November 30, 2017

Santa Claus, Space Aliens, & Robot Cars


Santa Claus, Space Aliens, & Robot Cars
Of Technology and Mythology
 

1. Santa Claus really doesn’t exist. Because he’s been banned. In Novosibirsk, there’s talk of banning Ded Moroz (Father Frost), Russia’s answer to jolly old Santa from visiting kindergarten classrooms. Parents are protesting the tradition for two reasons. First, children’s delicate psychologies: the big, hairy man in red might be scary. Second, corruption: some kindergarten officials allegedly take bribes to fundraise for Ded Moroz actors. Well, it is the gig of a lifetime. As for parents, great guardians, or gaggle of grinches?

2. Driverless cars are one thing, but can they handle the Russian winter? Yandex, Russia’s software giant and biggest tech company, plans on rolling out a fleet of self-driving taxis. This week saw their first test of driverless cars in snowy conditions, and they put out a video to show that their cars can weather the weather. Yandex says the cars need more work before being released into the wild, but the winter test showed that you don’t always need a driver to get to your destination.

3. Ground Control to Major Tom, your Soyuz is wet, there’s something wrong. A weather satellite being launched into orbit from the brand new Vostochny cosmodrome plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday. The rocket carrying it had been programmed with the wrong trajectory, and the crash is being attributed to human error. But not all is a cosmic failure: in happier space news, Russian cosmonauts may have discovered the first signs of extraterrestrial life. Cue spooky sci-fi music.

In Odder News
  • Did you know that the Cathedral of the Annunciation is in Beijing and the Mir Space Station is in Germany? Check out these weird but cool replicas of Russian landmarks outside Russia (plus one giant matryoshka).

  • To coincide with the centenary of the death of the last Tsar and his family, Netflix is developing a documentery series on the end of the Russian monarchy. Not your lightest watch, but bound to be tsar-studded.
  • If you’ve ever communicated with a Russian via technology, you may have seen mysterious open parentheses that seem to indicate positivity. Here’s why Russians prefer eyeless and noseless smiley faces to emojis.
Quote of the Week

“Experts say that small children don’t understand Ded Moroz. That’s why younger classes will only be able to invite Snegurochka, though psychologists advise against that too."
—A city hall official confirming Novosibirsk kindergartens’ ban on paid visits from Father Frost. While he's on the naughty list, there's still Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden, Father Frost’s less threatening granddaughter.

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Some of Our Books

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Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
Murder and the Muse

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.
Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

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.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

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.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

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.

Survival Russian
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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.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

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.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

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.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

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.

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