August 29, 2019

Summer Fun for All Faiths and All Ages


Summer Fun for All Faiths and All Ages
You could lose your marbles trying to imagine how much marble it took to build the biggest mosque in Europe. The official site of the Head of the Chechen Republic

Quote of the Week

“Pobeda [a Russian airline], company of sadists, be cursed!”

– A priest from Yekaterinburg allegedly cursed an airline that refused to let a crying woman get on a flight in order to travel to a funeral, because of baggage issues. She didn’t take off, but the story did. 

 

Happy birthday, Akhmad Kadyrov and 6-year-old Artyom! 

1. Who says that Russia is only known for onion-domed churches? On August 23, the largest mosque in Europe was officially opened for worship in Shali, Chechnya. The massive mosque can fit 30,000 people inside – three times as much as the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow – and 100,000 people on its overall territory, which is more than double the total population of Shali. The date of the ceremony coincided with the birthday of Chechnya’s first president, Akhmad Kadyrov (current president Ramzam Kadyrov’s father), who played a significant role in bringing peace to Chechnya. While some wanted to name the mosque in honor of Kadyrov Junior, the final decision was to look at the bigger picture for Europe’s biggest mosque, and name it after the Prophet Muhammed. Peace be upon him, and peace be in Chechnya. 

2. Erdogan screams, Putin screams, all of Russia screams for ice cream. At the annual International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) in Moscow President Putin bought ice cream for his guest, Turkish President Erdogan. He used a 5000-ruble note (about $75) and asked that the change be put toward Russian aviation development. He quickly changed his mind, though, and decided to buy ice cream for the whole delegation instead. His choice for Erdogan was a bit vanilla – literally vanilla – but Putin, never one to be boring, bought himself both chocolate and cream-flavored ice creams. (It sounds less redundant in Russian.) Putin bought the same ice cream at the same conference two years ago, when it was a whopping 15 cents cheaper, a fact that made headlines for some reason. 

Putin buying Erdogan ice cream
Certainly can’t accuse Putin giving the Turkish president a cold welcome. / Dmitry Smirnov | Twitter

3. Artyom, a five-year-old, reported that one of his toy cars had been stolen by another boy. And he reported it to the regional head of the police. The authorities didn’t play around. They took immediate action to settle the conflict between the children. Then, when Artyom turned six this past week, the local police chief came to his house to wish him a happy birthday from the regional head, gift him a new toy car, and give him a ride in a real police car. No wonder Artyom now says he wants to become a police officer when he grows up.

Russian police officer gifts a child a toy car
Never too young to start on the road to good citizenship. / Official site of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Primorsky Krai

 

In Odder News

  • The Ministry of Labor proposed national expansion of a program developed in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug to fight loneliness among the elderly. The program: paying families to host the elderly.  
  • Volunteering is now officially considered a qualification for work in Russia, so you can both do good and get a good job. 
  • A memorial to Yuri Gagarin, first man in space, appeared in… Cleveland
Reveal of Gagarin statue in Cleveland
People are gaga for Gagarin all over the world! / Embassy of Russia in the USA | Facebook

 

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

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.
Tolstoy Bilingual

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. 
Russian Rules

Russian 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.
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.
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.

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