Concerts Opera Dance Theater Gigs Exhibits

	Vladimir Aniskin Miniaturist Vladimir Aniskin shoed a flea caught by his cat, Kazimir.

Curiouser and Curiouser

From microminiatures to giant shoes to crocodile topiaries, a competition seeks out Russia's most unusual hobby.

By Anna Malpas
Published: December 3, 2004

Collecting toothpaste tubes or keeping spiders on the balcony might lead to family friction, and the neighbors of Contestant No. 874 probably get a bit tired of his 1,000 records of military marches. But these, and other peculiar pastimes, are proudly outlined on a popular tabloid's web site by entrants to a competition for Russia's most unusual hobby.

"Amaze the Country," a contest organized by Moskovsky Komsomolets, had attracted around 1,000 entries before its deadline last week, although the main prize was still being kept a "surprise." Readers can vote for one person's hobby by telephone, by writing a letter, or on the competition's web site, www.mk.ru/hobby. Sorted into thematic categories, the hobbies are described in brief texts, and many feature photographs.

So far, readers have selected 12 semifinalists. This week they will select another three. None of the semifinalists chosen in the final round can have the same hobby as the 12 already picked. So it's goodbye to all those who collect phone cards, like Vladislav Svetlov of Khanty-Mansiisk, make giant shoes, like Valery Makhmutov of Nizhnekamsk, or play tunes on specially adapted Kalashnikovs, like Pyotr Matushkin of Rostov region.

Strict controls are in place to prevent voter fraud. "We want democratic elections," said Yelena Unchikova, senior manager of the special projects department at the newspaper's publicity agency. "We had a special program installed by our moderators, so that you can only vote once for one hobby from one computer and one IP address. But, you understand, people who are into computers find ways to vote."

As she spoke, the votes for this week's three semifinalists were being led -- perhaps rather fishily -- by an entrant who "studies the secrets of hermetic science" and makes amber pendants that cure headaches and heart problems. Coming from behind was a man from the Siberian town of Chernogorsk who has crafted an 18-meter crocodile and a life-sized Mercedes in topiary.

One of those through to the semifinals is Vladimir Aniskin, a specialist in microminiatures, who has crafted a caravan of camels in the eye of a needle and written "Peace to the World" on a human hair. Speaking from Novosibirsk last week, he said that entering the competition had not been his idea, and that journalists at Moskovsky Komsomolets had registered him ahead of time. "I only found out about it when they phoned me and invited me to come to be filmed [for a television show publicizing the contest] in Moscow," he said.

By day a researcher at a scientific institute, Aniskin gets up very early to work on his microminiatures. His interest began in childhood, when he started making model ships in bottles. Later, when he became a student, he discovered a library book on Soviet microminiature masters, and his fate was sealed. "I had one thought: I want to try that too," he recalled. These days, he exhibits his work "almost every month" in cities across Russia, earning a small additional income.

A more popular hobby, albeit one frowned upon in former times, is represented by another semifinalist, Andrei Fyodorov -- or RW3AH, as he is known in amateur radio -- whose entry is illustrated by a photograph of the Muscovite wearing earphones in front of a microphone.

"I didn't plan to amaze the country with a flamboyant hobby, but just try to explain to ordinary people what it all means, and try to correct the common stereotype that all radio hams are hooligans and other rabble," he wrote by e-mail last week. "Thanks to the friendly support of my fellow hobby enthusiasts, who found out about the competition, I managed to get over the semifinal barrier."

Vladimir Aniskin Aniskin has crafted a caravan of camels in the eye of a needle.

One of two semifinalists from Vladivostok, Nina Davydova makes intricate jewelry and clothing from beads, recreating ornaments from the 18th and 19th centuries. "Many can be worn even now, two centuries on, and they don't look old-fashioned," Davydova wrote by e-mail last week. Also a semifinalist is Nikolai Shulzhitsky, the owner of a vintage car and motorbike museum in the Far Eastern city, though he has been forced to sell off some of his collection to pay the bills.

Some of the most colorful entries come from the Russian Club of Records, or "Levsha," a Moscow organization that publishes a book of national records and submits information on local feats to Guinness World Records. Among the 50 or so members featured are an Altai schoolteacher who can play Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata while lying with his head under the keyboard and a man who has collected all his nail clippings for the last 35 years.

"This competition ... will also be a chance for us to sum up, because we will also draw conclusions about which of our members is the most popular," Alyona Smirnova, a spokeswoman for the club, said last week. "Of course we will be very interested in the people who win. If they're not in our club yet, we will work with them, we will invite them to join us."

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