#Mari El Republic

[wgm-beautiful-world]

Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Yoshkar-Ola, RUSSIA

[songs-of-the-east]

Homecoming: The Young Photographer Reconnecting with the Roots of Russia's Indigenous Mari People - Pictures by Dima Komarov

"Komarov took ​most of the portraits of the Mari in their traditional costumes in his native village. He also worked at the festival of Mari radio, where the celebrations and songs are held entirely in the Mari language. “There are many costumes for different purposes: for ceremonies, prayers, or weddings. All of the costumes have sophisticated, beautiful embroidery, symbols which can bring luck and good energy and ward off evil spirits. Almost every costume has the colour red. Men traditionally wear canvas shirts and trousers. Traditional jewellery for women, meanwhile, can weigh as much as 35kg,” he explains."

"Komarov’s visual study of Mari culture shows that there is no right or wrong way to relate to one’s heritage — it’s a journey not only across the physical landscape, but the landscape of your memories and emotions. “Every time I’m in my my native town and my grandma’s village, I feel endless love for my native culture and the places where I grew up,” he says. “Even though I sometimes feel like the culture is fading slowly, I hope that people who discover the new interest in Mari traditions will preserve and develop them.”

- Anastasiia Fedorova

[russianlanguageday]

Traditionalism vs. Assimilation Among Indigenous Peoples of Siberia.

As is the case for many indigenous groups around the world, native peoples of Siberia struggle to fit into the modern global village while retaining their ethnic identity and cultural distinctiveness. Since the end of World War II, the indigenous peoples of Siberia have had a special legal status which allows for certain “affirmative action”-like quotas and benefits. However, the main aim of these policies was to integrate ethnic minorities into the all-Soviet people and to inculcate the “new Soviet man” mentality. Compulsory boarding schools, where children from different ethnic groups were brought together from the age of seven in a collectivist environment, often served as the hotbed of such Sovietization. The effect on native culture was disastrous. But, as James Forsyth in his A History of the Peoples of Siberia points out, “Russification began even before this, in kindergartens, where most nurses and teachers were Russian speakers. Even where some of them were natives, however, there were cases when children or the nurses themselves were reprimanded for using their native language” (here the parallels with Native North American languages are obvious). In the Soviet Union, it was believed that minority languages and cultures would die out under communism, and that “nationalism can only be bourgeois”. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, a number of new laws have been adopted whose goal is to preserve ethnic distinctiveness of indigenous peoples. But can the tables be turned?

[lunaryugamine]

I decided to do this edit because someone on twitter did one, and I thought it'd be fun. Was it? Sort of. Here's the original edit.

Artists under the cut and in the reblog because you can only have 100 links on a page on tumblr I guess.

United States (Cherokee)- pinkcultgirl

Canada (Cree)- lacking-rodents

Mexico- strxbxrrylxvxr

Panama- tiffycat

Haiti- sumechiayuu

Jamaica- risarts

Peru- kotorinrins

Dominican Republic- pls-explodingstars-pls

Cuba- skronklpus

Caribbean(Guadalupe)- majartsy

Greenland (Inuit)- probablymoons

El Salvador- chiliger

Puerto Rico- lavendett

Colombia- mary-92023

Venezuela- hand-painted-5tars

Honduras- nicotine-boi

Guyana- astrumnm on twitter

Guatamala- sadsquatch-art

Bolivia- by-peachy

Argentina- mypillowpaper

Ecuador- astrid-nyan

Chile- jet-set-go-go

Brazil- garden-variety-jumo

Costa Rica- astroskatcher

Belize- jovialodyssey

Nicaragua- sirnatsketches

Bahamas- artbounddude

Trinidad and Tobago- donutsbagels

San Juan (Puerto Rico)- lazycatartist6

Paraguay- 2funk

Uruguay- clayscence

Suriname- yumiaoi5

French Guiana- myballsitchaurghouchie

Barbados- parkbomdotcom on twitter

Guam- grumfield

Norway- parti-poppers

Sweden- rubenthecatisstupid

Iceland- catastrophe-of-clovers

Finland- antony-art

Germany- mangos-draws

Switzerland- graegrape-art

Austria- qwaxi2o8

Czech Republic- miroslav-hashlerka

Italy- mspaint-flower

Turkey (Kurdish)- bubblbudd

Greece- albinobirb

Poland- thirea

Romania- eternalblizzards

Scotland- laplaces-angel

Albania- isaaa-usb

Ireland- can-of-w0rmz

Russia- bdsmchan

Bulgaria- pastellbg

Saudi Arabia- chiroomii on twitter

Hungary- sidecast

Cyprus- diadoesart

Iraq- coloursdraws

Iran- witchydespoina

Syria- rozeliyawashereyall

Lebanon- erebusbored

Israel (Palestine)- langel2

Jordan- guitoneangel on twitter

Yemen- adenlicpng

Kuwait- obscurecrows

Bahrain- Beautifulnoora on twitter

The Netherlands- fayzart136

Belgium- nousanti

Portugal- m4rlol

France- izkph

England- cyclqnes

Denmark- mariehyde

Spain- annomalysstuff

India (Sikh)- starkitten101

Pakistan- ayzaart

Burma/Myanmar- artsyvamp

Afghanistan- ahriana

Thailand- fumiruku

Nepal- astronite13

Bhutan- orobeori

Kampuchea (Cambodia)- othercrossee

Malaysia- roobiedo

Bangladesh- maleficauraa

China (Uygher)- chronically-ill-psionipath

Korea- iyuray

Mongolia- kenvamp

Laos- justgoji

Tibet- saunabun on twitter

Indonesia- moonieee

Phillipines- puppyeared

Taiwan- huyi-hotdog

Sri Lanka- crabs-brencil

Papua New Guinea- Penmastery28600 on twitter

New Zealand- beastwhimsy

Vietnam- sparkly-s0da

Tunisia- cs34

Morocco- sx1ro

Uganda- moonjumps

Angola- PeepawRichter on twitter

Zimbabwe- jxmuu-nat

[sovietpostcards]

Vintage postcards of RSFSR’s autonomous regions. Each postcard has the emblem, flag and traditional pattern of a republic. Published in 1967.

