May 03, 2018

Flagging Relations, Funny Money, and Floating Laundromats


Flagging Relations, Funny Money, and Floating Laundromats

What Goes Up Must Come Down

1. It’s harder to rally round the flag when you have no flag. Russia is insisting that the United States return the Russian flag to its rightful place on the flagpole at Russia’s seized consulate in Seattle. Oh, and Russia would also like its consulate back. In the meantime, Russia polled Twitter users regarding which American consulate Russia should close, which led to the closing of the (un)lucky American consulate in St. Petersburg. As for the Russian flag, a U.S. diplomat confirmed that it will be returned to Russia. All in all, this is looking to be yet another “banner” year for U.S.-Russia relations.

Photo: Vexillus from Glasgow, Scotland

 

2. The Russian ruble was knocked down a few pegs, literally. Vandals destroyed a monument to the Russian ruble outside the Central Bank branch in Syktyvkar, Russia. The once sleek, glass-and-metal structure is now a pile of glass shards and an overturned ruble sign. This incident hits a little too close to home, as the ruble recently fell against the dollar after newly imposed American sanctions. At press time, the vandals were still unknown, but you can bet your bottom ruble that if caught, they will pay dearly.

Ruble ruckus

Photo: ProГОРОД

 

3. That’s one more item checked off the laundry list! The town of Veliky Ustyug is building floating laundromats at the junction of its two rivers. Keep in mind, these aren’t your everyday American laundromats: these are laundry stations that help people better wash their clothes in the river. There’s even a chance Ded Moroz (Father Frost), Russia’s version of Santa Claus, will give his clothes a good rinse there, as he is rumored to live in the town. If hand washing your clothes with Russia’s Santa doesn’t sound like good clean fun, then we don’t know what does.  

In Odder News:

Tiger hunting

Photo: Kaliningradru

 

  • A whole different animal: a zoo practices catching tigers by dressing up an employee in a tiger costume. Hilarity ensues.

  • A last minute goal is scored as the Samara World Cup stadium is finished the day before its first test match

  • Check out Russian artist Anastasia Bulgakova’s spot-on drawings of different countries as warriors

Quote of the Week:

“Pretty, cold, straightforward and with diplomatic skills of a sewer drain. Still, if you know her a bit, she will show you how warm and loving she can actually be.”

— Anastasia Bulgakova’s description of her personified sci-fi drawing of Russia

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A Taste of Russia

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The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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How Russia Got That Way

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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.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

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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.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

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

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