February 12, 2021

Call the Cossack Cybersquad


Call the Cossack Cybersquad
The Russian Life team enjoying a good meme. Ilya Repin, Reply of the Zaphorozhian Cossacks. Public Domain.

Social media is a place fraught with danger. Fortunately, the Russian government knows how to make it a safe space for all users.

A group of Ural Cossacks have been called on to help improve communities on Russia's top social media sites, such as Facebook, VKontakte, and Telegram. So far, about 60 volunteers have been elisted.

Their mission? To root out and report profanities and obscene content, reporting it to administrators. At the same time, they'll spread wholesome things, providing users with a more positive experience.

Given the prodigious history of Cossack warriors and their society, we're confident they can handle even the craziest of internet memes.

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Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Russian Rules
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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.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
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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.

Steppe
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This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

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The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Fearful Majesty
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Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

The Samovar Murders
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The Samovar Murders

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Survival Russian
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Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

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