Notebook

A Russian lawmaker has reached out to Belarus, asking President Alexander Lukashenko to allow Russia’s disqualified athletes to compete in international events under the Belarusian flag.

“Taking into account the status of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, I ask you to begin consultations regarding the possibility of Russian athletes participating in international competition under the Belarusian flag, until the ban is lifted by the International Association of Athletics Federations,” said United Russia party lawmaker Yevgeny Fyodorov. Conveniently, Lukashenko also heads the Belarusian National Olympic Committee. The Russian Athletics Federation is still under a ban (extended in February) due to allegations of pervasive doping, and many Russian competitors have already petitioned to compete under a neutral flag, assuming they can pass the drug tests.

A new Russian app will help people organize… funerals. The morbid mobile application, called Umer (“Died”) will help grieving relatives navigate Russia’s overwhelmingly complex web of funeral services, whose prices are far from transparent. Developer Dmitry Geranin, who launched the app, is the chief of the Yandex.Weather forecasting service, and says his new app is a “hobby.”