April 07, 2016

A kick in the face of public taste


A kick in the face of public taste

Get a kick out of life

1. The Panama Papers exposed massive corruption among the cream of the world's political crop. Among other Russian bigwigs, renowned cellist Sergei Roldugin may have to face the music for orchestrating offshore tax evasion. President Vladimir Putin’s name, however, is a glaring absence from all 11.5 million leaked documents. Read Russian Life’s cheat sheet on what the Panama Papers mean for Russia.

2. A Russian wrestler wins at worst selfie stunt by urinating on a statue of Buddha and aiming a karate kick at the deity’s face. He may face jail time for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred (same charge as Pussy Riot, for the curious). Not to mention angry locals who swarmed his hotel to demand an apology. Buddha may be forgiving, but not all Buddhists are so ready to forgive.

3. Are they doing downward-facing dog or planting a bomb? Police in Moscow and St. Petersburg weren’t so sure about the difference when they arrested about 30 people suspected of being members of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo. As it turned out, the detainees just shared a passion for yoga.

In Odder News

  • What’s worse: sledgehammering through a wall to steal candy bars, or feeling ashamed of your sweet tooth and lying that you stole beer?
  • The latest in patriotic dining: Krasnoyarsk’s new President Café boasts a life-sized cartoon Putin, photos of Vova's youth, and of course, Obama toilet paper.
  • In the most adorable rescue mission ever, firefighters saved 50 rabbits from a burning penal colony. Don’t worry about the inmates, either: every bunny made it out safe.

Quote of the Week

"Buddha would certainly have forgiven him for this, because according to our religion, if you do not accept evil, it has no bearing on you…But in terms of the geopolitical region, guests need to be put in their place…If not for the police, the mob would have killed this guy."

—Mandzhiev Bator, a resident of Elista, the capital of the largely Buddhist region of Kalmykia, on wrestler Said Osmanov’s alleged desecration of a Buddhist temple and the locals’ angry response.

Image credit: gazeta.ru

You Might Also Like

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955