April 27, 2021

A Romantic Russian River Cruise


A Romantic Russian River Cruise
Girls love it when guys pick them up in a cool ride. Patrick Kelley, Wikimedia Commons

Champagne, caviar, and icebergs: all you need for a romantic evening in the northerly Russian port town of Archangelsk.

A pair of Russian teenagers were rescued from a romantic evening gone awry recently as the coastal sea ice they were walking on broke away from shore and began to float out to sea. The couple, 16 and 17, were out on a date and enjoying a walk along the shore when they found themselves drifting away from dry land, as spring thaws had loosened the chunk of ice.

Fortunately, the piece of ice was large and stable, and they were able to make an emergency call. Dispatchers sent (what else?) a hovercraft to make the rescue. But a boat-driving bystander got there first, bringing the kids back to shore, no worse for wear.

At least they didn't break any quarantine laws for the sake of love.

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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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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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