The following are available (in the order they’re pictured above):

Mari-El - Udmurtia Daghestan - Mordovia Kabardino-Balkaria - Komi North Ossetia - Bashkiria

Price $5/ea + $5 shipping

Message me!

How to buy. Other items in my shop. I combine shipping if you buy more than one item.

[flagwars]

Russian Federal Subject Flag Wars: Round 1

This tournament will focus on the flags of Russia’s 83 federal subjects, which includes 21 republics, 9 krais, 46 oblasts, 2 federal cities, 1 autonomous oblast, and 4 autonomous okrugs. It will not include the flags of the land stolen from Ukraine.

The tournament will be followed by the Regional Flag Wars, a huge competition featuring the flags of regions/administrative divisions, with only one flag per country. Over the past year, I’ve released numerous polls to decide which regional flag will be included for each country. Russia is the final country on the list, and it is receiving its own tournament due to having so many administrative divisions. I hope everyone enjoys this tournament and is looking forward to the Regional Flag Wars! The Russian Federal Subject Flag Wars will begin this week.

Round 1:

1. Tver Oblast vs. Amur Oblast vs. Jewish Autonomous Oblast vs. Kamchatka Krai vs. Karelia

2. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug vs. Bashkortostan vs. Tambov Oblast vs. Udmurtia vs. Kursk Oblast

3. Samara Oblast vs. Pskov Oblast vs. Adygea vs. Chukotka Autonomous Okrug vs. Khakassia

4. Khabarovsk Krai vs. Kalmykia vs. Altai Krai vs. Zabaykalsky Krai vs. Mordovia

5. Moscow Oblast vs. Dagestan vs. North Ossetia–Alania vs. St. Petersburg vs. Saratov Oblast

6. Primorsky Krai vs. Yaroslavl Oblast vs. Leningrad Oblast vs. Astrakhan Oblast vs. Komi Republic

7. Krasnoyarsk Krai vs. Irkutsk Oblast vs. Omsk Oblast vs. Lipetsk Oblast vs. Kabardino-Balkaria

8. Moscow vs. Ingushetia vs. Kostroma Oblast vs. Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug vs. Tomsk Oblast

9. Perm Krai vs. Orenburg Oblast vs. Stavropol Krai vs. Volgograd Oblast vs. Belgorod Oblast

10. Mari El vs. Kaliningrad Oblast vs. Sverdlovsk Oblast vs. Sakha vs. Arkhangelsk Oblast

11. Krasnodar Krai vs. Penza Oblast vs. Buryatia vs. Nizhny Novgorod Oblast vs. Kurgan Oblast

12. Chelyabinsk Oblast vs. Nenets Autonomous Okrug vs. Karachay-Cherkessia vs. Murmansk Oblast vs. Altai Republic

13. Novosibirsk Oblast vs. Tuva vs. Vologda Oblast vs. Smolensk Oblast vs. Novgorod Oblast

14. Tatarstan vs. Sakhalin Oblast vs. Ulyanovsk Oblast vs. Ryazan Oblast vs. Chechnya vs. Tyumen Oblast

15. Ivanovo Oblast vs. Chuvashia vs. Vladimir Oblast vs. Rostov Oblast vs. Magadan Oblast vs. Bryansk Oblast

16. Kaluga Oblast vs. Kemerovo Oblast vs. Oryol Oblast vs. Kirov Oblast vs. Voronezh Oblast vs. Tula Oblast

[dear-indies]

hello! i'm making a dceu server and for hopefully obvious reasons i'm not having gal gadot play wonder woman and i was wondering if you have ideas for replacements? i think it'd be extra fun if the fc was arab but she doesn't have to be

Saba Mubarak (1976) Jordanian, Palestinian. Syrian.

Yasmine Al Massri (1978) Palestinian / Egyptian.

Arwa Gouda (1979) Egyptian.

May Calamawy (1986) Palestinian-Jordanian / Egyptian - was muscular for Moon Knight.

Aiysha Hart (1988) Saudi Arabian and English.

Shirine Boutella (1990) Algerian.

Rosaline Elbay (1990) Egyptian.

Medalion Rahimi (1992) Iranian, Iranian Jewish - uses she/they.

Pınar Deniz (1993) Turkish [Lebanese].

Mina El Hammani (1993) Moroccan.

and some other people who have spoken up for Palestine with the vibes!

Poorna Jagannathan (1972) Indian.

Aisling Bea (1984)

Sonam Kapoor (1985) Indian.

Giulia Michelini (1985)

Eréndira Ibarra (1985) Mexican - is bisexual.

Diane Guerrero (1986) Colombian.she/they.

Michaela Coel (1987) Ghanaian - is aromantic, boycotted the Sydney Festival 2022 for Palestine.

Mishel Prada (1989) Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, and Mexican [Spanish, Portuguese, African, Indigenous], some French.

Megan Prescott (1991) - is autistic and has ADHD - is muscular.

Seychelle Gabriel (1991) Mexican and European.

Devery Jacobs (1993) Mohawk - is queer.

haven't spoken up but would be good options:

Bahar Soomekh (1975) Lebanese.

Maggie Q (1979) Vietnamese / White.

Nikki Garcia (1983) Mexican / European - is muscular.

Cara Jade Myers (1985) Kiowa and Wichita - is bisexual.

Ioanna Triantafyllidou (1985)

Souhir Ben Amara (1985) Tunisian.

Melissanthi Mahut (1988)

Úrsula Corberó (1989)

Bianca Belair (1989) African-American.

Marie-Lou Nahhas (1989) Lebanese.

Sofia Pernas (1989) Moroccan / Cuban.

Kylie Bunbury (1989) Afro Guyanese / White.

Grace Dove (1991) Secwepemc.

Jessica Henwick (1992) Chinese Singaporean / White.

