This week, Spotify comes to Russia, Crimea is a hot tourist destination (like always), and three cases of corruption: one big, one small, and one straight out of a spy movie.

“Coffee is good. I don’t know where we got coffee from – it’s like a sin, like drinking champagne in the morning... Coffee is good, remember that. You can love it or not love it, but you cannot blame it and say that it is harmful. ”

– Dr. Alexander Myasnikov, dispelling misconceptions on the dangers of coffee

A well-known Russian doctor used ice cream as a clue for a tricky diagnosis.

“Women most often think about new breasts and buttocks, some receive such operations as a gift from their gentlemen. For men, surgery to correct the shape of the nose and ears is now popular. We took a closer look at ourselves, sitting at home, and apparently decided to improve our aesthetic appearance.”

- Plastic surgeon Dmitry Elenshleger on the popularity plastic surgery in Russia, now that the quarantine is being lifted

As the коронавирусная пандемия (the coronavirus pandemic) still affects just about every aspect of our lives, it has, of course, been changing the way we speak.

Experts report that Russian drinking habits over the last couple of months have gotten a bit lighter.

This week's we feature a smattering of things that are somewhere they shouldn't be, including drugs, tanks, mammoths, kids, and (of course) Lenin.

This week we have grants for bride-stealing, anthropomorphic cakes, prisoners (and guards) walking on glass, and important advice for your next trip to Chelyabinsk.

St. Petersburg's deputy governor put forth a compelling reason for his city's more lax coronavirus regulations, compared to Moscow's.

This week's Odder News features monuments for dead villages, ancient memes, and a mirror for Putin.

“It’s not clear how he found himself at school: maybe someone threw him out or he crawled away. As our specialist said, the python is full. Such an animal is able to swallow even a cat. And it’s a great happiness that no one was hurt.”

– Alena Shibanova, a representative from the Good Home Animal Shelter, on a two-meter python found near a school in Kineshma

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts has found a contemporary way to display classic works of art.