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Thursday, January 08, 2009

Ukrainians Cast the Gas Dispute in Collage


Battle of the Brands: Gazprom gets the finger from Naftogaz

As Russia demands the European rate for gas — while paying half the European rate for transit, cutting off supplies to Europe, and painting Ukraine as unreliable — some Ukrainians fight back.


Or, rather, paint back, as this collection of collage illustrates.



A butt-shaped Gazprom lighter logo


A collage based on a Tymoshenko wallpaper and a verse from Sergei Mikhalkov’s children's poem “А что у вас?” (“And What Have You Got?”):

- А у нас в квартире газ!
А у вас?

- А у нас водопровод!

Вот!


In our apartment we’ve got gas!

And what have you got?
We’ve got plumbing!
Ain’t that something?

Two years ago, the verse became a witty household joke describing the Russia-Ukraine gas war(s):

- А у нас в квартире газ!
А у вас?

- А у нас газопровод!
Вот!

In our dwelling we’ve got gas!
And what have you got?

We’ve got a pipeline!
Doesn't it sound fine?

[translation mine]



La Lupa Cremlina: The Kremlin Wolf breastfeeding the pro-Russian Party of Regions and the Communist Party
A Ukrainian take on the Capitoline Wolf (La lupa capitolina)



Gasmen at Rest: a parody on Vasily Perov’s Hunters at Rest
Alexander Medvedev: “And then I come out with: ‘Pay 450 bucks for a thousand cubic meters!’”

Vladimir Putin: “Once upon a time, the Ukes decided to get rid of RosUkrEnergo…”
Alexei Miller: “Straight from under the pine I whine: ‘Pump that gas to Europe for free! But don’t you take any of it!’


The Vladimir Putin production center presents:
an album by the group Gazprom

“The Gas Oldies”

New bonus track from Alexei Miller: “$450”

(Pictured: Alexei Miller, Sergei Kupriyanov, Alexander Medvedev)


The Lord of the Gass: They're Taking Away Our Precccious


The Gazfather
Sources:
http://durdom.in.ua/site/photo/id/3679.phtml

http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/109334.html
http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/109379.html
http://durdom.in.ua/site/photo/id/3675.phtml
http://durdom.in.ua/site/photo/id/3671.phtml
http://durdom.in.ua/site/photo/id/3669.phtml
http://durdom.in.ua/site/photo/id/3677.phtml

7 comments:

Ludmila Hribar said...

Children poems are fine and so are the comics but the problem is real isn`t it ? in the midst of a hard winter. Any prospects of a prompt solution?

Michelle said...

I needed a laugh today. Thanks! :)

Taras said...

You’re right, Ljudmila!

It’s very real. In Kyiv, we had a 4-day hot water outage last month (due to municipal problems), and there’s no guarantee we won’t have another one (due to regional ones). You never know.

Russia shut off supplies to Europe and then blamed Ukraine for it. Ukraine, in turn, invited EU observers and vowed to supply Moldova and Bulgaria from its own reserves.

That’s all I can tell you, so far.

Saludos desde Ucrania!


You are welcome, Michelle!

In a world of stress, the more you laugh, the more you live.

Bravecat said...

I LOVE your translation of the verses! :)

Taras said...

Thank you, Cat:)))!

You noticed the translator in me! I had a lot of fun translating those verses:)!

Bravecat said...

I am so envious! I can't translate anything to save my life. It just comes out crude (in all languages involved, lol)

;-)

Taras said...

You’re not the only one:)!

It comes out crude in my practice as well. It takes a lot of polishing.

Besides, I’m not a translator by education either. I just love fooling around with languages:)