Can you guess who these folks are, where they are and what they are hoping to achieve?

Make sure you notice the picture on the middle-aged guy’s white T-shirt.

17 responses to “Riddle: What Are They Doing?”

  1. rsanchez1990 Avatar

    I would guess these are Russian communists trying to convey the idea that Mother Russia is crippled without Lenin and Stalin.

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    1. The Dark Avenger Avatar
      The Dark Avenger

      The homemade quality of the signs is a masterful touch, reminds me of the 60s.

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    2. Clarissa Avatar

      Definitely. But they are at an unexpected place with an unexpected goal, given the getup.

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  2. cliff arroyo Avatar

    I think I know part of the real answer but instead I’ll just say: Trying to prove that most Russians aren’t as politically backward and in love with strongmen dictators as the stereotypes say…. they’re more so!

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      I knew you would know and wanted to earn you not to spoil the fun for everyone else. :-))

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  3. Dreidel Avatar
    Dreidel

    It isn’t Lenin’s or Stalin’s birthday / death day, so maybe a May Day celebration of the Soviet era?

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      It’s much much worse than that.

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      1. Evelina Anville Avatar
        Evelina Anville

        They aren’t celebrating the holodomor, are they???

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        1. Clarissa Avatar

          Not that bad. Not this time, at least.

          It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.

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  4. DWeird Avatar
    DWeird

    I cheated by using Google’s image search for the posted picture, so now I know the who and the where. Still, even with as close to full context as you’re going to get without speaking Russian, the what and the why remain elusive.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      It’s a specific international event they are attending.

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  5. el Avatar
    el

    Those are Ukrainians from LTR who are begging mother Russia to adopt them at last. I think it’s a wrong guess since the words are in Ukrainian and I would expect LTR Ukrainians to use Russian.

    I haven’t Googled, but the words are in Ukrainian, so it’s either the above or Russians asking either LTR or entire Ukraine to come back as a “little brother” aka a Russian colony and presenting this request as “workers unite” slogan.

    As for cliff’s:

    // Trying to prove that most Russians aren’t as politically backward and in love with strongmen dictators as the stereotypes say…. they’re more so!

    If the second guess is correct, they are more extreme than Putin in their desires since Putin doesn’t want Donbass region as a part of Russia.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Look at the woman in the wheelchair. Who is the most famous Russian woman in a wheel right now?

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      1. el Avatar
        el

        \ Look at the woman in the wheelchair. Who is the most famous Russian woman in a wheel right now?

        No idea since I don’t follow news. I thought about the Ukrainian politician who was released from jail in a bad condition some time ago. Forgot her name.

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  6. el Avatar
    el

    9th of May is Victory Day (in WW2), and the event seems to be connected to it. That middle-aged guy wears a beret of a Soviet soldier.

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  7. Vic Crain Avatar

    It looks like a neo-Communist rally, but the wheelchair image I see is Samoylova, and I can’t connect those dots.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      You are the closest to the right guess. 🙂

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A conservative literary critic and college professor