My friend Steve Mockus emailed me: “Hey are you familiar with a cute little Russian animation character named Cheburashka? I’ve become obsessed with him. It was an animated children’s TV show, kind of like Rankin and Bass, but very Soviet, struggling through adversity. The cartoons are fantastic. Link

UPDATE:Art sez: “Here’s a picture I found on Flickr’s feed. It’s all about the Russian Olympic team, with Cheburashka as the mascot, all torn up and thrown away in a field.”