May 03, 2021

A Refreshing Dip


A Refreshing Dip
That's not the Loch Ness Monster in this grainy video frame; just a Russian. VK account 63NEWS

Sometimes, you just have to force spring's hand. In a town still choked with sea ice and temperatures barely above freezing, one city employee is ready for warmer weather.

An Archangelsk worker was caught on camera swimming in a massive puddle last week, as his colleagues and onlookers watch. Among tarpaulins, construction equipment, and plenty of mud, a clip of the guy taking a dip, posted on Russian social media site VKontakte, has caused quite a stir.

The massive, urban lake is the product of the breaking of a massive municipal water pipe in the city, which is preventing a large portion of Archangelsk's population from using their sinks. While some go for a dip, other residents must visit water distribution stations to fill buckets. This Russian Michael Phelps is one of a number of workers sent to solve the problem.

We're sure swimming isn't helping improve the situation. We just hope he didn't pee in the pool.

Russians love to swim in holes, apparently: for a while, Moscow housed the world's largest outdoor swimming pool, also a massive construction site hole.

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A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
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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.
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Turgenev Bilingual

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