Though making an ass out of yourself on the internet is not culturally exclusive, let's gander at the Slavic strain of the phenomena, distinguished by a joyous lack of judgement, heavy abuse of photoshop, and an abundance of wall carpets.

This feature is of no aesthetic or technical value. If that's what you're looking for, then proceed elsewhere. We suggest this most incredible photo essay on the post-Chernobyl town of Slavoutich by Guillaume Herbaut. For the rest of us internet-trash-scouring philistines, we present a harshly filtered selection of photos from the totally NSFW and tasteless LiveJournal ru-community shkola_urodov, dedicated to inappropriately toned discussions of various unfortunate persons' social networking profile pictures, Slavic style.

(And then check out Part II: Internet Slavs: A Profile Pic Extravaganza)

"Abundance of wall carpets"

Irina, 25 (according to her profile) is umbrella-ready, lest the beach furs get rained on.

Lena has perfected the Barbie doll stare.

Marina from Odessa is still working on it.

Ivan is very cool.

Photoshop - the virtual compensator.

Straight-edge through nuclear war - these guys sure are determined.

Yura from Belarus makes an error in judgement. Then makes it official on Russian Facebook.

Varvara from Moscow abuses her authority, our eyes.

Searching for a soul mate.

Soul mate found?

Olga, the more subtle of the love-seekers/accidental performance artist.

The not-very-subtle love-seeker.

Emo teens make fun of closely situated toilets.

Sergey - romantic, passionate, loyal.

Sergey is also available in cat-hatted.

VLADIMIR knows the power of branding.

Anton the lonely Russian steampunk.

Svetlana the mystical mermaid.

Nikolay the Awesome. He wins the internet.

RUSSIA! LiveJournal community usually posts respectable and inspiring photo features every Monday. Obviously, not this week. Fellow LJ bloggers, however, derived some cultural significance from this myriad of embarrassments:

zenedi: "What is with the whole rug on the wall thing? Just curious."
fiquet: "It's a traditional feature in many Russian homes to have rugs hung up on the walls. This is very much an Eastern influence; rugs also adorn the walls of many houses in countries such as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, etc. They are functional as well as decorative; the thick weaving acts as insulation and keeps the walls warm, particularly in winter when cold drafts are all-permeating."

And there you have it — a lesson and a show. You're welcome.

[Part II]