Brought to you by SNOB

Mikhail Prokhorov’s brainchild, Snob magazine, is finally out after a much-hyped release. Prokhorov rates 24th on the Forbes list of richest people.

Snobishness, or snobism, its editors tell us, is nothing to be ashamed of. And the best part?Anyone could be a snob! “A man could be a snob, and a woman could be a snob.” The editors’ mission impossible is apparently to revolutionize and give new, positive meaning to the word. “Snob is not the same thing as zhlob,” they say. (derogatory term for someone who does not like to spend money)

In its June issue, Snob is not very different from other Russian glossies. It uses the same sarcastistic brushes to paint the U.S.(Russian Rolling Stone’s feature cover this month is “American Tragedy” on Britney Spears’ fallen star), but Snob is unusually prolific in covering the troubled and sorry state of the United States. The stories range from the dated Eliot Spitzer scandal to free access to condoms in the streets of New York. America’s impending doom provides the backdrop for most of these stories.

The first page of the very first Snob sets the tone and quotes freely from William Thackeray, “I am not so high-minded not to admit to being a snob.” 

So if the idea is for everyone to accept their inner snob and to come to terms with themselves, why is it then so many of the magazine’s authors are American or U.S. based? Why then this tapping into foreign concept, packaging and even font are so similar to the U.S. magazines GOOD and its evil twin, Vice? Is there no Russian equivalent, no Russian, homegrown brand of snobbishness?

The irony of Snob is that it borrows unashamedly from Western snobbish publications, relies heavily on Western talent, but also criticizes the same decadent West and its cultural and economic world dominance.

As the latest dish for the Russian nouveau riche, Snob aims to fulfill a huge demand for more discerning tastes, and sets out to dictate a new moral code, tastes and philosophy for country’s booming well-heeled population.

 And it’s not just a magazine either. Enter Snob the TV Channel, an exclusive club, and an ambitious web media project.

Do not skip the intro animation: www.snob.ru