Natacha Karam (1994) Lebanese / White - is muscular.

Deonna Purrazzo (1994) - is muscular.

Natasha Polis (1994) - cosplayed as WW!

Mahpara Khan (?) Bangladeshi - is muscular - cosplayed as WW!

Hey anon! I don't know much about Wonder Woman but I know she's powerful and these all have the vibes.

[thenuclearmallard]

League of Free Nations: Indigenous activists from Russia to fight for independence from Moscow

Kalmyks in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia. Source: Wikipedia  

2022/05/24 - 00:00 • INTERNATIONAL, RUSSIA, RUSSIAN AGGRESSION

Article by: Christine Chraibi

Indigenous activists from Russia, representing six national movements, have announced the creation of the League of Free Nations– a political platform for the decolonization of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation and the acquisition of each nation’s sovereignty.

With the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war on 24 February, 2022, many Russian citizens of indigenous nations have been wittingly or unwittingly drawn into the ranks of the Russian army. However, most are there because they are trying to escape the horrible poverty they experience at home and see the military as the best or in many cases only way to improve their sorry lives.

Indigenous peoples have been under the Russian yoke for centuries

Back in April 2021, Sires Bolaen (Syres Boliayen), Inyazor (Chief Elder) of the Erzya people, addressed the 20thsession of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, drawing attention to the Kremlin’s policy of purposeful neglect and discrimination of indigenous people.

Sires Bolaen (Syres Boliayen), Inyazor (Chief Elder) of the Erzya people. Photo: open source

“Within the past 30 years, the Ezrya have been turned from a nation of a few million people into a small ethnic group on the brink of complete extinction.

Our neighbours in the Idel-Ural region – Mokshans, Udmurts, Maris, Chuvashs, Bashkirs and even Tatarsalso find themselves in a very similar position. Native peoples in Russia are forbidden to have their own political parties, or even to study their mother tongue in secondary schools. Only dancing in national costumes is tolerated. Those who stand up for their rights are persecuted as extremists and become victims of punitive psychiatry.”

The leader of the Erzya national movement is known not only for his anti-imperialist stance, but also for leading a group of Erzya volunteers fighting with the Ukrainian army. He is the co-founder of the Free Idel-Ural movement,which advocates the withdrawal of six Volga republics (Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Mordovia, Mary El and Udmurtia) from the Russian Federation and the creation of the Idel-Ural confederation.

In May 2022, Sires Bolaen once again addressed the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous People during its 21stsession. He publicly condemned and blamed Moscow for turning federal republics and indigenous communities in Russia into socially backward and under-developed regions where local young people seek to escape poverty by joining the Russian Armed Forces.

North Ossetia, Buryatia, Tuva, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Chukotka and Idel-Ural are the regions with the highest number of dead soldiers per thousand population, he says. 

Indigenous peoples gather in the League of Free Nations

In order to draw attention to the dire situation facing the indigenous people of Russia,Bashkir, Buryat, Ingush, Kalmyk, Erzya and Adyghe activistsdecided to set up a new organization – the League of Free Nations – and proceeded to issue a public announcement.

“These past few weeks, various media have been writing and talking more about the future of the Russian Federation after the Russian-Ukrainian war.

First of all, these discussions do not concern the organization of the federal subjects of the Russian Federation, but look more towards the paradigm ‘the future of the federal center is the future of Russia’.”reads the statement.

Vladimir Dovdanov, member of the Oirat-Kalmyk People’s Congressunderlines that his people have been experiencing colossal demographic catastrophes for centuries.

Vladimir Dovdanov, member of the Oirat-Kalmyk People’s Congress. Photo: Idel Realii (RFE/RL)

“…This is due to the fact that we’ve always been treated as a colony ruled by a tsar. Later [during the Soviet period-Ed], the different general secretaries used the Kalmyksas disposable objects. Today, as a result of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, major global political changes are taking place, and this gives us the opportunity to become a subject state, and no longer be treated as an object. I see that many other peoples in the Russian Federation have the same desire.”

In their manifesto, the indigenous leaders proclaim the principle of “presumption of subjectivity/agency”, according to which the regions do not need to appeal to anyone to grant them sovereignty in the event of the collapse of the current political regime in the Russian Federation,.

All regions, by definition, can achieve and declare full sovereignty and full independence from Moscow. Then, acting as free territories, they can decide their own future: whether they want to remain independent, unite with other regions/republics, or create a confederation of states.

Sires Bolaen, Inyazor (Chief Elder) of the Erzya peopleassures that the League of Free Nations is open to new members and invites all those who share anti-imperialist views and recognize the right of peoples to self-determination to join the organization.

Erzya women from Penza Oblast dressed in traditional clothes. Source: Wikipedia

Activists of the Buryat national movement Dorjo Dugarov and Rajana Dugar-De Ponte, who co-founded the platform, believe that uniting different national movements around the struggle for freedom and political subjectivity will have a cumulative effect – in particular, open new opportunities for the members to convey their ideas on different international platforms.

Activist Ruslan Gabbasov from Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan. Photo: Idel Realii

Activist Ruslan Gabbasov from Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan, who fled Russia in December 2021 fearing for his safety and obtained political asylum in Lithuania, is a representative of the Bashkir national movement.

“I believe that all constituent subjects, as well as all indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation have the right to participate in the discussion on the future of Russian territories and to exercise their right to self-determination,”said Gabbasov .

 

The initiators of the League of Free Nations are as follows:

Vladimir Dovdanov, Batyr Bormongaev, Erenzen Doliaev(Kalmyks, Republic of Ralmykia)

Ruslan Gabbasov(Bashkir, Republic of Bashkortostan)

Sires Bolen and Vitaliy Romashkin(Erzyas, one of the peoples of the Republic of Mordovia)

Dorjo Dugarov, Rajana Dugar-De Ponte(Buryats, Republic of Buryatia)

Today, the members of the League of Free Nations call for the establishment of direct contacts with European, Turkish and Kazakh public organizations and political parties.

