Doomsday hysteria has gripped Russia
and some of its neighbors. Travel agencies are selling tours to
either heaven or hell and people are stocking up on food and fuel.
Officials are publicly denying the apocalypse, hoping to calm the
hype.
Those awaiting Doomsday have three
weeks to finish their preparations before the date of the much
publicized apocalypse allegedly predicted by Mayan calendar, that is
going to happen on December 21, 2012.
Thousands of people across Russia keep
stocking up their back rooms and balconies with food, fuel and other
supplies they might need when disaster strikes. Some are even moving
outside of cities because of the widely spread rumors that cities
would be impossible to survive in after an apocalypse on Earth.
According to one of the most popular
scenarios, on December 21 the sun is going to line up with the center
of our Milky Way galaxy which will cause an entire blackout on Earth
and a wave of different natural disasters.
Doomsday merchandize offered in Russia
and Ukraine include survival kits. In the Siberian city of Tomsk suchitems for “meeting the end of the world” include ID cards,
notepads, canned fish, a bottle of vodka, rope, a piece of soap,
among other items. The packages are said to be popular among
customers, more than 1,000 kits have been already sold, the company
says.
Ukrainian entrepreneurs also offer a
version of a doomsday kit. Just like Tomsk package, the Ukrainian one
also includes alcohol: champagne for ladies and vodka for gentlemen.
The rest of the kit consist of jack-knife, two-minute noodles,
shampoo, soap, rope, matches and condoms.
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Marina Mendelson wedding agency sells
Last Day sets in Tomsk.
|
Not all doom and gloom
An apocalypse kit is not the only way
for the entrepreneurial minded to cash in on the end of the world
hype.
One Ukrainian enterprise is selling
tours to heaven and hell for December 21 promising full return of
money in case of “not getting to heaven or hell.” A trip to
heaven would cost about $15, while trip to the underworld is more
expensive at around $18. The agency explains difference in price by
saying that Hell should be more fun.
While Ukrainian trips are even said by
the firm behind to be just for fun, some individuals in the Russian
city of Nizhny Novgorod offered far more expensive doomsday fair –
one being a salvation trip in an arc. An internet ad offered seats in
the arc for just 80,000-150,000 rubles, which is approximately
$2,600-5,000.
Bars and nightclubs are getting ready
for apocalypse day in their own way announcing theme parties and
inventing special cocktails like “Total Recall” – an extremely
alcoholic drink that makes you “recall your entire life.”
But doomsday hysteria isn’t isolated
to just the former soviet Republic. In France authorities had to ban
access to a mountain that doomsday theorists believe will be the only
safe spot during the apocalypse on December 21.
At the birthplace of Mayan calendar,
Mexico and Guatemala agencies offer tours “The end of the world
with Maya” and “The world of Maya 2012.”
 |
Pictures advertizing tickets to heaven
sold for $15.
|
Russian officials cancel apocalypse
Meanwhile, in Russia rapidly growing
doomsday hype has sparked a negative reaction from authorities.
Russia`s Emergency Ministry is not
expecting any global cataclysms in the near future, the head of
EMERCOM Vladimir Puchkov said on Friday, adding that those worried
are free to call the Ministry hotline to talk about their concerns.
Another senior official took a more
emotional stance about doomsday speculations. Russia`s Chief Medical
Officer of Health Gennady Onishenko lashed out at those publicizing
the apocalypse warning that they would end up in court.
“This directly influences people`s
health. When they depress you and say that in less than one month
everything is going to end, there are many people, who believe this,”
he said.
Russian State Duma deputies wrote an
open letter urging media to stop speculating about the doomsday. The
deputy head of the Duma committee on Science and Technology publicly
promised that no apocalypse is happening on December 21.
“In our committee there are academics
and scientists, and with all responsibility we state that there will
be no doomsday. Who made that up and circulates this around?” he
asked.
Mayan legacy
The speculations about December 21,
2012, doomsday are prompted by the Mayan calendar ending on this very
day.
The Mayan civilization reached its
height from 300 AD to 900 AD was based in modern day Mexico and
Central America. Mayans were good astronomers and created very
precise calendars.
Their Long Count calendar begins in
3,114 BC, measuring time in 394-year periods known as Baktuns. The
thirteenth Baktun ends around Dec 21, 2012, which first produced
rumors about the end of the world.
Despite numerous scientists and Mayan
descendants denying the connection between the end of the calendar
and the end of the world the rumors quickly got out of control
causing public hysteria.
It is not known why this particular end
of the world theory became so popular. Over two dozen doomsday
predictions have failed to materialize since the beginning of the
20th century.
(Source)
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