April 05, 2018

April Fool's Day, Russia Style!


April Fool's Day, Russia Style!

The world is reeling from diplomatic expulsions and counter-expulsions. But we figure the big media outlets have that topic covered. So, as usual, we aim our focus at the real news everyone else is missing…

Joke's on You, Joke's on Me

1. The (Russian) Empire Strikes Back! Russia’s Foreign Ministry took part in April Fool’s Day shenanigans by proposing a new politically-pointed voicemail message (this was last year, but, sadly, it still applies this year). In both Russian and English (skip to 0:28 for English), the message asks you to select a number to be directed to a particular Russian service. What services do they provide? A Russian diplomat calling your political opponent, hacking, or election interference: take your pick! And don’t forget, this call may be recorded.

 

2. Some like it cold, some like it hot, and some like it both at the same time. About 15 people cut off a large chunk of ice and sailed it down the River Don for a day, using the sheet to have a picnic, heat a bath, gather round a fire, and even wakeboard. Eventually the ice breaks apart, but the partiers simply move all their things to one side and continue with fireside music. Talk about going with the floe.

 

3. If at first you don’t succeed, try to fly, fly again. This week the Russian Postal Service tested a drone as part of its effort to integrate drones into its vast distribution network. The drone, which was supposed to travel nine miles, made it less than 100 meters before abruptly veering and crashing into a house. The postal service has vowed to continue with this project, but it’s fair to say: this drone didn’t pass with flying colors.

 
In Odder News:
  •  

  • A giant inflatable matryoshka doll bounced across a parking lot, almost knocking someone out (thankfully, the smaller ones didn’t get out!)

  • UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson displayed an impressive knowledge of Dostoyevsky (and Star Wars!) while dissing Russia

  • Post-apocalyptic prank: Russians “invent” a police dream car, replete with zombie-proof technology

 
Quote of the Week:

“To request election interference, press three and wait until the next election campaign.”

—The Russian Foreign Ministry’s prank voicemail message

Want more where this comes from? Give your inbox the gift of TWERF, our Thursday newsletter on the quirkiest, obscurest, and Russianest of Russian happenings of the week.

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

Some of Our Books

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
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.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
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.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

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