Da, my smozhem

'Da, my smozhem' (Russian for 'Yes We can') Oh my Gawd as if one Obama is not one too many.

He's standing for elected office, he brings a message of change, and he's black. This has been enough for Joaquim Crima, a watermelon salesman who lives in a small town in southern Russia, to be dubbed the "Volgograd Obama".

Mr Crima, a 37-year-old native of Guinea-Bissau, plans to stand for mayor of the district of Srednyaya Akhtuba, part of the Volgograd Region. If elected, he would become the first black man ever to hold public office in Russia.

Even though the elections are not until October, Mr Crima has started his campaign. He has a Russian passport, has lived in the district for more than a decade and is known locally not as Joaquim but as Vasily Ivanovich. A series of large billboards has appeared in Srednyaya Akhtuba showing him dressed in a crisp white shirt and tie, with the slogan: "Vasily Crima – the new head of the district".

There are thousands of Africans in Russia, most of whom, like Mr Crima, arrived on scholarships to Russian universities. Many are forced to stay on due to political instability or lack of economic opportunities back home, but they are subjected to ingrained everyday racism and the threat of racist attacks. More?

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