Culture & Customs

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna breathed her last in December of 1761, in her St. Petersburg palace. By any standard, Peter the Great’s second daughter had lived an unusual life.

When you begin to learn Russian, you may be a bit puzzled by two “nows”: теперь and сейчас. Let's clear this up, right NOW.

It’s that time of the year again, when afternoons are short, the colors are subdued, and the appetite for rich spicy foods is at its highest. What a perfect occasion to cook a hearty Central Asia pilaf with mutton, lots of cumin, and (if you can find them) barberries (also known as berberis or “northern lemon”).

Oleg Rezanov claims to have overcome aging and pain by embracing the cold. Let’s look into this a bit more closely.

When they turn the electricity off in the village, everybody promptly shows up at Granny Shura’s.

Dostoyevsky’s chance visit to a museum led to a chilling, life-changing encounter with an artist long dead, but whose work was very much alive. It would make an appearance in the writer’s next novel. 

In this week's Odder News, gig work gets some much-deserved attention, Muscovites "celebrate" the imminent lockdown by going nuts, and the wild comes to the streets of St. Petersburg.

"Sauerkraut that can almost completely solve the problem with dysbiosis. This is because it contains a fairly large amount of dietary fiber, which is a good nourishment for your microflora, and immunity largely depends on the work of the intestines.”

– Nutritionist Andrey Solotarev on what might be good for the gut.

A new statue in Kurgan is decidedly not the cat's pajamas, and after less than a week on display is being taken down due to public outcry.  

If you don't know short-lived Soviet rock musician Igor Talkov, you should. His St. Petersburg mural is under threat.

In this week's Odder News, the most amazing cakes you have ever seen, Russia's Suez Canal moment, and how do 100 kids sound?

"Because of e-sports, we are losing future great athletes who could become Olympic champions.”

– Svetlana Zhurova, State Duma Deputy and Olympic Champion, commenting on the recent (sedentary) victory of the Russian cybersports group Team Spirit.