Suffering From Periodical Cosmopolitanism

In April-May, Russia's newspaper and print kiosks started selling the 13th anniversary issue of Russian Cosmo. The Cyrillic in the red balloon on the cover crows "Cosmo is 13 Years Old"! Apparently, covermodel "Tori Praver" is but 21 -- a year younger than I was when I purchased the inaugural issue of the mag's Russian incarnation in May 1994 -- thirteen, count 'em, thirteen years ago! I still have my 13-year-old copy (front cover: Cindy Crawford). Gasp. Thirteen years since I'd first stepped foot on the then-browbeaten soil of Ma Rus'. When I was a student at the Centre for Russian Language and Culture of St. Petersburg State University (at the Smol'nyj Institute), mes dormmates canadiennes and I were tickled to have witnessed that instance of print culture globalization, more specifically, the girly-magazination of the former Soviet U.

Some aspects have changed -- the 2007 cover speaks to realities facing "new" (think "monied", not necessarily "contemporary") Russian women. There's a section devoted to cars (women drivers, let alone car-owners, were pretty much unheard of in 1994), as well as a "Cosmo-Eksperiment" that dares readers to try and survive a spell without one's mobile, TV or Internet. Several sample squirts of free products are stashed between the pages, creams from Lancome, Garnier and Nivea ("Good-Bye, Cellulite," transliterated directly from English into Russian [Gud-Baj, Tsellulit]). The biggest change is in form, not format; page dimensions have shrunk to approximately 7" x 8", meaning the glossy's grown widthwise, stacking up nearly a full inch of Cosmopolitan (and local) content and requisite ads. In fact, the majority of the magazines marketed to women, home hobbyists, cooks and teens are now such physically-reduced specimens, mini-mags, both in Russia and across the Baltic countries. The new proportions make even Cosmo seem more "literary," sizing up more like an academic journal, despite the too-puckered lips, the touched-up pics and the tired sex tips. Easier to fit in one's glove-box or slide/hide under one's keyboard, in any case. Suggested retail price: 65 roubles.

Cover Features from 1994:
Sex or Chocolate: There's a time for everything!
Don't Let Jealousy Dominate Your Life
TEST: How well do you know each other?
They're 30 years old, independent and self-confident... Do they really need husbands?
Cosmopolitan in Russia! An internationally-renowned magazine - published in Russia for the first time!

Cover Features from 2007:
Sex-games for the bold and not-so bold
Cosmo-Experiment: One week sans Mobile Phone, TV and Internet
Free Spaces: Where to Go, Besides the Garage, to Meet a Real Man
A Woman's Education: Real Stories of Lesbian Love
Counting Costs: The Price of Your Job
New! "Gas Pump" Car Column, page 128