October 10, 2019

To and From Russia with Love


To and From Russia with Love
Winter may be coming, but at least cultural exchange makes our hearts warm. Yakutiya 24 | Youtube
 
Quote of the Week
“May you also have a child, and not be afraid to call her the name of this great country.”
– Immigrants to Russia from Azerbaijan that named their daughter “Russia”

 

Climate Change, Dragonglass, Craft Beer: Which One is Fake News?

1. Greta Thunberg is a worldwide phenomenon, but this week she is especially a Russian one. Putin is the latest world leader to criticize the activist, and Thunberg (like most Russians, according to a recent survey) take criticism in stride. When Putin called her a “kind” girl who doesn’t understand the world’s complexities, she mockingly changed her Twitter bio to “a kind but poorly informed teenager.” However, her warnings about our impending climate doom may find a home in the Duma; the parliament’s vice-secretary of environmental issues invited her to speak. 

2. The Night’s Watch can now watch over George R. R. Martin, from a shelf. Jewelers and bone carvers from Yakutiya presented the Game of Thrones creator with a three-kilogram statue of John Snow. The figurine holds a “dragonglass” (as explained in the books, actually obsidian) sword with a traditional Yakut amulet design, and is inscribed with the words “To George Martin, from Yakutiya with love.” In a video that was played on local Yakutiya TV, the writer expressed his gratitude and emphasized the ability of art, and fantasy in particular, to cross-cultural boundaries.

3. For the second week in a row, beer makes headlines in Russia. This time, authorities are alleging that craft beer does not exist. It doesn’t officially exist now, but it especially won’t exist starting in 2021, when new regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union about alcohol safety will take effect. From that point, only drinks with specific ingredients in certain proportions can legally be called “beer.” But cheer up: you can still say cheers clinking mugs of fancy “beer drinks,” as craft beers will now be called. 

 

In Odder News

  • Soviet sailors strike again: a Russian message in a bottle was found on a Brazillian beach. 
Russian message in a bottle that washed up in Brazil
Intergenerational, cross-cultural communication, from one group of partygoers to another. Paula Souza | Gouchazh
  • A 16-year-old from Tula who was stiffed on compensation for fixing an elevator decided to steal some of its parts – so that he could build his own elevator from scratch.
Stolen elevator parts
Rarely are stories about theft so oddly uplifting. / Tula City Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs | Lenta
  • An elderly man was caught on video giving his happy cat a ride on a playground carousel. 

Confirmed: there is at least one way to spin a cat. / Slito Corp | Youtube


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Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

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.

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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.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

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.

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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

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.

 
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Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

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.

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