‘Venice festival’ in flooded town: Russians treat urban problem with satire (VIDEO)

Residents of a Siberian town staged a Venice carnival in an attempt to attract the city council’s attention to the aching problem of flooded pedestrian crossings.

In the satirical video, dressed-up residents - from Ob in the Novosibirsk region - draw parallels between their city and the famous Italian romantic spot in an attempt to have authorities recognize the importance of their urban problem.

Filmed after intense rainfall which flooded the area over the last weekend, the video shows a “gondolier” steering a humble inflatable boat down one of the swamped passages and playing guitar in a Venetian postcard-like moment.

With traditional masks on their faces, several women appear dressed in long fluffy skirts paired with some weather-appropriate rubber footwear. The ladies approach the lonely “gondolier” and start dancing on the wooden aisles amid muddy waters.

Attracting the gondolier’s and the public’s interest, they swirl in their lush dresses which contrast with the swamped background.

Residents of the damaged town hope their lighthearted message will resonate with the local authorities who were supposed to deal with the floodwater after governor Andrei Travnikov’s order to address the problem in spring.

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