Earth Walker
August 27th, 2001, 10:55 AM
MOSCOW -- Devotees of J.R.R. Tolkien and his hairy-footed
hobbits in the central Asian state of Kazakhstan have
encountered a real-life threat to match the evil Dark Lord
Sauron: a police crackdown on "counter-cultural groups."
The peaks of the Tian Shen Mountains which tower over Almaty,
the main city in the former Soviet republic, offer an impressive
representation of Middle Earth, the world created by Tolkien.
An estimated 1,000 local aficionados of the British author, who
call themselves Tolkienisti, trek regularly to forts they have built
in the foothills, dress up as their favourite characters and re-enact
adventures based on The Hobbit and the subsequent trilogy,
The Lord of the Rings.
"I find city life so crude and gloomy. I want to get away from it
and create a different world," one 17-year-old said of Tolkien's
allure. "When I look at other kids who hang out with nothing to
do and no interests in life, I feel sad. Their lives seem so empty."
The pastime, however, is viewed as subversive by Almaty
police, whose ranks include veterans of the old communist
security forces and rural Kazakhs who have never heard of
Oxford professor Tolkien and his creations.
They have launched a campaign against the Tolkienisti, and any
group that they believe exhibits undesirably "Bohemian" traits,
including street musicians, "alternative" artists and homosexuals.
Victims of the crackdown have been beaten and detained for up
to three days without charge, according to a report by the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
Tolkien's world of elves, dwarves, goblins and hobbits comprises
one of the most treasured series of books ever written.
It has sold more than 90 million copies worldwide since they
first appeared in 1937.
The books were translated into Russian in 1976, quickly
becoming enormously popular throughout the Soviet Union.
--- The Sunday Telegraph
hobbits in the central Asian state of Kazakhstan have
encountered a real-life threat to match the evil Dark Lord
Sauron: a police crackdown on "counter-cultural groups."
The peaks of the Tian Shen Mountains which tower over Almaty,
the main city in the former Soviet republic, offer an impressive
representation of Middle Earth, the world created by Tolkien.
An estimated 1,000 local aficionados of the British author, who
call themselves Tolkienisti, trek regularly to forts they have built
in the foothills, dress up as their favourite characters and re-enact
adventures based on The Hobbit and the subsequent trilogy,
The Lord of the Rings.
"I find city life so crude and gloomy. I want to get away from it
and create a different world," one 17-year-old said of Tolkien's
allure. "When I look at other kids who hang out with nothing to
do and no interests in life, I feel sad. Their lives seem so empty."
The pastime, however, is viewed as subversive by Almaty
police, whose ranks include veterans of the old communist
security forces and rural Kazakhs who have never heard of
Oxford professor Tolkien and his creations.
They have launched a campaign against the Tolkienisti, and any
group that they believe exhibits undesirably "Bohemian" traits,
including street musicians, "alternative" artists and homosexuals.
Victims of the crackdown have been beaten and detained for up
to three days without charge, according to a report by the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
Tolkien's world of elves, dwarves, goblins and hobbits comprises
one of the most treasured series of books ever written.
It has sold more than 90 million copies worldwide since they
first appeared in 1937.
The books were translated into Russian in 1976, quickly
becoming enormously popular throughout the Soviet Union.
--- The Sunday Telegraph