Pelmeni, Rogue Rivers, and Military Bands

In this week's Odder News, pelmeni is a hit in the United States, a subbotnik goes awry, and rogue rivers will not be contained.

• At a time of tension, some lovely news from the Russian military in Togliatti: a military band appeared at a kindergarten to perform "The Song of Crocodile Gena" from Cheburashka. The band, which had played a patriotic tune for a veteran, gave in to the kids' cheering and probably made their days. The children were delighted, and the internet wishes that all news about the military would be like this.
• In Khabarovsk, huge blocks of ice jumped from the Amur River embankment up onto the sidewalk and took a walk. Onlookers jumped in shock – especially since it was already 24°C (75°F) out.
• Have hospital workers gotten tired of the pandemic yet? A Moscow nurse was caught on video yelling obscenities and "creepy screams" at a pregnant patient's grandmother. The drunken nurse remained on duty all night, putting in her time by forcing the patient's grandmother to sleep on the floor in the corridor.
• The food critic at The New Yorker commented on Russian food in New York, and the media in Russia took notice. Hannah Goldfield raved about the pelmeni crafted by non-Russian married lesbian owners of a Russian restaurant in Brooklyn. Their pelmeni is a delight, according to the critic. Though we are not certain we can trust her judgment, however, since she called the kholodets – aka gelatinous meat – "mind-blowing."
• You might want to steer clear of those subbotniki, or volunteer Saturdays, a holdover from the Soviet era. During this year's, on April 24, a woman was struck by lightning and died while volunteering in the Vladimir region. We are not trying to discourage you from volunteering – but it could kill you!