May 10, 2018

Monstrous Protests, Mobile Plants, and Too Much Paper


Monstrous Protests, Mobile Plants, and Too Much Paper
Protests, Counter-protests, and Non-protest Protests Galore!

1. Mayday! It’s May Day! On May 1, most Russians celebrated Labor Day (aka Solidarity Day), replete with parades, marches, and demonstrations. However, some Russians also gathered in a “Monstration,” which is an absurdist public demonstration native to Russia. Moscow had its first Monstration this year, and participants went all out with signs that meant nothing or that poked fun at traditional political signs. In a darker twist of absurdity, hints of political overtones put the police on their guard, and several people were not allowed to participate or were even arrested. Is the joke on the police for not getting the joke, or on the de-monstrators for getting one-upped by the police? You decide.

2. Alternative energy is setting sail as Russia launches the world’s first floating nuclear power plant. The power plant, named the Akademik Lomonosov, is being towed from St. Petersburg to Murmansk, where it will be fueled. After that pit stop, Akademik Lomonosov will travel to its final destination in the Arctic, where it will provide energy for a water desalination plant and oil rigs. Greenpeace has spoken out against the power plant, citing its potential for disaster. For everyone’s sake, let’s hope there’s only smooth sailing in Akademik Lomonosov’s future.

Photo: ChNPP

3. All right, everybody better be recycling. This week, the Russian state media censor Roskomnadzor called on Russians to throw paper soccer balls out of their windows in support of the provision of high-speed internet at the 2018 World Cup, even linking to a 20-minute video that describes how to make the balls. This sounds innocent enough, but it is oddly reminiscent of the paper airplanes that Russians are throwing in protest of Roskomnadzor for blocking the messaging app Telegram. The rules of rock, paper, scissors are pretty easy, but it sounds like Roskomnadzor is trying to beat paper with paper.

Photo: Сказки для детей Обучающее видео

In Odder News:

Photo: yav_zone

  • The writing on the wall: subversive Swan Lake graffiti greeted Vladimir Putin in honor of his inauguration

  • Curls of conquest: veterans received free haircuts in preparation for Victory Day

  • Story update: last week’s ruble wrongdoer has been caught!

Quote of the Week:

“Say no to anti-semiotics”

— One Monstration demonstrator’s absurd sign

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.

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

Some of Our Books

Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
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.  
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

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.
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