Administrative mao of the Russian Federation. Photo: World Atlas

Editor’s Note

Background

According to its constitution, the Russian Federation is divided into 85 federal subjects, 22 of which are republics. Republics are administrative divisions originally created as nation states to represent areas of non-Russian ethnicity. The indigenous ethnic group that gives its name to the republic is referred to as the titular nationality. However, due to decades of Russian migration, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republic’s population.

During his long years in power, Vladimir Putin has launched several centralization reforms which steadily eradicated all autonomy the republics had, with the exception of Chechnya. All bilateral agreements were abolished and in practice all power rests with the central federal government.

In fact, some experts believe that Russia has ceased to be a federation.

[docpiplup]

Upcoming series: Ena

In September, the filming of Ena began, a biographical series that will focus on the life of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, queen of Spain through her marriage to Alfonso XIII between May 31, 1906 and April 14, 1931, after being the monarchy deposed later by the proclamation of the Second Republic. Great-grandmother of the current king Philip VI of Spain, of whom she was godmother at his baptism. Throughout six chapters, the series will tell the life of Victoria Eugenie and at the same time offer a portrait of a time that changed the world, the first half of the 20th century, from 1905 to 1945. Born on October 24, 1887 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Ena was the daughter of Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice, youngest daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her godmother was Eugenia de Montijo, empress consort of France as Napoleón III's wife. The name of the series comes from what her friends and family called her since she was little, Ena.

The fiction is based on the novel of the same name by Pilar Eyre. Javier Olivares, who was behind the acclaimed Isabel and El Ministerio del Tiempo, will be the showrunner and plot manager for Ena. In addition to Olivares, the script is written by Isa Sánchez, Daniel Corpas and Pablo Lara Toledo. The series will be directed entirely by women: Anaïs Pareto, director of the series as a whole, in addition to four episodes, and Estel Díaz, who will direct two episodes.

“Ena is the portrait of historical moments that seem distant but are not so far away, because without them we would not understand the times we live in now,” Olivares declares in the press release sent by TVE. The writer and screenwriter remembers that Victoria Eugenie “fought to be happy in a bitter time, in which she witnessed two world wars, a civil war and a great pandemic, the tortuously called Spanish flu.”

For Pilar Eyre, author of the novel, she was "an extraordinary woman: cultured, supportive, liberal-minded, modern and very loyal." And she is excited because "finally all Spaniards can know" the story of a "misunderstood" woman. in their time, which they will always consider foreign." It is a fiction co-produced by RTVE with Ena La Serie AIE, La Cometa TV and Zona App. José Pastor, director of Film and Fiction at RTVE, has pointed out that "it is a "RTVE is proud to be able to portray this interesting historical character, from the point of view of two women directors and with Javier Olivares as showrunner, in one of its best series."

The Spanish actress of Anglo-Danish descent Kimberly Tell will play Ena and Joan Amargós will play Alfonso XIII. For her part, Elvira Mínguez will play Maria Christina von Habsburg-Lothringen, mother of Alfonso XIII. The cast is completed by Lucía Guerrero (Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), Raúl Mérida (Alfonso of Orleans and Bourbon), Juan Gea (Álvaro Figueroa y Torres, Count of Romanones), María Morales (María del Carmen Angoloti y Mesa, Duchess of Victoria), Pedro Mari Sánchez (Rodrigo de Saavedra y Vinent, Marquis of Villalobar), Luisa Gavasa (Eugenia de Montijo) and Joaquín Notario (José de Saavedra y Salamanca, Marquis of Viana)

Mariano Peña will play Miguel Primo de Rivera; Jaume Madaula will play the anarchist Mateo Morral, author of the attack committed at the royal wedding; Tomás del Estal will be Emilio María de Torres y González-Arnáu, and Ángel Ruiz will once again give life to Federico García Lorca, a character he already played in El Ministerio del Tiempo, among others.

The series will be filmed entirely in natural exteriors and interiors, like the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia), the Palace of Santo��a (Madrid), the Palace of Fernán Núñez (Madrid), the Fort of San Francisco (Guadalajara) and the Magdalena Palace (Santander), built in 1911 by the City Council as a tribute to the monarchs and where Ena spent a good part of her summers in Spain, accompanied by the Royal Family. Filming for the series will continue until the end of December.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the Magdalena Palace is going to be an important location during the series as a summer palace, the main filming location in Gran Hotel, and in that series Ena appeared in the episode 3×13, played by Aída Filx.

Apart from that, are we getting an Olivaresverse (XD)? Most likely not, and it's just references about his previous works as a showrunner, but there are connections between Isabel, Emdt and Ena: Michelle Jenner starring Isabel as Isabella I of Castile, then appearing in a couple of scenes in Emdt episode 1×04 and being an important figure in the lore as the foundress of the ministry (& Eusebio Poncela playing as Cisneros in both series, and also he played Cisneros in the film La Corona Partida and the Carlos Rey Emperador series); Alfonso XIII is a descendant of Isabella I of Castile; Ángel Ruiz appeard as Lorca in Emdt in 4 episodes and now he is on Ena playing as Lorca again, we don't know yet how much screentime he will get or which will his role be (secondary character most likely), but it's great to see more about him!

[leesbian42-rp]

So who am I?

Hello!! My name is Chaos, or Cam, and this will be where I interact with other RP blogs or chat about my OCs. My main is @leesbian42 and I'll keep my OC tag from that blog here too

I'm 24, queer and I use pink/pinkself bat/batself and punk/punkself, or 🐍/🐍self 🌺/🌺self 🦋/🦋self. Don't like neos? Don't follow. Simple as that.

I'll do most kinds of RPs, but no nsfw and if you want it to go in a certain direction you have to tell me. Any and every OC is never restricted to just one Universe, and even if I don't know the fandom more than the basics I'm willing to at least try.

