Meanwhile here comes the Russian language trailer to the documentary. I’m going to add the subtitles soon, so please keep an eye.

…WHEN THEY CUT YOUR HEAD OFF

I have to apologize (as I did many times before) for not being able to update this blog in a timely manner, but my journey through the Russian countryside brought me to some completely abandoned places with almost zero internet coverage.
So briefly let me tell you where I am now in my documentary work. “Don’t cry for your hair when they cut your head off” (this is a very popular Russian saying) is going to be at least 40 minutes long no narration film about the hair collecting business in Russia. Although I want it to be a broader story about life and experiences of the three independent characters, all of whom are young Russian women.
My first heroine is Lera Nikolaeva, a nurse. She has an extraordinary long and beautiful braid that she is now going to sell to support her family. She already went through this 6 years ago when her ailing grandfather got into a road accident with another car, which belonged to a local businessman. By selling her hair Lera earned $200 to help resolve this situation.

 

 

 

Second character’s name is Alya Telenkova. She is a former student at one of the most prestigious universities in Moscow, a daughter of the rich parents. Some time ago she suddenly decided to take monastic vow and left her family. Alya’s parents and her former boyfriend (a very influential and rich businessman 38 years older than she) claimed that she lost sanity and was forcefully taken away by the monks. For the last 2 years Alya has to live in hiding. She still hopes that one day she will be allowed to become a nun. In the Orthodox Church that procedure typically starts with trimming the potential candidate’s hair, which is later going to be kept at the monastery until his death.

 

 

And finally here is Valya Romanova. A single mother, a teacher and political activist from “The Other Russia” — a left-wing political movement, which is fiercely opposing the current capitalist policies of the Russian elite. In an act of defiance Valya and her friend Polina have recently shaved their heads. In fact they did it to express support for the three “The Other Russia” activists, who were detained and then accused of orchestrating the December 2010 riots at Manejnaya Square in Moscow.

 

 

 

Right now I’m going back and forth through piles of footage that I brought with me. I’m also trying to keep track of what is happening to all the three girls. No words can express how thankful I am to them for their decision to take part in my project.

DON’T CRY FOR YOUR HAIR

I wasn’t able to update this blog again due to the extremely slow Internet connection that I experienced in Russia. However now after I’m back to the broadband world, I can eventually fill some of the gaps. To do this let me share with you the trailer that I just finished working on. It says more about my journey than a dozen wordy post may say.

DAY1. YUKNOV

It took me 4 hours to get to Yukhnov from Moscow. I started at 5AM and reached the town at 9. The Kiev M3 highway is in relatively good shape but only until Kaluga, where you need to make a right onto the local road heading to the North. Thank God, I was driving my 4×4 Nissan Navara (Frontier), although at times the road with its sudden pitfalls and hollows  made me really nervous. I did not have a repair kit, so even a minor accident would have left me completely stuck. Yukhnov turned out to be a typical Russian village, which is still called “town” because long time ago its population officially reached 5,000. Not sure if these 5,000 are still there though. Most of the streets are unpaved, the buildings are old and 2-3 storied, there is no centralized water-supply and women are still using outdoor water wells to get water and bring it home in buckets. Yukhnov is a remarkable place in the Russian history. Here the Napoleon troops regrouped to advance on Moscow and later retreated back to where they came from. Here the Germans fought a ferocious defensive battle in WWII which cost the Red Army 50,000 lives. The place is very picturesque and still uncivilized. After the collapse of the U.S.S.R. all the agricultural production stalled and the once thriving collective farms went bankrupt. Today there are only two major businesses in Yukhnov. One is a flax factory, and another — a hair factory I was in search of. I spent the whole day with the owner and director Alexey Kuznetsov, 34. He happened to be a very liberal minded guy who is used to being in the media spotlight. Alexey moved to Yukhnov 4 years ago with his family. He is a perfect example of the young Russian capitalist. Among his 80 employees 99% are women. The reason, as Kuznetsov explained it, is that all men in Yukhnov are hopeless alcoholics. This man-to-women or employer-to-employees relationship is a separate story, which has its own hidden drama. But I wasn’t able to intervene. First of all the girls seem scared for their jobs and though they definitely have a lot say, they most likely won’t do that. Secondly, I still need Kuznetsov’s assistance in my search for the hair sellers. So maybe I can get back to Yukhnov one day. Meanwhile here’s an overexposed screenshot of Kuznetsov showing me a hair extension worn by one of “his” girls.

