October 17, 2019

Things to Avoid After Drinking Vodka


Things to Avoid After Drinking Vodka
Fall has fallen! tinaborovykh

Quote of the Week

“How can I make this my ringtone?”

— A Youtuber reacting to a Saudi marching band obliterating the Russian national anthem

Raise a Glass to Ruining the Russian National Anthem

1. There are many ways to celebrate the start of fall: fall-themed parties, fall-themed poems. But the city of Yekaterinburg went one step further and painted a fall-themed crosswalk. The crosswalk has “cutouts” of leaves, with white leaves drifting away from the stripes. Probably even better than the crosswalk, though, was the RuNet’s reaction. One user quipped that “A hungover street sweeper will lose his mind here.” Another joked that in Moscow they have the same thing, posting a picture of a scratched-up crosswalk; a third (more favorably) compared the art to Banksy. Leaves may fall in autumn, but beauty is evergreen.

2. A meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began on a discordant note. After Putin arrived in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi marching band played the Russian national anthem for him. It went all right, until they got to the chorus and… to put it mildly, Putin was definitely trying not to laugh. Fortunately, Russia got its revenge when it gifted the crown prince a falcon that defecated on the carpet. (Actually, according to the Tweeter who posted the video, a bird pooping is a good luck sign in Russia. Then again, we’ll never know if the Saudis believed that or called Putin on his birdcrap.)


The Saudi marching band attempts the Russian national anthem. / Meduza
 

3. Last Thursday, Russia’s favorite alcohol allegedly marked its 516th birthday. According to one legend, vodka was invented by monks trying to find the perfect disinfectant, though they didn’t drink it (they said the next morning, discombobulated). As is appropriate for an alcoholic drink, though, no one really remembers how (or when) it started. Another legend traces vodka to a kind of distilled wine introduced by Genoese traders to Russians. Yet another legend (since debunked) credits Dmitri Mendeleyev with finding the perfect proportion of alcohol to water. No matter the occasion, there’s always a reason to raise a glass to vodka.

In Odder News

  • On Friday, Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space, passed away. Leonov was more than a cosmonaut; he was also an artist who painted pictures and designed stamps. Take a look at five of his most noted drawings at the Tretyakov Gallery.
Leonov's painting
Leonov’s painting Near the Moon (1967). / Wikimedia Commons
  • Need a tooth implant? Russian scientists are developing a new stem cell treatment that may let you skip the surgery and just grow a new tooth.
  • Beanpole, a harrowing film about postwar Leningrad, is captivating Russian audiences and was nominated for the Oscars last week. To understand the hype, start with The Guardian’s review here.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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