September 22, 2013

Checking in with Russian Bloggers


Checking in with Russian Bloggers

As we move into fall, it would appear that some of our favorite Russian bloggers – in particular the Tumblr-like photo-sharing ones – have been making the most of this great time to enjoy both the outdoors and the indoors. From the local to the exotic, from the splendor of nature to the peculiar forms of city architecture, their cameras have been recording everything.

If there’s one thing that the Russian landscape is known for, it’s expanses – they’re practically another national resource (conveniently, vistas of nearby formerly-Soviet countries count as well). Sergey Ershov, for one (who is also the featured photographer for the 2014 Russian Life Wall Calendar, has been exploring the Ukrainian Carpathians – at the end of his post he even recommends some walking routes for enjoying the scenery. And he’s by far not the first to appreciate Russia’s natural landscape: the similarity of his forest scenes to paintings by Ivan Shishkin is striking. Igor Spilenok – who is on a 3-year long quest with his wife, Laura Williams, to visit all Russia's national parks – is out in the Far East, checking out Lake Baikal and nearby nature reserves.

Many of these photographers – like many Russians in general – are travellers, much like Igor’s recent acquaintance, the German voyager Gerry the Tramp. So if they cannot find a suitable subject nearby, they are happy to find something further afield: Shadrapa’s Livejournal, for example, includes a whole sequence of posts about Southeast Asia, mixed in with more familiar territory.

Speaking of familiarity, though, there are also calls to make the familiar new and interesting, to take a different perspective. The same Shadrapa also has a post showing how people capture architecture on Instagram, with a strong focus on contrast, patterns, and composition, using the peculiar shapes of Soviet and Russian buildings. (His use of the word зафоловить caught my eye – it’s a Russification of “to follow,” in a Tumblr or Instagram sense. The Internet is a great place to find new borrowed words!) He then follows his own advice with a slightly fancier camera, taking new, interesting, and often humorous shots of familiar sculptures and larger structures in the area. Russos, on his Livejournal, follows in the same vein with his panoramas of the Mayakovskaya subway station in Moscow, playing with other, previously unconsidered angles.

With the last post, from Russos, it’s worth pointing out how easy it is to get lost in these blogs, and to end up pleasantly surprised – following a link in this post about how to view photographs, I somehow ended up at a post with cards that used cat cartoons to explain the convoluted rules of Russian grammar and spelling. This, to me, felt like the perfect encapsulation of the Russian user: someone who uses humor to play with everything – be it language, photography, or architecture.


Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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

Some of Our Books

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. 
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
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.
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.
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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
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.
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.

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