Some of the things I do is: avatar (atla/lok/woba), lego Ninjago, LEGO Dreamzzz, LEGO Friends, Encanto, Disenchantment, Danny Phantom, Descendants, DC (only know basics), Marvel (bare basics), She-Ra, Voltron, Hamilton, historic, LUCIDS, Marble Hornets / Creepypasta etc

everything I post is open RP unless specified otherwise

So!! Some quick deets on my OCs!!

Non-Fandom OCs:

Eldi 'A23421' Light

my cyborg oc with a ✨tragic evil fucked up past✨. Once human, she was experimented on against her will and had her sentience removed from her, sent out by her Creator, James Stone, to get him new patients to experiment on similar to how he did to Eldi or other majorly fucked up shit. when she's around 13-15 she realises what's been going on and by the time she's 17 she's escaped and deep into hiding, working to reprogram and relearn everything

Phoenix Night

don't really have much for him? He's born in Scotland and got sort of a symbiote like venom??? and got a pretty normal life until I hit him with the Trauma and Death stick yk how it is with OCs

Alex Xamira

I usually make her a friend of Eldi's, but I lost a LOT of the information and notes I had on them originally :(

Liwh Saga Korpwinge

my first ever oc!! She's born in 1100 and has travelled with her mother for as long as she can remember, constantly on the run from something she's never gotten explained to her. Until, one day, her mother gets caught D: Liwh sees her hang from the gallows already the next day (and other things bc uhhh 13yr me making this character really went bonkers with the tragedy)

Tilda Klemensdotter and Torkel Klemensson

these two are actually my irl Museum job characters!! Twins, born in the 1760s, they get job at the local sheriff's (länsman) farm, but somehow keep missing each other and leaves in search for their sibling! But now, a few years later, they're back working at their parents farm. They're both half-finnish too bc Torkel is actually a Finnish name, but idk how much they'd know about that side of the family

Rebel

another one I don't got a lot for? I thought the word Rebel as a name would be super cool and made this oc. Lives up to their name def at least

Fandom OCs:

Raya

I don't got a lot for her either? She's an atla oc (from the swt) AND an encanto oc (from the other side of the mountains).

Elyha Ivy Moon

my WoBA (world of the bending arts) RPG atla oc, an airbender born in around 500AG, 17 yrs old and lives in the Republic City with her mums Mary and Rose, and their older sibling Reese. Elyha and Reese are both adopted by Mary and Rose and they often joke the family is the avatar but split up (Elyha air, Reese earth, Mary water and Rose fire). Elyha's bio parents was a moonblessed waterbender (like Yue) and an airbender, which is how she got her white hair.

Rira 'El Fuego'

another atla oc!! She got kidnapped as a very young child by Ozai and Azulon for her purple fire. She's around the same age as Lu Ten and is a very skilled firebender (Ozai and Azulon won't accept anything less, even from the child they kidnapped) and she, after realising the children were no danger, could be seen with Zuko, Azula and Lu Ten. She actually goes with Iroh to the siege of ba sing se! and after that, the sun warriors!

Sara 'Saga Berry' Gustafson

born in the early 1960s, she's one of my youngest OCs on 11 years! She's specifically from a Gravity Falls dream I once had, which then turned into an au. Orphaned and homeless after her mother got evicted, she spends years on the streets before finally being found by Stan Pines during his homeless days. When Stan leaves the country, she goes with him as his adopted daughter and actually spends the rest of her childhood living on the streets and travelling the world with Stan! She's in her twenties when she starts even thinking about settling down somewhere

[paizuka]

Vasli Kuva, Evseev National Museum of the Mari El Republic, Yoshkar-Ola (December, 2022)

[mikucountries]

Updated list of Mikus! Thank you again to all of the amazing artists around the world.

Europe

Turkey

Netherlands

Romani

Hungary

Iceland

Moldova

Germany

Finland

Greece

France

Denmark

Poland

Romania

Ukraine

Hungary

Lithuania

Ireland

Wales

Belarus

Scotland

Slovakia

Italy

United Kingdom

Norway

Portugal

Kosovo

Latvia

Russia

Estonia

Slovenia

Serbia

Spain

Austria

San Marino

Mari

Czechia

Bosnia

Catalán

Croatia

Switzerland

Vatican City

Montenegro

Malta

Sweden

Belgium

Cyprus

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Albania

Asia

Jordan

Syria

Armenia

Ingush

China

Palestine

Taiwan

Tajikistan

India

Bhutan

Malaysia

Philippines

Pakistan

Thailand

Burma

Indonesia

Bangladesh

Vietnam

Nepal

Korea

Kazakhstan

Turkmenistan

Afghanistan

Kurdistan

Uzbekistan

Iran

Iraq

Laos

Georgia

North Korea

South Korea

Cambodia

Azerbaijan

Kerala

Mongolia

Sri Lanka

Kyrgyzstan

Japan

Yemen

Tibet

Indonesia

UAE

Bahrain

Singapore

Brunei

Maldives

Oceania/Pacific Islands

Samoa

Fiji

Tuvalu

Maori

Aboriginal Australian

Papua New Guinea

New Zealand

Tonga

Africa

South Sudan

Sudan

Togo

Nigeria

South Africa

Algeria

Djibouti

Egypt

Ethiopia

Namibia

Ghana

Cameroon

Tunisia

Kenya

Morocco

Mozambique

Angola

Madagascar

Congo

Kamba

Ivory Coast

Mauritius

Benin

Tanzania

The Gambia

Burkina Faso

Senegal

Gabon

Botswana

Mauritania

Zimbabwe

Uganda

Oromo

Habesha

Equatorial Guinea

Sierra Leone

Seychelles

Chad

Libya

North America

Cherokee

Guatemala

Panama

El Salvador

Mexico

Cuba

Honduras

Chumash

Chicana

Trinidad and Tobago

Anishinaabe

Canada

Muskogee

Belize

African American

Barbados

Yupik

Bahamas

Mi’kmaw

St. Kitts and Nevis

Jamaica

Costa Rica

Métis

Navajo

Potowatomi

Dominica

Apache

Nicaragua

St. Lucia

Lakota

Inuk

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Antigua and Barbuda

Creole

Haiti

Dominican Republic

South America

Ecuador

Peru

Argentina

Chile

Venezuela

Brazil

Colombia

Suriname

Guyana

Bolivia

Mapuche

Paraguay

Uruguay

Grenada

Antarctica

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 6.18

Holidays

Academy Day (Scientology)

