May 16, 2019

It's an Animal World After All


It's an Animal World After All
That’s one bold thief right there. Alexander Vorobyov

Throwback Thursday

Maximilian Voloshin
Maximilian Voloshin. / Wikimedia Commons

On May 16, 1877, the poet Maximilian Voloshin was born. He lived through three very different eras: the Russian Silver Age, the 1917 revolutions, and the Russian Civil War. Read some of his poems in translation right here on Russian Life.

Planet of the Free Bees and Bears

1. If you can’t find a honey, then make some honey! Humans and bees don’t have a lot in common, but one thing’s for sure: we all get lonely when we’re single. Luckily, if you’re a bee, the Moscow Zoo has the solution for you. On May 13, the Zoo opened a brand-new “hotel for single bees and wasps.” It’s designed mainly to give single bees a resting place while they pollinate flowers, but if the bees so desire, they can raise bee families there. No wonder these hives are getting so much buzz!

Hotel for single bees and wasps
The swanky new bee hotel. / Photo: Moscow Zoo

2. Freeing the animals, one circus at a time. It’s not just the Moscow Zoo that empathizes with our animal relatives: the mayor of Magas has officially banned the use of wild animals in circuses. “Animals are not entertainment or soulless toys; they are living beings. Cruelty towards them is unacceptable,” he announced in a press release. Before we celebrate, though, we should note that right now, activists are being detained in inhumane conditions for protesting the new border with Chechnya. Ironic, because wasn’t it a wild animal who said, “We are all connected in this great circle of life”?

Horse
Free as a horse. / Photo: Администрация города Магас

3. When a bear (b)ruins your hunting plans. A couple of hunters were driving on Kamchatka peninsula when a bear came over and started raiding their truck. The bear picked up their ration box and absconded in what has to be the heist of the century. Incidentally, the previous day, another driver on the same highway noticed a bear searching for food; some speculate it was the same bear. We usually tell people not to feed the bears, but we can’t always help it if they take matters into their own paws.

Blog Spotlight

Are you a fan of Kidnapping, Caucasus-Style (Кавказская пленница)? Are you just curious about Caucasus culture? Either way, don’t miss Katrina Keegan’s article fact-checking the Caucasus.

In Odder News

Bentley tank
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Bentley tank! / Photo: Carbuzz
  • A mighty military mashina: Watch this Russian car enthusiast turn a Bentley into a tank.
  • Belgorod, best known for its Star Wars-loving mayor, is getting a major redesign. Check out the details here.
  • During a wrestling match, one fearless babushka intervened to defend her grandson.
Babushka defending grandson in wrestling match
The world needs more heroes like this. / Photo: Soviet Visuals

Quote of the Week

“The dead are burying the dead.”

— One Tweeter commenting on a scandal where Zvezda channel falsely claimed that a deceased opera singer commented on journalist Sergei Dorenko’s death

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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.
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. 
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.
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.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
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.
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.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

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