December 16, 2020

Shrek Lives in Kirov Oblast


Shrek Lives in Kirov Oblast
We can hear Smash Mouth in the background. YouTube user Андрей Вдовенко

Shrek is universally liked, it seems. Even in Russia.

Russian DIYers at an arboretum in Russia's Kirov Oblast have been hard at work recreating the house of the main character from the 2001 film Shrek. The ogre's abode, constructed largely of wood and mud, was built by Andrei Vdovenko, along with help from students from a local forestry school.

Alas, due to the geography of Kirov Oblast, there's no swamp nearby, although there are lots of trees. The site is already open for tours.

In 2018, Vdovenko and his associates built a recreation of a hobbit home from the Lord of the Rings films, so it seems like Kirov is the place to go for movie-earth-home-replica tours.

You can watch a mesmerizing time-lapse of the build, along with a short tour, here.

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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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Tolstoy Bilingual

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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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

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Driving Down Russia's Spine

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Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
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Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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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Fish: A History of One Migration

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