the russian artist's nikolai makarov tarakan club takes it’s name from the russian word for cockroaches. the popular cockroach races take place directly under nikolai’s museum der stille. at the starting line there are seven multi legged competitors ivan, olga III, pamir, nina, ural, pionier and dukat. since immigrating makarov has continuously smuggled russian cockroaches to berlin. the little crawlers were crossed with south american breeds to create professional racing cockroaches. cockroach racing originates from the russian immigrants scene of istanbul in the 1920’s. before the races commence a cook prepares a power meal of muesli and vegetables for the small racers. for the betting obsessed fans racing champion olga I was the favourite until she was gobbled down by bad loser parmir one night. in the tarakan you can make reservations to watch races or you can try one of the many cockroach inspired drinks. the tarakan has a living room style interior. it is a meeting place for russian and german artists, painters, musicians and cockroach fans. once a month there are cockroach tournaments in the berlin traenenpalast with book readings, russian dj’s and live bands. the tarakan is open from 20.00.