Autistic Pride Day

Clark Kent Day

Clean Your Aquarium Day

Count Your $$ Day

Drone Safety Day

Festival of Invisible Pornography

Finest Hour Speech Day

Foundation Day (Benguet, Philippines)

Go Fishing Day

Hand Cart Day (French Republic)

Horned Poppy Day

Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)

International Day for Countering Hate Speech

International Declaration of Human Rights Day

International Panic Day

Jack Herer Day

Justice Institution Employees Day (Turkmenistan)

Mela Khir Bhawani (Kashmir, India)

National Black America’s Day of Repentance

National Internet Cat Day

National Jesse Day

National Relationship Day

National Splurge Day

National Wanna Get Away Day

National Wear Blue Day

Neurodiversity Pride Day (Netherlands)

No Headline Day

Police Inspector’s Day (Ukraine)

Queen Mother’s Day (Cambodia)

618 Day

Sustainable Gastronomy Day

Tabasco Day (Mali)

Trouser Day

Veterinary Appreciation Day (a.k.a. Veterinarian Appreciation Day)

Waterloo Day (UK)

Wild Den Dancing Day

World Day Against Incarceration

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Insalata Day (Italy)

International Picnic Day

International Sushi Day

National Cheesemaker’s Day

National Cherry Tart Day

Independence & Related Days

Aldrodnia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Bacolod City Charter Day (Philippines)

Constitution Day (Seychelles)

Egypt (a.k.a. Eid el-Galaa, evacuation of foreign troops, 1954)

Flinders (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Jailavera (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Leprechia (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Naga City Charter Day (Philippines)

Onontakeka (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Snagov (Declared; 2020) [unrecognized]

3rd Tuesday in June

National Accounts Payable Appreciation Day [3rd Tuesday]

National Cherry Tart Day [3rd Tuesday]

Royal Ascot begins (UK) [3rd Tuesday]

Taco Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning June 18 (3rd Full Week)

National Water Safety Week (Ireland) [thru 6.25]

Royal Ascot (thru 6.22)

Festivals Beginning June 18, 2024

Marysville Strawberry Festival (Marysville, Washington) [thru 6.23]

RMA Convention (Maui, Hawaii) [thru 6.21]

Taste of Little Italy (San Diego, California) [thru 6.19]

Feast Days

Amandus, Bishop of Bordeaux (Christian; Saint)

Andim Day (Pastafarian)

Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)

Chris Van Allsburg (Artology)

Elisabeth of Schönau (Christian; Saint)

Elvis Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Ephraem (Christian; Saint)

Erik Ortvad (Artology)

Festival of Anna (Ancient Rome; Everyday Wicca)

Going Forth of Neith Along the River (Ancient Egypt’ Goddess of War and Hunting)

Gregorio Barbarigo (Christian; Saint)

Gregory of Fragalata (Christian; Saint)

Into Raymi Festival begins (Inca Sun Worship Festival; until 24th)

James Montgomery Flagg (Artology)

John Bellany (Artology)

Joseph-Marie Vien (Artology)

Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus (Christian; Saints)

Leroy (Muppetism)

Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)

Mark and Marcellian (Christian; Martyrs)

Media Ver XI (Pagan)

National Splurge Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Now Panic Day (Pastafarian)

Osanna Andreasi (Christian; Saint)

Theodoric the Great (Positivist; Saint)

Three Lasting Things of Cormac Mac Art: Grass, Copper and Yew (Celtic Book of Days)

Tiger-Get-By’s Birthday (Shamanism)

Islamic Lunar Holidays

Eid al-Adha, Day 3 [Muslim Feast of Sacrifice] (a.k.a. ... 

Al Adha (Bahrain)

Corban Bairam (Sudan)

Eid al Adha (Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen)

Eid e-Ghorban

Eid ul-Ad’haa (Maldives)

Feast of Sacrifice (Uzbekistan)

Gurban Bayram (Azerbaijan)

Hari Arafat (Malaysia)

Hari Raya Qurban (Malaysia)

Id el Kabir (Nigeria)

Kurban Bayram (North Cyprus)

Kurban Bayramy (Turkey)

Qurbon Hayit (Uzbekistan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [36 of 57]

Premieres

The Adventures of Ellery Queen (Radio Series; 1939)

The Bully (Ub Iwerks Flip the Frog Cartoon; 1932)

Casey Bats Again (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Dangerous When Wet (Film; 1953)

Dare To Be Stupid, by Weird Al Yankovic (Album; 1985)

Day & Night (Pixar Cartoon; 2010)

Der Freischütz (or The Marksman), by Carl Maria von Weber (Opera; 1821)

DodgeBall (Film: 2004)

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You, by Bryan Adams (Song; 1991)

Eyes in Outer Space (Disney Cartoon; 1959)

Goodbye Cruel World, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1984)

The House with a Clock in Its Walls, by John Bellairs (Novel; 1973)

Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Documentary Film; 2004)

Ice Station Zebra, by Alistair MacLean (Novel; 1963)

An Ideal Husband (Film; 1999)

Inside, Outside, by Herman Wouk (History Book; 1985)

Lady and the Lamp (Disney Cartoon; 1979)

Last Action Hero (Film; 1993)

Le Marteau sans Maître, by Pierre Boulez (Chamber Cantata; 1955)

Luca (Animated Film; 2021)

Morning, Noon and Nightclub (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1937)

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1952)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (Novel; 2013)

Odelay, by Beck (Album; 1996)

Once Upon a Forest (Hanna-Barbera Animated Film; 1993)

Origin of Symmetry, by Muse (Album; 2001)

Polar Fright (Chilly Willy Cartoon; 1966)