GREETINGS FROM RUSSIA

From now on I will be posting from Russia where I am currently working on my final documentary. It’s going to be an exciting journey for two reasons. First of all Russia is on the verge of some serious political changes. Secondly, this time I’m going to be working completely on my own, which is a great challenge. I have a portable modem that should let me post even from some remote places. And I am sorry I won’t be able to unveil the core idea of my project for quite some time (at least until I see that I’m moving forward).

I’ll be shooting with this beautiful camera. Maybe I can post some pictures occasionally.

CAN ONE BE MORE EXPLICIT?

“The Soviet education was flawed because it focused primarily on raising young people as creators. Today we need to raise a qualified consumer, who is able to implement the results of creativity of the others”.

A.Fursenko,
Russian Minister of Education

ROBIN BOBIN

I’m getting totally pissed off with that ugly creature calling himself President. Meeting the cheap porn humor “Comedy Club” team was a very revealing move on his side. Prior to that when this idiot was hiding in the shades of the Kremlin walls, it wasn’t really clear how insignificant and shallow he was. Now with the 2012 campaign in its height, exposing Robin to the media for too much makes him to be viewed as Yeltsin was viewed in 1996: drunk and with his pants wet. Let’s see for how long will he last. I’m happy I’m not a part of that circus for some time.

CAPITALISM=NEOLIBERALISM=NAZISM=RACISM=WAR

Michael Khodorkovsky, the so-called Russian Mandela whose unbending struggle against the Russian “authoritarian regime” is always in the limelight of the media has finally shared his real thoughts with the world.
Check this out and tell me this doesn’t sound like a justification for segregation and the New World Order.

Khodorkovsky: “Today the developed societies are witnessing a new division – between intellectually creative and intellectually impotent individuals. This is gradually building a biological barrier, almost impossible to overcome. Even in the oil industry the split between creative and non-creative jobs is visible. The future is far gloomier: replacing the non-creative ones with machines and new technologies is just a matter of time and investment (the higher the salaries the faster would be that change). Pretty soon there would be no place for these people to go, and they are going to be the majority. Keeping them on welfare is an option, but there still will be no real jobs. Meanwhile as early as the 2nd generation of welfare recipients turns out totally unfit for qualified labor hence shrinking the number of intellectually skilled professionals. What’s even more important all that creates an atmosphere of desperation, isolation from the world of successful individuals. This is what America is going through now. This is what Russia will face tomorrow. Inequalities on the new lapse of biological evolution will raise an extremely important ethical question – about the integrity of the whole humanity in terms of people’s creative potential. On how this dilemma is going be resolved depends not only the future of independent societies, but the future of humanity as a whole.

BRIBERS LICENSE

Mr. Robin has just suggested that Russia should implement its own id system – pretty much like in the US. One identity card for everything, most cases a valid substitute for passport. It really sounds as if some strange brain flu is taking over one Kremlin tower after another. At first they renamed Russian “militia” into more civilized “police” (they probably need to rename “torture” into “interviewing”), and now they want biometric driver’s licenses for the Russian poor. Damn. Perhaps it was one of Robin’s childhood dreams – to be stopped by a policemen on a modern, “civilized” highway and to show his ID through the window. Below is my guess as of how could this look like.

BTW. It’s since this morning that Russia’s “militia” miraculously turned into “police”.

Cheers!

GENERAL PROSECUTOR VS INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE

The 2012 campaign is gaining momentum quickly. Robin’s team is acting like a biting snake. Security inspections, sharp criticism over the “siloviki’s” handling of the situation in the Caucasus, various anti-Batman manifestos, plus, considerable pressure from the outside: the Council of Europe adopted a resolution criticizing Russia for the Khodorkovsky trial. Everything indicates the game is turning dangerous. The recent strife between the General Prosecutor’s office and FSB adjoined by Investigative Committee is yet another evidence of how high the stakes are. It’s widely believed that FSB is affiliated with the powerful Batman’s aide Igor Sechin, and Alexander Bastrykin, head of Investigative Committee is Batman’s closest ally too. So Russia is waiting for the outcome of that spectacular drama. Meanwhile the international environment, in which the 2012 election would be held, is heating up too. Not only is the Egyptian syndrome spreading throughout the Russia’s neighboring regions, but the long-time conflict with Japan has suddenly intensified. Surprisingly the US Embassy in Moscow is reported to have backed the Japanese claim over the disputed territories. All in all this makes the whole situation resemble the last years of the Tzarist regime, that also started with a major disagreement between Russia and Japan. Both Russian rulers meanwhile demonstrate an invidious calmness. Today they again appeared in public together in Sochi where they tested the new Olympic ski trail. The whole country is holding its breath as it is watching them ride down the slope.