May 18, 2017

Pop music, Pythons, and Kindergarten on the Run


Pop music, Pythons, and Kindergarten on the Run
From Hollywood to the tundra

1. A new pop song berates underachieving youths who participate in political protests. Or does it mock teachers who try to dissuade their students from getting involved in politics? The song “Baby Boy” by Alisa Vox, formerly a singer in the rock group Leningrad, appears to criticize Alexey Navalny’s anti-corruption movement. A source close to Vox alleges that the Kremlin paid the singer to create a song with an anti-opposition message, though Vox denies that the song is political in intent.

2. Hollywood movies are too fast and too furious, and Russian counterparts are struggling to catch them if they can. To counter the trend of American films outperforming domestic productions at the box office, Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky has recommended bumping ticket prices for foreign movies. Citing protectionism in the car industry as a comparison, Medinsky urged the State Duma to consider taxing foreign films, renewing an argument he’s made several times before.

3. When you live a nomadic life herding deer in the Russian tundra, the education system looks a bit different than what stationary folks are used to. Unless they happen to have a visiting anthropologist to experiment with on-the-move kindergarten classes, children start school when they’re old enough to be sent to boarding school in the nearest settlement. Otherwise, following the deer's grazing patterns takes precedence over lessons. These are just a few of the findings of anthropologists researching life in the Russian tundra.

In Odder News
  • To drive from Scotland to Russia, it takes 53 days, 9,898 miles, and countless photographs. Here are a few of them.
  • The natural way to bide time while waiting for bilateral talks with another world leader? Play the piano. That’s what President Vladimir Putin did while waiting for Chinese President Xi Jinping, at least.
  • A few things you’ll find in a Russian trash can: empty sour cream containers, vodka bottles, and the occasional python.
Quote of the Week

"Freedom, money, girls — you’ll get it all, even power.
So, kid, stay out of politics, and give your brain a shower."
—Translation of Alisa Vox's new song "Baby Boy," allegedly an anthem against Russia's opposition movement. 

Cover photo: somewhere between Scotland and Russia, bbc.com

Want more where this comes from? Give your inbox the gift of TWERF, our Thursday newsletter on the quirkiest, obscurest, and Russianest of Russian happenings of the week

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955