I don't speak Russian. but apparently in the "70's the Berberov family who raised a lion (named The King) in their flat... Then they took also a puma... One day the lion attacked and killed their youngest son and then was shot by policeman (1980)... It's a long story anyway."
via Vintage photo
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7 comments:
wow. i sure wish i could pet a lion. that would just be wild!!!
I just stumbled upon your blog while searching for streetwise photos. I am so glad that i did!
I totally love your P.O.V. and aesthetic!
*new blog cush*
...all of which adds to the mounting evidence that the former Soviet Union was far wackier than we had been led to believe.
I am also reminded about the (apparently true) story that happened in the Washington, D.C. zoo many years ago when they still had cages and a little girl stuck her head through the bars and a lion bit her head off and her grandfather who was with her had a heart attack and died on the spot. Have a great day!
okay, this was pretty gnarley.. too bad the lion ate the kid, but then again "the king," is a wild animal who's prone to lash out one time or another when he tires of the vegetables and dead meat, and instead hungers for the taste of human flesh. can you blame him
This is Berberov family from my hometown of Baku, Azerbaijan, formerly a republic of the Soviet Union. I was telling the story to my friend at dinner tonight, and she didn't believe me, so I looked for evidence online and came across your blog. This here is a set of postcards called "At Berberov's". Berberov was an architect who was crazy about animals. At one point his family adopted a lion cub, who grew to be a big lion, and was even cast in a famous Soviet comedy. At one point the lion, named King, escaped, and attacked a passerby, after which he was shot by a policeman. The Berberov children were devastated, and the family got the second lion (they also had a puma, a dog, and two parrots), King II they called him. By then the father of the family died from heart attack. One day King II attacked Mrs. Berberova, and when he son came to her rescue, he was mauled to death (NOT eaten!!). The mother was seriously injured but later recovered. The second child of the family - the daughter - was not home at the time of the incident. King II and the puma were shot by the police, predictably. My mother told me the story when I was little.
Leti do you have a copy of this lion book? I can't find one anywhere ... would love to have one if you know of some place. Great blog!
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