They're breeding

There are now so many fake Stalins around Red Square that they no longer seem bothered to stand apart and compete on their individual looks.  Apparently, the lookalike scene is now peaceful following a conflict earlier this year.  The going rate for a photograph is around $5 so the work offers quite a decent living by Moscow's standards.  As mentioned, there are various Stalins (I saw 3 today - it's a bit like spotting game in a reserve), several Lenins, at least two Putins, I've also seen Tsar Nicholas (two of them), a Gorbachev, a very convincing Karl Marx (now gone it seems), and, more recently, Ivan the Terrible and Catherine the Great have appeared (that's Catherine in gold and turquoise in the blip) .

Great report on the look-alike business in the WSJ last week - here.