“Just know that you don’t give away your loved one… Belarusians, we are a force.”

– a group of Belarusian and Russian pop singers, singing in a patriotic music video to support President Lukashenko

"McDonald's is expanding its geographic presence and plans to open the first factories in the Far Eastern Federal District in December 2020."

– Press announcement by McDonald’s, which plans to open its first restaurants in Russia’s Far East

“This is a special lightweight shoe, which is currently the lightest possible in the world, so that there is no additional load (when it is delivered to orbit).”

– Press release from Faradei shoe company, which recently developed a special shoe for astronauts

“Alla Borisovna [Pugacheva] drank not the elixir of youth, but the elixir of happiness.”

 – A fan’s post on Maxim Galkin's Instagram account, in reaction to a new photo of the couple

“If the government thinks that it [wearing masks] is necessary, it should provide them free of charge, just like shoe covers are provided free of charge in medical organizations.”

– Alexander Saversky, President of the Russian organization League of Patients' Defenders, who started a petition against wearing masks

“Thank you, I have said everything. You can shout 'Leave'.”

– Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in response to workers at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant

“You risk getting an upset stomach, but there is no scientific evidence for this fact.”

- An announcement from Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, on the incorrect way to eat melons

“I have nothing to share.”

– Comedian Maksim Galkin in response to journalists asking him about rumors of divorce between him and his wife, the musical icon Alla Pugacheva.

“Are all these really mercenaries? // In Moscow, their voices are heard already! // The column went more and more powerfully. // They do not ask or pray, // They want the will to reach // All the ears of the people. // And there is no task to borrow, // No, it’s not their roof that is sliding. // ‘We are not stupid, we are not stupid!’ // Ah, those who don't want to hear them.”

– Sergei Shnurov, leader of the band Leningrad, and a politician and producer, who used a poem on Instagram to announce his arrival in Khabarovsk to check out the protests occuring there in response to the arrest of governor Sergei Furgal

“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

“This dish is eaten in almost every home. I don’t understand Russian people’s tastes at all.”

- Chinese blogger on herring under a fur coat, one of six items he listed as unusual Russian dishes

“If you meet a boar, don’t approach it and don’t look it in the eye … if you meet a whole herd, stay away from the piglets.”

- Advice in a note from the Moscow mayor's official website on the appearance of wild boars in some Moscow parks