September 22, 2016

Bears, boycotts, and busting rhymes


Bears, boycotts, and busting rhymes

The voter who came in from the cold

1. Electoral fraud? Bad weather? Or do Russians just not care about letting their political voice be heard? Theories explaining the results of last week’s Duma elections abound. Whether or not you can blame a cold spell for the low turnout (only 35.18% of Moscow’s registered voters turned up) or attribute United Russia’s big win to cheating, the question now is what the outcome will mean for the future of Russian politics.  

2. An occupational hazard of being a meteorologist: having your weather station staked out by polar bears. Five scientists on an Arctic island found themselves surrounded by 10 adult bears and four cubs for two weeks, until a supply ship that happened to be in the neighborhood delivered flares, sirens, firearms, and dogs to ward off the bears. On the bright side, at least it gave them something to talk about that wasn't the weather.

3. Moscow’s answer to Uber might be taking cabbies for a ride. In response to Yandex.Taxi’s new low rates, drivers announced a three-day boycott of the mobile app. The drivers’ statement claims that the new minimum fare of 99 rubles ($1.50) will leave them “penniless.” A rally on the street where Yandex is located was broken up earlier this week, so they’re hoping the app boycott will fare better at driving change.

In Odder News

rferl.org

RosKultLit
Russian Cultural Literacy

Biggie Malenkii? Dvapac? Eminemov? Russian rap started out a niche musical genre, but it has developed along a trajectory totally different from its Western counterpart. Read up on Russia’s top rappers, and maybe even learn a rhyme or two.

calvertjournal.com

Quote of the Week

“The bears usually go to other islands, but this year they didn’t. The ice receded quickly and the bears didn’t have time to swim to other islands...There’s no food on [Troynoy] island, so they came up to the station.”

—Yelena Novikova, spokeswoman of the Sevgidromet monitoring network, on the polar bear stakeout outside a weather station owned by Sevgidromet. 

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

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.
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.
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.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

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.
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
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...
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. 

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