April 27, 2017

Floods of water, juice, and trendy ostrich photos


Floods of water, juice, and trendy ostrich photos

Juice, Juice, Baby

1. If your town has to be flooded with something, why not fruit juice? It may not have been quite as deliberate a decision as that, but that’s what’s flowing in the town of Lebedyan. The roof of a factory owned by Pepsico collapsed, injuring two workers (fortunately, not seriously) and releasing several tons of juice into the streets and toward the river Don. This week, it’s Juicy Flows the Don.

2. In a flood that’s not quite as sugary, a playground in Yakutsk is nearly a foot deep in muddy water. The groundless playground was highlighted by opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who quipped on Twitter that Russia’s military engagement abroad is hindering childcare at home. According to a city official, a local management company was supposed to pump out the water. If the kids get lucky, they’ll fill it with fruit juice instead.

3. The Russian government’s newly vacant post of Human Rights Commissioner will remain vacant. Former Commissioner Konstantin Dolgov has transferred to the presidential administration, and his functions will be transferred to the Department for Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights. The latter department, however, generally focuses on Russian citizens imprisoned abroad. Human rights, as understood by European law, will no longer fall under anyone’s purview.

In Odder News

  • Looking for an edgy new haircut? For a ‘do that’s really on the edge, try the barber who cuts hair with an axe.

Quote of the Week

“I would like my photos to tell about the peace and interaction with the world [...] There is always a place of kindness and love!”
—Photographer Olga Barentseva on her choice to create fairytale-like photography featuring animals with human companions in nature. 

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Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

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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.
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.
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.  
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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. 
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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.
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The Moscow Eccentric

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