“This is a good deed, one of the great opportunities to pay attention to people who need special support and attention, and, if necessary, help, especially in the current difficult epidemiological situation.”

– Advisor to the Governor of the Rostov region Anton Alekseyev on the online project “Smotri pesni” (“Watch Songs”)

If you think American high school graduations have fanfare, wait till you see what Russians in St. Petersburg do.

This week: soccer games return, cultural events go online, and an 11-year-old girl makes us all look like pansies.

Despite a quarantine, Russians still managed to join together to celebrate Victory Day (from their balconies).

A Siberian village names a well after a Soviet hero.

This project is free, there is no monetization in it… I don’t know what will be ahead, but it doesn’t interest me now. ‘Stoyanov in isolation’ is a way of emotional and professional survival."

– Russian actor Yuri Stoyanov, on his new YouTube show “Stoyanov in Isolation"

A grassroots campaign to remember the WWII fallen goes south.

“Happy holiday to you. Be happy and healthy.”

– President Vladimir Putin in his Easter address to Russians

30 restored T-34 tanks have arrived in Moscow and now await Victory Day.

In this week's Odder News: post-Soviet leaders propose innovative treatments for coronavirus, phone chargers go bad, and Russian buyers have an opening in the European real estate market.

“Maslenitsa week is usually accompanied by all sorts of food excesses, including plentiful blini eating. And in this regard, any overeating is harmful to the body.”

– Member of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection Dr. Boris Mendelevich on the potential pitfalls of eating too many blini

This popular holiday tradition has believers plunging into ice-cold water… voluntarily!