Popeye Meets Hercules (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1948)

The Sparks Brothers (Documentary Film; 2021)

Suppressed Duck (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

Tarzan (Animated Disney Film; 1999)

Toy Story 3 (Animated Pixar Film; 2010)

The Underground World (Fleischer Cartoon; 1943) [#16]

The Wild Bunch (Film; 1969)

Wouldn’t It Be Nice, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1966)

Today’s Name Days

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Marina (Austria)

Asen, Chavdar (Bulgaria)

Elizabeta, Marcel, Ozana, Paul (Croatia)

Milan (Czech Republic)

Leontius (Denmark)

Auli, Aurelia, Auri, Reeli, Reelika, Reili (Estonia)

Tapio (Finland)

Léonce (France)

Elisabeth, Ilsa, Isabella, Marina (Germany)

Erasmos, Leontios (Greece)

Arnold, Levente (Hungary)

Gregorio, Marina, Marinella, Marinetta (Italy)

Alberts, Madis (Latvia)

Arnulfas, Ginbutas, Marina, Vaiva (Lithuania)

Bjarne, Bjørn (Norway)

Efrem, Elżbieta, Gerwazy, Leonia, Marek, Marina, Paula (Poland)

Ipatie, Leontie, Teodul (România)

Vratislav (Slovakia)

Marcelino, Marcos (Spain)

Bjarne, Björn (Sweden)

Leo, Leon (Ukraine)

Effie, Efrain, Eph, Ephraim, Marina, Marnie, Nevaeh (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 170 of 2024; 196 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 25 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Duir (Oak) [Day 10 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Geng-Wu), Day 13 (Gui-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 12 Sivan 5784

Islamic: 11 Dhu al-Hijjah 1445

J Cal: 20 Blue; Sixday [20 of 30]

Julian: 5 June 2024

Moon: 88%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 1 Charlemagne (7th Month) [Theodoric the Great]

Runic Half Month: Dag (Day) [Day 10 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 92 of 92)

Week: 3rd Full Week of June)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 29 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Charlemagne (Feudal Civilization) [Month 7 of 13; Positivist]

[eccentrickleptomaniac]

Could you give a head cannon for Chechnya, Dagestan, Circassia, and other Russian republics

?!?:@#?:@?!:@?:#?@:! COCONUT?????? GHI I THOUGHT YOU DIED

anyways ya they'll each be a paragraph long (under the cut cuz itll probs be long)

chechnya (the russian republic) is actually the child of the chechen republic of ichkeria. ichkeria died after the second chechen war was over. chechnya on her own is a very excitable person. she is very intrigued by kosovo and finds herself often around them primarily out of curiosity. she tells kosovo about her mother a lot and how lovely she was to her. she doesn't live with russia and instead has the status of "annexed country", meaning she's stuck in the real world, making communication pretty difficult. she manages though! still tries her best despite it all. actually pretty smart as well, good at weaving her way out of situations.

circassa, ooohg. she's mysterious to say da least.. she was a sister of the russian empire and ussr, very much ignored by the other two. she never talked much, preferring glances well enough to shut up a curious bystander in one look. she was very self-centered and always believed what she did was right, but you wouldnt know that due to her mysteriousness. she didn't have many friends nor allies and it led to her demise sometime in the late 1800s against the russian empire. in death she's still very mysterious but it appears more timid now. if she sees someone she'll probably just disintegrate and teleport away. her daughter (adygea) lives on, hardened by the experience but not deterred in the slightest.

karelia is.. odd? she does not act russian in the slightest. what that constitutes is different for everyone but pretty much everyone agrees that.. yeah that girl does not act like she'd belong under russian rule. she's staunchly happy and slightly passive aggressive but overall fine to be around. she talks to the finnish karelias a lot. they're her besties thru and fucking THROUUUUGH. outside of that she doesnt have many friends though ):

dagestan is curious at heart. if he's not out and about writing notes there is no doubt he's pressing a former soviet republic for info about their past. and i mean, they usually give it to him, he spends a lot of time doing this and learning about the others. he has a fuck ton of blackmail against them its actually kinda funny. he also loves to learn new languages! occasionally in his spare time he translates things into different languages. avid nonenglish wikipedia editor.

komi is like... silly.., every definition of the word she is silly. she loves tree climbing and food. perhaps she's one of the countries with the random cat gene? im not super sure though. it'd be fun though! she likes to glomp people and also body slam them. she's ironically pretty harmless but at first you wouldn't be the first to assume that she would kill you without hesitation.. she COULD but she probably wouldn't because she's nice and rarely loses her temper.

do we count crimea? i'll talk about her i suppose 😭 she's a sailor at heart. knows many curse words in many different languages and nothing else. she hasn't been seen much since her annexation by russia but from what people remember she was a very hearty person, loved a good joke and was rather strong on her own accord. she spoke very few languages aside from the one everyone knows, russian and ukrainian were her only strong suits. she was impulsive, fun, and generally well liked.

mari el is plain. she's known for not much honestly. she's not boring or anything, but nothing out of the ordinary either. she's very go-with-the-flow-y and prefers to stay in the background. she has no strong opinions on anything but her clothes are pretty and her smile is heavenly. she's known among the other russians for being kind and willing to take in anyone if they're hurt, even if someone like her "father" (not really) might consider them an enemy.

bashkortostan has the most power out of the republics due to being the most populous. everyone kind of treats him like a big brother, even if he's not older than the others, it's assumed dhe's more well liked than the others by russia. and so, if they need something or have a complaint, they go to him! he listens intently and overall? good sibling. people like him and he likes people.

altai is very good at surprising people with her capabilities. while nothing special, she does love a good adventure. she's pretty much always out and about and her and dagestan often go on hikes together and note different plant and animal species together in the many notebooks they have. you cannot handle the uber instincts of their uber autism. (ahem slash joke)

ill do the rest later theres a lot of them 😭 also these might not be super accurate like? history wise? yada yada i hope ya still enjoy

[grandmaster-anne]

Court Circular | 15th March 2023

Buckingham Palace

His Excellency Mr Aly Diallo was received in audience by The King today and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Republic of Guinea to the Court of St James’s. Ms Marie Savane was also received by His Majesty. His Excellency Mr El Hadji Alhousseini Traore was received in audience by The King and presented the Letters of Recall of his predecessor and his own Letters of Credence as Ambassador from the Republic of Mali to the Court of St James’s. Sir Philip Barton (Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs) was present. His Majesty this afternoon visited members of the United Kingdom’s Sudanese community at Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, London W1, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London (Sir Kenneth Olisa). Later Dr Richard Montgomery was received in audience by The King upon his appointment as British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP (Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury) subsequently had an audience of His Majesty. The Queen Consort, Honorary Member, the Jockey Club, today attended the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire (Mr Edward Gillespie).

