October 07, 2020

Not-So-Fresh Siberian Air


Not-So-Fresh Siberian Air
A great landscape for clear-cut deforestation and the construction of a paper mill. Nabolog, Wikimedia Commons

When we imagine Siberia, we usually think of tall mountains, untouched forests, and wild rivers populated with bears, moose, and sometimes mammoths. We also imagine bitter cold and work camps. However, a recent study found that the residents of Siberia aren't as close to nature as you might think.

According to a recent state-led study, 40% of Siberia's population lives in areas with polluted air. The study ascribed the poor air quality to large industrial centers dotted throughout the region. Per one official involved in the findings, these 22 cities hold the plurality of citizens, who experience what he termed a "black sky" regime.

Add to this exploding permafrost, and we can't say that it's a good time to visit Russia's east.

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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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.
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Dostoyevsky Bilingual

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At the Circus (bilingual)

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