March 15, 2018

Cats, Cars, and Non-existent Countries


Cats, Cars, and Non-existent Countries
A Purr-fect Prophet, a Flashing Flashmob, and an Imaginary Island

1.  Picking brackets just got a whole lot easier, at least when it comes to this summer’s World Cup. The Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg has chosen Achilles, a deaf snow white cat, as its Official Oracle of the World Cup. Achilles, a veteran seer, will choose between two bowls of food, each with the flag of a competing country on it. A paws-itive response from Achilles is sure to guarantee the favored team a win, leading to the question: how is the museum (not to mention FIFA) ensuring that Achilles won’t be bought off?

Photo: The State Hermitage Museum

2. Putin is a middle-of-the road candidate. At least, he was for a night. Over 250 drivers gathered in the city of Khabarovsk to create a portrait of Putin with their cars. They only had enough for half of his face, but still, the result is impressive. The organizers were quick to note that this in-car-nation of Putin had nothing to do with the upcoming election (which, by the way, is Sunday). In other words, don’t take this as their hint for Putin to hit the road.

Photo: Типичный Хабаровск

3. What’s the problem with passports from the Kingdom of the Free Island of Aspi, a small Pacific nation? Well, said small Pacific nation doesn’t exist. That didn’t stop four Russians in St. Petersburg from selling Aspi passports and driver’s licenses to undocumented foreign workers for 15,000 to 100,000 rubles (about $260 to $1,750). They’ve been doing this for three years, even winning a court case when the court could not prove the Kingdom of Aspi didn’t exist. The four were recently arrested, and it’s likely that any hopes of deportation to their “home” country are just aspi-rational thinking.

In Odder News: 
  • A Russian psychic on the run was just arrested (and in possession of “magic salt”). Why didn’t he see this coming?

  • St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t offer enough green for snow-covered Moscow: they need a whole Irish Week.

  • Two men rigged up a fake currency exchange booth and stole one million rubles from an unsuspecting victim: talk about a cents-less crime.

Quote of the Week:

“His character traits include a tendency to choose, to analyze… suggesting that he can foretell anything.” 

—Maria Khaltunen, assistant to the General Director of the State Hermitage, explaining why Achilles the Cat makes a good oracle.

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.

You Might Also Like

Hermitage Cats
  • March 09, 2006

Hermitage Cats

A look at the cats that guard one of the world's great museums.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
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.
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.
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.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
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.
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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
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. 

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