Quote Originally Posted by Юрка View Post
Плакатики написаны рукой. Это чтобы было ощущение самодеятельности, что слова идут действительно от души. Но подозрительно выглядит одинаковая последняя фраза "Из ... с любовью". И улыбки на фотках похожие. И фон выбран везде довольно живописный. Это ж организованная, профессиональная PR-акция. А такие акции не бывают без финансирования.
Really? How much financing do you need for three sheets of paper, magic-markers in three or four colors of ink, and a digital camera? And the phrase "From Russia with Love" was immortalized by the James Bond movie -- everyone knows "Roza Klebb" and her dagger-shoes -- so it's not really подозрительно that Russians addressing themselves to foreigners would use the phrase.

Here's an English term for you: "grassroots activism", meaning person-to-person activism by individuals, without a lot of money or professional PR firms. And the opposite is "Astroturf activism", referring to the trademark for a kind of artificial plastic grass on football fields.

The question is, do these photos represent "real" grassroots work by Russians, or "Astroturfing" paid for by foreigners? I agree with you that the second option is possible, but I don't think there's clear evidence of it in these photos.

PS. But, incidentally, the use of From Russia with Love by LGBT Russians is perhaps a little bit ironic --since the evil Roza Klebb is rather obviously implied to be a lesbian, while the beautiful Tatiana Romanova is totally heterosexual and (naturally) wants to defect to the West with the help of James Bond!