FINROSFORUM // The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.
"Our quiet little place is in turmoil," writes author and journalist Andrey Malgin. "Yesterday, only a kilometre away from where I am staying, Svetlana Medvedeva, wife of Russia's placeholder president, Dmitry Medvedev, accompanied by 30 bodyguards, arrived at the Grand Hotel & La Pace in Montecatini Terme in Italy's Tuscany," Mr Malgin reported. Ms Medvedeva has reserved the entire five-star hotel until 21 March 2012.
Russia has a deep tradition of avant-garde art that has tested the boundaries of art and expression. The work of the art group, Voina ("War"), is part of this tradition. As Russia's political and economic system continues to centralize and grow more sclerotic, corrupt, and reliant on natural resources, this group is seeking to shake things up, juxtaposing humor and the absurd next to the grayness of Russian official life. The performance and public guerilla art of this collective is dedicated, in their words, to the "destruction of outdated repressive-patriarchal socio-political symbols and ideologies."
