Here's the translation:
Urgent!!! A one-room apartment for rent, at Mendeleevskaya, long-term, strictly to Russians and Slavs [misspelled in the original: slovyanam instead of slavyanam]. 8-minute walk from the metro. Furniture and appliances included... tel. 8-925-507-55-98
Do they have to be orthodox, or can they be Catholic, or Lutheran, or Baptist, or atheist? Do they have to like Putin?
ReplyDeleteHow many "slovyany" are there is Russia?
Seems like a bad way to do business.
Paul Goble at WindowsonEurasia (http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com) has been detailing the rising suspicion of foreigners in Russia, according opinion polls and race-based crimes. This rental sign seems like a small sympton of a larger problem.
ReplyDeleteAds like this one are everywhere here and have been around for a long time.
ReplyDeleteHere's a photo I took on Michurinsky Prospekt four and a half years ago, in summer 2004 - "A Russian family will rent an apartment":
http://shw.vkhokhl.fotopages.com/2605728.html
I remember being sort of shocked then, but I'm used to it now, and the real reason I've posted the ad from Oktyabrskaya is the irony of a misspelled key word...
Here's also a relevant Global Voices translation that I did last night:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/12/03/russia-renatainaralove/
The sentiments suck, and indeed those "will rent only to Russians/Slavs" ads are everywhere. But the misspelling in this one is fantastic. I may start calling myself a Slovyanka. I do like words...
ReplyDeleteDid you see this registration page where by ticking the box at the bottom you confirm your support to the policy of the president and prime-minister of Russia? I guess it's a joke, but people still tick that box.
ReplyDeletehttp://russia.ru/signup/
Sasha
Anonymous 'Sasha' appears to be a phisher. The link s/he has provided requests personal identifying information and is not encrypted. You should probably take it down, Neeka.
ReplyDeleteTodd,
ReplyDeleteSasha is actually my best friend and the link he provided is part of an ongoing conversation between us.
In a way, it also has something to do with the subject of this post: the link is to a Russian internet TV project that's filled with propaganda and has those crazy registration questions (they are also asking for your tax ID number, in addition to the Putin/Medvedev policy approval box)...
***
Sash jan,
Somehow I don't think it's a joke... And even if it is, what's the use of a joke if nobody's getting it? Also, all the Komsomol shit wasn't a joke in this part of the world, so why would this be, huh?
Veronichka, come to Kiev already. It's been +12 today under a sunny sky and the weather forecast for next week is sun, sun, sun!
ReplyDeleteSasha
I guess it's all part of the general carelessness over there. Or perhaps they work with one or more of the Russia-based phishers so active in the US. It all makes me very glad that I no longer get my paycheck from studying that area. It can be all too depressing...
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I still love seeing your pictures and reading your commentary!