Miss Constitution

Photo: Igor Miukhin
It’s not all doom and gloom in Russia. Turn on Channel One, the state owned television channel, and there’s always something to lift your spirits. This Friday (12th Dec), Russia celebrated “Constitution Day”. The event was reported in a rather amusing manner. First there was the speech by President Dmitri Medvedev; rather ironic on the backdrop of his recent constitutional amendments to increase the presidential term:

“The constitution is not, of course, a canon law given from above, but the result of a social contract; and contracts can change. But the fundamental articles of the constitution should not change; they should not change because this would be dangerous for the very existence of the state. Everything that is laid down in the constitution and everything that determines our fundamental rights and freedoms, the presidential character of our state, the federal system, this is what in all likelihood should never change, or, at any rate, not in the near future.”

In case things got too serious however, “Nashi” the pro-Kremlin youth organisation, had organised a “Miss Constitution” event which was held on Red Square. As Channel One reported:

“The girls sang, danced, demonstrated their intelligence, answering questions on the content of the Russian constitution and expressing their personal opinions on the country's politics… The girls also took part in a catwalk wearing mini-bikinis. The organisers of the event noted that these would be “fur swimsuits, like Snow Maiden’s outfit.”

To top it all off, yesterday the world’s largest felt boot was on display in a park in central Moscow. Never a dull moment I tell you.