

Have you ever wondered how fashionable aristocrats and oligarchs on the opposite side of the prime meridian tend to dress their children? Well, we’re here to alleviate your quandary. Photographer Anna Skladmann took a hike across much of Russia in an attempt to document the most stylish and privileged pre-teens this region had to offer, and came away with some shots that are genuinely startling… startlingly awesome that is. Not only do these tykes look right at home in the collection of threads they’re presented in, but they basically just own it. From the set of Blue Steel’s and Magnum’s these kids have wiped across their mugs, I’d be willing to bet the term “Cheese” wasn’t uttered all that often.
The youngster set in front of the metro backdrop, perched atop the corner of a building is evidently named Vadim, and appears to gather most of his gear from Robber Barons R’ Us. Just look his that oversized bow tie, and, if you’ll allow me to speak in Tom Haverford parlance for a moment, dope pea coat. Peering at Vadim, you’d assume somebody thought it would be funny to zap Tucker Carlson with Ray Zalinsky’s shrink ray, and send him over to Russia just for kicks. From the looks of it, tiny Tucker Carlson has been flourishing within his new millieu, and is prepared to run whichever town he’s already turned his back to.
The pair of siblings crouched on top of the ornate table are called Nikita and Alina respectively, and were presumably en route to a ball room of some sort, before they realized that one of the little brats wasn’t wearing any pants. If you direct you’re attention over to the male half of the bro and sis pairing, you’ll notice that he’s already got that disheveled Dudley Moore, devil-may-cry attitude down pat. Imagine the havoc this guy is going to wreak once he starts slamming shots of expensive, home-brewed Russian Vodka. Then again, who’s to say the young man hasn’t already started hitting the bottle.


As if young Jacob didn’t already look like he was about ready to plan some elementary school sting operation of the cafeteria in his two-tone wing tips, and tailored blazer, Skladmann threw one of the kid’s functioning Kalashnikov machine guns into the mix for good measure. Apparently this was just one of the many battle ready firearms which comprises young Jacob’s extensive collection. For those of you youngsters who are simply content to get your hands on some plastic NERF rifle, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Jacob has seen the light, and he’s done so looking as if he were plucked from the pages of GQ.
While all the shots in this collection may not necessarily be as dynamic or theatrical as the machine gun picture, they’re all wonderfully photographed, and definitely worth checking out. I’ll leave you with this image of toe-headed twins Ilona and Ella, and let you decide whether they strike you as adorable or just downright creepy. If you stare at the image long enough, I’m convinced that flashes of The Shining twins are bound to start dancing through your head. Find the full gallery at Spiegel Online and look on in astonishment at these ultra-hip and over dressed Russian kids. And if you still can’t get enough of this Skladmann’s has a book called Little Adults releasing in September which you can pre-order over at Amazon.