A More Sporting Lifestyle

In Russia a new way to pay for subway tickets has been released. This is by doing squats. As payment for a one way trip on a subway you can do thirty squats in less than two minutes. This is opposed to about ninety cents you would pay for a normal ticket. Failing results in you having to pay for a ticket. There aren’t any participation points.

            This machine was installed for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics at the Vystavochnaya subway station. Alexander Zhukov said “We wanted to show that the Olympic Games is not just an international competition that people watch on TV, but that it is also about getting everyone involved in a sporting lifestyle.” Along with these squats new ways are being developed to add a sporting element to Russian lifestyle in preparation for the winter games. They are currently working on exercise bikes to be able to charge a phone and other various electronic devices.

                                                    

Mamayev Kurgan

   World War II was mostly decided at the Battle of Stalingrad for the Soviets versus the Axis. It was arguably one of the bloodiest battle in human history. The battle raged on from August 1942 to February 1943. The city of Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd, is looked over by the hill known as Mamayev Kurgan. The hill was a vital part during the battle being controlled by both sides many times through out the battle, and was a key point in controlling the battle. In the end the hill was stained black from the gunfire and explosions.
    Naturally being such a historic spot a memorial was constructed on top of the hill. The memorial is a ginormous statue representing the Motherland. It is represented as a woman holding a sword that is 52 meters tall with the sword pointing 30 meters above the head. It took about 8 years to build and was constructed by Yevgeny Vuchetich. It is mostly built out of concrete and still stands today. However the statue is starting to lean due to changes in groundwater levels causing shifts in the foundation. It is considered one of the 7 Wonders of Russia.