August 23, 2021

Biscuithead Sweet-Talks on Safety


Biscuithead Sweet-Talks on Safety
The bread offender Screenshots from TolkoNovosti

Administrators of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Tula Oblast have decided to approach their educational efforts with sugar and spice. On August 13, the Tulksy television channel reported that rather than simply lecturing local youth on safety measures, they would make use of the charms of one of the region’s favorite teatime treats.

The Ministry fashioned a new safety mascot with the sickly-sweet head of a “Tulsky Pryanik,” one of the region’s culinary specialties (and rather similar to the Gorodets pryaniki we wrote about in our July/August issue). The gingerbread biscuits, which come stamped with sometimes hand-crafted designs and usually the name of the region in script, are popular gifts from those who have visited Tula.

but tulsky pryanik biscuit
Tulsky Gift! | Photograph by Piv-pro on Russian Wikipedia

The Ministry of Emergency Situations’ decorated pryanik, who carries a stuffed fire extinguisher, will be providing interactive demonstrations alongside humanoid colleagues to help the region’s youth better remember safety rules. Pryanik Head’s first assignment at the “New Wave” recreation center included demonstrations of fire safety equipment and lessons on how children should conduct themselves when a blaze breaks out.

There is a Russian expression equivalent to the “stick and carrot” – “knut i pryanik,” or “whip and pryanik.” We'll just let you sit with that one.

 

You Might Also Like

To Tula! Samovar Optional ...
  • September 01, 2001

To Tula! Samovar Optional ...

Don't bring your samovar to Tula is just one of the idiomatic expressions related to tea and coffee in this issue's column.
Steeped in Tradition
  • September 01, 2001

Steeped in Tradition

Some may think that vodka is Russia's national drink, but the truth is that Russians can live without vodka, but they cannot survive without tea. In fact, there are few places on earth where more tea is consumed per capita than Russia. We take a look at the origins of this obsession, from samovars to tea with jam to torts and pryaniki. You'll be brewing a cup yourself before you finish.
More than a Cookie
  • July 01, 2021

More than a Cookie

For some 300 years, the residents of Gorodets, near Nizhny Novgorod, have been making a spicy cookie famous throughout the country, and perhaps the world.
Cookies for Carolers
  • January 01, 2009

Cookies for Carolers

Pryaniki are a time-honored cookie enjoyed at holiday time. Get yours here.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
White Magic

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.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955