Culture & Customs

Omsk Avangard clinches Russian hockey's Gagarin Cup with some famous NHL faces.

A court case in the city of Perm unveils a story combining three quintessentially Soviet things: bathhouses, religious oppression, and an (extremely) intrusive surveillance state.

In this week's Odder News, a city mayor uses TikTok and Grand Theft Auto to communicate with his constituents, the Teletubbies show up in Norilsk, and a Perm barn is sacrificed to TikTok.

“I also don’t know that they would be able to work in the President’s administration. I do not think there is a division in the administration that deals with sports nutrition.”

– Press Secretary to the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov

Russian tea isn't always what you might picture it to be... neither is it always really tea. Let's have a taste of some of the unique varieties of herbal tea found in Russia. 

In this week's Odder News, Victory Day surprises, ideas to increase vaccination, and a mass wedding in the sky.

Siberia is surrounded by stereotypes, but there's more to it than exile and cold. It has amazing forests, pine nuts and delicious bird cherry cake.

Daily stretching and exercise are the secrets to a long and healthy life—and lots of gold badges. 

As spring heats slowly to the rapid days of summer, the canines of Russia are kept on their paws with special challenges of their own.

Russian television celebrated pop singer Philipp Kirkorov's 54th birthday in grand fashion at the end of April.

Grilled meat on a stick and fire safety have never been good friends, but Russian officials are trying to change that relationship. 

It's not very often that you see the mayor of a city get punished by a group of school-age children, but that's exactly what happened in Krasnoyarsk when mayor Sergei Eryomin lost a challenge.