May 13, 2020

A New Role for Kioski?


A New Role for Kioski?
Old ladies sweeping sawdust need some help in keeping the metro safe and clean. The RussianLife files

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Moscow's metro is taking on the challenge of fighting the disease.

In addition to passcards, travelers can now pick up masks and gloves at metro ticket stalls. 

Subway passengers can protect themselves from coronavirus by purchasing these at any metro station, some with multiple locations, bringing the kiosk total to 966. Thousands of masks and gloves have been distributed in anticipation of the implementation of a rule on May 12 requiring masks on public transport.

Here's secretly hoping that this will encourage the rebirth of the once-ubiquitous kioski that once lined underground corridors and sold everything from hats to cameras to lingerie. It would be easy to add a couple more products to their lineup.

 

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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.

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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.

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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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