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