July 14, 2016

Ballooning of strict laws, and ballooning of a hot air balloon


Ballooning of strict laws, and ballooning of a hot air balloon

Here, there, and to the courthouse

1. The Kremlin has given the Federal Security Service (the FSB) two weeks to decrypt the entire internet. In other words, they’re demanding encryption keys for all internet data as mandated under the newly adopted “anti-terrorist” laws. The laws limit information on the web, and they’re making the internet a much smaller place, what with political sites blocked for anti-Kremlin messages and a tech company withdrawing from Russia – likely just the first of many.

2. Russian tourists flock to Turkey, to be greeted by champagne and expectations of a big boost for Turkey’s tourist-starved economy. The influx of sightseeing Russians signals improved relations between Russia and Turkey, and comes on the heels of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s apology for the shooting down of a Russian warplane in November. With Presidents Putin and Erdogan planning to meet, it looks like they’ll let bygones be bygones.

3. In an endeavor not impacted by the new laws (at least, not yet), adventurer Fyodor Koniukhov has launched on a solo hot air balloon trip around the globe. His goal: to break the world record of circumnavigating Earth in 13 days. His balloon: reflective silver and emblazoned “Moscow” in bright red. It’s also the world’s largest, requiring a full night for 60 meters to fill up with helium. Either he makes it in 12 days, or he’s full of hot air.

kp.ru

Quote of the Week

“He’s an incredible adventurer. He’s what I call a responsible risk taker.”

—Dick Smith, fellow adventurer of Fyodor Koniukhov, on Koniukhov’s trip around the globe in history’s largest hot air balloon.

In Odder News

    • In case you didn’t get enough of St. Pete, here are nine of the city’s best beards. That’s right, beards. 
    themoscowtimes.com
    • Another group impacted by the strict new laws: Mormons
    • In honor of Fevronia’s Day, a region in north-western Russia refused to accept any divorce applications. What’s Fevronia’s Day, you ask? 

    RosKultLit
    Russian Cultural Literacy

        Fevronia’s Day is a little bit like Russian Valentine’s Day. You’ve got a celebration of romance and fidelity, a legend involving a talking snake, and corpses jumping between coffins. Come to think of it, there’s way more to it than Valentine’s Day. Find out what here.

        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.

         

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

        Some of Our Books

        A Taste of Chekhov

        A Taste of Chekhov

        This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
        Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

        Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

        A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
        Chekhov Bilingual

        Chekhov Bilingual

        Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
        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.
        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.
        Dostoyevsky Bilingual

        Dostoyevsky Bilingual

        Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
        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.
        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.
        Russian Rules

        Russian Rules

        From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

        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