February 17, 2022

Cute Cats, a Lost Dog, and Insect Exes


Cute Cats, a Lost Dog, and Insect Exes
In Odder News

In this week's Odder News: a troublesome impersonation, digging for a dog, and a street sled.

  • Who has the time to look for cute cat pictures these days? Fortunately, you don't have to! For the small fee of R500 ($6.50) per month, an entrepreneur from Kemerovo will send you your daily dose of cute kitties, no questions asked, if that’s something you really need.
  • Several zoos across Russia took a less-than-loving (albeit profitable) approach to celebrating Valentine's Day. Zoo-goers were able to pay a small fee to have cockroaches named after their exes before the park animals chowed down on the insects. Seems like a mature way to cope.
  • As shocking as it may seem, police officers don't always have the best sense of humor. They especially dislike impersonators, and now one unlucky Russian blogger is facing fines for acting like a rooster while wearing a police uniform on camera.
  • The Olympics are still a big deal in Russia, even if their athletes are not allowed to compete under the Russian flag. To show their support for the Russian bobsled team, some fans in Yekaterinburg rode around the city in an improvised sled made out of a bathtub towed behind a car. I wonder where they got their inspiration?
  • Some pet owners will stop at nothing to help their furry family members. One such Russian hunter dug for five days straight to save his dog, which had gotten stuck in a badger burrow. The man and several of his friends dug 10 huge holes before they finally found the Jagdterrier, who has since made a full recovery.

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Love in the Time of Protests
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Love in the Time of Protests

“…there was no direct violation of the law. Yes, individual people went out with flashlights. Fine. Maybe someone was in love. There was someone, maybe, who was protesting something. Someone was there just for company, not understanding the need to light a flashlight. But most importantly, they didn’t break the law. And so everything was calm.” – Dmitriy Peskov spreading the love to Moscow activists on Valentine’s Day 2021.
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Bears in the Caviar
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Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
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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.

Faith & Humor
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Faith & Humor

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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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