Kensington Palace

The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this morning held an Early Years Meeting at Windsor Castle.

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, this morning visited Portland College, Nottingham Road, Mansfield, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (Sir John Peace).

St James’s Palace

The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-Chief, Intelligence Corps, this morning visited Government Communications Headquarters, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Her Royal Highness this afternoon opened Dransfield Properties Limited’s Number 1 King Street Five Valleys Medical Centre, NHS Facilities and Library Services, King Street, Stroud, and was received by Mr Roger Deeks (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire). The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, this evening attended the Gloucestershire and District Agricultural Valuers Association’s Centenary Dinner at the Royal Agricultural University, Tetbury Road, Cirencester, and was received by Mrs Jane Jenner-Fust (Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire).

Kensington Palace

The Duke of Gloucester, Vice President, Lepra, this morning received Mrs Suzanne McCarthy (Chairman of Trustees) and Mr James Innes (Chief Executive).

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Kent, Grand Master, United Grand Lodge of England, this afternoon attended a Rulers’ Luncheon at Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2.

[mariacallous]

“In six months, you’ll go home, having received a pardon. (…) Those who come with us and on the first day say, ‘I ended up somewhere I shouldn’t have’, we’ll mark a deserter and execute. (…) You have five minutes to decide.”

So said Yevgeny Prigozhin, self-confessed founder of the Russian private military company Wagner, to a group of inmates at Penal Colony 6 in Yoshkar Ola, capital of the region of Mari El, 645 kilometres east of Moscow. After the video from the prison surfaced in September 2022, the same pitch went out to convicts across Russia. But on February 9, Prigozhin confirmed in a response published on social media to a Russian TV station that Wagner had ceased hiring convicts. “We are fulfilling all obligations towards those currently working for us”, he wrote. As Bellingcat has previously reported, Wagner originated in Ukraine back in 2014. This private military contractor has risen to newfound prominence following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, most recently amid the fierce battle for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

Extensive news reporting in recent years has illustrated Wagner’s operations not only in Ukraine but also in Syria, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Madagascar, among other countries. In January, the US Treasury went as far as to label Wagner a “transnational criminal group”.

As analysts from the Carnegie Centre put it in 2019, Wagner’s usefulness lies in the fact that it can do, or claims it can do, what the Russian state and its formal institutions can’t. It is “a vehicle the Kremlin uses to recruit, train, and deploy mercenaries, either to fight wars or to provide security and training to friendly regimes.” “It is quite clear from the preparatory work that went into building the Wagner Group’s profile ahead of the February 2022 invasion that [Russian President] Putin counted on being able to use the Wagner Group to fill gaps in Russian military units”, said Candace Rondeaux, a Professor of Practice at the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University, in an interview with Bellingcat. “All the evidence has long pointed to close coordination between the Wagner Group’s leadership and both the GRU and FSB [Russia’s security services]” added Rondeaux, who has researched the Wagner group in depth in a series of reports. Due to Wagner’s secretive nature, it can be difficult to verify the number of fighters it commands, As of January 2023 estimates by the US and British ministries of defence ran to at least 50,000, convicts or not. The head of Russia Behind Bars, an NGO which protects the rights of prisoners, says that figure is convicts alone. Rondeaux told Bellingcat that she did not find these estimates credible and believes that they are “likely based on the some 30,000 men who are counted as missing or released from prison since the start of the war”. 

Whatever the figure, Wagner has grown significantly since its inception. The fact that the group operates openly at all suggests that its usefulness to the state is recognised – although private military contractors are technically illegal under Russian law under Article 359 of the criminal code, in 2018 Russian President Vladimir said that Wagner does not break Russian law. So Prigozhin’s promises to these prisoners also have a presidential pedigree – Russian presidential Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted on January 27 that Putin is indeed issuing pardons to convicts who fight for Wagner, noting that one of them received a medal from the president for his “heroism” in Ukraine.

Local media reported Wagner recruiters visiting prisons in every corner of Russia – Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Kemerovo, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, and many others. RFE/RL’s report from a prison in Primorsky Krai noted that over 100 prisoners are often enlisted in each recruitment trip. Prigozhin has also taken foreign citizens from Russia’s jails; one man from Zambia and one from Tanzania have died while fighting for Wagner in eastern Ukraine. According to news reports, both men were studying in Moscow before being imprisoned for drug offences. 

At the Yoshkar Ola prison, Prigozhin noted that Wagner wanted inmates under the age of 50. However, several recruited convicts have well exceeded this limit. Three of them include 59-year-old Sergei Maksimenko, 55-year-old Andrey Berezhnykh, and 55-year-old Igor Kusk. 

These three men are notable not just due to their age, but due to the fact that each led violent criminal gangs in the 1990s. One of the major legitimation strategies for Putin and his enduring political power is his claim of bringing stability to Russia after that tumultuous decade. This plea towards stability helped justify previous military interventions, such as in Chechnya early in Putin’s ascendance, and the country has come full circle – the men who helped create the instability of Russia in the 1990s are fighting, and dying, in Russia’s latest war. 

Each of these three former gang leaders tried to fight for a pardon, but instead died in Ukraine. Who were they, and how were their deaths received back home?