Here is a really nifty flashmob performance, apparently part of an enthusiastic wedding celebration, in the Sparrow Hills (Воробьёвы го́ры) neighborhood of Moscow on February 26, just a few weeks ago. It should serve as an antidote to any leftover Cold War notions of Russians as somber and joyless.

Incidentally, when they’re pouring wine it sounds like people are exclaiming “Vodka! Vodka!” but from the YouTube comments, what they’re actually saying is “Gor’ko! Gor’ko!” (This literally means “bitter,” I’m told, but the implication is that the couple should kiss, and the sweetness of the kiss will take away any bitterness. Hence “Gor’ko! Gor’ko” more or less means “Kiss the bride! Kiss the bride!”)

(And there’s nothing actually to do with “Putin” except that it’s in Russia and I’m prone to the occasional intentional typo as well as accidental ones.)

(Updated 2013 September 12 with a clarification on the meaning of “Gor’ko!”)

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