April 26, 2018

A Proliferation of Playful (and Political) Pranks


A Proliferation of Playful (and Political) Pranks
Comical Capers and Entertaining Escapades

1. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, and one man’s poison is another man’s… cooking oil? That’s right, one intrepid Russian entrepreneur is now selling “Novichok” sunflower oil, referencing the nerve agent allegedly used against Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The bottle cheekily sports the old KGB logo and has the tagline “Products for a long life.” This is pure Russian ingenuity for you: not sp-oil-ing a good opportunity, no matter what form it comes in!

 

2. Google Maps will take you to the best watering hole in Novosibirsk. Literally. Until this week, a large pothole in Novosibirsk was listed as a tourist attraction on Google Maps. It had over 75 reviews, several humorous comments, and a five-star rating. The famous pit even has its own Twitter account! Unfortunately, the pothole was removed from Google Maps after it gained internet fame. Now if the pothole got filled, that would truly be a hole-in-one.

Pothole

Photo: Dmitriy Mishin 

 

3. This week in Russia, planes are flying overhead and falling from the sky. Paper planes, that is. Activists are throwing paper planes from buildings in order to protest the recent crackdown against the messaging app Telegram, which has a paper plane in its logo. These activists aren’t just winging it: the founder of Telegram called for people to toss paper planes en masse out of their windows this Sunday. A member of the band Pussy Riot joined in the fun, throwing paper planes outside Federal Security Service (FSB) headquarters (and earning herself 100 hours of community service). Though the effectiveness of this form of protest is yet to be seen, its fun factor is as plane as day.

 
In Odder News:

 

  • A babe on skis: one woman takes her baby with her as she cross-country skis

  • And she lived to tail the tale: one cat’s 150 kilometer hitchhiking experience

  • There’s a new, non-political test for government leaders-in-training: cliff jumping

 

Quote of the Week:

“A lovely, magical place! On its shore it's so romantic to meet the sunrise or watch the sun leaving the horizon, looking at the floating ducks and swans, in the company of your beloved girl and a bottle of collection wine. I recommend every guest of the city visit it!”

—One review of Novosibirsk’s very large pothole.

Want more where this comes from? Give your inbox the gift of TWERF, our Thursday newsletter on the quirkiest, obscurest, and Russianest of Russian happenings of the week.

Tags: novosibirsk
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Marooned in Moscow

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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Bears in the Caviar

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.
Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

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.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955