Green Alliance crams everything that’s wrong with Russia into one image

Russia’s Green Alliance – People’s Party, which registered as a political party just one year ago, has turned to art to take a stab at the country’s ruling United Russia party.

Taking advantage of a contest to design an emblem for the greater Moscow region, the Green Alliance has submitted an entry to the local ministry of culture that takes multiple swipes at United Russia — highlighting problems with the country’s leaders and many of the social issues that the ruling party has failed to address.

The Green Alliance has made no secret about the meaning of the design. On Tuesday, the party even tweeted a key to all the symbols packed into the image:

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— ?????? ??????? (@RussianGreens) May 21, 2013

Here’s our own (English-language) guide:

The bear is a nod to the symbol of United Russia, but in this image the animal looks sinister and thuggish.

The gold chain the bear is wearing represents United Russia’s alleged ties to the mob. 

The saw and tree stumps symbolize United Russia’s disregard for nature. As the Moscow Times points out, it was the previous United Russia governor who launched construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway through the Khimki forest.

The cracked road draws attention to the Moscow region’s poor infrastructure, which, the Green Alliance claims, is typically only "repaired by kickbacks."

The blue flashing light, which many Moscow drivers use to abuse traffic laws, is a symbol of "the power of contemporary feudalists," according to the party.

The high-rises in the background are meant to be "new buildings, without social infrastructure, built next to dumps."

The two men holding up the central shield are illegal migrant workers from central Asia. The Green Alliance points out that there are an estimated three million illegal migrants living in the Moscow region. 

The "garlands" of paper money surrounding the shield represent the "harvest collected by [corrupt] bureaucrats."

"At a time when an alternative point of view doesn’t appear in regional mass media, we consider it our duty to use this emblem as a way of drawing attention to problems," the Green Alliance’s leader told the Moscow Times. It’s a noble objective. But don’t expect local officials to stamp the image on Moscow’s promotional materials anytime soon.

Christian Caryl contributed to this post.