New Year in Russia is a very special occasion. We wait for this holiday the whole year. But the jokes and sayings about it are filled with gloomy humor and shades of hopelessness. New Year's traditions boil down to the annual viewing of the President's televised address, alcohol abuse and the absorption of the Russian salad (or so called Olivier). The classic scenario of the special day is predetermined, the outcome is predictable. We are hostages to unrealized desire. There are millions of us. Today we will once again sit down together wearing our best outfits, listen to the chimes of the Kremlin, and wake up afterwards face down in a plate of Russian salad.