July 13, 2017

Risqué Ballet and Putin's Grannies


Risqué Ballet and Putin's Grannies
Ballerinas, Entrepreneurs, and Pensioners

1. The rumor mill is doing pirouettes after a new ballet about Soviet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (who? Find out) was canceled three days before opening at the Bolshoi Ballet. The official line is that the ballet “isn’t ready,” so it’s been postponed to next year. Director Kirill Serebrennikov and the ballet’s performers claim otherwise, some citing pressure from on high due to depictions of Nureyev’s homosexuality, which could violate Russia’s “gay propaganda” law. It wouldn’t be ballet without a touch of scandal.

2. Russia’s answer to Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee, and at least 50 journalists, Anton Nosik died on Saturday of a heart attack at 51. The Internet media pioneer, entrepreneur, and blogger known as the “godfather of Russian media,” Nosik founded several of Russia’s largest news sites, including Gazeta.ru, Lenta.ru, and Newsru.com. Though he made controversial statements about Syria and against the government’s crackdowns on internet freedoms, he was respected across much of Russian society. Journalists, opposition activists, and politicians alike paid their respects at his funeral on Tuesday.

3. Social Justice. Putin’s Troops. Crazy grannies. Whatever you call them, this group of elderly folks is a force to be reckoned with. Whether it’s raiding Alexei Navalny’s presidential campaign office in Krasnodar, posting pro-Kremlin video blogs, or making a senior-friendly anti-opposition rap video, these pro-Putinist senior citizens have a message and they’re making it viral. A new report finds the former politician behind the “grannies” and traces the path from Social Justice, his official organization, to today’s grantastic stunts.     

In Odder News
  • Last week's G20 summit was all over the news. So was this picture of President Putin surrounded by a gaggle of world leaders – along with parodies of the already fake picture.

  • Winter is coming to a metro station near you. Next week, a to-be-announced Moscow Metro station will screen the premier of the new season of Game of Thrones. There will be White Walkers.

Quote of the Week

“Even our clash with Navalny wasn’t sanctioned by anyone. It turns out to have been a real breakthrough, judging by how much everyone liked it. But we decide what to do on our own. We never ask anyone.”
—Marat Dinayev, founder of the charity “Social Justice” and the force behind the “granny activism” that targeted Alexei Navalny, on the independent nature of his organization's work.

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

A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
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.
Russia Rules

Russia Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
At the Circus

At the Circus

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.
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 Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
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.
22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
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.

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